Thanks, Joker! (And some Random Ramblin’s.)

So my blog has been decidedly dormant due to my dedication to my daughters and my duties as Daddy.

No more! (Well, I’m not going to stop that stuff, but I will try to get back to bloggin’.)

And it’s thanks to several comments from a fellow blogger, Joker from Why Advertising Sucks. It’s amazing what some kind words from an unseen colleague can do…so thanks Joker!

Call the rest of this a mini-Random Ramblin’s…

If you’re not a baseball fan, skip down a few ‘graphs. This is about Roy Halladay, one of baseball’s best pitchers. He’s currently a Toronto Blue Jay, but they’ve pretty much decided to make him available for a trade. And my hometown Phillies are a great match, since they have plenty of good young prospects and the ability to take on his salary (now and in the future).

Reasons the Phillies need Halladay: He makes a good rotation GREAT. Especially in a short playoff series, when it could be Halladay, Hamels and whoever else they put out there. Heck, if Pedro Martinez has anything left in the tank, let him rip.

Heck, legendary baseball man Peter Gammons basically says the Phillies could be a World Series contender for two or three years if they did this. And although they’d be giving up some of their best prospects, that’s what they are right now – prospects. There is NO guarantee that these guys become solid contributors at the major league level – much less superstars.

There is no guarantee that Halladay gets them back to the World Series – but he improves their chances BIG time.

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Well, a case manager from HP was supposed to call me today about my Presario V6000 laptop, which refuses to turn on. Well, the lights come on for half a second, it gives a weak beep, then shuts down. But because this is a replacement unit – that’s right, this one was sent to us when the old 5101 died on us – we need to have a case manager validate our claim so they’ll repair it.

I’d go on a long rant about how sucky HP/Compaq is, but it’s been done.

I may do a pre-emptive call in a few minutes, and will keep you posted.

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So now I’m going off of Imuran completely. One less immunosuppressive drug. Yay! Now we being the countdown to Colonoscopy ‘09, scheduled for Friday the 13th (of November). Yay?

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More important than anything else you’ve read here…the girls are doing well, thanks for asking!

Eating and pooping pretty normally.

But sleeping? They’re freakin’ Olympians already. We’re talking like 8, 9, maybe 10 hours overnight.

I think they’re setting us up, this is all a trick. When they’re two, they’ll sleep in half-hour shifts for four hours then demand we stay up with them watching Ni Hao Kailan or Jack’s Big Music Show! (Actually, they’re pretty good shows.)

We think that Alexandra is starting to look like me, and Norah like Shannon. Here’s a recent photo:

Alexandra & Norah, just chillin'.

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I’m in 4th place in fantasy baseball. This is unheard of, and I have now jinxed myself.

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We’re living in Little Elm, Texas, not far from the intersection of Eldorado Parkway and Route 423/Main Street. The latter is a horrendous road that gets crazy backed up during rush hour. The former is under massive construction that will probably continue until I retire at the ripe old age of 78.

I don’t know if this is deserving of an “oy” or a “meh.” Perhaps a new term should be made available…

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Shannon and I saw The Hangover. 86 out of 100. Laugh-out loud in parts, but man I was hoping for more gutbusting laughs.

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I hate that the scale at Medifast is usually 3 pounds heavier than my scale at home. I woke up all psyched that I was 160.8 on Saturday morning, until I get to the clinic and weigh in at 163.8. They’re both digital scales! How does that work?

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I can’t believe boxing lost Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest like two weeks apart. I truly enjoyed watching these warriors fight and grieve for them and their families.

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I hope you’re happy, Joker. You’ve unleashed the beats. A lame bloggin’ beast.

It’s been too long.

Sorry about that. Did some vacationing in South Padre Island (go – but not during Spring Break), some interviewing for jobs, some navel-gazing.

Remicade treatment today. Two hours of a continuous IV drip. Yay? (At least the chairs are comfy, and the WiFi is OK.)

Check this out:

LABOR DEPT: FEWER WORKERS KILLED ON JOB IN 2007

Aug 20th, 2008 | WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. workers killed on the job has dropped to a historic low.

A government report released Wednesday shows there were 5,488 fatal work injuries last year. That’s the lowest number since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping track in 1992.

There were 3.7 fatal work injuries for every 100,000 workers, the lowest annual rate ever reported by the fatality census.

The 2007 numbers represent a 6 percent drop from 5,840 deaths reported to the Labor Department in 2006.

There were increases in some types of work fatalities. The number of fatal falls on the job rose to a high of 835 in 2007, while workplace homicides increased by 13 percent.

The numbers are preliminary, with a final report on 2007 due next year.

Salon provides breaking news articles from the Associated Press as a service to its readers, but does not edit the AP articles it publishes.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Question: Do they take into account the fact that less people are working anyway? It’s hard to die on the job when you don’t have one.

Crohn’s research

[Reprinted without permission from Insight, the University of Liverpool Spring 2008 alumni magazine--many thanks to cousin Natasha for taking the trouble to mail me the whole mag]

“Scientists have discovered how a bacterium, known to cause illness in cattle, may cause Crohn’s disease in humans.

