Introducing Accidental Verbosity

Yesterday my wife announced over on The Accidental Jedi that she was working on a project. I think she did a great job! We designed the layout a few weeks ago, fiddled with CSS and all its glory before taking the tried and true approach, which she sat down and implemented yesterday while I was at the office. Then last night and this morning we finalized it.

Folks, I give you...

I will be posting over there now. At least, on days when I have time to post! Feel free to link and visit accordingly.

The old blog will primarily be archival, and will remain the home of Carnival of the Capitalists business.

And now, I turn the computer over to my lovely wife...

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More On The Sleep Apnea Thing

I was poking around and found this page on sleep apnea and snoring. Of interest, it says:

It is generally safe to say that unless an obvious and easily correctable physical obstruction can be identified in patients with sleep apnea (e.g., massively enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids) that a surgical procedure is never the treatment of choice. The gold standard for the medical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea remains nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Nasal CPAP is the most effective, non-invasive therapy for the patient with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It is effective in reversing day-time somnolence and in eliminating cardiopulmonary sequellae. When used properly, CPAP produces regular rhythmic breathing, and results in a patient who not only feels dramatically better, but is also able to function more efficiently. Compared with no treatment and indeed compared with other treatment modalities, patients treated with nasal CPAP have a lower morbidity and mortality rate.

Which is in keeping with other comments like it I had seen, indicating that the machine option is so strongly the option that it makes sense for it to have been automatic. Which makes me no less curious about the results of the lab test in greater detail, nor any less curious about whether there might be another option. However, the surgical options sound more costly (depending how sleazy my whacky insurance gets), painful, and disruptive for me.

I can see why they'd at least want to try this first and foremost.

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Welcome To The Machine?

So a few weeks ago I was tested in a sleep lab, to see if I have sleep apnea or what.

I've been eagerly awaiting the results. So eagerly, I was planning to stop at my doctor's office and harass him today, since my next appointment isn't for another month.

Well, now I have the results! Sort of. It became known to me in the form of a call from the equipment vendor that, yes, I do have sleep apnea and, indeed, they plan to hook me to a machine. As opposed to doing something surgical or whatever. The nice woman from the company called to get my insurance info and found that DME - durable medical equipment - is in fact not covered by my sleazy insurance plan. Before I actually spend the $500 - 800 I can't afford, I actually want to talk to a doctor and like, you know, see the results of the test. Sheesh.

Worse, the person who sent the vendor at me was not the doctor, but a "Jean" who represents a bunch of doctors all affiliated with the hospital where I was tested. This was odd, because I was like "Jean? Jean who?"

Anyway, I told them I wasn't doing anything until I actually talked to the doctor. In the meantime, it is kind of cool to know there's something genuinely there.

Update:

I stopped at the doctor's office. He's at a seminar for the week, but the nurse/receptionist knew all about it. When I told her I'd gotten no word on results besides someone calling to check on whether my insurance covered the equipment, she said "didn't Jean call you?" "No, it was someone Jean designated to call." I am not absolutely certain if the person was with the vendor of the equipment or was a go-between, but it did sound like she worked for the vendor.

I explained to Judy (at the doctor's office) that I would prefer to see the details and know what alternatives we were setting aside before I get the equipment. As I told Deb, it would be as if I looked at your computer and then gave you options for new ones buy, without any word on why I came to the conclusion you needed to replace it completely. Chances are it is the most appropriate outcome. But were there alternatives and why were they considered less desirable; cost? avoiding time off work for surgery? questionable whether surgery would work where this is bound to? I'm torn between hurrying up so I can have the new life it is likely to give me and waiting a week to be sure I have talked to the doctor for real.

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An Intensely Moving Experience

Absinthe & Cookies has moved! It is now at http://bittersweet.ondragonswing.com. Be sure to update your links. You do have it linked, right?

All AgitProp, All The Time - aka Frozen In Montreal - has also moved. It is now at http://fim.ondragonswing.com. Ditto.

