Holden 237

Obamacare

2009-08-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

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Nobody asked (well, actually a couple HAVE asked, come to think of it), but I'm going to set down my thoughts on the whole "health care thing".

I am a business owner (25 employees), and a physician. I have dealt for over a decade with government and private health insurance, and it's my livelihood to understand the issues and costs surrounding health care delivery in America. So, I actually have a pretty good grasp of all the various sides of this issue. At this point, I'm still a little ambivalent about the whole health care reform attempt, but I'll let the points below speak to the specifics.

So, in no specific order, my thoughts:

ALL HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED. Let me repeat that: all health care is rationed. The complaint that "the government will ration health care" is idiotic. Of course they will. So will every private insurance, every time. At some point, the costs associated with your health care are too high for any insurer to afford. I work with some insurances that will not pay for allergy medicines, and others that will cover Wii Fitness. There will always be a balance. Rationing doesn't just happen at a cost level - it happens at an intellectual level. If your belly hurts and you want an MRI "just to be sure", that doesn't mean you're necessarily going to get it. If you watch a commercial for a drug and think that it's exactly what you need, but I as your doctor do not, you're not going to get it. And of course, for the 40+ million citizens who are uninsured, their health care is absolutely rationed.

ALL HEALTH CARE IS EVENTUALLY PAID FOR: Just because we aren't paying more taxes to take care of more people, doesn't mean we won't be paying to take care of them. It just means the costs will be shifted to other forms. At some point, if someone is sick enough, they will seek health care, or wind up in an ER, and be treated. The hospitals, doctors, nurses, and everyone else involved in that care will be paid for it. Maybe not directly, but they will recoup the costs of the patient who doesn't have insurance by charging the one who does much more, to make up the difference. That charge then is recouped by the insurance companies in the form of higher premiums, which are in turn absorbed by businesses who pass the costs along again (by charging more for their product or service, or reducing employee benefits, or passing it back to the taxpayer by dropping insurance). This type of system actually costs us all MORE, because when people wait to receive care till they have no choice, the problems are more severe and the care more costly. If more people had insurance, and preventative care, there would be less catastrophic care and less health care spending.

SINGLE-PAYER IS THE MOST EFFICIENT DELIVERY DEVICE: I don't really expect the US to ever adopt single-payer, I think it would take an utter catastrophic breakdown of the health care industry before this happened. However, with multiple payers you have the significant problems of inefficient duplication of services, and smaller risk pools. The amount of money spent on insurance duplication of services is criminal. Our business office bills over 20 different insurance plans, all with their own particular rules, contracts, payment and payee specifics and a thousand other processes, all with their team of middle managers in some insurance office building, all taking their piece out of the health care dollar. It is a HUGE waste. Additionally, as long as an insurance company can be selective about who it does and doesn't cover, insured lives (that's me and you) will be subject to the whims of pre-existing conditions, and other restrictions. And the smaller pool you're in (self-insurance vs. Wal-Mart employee plan) the harder time you're going to have getting coverage.

THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT HAVE A GOOD TRACK RECORD IN HEALTH CARE DELIVERY: Despite all the people who tout it, Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare (military) plans are lousy. At least from my perspective as a doc and business owner who earns part of my living from them. (For the patients on the programs, the care and covered services are adequate, roughly on par with the lower-tier private insurers). While private insurances have to at least compete a little bit for our business, the government plans in most instances could care less about anything but the bottom line. Over the past decade, the amount I as a doctor receive from government insurance has consistently fallen in terms of real dollars. It was only when doctors finally made a public stink that got enough attention to worry lawmakers that the recent planned 10% cut in Medicare funding that was scheduled was halted. The government's take on paying docs is to basically keep tightening the screws till enough people complain to lawmakers that they can't see doctors. Add to that the ridiculous rules that say since health care has "traditionally cost less" in certain areas (like Oregon), the government will only pay me about half of what it will pay a doctor in Florida or Texas for the exact same service, and you can maybe understand why I am wary of the government having too big of a hand in health care payment. There are basically no primary care physicians in my city (McMinnville) who will take new Medicare patients. This is because above a certain percentage of Medicare or Medicaid patients, it is simply impossible to even meet costs, let alone make a living. For a routine 15 minute visit, for the exact same care, Blue Cross pays me $120, and Medicare pays me $35. To put it another way, every time I see a government insurance patient vs. a private insurance patient, I make 40-60% less money. And to put it yet another way: if I saw only private insurance patients, and dropped all my government insurance patients, I could work half as much as I work now and see no loss in my income.

THE FREE MARKET DOES NOT WORK FOR HEALTH CARE: Whether or not you feel health care is a "right", you cannot apply or advocate for the "free market" to only be utilized in health care for one simple reason: we don't turn ambulances away at the emergency room door. If you want to apply the same capitalistic rules to the health care delivery business as you do other businesses, then you have to allow for only caring for people who can pay you. Medicine is the only private business I can think of where a business is required to provide someone a service, often a very expensive service, even if the customer has no intention or ability to pay. And since I can't imagine anyone wanting to live in a country where an injured child is not treated because the parents can't afford it (as DOES happen in other countries, by the way), to try to argue that we should let the private sector control health care is ridiculous.

WE'RE SPOILED, AND IT'S EXPENSIVE: Most Americans have access to MRI machines, complex lab tests, surgeries and specialists of every persuasion, medical devices and gear - all of which are cutting edge and very expensive. It is not that these things do not have or add value, but in many many cases, the costs far exceed the value. In many ways we expect care-on-demand, even for chronic issues. We expect the best tests, the top-of-the line medical devices, the costliest drugs and the most advanced therapies, and we expect them now. This is not necessarily a "bad" thing, but it is certainly a costly thing. People lived healthy and contented lives long before open MRIs and titanium hip replacements and laparoscopic gastric banding, but because these things are available now, we expect that they be an option for us no matter what the cost.

YOU WILL GET SICK AND DIE: This involves two issues: end-of-life care and personal responsibility. The medically costliest time by far in someone's life is their last 3 months. We have costly and invasive ways to extend life beyond limits we were previously able to. Without the acknowledgment that death is where we're all headed, we pay a high price to extend out as far as possible whatever life we have left, no matter how poor the quality. The end-of-life counseling that has been met with such mocking derision and fear by "conservatives" is not only a valuable personal aspect of health care, but a cost-saving one as well. We're not talking assisted suicide here, we're talking not instituting extraordinary interventional measures that do little besides extending the natural processes we all face. And on the personal responsibility part: stop expecting medicine to compensate for your bad habits. Most of the costs of health care (by far) in this country could be eliminated or vastly reduced by actions taken on an individual level: eating right, exercising, not smoking, getting preventative care. If we worked health insurance like we worked car or life insurance, the cost savings would be astronomical. Imagine if smokers paid more for health insurance, or those who never exercise had additional charges factored in. It's probably a slippery slope, and I doubt it'll ever happen, but know that we ALL pay the costs for those who simply choose to not make their personal health a priority.

SMALL BUSINESS PAYS A BIG PRICE: It is interesting to be on both sides of the private (and public) insurance dollar. We have routinely seen the cost of the private insurance we buy for our employees rise from 8-14% each year. We also negotiate with them for payments to us each year, usually to the tune of an increase of 3-5%. So clearly the additional costs are not being passed along equally. People are screaming about the tax costs to business of health care reform, and it's good to be concerned about that. But for our company of 25 employees to be paying in excess of $150,000 / year for health insurance (and this is only the 75% we pay), it seems like if there were a public option for our employees, even with a tax hike, we would be saving a lot of money.

OTHER COST SAVING POINTS:
- Tort reform. Despite what the lawyers tell you, the defensive and protective medical costs due to our lawsuit-happy society are huge. Any health care reform that does not also include significant tort reform is pointless.
- Drug Collective Bargaining. Medicare part D, in which Bush provided drug coverage with government dollars and DIDN'T do any type of competitive bargaining or formularies with the drug manufactures was a huge financial gift to the drug companies; one we all pay. Obama also has caved and not made this a part of the plan. Until the drug companies have to bargain for their use, they will continue to rip us all off with their vastly overpriced products.
- Preventative Care. I counsel someone for 30 minutes on healthy living, managing their diabetes (or avoiding it), reducing heart disease risk, and I get paid $90. I spend 45 seconds burning off a wart, and I get paid more. The medical payment system is slanted to throw money at "procedures" and pay lip service at best to preventative medicine. Until there is more of a financial emphasis on prevention, we're throwing money away.

POLITICAL POINTS: I don't want to get too political outside of the direct discussion about the plan. But, for all the people that bemoan "the loss of our America" or are afraid that this is some sort of master plan for Obama to usher in socialism: shut the hell up! If you get all your news from FOX News, or parrot back anything that Glenn Beck or Rush spew, you have no place in open and honest debate. I say the same thing to the "Obama can do no wrong" crowd, but they're not nearly as vocal these days.

There's probably more I could say, but even I'm bored at this point.

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Boise Ironman 70.3 Race Report

2009-06-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

Boise Ironman 70.3 Race Report (2009)

2009, 2008

Swim: 40:09, 41:26

T1: 5:07, 8:31

Bike: 3:05:00, 2:57:40

T2: 3:56, 2:49

Run: 1:59:31, 1:59:01

Total: 5:53:43, 5:49:27

PRE-RACE: I’m never satisfied with my preparation for these races, but it seemed really weak this year. I’d jumped into a ½ ironman training plan with 5 weeks to go after running the Eugene marathon in May. So my running base was ok, but I hadn’t done a lot of speed work, and my swimming and biking work was not deep at all. I had done one 2.5 hour long ride on the bike, but that was all. Also, for many reasons (poor roads, no regular riding partners, crazy drivers, being tied to home due to call, etc…) I do ALL my bike training on a CompuTrainer. As realistic as this is, it just doesn’t prepare as well as actually getting road miles in. I drove to Boise, stopping overnight at a campground in Eastern Oregon and sleeping in the back of the minivan. Expo was fine, and I dropped my bike off at T1 the afternoon before the race. Ironman 70.3 Boise has this 2:00 pm start time, which was just a totally new experience for me. I went back to the hotel later that evening and cooked up some Mac & Cheese on a backpacking stove in the bathroom. I also had some avocado, baby spinach leaves, and an Odwalla Superfood (detailed enough for ya?). It was weird to sleep in the day of a tri, but I got up at 7:30 and had a normal cereal and yogurt breakfast at the hotel’s complimentary “buffet”. I drove to a parking garage in downtown Boise about 50 yards from the finish line and got there about 3 ½ hours before my shuttle bus left. I dropped off my T2 bag, and bought lunch at a local restaurant (turkey sandwich) which I ate about 3 hours before my start time. Then I basically killed time laying out in the back of the minivan in the parking garage, watching old Scrubs episodes on iPod and occasionally listening to my triathlon playlist to psyche myself up. Took the ½ hour bus ride up to the reservoir where the swim start was and got there about 45 minutes before they closed T1. I filled my two bike water bottles (I took off my aero drink bottle for this race, it tends to just give me trouble), each had already about 4 scoops of Perpetuem in them, and put salt tabs, some sport beans, and a power bar into my bento bag. Helmet, goggles on the aerobar, along with my Garmin wrist unit (my bike computer had busted). Got my tires pumped up to 120 psi by the bike crew there (bringing your own pump was discouraged) and cleared out of T1.

SWIM: My wave was 2^nd to last, bleah. It this point in the day, it was about 2:00 pm and quite warm. Put on my sunscreen and waited till about 20 minutes before we had to get into the chute to put on my wet suit. Walked around in my wetsuit just pulled up to the waist, feeling a bit conspicuous with little spot bandaids on my “chest”, but ya know, with all the rain, I’m only too glad they were there. Anyway, last year the swim was bitterly cold, my worst swim experience ever. This year I brought my full wet-suit (used a sleeveless last year, what was I thinking). I also bought this excellent Tyr thermal cap at the expo which is sort of in-between a regular cap and a neopreme hood. I have the neopreme hood, but the chin strap makes me feel like I’m being strangled, so I hate it. I have a latex allergy, so I need something under my colored swim cap anyway. The combo worked great, and the water felt at an excellent temperature, even getting in (water temp was 64 degrees). By the time our wave started, a wind had kicked up, and it was pretty choppy. The swim was not too noteworthy otherwise. I don’t have the straightest stroke, and always tend to veer left, so I had to keep aiming to the right of the buoys to not get too far off track. It wasn’t too crowded, but I did get one good smack to the face that made me have to clear my goggles, and I think I accidentally did the same to someone else. The timing mats at the end of the swim are up a 50 yard hill. They had wetsuit strippers which, if you haven’t ever used them, are so nice. You lay down and two people grab a hold of your wetsuit and just yank that puppy right off.

BIKE: The run to the bike is in this big parking lot, full of gravel, so by the time I got to the bike, I had to sit down and try to get the gravel off my feet. I shoe up before the mount line (never really worked out for me to keep the shoes clipped in), so I put on my socks, shirt, helmet and goggles and ran out to the bike start. I knocked my bike over at the start (I can’t remember why) before getting on it; one of my bottles fell out. Some kid on the other side of the barrier asked his mom “How come his water is all brown?” The first 2 miles of the bike are downhill. At 8 minutes into the bike course, the rain started. RAIN was definitely the hallmark of this race. About ¾ of the bike course was in the rain, and about half of that was torrential downpour. The rain didn’t bother me too much, but I was (excuse my French) shitting bricks about lightning. I’m not sure where a healthy respect ends and outright phobia begins, but if I don’t have lightning phobia, I’m as close as you can get. The bike portion is out on this high plateau with basically nothing around you but flat high plains. You can see the weather systems for miles in every direction, and for most of the ride, you’re the tallest thing around. I heard thunder twice, and saw lightning bolts twice also. During the 3 hour ride these systems would move through, and the whole sky for a good 100 degrees of the horizon would be black, with the streaks of rain visible on the sides where there was enough light to see it. Most of the systems skirted to the East of us, but not all of them did, and when they went over, instead of the drizzle, we would get a downpour. I had my Oakley Blades on, but it was near impossible to see, and there was nothing dry on me to wipe my goggles with. Of course, everything on me was soaked. There were occasional periods of no rain, lasting for up to about 20 minutes, but most of the time it was wet. At one point, at about mile 30, the sky looked like the sky looks on that TV show Storm Chasers, and some rider next to me was making cracks about tornados. The wind was very strong as well, which sometimes worked to your advantage and sometimes not. I was glad I didn’t have any disc wheels, because there was enough buffeting around as it was. There are a few hills on the course, which was also a little trickier because the brakes were only working about 20% due to the wetness. The last 5 miles of the race are through the outskirts of town , and the crews due a great job of opening up all the roads for the race, but the traffic is backed up for miles. The end of the bike portion (for me) was during another hard downpour. The other weird thing about the bike was how dark it was. All the clouds and the evening hour it was after 5:00 near the end, made for dusky / dark skies. With my shields on, it was like riding in the fading light of evening, and was a little disconcerting.

