LIVING WITH MCL

The reality that I'm not getting any younger, any stronger or any healthier, although I'm hoping I can at least say the latter hasn't been getting any worse. This has just not been a good week, and I'm not even referring to the episode with Sylvia on Tuesday. I'm just not riding [my bike] well. I'm putting on a lot of miles (745 this month), but I don't seem to be improving much, if at all. I went for a ride on Tuesday, and had to modify it, because I just didn't have any energy. On Thanksgiving morning, I rode with the club to Whittier, and had the worst time [by over a minute] up Turnbull Canyon, than I have had in over 5 years. Plus I was dropped by the group, on the way back. (Fortunately I was only about 3 miles from the house, so it wasn't too devastating.) But yesterday was the worst, when I wasn't able to hang with the group for a second lap of the hammer zone. I guess it could be the weather. I definitely don't like this time of year...

There was excitement on the home front today, and as always when something like this happens, Edie was not around. She was out for her morning walk. I had just finished a short bike ride, and was just sitting down at the computer to read the news, and answer a few emails, when I hear Sylvia's coffee cup drop to the floor, and some strange noises emanating from her room. I immediately jumped up to see Sylvia flailing about. Now Sylvia has had Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIA's) before, but nothing at all resembling what was going on this time. This did not look good. So I immediately called for the paramedics. [note]I would like to thank the 911 operator for continually talking to me, and trying to calm me down. I only wish she had been more successful.[/note] Fortunately the paramedics arrived in short order, as I was starting to get a little nervous, and I had just been disconnected from the 911 operator, when my phone went into emergency mode (no joking). Well, at least that...

That was a suggestion from Lyndon Baines Johnson's National Security Advisor, McGeorge Bundy, on what to do in Vietnam, about 6 months into Johnson's presidency after Kennedy's assasination. No matter what your views on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tapes of LBJ, as presented by Bill Moyers on PBS ( part 1 and part 2 ), sheds tremendous light on the complexities and the struggles LBJ dealt with in deciding the course of action to be taken in Vietnam. They are TRULY enlightening, to say the least, and even President Obama would do well to listen to them! IMO, it's a great piece of journalism. Something we could use a lot more of now a days. Editor's note: Johnson dismissed that suggestion out of hand, but I just wonder now what would have happened had he not? And I wonder if that same piece of advice might not be such a bad suggestion for putting an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well?

I knew I shouldn't have gone for a bike ride this morning! I was tired, it was cold outside (44°F), and I just didn't have it in me to go for a bike ride, but I also know whenever I choose not to ride, for what ever reason, I end up regretting it even more. So I dawned all my winter riding clothes (gloves, tights, booties & cap), and headed out. The ride started out fine. It was cold, and overcast, but along the coast the weather always seems to moderate some, so I knew I would be fine. I just only wish the weather was the only thing I had to worry about. As we headed out, I could hear the [dreaded] clicking from my bike starting up again. [I thought I had solved that problem twice previously.] It started out faintly, but with my ears covered, and the wind blowing past them, I could barely hear it. So I continued down the coast, hoping I was just imagining it. Of course I wasn't [imagining it]. The further down the coast I went, the more pronounced the sound became. I s...

At least you can negotiate wine prices. I didn't try negotiating menu items. Just returned from a weekend vacation in Las Vegas to celebrate our [Edie and me] 35th wedding anniversary. WOW! 35 years, that's longer than a lot of people I know have been alive. Oh well, but I digress! All in all, this weekend was one of the more pleasant and memorable ones. We stayed at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay in a very comfortable 725 square foot suite. We saw Bette Midler on Saturday night, which surprisingly [at least to me] was very enjoyable. We then ate at Bradley Ogden after the show, Aureole on Sunday night [our anniversary], and RM Seafood Monday night. All the meals were great, as were the wines. The most memorable being the 10 course dinner we had at Aureole on our anniversary, which is the main reason I'm 7 pounds heavier today, than when I left on vacation. But the best part of the weekend was negotiating the price for a bottle of wine at RM Seafood Monday night. As I was peru...

I find it very interesting when comparing results of tests performed at Kaiser and the VA, all the results are better [higher] at the VA. After receiving the latest blood test results (taken with 24 hours of each other) At the VA, my hemoglobin was 12.7 g/dl vs 11.5 g/dl at Kaiser, and my platelets were 212 thou/cumm at the VA vs 178 thou/cumm at Kaiser (both with the same reference range). Even my blood pressure was higher [not better]. At Kaiser, and when I check at home, my blood pressure always ranges from 110/60 to 120/70, but at the VA, it's always about 130/80 or higher. I can certainly understand blood pressure being higher due to the environment, and a shorter wait to have my blood pressure taken at the VA (little time to relax after a brisk walk to the doctors office), but why the hemoglobin and platelets? Oh well, I guess that just goes to show you how much variability there is in the equipment and/or the technicians interpreting the results, and a good reason not to foc...

It's a lot easier to tell your customer to go F*^# themselves. Of course I would never use such blunt terms. I'm [usually] a lot more tactful. It seems Lockheed Martin Corporation, yes that aerospace giant building the new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft, is having some internal problems. It's not unusual during times when business is bad, for customer quality reps to reject parts for no good reason, to show their bosses what a great job they're doing and justify their position. And that's exactly what has happened here. [At least that's my take on the situation.] One of the Lockheed quality reps, went into one of our vendors (which they are permitted to do), and told the vendor to stop working on the parts after he discovered they used an unapproved vendor for honing. The problem is there are no requirements to use approved vendors for honing, and there are no approved vendors for the process (anywhere in the world), as there is no specification for the pro...