Taxi should get here in 5 min or so.
Then it's off to the hospital.
Strange mix of nervous and exciting. Of course I didn't sleep much last night. All this waiting will do that to ya ;)
Ah well
See ya on the other side.
Jim
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Turn it up to ELEVE.... easy there tiger.
It's funny.
One of the hardest things so far is not "finding the motivation". Quite the opposite. It's reigning it in. I've got so much pent up energy that the real struggle is "not cutting loose". It's good though. It's a long road ahead and not having to search for motivation will be a big plus. I'll be searching instead for patience and discipline. Slow and steady win this race.
One of my favourite sayings at the moment to remind myself has become "Don't be a hero".
I look forward to being able to get back to the gym.
Strength training flows well with my condition. Part of strength training is "pushing to failure". Unlike cardio, where you go for long periods and slowly grind yourself down, strength training comes is bursts. You push hard till you can't push. You literally go till your body fails you. Then you rest and push again... till you fail again.
It's a concentrated blast of punishment.
I find that it suits my current situation well.
After I've exhausted myself, I can relax. I've done all I can. I crawl over to the pool and the hot-tub. I love Aqualand (my gym).
It'll be a week or so till I can get back to it.
We'll see how it goes.
Till then, I think I get to live in the internet for a while.
Jim
One of the hardest things so far is not "finding the motivation". Quite the opposite. It's reigning it in. I've got so much pent up energy that the real struggle is "not cutting loose". It's good though. It's a long road ahead and not having to search for motivation will be a big plus. I'll be searching instead for patience and discipline. Slow and steady win this race.
One of my favourite sayings at the moment to remind myself has become "Don't be a hero".
I look forward to being able to get back to the gym.
Strength training flows well with my condition. Part of strength training is "pushing to failure". Unlike cardio, where you go for long periods and slowly grind yourself down, strength training comes is bursts. You push hard till you can't push. You literally go till your body fails you. Then you rest and push again... till you fail again.
It's a concentrated blast of punishment.
I find that it suits my current situation well.
After I've exhausted myself, I can relax. I've done all I can. I crawl over to the pool and the hot-tub. I love Aqualand (my gym).
It'll be a week or so till I can get back to it.
We'll see how it goes.
Till then, I think I get to live in the internet for a while.
Jim
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Junkies are all the same
I'm used to hearing the reactions of pilots when someone quits hang gliding or paragliding.
It's always the same.
There's this denial and shock. In general, it's a mad mental scramble to find ways that "you can still fly!". Like "just give it time" and such. It's a bit comedic really.
See, for a lot of pilots, this isn't something we take up lightly. It's a lifelong passion and we are complete and utter addicts. And of course, we naturally assume that everyone else is too. For us giving up the sport is akin to giving up breathing. We can't fathom not flying and thus we can not fathom anyone else not flying. There's a bit of comedy in this narrow minded thinking. But everyone does it.
So it's been kinda interesting telling people I'm never skiing again.
That statement alone illicits the exact same reaction.
I'm definitely outside the looking glass. It's a strange perspective that I've not had before. I understood it, but it's quite an other thing to see it up close and personal.
Everyone tells me about their friend that's torn their ACL and continued to ski. They use braces and strength training and la-de-da.
Oh the disappointment in their faces when they see that their stories aren't swaying me.
For a while I tried to explain how I wasn't really into skiing in the first place. To them of course, this just sounds like denial. Nevermind that I only skied a handful of times 15-20 years ago. I'm seriously not that into it. But they don't understand how someone can not love it as much as they do.... ah, just like flying ;)
Even if I did love it though, it's not worth it.
The thing people miss is it's not about my physical ability to ski. I should eventually be well enough to go skiing, but I just can not go through this again.
But try explaining that to a junkie ;)
It's always the same.
There's this denial and shock. In general, it's a mad mental scramble to find ways that "you can still fly!". Like "just give it time" and such. It's a bit comedic really.
See, for a lot of pilots, this isn't something we take up lightly. It's a lifelong passion and we are complete and utter addicts. And of course, we naturally assume that everyone else is too. For us giving up the sport is akin to giving up breathing. We can't fathom not flying and thus we can not fathom anyone else not flying. There's a bit of comedy in this narrow minded thinking. But everyone does it.
