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I just checked my Google AdSense for September and I've finally had a click-through. Which translates into a $0.04 commission for me. Wow. One of you out there actually clicked on an ad and made me some money. Bless you, kind reader.
Now I just have to update my tax information and figure out how to get them to cut me a check... I gots bills to pay after all. :)
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
How about a nice sharp stick in the eye, huh?
Last Monday, around 10am, I suddenly developed a spot in my left eye that seemed as though someone had taken a flash photo of me, except that nobody had and the after-image didn't go away. It was irritating, and by evening it had grown into a ring-type shape.
In addition to the after-image, the area was also blurry and kinda acted like a blind spot in that items in that area weren't as sharp and a little muted colorwise.
In a disappointing first, Google failed me in trying to figure out what this was. So did Yahoo and Ask for that matter.
When Tuesday rolled around and it was still there, I decided to set up an appointment with an Opto... oftho... ophta... eye doctor. After staring at a bunch of charts and having my eyes dilated and examined, the doctor came back with Central Serous Retinopathy (or CSR to the initiated).
Basically, a vein in the upper layer of my retina is leaking fluid (but not blood) and this is causing a bulge in my retina that's manifesting as a blurry spot in the center of my vision. Apparently I've had this before since there's some scarring on my retina, though I've never had these symptoms. My left eye did start going slightly out of focus a while back, but only slightly and I figured it was just part of getting older and getting closer to needing glasses.
Apparently CSR is a fairly common thing in males (check) aged 20-40 years (check) and it's usually brought on by an episode of stress (check, heck, infinity-check).
The tough part is, there's no treatment for this, though it does eventually go away on its own. I can expect a few weeks or months of this wonderfully distorted vision and then it's a total crapshoot if I'll return to normal or if I'll always have some limited blurriness and bad night-vision in that eye.
So driving and working in front of a monitor all day has been fun. I've developed a bit of vertigo at times when walking, mostly due to the fact that my left eye can't really see much at center vision other than general shapes and colors. Depth-perception is right out the window and good luck trying to read the alarm clock in the morning.
I love how the body sometimes deals with stress, putting you in situations that would seem to make things even more stressful. "Wow, I'm really stressed out. I know, let's screw up my vision! Yeah, that should make the stress go away!" Sheesh.
In addition to the after-image, the area was also blurry and kinda acted like a blind spot in that items in that area weren't as sharp and a little muted colorwise.
In a disappointing first, Google failed me in trying to figure out what this was. So did Yahoo and Ask for that matter.
When Tuesday rolled around and it was still there, I decided to set up an appointment with an Opto... oftho... ophta... eye doctor. After staring at a bunch of charts and having my eyes dilated and examined, the doctor came back with Central Serous Retinopathy (or CSR to the initiated).
Basically, a vein in the upper layer of my retina is leaking fluid (but not blood) and this is causing a bulge in my retina that's manifesting as a blurry spot in the center of my vision. Apparently I've had this before since there's some scarring on my retina, though I've never had these symptoms. My left eye did start going slightly out of focus a while back, but only slightly and I figured it was just part of getting older and getting closer to needing glasses.
Apparently CSR is a fairly common thing in males (check) aged 20-40 years (check) and it's usually brought on by an episode of stress (check, heck, infinity-check).
The tough part is, there's no treatment for this, though it does eventually go away on its own. I can expect a few weeks or months of this wonderfully distorted vision and then it's a total crapshoot if I'll return to normal or if I'll always have some limited blurriness and bad night-vision in that eye.
So driving and working in front of a monitor all day has been fun. I've developed a bit of vertigo at times when walking, mostly due to the fact that my left eye can't really see much at center vision other than general shapes and colors. Depth-perception is right out the window and good luck trying to read the alarm clock in the morning.
I love how the body sometimes deals with stress, putting you in situations that would seem to make things even more stressful. "Wow, I'm really stressed out. I know, let's screw up my vision! Yeah, that should make the stress go away!" Sheesh.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The 40 Year Old Virgin
We Tivoed (is that a word?) The 40 Year Old Virgin a few weeks back and settled in to watch it last night.
