The Elbow

The elbow is a joint roughly in the middle of your arm. The elbow-joint comprises three different articular surfaces that are enveloped by a common synovial membrane. The design of the elbow is critical to ones ability to articulate the arm and some movements of the wrist.

I broke mine early Saturday morning.

There was a tornadic storm approaching and I went into my home office to disconnect my backup drives and take them into the shelter with me. On my way back, I plowed right into a baby gate we put up to limit the nocturnal movements of our dog. My most prominent thought, but certainly not my only thought, on the way down was, "save the drives!"

The drives took an impact, but were thankfully undamaged, and so did I. I distinctly remember face-planting because I felt it and I saw it - there were some sparkles, like lightning, in my vision at the time of impact. Amazingly, the only remnant of that particular blow are some scratches on the right lens of my glasses.

After the falling part was complete, I lay there for a few moments. My wife came out of the bedroom, saw me, and asked if I was alright. My answer came as a groaning, "no."

My left leg lay across the gate where I had hit it. I could feel the burning sensation of the three-inch abrasion on my shin. My kneecap also throbbed slightly with the pain of impact. I lifted my head and removed my bent and scratched glasses. I lifted my left leg and tried to push the gate away with my right leg. It wouldn't budge.

I somehow managed to sit up and was clutching a sore right arm in my left. I extended it tentatively. It felt very stiff but moved without too much additional pain. I wiggled my fingers. Okay there. I flexed my wrist. A little better than the elbow extension but stiff as well. When I tried rotating my wrist was when the sharp, intense pain hit. I exclaimed to my wife, "I think I broke my arm."

The volume of rain and approach of tornado-producing storms prohibited us from going directly to the hospital. We spent at least an hour in the shelter/closet listening to the track of the storm on the radio and watching the radar images on my iPhone. When the rotating portions of the storm had weakened or taken a different track, we got in the car and headed out.

4 x-rays, 2 consults with the doctor, a pain pill and an arm splint later, my knee was just bruised but I had cracked one of the bones in my elbow. It's been an interesting, semi-difficult and loooong 48 hours. It feels like it should be Wednesday or so, not Monday.

More later after my appointment with the orthopedist.

September Morn

It is cool and crisp outside. My bare feet touch the cold wood of the deck. The air is still so there is no bite but I wrap my arms around myself for a modicum of warmth anyway. The Autumn air is refreshing as I inhale and it rushes upward into my nostrils.

There is a broad, thin layer of clouds reflecting the first rays of the sun in a pale vermilion, the full moon still visible in the Western sky. Light wisps of fog congregate at the Northwest area of the pond. The water is still. A lone, dark-colored egret stands regally at the center while a large flock of geese begin to awaken at the Southeast edge. The occasional honk carrying through the scene like a morning yawn.

I stand for a few more moments, drinking in the peace that nature has brought to my doorstep. I have not begun to shiver yet but it is only a matter of time. I take another deep breath to fill my spirit and I smile as I turn to go inside.

The Truth About Weather In Oklahoma

Friday 12/18: There's a chance we might have a white Christmas but we'll have to keep an eye on it

Saturday 12/19: There's a storm off the coast of California that might make for some interesting weather later in the week

Sunday 12/20: It looks like we're going to get some rain Tuesday night changing to light snow continuing through mid-day Wednesday

Monday 12/21: "...we checked the computer models and they were no help at all." (Mike Morgan) The storm is making it's way on to the West coast. It's going to get to us on Tuesday. It will start out as rain Tuesday morning, then a mass of cold air will roll in, temperatures will drop quickly, and it will change over to snow Tuesday afternoon. The snow will continue into Wednesday but will be light and will end by mid-afternoon.

Tuesday 12/22: [no precipitation whatsoever. temperature was 55deg most of the day] It will rain all day long. Low temp in the morning will be 21deg, it will get into the mid 40s, then drop and have another 21deg overnight low. Rain will continue through Wednesday and possibly into Thursday. We might get a very light dusting of snow on Wednesday but nothing significant at all.

