It wasn't long ago that I took a look at one of the most entertaining Palm and Pocket PC games available, Astraware's Broken Sword. Alison Barclay has just sent me the latest:

"THE MIDLANDS, UK - September 28th, 2006 - Astraware and Revolution Software are excited to announce a special Broken Sword promotion to celebrate 10 years since the release of the original Broken Sword.

When the game was originally released on 30th September 1996, no-one could have forseen that the game would still be receiving rave reviews a full decade later. 'Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars' has been released on several platforms including PC, PlayStation(R), GameBoy Advance(R), and most recently for Palm OS(R) and Windows Mobile(R). Broken Sword is now an award-winning franchise with three sequels. The most recent, 'Broken Sword 4: The Angel of Death', has just been released and is currently number 1 in the charts.

"We always dreamed of writing the game on a device that would reach beyond hardcore gamers; with the emphasis on intelligent, cerebral gameplay, rather than the requirement for manual dexterity, the game was always intended to have a broad appeal. Writing the game on Palm OS(R)and Windows Mobile(R) platforms has finally allowed us to achieve this goal", said Charles Cecil, Managing Director and co-founder of Revolution Software.

"We are really proud of how the game has turned out on Palm OS(R) and Windows Mobile(R).", said Tony Warriner, co-founder of Revolution Software, "The PC version was praised for its beauty and subtlety, and this has translated perfectly".

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the release of 'Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars', Astraware is making the game available at a very special discount price. From Friday 29th September to Sunday 1st October 2006 ONLY, 'Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars' for Palm OS(R) and Windows Mobile(R) for Pocket PC will be available with an Anniversary-only discount. This offer is available from the Astraware website for this limited period only. Visit the site at http://www.astraware.com/promo/brokensword1 for more details."

I just got word that SCOTTeVEST is having a huge clearance sale. There are some pretty significant bargains to be had, so better start looking as soon as possible!

Here's the information:

ITEM	REGULAR PRICE	LAST BIG SALE OF 2006 PRICE	SAVE	SIZES AVAILABLE at beginning of sale
Version 2.5 Blue	$189.99	$47.49	75%	XXXL
TEC Sport Jacket	$299.99	$74.99	75%	46 & 48
Three.0 Finetex Black	$249.99	$62.49	75%	L,LT, XL, XXL, XXXL
Three.0 Finetex Red	$249.99	$62.49	75%	XL, XXL, XXXL
Three.0 Finetex System Black	$399.92	$99.98	75%	XXXL
Three.0 Finetex System Red	$399.92	$99.98	75%	XXXL
Three.0 Covert Finetex	$249.99	$62.49	75%	S, M, XLT,XXXL
Three.0 Covert System	$399.92	$99.98	75%	XXXL
Three.0 Fleece	$149.99	$37.49	75%	XXXL
Three.0 Fleece w/yellow collar	$149.99	$37.49	75%	XXL, XXXL
Three.0 Spring-Fall Olive	$169.99	$42.49	75%	S,M,L,LT,XL,XLT,XXXL, XXXLT
Three.0 Spring-Fall Stone	$169.99	$42.49	75%	S,L,LT,XL,XLT,XXXL,XXXLT

The Fine Print and Other Details:

-The LAST BIG SALE OF 2006 begins at 11:00 am mountain time on Thursday, September 28^th and runs through Sunday, October 8^th.

-The sale prices reflect a 75% savings off the Regular Price for the items.

-Due to the huge savings, ALL SALES ARE FINAL. NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES on LAST BIG SALE OF 2006 ITEMS.

-Prices are for in stock items only.

-We're sorry, but the sale prices cannot be applied to prior purchases.

-Quantities are limited and we expect to sell out quickly. We will update our website as fast as possible to remove sold out sizes/colors/styles, but please be aware that this is not an automated function and that there are actual people updating the site. We will notify you as soon as possible if you order an item that is no longer available to see if you would like a different color or style.

*****

More laptop battery fire hazard news...!

Lenovo Recall Hotline: (800) 426-7378
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Lenovo and IBM Announce Recall of ThinkPad Notebook Computer Batteries Due to Fire Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries used in ThinkPad notebook computers

Units: About 168,500 battery packs (an additional 357,500 battery packs were sold worldwide).

