<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Hyperdrive 

I gave it a chance. I watched a whole episode. Plus some bits here and there over the past few weeks, and frankly, dysentery is funnier, and that kills people.

Ear Wax 

One of my ear canals is blocked at the moment, which isn't an uncommon event, and seems to occur almost annually. The procedure for getting them clear is pretty straight forward: put in wax softening drops for a couple of days, and then visit a nurse or doctor to have the canal flushed with water with a big syringe.

The problem is the wax softening drops. I've tried a couple of brands and the one that works best is pretty horrid stuff. It's smelly and oily, and comes warning to 'Avoid contact withe eyes and skin'. But it's fine to go in your ear, right?

My favourite direction for use is this: after putting the drops in your ear, they should be 'left for 10 - 30 minutes according to the degree of hardness of the ear wax'.

...

The degree of hardness of the ear wax? How exactly is one supposed to ascertain that? Given the generally accepted wisdom of never putting anything in your ear bigger than your elbow, what instrument is supposed to be used? Should I be using Mohs scale of hardness as a reference? Does a value of 1 (talc) mean 10 minutes, where a value of 10 (diamond) gets the full 30? And how do you get ear wax as hard as diamond anyway?

Enquiring minds need to know!