Marc said 15 minutes later

Wow, I was shocked by the minutes of manual flying per flight, I thought they didn't jump into autopilot until they had at least hit the cruising altitude. As with anything, when you don't practice it, you lose it... so I'm not surprised pilots can't handle situations veteran pilots used to be able to.

I've actually had more concern over these aircraft that have been in use for 20-30 years. I know they maintain them, but I suspect that process has its issues too and I would expect more safety concerns in that area than in pilot error.

---

GJ said about 1 hour later

Did you see the news about the Russian hockey team killed in a crash today? Some big names--coach was Brad McCrimmon, a Flyer from the 1980s. Pavol Demitra was also on board, as well as Ruslan Salei and Josef Vasicek. Plane was a 1980 Yak-42.

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GJ said about 1 hour later

Although some report say the plane was built in 1993. I'm betting on 1980 myself.

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Marc said 1 day later

I heard about that. I can't seem to find any reliable information on why it crashed though.

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GJ said 1 day later

I've heard it was bad fuel--which would be consistent with descriptions of the crash. Of course, this is pure conjecture...I feel like a truther. Ewwwww.

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Steve said 2 days later

Funny, I read the first couple of paragraphs, and immediately flashed back to Top Gun, where they talk about how in the Vietnam war, pilots became reliant on missiles, and their kill ratio dropped from 10:1 down to 3:1, and that's why top gun was formed. Darn computers making everyone too lazy.

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Geoff said 2 days later

Interesting, I didn't realize there was such automation. Well, I'm not too worried if the pilot drops dead, I'm pretty sure I can flip a couple switches, drink coffee and land the bitch.

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Steve said 3 days later

I agree Geoff, I've logged a couple hours of flying a 737 on Microsoft flight simulator, how much harder could the real thing be?

The one thing missed by this article is that most pilots of commercial passenger planes are either ex-military pilots, or pilots with huge experience and enthusiasm for flight. IE, they have their own planes they fly too, not just the big jets. We went to a local winery run out of a guys house. He flies 747s, and his daily commute to work involves pulling out of his garage in his Cessna, taxiing down the driveway and street to the grass runway in his neighborhood just north of Jackson, MI, and flying in to Detroit Metro, where he changes from the cute little Cessna to a 747.

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GJ said 4 days later

I think Geoff and Steve both haven't seen the cockpit of a real plane. There are more switches and control in there than transistors in an 8008 processor...and I'm only slightly exaggerating.

---

GJ said 4 days later

In other news, Minecraft 1.8 leaked over the weekend. Game mechanics changed just a wee bit.

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Geoff said 5 days later

Bah, those switches are there to scare ya. You just push the big red button. I'll check out minecraft.

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Steve said 5 days later

Or perhaps you haven't seen them GJ. Most switches and gauges are there in triplicate. One for the pilot, one for co-pilot, and one for the navigator/radio man (on planes that still have one...). I'm not saying it's easy, but it's not impossible either.

The military makes anyone in the cockpit of a plane be able to identify not only a switch, but what position it is in, anywhere in the cockpit, while being blindfolded. I don't know if that's part of a test for commercial pilots, but it probably should be.

However, like cars, you must have a basic understanding of how the vehicle operates in order to stand a chance to maintain control when things go wrong. Some things will be unable to be fixed and you go down. Other things, if you understand the mechanics of what is going wrong, and able to think quickly, you can get the plane down safely. Captain Sulley is the extreme example. Every day planes make emergency landings, few of them crash, even fewer people are killed.

Steve said 1 day later

Very interesting, I wonder how accurate though?

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GJ said 2 days later

Hard to say--some background info here: http://bigthink.com/ideas/25109

It's mostly just an amusing exercise. Not sure what kind of silly point one could make with this by skewing the data.

Marc said 1 day later

My roommate and I figured this out in college as well for one of the scratch off games we used to play sometimes (Lucky 7's if I recall). It wasn't a terribly interesting find in our minds and made perfect sense being computer programmers and understanding pseudo-random very well :).

The reason we didn't think it was too mind blowing is because I've never seen a case where you are in control of which scratch off tickets you get. Typically you get them from a machine or from a person behind the counter at a gas station who just grabs the next one off the big roll. So you're still up against the randomness of the distribution of the tickets on a per roll basis, which I'm sure is fixed and evenly distributed by some statistical means as well.

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Geoff said 1 day later

Yup, unless you are the store clerk....or you bribe them. As the article indicated, this fella bought a roll of tickets and asked if he could return any of the unused tickets. You could do that.

