Category: Uncategorized Page 42 of 157

Last weekend, I was running some errands and decided to grab a bite to eat. I considered Wendy’s since I like their food and it was on the way – but this Wendy’s has a terribly difficult exit – enough to make me skip it and find something else if the traffic was bad.

So, instead of pulling in, I drove on past and got stopped by traffic – inadvertently (and only partially) blocking the exit. This is the reason I don’t like to eat there – too easy to get stuck trying to leave. There was no one waiting to exit and I figured that the traffic would clear shortly.

Before it did, however, a jeep pulled through the drive through and tried to exit. I pulled up as far as I could, but even though it was enough for the driver to get past – it still wasn’t enough.

As he pulled out into traffic behind me – crossing three lanes as he did so – he sounded his horn and flipped me off.

I just shook my head. I didn’t deserve that, but if it made him feel better – so be it.

A few days later, I was headed into work and saw an ambulance coming up behind me. I dutifully pulled over – and so did everyone else on the road – to give way. It was important and we were patient. With the guy in the jeep it clearly wasn’t important (even if he was having a burger emergency he already had that by the time I encountered him), and he was completely impatient.

I don’t know what’s to be learned by those experiences – except that I try not to get stuck in that lane anymore.

————-

I’ve got a couple of “idle games” on my phone. This genre is about clicking or tapping a bit to earn the equivalent of money in the games – then using that to “buy” some kind of process to click/tap on your behalf. There are then multipliers and ever increasing “costs” to gain more automation and more multiplies. In short order, the game is playing itself with only minimal intervention from me. I like to imagine the furious amounts of math the device is churning through to reward me with a few hundred trillion of whatever.

I wonder if computers enjoy doing math? If there is some satisfaction from really getting a good compression out of a PDF or a delicious bit of encryption? If high speed internet tastes better than dial-up?

I hope so. I’d hate to be on the “wrong side” when the Robot Uprising begins…

———————

I had a physical therapy appointment today and found that I have learned something. If a physical therapist says, “Let’s try something,” it’s going to hurt in some new and interesting way.

Today was the use of hard plastic wedges to scrape at my bicep. The process helps restore proper blood flow to an area and will loosen up the muscle. You can tell it’s working when the skin turns a blotchy red and tiny capillaries begin to break under the skin. Bruising is not unusual.

It feels just about how you would expect it to – not a pleasant experience. I think the PT was showing off a bit for the intern that was on hand, but I guess it helped. I’ll use the “rack” later on and see how it goes.

—————

I noticed some water in my bathroom on the floor the other day. I had been leaving the window open and I figured I got some rain in there. I also noticed some water on the counter in my kitchen and thought initially it was the cold pack I’d left out. But then I mentally mapped out my house and realize the bathroom and the kitchen were lined up vertically. I got a definitive answer when I flushed the toilet and saw a little water pool under the bowl – then went downstairs to see the water dripping from the ceiling. After physical therapy this morning, I went to Home Depot and got a new wax ring. I’ve had this problem before and figured I needed to upgrade. This one proclaimed itself – “Better than Wax”.

From start to finish – including clean-up – was just under an hour to replace the existing ring. Not to shabby for a non-plumber. I didn’t have any leaks so we’ll see how it goes over time.

My most recent trip to physical therapy was somewhat less than stellar. I saw a new PT – this is the 5th person I’ve seen – and while he was quite pleasant, he wasn’t that effective. He did tell me to stop using the brace in the flexion mode since it appeared I have a physical limit there. Instead, I should spend time in extension mode since they think I can get a little more out of it.

So, I’ve been going for 40-45 minutes in a session with the brace and discovered something. With that extra bit of time and cranking, I can take the “rack” to the limit. My arm, then, is as straight as it will go. It hurt quite a bit and it doesn’t last, but it’s something. I’ve been trying to do more with heat first and cold after and I guess/hope that it’s helping. Sure don’t want 3 more months of this.

——————

I’m on my feet all day at work (by choice, I have a standing desk) and I walk around a lot when I’m not at work. As a consequence, I’m rough on my shoes and I had to get a new pair for work.

Now, I’m not a fan of shoes in general – I would much rather be barefoot or wear flip flops – and I freaking hate shopping for shoes.

Mostly because I don’t understand the subtle nuance of shoes that can make two virtually identical pairs cost vastly different amounts. I saw a pair that would have worked at Walmart – though they didn’t have my size, of course – for $30. At another store, nearly identical shoes were $80. Right next to the $70 flip flops. If I spent $10 on flip-flips, I expect them to be pre-bedazzled.

I ended up going to three different stores before I found a reasonable style, at reasonable price, in my size.  I am very thoroughly a size ten in shoes.

Why was that so difficult? Is it because I don’t buy into the shoe mystique? What I really need is a no-hype shoe store. I don’t really care abut the presumed features or the pedigree of the designer, I just don’t want to get in trouble at work for not wearing shoes.

