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Showing posts from May, 2006
Brother Update He is now well out of the coma, off nearly all tubes and wires, soon to be out of ICU and expressed to his father and mother tonight that he just wants to be "well and happy." That is all we wish, too. He is still quite compromised with his lung situation -- lingering pulmonary edema, a pulmonary embolism (small, thank goodness) and related phlebitis in his left arm which are being treated with blood thinners (the arm looks better already), and of course getting slowly back into food (a high protein diet but very slowly, mostly liquid, as 14 days with tubes in his throat was quite damaging to his swallowing ability). Tonight he so much wanted a particular kind of ice cream bar he loves, but the doctor said not yet. The good news is he is awake, and determined to get well, remembers nothing of what happened. His company, has been more than supportive -- visits and assurances of complete medical coverage beyond insurance if necessary. Andrew's daughter (7
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You are the fourth Doctor! You're certainly the most popular. You've got quite the bohemian sense of style, and you never met a scarf that was too long. You have no qualms about playing a bit of a buffoon, but your carefree nature turns into steely resolve in the face of danger. Take this quiz ! Quizilla Join Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code
Brother Update - Good news Andrew has opened his eyes and recognized them. He even smiled. They have removed the respirator from his throat and he has an oxygen mask but he was able to ask "What Happened?" He does not seem to remember and we can only hope that in His mercy, God has erased the unpleasant memories from his mind. The doctors caution that he has a long way to go, but are optimistic. He has a bad sinus infection which they cannot treat yet because of the blood thinners he is taking for his phlebitis. His arm is still swollen and he is still jaundiced but "Hope" is hanging over everything right now.
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The Friday Five! Honey, I’m Home! 1. How many places have you lived in your life? MANY - Los Angeles, Mountain View, San Jose, Claremont CA, San Francisco, Greenwich CT, Wappingers Falls NY, New Market NH, Plaistow NH, Cohoes NY, Schenectady NY, Troy NY. 2. Which was your favorite and why and what street was it on? Where I live now and of course 6007 Countess Dr in SJ. 3. If you could live anywhere for the rest of your life, where would it be? How bout Paris? Realisticly where I am now, though more in the country would be great. 4. What would your ideal home have in it? My stuff. Great sound system. Large Library. Hobby room. A gym would be nice. 5. Can you describe your current crib? Well its wooden with a tiny mattress and bars to keep me from crawling out.. OH you mean my HOME. More proof of the decline of Western Civilization.. my CRIB indeed. Anyway it is a very old home, parts are 175+ hrs old. No 90 Degree angles in the place. Hardwood floors. Dirt basement. Very cosy and full o
Brother Update My brother is being brought out of the coma gradually. They began yesterday evening. His lung infection is gone as is his fever; he has some remaining edema in one lung and also some small pulmonary embolisms in both lungs which are not good but not considered dangerous -- and, as of yesterday evening, he has presented with a major phlebitis in his left arm. It is terribly swollen. They are treating the embolism with blood thinners which should also work for the phlebitis.
