Geek in the dark

Even if you’re not in Hawaii, you probably heard by now about the massive power outage that occurred this past Friday by virtue of how it included the vacationing President-elect.

On this particular evening eGeekette and I were checking out the after Christmas sales down in Waikiki when we thought we saw the flickers of lightning in the sky. Since we didn’t hear thunder we figured the storm (if any) was far away and kept on window shopping. Little did we know…

Waikiki is one of those places I imagine is always brightly lit – kinda like Las Vegas – so you can imagine my surprise when everything all of a sudden went dark. No streetlights, all the stores blacked out. After a brief ohshit moment I had to take a couple pictures. You can’t really see what’s going on but that’s pretty much the point.

There were people all around us but the only lights were from the passing cars and tiki torches down the street. I won’t be complaining about Hawaiian hula kitsch any time soon!

The next thing I tried to do was post the photo to Twitter and discovered that AT&T was offline (uh oh!). Good thing text services were still running as I began to get SMS updates from a conscientious buddy. Island-wide outage baby!

We made our way back to the car by the light of the iPhone (still useful even without service!) and began the perilous trek out of Waikiki. Not sure if everyone forgot or just didn’t know about the four-way stop rule when signals are out, but crossing every intersection felt like a game of chicken. Making matters worse were the ninja pedestrians jumping out of nowhere and darting across the street at random intervals.

Once we made it home AT&T was back up and I was able to track the unfolding news of the outage via Twitter in real time. Updates from the Twitterverse were often more current and relevant than what was on the radio. Things got even better when @Hawaii set up the #hipower hashtag that allowed everyone to follow all outage related tweets on Twitter Search.

Another lifesaver was my recently acquired Lenmar PowerPort universal battery. With the included adapters, we had juice for both my iPhone and eGeekette’s Palm Centro throughout the entire outage. Originally purchased as backup power for videos and music during air travel, it came in handy sooner than expected. Lenmar PowerPort FTW!

So where were you when the power went out?

Geek ink

For today’s post, I started and trashed a bunch of things that have been noodling around in my head, mostly because they were too damn serious. I figure that you, my loyal readers (all 3 of you), probably don’t come to elementalgeek to find the answers to the world’s problems or to discover life’s greatest truths, although if I ever do figure those out, you’ll be the first I tell.

Today’s post is just plain geek diversion. While your personal preferences regarding tattoos may vary, the Science Tattoo Emporium shows that just about anything can be “art”.

I keep on thinking I’d like to get a tattoo someday, but I haven’t decided what will still look good on an 80 year old triathlete. Try picturing a tribal armband on an elderly woman for a reality check. Maybe some traditional Japanese artwork – the samurai/yakuza guys still look cool when they get old (or maybe it’s the sword/gun/missing finger)

What (@Not the LG: what else) would you be willing to put on your body permanently?

x-ray vision: ON!

Went for my one month LASIK followup exam. 20/10 vision baby!

At this rate I should be able to see through walls or shoot laser beams out of my eyes by my 3 month follow up visit.

Valium is wonderful

It’s been one week now since I underwent LASIK corrective surgery. Aside from passing cloudy periods (take that, weatherguy!) in one eye, I’m good as new. Better in fact! According to the doctor, my vision is now 20/15.

The actual LASIK procedure is surprisingly short, especially compared to the lead up period. Before the surgery, I had to stop wearing contacts for two weeks. Although they say it’s to let the shape of my eyeballs return to normal “unsucked” state, I’m convinced that it’s to make you appreciate the surgery even more. I’ve needed vision correction since the 6th grade, but have been wearing contacts for the last quarter century. Going back to glasses for two whole weeks was TORTURE!

The day of the surgery I needed to check in an hour before the procedure. Once I got settled in the pre-op waiting room they had me pop a Valium and then started putting drops in my eyes. Antibiotic drops, anesthetic drops, anti-inflammatory drops. Repeat.

Never having taking Valium before, I was expecting to feel a bit loopy or altered but you just end up really chill. As I think about it now, I probably should have been getting all stressed about the upcoming surgery but instead I just cruised in the cushy armchair, checking out my booties. Before I knew it, it was time. (Oh cool, it’s time.)

I got set up in a dentist-like chair that’s reclined flat and covered by a cozy blankie. The lasers must be happier when they’re really cold. The surgeon starts by immobilizing each eye and creates a flap in the surface with with Laser #1. Then she tells me that things are going to get blurrier as she folds the flap back. Around that time I finally had an anxious twinge in the pit of my stomach, but it passed in a moment. In retrospect, considering what was going on, I should have been totally freaking out. Gotta love Valium.

After that I went under Laser #2. As I dutifully stared at the glowing blue ring as instructed, I caught a whiff of something like singed hair as the surface of my cornea vaporized. For each eye the surgeon gave me a count down (”25 seconds… 17… almost there… 5…finished!”) and one of the assistants was patting my shoulder, both things working with the Valium to keep me calm and relaxed. After putting back the flap and a quick rinse, it was over and I could see!

From beginning to end, the whole procedure took less than 10 minutes. No more lenses popping out in the pool, no more pressing my nose to the alarm clock to see the time in the middle of the night, no more glasses! Ever!