Today is day 6 of my walking to work experiment, and I could proudly say the experiment is a success. For the past 6 work days, I have been walking all the way from home to work and back every day. A distance of 2.7 miles.
Why would I do such a thing? For several reasons: First, walking is good for my health. Second, I can save money on gas and parking. And third, it is good for the environment.
Basically, I decided last Tuesday to see if it is possible to walk all the way to work, so I gave it a try. On that first day I realized I should probably take a hat, water, and a better portable radio. I took the route recommended by Google Maps, only to later find various shortcuts to make my way easier. My conclusion after this initial experiment: It’s not too bad.
I kept walking Wednesday and Thursday. Then Friday morning it rained. I decided to walk anyway. Also, I said if I can walk in the rain, I can keep up this walking program. So, the same day I returned my parking permit and bought an umbrella. I bought 4 daily parking permits just in case.
Now is day 6 of my walking experiment, and I still haven’t used any of the parking permits. I feel good and happy. I really hope I can keep it up.
May 5th, 2009 at 23:36
Posted by
epsalon |
Stanford, Daily Life, Health |
6 comments
As I have posted before, my brother has recently had twin daughters, which made me a new uncle. As many of you know, babies and I don’t get along very well. I mean, they like me, but I’m very much afraid of them and have no idea what to do with them.
Well, for some obscure reason, I guess mostly to laugh at my feeble attempts, they have placed one of these 3-month-old babies on me. Within a few minutes, she has already has vomited some kind of white substance on my clean t-shirt. I decided to learn more about these weird creatures, so I did what I usually do.Used Google.
Well, I made a series of web searches, but none returned any useful results. I am usually pretty good at web searching. I wasn’t sure where I went wrong. Many searches resulted in google scholar papers, but none included detailed enough instructions for beginners. Not to mention the fact that the product itself is not user-friendly. More about that below.
human baby “user’s guide”
human infant “user’s guide”
human infant manual
human infant safety
human infant care
human infant maintenance
human infant maintanence
human infant upkeep
baby uncle guide
new uncle guide
human baby care
human offspring care
human offspring maintenance
human offspring maintenence
human baby upkeep
human baby maintenance
human baby maintenence
Never mind Google’s failure here, the product itself is a UI nightmare. No manual included, no labels of any kind on the very delicate parts. No warnings. No warranty (except as required by the state), and it’s not even eligible for return or replacement.
It seems that human infants have a significant negative influence on humans, rivaled only by that of cats:
I, for one, seem to be immune to that negative effect (of cats too). However, I still cannot overcome the effect of two babies in my vicinity on all other humans, making having fun, such as playing board games, or having meaningful conversations, virtually impossible.
This post is a public service announcement: Use birth control. Because most STDs are manageable, babies aren’t!
As for me, I’m considering a vasectomy…
April 10th, 2009 at 20:38
Posted by
epsalon |
Health, Family, Tech stuff |
7 comments
Today I underwent oral surgery under general anesthesia. The procedure was the removal of my two lower wisdom teeth which were impacted. This procedure is uncommon in the US for people my age (27). Usually people get their teeth removed in their teens even if there aren’t any complications.
The clinic I have chosen was within short walking distance from my home and I arrived there in less than half an hour:
View Larger Map
Before the procedure, I had to pay the bill. Due to my insurance I had to pay only a 20% co-pay, and that amounted to “only” $238, which I paid and proceeded to read the book I brought with me.
Later, I was called in, hooked to an IV and got some oral shots. The procedure itself went smoothly, and in a split-second (from my point of view) I was in recovery.
Due to the anesthesia, I could not walk back home. The clinic strongly recommends having someone drive you home and look after you. I could not find anyone who was willing and able to do that for me, so I had to stay for a few more hours in the clinic for recovery and then took a taxi home.
At home, I took some pain meds and antibiotics, as the doctor ordered and contacted my friends and family onine. Now I can’t talk, and have trouble drinking. Hopefully this will pass in the next few hours so I could have dinner tonight.
July 21st, 2008 at 22:57
Posted by
epsalon |
Daily Life, Health, Personal |
one comment
As promised, here are the chronicles of my German visit.