Either way, it likely isn't worth the time, though it appears a few must have cracked the system and make a fair share off of it. I'm sure they illegally acquire these tickets anyhow. Interesting read none the less.

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Marc said 1 day later

The part I found the most interesting are the ones where the pattern matched, but it was still a loser. I assume they are the result of needing more tickets to give out, but hitting the limit on number of winners.

The fix for this seems so simple though: Make the unique identifier which determines whether it's a winner be covered by the scratch off material too. If that number is scratched off the lottery ticket is considered used.

On a related note for scratch off tickets, I think it's pretty ridiculous they allow you to "win" the amount of money the ticket cost. It's obviously in the system to fuel addictions without losses. But hey, if any of these lottos use the $70 billion for some good, I guess we can let the suckers keep coming.

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GJ said 1 day later

Geoff, organized crime finds this very worthwhile. So does a certain "lucky" woman in Texas.

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Geoff said 2 days later

Yes, but the means by which they cheat the system, aka acquiring those tickets by bribes or what have you is also illegal. I doubt these mobsters are walking into 7-11 and buying rolls of scratch off tickets. They are likely in cahoots with someone to get these tickets I imagine.

What I meant was it's not worth you or I legally purchasing these tickets and trying to crack it. If you want to break other laws to get those tickets, then sure it could be worth it.

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GJ said 2 days later

No, they're not "cheating" the system per se. Not necessarily, anyhow. Here's how it can work:

1. Buy lottery tickets in bulk (most states allow this), for the purpose of "office gifting."
2. Filter out the winning tickets (assuming you have successfully cracked the game, that is) and return the non-winners as "non-gifted" for full refund (again, most states allow this).
3. Profit.

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GJ said 2 days later

One could argue that simply cracking the game and using it to increase your odds is illegal, per se.

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Marc said 2 days later

You could always say you have mental abilities beyond normal humans to be able to pick winners with your ability to see into the future. Which is probably somewhere along the lines of pleading insanity, but a smart person just calls it probability and statistics. :)

The office gifting is an interesting thought though... that would likely work well.

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Steve said 3 days later

I never bothered with scratch off's. What's the point? If you're going to go, go big. Megamillions baby!

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Geoff said 3 days later

I didn't realize you could return tickets...i would think with the number of tickets you'd have to buy to make millions, someone would catch on

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GJ said 4 days later

Texas has some Texas-sized scratch games. You know where that lucky woman lives, right? :)

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Geoff said 4 days later

I am living in the wrong state....

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GJ said 4 days later

Most of the ex-New Yorkers would agree with you. :)

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Geoff said 4 days later

:)

GJ said about 4 hours later

However, if you want to find out how NOT to prepare for a swine flu infestation, by all means head over the the craziness that is the Huffington Post and check out this column. The nucking futs is strong with the health columnists on that site.

Marc said 24 minutes later

Reading (This will be short):

• Eclipse Plug-ins: brushing up on the latest version, but mostly because I'm addicted to computer books.

Watching (If I miss them on TV AND DVR cause Time Warner sucks, I catch them on hulu):

• 24: On Monday nights on Fox. Lately, the past couple seasons of 24 have sucked horribly, this season is surprisingly quite good. Reminds me a lot of the first season.
• NHL (but not on TV!): Been going to Carolina Hurricanes games a lot. Saw the Sabres vs. Hurricanes shootout the other night, go Canes!
• Family Guy: This is the best show ever created.

Playing:

• Rock Band 2: Still addicted to this game and look forward to the Stevie Ray Vaughn pack next Tuesday. XBox 360
• Halo 3: Just got re-addicted to this game. Xbox 360
• Team Fortress 2: Not quite as addicting as the first, mostly cause I suck in comparison, but we'll see. Graphics and sounds are hilarious. XBox 360
• Mario Kart: Haven't picked it up in a while, but this game is a lot of fun. GJ, I still gotta race you. :) Wii

Other:

• Looking into picking up a puppy (Cockapoo) sometime in the next month. Already found a cute girl with a heart shape on her head in her hair. Likely going to be named Hope. Which, don't tell Laura, is naturally named after a Rush song. She just thinks it's a cute name.
• Moving to a new apartment April 1st (no joke!)
• Helping to teach my roommate guitar

---

Geoff said about 3 hours later

Reading (This will be even shorter):

* Nothing. But my co-worker just lent me an all you need to know about Chevy LS1-LS6 V-8 engines

Watching

* Ashlyn for the most part.
* Family Guy Rocks
* MoonLight on SciFi?? Michelle enjoys it. It's not half bad for SciFi stuff.
* Total MMA junkie. UFC, WEC, Affliction, K-1...from now on call me Geoff Liddell

Playing

* Nothing. I was playing Conquest of the New World.

