Almost 11 weeks

I've been walking without help for two weeks or so now. It's going pretty well actually.

Yesterday I walked .5 miles to the new Starbucks and back. I my hip felt pretty good although later in the day it felt like I had been pounding on it a little. I guess I'm still re-building strength in the surrounding muscles and the breaks themselves. I tried to speed up once or two into a slow jog but that seemed to hurt a little. I can't help feeling that I might crack something if I put too much pounding on it. Guess I'll give it some more time.

Recovery update

For the last few days I've been walking (waddling) around with a cane. I've generally been pain free, except when I stumble or trip, as in over the dog, and come down hard on my left leg. Then it hurts a little.

Yesterday morning I walked to the Starbucks up the road from our house. It is a little more than 1/2 a mile. I pushed the baby in the jog stroller (I walk straighter/better when pushing a stroller or cart.) I felt good for the most part. I tried to jog across the main road but that hurt some. Overall it was a good first outing since the crash. I got pretty tired and hot even though the temp was in the 50's. I would say walking with this injury takes more energy and effort than healthy walking. I also think my aerobic system has been reset to zero/square one.

I should probaby try and ride the stationary bike soon.

Condition Update

This weekend wasn't too bad. I used the cane all weekend and walked/stumbled around quite a bit without it. I worked on the fence on Saturday.

There is still some residual pain and it gets sore after awhile.

I can't walk without a noticeable limp without the cane.

Today (Monday) I went to the gym in the morning for the first time since the crash. I did a few weight stations (bench press, pulldowns, curls, abs, etc.) They didn't have any stationary bikes though (only in the spinning room.)

It still hurts after sitting down for hours. It feels sore right in the femur. Not sure why.

Bye Bye Crutch?

I bought a cane yesterday because I'm getting sick of the cumbersome crutch. It seems to be working OK.

My condition continues to improve day-by-day. It doesn't even hurt that bad to sneeze anymore. It will be 5 weeks since the crash today. I'm definitely coming out of the bad times. Even the memories of the excruciating first few days are starting to fade.

Now I can get in and out of cars with only minimal discomfort. I wouldn't even really call it pain. It feels more like soreness or tightness in the upper thigh area. Same for the bed, I can get in and out more normally now although it doesn't feel good to lie on my left side at all. There still seems to be some pelvic pain when I put pressure on the outside of the femur.

I can also still feel things moving around a little throughout the day. But it doesn't really hurt. I would say the most discomfort occurs after a lot of walking around. Then I feel like sitting down and taking a load off.

I've even tried walking without any support piece but that seems to twist my lower back a lot. I don't like the idea of putting weight on my lower back at a funny angle. It just seems like that would lead to future disk issues.

4 weeks today

I had a couple of milestones last night. I made it to the bathroom without crutches and only had to go once.

Yesterday I went to the doctor for follow up xrays. He said everything appears to be healing properly (in alignment.) He said my progress looked good but that it would be 12 weeks for complete healing. I made a 2 month appointment just in case. He also cleared me for travel since I'm flying to NJ this upcoming week.

So I can walk short distances...like down the hall without crutches, however, I'm heavily favoring one leg and look pretty awkward.

I think driving is not a problem anymore either.

Still limping

Able to get in/out of bed pretty quickly. I guess I've gotten used to the routine. Still have to support the bad leg with the good. I'm ready to be over this!

Certain leg positions are more painful than others. For example, I can get on my knees on the floor to play with the baby but can't get up on one leg at a time. I have to keep both legs together and stand up on both. It also hurts to get on my hands and knees and even more to crawl. I think it is due to the position of my left leg relative to the right and also to the direction of pressure on the pelvis.

The sharpest pains these days come from sneezing and coughing. A strong one of either feels like a knife in the groin. Luckily it only happens once or twice a day. Otherwise it's more about endurance. I'll feel great and hardly have to use the crutches, then after an hour or two I'll be leaning on them heavily.

I did manage to do about 10 situps and a few counter-top pushups last night.

Status Update

Last night and Yesterday. No painkillers. Able to walk with crutches and minimal pain in the morning and early afternoon. Towards about 4 pm fatigue/pain started increasing. Volunteered preparing dinner for church youth group until about 7:30 pm. Upper left thigh was pretty sore by then. Felt good to lie down at 8 pm. Got into bed pretty easily but uncomfortable to lie on side. Fell asleep on back.

