Mandolins are bloody dangerous

Mandolins are bloody dangerous

I’ll get to the bloody dangerous Mandolins later in this post.

Public holidays

It’s been a fun week. Monday and Thursday were public holidays here in Australia. Unlike many countries, we not only have a gazetted holiday for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but the following Monday is also a gazetted holiday. Traditionally, a four day Easter break was used by many families to take a break and visit the beach.

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School holidays

Noosa

I remember as a young boy in primary school being in the car (Valiant Pacer with a slant 225 dong) with Dad driving, Mum in the front passenger seat, and in the back would be me and my two younger brothers. The roads back then were single lane highways leading from Brisbane north to the glorious sunshine coast and exotic places like Noosa.

My father was a general practitioner and the only break he took from practising medicine was the Easter break every year. Back in those days, Dad worked seven days a week. On Saturdays and Sundays he’d hold morning surgery so he had the afternoons to complete yard work.

I loved those holidays in Noosa. Dad would rent a serviced apartment on Hastings Street and we’d spend all day every day on the beach. At night we’d eat in restaurants. We’re talking the 1970s and Noosa was exotic. There was topless bathing on the beach. I shan’t go further, apart from saying I really enjoyed being on the beach at Noosa.

Caloundra

In high school, Dad won an interest-free loan for $20,000 which he had to pay back over 20 years. Back in those days, that was huge. Dad was able to purchase a two-bedroom flat in a three flat building at the top of Arthur Street near the lighthouse at Caloundra. My high school holidays were spent getting a deep tan as I occupied myself on Kings Beach every day. To my regret, I now have the leathery skin of a sun-drenched Queenslander. Not only is my skin leathery but it is covered in spots and pigmented lesions from solar damage.

ANZAC Day

The other gazetted public holiday this week was ANZAC day or what is now acceptably written as Anzac Day. A day dedicated to commemorate a battle in the early days of World War I, and now a day to remember and honour all who have served in the defence forces from Australia and New Zealand.

While I’ve never served in the Australian Defence Force, I’ve known many who have and I count amongst my friends many current and past members of the ADF. To each of them I am grateful for their service.

So with Monday and Thursday off it’s been a bit of a funny week in terms of work. That said, I still read work-related e-mails and did other work-related stuff. But that’s just who I am.

Seeing my GP

Sinus rinses

On Wednesday I went to see my GP and amongst a few things we discussed, I mentioned a life with post-nasal drip and more recently, a dry non-productive cough.

My GP suggested I try a sinus rinse a few times a day. He gave me the details of the product he uses and suggested it should work to reduce my PND and persistent cough.

I gave it a go and it has certainly helped make my nasal passages and sinuses feel less full and congested.

Dental floss problems

Have you ever had trouble getting dental floss between a pair of teeth? Last Saturday night, I ate some leftover beef short rib and some of the meat was a little dry and tough because I allowed it to ‘caramelise’ in the frypan. Anyway, as I was chewing, I’m assuming some of the tougher muscle bundles got caught between the rear most molars on my lower jaw on the right side. When I went to floss my teeth I couldn’t get the floss between those two teeth. I had about half a dozen attempts and the floss broke each time. The rear most molar has a white gold crown and the tooth next to it has a ceramic crown. I wondered if the gold crown had been soft enough to create a bridge across he two teeth. You know, the crazy things that go through your head when you’re frustrated. Anyway, the next day I woke up and still couldn’t get the floss in. I went to the shops and found some dental brushes and tried a really fine one. All it did was cause some gum bleeding and a little pain as I tried to poke a fine brush on a wire between the teeth. Finally, after four days of trying and what I assume was bacterial decomposition of the muscle fibres caught between the teeth I could get the floss between them. Hallelujah! It was like I had a small win in life when I could floss between those teeth.

Blood everywhere

On Friday night I was making dinner. I had a piece of sous vide chicken thigh and I was making a salad with iceberg lettuce, spring onion, red onion, fennel, parsley, bird’s eye chillies, lime juice, Dijon mustard, wholegrain mustard, olive oil, iodised salt and freshly cracked pepper.

