randallCbennett[dot]com

multi-tasking

I’ve heard since grade school that I should start a task, focus on it, and finish it. While that may be sound advice for some, I’ve found that the prevelance and pervasiveness of the internet has allowed me to multi-task to my heart’s content, and typically with pretty good results.

Yesterday, I was working on a conceptual design for some motion graphics, something I do quite frequently on the weekend as it lets me create something creative and useful for me. I’ve noticed, however, whenever I get in a creative mode, I focus on that exclusively, sometimes obsessively, and the expense of other  normal habits (like eating, for instance.) I’ve also noticed that when this happens, my body is more likely to go into a seizure. My solution? Multi-tasking! While talking to my girlfriend (fiance, whatever) on the phone, I kept working on my art, without the usual aura of almost breaking into a seizure. Likewise, while writing this blog post, I’m shaving, posting my car on craigslist, and otherwise having a good time. Sure it’s taken me a bit longer to write the post, but I think i’ve come to realize my brain is hard-wired for multi-tasking. I think I have to multi-task, or else my brain can’t handle it. That’s why video production is so alluring for me, since I have to do a bunch of things at once. I’m learning how to temper my problem with seizures, by A) listening to music and sometimes focusing on the music while I edit / work, and B) taking mandatory breaks every hour or two.

Do you find yourself multi-tasking? Is it good or bad in your view? I’m interested to hear what people think who aren’t necessarily going to break out into a seizure by concentrating too hard.

Strep throat

I think I can feel it coming, I think I’m getting strep throat.  No fun, for sure, but I’m hoping it isn’t that severe.  Here’s hoping!

Wow, up on time!

Today is a milestone, I’m up on time for the first time in months.

I had enough time to even write this blog post.  Now I’m going to work.

Yay!

Dilantin is not a silver bullet

After reading some of the experiences over here, I decided that instead of prescribing Dilantin as a catch-all anti-seizure drug, doctors might be well served to present it as less of a silver bullet.  I’ve talked with a few internal medicine doctors who have all told me to take dilantin to prevent seizures, but in addition to the seizure prevention, it has some WICKED side effects.

Sure, if you’re having major seizure issues, the drug sounds like a miracle cure.  People on that same thread describe going from 6-7 major seizures a day to having one or two staring spells, but for the rest of us (see end note) I think prescribing dilantin is almost cruel.  Instead of doing my job, I’ve spent the last week barely able to wake up properly, let alone do my job properly.  I feel like my writing is suffering, my mind is wandering more, I can’t sleep as easily at night and it’s almost impossible for me to wake up in the morning.

Now, I’m done with it.  I’ve been cutting back dosage a little at a time and i’ll be completely off of it soon enough.  I can’t handle the side effects, so I’ll just manage my seizures more effectively.  I can tell when they’re coming on, and it typically has to do with deep thought like programming or editing. I’m going to manage them till a health care provider can give me a better answer than, “sorry, that’s the way it is.”

(for the record, I had a seizure when i was 15, and three neurological events in the last year equating to some sort of seizure)

I hate medicine.

So, I officially hate my medicine again.  I told people it makes it hard for me to wake up and no one believes me.  Now, it’s near impossible for me to wake up.

Maybe I’ll start going to bed an hour earlier and see if that helps.  All I know for certain is that if I’m not taking my medicine, I wake up on time.

I hate this game.

The new job / update

So J left a comment on the last post reminding me that I hadn’t fully explained where I was going / what I was doing.

I’ve been working for CamcorderInfo for about three months as a freelancer. So far, it’s been a really good experience. Now, I’m heading to go blog for them full-time, slash do video stuff for them. They’ve actually got four different brands, CamcorderInfo, WirelessInfo, DigitalCameraInfo and PrinterInfo. At first, I’ll be blogging for CamcorderInfo and WirelessInfo primarily, so yes, I’ll be kind of competing with Engadget Mobile (although, I think it’s less about competing and more about covering everything broadly.)

The good part? It’s full-time, with accompanying health insurance, in Boston, doing a job I actually like, with potential to do on-camera stuff that I love. The company is expanding by leaps and bounds, so it’s good to be on the ground floor and have the potential to help the company be awesome. The other good news? NO INVESTORS! WAHOO! The company is self sufficient, and doesn’t have a huge investor group to satisfy. W00t.

The bad part? Haven’t figured that part out yet. I’m really excited to give this a shot!

Seizures

Creativity & Epilepsy

It has long been debated whether or not people with complex partial seizures are conducive to a greater or higher creativity or creative output. In 2002 researchers at the Guelhane Military Medical Academy in Turkey evaluated thirty men with epilepsy and thirty-six men without[citation needed] . The men were instructed to use fragmented parts of a drawing to create a picture of their own. Those with complex partial seizures scored higher than their counterparts.

Fun, right?

More later.

Seizure and movement

So… on Saturday I had a major seizure. We’re talking most major since I was 15. It was the grand maul style, with lots of associated scares for everyone around me. Thanks to that, I decided I need health insurance, and emailed back someone who had previously offered me a job. I’ll likely be taking them up on their offer and be moving back to the east coast soon enough. I’ll be a resident of a Boston suburb.

Crazy times for me, and lots of unanswered questions. What happens to tech check? What happens to the osiris network? (yet to be blogged about) What happens to everyone around me? Still lots to decide, but needless to say i’ll be deciding it here shortly.

Right now, I’m thinking of leaving tech check behind for a while. It’s a turbulent time in my life, and by leaving tech check behind, it would essentially die. While that’s pretty sad, i think saving my own life, and getting treated properly, will be my primary goal. I think Tech Check is a 2009-2010 thing anyway, and maybe i’ll bring it back from the dead then. I’m not exactly sure, but i’ll figure it out.

So, boston, eh? =) Back to my family’s roots.

Seizure Diagnosis!!!!

OMG!!!

from Emedicine!

Some of the most unusual and intriguing disorders in neurology are the reflex epilepsies in which seizures are provoked by complex actions or mental processes. Examples of these include the following:

* Primary reading epilepsy: In individuals with this condition, reading induces seizures. Jaw jerks typically occur, associated with epileptiform EEG patterns. Episodes may progress to generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Spontaneous seizures may occur, and the likelihood of seizure occurrence may increase with duration of reading or with complexity of the material being read. Processing of language within the cortex is likely to be the physiologic basis for seizure generation.

* Seizures induced by thinking: Cognitive processes have been reported to induce seizures in susceptible persons. Initially described during the performance of mathematical calculations, the seizures also may be produced by processing spatial information or by other forms of decision making. Reflex seizures have been described as a result of playing chess or checkers, also likely due to the cognitive processes involved in playing these games.

Two things…

One, my friend J started a new blog. He’s a genius, and pretty funny. Read it.

Two, I kind of… had a seizure… yesterday. I figured out my seizure trigger though: Programming for long periods on my laptop. Oh, and next time I think “this kind of feels like I could have a seizure” I’ll take note.

I’m fine! NO worries!

Oh and btw, I finished that programming task. I’ll be implementing it shortly on TCD, for now check out my staging site.