papsrus

for the record, they did not have a time out left.

In his press conference, Belichick says, "We thought we could win the game on that play." Hard to believe he didn't consider the flip side of that: he could essentially lose the game on that play, which is exactly what happened. Poor, poor decision. They seemed a little muddled at the end of the game in several spots -- having to call a TO before even beginning that drive, for instance. And did they have a time out left when the Colts were driving at the end? If so, he should have burned it and basically let them score to get the ball back. What a game.

unreal! unreal!

Now that the holiday season approaches, I keep seeing these ads on TV for incredibly violent video games. Weird creatures and zombies getting blown to bits all over the place. Then at the end of the ad it will invariably say -- Rated "M" for "mature." Their idea of mature is a 15-year-old strung out on blood and gore I guess. ... I'm sure there will be plenty of these things tucked under the tree on Christmas Day. ... but I digress ...

Great interview. Thanks for posting it. Iverson seems to have a knack for really getting people to open up and just talk.

There are people from all over the world who come to play in it. And there have been international winners. It is also the biggest, richest poker tournament in the world, I think. Other than that, you're probably right. There are similar tournaments in Europe that some of the big name guys go play. I think a lot of the up and coming players have been from Russia and Scandinavia. And it seems like they're all about 21 years old, too.

In my mind, there are about six teams in the league that are actually capable of playing the game. The rest aren't worth a damn, and that unfortunately includes the Bears.

Update: I have the blood nice and thin now -- had it tested again today -- and the pain in my leg slowly continues to subside. I'm still somewhat dependent on pain killers but I'm now able to go for periods of about a half hour on my feet with the aid of a cane before having to rest and put my leg up. The goal is to continue to extend that time, and I think that process will accelerate over the coming days. ... I may go for a little walk tomorrow. Cooler weather has finally, finally arrived here in Florida. It was a week of hell, but I'm greatly improved compared to where I was a week ago. Still a little behind where I had hoped I would be, but nonetheless encouraged. I'm hoping that by midweek, I'll be able to return to work. I'll be buying those folks a dinner when I do, that's for sure. They've all carried my share of the workload without complain, and with nothing but encouragement and understanding. And all the kind words here from all of you good folks have been greatly appreciated. Thank you. It really helped more than you might think. Sometimes when you're in a situation where you don't really know what's going on, or when you'll see improvement, support is the most important thing. I'll be dancing a jig before you know it.

It definitely sounds like there's something going on, obviously. The good news is you will soon have a clear idea of what it is. And once you do, you'll likely be presented with a series of treatment options -- again, a good thing. You likely will be sent to see a specialist once your scan results come in -- a pulmonologist maybe. My advice: tell the doctors not to sugar-coat anything. My own recent medical problems have shown me that doctors tend to want to be very encouraging and positive about treatments. They'll give you facts and figures about successful outcomes, etc. But this leads to kind of a downplaying of the negative side effects of certain treatments. Everyone wants to be positive, not negative. But it's important for you to get as much information about the negatives as well as the positives for any treatments that are presented to you. You'll feel a great burden lifted once you know what's going on and what can be done about it though. And an even greater sense of relief once you decide on a treatment, if one is needed. Keep us posted and best wishes.

Have a great birthday.

Happy birthday Weizen. Enjoy yourself.

I'm definitely supine, leg elevated on a stack of pillows. Any other position for more than a few minutes is usually not fun, I'm afraid.

Ah ... good times, good times.

The sex was the suggestion, the offer was not there, but the suggestionstill stands, as does the other suggestion that you get your sugar blood estedt. Yes, I'll ask about the blood sugar tomorrow. Thanks. The other, that can wait. (my girl is the best anyways, truly ... just as you know yours is -_- )

Thanks for posting this. I'm about to follow your links. RIP

Thanks, and yes, I have cut the music back, but couldn't resist this one. And listening does help, in a way. But I do appreciate the sentiment. It's a wonderful album.

Thanks all for the good wishes. Listening to music is very soothing Seeline. Bev, the Mingus at Antibes was wonderful. I'll pass on the beer for now, Weizen. But I appreciate the offer. Same goes with the sex, JSngry. (not sure if that was an offer). GA, thanks for your prayers. All in all, I guess a bit better today. Will have a better sense of things tomorrow after getting my blood checked. Feeling relatively content. And on the bright side, I've lost over 10 pounds!