Hysterical. I started laughing from the moment the movie started and Steve Carell walks through his room of action figures and I really didn't stop laughing for longer than a few minutes until the credits rolled. Totally infantile in every way, but not as crude as American Pie and its offspring... more like a Kevin Smith film. Basically, it's a guy film.
Apparently, they had to remove 15 minutes of footage to avoid an NC-17 rating. Kinda makes me curious to check out the Unrated version. Anyone out there seen it already?
Hysterical. I started laughing from the moment the movie started and Steve Carell walks through his room of action figures and I really didn't stop laughing for longer than a few minutes until the credits rolled. Totally infantile in every way, but not as crude as American Pie and its offspring... more like a Kevin Smith film. Basically, it's a guy film.
Apparently, they had to remove 15 minutes of footage to avoid an NC-17 rating. Kinda makes me curious to check out the Unrated version. Anyone out there seen it already?
Friday, September 21, 2007
Episode II - Attack of the Stones
Y'all remember the Kidney stone that my pregnant wife just had removed. Well she started having some pain around her ribcage the first week of September that she described as "like a metal band tightening around [her] bra-line".
The best the docs could tell us was to give her some Tylenol-3 (hooray Codeine!) and Zantac and have her rest in a tub. While this worked, she was continuing to have episodes so we scheduled a visit to the doctor's office.
Everything kinda happened quickly after that (but don't worry, it's a happy ending... kinda). She got there and the doctors hooked her up to a monitor to listen to the baby's heartbeat and see if she was having contractions. Which she was. Every 1-2 minutes.
She called me on the way to the Maternity Ward in tears, worked up over the fact that she was headed back when we'd figured we wouldn't be back there until it was time for her to give birth in November. I skipped out of a training session I was in and took the rest of the day off to be with her.
A few shots of whatchacallit and she was no longer contracting, but the doctor on duty was concerned about her recurring pain (FINALLY! A doctor that listens!) and scheduled her for an ultrasound. What seemed like an eternity later, the results were in: Gallstones.
You're shitting us, right? First kidney stones, now gallstones.
"Look at it this way hon," I told my wife, "there's no other organ that makes stones." I have no idea if this is the case, but I've never heard of a spleenstone, have you. Nope, just kidney and gallstones.
So we're not entirely sure if this means that she's going to have to deliver via c-section or what other considerations there are going to be, but at some point the gall bladder's coming out.
For now, we're managing her diet to keep out saturated fats and prevent more episodes. Which is interesting, but not as difficult as we'd first feared since there's so much fat-free food out there.
So, yeah, it's been an interesting month.
The best the docs could tell us was to give her some Tylenol-3 (hooray Codeine!) and Zantac and have her rest in a tub. While this worked, she was continuing to have episodes so we scheduled a visit to the doctor's office.
Everything kinda happened quickly after that (but don't worry, it's a happy ending... kinda). She got there and the doctors hooked her up to a monitor to listen to the baby's heartbeat and see if she was having contractions. Which she was. Every 1-2 minutes.
She called me on the way to the Maternity Ward in tears, worked up over the fact that she was headed back when we'd figured we wouldn't be back there until it was time for her to give birth in November. I skipped out of a training session I was in and took the rest of the day off to be with her.
A few shots of whatchacallit and she was no longer contracting, but the doctor on duty was concerned about her recurring pain (FINALLY! A doctor that listens!) and scheduled her for an ultrasound. What seemed like an eternity later, the results were in: Gallstones.
You're shitting us, right? First kidney stones, now gallstones.
"Look at it this way hon," I told my wife, "there's no other organ that makes stones." I have no idea if this is the case, but I've never heard of a spleenstone, have you. Nope, just kidney and gallstones.
So we're not entirely sure if this means that she's going to have to deliver via c-section or what other considerations there are going to be, but at some point the gall bladder's coming out.
For now, we're managing her diet to keep out saturated fats and prevent more episodes. Which is interesting, but not as difficult as we'd first feared since there's so much fat-free food out there.
