Others Plus Training Log - Up to Oct 3, 2009

IT stuff:

Just recently I installed Snow Leopard (SL) on this and my father's computer, as well as maxing out all of the computers in the family by buying 2 pieces of 2 GB laptop RAM (Abah 2 GB, Adib 4 GB, and me 3GB). I have to say that I very much like Snow Leopard, especially with the maxed out RAM. Performance is fast throughout, and the computer has remained relatively cool; i.e. the OpenCL must be diverting a lot of the processes from the computer. I've done some experimenting compiling Wesnoth (I'll take a bit further later), and I have never yet seen the CPU go 100%, ever. Anything that keeps the computer cooler is better in the long run, as the hot weather of Malaysia can definitely fry more than 1 computer with heavy usage (my late PowerBook).

In line with the almost ready 64-bit-ness of SL (only the kernel is 32 bit default), I tried to do some Wesnoth compiling for 64-bit. Not a good idea. Most of the open source software is not that prepared for 64-bit, and I encountered problems in the first hurdle with SDL. Wesnoth uses SDL 1.2, which is from my research not compatible with compilation for 64-bit systems. SDL 1.3 is, but I'm not sure if it's compatible with Wesnoth. Once I have more time, I'll try experimenting again.

The new ClickToFlash for SL is more than amazing. It automatically detects Quicktime movies from Youtube even when viewing outside of it, which is amazing. It even has a download movie option displayed below the embedded movie.

But on the bad side, HP has abandoned scanning support for my HP Office Jet5510 AIO since Leopard, and temporarily did not support printing for it when I installed SL. Now my what was once upon a time a RM600 all in one can only print and no scan (still and forever) since about a year ago. F*ck, I'm changing brands when I get a new printer in the future.

Another bummer is that I forgot to make an archive of my Address Book and iCal stuff from my Leopard installation to use in SL; I elected to do a completely clean install of the system - I zero'ed out my HD, and installed SL, then manually brought back stuff from my account as well as apps. That was followed by erm, deleting my Time Machine backup before I realized what I did wrong. Oops. Lesson learned. It will take forever to replace some 4** something of contacts, as well as my comprehensive calendar. I'm not depressed even though I should, which is probably a good thing.

On Raya:

I'm still getting money, even though I probably look like I'm already stressed out by life, wife and kids. Need I say more?

Them IIUM medical batchmates forced me to wear baju Melayu for the Raya celebrations, which was a torture. Luckily I used a lot of deodorant/antiperspirant/whatever you call that shit, as so it wasn't too bad. Not using my T-Rex car did help. Anyone who complains of a hot car should take my car for a spin. Bring your bottled water to bathe while driving.

On Medicine:

It was 8.30 AM, and I saw a few sisters around a patient. Initially I thought they were my batchmates, but on further look, it turned out to be 3/4 housemen clerking a patient together! One did the clerking, one was the "supervisor" (with crossed-arms), while another appeared as the disinterested medical student. With 8 houseman per ward, it is pure heaven in Kuantan (about 6 on-calls per month in Surgery currently). Just 2 years ago, houseman had to come at 6.15 AM to cover the wards, as there weren't a lot of HO's. Now I've heard of HO's coming at 7.30, and still managing to cover the wards before the MO's come.

Any person who's ungrateful enough to not serve the country after seeing how it is so much easier now for doctors deserves a roundhouse to the face. Thank you Chua Soi Lek (but not for that accident though).

I still don't like general surgery after 3rd year and almost halfway through the posting in final year. I don't know why, but I hope it won't affect my efforts to study it. So far it's at par with Pediatrics, which is very poor at this stage of the posting, and so I'd say it's not too bad. Need to shift to second gear.

Random Thoughts:

At what stage is narcissism pathologic? Is it when someone has the nerve to say, "I don't lose; I just let others win"?

I'm not a fan of Man U, but they'll win, again. All because of a nasty son of a bitch named Ryan Giggs. You think he's playing like a man in his late 30's?

After Malaysia (again) helping out Indonesia, will the fanatics calm down already?

Too many people are obsessed with their weight. Try to eat healthily, and live healthily (aka get your ass of your chair) and things will sort themselves out. A "fat" but fit man is always more useful than a skinny weak sickling.

Training:

Training has continued as usual, with some bodyweight stuff during the Raya week to maintain strength, and this week, doing a proper 5/3/1, after only partially doing it before the Raya break. This particular cycle is just to get rep PR's - last half cycle I aimed for +3 reps in the final sets, and this cycle I'm aiming for +4. So far I'm getting them (last week was at-least-5-reps-week-at-85%1RM). I have also simplified my training further, giving me conditioning work within the 4-day a week setup. This gives me more time for stuff that matters, like wasting time.