Still hurts pretty bad to sneeze or cough. Sharp pain in upper thigh/groin.

Seems also to be a question of endurance. I can go for a few hours in the morning/early afternoon but the pain seems to increase during the day. By late afternoon/evening I am pretty sore and leaning on the crutches a lot.

Still can't carry anything or walk normally without crutches. I still look like a "special" person.

This year is the 50th anniversary of both "Leave it to Beaver" and Sputnik. Coincidence? You decide.

This morning I am still pretty sore and contemplated taking some pain-killers. Not much appetite either.

Yesterday the Carolina Panthers won against the N.O.Saints in a last-second field goal after a miserable game. The headline in local paper today states something to the effect that "things are looking up." That's making lemonade out of lemons I'd say.

3 week update

Today is the 3 week anniversary of the crash. I think my recovery is going pretty well. I still need crutches to walk around, although I'm putting less weight on them. It's more just to keep too much weight off of my left leg.

For the past couple of nights, I've been able to roll onto my right side in bed. It takes a while, maybe a minute or so because of pain in my upper thigh. I also don't want to put too much stress on the joint all at once. However, once I'm on my side, it's not too bad. Just a dull ache inside the thigh. However, It's too painful to lay on my left side yet.

Also, I haven't taken any Vicodin since Wednesday. Again, the pain hasn't been too bad except when my left leg moves suddenly. For example, when it falls off the table or out of bed too quickly. The key to minimizing most of the pain is to keep my legs close together.

I drove for a long distance (10 miles) for the first time today. The last time I tried to drive, about 10 days ago, my pelvis felt like it was coming apart. Today I had no sense of bones moving around in there. I just had to lean on the car while getting the crutches out.

The thing that seems to be lingering is a dull ache that feels like it is running down inside my left femur.

Feeling Better

Today I woke up after a pretty good night's sleep and got out of bed in a few seconds without much pain. I still hooked my good leg under the bad and lowered both to the floor.

I had to sleep flat on my back again, though, and couldn't lie on my side. It's still too painful.

I made it to the bathroom OK and was able to get in/out of the tub without too much struggle. I still can't lift my leg more than a few inches in front of me. Rather I pull it up behind me and go over the tub side backwards.

Van Halen Concert 9/27

I purchased tickets to the Van Halen reunion kickoff concert in Charlotte about two months ago, long before my bike crash accident. I'll be damned if I was going to let a little broken pelvis keep me away from it. Little did I realize how painful going through with it was going to be.

My wife didn't want me to go, especially seeing my condition at the Wal-Mart on the previous evening. Honestly I was having second thoughts that night as well. I napped on Thursday until 11 in the morning (after getting up between 5 am and 8 am initially) and felt much better all day Thursday. I purposely limited my movement even further and sat on pillows much of the day.

That afternoon we did a recon drive to the arena to check out the handicapped drop-off and parking. I was shocked to discover no handicapped parking spaces on any of the surface lots. I didn't check any of the nearby garages however. When we got home I checked online and the arena's website did not show any handicapped parking lots either. Strange omission I thought.

Our plans were in limbo due to the parking situation all that afternoon. We finally decided to have Elizabeth's mom chauffer us to the arena and drop us off at the handicapped entrance. That turned out to work really well and minimized the distance I had to walk. We made it inside and up the escalator then discovered our section was diametrically across from where we were. Oh well, I knew I'd have to do some walking!

We made it to our section and were amazed at our fortune in that our seats were right below the entrance level. Thus we only had to step down a couple of steps to the seats. And we had the end of the row as well. It seemed like pre-destination if you ask me.

The show was awesome. Here is the set-list for those keeping score:

01. You Really Got Me
02. I'm the One
03. Runnin' With the Devil
04. Romeo Delight
05. Somebody Get Me a Doctor
06. Beautiful Girls
07. Dance the Night Away
08. Atomic Punk
09. Everybody Wants Some
10. So This Is Love?
11. Mean Street
12. Pretty Woman
13. Drum Solo
14. Unchained
15. I'll Wait
16. And the Cradle Will Rock
17. Hot for Teacher
18. Little Dreamer
19. Little Guitars
20. Jamie's Cryin'
21. Ice Cream Man
22. Panama
23. Guitar Solo (incl. "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption")
24. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
------------------------
25. 1984
26. Jump

Wednesday 9/27 Report

Wednesday night I accompanied my wife on a re-supply mission to Wal-Mart. I intended to push the cart and use it for support while she loaded it. I tried that out in the parking lot but was only able to go about 20 steps before I acknowledged that wasn't going to work. It was too painful.

