This feed does not validate.
In addition, interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.
<rss version='2.0' xmlns:lj='http://www.livejournal.org/rss/lj/1.0/' xmlns: ...
<rss version='2.0' xmlns:lj='http://www.livejournal.org/rss/lj/1.0/' xmlns: ...
line 92, column 0: (2 occurrences) [help]
<description><i><b>NOTE</b>: Although I have done my ver ...
<description>Sammie's blood sugar was 36 yesterday morning, so I took ...
<description>My friend Brooke <span class="ljuser i-ljuser i-lj ...
<description>My friend Brooke <span class="ljuser i-ljuser i-lj ...
</channel>
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' ?><!-- If you are running a bot please visit this policy page outlining rules you must respect. https://www.livejournal.com/bots/ --><rss version='2.0' xmlns:lj='http://www.livejournal.org/rss/lj/1.0/' xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' xmlns:atom10='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom'><channel> <title>Eben Brooks’ Music, Art, & Life Blog</title> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/</link> <description>Eben Brooks’ Music, Art, & Life Blog - LiveJournal.com</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 27 Apr 2017 17:39:52 GMT</lastBuildDate> <generator>LiveJournal / LiveJournal.com</generator> <lj:journal>ebenbrooks</lj:journal> <lj:journalid>2448461</lj:journalid> <lj:journaltype>personal</lj:journaltype> <image> <url>https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/87528538/2448461</url> <title>Eben Brooks’ Music, Art, & Life Blog</title> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/</link> <width>100</width> <height>100</height> </image> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/577372.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 27 Apr 2017 17:39:52 GMT</pubDate> <title>Update re: Moving</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/577372.html</link> <description>Since Tumblr was a bust, I looked at Dreamwidth. It has the advantage of running on the same platform as LJ and having many of the same features. So I created an account: ebenbrooks.dreamwidth.org<br /><br />If you have an account there, let me know. I'll follow it.<br /><br />I'm not <i>quite</i> abandoning LJ yet, but it might be coming soon.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/577372.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>lj</category> <lj:mood>tired</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/577048.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 24 Apr 2017 20:58:22 GMT</pubDate> <title>I'm moving</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/577048.html</link> <description><s>No, I'm not moving out of my house. Rather, I'm moving this blog to Tumblr: <a target='_blank' href='https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ebenbrooks' rel='nofollow'>https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ebenbrooks</a><br /><br />So if you have a Tumblr blog, feel free to follow me, and also let me know to follow you. Thanks.</s><br /><br />EDIT: Scratch that. Seems Tumblr is a lot more limited than I thought it was. I'll continue looking for a decent blog platform.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/577048.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576838.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 13 Apr 2017 03:42:03 GMT</pubDate> <title>New song</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576838.html</link> <description><b>I Am Groot</b><br /><br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br /><br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot!<br /><br />(repeat first verse and chorus)<br /><br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot, I am Groot<br />I am Groot!<br /><br />(repeat first verse twice)</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576838.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>silliness</category> <category>geekiness</category> <category>comics</category> <category>composing</category> <lj:mood>creative</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576651.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 03 Apr 2017 17:45:22 GMT</pubDate> <title>David Morgan-Mar hits it on the head</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576651.html</link> <description><p>Today's <a href="http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/3635.html" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><i>Irregular Webcomic</i></a> has a long discussion of tabletop role-playing games, their rules, and the different approaches to creating them that Morgan-Mar has encountered throughout the years. One part of this essay goes into the differences between computer "role-playing games" and their tabletop namesakes. In my opinion, Mr. Morgan-Mar's analysis is spot-on:</p> <blockquote><p>The essential component of [tabletop roleplaying games] that distinguishes them from board games, and even from modern computer "roleplaying games" (which have borrowed the terminology), is that in a roleplaying game you take on the role of a character and you can choose to do anything that character could do in their world. A computer roleplaying game, even one styled as a "wide open" sandbox is still a very tightly restricted sandbox. You might be able to travel anywhere on the game map and talk with or fight any creature you come across, but you can't climb a tree, hack off a branch, and carve it into a set of dominoes. You can't sit in a pub nursing a beer and pondering wistfully over a lost love while flicking peanuts at the bard attempting to perform in the corner. In a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, you can.</p> <p>It's the flexibility of having a human game moderator that allows your character to do, or at least try to do, anything you can imagine that gives roleplaying games their intense fascination, at least for me. I love the freedom of roleplaying games, played face to face with other people. But I've played a few computer "roleplaying games" and very quickly gave them up because of how uninteresting and uninteractive I found them, though I recognise that many other people enjoy them immensely for other good qualities that they possess. It's a totally different experience, and I think that co-opting the name "roleplaying games" for computer games does a disservice both to them and to the traditional face-to-face games.