Janine White's Musings

Links for 2009-11-06 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

Pathophysiology of Chronic Back Pain: eMedicine Neurology

Links for 2009-11-04 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

Obsidian Portal - Campaign websites for Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop RPGs

Managing Asthma and Other Illnesses Through Breathing Exercises

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:43:02 PST

Today, my mom, who is a doctor, sent me an interesting New York Times article about Buteyko breathing exercises being used to control Asthma and other illnesses while reducing or eliminating medications. While I don't believe that hyperventilation, breathing too deeply and/or rapidly increasing loss of carbon dioxide, is responsible for all of the supposedly curable diseases, it does appear to be helpful for many people with asthma and other breathing problems. Here are some interesting web sites I found on the topic:

Buteyko Center USA

The Breathing Man

YouTube Videos

Links for 2009-10-30 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Barrow Neurosurgical Associates BNA | Neurosurgery and Neurology Appointments | Neurosurgical and Neurological Appointments | Referring Physicians

Links for 2009-10-28 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Home | NDRI: National Disease Research Interchange

Links for 2009-09-17 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Links for 2009-09-02 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Quicken Online — Sign In

Links for 2009-08-31 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Butterfly Tart [Flickr]

jgoldpac — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:47:23 PDT

jgoldpac posted a photo:

Tarts [Flickr]

jgoldpac — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:46:51 PDT

jgoldpac posted a photo:

Door with Signs [Flickr]

jgoldpac — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:09:55 PDT

jgoldpac posted a photo:

Quiet Please Day Sleeper [Flickr]

jgoldpac — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:50:24 PDT

jgoldpac posted a photo:

I finished my Day Sleeper sign for the door.

Abandonded Tractor [Flickr]

jgoldpac — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:45:44 PDT

jgoldpac posted a photo:

Gmail April Fools

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:34:05 PDT

If you logged into Gmail today, you may not have noticed the new feature at the top of the screen, Gmail Autopilot.

If you click the link, you'll find a description of a new Gmail service to automatically answer all of your email from business proposals to personal correspondence for you.

Of course, this is just an April Fool's joke. The confirmation is that there is no Autopilot tab under settings to adjust the service as described. Enjoy!

PowerPoint 2007 VBA Picture from URL Workaround

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:56:23 PST

An obscure, but annoying, feature of Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 is that one cannot programmatically load a picture from an URL using VBA, unlike previous version. For example, the following will fail to load the image at the URL to the Image control:

Dim pic As IPictureDisp
'Load good image
Set pic = stdole.StdFunctions.LoadPicture("http://tinyurl.com/d85tgr")
Image1.Picture = pic

In order to get an image from the web into a PowerPoint 2007 presentation, one must first save the image locally as a file, then reference the file. The Module code is adapted from Workaround for Powerpoint 2007 VBA AddPicture web image problem. The URLs referenced below are sample images that I created for a good image and an image not available error. Replace them with your own images.

In a Module, enter the following:

Option Explicit

Private Declare Function URLDownloadToFile Lib "urlmon" Alias "URLDownloadToFileA" _
(ByVal pCaller As Long, _
ByVal szURL As String, _
ByVal szFileName As String, _
ByVal dwReserved As Long, _
ByVal lpfnCB As Long) As Long

Private Const ERROR_SUCCESS As Long = 0
Private Const BINDF_GETNEWESTVERSION As Long = &H10
Private Const INTERNET_FLAG_RELOAD As Long = &H80000000

Public Function DownloadFile(sSourceURL As String, _
sLocalFile As String) As Boolean
DownloadFile = URLDownloadToFile(0&, _
sSourceURL, _
sLocalFile, _
BINDF_GETNEWESTVERSION, _
0&) = ERROR_SUCCESS
End Function

Sub ImportPictureFromWeb(Optional SourceFile As String _
, Optional DestinationFile As String)
Dim sSourceURL As String
Dim sLocalFile As String
Dim x As Variant
If Len(SourceFile) > 0 Then
sSourceURL = SourceFile
Else
'Load image not available error image
sSourceURL = "http://tinyurl.com/d8home"
End If
If Len(DestinationFile) > 0 Then
sLocalFile = DestinationFile
Else
'Default file
sLocalFile = "C:\PowerPointImage.gif"
End If
x = DownloadFile(sSourceURL, sLocalFile)
End Sub

