tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-153241752009-07-01T11:19:25.559-04:00All we are, basically, are monkeys with car keys.Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.comBlogger718125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-24922545445901794562009-06-29T23:42:00.002-04:002009-06-29T23:57:40.704-04:00

The injuries to Carlos Beltran and Dave Bush have hurt my Angels with Crystal Balls, to the extent that my lead a week ago had shrunk to 4.5 points. Blame lies primarily with my pitchers, who don't give up many baserunners but seem to give up more than their share of home runs with men on base. Check out that discrepancy between WHIP and ERA.Chad Gaudin had a marvelous week to help start

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/06/that-time-of-month.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-53476143024938071062009-06-26T12:52:00.004-04:002009-06-29T12:40:50.195-04:00

I spent Tuesday visiting medical establishments.I had a follow-up with my excellent hematologist scheduled for 9:20 a.m. and the day started well as I got the best of all possible parking spots at 9:00. Anticipating a wait, I paid for the most parking I could: $4 for two hours.The first order of business was a donation of two vials of that most precious of bodily fluids, blood. I took a seat in

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/06/health-updates.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-10592634471153056912009-06-21T20:10:00.002-04:002009-06-21T20:40:34.148-04:00

I'm having a comedy of events here.Elvi spent the bulk of Father's Day weekend out near Magog on a retreat with her lesbian choir, leaving me and the kids to fend for ourselves. I managed to get Child Two out with me for a shopping trip yesterday but spent most of the rest of the day in bed. I fell asleep around 5:30 p.m., woke at 8:00 p.m. and told the kids to eat, then went back to bed.At 9:

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com3http://101squadron.com/2009/06/fathers-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-52866975524401391962009-06-10T12:40:00.003-04:002009-06-10T13:00:21.083-04:00

Mono or not, I started teaching my summer grad course this week. Because the Journalism Department this year doubled the number of graduate diploma students from 20 to 40, I get to teach two sections.I'll be in school Mondays and Thursdays, teaching a morning and afternoon class each of those days for seven weeks. This past Monday and Tuesday, I started with one-hour orientation sessions. It

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/06/back-on-job-kinda.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-64965316820484691342009-06-02T11:03:00.003-04:002009-06-02T11:29:32.053-04:00

I was able to get a half day of work in yesterday morning, but I crashed at 12:30 p.m. I made some phone calls, dealt with a backlog of e-mail, and organized my schedule in the four hours I had. I suppose that's something, but I'd prefer more tangible results.June finds me way out front of the Irrational League with a 14-point lead over the second-place team. My lead fluctuates between nine

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/06/june-update.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-26642025361990627932009-05-31T23:20:00.002-04:002009-05-31T23:58:44.685-04:00

Saturday was the first day since late April that I didn't spend at least 18 hours in bed.All my symptoms have faded except for the fatigue and occasional belly discomfort near my spleen. But that fatigue, and associated dizziness and the consequent lack of ability to focus for long, keeps me wiped out and useless. Loading the dishwasher and washing a few pots and pans has felt like an

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com3http://101squadron.com/2009/05/almost-human.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-28878542005580204672009-05-19T15:37:00.003-04:002009-05-19T15:48:56.300-04:00

Quite often, students who are having problems concentrating tend to get up every ten minutes to watch TV, talk on the phone, take something out of the fridge, and a long list of other distractions. Were they to dedicate all this wasted time to studying, they would optimize their performance and have more free time available. Study Ball helps you study more and more efficiently.I'm looking at you,

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com1http://101squadron.com/2009/05/old-tech-made-new.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-29629900906722861002009-05-13T19:38:00.001-04:002009-05-15T07:54:19.919-04:00

I'm 43 and I have mononucleosis (a.k.a. glandular fever), the common variety caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). That virus is one of the most ubiquitous human infections on Earth; 95% of people are infected with EBV by the time they're 35 (I guess I rolled a 1 on my saving throw). The later you get it, the worse the disease is. Kids often suffer no symptoms or maybe appear to have a cold,

