Are you like the millions of other iTunes users who have been brought to you knees by the latest iTunes upgrade? Does iTunes hang until you kill it in Task Manager? (or force quit, for Mac types?)

It seems there are two major issues for Windows users:

First, the install locks up your iTunes files, designating them as read only. To fix this, go to C:\ProgramFiles and right-click on the iTunes folder.  Select "properties", then uncheck "read-only" under Attributes, and apply.

The second issue is that iTunes 9 doesn't play well with previous iTunes Libraries.  Go here for step by step instructions for rebuilding your iTunes library. Once you rebuild the library, you will have to resync your iPod or iPhone.

Some relevant discussions on the Apple.com forums if this doesn't help:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2151196&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2151196&start=0&tstart=0

and there are dozens more.  Just search for "itunes" and "crash" etc. on the apple discussion boards.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:54 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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 But sometimes we win. I feel like my little Vaio has cheated death.

So my battery detached from my wonderful Sony VAIO laptop for 2 seconds and it died. DIED. And when I turned her back on, I got the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). Except I couldn't see the son of a bitch. It flashed and reloaded.

I could tell from initial googling that the problem required a Windows XP boot disk. Problem 1: Where TF is the boot disk? The laptop didn't come with one, and although I'm sure I made one, I can't find it. And conveniently, MicroHELL only has a FLOPPY DISK download for XP recovery.

But I got one, courtesy of google. Here: http://www.download3000.com/download-xp-recovery-cd-maker-count-reg-17676.html

Just save the .ZIP file and extract the .ISO file to a CD. VOILA! Boot CD! (make sure you have plenty of blank CDs, I had to make about 4 copies since my laptop wouldn't recognize a CD again once I had popped it out to try to restart)

Ok, so once the boot CD is in the drive, start 'er up. Press any key to boot from CD. I didn't have a BIOS problem booting from CD, but it's possible others might. After the Recovery CD is running, then I loaded the Recovery Console.

I never realized just how much DOS I've forgotten in 15 years. The recovery console is a modified DOS shell.

Anyway, I tried a bunch of things and realized I wasn't loaded into the shell correctly. Crap. Must freeze BSOD. So I looked it up. To freeze the BSOD so you can read it and copy down the error codes, I had to open up the startup options menu (held down F8 at the VAIO logo) and select "Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure".

That was the easiest thing I had to do. Now that I had BSOD stopped, I could read it.

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_ DEVICE STOP: 0x000000ED (0x8A789030, 0xC0000006, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

And back to google, which took me to three useful places.

First, here: http://msgoodies.blogspot.com/2007/08/fixing-unmountablebootvolume-on-windows.html, where the computer in question had an identical error,

and MicroHell: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;297185

and finally: http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2F2006%2Fs1712%2F08s12%2F08s12.asp

The last is written for non-geeks. Probably the most useful link.

Based on all of the sites I visited between 9:30 when it fried and 2:30 when it got fixed, I decided to try a solution that was a hybrid of all three suggestions.

First, I ran chkdsk /r on the root directory (c . After that finished, I basically followed the steps in #3 above.

However, this left me with 3 possible boot choices. Annoying and a mess waiting to happen. So I edited the new and improved boot.ini through Windows once everything else was working.

See here for instructions: http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/bootini.htm

And finally, 5 hours later it seems to be working again, no losses. Tomorrow, ASAP, I will be doing a backup session to prevent the heart attack that was imminent for about 3 of those 5 hours.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:17 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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One of my most favorite new technologies (not that new really, but new to me) is Google Voice. If you haven't heard of Google Voice, it's a service that lets you 1) receive all your calls and texts from a single number (and rings whichever number you designate) and 2) transcribes voicemail to text or lets you listen to it online. You choose the number from a list they provide, and you may choose any area code or locality you like, so it can be a toll-free phone call for your family and friends.

It's actually quite convenient, and you can give people just one number and they can reach you anytime.  Especially if you're like me and drop the cell phone next to the front door and spend the rest of the evening in another room.... Or if you're like me and people don't want to call you because your cell is a different area code...

It's also a wonderful resource for anyone far from home with limited access to a phone, since you get voicemail directly over the internet, just like checking your email.  Especially for our overseas troops.

Which is why I was especially pleased to see this morning that Google is offering Google Voice subscriptions (free) to anyone with a .mil email address that activate in 24 hours. Army Live posted it this morning. In general, you have to request an "invite" to activate the service, and that can take several weeks.  This invitation would activate in 24 hours for military personnel.

