Fri 02/05/2010 4:01 PM

pick me up when i'm down

Winter. My most hated time of year. Specifically, that long stretch of winter after the fun of the holidays is gone, until it's possible to comfortably wear short sleeves outside again. That depressing, draining, drawn out second half of the season, when there aren't even any work holidays to break up the monotony. (Oh, I know some of you get MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday even... I don't.)

I get depressed at this time every year. And I hate when people ask why or tell me I don't have anything to be depressed about, because that's not what depression is. It's not being sad about something. It's your brain not processing stress correctly, or focusing on every little negative thing in your life and making them all seem a hundred times worse than they are. It's chemicals all out of balance and making you sad, angry, mean, forgetful, super sensitive... sometimes all at the same time, and with no apparent reason. When someone asks you why, you just burst into tears because you honestly don't know why.

I've come to know myself well enough to recognize what is happening, but that doesn't necessarily give me the power to do anything about it. The only cure is the onset of spring: the warmer weather leading to more time spent out of the house, leading to more sunlight, fresh air, and social interaction. But there are a few things I can do to help myself cope on the really tough days.

One of my favorite things to do to get out of my head is to sing. I love to fire up Singstar on the PlayStation 3, pull out my professional microphone stand, and just sing my heart out, pretending that I'm up on stage in front of thousands of adoring fans. In that moment all I am thinking about is the song I'm singing, and everything else just disappears. I honestly think that belting out my favorite karaoke tunes produces endorphins just like exercise does for most people.

They say laughter is the best medicine, and it is definitely up there for me. Our TiVo is set to record plenty of comedic TV programming, and sitting down for a good dose of humor almost always makes me feel better when I've had a rough day. My all-time favorite giggle-fest is America's Funniest Home Videos, but I also get a kick out of Jay Leno's "Headlines" segments and lots of other shows, including The Office, Community, The Middle, and 30 Rock.

My third pick-me-up is similar to the second, but instead of TV, the entertainment comes from my two dogs, Brooskey and Vixen. First, each of them is wildly entertaining on their own. Just last night, Brooskey gave me one of the heartiest belly laughs I've had in a long time. He likes to chase the beam of a flashlight or laser pointer, and he also likes to steal both items, not seeming to realize that if he has it in his mouth, we can't aim it for him to chase. We've often remarked how much easier life would be if he could just aim it and entertain himself. So last night, when he decided to steal the flashlight, Chris got up and turned it in his mouth so that it was pointed forward, and Brooskey actually started chasing the beam around with the flashlight in his own mouth! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. (Don't worry, we didn't let him do this for very long, for both his safety and that of the flashlight.) But anyway, a whole new dimension of entertainment comes into play when Brooskey and Vixen interact with each other. They can be comical, and other times downright precious, because they love each other so much. Either way, everything they say about pets being good for your health, and good for your soul, is true.

(This post is my entry for yesterday's 3x Thursday: Pick-Me-Ups.)

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Mon 02/01/2010 7:10 PM

making the move to windows 7

Since we got FiOS we've been very happy with both the TV and internet service, but the change must have awoken some dormant problem with my computer, because my connection to our wireless network gradually degraded until I just could not get online at all anymore (even though I was supposedly still connected with excellent signal). Other computers and networked devices in the house were working perfectly, so I knew it was a problem with my computer and not the FiOS service. The more I tried to fix it, the worse it got, so I finally got pissed off enough to pull the trigger on something I'd been contemplating for a while anyway.

I installed Windows 7.

My disgust with the situation did cloud my judgment, and I probably pulled the trigger a bit prematurely. My first mistake was that I did not run the hardware compatibility scanner provided by Microsoft. I was going to, but then decided to skip it, assuming all of my hardware would be supported. That did not turn out to be true. First I was unable to install a driver for my wireless card. Now, since this is what was acting up in the first place, it's entirely possible that the card was just dead. Either way, I have a new one on order. I also realized that my sound card was far too old to have a Windows 7 driver available, but this was not a huge problem since my motherboard has a built in sound card which works just fine. I also forgot to look to see which files and folders I was backing up with my online backup service, so that I could reconfigure it to back up the same data. Fortunately I was able to find this information by browsing the backup through their web site.

So, my haste didn't cause any problems that I wasn't able to fix, at least not so far! My system is up and running, and running very well at that. I'm using a USB wireless adapter until my new card gets here, and I also have some more RAM coming to make it run even better. I'm installing the software I need as I need it, and so far haven't had any problems with that. I am however anticipating needing to find a new graphic editor. I have been very set in my ways, running a quite old version of Paint Shop Pro which I don't expect to be compatible with this version of Windows (not to mention I can't find the install disc). My scalable copy of the confoozled.com logo is saved in PSP format, so I either need something which can read that format or I'll need to convert it to something else using my work computer. (I've already tried the GIMP; though it does read PSP format, it fails attempts to open my logo file.) But I'm not stressing too much about it; if I can't find anything that will open it, it will be a good excuse to design a new logo!

I am, so far, very happy with Windows 7 and its performance even without the extra RAM. I do feel like a fish out of water making the move to this from Windows XP, but I am getting the hang of it. Things work very differently, but I think I like most of the changes they've made.

Hooray for total frustration driving one to do what should have been done a long time ago!