Ummm... the same goes for Ninjababe's Ramble, now at http://ramble.ondragonswing.com. Notice a trend here?

Exactly. Mickey's Musings has also moved, and can be found at http://mickey.ondragonswing.com.

And finally, Girls! Girls! Girls!, which is great fun to read when people remember to post to it (hint, hint), is now at http://girlblog.ondragonswing.com.

The dragon must get mighty tired sometimes, carrying all that around...

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Why Didn't I Think of That...

In keeping with upcoming CotC host Don Quixote's suggestion for all such metablogging events, I have created a fixed URL that will always redirect to the most recent instance of Carnival of the Capitalists:

http://elhide.com/solo/cc.htm

There is bound to be a fuzzy area around the time a new CotC is first posted, same as with my announcing it in the traditional venues. Apart from that, the above address should always take you to the latest, just as capitalists -at- elhide.com forwards submissions to the current host.

The hosts and info Carnival of the Capitalists page will remain, along with the previous locations page. Respectively they remain a way of organizing and publicizing the list of who has volunteered to host in the future and info about CotC, and archiving the links to past locations for benefit of any who might have missed one.

The new URL will give you the convenience of not having to go looking for the exact link each Monday.

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Smashing Good Posts

Read Citizen Smash.

Specifically, start with his overview of attending the protest. So where are the pictures dude?

Then continue through Rebecca's little speech, and finally Smash's excellent and restrained interview with Rebecca.

Superlative stuff.

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Comfy Chair Devolution

One thing I forgot to mention when I talked about our recent visit to Barnes & Noble was their elimination of comfy chairs. In fact, all chairs. Except in the Starbucks section of the store.

They replaced them with a large info desk nobody seemed to be using, and additional racks and tables of books.

I found the whole thing jarring, even though I am not one to sit in the store and read at length. I always used the chairs when hanging out at the store with Nicole and Sherri, when my legs wore out or I got bored but one or both of them were still looking. While I still like the store, I dislike what they have done.

Soooo... what is their reasoning? Did they study it and decide the comfy chair revolution didn't work? Did they decide the cafe area was enough? Did the proponents of sales per square foot through more inventory per square foot win out over the proponents of more sales per store (and visit, and square foot) through longer visits and "third place" environment in one of those corporate battles we see only the results of? Did Starbucks nudge them into it so they can be the only part of the B&N; that people hang out in? Does their decision make sense? What might it mean for the comfy chair tactic in other companies? Have you seen this change at B&N; or other stores in your area? Is it the new trend; a sign the revolution is over and the tide turned?

Personally I preferred it the old way. From a business perspective, I am not sure which way makes more sense. What do you think?

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Read The Whole Thing

I have to agree with Glenn on this one. Read Lileks Now. A tidbit to get you piqued and started:

Imagine if you woke from an operation and discovered that your tumor was gone. You’d think: I suppose that’s a good thing. But. You learned that the hospital might profit from the operation. You learned that the doctor who made the diagnosis had decided to ignore all the other doctors who believed the tumor could be discouraged if everyone protested the tumor in the strongest possible terms, and urged the tumor to relent. How would you feel? You’d be mad. You’d look up at the ceiling of your room and nurse your fury until you came to truly hate that butcher. And when he came by to see how you were doing, you’d have only one logical, sensible thing to say: YOU TOOK IT OUT FOR THE WRONG REASONS. PUT IT BACK!

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March 22nd Carnival of the Capitalists

The Entrepreneurial Mind, has the March 22nd edition of Carnival of the Capitalists at http://forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/archives/000674.html.

The next edition will be hosted at Solport. Send your entries to capitalists -at- elhide.com per usual.

Remember the hosts and info page, aka Carnival of the Capitalists home page, is at http://www.elhide.com/solo/cotc.htm and the past CotC locations are linked at http://elhide.com/solo/pastcotc.htm so it's easy for you to find "historic" ones.