Other:

* Been turning into a car freak lately. After getting the G8 tuned, I threw in an intake and had it re-tuned for the intake. Starting debadging the car. Just installed an auto-dim mirror. And depending on how taxes turn out, I may jump into some fun stuff and throw some long tube headers in and a catback system. Either that, or a new cam. We'll see though. I'll first run a few times at the track and see how it feels.

---

Kristen said 1 day later

Even shorter yet:

Reading:
*How to plan an elegant wedding for $5000 (yeah, my a$$!)
*Transcripts

Watching:
*I seem to be catching Ax-Men on the History Channel randomly. It's this show about loggers from Oregon and Washington. They sure know how to cuss!

Playing:
*Can someone tell me how to turn laundry and dishes into a game?
Other:
*digging out of 8-10 inches of snow. No power or plow in my neighborhood all day Monday, so I'm glad the significant other owns a Tahoe. He had fun "plowing" my driveway with it too. I'm currently holding out for snow day number 3.

My Wishlist:
Reading: The audacity of hope--Obama's book. Sitting on my shelf calling to me. Also, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. A good book about how to avoid the financial situation that most of us are in now--the rat race. Voting for Obama may not have been the best thing for that, but it sure made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Watching: LOST. Both last season, which I pretty much slept through, and this season. And Prison Break.
Playing: anything but civilization.

---

Abby said 3 days later

Probably kinda-sorta long....

Reading:
+ The Warriors series (Hunter), as usual
+ Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck), for school
+ Death From the Skies (Plait) - forgot where I set it down again... haha
+ two more books for school that I can't be bothered to find

Watching:
+ Star Wars: The Clone Wars
+ the computer screen
+ lots of Spongebob. Yay staying home sick!

Playing:
+ The Sims 2
+ Animal Crossing

Other:
+ here's to hoping my sick spell is over :) I don't feel like missing out on the performance tomorrow and Saturday!

GJ said 5 minutes later

And those in the auto industry won't care for this one, either. Lest you think I'm piling on, I'm just about out of a job, too. Yay, go holiday season!

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Geoff said about 10 hours later

I agree with these points. However, seeing that we bailed out some of these banks, I honestly don't see how the government won't bail out GM. The public's opinion of the government bailing out "white collar" jobs and letting the hard working "blue collar" jobs collapse would probably cause a few riots. I think we already shot ourselves in the foot, a couple times.

If we were to let the big three collapse, the road would be filled with Camrys and Accords...can we say BORING!

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GJ said about 17 hours later

1) the road is already full of them, or have you not been paying attention? :)
2) GM has more than blue collar jobs. Dad's job wasn't blue collar, now was it?
3) Banks don't have blue collar jobs, but they are the lifeblood of the economy. No banks, we go back to barter. Period.

Everybody is selling the theory that if there is no bailout, the big 3 are toast. Not so--if all three go the bankruptcy route, it's likely two will emerge, much smaller, leaner, and better able to compete with Toyota, who is having very serious financial issues of their own right now. However, a LOT of people will lose their jobs...but you know what--these bailouts cost money. That's more taxes for me and you, and every other business out there. Raise taxes, and more jobs are lost. Some tradeoff, eh? It might be...if there was something done to fix the automakers. Giving them money to survive until the economy gets better will not correct their long-term issues. A healthy company doesn't go belly up during tight economic times, but sickly companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler do.

There is no easy answer...but throwing money at them with no required changes in operation and personnel would be the worst thing we can do--even worse than letting them die.

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Geoff said 1 day later

I'm just saying that is how it will be perceived by most Americans...remember...most Americans are idiots :)

As for Camrys and Accords...the awesomeness of my G8 simply overwhelms these lackluster cars. Now imagine if GM, Ford, and Chrysler ceased to exist. What are all the mechanics going to do. They'll have no cars to fix!

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GJ said 1 day later

I don't know, my mechanic works on a lot of Audis, Subarus, and Hondas. I'm one of his few GM customers.

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GJ said 3 days later

How many GM executives does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

49

1 unscrew the old bulb.

