Hello dear readers! This is Miss A. Misra here with another book review! ( that intro is getting too old..) This time, it’s quite a recent one. It’s “The Chalice of the Gods” by Rick Riordan, published in mid-September or October last year. I bought it at the airport along with the “Ordeal by Innocence” book I wrote about before. It is a smaller novel than the original Percy Jackson series but is connected to the series. The text print is bigger and easier to read (much to Mom’s approval). The book is left at a part where Percy STILL has a quest to finish, and it’s just my luck that the next book in the series has not even been published up to now! The release date is some three or four months away.
So, this time, Percy is going to another university, but it needs three recommendation letters from three different gods or goddesses. His councilor, a water nymph helps him search out a task. Ganymede, the cupbearer in Olympus, has lost his magical chalice ( If you didn’t know, it’s a type of fancy goblet with lots of designs and gold-rimmed edges and all those totally necessary jewels.) that grants anyone immortality. And of course, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover set off to investigate at once. According to Ganymede, everyone on Olympus, except for Zeus, hates him. Eventually, he points out that Hebe ( the Greek goddess of eternal youth, if I remember right. It’s pronounced like: “Hee-bee”, not “hey-bey” or anything else!) and Iris (the Greek goddess of the rainbow, and yeah, it’s pronounced as you see it, okay?) would be the most plausible suspects. Grover mentions that he THINKS he knows what Hebe’s secret lair is. And wouldn’t you be surprised? The name of the place was literally-
“Hebe Jeebies”
(insert “jungshook” face here)
How ironically obvious. But Hebe must have just taken one look at that word in the dictionary and been like: “Heebie” is pronounced like my name, so I’ll just go and (*steals*)Anyways, it was a sort of jumbo, massive, disco, karaoke, and arcade place rolled into one. There were candy types that existed AGES ago, arcade games no one remembered since their childhoods, and songs playing that were unheard of for years. So, it’s a place meant to cause nostalgia to be young again, which I guess does make sense since Hebe was the goddess of youth, anyway! Hebe was the manager and had taken her human form as a girl of around 14 or 15, with a paisley minidress and also some white boots along with them. Which, is not a very good style to go with, but from Percy’s POV, it looks okay. So, let’s let it pass the time.
When the trio reached, they met the manager of the place, Sparky, and she was nine years old. But do you know what? Well, she was 90-SOMETHING years old but after working in Hebe’s place she got her blessing and wished to be young again. Odd, but whatever. After some strolling around, they find Hebe in the karaoke bar and when they try to inquire about Ganymede’s cup, she gets angry and turns them all into eight years old again! When they try to go to Sparky, Sparky sets a flock of flesh-eating chickens on their trail!
( phew)
So now they are stuck as primary schoolers, need to find Ganymede’s chalice, not offend other goddesses, and get back to their original ages. That’s a whole load of work for a trio of teens. Did I mention that on the way Iris ( goddess of the rainbow) gives them ANOTHER quest that requires Percy to go to a river full of snakes? I did not. Now you know.
Will they be able to find the chalice? Not get killed by some snakes? And will they make it in time before Zeus finds out Ganymede lost the magic cup and blasts some people with his scary lightning bolts?
Well, this book was quite good and entertaining, but the plot just failed the point in my case. Why even? To get a college application he needs THREE QUESTS. I thought the mortal people didn’t even know of the gods-so how? I read that part so many times and it still did not make sense.
Otherwise, it’s really good. Though Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are all 17 now, the story is still written in the same sarcastic and humorous way I like. Some parts were so hilarious I almost fell off my chair. The humor is so spot on, it feels like it is Percy who is writing the book. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the narrator himself is fictional. The book ends without Percy getting his last quests, which is sad. But as it IS smaller than the rest of the original series that’s expected.
One thing to keep in mind is that to enjoy this book is to read some of the original series because there are so many inside jokes and lines that only fans of the series will get. If you haven’t yet read the original series, most of the jokes will make no sense to you!
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Hearing Loss in Kidney Disease:What You Didn’t Know
Will the poor health of the kidneys damage Hearing? Yes, they can work in more ways than one. However, this side effect of chronic kidney disease is not talked about very often.
Sensorineural hearing loss in chronic kidney disease is common. Hearing loss often happens due to the illness itself and sometimes ototoxic drugs needed to treat kidney diseases. It happens from 27 to 77% of people suffering from chronic kidney diseases. The percentage varies between countries, depending on the burden of NCDs. Hearing loss is often long-lasting and worsens over time[1]. All CKD patients need regular hearing assessment to guard against this and treat accordingly. Timely intervention can prevent and protect Hearing.
All CKD patients need regular hearing assessment to guard against this and treat accordingly. Timely intervention can prevent and protect Hearing.
Dr.Amrita Basu
What kind of hearing loss is seen in CKD patients?
Sensorineural hearing loss, moderate to severe involving higher frequencies, is seen in CKD. It’s bilateral and symmetrical in most cases.
Tinnitus, a ringing sensation in the ear, may be associated with SNHL(sensorineural hearing loss). CKD patients are at three times greater risk of tinnitus than the general population. A patient may also present with Sudden Severe Hearing Loss.
CKD patients are at three times greater risk of tinnitus than the general population. A patient may also present with Sudden Severe Hearing Loss.
