Advogato: Personal info for epsalon

epsalon is currently certified at Journeyer level.

Name: Alon Altman
Member since: 2003-01-14 20:04:14
Last Login: 2007-07-16 14:04:22

Homepage: http://8ln.org

Notes: If you arrived here by searching for my blog, see http://blog.8ln.org/

Projects

Developer on haifux
Helper on Mozilla
Developer on Linux User Groups

Recent blog entries by epsalon

Syndication: RSS 2.0

21 Jul 2008 »

Oral Surgery

Today I underwent oral surgery under general anesthesia. The procedure was the removal of my two lower wisdom teeth which were impacted. This procedure is uncommon in the US for people my age (27). Usually people get their teeth removed in their teens even if there aren’t any complications.

The clinic I have chosen was within short walking distance from my home and I arrived there in less than half an hour:
<center><iframe src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=256+Walter+Hays+Dr,+Palo+Alto,+CA+94303&daddr=720+Cowper+St,+Palo+Alto,+CA+94301&mra=cc&dirflg=w&doflg=ptm&sll=37.444216,-122.14664&sspn=0.007121,0.019805&ie=UTF8&s=AARTsJqVkTrOctRlG3WnLXvsLsoT-yLmhg&ll=37.447197,-122.147713&spn=0.020443,0.025749&z=14&output=embed" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" width="300" frameborder="0" height="300"></iframe>
<small>View Larger Map</small></center>

Before the procedure, I had to pay the bill. Due to my insurance I had to pay only a 20% co-pay, and that amounted to “only” $238, which I paid and proceeded to read the book I brought with me.

Later, I was called in, hooked to an IV and got some oral shots. The procedure itself went smoothly, and in a split-second (from my point of view) I was in recovery.

Due to the anesthesia, I could not walk back home. The clinic strongly recommends having someone drive you home and look after you. I could not find anyone who was willing and able to do that for me, so I had to stay for a few more hours in the clinic for recovery and then took a taxi home.

At home, I took some pain meds and antibiotics, as the doctor ordered and contacted my friends and family onine. Now I can’t talk, and have trouble drinking. Hopefully this will pass in the next few hours so I could have dinner tonight.

Syndicated 2008-07-21 19:57:20 from Alon's Blog

15 Jul 2008 »

The road to Midway

Today I have boarded a flight to Chicago, Illinois on my way to the AAAI-08 conference. As usual, instead of flying direct, I have connected through Minneapolis in order to fly Northwest and get a First-Class upgrade. This time I left my passport home intentionally, as this is a purely domestic itinerary.

Some of you may recall my car accident. That led to me leaving my car at a garage for repair and renting a replacement car a few days ago. I have returned the rental car at the airport and thus saved the time and hassle of an airport shuttle.

As this is a short trip and the weather is warm, I packed almost nothing and did not check any bags, so I could proceed directly to the gate with my pre-printed boarding pass (as this is a domestic flight, I get no lounge access). My first class flight went smoothly, arriving on time at Minneapolis.

Upon arrivial, I checked the screens for my connection info and noticed that there was an earlier Northwest flight to Chicago Midway* airport. I decided to head directly to that gate and try to standby for the earlier flight. The gate agent told me that he could put me on standby, but the flight is likely to be full and I am not guaranteed a seat, and even if I get one, it would probably be in economy. I told the agent I don’t mind (I prefer spending an hour and a half on the plane in economy than in the terminal), and then I had to wait and see if there would be room for me.

The flight turned out to be fully booked, and all 12 first class seats were full. However, since I had Platinum status I got one of those! The flight did depart late, but I ended up arriving more than an hour before my original schedule. Another plus is that a nice girl sat next to me on the flight and we chatted all the way. She was flying from San Jose (SJO), Costa Rica and was on her final leg back home to Wisconsin. I had fun.

After arriving I checked in at my hotel and took a taxi to dinner with my advisor and some more Stanford folk at a Chicago restaurant. I just now returned to the hotel. Updates to come.

*Midway airport (MDW), is named such not because of its location, but as a reference to the Battle of Midway.

Syndicated 2008-07-15 04:28:47 from Alon's Blog

30 Jun 2008 »

Crash!

Crash! Just days after my first police ticket, I had my first two-vehicle car accident, and it wasn’t even my fault! I was driving down a small residential road (Newell), and the other driver was driving out of the public library parking. However she did not see me and continued right past the stop sign right in front of my car, even though I had the right of way. I stepped on the break but it was too late and I ran into the side of her car.

I sustained no injury in the crash and both cars were drivable. I took some photos for insurance purposes (you can see one of them over here (this is the front of my car).

I have also created an illustration of the accident scene (thanks to Google street view):

Accident Scene Sketch

Syndicated 2008-06-30 21:20:44 from Alon's Blog

27 Jun 2008 »

Spinning Blades, Laptop, Police

Last Saturday, I went to the Vertical Challenge Helicopter Show at the Hiller Aviation Museum San Carlos airport. The show included admission to the museum and an exhibition of military and civilian helicopters. The main event included helicopter aerobatic demonstrations, RC Helicopter presentations and a search & rescue demonstration by the US Coast Guard.

After the show, I came back home, realized it was really hot, in spite of the fact I’ve ordered a fan off Amazon the day before. It seems fans don’t really work before they are delivered, and this particular Amazon order would take two weeks to arrive. After checking the options of faster shipping, I suddenly recalled a different way to get products: Retail. A Home Depot was less than 5 minutes from my home, at I verified online that they indeed stock fans. A short trip back and forth and a fan was in my possession. A few minutes later, it was assembled the room was significantly cooler.

Later this week, on my way to Stanford, the police have suddenly stopped me. The officer explained that I was driving 40 in a 25 zone (this is MPH, so it’s actually 65 in a 40 zone in kilometers) and gave me a ticket. The officer was not able to say how much the fine was, so I will know that only when I get the ticket in the mail.

Upon reaching Stanford I had a positive surprise. My laptop, that I’ve ordered two months before, has finally arrived and works great. I took it home to complete the installation and it will soon replace my old one. Expect being able to video-chat with me any time day or night <small>(assuming I’m awake and you have skype)</small>.

This weekend features Paul’s boardgaming extravaganza and BAP’s games day. Next weekend is the 4th of July, aka Independence Day. Stay tuned.

P.S. Thank you all for purchasing stuff via the DealExtreme links in my last post. I got more than 20 points already. If you did buy anything, please comment and tell me what you got. Thanks!

Syndicated 2008-06-27 23:00:22 from Alon's Blog

21 Jun 2008 »

Deal Extreme!

I have recently discovered an amazing website based in Hong-Kong selling tech gadgets at amazingly cheap prices: cables, adapters, and any type of USB gadget you could think of all in ridiculously low prices and free worldwide shipping. On the first day I ordered 7 different products in 6 separate orders. On the next days, I ordered 13 more items for a total spending of $89.