ISHC 24

This is the question that always pops into mind when the printer refuses to print. We would normally run through a checklist of diagnostics such as, checking to see if the printer is on in the first place, the next thing would be the error indicators, which normally show the out of paper condition or jammed paper in the printer, which can be remedied fairly easily. There’s also the out of toner or out of ink indicator. For laser printers, there is also the possibility of a dead fuser, which is separate from the toner for most printers. So, if the problems are fixable with a quick replacement of a consumable, then it’s a trip to the computer mall or shop.

However, if the condition is something else, it would mean sending the printer to the repair & service center to get it repaired, and that would mean being without a printer for that duration, which leads to the decision to get a new printer. With the prices of printers getting so cheap, and it is really so, when compared to prices many years ago. Nowadays, one can easily get an ink jet printer for about $50-60, and a black & white laser printer for under $100.

With that in mind, it was interesting to see how one could accumulate a whole bunch of printers over the years, starting from a HP LaserJet 2M followed by a LaserJet 4550N, a nice color laser printer, which was a great workhorse outputting over 15,000 colored pages. With a reduction in workload, came in the inkjets, again with the HP and then the EPSON, which ended the color printing era, and then it was back to black and whites again. The very inexpensive Fuji Xerox did the job, when one didn’t quite work very well, it was time for a replacement again, with a slightly cheaper model, albeit the same brand.

In retrospect, if one had easy access to a repair printer facility nearby, one with a lot of printer parts to support that service. Well, such was not the case.

I was Googling the “law of 72” which is used in compound interest to determine how many times your initial investment is required to be compounded at a given interest rate to double itself. In Investopedia website they defined it as “a simple way to determine how long an investment will take to double given a fixed annual rate of interest”.

When I read the words “annual rate”, I laughed out loud. What if the rate was for a given “cycle” which less than a year, perhaps just over a month? Lets say there are 10 of these cycles in a year, and lets assume the rate per cycle is 7%, using the “law of 72”, it would be 72/7 or 10.28 cycles or in other words after 11 cycles, your initial investment would double.

Let us try a hypothetical scenario, where the minimum investment was $1,000, and you could increase it in increments of $100, so it would be $1,000, $1,100, $1,200, etc. For this illustration we can use 7% as the fixed rate per cycle. We shall use start with $2,000 for this example. After one cycle, you would get 7% or $140. Since the investment steps are in the nearest $100, you could increase the investment in the next cycle by $100, and save the $40 until it grows to $100 or more. Now let’s tabulate it over 11 cycles.

Cycle 1 Profit $140 Next investment amount: $2,100 Remainder : $40
Cycle 2 Profit $147 Next investment amount: $2,200 Remainder : $87
Cycle 3 Profit $154 Next investment amount: $2,400 Remainder : $41**
** $87 + $54 = 141 (so, we can add another $100 to invest)
Cycle 4 Profit $168 Next investment amount: $2,600 Remainder : $9**
Cycle 5 Profit $182 Next investment amount: $2,700 Remainder : $91
Cycle 6 Profit $189 Next investment amount: $2,900 Remainder : $80**
Cycle 7 Profit $203 Next investment amount: $3,100 Remainder : $83
Cycle 8 Profit $217 Next investment amount: $3,400 Remainder : $0**
Cycle 9 Profit $238 Next investment amount: $3,600 Remainder : $38
Cycle 10 Profit $252 Next investment amount: $3,800 Remainder : $90
Cycle 11 Profit $266 Next investment amount: $4,100 Remainder : $56**

As you can see after 11 cycles, the total amount is at $4,156 just a little over double the initial amount. If you could fit 10 cycles in a year, you can guess that a cycle is 5 weeks, as there are 52 weeks in a year. So, 11 cycles is a year and 3 weeks. In just that time, your initial investment has doubled, and in that same amount time a year later, it will double again. $2K becomes $4K, becomes $8K, $16K, $32K, $64K. This is what we call annual exponential growth.

Somehow this seems too good to be true, and yet truth is stranger than fiction.

Magnesium which is usually referred to as the fifth but forgotten electrolyte. Like calcium, only a small amount of body magnesium (Mg) is present in blood. Approximately half the total Mg pools is present in soft tissue and the other half is present in the bone. There are about 25 grams of magnesium in a person weighing 150 pounds, 53% is found in bone, 46% is in soft tissues and 1% is extracellular.

Magnesium is the second most abundant electrolyte next to potassium, and is a cofactor in more than 300 metabolic reactions. In other words, magnesium is basically involved in all metabolic pathways.

The importance of magnesium in human health is taken much more seriously outside the United States. Israeli researchers explain that diverse clinical manifestations have been reported in conjunction with magnesium deficiencies, including sudden death, accelerated atherosclerosis, asthma, neurologic, and even psychiatric clinical entities. They summarize the current literature concerning magnesium supplementation and recommend supplementation on a national basis by adding magnesium to the water supplies of large areas.

Magnesium is required for the removal of DNA damage generated by environmental mutagens, endogenous, process and DNA replication.

Magnesium has a stabilizing effect on DNA and chromatin structure, and is an essential cofactor in almost all enzymatic systems involved in DNA processing.

