What Goes on Between My Ears

Username:	Password:
Forgot your password?	Remember Me

In the foreshadowing department....
Straight from here: http://www.vsp.state.va.us/News/2008/NR-67%20Planning%20To%20Attend%2056th%20Presidential%20Inauguration.pdf

Those traveling through Virginia to Washington, D.C., should ask
themselves:
° With limited parking in the District, should I take a bus or other alternative means of mass transportation?
° If traveling by interstate, am I prepared for traffic delays and to wait an extended period of time? (Extra
food, water, medications, etc.)
° Is my vehicle prepared for traffic delays? (Vehicle is in good condition, adequate fuel, etc.)
° If driving in inclement weather, do I have emergency items with me? (Extra blankets, flashlights, batteries,
etc.)

and....

Weather
According to historical data compiled by the National Weather Service, the average temperature range for Jan. 20
is between the mid-to-upper 20s and the low-to-mid 40s; with a good chance of precipitation in the form of either
rain, sleet or snow.

With record crowds expected for the presidential swearing-in and Inaugural Parade, attendees should be prepared
to be outdoors for an extended period of time and give consideration to the following:
° Can I stand in severe cold/wet and/or windy weather for an extended period of time, possibly eight hours or
longer?
° Dressing in layers is highly recommended, especially to protect one’s self from hypothermia.
° Warm, dry, comfortable shoes are encouraged, especially for walking as many as 3-5 miles to/from
Inaugural events.
° Extra consideration should be given if planning to bring small children, elderly or anyone with a weakened
immune system.
° Check weather forecasts in advance at http://www.nws.noaa.gov.

Seriously, watch this thing from home.

DC Area Inauguration Day Warning.
(Edited because sometimes I suck at math)

You know how when you look at something someone is doing, or see an object like the Jet Powered Bar Stool and think "that's a really bad idea?" That is how I view the current inauguration. Not because of who the ceremony is for (that is another topic entirely and well off the scope of this discussion), but rather because of a simple case of logistics.

On January 20, 2009 upwards of 1 to 4 MILLION people will be descending on Washington DC. This is in addition to the 588,000 people currently living in DC right now. So basically the city currently has enough infrastructure to support perhaps 750,000 people with food, water, shelter, parking, etc. Now overload that by a minimum of another ~~250,000~~ 838,000 people. To combat this overload currently some 5,000 porta-pottys are being brought in. Assuming all the previous 250,000 people are able to use existing facilities this means 50 167.5 people will be using every porta-potty. If the number goes to 4,000,000 attendees then you're looking at ~~800~~ 767.6 people per toilet. The last number I heard projected the porta-pottys would be full within 6-hours.

I fully believe that the actual number of people attending will be somewhere around TWO to THREE MILLION. I base this belief on these facts, on the Virginia side of things hotels as far away as Winchester are completely booked for the period of time that the inauguration covers. Thus hotels that are almost SIXTY-FIVE miles away are completely booked. Within a FIVE HUNDRED mile radius you cannot rent a limousine or bus because they are all rented. Never mind all the local people who will be here attending that already live here. Townhouses in Georgetown are renting for upwards of $25,000 for the duration of the event, for anyone looking to rent a place to stay. So yeah, there are going to be a LOT of people here.

Now the main question becomes, "How are all these people going to get to the event?"

This is where the fun comes in. I will include a couple of maps so you can see what's going on. All four bridges that lead to DC from Virginia will be closed. Route 66 East from I-495 will be closed. I-395 will be closed to all traffic except buses, and this is where some of them will be parking is actually on the road. These are just the roads I know about. You can expect other roads to close as well I'm sure. This is going to cause a TREMENDOUS amount of grid lock. The roads in red with black outline are closed. Roads in yellow with black outlines will be affected by the closures of the red roads.