RUN: T2 went ok. The volunteers are great, and someone came and helped me unload my bag and pack up what I needed. I stopped at the porta-potty before heading out on the run. It felt SO good to finally get off the bike, mostly because I made it without getting hit by lightning. My legs felt surprisingly fresh at the start of the run. I did the first couple miles at an 8:00 minute pace, which is a little slower than I would have liked, but I was sopping wet. My stomach got a little queasy after the first couple miles, and I remembered I hadn’t taken ANY salt tabs. Usually I need to replace 1-2 tablets every hour, and here I was 4 hours into the competition and I hadn’t taken any. But, I wasn’t sure how much I’d sweated since the rain had provided most of the sweat for me and luckily, the GI stuff settled down. The first 6-7 miles felt pretty good, and I was optimistic that it’d stay that way, but it didn’t. It was raining for most of the run, and the course was full of big puddles so my feet were soaked (had been the whole race, actually). At about 9 miles I got some stronger fatigue setting in, and my pace dropped considerably over the next 4 miles. The run is a double loop, and the first loop takes you about 25 yards from the finish before sending you out for another round. It’s a little cruel since some of the people you’re running with at that point get to finish, while you turn around for another 6 miles. The last ½ mile felt good, lots of die-hard fans cheering us on, even in the rain.

POST-RACE: Not a ton of food but I picked up a little. One of the sponsors was Idaho Beef Council, so they had beef tacos at the finish. Not really my thing after a race, but the pizza was warm and salty and tasted good. I picked up my clothes change bag, went to the van and did a Handi-wipes bath, put on fresh clothes and picked up my bike.

ADDITIONAL STUFF: The winner of the race was Craig Alexander. He came riding by in the other direction when I was at about mile 10. Still, how cool is that? Craig is the current Ironman World Champion, and here we are in the same race. That’s one of the things I love about triathlon, average guys like me get to be in a race with the pros. It’s like being in a golfing tournament with Tiger Woods or at a swim meet with Michael Phelps. There were other professionals in the race as well, but I won’t drop any other names. I’m still deciding if I like the afternoon start. On the one hand, it was cool to not have to get up at 4:30 am and sort through your T1 stuff in the dark. On the other hand, afternoon races in thunderstorm prone areas are probably not the best idea, and having the race so late in the day gives you a lot of time to just sit around and be nervous about it.

Ok, that’s plenty.

Jet Boats

2009-05-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Jet Boats on the Willamette.

Ana and I went on her field trip a while back, to the Jet Boats in Portland. This is a video I threw together. I had it on facebook, but it was taken down by the copyright police.

So, let me say that the music (the snippet as it were) in the background is PINK FLOYD. The song is "Learning to Fly", off their album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". You can buy it wherever music is sold, probably.

Perspective

2009-03-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

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This is one of those rambling entries that I am starting but have no idea how I'm going to finish.

I had to get "talked down" tonight from a typical insomnia-induced on-call self-pityfest. Kate, having known me for coming up on half my life is pretty good at reading my moods, and did a great job of pulling me out of my frustrations and suggested I go for a walk (not a RUN, a walk), which I did. And it did give me some needed perspective.

On the one hand, perspective really gets to me when dealing with some of my patients. After 15 + years in this business, I've seen a lot of stuff, and it makes it difficult to abide some people, some of the time. I have patients who suffer the worst illnesses and setbacks who manage to keep a positive outlook, stand strong against the toughest struggles, and persevere in a way that just boggles the mind. And I have other patients who have not the smallest measure of tolerance for the most trivial of ailments. When you know enough of the former type of person, it makes dealing with the latter particularly difficult. I had a lot of the latter today.

It's not really kosher in medicine to interrupt someone and say, "For the love of all that's holy, would you please just shut up and quit whining, it's NOT THAT BAD". I also know that the ability to handle setbacks and illness is a complex mixture of life lessons, modeling, experience, intelligence, perspective, previous pain (emotional and physical), and a thousand other factors. That is why I don't behoove people to stop whining, because I know I never see the whole picture. A small ailment suffered alone is worse than a larger ailment shared with others. Still, as empathetic as I try to be, I have to imagine some pretty traumatic upbringings and rocky lives to possibly justify the sheer amount of hysterical drama some people bring into the folds of a sore throat or a bout of the flu.

My walk tonight did me some good. It was nice to get out and just walk. Usually the only time I'm outdoors further than the mailbox is to put in 10-20 miles on a training run, and the simple act of walking brought a reminder of some of the pleasure of just being outside and taking it at a slower pace. I passed houses where families I know are dealing with profound illnesses, and layoffs, and separations, and that perspective made my sleep deprivation and on-the-job frustrations seem fairly petty. I returned home to a house full of life, with my 6 year old staging an impromptu theater production for the rest of the family, and things were a whole lot better.

We'll see if I get any sleep tonight...

Inauguration 2009

2009-01-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

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Perhaps it is a comment on the world today, that I blog, while watching the inauguration on streaming video on my other computer screen.

It's amazing that the documents so masterfully set forth in a very very different America 200+ years ago can carry this changing nation to the historic ceremony we are witnessing today.

I tried to capture a sunrise today, to reflect the new dawn of this nation and to reflect Obama's campaign symbol, but I had the aperture set wrong, oh well. Maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere...

9:06 AM --- Obama is now sworn in! His inauguration address is underway, and I will stop here to listen and to take it all in.

We live in an amazing country, and I'm as proud as I've ever been to be a citizen of the United States!

God Bless America!

Shake-cam

2009-01-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

This is a shot of Bourbon street, with my hotel on the right.

The view out my window. In that open-air patio there were jazz bands that played.

YIKES! It's been a while since I posted. Last weekend I was enjoying a hotel room on Bourbon St. in New Orleans, listening to the noise and jazz coming in the window from the crowds (Sugar Bowl) below. I was in Mississippi (Jackson) over the weekend for the Mississippi Blues Marathon. This was my make-up Portland (OR) marathon that got delayed for 8 weeks after I broke my toe last Summer. After the race a week ago, I decided to make the drive down to New Orleans since I had almost two days before my flight back (and since Jackson, MS is not too exciting a place). So I was in New Orleans for about 24 hours. It was a great time! I walked around a lot, taking in the various sites. I went to sleep on Bourbon St. with a raging Deep South thunderstorm outside, it was awesome. I caught the movie Slumdog Millionaire at a theater by my hotel, and then drove back to Jackson, and caught a plane home the next day.

This weekend (with additional days on each side) I'm Mr. Mom while Kate's in OH with her sister and parents.

We got the Christmas lights down today with no broken limbs (trees or human).

Finally, I'll post a video I made while running the marathon. Facebook followers have already seen the YouTube link (be warned, it's very shaky, and really not too exciting).

That's all folks!
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2008 Holiday Images

2008-12-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

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Obviously there are LOTS of pictures from this holiday. I'll try to update theschiebers.com at some point to present a much larger gallery. For now, enjoy these three (you can click on the photos for a larger image):

This is one of our blue spruce out front, covered in snow.

On my way home from the hospital on Christmas morning, I took this photo with my phone out the front of the truck window, driving down 3rd Street.

And you gotta love the "Pick Your Nose" cups from my parents.

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New Life

2008-12-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

Every birth touches the lives around it.

Seven years ago, on Christmas, I delivered a baby into the arms of it's mother and father, and family. We all knew the baby would not live. The baby had a condition that would not allow it to survive outside of the womb. For 15 minutes, an entire lifespan, this child was held, and loved, and cherished.

Yesterday I watched a young mother in tears as I discharged her newborn child into the arms of a foster mother. The birth mother had broken too many rules, put herself and her unborn child at risk too many times for her to be allowed to be primarily connected to this life she had carried for the past 9 months.

Today I was called away from family reunions and celebrations to help with the urgent surgical delivery of another child. He did fine - big and beautiful.

God comes to us this way on Christmas - in the midst of our real lives. Our circumstances are different: joyous, sorrowful, hopeful, fearful, but within it all, there is God - in our lives, among us, born into our reality.

There is the new start, the hope for the world, the word made flesh.

Because God invests God's self fully in our lives, we are changed. We have the promise that we are more than our brief time on this world, redemption when all seems broken, and the joy that comes from a creator who delights in our lives and the world around us.

Merry Christmas

1st Snow

2008-12-14T17:24:00.000-08:00

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We're at the beginningof a 3-4 day cold snap, and have gotten the first snow of the Winter. We love it. This is the house tonight, as the snow starts to accumulate.

School tomorrow? We'll see.

(that's all I have - short and sweet)
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The Christmas Spud

2008-12-03T23:09:00.001-08:00

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A couple years ago I penned this after a secret Santa gave me a......potato?

I turned it into a Christmas Tale:

The Christmas Spud

In the land of potatoes, the spuds were in bed
Waiting for Santa to come in his sled
And bring lots of presents and toys for the tots
The taters loved Christmas, yes, they loved it lots

But that Christmas eve, in the dark of the night
A fog settled in, obscuring the site
Of the little spud town, and the little spuds said
“How will Santa find us, when he flies overhead?”

Then a brave young potato, with a spark in his eyes
Said “I can get Santa down here from the skies
We’ll lure him with smell, for it’s no surprise,
Everyone knows he likes hot steaming fries!”

The potatoes all cheered the spud with the good heart
And carried him over to the Cuisinart
And in no time at all, the hot fries were done
And Santa did find them, and gave gifts to each one

And as St. Nick flew away, with his reindeer and sled
He turned to the spuds, and he quietly said
“Have a wonderful holiday, I send you warm wishes,
And oh, by the way, your fries were delicious”
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How 'bout them Ducks!

2008-11-30T09:28:00.001-08:00

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Yesterday's civil war game between Oregon State and University of Oregon was one for the record books! Although the defensive strategies dominated the game, there was plenty of.......oh, who am I kidding. I didn't watch a second of it.

Actually, I don't watch football at all, or basketball, or any other team sport. I don't follow any teams, and I literally cannot name (I tried) a single football player for any college or professional team.

I keep expecting the guy police to show up at the door, kick me in the crotch, and take away my guy card.

The whole following of sports teams with anything other than a passing interest just seems so tedious. I realize I am in the smallest of minorities with this opinion. Clearly allegiance and excitement for your local team is a passion world-wide (soccer, rugby etc...), so I'm sure the "problem" is more mine than anything. I also realize that probably the more you follow, the more fun it gets.

This is a huge (relatively) problem on those occasions where I am left alone to make conversation with a bunch of guys (especially in social circles where I maybe don't know them as well). It is simply expected that I can speak with some degree of knowledge on the week's sporting events. I cannot. I mean, this is what guys do! They talk about sports. It's not the kind of thing that is too easy to fake, either. If the conversation gets far enough for me to be obliged to point out that I really don't follow, AT ALL, what's happening, I kind of get these looks of incredulity - Dude, seriously?

I'd like to point out here (protests too much?) that this does not make me a wuss. It's not like I don't know anything about, or cannot play these sports, I just do not choose to follow them. I played high school and Division III college football, I know plenty about the game . Sometimes I think it's because I spent so many hours in college on the practice field, in the drafty clubhouse watching hours of scouting films, in the bus on Saturdays driving to and from games, that I wore out all my tolerance for the sport. Maybe.

I know Kate doesn't mind. I'm not taking hours every week to watch football on TV (like I have that kind of time or concentration anyway). I like the fact that my mood for the week isn't set by how my team did that weekend, and that I can get out and do things during times when instead I would in front of a TV or at a game. And (I'll probably get in trouble for this), the whole die-hard team allegiance - with flags waving on your car or dressing head to toe in team colors, seems kind of , how shall I put this, conformingly misdirected anyway.

Ok, this is plenty on the subject. I need to wrap up this blog so I can go spend hours on the tree-climbing discussion boards, read my triathlon magazines, and re-vamp my training schedule.
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Major Robert D. Lindenau

2008-11-28T18:14:00.001-08:00

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Every now and then in the incredibly large stream of information that passes by these days, something hits a bit too close to home and causes me to pause and reflect a little deeper.

On October 20th, Major Robert D. Lindenau was killed in Afganistan by a rocket propelled grenade. He was 39. He lived in the Northwest, and was an amateur triathlete who tried to keep up his training in the harsh environment where he was stationed. He left behind a wife and four children, ages 12, 10, 8, and 6.

In a situation like this: a guy my age, from the Northwest, who shared the same interests as me and had a family with four kids the same age as mine, it's impossible to just pass this by as another loss of a brave soldier. I can imagine a little too closely what it might be like for his kids to grow up without a dad, for his wife to loose a husband that young, how hard and tragic and lonely this must all be. And while we all value the sacrifice of the men and women in our military, I'm not sure that we really CAN fully appreciate the sacrifice when it is someone else's child, dad, husband (mother, sister, daughter) who pays the price.

Major Lindenau came to my attention today in an article in the most recent Triathlon Magazine, detailing his extensive work with Project Active. Project Active is an organization whose mission statement is:

A global mission with a commitment to diffuse world tensions through sport-related education, equipment, mentoring and encouragement. Project Active is dedicated to planting the peace-inspring seed of ahtletics in the heart of the Human Spirit, in areas of the world where it is needed most.