I switched to crutches while she pushed the cart. By the time I made it from the parking lot to inside the store I was in pain again. Most of the pain coming from the back side of my pelvis on the left.

Realizing that I was going to be more burden than help, I told her I would wait at the front of the store while she completed the mission.

I was in pretty bad pain the rest of the night, emanating from the back of my pelvis. That night I only got out of bed once to pee and went in the bottle once also.

Tuesday 9/25

Last night I went to sleep around 10:30 or so then woke up around 1 having to go to the bathroom. My lower back was so sore I couldn't get out of bed and had to use the urinal jug the hospital gave me.

That's been happening a lot lately. I'm having to go 3-4 times per night. Usually twice in the bottle and finally I get up around 5 and go, not returning to bed.

My back definitely feels more "delicate" today and yesterday. Not sure if something has broken loose. I'm being even more careful and slow than usual. Yesterday and today for the first time since the accident I can feel the bones shifting/popping inside my pelvis. It's a strange sensation, sort of like when you pop or crack your knuckles.

I also contemplated how much trouble this would be if I had a different job. I'm very fortunate to be able to work from home. In this condition, I doubt I could go to a conventional office job for various reasons:

• Can't drive a car while under the influence of the medication
• Can't really drive anyway...reaction times are off and it hurts to brace my left leg
• Can't carry anything since I need two crutches to walk.

Monday 9/24 Progress

Very difficult getting out of bed this morning. Pain flared up in my lower back and front overnight. It took several minutes to turn perpendicular and get my legs down. Getting in/out of the shower was also painful and so I went very slowly.

Took 2 LORTABS at around 6 am.

I'm trying to work in my office today and my left leg is very uncomfortable. It seems like numbness due to pressure. I got a soft bed pillow out of the house to sit on but it still feels sore inside. Other than that I feel pretty good.

Did not have a sinus headache this morning.

Progress Report

I've been walking with crutches for a few days now and am still getting the hang of them. They're more manuverable than the walker but I think more tiring.

Yesterday, Sunday, was a very active day, relatively speaking. I read the paper and sat on the couch until 11 am or so. Then we went to the new Chipotle right around the corner. A FEDEX Kinko's just opened up in that same development.

If I wasn't hurt, I would finish the small section of fence/gate that I started the week before last. I didn't get a chance to finish it due to some thunderstorms and the early onset of darkness. Instead, I, with Elizabeth's help, went through my closet culling out old or worn shirts for charity. We filled a donation bag with 2 sport coats, 1 pr of shoes, 2-3 slacks, and 4-5 shirts.

Although I can get out of bed by myself, I still need help dressing/undressing. Getting out of bed requires hooking my good leg under the bad, squirming around until I'm perpendicular to the edge of the mattress, then lowering my legs to the floor. A short stool by the bedside helps to shorten the distance. Then I can stand up on my own and use crutches or walker to get to the bathroom.

I'm able to drop my pants, etc. and get in the shower. Getting in the tub requires bracing myself on something stable (walker, wall, etc.) then lifting my bad leg behind me and stepping over the tubside backwards. Once in the tub I can pretty much stand in the same place, occassionally bracing against the enclosure walls.

Getting out of the tub is kind of the same. I go very slow and brace myself, then out with the good leg, then the bad. I cannot bring my bad leg forward yet. It is too painful in the front of my thigh and pelvis. Since I can't reach down that far, Elizabeth has to dry off my legs.

Getting dressed still requires a lot of assistance. I can't bend down far enough to reach the ground so Elizabeth has to help me put on underwear, pants, socks and shoes.

Thursday Progress 9/21

Last night I slept from about 9:30 until about 3. I laid flat on my back and could not turn onto either side. I got very uncomfortable being in that same position and so was awake from 3 am onward. Finally I got out of bed at 5 am and into the shower.

I was able to get out of bed on my own and made it to the shower with the walker. It took several minutes for the journey.

