Jeany Buscuits (by sarah)

There are cute pictures of Jean decorating Easter Egg shaped ginger biscuits over on the Salaric Cooking Blog 🙂 I have only just gotten around to putting the post live - doh!

Bench PSU made from an old PC power supply (by alaric)

My first PC compatible was an actual PC. As in, the original IBM PC - not even an XT. It died a death, but I salvaged the power supply from it, with the nice red switch, to be a bench PSU for my electronics experiments:

It supplies -12v, -5v, 0v, +5v, and +12v. Which served me well for some years, but these days, everything's 3.3v or 1.8v. And my termination setups - first wiring directly into the row of screw terminals on a breadboard, then later a bit of wood with metal strips nailed to it so I could attach croc-clips easily - all left something to be desired.

So I got busy and built this:

Complete with a power LED so I can see at a glance if it's live:

Inside it's quite simple. Most of the terminals are fed directly from the PSU via the black cable, but I added an extra wire for an earth connection to the chassis (which I checked was really earthed) for ESD wrist straps. I mounted 3.3v and 1.8v linear regulators on a bit of stripboard along with the LED and its series resistor, and hooked it into the 0v and +5v lines.

Job done. Now the last bit of major infrastructure I need set up is to get Ethernet into the lab so the PC I have in there for driving the dev boards can access the Internet and my version control system...

Of Visiting Hours and Window Views (by sarah)

Wednesday Alaric was allowed to stay with me most of the time but he did go and buy me a reporters note book and pen from the hospital shop. He left about 4 o'clock to go and pack an over night bag for me and to do cubs.

Visiting time came and went and I gave up on seeing him that night and instead slept and wrote a poem about the view from the window (poem is stretching what I wrote a bit far it was mainly a list of words and phrases that discribed the court yard I could see from my window in the side room.) But at 9 o'clock I heared a Jeany squeek and in she came holding daddy's hand - wide eyed in the half dark - I was basically asleep.

I had originally said I didn't want Jean to come to the hospital as I was worried about how she would react and about the chances of her picking up a bug or something as I was in the AAU. But she had apparently really wanted to come and see me and they were so late as they had fed her dinner and stuff hoping she would change her mind and sleep - but she didn't she wanted to see mummy.

But she was scared of me until Alaric put the light on and then she was more concerned that I had an ouchy in my arm - the canular. She wanted to hug me but was worried about hurting me so we had gentle cuddles with her away from the canular!

Alaric had bought my book in - Book two of the Wheel of Time which I thought after sleeping most of the day I would devour at night - but I didn't I just slept more.

The next morning I carried on sleeping with the occasional go at writing - this turned out to be quiet hard with a canular in the elbow pit and I had to sort of rest the note pad in the correct place! But I hashed over some stuff about my lunar sample and then wrote down bits of the story I had made up for Jean about her fairy in Yorkshire at the weekend.

I was moved up to another ward which was so shiny new but I somehow felt alot more comftable in - the nurses made sure I knew what was actually going on and encouraged me to potter in the room (I was yet again in a side room due to me being an infection risk) But I did have the most fantastic view from the window - with the cathedral and everything. The seagulls and swallows could be seen soaring around over the roof tops or perching on the roofs.

Alaric and Dad where amused that I hadn't known if I was moved to another ward as I was in a different building and on a different floor and had had to go through a walkway and a lift! I think this is possible a sign of how sick I was.

They had to stick to visiting times this time and headed off. I slept more and had dinner - refusing the TV much to the nurses confusion - I had a TV in the room but really didn't want the noise - Al had lent me his i-pod and I was listening to the gentler pieces on that.

JEany came to see me again in the evening and we all went for a walk to the shops - bizarlly I found the walk exhusting and it just seemed to take forever. Jean seemed to think that my new room was a bedroom unlike the scary other one - which was interesting and she scored her self free biscuits from the staff not too mention the juice from my dinner - I just could not face acidic drinks at all.

I felt abit relieved when they left as I was just so tired but I drew what I remembered as the main points of the window scene - not accurate but a repressentation - I discovered that I really do hate being inside too much but during the day people seemed to want to be prodding and poking me so I couldn't go and find one of the gardens to explore plus I just felt wipped out.

I also wrote about this window view and though how lucky I was to have a hubby who realised what I would need most when trapped in a hospital. I still panic when I am anywhere near a Dr let alone a hospital but the staff on 7a seemed to realise this and helped me by just talking to me and things - Jean got called a tiger 🙂

Visiting hours are very important to me when I am in hospital but I am glad that they have a specific time as I find it can be far too much to have people expecting you to interact with them. And the food was actually nice and they remembered to feed me - another one up on the hospital I was in during the pregnancy!

