This collection of entries is from April 2006.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Robe Day!I haven't had one of these kind of days in a long, long time...
It's when you get up in the morning, put on your robe, and don't take it off until you go to bed at night.
Came in handy, too, as I napped on the couch, trying to watch the White Sox/Angels game. I'd drift off an inning at a time and check out the scores and pitching when I'd wake up.
I love days like this... days of nothing. It's a great way to recharge.
posted at 08:15 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment | § |
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Nothing tastes better than food cooked on a kettleWhat a lousy weather day. Rain. Lots of it. Dark. Thank God we're not doing anything today...
... oh, wait... B&B and The Debster are coming out to our house to go out to dinner to celebrate Carol's And Debbie's birthdays (in May). We went out to dinner at the Weber Grill Restaurant out here in Schaumburg.
Everything tastes better when grilled on a Weber kettle, and that's what the restaurant uses. I mean, we got the barbecued shrimp appetizer and - holy crap! - that just sells the whole concept of a kitchen of nothing but Weber kettles.
After dinner we went back to the house and found... NOTHING to watch on TV. We watched the absolute worst movie that we've seen... perhaps ever. The movie? Bewitched. Nicole Kidman AND Will Ferrell? Puh-lease. This may have just put me against any Will Ferrell project.
posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Friends | § |
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Two Ongoing ComplaintsThere are really only two complaints I have lately, and I think everybody else around here has the same two:
The Weather and Gas Prices.
We're going from 60's in the afternoon to the low 30's (complete with frost and freeze warnings) by the time we wake up. The house was 61 degrees this morning because we don't have the heat turned on any more. Why should we? It's late April! Not only that, but we have one of those houses that - to get the optimum balance of heating OR air conditioning requires the opening or closing of certain vents around the house, and they're mutually exclusive to the function that you need them for. That means that if we decide that it's getting too cold in the house, we have to flip all of the vents that we opened/closed for air conditioning when it's been near 80 and house is just cooking.
And Gas Prices? Don't get me started... We're just pennies away in our area when hit hist the $3.00-mark for regular. I've been over $3 for a few weeks now using Premium. The whole situation is just pissing me off. I can't help believe that if the Iraq war didn't happen that we'd be involved somewhere on this planet with anybody that wasn't producing all the oil they could. I can't believe that we're looking at $3, with the possibility of $4 actually happening in the not so distant future.
Yes, America is addicted to oil. Yes everyone is complaining., even the damn SUV drivers which are sucking-up more gas now than 10 or 15 years ago. Are they cutting back their use? No, they're just paying more to live the American Way.
I don't know, I'm just so pissed off at a situation that has no "silver bullet", no easy fix, no short-term fix, and maybe not even a long-term fix...
...and then you hear things like an executive leaving Exxon Mobile and getting $400 million in a retirement package?
How insane has all of this become?
read more of this entry »
Wait... some details...
It's Exxon Mobil's CEO Lee Raymond.
He has called global warming a hoax.
His total compensation package is worth $398 million. That brought his total compensation during his 13 years as chairman to $686 million.
Last year Exxon Mobil had a world's record profit of $36 billion. Profit. It is now the largest corporation in the world. That retirement package is only, what, 1 percent of profit?
C'mon, how 'bout taking one for the country and doing something with gas prices?
Now, admittedly, back in 1999, when Exxon acquired Mobil, oil was at $10/barrel. Looking through my gas records (I only use Mobil gas, and yes, I have records going back that far), the year started at $1.19.9 in January and ended at $1.53.9 in December (with the initial big jump in February/March), a steady rise all year for Premium grade.
$1.19. Ah yes, I remember those days... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:42 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, April 24, 2006
Update on CarolCarol went to the Emergency department this morning.
She's got fluid behind the knee, a badly bruised kneecap (no breaks) and strained ligaments. They gave her crutches to use to try and stay off the leg, she has to ice it and keep it up and she should see a orthopedist (which, my guess, she won't do).
posted at 05:11 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Is it the drugs?I didn't mention that I went to the doctor on Saturday morning, just for a regular stop-in and catch-up.
My blood pressure - though I think it's been OK, doesn't seem to be under control. The medication doesn't seem to working as efficiently, based on my in-office BP checks. I'm thoroughly convinced its 1) the manner in which the BP is taken, which is different than the when I had it taken regularly by the P.A. Kristi., and 2) I'm pretty sure I have a case of "White Coat BP" meaning that my BP goes up any time I see a white lab coat, like the doctor wears.
Anyway, we changed my drug to a two-drug combo, Lisinopril and Hydrochlorothiazide.
I was really "lucky" in that when I saw him, my sinuses were full, my nose clogged, and just in a full-fledged spring allergy attack. I was able to get a prescription for Zyrtec.
