Windows 7 Was Not My Idea

I've had my current PC since 2005. When I bought it I went ahead and gave it some extra power so that it would last longer into the future. I think that was a wise decision because even though it is five years old I am still happy with its speed. I have been running Windows XP ever since I got the computer. I am quite a big fan of XP. I have found it to be a very stable operating system. They even (mostly) got rid of the BSOD. It is way, way, way better than the previous Windows offering (Millennium Edition) and I pretty much hate Vista. I have heard very few people complain about XP, and I look at what they did with Vista and I ask myself "What were they thinking?" The whole file system reminds me a bit of an Apple so I wonder if they weren't trying to copy Apple's system a bit. Anyway, I haven't had any problems with XP until last week.

It was my own fault. I run spyware scans on my computer and am usually very careful with what I do and what I click on while on the net. Last week I was on a site and I got an Adobe pop-up saying the site was requesting more space to save information. It wanted an additional 900 kb. I wasn't thinking and clicked OK and shortly after my problems started. My spyware would find two trojans and a malicious program. It would quarantine them and upon restart, they would be right back where they were found, slowing down my Internet, popping up random websites in my browser. Making Windows very slow. After trying a bit to get rid of them and failing, I decided it was time to reinstall Windows. I had gone 5 years without having to do this, which is pretty darn good in my experience, so I gave in and started on the process of rebooting my computer from scratch so to speak.

Before I started this I installed Ubuntu on my computer. I have wanted a duel boot system with Ubuntu and Windows for years but never got around to doing it because I didn't want to have to delete all of my Windows files. Let me just say that I love Ubuntu. It installed within 15 minutes, and the very first time I logged in it was ready to get on the web and everything. I think I can do about 90% of my computing tasks within Ubuntu. The other 10% I either can't do or can't figure out how to do, and unfortunately because of that 10% I still need Windows. Ideally I would just abandon Windows all together. Currently I have a duel boot system with Ubuntu 10 and Windows 7, and am writing this post from Ubuntu. I am a big fan of the OS. If anyone has any questions about it or wants to know more info, feel free to ask.

I tried to install XP. They don't sell it anymore at stores so I got a free link from VU thanks to my brother Craig. Unfortunately I couldn't get the install program to accept my passkey. After trying for a few days I gave up and decided to just by Windows. Unfortunately, like I said they don't sell XP anymore. I hate Vista so I refuse to put that on my PC. So I decided to go with Windows 7. I have never used 7 before and really know nothing about it. It cost me $130, the cheapest version the store had. Installing it was a pain in the ass. I kept getting an error code 2 minutes into the install, and searching the net was of no help. I finally got it to work when my friend Ogre suggested I reinstall the bios on my system. I owe him a beer for that one. Windows 7 takes about 90 minutes to install and then it had another couple of hours of updates to install. One of the updates sabotaged my boot loader program so that the screen is black and I have to go through the menus by memory. It is all annoying.

I haven't used 7 enough to have a definitive opinion. On the surface, it resembles Vista. It is more invasive than XP but not as bad as Vista. I am pretty annoyed that one of its updates messed up my boot loader program. I will probably give a review in the future once I have had time to use Ubuntu and 7 a bit more. Again I am hoping to be able to do most tasks in Ubuntu and minimize my Windows log-ins. For now, crisis averted.

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. I spent my birthday morning at the dentist, which really wasn't too bad. Otherwise it was basically a normal day. Sarah got me the Lost collection on DVD which is pretty cool because it has a ton of behind the scenes features and interviews I hope to watch.

Decent Weekend

A few of my friends from high school and their wives/girlfriends came up to Indy to hang out for a few days last weekend. We had a late lunch and then went to a comedy club Saturday night. Some of them drove pretty far to hang out for an afternoon and evening so I want to thank them for the effort. I hope everyone had a good time. It is a bit difficult to plan something where everyone has fun but I think it went OK.

Some people were asking about my hand. It is in the process of healing, but I would say give it another 2-4 weeks to fully heal. Maybe longer on the thumb. He had to cut pretty deep and the spot on the thumb was big. Since it is healing by secondary closure (i.e. no sutures) it just takes time for these things to heal. It is getting pretty annoying having to wear band aids on the hands all of the time. It gets to be pretty difficult to wash your hands and do simple tasks. I really am looking forward for the hand to finish healing, hopefully this time with no wart.

For those interested, check out Anna K in the new issue of Maxim. I really have no idea why she still does this stuff. I am guessing someone on her marketing team is telling her it is necessary to make appearances in such magazines every 18 months or so to stay relevant in the 18-34 year old male market. They are probably right, but to me it is a bit of a broken record. She looks great, regardless, so I won't complain. Did I ever mention that I met her? It is one of my top accomplishments.