Battery Distributor: Lenovo (United States) Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C. and International Business Machines Corp., of Armonk, N.Y.

Battery Manufacturer: Sony Energy Devices Corp., of Japan

Hazard: These lithium-ion batteries can cause overheating, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Lenovo has received one confirmed report of a battery overheating and causing a fire that damaged the notebook computer. The incident, which occurred within an airport terminal as the user was boarding an airplane, caused enough smoking and sparking that a fire extinguisher was used to put it out. There was minor property damage and no injuries were reported.

Description: The recalled lithium-ion batteries were sold with or sold separately to be used with the following ThinkPad notebook computers: T Series (T43, T43p, T60); R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e); and X Series (X60, X60s). The recalled batteries have the following part or model numbers, which can be found on the battery label:

Part/model number:

ASM P/N FRU P/N

92P1072 92P1073

92P1088 92P1089

92P1142 92P1141

92P1170 92P1169 or 93P5028

92P1174 92P1173 or 93P5030

Sold Through: Lenovo and IBM's Web sites, telephone and direct sales, and Lenovo and IBM authorized distributors between February 2005 and September 2006 as an accessory for between $150 and $180 and as part of a ThinkPad notebook computer for between $750 and $3500.

Manufactured in: Japan and China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled batteries immediately and contact Lenovo to receive a replacement battery, free-of-charge. Until a replacement battery arrives, consumers can continue to use their computer by turning off the system, removing the battery, and plugging in the AC adapter and power cord. Consumers should use only genuine ThinkPad batteries obtained from either Lenovo or an authorized reseller.

Consumer Contact: Customers should contact Lenovo at (800) 426-7378 anytime or log on to www.lenovo.com/batteryprogram to determine if the battery is part of the recall and to receive a replacement battery.

To view this release online, please go to our web site at:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06270.html

Saturday, after another fabulous breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, we settled in for what would prove to be an exciting day of brainstorming.

Derek Brown one of the original founders of Mobius, gave us a quick overview of the coup that had just occurred in Bangkok before showing us a video about deploying computers and technology in emerging markets. Derek has been living and working in Thailand for over a year...lucky guy! He also spoke about the challenges of bringing intellectual property to a country that may or may not understand the concept.

Microsoft's Chris Sorenson gave a mostly confidential speech about Crossbow, the next version of both Windows Mobile for both Smartphone & Pocket PC. Devices running Crossbow will be appearing in the second half of 2007.

Horace Luke spoke about UI Futures, which like last year was also a largely confidential sharing of information. I can say that it was near impossible to keep the drool from escaping my mouth. Horace & his team have an incredible vision, and if we can just "hold on" a little longer, then we will all see a GUI on new devices that will put to shame anything seen thus far. No joke.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working on what will from now on be known as "The Mobius Project". We were all divided into three groups in order to brainstorm on the needs of three distinct demographics. Our goal was to imagine the perfect device for our assigned group, and decide upon which features and hardware it would include. I was put into the Social group, and we had a great time loudly vocalizing what we thought our revolutionary device should include and entail. Our working lunch was one of the most fun sessions I enjoyed at Mobius, partly because in this smaller group we were able to hear from some of our Asian attendees who had been quieter during the larger group sessions.

We were supposed to wrap up by 3:30, but we kept going until nearly 5; none of us were ready to quit. John Starkweather was so cute because he kept asking if it was all right with us that we were running over time...heck, we were in Thailand and it wasn't like we had anything planned; we were happy to keep going!

To wrap things up, and as our final event, John had got the hotel to place flags on an empty expanse of their lawn. Our goal was to toss an antiquated handheld; who ever tossed the farthest would win. Those French guys...they are pretty crafty! Several times we heard, "you all have baseball", or the like - but when it came time to toss they were the ones that threw the PDA well past the farthest flag! After this event, Mobius was formally over...but we weren't done yet!

As a group, we agreed to meet for dinner and venture into Patong, the local tourist trap. After a harrowing ride in a Thai Taxi, we pulled up in the middle of a bustling tourist area. My first order of business was to run across the street and get some cash from the ATM. I knew that the ATM would be dealing Baht, but it was still confounding to see my choices listed in the thousands' range. 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 Baht - I wasn't sure what to take out! I settled on 2000 Baht because it sounded like a hefty sum. With the conversion rate of 37:1, I had only withdrawn about $55! Some big spender...but I would learn that was enough money for a great evening!

