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Awake.

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Living days while working nights has proven to be a challenge. It seems as though every night I fall asleep with little effort, but wake up every night between 2 and 3 am–like clockwork–and just can’t seem to fall back asleep.

Tonight I woke up and it was like a switch had been clicked. Wide awake. I hate it. I want to sleep when I’m home, and want to be able to function during the day when possible. Honestly, I wish when I woke up NORMALLY it was that quick.

I am sure part of this is from getting up with Asher for soooooo many nights at nearly that exact time, but I know most of it is from my Night work schedule. It has proven to be a challenge I didn’t expect.

I know that the final key to the puzzle is a little anxiety. Honestly, we’re just skating by financially and have been going through several other medical issues between Mrs Medicthree, Asher, and myself. Asher’s Kidney draining issue is still undiagnosed, despite nearly 30,000 dollars in tests and doctor visits. Mrs. MedicThree’s problems seem to be in the clear, but will require frequent monitoring to be sure. As for myself, I am scheduled for Nissen Fundoplication surgery on Tuesday for my Acid Reflux/Gerd and I am rather anxious to get it over with. I have such frequent reflux that it is a serious burden on our lives. I’m also hesitant because of some of the terror stories out there about the side effects, but I feel as though I have no choice at this point.

Anyways, I plan on fininshing up a few posts in the making this morning/tonight, so please keep coming back to see what I’ve got.

Godspeed, Friends.

Posted by medicTHREE on September 30, 2009 • Filed under: Life, Stress, father, husband, medic, sleep • Tagged: , , , , ,

My Life in Pictures

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In No particular Order.

Enjoy:Gyro Pita, Global Market—Minneapolis, MN

While waiting at a light on the way toa call. Yes, that is plexi and plywood for a window.

Asher out and about in the Best Damn Stroller Ever(Chico Cortina…)

Headed to work I saw this. Yes, that is a motorcycle with a trailer… and a dog in it.

Sunrise on my way home from work yesterday. I take a long way just for this.

Fog over the river. Part of the reason I take the long way home.

My dogs in a moment of bliss. Not often do they give us this peace…

All photos taken with my BlackBerry Storm. Feel free to add me to BBM on your Berry, medicthree@gmail.com
Posted by medicTHREE on September 28, 2009 • Filed under: Home, Life, father • Tagged: , ,

How to Deal with a BlackBerry thats Gotten Wet–THE RIGHT WAY

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DISCLAIMER: YOUR PHONE MIGHT ALREADY BE GORKED. THIS IS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO GIVE YOU THE BEST ADVICE POSSIBLE TO FIX YOUR PHONE. IF THIS DOES NOT FIX YOUR PHONE, IT ISN’T MY FAULT. YOU’RE THE ONE WHO PIDDLED ON IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. NO, I DON’T NEED YOUR STORY ABOUT HOW RICE SAVED YOUR LIFE. I DON’T CARE THAT SOME COINCIDENCE HELPED. THIS IS THE PROPER PROCEDURE. LIVE WITH IT.

Many of us have experienced the dreaded moment where our BlackBerry has met H2O up close and personal. Many of us have managed to salvage our devices too, sometimes with luck, sometimes with skill, sometimes purely on accident.

There are many ideas out there on what to do: rice, water, alcohol, desiccant, etc. But the trouble is we don’t know why those reasons have worked for people, or if they have at all.

Many here and all over the internet swear by using rice to draw out the moisture. While people have claimed to have great success with this method, there is no proof it is actually saving their device. How do we know that the phone didn’t just dry out on its own, given the proper time? The prinicipal behind rice is that it “draws” out the moisture. While yes, rice does absorb a great deal of moisture, its drawing power is very limited. There are no rice gnomes that sneak out of the rice and bring the moisture back for the rice gods.

This leads us to Silica Desiccant. These are the little packets found in your shoe boxes, pill bottles, and many other packing materials. Obviously that tiny pack isn’t going to help, but you can get desiccant pouches at gun shops and craft stores sell loose desiccant used to dry flowers(it may just be labeled for such, not as desiccant). Silica desiccants do draw out moisture with great success. Far superior to rice, and best of all can be recharged in the oven on low-slow heat. Trouble is they only adsorb the water–not the crap the water brought with it.

Often I have found that many people recommend rinsing with distilled water. The idea being that you are rinsing the impurities. While this is a good “idea”, you could just force more water into places we don’t want it! I think we forget that even though the phone was submerged water may not have made its way all the way into the phone and main board. You have then made a situation that would have dried out all on its own far worse.

So… It takes a little thought on how to do this best. Despite all of the “this is what worked for me” stories, not ALL situations are the same. This might take a little critical thinking, and if you aren’t capable, just go ahead and call up Assurion and file your insurance claim. (PS, there is no guarantee you CAN salvage your phone, but these steps are your best bet).

Step ONE:
Expose your phone to water/liquid. Could be pee, could be a bottle of beer, could be both.


Step TWO:
Immediately remove battery. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Do yourself a favor, take the battery, put it in a drawer and forget about it for a few days. The battery door can go with it, too.

Step THREE:
Using a soft towel pat the phone face down onto it. The keyboard is the major source for water entry into the phone. Allow gravity to work. Don’t try to turn it on now. Whatever you do, do NOT TRY TO TURN IT ON!

