Moseying About

Tonight is a slow night. A slow night filled with video games and tinkering with our camera. Christmas will be madness, so I'm enjoying the slow pace while I can. Here's to relaxation and kicking back.

I almost thought I was dying

So I have had sporadic and somewhat abnormal hiccups for many years now. I have never known what causes them, but I often get just one hiccup at random times (I call them strays), or I'll get really strong one's for several minutes. I have been thinking recently about finding out what causes them so I can understand my body and it's strange obsession with hiccups. So this evening I decided to look it up. The first site I looked at said this:
"The medical cause of hiccups can include abdominal distention, brainstem lesions, cancer of the stomach, dilatation of the stomach, gastritis, increased intracranial pressure, pancreatitis, irritation of the lining of the lungs, and kidney failure."
Needless to say, the thought crossed my overdramatic mind that I may, in fact, be dying or need to be rushed to the hospital. Luckily my pragmatic mind set in and convinced me to check out a few more sites first. Good thing I did. I found out that I don't have a brainstem lesion or cancer of the stomach. I just have a tendency to irritate my phrenic nerve, which controls my diaphragm. Well, that's not so bad. Maybe the hiccups won't kill me after all.

Donating Clicks not Money

Sometimes I hate Christmas because of the consumerism and the amount of money I spend on things that will likely not be used or used minimally. Christmas makes me feel like throwing consumerism out the window and living in a small tent in the woods and utilizing SAS Survival Handbook. And yet, just like every other year, I will find myself buying presents for those I love and celebrating Christmas with my family. The issue that remains is that I want to do more for those who are not my family or loved ones. I want to help people and organizations that are working to better the world I live in. I want to give, yet I do not have the financial ability to give money. So, LifeHacker provided me with the small way that I can help contribute to organizations I support without having to tap into my pocket book. They suggest clicking on advertisements on organization's websites. those advertisers then give money to the charity for each click a day. The site Charity Clicks has compiled lists of some organizations for different causes and you can click on 10-20 sites in about 15 minutes. While my finances may not survive much charitable giving at this time, I have plenty of time and clicking that I can give.

For those who like to vote...

I have submitted a picture of mine to a photo magazine for possible printage. The magazine is very cool and they only take pictures that have not been doctored. I may be submitting a few more for other categories, but I submitted one for the Street category. I'd love any of your votes for my picture as that helps in the selection process. Whether mine gets published or not...it's still fun to get my photos out there for others to see. There is a link to the site for JPG Magazine in my sidebar beneath my links. You have to sign up in order to vote, but their pretty good about no spam. Thanks all!