I am so un-screwed

Went back under the knife Friday to have the screws in my leg removed – here is the story of how they ended up there.

The surgery was going to be pretty straight forward – slice, slice, unscrew, unscrew, stitch, stitch. I requested to have a local – did not want to mess with a general anesthesia.

During the prep I had a least 3 folks write on my right leg to make sure my right leg was the right leg – including myself. I had to initial my leg, as did the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. After the prep I was rolled into the operating room and away went. After cleaning my leg really good – I mean REALLY good – they draped sterile sheets, which resulted in me being unable to see what they were doing 😦

The doc told I would feel a little prick – which I took offense to until I realized he was talking about the local anesthetic he was giving (ba-dump). After a few minutes he asked if I felt anything sharp – nope. Next felt a “grinding” in my leg as he backed out the screw. Felt a little twinge as he was cauterizing some blood vessels – but that was the extent of the pain. One down, one to go.

Since I could not see the procedure, I spent the time talking to the anesthesiologist about Palm PDAs/Phones, iPhones, and music. Was interesting to hear the banter between the folks in the OR – I wonder if they were inhibited since the patient was wide-awake and participating in the conversation.

After a couple of hours of arriving I was on my way home. Doc said I had to wear the boot I wore when I dislocated my ankle and use crutches until the follow up appointment the following Tuesday. I was not happy about having to use crutches again but I followed the Doc’s orders, mostly.

Today was the followup and all looks good. Have to continue to wear the boot until the 11th when I get the stitches out but I can use a cane – which makes me much happier. So now I am hobbling around for another week and a half – then this adventure will be over – woo hoo.

Science or religion?

“Science and religion have often been at loggerheads. Now the former has decided to resolve the problem by trying to explain the existence of the latter”

Good article from The Economist about an ongoing effort by scientists and the studies they are doing in a search for an evolutionary reason for religion.

I suck as a friend

A good friend of mine – someone I consider one of my best friends – was recently diagnosed with cancer. He has a cancer that is related to melanoma (don’t have all the specifics – suffice it to say it is cancer).

He had noticed something out of the ordinary and they removed a lymph node from his face/neck recently and determined that it was cancerous. They did a follow up surgery and removed a bunch of other lymph nodes to determine if the cancer had spread. Good news was that the cancer was localized to the original node – PHEW!!. This was the best case scenario – you don’t want to know the worst case scenario.
The next step was to pump him full of Interferon to wipe out any other cancer cells floating around his body. Not a pleasant experience.

I called him Monday to see how he was doing – he was starting week 2 of a 4 week cycle of the drug. And I was just now getting in touch with him. I suck as a friend. I should have been at his bedside night and day – ok maybe that is a bit extreme, but I should have been in closer touch with him.

I have given myself a challenge to be a better friend. Not just to this friend but to all my friends – see you soon Scooter.

If only it was this easy to entertain my kids

News headlines that make me say WTF (NHTMMSWTF) 2?!

– Sheriff: Kansas woman sat on boyfriend’s toilet for 2 years; didn’t want to leave bathroom

The pride of a father

One of the blogs I follow regularly is Neptunus Lex – a Captain in the Navy that has a way with the written word.

One of today’s posts was about a letter he received from his dad when was in his first year at the Naval Academy. The pride, respect, and love of a father for his only son just flows from the page. It gave me goosebumps and moistened my eyes to read it.

I hope I am only half as articulate when the time comes for me to write such a letter to my sons.

I don’t know why – but I find this very calming

This is the pattern left by the janitorial staff after vacuuming the carpet in my lobby. Very relaxing for my anal retentive side.

All of those nice orderly triangles in such even rows.

Like the way she thinks

The picture I take today, tomorrow it could mean . . .

Cherryflava has photos from last year’s Cape Times ad campaign about how the world can change in a day.

They have photos from the day before 9/11, the dropping of the A-bomb on Hiroshima, the JFK assassination, and the Soweto riots.

Makes you think that any photo you take could be the last one for that subject.

Scott Adam’s perspective on “experience”

I read Scott’s blog pretty regularly – he has an very interesting sense of humor.

