Kinect-ing the world

This post is intended solely for people who happen to chance upon the blog looking for a solution to the US vs India XBox adapter solution.

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On my last rip to the US, the only shopping I did was getting a XBox 360 with Kinect bundle. Since this was my first video game purchase since the old Nintendo-consoles-of-the-90s (the kinds that had Tetris and Mario and Contra!), I was pretty excited!
Also, the prospect of being able to control the game without a controller was kind of futuristic!

Now, after I bought the game, I realised a potential problem. The game was bought in US, but was intended for use in India. Since the voltage used in both countries is different, ie: 220 volts in India while 110 in the US; this needed a solution.
One option was a step down transformer. But reading up and researching a bit on the internets, I was pretty sure that a transformer was a bad idea and would blow up pretty soon!

Now during my search for the perfect solution, I came across this blog ! According to this, if you contacted Microsoft and told them your problem, they would send you an adapter free of charge.
Hah! Free adapter! High hopes, I thought!
But then, there was no harm in taking a chance!

So I got my brother to note down the registration number and the invoice number of the Xbox and contact Microsoft support on their toll free India number -- 1-800-102-1100.
And voila! The next day my brother tells me that they have responded to his problem and are sending in an adapter and cord FREE OF CHARGE! This was apparently a 'goodwill gesture' on part of Microsoft.

Sure enough, they wrote down my home address and sent the cords in! We got it on the 12th day of dispatch!*

We did not have to pay ANYTHING for the whole deal-- neither for the cords nor the shipping charges.

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Overall, I feel the Microsoft support was fantastic in responding to our problems! Even while they had shipped the cord, my brother (like an immature kid) would call them up every other day to find out the whereabouts of the cord. While they could not trace the cord, they were pretty nice, and made all efforts to let us know the exact date by which we would receive it!

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*Also, while we waited ten days for the adapter, we tried all sorts of jugaad measures, but unfortunately none of them worked. We tried a step down transformer, a friend's XBox adapter, a regular power plug without voltage conversion, just looking at the gaming system for hours, making trips to the courier shop! (We just could not buy a new original cord since it was not available in my city)
I do think we blew up the original adapter in the process too!

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All said and done, now that I've played it. The Kinect is FANTASTIC! Love the technology! :)

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I've written down this post just to try and make the solution to this issue more visible on the internetz. During my searches for a proper solution, the above-mentioned blog was the only place where I could find this solution.
So now that I have tried and tested the solution, why not share it with more poor souls who might be looking to find a voltage solution for their US-bought-but-to-be-used-in-India XBox 360.

You-Know-What

Okay, the topic of the post might sound misleading to most, but those who are aware of it, might agree.

I am taking about the San Francisco Match (or the SF Match, as we call it affectionately). There seems to be a surprising lack of resources for more information about this match and how it works. I have yet to see another website besides the official site (which is quite informative for a beginner) that has some information on the system.

First things first, this is NOT a match for match in California! In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with location whatsoever. A lot of people ask about whether you need a SSN or PTAL for this match. And the answer is NO.

This is just the same as the NRMP/ERAS match, except for the fact that its for certain fixed sub-specialties, and takes place earlier in the year.
Now since I matched for Child Neurology, that is what I'll talk about (even though the SF match also caters to other sub-specialties like NDD, Ophthalmology, Plastic Surgery etc)

Three Years of Child Neuro include one year of Adult.

What is Child Neurology and why am I talking about  it here?
Well to answer the latter first. I MATCHED! And want to spread the love! (Especially for IMGs who don't have a med school advisor, and rely on seniors and forums for all information!)

To answer the former, read on..

When can you get into it?
WHENEVER YOU WANT! (..Well almost!) There are a couple of separate pathways to get into Pedi Neuro. To make sure I don't give a wrong message, let me quote from the website:

"Prerequisite Training: The training can be initiated following one of three options:
(1) 2 years of residency training in pediatrics in the United States or Canada;  

(2) one PG-1 year (as described in the Program Requirements for Residency Education in Neurology**) and 1 year of residency training in pediatrics; or 

(3) 1 year of pediatrics plus 1 year of basic neuroscience training.

The program director must review and determine the acceptability of these initial two years of training."

** (Excerpt from the Neurology RRC Program Requirements (ACGME): 'Those that provide 4 years of residency training, the first year of which training (accredited in the United States or Canada) must include a broad clinical experience in general internal medicine. This year must include at least one of the following: (a) 8 months in internal medicine with primary responsibility in patient care or (b) 6 months in internal medicine with primary responsibility in patient care and a period of at least 2 months total time in pediatrics or emergency medicine or both. Residents must spend no more than 2 months in neurology during this year.'  

I am taking the first pathway, by entering Child Neurology as PGY-3 in 2013. (Does that clear it up a little?)

So, wait, its a Residency after residency, or a Fellowship ..or what? Huh?