Fear Factor I wondered for.. oh say about a milisecond.. why the Republican'ts would come to the defence of Democrat Wm Jeffersons' in regards to the FBI raid on his office. (The congressman who keeps his pocket change on ice). The same Jefferson of whom the Democratic leadership has called to step down from his committees. The same Jefferson about whom the Democratic leadership asked for a full investigation. (Amazingly different tune than the Republican'ts sang when Queen of DeNile Tom DeLay was under investigation). An amazing display of bipartisanship not shown since the Twin Tower aftermath. In fact I've not seen this upset even through no WMD's, Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, NSA spying, nor a host of other nasty things that have happened in the last few years. And the reason why? They figure they are next..... cut to midnight scenes of scurrying aides and Congress people cleaning out their Washington Offices and makeing sure their freezers only have froze
No Global Warming? Oh Thank God! In his May 23 column, Wall Street Journal columnist Pete Du Pont claimed that carbon dioxide is "not a pollutant" and repeatedly cited a misleading, industry-funded study on climate change to prove that the "truth about 'global warming' is much less dire than Al Gore wants you to think." But Du Pont's numerous assertions -- on the danger posed by carbon dioxide, the temperature record in Greenland, the effect of the sun on global warming, and the threat of rising sea levels -- all misrepresent the underlying scientific research. In a similar vein, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh noted that the "Antarctica ice sheeting is actually increasing" as evidence that global warming theory is "unsupportable by facts." But, in fact, only the interior Antarctic ice sheet is growing, which is considered proof of climate change. What are these people smoking? Crack? Du Pont's column relied heavily
More Sunday Lies from Media Matters On Meet the Press, Tim Russert interviewed two Republican members of Congress -- Rep. Charlie Norwood and Sen. Lindsey Graham -- but no Democrats, allowing Norwood to level unchallenged attacks on Democrats. During the interview, Russert allowed Norwood to repeat the misleading Republican charge that "Democrats refused" to let House Judiciary Committee chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) remove a controversial felony provision from Sensenbrenner's own immigration bill. Because Russert did not respond to the statement and because no Democrat appeared on the broadcast, Norwood's statement went unchallenged and unexplained.
Brother Update from my stepmom It has been 9 days now that Andrew is in this coma. He has had several set-backs over the last two days and the doctors say he is still critical and the situation is degrading. His respirator has been turned completely back up again. His lungs are not responding to the medication and they are trying something else to try and clear the infection and pneumonia. They have still not been able to determine exactly what put him in this condition. We all know that he has been in quite a depressive state for some time now and seems to have totally lost his will to live .
Update from the 'burgh Brother Andrew Last Friday my brother Andrew had was appears to be a nervous breakdown. This is on top of some very sensitive issues he is having already which I will not to into in detail. His wife checked him into a hospital outside Paris (where they live). He had apparently taken an overdose of anti-depressants, to what ends I don't know. It caused a problem in his brain, and last Saturday am they found him unconscious in his hospital room after an epileptic seizure. He was put into ICU as he had vommited and breathed in some of the fluids. When he was brought around the first time he became "agitated" as they say in medical speak, and was put into an induced coma. He has been in this state since Sunday. My mom and dad have gone over there to be with him. Whatever your particular faith, whether you pray or give good vibes to the Universe keep my brother in your thoughts. He has a wife and three children. Grandmother Not to add to the
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The Friday Five! The friday five is two years old! Thanks to everyone for helping to keep it going. This week's questions were suggested by veracious_g. 1. What type of mood are you generally in on a rainy day? Introspective. Listen to Jazz and read the paper mood. Lay in bed with my wife and play mood. However usually it's turn on the windshield wipers and to to work.... 2. What are your favorite things to do when the weather is gloomy? See above 3. Have you ever been kissed in the rain? Yes, my College Sweetheart and I. 4. After the rain stops, do you continue what you were doing, or do you run outside to do something else? Depends on the mood and what I was doing. lol. 5. What is your favorite drink/food to have when it's raining outside? Hot tea.
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Thirteen Things about Mikey Memories of my Brother as he lays in a coma. 01. Biking to Palo Alto, and having a passing driver saying he was whiped out on the road, looking back and seeing his front wheel had fallen off. He ended up with stiches and I ended up with a guilty conscience because I didn't put his wheel on tightly enough. 02. Him visiting me in College. We had a wonderful time. Very much a bonding experience. Then the same as I visited him in college. 03. A lunch with Poe Fratt, my mom and my brother. It was first time that I felt I had the edge intellectually. My brother is very very smart. 04. His long long hair in High School. I thought it was just grand, a real statement. 05. His wedding. The Bride and Maids in these great Chinese dresses. Meeting her friends and his. Speaking French to his parents in law, actually having a deep philosophical conversation. (Couldn't do that now lol). 06. He had dimples instead of knees when he was a toddler. VERY
The sad passing of common sense from my friend Dzdolfan Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when p
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The Friday Five! If you knew you were going to die on at specific day at a specific time, what's the last... 1. song you would listen to? Long and Winding Road 2. book you would read? Lord of the Rings 3. person you would talk to? My wife and/or son 4. food you would eat? Pasta, who cares about carbs if you are already dead 5. goal you would accomplish? How bout, not die? ok well to stay in the spirit of this... Make sure my family was well cared for.
