Medblogs

I've been searching for blogs of preclinical medical students, to get a feel for their struggles and difficulties. They're struggling and they have diffculties. Medicine is hard however you do it, right from the start.

Links to a few:

Arzhang's Medicine Blog - this guy's just started his medicine course, and finding that it's a tough workload.
Over My Med Body! - a second year student and an experienced blogger.
Saving People, 'n Stuff - another new medical student, getting the usual, "I shouldn't be here!" early stage panics.
The Lingual Nerve - woah! A later stage of study, but with some absorbing writing.

How to be a good lecturer

Link.

Shoe

Oh yeah, and if anybody in Bristol finds a small brown shoe, it's Jack's.

Attack of the Cloned City Centres

We went to Bristol today, to shop. Yeah, ok, I hear some gasps out there.

It's well known that my Christmas shopping is done annually online. That's what the web's there for, as far as I'm concerned. It's there so you don't have to interact with real people, if you know what I mean. Hey, if I wanted to talk to people I'd have become a doctor, rather than a scientist. That's one of the best things about being a scientist: you get to sit in your ivory tower and avoid all the idiots in the world. Well, most of them. I suppose we do have students, but we try and limit our contact with them ;)

Anyway, back to the point in hand. I avoid town on weekends (unless drinking in the evening, but that rarely happens when you become a dad). I avoid the Christmas masses in particular. Real life shopping in December is madness; insanity incarnate. You can feel it, taste it. I feel the need for a chainsaw and a hockey mask most times. Tie in shopping for shoes with the missus into that and I'm the thickness of a thought away from going postal. So the internet is the solution. You can buy anything online, it's quicker than actually going to a shop and buying it (for me, anyway), and it's cheaper. So visiting Bristol today was a novelty for Kim.

My reason for shopping outside of Cardiff was that I quite like Bristol, and I thought that different surroundings would make shopping for festive gifts more "interesting". Bollocks. Every town in the UK is exactly the same. The shopping arcades are alike. The coffee shops within them sell the same crap coffee and food at the same crap prices. The plastic animatronic (my arse) snowmen all share parentage. And, most pointedly, the shops are absolutely bloody identical. They all have the same W.H. Smiths, Boots, T.K. Maxxes, Games, Gadget Shops, Piers, Argoses, etc. And they all change the architecture at eye level to match all their stores. So all city centres look identical. It sucks. Where's the character? Where's the culture? Where's the individuality? Where's the interest? Gone.

We did walk around the centre, to the Imax area and Clifton(ish). Bristol is a pleasant city with a history, but you wouldn't know it.

I did get some good gifts, but I could have got them from any city, and saved the bridge fare. I'm going back to the 'net to get the rest.

Multi-storey

I like to park away from everyone else. This is the top of an NCP. There
doesn't seem to be anyone else up here.

Out & About

Thanks Respondent

Check out this particularly f**king disgusting piece of spam currently hitting the world, from an "Alfred Peterside". I don't agree with capital punishment as a rule, but burning's too good for these filthy f**kwit thieves.

"Alfred Peterside & Associates
13 Dale House
London
SE162PT
United Kingdom
TEL/Fax: 44-870-134-6160
Tel: 44-78-100-8005, 44-703-194-1346
Email: alfred_pete5@yahoo.co.uk
Email: alfred_peterside@sanook.com

Hello,

I am Alfred Peterside an attorney to Christian Eicht Mason, a deceased Immigrant property magnate who was based in the U.K., Also referred to as my client.

On the 25th of July 2000, my client, his wife and their two Children died in the Air France concord plane crash bound for New York in their plan for a world cruise,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm

Since then I have been managing his properties here in the U.K. and some of his properties, which he put out for sale. Which I monitored the payment as his attorney, has been bought and paid for. Now the money paid was deposited into his Local account here. I have contacted you to assist in repatriating the money and property left behind by my client before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by his bank.

