Sleep Study Equipment

Ever wondered what equipment a sleep study uses?

California Sleep Solutions uses:

• Respironics OmniLab (which includes the REMStar Heated Humidifier) CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) $600--$700
  
• Respironics Alice 5 Diagnostic Sleep System, $3,500--$4,200
  

San Francisco Day-Trip Recap

The day-trip represented one of my favorites to-date: Muir Woods, Ghirardelli Square, Cable Cars, Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, and Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf.

1. We left Sacramento at 6:30AM
2. Muir Woods allowed everyone in without charge on Saturday in recognition of National Public Lands Day. Dawn purchased a Muir Woods patch. 2008 represents the 100th anniversary of the founding of the monument. Arrived at 8:30AM and found ample parking adjacent to the main entrance. We trailed a few people at the start of the loop walk but by Bridge 1 had the trail to ourselves. Silence dominates the early morning in Muir Woods--no animal noises, no people noises, only the sight of the towering trees and the sound of branches shifting in the wind, the trickling flow of water in the nearby riverbed, and the crunch of one's footsteps on the dirt trail. The return trip took us over Bridge 4 and back along the Hillside Trail. Exiting the parking lot around 10:00AM, we noticed streams of cars passing the entrance--the rangers had cordoned off the entrance to our parking lot, directing traffic to the nearby secondary and overflow lots.
   
3. Golden Gate Bridge greeted us with full sun and no fog. We crossed, paid the $6 toll and arrived at Fisherman's Wharf at 10:35AM. Leaving the car in the Beach & Hyde Parking Garage ($25/day maximum), we walked about two blocks to Ghirardelli Square and ate a lunch of packed sandwiches (muenster cheese, mixed greens, and spicy mustard on sourdough bread) and Thomas Kemper cane-sugar root beer next to Andrea's Fountain. Dessert consisted of a Warm Brownie Sundae at the Ghirardelli Chocolate and Ice Cream Shop.
4. Cable Car crowds already encircled the Powell-Hyde line's turntable in Aquatic Park by 11:00AM. Instead of waiting in line, we purchased two $11 one-day unlimited municipal transportation Passports and walked north on Hyde to North Point Street and waited at the cable-car stop. Why do people wait in line? We rode the car up Russian and Nob Hills, exiting at Washington and Mason.
5. Chinatown greeted us around 11:20AM. From Washington, we walked to Grant and proceeded south. Dawn remarked, "It's like Good Orient in person." At the Peking Bazaar, we discovered the Blue Moon Japanese dinnerware set we had drooled over online. Prices online seem competitive (ignoring S&H), especially for sets of plates. Starbucks provided a bathroom break. Dawn found a gorgeous, $150 coat from Old Shanghai (this company distributes fashions to several stores on Grant Street, including Peking Bazaar, Old Shanghai, and Canton Bazaar)--they don't seem to offer the full selection online.
6. Union Square lay just north of our bus stop--#21 line to Golden Gate Park to see the opening day (re-opening, as it turns out) of the California Academy of Sciences building. En route, a fellow passenger informed us that by 8AM that morning, the Academy had already handed out all the free passes for the day. Lines stretching for one-half mile attested to the huge demand for the all-day free event--even at our arrival at 3PM. We walked around the many vendor booths in front of the Academy, then walked to the de Young Art Museum. Dawn noticed the cutest gopher as we walked--it's face appeared in a two-inch hole in the ground, munched grasses, then disappeared into the hole. A small crowd gathered as we watched. After several minutes, the gopher retreated and backfilled the hole with dirt, leaving no trace save the missing grass. The Japanese Tea Garden offered a peaceful respite from the many people, but Dawn decided to press on to the Museum. When we arrived, we noticed the line and decided against waiting. A late afternoon snack consisted of nuts, pretzels, gala apples, water, and a Z-Bar.
7. Coit Tower turned out to represent the next destination. Hopping back on the #21 bus, we traveled back toward Union Square. Unfortunately, due to the heavy traffic from the Academy opening, it dumped us halfway to maintain schedule, leaving us to walk the remaining distance. Arriving at the turntable for the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable car lines, we again skipped the lines (why do people wait?) and walked north on Powell several blocks until we reached the first cable car stop. We failed to act fast enough to get on the first car, but successfully boarded the second. The car carried us a significant distance uphill and we exited at Washington, walking the remaining distance to Coit Tower on foot. Tickets cost $5/each, and the 21-story view at the top at sunset included the entire bay and city.
8. Pier 39 represented the final destination around 6:30PM--seals, a bathroom break at the public restrooms, and Na Hoku Hawaiian Jewelry represented the final stops of the day.
9. IHOP on Lombard at Pierce provided a dinner of pumpkin pancakes, apple juice, and hash browns as we drove out of town. Fog streamed violently over the Golden Gate Bridge as we exited the area. Arriving home at 10:30PM, we both felt happy to rest after a long day of playing tourists.