</p></blockquote> <p>This is pretty much exactly how I feel about tabletop role-playing games versus their computer analogues. I've long been of the opinion that "role-playing game" when applied to a computer game is a major misnomer, especially when referring to the earlier attempts at such, like <i>Wizardry</i>, <i>Ultima</i>, <i>Dragon Warrior</i>, or <i>Final Fantasy</i>. Even more recent incarnations of the computer "role-playing game"&mdash;such as the <i>Elder Scrolls</i>, <i>Dragon Age</i>, or <i>Fallout</i> series&mdash;are really just storytelling games that give you some options as to a) how your character looks, b) what your character does, and c) how your character responds to dialogue or situations. In the best of these, the story can be told in several ways that are sufficiently different from each other that it continues to be fun (just look at how long I've been playing <i>Skyrim</i> for an example), but it's still fundamentally the same story. Even a game that can be heavily modded, like <i>Skyrim</i>, can only be pushed so far before the technical limitations of the engine are reached.</p> <p>But a tabletop role-playing game is truly limitless. No two games, even played by the same people with the same characters using the same rules and the same setting, are ever the same. The story arbiter (usually called a Game Master) is in control of the setting&mdash;which includes the game world, the people and creatures in it, and the situations that the player characters find themselves in. But the players themselves are in control of their characters, and characters can (and often do) completely derail the intended story and take the game in a completely unexpected direction. And this is what I love about them. As a player in a tabletop role-playing game, I am a co-author of the story along with the GM and the other players, whereas in <i>Skyrim</i> or <i>Dragon Age</i>, I'm always playing someone else's story. It may be a good story, a fun story, a very engaging story&mdash;but it's never mine.</p> <p>So thank you, David Morgan-Mar, for putting into words something I've felt for a very long time but hadn't been able to adequately express.</p></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576651.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>gaming</category> <category>'puter</category> <category>comics</category> <lj:mood>thoughtful</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>2</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576345.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 31 Mar 2017 18:20:59 GMT</pubDate> <title> Five reasons why Horizon: Zero Dawn's protagonist is awesome</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576345.html</link> <description><i><b>NOTE</b>: Although I have done my very best to avoid all spoilers, I cannot guarantee that there aren't things in this article that some would consider minor spoilers for the story of</i> Horizon: Zero Dawn<i>. So consider this a MINOR SPOILER WARNING.</i><br /><br />My sweetie got me a copy of <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/horizon-zero-dawn-ps4/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><i>Horizon: Zero Dawn</i></a> a couple of weeks ago, and I have been enthralled with it from the moment I put it in my PS4 and started playing. The writing is top-notch, the graphics are incredibly beautiful, and the game play is challenging without being brutal. But the thing that both impresses and entrances me the most is the protagonist, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2017/02/13/horizon-zero-dawn-the-origin-of-aloy-the-hunter/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Aloy</a>.<br /><br />When most people think of action RPG main characters, what usually comes to mind is either the bland but still masculine dude (like <a href="http://deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Adam_Jensen" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Adam Jensen</a> of <i>Deus Ex: Human Revolution</i> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Drake_(character)" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Nathan Drake</a> of the <i>Uncharted</i> series) or the hypercompetent, hypersexualized woman (like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Lara Croft</a> of <i>Tomb Raider</i>* or the eponymous PC in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonetta" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Bayonetta</a></i>). Certainly there are exceptions&mdash;for instance, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geralt_of_Rivia" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Geralt of Rivia</a> from the <i>Witcher</i> series is certainly masculine, but no one would call him bland; and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samus_Aran" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Samus Aran</a> of <i>Metroid</i> is almost always completely covered in battle armor&mdash;but the stereotypes are strong enough that it's often hard to see past them.<br /><br />Aloy, however, is a particularly noteworthy exception, for many reasons. Here are five of them:<br /><br /><img src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/86/d2/64/86d264ed51947269bbc3fcac57cf2dff.jpg" align="left" hspace="5" fetchpriority="high"><b>1. She is attractive, but not objectified</b><br /><br />Face it: video game protagonists, like movie and TV show stars, are almost never ugly**. Aloy is not an exception to this. She is, in fact, quite attractive, as the portrait here clearly shows. But although that attractiveness is always present, it is never overemphasized. Her outfits are sensible and non-revealing (with one <a href="https://images.nowloading.co/images/c_limit,q_auto,w_710/nptapcsm8e2f38qjcdjw/credit-sony-interactive-entertainment.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">notable exception</a>), there are no titillating semi-nude cut scenes, and she's leered at exactly once (by a guy who probably leers at every woman he meets). Her attractiveness is simply <i>there</i>, and it neither drives nor detracts from the story.<br /><br />And not only do very few of the other characters in <i>Horizon: Zero Dawn</i> remark upon her attractiveness, Aloy herself doesn't even emphasize it. She doesn't dance or prance or wiggle her pants; she doesn't strut, pout, or put it out. She moves naturally and non-suggestively, she wears little to no makeup, and she barely acknowledges the few compliments on her appearance that she receives (though she isn't by any means rude about it). In fact, for all practical purposes, Aloy's attractiveness is <i>entirely incidental</i> to the game***. And that is exactly as it should be.