Problem? Side effect: fatigue & drowsiness. Effectiveness? For me, questionable. It's barely, and I mean barely, attempting to keep my sinuses clear. I know that this is a hell of an allergy season right now and a lot of people - me included - are suffering terribly, but I'm questioning if this drug is right for me. Right now, what's more evident than it "sort of" working is that I'm really tired. I mean really tired. I've fallen asleep at my desk once this morning already. I finally had a night of sleep that didn't include my very regular interruptions or going to the bathroom every hour and a half (side effect of the diabetes - every hour and a half all night long every night... my current hell).
So, I think I'm going to keep taking the Zyrtec and see if it gets more effective over time, or I'll give up on it when I go to the doctor next time.
I hate this time of year and fall - the two big allergy seasons, and this particular season is bad.
Update: Fell asleep three times today, once this morning, twice this afternoon, the last for at least 20 minutes at the very end of the day, after I would have gone home. God I hope I didn't snore...
posted at 10:12 AM | Link | Health | § |
Sunday, April 23, 2006
White Sox 7 - Twins 3
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OK, yeah, great game. We sweep the series from the Twins. Nancy Faust is back. The weather is great. Everything's right with the world.
Let's start at the top.
Carol and I are absolutely pissed-off at today's promotional item. It was listed as a Miniature stadium. What it was was a cardboard display stand from the Chicago Sun-Times. A poor cardboard replica of U.S. Cellular Field, that has spots to collect miniature baseballs that have pictures of the players on them. Collect? Why, yes - you have to purchase a Sun-Times and each day they have a coupon that you use to go to White Hen or some other store and pay $2.99 for the player/ball of the day. Since when does the team foist a "promotion" where you have to pay money - a lot by the time you get all the balls - to promote a newspaper? Normally, the promotion is a giveaway, and not something you have to pay for to enjoy. When I heard "Miniature Ballpark" I thought it was like a cheap version of the miniature sculpted ballparks that are collectibles. But cardboard? that is a poor replica and purchase stuff to put in it? This is crazy. Carol & I decide to "boycott" and not accept the promotional item at the gate.
Traffic was fine and we got there in good time.
The sun is out, and we're wearing our sunglasses. We go from sunlight into the darkness of the gate area. We go into Gate 5, and I'm first through the turnstile. I say "no thanks" when offered the "miniature ballpark" and the customer service rep thinks I'm nuts. I turnaround and see Carol go through the turnstile.
In the "dark" she turns and trips over two stacked boxes of cardboard promotions, and hits the concrete ground hard on her right knee.
Now - I hadn't mentioned this earlier, but when Carol was cleaning the "Second Bedroom" earlier this week, she tripped over some cables and - you guessed it - hit the floor hard with her right knee. It's hurt her all week. The bruises had just popped-up over the leg, from knee down to the side of her foot.
So, here she is on the ground behind the turnstiles of Gate 5 after injuring the same knee. She stayed there for a while. We finally heard that First Aid was called. She felt the need to get up and move and un-block the turnstile so people can get through. A customer service rep says there a bench right around the corner that she can sit at. What we find out is that it's a series of picnic tables more than 200 feet away. We hobble over there and Caro sits down. Another customer service rep comes over to admonish us "You know you weren't supposed to move, you were supposed to stay there". We let her know 1) don't yell at us, and 2) another rep told us to come out here to relax. A minute or so later a guy in white trots up from the Medical Staff, followed by a golf cart with two other guys. One guy asks me for her information, the other talks to Carol about the fall and her pain.
Carol decide to go to First Aid to get ice. She decides to go by herself (admittedly, there's no room in the golf cart for me) so she takes her ticket and gives my all her stuff. She takes off in the cart, I go up the escalator and go to our seats. She eventually shows up at the end of the first inning. All she had was ice on the knew - no Advil or Tylenol, and not feeling like she was really taken care of by the medical staff.
She's going to have to get this looked at tomorrow.
Nice way to try and watch a game when people have been actually showing up and sitting around us! We're not used to this and we've been able to spread out a little and relax. Now, when Carol need to stretch out a bit, she can't.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:39 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Saturday, April 22, 2006
White Sox 9 - Twins 2
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What a great day for our first night game! It was a little on the cool side (low 60's) and a slight breeze, but it felt great.
Traffic was horrendous - there was an accident on the Kennedy that blocked the right 3 lanes but apparently the traffic people didn't tell us what was going on, so I stayed on the Kennedy, thinking it would eventually free-up. Well it did when we passed the accident site at Kimbal - and didn't find a trace of this alleged accident. We flew the rest of the way to the park.
