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August 31, 2006
Tricia's post op followup Week 3
Post up follow up Week 3. Encouraging Results. The Dr. said "everything looks great". Internal bleeding in the eye is reduced, Ultrasound shows retina attached, gas bubble is diminishing. Although Tricia can not see out of the eye yet, she can face upright, which is a big plus. It's hard to imagine what it's lke facing down constantly for two weeks. So it looks like we'll all be seeing her online soon!
Posted by Me at 09:00 PM | Comments (1)
August 25, 2006
LIfe with The Lifebook
So it's been a while living with the LifeBook Laptop.
I must say I'm pretty pleased with it. There are many pro's and a few cons. (or wish haves), yet for the most part it's been a highly productive machine.
I use it alot in my living room. It sits on my coffee table while I relax, watch TV and chill.
Granted I have a few computers in there but this one is readily available and with a few disconnects, I can carry it to another room and contine my session.
On the road it's been a usefull tool too.
I don't usually use it in the AM as I sleep on the way in while riding the subway, but I do use it part of the way home.
I've been loading it up with various software for reading electronic books and or hard core developing.
I have the cygwin environment as well as VMWare running Linux. This gives me a full Unix environment in a box. Jack in to the network, transfer the virtual hard drive images and now my desktop has the virutal linux environment I've been working on.
The cygwin is so I have my unix tools (rsync, ssh, cvs, emacs, gcc) at the normal command prompt. It also lets me test compilation of our production tools in the windows environment. I've actually been doing this for a few years with the interix environment, but now I feel the cygwin is pretty mature enough for work.
The tablet functionality is really a boost in a crowded seat when I need to do a code review or read an electronic book. This was one of my main reasons for the convertable. Download some code, study away. I found out by accident that the fingerprint reader also functions as a scroll control. Very swift!
As far as entertainment, The lifebook functions pretty well. Although not as spiffy as a media desktop replacement, the lifebook holds it's own. The downside is the internal speakers and somewhat grainy screen. Ah, there's a price to pay for the indoor/outdoor screen. On the pro side, I am able to read the screen with no reflections when the sun starts shining through the subway window.
Battery life is pretty good compared to my prior notebook machine (Compaq N400C). This one achives 3.5 hours depending on usage.
The other day Tricia and I were able to watch a DVD movie on batteries INCLUDING the use of USB powered philips speakers. (review on that to come later).
Thereafter the battery monitor reported I still had 36 minutes of power left (and I had used 30 minutes of power with VMWare prior to firing up the DVD).
Not too shabby, but I may invest in a spare Bay battery for the long hauls.
On the con side is it's weight and size (althought that's a pro tool) Using it in a cramped seat does make me wish for the smaller 1510D model, however the T4210D was much more capable of a development platform.
The 2Ghz duo-core processor is a pleasure to work with. Fast snappy response and good compilation times. Even when running vmware I find it to be adequate. Regarding heat, the bottom does get warm, but not warm enough to cause any pain. This is unlike my friends Sagaer laptop which gets so dam hot it burns and causes pain.
The 4.5 LBS of the lifebook is not that bad, bit it's also one of the points making me wish for the smaller model. Hard to compare 4.5lbs with 2.2 lbs. Extracting the DVD player from the unit saves 1/2 a lb, but I'm not sure I really want to do that either. It's not much of a problem on my back (I walked across the city with it). It's more of a tiring when using it in tablet mode. It does make your arm tired as you hold it in the crook of your arm.
All in all these are things I can live with....
Coming soon is a review of the iGo Everywhere130 Power supply.
I had the need for a second power supply at work, and I discovered the iGo products and invested in them. I'm just awating the proper tip and I'll be able to test it out.
Looks like I may be a bit lighter to Prog Power USA this year with a few less power supplies! Yay!
Posted by Me at 08:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 24, 2006
Tricia's post op followup Week 2
Tricia's post up follow up Week 2 revealed good results.
The Dr. said there was a little bleeding in the eye but that was to be expected.
The bubble is now at the 50% level, and Tricia still needs to remain in the face down position so the bubble can continue to push the retina against the back of the eye.
The ultrasound pictures showed a little more today and showed the retina being closer to the back of the eye, and no fibers tugging on it. (In comparison to the ultra sound from a few weeks ago).
Next week will be the third post op follow up.
At least she is out of pain (yet still can not see out of the eye).
The Dr. said this would be a very long recovery process (in the order of months)
The constant face down is wreaking havoc on her stomach.
(i.e. allot of naseua when she looks up and/or travels)
One nice thing that happened yesterday was a special card that came in from the place where Tricia rented recovery equipment.
They sent a smiley card that had a lil bandaid over the eye and a nice get well message in side.
Keep your face down and your spirits up!
It's pretty facinating what can be done today, Yet it still makes me queasy everytime I think if the procedure.
