Yeah, guilty. That's me- ahh well, I've been all up in the facebooks and twitters- so look for me there if you can't find me here-- I'll probably be starting up a more personal blog in the near future and keep this for rants and other fun stuff. I know I said I would be blogging more because I have got an iPhone, butttt it turns out I am just MICROblogging more. olo. See you out there, <3 Permalink - Blogger Backlinks - Technorati - Del.icio.us

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Just a quick note- I have an iPhone [first gen] (thanks to job!), so expect regular blogging to begin as soon as I can get ShoZu working on it :) Permalink - Blogger Backlinks - Technorati - Del.icio.us
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This is an open letter I plan to send to Fox News tomorrow if nothing changes- I'll also copy all the major news agencies in New Hampshire.

UPDATE- I sent the letter. Here's hoping the media starts asking Fox for comment on this.

According to the New Hampshire State Republican Party and an Associated Press report(1), Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul will be excluded from an upcoming forum of Republican candidates to be broadcast by Fox News on January 6, 2008. The AP article says "Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson" will be participating in the debate.

If Ron Paul isn't included then neither should McCain, Huckabee or Thompson. In Iowa/New Hampshire Ron Paul is either higher than or tied with Thompson or McCain and is close to Huckabee in the polls(2). In addition, Ron Paul recently broke the single day fund-raising record of all time in politics, taking in over $6 million dollars in a 24 hour period(3)- he's already raised more money in the 4th quarter then any other Republican did last quarter(4). Lastly, Ron Paul has won the lion's share of Republican straw polls conducted throughout the country- far and above any other candidate(5). Not to mention the fact that Ron Paul literally is the most popular, searched for candidate on the internet(6).

Given that, how can Fox News exclude Ron Paul from an event such as this, just two days before the New Hampshire primary? What possible justification can they provide?

(1) - "GOP candidates to meet in N.H. forum" - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071227/ap_po/on_the2008_trail_7
(2) - "ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: N.H. REPUBLICAN PRIMARY" http://abcnews.go.com/images/PollingUnit/1053a1NHRepublicans.pdf (
3a) - "Paul Campaign Statement Following $6 Million Fundraising Day" - http://www.ronpaul2008.com/press-releases/87/paul-campaign-statement-following-6-million-fundraising-day/
(3b) - "Ron Paul Beats Own Fundraising Record" - http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/16/ron_paul_beats_own_fundraising.html?hpid=topnews
(4) - "Ron Paul Doubles 3rd Quarter Fundraising Total" - http://www.ronpaul2008.com/press-releases/59/ron-paul-doubles-3rd-quarter-fundraising-total/
(5) - "Ron Paul's Straw Poll Results" http://www.ronpaul2008.com/straw-poll-results/
(6) - "Paul campaign fueled by Web cash and savvy" http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2007-10-10-paulmoney_N.htm

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It's official - According to a press release distributed by Ron Paul's campaign, and according to the New Hampshire State Republican Party and an Associated Press report, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul will be excluded from an upcoming forum of Republican candidates to be broadcast by Fox News on January 6, 2008.

Wow, what possible justification could Fox News have for this? Could it be that he didn't raise enough money? - or is it that he's not polling high enough? - I mean, they certainly shouldn't be inviting Huckabee and Fred Thompson given those latest numbers- and in terms of fund raising he literally cannot be beat.

So what is it Fox? What is it. It's so unbelievable that I still don't believe it's true. I've written to Fox to ask them why, but I think it's going to take a New York Times or Washington Post phone call to really get an answer.

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Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Holidays!!!

And my present to you? A brand new, independently produced, super-high production quality Ron Paul video for you:

Ron Paul Rising

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I love it!!!! - Merry Christmas everyone and a HAPPY RON PAUL VICTORY IN 2008!!!!

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Holy crap! We broke the record AGAIN!!!! AWESOME! Seriously, I couldn't be more proud, and the day is not even over yet!

Today was a serious snow day, and my Ron Paul yard sign has been missing in action for a week or two now since it got buried in a snow bank created by a plow running down my street. Well, today it got buried under lots more snow that fell and even more from the snow plows. However I was energized by the tea party rally and went wild in the snow bank where I though the sign was buried. I FOUND IT! - Here is a shot of it's new home, on top of a big rock in packed in snow.