I posted recently regarding open host slots for the rest of the first year of CotC, and the plan for subsequent slots.

The announcement mailing list mentioned last week and at the top of the Carnival of the Capitalists page is still worth noting, but may not be entirely reliable until I change servers. For instance, I sent an announcement there first when I learned CotC was up this week, but it hasn't come through, and I won't be able to troubleshoot and force the issue until I go to the office in the morning. Not that that won't be soon enough for most people, but just in case anyone wonders.

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When Is A Bubble Not A Bubble?

When it's a result of deficiencies in GAAP with respect to companies less tangibly based than was long the norm.

Via Real Clear Politics

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Still Poor

Well, we didn't win PowerBall. Even at a piddly $12 million, it would have been nice. Oh well.

We went to breakfast yesterday at Good Days, in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, which I highly recommend. Deb seems to concur. We met my father, stepmother, sister, brother in law, and the two nephews who are their geek offspring. At least, Deb declared them geeks, since Dan was reading I, Robot at the table, while Marc was wrestling with a Gameboy. This means the only major relative of mine she hasn't yet met is my grandmother. We should probably hurry, since my grandmother is turning 88 this year. Then again, in my family that means she could have another 15 years or so. And we're not even part of the Howard Trust.

Following breakfast, it was such a beautiful day we went for another Sunday drive on Saturday, in which Deb picked up Rhode Island as another visited state. We went route 24 to 195 to 95, south a bit past Coventry, then turned around and went up 95 all the way to 128. I did that last bit to show her how 95 just sort of ends at the point where it was supposed to continue into Boston. Could have gotten off on 495, in Sharon, or whatever.

While we were on the drive, I detoured off 195 into Warren, RI to my usual place for PowerBall purchases. Usually I only buy them when the jackpot is huge, but hey.

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Carnival of the Capitalists Hosting

A couple people who previously hosted Carnival of the Capitalists have asked to host again following the anniversary. I asked them to come back and remind me in a couple months, since I didn't want to start filling more 2nd year dates yet.

Then, yesterday, someone asked to host in the "for rent" slot I had listed for October 25th, which I had left there after the anniversary date mainly to show that CotC was not ending after its first 54 weeks. Given that there was a good reason, and it was apparently open, I gave out that slot to someone who hadn't previously hosted.

There are 13 slots remaining until the anniversary, which are open to anyone who has never yet hosted. I'd like to see more of the biz and econ bloggers sign up, but you do not have to be someone who ordinarily posts on those topics to be a host. You can merely be interested enough in them to want to do the work of hosting. Feel free to let me know if you'd like to host one of those weeks.

I will start accepting hosts for CotC editions after October 25th once the remaining slots prior to then have been filled, or in two months, whichever comes second. When I start filling in the post-October dates, they will be open to previous hosts as well as those who have never hosted, first come, first served. As in the past, I may cease taking new volunteers temporarily if the list gets too far ahead.

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Deb Can Cook

I meant to post this after the meatloaf. The hash browns pushed me over the edge.

Deb is astounded, but she can really cook. Tonight she made hash browns from scratch as an experiment. They were awesome, and went nicely with the egg and cheese thing she does so well. Of course, now I will want them all the time...

She also made one of the tastiest meatloafs I have ever had, and the women in my family can seriously cook, including meatloaf. Ironically, she started it, found there was no onion to follow the normal recipe, and threw in a little garlic powder to flavor it instead. It also made great sandwiches as leftovers. Mmmmm...

I'm still not sure she believes I liked it that much.

Of course, being from my family, I cook some of the time too. Neither of us ordinarily do anything fancy. It's fun to try things one of the other of us haven't tried before.

In other news, I got home early and we had supper all ready before 8:00. We sat down to watch Joan of Arcadia, aka the best show on television, and basketball was on instead. Poor God! Shoved aside by a mere game, like some small God. So we watched Amok Time instead of Joan. Love. that. Shatner.

