The Red Brick Times

I don't know about you but when I think Fourth of July I think Rocket Dawgs! Alas, the Rocket Dawgs are no more (sniffle sniffle). Wait! What's this? Rocket (Quo) Hogs? I may have to pony up for a new tshirt. Or, dare I dream, maybe one'll just show up at a mailbox near me (XL, hint hint).
Posted 5:00 AM by whatley (1) comments

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If we are to wax bivalvian, I vote for "The Mighty Rocket(Geo)Ducks". So evocative, even if other-coastal.

# posted by  Andy : July 04, 2008 11:51 AM
 
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Hey gang, long time no post.

I wanted to let you know about a new tv series for this Fall, starting in October. Wizard's First Rule, based on the Terry Goodkind novel, is currently in production shooting in New Zealand. Sam Raimi is the executive producer, and my niece, Bridget Regan has been cast as Kahlan, the female lead. She is under contract for 22 one hour episodes. Her Broadway show, Is He Dead?, closed just in time to get out to LA for auditions for the Fall season, and now she is on the other side of the world. www.swordoftruth.com

Mikey
Posted 10:47 AM by Michael (3) comments

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Mske that www.sword-of-truth.com

# posted by  Michael : June 19, 2008 10:53 AM
 
Good to hear from you Mike!

I've been wondering how your weight has been doing now that a couple of years have gone by. Since I got sick I've gained back about 30 pounds mostly (I think) because I can't exercise anymore, at least gym type exercise. Taking the dog for a walk or mowing the lawn is about my limit these days and really tires me out.

# posted by  whatley : June 20, 2008 5:54 AM
 
I've put back on about a third of what I lost, and I really paid for it at the last stem cell meeting. Four straight days of fifteen hours on my feet running around the convention center and my feet and ankles were so sore, I had to take two days just lying on the couch with ice packs. So MA and I are going to get back on the program and remove at least fifty of that. Next year the meeting is in Barcelona and I want to be able to enjoy the city once the meeting is over.

# posted by  Michael : June 25, 2008 12:17 PM
 
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Do you feel lucky? Well do you? Let's see how some others celebrated their luck today.
Posted 6:12 PM by Andy (0) comments

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"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true."

Swiftboaters arise! Let the smear campain begin: The Obama File
Posted 4:45 AM by whatley (1) comments

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Ah yes, brought to you by the Rush Limbaughs of the 'net-waves. I hope the gullible who swallow this pule expire inna blaze of their own vitriol.

# posted by  Andy : June 13, 2008 5:57 PM
 
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I was aimlessly browsing around today and stumbled on a site listing the last words of some famous people. My favorite is Voltaire who, on his deathbed, when asked by a priest to renounce Satan said, "Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies."
Posted 5:33 PM by whatley (3) comments

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Oh yeah, one other thing. My fistula finally developed enough to allow it to be used full time for dialysis. That allowed me to make a quick visit to EMS this morning and get my catheter removed, something I've been looking forward to for awhile.

# posted by  whatley : June 10, 2008 5:53 PM
 
Good. Is the C Clinic still wanting you to discuss "payment options"?

# posted by  Andy : June 13, 2008 6:01 PM
 
My Medicare finally came through (more than 3 months late) and that should go a long way in resolving the clinic issue. I intensionally waited until I knew I was eligible before getting the fistula surgery so it would be covered.

I finally had to contact Sherrod Brown's office and ask for their help in getting Social Security to enter me into the Medicare database. They got right on it and presto, I was in. They were incredibly helpful and responsive.

# posted by  whatley : June 15, 2008 6:08 AM
 
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Four cell phones. Some popcorn kernels. Guess what?
Posted 10:27 AM by whatley (2) comments

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That explains the cracking noises in my head when I talk on the phone.

# posted by  Andy : June 08, 2008 11:07 AM
 
Oh dear. I've been murketed.

# posted by  whatley : June 12, 2008 7:23 PM
 
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I have been here in Mi for the past two weeks. I am working in a big metal barn structure producing mobile/truck-portable automated meter reading test units. Each consists of a three by three by two foot gray steel switch cabinet with an electric meter base mounted a couple of feet above it on two stanchions. The cabinet contains two 12 v car batteries, a wideband internet wireless radio link, a 12V to 110V inverter, a 110V to 240V transformer, relays and connection blocks mounted on a wooden backplane. Working with others I assemble the metal boxes, assemble the boards, install the boards in the boxes, wire the assembly and test the results. The barn is not air conditioned, but the huge overhead doors at each end allow for the cottonwood fluff to blow through. We also have bottled water in a cooler and several fans to reduce heatstroke. Lots of hand tools, standing, bending, lifting, drilling, crimping, searching for tools, parts and the odd bit that scurried far under the nearest inaccessible bench. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. Thank goodness I went to college. I hate to think what I would be doing otherwise. Perhaps trading oil futures in Chicago.
Posted 8:40 PM by Andy (3) comments

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I had to stop in and see Cathy Wren at the Employment Network last week. She knows we're friends so she tried to pump me for information about you (I made up some truly stunning stuff considering it was spur of the moment and all). You may want to touch base with her.

# posted by  whatley : June 08, 2008 6:52 AM
 
P.S. About that "stunning stuff":

1) You're the new leader of that polygamous sect in Texas.

2) You're the proud owner of a twelve inch pianist.

3) There was also something about dwarfs. Best to deny this one. She won't believe you but still. Deny, deny, deny.

# posted by  whatley : June 08, 2008 10:10 AM
 
Whatley who? I don't know what you are talking about. Nope. No way. No how. No dwarf. Not even a miniature Amazon.

# posted by  Andy : June 08, 2008 11:00 AM
 
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I've been looking at what it will take to get on a kidney transplant list. The Cleveland Clinic demands all of this information before they'll even schedule an initial interview. All well and good I suppose except that I don't have several of these things and Medicare won't pay for them. Just the colonoscopy is > $5000.00. No soup for me I guess.
Posted 8:27 AM by whatley (1) comments

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That's quite a list. Some of the things, like colonoscopy, are physician-recommended for those of us over 50. Won't coverage be extended if prescribed by a physician?

# posted by  Andy : June 07, 2008 8:40 PM
 
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Found on Slashdot:

"Naomi Klein writes in Rolling Stone Magazine about China's Panopticon-like experiment called 'Golden Shield' taking place in Shenzhen using technology supplied by companies such as IBM, Honeywell, and General Electric. Klein writes: 'Chinese citizens will be watched around the clock through networked CCTV cameras and remote monitoring of computers. They will be listened to on their phone calls, monitored by digital voice-recognition technologies. Their Internet access will be aggressively limited through the country's notorious system of online controls known as the "Great Firewall." Their movements will be tracked through national ID cards with scannable computer chips and photos that are instantly uploaded to police databases and linked to their holder's personal data.' According to Klein, this is more than just a Chinese experiment, it's also one that holds ramifications for America and elsewhere: '...the most efficient delivery system for capitalism is actually a communist-style police state... The global corporations currently earning superprofits from this social experiment are unlikely to be content if the lucrative new market remains confined to cities such as Shenzhen. Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you.'"

Paranoid meter not high enough yet? Ok, browse through this list.
Posted 4:46 AM by whatley (0) comments

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