2026-04-18 at

Dopaminergic kinetics : bumbling along the calcitriol-dopamine axis

CALCITRIOL FUNCTION

  • - nerve factors : GDNF, NGF, IGF-1, BDNF
  • - signalling : Wnt/b-catenin, Shh, Klotho, Nrf2/Ho-1, NF-kB
  • - interaction : vitamin A, estrogen, progesterone
  • - structure : myelin basic protein, tyrosine hydroxylase

DOPAMINE SYNTHESIS

  • - Tyrosine hydroxylase, NO, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Zn2+ work together to build a number of monoamine neurotransmitters; calcitriol acting upon vitamin D receptors, upregulates expression of the TH gene

DOPAMINE TOXICITY

  • - VMAT2 moves dopamine into vesicles, otherwise cytosolic dopamine accumulates; VMAT2 work suffers from ( among many other things ) ATP shortages from dysfunction of [ mitochondrial membrane potential, which creatine supplementation helps ] 
  • - cytosolic dopamine oxidises to create [ superoxides and peroxides ( fire, bad ) ], and [ oxidised dopamine, which  leads to protein misfoldings also ]. Oxidised dopamine goes through a multistep process to sequestration as neuromelanin ( the black stuff ) which is just one of some five ways oxidised dopamine is managed. One of the toxic intermediaries is DOPAL, an aldehyde,so dopamine competes with consumed ethanol for degration by aldehyde dehydrogenase
  • - dopamine oxidisation is mainly via monoamine oxidase, which is responsible for degrading monoamine neurotransmitters; MAO inhibitors are therapeutic in managing depression ( by maintaining neurotransmitter presence ) and Parkinson's ( disease of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra; partly from "fire" )

TYRAMINE ADJACENCY

  • - MAOs also break down [ tyramine, which is familier to foodies as a product of fermented and aged proteins, which stimulates the release of noradrenaline when consumed ]; hence combining MAOIs with fermented food can lead to noradrenaline and thus blood pressure spikes, and migraines

2026-04-17 at

FaaS is an encapsulation of infrastructure

FaaS economics : 

( a few separate discussions )

  • - What's the goal of Faas for the vendor? ( A : higher margin )
  • - What's the goal for the purchaser? ( A : lower volume )
  • - And, if cash is unlimited, what would you use FaaS patterns for? ( I'm mainly in this space of course, as an academic. )

FaaS thus aligns to my research interest about [ self-migrating programs ], which is somewhat biological in consideration. A self-migrating program (c|w)ould carry its memory with it. It just needs fabric to traverse. Traditional idea : virus, and likewise pointers to external memory would also suffice for the preservation of program identity.

FaaS implementations : 

  • - fat VMs, like KVM / QEMU ( usually too heavy for FaaS ) 
  • - microVMs, like firecracker ( AWS ) 
  • - user-space : containers direct to kernel ( primitive FaaS )
  • - user-space : kernel sentry, like gvisor ( GCP ) 
  • - user-space : app-level VM, like V8 Isolates ( CloudFlare )

Half a Day in the Life of this Late Student

1. It is day 1115, 30.55% of the allocated decade.


Sleep target hit only 50%, but hormones have kicked in, so the day was off. Sleep quality was good : a full meal was eaten shortly before bed, and supplemented with fish oil and B12, and a quarter pill each of iron and zinc.


Breakfast soup was too hot, so a cold shower followed.


2. Work is all about learning how to talk to different entities. 


A.

I return to my desk. Before getting out of bed, socmed produced at least one item I couldn't reply to without getting to a desk, so it was motivation. An old friend wrote about AI and emotions - I am not enthusiastic about the industry, but I am very excited that people are beginning to take an interest in cognitive science, so I provide a bit of notation in case anyone finds it useful. In English.


B.

AI is very trendy these days, and I could do with more company on my physical exercises. So I set up a long-term event on Facebook, inviting people to walk and talk with me if they want to learn how to understand themselves as information systems. Priority 1 for the year, is physiology, across nutrition, and hyperthrophy.


C.

