Bayou Renaissance Man

My wife has the crud, and I'm fighting it off.  I'm going to have a quiet Friday, and leave this blog and everything else to the vagaries of chance.  See y'all on Sunday morning.

Peter

As regular readers will know, I'm a retired pastor and committed Christian.  (Some would say I should be committed, but what to, they don't specify.)  I know we have various denominations and sects of Christianity, Islam and Judaism among our readers, as well as Hindus, Jains, Shintoists, atheists and agnostics.  That's fine with me.  I strive to get along with everyone.  I don't have the right to preach at them, just as they don't have the right to preach at me.  Provided we all offer each other respect, I see no reason why we can't get along in mutual respect.

Problems arise when some incident or report causes someone's religious convictions to ratchet upward, and they begin trying to convert others.  I'm sure they feel that what they're doing is what God would want them to do, but it's also something that will annoy others of different faiths, and might lead to serious outbreaks of division, dissent and annoyance.  Two commenters today apparently took my previous post on economic issues as a clarion call to "get right with Jesus" in preparation for whatever's coming.  As a Christian, I certainly don't disagree with them.  However, I'm quite sure many other readers don't share their opinion, and will not respond well to an impassioned appeal to "turn or burn".  I've therefore not published either comment, so as to avoid that kind of conflict.

Friends, when you post on this blog, please remember to treat others with the respect you expect to receive here.  If you don't want your faith disparaged, please don't disparage others' faith.  If you have your own predictions about what the future may hold, please don't try to force them down others' throats.  If times get tougher, don't spread gloom-and-doom about "if you don't get right with God, you're going to burn too!"

As for the "rapture" or "second coming" or "end times", none of us know when they're likely to occur.  Why not wait to find out, rather than contradict the Bible - and Jesus himself - through uninformed speculation?

Sorry if this has wasted your time, but it's been frustrating having to deal with this.  Let's do better.

Peter

By the time you read this, my wife and myself should be on our way to the DFW metroplex, where tomorrow morning a surgeon will be helping me lose weight by extracting a defective, rather dead kidney.  It used to be the case that one would stay in hospital for several days following that surgery, but thanks to medical insurance regulations and their reluctance to countenance or authorize "unnecessary" expenses (!), the current expectation is to kick me out that same day.  Thanks to your generosity, dear readers, if it should look like a better idea for me to stay an extra day or two, I'll be able to afford it - and that's an inexpressible relief, let me tell you!

I'll be grateful for your prayers, for the journey there, the preop workup and tests, the surgery, and the aftermath.  Blogging will obviously not be happening for a day or two.  I expect to be back online by Monday morning, God willing.

Thanks again.

Peter

Working on a couple of issues, so no time to blog today.  Check back tomorrow.  Thanks!

Peter

My wife and I are on the way to LibertyCon in Chattanooga.  It's our "home" convention, bringing together authors, publishers and fans for a fun weekend every year.  After that, we'll be spending a few days in Georgia, researching a new book.

Blogging will be light and intermittent for the next week and a half.  Sadly, that includes my regular meme posts, as I won't have time to browse the Web to find new material.  As and when I can, I'll put up a post or two.  Regular blogging will recommence on July 1st.

Meanwhile, please check in now and again to find anything I've been able to post;  and spend a bit of time with the bloggers listed in my sidebar.  They write good, too!

Prayers for a safe journey and a peaceful return will, as always, be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, friends.

Peter

I have to devote my attention (such as it is) to a number of issues that have been neglected for too long, so I'm afraid I won't have time to blog.  Back to normal tomorrow (hopefully).

Peter

Sorry - after a long and very stormy evening (rain, wind, hail, thunderstorms and not-too-distant tornadoes), I got to bed late, and overslept.  I'll try to put up a music post later today.

Peter

Today sees the start of our annual invitation-only Foolzcon, named initially because it was held as close as possible to April Fools Day.  Old NFO began it several years ago, and it's grown into a long weekend filled with friends, food and frolics.  We generally have a lot of fun together.

We'll have two houseguests over Foolzcon, plus our own participation in the festivities, so blogging will be light until Monday.  I'll try to put up a post here and there, but they may appear at unusual times for me.  It all depends on what we're doing, and where and with whom we're doing it.  If you get bored, amuse yourselves with the blogs listed in the sidebar.

