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Archive for February 15th, 2011

In reverse order from the today’s title: yesterday, I went to the Richmond Kaiser ER via ambulance.
I wasn’t feeling well when I got up, but like a true martyr, I decided to tough it out at work.  “Share the wealth!“, that’s what I always say.  No point in being ill on a workday, if you can’t share it with everyone else in the office.  About 10, I started getting nauseous.  Then, I started getting dizzy.  By about 10:30, I couldn’t concentrate or think straight.  So, (worried about having a stroke) I got to my feet and staggered over to the nurse’s office down the hall from my desk.
They sat me down and did the normal stuff – pulse and BP and asking questions.  Since they are aware of my A-Fib, of course their first concern was that I might be having a stroke or heart attack.  I remained confused and dizzy so they called 9-1-1 to get an ambulance.  They took me to Kaiser ER and I spent the next 3 hours being looked after there.
I must say, this was my first experience with Kaiser and they were very kind and professional.  I would definitely have no worries about going there in the future if I ever change my health insurance.
Anyway, they sent me home with a prescription for the dizziness and a note to stay home for two days.  The doctor also advised me to stay in bed, drink lots of fluids and get my ears cleaned (too much wax).  He said my right ear looked a little inflamed, but there was no temperature or indication of infection.
I picked up my car at work, drove home and hopped into bed.  I crashed out for a couple of hours and felt much better – so I read a little, then took my meds and crashed out for the night.
So, no jog last night…  My streak ended at 12 consecutive days.  That’s not bad for me.  I’m usually a 5-6 day and then off for a couple days jogger.  So, I’ll see when I’m able to start a new streak.  My right ear is still throbbing a bit, so it probably won’t be today.  Don’t know about tomorrow.  Maybe, Thursday.  I’ve scheduled my ear cleaning for that day, so that should  help.
I added two more song lyrics today.  The first is titled:  “Woyaya“, and is sung by an African group based out of London called Osibisa.  They play some terrific music which (to me) was kind of a transition between Earth, Wind And Fire and Ladysmith Black Mambazo – not American R&B, not Caribbean Reggae, but also not African, but kind of a blend between all three.  The interesting thing is they ARE African – they just don’t sound it as much (to me) as Ladysmith.  To side track to a short story about a small world, when I was living in Liverpool I had a friend who had lived in South Africa for several years.  One night he and his family were over for a BBQ and I asked him if he liked this African “sound”, and I played him this song.  He said, “Wow, that sounds just like Osibisa!”  I said it was and he added he’d actually seen them perform in London on one of his trips back and forth to South Africa.  He found it very amusing that an American was playing an LP brought from the US, made by an African group based in London, to a Scouser (a person from Liverpool) who had actually seen the group perform live.  It really is a small world after all!!
The second song lyrics added is an old classic (from 1968):  “Honey“, and was sung by Bobbie Goldsboro.  It’s an incredibly sappy song about simple love and loss (death), but I really liked it back then and still do today.  I’ve been told it has been nominated as one of the worst songs of all time.  Anyone who thinks so hasn’t heard much music or at least not as much of the terribly bad music I’ve heard in the last 50+ years.  Sappy, yes.  Tear-jerker, definitely.  But worst songs of all time – sorry, not even close.  I encourage you all to go to YouTube and listen to it yourself.  (I will apologize in advance for Bobbie’s hairdo which is more dated than the song.)
As usual, read the lyrics for both, think about the words and meaning, go to YouTube, and enjoy!!!
Feeling better today, I finished my latest book:  “Against the Gods:  The Remarkable Story Of Risk“, written by Peter L. Bernstein (1998©).  The book is basically a history of the theories of math, statistics, probability and risk.  The book covers about 3,000 years of history and does it an interesting and enjoyable read.  The last chapters of the book deal with the concepts of derivatives and modern financial risk management tools.  Because the book is now dated – over 10 years old – it doesn’t have chance to explain the two most recent bubble-bursts –  the web collapse or the housing / credit meltdown of the 2000’s.  Interestingly enough, though, I felt as if the author did try to forecast their shadows with some of his comments in the final chapter.
As someone who has only a little prior background in this field, I found the book enjoyable and enlightening and I highly recommend it.
Oh, yeah.  This was another of the twelve books I was going to take with me to Baltimore to read during my 120 day detail.
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On This Day In:
2022 A Reminder Of Pride And Responsibility
2021 And Last Minute Blog Posts
This Boy Just Ain’t Right
2020 Pat, Pat, Pant, Pant
2019 You (Too) Are Related
A Blind Squirrel Finds An Idiot
2018 My Hope
2017 We All Lose
2016 Wants
2015 Let Us Join
2014 Feeling Kept?
Chillin’
2013 The Lucky Few
2012 A Post-Valentine’s Day Message
2011 Risk, Lyrics, Starting Over, And My Trip To The ER
Lucky Choice

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I didn’t choose to be a computer scientist because my main mission in life was to advance computation.  I chose computer science simply because I was good at it.  For some reason, my peculiar way of thinking correlated well with computers.
…Experience shows that about one person in 50 has a computer scientist’s way of looking at things.
    —    Donald E. Knuth
From his book:  “Things A Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About
[I’m not sure I’m all that good at it, but I’ve managed to make a living out of working with computers.  And in any case, as we used to say in the Army:  “It is better to be lucky than good.”    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022 A Reminder Of Pride And Responsibility
2021 And Last Minute Blog Posts
This Boy Just Ain’t Right
2020 Pat, Pat, Pant, Pant
2019 You (Too) Are Related
A Blind Squirrel Finds An Idiot
2018 My Hope
2017 We All Lose
2016 Wants
2015 Let Us Join
2014 Feeling Kept?
Chillin’
2013 The Lucky Few
2012 A Post-Valentine’s Day Message
2011 Risk, Lyrics, Starting Over, And My Trip To The ER
Lucky Choice

Read Full Post »

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