Priority 2 is Malaysian studies. I have ample readings from the Malay language in my feeds, but to practice Cantonese, I use Google to translate a short passage in Malay from my journals. The translation is expected to be faulty, but in order to train my aural memory, I play the Cantonese audio a few times. Machine translations will get better in the future. Meanwhile I will try to familiarise myself with pronunciation and idiomatic phrasing.


D.

Priority 3 is machine programming study. I am on the 8th day of migrating some software I wrote in JavaScript, in 2020. I am not a fan of the language, as it is sprawling, but just like English, it is lingua franca, which is why this study back then was chosen to be in this language. The prototype software is running on computers far away, and I need to learn how to explain it to my laptop ... there are several layers of difference, so it has taken a while. Along the way, I have cleaned and tidied the prototype a little. It is not robust enough to be developed further, but it has served as a useful exercise, and the learnings from this will be applied soon to a larger project of the same intention. By midday, this has been stabilised, and I am happy to take a break before figuring out what to work on next.

2026-04-16 at

punctuation notes

Based on my typographical practice in both machine scripting, and human prose, here are some practical choices I adopt .

  • - white space before and after semicolons ; like that, but not for commas : also for colons ... both semi-colons and colons tend to get lost in skimming.
  • - sometimes you want to add space in between multiple hyphens also - - like that, which is more accented than a triple dash which takes the same space --- like that --- it doesn't skim as easily.
  • - i finally figured out what to use square braces for. A lot of the writing I do is [ grossly technical ] so it helps to [ group entire concepts together ], which may be faster again for skimming, and look at my spacing before and after each brace also.
  • - Curly brackets are best used as in math, for set notation { thing, thing, other thing, and thing }.
  • - When one has too many braces in the chat, finally the diamond braces provide an accent of < last resort > . Also it helps to add a space between a closing bracket / brace and any subsequent comma or period, and also on both sides of each slash
  • - finally, a most recent tic : replacing all commas, semicolons, hyphens, and ellipses with colons : simply as a matter of arbitrary structuring, which is less noisy. Once again : space before and after.

2026-04-15 at

print media today

International book fair representation, and country-funded delegations. 

The nature of the print publications market, must be interesting in a time when it is not a necessary channel for information. 

Do you think it has shifted from a general conduit for all textual representation, to a hobbyist enclave for those who live within the fetish of printed media? 

How does representation in general, and separately market development as a subset of that ... reflect the population of writers? What percent of writers today work within the lane of printed books? 

I am curious.

2026-04-14 at

negarawan kat mana ni

Pertembungan bagi jiwa rakyat Malaysia bukan persoalan "kepentingan antara kaum", ia pulak merupakan persoalan "antara (a) yang mementingkan perkauman, dan (b) yang tidak". Entahlah, puak b itu akan jadi majoriti satu hari nanti ... atau tidak ...ianya perkara yang biasa, perubahan mencirikan sejarah. Yang PENTING, adalah pemahaman rakyat bahawa perjalanan senegara kita lancar ke depan dan tidak asyik tersekat pada kemiskinan zaman dahulu. Siapakah negarawan yang berkebolehan? Siapa?

pengajian malaysia

Budaya Malaysia. Satu, dua tahun ini, saya rasa bernasib kerana ada masa belajar Bahasa, dan minda politik marhaen di Malaysia. Saya marhaen juga, tapi taklah saya mempunyai minat yang mendalam mata-mata pelajaran ini. Budaya saya terkira peliklah, di sini. Hidup awal saya mengutamakan teknologi, dan kelolaan, sains dan pemahaman dunia sebagai benda yang ternyata lagi membosankan. Selama 43 tahun hidup ini, 38 tahun dalam sempadan Malaysia ... peliklah, saya, yang tidak banyak bergaul dengan makhluk tempatan, ataupun orang pada keseluruhan, kerana saya menumpukan hidup pada pengajian saya sendiri. Sejak kembali ke tanahair 21 tahun dulu, kekurangan minda saya lebih terugut dari segi perniagaan dan perisian, jadi itulah tumpuan saya. Saya masih menumpukan masa di situ. Tapi baiklah, kerana sepuluh tahun ini bagi pengajian am, sedikit masa dibelanjakan atas pengajian budaya Malaysia, walaupun saya tidak sangat berminat dengan budaya kita. Daya saya hanya bagai pengaji yang meluas.