Since 66 will be dumping onto I495, I-495 will be grid locked. I-95 north and south will become a parking lot most of the way to Richmond. Route 66 will become a parking lot all the way to Manassas and beyond. Route 267 will become clogged from where it joins to I495 all the way west probably as far as the Greenway. With all the bailout traffic and no other place to go, ALL interior feeder roads like Route 50 the George Washington Parkway, Route 1, Route 110, Route 123 will all become a writhing mass of traffic. There will be no parking anywhere in Arlington. ALL metro stations with parking garages will be filled to capacity and beyond. The current fear is that once traffic reaches a critical mass people will begin parking their cars on the side of the road and walking. This is only on the Virginia side, and I have no idea what will happen in Maryland, but I would expect that things will not be any better. All the feeder roads to I-495 in Maryland will suffer as well, since a clog on one part will affect traffic everywhere on it.

The blue shaded area represents where hotels are completely booked. So what you have are MILLIONS of people descending on a place where there are not enough restroom facilities, not enough food, not enough water, not enough shelter and what do you have? A recipe for disaster. Think of what happened at the Superdome in NOLA.

You also are sending the sheep to the wolves because DC is such a WONDERFUL place in terms of crime. The police are going to be completely overwhelmed and will be stationed at posts that they can't leave. There will be tens of THOUSANDS of people packed into large areas, shoulder to shoulder. Pickpockets will have free reign and will have a field day. Purse snatchers will also have unfettered access to bags, satchels, and anything else. Finding any of these criminals will be difficult at best as there will be nothing but a sea of people. The police will be tied up doing other things and will be unable to respond, even if they wanted to.

The other scenario is what I call the UMD scenario. Look at what happens when University of Maryland wins a sports game. Cars get burned, stores get trashed, etc. Just a few people start behaving this way and all the sudden you get a mob doing the same thing. Only it's a mob that's made up of over a million people. Granted the number of law enforcement types has been upped from 3,000 to 5,000 but that still leaves them out numbered over 100 to 1.

Finally, what happens if something happens? What if there's a mugging gone wrong and someone starts shooting? You now have tens of thousands of startled sheep running away. This too is a recipe for disaster. What if something worse happens? Extremists set off a bomb, or start shooting indiscriminately into the crowd. How do you evacuate an overcrowded city where all the roads are blocked off, where the metro is completely overwhelmed and the only way out is on foot. It will take HOURS to empty the city. On the 4th of July over 100,000 people come to the mall to watch the fireworks. It is usually two hours after the show is over before the place has cleared out. Now add 10 to 40 times the number of people.

If you MUST stay in DC, Arlington, Springfield, or other border locations in Maryland, make sure your car is full of gas a day or two ahead of time. Make sure you have all the TP, and essentials you need. If you live in the city be prepared to have your stores raided by the visiting locusts when they can't get out or they get hungry. Plot a route to safety using entirely back roads as major arteries will be completely clogged.

If for some strange reason you DO go, you'd better pack for at least two days worth of supplies. You'll need water, food, shelter, layered clothing, and some means of self-defense because when the zombie hoards find out you have food you can expect a fight on your hands. Know where your friends who are DC residents live in case you need to shelter there. Be certain to make arrangements with them before hand. If you don't have any resident friends explore parks or other un-traveled areas where you could possibly hunker down and shelter if you had to. Boat may also be the best way into and out of the city. An inflatable raft and some oars might not be a bad way to get out.

Those who have the option to get out of town, I highly recommend you take it. And whatever you do, DON'T head to DC. There is nothing down there worth seeing that you won't see on TV.

Merry Christmas Everybody
To all who read my occasional ramblings I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas. For hose I haven't met in meat space, my Christmas wish is that I will. For those I have already met, I hope to see you again soon!

His name is Rocky.....
Well the lost kitty I found the other day is named Rocky. A lady and her daughter stopped by the house today and was able to identify him. She say's he's pretty old and is on all kinds of medication. They knew he was deaf, but apparently had no idea about the middle ear infection. They knew he walked with a head tilt and why that wasn't an indication that something was wrong is beyond me.

Anyway I'm happy to see that he does have a loving home. They're going to swing by my parent's place and pick him up this evening. I'm a little sad to see him go, but hopefully I'll get to visit him as he's just down the street a few blocks.

HAPPY BIRTH-ARY!
Happy Birthday

smjayman!!! and 1st Anniversary to

quick_chick!

img_0019.jpg

img_0020.jpg

img_0021.jpg

img_0026.jpg

img_0027.jpg

Posted via Pixelpipe.

