Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Blood tests in the morning

I'm supposed to get to the lab at eight tomorrow morning for a blood draw to check cortisol levels. Since intracranial hypertension has smushed my pituitary gland we're going to see if it's still doing a good job. Icy rain is called for in the morning, adding to the joy of heading out early to be stabbed a few times in an effort to find something resembling a vein. I'm super excited.

In other news the kites I ordered for the boys from China came today and they're even more awesome than I thought they were going to be. Chris got a dragon, Cullen a carp and Cam got something different, an ocarina in the shape of a dolphin. Everyone is pleased so my job here is done.

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Border issues

This is kind of crazy.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

One size does not fit all

Maybe it's just me being grouchy but I've noticed that many times when someone says "All writers must read this!" or all knitters, or all riders, or everyone who loves Legos, or whatever you want to fill in the blank, I am invariably sorry I clicked the link. It's almost always something that's so boring I can't bear to read it, or even skim it, all the way through. As far as I'm concerned the only thing all writers need to read is Yog's Law.

Money flows toward the writer.


Yep, that's the only thing I think all writers should read. Everything else is completely dependent on the person. What works for one isn't going to work for someone else down the street.

Also when someone says "I don't care who you are, this is funny" you might want to cover your ears. A fart or puke joke is on the way. Or maybe a racist rant. Something that only appeals to a very limited audience is up next so you may want to scram or stop reading if you're online.

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

More CU news

A couple of items from recent Credit Union Journal Briefings.

A dude in a Santa suit robbed SunTrust Bank. That must have been surreal.

A dude in North Carolina pretended to own a bunch of cattle that wasn't his. He drove some bankers around bragging on the cattle. I guess they never bothered to check the brands? End result - 11 years of prison after stealing almost eight million. This story really boggles my mind.

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Not ready for Christmas

I am so not ready for Christmas. Half of my presents are coming from another country and aren't here yet. I haven't wrapped any of the ones that are here and I haven't done my grocery shopping yet. I guess I'm heading out tomorrow after work to get groceries.

In the meantime I'm dismayed by the story about Laura Dekker who wants to sail around the world solo and is being prevented by her government, which is now apparently dragging her home from the Carribean. Last I heard the plan was to remove her from her father and possibly put her in foster care.

What's especially weird about this story is that if she were pursuing almost any other sport she'd be getting massive encouragement. Fourteen year olds who want to swim in the Olympics or do gymnastics or speed skate aren't taken away from their parents for pursuing their dream. Every sport has its dangers (I know of what I speak - I paid medical claims for years) and I'm not really clear on where or why the authorities are drawing the line. I say let her go for it. She's going to be miserable if she can't.

Monday, December 21, 2009

zombie flu

I had a horrible night. I tried to go to sleep around five am but kept waking up and having trouble with racing thoughts. I finally fell asleep and had a terrible dream about zombies. I fended them off for a long time but finally two of them got me and bit my foot as I was lifting a little baby onto a platform, out of reach of the zombies. Then I woke up and had such a fever I thought my bedroom was on fire. I don't know if I have the flu or a cold but I feel awful. I was going to take the day off but everyone else beat me to it. Instead I ended up filling in for someone else.

Then I had to go out and meet my Realtor to sign some changes in our contract. Getting out of my courtyard was fun. There was a huge pile of snow behind my car. Then there was a big van parked in the way because it's extra long and doesn't fit into a space anyway plus there was a bunch of snow in the front of the space so the van couldn't pull in all the way. It took me twenty minutes to finagle my way out.

I did score some orange juice so we'll see if that helps fight the zombie flu.

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How much snow did we get?

I think we got around twenty inches. The drifts are around four feet. The pile of snow behind my car, smooshed there by the snowplow, is about ten feet. It will be interesting to see how and when I can get out of the house.

School is canceled for county schools but I think Cullen's college is open.

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

CPR without the R?

Here's an interesting article that says CPR can be more effective with just chest compressions.

Only 5 percent of cardiac arrest victims survived if nobody performed CPR. In those receiving standard CPR (alternating between 30 compressions and 2 breaths), survival was marginally higher at 6 percent. In contrast, 11 percent survived if bystanders kept pumping on their chest and did not stop for mouth-to-mouth breaths until emergency medical services arrived.

These trends were even more pronounced in those patients facing the highest survival chance to begin with due to the specific nature of their cardiac arrest, namely those whose collapse was witnessed and whose heart was in a rhythm that is most likely to respond to a shock from a defibrillator. In those, the survival rate was 17 percent without bystander CPR, 19 percent with standard CPR and 32 percent with continuous chest compressions.


