It doesn't look like Mike will be coming home anytime soon. So far none of the meds they've tried to stop the arrythmia have worked. He's had an ultrasound of his heart.....which I don't know exactly what normal should look like, but I'm guessing one's heart & valves shouldn't look like they're jitterbugging to Syncopation Station.
He's been moved into a room now, and wanted to get some sleep while they were leaving him alone. I'm sure that won't last very long.
You know how hospitals are.
Updated: They finally got the right combination of medicines, and Mike will get to come home in the morning. Assuming nothing changes overnight. In addition to the new meds, he's to stop smoking, lose weight, exercise more and get his blood sugar under better control.
Poor guy. That's not going to be fun.
But neither, I assuming, is dying.
Nothing like a midnight run to the ER to get your ticker thumping, is there? Especially when one's ticker is the reason.....or Mike's ticker to be more exact.
I think he's going to be ok, but is probably going to be kept in hospital for a little while for observation & meds. Or at least that's what everyone was saying when I left around 3 a.m. to grab a couple hours sleep.
I don't know many details now, but the nurses had stopped checking him every 5 minutes (which is always a good sign) and the meds seemed to be getting everything under control. He was resting comfortably.....at least as comfortably as could be expected with all the monitors & stuff hooked up to him.
I'm heading back shortly and hopefully will be bringing him home later today.
It's supposed to get down in the mid-30's tonight, so I had to bring a couple of my potted plants indoors this afternoon. Smokey came into the kitchen to see what I was doing just as I was bringing the last one in. Unfortunately, Smokey was also on the counter-top and apparently thought he was being attacked by Cthulhu's Peace Lily of Doom.
In his frantic haste to escape his impending death, he spilled my cup of tea.....my lovely cup of tea that had been brewing while I finished my evening chores and that I was planning to enjoy as soon as I found a place to set Cthulhu's Peace Lily of Doom.
Aargh. Bloody cat.
But after thinking about it, I guess I can't really blame him. It's a HUGE plant, and I'm sure it looked to him like this plant had somehow grown legs & was marching indoors to get him. He's still really freaked out about it.
Reckon he wonders what was in that cat food I just fed him?
Revenge....apply directly to the forehead.
So. Is this jailhouse vengeance or self-inflicted to sweeten a possible book deal?
And I'm bored....and still unemployed. *sigh* I'm beginning to think my momma dresses me funny or something. I got a lovely rejection letter yesterday from my last interview....in which was included the 'helpfully constructive' criticism that next time I should work on providing more examples to a certain specific question. One which I was never asked in any form in any of the 3 interviews I had with this company.
WTF???
I have no idea what that meant. But it pissed me off. Um, sorry, guess I left my psychic panties at home that day. I mean seriously, when writing a rejection letter the 'P' word one should keep in mind is 'professional' not 'passive-agressive'. Sheesh.
Anyway, I've a couple more leads I'm following up on, and have an interview with a different place in a couple of weeks. And I killed another big fat mole today, so I'm feeling better about myself.
Beware my Shovel of Death!
I've had a couple of quick verdicts, but this one has to win the prize for fastest verdict & sentencing ever.
5 minutes for the verdict, 12 for sentencing. (annoying registration req'd)
Amazing.
I'd hate to be this attorney.
After four years of living with lawsuits and three weeks of trial, a Washington County jury took only 21 minutes to return a verdict in favor of Alpharma in a lawsuit alleging arsenic from chicken feed caused her son's rare form of leukemia.
That's barely enough time to elect a foreperson and fill out the 'you lose' verdict form.
Ouch.
--Someone set us up the bomb.
--Nasty weather weekend, though it wasn't too bad here except for the lightning.....some of the worst I've seen in years.
--Kudos to local blogger Valerie, who's featured in an article about politics, blogging & YouTube.
