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November 2006

11.22.06: Stitches are out. I still am not allowed to apply any weight or work to the left arm and am not supposed to raise it horizontally away from the body until I see the doc again Dec 22.

11.20.06: Da-da-dahhh, da-da-dahh, Casino Royale is the best James Bond film yet made! Superb filming, great action. Daniel Craig did a great job showing Bond growing into the role and tasks of a 00. Eva Green- luminous.

(Photos from the MI6 website).

11.19.06: The movie Fast Food Nation, the movie was excellent. I think the writers did a good job telling a story from a non-fiction book. The movie only served to re-inforce my decision to be a vegetarian for all the many reasons.

11.14.06: New movie this Friday based on the book Fast Food Nation, the movie takes a fictionalized look at the documentary facts in Eric Schlosser's 1995 book.

11.13.06: I am still a bit sore, but overall, the shoulder feels better now, four days after surgery, than the day before surgery. More ice each evening on the shoulder and tomorrow a call to the doc to set up the follow up appointment.. oh, and a call to the dog owners to find out who is their homeowner's insurance agent.

11.10.06: Thursday the 9th was a lost day. I went too outpatient surgery at 6am and was under the impression I'd be back home that afternoon- but no deal. I went into surgery about 9am (I was a 'work-in' and my surgery was subject to other emergencies and such). They used a nerve blocker to deaden the left arm and it really worked. Anyway, the anesthesiologist put the mask on and said the usual "breath deep." The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. But the nerve blocker really worked and I had no pain whatsoever. I also was totally unable to move my left arm. I was really really tired too and due to the surgery, the hospital kept me overnight. I was released about 900am Friday morning.

Thursday night I got another set of post surgery x-rays and asked for them on disc so I have some images here from before, after and also the incision (yeah- it is rather gross). The photo is taken in a mirror which explains why it looks reversed from the xrays. The doc said the plate might set off detectors at the airport.

11.08.06: Interesting article on Alternet by Stan Cox with statistical analysis of what drives the alleged Red-Blue notations by the evening news- Read "The Disjointed States of America"

11.08.06: Surgery- it's official. Thursday Nov 9 is knife day. The doctor will put in a plate or hook or some such with screws to bring my collarbone back down to my scapula. From what I understand- surgery for this type of injury actually results in a long term better physical result than letting it heal all crooked! Well- if it had to happen couldn't be a better time. I can do stationary bikes at the fitness center and then get on the road in January.

11.07.06: Another movie to see next week, Fast Food Nation based on the 1995 book by Eric Schlosser. Fast Food Nation (non-fiction) is to the end of the 20th century what The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is to the beginning. Read it and it will highlight to you that your food choices impact more than just the cow or fries you eat- there are people in the food chain too!

11.07.06: Election day- did my civic duty and voted. Our poll station was busy and had 275 voters in 3-1/4 hours! Hopefully people will realize the mess the Republicans have made (as a party- there are individual effective Republicans) and get rid of them both nationally and statewide!

11.02.06: Okay- here's a curious situation. I called my health insurance company to inform them of the accident and that I had the name and contact info of the owner's of the dog. She told me the insurance company would send me a document to sign that stated if I sued these people I would re-imburse the insurance company. Now, I only called them because I figured they'd want to go right to these people's insurance company and get that money reimbursed directly. After all- if I don't sue (and I don't plan on it) my insurance company will be paying a chunk anyway even if a small portion gets left to me to pay. I plan on getting the dog owner's to pay this remaining amount but I don't intend to sue. So in that sense my insurer will be paying a large chunk. Why should I do their work and hire an attorney and sue?

11.02.06: Found the website of a friend of mine. David Moore, enthusiastic mountain biker and all around good guy. Check his site out. I also put it in my LINKS page

11.01.06: Dumbass dog! I went for a training ride last evening on my bike. I left my office at about 515pm and was planning to ride out 10 miles, then back to the car. The idea was to utilize as much daylight as possible. Three miles into the ride on 32nd St (or whatever street it is in Allegan County- it starts as 32nd by the office) a big dog charged out of a yard and literally body blocked my front tire causing me to endo on road. Net result- severly broken collarbone- except broken in a strange place near where it intersects with the shoulderblade and the shoulder socket). I do have a witness- an SBC guy gave me his card- he saw the whole thing. When I knocked on the door, the lady said "we hardly ever see bikes out her" as if that mattered!!

So I rode my bike three miles back to the car and office. I left the bike at my desk and drove home. I got home and changed clothes from riding gear and went to the hospital. We got there at about 715pm and got right in and by 830pm had been xray'd. We then sat there for the next three hours waiting for an orthopedic doctor to make pronouncements.

I expect this one will require surgery, my left shoulder is really caved in. I hope to get an actual photo of my Xray later. Doctor's appt is next Tuesday Nov 7.

11.01.06: Da-da-dahhh, da-da-dahh, only 17 days til the opening of Casino Royale, the new James Bond film. The best website for this is MI6. I think Daniel Craig will be a tough Bond. Eva Green will be one of the best "Bond girls" ever.

(Photos from the MI6 website).