Light therapy

Has anyone here who deals with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) explored light therapy? A friend of mine has this goLITE portable light therapy device, which you can purchase for $169 at COSTCO online. I've seen others in the $200 range that seem more highly recommended on websites on the subject, but I never know who's behind the reviews.

The portability of this one would certainly be handy, since I have noticed SAD problems both in Michigan and in Hungary, so I could carry it along for fieldwork.

But any time I'm buying a manufactured item with plastic, especially one over $100, I would like to know that it will be the right one for me. . .

Any thoughts or suggestions?

EDIT: By the way, that other one I was thinking of is the Ultralux Light Box from Full Spectrum Solutions. It's $229 (a big price step up from $169), but it is also made in the USA and has a lifetime warranty for parts and labor (as opposed to the 2-year limited warranty with the goLite. It also appears to be made of metal rather than plastic, though I'm not positive about this. I'm almost certain the goLite is plastic, and I'd expect it's manufactured in Asia, since I can't find any information about its origin on the company website. I've emailed them to ask about these details.

When I think about hauling the Ultralux to Europe, though, along with all my recording and computer equipment, clothing, and everything else I'll bring to the field, it doesn't sound too appealing . . .

SECOND EDIT: Additional information from the companies.

On the UltraLux I:

This was my message and the company response (in yellow).

Hello,
I am considering purchasing an Ultralux I Lightbox. I have a few questions about the product, however.

(1) What is the weight of the product? Around 12lbs – 13lbs
(2) Does the lightbox click easily into and out of the stand, or is the fixture more or less permanent when it is installed into the stand? The stand screws onto the box.
(3) Where is the product manufactured, exactly? USA
(4) What are the materials the product is made from? Is the light box plastic or metal? Metal
(5) How is the lightbox powered? Is it by battery or by AC/DC plug? AC/DC Plug

The UltraLux I is very sturdy and we almost never have any warranty issues.

From Apollo Health, on the goLite:

Hello,
I am considering purchasing the GoLite p2 device. I would like some additional information about the product, however.

(1) Where is this product manufactured?
(2) Is the product made of plastic?
(3) If I have problems with the device after the 2-year warranty period, what can I do?
(4) What does the "limited" warranty mean? What does it cover?

Thank you in advance for the information.
Heather

Heather,

I will answer your questions by the same numbering they were asked in.
1. China
2. Yes
3. We will offer you a discount on a new product after the 2 year period is up.
4. The warranty is limited in that it covers anything having to do with a manufacturing defect. It doesn't cover any damage done by the purchaser such as dropping the unit or animals chewing on the cord.

Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Funny blogs.

ha. "ha ha".

Aliens in America

In my frustration over the dwindling selection of decent silly TV shows to watch, with the writers' strike and ABC's frequent rerunning of previously aired episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who, and Big Shots, in an act of desperation, I went over to CW to see what I might be able to find. (Since I continue to refuse to pay for cable just to get the basic channels, believing it is criminal to charge me to be the depository of advertisements for corporations wishing to cultivate new desires in me, I'm limited to what is available streaming over the internet.) And I've become surprisingly charmed by a new show there called Aliens in America.

The premise: A kind-hearted Pakistani teenage orphan named Raja lands in the middle of Wisconsin, to a stereotypical American Midwestern household: The mother lovingly smothers the family, the bumbling father (played by delightful Scott Patterson, Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls) navigates the baffling world of being the sole breadwinner through various jobs and moneymaking projects such as raising llamas in the backyard, the older daughter wakes up one day to find she is one of the hottest girls in school, and the younger son seems so interminably relegated to geekdom, the parents try to treat his status with the social equivalent of electroshock therapy by taking in a foreign exchange student. They imagine the fantasy exchange student will whisk their son straight to the category of most popular boy in school as he trots across the football field, his blond locks blowing in the breeze as the muscles ripple all along his tall Nordic frame.

