Merry Christmas to all! (Luke 2:8 - 14)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:8-14

The Information You Need On The Obama Administration's Healthcare Plan

The Bioethics Defense Fund has put together a fact sheet about the Obama backed health care reform bill HR 3200. This website contains information on issues such as federal abortion funding, and end of life, or euthanasia, counseling.

From the website:







Click here to read the HR 3200 amendment that allows government funding of abortions. In reviewing this bill language, the non-partisan concluded that:

"Despite what Obama said, the House bill would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally subsidized private plans."
--

Please visit the Bioethics Defense Fund's website for more information on HR 3200.

Night Shift: How To Get Restful Sleep

Working the night shift (especially in the ER) can be exciting, and challenging. Getting enough sleep when working the night shift can be another challenge. Here are two good articles I've found that have some great suggestions on how to get enough sleep when working the night shift.

Night Shift Workers & Sleep

How to Work Night Shift - wikiHow

Proposed Rescission of the Consience Clauses

The following is a message from the Bioethics Defense Fund regarding the proposed rescission of the regulation entitled, "Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law."

Please read, and take action.

Coercing Conscience? YOU have a voice.

Last week, the Obama administration officially declared plans to rescind--get rid of--a healthcare conscience-protecting regulation.

The administration has, as required by law, called for public comment on the proposed plan to get rid of the conscience-protecting regulation, with a deadline of April 9, 2009.

Bioethics Defense Fund is one of the organizations in the Freedom2Care Coalition formed to defend the conscience rights of health care professionals and students. Professionals dedicated to serving the well-being of patients should never be discriminated against for their respect for every human life.

HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS and PRO-LIFE CITIZENS: You have a vitally important opportunity to immediately send a public comment to prevent a critical loss of access to healthcare professionals who are being systematically pressured to violate their consciences.

• Go to www.Freedom2Care.com to learn more and to send your comment to the administration. Your voice makes a difference.
  
• Read BDF's 2008 letter that supported the Bush administration's adoption of the conscience-protecting regulation that the Obama administration may rescind after the 30 day public comment period.

Watch a video message from USCCB President Cardinal George who explains that "respect for personal conscience. . . ensures our basic freedom from government oppression."

And Don't Forget to SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNMENT.

Acid Base Balance Review

pH 7.35 - 7.45
PaCO2 35 - 45
HCO3 22 - 28

If the pH is opposite the PaCO2, the problem is Respiratory.
Ex. If the pH is low (7.31), and the PaCO2 is high (47) then the problem is Respiratory Acidosis

If the pH trends with the HCO3, the problem is Metabolic.
Ex. If the pH is low (7.31), and the PaCO2 is normal (37), and the HCO3 is low (20), the problem is Metabolic Acidosis

Ex.
pH 7.50
PaCO2 43
HCO3 45
---> Metabolic Alkalosis, b/c pH trends with the Bicarb

Ex.
pH 7.30 -> Acidosis
PaCO2 43 -> Normal
HCO3 20 -> Low, but trends with the pH
---> Metabolic Acidosis

Thanks for reading.

Caution: Dell does not provide support for computers purchased from Best Buy

I recently purchased a Dell XPS M1330 from my local Best Buy (local being an hour drive away). I really like my laptop, so far it does everything I need it to with minimal problems. However, after updating the display driver (which I downloaded from support.dell.com) when I have the power adapter disconnected from the laptop I can't adjust the brightness to the same brightness as I can when the power adapter is connected to the laptop (which I was able to do before using the {Fn + Up Arrow Key}).

Here's where the major problem comes in. I contacted Dell Support through a live chat and was told that because I purchased my laptop from Best Buy, they could not help me with support issues. This is disappointing, one of the reasons I purchased a Dell computer is because I've always received excellent support from them in the past.

The following is the live chat between the Dell Support Technician and myself:

This is an automated email sent from Dell Chat. The following information is a log of your session. Please save the log for your records.

Your session ID for this incident is ########.

Time Details

08/13/2008 11:33:03AM Session Started with Agent (Prashanth_156460)

08/13/2008 11:33:09AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Thank you for contacting Dell XPS Premium Support. My name is Prashanth and my rep ID number is 156460. How may I help you today?"