Here's are links about the procedure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitrectomy
http://www.vrmny.com/vitrectomy.htm
http://www.stlukeseye.com/Surgical/Vitrectomy.asp
http://www.eyemdlink.com/EyeProcedure.asp?EyeProcedureID=58
http://www.facedownsolutions.com/
Tricia has to sleep with this special brace to help keep the face down position in a comfortable setting.
Posted by Me at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2006
I Love Rock-A-way, Put another kite in the air Baby!
Today was the annual American KiteFliers Assication fly off in Rockway / Riis Park
This is the first year I was prepared (waiting and ready) to take pictures.
Althought my camera is not the greatest, I got some good shots and some would be suitible backgrounds for Windows XP.
From far awaqy it looked as though there was an alien invasion taking place with the floating octopus. One of the cool points about this display was the kite of the diver. It looked as though he was actually swimming along with them.
There was also a very cool kite of a penguin flying. You know I got many pics of that one!
Other highlights, A guitar, a pig, an old clipper and a dragon fly.
Check out my Gallery for the pics.
Posted by Me at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)
August 17, 2006
Tricia's eye operation POST-OP Follow up
The post-op follow up for the procedure so far is optimistic.
Tricia is in alot of pain, from the swelling and pressure, The Dr. said everything is as expected and has prescribed 4 different types of eye drops to help the healing process along.
Tricia can not see anything other then shadows out of the eye. This was expected and is expected to clear up as the temporary replacement fluid and gas bubble gets displaced by the eye's own production of vitreous humor. (2-6 weeks).
It's pretty amazing what they can do today. Literally, going into the eye, extracting fluid, repairing delicate tissue, replacing it and having the eye take over the rest with it's repair (using a bubble of gas and positioning for optimum placement).
So at the current time there is pain, pressure, swelling and allot of tear'ing.
The eye is bloodshot and very sensitive to light, yet no massivly visible distortion (from the exterior).
It'll be a tough couple weeks as Tricia lays face down to keep the bubble in position.
Comments and well wishes will be passed along. Tricia is happy to hear from everyone.
Let's hope and pray she regains full sight in the eye as it heals.
Posted by Me at 07:30 PM | Comments (1)
August 16, 2006
Tricia's eye operation outcome
Tricia's eye operation at at Lenox Hill, Eye , Nose & Throat center went well according to the Dr.
They had to remove the fluid from the eye, remove fibers that were attaching to the retina, then clean scar tissue that was behind the retina. Think a wire under a carpet was what the Dr. said.
It was a stressful day waiting for the procedure to begin then finally end.
Tricia arrived about 7:30, I at 9:00 (as I had to take the subway).
The appointment was for 10:30, but they did not bring her up to the O.R. until 12:30.. then there was a delay of an hour (unknown to us).
As time went on I grew more and more concerned thinking there was something wrong due to the length of time. In all it was just the delay of starting the procedure.
Phew....
Then to top it off, Tricia's Friend's Car (sabrina & samantha) was being towed when they got back to the vehicle. Supposedly the metered zone they were in was only valid until 4pm. They arrived back at 4:03 to find the car on the flat bed already. Sheesh!
Fortunatly they were able to pry the vehical from the towing company's grasp, then able to take Tricia home.
She is resting now.
She will have to lay on her face/stomach head down for the next two weeks as the gas bubble pushes the retina back in place against the back of the eye.
On Thursday we have the post-op follow up visit.
Posted by Me at 07:30 PM | Comments (1)
Tricia's Eye Operation Today
For those who do not know, Tricia is having her eye operated on today to prevent permanant retinal detachment. There are fibers inside her eye that are pulling on the ends of the retina lifting the edges from the back of an eye.
Think of when you peel the wax paper & aluminum from a gum wrapper.
We're all anxious about the procedure, which is why I have not been around much.
Trying to enjoy the time left in the summer before the operation.
For thos who want to pass on messages, feel free to do so.
Here's a link to some information
http://www.theretinasource.com/conditions/retinal_detachment.htm
Thanks for all your support.
Posted by Me at 07:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2006
New Laptop LIFEBOOK T4210
I finally got a new laptop. I've been researching them for a while now. I've been really keen on the possibility of a tablet PC, but the prices were so expensive and I just did not think a tablet alone would suffice. Well lo and behold now convertable tablets are within my price range and I'm finding the need to upgrade to a hefty laptop for some new projects.
I finally settled on a Fujitsu Lifebook T4210. I had many people ask me why I choose this one over others.
It was the size, weight, features, convertable tablet mode and outdoor screen. Feature wise it was on par with computers priced about $300-$500 less. In particular was the newest gateway convertable.
Although priced much less, when I added the beef of a 2GHZ dual core, 80GB HD & dual layer DVD burner it was only $300 less. In all I had to decide where and how I was going to use this and ended up with eht Futjitsu because of the smaller screen and outdoor screen (for subway use). Those seats can be a bit cramped and when I am outside of the subway on the EL, the sun does shine in on the screen. This was the downside of my Compaq N400C.
