Comments on the main page: Another change

I've hacked the blog a bit to allow expansion of comments on the main page. When you click the "Comments" line, the comments automagically appear below the original post. Clicking it again re-hides the comments. Let me know if you like it, or would prefer that clicking the comments button open a new page. It's a lot quicker to navigate and read comments, but it can look a little crowded, and probably costs at initial load time. OML, your input is probably the most valuable on that front. Let me know how it performs over dialup.

"Post a comment" will still require a new page, but it appears that Google has worked on the performance of their new look and feel for comments, and it comes up pretty quickly now.

Or do you just not give a damn?

Your friendly admin

Whoa

Time to talk about Skype again

Skype is software you can download that lets you have voice conversations with other people on the internet. I have it installed, and Eva has it, too. So, when we want, we can have conversations, toll free.

Here is a wrinkle that I learned about today: They have an additional service called skypeout.

It allows you, for paid in advance fee, to call telephones via skype on your PC.

The rate to call most of the places that we all live is about 2 cents a minute. So, for example, if I sign up and post some money, I can call OML on a regular phone for 2 cents a minute. (Of course, if he gets skype, we can talk for no toll!)

Check it out.

The Evadewer and Afterdinner's Most Excellent Adventure

Went to the condo last week to finish up the cleanup and have a little fun. We opted for a little more tile in the foyer, so the work won't be complete until this week, but the place looks great. The new tile in the living room by the balcony looks great, and the walls are much less cluttered than they were, but still beach-festive. I'll post some pics over on EvaPics later.

We decided to engage in some drunken debauchery on Saturday night at a local raw bar. Well, we didn't really decide to. It just sort of...happened. Sat down at the oyster bar and slammed oysters, two dozen raw for me and three dozen lightly steamed for der missus. We both love oysters, but it took a lotta beers to wash it all down. All things considered, we had a great time that night, and didn't feel bad the next day, and in fact celebrated Valentine's day a day early with a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant about five minutes from the condo.

And then, bad stuff started happening.
On Monday, both of us started feeling a little sluggish and weak. I got diarrhea that lasted all day and all night Monday night. We both puked some, Afterdinner copiously. We got up early on Monday, got some Immodium in me, and journeyed back to Norx (in separate cars, due to circumstances beyond our control). Felt moderately recovered on Tuesday night, but a little tired from the travel and lack of food.

Then it got painful.
I awoke at about 1:30 AM with excruciating stomach pain, and used various remedies to try to alleviate it, to little or no avail. Afterdinner took me to the 'mergency at about 3:30, where they doped me up real good, gave me a CAT scan (*upper* GI) and blood work, and found an abrasion in my stomach. Prescribed me some drugs for pain, nausea, and to coat my tumtum, and recommended me to an gastroenterologist (or something like that).

So this will be fun...

Update: Pert medical info

Nothing from the neurologist yet. Her secretary said she was going to talk to the refered to doc.
Yesterday P had me check his b/p immediately upon his standing. It went from 120/80=/> to below 90/70 sometimes and unable to detect by ear other times. (I could feel it by palpating his arm.) He had been taking b/p meds for a couple weeks and seemed worse. He stopped the b/p meds (quinapril 10 mg. daily, for those taking notes, how do you make a smiley face?) and has an appointment with Toth, regular doc, tomorrow to ask for a referal to a cardiologist. He and I agree that he should have a thorough check out and another treadmill stress test to rule out--or find and treat--cardiac problems. Even though the neurologist says it wouldn't cause the problem. New post because I got tired of looking for where I was putting new updates.

Does anybody remember laughter?

koALa is lazy, but she's painted all of the trees on their land. This bears starting a new thread, and I'll just quote koALa here:

• "There are only 143 (one hundred forty three) days left till we check into the cabin on the Toccoa River this summer. Anyone who can make it is welcome. There is a hot tub, a deck on the river, seclusion, nearby snack and goodie purchasing opportunities, outdoor grill, umbrella tables, lots of land to roam, a deserted road, cable TV, and cable radio, fun and frivolity, games, la la la. Come on summer? C Day is Jul 2, 2005. Do not forget. Did I mention free?"

I, for one, can't wait.

Peer To Peer beats Pay for Play

It's amazing how having the wherewithall changes the attitude of a naysayer about downloading music.

Mania Has It's Good Side

Today I:
1. Finished and made copies of all the medical reports. I have 3 copies. One to keep, one for MAYO in Jacksonville and one I will mail to Eva when he gats back from Florida.
2. Filed our federal and state taxes on line. Got 1600. =- coming to direct deposit.
3. E-mailed to myself all the e-mail address from the laptop and all the bookmarks from the laptop and printed them so I can copy them to the new desktop.
4. Had the downstairs deck painted. Last of the painting done.
5. Paid bills.
6. But, what do I do now? It's only 6:30pm and I still got lots of vim, not to mention vigor.

In praise of koALa

"k" is for the kids that she has spawned,
"o" means only that she's growing old,
"A" is for the alcohol that I drove her to,
"L" is for the lunch she used to pack me when she didn't make me pack it myself,
"a" means accurate, and accurate she'll always be

Put them all together and they spell "koALa",
I mention this because it's her birthday.