I also awoke with a sinus headache around my left eye orbit. With breakfast, which consisted of grape nuts trail mix and cheerios, I took a sudafed cold and sinus. All in all I felt achy and stuffy headed. I was also very fatigued. Around 8 am I decided to call in sick to work and notified them.

I laid on the couch and watched a DVD TV show and napped for a few minutes. Then we had lunch with Caroline.

At 12:45 pm I had an appointment with Dr Mahdav Karunakar, an orthopedist at CMC orthopedics. Due to an incompetent nurse, we sat in the lobby for 45 minutes while she searched for my chart. Once we informed her that I was a new patient, as I had already done on the phone, we got in shortly.

The main order of business was updating my xrays. They shot three angles from above, head on, and below. Each one showed the same things; three clear breaks of the pubis, ilia, and ischial bones. The doctor explained each xray and clarified the locations of each break. He indicated the breaks were complete lateral fractures and not merely longitudinal cracks or fissures.

The xray nurse told me they get about 3 of those types of fractures per month and that she can tell from the patient's faces that they are very painful.

Lastly, they set me up with a pair of crutches which I can use depending on how things feel. The crutches allow more manueverability around tight places in the house. They are more painful to use on long walks. I don't think I'm any faster on them compared to the walker.

All of the walking within CMC made my fatigued. As I get tired, the area under the pelvis gets very tight. I think it is due to the ligaments, etc. being stressed from doing the job normally done by the bones.

In summary, I did not aggravate the injuries the other day by walking. The doctor encouraged as much movement as possible. He did confirm the 3 breaks are still visible and that it would be several weeks before the healing is complete.

I got extremely tired from all of the activity and went to bed by around 10.

Wednesday 9/19, Morning report

Could not get out of bed this morning. It feels like something has changed in my back. Sort of near where the pelvis meets the sacrum. It also hurt on the outside of my left thigh. I was unable to hook my legs together, swing them off the bed and stand up. After taking 2 Lortabs, stretching and warming up for about an hour, I was finally able to get my legs off and stand up.

Walking with the walker was more painful than yesterday. Perhaps I walked too much yesterday.

The orthopedist at the hospital told me to make an appointment for a 1 week checkup. I will call them today to see if I can come in early.

The leg is still kind of numb/sore deep inside when sitting at my desk.

Tuesday 9/18

Today I think I took a step back. My lower back on the left side is starting to hurt. It feels as if something has shifted where my pelvis connects to my sacrum.

Walking seems a little more difficult today. I was having stomach problems which I suspect were caused by . Instead of taking 2 per dose I went down to one per dose. Consequently, I felt more pain. It was interesting to get a sense of how much pain there is in the absence of any painkillers. The answer is quite a bit.

I woke up around 3 am and could not get back to sleep. I ended up going to watch TV around 5 until 7 ish. Getting out of bed required laying back, supporting my bad leg with the good, and swinging both over the side of the bed simultaneously. Then I stand upright using the walker.

I took a shower today. The first one since Thursday. Elizabeth had to help me get over the tub side. I used the walker to get alongside the tub then braced myself against the walls for stability. Getting out of the tub was the same in reverse. I was only able to dry off my top half. Elizabeth had to dry my legs.

She also had to assist me with putting on my underwear, shorts, socks and shoes.

Monday 9/17

I woke up around 5-ish out of habit. Didn't get up until 6-ish. Getting up was still painful but I managed to do it on my own in a few minutes. I used the walker for support as I stood up and walked down the hall.

I sat on the padded stool in the kitchen which was a little painful. My left leg is still sore inside and on the back.

Elizabeth noticed that the veins on the back side of my knee seem to be more pronounced. She made an appointment with my family physician, Dr. Hoben, so that he could examine them.

I took at around 11 am then took another "sink shower" and washed my hair and shaved. I'm starting to feel human again.

I was able to walk with almost a normal type stride with the walker today. I still have a lot of pain getting up and sitting down though.

I missed work today and am juggling my upcoming appointments. I cancelled my flight to St Louis and Kansas City that were scheduled for this week.

I saw Dr hoben around 5 pm. He was concerned about the appearance of swelling and recommended an ultrasound immediately. We were able to be worked in to the radiology dept at Presbyterian Main.

The ultrasound came back negative for any blockages and we were sent home. He prescribed as an alternative to . was causing stomach distress.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. I was very tired by 9 pm and went to bed around 9:30.