In the presentation code, for example, use the following code to load the good image from the default file to an Image control:

Dim pic As IPictureDisp
Module1.ImportPictureFromWeb ("http://tinyurl.com/d85tgr")
Set pic = stdole.StdFunctions.LoadPicture("C:\PowerPointImage.gif")
Image1.Picture = pic

Select a Random Record from a Microsoft Access 2007 Table

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:12:38 PST

Here's a tidbit I figured out today, how to select a random record from table in Microsoft Access 2007. If you don't know how to create a function in Microsoft Access 2007, see Creating Custom Access Functions.

Assume "MyTable" is the table from which you want to select a record, and that the table has a identifier field, "ID", which is a number that is unique, but not necessarily sequential. Here is the code for a function which returns the identifier for a random row in the table:

Public Function RandomRow() As Integer

'Get access to the database
Dim db As DAO.Database
Set db = CurrentDb()

'Get access to the table
Dim tdf As DAO.TableDef
Set tdf = db.TableDefs("MyTable")

'Get the number of records in the table
Dim total As Integer
total = tdf.RecordCount

'Get the records in the table
Dim rst As DAO.Recordset
Set rst = tdf.OpenRecordset

'Select a random record in the table
Dim randomRecord As Integer
randomRecord = Int(Rnd() * total)+1

'Move to the random record
Dim currentRecord As Integer
currentRecord = 1
rst.MoveFirst
Do While (currentRecord <> randomRecord)
currentRecord = currentRecord + 1
rst.MoveNext
Loop

'Return the unique identifier of the random record
Dim recordID as Integer
recordID = rst.Fields("ID").Value

'Clean up pointers
Set rst = Nothing
Set tdf = Nothing
Set db = Nothing

'Return value
RandomRow = recordID

End Function

I found another solution for this at VBA Tips, but my solution is simpler, not requiring the creation of a temporary table.

This is Not an Abortion Rights Issue

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:36:24 PST

According to CNN, Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique lost his medical license in Florida when his staff aborted an 18 year old's pregnancy in it's 23rd week. The young woman gave birth after being given two pills and saw her baby breathe then be thrown away with the other products of conception. The decomposing baby was later found by the police in a cardboard box in a closet when the police executed a search warrant.

This situation provides a gruesome example of group psychology gone wrong. Several people worked together and abdicated responsibility as medical professionals for this to have occurred. The procedure itself, late-term abortion, is rare. That an 18 year old accepted the choice to terminate her pregnancy in the 23 week, apparently without health reasons to do so, highlights her lack of responsibility and the staff's callousness and lack of empathy in directing her to alternative resources to, at the very least, carry the baby to term in a few weeks and have the baby paced by adoption. The staff then initiated the procedure without the doctor present and panicked when the young woman delivered the baby. The doctor apparently had abdicated all responsibility in his practice because they were willing to proceed. There was obviously some remorse about what happened because the doctor and his staff did not dispose of the baby completely.

This incident highlights failures from conception through medical practice. The young woman and her partner did not properly use contraception to avoid pregnancy. The young woman did not seek medical services and counseling early in the pregnancy. Her family did not support her in this difficult decision. The medical staff acted recklessly and the doctor did not properly supervise his practice. This situation could have been prevented and mitigated many times and is not just a matter of whether or not a woman should have an abortion.

Happy New Year 2009!