Crohn’s, affecting one in 800 people in the UK, is a condition that causes chronic intestinal inflammation, leading to pain, bleeding and diarrhoea.

The team found that the bacterium called Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, which makes its way into the body’s system via cows’ milk and other dairy products, releases a molecule that prevents a type of white blood cell from killing E.coli bacteria found in the body. E.coli is known to be present within Crohn’s disease tissue in increased numbers.

Professor Jon Rhodes, from the School of Clinical Sciences, said: “Mycobacterium paratuberculosis has been found within Crohn’s disease tissue but there has been much controversy concerning its role in the disease. We have now shown that these Mycobacteria release a complex molecule containing a sugar called mannose. This molecule prevents a type of white blood cell, called mycrophages, from killing internalised E.coli.”

The team is beginning clinical trials to assess whether an antibiotic combination can be used to target the bacteria contained in white blood cells as a possible treatment for Crohn’s disease.”

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Interesting, since I’m also lactose intolerant. Hopefully, they’ll be able to find a treatment (if not a cure) in the next 10-20 years. That would, to use some highly medical terminology, rock.

Health update

FYI, and because I say HIPAA be darned…

I’m fine.  I am NOT in the middle of a Crohn’s flare-up.  Since my trip to the E.R., I have been basically problem-free.

Followed up with my G.I. yesterday, and he said that it would be nearly impossible for me to have a flare-up whilst taking the meds that I take.  So much more likely, I had a bad reaction to something I ate or contracted a quickie virus or bug.

So that’s the good news there.

Ever go to a real E.R.?

I’ve been to several over the past few years, but today was a unique experience.

I woke up this morning at 4AM with, well, let’s just say pretty severe gastrointestinal distress.  Living with Crohn’s disease, I assumed it was either a delayed reaction to Remicade, a flare-up/relapse, or something I ate last night.

Called the Remicade infusion nurse, and she confirmed my theory that four years of side-effect-free infusions made it very unlikely that my problem was related to the medication.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get much better as the day went on.  Shannon came home from work to take care of me, and when I still showed no improvement by early evening, she took me to the E.R. at Presbyterian of Plano.

The E.R. at 5:15 p.m. was empty except for one elderly lady who was already filling out her forms.  I quickly completed my own forms, and was actually called to see the Triage nurse while I was in the men’s room.  (That’s an amazingly quick waiting period, for those of you who have dealt with emergency rooms.)

I was almost immediately met by a male nurse/EMT who put in an I.V.  Soon after that, I was greeted by the ER doc and a nurse who took all my info.  Based on the doc’s diagnosis–a mild flare-up–I was given morphine (woo hoo), something to settle my stomach and some fluids to rehydrate me.

After a while, the cramping and discomfort subsided, and Shannon even noted the color had returned to my face.  The doc came around again and discharged me around 7:45.

Not feeling 100% yet, but definitely a whole lot better.

100 calories, zero satisfaction

At work this morning, I grabbed my coffee (my one cup of the day, barring an emergency) and settled in at my desk. For breakfast, I decided to try one of the 100-calorie packs of cookies we bought yesterday.

(I’m trying to eat/snack healthier/lighter.)

And whilst the cookies were excellent, the serving size is so tiny that I felt I could have eaten about five more packs. Of course, this 600-calorie binge would totally defeat the purpose.

Oh well, maybe I can fill myself up with a Propel-powdered water. That’s only 10 calories, but it’s 16 ounces of liquid refreshment.

TripAdvisor just posted this. Bring your black-light.

Dirtiest Hotels – U.S.

• Hotel Carter, New York, NY
• Ramada Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls, NY (Hotel now closed)
• Nashville – Days Inn Vanderbilt / Music Row, Nashville, TN
• Red Carpet Inn, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Regency Inn & Suites, New York, NY
• St. Augustine Beachfront Resort, Saint Augustine, FL
• Travel Inn Civic/Medical Center, Miami, FL
• Eden Roc Motel, Wildwood, NJ
• Days Inn Lancaster, Lancaster, PA
• Pacific Sands Motel, Santa Monica, CA

Apparently, every hotel between Tennessee and California is clean as a whistle.