For more information, the Google Voice info page is here and the invitation link for service members is here.

If you or someone you know can take advantage of this service, please do, and let Google know how much you appreciate what they're doing for our troops!

h/t Jeff Quinton (via twitter)

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:42 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Even in the NY Times:

"At the University of North Carolina, there are many different types of people: frat boys and flamboyant gays, football players and math geniuses, evangelical Christians and newly converted Buddhists; but it is safe to assume that all of us agree about what's most important: hating Duke."

And no, it's really not all about hating dook. That just comes with the territory. But I do have to say that having been a part of many university communities, the UNC family really is a family, with its own community and values and sense of belonging. Even as a yankee-Californian-grad-student-transplant, I have no qualms feeling an equal member of the Tar-Heel-born, Tar-Heel-bred set. And sure as hell, when I die, I'm planning on being a Tar Heel dead.

I can empathize with Emily.  I came from a school with no sports and a bunch of nerds too (Caltech, you know?) and entered this bizarro world with green trees and flowers and HUMIDITY and gods on the basketball courts.  I mean, have you ever seen the Dean Smith Center (click for the picture)?  If you didn't know what you were looking at you would think it was one of those Megachurches.  No kidding.  It didn't take long for Carolina to embrace me with both arms.  Probably the second best desicion of my life was to go to UNC.  The place and the people changed me in ways I am only now beginning to understand.  And like Emily, it's a place I love with my whole heart.  Something I never thought I'd find anywhere but here.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:28 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Yep them dookies is ugly and dey momma's dress 'em funny

Posted by: GUYK at July 31, 2009 11:28 AM (jMQH8)

2 I thought you went to Fresno State. I did, and I survived.

Posted by: Alan at August 08, 2009 07:29 PM (kloCp)

3 Hi guys. It's all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation. I am from Barbados and also now'm speaking English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Business gant chart, murakami published the enforcer son." With best wishes , Lali.

Posted by: Lali at September 05, 2009 04:47 AM (QY5qA)

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Shannon's latest post (and BTW, still so totally weird to call her Shannon in "public") speaks of the music of our lives, songs and moments that go together, pieces of time and melody that weave together to calm, cajole, soothe, or enchant the soul.

There are many songs that speak to me, too.  Songs for particular occasions, for soothing, for sleeping, for screaming along in the car in rotten LA rush hour.

I started my own list, every one of these songs has a meaning for me; a time, a place, a person, a feeling. I was going to follow Shannon's example, but then I realized most of the explanations are "you had to be there" kinds of things, so I thought I'd just write them out, and let you have the fun of guessing.

Or just listening.  It's kind of the soundtrack of my life.

In no particular order, then:

1. Sarah McLachlan: Angel (and bonus: The GooGoo Dolls: Iris)
2. Barenaked Ladies: Lovers in a Dangerous Time
3. Chess: One Night in Bangkok
4. Bonnie Raitt: Something to Talk About (and bonus: The Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky)
5. Ace of Base: The Sign (and bonus: Jann Arden: Insensitive)
6. Nina Gordon: Tonight and the Rest of My Life
7. Johnny Preston: Running Bear (Double Bonus!! The Beatles: Maxwell's Silver Hammer and The Rolling Stones: Mother's Little Helper, I could add about 8 more here, as well)
8. Jo Dee Messina: Heads Carolina, Tails California
9. The Wallflowers: The Difference
10. Train: Meet Virginia
11. Semisonic: All About Chemistry
12. Barenaked Ladies: It's All Been Done (this is a great cover)
13. Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black: Something that We Do
14. Spin Doctors: Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
15. Shawn Colvin: Sunny Came Home
16. The Indigo Girls: Galileo
17. James Taylor: Carolina on My Mind Sorry for the poor quality, I chose this clip for sentimental reasons.
18. Paul Simon: Graceland
19. Chris LeDoux and Garth Brooks: What'cha Gonna do with a Cowboy?
20. Mazzy Star: Fade Into You

Some of my favorites, some not so favorites, and several I didn't include.  I figured 20 was enough to keep you busy...

I apologize for the quality/ content of some of the videos, I was going for the music and some didn't have a lot of choices.

Extra Credit for anyone who can tell me why you'd never expect to see the songs from #7 double bonus on any of my song lists!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:51 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Shamelessly ripped off from Jimbo of the Great Farookin' Hair™

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:28 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely already seen the story of the Southern California who woman who gave birth to the world's first known surviving set of octuplets.