So it's been kinda interesting telling people I'm never skiing again.
That statement alone illicits the exact same reaction.
I'm definitely outside the looking glass. It's a strange perspective that I've not had before. I understood it, but it's quite an other thing to see it up close and personal.
Everyone tells me about their friend that's torn their ACL and continued to ski. They use braces and strength training and la-de-da.
Oh the disappointment in their faces when they see that their stories aren't swaying me.
For a while I tried to explain how I wasn't really into skiing in the first place. To them of course, this just sounds like denial. Nevermind that I only skied a handful of times 15-20 years ago. I'm seriously not that into it. But they don't understand how someone can not love it as much as they do.... ah, just like flying ;)
Even if I did love it though, it's not worth it.
The thing people miss is it's not about my physical ability to ski. I should eventually be well enough to go skiing, but I just can not go through this again.
But try explaining that to a junkie ;)
Friday, July 02, 2010
Silver lining
So, don't get me wrong... this sucks. No bones about it, I'd trade it in a heartbeat.
But...
It does provide an interesting perspective.
See, there's an old saying everyone knows... "You don't know what you've got till it's gone".
It was put very well in Fight Club
Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel's life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted.
And, my favourite... Lucky Number Slevin...
The unlucky are nothing more than a frame of reference for the lucky. You are unlucky, so I may know that I am not. Unfortunately the lucky never realizes they are lucky until it's too late. Take yourself for instance; yesterday you were better off than you are off today but it took today for you to realize it. But today has arrived and it's too late. You see? People are never happy with what they have. They want what they had, or what someone else has.
So I am in a unique position.
I know what I have and more so, what I am about to lose. Albeit temporarily and thankfully so.
I can very well right now. My knee is in very good shape, as it needs to be for my operation. I remember the day after my accident when I couldn't even put weight on my leg. I was confined to crutches and felt like quite the invalid. It's a strange place when you have to struggle to put on a sock. I know what that world looks like. I've been there twice. And in just over a week, I'll be there again.
The strange part is I'm looking forward to it.
It's going to suck.
A lot.
But, it's the road back.
I have a thought ringing in my head... "I have the most amazing life... I'm very keen to get back to it". When I'm struggling, this is what keeps me going. And I've not yet even begun to struggle. So I push hard at the gym. And it's very easy to push hard. I want my life back... it's easy to find the will power. Almost too easy sometimes. I have to be careful not to push too hard.
But then there's this interesting spot I'm in.
It's not easy knowing you will struggle to so much as shower. Stairs will be mountains. Temporary fortunately. And here I am now. I'm in good shape. I'm quite mobile... I can even drive a manual car, something I won't be able to do soon. And I'm working on being even stronger.
Going to the gym is easy.
I wonder how long it will take to get back to this level. I know how long it takes to get past it and that's the joy of the small hell I'm about to go through... I get to go past where I am even now.
Odd stuff in this head of mine ;)
Jim
But...
It does provide an interesting perspective.
See, there's an old saying everyone knows... "You don't know what you've got till it's gone".
It was put very well in Fight Club
Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessel's life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and I have ever tasted.
And, my favourite... Lucky Number Slevin...
The unlucky are nothing more than a frame of reference for the lucky. You are unlucky, so I may know that I am not. Unfortunately the lucky never realizes they are lucky until it's too late. Take yourself for instance; yesterday you were better off than you are off today but it took today for you to realize it. But today has arrived and it's too late. You see? People are never happy with what they have. They want what they had, or what someone else has.
So I am in a unique position.
I know what I have and more so, what I am about to lose. Albeit temporarily and thankfully so.
I can very well right now. My knee is in very good shape, as it needs to be for my operation. I remember the day after my accident when I couldn't even put weight on my leg. I was confined to crutches and felt like quite the invalid. It's a strange place when you have to struggle to put on a sock. I know what that world looks like. I've been there twice. And in just over a week, I'll be there again.
The strange part is I'm looking forward to it.
It's going to suck.
A lot.
But, it's the road back.
I have a thought ringing in my head... "I have the most amazing life... I'm very keen to get back to it". When I'm struggling, this is what keeps me going. And I've not yet even begun to struggle. So I push hard at the gym. And it's very easy to push hard. I want my life back... it's easy to find the will power. Almost too easy sometimes. I have to be careful not to push too hard.