There is a link on Project Active's web site (upper right) where one can contribute to help his family. The donation amounts that follow are all dollar amounts containing only "8". I do not know of the significance of that, and had not actually gone to the donation page until just now. I mention this only because in my own life, the number 8 has always been "my" number, my favorite. It just seemed a little too coincidental to not mention it.

May Peace find its way to the Lindenau family.
.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

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I know it's cliche, but that doesn't make it any less sincere. I am thankful for:

A faith which has at its core the message that we are all precious, loved, and accepted by our Creator.
A mother and father in-law who did such an amazing job bringing up three girls, and who continue to gift us through their faith, love of teaching and music, service to their community, and e-mail updates and kind words regularly sent from Ohio.
My own parents and the extraordinary devotion and support they give to our family, and every life they touch.
A wife and best friend beyond compare
My brother and his incredible family
Extended family across the country and their unique situations
A loud, crazy household filled to the brim with personality, creativity, life and love.
Healthy minds and bodies
Living in a place abundant with natural beauty
An occupation which, while exhausting at times, allows me to serve others
Some measure of financial security
Tall trees
Caffeine
The Simpsons
A community pool
The philodendron jungle hanging from my office ceiling
Electronic toys (iPod, iPhone, Wii, GPS)
Piano, cello, guitar, baritone, recorder and trumpet music ringing through the house
The lack of mosquitoes in McMinnville
Going for a run and looking upon a 10,000 foot, snow covered volcano in the distance
Tide pools
The smell of turkey cooking as I write this
The skills, dedication, and personalities of my co-workers (all of them)
Hope: that despite so much bad news and suffering by so many, we are still a nation that hopes and expects better days ahead
The Daily Show
Audible.com
Hard work
Cheerios and Splenda
The 2 pages of comics in the Oregonian
Netflix
The way Kate can laugh uncontrollably for 10 minutes straight
Digital photography
The internet
YCAP, Habitat for Humanity, St. Barnabas' Soup Kitchen, the Community Compassion Fund and the Cold Weather Shelter
11 mm rope and 30 different knots
Long, detailed descriptions of Nick or Ben's Lego creations
Despair.com, and satire in general
The regularity that we can have six people at the table for dinner, sharing stories of our day
A thousand other things.............

Happy Thanksgiving!
.

Facebook

2008-11-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for some time. This has been in part because of a lack of interesting things to say (to be made abundantly clear as you read), because I've been very very busy with work and other obligations, and finally (and the point of the title) because I've been hanging out on Facebook during whatever free time I do have at the computer.

I'm the type of person that has a lot of acquaintances, but no real friends. I don't mean that nobody likes me, just that I don't have a select group of people with whom I regularly hang out, communicate, or interact. This can be much to Kate's consternation, as she has plenty of girl friends to do stuff with, but if I want to go out and do something, it's always Kate that's on the hook.

I don't view my lack of friends as a huge drawback. A lot of my free-time activities (running, tree-climbing, other outdoor stuff) are very individualistic, and don't lend themselves well to the type of friend activity like going to a sporting event or concert would. Also, my leisure activities are a little less universally appreciated, and to participate with another in any practical way requires the same level of skill (e.g. I can't keep up on a run with someone who does 3:15 marathons, and it's hard for someone who doesn't also "know the ropes" to have fun climbing with me), so that's a further hindrance. Finally, while I am overall extroverted, my job being what it is, dealing with interacting with people, usually on a somewhat intense level, for 8-10 hours a day often means that on my down time, I just want to retreat into myself for a while.

So, for all those reasons and others, I am happy to go through life with a wife who's also a best friend, loving family around me, people I enjoy both in my work and extended social circles, but with really no regular "friends" otherwise. Still, it seems that something is missing not having those closer friends to regularly share things with.

That is why (to finally get around to the point of the post), I have really enjoyed Facebook. It's friendship with parameters that are perfect for me. I have re-established communication with friends from Jr. High, High School, College, as well as other avenues. Within this little "social networking tool" we can share things, communicate, and interact in a way that shows others that I'm interested in them and enjoy sharing things with them, and visa versa. But, it can be done on all of our own time, which works really well for me.

Point is, I've done more Facebook time because I've discovered I like having friends - particularly in the manner Facebook allows: checking in anytime, sharing things via various technologies, written expressions.

I don't want to overdue the facebook thing, so I'll stop there. But I think it's part of the reason I've not updated for a while.

I'm throwing in at the end a YouTube clip I really like. Facebook "friends" will have seen this video link from my "profile", but I find it funny and actually thoughtful enough (be thankful and amazed at what's around you) that I re-posted it here.

Despair

2008-11-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

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Ha! This is courtesy of Despair.com. I feel this way about my blog sometimes.

For more fun, read through their collection of demotivators HERE.

I've been spending a little too much time on Facebook lately, so the blog has gotten a bit sparse.

Passive Aggressive

2008-11-08T20:05:00.001-08:00

So I was sitting in my office, typing and looking out over the parking lot when my 2:00 appointment drives up. This patient gets out of the car and stands next to it for the next 5 minutes, finishing up their cigarette. This patient then throws the butt on the ground, and comes in for their appointment. I went out to the parking lot and retrieved the butt (wearing a glove) and placed it in a clear urine container. At first I thought about discharging this patient outright (basically, we can drop anyone for any reason, it's an opt-out agreement for either party). Then I thought about confronting them with the cigarette butt while they were in the room. Finally, I placed the container in the bottom of a bag of samples I gave them with a written note: "Don't trash our parking lot, please".

So, in the end, I guess I was a bit (a lot) passive aggressive. Still, I think I got my point across.

Two political end notes:

I thought McCain's concession speech was impressive. He was gracious, eloquent, and reasserted himself as the true hero and lifetime public servant that he is. In a different election, with a different tone and a different running mate, I'd have been proud to cast a vote for him.
Obama is bringing some technological upgrades to the White House, including change.gov, which describes the transitional plans and solicits the advice of American citizens on what they want (and don't want) from their government. But one of the most refreshing things is a link to the Presidential Transitional Resources page, which gives the graphic of the "organizational chart" of the U.S.A. The Executive Branch is clearly shown (as are the other two branches) under the Constitution. I'm encouraged to see that they (unlike the current occupant) know their place.

Have a beer

2008-11-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

Ok, things have been a little heavy lately...so let's all relax and have a beer. (I love this commercial)

Hope Prevails

2008-11-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

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HOPE PREVAILS

I’m glad to have been a part of this great nation on this day. There are all sorts of emotions swirling around in my head and heart, but I don’t think now is the time to dissect them or to elaborate. I’m content to watch the coming together of so many parts of this country, and see the joy in the supporters who worked so long and so hard to make this night a reality.

I’m glad my children could share this night with us, also. I think the world they inherit became a little bit brighter tonight.

That is basically what I wanted to say.

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I had previously typed out a list of the major reasons I voted for Obama. This was in part to document what I was thinking as I headed into this historic election, and in part to reassure others that my decisions were not based on “Obamamania” or an unrealistic idea of the issues. I’ve listed the major categories below. It’s politics and religion, so don’t read if you are bothered by opinions that may be different than yours.

THE WAR: Prior to the start of the war, the leaders of all the major Christian denominations, as well as the Jewish ones, urged in no uncertain terms that Bush give other avenues a chance to resolve the conflict, before launching a war. To be frank, the war in Iraq has me very angry. It was waged for reasons that were at best poorly investigated and at worst outright lies. It has cost our country billions of dollars and weakened us, not protected us. It has funneled countless millions into the pockets of defense corporation CEO’s, while the real heroes, the soldiers, pay the costs (as well as their families and their communities). Billions have disappeared in Iraq, yet soldiers here lose their homes, or cannot get adequate health care. That is wrong. This war has resulted in the pain and suffering of millions of Iraqi people, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents. I am spiritually and viscerally repulsed by the atrocities visited on our people and the world’s people for this pre-emptive conflict. If for no other reason, I supported Obama because he stood against this war, even when it was politically risky to do so. I want a president who feels, like Eisenhower, that “together, we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose”. McCain, as a soldier, seemed to understand this prior to the presidential race. I respected McCain’s stance against torture. But he had either lost his convictions or, worse, ignored them in the run for the presidency. I say this because of McCain’s equating ending the war with “surrender” or “failure”, his unwillingness to dissent with the Bush Administration on the protection of torture policies, and his continued support of the Iraqi conflict. I want my children to grow up in a world as free from war as possible, and Obama is more committed to that reality.

FAITH AND MORALS: This is the most important aspect of my decision, but it’s also the hardest to define one candidate to the other. I have seen Obama talk deeply about his faith, how he wrestles with spiritual questions, and the imperfections and distorted views of the people he previously looked to for spiritual growth. In his honoring of his marriage vows, in his working with the poor and the disadvantaged, in his understanding about what the government can and can’t do to change the hearts of people, Obama models much more closely what I believe to be Christian qualities than McCain does. I was particularly frustrated with the way McCain chose to align himself with the exclusionary and divisive fundamentalist evangelicals when it became politically expedient to do so. The intolerance of others and the condemnation of gays and lesbians these political allies preach is directly hurtful to committed Christians I know both as friends and as family. Those who would deny others a place at God’s table because of who they choose to love have placed more value on archaic Leviticus law than on the teachings and example of Christ. On the abortion question: I know several Christians who could not support Obama because of his stance on abortion. I personally feel that abortion represents in many ways an ultimate failure in the respect and the value of life. But, for reasons that are too complex (but scripturaly considered) to go into here, I do not equate spiritual life as beginning with conception. I also know that attempts to impose government regulations upon these very personal and often tragic circumstances have not been shown to improve, and will often worsen the very societal problem they are trying to prevent. One’s view on abortion cannot be the only measure of one’s faith. I find it incomprehensible that the same people who denounce Obama because of his abortion stance turn a seeming blind eye to other significant Christian concerns such as war, torture, the death penalty, racism, treatment of the poor and outcast, poverty, blasphemy, idol worship (money), care of God’s creation and a host of others. We don’t worship a “single issue” God, and the root causes of abortion will not be changed by supreme court rulings. Ultimately, in the pandering to the religious right, I see the McCain / Palin team as more like the Pharisee loudly praying in the church where all can see, while Obama seems to me (this is only my opinion) more like the one who wrestles with his faith, and keeps it personal and quiet. And yes, I know that one was a tax collector, I’m not going there.

STATESMANSHIP: David McCullough is a biographer of American history. He has written, among other things, John Adams, The Course of Human Events, and 1776. The latter I recently listened to. It is an amazing tale of the first years of the American Revolution, and the men (only men at this point in our nation’s history) who were forging this nation. We have this rich history because these men were, literally, men of letters. They were thoughtful and elegant in their words, and their writings are full of passion and philosophy. These men, these founding fathers were liberally educated. They were scholars. Many had spent time in other countries, other cultures. They were, in a word, elite. Obama has been criticized for having a world-view, for living in different cultures. Obama has been criticized for being too verbally and prosaically elegant (he actually wrote his own books in their entirety, without “ghost writers” (which his opponent did not)). I see in these traits a portion of the solid intellect of Washington, Adams, Monroe, Franklin and the other statesman who founded this amazing country. After 8 years of a President who seemed to communicate in short, mixed-up bursts of words, I think the American people are hungry to finally have a President who can put forth his ideas in the measured, intelligent, and ultimately beautiful way our founding fathers did.

PRINCIPLES: I will acknowledge straight off that Obama’s decision to not take public funding did show a betrayal of a previous promise. While not excusing that, I see this more as a politically expedient necessity, and separate from a shift in promises of a moral nature. He does deserve reproach for that reneging on his word, but I take far less offense with that than I do with McCain’s mud-slinging politicking, betrayal of his previous stance on torture, and his association with the right-wing evangelicals (Dobson, Faldwell’s University) who preach division and intolerance. In both the primaries and the general election, I did not ever see (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) Obama question McCain’s character or integrity. Policies, yes. Character, no. This is not true of McCain/Palin. The mean-spirited attempts to link Obama to Reverand Wright, or Ayers, were character attacks pure and simple. The official campaign arguably did not actively encourage darker rhetoric (racist ideas, or Muslim or terrorist associations), but they certainly created an environment that supported it, and only denounced it when directly confronted with it. Obama always showed respect and courtesy when discussing his opponents, his opponents did not. I understand there are supporters on each side who strayed significantly into the fray of disrespect and cruelty, but I am speaking only of official campaign actions.

SOCIETY: I feel blessed living in this country. I have been given much, and I expect to give much in return. I expect to pay my fair share. And please note: paying my fair share is not “Spreading the wealth around”. I’m not a fan of taxes, but I realize that they build our roads, fund our services, help to support the disabled and the weak, allow for public education, and protect the natural resources of this country. I would have paid over $2,000 less in personal taxes under McCain, to say nothing of the tax reduction for my business. My social security withdrawals stop each July, when I reach the income cap. I don’t consider either of those things fair when so many struggle in this economy. Why should I pay proportionally less because I make more? We have so many social needs in this country, from health care to housing help to funding for mental illness, to a thousand other things. We are all improved when the least of us is supported. This is not a socialist stance, this is a patriotic one. I don’t begrudge anyone what they’ve earned, I just think everyone needs to pay their fair share, and we need to give an extra measure to those who otherwise have nothing. These are the values I see reflected in Obama’s agendas and programs. In McCain’s policies I saw further protections for the wealthiest 10% (which includes me), further erosion of our social services, and a further widening of the gap between the rich and the poor.

RACE: I did not vote for Obama because he is black, but because of the other reasons listed above. That being said, it is time for a black president. The fact that a Christian college not 15 miles from here has had to deal with a lynching effigy hung from a campus tree reminds me that there is an undercurrent of racism throughout this country, not just in the Dixie states. Listening to some of the blatant racist remarks being leveled against Obama has made me ashamed of the attitudes of both the people making the statements, and the ones who keep silent and do not confront those attitudes. I do not expect a black president to end racism in this country, but I do expect that he will show that this country can continue to make progress in healing the wounds of slavery and the ongoing cancer of bigotry. I am thankful that we now have proof, not just hope, that a child of any color can one day grow up to be president.

I am excited about the future of our country. It’s been a good day.

11/04/08

Hope or Fear....

