A Week’s Worth of Twitter Updates

Posted By on October 30, 2011 at 4:27 am

  • Ugh. Another night spent on the phone. At least it's over… until tomorrow. #
  • I hate my sister – she saw @Pomplamoose live in concert tonight at SoHo in Santa Barbara. I burn with jealousy. @natalydawn @jackconte #
  • Oh… AND she had the audacity to send me pictures. #
  • ICYMI: Marco Rubio, Birthers, Citizenship, and Presidential Eligibility – emersons.net/?p=3290#
  • Busiest work week I've had in quite a while… but it's over. And I even learned a thing or two. (Cisco Embedded Event Manager, FTW.) #geek #
  • It's never, ever a good thing when the first thing you feel and hear in the morning is a >pop< in your lower back. #shootmenow #
  • Back >pop< update: feels like a herniated disk. Legs are useless. It took me an hour to get down the stairs this afternoon. #shootmenow #
  • I really wish I had some codeine right about now. Or a powered exoskeleton. Or both, really. #
  • Every minute of every day. // RT @laurenmarie10: Don't all men? RT @AgStateSense Can you imagine Guilfoyle in a cheerleader outfit? #TheFive #
  • Hillary looks like she stole Florence Henderson's hair, circa 1973. #redeye #
  • My 20-foot commute from bedroom to desk took 2.5 hours. I think this might be a new record. I'm a wreck. #BadBack #sux2Bme #
  • Tear gas? Rubber bullets? You mean that the decisions you make might have adverse consequences? Say it isn't so! #OWS #OccupyOakland #tcot #
  • I'm writing a "hip-hop" "song" about the history of rural irrigation. Working title: "Ditches and Hose." #
  • As a character-building mechanism, pain is waaay overrated. #
  • I can tell my back is already improving. I only took an hour to get to the bathroom and back just now, instead of the 4 hours this morning. #
  • The part where the T.Rex showed up. Duh. // MT @Judgenap: What was the most dangerous moment of the Michael Jackson trial? bit.ly/vBQXPc #
  • When the Showtime listings call a Margaret Cho concert "hilarious," I am forced to question their judgment about other programs. #
  • Bill Whittle: How to Steal Power http://t.co/GowmibDv #
  • Does U.S. Economic Inequality Have a Good Side? http://t.co/6kXyT97j – "You don't make the poor rich by making the rich poor." #
  • That's a mighty big "also." // RT @iowahawkblog: The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup! And also, not being dead. #
  • Back injury update: I haven't slept more than an hour at a time since Monday. I hope to remedy that today. #
  • Still awake. I dread trying to use my legs, for fear that they aren't as working as they ought to be at this point in the disk episode. #
  • The Well-Adjusted Blues #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Spandau Dub-Step #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Volvo Halen #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • The Pursuit of Meh. #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Mediocretramp #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • REO Stationwagon #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • They Might Be Slightly Taller Than Average #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Leonard Skynyrd #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Paul Revere and the Oakland Raiders #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • BUBBA #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • The Donkees #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Three Doug Night #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Papier-Mache Temple Pilots #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Crash Test Results #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Sha-Na-Meh #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Misplacedprophets #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Win // MT @KenPatton1: ZZ Average #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • The Dimness #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • George Thorogood and the Scratch-n-Denters #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • The Spin PAs #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Third Eye Blurry #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Deep Blue Nothing #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Carving Pumpkins #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Woodrow Wilson Phillips #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Wheezer #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Jane's Annoying Habit #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Frankie Goes To Reseda #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Husky Doo #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Alan's Parson Project #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • B-47s #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Gary "Municipal" Bonds #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Sam the Sham-Wow and the Pharaohs #lessexcitingbandnames #
  • Well, my legs still aren't working as usual, but at least now I don't feel the urge to scream out loud whenever I try to stand up. #winning #
  • Finally made it down and back up the stairs for the first time since Monday. Legs still weak as a kitten, but it's progress. #
  • Well, heck, let's cancel the primaries. MT @Drudge_Report: GOP Insiders Near-Unanimous Predicting Romney Nomination… http://t.co/OPPAPBPp #
  • Watching the Soviet classic "Alexandr Nevsky." Major *Russian* nationalism. Plain to see they could tell war with Germany was coming. #
  • The Battle on the Ice in "Alexander Nevsky" is the most ludicrous excuse for combat ever seen in the history of cinematic swordplay. #
  • Kismet is running around and meowing like an idiot for no apparent reason. It must be a day that ends with "y." #cats #
  • This new show "Grimm" looks interesting. Rather novel premise. #

Blowout

Posted By on October 25, 2011 at 5:54 pm

Every few years, the back injury that ended my Army career will recur. The last time was just over two years ago, so right on schedule, I’ve blown out my back again.

Yesterday morning as I got out of bed, I felt a bit of a pop in the usual spot on my lower back. My legs — even as bad off as they usually are — held out for about five steps before quitting on me. Fortunately, my cane and the bathroom counter served as useful props to keep me from falling.

I’d gotten up early yesterday, so I took a brief nap in the evening. After the nap, it took a full hour for me to get up off the bed.

Fast forward to today… it took two and a half hours for me to get up off the bed and get here to my office chair (which is more comfortable than any other place I might sit, hence the trek.)

I am very fortunate in that I have some terrific neighbors. I had a couple of things that needed doing downstairs, and though I was hesitant to impose, these things had to be done… and there’s no way I would dare to try navigating my way down the stairs right now. I called my neighbor and explained my situation… and without hesitation, I had the help I needed.

I’ll need my crutches to get around the house for the next couple of days, but if this recurrence of the injury holds true to form, I’ll be back to my usual impaired level of mobility by Thursday.

Still… I’d be happier if it hadn’t happened.


From 2004: the Top Ten Reasons a Herniated Disk is Bad.