"The World is Flat"

This is a book by Thomas L. Friedman and is very, very good. It should be read by all young people and the parents of young people. There is a wealth of knowledge in this book and it centers around how the work forces in the world will be affected by the new Globalization, (Flattening of the world). It is a must read.

Could Happen

Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh largest country in the world, Mexifornia formally known as California.
White minorities still trying to have English recognized as Mexifornia's third language.
Spotted Owl plague threatens northwestern United States crops and livestock.
Baby conceived naturally, scientists stumped.
Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage.
Last remaining Fundamentalist Muslim dies in the American Territory of theMiddle East (formerly known as Iran, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon).
Iraq still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least 10 more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.
France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica.
Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally,but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.
George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.
Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.
85-year, $75.8 billion study: Diet and Exercise is the key to weight loss.
Average weight of Americans drops to 250 lbs.
Japanese scientists have created a camera with such a fast shutter speed, they now can photograph a woman with her mouth shut.
Massachusetts executes last remaining conservative.
Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.
Average height of NBA players now nine feet, seven inches.
New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, fly swattersand rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2036.
Congress authorizes direct deposit of formerly illegal political-contributions to campaign accounts.
Capitol Hill intern indicted for refusing to have sex with congressman.
IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent.
Florida voters still having trouble with voting machines.

Just another perfect day in Paradise

Well the shuttle never went and they are not sure when it will go, raining every day, and it’s hot and muggy as hell.

Cable went out for a couple of hours yesterday and I was forced to get up and do something. Can you believe it? I am currently reading a couple of books but I won’t bother telling you much about them as no one has even commented on the suggestions I made before i.e., these books are trash, or why do you read such crap? Not a word I tell you. Maybe all my friends and family don’t read, you can never tell. Or, maybe my choices are so bad they don’t want to tell me because they are being nice to me. I know that’s it, boy that’s such a load off my mind.

Shuttle today

Things are going well and I feel great. Hope the same for all of you. Space shuttle looks like it will be going today and so I will watch it on TV but if I go outside I can also see the flames as it goes up. It is pretty amazing to watch. A friend suggested we go over and watch it up close but I had too many things going on for that.

The weather here is rainy everyday. Now we have a new Hurricane to watch named “Emily”. That’s my grand daughter’s name and I know I will love it. (Is that sick or what)?

The FIRST hurrican of the season.

To all my friends and family still living in the north, the hurricane did little or no damage to our neck of the woods. We had lots of rain and some heavy winds but it didn’t effect us much at all.

For those of you interested in my health and how it is going I will say I feel great but I am concerned about the total picture. They have found a small dark spot on my brain and between January and June it got larger but not by much. They are going to look at it again. It could be the results of a mild stroke in the past that went unnoticed or even a fall or accident of some kind. I will let you know in a few weeks.

One of my doctors has told me that if the cancer on my lung is not entirely gone he can go in through my rib cage and cut out whatever may be left. He is ordering tests to look at that in a week.
That’s about all there is going on down here. I hope all of you are doing great. Let me know

Happy fourth of July

Is everybody Happy? I sure hope so. Yesterday we had a birthday party for my youngest grand daughter Emily and she had a ball. She said she got all the things she wanted. I wonder how that happened?

Chris has finished his moving and it seemed to never end. Well I am sure he'll be putting things away for awhile.

I don't believe we'll be coming north this month. I don't feel ready for a trip like that just yet.

Chris and Tina are going to Greece so maybe in a month or so.

I couldn't feel better and I am getting out and doing things more and I have even started working out on my treadmill. I am going to try to get back to normal. (for me that is) for those of you who would have commented about that remark, I beat you to it.. haha.

Tim and Angela have bought new furniture and a big HD TV. Looks great. His lawn is a little less than green but he is working hard to fix that. Angela got a new car. (a Toyota) I believe it is too small for her to carry her Kayak around, this may prove interesting because she is ardent about her Kayaking and she likes fishing too. Chris has gone with her once and I believe I heard him tell her yesterday maybe he would go again. She likes to go in the water near the dolphins and also into Tampa Bay. I believe I will take the girls for a day and give her a break. Maybe we'll go see a movie and stop for pizza.

Delay in Plans

I have decided not to travel north for a couple of months as there are other things I must do at this time.

I will try to make the trip around Labor day.

All is well here except it's been raining every day. All the retention ponds are full and the summer has just started.

Chris has moved all but his bike and birds. He will do that tomorrow. He hired a couple of guys out of the local labor pool and ended up getting a couple of homeless guys who work day labor. His comment on my previous post will fill you in about that experience.

Thanks again for those great emails that you all send me. My friend Kelly in New York City just returned from Europe (the dog) and I do envy her. Wish I could make a trip like that myself one of these days. I am going to try. I feel good enough but I want to get through this summer and then I will decide where I want to go. It's hot as hell here and with the rain it's is more than humid. I am staying inside somewhere all the time. I don't enjoy outdoors in the summer months.

It's Emily's birthday today and we are getting together tomorrow to celebrate. I'll talk with all of you again soon.