The visit started with a flight from Lisbon to Saarbrucken via Palma de Mallorca. It’s been quite a while since I’ve flown without frequent flyer benefits: No lounge, no special check-in. It was quite a shock to sit on the uncomfortable terminal chairs with no Internet access, but I managed. The flights themselves were surprisingly comfortable. Due to the fact I was flying on a low-cost carrier, I could book seat 1A, which is a regular economy seat, just in the front of the plane and with much more legroom. As luck would have it 1B was vacant on both flights, and on the second one 1C was vacant too, leaving me with a whole row to myself. Onboard service included a sandwich and free soft and hot drinks. All in all, a very positive experience, comparable even to “Europe Select” (business class) on KLM.
Between the flights, I ate at KFC at PMI, was surprised to see they offered Coke and not Pepsi, and French Fries instead of Mashed Potatoes, but the chicken was more or less the same. They also talked Spanish, but that I’m used to from KFC in the US too.
Saarbruecken airport is very small, serving mostly general aviation. It has exactly two gates and two baggage belts, and the passengers walk from the airstairs to the terminal. No border control was needed, and in less than half an hour from landing I was outside and picked up.
Later that night came the shock: The vacation apartment we were staying at did not have basic necessities: No Internet access, and even no phone! This left me without any form of communication with the outside world. In the following days, my outside communications were strictly monitored and limited, and thus no blog updates, among other things.
What we did do in the following days was play lots of boardgames I brought, and go touring in several towns in Germany and beyond.
The first day was all spent playing boardgames and resting. The next day we went to the northern Mosel valley and visited the tourist town of Cochem and Eltz Castle. This was not the original plan, but the road to the southern Mosel valley was closed for bicycles only for a “bicycle day”. I could not help noticing the contrast between that and what happened recently in San Francisco, where the city was sued by car owners for a plan to dedicate more bicycle lanes.
On the third day we went to Luxembourg, capital of Luxembourg. On the way we passed the city of Schengen, which is known for the Schengen treaty for open borders in Europe. This leads to the anomaly that Luxembourg is in Schengen, while Schengen is in Luxembourg. The city itself houses an impressive castle and “casemates” — ancient city fortifications. Another useful feature is the free municipal WiFi all over the city and the impressive views.
The fourth day was spent in the city of Heidelberg, known as the home of the first university in Germany, and well, another castle. The castle houses the largest wine barrel in the world, and a museum of German pharmacies.
The last day was spent packing and playing boardgames, and the day after was spent flying back. The route was STR-AMS-MSP-SFO. We left home at 6am towards Stuttgart airport, where I was upgraded to business class on the two short segments. The flights were comfortable, but the illness I began developing in Lisbon has intensified, and I spent the flights coughing and aching, especially the last one. The first class flight attendant was very nice and repeatedly offered me more tea, until we finally arrived at the airport. Finally I took the shuttle home and went to sleep.
At home, I checked my newly repaired laptop and some boardgames I’ve ordered and made a doctor’s appointment, where I’m headed right now.
May 23rd, 2008 at 23:21
Posted by
epsalon |
Health, Germany |
2 comments
Yesterday I woke up with a cold, for not apparent reason. Had a work meeting with my advisor and told him about my sinister plans to go home. He immediately approved my decision. On my way back to the office, I peeked into the AI lab meeting room, where I saw a familiar face, someone the building was named after, the chairman of the most hated company in the world — Bill Gates. I didn’t stay much longer, as his bodyguards told me to move along, but still he really was there.
Later, I placed some orders for people who wanted me to bring them stuff, and went to buy a thermos (so I can have some tea) and then to the Tuesday games group. In the games group, we played my copy of Container. Then it started raining. So, someone with an umbrella helped me walk to the car without getting my game wet, and I put it in the trunk, and closed the trunk…. with my keys inside. Luckily, someone else from the game group was generous enough to drive me home and back so I can get my spare keys and open the car.
When I finally reached home again, I found a pleasant surprise. My laptop was back from repair. I did not expect it to return so soon. It was picked up on Saturday, repaired on Monday, shipped the same day, and arrived back on Tuesday. Not bad, especially given the fact that it was flown to Memphis for the repair.
So, now I’m home, with a working laptop, and a cold…
February 20th, 2008 at 20:56
Posted by
epsalon |
Gaming, Health, Tech stuff, USA |
2 comments