But then there's this interesting spot I'm in.
It's not easy knowing you will struggle to so much as shower. Stairs will be mountains. Temporary fortunately. And here I am now. I'm in good shape. I'm quite mobile... I can even drive a manual car, something I won't be able to do soon. And I'm working on being even stronger.
Going to the gym is easy.
I wonder how long it will take to get back to this level. I know how long it takes to get past it and that's the joy of the small hell I'm about to go through... I get to go past where I am even now.
Odd stuff in this head of mine ;)
Jim
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Zen Master
I am the zen master.
I don't really have a choice in the matter, but since I am a big believer in cognitive therapy, I have to be.
Ok, hang with me... this one takes a little to get through...
For the uninitiated, it kinda goes like this...
You have some control over that little voice in your head and the way you allow yourself to think about things has a definite impact on your well being.
People call it perspective, or "the glass is half..." There are many ways of expressing it. But the end product is the same. If you walk around "reminding yourself" that "everything sucks!", then it will. If however, you do the opposite, it has the opposite effect.
So.
My flight home from Christchurch today was diverted. We wound up getting bussed up from an other town because the Queenstown airport was snowed in. This is not unheard of, but having snow all the way to the valley floor is uncommon.
Now, I'm not going to tell you that having all kinds of fresh powder on the mountains doesn't hurt a bit. Knowing that I screwed myself up on the one bad day in an otherwise epic season is a bit stingy as well. However, dwelling on this is a very bad idea.
Once I start down that road, I get to make a scorecard of "how it could have been". This is not a mentally healthy process. This is the way of the half empty glass. Though it is a very tempting road, it clouds your vision of what you do have.
So I'm sitting in the bus, looking out the window when someone mentions the epic snow we're getting today. For a moment, pain. Then, I think... "no". "Look out the window you idiot." Before me is the amazing snow capped beauty of the Southern Alps. It is truly stunning. People travel half way around the world to see this. I'm in a bus full of them. And I live here!
I can choose to wallow in misery. Or I can appreciate what I do have and focus on how to enjoy it. It is a conscious decision and it does actually matter (that's the cognitive therapy bit if ya care).
My day instantly got brighter.
And not a surface brighter, I truly felt better.
Nothing had changed but the direction I allowed my thoughts to wander in. It's a deliberate mental action and it does work. It's not 100%, but it helps.
Ah, the stuff that goes through my head before I fall asleep ;)
Cheers
Jim
I don't really have a choice in the matter, but since I am a big believer in cognitive therapy, I have to be.
Ok, hang with me... this one takes a little to get through...
For the uninitiated, it kinda goes like this...
You have some control over that little voice in your head and the way you allow yourself to think about things has a definite impact on your well being.
People call it perspective, or "the glass is half..." There are many ways of expressing it. But the end product is the same. If you walk around "reminding yourself" that "everything sucks!", then it will. If however, you do the opposite, it has the opposite effect.
So.
My flight home from Christchurch today was diverted. We wound up getting bussed up from an other town because the Queenstown airport was snowed in. This is not unheard of, but having snow all the way to the valley floor is uncommon.
Now, I'm not going to tell you that having all kinds of fresh powder on the mountains doesn't hurt a bit. Knowing that I screwed myself up on the one bad day in an otherwise epic season is a bit stingy as well. However, dwelling on this is a very bad idea.
Once I start down that road, I get to make a scorecard of "how it could have been". This is not a mentally healthy process. This is the way of the half empty glass. Though it is a very tempting road, it clouds your vision of what you do have.
So I'm sitting in the bus, looking out the window when someone mentions the epic snow we're getting today. For a moment, pain. Then, I think... "no". "Look out the window you idiot." Before me is the amazing snow capped beauty of the Southern Alps. It is truly stunning. People travel half way around the world to see this. I'm in a bus full of them. And I live here!
I can choose to wallow in misery. Or I can appreciate what I do have and focus on how to enjoy it. It is a conscious decision and it does actually matter (that's the cognitive therapy bit if ya care).
My day instantly got brighter.
And not a surface brighter, I truly felt better.
Nothing had changed but the direction I allowed my thoughts to wander in. It's a deliberate mental action and it does work. It's not 100%, but it helps.
