I think it’s a great idea… (thanks to
Archive for July, 2008
Sleep study – split night with CPAP
July 23, 2008Other members of my family have sleep apnea, and according to Alice — I might too. So last night was the night I went in for a test to see if that’s indeed the case.
I showed up at the hospital ER — the designated meeting place for the study — pillow in hand, along with my backpack of a change in clothes, a book of puzzles, etc. We were walked over to the sleep lab… which looks exactly like you’d think it does. There were 4 rooms, each with a bed , night stand, lamp, desk and chair. The bed in my room was a full sized bed. There was also a ceiling fan and a wall-mounted infrared camera so they can watch you sleep.
The fun really gets going once they get you “wired up”. There were some 20-25 probes/leads connected to me so they could watch various facets of my sleeping. Everything from heart monitors, to leg motion monitors, snore microphone, brain-wave leads, breathing monitors, etc. They used bandage tape as well as some kind of sticky paste to make sure the leads stayed in place. It had kind of a sticky/sandy feel to it. Here’s what I looked like once everything was connected.
Lights out and off to bed.
I was actually fairly tired from the day, so I don’t think I had too much trouble falling asleep. I did think I had a restless night of sleep however. For me this was somewhat normal, since I got the sensation that I was in a new hotel room… and sometimes I find it tough to sleep in a new place that I’m not comfortable in yet. To the lab and technician’s credit, they did everything reasonable to help me feel comfortable in the room… but you know how it can be if you’re in a strange place and you know people are going to be watching you. Also, when I know I can’t really move a lot in bed — such as when I’m wired up like this or maybe sleeping next to my kids (and I don’t want to roll on them) — I think part of me stays awake and won’t let me go into a deep sleep… I guess I’ll find out when they review the data and report back to me.
As part of the test, when you show certain signs or meet certain test criteria, they enter phase 2 of the test. Apparently I met those criteria. In the middle of the night, I was woken up by the lab tech and she put a CPAP mask on my nose. The mask gently blows air into your nose to help keep your airway open. You simply keep your mouth shut and breath thru your nose. That may not sound like a big deal, but I think in my fully relaxed state, my mouth is open and I breathe thru both my mouth and nose. So to force myself to hold the mouth shut was somewhat unnatural feeling.
Aside from the feeling that I was wearing this big head-gear thing to hold the mask in place, it wasn’t so bad. It does give you a bit of the feeling that you’re Darth Vader or something, though.
We’ll have to wait and see what the test results are…
Independence Day Weekend
July 6, 2008Another Fourth of July has come and gone… how did we do?
Well our community had their annual fireworks display. It’s always held on the 3rd of July so as not to compete with the other fireworks displays in the area (Washington DC, etc.). (I appreciate that thoughtfulness, btw.)
Lauren and Thomas are very afraid of loud noises… especially fire alarms and fireworks. I’ll cover that in a separate entry. Anyways, we’ve been trying to lessen their fear of fireworks by encouraging them to go and see them… if only from a distance. At first they protested, saying they don’t want to go see fireworks. Then a few hours before it was time for the show, Lauren changed her tune and said she now wanted to go see the fireworks. So we packed a cooler full of snacks, had grandpa join us and off we went to the golf course.
However, once the fireworks started Lauren got scared and wanted to leave. Seeing this, Thomas got a bit scared too and started complaining as well… so Alice held him. In complete contrast, Nicholas was just fine… and he watched the entire show.
So Lauren covered her ears and started heading back towards the car — we parked about 100 yards away — covering her ears as she went. I followed her, asking her to come back. She wouldn’t have it. I tried telling her I didn’t have keys to the car, that mommy had the keys, but she kept going – saying she wants to wait in the car… I continued following her. I tried picking her up, but if I took one step back towards the fireworks, she would throw a fit. We finally got back to the car and she realized we can’t get in, so she went to the far side of the car to try and hide from the fireworks… even asking me to make a “tent” for her to hide in.
Finally, I was able to convince her that if she wanted to get into the car, we were going to have to go back to where mommy was and get the key – and that was back towards the fireworks. So, she sucked it up, I picked her up, and we headed back towards mommy and the fireworks. She covered her ears, closed her eyes, and made me promise I wouldn’t let her see the fireworks.
By the time we got back, the show had entered the grand finale. It was all I could do to insist that the show was about to end, but she continued to say she wanted to get out of there.
Oh well, there’s always next year.
Possible solution for short trip gas use?
July 2, 2008Is it really a stretch to use a personal golf cart to run short range errands? For example, we take the kids to the playground, or to the pool, or to and from daycare everyday. Distances range from 0.5 to 3 miles each way. Plus, there’s never really a time when I’d be driving on a “highway”.
Here’s a photo of one possibility:
And here’s a place where I could buy one. I wonder if it’d be worth it.?
Innovative architecture
July 2, 2008When I was younger, I considered being an architect… I’ve never lost the appreciation for outstanding vanguard architecture. When you combine it with tons of money and a desire to help make your city the greatest in the world, you end up with Dubai and it’s incredible architecture. This one in particular caught my eye… Sure it’s a little gimmicky, but it is insanely beautiful at the same time. Check out the full series of pictures to get an understanding of what the concept can do…
http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-209155-1.html