So, yeah, it's been an interesting month.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
First Anniversary
Ask me how hard it is to believe that it's already been a year. Go on, ask.
Really, really hard. Really.
Add to this the fact that in that year we've sold a house, moved across the country, changed jobs and become pregnant and you begin to realize just how fast the year has flown by.
That said, it was nice to have a three-day weekend to celebrate.
That said, we didn't get to do much celebrating because my wife was recovering from kidney stones.
That said, we did do some low-key celebrating. I cooked up some New York Strip steaks with rice and veggies. No champagne (pregnant) though we'll be sure to break open a bottle at some point and drink down some bubbly.
My mother-in-law sent us our cake, which has been taking up a bit of space in her freezer for the past year. We defrosted it and had a slice. It wasn't bad, though it wasn't as good as I remembered it was a year ago. It was almost like a year in the freezer had taken a bit of the taste out of it. Beyond that, the thought of eating something a year old was a bit... eww.
My folks sent us a clock, which is the contemporary gift for a first anniversary. Traditionally, the gift was paper. Not sure how that evolved. Not just any clock though, it was a clock that my Dad and I restored years ago and which was in my old room at their house. It's a gorgeous clock with brass accents and weights and one I've always liked for its beauty and sentimental value so it was a treat to see it emerge as we opened their package.
So over the next year we plan to take it muuuuch slower. With the exception of buying a house, giving birth and learning how to be parents. Yeah, so much for that "slow" plan, eh?
Really, really hard. Really.
Add to this the fact that in that year we've sold a house, moved across the country, changed jobs and become pregnant and you begin to realize just how fast the year has flown by.
That said, it was nice to have a three-day weekend to celebrate.
That said, we didn't get to do much celebrating because my wife was recovering from kidney stones.
That said, we did do some low-key celebrating. I cooked up some New York Strip steaks with rice and veggies. No champagne (pregnant) though we'll be sure to break open a bottle at some point and drink down some bubbly.
My mother-in-law sent us our cake, which has been taking up a bit of space in her freezer for the past year. We defrosted it and had a slice. It wasn't bad, though it wasn't as good as I remembered it was a year ago. It was almost like a year in the freezer had taken a bit of the taste out of it. Beyond that, the thought of eating something a year old was a bit... eww.
My folks sent us a clock, which is the contemporary gift for a first anniversary. Traditionally, the gift was paper. Not sure how that evolved. Not just any clock though, it was a clock that my Dad and I restored years ago and which was in my old room at their house. It's a gorgeous clock with brass accents and weights and one I've always liked for its beauty and sentimental value so it was a treat to see it emerge as we opened their package.
So over the next year we plan to take it muuuuch slower. With the exception of buying a house, giving birth and learning how to be parents. Yeah, so much for that "slow" plan, eh?
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Harry Potter & The Sub-Prime Mortgage
Suffice it to say, there's going to be spoilers in this post.
I finished reading the final Harry Potter book recently and, though I believe it was about as good a send-off as we could hope for, there are a few discussion points to be had IMHO.
First - Death
For a book that takes its title from a mythical group of three items that together make the wearer the "master of death", there sure is a lot of dying in this book. And a lot of seemingly random, needless, senseless dying.
Sure, it's a product of our times, but there are a few "rules" out there, especially in Hollywood, such as "The Dog Never Dies". Show me a movie other than Old Yeller (or any other movie where an animal is the lead character) where a dog bites it. Even that lame Stallone movie where everyone's trapped in the tunnel under the east river... that darn dog lives.
But what character is the first to go? Hedwig the Owl. C'mon. Cute white snowy owl that we've come to know and love over the course of 6 books as Harry's trusty messenger and only summer friend... BAM hit by a killing curse and then unceremoniously blown up BY HARRY in a falling motorcycle side-car.
Beyond that, there's the death of a minor, death of parents resulting in the orphaning of a child, extraction of trophies from the dead... you get the picture.
Second - Deus Ex Machina
Something I've always loved about Rowling's writing was that she'd sneak something into a story that seemed trivial, yet proved to be a useful bit of information a book or two later.
