I needed some relatively minor medical care, and wanted to get it done today rather than wait for an appointment to see a doctor.  It wasn’t serious enough to require a trip to the emergency room, so I drove to an urgent care clinic in Cupertino.  It’s not that close to where I live, but [...]

Years ago, Steve Martin described the great new drug he was taking, “placebos”. Starting June 1, you’ll be able to buy them too, under the Obecalp brand name, though medical experts don’t think it will work.  [h/t Monday Evening]

The birds nesting in the trees near my bedroom window wake me up earlier than I’d like in the morning, and at night they keep me awake, singing past 2 AM. I’ve taken to sleeping with earplugs, but then my alarm clock doesn’t wake me up. It occurred to me that there might be watches [...]

while it is outside their body?
I’ve only seen mine on an ultrasound, and that’s as close as I hope to ever see it.

I know I’ve seen various mentions in the press of natural mosquito repellents more effective (and less unpleasant to humans) than products with DEET. I couldn’t remember what they were, but a web search turned up several.

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) — ten times more effective than DEET — available as Catnip Oil Insect Shield
Lemon Eucalyptus [...]

I’ve been practicing sleeping for over forty years now, and I thought I’d gotten fairly proficient at it, but last night suggested otherwise.  Here’s the suboptimal way to get a good night’s sleep:

get exhausted during the day
drink way too much water with dinner (but not to this extreme)
go to bed two hours earlier than usual
fall [...]

I’m opposed to complete bans on smoking in restaurants and bars, as we now have in California and Colorado, even though I’m a non-smoker and find cigarette smoke very irritating. It should be sufficient to have designated non-smoking areas, with suitable ventiltation. If there are enough people that want entirely non-smoking restaurants and [...]

I’ve never gotten a flu shot before, and I probably wouldn’t have this year, but my employer arranged for a nurse to give the shots to employees on-site. I figured I might as well give it a try.
One of my coworkers is a bit squeamish about shots, and he was immediately after me in [...]

The common automobile (Ipsomobile sp.) has coexisted with humans for over a century, and is generally considered to be fully domesticated. However, should the opportunity arise, they have been known to exhibit wild behavior. Note that the occasional playful nip should be distinguished from an actual attack, and is not generally considered cause for [...]

On the way to lunch with my coworkers this afternoon, I somehow managed to slam the tip of my left middle finger in the car door. It happened so quickly and hurt so much that I can’t recall the details of how I managed to do it. It severed most of the fingernail [...]