What's new? Another six months and another dead portable music player. This time it was a 30 GB iPod. I plugged it into my iPod dock and the hard drive made some really interesting noises. it sounded as if a T-Rex was choking it or something.
     I expected this as I also had a dead iPod shuffle, a dead iPod nano, a dead iPod mini, a dead Zen Microphoto, a dead Sandisk Sansa player, a dead iRiver player and last but not least, a dead Dell pod (that's what my friends used to call it anyways). I have to face the facts, I am a serial portable music player killer!
    However, this time my iPod died within the warranty! Yes, I might actually get a new iPod. Every other time I tried, the Apple Store on 5th Avenue would have me give them the box and serial number and all that stuff and then say they couldn't help me. Not this time (evil grin); I even have the receipt. I hopped on a train and got off around 59th and Lexington walking towards what was once the beloved F.A.O. Shwartz. I walked down into the space beneath the giant Apple and angelic iPhones and remembered how hard it was to get an appointment at the Genius Bar. So I walked around and finally went around to setting an appointment. I think to myself; it's 8 AM, I should be able to get an appointment at 12PM the latest ... right? Wrong, the next available appointment was at 9PM.
   I hope to meet a genius tomorrow morning at around 9 something. Please wish me luck.
(Kicking myself for not seeking employment in an Apple Store.)

    Ever wonder why so many psychotropic drugs have so many uses? I was looking through the uses for Lamictal (Lamotrigine), one of the mood-stabilizers I use for my bipolar 1. Under its approved uses I find that it is maintenance treatment for seizure disorders and bipolar 1 disorder. Simple, right? However, under the experimental uses I found the rest of the DSM-IV. It is amazing how every psych drugs seems to, almost, be a possible cure for every problem. Zoloft (Sertraline HCl) may be prescribed for migraine headaches and Risperidal (Risperidone) for eating disorders).  In addition to Lamictal, I take Lithium and Seroquel (quetiapine).  Seroquel has been approved for maintenance treatment of schizophrenia and, last year, for the treatment of the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar 1. However, Seroquel is prescribed for everything from treatment resistant unipolar depression to GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). How is it that so many of these drugs are not geared towards one specific illness. I think that this is the beauty of psychiatry.