Another to blame the UAW for screwing it in too tightly even though it was GM engineering that gave them the torque specs. Unfortunately, someone forgot to convert the specs to standard from metric since the lightbulb came from Opel… even though it was manufactured in Ohio, shipped to Germany, then shipped back in the trunk of a Saturn Astra.

A third to open a PO to Delphi for a taller ladder to put the new bulb in. The one used to remove the old bulb belonged to the Hummer division and had to be strapped on the roof of an H2 as a buyer incentive. Besides, installing new bulbs is the job of the warranty department and the old ladder belonged to marketing so they couldn’t use it anyway.

A fourth to realize that the bulb wasn’t actually burned out in the first place… the power was turned off because Accounts Payable was ordered to not pay the bills for 92 days in an effort to show more cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

37 consultants to write “The Definitive Memorandum on the Exchange of Incandescent Lighting Materials” which pretty much regurgetated what everyone below an unclassified level already knew but leadership never bothered to ask about.

2 government relations employees to explain to Carl Levin that GM may not be able to turn the light back on without government help but that “we’re really on track to keep them after some short-term assistance.”

One CEO on the way to Bay Harbor in the corporate jet reading the report by the marketing VP about the successful bulb exchange.

---

Steve said 3 days later

someday I'll have time to respond to this joke of comments. If you only knew...

The big three are asking for a LOAN!! Not a freaking handout. Not a bailout. a LOAN! That pays 5-6% interest! The banks got free money, now we are just asking that some of that money be turned around and loaned to us. We pay back, plus interest, so the government makes money! The government (meaning you taxpayers) made over $300 million dollars back in the 80's when the gov't LOANED Chrysler money to stay afloat. And it was all paid back 7 years early!

More to come when I have time. Off to on of my last SCCA meetings, yippee!

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GJ said 3 days later

Yeah, but if I was a bank I wouldn't give GM/Ford/Cerebus a loan at 5-6% API. Come on, any kind of loan to the automakers is a risky bet--methinks they should get the same kind of interest rates I saw on the first credit card I got after my filing the big B years ago.

However, I'd love to have a discussion that doesn't involve the same old crappy talking points. The gun-to-the-head approach GM is taking is pathetic--"if we go down, you ALL are going down!" and there has been absolutely no acceptance of responsibility for the dumb decisions they've made over the years. That's a big reason why they're getting very little support from folks in the non-auto industries and the government.

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Geoff said 3 days later

It's funny how everyone calls this the "bailout" plan, but when it came to the banks, it was a "rescue plan." The banks were just as stupid with their money as GM, so if we bail them out, by principal, we must bail out the big three and everyone else who has a major impact on our economy. That, or we let them all fail and suck it up.

I've heard plenty people say that we had no choice but to bail out the banks, what would happen if we didn't? I'm just curious. I'm not saying I am for or against the "bailout" for the auto makers, but if we don't bail them out, they definitely won't be spending their money on new technologically advanced cars, they'll still be trying to figure out how in the hell just to stay alive...meanwhile Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai will be building flying DeLoreans and flux capacitors.

It basically comes down to this: Would the bailout give any of these American factions a chance at really competing or would it just prolong their inevitable demise? Many would say the later, I would actually like to hear from Steve who actually works for Chrysler :) He should know better than any of us I would think.

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GJ said 4 days later

If the banks fail, the economy as we know it crumbles. However, like what I want to see from the automakers, I wanted the heads of the banks that took the money.

The domestic automakers need to make some serious changes. GM especially has far too many brands, vehicles, and dealers. It's unfortunate that it comes to this, but I think unless the domestics take some huge cuts, there won't be much in the way of loans coming beyond the initial 25M offering for "retooling."

I do find it interesting that the automakers say that they can't do the bankruptcy thing, as customers will no longer trust them enough to buy cars from them. Um, guys...sitting on the steps of the Capitol begging for a handout and claiming (correctly for GM) that they'll be out of business in 2-3 months without it is just as damaging to customer confidence, don't you think? You get the feeling that they're just not serious. I mean, they've run a huge PR campaign over this...but what REAL changes are they going to apply? Unfortunately, the banks beat them to the analysis-free bailout, so now as part of the plan to get their own "rescue" plan, they need to sell it to the people AND the government.

Given how many folks have lost their jobs over the last three decades and had to realign their lives and move on, I think they have a tough sell.

---

Steve said 4 days later

If you had a clue about the auto industry GJ, you'd know that the big three have been trying to close plants and dealers as fast as they can. You'd also know it's not easy to do.