2008-11-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

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Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1-3

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Diwali 2008

2008-10-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Through the lives of two of our children, we have a direct connection to the rich traditions of India. Arguably the biggest Indian holiday is Diwali, which in 2008 takes place on October 28th (it's tied to the lunar calendar).

Here's a short description off the web about the holiday:

Diwali is one of the most important festivals celebrated in India. It is celebrated on the darkest night of the year, which usually falls sometime in the beginning of November. Diwali, though, is the festival of lights.

All over India, homes are decorated with lights and earthenware lamps filled with oil. These lamps are called diyas. The name 'Diwali' is from the Sanskrit 'dipavali', which means 'row of lamps'. Diyas are lit in every house to banish the dark and welcome in good luck and good fortune.

People wear new clothes, meet their friends and relatives, eat good food, give each other sweets and gifts, decorate their houses with flowers and lights and Rangoli patterns, and set off fireworks.

In the evening, many people hold a small prayer or puja in their homes. They honour Ganesh, the god of wisdom and good luck, the one who removes all obstacles from life; and they worship Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and good fortune. Lights are left burning all night, so that Lakshmi may feel welcome and enter.

Diwali is also the start of the New Year for many communities in India.

Diwali is a festival of joy, prosperity and good luck, and a celebration of the victory of good over evil - which is expressed through different stories in different parts of India.

We have fireworks (saved from July 4th) that we plan to fire off tomorrow night, and we also traditionally read the story of The Ramayana to the kids. We'll eat Indian food, fly the Indian flag, and have lots of sweets tomorrow!

Kate and I hope to be in India next year during Diwali, now that would be something!

Let there be LIGHT!

On Rope

2008-10-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

"On Rope" is the name of the authority in rope climbing books. It is also what is called when you are about to ascend up a tree when climbing in a group. It is also the subject of today's musings.

It's been a rough week. My sleep has been exceptionally poor, call stressful, and politics have intruded constantly into my thoughts. Climbing trees is a wonderful escape. It allows for problem solving, focusing my mind on tasks at hand and not a myriad of other worries. It is a re-connection (figuratively and literally) with nature. It is physical work, which adds to the feelings of accomplishment. It offers new perspectives in familiar settings, and it involves just enough risk to always keep it exciting.

Even on days when I don't climb, I can enjoy a portion of the experience in working with my ropes.

I got a new rope this week. In the photo above it is the red rope. It's called "The Fly". Technically it is a 7/16" Static Kernmantle Rope. Every hobby has its lingoes, and mine involves words like "kernmantle", "kilonewtons" and a host of knot-tying terms. Pictured with the red Fly rope is my green Poison Ivy rope (11mm, 200 feet) and my Cadillac of ropes, the camouflage colored 11mm "Snakebite" rope, all 600 feet of it.

I have two eye-hooks bolted into the ceiling of my office (with grudging approval from Kate), and I can stand in here and practice tying Blake's hitches, figure 8's, Prussik's, and other complicated climbing set-ups involving split-tails, lanyards, various hardware pieces and mechanical tools.

I'm sure the escape must be similar to the fly fisherman intricately crafting a fly, or someone who needlepoints carefully placing each stitch. It's a feeling of focus, creation, and learning.

There's a "feel" to the rope that is very satisfying. A good climbing rope is soft enough to easily be tied, yet each of those ropes can hold over 5,000 lbs. A knot will feel and look right if tied correctly, and wrong if not. Over time muscle memory sets in, and the knots seem to form in your hand just by thinking about them.

It's a good hobby. I hope to bring my kids more and more up into the trees, and pass along this appreciation to them (as well as a lot of hardware). My oldest has climbed with me, and is gradually learning the knots and the skills. It's fun to have other family members tell me about particularly interesting trees they've seen - ones that would be "great to climb". Once you start looking at trees that way, you find yourself constantly doing so.

It's a beautiful Fall weekend, I'm not on call, so hopefully I'll be spending some time off the ground.

Update: I got my climb in

Presidential Race: Last Word!

2008-10-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

NEWS REGISTER: Our local paper. It leans conservative, but I think for a "local" paper, they make a very strong case.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: I included this because it's the first time they've ever endorsed a Democrat

OREGONIAN: Our regional paper.

WASHINGTON POST: I thought they laid out things well and fairly.

I had originally planned on putting my own thoughts about why I was voting for Obama on this web page. I had written a 3-page letter to relatives in Ohio, and detailed in depth my feelings and opinions, including those based (most importantly) on my Faith and Values.

But, you know what, I'm suffering from Politics fatigue. I know how I'm voting, and with passions being so strong and the campaign so long, I really don't see people at this point changing their mind about their votes, so why bother. If someone still feels that McCain/Palin is the best choice for this country, I don't think my opinions are going to change their mind.

I will say, I really like McCain (and really DON'T like Palin as a potential VP), but I liked and respected him a whole lot more before he became a Presidential Candidate. It seems like he's been jerked around by handlers to the point where he keeps having to deny more of who he really is to meet their political ambitions.

The editorials I linked lay out very well the case for Obama, so I won't go on about my own personal reasons. If a reader of this blog is just REALLY interested about why, post a question in the comments and I'll respond.

The photo at the top is my ballot, about to be mailed (I have to figure out all the local races and ballot measures first, though). Once that goes into the drop box (by the end of this weekend hopefully) I am officially done with talking about politics (until after the election, anyway).

Commercials that make me yell at my TV

2008-10-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I can't restrain myself, and yell at stupid ads on the TV. This week I found myself yelling at these two products:

HONEY BUNCHES OF O'S: These factory workers drive around in their modified RV, spreading the joy of their cereal.

"YOU'RE NOT IN THE FACTORY ANYMORE! YOU CAN TAKE OFF YOUR HARD HATS AND HAIR NETS! YOU DON'T NEED THEM STANDING IN A PARK!"

DUAL ACTION CLEANSE: I know, this one is a no-brainer. Does anyone else think he looks like a carnie? I swear this guy just stepped away from the knock-down-the-bottles-and-win-a-prize booth.

"YOU'RE MORE FULL OF CRAP THAN THE COLONS YOU'RE DESCRIBING! AAUUUGGGHHHHHH!!!! I'VE SEEN COLONS, CLEANSED AND UNCLEANSED, FROM THE INSIDE AND OUT, THERE ISN'T ANY TOXIC SLUDGE!!!! AAAUUUUGGGHHHHH!!!!"

See, it's not just politics that drives me crazy!

Shut Up!

2008-10-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

My lack of sleep lately is starting to cause mood swings, not helped any by the seeming increased presence of Conservative family members and colleagues who feel compelled to send me their latest batch of anti-Obama e-mails. (I'd like to add that I have never initiated a political e-mail to anyone, only responded to unsolicited ones).

I've so far been letting it not get to me too much, trying instead to intelligently point out the blatant inaccuracies in their email forwards, or if the statements actually have some truth to them, offer up a legitimate counter argument.

However, after being subjected to another round early this morning (2:30) when my insomnia found me browsing through my emails, and again this afternoon during my lunch break internet check (feeling over-hyped on caffeine and looking at another 6 hours of patient appointments ahead of me), I finally lost it.

I returned an e-mail to a relative and told them point blank to "Stop sending this crap!"

I'm sick of it. Why is it that all the people who disagree with my pick of Obama seem to try to dissuade me from my (researched, reasoned, and rationally made) choice by throwing out frantic charges against him that all seem to contain either the words "Muslim", "Terrorist", "Liberal", or "Elite"? I'm not so much mad at the mud-slinging, but that the people who disagree with me cannot offer up reasons to support their candidate, and instead can only scream out paranoid inaccurate diatribes against Obama.

If anyone cares, I plan on listing the major reasons I support Obama soon, in this blog. You will find these reasons are based on my faith and values, and my candidate's precedent, his platform, and his plans surrounding a wide variety of issues. You will not find me basing my support for Obama on lies and innuendo directed toward his opponent.

So in the mean time: If you are a McCain supporter, and you want to send me an e-mail, and the e-mail is full of emotional buzzwords, fear mongering, or name calling, I respectfully ask that you shut up!

(Oh, BTW, I climbed another tree over the weekend)

Normalcy

2008-10-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Warning: this is one of the dullest blog entries yet. Feel free to skip it.

Our time away is ended, and life gets back to its normal routines. Miscellaneous things since the last blog:

- Took the kids yesterday to the World Forestry Center next to the Portland Zoo. On the way I stopped at Car Toys and got a radio for the "rig" (the Suburban) that has actually dials that aren't broken off and can play our various iPods. The Forestry Center was interesting, more so for the older kids. Still, worth the drive. I got some tree identification books and discovered I had wrongly labeled the tree I'd climbed as a Jeffrey Pine, when in fact it was a Ponderosa pine.
- Caught up on the Daily Show on Hulu
- Went to the office to plow through the stacks of charts that accumulated in my absence (see photo).
- We finally got our CineBlitz Bollywood magazine subscription in the mail.
- Sent an e-mail to In-N-Out Burger because of a local dentist's ad that seemed to be a trademark infringement.
- Climbed up and down a rope hanging from the roof, practicing various things (I want a big tree nearby).
- Played Candy Land with the younger kids (mind numbingly dull)
- Up an hour or two several nights not being able to sleep well (nothing new).
- Got retirement account and kid's college saving account statements in the mail - YIKES.

Ok, I'm stopping there because I'm boring myself. I'm feeling old these days; my warranty must've expired at 42 years.

S42

2008-10-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, now it's my turn to hit 42. Kate and I have our last full day at Sunriver today. We drove into Bend and had lunch at an Indian Restaurant (eating Indian at least once on our vacations is kind of a tradition).

I've always been a wanna be rock climber, and since we were in the home of modern sport climbing (Smith Rock) I went to a local climbing gym to get a feel for it. Long story short: my forearms were not really up to the task. I went up and down the wall about 5 times before my hands gave out -- wuss. Even then, I really could only use the holds that had a nice grab to them, the 2 or 3 finger holds were just not doable at my current strength. It's a blast, though. I wish there were a climbing gym closer to where I live.

Then Kate and I drove up to Pilot's Butte (something like that), a lava dome from where you can see the whole Bend area in 360 degrees. Beautiful. (The photo at the top of the blog is from there).

From there it was an hour in a bookstore (since Kate spent a good portion of her B-day with me in a tree, it's only fair that I spend a portion of mine with her in a book store), and then back to Sunriver.

We're going to kick-back for the rest of the day, lounge around with the fire going, watch a movie, it's all good.

K42

2008-10-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Kate's 42nd Birthday! I'm trying to honor my family's privacy (see this entry) so I won't go into more details on that. But I had to explain the "K42" title.

K42 is the name I gave the beautiful Ponderosa pine I climbed today. We found it on a small trailhead about 20 minutes drive from Sunriver. It took over an hour to set the rope, and then I climbed for about an hour and a half, making only one additional pitch. It was getting late into the afternoon at that point, so I stopped about half way up.

I won't say any more except it was a beautiful day to climb, and an absolutely beautiful (looks AND smell, the sap has this wonderful vanilla scent) tree.

Ghost Town

2008-10-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

Kate and I went and saw this movie tonight at (I think it's called) The Mill District, in Bend. We hadn't been there before and, it's cool. The photo at the top is from a walking path around the area. The three big smokestacks are, I'm guessing, from the old mill, but now are just sort of iconic. BUT, at the bottom of the stacks: REI. Woo Hoo. I got some carabiners, a light for my bike, and Kate got some slippers. The movie was good. Ricky Gervais is a very funny guy (although parts of it were pretty serious).

Ghost town also refers to the house here in Sunriver with the kids and Mom and Dad gone (they left today). It's been a good chance so far to reconnect, but it's hard to just slip out of our chaotic work and kid schedules and actually have time for just the two of us. I'm not complaining though. We had a lot of fun family time, even though brief. The kids, Kate, Mom and I played the world's longest round of Uno yesterday. We went through the deck 5 times till Mom finally won the round (but Ben won overall). Later after the kids went to bed, Mom and Dad and Kate and I played a game they had here at the house called "Compatable", which was a hoot, but also a little too psychoanalytical at times.

For the second time in 3 years, I signed up for, but did not due the Portland Marathon. It was run today. My training got held up for 2+ months when I broke my toe, so I had to bow out of today's run. I put in 10 miles this morning around Sunriver, but it's not the same (obviously).

C'est tout

Muddy

2008-09-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I meant "Peace" not "Peach". This is what happens when I try to be serious and reflective. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're better off.

So, here's a video someone shot of one of the muddy slide parts of the Trask Mountain Assault (see two posts ago).

Thoughts on a Peace March

2008-09-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what makes me uncomfortable about walking down Highway 99 for 24 blocks with other people carrying peace signs. Still, I'm frustrated / embarrassed / ashamed to say I was uncomfortable.

We attended the interfaith peace walk this evening. This is the second time we've gone. It was held at the First Baptist Church in town (not our "home" congregation). First off there was a good speaker, then we (people from the many different churches in town) walked quietly up and down Highway 99 carrying peace signs. Many people honked (presumably) in support, but this was not a universal sentiment. One guy yelled "Bomb Iraq" over and over as he passed the column. Another driver looked straight ahead and drove by with his middle finger stuck up at us outside his window. Most just drove by, eyes fixed on the road, seemingly pretending we weren't there.

As radical public spectacles go, this all seems fairly tame. I mean, really, who argues about peace? How is this a controversial subject? No one carried any campaign signs, and I even carried a big American flag with a Peace flag (smaller) underneath. It seems Christianity's view is open and shut on this subject, as are all the major religions. Politicians (even the hawks) all voice their hope for peace. So why the self-consciousness walking down the street, why does this simple appeal inspire vitriol?

I suppose in an election year, with a very polarized electorate, that "Peace" is somehow synonymous with Democrats, or liberals. Well, it shouldn't be. The fact that this group (and our family) has been doing this for the last three years should show that candidate advancement (or any particular political cause outside of Peace) is not a motivation. But that is not readily apparent, I suppose, to someone driving by.