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This is my bumpersticker... ...on my car... ...right now. Talk about being ahead of curve: NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY. The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews. "It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The a
This is still bugging the heck out of me so I turned to media matters for the facts I briefly stated my surprise in the sheer gall of Little Tommy De Lay, the new Queen of DeNile, on George Stephanopolis' ABC Sunday Morning this weekend. Read this: From the May 7 broadcast of ABC's This Week: STEPHANOPOULOS: The president is talking now about tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, investigating price gouging by oil companies, maybe raising fuel efficiency standards. Do you think that's the right approach? DELAY: I mean, I think he's talking about more than just that. I don't think either of those will have an impact on lowering demand or, or increasing supply. We are -- we are paying the price of Democrat policies. The Democrats have stopped us from developing American oil and American gas in this country. They've stopped us from drilling in Alaska, off the offshore of Florida and California, the huge reserves of oil shell and natural gas in the West. They sto
If you are not completely appalled you have not been paying attention But when the German newspaper Bild asked him to name his best and worst moments as president, Bush gave an offbeat answer about the best moment: Bush admitted it was not easy to pick a best moment because "I've had a lot of great moments," according to a transcript of the Friday interview released Sunday. "I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7 ½-pound largemouth bass on my lake," Bush said eventually
The new Queen of De Nile Oh My Gosh Did you see Tom DeLay on George Stephanopolis' show this am on ABC? This guy is living in la la land. My favorite was that it was the Democrat's fault for the high Gas prices. Hey Tommy, it's no party's fault, but it's your party in power since 1992 d00d! The Republicant's are lucky this guy is leaving. As a proud Lib I wish he would stay. He made Howard Dean look reasonable (Howard followed him on the show) and that is saying a LOT. I will miss Tommy, his entertainment vaule alone is almost enough to want him around. But in the end I will be glad to watch him go down in flames for his arrogance.
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The Friday Five! 1) Do you like your birth-name? Why? I do like my birth name a lot. It is strong, named after a kick arse Arch Angel as well as having my father's name as my middle name. My last name is very unique so I like that too. 2) If you could change your name to anything else, what would it be? Professionally I might change my last name because of it's uniqueness. I have in places on the net. 3) What names would you consider giving your children? We considered Jasmine for our child if it had been a girl. "A"'s first name was our first choice. He also has my father's name as his middle name. 4) If you had a band, what would you name it, and why? Pretence. or maybe LaserHead. 5) Is there a name that you completely hate? Why? A few kids at school have absolutely ridiculous names. One family named their kids, I fool you not, Sir and Master. I heard another's kids new brother was named Payne because the mom was in labor so long and it was painful.
The week that was. No real blogging this week for some reason, not really sure why. Not going to do a Thursday Thirteen either. Saturday/Sunday . VERY slow weekend at the Shack. No cell phone sales at all. Can be frustrating. Monday. Was scheduled to do Kindergarten but got moved to 6th grade in the morning. Had a great day, a great class. A couple of the students said I was the coolest sub they get. ya gotta like that. Alex had a track meet on Monday but becuase he left his cell phone at home I didn't know where to meet him to watch, and he had to cool his jets back on Campus till I drove out to get him, hopefully an object lesson in remembering the cell phone. Tuesday. Never got a call from the service, so I had an enforced day off from teaching. I worked on the vinyl project and got a few Yes albums under my belt: Tormato, Going for the One, Relayer and Tales. The process is: record the side onto a CDR-W on my stand alone CD burner connected to my stereo. Three album sides fi