Viroon Vichianwattanachai, our official Thai ambassador, took us to a family style outdoor restaurant where he ordered various dishes which we all devoured. It is always great to have a local that knows the language and knows what to order from the menu - and Viroon took this job very seriously. This was easily one of the best meals we had on the trip - and that is saying a lot.

After dinner, we headed down one of the alleys into Patong. Vendors lined every street and each bar was thumping music while bar-girls shimmied inside. We hit the street stalls, where with Chris Sorenson's bargaining help I scored a foot tall metal sculpture of the Alien. In hindsight, I wish I would have bought the Predator that was next to it. :0(

Sunday morning a group of us met for breakfast and then decided that as this was our last day, we needed to go be a bit touristy. I had been itching to go to the Monkey School down the street from our resort, so John, Derek, Joel, and Jenneth and I took a cab ride down the road. Our first stop was the Cobra Show, where we saw feats that can only be seen - hardly described.

This would be a good time to mention that all of my photos from the trip are in my Flickr account. I have a lot of really awesome video, too...which I will eventually upload. :0)

Before the cobra show was finished, Jenneth had to leave and go back to the hotel to catch her flight. We that were remaining thought it would be fun to next go get a picture with the elephants. Instead, we wound up riding them! Our mantra for the entire day seemed to be "when else will we ever do this?!", and one of us would repeat it any time there was something to do that the others weren't sure about. So yes, we rode the elephants in the rain, and it was incredible!

We started to think it would be prudent to get back to the hotel to finish packing and change before our flights, so we returned to the Moevenpick, ate lunch together, and then went back and prepared for our return trips.

I don't know about you, but 40 hours of travel time is a lot for me. However, for a trip like this, every bit of butt & back pain was worth it!

I saw things that I have never seen before, met people I would have never met otherwise, and did things that I can tell my grandkids about one day. How often does that truly happen?

So Mobius Thailand, to sum it up, was a great time not just for the gadgety-goodness that we were shown, but also for the community ties that it strengthened. I think it is safe to say that every one of us attending had our friendship circles widened to include worldwide sites that we had never visited - if only because of the language barrier. For me, the world became a much smaller and friendlier place because of Mobius 2006.

The list of member sites attending included: G-A Gay from www.akihabranews. com, Nghia from www.pdafrance. com, Howard from www.howardchui. com, Jason from www.pocketpcthoughts.com, Joel from www.geek.com, Judie from www.thegadgeteer. com, eric from www.phonescoop. com, CheeWee from http://www.ppcsg.com, Jenneth from www.roam-magazine. com.au, Paul Matt from http://www.threegmobile.net, Viroon from www.thai-g.com, Andrew from http://www.windowsmobileinjapan.com and http://hq.andrewshuttleworth.com, Ed from www.brighthand. com, Alvin from www.spug.net, Kenny from www.mobique. com, Derrick from www.pocketpc. com.hk, Chiang from www.mobile01. com, Atticus from www.chinese. engadget. com, Lim from www.mypdacafe. com, Larry from http://www.PALMisLIFE.com, and HT from http://twpug.wolfnet.com.tw. Gosh, I hope I got all of those right!! :0)

This morning at 5:30, I was awakened by a call from Steve telling me that Sarah had shaved several seconds off her events at her just completed varsity swimming time trials! I hate that I missed them, but talking to Steve and then Sarah made it almost as good as being there. Yay Sarah, I am so proud of you - you rock! :0D

I waited until a little bit later, then called Joel to see if he wanted to walk with me to breakfast. Once there, Eric joined us and we enjoyed another fabulous meal before walking down the hall to our morning sessions.

Derek Snyder was the first presenter, giving a quick overview on Windows Mobile. He quickly moved into a demo of Mobile Windows Live. He also showed the new WM5 integration with XBox Live, for those of you that are gamers. Derek then demonstrated some Smartphone power toys and soon to be released applications, including: Photo Browsing App, which allows you to look at thumbnails of stored photos from the Smartphone Today screen, and Speed Dial Today, which shows a photo for each speed dial contact on the Today Screen, and even allows on the fly "ranking" of the photos. Hurricane Tracker is an amazing new program (out today) that shows live tracking of...wait for it...hurricanes! MobiTV is a no-fuss solution for people that want up to 50 channels of live TV streaming on their device. Lobster broadcasts streaming content from the user's PC. Mobile Medical Visualization, a new application for doctors. Holy cow! this app allows doctors to look at patient information, stream CT scan information, 3D heart scans, we actually watched a movie of some woman's colonoscopy...wow, just wow.