Some people are simply mean spirited

Today is a great day. I feel better than I have for a long time.

I guess I am boring one of you because I am still getting comments to that effect. Well this may not be a place you want to continue visiting.. I created this site for the purpose of letting my family and friends know how I am doing and also to learn how to create a site. If you have a site I would like to visit it so that I am free to comment on it’s contents.

Thanks for all the personal emails I enjoy them.

Today is overcast and we have had some serious rain today. I feel trapped here in the house as I am not supposed to drive for 2 weeks. They placed a plug in my artery and they fear I could pop it out. Chris has been helpful taking me places and Tim visits also.

I have started on my treadmill again and I will continue doing that each day. The doctor said it would be good for me and that I could extend the time a little each week. I have really gotten week and need to strengthen up some.

Chris is moving this weekend and I will surely miss seeing him and his car everyday. We have lived across from each other for 10 years so this will be new for me.

Hope all of you are well.

Another issue dealt with!

Monday they placed 3 stints in my heart and I was home tuesday morning as though nothing had happened. I feel great and they have told me they may want to go back in and place some stints on the othe side of my heart. Thats Okay with me.
I hope all of you are doing well and don't mind my telling you about all of my issues.

Please don't hesitate to let me know how you are doing. I don't expect anyone other than my closest friends and family to be reading this blog. However, on occasion I get a comment from someone I don't know. I am sure the strangers must think I am an arrogant person to be writing of myself all the time and never dealing with any other topics.

Well for now that has been my whole life and I hope all of you haven't thought I was arrogant to talk of myself so much.

Radiation Treatments are over!

Finished Radiation and I feel no side effects so far. Next will be the stints in my heart on Monday the 20th. I will spend the night at the hospital but it is not supposed to be much of an ordeal.

Chris and I are looking at the possibility of taking a short trip up north. He is going to Greece for 10 days in October with his girlfriend Tina and he doesn't want to take too much more time off from work. I think we'll go to Ohio and visit with you folks up there, prepare yourselves. I may still make another trip on my own later in the summer or early fall. We'll just have to wait and see how everything goes.

Last week in treatment

Well I have 3 treatments to go and looks like no real side effects as of yet. I understand the radiation has residual affects for several weeks beyond the treatment period and they will be watching the treatment progress during that additional time frame. Next Monday they are going to use Angioplasty to place a couple of stints in my heart. I sure have a lot of things wrong with me. It seems like as one treatment ends another will begin.

Would like to take a trip this summer but I will wait for awhile before making that decision.

Hope all of you are doing well.

A week and a half to go

Yes just a week and a half to go on my treatments. I still have no symptoms or discomfort of any kind. I am very glad about that. I didn’t lose any weight to talk about, either.

Birds are still trying to build a nest but haven’t made much progress. They would rather just argue. I have never heard canaries chatter at each other so much. They must be suffering from a newlywed issue. You know, like who sleeps on which side of the bed and who does dishes and takes out the garbage or something like that. They seem to be arguing all the time.
The way things are going I believe I can go away for a little vacation this summer but I don’t know where, any ideas out there? I just replaced the intake manifold on my car because it cracked and I have new brakes and new tires. Of course the car is getting old and I have lots of mileage on it, so maybe I shouldn’t go far in it. I do feel like getting a way though so who knows I may just show up one day

Another Egg today

Yes one of the birds laid another egg and again it was on the perch so you know what happened. Which bird builds the nest? The female or the male? the spotted one has been trying but now the yellow one is also trying to build a nest. Neither one is very skilled though so the nest isn't finished yet.

Talk with you again later.

Looking Good

Finished my 22nd treatment and things are still looking good. There has been continued reduction in the size of my tumor and I am happy about that. The doctor says I will receive a total of 33 treatments which means I have 11 treatments to go. thanks for your many emails and kind thoughts.

I have a couple of canary birds and today I discovered an egg in the bottom of the cage. A little blue egg. So I put a nest with some nesting materials into the cage and the one canary is busy tearing the materials apart but I am not sure making a nest is ever going to happen. The material is all over the cage and very little is in the nest. I am not even sure which canary is the female and which is the male. I have one which I purchased (bright yellow) that I was told was a male. The other is a spotted canary and thats the one which is so busy throwing the nesting material all over the place. I was told the spotted one was a female but it is very aggressive and the 2 of them are howlering at each other all the time. The bright yellow one is always running away from the spotted one. What could that mean? Has any of you ever had canaries? Any advise?

Things are good

I have completed 20 treatments and continue to feel good. Tim and Chris are taking me out to dinner for my birthday this weekend and I plan on eating a 2 pound lobster. We are going to the Salt Rock cafe on Reddington Beach. That should be fun.

Hello!

This blog is going to undergo some changes soon. I have not enjoyed the current features and have talked with Chris about making some changes. All is well here. I have completed 18 treatments now and I still feel fine. It is going along pretty well.

16 down and 16 to go

Today I completed the halfway mark in my treatments. Still no side effects that I can notice. I have lost 8 pounds and maybe I'll lose another 8 pounds. Thanks for all the good will.

