I found this video today of Dan Castalleneta and Harry Shearer on the Conan O'Brien show and it's good fun. It's amazing how many voices these two actors do.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Misunderstood
For some reason I got the Queensryche song Last Time In Paris stuck in my head today. Naturally, I came home and looked up the video on youtube. I was about to post it but then I thought I might have posted that one before. So instead I'll put the other song up that's been stuck in my head the last few days. Here's some Dream Theater to help you through your day.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
External Fixator
I finally got my bandages removed and got a good look at the device holding my finger together - the external fixator. As it turns out, taking a picture of my hand, particularly an in focus picture turned out to be more of an ordeal than I had planned on and this was the best I could do. Being unable to get this thing wet for the 4-6 weeks I have to have it attached is already proving to be a difficulty. Washing one hand is really a challenge. And other simple tasks like getting my keys out of my pocket are troublesome.The good news is that the pain is mostly gone now, even after my first physical therapy session today which I had expected to leave me in tears. If I don't want to end up with significant loss of motion though, I will have to start bending it as much as possible as soon as possible. I've been trying to bend it the last 2 days and really can't move it very far without pain. Right now I'm just hoping for a little more each day. Unfortunately I'm told I can expect a 10-20% loss of range and arthritis. I'm going to push it as much as I can to get back to as close to normal as I can though.
I'm still struggling with the psychological implications a bit. Being unable to participate in my black belt test, now a little over a week away is hard to come to grips with. And the last few minutes alone in the hospital before they wheeled me into the operating room it was just really hard to believe that I was going through all of that over a broken finger. One fluke accident blocking a kick, something I've done a thousand times before, and my black belt was being taken away from me, I was in a hospital about to be put under, and I was going to have to endure weeks of pain and discomfort. I'm slowly getting over that, but I don't know how long it will take to get over it completely.
I am off the pain killers though and am hopeful for a successful recovery. And I can type reasonbly well. It seems that keeping it clean and free of infection will be one of the most important things from here on. If I get some better pictures, I'll throw them up.
Indiana Jones
I'll start out with the negatives. Yes, the movie starts out at Area 51. Yes there are aliens. Yes that was a huge wedge of cheese. It really went too far to the jokey, light hearted side and made me miss the seriousness of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The CG was overdone and unrealistic at times, particularly the scene with the swarms of ants. The Russians unloaded wheelbarrows full of machine gun ammo at Indy and company from 10 feet away and never hit a thing, A-Team style. The action scenes were unnecessarily long and drawn out.
I know that's a lot to overcome, but it still managed to be a fun movie. Indy is still an enthusiastic, albeit not very good, archaeologist that I can't help but love. Like the previous installments, it mixes just enough fact with folklore and story telling to spin a compelling yarn. I still love ancient civilizations, and when you throw in the Nazca lines and some great looking pyramids and ancient ruins it really sucks me in.
In my mind, this most closely compares with Temple of Doom. Shia LeBeouf is a little older and less annoying than Short Round, but the plot is a little thin. Not great, but still enjoyable if your expectations aren't too high.
I know that's a lot to overcome, but it still managed to be a fun movie. Indy is still an enthusiastic, albeit not very good, archaeologist that I can't help but love. Like the previous installments, it mixes just enough fact with folklore and story telling to spin a compelling yarn. I still love ancient civilizations, and when you throw in the Nazca lines and some great looking pyramids and ancient ruins it really sucks me in.
In my mind, this most closely compares with Temple of Doom. Shia LeBeouf is a little older and less annoying than Short Round, but the plot is a little thin. Not great, but still enjoyable if your expectations aren't too high.
Memorial Day
Due to my lack of interest in typing lately, I've delayed my Memorial Day post. Once again I'd like to thank all of the soldiers and veterans who have risked or given their lives to defend this country and the world.
As has become my tradition, I watched some war movies. I find that I'm partial to WWII movies, and this week I have made it through about half of Band of Brothers. If you haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to watch it. Particularly the episodes in Bastogne. It's based on actual events from the 101st airborne, easy company. What these men put themselves through to save the world from Hitler was truly amazing. In the Battle of the Bulge, they were in the Arden forest in the snow with no cold weather gear, short of ammunition and food, with no artillery, air support, or reinforcements, and yet they dug in and held off a larger German force. I can't even imagine what that must have been like.
So once again, thank you to all of the soldiers and veterans, and go watch Band of Brothers.
As has become my tradition, I watched some war movies. I find that I'm partial to WWII movies, and this week I have made it through about half of Band of Brothers. If you haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to watch it. Particularly the episodes in Bastogne. It's based on actual events from the 101st airborne, easy company. What these men put themselves through to save the world from Hitler was truly amazing. In the Battle of the Bulge, they were in the Arden forest in the snow with no cold weather gear, short of ammunition and food, with no artillery, air support, or reinforcements, and yet they dug in and held off a larger German force. I can't even imagine what that must have been like.