All components of connective tissue depend on magnesium. Four macro molecules make up connective tissue: collagen, elastin, proteoglycans, and glycoproteins. Magnesium serves to modulate the synthesis and degradation of both collagen and elastin. Proteoglycans, which allow for connective tissues to withstand compressive forces, and glycoproteins involved in connective tissue healing is regulated by magnesium.

Magnesium assists in the activation of vitamin D, which helps regulate calcium and phosphate homeostasis to influence the growth and maintenance of bones. All of the enzymes that metabolize vitamin D seem to require magnesium, which acts as a cofactor in the enzymatic reactions in the liver and kidneys.

Numerous authors acknowledge the problems that develop with inadequate magnesium intake. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency principally occur in the central nervous system (CNS), skeletal muscles, digestive tract, and cardiovascular system. Marginal magnesium deficiencies are thought to be very common. Inadequate intake of magnesium has been linked to various adverse health outcomes, including the development of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and headaches.

Symptoms related to the CNS often begin with depression as well as an inefficient memory and a lack of concentration. Several diseases have been linked to a disorder of magnesium metabolism, including chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, mellitus, premenstrual syndrome, cardiovascular disorders (acute myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and arrhythmias), stroke, renal tubular disorders and osteoporosis.

Magnesium deficiency creates a pro-inflammatory condition with an excessive production of oxygen-derived free radicals. It is now established that free radicals initiate and promote inflammation.

Magnesium deficiency is also known to promote a general state of nervous system hyperexcitability and a lower threshold for nerve stimulation which produces a substance that triggers pain receptors. With low levels of magnesium, calcium is more readily released in a muscle that is more readily contractible to a given stimulus and is less able to recover from contraction. Such increased muscle activity may reduce circulation in muscular tissues and promote hypoxia, which can lead to tissue injury and inflammation.

When in Bangkok, if you require anything computer or technology related, then Pantip Plaza is the place. This is one of the most well-known Bangkok electronic devices mall. Pantip Plaza is the mother of all IT shops in Thailand and has gained legendary standing as the place to discover new and used computers and accessories at rock-bottom costs. Located on New Petchaburi Road, Pantip Plaza has likewise obtained prestige due to the wide-spread technique of offering pirated software program, Music, DVDs … movies and porn. The mall itself has absolutely seen better days, yet Pantip Plaza is still drawing in the crowds thanks to unsurpassable bargains and affordable technological experts for deals, repair works and upgrades.

First of all, everything a technophile could possibly wish can be located here – typically several times over: laptops, tablets, software application, cams, components, printers, electronic cams, MP3 players … you name it. Pantip Plaza purchasing mall is where other investors from around the nation go to acquire at wholesale prices so cut out the middleman and buy direct from among the plenty of stalls to pocket some considerable financial savings or bag some added bonus. The fine art of negotiation is alive and well in Pantip so even if the trader won’t move on a certain rate, you can constantly ask for some freebies. With a lot competition for your personalized, shops are usually going to include a couple of additions to seal the deal.

Together with the smaller trading stalls, there are also 2 anchor establishments: Equipment House on the mezzanine level and IT City covering the entire of the top floor. These shops sell at a little higher prices than the others stores, yet they still supply suitable rebates along with the included safety of a supplier’s guarantee and dependable after-sales solution. Another fantastic function of Pantip Plaza is the bargain bins that could be found outside lots of stores, selling anything from cute and funky phone devices, to USB flash drives and computer mouse pads. Some of these bargain bins offer things for as low as 20 baht an item.

The repair shops are located mostly at the back part of the building. You can find them on the first and second storey of the building. The can repair anything from PCs, laptops, printers and so on. You can also find second hand or refurbished items there as well. If you have the time, do take the opportunity to explore the whole building to familarize yourself with what is offered.
It can be bit difficult recognizing where to go and which to trust in Pantip Plaza as the entirety of this five storey shopping mall is devoted to computer and innovation products. There are definitely well-trusted shops inside given that it’s not that uncommon to view a distressed-looking Thai bring their whole CPU into the techno-doctors that live inside; you recognize, the socially-awkward ones stooped over a computer system with a fan the dimension of a tiny plane propeller. The problem for some is that Pantip Plaza honestly offers fake products along with authentic, top-of-the-range designs, but it is necessary to keep in mind that Pantip Plaza has been running for well over Two Decade and the vast bulk of shopkeepers aren’t trying to tear any individual off. Although copies and counterfeit items are common, in mostly all scenarios the sales aide will provide you both the copy and the authentic product and it is then around the customer to determine. The key is to take your time, and to contrast costs.

To place it simply, if you are trying to find electronics equipment in Bangkok, Pantip Plaza is a have to – particularly if you’re shopping on a spending plan. Also just for the experience it is well worth your time to discover the intense and flashing stalls and considerable range of IT products supplied, packed from floor to ceiling. To get there, just tell the taxi driver “Pantip Plaza”, though the best time to get there is in the late morning before noon, as the traffic gets really bad, and many taxis would not want to take you there at that time. Alternatively, you can use the BTS, and get off at Ratchathewi and walk a few blocks over to Pantip.