Not only is this our first night game, but this is our first game that started after 3:05. The significance of that? That would mean that this is our first game without organist Nancy Faust. It was weird. Before the game the Stadium crew just played more music, almost right from the JACK FM playlist. But there was these silent, almost awkward gaps when the visiting team was at bat. There was no music where there used to be, and that made me miss Nancy. I didn't believe how much she has become part of the experience of the game at U.S. Cellular Field... they played a recording of her for the 7th Inning Stretch, and no one seemed to notice... except for that empty booth behind the plate.
Another great game, another great win (we need to store those up in case we need them like last year). I almost feel that I don't want to talk about the game itself because everyone did well, You could always lookup the Boxscore.
The fireworks after the game were... the fireworks after the game. Nothing new. Tonight, they used music that was played all last season for things on the scoreboard video or just stuff heard around the park (like "Go Go White Sox", etc).
Getting out of the parking lot was a nightmare. the Dan Ryan was terrible, so we took a scenic route through downtown and caught-up with the Kennedy at Ontario.
Nice night.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:34 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Friday, April 21, 2006
This is not a rodeo, this is the PBR
I mentioned back in February that we got tickets to the PBR.
Well, tonight was the night.
The crowd was very disappointing. Our seats we upstairs, almost even with the chutes, which was a good vantage point. However, it was just a bit too far away. It was a good angle to view the bull and what they do, but it would have been nice to be closer - but that's what you get when you spend $35 a seat instead of $100 a seat (boy, that's steep).
This is the first time the PBR has been to Chicago. Tonight's event was Round 1 of The Jack Daniel`s Invitational of the Built Ford Tough Series.
They did something different with the structure of the event, which sounded new as well. Tonight was Round 1. Tomorrow afternoon at 2pm is Round 2 and then just 6 hours later at 8pm is Round 3 and then the Short Go Round. That's a lot of riding within about 27 hours.
Tonight, out of the 45 riders that competed, 15 got scores. The lowest was a 60.00 (Rogerio Ferreira on Salty Kisses was offered a re-ride and declined), the highest was an 89.00 (Helton Barbosa on Sports Machine).
All and all, it's much more entertaining to be at the event than watching it on TV This has a lot to do with the stadium announcers, but even more so the Barrelman (who is dressed like a Rodeo Clown, not to be confused with a Bull Fighter who are key components to the safety of the riders out there in the ring) Flint Rasmussen. Flint did a wonderful job keeping the crowd entertained.
Speaking of Bull Fighters, the best around (who's been out due to what I would call significant injury) was introduced before the event, as the first event that he was appearing at after the injury - Rob Smets.
Speaking of injuries, of the riders that we wanted to see, one of them was sitting out due to injury - Adriano Moraes of Brazil (out with a sprained right hip sustained in Detroit, but it sounds more like a stress fracture of the pelvis).
posted at 11:30 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Thursday, April 20, 2006
White Sox Ticket SalesHad to write something here for the White Sox fans out there...
... as of yesterday, the Sox have now passed last year's season total for tickets sold.
April 19. Not bad for advance sales. Hopefully we can live up to expectations...
posted at 12:40 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
My own house is trying to kill meCarol has been off work for the last three days. She's been tackling a piece of household work that we've never had the time to try - cleaning up the "Second Bedroom".
Our house is built on a slab - we have no basement. I'll bet you every house like this has one of these rooms. You know, a room that you don't use that you just store old crap in.
Well, she's tackling it with a vengeance and she's done a great job. The only problem is that she's kicked-up so much duet from the last 20 years.
And who is allergic to dust? Yes, moi. The sneezing and runny nose all last night has put my throat on fire. I was fine all day (except my throat) until I walked into my house tonight. Now, it's happening all over again. Maybe if we can air-out the room it would be better.
She really did a bang-up job. We had built two shelves yesterday and they're holding storage bins from the Container Store and everything is organized.
Now, if I could just breathe clearly without the runny nose or cough, I'd be all set.
posted at 09:57 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
1600 CaloriesCarol and I met with a diabetic dietitian today. My doctor seems to be trying to get me into a program at the hospital to support newly diagnosed diabetes patients. She worked with us for well over an hour, trying to get a feel for our lifestyle and then figuring out what I should eat, based on both my diabetes and cholesterol (yes, that's bad, too).
So, she came up with a 1600-calorie per day plan that gives me about 60g of carbs for lunch and dinner. The great news (as far as I was concerned) is that it really seamed that no food was off the table - it's just a matter of portion control and realizing that I may have to sacrifice one food for another to make my 60 carbs. I can't go over, and I can't "save" like you could do in Weight Watchers. you use or lose it.