Ah, the stuff that goes through my head before I fall asleep ;)
Cheers
Jim
Monday, June 21, 2010
Ortho
Not a lot of time at the moment... so I'll fill in the details later.
Saw my Orthopedic surgeon today.
Good stuff. Amazed I got to be seen so soon.
Gotta run.
Jim
Saw my Orthopedic surgeon today.
Good stuff. Amazed I got to be seen so soon.
Gotta run.
Jim
WOOT!
I'm scheduled in for an MRI today!!!!!
Surgery possibly tomorrow morning!
Someone's getting a big box of chocolates!!!!
I don't have a ton of time to write this up, so it might come in spurts, we'll see. I gotta make sure I've got all my ducks in a row first.
Anyway,
I call down to my Doctor's nurse to get a new referral slip for the Ortho in Christchurch... she let's me know that... WOOPS!... he's a back specialist! OH NOES!
Can I tell you how much my heart sunk!
She then says she's going to do some calling and will get back to me.
I hang up and start banging away on my list of ortho numbers in CRCH.
I'm getting Early/Mid July quotes, so not all horrible.... then...
I get one nurse that sees that I'm booked in for tomorrow with the back specialist. She informs me that, as I know, I'm not likely to get a better appointment... prob mid July at best... and I should keep my appointment. He does do knee work, he's just a back specialist.
Ok, better than nothing right?
At least I'll get the consultation out of the way and hopefully the MRI at least scheduled.
Then....
My local nurse calls back.
Holy crap!.... she's already got me scheduled in for an MRI. Says I should just jump in a cab at the airport and boogie over cuz it's at 3:30.
She's also got me slated up with the surgeon!!!!
HOLY CRAP I'M HAPPY!
Jim
Surgery possibly tomorrow morning!
Someone's getting a big box of chocolates!!!!
I don't have a ton of time to write this up, so it might come in spurts, we'll see. I gotta make sure I've got all my ducks in a row first.
Anyway,
I call down to my Doctor's nurse to get a new referral slip for the Ortho in Christchurch... she let's me know that... WOOPS!... he's a back specialist! OH NOES!
Can I tell you how much my heart sunk!
She then says she's going to do some calling and will get back to me.
I hang up and start banging away on my list of ortho numbers in CRCH.
I'm getting Early/Mid July quotes, so not all horrible.... then...
I get one nurse that sees that I'm booked in for tomorrow with the back specialist. She informs me that, as I know, I'm not likely to get a better appointment... prob mid July at best... and I should keep my appointment. He does do knee work, he's just a back specialist.
Ok, better than nothing right?
At least I'll get the consultation out of the way and hopefully the MRI at least scheduled.
Then....
My local nurse calls back.
Holy crap!.... she's already got me scheduled in for an MRI. Says I should just jump in a cab at the airport and boogie over cuz it's at 3:30.
She's also got me slated up with the surgeon!!!!
HOLY CRAP I'M HAPPY!
Jim
Sunday, June 20, 2010
One at a time
So that's step one.
I'm just so happy to be in the pipeline right now.
It's not all roses yet, but I am feeling better about things.
What I'm expecting is that I'll get up to Christchurch and have a visit with the doc. Probably get an MRI, or maybe just get booked for an MRI, but hopefully actually get one. Then, after that confirms what is extremely obvious, that my ACL is completely detached... then I'll get booked in for surgery. No clue what the timetable for that one will be. Hopefully not too long. And if it is long, hopefully there will be someone/anyone in NZ that'll be able to do it sooner.
See, the need the MRI I'm sure not only to confirm things, but also to have a good idea of how to proceed. I know from the doc here that this is surgery time. So confirmation is just a formality. So I'll get there and "get in line" (make an appointment) for surgery.
Till then, it's just "killing time".
On the upside, I get to see my friends up in Christchurch. :)
I'm just so happy to be in the pipeline right now.
It's not all roses yet, but I am feeling better about things.
What I'm expecting is that I'll get up to Christchurch and have a visit with the doc. Probably get an MRI, or maybe just get booked for an MRI, but hopefully actually get one. Then, after that confirms what is extremely obvious, that my ACL is completely detached... then I'll get booked in for surgery. No clue what the timetable for that one will be. Hopefully not too long. And if it is long, hopefully there will be someone/anyone in NZ that'll be able to do it sooner.