This gun no go bang.
I found this image while setting up Adobe Lightroom today. Can you tell me why this gun isn't going to shoot?

I thought they knew about guns in Texas. ;)

My Prediction for the VP Candidate's Predicament
Here's my prediction:

Gov. Palin has been accused of taking on her daughter's child. The pictures of the Governor would seem to back up this claim, as would the time line of her speech in Texas.

My prediction is that her daughter is going to suffer a "miscarriage" in the upcoming months and will be spared the embarrassment of having to go full term. I doubt she's actually pregnant right now. Then after the "miscarriage" that will remove the pressure from the Governor about the timing of her "son's" birth. Problem solved. If her daughter is now pregnant she could not have had a 4-month old son if she's pregnant now. Well not easily at least. Thus the child would have to be the Governor's.

If the daughter fakes her pregnancy now, as penance for getting knocked up before, then it bolster's Palin's credibility. Unless my prediction is true, which would mean that Governor Palin sucks at coverups.

Yep....

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Gamer/Computer Nerd You enjoy the visual stimulants of a video game, chatting on AIM, or reading online comics. Most of these types of nerds are considered dirty who lack hygeine, of course they always end up being the ones who make a crapload of money. And don't worry, that's just a stereotype; I'm not calling you dirty. ^_~
Drama Nerd
Literature Nerd
Musician
Artistic Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Social Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Writer's Block: The Things We Carry

What do you always carry with you?

View other answers

-Gun
-Extra magazine
-Keys
-Knife
-Cell phone
-Two Wallets

Oh, and I forgot. I'M NOW PUBLISHED!!!!!! WOOO HOOO!!
I went to Japan to drive the new 2008 Nissan GT-R, which is one of the most amazing cars I've ever driven. While I was there I met a fellow who is the editor of a new magazine called "traction." Turns out he's got family very close to where I live and we hung out most of the time while we were in Japan. So he asks me if I could write a suspension article for him and on the flight home, I obliged.

Well it is now out. My first published article! On a whim the other night I stopped by the magazine rack at the grocery store and lo' and behold there were three copies of the magazine. So I flipped through it and there it was! My story! I got an immediate and semi-permanent case of perma grin. It was all I could do to keep from waggling the magazine in front of people's faces and saying, "THAT'S MY ARTICLE!!" I even added a little tribute to one of my good friends

smjayman and used the word "booger hookers" in a sentence. :)

So what did I do? Bought all three copies of the magazine. If you like cars, gadgets, etc., please pick up a copy at your local store. (Oh, and ignore the glaring technical error introduced after I turned it in, it wasn't me. They kept "booger hookers" though.) You can say you knew me when.

Look for another one of my articles in that magazine to show up in the next edition, which goes to print very soon now.

Big Generator
For the first time since I had it installed 3-years ago, I got to use my generator. Since I run my website out of my house I have a whole host of things to provide uptime. Three years ago I purchased a 12kW natural gas generator. As I sat and worked on an article last night, all the sudden the lights flickered and the room went dark with the exception of the TV, TiVO and my laptop. All which were on UPSes and circuits supplied by the generator.

In all the generator ran for about an hour and thus the furnaces were able to keep running, the computers stayed up and mine was the only house in the area with lights on. The entire neighborhood was dark, and there in the pitch was one single lightpost shining brightly as if nothing was happening. The only downside is that at 1am with the lack of ambient traffic noise the generator proved quite noisy.

Everything worked well, but I did find a few small problems. One UPS did not like being on the generator. So I have to change it's settings and see if perhaps it will work better. But it was nice to know that we're ready in case of future power outages.

Recovery Day 7
I suppose I'm right on track for my recovery. I'm only taking the hydrocodone about twice a day now instead of three times as I had been. As of late I've been taking it before dinner and right after I wake up. I find that it helps make eating more bearable. One of the side-effects of this surgery is that my ears hurt. After eating it is particularly bad and the insides of my ears burn like crazy after a meal.

Mornings are also fairly rough for some reason. The only thing I can think of is that my throat gets dried out while I sleep. Getting things moving around again in the morning is quite excruciating.