Wednesday 12/23: ARMAGEDDON! ARMAGEDDON! THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING! Oh, my God we are going to get DUMPED on! There's not a place in the state that is going to get less than an inch of snow. Oklahoma city will get up to 5 inches, Stillwater might get 8 to 10 inches. Of course, if it moves North, it will be lighter. If it moves South, it will be worse. "Some computer models have OKC getting fifteen inches. I'm not kidding... this will be an hour-by-hour deal." (David Payne)

This isn't even the current map. Gotta love it.

Ouch!

Just got back from the insurance company. My car took $1,900 damage from a hail storm in February. Before I got it fixed, it got slammed again last month - that's what they were looking at today. Combined total damage was estimated over $3,500 and I didn't even break any glass.

Kickin' It

I've been off work for the past two and a half days. An ice storm moved through mid-day Monday and didn't stop until late yesterday. Today, the sun came out and I'll be back to work tomorrow.

I've taken the opportunity to spend some quality time migrating my wav site to the new CMS. It's been a very looooong time since I've done any serious work on this site.

Have you ever gotten deep into a project and you realize things are missing? That's the way it's going for me. In some ways, it's good that I'm migrating the site. With the difference in structure I'm finding pages that were in the wrong place or otherwise hidden. I'm also taking the opportunity to sort-of standardize some of the elements. On the other had, I've figured out I'm missing at least one movie and I'm sure I'm missing some wav files that I recorded long ago. Between two interstate moves and a hard drive crash... they could be anywhere.

Anyway, the migration is coming along very well. If you want to take a look, feel free. I think I may have it ready to switch over the subnet (is that the right word? I'm not sure - I'm a little tired) in a few days. Maybe over the weekend.

Other than that I've been relaxing and I got another one of my dad's Beatles records transferred.

Missing You

The temperature in Stillwater, OK is a brisk 55 degrees. The air has an edge to it - not quite cold but not quite warm. Teddy has gone outside a couple of times since I came home just to be outside. It reminded me of how much J.D. used to love weather like this - and how much comfort the cold air seemed to give him right before he left us.

I got curious and wondered how long it had been. I looked back at my blog. Yesterday was one year.

A lot has happened in the last 366 days. There has been so much that it's almost hard to comprehend. Has it only been a year? It seems like this much can't possibly happen in so short a time.

I wouldn't say we are in a better or worse position than we were a year ago... just a different position. We're hanging on to what we have, cherishing the moments we are blessed to have with each other and all of our critters that are still with us in body and spirit.

I really don't know why J.D. passing has affected me so. Maybe it was where we were. Maybe it was how I handled his illness (that is something that still bothers me). Maybe it was just one more thing.

But with each passing day we become stronger. We remember the ones we love who are no longer with us and we keep moving forward... but not away from their memories.

Homeward Bound

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Danger, Will Robinson

Ready to go home. Car was started. Tornado sirens went off. Back inside in a "safe" room waiting for all clear.

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It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

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I pulled into the drive thru, got my phone out and dialed in, recorded this entry, still waited another 3-5 minutes and only moved forward 1 car length. I pulled out of line, went inside and was out the door in less than five minutes... no idea what was going on.

Still Troubled

I don't get it. I swapped out the data cable and now the system boots as quickly as it ever did. The secondary drive shows up correctly as a new volume. But try to actually DO anything and she'll freeze. Not right away, but she will eventually.

Here's the kicker. After writing zeros to the drive, re-initializing it in Windows and performing a complete format (and swapping out the data cable), I used the WD Data Lifeguard tools to perform a full scan on the drive. Yes, the same full scan that told me the drive was going bad about two months ago. Guess what it told me this time... the drive is fine. No errors. So, why won't the two drives play well together?

I was heading up to KC for my niece's wedding so I unplugged the spare drive for now.

There wasn't too much chaos when we arrived yesterday afternoon. My mother and sister were working on the flowers (my sister has some floral experience and agreed to do the flowers - what was she thinking?) and mom would later assemble the groom's cake, complete with John Deere tractor. My brother (the niece's dad) and the boys (her brothers) were all at the rehearsal and didn't return until after we all went to bed.

Right now, it's snowing in Kansas City. It's pretty cool, especially since it doesn't appear to be sticking to the roads. It should make for an interesting wedding. Precipitation on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck - was for me.

Before I ramble on too long, I'll close this chapter.

How's The Weather Where You Are?

