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About This Author
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Complex Numbers
Complex Numbers
A complex number is expressed in the standard form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is defined by i^2 = -1 (that is, i is the square root of -1). For example, 3 + 2i is a complex number.
The bi term is often referred to as an imaginary number (though this may be misleading, as it is no more "imaginary" than the symbolic abstractions we know as the "real" numbers). Thus, every complex number has a real part, a, and an imaginary part, bi.
Complex numbers are often represented on a graph known as the "complex plane," where the horizontal axis represents the infinity of real numbers, and the vertical axis represents the infinity of imaginary numbers. Thus, each complex number has a unique representation on the complex plane: some closer to real; others, more imaginary. If a = b, the number is equal parts real and imaginary.
Very simple transformations applied to numbers in the complex plane can lead to fractal structures of enormous intricacy and astonishing beauty.
October 31, 2008 at 10:19am October 31, 2008 at 10:19am October 28, 2008 at 6:41pm October 28, 2008 at 6:41pm
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I've been hearing a lot more complaints about "redistribution of wealth." Some people seem to think that the moment Obama gets elected next week, we're going to have to begin handing over our paychecks to the government, who will immediately turn around and give it to a Mexican immigrant in New Jersey.
That's obvious bullshit. Intelligent people know that we're going to have to begin handing over our paychecks to the government, who will immediately turn around and give it to a foundering bank in Delaware.
But seriously, folks... what the hell? You think the President has that much power? I'm sure Barack would be flattered to hear that he'll be able to do such a thing.
Okay, I doubt too many hard-core right-wingers read this blog, but if you do, and you seriously have a problem with wealth redistribution for perceived public good, I want you to immediately do the following:
1) If you're currently taking an exemption on your Federal income taxes because you have a child or children, stop immediately, and never take such an exemption again. If not, when you do have kids, don't claim this exemption.
2) If you have EVER taken such an exemption on your Federal income taxes, immediately refund the Federal government the amount of all those exemptions.
3) Begin to lobby for the elimination of the child exemption on Federal income taxes, as it unfairly transfers wealth by causing those who do not choose to have children to pay more in taxes than those who do not and, in fact, causes those who use fewer government services to pay more.
4) Begin to work on the local and state level to ensure that schools are paid for entirely by people who are currently using them, or their parents, because the people who are not using the education system should not have to pay for something that does not directly benefit them. (Exception: lottery proceeds may continue go to education, as this constitutes a voluntary tax.)
If you hold such beliefs, yet can't or won't do all these things, then you are admitting that there are, indeed, cases where wealth can be redistributed for a perceived public good, and we can go back to arguing about what cases truly constitute "public good."
For my part, I don't mind paying for other peoples' kids' education, because I recognize that an educated populace is something that benefits everybody, directly or indirectly.
Look, everyone (well, "my fellow Americans" anyway), the US government is in DEEP debt. Will our taxes increase? Yes, they probably will, no matter who gets elected next week. But will those taxes go to helping the poor or propping up those who have lost their jobs? No, so you can put your fears of "socialism" to rest. The tax increase will go to paying off the inconceivable amount of debt that we've amassed, but we don't feel because a certain administration has taken the "tax" part out of the "tax and spend" equation.
The bill's coming due, and you're all [right-wing nutjobs] bitching because one of the candidates has a proposal to slightly increase - slightly - the incremental tax on people making more in a year than I can pull down in THREE years? A plan that can't even be implemented unless Congress goes along with it, which never happens even when it's all run by the same party?
Put up or shut up.
Note: In case it's not perfectly clear, I'm not addressing this rant to the perfectly reasonable people who are fiscal conservatives. I'm one myself, though you can consider me a social liberal. Just the right-wingers who aren't making any FUCKING SENSE. |
October 27, 2008 at 6:20pm October 27, 2008 at 6:20pm
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It smells like snow today.
The clouds are that uniform gray that you get when snow's coming, and it's cold, and there's the tang on the chill breeze that is unmistakably associated with having to go into four-wheel drive to get anywhere.
Depressing.