Then we went to a local Jewel and spent another hour and a half, doing a lot of reading to figure out what had what. We bought some good things and figured out quite a few things, not to mention finding the error of our ways on a few items now that we read the packaging in relationship to the diet.
posted at 06:45 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter DinnerSo, we left the ballgame early so we could drive from the South Side (U.S. Cellular Field) to the North Side (Diversey & Narragansett) to pickup my Mom to drive all the way back down to Orland Park to go to my cousin Jane's for Easter Dinner.
South of the city got hit by rain hard. It was a real trip getting to and from Jane's house. Jane had the front door open all night and you could hear the ongoing deluge going on outside.
We had a good time (though Diane, Melinda, and Jackson weren't there - they were with Melinda's family down south). I missed Jackson at the family gathering. I felt like there was something missing all night long.
Trying to figure out what to eat was a real trip tonight. I've got no guidance on what to do until I see a dietitian in a few days. Dinner was great and I felt the need not to do much about dessert. Since there were a lot of sweets involved, I knew that couldn't be good.
The traffic on the way home really picked-up. People were all going home from wherever they were during the weekend.
Boy, these were two long days...
posted at 09:42 PM | Link | Family | § |
White Sox 6 - Blue Jays 4
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Wow. As gorgeous as it was yesterday was as lousy as it was today.
We planned to spend the game in the Stadium Club because it was supposed to rain today.
And rain it did.
The game started on time. We had a good first inning - Scott Podsednik had a triple to the right field corner (it's cool when you're high above the right field corner in the Stadium Club and you see that ball coming toward you, hoping it would - as Hawk would say - "stretch" and make it over the wall). Jermaine Dye had a homer later in the inning. Jim Thome had a homer later in the 2nd (damn, he really DOES hit those balls a mile!) Freddie Garcia did much better job, even in the rain.
Yes it rained. Hard. Oh, God, hard. The first delay was in the top of the third and was 42 minutes long.
Carol and I had to get going to pickup my Mom and drive to Orland Park to my cousin Jane's for our annual family Easter get-together, so we left about 10-to-3, so we didn't see the rest of the game. We were winning and you can tell in the 5th that the umpires were stretching things quite a bit to try to get a regulation game. Apparently, though we couldn't see it because we were in the car, the field actually became unplayable. Freddie had given up 4 runs and 4 walks on 45 pitches in the top of the 5th. Thank God we had the lead.
During the game - during the first delay - I took a trip downstairs and bought another ticket for the authentic World Series Ring raffle. Found out that the winners of the raffle will get their rings in an on-field ceremony. Way cool. Could you imagine? Getting a Championship World Series ring, complete with your name engraved on it, just like a member of the team in an on-field ceremony, but as a fan?
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:46 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Happy Easter
Happy Easter from Chip and Indy!
posted at 09:19 AM | Link | Bunnies | § |
Easter Bunnies
I am re-posting an entry that I have posted every year at this time ( 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002) - please indulge me.
I have posted this entry with a future date so it will "stick" here until Easter Sunday, when it will start rolling around, just like any other entry.
I know I don't get a lot of traffic here at this Blog, but, please, take a moment to read this and help out this cause.
Carol and I have a pet rabbit named Indy and another that's only been with us about a year and a half, Chip. (They have there own WebCam over on the Right-hand side of the page, if you want to visit). We love Indy and Chip, and have loved the rabbits that have been part of our life over the past 20 years. They're different, but fun - and very loving. I think that's the one thing that has surprised me the most over the years - how affectionate they can really be. This past year, we've experienced what it's like to have two rabbits together, and even that seems special. They're inseparable, always together, always grooming, yet always running up to us for attention and their "lovin'" (which is us petting them).
Every year, at Easter time, people think about buying a rabbit for their kids. Bunnies really are great, but they have special needs and care and are not like dogs & cats. There are many rabbits that are abandoned each year after Easter when the kids lose interest or when they become a burden to the owners.
If you have a website, please visit the Easter Page at the House Rabbit Society's website and get a banner to put on your page until after Easter (April 16 for those that don't know) to help raise awareness of the problem. There are also PDF's to print up and post in your cubicle of wherever if you'd like to do that to help spread the word (as well as a damn sad poem that just rips at our heartstrings). Please slso visit the site of their new campaign - "Make Mine Chocolate!" for additional flyers, business cards, and postcards.
Indy thanks you, Chip thanks you, and Carol & I thank you.
posted at 05:30 AM | Link | Bunnies | § |
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Wolves 6 - Aeros 5
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So, we took a leisurely drive from the Sox game to the north suburbs to go to the final Chicago Wolves game of the season. (We had a lot of time to kill, even when stopping for dinner and shopping at Office Depot.)
