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This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.
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<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2014 09:38:45 CST</pubDate>
<lastBuildDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2014 09:38:45 CST</lastBuildDate>
<image>
<url>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/KRL-HeadShot-Mini-Dec-25-2007.jpg</url>
<title>Kelvin's Web - RSS Feed (XML)</title>
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<item>
<title>25 Years of the World Wide Web</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">technology</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2014-Nov-18-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I have been so busy that I am a few days late putting this post
together but hopefully better late than never! <br>
</p>
<p>A few days ago, hard though it is to believe, the Worldwide Web,
that so many of us take for granted these days, celebrated it's <a
href="http://www.webat25.org/">25th anniversary.</a> Created in
1989 by <a href="http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/">Sir Tim
Berners-Lee</a> , for many of us, "Web" has become as essential
in our daily lives as electricity or natural gas. Built from its
earliest days upon the notion of open standards the Web has become
the information backbone of our current society. My first
exposure, that I can remember, to the concept of the Web was in
the early 1990s when I was part of the OS/2 team at IBM and we put
one of the earliest browsers, Web Explorer, into the operating
system and shipped it. Back then, an HTML web page was little more
than text, images, animated GIFs and most importantly of all
hyperlinks. I was also involved with the team that did some of the
early ports of Netscape Navigator to OS/2 and I still recall being
blown away by some of what I saw that team doing upon some of my
many visits to Netscape in California what seems like a lifetime
ago now!</p>
<p> From those modest but still highly effective beginnings,
the Web and most importantly perhaps, the Web browser, has evolved
into the complete business and entertainment platform that it is
today.<br>
<br><br>
The Web, and open standards, have been part of my personal and
work life ever since. I am honored to have been a small part of
the evolution of the web myself. I have worked on a number of
different projects with great people from all over the World under
the auspices of the <a href="http://www.w3.org/">W3C</a> for
longer than I care to remember! I have done a lot of fun things in
my career, but one of the highlights was definitely working with
so many talented people on the original <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG10/">Scalable Vector Graphics
(SVG)</a> specification which is now supported by most of the
major browsers and of course you can find my<a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/svg/index.html"> library of SVG</a>samples here on my site.
</p>
<p>It is also so fitting that the latest evolution of Web
technology, the finished HTML 5 specification <a href="http://www.w3.org/2014/10/html5-rec.html.en">was announced</a>
to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Web.<br>
</p>
<p>I could write so much more about what the Web has meant to me but
most of all I think my fondest memory will always be all of the
great friends I have met and the large number of very talented
people that I have had the good fortune to work with through our
joint passion to make the Web a better and even more open, place.<br>
</p>
<p>Happy (slightly belated) Birthday Worldwide Web and here's to the next 25!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2014 09:38:45 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000147</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Asian Tiger Mosquitoes</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2014-Nov-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>The weather has been unusually cold for the time of year the last
day or so. I was actually hoping that if we get a hard freeze it
will kill off for now the Asian Tiger mosquitoes that we have been
overrun with this year. However I have my doubts as apparently,
unlike other mosquitoes, their eggs, which they lay in vegetation
and standing water, can survive a harsh winter. They apparently
got into the USA in a shipment of waterlogged tires (tyres for my
UK friends) some time ago and they are now spreading more broadly.
They are covered in black and white stripes and look quite
different than the regular "brown" colored mosquitoes we are used
to seeing here. They are also a lot more aggressive. They bite all
day long (not just at dusk) and even bite animals but definitely
prefer humans. It has got so bad that we have had to pay to have
our yard sprayed regularly almost all year so that we even have a
chance to sit outside and enjoy our yard. These nasty little guys
also transmit the chikungunya virus for which I currently believe
there is no vaccine. It's not usually fatal but does have some
nasty symptoms if you are unlucky enough to catch it. Here's a
link to a <a href="http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20130809/asian-tiger-mosquito-could-spread-us-disease">WebMD
write up</a> on these little nasties.
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:00:01 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000146</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Pink Floyd's Endless River - The End of an Era</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2014-Nov-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I just purchased the new Pink Floyd CD from Amazon which includes
a free digital download as well. I have been listening to it while
I work today. Given the way the album was put together (using
material the late Richard Wright recorded almost 20 years ago
during the making of The Division Bell) much of the music is
immediately familiar. I definitely also hear flashbacks to Wish
You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon and many other albums as
well. It's mostly instrumental and there is a lot of it - four sides if
you buy the vinyl version!! A lot of the music has an almost
eerie tone to it - definitely a good one for the headphones with
the lights off. It's a really good listen but left me feeling
sad in a way, in a good way I guess, as much of their music has
been the backdrop to the last 40 years or so of my life and this
is definitely the end of a musical era as supposedly this is the
last album the band plan to release. It has a bit of everything
for Pink Floyd fans, especially those who like some of the "more
recent" albums. Don't expect a bunch of rocking songs that you
will be humming along to all day but as a complete work,
listened to end to end, I found it very moving. Very much not
your modern day pop tune and thank goodness for that!</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2014 00:00:01 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000145</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Seven years post cancer surgery</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2014-Oct-26-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Today marks another big milestone for me. It has now been seven
years since my cancer surgery. As always, I am grateful for all of
my family, friends and doctors and every minute that I get to
spend with them.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 26 Oct 2014 00:00:01 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000144</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A few thoughts from a fairly social, open source and standards guy.</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">open-technology</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2014-May-20-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p> <img alt="Computer superimposed on the Earth in space"
src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/WorldSpinSpace.jpg" align="left" height="168"
hspace="10" width="177">Software development has always been a
field where there is something new to learn. To be honest, if it
wasn't I would probably have found a new profession a long time
ago. Like many people I love to learn new things. That said, these
days, more than ever before, I find myself not just wanting, but
needing, to learn new things to keep up with the rate and pace of
change in our industry.<br>
<br>
Development teams are no longer confined to the walls of a single
building or even a single country for that matter. In fact, almost
every major software venture these days seems to involve virtual
teams of developers whose geographic location is of only minor
importance compared to the content of the contributions they make.
Product release cycles are now counted in days and weeks rather
than months and years and what used to be a walk has become a
sprint (pun intended).<br>
<br>
One of the key driving forces behind this change is undoubtedly
the ever increasing acceptance of and reliance upon open source
software coupled with the advent of "app stores" and "web
downloads" that make it easier than ever to get that "latest
version" and install it. <br>
<br>
Taking myself as a use case, a large proportion of the projects
that I am involved in on a daily basis are either building upon
open source or donating back to open source and, in many cases,
doing both.<br>
<br>
Against this backdrop I am often asked questions like "So what
about open standards given this more open source centric approach
to software development?". This is a reasonable question to
ask and it is one that comes up regularly in conversations. My
belief is that we definitely need a strong open source ecosystem
but we also continue to need the rigor, consensus and most
important of all, the guarantee of interoperability that we gain
from writing things down in a specification and taking the time to
make that specification a standard.<br>
<br>
Moreover, few solutions embody just one standard. Typically a
useful solution brings together multiple standards and so we
could, somewhat lyrically, say that open source is the canvas upon
which multiple standards are assembled to build a meaningful
solution.<br>
<br>
However, given the rate and pace of software development, neither
developers nor their end users have the patience these days for
long drawn out standards process cycles. Just as open source
developers have learned to be nimble so must standards creators.
In the good old days (circa 2001) it was still quite common for a
specification to take anything from eighteen months to three years
between first draft and final standard. This model clearly will
not work today. A standards process still needs to be inclusive,
it still needs to generate consensus and of course the resultant
work must be useful or we are all just wasting our time, but it
must be able to achieve all of those goals in an efficient and
nimble manner. Some of this nimbleness will come from
standards development organizations (like W3C and OASIS)
continually refining their processes and tools but it will also
come from the way that people interact today. There will still be
e-mail conversations and "face to face" meetings but in a World
full of people comfortable using social networking tools, we need
to exploit those tools to effectively enable global software
communities to work together at speed.<br>
<br>
Social tools can do more than just improve communication however.
They can enable faster decision making, faster consensus, virtual
workshops, greater visibility to the work and when needed, more
efficient and transparent voting.<br>
<br>
By combing open source software development techniques with nimble
and modern standardization processes, glued together by
contemporary social tools we can enable best of breed innovation
regardless of the geographic location of the participants.<br>
<br>
Last, but by no means least, for both open source and standards
communities, open governance and transparent administration is
key, and often an aspect that is overlooked and undervalued.
But for "open" communities, it's important that the principles of
good business design be taken to heart. Sensible IPR
policies and open governance are the foundation for broad
community engagement if that's the intent of the effort and a
determining factor in the success or failure of any open community
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2014 12:47:41 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000143</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Six years post chemo and another checkup done!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2014-May-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Today was another day of milestones. I ended my chemo six years ago
and today I also went for my latest six monthly checkup with the
colo-rectal surgeon. I am pleased to report that the checkup went well
and I can breathe easily again for a few more months. As always thanks
for the support I continue to receive from you all. <br>
</p>
<p>I am also grateful to be able to enjoy all the achievements that my
kids continue to make. Robyn has been challenging herself regularly and
always striving to improve and Jack is doing so much better since we
took him out of his previous school that just did not seem to be a good
fit for his personality type.<br>
</p>
<p>One side note, as I was looking at my diary I realized that today is
also the anniversary of mt grandfather Arthur Robert Emerson's death in
1988. I spent a lot of time with him during my childhood years,
especially over the Summer months and I have so many happy memories of
our long walks together with the dogs through the countryside of
Southern England. I also learned to drive on his ride on lawn
mower at a very young age! He would always have a story to tell me and I
learned so much from him. <br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 17 May 2014 11:37:42 CDT</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Merry Christmas!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2013-Dec-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Work has wound down, the presents are mostly wrapped and another year
is almost over. This year has been a blur and I am left with the
feeling that most of it was spent ferrying kids from one place to
another! Such is the life of the parent but I would not trade it for
anything. It was wonderful this year to be able to meet up with so many
friends and family members in parts of the World that I have not been
able to visit for far too long. I hope to catch up with many more of you
in the coming year as I am more able to travel again. I am so thankful
to have been able to celebrate many significant anniversaries on the
health front, not least of which was passing some major remission
milestones during the year. As always I am humbled to have been the
beneficiary of so much goodwill from so many of you and some wonderful
messages of support and encouragement as I shared my milestone news. For
this I am extremely grateful. All that remains, on this Christmas Eve
2013, is to wish you, wherever you may be in the World, from my family
to yours, a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 24 Dec 2013 16:28:35 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000141</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Six years in remission (post surgery)</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2013-Nov-04-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>A little over six years ago, on October 26th 2007, I underwent
the surgery that began my fightback against colon cancer and
started my remission clock ticking. It's hard to believe that time
has flown by so fast. So much of what happened back them,
especially during the months of chemotherapy, seems almost a
blur to me now. That was one of the reasons I started keeping the
<a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net//daily-archive.html">journal</a> here. Every year about
this time I look back through that journal and am reminded how
lucky I am to still be here and how thankful I am for the family,
friends and medical practitioners that have been with me along the
way. I have met so many brave fighters over the past six years,
many who are winning their battle and some who sadly were taken
from us. Cancer affects us all in one way or another during our
lifetimes either directly or indirectly through others that we
care about. I truly believe that one day we will overcome this
awful disease but until then we must keep up the fight. Every year
I donate to many different research charities and urge anyone who
will listen to get screened for the most common and most treatable
(only if caught early) cancers. As I always do about this time of
year, I shall issue my not so subtle reminder - go get checked, it
could save your life!<br>
<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 4 Nov 2013 09:24:29 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000140</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>iOS7 and nausea</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">technology</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2013-Oct-03-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I have not posted since June, mainly because of a very hectic Summer
schedule of both work and non-work activities. During this time, among
other things, I found myself camping in Southern Colorado with the Boy
Scouts, working in San Francisco and attending a wedding in London (my
first time back since 2006 and my diagnosis in 2007). I hope to find the
time to make separate posts about the travels soon but for this post I
want to focus on something that I thought was probably just a silly
rumor until I experienced it first hand yesterday, namely, that iOS 7
can cause nausea and motion sickness in some people.<br>
</p>
<p>I should preface these next remarks by saying that anyone reading
this should treat it as a data point based on a survey of one (me) nothing more,
nothing less.
</p>
<p></p>
<p>Last night while waiting with my son for an appointment I got the
chance to borrow an iPad Mini running iOS7 and play with it. I have an
iPad mini of my own but for now it still has iOS 6 on it. However, I
have played with my daughter's iPhone 5 running iOS 7 quite a bit and
not had the issue I am about to describe at all (I think the bigger
screen on the iPad is likely why).<br>
<br>
So anyway, after about 5 minutes of playing with the iPad, opening apps,
closing apps, changing views, basic stuff, I realized I was getting
just a teeny bit "motion sick". After 20 minutes or so I was actually
feeling kind of queasy (like I sometimes do after a fairground ride) and
I had to put the iPad down.<br>
<br>
Now, I will totally admit, I am a bit of a weenie when it comes to this
kind of motion sickness. Certain video games, Minecraft being the worst,
I simply cannot play with my kids as I get queasy far too easily. As I
get older it seems to get worse. I have never done well on roller
coasters either so clearly I am a bit susceptible to motion sickness but
I was not expecting this with the iPad.<br>
<br>
For sure, I had read the reports, and posted one or two on my Facebook
timeline and to be honest, like most who commented on those posts I was
skeptical. But, I was frankly shocked at how much this iPad messed me
up. I was still feeling a bit nauseous some 90 minutes or so later. I
guess, for those of us that are motion sickness weenies, there really is
some truth to the iOS 7 motion sickness stories. I basically found out
tonight that I will never be able to put iOS 7 on my iPad which, despite
my iOS 7 misgivings, makes me sad as I fully expected to upgrade at
some point. I should add that even turning off as much of the
motion as possible still left too many moving parts for my poor brain to
handle. Weird eh?<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 3 Oct 2013 17:04:04 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000139</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Quick medical update</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2013-Jun-25-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>During the last couple of weeks I have had a full series of
checkups. I met with my colo-rectal surgeon who gave me a full
"inspection" under sedation. I next met with my oncologist who did
a full series of blood tests and finally with my family doctor who
gave me a full physical. I was a bit nervous going into this
checkup period as the last time a polyp was found and for me
polyps are particularly dangerous (mean time to cancer of under
one year). I am happy to report, that with the exception of, for
the first time, my cholesterol levels being a bit high, everything
else was fine. No more tests for another six months. So now I can
relax a bit and enjoy Summer. As always thanks to everyone for all
of your support - it means so much.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:01:42 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000138</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Five years since chemo ended!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2013-May-08-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Just a very small update to record another personal milestone in
my journey through life. Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of my
final chemotherapy treatment back in 2008. It does not seem
possible that five years have passed by since then. While I am
still dealing with some of the after effects of the treatment
(primarily I still have a fair bit of neuropathy in my feet) I am
so glad to still be here five years down the road. However, to
keep me grounded in reality, I collected the mail last night and
there waiting for me was a reminder card from my surgeon that it's
time to schedule my next full service and oil change!
Regardless - here's to the next five years!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 8 May 2013 09:54:16 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000137</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>My SVG examples collection</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">graphics</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2013-Apr-02-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>SVG, short for "Scalable Vector Graphics", is an XML markup
language designed for bringing 2D artwork and drawings to the Web
and other
places. As well as vector graphics (lines, circles, paths, etc.)
SVG supports
text, images, animation, scripting, colors, gradients, filter
effects and many
other things. It is a very rich (declarative) graphics language
which can be
just as easily hand coded or machine generated. </p>
<p>Back in 1998/9 and the years following I became very active in
the SVG
community. As far as I know, I was the author of the first known
SVG rendering
engine back then which I wrote in Java using the new (at the time)
Java 2D API.
I was also a very active member of the SVG Working group at W3C
that produced
the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG10/"> SVG 1.0 Specification</a>.
Over the years I have compiled a large collection of
my own SVG test cases and examples and used them in lectures about
SVG at
various conferences around the World. The recent adoption of SVG
by the major Web browsers, both on traditional desktop computers
and on mobile devices, as well as many people asking me about my
examples has prompted me to collect all of my material into one
place.If you ever attended one of my talks on SVG over the years
you may already have some of these but this is the first time I
have tried to collect everything into one place.<br>
</p>
<p>These examples are not meant to be works of art, I would by no
means claim to
be an artist. I view them more as a learning aid. You will find
most of the
major SVG features used somewhere in these files. If you are
interested in
learning a bit more about the power and ease of use of SVG, I
encourage you to
look at the source for the files as well as the "artwork" as some
pictures may look the same but might have been created using
different SVG
techniques behind the scenes! </p>
<p>With a few exceptions, all of the examples were either hand coded
(by me) or
produced using Ruby scripts that I wrote to generate SVG output.
One or two of
the examples were produced using Inkscape.<br>
</p>
<p>You will find <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/svg/index.html"> this
link to the samples</a>
in the left hand side bar of my web page.<br>
<br>
</p>
<p> Anyway, I hope that this material is of interest and useful. I
certainly had
fun walking down memory lane while putting it together.
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 2 Apr 2013 14:37:48 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000136</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Five years in remission!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2012-Oct-26-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Today is a day that I truly believed might never come. As most of
you know, a little over five years ago, on October 2<sup>nd</sup>
2007, I received the news that no one wants to hear. I had
cancer. Moreover, I had a type of cancer at just 42 years of age
that I always thought of as "one of those cancers people much
older than me get". <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-10-a">I
shared the news publicly</a> on October 10<sup>th</sup> 2007 and
from then on used this web site to document my journey. I had
surgery on October 26<sup>th</sup> 2007 to remove the tumor (and
lots of other things!) and began six months of chemotherapy, after
the surgery had time to heal, in December of that year. Early on
in my treatment the oncologist informed me that the "remission
clock" begins ticking on the day of the "curative procedure"
(surgery). Today, I am celebrating the fact that I have reached a
major milestone. It is five years to the day that my remission
began. I have had regular (currently six monthly) checkups ever
since my surgery and so far so good. A couple of weeks ago, for
the first time since my diagnosis, a large polyp was found during
my scheduled checkup but it was removed and found to be benign. It
was a scary few days waiting for the pathology to come back but
all remains well. In medical terms, I believe that I am now
officially considered "cured". However, given what I have learned
about my genetics during this process, I shall always be nervous
when I go in to see my surgeon or my oncologist for a checkup.<br>
</p>
<p>There is an old Chinese proverb that goes something like "<span style="font-style: italic;">To get through the hardest journey
we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on
stepping</span>" and what a journey this has been. The support I
have experienced from family and friends around the World has been
unbelievable and you have all stuck with me for the duration. I am
both blessed and humbled to have you all in my corner. I have also
have had such an amazing medical team looking after me. Especially
Keith Morrison, John Mangione and Darren Kocs but also so many
wonderful nurses and other doctors whose names in many cases I do
not even know. Your amazing quality of care and professionalism
are the reason that I am still here today and that my kids still
have a father.<br>
</p>
<p>Thank you all once again for your incredible support.<br>
</p>
<p>As I often do, I shall close with my little reminder to you all.