Marc said 10 minutes later

That was only in NY. I found you or Dad in Texas:

http://criminalsearches.com/summary.aspx?input=name&fn=&ln=baumbach&city=&state=TX&zip=

And it looks like your two cohorts Kisses Baumbach and Fat Pat Baumbach.

---

GJ said 18 minutes later

Hey! They told me "What happens in Texas, stays in Texas." Or what that Las Vegas? I forget. Oh, and let's not mention Kisses to Darcy at the next family get-together.

---

Kristen said about 10 hours later

I did see a couple of Joe's....hummm....somehow that wouldn't surprise me too much! I don't think he ever lived in Texas though.

Geoff said 37 minutes later

So are the stings painful?

---

Marc said about 4 hours later

It's an interesting pain, I'm sure we'll have 5 different stories, since five of us were stung. :) I got it on my foot and it was like a pulsating prick/sting. It wasn't all that painful per se, it was more really annoying. But just ask your handy lifeguard and they'll spray you down with their magical bottle which makes it go away almost instantly.

Except for Abby, she appeared to have a pretty unpleasant allergic reaction.

---

Steve said about 4 hours later

Gina also got stung pretty good, and she had the area swell up like a hive pretty good. She swore that it hurts a lot more than just a bee sting!

---

Abby said 1 day later

it reminded me more of a wasp sting than much else. I would've been fine if I didn't have to have a wacky reaction.

---

GJ said 1 day later

And of course, everyone's toleration for pain (and their pain receptor's ability to transmit that pain message to the brain correctly) is different.

Here's what I'd like to know--how long did the stinging sensation last? See, a wasp sting is quick--it hurts, but it's over and done with pretty quickly. I got the impression that the stinging sensation lasted until you all got the vinegar spray from the lifeguards to neutralize the stinging cells. That would make it worse than wasp sting in my book.

---

Marc said 1 day later

You would be correct GJ, it continues to sting with what appears to be no end. In the water I kept repeating how I can't believe it still stings since it had been several minutes afterwords and I still felt the sting.

The difference with the jellyfish compared to most other things is that it's all external and they leave these exploding cells, according to the lifeguard, that will continue to pop until they are neutralized with the vinegar. This seemed to make sense because my foot looked like I had a bunch of red dots all over it.

In terms of pain though, I would say a wasp sting hurts initially a lot more. So I don't know what's worse.

---

Abby said 5 days later

I still have red dots on my leg. They've faded again, but they're definitely still there.

Marc said about 10 hours later

I was thinking of making the exact same thread. Anywho, I'm back safe and sound at work (Boo!). I talked with Mom and Dad last night, they were in Charleston taking a tour. Hope everyone else has a safe trip.

---

GJ said about 11 hours later

Unfortunately, Aaron got sick, so we've added a day to our vacation and will be here through Sunday morning now.

---

Steve said about 19 hours later

Sorry to hear about Aaron there GJ. I hope he feels better soon.

I had a lot of fun, but my stupidity is causing me mucho pain now. 2nd degree burns over my entire shoulders. By the time I FINALLY made it back to Detroit (3 hours late), the shoulders of my shirt were rigid, after soaking up lots yucky puss and a little bit of blood from the blisters and then drying out. Gross, I know. But Parsla is being nice and patient and playing nursemaid and not calling me stupid too often.

So, lesson learned - always, always, always wear sunscreen - especially when you expose a part of your body not used to the sun. And apply it at least 30 minutes prior to your body touching water. I wish I could express how painful this is - I'd take 12 jellyfish stings over this constant pain. And it's risky too, burns like this can get infected (yes, I'm using lots of neosporin), and are also great sites for Melanoma skin cancer to develop.

Parents, coat your kids in sunscreen.

I should know better, as one of my friends has a triple layer of stiches in his right arm from where a Melanoma developed, and his wife had a friend pass away from Melanoma that was caught too late. This is serious stuff!

---

Geoff said about 19 hours later

No worries for me, it's been pouring here in lovely Connecticut. Beach...what beach?

---

Kristen said 1 day later

I'm back ok in the 'Berg, had no issues getting back at all, which was nice. Gee, no sunburn or jellyfish stings either, although I slept for 12 hours the night I got back from pure exhausted! I think that pool volleyball wore me out!

Steve--I burned my forehead/scalp that way two summers ago after spending a whole day at Virginia Beach. That night my forehead started dripping, and then crusted over and turned absolutely disgusting. My friends were nice to me, but later told me I looked like something out of a horror movie. Definitely learned my lesson the hard way. I think the key is to apply the sunscreen before you even get in the car or leave your house. Otherwise you get distracted when you get near the water and just want to hop in. I swear by that spray stuff, it's great!

