This is a pretty embarrassing story, but I feel I need to document it and help others avoid making the same mistake I did.
It all happened a few weeks back. I’m having lunch, talking with folks, and fiddling with a can of drink. You know what they say about idle hands. Well on this occasion *my* idle hands snapped the ring pull and it fell into the can. I didn’t really notice, and a little while later, I took a big gulp of my beverage.
Well, guess what - I swallowed the ring pull that had been floating in my drink.

I noticed that I had swallowed *something*, but it didn’t really register right away.
During the afternoon, I felt an irritation in my throat. But, I dismissed it.
By the end of the day, my wife was certain that this thing was STUCK in my throat.
Memories of Brice and his whistle still fresh in our minds, Ooops - he did it again, Whistle Update, & The Xray!! we set off for Overlake Hospital Medical Center.
Where we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
After a few hours, I was taken the x-ray, and the search began!.
They didn’t find anything lodged in my throat.
Phew!
Then to be sure, they followed the path, as illustrated on the famous GI Metro t-shirt, which I happen to have.

Still no sign of the pesky little thing. 
So, I was discharged from hospital with the diagnosis of “esophegeal abrasion”, told to take some pain killers and that it would “pass” in a few days.
Later I discovered the following from the Foreign Body Ingestions Answer Sheet

Aluminum, unlike most swallowed metallic foreign bodies we encounter, is poorly radiopaque. Small aluminum objects do not always show up on radiographs. Although swallowed objects may lead to persistent symptoms from esophageal abrasions, we cannot rule out a small aluminum esophageal foreign body here. Although a CT scan might show it, using a hand-held metal detector is a simple way to find aluminum foreign bodies, since they generate a strong signal
Yikes!  Aluminum is poorly radiopaque -- Is that thing still in me??
 
 
Time will tell!
Technorati Tags: Frank Arrigo,Esophegeal Abrasion,Hospital

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2009/05/06/sydney-may23rd-windows-presentation-foundation-community-workshop-and-bushfire-appeal.aspx";digg_title = "Sydney May23rd - "Windows Presentation Foundation" Community Workshop and Bushfire Appeal";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;My old team back in Australia continues to do *great* stuff. One of the cool things they have been doing is the WPF Community Workshop and Bushfire Appeal. A workshop will be held in Sydney on May 23rd, and it looks like there’s still space available. Sounds like a wonderful opportunity to learn stuff and help a good cause by raising close to $23,000 for the Red Cross "Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009". Kudos to you, dglover! Technorati Tags: Community,Sydney,WPF

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2009/04/10/footy-ie8-makes-a-tasty-webslice.aspx";digg_title = "Footy + IE8 makes a tasty webslice";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";



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I love my footy. Anyone that knows me, knows this to be true.
One of the sites I go to all the time is FinalSiren, it’s lightweight and has the info I want to see.
This week, I was emailing the webmaster of the site and I suggested he add a webslice.

Hey, how about doing an ie8 webslice for the current results?????
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/06/activities-and-webslices-in-internet-explorer-8.aspx
To enable a WebSlice on your site, just add HTML annotations to your webpage. A WebSlice uses a combination of the hAtom Microformat and the WebSlice format.

Round 2 Results
.......

The spec is here - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc304073(VS.85).aspx
it would be SOOOO cool ;)
Well a few days later he replied and let me know that he had done not just one, but two!!


Chris – love your work!
 
And if you want to do the same, check out these awesome screencasts by our favorite delicategenius
Screencast: IE8 WebSlices in 3 mniutes
Screencast: IE8 Accelerators in 3 minutes
Screencast: IE8 Visual Search Providers with suggestions in 3 minutes
Technorati Tags: IE8,webslice,AFL,FinalSiren

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/04/pdc2008-sessions-sessions-sessions.aspx";digg_title = "PDC2008 – Sessions, Sessions, Sessions";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;PDC 2008 was only last week, but it already feels like an eternity ago! Mike Swanson has created a very useful list of all the PDC 2008 Sessions, with links to the video of the presentation, the slides and where available, the code My favorite session? It has to be Day Two Keynote - Chris Anderson and Don Box Technorati Tags: PDC2008

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/05/bizspark-sparks-new-businesses.aspx";digg_title = "BizSpark : Sparks New Businesses";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;Another big day of announcements. Today, BizSpark has been announced. This a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage software Startups. BizSpark is the result of seven years spent getting feedbacks from ISVs, startups and competitive ISVs. By joining BizSpark, Startups get: Software:  fast and easy access to Microsoft’s current full-featured development tools, platform technologies, and unlimited production licenses of server products for immediate use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions with no upfront costs and minimal requirements. Startups will also get access to the community technology preview (CTP) of the Microsoft Azure Services Platform. Support:  professional technical support from Microsoft (MSDN) and community support from BizSpark Network Partners around the world who provide a wide range of support resources for software startups.  Network Partners are incubators, investors, advisors, government agencies and hosters who are vested in software-fueled innovation and entrepreneurship. Visibility:  a dedicated online startup directory, BizSparkDB, on the Microsoft  Startup Zone website (www.microsoftstartupzone.com) which will highlight promising companies from around the world, including the “BizSpark Startup of the Day”. Through their relationship with Microsoft and BizSpark Network Partners, startups will achieve global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients and partners. This program lasts 3 years. There are no upfront costs. No Commitments. Startups just have to pay 100$ at graduation. Startups get access to BizSpark either through a Network Partner (e.g. TiE, NVCA, select Venture Capitalists, and over 300+ entrepreneurial-focused organizations with a strong track record to helping young and promising technology companies success  or through Microsoft BizSpark Program Leads (called “BizSpark Champs”). Startups can find both at Microsoft.com/bizspark. Program Details: Eligibility: BizSpark is available to startups that fit the following criteria. A private company building a software-based product or service In business for less than 3 years Less than USD $1M in revenue (2-4 local variants exist) Participation lasts up to three years Availability: BizSpark is immediately available worldwide in most countries 82 countries have a BizSpark Program Lead (“BizSpark Champs”) to provide support www.microsoftstartupzone.com/bizspark  has all the detailed program information On a personal note, I have play a small part in working on this and I am a very fortunate to be “BizSpark Champ”. Drop me a comment if you would like to get connected. Technorati Tags: BizSpark,Startups,Microsoft

