λ Tony’s blog λ

…of a whinging cunt with nothing useful to say. How fucking sad. At least try, at least, for fuck’s sake.

I went looking for my grandmother today, who lives on the bank of the Brisbane River in Wivenhoe Pocket. I didn’t find her, but I’ve been assured she is safe.

• Video

  Fernvale bridge 32 hours after peaking during major flood. The edge of the water is 830 metres from the bridge which is typically used to traverse the river. The width of the river is estimated to be over 1.5km.

  The dried mud on the bitumen road indicates the peak height that was reached.

  Note the street sign indicating a side street ahead. Coominya State School lies completely submerged in the water ahead.

  Map location
  The marker denotes the edge of the water as seen in the video to within a few metres.

• Video

  Alice Street and Queen Street, Goodna, Brisbane 32 hours after Brisbane River peaks in major flood disaster.

  The peak height of the river can be seen at 0:01 when the road changes to a dirty colour.

  Map location

• Video

  Schmidt Road, Fernvale 32 hours after Brisbane River peaks in major flood disaster.

  The peak height of the river can be seen in the debris that hangs in the fences.

  Map location

A friend of mine, Brad Clow, has received demands to remove one of his blog posts by a lawyer. This post contains a letter that I wrote to the Medical Health Board of Queensland in March 2009. The letter mentions the name of a doctor, from whom I have also received recent threats of legal action; specifically allegations of defamation. Brad has removed the name of this doctor.

These threats are without any legal basis at all and a cursory read of The Defamation Act 2005 makes this really quite apparent. Specifically, sections 25 and 31. Neither myself nor Brad have made any defamatory claims against Dr Michael McEniery, however, I do have honestly held opinions which are based on facts which are substantially true. These opinions and facts will be made available for public viewing after I have sought advice from legal experts. Advice in this regard is most welcome and I promise a remarkable and quite alarming story.

It took me a little over a year longer to finally determine the correct diagnosis. I had an entrapment neuropathy of the superficial peroneal nerve 10cm proximal to the lateral malleolus causing traction injury and subsequent foraminal stenosis at the right L5 nerve root, resulting in severe neurological deficit. I also had anteromedial osseous impingement syndrome (caused by tibia/talus collision from foot drop) and four improperly installed screws causing (painful) interference in the talar joint. It is now 6 months since surgical resolution and I am left with some neurological deficit. It is not known if I will fully recover, though the treating surgeon is hopeful.

Brad’s original post, before he yielded to the legal demands, follows.

We received a copy of this yesterday evening. Please note Tony is a friend of mine and this is genuine.

To The Medical Board of Queensland,

My complaint is rather lengthy. It relates to an injury and subsequent treatment of that injury by various doctors and surgeons. I am not primarily complaining about any particular individual of the medical institution, rather, that I still have not been diagnosed and treated for my condition. I am desperately seeking diagnosis and a treatment. Some doctors may believe they have diagnosed my condition, but they have been wrong and this has been proven surgically. The best diagnosis available today is my own humble conjecture, which is terrifyingly inadequate.

On 28 July 2007, I suffered a severe inversion sprain to my right ankle. I’d suffered a few previous sprains, but this one was much worse than others. I was kicking a football rather hard when I landed incorrectly. I was not weight-bearing for about 5-6 days. During that time I was a very fit athlete playing A1-grade tournament squash and was very active with many other hobbies.

Over the following months after the injury, I tried returning to sport and I could feel I had something wrong in my ankle. I hoped it would resolve, but it didn’t. I could not put my joint into dorsiflexion due to a mechanical impingement and this resulted in muscle atrophy. Subsequently, I became very ill. Nevertheless, I pushed on with my sporting endeavours expecting my body to overcome the problem like it had many others in the past.

Eventually I conceded in January 2008 and sought help from Dr. Michael McEniery. We tried various treatments including a cortico-steroid injection and obtained MRI radiographs. Over time, this condition worsened to the point where I was forced to discontinue sport in May 2008. I have not been active since. I sought help from an orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Greg Sterling, who prescribed a Broestrom Repair and medial arthroscopy since my complaint was mostly anteromedial.

At the time, I was very medically-illiterate and put much faith in medical doctors. I assumed a positive outcome from surgery, simply because I’d had surgery in the past for various conditions and I was always better afterward. The procedure was performed on 15 September 2008 and the medial arthroscopy revealed deltoid ligament damage which was also repaired along with the ATFL and CFL.

