The tank was very cloudy after initially filling it though the filtration did a fairly quick job of clearing it up. Now I sit and wait for the ammonia level to spike and the cycle to run its course. This process can take weeks and even a couple months; I am hoping for a short cycle so I can move on to buying my cleanup crew (various snails).

Here are some pictures of the tank. One is from before filling and the others were taken this morning.

Unfortunately I irritated my back which was not healed from being strained last week so now I am paying the price for that.

More pictures coming as changes are made.

Yes it is true I don’t make frequent updates to my blog.  Part of this stems from my subject matter limitations. You may be asking yourself why are there limitations on the subjects you blog about?  The fact is that I don’t blog anonymously and therefore have to be aware that employers, both current and potentially future, can read these posts.  With work consuming at least half of my waking day it stands to reason that much of my thoughts center around that subject.  I hesitate to write anything more than a generic mention of anything related to my position and therefore make updates when there is something else that is compelling enough to mention.  Perhaps someday I will feel the desire to be an evangelist of the products or services I work with, for now I will stick with the odds and ends that I feel worth mentioning.

There are two unrelated items I feel compelled to mention in this post.

Recently Mac unveiled the iPad and the web has been abuzz with everyone’s opinions.  My view is not different from the many other voices out there which state that the iPad is really just an overgrown iPod touch.  The pricing is too high for what you get even at the entry level model.  I was surprised to hear that the iPad does not even have a camera.  The concept is great and perhaps after a couple generations of the iPad have been released there will be enough improvements that they are worth considering.

I also wanted to mention Heritage Dr Pepper which I tried this last week.  Heritage Dr Pepper is a throwback product which is made with real sugar and not the usual high fructose corn syrup.  To me the taste was slightly less sweet and the other flavors were more noticeable.  As my sister said it brings back memories of drinking Dr Pepper with my grandfather.  Like my grandfather I like to add some salted peanuts to my Dr Pepper (not all the time just as a treat).  The product is hard to find in Northwest Washington and is said to be a limited time offering (I hope they reconsider and make this a regular offering).

Like I said two unrelated topics.

Some major world events have happened including the tragedies of 9/11 and the resulting wars George W. Bush forced us into under the guise of protecting the United States from terrorism such as those events on 9/11.  In reality Iraq had noting to do with 9/11 and the war in that country were started for other unjust reasons.  The war with Al Qaeda in the Afghanistan area on the other hand is related to terrorism.  Though the war in Afghanistan may be a just cause the resulting deaths of US an allied forces and innocent bystanders is unfortunate to say the least.  I hope that this year sees the withdrawal of US and allied forces from Iraq in a timely manner.

Last year began the Presidency of Barack Obama which carried with him the hopes of not only Americans yearning for change but also a world which has grown weary of US politics that push American values on people of other countries.  President Obama had more expectations to live up to than any other person in modern times, it would be nearly impossible to meet them all in the time promised.  In my personal pinion he has done a good job though I think he underestimated the difficulty of fulfilling these promises and as a result he is behind in these tasks.  If he is able to keep momentum and his values remain strong I feel it likely that progress will continue even if at a slower rate than was initially predicted.

These last ten years have presented me with personal struggles and challenges which I have so far been able to overcome or otherwise endure and my outlook for the next ten years is positive and hopeful.  My three nieces were born in this decade and while they live too far away for regular visits they are often thought of and I look forward to the times when I can visit them.

Many people make New Years resolutions, I on the other hand have never been one to take part in this particular custom.  Instead of making a resolution I simply intend to make the most of the New Year and do what I can make each passing year better than the last.

It has been a busy couple of weeks and the year is nearly gone.  The saying that time goes faster as you get older really does seem to be true.

Last week I finished reading The Walk West: A Walk Across America 2 by Peter Jenkins.  I would have to say that this book was better than the first (A Walk Across America) and I would recommend both of them to anyone looking for a good read.  I also read The Thief of Always by Clive Barker.  The book was intended for somewhat younger audiences though I decided to read it since I missed it in my younger days.  This also was a very good read (goes fast) and well worth picking up.

Typically I wait until after Thanksgiving before putting up any winter holiday decorations though I found that this year the urge came a bit early.  Throughout last week I began putting out decorations and all I really have left to get is the tree.  The cool air seems to bring about feelings of festivity that I feel compelled to act upon. So bring on the holiday season!

This past Saturday I attended a Board retreat for the Lupus Foundation of America, Pacific Northwest chapter.  We accomplished a great deal of planning in our eight hours and I have to say that every member of the Board is a pleasure to work with.  There is no doubt in my mind that the chapter will flourish with the great Board members which I currently have the honor of serving with.

Yesterday I went to the IMAX theatre in Seattle and watched the 3D version of A Christmas Carol.  The movie was great, as almost any version of A Christmas Carol is, and I was very impressed with the 3D effects.  As I sat watching the movie it seemed to me that high quality 3D movies will likely be the norm rather than the exception in the near future and personally I can’t wait.  When I was growing up there were special 3D films that would air on TV (such as Creature from the black lagoon and Jaws 3) which required special glasses that you could get at stores like 7eleven.  The quality of those early shows was pretty bad especially when compared to the shows that are being released now.  While there are still special glasses required the quality is much different.  The new glasses are sturdy and most notably do not have the red and green lenses seen in the old paper glasses (you still see these style of glasses for viewing 3D movies at home).  The scenes in A Christmas Carol were such that you felt like you were there and this helped to elevate the intensity of feeling of what was occurring.  Before the show started I noted how warm the theatre was and yet as I was drawn into the movie with its drifting snow and clearly visible breath of the near freezing characters I forgot my own warmth and felt almost cool. Two previews played before the show, Avatar and Alice in Wonderland.  I intend on watching both once they are released, the new 3D movies have me hooked!