If you have been putting off getting that colonoscopy that you
know you are overdue for, make the appointment today. It could
save your life, trust me on that one!<br>
</p>
<p>Kelvin<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:56:18 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000135</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The end of another Summer - the start of a new era!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2012-Aug-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>So, by the local school calendar, Summer ended yesterday. Of
course you have to ignore the fact that the high temperature today
will be somewhere around 95F! Both kids went back to school this
morning. Jack is starting his final year at Elementary school
(going into filth grade). He had to be at school before 7:10am
today so that he could do his bit on safety patrol (opening card
doors and welcoming kids to school). He was so excited he went off
to school with zero fuss. We'll see how long this lasts!
Meanwhile, Robyn (drum roll please - and a stiff drink for her
Dad) is starting High School today (hence the new era I referred
to in the title of this post). How did my little girl grow up so
fast. Before I know it she will be driving and off to college. I
know going to a new school can be a bit daunting but I am sure she
is in good hands at her new school (Cedar Ridge High School). The
school only opened a few years ago (in fact this will be the first
year they have a senior class I think) and it is a state of the
art facility. I wish my IBM office building was as plush as that
school is! She also gets to start school at 9am rather than the
Middle school time of 8am which of course to a teenager translates
to "more time in bed yaaaayyy".<br>
</p>
<p>We have had a good Summer. For the first time in too long I got
to have a real Summer vacation and spent a lovely week at South
Padre Island on the Texas Gulf coast. The beaches down there are
really nice, soft sand underfoot all the way out into the waves.
There was so much to do we only scratched the surface really. We
found a lot of great restaurants and an amazingly good brew pub.
We definitely want to go back and are grateful to our kind friends
who rented us their beach front condo with amazing views of the
beach and the Gulf. As well as swimming in the surf and
boogie boarding, we got to meet some amazing seat turtles that are
being nursed back to health after accidents (with people), we got
to watch the dolphins at play from a sunset cruise ship, we got to
laugh our heads off at SchlitterBahn water park, we had a great
time at the nature sanctuary and of course made a lot sand
castles. I did not get to go para-sailing or ride the super fast
jet boat or jet ski so I definitely have a lit of things I want to
do next time we go down there. I was a bit apprehensive having
been spoiled by the Florida beaches during my time there but South
Padre was every bit as nice. The town itself is older but behind
some of those less fancy walls you can find amazing food! <br>
</p>
<p>I have also been managing to make time to read a lot more this
year, which was one of my New Year resolutions! If you look at my
<a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading log</a> you will see that I have
done, I think, much better this year than in recent years. I am
convinced that my almost total transition to e-books has made the
difference. Another resolution was to get into really good
physical shape. Let's just say I'm still working on that one!<br>
</p>
<p>So what about the medical stuff? Well, earlier in the Summer I
underwent a full battery of tests with the oncologist and the
colo-rectal surgeon. I am happy to report all tests came back
clean. I am just two months away from achieving five years
remission. A landmark that when I was diagnosed back in 2007
seemed an awfully long way away. It has been a journey with ups
and downs but despite ongoing side effects (of which I shall spare
you the details), as my daughter says, "Dad, at least you are
still breathing!"<br>
</p>
<p>I am sure there are a lot of other things I have forgotten to
list that we did this Summer. For now I am going to concentrate on
work and adjust to the very very quiet house and the sound of the
dog snoring on the couch in my home office!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:26:34 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000134</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Spring is in the air</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2012-Mar-03-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>My how time flies! We are already into March and 2011 is well and
truly disappearing in the rear view mirror. I cannot say I am sorry to
see 2011 go. It was not a year that I shall remember with a lot of
fondness. I need to get back into making more regular posts here.
I have been good about posting to Facebook but that has made me
incredibly lazy about updating this journal. I have, however, kept the
various sections (such as my reading log) up to date.<br>
</p>
<p>I hope that everyone reading this is so far having a safe and happy
year. I have several friends and colleagues that have already
been touched by cancer this year. My thoughts and prayers go out to
them and indeed, to anyone dealing with the effects of this awful
disease.<br>
</p>
<p>By the way, March is <span style="font-style: italic;">Colo Rectal Cancer Awareness</span>
month. If you have been putting off getting "scoped" now would be a
good time. Also, remember I was only 42 when I was diagnosed so don't
put it off because you don't think you are old enough to have to worry.
It could save your life.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 3 Mar 2012 10:28:38 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000133</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Four years post surgery, four years in remission!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2011-Oct-25-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Today is the fourth anniversary of my colon cancer surgery. As my
oncologist once explained to me, the remission clock starts ticking
from the date of the "curative procedure" (surgery). Therefore as of
today I have now been in remission for a full four years. Much of
the time since the surgery and the subsequent months of chemotherapy
remains a bit of a blur and loking back, the time seems to have
flown by.. I am so thankful to all of the wonderful doctors and
nurses that have cared for me so well and that I am still here to
enjoy life and watch my kids grow up.<br>
<br>
As always I am incredibly grateful to all of my family and friends
around the World who have been there for me the past four years. I
could not have made it this far without you. The recent sad news
about the death of Steve Jobs reminds us that no one, no matter how
rich or poor is immune from cancer's evil reach. I encourage all of
you to support cancer research in any way that you can. Likewise, to
anyone reading this who has also been touched by cancer, I would
just like to say keep up the fight and that you are in my thoughts
and prayers.<br>
<br>
PS - If you have been putting off getting a colonoscopy, get one. It could save your life!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:50:58 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000132</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The last (official) day of Summer</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2011-Aug-23-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>By the school calendar, which around here is the one most people
live by, as of today, Summer is officially over. This is despite the
fact that this week we will most likely break the old record of 69 one
hundred degree days in a calendar year. The high yesterday was around
105F and it is forecast to be about the same again today. I forget when
we last had serious rain but it has been months. Unless we get a
tropical storm come ashore soon it may be many more weeks until we do
get some rain. I love the hot weather but in my fifteen years here I
have never seen a drought like this one. We usually get some good
storms, especially during the Spring to top up the lakes. This year
that did not happen.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><img
style="width: 640px; height: 480px;"
title="Robyn and Jack leaving for school"
alt="Robyn and Jack leaving for school"
src="http://kelvinlawrence.net/images/RobynJack-BackToSchool.jpg"><br
style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Robyn and Jack
about to leave for school</span><br>
</div>
<p>Anyway, my kids happily (yes happily) went back to school today.
They even got up at 6:20am and woke me up! Robyn is going into eighth
grade and Jack fourth. They have grown so quickly. Robyn is thirteen
now and Jack will be ten in December. Where does the time go? Anyway,
above is a photo, which has become a bit of a tradition now, of the
kids going out the front door on the first day of a new school year.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:18:02 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000131</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>25 Years at IBM</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">work</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2011-Aug-04-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>In 1986, August the 4th was a Monday and it was my first day as an
IBM employee (at Hursley Park in the UK). Twenty five years later, I'm
still working at IBM (these days in Austin, Texas). It's been an
incredible journey both emotionally , technologically and
geographically (from Hursley to Austin with seven years in Boca Raton,
Florida in between). I have worked with some fantastic people on some
very cool projects and been lucky enough to make great friends all over
the World. <br>
</p>
<p>The 25 years have flown by!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 4 Aug 2011 19:39:39 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000130</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Where have I been hiding?</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2011-Jul-19-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Those of you that check-in here from time to time, and the site
statistics tell me that there are still a lot of you, for which I am
grateful, may be wondering what I have been up to and why I have not
been posting of late. In short I have been busy at work, very busy with
the kids and also had to have a spot of unexpected (and very painful)
surgery from which I have been recovering since mid June.<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, here is a quick update on the Summer so far...<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Things medical</span><br>
</p>
<p>At the end of May I met with my colo-rectal surgeon and he performed
my (now semi-annual) internal exam. Everything looked good. However,
while he was checking me out he told me that I had a cyst that needed
to be dealt with surgically (not cancerous). More on that in a minute!</p>
<p>On June 9th I met with my oncologist and he ran all of the usual
tests. While I always hope for the best, this is always a nervous time
for me. None the less, I am happy to report that all of my tests came
back clean. Still no evidence of further cancer. I can now go twelve
months before he wants to check me again. This is significant progress.<br>
</p>
<p>On June 10th I had surgery to take care of the cyst. The procedure
ended up being a bit more involved that I had hoped it would be.
Without going into details it was in an awkward place and for several
weeks it was really hard to sit down and I was in a lot of pain. The
wound is still healing but is in much better shape now. Hopefully in a
another week or so it will have finished healing. The surgery really
knocked me out of my stride for a few weeks and even now I do not feel
that I fully have my energy back.<br>
</p>
<p>On top of a few other stresses in my life at the moment I really
feel like a cannot catch a break. I hope to take a couple of weeks off
soon and find a beach to lay on somewhere or something equally restful!<br>
</p>
<p style="font-weight: bold;">The Kids</p>
<p>Despite the intense drought and soaring temperatures we have been
enduring for well over six weeks now, the Kids are having a great
Summer and spending a lot of time in the pool. Robyn was able to escape
the heat mid June, when she left along with 40 other kids and four
adult leaders on a People to People expedition to the UK and Ireland.
They visited an amazing set of places all over England, Scotland,
Wales and Ireland. She got to do many things that even I, growing up
there, have never done. She got to hit golf balls at St Andrews, ride
the London Eye, watch a Trebuchet catapult launching a fire ball at
Warwick Castle, she got to abseil down the walls of another castle in
Bangor (Wales) and so many other amazing things. She took over 900
photos! I think this trip will leave her with fantastic memories and
hopefully a few new friends as well!<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Work</span><br>
</p>
<p>Work is very busy which is a good thing and has also helped keep me
distracted a bit from other things.<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finally, less blogging more
tweeting....</span></p>
<p>Finally, I will observe that while I have not been posting here much
lately, that I have been making regular posts to both <a
href="http://www.twitter.com/gfxman">Twitter</a> and <a
href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin_Lawrence/560392836">Facebook</a>
and more
recently <a href="https://plus.google.com/102601129423955120841/posts">Google+</a>
as well. If you have not already done so, feel free to find me at one
or more of those venues.<br>
</p>
<p>That's the update for now. Take care all!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:26:19 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000124</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Three years post chemo!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2011-May-09-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I realized this morning as I was looking at what is on my schedule
for this week that it is three years ago since I underwent my final
chemotherapy treatment. The time has flown by and finally (a while ago
now in fact) the "fog" that was in my brain has fully cleared. Every
now and again I suspect my memory is not quite what it was and I still
have neuropathy in my feet - but hey - small price to pay right?<br>
</p>
<p>As always a special thought and prayer goes out to all of the people
who are currently in their own battles with cancer.</p>
<p>You will probably have noticed that I have not posted here in quite
a while. This is largely due to the fact that I am incredibly busy at
work (which is a good thing) and have a tremendous amount going
on in my personal life. I do post regular updates however to <a
href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin_Lawrence/560392836">Facebook</a>
and <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/gfxman">Twitter</a>.<br>
</p>
<p>I hope everyone is having a good year so far. It won't be long until
the kids get out of school for Summer here. Robyn has a huge Summer
coming up. The highlight of which is a 21 day trip to the UK and
Ireland with 41 other kids on a People to People Ambassador program.<br>
</p>
<p>I am keeping other sections of the web site updated as appropriate
and I will try and get back into posting here more often!<br>
<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 9 May 2011 09:58:31 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000000123</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Happy New Year</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2011-Jan-01-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Just a quick post to wish all of my wonderful family and friends
around the World a very safe and prosperous 2011. I have not been
updating things here on the web site as often as I used to but I have
been posting regular updates to my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin_Lawrence/560392836">Facebook</a>
page. I am very happy to report that in October I had a full series of
medical tests and everything looks good. Unbelievably I am now three
years into remission. We did some fun things in the second half of
2010. One of the highlights for me was when the kids and I got to take
a seven day cruise on Carnival cruise lines around the Eastern
Caribbean. Lorna and the kids are all well although I don't think the
kids will want to go back to school next week after the long Christmas
break. Work starts back up for me on the 4th.<br>
</p>
<p>Again love and best wishes to all, from our family to yours for 2011<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 1 Jan 2011 10:34:14 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000128</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Father and Daughter surgery</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2010-Aug-21-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>What are the odds that both my daughter and I would end up having
surgery from the same doctor at the almost exact same time in adjacent
rooms? Well that is exactly what happened this past week! Robyn had
already been scheduled to have her lower wisdom teeth removed Monday
morning so that part at least, was expected. The unexpected part is
that right after we met with the surgeon to prep for her surgery, a few
days prior to the scheduled date for the procedure, I started getting a
lot of pain in my upper right jaw bone. An x-ray from my dentist
revealed that some screws in my jaw from reconstruction surgery in 1998
had moved and allowed the area to get infected. The required "fix" was
to have the offending screws and bone plates surgically removed. So, in
an exercise in efficiency, we scheduled my surgery at the same time as
my daughters so that Dr Gallagher (my long time oral surgeon and great
doctor) could emulate Bobby Fischer playing chess against multiple
opponents at once and fix us both (almost) in parallel! We turned
up at 7am and Robyn got to go first. While he was operating on her,
other nurses started prepping me. When he was done with her, the doctor
appeared and basically said "OK all done with her, she did great, let's
get started on you"!! I woke up as she was also waking up more in the adjacent recovery room. How surreal is that?</p>
<p>Anyway, we are both doing well, I think at this point her swelling
is going down faster than mine (behold the power of youth) but at least
the severe pain I was in before the surgery has gone away. She
gets a nice present for being brave, I get a few days of being on an
ice cream diet so all in all not too bad!<br>
</p>
<p>Certainly a week to remember!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:18:03 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000127</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Misc updates</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2010-Jul-30-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>There has not been too much to report lately (which is a good thing)
and hence I have not posted here. I have been posting small updates to
Twitter and Facebook and as a result have not felt the need to
duplicate those here. On the medical front, my latest round of tests
are now behind me and both my oncologist and surgeon have switched me
to a "once a year" checkup schedule now. This is real progress!!<br>
</p>
<p>Yesterday Lorna and I went down to Houston so that we could watch
the MLS (soccer) All Stars vs Manchester United. We had a great
time. Reliant Stadium was a great venue for the event and the match
itself did not lack action, with Man Utd coming out on top 5 - 2.<br>
</p>
<p>The kids have been off school for several weeks now and I am definitely counting the
days until they go back! That said, I am taking next week of so that we can do some fun
things together as a family. I really need a break from work to recharge my batteries as
things have been extremely busy.
So, as I said, no major news to report, at the moment but I will try and get back into making
more regular postings again soon.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:48:21 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000000126</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Two years post chemo - wow!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2010-May-09-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>It's almost impossible for me to believe, but two years ago
yesterday I finished chemotherapy. The time has flown by. Aside from
some remaining neuropathy in my feet I feel great and all of the other
side efects have long since worn off. I have a checkup
appointment with the oncologist next month and will post another update
after that. Thanks as always to everyone for all of their incredible
support.<br>
</p>
<p>Here's to more milestones like this one!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 9 May 2010 00:28:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/00000125</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Quick medical update</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2010-Mar-15-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I have again taken way too long between posts here. My thanks to all
those of you that have contacted me to ask if everything is OK. As far
as I know things remain good. A couple of weeks ago I met with the
surgeon who is keeping an eye on me and performing my regular exams.
I'm happy to say that no new polyps were found and I have no more
scheduled exams until I meet with the oncologist again in a couple of
months time.<br>
<br>
This week the kids are on Spring Break and I am taking the week off
work so that we can spend some time together as a family. If the
weather stays nice we are going to try and make it to the Austin
Fairgrounds for the Rodeo. In the 15 years I have lived here I have
never been so I hope we can make it this year.<br>
<br>
I'll try and post again soon but at least as far as the medical stuff goes,
having less to post for a while is fine by me!</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:52:58 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000124</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Belated Happy New Year</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2010-Jan-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I have been very bad about posting here recently. Things are going
well and I have just been very busy with family and work activities. I
hope everyone is off to a good start to 2010 and I would like to wish
everyone a belated Happy New Year. I'll try and get back into
making regular updates again vey soon.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:58:16 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000123</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Latest test results still look good</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Dec-03-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Yesterday I went to the oncologist to get my latest round of tests
done. They called me five minutes ago to say that everything continues
to look normal. My cancer antigen test is even down a bit from last
time and my haemoglobin number remains solid. I continue to be plagued
by neuropathy in my feet but it has mostly gone away now in my fingers.
The Lyrica I am taking works wonders on the neuropathy pain but I think
is the major contributor to the weight I continue to gain. We agreed
yesterday to again try reducing the dosage in the hope that we can
reverse this unacceptable trend!<br>
</p>
<p>I have not posted for a month mainly because I did not have to much
to share - which is a good thing. I hope everyone is having a safe and
happy start to the holiday season. As always thoughts and prayers go
out all fellow cancer patients and their families at this time. <br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 3 Dec 2009 11:11:46 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000122</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>My second anniversary</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Oct-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Today marks the second anniversary of my cancer surgery. Is it
really possible that two years have already passed? It seems like just
yesterday. Thanks to all the wonderful doctors and nurses that treated
me I am still here to type this and to bug my family and friends! I owe
my life to you. Special thanks today (as every day) to Keith M, John M
and Darren K, three amazing doctors, without whom I would just be a
memory.<br>
</p>
<p>I think I have more blood work scheduled in the next few weeks which
as always I shall be nervous about but all continues to be well as far
as I know. I have not posted here lately as we have all been very busy
between work and school, soccer games, boy scouts, girl scouts, dance
and camping trips.<br>
</p>
<p>I'll try and post a longer update soon but I could not let this milestone day pass by without a quick post.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:48:07 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000121</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Quick medical update</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Sep-09-b</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>As many of you know, I had my latest internal exam last week,
or as my son calls in my "butt check" ! The procedure itself is
nothing that I worry too much about but I do worry very much about what
might be found. I am therefore pleased to report that
all remains clear as far as the surgeon can tell. I do not have to see
him again for another six months now which is great progress!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 9 Sep 2009 19:31:37 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000120</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Brandy</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">pets</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Sep-09-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Sadly, we had to say goodbye today to another of our dear animal
friends. Brandy, now over 13 years old had been with us since we got
her and her brother Toby as puppies from a friend as a wedding present
back in 1996. We <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jul-16-a">lost Toby just over a year ago</a>
and now Brandy has joined him at the doggie park in the sky. She was a
great dog, in her younger days extremely atheltic, more recently a lady
of leisure and sadly even more recently pretty much unable to get up
and move without our help. We are extremely sad to see her go and all
miss her very much. I'm glad we still have Rocket, Scamp and Shadow to
keep us on our toes (as well as the kids!). I need to update the pets
section with some new photos and will try and get to that soon.<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 682px; height: 363px;" alt="Picture of Brandy" title="Brandy" src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/Brandy-July-2008.jpg" align="middle"><br>
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brandy during happier times - July 2008</span><br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 8 Sep 2009 19:31:36 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000119</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Kids, Dogs and the end of Summer</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">kids</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Sep-01-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>So, while the days remain extremely hot, Summer is over for the kids
who went back to school last week. I work from home a lot and am having
to adjust to a quiet house again! Robyn is starting sixth grade (Middle
School) this school year and is very excited. Last night we went to a
meet the teachers evening. It was fun. We got to experience her day. We
went to each class for eleven minutes, attended a presentation from the
teacher and then had four minutes to make out next class - the same way
she does! As well as the traditional subjects, Robyn is taking Choir
and Band this term. She has chosen to try the clarinet as her
instrument. I hope she likes it as I am still trying to get over my
almost heart failure when I saw the price of even a used one!