08/13/2008 11:33:53AM Ian Oliver: "I'm having trouble with my Dell XPS Laptop. When I disconnect the power cord, I cannot adjust the display to be as bright as it is when the power cord is connected."

08/13/2008 11:34:27AM Ian Oliver: "I'm using the Fn+UP keys"

08/13/2008 11:34:43AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "All right ."

08/13/2008 11:34:53AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Does it change when you use fn and up arrow key ?"

08/13/2008 11:35:02AM Ian Oliver: "No."

08/13/2008 11:35:29AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "May I know from where did you purchase the system?"

08/13/2008 11:35:39AM Ian Oliver: "Best Buy"

08/13/2008 11:36:26AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Ian, I will be able to help you with the very basic things like the one that you have tried already however any issues with the system would be answered by best buy technical support itself."

08/13/2008 11:36:55AM Ian Oliver: "I'm sorry. This is a Dell laptop, shouldn't I be able to get support from Dell?"

08/13/2008 11:37:07AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/best_buy?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs"

08/13/2008 11:37:13AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Please check this link once."

08/13/2008 11:37:42AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "You can check the 6 FAQ for the same."

08/13/2008 11:37:50AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Q: Who can I contact if I need technical support?"

08/13/2008 11:37:58AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "A: If you need support for your personal computer, please contact any Best Buy store."

08/13/2008 11:38:46AM Ian Oliver: "Thanks. This will be the last Dell product I ever purchase."

08/13/2008 11:38:56AM Ian Oliver: "Please notify your supervisor."

08/13/2008 11:39:06AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Please give me a minute, my supervisor would like to have a word with you."

08/13/2008 11:39:18AM Ian Oliver: "Thanks."

08/13/2008 11:41:45AM Agent (Prashanth_156460): "Are we still connected?"

08/13/2008 11:41:49AM Ian Oliver: "Yes"

08/13/2008 11:43:54AM Agent (Sup_Ashish_74782): "Hello Ian! This is Ashish, supervisor for Chat Support. How are you doing today?"

08/13/2008 11:44:04AM Ian Oliver: "I'm good, how are you?"

08/13/2008 11:44:19AM Agent (Sup_Ashish_74782): "That is really good to know, I am doing good thank you."

08/13/2008 11:45:05AM Ian Oliver: "How can we resolve this issue that I'm having with my display brightness?"

08/13/2008 11:45:41AM Agent (Sup_Ashish_74782): "Well, as we start with this."

08/13/2008 11:45:55AM Agent (Sup_Ashish_74782): "I hope you know that you purchased a Dell product from Best buy, Right."

08/13/2008 11:46:04AM Ian Oliver: "I am aware."

08/13/2008 11:46:38AM Agent (Sup_Ashish_74782): "And I believe you must have checked the link provided by Prashant to you on the policy regarding the customers purchasing the computer from Best buy ?"

08/13/2008 11:46:55AM Ian Oliver: "Yes, I saw the link"

08/13/2008 11:47:46AM Agent (Sup_Ashish_74782): "Have you tried updating the BIOS?"

08/13/2008 11:49:40AM Ian Oliver: "Thanks for your help, I don't think updating the BIOS will help for this problem. It seems to be related to the video driver, I've updated to the latest video driver for my video card from the Dell Support web site (this did not resolve the issue). I've"
also downloaded the previoius driver, again from Dell's Support web site and this did not correct the issue either.

08/13/2008 11:54:37AM Ian Oliver: "Ok, we're done here. I suppose I shold have read the fine print, and not purchased the laptop from Best Buy. I work at a University, where we have over 300 Dell computers, and have always received great support from Dell in the past. When I purchased"
this laptop I was expecting the same kind of support. It is my fault for not reading the warenty/support policy. I will not make this mistake again. Thanks again for your help, sorry for the trouble.
If you require further assistance, please visit us at support.dell.com

This post is a word of caution to those considering purchasing a Dell computer from Best Buy, know that you will not be receiving the high quality support that we've come to expect from Dell.

I will not be purchasing another Dell computer from anywhere other then Dell in the future.

Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (My Review)

Resident Evil 4 for the Nintendo Wii is a great game. The story is compelling. The controls work well. The graphics, although not a sharp as the X Box 360 or PS3 version, are engaging. If you are a fan of first-person shooters, or just looking for a great game, I highly recommend Resident Evil 4 for the Nintendo Wii.