See, the need the MRI I'm sure not only to confirm things, but also to have a good idea of how to proceed. I know from the doc here that this is surgery time. So confirmation is just a formality. So I'll get there and "get in line" (make an appointment) for surgery.
Till then, it's just "killing time".
On the upside, I get to see my friends up in Christchurch. :)
Ortho
Holy crap, I get to be seen on Wed!
WOOT!
Ok, so here's the long story.
The doc on Saturday wrote me up a referral for a guy in Dunedin (close-ish city) and said I'd get an appointment in the mail over the next couple days. If I didn't hear something in a few weeks, I should enquire.
Yeah... no.
Don't think so.
Of course I was on the phone at 9am today. You better believe I'm not sitting around waiting a few weeks for an appointment in the mail... what is this? The 1930s?
Well I'm glad I called.
Cuz the first available appointment is in... OCTOBER!
Bzzzrt!
WRONG!
I gotta tell ya... My heart sunk a bit.
It didn't get better when they told me that all of the orthos in Dunedin would be booked up like that as well.
I called up a mate of mine that's a nurse and asked him what he'd do.
He said to phone around Christchurch... an other city that's just a bit further away.
That worked out a bit better.
I was hearing things more like "August" and even "Mid July" :)
But when I heard "How about Wednesday?"... I did have to pause for a second and ask "this Wednesday??".
WOOT!
Ok, so here's the long story.
The doc on Saturday wrote me up a referral for a guy in Dunedin (close-ish city) and said I'd get an appointment in the mail over the next couple days. If I didn't hear something in a few weeks, I should enquire.
Yeah... no.
Don't think so.
Of course I was on the phone at 9am today. You better believe I'm not sitting around waiting a few weeks for an appointment in the mail... what is this? The 1930s?
Well I'm glad I called.
Cuz the first available appointment is in... OCTOBER!
Bzzzrt!
WRONG!
I gotta tell ya... My heart sunk a bit.
It didn't get better when they told me that all of the orthos in Dunedin would be booked up like that as well.
I called up a mate of mine that's a nurse and asked him what he'd do.
He said to phone around Christchurch... an other city that's just a bit further away.
That worked out a bit better.
I was hearing things more like "August" and even "Mid July" :)
But when I heard "How about Wednesday?"... I did have to pause for a second and ask "this Wednesday??".
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Woops
Well that was pretty stupid.
After not skiing for something like 15 years, I jump back into the deep end on someone else's skis.. and without adjusting the bindings. Moron.
So how'd it happen?
Was out skiing with a mate. It was really really icy, but things were going well. I'd been out on the Greens for a while and things were going well. We headed up to the peak and started carving up the blues.
Down one of the harder blues (black?), I fell over. I don't exactly remember much of going down... classic "It's all a blur"... but I do recall the moment when I thought "shit.. this is where the bindings let go"... and then they didn't. That didn't feel good.
When I stopped sliding, I felt good that I'd been smart enough to wear a helmet. My knee was feeling painful, but not a sharp pain. I laid there for a bit and the pain subsided.
When I got up, it wasn't feeling bad, so I tried to turn down the hill and ski easy and slow, but fell right over. I unclipped and tried to walk down, but my knee had no strength and I feel right over.
My friend called ski patrol and they carted me down.
One interesting bit of the story...
All the emergency people that attended to me... women. Heck, even my friends that I was skiing with ;) Even the people that carted me down the hill. Well... there was one guy... he drove the snowmobile that drug us the last bit to the emergency shack.
Anyway
Nope, no pain.
That's apparently how these ones go.
When I got down to the medical center in town for x-rays, the doc there said I'd totally broken off my ACL... "It's gone" she said, kinda to herself and kinda to me. I thought she was joking for a second.
So next up I get scheduled for surgery.
It's Sunday here, so that's not happening till at least tomorrow. It's likely going to be a bit slower process as well cuz I'll prob have to have an MRI first, then schedule the surgery la la la.
But the sooner I get into the pipeline the better.
"Normal" recovery is something like six weeks. I'm a tad skeptical since I took the damn thing completely off. We'll see.
Oh, as some have been asking... yes, this is covered by the government insurance program.
Jim
After not skiing for something like 15 years, I jump back into the deep end on someone else's skis.. and without adjusting the bindings. Moron.