<br /><br /><b>2. She has a distinct personality</b><br /><br />Video game characters are often fairly blank slates as far as personality is concerned. In most cases, this is deliberate&mdash;the less a PC seems like a unique person, the more the player can project his or her own personality onto the character. But Aloy is quite different in this respect. While she has qualities that are similar to those of many game heroes (courage, compassion, a strong sense of justice, etc.), she is also sarcastic, a bit selfish, a little naïve, and (at least at first) fairly reckless. More importantly, though, she learns and grows over the course of the story so that her early recklessness and naïveté are tempered as she progresses through her journey. And even though she never loses her essential "goodness", she retains her selfishness as well. It's never obtrusive or irritating, but it is there.<br /><br />It is these small contradictions in her character that make her feel like a real, living, breathing person. Yes, the player does have some control over a few of her conversational responses (where we are given the choice of being <i>clever</i>, <i>compassionate</i>, or <i>confrontational</i>&mdash;indicated with the icons of a brain, a heart, and a fist, respectively), but her core personality isn't altered by these choices. Rather, they feel like coequal pieces of her self, and the choice the player makes in how to respond is just a gentle push that tips Aloy's decision toward one of the three options. Even her life-or-death decisions don't ever feel out of character, no matter which way the player directs her. When all of this is taken together, it is clear that Aloy is no mere proxy for the player, but a fully developed character of her own. A sympathetic one, to be sure, but definitely distinct.<br /><br /><b>3. Her story is rich, deep, and detailed</b><br /><br />The main story and quest of <i>Horizon: Zero Dawn</i> is fundamentally Aloy's story. As much as it impacts the entire world in which she lives, it is also a deeply personal trial for her&mdash;one in which she discovers more about who she is than perhaps she ever wanted to know. As the player, we are brought into Aloy's story almost from the very moment of her birth; and although large chunks of time are passed over between her infancy, childhood, and young adulthood, we know pretty much everything about Aloy from the very beginning. There isn't much in the way of exposition with regards to her backstory&mdash;because we play <i>through</i> her backstory. We as players know almost as much about Aloy as Aloy does.<br /><br />This makes the personal nature her journey feel immediate and compelling, as if it is <i>our</i> journey as well. Every piece of information she discovers reveals a little bit more about her origins, and Aloy is learning it right alongside us. These discoveries also reveal information about the world around Aloy, and it changes her relationship to it. Sometimes the discoveries are wondrous, sometimes they are scary, and sometimes they are like an emotional gut-punch&mdash;and we experience these reactions right alongside her.<br /><br />Most importantly, none of the elements of Aloy's story feel trite, superfluous, or unbelievable. There are none of the elements of abuse or emotional trauma that make up so many other female protagonists' backstories, and nothing feels like it was shoe-horned in out of some sense of "drama" or "realism". Bad things happen to her, certainly, as they must happen to anyone on a hero's journey, but there is never a sense of arbitrariness in them. It's clear that the writers took great care to avoid most of the shortcuts that others have taken when writing about heroic women.<br /><br /><b>4. Her motivations (almost) never feel forced or contrived</b><br /><br />This is closely related to the previous two points, but it is distinct enough that I wanted to highlight it. From the very beginning, Aloy's motivations are clear. They aren't <i>static</i>, but they are never mysterious. When the main questline goes in a particular direction, we know why Aloy is doing what she is doing. Even for the majority of the side quests, major and minor, the reasons for Aloy's participation are clear and feel natural. There are only a few of the smaller optional side missions where this breaks down and it starts to feel like a more typical computer RPG experience ("Hi! I'm running around doing good things for people because I need XP and more stuff. Got any errands I can run?"). But those are, thankfully, few and far between. Even the so-called "Hunters' Trials" make sense in context, because it's perfectly reasonable for Aloy to want to get better at a skill that helps ensure her survival.<br /><br />All of this contributes to the sense of Aloy being a distinct individual with real emotions and desires rather than an empty shell for the player to fill with his or her own personality. It also makes the story feel organic and logical in its progression. Though we as players are definitely "on a rail" in terms of the unfolding of the main quest, we don't mind because it feels perfectly natural.<br /><br /><b>5. Her sex makes <i>exactly</i> as much difference to the story as it has to&mdash;no more, no less</b><br /><br />Aloy is a young woman, and that fact is never glossed over or ignored. But neither is it ever artificially emphasized. For the most part, Aloy is judged based on her ability and experience, and the fact that she is female doesn't enter into it. The times when she is treated in a dismissive or condescending way are usually due to her culture of origin ("outsider"/"outlander") or social status ("outcast"). Furthermore, the few instances where her being a woman <i>does</i> make a difference in how she is dealt with <i>make sense</i> in the context of the story. Basically, Aloy's femaleness is almost never treated as an obstacle to her getting what she wants. There is one exception to this, but it's because of a particular character's intransigence rather than any kind of institutionalized sexism.<br /><br />This is not to say that her being a woman is completely incidental. Although the story doesn't necessarily <i>require</i> a female protagonist, having the player character be a young woman just feels <i>right</i> somehow. Maybe it's a symptom of our society's inherent sexism that I can even consider a female PC as being "appropriate" to a story, but I can't help but think that some of the subtler aspects of the narrative would be either lost or very different were the PC a young man instead. Of course, there are a few places in the game where her being a woman quite <i>obviously</i> matters, but thankfully these are neither terribly important to the progression of the story nor gratuitous sexual situations, either positive or negative.