Something to think about when you publish a blog or other personal web site

This morning, I was modifying my blog to include functionality to add blog posts on my website to Facebook. In doing so, I realized, that some content that included on my blog and Facebook site contained content that may be considered inflammatory, derogatory, and/or offensive. For example, discussions around the upcoming presidential election, same sex marriage, or whether or not farting is fun to do (yes, someone actually posted a conversation about farting).

Because there are times when I do not agree with the content of site in question, I do not want someone to mistakingly assume I share the opinions being expressed on it. By including the content on my blog, it stands to reason that you could assume I share the same viewpoint and even worse be offended by it.

You have to be careful of your web presence. In todays world, it is not uncommon for someone to Google your name and you want to be certain that what ever comes back in the search results, that every instance where your name is plastered on the web it best represent you as a person. Of course there are instances of mistaking identity, after all, the world is a big place and people do have the same name as you (if you Googled my name from the link above, I'm not a professional Tennis player, although ironically enough, I was born in the St. Louis area).

And before you add a comment with a smart ass remarks about what content I could possibly be discussing (you know who you are), the content was coming from Floort.  You should check the sight out, there are some thought provoking (and not so thought provoking) conversations that go on there.

It's official...our home is on the market

If you are moving to, or live in the Houston area and are looking for a new home, we just put ours on the market. And in a completely unbiased opinion, it's a lot of home for the dollar. Check out the MLS listing and all the additional photos I've uploaded on flickr

A Christmas Tragedy

Once I realized that it was the woman sitting a few chairs down from me snoring and not some special affect, I was able to realize how bad of a telling of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol put on at the Alley Theatre really was.

From freakish choreographed ghost dances you would be proud of at your 5 year old daughters dance recital; the predictable transvestite maid servant of Scrooge; a steam clock; and to the tricycle riding ghost of Christmas future, the play was an utter disappointment. Until last night, I didn't realize it was possible for a professional stage group to put on a poor performance.

Yes, you read right, the ghost of Christmas future was riding a rocket propelled tricycle full of exhaust steam, twisty pipes, and some kind of canisters that you would see at an oil refinery.

Suffering from an identity crisis, the producers and directors tried to bring A Nightmare Before Christmas to the stage through this classic story. Needless to say, neither are a Tim Burton and their attempt was unoriginal, boring, and down right stupid. I found myself laughing out loud throughout the play as scene after scene contained some kind of cheese that Kraft would be proud of. For example, there was an entourage of 5 ghosts doing some stupid choreographed dance routine between many of the scenes wearing Halloween masks straight out of the movie Scream.

Suffice to say, I'm going to think twice next year before slapping down my $67 per ticket to avoid suicidal thoughts to rid myself of the agony of watching this play, as it was truly the worst play I've ever seen.

P.S.
I'm not kidding about the lady snoring.

Greyhound Garbage Raid

As some of you may know, we adopted 2 greyhounds. If you are considering a pet, I would highly recommend greyhounds if you want the following from a pet:

1. Low maintenance. Greyhounds will sleep 20+ hours a day, even more than a cat!
2. They provide tremendous amount of affection.
3. Typically, have a very quite disposition. You can go a whole year without hearing them bark, but when they do, it scares the begebees out of you.
4. Despite the perception, they are generally low energy dogs. When greys are in their racing prime, they'll race maybe twice a week and then sleep the other days.
5. Despite their size (50 to 100lbs), they don't seem like large dogs because they are content curling up into balls in their favorite sleeping location.
6. As being racers, they are handled by people more than other breeds as pups and the result, they will typically get along with humans very well.
7. They are very distinguished. When you walk them, everyone knows it's a greyhound and everyone wants to pet them.

There are a million other reasons to love greyhounds. And despite some of the trouble (see video below) they get into, they are a joy to be around.

LSI - Day 2

Today is the first day we go to the LSI clinic. It's hard to believe we made it and that this is really happening. One of the really nice things about the LSI process is that you are given an itinerary/list of appointments that cover the treatment plan and your 5 days in Florida. the itinerary will vary depending on your treatment and special needs. The first day of for my wife consisted of an initial evaluation and medical clearance.