I wore a cast for 2 weeks and an orthodic boot thereafter. Although I was in pretty intense pain, I’d attributed this to the recent surgery and thought it would resolve. It didn’t. In October 2008, I knew I was in big trouble – I had similar symptoms to pre-operative but they were now much worse. I immediately sought help from Dr. Greg Sterling who requested another MRI but in November 2008, could see nothing wrong. He said “see you in January 2009”. The prospect of waiting so long in agony was traumatising.

Around the same time, I’d sought help from Dr. McEniery who claimed I was exaggerating my symptoms and attributing too much attention to my condition. This blatant oversight added further to my trauma – and he’d almost convinced a member of my family of these falsehoods. I was suffering psychologically and I sought immediate help from Prince Charles Mental Health Unit.

I was discharged as an outpatient but I knew I was not mentally ill – I was in incredible pain and agony from a misdiagnosis by an orthopaedic surgeon. I set out to conquer the problem myself – scared and ill-educated on the subject matter – and was faced by the foreign medical protocols and language.

As my stress levels grew, I was admitted to the Prince Charles Mental Health Unit by Dr. John Reinders under a de facto ITO. I was also forced to take anti-psychotic medication. This is because of some of the desperate language I was using, for example, “do I have to operate on myself?” and Dr. Reinders felt I may be a harm to myself.

I’d never been so low in my life. When taking anti-psychotic medication, you are very much unaware of your surroundings. It was only during a lull in the effect of the medication, that I decided I needed to get out of the hospital and do what I can for my ankle – I was convinced the doctors had erred and that this was a huge mistake. I requested a Psychiatric evaluation and was declared “in severe distress, but mentally healthy” and I was discharged.

I set about understanding ankle anatomy, conditions of the ankle and general medical protocols. I quickly learned that I had at least soft tissue impingement. Indeed, I had tissue trapped in the joint that was under permanent pressure due to the recent surgery – even when not weight bearing. This is as painful as you might imagine it to be and a little more given multiple pathologies.

I sought help from Dr. Andrew Wines (Foot & Ankle Orthopaedic Surgeon) in Sydney who prescribed an arthroscopic debridement. This was performed under GA on 11 December 2008. To quote his remark, “you had a chunk of tissue about the size of my finger in there”. I was immediately weight bearing post-operative and the local aneasthetic provided some relief. As a result of this anaesthesis, I was under the false impression that my troubles were over. They weren’t.

After a few days I knew I still had a severe and painful problem though I no longer had the problem of tissue impingement. It felt like I had bone impingement on dorsiflexion and I sought answers from medical literature. I eventually stumbled on Anteromedial Osseous Impingement Syndrome for which MRI radiography is inconclusive for diagnosis. I used my January 2009 appointment with Dr. Sterling to ask for a request form for a CAT radiograph and weight-bearing Xray. Dr. Sterling also made an appointment with Dr. Michael Lutz to determine if he could unravel this mysterious problem of mine.

Upon obtaining these radiographs, I saw immediately that I had a bone spur in the location of my pain. I sought assistance from Dr. Andrew Wines (again in Sydney) who agreed with me to some extent but wanted a second opinion in order to ensure he was not suffering a bias. I applaud this decision. I used my upcoming appointment with Dr. Lutz to achieve this second opinion. Dr. Lutz agreed that an open incision to excise osteophytes on my tibia may be appropriate and I was informed of the risks .

Dr. Wines performed an arthrotomic tibial ostectomy on 04 March 2009 under GA at Royal North Shore Hospital. I flew home the next day – I was weight bearing without assistance. Again, the anaesthetic provided a false belief that my problems were over.

Unfortunately, I still have the same problem I started with – I cannot put my ankle into dorsiflexion. Many doctors might attribute this to the recent surgery, but I know I am experiencing precisely the same symptoms that I have done for the last 18 months. Although the localised and extreme pain caused by a bone spur has been resolved, I still have bone impingement on dorsiflexion that is not localised. I also know that this is due to a very definite mechanical limitation, since I have had a Physiotherapist in the past attempt to push my joint past this point with intense force to no avail.