Derek gave a demonstration of Tony Hawk (THPS2) on an Axim...then on a Motorola Q. Point being that this was an app that had been made and optimized for an advanced PocketPC device, but was also running quite well on a "lesser" device - his words, Q users, don't hate!

Derek ended his talk with a massive information barrage including details on the latest WM5 AKU3 release. One of the coolest features was Language Pack which allows the user to choose the operating language their device will run. This is huge! So for instance, Dopod could ship a device in China, but if an American user wants to use it in their own language, they can simply set the language to English during the initial setup. There is also a new Auxillery Display which allows the user to choose what they see, a new Quick Start Wizard, Email Account Setup walk-through, various ActiveSync updates, easier WiFi connectivity, changes and updates in Messaging, updates to Windows Media Player - video scaling, and so many other updates that it was near impossible to keep up with everything!

Next, Nick White gave a presentation on Windows Vista which really made me want to try out the beta...possible bugs and all. Any time I see the latest and greatest operating system, it just makes me drool. Maybe is is a "grass is always greener" thing, but wow, Vista looks slick. Nick's demo nearly made my mouth water...okay, not nearly! It did!

At one of the breaks between sessions, we were given a Dopod/HTC Hermes, a custom Vaja case, and a CD containing a release candidate for Windows Vista...hey now! There was no need to jump in that pool after all!

Dion Wiggins, Vice President and Research Director of Gartner, and a man with more credits in his curriculum vitae than...well, I can't even think of a good example, but anyway, he stood up and gave an amazing presentation on what the future holds for mobile devices. Some of the topics he touched upon included: managing how you control your time and productivity with the disruption of being connected 24/7; the many technologies demanded by wireless solutons; multimodal user interaction - like the term "nouse"(...have you heard of this before? Believe it or not, it is an image recognition that uses your nose as a mouse!); Technology that uses such facial recognition as gaze sensing, gestures, 'doubleblinks', lip sync; the many challenges of being a mobile operator; the "internetization" of mobilty; the dimension of design, which covered convergent devices and the idea of a device changing its primary use with the switch of a button that has been programmed to activate a desired profile. Also covered were key trade-offs from various form factorsand future display technology.

Sebastian Schmidt, with SPB Software House gave a mostly confidential speech about their futre Windows Mobile 5 software product roadmap. If you are unfamiliar with their products, take a look at the Pocket PC Software list on the sidebar of my gear diary. What I can tell you is that they have some very nice upcoming applications along with some really excellent already available programs, so keep an eye on the SPB site and definitely give their software a try. I have personally purchased their Diary, Weather & Backup solutions, and I recommend them highly.

Hey, have you noticed the WM5 trend in today's discussions? I've been loving it!

The next presentation was given by Olaf Lohman from ComVu. This is an amazing program and service that allows you to broadcast live content on the net. You can even set up pay-per-view events, so yes...jokes about how the porn industry would love this service abounded. But really, it was one of the most innovative ideas I have seen for imidiate content uploading - almost like having your own television broadcast.

After Olaf's presentation, we had 30 minutes before we needed to meet in the lobby for dinner and an evening of Muay Thai - kickboxing!

For dinner, we went to the most amazing local open-air restaurant, Tangke, where we saw about 30 huge water-filled vats all in a row. Inside these vats were every variety of seafood imaginable - horse-shoe crab, soft-shell crab, different types of fish, mussels, prawns, lobster...we knew we were in for something special! No sooner had we been seated than the meal began. Plate after plate of family style entrees came to the table, along with a soup toureen. About an hour later, we had eaten our fill and were ready to see the fights!