Step FOUR:
Go to the drug store and buy 100% rubbing alcohol(likely 91% might be the best you can find). Go to a well ventilated area with no spark risk. Away from your computer and tv too. Fill a bowl with enough alcohol(do not use liquor. do not use anything with coloring. THink about this… 80 proof liquor is only 40% alc, and has loads of other “stuff” in it. The very stuff we are trying to remove.) Take your phone, place gently in bowl, and lightly swish. Very gently . Remove from the bowl and repeat step THREE. Here it is in case your up arrow is broken:

Quote:
Step THREE:
Using a soft towel pat the phone face down onto it. The keyboard is the major source for water entry into the phone. Allow gravity to work. Don’t try to turn it on now. Whatever you do, do NOT TRY TO TURN IT ON!

Step FIVE:
This is the tough one. Wait. Wait until you think it is dry, then wait 2 more days. The alcohol that you rinsed your phone with displaced the water, now it must evaporate. There are risks to long term alcohol exposure for your phone–it can break seals(just like in people…) and break glue bonds. I’ve done this to 5 phones(not all mine, but for family/friends) and never experienced any alcohol related failures(the same can’t be said for their owners). I recommend waiting at least 4 days. 5 is better. I know, you can’t live without your phone for that long… but this is an attempt to save you some cash. Live with it.

Step FIVE 1/2:
Drying location. Some swear by rice. I wouldn’t put my phone it it. Short of a vacuum rice isn’t going to draw from the phone any more than it would the air. I find the best location is NEXT to an air conditioning vent or dehumidifier. Not on top of, not directly in line. We don’t want any forced air action, but the passive effects are great. If you must, you can use desiccant pouches. If you use loose, put it in a sock, and the phone in a sock, then put in the same close ziplock with the air sucked out. I would still allow the phone 24 hours to dry open air before giving it the desiccant treatment.

Step SIX!!!!

Put battery in. Watch closely to see if anything is different that before. Flashing, smoking, flames, and booms are all bad things. Normal is good. If it turns on completely, check EVERY button so you don’t have a surprise. If there is moisture under the screen, use DESICCANT from the gun shop/sporting goods store/craft store to draw it out. Follow instructions in Step Five using a ziplock bag–make sure to suck air out(or even better, a vaccuum packing machine). Test out your salvaged phone. If it works, rejoice!
Alcohol is particularly helpful when the liquid was NOT water. It removes the sticky icky from your phone. That sticky icky really kills your keyboard. There is no guarantee you will save your phone this way, but this is the way I have saved 5 so far. This is also what we used in electronics assembly to clean delicate electronics for THESE signs. Some phones are beyond saving. This is a risk you take when you decide to attempt to save your piddle paddle phone. Live with it.

Good luck. There are a million stories on the web about how to do this, but I promise you I have researched and have the electronics experience to do this the right way.

G
ood Luck!

Other Important TIPS:

1Backup your data/3rd party apps, and do it OFTEN.
**Updated**How To Back-up 3rd Party Applications**Updated
2 Keep your phone in a case such as the Seido Innocase or better yet and Otterbox to protect it from drops and such.
3 BACK UP YOUR DATA/3RD PARTY APPS. OFTEN.

Posted by medicTHREE on September 20, 2009 • Filed under: blackberry • Tagged:

On Behalf of a Greatful Nation

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At 0846 AM Eastern Time on 09/11/2001 American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north side of Tower One of the World Trade Center Complex. This was the beginning of one of the worst days in American History.

Before this day “hijackings” were about money and power. Before this day you were much less likely to look at a Middle Eastern male the way you do now. Before this day the word “terrorist” wasn’t a political buzz word. Before this day there wasn’t a burning grave on the tip of Manhattan.

I’ve talked before about 9/11′s significance to my family. But now, just one year after that post, it is hitting me pretty hard. I’m sitting here with my son–Asher Harold. Harold for my grandfather–the man we put to rest on this day 8 years ago–and I keep blubbering like a baby. I miss him. I understand death. I understand that it is part of the process we call life. I also understand that his death left him in peace, whereas the end of his life was in pain and suffering.

I understand that.

But I’m still pissed. I’m pissed that he, and his wife, and my mother’s father didn’t get the chance to meet my son.
I’m pissed that so many people didn’t get to see their loved ones that night. I’m pissed that innocent men and women paid the price for someone’s ideology. I’m pissed that my brothers in service ran IN to a building to save people, only to never come out.

I keep struggling to find a way to just let it go. My emotions take a roller coaster thinking about it. I’m sad for the families who have had to suffer this great loss. I’m pissed at the men who thought this to be the only way to get their message out.

I don’t know what to say to any of them, but I think this is most appopriate for the victims families:

On behalf of the President of the United States and the people of a grateful nation, may I present this flag as a token of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service your loved one rendered this nation.


Sure, they weren’t “soldiers”. But they lost their lives because they lived on American Soil. They lost their lives on that principal alone.

My Grandfather was in the Army. Those words were said to my Grandmother with my Uncle by her side, his Navy Dress clean and crisp. Every time I hear them, or read them, or even think about them I get the same chill.

Today might not be about our troops… but we need to be better as a country and make EVERY day about our soldiers fighting on our behalf. They didn’t sign up to fight. They signed up out of pride. They signed up out of need. They signed up fora million reasons, but so very few people signed up because they want to go to war… So please, please take a minute to remember the fallen, and pray for those risking it all on daily basis.

Godspeed all. We miss you all.

We miss you grandpa.

Posted by medicTHREE on September 11, 2009 • Filed under: Coping, father, husband • Tagged: , ,