RIP HPV

I have never in my life had a problem with warts. Then two and a half years ago I had one randomly pop up on my right thumb. Since then I have tried everything imaginable to get rid of it. I have had it frozen numerous times. I've used aspirin on it. I've used compound W. I've used duct tape therapy. I've taken high dose vitamin C (something I don't really believe in but I tried it any way because I am desperate). I've even had it cut out of my thumb and it came back! This thing is a freak of nature that I have not been able to get rid of.

It troubles me for two reasons. First of all, it is an eye sore. It doesn't hurt, but it is cosmetically troubling. And in a profession where I am putting my hands on people all day, I think my patients would prefer if I didn't have these lesions on my hands. Secondly, they are starting to spread! Within the past few months I've had two more pop up on my right hand. Once I had my insurance switched with my new job, I decided it was time to see a specialist in dermatology.

He suggested surgical excision to remove the lesion. He said that in his experience, freezing warts on the hand didn't work too well. So today I went to his office and had him take a rather large chunk out of my thumb. I am really, really, really hoping this works. If it doesn't, I think I will let him inject me with bleomycin, an anticancer drug used to treat squamous cell carcinoma. If that fails, I might amputate. But I am really hoping this surgery works. I am tired of looking at this ugly thing.

Below is what my thumb looked like today after he was finished with it. Make sure you are ready to see it. It is a bit graphic and gross.










About HPV (off the top of my head):

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that infects mucous membrane epithelium and skin. There are several types (maybe 100??) and depending on the type the infection can be quite dangerous. The most notorious types are 16 and 18. When females are infected with these and certain other strands of HPV, it turns their pap smear abnormal. If the infection is aggressive, it can lead to squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. The strands that cause skin warts (verrucae) are different than the sexually transmitted strands that cause cervical cancer, so they usually do not transform into cancer. However the dermatologist said in his career he has had one that was squamous cell cancer, so he sent mine to pathology to be tested. Warts are notoriously difficult to get rid of. They often resolve on their own and don't need other therapy, but when they are resistant to your body's immune system they can be quite difficult to take care of.

Keep On Rocking

Sarah, Craig, and I went to Verizon Friday night to see one of my favorite current bands, Kings of Leon. The show was excellent. We had pavilion seats right in front of the stage, probably 50 yards or so from stage. We had a great view of the stage. Overall I enjoyed this concert better than their concert last year. They played more older stuff this time around which I liked. Sitting pavilion is fun because you have better views of the stage and the music is louder since you are sitting closer to the stage and all of the speakers. This was one of the louder concerts I've been to. All and all it was a great show and a fun Friday night.

I enjoy going to Verizon a few times a year to see some concerts. It is really convenient for me to drive there as it is just like 20 minutes down the road. Plus I really enjoy music, especially really loud music. One of the worse parts of going to Verizon, however, is the traffic situation. I have sat in the parking lot for up to 90 minutes before trying to get out. Because of these past experiences, I decided to get the VIP parking upgrade this time. I think overall it is worth it. We were out of the parking lot in just a few minutes this time. You will still have to wait on side streets once you get out, but it isn't such a big deal because at least at this point everyone is already in a formed line. I would say the VIP parking is worth the extra coin and less hassle.





On Saturday Craig and I went to the US Nationals drag races at O'Reailly Raceway Park. I've never been before but Craig said it was an interesting event so I thought it would be a good way to spend a nice Saturday afternoon. I truthfully know nothing about the sport and felt a bit lost in terms of the specifics of what was going on. I found the racing action to be a little repetitive and things happened so fast it was difficult for me to even notice small wiggles some of the cars had that slowed them down in their run. I was mildly entertained by the whole thing, but the top fuel dragsters blew my mind. These cars run a mixture of nitromethane and methanol, produce around 10,000 horsepower, and reach speeds over 300 mph. Words can't describe what its like when these cars go down the track. Their engines produce in excess of 120 dB. You don't just hear them go down the track, you feel them. You can actually feel the sound waves as the car goes by. It is really pretty remarkable.

The other cool thing about the event was that you were allowed to go into the pit area and roam and watch them work on cars and stuff. After one of the runs I was standing about 20 feet from one of the cars when it revved its engine. I wasn't really prepared for it and it scared me quite a bit. Luckily I had my ear plugs in, but the noise was so extreme it actually made me feel a little uncomfortable. But the ability to roam freely in the pits and get so close to the action is really cool and unique among modern day sports. I even saw John Force. Didn't see Ashley, sadly.







On a side note, I am thrilled with the weather we are having this weekend. It is finally starting to cool off a bit and transition into the autumn season. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I am excited about the cooler weather and the start of football season (despite Purdue's dismal performance Saturday against Notre Dame)!

Where Are The Noodles?