So how'd it happen?
Was out skiing with a mate. It was really really icy, but things were going well. I'd been out on the Greens for a while and things were going well. We headed up to the peak and started carving up the blues.
Down one of the harder blues (black?), I fell over. I don't exactly remember much of going down... classic "It's all a blur"... but I do recall the moment when I thought "shit.. this is where the bindings let go"... and then they didn't. That didn't feel good.
When I stopped sliding, I felt good that I'd been smart enough to wear a helmet. My knee was feeling painful, but not a sharp pain. I laid there for a bit and the pain subsided.
When I got up, it wasn't feeling bad, so I tried to turn down the hill and ski easy and slow, but fell right over. I unclipped and tried to walk down, but my knee had no strength and I feel right over.
My friend called ski patrol and they carted me down.
One interesting bit of the story...
All the emergency people that attended to me... women. Heck, even my friends that I was skiing with ;) Even the people that carted me down the hill. Well... there was one guy... he drove the snowmobile that drug us the last bit to the emergency shack.
Anyway
Nope, no pain.
That's apparently how these ones go.
When I got down to the medical center in town for x-rays, the doc there said I'd totally broken off my ACL... "It's gone" she said, kinda to herself and kinda to me. I thought she was joking for a second.
So next up I get scheduled for surgery.
It's Sunday here, so that's not happening till at least tomorrow. It's likely going to be a bit slower process as well cuz I'll prob have to have an MRI first, then schedule the surgery la la la.
But the sooner I get into the pipeline the better.
"Normal" recovery is something like six weeks. I'm a tad skeptical since I took the damn thing completely off. We'll see.
Oh, as some have been asking... yes, this is covered by the government insurance program.
Jim
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Jetlag
It's 4am and I actually feel like I've slept in?
Hahaha, jetlag can be so much... fun?
Ah, so good to be back though :)
I'm staying at Abi's so there's no stuff to move since he was holding on to what little gear I had over here. Sorry, no great "moving" stories.
I thought all this "white dirt" would take a bit of getting used to, but man.. what growing up in the stuff does to you eh? What do they say... "like riding a bike". Oh how nice it is that it's up there in the mountains but not down here! Living in slush I think was my most hated aspect of winter. And true to form, so far it's in the 40s. Very tolerable.
Flying over the skifield yesterday made me a bit itchy to get out the skis :) Hahaha, much fun having a season pass for work. Oh darn, will have to use that.
The truck's batteries were a bit dead. A little inspection though revealed low water levels. So that's #1 on the list today. Gotta have wheels ;)
It was a bit sad, as it always is, leaving everyone back in the States. But man oh man, it is good to be back. Even with the cold. I'm back in my "happy place".
Jim
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Some flights are just too cool. I flew a young girl the other day... 9ish? She was a little nervous... kids are either apprehensive or no-fear. No worries... I've flown lots of kids before... you gear down and do things a bit differently and it's all good. If we were doctors, you'd call it "bedside manner". We had a nice flight and she had a good time. She went off to say hi to daddy while I broke down the glider. Back in the van driving back to town, I got to chat with the dad. Let me tell ya... having dad thank you for doing such a good job with his little girl... that she had a wonderful time... (he entrusted you with his kid and you came up aces).. well, sometimes I get to feel like a superhero.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
A fun coincidence
Today the weather cut work short. Big ole Westerly started blowing hard around noon and shut us down. Well, I've been meaning to figure out some technical stuff about my wii and songs I download for Rock Band on it.
So I start with "More Human than Human" by White Zombie. It's a good rockin song that I wanted to practice anyway. Later on, I'm surfing the news and there's this list of the top 15 dystopian movies. It's a good list and I now have a few more movies to watch ;) Naturally, the #1 movie is Blade Runner. Well, there's a Wikipedia link which leads me to the "Immortal Game" (famous Chess match)... oh, and "More Human than Human". The song's title and some lyrics are from Blade Runner.
I had fun showing my flatmate Hector the chess scene (he's a big chess fan) and just seeing all the stuff Zombie had referenced (More Human than Human is the slogan of the company that makes the androids in the movie).