Sorcerer's Stone opens with Harry speaking to a snake, a trait that seems merely magical to us unknowing muggles, yet this plays a very important role in Chamber of Secrets and future books that delve into the connection between Harry and Voldemort.
Later in the same book, it's revealed that Fred & George Weasley seem to know their way around the school better than anyone else but it's not until much later in Prisoner of Azkaban, that it is revealed they've been using the Marauder's Map to find their way around and learn about all the secret passages in and out of Hogwarts.
The twins' joke shop, the Room of Requirement, the list goes on of items and themes alluded to and later revealed.
So was I the only one that was competely broadsided by the Hallows?
With the possible exception of Harry's Cloak, there's really no mention of them at all throughout the entire series. Maybe I just need to read it over again from start to finish. Yeah, that's what I'll do. (evil laugh)
Finally - "19 Years Later"
For a guy who evolved from "the boy who lived" to the boy who killed Voldemort, you'd expect he'd be a bit more celebrated and swarmed by fans. Further, you'd expect that any evil or crazy wizard out there looking to make a name for themselves would be itching to challenge him to prove they are more powerful.
Not that I'd want him to be eternally haunted by his past or paranoid in the epilogue, but it just feels a bit too suburban the way she's written it. It's almost as if he's settled into a happy, safe muggle-like lifestyle with 3 kids and a mortgage.
But I really did like it...
Besides all that, I really liked the book and thoroughly enjoyed the series. Frankly, I can't wait to see this particular book on the big screen. The battles at the end should be quite a treat to see with all the giants, acromantulas, wizards, thestrals, centaurs and furniture in the mix. With any luck, they'll leave enough time over to do justice to the rest of the story.
So what did you think of the book and series?
I finished reading the final Harry Potter book recently and, though I believe it was about as good a send-off as we could hope for, there are a few discussion points to be had IMHO.
First - Death
For a book that takes its title from a mythical group of three items that together make the wearer the "master of death", there sure is a lot of dying in this book. And a lot of seemingly random, needless, senseless dying.
Sure, it's a product of our times, but there are a few "rules" out there, especially in Hollywood, such as "The Dog Never Dies". Show me a movie other than Old Yeller (or any other movie where an animal is the lead character) where a dog bites it. Even that lame Stallone movie where everyone's trapped in the tunnel under the east river... that darn dog lives.
But what character is the first to go? Hedwig the Owl. C'mon. Cute white snowy owl that we've come to know and love over the course of 6 books as Harry's trusty messenger and only summer friend... BAM hit by a killing curse and then unceremoniously blown up BY HARRY in a falling motorcycle side-car.
Beyond that, there's the death of a minor, death of parents resulting in the orphaning of a child, extraction of trophies from the dead... you get the picture.
Second - Deus Ex Machina
Something I've always loved about Rowling's writing was that she'd sneak something into a story that seemed trivial, yet proved to be a useful bit of information a book or two later.
Sorcerer's Stone opens with Harry speaking to a snake, a trait that seems merely magical to us unknowing muggles, yet this plays a very important role in Chamber of Secrets and future books that delve into the connection between Harry and Voldemort.
Later in the same book, it's revealed that Fred & George Weasley seem to know their way around the school better than anyone else but it's not until much later in Prisoner of Azkaban, that it is revealed they've been using the Marauder's Map to find their way around and learn about all the secret passages in and out of Hogwarts.
The twins' joke shop, the Room of Requirement, the list goes on of items and themes alluded to and later revealed.
So was I the only one that was competely broadsided by the Hallows?
With the possible exception of Harry's Cloak, there's really no mention of them at all throughout the entire series. Maybe I just need to read it over again from start to finish. Yeah, that's what I'll do. (evil laugh)
Finally - "19 Years Later"
For a guy who evolved from "the boy who lived" to the boy who killed Voldemort, you'd expect he'd be a bit more celebrated and swarmed by fans. Further, you'd expect that any evil or crazy wizard out there looking to make a name for themselves would be itching to challenge him to prove they are more powerful.