Other than being the last game, it was also a special night - the retirement of Steve Maltais' number to the rafters. Malts played for the Wolves for the first 11 years of their franchise life (the only player to do so), so he's been a cornerstone of the team over the years. He was Captain 10 times. They had the old IHL Turner Cup on display (we won it twice during Steve's tenure) and the AHL Calder Cup (only won that one once, but think about this - 3 Championship Cup's in the franchise's first 8 years!) Before the game during warm-up, the Wolves players wore one-of-a kind No. 11 jerseys that were eventually be signed by Maltais and the player who wore it and were raffled-off.
The game was really good, like the players thought it actually meant something, which it didn't.
We were winning 5-0 in the 2nd, when at 16:29 there was an altercation. No, who are we kidding, we're talking fight - an all out, fists-flying-and-no-stopping-even-when-the-guy-falls-to-the-ice pummeling, all courtesy of Francis Lessard, a fight we haven't seen out of Frankie in years. The kind where Frankie get 2 minutes for Instigating, 5 minutes for Fighting, 10 minutes for Misconduct - Instigating and a Game misconduct - Third man in (56(d)) and another Game misconduct - Aggressor (56(a)). What a way to end the season.
From here, things deteriorated, where Houston got 2 goals in the second, then scores again in the third before we wake up and score one (shorthanded) and Houston comes back with another two and the Wolves barely win their final game of the season.
Quietly, and obviously when you saw the end of it, another retirement happened tonight. Long-time man-behind-the-wolf Jim Santee skated his last "Black Betty" as the mascot Skates during the Second Intermission.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:47 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
White Sox 4 - Blue Jays 2
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What a wonderful, gorgeous day for a ballgame. I've been looking for this kind of a day for a long time.
It started off pretty rough, though. The Blue Jays have only 2 guys in their lineup batting under .300. 8 pitches from Mark Buehrle in the first, and we're losing 2-0. Fortunately, Jim Thome walked and Paul Konerko hit a 2-run homer and we tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the first, and then it made everything all square and we had a ballgame again. (Thome has reached base and scored in each of the 11 games this season.) It was Paulie again in the 5th with another 2-run home run and got us the lead for good. Buehrle pitched 8 innings and retired the last 8. Bobby Jenks pitched the 9th and he earned a good save and didn't really screw up (except for a single - big deal).
The American League Championship Trophy and THE World Series Trophy are now in the window of the gift shop behind Home Plate - you can't get near the place because of all of the people trying to take pictures of the themselves with the trophy. Too bad it's behind glass that's reflecting the field or reflecting the flash of the cameras, because I didn't see a single picture that looked good.
Another big deal at the park is the raffle tickets. No the Sox Split Charity Raffle.
These are for a World Series Ring. Your own real, honest to goodness authentic World Series Players' Ring. Engraved with your name on it, even, just like everyone else. The Sox are raffling-off 3 of them (100,000 tickets at $20 each - proceeds go to White Sox Charities).
How cool would it be to have your own World Series Championship Ring for being a fan?
I guess the only other "odd" thing at the park was that guy on the outfield concourse in a speedo...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:43 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Happy Tax Day!What?
Monday? The 17th? Oh, the weekend...
Umm... nevermind...
posted at 08:42 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Friday, April 14, 2006
Turducken - Easter Peeps StyleOK, I couldn't let another year go by without posting something about Peeps.
OK, this is going to require a little explanation (I saw this at Boing Boing)...
You know what a Turducken is? This comes up each year around Thanksgiving. It's de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. (Check out the Wikipedia entry)
OK, now take that concept and "Easter-fy" it with candy, and you come up with an Easter Turducken...
read more of this entry »
... you start with a miniature Cadbury cream egg.
Take an peep and cut a deep, large slit in the bottom (Caution: don't cut it all the way through!)
The cut is a pocket that you shove the miniature Cadbury cream egg into (use any extra, um "flesh" to fold around the egg). You should make a couple of these, based on the final "layer"...
...One of those hollow chocolate Easter bunnies. You have to cut-off the bottom to gain access to the empty insides of the bunny. Apparently, a dremel tool works well. Don't destroy the cut piece! You'll need it to seal-off the Easter Turducken.
Once you gain access to the hollow space, shove the Peeps into it and replace the bottom.
The key - if you can do it - is to melt the bottom seam closed with a crème brûlée torch.
EASTER TURDUCKEN!!!!
Oh...
I HAVE to share with you something that's in the comments of that original post... it's a great idea for those hollow chocolate bunnies...
The Comment by VorFemme says:
If your Easter leaves you with the need to be anesthetized - take one hollow chocolate bunny (a good one - no leaky holes - you’ll be drinking from it) and bite its ears off (hey, it wasn’t a good day - get even). Now - mix Kahlua ™, milk, and Coco-Cola ™ to a pleasing taste. Pour this into the bunny. Add a straw. Paper umbrellas are optional. Sip slowly while contemplating your day. Does it still seem so bad? When empty - eat bunny…..day should seem a little brighter now.