Dr.Amrita Basu
While evaluating hearing loss, a necessary part of the workup includes questions about comorbidities and ototoxic drugs. Non-communicable diseases like hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, individually and together, pose a risk to HearingHearing. Ototoxic drugs are toxic to the ear(oto) but often necessary to treat chronic kidney disease. It is the classic case of side effects where the risks and benefits of treatment are weighed in. Loop diuretics and Aminoglucosides are common drugs that can cause hearing damage.
How does kidney disease affect the ears?
Systemic disease can affect every part of the human body. All systems are related, and when it comes to nerves, they are extra sensitive.
Ourkidneys remove waste toxins from our bodies. They also play a role in balancing the electrolytes. The cochlea in our inner ear responsible for Hearing has fine hair cells and a delicate ionic balance which gets disrupted by-
1)Uraemic toxins
2)Distorted ionic balance
3)Ototoxic drugs are used to treat severe kidney infections.
4)Haemodialysis in some instances is due to multiple factors.[2]
The effect of all this may be superadded to damage the cochlear hair cells. It may present as a ringing sound in the ear or reduced Hearing.
Your nephrologist will advise about the ototoxic nature of certain drugs and the need for an ear checkup. During the early stages of mild hearing loss, you may not realize the problem. However, a tuning fork test and Pure tone audiometry by a registered ENT surgeon will help diagnose it.
When to visit an ENT surgeon if you have CKD?
- Annual Pure tone audiometry needs to be a part of CKD treatment. Get tested on time: at least an annual ENT checkup and Pure tone audiometry for screening.
- In case of reduced hearing in one or both ears.
- In case of a ringing sound in the ear
- If you have a problem with balance.
- In case of a change of medicine
- After Haemodialysis
How to prevent further hearing damage?
- Regular hearing assessment
- Better control of Blood urea creatinine, Serum electrolytes.
- Better control of comorbidities.
- Avoid acoustic trauma
- Avoiding ototoxic drugs
What to do in case of hearing loss?
If you suspect you hear less or are a CKD patient’s caregiver, visit an ENT surgeon. Your doctor will check the eardrum, do a tuning fork and advise the following tests.
- Pure-tone Audiometry
- SISI(Short increment sensitivity index)]
- TDT(tone decay test).
In case of hearing loss, a Hearing Aid trial and suitable Digital Hearing aid are advised.
What other things will your doctor tell you if you have hearing loss with CKD?
- Counseling and family awareness
- A support system and community to encourage productive habits.
- Avoid topical or systemic Ototoxic drugs(Aminoglycosides, Frusemide).
- Neurovitamins
- Strict control of blood pressure and blood sugar will prevent super-added damage.
- Maintain ear hygiene, avoid pond bathing, diving, self-cleaning of the ear, and forceful Valsalva.
The strict control of other non-communicable diseases like hypertension, Diabetes mellitus is essential because they increase nerve damage.
Increasing age and age-related aggravation of sensorineural hearing loss are typical. Like all diseases, prevention is helpful.
Healthwealthbridge Disclaimer health information provided on this blog is for general awareness and doesn’t in any way replace a doctor’s professional medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor in case of any decision regarding your health, and diet.
Microsoft Crash and the Crowdstrike puzzle
I am not a computer expert nor am I a cybersecurity expert .But sometimes back while watching a NCIS episode on Prime I saw a murder happening by manipulation of the navigation system of a car.Is that scary or what?
This Crowdstrike-Microsoft puzzle/mess/crash is going to be a worrying/interesting thing to follow up.We may or may not ever know the truth.
The worst case scenario
The technical breakdown by a techie which is somewhat understandable.
CEO of Crowdstrike with an apology but not really an explanation!
The best part about this is we realized being connected to a bigger system had certain serious,sudden,complications which ideally should have bee foreseen or managed.
Imagine someone performing a lifesaving surgery maybe robotic surgery hooked onto a system like this and their computer shows the Blue screen!Its not just panic it’s going to be life threatening.
So also planes ,train,transport systems,defense, banks everything.
Apparently Russia wasn’t affected because Microsoft had left them as part of some sanction.
What is Crowdstrike?
It’s a cybersecurity company managing Microsoft’s Cybersecurity all over the world.It manages the entire information technology ecosystem of many companies deducting and preventing cybersecurity attacks,malwares,data breaches etc etc.
But how come their advanced system didn’t detect this outage soon enough?
What happened?
Apparently global outages involved emergency services,major banks ,media houses,airports,stock markets and only they know what else.
Who owns Crowdstrike?
It’s owned by Mr.George Kurtz who is a former McAfee employee
Important to remember
We don’t yet know what happened.
We don’t know what or who caused it.
We don’t know if it will happen in the future.
We don’t know whether we will ever go back to believing a fully connected global system is a good thing.
This is the reason monopoly of systems and services should be avoided and all systems should have backups of backups.In 2024 the problem is unimaginable and gives us an opportunity to put our thinking caps on.Interestingly both companies are based in USA.
This according to Livemint is possibly the largest such “outage” in history and coming so soon after the attack on “Trump” makes me imagine all sorts of conspiracy theories.
Interestingly Crowdstrike has been a part of a conspiracy theory previously and is no stranger to managing difficulties. We hope this “outage” is exactly what they say it is(they are not saying much though) and not something more worrying. Imagine if the same was done by a company based out of a country not-really-friends with USA?How can an update with such power to harm be let loose in the cyber world without multiple points of checking and cross checking and what about accountability?A
Also this
