Random Thoughts (15/3/18) by Muhammad Amir Ayub

1) Toys R Us is closing down in the states. 800 stores. 33000 jobs. Lost childhood memories.

2) 20 years blogging (or anything that consistent) is no mean feat. With such a timeline, you really get to see your growth. And yes, I do cringe at my past (notes and everything else). Just like Jason Kottke:

I’ve been reading back through the early archives (which I wouldn’t recommend), and it feels like excavating down through layers of sediment, tracing the growth & evolution of the web, a media format, and most of all, a person. On March 14, 1998, I was 24 years old and dumb as a brick. Oh sure, I’d had lots of book learning and was quick with ideas, but I knew shockingly little about actual real life. I was a cynical and cocky know-it-all. Some of my older posts are genuinely cringeworthy to read now: poorly written, cluelessly privileged, and even mean spirited. I’m ashamed to have written some of them.

3) I've started taking magnesium supplementation. It's more than a supplement; it's a drug (and hey, even IV fluids should be thought of as drugs and not something completely benign). It helps with insomnia (a byproduct of my pharmacologically revved up lifestyle) and sleep quality. It helps with blood pressure and sugars (more studies are needed). It even boosts testosterone levels (and yes, I'm not on roids). It's one of the best utilitarian drugs in anesthesia and ICU (used to manage pain, blood pressure, anesthetic requirements (especially with TIVA vs inhalational anesthesia), rhythm abnormalities, general ICU outcomes, effects on other electrolytes (especially managing hypokalemia), everything). Let's see if it improves my overall well-being. And I've done the calcuation: 1 tablet of this is equivalent to 15 mmol of magnesium. And I take it for immediate effect rather than a slow release: I slowly chew on it with water in my mouth (don't try it yourself unless if you are a masochist) right before bed.

Brachial Plexus (Simplified Functional Anatomy) by Muhammad Amir Ayub

2nd take on an old topic (which I never shared). It came out in the written FCAI exams the other day, and I don't think I did very well. Like I said, you can study all of the things in the world, but what counts is what you recalled. And I definitely did not recall enough. And so I'm not happy about it.

Way back in 2013/2014, I guess with the Parker Frontier and Parker Blue-Black

Way back in 2013/2014, I guess with the Parker Frontier and Parker Blue-Black

Angry Thoughts (14/3/18) by Muhammad Amir Ayub

Warning: foul language ahead.

1) It effing takes me 45 minutes to drive to HKL from Bandar Baru Sentul. The same distance that only takes me 25 minutes of walking. I can’t stand it!  It’s so frustrating when your plans are spoiled because of traffic. This is one reason why after more than 1 year of transfer here, I’ve only properly driven the car and parked it less than 10 times. I don't know how you commuters get through the daily grind but I just can't, as I'm just chronically fatigued as it is. Don’t tell me to just not drive in that case; I had no choice but to drive for the past few days.

2) I don't get us stupid Malaysians. We need a sign to tell people to not pee at the ablution areas of prayer rooms. We throw away diapers full of shit right next to benches near prayer rooms. We shit on the floor and walls of public toilets. We die if we don’t leave our piss on toilet rims. We have no right to demand anything out of our politicians if we ourselves are not accountable at all towards others.

People will pee here

People will pee here

3) Have slinkies gone extinct from the face of the earth? Yesterday we tried to search for one and couldn’t find any. This is the most pressing issue of all: an angry child is a biopsychosocial-spiritual hazard (I’m currently in the chronic pain rotation).

Since we no longer know how slinkies look like..

Since we no longer know how slinkies look like..

4) Stephen Hawking just died. The intellectual community just lost someone important. He may have been crippled but his will was stronger than most. He will be missed.

5) I find it ridiculous that any shop in a relatively low volume mall with only 25% of its seats occupied could have something as bland as bread (let alone spring rolls) run out. Where’s the inventory management?