Meanwhile, Jack is starting out on second grade. We have spent a small
fortune this Summer on consultations with specialists as we continue to
try and get Jack the help he needs for his Aspergers and ADHD. Lorna is
right now having to sit in the school with Jack during the morning
classes to try and keep him calm. This is unacceptable and I shall be
coming down on the school like a ton of lead bricks (backed up by
advocates and other medical professionals) if they do not get their act
together fast. He is supposed to have a teacher's aid in class and he
is not getting one. We also have some new medication for Jack that we
are just starting him on that may help with his morning moods but I am
not going to give the school what they seem to want which is to have me
medicate him into passive oblivion.<br>
</p>
<p>None the less, both kids had a great Summer. They both attended lots
of day camps and had numerous parties, play dates and sleep overs with
friends. Robyn's Summer ended on a super high as she passed her Tae
Kwon Do black belt test. Her graduation ceremony is on Thursday.<br>
</p>
<p><img src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/Shadow-Aug-4-2009-small.jpg" title="Shadow" alt="Picture of Shadow" style="width: 200px; height: 320px;" align="left" hspace="10">One
of the things we have been doing lately is volunteering at the
Williamson County Animal Shelter. As well as being a good cause anyway,
it also is helping Robyn get one of her Girl Scout badges. However,
those that know me well, know I love animals. Every time I go to the
shelter I find it hard not to bring a dog home with me. Well a few
weeks ago, my resolve broke and we now have a new member of the family.
He is (we think) a four month old puppy. We are not sure exactly what
breed he is. The shelter staff wrote him up as a Black Lab/Great Dane
mix. Our vet says he sees some Sharpei in him, I think this may just be
due to his "room to grow" wrinkly skin! Whatever breed he is, he is
loads of fun and it is clear he is going to be BIG! The other dogs,
after a few initial barks and warning growls to establish the
boundaries and the pack order have now fully accepted him. We get to
watch some fantastic play fights on a regular basis. This reminds me
that I need to go and update the pets section of this web site and get
updated photos of all the animals posted.<br>
</p>
<p>The weather here continues to be brutal. Every day during the Summer
the high temperature reached or exceeded 100F and it has hardly rained
at all. We are now (not before time in my opinion) on mandatory water
controls.<br>
</p>
<p>On the medical front, I met with an Orthopedic Surgeon yesterday
(not related to my cancer treatment) to get his opinion on my elbow
which continues to be extremely painful after I whacked it against a
plastic pipe at a water park back in June. As far as he can tell from
the X-Rays and MRI pictures that have already been taken it's nothing
more serious than an acute case of tendinitis (good old fashioned
"Tennis Elbow"). The Cortisone shot that I got for it two weeks ago has
so far not helped so they are going to start me on Physical Therapy
later this week and a course of meds. We were joking that "Tennis
Elbow" should really be called "Computer Mouse Elbow" these days as
that is when it hurts me the most. The surgeon suggested I stop using
the mouse and get a trackball instead. "Gee" I said, "what a great
idea". I am supposed to be the computer guy but I think that the doctor
is on to something there and it never occurred to me (sigh). Of course
I am not the first patient with a bad elbow he has ever seen either!<br>
</p>
<p>On a slightly less "humerus" note (sorry I couldn't resist the pun),
I am scheduled to meet with my colo-rectal surgeon tomorrow for my next
round of checkups and my internal exam (yep, yuck!). I always get
nervous when I go in for this one as this is how it all began almost
two years ago and we all know where that went (wow time flies).<br>
</p>
<p>This weekend I went and paid the $29 for my copy of Apple's new Mac
OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) operating system upgrade. I installed it on my
Mac Book Pro laptop over the weekend and so far it seems to be running
well and living up to the advertising. Lot a great deal of new visible
features but definitely a bit faster and uses less disk space. I'll
report more as I play with the new OS some more. I know many of
the folks that follow my web updates are Mac users. Please let me know
if you are also upgrading.<br>
</p>
<p>That's about it for now. I'll post more after my tests this week are over.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 1 Sep 2009 10:10:20 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000118</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>More on the Pan-Mass Challenge</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jul-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Further to my prior posting, I just received the following words
from Don. I am extremely grateful that he is riding this year in
honour of my dear friend Dion Gillard, who died way too young, from
cancer last year. Cancer is such an evil disease and none of us are
immune from it. Please help support Don if you possibly can. Here
are Don's words...<br>
</p>
<table style="text-align: left; width: 80%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">I
‘met’ many of you through a post I made here thanks to Kelvin, last
Summer. Now it’s time to renew our friendship and launch our 2009
campaign to raise funds for cancer research.<br>
<br>
This year, I am again dedicating a large investment in time and sweat
to ask as many people as I know for their support in my effort to raise
funds to support cancer research at <a href="http://www.dana-farber.org/">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute</a> in Boston. I do this by signing up to ride the <a href="http://www.pmc.org/">Pan-Massachusetts Challenge</a>,
a 2 day, 192 mile bicycle ride here in Massachusetts. By signing up I
commit to raise a minimum of $4,200 but I aim higher. Last year with
your help, I was able to ferry in $9,385. Please check out <a href="http://www.pmc.org/">their web page</a>
...you'll see it's an amazing event that attracts participation from
all across the country and the world. All told, we raised $35,000,000
for cancer research in 2008. Not bad!<br>
<br>
This year’s PMC fund raising goal is anybody’s guess given the impact
of the economic crisis. Billy Starr, the executive director, said
recently, “It’s a whole new world.” That said, we all know that cancer
strikes without consulting the latest econometric data. It affects all
of us, all too often. <br>
<br>
Many PMC people ride in honor of a friend or family member directly
affected by cancer. This year I will honor Dion Gillard, Kelvin’s
friend who lost his battle with melanoma last September. I can't
think of a better way to do this than to continue to work hard at the
fund raising, and then go out and break a sweat by riding with ~5,000
others from Sturbridge to Provincetown here in Massachusetts. It’s an
amazing community action, and one that has made and will continue to
make a major impact on developing new therapies and treatments to curb
and ultimately, defeat cancer. <br>
<br>
For a detailed description of how PMC contributions have made a difference in the fight <a href="http://www.pmc.org/articles.asp?ArticleID=1462">visit this page</a>.<br>
<br>
This year the ride is on August 1st and 2nd. Please join me in
this effort by sponsoring my ride. Contributions may be made as late as
September 30, 2009.<br>
<br>
To do this, just visit my <a href="https://www.pmc.org/egifts/default.asp?Add=DH0129">eGIFT site</a>.<br>
<br>
Click on 'Sponsor one rider with one donation', then open up 'Select a
person by eGift ID'. You'll see my name and the field to enter
the amount you wish to contribute. It's very quick and simple. The PMC
staff manage a lean operation. As they say: "Not one cent of each
dollar raised through riders' sweat and determination is used for
administrative and organizational expenses." Using the web is a major
component of this success. <br>
<br>
If you work for IBM or a company that has a matching gift program, this
is an excellent way to double your gift. Last year, more than $2,500
was directly matched by IBM. Here's the link for <a href="http://w3-01.ibm.com/hr/us/hrforms/data/mgapp.pdf">IBM's Matching Grant form</a><br>
<br>
Just fill in your employee serial number and the amount of your donation. Then snail mail it to me at:<br>
<br>
<div style="margin-left: 80px;">Don Harbison<br>
3 Thoreau Dr.<br>
Chelmsford, MA 01824<br>
</div>
<br>
I will take care of mailing it in to the PMC/Dana-Farber team. <br>
<br>
I'm looking forward to the ride, and re-connecting with the amazing
community that comes together once a year. When it's over, I'll post an
update on how it went. <br>
<br>
Thank you for your support!<br>
<br>
Don Harbison<br>
dpharbison@mac.com<br>
<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:11:27 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000117</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Pan-Mass Challenge - Bike riding for cancer research</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jul-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>You may recall that last year
I was <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jul-24-a">proud to
support</a> my friend and colleague Don Harbison in his efforts to raise money
for cancer research at the <a href="http://www.dfci.harvard.edu/">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute</a> by riding in the <a href="http://www.pmc.org/">Pan-Mass Challenge</a>.
Don is riding again this year and needs our help to reach his goals.
Despite the tougher economic times, cancer has not taken a break, and I
feel strongly that we need to continue to support research into
defeating this evil disease. As well as my own fight, I have lost my
mother, an aunt and several close friends to cancer. This is a cause
near and dear to my heart. Don asked me if I would again advertise his
efforts this year by way of a posting here and of course I agreed. I
hope some of you can join me in supporting Don. Every little helps.<br>
</p>
<p>You can sponsor Don by <a href="http://www.pmc.org/egifts/DH0129">visiting this link</a>.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:23:08 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000116</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The Hot Summer Continues</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jul-23-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>It is always hot in Texas during the Summer time but this year is
off to an even more brutal start than usual. In June, we had something
in the order of 20 days where the temperature met or exceeded 100
degrees Fahrenheit. July has been following a similar pattern. I for
one, do not mind the heat at all but what we do need is some rain. We
have not had a good, prolonged, rain shower for weeks. Yesterday
some promising looking storm clouds formed around 5pm but produced very
little in the way of useful rainfall where we live.<br>
</p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago we spent a week at the <a href="http://www.greatwolf.com/grapevine/waterpark">Great Wolf Lodge</a>
in Grapevine (right by the DFW airport) and had a great time. We went
there last year and enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back
again. This year I finally found the courage to ride the Tornado! It
was a lot of fun and a much needed break for me from work, which, of
late, has been extremely busy. On one of the water slides, I hit my arm
very hard on the plastic side of the tube. It hurt so much that I went
and had it X-rayed when we got back but there was no sign of any
fracture. It still hurts a lot though! We were also able to visit
with our great friends Rhonda and Terry and their kids Elizabeth and
Chip while in Grapevine. They also visited us here in Round Rock
last week for a day and we had a great time.You cannot put a price on such friends. </p>
<p>Thanks to the Internet and the BBC Radio broadcasts, I have been
keeping up with the Ashes cricket series between England and Australia.
So far it has been every bit as exciting as the series in 2005. I had
planned to visit the UK with my good friend Dion Gillard (from
Australia) this Summer to watch the cricket live. Sadly, as many of you
will know from my prior posts, cancer took Dion from us way before his
time a few months ago. I know we would have been having a great time
and I think about him often.<br>
</p>
<p>Talking of absent friends, this time last year we lost one of our
Golden retrievers, Toby. His sister Brandy was 13 on July 8th. She is
not doing so well and I fear will not be with us too much longer
either. While we know that 13 years old is well beyond average
for a Golden, it will still not be easy to see her go.<br>
</p>
<p>We have tried to find the kids lots of things to do that get them
out of the house during the long Summer break. Robyn did a ceramics
camp this week and I am taking Jack to a sleep-in at the Johnson Space
Center (Mission Control) in Houston in a couple of weeks. I keep
trying to get them to play outside but given the heat, all they seem to
want to do when they are home is sit in front of the TV or the
computer. School goes back on August 25th this year so we need to keep
them busy for a few weeks yet!<br>
</p>
<p>On the medical front, my tests continue to look good but the
neuropathy is proving extremely stubborn and I am still dealing with a
lot of fatigue attacks. I have been doing some reading of medical
papers on the Web lately, and it appears that many of my symptoms seem
quite common among chemotherapy patients. I read with interest that
some doctors are now describing the after effects that chemo has on
people like me as "chemo brain". What is interesting is that I had
myself been using that phrase to somewhat jokingly describe what I have
experienced to people. Now it seems that maybe "chemo brain" will
become a more formal name for the results of chemotherapy medications
on the brain and neurological system of the patient.<br>
</p>
<p>That's it for now. As we head in to August in a few days I wish my
many friends and family in Europe all the best as they start their
prime Summer vacation season. <br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:40:10 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000115</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Patents</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">patents</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jun-15-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I discovered by accident today (I promise I was not doing a "vanity search") that Google now offers a <a href="http://www.google.com/patents">way to search issued US patents</a>.
Having found the site, I will admit that I keyed in my first and last
names and it gave me back a ton of hits. I then remembered that patents
carry my full name so I added my middle name to the search and was
impressed to see that it found almost all of my issued US patents (I
think I have about 77 now). I also discovered that some of my issued
patents have my name spelled wrong (Kevin instead of Kelvin) so a few
don't show up in the search on my actual name!<br>
</p>
<p>If you are curious, you can find my patents, courtessy of Google, <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?q=kelvin+roderick+lawrence&btnG=Search+Patents">here</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/patents?q=kevin+roderick+lawrence&spell=1&oi=spell">here</a>.
In case you are wondering (having looked at my search results), no, I
did not invent the system for organ placement during surgery!).<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, if you have patents yourself or are just curious to see what you can discover I recommend doing a few searches.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:26:39 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000114</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Graduation, Summer and more Tests!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jun-08-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I have been so busy at work and at home that a month has flown by,
it seems, in the blink of an eye, since my last post. School here in
Texas is now out for the Summer. Robyn (who turned 11 in May) is no
longer in Elementary School. When school goes back in late August she
will be in Middle School. The Elementary school held a graduation
ceremony for all the fifth graders which, while cute, to my mind is a
bit over the top. Jack meanwhile will be in second grade when
school goes back.Where does the time go? <br>
</p>
<p>So now that school is out, I am wondering once again if I am going
to be able to work from home as much as I usually do now that my work
environment has become very LOUD!! I have turned on parental
control on the playroom computer which forces them to unplug for at
least part of the day. We are instigating a rule for the Summer that a
certain amount of time must be spent outdoors. We also have the kids
signed up for a few camps that will hopefully keep them distracted (and
out of the house) for at least part of the time.<br>
</p>
<p>On the medical front, last week I had my latest scheduled round of
blood tests. As far as they can tell, everything continues to look
normal. <br>
</p>
<p>It's already in the mid to high nineties Fahrenheit here, it's going to be a long, hot Summer!<br>
</p>
<p>Best wishes to all<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 8 Jun 2009 15:55:32 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000113</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>My "End of Chemo"Anniversary</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-May-08-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I realised yesterday that this week is exactly one year on from my
last chemotherapy treatment (May 7th 2008). While I am still feeling
some of the side effects of chemo (neuropathy and fatigue mainly) I am
still alive to play with my wife and kids and enjoy spending time with
my friends, family and colleagues. For that I am very grateful.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 8 May 2009 09:54:11 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000112</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Test results</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Apr-30-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>When I first began posting here about my cancer diagnosis back in
October of 2007 I adopted a policy of being very open about my
"adventure" in the hope that I might be able to provide some comfort
and information to others embarking on a similar journey. By far the
highest proportion of visitors to my web site get here as a direct
result of colon cancer or chemotherapy related searches. I have made a
lot of new friends along the way, most of whom I have never met in
person, and I continue to wish them all the best for successful
outcomes in their respective battles with this evil disease. I am very
humbled by the number of people that have written to me or posted a
message into the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> telling me
about their battle with cancer and thanking me for sharing my
information which helped them better understand that they were not
alone in terms of symptoms, side effects of treatment etc.<br>
</p>
<p>Thankfully my tests continue to show that I am (as far as can be
determined using current technology) cancer free. However, my journey is
far from over and I am continuing to run into additional issues that
were most likely caused by the FOLFOX chemotherapy that I underwent
between December 2007 and May 2008. Chemo has become a lot more
effective over the years but for all the good it does it definitely
comes at a price, but as my wife constantly reminds me, I am still
alive to gripe about it! Most recently, as I mentioned in my
prior posting, I have been suffering some fairly bad fatigue. A week
ago I went to see the oncologist and they ran a set of tests on me. All
of my basic blood work (white count, platelets, haemoglobin) came back
fine and there was no sign of any issues with my Thyroid. The only test
that seemed at all off was my Testosterone level which was at the low
end of normal ("is that chemo or my age?" I ask myself!!). Anyway, the
oncologist has decided to put me on a regimen of monthly testosterone
shots for a while to see if that helps. I had my first shot last week
and it may be my imagination but I already seem to have a bit more
energy!<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway that's it for now. Thanks as always for all the messages of
concern. It's great to know I have such a great set of people cheering
me on.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:57:25 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000111</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Fatigue</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Apr-18-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Just recently I have been suffering fairly chronic fatigue. I start
the day with plenty of energy but by about 4pm I'm ready for a nap.
This is not like me at all. My legs have also been somewhat restless
again, which if you remember how my journey began back in October 2007
is a bit scary. My next scheduled round of tests is not until June but
(hopefully using an excess of caution) I have scheduled an appointment
with the oncologist for Monday morning to get checked out. The
fatigue seems to have been getting slowly worse each day for about the
last two weeks and I want to make sure nothing unusual is going on.
Suffice to say I'm a bit nervous.I'll keep you all posted as soon as I have some results. </p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:22:15 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000110</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>World Autism Awareness Day</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Apr-02-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Today is <a href="http://www.worldautismawarenessday.org/site/c.egLMI2ODKpF/b.3917077/k.186A/About_World_Autism_Awareness_Day.htm">World Autism Awareness day</a>.
This is a subject near and dear to my heart as my son Jack is on the
Autism "spectrum" and has been diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD among
other things. We have other family members that are also dealing with
autism on a daily basis. Whether you are a parent of an autistic child
or a person dealing with the austism spectrum disorder (ASD) on a
personal level, today is a day on which we can show our support for
each other.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 2 Apr 2009 14:24:33 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000109</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Entries from 2008 are now in the Archive</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Mar-31-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I did a little Spring cleaning of the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net">web page</a> today.
All entries from 2008 have now been moved into
the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html">Archive</a>.
Please <a href="mailto:gfxman@yahoo.com">let me know</a> if you run into
any broken links or other problems.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:20:41 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000108</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Spring is here in Texas</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">texas</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Mar-18-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Although Spring does not officially start for a few more days (March
20th), as I type this it is close to 80F outside and the Red Buds are
in full bloom. This week is Spring Break for the kids. Robyn is at a
Girl Scouts camp all week and Jack is enjoying a series of extended
play dates with some of his friends. I have a lot of work to get done
(which is bad planning on my part) so I am hiding in my home office a
lot, with the door shut! Last week we finally got some much
needed rain as a cold front arrived and stayed for a few days. I think
we are still below where we need to be and if we don't get some good
storms during the Spring we could be in for a very hot Summer. As is
typical around these parts at this time of the year, the week before
the cold front hit, the temperature was in the 90s F. Several of my
colleagues were in town that week to attend the <a href="http://www.share.org">SHARE</a>
conference which was held in Austin for the first time. I'm glad they
got to enjoy some nice weather while they were here and in these times
of reduced travel, it was great to see them.<br>
</p>
<p>This past Sunday, we went to see the Broadway touring production of
"Spamalot" here in Austin. It was excellent. Richard Chamberlain was
great as King Arthur and it's hard to believe that he is now 75 years
of age. This coming Saturday we have tickets to see Elton John and
Billy Joel live in concert. I have seen them together before and am
hoping for another great show. We don't get out that often so having
two great events on back to back weekends is a real treat!<br>
</p>
<p>One of the reasons I have been posting here a bit less is that I have been trying to give more real time status updates on both <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin_Lawrence/560392836">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/gfxman">Twitter</a>.