This time I've tied a rope to the bottom of it and attached the rope to a tree limb so if it gets knocked over again I can find it easier. That'll show those mean anti-Paul snow plows who's boss!

Meanwhile, viva la Tea Party 2007!!!!!!!!!!!! RON PAUL 2008!

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I can't believe CNN.... Anderson Cooper really failed as a debate host. He let the candidates walk all over him- but for the ones who didn't they were set to the sidelines. Ron Paul had a shining moment in the end, and he definitely had it out with McCain (and won the exchange IMO). Be sure to watch the Ron Paul ad that ran at the debate (below).

In any case, after the debate I decided to rock and roll over to the Ron Paul Forums to see what everyone was talking about, and I noticed a link to Ron Paul Radio - with live coverage from Florida from Ron Paul supporters after the debate! - and THEN I noticed something even more amazing- Ron Paul's Justin.TV channel - with LIVE VIDEO COVERAGE of Ron Paul's post debate rally AND interviews with people after the debate - ALL LIVE!

It was at that moment that I realized that things have truly changed. We truly are the media. The fact that I can tune into a live broadcast from somewhere in Florida to watch Ron Paul speak after the debate is true democracy in action. CNN can't stop this. The main stream media cannot compete.

The speech that Ron Paul at the post debate rally, that I watched live through Justin.TV- the speech was INCREDIBLE. I will definitely find that video and post it as soon as I can.

Meanwhile check out the ad that ran for the first time at the debate:

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Though I have been blogging for over 6 years now I have only just now reached my 500th blogger post. Though I reached 500 a long time ago, but this is my 500th blogger.com post- I've been using Blogger since May of 2000- prior to that I kept my blog in a single HTML page that I updated by hand. It's all still there, in the archives on the left hand side. I always find it amusing to "go back in time" and read my old blog posts. Hi to me of the future.

But lets move from discussing history to making history. Ron Paul is now at 8% in New Hampshire! - he continues to move up in the polls! Not only that but there is already another major fund raiser brewing- the newest Ron Paul fundraiser - Tea Party 2007! - It could make a huge impact just as the last one did - be a part of it!-- or atleast watch this excellent video about it and consider whether you should participate after watching:

Lastly I wanted to share this final Ron Paul treat- a grandson and a grandma in a cuban family discussing Ron Paul, it's so cute! In the end the grandma gives in and says she's for Ron Paul :)

Labels: ron paul

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Thank you to all of our brothers and sisters who have served courageously for us throughout history and today.

Members of the military have contributed the most to Ron Paul of all other candidates- there is a reason for it. A veteran himself, Ron Paul knows how important it is to only use our military as a last resort and only go to war with countries after a declaration of war by congress. Ron Paul will bring our troops home. Ron Paul will save lives.

I'd like to share a special Ron Paul video about Veterans Day with you- it brought tears to my eyes:

If it affected you as it did I then I urge you to participate in the Ron Paul Veterans Day Fund Raiser. Any amount will make a difference!

Lastly, here is excellent coverage of the Ron Paul rally I went to on Friday. Hope to post my own pictures soon!

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I got to see Ron Paul today at a rally for him at the University of New Hampshire- he gave an incredible speech and answered questions afterwards. I'll post pictures later but I just wanted to say that even if you think you know the man, even if you think you're already on board with him- you need to go see him in person-- it was the most informative political experience I've ever had!

While I've only seen a few presidents and candidates prior, both Bill and Hillary, Edwards, and Bush the first- no one compared to Ron Paul in terms of lighting the crowd up and energizing the people in the room. But in reality it was the message that resonated so strongly- the message of liberty and freedom, that connected with everyone.

I'll post pictures and write more soon, and hopefully I'll find a video or audio of it to share with you!

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I'm sure you've seen the news- that 5th of November independently created fundraising effort was a huge success! Wonderful!

Meanwhile, I just wanted to share this note from an old friend of mine- someone who, like me, never thought they'd ever be voting for a republican:

"Ron Paul has literally changed my life. I never thought there'd be a politician that hasn't lied, cheated, and stolen their way to power. He's right about the war (and wars in general), he's right about the economy and the money system. He speaks the truth everytime, even when it's not popular and certainly not policitally correct.

