Digital Streets

I ran into an unfortunate incident not too long ago. While working on an inkjet printer, I managed to get ink on the carpet in my office. Since the carpet had just been cleaned, I was not a happy camper. I had no idea how I was going to get the ugly stain off of the once unmarked carpet. I then remembered that I had used an alcohol based whiteboard cleaner to remove Sharpy writing on a CD-R, so I decided to give it a shot. I saturated the area with the solution and dabbed it with a paper towel. Almost instantly, the stain was gone. Not just looking better, there was actually no sign of the printer ink to be found. This will only work with an alcohol based cleaner, I don’t recommend using an alcohol free one to remove ink stains.

I now keep a bottle on hand just in case I run into another office based disaster.

My wonderful wife turned 40 last month and did as she was supposed to, she went and had her first mammogram.  A few days later, we were notified that they had found something and needed her to come back in for some more tests.  We figured it was no big deal.  The second mammogram and then ultrasound revealed there was in fact something there that shouldn’t have been.  Last week she had an ultrasound guided needle biopsy and yesterday we received the results.  My wife has been officially diagnosed with breast cancer.  At this time, it looks to be Stage I and this is positive.  She needs to undergo further tests, then surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

The truth is, until this ordeal, I was aware of breast cancer.  I knew it was bad and I had a rough idea (very rough) of how it works.  Now it truly hits how clueless I was on the subject.  Chances are that sometime during your life, you are going to know someone that is impacted by breast cancer.  Get educated for when that time comes.  I have found that the internet can be a very informative, and in some cases, scary place to do research on the subject.  You can get factual information presented in a helpful manner or you can get it in the form of a horror story.  My recommendation is to stay with well established medical information sites and breast cancer support groups.  Those impacted by cancer need to be careful where they get their information.  The information should educate you, to help you know the enemy that you are declaring war on.  It should never be a road towards hopelessness.

Some useful sites that I have come across:

• WebMD Breast Cancer Health Center
• MayoClinic.com Breast Cancer Center
• Swedish Medical Center’s Online Health Library
• BreastCancer.org
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure

I am always on the lookout for a good mouse to use with my laptop.  Looking for something small, comfortable and effective.  I recently came across the Kensington Ci75m.  The stylish Ci75m has a low profile design, making it an easy fit in my laptop bag.   The ergonomic design allows it to easily fit in your hand.

It is quite comfortable to use and functions quite well, however the power management functions of this mouse is what I found to be the real attraction.  At first, the Ci75m seems like just another wireless mouse.  The USB receiver is stored on the underside of the mouse.  Removing it will activate the mouse.  Plug in the receiver and you are ready to go.  If you happen to leave your laptop, the mouse will go into an automatic sleep state to preserve battery power.  To activate the mouse, simply click one of the mouse buttons and go back to your computing.  When the battery power is at a level less than 10%, a warning light will show on the mouse wheel.

In other mice, when the batteries are dead, so is your mouse.  The Ci75m has a trick up its sleeve though.  Remove the top half of the mouse (it is attached to the base by several small magnets).   Under the hood you will find a small cable wrapped around the inside of the mouse.  Unwrap the cable, plug the cable into the mouse’s receiver and now you have a wired solution.  You can continue to use your laptop until the next time you can get some batteries.  This is great for those times when you can’t just stop and buy more batteries (like when you are on an airplane).

Specifications:

• PC and Mac compatible
• 27 MHz wireless
• Performance Optical sensor (1000 dpi)
• Low battery indicator on scroll wheel
• Powered by 2 AAA batteries or USB

I have to give this mouse a thumbs up.  Great look, feel and performance and the back-up power functionality totally rocks!