If a MAG Innovision LT565 Model 568 (LCD monitor) has a sharp image then turns yellowish then turns sharp then turns yellow, does that mean the power supply is failing? Worth repairing?
Month: February 2008
Of Grasshoppers
Student: Today shall require miracles!
Master: Take what you get.
Ready for my mid-life criss convertible
CDC Warns on “Choking Game”
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a press release warning about deaths due to the "choking game" in which people, primarily boys between the ages of 11 and 16, intentionally strangle themselves in an effort to obtain a brief euphoric state. (That means getting high.)
Signs that a child may be engaging in the choking game include
- discussion of the game ––including other terms used for it, such as "pass–out game" or "space monkey"
- bloodshot eyes
- marks on the neck
- severe headaches
- disorientation after spending time alone
- ropes, scarves, and belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor
- unexplained presence of things like dog leashes, choke collars and bungee cords
If parents believe their child is playing the choking game, they should speak to them about the life–threatening dangers associated with the game and seek additional help if necessary.
The CDC provides excellent injury prevention information.
Thursday Sucked
Aside from being Valentine’s Day, which I received some nice candies and a DVD from my wonderful wife, today was pretty horrible. That’s all.
Does size matter in social media?
No relation to the penis size debate.
Proud Dad So Happy He Wet Himself
This is one of those blogging moments that most people don’t want to read but I’m posting it anyway. My boy pee’d in the toilet! And on the toilet and on the seat and the wall and the floor. Yes, he recognized he needed to go and knew what to do! Of course, aiming and control seems to be an issue. Dude has a bladder and a half too! We could be a diaper free house soon! Even the puppy seems to be getting it. We may not even need the training pads that we used with Molly.
Quote of the Day
Via IWon.
Adversity is the trial of principle. Without it, a man hardly knows whether he is honest or not.
– Henry Fielding
Holiday Cad
I let another holiday slip up on me but this time I had plans! I had a very specific hour set aside to get my shopping out of the way. Unfortunately, irony usurped that hour away from me.
From the mouths of babes
Amy: "Our house is like a pet store."
Note: We are dog sitting for a few days so we have 3 dogs in the house, an indoor cat, a fish tank full of snails (maybe some fish), an outdoor cat, squirrels, and who knows what else.
NOOOO! I slept.
This week I have made great strides at reducing my sleep schedule down to a reasonable 3 to 5 hours. Last night I considered an all-nighter but I was head bobbing and unable to focus so I committed myself to a couple of hours of restorative sleep. A couple of hours turned into too many (5 or 6 maybe 6.5 or 7). I despise sleep.
Time to write some test plans. Yes! I’m actually getting to apply real honest to goodness quality assurance stuff to my work! By no means, does this come close to IEEE but its something.
Of Grasshoppers
Student: I want to do
Master: You must do
Dharma Speak!
Our German Shepherd howls when I go downstairs.
Mobile post sent by djuggler using Utterz.
I just saved $480 a year and it had nothing to do with Geiko!
I purchased my first cell phone in the fall of 1997 with BellSouth Mobility. Since I would be taking credit card numbers over the phone, their 8bit encrypted digital was more important to me than connectivity. And anyone that had a BellSouth Mobility phone knows that they didn’t have great connectivity! Knoxville’s signal map looked like a piece of Swiss cheese. Regular users knew the spots on the road where signal would be lost and would apologize in advance, "I’ll call you back in 20 feet" or pull over. My phone was a Motorola flip phone that weighted a ton and was huge by today’s standard. It was strong enough to make my brain vibrate in my head. At one point I went in the store to upgrade and was warned off with the explanation that phones were not allowed to send a signal as strong as that one anymore and that I should keep it until it dies hard. The "sim card" was the size of a credit card and mine was labeled "first 100 customers" which I do not believe for one instant that I was one of the first hundred customers of anything.
I took advantage of programs as BellSouth Mobility (which became Cingular) introduced them. As such, I ended up grandfathered into a lot of nice features. When text messaging was introduced, they had unlimited free text messages. Since the feature was grandfathered, I had the pleasure of sending tons of messages while others customers were charged. I also had a feature called Alternate Line Service. It allowed my one phone to have 2 phone numbers, one for business, one personal. Unfortunately they both went to the same voicemail box until a technician made a mistake and allowed each to go to its own voicemail. I kept this feature 3 years after they quit selling it. See, it did not completely work with the AT&T towers. You could receive calls on either line but could only make outgoing calls on your primary line. This feature cost $4.95 per month. When my old Motorola v400 bit the dust and I was forced to upgrade to the Motorola RAZR v3xx which supports up to 4 lines, Cingular/AT&T explained, "We don’t support that feature anymore. Your account is provisioned for it but you will have to get Motorola to explain how to configure your phone." Right! No such luck. "OEM?" I canceled my Alternate Line Service.
Looking at my bill I realized that although I had been assured the feature was canceled, I continued to be billed $4.95 per month. Yesterday I decided to fix it. I finally found a competent rep would arduously worked to fix the problem and apply some refunds. Additionally, I decided that the $4.99 per phone per month I was spending on insurance with a $50 deductible on 3 phones just wasn’t worth it (it was supposed to be on 4 phones but one fell through the cracks). Although Sarah loses her phone all the time, I think it will be cheaper to buy a new one than carry the insurance. Additionally, I was paying $19.99 each on 3 phones for a feature which has been reduced to $15 per month. Overall, I am now saving roughly $40 per month on our cell phone bill which comes to $480 a year! A call to customer service for credit cards, cable, phone, etc can often result in money saving adjustments on your bills.
Penis Size Debate
Big better?
Update 10/18/2008: I had to track down the image as the original link is dead. I don’t know the source of the study and I don’t recall the original image having that website on it.
