...The bump in the middle of the week. Folks call it "hump day" but it's more of a sump, really.
Not to whine overmuch -- my bum knee is a bit better after four solid nights of sleeping with a high-tech icepack on it, interspersed with days being one of those perpetually-irked cane users,* all of which has helped enormously. I count myself lucky it is so readily treated. (And that I have such a fine excuse for being crabby. Hooray?)
Besides, today is Duke Ellington's birthday! (Also that of the namesake and founder of Vassar, but we'll give him a break 'cos the institution he founded kept Grace Hopper in pretzels & beer 'til the Navy realized they needed someone who grokked electronic computers even before there were any).
Good news (of a sort) from the Atomic Nerds about Swine Flu, flu in general and the coming Zombie Plague. The last item's been called off. In all probability. Also? Gitcher dang flu shot. Now.
More good news, the weather might be just barelydecent enough (i.e., neither storming nor pouring rain) to ride my scooter to work. If I get movin' now, that is!
_________________________________
*I'm minded of a former co-worker, one of the few since Salk who still get hit by polio; he had used the same leg braces and forearm crutches for years and was something of a human volcano. One of those guys whose temper is a tourist attraction. He changed docs and the new one asked him when was the last time he'd looked into leg braces? ...Next thing we knew, he was an altogether different man: brace tech had improved to the point where he didn't need those sticks and the impact it had on his outlook and demeanor was enormous. Humans stood up on our hind legs to free up our hands -- anything that interferes with that leaves us, at best, ticked off.
Update
4 days ago
10 comments:
Did you have the opportunity to shake your cane at the kids in your yard?
To waste such an opportunity would be a pity.
Shootin' Buddy
Also? Gitcher dang flu shot. Now.
Uhh, ya might want to google up Ron Paul and the swine flu u-tube where he tells that * a lot* of people died from getting flu shots in 1976.
And 1 died from the flu.
Hmmmn.
Hm. Look into phenolic rods. A XX, or even better, C or CE 1" diameter rod will be several times stronger than wood, while still being light enough to handle. Considering your industry, you can probably get them cheaper than most folk.
(and strong is important, because practically any wood will be strong enough to bash one thug, but what if there are two?)
don't think currently available flu shots help against this strain.
Sorry to hear about your bum knee, m'dear, but as J.R. noted, canes make for fine weapons, impact or otherwise.
I like the 'hook' type canes. Great for grabbing ankles.
The '76 debacle is an argument against mobilizing the government into forcing a hastily developed vaccine on large swaths of the population, not against flu shots.
Regular flu still knocks off about thirty thousand people a year in THIS country.
My other half's Grandma was a master of the hook cane. When one of the great-grandkids was running loose, she'd hook them, reel them in and give 'em a smack on the rear to remind them to settle down. After she'd cut one loose, she'd hook another and do the same thing.
A) What LabRat said.
B) My cane is hardwood. The handle is not a crook (it's a Nixon?) because I find that shape awkward. It's a sort of swoopy gamma (or inverted L), ~ that shape in the horizontal. It is not a good weapon because I can't put any real weight on my right leg. Sucker could be made of tactical hen's-tooth unobtaniuam and it would still not be much of a weapon because you need a solid stance to use a club or staff. I'd be better off shooting, especially if I had something to lean against.
I hate having to use a cane. I loathe it. I only use it when I have to and I did not expect I would have to. Bad guess.
But will it replace shuffleboard?
Post a Comment