So when I found this poem posted in Thomas  's blog: "Invalid Entry"  , I had to update it to reality:
When things go wrong, as they always do,
When the road you're trudging is covered in poo,
When funds are low and your stocks in the tank,
And you want to strangle the goddamned bank,
When life is making you feel like shit -
Drink all you can, and shout, "I quit!"
Life's fucked up, as we all have learned,
When we do something nice and just get burned,
And many a winner soon finds out,
That winning's not what it's all about.
Just give up; let go, my bro -
You'll never win the ultimate show.
Often the goal is farther than
You can believe; give up, my man;
Often the leader has offered up
His soul for a pewter victor's cup,
And he learned too late, when night crashed down,
The real winner's living in a different town.
Failure's success turned inside out -
That silver linings have clouds, there's no doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are
To the grave; it's never that far.
So don't bother to fight when you feel like shit -
It's when things seem good that misfortune will hit.
With apologies to "Author Unknown"
In the grocery store yesterday, I saw a display of Christmas crap.
It's too goddamn soon!!!
Bah. Humbug.
Anyway, thanks to all of you who posted comments to yesterday's rant. I may expand on that in the near future. |
October 26, 2008 at 6:37pm October 26, 2008 at 6:37pm
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Someone asked me the other day what I thought of "socialized" health care.
My off-the-cuff, edited for typos and clarity, answer:
"Socialized" is a loaded term.
Under our current system, those who have the right type of job contribute to a for-profit company for various types of health coverage. In some cases (like my company) the insurance is 100% employer-paid; in others, some lower percentage. Those who need more care don't usually pay more than those who need less, meaning that healthy people contribute to the health care of those who need more care AND to the insurance company's bottom line.
People who don't have the right kind of job pay more, because the risk isn't spread out over a group. Or they do without health insurance, which represents a more hidden burden on society.
In other countries (often labeled "socialist" by the right wing of this country), health care is provided in other ways, usually involving higher taxes.
If one were to back out their actual cost of health care, one would find that the individuals in those countries aren't paying any more taxes than we are; in some cases, less. Put another way, if you add what I pay for health insurance (via my company) to what I pay in taxes (between my company and personally), my total obligation is approximately that of, say, someone in Sweden, on a relative basis.
So to answer your question, what I think of "government-run" medical care is that if it provides access to coverage for more of the population, all of whom pay taxes of some sort or another, I'm for it. Provided it can be handled in such a way as to create less overhead than what we have now in the insurance-company-profit situation.
The individual's response included the postulate that it may be that a whole lot of people are tied to their soul-deadening, corporate jobs because said jobs provide them with health insurance.
Granted, a whole lot of people are in debt. I read statistics before this whole credit fiasco blew up in our faces that indicated that the average savings rate of Americans was negative - meaning that as a group, we have more debt than savings. I don't know if it's still the case, but it wouldn't surprise me. A person in debt has restricted freedom: if you owe, say, $200,000 (and between student loans, mortgage, car loans and consumer debt, this is not an unreasonable amount), your life is turned over to servicing those loans. While mortgage debt can be reduced or eliminated by selling the home, and student loan debt can, as I understand it, be deferred under certain circumstances, there's debt that you're stuck with, and a good part of your salary goes to paying that debt. You can't leave your soul-deadening job, or the creditors will come after you, and interest will continue to go up. Sure, there's bankruptcy, but that carries its own problems.
But what if you don't have significant debt, and maybe even some savings, and you just want to take your chances, strike off on your own, and, say, become a massage therapist or eBay retailer?
Not and keep your health insurance.
Is this why there's such a backlash against "socialized" medicine coming from the far right, which at times acts as if it's run by religious extremists, and at other times seems as if it's a puppet of the big corporations? Are there people - powerful people - afraid that if we suddenly had a parachute for folks who don't want to play the corporate cubicle game, they won't?
I think the health care system has many flaws, but one big one is how it's currently run by insurance companies. They dictate, rather than your doctor, what is "medically necessary." And I think that it's a direct result of insurance being in control of medicine that the cost of health care is so high.