Particularly, the bank has issued me a notice to provide any of his next of kin or have the account confiscated within a short time. My late client has an account valued at 15.5 million dollars. Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for some time now, and with the bank giving me deadline, I now seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased, so that the proceeds of this account valued at 15.5 million dollars can be paid to you and then you, and I can share the money. 50% to me and 40% for you and 10% for miscellaneous expenses that might arise. I have all necessary information that can be used to back up any Claim we may make.

All I require is your honest co-operation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. Trust me, as his attorney, this is a risk-free relationship.

Please get in touch with me by my email and send me your full names and address, telephone and fax numbers to enable us discuss further about this transaction.

Best regards,

Alfred Peterside".

It's basically a variation on the Nigerian 419 scam, but the fact that they've used the Concorde disaster makes it so much sicker.

Jack in the morning

Want to Buy a House?

Want to buy a house, mate? Hardly used, in good nick, MOT til March, etc.

Our ReMax listing.

Cyclepath

Movable Type Upgrade

Be advised that I need to upgrade the version of Movable Type that powers this blog. I've been getting so much comment spam recently that it has become time to upgrade (a slightly scary process for this blog). If the blog changes format, or disappears off the web, you'll know why.

Wish me luck.

Done

There's nothing quite like having a crap in a bog you've plumbed in
yourself.

Darkening 2

I'm looking forward to moving to Swansea.

Darkening

Bathroom Finished

From this:

To this:

And then this:

That final photo's a bit crap because Kim took it. I'm so proud of the new bathroom that I'll add a decent photo later.

Darth Maulls Mind Dump

That man Phil has started blogging, and with a vengeance (as befits his screen name, I guess). His intention is to outgeek me, and it looks like he's already done that with his Return of the Jedi cosmetics. Sheesh.

Phil Maull's Mind Dump

Fennel

Jack knows what fennel is. He can pick it out in a supermarket, point to it and call it by its name. I didn't even know what it was. In fact, I still don't. I'm not even sure I've spelt it right. It's a vegetable, yes? I thought it was a herb or something.

The boy's not even 2 and he's already teaching his dad. I wonder how this bodes for the future - maybe I should start his Star Wars and gaming education sooner than I had planned. First off: the original (VHS!) Star Wars then (he's already seen it a couple of times, but he was never awake long enough to see the climactic Death Star battle at that age). Next: either Pong or Breakout.

Phil

This is Phil. Phil likes to read my website. Everybody say, "Hi, Phil".

Half-Life 2 Released

Half-Life 2 is absolutely stunning. I've only played a little of it, and I'm not about to add my review to the hundreds already appearing on the net, suffice to say it's not like anything we've seen before.

Initially you want to slow down and look around at the incredible environment (an oppressive City 17 is the location), but you're too busy running. It's not the sort of game where you can pick off the bad guys until they're all dead and then you can move on. The gameplay is engrossing and believable. For the first part of the game you just have to run and shoot, taking advantage of cover and following your instincts as to which is the best way to run. Even Kim said, "Wow that looks so real" when she appeared in the room to find out what I was up to.

Thanks Valve, the wait WAS worth it. I'm going to savour this.

WHRI

Classic: I'm attending a meeting held in the Welsh Heart Research Institute's building, & have found that you can't use the stairs. Ironic.

Oz

"Dear Sir / Madam,

My name is Klara Linhartova and I am assisting in the coordination of the 15th International Society of Developmental Biologists Congress (ISDB) from 3 - 7 September 2005 in Sydney, Australia.   

The Congress will bring together the world's leading professionals in the field of developmental biology, cell biology and animal genetics, as well as  policy makers, academics, technical specialists and educational groups. We are looking forward to the 2005 event exceeding all expectations. The theme of the Meeting is "FROM EGG TO ADULT: CONSTRUCTING THE COMPLEXITY OF LIFE". The event will also include a trade exhibition and an extensive program with an anticipated 600-800 delegates."

Hmm... embryology in Sydney in September? Sounds tempting...

Steaming Shit

This is shit! I've been trying to authenticate my copy of Half-Life 2 for a couple of hours now with Steam so I can play the bloody thing! Every other gamer on the planet is trying to do the same, and the system is clogged. Goddamnit!