Mon:

Deadlifts - Up to 100 kg x 9 reps

SLDL - 3 x 6 x 50 lb each leg

Front Plank with Salutes - 3 x 10 salutes

Active scapular depression on the dip station - 3 x I don't remember, 13 maybe, just as prehab

Wed:

Bench Press - Up to 61 kg x 9 reps

Pushups with 2 sec pause at bottom - 3 x 10

Inverted Row - 3 x 10

Conditioning - Alwyn Cosgrove style (f-you, Alwyn for making a good complex), with an empty Olympic bar (45 lb)

Yesterday (Fri):

Front Squat - Up to 69 kg x 9 reps. I divided these into a few "minisets" (5-3-1) as I couldn't control the bar for multiple reps using the clean grip. The lifts themselves didn't near failure.

Pistol squats - 3 x 6 each leg

Pallof Press - 3 x 5 each side with cable at 29 kg

Face pulls - 3 x 10 at 11 kg

Today (Sat):

Standing Shoulder Press - Up to 37 kg x 9 reps

DB Shoulder Press - 3 x 8 x 35 lb. Too heavy as assistance, and I will lower the weight to 30 lb for the next 2 weeks.

Chinups - 3 x 5

Conditioning - Alwyn Cosgrove complex like Wed

Tomorrow I'll hopefully be joining others in climbing Bukit Panorama at 5.30 AM, followed by a deadlift session on Monday, up to a target of 7 reps with 106 kg, not to mention that I did some light (60 kg) deadlifting for reps to demo to some fellow gym members. Let's see if the Raya dinner with the batchmates help me recover in time!

I So Want a MacBook Air

From Peter King:

"Can I hold that for a second?''

I've heard that question, or some derivative of it, a dozen times in the past month, when I've traveled with my feather-light MacBook Air. The other day, on my flight to Fort Lauderdale, a women holding a 5-month-old baby in her left arm, gently bouncing her up and down, admired the little laptop and I said, "Here --you can even hold it while holding the baby.'' The woman took it with her right hand and held it like it was the new Grisham book, shaking her head in amazement. It's almost that light.

Four times at The Breakers on Sunday, people asked to hold my computer, including Niners coach Mike Nolan. I could do a commercial for this thing. Except for the fact that my wireless DSL card doesn't work with it (there's no CD drive or DSL port), it's pretty much the perfect laptop.

(via Daring Fireball)

Buying a Laptop Instead of a Desktop (for College Students)

Someone asked me about the criteria when trying to choose a laptop to buy. Before thinking of buying a laptop, consider why you would buy a laptop instead of a desktop. 

Laptops are in general:

1) At least 40% more expensive than a comparable desktop with the same configuration

2) Have costlier replacements & insurance fees (might not be shown in the actual price). 

3) Inferior displays, unless if you're talking about new LED type displays in some new models of MacBook Pros.

4) Inferior keyboards, except those of Think Pads & MacBook Pros, which are expensive

5) Smaller maximum storage. From my current knowledge, maximum space for a 4800 rpm HD is 180 GB. Maximum space for 5400 (like my PowerBook G4) is 100 GB. With the same amount of cash, you'll get at least a 300 GB desktop.

6) Smaller maximum RAM. But this depends more on the fact that 32-bit processing computers can only handle 4 GB of RAM, as compared with 16 GB for 64-bit systems. Nowadays, you can find the most expensive multimedia-related laptops allowing for 4 GB. Nevertheless, they require 2 GB RAM chips, and they are expensive.

7) More fragile. I've had 2 hard drive failures in 2 years. This is attributed to the fact that laptops are readily moved around. Laptops are also more prone to heat-related long-term damage, generally attributed to the small enclosure.

8) Laptops can mess up your balls.

But there are some good points about laptops:

1) They're mobile. Unless you bought a >17 inch behemoth, you might be tempted to bring your laptop to most places you go to.

2) If you don't already have a computer at home, get a laptop for your everywhere needs. Better one than two.

3) Desktops usually do not come pre-equipped with wireless connectivity (WiFi, Bluetooth). An exception are the Apple iMacs (I don't know about PC's much, but I'm sure there are good examples). Most campuses are being equipped with WiFi networks. Desktop users are screwed if they're not in range of the wireless network.

4) Security. In a way, it is safer to use your own computer connected to a projector for presentations rather than sharing portable drives. Negligible argument at best.

Buy a laptop only if you don't mind spending the money, bring the laptop with you to many places (are a road warrior), and/or don't have a computer at home. There are many more reasons for & against that I might have overlooked.

Maybe in the near future I'll make a post on the criteria for buying a particular laptop when purchasing a laptop is the computer of choice.