Let me explain, briefly: As recently as a year ago, we had real estate values that were unsustainably high. I said it then, and with recent events, it seems I was right. But one reason why they were so high was a matter of affordability. With the advent of easily available interest-only loans, balloon mortgages, and low-teaser ARMs, a whole lot of people appeared to be able to afford houses that they otherwise wouldn't have - because their incremental cost (their monthly cost) was suddenly within their means as opposed to the way it would be with a traditional 15- or 30- year mortgage. This allowed sellers to artificially inflate their total costs, while still putting houses within reach of the average family.
And so we have the same situation with health care - they can charge more, so they do. We don't see the cost, even though we may get a bill for thousands of dollars, because on that bill it says your actual cost is, like, $20.
It's inflated. It's not sustainable. And it's going to bite us on the ass the same way that home-price inflation did.
It's not conducive to individual freedom.
I'm not saying people should rely on "the government" to pay for their health care, or that "the government" should provide health care. But the system as it stands now benefits only big corporations.
Yes, "socialism" is a loaded term, these days. The Republicans are using it as a pejorative, like "liberal." And, last I heard, the major sign that a country was turning "socialist" was that the banks get nationalized. Ummm... d'oh. But as I understand it, socialism is essentially the radical notion that individuals matter.
Isn't that what we're supposed to be all about? |
October 25, 2008 at 6:49pm October 25, 2008 at 6:49pm
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susanL sez: Hmmph. I still like it better when you WRITE
I'll be doing all the writing I can handle, and then some, real soon now. I still don't know why I decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. I do know that my readers will find tedious any of my angst related to NaNo, so I'm going to try to keep that to a minimum.
I've almost got next week's Fantasy newsletter done, and am working on my guest editorship of the Horror/Scary newsletter, which I am hoping will be worthy of the Halloween edition of that particular newsletter. You'll just have to wait and see.
Then, of course, I've got NaNo to do next month. I think I have it worked out so that if I write extra on weekends, I might be able to finish before T-Day. That'll be my goal, anyway. I suck at sticking to goals, though, so I'm positive it won't happen (they tell me to "think positive," so there it is - positive thought).
At least I have expanded my ideas, thanks in part to "October Novel Prep Challenge" by Brandiwyn🎶 v.2026  - good exercises in there, so I finally feel as if I have 50,000 words to write in the story.
I don't generally follow others' efforts at NaNo, so I don't expect anyone to follow mine. Still, if I'm feeling angsty about it, I'm going to bitch about it in here. And if for some reason you're interested, my username over at the NaNo site is "RWaltz."
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
Best of luck to everyone else doing it! |
October 24, 2008 at 11:34am October 24, 2008 at 11:34am October 21, 2008 at 7:44pm October 21, 2008 at 7:44pm
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I went to a county Planning Commission meeting this evening. I have to do that sometimes for my work.
Before they got to my part of the agenda, though, they had to hear a report from this group who claims to be putting together a report about what a "sustainable" population number is for the city/county area. This report is partly funded by our local tax dollars, and presumably the localities (in Virginia, city and county are separate entities) will take it seriously as a public policy tool.
Leaving aside for the moment the definition of "sustainable" - I've been in this business nearly 20 years and nobody's been able to give me one I can understand - let's think about the BASIC PREMISE here.
The basic premise is that you can take an arbitrary unit of geography - in this case, a county containing a city - and determine whether it's biologically sustainable, given the natural resources, waste absorption capacity, and human population. And THEN that you can take the sustainability population number and make public policy to limit, restrict, and/or reverse growth based on that number.
Do you see the fallacy here?
Let's draw an arbitrary box around some geographical area. In fact, let's extend this to every region in the country, or the world, and draw a LOT of arbitrary boxes. Within each of those boxes, create public policy to say: X is the biological capacity, N is the current population, and we need to make N <= X.
If one of those arbitrary boxes contains the five boroughs of New York... is there anyone who thinks that N<=X there? Doubt it. How about the arbitrary box that contains 640 acres of farmland in Kansas somewhere - is N>X there? Um, no.
The whole POINT of our civilization - a word meaning "the art of living in cities" - is that x acres of farmland SOMEWHERE ELSE support n people in a CITY, people who then respond by sending the farmers money and heaps of scorn. Scorn for corn - hey, I like that.