I want to support Obama or another Dem sooo bad, but I just can't because I know they only want more war. They bash bush and the current war but you can tell it's all just politics. None of them will have any problem expanding war to other places like Iran, or wherever the next percieved threat is. We need to just STOP fucking around overseas and mind our own business, something we haven't done since WWII.

I'm so sick of all the BS walter. My feelings about it all really haven't changed over the last 10 years, but what's different now is that I have hope for change because of Ron Paul. My wife and I have joined the meetup group and we do all we can to promote the man (she has been a hardcore libertarian for years). The word on the street is that he's expected to finish strong in New Hampshire (we're all hoping) and that could propel him to a nomination."

We're hoping here too as well, and with each passing day I feel like we're moving closer to this being a certainty. This Friday I think I might have the opportunity to see Ron Paul in person at a rally, so I'll be posting a full report- pictures and possibly video if I can pull it off! Permalink - Blogger Backlinks - Technorati - Del.icio.us
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Guys. Ron Paul finally unloaded and is now running advertisements here in New Hampshire. It is exciting times! I drove down to Florida and back to New Hampshire with a Ron Paul bumper sticker- we saw Ron Paul stuff everywhere! Some examples of what we saw:

A renegade Ron Paul sign hanging from the bottom of an overpass near Balitmore

A minivan with Ron Paul stuff covered all over the back side of it in Virginia

A car in Florida with multiple Ron Paul bumper stickers covering it's window

It was amazing! Plus we met other Ron Paul supporters standing in line at Animal Kingdom in Orlando. Unbelievable!

Now, in New Hampshire Ron Paul is starting to spend money on ads and will send out a 12 page full color booklet to all NH republicans. Just in the nick of time. Everything is accelerating now, the chase has finally truly begun- but before he's even spent the first dime on ads Ron Paul is already polling up to 7.5% in New Hampshire - above Thompson and Huckabee!

It will be VERY interesting to see what the numbers do after these mailers and ads are out there. Very interesting indeed.

Labels: ron paul

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YOU WERE IN FLORIDA AND YOU DIDNT CALL ME :( Walterbutt I miss you!!
Posted by laurgasms on 11.27.2007 at 12:46 am

DOH I clearly fail at life- I wasn't ever down your way though, was east coast/kissimmee - we miss you too, still had an AWESOME time when you were up here! Come back soon, and next time I'm in Florida I'm definitely touring the southeast corner so we'll get together then!
Posted by Walter [H] on 12.18.2007 at 10:01 pm

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There was coverage of last night's debate this morning, on NPR's Morning Edition- "GOP Candidates Take Aim at Each Other" by Mara Liasson. Was there any mention of Ron Paul? No, not this time. But what really stung was that Liasson outlined who was "in the running for front runner status" - Thompson, McCain, Giulani, Romney and Huckabee.

Huckabee? Still? - Liasson went on to explain that Huckabee, who hasn't "raised much money" is "showing surprising strength amongst social conservatives" - pointing out that he came in second this weekend at the values voters summit straw poll, and "that he's running third in several Iowa polls."

Woah woah woah. Surely if she believes Huckabee to be in the running then she must consider Ron Paul as well! Allow me to retort, Ms. Liasson:

#1 Ron Paul outraised Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo and Sam Brownback's combined fund raising efforts by 61 percent in the last quarter - raising over 5 million dollars, second only to Giuliani and Thomspon (beating McCain and Romney). Source: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/fundraising

#2 He placed third in the same values voters summit that Huckabee placed second in - Results: http://www.frcaction.org/get.cfm?i=PR07J04

#3 Ron Paul has finished ahead of Huckabee in 30 of the 35 straw polls he's been up against him in. Source: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/straw-poll-results/

So I think it's time that Mara Liasson updates her recounting of who is in the running for the front-runner status for the republican nominee. Not only that, but I think it's time for EVERYONE to update their notes on who is in the running for front runner status. Ron Paul is clearly ahead of Huckabee, so he should be considered in the running for front-runner status - and if you aren't going to include Ron Paul in that list then Huckabee shouldn't be included either!

It's time for a change, one way or the other.