I have to say though that the recent changes made to the Facebook web
page (I think it's a real mess now) probably mean I will be spending
less time there in the future<br>
</p>
<p>On the medical front I am continuing to get my strength back but
lately have been feeling a bit more tired than usual and I think I have
overdone it a bit both in terms of trying to get back into shape and
also in terms of housework and other errands. Lorna and I debated
buying a treadmill but after researching how much a decent one costs we
ended up joining a local gym which offers a pay by the month plan. I
have been trying to get to the gym one or two times a week. I feel like
I am in hand to hand combat right now with the drugs that help with my
neuropathy. I love that they cure the pain but I hate that they help me
gain weight!</p>
<p><br>
That's it for now then - I hope you are well as you read this.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:59:31 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000107</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Another year older - and that's a good thing!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Feb-13-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>A few days ago (February 1st), I celebrated my 44th birthday. I was
overwhelmed with all of the nice messages that I received. Thank you
all very much! When the journey that I have been on began back in
October 2007, I had serious doubts I would still be here at this time
and I am so grateful and blessed that I am.</p>
<p>A few days after my birthday it was time for my next round of blood
work and physical exams. The worst part about the blood tests are that
they can give you you basic numbers (white count, platelets,
haemoglobin) almost right away but it takes a day to get the <a href="http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8722">"CEA marker"</a>
test back (and those are the ones that can indicate a recurrence of
colon cancer). I am happy to report that all of the tests (both blood
work and physical exam) came back clean and as far as the doctors can
tell, I remain cancer free. I have no more tests scheduled until June
(so I get four months to try and relax a bit). The neuropathy continues
to be an issue. As an experiment, n discussions with my oncologist, we
agreed to try reducing the amount of Lyrica I am taking to see if the
pain remains under control while hopefully stemming the weight gain
that I have been experiencing since I started on this drug. For the
benefit of fellow patients that I know are reading this blog, the
Lyrica has done a really good job with the pain but it seems to be the
main cause of my weight gain. I'm also trying to focus on exercise and
fitness to see if I can win back a few pounds. I'll keep you all posted
on my progress!<br>
</p>
<p>I hope everyone is off to good start in 2009 and I particularly want
to send out best wishes to all of the other cancer patients out there
that I have met because of this blog.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:55:12 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000106</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>My use of "social networking" tools</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">socialnetworking</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">web</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jan-29-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>While I still like having a journal of significant events here
(especially the medical ones), and I fully plan to continue making
regular updates, I have been finding that lately I spend a lot of time
posting updates and communicating with people using so called "social
networking" tools and web sites. Specifically I find my self using four
web based tools a lot. For me each one fulfills a different and yet
interesting, role. One thing I like is the real time nature of these
tools. When I write a blog posting (such as this one) I try to put a
lot of thought into it and I have to carve out a fairly substantial
chunk of time to do it. By contrast, it takes no time at all to update
my Facebook status or to post a quick "tweet" on Twitter in answer to
the basic question of "What are you doing now?". So whereas I may
update this blog on avaerage about once a week. I will update Facebook
and Twitter multiple times a day typically. Below is a table of the
four sites I use the most. If you click on the links you will get to my
specific page on each site. Alsongside each entry in the table is a
brief summary of what I use each one for. If we are not already
connected on any or all of these tools please feel free to reach out
and make a connection! <br>
</p>
<table style="text-align: left; width: 80%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin_Lawrence/560392836">Facebook</a></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I view Facebook as the primary
place that I interact on-line with my family and friends. Facebook is
also the tool I have been most actively using for the longest time.
While I also do find work colleagues there, the discussions, at least
the ones I am most involved in, tend to be more about non-work
activities. Unlike some, but like many others, I also enjoy many of the
games that are available on Facebook. I tend to play mostly word games
and puzzle games and for the most part avoid collecting fish! I tend
to know most of the people I am connected to on Facebook. I am
less likely to accept a friendship offer from someone I don't know
unless the person is recommended by a person I trust. I mostly interact
with Face book using their web page but I also use their Blackberry
client. The facebook tools for finding people you know seem pretty
good. <br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/gfxman">Twitter</a></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I am fairly new to Twitter. I
have been using it since last October. I view Twitter as a mix between
so called "micro blogging" and instant messaging with persistence.
Unlike Facebook, I do take part in many technical discussions with
people on Twitter. You can chose to have your messages be open to all
or just to your followers/fiends. Each message you post is limited to
140 characters. I have many people that I "talk" to via Twitter and
many of them I have never met before or even knew of before we found
each other on Twitter. These type of connections work best when people
have a common interest. You will find all types of people on Twitter
including many celebrities. Many of the people follow tend to discuss
technical things related to computers but I also follow people
discussing topics like autism, local events in Austin and of course
people that I just find interesting. Twitter has a lot of applications
that you can run on your computer or handheld to read and post "tweets"
but I tend mainly to use the twitter.com web interface. I do however
run a couple of Twitter clients on my Blackberry. The one I use the
most at the moment is TwitterBerry. I find it quite difficult to easily
find people I want to connect to. I usally have to rely on spotting a
conversation between people I know or stumbling upon an ongoing
conversation that looks interesting. The tools provided fot finding
friends need some work in my opinion.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/krlawrence">LinkedIn</a></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I view LinkedIn as my primary
on-line resume/CV and business contacts database. Sadly in recent weeks
I have been getting a lot of requests via LinkedIn to recommend people
who are tidying up their resumes. My best wishes to all of them. I
almost always interact with LinkedIn using the web page interface. As a
general rule I will only accept a connection request from someone I
have either met in person or on the phone. Likewise, I am very careful
with my recommendations. I try to view LinkedIn as a very professional
environment and treat it and the people I find there in that way. The
LinkedIn tools for finding people you know seem pretty good and I have
even managed to find old university class mates from the 1980's using
the tools provided on the web site.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><a href="http://kelvinlawrence.myplaxo.com/">Plaxo</a></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Of the four,Plaxo is the one I
use the least. I am not 100% sure what Plaxo wants to be and I am still
trying to decide if it should be on my list here. It is sort of a
mixture between Facebook (without the apps) and LinkedIn. One thing
that Plaxo is very good at is aggregating information from multiple
sources (blogs, del.icio.us,Flickr, etc) into a single place. That is
the primary reason I use it. I have very few connections on Plaxo that
I am not also connected to elsewhere (typically on LinkedIn or
Facebook). I only use the web interface and don't know if other options
exist.<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>There are a lot of other sites that offer similar facilities, but
these are the four that I currently use and they, I think, cover
my personal life connectivity needs! I do also use sites like <a href="http://www.delicious.com/gfxman">del.icio.us</a>
and Digg to store my bookmarks on-line but I am not including those
sites in this list. I also use photo sharing sites like Flickr and
Picasa but for now I am not listing those here either. I am finding
that I use e-mail and dedicated instant messaging tools less these
days, especially since Facebook added an instant messaging facility. Of
course I also use a lot of additional tools for my day job including
the more traditional tools like e-mail, instant messaging, news groups
and discussion lists, as well as some of the more interesting web
conferencing and collaboration tools but the the web sites listed above
I view as more the ones I use in my personal life. I could also get
into my use of virtual worlds like Second Life but that deserves a
whole posting of its own at some future date.<br>
</p>
<p>An interesting footnote to this posting is that I feel so well in
touch these says with my friends and family around the World that I
think Christmas cards, at least for us, are probably a thing of the
past (sort of sad but also the reality of the times we live in).<br>
</p>
By the way, if you are reading this at my web site rather than via an
RSS reader, then you will see links to many of the sites that I use in
the side bar on the left hand side of the home page. You may have to
scroll the side bar down a bit to see them all.<br>
<br>
That's it for now then. Apologies to folks who don't come here to read
technical stuff. I'll be back to talking medical and family stuff again
soon as my next cancer screening is just a few days away but this is a
posting I have wanted to make for some time.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:09:53 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000105</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Brief medical update</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jan-18-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I haven't posted a medical update for a while and several of you
have been kind enough to inquire as to my status. So, here is a very
quick update. I have no more tests planned until early next month. As
far as I know the next round of tests will just be blood work. The
biggest problem right now is the neuropathy left behind by the FOLFOX
chemotherapy (that ended last May). Specifically this is caused by the
Oxaliplatin drug. I am told that it can take a year or more (from the
day chemo ends) for this to go away. I am currently taking Lyrica which
does a really good job of reducing the pain but seems to have the
unfortunate side effect of causing substantial weight gain. Lately I
have been exercising regularly (riding the bike, walking, in-line
skating, lifting weights) but no matter what I do I am finding it
impossible the weight I have gained since I started taking Lyrica.
Usually I find it very easy to lose weight so this is, to say the
least, a bit frustrating! A week ago, I decided I would try an
experiment and stop taking the Lyrica. Three days after I stopped the
pain in my hands and feet became unbearable and I started taking it
again. The pain almost immediately subsided. So I feel as if I am stuck
in a situation where I can be in pain but losing weight or pain free
and heavy! I plan to talk to my oncologist again next month about
this. That said, my wife keeps reminding me that my body has been
through a lot in the last year or so and that I need to be patient. I
know she is right but it really bugs me that most of my clothes are
tight!<br>
</p>
<p>I continue to be humbled by the fact that I am still being contacted
by fellow cancer patients (usually colon cancer patients like myself)
who have found my web site while searching the internet for
reassurance as they start their treatment. That was one of the main
reasons I started keeping the journal here of my treatment and I am
really pleased that it has been useful to others. If you are a cancer
patient reading this, e-mail me and I will always reply and I will help
in any way I can by sharing my experiences. You can reach me by sending
e-mail to gfxman@yahoo.com.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:33:48 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000104</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Happy New Year and now it's back to work!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#2009-Jan-05-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>First of all I would like to wish all of my friends and family around the World a belated "Happy New Year".<br>
</p>
<p>I'm back to work today for the first time in several weeks and the
kids are back at school. The house feels extremely quiet. I took
an extended break to burn off all of my unused vacation time and I feel
a lot more rested as a result. I have spent a lot of time over the past
few weeks playing with the kids both indoors and outdoors and finally
catching up on many house projects and also on my reading. Our video
games and our bicycles all got an extended workout too andI even got both my daughter's bedroom the garage tidied up! <br>
</p>
<p>We celebrated Jack's seventh birthday on December 17th. I cannot
believe that he is seven already. I need to upload the photos from my
camera and post a few here.<br>
</p>
<p>Looking back, 2008 as far as I am concerned, was truly a year unlike
any other. I was in chemotherapy for the first 24 weeks of the year and
then recovering from the side effects for a long time after that. In
fact, I am still dealing with some of them and probably will be for
some time to come. I'm not complaining however. I'm still here for my
family and that's all that matters. There was also the seemingly
endless schedule of blood tests, CT scans, surgeries and other fun stuff.
Thankfully I have no more tests or other medical procedures scheduled
until next month. I can finally feel my energy returning and I have
started trying to exercise regularly. Over the holidays I spent a lot
of time riding my bike and working out with weights. I also want to get
my Rollerblades out of retirement once it stops raining! <br>
</p>
<p>One of the post chemo side effects I need to address somehow
is the weight that I gained due largely to the medications I
still have to take daily. Right now I weigh about 50 pounds more
than I did a few weeks after surgery in October 2007 (which of course
caused me to lose weight) and about 30 of those pounds seemed to appear
very soon after I started taking a specific drug back in August. So, to
a large degree I had little control over the weight I have gained but I
have decided to draw a line in the sand and try to fight back!
Check back here periodically for news (hopefully) of my progress!<br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile the weather here has been crazy. It was 83 degrees
Fahrenheit two days ago and I was out in shorts. Today it's raining and
barely above freezing. It's supposed to be back in the seventies by
midweek - such is a Central Texas Winter !<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, this has been a nice diversion but I need to get back to
work so here's wishing everyone all the very best for a safe and happy
2009.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 5 Jan 2009 12:17:35 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000103</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>School's out for ... Winter!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Dec-19-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I apologise for not having posted here since December 4th as I have
continued to be extremely busy finishing up work for the year and then
getting stuck into the many tasks that have been sitting patiently on
my non work to-do list. So this entry is a quick update on life in the
Lawrence household as another year draws to a close. <br>
</p>
<p>Because I spent almost half the year on chemotherapy, and also as I
am still dealing with side effects from both my surgery and the chemo,
we didn't take much family vacation time this year. Consequently,
given that, as with most companies, my vacation is on a "use it or lose
it" basis, I started December with about 19 days of vacation left to
take. As a result, I have been off work for over a week now and will
not be back officially until January 5th next year. I say "officially"
as I am still checking my e-mail and attending the occasional meeting
by phone as I just cannot stand to be out of touch for a whole month at
a time when things at work are so busy.<br>
</p>
<p>As you may have guessed from the title of this entry, today is the
last day of school for the year. The kids should be home soon. I have
been enjoying the quiet at home the last week or so as I worked on my
various chores and projects - oh well, it was good while it lasted!<br>
</p>
<p>As far as the household projects go, among the more notable are my
daughter's bedroom, which I have remodeled and emptied out
substantially (something she has been begging me to help her do
for ages) and I am part way through converting one of the other rooms
in the house into a workout area (something I very much need). The meds
I am on to combat the neuropathy left behind by chemotherapy have added
about 30 pounds to my post-surgery weight. I don't seem to have a lot
of control over this but I am trying hard to lose a few of those pounds
somehow. I usually find it very easy to lose weight but not this time.
I am going to have to work out extra hard. The pedometer that Lorna got
me shows I am averaging over 3 miles walked a day and many days lately
I have walked five miles or more but it doesn't seem to be enough.
Hence I need to get into some sort of regular workout regimen as I fear
I'll be on these meds for a while yet. I tried coming off them for one
day a week or so ago and the pain was unbearable by mid-afternoon.
Generally on the medical front I am doing quite well - neuropathy
aside. I have no more tests scheduled until February.<br>
</p>
<p>This week I am trying to get more into Christmas activities. I
cannot believe that Christmas Day is only a week away. I feel very
unprepared this year - although we do have the gifts for the kids both
purchassed and wrapped. Our tree is up, the lights are on, but we still
need to decorate it. Part of the reason for the tree delay is that the
new tree we bought last year (a large 10ft self lit one) seems to have
shorted out and after wasting an hour trying to fix it Lorna and I
decided to cut our losses and go buy a replacement. We have not even
tried to send Christmas cards this year. Apologies to all of my friends
and family that we usually send one too. We've just been too busy with
medical appointments and other unexpected health issues with other
family members to manage to send Christmas cards. We'll be trying to
contact everyone either by phone or e-mail over the holiday period. I
bought a Christmas train set to go under the tree (I saw it on sale and
could not resist it - I'm still a kid at heart) and I shall be putting
that together later today.<br>
</p>
<p>In amongst all of the house projects I have been trying to have a
little fun as well. I have spent quite a few hours playing <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/videogames.html">video games</a> (both alone and with the rest
of the family). Our most played game right now are Wii Fit and
Guitar Hero III - Legends of Rock (I have finally almost mastered the
most basic level!). I have also been trying to get caught up on my <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading</a>. I have a lot of books sitting <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html#queue">in the queue</a> waiting to be read. I'm
currently reading <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Hawke</span>
by Tedd Bell (I really like his books so far) and next on deck in the
1000 plus page <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cryptonomicon</span>
by Neal Stephenson (I have not read any of his books yet but I am told
that is a good one).<br>
</p>
<p>As I type this I am in shorts and it is 71F outside (apologies to my
friends in the North Eastern US that are buried in snow). A few days
ago the temperature was in the 20's and it actually snowed a few
flakes. The day before that it was 80F. This weekend it is supposed to
get cold again before warming up again next week. The weather here can
only be described as crazy!<br>
</p>
<p>Last weekend my trusty Mac Book Pro, which has worked flawlessly for
the past year, froze and I had to forcefully power it off. After that I
could not get it to reboot. I was however able to restore the machine
using the wonderful Time Machine backup program that comes as part of
Mac OS X. Thankfully I had been keeping regular backups so I was able
to restore the machine to the state it had been in right before it
froze. However, the disk was now making very odd noises and experience
told me it was dying and would soon fail for good. I made an
appointment to go and see the folks at the "Genius Bar" in the local
Apple store on Monday morning and even though my machine was two weeks
out of warranty (go figure) they offered to replace the disk for free
(I didn't even have to do any begging or groveling) . They didn't have
one in stock but said they would order me one. Wednesday evening they
called and said the disk was in. On Thursday evening I dropped the
machine off at around 7pm and went with the family to have dinner.
Right after dinner, around 8:30pm, they called me and said the
machine was ready to pickup. Today I restored the computer using the
same Time Machine backups I had used before and I now have my system
back just as it was but running on a brand new disk. The combination of
the great service from the Apple store and the ease with which I was
able to restore my machine truly impressed me (and that's not easy with
this type of stuff). I will definitely be buying more Macs as the other
machines in the house grow older and need replacing. I have really
developed a liking for my Mac Book Pro since buying it to be my
companion during the seemingly endless hours of chemotherapy treatment,
but this just experience further convinced me that they are worth the
premium price charged for them.<br>
</p>
<p>That's it for now then. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish
all of my friends and family around the World a very safe and happy
Christmas. To all of my friends that celebrate other holidays,
all the very best to you too. I hope you all find peace and happiness
in each of your endeavours.</p>
<p><br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:52:54 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000102</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Can it really be December again already?</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Dec-04-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Things have been very busy both at home and at work with it being
the holiday season now. I took last week off to spend time with the
family and to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States.
