LIVING WITH MCL

I didn't know 31 days could last so long. Not only was it one of the coldest months in memory, it also turned out to be one of the most expensive. First it was my PC which had to be replaced, costing about $600. Then Edie's car needed a new set of tires to the tune of $650, and if that wasn't bad enough, the power steering pump in my [20 year old] Lexus finally reached the point it needed replacement as well, adding an additional $450 to the count. The truth of the matter is, these weren't that unexpected. I had been aware of all 3 problems for quite awhile, even the power steering pump on the Lexus, so it wasn't a complete surprise. I just wasn't planning for it all to occur within a 2 week period. I would have liked to have been able to spread it out over a longer period. Oh well, as I always like to say, such is life, and here's hoping for a better February.

I have been tracking the amount of spam I get on my blog for the past couple of weeks (I really need more to do), and I find it astounding to note, I average 216 spam comments a week. That's over 30 spam comments a day. Fortunately my spam filter picks 'em all up (it's a shame my email spam protector isn't as efficient), and while most of them are trying to promote porn, or some other equally obscure website, an inordinate number offer no links at all. They just spout incoherent jibberish usually, my favorite one just simply consisting of ??????????????????????? Do I just not get it? Why would anyone waste their time on such an inane, useless endeavor, or even waste their time creating a program which does it? Is it as simple as just trying to clog up the airways? If so, then I suggest those people direct their efforts somewhere else. Inundating my blog isn't going to accomplish much in the way of clogging up anything

No doubt a number of people will disagree with me here, but I don't care. After having watched the entire Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah Winfrey, I don't care that he doped, and I don't care that he perpetrated that lie for so long. What I am, is disappointed. As a fellow cancer survivor, I find it difficult to believe, having gone through what he did in fighting testicular cancer, that anyone, let alone Lance Armstrong, would ever do something as stupid as dope. I never would have. At least I don't think I would, but having never been in the position of an elite athlete, I can only assume I would have been smarter than that. But as a cyclist, I'm also a little biased, and despite the doping, I can't help but marvel at what he was able to accomplish. 7 Tour d'France wins! I know how grueling the sport of cycling can be at times, even at my level, and I know how cruel life can be as well, so I can relate to some extent. Maybe even be a little sympatheti...

Yesterday I decided to clean my bowling balls. It had been over 3 months since I had done it last. Of course I hadn't bowled in all that time either, so it wasn't necessary, but now that's changed. Anyways, as I was lifting, and rotatng the first ball, to clean a different portion of it, I felt something pull, or tear, or I don't know what. The left side of my chest is still numb, so I can't always tell right away if I may or may not of hurt myself. It didn't feel that bad right after it happened, so I finished cleaning the other 2 balls. I was just more cautious as I was lifting and rotating the balls. The problem now is, after going for a short bike ride this morning (probably not a wise decision), with a friend, it is starting to cause me some discomfort. I keep getting these small stinging sensations on the left side of my chest. I think I best put some ice on it now, just in case.

I've finally come to the conclusion the US has the stupidest population in the world. The US is the only first world, rich industrialized, OECD country where access to health care is considered a privilege, and rations it based on your status in life. The US is the only country where it is believed the answer to more guns on the street, is more guns on the street, and the US is the only country where there is a belief that vaccines are a government plot to control the population , and that you can get the flu from the flu shot. No wonder the flu is reaching epidemic proportions in the US . Less than 50% (46% to be more exact) of the population has received their flu shot . So please, don't be stupid. Get your flu shot now. If not for yourself, then at least for me, and everyone else with a compromised immune system who are particularly at risk.

I finally received the work release from my personal doctor in the mail today, and I took it to the company I was planning on going to work for. As it turned out that wasn't the proper procedure. I was supposed to provide it to the clinic where I had my preemployment physical, so they could review it, and give their blessing. OK fine! I wasn't happy about it, but reluctantly I did so. I drove back to the clinic, and handed the release form to the receptionist, explaining the situation. She reviewed it, and got my records, after which she made some comments, which I bearly paid attention to. What I did get from her comments was she would give it to the doctor, but there would be about a 90 minute wait. I asked her if I needed another physical, and she said no. I didn't see any point in sitting in that germ infested room with 25+ other people, when I didn't need to, so I left the paperwork with the receptionist, expecting her to give it to the doctor, and then send the ap...

Received a call from a friend the other day. He was concerned because he had just read my blog, and got the impression I wasn't doing so good. I didn't think I was conveying that in my latest posts, most of which I thought were political in nature, but if I was, I am here to set the record straight. I am doing better. Mostly that is. I still have some chest discomfort, but it's not restrictive like it has been. I'm finally able to sleep in any position. I've still got some to go though, as my endurance has been, to put it mildly, pitiful. :) The worst part is I keep gaining weight. A trend I'm finding difficult to reverse. Oh, and I've decided to go back to work. At least on a trial basis. I got a release from my doctor, to work a max of 20 hours a week. I'm still not sure it's the right decision, but I have committed, and they do need me, so at the very least I will give it a try, and see how it goes. On a final note, some of you might have already ...

Did you know the US spends nearly twice as much on health care as the rest of the world, yet public spending on health care is about the same in the US  (about 8% of GDP) as it is in Canada, the UK, and the other OECD countries? The big differences is the rest of the world covers nearly 100% of their populations with that amount, while the US covers only 25% of its population. [the] key structural reform that would significantly help the economy—the labor market and also the long-run budget deficit—would be to reform the health-care sector......... I think the link of health care to the employment relationship is probably really hurting the labor market right now. At least so says  Valerie Ramey, Economist at UCSD . All this and a whole lot more from a discussion headed by Brad DeLong on  The Macroeconomics of Recessions . It's a hard read, but a there's a lot of valuable information.

You have to be asleep to believe it. George Carlin saw the writing on the wall 7 years ago. I realized it a year later at a time when immigration started being a hot topic. I even blogged about it back then . (George Carlin just does a better job.) So why is it so many in this country are blind to it? Still!