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/05/diagnosis-mono.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-62287367664796106192009-05-09T16:43:00.003-04:002009-05-09T17:20:14.317-04:00

Thursday, during one of my frequent naps, the hospital called and left a message saying that a doctor would like to talk to me about the chest x-rays I had Tuesday.When a radiologist sees something on a chest x-ray, it's usually either pneumonia or lung cancer. I had to call back five times before someone even answered the phone, but the man who did speak to me said the doctor was busy but would

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/05/im-episode-of-house.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-52591991605802852092009-05-06T12:02:00.000-04:002009-05-06T12:41:37.076-04:00

My GP is away so I went to the nearby CLSC (which is a medical clinic with nurses only). I considered walking but it's a bit farther than the garage and that walk tired me out yesterday, so I drove. I left around 3:30 p.m.When I describe my symptoms to the woman at the front desk, she gives me a medical mask to wear and tells me to go into the first door down the hall that faces me. That door

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com1http://101squadron.com/2009/05/angry-little-man-in-plastic-bubble.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-41661550459864673622009-05-04T21:53:00.004-04:002009-05-06T08:00:18.860-04:00

...Webs decided he should call the doctor on the ninth day.I woke up feeling great, so great that I decided to walk the four blocks to the garage that repaired my van's axle and gave it a tune-up and surrender $1,469 with a smile on my face and a dog by my side.When I got home, the effort hit me and I've been feeling as bad as I have with this whatever since I came down with it. I conked out

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/05/on-eight-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-42199098817732393812009-05-03T14:47:00.002-04:002009-05-03T14:58:59.400-04:00

I have nothing to report because I've spent the last week vegetating in bed.I feel odd, sick but not sick, flu-y with a flu.For the past seven days, I've lived with a mild tension headache, muscle aches and pains all over, severe fatigue, a bloated feeling, clammy skin, chills, and a slight cough. It feels like a bad cold or flu, but I have no congestion whatsoever. Physically I can get up and

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/05/little-out-of-it.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-14511049046469019782009-04-23T13:19:00.004-04:002009-04-23T13:56:40.151-04:00

Yesterday, we discovered April, our youngest chinchilla, dead of unknown causes. Her left thigh was plucked bare of fur but had no wounds. The only sign of distress on her was fur matted with what looked like snot or chinchilla vomit below her nose and mouth.I think the fur may have been pulled out by April's cage-mate and mother, January, in some sort of attempt to get her attention.We buried

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com1http://101squadron.com/2009/04/death-of-chinchilla.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-20532703938927869402009-04-19T22:29:00.002-04:002009-04-23T13:55:02.303-04:00

Saturday morning saw Houston and much of the US threatened by thunderstorms, as was our flight home. We had a departure scheduled at 12:50 p.m. for a 4:20 p.m. arrival in Cleveland and a flight home to Montreal an hour and a half later.I checked flight statuses up until we climbed into the car for the trip to the airport. Our intended aircraft was delayed in Phoenix for 37 minutes,

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/rain-delay.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-63647821922002655852009-04-15T22:54:00.003-04:002009-04-20T09:27:57.864-04:00

We went out to a lovely Mexican restaurant called Tampico, a Mexican seafood place we visit every trip.The snapper, shrimp, and crab legs were excellent as always, but the entertainment put a few exclamation points on our night out.My brother sat next to me, his wife across from him. Their rambunctious, loud, but cute 18-month-old only child flitted through several seats over the course of the

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/rookies.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-85978829211801561572009-04-09T14:10:00.002-04:002009-04-13T14:47:23.624-04:00

The traditional Haggadah with the red and yellow cover is chock full of rabbinical and Talmudic commentary that's so boring and, frankly, pointless. Several years ago, Elvi took it upon herself to edit a Haggadah for our family, and it's a great hit. It covers all the salient points of the holiday, keeps all prayers and parts of the seder, adds songs, but disperses with the tedious debates.It's

