Medic Music

** Scroll downnnnn for embedded video**

Hey all,

This is my first effort at recording and podcasting.

I'm one of those people who can remember and recall lyrics to songs very easily. So, I always wanted to write some medical knowledge into popular sounds and hum it along.

Today was the day when I finally did it.

The song used is "Love Song" by Right Said Fred, and has been used since it was the song playing while I started doing this.

So basically what we have here is something that might sound like a hybrid between music bySubstance P (-I am a huge fan of his) and those roadside bhajans that you hear to the sound of popular Bollywood numbers (Yes, I do find them hilarious and easy to remember!).

There's no music in the background, because, well I don't play any instrument that well. And the vocals.. ermmm... lets just say we're here for learning. okay? ;)

I know there's a lot to improve on, but like I said in my previous posts, I'm running short on time these days. This is just a beginning and I was excited to share.

Criticism, suggestions and feedback would be appreciated.

:)

PS: Remember it is very very amateurish and has been done in about an hour! Next time the song will be more carefully chosen and more research will go into the topic.

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Post completion update: So, I could not figure out how to podcast. So just embedding it. Also, heard it for the first time and okay, sounds crappy. So if you want, you can just learn the lyrics instead of listening to the audio. I won't mind.

Post post completion update: The song's link is actually embedded into the title of the post. Or here . Next time I'll try to get it to stream somehow. (Tips on how to do this would also be appreciated)




**Scrap the post post completion update. Here's the latest. Embedded it! :D **

Image from here.

:X

[Wow.. look at me I'm on a roll here. Second post in one week!]

I was just writing some notes and noticed that I have a short-hand lingo of my own that just a few can understand (heck.. sometimes even I can't understand it! ) and I tend to shorten things by suffixing them with the letter "x" a lot!

The theme started off with the obvious "Rx" - which actually doesn't even have an 'x'. It is supposed to be a diagonal line cutting through the 'R'. Rx in modern day means prescription. It comes from the Latin verb recipe or recipere, which means 'to take'.

So, well, using Rx for Treatment was given. But thus originated a spew of other short forms, which if taken into the English Dictionary would bring down the score for the 'X' tile in scrabble to a mere two or three points!

Here goes the list in alphabetical order:

Bx - Biopsy

Cx- Complication(s)

Dx- Diagnosis

DDx- Differential Diagnosis

Ex- Exercise (Yes, I still use Eg. for example)

F(x)- Function (This has been used for 'function' ever since we were taught functions in Maths)

Hx- History/ History of

Ix- Investigation

Mx- Management

Ox- For oximetry in Pulse ox

Rx- ...well...

Sx- Symptom

Tx-(sometimes treatment)

Well, that's the list for now.. Thirteen out of twenty six. Not bad. But not as many as I thought either. (Mental note- suffix more letters with an 'x')

Feel free to add more if you have any.

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I know this was kind of pointless, but the thought amused me (Yes, it takes very little to amuse me these days. Blame it on the alleged 24*7 studying!)

And while I have to prepare for this exam, I absolutely *had* to scribble my thoughts before I could move on to anything else more productive!

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PS: iPhone wali post- Part two should come up next (Hopefully after the exam)

Apps For The iPhone -My Recs

- This post is meant only for iPhone/iTouch users. You have been warned.

- Also, if you expect to see some extensive reviews and discussions, then this is not the place. I'm just writing this post to list some of my fav apps, and my opinion.

I am fifteen days away from another dreaded exam, but am sitting here writing a blogpost. Why? Because try as I might, I 'm unable to concentrate on studying right now. Might as well use this time to write this post that I intended to write ever since iOS4 was launched.

Now that we have the options for folders on the iPhone, I've downloaded a bunch of apps that I did not have earlier and am thoroughly enjoying them.

So in this post, I'll just list some of my fav apps and you can try them out (if ye haven't already) Most of these are free! :D

Here goes:

SOCIAL:

Twitter for iPhone: If you're a

Twitter buff like I am, then this is the *ultimate* application. Beats others like Tweetdeck, Echofon, Twitterific hands down! Supports multiple accounts, is iOS4 compatible (which basically means you can mutitask on it-- yay!) and has a cool interface. The only thing it probably lacks is push notifications.

Facebook and Skype: Well, if you use these two on the computer, then what's stopping you from using them on the iPhone? Skype makes it really easy to make PC-PC calls over wi-fi, which is one thing I love about it.

The best thing I like about the facebook app is its push notifications.

Y!Messenger: I'm a major Y! lover, so this app has been pretty handy for staying connected. Again, this one has push notifications too :D

In The Mood: A random app to broadcast your current song to Twitter or Blip fm. I like it for its simplicity.

Nimbuzz: Has a bunch of social sites in one, but I mainly use it to access GTalk. (Also on the same lines is, Fring )

FourSquare: Well if you *have* to broadcast where you are, go ahead download this too. (I can't use this right now, since my phone refuses to locate me without a sim! :P)

MEDICINE:

Medscape: Have a couple of medical apps on the phone, but I love this one right now.