Ele

Amazon

Fair play, Amazon did a good job with HalfLife 2.

You have to authenticate each copy of HL2 online before you can play, and you could download the game, bit by bit, before it was released and unlock it to play. The servers opened to allow everyone to authenticate and play HL2 at 8am GMT this morning, so if I had downloaded it, that would have been the earliest I could have played it. Amazon shipped my copy at about 8.30 last night, and it arrived at around 8.30 this morning. That's only 30 minutes after the HL2 key servers opened. Frankly, I'm impressed. I thought it would be a couple of days before I would be able to play. Thanks Amazon UK!

Half-Life 2 Released

Oh joy of joys - Amazon have shipped my copy of Half-Life 2. Will it be as good as we hope? Will it be better than the original? Have the endless delays left us expecting too much? I'll tell you in a couple of days. I'd better hurry up and finish the bathroom and bedroom so Kim will let me play (if I can find anywhere left to put my PC after all the "tidying" of the house for selling).

Planet HalfLife news.
Steam.

Lift

Tiling

Bathroom

We're decorating the bathroom & replacing the suite this weekend. Kim has always hated the pink bathroom, & estate agents agree that this is the most useful job we could do to help sell our house. She was very happy when she saw me heave the bog into the skip & it smashed. And there wasn't a lot left of the tiles after she'd been at them.

So the bath is done, most of the tiling, cladding & skirting is in & painted, & I'm almost ready to put the new basin & toilet in. I've been in a bit of a hurry because I need a crap. You certainly find out how many times a day you use the toilet when you don't have one. Thank Tescos for 24 hour stores!

New Bath

Look at me - I'm a plumber!

No Trains Today Thank You

Someone stepped out in front of a train travelling between Cardiff & Swansea
this morning. Not this one, & not a train I was travelling on. It happens
every now & then. What state of mind must someone be in to do that?

It caused the cancellation of all trains travelling west of Bridgend for at
least the morning, so I went home again. Jack was pleased to see me. We
read some books together while Kim got ready for the day.

Yes, it will be nice to move to Swansea. I'll be able to have breakfast with
Kim & Jack every morning. I'll be able to avoid the trains.

Firefox 1.0

Firefox 1.0 has been released. If you're using Firefox, and also in fact, if you're not, go get it and stop getting harrassed by adware, spyware and popups. The world *can* be a better place ;)

Dumping Some Silicon

Skip Time

Breasts

I've been teaching the anatomy of the breast for 3 hours this morning. I'm getting really bored with breasts. Who'd have thought?

Big Rockets!

Honey!

Sideshow Bob!

Jack!

Houses

Oh yeah, you know that house hunting? Since everyone keeps asking: yes, we did have an offer accepted for this house.

Bonfire Night

We're all off back to Cheltenham for the annual Webster Bonfire Party. It's always a key event of the year - usually my favourite. My mum cooks too much good food, people bring their own specialities, and we all watch my Dad not quite set himself on fire/blow himself up. Under his orders no-one may bring those boxed collections of fireworks that take days to work through. Instead you must bring a big firework. More if you want to. This works out very well, with everyone ducking for cover last year and destroying tables the year before.

It's one of my favourite times of year. The air gets cold, the nights draw in, the leaves change colour. These all signal the oncoming autumnal and wintry seasonal family events that I enjoy so much.

The best thing about Bonfire Night and Christmas is that it's the time of year when I really get to spend time with all my family, and some time away from work.

Pumpkin

Yeah, I know it's a bit late, but better late than never, right?

Desk

Smart Bags

Need a case that makes you look smart? Mezzi.

There's a pun about smart versus messy here somewhere...

Autumn

A Quiet Morning

I'm not teaching this morning. It feels strange. I've been teaching anatomy on Monday mornings for a couple of months now, and I feel a bit left out this morning. I'm quite happy to have a little less to do, but I'm definately missing it. This must mean that I enjoy teaching, right? That's good then.

Wizard