Some of you know I moved to Las Vegas just this Summer.
Summer was hot. Incredibly hot at 130+ degrees Farenheit! At 10pm at night, the summer nights might drop to the low 90 degrees.

But who knew, that it also snows in Vegas!
Here are some videos I captured while driving today…
Click on the (small) green Play button on the bottom left to view the videos.
Co-incidence or not, at the time of the filming, I was listening to Hotel California by the Eagles, from the Hell Freezes Over album!

Due to my sinus problems, I’ve managed to compile a list of “good stuff” (just in case there are others out there with similar problems)…

1. Saline spray: I think “Ocean” is the brand name, but generics work just as good. It’s basically over-the-counter salty-water that you can shoot up your nose to help “irrigate” your sinuses. This is good if you need to moisturize your sinuses (e.g. in dry climates), but apparently the salt helps fight off bacteria (kind of like gargling salt water if you have a sore throat I guess).
2. Afrin (oxymetazoline): I buy the over-the-counter 12-hour non-drip severe-congestion kind. This is some crazy stuff, it near-instantly opens up the sinus to allow easier breathing, and really slows down the mucus drip. Not supposed to use for more than 3 days straight.
3. Entex (guaifenesin and phenylephrine): This is one heavy-duty prescription medication. Dries up congestion near-instantly and lasts a good 12 hours. I find that over 5+ days, the effectiveness seems to diminish.
4. Mucinex DM (guaifenesin and dextromethorphan): This over-the-counter medication is amazing! The 12-hour extended release pill kicks in within 15 minutes and has full effect for at least 10-11 hours. I’ve only used it for a couple of days (was recomended to try it only recently) but I’d say it is as good as Entex, without the inconvenience of getting a prescription.

Needless to say, I’m not a doctor and don’t play one on TV. This is just to share my thoughts on my medication. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Today would have been my dad’s 72nd birthday…

I dedicate Jerry B Jenkins’ Sweet Sorrows in his memory.

I can’t remember seeing a funnier video… David Armand, impressionist, does Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn!

Being a tech-geek and having lived 10 years of my life in Silicon Valley, I also have to give a shout-out to this cool video … How to get a guy in Silicon Valley!

I’m sure my sinuses are pretty screwed up. I tend to get sinus infections once or twice a year. So when I get sick (cold or flu), I really have to watch out for sinus infections. Since Christmas, I’ve been fighting off a bad flu. But today, I determined (due to my intimate familiarity with the symptoms) that I had finally sucuumed to a sinus infection.

Since moving from California, I’ve been dreading finding another doctor. My previous doc was awesome and I really miss her!

I picked a doctor out of my work’s provider directory (simply because he’s close to where I live). So far, I’m impressed: his office has lots of interesting medical gadgets that I’ve never seen before:

• A barcode-scanner-like device that takes your temperature by “swiping” across your forehead. Apparently it’s more accurate than the “traditional” ones that the docs stick in your ear?!
• Some kind of “radar” device that checks for ear infections. They stick it in your ear, you hear some buzzing noise, and then it displays some numbers that “trained professionals” can tell whether you’ve got any ear problems.
• A “breathing treatment” device that administers drugs through vaporization. The drugs they gave me supposedly loosens the mucus in my air passages.

This new doctor seemed very knowledgeable, although being a sinus infection “veteran”, I’d already heard all the advice before (saline irrigation, over-the-counter medications raising blood pressure, etc). Although I’ve historically taken Tequin (antibiotics) for my sinus infections, he prescribed me Levaquin (same family was Tequin) which he said had less side effects.

I guess I’m pretty superficial judging doctors by their “bedside manners” and how cool their medical equipment is. My sister (a doctor) tells me that I should be judging doctors by their “cure rate” (how often their diagnosis and treatment is correct). I don’t know… that swiping thermometer was pretty cool!