Today's Progress

Let's see, what have I done so far today. Well, last night was OK actually. My first night at home in my own bed. I was able to sponge down and change clothes before bed. Elizabeth had to help me undress. I stood at the bathroom sink and used a washcloth.

I was able to wrap myself with a towel and get to the bed. Elizabeth had to help me put on my underwear and get into bed. The method that works best seems to be:

a.) use the walker to get perpendicular to the bed.
b.) sit down on the edge of the bed.
c.) lay back straight out
d.) hook my good leg under my bad left leg and lift up.
e.) swing both legs up onto the bed.
f.) inch my way into a comfortable position.

It is still very painful getting into bed. The most pain happens when my legs spread apart at all.

Walking around the house last night wasn't too bad. I still had to walk one step at a time; advancing the walker then stepping forward with the bad leg, then good leg. It is very slow also.

I slept from 10-ish until about 1-ish when I woke up and had to urinate. Rather than a slow painful trip to the bathroom I used the bottle from the hospital. I was able to fall back asleep until about 3 am when Mary Elizabeth came in feeling sick. After that I was unable to relax and resume sleeping.

Ironically, the baby slept all night without interruption.

2nd night, 3rd day in hospital

Last night I slept much better than the first night. I still have a lot of trouble getting in and out of bed. My left leg and hip are very painful when pressed on the edge of the bed. Once I am able to stand with my walker and can fully extend my leg, it feels a little better.

The pain feels like it is coming from my inner thigh towards the rear. It feels like soft tissue soreness lying down. When I move it hurts at certain points during the movement.

I was able to have a BM around 11 am for the first time since Thursday. One of the side effects of LORTAB is apparently constipation. I should be good for the rest of the day though.

I'm starting to wonder about being compensated for my pain and suffering, as well as the inconvenience to my family. Not to mention the impact on my job. I think I'll be unable to travel on planes for at least a few weeks. I don't want to take unfair advantage of the driver's insurance but on the other hand she was legitimately wrong for passing me and then turning across my path. If I was a car she would not have done that. I am so tired of drivers treating cyclists like inconveniences.

2nd day in hospital

This morning was very busy with nurses running in and out of my room seemingly every 15 minutes. They're been checking my vital signs every few hours.

At 4 am a nurse came in to draw blood for a CBC

I was told I don't appear to have any symptoms of internal bleeding.

A PT, Jim, came in around 8 am. He showed me how to get out of bed and stand up with the aid of crutches. He ended up setting me up with a walker instead of crutches.

Emergency Room, Xrays, CT scan 3-7pm

The ambulance took me to the emergency room at CMC. I was brought into a room and attended to immediately by several nurses. A doctor, Jane Batts, also came in and asked what happened. She inspected me for a spinal injury and determined there was none apparent.

She requested x-rays of the left thigh and hip.

The xrays were read by an orthopedic resident, Dr. Bray. He identified 2 fractures from the xray and a possible third at the rear. He stated that I sustained a Ramai fracture of the pelvis.

I was taken to a room on the orthopedic floor (11) at 6:50 pm. I spent the night in considerable discomfort, sleeping on and off through the night.

Cut off by a car while biking 2:45 pm

Yesterday, Friday September 14, I crashed my bike into the side of a Toyota 4Runner that turned right across my path. I never lost consciousness but ended up in the hospital with a fractured pelvis. The police and paramedics arrived and I filled out a police report. Here are the rest of the details as best I can recall:

