Good News Bad News

Today I went to the doctor to get my cast removed. The bad news was that it was early. He usually recommends people stay in a cast 7 to 12 weeks. It's been five weeks since my surgery. I really wanted to get a removable cast instead of a hard cast so that I can shower. My incision is healed enough that I can shower and I've been very good about staying off my foot. My doctor agreed that I could change to a removable cast, but except for showering, I still have to wear it, including sleep, and I can't walk on it for another month. He also added two ace bandages for compression under the cast. Between the extra compression and sharper angle to my ankle, I am in more pain this afternoon than I have been in for weeks. The good news is that my ankle is healing well and I get to shower, the bad news is that I can't walk normally for another month.

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Tiered Internet - Not such a big deal

When AT&T and Verizon Wireless announced plans to provide tiered Internet service to companies like Google and Yahoo that use more bandwidth than others, a debate arose about net neutrality.  I'm not disturbed about this at all because it's already happening. On the consumer side, bandwidth is tiered by price and access - dialup, DSL/Cable, T1, .... The same thing happens on the provider side.  Businesses pay for the level of bandwidth they use.  It is only fair that the larger companies that suck up bandwidth contribute to supporting the backbone infrastructure required to sustain it or get throttled. Some companies providing bandwidth intensive services, like streaming movies, are already building their own infrastructure to contribute and ensure that their products are available at the quality they want to provide.  I'm much more concerned about content restrictions, such as limited search results and web site access in China, than in bandwidth restrictions because basic news can be provided and consumed over the most limited channel.

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Shampooing

A couple of times per week I go to Supercuts to get my hair washed. It's cheap, quick, and much easier than trying to wash my hair at home without getting my cast wet. One of the great things about my roll-a-bout is that I can use it as a leg rest when I'm out and about, like when I'm sitting at the hair washing station at the salon. It conveniently converts from carrying my full weight to providing a convenient spot to rest my cast. I only have one more week to go until I get a removable cast and can take showers.

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Tunnel of Trees

One of the most beautiful places to visit in Kauai is also very simple to visit. The Tunnel of Trees was created over a century ago to enable plantation products to move more easily across the island when the primary harbor was moved from one side of the island to another. The road through the tunnel of trees was built up in swamp land, then eucalyptus trees were planted along the both sides of the road to help maintain its integrity. Today the Tunnel of Trees is the primary roadway towards PoiPu from Lihau and one of the breathtaking sights on the island, despite having had the canopy damaged in hurricanes.

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Doctor's Visit

I have been feeling some pain and heat in my ankle when it's not encased in cold packs, so I went to see Dr. Discont today to make sure that it's not infected. Tim removed my cast, then the doctors came in to take a look at my incision. It was good news. My incisions looked very healthy with no sign of infection. My skin was a bit irritated with cotton stuck to it in the spot that was bothering me and I was probably feeling a bit of stretch. I also had a large spot of dry skin on my leg. So, I put some moisturizer on it before it was wrapped back up again in another purple cast. This time the cast is an inch lower than the second cast which makes it easier to wear while using my roll-a-bout. At my next appointment on the 28th I'll get a removable walking cast.

Technorati Tags: ankle blog blogs Janine White medical surgery

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Bathroom Improvements

This weekend Jim and his father installed new highboy toilets in both bathrooms and a grab bar in the master bath. Before, I was relying on a toilet seat riser and crutches to get up and down. The riser was helpful, but tended to slide around a bit. The crutches also worked, but had the potential to be unstable. I know two people who have fallen using crutches and gotten injured in addition to the leg injuries they were already trying to heal. Jim and his Dad did a great job. The extra three inches of height provided by the toilet and the grab bar make it much easier and safer to use the bathroom.

Technorati Tags: ankle bathroom blog blogs disability Janine White medical safety toilet

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Look for the simplest solution

In the CNET article, Understanding carrier networks, and your questions answered, a reader asks what they can do about strange calls on their cell phone bill that the cell phone company refuses to take off. The columnist responds with information on cloning cell phone, which is possible, but highly unlikely. However, there are several simpler solutions that are not mentioned. I would suggest double checking that the cell phone is properly stowed when not in use. On some models, it is easy to accidentally make a call if the phone is rattling around in a pocket or purse. The phone may have mechanical problems and be making intermittent calls. The user may have forgotten that they made the calls, not realize how long they were talking, or, as another reader commented, be confused by the calls because they appear to be going through a distant town due to the cell phone tower that relayed them. The simplest resolution is to monitor one's calls daily using online call records until one is convinced that the calls are legitimate, or until one has proof that one did not make a call at a particular time. While the complex, technically difficult anser that the cell phone has been cloned could be correct, mostly likely something much simpler has occurred.