From the Drs to the Hospital to… erm what now? (by sarah)

Warning this post contains mention of poo and medical procedures!

Wednesday I went for my Drs appointment - the one I had to wait over a week for. I went in and told him all the symptoms I could remember and he stopped me and said he was concerned that I had been bleeding and how long had I had the squits? A set of questions about how much, what and how frequently plus the whole run down of the stuff from my second year and it was taking pulse and blood pressure and then prodding the stomach and then the internal.

I had been ill quiet badly just before we left for the Drs in fact we were almost late for it becuase of me and the proding and internal really really hurt.

Pulse high, blood pressure low and obvious dehydration even though I was sipping continously from a bottle of water I bought in with me.

He said he'd send me to the hospital for some tests and things but I was "erm... but I have my presintation this evening at college" and I get a look and he says that I can have a doctors note maybe not for the whole time period I've been sick for but definatly for the last two weeks and anytime in the hospital and you need a drip.

And so we headed off to the Gloucester Royal in the van - to my suprise he asked if Al could take me or if I needed an ambulence - this is so different from the treatment I had during the pregnancy back in Essex I couldn't believe it. (I went to cuasulty on the bus with a pulmniary anurism whilst mid-pregnancy plus pnumonia etc... not that I'm bitter).

So I get a letter all sealed saying AAU on it - accute accessment unit and instructions on how to find it (which I promptly forgot!) we get there and its time to try not to panic - I arrive and its ECG's and canular's put in and things like that. It was very close to what happened during the pregnancy and I feared being in hospital for weeks again, in pain etc...

They took a swab of my nasal cavities and the crease between my leg and groin to test for MRSA and we had a brief discussion about weather I had come into contact with it - yes a while ago i.e. mums infected wound from the lumpectomy.

If infected I would be moved to a side room.

I was moved to a side room with mutters of testing for swine flu etc... I had gone to the loo several times by this point and only then did they ask for a sample (this turned out to be part of an on going comedy).

Bloods taken - more proding and poking and internals and then more bloods and I spent the night in the AAU - I even got visited by a cute 'baby' Dr a.k.a the student who was just starting his on site training.

Again there was a vast improovement here above Harold Wood Hospital - they didn't just write - allergic to latex they gave me a nice bright red wrist band with LATEX written on it - an obvious and neat system if ever I saw one.

After all the proding and poking I felt very nuaseus and couldn't eat (when I arrived they said nil by mouth this got changed but no one told us and I didn't get any water till the evening). As the day wore on I slept alot - this was and is part of the problem I am just so tired.

However my body decided to embarrase me by deciding to stop what it had been doing and suddenly I was in hospital becuase I had bad diarreha and they wanted a sample and well... I erm... now had the opposite problem but produced something that night. (The assistant who came to get said she didnt think it was any good as it was mixed (ie I'd weeed too) and disappeared - it was still in the bathroom the next morning - I threw it away then the nurse came round demanding and I explained and she said it didn't matter that it was mixed for stools - sigh).

I then produced another for them about midday just as someone turned up to take me up to another ward - I told her that it was there in the bathroom (I hadn't had a chance to call anyone to collect it)

Anyway I was moved to ward 7a and put in another side room and about 1/2 hr later was asked for a stool sample to be sent for culture - if I hadn't been feeling so rough I would have laughed.

I had a fantastic view from this window and I was allowed to go walkies when Al turned up. Also the nurses actually realised I was scared and spoke to me about what was going on.

Obviously with the risk of cloting I shouldn't really be laying in bed all day and my back has been agony becuase of it but I'm just so tured at the moment.

I went for a potter to the shop and stuff and found the wall my art teatcher had made which was fantastic to be honest - it really is!

My blood pressure was low or normal the whole time - I did notice though that it was only normal if I saw them coming - I try not too but I panic when I see nurses wheel those trollies of instraments over to me :/

I actually ate the second day but my stomache just bloated and no stool sample. I had to have stronger pain killers that night to sleep and anti sickness drug - can't remeber what they were called.

I had the second book of the Wheel of Time series with me and Al had got me a note book the first day when I was in the AAU but I spent most of my time asleep.

Part of me did wonder if the diarrehia stopped because suddenly I wasn't trying to do things and was sleeping lots especially as the bloods they took were relatively normal (I hate it when they say things like that so are they normal or not?).