I had to phone in for a refill on my perscription this morning because I'm down to about 1/4 of a bottle, which at this rate will only last me a couple of days. I told the nurse that I only needed about 1/3 of what I originally got, but she told me that day-7 was going to be one of my roughest and not to back off now. Given the amount left I figured I can get the same size and just not take any that I have left if I don't need it. Which would be better than running out on the weekend when I couldn't get any more.

I have been meaning to get on a scale to see if I've lost any weight. My daily intake has been consisting of one cup of low-fat yogurt, and a bowl of soup with some crackers smashed up and thoroughly sogged in. I have found that the low intake of food has had other unusual consequences....

( TMI, don't say I didn't warn you. )

I have been able to use this time to get a lot of things done though. My Mom was here for a few days and we installed new shelves in my office closet and in some of the cupboards in the kitchen. This has helped generate a tremendous amount of storage space in both areas. For the first time in 3-years I can see the floor of my office closet. With the closet cleaned up I was able to start hitting the rest of the office. I removed the bed that had been in there temporarily, and unpacked many boxes. I threw out a bunch of crap, shredded a bunch, and have sorted out what needs to be gone over and filed away.

While we were in the closet I found some pictures that needed to be put up, so I hung several of those. I used the laser level to make sure they were straight because with the hydrocodone in me, everything is off kilter. Thankfully most of the sorting and stuff can be done while sitting on the floor. I am still not able to bend over for long periods of time because of all the pressure it puts on my throat.

I have also made a big dent in the downstairs rec room, where I spend most of my time. I unboxed, organized and shelved about 10 years worth of magazines. I have a few more shelves that I'm going to be going through and emptying out which should free up some more space.

I also got a call from an editor of a magazine and he wants my story on the Nissan GT-R which I drove in November! I'm very excited, I'm actually going to be doing my 3rd paid article! I didn't tell him I'd have done it for free just to get some ink.

Speaking of which I need to hit the keys and get to writing. I told him I'd have something for him in 2-3 days. I'm sure it will need some revisions and I may enlist the help of those on my firends list to take a peek at it and perhaps give me some feedback before I send it in. Since this will be going in a magazine that has a significantly larger subscriber base than my last two, I don't want to sound like an idiot.

English as a second language.... to Americans
This is a copy of an E-mail I received. Believe it or not, this is an American citizen, born, bred and raised here in the USA.

"I have a problem with a felo corral person. i sold a part to him and it did not get
shipped out as fast as i thought it would cause i got hert at work i notifide him of
that. now he is sending me many messages and posting in all me threads witch is
hurting my potential sales or buying from othere people. I am wondering if you coud
help out maybe by delete his coments in my threads or just deleting all my threads
witch ever works."

EVERY sentence has some type of error in it. I mean seriously how do these people expect to communicate in a digital age where the majority of messages will be text? Simply knowing how to speak English is no longer the bare minimum one needs to know. If this were a non-English speaker I could excuse it, but this level of ignorance is unacceptable in this day and age.

Day 2
Well last night I stayed up way too late, but I wasn't really tired. It must have been the result of being knocked out for a couple of hours during my surgery, and the many drug-induced naps after that.

I finally took a dose of magic potion, which certainly cured my desire to stay up. Throughout the night I would have to wake up so that I could breathe. My uvula is now even larger than it was yesterday....
( cut for the squeamish )

It is so large that if I cough it gets blown up onto the back of my tongue. Well when I lie down if I try to breathe out my nose, it completely blocks the airway and I cannot exhale. This then requires me to sit up so that it can hang down so I can breathe. If I sleep on my stomach or my side I don't seem to have much of a problem; however, I keep drooling all over the place so the wet pillow wakes me up.

I have also discovered that the tip of my tongue is numb. I thought that perhaps it was related to the drugs from the surgery, but now I am wondering if there has been some nerve damage.

All in all I am surprised at the level of pain. It is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Believe me it's no picnic, it is like the worst sore throat I've ever had, but it is not unbearable. Speaking is a little strange because talking blows my uvula up into my mouth which is a really strange feeling.