So the deciding factors were the smaller footprint, outdoor screen and lighter weight.
I could write up a big review of this unit, but others have done this already with the following links.
http://forum.tabletpcreviewspot.com/showthread.php?t=2369&page=1
http://www.tabletpcreviewspot.com/default.asp?newsID=513
http://www.tabletpc2.com/Review-FujitsuLifebookT4210TabletPC.htm
http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/14/fujitsu-lifebook-t4210-convertible-pc-reviewed/
What I'll add are my opinions of points covered and not covered.
Quiet.
This unit is very quiet you can hardly hear the hard drive whirring. Sometimes I do not even know it's on.
Outdoor screen.
There are complaints about the outdoor screen and I would have to agree here. The colors are not always as vibrant and the whites do seem a lil pixley. This is due to the polarized coating. It's not my main computer and it's the price I have to pay for minimal reflections. Cranking up the screen brightness indoors is a must due to the screen sparkle. When viewed up close and at an angle, the 'sparkle' is seen to be caused by a relatively fine texture within the LCD cover... this is obviously to diffuse external light sources, preventing them from hitting the LCD and thus allowing for outdoor viewing. Frankly, after hearing all the bad things about the indoor/outdoor, I was pleasently surprised by it in person. It doesn't really didn't bother me as it may others.
Weight.
I weighed it, It is 5LBS with the CD drive, 4.3 without. Not too bad. My compaq without ANY accessories is 3.6. With my back/sling bag 5LBS is a minimal issue. I've had books alone that weighed more.
Tablet.
This is a really cool feature, yet it takes getting used to.
With this unit the screen can swing both ways (It's BI ! )
Not that it really matters yet, but it makes it less of a thought when switching.
I did notice the screen tends to get smudged.
Speakers/Volume.
The internal stereo speakers suffice but are not loud enough at the highest setting unless you are right next to the unit.
I tried watching a movie from about 4-5 feet and it was barely usable.
Sound quality is adequete. Then again, this is not why I choose it. If I do plan to use it for music, I'll be using headphones or external speakers.
A plus is you do get a stereo effect when in tablet mode. Pretty nifty first time I heard it.
Embedded Bluetooth and wireless.
This is a plus, no more dongles or PCMCIA.
Firewore.
Sad to say, no firewire ports. Guess I'll have to use PCMCIA when needed.
Again, size was a deciding factor for this unit over the gateway, otherwise I would have gotten that one.
Serial/Parellel.
No ports for these, not sure if I need them any longer. I may keep my compaq around just in case.
Battery Life.
Reports 4 hours of use in a full charge. Still more then my compaq which was 2.
Duo-Core 2GHZ.
Fast fast fast. Very comfortable machine to work with. gets a bit warm, but not as bad as Joe's Sagar laptop which gets burning hot!
Table/Stylus.
Works well, tracks well. takes getting used to.
Track Pad.
It's OK, tracks well, takes getting used to after having the pointing stick.
I still find myself using the wireless mouse.
I'll probably invest in a bluetooth mouse and bluetooth headphones.
Keyboard.
The keyboard feels good, although slightly flimsy in certain areas.
I really like the idea of white keys as it shows the keys better in a dark room with the brightness of the screen.
I like the T cursor arrangement, pgup/pgdn and control key placement.
I hate the delete key placement as I tned to be hitting the break/pause key more so then the delete key.
Fingerprint reader.
This is a nice mechanism for managing login/password authentication. Although It had nothing to do with my decision to purchase. Frankly I would forgo it to save a few dollars.
LCD Status indicators.
While this lcd status indicator can prove handy, it would be nice if it was backlit since it can be difficult to read in any environment that has less a than adequate ambient lighting source. I found it difficult to see in many angles and lighting. Fortunate for me, I do not depend on it.
What I need now is a remote control.
Possibly the
GRIFFIN TECHNOLOGY AirClick Wireless Remote or the ZioTek Slim USB Multi-media PC Remote W/ Laser Pointer
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Posted by Me at 04:00 PM | Comments (1)
August 07, 2006
Back to the grind... again....
So ends my vacation. and now I'm back to the grind.
Frankly... I'm not too keen on it.. Then again, who is after coming off a 2 week vacation.
Overall it's been fun.
I did a lot of cycling, hanging out at the beach, swimming.
Some Partying, tubing, visited Rye Playland, Saw the Rockaway fireworks (of which I missed 3 years in a row) and had 2 BBQ's...
I'm already looking forward to the weekend.. and I just got here! LOL!!!!!
This weekend brings my nephew's birthday party and the Cotrone family picnic at Lido Beach.
Should be good.
Ahhhh.. It sucks to be back LOL!
Posted by Me at 09:21 AM | Comments (0)