They still insisted that I have a sigmoidal arcoscopy (no idea how to spell it but it appeared to be a giant fibre optic camera on a flexi tube that they rammed into my lower cut). I had to have an enimia before hand - bizarly as soon as that was done I felt a lot better - I mean like a 100 times better but still had to have the camera.

The staff where very reassuring and chatty and I was asked if I had a normal labour - no - cesarian? - no - natural birth - erm yes - ah well you don't need sedation then! Mew 🙁

Well it wasn't that bad when they inflated me with air it just made me feel sick - there where some 'tight corners' which he had to tackel which hurt - he kept saying he would stop if the pain was too much but the pain of it going in was more that it shifting about once in. I had been on my side but he got me to lay on my back and that abatted both pelvic pain (my pelvis still clicks if I lay on my side on a hard surface) and the proceedural pain.

What I didn't like was the fact I could feel it moving about inside - it felt alien - not like being pregnant. I put my hand on my stomach and could feel it from the outside too - the nurse did the same.

I watched the video and it didn't look anything like the time in the second year when Becca took me - then it was just sort of a yellowy pink tube little hollows where things sat this time it was pale pink with a network of fine red lines spread across it. I assume these are for digestion etc... I watched the little three pronged claw come out and nip bits aways leaving little bloody marks - I didn't feel the biopsies being taken at all!

There was a strange nipple-esk thing near the beginning but he didn't seem to worry about it still I wish I had asked!

Obviously I was puffed up with air and they kept telling me I could let it out once they had finished but I couldn't and though my stomach was twice its normal size I just couldn't and I felt even better after they had done that.

So I went back to the ward and had breakfast and he sent some notes up with me - they took more bloods but on the plus side it looks like there is no evidence of colites or crohns so the biopsies should be clear.

Just after lunch the dr came to see me - I've had an infection which acted up my IBS (now the only reason I new I had a diagnosis of IBS was I saw it on the computer at the Dr surgery). This is why it's lasted for weeks instead of days. Blood was probably from a tear or possibly piles which got sore with all the going to the toliet.

More bloods were taken and I have to go back to the GP - GP wanted thyroid testing, glandular fever, gluten allergy and some other things I can't remember the name of done - the hospital where only testing some of these things. I also had to have x-rays done of both my lungs and my stomach - this was painful as the radiologist had to hold my legs in possition and reposition my stupid pelvic.

I was let out later that day (Friday) after being asked if I wanted to go home - this is a stupid question - I'm scared of hospitals I try not to look ill so they will send me home of course I wanted to go home!

I'm feeling abit stupid that it was just IBS but it is becoming stupid - I can't cope with doing things between my stomach, back adn pelvis and now I'm just getting skin infection and random rashes and just feeling ill all the time and I'm so tired all of the time and am having palpatations - heart feels like its in my throat fluttering.

Alaric thinks I have 'real' illnesses worse by becoming stressed and trying to do too much - I find I don't really care whats cuasing it I just want to stop it and get my life back. And on top of that I've screwed up my course again and I'd done the work for the presintation as well.

I suppose I'll just have to see what the Drs say now :/

What’s neat about elegant languages (by alaric)

Most people who like to use "unusual" non-mainstream language have to have a motivation for doing so. After all, there are reasons not to - a smaller user community, although that can be a good thing, means less libraries, less support for more unusual platforms, and less likelihood of your programming in that language ever earning you money.

When asked, most will say that they find programming in their chosen language easier, but it can be hard to explain why.

However, in a discussion in IRC recently, I think I may have captured part of it:

• alaricsp: I do a lot of programming in various languages, and I tend to find that the amount of coolness I can do per line in Scheme is higher, and I get less bugs
• alaricsp: As in, I decide to do something complex, sit down and write a hundred lines of scheme, try to run it and get lots of syntax errors due to typos, fix those, then it's semantically bug free about 75% of the time; and in the remaining 25% there's usually just one simple bug (last one was due to me getting confused with some boolean algebra over lists, doing an any? instead of an every? or something like that)
• alaricsp: I start in implementation space and build up in thin layers to get to problem space
• alaricsp: Cheap easy-to-use abstraction means it's cost-effective to have lots of thin layers
• alaricsp: And thin layers are easier to think about, so less buggy

To which somebody else followed up:

• sjamaan: Aye
• sjamaan: I find the barrier to creating an abstraction in OO languages to be very high, for example
• sjamaan: I actually sigh everytime I have to create a new class file!
• sjamaan: Whereas I don't even think about creating a lambda
• sjamaan: I just do it