Some of the medical clearance steps can be performed before you get to LSI. In our case, the only thing we were missing was an EKG, a small amount of blood work and some x-rays. We arrived at the clinic as scheduled and wow, it was busy. The waiting room was full of patients. Don't let this discourage you, after sitting there for 5 minutes, you'll quickly realize that the LSI experience is a well oiled machine and that 90% of the people in the room have the same emotions as you.

Prior to arriving, we were sent several new patient and other forms. Make sure to have these filled out before arriving. If you don't, you'll be sitting in the waiting room doing it. The list of forms is quite extensive. In our case, the only form left for my wife to sign was the HIPPA form.

Done.

Now it begins. The waiting room actually has two rooms. One room has high back chairs and the other, normal chairs. The high back were great because it allowed my wife to rest her neck while waiting. The appointments are not much different than a normal doctor visit, a fact we were not sure of. That is, we were not sure if we would spend all day in the clinic.

One thing that hit us really fast was how friendly the staff was.

Our name is called. We are greeted by a very friendly staff member who took my wife to get x-rays of her neck. X-rays are handled on the 1st floor, conveniently located in the lounge. The lounge is a nice airy room with two walls of windows and has recliners, tables, chairs, and a couple of flat screen tv's hanging on the walls for your viewing pleasure. Spouses and/or companions will find themselves spending some time in the lounge. Make sure to test the recliners, it is the nicest recliner I've ever sat in.

After the x-rays, we headed back to the 4th floor and sat again and waiting for our name. Again, our name is called and we were greeted by a very friendly nurse who took us into an examination room. Hope you aren't afraid of heights, the examination rooms have floor to ceiling glass panes with beautiful views of the bay, canals, palm trees, and other structures in the area. Off in the distance, you can see the airport (this just lets you know how close you are to the airport). The nurse proceeds to explain that a series of questions will be asked as part of the initial evaluation and if necessary, perform some tests and blood work. As I mentioned before, the only thing left for us was the blood work and EKG.

The evaluation was very similar to those of any other doctor visit, except with a focus on spine conditions. After explaining how we got there and what the symptoms were, my wife was asked a series of questions. After that, an EKG machine was wheeled into the room. My wife's ticker is in great shape. Another hurdle complete as we march to pain free living.

The nurse instructs my wife to take the "rainbow man" and shade the areas where she has pain, numbness, burning, tingling, or other symptoms. The picture is of a body with different cervical and lumbar vertebrae displayed and the associated areas that they would cause pain (the resulting is a very colorful picture of a person, hence the "rainbow man"). For example, my wife was diagnosed with a bulging disc from the doctor we spoke to in Houston in the C-5 and C-6. The rainbow man showed that this type of irritation would give painful and other sensations in the upper part of her neck, down the shoulder, into the outside of her arms, passing through the elbow and finally into the fingers. Whey, that was a lot. As my wife starts shading in her areas, she comments that she may as well just color in the whole rainbow man. I suspect this isn't uncommon for people being treated at LSI. I will remind you, make sure to articulate all your pain and symptoms. This information plays a critical part in the treatment down the road. The information you provide plus the MRI's and other x-rays become the surgeons tools when it comes time to fix you up. I had one doctor tell me the best diagnosis tool a doctor has is the patient themselves.

After color the rainbow man black (that's the color of the pencil you use to highlight the problematic areas), a practitioner enters the room. This individual reviewed the rainbow man and asked more probing questions and conducts a physical exam. This is nothing more than physical tests, i.e., reflex, range of motion in her neck, strength, and others. Not much different than a physical exam you may get annually from your doctor (if you don't, do it). With rainbow man complete, physical exam complete, EKG complete, blood work complete, and x-rays complete, we are now ready for day 3, MRI evaluation and discussion on the exact procedures necessary to treat the symptoms.

LSI - Day 1

Today we traveled to Tampa Bay. We are both excited and apprehensive. Excited that we have taken our first step toward getting my wife out of pain and apprehensive because we don’t know what to really expect. We have a million questions floating through our mind…

• Will the staff of LSI be friendly?
• What is the clinic like?Is this all for real, or just some lip service medical clinic promising the world?
• How will the accommodations be?
• Will they be nice?
• Do they do the procedure in a van? (ok, didn't really think this, but thought I would throw it in to see if you are paying attention)
  
• And many other’s

There were a lot more questions we had, but honestly, I can't think of them and it would make this web page load to slow. Hey, we didn't know anyone who has been before...I guess that makes us pioneers...in our own small world.