So, MY tax dollars are going to fund a study whose premise is fundamentally flawed.
I love government.  |
October 20, 2008 at 8:00pm October 20, 2008 at 8:00pm
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Time to harvest some blog fodder.
Ladies, skip this link. It's for guys.
http://www.mrsexist.com/
Of course, those shirts aren't funny at all.
I don't know which is more pathetic: an environmentalist trying to be funny:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/leed_introduces.php
... or the comment, Criticism is welcome, but what is the point of the article??? proving that no, certain environmentalists don't have a sense of humor.
Bonus: pics of cute baby seals and cats.
Speaking of cute animals,
The 6 Cutest Animals That Can Still Destroy You
If animals could talk, they would spend most of their time calling us dicks and telling us to get off their land. The traits we think of as "cute" are often simply tricks animals have developed to get tourists to throw them food.
http://www.cracked.com/article_15853_6-cutest-animals-that-can-still-destroy-you...
The platypus is mother nature's way of saying, "I made this thing out of spare parts I found on the workshop floor, and it can still fucking cripple you."
Speaking of things that can kill you,
http://wcbstv.com/slideshows/what.a.way.20.290025.html?rid=1
Example:
2 of 39 :
In 2007, a cab driver found the naked bodies of a young man and young woman at the base of a 50-foot building in Columbia, S.C. Later, authorities found their clothing on the roof, leading them to believe the couple fell to their deaths while having sex.
With accompanying pix - sadly, the pic accompanying the above example is a map of South Carolina, pinpointing Columbia so everyone knows where the Dumbass Capital of the World is.
Last one for today, the opening shot in the war on "The War On..."
(warning: the following link contains an abstract drawing of *gasp* a NAKED BREAST. If that sort of thing won't play with the people monitoring your Internet use, don't click it.)
http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/reviews.cfm/id/1452/page/the_beast__the_war_on_th...
In the latter half of the 20th century, Americans were called to meet abstractions with metaphors in a series of gaudy figurations popularly called “The War On . . .” Intended to be wholly symbolic, rhetorical frameworks that loosely invoked the legendary national unity that accompanied America’s good wars, whichever those were, our Wars On various and sundry Things that Are Bad proved the power of language to mold behavior, for often the martial tone spilled into martial practice, and so we find heavily armed SWAT units kicking down doors like soldiers in Baghdad...
War is peace; freedom is slavery.
Revolution, bitches:
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2966 |
October 18, 2008 at 9:42am October 18, 2008 at 9:42am
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When you're Elton John, and you and the band open the show (pretty close to on time, mind you, which even Bruce doesn't seem to be able to do) with "Love Lies Bleeding," with its extended, orchestral intro... you've got our attention.
The tickets, being free, weren't the best seats in the house, but we had little reason to complain: we were at stage right, all the way up in the nosebleeds, but we had a perfect, unobstructed view of the entire stage. We couldn't see the video screens, and had only a foreshortened, angular view of the backdrop screen - which meant I concentrated on the music, not the pretty lights.
I think my biggest hesitation with actually, you know, paying for Elton John tickets was that he'd play mostly newer stuff. I should have known better. The vast majority of the concert was songs from the 70s: Levon, Tiny Dancer, Madman Across the Water (one of my personal favorite songs of all time - originally about Richard Nixon, but just as appropriate today), Yellow Brick Road, Honky Cat, Philadelphia Freedom (a song that means exactly what you think it means), a 12-minute version of Rocket Man... basically, every one of the songs that made me like his music in the first place.
And yes, of course they played "Crocodile Rock" - with the audience doing the bridges.
Sadly, his voice isn't quite what it used to be - the higher notes that were signatures on many of his older songs elude him now, more due to the excesses of youth than age itself. But hey, he still sings better than I do (my CAT sings better than I do), and there is maybe one power on this Earth greater than Elton John on the piano - I will always give Billy Joel primacy there. And the DUDE can STILL ROCK.
For an encore, he started with his version of "Pinball Wizard" - a truly great rendition of the Who classic. And then, after dedicating the final song to "each and every one of you," he ended with the song that began his career: "Your Song."