Peter

In recent weeks, I've noticed an upsurge in comments that are vituperative, ill-tempered, downright profane attacks on other commenters, as well as very nasty things being said about certain politicians and political parties.

Folks, those comments are not going to be published here.  End of story.

I've said many times that I try to keep this blog family-friendly.  That means at least a basic level of politeness is required from those who wish to interact with other readers here.  It's not difficult, and I don't think it's unreasonable.  Simply "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  If you don't want to be referred to or talked about in foul, intemperate terms, please don't do it to others - and if you do want to be referred to or talked about in that way, I suggest you seek immediate psychiatric or psychological help rather than waste your time commenting here.

If that offends you, I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.  If you disagree, you're free to start your own blog and say whatever you please.

Peter

We've written a lot about that subject here over the years (see the sidebar for some article links), but we never stop learning - particularly from the experiences of others.  After the Los Angeles fires, there's a lot more of that out there.

Eaton Rapids Joe has just published three articles on his blog that you may find useful:

New "Preppers"

New Preppers: The Time-Distance-Options relationship

New Preppers: Stay or Go?

In the third of those articles, he also linked to a classic article originally published in 1989:

Backpack Fever

It examines the pro's and con's (there are many of the latter!) of "bugging out" with a backpack to avoid a dangerous situation.  There are times when one may have no choice in the matter (the Los Angeles fires being a prime example), but in general it's best to stay put and ride out a disaster in one's home (assuming one has applied basic forethought to one's preparations).

Recommended reading, all of them.

Peter

Well, I can say for sure that the surgery on Wednesday accomplished quite a lot.

Prior to the procedure, the urologist had indicated that there were still blockages preventing my kidney from draining.  The constant pressure of fluid inside the organ had produced what's called hydronephrosis:  the kidney had swelled and contorted, putting a lot of stress on it, and preventing that half of the urinary tract from working properly.  She drove a camera up the ureter, the tube transporting urine from the kidney to the bladder, and found that kidney stone fragments were actually embedded in its walls.  She thinks they'd been broken up by earlier procedures, but had not been properly removed or flushed out, so as they ground their way down the ureter they'd become caught up in scar tissue (also the fruit of those earlier procedures) and attached themselves, becoming ureteral stones.  Due to their number and position, they had continued to partly block the ureter and prevent kidney drainage, thus perpetuating the problem.  (I'll be having words with the local urologist who performed those earlier procedures, and didn't do a very good job, to put it mildly!)

She took a laser to them, and up into the kidney as well, "dusting" every stone and blockage she could find.  She also installed an extra-large ureteric stent, to allow any remaining fragments to drain down the ureter into the bladder without attaching themselves to anything.  For the first twelve hours or so after I woke up, it did indeed feel like sand or fine gravel was coming out along with the urine, but by midday yesterday that had (thankfully!) almost completely passed.

I'm here to tell you, things are sure draining now!  I wrote earlier about the absorbent underwear I use after such procedures (because with a ureteric stent, one has no control over urine flow - when it comes, it comes, and you normally don't have time to get to a bathroom).  They have a maximum absorption capacity of about a quart.  Well, in the first 24 hours after the procedure, I went through six of them!  Even if not all were filled to capacity, that's still a lot of liquid, and it's had a dramatic effect on my pain levels.  I hadn't realized just how much stress a contorted, swollen kidney puts on any and every physical movement involving the abdomen.  I'd say it added at least 25% to my permanent pain level, caused by my spinal injury and nerve damage all those years ago.  With the sudden decrease in pressure, I'm finding it much easier and less painful to lift my legs, maneuver my body into a car seat, and that sort of thing.  I'm also regaining my appetite.  I took my wife out for a steak last night, to celebrate the improvement.  She says she hasn't seen me eat so much at one sitting for at least six months.

So, I've still got a ways to go, but this latest procedure has already greatly improved my situation.  I'll be going in again in about four weeks' time to have the stent removed, and also to undergo more tests to determine whether the drainage has done the job, or whether further intervention will be needed.  Needless to say, I'm hoping it won't;  but if it is, I think I'll be in very good hands to get it done.

Blogging will be irregular today, because I'm kinda worn out, and will catch up on sleep as and when I can.  However, so far, so good.  Thank you all very much for your prayers and good wishes.  I greatly value them.