We pulled up at the Muay Thai arena, and the place was teeming with locals. We had ringside seats (1000 Baht each) from where we watched several fights between young boys weighing just 60 (or less) pounds, and there were girls fighting, too! We winced as they punched each other in the face and kicked the crap out of each other...these girls were amazing - they had no fear! Then the 130 pound men came out and the fights got much more serious. I saw (and video recorded) my first knockout fight...holy cow! When the guy was decked in the mouth, the spit flew! Those sitting on the front row, and even those of us on the second, got covered in it! I was thankful for that Hep B shot I'd received before leaving, ha! We were back to the hotel around midnight, and I was so exhausted that it wasn't long before I was in my room and fast sleep.

Well, I arrived in Phuket Thursday morning without any trouble; other than the handful of soldiers which I saw at the airport exit, there was no indication that anything out of the ordinary was happening in Thailand. After an hour's ride from the airport in a chauffeured Toyota Highlander, I arrived at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa. On the way, my driver pointed out several local points of interest, including the Monkey School, which is exactly what the name implies - a school for monkeys. He told me that the same place also had a guy that handled huge king cobras. Sensing my interest, he sent me a video from his phone (via Bluetooth) of the snake guy playing with what looks like a 10' cobra! I'll try to add that later - remind me. Anyway! Microsoft always manages to find memorable local hotels for its Mobius events, but this time they managed to completely outdo themselves.

As we pulled up to the resort's entrance, my immediate plans were to check in and then get to my room and crash...but I was told that instead, I had an appointment in the spa in 15 minutes! I had actually made an appointment at the spa when I thought I was arriving Wednesday, but had cancelled it when I realized I would lose my free day. Long story short, they had gone ahead and rescheduled me, which was awesome!

After 2.5 hours of complete and totally amazing pampering, I finally made it to my room, and took a moment to check my messages. Joel from Geek.com had sent an email asking if I had yet arrived. In reply, I gave him my room number, and we made plans to walk to the evening's event together. Finally I was able to crash, and did for a couple of hours.

At the reception, I met a group of attendees from Taiwan, Thailand, Japan & Singapore. More familiar faces from the past included Eric from PhoneScoop, Jason from PocktPCThoughts, Ed from Brighthand, and Howard from Howard Forums, and several others.

As expected, the food was amazing; we noshed on a tasty variety of local specialties and America standbys.

The highlight of the night was when John Starkweather, our event organizer, tossed an ancient Casio palmtop in the pool. He had no sooner said he would give a Dopod HTC Hermes to the first person to jump in the pool that retrieved the Casio, than Andrew (I'll add his site later) was in the pool getting it! I think Andrew might have jumped in with his mobile phone and room key still in his short's pocket...seriously! Ah well, he seemed pretty pleased with the trade-off. Ha!

We were joking that the punchline was that we would all receive an HTC Hermes as we left...but we were wrong. Instead we received a red Roadwired Pod complete with Mobius dogtag, which I know will come in handy. I cut out of the reception early and was soon fast asleep in my bed.

More later...

Unlike yesterday's aborted journey, today my trip to Phuket started without a hitch. I flew to Dallas, and as I ate lunch in an airport restaurant, I caught up on the email and text messages I'd missed during the previous hour's flight.

As I read, a message from Julie caught my eye, "Hey I just heard that a state of emergency was declared in Thailand!"

My reply was, "Shut up! ;0) Not Funny!", because I figured that Julie was being her typical mischevious self - messing with me after the disappointment of yesterday's cancelled flight that had temporarily put my journey on hold. Little did I know...

As I waited for my flight to Frankfurt to be called, I nervously watched as the reporters on CNN described the latest developments of a coup against the Thai Prime Minister while he was out of the country. Reading emails from other Mobius attendees and the text messages from Julie and Steve, it was evident that the surprise turn of events was a massive worry for those that were in transit like me, as well as those who were about to be.

Some of the Mobians were saying that things should be fine in Phuket, and that Bangkok - where martial law and a State of Emergency had been declared - was far enough away that it should not affect our gathering. Other attendees were saying that they had already cancelled their flights, and that they wouldn't take the chance of making the trip for fear that the situation might escalate. Still others that were actually at the resort said that so far everything was "business as usual".

I've never traveled to a country that was in the middle of a coup (peaceful or otherwise), and I would be lying if I didn't say that for a little while I contemplated arranging a return flight home, but I also didn't want to take the chance of missing an awesome trip if the day's events quickly resolved.