Has anyone watched Wonderfalls? I happened to flick to it for the first episode. Just the kind of thing to give Deb whacky dreams. To her dismay, I flicked to it again. I guess we're officially hooked, so each Friday night I can listen to Deb yell at the TV "take him home! He's cute! And he likes you! Even though you're insane!" Silly Jaye is overlooking the obvious when it comes to her favorite bartender. Anyway, it's like a really screwed up Joan.

And there you have it... another Friday night of Bloggers In Love.

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No Naked Vulvas Here

I was quite amused to find I was the number one hit in this search for naked vulvas in my referrer logs. Sorry guys; no pictures here. This is a tame blog.

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Kelley Sez I'm Da Man

Woohoo! I am so happy my suggestion for fixing Kelley's internet connectivity problem worked. When I saw the mention of proxy server, I thought of my own experiences with the same thing. In fact, the machine I am typing this on sometimes gets plugged into my client's network rather than mine. When I do so, I have to do the same thing with WSP Client.

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Slacker Dude Meet Snow Parking Etiquette

As anyone who lives in a place with snow and on street parking learns, there is etiquette involved in parking. A form of property right, however informal, for that matter.

In my current abode, parking spots are not assigned, beyond the fact that each of the two apartments gets one of the three spots in the upper driveway, and the other spot is up for grabs. Since there are three of them and two of us, we leave two spots for them and park the other cars down below.

There's a twenty-something slacker dude in the other apartment, who in return for a small break on rent is responsible for things like clearing the walks when it snows. He approaches these tasks with the utmost lack of enthusiasm, as you would expect from a twenty-something slacker dude in his first apartment. For shoveling out our cars, we're on our own.

The etiquette is that if there has been enough snow to bother clearing it, you "own" the spot you cleared.

Day one of the current snow madness saw me spending most of an hour shoveling out my van, which is the vehicle we usually park in the upper driveway. Slacker Dude had the spot beside mine, and because I am a snow clearing perfectionist I cleared my passenger side well enough to leave him little to do on his driver side.

I came home and my spot was intact. He hadn't moved his car yet, and the girls he shares the apartment with are classy.

Next day I spent another half hour clearing around my car again.

When I came home, he was in my spot. He had cleared the snow off his car, leaving a ridge of snow in the space that had been between our two cars. He shoveled behind his car enough to get out safely, but nothing more. When he came home and stole my spot, he crowded it such that I could barely get in, and would step out of my car into a large mound of snow.

I saw what had happened, had a mild tantrum, and parked down back in an unshoveled spot, but one where I wouldn't have to step in a mound to exit my car. I figure between the unsafe manner in which I flew around the corner and into the other spot, the fact I didn't park in the spot he abandoned for my pristine one, the doors slamming, and my briefcase hitting the floor with a significant thud, he might notice I was unhappy and take the brain out of suspend mode long enough to puzzle out why. If he doesn't figure out this bit of snow parking etiqutte now, the easy way, sooner or later he may be in a position to find out less gently. I figure perhaps one of the girls will explain it to him, as I am sure they have a clue.

Of course, since we are unlikely to need snow parking etiquette again until next winter, even if he "gets" it now, there's the risk he won't remember. I know it's probably a silly thing to get pissed off about, but a day later I am still irked.

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A Fascinatingly Goofy Quiz

You are Walt Whitman! Champion of the
Transcendentalist American Ideal, Walt Whitman
is one of the first poets to use the "free
verse" form in America. He has been
imitated, but will never be duplicated, just
like you! Except for by everyone else who gets
Walt Whitman ;)


Which famous poet are you? (pictures and many outcomes)
brought to you by Quizilla

Via my loverly wife, who must be compatible, since she had the same result, here

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Linking Blogs Linking Posts

Spoons has a post on blogging with which I vehemently disagree, as you will see if you read the comments.

For the easily confused, it is the second link you want for the specific post. The first link is a courtesy link to the main page of the blog in question, as is common, courteous, but not mandatory, blogging practice to include.

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