• I had just started from the parking lot of the Myers Park UMC. I was riding with DAvid Frame who was behind me at the point of the accident.
• It had just started to rain. The only reason we decided to go was that we had cancelled a ride that morning due to rain and it turned out some other riders went ahead and rode. Plus, the weather forecaster had been wrong already about the whole day being a drenching. We assumed this was a brief passing shower.
• We chose to ride this route due to its popularity with the cycling community which we felt made it a safer route. Also, we were both extremely familiar with the circuit. We decided to avoid other roads in the vicinity since it was nearing rush hour on a Friday afternoon.
• We were riding on Queens Road which becomes Selwyn Avenue near Queens University. It is a two lane road with a 35 mph limit. At the point of the accident the left lane becomes a "left turn only" lane. The right lane continues straight. There was no dedicated right turn lane.
• The accident occurred at the intersection of Queens and Radcliffe.
• We were riding single file about 3 feet left of the right curb in the right lane. Our rate was about 18 mph at the accident site.
• As I approached the intersection of Queens and Radcliffe I became aware that a vehicle was overtaking me on my left side.
• I heard David call out an alarm behind me "she's turning!" and I immediately applied the brakes. Suddenly the vehicle turned across my path.
• I immediately realized that a) it was a Toyota Forerunner and b) an impact was unavoidable.
• The front wheel of my bike impacted the Forerunner at the right rear quarter panel, immediately behind the right rear wheel well.
• My bike and I slammed to the pavement, which was black asphalt.
• The brunt of my impact was borne by my left thigh, in the vicinity of the superior process of the femur (the greater trochanter.)
• I immediately felt severe pain emanating from my thigh. At that point I had come to a stop and was able to roll onto my back with my legs bent at the knees.
• I could hear David getting off of his bike. I was also aware of several bystanders who came forward with offers to help. I remember screaming loudly 4-5 times as I rolled onto my back.
• I was asked if I wanted to move and declined. I was unable to extend my left leg. I was able to extend the right leg. At that time I was more furious than anything.
• Most of my pain was in my hip. At that time I had no idea what was wrong and suspected a broken femoral neck or hip socket joint.
• When the firemen arrived they began examing my neck and spine. I had no pain in either. I stated that my head did not impact the pavement.
• The driver of the Forerunner asked me "Are you all right?" while I was lying on the pavement in obvious pain.
• A nursing student from Queens University stopped her car to block traffic and shield me until the authorities could arrive.
• Shortly thereafter, the police arrived and began asking similar questions. I again stated no head impact.
• The Medics arrived and attempted to lift me but there was too much pain on the left side of my hip. I still could not extend my left leg at the knee. They used a scoop to put me on the stretcher and load me into the ambulance.
• A different police officer came into the ambulance and asked questions while they prepared me for transport.
• The female medics name was "Maudy." I'm unsure of the spelling. She rode in the back with me and attempted to stabilize my left leg, which was still bent at the knee.

Audi A6 - Reset the "Service!" Light

I don't take my car to the dealer unless I absolutely have exhausted all other options. I do minor maintenance myself and get the oil changed at regular intervals. The problem is that my car's idiot light, actually an LED display, has been telling me "Service!" is required.

Here is a simple procedure to reset the service countdown clock that actually worked. I found it after searching some forums such as Audi World. Many of the forums listed it with not quite proper English so it took me a few minutes of playing around to actually get it to work on my 2000 Audi A6 2.7T.

Here it is as clear as I can make it:
0. Display reads "Service!" when you first start the car.
1. With the ignition key in the off position, push and hold the right button under the speedometer. This is the button you use to reset the trip odometer also.
2. Turn the ignition key to the on position, but don't start the engine. Keep holding down the right button while you turn the key.
3. Push the left button under the tachometer. Your service light should reset to say something like "Service in 8100 miles."

Some geniuses are selling these instructions on ebay for a couple of dollars. I say best of luck to them! Maybe I can make a few bucks that way!

Bloomberg Schwarzenegger 2008

Check out the crazy bumper sticker! Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger '08!!! What a dream ticket eh?

Email me to find out where to get your own!!!

More RUSH concert pics

Here's a photo of RUSH playing Tom Sawyer in Charlotte on June 18th, 2007. Geddy is playing his black Rickenbacker 4001 and this was the only song he used it for the whole night. Here's another pic showing a closeup of Geddy on the big screen.

RUSH, Snakes and Arrows Concert, June 18th, 2007

I saw RUSH last night for about the 7th time. This was the 3rd or 4th night of their latest tour for the new album "Snakes and Arrows." As always, they were incredible. The show was actually more interesting than ever, with lots of pyrotechnics and funny video clips to accompany their performances.

Here is the Set List

Set 1:

Video Intro

01. Limelight
02. Digital Man
03. Entre Nous
04. Mission
05. Freewill
06. The Main Monkey Business
07. The Larger Bowl
08. Secret Touch
09. Circumstances
10. Between The Wheels
11. Dreamline

Intermission

Set 2:

Video Intro

12. Far Cry
13. Workin' Them Angels
14. Armor And Sword
15. Spindrift
16. The Way The Wind Blows
17. Subdivisions
18. Natural Science
19. Witch Hunt
20. MalNar (Malignant Narcissism)
21. Drum Solo - with lots of new stuff since "Der Trommler"
22. Hope
23. Summertime Blues
24. The Spirit Of Radio
25. Tom Sawyer (nice to see Geddy play the old black Rickenbacker.)