It's kinda like this (wav) in Oklahoma right now. We've been experiencing a high-level thunderstorm that is releasing its precipitation through a layer of very cold air, thus producing freezing rain and sleet - combined with lightning and thunder. (yes, almost everyone in Oklahoma has knowledge of meteorology - you almost have to with as bizarre as the weather gets around here)

Anyway, I'm nice and warm and dry and the lights are still on - for now. The facility at work closed ~5pm today (except for enterprise support, the main heading my group falls under) and is not scheduled to open until 9am tomorrow. I will call tomorrow morning and find out if I'm expected to be at work. Even if I am, I will have to really consider whether I want to drive the 66 miles to work. It may be hazardous between here and there and there is supposed to be another wave coming tomorrow afternoon. I have a close refuge I can visit for the night (my MIL lives within 20 miles of the facility) but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

Smoke On The Water

Yesterday, the wife and I decided to go on a little adventure. We took a drive to McCall, Idaho. To get to McCall from Boise, you take a nice, leisurely 2.5 hour drive up highway 55 which runs along the scenic Payette River. We took our cameras and got some nice shots along the way. We took pictures of the mountains, the river, rafters on the river, and other such natural settings. The drive was nice but the destination was... problematic.

McCall is a beautiful little town that sits on the South end of Payette Lake. What we saw of it was comprised of charming little shops with picture-perfect facades, a small beach with plenty of people recreating, a small marina and several sailboats and powerboats enjoying the warm lake waters.

So, what was so problematic? The smoke.

When we were 40-50 miles out, we could see that something in the atmosphere was obscuring our view of the mountains. By the time we were 20-30 miles out, we were driving through the middle of a haze of smoke. When we arrived in McCall, the entire place smelled like a fireplace. From what I could tell, some part of the Payette National Forest Northwest of Payette Lake
was the source.

We spent about 30 minutes looking in a couple of the local shops, snapped a couple of hazy pictures of the lake, and went up the road for a late lunch. Both of us were having trouble breathing and both of us had headaches. Being inside for lunch provided a bit of relief but we could tell it was getting worse by the time we left. As we walked out to the car, it looked like it had been snowing light flurries that were starting to accumulate ever so slightly (it was ash). I actually ran the wipers to clear some of it off the windshield.

I think once this fire season is over we'll make another trip to McCall someday. For now, I'll leave the smoking to the locals.

The Fish Are Swiming Along Nicely At The Moment

I couldn't think of a title and I wanted to put something so the title is a sort-of coded message to my sister.

I was working at the PTJ (Part-Time Job) this evening and took a break about 7:30pm. When I went outside, the sky was overcast, it was windy and the temperature had dropped - a sure sign that a cold front had moved/was moving through. The way the sky looked all I could think was that, in Oklahoma conditions like that meant it was going to rain... a LOT!! It also meant the rain would most likely be accompanied by a sound and light show. Here in Boise, it's a crap shoot. It might rain, but it probably won't. If it does, it will be a light sprinkle for just a few minutes, then nothing else. And, we'll definitely get jipped on the sound and light show.

The weather around here is so boring.

In other news... I told you about my garage sale finds, specifically the surround sound receiver for free. I also picked up a couple of surround speakers and a small center channel for $5. I dragged it all out of the trunk this afternoon and hooked it up (haven't told the wife about it yet). It works fine. Granted, I prefer the sound quality of my Sony that I've had for about five years but I'm not going to complain about the price. Now I can have surround sound in the living room AND the bedroom. That is, if I ever unpack my Sony (I left it in the box because we only signed a six month lease and I just didn't want to hassle with packing it back up).

It Is MAY, Right?

I was on my way through Wyoming this afternoon and it was SNOWING!!! It was snowing hard. I was about 60 miles East of Rock Springs when I stopped and snapped this picture. 15 minutes down the road (and down the mountains) it stopped but it was a new experience for me.

Lotsa Snow

Since When?

Stillwater, OK is currently under a blizzard warning.... BLIZZARD!!

Sneet. A combination of snow and sleet. That's a word they use to describe Oklahoma weather.

Thundersnow. That's a word they use to describe Oklahoma weather.

Blizzard is not a word they use to describe Oklahoma weather!!