• Size: Average adult length is between 3 and 4 ft, though females tend to grow bigger, and can get to 5ft or more.  It’s hard to judge age purely by size, because every ball python; eats, moves around, and is affected by their environment differently. Also it can depend upon the size of their parents.
• Food: Ball pythons can eat live, killed to frozen-thawed mice and rats,. Some owners mix between the options to keep their python interested in eating. But it’s good to stick to a routine when they’re young, this can affect their adult life. Pinkie mice are too small for my python, even though he is small also, he scoffs down mice of the next size up, the little white ones. The prey should be the same size or fractionally larger than the thickest part of the snake’s body diameter.
• Feeding: Juvenile ball pythons only need one mouse every week, and as they grow up they require even less, a bigger mouse or rat every 2 weeks. At 85p per week, they’re cheap eaters. As an adult they can go a year and a half of fasting, or during winter/shedding/breeding, this is because they are notoriously fussy eaters. One ball python will scoff a mouse every 7-10 days, while another, raised in the same way, can refuse food for months. It’s not always a bad sign, but could indicate an illness, parasite or too much stress from over-handling. Always take your snake to the vet for tests if they continue to refuse food, show dramatic weight loss, their skin becomes saggy, or they’re failing to shed. You’d notice many differences in your snake, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
• Care: Ball pythons live in Vivarium-type enclosures, or can be housed in plastic tubs. I use a heat mat beneath the floor of the vivarium, as they require warmth and a bit of humidity, and absorb heat through their belly. Never use heat rocks, they can kill snakes, the heat mat isn’t dangerous so long as the temperature is correct (75 – 92 Fahrenheit, that being minimum and maximum), and it’s below the floor and aspen/beech bedding. The heat mat covers one side of the tank, so on the other side it’s the ‘cool area’ where he can slither to have water and cool down. They quite like enclosed spaces, as this makes them feel safe. Although my python has an enclosure that is currently too large for him, he feels safe there because it’s filled with places he can shelter, hide, and crawl around. From day one he’s been eagerly slithering around exploring, he doesn’t stay cooped up in his coconut shell for long, sometimes even hanging out in two shelters at once…

•  Gaining their trust: After bringing your baby ball python home he needs at least a couple of days to adapt to his or her  new environment, he just needs warmth, clean water (change every other day), food if he wasn’t fed at the shop/breeder’s house. Don’t handle a python at least 24 hours after they’ve eaten, and don’t irritate them whilst they’re shedding, they may scratch a bit using a wood bark enclosure, and can have some lukewarm water in their enclosure to bathe in, though not all the time as this can cause scale-rot. After you know these basic things, you’ll both get on fine. You can familiarise your snake with the idea of being picked up, by gently handling your snake for maybe 5 minutes at a time, then gradually increase the time together, and try not to touch his head or pick him up from a head-on angle. As ball pythons grow older they begin to trust you, and are accustomed to human contact. Always make sure you have clean hands, young pythons in particular are susceptible to germs, parasites, sickness and dust mites (also make sure they have a clean home).
• Tips: You could try putting an item of your clothing in the enclosure so that your scent becomes familiar to the snake. But when feeding your snake, try not to let it associate your scent with food, so use forceps when dangling the mouse/rat into its home or feeding area, and give him/her some privacy and alone time, they need it as much as we do. Don’t spend loads on rip-off reptile vivarium equipment, half a coconut with a hole for an entrance makes a great hide, a clean kitchen roll tube makes a great tunnel to play and hide in, and a desert bowl or sturdy bowl of any kind that won’t spill easily can make a perfect water bowl. Just be careful what wood you use, cedar and pine are definite no no’s, but aspen shavings and beech chips can be fine.

Courtesy of: http://tinyurl.com/3wqck2e

Having just gotten back from Orlando, Florida, where temperatures soared even among indecisive thunderstorms, I’m now craving an arctic adventure. One day, further on in my medical career, I’d love to work and help out at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, of which I’ve heard good things, how it challenges future doctors on their electives, and has a superb E.R department and team. I’d be happy to go there during the 24 hours of perpetual daylight in one season, or 24 hours of night that the local’s are accustomed to during their drastically contrasting summer and winter, because either would be exhilarating and challenging. I want to feel the crunch of untrodden snow under my boots, the bite of cold on my nose and cheeks, and appreciate stepping into the warmth of indoors after an adventurous day snapping pictures of the vast lakes and landscapes. I wonder what wildlife is there, and whether you’d need a guide to avoid dangerous creatures.