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Fri 01/29/2010 1:14 PM

my 2010 tech wish list

Okay, so I'll weigh in on the iPad. I wasn't one of those people who went into the announcement with my mind already made up to hate it and to hurl insults at those who don't, but in the end I was less than impressed. In terms of functionality it isn't much better than an iPhone or iPod Touch, except for the bigger screen size. However, I feel you can get that screen size along with much better functionality, for about half the price, with a netbook. The iPad seems to me more like an iPod/Kindle hybrid than a "tablet" - when I hear "tablet" I expect it to behave more like a computer, but this thing doesn't even multitask. If you don't already have an iPod Touch (or iPhone) and/or a Kindle and have been thinking about getting one, this may be the product for you. But it's not for me.

That said, here are some of the tech products I am lusting after these days.

Netbook
I like being able to surf the web and get a little work done from the comfort of the couch. My iPhone makes this possible some of the time, but its small screen and lack of Flash support makes viewing certain web sites impossible. Not to mention that no multitasking means a lot of waiting for apps to launch, close, and relaunch. My initial interest in the iPad was as a solution to this, but since they chose not to address the multitasking issue, and it still might not support Flash (the answer to this question being unclear right now), and given the price tag, a netbook still seems to be the right option for me. Here are a few models I'm interested in.

Digital Photo Frame
I live far away from my family, and have several siblings, not to mention nieces and nephews who are growing and changing every day. I have a few picture frames on my desk at work, but there's not enough room for everyone, and the pictures I have in them are really out of date. A digital frame would solve all of my problems. One frame to cycle through photos of everyone I want to keep close, and easy to keep up to date as my family members send me new photos, even when they are too low resolution to print - not to mention not having to struggle with opening and closing stubborn frames. I'm currently looking at these two models.

RAM Upgrade
I want to upgrade my desktop PC to Windows 7, and in order for it to run well I need more RAM. Need I say more?

LCD HDTV + TiVo HD
I'm getting tired of the dinosaur TV set we have in the bedroom, not to mention the creaking sounds I hear sometimes make me think it's going to one day fall through the top of my dresser! We use the old Series 2 TiVo in the bedroom as an overflow for when we have three shows to record at the same time, but we've definitely become spoiled by HD and hate watching those recordings in boring old standard definition. We don't have the money right now, but an HD upgrade for the bedroom is definitely on the wish list.

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Tue 01/26/2010 10:50 AM

the problem with buying early

What a bonehead I am. A few months ago while reading one of Jen's posts at Spaghetti Harvest, I decided to buy some of her soaps to give as gifts during the holidays. And then I completely forgot about them until now.

I had stored them on the top shelf in the hall closet, and it was the other day when I was putting something away that I smelled them, looked up, and facepalmed in my mind only because I can't actually get my palm to my face. They are clearly a Christmas scent, so it's not like I can just give them out for birthdays or something. Now I don't know what to do with them. Will they lose their potency by next Christmas? I don't even know.

What should I do?

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Fri 01/22/2010 3:20 PM

my headache fighting arsenal

A Plinky writing prompt from earlier this week: "Share how you treat a headache."

As you can tell from numerous posts here, I get a lot of headaches, for all different reasons. If it has the potential to cause a headache, you can bet that for me, it will. Allergies, stress, fluorescent lights, heat, cold, loud dogs barking, eye strain, sudden weather changes, thinking about time travel, hunger, thirst, sleeping in too late... you name it. How I treat them often depends on what's causing them in the first place. Sometimes it's obvious, other times not so much, and other times I just instinctively know what's going to make me feel better.

My first line of defense is a dose of painkillers, and my drug of choice is Excedrin. Excedrin is a combination of aspirin and acetaminophen with a bit of caffeine to boost its speed and effectiveness, and it's the only thing that seems to work for me. Either of these drugs alone has very little effect, and I have an intolerance to ibuprofen (i.e. it makes me vomit). Naproxen (Aleve) also has no effect on my headaches, though I do use it for joint and muscle pain.

Sometimes, though, drugs alone are not enough. And sometimes I get a lot of headaches in a short period, and I dislike taking the painkillers several days in a row. So I keep a few other tricks up my sleeve.

Cold Therapy: I keep a soft freezer pack frozen at all times at home, and I carry one-time use instant cold packs in my purse (activated by squeezing to pop the water pouch inside, setting off a chemical reaction). Sometimes I apply the cold compress directly where it hurts, sometimes to the opposite side of my head, sometimes the back of my neck. It all depends on what feels like it's helping. Most of the time just a few minutes of this will numb the pain enough to let the drugs do the rest.

Vapor Therapy: Often I can tell that a headache is caused by sinus congestion. This happens in one of two ways: either excessive pressure in my sinuses causes pain directly, or reduced airflow causes a sort of oxygen deprivation headache. Either way, menthol and eucalyptus vapors can help a lot. At both home and work I have a small waterless vaporizer which works by heating up a replaceable pad soaked with these oils.

Food: Sometimes I get hunger or low blood sugar headaches. The obvious cure for these is to eat! Sugary snacks, especially chocolate, usually help the most, but sometimes I'll crave something specific. I just listen to whatever my body is telling me, and it's usually right.

Drink: Headaches caused by dehydration are usually helped by downing a couple of glasses of water in a short period of time. Not too much too fast, though; I don't want to end up with water intoxication. Vascular headaches, those caused by expanded blood vessels supplying too much blood to the brain, sometimes need a little more caffeine than what's in the Excedrin, so I'll drink a Coke Zero. This depends on the time of day and how much caffeine I've already had, though, as my heart does not tolerate high amounts of it as well as it used to.

Sensory Deprivation: When all of the above fails, there's nothing left to do but lock myself in the darkest, quietest room I can find, and wait it out. If I can relax enough to fall asleep, most of the time I'll be good as new when I wake up again.

Again, I don't have any scientific method of identifying what type of headache I have; it's just something I know. And I don't necessarily get it right 100% of the time.

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