--Speaking of politics, I caught part of the now infamous Clinton interview.....and laughed and laughed. Methinks thou doest protest too much. As I remember at the time, this conservative criticized his lame responses to all those terrorist attacks....which was sadly too reminiscent of Carter's hostage rescue efforts. Perhaps if he'd put as much effort into a response as he did certain more....pleasurable pursuits, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in.
Not that he's entirely to blame. No president since Reagan has taken terrorism as seriously as he should.
Sad, but true.
Though not too bad, all things considered.
The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
| Level | Score |
|---|---|
| Purgatory (Repenting Believers) | High |
| Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers) | Low |
| Level 2 (Lustful) | Moderate |
| Level 3 (Gluttonous) | High |
| Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious) | Moderate |
| Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy) | High |
| Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics) | Very Low |
| Level 7 (Violent) | Moderate |
| Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers) | Moderate |
| Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous) | Moderate |
Somebody needs to put down the ganja. Not only is the basis for the lawsuit positively absurd, but unless their financials have recently drastically reversed, Ford & GM ain't got no deep pockets.
The unions beat you to it, bub.
Sollie has a new role model....though I doubt they'll call on him to replace our recently deceased police dog.
But walking down the sidewalk--that he could handle.
Now we know why Willie can't wait to get on the road again.
Ain't you boys getting a little long in the tooth for such nonsense?
Some dweeb was just on the History Channel talking about flying cars....a concept which proves the axiom of "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should". Sure it's a cool concept, but let's think it through.
Look around you tonight while driving home from work. Do you really want that asshat who just cut you off to be piloting anything near you that can fly....at 300+ m.p.h.?
Another didn't-think-it-through idea was to convert all the highways to some kind of magnetic technology. There would be no speed limit, and highways could be covered with grass.
Brilliant, professor. And what would all that grass attract? Personally, I wouldn't care to hit a deer while driving at sub-sonic speeds. Or an armadillo, for that matter.
Talk about roadkill.
All of the birds and bees were presumably there, but there were no bulls....or if there were, we couldn't find any much to WildChild's disappointment. "I don't WANT to see cows, I want to see the bulls" he kept insisting. The goats & rabbits were a hit as always, but he seemed more fascinated with the fountain & koi pond set up in the gardening exhibition hall.
Kids are weird.
He rode tons of rides, and begged until Pa won him a prize at the balloon dart game. The lady showed him the prizes he could pick from, and asked him which he wanted. "A pogo stick," he replied. She almost fell out of the booth laughing. He settled for a cheesy plastic bow & arrow set, of which he was immensely proud.
As we were leaving, we got him some cotton candy since he'd been a very good boy. After we got into the car, I told him to be careful eating it because it was made out of clown hair.
When I finally told him I was just teasing (because he flatly refused to eat it) he said I was a very bad Ma.
And his point was?
One thing I did yesterday, between moments of interest and hours of intense boredom, was snap a shot of the famed 'Peace Fountain' on the Fayetteville downtown square.
Or as I like to call it, 'The World' by T.S. Dungbeetle.
I've an all-day CLE (continuing legal education seminar), a/k/a 8 hrs. of my life I'll never get back. Though if this guy shows up, as he usually does at these things, the presentation on "Enemy Combatants at Guantanamo & the U.S. Constitution" might get a little more.....interesting.
There may be moonbattery on display.
If you're a member of some quasi-militia, let's-pretend-to-be-policemen organization, you might not want to draw a lot of public attention to yourself.
A man who had just complained to the Marion County Quorum Court about road conditions in his neighborhood was escorted from the meeting room Tuesday night and arrested on a charge of impersonating a police officer.
....
An arrest affidavit filed in support of the charge said Bourg presented a phony law enforcement identification card during a traffic stop last month. The card was issued by the United States Constitution Rangers, a New Hampshire-based organization headed by Ed Brown.
Funny, real policemen aren't too impressed with stunts like this, especially from members of a group who allegedly believe "conspirators have subverted the legitimate U. S. government and replaced it with an illegitimate one".