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As you might have heard, Florida has been stripped of their delegates for participating in the 2008 Democratic Primary. Other states, who have moved their primary dates up against Democratic Party rules, are also facing similar situations- in Michigan many Democratic candidates aren't even registering to be on the ballot. So this means that democratic voters in those states can only make symbolic votes and may not even have a choice of who to vote for--

OR

Or, democratic voters in those states could participate in their republican primaries and make their votes count for something! They'd have a chance to influence who the democratic nominee would eventually be running against. They'd have a chance to "hedge their bets" and vote for the candidate they'd feel the most comfortable having in office, should the democratic nominee lose.

They'd have a chance to make their vote count!

So Democrats, which republican candidate should you support? Well, as an individual who has voted democrat in every presidential election I'm here to tell you that I am going to vote in the republican primary for Ron Paul. Why? Please hear me out:

First, you have to know that I've never voted for a Republican president and I never thought I ever would- but Ron Paul is different. Far different. First of all, Ron Paul voted against the Iraq war and the Patriot Act from the start- something most Democrats and other Republican candidates cannot claim. He's one of the only Republican candidates who stands up for civil rights, who speaks sensibly about America's place in the world, who insists on the rule of law and rejects the exceptionalism and emergency powers advocated by every other GOP candidate.

But, you say- isn't he a "long shot candidate?" - Well, there are those who are comparing Ron Paul to Howard Dean in terms of the strong support he's received on the internet. Dean turned that support into victories in the early primaries before his "dean scream," and could easily have gone on to win the nomination (he did go on to become the chair of the democratic party). Today his national polling numbers are at their highest- he is one of the top 3 in overall fund raising, and Ron Paul is the most popular candidate on the internet- has the highest number of youtube channel subscribers, has the highest number of searches on google according to google trends, and has the largest number of meetup.com groups of all the other candidates.

Please, seriously consider participating in the republican primary this year to vote for Ron Paul- I've provided additional information, and informative videos about him below-- please do the research to make your decision *today* because time is running out- you may have to change your affiliation ahead of the primary in order to vote for Ron Paul if you end up choosing to:

(writeup) Who is Ron Paul? http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about/
(video) Bill Maher on Ron Paul: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WUYDt7kC3Z0
(video) Ron Paul at the debates this year: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/snippets/47/ron-paul-at-the-debates/
(videos) Ron Paul Youtube channel (#1 presidential channel!) http://www.youtube.com/RonPaul2008DotCom
(wikipedia oveview) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_paul
(wikipedia VERY detailed article on all his political positions and record) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul

Quick summary of Ron Paul's record:
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Please consider joining me in supporting Ron Paul - or at least spread the word to those who you think would appreciate hearing it!

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Unbelievable!!! You MUST watch this story- this is it, this is what we've been waiting for - all eyes are turning to him, and this weekend's debate is going to be SUPER SUPER KEY.

If Ron Paul shines at this debate then there will be NO STOPPING HIM. Watch this video- the future is happening in front of our eyes!! - and don't forget to check out this wonderful Ron Paul cartoon "ad" :)

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There was coverage of the press conference I mentioned yesterday :

"Paul has about half of the funds that Giuliani has and is becoming the driving force in the Republican presidential primary.

Paul’s campaign had a very simple message for the media. Three candidates are funded to seriously compete in the Republican primary, they are Giuliani, Thompson, and Paul.

Ron Paul’s campaign is in an interesting position to demand equal time in the upcoming Fox News debate."

Just look at these numbers, Ron Paul is less than $1 million away from catching Fred Thompson!

Looks like the media now catching on! FOXNews used the phrase "Darkhorse Success" - he's moved up, he's moved up to top tier!!! Check out this morning's interview with Ron Paul on "FOX & Friends"-

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Just look at these numbers- polling at 5% in the National USAToday Gallup Poll, his highest national polling numbers ever!

Not only that, but his fund raising is off the charts- the #2 highest fund raiser in New Hampshire and New Hampshire is first in Ron Paul donors per capita in the country...his second strongest "state" per capita is Washington D.C.! - but donors are spread out all over the country - comparitvely more spread out then others

With all of this momentum behind him Ron Paul will be holding a national press conference tomorrow (10/17) to shout from the roof tops and to the WORLD that Ron Paul is now a top-tier candidate and he has truly arrived!