This week (as always happens) I am trying to get caught up on the
backlog of work and e-mail that builds up whenever one takes a few days
off! That said, given I spent almost half the year undergoing
chemotherapy, I have not used much of my vacation entitlement for this
year. Consequently, Friday (as in tomorrow) will be my last day at work
for 2008. I will not return to work (officially) until January 5th next
year. I say "officially" as I will still be checking my e-mail while
away to avoid having to deal with a mountain of unread mail when I get
back to work in January. It's hard to believe it's that time of year
again.<br>
</p>
<p>Last week we took the kids to see the movie Bolt in 3D. I enjoyed
the movie and thought the 3D technology used was a lot better than I
had expected it would be. In general (aside from what I regard as
specialist environments such as Disney and Universal Studios) I have
not enjoyed broad release 3D movies. Bolt definitely is an exception to
that and I would recommend it as a good family movie. Meanwhile,
the weather here in the Austin area has been gorgeous. Blue skies and
very warm temperatures. Yesterday our daytime high was 79 degrees
Fahrenheit. That said, last night, as often happens this time of year,
a cold front blew through and this morning we woke up to a chilly 35
degrees. It was cold enough that my son ran from the car into the
school at full speed - not his usual MO at all !<br>
</p>
<p>I have not posted here for a few days but I have been making regular posts both on <a href="http://twitter.com/gfxman">Twitter</a> (my ID is @gfxman if you are a Twitter user) and on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin-Lawrence/560392836">Facebook</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelvin-Lawrence/560392836">.</a>
Somehow I find it takes me a lot more effort to sit down and write a
(hopefully) meaningful blog post than it does to quickly update my
status on Twitter and Facebook. Many of my friends and colleagues have
made the same observation. I still enjoy both reading and writing blog
posts (and I particularly like having a nice journal of things I can
look back on - such as my treatment log here) but I must confess that I
am able to keep up with most of my friends and some of my family these
days via Facebook. I have been using Facebook for quite a while now but
I am fairly new to Twitter and still not exactly sure if it's for me
but I am persevering with it for a bit longer. I find it much easier to
find people I know and want to keep in touch with on Facebook than on
Twitter. To be fair though, a lot of people I like following from a
computing/IT perspective do seem to be on Twitter so maybe that is just
a different community. In fact the overlap of people I follow who are
both on Facebook and Twitter seems to be quite small.<br>
</p>
<p>At any rate, it's hard to believe that December has crept up on me
again and that another year is almost over. I will write a "look back
at the year" post closer to the end of the year but for now let's just
say I have a lot to be thankful for in 2008. My family, my friends, my
doctors, the fact that I have no more medical tests until February, the
list seems almost endless. It truly has been a year unlike any other.
TTFN.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 4 Dec 2008 10:06:22 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000101</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Preliminary biopsy results</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Nov-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Last Wednesday I went into the Round Rock Medical Center for a <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/003934.htm">bone marrow biopsy</a>.
I have had a lot of new experiences during the past twelve months and
this was another first! For those who are interested, the procedure is
done while the patient (me) is face down on the table with his backside
stuck into the CT machine. They sedate you thankfully before sticking
big needles into your pelvic bone (at the Iliac crest). It was sort of
interesting to see the doctor dressed up in a special protective suit
that to me made him look like something out of Power Rangers! It was
also interesting to ponder how come he gets a suit and I don't :-)<br>
</p>
<p>As I mentioned in my prior posting, this was to see if the
chemotherapy treatments had damaged the bone marrow badly enough that
it needs treating. I called the doctor's office about an hour ago to
see if they had the results back. They did. I am hugely relieved to say
that his preliminary reading of the results is that everything looks
normal. As far as I know this means I don't need additional treatment
and I just have to be patient and let my body heal itself. Thanks
everyone for all your messages of support and encouragement in
the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> and elsewhere once again during this period.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:54:30 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000100</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Test results good but more tests needed...</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Nov-09-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
We met with the oncologist on Friday to get the results of the blood
tests and CT scan that I had earlier in the week. The good news is that
there continues to be no further signs of any cancer. This is a huge
relief. I was extremely nervous going into this test cycle. My spleen
continues to be enlarged so next week I am going in to the hospital for
a bone marrow biopsy. The theory is that the chemotherapy damaged my
bone marrow causing the spleen to pick up the slack. We need to find
out how badly the bone marrow was damaged. Depending on the biopsy
results, I may need treatment to help the marrow recover. All things
considered I am doing well and for the most part still on the mend. My
blood levels are the best they have been in over a year.<br>
</p>
<p>I am grateful to everyone who has been calling me and writing to me
to ask about the test results. Sorry it has taken me a few days to
update the status here. I had a good friend in town staying with us for
the weekend. Yesterday we went to the UT game (against Baylor) in the
morning and my kids both had soccer games in the afternoon followed by
an end of season pizza party. Just another quiet Saturday. I am trying
to get caught up on my web and e-mail backlog today!<br>
</p>
<p>So that's the medical update for now. I'll post again after the
biopsy. The results will take over a week to come back, so it will be
Thanksgiving here in the US before we know the outcome most likely.<br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the weather here in Texas has been gorgeous. Cool
overnight (40's F)
and then warming up to almost 80 during the day with not a cloud in the
sky so still wearing shorts in mid-November and yesterday Arsenal beat
Manchester United, what more could I ask
for? :-)
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 9 Nov 2008 09:31:08 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000099</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A "Testing" week ahead</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Nov-03-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>No, I'm not referring to the US elections tomorrow unfortunately.
Instead, for me it's time for the next round of post chemo medical
checks. Tomorrow after a scheduled 7am work meeting and a trip to the
local school to vote, I have to go to the Oncologist's office for blood
tests and then on Wednesday I have a CT scan scheduled. We are due to
meet with the doctor to get the results on Friday. So while by tomorrow
night one way or another millions of people here in the US will be
celebrating, I have to wait a few more days to get the result that I
most care about - I know, call me selfish!<br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile I do plan to stay up late tomorrow night and watch the
results come in on what may well be an historic day in American
history. I will however be glad when the whole election process is
over. I am so sick of the endless TV coverage, the annoying commercials
that say nothing about what their candidate would do and instead just
focus on why the other guy is even worse as well as the phone calls and
visits to the front door. I just hope and pray that the balloting
process passes without any major mishaps this time around and that by
sometime on Wednesday, we have a clear winner.<br>
</p>
<p>Living in Texas, my vote, sadly has little meaning (no matter which
way I vote this state will stay Republican), but at least I can go to
Starbucks after the doctor, tell them I voted, and get a free cup of
coffee!! Hopefully I can also tell them I voted for the guy who
won :-)<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 3 Nov 2008 22:40:49 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000098</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>One year on from surgery that saved my life</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Oct-28-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>One year ago, I was in the Seton hospital here in Austin having just
had most of my colon removed and was waiting for the tests results that
would determine how seriously ill I really was. We knew from the prior
biopsy that I had cancer but what we did not know, and needed to find
out, was how advanced it really was. We also knew that the tumor
that had just been removed was about the "size of the surgeons fist"
(his words not mine). It was a nervous few days waiting for the test
results on the lymph nodes to come back. The surgeon (unbeknownst me)
had told my wife he feared I was at stage three based on his visual
examination of the nodes. My wife had to worry through this time a lot
more than I did as I was heavily sedated and not fully aware of what
was going on. Thankfully, all 37 lymph nodes that were tested
came back negative and I officially became a stage two cancer patient.
So began many months of recovery from surgery and chemotherapy to
(hopefully) kill any cancer cells that had escaped prior to, or during,
surgery. <br>
</p>
<p>I am very grateful that due to the skill of the doctors that
diagnosed me and performed the surgery on me as well as the oncologist
who subsequently blasted my body with chemotherapy that I am still here
to type this text today.<br>
</p>
<p>I think I'll keep this post brief and reflect on how blessed and how
lucky I am to have such great doctors, who are still looking after me,
and such <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">great friends</a> who have
helped me keep my spirits up through the last twelve months. Also, if
you have been thinking about, but putting off, getting a colonoscopy
done - do it now - it could save your life!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:56 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000097</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Colorado Software Summit</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">conferences</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Oct-21-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I'm spending the week at the Colorado Software Summit. It's my favourite
programming conference bar none and one I try to attend whenever I can.
As always it has been great to meet so many interesting people from around
the World and to have so many really useful discussions about emerging
technology. I have attended several really good presentations and
tonight I'm running a BOF around the subject of building rich web
applications which should be a lot of fun. Tomorrow night I am
running a BOF on social networking applications which I also hope will
provoke some interesting discussion.
The conference is held in Keystone, Colorado. It's about a 90 mile drive up
into the mountains from the Denver airport. After a couple of uneventful
flights on Sunday morning, the front right tyre on my rental car blew out
at about 70mph while driving through the mountains. I very nearly lost
control of the car and only just avoided going off the side of the road.
After all I have been through in the past year the last thing I expected
was to be suddenly faced with another life threatening experience !
By the way, if you use twitter, I'm posting regular updates during
the week. You can find me as @gfxman and please feel free to follow me.
The second day of the conference is now well underway and I'm off to
join Denise Hatzidakis as she talks about REST so I'll end this post now.
PS - Sorry I have not posted for a while, life has been very busy. I'll try
and post more updates soon.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:36:31 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000096</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>One year post cancer diagnosis</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Oct-05-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>A year ago (actually on October 2nd 2007) I heard the words that no
one wants to hear from a doctor "I'm really sorry but I think it's
cancer". And so began the journey I have been on for the past twelve
months. As I have documented here, I had major surgery followed by
about six months of chemo and to say the least it has been a very
stressful time for me and my family. Last Friday I went for yet more
blood tests and I am relieved to report that for the first time all of
my tests (white cell count, platelet count and haemoglobin) are back in
the normal range. I have more tests scheduled for November (including
another CT scan) but as far as we can tell, for now, I am finally on
the mend. I still have horrible neuropathy in my hands and feet (caused
by the chemo meds) but that is a small price to pay for still being
here a year on from my initial diagnosis.<br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile a lot of things that I need to blog about have been going
on. I'll try and get that done soon. In summary, the kids are doing
well at school and enjoying playing soccer. We adopted a dog, a four
year old Golden Retriever called Rocket. He's a great dog and it feels
really good to have been able to give him a nice home. I have been able
to finally make a couple of business trips. I went out to San Jose, CA
a few weeks ago to attend the SHARE conference and a couple of weeks
ago I flew up to Boston to attend some IBM Academy meetings. That was
also the first time I flew on Jet Blue. I really liked them and will
definitely use them again. Being able to watch the Ryder Cup golf live
while on a plane was very cool. American Airlines, with whom I have in
excess of two million miles on my frequent flier account, need to do
some serious upgrading if they want to win me back as a customer on
domestic routes out of Austin. <br>
</p>
<p>Finally, in a couple of weeks I am off to the <a
href="http://www.softwaresummit.com/">Colorado Software Summit</a>. I
am really excited about that. I love the conference. I think it's the
best programming conference around. I missed the conference last year
as it was right before I went into the hospital for surgery. I made a
more detailed posting about the conference on my <a
href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/KRL?entry=colorado_software_summit_full_agenda">work
blog</a> a few days ago and Simon Phipps just did a nice writeup <a
href="http://blogs.sun.com/webmink/entry/you_want_to_attend_this">on
his blog</a> as did Dave Landers <a
href="http://dave.srednal.com/archives/49">on his blog</a>. Please let
me know if you are reading this and planning to be at the conference.<br>
</p>
<p>So that's the update for today. As always a big THANK YOU to
everyone that has supported me and my family through this whole ordeal
and for all of your messages in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>.
I feel very blessed to still be here one year on.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 5 Oct 2008 11:33:52 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000095</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Dion Gillard (5th May 1967 - 25th September 2008)</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">friends</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Sep-26-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>My dear friend Dion Gillard died this week after a courageous fight
with melanoma. Dion was loved and respected by friends and family
around the World. He had a great sense of humour, was a brilliant
computer programmer, was a businessman, a husband and a father.
Basically, he was just a great person to be around and he had a
positive impact on everyone he met, myself very much included.<br>
<br>
Dion and I first met at the <a href="http://www.softwaresummit.com/">Colorado Software Summit</a>
conference years ago (I forget exactly which year) and have kept in
touch ever since. In fact we were due to meet at the conference this
year, towards the end of next month. The event won't be the same
without him, he has so many great friends there besides me. I have
always admired Dion's technical breadth and know how and willingness to
share, but it was his terrific sense of humour I think that endeared me
to him even more. We also spent countless hours debating why Australia
were better than England at cricket! We had even discussed meeting up
in the UK next year to watch the Ashes series together to (we had
hoped) celebrate both of our battles with cancer.<br>
<br>
I send my
deepest condolences to his wife, children, family and friends around
the World. You have a lot of people reaching out to you at this time
and sharing your sense of great loss. The World is a less good place
without Dion, but we are also blessed to have had, and celebrate, the
time we did have with him.<br>
<br>
Rest in peace "dIon" you will be truly missed but never forgotten.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:22:35 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000094</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Tests, tests and more tests</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Sep-12-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Last Friday I was back at the oncologist's office for yet more
tests. This seems to be a recurring theme for me at the moment. As much
as I wish I could put it all behind me I have to accept that these
tests are for my own good and the doctor is just being thorough.<br>
</p>
<p>The good news is that the lab work continues to show no signs of
cancer. My haemoglobin levels are also back to normal so the
fatigue/anemia is gone and my energy levels are definitely up!<br>
<br>
The bad news is that my white cell count and my platelet count remain
abnormally low. The oncologist says he is puzzled by this and he has me
in his "requires more investigation" pile. His best theory is that the
chemo damaged the bone marrow so badly that my body is just taking
longer than average to recover from it. The recent CT scan shows that
my spleen is enlarged. Again this could be because it is trying to help
offset the weakness of the bone marrow. Lorna asked him if this could
be evidence of Leukemia. He said he does not think so as the blood work
does not show that. However, if my white count has not recovered enough
in four weeks from now he wants to do a bone marrow biopsy on me (I
hear they are painful so hope I can avoid that). I have another CT scan
planned for the first week of November. If my spleen gets too far out
of whack they are also saying that removing it is an option - oh joy!<br>
<br>
On top of this my neuropathy (numbness/pain in hands and feet) has
become (at least by my measurements) severe. I'm periodically in a lot
of pain and cannot feel anything under my feet and my fingers hurt when
I type. <br>
<br>
So while I am happy that the tests seem to indicate we are heading in
the right direction I remain nervous about the overall state of
affairs. I guess that is why they make the little blue pills! I am
trying very hard to just get on with my life and forget about all of
this between doctors visits but I have to admit it is hard.<br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile, this weekend Hurricane Ike is coming to visit so that
should certainly keep me preoccupied!!<br>
</p>
<p>Both kids have soccer games this weekend but Ike may have a say in
that. The UT Football game we were hoping to go to has already been
cancelled.<br>
</p>
<p>That's it for now. I'll post again soon with an Ike update and other
news, including my first bad experience with the Mac Book Pro - my
battery died after less than eight months of use! That's it for now,
I'm off to bed...<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:07:40 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000093</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Is Summer Really over?</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Sep-03-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Having grown up in England, where August is the height of Summer, it
still feels odd to hear people in Texas talking about Summer being over
by the time we are less than midway through that month. Moreover, the
temperature in Central Texas as we enter September is still in the high
nineties Fahrenheit almost every day - feels like Summer to me! That
said, the kids have now been back at school for almost two weeks and in
fairness people here tend to view Summer as over once school
starts. I was hoping we might get a little rain as a result of
Hurricane Gustav but it has gone inland well to the North East of us.
We have not had a lot of rain recently and the garden is looking a bit
parched in places despite my best attempts to keep it watered.<br>
</p>
<p>Looking back, I am really pleased that with all of the medical
things going on we have still managed to do a lot of fun stuff this
Summer as a family. It feels a bit strange not to have the kids around
today as I work from home in a very quiet house. I do feel more
productive though - imagine that !<br>
</p>
<p>This is a short work week due to Monday being the Labor Day holiday
here in the US. We had a fairly lazy "long weekend" and I spent a lot
of time either swimming in the pool or trying to catch up on
my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading</a>.
It was really nice to not have a full agenda of things to do for a
change. On Saturday evening Lorna and I went to the opening game of the
University of Texas (UT) football season. The stadium has been enlarged
yet again during the off season and now has a capacity of around
100,000. Indeed the official attendance for the game on Saturday was
98,053. I hear they are talking of adding even more seating in the
future! This is a stadium that apparently pays for itself and yet hosts
an average of just six (yes six) games a year!! As someone who played
both Cricket and Soccer at University in England where it was a good
day if five people turned up to watch us play it still blows my mind to
observe the sheer immensity of collegiate sports, especially football
(not to be confused with the kind of football/soccer I play), here in
the US. It must be an amazing experience for those lucky enough to
compete in such an environment. Apart from perhaps Wembley stadium in
London, I cannot think of any other venue in England that compares in
sheer size to the UT stadium - and this is (non professional) college
sports!! We had a very enjoyable time at the game and we're both
looking forward to the next home fixture in a couple of weeks.<br>
</p>
<p>Another indication that Summer is actually winding down is that our
local baseball team (the <a href="http://www.rrexpress.com/">Round Rock Express</a>)
have now played their last home game for the season. While the major
league parent team (the Houston Astros) still has a fair number of
games left to play, the triple-A season is now over and the NFL is
about to get underway. Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic the
English Premier League has started (seems like that season gets longer
every year) and the cricket season is winding down. We also have the
Ryder cup to look forward to of course.<br>
</p>
<p>So I guess perhaps, at least in this part of the World, Summer is
"officially" over - now if someone could please tell that to the
weather......<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 3 Sep 2008 12:15:46 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000092</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>I'm "port-less" and "polyp-less"</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Aug-26-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Sorry for the title. My sense of humour can be a bit weird at times
but it has also helped me get through the last eleven months. Yesterday
I had surgery done to remove my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-a-Cath">chemotherapy port</a>.
It feels weird to finally have the port removed as it has been an ever
present part of me since it was surgically inserted back in November of
last year. The surgeon who performed the procedure is the same one who
did the five hour colonectomy on me last October and he will also be
responsible for monitoring what's left of my colon (which is not much
but it's enough!!) for the foreseeable future. As such, he was kind
enough to also do my first follow up colon check since the major
surgery while he had me sedated yesterday. I am happy to report that
for now at least I am polyp free. I don't recall if I mentioned this in
earlier posts but in my case polyps are a lot more dangerous than they
are for an average (more lucky) person. On average my doctors tell me a
polyp will go cancerous if left untreated in about ten years. In my
case that time is about one year. So they'll be keeping a close eye on
me for the rest of my life. As I have mentioned before and I'll say it
again, if you have been sitting there thinking "I really should get a
colonoscopy done" then please go get it done. It really is not a big
deal and it could save your life. It's one of the reasons I'm still
here to type this today - makes you think doesn't it? My next colon
check will be required in six months, so that is one thing I can check
off my todo list for a while at least. Now we just have to get the
blood under control, the neuropathy contained and the swelling reduced
and life will be good. I'm starting to sound like a bad country song so
I'll stop rambling on about the medical stuff for today.<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Back to school day</span><br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile, today here in Texas is "back to school day". Apart from
the agonising sounds coming out of my iOmega external hard drive (I
think the fan is going - this will be he third one to die on me in
about three years) the house is silent. The kids left early for school
today and won't be home until after 3pm so I have a very quiet work
environment indeed - I almost miss having them around but don't let
them know I said that ok! It probably seems odd to my friends and
family over in the UK that school is back so soon but we broke up in
May whereas I think you all still break up for the Summer in July. So
we've actually had the kids home for about 3 months. It's time for them
to go back! Jack is starting First Grade this year, and hard
though it is to believe, this is Robyn's last year before moving up to
Middle School as she starts out on Fifth Grade.<br>
</p>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Guest book issues?</span><br>
<p>A few of you have again written to me saying you have had problems posting to
the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>.
