Friday, September 19, 2008

Relief in a Pot

MedicineBack in May after month's of not breathing right, and a wine tasting where I could only judge the wines by body and the four tongue tastes (acidic, sweetness, bitterness, and salty) I finally went to see an allergist. As it turns out, I have asthma, extreme grass pollen and cat allergies, and much lower weed and dust sensitivity. The allergist decided to be "aggressive" in my treatment. Aggressive, apparently meant prescribing nine medications and allergy shots. I threw away the script for eye drops, since I couldn't take them with my contacts, and started on my medicinal journey. About three weeks in, I quickly came to the conclusion that I had no intention to pay the $150 for refills and started scaling back on some of the meds. Lighted PotFor example, Nasonex and Astelin inhalations went from twice a day to once. I also started to resume an activity I started after Christmas and before the grass allergy totally closed my sinuses off: nasal irrigation. That's right, the neti pot. Now your mileage may vary, but for me, I definitely breathe and sleep better on the nights I use the pot.

Monday, July 21, 2008

How to ruin a fanbase:

1. Create a TV show with a lot of foreshadowing, then put out a finale which ignores all of it and goes a totally different direction with no explanation
2. Leave a bunch of holes in the plot
3. Have an eight month hiatus between episodes then run all remaining shows and finale in six days.
4. Release the details of the finale three months before airing in a book written for 10 year olds
5. Introduce characters, spend time developing them, make them vanish, and never say what happens to them.
6. Insult your fans in an interview

Great job Viacom, Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko

Friday, July 18, 2008

What does this mean?


What does this mean?
Originally uploaded by bilhelm96
I saw this sign at a country/western bar/restaurant near my office. I find it hilarous and frustrating at the same time. What does "management" base its discretion on? Will I get kicked out if I don't wear cowboy boots and a hat? What if I wear colors that aren't in style? If you want the ability to throw people out for any reason, just put up a sign that says, "We can throw you out for any reason we want." Don't hide behind some unclear random dress code "policy."

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Open Comms

I've been home sick the last two days and have been watching a lot of TV while I lay on the couch. Yesterday I watched "Pump up the Volume" for the first time since it came out on video. If you haven't seen it, it is from 1990 and Christian Slater is a high school student who causes problems for the school by starting a pirate radio station. Being in high school myself when the movie came out, I enjoyed reminiscing while watching it, I couldn't help realizing how the movie did not stand the test of time. Seriously, a pirate radio station! Nowadays one can just get a free account on Podbean or one of a hundred providers and start a podcast. Or create a blog like this one if you desire. The boundaries to creating communications today are down to almost zero.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Baby Josh


Baby Josh
Originally uploaded by bilhelm96
My new nephew. 8lbs 4oz 20.5in born 10:58am

Thursday, June 19, 2008

How the mighty have fallen


How the mighty have fallen Originally uploaded by bilhelm96
Saw this at work and I couldn't believe it. First because it might be the largest cache of remaining Zip disks anywhere. Second, because they were free. Not even five years ago these things were like gold. We had to bribe the admin's to get them for us. Just another item in the bin of tech antiquity.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Jawbone 2

I bought a Jawbone 2 last week to replace my Jabra BT250v. As much as I liked the 250, the noise cancellation left much to be desired. Since, many people rated the "Roberto, Assassin", I mean, Noise Assassin technology as beyond belief, and AT&T came to my office selling them at half price, I got one. First off, Noise Assassin works as advertised. I took a call from my sister while in the car with the sunroof vented, windows partially open, and the radio on, and doing 50mph; she thought I was in my house. The trick is that the little white tip on the front must touch your face for the thing to work. The tip senses the vibrations in your jaw to determine if you are speaking. Unfortunately getting the headset in the right place is a bit of a feat. I tried the two leather ear loops and all three ear pieces and it always feels like it is about to fall off my face. Interestingly the picture on the Jawbone home page has the model not using an ear loop. Ha, I tried it and every time I turned my head it fell out. Clearly an area where the Jabra over-the-ear headsets have an advantage, it always fit my ear right. The buttons one the Jawbone are easy to find, but mildly confusing. Pressing the main button to answer and end calls seems standard, but pressing the second button for two seconds to initiate a call isn't. Better would have been just to press the main button similar to the Jabra. Overall I like the Jawbone, especially the noise cancellation, but if it wasn't half price I wouldn't have bought it.