Generally, the simpler the problem, the more likely it is to be the root casue and the easier it is to fix. When troubleshooting, it is best to start researching the simplest and easiest root cause and move up to the most complex and difficult root cause as needed. Follow the 80/20 rule. 20% of one's effort will generally provide 80% of the desired outcome. Only move on to the more complex root causes and difficult solutions after the simpler ones have been exhausted.

Technorati Tags: blog blogs cell Janine White phone technology troubleshooting

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Learning what you don't know that you don't know

It's amazing how easy it is to overlook details in life. Today Herschl Raney left a comment on one of the photos I have uploaded to BugGuide of a Syrphini. He complimented the photo and pointed out that there was a crab spider in the photo. I honestly hadn't seen the spider neither when I was taking the photo nor when I was processing it. I couldn't tell that there was a spider holding the hoverfly, that I originally thought was a bee until mizzbee identified it correctly on Flickr.

This is a small, concise example of how it's important to look for the little details in life, rely on other people's expertise, and be open to feedback. You can't anticipate when someone will tell you what you don't know that you don't know, and you won't learn from it if you're not willing to listen. The older I get, the more I understand how little I know and the more I rely on others' expertise.

Technorati Tags: blog blogs bugs feedback insects Janine White learning spiders Syrphini

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TV Licensing

Today I ran across, figuratively only of course, a blogger being harassed by the UK government to buy a TV license when he doesn't own a TV. My first reaction was that it must be spam of some sort. I had never heard of TV licensing. Although I have spent a couple of months in London, it was as a teenager with my parents before TV licensing was enacted. Being an American who pays plenty for cable TV and having experienced BBC TV, I couldn't imagine paying a tax of over 100 pounds per year to support BBC TV. In the UK, people do go to prison for not paying their TV license and fines if caught and convicted.

Having stumbled across such a thing, I was curious to find out why it was enacted. The British TV licensing web site gives lots of information about how much you have to pay under what circumstances, but it doesn't give any information about why TV licensing was enacted. I have found some web sites fighting TV licensing, such as Dealing with TV Licensing, Abolish the TV License and Campaign to Abolish the TV License, which provide more information. Apparently, it is primarily intended to support the state BBC TV channels, but people are not allowed to opt out of receiving them and the license does not depend on actual viewership, only the possession of television reception equipment. There are few exception, for example, blind people get a 50% reduction in the TV license amount and Seniors over 75 do not have to pay at all. Non-viewers are generally harassed with threatening letters, rather than accepted as an exempt category.

The amount of funding that the BBC receives through TV licensing is far greater than NPR receives from the US government. While about 75% of the BBC's over 2 billion pound budget is covered by the British government's TV License, only about 2% of NPR's budget comes from the US government. The BBC censors much of the news about controversy surrounding TV licensing because it can't afford to run in its current state without it. It sounds to me like it's time for the Brits to have their own version of the Boston Tea Party, a London TV Party, where a load of televisions gets ceremoniously dumped into the harbor.

Technorati Tags: BBC blog blogs Janine White license tax taxation technology television TV

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Cast #2

I had another doctor's visit today. My cast from the surgery was cut off. I had stitches removed, but the sutures will eventually be absorbed. The good news is that, although there is still some drainage, my ankle is healing very well. The bad news is that I got a new cast for another three weeks. My new cast is a bit tighter than the first one. My ankle is straighter and bent much closer to a 90 degree angle. I chose purple tape for this cast. I still won't be able to take a shower until I get my walking cast next visit. We stopped at Supercuts on the way home to get my hair washed.

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Roll-A-Bout

I received my roll-a-bout Wednesday and have been using it to get around the house this week. Getting around with the roll-a-bout is much easier and more convenient than other alternatives. It is much easier to use than crutches or a walker and is less bulky than, if not as manuverable or supportive as, a wheelchair. For anyone with a lower leg injury who can normally walk comfortably, I highly recommend using a roll-a-bout.

Unfortunately, a roll-a-bout is very expensive. The base model roll-a-bout starts at $599. It's possible to get them for cheaper used on eBay, but I never found one of the heavy duty models available at auction. Roll-a-bouts are not available locally for rental here. The Roll-A-Bout company rents them for $35 per week and I got a quote from another company that would rent one for $120 per month. This is much more expensive than the $52 per month rental for the wheelchair. Since I'm going to be using it for 2 months and Jim may need to use it later for his ankle, we decided to purchase the roll-a-bout. We may rent it out ourselves locally when we're not using it.

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