This has been named the “Bunny Foo-Foo” - don’t knock any field mice over the head. Don’t drive either. A blue fairy might turn you into a goon. Or at least put you in the drunk tank with some goons. Stay home. Have another Peep ™ or two. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 12:16 PM | Link | Odd | § |
Thursday, April 13, 2006
a little ditty........ about Jack and Diane...
Actually, about my nephew Jackson and my sister Diane.
Diane has made the leap into blogging - blogging all about Jackson, her son.
Even though she'll probably never link to me, please go over and visit her blog and check out the great pictures of Jackson!
I've already added her site to my Blogroll...
So, go to a little ditty.....
posted at 12:29 PM | Link | Uncle Michael | § |
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Volcano RabbitSerious.
I saw this in a post on Boing Boing.
The Volcano Rabbit (or zacatuche or Romerolagus diazi)
They live in the Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands of Mexico, and is endemic to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt surrounding Mexico City, where volcanoes and rabbits co-exist.
Well, sort of. They're endangered.
Who would have thought?
posted at 01:12 PM | Link | Bunnies | § |
This Day In SpaceIt was 25 years ago today that the first Space Shuttle launched for real (not a drop test, like Enterprise) - it was known as STS-1 and it was Columbia, now gone. (Know what STS stands for? Space Transportation System.) The brown external tank used to be painted white in those days, but NASA soon realized that all that white paint actually weighed a bit, so they stopped painting the tanks. It was also the only flight to have ejection seats (actually, the next flight may have as well - I don't remember). It was manned by a two-man crew - commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen, both former Navy Test Pilots (there was a time - and I don't know if it's still the case - that if you asked someone a trivia question about NASA's Manned Spaceflight program, the answer almost all the time was "John Young").
Now, if the first shuttle flight was 25 years ago today, today is rich is space history.
It's the 45th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight to space in 1961 - the first manned orbital mission. The first time man was in space.
And today, both a Russian Cosmonaut (Pavel Vinogradov) and an American Astronaut (Jeff Williams) celebrate this moment together in the international Space Station.
This is all so cool.
posted at 12:46 PM | Link | Space | § |
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
No WolvesWas just watching the game on Comcast Cable.
The Wolves have been eliminated from playoff contention by their 5-4 loss in overtime.
I Believe this is the first time in franchise history that the Wolves didn't make the playoffs.
Great. I think I feel a shakeup coming on...
posted at 09:48 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
A Kick in the PancreasDamn it.
I was fearing this.
Official diagnosis: Type 2 Diabetes.
Yeah, the tests are in from last Saturday. A normal fasting glucose level is between 65-99 mg/dL. I was 137. The kicker was the two-hour test. The glucose level should be 65-139.
I was at 327.
Time for regular glucose testing during the day. Have an appointment to see a dietitian. the doctor wants me to go through some education (classes) as well.
I'm scared to death. I feel helpless because I just don't know what to do with myself. I guess it's the fear of the unknown, but, damn, this feels scarier than that.
Life changing. Great.
What kind of life will I have? Maybe that's the unknown that I'm not looking forward to. I don't understand the mechanics of the disease and the treatments and how things all work. When I think hyperglycemia I think "no sugar" at all, but I know there's much more to it than that.
And then I start thinking about all those foods I will never eat again, probably.
And I think about eating out with friends and family and how I'm not going to be able to eat what is prepared. I don't know, it's a bit of paranoia as well I guess.
posted at 12:55 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Monday, April 10, 2006
A Kick in the WalletI came home after work today to find the bill for all of those MRI's from 2 weeks ago.
Patient Services Provided
MRI / Brain - Quantity 1 - $4,146.00
MRI / Spine - Quantity 3 - $12,679.00
Drugs Requiring Det Code - Quantity 1 - $561.00
Total Charges - $17,586.00
Ouch!
I hope insurance will cover this!
On top of this, I'm having an uncomfortable situation with my doctor. When I first went in for the EMG/NCV, he wanted my to see a neurologist. Now that he's seen the MRI's he wants me to see a neurosurgeon.
I feel like we've jumped a step along the way. I feel that we're thinking of surgery and that might not be the only thing wrong to fix my "twitching" legs (Oh, the diagnosis was Cervical Spinal Stenosis and moderately advanced degenerative spuring in my thoracic spine).
I said I still wanted to go to the neouraologist first, so I maid an appointment - for first-time ("new") patients, the earliest I can get was July 26th at 2pm.
Apparently this is too long and now the doctor wants me to see the neurosurgeon.