What you may not know, is that (no surprise) despite the family's plea for privacy, the vultures have been hard at work and have discovered that she already has (gasp!) six children, these babies were conceived (gasp!) via IVF, and that she's (wait for it........) a single mother living with her bankrupt parents.

"Where are the ethics??" scream the journos and the academics.  "How could you justify fertility treatment for a woman who already has a pack of kids?  Don't you have a MORAL OBLIGATION to keep a poor (reputedly on Medicaid), single woman from populating the planet with her bastards that the rest of us are going to have to support?"

There oughta be a law!  A law I tell ya! (read the comments here)

Well, there is a law.  Just not here.  I'm sure you've heard of China.

The selfsame "voices of the people" who decry this woman's choice to have a large family are the same folks who cry out bitterly about China's One Child policy.

Either fertility is regulated or it is not.  How many children is too many?  Is it a sliding scale based on your ability to pay for them?  If so, I'd wager most of us would have disappeared up the abortionist's vacuum tube.

Somehow they also fail to mention that if it's my choice to have a child or not, that includes BOTH outcomes: having the baby or not having the baby. The faceless critics lamenting this woman's "irresponsible choice" (a phrase uttered by a so-called Bio-Ethics expert during a news report this morning) are also the same crew lobbying so hard to keep abortion legal.

I'm sorry, but I thought "Keep your laws off my body" was an absolute.  Or does that just apply to the popular choices?

I haven't even touched the infertility aspect of this case.  Many of my dear friends struggle with infertility, some have pursued multiple courses of treatment.  Some, ultimately, decided that the pursuit was futile despite the deepest longings of their heart for a biological child.  Having seen the struggle that so many endure, it seems to me that any successful procedure resulting in a healthy baby is a win.  Perhaps those of you who have been down this road would like to chime in.

Certainly, it is a pertinent question, how will this mom support 14 children?  But how does a 14 year old support one baby?  How do two parents with two careers handle two or three small ones?  Raising kids is not easy for anyone at anytime.  14 children, including (reportedly) 2 with special needs and 8 infants presents a huge challenge, but that doesn't mean necessarily that the children will be neglected or hungry.  In fact, it's entirely possible that these 14 kids will be MUCH better off than some kids with only one or two siblings.

You can't have it both ways, either people get to choose the family they want, or they don't.  And if they don't, who makes the rules?  Based on what?

It works so well elsewhere, after all....

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:47 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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If the Presidential fraternity in the sky could advise Barack Obama they'd send... Richard Nixon.

"Honestly," Nixon began, "there are a number of racists among the group. I am not one of them. Slavery was and racism is the great moral failing of America. I don't want to see you fail."

Nixon appeared to take a deep breath and he turned away from Obama and looked out the window towards the Washington Monument. "I don't want to see you fail. I failed because of my own hubris. My failings were avoidable if I hadn't been blind to what I was doing. You and I became president at a unique time in America's history. Deeply unpopular wars were underway abroad. Deep discord infected everything at home. I had a chance for greatness. You have a chance for greatness. You and I share times more similar than you think. I can help you if you want my help. If you don't... Well, I can go back and leave you be."

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maybe it's because I live in La-La-Land, but I am seriously digging Andrew Breitbart's new Big Hollywood blog.

So far it's a great mix of politics and the personal, the "biz", movie reviews, news, and especially Hollywood's new closet: conservatism.

I can even forgive that they hired la Schlussel.  But seeing as how she sucks, maybe they'll drop her, too.

If you haven't dropped by yet, I suggest you start with Charles Winecoff's piece "The Awakening of a Dumb (Gay) American" or Gary Graham's "One Pissed Off Dude."

Take an hour and read through.  You won't be disappointed.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:12 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Another meme.  This one from wRitErsbLock:

Do you remember your first favorite song?If so, what was it?

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme by Simon and Garfunkel

What do you refuse to eat?

among other things, boiled or fried eggs

Have you ever injected any kind of drug before?

in myself, no.  In various animals, many times.

Do amusement park rides make you sick?

wooden rollercoasters.  Gimme the loopy-loop steel ones any day, though!

Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

Gonna have to go with Princess Leia. Although I am also partial to Padme, R2, and Chewbacca.

What kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches?

I prefer Cojack or Provolone, depending on the sandwich

What was the first thing you ever learned how to cook?