Labels: election 2008, ron paul

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"SPARKS, Nev. – Ron Paul won the GOP presidential straw poll conducted by organizers at the Conservative Leadership Conference held at the Nugget Casino this weekend “by a large margin,” according to an organizer. Paul won with 32 percent, McCain came in second with 17 percent" - Romney came in 4th overall.

As printed at MSNBC.com - Ron Paul just earned yet another straw poll victory. This adds to his dominance as Ron Paul has been the winner of the lion's share of straw polls taken this year nationwide.

But editorially I feel like MSNBC really dropped the ball on this one- as one Digg commenter eloquently put it: "It's such bullshit. A story about Mitt Romney loosing - not Ron Paul winning. Why the fuck to we tolerate this from our media?" - yes, yes indeed. But I think it illustrates an important point- Romney had his people there, according to the article, but they just didn't vote for him- they didn't put forth the effort. They didn't do it because there just isn't any passion for Romney, certainly not when compared to Ron Paul supporters.

But will the passion be contagious enough to make a difference? Ron Paul is trying to raise 4 million dollars this month- he's only up to $850,000 as of today. If you care about Ron Paul, I urge you to make a donation- no amount too small! In the last quarter I only donated $5, but I did my part and he raised over $5 MILLION last quarter! - but I'm not too worried about his fundraising skills- $1 million of that $5 million came in the last seven days. The man's got skills. He's gonna have the money and people are going to learn about his words and his special message of liberty.

Lastly, today I was talking about Ron Paul and what Ronald Reagan said about him... and I couldn't recall the exact quote. But I have it now in the form of a 1 minute youtube clip- an excellent clip, one that I think could be a campaign commercial:

"Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country." -Ronald Reagan

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My first post in over 6 months and it's to deliver a very important message for registered democrat voters in New York and New Hampshire:

If you know nothing about, haven't learned enough about or made a decision about Ron Paul yet then you have less then 24 hours to make a decision because New York and New Hampshire require that you change your party registration by tomorrow at the latest in order to vote for Ron Paul in the republican primary this year!

New York Democrats go here to update your party affiliation for the primary

New Hampshire Democrats go here to update your party affiliation for the primary

This video from an interview with Ron Paul taken yesterday may be all the convincing you need:

Democrats- Ron Paul is one of the few candidates, on both sides of the aisle, who has been against both the Iraq War AND the damaging foreign and domestic policies of the Bush Administration from the beginning!

Since it appears that Hillary is nearly a foregone conclusion to be the nominee now is your chance to influence the other side of the race for the only republican candidate who stands for much of what you believe in too- it's a strategic move to hedge your bets-

But don't take my word for it- here is an insightful article: "A liberal democrat's view of Ron Paul"

I've always been libertarian minded- and Ron Paul is the only candidate I've ever felt this passionate about. I never thought I'd vote for a republican before- but this man is different- he's the farthest from today's republicans you can get- he's a respectful republican, he's a real conservative- not a neocon, not Fox News, not George Bush, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson or Rudy Guiliani!

Ron Paul stands for freedom and personal liberty. If you want even more about Ron Paul then watch his latest video- if you still don't agree that Ron Paul is the most compelling Republican candidate after reading and watching all that I've shared with you then please share your thoughts with me in the comments section (video contains some graphic violence unfortunately, FYI)

Labels: election 2008, ron paul

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Just plugging for google- I found a new 1and1 support forum out there, one that replaced the now defunct old one.

This one is kindof like a 1and1 usergroup more then anything. Which is awesome! I missed that old one. 1and1 has been kind of a mystery to me over time... they don't offer a network status page (even more mysterious), and there isn't much media coverage or information about them out there. Their homepage is fairly informative, but I'd love to know exactly what makes them tick.

I'm hoping this new 1and1 (1 and 1) chat board will help to lift the curtain a little bit. The other support forum was around for 3+years... hopefully this one will last even longer!

See you at the 1and1 discussion group!