All in all, the concert was one big tower of awesome. Not, mind you, as awesome as the Bruce show I saw in Richmond - no one can top that - but would have been worth every penny if I'd, you know, paid for it.
Oh, yes, and his actual middle name is "Hercules." Don't ask me why. That's what Wikipedia is for.
...But the years went by and the rock just died
Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy
Long nights crying by the record machine
dreaming of my Chevy and my old blue jeans
But they'll never kill the thrills we've got
burning up to the Crocodile Rock
Learning fast as the weeks went past
we really thought the Crocodile Rock would last... |
October 17, 2008 at 4:39pm October 17, 2008 at 4:39pm
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A friend of mine scored two free tickets to a concert tonight at the local stadium. I'd mentioned it was someone I'd always wanted to see, but never wanted to pay the premium he (deservedly, mind you) charges for tickets.
The performer?
Sir Elton Fucking John.
You may commence the jealousy. |
October 16, 2008 at 3:21pm October 16, 2008 at 3:21pm
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As regular readers of this blog can attest, I'm a fan of science. While not a scientist myself, I can at least make fun of young-earth creationists.
And then there's these guys:
The 6 Ballsiest Scientific Frauds (People Actually Fell For)
http://www.cracked.com/article_16696_6-ballsiest-scientific-frauds-people-actual...
If we can't trust scientists, who can we trust? Other than a few bad apples, these are the guys curing our diseases and generally saving the world.
So if people are so easy to hoax with science, how does that distinguish it from religion?
Simple. The scientific hoaxers can be disproved.
While we're perusing that bastion of right-wing hypocrisy known as cracked.com, consider these ways by which they could make the Presidential debates worth watching.
http://www.cracked.com/article_16707_20-ways-they-could-make-debates-actually-wo...
Too late this year, but I'm looking forward to 2012 already. |
October 15, 2008 at 7:41pm October 15, 2008 at 7:41pm October 14, 2008 at 7:20pm October 14, 2008 at 7:20pm
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Because I've talked about financial matters, people have asked me stuff about the stock market.
I am not an expert in the stock market.
My father was an excellent investor. I wish I'd listened more to what he had to say about it when he was alive and in possession of his faculties, but isn't that the case for most of us? In any event, I'm not my father, but like many people, I have a retirement account. And as with many people, mine's down about 40% right now.
Now, a lot of people are panicking. I may not know much, but I know this: as much as I joke around here about the end of the world, doom, Armageddon, Ragnarok, etc., I don't really think we're there. We won't even be there if McCain gets elected (though if he should become incapacitated and Palin ascends to the demigoddesshood that accompanies the Presidency, it may be another story). This is just another belch in the digestive tract of the world markets.
Which is not to say there isn't more pain to come. For myself, the pain may be acute, because my business depends on a thriving building industry, and that's just not happening yet, not in my area. But it's still not the end of the world. Well, provided I can still drink.
At some point (I don't know when, and neither does anyone else), the stock market - and the economy - will recover.
What I do know about investing can be summed up in a few general rules. I made ten of them, since that seems to be the traditional number:
1. Don't panic.
2. Minimize your debt (preferably, just mortgage).
3. Stay invested in the stock market, either through mutual funds or a diversified portfolio of individual stocks.
4. Don't invest with money you'll need in the next few years (if all your investments are in a retirement account, and you're not going to retire soon, that fits the bill).
5. Keep a cash position that'll get you through lean times (most people recommend 3-6 months' living expenses) in an insured bank account.
6. When you DO invest, look for stocks that are cheap in relation to their value. If you don't know what that means, get a mutual fund or buy into an index fund.
7. Keep expenses down so you can invest MORE.
8. Pay no attention to stock analysts, and completely ignore Jim Cramer.
9. Don't trade in and out of the market.
10. See Rule #1.
Drinking is optional, but it helps.
If you've made it this far, and you want to know more about this sort of thing, the best place I know to learn about personal finance is http://www.fool.com/
And now to try to drink again... |
October 13, 2008 at 9:22pm October 13, 2008 at 9:22pm
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I had two glasses of wine tonight.
TWO.
