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Wed, 22 Oct 2008 @ 16:18 || Voted today || Politics

I ended up filling out a provisional ballot, due to the mail in ballot already being sent to me. Elyse was right, but I was still able to vote, just not on the computers, which isn't that bad. I wasn't the only one, an older couple a few people ahead of me and a number of folks after me all had the same issue.

The line was slow, but short. At any one time they may have been a dozen people in line. They had one person that seemed to know what he was doing and six old people who were mainly confused. The one person was running most of the show, I was amazed at how he was able to herd the old folks without being demeaning (Like I am). They seemed to listen to him and for the most part things moved right along.

The sticker nazi was annoying, made me feel like I was caught in a Seinfeld episode. I didn't really think I needed a "I voted" sticker, so I walked out without one, he chased after us, I ignored him till he followed us into the parking lot, yelling "Don't forget your sticker!". He seemed upset I didn't want one. Not sure why they waste a voleenter like that, if they had him working a terminal checking IDs or walking the harddrives to the voting booths the line would go much faster. Maybe he was too old and incapable of anything else. Seemed more alive than the others.

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Wed, 22 Oct 2008 @ 08:49 || Apnea || Home

The term apnea describes a complete stop or pause in breathing, while hypopnea describes a slowdown in breathing. Apnea can be further defined as central or peripheral.

In central apnea, the nervous system fails to adequately control breathing, thus leading to irregular sleep patterns and decreased oxygen levels.

In contrast, peripheral apnea is due to the tissues (tongue, tonsils, and palate) blocking the airway leading to decreased oxygen levels. This blockage, or obstruction, is the cause of obstructive sleep apnea.

The character and severity of your obstructive sleep apnea can be determined via a sleep study. The sleep study yields information regarding sleep cycles, oxygen levels, and the number and length of the apneic and hypopneic episodes. This information is used to determine the Respiratory Distress Index, or RDI, and the degree of oxygen desaturation.

* The Respiratory Distress Index is defined as the number of breathing pauses (apneas) and the number of breathing slowdowns (hypopneas) per hour. Normal RDI is less than 10 events per hour. An RDI of 16 or greater is considered diagnostic for OSA.

* The oxygen desaturation is the degree in which blood oxygen levels drop due to decreased breathing. Maximal oxygen saturation is 100%, with normal patients maintaining saturations greater than 90% while asleep. In contrast, patients with OSA experience significant oxygen desaturations, with levels falling well below 90%.

Obstructive sleep apnea is thus defined as peripheral obstruction leading to decreased oxygen levels, and is defined by abnormalities in the RDI and percentage of oxygen saturation.

So I guess high numbers == bad.
The central apnea concerns me more than the obstructive, The UPPP operation targets the obstructive, but I'm not sure I've been told what they do to resolve the central..
The high RDI numbers are also bad,

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