I ate at two restaurants last weekend that I wanted to talk about here on the blog. I don't review every single restaurant that I go to but I try to talk about the ones that I especially like or if I was really disappointed I will talk about them as well.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Location: Multiple
Price Range: $
Rating: 5 cheeseburgers

I first ate at Five Guys probably 3 or 4 years ago when I was out in Baltimore. This fast food burger chain originated in the Baltimore/DC area and has since exploded in popularity opening restaurants nation wide. We have several locations here in Indy but truthfully I don't eat here too often because all of their stores are a bit out of the way. That has changed since the last few weeks, however, as they have opened a new restaurant just 5 minutes down the road from us. As the name implies, Five Guys is a restaurant that specializes in burgers and fries. In fact, that is all they serve. It is a fast food restaurant and the prices are competitive to other fast food chains, although no dollar menu here. The potatoes are cut fresh daily. GQ named Five Guys the "best cheeseburger man can buy for under $5" in 2009 and I couldn't agree more. This place is fantastic. If you are in the mood for a cheeseburger and are in a hurry, you honestly cannot beat this place. The burgers are amazing and you will not be disappointed.

The Melting Pot
Location: 86th Street & Allisonville Road/Castleton
Price Range: $$$$
Rating: 4 cheeseburgers

Sarah and I went here to celebrate her birthday, along with some of our friends from Sarah's job. The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant where there is a tabletop burner with a fondue pot sitting right at your table. The waitress brings you ingredients to cook various things that you eat for appetizer and main menu. You even cook your dessert in the fondue pot. When I first heard it was a fondue restaurant I thought that meant it was going to be Asian-themed and feature a lot of rice and noodles. I obviously don't know anything about food because that wasn't the case at all. We had 4 courses: appetizers consisting of melted cheeses and various things to dip into the cheese. The second course was the salad. The third course was the main course, consisting of various meats and shrimp. The final course was the dessert. All four courses were quite good. When I heard we had to cook our own food I was immediately turned off by the idea. Why would I want to go somewhere and pay them money just to cook my own food? In reality it wasn't that bad and honestly it was a bit fun. The waitress more or less tells you how to cook stuff and she does most of it for you. Then for the meats, you just stab some steak with your special fork and sit it in the fondue pot for a few minutes. That is all it takes and you are ready to eat.

As I already mentioned, the food is pretty darn good. And eating here is an event. We were there for three and a half hours. It is a unique experience and I would suggest going here for a special event or if you are just looking for something different. It is a bit pricey and honestly you could probably get better food overall for the same money. However, the food is really good and you will spend your whole evening in the restaurant so it really isn't too bad if you look at it like that. I think the overall eating experience makes this place a must for someone looking for something other than the usual steak dinner.

Craig is coming up later today and he, Sarah, and I are going to the Kings of Leon concert at Verizon. Should be a good time tonight.

Building My Practice...Slowly

Today I am beginning my rotation in Emergency Medicine. I spent my entire month of August in the clinic where I saw patients every day except Thursday. On Thursday I went to various nursing homes around the city which I did not like one bit to be honest. Being in the office all month was OK. To be honest I was pretty slow during certain days. I think this is mostly because I am just starting out and it takes time to build up a patient population. I like to be busy when I am at work so the slower days were a bit frustrating. I think once I've been practicing a bit longer my patient list will grow and I should be busier in the future. This month I saw a lot of well child checks, basically kids returning to school who needed to be up to date on their immunizations, and sports physicals. Most of these kids are pretty healthy so who knows when they will return? There is a good possibility that I will never see them again.

As it stands currently (due to AOA residency regulations) I can only see one patient an hour (while I am at the clinic. When I'm at the hospital I can get slammed with as many patients that come through the door). So at a max I could see 8 patients a day. On my slowest days I would only see 2 patients per day, and on my busiest days I would see 6. So I am operating between 25% and 75% capacity. I know one patient per hour seems painfully slow paced, but truthfully right now I need that time. In an hour I have to see the patient, do an exam, then wait for my supervisor to become available so I can run everything by him or her, then we all have to go see the patient again, then I have to spend 30 minutes trying to figure out how to order something simple on the computer. So it usually does take me an hour per patient. In the future I will be advanced to 2 patients per hour then I think to 4 patients per hour. The painful days right now are when I have two patients on the schedule and their appointments are 5 hours apart. Again, hopefully this changes in the future as I build up my practice.

Being in the ER is usually pretty fun. Despite the fact that we are right in the middle of the city, we don't get too much trauma or anything too exciting. We are just a few minutes down the road from the largest trauma center in the state so gun shots and stuff like that usually heads down the road. With that being said, I will see a large variety of complaints next month, ranging from potentially serious things such as head ache, chest pain, abdominal pain, all the way to more benign things like minor trauma and cuts requiring sutures and gyn complaints. For the most part it is pretty similar to being in the clinic except that I have radiology and lab results basically on demand and I will be busier. It should be a lot of fun.