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:04:43 PST

Keys Fitness Out of Business

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:37:18 PST

Today I finally figured out why I can't my Ironman treadmill fixed. A technician came out a couple of months ago to adjust the treadmill, but after using it a couple of times it was having the same problems. When I called Keys Fitness to have it serviced again under warranty, they said that a technician would be calling to set up an appointment. After waiting a couple of weeks and not getting a call, I tried to call Key Fitness again and got a recording that they were moving offices and would be available December 15. Another week passed after December 15 and they still weren't answering the phone and had the same recording. I went to the Keys Fitness web site and clicked on their Contact Us link. That took me to a page for Maverick Service and Assembly, which provides parts and service for Keys Fitness products. When I called Maverick, they told me that Keys Fitness is out of business and warranty service is not available. Keys Fitness is particularly disreputable in that they have no notice on their web site that they are no longer in operation. The only indication, if you know that they are bankrupt, is that the dealers link returns a MySQL database error. Keys Fitness is probably not paying their hosting fees either. If you have Keys Fitness equipment, download your service manuals while you can. I just emailed my treadmill manual to myself so that I know that I have it available. Now, we have to decide what to do with the treadmill. I'm still looking into whether or not I have any options for support through DirectBuy, but I doubt they will replace the manufacturer's warranty in any capacity, or maybe my credit card issuer. It's probably not worth putting several hundred dollars personally into a machine that has been a lemon since we got it and that much money will pay for a lot of sneakers to go walk outside or on the treadmills at the gym at work.

Phoenix Art Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:18:17 PST

Today my dad and I were planning to visit a wildlife park, but as we hit the highway intersection to head north of Phoenix, traffic stalled and it might have taken the rest of the afternoon just to get there, so we decided to grab lunch and go to the Phoenix Art Museum instead. I hadn't been to the museum since the major renovations that changed the entrance and added contemporary art galleries. We had a great time visiting the museum. It's been a while since I've used my cameras. I had fun taking pictures again. We especially liked a new installation of lights with mirrors in a dark room that is like walking through stars and a traveling photography exhibit. I was impressed with the new exhibit halls and I am looking forward to going back to see the rest of the museum.

What I Want for my Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:46:38 PST

With my birthday falling at near the end of December, it has rarely gotten much attention. Growing up my birthday gift was usually combined with my Hanukah gift. (although I shouldn't complain too much because Hanukah gifts are silly given that it's the festival of lights and gifts for the holiday are really only a competition with Christmas since it's not a traditional gift giving Jewish holiday). This year, I haven't wanted to spend much money on myself, but after much searching and deliberation, I have decided what I would like if it happened to arrive. I lost the micro SD card in my cell phone, so I don't have a portable way to listen to my music any more and I don't like to walk without it. I'm just about the last techie person on Earth to not have an iPod. I could just buy a new card for my cell phone and resynch, but I would rather have a Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, a black 16 GB 4th Generation iPod Nano and accessories, a SwitchEasy Nike+ iPod Anyshoe Adapter, so that I don't have to buy Nike sneakers, and an Apple Nike+ Sport Armband with Window for Nano, to hold my new iPod and it's Nike+ receiver. All together it's pretty reasonable at under $300 and it'll motivate me to go walk outside.

Spore Addict

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:43:51 PST

I officially achieved my Spore Addict badge for spending 100 hours playing Spore in October. I've published 281 creations, so far. If you play Spore add me, jiwhite, as a buddy.

Boston Dynamics BigDog

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:19:34 PST

Here's an amazing advancement in quadraped robotics. Boston Dynamics has created BigDog, a robot weighing 75 kg that walks on rough terrain and ice that can carry 340 pounds. The project is funded by DARPA. This is something that I'm glad my tax dollars are going to. If you like the video below, you'll also love the spoof.

Make Time for a Flu Shot

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:06:34 PST

Google has just unveiled a new information service, Google Flu Trends, which monitors the number of searches for information on flu and flu symptoms. Historical data as displayed in the chart show that the US may have a huge spike in flu cases shortly as the flu season begins, or we at least can expect flu cases to increase significantly over the next several months. At the Google Flu trends site, you can segment the data by state, as well as viewing the data for the entire US. Currently, Nevada and Texas have the least flu-related activity, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine and Mississippi have moderate activity, and the rest of the states have low flu activity. If you haven't gotten your flu shot, yet, now is a good time to protect yourself before the worst of the flu season hits to reduce your risk of getting flu and make it more likely that you will experience the flu mildly if it does hit you.

Sleep and Obesity as Children and Adults

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:23:28 PST

Several studies have found that less sleep is associated with higher rates of obesity in Adults. This is thought to occur because leptin production is reduced and grehlin production is increased, keeping energy low and increasing hunger, by the lack of sleep. Sleepy people don't want to exercise and want to eat more. More recent studies have found that children who sleep less also tend to be more obese in childhood and in adulthood. Recommendations for promoting sleep include reducing stimuli by removing telephones, televisions and lights from bedrooms.