It seems about the only thing that one in this society can be universally passionate about without causing discomfort is allegiance to a sports team. Put team flags on your car and drive around, no one bats an eye. Invite others over to your house to spend hours discussing and cheering on your team, and you're just another sports fan. But have the same sort of passion about something of real relevance, something that directly affects people's lives (be they families suffering through the horrors of war or billions of dollars spent on futile bombs and bribes) and invite stereotyping and derision.

I tend, by nature, to avoid conflict. I'm the guy who would rather eat the wrong meal than trouble the waiter by telling them that's not what I ordered. I know that is part of my discomfort in partaking of something like this, no matter how noble the cause. I don't want to offend anyone, even those whose views I find offensive. That can't be good. But I also know that little of substance or value is accomplished by timidity, so thus my periodic ventures into regions outside of my comfort zone.

I also think such exercises are of value in learning empathy. As a wealthy American Christian white male, I don't really spend any time with people making false assumptions about me, or disdaining me because of who I am or who they perceive me to be. To spend even 30 minutes in a minimally vulnerable position, and find I've provoked a hostile shout or an obscene gesture from a passing driver, can be eye opening. I can't imagine what it must be like to have people consistently hate you because of the color of your skin, or condemn you to hell because of who you choose to love, or pity you because of a disability. I think if we all could somehow be exposed more to each others vulnerabilities, we would have much less of a need to march for Peace.

Getting Dirty 2008

2008-09-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

Now that my oldest is in X-C (cross-country) he gets to partake in the annual Trask Moutain Run. This is an event put on by the McMinnville High School's track team as a fundraiser at a ranch about 20 miles from here. It is basically a muddy, creek-crossing, uphill / downhill dirt run. The purpose is to get completely dirty and exhausted (and raise money).

Ben and I went up the night before and camped at the ranch. (The top picture is our truck (tent) at the campsite). Many of the high school teams that participate go up and stay in the bunk-houses on the ranch the night before the race. We parked the Suburban on a big grassy area by a large creek as our "camp". There is old log resort a couple minutes walk from there where we had a great spaghetti dinner (also a fund-raiser) and after dinner lounged around on leather recliners - he reading, me watching my iPod.

We slept well in the back of the truck, and got up the next morning and had another delicious meal (breakfast) at the main lodge.

A couple hours later was the run. Ben did a 3 km run with the other 7th and 8th graders and had a great effort. I did a 5 km "open" run after that, filled mostly with high schoolers not on official track teams, but also with some of us old farts. The course had several deep mud bogs, a few creek crossings, and some uphill and downhill muddy channels that necessitated sliding down on your butt (yes, that's mud on my posterior in the photo, the bowel evacuation was a previous post) or grappling up on hands and feet holding onto shrubbery to keep from slipping backwards. Great fun.

Godspeed Little Blue Car

2008-09-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I feel guilty driving by my old Civic on the used car lot, but I do.

Here's the little guy's official web listing:

1996 Honda Civic

I guess it'll be a useful link until the car is sold. I hope it finds an owner that is good to it.

Ok, it's a car. I'll let it go....

Ohio 9th District

2008-09-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

My former congresswoman (when I was in Medical School).

Preach it, Marcy!!

SRT Day 3

2008-09-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

This'll be short, because I'm tired and need to go to bed.

Today the morning involved practicing some of the techniques we'd learned, and some new instruction. To be sure we had the skills in place we placed ascenders, climbed about 10 feet, changed over to decenders while on rope and rapelled down to the ground all while blindfolded. After that we learned and practiced Munter hitches.

The main event of the day was the wild tree climb, where we could pick any tree and climb it. I picked a tall, dark, handsome but scraggly conifer near where we'd been practicing. I don't know if it had a name, but I called it Shah Rukh Kahn after Kate's favorite Bollywood star, who has those same qualities. I climbed SRK for 2 and a half hours, and he presented his share of problems, but it was a great climb (they all are).

So, it's all over, and I'm definitely a much better climber for it. I learned a lot, and am excited to keep honing my skills and getting up in more trees. I can't say enough good things about Tim, who is a great teacher and a very down-to-earth guy for someone who makes his living being off the earth.

The grove where we trained is used frequently during the tree-climbing season, so I'm hoping to come back and climb those beautiful trees, and meet some new ones.

The pictures are of "Pagoda" the Oak (taken during my SRK climb), and the three of us (Me, Dennis, and Tim) standing next to Pagoda's trunk.

SRT Day 2

2008-09-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Another day in the trees!

We met at 9:00 and watched a video (on computer) about assessing the safety of a tree. We then walked around the woods and looked at different trees and discussed potential hazards and such.

After that, it was up into Pagoda. Pagoda is the name of one of the two main Oak Trees that we train in. We practiced doing higher pitches. First you set your rope, and kind of slip-knot it around the branch ("anchor") then climb up the rope. Once you are up higher you take a weighted sack and some thinner line and throw the sack up to a higher anchor point in the tree. Then you take the other end of the main climbing rope (already attached to you at your belt) and pull that over the higher anchor point and affix it, and then transfer yourself over to this higher rope. Then you undo the first anchor and attach it to your belt.

In this way you can work yourself up the tree to higher and higher anchor points with the same rope, and always have an escape line to the ground.

It's a lot of procedural work, and doing things in a certain order that minimizes the risk of falling or dropping equipment, and it takes a lot of practice. That is why we were hanging from a tree for 6 hours today.

We also practiced installing 2nd anchors to use with a laynard. That allows you to walk out onto the end of branches and basically move through the tree in a horizontal, not just vertical direction.

At the end we installed tree boats (see photo above) way up high, and took a break from hanging in our saddles.

Part of the day was about the "spiritual" nature of climbing. Most (all) of the people who climb as a profession feel a real spiritual connection to the trees they climb. They will relate personalities of the trees, moods of the trees, and the like. Tim told us some amazing stories to illustrate those points. Laying in the tree boat at the end of the day I definitely felt it. You really do feel a closeness to a tree being up in the canopy, trusting it with your life, spending so much time examining it, looking at it, feeling it. Laying back in the tree boat the wind was cool, it was quiet, and the roof of the tree with all it's personality was played out above me to look at. It's part of the appeal of tree climbing. It's not just about the technical pleasure of rigging and climbing ropes, and the adrenaline part of being suspended high in the air on an 11mm thick rope, but the chance to get off the earth, and into another realm that just isn't the same when you're looking up at it as when you're in it. It's hard to explain, exactly, so I recommend you go climb a tree!

Tree Climbing NW

Tree Climbers International

Pacific Tree Climbing Institute

Speaking of the technical side of things (I was, see the paragraph above), Tim is involved in a lot of the design of tree-climbing equipment. The tree boats that we use have a new mosquito covering that is his design, and during today's climb, while we were talking he came up with an idea for a design change in the ascenders that will probably be reality very soon. I mention this only because I was there when he got the inspiration.

AND FINALLY: My reference to Carl XVI Gustof resulted in two hits to my blog from Sweden. So for all my Swedish readers: Hej!

SRT Day 1

2008-09-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today was day 1 of my SRT class. SRT is "Single Rope Technique", and is a style of climbing that's used more in taller trees, and tends to have more equipment.

One other student from LA (Dennis) and I were instructed by Tim Kovar, from TCI (Tree Climbers International). The climbing world is still pretty small, especially at an instructor level, and this means that a pion like me can still be instructed by one of the most knowledgeable tree climbers in the world.

Tim (our instructor) just got back from the Amazon. He's climbed and guided everywhere. Here's a link from a Forbes Magazine article that features him prominently: Climbing the Amazon .

Dennis and I both have a fair amount of experience "on rope", so we got to move ahead a bit quickly. We started the day sitting out in a beautiful Oak Grove (with other trees as well) just south of Oregon City, on a large expanse of private property. It was a bit of dusty off-roading to get to the trees, so it was a good thing I had my Suburban. Plus, it could hold all my gear and still have room for me to stretch out an nap at lunch!

Anyway, we spent the morning going over equipment, discussing trees, and doing a lot of safety review. After that we practiced throwing lines into trees and then set our ropes. He had gear there, but let us use our own gear, also.

We practiced ascending for 10 feet or so, and then changing over to descenders of various types (Grigri's, Petzel I'D's, Piranhas). He focused a lot on placement and other pointers that you just can only get from someone who has done this as much as he has. After that, we climbed higher and practiced limb walking and refining our descent / rappel techniques.

At the end we moved over to another tree (we are climbing big Oaks) and set a line and did another climb, with him watching again. I was fairly tired at this point, and my skills completely fell apart.

All-in-all it was an excellent but very tiring day! I learned a lot!

The pictures: the top one shows the tree we mostly trained in today (I forgot her name). The trees are in open pasture, and we had to contend with cows and horses invading our site. At one point (while the other two were at lunch) I had to try to shoo away 5 horses who were messing around with my ropes and things. So, the second picture shows some of the horses at our site.

My week, alphabetized

2008-09-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

I decided to track the "conditions" I actually billed for (meaning in patients I actually had in a room to treat) this week. This does not include phone calls, faxes, pharmacy refills, hospital meetings, staff meetings, business decisions, nursing home requests, lab reviews, study sign-offs, and "curbsides".

Items appearing more than once means more than one patient with the problem. Some patients had multiple problems treated (every diagnosis is not a separate patient, but most are).

And so, in alphabetical order:

Abdominal pain
Achilles tendon tear
ADD
Anemia
Anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety
Atrial fibrillation
Back pain
Back pain
Back pain
Back pain
Back pain
Breast reduction evaluation
Chronic back pain
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic pain
Chronic pain
Chronic wound
Chronic wound
Concussion
Concussion
Connective tissue disorder
Constipation
Coronary artery disease
Coughing up blood
Coughing up blood
Coumadin management
Coumadin management
Coumadin management
Depression
Diabetes
Diabetes, new onset
Diverticulitis
Dizziness
DOT Physical
Ear pain
Eczema
Fall
Fall
Fatigue
Fever
Fever
Foot pain
Foot pain
Ganglion cyst
Groin rash
Headache
Hip fracture
Hip fracture
Hip pain
Hypertension
Hypertension
Hypothyroidism
Incontinence, urinary
Insomnia
Insomnia
Joint swelling
Knee injury
Knee pain
Leg pain
Lipid disorder
Lips swollen
Lips tingling
Menses, 12 year old who doesn’t want to deal with them
Neuropathy, leg
Ovarian cysts
Plantar fascia tear
Pneumonia
PTSD
Rectal bleeding
Seizures, new onset
Shingles
Shoulder pain
Sinusitis
Sinusitis
Sinusitis
Skin cysts
Smoking cessation
Sports physical
Stroke
Stroke
Swallowing difficulty
Testicle “missing”
Upper respiratory infection
Upper respiratory infection
Upper respiratory infection
Visual changes, acute
Well-child 1 year old
Well-child 6 months
Well-child check 13 years old
Well-child, 7 years old
Well-child, 9 years old
Wrist abscess

Long live Carl XVI Gustaf

2008-09-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

The title is irrelevant. He's the current King of Sweden, and I just wanted to see how many Swedish hits (if any) I could get to my blog by posting his name.

The weekend is almost over, the blogosphere is full of dire predictions for Black Monday tomorrow, so here's the latest:

Went with Mom and Dad to see "Chicago" at the local theater (The Gallery Theater). Excellent show. I knew basically nothing about the musical, but loved the performance! It's more adult themed, but the show was spunky and lively and fun (oh, except when that girl got hanged and the guys got shot). The advertising poster leads off this post.
Got a new set of tires for the Suburban (paid 1.5 times what I paid for the car for the tires), a trailer hitch, and some floor mats.
Caught up on work at the office. They re-paved and painted the parking lot this weekend, it looks nice.

Basically the biggest "event" of the weekend was negotiating and getting the SUV, so there's not a lot else to tell. I'm still getting used to the fact that the Civic is gone, and this is my new vehicle, but it's kind of fun. I DO miss being able to park in the garage, however.

Ok, off to bed.

Oh no you didn't !

2008-09-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

I did, actually.

Bottom line: I traded in my '96 Honda Civic for a '97 GMC Suburban. Actually, it was a trade-in + $500, but that's all. (it's pictured above)

Rationalizations:

We can now carry 8 people. That means whole family plus two (for instance: Grandparents)
I don't drive much (have averaged less than 6,000 miles per year for the last 12 years) so the gas costs are not that bad
We can tow more (trailer, campers) with this vehicle
I now have a vehicle that I can fit my triathlon gear, and camping gear, etc into without having to borrow Kate's.
We can get up into the mountains in Winter, and off-road camping now because of the 4-wheel drive
The Honda dealer wanted $960 to fix my broken electric window switches. The switches will inexplicably stop working for long periods of time. Currently, they happen to be working, so for half the cost of the repair, I get a whole new vehicle.
The color matches our house trim perfectly (weak rationalization, I know)
The economic and gas situation being what it is, this is probably the only time I would have been able to trade a Civic for a Suburban
Safer in a crash due to it's size (I have a little bit of a problem with this excuse, however, since safer for me means less safe for the other vehicle)
(Convoluted "green" argument, stick with me on this one) Since I drive relatively infrequently, and for short distances, I am making my fuel efficient car available to someone who has to drive a lot, and taking a fuel inefficient vehicle and putting it into minimal use. Ok, it's a stretch.
Now we can get into the freezer in the garage without me having to pull my car out
With HUGE untapped oil fields in the ANWR and off the coasts, and with the Republicans leading in the polls, and the altruistic oil companies who will sell all the extra oil to America, cheap, I'm sure McCain and Palin will be driving gas prices into the low $2.00 range once the McCain administration goes into action, so I wanted to stay ahead of the curve.

Gotcha Day Nick

2008-09-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

Today is Nick's 4th Gotcha Day. This is the sign we found on the garage when we brought Nick home to meet the rest of the kids. 4 years of being a complete family - the time flies.

Be Afraid

2008-09-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

.
This nation is best served by an intelligent, informed electorate. Those of us who worry that large parts of the voting public will fall for easy manipulations like playing upon fears, pandering to prejudices, and repeatedly hitting buzzwords like patriotism or "conservative values" are often labeled elitist or patronizing. The public is smarter than that.

I'd like to believe that. I need to believe that.