Jim
So I start with "More Human than Human" by White Zombie. It's a good rockin song that I wanted to practice anyway. Later on, I'm surfing the news and there's this list of the top 15 dystopian movies. It's a good list and I now have a few more movies to watch ;) Naturally, the #1 movie is Blade Runner. Well, there's a Wikipedia link which leads me to the "Immortal Game" (famous Chess match)... oh, and "More Human than Human". The song's title and some lyrics are from Blade Runner.
I had fun showing my flatmate Hector the chess scene (he's a big chess fan) and just seeing all the stuff Zombie had referenced (More Human than Human is the slogan of the company that makes the androids in the movie).
Jim
Thursday, November 05, 2009
You've got great veins!
It's an odd compliment, but I'll take it.
I get that every time I go to get stabbed. This one was for my yearly MRI that I get to keep my Pilot Medical current. I have a "stent" in my neck which is a little piece of tubing that keeps one of my arteries open. They like to keep an eye on it.
To see what they need to see, they inject me with some dye... so they can see the blood flowing (through the stent).
I like that I always get the "you've got great veins" bit cuz I carries the unspoken implication that it's not going to hurt :)
Which it doesn't
I get that every time I go to get stabbed. This one was for my yearly MRI that I get to keep my Pilot Medical current. I have a "stent" in my neck which is a little piece of tubing that keeps one of my arteries open. They like to keep an eye on it.
To see what they need to see, they inject me with some dye... so they can see the blood flowing (through the stent).
I like that I always get the "you've got great veins" bit cuz I carries the unspoken implication that it's not going to hurt :)
Which it doesn't
!
Nope, it wasn't the adjustment... the clutch is buggered.
Fortunately there was a mechanic shop on the way to my appointment this morning, so I just stopped in there. He gave it a quick fix adjustment (it's simple to do) but said it would need replacing.
Not to worry as Haagen had told me of a Subaru wrecker in town. For the unfamiliar, think of a wrecker as a dedicated junkyard with a mechanic. I'll try and remember to get pics when I pick the car up.
So when I got there, it was like driving into a Subaru graveyard... loads of every kind of Subaru in every kind of condition (except new!). Perfect. While the cars at the wreckers, I'll be hanging out in Dunedin (it's done on Monday... it's Friday now).
Fortunately there was a mechanic shop on the way to my appointment this morning, so I just stopped in there. He gave it a quick fix adjustment (it's simple to do) but said it would need replacing.
Not to worry as Haagen had told me of a Subaru wrecker in town. For the unfamiliar, think of a wrecker as a dedicated junkyard with a mechanic. I'll try and remember to get pics when I pick the car up.
So when I got there, it was like driving into a Subaru graveyard... loads of every kind of Subaru in every kind of condition (except new!). Perfect. While the cars at the wreckers, I'll be hanging out in Dunedin (it's done on Monday... it's Friday now).
A mild panic
Holy crap do I love the internet.
I drove down to Dunedin today. Just as I got there, my clutch got all funny on me. *OH NOES!*
The way it was before, it would engage about half way through it's travel. This took me a bit to get used to, but I did. I'm used to clutches grabbing very quickly.
Everything was normal till I stopped a few K's out to check my map. After that there was a big change in where the clutch grabbed. Now it was nearly immediate. First gear got pretty hard to get to as well. Oh crap... did the clutch just die?
Off to the internet to see if I could find out some info.
Most of it didn't sound like a burnt clutch, although some stuff did say that having difficulty getting into gear was one sign.
A bit more digging and I found out that clutches have an auto-adjustment if you pull the clutch pedal towards the seat... which I've done. I may have done this as well when I stopped to check the map.
The guy that wrote it said that he didn't like the auto-adjusters cuz they set the clutch annoyingly close to the floor... sound familiar?
There's a way to check for sure (stall it in 2nd like you're learning to drive stick). That'll have to wait for tomorrow.
Jim
I drove down to Dunedin today. Just as I got there, my clutch got all funny on me. *OH NOES!*
The way it was before, it would engage about half way through it's travel. This took me a bit to get used to, but I did. I'm used to clutches grabbing very quickly.
Everything was normal till I stopped a few K's out to check my map. After that there was a big change in where the clutch grabbed. Now it was nearly immediate. First gear got pretty hard to get to as well. Oh crap... did the clutch just die?
Off to the internet to see if I could find out some info.