Anyways, sorry for the technical and nonpersonal post. I'm just linking to this forum to help get it into Google and get people to join it :) I'll make a personal post soon!(tm)

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Today I had my first physical therapy session. It made me feel really confident afterwards- so confident that I decided to get on the iMac.. FOR TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Needless to say I made myself sick. Blargh. The doctor said to do things in small doses- guess that wasn't a small dose:( - Fortunately I'm not so sick that a hospital visit is required though I am going to the regular doctor tomorrow. There I will find out results of tests that they did for stuff they were pretty sure was negative. Will try to keep you updated, though don't expect giant updates like last time, that took me forever :( I go to Occupational Therapy in a few weeks where I will learn how to do my job again...my typing speed is about 1/3 to 1/2 what it used to be, Tara says I'm still fast.. so I envision the OT going like this:

--

Them: Your typing speed is excellent, what other issues do you have?

Me: Look, I've got other issues, but my typing speed should be faster, can we work on that?

Them: (not believing me) Maybe you just THINK your typing speed was faster? You type really fast!

Me: Nonono, you don't understand.. ow my head hurts

etc

--

Ahh well. Will let you know!

Labels: meningitis, sick

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This time last week I could only dream of typing on a computer- I had just been released from the emergency room the day before (I was dangerously dehydrated) yet many of my symptoms persisted, even though I thought they were born from the dehydration. That visit to the hospital was a fun one- I spent a good portion of it in the waiting room- super fatigued and out of it, barely able to walk, with a many day old beard and hat. I spent the wait shivering, sitting in a hospital issued wheel chair with dried pink puke stains on my khaki cargo pants. Yes, I was the scariest guy in the ER waiting room.

They took me in, told me the numbness in my extremities was probably from short breathing due to the days old fever and dehydration. They did a flu-swab, which involved sticking a tiny q-tip device up my nose as far as it could go. With a certain scene from Total Recall playing through my head I endured. Yes, it hurt. Then the best part, I couldn't pee. They claimed it was probably from all the Ny/Dayquil I had taken leading up to the visit- the decongestant, they said, caused muscle spasms and locked me up :(. A catheter was called for, which hurt more, and they sent me home with it, with the promise that I could have it removed in a few days by my regular doctor.

I wouldn't have made it with the catheter if the symptoms of disorentation, fatigue and others hadn't persisted. But somehow when they discharged me from the hospital that night I felt better. I had recieved 1000ccs of saline and had been tested and catheterized. Feeling more machine then man I got back in the car with my wife and daughter to go home. I felt so good that I told Tara that I even felt like eating some fast food, though the hospital had said I needed to go on an "all clear diet"-- so no trans-fat for me.

But I was still sick... Tuesday became Wednesday and Tara's efforts to keep me hydrated were wearing on me- To this day I still can't eat jello or drink gator-ade :( Since I was still sick we called my doctor and let them know- they said to come in on Thursday. I was still in bed from Tuesday night when it was time to go to the doctors on Thursday (yay catheters!)-- Tara had even said that the doctor would remove the catheter early, yay again! By the time I got to the doctor though it was plain that I would be going back to the emergency room. I was wheel chaired from car to doctor's room back to car. This time though my doctor called ahead to the ER.

When we got there a wheel-chair was already waiting for me, and only a few moments later I was in my own room in the ER. A record I'm sure-- Tara said it was because my doctor called ahead-- I think it was because they knew I was the scariest guy in the waiting room.

The same doctor who saw me on Tuesday was there, and was surprised and concerned to see me again. He told me he'd figure out what was going on- ordering a full round of tests, a CT scan, a Chest X-Ray, an EKG and.. wait for it..

A spinal tap! Ayeee!!

Fortunately they went ahead and followed my request to do everything else first, everything else of course came back negative. So I got the spinal tap, and man that hurt worse then the catheter-- a few times they sent fire down my left leg and made me kick my foot, it was sooo weird. I was afraid I was going to lose feeling in my leg from the tap. Fortunately I survived intact, and fortunately the tap was worth it-- some proteins were high, indicating Viral Meningitis- sonofa!!

So out came the catheter (which hurt again doh), and I was then admitted to the hospital. I was transferred from the ER to my own room- but what a room it was! There was a TV, wireless internet, my own bathroom, a phone, a menu for room service and an incredible nursing staff. They even brought a cot for wife and baby to sleep on! It was sooo nice that I almost didn't want to leave. My symptoms it turned out were:

• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Headache
• Numbness of the extremities
• Stiff neck
• Loss of binocular vision
• Lack of coordination

This meant that I had diffiuclty walking and had to close an eye in order to see right. Neurologists and doctors visited me (and most of them screwed up my IV to get me to walk, though the nurses obliged to fix it each time). I was poked and prodded, and eventually sent to the MRI. I had to pee during the last 1/3 of it, and man that was a huge challenge. Yet, the pictures turned out fine and showed that my brain was indeed messed up by the Viral Meningitis.