After much consideration (and quite a few fast & furious text messages with Steve), I decided that since I still had a 9.5 hour flight to Frankfurt, as well as a seven hour layover upon arrival - and therefore plenty of time to decide whether or not to continue - I would go ahead and make the next leg of my journey.

As I type this entry, I have just arrived in Frankfurt. It looks like things are peaceful, and I will be traveling on to Phuket as planned. I wish all coups could be as calm!

In just a little bit I will be heading to the airport to begin my ~40 hour journey to Phuket, Thailand for Mobius 2006. I'll be carrying a large bag loaded with everything I think I could possibly need - electronic books, movies, snacks, back medicine, a fresh shirt, and a small bag full of personal grooming items that I hope will be allowed on the plane. If I am reading this list correctly, deodorant is okay...but toothpaste isn't. It looks like we'll be a plane full of foul-mouthed travelers! ;0)

In any case, I hope to have internet access while traveling and at our resort; if all goes as planned I'll post photos and comments along the way. No matter what happens, it should be interesting and fun...

Added later: Evidently I spoke too soon! Due to yesterday's bad weather in Dallas, my flight to Dallas today was cancelled. I'll now be leaving at the same time tomorrow, and I will still arrive in Phuket with plenty of time for Mobius events. Unfortunately I've now lost my one free day to explore and recover from jet lag. Oh well. :0P

This morning I had an email waiting from Mitchell Oke, saying that he "went down to my local Apple reseller yesterday to see if I could pickup one of the just-released nanos, but alas they were out of stock. I went back today and although they weren't making them available till tomorrow, the guy I knew there let an 8GB nano slip out early for me. It looks and feels awesome!! Even smaller than the original (or just seems so because of the round edges). The metal is SOOOOOOOOOO much better than the plastic of the original. Makes the old one feel like one of those tacky copies off ebay."

Here are pictures he included for your "viewing pleasure..."

It looks awesome; thanks for the pictures Mitchell! :0)

Once again, I have a few products that require a volunteer reviewer.

As always, the requirements are:

1. That you have a digital camera
2. That you own any additional devices necessary to conduct the review (i.e. - if it is a case review, you have the proper device to fit the case)
3. That you take nice clear pictures of the product being reviewed
4. That you use the product for a minimum of two weeks, gathering impressions on its positive and negative points, all of which will be included in your review
5. That you complete the review within three or four weeks after receiving the item
6. That you agree not to publish the review on another web site

In return, you will get to keep the item that you review. You'll need to email me if you see something you would like to review. Sound like a plan? Read on...

1. This item is no longer available and will be reviewed by Jeff Nawrot; thank you Jeff! Roadmaster USA VRFM8BLN 2 in 1 Wireless MP3 WMA FM Transmitter (value $19.99):

According to the site:
• Plays All your Audio Devices Wire-Free through your Car Stereo System's Pre-Set 15 FM Stations.
• Multi Function Buttons: Random/Shuffle Mode /Channel, Play/Pause Pushbutton, Volume/Track Selection.
• Last Station Recall
• Last Song Played
• Plug N' Play™ your MP3's and WMAs, Wire-Free from your USB Flash Drive
• Aux Input Jack for Use with MP3, CD and DVD Players
• Standard USB Port
• 6 Position Flexible Joint for Ease of Use.
• Digital Large, Easy to Read LED Shows Pre-Set FM Stations
• 3.ft. Audio Cable
• 2.5mm Stereo Input
• 12 Volt Wire-Free Transmission

*****

2. This item is no longer available and will be reviewed by Mark Murphy; thank you Mark! Brando USB 1GB MP3 Pen + FM Radio + Voice Recorder Pen (Value $68)

According to the site: "COOL MULTI-FUNCTION STUFF!!! MP3 + FM Radio + Voice Recording + Data storage + Memo taking!!!
USB MP3 Pen + FM Radio + Voice Recorder is a multi-functional gadget!! You can enjoy your music or FM radio during your day. It is also a convenient and stylish mass storage device which is shockproof and moisture proof that you can bring along wherever you go and your data and information will be there whenever you need. It comes along with voice recording function so that you can record the important voice"

*****

3. This item is no longer available and will be reviewed by Brian Cottingham; thank you Brian! Edifier H260 high Performance Stereo Headphone (Value $33)

According to the site: "The Edifier H260 in-Ear Earphone is designed with soft silicon in-ear earbuds for excellent noise isolation and offers high-quality audio reproduction with extraordinary bass ideal for digital music playback."