Most of it didn't sound like a burnt clutch, although some stuff did say that having difficulty getting into gear was one sign.
A bit more digging and I found out that clutches have an auto-adjustment if you pull the clutch pedal towards the seat... which I've done. I may have done this as well when I stopped to check the map.
The guy that wrote it said that he didn't like the auto-adjusters cuz they set the clutch annoyingly close to the floor... sound familiar?
There's a way to check for sure (stall it in 2nd like you're learning to drive stick). That'll have to wait for tomorrow.
Jim
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A new perspective
I'll have to dig out some pics... I shot a few on the way, I'm just feeling lazy at the moment.
So I took a bus down to Dunedin (town, 4 hours away) to visit some friends. The bus was pretty empty, and well, I don't have to drive, so I took a snooze in the back (long seat). I woke up in a town called Roxboro. We were stopping to gas up.
Here's where it gets neat.
Roxboro sounded very familiar, but I was sure I'd never been their before. Then it dawns on me... it was a waypoint on one of my cross country flights for my pilot license. Ok, big woop right? Well yeah, but then I noticed a huge contrast.
See, before, driving down to Dunedin (I've gone a bunch of times) was like heading out into the great unknown. Sorta like driving in the desert in a way, though much more beautiful. You sorta have this detached, out in the middle of nowhere feeling cuz you're in unfamiliar land. You know the road is going to end... eventually... somewhere.
Well that was gone.
In a big way.
I'd flown over where I was and where I was going. I had a really good picture in my head of the whole shooting match. I was no longer adrift on an ocean of strange, I was plodding around in my back yard.
Kinda neat.
So I took a bus down to Dunedin (town, 4 hours away) to visit some friends. The bus was pretty empty, and well, I don't have to drive, so I took a snooze in the back (long seat). I woke up in a town called Roxboro. We were stopping to gas up.
Here's where it gets neat.
Roxboro sounded very familiar, but I was sure I'd never been their before. Then it dawns on me... it was a waypoint on one of my cross country flights for my pilot license. Ok, big woop right? Well yeah, but then I noticed a huge contrast.
See, before, driving down to Dunedin (I've gone a bunch of times) was like heading out into the great unknown. Sorta like driving in the desert in a way, though much more beautiful. You sorta have this detached, out in the middle of nowhere feeling cuz you're in unfamiliar land. You know the road is going to end... eventually... somewhere.
Well that was gone.
In a big way.
I'd flown over where I was and where I was going. I had a really good picture in my head of the whole shooting match. I was no longer adrift on an ocean of strange, I was plodding around in my back yard.
Kinda neat.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Back in Black :)
Ah, back in Queenstown :)
I'm going to post up some of the stuff I've been using facebook for lately.
It dawns on me that I can't find it quickly later if it's there and there's just some stuff I want up that doesn't fit in facebook well.
Like my new home :)
Google Street View
Woo Hoo
This year was super easy.
A friend of mine, Jose, contacted me on facebook cuz he heard I'd be looking for a place and he needed flatmates for the summer. He's located in the perfect part of town in a very nice place. Bingo.
So this year, I just landed at the airport... Jose picked me up and we drove into town (how cool is that!... usually, I'm struggling to get to town), I drop my stuff off and catch up with Ian who's heading up the hill for a fly... OK. We have amazing flights, it's an uncommonly good day to fly, and then head over to the climbing wall to drop in on Nial and Shane on our way to the hot tubs at Aqualand.
What a nice way to come home :)
Jim
I'm going to post up some of the stuff I've been using facebook for lately.
It dawns on me that I can't find it quickly later if it's there and there's just some stuff I want up that doesn't fit in facebook well.
Like my new home :)
Google Street View
Woo Hoo
This year was super easy.
A friend of mine, Jose, contacted me on facebook cuz he heard I'd be looking for a place and he needed flatmates for the summer. He's located in the perfect part of town in a very nice place. Bingo.
So this year, I just landed at the airport... Jose picked me up and we drove into town (how cool is that!... usually, I'm struggling to get to town), I drop my stuff off and catch up with Ian who's heading up the hill for a fly... OK. We have amazing flights, it's an uncommonly good day to fly, and then head over to the climbing wall to drop in on Nial and Shane on our way to the hot tubs at Aqualand.
What a nice way to come home :)
Jim
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