Category Archives: Health

October 3, 2025 · 23:30

Double Shot

The latest  & greatest COVID vaccine on top, this fall’s flu vaccine on the bottom.

Being over 65 and, more importantly, in a state where sanity and real science still outweigh ignorance and kissing the cult leader’s ass, it wasn’t difficult to get access to the vaccines. I’m hoping that the anectodal stories I’m hearing from hither and yon are true and it’s easy enough for those younger to also protect themselves and their health.

I’ve heard it postulated that we got kicked onto our current batshit insane timeline back in 2016 due to the Cubs winning the World Series. That makes as much sense as anything else. The hope is that if the Cubs win the World Series again it will bring balance to the Universe and we can return to a timeline where ignorant Nazi chucklefucks are forced to crawl back under their rocks and hide from the light of the Sun and the company of normal people.

GO CUBBIES!! Fly the W!

In the meantime, ignore the heroin addict with the worm in his brain and the orange makeup queen with the adderal addiction, get your shots by any means necessary, and keep yourself safe and healthy.

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Filed under Health, Paul, Photography, Politics

September 12, 2025 · 23:17

Proof Of Life – September 12th

Critical deadlines met. One way or the other. In this case, the “other” meant a marathon, 20-hour-plus work session yesterday with the final draft reports being emailed out at 03:15.

I checked with my Oura Ring to see what it thought of my two hours of sleep and the message was, “DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!! WTF!!!???”

Maybe there is something to this AI thing?

I may sleep in and sit on my ass all weekend. I trust that the remaining stuff in the one PODS container will still be there on Monday. As will be the empty PODS container that was scheduled to be picked up last Wednesday, then yesterday, then… There are certain local managers and member of the PODS C-suite that would not get my vote for a performance bonus this year. In fact, I would recommend clawing back any performance bonus they got last year!

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Filed under Forever Home, Health, Paul

July 30, 2025 · 23:54

Forever Home – July 30th

I finally found the bathroom scale in the mountain of boxes.

I was hoping that all of the activity from the last couple of weeks would have a positive effect. I’m down about eight pounds! NOT a program I would recommend.

My Apple phone has noticed!

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July 21, 2025 · 23:56

Forever Home – July 21st

Interesting times lead to a need for flexibility. Today’s our 24th wedding anniversary, but there was no nice dinner or evening out. We’re up to our asses in alligators with the packing and prepping and OH!, YEAH! I needed to put a few hours in for my job, so we’ll delay the anniversary celebration for a couple of weeks and then find something to do in our new hometown.

Our mortgage loan funded today, so all that’s left to do is close escrow and record everything. That should happen first thing tomorrow, and by noon tomorrow we’ll have keys and be homeowners again. And heavily into the task of UNpacking at the other end. It’s all a little bit unreal, but I’m grateful that we’re just a day or two from the point where it truly will be all downhill from there.

While our new home doesn’t have a pool or jacuzzi (might have been nice, but not a deal breaker at all) it does have a nice jetted tub. I’m bruised from head to toe and feel like I’ve gone twelve rounds with Mike Tyson, so come Thursday night when I’m at the new house, this will get used regularly!

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July 20, 2025 · 23:27

Forever Home – July 20th

Happy Apollo 11 Moon Landing Anniversary!

In the here and now, we’re getting down to the final stages of our home purchase and moving adventure. We signed loan documents on Friday, and the escrow company should have all of the wet-signature and notarized copies Monday morning. The mortage company is supposed to fund early Monday, so early Tuesday we should close and record. Right now we’re on schedule to spend Tuesday in the new house dealing with utilities and the first stages of unpacking, with the PODS units going up on Wednesday and the movers on Thursday.

The packing and preparing for the movers while loading as much as we can into the PODS units has been exhausting for days. We’re taking damage…

Sometimes when trying to push large objects (in this case, a large shelving unit) they might stop suddenly and have blunt objects (a leg) sticking out that jabs HARD into my arm. Thirty-six hours later, it’s tender but not terribly painful, but the purple and black coloration is impressive.

“You should see the other guy!!”

More practically a pain, my Apple watch got knocked off of a counter onto the tile floor and what started as a couple of small cracks in the corner has now turned into a much larger web of cracks. Like a crack in a windshield, it’s gradually spreading and growing, while continuing (for the moment) to work. I don’t think that SafeLite comes out and repairs this. If/when it stops working, I’ll probably have to bite the bullet and buy a new one. This one is about five or six years old and I sort of depend on it a lot, so just going without isn’t realistic at this point.

At least it’s not my phone that’s dying.

Thirty-five hours, thirty-three minutes and counting to home ownership.

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June 30, 2025 · 23:16

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

I’ve been a regular blood donor for almost 50 years. But as I’ve gotten older and run into some physical changes, the American Red Cross has made it harder and harder to be a good citizen and donate whole blood.

I’ve been deferred for having high blood pressure.

I’ve been deferred for having low iron.