Peter

I'm heading down to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex this morning, for yet another surgical procedure on my kidney.  This one's to examine the state of the organ after three previous procedures in a local hospital, about which I wrote extensively earlier this year.  According to the DFW specialist - whom I'm told is one of the top urologists in the country - they appear not only to have failed to cure the problem (hydronephrosis), but may actually have damaged the organ and/or the tube(s) leading from it to the bladder.  Apparently there is scar tissue buildup that is cause for concern.  Today's procedure is to assess the state of my kidney, and decide whether a more invasive procedure will be able to save it, or whether a complete removal will be necessary.

Needless to say, I'm not thrilled about all that . . . or about the prospect of another month or two with an internal stent, which is (to say the least) highly uncomfortable.  When you add it on top of my 24/7/365 pain from my disabling spinal injury, it makes me an unhappy camper.  In spades.  The fact that this will be my 26th procedure under full anesthetic makes it even worse.  One can't help wondering if, one of these days, one isn't going to wake up.  This gets old, quickly.

I won't be in blogging mode for at least two days, Wednesday and Thursday.  All being well, I'll be able to post something on Friday 11/15:  but if I'm admitted to hospital for a longer period, that may not work well, either.  If that happens, I'll ask my wife to put up a progress report, either here or on her blog.  Also, I won't be around to moderate comments, so if you leave one, don't expect it to appear until I'm able to get back to my computer.

I'll be very grateful for prayers for healing and Divine mercy, if you share my faith in such things.  If you don't, think kindly thoughts at me and the surgical team.

Peter

We have to go down to the Metroplex (DFW), which is a five-hour return trip plus time spent down there.  It won't leave any time for blogging, so please amuse yourselves with the blogs listed in the sidebar.  They write good, too!

Peter

We have lots of bits and pieces to accomplish today, in preparation for a gathering over the weekend, work commitments, and some upgrades to bits and bobs like cellphones.  Blogging will be delayed for a few hours while we sort that out.  Thanks for your patience!

Peter

I'm still dealing with health issues, and everything else going on in life, the universe and all the rest.  It's sometimes (often) just too wearing to have to come up with a Saturday Snippet on a regular basis, particularly if the days immediately prior have been very busy.

Therefore, for the foreseeable future, I'm taking Saturdays off blogging - with the exception of anything major developing out there, or if I find something that's really worth sharing.  So, there may be a Saturday blog post now and again, but not on a regular basis.  Sunday Morning Music posts will continue, I hope.

Peter

My wife and I will be on the road for a few days, doing some book research and visiting related sites.  Blogging will be intermittent, as and when I can find time (and an Internet connection) to upload something.  We'll get home (God willing) on Sunday, so normal blogging service should resume next Monday.

Peter

It's about 2.30 am on Saturday morning, and I still haven't gone to bed.  Working too hard, not able to switch off my mind and relax.  So, I'm afraid there's no Snippet today;  instead, I'll have a last cup of tea, then head to bed and just lie there until my eyes decide it's OK to close.

Peter

I'm updating the publication text of various books published by my wife and myself;  fixing errors spotted by readers, re-formatting sections, and so on.  (Don't worry:  the content and storylines won't change at all!)  This is occupying a lot of my time at the moment, so I won't be posting more blog content for the rest of today.  Please amuse yourself with the bloggers in the sidebar.  They write good, too!

Peter

I've noted in the past that there are times when Google simply doesn't seem to know what to do with Comments on this blog (and others).  The Blogger platform sometimes deletes comments as soon as they're made, before I get a chance to view them;  at other times, it memory-holes comments that have already appeared on the blog.

Now - at least, for the past week or two - Blogger appears to be sending some perfectly valid comments to Spam, without giving me a chance to moderate them.  What's worse, they appear to be mostly by regular commenters here, who've established a good track record of no spam comments, no profanity, etc. - in other words, no reason to block them or their comments.  I've "un-spammed" at least six comments like that over the past couple of days, and am now forced to manually check my Spam folder a couple of times a day to see whether any others have been redirected there.

I've no idea why this is happening.  I'm very frustrated by it, but the Blogger team don't appear to answer queries at the best of times, so I don't know whether they'll provide any explanation this time round.  I'm sorry for any heartburn this causes commenters - but again, I have no idea why it's happening.

Peter

I overdid it yesterday, sorting out things at home and trying to catch up with what's been neglected during my weeks of medical treatment.  As a result, I'll have to head to the doctor this morning to check on a couple of backward steps, and see if anything is needed to fix them.

Blogging will be interrupted until I get back.  More later.

Peter