Then I read the Sunday Parade magazine, and see the two-page spread for Amish space-heaters. The photos show nice Amish people, renown for their craftsmanship and quality, making these heaters in their barn-raising workshops, bringing their goods to the market on the back of a horse and buggy. And I realize, this isn't satire. This heater company believes, with good reason, that they can take their mass-produced, big-city manufactured (probably overseas) space heaters and throw into their sales pitch ridiculous pictures of clearly staged Amish nonsense and people will fall for it.

But....but...it's made by the Amish!

No, it isn't.

This, THIS is why I worry about elections.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I have decided to make next week POLITICS FREE. I am so sick of listening to all the opinions, bloviations, name-calling and fact-distortions on both sides that I'm going cold-turkey for a week. No "Opinions" section of the paper. No talk radio. No on-line political news or commentary, no nothing! I think I will be a happier person for it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Today

2008-09-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to the Newby playground to.....play
Phoned in a prescription to Bi-Mart
Hung out a lot of laundry (it's good dryin' weather)
Fell asleep on the recliner
Got caught up on my charting
Played, and lost, Uno with the kids
Strung the philodendron in my office back up to the ceiling and out of eye-poking range
Spent too much time on Facebook and Fark.com
Checked on a newborn at the hospital
Pulled the subscription postcards out of two magazines I got in the mail
Had a Corona (while on call.....shhhhhhh)
Picked some pears and apples from the yard
Watched the Daily Show on Hulu (Republican Convention - Jon NAILED IT)
Listened to the kids bicker

Get a life II

2008-09-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

See "Get a life" (earlier blog) for explanation.

Perspective

2008-09-05T16:22:00.000-07:00

Now that both political conventions are over, and we are all awash in hope and fear, terror and security, reality and hype -- it's time to step back, and get a little perspective.

Watch the video! It's not a political ad. It's 3.5 minutes long. You have that much time, and you need to listen to Carl Sagan.

Expelled intestinal contents

2008-09-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Entry in my India Journal, 20 years ago today. (Warning-lots of expelled intestinal contents)

Got up about 1:30 in the morning. Read/tried to sleep till 2:30. Came out to the veranda, turned on the lights and the fan, put on my mosquito repellent (effective!) and wrote in my journal till 4:01 am (the time it is now). It's been very nice out here. I'm not tired at all. India hasn't woken up yet and the sky is still starry. It's very peaceful.

Even as I write, in this early morning, the St. Olaf football team is starting their 2nd practice (it's 3:30 pm there). Wow. I've done NO physical exercising here at all. You can't jog and biking's too dangerous to try to work out. Besides, the air here is HIDEOUS. All these vehicles belching fumes. My phlegm glands have been on overdrive. YUCK! I think I'm ready to get into the country. I want rural-ness. The plan now is to climb back into bed, wait, shower and shave first. Then try to sleep till just before 8.

Got up "just before 8", quickly dressed and went down for breakfast. It wasn't ready so we waited. When we got done it was 8:35 so we headed to the bus stop to catch 4D to St. Andrews. Cara, Courtney, and Renee didn't come because they were feeling sick (foreshadowing). The bus didn't come till about 8:58 and we got to church late. Sat in front but split up because there was not enough room. The biggest memory of the service was this crow trapped inside. It'd fly around all the pillars and squawk. Pretty funny! (sort of) the service was communion and they passed the bread and wine around like an offering. Afterwards we went up to the steeple again and took many pictures.

Mai wasn't in so we walked about a mile to her hostel to visit (because she was sick). We stopped along the way for a Limca and I gave a young girl there a Minnie Mouse sticker. She was overjoyed! I love doing that, it's such a simple thing but has such great results. Mai came in and we chatted a bit, her cholera shot had made her sick. She didn't look Great. A fruit vendor came in and Mai bought us about 29 pieces of fruit (mostly sweet limes but some apples). We tried to stop her from paying but she insisted. She is INCREDIBLE. I've never met anyone so giving.

We walked to this bus stop on the side of the road, to wait for 4D. We waited and waited. It was very hot! Finally we took rickshaws. It cost 5 rupees. Came back to ICSA, checked on the sickies then I think the 6 of us went to lunch (not C and C). We went to the New Tandoor, I got bamboo shoots and vegetables, a meal which was later to haunt me. I had been super tired (no sleep last night) so I (and most everybody else) took a nap. I napped about 1 1/2 hours, then woke up and went to the bathroom. DIARRHEA, my first real, unadulterated case. When I had finished I packed up about 30 gifts, stickers, balloons, my camera, and headed out.

There's a shanty town (a hut village) across the river, so I headed there. I walked over and past the village, then I walked by it again. At the end there was a boy flying a homemade kite. I stood and watched him a bit, then this other boy came over, and we talked a little in English. Pretty soon another kid came, then the father and Grandfather. He spoke good English so we got to talking. He brought over his entire family, including some darling grandsons. I talked to them a bit, then handed out a few gifts - MOB SCENE!!! More and more kids started coming over, grabbing, grabbing, grabbing. It got a little hard to give out gifts to individuals, cause it was a sea of hands and I wasn't sure which hands I'd filled. Some older guys even came, very demanding (sort of) that I give them stuff. Balloons are most popular, but stickers weren't hurting either. I got the group together and took a (2) picture. It was hard cause the kids kept coming forward. I shook goodbye to the little grandsons (American style), they were adorable. then walked back. I stopped across on the other side and walked down to the bank to take a picture of the town. I was feeling really sick at this point so I hurried back to the ICSA and up to the room and into the bathroom and exploded (rectally). It was about 4:30, Bulliva time.

And thus began my sickness. I laid in bed, my stomach was starting to hurt big-time, and periodically made trips to the toilet for more DIARRHEA. My stomach pains spread everywhere, I really wanted to puke, and eventually I did. Most of my bamboo shoots and vegetables, hardly digested. I felt a little better after that, but certainly weak, sweaty, and exhausted. Heaving hard hurts. Back to bed for about 20 painful minutes, then heaved up the rest of my innards. I think I was cleaned out by this time. Went upstairs because I felt a little better, and I was sick of lying in pain in an empty room. Courtney had pretty much the same thing as I so I went and talked to her, Renee, and Kathy.

Renee brought tea and I had some, along with some Bisleri water. I was pretty dehydrated so I tried to drink a lot, even though my stomach was still hurting. Talked a little more, then went downstairs because my stomach was starting up again. Laid in bed, in more and more intestinal pain. Finally I felt the urge to get up. Went to the bathroom and before I had time to lean over I threw up. Most hit the toilet. I also, at the same time, lost it in my pants. So I quick sat down on the toilet and finished off another batch of diarrhea, only problem was, I wasn't through throwing up so I heaved about 4 times (large portions of water and tea) onto the floor (because I was sitting on the toilet).

When I was done expelling at both ends I felt much better. So I went and got a squeegee and the equivalent of Pine-Sol from Mohante. I threw my soiled pants in a bucket with much Surf (detergent) and sprinkled Pine-Sol and Surf on the floor, and cleaned that mess sparkling clean. Then I went upstairs to check on the girls and get some company. But first I wrote a note to Drew and Doug telling them to look out (that was before I cleaned up).

It was a pretty funny note. Upstairs I recounted what had happened to C and C, K and R, we all had a very great laugh over the whole thing. Talked for a while then I borrowed some electrolyte from Cortney. D and D also got some mineral HOH for me. I drank a teacup full of the electrolyte, slowly, and took a Lomotil. I figured I deserved it. I didn't drink anything else so I wouldn't have anything to puke, but I was very thirsty. From there on, my stomach stopped hurting as such. But I still have much body aches and weakness.

I slept off and on and wandered around in the meantime. Now it's about 3:45 in the morning, I'm writing this in the a/c room, thank God it's open. I don't think I'll do much activity-wise today. I've put down about 1/2 a bottle of mineral water over the last 5 hours. Let's hope it stays there.

Rooftop

2008-09-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Last year on the last non-school night before Jr. High my oldest and I slept on the roof of our clinic. Last night, in an attempt to carry on the tradition, we slept (in a tent) on the roof of the patio of our home. I say sleep in the figurative sense, since I don't do too well sleeping in a tent.

If bonding moments are stronger forged in hardship, then I suppose my near-comatose state for most of today means that this newly minted tradition should serve our father-son relationship well. Except he slept very well, and had a great time.

Well, that's good too.

Had we both been in our rooms last night, we could not have had our whispered (for whose sake we were whispering is not clear, no one was around to hear us) conversation at 3:40 this morning between sleeping fits about his recent camping experiences, as well as other stuff.

---------------

We had a fun dinner with the Grandparents tonight, all sitting around a big table eating delicious home-cooked soup, raving about yams, and engaging in many separate and occasionally unified conversations.

Tomorrow is the first day of school.

24

2008-08-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Things I've done in the past 24 hours:
- Poured my youngest 6 bowls of Kix
- Knocked down a wasp nest and ran like....heck
- Listened to cello practice
- Shopped unsuccessfully for Gaelic Storm's latest CD
- Taken a Sonata
- Read the transcript of Obama's acceptance speech
- Updated my iPhone
- Perused 70 reader reviews of running shoes on-line
- Done an 8 mile "hill" run
- Read the Sunday Oregonian with a Grande Nonfat Latte in-hand
- Weeded out part of a blueberry patch
- Sent Persepolis back to Netflix
- Logged 2,675 calories (65% carbs, 22% fat, 11% protein, 2% alcohol) onto FitDay
- Attached a climbing bolt to the roof outside my son's window
- Watched the Daily Show on Hulu
- Taken the recycling out
- Read about Hurricane Gustav
- Waited in a drive-thru lane at Taco Bell for 25 minutes for a bean burrito
- Sent an e-mail to William P. Young
- Explained to my youngest how people get married

Get a life

2008-08-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Although there are lots of things that need to be done, sometimes I just completely waste time on inane things.

Case in point: photoshop contests. So, I spent about 45 minutes today for an ongoing online "contest" (you don't win anything but votes on your submission) changing a picture of some dude and his turtle into something else.

The before and after pictures are here for your perusal.

Oh, and this is my third blog post for the day. Must be a long weekend where I'm not on call...

Wrinkles

2008-08-29T09:37:00.001-07:00

I'm fairly confident this has only been an issue for the last 5-6 months. When I shave in the morning, there is a crease (smile line?) to the right of my mouth, half-moon in shape, that is so deep that when the razor glides across, there remains a semi-circle of white shaving lotion within its depths. It's a stark reminder every morning of my advancing age. Well, that and my hairline. Eh, what can you do? (short of Botox)

I have this plant in my office that sends out long shoots / tresses (I'm not sure of the correct botanical term) that I have, over the past several years, continued to re-affix to my ceiling. The entire top expanse of my office now has vines draped across and hanging down in various spots. About a year ago I affixed a plush-toy monkey to one of the vines. Another monkey followed, then a Toucan, then a butterfly, another bird and, little by little, my "jungle" has accumulated quite the menagerie of suspended wildlife. There are a few clever office personnel who continue to add creatures to this jungle. In addition to that, the creatures are now variously outfitted with medical gear - makeshift stethoscopes, clipboards (complete with little office note replicas), sphygmomanometers, and other stuff. It's quite creative, really. Next time you're in my office, look up.

My oldest is planning on going out for cross country (X-C) this year. We went running twice this week for about 20 minutes. It's been fun to run with another family member. At this point, I slow down for him, but in all likelihood, in a few years it will be the opposite.

All our kids love the comics. Since I'm a bit anal retentive about getting the paper in its pure form, the kids are on a one-day delay with the comics. Every day I read the comics (and the metro section, the front page, and occasionally the business section) and recycle all but the comics, which are put in a special place in my (home) office, where they are brought out for the next morning's breakfast, and promptly destroyed by four children fighting over them.

Had a LOT of psyche stuff in the office this week. People in all kinds of tough situations. Doing the long listening / counseling sessions takes a lot out of one. It's a holiday weekend, though, so I have an extra day to regroup.

Happy labor day all!

Politics - sucked back in

2008-08-29T08:19:00.001-07:00

This is not intended to be a political blog, and I was hoping to abstain from a lot of partisan comments on it (at least until late October), but, dang it, I got sucked back in.

This morning McCain announced Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska for one year, for his running mate?

Huh?

She's been governor of the state for a year and a half, and before that was the mayor of a town of 7,000 people. And they want her to be second-in-command to the potentially oldest U.S. President ever? She admitted last week that someone in her administration fired her former brother-in-law who is currently in a custody battle with Palin's sister - that's going to stir up controversy.

I'm guessing this is an appeal to the Hillary supporters, but I think the supporters liked Hillary not just because she was a woman, but because she was Hillary. Hillary definitely has her own unique style and energy, and I don't think Hillary supporters are going to jump over to a Palin ticket just because she's also a woman.

So we've got Biden, long-time Washington insider and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Palin, 18 month governor of Alaska as the two VP choices. Ouch.

As an Obama/Biden supporter I'm pleased to see this move, but in a weird way out of respect for McCain, it's been hard to watch his politicking maneuvers slowly destroy his previous accomplishments. I think his legacy would have been much better had he not thrown his hat in the ring.

I'm just an average Jo, however, and anything can happen in politics, so I guess we'll see how all this shakes down. I'll be very glad when it's all over, however.

Ok, that's all the political commentary for a while.

Silliness

2008-08-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

It certainly wasn't my longest day ever, but it was a typical middle-of-the-week-and-already-way-behind type of day today. I'd been in the office for 11 1/2 hours and still wasn't done with all my work, but dinner was on the table and, living close to work, I drove the 90 seconds home to eat with the family. Driving up the street, the kids were all out front playing in the driveway with various rackets and balls. It was a great welcome home with waves and shouts of "Dad!". We quickly gathered up the balls and went inside to a nice dinner Mom had prepared. The mood was one of fun and silliness. Despite long days for each parent, the kids and the moods came together in that right combination of craziness without obnoxiousness, and the dinner was filled with "Christmas card cute" sayings from the kids and laughing fits from everyone. It's amazing how 25 minutes of silliness can erase a day's worth of stress. I learned that my 6 year old knows way too many words to the "I'm a Barbie Girl" (apparently passed down from the siblings who learned it from ???). And, with apparent diligence and practice, my 10 year old daughter can rapidly sing the entire score of the freecreditreport.com song:

I'm back at work now (ok, taking a short break to blog), it's 8:15 pm, but the day has been great thanks to a dinner table full of my family and silliness.

