Operations & Illustrations

First of all I thought I’d shed some light on a website I find absolutely marvellous! If you’re like me in that you like watching surgeries, you need to scoot your bum over to or-live, which is a website that actually webcasts live surgeries, giving viewers the opportunity to send in questions. I have only watched a couple of their videos so far, my favourite being a craniotomy + meningomectomy..

Wowch, times are a-quiet..

So yesterday and today, I have done zilch piercings. That’s right, it has been completely and utterly dead in work. It is a quiet season, fair enough, but this is taking le piss.. It ain’t all bad though, No piercing work means I have been able to do some graphic design work, such as updating our business cards:

Oh my..

Got some really bad news yesterday, but I haven’t the time to do a proper update right now, so I’ll leave you with the funniest video I have seen in a couple of weeks. Bar the oven cat, which was just one step too far..

Haha..

- Alex

Back to urban climbing, PK, and general mischief?

I just watched Breaking and Entering this morning, and while the movie made me a little sad, the parkour scenes in it made me want to start again. It’s been so long, I think I’ll have to go easy in the beginning. But I really enjoy the hell out of being places I am not strictly speaking supposed to be. I think it’s the sense of control. When you break down the barriers society sets, but retain control over the situation – it’s a bit of a powertrip.. And it brings out the kid in me, the one that loves adrenaline rushes. I think my favourite moments in gaining access to rooftops and similar have been those where security or police have just discovered me or us. Running from something that would imply unfavourable consequences releases the ‘fight or flight hormones’ not only to make it a more exciting run, but also to improve performance and reflexes by leaps.

I decided to look for some photos from the roofs. Disappointingly, I found none from 07, but a bunch from 06. Did a small update on flickr if you want to have a look.. Here’s one of my favourite shots from places I wasn’t meant to be:

And here’s one from a chilly November night in Southport..

For some more shots, check out the flickr link..

Peace – not so serene Alex.

Preeettyy, preettyy good weekend..

It really was. On Saturday I did four genital piercings, one surface, and an experimental lobe project. It was a lot of fun, the latter taking a total of nearly 3 hours. Left me with a slight backache, but a lot of satisfaction. Today big plans are to be completed. A memoir of last nights good times:

Makes you think doesn’t it? ..haha

I must sort my paperwork out for tomorrows marathon of assignment work, I intend on skipping off to the Uni library before 10.00 am.

I also want to go take the engine out of my new Avante so I can fit the new twin Dellorto carbs with all the goodnes that implies. it might just be properly roadworthy once I do..

Then there’s Vicki’s microdermals which she really wants back in for this charity thing we are going to with her family.

I guess if I got time left over, I should also make a couple of new forms for work, and find some printers I can ring tomorrow for prices on my new business cards and work pamphlets.

I hope to finish off the night by getting an hour of HL in. I am such a fanboy, I trimmed my beard ala Gordon.. look:

Haha, preetty, preeettyyy good.

Anyways, it’s off for a brew and a shower for me, so more posting later.. Leave a comment if you got 5..

- Serene Alex

Uni work, Zeromancer, Norway, and all that crap.

Tomorrow is the last day of my current placement at Southport Hospital. I am enjoying it lots, but no doubt it will be nice to go back to Uni for a little while. Next week I got off, but it’s a funny kind of off. In my current module I have been really lazy. I have been putting off my assignment for weeks and weeks, and this coming week must be fully dedicated to getting it out the way. I think it should go smoothly though, no worries..

In other news I spent the weekend in Tonsberg and Oslo (Norway), mostly to catch Zeromancer playing Elektrostat. When I got to Tonsberg Karsten (and for some time his wife) and I played Monopoly till like 3AM, before heading in to Oslo the next morning. We hooked up with Markus (the two best friends), and headed to some pub to meet Chris the chef who was coming with us too. We decided to get a little drunk and crunked up at Markus’ place, me carefully dodging the fucking awful drink that I no longer remember the name of. All I know is, it’s some spicy shit that tastes like 5 seconds prevomit.

We continued drinking for a bit before heading down to ‘The Fabric’ in Oslo. Once we got there, we’d kinda sobered up, so decided to spend all our collective moneys getting as drunk as we could. All in anticipation of the greatness that is Zeromancer. Zeromancr fucking rocks. Third time I see them live, and it’s fucking hilarious.. – Second time I saw them a friend from school was going out with the guitarist, Dan. Then they split up at some stage, and that was that. Then this time round we meet a bunch of guys from school. One of them, a different one, is now going out with the bass guitarist, and they got a baby together.. But here’s the punch – I had massive crushes on both these girls in school! Haha, I actually went out with one in a very very innocent kind of shy kind of way, but regardless – it amuses me greatly!

Regardless of all that jazz, Zeromancer is fucking awesome, and you should see them live if they ever come to your general area..

Alex rocking your pants off sneakily..

Here’s a photo of my ubercool friends. They are way cooler than your friends..

..especially on the beer..

However great Zeromancer were, the night peaked on our walk and arrival back home. We bought this crazy curry type dish which was very fucking hot, like evil hot. Helped a chilly walk back home though, be assured.. We also chatted drunkenly among ourselves, which is just about the best way to spend a chilly walk home. When we hit the flat Karsten fell over in Markus’ bed, collapsed utterly, which after a few more drinks prompted us to do lots of funny (particularly at the time) things to him, such as balancing chess pieces on him, posing for sneaky photos, and typical american teenage movie shit really. But it was good. Nothing like hanging out with good friends..