The plane ride was uneventful, which is always a good thing when flying. The Tampa airport is nice and gets you in the spirit of Caribbean living right a way. Palm trees and bars with fruity drinks adorn the airport. Getting our rental car was a breeze and viola, we are on our way to our hotel and LSI.

Ten minutes later, we arrive to our hotel (Doubletree Guest Suites). As we make the turn onto Rocky Point, there is the LSI clinic. Wow, that was easy to find. Thirty seconds later, we arrive at our hotel. Yep, our hotel is within walking distance of LSI, just like the paperwork said that we received from LSI.

Now, we are really getting into the Florida living…more palm trees, Tampa Bay across the causeway and a nice estuary next to the hotel. If you are into Jet Skis, there is a place to rent them in the parking lot of the hotel. Didn’t bring my swimsuit, thus won’t give them a try, but they look fun.

The LSI clinic and hotel are in a nice business park with plenty of walking paths. The surroundings help curb some of our anxiety.

The hotel room is great. There is a nice view of the estuary. The room has a separate living room from the bedroom with doors that close. This is a good thing for me, as my wife recovers; I’ll need to do some work. The hotel has internet connectivity.

There are several resturants in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. We have already frequented two of them; Bahama Breeze and Castaway. Both have excellent food…and fruity drinks.

LSI - Day 0

LSI stands for the Laser Spine Institute. From the website, the mission is simple:

“To offer a successful alternative to traditional open back and neck surgeries, fusions and artificial disc replacements by utilizing the latest techniques for spinal conditions through gentle, minimally invasive arthroscopic laser procedures.”

My wife has been diagnosed with a bulging disc in her cervical spine (there are some other items identified, but this is the only one I can remember at the time). She has chosen LSI for her treatment. I’m going to blog about the experience to provide a first-hand-account of the procedure. This won't just be a testimonial, but a real live accounting of the care and success of the clinic

To set the stage for why my wife chose LSI as opposed to traditional spinal fusion treatment is quite obvious, LSI offers a “minimally invasive arthroscopic laser procedures”. Not that anyone has accused me of being a smart man, but this sounds a a lot better than "spinal fusion" (isn't that a rock group? Oh wait, that was Spinal Tap). We found LSI through some investigation on the web. We were not content that fusion was the only option, after all it's the 21st century.

As part of our quest, we started out by visiting a local doctor in the Houston Medical Center. Heck, after all, the Houston Medical Center is one of the world's premier medical centers, especially when it comes to cancer treatment and research. Thus, we figured it would be easy to find a doctor who could offer us the type of treatment we wanted. We did find a very renowned docter and paid him a visit. As you would expect, he couldn't really tell us much until my wife got an MRI. Off to the x-ray lab we went. Four weeks later, we returned to the doctor to see what the diagnosis was and treatment options.

The doctor was very polite and explained to us that she had a bulging disc in her cervical spine and more specifically, the disc between the C-5 and C-6 vertebrae. And because she had already tried every treatment under the sun, i.e., physical therapy, acupuncture, message therapy, chicken sacrifices, and ect...ok, she didn't try any chicken sacrifices, but I can tell you, there have been times when we thought that was the best hope for treatment. The doctor recommended fusion. He explained that the process is better than it was 10, 20, and heck 30 years ago and is very successful in treatment. While this might be the case, the operative word here is "fusion". Fusion, also used in military circles...you know, the "fusion bomb". It's hard to not conjure up images of an atomic bomb detonating when ever the word fusion is used in the same sentence with spine.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm sure there is great merit in fusion, but it just didn't fit. We needed a different shoe size so-to-speak...we called LSI.

True to the LSI website, an initial consultation is as easy to filling out a short form and faxing them a copy of the report from the radiologist that reviewed the MRI. This was quite a relief as we live in Houston, TX and LSI is located in Tampa, FL (that's 982.7 miles). After filling out the form on the website and sending LSI a fax, within a few days, my wife receive a call from one a LSI doctor to discuss the findings. Suffice to say, a 15 minute phone call later, my wife is scheduled for surgery in 2 weeks. Yep, 2 weeks! Now, that's what I call fast food. This isn't even enough time to get scared.