It’s been a while since my last update on here.  The weather here in the northwest has been cool and wet which I am enjoying.

A couple of months ago as I walked out from the dentist I reached for my cell phone to change the ringer from vibrate to ring.  As I pulled the phone from its holster it began to fumble in my hand and before I could react the phone struck the sidewalk screen first.  Pieces flew and I thought for sure the phone would never work again.  I reached down and found that the pieces I had seen were the battery and removable back cover so everything was looking okay…until I turned the phone itself over.  A crack ran diagonal across the entire touch screen.  A sickness came over me and I felt faint, my G1 which I love is cracked.  To my amazement the touch screen still worked though the crack is all too visible.  As my phone continues to function I will continue using it though I have begun eyeing replacements.  My next phone will also be an android and will preferably have a full keyboard which limits my choices.  So far the likely replacement will be the Motorola CLIQ.

I had wanted to save for the new Barnes and Noble Nook device.  Now I saving and will have to decide which I will purchase the nook is over a hundred dollars cheaper while the phone gets constant use.  These are the kinds of decisions I don’t like to make.  Today I go in for my eye exam and new glasses are not a luxury, they are a necessity and will be purchased no matter what…Thats an easy decision.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is under two months away!  A month from now I will begin the decorating process which I am looking forward to.  This past weekend I actually watched a couple Christmas movies…guess I am ready for the season.

Spring 29%
Summer 31%
Fall   25%
Winter 7%

It’s an interesting breakdown as the numbers (with the exception of winter) are fairly close.

I work in the health care informatics field and try to keep informed of potential changes that could affect the industry. Also to be quite frank what affects this industry affects all citizens in the United States as health care is needed by everyone eventually. Today I received an email form a colleague which I feel compelled to share.

Pardon my intrusion, but I’d like to ask a favor – please click on the following link and “sign” a petition opposing the proposed cuts to the Medicare home care benefit. The cuts proposed for home health care in President Obama’s budget are disproportionate. These cuts will total 11.5% of the total Medicare program savings over 10 years while home health segment is only 4.5% of total program expenditures. These cuts will result in $34 Billion in cuts over 10 years from a $16 Billion program. The House Tri-Committee bill has even greater cuts to the home health benefit totaling $51 Billion over 10 years. The homecare industry cannot sustain this level of cuts.

http://www.wecansavehomehealth.org/

I “signed” this earlier and it only took a minute, fast and easy and you can make a difference if you take the time!

With an aging population that relies on this system and considering the disproportionate cuts mentioned I would urge you to sign this petition.

On a side note it seems that I am straying from the topics I outlined for myself more and more frequently. Perhaps I constrained myself too quickly! I will have to rethink the content of my blog, perhaps it will just include whatever is on my mind…therefore backing out of my self created limited topic rule.

The two hour drive to and from Leavenworth are enough to make the trip worthwhile with incredible scenery. I did not take near enough photos, especially of Leavenworth itself, and upon leaving I wished I had at least one more day in the area.

Leavenworth is a Bavarian themed town which plays perfectly into the whole winter time festive feel. While the town is a tourist attraction and there are certainly crowds I have to admit that overall I really wasn’t bothered by the amount of people as I would have been in other settings.

While there I did plenty of shopping, site seeing, eating, and even a little putt putt golf. Next time I will bring some better walking shoes as my feet were a bit sore by the end of the day. I hope to make a return trip this winter and/or fall though I may decide to travel to another destination instead. After this weekend I realize how important it is to get away and enjoy a weekend outside your usual daily settings. The stress of day to day life with work as well as other activities can build to the point of being unhealthy. A weekend like this is just what was needed. If I were a doctor, which I am not, I would prescribe get aways such as this every 3 months.

While in Leavenworth I found that my hotel did not have wifi or even an RJ45 jack (a hotel without internet access?) which I first interpreted as a bad thing. By the time the weekend was over I instead saw this as a good thing. While I still had my cell phone there was at least some degree of being unplugged.

I intended on posting a couple of photos with this post, even though I took very few, but I do not have access to them where I am posting from. The photos will follow in a brief post once I am home.

This post is going to go a bit off topic (though not entirely) as I feel that this is worth mentioning. When choosing a food for my two cats I look for one with natural and organic ingredients that offer a good nutritional balance. In using such a food I would be doing what is best for my cat’s health and the environment.

Up until recently I have been using the Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care brand dry food. Both my cats, especially the female who eats more dry food, were vomiting fairly frequently. The vomit was not hairballs but rather food. My make cat was constantly meowing for wet food and would eat very little dry food. I should have put one and one together though I wrote it off as being something other than food (primarily eating too fast and upsetting her stomach).

Recently there was a recall on Nutro cat food which did not include the exact food I buy. While the recall did not include the food I buy it began to worry me. A couple weeks later my sister, who uses the same cat food, called and asked if my cats have been vomiting a lot as hers had been. She had found entries online talking about Nutro and the bad experiences owners have had. The day following a food switch the vomiting had dropped to almost nothing (1 of her 3 cats had a small episode). Having heard this I immediately made the switch and have noticed two drastic differences. The vomiting has stopped (I haven’t seen a single episode since) and the male cat has not meowed for wet food again (this was almost unbearable just the day prior). One note is that I put a bowl of their new food (Blue longevity) down and it was gone within a minute. I did not add more in an effort to avoid an upset stomach from the rapid change in foods and overeating.

This is just another way of getting the word out there for pet owners that may find themselves in similar situations. If you use Nutro and your cat is vomiting a lot try switching foods, the change is usually quick and noticeable.