I've got to get this cleared up.
posted at 05:01 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Home ImprovementCarol & I went Home Improvement shopping this afternoon.
We were looking for a new garage door to replace the one that's falling apart after 21 years. We have a brand new Lowe's in the area and we've never been to one before. Loved it. But, when it came to garage doors, they didn't have any samples to look at, so we went across the street to Home Depot and got what we wanted.
Unfortunately, it'll be 2-3 weeks before we see it. We were hoping to get it in a week, because Carol is taking some time off to do some housework and it would be great because she'd already be home, but no luck.
So, we'll see what kind of stories we'll have to tell in 2-3 weeks.
posted at 02:32 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Wolves 1 - Stars 4
read more of this entry »
Hard to believe that the Wolves have been on a tear, winning their last 9 games in a row, struggling to make the last playoff spot.
Hard to believe...
...because they sucked tonight. You can tell they're jelling as a team, late in the season, but I think I can sum up their problems tonight in one word: passing. It was all off - no one could hit anyone wit ha pass, it was always errant... or stupid (stupidly passed to an opponent, mostly)
Hard to believe we out-shot them 36-21 and only come up with 1 goal (which was setup soooo nicely)
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:16 PM | Link | Wolves | § |
Two sticksJust got back from the Glucose Test.
Boring.
Had my blood drawn, then had to drink this flavored drink that had 100 grams of dextrose (i think it was dextrose) in it. Then I sat around for two hours. The office was empty (it was 8:10 on a Saturday morning) but there was a young woman that came in about 5 minutes after me - for the same test. I got the last Lemon-Lime drink, she had an Orange.
The magazine selections in the office sucked (I mean, they actually had a magazine I've never seen before -"Cheerleader"). So I watched the fish in the fish tank for a while. I brought my bag from work, so I had my laptop with me, and I used it like a big black iPod and listened to some podcasts. I actually read Green Eggs and Ham cover to cover (actually, I liked it, Sam I am).
Then the two hours were finally over and I got out of there. A few people came and went in the meantime, but overall it was quiet.
And boring.
posted at 10:32 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Friday, April 07, 2006
Friday FastI'm fasting again.
No, it has nothing to do with it being a Friday during Lent.
I have another blood test tomorrow. This is a glucose tolerance test, so I have to stay at the office for two hours with nothing to do. Not looking forward to it.
These fasting things really aren't so bad. I don't have a big snacking "drive" in the evenings - I just have to drink water when I get thirsty and nothing else.
So, yeah, that's my big "secret" from the blood test from before. I guess the normal fasting glucose level is about 100 and I was at 149. And this is the one thing that's scaring me.
I immediately dropped any sugared soda I was drinking and started drinking diet soda. I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate the taste, but what can you do? Hopefully, i can correct this all with diet... I'm hoping...
posted at 08:33 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment | § |
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Not for another hundred years...I had to post this, since I won't have an opportunity for a hundred years...
Know what time and date it is locally (based on how we write the date)?
01:02:03 04/05/06.
Pretty cool?
posted at 01:02 AM | Link | Mundane | § |
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
White Sox 2 - Indians 8
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What a wonderful day.
What a crappy game.
Carol left the house at 9am and got to the park at 5 to 10, before the parking lots opened. We weren't the only ones. I've never seen lines so long before the gates opened to the park, even during the World Series - All because people wanted a Replica Championship Ring, given out to the first 20,000 fans. We must have been - at most - 100th in line to get into the Stadium Club entrance. The ran out of Rings right after us and a near riot almost started.
I can't tell you how comfortable it felt to walk back into the park again. And the park looked great. Even though our section of seats are still the old blue seats (they're that way from the dugouts to the outfield), seeing the rest of the park in dark green seats really makes the park look great.
Before the game, members of the Front Office, dressed in tuxedos (with tails) and gloves, carried onto the field the Championship Rings on silver platters. One by one, coaches, then players, were called to the center of the field to receive their rings from Commissioner Bud Selig, Owner Jerry Reinsdorf and General Manager Kenny Williams. Guys that are now playing for other teams flew in, just to receive their rings. the most memorable - Aaron Rowand. He got a huge ovation from the fans, who let him know he's missed. If anyone on that field had tears in their eyes, it was him - not to mention tears in the stands when he took the field.
The whole ceremony was so special to watch and to be there to be part of. Almost made up for not getting tickets to opening Night. Almost.
Marty Casey and the Lovehammers, fresh from touring with INXS, got a chance to play one song before the game started. Guess which one it was? Yep, "Trees".
We found a brand new food being sold at the park - it's only from a stand behind the plate - freshly made caramel corn and cheese corn (complete with mixes of both). WONDERFUL!