Satu lagi bahasa yang saya belum menguasai adalah Kantonis. Kini Google memberi perkhidmatan penterjemahan bersuara, jadi nanti saya akan cubakan rakaman ini. Hahaha. 



Budaya Malaysia. 
馬來西亞文化。
maa5loi4sai1ngaa3 man4faa3. 
马来西亚文化。
Mǎláixīyà wénhuà. 

Satu, dua tahun ini, saya rasa bernasib kerana ada masa belajar Bahasa, dan minda politik marhaen di Malaysia. 
過去一兩年,我覺得好彩有時間去研究馬來西亞馬哈恩人嘅語言同政治心態。
gwo3heoi3 jat1 loeng5 nin4, ngo5 gok3dak1 hou2coi2 jau5 si4gaan3 heoi3 jin4gau3 maa5loi4sai1ngaa3maa5 haa1jan1jan4 ge3 jyu5jin4 tung4 zing3zi6 sam1taai3. 
过去一两年,我很幸运能有时间研究马来西亚马哈恩人的语言和政治思维。
Guòqù yī liǎng nián, wǒ hěn xìngyùn néng yǒu shíjiān yánjiū mǎláixīyà mǎ hā'ēn rén de yǔyán hé zhèngzhì sīwéi. 

Saya marhaen juga, tapi taklah saya mempunyai minat yang mendalam mata-mata pelajaran ini. 
我都係馬哈恩人,但對呢啲科冇乜深興趣。
ngo5 dou1hai6 maa5 haa1jan1jan4, daan6 deoi3 ni1di1 fo1 mou5 mat1 sam1 hing3ceoi3. 
我也是马哈恩人,但我对这些领域并没有浓厚的兴趣。
Wǒ yěshì mǎ hā'ēn rén, dàn wǒ duì zhèxiē lǐngyù bìng méiyǒu nónghòu de xìngqù. 

Budaya saya terkira peliklah, di sini. 
我嘅文化被視為奇怪,呢度。
ngo5 ge3 man4faa3 bei6 si6 wai4 kei4gwaai3, ni1dou6. 
在这里,我的文化被认为是异类。
Zài zhèlǐ, wǒ de wénhuà bèi rènwéi shì yìlèi. 

Hidup awal saya mengutamakan teknologi, dan kelolaan, sains dan pemahaman dunia sebagai benda yang ternyata lagi membosankan. 
喺我嘅早期生活中,我將科技、管理、科學同理解世界當係啲原來好悶嘅嘢。
hai2 ngo5 ge3 zou2kei4 sang1wut6 zung1, ngo5 zoeng1 fo1gei6, gun2lei5, fo1hok6 tung4 lei5gaai2 sai3gaai3 dong3 hai6 di1 jyun4loi4 hou2mun6 ge3 je5. 
早年,我把重心放在科技、管理、科学和了解世界上,但后来发现这些都挺枯燥的。
Zǎonián, wǒ bǎ zhòngxīn fàng zài kējì, guǎnlǐ, kēxué hé liǎojiě shìjiè shàng, dàn hòulái fāxiàn zhèxiē dōu tǐng kūzào de. 

