I'm a bit worried that

I'm a bit worried that my favorite TV show, The West Wing, has jumped the shark. Since writer/creator Aaron Sorkin and producer Thomas Schlamme have left the show for this season, the look and the feel of the show has changed, at least in the first episode, which seemed to be overly melodramatic, in my opinion. Damn it, why do the Republicans have to mess everything up? I'm sure this was done because NBC felt the show was too liberal in its politics with Sorkin at the helm. I'm reminded again why I really despise much of network TV, there's a reason HBO's shows are almost universally acclaimed, they don't pander to sponsors.

Well, I accepted the new

Well, I accepted the new job. They're still working out all the start date details, but right now, it looks like I'll start the new position on October 6. I've got a bunch of work to do before then, of course. For those interested, I'll now be working for our central IT group on campus, Information Technology Services, in their Network Services division. My primary duties will involve backing up the majority of Netware, Windows, Mac and Linux servers on campus, as well as assisting in maintaining our Active Directory forest on campus. Eventually, I may also serve as the backup person on managing some of the network hardware, such as the switches spread throughout the campus network, and possibly work on our wireless implementation as well. I'm excited about the changes, this will be quite different for me, as I'll no longer be working with end users. I'll finally be able to focus on honing my server skills, though I do have to give up my Aeron chair...

I just got offered a

I just got offered a new job here at UNI, for about $9,000 more a year than I'm making now. Of course, as the song says, With "Mo' Money" comes "Mo' Problems", so I'm waiting to hear on a counter-offer from my boss before I decide...

My wife found out the

My wife found out the hard way that she's allergic to high-contrast dye today. She went in for an X-ray of her bladder, and wound up with the ER team taking care of her. She said that she started sneezing right after she got the dye, and then had problems with her throat. After a shot of anti-histamine, her blood pressure still wasn't going down, and the doc called for the ER team to respond. They elevated her feet, and after a few minutes more, the drugs did their job, and she started to return to normal, so she was dicharged after a few hours of observation. She's okay now, is at home resting, after taking the rest of the day off work. They hit her with benadryl to stop the reaction, and that's why she's so drowsy. I wasn't there when it happened, it was only supposed to be a simple X-ray after all, but she said she thought she was going to die for a bit there.

For future reference, if you're having a similar procedure done:

Allergy to iodinated contrast (dye) may take the form of hives, skin rash, itching, running nose, sneezing, bronchospasm, wheezing, laryngeal edema, pulmonary edema, as well as more severe life threatening reactions. The incidence of allergic reaction has decreased considerably with the advent on the newer non-ionic contrast agents.

If there is a pre-existing allergy to contrast material (dye), the patient may be pre-treated with Benadryl and Prednisone and then given non-ionic IV contrast.

Just woke up, can't reallly

Just woke up, can't reallly get back to sleep, so I checked CNN. I was surpised to see that John Ritter and Johnny Cash have both checked out tonight. I knew Johnny Cash was in bad shape, but I'd just seen the story that he'd checked out of the hospital a few days ago. I certainly wasn't expecting John Ritter to die anytime soon, apparently, Ritter suffered a dissection of the aorta, was rushed to the hospital, but was unable to be saved.