---

Steve said 1 day later

You want to know what really sucks? Get a mosquito bite in the middle of your really badly sunburned skin. GRRRRRRRRRRRR

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Marc said 2 days later

You sound like you need a vacation Steve! :)

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Kristen said 2 days later

I bet Parsla will need one too :)~

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Steve said 4 days later

I'm doing much better now, thanks in a large part to the care of Parsla. Just some dead skin falling off, 99% of the pain is gone by now.

That was just a precursor to some real pain. Tuesday I get a couple wisdom teeth pulled. Yowzers! That's gonna hurt. After that, Parsla may need a vacation, as she'll be taking care of me then too. She's having a little fun with it, trying to figure out what interesting food she can make me for dinner that night, then put it in the blender to make it easier to eat. She's had some interesting (read: scary) ideas!

---

Marc said 4 days later

Are your wisdom teeth impacted? If not, it really isn't too bad. I had all four out, none impacted, and after like 2 days, I was doing pretty good. Kristen on the other hand was not so lucky!

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GJ said 5 days later

Me, I had 3 impacted and one has been removed (since it erupted and gave me a toothache). The other two....I'll get rid of 'em whenever they show their ugly hides.

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Kristen said 5 days later

Mine weren't too bad actually--the bad part for me was that the dentist shot me up with so much novacaine that I was numb until the wee hours of the morning! Marc probably remembers me being slightly frustrated that I couldn't eat a dang thing and that I was drooling like a madman. Then a few days later I puked my guts up after combining codeine and Reese's peanut butter puffs. Nice. But the pain wasn't really too bad, and my cheeks didn't puff up like a chipmunk.

Far worse is to not get your wisdom teeth out, like someone I know named Drew, who ended up needing brain surgery because of infections that traveled to his brain.

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Geoff said 5 days later

I still have all 4 of mine... :)

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GJ said 6 days later

Impacted wisdom teeth won't cause an infection in and of themselves, unless something else is going on (like, as I mentioned, they erupt from the gum, completely lacking any enamel). They tend to cause hideously nasty toothaches (been there, done that) long before becoming infected.

And an infection can spread anywhere if left untreated, not just your brain. But you'd have to be the kind of person who doesn't brush their teeth and have next to no nerves left in your mouth to fail to notice an infection up there!

---

Steve said 7 days later

Well, they are out. A bit painful yesterday, but not too bad. Sunburn was worse. The oral surgeon is pretty convinced I have Sleep Apnea, based on something that was happening as they put me to sleep. It wasn't the most pleasant time getting put to sleep, as they stopped halfway through to check things out because of the concern about the sleep apnea.

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GJ said 7 days later

Time for fun with the sleep doctors! Darcy's dad had this. Mucho fun, indeed.

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Kristen said 7 days later

Yet more fun for Parsla, especially if you need to use one of those noisy machines at night!

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GJ said 7 days later

Is it any worse than the snoring? Sleep apnea sufferers tend to have really loud, obnoxious snores.

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Marc said 8 days later

I was tested with sleep apnea. Unfortunately, after taking the test, the doctor never called me back. I take it I don't have it or it's so bad the doctor doesn't know how to break it to me.

But it's ok, now they're trying to determine whether I had/have a kidney stone or what, because I am still in pain since vacation. Hopefully everyone else is feeling ok, I heard even Rascal is sick!

---

Geoff said 8 days later

Boy...I'm thinking I made the right decision going to Connecticut and skipping out on the beach. Other than not going to bed until 4AM, I'm as healthy as a horse! The rest of you sound like you need another vacation!

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Marc said 8 days later

On top of it all, I'm currently in limbo waiting for my insurance card to come, so after all of this is over, I'm going to have to go back to the insurance company to get reimbursement. That's probably going to be more painful. :)

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Kristen said 8 days later

I've been back at work for 4 days and I'm sick of working, does that count? :)~

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Geoff said 8 days later

:)~

Is this a tongue sticking out or a smiley face with a goatee?

---

GJ said 8 days later

Or someone who has those neck rings.

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Kristen said 9 days later

Or it could be the Baumbach double-chin--although I meant it to be a tongue sticking out!

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Geoff said 9 days later

oh ok, the preferred method is :P

Unless I am behind the times with my smiligraphy.