<br /><br />When it comes right down to it, Aloy is simply Aloy&mdash;a young woman trying to find out more about herself and save her world, just like every other hero, male <i>or</i> female.<br /><br />-------<br /><br /><small>* However, I feel that the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_(2013_video_game)" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">2013 reboot</a> of the <i>Tomb Raider</i> franchise went a long way towards toning down the "sex object" aspects of Croft&mdash;a very good thing, given that she is supposed to be only 16 years old in that game!<br /><br />** Not even the so-called "Ugly Betty" of the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805669/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">eponymous TV program</a>. Even the IMDb description of the show just refers to her as "slightly less attractive" than the supermodels she works with.<br /><br />*** Okay, so her hairstyle is maybe a bit impractical for someone who engages in so much combat&mdash;but so is <a href="http://68.media.tumblr.com/08213385bf8af8ceb10396b9d521d7ef/tumblr_nqmrlidhcD1ur1moro4_r1_1280.png" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Geralt of Rivia</a>'s. And <a href="https://i0.wp.com/media2.slashfilm.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/thor-darkworld-hemsworth-serious.jpg" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Thor</a>'s.</small><a name='cutid1-end'></a></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576345.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>gaming</category> <category>yay!</category> <category>wow!</category> <category>geekiness</category> <media:title type="plain">Meditation Radio station on Pandora</media:title> <lj:music>Meditation Radio station on Pandora</lj:music> <lj:mood>good</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576123.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 28 Mar 2017 20:17:32 GMT</pubDate> <title>Sick and tired</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576123.html</link> <description>I am sick and tired.<br /><br />And I'm also sick and tired of being sick and tired.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/576123.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>mental health</category> <category>emotional hoo-hah</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:mood>sick</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575993.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2017 20:48:59 GMT</pubDate> <title>Darn it...</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575993.html</link> <description>Love Boat Sushi in RB has transmogrified into Love Boat Express, and in the process of doing so it eliminated two thirds of what I liked from its menu. I walked there, saw nothing I wanted, and walked back. Ended up going to Poké Go instead.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575993.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>curmudgeonliness</category> <category>food</category> <category>exercise</category> <lj:mood>irritated</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575721.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2017 19:22:37 GMT</pubDate> <title>Quack cures</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575721.html</link> <description>I keep seeing emails with this subject line:<br /><br />"MAYO TINNITUS CURE"<br /><br />Seriously, if I could cure my tinnitus with mayo, I'd have done it a long time ago...</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575721.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>silliness</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:mood>irritated</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575425.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Mar 2017 16:13:34 GMT</pubDate> <title>Guess I'm tired today...</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575425.html</link> <description>I opened my workspace in the knowledge base I'm working on and read one of the article titles as "How to Ruin Reports".<br /><br />It was, of course, <i>Run</i>, not Ruin...</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575425.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>wilsonisms</category> <category>work</category> <lj:mood>tired</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575019.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:20:12 GMT</pubDate> <title>Working out what's going on</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575019.html</link> <description>First, an update: I'm okay. Not completely recovered (not even close), but no longer unable to swallow. I never did get the hang of the lidocaine syrup, but the amoxicillin seems to have knocked whatever is infecting me back on its heels. I feel like I'm on the mend.<br /><br />That being said, I was very confused most of yesterday. I definitely had symptoms that were flu-like, including fever, which pointed at the influenza virus. But the antibiotic was working, which indicated some kind of bacterial infection. When I woke up this morning, though, I realized that the answer was obvious: I had both! The flu must have weakened my immune system enough that the sinus infection I'd had three weeks ago could re-establish itself. This then likely weakened my immune system even more, which made both infections worse than they would have been separately&mdash;thus, from Monday to Thursday morning, I was getting worse rather than better. When the antibiotic started to work on the sinus infection, however, that gave my immune system some breathing room to start fighting the virus off.*<br /><br />I still feel like hell. But I no longer feel like I'm <i>dying</i>.<br /><br />-------<br /><br /><small>* All of this is pure conjecture. Although it's based on a fairly sound understanding of basic human pathology, I'd have to have multiple tests and cultures done to verify any of it. The train of reasoning I used to arrive at the referenced conclusion should be considered a result of my somewhat obsessive need to feel like I understand things rather than any kind of true diagnosis.**<br /><br />** I'm actually a bit proud of myself for being able to admit this. There was a time when I would have defended such an armchair, back-of-the-envelope diagnosis as if it were fact. I'm very glad that I've been able to make progress in my ability to recognize when I might be bullshitting myself. I guess the next step is getting to the point where I don't feel the <i>need</i> to bullshit myself...