The two Venus Flytraps I bought from separate garden centres were both in pretty bad health, because the garden centres don’t usually know how to care for them properly. I rescued one from near the checkout, where a whole basket of them were left starved of flies and sunlight; it was actually eating itself, as you can see if you look closely above.

But since then it’s grown many new traps to replace the dying ones, and even divided into two separate flytraps. Below you can see the baby flytrap hiding amongst the bigger one, and it was catching its own prey long before the baby shoots from the main plant were grown enough to do that. Above is my second venus flytrap, growing a flower which most growers cut, because it takes energy away from the traps…but I let it do it’s natural thing.I separated the baby trap to make sure it had its own space, you have to be very careful when repotting; peat moss, soil with no chemicals, and perlite or sand work well. You shouldn’t repot very often as it’s a trauma to the plant, but because they were already in bad health from the shop, I figured no more harm could come to them. Below is the baby flytrap:

And here’s all three together, a happy Flytrap family:

They should never be watered from on top, instead about 2cm of rainwater should be added to their tray so that the roots and soil can absorb as much water as they need. Never give them bottled or tap water, the chemicals will eventually kill them. They quite like humidity, but instead of spending tones on a terrarium you can pick up a decent sized cake box from Poundland, burn a few holes into the top and sides (they need decent air circulation) and they’ll thrive in there! Most important is they need lots of direct sunlight, if the leaves go yellowish it means they aren’t getting enough, but if the leaves get brown patches it may mean that they aren’t used to that much yet, ease them into their new environment.

Because of how moist the soil will be, and the amount of insects that will be attracted to them….even through the cakebox (see below)…it does mean they’re at risk from pesky bugs that can pose a threat to them (I know, ironic!). To stop those bugs from eating their leaves, damaging their roots or generally stealing the goodness from the soil, I recommend: Provado Ultimate Bug Killer spray, because it gets the job done without harming your plant (obviously don’t spray too much though). There’s a similar product that deals with Fungus Control; you don’t want your plant to rot from how moist it is, or any mould from dead flies. That’s why sand and Perlite in the soil help it not to get too soggy.

Everyone cares for their traps differently, so there’s bound to be trap-breeders who don’t agree with my method, but this has worked wonders for mine. Good luck! And comment if you’ve any questions.

Image via CrunchBase

Facebook as Prosthesis by Ruth Noakes 

(snippet from from my dissertation when I was a student in London)

Facebook, the social networking website, was launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Chris Hughes and Dustin Moskovitz from their dormitory room at Harvard, and within just two years it had twelve million users, which increased exponentially in 2008 with sixty-seven million users, and over fourteen million photos are uploaded daily[i]. Social networks can be seen to give people some control over projecting perceptions of themselves, and affirming current ideas of what the self consists of; ‘online social networks free us, in some sense, from the requirements of “real world” circumstances and permit us to try out various self conceptions to find ones that fit with what we would like to be’[ii]. Concedingly, Waters claims that ‘for the posthuman, there is no autonomous self that is given, because the self can only be made’[iii]

As a result of my research methodologies I was able to gather up to date, and currently relevant information to aid my case study. Therefore I needed a current media and technology example to illustrate my findings, and decided that the most prominent case within my research thus far was Facebook, because it remains somewhat mysterious and ever changing. I deem that Facebook acts as an interface, which enables common ground for people from a wide range of age groups and social backgrounds, and having gathered primary information from my participant observation, it seemed logical that this area deserved more focus and could aid me in answering the initial research question; to what extent can technology be seen as an extension of the human body or mind. If Facebook can be deemed a form of prosthesis to the human, then perhaps the same can be applied to other technologies.

Using the perspective gathered from having my own Facebook account, this primary research and participatory element should grant an accurate and detailed view of the current uses of Facebook, and the extent to which people allow it to represent them. However, I shall use other contemporary examples of human and machine interactivity to demonstrate how the ‘prosthetic impulse’[iv] affects modern society as a whole as well as in terms of individual identity.

From the detached yet directly involved perspective of my Facebook page, I was able to see why members of the focus groups I conducted spoke of how addictive they found it, and why going without technology was often mostly difficut because of the inability to connect with friends on Facebook. The Facebook ‘news feed’ updates automatically and perpetually, filling with status updates posted by my ‘friends’, including what their current actions are, who they are with, or where they are, this can be seen as ‘contributing to the creation of a permanent present whose intense pace knows no tomorrow’[v], and relates to Heidegger’s ‘presencing’ of what is present[vi], because the constant bringing forth of information, regardless of its purpose, holds meaning, a pre-existing need to share. Virilio is concerned with this speed, and need for constant information and entertainment, and deems that the distorted ‘time span is destroying the rhythms of a society which has become more and more debased’[vii]. If society is thus debased and flattened by technology, this seems to contradict the act of extending or adding prosthesis to the human self; rather Virilio seems to hint at the destruction of life as we know it.