Thoughts for next time (not necessarily on the same day):

1. Japantown--the saleswoman at Na Hoku recommended checking it out
   
2. Chinatown--tableware, clothing, and so forth
   
3. California Academy of Sciences in several months when the crowds become less insane
4. San Francisco Zoo
5. Alcatraz
6. Mount Tamalpais sunset
7. Japanese Tea Garden
8. Muir Woods hiking trails
9. Hang on outside of cable cars
10. Wild parrots of Telegraph Hill--Coit Tower operator mentioned they frequent the hill most often between 6AM--10AM.

Total cost: ~$150, of which 33%--$20 (gas) + $25 (parking) + $6 (toll)--related to car expense and another $22 (one-day Passports) related to public transportation expense, for a total of ~50% of transportation. The evening IHOP meal cost $27, so that represents ~20% of the expense. The remaining 30% includes: Ghirardelli Warm Sundae Brownie ($9), Muir Woods patch ($5), tea strainer ($4), slice of Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf bread ($2), Coit Tower ($10), and a hoodie ($22). I'm probably missing something but that's the majority.

San Francisco Saturday Day-Trip Itinerary

Getting out of Sacramento and going to The City:

1. 6AM--7:55AM Depart Sacramento and travel to San Francisco by car.
   
2. 8AM--9:30AM Muir Woods--$5/adult. Open 8AM--~6PM in mid-September.
   
3. 10:05AM--10:30PM Fisherman's Wharf--park, walk to Ghiradelli Square and eat packed mid-morning snacks. Ghiradelli Chocolates?
   
4. Walk to adjacent Beach & Hyde Streets to buy SF municipal transit day passes (Passports)--$11/each, only accepts cash.
   
5. Cable car (Powell-Hyde Line) to Chinatown (Washington & Mason, then walk down a few blocks to get to Chinatown proper around Grant Avenue).
6. 11AM--12:30PM Walk through historic Chinatown
7. Walk south from Union Square to Market & Powell and take #21 bus to 55 Music Concourse Drive in Golden Gate Park.
8. 1:30PM--5PM Attend opening day of California Academy of Sciences (free). Prior to going in, eat packed lunches.
   
9. Eat late-afternoon snacks. Take #21 bus, then F light rail to Fisherman's Wharf.
10. 6:30PM--8:30PM trip home. Eat on the way home (IHOP?) or when we arrive home.
    

• Will this itinerary survive first contact with reality? I think so--I've performed around a half-dozen guided tours of San Francisco. Potential problems--cable car lines and opening day crush of people at the California Academy of Sciences.
• Need to get cash before we go--$18 for Muni Passports, $10 tolls (Golden Gate Bridge, Carquinez Straits)--around $40 should do it.

Things to bring:

• Camera
• Water bottles
• Food
• Map
• Layered clothing (can get chilly by the ocean)
  
• Comfortable shoes
• Contact lens case and solution
• Cash
• Backpack for carrying any purchases
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses

Contact Lenses

I have purchased my first pair of contact lenses since I underwent LASIK surgery in September 2003. The prescription represents a very minor correction--much better than the awful nearsightedness I had five years ago. The minor correction needed in my right eye caused strain over the course of a day staring at a computer screen, causing sickness several times over the course of the past few months. Happily, I don't need correction to drive or perform any daily tasks, so I can wear them when I work, and ignore them when I don't.

Linoleum

Removing it to expose hardwood floors represents a major investment in time. The local hardware store attendant asked me the color of the glue under the linoleum, and I responded "black"--she paused and breathed, "Oh". Not a good sign.

Happily, our next-door neighbor and a handyman and his daughter from the apartment complex near-by chipped-in, and the atmosphere felt light. He returned the next morning and finished the job--removing the tiles seems to inspire compulsion to complete the task.