:party:

Thanks to all of you for all the kind words. You're all very kind and it is wonderful to have a place such as this to come and vent a little and seek support. I'm doing somewhat better now than I was the previous few days and should get continued relief fairly quickly as they adjust the level for the blood thinners. I'm doubling down today after a visit to the doctor this morning. I must have naturally thick blood. Part of the problem going into all this is that everyone wants to be very positive and reassuring about the outcome, and rightly so. So as a patient you're kind of lulled into a false sense of security. The other complicating thing for me is that I have for years had some very minor trouble with my leg veins, and so I assumed, wrongly, after the surgery that the discomfort I was experiencing was associated with that. I guess I downplayed it a little because I didn't want anything to be wrong. Once they suspected blood clots, it was all hands on deck though. And the treatment I'm receiving now is the right treatment and should be highly effective. The way it was explained to me is this: the blood thinners prevent further blockage from occurring and the natural enzymes in the body slowly dissipate the blockage that has formed. A slow process that could very well take months. But you don't want a fast process with this condition because of the danger of a clot breaking free and traveling to your lungs. I've never really had a major medical problem, so this whole deal has been kind of an eye-opener for me. Here's a side note that may be good for a few laughs -- I got the invoice for the surgery itself from my insurance company the other day. The cost for the surgery alone was ................. $52,000. My co-pay is going to be something like $1,100. I had to laugh. And Allen, thank you. You're very kind. You're all very kind. Now, time for some more painkillers. I'll be writing some gibberish in the politics threads in about an hour. Should be fun.

Some of you may be aware I had some surgery last month. All is well with that. Very pleased with the outcome. But .... As is not unheard of in patients recovering from surgery, I developed some blood clots in my lower left leg. Deep Vein Thrombophlebitis. Two inner veins in my leg have clots that extend about six inches along the veins. Kind of like clogged up piping. In addition to being kind of a scary thing because of the risk that a part of the clot can break off and migrate to your lungs (extreme emergency 911 situation) it is without doubt the most painful and debilitating thing I've ever experienced -- and I've had my fair share of broken bones. Nothing comes close to this. Merely standing up is excruciatingly painful and leaves me gasping for air. Walking (hobbling with the aid of a cane) is accompanied by a constant grimace and lots of huffing and puffing. No joke. I've been gobbling up pain killers at a steady rate, and they help, but have been unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time, and have had to inject myself twice a day with blood thinners for the past three days. I'm just now starting to feel some relief. I will need to be on blood thinners for several months while the condition clears itself, and during this time I have to avoid any activity where I might risk cutting or scraping myself. I won't clot easily. I will bruise quite easily, too. So be warned, if you ever have surgery and begin to feel some soreness or tightness in your legs, get examined immediately for blood clots. I waited too long and ended up in the ER on Friday. The catch 22 with surgery is that you can't be on blood thinners immediately afterward because your body needs the clotting -- part of the healing process. The downside is you can be prone to developing these blood clots precisely because your body kind of goes into hyper-healing mode. Anyways, there it is. Not looking for sympathy, just offering up my experience because frankly, no doctor advised me that this might happen after my surgery and so how was I to know what was happening when my leg began to get stiff and sore? I mentioned the soreness several times, but only when it began to increase dramatically late last week did the surgeon tell me to get my ass over to the ER.

Received Vonski Speaks today. Enjoying it now. Beautiful. Powerful. Wonderful music. Thank you Chuck.

happy birthday

That's pretty much how I saw it. I have to say I guess I'm a bit of a reformed Yankee-hater at this point. Their play on the field was fun to watch. I enjoy watching talented teams perform well. There were certainly some holes in the Yankee offense, and some holes in the Philly offense and pitching. But overall, I enjoyed the whole shee-bang. Philly should hold its head high, too. Playing in two straight is a great sign for their future.

Huh. I have a Macbook and have never had any trouble with it. Love it. I'm no computer nerd, but I've owned both mac and Windows PC, and use Windows at work. The Mac platform is muuuuuuch smoother. For moi, anyways.

Happy birthday I S B Y !