Let me take a moment to explain why:

I'm using my phone without a sim these days. So the only internet access I can get is over wifi. Now most of the places like the library or my college don't have internet access.

Here's where Medscape has become a saviour. It has an option where you can download and get offline access to all articles. So, thanks to this app, I have a personal reference guide wherever I am- internet or no internet! :)

Epocrates: The holy grail of medical reference, this! Right now I have only the free version, but will purchase the full version later when I actually use my phone with its sim and over *3G*. Till then the free version stays, which again is pretty useful at times.

MedCalc: My personal favourite med app this is! It is a must must have! Download it and you'll see. If you're in practice, you'll feeling like giving your phone a big hug when you use this app. Trust me.

NEJM App: Released just a short while ago, this app has the best interface one could ask for! And its free (for the timebeing atleast) I love doing the image quizzes on this one. Go ahead enjoy NEJM on your phone while its still there.

Eye handbook: While we are on the topic of med apps, let me just fill you in with this one. This is essentially meant for ophthalmologists, but has a couple of nifty uses. The 'cartoon movie' option has helped me a couple of times in engaging kids and assessing their neurological status. Pretty useful that way :)

Other med apps: DxSaurus, Eponyms, Growth Charts, QxCalculate

PRODUCTIVITY:

UYH Gold: This is one of the very few apps that I purchased from the app store. I love this one since it allows you to actually write with your finger. This makes making lists much simpler than typing it out in notes. So all my random lists go in this one :) It also has a free version that you can check out. Its called UYH To Do, I think.

Dropbox: If you use it on the computer, then get it for your iPhone too! If you don't use it on the computer, get it! It basically provides virtual space to you where you can drop files, and later access them from anywhere. Simple 'nuff?

Team Viewer: Again would say the same thing as for Dropbox, get it! Get it on the computer as well as iPhone, and get remote access to your desktop! I love to reboot my computer from the iPhone (even though I'm sitting in the same room :P)

Converter+ : This app it the *ultimate* conversion app! Has everything from mass to currency to even mortgage value. Another cool thing is the 'tip calculator' :D Plus, the icon looks similar to the new Calculator app, so that adds some face value.

Moment Diary: I'm just sad that I didn't have the iPhone and this app when I started college. I could have recorded all the hilarity and fun times in this single app!

This is like a personal diary where you can put text snippets (140 character limit), photos, videos.. and it'll save it with date and time. Go ahead, make your own media diary. (I've already started! :D)

Evernote: Oops, how did I forget Evernote! The baap of all productivity apps this is!

Stick it notes: This is another one where you can make To Do notes and stick them as your lock screen wallpaper. I don't like the interface much, since it takes a lot of time to make notes and stick them as wallpapers, but its useful when you have a zillion important things to do and a short time to do them!

UTILITY:

Accuweather: The best app for weather updates! This one was a huge friend when I had to walk to the hospital earlier this year! (Dear Ritu, Remember the chattris :D)

Dictionary: An *offline* dictionary. That's the best part! :D

On this day: Heh! It just shows the events that marked the date in history. I happen to enjoy random stuff like this. I'm just weird like that :D

Dishant Radio: The ultimate Bollywood radio! It streams all the new songs and you can search for the randomest old ones. Of course, I haven't been able to stream it on the slow internet connection that I have (.. Yes its broadband :/)

Hutke Radio: Another bollywood radio that is hutke. It streams songs by your mood.

Doodle Buddy: One of my personal favs. Just go along and doodle :) (iDoodle2lite is another one)

FingerCut: Only for the creepiness my friend, only for the creepiness! It has a saw that *cuts* your finger. :/

Virtuoso: A virtual piano :)

Sleep Cycle: Oops! Almost forgot this one! This is one of those alarm clock apps that wake you up in the REM phase of sleep based on your body activity. I think it works, but haven't had a chance to use it much yet. It has beautiful sounds though, that you'd love to wake up to. Oh and also, it's a paid app.

Okay, that's it for now.

I'll continue in the next post with Photography and Games apps that I like. That will be another long post!

:)

Rihints

Do you have any of those little quirks that you never seem to get rid of?

One of mine is 'Rihints'

As a kid, once I was down with a nasty cold.

[If you've ever had a really bad cold (-which you probably have-duh!), then you might remember that one of the most infuriating things about this common-cold, is that constant lacrimation occurring unilaterally.]

So then, I asked my dad for some medicine for those tears. He being doctor, gave me a cold medicine that was meant to 'Combat Rhinitis'.

Now as a kid of about ten years, I read it as 'rihints' ...(Note: R-I-H-I-N-T-S) and decided that it was a term used for those tears running down my face. (Maybe it was because of the blurry vision due to the "rihints"??)

..And rihints they have been ever since.

One good thing happened because of my silly error of reading. I got a term to describe that incessant lacrimation when you have a common-cold.

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Okay that was essentially the most useless story ever.

But what the heck, I wanted to post a new story for the pretty green template, and just decided to go on with whatever sprung to mind.

Hopefully some better stuff to come in the near future.