Last week of freedom

2008-08-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning, the last week of Summer before school starts. Our kids are divided on how eager they are to get back to school but, like it or not, it's coming. The elementary school has been under construction all Summer (we finally got a bond passed last year to upgrade it) and the changes are very nice. The playground has become huge, with lots of fun equipment and the nice foam base instead of pea gravel that the kids bring into the classrooms in their shoes. The building itself has had a major expansion, and looks incredible. The funny thing in Oregon is that there is a mandatory covered play area to every school. So many times during the school year it will be pouring rain, and if it weren't for the covered play areas the kids wouldn't ever get out of the building. The kids got their teacher assignments last Friday. Most were happy with the teachers they have, but there are some friends who were put into different classrooms with different teachers that has been a little disappointing.
Last Friday we had our staff picnic at one of the other doctor's house. We had a lot of people show up, and it was a lot of fun. There was roasting of hot dogs over a big fire pit, tractor rides, and lots of food (including tons of Oregon berry desserts). I took all my tree-climbing stuff, and made a swing in one of the trees, WAY HIGH up. The kids had a good time with that. Drs. Cornwell (he's a physician that used to work for us, she's a surgeon) were there having returned from Benin, Africa a month or so ago. They are medical missionaries there for SIM, and our office supports that ministry with regular donations. They shared a presentation of their time there.
I did finally go running yesterday for the first time in 6 weeks. I'm trying to take it slow, and only went 3 miles. The toe seemed to be doing ok - better than my fitness level anyway. Now with the days getting shorter and rainier it time to try to increase my running. I've tentatively planned on doing the Mississippi Blues Marathon just after New Years, and my 16 week training plan for that starts in about 3 weeks. I've also re-started logging my eating and exercise and other stuff on FitDay. It's a very nice, free, website that helps you keep track of your eating and a bunch of other stuff. If you're trying to lose weight, or watch what you eat, I'd recommend it.
Saturday was spent grooming one of our blueberry patches. The weeds were absolutely taking over, so I spent a great deal of time digging them out. Then I laid down that porous sheeting over the whole patch to keep out future weeds, then got Hemlock mulch to put over that. My back and shoulders are still sore. We need to do the same thing to the rest of our raised beds, but who knows when we'll find the time (or the energy) for that.
Books on tape update: I hardly read anymore, since books on tape allows for multitasking. I finished up this weekend The Guns of August, a Pulitzer prize winning book on WWI written before I was born. It was interesting, but a little more history than story. I'm currently listening to The Shack, to see what all the fuss is about. This is a religious book that came out of nowhere to get to the top of the bestseller lists. The writer lives here in Oregon, so there are a lot of local references (I'm not that far into the book yet, though). The theology expressed is a little controversial. I haven't gotten into much yet, but when I'm done, I'll run it by Kate, my resident Theologian. (You too, Dad). Next is Twilight, the first in a series that Kate loves and convinced me to try.
I spent about 90 minutes watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics last night. I'll admit it, I buy into the hype. It's amazing to see this celebration, with all the countries of the world represented and everyone partaking of the joy. It does present this small, brief glimpse of a possibility of a world where we can still have our cultural and religious differences, and yet all get along and cooperate together. *sigh* It was touching to see the whole crowd of 90,000 in the "bird's nest" stadium honoring the runner from Kenya as the Kenyan flag was raised and he received his gold for winning the marathon.
We are renting two cellos currently, so Mom and daughter can do duets. I have to say, it's wonderful to hear them playing together. The kids are all working diligently (some with more prodding than others) on their instruments (cello, piano, guitar, and baritone).

This and That

2008-08-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

I like the bulleted format, but apparently, with this particular blog template, I get little flowers as my bullet points. Lovely. Perhaps there is a way to change this (without changing the template). If anyone out there in blogland knows how, please enlighten me.
Back to school shopping done this am with the 4 kids. *shudder* It wasn't that bad, despite long lists for all classrooms. We decided to spend more money by avoiding WalMart and going to Staples instead. I think there is a price to pay for peace of mind, and certainly avoiding WalMart during BTS frenzy is good for peace of mind. First grade requires a LOT of glue sticks (12). Sounds like it'll be a sticky year. 7th grade requires a scientific calculator. My confidence at helping my kids with their math homework is waning with each subsequent year. I remember when back-to-school meant Trapper Keeper notebooks (with those annoying plastic hitch 3-ring "binders") and PeeChee folders. Just looking at a Pee Chee folder makes me feel like I'm in 5th grade again.
The last two days seemed like Fall. We had a TON of rain, cooler weather. It was kind of fun to have the rain, but I'm definitely not ready for Summer to be over (despite the fact that it is practically over). It's nicer today, sunny, warm, blue skies.
The Hood to Coast relay is this weekend (starts today). This is the third year I've not been on a team and I really really miss it. Maybe next year. Please please please. It is such a kick!
NBC has been getting some flack about their Olympic coverage, but I have to say the on-line experience has been amazing. I've watched Mens and Women's Triathlon, the 10K Marathon swim (mens and womens), and other events live, on-line (for free) and the feed and commentary has been great. I've been impressed.
Politics: Aarugghh! I think I'm burnt out on politics and am going to make a deliberate effort to not get riled up anymore by the constant stream of commentary, opinion, polls, debate. In the end, I think we get the government we deserve. I get most frustrated that the people who are greatest affected by economic downturn and national fear-mongering are the ones who also tend to be the most apathetic or ignorant (or reactionary) when it comes to electing leaders. I tend to vote progressively (now that "liberal" is a bad word, one has to use the word "progressive") because of my conscience and religious beliefs, but frankly, as a well-educated, high-earning, white guy, when things don't go the way I hope, it just ends up being better for me (economically, anyway). My hope is that come November, things will be looking worse for me but better for most of the country.
I hope to start running again this weekend. It's been 6 weeks tomorrow since I've ran - the longest break from running I've had in the last 5+ years. My weight has gone up, my attitude towards exercising has gotten worse, and it's time to reverse this trend.
I met the cops at the clinic last night. The alarm had tripped. I'm still not sure what happened, but we made a quick walk-through the building, and things seemed ok. My hunch is, that if someone did get inside (probably from an improperly closed patio door), they ran out as soon as the alarm went off. Or it was simply a false alarm, but that really doesn't seem to happen. I had the alarm set once on me by janitors who were leaving and didn't know I was in my office (and I guess I had music on or something and didn't realize the alarm was set). As soon as I stepped into the hallway (there are motion detectors throughout the office) the alarm went off. It is LOUD, and scared the crap out of me. It's nice that the new police station was built 1.5 miles from our office, on the same street. When I got to the office there were two police cruisers there and two officers who went around with me.

Hot Hot Hot

2008-08-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd try it in Spanish "Hace calor" (if that's even right), but I couldn't figure out how, in this blog template, to make the upside-down exclamation point at the beginning, so instead the title got changed to the boring English "Hot Hot Hot".

We've had record-breaking heat here in the valley. We'd had a camping trip to the mountains planned for this weekend, but given the heat, bagged it for the coast instead. Good move, the weather was perfect at the beach!

A short (arguably even at that too long) video shows a brief portion of our fun on the coast this weekend. I spent a great deal of time in the water (in a rented wetsuit - hot or not, it's still Oregon) and technically surfed (rented board) but realistically, I managed to stand up for about 2 seconds maximum. Tiring stuff.

In other news - Google street view has hit McMinnville (it looks like they did last Fall). Check out Google maps and then click on "Street View" if you live in an area that's been filmed. Crazy technology!
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Drug Lunches

2008-08-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

I guess the sales pitches paid off today, I wrote scripts for both Skelaxin AND Avinza after they bought us lunch. Coincidence? I don't know. The female drug rep made lots of conversation today about triathlons (she'd cheered me on (her husband was also running) during the Boise Ironman 70.3 in June) and the male drug rep spoke a lot to another nameless doctor at our office who attended the same college this nameless doctor's child is currently attending. Fun, light-hearted shared interest conversation or crafty salesmanship? Who knows? Less luck for Micardis / Spiriva who brought coffee and bagels this morning - no scripts for either of those for a long time. The Micardis rep is that annoying rep who absolutely cannot make eye contact - it's very disconcerting.

The pharmaceutical representatives ("Drug Reps") bring coffee and breakfast to our office every morning and lunch every afternoon (with a few unfilled spots occasionally). The lavishing of gifts by these salespeople has actually dropped way down from the heyday when I was treated to a guided fly fishing expedition on a local river, overnight stays at Timberline with ski lessons, and luxury box seats at the Rose Garden for Blazers Basketball. (The latter was particularly memorable as it was my first and only Blazer game, and the night we learned the Hillary Clinton was elected to her first NY Senate seat while no one could figure out whether Bush or Gore was going to win the presidency. Everyone was watching the TV's in the box showing the news and ignoring the Blazer game down below).

Nowadays we get the free food, and trinkets, but no more of the big-ticket items. I'm ok with that (who wouldn't be with free food), but it does bother me that they've taken all the doctor perk money and dumped it into prime-time commercials. How about just making the drugs cheaper?

The "new pharma guidelines" are now calling for a stop to the little physician trinkets: pens, reflex hammers, post-it notes. So the days of Vyvanse and Flomax sticky notes are fast coming to an end. I expect the food won't be far behind - and it will be back to instant oatmeal, sardines, and almonds from my office stash of food.

It's an interesting aspect of my working life, walking into the sales pitches twice a day. You learn to recognize (and call the reps on it) the "closes", such as "Can you think of a reason why you wouldn't prescribe _____?" or the blatant "Will you promise to use _____?" Occasionally we'll get a plead about their "numbers" being down, and how just a few scripts would really help them out. There are manager ride-along days, where the reps have their bosses with them and have to "use the glossies" as we say (pull out all the printed sales materials) and really hit their points and throw out their closing statements. We allow it when the managers are there, usually play along ("Yes, I remember you telling me BARBARA about the benefits of Levaquin last time you were here, and you're right, I have noticed that the side effect profile really IS comparable to placebo in the multiple patients of mine who've benefited from all the extraordinary characteristics that make Levaquin my first choice in quinolone antibiotics!")

Reps actually have it pretty hard these days. There are constant lay-offs, and no one is sure that they'll have a job the next day. We try to be sympathetic at our office and let the salespeople do their thing. Doctors refuse to acknowledge that the sales pitches have any effect on their prescribing habits, but I'm sure we wouldn't keep seeing reps if that were the case. Still, although I have my favorites in each class of medicine, I really do try to preach that drugs are not the answer to every problem, and use the cheap, generics whenever possible. I'm sure the food and the feigned interest "How're things going Dr. Schieber? Are you training hard these days?" exerts some effect, though.

We kill the messenger a lot. The reps often get an ear full about drug prices, or all the TV advertising - things that they don't have a lot of control over. One drug rep made a comment about "enjoy the food, because if the Democrats get elected we'll all be out of a job". Not a smooth move when the three biggest liberal prescribers (including me) happened to be the ones going through the line. It's much more likely that we WON'T prescribe a drug because we don't like a certain sales rep, than we WILL if we do like them. Lesson: politics and sales don't mix unless you're damn sure you know what side of the political fence you're selling to. Overall it's kind of a symbiotic relationship that keeps the good looking college grads in fancy clothes and company cars, and keeps us and our staff fed. Remember that the next time you're paying $85 dollars for your migraine medicine.

Other news:

HOT HOT HOT. It's supposed to hit over 100 degrees tomorrow. Yikes!
Dad (Rich Schieber) had surgery to his hand to screw down the bone pieces. Not fun! He had a lot of pain initially (you think? screws into bone), but was doing better on POD (post-op day) #2, when I went over and hung out to see how he was and watch the Olympics with he and mom.
I've semi-committed to the Mississippi Blues Marathon (January 3, 2009), since I didn't get to run Portland (busted toe). I'm planning to start running in about two weeks (that'll be 6 weeks out from my fracture), and got my training plan typed out onto my calendar yesterday.
We're lovin' our laundry line, but it sure makes the clothes stiff.
A good friend came back from Czecheslov....Czeckeslovakia.....overseas, and stopped by today, that was cool!
I haven't been studying my Spanish nearly enough (read: not at all)
I had to pull a small "Hey you kids, get off my lawn" last night to a group of skateboarders using our cement ramp by the back door and our (overturned) picnic bench as their own personal skate park. I told them they could "use the concrete, but leave the furniture where it is".

Bits of News

2008-08-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

It's been fun watching the Olympics. Swimming, gymnastics, volleyball (regular and beach), water polo, cycling, fencing - when else can you see all these sports? Since I don't follow any professional or college sports teams, I almost never watch sports, and it's fun to indulge in these interesting sports during the two weeks of Olympics. I'm most looking forwards to the triathlon and the 10K swimming events, but I've enjoyed watching pretty much everything broadcast. Even the on-line stuff is cool (handball, equestrian), NBC put together a nice web site. Of course, being the idiots that we are, I called to downgrade our cable service to the very basic channels about two weeks ago - Duh!
We went to the museum today (Air & Space here in town) and saw an IMAX film in 3-D (Sea Monsters). It was good!
I had another x-ray done of my toe, and it's healing up nicely. I'm about two weeks out from starting to run again, but I've been picking up more and more time on the bike, and will get back into the pool probably this week.
Dad is going to end up having surgery on his hand (poor guy), that is scheduled later this week. He's going to have some pins put into the bones.
I've been trying to incorporate some daily Spanish lessons into my life. I've been using a Podcast called Coffee Break Spanish (a very fun podcast with a Scottish couple teaching Spanish, great accents) and our Rosetta Stone computer program. It's proceeding exceptionally slowly. My desire to speak Spanish seems to greatly outweigh the effort I put into it.
In case anyone was wondering on the "guess the photos" from two previous posts: iPod, $20 dollar bill, iPhone "button", back side of a credit card ("3" embossed in the hologram part), top of a blueberry, and a peacock feather.