Selama 43 tahun hidup ini, 38 tahun dalam sempadan Malaysia ... peliklah, saya, yang tidak banyak bergaul dengan makhluk tempatan, ataupun orang pada keseluruhan, kerana saya menumpukan hidup pada pengajian saya sendiri. 
喺我43年嘅人生中,38年喺馬來西亞嘅邊界內⋯好奇怪,我呢個唔多同當地嘅生物,或者一般人混淆,因為我將我嘅生活集中喺我自己嘅學業上。
hai2 ngo5 43 nin4 ge3 jan4sang1 zung1,38 nin4 hai2 maa5loi4sai1ngaa3 ge3 bin1gaai3 noi6 ⋯ hou3kei4gwaai3, ngo5 ni1 go3 m4do1 tung4 dong1dei6 ge3 sang1mat6, waak6ze2 jat1bun1jan4 wan6ngaau4, jan1wai6 ngo5 zoeng1 ngo5 ge3 sang1wut6 zaap6zung1 hai2 ngo5 zi6gei2 ge3 hok6jip6 soeng6. 
在我43年的人生中,有38年生活在马来西亚……奇怪的是,我很少与当地人或其他人接触,因为我把全部精力都放在了学习上。
Zài wǒ 43 nián de rénshēng zhōng, yǒu 38 nián shēnghuó zài mǎláixīyà……qíguài de shì, wǒ hěn shǎo yǔ dāngdì rén huò qítā rén jiēchù, yīnwèi wǒ bǎ quánbù jīnglì dōu fàng zàile xuéxí shàng. 

Sejak kembali ke tanahair 21 tahun dulu, kekurangan minda saya lebih terugut dari segi perniagaan dan perisian, jadi itulah tumpuan saya. 
自從21年前返到我嘅祖國之後,我喺商業同軟件方面嘅缺乏頭腦更加嚴重,所以呢個係我嘅重點。
zi6cung4 21 nin4 cin4 faan1dou3 ngo5 ge3 zou2gwok3 zi1hau6, ngo5 hai2 soeng1jip6 tung4 jyun5gin2 fong1min6 ge3 kyut3fat6 tau4nou5 gang3gaa1 jim4zung6, so2ji5 ni1 go3 hai6 ngo5 ge3 zung6dim2.
自从21年前回到故乡后,我在商业和软件方面的知识更加匮乏,所以现在我把重心放在了这方面。
Zìcóng 21 nián qiánhuí dào gùxiāng hòu, wǒ zài shāngyè hé ruǎnjiàn fāngmiàn de zhīshì gèngjiā kuìfá, suǒyǐ xiànzài wǒ bǎ zhòngxīn fàng zàile zhè fāngmiàn. 

Saya masih menumpukan masa di situ. 
我仲係將我嘅時間集中喺嗰度。 
 ngo5 zung6hai6 zoeng1 ngo5 ge3 si4gaan3 zaap6zung1 hai2 go2dou6. 
我仍然把时间花在这上面。
Wǒ réngrán bǎ shíjiān huā zài zhè shàngmiàn. 

Tapi baiklah, kerana sepuluh tahun ini bagi pengajian am, sedikit masa dibelanjakan atas pengajian budaya Malaysia, walaupun saya tidak sangat berminat dengan budaya kita. 
But okay, 因為呢十年係通識,所以用咗少少時間去研究馬來西亞文化,雖然我對我哋嘅文化唔係好有興趣。
But okay, jan1wai6 ni1 sap6 nin4 hai6 tung1sik1, so2ji5 jung6 zo2 siu2siu2 si4gaan3 heoi3 jin4gau3 maa5loi4sai1ngaa3 man4faa3, seoi1jin4 ngo5 deoi3 ngo5dei6 ge3 man4faa3 m4hai6 hou2 jau5 hing3ceoi3. 
不过,因为这十年主要是学习通识课程,所以我也花了一些时间研究马来西亚文化,尽管我对我们的文化并不十分感兴趣。
Bùguò, yīnwèi zhè shí nián zhǔyào shi xuéxí tōng shì kèchéng, suǒyǐ wǒ yě huāle yīxiē shíjiān yánjiū mǎláixīyà wénhuà, jǐnguǎn wǒ duì wǒmen de wénhuà bìng bù shífēn gǎn xìngqù. 

Daya saya hanya bagai pengaji yang meluas.
我嘅強項只係作為一個廣泛嘅讀者。
ngo5 ge3 koeng4hong6 zi2 hai6 zok3wai4 jat1go3 gwong2faan3 ge3 duk6ze2.
我的优势仅仅在于广泛阅读。
Wǒ de yōushì jǐnjǐn zàiyú guǎngfàn yuèdú.








2026-04-12 at

All marriages are child marriages

The Very British Feed : 
What do you call a woman who doesn't want to get married? 

Me : 
Grown up.