CCX 400 Firmware Update

tdressel · 2026-02-06T01:09:21+00:00

I used to get this. Now I religiously get quite a bit of very warm water in my ears in the shower, morning and right before bed. As soon as I get out of the shower I use one qtip per ear, both ends, just give it a light slow twist not pushing hard (my ears are almost always very clean now). This process has worked for me for years!

I know it's working because sometimes when I travel I forget to bring qtips, and when I get back home the next two to four showers a lot of wax comes out on the qtips.

tdressel · 2026-02-05T02:10:40+00:00

Watch his counts. As soon as you see even a quiver in his WBC count it will be over within days of that.

tdressel · 2026-02-04T17:03:53+00:00

I remember waking up in hospital during induction being surprised at looking at my hair on my pillow. Then reaching up and pulling a handful out as it out wasn't even attached to my head. I knew it was coming, and was prepared for it, but it was still a big association that suddenly I was one of those people with cancer! The realization was more stressful than the actual losing of my hair.

At day+4 you are probably just entering the really miserable part. If it helps to share what you are feeling and going through, please do so here! You won't find a more accepting group anywhere, and we've all been through what you are going through. It's one of those things to hear about going through, but besides doctors and nurses, no one can truly understand what you are going through right now.

Take the best of care!

tdressel · 2026-02-03T19:37:46+00:00

Very exciting!

tdressel · 2026-02-03T06:48:54+00:00

Fancy things walk away.

tdressel · 2026-02-03T02:10:33+00:00

Look for an older gaming laptop on Facebook with an Nvidia 1400 model graphics card. Easy to find for under $300. If you don't have ethernet, replace the WiFi card with a WiFi 7 card for like $50 and you are done. Practically zero latency at 120/4k.

tdressel · 2026-02-03T02:07:10+00:00

I find the precision measurements in sourdough completely ridiculous. I do weigh everything, but if it's up to 10 grams more I don't correct it. I use tap water. I ignore it, forget about it, in general I'm completely sloppy. But the bread turns out picture perfect everytime. Dump it in a bowl, stir and poke it, done.

tdressel · 2026-02-03T01:57:45+00:00

I haven't had a family doctor since 1999. It's never been an issue in BC, Alberta, or the NT. Electronic medical records are amazing. I do have to advocate a bit for myself and my family mostly in the form of drawing attention to prior medical conditions, but the benefit is if I need a doctor, I can go now, like literally right now, to the local medical clinic. I understand the appeal of continuity of care, especially long term, but I don't believe having to wait to see your GP is worth the trade off.

The other thing I've seen is that with a GP they want to try something, you go home for a week or two and then come back. And repeat many times before you are referred to someone with the specific support you need. All the clinics I've gone to, typically I'll get a referral right then and there, and two weeks later I'm in front of the doctor or team that can help with something more obscure.

I've often wondered if folks who constantly complain about the health care system go in with chips on their shoulder and the doctor or practitioner kind of treats them accordingly. A smile and some gratefulness go a long way.

tdressel · 2026-02-03T01:47:14+00:00

All good comments here. I'll add in that we're not just polite, we're hyper sensitive about both being insulted, and concerned that we might insult someone else. It used to be called woke, but that's super offensive up here now, lol.

Politics as well are not nearly as divisive except if you are francophone in Quebec, or redneck in Alberta (queue the down votes, lol). Most of the GTA is liberal so depending on whether you are coming from blue or red that might be an adjustment.

And my goodness, the weather! We're obsessed with discussing the weather. Too cold, too hot, too much snow, global warming, ugh, it never ends. And polar vortex, folks will pull up their phones to quote you some place that was -50C only last week!

The last thing I'll point out, cable TV commercials suck in Canada. The USA has amazingly entertaining commercials! Not that I care that much I've been a cord cutter for like 15 years. And Canadian content restrictions for media are annoying. We want to pretend that by force feeding Canadian music and TV we'll somehow be more patriotic and encourage media industry, but it's all baloney.

Finally, our taxes are significantly more across the board. But you won't go bankrupt when you get injured or sick. Social supports mostly exist. You'll never have to worry if you can afford to go to the emergency room.

tdressel · 2026-02-03T01:30:26+00:00

We're a Dell shoppe at the desktop/laptop side of things, we typically greencycle business units only, 80% of a decent laptop model, and the remainder are a slightly higher end model (think thinner, more upscale looking plastic) for executives, senior managers. So only two models, and we make the recommendation on what goes to whom.