Woa, it's almost Talk Like a Pirate Day Again

Arrr...ye time 'o ear to talk like'a pirate

My pirate name is:

Red Davy Read

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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Give Blood, Give Life...get Cookies and Juice

Here goes my public service announcement to satisfy my obligation of a Commit for Life member of the Gulf Coast Blood donor program. The program requires me to donate blood at least once a quarter and spread the word about donating blood. So, been taking care of the blood donations, but now to spread the word.

If you haven't given blood, I highly encourage you to give it a shot. Like most Americans, the thought of a blood sucking needle being stuck in my arm sends shivers down my spine. How did I overcome my fear? Simple, I just went and did it. OK, actually, it took me about 11+ years to get the nerve up. Honest! Let me explain. When I first graduated from college in 1995, I went to work for an environmental risk management company called Versar. At the time, I was living in the Denver area having just completed by graduate studies in Civil Engineering. Versar was the primary contractor responsible for the environmental assessment of the Lowry Air Force Base, which was shut down in 1994. On the site was a blood donation center. We had a field office set up on the base, and every time you would go to it, you would drive right by the center. Seeing the building, plus the regular giving of a few coworkers planted the seed. But, I was still chicken.

Fast forward to 2001. I'm was still a chicken and working at Enron in downtown Houston. The significance of this is that every month, Enron would sponsor a blood drive. Lots of people did it...except me.

Now jump to 2006. Working at my current employer, I finally got the courage to give donating blood a try. You see, after 11+ years, I knew donating blood was easy and a valuable service to the community. Blood is one of the few things that medicine can't produce synthetically. That is, all the shows you see on the Health Channel like "Critical Hour", "Untold Stories of the E.R.", "Medical Incredible", and etc. all have one thing in common...blood donors. All the people profiled on shows requiring emergency blood infusions are made possible by people like me. But, emergency rooms are just the tip of the iceberg. Many cancer patients require blood during treatment along with a multitude of other medical conditions.

That's my story...simple, eh? It just took one decision during one day of my life that made it possible to overcome my fear. Here is a good F.A.Q. to answer your questions.

Give blood, so you can give life is a literal statement. You don't ever know who is the recipient of your blood, but I guarantee they are thankful and in many cases are thanking God for your selfless act. Try it, you'll get hooked and some cookies and juice out of the deal.

Kudos for Weslo Treadmill, Cadence 80

This weekend, we purchased a treadmill for our home. As with many things you purchase now days, assembly was required. The instructions for putting this together were the best I've ever had. The best part that I liked was that all the bolts, nuts, screws, and washers were sealed on a cardboard backing clearly labeled. It wasn't just a big back of crap that you have to figure out is this the #8 or #16 screw. All-in-all, it took about an hour to put together, but no curse words came out of my mouth. Also, you had to feed an electronic coard from the motor to the control panel...the tube came pre-configured with a wire to pull it through! It was flawless.

flickr Badge Added

In an effort to provide a bit more insight into who I am, I've added a flickr badge to the blog. I maintain a flickr site for the few photo's I take. There was a time when I would take photos for the fun of it. I would get up early in the morning, walk around town and take photo's. Early morning and early evening offer the best times for taking photos because that's when the light is softest. But, I really enjoyed the time in the dark room the most. I could spend an entire day working on printing photo's (black and white). For me, black and white photo's when properly exposed and printed offer a whole host of colors that bring them to life. I use to love looking for that perfect exposure time and correct filter to get capture the essence of the photo and expand upon the content. It was really a release.

I guess the now days, my releases come in the way of yard work and mowing my yard. It's easy to get absorbed in the work. In a lot of ways, maintaining a yard and printing photos are very similar. They take a lot of time, require the right combination of ingredients and patience. Grass doesn't turn green overnight, but, weeds sure do sprout fast.

If you do head over and take a look at the flickr site, I can't take credit for the flowers. Those are all my wifes doing. I'm just around to do the heavy work, like dig holes and make flower bed borders. None-the-less, I find yard work relaxing and I guess that's a sign of me getting older. It just seems like yesterday I would mow my neighbors yards for $20 and hate every minute of it. But hey, it kept me gainfully employed through the early years of high school before I went overseas.