H.I.T.S.
I’ve always had this one particular superstition most of my life that involves significant events happening in threes. I shouldn’t have been surprised when this was proved correct once more, just three weeks ago.
First, we filmed another H.I.T.S. show, packed with lots more high tech goodies, including this amazing little device at a href=”http://www.joby.com/ http://www.joby.com/ end
.
It’s called the Gorilla Pod.
It comes in a couple of sizes and it’s the perfect device to hold your digital camera or camcorder when you need a spare set of hands. It’s very clever and really well made, so check them out online!
We also reviewed all kinds of iPod goodies like this really cool device at a href=”http://www.mstationaudio.com/product_orbb.asp http://www.mstationaudio.com/product_orbb.asp end
, which Doren and I dubbed the Magic 8 Ball. We both marveled at the quality of sound that came out of the M-Station Orb after Doren popped his iPod Nano into the cradle and began playing a selection of Beatles songs through the orb’s speakers. The sound truly was amazing, especially from such a small device rated at only 30 watts.
The orb comes with a selection of docking plates, so just about any variation of iPod will work with it. It even comes with a decent-sized remote, which worked flawlessly as well. We also commented that we could only imagine how much louder its big brother would be at a href=”http://www.mstationaudio.com/product_tower.asp http://www.mstationaudio.com/product_tower.asp end
, so check out the Tower, as well!
At 100 watts, it could easily become your new home stereo system. It’s stylish and looks well-made.
Don’t forget to watch the new show as we’re giving away the Orb that we demo. All you have to do is answer the question we ask on the show by sending us an email. If your name is picked in the random selection, then you’ll be the lucky winner!
Moving on to event number two, the following day our band, Bad Mojo, played downtown in Storey Square (along with lots of other bands) at the Cycles in the City event. I had been getting these weird sharp pains in my ear since late Friday, which I thought indicated a possible ear infection looming. Little did I know that I was way off the mark with that.
On Sunday, I was still feeling bad and it was then that my wife remarked that she thought maybe I was getting shingles. It didn’t really scare me at that point, mainly because although I’d heard the term, I was not familiar with the symptoms. Thanks to the Internet and Google image search, my wife started comparing a rash that was starting on the left side of my head to the online pics of shingles outbreaks.
By Monday morning, she’d convinced me to see our doctor. She got me an appointment that afternoon and he gave me the bad news – yes, indeed, it was shingles.
He explained that once we get chicken pox (which I was unfortunate enough to get at age 40), the virus never really leaves us, and traces of it hide in the nervous system. If we get run down, have a lot of stress, or have a weakened immune system (as in my case after chemotherapy), the virus can reoccur as shingles.
I’ve now been stuck at home for three weeks. For the first week, I was pretty much out of it. One thing that I’ve learned from long bouts of watching TV is how the Internet and technology are a part of just about every program you watch. Every conceivable program has a corresponding Web site online. Of course, our Web site at a href=”http://bloodylimey.com/ http://bloodylimey.com/ end
allows you to read past columns in the H.I.T.S. archive and you can also to click directly on the links we mention in the column.
At this point, I’d also like to thank all my students for their patience over the last couple of weeks. By next week, I hope to be raring to go. I also want to thank my wife for her patience and “nursing” expertise.
I’m sure that many of you out there may have had some experience with the dreaded shingles virus and you can learn more at a href=”http://www.shinglesinfo.com/ http://www.shinglesinfo.com/ end
.
By the way, my wife learned about emu oil online, which she purchased and has used (along with several prescription medications) on the blisters. It certainly has helped a lot with this painful ailment. But seriously, thanks to everyone for all your good wishes. If it had come a few weeks later, I could have saved a lot on Halloween makeup, as my appearance (at least on the left side of my face), would have scared anyone.
I guess I should have expected something like this during a month that contains a Friday the 13th. Check out the origins of that superstition at a href=”http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th_2.htm http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th_2.htm end
.
Check out the new H.I.T.S. show and keep reading our column.
Until next week, happy surfing.