Are there books you recommend?

Since I have so few people coming to my blog I have not had any comments on my book recommendations. I was wondering if any of you have a book you would like to recommend for me to read. I don't read much fiction so you can hold those recommendation.

Let me know if you have read anything worth while this past year. Maybe you are all too busy to fit reading time into your schedule.

Have a laugh!

A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where a train stops.
On my desk, I have a work station.
what more can I say.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just assholes.

If You Can Read This Bumper Sticker, You're In Range.

A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory.

Hello friends

So how are all of you? Good I hope. I have completed 13 treatments and I have 20 to go. The doctor told me yesterday that there has been a reduction in the size of my tumor so that is a good sign.
I have had no side effects as of now and I hope that continues.
I enjoy hearing from all of you by separate email but it is ok to comment here on the blog.

For my friend Tom

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.

ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.

ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.

ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminate?

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.

ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK?
What school did you go to?

WITNESS: Oral.

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.

ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Yesterday when I was young

Yesterday when I was young the taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue. I teased at life as if it were a foolish game, the way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame. The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned I always built alas on weak and shifting sand. I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day and only now I see how the years ran away.

Yesterday when I was young so many drinking songs were waiting to be sung, so many wayward pleasures lay in store for me and so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see. I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out, I never stopped to think what life was all about and every conversation I can now recall concerned itself with me and nothing else at all.

Yesterday the moon was blue and every crazy day brought something new to do. I used my magic age as if it were a wand and never saw the waste and emptiness beyond. The game of love I played with arrogance and pride and every flame I lit too quickly quickly died. The friends I made all seemed somehow to drift away and only I am left on stage to end the play. There are so many songs in me that won't be sung, I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue. The time has come for me to pay for yesterday when I was young.

8 down and 25 to go

I have had 8 of the 33 treatments as of today and I am not feeling any side effects so far. I will complete treatments on the 15th of June. I think I will manage the treatments just fine. My bigger concern will be if the treatments stop the spread to other parts of my body.

A call from my Cardiologist today

I received a call from my cardiologist today to inform me that they will be doing a Cathorization on the 20th of June. They will use angioplasty and stints to clear the blockage in the arteries of my heart.

Paliative Treatment

That was not what I wanted to hear. Today I received a call from my Pulmonary doctor (in response to my call to her) who stated that the treatment I am receiving (Radiation Therpy) is paliative and not expected to effect a cure for my lung cancer. I have so many doctors it is very hard for me to stay on top of things. My radiation Doctor is a private Radiation Oncologist and was careful not to state anything about the possibilities for my recovery or longevity. I will now speak to him and have him give me a more realistic time frame to plan on. It is difficult to make plans when you don't know how long you have or how uncomfortable you may be. I am not complaining but I would like to be able to make some realistic plans. I may have told myself that since my cancer is not a stage 4 but rather a stage 2 that a cure is likely. That doesn't appear to be the case. Radiation Therpy will only lengthen the time and no one wants to predict anything.

Who has the most crude oil in the world?

Answer: In the order of quantity
1 Saudi Arabia
2 Iraq
3 Kuwait
4 United Arab Emirates
5 Iran
6 Venezuela
7 Russia
8 Mexico
9 Libya
10 US
If that is true what does this mean?????
http://www.rense.com/general37/petrol.htm
Why the hell aren't we making a deal with our neighbor instead of these fools in the middle east who want to kill all of us?????
Interesting ehh?

Income Tax, is it necessary to run the government?

Check this website listed below:
http://www.devvy.com/notax.html

More book recommendations

I have recently read several books which I would like to recommend.

The first is "Winning the Future" by Newt Gingrich "A 21st Century contract with America" This guy has a firm grip on the workings of government and our society in particular. This is a must read.

The second "They just don't get it" by Colonel David Hunt" This book is not for the faint of heart. It is for those who believe in action and not rhetoric.

The third is "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" by Michael Savage. Not a tongue in check book. A serious look at liberalism.

I recommend each of these books along with my previous recommendation "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman.

Most of you don't have the kind of time that I have so I know it wil be hard to read all of these books. But you might look up a review if nothing else.

If you have read one or any of these books please let me know. I loved each of them.

Happy Birthday Tim

Well Tim's birthday is really May 7th we celebrated tonight. Met some friends that I only see once in a while. It was a fun evening. Chris and I gave Tim a night at a local hotel on Clearwater beach (he can even bring Angela) if he wants. Chris and I will share the baby sitting responsibilities. Tim is now 38. He has almost as much grey hair as me.

5 down and 28 to go

I had my fifth treatment today and to be honest I don't notice any side effects as of yet. I was called into the cardiologist office yesterday and they are going to do a "Roto Router" their words on my heart in June. If all goes well they are going to reconsider open heart surgery. they claim they can clean out the primary blockage with this procedure without an operation. Catherization is how they do it. I hated the cathorization I had in January. It didn't hurt until it was finished and then they had a male nurse hold a pressure bandage on the spot of the cathorization for twenty minutes and it hurt like hell.