They weren't even full glasses. They were, like, the half-glasses that allow one to experience the full nose and swish the wine around in a little bit before drinking, like you're supposed to.
Now my stomach's all acting up again.
If I can't even DRINK, how am I supposed to survive the rest of my life?  |
October 11, 2008 at 10:44pm October 11, 2008 at 10:44pm
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Went to my business partner's wedding today. The weather held out - absolutely perfect October afternoon. The ceremony was mercifully short, but the reception dragged on. My wife and I knew very few people there - I know some of my partner's family, but that's about it. Fortunately, there was an open bar. The highlight was when the DJ played "Enter Sandman." Sadly, my back is still messed up and I couldn't do my head-banging routine. Actually, now I think of it, that's pretty fortunate. "You went into business with THAT?"
I'm just glad I didn't have to take pictures. I'm not used to going to weddings and not having to take pictures. It was something of a relief - except that I had no idea what to do. So I ate. And drank - did I mention there was an open bar?
Now maybe when she gets back from her honeymoon she can start pulling her weight again. I mean, how hard can it be? She's pretty tiny.  |
October 10, 2008 at 4:58pm October 10, 2008 at 4:58pm
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Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would shorten the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and of blood? Is it doubted that it would restore the national authority and national prosperity, and perpetuate both indefinitely? Is it doubted that we here--Congress and Executive--can secure its adoption? Will not the good people respond to a united, and earnest appeal from us? Can we, can they, by any other means, so certainly, or so speedily, assure these vital objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not "can any of us imagine better?" but, "can we all do better?" The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We -- even we here -- hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free -- honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just -- a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless.
-Abraham Lincoln
December 1, 1862 |
October 9, 2008 at 4:47pm October 9, 2008 at 4:47pm
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So today, the DJIA blows past 9,000, heading down to its close at about 8580. The S&P 500 index is flirting with 900.
One year ago today, the Dow closed at 14,165 - highest point ever.
What's that, like, a 40% drop? This is going to make the Great Depression look like a goth kid wannabe.
So let's get this straight: Banks fail, taking everyone else along with it like a sinking battleship drawing sailboats down in its whirlpool. Treasury and Fed both push for a "bailout" which really amounts to the printing of more money, practically guaranteed to hike up inflation. I'm still not entirely sure how that was supposed to help, but I thought it was supposed to help the economy, keep it from going bust, and we HAD to have it RIGHT NOW or things would go straight to hell. THEN they cut the lending rate by 50 basis points, practically guaranteed to encourage banks to borrow from the gov't instead of each other. And things are going straight to hell.
Now, I'm just an engineer, and I don't know squat about high finance, but to me that would be like noticing the skyscraper you just built has silly putty for the foundations, and replacing said silly putty with Astroglide.
We all could use some Astroglide right about now, I think.
Oh, the markets will recover. Hell, I wish I had more free cash lying around right now to mop up the blood in these here streets. Is this as low as it can go? No, it's not. What you're looking at here is called "deleveraging," where a whole lot of money that was in the stock market didn't really exist because it was borrowed - either through margin, short selling, or just plain borrowing and then investing.
There's a whole lot of money out there that doesn't really exist, you know. That's how the system works. I just wish I had more of that nonexistent money. |
October 8, 2008 at 3:49pm October 8, 2008 at 3:49pm
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Up until a week and a half ago, I had that nasty, unrelenting back pain and sciatica, the only relief for which was lying down and taking lots of meds.
I was okay for a week, then. I mean, I still had twinges in my back and leg, but nothing major.
Then, as I reported here, I got sick on Sunday, cutting short our anniversary celebration. This continued through Monday.
Monday night, I slept for a few hours, then was wide awake for a few hours, until maybe 15 minutes before my alarm went off. When I woke up, my neck and shoulders were stiff. No big deal, except my stomach was still upset, so I went to work. I left work early afternoon, figuring what I needed was to lie down with some heat on my neck.
So I heated up a neck thing and went to lie down, and pain exploded between my shoulder blades such as made the worst pain I experienced with my lower back (not to mention appendicitis) seem like a pleasant day in the Caribbean.
