Toyota's been testing this little coupe in Germany; Nurburgring, to be precise. Judging by the size and location of the air intakes, the car looks like its a MR (mid-engine, rear drive) setup. Alas, hopes and dreams are all I have, and it will be interesting if the car ever makes a sales debut. If it does though, and if the price is right, I may just have to break a piggy bank or two...

It shure has a purdy shape (click on the picture to see what I mean)...

Anyway, just a pointless rambling for today, as I am post-call yet again.

Very minor update today. Site history and portfolio sections have been merged, with a couple of additions.

I have been eating dried fruit and nuts all day long. I am not sure if this is healthy or unhealthy. I guess I will find out tomorrow.

Portfolio - go to section

- updated and merged with site history

Sweet sexy PHP and CSS, you are so smart and efficient. If you were both women, I would marry one or preferably both of you and live happily ever after, until the next new sexy internet programming tools come out that is.

At first, the red-black-grey color scheme that this website wore had a modern, dark, and moderately metro-sexual thrust to it. However, like all trendy and fashionable things, what at first appears arousing, eventually becomes boring and unexciting. Ladies, it is like the day you realize your boyfriend jiggles more than you do. Or gentleman, it is like the day you realize that your girlfriend grows a fuller beard than you do.

As a friend of mine once said, "beauty fades, but stupid is forever". Thus, the good looks of the old color scheme did not withstand the test of time, and all that was left were the ramblings of a crazed idiot.

The consumer whore that I am, I have decided to update the appearance of my website per current trends. All of the filth, crap, and poop that I use as an excuse for content is the same of course. New however, is that clear-white-plastic look that adorns the Mac, I-Pod, and upcoming Nintendo Wii. Yes my friends, Bryan Har is a lemming. Of course, I added a hint of blue for good measure, you know, just to try to be cool.

Thus back to PHP and CSS, once again, since they are so wonderful, all I need to do is change a few lines of code in one file and I get the change the look of my entire website.

In other news, the list of expensive toys that I want to buy continues to accumulate. Here is but a handful of them, starting from what I actually might end up buying:

Final Fantasy XII
Canon SD900
Samsung 20inch LCD monitors for dual display setup
My first laptop computer (Macbook?)
Nintendo Wii
Sony Playstation 3
Lotus Exige

Anyway, I should stop, the tangential thinking is taking over again.

Photos / Med Show 2005 (Revised Gallery)- go to section

- 10 New Photos

A couple of days ago, I had written a very long blog entry. It was written late at night, and I decided to wait until the next day to upload it. In the end, I decided the content of the entry was a bit too personal and a bit too introspective to post on the internet. Thus, it probably will never see life on the internet.

Since I am post call tonight, I am having difficulties even thinking, let alone writing anything of interest. So instead, you get something a little more random photo update of photos from 2005.

Photos / Med Show 2005 (Revised Gallery)- go to section

- 40 New Photos

Hello everybody.

The two month experience of the intensive care unit continues tomorrow, whilst I am on call this weekend. Once again the code pager shall be mine in the middle of the night, and once again I get to dash off feeling important every time there's a cardiac arrest called overhead. It is really quite thrilling, running off with a pocket full of pre-medicated syringes, and mentally reviewing pearls of wisdom that my more senior colleagues have passed on.

On a side note, to any of my medical student or resident friends planning on doing a rotation where they are part of an arrest team, stay in shape. I have lost track of the number of times I run to a code and see other team members short of breath and looking like they need to be resuscitated. Easy for me to say though, as running is one of my hobbies. Say if getting to an arrest involved singing, weight lifting, or dancing, I would be in serious trouble..

Admittedly I have been becoming a little cockier these days. Patient care has gone relatively predictably, I have had the blessing of having done a ton of procedures, and God has kept all the situations that have had the potential for catastrophe, controlled like a game of chess. I also have not gotten fat and bald from stress like I thought I would. I have also starting to take on attending physicians at grand rounds. Though I am no where near as smart or experienced as the consultants, all of the good senior residents get to the stage where they debate with the consultants. I cannot help but to feel like a nerdy Asian Tiger Woods in scrubs at times. This is something that I need to try to keep in check for sure. The higher the climb up, the farther down the potential fall.

Alas, while life at work has been going well, I have no life outside of work. So hence, I will be glad once this rotation is done. I will try to have a more substantial update with the next blog entry. Sweet November I await thee.

Everyone leads a busy life.

The manner of eventfulness is different for each person. However, I think most of us can agree that by keeping busy, a number of things happen. We learn more. The time passes faster. We become more experienced and confident.

My first month on the intensive care unit is over. The second one is just beginning. My most recent weeknight on call, I did four central lines (all in different anatomical locations), three arterial lines, three intubations, a lumbar puncture, a chest tube, a large volume paracentesis, cardioverted two patients, and ran one cardiac arrest without a wink of sleep. This is in addition to all the other badness that happens on ICU call. With constant prayer, it all seemed so simple and easy. THANK GOD, all of procedures were successful, no complications occured, and nobody died that night. I admit that I constantly pray while on call. I pray for wisdom, calm-nerves, and steady hands. Maybe it is the sleep deprivation combined with the adrenaline rush, but every time, I can feel God guiding my hands through. Or sometimes He'll remind me of a little tip or trick that makes the procedure safer and easier. The day after, I even stayed late to teach noon rounds, which thankfully went off without a hitch.

I am really enjoying my time on this service; despite the tired and hazy life (or lack thereof) I have after returning home.

Research has shown that operator experience and complication rates are inversely related to each other. Really though, it makes sense, as the old adage goes, "practice makes perfect". With every procedure, I try to complete it in less time, more refined technique, and adding subtle nuances I adapt from others. I still have a lot of fine-tuning that I am aiming for of course. I am never satisfied though, as there is always room for improvement and someone will always set a higher benchmark.

Never stop striving, never stop praying.