Encore:

26. One Little Victory
27. A Passage to Bangkok
28. YYZ

We had 12th row seats which were the best I've ever had. It was disappointing as always to be around so many drunks but that's what you get at concerts I guess. I managed to sneak in a picture despite all the camera Nazis:

Why is it so hard to understand?

OK. It seems like we need a quick history lesson. Apparently some folks weren't paying attention the first time.

Saddam Hussein was a very bad man who personally killed a lot of people and was responsible for ordering the deaths of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands. He pillaged the country of Iraq and stole much of the oil wealth for himself while many Iraqis, mainly Shiites, suffered in poverty. His sons, Uday and Qusay, held highly influential positions and enjoyed being able to steal and torture people pretty much at their whims.

Saddam and his regime was a destabilizing force in the entire middle east. He made war with Iran and Kuwait and lobbed missiles, probably with chemical warheads, into Israel. His years of defiance of UN sanctions emboldened and inspired terrorists. He toyed with the nuclear weapons inspectors for years making it extremely difficult to verify whether he actually had weapons of mass destruction.

After 911, when our country and way of life was horrifically attacked while in a defensive posture, President Bush, with the support of Congress and many nations, decided the time had come to go on the offensive against terrorism. Terrorism is a threat to our way of life. We declared war on terrorists and those who support them.

At the time, our intelligence services, like Clinton appointee George Tenet, determined that Saddam probably had weapons of mass destruction. Whether he did or not his actions over the past two decades made him a threat and it was quite reasonable to think that he had some involvement. Does anyone remember the celebrations across the muslim world, including cities and towns in Iraq, on 9/11? Remember the video of Osama and his henchmen gloating about how the attacks were more successful than even they had planned?

Fast forward to 2007. Our military destroyed Saddam's regime and the country is now left in what the Liberals (I mean, surrender monkeys) refer to as "chaos."

Here are the facts. Saddam had a huge and loyal army. Saddam was a Sunni Muslim, who were the majority of the population but ruled Iraq through brutality. The suppressed, kidnapped, and killed many of the Shiite majority. We defeated the army but couldn't possibly kill all of the soldiers.

Many of the soldiers that were not killed in the war went into hiding and are now trying to destroy democracy in Iraq. We call these people "insurgents." No one knows what they really want other than to strike out at innocent people such as our soldiers, shoppers, police recruits, and everything else that represents freedom and democracy. I think they want another Sunni Dictator to rise up and take control of the county like Saddam did. Who knows.

The radical Shiites on the other hand, inspired by wackos like Moqtada Al Sadr, want revenge for all of their years of suffering. Al-Sadr and his insane compatriots, want to see Iraq become a fundamentalist state like Iran that is ruled by Islamic law (Sharia.) In fact, the Iranians are said to be sheltering Al Sadr right now.

If he was in charge of Iraq, guess what the world would have? An alliance of fundamentalist whack-jobs controlling a region of the world vital to the entire world. Not just for the oil (as simple-minded liberals say to make themselves feel smart) but to use as a home base for anti-Christian and anti-Jewish attackers. Make no mistake, the radical fundamentalists will not rest until they destroy Israel and all western influences in their countries.

So what is the answer? Who knows? There is no play book for this war. It is a war of ideals. Of freedom versus terrorism. You can ask 25 different experts on international diplomacy and world history and get 25 different ideas about what we should do. Some say surrender and let the country suffer. Others say stay and risk losing more and more of our brave soldiers.

I also have to note what most of our soldiers are doing there. They're training! We have somewhere around 140,000 soldiers and thousands more contractors. Many are defending against attackers, others are on the offensive trying to root out insurgents. Most, however, are training Iraqis to take over for themselves. We cannot cut that mission short!

Everyone (Democrats, Republicans, and the majority) agree that this is the ultimate goal for the Iraq war...for the Iraqis to be able to defend their fledging democracy from internal and external threats. It is how they are going to get there that is being debated.

