Day 15 - The First Update

Had my first post-op doctor visit today. So far, I have lost... (que dramatic music) 25 pounds! About half that has been water weight, but the really nice thing about that is that the extra fluid around my bad knees is gone now, reducing my knee circumference by about 40%, according to the doc. This has meant that I have had no bad knee days since getting out of the hospital even with walking 1.5 miles a day! This is a big deal for me, because it was my knees going bad that started me on the road to obesity in the first place. One more week and I can start lifting weights again, which is very cool, along with a bit more cardio. So I am well on my way to getting back to being able to hike, camp, hunt, fish, etc, whenever I want to. There is also the whole "I hopefully wont be dying from weight related illnesses" part as well. A couple of downsides are getting used to the size of my stomach and I'm dealing with some monumental constipation issues, but its all good and things are clicking right along!

U.N. sets standards for new universal cell phone charger

The U.N., evidently completely out of things to accomplish, has approved technology for a universal cell phone charger.

"The U.N. telecoms agency said Friday it has approved technology for a universal cell phone charger that aims to reduce the confusion, clutter and waste caused by today's proliferation of devices."

It boggles the mind that an organization that has not satisfactorily completed any of the projects it has taken on has decided that a universal cell phone charger is so important that they wasted time and energy to "approve technology" for it. It perfectly illustrates what happens when a government or organization exists only for it's own existence.

Bariatric Surgery, or "Look Ma!, I got 7 New Holes in my Body!"

Had my surgery on Monday. Started with the usual hospital gown questions. Why do they put snaps everywhere else on the gowns except in the back, where you need them? Next, we moved on to my usual attempt to pass out while the nurse was starting an I.V. What can I say? I have always hated needles. Eventually, I was stuck, prodded, typed and cross-matched and got to lay there in pre-op for a couple hours. Glad I brought a book. Doctor came in, chatted for a moment then away I went to the staging area for surgery, or as the anesthesiologist called it, "the on-deck circle". Got some stuff to 'relax me' that most definitely should be sold in six-packs. Down to surgery and sleep we go!

Woke up in post op, evidently everything went well. Was sore, sleepy, and had 7 new shiny holes in the body! Whee! They had some trouble getting my blood pressure down, I wasn't responding to the normal meds, so they gave me a different one and it fixed me right up. Got to my room, saw my wife and the surgeon, went to sleep.

Got discharged Wednesday and some things have popped to mind about bariatric surgery. First, being required to walk up and down the halls every 4 hours while doped up on pain killers, anti-nausea and attached to enough machinery to launch a war with sucks. Having said that, the hospital I was at was top-notch. Wonderful room that my wife was able to stay with me at, great nurses and techs, and clean as a whistle! Plenty of my new favorite food group, sugar-free popcicles. There are down sides of course. A 2 ounce (yes, I said OUNCE) pouch for a stomach means that massive adjustments are being made in how I do things, but this is a good thing. Gas bubbles after bariatric surgery hurt. Alot. Catheters, well, the less said about those devices of torture, the better!

In all, I am looking forward to getting this stupid weight off so I can go back to doing all the things I used to do before my health got bad. Makes it worth it to me.

Garth is channeling Elvis!

"Garth Brooks announced today that he is coming out of retirement for a 5 year run of shows at Las Vegas' Wynn Casino. He will be doing weekend-only shows so he can still spend time with his family."

While I am a Garth fan, I couldn't help but snicker as the mental picture of him on stage in a sequined jumpsuit with the collar turned up singing "I've Got Friends in Low Places" popped into my head!

Broadband as a right?

Well, Finland has decided that fast broadband access is a legal right that everyone should have. This amazes me, as, unless I am mistaken, even electrical service isn't a legal right here in the U.S. I mean, if you cant pay for it, you are not going to get it. And from my experiences growing up way, WAY out in the middle of BFE in southeast Texas, my grandparents and my parents had to PAY the electric company to come out and run the power that last half mile to where the house was. The only 'right' we had was the right to pony up the money.

Now don't get me wrong. I love my internet access. Its one of the few modern conveniences that I truly would not want to be without (along with microwaves and digital music). But a right to fast broadband access? I don't know. Seems like another reason to have another government agency to me.

Quote of the Day + Opinion

One of my favorite Thomas Jefferson quotes, I was reminded of it today by a post on Mauser Girl's blog.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."

Big Government. The words even sound ominous. To me, it conjures up dark visions of Orwellian societies. Or maybe that movie Blue Thunder. Mainly, though, whenever I think about how large and overbearing our government has become, I think about the differences in how people acted when I was a boy and young man in the 70's and early 80's and how people act now. I attribute that change to the constant growth of government and its intrusion into every aspect of our lives.

Everywhere I go, I see the unmistakable signs of the 'sheeping' of our society. Parents no longer try to raise their children, they leave that to the schools and the government. No one tries to discuss problems or disagreements anymore, they either avoid the subjects altogether or call the police, a.k.a, the government. If someone slips on the floor of a store, they immediately sue, since surely it is someone else' responsibility to watch where they are going! If its rains so much that it threatens to flood, people wait for the 'government' to tell them to get to higher ground. If a windstorm trashes a neighborhood, the majority of people will stand around with their thumbs up their butts waiting for the 'government' to tell them to start picking up the debris. No one practices personal initiative anymore. Let people's lives get just a few degrees away from their norm and the sheeple either run around in circles bleating loudly or huddle together in a corner, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. All of these things are right in front of our eyes, yet society just puts on their 'happy-happy-joy-joy' glasses and continues along, secure in the knowledge that if something bad happens, the 'government' will take care of it!

I personally have been able to take care of myself for quite a few years now, and on those occasions where I do screw the pooch, I am entirely capable of dusting myself off and picking up the pieces of my mess. If I happen to need a hand up, I ask for one. Not a handout, nor a lifetime of someone sticking their hand up my arse and working my life. I don't want someone telling me that I can't exercise my constitutional rights. I don't want double standards. I don't want my so-called 'elected officials' trying to legislate every aspect of my life. I am a reasonably intelligent human being, able to work out my own problems, plan my own finances, and plan my own future. I neither want nor need the 'government' treating me like I am a child. I want my government to do what the constitution mandates along with the those handful of jobs that you simply have to have a government perform in this day and age of interlaced world economy. No more and no less.

How about you?