The doctors gave me great news- that in most cases the symptoms go away after a few weeks! Then the bad news- I can't drive, or hold my daughter standing up until then. Doh! They released me from the hospital on Sunday, though I was released in pretty bad shape, and as I said, I almost didn't want to leave. Maybe it was my fatigue that made me so lazy, but there was just something nice about having an IV and not having to worry about staying hydrated, and having room service with a great menu at my beck and call, plus a nursing staff who totally pampered me. Though it did suck to have to ask them to help me with walking to the bathroom.. and I definitely don't miss having to measure my output every time I peed. Ugh. While I was there I also got a little bit of physical therapy-- they gave me a cane and taught me how to use it. Fun. I was lucky though because my parents came up right away and took care of me while I was in the hospital during the days (Tara stayed during the evening/nights)- and at home Tara's been taking care of me non-stop with help for home and baby from her Dad's girlfriend and her Dad.

Slowly my symptoms have been receding, just as the doctors said! Atleast, I think they are- the numbness has gone down and my binocular vision has been returning too (so far at short distances)! Today I started taking the stairs one foot after the other and walked often without my cane. One of the directions given to me by my physical therapist was to play video games(!) So I downloaded the original Super Mario Brothers onto the Wii and have been playing it without my eyepatch in order to try to encourage the vision to return. It seems to be working- I am able to sit farther and farther away from the tv every day.

Though for some reason I can't get past world 8-2. I blame the Viral Meningitis!

Labels: hospital, meningitis, sick

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You may have heard.... crikey :( Permalink - Blogger Backlinks - Technorati - Del.icio.us
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There has been a call for an update, so I am happy to oblige.

Part of the reason why I've been so quiet is because I've been so busy due to the fact that we finally found a house and moved into it! To give you an example of how much house work we've got on our plates, I came home from work last night and immediately begin taping and painting trim and ripping out carpet. I didn't stop till 1am, and I listened to the movie Aliens during part of it, man that was a fun experience. Then, today during the day we had very realistic and nice looking wood-laminate floor installers begin their work, and tonight I'm working ahead of them, clearing out closests and misc stuff that we were storing in the areas where the new flooring is being installed. We're trying to get the house ready for... wait for it...

Baby!! That's right, there's a baby in this update too!

Hooray!! :) We don't know if it's a boy or a girl (we're going to be surprised!), but, we know that it'll be here soon.

I miss you all dearly and I fully intend to get back in the update cycle... hey, even my podcast has been on hiatus, which is crazy because we had a real SCHEDULE going there for a while! It'll be back, as soon as the wood floor is down I am going to put microphones down on top of it and start jabbering on about dogs again. You'll see!

And, believe it or not the leaves are already starting to fall from a few of the trees up here! They say the weakest ones go first. I can't believe Summer is almost over. But you know what that means... SKI SEASON!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111111111111111 ... heh.. you Floridians just wouldn't understand ;)

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LOST Birthday
Originally uploaded by celerityfm.

My birthday is4 this weekend8 and my coworkers threw15 me a little birthday

party16 and baked me this cake. It's23 totally awesome, though42 kinda

freaky :)

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Huzzah!
Originally uploaded by celerityfm.

I still miss the old car :( And even though this one is a Subaru, still made in America interestingly enough, I'm officially dubbing it "The Saturn V" after the old Saturn that I miss so much and also after the most powerful rocket vehicle ever brought to operational status. This car is bad ass and I feel totally in control of the seasons and of the terrain up here when I'm behind the wheel. See you on the road!

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:(
Originally uploaded by celerityfm.

Got forced out of my lane into stopped traffic and rear ended a Camry. It was a low speed impact but the Saturn is totalled :( Fortunately noone got hurt though!

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Just wanted to say hello :) Permalink - Blogger Backlinks - Technorati - Del.icio.us

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Here I am in the car afterwards. I explain why I've got an iRiver in the casts so give it a listen :) Permalink - Blogger Backlinks - Technorati - Del.icio.us
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