</small></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/575019.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>physical health</category> <media:title type="plain">"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by CSNY</media:title> <lj:music>"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by CSNY</lj:music> <lj:mood>sick</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>4</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574774.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Mar 2017 14:54:36 GMT</pubDate> <title>Illness sucks and blows, simultaneously</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574774.html</link> <description>This morning (at 4:30), I had to go to the ER because my throat was so sore that I could not swallow. I was given lidocaine in a syrupy liquid form to gargle, plus amoxicillin. I'm uncertain about the antibiotic, but since the sore throat has been getting progressively worse since Monday, I guess I'd better just take the stuff. The gargle is ... weird. I can't gargle it effectively when it's syrupy, but diluting it with water seems to make it not work so well. Maybe I need to find the right ratio.<br /><br />Also, since I'm out of both sick days and vacation at work, it looks like I'm going to need to file a short term disability claim. Hurrah.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574774.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>physical health</category> <category>work</category> <lj:mood>sick</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>2</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574536.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Mar 2017 17:07:21 GMT</pubDate> <title>Illness sucks</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574536.html</link> <description>Somehow, somewhere, I got the flu. In fact, I'm pretty sure I know where. A guy at work has been coming in despite being sick for a week now. And neither he nor his boss would listen to us (the two of us who share the office with him) when we asked that he not do that.<br /><br />So now I'm pretty sure I have what he had. And my boss is not happy. I can only hope that this clears up by tomorrow.<br /><br />EDIT: Oh, and don't ever make congee with powdered ginger. I did because I felt so crappy that I didn't want to spend the time it would take to grate the fresh ginger I have. But it came out tasting really off. I'm still going to eat it (it's not <i>that</i> terrible), but I won't make that mistake again.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574536.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>food</category> <category>physical health</category> <category>work</category> <lj:mood>sick</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>3</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574375.html</guid> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Mar 2017 17:09:09 GMT</pubDate> <title>Spoiler-free review of Logan</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574375.html</link> <description>Utterly and relentlessly grim. Don't go see it.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574375.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>reviews</category> <category>movies</category> <lj:mood>disappointed</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574179.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 02 Mar 2017 01:23:36 GMT</pubDate> <title>A target</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574179.html</link> <description>This man could not have made himself a better target if he'd painted a bulls-eye on his face and went to the shooting range.<br /><br />Just read this article: <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/1/1639068/-Rage-filled-Tennessee-minister-is-LIVID-wicked-women-are-donating-to-Planned-Parenthood-in-his-name" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Rage-filled Tennessee minister is LIVID wicked women are donating to Planned Parenthood in his name</a><br /><br />He went on YouTube to rant and rave about someone donating to Planned Parenthood in his name&mdash;which he found out about because Planned Parenthood sent him a "thank you" card in the mail.<br /><br />Many of us have been donating to various organizations in DJT's name or the VP's name or the Speaker's or Senate Majority Leader's name. But they have vast bureaucratic machines to deal with floods of mail like the cards that Planned Parenthood sends out, and by now I'm sure they all understand that such "revenge donations" are part of the whole 'being a politician' package.<br /><br />This minister has <i>no idea</i>. And he has no bureaucracy in place to deal with it. And he has <i>a freaking YouTube channel</i> with which to tell the world about how apoplectic he is that liberals are doing this to him.<br /><br />So .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. let's bury him! Why? Because doing so will encourage those who might otherwise be too scared or too discouraged to act. It will give them hope that something they can do will have an impact. After all, Minister Locke posted that ranting video after receiving only one card. ONE! And because he posted that video, a Daily Kos user found it and told one of their correspondents about it, who then wrote the above-linked article&mdash;thus informing thousands of other people that <i>one person's</i> action provoked such a response.<br /><br />Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood closest to him: <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-middle-east-tennessee" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee</a>. And here is his information, which anyone donating should put into the "Honoree" section of the donation form:<br /><br />Greg Locke <br />c/o Global Vision Bible Church <br />2060 Old Lebanon Dirt Rd<br />Mt Juliet, TN 37122<br /><br />Heck, for that matter, why stop at Planned Parenthood? I'm sure he'd be just as pissed off if he received letters from the <a href="http://www.hrc.org/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Human Rights Campaign</a>, the <a href="https://action.aclu.org/secure/protect-rights-freedoms-we-believe-8" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ACLU</a>, or the <a href="http://now.org/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">National Organization for Women</a>.<br /><br />I think I have some charitable donations to make! Hee hee heee!</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/574179.