Sunday, August 27, 2006

Comfortably Dumb...

BRAIN CELLS ATROPHY!!!
I am living proof of that. It is not the anaesthesia anymore. Its been about 4 months since I used MATLAB with any real aim. In the meanwhile there have been exams,vivas,interviews,farewells, decisions...the one thing lacking is any intellectual activity for about 2 and a half months since IISc interviews.
I had an assignment to do...an image processing assignment in MATLAB.
I found I had forgotten the basics of MATLAB programming. Even things I could have done fairly easily 6 months ago as I prepared for the GATE I find I cannot anymore.

Simple mathematics takes a while to go in...vector spaces seem unbelievably tough. At the same time,in the same class are people who are also learning it for the first time ... they can deal with these things much more easily.
It is a scary thought that at the age of 23 I am getting OLD .
Need some brain exercise.
Off I go after this rant...
I HAVE BECOME COMFORTABLY DUMB.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Of boils and Local anaesthesia...

Last sunday I woke up with a small boil on my throat...no reason for it to appear...but also no reason for any alarm.As boils have the propensity of doing...it opened while I was taking a bath [ now u know why we shud avoid taking them ;) ].
With due neglect from me during the course of the week it took the form of a nice shiny red volcano with a white head that hurt and itched at the same time.
I went to a doctor (for a non-trivial reason I am highly inclined not to visit a doctor)...the neglect over the week meant I had to have a small surgery of sorts to drain it. This meant I wud get local anaesthesia. My aunt who had accompanied me could not bear to watch.
I watched as the nurse (nowhere as cute as I would have liked ) pricked my arm and gave me a test shot of local anaesthesia to make sure I had no allergies to it.
I also had to give a blood sample for a blood sugar test (imagine 20 kg underweight and having high sugar...WHAT ARE THE CHANCES DUDE!!??).
Then the real deal. The doc asked me if it hurt when he pressed the boil and when I said no even considered doing the whole thing without anaesthesia. But he decided against it. The needle that gave me that LA was the only one I did not see...it was also the only one that hurt a bit but again no need for any alarms.This was followed by a 'brute force' draining of the boil which yielded a lot of pus. The doc then bandaged me and chose to make it so tight that even drinking water had become a tough job.
Had to go back to get the bandage changed coz it did bleed a little inside the bandage.
I learnt some things from the experience:
1) I am not afraid of needles or surgical procedures.
2) I can go to a doctor iff really really needed.
3) My blood sugar levels are perfect 103mg/dl when the range is 70-135 (dot in the middle).
4) Local anaesthesia does not affect any other senses ...so off I am to try my DIP assignment number 2.
Current Mood: groggy
Current Music: Comfortably Numb

Friday, August 18, 2006

A thought...

I had seen this on TV (ESPN Star I think) right after Bangladesh had won their first test match...

" VICTORY IS SWEETEST WHEN YOU'VE KNOWN DEFEAT".

It's not about the Bike


I have read and reread this most riveting (auto)biography of 6 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong...everytime I read it it moves me, it shakes me up and makes me want to achieve something.
Last October I read it in one sitting...it was that rivetting.
A testament to what grit and determination can achieve.
Armstrong says it was anger that drove him atleast in the initial part of his career...in my case I guess it is pain that drives me.
The title of the book says it all...
"IT IS NOT ABOUT THE BIKE"...(it never is) .
I went up and down with every event...from the agony of the illness to the exhilaration of the victories. I was almost in tears at a couple of places ...not when he describes the treatment
but when he describes the victories.
A book I would recommend to everyone...