Today he had an interesting take on how valuable is experience when running for president – specifically in the Obama vs Clinton discussions.

The floor is open for puns

You know how you always see guys at sporting events wearing hats with containers for beer/wine/soda that have a “straw” that they can use to drink their liquid of choice.

I have now found the equivalent for women. American ingenuity at it’s best.

Let the puns begin.

Oh, and scroll down to see “The Beer Belly”

Are you a Mac Addict?

It’s a quiz to take to see how addicted to Apple you are. I got a 90% score.
What’s your Apple addiction score?

Dancing the Airport Security 2-Step

Great take on the ridiculousness of our current airport security procedures in the NY Times – from an airline pilot.

MOTD – Stars::In Our Bedrooms After the War

Great to listen to in the evening when the lights are low and you are sitting with your sig other having a great pinot.

Here is the review from AllMusic

Final Jeopardy – Answer: “Oh Snap!

Me – “Alex, what is the sound Jess’ ankle makes when he dislocates it”

Yep – I did a number on my ankle on Wednesday.

We are house-sitting a dog during the break – a 10-month old Havanese puppy with lots of energy. We took him to dog park to play and I was chasing him around – around on a hill – on a hill covered with wet grass and mud. I made a cut and my left leg went out from under me. My right foot stayed planted and I pivoted all my weight on the right ankle. I heard two loud pops and ended up on the ground.

Sat up to look at my foot and it was pointing off to the right at a 30 to 45 degree angle from my leg – not good. Beverly was calm and collected and called 911. Surprisingly it did not hurt much – a 2 on a scale of 1-10. EMTs showed up and splinted and iced it. Ambulance showed up a few minutes later and away we went to the hospital. I was sort of bummed that I did not get the sirens. They told me that the people that need the sirens really are not in shape to notice so I should be happy I did not need the siren.

Got to the Emergency room and went right in – no waiting at all. [Note to self – when going to the Emergency room go via ambulance – you skip the waiting room, which was packed.] I was sent for X-rays to confirm that it was dislocated – which was good. I was afraid I had broken both the bones in my leg but dislocation is better, easier on the body and easier to fix. Doc gave me some morphine and some other drug that would make me forget the next few minutes. They wrapped a towel around my foot and pulled – heard a few pops and it was back in place. I know I went back to X-Ray because I saw the after X-rays and they splinted and wrapped my leg, but I do not remember any of it. Gotta get some more of that drug.

Once everything was back in place the ER Doc called an Orthopedic surgeon to get his expert opinion. He was concerned that the socket the ankle fits into would be loose and could lead to future complications, like arthritis. He recommended surgery to insert two screws to pull the bones in the leg together to tighten up the socket. The recovery would be the same with or without the surgery – 6 weeks on crutches and then 6-8 more weeks to completely heal – so went for the surgery. An hour later I was in happy-land and on my way to surgery. Woke up and hour and half later with my leg all bandaged up and was released to go home.

My ankle is sore and as long as I keep popping the Vicodin the pain is manageable. Biggest thing I am bummed about is that I will miss Macworld in a couple of weeks and our annual Macworld dinner – first time in 16 years. Oh well – C’est la Vie.

TED talks

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

I was turned on to TED by a friend (thanks GSM) and have watched some great talks. Thought I would share some of my favorites so far.

Gever Tulley: 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do
Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, talks about our new wave of overprotected kids — and spells out 5 (and really, he’s got 6) dangerous things you should let your kids do. Allowing kids the freedom to explore, he says, will make them stronger and smarter and actually safer.

– Great advice for parents of young kids. Best line – “They are young, they heal fast”

Sherwin Nuland: My history of electroshock therapy
Sherwin Nuland, the surgeon and author, talks about the development of electroshock therapy as a cure for severe, life-threatening depression. Midway through, his story turns personal. It’s a moving and deeply felt talk about relief, redemption, second chances.

– Wow. A very personal story that shows that a procedure we may consider old-school works.

Election 2008

I have not made up my mind who I am voting for next fall – but this essay by Jeff is very well written and makes some great points. Food for thought.

