June 2008
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Rise & Boogie
Two of the greatest songs ever recorded are both called “Pride & Joy”. Marvin Gaye did the first. Stevie Ray Vaughan did the second. That’s what I’m listening to right now on Radio Paradise. Wish the “food” would come. I’m so ready to boogie outa here. (Not really, but that’s how I feel.) Continue reading
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Can’t sleep, so…
I’m watching myself on TV. Actually, on the Web, at the MobileMonday.nl site, where they’ve done a remarkable job of cross cutting between the screen and my balding self. It’s about making each of us a platform. And, of course, VRM. Bonus vink on why I don’t like web analytics. For me, anyway. Like judging… Continue reading
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Day 7 report
People have been asking, so here’s the update. I’m due to start “clear liquids” in the morning. I was allowed to start tonight, but decided against it because if something goes wrong I’m not sure the slim night crew can handle it. (Not a knock on this hospital, just the Way Things Are in the… Continue reading
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Can we end URLs that won’t fit in a tweet?
Here’s a URL, from Live Maps, that goes http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qtd9g08ttwy7&style=b&lvl=1&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=23698570&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1. Twitter does a nice job of shrinking URLs to tinyurls, but chokes on that one. Digression… For what it’s worth, that’s the WABC/770 transmitter in Lodi, NJ. The signal it produces looks like this. I grew up a few blocks north of there. The signal came… Continue reading
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Wesley Clark for VP?
That’s what Hootsbuddy hints. I thought that Clark was a good candidate four years ago, but he didn’t click. But now… ? Maybe. Continue reading
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What she said
Francine Hardaway: But I, as the widow of a physician, a mother, and an unlicensed practitioner of American healthcare system mechanics, want to use this moment not only to wish Doc the best, but to draw a lesson: NEVER GO TO THE HOSPITAL ALONE. Take an advocate with you, and try to make sure that… Continue reading
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From hunger
A sure sign I’m getting better: craving food. My wife mentioned taquitos a few minutes ago and my mouth watered immediately. I wanted to walk over to Jose’s right then, barefoot in my hospital gown. We won’t start until tomorrow, my GI doctor told me yesterday, no matter how good I felt. That’s cool. What’s… Continue reading
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Is BHO MIA?
Sez that here. I’m not so sure. As the first comment puts it, “This doesn’t sound like an Obama MIA issue at all, as this is still in the House and the Senate has yet to weigh in”. Continue reading
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WERS rolls
Finally ready to listen to a little radio. I gotta say that it’s pretty freaking hard to beat WERS. “Music for the independent mind.” Yes indeed. I’m not familiar with most of the music they play, but I like a helluva lot, especially since I’m sure I’m 3x the age of many of its programmers… Continue reading
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Differences
Everybody’s different. That’s the problem. Medicine and medical care, however, isn’t about that. They treat templates. Differences are accounted for, such as in my case, where I had a 1-in-20 chance of developing pancreatitis. But I weighed the odds, signed the consent form, and got to be that 1. So differences still matter. None of… Continue reading
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No jokes
[Note: I wrote this yesterday, 18 June. But the blog wasn’t working. Now (1pm, 19 June) it is.] Yesterday, when I started feeling better, I had dozens of one-liners about the absurdity of hospital life. Crapping in “hats” for example. One’s humor gets low here. Mine especially. It also helped to have friends stop by,… Continue reading
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What you frame is what you get
I’m due to be on a panel at Supernova in five minutes. I won’t be there. If I were, I would say the following, and then some. Alas, no time. But, since the Net is essentially spaceless, here ya go: If you say the Net is a system of “pipes” and “lines” for “transporting”… Continue reading
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Novel norms
So here I am at 3am for the second day in a row, taking a moment betwen hits of Dilaudid to do something that was for many years normal for me: writing something. I have a new normal now, and it’s getting old. I’ve lost count of the wires and tubes running from my body… Continue reading
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Getting scarier
They’re putting me on this now, so I’ll feel no pain and breathe more deeply. Which I’ll need to prevent a slightly collapsed lung from turning into pneumonia. That’s on top of the pancreatitis. All from an inconclusive diagnostic procedure. Continue reading
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Back on drugs again
Well, my experiment with staying off morphine didn’t pan out. An x-ray that required laying on my very tender belly this morning put me over the edge. More reporting (and hopefully on matters other than health) when I feel like it. Pretty spaced out right now. Continue reading
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Progress…
It’s 3:15 am. This is good news. I’ve mostly slept since the end of the Celtics-Lakers game, which I watched on the little TV suspended over my bed here at the hospital. I’m sitting up on the edge of the bed now, typing on the laptop without getting chills. That’s new. I still have a… Continue reading
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Just wondering
How many gallons of drool does the average baseball club spit in the course of a game? Continue reading
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Up the tubes
I have three bags hanging from a rolling pole next to my bed here at the hospital. These Y down do a pair of IV needles, one in each arm. The two big bags are for hydration. The third? I dunno. (The nurse just told me it’s magnesium.) Since visiting Amsterdam two Wednesdays ago, I’ve… Continue reading
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Giving it from both ends
Two days ago I had a colonoscopy. The doctor found and removed a polyp. Routine stuff. Today it was what I guess is called an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. The first looked up my ass, the second down my gullet, in this case to look inside my pancreas to see if cystic lesions appearing in an… Continue reading
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Comcasting for clues
This isn’t pretty. On the other hand, Comcast also says it is increasing upstream speeds. Taking advantage of DOCSIS 3.0. Appears to have promise. Anybody have any thoughts about that? Experiences? I’ve had zero with them, but I know a lot of the rest of ya’ll have. Just wondering. Continue reading