*****

All items will be available on a first come first served basis; I will post that the item has a reviewer as each slot is filled.

Thanks!!

:0)

Mmmmm....kidney pie!

This entry is not gadget related, and it is highly personal. But if helps one person then I won't feel bad about having shared a bit "too much information".

So here goes...

A couple of months ago I noticed a small amount of blood in my urine. This occurred on two different occasions in a three week period. While I thought it was strange, I wasn't overly worried. Thinking that I might have a urinary tract infection, I made an appointment with my gynecologist. The test came back negative for a UTI, but my urine did test positive for an abnormally high blood level. After various tests were performed and "female" issues had been ruled out, it was determined that I might have a problem with my kidney, bladder or urethra. An appointment was made with a Urologist, but there was over a month's wait before I could get in to see him.

During the wait, we went on vacation and not once did I have abnormal bleeding. In fact, I almost cancelled the appointment with the Urologist because I felt fine and I was having no further symptoms. I very rarely get sick and I hate going to doctors almost as much as I hate having to take medicine. People who are always talking about their medical problems and hypochondriacs are two of my biggest pet peeves, so I started rationalizing and telling myself that the blood in my urine must have been a fluke. Julie told me I should still see the Doctor, that I probably had a stone. "Stones hurt," I told her, "I know I don't have a stone."

After waiting over a month I finally got in to see the Urologist. I told him I was embarrassed to take up his time - that I had no pain and I hadn't had blood in my urine in over a month. I think the most alarming thing that I told him was that I had no pain. He was ready to schedule an Intravenous Pyelogram, or IVP. "Sure, stones hurt," he said, "but cancer doesn't."

Holy crap...did he just mention the C word?

FYI - If you have unexplained blood in your urine and there is no flank pain, it is not normal. Get thee to the doctor...

The IVP results showed a 1.5cm "filling defect" in my right kidney. What the heck is a filling defect? Well, it can be anything from a kidney stone to a cancerous tumor.

Next up was a lower abdominal CT Scan, which showed nothing abnormal in my right kidney, but it did show a 0.5cm non-calcified nodule on my right lung. My Urologist began preparing me for the worst. He needed to do a more invasive cystoscopy and ureteroscopy as well as an additional contrast dye with x-rays on my urinary tract which would require day surgery. Based on my CT Scan he knew this was not a stone, it had to be some other non-calcified mass. If he didn't like what he saw in my kidney when he got in with the scope, or if there was a blockage and he couldn't get in with the scope, then my right kidney was coming out.

If I had the exploratory surgery and nothing was found, I would likely go home the same day, but if they actually removed my kidney, then I could expect to stay in the hospital for at least five days. It really bothered him that there was a spot on the same side of my lungs as the filling defect; so he was also referring me to a pulmonary specialist - who would not be able to see me until October 31st.

I cried like a bitter fool when I heard this. I cried while they drew blood for a battery of pre-op tests, and I continued crying as they whisked me into radiology and I cried all though an upper respiratory CT Scan. Not big heaving sobs, but the quiet kind where tears just roll down your face and no matter what you do, you can't make them stop. I think I scared everyone in the clinic that came into contact with me; I was scaring myself. It mortifies me even now to admit that I could. not. stop. crying. All I could think of was "non-calcified mass", which meant "tumor", which meant "cancer", which meant it was "my turn" to go through what Steve had gone through four years ago.

The new CT Scan results came in a few days later. The good news was that there was no lymph node activity in my upper or lower chest. The bad news was that the scan showed two additional sub-centimeter spots on my right lungs.

Exploratory day surgery for my right kidney was scheduled for September 6th.

In the two weeks leading up to the surgery, I carried on as best I could. I was acting as if nothing was wrong, but it was really wearing me down. Everything was going so well, too! I helped with Sigma Kappa's formal recruitment, I was asked to be Geek of the Week on Born Rich, I was planning to attend the upcoming Mobius event in Thailand, I was offered an MVP-type position with a company I respect, and I had just received an email from the Ellen Degeneres show because they had seen my Born Rich profile. In other words I did not have time to be sick. Period.