I couldn't move. Oh, I could move my legs and, to some extent, my arms, but I couldn't sit up or roll over. I couldn't even play dead because I kept looking for a position that minimized the pain.
My mobile phone was not nearby, so I couldn't reach it to call anyone. Every time I tried, I felt like someone was pushing a knife into my upper spine.
I think I dozed off for a while. My phone rang. I had no way to get to it. I could only hope that my wife would come home before she went out to dance practice.
Fortunately, she did. Unfortunately, she had no way of moving me. Fortunately, one of our close friends is a chiropractor. Unfortunately, the chiropractor was still at work. Fortunately, we were able to leave a message. Unfortunately, the ditzbrain who took the message didn't give it to her. Fortunately, I called her mobile phone an hour later to see if she got the message. Unfortunately, she hadn't. Fortunately, she was still able to come over and fix it so I could at least stand up - albeit with intense pain.
Once I stood up, holding my head straight and not twisting or raising an arm, I was okay. We got back to the chiropractic clinic and she worked on me some more on the table. Then she said I couldn't get on the computer, so I sat with ice on my upper back.
Last night, I managed to sleep; this morning, I was able to get up on my own.
Still hurts like a bitch if I move the wrong way.
And I haven't really eaten anything in over 24 hours - my stomach's still rebellious.
But I'm alive. |
October 6, 2008 at 8:48pm October 6, 2008 at 8:48pm
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While I've tried to stay out of direct politicking in my blog, here, I'm sure most of you know I lean toward Obama in the presidential race. I was on the fence until McCain picked that champion of proud ignorance, Sarah Palin, to be his third wiferunning mate, but doing so put me squarely in Obama's camp.
Living as I do in Virginia (albeit in a particularly liberal-leaning town), my support would normally mean exactly nothing; this state hasn't gone for a Democrat since before I was born. But check out this poll:
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=00f2d8fb-6a3b-425d-9f27-2...
There is movement among men, where immediately after the GOP convention, McCain led by 10, and where today Obama leads by 11.
Yeah, we're flip-floppers like that.
There is movement among whites, where McCain's once 22-point lead is today reduced to single digits.
Are you saying we might be pro-McCain because he's one of Us?
There is movement among the well-to-do, where today for the first time Obama leads.
That's because both of them want our money, but Obama's more up-front about it.
There is movement among pro-choice voters, where Obama's lead has doubled since August.
Ummmmm... could it be because McCain is ANTI-CHOICE, maybe? (okay, I'm sure he's that way just so he could get the Republican nomination, but we're sure about she-who-may-become-President-gods-forbid.)
But here's the important thing:
In Central Virginia, home of the Confederate White House, the Museum of the Confederacy and Appomattox, Obama today leads by 8.
That's right. Some of us aren't fighting the War of Northern Aggression anymore. And some of us care less about the color of someone's skin and more about what's under that skin.
It's still a month before the election; polls can lie, anything can happen between now and then, and I'm still convinced there's voting fraud going on in every state that matters, including mine. But here in Virginia, we're already making history.
I think Jefferson would be proud.
(Edited to add:)
Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.
So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising.
-Bruce Springsteen
October 4, 2008
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html |
October 5, 2008 at 7:46pm October 5, 2008 at 7:46pm
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The other night - Thursday, I think - we were awakened at 3 am by my lovely cat puking. Then my wife discovered that the cat, Kali, had puked on the bed. More precisely, it discovered her. We had to change all the bedding and check all the blankets and whatnot carefully for signs of kittypuke.
Just as I started to get back to sleep - oh, like around 7 o'clock, moments before I theoretically wake up (in practice, this involves hitting the snooze button until I'm hopelessly late for work), Ghost provided an encore performance - fortunately, this time, on the floor. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure exactly where it was, and it found me when I was trying to make it to the shower.
Then, the last cat, Maggie, decided to puke in the area where she sits when I'm on the computer here.
What the fuck is up with these cats?
Now, today, I wake up with my own stomach severely upset and the unmistakable signs of a cold or flu coming.
It never ends.
Well... at least my back doesn't hurt much. |
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I'm more than happy with Carrion Luggage, however.
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