I’ve been deferred for having too high of a heartbeat.

I’ve been deferred for having PVC (Premature Ventricular Contractions).

As of today, I’ve been deferred five times in a row.

And there’s no arguing. They have their machines, and even though (for example, today) their BP readings are 30+ points higher than the readings I’m getting on the high-end digital home BP monitor, there’s no appeal or discussion.

So tomorrow the emails and phone calls will start again, reminding me of how critical the blood supply shortage is, how I have an unusual blood type, how much they appreciate the HUNDREDS of donations over all the years, and begging me to schedule another appointment for July.

Let’s assume that’s a “NO!” Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five times, shame on me.

I’ve done my good deeds. I’ve tried to do more and been told “Thanks! But no thanks!!” repeatedly.

I’ve taken enough punishment and disappointment for trying to help. I’ll stop now, thanks!

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June 12, 2025 · 23:47

Proof Of Life – June 12th

The new gym my trainer is using has new toys and torture equipment. I’m feeling that tonight.

It’s a “good” feeling in the sense that my head knows it’s for the greater good, the long term goals, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda… Meanwhile, I’m physically exhausted and sore. It’s a good match for the mental exhaustion. It feels like… It actually reminds me of about Mile Twenty of running a marathon. “The Wall.”

At least I’m not thinking about my sore tooth. Mind you, the tooth still hurts. But I’m not thinking about it.

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Filed under Art, Health, Paul

June 11, 2025 · 23:51

Proof Of Life – June 11th

I don’t want to break my current streak of 300+ days of posting every day, but there are a couple of things going on that are just a bit all-consuming going on, and my new and exciting dental adventures on top of it!

That leaves very little time to think great thoughts, take great pictures, and cogitate on the wonders of the universe. So, you may get a lot of these “quickie” Proof Of Life posts for a couple of weeks.

I finally got into the dentist today and, as expected, there are two primary options – Bad and Worse.

Bad = tooth extraction and replacement with a fake on a post. Sounds painful, but it’s a one day thing, probably.

Worse = crown lengthening, which I had done last summer when I had three root canals, turned out to be worse than a colonoscopy, very unpleasant and painful. And even if we do that, the odds are good that we’ll need to do the extraction and replacement anyway within a year or two.

Sometimes “bad” is “better.” Fun and games next Friday.

This is why June is “Hell Month” this year.

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Filed under Health, Sunsets

June 9, 2025 · 23:44

No – But I Wish

 

No, the keyboard and world don’t quite look like this – but I wish that I had some of the “good” painkillers so that it did.

I don’t, and my jaw/tooth is plenty sore enough to be annoying as hell. But none of the good stuff, just Extra Strength Excedrin every six hours.

No dentist today, or tomorrow – the earliest I can get in is at the end of the day on Wednesday, and I’m expecting to be told that I need to go to the endodontist at that point, and who knows how long that will take. (Buy stock in GSK Healthcare!)

The audit kicked off today and I spent a full day (and then some) dealing with it through the fog of “significant discomfort.” Almost more fun than any human being should be allowed to have with their clothes on.

Almost.

Yes, I did take yesterday’s picture by sticking my entire iPhone 13 Max Pro in my mouth and then taking pictures. Isn’t that how everyone does it?

Where does that go on my resume? Skills? Life Experiences? Talent?

I’ll be fine. I just reserve the right to be cranky.

Crankier.

Whatever.

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June 8, 2025 · 22:23

Which God’s Dog Did I Kick

Work deadlines, forever home house hunting, starting to pack for the move, filling out mortgage application paperwork, the news, the world, the Mango Mussolini & his cult, skunks, gophers… It is enough to get on your last nerve and dance on it a bit.

And when you finally think that maybe, perhaps, against all odds, you might be keeping your nose above water, the Universe says, “Yeah, right! It’s cute that you think that!”

I’m trying to keep it in the proper perspective. It’s not cancer. I wasn’t hit by a car. The Long-Suffering Wife and my kids are all fine. But, on the other hand – JEEZ LOUISE!!

Those of you who have been reading a while will remember that last summer was a freakin’ festival of fun in a dental sense, with three root canals and all of the accompanying crowns and fillings and EXPENSE and *PAIN*!

Eating breakfast this morning I felt the “pop!” and the “crack!” (no “snap,” but I might have missed that in all of the excitement of the moment) and sure enough, there’s a huge chunk of tooth that’s gone walkabout.

I’m not in absolute agony, thankfully, but it’s tender and sore and I’m going to assume that absolute agony is in the on-deck circle just waiting for it’s turn at bat any moment, so as busy as this week already was going to be, I’m going to need to figure out how to squeeze in at least one and probably a couple of dental appointments.

Using a phrase I think I learned from the esteemed Jim Wright online (“Stonekettle”), “Which god’s dog did I kick? And how do I apologize?”

This too shall pass. But then again, they say that about kidney stones, and I’ve had them a number of times and I never want to have them again. Just like major dental work.

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