Armenian Bulgur Pilaf

Did you ever collect beanie babies?

I have a few, but I never collected them.

When was the last time you got a haircut?

Have you ever been to a bachelor/bachelorette party?

yes.  And mine was a royal bust. The best part was TPing the Best Man's truck

Where are you most ticklish on your body?

my knees

Have you ever bailed anyone out of jail?

No, but I put someone IN

WhatÂ’s the last board game you played?

Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble.

Do you still own any VHS tapes?

yes.  Many!

Do you shop at JC Penney's ever?

my original engagement ring came from JCP.  And they used to carry a style of wrangler jeans that fit me like a glove.  I miss those jeans.

If there was a real Jurassic Park, would you visit it?

I want to see the lab.  And the Triceratops.

Do you ever read the newspaper?

I read the ads in the Thanksgiving Day edition.

Do you eat your mac & cheese with a fork or a spoon?

Usually a fork.  I like Mac n Cheese with stuff in it (veggies, hotdogs, chili, etc.)

Is there any medicine/pill you take everyday?

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I probably take more pills than you do.

How many 20 dollar bills do you have on you right now?

two actually.  I went to the First Bank of Grocery Store this afternoon

Would you do meth if it was legalized?

Are you afraid others will judge you from reading some of your answers to survey questions?

If I was, would I be answering this?

Do you think Obama will be assassinated?

Probably not. He doesn't fit the pattern, although GWB seems to have done well so far, and he does....

Have you ever made out with someone and then never saw them again?

no.  Paths tend to cross in small groups....

Do you drink egg nog?

What is it with the frigging Egg Nog questions??  Once and for all NO WAY.  It sucks.

What are you wearing?

Jammies and a fuzzy blanket.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:46 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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In keeping with yesterday's post, a better way to say thank you to our vets is to give a little back to help a lot.

Long-time readers know that Soldier's Angels is one of my favorite groups, and in particular, Project VALOUR-IT which provides voice-activated laptops and other technological devices to wounded servicefolks who can't otherwise easily communicate with the outside world or who need help with rehabbing their injuries.

Imagine being stuck in a hospital in the Middle East or Germany, your family and friends thousands of miles away in the US, and your hands and arms are casted up.  How do you hold the telephone?  How can you type an email, even just to say, "I'm fine, and I love you?".  VALOUR-IT makes that possible through our donations.

And VALOUR -IT depends on all of us.  Without donations, they are quickly running out of funds with a waiting list hundreds of names long.  Even a small donation ($5) goes a long way.

Each year, bloggers team up in a friendly competition to see which service can raise the most funds for our wounded vets.  All the money goes to VALOUR-IT, regardless of which team you donate to, but it's fun to compete.

As usual, I am soliciting donations for Team Army (Go Army, Beat Navy!) in honor of my precious husband's service.

Just click the button to make a donation, either here or at the top of the left sidebar.  If you'd like to  "join up" and help as well, click here.

Thousands of wounded vets (and a hundred or so bloggers!) thank you!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:14 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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A few weeks ago Instapundit posted an item about a bacon apple pie featured at Amazon's al dente blog.  The pie, which was originally created and made by Eli, of the EliCooks blog, is a somewhat traditional apple pie, except for the bacon crumbles inside and the lattice top made of bacon.

Ba-con.  Mmmmmmmm.  Here at Not Exactly Rocket Science, bacon is our favorite food, hands down.  Nothing beats bacon for tastiness or indulgence.  In fact, I prefer to eat bacon stuffed bacon with a side of bacon for breakfast if I can.  Yum!

Bacon is Meat Candy.

And don't tell me about the cholesterol and all that.  I know that.  That's why I only actually eat bacon every so often, and it is truly a special treat.

Anyway, as my birthday is coming up, and bacon is well and truly my favorite treat, I thought I'd give this one a shot in the hopes of coming up with some birthday non-cake sweets.  I modified the original recipe a bit, as I don't have any Cinnamon Bacon or scotch in the house and we're not big apple/maple combo fans....(see the recipe at Eli Cooks)

Here's my version, based on Eli's recipe:

CTG's Happy Birthday Bacon Apple Pie

1 9 in pie crust (I ended up making 2 pies because I had enough filling left over, YMMV*)
4 strips bacon, cooked crispy (NOT burnt) and crumbled (I used the microwave)
5-7 medium to large tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used Pink Ladies)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (the original calls for nutmeg and cloves separately, but PPS is nutmeg, mace, cloves, and cinnamon. WAY easier)**
1/2 tsp cinnamon **
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
2+ Tbsp Butter, in small chunks
6-12 slices bacon***, halved lengthwise (make sure you get some fat in each half!)

