Acoustic neuroma

Before February 2007, I had never heard of an acoustic neuroma, but now it's part of my everyday life. About five years or so, I started having a ringing in my right ear, along with some noticeable hearing loss. Initially, I figured I had just attended too many loud concerts (especially that David Lee Roth show in Glens Falls in the mid-80's), but eventually I had it checked. My doctor recommended seeing an audiologist, and she tested my hearing. The hearing in my right ear was poor enough for her to recommend a hearing aid -- which I did, but I was never satisfied with the results. After several months of that, I decided that I would live with my hearing loss, and the ringing.

Fast-forward a few years, and another checkup -- this time, my doctor recommended seeing an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) specialist. This doctor ordered a series of hearing tests, and a MRI. Lo and behold, the MRI showed a mass (acoustic neuroma) that was causing the problem. This led to meeting with a radiation specialist, Dr. Savage (no, not The Man Of Bronze). He explained to me that the mass compresses the hearing nerve, which causing the ringing and the hearing loss. It's not uncommon, and it's not malignant, but at my young age, it needs to be taken care of before it grows larger and causes other problems.

I basically had four options. The first three were: (1) Do nothing, (2) Have it surgically removed, (3) Endure a one-day blast of radiation. Option #1 was not an option, since letting it continue to grow (no matter how slowly) was dangerous. Option #2 was very dangerous - surgeries like these require expert skill, it would require several days in the hospital, and there's a chance that it could cause nerve damage. Option #3 was much less dangerous than #2, but it involves a whole day, it would require me to wear a helmet, and the high dose of radiation could easily affect the surrounding area -- again, I could damage that same hearing nerve, which means the growth would be stopped, but I would be deaf. Great choice.

The fourth option was to have "fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy". Basically, it's a much lower dose of radiation spread out over thirty treatments. The "target" is generated from using 3-D images from a CAT scan, which allows for a more precise beam, which results in minimal damage to the surrounding area. It would be every weekday (not including holidays) for about 10-15 minutes. It would require that I sit for a "mask" fitting, which is used to make sure that my head is in the same position for each treatment. The problem with this treatment is that St. Peter's Hospital did not have the machine that offered this solution. It's new technology, and they planned on having it in six months.

Next: My decision.

Michael Gambon

For those who don't know, Michael Gambon is the actor who currently portrays Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies. I realize that someone had to take over the part after Richard Harris died, but Gambon was a terrible choice. His interpretation of Dumbledore is completely wrong; he plays the character with aggression, impatience and he's boring -- no charm, no warmth, and certainly not "the greatest wizard of our time." Gambon admits that he hasn't read the Harry Potter books. How not surprising.

What's worse, Dumbledore is usually described as tall, thin, with long fingers and a crooked nose. In an incredible feat of poor casting, Gambon has none of these features. They might have well used CGI (as long as they didn't use Andy Serkis, but that's for a future post) and used Jim Dale as his voice.

I realize some people argue that "it's a problem with the director more than the actor"... and I'll agree up to a point. Yes, Prisoner of Azkaban was a bad movie thanks to Alfonso Cuarón, but it could have been saved by an on-target Dumbledore performance. It's gotten to the point where no matter how good the rest of the movie is (and a lot of Order of the Phoenix doesn't look bad), Gambon's Dumbledore will drag it down. Let's face it -- after Harry, Dumbledore is probably the most important character in the story.

For those of us who have read Half-Blood Prince, I guess our only satisfaction will be that Deathly Hallows should be a pretty good movie.

Life Lesson #2

2. Your Time is Money

So many times I hear people complain that they don't like to spend money on hiring professionals (mechanics, carpenters, Lawn Dawg), with the thought that they can do the job themselves for free. My years as a consultant has taught me that my time is worth something. If I actually went as far as to try to work on my car by myself, I don't think of that as doing it for free -- again, my time is worth something, and that "money" is better spent somewhere else.

The same can be said for hotel reservations. I'd rather spend the extra $$ and stay in a hotel that's closer to the action. I know people who would rather stay in a hotel that's miles from the city they're visiting in the first place, just to save money. If my hotel is so far away that I have to spend time getting to and from the place I'm want to see, that's wasting money, because (all together) my time is money.

So take my advice and the next time you're planning a Walt Disney World vacation, stay here and save some money. You can thank me later, when you have time.

This is Jim Dale

For those Harry Potter fans out there, the only way to enjoy the book series is to purchase the audio books (here's a link to purchase the cd's for book 6 from Amazon). Personally, I've actually only read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but I've enjoyed listening to all six audio books several times. What makes them so special is the narrator, Jim Dale. Mr. Dale not only reads the text, he actually does the voice for each character and his portrayals have improved with each book. His voice characterizations for Dumbledore, Hagrid and Snape are especially on target. What's best is that the audio books have been made available the same day the corresponding book was released, so that you can get started right away. You won't be able to keep up with those actually reading the book, but you'll enjoy it more. Don't let them spoil the end for you.

03/27/2007: It's just been announced that Jim Dale will return for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and it will be released on July 21, 2007.

The Amazing Randi

My Friday is not complete unless I check out the James Randi Educational Foundation, or JREF website. The Amazing Randi has a new commentary every Friday (with an RSS feed for you technically endowed) which has converted me to be a born-again skeptic. Before you believe in what you read (my blog included), check out Randi's site.

Chapter One: The Beginning

I just like to thank everyone who made this blog possible. Here's some of my thoughts to live by, which I'll be adding to from time to time:

1. Always check Google -- someone's probably already solved the problem you have now.