I’m sure we have a rule about that.

So, tomorrow, I’m wearing my new shoes for the first day since I got them and I’ll be breaking them in.

And maybe planning a new career change in shoe sales.

“Anthony’s No Hype shoes”, maybe?
————————

Since I’m a compulsive folder, I always have little squares of paper in my pocket. It’s pretty much – keys, wallet, phone, paper and pen… when I head out the door.

When something happens or occurs to me while I’m out and about, I’ll jot down a note so I can write about it later. It’s usually just a word or two to help me remember what was going on or what I was thinking about. I’ll carry around the paper for a few days until I’m ready to blog, then I’ll use that as a reference. For example, the paper for today has:

Limit (as in, I took the brace to the limit)
Shoes (of my shoe shopping trip)
Finger (about getting flipped off while driving)
idle (about idle games on my phone)

I’ve covered two today and I’ll write about finger and idle some other day.

Also on that paper, though, is the word:

Suitable.

I have no idea what that’s about. Was it a pun? Was it ironic? It must have been significant at the time, but I don’t know what it’s about. I think I just created a mystery for myself and I suppose I could retrace my steps and figure out what it meant, but I suspect it’s not really that important.

Not that this blog is going to usher in a new age of civilization or anything, but I’m guessing this was even less important.

In any case, I’ve only got a few days to work it out before I start a new piece of paper – which will be right around the time I write about those other two items.

A few days ago, I decided to dismantle an old and broken DVD/VHS player.  I thought I might be able to salvage the circuit board in there for another project and set to work with a screwdriver.

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning for my elbow and while he was pleased with my progress, he thinks I need to give the rack and physical therapy more time.

3 months more time.

If I don’t improve by 30 degrees of motion (which is what I’m lacking now), then he would consider surgery. If I can get 15-20, but stop there, then surgery may not help much.

I was disappointed, but resigned to another 3 months on that accursed torture device and the once-a-week physical therapy.

After the appointment, I had a session with a different physical therapist than I’d had in the past. She was surprised at how much extra motion I got after she used a heating pad on my arm.

“Let’s try something,” she said, and proceeded to go after my arm like a squid trying to solve a Rubik’s cube. Poked, prodded, twisted – and that was just the warm-up.

The therapist was apologetic at the pain she was causing – while also delighted at the progress.  She claimed to love elbows and loved a good challenge.

When she was done, I had nearly a full range of very painful – but encouraging – motion. It didn’t last, but it was promising.

She let me rest for a few minutes (and quietly dry my tears) before it was time for paperwork and departure. She promised to get the notes on what she worked on to my regular therapist and suggested I put ice on my arm right away as what she had done had caused some inflammation.

I stopped at home to get a cold pack and then on into work.

So, 3 months of the rack – but maybe less if the new physical therapy techniques can help. I’m willing to endure quite a lot of pain in the short term if we can avoid 3 months of the rack and possible surgery.

The “Monday lunchtime trip to the pool” conversation between my co-worker and I is usually about what we did over the weekend. Sounds a little grade-school when you say it like that, but it’s usually interesting. This time, my co-worker said that he had gone to a folk music concert and was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. Not enough to go out and buy folk albums, but enjoyable live.

It got me thinking about watching baseball. On TV, well, I’d almost rather watch golf – or watch paint dry – but in person, a baseball game can be a lot of fun.

What is it about the recorded version of these things – folk music and baseball – that detracted so much from the live version?

My theory is that the live versions allow us to be our own editors, instead of relying on someone else to filter the event and distill what they think is important.

When there’s a pause in a baseball game on TV, it gets filled with a commercial. When there’s a pause in an in-person game, there are people to watch and mascots to mock. There’s the 7th inning physical stretch and “beer heeeeeeeeere”. In the pause, there are things other than baseball – but maybe not any less engaging.

A live folk show has atmosphere and the sense of a unique moment. A recording – even a “live” recording – misses something special about the people around us and how we perceive  them.  There’s something in being present that adds to the experience.

From this, it would seem that a recording would always pale before a live event – but if the fault is in the editing then the right editor could improve on reality.

I went to a photography show this past weekend and the exhibit had photos of places I had almost surely driven past, but disregarded.

The photographer had captured something else – and sense of cheer in some cases, but mostly bleakness. Something I would have missed with my own filters applied as I drove past these places in the “live” view.  Being present in the real world didn’t automatically make me a better editor.

Every moment of our waking lives our brains are furiously editing out massive amounts of information from our senses – things that our internal editor decides we don’t need to remember or even consciously think about.

So, maybe the key to getting more out of our lives and our experiences is to try and be better editors and be more aware of our filters.

It seemed a little deeper and more profound earlier today, but there’s still maybe something useful here.

As I got in my car today after work, I fired up the Great Clips app and used their online check-in option. Once checked in, I started my car and headed out to get my haircut.