Back bloggin’ because of the public outcry (MySpace blog from 2.26.08)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Back bloggin’ because of the public outcry Current mood: sweaty Once more into the fray, or at least into the dank basement that is my mind. Ralph Nader is back. Oh, Ralph. I feel bad for him. All of the groundswell of support that Obama is getting–that’s what Ralph needed four and eight years ago. I think it comes down to charisma. Ol’ Ralphie Boy has some great ideas that people should be passionate about, but his personality doesn’t inspire. Bummer. Random endorsement: Twix Java. This is one of the greatest things that ever went into my mouth. You can’t go wrong with a chocolate cookie covered with coffee caramel and milk chocolate. You just can’t. I hate 95% of all Lexus drivers. I think that when you purchase a Lexus (which, from what I hear, is just a souped-up top-of-the-line Toyota sedan), that “I paid an exorbitant amount for a car, so now I own the road and can drive like sh*t” feeling is a freebie they throw in at the dealership. To paraphrase David Cross: You don’t have to be a Lexus driver to be an a$$hole, but you do have to be an asshole to be a Lexus driver. Random endorsement: “We Need Girlfriends” on YouTube. A DIY sitcom that NBC allegedly bought and will produce. I’ve been jotting down notes for another spam-focused blog. Just waiting for the furor over my last one dies down before writing it. Once again, I have contracted Fantasy Baseball Fever. The only cure? Geeking out and making up extensive lists of players to prepare for the annual drafts of my two leagues. Luckily, Shannon is very cool about this hobby/obsession. Random endorsement: Board-certified doctors. They’re the only ones I will go to or recommend. And yes, I do become a bit of an academic snob when researching a new physician. I’m not 100% keen on seeing someone from the Universidad de Tijuana or Southeastern Montana College of Medicine. Over the past several years, I’ve become a boxing fan. And although last Saturday’s Klitschko/Ibragimov heavyweight bout was an incredible snore, I really like how Klitschko (who won) is trying to unify the FOUR different heavyweight belts. For non-boxing fans, there are at least four major sanctioning organizations within the sport, all of whom have title belts. Not to mention the “unofficial” Ring Magazine championships. Klitschko’s win gave him two belts. I really hope his matches for the other two actually happen, and are infinitely more interesting than this first match. Yesterday it was 80 degrees and sunny here. We even did some brainstorming outside in the courtyard at work this afternoon. Today, it’s like 54 and sunny. Some might cringe at the thought of a 26-degree drop. But I’ll take it any day over snow, slush, ice and temps in the 20s or 30s. I had my every-eight-week Remicade treatment yesterday. Basically, I sit there for three hours or so while this monoclonal antibody is infused via IV. I’ve been going for these infusions for several years, and it’s usually fine. Sometimes I’ll sleep, or watch TV if they have it, or read, or pretend to do work that I’ve brought. Sometimes, I’ll share illness stories with the other patients (if there are any). Yesterday’s companions were both Rheumatoid Arthritis patients–one very nice 70-year-old lady with more metal joint replacements than she could count, the other a 50ish woman who used to live in Hawaii but was driven away by the humid climate (and its effects on her physically). Speaking of medicine, I’m switching gastroenterologists. I do like the guy I’ve been seeing since I moved to Texas, but two straight horrible “customer service” issues have sent me packing. When you call in a prescription refill, you don’t get a nurse or the doctor. You get a receptionist or one of the various customer service reps at this large practice. And twice in the past several months, I’ve had to make multiple calls to both the pharmacy and the office (who was to blame) and basically missed doses of my medication because the promise that “we called it in” was either a lie or accidentally untrue. I need my meds, and I need a direct line to somebody who says they’ll do something and gets it done. So goodbye, G.I. Enough serious crap. How about “The Moment of Truth” on Fox? Last night, I didn’t see the whole thing, but apparently a contestant admitted (right in front of her husband) that she would leave him if her ex-boyfriend would take her back. Which brings up the ultimate question: what’s worth more, your marriage or the $25,000 she stood to lose by just quitting? Apparently for her, it was the cash. [Editor's Note: Hi, Editor here. I just Wikipedia'd up the show, and it seems that she did admit that she'd leave her hubby for the ex. In a fun twist, she ended up losing $100,000 because she lied when she said that yes, she thought she was a good person. Awesome.] Tonight is American Idol, which is nowhere near as fun without all the crazy people. End transmission. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. If not, you can get your money back by calling 1-900-GET-A-LIF.

Happy World Crohn’s & Colitis Day! (MySpace blog from 5.23.07)

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Happy World Crohn’s and Colitis Day! Current mood: awake Seriously, that’s today. Don’t go out and try to get either disease, I think they just want us to educate people about it. See more at www.trueguts.com or the True Guts page on MySpace. If you don’t know me personally, you don’t know that I have Crohn’s colitis. And not just the “normal” version–my tummy problems didn’t really manifest themselves with big bad horrible stomach symptoms. No, I developed pyoderma gangrenosum (say that 10x fast), which is basically large deep ulcers–mine appeared on my left leg between the ankle and knee. After a zillion different medications, a couple failed skin grafts (one real, one synthetic) and about 8 years of daily bandaging, I’ve been fully healed for about a year. You may not know that I go for Remicade infusions every eight weeks, or that I take Imuran (an immunosuppressant) every day, or that I actually shrank a half-inch or so due to bone loss, thanks to long-term Prednisone use. (I know, you’ll all still think of me as a glorious 5′7″.) So I also take a bunch of calcium every day. I’m not writing this to elicit sympathy or charitable contributions (which can be made to me directly, send e-mail for details). I’m trying to help the guy at TrueGuts.com get this thing going, because every other disease has a day…why not mine?