*Your Mileage May Vary
** PPS and cinnamon are pretty subjective tastes, add more or less depending on your preference.  Taste an apple slice once everything is mixed and before adding to the crust.
*** you'll need 6-7 slices (12-14 halves) for the lattice of one pie, about 12 slices for 2 pies

Note from Eli: The quality of the bacon here matters. You want a bacon with a good flavor when fried and eaten alone, because that's almost what you have on top of the pie. I should also admit that I used store-bought pie crust. Honestly, I think the stuff you buy in rolls in the fridge case is almost as good as home made and a hell of a lot easier.

I concur. Save some time, buy a good pie crust. Trader Joes has a fine one.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spread the pie crust in a 9 in pie pan and leave about 1/2 inch overhanging edges. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the bacon crumbles on the bottom of the crust.

Peel (if desired), core, and slice the apples. Mix together the apple slices, remaining bacon crumbles, brown and white sugar, PPS, cinnamon, salt, vanilla, and cornstarch. Spread over the bacon in the pie crust. Break the butter into small chunks and place on the top of the apple mixture, spread evenly apart.

Butter plus bacon may be too heavy duty for some. You can leave this out altogether if it seems too fatty.  But the pie has a tendency to be drier than most because of the lack of a true top crust, so the butter helps. If you like the butter, be sure to add enough. 2 Tbsp may be less than optimal for your pie.

Arrange the half-strips of bacon over the top of the pie crust in a lattice, then fold the edges of the pie crust over the bacon and crimp. This is crucial because the bacon will shrink as it cooks.

Another Note from Eli: The bacon lattice really doesn't want to stay tucked in around the edges of the pie. Be sure to include extra bacon sticking off the edge of the pie and tuck it down the inside of the crust to help mitigate this. Also, having a larger rim of pie dough to extend a bit further toward the center of the pie would probably help.

Place the pie tin on a cookie sheet and bake in the center of the oven for about 50-60 minutes, until the bacon on top is crisp, the crust is golden-brown and apple slices are tender.  My two pies, on a dark cookie sheet, took about 55 minutes and were done perfectly. Again, YMMV*.

My yield was two pies, 6-8 slices each, from the above recipe.  Try it warm with GOOD French Vanilla ice cream.  You'll think you died and went to heaven.

Be sure you have enough bacon. One package wasn't enough for lattice for two pies, although the recipe made enough filling for two (or perhaps I had too many apples) but there should be plenty of slices in one package of bacon for just one pie.

Sorry for the lack of pix. The pie came out a bit ugly without enough lattice on this go-round. Maybe next time!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 01:44 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 873 words, total size 6 kb.

1 Stomach growling fiercely...

Posted by: That 1 Guy at November 09, 2008 06:23 AM (8l3lA)

2 Frankly, when I saw this on my Twitter feed I thought I was hallucinating! I MUST make this; we're HUGE bacon peeps! What brand of bacon did you use??

Posted by: pam at November 09, 2008 06:48 AM (l6NIn)

3 Sounds fabulous!! And Happy Birthday - to you and to me. Soon!

Posted by: Richmond at November 09, 2008 04:31 PM (M6+VC)

4 Just because I've been a dedicated lurker, lo these many years, and I hate to see any pie besmirched by a crust from Big Food, I'll pass along the greatest pie crust recipe ever (my mom's, of course). It's so simple, even a guy can make it successfully. Double crust pie Ingredients: 2 C - Flour 1 tsp - Salt 1/2 C + 1 Tbsp - Vegetable Oil 1/4 C - Milk (Note: Use whole milk, skim or 2% will pretty much ruin it) Single crust pie Ingredients: 1 1/3 c. flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 c. + 1 Tbsp. Oil 3 Tbsp milk (see note above) Mix ingredients until moist. For a two-crust pie, divide dough in half, roll between sheets of wax paper. Note: Handle dough as little as possible. Oh, and Happy Birthday!

Posted by: Matt at November 10, 2008 06:22 AM (B/rH5)

5 HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Posted by: oddybobo at November 10, 2008 08:57 AM (mZfwW)

6 Mmmmmm!...dry cured English wiltshire bacon...one of the few foodstuffs I crave for when staying in America.

Posted by: thud at November 13, 2008 01:58 PM (KfygI)

7 I made one, havent tried it yet but here's a pic of it.

Posted by: Innoxx at November 27, 2008 12:55 PM (ZRc30)

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Not only can I not brain, but I suffer from this malady, too!



