All posts by ravenguild08

Anesthesia Impressions

It took just one case for me to know: anesthesiology is a pretty cool job, and there’s no way I’ll do it. Their job, when unperturbed, is a routine of vials, syringes, lines, tubes, and making sure a digital control station doesn’t freak out. It’s delicate and complex, but it’s also a relatively unstimulating exercise of parameter control. Their job, when perturbed, is supremely stressful, situations in which they must act within seconds or permanently brain damage or kill someone. Neither of these situations sounds remotely fun to me. Continue reading Anesthesia Impressions

The Hospital Oracles

There were oracles in China around 1200 BC who could see the future in ox bones and turtle shells. They would inscribe them with characters, anoint them with blood, heat them up until they shattered, and “read” the fracture patterns to divinate future events. Royals would ask about rainfall, about warfare, about their own health. There were oracles everywhere in the ancient world; in Greece, Africa, and America, people sought the advice of those mystics who could see things they couldn’t. Continue reading The Hospital Oracles

On Half Marathons and Ghosts #2

There are ghosts in Mario Kart. In Time Trial mode, where you race for personal best times on an empty track, a faint translucent ghost of your kart appears alongside you, echoing your previous best run. If you’re driving on pace with your ghost, the two of you, avatar and apparition, will weave down the track alongside each other. Navigate a tricky turn more smoothly than before and you dart ahead, but make a blunder and your ghost will glide off mercilessly into the distance. Compared to what Mario Kart is typically – a mass of 12 racers, bananas littered all over, and freaking blue shells – there’s a pure simplicity in driving alone on an empty track against your ghost. There’s no one to race but yourself. Continue reading On Half Marathons and Ghosts #2

Laparoscopic Magikarp

For the past month, I have mostly played Pokémon GO standing still in the same place: in the operating room hallway during spare minutes between surgeries while I wait for patients to arrive. The ORs are right on the East River, which means all day (and I mean all day) I only get to catch water Pokémon, mostly Magikarps that are flopping around. This is pretty ironic on many levels, but it also got me thinking. Continue reading Laparoscopic Magikarp