2013

Sun, Mar 17

<23:23 EEST> It's a kind of magic, with northern lights down here on the day of a classical gig featuring our Superbos choir. Besides this one-off show, other things musical are busy with Tyngät, a double bill coming up at Kansannäyttämö. I barely have time for the math studies, but as before, I greatly enjoy the alternation between different kinds of geeking out.

Sun, Mar 3

<19:47 EEST> It is not terribly surprising that the wisdom tooth issue is not quite over. While it seems to be healing properly, this week I reached a rather icky stage. (Hence my iki.fi address.) Earlier in the week, I realized I have some level of bad breath¹, ostensibly related to the post-surgery condition.

¹(Also known as halitosis, because we obviously need a scientific term for 'bad breath', even if it technically means the completely unscientific 'inflammation of the breath'.)

Apparently, after all the blood clots and swelling are gone, what is left is a gaping hole that is just what dinner needs to get fermented. While I had some kind of a routine with NaCl solution, it was not enough this time, and I ended up buying Hextril (hexetidine). While strong enough to damage some sublingual surfaces, it was actually not enough by itself. Fluid mechanics to the rescue, in the form of a syringe (without the needle).

The last time I needed an industrial strength mouthwash, I was recommended Corsodyl (chlorhexidine) as a stronger alternative. I remember it totally ruining my sense of good taste (ahem), as well as staining teeth and the tongue. Hextril was supposed to be more friendly, but it does have the same problems, albeit milder.

Of course, you would expect a void where a tooth was removed, but it is a little inconvenient when said tooth had not yet erupted. This image from Wikipedia gives a pretty good idea of my situation, as the visible hole in the gum is similar in size and location. However, the space taken up by the wisdom tooth is considerably larger. Plenty of room for all my pizza toppings.

Knowing this all, it is pretty easy to take into consideration. "Always chew on the right side of mouth" is my new favourite Monty Python paraphrase, nicer than fishing out bits after every meal. It is also nice to know that the increased sensation of cold back there is not just a typical tooth sensitivity; it practically gets to the bone.

On more positive notes, my current major projects of math studies and theatre music are proceeding rather nicely. It is incredibly effective to have different projects going on, altenating between them to avoid frustration while maintaining an overall sense of productivity.

It has also been a while since any movie reviews, but here are a couple of worthy mentions. From last night there is Looper, a nicely balanced yet not too obvious a sci-fi drama. It is nice to see a Hollywood production with such ambiguities about the good and bad guys, and in a sense this manages to provide one explanation for evil. Some of the SF ideas seem a little disparate and unnecessary, but the whole seems to hold together pretty well, all the way to the wonderful ending.

Another recent finding is The Adjustment Bureau, one of these rare cases where the SF and philosophy form a seamless whole with the dramatic tension. It was a little surprising to find out that the original writer was one of my favourites from somewhat harder SF.

Speaking of harder SF, a not so recent film I still remember is Limitless. I recall thinking how it is the almost-perfect movie while watching it, but something went a little muddy towards the end. Nevertheless, a memorable one.