That's a big difference. But I notice the stats are for one person CPR. Since you're not getting fresh oxygen to the victim I can't help wondering how much good circulating the blood does. Has anyone compared neurological deficits of just compressions vs regular CPR? I'm also guessing if you've got two people then you definitely want to do the whole thing, with one person doing compressions and one breathing.

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Oops

The Credit Union Journal reports that Members First FCU has had a problem with false alarms. The police sent them a letter warning them after there were four false alarms in less than a year. Then there were four more in less than a month! I'm guessing that didn't go over very well.

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Why?

I went to see my hematologist today and was surprised to hear my PT/INR is too high again, at 3.4. I'm already on the lowest dose I've ever been on and it's still too high. It's baffling.

In other news this whole week is flying by and I feel like I'm getting absolutely nothing done. I'm not even sure what I should be getting done but whatever it is I'm failing at it. Hope I get it all figured out soon.

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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Too funny

This letter, and the comments, are ridiculously funny. I laughed so much I got a stitch in my side. I might find it so amusing because it's something my stepmother might send out. I was at her house one time and she was fixing something to eat and she said to me "once you swing your legs under the table and sit properly you can eat." Naturally I said goodbye to my brothers and sisters, who I had been babysitting, and went home.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/11/26/awkward-family-story-the-thanksgiving-letter/#comments

Enjoy. And if you have someone like this in your family, bless you.

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Sunday, December 06, 2009

Fun article about Twilight

I've been bored for at least a year with all the animosity directed at Twilight. It's so repetitive and it pops up in the weirdest places. I could be reading an article about a serial killer in Botswana and someone in the comments will say "I'd rather be killed by him than have to read Twilight." Seriously, I once went a week where I couldn't read a single blog post or article anywhere that didn't bash Twilight either in the story or in the comments. The subject matter had nothing to do with it. I find it extremely interesting that the Harry Potter books, which I've never liked and was unable to finish, garnered tremendous respect despite their lack of decent female characters because they "Got kids reading again" why Twilight, which is selling just as well or better, gets so much contempt. Better not to read than to read something written by a gasp Mormon? Also weirdly Ms. Meyer gets tons of shit for being "fat", despite personal appearance having nothing to do with writing.

Anyway, I was somewhat trepidatious about this article in WaPo called 'Twilight,' the love that dare not speak its shame but ended really enjoying the story. This part in particular really hits home:

this description is utterly, utterly useless because none of it gets at what the "Twilight" series is actually about, which is being 17.

It's a time capsule to the breathless period when the world could literally end depending on whether your lab partner touched your hand, when every conversation was so agonizing and so thrilling (and the border between the two emotions was so thin), and your heart was bigger and more delicate than it is now, and everything was just so much more.


She nails it right there and I think that explains one of the reasons why the books get so much crap; because they are so emotional. Some people don't want to be reminded that they were so passionate when they were younger, either because they miss those feelings and feel locked away from their emotions, or because looking back they're embarrassed at how strongly they felt.

As I've said in other venues I think one reason Bella is so popular is because her readers can feel superior to her when they're having a tough time. Maybe you flunked your algebra class, or got in trouble with your boss or caught your boyfriend with your supposed best friend but by God you're not lying in the forest in a catatonic state. Go you!


Most of all though, they're just a fun read, despite Renesmee's awful name.

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Friday, December 04, 2009

Some videos

Today was a bad day. Raspberry, our "blue" rat, the one with lung cancer, suddenly collapsed and went into respiratory distress. We had to take her to be euthanized. It was the only thing to do but man it's hard. Also it must be weird for her cage mates. And weird for her because she's been to the vet and has been carried off to another room before but she always came back again. Going in the car always meant something interesting. Sigh.

On a completely different note here are a couple of fun videos I was linked to today.

http://www.clusterflock.org/2009/12/vintage-prime-computer-ads.html



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Tuesday, December 01, 2009

What are you hearing?

This has been a crazy day for news. I finally heard about Mr. Jones who died in a cave in Utah, after nearly being rescued. The more I read his story the more horrible it was. My heart and sympathies go out to his family and friends. So sorry.

This story is quite mad, in a completely different way. Don't know Shane McGowan? He was the lead singer for the Pogues and sang Good Rats with DropKick Murphies. I read an interview with him where he said he hadn't been sober since he was fourteen. Why in the world is he going to be on reality tv? I can't quite get my head around it.

As for me I hardly did anything today. I wrote about seven hundred words and took a nap. It was nice. Tomorrow I have a bunch of paperwork to take care of. Sigh.

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