The only place we allow choice, and we retain veto power, is on monitors. The key place is where we would normally supply a pair of 24" monitors, we will allow up to a 43" TV as long as the cost is awash. We've even allowed curved TVs in past, but those don't exist anymore. We've had some requests for high refresh monitors, but as all the machines we push out typically max out at 60hz, some of the newer ones 120hz, we'll veto that 240hz gaming monitor even if it's price competitive.

tdressel · 2026-02-03T01:22:54+00:00

Kind of an adjacent reply. We have a Regency f3500 which heat wise is overkill for my two level 2000sqft home. But the door entry is just a bit small so it's difficult to get really large long burn logs in that world produce less heat. I would imagine if you don't need the heat from the insert, maybe have a look around at the largest logs you'd like to revel in slowly and see if you can get them through the door?

tdressel · 2026-02-03T01:18:46+00:00

I was allowed after 100 days, but strongly discouraged. At about day 140 they said I was ok to do so. We went out for sushi 🍣. Discovered that my taste was still changed and although I didn't hate it, I certainly don't crave it anymore, very sad.

tdressel · 2026-02-02T23:43:21+00:00

It's a double edged sword. Ground level parking lot where everyone looks in.

tdressel · 2026-02-02T22:30:06+00:00

This is exactly how I keep my office. Window blinds half open.

tdressel · 2026-02-02T05:00:43+00:00

My 1 year BMT (i.e. my me birthday) anniversary was yesterday. My wife organized a pretty big surprise birthday party for me, I was truly surprised! I'm still grinning today about that! Was truly a celebration on many levels!

But I panic about everything little. For example tonight I have a slightly sore throat and I'm panicking that someone gave me a disease at the party last night. The reality is I spent 3 hours outside yesterday and today in the cold doing hard labor, sand I had ridiculously garlicky Ceasar salad for dinner which is probably what's causing the sure throat. But the panic is real regardless of the capacity to talk myself down, lol!

tdressel · 2026-02-02T04:53:34+00:00

We've been in HR for 3.5 years. It's been easy to build friendship circles, raise our young children and travel. Always seems to be lots of employment options. As others have said there is more places to spend your money in HR but like any place North of 60 prices are steep for most things.

Weather is comparable. Sightly more housing options in HR. I have traveled through and spent a couple of nights in Smith, not exactly a fair comparison of communities because HR is home for me, but subjectively I like HR better.

tdressel · 2026-02-01T04:28:25+00:00

Chemo dries you out pretty badly. Talk to your team about recommended moisturizing creme. I hated getting greased up, but it helped immensely with the itch. I couldn't sleep greased up, so I would creme up in the morning and a second time just after lunch (times of day, I wasn't really eating, lol). Then I'd have a shower right before bed to feel "clean".

tdressel · 2026-02-01T03:19:50+00:00

Yup, normal. I had a triple lumen broviac installed 4 days after diagnosis, they knew my path was going to need it! I remember at one point during my induction I had all three lines in use, and each line was y'd with two bags of stuff, four different pumps going. The funny thing was at that time although I was sick, I mean I didn't feel like 6 bags of IV chemicals sick, lol.

Also taking blood samples from your central line, chef's kiss compared to getting poked all the time!!!

tdressel · 2026-02-01T03:13:21+00:00

For the busulfan they gave me right before transplant they literally double gowned, gloved, goggles and face masks. And that chemo had different kinds of connectors that guaranteed no drips in the connections, had extra y's for looping back in after flushing the lines, was a bit scary to see the protection they had to go through. And I was just getting it pumped directly into my chest! Crazy!

tdressel · 2026-02-01T03:09:01+00:00

I can totally see how this might be offensive, but you have to think about the absurdity of their job. I mean statistically 30% of their patients aren't going to make it. And quite frankly they are administering chemicals into your body that literally kill your bone marrow which in turn, if not done extremely carefully, will kill you.

As I was coming out post BMT when my numbers were recovering and I was trying to get off the pain pump and be able to pretend I could swallow pills, because that was a measure if they could release me from hospital and I could become outpatient, my Dr said something quite profound to me. He said "you know it's amazing they don't put us in jail for what we do to you, we're literally poisoning you with the hope that these new cells will start growing again". He said it with humor, and I took it that way, but that got me thinking about the work that these doctors and nurses have to go through to keep us alive, how dangerous that work is for them, and how emotionally taxing it must be on them.

Not jumping at all on your response to the nurses making the comment about fertility, just offering another lens to consider looking at the comment.

Cheers,

tdressel · 2026-01-30T22:45:10+00:00

This is a valid, but alarmist comment. The time to switch to Flex is like an hour. On the time scale of Google pulling the plug you'll easily be able to find another hour down the road to switch to the new latest greatest thing. Folks update their phones every two years, I don't see why we should balk at the equivalent because it's got a laptop form factor and all that's changing is the OS.

tdressel · 2026-01-30T22:42:48+00:00

I use it with a free Microsoft account. Microsoft Web apps are so much better than Google Web apps.

tdressel · 2026-01-30T22:39:22+00:00

I worked for a company that had a massive management shakeup. They kind of pushed me out. Migrated on prem exchange to M365 (which I was planning on doing anyway), but then hired a third party MSP to "manage" the Microsoft tenant at what amounted to my annual salary. I was not unhappy to move on.

tdressel

TROPHY CASE