So once again, thank you to all of the soldiers and veterans, and go watch Band of Brothers.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
There Will Be Snoring
.... and there was. I fell asleep during There Will Be Blood and had to backtrack. Kind of wish I hadn't wasted the time now. I really don't get the hype of this film. Really boring. Not a word of dialogue in the first 15 + minutes was my first clue that there would be no plot development or character development. And oddly enough, almost no blood.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Surgery
Today I went in to see the hand specialist, and the first thing he said after looking at the x-ray was, "this is just about as bad a fracture as you can have in your hand." As you may have deduced, this was not a good visit. I had hoped to hear that I could just keep it in a splint for a couple weeks and it would be fine, but the ruling on the field is surgery. 9:00 am tomorrow morning (Friday), I have to go in and have pins inserted.
What the doctor described to me sounds a little unusual. I have to have 2 pins inserted, one above the knuckle, and one below. They will go all the way through the finger and protrude from both sides where they will attach to some sort of external brace. This is the least invasive procedure. He said there is about a 5% chance that he will not be able to align the bones properly with this technique and will have to open up the finger and insert screws, and there is about a 1% chance that the bone chip will be to badly broken to reattach and he will have to remove it and take a piece of bone from another part of my hand an insert it. That really concerns me.
The big problem is that I chipped off a part of the bone right at the joint. The additional problem is that the two bones in the finger are no longer aligned properly. One of the bones is "sublimated", and it looks a little like a fault line. I wish I had a picture of the x-ray I could post, it's a little difficult to describe.
So, I'm a little concerned about the surgery, and unfortunately this also means I will be unable to participate in my black belt test which is now 2 weeks away. My ever caring sensei suggested I ask the doctor if he can amputate the finger and keep it frozen until after the test and then re-attach it. And while that may seem like a good idea, I'm not sure it's the way I want to go. But all the typing is starting to get to me so I think I'm going to come to a grinding halt here. This also means that there will be no Indy review today. I did see the film today, but don't have it in me to continue typing. Stay tuned.
What the doctor described to me sounds a little unusual. I have to have 2 pins inserted, one above the knuckle, and one below. They will go all the way through the finger and protrude from both sides where they will attach to some sort of external brace. This is the least invasive procedure. He said there is about a 5% chance that he will not be able to align the bones properly with this technique and will have to open up the finger and insert screws, and there is about a 1% chance that the bone chip will be to badly broken to reattach and he will have to remove it and take a piece of bone from another part of my hand an insert it. That really concerns me.
The big problem is that I chipped off a part of the bone right at the joint. The additional problem is that the two bones in the finger are no longer aligned properly. One of the bones is "sublimated", and it looks a little like a fault line. I wish I had a picture of the x-ray I could post, it's a little difficult to describe.
So, I'm a little concerned about the surgery, and unfortunately this also means I will be unable to participate in my black belt test which is now 2 weeks away. My ever caring sensei suggested I ask the doctor if he can amputate the finger and keep it frozen until after the test and then re-attach it. And while that may seem like a good idea, I'm not sure it's the way I want to go. But all the typing is starting to get to me so I think I'm going to come to a grinding halt here. This also means that there will be no Indy review today. I did see the film today, but don't have it in me to continue typing. Stay tuned.
End Of An Era
The Safeco tower is officially gone. On the UW web site, you can see some of their photos of the signs being changed. For some reason, despite the fact that I'm completely sick of working at Safeco, it still makes me feel a little sad. I don't really know why. It kind of feels like losing a landmark. Anyway, in addition to the 'official' photos, here is the view from my office taken with my crappy camera phone.
And here is another from down the street when I took a stroll up to Trader Joe's.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Ouch Part II
I finally got a doctor to see me today and after an x-ray, he told me I have a slightly displaced avulsion fracture at the proximal, volar aspect of the middle phalanx. In English that means a broken knuckle on the right ring finger. It also means that I have to go see a hand specialist to see if it will heal properly on it's own or if I'll have to have a pin put in. It also means that the letters o, l, and . will remain difficulties in my typing for a while longer. Good times. And to quote Dom Deluise in Cannonball Run, it only hurts when I point.
On to today's Indy trivia! In the zeppelin scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery both were not wearing any pants because the set was too hot that day.
On to today's Indy trivia! In the zeppelin scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery both were not wearing any pants because the set was too hot that day.
A Brief History Of Coffee
I love coffee and really enjoyed this article on how coffee changed the world. As it turns out, coffee houses were once known as 'schools of the wise', a term I plan to bring back to prominence. Also interesting to note is that the now famous insurance company Lloyds of London originally was a cafe. Perhaps Starbucks will one day expand operations to include insuring celebrity body parts or offering alien abduction coverage.
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