I'm going to have to think about this one. May 1 is blog against diabalism day (as well as a few other things - see http://blobolobolob.blogspot.com/2006/04/blogging-against-disablism-day-1st-may.html for details). I think I have a good post or two in my brain on the subject, but I've been reading enough stuff regarding movement highjacking to make me be very careful about writing about disability issues when I'm not disabled. Nonetheless, I think it's important to be aware of people with disabilities and the frequently unnecessary obstacles we toss in their way, and if I can write a post that addresses things from that POV, then I'll submit it.
Word count for today: 540 - 1 completed column on Motorcycle Airbags. I'll attach photos and links tomorrow, and with any luck it should go up in a day or two.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Back into Writing Mode
OK - I've been staggering on through this month, barely managing the minimum writing I can get away with. I've been posting about an article a week on Damn Interesting - which is supposed to be two, and I'm putting just enough review time on Rate Your Writing (which is back - yahoo!) to keep my account in the Cool - Tepid range. That's pretty minimal - maybe five or six hours a week, including reading/research time?
Screw that. I've got a book to edit and two books to finish, an article count to catch up on, and waay more stuff banging around in my head I want to get down on paper. Time to buckle down and write. I'm aiming for at least 500 words a day, bare minimum (about the length of a DI article). Tomorrow's goal - an article on motorcycle airbags for DI, and some more work on the George/Horse scene for Oddballs.
In other news, Dad's run-in with heart surgery seems to be working wonders for my diet. I've been about 3/4 vegetarian for the last week and a half (meat only when eating meals with unavoidable meat with my family), and seem to have consequently dropped two pounds in that same time-period. We'll see if it's made any difference in my cholesterol. Well actually we'll see if that, plus the fat-lowering efforts of the months previous have made any difference. I hope so, since my starting cholesterol of last October was 252 - forty points higher than my father's, not a comforting thought.
Reading: The China Study (recommended), Fallen Dragon (not sure yet)
Screw that. I've got a book to edit and two books to finish, an article count to catch up on, and waay more stuff banging around in my head I want to get down on paper. Time to buckle down and write. I'm aiming for at least 500 words a day, bare minimum (about the length of a DI article). Tomorrow's goal - an article on motorcycle airbags for DI, and some more work on the George/Horse scene for Oddballs.
In other news, Dad's run-in with heart surgery seems to be working wonders for my diet. I've been about 3/4 vegetarian for the last week and a half (meat only when eating meals with unavoidable meat with my family), and seem to have consequently dropped two pounds in that same time-period. We'll see if it's made any difference in my cholesterol. Well actually we'll see if that, plus the fat-lowering efforts of the months previous have made any difference. I hope so, since my starting cholesterol of last October was 252 - forty points higher than my father's, not a comforting thought.
Reading: The China Study (recommended), Fallen Dragon (not sure yet)
Saturday, April 29, 2006
The Birthday Month
I haven't posted in a long while - for which I apologize. It's been a fairly strange month.
First off, Robbie is fine now. He was sick for about a week, drove two different doctors mad trying to figure out what was wrong, and then simply got better. We were on tenter-hooks for several days, not trusting that he really was better, but it (whatever it was) never did return. No complaints, but I do wish we knew what it was, so we'd know if it was likely to happen again or not.
My dad is recovering from triple-bypass surgery right now. About a week ago he had mild chest pains; wandered over to his doctor for a stress EKG; had an angiogram after the EKG came out marginal; and was then admitted for a bypass with his doctor refusing to let him go home without surgery. It beats all heck out of finding out about his clogged arteries via a heart attack, but it was still pretty shocking to the system. Fortunately he's weathered the surgery well so far, and is home driving Mom crazy and wanting to do too much too soon.
S is now up for surgery as well. It was originally scheduled for the 27th, but he moved it back into May. Somehow he didn't think this was the right moment (gee, wonder why?). In his case it's sinus surgery, uncomfortable, but not major. His symptoms are being controlled with steroids right now, so he can hang on for a few more weeks without much problem. The surgery is more because he doesn't want to be on steroids forever.
The socks are done, and I'll be more than happy to stuff them in the mail to Mom, and never see them again.
First off, Robbie is fine now. He was sick for about a week, drove two different doctors mad trying to figure out what was wrong, and then simply got better. We were on tenter-hooks for several days, not trusting that he really was better, but it (whatever it was) never did return. No complaints, but I do wish we knew what it was, so we'd know if it was likely to happen again or not.
My dad is recovering from triple-bypass surgery right now. About a week ago he had mild chest pains; wandered over to his doctor for a stress EKG; had an angiogram after the EKG came out marginal; and was then admitted for a bypass with his doctor refusing to let him go home without surgery. It beats all heck out of finding out about his clogged arteries via a heart attack, but it was still pretty shocking to the system. Fortunately he's weathered the surgery well so far, and is home driving Mom crazy and wanting to do too much too soon.
S is now up for surgery as well. It was originally scheduled for the 27th, but he moved it back into May. Somehow he didn't think this was the right moment (gee, wonder why?). In his case it's sinus surgery, uncomfortable, but not major. His symptoms are being controlled with steroids right now, so he can hang on for a few more weeks without much problem. The surgery is more because he doesn't want to be on steroids forever.
The socks are done, and I'll be more than happy to stuff them in the mail to Mom, and never see them again.
Friday, April 07, 2006
The Hospital Sock
I'm very glad that the socks I'm knitting right now are for my mother and not for me. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to look at them again after this week. They're a perfectly nice pair of socks - an unexceptional lace pattern in the "Crazy Lady" colorway from Mountain Colors - a pretty blend of purple, teal, burgandy, and orange.
Unfortunately I've done most of the second sock while sitting in Clark Memorial Hospital with my eldest son. He's got a stomach/intestinal complaint that has so far defied diagnosis. He can't eat at all (2 Ritz crackers in three days), he can barely drink, and he's pretty much constantly either nauseous or in pain. We've spent hours in the emergency room, and a few in the radiology department, plus time with his pediatrician. The only limited success we've had so far, is that we've managed to keep him hydrated enough to not be admitted - but we're slowly losing that battle. All we know is what it's not - it's not rotovirus, it's not apendicitis, it's probably not a blockage - every test we do eliminates a few more possibilities, but nothing has told us what it is.
Knitting on the Crazy Lady sock seems entirely appropriate, but I'll probably never use the yarn again. The associations are too strong.
Unfortunately I've done most of the second sock while sitting in Clark Memorial Hospital with my eldest son. He's got a stomach/intestinal complaint that has so far defied diagnosis. He can't eat at all (2 Ritz crackers in three days), he can barely drink, and he's pretty much constantly either nauseous or in pain. We've spent hours in the emergency room, and a few in the radiology department, plus time with his pediatrician. The only limited success we've had so far, is that we've managed to keep him hydrated enough to not be admitted - but we're slowly losing that battle. All we know is what it's not - it's not rotovirus, it's not apendicitis, it's probably not a blockage - every test we do eliminates a few more possibilities, but nothing has told us what it is.
Knitting on the Crazy Lady sock seems entirely appropriate, but I'll probably never use the yarn again. The associations are too strong.
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