I have been able to eat some things, ice cream, noodles, soup, etc. Pretzels, crackers, Cap'n crunch and spicy Thai food are completely off the menu. I haven't had too many cravings for food I can't have yet, but I'm sure that will change. There was an ad on late night TV from Chili's with this big ass burger with cheese and thick strips of bacon that made me pretty hungry though. The thought of all that dry bread and crunchy bacon going down my throat was not appealing though.

I finished two articles that I needed to get done and will be working on the next. Unfortunately for the little articles I've been writing I don't get paid, but any exercise is better than none I suppose. I should have about $3,600 rolling my way which means that when those checks arrive I'll be sporting my pimpy 50" plasma HDTV with new DirecTVHD shortly thereafter. I was hoping that it would be in before my surgery so I could veg out in front of it, but that's not to be I guess. But Call of Duty 4 would look uber pimpy on it!!

I just took my latest does of hydrocodone and it is already starting to hit me, not 5-minutes later. Good stuff.

zzzzzz.......

Oh holy fuck......
I was a bit groggy still so I went to sleep. Bad idea. If feels like a shotgun went off in my throat. Only I don't have the benefit of sweet death. I used to be able to talk. As time goes on I'm finding it increasingly difficult to do so.

I took a sip of water when I woke up and it felt like someone digging a pointed fingernail into a fresh wound. Holy shit did that hurt!! To top it all off I have that cold or allergy thing going on so my chest is all clogged up and I have plegm coming up that needs to be cleared constantly.

I have to sleep on my right side because if I lay on my back the little flap at the back of my nose closes up when I exhale and I can get no air out of my nose at all. If I'm on my left side then I can feel my pulse in my throat and it feels like the hole there is hanging out, if that makes any sense.

This is going to suck major ass.

Thanks for everyone's kind words. It really does help. Now, who is going to come euthanize me?

It's done....
As of right now I don't feel too badly, but I guess that's because the numbing stuff in my throat hasn't worn off yet.

( before and after )

T minus 7 hours and counting.....
Yesterday was busy as hell. I'll go more into detail later, but I was buried under over 8-hours worth of paperwork for today. Most of it was getting ready to be off for the next two weeks. However, I was over my alloted time by about 3.5 hours yesterday so I was told to take off early today. Which totally didn't happen.

But I am now ready for the big day. I will be getting these things taken out.

( Cut for the squeamish, SFW image )
As if the separation of me and these useless appendages was not enough, I decided I'd add 1st degree burns to my woes. I was heating up some leftovers for lunch in the microwave. Now, normally I'm very good at using a low heat and a longer time setting. I find that this helps warm the food more evenly. For some reason I forgot to set the power level, but left the food in for an abnormally long time at full power. I hear things starting to cook pretty good so I stop the microwave and reach in and grab the plate.

Bad move.

Holy shit was that plate hot. It was the first time I'd ever had one get that hot. I already had it 3/4 of the way out of the microwave and didn't want to drop it on myself for fear of putting molten cheese all over me. So as I'm using my free hand to help support the seething plate full of enchilada napalm down to a lower altitude so I can stop the cooking of my fingertips. I manage to get the plate down to about 6" above the stove where finally my brain overrode my commands and jerked my hands away. The resulting collision with the stove sent molten cheese onto my right hand where it did a phenomenal job of burning the top layer of flesh off.

My fingertips howled in protest as I headed for the sink. The ends of my index, middle and ring fingers are shiny and slightly smooth now. They have hurt for quite a while now, but I sprayed some Dermoplast on them and then put bandaids on them which has helped tremendously.

I also seem to have been afflicted by a major case of allergies tonight. My nose is running uncontrollably and I've been sneezing like crazy. So as long as i can get all the misery out of the way at once, I'll be fine.

I do have two articles due that I need to work on, so hopefully I'll have them finished before their Feb 1 deadlines.

It's off to bed now for some shut eye.

36-hours till surgery.
So I have about 36 hours before my surgery on Tuesday. I'm not terribly worried; however, I can't say I'm looking forward to it. I am anticipating a lengthy recovery, but who knows? I'll be taking before and after pictures so you can see the difference. I'm exhausted right now but I'll post more later.

We had a very exciting day at work today, but it wore my ass out.