Not that I'd want him to be eternally haunted by his past or paranoid in the epilogue, but it just feels a bit too suburban the way she's written it. It's almost as if he's settled into a happy, safe muggle-like lifestyle with 3 kids and a mortgage.
But I really did like it...
Besides all that, I really liked the book and thoroughly enjoyed the series. Frankly, I can't wait to see this particular book on the big screen. The battles at the end should be quite a treat to see with all the giants, acromantulas, wizards, thestrals, centaurs and furniture in the mix. With any luck, they'll leave enough time over to do justice to the rest of the story.
So what did you think of the book and series?
Friday, August 24, 2007
The Pregnant Wife & The Kidney Stone
No that's not the name of a recently unearthed chapter in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, it's unfortunately been the story of our lives for the past week.
Monday night, my wife woke up with a terrible pain in her side. She thought that she had pulled a muscle while flipping in bed but the pain didn't respond to massage or a heating pad and after 2 hours of agony, we decided to take her to the local Urgent Care.
Trouble is, they were closed at 1:30 in the morning. Actually, they closed at 8pm the previous evening. BUT THEIR *HUGE* RED "URGENT CARE" SIGN WAS STILL LIT UP BRIGHT AS DAY. Genius, eh?
So we continued on to the Emergency Room in Pineville and they admitted us to the Maternity Center because she was pregnant. Apparently we were supposed to have called before coming in so our OB could be ready for us. Again, would have been good to know earlier.
Initially, they thought that she had a kidney infection but she didn't have a fever and her labs came back negative. Still, they started pumping her full of antibiotics and kept a fetal monitor on her to track our baby's heart rate and my wife's contractions. 16 hours and 1 ultrasound later, they diagnosed her with a kidney stone.
After a consultation with a urologist, we agreed to have them implant a stent in her kidney to provide some pain relief and then come back in next week to have it removed and zap the stone with a laser. The pain relief after the implant was instantaneous and it was great to see my wife's eyes smiling again after 2 days of pain.
With the pain gone and the baby well, they discharged us on Thursday morning and we've been home ever since. My work gives us the option to work from home with permission so I've been taking advantage of that opportunity to be here in case I'm needed.
Apparently, we're now living in the "Stone Belt" and Kidney and Gall Stones are pretty common here due to the diet and minerals in the water. Yeah, I'm soooo drinking nothing but bottled water from now on. And sticking with my weirdo California diet (though that mostly consisted of McDonald's & Chili's).
Monday night, my wife woke up with a terrible pain in her side. She thought that she had pulled a muscle while flipping in bed but the pain didn't respond to massage or a heating pad and after 2 hours of agony, we decided to take her to the local Urgent Care.
Trouble is, they were closed at 1:30 in the morning. Actually, they closed at 8pm the previous evening. BUT THEIR *HUGE* RED "URGENT CARE" SIGN WAS STILL LIT UP BRIGHT AS DAY. Genius, eh?
So we continued on to the Emergency Room in Pineville and they admitted us to the Maternity Center because she was pregnant. Apparently we were supposed to have called before coming in so our OB could be ready for us. Again, would have been good to know earlier.
Initially, they thought that she had a kidney infection but she didn't have a fever and her labs came back negative. Still, they started pumping her full of antibiotics and kept a fetal monitor on her to track our baby's heart rate and my wife's contractions. 16 hours and 1 ultrasound later, they diagnosed her with a kidney stone.
After a consultation with a urologist, we agreed to have them implant a stent in her kidney to provide some pain relief and then come back in next week to have it removed and zap the stone with a laser. The pain relief after the implant was instantaneous and it was great to see my wife's eyes smiling again after 2 days of pain.
With the pain gone and the baby well, they discharged us on Thursday morning and we've been home ever since. My work gives us the option to work from home with permission so I've been taking advantage of that opportunity to be here in case I'm needed.
Apparently, we're now living in the "Stone Belt" and Kidney and Gall Stones are pretty common here due to the diet and minerals in the water. Yeah, I'm soooo drinking nothing but bottled water from now on. And sticking with my weirdo California diet (though that mostly consisted of McDonald's & Chili's).
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