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>videos</category> <category>acoustic philosophy</category> <category>saving the world</category> <category>religion</category> <category>charity</category> <category>politics</category> <category>press</category> <category>working class superheroics</category> <lj:mood>satisfied</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>5</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573780.html</guid> <pubDate>Sat, 18 Feb 2017 20:08:42 GMT</pubDate> <title>One of those days</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573780.html</link> <description><p>I'm having one of those "to hell with everything" days. And I feel like quoting a song.</p> <blockquote><p>The world is overrated; why take part?<br />It's gone straight to Hell in a shopping cart<br />It's easier to disappear, and when you do, you'll find me here<br />Grooving to the broken glasses' clink<br />Holding court in the Kingdom of Drink</p> <p>&mdash;"Kingdom of Drink" by Stew, off of <i>Something Deeper Than These Changes</i></p></blockquote></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573780.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>song quotes</category> <category>alcohol</category> <category>emotional hoo-hah</category> <lj:mood>apathetic</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573692.html</guid> <pubDate>Sun, 29 Jan 2017 23:47:05 GMT</pubDate> <title>A thought for today</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573692.html</link> <description><p>&ldquo;Why, this is Hell, nor am I out of it...&rdquo;</p><br /><p align="right">&mdash;Mephisopheles, <i>Doctor Faustus</i>, Act I, Scene 3, by Christopher Marlowe</p></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573692.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>stage quotes</category> <category>mental health</category> <category>money</category> <category>emotional hoo-hah</category> <category>physical health</category> <category>work</category> <category>theater</category> <category>literature</category> <lj:mood>discontent</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573320.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 03 Jan 2017 21:25:47 GMT</pubDate> <title>My Sammie-girl is in the hospital again, and I need help</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573320.html</link> <description>Sammie's blood sugar was 36 yesterday morning, so I took her to the VCA. She's still there, and she'll be there until tomorrow. This visit is going to cost me close to $7,000, total, and I just don't have it. So I started a crowdfunding campaign to help me pay for the expense.<br /><br /><lj-embed id="172" /><br /><br />(If you can't see the widget, you can <a href="https://www.youcaring.com/sammie-728069/" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">click here</a> to go to the campaign.)<br /><br />I've raised one-tenth of one percent of what I need so far. Please help! Thank you.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/573320.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>money</category> <category>cats</category> <category>emotional hoo-hah</category> <lj:mood>worried</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572674.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2016 00:25:52 GMT</pubDate> <title>R.I.D.* 2016, you motherf***er...</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572674.html</link> <description>The <i>short</i> list of prominent deaths in 2016:<br /><br /><b>January</b><br />10th: <b>David Bowie</b>, age 69, liver cancer<br />11th: <b>David Margulies</b> (actor: <i>Ghostbusters</i>, <i>The Sopranos</i>, etc.), age 78, natural causes<br />14th: <b>Alan Rickman</b>, age 69, pancreatic cancer<br />15th: <b>Dan Haggerty</b> (actor: <i>The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams</i>), age 74, spinal cancer<br />18th: <b>Glenn Frey</b> (of The Eagles), age 67, complications following intestinal surgery<br />26th: <b>Abe Vigoda</b>, age 94, natural causes<br /><br /><b>February</b><br />4th: <b>Edgar Mitchell</b> (sixth man on the moon), age 85, natural causes<br />6th: <b>Dan Gerson</b> (screenwriter: <i>Big Hero 6</i>, <i>Monsters, Inc.</i>, etc.), age 49, brain cancer;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Dan Hicks</b> (singer-songwriter, principally of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks), age 74, liver cancer<br />13th: <b>Antonin Scalia</b>, age 79, natural causes (possibly helped along by having one of the most stressful jobs in the entire fucking world)<br />14th: <b>Drewe Henley</b> (Red Leader in <i>Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope</i> and <i>Rogue One: A Star Wars Story</i>), age 75, natural causes<br />15th: <b>Vanity</b> (of the 80's pop band Vanity 6), age 57, renal failure<br />16th: <b>Boutros Boutros-Gali</b> (former Secretary General of the UN), age 93, complications from a fall<br />18th: <b>Umberto Eco</b>, age 84, pancreatic cancer<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Harper Lee</b>, age 89, natural causes<br />28th: <b>George Kennedy</b> (actor: <i>Cool Hand Luke</i>, etc.), age 91, heart disease<br /><br /><b>March</b><br />6th: <b>Nancy Reagan</b>, age 94, heart failure<br />8th: <b>Sir George Martin</b>, age 90, natural causes<br />10th: <b>Keith Emerson</b> (of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), age 71, suicide by gunshot<br />16th: <b>Frank Sinatra, Jr.</b>, age 72, heart attack<br />22nd: <b>Rob Ford</b> (former crack-smoking Mayor of Toronto), age 46, liposarcoma<br />23rd: <b>Joe Garagiola, Sr.</b> (baseball player and sportscaster), age 90, natural causes<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Ken Howard</b> (actor: <i>The White Shadow</i>, <i>1776</i>, etc.), age 71, natural causes<br />24th: <b>Garry Shandling</b>, age 66, blood clot<br />28th: <b>Peggy Fortnum</b> (illustrator of the <i>Paddington Bear</i> book series), age 96, natural causes<br />29th: <b>Patty Duke</b>, age 69, sepsis<br /><br /><b>April</b><br />6th: <b>Merle Haggard</b>, age 79, complications from pneumonia<br />8th: <b>Scooter</b> (oldest living domesticated cat), age 30, natural causes<br />12th: <b>James Bond</b>, age 70, natural causes ... What? No, not THAT James Bond. The Australian Navy officer. Geesh...