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/passover-20.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-91937315152952073182009-04-05T12:01:00.005-04:002009-04-20T09:23:22.753-04:00

Yesterday was the annual six-hour crankfest known as the Irrational League draft. This year's was a standard draft and I think I did well. My batters are all starters except for the catchers, both of whom are backups, but with a bit of oomph in their swings. I have no Jack Wilsons this year, but Cristian Guzman comes close. Guzman was the only batter pick that made me cringe. I left Jamie

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/duck-season-rabbit-season-baseball.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-16373425397839391632009-04-03T10:15:00.003-04:002009-04-03T10:19:34.648-04:00

Fame inexorably rolls on for my kids. This week's Suburban has an article on the Novice B Coupe Montreal game.The score subhead is wrong. It was JSH 2, Cougars 1. At least this article got some of the names right.

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/another-article.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-8513533546966504392009-04-02T12:31:00.003-04:002009-04-02T12:37:20.712-04:00

Although I recently covered Child Two's mathematical triumph, here's evidence I wasn't making it up. Here's more.

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/happy-birthday-child-two.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-27911741255546697442009-04-01T12:16:00.002-04:002009-04-01T12:55:37.256-04:00

We played JSH, the champions of Hockey Montreal's Novice B East League on Sunday. We had played them in a tournament in January, losing in a shootout. The first period ended 0-0, but they probably had the edge in play. The second period was all ours and we took a 1-0 lead. The period ended as we had a two-man breakaway crossing their blue line.Normally, our games progress without interruption

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/04/still-champions-of-west.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-71352158241801117892009-03-28T10:46:00.002-04:002009-03-28T11:01:56.938-04:00

This morning at 9:00, the NDG's two Novice B teams faced off for the championship of the Hockey Montreal Western League.The Panthers had beaten us 4-2 earlier in the playoffs, but we climbed into the final game with a solid 3-0 victory over the Ahuntsic Chiefs.The Panthers had only lost one game this year - in a shootout, to us. We'd also tied them during the regular season.This morning, our

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/03/champions.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-42387670632379464092009-03-25T08:19:00.003-04:002009-03-25T09:11:46.929-04:00

In my reporting of my children's activities, I have a bias for Child Three because I participate with him in his sports. Here's some news of the girls.The Math League is an international organization that distributes math contest to schools and grades the responses. The elementary school that Children Two and Three attend usually does well in the Canadian National Math League results - but this

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/03/brains.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-39338814355761384752009-03-23T08:42:00.002-04:002009-03-23T09:38:06.295-04:00

Our team of Novice B boys finally played like they can and won 3-0 to advance to the league finals, which will be an all-NDG affair. I wonder where our team has hidden for the last month.Child Three got the shutout, but seemed a little awkward on a few long slow shots early in the game. He came out to play one as an opposing player closed in. Standard goalie procedure in that case is to freeze

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/03/live-to-play-another-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-59147707412690511482009-03-22T10:03:00.003-04:002009-03-22T10:20:27.048-04:00

As I related recently, my father and I took down some extra foliage: "Our intention was to remove one casuarina tree but physics got out of hand. One major branch took out the pride of the papaya trees on its way down. The base of the papaya tree split like a dropped watermelon. We tied the papaya with rope to return it upright and used electrical tape and soil to seal the split trunk and

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/03/patient-status.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15324175.post-11115403009643746912009-03-20T10:18:00.003-04:002009-03-20T10:53:17.376-04:00

I'm switching Web hosts at least temporarily while my web-host friends move from the Pacific Northwest to Arkansas.My new host is local, SurfZen, which my students will recognize as the host for my course Web sites.My blog and Web site will remain available while the DNS changes propagate over the Net, but my blogging may appear to cease until the DNS change becomes available to you, almost

Webshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17877918422921900328noreply@blogger.com0http://101squadron.com/2009/03/big-move.html