I pulled into the parking lot and went in and up to the counter. The man in front of me was told their would be a wait – which was odd since there was only one person in the waiting area. He couldn’t wait and left – and I stepped up to the counter and checked in formally. I sat down and in a few moments – not even enough time to fold a crane – I was called up.

Ahead of the woman that had been waiting when I walked in. I realized that I was the “wait” that drove the man away.

By checking in online, I had jumped the physical line. Which is the whole point of the app – I suppose. That, and gathering some degree of data about me and my habits and travel for some wacky marketing scheme.

I got my haircut, paid, and was on my way in short order.

My next stop was Chipotle. I hadn’t ordered ahead and stood in line for nearly 1/2 an hour. When I got up to the front, I had to wait further as they made a burrito for someone that had called in their order ahead of time. Those folks jumped the line ahead of me and I had to wait – on people that weren’t there yet and who hadn’t stood in line.

The app for Great Clips seemed like a…well, great… idea. Check-in, head out, no line when I arrive, haircut and gone.

It seemed less of a great idea when the reverse happened and I was stuck in line for what turned out to be a not-great burrito.

The problem in both of these cases is that there are two ways to approach the same resource: the pre-order and the stand in line. If everyone pre-ordered, there would be no line. If everyone stood in line, there would be no line jumping – well, at least not any “legal” line-jumping. The mix, though, rewards the planners and punishes the spontaneous.

I have seen some Chipotle’s that segment off the pre-order and have a separate line and crew for that function. When they aren’t busy, that second crew does other tasks around the restaurant. Not sure how that would work at Great Clips without a lot of costly idle time.

What disappoints me is that technology is creating artificial and temporary class systems. And those are rarely good.

I resented the call-aheads at Chipotle and I’m pretty sure the woman in the waiting room at Great Clips wasn’t happy at my legal line jump – but short of redundant crews, I’m not sure how to fix the problem.

Food for thought as I ate my “just-okay” burrito…

I got another random bill recently. This was for the day of the surgery and covered the surgery room – but not the surgeon – and the anesthesiologist room – but not the actual dude. It covered some, but not all, of the drugs used to knock my ass out and some – but not all – of the supplies. The surgery was after the emergency room visit – which I’ve already been billed for (room, supplies, x-ray, and doctor all billed separately – naturally) but before the follow up visits and physical therapy, which I’ve already been billed also.

The total charges amounted to over 13,000 dollars – but the insurance company said, “nope, we’re only going to pay 1300 and Anthony is going to pay 300. Suck it.”

I’m rounding because the actual numbers don’t really matter to the point, which is “How in the world does that work?!”

If I didn’t have insurance, what would be my amount to pay? 13,000? 1300?1600? It’s like some kind of game show where you have to guess the actual amount of the good or service – without going over (because good luck getting a refund) or under (because they’ll turn you over to collections or put your ass in debtor prison.)

Or going in to pick up a pizza and when they give you the total of $13.00 and someone else walks up and says, “Nope. Anthony and his job have been paying me pizza money for a while now. I’m going to pay 6 dollars and Anthony is going to pay 2 dollars. Now give him his 8 dollar pizza and shut the hell up.”

Of course, to make that situation more accurate, we’d get a separate bill for the 2 liter of soda and we’d get charged for the napkins and the pizza box.

Which is ridiculous.

So, another check in the mail…

———————

I added the google tracking code to my website and my blog. Not entirely sure why – I mean, it’s not like I’m selling anything here – but it seemed like a good exercise since we use it at work. Interesting tools, but I wish Google would settle down and quit changing the interface so much. I can never find anything in there – getting tired of learning and relearning everything there.

——————
This weekend, I got outside and did some yard work. Pulled down some dead vines, raked leaves, and did a little trimming. It felt good to be outside and the sunshine was… simply wonderful.

I had a couple of tasks the other evening – paying bills and folding flowers.

The bills were expected – medical bills, car payment, and mortgage.

The flowers were an unexpected project – for a friend who’s mother had just passed away. I knew her mom, a little, but by the time I got to meet her she was already starting to… fade. And when we lost her, I made flowers. It’s kinda what I do.

For everything, there’s a little bit of paper to be folded and for funerals – it’s lilies.

They turned out well: http://thunderofwade.tumblr.com/post/115903452699/origami-lilies

but even as much as I enjoy making these for people – and bringing maybe a little bit of joy to a sad time – I always remember all the others that I’ve made lilies for.

So, I folded and paid my bills. And as I got the stamps ready to go, I noted on them the word “forever”.

How strange that a sticky piece of paper can be something “forever” and the important people in our lives are so much shorter than that. Seems unfair.

The calling hours were today and I got to give my flowers away. They bought a smile – as they were intended to do – and will maybe bring some comfort in the days to come.

The fresh cut flowers at the funeral home won’t last more than a few days. My lilies will last much longer, but even paper doesn’t last forever.

What does last are our memories of the people that pass in and out of our lives. And those memories will bring smiles in the sad times – as they are intended to do.