<br />13th: <b>Gareth Thomas</b> (actor: <i>Blake's 7</i>, etc.), age 71, heart failure<br />17th: <b>Doris Roberts</b>, age 90, stroke<br />20th: <b>Chyna</b>, age 46, accidental overdose<br />21st: <b>Prince</b>, age 57, accidental overdose<br /><br /><b>May</b><br />6th: <b>Candye Kane</b> (former porn actress, blues singer-songwriter), age 54, pancreatic cancer<br />14th: <b>Darwyn Cooke</b> (comic book artist and writer: <i>DC: The New Frontier</i>, <i>The Spirit</i>, etc.), age 53, cancer<br />19th: <b>John Berry</b> (of the Beastie Boys), age 52, frontal lobe dementia<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Morley Safer</b> (TV journalist: <i>60 Minutes</i>, etc.), age 84, pneumonia<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Alan Young</b> (actor: <i>Mister Ed</i>, <i>The Time Machine</i>, etc.; and voice actor: <i>DuckTales</i>, etc.), age 96, natural causes<br />28th: <b>Harambe</b> (gorilla), age 17, shot<br /><br /><b>June</b><br />3rd: <b>Muhammad Ali</b>, age 74, septic shock<br />6th: <b>Sir Peter Shaffer</b> (playwright: <i>Amadeus</i>, <i>Equus</i>, etc.), age 90, natural causes<br />19th: <b>Anton Yelchin</b>, age 27, blunt traumatic asphyxia<br /><br /><b>July</b><br />3rd: <b>Richard Grayson</b> (composer, pianist, and <s>former sidekick of Batman</s> er, whoops, wrong guy...), age 75, natural causes (Yeah, he was way too young to have been Robin...)<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...but this one's for real. <b>Noel Neill</b> (Lois Lane), age 95, natural causes<br />17th: <b>Fred Tomlinson</b> (composer of Monty Python's "The Lumberjack Song"), age 88, natural causes<br />27th: <b>Jerry Doyle</b> (actor: <i>Babylon 5</i>, etc.), age 60, complications from chronic alcoholism<br /><br /><b>August</b><br />2nd: <b>David Huddleston</b> (actor: <i>The Big Lebowski</i>, <i>Blazing Saddles</i>, etc.), age 85, heart and kidney disease<br />8th: <b>Ali Baba</b>, age 75, natural causes ... What? No, not THAT Ali Baba. The Pakistani writer. Geesh. THAT Ali Baba would be, what? Something like 1,500 years old now?<br />9th: <b>Barry Jenner</b> (Admiral Ross on <i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</i>), age 75, acute myeloid leukemia<br />11th: <b>Glenn Yarbrough</b> (folk singer), age 86, complications from dementia<br />13th: <b>Kenny Baker</b>, age 81, undisclosed illness<br />29th: <b>Gene Wilder</b>, age 83, complications from Alzheimer's disease<br /><br /><b>September</b><br />1st: <b>Jon Polito</b> (actor: <i>The Rocketeer</i>, <i>Homicide: Life on the Street</i>, etc.), age 65, multiple myeloma<br />24th: <b>Bill Nunn</b> (actor: <i>Do the Right Thing</i>, <i>Spider-Man</i>, etc.), age 63, leukemia<br />25th: <b>Arnold Palmer</b>, age 87, natural causes<br /><br /><b>October</b><br />20th: <b>Michael Massee</b> (actor: <i>The Crow</i>, <i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i>, etc.), age 64, stomach cancer<br />22nd: <b>Steve Dillon</b> (comic book artist: <i>Hellblazer</i>, <i>Preacher</i>, etc.), age 54, appendicitis<br /><br /><b>November</b><br />7th: <b>Leonard Cohen</b>, age 82, complications from a fall<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Janet Reno</b>, age 79, Parkinson's disease<br />11th: <b>Robert Vaughn</b>, age 83, acute leukemia<br />24th: <b>Florence Henderson</b>, age 82, heart failure<br />25th: <b>Fidel Castro</b>, age 90, natural causes<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<b>Ron Glass</b> (Shepherd Book on <i>Firefly</i>), age 71, respiratory failure<br /><br /><b>December</b><br />8th: <b>John Glenn</b>, age 95, natural causes<br />11th: <b>Bob Krasnow</b> (co-founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), age 82, natural causes<br />13th: <b>Alan Thicke</b>, age 69, ruptured aorta<br />14th: <b>Bernard Fox</b> (actor: <i>The Mummy</i>, <i>The Rescuers</i>, <i>Titanic</i>, etc.), age 89, heart failure<br />18th: <b>Zsa Zsa Gabor</b>, age 99, heart failure<br />24th: <b>Richard Adams</b> (author: <i>Watership Down</i>, etc.), age 96, natural causes<br />25th: <b>George Michael</b>, age 53, suspected heart failure<br />27th: <b>Carrie Fisher</b>, age 60, complications from a heart attack<br />28th: <b>Debbie Reynolds</b>, age 84, stroke<br />29th: <b>Cyril deGrasse Tyson</b> (civil rights activist and father of Neil deGrasse Tyson), age 89, natural causes<br />31st: <b>William Christopher</b> (Father Mulcahy on <i>M*A*S*H</i>), age 84, small cell carcinoma<br /><br />-------<br /><br /><small>* <i>Requiescat in doloribus</i> = rest in agony</small></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572674.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>ranting</category> <category>wtf?</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572528.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 27 Dec 2016 18:29:36 GMT</pubDate> <title>How cool is this?</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572528.html</link> <description>My friend Brooke <span class="ljuser i-ljuser i-ljuser-deleted i-ljuser-type-P " data-ljuser="marieoroumania" lj:user="marieoroumania" ><a href="https://marieoroumania.livejournal.com/profile/" target="_self" class="i-ljuser-profile" ><img class="i-ljuser-userhead" src="https://l-stat.livejournal.net/img/userinfo_v8.png?v=17080&v=751" /></a><a href="https://marieoroumania.livejournal.com/" class="i-ljuser-username" target="_self" ><b>marieoroumania</b></a></span>* Binkowski, who is Managing Editor of Snopes.com, was on the <i>front page of the New York Times</i> on Christmas Day!<br /><br /><blockquote><big><a href="http://nyti.ms/2hlGDl2" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">For Fact-Checking Website Snopes, a Bigger Role Brings More Attacks<br /><img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/12/24/business/26SNOPES/26SNOPES-master768.jpg" width="382" height="308" fetchpriority="high"></a></big></blockquote><br />Way to go, Brooke!<br /><br />-------<br /><br /><small>*Also, I think her LJ handle is the best ever! It's from one of my favorite Dorothy Parker poems:</small><br /><br /><blockquote>Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,<br />A medley of extemporanea; <br />And love is a thing that can never go wrong; <br />And I am Marie of Romania.</blockquote></description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572528.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>press</category> <category>saving the world</category> <category>politics</category> <category>yay!</category> <category>working class superheroics</category> <category>celebrity</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572289.html</guid> <pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2016 20:22:14 GMT</pubDate> <title>Pacific Islander Superheroes?</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572289.html</link> <description>Now that I've seen <i>Moana</i>, I want to record a mashup of "You're Welcome" with Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man".