And there you have it. My weekend spent. It was shit to have to leave so soon, I miss Markus and Karsten more than anything or anyone else in Norway. Sucks to ‘loose’ touch with buddies.

Anyways, that’s all I suppose..

Peace guys. – Serene Alex

Lasek (laser epithelial keratomileusis) or Lasik (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis)?

For a while I have been thinking about having the so-called laser eye surgery done, to make my vision as close to 20/20 as possible. I would love to not have to wear glasses. I mean, granted it’s become part of who I am to some degree, there are sports and activities where glasses are an absolute nightmare. Gymnastics + glasses = not so great. Parkour + glasses = not so great either. And simply laying on my side watching a movie can be a pain in the ass, when the glasses start digging into the temples.. not so great my friend, not so great.. It’s one of those big things in life though, screwing around with eyes is not to be taken lightly. In addition, I had a lot of problems with my eyes as a child. Something or other causing my eyes to constantly weep under the strain of any kind of light. I am not sure if that means I for some reason can’t have this type of surgery done, contacts are certainly problematic for me, causing much of the same commotion, with runny eyes, and constant irritation. I guess a consult with experts in the field would be my best bet..

Anyways, my options seems to mainly be LASIK or LASEK (PRK).

LASIK is roughly the following procedure:

1. A flap is created in the cornea of the eye

2. An excimer laser is used to remodel the corneal stroma

3. The flap is put back, and left to stick to the eye by it’s natural adhesive properties

4. Some precautions are took (e.g. antibiotics, goggles, etc), and within a few weeks everything should be sorted out.

LASEK is not so invasive (..apparently):

1. The outer corneal layer is scraped away

2. An excimer laser again rstructures the corneal stroma

3. The corneal epithelium must now grow back on it’s own accord

Although The LASIK apprently causes slightly more risk due to the incision into the cornea (risks like a dislocated corneal flap), I think this seems the best option, with the improved vision regained quicker, and the procedure healing faster. In either case I guess I should go have a consultation or two and see if I can find a surgeon I feel comfortable with. I guess the issue of the price is also worth considering..

If you are interested in understanding a little more about it wisegeek.com has a handy little introduction.

Peace, Serene Fox

Mmm.. Brains..

So I’m not going to go into detail about the subject, though, suffice to say, I find brains very intriguing – definitely the most interesting organ we got, in fact the whole nervous system is something of a marvel of our highly complex bodies. You can say what you want about the steady reliability of the heart, the liver’s ability to regenerate, and the skin’s amazing healing powers, but no other organ defines us like our brains. It is who we are and it is who we can become.

I recently finished reading through Katrina Firlik’s book Another Day in the Frontal Lobe for the second time, and that really says it all. In my past seven or so years as a fully fledged adult, there has only ever been that one book I have read more than once. It’s essentially what the cover says – a book about neurosurgery from the point of view of a neurosurgeon. Firlik writes in a very “pally” way, kind of like she is telling you these strange trivial secrets about the neurological OR and community in person. The book sticks to a minimal proportion of jargon, all of which is explained in comprehesible terms. In truth it’s more of an entertaining read than an educational one, although if you’re a novice like me, you can pick up some new tidbits about that chunk of neurons we keep hidden deep within our skulls..

Another book I can’ refrain from recommending while talking about brains is Jeff Hawkin’s book on intelligence, simply called On Intelligence. This gem is less about brains and more about the mind, mapping out a way to think about how intelligence works exactly, the second part of the book emphasising how this theory can be applied to work in the area of artificial intelligence. Saying that, it does discuss in depth the physiological way a brain functions, using these facts to illustrate how his theory may be applied in real life. Jeff, the creator of the palm pilot and founder of Palm has in more recent years cofounded Numenta, which may be of more interest to people with an inclination to work with artificial intelligence.

Anyways, if you are interested in brains, wiki the names or use the links, you might find something interesting.. And if you want to drop me a line about similar stuff I might like – go for it!

Serene Fox

PS. Thanks to illuminati-news for the use of their brain image..

Primoris Stipes

Amidst the cyberworld’s blogs, communities and forums I feel slightly suffocated. Like it’s becoming just too much.. So what better way to deal with it than to start a new blogspot right..? So far I enjoy the simplistic and uninterupted contemporary designs of some of the templates of this site. Off course it got me very annoyed that someone already nabbed the spot ’serenity.wordpress.com’, a grand coup d’état, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that this is owned by someone who hasn’t done anything with it, I might have felt guilty about simply adding a solitary s to mine, to continue the serene legacy. I’ll stop typing like this at any moment now, watch this spot.

Right this moment I am sat listening to some RJD2, drinking a fine cup of tea, and contemplating how to use this blog, and whether to go all out and delete my spots on (ranking from most to least favourite) iam.bmezine.com, myspace.com, facebook.com, eblogger.com, bebo.com, an I’m pretty sure there’s a couple of more I’m forgetting. Not that they matter in the slightest, as I never ever use them. Maybe I just cling to my iam.bme account for now. After all, the jury’s still out on that one.

This blog will probably incorporate some medical stuff, some body modification stuff, some random toss about books, cds, and the likes, and probably a whole lot about my quickly passing obsessions with the varied wonders of life in the 21st century.

Well, back to my tea. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a photo..

..and a link.. ..to the brilliant BodyTwo ModBlog mentioning some of my DIY work..

..or two.. ..the NHS is messed up..

Serene Fox