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I was using a mandolin to slice the red onion. I went for a thicker slice than what I normally use and when I got to the third stroke I immediately regretted not using the safety guard. The bloody thing sliced open the pad of my right thumb and it began to bleed like a stuck pig. It was made worse because I had taken a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for a headache a few hours prior and so the platelet aggregation was a touch tarnished to say the least.

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‪Tonight’s hack. After removing a fair chunk of thumb tissue and blood with a mandolin, I’m using this glove to protect my sheets from blood. I cut off the tip of the index finger for my smartphone touch screen. ‬

A post shared by Gaz (@garydlum) on Apr 26, 2019 at 4:30am PDT

I’m going to have to recalibrate the touch identification on my smartphone and tablet device now. Because of the way the laceration occurred and its orientation, I couldn’t approximate the edges of the wound so I left it open and covered it with a dressing. It will granulate and heal by secondary intention. It will make for an interesting looking scar. My mother sent me a text message suggesting I should get a suture, but it really didn’t need it in my opinion. We’ll see if I regret that decision as it heals.

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Human blood enhanced sous vide chicken 🐓 and spicy 🌶 fennel salad 🥗🥑 with mustard dressing⁣ Human blood, Chicken, Avocado, Chives, Spring onion, Red onion, Fennel, Parsley, Bird's eye chillies, Iceberg lettuce, Dijon mustard, Wholegrain mustard, Olive oil, Lime juice, Iodised salt, Black pepper ⁣ #yummylummy #foodphotography#foldio #hypop #sousvide #chicken #salad⁣ I cut my dominant thumb on my mandolin. I'm bleeding like a stuck pig 🐖

A post shared by Gaz The Human Macrophage (@yummylummyblog) on Apr 26, 2019 at 2:16am PDT

What have I watched this week?

Stargate (1994)

So most regular readers of this diary blog know that I’m a fan of Star Trek and to a lesser extent, Star Wars. I was recently in a Twitter conversation with scientist and actor, Rachael Rigda, and she mentioned Stargate. I’ve also heard from my Dork Trek friends that Stargate is worth watching.

I’ve sort of got through most of Babylon 5 based on a recommendation of podcaster friend Charlynn Schmiedt.

So on Thursday, I watched Stargate (the 1994 movie). I really enjoyed it. Now I’m set to start watching the TV series. I’ll start with Stargate SG-1 and then watch Stargate Atlantis.

I watched the first episode of season 1 of SG-1 today and it was fantastic. I wasn’t expecting nudity though.

Star Trek: Discovery

I feel a bit lost without any DISCO to watch. I now have to wait until the beginning of 2020 to discover what the Star Trek universe is like 900+ years into the future.

My friend Kate has a more critical perspective on her TV viewing and she asked how the seventh signal was sent if it was fifty-one thousand light years away. It must have been sent in the past for the light to reach Earth. At the time, I couldn’t think of how that might happen since the USS Discovery had travelled to the future. My only guess is that Burnham in the Red Angel suit travelled back in time to send the seventh and final signal.

Star Trek: Deep Space 9

Ferengi Love Songs

A good episode with lots of Ferengi shenanigans, lots of Dax and Leeta, plus some good Klingon discipline.

National Rugby League

The Brisbane Broncos played the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday evening. I cannot stand the team from Cronulla which is led a by self-confessed illegal substance using cheater.

LAW & ORDER

I’ve now watched the three seasons which cast Angie Harmon as Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael. There are nine more seasons (out of 20) to watch but I can’t imagine anyone better than her as ADA to the Executive ADA.

Season 11 sees an absence of DA Adam Schiff and the introduction of his replacement, viz., Nora Lewin (played by Dianne West). Schiff was played by Steven Hill and I thought he was a stand out in what was effectively a small role in each episode. His grumpy demeanour influenced by the political machinations of being an elected official was lost on me when I watched this on free-to-air TV back when it was first released.

What have I listened to this week?

The Medical Republic Podcast

Felicity and Francine look at chronic debilitating pain and how explaining the nature and pathology of pain to a patient, may help that patient manage their pain better.

What have I eaten and photographed this week?

This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.

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Yummy Lummy this week

MEATER made splayed chicken cooked perfectly with a wireless meat thermometer and served with mandolin-sliced potato and sweet potato

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Final thoughts

• Have you ever had an accident with a mandolin?
• Do you have fond memories of childhood holidays?
• Are you a fan of Stargate?