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/13/i-3-mix09.aspx";digg_title = "I u003C3 MIX09";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;    As soon as the PDC ended, the team has begun work on MIX09. You know, March isn’t that far away! Time for me to find a job on the crew again! and I need to decide which piece of bling do i put on my blog The Web Belongs to You.

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/14/sobees-so-wpfee.aspx";digg_title = "Sobees – so WPFee!";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;At the PDC, I met up with Vincent Rithner, who is the man behind Sobees. I wrote a post about bTwitter, which was another neat WPF app from the team. Now the full platform is done! So what is Sobees? It’s a social desktop aggregator. sobees organizes and integrates Web applications and services onto the desktop and offers an easy user experience to you and your social network. With sobees, you can easily share photos, news and videos with your friends, you keep track of your friends, follow the Elections or any other topic which interests you, search web and more It has just been recently released in beta and has had some good coverage Social Desktop Aggregator Sobees Launches Public Beta Hands on: Sobees, the social desktop aggregator Sobees desktop widget engine launches public beta Sobees wants to socially aggregate your desktop I’ve just gotten around to installing it, and I will give it a test run this weekend First impression is that it is a slick WPF app. Behind the scenes, it is 100% WPF 3.5 sp1, the server DB is SQL2008 and they are using LinqToEnties for both SQLCe and SQL2008 to manage the data, and they using FileStreaming of SQL2008 to manage the update of both platform and modules. I hope we will find out more behind the scenes info from the Sobees Blog,  Technorati Tags: WPF,Sobees

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/18/xlv-for-me.aspx";digg_title = "XLV for me!";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;I’m celebrating another birthday today. It happens every year, around this time. I’ve been overwhelmed by all the best wishes from my friends via email, twitter, facebook – however folks can get in touch, they have. Makes me feel all warm inside. Thank you to all who left me a note – I will get back to each and everyone of you! So, some trivia about my age:  3x3x5, XLV, half way to a right angle, the atomic number of rhodium, not to mention a triangular number, a hexagonal and 16-gonal number, a Kaprekar number, a Harshad number and a Størmer number. I also happen to share a birthday with Ted Stevens, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Evans, Graham Parker, Kevin Nealon, Oscar Nunez, Elizabeth Perkins, Kim Wilde, Owen Wilson, and Merrick Watts just to name a few. What else happened on this day? : Wikipedia – NYTimes - BBC Anyways, time for "Brimful of Asha" by Cornershop Technorati Tags: Frank Arrigo,XLV

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/22/the-one-about-crocodile-wrestling.aspx";digg_title = "The One About Crocodile Wrestling";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined; We had a busy day on Thursday. It’s time for the first round of Parent/Teacher Conferences and we had 3 of them on the same day at different locations! As we met with each of Billy’s teachers, they asked us about Billy’s Crocodile Wrestling. What? Seems like our young fellow has been spinning a few yarns! He was interviewed for an article in the local school newspaper and he let rip with a couple of doozies! The ultimate Rugby player, the future star member of the Wallabies (the Australian Rugby Union): Billy Arrigo has joined The Bear Creek School. Arrigo came to Kirkland last year and attended Kirkland Jr. High. He plays with the Axe Men in Marymoor, demonstrating what it means to be a master rugby player by showing amazing skills and impressing his coach, quickly becoming a very trusted member of the team. In his previous school, Knox, back in Sydney, Billy’s team was undefeated for the two years he was in the team. Rugby is an odd sport, unpopular in the U.S., something only few countries in the world favor. However, something even more strange and unique to Australia is crocodile wrestling. Arrigo did just that. Back in his home town Sydney, he placed first in the Sydney 18 and under Crocodile Wrestling Tournament. Picking up rowing this past summer, he wanted to keep in shape during the rugby off season. Arrigo rows 6 km (3.73 miles) daily. After school, he can be found in the pickup area wearing his Chinook rowing shirt saying, “I better get rowing now!” LOL!  Nice one Bill. You’ve been found out! Technorati Tags: Billy Arrigo,TBCS,Crocodile Wrestling

digg_url = "http://blogs.msdn.com/frankarr/archive/2008/11/23/nyt-the-online-search-party-a-way-to-share-the-load.aspx";digg_title = "NYT: The Online Search Party: A Way to Share the Load";digg_bgcolor = "#FFFFFF";digg_skin = "normal";digg_url = undefined;digg_title = undefined;digg_bgcolor = undefined;digg_skin = undefined;Excerpt from New York Times Article: The Online Search Party: A Way to Share the Load http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/business/23novelties.html OPPORTUNITIES for social networking abound on the Internet, but not when it comes to one standard job: using a browser and search engine to comb the Web for information. That task is still typically done solo, because browser displays and search procedures have traditionally been designed for a single user. Now tools are being developed by Microsoft and other companies that let people at different computers search as a team, dividing responsibilities and pooling results and recommendations in a shared Web space on the browser display as they plan a family vacation, for instance, or research a medical problem. MY COMMENT: Give it a try from Microsoft SearchTogether (Beta) To download the Times Reader, click here. Technorati Tags: SearchTogether