Yep.  That's it.  Exactly.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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But then I found THIS

And seriously, y'all, yuck!

I love bacon, and I love my Tiara sisters, but I refuse to combine the two and wear the "Pork Princess" Tiara....

h/t BoingBoing

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:52 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I had to steal this one from Jane.  It's genius.

Meet Broc Obama:

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:21 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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And because dook sucks:

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:57 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Now this is an EFFECTIVE political commercial!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:22 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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As I said previously, although I LURVE my Samsung Instinct, one of the biggest minuses is that it doesn't yet have instant messaging capability, except via the web, and that Google Talk didn't work at all.

Well, I just discovered that I was wrong. Instinct users who use Google Talk should go here: http://m.heysan.com/ from your phone, click GTalk, and login. It auto-refreshes, displays a custom status, and even uses smilies! Yeah, it's web-based, but I could care less! It looks like GTalk and works like GTalk.

WooHooooooo! i can haz google talk!

h/t icemanj5 posting on this forum

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Betanews has summarized (pretty fairly, I might add) the technology issues records of both sides' POTUS and VPOTUS candidates.

Interestingly, Betanews reporter Ed Oswald found that Sarah Palin has championed distance learning programs and tele-medicine development as Governor of Alaska, and has used the internet to make her administration more transparent.

Find the candidates' records here:

John McCain
Sarah Palin

Barack Obama
Joe Biden

h/t Slashdot via Twitter

Posted by: caltechgirl at 12:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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An internet forum may have saved this beautiful baby's life.

"When 32-year-old Megan Santos of Riverview, Fla., noticed that one of her baby daughter's eyes was a slightly different color than the other, her intuition told her that something was wrong.

Concerned, Santos posted a picture of 1-year-old Rowan Santos on the online pregnancy community BabyFit.com, of which she is a member. The picture clearly showed a hazy, white glow in Rowan's left eye -- an atypical reflection of the camera flash not seen in the infant's other eye.

She soon received a message from Madeleine Robb, another 32-year-old mother living in Stretford, the United Kingdom, encouraging her to ask her doctor about a rare but serious cancer that can bring about such a color difference.

Santos followed Robb's advice. And as it turned out, Santos' post may have well saved her child's life.

"After I put the picture up, she saw it, and she sent me a private e-mail in which she said that Rowan might have retinoblastoma in her left eye," Santos said. "She said, 'Not to worry you, but I think you should look at this Web site.'"

The Web site detailed the condition known as retinoblastoma -- a potentially deadly form of childhood cancer that can affect one or both eyes. Immediately, Santos contacted her doctor. She saw him the next day, on the morning of Aug. 8, and he, in turn, referred her to ophthalmology and cancer specialists.

A battery of scans and other tests revealed that Rowan did, in fact, have a cancerous tumor growing on the retina of her left eye.

"Her prognosis is good, as far as the doctor can tell," Santos said. "[The cancer] had not yet reached her optic nerve, which would have then brought it directly to her brain."

Posted by: caltechgirl at 11:16 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 Wow, that's a great story! BTW - This is quite a spammer you've got there too....

Posted by: Carmen at August 29, 2008 06:33 AM (ICKzK)

2 I love stories like this (not the cancer part, but the catching it part)

Posted by: wRitErsbLock at August 29, 2008 07:37 AM (+MvHD)

3 Incredible. God Bless Baby Rowan!

Posted by: Marie at August 29, 2008 01:11 PM (UunPp)

4 Yikes! One look tells me sumthin' aint right - but I use my eyes for a living. God bless them for responding so quickly!

Posted by: DirtCrashr at August 29, 2008 03:22 PM (VNM5w)

5 Hope this little kiddo does well!

Posted by: Da Goddess at August 30, 2008 08:39 PM (njkk7)

6 Wow - that's a great story!!

Posted by: Richmond at August 31, 2008 06:03 AM (TwLUK)

7 Prayers for sweet baby Rowan's complete recovery.

Posted by: Mrs. Who at August 31, 2008 07:16 PM (8bFNx)

8 I am a 22 year survivor of Retinoblastoma, I wish the best for both mother and daughter.

Posted by: Carla at September 01, 2008 01:41 PM (nE+gn)

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