Personally, I believe that telling their enemies when the Americans are leaving is a huge mistake. What if we told the British "We need you to defeat the Nazis by 1944 or we're leaving."

VA Tech Shooting

Unbelievable. 31 shot dead on the campus of Virginia Tech today. Reports say the majority of the victims were in Norris Hall!

I have some fond (and not so fond) memories of several classes in Norris Hall between 1984 and 1988 including:

• Engineering Statics and Dynamics (Professor Arpad Pap)
• Programming (FORTRAN)
• Fluid mechanics lab
• Strength of Materials (and busting lab.)
• Mechanics of Composite Materials (Professor Robert Jones)

and others I can't seem to remember.

I lived in Pritchard Hall, an all-male dormitory, during my freshman year (1984-1985.) It was adjacent to Ambler-Johnson (AJ.) We went over to AJ occasionally because they had a state-of-the-art PC lab with the latest in dot-matrix printer technology.

What could possess a person (or persons) to commit such heinous and senseless acts? What troubles were they having that drove them to this? I guess you can take two points of view on it. One, try to understand what drives people to this level and two, develop processes and safeguards to deal with the inevitability of such situations. There are many questions yet to answer. For now we must empathize with the victim's families and try to comprehend why this happened.

Comparison of Polar S625 and Garmin Forerunner 305

I've owned a Polar 625X for about the past year. It's been a great upgrade over my older 610 series (which I thought was awesome for 3 years.)

I liked the 625 since it was so similar to the 610. The only thing I didn't like was the footpod. However, it was worth it to have a pretty good speed approximation to add to the other data it collects. I found that it was pretty accurate for 5k races (the only races I've done lately.)

I've seen several others with Forerunner 305's and the prospect of using one device for both running and biking was very attractive. Not to mention being able to get rid of the footpod since the 305 is a GPS based tool.

I got my 305 yesterday and have only used it once. Pretty cool except the HR display is pretty tiny. I went on the Motion based website and it looks like you can do some impressive maps and backgrounds especially using Google Earth.

I found this article and plan to read it right now:
http://www.pccoach.com/newsletters/May06/ComparisonReviewS625XvFR305.htm

Surreal Sky

I took this picture in Myrtle Beach in January at about 8 am. The sky looked like a Michelangelo frescoe. I almost expected God's arm to reach out from behind one of the clouds. Of course, God looked like he did in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Risk

I can't believe we've never played Risk before! I've always wanted to conquer Asia!

Do or die tri-ing

It's do or die time for this cat. I am sick of being fat...well fatter than I want to be anyway.

I've decided to do IM Florida (2008.) That means I'm going to have to do a bunch of training races throughout 2007 and 2008. I plan to do a half-IM in the fall (Duke half) and the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007. Then I'll do the Disney marathon in January of 2008 and build up to the IM that fall.

Re-starting my running program

I really want to want to be a good runner. Sometimes I get up and run and feel great. However, for the last 5-6 weeks, I just haven't wanted to go. I can't really blame it on anything other than lack of motivation.

It would be nice to find a training partner. But I see tons of people out running solo.

What is it that makes people want to run?

Runner's World Magazine says you have to think of running as part of your day. This is as opposed to thinking of it as exercise. I guess exercise has too many negative connotations.

The most proud of myself I've ever been was when I was dropped from about 195 to 170 lbs in about 2 months. This was in 1998 starting in about March and finishing up in May. I was incredibly proud of the discipline that I showed during that process. I managed to stay at that weight for about a year. Later in 1999, my weight crept up to about 180 and I stayed there until about 2003.

I got fed up with myself tonight and went for a short run of about 25 minutes. Perhaps that will be a new beginning.

Right now I'm 40.5 years old. I'm married with 2 kids and a baby on the way. I just started working for a new company and we're closing on a house at the end of this month. Monday I have to call movers and try to get that set up. This sounds like I have a lot going on but it seems like any other time for me. To me, it just sounds like life.

A couple of great YouTube clips

There is a clip on YouTube called "The Best of Andy Bernard" that is a hilarious compilation of highlights from "The Office." Andy represents the annoying co-worker in any office. He's insecurity makes him use sucking up as his main career tactic. He also is prone to freak-outs. He is totally focused on his job title. Who hasn't worked with someone like Andy?