As far as I know, this only ever happens if you are using Internet
Explorer 6. I do have a message on the Guest Book launch page that
warns about this know problem. I have confirmed with one of the people
that recently had problems that they indeed were using IE6. If you are
seeing Guest Book problems with other browsers, please do let me know.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:21:44 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000091</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Tests, tests and more tests...</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Aug-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I'll keep this post brief as I have to be up early tomorrow to get
ready for surgery and it's already quite late. I went in to the
oncologist's office again on Friday for more blood tests. My white
count and platelet count remain quite low but not low enough that they
need to treat it directly. They did however give me a prescription for
some pills to fight the swelling (and weight gain) that is being caused
by the meds they have me on to fight the neuropathy caused by the chemo
meds - you with me? <br>
</p>
<p>I have to go back again in two weeks to be tested again to see if
things are improving. My haemoglobin count is thankfully continuing to
improve and is now almost back to the typical range for male of my age.
<br>
</p>
<p>Tomorrow morning at 9am I am having surgery to remove my chemo port.
It will be weird after all of these months not to feel it there. I am
also having a follow up colon check which I am nervous about but it's
something I'll have to get used to as this will be a regular part of my
life over the next few years.<br>
</p>
<p>I'll post another update once I am recovered enough from surgery.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:21:19 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000090</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemotherapy aftershocks</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Aug-19-b</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I'm trying to get caught up after a week away- consequently, two postings in one day - I think this may be a first for me!<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, here's a quick medical update as there is still quite a bit
going on. It has now been over three months since I ended chemotherapy.
As I have <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-04-a">documented here</a> in detail,
during chemo I suffered through a whole collection of different side
effects at various times. Many of those went away fairly quickly after
chemo ended. A few have stuck with me however. By far the worst is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropathy">neuropathy</a>
(numbness and pain in my hands and feet). Interestingly, the neuropathy
only began during the last week or so of chemo but has since then
become incrementally worse. It is caused by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxaliplatin">Oxaliplatin</a>
(one of the three drugs that make up the FOLFOX chemo regimen). I am on
medication that is supposed to suppress some of the pain that the
neuropathy causes but for the most part I just have to be patient and
wait for it to take care of itself. My oncologist has told me that it
can take over a year for the effects to fully wear off. For the benefit
of the many other folks that have found my web site and have been kind
enough to contact me, all of whom are fighting their own battles with
colon cancer, and all of whom seem to be having the same basic
experience as me, the doctor has tried a couple of drugs to help
relieve the neuropathy pain. At first we tried Cymbalta which did help
a little but had nasty interactions with other medications I am taking
(primarily the Paxil) so I had to stop taking it. I am now trying
Lyrica which again seems to help some but seems to itself be causing
some nasty side effects that I am not enjoying. The biggest issues to
date are weight gain (just what I needed!), trouble concentrating and
swelling of my feet, legs and hands (the swelling is also in part, I
believe, caused by the Oxaliplatin). So, while I am really excited by
my test results from a week ago, I still find myself with a lot of
issues to handle on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong however, you
won't find me complaining as if the chemo and surgery have done their
job I'll live with the rest for as long as it takes to resolve itself.<br>
</p>
<p>Talking of tests, just when I thought I was almost done it turns out
to not quite be the case. My oncologist's office called last week while
I was in San Jose. They want me back for more blood tests this Friday
as after further thought they have decided that my white cell count and
platelet count really are a bit too low and they want to check me again
and if necessary take steps to help those numbers improve. I'll
keep you all posted as to how that goes.</p>
<p>Also, next Monday I have an appointment to see the surgeon who did
my colectomy back in October for a check up. I'm not going to go into
details but I think you get the picture (or at least I hope he will!).
He is also going to take out my chemo port (a fairly minor surgical
procedure) at the same time. So I'll be back at the hospital again next
week for I think the fifth time in the last 10 months. I'm a little
nervous about the checkup as if he finds any polyps we are going to
have to take immediate steps to try and prevent them from becoming
cancerous. Hopefully everything will be OK.<br>
</p>
<p>So that's the medical update, I'll make another posting when there is anything worth sharing.<br>
</p>
<p>I'd like to end this posting by sending my very best wishes and
prayers out to all of the people who have contacted me during the past
several months to thank me for sharing my experiences and for telling
me that in doing so I had also helped them as they faced their own
struggle with cancer. It is not always easy to share something so
personal in such a public fashion but my goal in doing so was in large
part to reach out to others in a similar situation to me. I am both
happy and more than a little humbled to have heard from so many of you.
Good luck all of you, and please keep in touch. I have made many new
friends in the last six months which has been one of the good side
effects of this experience.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:45:37 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000089</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A week in San Jose, California</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">conferences</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Aug-19-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Last week I flew out to San Jose to speak at the <a href="http://www.share.org/">SHARE</a>
conference. I am the IBM rep to one of the Projects at SHARE which
means I help find speakers, set the agenda for the project, do a little
speaking myself and also chair sessions given by other speakers. This
was the first time I have been on a plane since March of 2007 and I was
a bit nervous how my body would react to the stresses of air travel but
thankfully, everything seemed to go fine. Interestingly, nothing
much seems to have changed in terms of the overall travel experience
while I have been away and I was pleasantly surprised with how smoothly
and efficiently the check in process went at both Austin and San Jose.
Of course it helps to be a multi-million miler on American Airlines
which enabled me to jump the queue for the security checkpoints in San
Jose, which can get really busy at times. My flights left on time, the
weather was great and as a result the flights were smooth both ways. My
checked baggage even arrived quickly after arrival. I guess it was just
a good week to be travelling! <br>
</p>
<p>An odd side effect of the medication I am still on is that I don't
remember too much of either flight but I took some nice photos of the
Grand Canyon and some interesting video of the approach into San Jose
so I guess I had a good time !! This was also the first time I have
done any public speaking in quite a while. This is something I really
enjoy and it was great to be "back in the saddle" as it were. It was
also really nice to see so many good friends and colleagues, many of
whom I had not seen since before my surgery last October. San Jose as a
city has also improved immensely as a place to visit since I first went
there in 1987. I decided not to get a rental car and basically just
walked everywhere. The conference was at the Convention Center and the
hotel is very close to there. Plenty of places to eat are just a short
walk away and there is also the must see "Tech Museum". Among the many
restaurants is <a href="http://www.gordonbiersch.com/restaurants/?pg=location&sub=loc&location_id=19">Gordon Biersch</a>,
a place I always try to visit at least once when in San Jose. Garlic
fries and a glass of locally brewed Heffeweizen out on the back patio -
sweet!!! If you want to get merry in a hurry then drink the
Blonde Bock (7% alcohol with an o.g. of 16.5) but just don't do what I
did the first time I went there and ask for a Guinness!<br>
</p>
<p>The conference hotels (Marriott,Hilton and Fairmont) were all sold
out when I made my reservations so I ended up staying, for the first
time, at the <a href="http://www.thesainteclaire.com/">Sainte Clair</a><a href="http://www.thesainteclaire.com/">e</a> hotel. The rooms were clean and felt modern, the WiFi was free and they have a great Italian restaurant (<a href="http://www.ilfornaio.com/">Il Fornaio</a>)
on the ground floor. What more could you want?......well a bar or at
least somewhere to hang out in the evening would be nice but in general
a perfectly OK hotel to stay at.<br>
</p>
<p>For those who want to read a little more about SHARE and what we do there, I have posted a few times recently over at my <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/KRL">work blog</a> on the topic.The
next SHARE conference is actually going to be in my home town of
Austin, Texas next March so I won't have far to travel for that event!<br>
</p>
<p>On the medical front I am still suffering through some really
annoying and painful side effects from the chemotherapy and also the
medications I am on that are supposed to help suppress the first set of
side effects have their own set of side effects! I'll make another
posting soon on the overall medical situation as there is still quite a
lot going on.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:00:50 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/0000088</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Test results</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Aug-07-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>So, as I mentioned in my last post, this week I underwent a series
of tests to effectively see how well my treatment (surgery followed by
FOLFOX chemotherapy) has gone. I had several tests done including a lot
of blood work and a set of CT scans as well as the usual vital signs
checks etc. During chemo I had my blood tested every other week so I
should be used to it by now but for obvious reasons I found myself much
more nervous than usual this time around. I think in part it's knowing
that as well as looking at the using things such as white cell count,
platelet count and haemoglobin number they are also looking for cancer
markers or CA's (cancer antigens) which would indicate that treatment
had failed. So at 10am this morning Lorna and I went to meet with the
oncologist. We sat for a few minutes in one of the patient rooms
waiting for him to arrive and you can imagine my sense of total relief
when, upon entering the room, the first words he said even before he
said hello were "no cancer". My CT scan showed nothing unusual
except for a slightly enlarged spleen which could well be due to the
chemo drugs and my blood tests were all negative. The doctor is going
to do another CT scan in three months time to make sure that the spleen
issue is not getting any worse, mainly as a precaution at this point.
So from his perspective, as of this moment in time I am cancer free. In
about two weeks I am meeting with the surgeon who did the colonectomy
back in October for my first follow up exam and to get my chemo port
removed. Hopefully those tests will be negative also. So I'll see the
oncologist again in November and begin a series of fairly regular
checkups, at least for the next year or so but I am not going to worry
about that tonight. <br>
</p>
<p>I cannot begin to express my feelings and emotions right now. No one
knows what is in store from one day to the next but tonight at least I
am going to go out and do something fun, actually I'm hoping we can go
to the movies and see Dark Knight which I still have not seen.<br>
</p>
<p>As always thank you everyone so much for your continued support,
e-mails, phone calls, visits and <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">messages in the guest book</a> during this ordeal. It means the World to me.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 7 Aug 2008 17:38:22 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000087</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A week of medical tests ahead</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Aug-04-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>It's hard to believe but it has been three months since my
chemotherapy ended. A standard part of the treatment process is for me
to now have a set of follow up tests. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I have blood
tests scheduled. On Wednesday I have a CT scan and then on Thursday I
meet with the oncologist to get the results and to discuss where we
are. Although, apart from the neuropathy in my hands and feet which is
driving me crazy, I feel pretty good, I am still nervous about these
tests and I will be glad when this week is behind me. It's hard to
ignore the fact that they are looking for any continued presence of
cancer in my system. I'll post more updates as the week progresses.<br>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I want to extend my best wishes and prayers to my <a href="http://www.multitask.com.au/people/dion/">good friend Dion</a>
down in Sydney, Australia who is in the middle of his own battle with
cancer and starting out on chemotherapy tomorrow. I hope he will get
the same level of support from his friends and family around the World
that I have been lucky enough to receive. If you are so inclined,
please include Dion in your thoughts and prayers.<br>
</p>
<p>As for my kids, this continues to be a very busy Summer. Robyn has
Karate camp this week and both Robyn and Jack spent last week in
"British soccer camp". A bunch of great lads from the UK come over
every year and run the camp at a nearby park. It's a lot of fun and the
kids had a great time. Robyn is also continuing to appear in the local <a href="http://www.sambasstheatre.org/">community theatre production </a> of "The Witches".<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 4 Aug 2008 16:00:09 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000086</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Resurrecting my work blog</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jul-30-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Just a quick pointer to/reminder about my work blog. I try not to
discuss much work related stuff here except for maybe some travel and
conference related items. I keep a separate blog <a href="http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/KRL">over at developerWorks</a>
that I discuss my work related activities in. However, during the
height of my chemo treatment I found it hard to maintain both this site
and the work blog. Consequently the work blog has been quiet for some
time. Now that chemo is behind me I have started trying to post
frequently to the work blog again. Several of you have commented to me
that you had forgotten I even had a work blog! Therefore I am posting
this entry as a reminder that the work blog exists and that it is
active again. Please feel free to pop over there are see what I am up
to work wise and leave a comment or two if you feel so inclined.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:33:59 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000085</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Bike riding for cancer relief - your help needed</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jul-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>In recent years I lost my Mum to cancer as well as a very good
friend here in Austin. As you all know I have also now been in a
personal fight with cancer and I just found out that another good
friend is starting his own fight. On top of that, I have been contacted
by numerous fellow cancer patients who found me through this web site
and I have also got to know many of my fellow patients at the local
cancer center where I am being treated. I am therefore, as you would
expect, a strong supporter of genuine efforts to help fund cancer
research. A colleague of mine, Don Harbison, is about to embark
on such a fund raising effort and asked if I would mention it here. Of
course I agreed. Rather than try and explain it in my own words I asked
him to provide me a short description of the event which he has done
below. If cancer research is important to you, please consider
supporting Don's efforts. Here is his description of the event.....<br>
<br>
</p>
<div style="margin-left: 80px; font-weight: bold;"><cite style="font-weight: normal;"></cite>
<table style="text-align: left; width: 781px; height: 957px;" border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"><cite style="font-weight: normal;"><br>
By way of introduction, for those
who don't know me, I work with Kelvin in IBM's Open Standards
organization. Like you, I was first shocked to hear news of his cancer
diagnosis late last year, and then extremely pleased to learn how
successful his treatment program is going now.<br>
<br>
Cancer has also directly affected some of my family and friends. For
the past three years I have worked to raise funds to support cancer
research at <a href="http://www.dana-farber.org/">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute</a> in Boston. I do this by signing up to ride the <a href="http://www.pmc.org/">Pan-Massachusetts Challenge</a>,
a 2 day, 192 mile ride here in Massachusetts. By signing up I commit to
raise a minimum of $4,000 but I aim higher. This year I'm targeting
$8,500. Please check out <a href="http://www.pmc.org/">their web page</a>
...you'll see it's an amazing event that attracts participation from
all across the country and the world. This year we are aiming to bring
in $34M, so you can see what a huge impact this has on supporting the
excellent research programs at Dana-Farber that benefit us all.<br>
<br>
Many PMC people ride in honor of a friend or family member directly
affected by cancer. This year I am pleased that Kelvin accepted my
request to dedicate my ride in his honor. Like you, I've been
incredibly impressed with his courageous approach to beating his
cancer. I can't think of a better way of expressing this than to
continue to work hard at the fund raising, and then go out and break a
sweat by riding with 5,500 others from Sturbridge to Provincetown here
in Massachusetts. <br>
<br>
This year the ride is on August 2nd and 3rd. Please join me in this effort by sponsoring my ride.<br>
<br>
To do this, just visit <a href="https://www.pmc.org/egifts/default.asp?Add=DH0129">this site</a><br>
<br>
Click on 'Sponsor one rider with one donation', then open up 'Select a
person by eGift ID'. You'll see my name and the field to enter the
amount you wish to contribute. It's very quick and simple. The PMC
staff run a lean operation. As they say: "Not one cent of each dollar
raised through riders' sweat and determination is used for
administrative and organizational expenses." Using the web is a major
component of this success. <br>
<br>
If you work for IBM or a company that has a matching gift program, this
is an excellent way to double your gift. Last year, almost $2,000 was
directly matched by IBM. Here's the link for <a href="http://w3-01.ibm.com/hr/us/hrforms/data/mgapp.pdf">IBM's Matching Grant form</a><br>
<br>
Just fill in your employee serial number and the amount of your donation. Then snail mail it to me at:<br>
<br>
Don Harbison<br>
3 Thoreau Dr.<br>
Chelmsford, MA 01824<br>
<br>
I will take care of mailing it in to the PMC/Dana-Farber team. <br>
<br>
I'm looking forward to the ride, and re-connecting with the amazing
community that comes together once a year. When it's over, I'll post an
update on how it went. <br>
<br>
Thank you for your support!<br>
<br>
Don Harbison<br>
dpharbison@mac.com</cite></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<cite style="font-weight: normal;"></cite><br>
</div>
<p><br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:59:09 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000084</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Toby</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">family</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jul-16-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p><img style="border: 2px solid ; width: 253px; height: 216px;" alt="Toby, April 2007" title="Toby, April 2007" src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/TobyApril2007.jpg" align="left" hspace="10">Yesterday
we lost a very dear and very loyal friend when one of our two Golden
Retrievers, Toby, passed away. He was 12 years old. Lorna and I got
Toby and his twin sister Brandy (who is still with us but very confused
as to where Toby has gone) in 1996 just after we were married. Over
that long a period of time it is hard not to build up a very close bond
with such a great dog. As any book on the subject will point out,
Golden Retrievers make great companion animals and Toby was the epitome
of that. He just adored people and was always beside one of us as
often as he could be. Many times he would quietly creep into our
bedroom at night and go to sleep at the end of the bed. More than once
I almost fell over him during the night! As I mentioned in my prior
posting, we knew that his remaining time with us would be limited but
we were expecting it to be measured in months and not days. Sadly, the
cancer had apparently metastasized further and faster than we realized
and he was a lot worse off than we had hoped. His passing has affected
all of us, especially Lorna and I as Toby in a way was like our first
baby. We raised him from an eight week old puppy at a time when we were
not exactly sure what we were doing and in a way he trained us as we
tried to train him! The kids seem to be handling it better than
we are which is actually a good thing. They were sad for a while but
have rebounded quickly and are already wanting a new puppy to get the
dog count back up to three. They even have a name picked out already!