Wonder who the 'conspirators' are? Must be those damn radical Presbyterians again. Or the even more dangerous Unitarians.
Good thing we have people like this keeping us safe.
Smokey is my self-appointed guard kitty. He usually spends about half the night on a shelf above our bed, then sometime in the wee hours of the morning he jumps down & sleeps by my feet. Maybe there's a shift change & Sassy takes over, I dunno.
Anyway, last night he dropped his fuzzy mouse with a bell toy at my feet before jumping up on the shelf. Aw, how cute I thought. He brought me his favorite toy to play with before I went to sleep.
Not exactly.
All through the night, every time I'd turn over or move, the bell would jingle. Smokey would jump down, check to see if I was alright and then jump back up on the shelf. After about the third time, I got plumb tickled.
I've heard of people belling their cats. But no, mine has to be different.
He belled me.
Fayetteville passed its sales tax increase by a hefty margin yesterday.
Reckon how pissed off those voters will be when their sewer bills increase by 20% next spring anyway?
--This was kinda lame after the big threats the other day. I'd be willing to bet even WildChild could throw a grenade over an 8 ft. wall. The only thing these Losers seem to be good at is getting themselves killed.
--Fayetteville residents vote today on the increased sales tax. Be interesting to see how this one turns out.
--Speaking of interesting, this breakdown of Arkansas longevity rates by county are pretty interesting. Benton County, where we live now, is ranked 1st. And Searcy County, where I'm from, is ranked 8th. Not too surprising, as hillbillies tend to live a long time if we don't die young. At least the women in both sides of my family do, usually making it 90-100 yrs. The men, not so much. I've always said the men don't last as long because they have to put up with the women. The women are usually meaner.
--One exception was one of my great-grandfather's, who ran a saloon in downtown Gilbert, Arkansas back in the day. He had the reputation of being as mean as a red hog....though I suppose to successfully run a saloon during that time and in that area, you'd have to be.
One family story I heard recently about him claims the local sheriff came to arrest Grandpa one day for something or another. Grandpa wasn't inclined to go peacefully, and a gunbattle ensued. After firing at each other for quite a while, the sheriff yelled out "Well, I'm going to have to call it a day. I've run out of bullets."
And he left, sans Grandpa.
Shopping. For anything, but especially for clothes. I had to get an interview suit this morning, since I'm still too chunky to wear my normal clothes. You'd think a conservative, plain black suit would be easy to find, but you'd be wrong.
I finally found something suitable, but since it had this tiny, microscopic periwinkle dot pattern I had to find a top to match. Well, I didn't. I thrust the suit at the saleslady & said "I want this suit. I need a top to match, please." Which you'd think since they sell the suit, they would also have tops to match conveniently located nearby. But you'd be wrong.
She finally found something that didn't look like underwear, and I was off to get foundation & powder. I hate makeup. I hate wearing it, I hate smelling it, and I especially hate buying it. Luckily there's salesgirls who get paid to pick it out for you. I even got a free makeup bag full of samples included with my purchase. It's a lovely pink plaid....a color I hate.
Mike called as I was leaving the store, and couldn't believe I'd gotten everything I came for in about an hour. He says I don't go shopping, I go hunting.
Well, sure. Doesn't everybody?
Is here. Though frankly, it does have its good points.
I for one plan to make a fortune supplying Enterprise Rent-A-Mule.
Or Bubba, as the case may be.
A furious Bill Clinton is warning ABC that its mini-series "The Path to 9/11" grossly misrepresents his pursuit of Osama bin Laden - and he is demanding the network "pull the drama" if changes aren't made.
What, 'fake but accurate' only works when it involves Republicans?
Hey, if the shoe fits the goose, it's good enough for the gander.
A fellar wouldn't need too many cows like this:
For the fourth time, an Arkansas cow has given birth to triplets -- and it's the ninth time she has given birth to more than one calf at a time.
