What's Going On

Multi-Topic Post!

1) Diagnosis: ITB tendonitis in my right knee. The massive dose of Ibuprofen gave me a headache for two days (how is that even possible?) then heartburn that felt like painful hunger. So, on to the next anti-inflammatory drug. It was also a lot of trouble to find someone with a Cho-Pat strap in my size - they were all out of mediums at the doctor and the home-health pharmacy. I had to drive to Elk Grove Village today after my physical therapy session to go to the other doctor's office and pick one up there. Oh well, at least I have a name for the pain now. And thank God for health insurance.

2) Take Jessie's survey on blog use. It is for her graduate class in market research, and it is about why people read blogs. Help us skew her data set!

3) My bike is in the shop for a tune-up. This is the first tune-up since I bought the bike, like, oh, seven years ago. I do intend to ride it this year, I promise! We've got such nice paved trails in the forest preserves around here, I really shouldn't be making any excuses not to ride.

4) USGS has a website where you can download, for free, their topographical maps. You can also order printed versions. I've got one of the White Rock, AZ area, from when I did that summer internship in Los Alamos. If you think maps are nifty, you should play around with this website for a while.

5) My aunt and uncle got me a Nintendo DS for my birthday! Red, of course. My favorite game so far is PRISM. (Not a surprise.) All Optics nerds should be required to get this game. It also has an interesting cooperative two player mode for download play.

6) Many people spend winter pouring over seed catalogs and planning gardens for the coming spring. I was online ordering more car-care products. On Saturday, the weather was warm enough to wash and wax both cars. I used Zaino Z-7 Show Car Wash and Z-AIO to start with. Results are nice, but once I get the Z-6 and Z-2 on my car it will really start to look as good as it did four years ago when I first used the stuff.

7) My brother had an amazing senior recital. I didn't know clarinets could make such expressive sounds. I wish him the best of luck with his upcoming auditions for "real" jobs.

8) It's all who you know. My manager's wife was chosen to be interviewed in "W" magazine because she had done the hair for the wedding of the sister of the assistant to the beauty editor. Or something like that.

9) I'm glad it's acting like spring now. I was even glad to see mud again - that means the ground isn't frozen anymore.