The man responsible for sanding and sealing the floors arrived today (Friday) and began sanding away the glue, but it turns out the glue gets the last laugh--it completely gummed up his sander, and so he ended up spending the day scraping the glue from the boards anyway. He returns tomorrow to sand again. It will look fantastic when he finishes.

Spanish Adult Contemporary Radio

Listening to 94.3 MAGIA here in Sacramento this past week.

Big Blue Boss

Impossible. I score one point every 10 games or so.

Radio Song

Kingston, New York-based Coheed And Cambria's "A Favor House Atlantic" from their 2003 album "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" on the Columbia and Equal Vision labels. Video.

Guerrila Knitting

I had no idea it existed.

Other videos I'm watching:

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Conference_Recordings/index.html

When You Educate A Girl, You Educate A Community

Heard this quote on a radio interview of Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson:

"When you educate a man, you educate an individual but when you educate a woman, you educate a community."
-- Dr J.K. Aggrey, the late Ghanaian educationist and nationalist.

Radio Songs

Heard in the past week or two:

Venice, California-based Suicidal Tendencies' "Join the Army" from their 1987 album "Join the Army" on the Caroline label. Audio. The second half picks up a bit--I swear I heard a cover of this song.

Montreal, Quebec-based The Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)" from their 2004 album Funeral on the Merge label. Video.

Manchester, England-based Oasis' "The Shock of the Lightning" from their forthcoming 2008 album "Dig Out Your Soul" on the Big Brother label. Video. This song teaches people "Love is a time machine" which makes it all right--physics for the masses.

ALSA Restart

ALSA failed this evening. Fixed it this way:

1. lsof | grep pcm
2. kill -9 any processes returned
3. restarted ALSA: sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart
4. Didn't work--quit Firefox, then ps -ef | grep firefox
5. kill -9 the firefox process
6. restarted ALSA: sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart
7. Sound returns--yippee
   

Thanks to; http://lookherefirst.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/restarting-sound-server-in-kubuntu/

Wish List

Pong Clock: http://hackaday.com/2008/09/14/pong-clock/
Kill-A-Watt: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/7657/
LED Binary clock: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/59e0/

Emacs and Soap

"All the world needs is Emacs and a bar of soap."
--Linux User's Group of Davis message.

Asian Pears Warmed In Late-Summer Sunshine

A sugary-sweet late-afternoon California dessert from our backyard tree.

Downgrading Windows Vista to XP

A laptop purchase made in 2007 appears to have contained a pirated version of Windows Vista. Happily, Dawn purchased a copy of Windows XP last year through her community college for $25.

Downgrading took a bit of effort. We used David Karp's advice (http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a%253D226950,00.asp) to reset the Administrator password and fix the master boot record. XP's recovery console didn't recognize the Vista Administrator password though--to fix this we used ElderGeeks' advice on how to edit the registry to bypass the setting (http://www.computing.net/answers/windows-xp/admin-password-in-recovery-console/156682.html).

Windows is dead, long live Windows.

Posting this from my KUbuntu install.

Monday Development Log

Monday:

1. ToString() goals: 1) Implement call signature "sprintf(stdout, "%s\n", a_class.ToString());" 2) Deallocate returned char * within the object implementing ToString()--the caller doesn't have to worry about deallocating the returned char *. 3) Reduce memory bloat and handle arbitrary string lengths. 4) No streams (Google prohibits C++ streams (except for logging)). 5) If possible, avoid declaring extra class member variables.
2. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch in C++, however. Deallocation occurs two ways--first, when variables declared on the stack go out-of-scope; and second, when variables declared on the heap get freed. The callee, in this case, deallocates the memory. The callee can deallocate the memory in these ways: 1) new within ToString(), delete within the object destructor, 2) statically declare within ToString(), deallocate at end of run-time, and 3) automatically declare within ToString(), deallocate when variable goes out-of-scope. The last choice fails because automatic allocations get reclaimed on the stack immediately when the callee returns. The first choice requires maintenance of a pointer to the new'd memory. The second choice requires a compile-time allocation of memory.
   
3. Of the options, the first choice allows unlimited flexibility at the cost of additional overhead, while the second choice eliminates the overhead but requires a compile-time allocation of memory.
4. Estonian Arvo Pärt's "Spiegel im spiegel", from his album Alina. "Spiegel im spiegel" (from Wikipedia): "can mean both "mirror in the mirror" as well as "mirrors in the mirror", referring to the infinity of images produced by parallel plane mirrors."