As a result of this inability for dorsiflexion, my muscles have atrophied up to my thoracic spine. Subsequently, I find breathing difficult and any position uncomfortable except for lying down. This has caused immense stress especially while I have maintained a full-time job (Computing Science Researcher) and I am considering indefinite unpaid sick leave. Unfortunately, a consequence of this is that I will no longer be able to afford regular flights to Sydney for treatment, radiographs and so on, therefore, I must continue the battle under all circumstances and despite exhaustion.

I have long maintained that my symptoms are only observable while I am weight-bearing and in an attempt at dorsiflexion. This means that surgeons who operate cannot check for resolution of these symptoms, MRI and CAT radiographs cannot exhibit them and the only weight-bearing Xray I have was not in dorsiflexion because the Radiographer would not allow it (images only per requesting doctor instructions).

Unfortunately, I still have quite a large battle ahead but I am at a complete loss with respect to how I should go about it and that is why I have written to you, my state medical authority.

Is there a radiographic machine available in Queensland that will exhibit my bone impingement while in dorsiflexion and while weight-bearing? Better still, is there a doctor who is prepared to do the hard work of figuring this problem out? I am more than willing to make many sacrifices to ensure it. These are rhetorical questions – I don’t know what the right questions are.

I am desperately seeking a diagnosis and treatment, 19 months after an initial injury and I know that my time is limited with regard to the amount of stress and pain that I can continue to endure. This is simply unsustainable.

Please advise.

Thank you for your time. Confidentiality is not requested and you may share this information with whoever you see fit.

I have blocked the msnbot and yahoo! web spiders from indexing this site (and all others at this IP address). They choke up the network with distributed multiple connections. Pretty silly/primitive technique of indexing a web site.

I sometimes watch the SBS television station — the content is generally of a higher standard than commercial stations with a greater display of intellectual rigour.

However, there is a Ticketek advertisement on this station with a caption, “What do you think your doing?”.

Ugh.

It’s not racist — though it’s a gross display of the ineptitude with the basic faculties of reason of a few poorly educated people who have my deepest sympathy. Here is some light reading material that might interest them.

I work from home now. It rocks I also live in a rental property in the warm climate of Brisbane, Australia.

I wish to convert one of the rooms — westward-facing, 3 metres by 3 metres — into my office. I currently work in the main living area under a split system A/C and this has some problems that I want to alleviate.

Below is an image of the only window in this room. It has a single slider 570mm by 1450mm (the pink line) which is fitted with a security screen by pop-rivets. This window faces west and there is drainage outside.

What is an appropriate set up for cooling such a room, given that it is a rental property? I have looked at evaporative coolers and portable air conditioners but have been advised against both given our climate. It also appears somewhat difficult to use a portable A/C given the fixed security screen and the need for an external vent — can it me reversibly modified somehow? I find no other appropriate option and am a bit of a deadlock. Advice?

An update on IntelliJ IDEA + Scala utterly unusable

1. Delete ~/.IntelliJIdea80 (oh well, I’m so used to specifying my settings over and over anyway).
2. Start IntelliJ IDEA. Do not open a project
3. Install the Scala plugin
4. Open your project
5. Observe not-useless usability
1. There are still issues of not being able to open certain source folders (try it and see for yourself scalaz.control in Scalaz trunk)
2. Other minor annoyances that needn’t be mentioned

I have repeated this twice on different machines (8823). Swapping steps 3 and 4 result in a rapid degeneration of usefulness to the point of absolute uselessness.

Thanks again for listening. I hope the usability trend reverses.

From “Never again will I doom the earth because of man…” By: God By J.D. Longstreet.

The argument goes something like this. Man cannot destroy the world, since Genesis 8:21 says so. Therefore, Global Warming is a conspiracy by scientific illiterates. Yes I cringed in embarrassment too.

Ignoring the scary implications of the prevalence of this kind of superstitious crackpottery, consider the somewhat amusing (I thought so anyway) excerpt below:

Then they [the Global Warming conspirators] use the guilt trip they have imposed on fellow human beings to shame us into completely altering the way we live. It is the oldest con game in the book. And the peoples of the planet are falling for it.

I wonder which book that might be

Ben,
You have left two comments here, the second of which asked where your previous comment went. They were both caught by a spam filter and I am certain I pressed Approve on the first one and I definitely did on the second, but alas, they disappeared (WTF?).

Sorry about that, but if you could repost them, I will endeavour to ensure that they appear, since if I remember rightly, your original comment was a question of curiosity. Maybe the Wordpress guys can tell me why this is happening.