Gong Xi fa cai, !

Since Chinese New Year is only days away, I thought I'd begin with the traditional greeting for the occasion. If you're like me and wonder how to say that, it's pronounced gong-zee-fah-tsai and means something like "I hope you get rich". Do you celebrate Chinese New Year? If you do or don't, I always love to know what you're getting up to, so email me!

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In this week's email...

• Week in the Life - read on the blog
• Monthly wallpapers - Jan 2022 Wallpapers
• Creative Update - If you chose only one health tracking device, this should be it
• Gadgets & Tech - Anker USB-C Hub
• Read - Robot performs surgery without human intervention
• Watch - Spinlaunch (~10min)
• Quote - "Jack of all trades is a master none, though oftentimes better than master of one"

Week in the life

While it's definitely not ideal for a lot of patients who have been waiting months/years for their surgeries, the current ban on non-urgent surgery has meant that I've had so many more half days at work! Though we've been rostered to help out at other parts of the hospital, it's been a lowering of my personal work load, which I'm very thankful for.

I read somewhere recently that in the FIRE movement, where people try to reach early retirement, those that have "retired" chose to actually continue to work in some form ie. most don't actually want to retire, but maybe change jobs or work part time. If the last week has shown me anything, I think that's true! I've managed to get though a few lessons of coding, had a more regular exercise schedule and generally felt much more relaxed. This weeks Medium article is on my biometric tracker and even the data there was showing signs of better rest (even better than taking a week off and just sitting at home!). Maybe I need to adjust my balance even more?

Last week, I was quite nostalgic from CareFlight days. This week, somehow, my old primary school friends whom I haven't seen in nearly 3 decades found each other and started a group chat. What's notable is that we went to school in a third world country at a time where the internet didn't exist and I moved to a different continent! It's gotta be one of the great things about modernity that even under such unlikely circumstances, it's so much easier to connect.

One of the few photos of my friends from back then. Im t'he one in the yellow/orange shirt. Another week of nostalgia again for me, but lets continue over on the new blog...

Creative update

If you chose only one health tracking device, this should be it...

I'm still experimenting with writing over on Medium. I thought rather than try and write one of the ""listicles" that seem so popular, I'd rather write something a bit more in-depth.

This is my look as to why I was a dabbler and now am routinely checking some of my biometric data (and how it's actually been useful!).

Gadgets & Tech

Anker USB-C Hub

By now, you must've realised that I am loving the fact that more and more devices are switching over to USB-C so that all charging/transferring/connecting can be done with one cable.

However, since we're in the awkward point where more and more things are in USB-C but some still use USB-A, I had to bite the bullet and go buy a dongle. It allows you to read your media, plug in 2 older style USB-A and get video out. There are more expensive ones that allow you to charge as well through them, but this should be the ideal one for most people with the same problem.

• Amazing Marvin - I've gone through a whole bunch of to-do apps and have settled on this one for 2022. It's super flexible and extensible for almost all needs.
• Floately levitating planters - For people who think "plants, but make it tech", this is my favourite home decor for the last 2-3 years.

Read

Robot performs surgery without human intervention

The advances in robotic surgery would naturally lead themselves to automated operations but I didn't expect that to happen so soon!

This was a demonstration on a pig having a simulated intestinal surgery but it's an impressive feat none the less!

Book I'm currently reading...

• Range - about a third of the way through the book and I have to say, it's made me feel much more comfortable in my desire to bounce around and learn new things instead of getting deeper into rabbit holes.

Watch

Spinlaunch (~10min)

There seems to be new space companies popping up all over the place currently. SpinLaunch is another one but with an interesting twist.

Instead of firing rockets off into space with small payloads, it hopes to be much more efficient but "spinning" the object to a high velocity and "shooting" it up before the rockets need to do the their thing. If it works, space ports may look very different indeed

Quote I'm pondering

“Jack of all trades is a master none, though oftentimes better than master of one”

– Unknown

I had seen this floating around across the internet as a the "full" quote of "jack of all trades" but turns out it's a modern addition that was never seen until recently.

That said, especially while I'm reading Range, this adaptation is becoming more accurate for me personally as times go on. Afterall, while I'm a medical specialist, my roles in life aren't relegated to just that and I've found that while clinical practice gets more advanced, the day to day "admin" of medical work is still as labourious as ever, even though there have been tech solutions for decades!

Outside of work, in my family, if anything breaks, I'm usually the "tech support" person, even if it's not directly tech related. In the last few months, I had to solve a plumping problem, put together random gym equipment and install door locks for my parents who keep "tidying up" tools (aka putting them where they can't be found). Have to say, trying to find unusual ways of getting things done with limited equipment was quite fun!

That's it for another week ! Hope you're enjoying the rest of the weekend. As always, I simply LOVE hearing from you and your opinions. Feedback is always welcome!

Stay random!

- Raffy

PS - What was your favourite part of the email this week? Let me know with 1 click! I read the survey every week (& keep tweaking things with your feedback!)

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