Instead, they get Raja, and much hilarity ensues. At its heart, it's a very lighthearted and silly comedy, and it surfs along on the waves of various caricatures of American and Pakistani culture. Raja, naturally, wears kurta pajama and a head covering, prays to Mecca five times a day, avoids immodest talk and images, and speaks English with a heavy South Asian accent. But relying on these stereotyped caricatures, the show pokes fun, most of all, at the Midwesterners who can't seem to stop calling Raja Roger, assuming he is a terrorist, mistaking him for a Mexican or persons of any number of other nationalities, and expecting him to speak alternately for all Muslims, all people of color, or anyone who isn't from Wisconsin. In the process, there's just a hint of political critique embedded in the fun (though I also wish, like the folks at Vulture, that it weren't always at the expense of Midwesterners). Along the way, there are lots of quirky moments that keep you guessing.

Although I'm not sure how long I'd follow it if I had Lost and Battlestar Gallactica back in the spectrum, I have to say, I'm enjoying it for now.

Laura and I couldn't get enough of listening to Do Right Woman - Do Right Man in the car on the way back to Yosemite. So I've gone back to the great, thanks to an unexpected find in my mother's music collection -- The Very Best of Aretha Franklin - The '60s. In a selection that also includes several Kenny G CDs, loads of Christmas music by various unnamed artists, a good dose of Julio Iglesias, plenty of Faith Hill, and Dolly Parton, I'm always surprised to find something I really love to listen to. I probably sound like quite the music snob to some, but well, I just have different tastes than Mom.

But there are some generational crossovers, those greats we can all appreciate.

So, here's to Aretha, the Queen of Soul.

New photos from the road to Yosemite . . .

. . . and from being there.

In case any of you had a little too much bubbly, you might try a tea of milk thistle. Here are some suggestions for avoiding or curing a hangover. I thought I might as well share, since I was looking it up for my near & dear.

Yosemite was beautiful, magnificent. And very fun with my friends and friends-of-friends. And tonight Laura and I were talking about going to the Glas Kat, but I may need to poop out, because I feel like I may pass out from the mountain air and warm water of the shower. . . Oh my goodness, and it's good we decided not to go since I wrote that last sentence, since it's closed tonight!! phew. There are distinct advantages to being nerdy and blogging about what you're planning to do, sometimes. :)

I haven't been salsa dancing at all since I've been in California, but I just haven't really been in the zone. I've really been enjoying time with family and friends, and haven't particularly felt like running out to the city, and leaving them behind to be on the dance floor.

okay, well, i'm not making much sense here and i'm clearly too tired to say anything of interest. so, time to pass out with my clean hair and freshly shaven skin and body aching comfortably from ice skating and hiking and dancing in the hotel room.

happy new year, everyone!

Vacation-time Fun

We went to see the beautiful film "Atonement" this afternoon in Emeryville after a leisurely day with the family. Ba and Lolo called this morning at 10:00 to ask if we wanted to join them for Belgian waffles.

We went together down to the Grand Lake farmers' market and got a mess of delicious waffles from the Waffle Mania truck there. I teased the owner that I had high standards since I'd tried waffles on the streets of Bruxelles, but he didn't seem fazed and I wasn't disappointed. Apparently the authentic yeasted dough is shipped directly from Belgium.* The finished waffles have a crispiness, sweetness, and caramelization that make them unlike anything you've had in an American style waffle, even most of those that get called "Belgian waffles". If you're a Bay Area person, try them. If you're not, then you'd better just high-tail it to Oakland or Brussels, whichever works better for you.

(Photo borrowed without permission from a fellow blogger and waffle enthusiast in Marin.)

We washed down the waffles with some fine Hawaiian coffee. Then we came home and Mom made some more food, fried eggs and ham leftover from Christmas eve. By then it was about time to take a nap. Then we went down for the film, which was excellent, and went out to Yoshi's for delicious sushi and other Japanese specialties.

Tomorrow I head to Yosemite for New Years. We'll bring in the new year with hiking, snowshoeing, and cozy games with a friendly group in a hotel room in El Portal. And then, shortly after driving back to the Bay Area on the 1st, it'll be back to Michigan, lickety-split, to start the new semester.

Below is a taster of the beauty of Yosemite, borrowed from a fellow blogger. Yosemite falls is one of our favorite hikes in the area.


*For more press on Waffle Mania, see this article in the Marin Independent Journal.