Figure 1, (Permission from Ruairi Glynn) ‘Dancers 2008’ Emergencia Exhibition, Itau Cultural, Sao Paulo Brazil 2008.

The relation between biological matter and immaterial thought and meaning, which Merleau-Ponty explores, emphasises that our actions are not merely for survival, but shift to a figurative meaning that ‘manifests’ through bodies ‘a core of new significance: this is true of motor habits such as dancing’[viii]. Using Merleau-Ponty’s perspective, I deduce that dancing could be described as a secondary action, unnecessary for survival but elaborated or extended from our inner thoughts as a means of perceiving the outer world. A contemporary example that illustrates this ‘new significance’ is Ruairi Glynn’s ‘Performative Ecology’ project ‘Dancers 2008’[ix], as shown above in Figure 1. The Dancers, or robots, are built to intuitively react to human facial expressions, dancing in accordance to the emotions they detect through facial recognition software. They have the power to learn new dance routines as well as teaching other Dancers the movements they found to be most successful in inciting response from the human crowd. The Dancers are granted a significant degree of autonomy and intuition, yet remain dependent upon human attention, and reactive to human emotions that they cannot ever feel themselves. Similarly, Facebook seems to grow in its autonomy, as it is programmed to intuitively detect a user’s preferences; I discovered that whatever you type is detected by Facebook, which then proceeds to place advertisements on the home page, related to your words. Facebook encourages you to click ‘like’ on brand pages, and asks you to engage in polls determining your response to certain products. Facebook institutionalises culture to an extent; marketing ploys tell us to invite more friends, to perpetuate the Facebook brand. Facebook is about profit, but beneath the material profit lays meaning, of which Merleau-Ponty and Heidegger would encourage the exploration.

Niedzviecki states that ‘from Facebook to WebCams to blogs to Reality TV we are actively involved in trading our privacy for community, shared meaning’[x]; this was also the concession I gained during the focus group methodology. On the most part the older age groups claimed to use Facebook for business reasons or nostalgia, for example, some claimed it was to reconnect with lost friends or family, and reminisce on the past, whereas the younger age groups all emphasised the uses of Facebook as being for plan making, current updates and learning what events were happening in the future.

Figure 2, Dancers 2008, courtesy of Ruairi Glynn.

What if technology has created a secondary or tertiary impulse, which I term as one that is not primary to survival, and has thus subverted our nature? During my participatory observation I noticed that mobile phones, such as the iPhone, encourage the use of Facebook through an application that is just one button click away, and introduced a new feature whereby you can ‘check-in’ to locations. Firsthand I observed, on the news feed, a person check-in at location tagged as their home, and also tagged was the person’s girlfriend. I was shocked that someone would go to the extent of revealing their home’s location on the Internet, but also including a link to the Facebook page of their girlfriend, and publicising such a seemingly private or intimate occasion. This would indeed support the notion of extending our sense of sharing, the Internet representing an interface where sharing too much matters less than it would if it were done face-to-face, and is exemplary of Niedzviecki’s term ‘overshare’. His book ‘The Peep Diaries’, describes our recently evolved ‘Peep Culture’, where we often interact more through machines than directly, essentially spy on others, and allow ourselves to be spied upon by ‘oversharing’ personal information via networking websites; ‘Apple released the iPhone 3G, and global capitalism teetered…yet that single ungainly word, overshare, may prove to be more significant’ for we ‘ushered in a new era: the Era of Peep Culture’[xi].

But perhaps the impulse to over-share is not one of prosthesis, and instead needs a new metaphor more befitting to its context. In ‘The Prosthetic Impulse’, Sobchack recognises Kurzman’s concern regarding the use of prosthesis as a metaphor in modern anthropology[xii]. Kurzman, who is an amputee deems that theorists situate an issue, then retroactively define it using prosthesis and artificial limbs in an attempt to expand ethnographic material, and emphasises that actually it is a reductive term when thus removed from context[xiii]. I am not entirely in agreement with this, because I think a word can be reconceptualised, granted new meaning or context, without having to change the word itself. Facebook certainly extends awareness in terms of current occurrences; as a participant observer I began to learn things about my ‘friends’ which I would not otherwise have known, or would ever before have had the desire to know. Perhaps Facebook is exemplary of the desire to transcend corporeality[xiv] in the paradoxical fashion Grosz demonstrated, and is powered by our desire to share and escape into voyeuristic digital interface. From a posthuman understanding, and the admission of dependency, and interactivity on the part of my focus group members, it seems likely that Facebook acts as a form of prosthesis, in that it offers functions the body could not attain alone.

