Rave – Life Time Fitness Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s a fantastic gym with good facilities, a wide variety of classes, and great child care. It’s so good that my wife, who always hated exercise, truly enjoys working out there and misses it when she doesn’t get to go. She’s even training for her first indoor triathlon in September.

Rant – AppleCare When I bought my beloved MacBook in fall 2008, I sprung for 3 years of AppleCare, Apple’s extended warranty program. The battery has been acting weird lately, and I fear it has reached the end of its life. I had assumed that AppleCare would cover a new battery, but apparently the battery isn’t covered except for manufacturing defects. Apple considers the battery a consumable part, like tires on a car. Its useful life for this model is about 400 charge cycles. I’m sure we’re close to that figure if not past it. A new battery is $129. ***UPDATE – Jenny took the MacBook to the Apple store for a new battery. The rep initially said we would have to buy a new one, which magically cost only $99 at the store. But then their computer decided that the new battery was covered under AppleCare, so we got it for free. I’ve read several reports of Apple covering work that isn’t technically under warranty. They want to keep their customers happy.

Rave – The People of Japan In the face of natural and manmade disasters that many Americans will never face, the people of Japan seem to be handling the situation with remarkable grace and maturity. Instead of descending into anarchy, violence, and looting, the Japanese are sharing with each other, trying to remain calm, and patiently waiting in line for hours to pick up supplies. A skeleton crew at the damaged nuclear power plant is staying behind, knowingly taking radiation, to continue working on the reactor and contain the effects. See this letter to the editor for more commentary.

Rant – Door-to-Door Salespeople Want an easy way to put me in a bad mood? Try to sell me something. Want to put me in a really bad mood? Knock on my door and try to sell me something. I don’t care whether you’re selling vacuums, lawn service, or your version of God, I assure you that I am not interested. Door-to-door sales went out of style decades ago. Let it die. And yes, I’m looking at YOU, Girl Scouts of America.

Rave – Melatonin Although I enjoy working the night shift, it does make sleeping more difficult. Sometimes it’s hard to stay asleep during the day. It can be especially difficult to transition between night schedule and “normal” schedule. On my first night off after a stretch of shifts, I’m generally trying to put my body to sleep at 3:00 or 4:00am when it’s gotten used to 8:00am instead. An over-the-counter supplement called melatonin can be very helpful in handling these issues. For me, it has no side effects, but it helps me get to sleep and stay asleep longer when I need to.