The game itself was terrible. Sure, Jim Thome hit another home run, but Freddie Garcia had nothing on his pitches and got rocked. He looked terrible. Our defense was poor and - at times - felt Keystone Cop-like.
It was painful to sit through and watch.
On top of it all, Gene Honda wasn't there - Tom Shaer did P.A. duties, and Nancy Faust had brought her old organ to the patk, and it sounded totally different compared to what she's sounded like in the past.
Also, we have new parking passes this year, which make us park in the lots north (A, B, C, & G) of the park instead of south (E, F & L). Well, it actually took us an hour to get out of the neighborhood. We're going to have to pay attention to traffic patterns around the park after the game.
Speaking of after the game, we went over to Janie & Gary's for a wonderful dinner.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:53 PM | Link | White Sox | § |
Monday, April 03, 2006
Still in Fist PlaceI woke up and felt the need to see if the White Sox were still playing.
Sure enough, they were.
They got themselves into a 3-3 tie in the top of the 4th when the rains came. No, DELUGE.
Total Rain Delay time: 2 hours 57 minutes.
Sox won 10-4 around 1:10 in the morning.
posted at 01:19 AM | Link | White Sox | § |
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Opening Night
Dear Jackson:
I know you may think it's just another Sunday going to that Grandma's house, but it was a big day for me. At least, it felt like it to me.
You know why? Well, there's two reasons, one of which you just don't know anything about yet. Tonight is the Season Opener for Major League Baseball. This is a big deal for me, because baseball is my most favorite sport. What made it more special was that tonight there was only one game being played in all of baseball. Baseball decided that the Chicago White Sox, my favorite baseball team, will start-off the whole baseball season. What makes it even more special. is that the White Sox won the World Series last year for the first time in 88 years, and they were going to raise their Championship banners before the game. Thats a real special thing if you're a baseball fan. Now, normally, Auntie Carol and Uncle Michael would both be at that game, but this year we're here with you. We're watching the game on TV, but we're here with you.
Tonight, I was on the floor with you for a while, and even though you never smiled when we were together, at least you let me stick around and we hung out. I consider that a big deal.
The really big deal for me came after dinner. Because I'm always standing up and walking around because of my leg twitches, your mommies came up with an idea. You had eaten as much as you were going to eat of dinner, and you didn't have a nap, so the next thing I knew, you were being handed off to me, so I could walk around and hold you, and hopefully you'd fall asleep.
Well, guess what? Yep, you fell asleep, and you slept for almost an hour! I didn't mind holding you at all. It was kind of cool. I mean, you weren't awake so you couldn't exactly reject me, so you just slept quietly and soundly the whole time.
Now, I have to admit that, when you finally woke up, you really had to look around to figure out where you were and were your mommies were. And then, you had to figure out what the heck was holding you - me. Well, you started to fuss and I had to give you up - which was probably a good thing because between the two of us, somebody was generating an awful lot of heat. I mean, we were both sweating. Your hair was all wet, my shirt was all wrinkled.
Still, I really enjoyed holding you and you really aren't rejecting me like I thought you were, and that makes me feel good.
Yesterday when Auntie Carol and Uncle Michael were out shopping, we got you your first official baseball cap. It fit you really well, and I was so surprised and happy to watch you wear your hat without a problem! in fact, it almost looked like you liked wearing it! You never once tried to take it off.
And you looked pretty damn cute wearing it, too.
Maybe someday we'll get a chance to watch a baseball game on TV, too. It's just so hard watching TV at grandma's house - there's always just too many things going on.
See you soon, Jackson!
Love,
Uncle Michael
posted at 09:17 PM | Link | Uncle Michael | § |
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Test Run
The Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago is undergoing some major reconstruction that started last night.
Normally, this would not impact our lives at all. This time, however, it does, because even though this expressway is no where near us on the South Side of Chicago, it's a main artery that we take to get ourselves to White Sox games.
Carol had this great idea that we should drive down to the park and check out how we should get there, coming up with alternates in case the traffic gets really bad, as they are predicting for the summer.
So, we spent the afternoon driving around the park, actually taking the Dan Ryan to get an idea of what's being blocked-off and how traffic is being funneled. I think we're going to be OK for Sunday day games. Forget Saturday games - we'll probably have to take alternates.
Of course, if we drove all the way down there, we had to stop at Grandstand to do some White Sox shopping. I think we were lucky - we got out of there without spending a hell of a lot of money. It could have been so much worse.
posted at 04:55 PM | Link | Mundane | § |
*nose wiggle* x 2Hey! No Foolin', you better say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as your first words of the day to have good luck!
(It's Times 2 because of the two because of our two resident rabbits, Indy & Chip!)
Now, could it actually be "White Rabbit" or Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit!?
posted at 07:10 AM | Link | Memes | § |
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