With the day surgery date looming ahead, I went ahead and updated my vaccinations in anticipation of going to Thailand; my reasoning being that if I didn't get them, then I would be admitting I couldn't go.

I did a video review and submitted it to the Ellen show, because it was a challenge and I didn't want to admit that I was afraid.

I filled out the Geek of the Week interview questions and submitted them the day before my surgery, knowing that if I put them off they would not be done until after I got out of the hospital - at least a week later.

And instead of writing the two reviews that I had planned on having ready for Tuesday & Friday, my regular posting days, I just wrote Tuesday's. My reasoning was that if I had the Friday review ready then I would not be home to work on it; I would be in the hospital.

So Wednesday morning Steve and I showed up for day surgery. There were two operating rooms prepared for me: one for looking into my kidney and removing tissue for testing, and one for removing the kidney if the doctor saw anything remotely resembling cancer. I told my doctor before I was taken to the OR that if he had to take my kidney, to please make the smallest incision possible because I still wanted to go to Thailand. He told me he didn't think Thailand would be happening. My anesthesiologist told me that going to Thailand two weeks after kidney removal was not being realistic, and I knew they were right. I just couldn't accept that I wasn't going, because then I would be admitting that I was losing my kidney because I had cancer. They really acted like they expected me to wake up minus one bean shaped organ; I was terrified they knew something further that they weren't telling me.

Steve and Grabb were in my room when they came to roll my bed to the OR. The doctor had left and we had already agreed that it sounded like they were pretty certain that my kidney was coming out. I was resigned; it was really happening. Steve told me that he loved me and gave me a kiss; Grabb got teary when he kissed me goodbye and told me he loved me, and it took everything in me to keep from tearing up until I had been pushed far enough down the hall that the guys couldn't see me. I knew I was going to lose my kidney, I knew I had cancer, I knew I was going to be in the hospital for a week, I knew that I wasn't going to Thailand, and I knew that it was going to hurt a lot when I woke up.

In the first OR, which was freezing cold, the anesthesiologist was joking about how I didn't have enough insulation if I was that cold. I said something like, "No, it's because I am practically naked on this metal ta-..."

And that's the last thing I remember before drifting into la la land.

When I awoke in the recovery room, the first thing I saw was the clock on the wall - which showed I had only been out for about an hour. In a fog, I mentally adjusted the time and reasoned that I had actually been out for the full day. I laid there trying to decide what exactly hurt the most, and to my surprise I decided that it was my throat, probably from the breathing tube. My right side was throbbing, and I seriously thought I needed to pee. A couple shots of Demerol later, and that urgent need was gone; evidently it was a side effect of the procedure.

My doctor came by and told me that I still had my kidney, that he had removed two blood clots, that one was pretty large, but YES - I would be going to Thailand after all - once they removed the stent that had been inserted. I didn't find out until later that a blood clot in the kidney can be very serious - it can travel to the lung and cause an embolism. All I knew was that blood clot sounded wayyyyyy better than tumor. When I asked what had caused the blood clots, my doctor had some suggestions: trauma to the kidney, a passed stone that caused bleeding as it made it's way through, trauma from a previous infection. Who knows what caused my clots; I am just glad that they are now gone.

Today I saw the pulmonary specialist. They had a cancellation and my case looked "interesting" so I was bumped to the head of the line. After showing us the latest CT Scans, the doctor said that the best course of action will be regular CT Scans for the next two years. Two of the spots are too small to biopsy without removing a portion of my lung's lobe. The better option would be to observe the spots over time and see if they stay the same, which would indicate some past non-growing trauma. If they do grow, then we can do a biopsy or surgery at a later date. Right now I am feeling pretty lucky, so I am going to hold onto the notion that these spots are the result of a lifetime of exposure to dust, pollution & occasional second hand smoke.

The point of my story is simple: Male or female, if you have unexplained bleeding without any pain, do not put off going to the doctor. Microscopic amounts of blood in the urine might be normal, but if you can see it and you don't feel any pain, then there is the possibility that you have something seriously wrong. I don't know what would have happened if I had not gone to the doctor, maybe nothing...but maybe things would have turned out much worse. Whatever was going wrong in me has been caught in time, and I would want the same for you. :0)