NHS Reform.

Privatising the NHS is essentially saying “Let them eat cake!” In Marie Antoinette’s world, sure, let the patients eat cake when what they really need is quality healthcare.

I agree with assisted suicide; euthanasia is the kindest gift to offer someone who is in the most extreme circumstance, without any quality of life, and with great suffering. Zürich has voted similarly: click to see news story.

Social networking has become more than just social, it is used in Medical schools, some of which in the UK give out smart-phones to students so that they can carry digital textbooks. There are many pros, but I wonder about the cons; for example, will it deter students from being intuitive or self-sufficient if they rely upon a mobile device for the answers to a correct dosage, will it bias the diagnostic process?

Twitter ‘vital’ link to patients, say doctors in Japan: Click   

Lines between plastic surgery and beauty treatments are diminished, but what by? I believe it is the easier access to cosmetic surgeries and procedures which make them less taboo, more easily attainable and therefore more likely that someone will be inclined towards them (the sheep effect; everyone else is doing it so why not you?). Click here for details.

Obese pregnant women are being given Metformin, usually for diabetics, to reduce the risk of obesity in their babies.

Casualty fan saves baby’s life with skills learned from show:http://tinyurl.com/5ux23q4

Monkey HIV vaccine ‘effective’ I really hope this can give us some insight into a way to cure human HIV victims, and yes I say victims because no one chooses to have HIV/AIDs, however they contract it. I remain dubious, because many ‘cures’, or proposed ones, have been and gone. I’m just glad the research continues, and we’ve gotten so far with extending the lives of HIV victims, delaying full AIDs.

Doctors want a decision on the NHS, but the wrong choice could cause further disarray. Personally I am opposed to the NHS reform, but I wanted to hear the other side of the argument so I went to the Royal Society of Medicine debate; arguments for the reform revolved around increased efficiency, quality of products and care, as well as time management. However, I’m doubtful of that, increased corporate competition will commodify health, and prioritise profit over care.

How Superbugs attack; The research carried out at BMC Systems Biology discovered genes responsible for MRSA‘s grown resistance to the Methicillin antibiotic. As a type of Staphylococcus aureus, it is of interest to my upcoming lab project, where I will measure the rate of growth in bacterial resistance. A toxin taken from the skin of a bullfrog has proven effective in destroying MRSA.

Not sure why it made me reminisce on a few older films, as if it paid homage to tiny aspects of each; Run Lola Run (1998) - the fast paced style and the running of course, The Last Samurai (2003) - training in the woods, Under the Mud (2006) – no idea why this came to mind when watching Hanna, perhaps the vaguely surreal inclinations within the movie style, The Fifth Element (1997) - the idea of captivity and experimentation, Universal Soldier (1992) - genetic interventions, Leon (1994) – assassination and the father/daughter relationship, The Bourne Identity (2002) – intelligence, pursuit, and some similar looking filming locations. The list could go on, because Hanna made me think of films that I like, and was in no way trying to imitate them. I know a film is good when it contains elements of some of my older favourites. It made me think of Nikita, and also a book called Shade’s Children, a futuristic world where children are not allowed live past their 14th birthday.

In the film Hanna she is the young lead, trained to be a perfect assassin, and having to fend for herself when sent on a mission to end it all. Saoirse Ronan is brilliant in every film she appears in, but here we get to see her full talents flourish, she is so comfortable immersing herself in a character, yet easily makes the audience uncomfortable with her disconcerting stare suiting her character perfectly. Hanna was well cast, Eric Bana as Hanna’s father, Cate Blanchett as a villain. It all tied together perfectly in a dark, subtly surreal journey hinting at the disparity between fairy-tale fiction and grim reality. Hence, Hanna’s attentions to the Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which emerge in the plot throughout. The film gripped my attention, and forced me to emote conflictingly, as tumultuously as Hanna’s emotions and adaption to the outside world were portrayed. The soundtrack, thanks to the Chemical Brothers, was intense, complimentary, industrial, electro, akin to Nine Inch Nails in parts, and gave the film a modern edge. It added to the stylistic shooting, and artsy cinematography, at points making it feel like a well made music video, but without the music detracting from the plot.

Go see it!