We still have Brandy and our three year old spaniel, Scamp and I think
Lorna and I need a little time to get over Toby's departure before we
give in to the puppy idea but I'm sure it will only be a matter of
time. I am fortunate that I have had a lot of great friends and
companions around me in my life and Toby was definitely one of them. No
matter how bad a day I had at the office or whatever my mood, Toby was
always there with a smile (see photo) and a tennis ball. We are very
grateful to have had him with us for as long as we did and we all miss
him very much.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:55:20 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000083</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A few quick updates</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jul-10-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Since we got back from our trip to Dallas things have been fairly
hectic around here and consequently I am behind in my postings. This
weekend, adding to our worry list, one of our two Golden Retrievers
(Toby) collapsed on the floor and we had to rush him to the emergency
animal clinic. To cut a long story short he had lost a lot of blood due
to an internal tumor on his spleen and needed emergency surgery to
remove the spleen. Given his age (he was twelve this week), it was very
touch and go for several days and we honestly did not expect him to
make it. Happily, yesterday he perked up a lot and managed to get up
and walk and started eating food again and we were able to bring him
home. The other dogs Brandy (his sister) and Scamp were very glad, as
were we, to have him back. Sadly, the doctors tell us that the cancer
they found in his spleen is likely to spread to other organs over the
next few months and that they don't expect him to last more than about
another six months (nine at the outside). Toby has been a truly
terrific companion and we all plan to make the most of the time we have
left with him. It goes without saying that we are more than a bit sick
of having to deal with cancer related illness in our house.<br>
<br>
Also on the worry list at the moment is the house roof which was
damaged by a hail storm several weeks ago. Some of the pieces of hail
were larger than a golf ball. We had to have the entire roof replaced
back in 2005 after another hail storm and my roofing contractor says we
need to replace it again now. I am currently in a debate with the
insurance company over how much of the roof they are willing to pay
for. I'm still hoping that they will pick up the entire bill but we'll
see. This is one piece of stress that I could well do without but I
guess is a common problem living where we do. Lorna's car also need
some repair work as a result of the same hail storm, and yes you
guessed it, the car is insured by the same insurance company!<br>
<br>
On a happier note, the kids are having a great Summer. Thankfully Lorna
was smart enough to sign them up for a variety of different activities
including a soccer camp, a soccer tournament, a cooking class, karate
camp, a ceramics class and several play dates with friends. Despite all
of this plus having the pool to swim in, a large selection of books to
read and <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/videogames.html">video games</a> to play, we still have heard more than once "I'm bored" - you just can't win!<br>
<br>
A few weekends ago we put two teams (made up of girls from our regular
8-a-side team that I help coach and a few others) into a 3 v 3 soccer
tournament. Both teams did very well and in fact one of them won the
event and has qualified for the national finals. Suffice to say Robyn
(who was part of that winning team) is very excited about this.<br>
<br>
We have also managed to see a few movies in the last few weeks. Lorna and I went to see <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Indiana Jones</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Incredible Hulk</span>, both of which we enjoyed. Lorna and the kids went to see <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Narnia - Prince Caspian</span> and they enjoyed that. On Sunday we all went to see <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">WALL.e</span> and yesterday we took my son to see <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Kung Fu Panda</span>. I liked both of the animated pictures but of the two I think I preferred <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">WALL.e</span>. I am still trying to keep up with my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading</a>
and since chemo ended I have definitely noticed an improvement in both
my eyesight and my ability to concentrate which has helped a lot.<br>
<br>
As I have documented here in prior posts, I have more or less continued
working full time throughout my treatment
regimen as much as I can and with chemo now behind me I have been able
to really get re-focussed on work. Several people have asked me why I
did not just take a leave of absence for a while but to be honest work
has been a very good
distraction for me and it helps that I really like the people I work
with and am fortunate that the company I work for, IBM, has been so
understanding and caring during this time. However, with many people
out on Summer vacation I
am at times a little too busy right now!<br>
<br>
There is not a lot of other news to report on the medical front (which is basically a good thing). The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropathy">neuropathy</a>
(numbness in my hands and feet) continues to really bug me. I visited
the oncologist's office and chatted with them about it and they have
changed my medications a little but so far I am not sensing any real
improvement (no pun intended!). They did tell me it can take more than
a month on this medication for things to start to improve so I guess I
just have to be patient. My next round of tests (CT scan, blood work
etc.) is now only about four weeks away. I am trying not to get too
wound up about that but I will be glad when it is over. If the tests go
well then right after that I can schedule the surgery to have my chemo
port removed.<br>
<br>
On the technology front, I have started upgrading all of our computers
here at the house (both the Mac and the PCs) to use the new Firefox 3.0
browser. So far I have been very impressed with it and I congratulate
all of the folks at Mozilla that have worked so hard to achieve this
significant release. <br>
<br>
I continue to be very grateful for the messages of support for myself and my family that continue to arrive via e-mail, the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">guest book</a>, Facebook and many other channels. Thanks as always it really helps keep my spirits up.<br>
<br>
That's about all the news for now. It continues to be a very hot Summer
here and I have already caught myself looking at the calendar to see
when school starts again for the kids!<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:16:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000082</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Great Wolf Lodge</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jun-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I took last week off from work and we drove up to Dallas (actually
to Grapevine which is effectively a Dallas suburb). We stayed at the
recently opened <a href="http://www.greatwolf.com/locations/grapevine/">Great Wolf Lodge</a>.
Situated, adjacent to the DFW airport, the Lodge is actually a combined
hotel and water park, with both indoor and outdoor water parks. They
claim that the indoor water park is in fact the largest of its kind in
the World. The hotel also has all kinds of other things for kids and
grown ups alike to do, such as the Magi Quest which has you running all
over the hotel looking for clues to gain runes and solve magical
puzzles. I think the kids enjoyed the quest as much as they enjoyed the
water parks. In fact we all had a great time and are thinking of going
back again at Christmas time. If you follow the link above you can read
a whole lot more about what the Great Wolf Lodge has to offer. I would
thoroughly recommend it as a great place to let off steam for a few
days.<br>
</p>
<p>The weather here in Central Texas continues to be very hot. Every
day for the past several weeks we have been close to (or above) 100
degrees Fahrenheit. This week I am back at work while Lorna and the
kids are having fun at vacation bible school at one of the local
churches. I have also been trying to keep up with the Euro 2008 matches
and with Wimbledon (both of which are being shown live on TV here).
This coming weekend Robyn has a 3 v 3 soccer tournament which should be
a lot of fun although it is likely to be very hot during most of the
games.<br>
</p>
<p>On the medical front, the numbness in my feet and hands continues to
be quite painful, in fact, typing has become very uncomfortable for me
so I will keep this posting brief. I am visiting the oncologist's
office on Wednesday to get my chemo port flushed and I am hoping they
can do something more for the numbness. The meds they gave me have so
far not improved things at all. <br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, that's the news for now, I'll try to post again soon.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:46:22 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000081</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Orlando</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jun-13-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Last week I had business meetings in Orlando. My wife and I decided
we would drive there with the kids so that they could have some fun
while I was working. Even with the price of fuel at its current
level, driving is still cheaper than flying the four of us and to
be honest I am still a bit nervous of taking a plane ride given some of
the lingering chemo side effects (my legs seem to swell up really
easily at present). In any case, I really enjoy driving and the drive
to Orlando from our house, a trip of about 1150 miles each way, is
quite a pleasant one and almost all on freeways. We have done the trip
many times before so we know where a lot of good places to stop for
breaks are and we usually break the trip into two days, spending the
night in Gulfport which is almost exactly half way between Austin and
Orlando. As a side note, I really feel for the people of Gulfport. Even
two years after hurricane Katrina, there is still a tremendous amount
of evidence left of the devastating effects of the storm. <br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, it was nice for me to get away for a few days, even if it
was primarily a week of business meetings for me. I had not been out of
the state of Texas since before my surgery last October so a week away
was really quite a treat. I did not manage to make it to the them parks
with the family but we did get to spend a fun evening together at <a
href="http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/entertainment/entertainmentDetail?id=DisneyQuestIndoorInteractiveThemeParkEntertainmentPage&bhcp=1">Disney
Quest</a> (a five story building full of all types of video games both
old and new and some really cool virtual reality rides). On the night
before we started driving home we all had dinner at the Arabian Knights
(you eat while watching the horses and actors perform). By all accounts
a fun time was had by all and I feel refreshed just from being out of
the house for a while.<br>
</p>
<p>This week I had a series of business meetings at the office and it
was really nice to meet so many colleagues, many of whom I had not seen
for many months due to my ongoing medical issues.<br>
</p>
<p>Talking of medical issues, it has now been five weeks since chemo
ended. Some of the side effects have definitely improved, others
however are lingering on. In particular, the numbness in my fingers
that had just started by the end of chemo has now also spread to my
feet and has generally become quite a but worse. It has reached the
point in fact, where driving the car feels strange as I can only barely
feel the pedals. I called the doctor and he has put me on some meds
that are hopefully going to help with this (yet more pills to remember
to take!). Apparently this numbness can take many months to fully go
away and is caused by the Oxaliplatin (one of the chemo drugs) which
messes quite badly with the nervous system.<br>
</p>
<p>The kids are already well into the various camps and other
activities that we planned for them this Summer and seem to be having a
lot of fun. The weather has been extremely hot here in Texas. We have
already had multiple 100 degree days in the Austin area. Heaven only
knows what August will be like at this rate. Thankfully we have so far
escaped most of the severe storms that have all passed to our North.
Anyway, that's all the updates for today. I'm taking next week off so I
can spend some quality time with the family and forget about work for a
few days. After that I hope to get back into a routine of more regular
updates here as the Summer progresses.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:47:06 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000080</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Quick updates</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-May-29-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I haven't posted for a few days in part because there has not been a
lot of news to share on the medical front (which is fine by me). It has
now been 22 days since my last chemo session ended (on May 7th). The
"fog" seems to have left me now finally for which I am very grateful.
It has been replaced however by a feeling of total exhaustion - I think
I have finally let myself relax a bit and it's past time to catch up on
a lot of missed sleep. Most of the other chemo side effects are still
with me which is no great surprise as my doctor told me to expect it to
take between four to six weeks for them to subside. The thing that is
bugging me the most right now is a constant feeling of numbness in all
of my fingers and toes - it actually makes typing and even walking bit
uncomfortable. This is a known side effect of the Oxaliplatin
medication, so I hope it goes away soon. I visited the Oncologist's
office yesterday to get my chemo port flushed. I have decided not to
have it removed until August so that I can have all of my interim blood
tests done via the port (rather than having to endure a lot of needles
being stuck into my arm). The port has to be flushed every four weeks
to prevent any risk of blood clots. The next major medical milestones
are scheduled for August when I'll need another CT scan, a lot of other
tests and an exam by my surgeon. When all of that is done I'll need
minor surgery to remove the port.<br>
</p>
<p>So let's see, what else is going on? Well, we had a very nice and
relaxing Memorial Day weekend. The weather was (and continues to be)
very hot and we spent a lot of time out by the pool. The kids had lots
of friends over and had fun in the water. I spent a lot of time in
"slug mode" sitting by the pool and reading.<br>
</p>
<p>Today is Robyn's actual birthday (although we held her party several
days ago). I cannot believe that she is ten years old already - how
time flies. She doesn't know it yet but we're planning a surprise
dinner with one of her best friends at her favourite restaurant
tonight. School ends on Friday so this will be the last week I have a
quiet work from home environment! Thankfully the kids have a lot of
Summer camps and other activities planned already to help keep them
busy during the long SUmmer break. I'm a little concerned about just
how hot this Summer will be as temperatures in Central Texas have
already been in the high nineties Fahrenheit for the last couple of
weeks. Well above average for the time of year. We've also seen some
nasty storms come through already. Our roof (which was replaced in 2005
after a hail storm) has again been badly damaged by hail and Lorna's
car also needs work done on it to get the hail dents removed. In the
USA in general this looks like being one of the worst years in a long
time (maybe ever) for damage, and sadly deaths, caused by Tornadoes. I
don't know if this is due to climate change or not but suffice to say
the weather here this year has been pretty unusual in many ways.<br>
</p>
<p>That's about all the news for now. I'll try and post again in a few days time.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2008 12:05:49 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000079</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Cleaning up after a stormy night</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">weather</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-May-15-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Last night, multiple storm lines containing several super cell
clouds (the type that frequently generate tornadoes) went through this
area. This led to a very rough night and some very frightened kids.
Multiple funnel clouds were reported in the area, the closest one
passed less than three miles from here. As a result, we experienced
strong winds, heavy rain and a lot of hail. A few of the pieces of hail
were about the size of a billiard balls. The hail was so bad it even
killed a duck which sadly we found dead on our back porch during one of
the breaks in the storms. This morning we began the cleanup. There were
leaves and twigs everywhere and several pieces of our shingle roof had
broken free and were laying on the ground. We had our roof replaced in
2005 after another major hail storm. Today I called the roofing company
again and they are coming out to assess whether or not we need to again
replace the roof. All day around our neighbourhood you could here chain
saws and other power tools being used as people cleaned up the mess.
Several trees nearby have lost limbs or have become uprooted.
Thankfully our trees are mostly large and well established and all seem
to have survived the onslaught. I got a few good photos of the piles of
hail on the back porch, I'll try and post one or two later.<br>
</p>
<p>Luckily, we managed to host my son's soccer team pool party during
the afternoon and early evening yesterday before the storms arrived.
There is no way we could have hosted it today. When we awoke the pool
was full to overflowing (the emergency drain seems to have become
blocked by all the tree debris). The pool was also full, and I do mean
full, of leaves and twigs. We have been cleaning it out off and on all
day and we are still not done. Later today I need to figure out
what is blocking the drain and fix it and do more raking up of all the
leaves and twigs that are spread all over the front and back yards. It
really is quite a mess. I wish I had more energy but at least this will
keep my mind of my other worries for a while!<br>
</p>
<p>The past week or so we have had several big storms (although this
was by far the worst) and it seems we have had a lot more tornadic
activity (even this far South of "Tornado Alley") than usual.
When I moved to Central Texas, while the realtors were busy telling me
how great a place
it was to live in I think they somehow forgot to mention how much "fun"
Spring can be!
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 15:58:55 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000078</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round twelve, end of chemotherapy</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-May-09-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>It's hard to believe but I have made it through my scheduled twelve
rounds of chemotherapy. The treatments officially ended on Wednesday
but I have been too wiped out to post until now. The fatigue still has
me firmly in its grasp but I am hopeful that it will wear off in a few
more days from now (although lately it has been taking almost a full
ten days to clear out). The staff at the oncologist, who have been
great all through this process, showered my with confetti and gave me a
certificate of achievement to send me on my way. I was very close to
tears, they have all been so terrific in the way they have treated me.
I will not be meeting the oncologist again now for three months at
which time he will test my blood and do a CT scan to make sure nothing
bad is trying to creep back into my system - that will naturally
be a nervous visit. I also have a call into my surgeon to see when he
wants to take out my chemo infusion port (minor surgery) and do my
physical exam. So while chemo is behind me for now, I still have some
more near term worries to get past but we have for sure reached a major
milestone now with chemo ending. When the "fog" wears off I am sure I
will feel happy about where I am. I am not up to writing a long posting
right now but I do want to close by again thanking all of you that have
stuck with me throughout this whole ordeal. I could not be where I am now
without the fantastic support of my family and friends around the
World. As always a big THANK YOU to you all.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 9 May 2008 14:58:35 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000077</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Seconds Out, Round Twelve, ding,ding...</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-May-05-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>So here we are. It's Monday morning and I am sitting in my chair at
the oncologist's office beginning my twelfth and final chemo treatment!
My first treatment was back on December 26th of last year and since
then the time seems to have (for the most part) flown by. I must admit
that I am now more than ready to be done. By all accounts my body has
handled the treatment very well but the fatigue in particular has
reached the point where it never fully goes away so I'll be glad in
about four to six weeks from now when the side effects are supposed to
fully subside and my system will hopefully become "normal" again.<br>
</p>
<p>After this week we go into a monitoring mode at approximately three
monthly intervals where I will be tested for any signs of the cancer
coming back, both by my oncologist and my surgeon who will be
monitoring things too. So those visits will be nervous times for me I
am sure but I am not going to worry about them right now as this is a
major milestone and I plan to celebrate a little once we get through
this week.<br>
</p>
<p>In about two weeks I'll need to schedule surgery to have the chemo
infusion port removed from my chest , yet more hours of blood tests and
filling out CYA forms at the hospital, for what is hopefully a 20
minute procedure. At the same time as the port is removed, while I am
sedated the surgeon plans to do an initial internal exam to see if
there are any signs of the polyps that can turn cancerous coming back.
If there are that will have to be dealt with as my genetics are such
that the average time it takes for a polyp to go cancerous is one year
or maybe less. I believe the average for a person that does not have my
genetic makeup, is 10 years (quite a difference).<br>
</p>
<p>When I started writing about each of the chemo visits, I made the
analogy to a 12-round boxing match. I wondered at the start if my
opponent (the chemo meds) would be too much for me. For sure he landed
a few good blows but my blood levels and other numbers continue to
improve and we have not had to delay any of the rounds so I think when
all is said and done I am hoping for a "points decision" in my favour !!<br>
</p>
<p>I'll post again soon but for now I need to sign off as I just got a
shot of Ativan (Lorazepam) and I am getting drousy!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 5 May 2008 11:32:42 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000076</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Rocking with Rush</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">music</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-25-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>A couple of nights ago (Wednesdsy), along with our good friend,
Brian, my daughetr (Robyn) and I went to the Frank Irwin Center here in
Austin to see Canadian rock legends Rush in concert. This was the
first time they had come to Austin in 14 years! My wife is not a big
Rush fan so I had taken Robyn to San Antonio to see them last Summer
and she had enjoyed it so much that when the Austin date was announced
we did not hesitate to go looking for tickets. I think we enjoyed this
show even better than the prior one. The set list had been changed and
I think it was a better blend of their newer and "classic" music. The
nice thing about the 2008 tour is that the band are only playing venues
that they have not played in at least ten years. I am really thankful
that the side effects from my ongoing chemo treatments held off long
enough for me to enjoy the show. The band played for close to three
hours with a short intermission midway through. I'm also glad the show
was Wednedsay and not Thursday or Friday as the chemo has definitelky
hit me quite hard the last couple of days. Anyway, as promised in my
prior post, here's what I think was the set list from the show:<br>
</p>
<table style="text-align: left; width: 80%;" border="1" cellpadding="2"
cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part
1</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Part
2</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Encore</span><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Limelight </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Far Cry</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">One Little Victory</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Digital Man</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Workin' Them Angels</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">A Passage to Bangkok</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Ghost of a Chance</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Armor And Sword</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">YYZ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Mission</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Spindrift</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Freewill</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The Way The Wind Blows</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The Main Monkey Business</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Subdivisions</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The Larger Bowl </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Natural Science</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Red Barchetta</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Witch Hunt</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The Trees</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Malignant Narcissism</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Between The Wheels</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Drum Solo</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Dreamline</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Hope</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">The Spirit of Radio</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">2112: Overture / The Temples of
Syrinx</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Tom Sawyer</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:49:55 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000075</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round eleven</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-23-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>So I'm home from the oncologist and chemo round eleven is now
officially over (side effects over the next few days notwithstanding).
That means I have only one more round left to go commencing on May 5th.
So as far as the chemo phase of my treatment goes we are almost there.<br>
</p>
<p>As I mentioned yesterday my focus for the evening now is fighting
off the fatigue long enough to enjoy the Rush concert that starts at
7:30pm at the Frank Erwin Center here in Austin. I'll try and write up
a bit of a post conference report tomorrow. I am interested to see how
much they have changed the set list since we saw them last year
(apparently there are going to be some changes).<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:27:42 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000074</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round eleven and anticipation building before the Rush concert</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-22-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>As I type this I am in the nice comfy chair at the oncologist's
office getting my second day of infusions as we are about mid-way
through round eleven (the penultimate round - yay!!). So far the
fatigue has not hit but I expect, based on the last couple of weeks, to
start sometime Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. The later
the better - read on to find out why.....<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rush come back to Austin for the
first time in 14 years</span><br>
</p>
<p>Hopefully I will be in pretty good shape still on Wednesday evening
as Canadian rock legends Rush are performing in Austin for the first
time in years. In fact I was not even living here (and I have been here
since December 1995) the last time they were here. One of the local
papers did an interview with lead singer Geddy Lee about coming back to
Austin, you can <a
href="http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/xl/2008/04/0417xlmusic2.html">read
it here</a>. Last year they came to San Antonio and I took my nine year
old daughter Robyn. It was her first concert and I was not sure how
much she would enjoy Rush but she loved everything about the show and
has since learned the words to most of the songs on the tour album
(Snakes and Arrows). I have been a Rush fan since my university days
when my good friend Mike introduced me to them. Since then I have seen
them in concert multiple times both in the USA and the UK and I
honestly think they are playing better now than they ever have - and
they were always good. The Austin date was added as part of some
extended venues that were not part of the original tour. I am hoping
that they jiggle the set list a bit but even if they don't I am really
looking forward to the Show. In San Antonio they played for about three
hours with a short 15 minute break in the middle. Certainly great value
for money.<br>
</p>
<p style="font-weight: bold;">Express baseball<br>
</p>
<p>The professional baseball season is now well under way here in the
US. We renewed our season tickets this year to the <a
href="http://www.rrexpress.com/">Round Rock Express</a> (the AAA
affiliate of the Major League <a
href="http://houston.astros.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=hou">Houston Astros</a>).