In my childhood, I got very little sleep, was tired during the day, liked to eat and hated exercise. I still crave sugar regularly. Although I haven't always been obese, I've never been skinny. However, I didn't have a cell phone or television to keep me awake. I had nightmares almost every night, which conditioned me to not to want to go to sleep until I literally couldn't keep my eyes open, and I used reading to pass the time. I was an excellent student, but very cranky, especially in the morning before breakfast. My mom was relieved when I got my own alarm clock and got myself off to school in the morning.

As an adult I still tend to get too little sleep, less than seven hours on average per night during the week, and I'm not a morning person, but I am more conscious of the effect that it has on me and try to compensate. For example, I avoid caffeine throughout the day and practice meditation to get to sleep. A couple of weeks ago when I was attending a late night class that was from 7 PM to 11 PM, I drank Coca Cola and coffee to stay alert and ended up wired until 4 AM. I often wonder if being on the night shift, at least for a time, would be good for me. It would force me to break my bad habits and provide more time to sleep on my off days. I enjoyed working 6 PM to 3 AM one summer at Disneyland. I may have the opportunity to go on night shift at work soon. It would conflict with my husband who is a morning person, regularly getting up between 4 AM and 6 AM, and tends to sleep too much, but it may help me lose weight.

NaNoWriMo Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:21:30 PST

I managed to write about 1600 words this weekend, most on Saturday. Sunday I spent a good bit of time figuring out the physical properties of my fictional planet, but it didn't translate into many more words. I have an excellent picture of my universe and social structure, but I need to figure out how that translates into the characters and plot.

Microsoft Office Live Update 1.2

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:15:25 PDT

I worked on my novel today, managing to write 1460 words. Since I want to be able to work on whichever laptop is handy, I saved my Microsoft Word document manuscript to an Office Live Documents workspace. There is a new feature which allows Office Live to be integrated with desktop Office applications. The first time I tried to install it from the Office Live workspace, my firewall blocked it and it stalled, which left the web site thinking that I had installed it when it had not actually installed. So, the link to install the update was no longer available. Checking in the Office Live support forum, they suggested resetting the browser to fix this, but that would remove all of the add ins, not just the Office Live Update. A better fix that worked for me was to go to the Microsoft download site for Microsoft Office Live Update 1.2 and run it from there, which installed the update properly. I was then able to sign in to Office Live from Microsoft Word 2007.

If you use this feature, note that when you open a document saved in the Office Live site from within a desktop Office it takes several steps. First, sign in from the Open from Office Live menu. Then, open the Documents workspace within the File Open dialog. Then, select and open your document.

Exploring the Local Universe

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:04:47 PDT

If you'd like to take a tour of the local universe, download the Octaga VRML player to view the Local Universe in 3D. This provides a macro view of about 2000 galaxies and their clusters near the Milky Way and Local Group. This tour, provided by PBS, is less than one percent of the visible universe, but it's always good to know your neighborhood.

Obama and McCain Timelines

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:19:37 PDT

I've already voted, but if you're still trying to make up your mind, here are timelines of both Presidential candidates lives.

Tahitian Vanilla

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:53:01 PDT

I'd been looking for a dry replacement for vanilla extract for my morning smoothie for quite some time so that I could reduce the ingredients I have to measure out in the morning. It's easy to find vanilla powder, but it's mostly sugar. I generally don't like french vanilla, so I didn't want to use ground vanilla bean, but I finally decided to give it a try. I ordered Pure Tahitian Ground Vanilla and I've been very happy with it. I use half of a teaspoon of ground vanilla to substitute for one teaspoon of vanilla extract. This vanilla has a sweet, almost marshmallow flavor that goes very well with my chocolate powder. When I've used up the bottle of ground vanilla, I may try grinding my own. Using the ground vanilla, I can premix it with the chocolate flavor mix that I add to my smoothie base and I don't have to add the vanilla extract after I add the milk. Now, I have one less measure and my smoothie mixes better because there is less time between adding the liquid to the powder ingredients and blending.