Image via Wikipedia

Thought I was going mad when I heard a voices “POLICE POLICE”, turns out there’s a police chopper above, riot down the street, and police cars blocking off the zone, and officers walking around with bleeding noses after trying to regain control. What a peaceful Sunday evening… apparently The Only Way is Essex.

Also I didn’t know that Essex police helicopters were black and yellow in my area until I saw it above my house, but Wiz Khalifa would be pleased.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k8TwRmX6zs4

Image by kev_bite via Flickr

So, despite being finished for a long time with lectures/seminars/modules, the deadline for my dissertation is looming. Next week, 4th of May 2011 marks the end of my degree forever. I’m working hard and of course hoping for a 2:1, which is essential to my future dreams of Medicine. I’m just glad I already got accepted to study Medicine at COWA, that’s the first step after-all. And as they say….”baby steps”.

I’m not sure if I’ll go to the awards ceremony thing though, the robes just aren’t my style and it’s expensive (hiring robes, £25 per guest I bring etc) I’m saving money for my future studies. I think I’ll say goodbye to University in my own way…head to the pub with a bunch of friends I’ll probably never see again because we’re all going so far away. But that’s the wonders of the Internet, you can reach out from afar.

I work as a Care Giver, so I’m aware how necessary Hospices are, they really help people…but sometimes they need help too. That’s where you and I can make a difference.

I want to help St Clare Hospice by raising money, so that they can continue to provide their excellent care to the people that need it most. I’ll be taking part in the Midnight Walk event on June 18th (2011), so please sponsor me or my feet will be tired and sore for nothing!

I’ll be walking 10k around Harlow from 10:30pm till past midnight. You are welcome to join:

http://www.stclarehospice.org.uk/midnightwalk.html

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now, even small loose change can make a big change. Click the picture below!

Image via Wikipedia

Tiring day taking blind people to the dentist, jumping out of a window to avoid annoying neighbours, and negotiating a knife/boiling kettle out of the hands of a mentally challenged patient.

Not complaining, love my job. But the day…or rather, night, isn’t even over for me yet. Going out again now Byeeeee *yawn yawn yawn*

Just ordered mine :)

My unexpected reaction made me feel embarrassed, crying briefly on the phone to my manager then excusing myself quickly and apologising, I simply am not the crying sort, certainly not in front of anyone; I despise receiving sympathy or showing any vulnerability really. I’m usually the strong supportive one. I calmed down very quickly, the shock passed, then I felt guilty for feeling sad because I don’t have the right to…he wasn’t my grandfather or relative, and I never cried when any of my other patients died, so does that make me a bad person?

I hope not. My manager says it’s perfectly normal to “let one in”, as in to have a special favourite patient that you can’t help feeling close to, then the shock of them dying prepares you for the rest of your career, a job in which you have to grow accustom to death. And I am accustom, that’s why it surprised me how sad I felt today, but she says it will help prepare me for my life as a doctor and I agree, this job has helped me a lot in preparing and experience.

R.I.P Ted (real name remains anonymous for confidentiality), you were such a strong, intelligent, delightful man, you really touched all the Carer’s hearts and your whole family and wife are so lovely, I know like me you don’t believe in Heaven but you always joked about being my “guardian angel” and I hope that can be somewhat true now.

Image by plushoff via Flickr

I got accepted to study Medicine (Access) somewhere, can’t say where yet as need to hear back from all the places I applied to (I’ve applied via the Graduate route too).

I also wanted to post some of the things I’ve been writing lately about Face Transplants, Japanese Kawaii culture, etc, but can’t because they’ve been submitted to Goldsmiths and I’m not sure what the rules are on publishing your work when it hasn’t been marked yet. Plus, if they do one of their random plagiarism checks, and find my work here, they may think I’ve plagiarised from Cityshy, without realising I AM Cityshy.

I’m still writing about the psychological impacts of technology, the implications of it being an extension of our selves, and tearing apart post-human theorems. I still work as a Care Giver to the elderly, a hospital volunteer on a surgical ward, and will be graduating in May, so I feel productive despite being busy all the time.

This post is mainly just to fill the void.

Today I’m finding it difficult though. Hormonal? Possibly. But mainly it’s surprise; Mr Anonymous seemed so happy and well last week, but today he’s been shaking loads, too weak to even speak, and the other Carer has told me it’s time to mentally detach a bit, which is code for ‘he may be near death’s door’. I can’t accept that right now, even though it happens to us all, and it’s part of the job. I imagine it must be worse for Doctors, especially because patients can die on the table and leave the Doctor feeling responsible, even when there really was nothing they could do.

I think absolutely everything can be taken as a learning experience.