Child Neurology, while technically is a fellowship level thing since you do it after a Peds Residency; it is considered a Residency by the Board. So basically, if you do Peds  then Child Neurology-- and end up taking both Boards-- you can be 'Double Board Certified' with 'Certification in Pediatrics' and 'Certification in Neurology with Special interest in Child Neurology'.
The Neurology Certification means you can practice adult neurology too (since you do have to spend one-third of your Child Neurology Residency in the Adult Year)
Then there's the opportunity to pursue a fellowship, in one of the many fields of interest like Epileptology, Neuromuscular disorders, Sleep medicine etc.


The Timeline:
Its an early match.
How early? Well, the process of submission of documents starts in June (as opposed to September, for ERAS).
- You mostly have interviews ranging from late-October and should finish by late-December (though I met someone who was finishing in mid-Jan, so that's how far it can go!)
- Then you submit the rank list by mid-Jan.
- And Match Day is usually in the last week of Jan. (It was January 27th this year!)


How many programs? 
There are not as many programs for Child Neurology as are for Pediatrics (doh!!). There are about 70 odd programs (--they give you the comprehensive list once you register for the match) . I applied to twenty five programs, and received interviews from thirteen places.

Most of the programs via the SF Match are for the three year Child Neurology i.e. beginning as a PGY-3. But programs prefer if their residents do both- Peds as well as Peds Neuro-- from their place, so they *usually* try to co-ordinate with the Peds Department. This means while they might try to interview you for Pediatrics as well (if you apply there via ERAS), it is NOT an obligation.
Now some places like Cleveland Clinic, Rainbow Babies etc have a dedicated five year track. Which means, if you get in the Child Neurology part of the track, you mostly get in for Pediatrics as well (again, through NRMP!)


Match Data:
While people might think that the competition is less in Pedi Neuro, let me assure you-- its a MYTH! There are about 1-3 spots per year per program. So the ratio for candidates per spot boils down to the same thing. Here is a link to last year's match data from the SF Match. So last year 69% IMGs matched, which is more than the average NRMP match percent, but definitely involves more of a commitment!

I know some IMGs might be tempted to apply just for the heck of it.

If that is your plan, then DON'T!

Here's a scenario:
Assuming, you apply for about 30 Child Neuro programs and a hundred-ish Peds programs. (I did.. since I wasn't sure I would be able to make it in Pedi Neuro this year). If you end up getting interviews in Pedi Neuro, then quite possibly your credentials are good enough and therefore you will get interviews for 'just-Pediatrics' as well.
Now, if you aren't sure if you want to go for Peds Neuro, then you might be in a fix since the match date is earlier. Your rank list is divided between the programs that invited you for both Peds/CN and the ones that have only Peds!
You might end up going to a specialty you aren't sure about (Pedi/Neuro) without giving a specialty you might love (eg Peds or IM) a chance!
[Basically what I'm trying to say is, applying to Peds Neuro is not like applying to say Family Med or Peds as a back up that I've seen a lot of Internal Medicine people do! Its a different ball game altogether]

Apply to the field only if you LOVE it! Since if more than just five years of your life.

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I tried to cover everything that sporadically kept coming up in my head. More questions are welcome. I'll try to write another post if I have some common queries, or answer questions in comments.

Good luck!
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PS: Hugs to one absolutely fantastic CN intern I met during my away rotations. She patiently helped me out a lot through the whole process, when I didn't know squat about You-Know-What! Thanks, S. x

World's Simplest Cake

I’m not much of a cook.

Doesn't look very tempting in this picture.
But its totally Yummy! ;-)

There are only a couple of things that I can work up in the kitchen- Chai, instant popcorn, Maggi and this surprisingly delicious cake brownie thing which I like to call the “World’s Simplest Cake”

Now this cake is one of the simplest desserts that you can make! Plus most of the ingredients are easily available.

One of my best friends taught me the trick, and since then I’ve taught this cake to lots of people, and believe me they all loved it. Try it out:

[Writing down exactly from the recipe that my friend wrote for me:] 

Ingredients:

1 cup Maida (Refined flour)

½ cup cooking oil

1 cup curd (preferably thick in consistency)

1 cup grated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon Baking soda/Eno

½ cup Cocoa powder (the unsweetened Cadbury kind)

¼ teaspoon Coffee ( *very very little*)

Process:

1. Mix all ingredients. It will become a semi solid paste. Add a little milk to make it slightly liquid.

2. Pour into microwave safe container.

3. Microwave for 7 minutes.

4. Remove and let it stay in a cool dark place for about 15-20 minutes.

5. Remove from container. Serve warm, with vanilla ice-cream.

(This post was written basically to keep an online record of the ingredients needed, since I always mess up the proportions. But if you do happen to try it out, leave experience in comments!)

PS: This post reminds me of OB Cookie’s blog. It makes a pretty interesting plus useful read. With every post she manages to write a post, *and* throw in a delicious recipe.

PPS: My third bit for Medic Music is done (..actually, it has been done for a while now) but my microphone’s busted now. So unless everyone likes a drone with their music- it’ll have to wait till I have enough money to get a new mic.

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!

:)