Pomegranite Beef

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:17:08 PDT

Ingredients

3 pounds top sirloin trimmed of all fat and gristle, cubed
1 tsp canola oil
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 onion, chopped
Seeds of 1 pomegranite
Juice of 3 key limes
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Place olive oil in pot and and heat. Add garlic and brown. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add pomegranite fruit and lime juice, cook briefly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add beef and vinegar. Cook until beef is medium. Remove beef, leaving as much of the pomegranite seeds as possible and set aside. Turn up heat and reduce liquid. When ready to serve, add beef and cook until warm. Makes 4 servings.

NaNoWriMo 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:59:37 PDT

I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, which starts November 1. The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month. I usually write efficient non-fiction, so this will be a challenge for me to extend my prose and be creative. I will probably write less in this blog in November because I'll be writing my novel.

Matt Hoover

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:01:26 PDT

Today I went to hear Matt Hoover, winner of season 2 of The Biggest Loser, speak at work. He's not the 182 pounds he was when the picture on the cover of his book was taken, but he's 230 pounds and very fit. He's a wrestling coach finishing his undergraduate degree and in training to make the next Olympic wrestling team, married to the woman who gave him a haircut and the second runner up on the show with 2 young children. Matt was an inspirational speaker because he is so genuine about his struggles, where he's been and how he's moving forward. I'm looking forward to reading his book, Matt Hoover's Guide to Life, Love, and Losing Weight, which I was lucky enough to win.

Resources for Arizona Voters

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:13:59 PDT

In addition to the pamphlets mailed out by state and local governments concerning the upcoming election, here's where I found information on the Arizona candidates and issues up for a vote in November's election.

Elections

Judges

The Judicial Branch of Arizona Maricopa County Superior Court Judges (Official state web site)
AZ Judges Review (A conservative blog rating judges and providing links to profiles. I generally voted the opposite, but it has some helpful information and links.)

Propositions

Arizona Voters: Take This to the Polls With You Ballot Propositions Checklist For 2008
Ballotpedia
City of Chandler Election Publicity Pamphlet, including information on Proposition 412

General

PolitickerAZ

Whack that mouse harder

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:00:34 PDT

Today, following a link from my Motley Fool home page, I received a 404: File not found error, but Motley Fool has put their own amusing spin on it:

Wiley little File

Eludes you most handsomely

Whack that mouse harder

Never Get Sick

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:00:34 PDT

Given my past history, I don't think that it's a reasonable goal to never get sick, but over the past year I've been doing more of the things recommended in the article, How some women never get sick, and felt better than in a long time with regard to infections, both bacterial and viral. In the article, they recommend getting a massage at least once per month - which I do regularly and find very helpful for stress, taking cold showers - which I can't do living in Arizona where the water isn't cold enough, especially in summer, eating ginger for gastrointestinal issues - one of my favorite parts of sushi lunch is the ginger, washing hands regularly - I not only wash regularly, I use a paper towel to handle the door on the way out of public bathrooms, take vitamins, especially C and Zinc - my doctor approved my morning smoothie as a multivitamin and I take Zinc if I feel under the weather, eating garlic - a regular part of my cooking both fresh and minced, and staying positive - this is the most difficult for me, but I try.

Register to Vote in Arizona

noreply@blogger.com (Janine White) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:14:27 PDT

To vote in an election in Arizona you must be registered at least 29 days before the election. Registration for the November 4 Presidential election closes October 6. Polls are open 6 AM to 7 PM on the date of each election. Since the Presidential election is expected to have a record turn out, you may want to request early voting to avoid long lines. The Arizona Secretary of State is a good place to find out about the candidates, ballot measures and propositions, as well as polling places and other election-related information.

If you are a US citizen, live in Arizona, will be over 18 at the time of the next election, are not a Felon without civil rights, were not adjudicated incompetent, and have an Arizona driver's license, you can register to vote or update your registration to your current address at Service Arizona EZ Voter Registration. You can check your voter registration status at the Maricopa County Recorder's Voter Registration Status site if you have either your driver's license number or voter ID. Once you're registered to vote, you can request an early ballot using a Maricopa County Recorder Early Voting Ballot Request.