</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572289.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>recording</category> <lj:mood>mischievous</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>2</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572128.html</guid> <pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2016 17:49:58 GMT</pubDate> <title>Sammie is doing MUCH better!</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572128.html</link> <description>This morning, Sammie was sleeping next to my head. When I woke up, she "Enh"ed at me (which is the semi-voiced meow she does when she wants food) and sat on my chest. When she did this before, it was annoying. When she did it today, I was almost crying with joy.<br /><br />I got up and fed her, and she ate nearly all of it, so I gave her a little bit of kibble to munch on throughout the day (as the doctor told me to do so she can put on some of the weight she's lost). She fought me giving her pills, but did swallow them eventually. Her blood sugar was elevated, but not stratospheric, so I gave her one unit of insulin.<br /><br />If she continues like this, I expect that tomorrow she'll be knocking things over and chewing paper again to wake me up. :)</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/572128.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>yay!</category> <category>cats</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:mood>jubilant</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>4</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571831.html</guid> <pubDate>Wed, 07 Dec 2016 00:01:09 GMT</pubDate> <title>She's coming home!</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571831.html</link> <description>I'm at VCA, and they're getting Sammie ready for me to take her home. I've got a new treatment plan and a lot of drugs for her, but I feel a lot better about her future than I did on Sunday night.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571831.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>yay!</category> <category>cats</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571401.html</guid> <pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2016 18:08:58 GMT</pubDate> <title>Second update on Sammie</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571401.html</link> <description>The ultrasound revealed that Sammie's pancreas has some nodules on it that they say are likely scar tissue from previous bouts of pancreatic inflammation. This scar tissue, they said, is probably contributing to the glucose spikes she's been having. I'm going to talk to their feline diabetes specialist this afternoon to work out a plan for controlling her glucose better so that her pancreas doesn't get this badly inflamed again. Then I'll be taking her home and watching her very closely for a while.<br /><br />But they also say that she's been doing much, much better since I brought her in. Her appetite is back in full force, and she's drinking and urinating normally again. Also, not vomiting! Yay!</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571401.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>yay!</category> <category>cats</category> <category>emotional hoo-hah</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:mood>hopeful</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571361.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2016 18:25:21 GMT</pubDate> <title>Update on Sammie</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571361.html</link> <description>I left the VCA last night around 1am. At that time, the vet on duty said that she was dehydrated, her pancreas was inflamed, and her glucose was still very high, but they were going to put her on IV fluids and give her insulin and anti-inflammatory drugs. About 3am, he called me to say that she was responding to abdominal palpation as if it hurt her, so they wanted to do an ultrasound, and they were going to give her pain medication and an antibiotic just in case the inflamed pancreas was a bacterial infection. He said someone would call me some time this morning to let me know how she was doing.<br /><br />I ended up calling them about 10am (a little over 20 minutes ago as I write this). She responded very well to the pain meds and the fluids, and her appetite came back. However, her glucose numbers were all over the place, so they said that they want to keep her for another day. They hadn't yet done the ultrasound, either.<br /><br />So bottom line: Good news is that she's eating again, she's apparently not in pain (though that's probably the drugs), her glucose isn't consistently through the roof anymore, and she's stopped vomiting. Bad news is that her glucose is now fluctuating, her pancreas is still inflamed, and they still don't know if there's something else that may be causing both of these things (which the ultrasound could help determine).<br /><br />Also bad news: this whole thing is going to set me back about five grand. Sammie is worth it, but ... ouch.</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/571361.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>money</category> <category>cats</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:mood>worried</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>1</lj:reply-count> </item> <item> <guid isPermaLink='true'>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/570943.html</guid> <pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2016 08:34:51 GMT</pubDate> <title>At the emergency vet</title> <author>ebenbrooks</author> <link>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/570943.html</link> <description>I'm at the VCA emergency veterinary hospital in Mission Valley. Sammie is not doing very well. She was vomiting about once every hour this evening, was extremely listless, and her blood glucose level was sky high. I gave her her insulin and watched her for a while, but she didn't seem to get any better, so I decided to bring her here.<br /><br />I spoke with the doctor on call about a half hour ago, and he wants to keep her here overnight for observation. I'm waiting for them to do some tests and so they can decide on a course of treatment and give me an estimate.<br /><br />I have a bad feeling, though...</description> <comments>https://ebenbrooks.livejournal.com/570943.html?view=comments#comments</comments> <category>cats</category> <category>physical health</category> <lj:mood>worried</lj:mood> <lj:security>public</lj:security> <lj:reply-count>0</lj:reply-count> </item></channel></rss> 