Original poem (bottom of page)

Big Mama Got DSL

I had to bring the laptop back up and connect it 'cause without the CD drive working we couldn't configure the desktop. And I had to go buy a NIC card for the laptop 'cause they don't carry them on the truck. So I set up the card and and the modem and am now connected to my DSL. I just got done and haven't browsed yet so I don't know what the diff will by. Nevertheless, rejoice with me, in the 21st century--well the low end of it anyway.
Yes, we can still use the dial up. Tomorrow I'll take the desktop back down for Pert to use with his e-mail until I get the network set up. I think I will do wireless.
There are boxes and papers and wires and filters and junk strewn all over the place. I'l recreate order tomorrow, said scarlett. bye

Kiritsis Dead

Jo Jo Gunne Celebrates Birthday Saturday

And I know he and KOF wish we all were there to help them celebrate. Congratulations Jo Jo for making it through the yellow eyeball trials to this welcome day. Best wishes from Pert and koALa.

Pert and koALa

If I am correct about the date, today they have been married a whole bunch of years, I suspect a couple years fewer than the number of years The Evadewer has been on this earth (although I don't have any kind of certificate to prove it).

Congratulations for making it this far, and we hope for many blissful years to come.

PERT'S MEDICAL HISTORY (wrt dizziness etc.)

I'm just gonna do my list here. I'll add as I get time.

2001, Summer, Indy:
Saw Quick Med Doc for dizziness. She suspected sinus or ear infection and prescribed ANTIBIOTICS and ANTIHISTAMINE. He took the prescribed medicine which had no effect on the dizziness.
2001, Summer, Indy:
A guy I worked with at Pathways had dizziness and been diagnosed with BPPV. He had been given an Antivert equivalent which had worked. We tried that. No effect on the dizziness.
2002, Fall, GA:
Went to local doctor, had TREADMILL STRESS TEST, CAROTID ARTERY ULTRASOUND, MRI.
Stress Test okay, Carotids wide open as they sould be, MRI showed Degenerrating PITUITARY MACROADENOMA and minimal age-related atrophy.
2002, December, Atlanta:
Had Pituitary adenectomy. Recovery uneventful. Dizziness unabated.
By now symptoms are : Lack of coordination, Disequalibrium, Dizziness, Some trouble swallowing, Some drooling, Excessive frequent yawning, slurred speech.
2003, January, Atlanta:
Evaluated at the Dizziness and Balance Clinic at Emory Hospital, DR. R. Tusa MD.
TESTS: Spontaneous NYS test, Positional NYS Test, Caloric Vest Test, Optokenetic Test, Tacking Test, Vertical Electrodes, Physical evaluation of gait. Dix-Hallpike Test with vidoe infrared recordings.
All tests were within normal limits. Dr. Tusa ruled out BPPV, which is the usual diagnosis everyone wants to work. His final assesment reads as follows:
"1. Chronic imbalance. No physical evidence for this on clinical or laboratory exam. Functional balance componant seen on computerized dynamic posturography.
2. Depression. This is primarily based on the PANAS scale, done on the initial visit.
3. Episodic vertigo in the past, possibly due to BPPV. This is not present now.
I suspect the original trigger when you were playing softball was BPPV, but that since has resolved. Now it is primarily a component of depression which is resulting in the chronic imbalance and dizziness."
RX: Zoloft 25mg. working up to 50mg. for at least 3 months.
Did this, ineffective.
That's all for today folks. Later.
NOTE: I HAVE EDITED DATES HERE, MAKING THEM A YEAR LATER THAT PREVIOUSLY.

kOaLa'S email

I can't get this to post on blog. It says document is empty. Probably my laptop. This is my solution.

I haven't done the past history yet, but in the interest of saving me work when I do get to it, I will post new results as they come in from now on.

MRI BRAIN WITHOUT CONTRAST 1/13/05 12:54 pm Union General Hospital, Blairsville
Routine sagittal, axial and coronal images of the brain were obtained supplemented with FLAIR axial images.

CONCLUSION: Moderately advanced cerebral atrophy. Chronic ischemic change involving the periventricular white matter. Empty sella is noted as well as pan chronic sinusitis. The greatest involving ethmoid and maxillary sinuses, as well as thinkening of the turbinates likely inflammatory in nature.

He has an appointment with neurologist in March. He will make an appointment with his local doctor to discuss these results, since they are greek to us.

Haiku By Melanie

Great!
really cool!
awesome!
not, not, cool! (confusing)
dear
many personalities
artist

Please Welcome Jo Jo, Official Contributor

No, not that Joe-Joe. That one's dead. This one has a Gunne, and has recently been mostly dead, but is still partly alive. So there's hope.


Welcome, Jo Jo! Have fun stormin' the castle!

Sorry, I Gotta Vent

I can't help myself. I wandered by a USA Today in the library, and my curiosity got the better of me.

There was a story and accompanying graph about the discrepancy not just between the exit polls and the vote tally itself, but the exit poll results before, and the exit poll results after the actual vote count started coming in. I didn't bother to link the on-line version, because it only has a different spin of the story without the graphic.

The exit poll graphic showed how Sen. John Kerry D-Massachusetts was leading the president 51% to just under 48% nationally. Then, along the time scale there is a few hour gap in the graph in which there had been no polling, because, according to the caption: "There were no exit poll results because of a 'computer malfuntion'." The time line picks up again somewhere around midnight, where the results indicate a reversal of fortune.

I'm reminded of someone's suggestion, referring to the 2000 election that on translate the same story to a banana republic vote scenario, that is a corresponding result, but with different names and all: "Goopeepee's brother is provincial leader of the district in question."

This time around we have Ukrain as an example.

Wallingford´s Widow Weeps No More

Lenny Wlasik´s no pickle. Give me the letter.

Pert´s Legacy

Crumb snatchin´ bastards.