Living with someone who has chronic depression

Those of you who read dooce are aware of the psychological challenges she has faced over the years. [btw – if you are not reading dooce you should be]. Her husband, John, has his own blog – blurbomat – and he recently did a post regarding living with someone that has chronic depression.

As someone of the masculine gender, who has the fix-it gene, I have learned that the ability to shut up and listen applies to most relationships with someone of the feminine gender – chronically depressed or not. A difficult skill to master but one required for longevity in the marriage department.

Oh. My. Good.™

RaZZberry M&Ms – nuff said

One man’s A/V system

My friends and I have been having an ongoing discussion regarding how to set up the A/V system at home.
Do we use an AppleTV or a Mac Mini? Wireless or wired? TiVo or not?

Fred Ward is a VC in the NYC area and I read his blog primarily for his views on music. He recently wrote an article describing his A/V set-up at home.

I don’t have the financial means to create the kind of set-up Fred created, but it gives me some ideas that I can use in my home – someday.

My 15 minutes has started

Not sure how this happened, but as of 11/23 I have the top blog in the WordPress/Art section. I think it has been this way for a few days.

I took a screenshot to save this moment for all time.

What – he speaks Gaelic ??

This morning’s conversation.

Beverly: Yesterday I worked on an Irish Water Dog.

Me: What is an Irish Water Dog

Beverly: Just like a Portuguese Water Dog . . . but he’s Irish

Me: . . . . What, he likes Guinness and rain?

[for clarification, it is actually an Irish Water Setter]

A sign of the Apocalypse?

The Apprentice – Celebrity Edition.

Not sure if all the contestants are what I would call “celebrities”

Fake Steve Jobs 10 Commandments

I think I might try some of these at work.

My favorite is number 4.

Wonder how long I will last 😉

MythBusters Classic

Oh. My. Good. Check out this unaired MythBusters clip – Do Pretty Girls…how do I put this…toot.

But you are a VERY intelligent elementary schooler

Found this site that is supposed to tell you what level of education is required to understand your blog.

Sort of depressing – good thing I don’t take this whole blog thing to seriously 😉

What came first – the Mormon or the Indian

Looks like we have a little revisionist history going on here.

It is only one small word. Five tiny characters – “among”. But man, does it change the meaning of the sentence. Read the article for some examples of masterful backpedaling.

I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but there are just too many convenient “revelations” that take place at the most opportune times – like the drinking of Coke or the blessing of African-American Bishops.

It did not work for me – did it work for you?

When it comes to sex education and the reduction of unwanted pregnancies, the key talking points of the current administration have been abstinence, abstinence, and umm, oh wait, what was the 3rd one – Oh I remember, abstinence.
If an organization had any hopes of getting federal funding they needed to preach abstinence. Condoms, birth control pills, etc. were not to be discussed.

My opinion is that the administration is basing public policy upon the religious belief/convictions of those in power – not on the scientific evidence. Personally I would prefer that we base decisions that affect millions of folks on the facts, just the facts ma’am. Not on the visions or leaders have.

Well, check this out – abstinence programs do not work. No duh.

Money quote – “Programs that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenager sexual behavior, although they are eligible for tens of millions of dollars in federal grants, according to a study released by a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce teen pregnancies.”

Free is good

Currently I am using SplashID to keep track of my passwords on my Mac. It has a PalmOS app that syncs with the Mac client so I always have my passwords with me. The Windows version has been upgraded so that it better interacts with your browser and can “auto-populate” the passwords for you when required. But I am still waiting for the updated Mac client.

I had been reading good things about another password keeper – 1Password. It is an app that, well from their website – “1Password keeps track of all web passwords, automates sign-in, guards from identity theft.”
On their website they have a movie showing the app in action.

And the icing on the cake – you can get a free copy of 1Password courtesy of Macworld.

To sleep, perchance to get good grades and stay thin

Found a link to this fascinating article in New York Magazine regarding the negative impact lack of sleep is having on our kids.

When a High School in Minnesota changed the start time from 7:25 to 8:30 the math and verbal SAT scores for the top 10% of the students increased from 1288 to 1500. Researchers are finding that lack of sleep impacts not only grades and their ability to focus in class, but may also contribute obesity.

If you have kids you need to read this article.