The Charolais-mix cow named Faith has given birth to 22 calves in nine pregnancies -- each of them multiples.
I'd seen this story the other day, but didn't notice until this morning.....I know these people. Heck, I used to live in Harriet, and take my kids swimming every day on the cow owner's property. Mrs. Ewing is a super nice lady, I can attest. Even if she's not from around there.
And I've known Doc Blair, the veterinarian cited, since I was a kid. We've sons the same age as well....both in the military. His boy is an Air Force pilot. It's really strange to think of a goofy kid I've known since he was in kindergarten flying a ba-jillion dollar plane on bombing runs and re-supply missions.
I'm not getting old, I'm maturing gracefully like a fine wine.
--The dotted line has been signed and Springdale is officially the new home for the Wichita Wranglers. In other news, city officials are shocked, shocked I tell you, that their city is better known as Chickendale. Ok, so they weren't that shocked.
--In related news, Bentonville may be getting a WNBA team AND a NBA D-league team to go with its hockey franchise....in a privately owned arena. No need for taxpayer funding in the town Sam built.
--A jury was selected yesterday for the battle of the chicken litter experts. Now there's a way to spend an exciting 3 weeks, isn't it? Thank God I no longer live in Fayette-nam. That's one jury I'd not want to be on. Bo-ring.
--Speaking of Fayette-nam, Mayor Dan will be live on tv tonight to answer all your sales tax questions. Questions might include "Why should we give you more money when you wasted what you already had?" or "Since you've said water rates will increase if the sales tax doesn't pass, isn't this really just a vote on how you'll get more money whether taxpayers want to give it to you or not?" or maybe "Won't a sales tax increase drive even more business to surrounding towns?" Feel free to come up with your own. (Contact info by following the link)
--The Benton County fair starts next week. And I can walk to it anytime I want. This year anyway, next year it'll move to the new fairgrounds out towards the airport. Which will be nice because of the extra room, but I'll miss hearing the animal exhibits. How will I know it's fall?
--By the weather of course, which is mostly perfect this time of year. Cool nights and warm, sunny days....like today, which I plan to spend outside as much as possible.
Enjoy!
Sheesh, do I hate phone interviews! I always feel like I'm rattling on & on incomprehensibly. But then I always felt like during trials too. I once read a transcript of one of my trials and thought 'wow, that didn't sound nearly as dumb as I felt saying it.' So hopefully I don't sound as dumb as I feel on the phone either.
I am SO ready to go back to work full-time.
Not a very bright idea in an election year.
As they prepare for a critical pre-election legislative stretch, Congressional Republican leaders have all but abandoned a broad overhaul of immigration laws and instead will concentrate on national security issues they believe play to their political strength.
With Congress reconvening Tuesday after an August break, Republicans in the House and Senate say they will focus on Pentagon and domestic security spending bills, port security legislation and measures that would authorize the administration’s terror surveillance program and create military tribunals to try terror suspects.
Idiots. The entire lot of them.
Perhaps they might instead entertain the notion that controlling illegal immigration IS part of national security. Instead, they all seem intent on driving these poll numbers even higher. More and more I'm inclined to agree with the majority.
Throw da bums out.
Tree guy is here to take care of our leaning tree. I'm sure our neighbors appreciate the bucket truck & chainsaw this early on an otherwise absolutely beautiful morning....about as much as I've appreciated the house under perpetual construction, the new house under construction and the new roof all going on across the street the past few weeks.
Just wait until they crank up the chipper.
BWAHAHAHA!
Let's all wake up to a nice warm cup of 'we can be just as loud & annoying as you'.
Steve Irwin has been killed.
Irwin was killed by a stingray barb to the heart on Batt Reef, off the remote resort town of Port Douglas in northeastern Queensland state, his wildlife park Australia Zoo said in a statement.
Our sympathies to his family.