Insomnia

2008-08-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

Can't sleep, will post.

There was a time in my life where I was pretty dedicated about recording, journaling, my day to day events. I decided to dig out those old journals and look them over.

20 years ago today I was in Hawaii. I was beginning my Senior year in college with my first real international experience - Biology in South India (the title of the course). Another student of the 10 of us taking the course and I decided we were going to leave a couple weeks early and see some of the world before we ended up in India for our class. So Cara and I set off towards India, but did so via: Hawaii - Tokyo - Seoul - Taiwan - Hong Kong - Singapore - Madras (now Chennai).

I found my old journal of the trip, and 8/8/88 found me waking up after my first night of the trip, in Hawaii. That was 20 years ago - Wow. My journal reads:

Monday, August 8th. Slept on this air mattress thing. Semi-quasi comfortable. But wait, before we go any further - today is 8-8-88. Pretty cool huh? I don't know exactly when I got up. Anita left about 6:15. I got up about 6:30, watched TV a while, the phone rang about 6:45. It was one of Iina's friends from Sweden. I didn't understand her the 1st time and I thought the call was a wrong number. So Tina's call got everyone else up. Cara, Tina and I talked a while then Tina went back to bed while Cara and I wolfed down some plain-wrap raisin bran. Then about 7:30 we left for the beach. It was cloudy at first. We spent the 1st 45 minutes just playing in the water. There weren't a lot of people out. We were right on Waikiki beach in front of the Royal Hawaiin Hotel. Unbelievable !!! Then Cara laid out while I went snorkeling with stuff from Anita's apt. There are "reefs" right in the water. I saw a lot of beautiful, fluorescent tropical fish, some anemonies, and even found a dollar bill. Then I played in the water some more, laid out. Back in water snorkeling again. Then went back to the apt and got 3 bucks and some stuff for Cara. I rented a surfboard. It was real big and heavy. Spent the 1st 40 min trying to get just even one wave, didn't. Finally, when my arms were exhausted from paddling around, I caught a wave and stood right up. It's easy 'cause the boards are so big. It was great, but I was tired so I came in after an hour. Eventually Cara and I came back here for lunch - raisin bran. We went back to the beach afterwards but didn't stay as long because it was really hot and we were fried. I did a little snorkeling! Back here we watched Dragnet on VCR and goofed off till dinner. Anita and Tina made this super good homemade pizza. I can't believe how gracious Anita is being through all this!!! She's great! Then Cara and I went shopping. We bought postcards. She bought Gecko shorts and shirts, I bought one Gecko shirt. Everything here is gecko, it hilarious. Then we walked around the international market a bit and came back here. This place is incredible. I still can't believe what all we're doing. We both got fried today, Cara has some pretty bad tan (burn) lines and my face is beet red. This is the life, Hawaii, the beach, and sharing an apartment with three gorgeous girls (Cara, Anita, Tina). My eyes are real heavy and it's only 10:00. I wonder if I've adjusted to the time? We walked through the Hilton also, very nice. I called NW Airlines and Eric also today. An absolutely incredible day!!!!

It was an eventful year. That trip to India gave my life a sort of about-face, and I returned to school with a new ambition (my senior year, no less) to become a doctor.

Two years later I was ending my summer as a part-time EMT and a full-time banquet waiter at one of the "resort" hotels in Sandusky, OH. I was getting ready to move to Toledo to begin medical school later that month. The closest date in my journaling I could find was from August 4th, 1990:

Got home from work about 7:30, ate, and decided to take a nap. I got woken up (of course) by Dottie, asking if I could come work. Ok, I said. Around 1000 I drove to the mall. I ordered blinds at Sears, found a better deal at K-Mart and came back and canceled my order. Then I bought a pretty cool answering machine (except it's a GE, boooo) at BEST for 40 bucks even. Came home and it took 30 minutes to get here from the causeway because Cedar Point was totally crowded. Mary and her family (from 4-County) came over along with her sister and brother-in-law who's an orthopedic surgeon just out. We talked, it was kinda interesting. Then I went to work. We had a group of doctors at an hors d'oeuvre party. It was pretty fun. Good food (including mozzarella sticks. There was even a clown who made balloon animals. Also put up tables in Halyards. Took some stuff (medical) from the drug reps and came home. It rained all day (mostly) today.

It's crazy looking at these journals from 20 years ago. That was half my life ago!

Picture Fun

2008-08-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

I think I saw something like this last in my 3rd grade "World" magazine, but nonetheless, here it is. I got the dissecting microscope out today, and took pictures of stuff around the house with it. Can you guess what each of these pictures is?

Ooooh, next week we'll have a picture with OTHER hidden pictures in it. (I'm regressing to Highlights Magazine)

Random News

2008-08-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Blueberries! Oregon blueberries are the best (in your face - Michigan) and we are eating and freezing them by the bushel. I'm feeling a little like this girl.
Friends are here from Ohio, which is always fun.
Toe News: the toe break is feeling ok. I haven't checked another x-ray yet, but I hope to this weekend. I've been doing some limited biking, and went to physical therapy twice to get some instruction on getting some upper body strength.
We had another injury at the Antibody softball game last week. We're dropping like flies.
No call this week, Yay!!
Downloaded Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog. It's awesome, and totally worth the $4-5 bucks from iTunes.

I'll try to keep these short for easy reading, so that's all for now.

Sharing and Privacy

2008-08-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

The internet is such a mixed blessing. Overall, I enjoy the openness of communication, and randomly keeping up with the various tidbits, exciting or mundane, of my friends and relatives. The open posting of life details, videos, pictures, is a remarkable way to do this.

However, this high level of access also comes with some risks. I tend to view them as minimal. My life is too boring to have scathing details that risk public exposure, I doubt a posting will come back to haunt me as I run for office in ten years (because that's just not going to happen) and I'm a little too old for cyberbullying.

Still, details of friends, family, children are a gray area and I have to respect those who feel that that is not information that should be available, however obscure and trivial, to a wider audience. So for better or for worse, the blog will transition to be mostly about the details of my own life.

I've removed previous posts that potentially intruded upon the specifics of the lives of others (unless given permission to share those details - like my Dad's hand fracture).

Writing / journaling is a cathartic, satisfying process, which is part of why I do it. I have a definite genetic predisposition to it, I'm sure (thanks Dad). Sharing the details of day to day living on an open forum like this is not so much an exercise in narcissism as an urge to share my thoughts and experiences with others, and a reciprocity to those other individuals and families whose posts, photos, stories, and other online communications I enjoy.

I won't belabor the point beyond this particular entry, but I thought a post of explanation was in order.

Call Week

2008-07-31T02:17:00.001-07:00

2:17 in the morning. I've just got home from the hospital, but I usually need some "unwinding" time before I return to bed.

On the whole, my time now compared to when I was delivering babies and having to admit patients from the practice and the ER is considerably better. Still, occasionally I'll get a nice confluence of events to make for a long day and a long week.

I got to the office at 6:00 am yesterday morning, and worked till 5:00 pm before leaving for the hospital to admit an unassigned "Peds" admission from the ER. After 3 hours in the ER with a very sick 16 year old girl I admitted to the ICU, it was back to the office to finish up my work before finally getting home at 9:00 pm. After that 15 hour day I had 3 and a half hours at home (half of that sleeping) before being paged back to the hospital at 12:30 am for a stat C-section of one baby, an admission of another newborn, and a check on my still-very-sick ICU patient.

My foot's been sore with all the walking around and standing I've done today (it was fun trying to get a shoe cover over my boot for the operating room).

So I think I'll grab a small bowl of cereal, and head to bed in a half hour for 3 1/2 hours before I have to get up and do it all again.

Busted!

2008-07-29T21:03:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard, Dad's (Rich Schieber) hand is, in fact, broken. He got an x-ray the following day confirming my suspicion of a 4th metacarpal break. The x-rays are fairly impressive, especially the lateral shot of the spicule of bone pushing up the back of his hand. I've reproduced portions of two of the x-rays for your viewing pleasure.

Dad is not taking well to having his dominant, typing hand hobbled. And who can blame him? Writing and using his hands is what he IS, and between the restrictions his hand has put on his writing, as well as his activity, the guy deserves some sympathy. I have a hunch he's going to hate this more than getting his prostate out.

I haven't spoken with him yet today. He was going to see an orthopedist to see if there is anything else they may want to do. We'll see how that develops.

Rich breaks one for the team

2008-07-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

The West Hills Health Care Clinic's softball team, "The Antibodies" were a bit short today, so Dad (Rich Schieber) graciously stepped-up to fill in.
Unfortunately, while fielding the first ball his way, he fell onto the ground (but managed to get the ball back to the infield). He scraped his knee, mildly pulled a leg muscle and hurt his hand.
He had 4 at-bats after that and several more outfield plays before the game finished. After the game he showed me his hand. It had a large swelling to the back of it, and upon examining it, I could feel bone pieces grating along his 4th metacarpal. So, DAD BROKE HIS HAND.
Now, I am not sure what kind of weird fates are circling over the male Schiebers recently, but I'd suggest soft, gentle activities for Randy for the next couple months.
I took him to the office after the game and got him into an ulna-gutter splint, and made an appointment for him to follow-up with Dr. Nyquist tomorrow. This is his first confirmed (well, I'm 90% sure, he'll get an x-ray tomorrow) fracture in his 70 years of living. So here's to the Schieber men and their brittle bones!
My own toe fracture is doing fine. It has hurt a little more lately cause I've probably stressed it a bit too much. I'm going a bit batty having to sit around and not exercise. I have an appointment with a physical therapist at the office across from us tomorrow morning. I'm hoping he can get me into a bit of a regular strength training program, since that is sorely lacking with me.
Updates on Dad's (and my) condition as they become available.

Google Bombing

2008-07-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

This is a random post, I was bored and playing around. Basically it's a bunch of links, "google bombing" is the term. You can click on the links (start with the google bomb one) if you're really interested or really bored.
Google Bomb
A Place Apart
Miracle Drug
Must...keep....going.....
Get High
Blowhard
Salivate
Timeless Classic
Um Ya Ya
Best Place to Live
Schieber (this one's just to help the web site)

Test Drive

2008-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

We're in the process of deciding whether to keep driving my 12 year-old Civic, or get something with a little more utility, but still small enough to park in the garage next to the minivan (I'm kind of a stickler for that).
So, I test drove a Honda Element today. All-in-all it's a pretty cool car, and it fit in the garage. The next step is to decide if we really want to get a new car at this point.

Other recent "news":
- Antibodies softball game yesterday. We lost. I didn't play, just took pictures. We have a great team, though.
- All 4 Grandparents over tonight for Password. Yes, my life is actually that exciting
- Biked for an hour yesterday because I couldn't stand the lack of exercise. It seemed to go ok (bike shoes have a very hard sole) but my toe's a little more sore today. Otherwise I've been wearing my cast book all the time
- I was the assistant minister at church yesterday, had to give an impromptu talk before the lesson AND the offering.
- Had a cookout last night over a fire in our backyard
- Saturday attended the McMinnville Education Foundation fund raiser at a local winery. It was a good time.

Random News

2008-07-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Happenings this week:

Toe: I saw a Sports Medicine Orthopedic Specialist yesterday for follow-up on my toe. The news was good. They re-took some x-rays and determined that the bone chip was not as pulled away as it looked on the first x-ray. That means no surgery (if it had been too pulled back it would need a wire to hold it in place) and only wearing the "cast boot" for 3-4 weeks instead of 3-4 months. So I'm pleased. It's still a pain getting around with the boot on, but it could be a lot worse.

Weather: Perfect Oregon summer - long, warm, sunny days. The only downside is when you have to work during them, and when your cast boot keeps you from all sorts of summertime outdoor adventures.

Traumatic Mallet Toe

2008-07-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

So my toe is broken.

As things go, it's a small fracture and a small problem. BUT, concerned that there was a good chance of a fracture I had an x-ray done yesterday which confirmed an avulsion fracture of the distal phalanx of the first toe. That is medical talk for a chip of bone pulled off the base of the last toe bone by the tendon attached there that pulls the toe up. It's pretty clearly seen on the x-ray of my toe above (that chunk of bone pulled back at the top).

I think I just kissed any running goodbye for the next 2-4 months. Of course, this occurred the day after I laboriously entered a daily running schedule into my Outlook calendar extending to the Portland Marathon on October 5th. I'm kinda pissed that I have this good endurance base and was primed to start training to run a fast marathon and now I'm just going to have to not run at all, possibly even beyond the marathon date.

Life goes on, but this abrupt halt to the kind of regular exercise (and stress-release) I've been doing for the past 5+ years is going to be hard to adjust to.

I'll probably see a sports specialist this week, and I'll have a clearer idea about my limits at that visit.

Hagg Lake Tri and my big toe

2008-07-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Hagg Lake Triathlon. Coming out of the swim I caught my toe on some loose mat/carpet they lay over the ground, twisting it very hard under my foot. It hurt like anything during the bike, and changing from my bike shoes to my running shoes I saw blood on my sock, but didn't take time to investigate. The run caused even more pain, but I finished the race with my 2nd best time there ever.

This is how my toe looks this morning:

I'm kind of frustrated because I was hoping to begin in more earnest my Portland Marathon preparation this week (yesterday was probably my last triathlon of the year) and this is going to delay me some. I'm hoping it's just a bad ligament tear and not something worse.

Blog's First Post

2008-07-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

Regular (anyone?) viewers of our other website will notice that the "News" page is seldom if ever updated. This is not because nothing is happening, but because of the general difficulty to update using an 8 year old Web Design program, as well as my own laziness.

So, I've created a blog page to give more day-to-day information, and to more easily link some videos and other media.

The other web page will still continue, but will be primarily a place to link to this blog and to post and archive photos. This blog will be primarily devoted to random thoughts and posts from me (Scott). Due to the public nature of this blog, I purposefully will not be bringing much detail about other family members or relatives (unless given permission). So you're pretty much stuck with stuff about me.

The title of the blog, Holden 237, is a reference to one of the major touchstones in my life: Holden Village. From our front door to Holden's gathering place (the "kiosk") , is 237 miles.