Their stadium is less than 10 minutes by car from our house and it's a
great night out for the whole family. We went to the game last night as
I am keen to do as many things as I
can before the fatigue hits for this round. Last night the Budweiser
Clydesdale horse team were their outside the stadium and we all enjoyed
meeting the horses
and their trainers. They told use they are on the road touring 300
days every year! The game itself was also very exciting last night,
aided by the fact that the home team came out on top. So we had a fun
night of baseball and ball park food plus a visit to the in-stadium
kids play area. <br>
</p>
<p>That's my updates for now, I need to get back to working on my
e-mail in box and some other work tasks. The oncologist has a better
wireless network than I have at the house so it's actually a great
place to get work done!<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:36:08 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000073</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A productive Saturday in Central Texas</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-19-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The weather here today has been just gorgeous after some nasty
storms passed through on Thursday night and left us with a beautiful
but cooler day on Friday. Today we have been in the mid 80's Fahrenheit
under clear blue skies. Jack and I have the house to ourselves as Robyn
and Lorna are off having fun at a Girl Scouts camp for the weekend. The
campsite is at Inks Lake which is about about two hours West of here.
They have a ton of things for the girls to do (most of it outdoors) so
the great weather is a real plus.
<p>Meanwhile, It's been good for both Jack and me to have some quality
"guy time" together. Last night we spent some serious time working
together against hordes of evil aliens trying to save planet Earth from
imminent doom - or put another way we played co-op mode in Halo 3 for
about four hours before (a very extended) bedtime! Today Jack has been
helping me with some house chores and he has also been trying to teach
me how to play Super Smash Bothers Brawl on the Wii. Somehow I don't
think I'll ever give him any decent competition at this game but he
seems happy enough beating me into the dirt so what the heck!<br>
</p>
<p>I woke up this morning finally feeling less foggy from the last
chemo round. This is the longest amount of time it has taken so far for
my fatigue to subside between rounds. Of course round eleven starts on
Monday so I had better enjoy it while it lasts. The doctor had warned
me that the amount of fatigue tends to be cumulative and that certainly
seems to be true in my case. Given I felt a bit more with it, after
watching some of the English soccer on TV this morning and doing a bit
of housework indoors, I decided it was time to take on the huge mess
that used to be my nice tidy garage! The garage had somehow
become our dumping ground for a lot of stuff over the past few months
and the mess had really started to bug me (even over the effects of the
"chill out" pills they have me on so you know the mess was
bad!!). Thankfully I managed to get it mostly cleaned up but I
could not believe how quickly I ran out of steam. I had to take lots of
breaks. Hopefully when chemo finally ends my energy levels will
return to something like they were back last Autumn (pre-diagnosis and
pre-surgery). As people who know me will tell you I am not good
at sitting still. I need to be busy and it's starting to frustrate me
how weak I still am. I guess I have to keep reminding myself I have
been through a lot and my body has taken a pounding the last five
months or so. I also need to remind myself to just be grateful for what
I have as things could easily have been a lot worse than hopefully they
are. On the plus side, the fact that I am getting frustrated is
probably a sign that at least in some small way I'm getting more back
to my old self! <br>
</p>
<p>As an aside, I am typing this entry using the Apple Mac Book Pro
laptop which I now use for almost everything I do computer wise. I
continue to be really impressed by this machine. I originally bought it
as an early Christmas present to myself so that I would have something
fun to play with and learn to use during the long hours in the "chemo
chair". As you may recall from some of my prior postings, I have never
before owned an Apple machine of ay type but this laptop has quickly
progressed to being my principal machine. I just love how reliable it
is and I really like the "feel" of the machine and it's applications
and I am unquestionably more productive on this machine than I am on
any of my others.<br>
<br>
So anyway, that's my update for today. As I mentioned above, chemo
round eleven starts on Monday (just two to go now) so I'll try and post
some more updates in the early part of next week. Now I need to go
power up the XBOX 360 as Jack wants to see if we can kill a few more
aliens before bedtime tonight!!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:56:08 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000072</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round ten</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-11-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Round ten finished on Wednesday and as with the last couple of weeks
the fatigue has hit me almost instantly. The last day or so it has been
a real struggle to get much done. On a happier note, with ten down I
only have two more chemo sessions to go before we go into more of a
maintenance mode and my body has a chance to recover from all of the
chemicals it has been subject to the last few months. I'm certainly
looking forward to the second week of May now (when chemo will
hopefully be behind me). Given how tired I feel right now I will keep
this post very brief. As always I appreciate all of the messages I
continue to get from people keeping tabs on me - it really means a lot
and my thanks to you all as always.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:13:58 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000071</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round ten and other updates</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-07-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I am sitting at the oncologist as I type this, about two hours into
round ten. I met with the doctor this morning and we chatted for a bit.
He is pleased with my progress to date and we discussed some of the
next steps that he has planned for me post chemo. The net is that I'll
need to get another cat scan once chemo ends to re-establish a
"baseline picture" of how I look and then I'll start seeing him on a
frequent but more periodic basis to keep tabs on how I am doing. This
is more or less what I expected. He is hopeful the treatment plan will
have done the job but I'll still need to be monitored closely for the
next five years at a minimum in case (Heaven forbid) of a recurrence. I
know I am going to be nervous every time he tests me but he is being
very positive so that is as much as I can ask for at this stage.<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reading</span><br>
</p>
<p><img style="width: 200px; height: 313px;"
alt="Kite Runner Cover Photo"
src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/Kite_runner.jpg/200px-Kite_runner.jpg"
align="left" hspace="10">Thankfully my eyesight seems to be improving
even though I am still in
treatment and I am finding it much easier to keep up with my <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading</a>
than had been the case during the earlier weeks of treatment. I have
managed to read several books in the past few weeks. I just finished
reading <a
href="http://www.amazon.com/Kite-Runner-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594480001/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207584302&sr=1-2">The
Kite Runner</a>
by Khaled Hosseini. I have not yet seen the film that was recently
released but having read the book I definitely want to see it now. The
Kite Runner was a refreshing change from my staple diet of
action/suspense and science fiction books. I won't spoil the plot here
but I will say it gives a great perspective of life in Afghanistan over
multiple decades from the time before the Russian invasion all the way
to the present day. I found myself really attached to the main
characters and I found myself suffering along with them as I read the
book. If you have not read this book yet, you might want to add it to
your reading queue. In many ways a sad story about people trying to
make the best of their situation but also uplifting at
other times, definitely well written and well worth reading. <br>
</p>
<p>I also recently finished <a
href="http://www.amazon.com/Broker-John-Grisham/dp/0385340540/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207585249&sr=1-2">The
Broker</a> by John Grisham. This was different from his normal style in
that it was more about spies and espionage than it was about court
rooms and lawyers. That said, I really enjoyed it, although I have read
reviews from Grisham purists who viewed it as one of his worst books.
The book is mostly set in Bologna and other parts of Italy and by the
time he is done describing the place you are left wanting to hop on the
next plane a go visit. So while definitely not a typical Grisham book,
I enjoyed it - I guess I am not a purist!<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br>
</span></p>
<br>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Video Games</span><br>
</p>
<p>I hadn't had much time to play <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/videogames.html">video games</a>
lately nor the right state of mind probably given how "foggy" my head
has been. That said this weekend between lots of outdoor activities I
made time to sit down and finally finish the single player missions of
Halo 3 (XBOX 360). This is a thoroughly enjoyable and well engineered
game. I am really grateful to my friends who gave it to me as a get
well present back in the post surgery days. It has been one of many
useful distractions that have helped keep my mind off things. I have
now started playing BioShock which was a birthday present from the
family back in February. So far this looks like another very
interesting and high quality game but more violent than Halo 3 I would
suggest based only on about two hours playing time. With Summer weather
already here I need to keep my gaming to a minmum and set the right
precedent by doing a lot of things out doors and thus, hopefully,
encouraging the kids to do the same. That said I do have my PSP sitting
here with Metal Gear Solid loaded and ready to go should I need a fix
during the five hour long chemo session today!<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Summer is almost here<br>
</span></p>
<p>This weekend, the weather was gorgeous, blue skies and temperatures
rose to the high 80's Fahrenheit by Sunday afternoon. Both Robyn and
Jack had soccer games on Saturday and I played on Sunday. We all are a
bit sun burned today. It's supposed to be in the eighties each day of
the coming week. The kids decided that the weather was so nice that
they were going to jump into the pool which they duly did and I must
say despite the water being barely above 70 degrees, they had a great
time. So I guess this means the pool is now officially open for
business for the 2008 season. I would usually have jumped in there with
them, anything above 68 degrees I will swim in happily but the meds I
am on right now make me so sensitive to cold I am going to need to run
the pool heater for a couple of days before I'll be able to join them
in the water.<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Football/Soccer</span><br>
</p>
<p>In my prior post I mentioned I was hoping for an Arsenal win against
Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions Leage match. Sadly the
match ended in a 1-1 draw which gives Liverpool a definite advantage as
the teams head into the second leg of the tie. With the away goals
rule, Arsenal have to score at least once at Anfield as a 0-0 draw
would hand the match to Liverpool. Having also watched the teams tie
1-1 in the league right after the first leg, I am not confident Arsenal
can pull this one off but I guess we'll see. For sure they need to
rediscover their goal scoring ways from the earlier part of the season.
On a related topic, I really enjoyed watching the FA Cup semi-finals
from Wembley this past weekend. It's great to see the FA Cup magic is
still alive with many of the big clubs having been knocked out by lower
division opposition. I look forward to the final, which has the
unlikely lineup of Cardiff vs Portsmouth. I'm really happy for my
friend Graham who is a huge Pompey fan. I hope he can get a ticket for
the big match.<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mac Book Pro - update<br>
</span></p>
<p>It's been about three months or so now since I got my Mac Book Pro
laptop. I continue to be really impressed by this machine. The fact
that every night I can put it to sleep and in the morning open the lid
and have it wake up and start downloading my mail without me having to
anything is really great. I have re-booted the machine twice since the
start of the year and one of those time was just part of installing a
major OS update. This really is a robust platform. By contrast, if I
put my Windows XP laptop to sleep (hibernate) more than about 3 times
in a row I have to reboot the system to get it working properly again.
I'm not a Windows hater it's just that with the Mac I have found a
machine where I feel very comfortable, a machine that I trust to work
the way I expect it to and most importantly of all, a machine where I
am definitely more productive. As I learn more and more of the Mac's
features I'll keep on posting updates. I will also note that the one
negative thing I have observed lately is that if the processor is
working hard, the metal casing gets very hot and if you have it sitting
on your legs while wearing shorts it can get pretty uncomfortable - of
course this is just what you need on a cold night flight across the
Atlantic - so that could be viewed as a plus!</p>
<p><br>
So that's it for this round of miscellaneous updates. I'll try and post
again soon as I progress through round 10.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 7 Apr 2008 12:01:07 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000070</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Six months post diagnosis</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Apr-02-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Hard though it is for me to believe, it was six months ago yesterday
that I underwent the colonoscopy that discovered the cancer in my colon
and changed my outlook on life substantially. At that time
I <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-10-a">wrote about it here </a>.
A lot has happened since then but I guess the overall summary is "so
far so good". I have three chemo rounds left to go now which
really is not that bad but the side effects, especially the constant
sense of fatigue, do seem to have become cumulative. My last chemo
treatment is scheduled for the week beginning May 5th so I can at least
see the light at the end of that particular tunnel now. Round ten
begins next Monday (April 7th) and at that time I have a meeting
scheduled with my oncologist where I want to have a "what happens
next?" type discussion. As far as I know I go into a sort of frequent
checkup maintenance mode at that point (both with him and my surgeon)
but I have several questions I want to ask him. I will also need
another (minor) surgery at some point to remove the "power port" that
is used to infuse the drugs into my system. The one question I really
want an answer to is the one question he cannot answer. That of course
is "am I cured?". All he is able to give me, and this is not his fault,
it's just the nature of the beast, is statistics and a prognosis based
on experience in treating similar cases. In spite of this, and I try
not to dwell on it, it is frustrating having undergone all that I have
in the past six months that there is no definitive test that can tell
you how well the combined surgery/chemo treatment plan has worked. As I
have joked with him in the past, the bottom line is that if I am still
here for my checkups in five years then he has cured me! That said, my
spirits are pretty good and I am not wasting too much time worrying
about things that I really cannot do much about. Of course the little
pink pills help there too! On a positive note, an experience such as
this really helps remind you of the things that are truly important in
life. I feel that I am closer to my wife and kids than ever before (and
we have always been a close family) and I have been reminded how many
wonderful friends I have all over the World that have been there for me
these past six months. My oncologist commented to me that years from
now I will actually look back on this as a positive experience on many
levels. I think he is right. Not only have I been reminded of how much
my family and friends mean to me I have also bonded with so many brave
fellow patients that I meet week in, week out at the oncology clinic. I
am humbled by many of the stories I have had told to me by other
patients describing what they are going through - it really does stop
any small amount of self pity from rising to the surface when you are
constantly reminded that things could be a lot worse. It has also been
hard lately to see a few people who are probably still in high school
being brought in for treatment. Sadly cancer is a very indiscriminate
predator. <br>
</p>
<p>On a lighter note, Spring is in full bloom here, and although we
have had several cloudy and rainy days lately, Summer is clearly just
around the corner. Even on the cloudy days our temperatures are getting
into the high 70's or low 80's Fahrenheit and the water in the pool out
back is now up to 70 degrees and the kids are begging me to turn the
heater on so they can start swimming. Last year I started swimming when
the water was 68 degrees but one of the side effects of the meds I am
on is that I am very sensitive to cold so I suspect they won't have to
twist my arm too hard on this one. I could certainly use the exercise!!
Talking of the kids, they are already counting down the days left until
the end of school (which for us happens at the end of May - much
earlier than for my friends and family back in Europe). We have started
discussing what we want to do this Summer which has been great fun. We
are already planning a few fun things to do with the kids in June once
I am done with chemo which really is a pleasant change in dinner time
conversation from some of the other daily issues we have been dealing
with the past six months.<br>
</p>
<p>Oh and completely off topic, hopefully Arsenal will beat Liverpool later today in the Champions
League which will definitely raise my spirits! The match is being shown
live on TV here so I'll probably record it and watch it after work
tonight (apologies to any Liverpool fans I just offended but I have
been a mad keen Arsenal supporter since I was about five years old).</p>
<p>So with that, I'll close this somewhat more philosophical than usual posting.<br>
</p>
<p> I'll post again soon, probably after I talk to the oncologist again on Monday if not before. <br>
<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:15:38 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000069</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round nine</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Mar-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Yesterday marked the end of my ninth chemotherapy cycle. So that's
nine down and three to go. My last one will be the week of May 5th so
not so far off now. The side effects (mostly the fatigue and some
annoying bouts of nausea) have hit me quicker than usual this time so
I'll keep this update brief. Hopefully this means I'll be more with it
by the weekend when both of my kids have soccer games that I very much
want to be at. I am both excited and anxious to see the chemo
treatments getting close to done. On the one hand I will be glad to be
rid of the side effects but on the other, seeing my oncologist on a
weekly basis and having him re-assure me that things are going well
has, to some extent, become my safety blanket and I think it will take
some getting used to being off the treatments once we reach that point.
Of course, having said that I'll be going in for regular monitoring so
I guess I'll get enough interaction to keep my spirits up. I really
love the oncology team I am working with they really are a great bunch
of people and they are so up beat that it definitely rubs off on me and
as far as I can tell the other patients as well.<br>
</p>
<p>I'll post more updates soon, once the "chemo fog" clears again.<br>
</p>
<p>I continue to be very grateful for all of the e-mails and messages in the
<a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">guest book</a>
and the messages I have been getting on Facebook. You guys out there
have done more than you probably realize to help keep my spirits up. As
always, a very big Thank You!
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:17:09 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000068</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round nine</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Mar-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Today I started round nine of the chemo treatments and I also got
some good news on the blood work front. While my platelets are still on
a bit of a roller coaster ride, my haemoglobin level is up to 13.1.
This is the highest it has been since I was diagnosed back in October
2007 and the level was down to a frighteningly low value of eight. For
an adult male "normal" is considered to be between fourteen and
seventeen so I am tantalizingly close to the normal range now. Because
of this, my medical team are suspending the weekly iron shots and are
going to let me fend for myself for a while to see if my blood levels
continue to hold their own without help. I'll still be getting the
chemo meds as normal but I won't have to go in on the "off weeks" for
iron, unless of course the numbers start going in the wrong direction
again. I was hoping to post this from the oncologists today but for
some reason their network was not able to connect to the internet at
all today so I am posting from home instead with day one of round nine
now behind me (except of course for my little IV pump full of <a
href="http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatments/Chemotherapy/Individualdrugs/Fluorouracil">5FU</a>
that goes everywhere I go for the next two days! It seems a bit hard to
believe but after this week I only have three chemo treatments
left. My last scheduled chemo visit is the week of May 5th. If
all goes well I should have chemo behind me before the kids break for
the Summer in mid to late May.</p>
<p>On Saturday Robyn took the first part of her Tae Kwon Do black belt
test (called a mid-term) and we believe she passed. She will take the
final part of her test either in May or August depending on the
scheduling. We are very proud of her as this is a non trivial
achievement.<br>
</p>
<p>This weekend the weather here was wonderful and it looks set to stay
that way all through this week. We have clear blue skies and
temperatures are forecast to be in the 60's today and up to the
eighties by the end of the week. Spring is a wonderful time of year
here (except for the days when the super cell storms come through!). We
had no soccer matches this week as we were all off for the Easter break
but both kids have practices and games this coming week so I am going
to be quite busy in the evenings and on Saturday with that.<br>
</p>
<p>I had promised to post some of the San Antonio photos here. I
haven't yet had the time to work on doing that but here at least is a
photo of the Alamo. Please ignore the man pushing a trash can. I took
this photo in a hurry while my son was having a melt down and did not
have a lot of time to think about perfect composition !!<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 413px; height: 217px;"
alt="The Alamo, San Antonio" title="The Alamo, San Antonio"
src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/Alamo-small-2.jpg"><br>
The Alamo, San Antonio, March 2008.<br>
</p>
<p>I am feeling very tired today so I'll keep this post brief and aim
to post again soon as the week progresses. I hope everyone has a great
week.<br>
</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:20:12 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000067</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Spring Break in San Antonio plus the end of round eight</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Mar-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Chemo round eight officially ended last Wednesday (March 12th)
around 1pm. After that we rounded up the kids, loaded the car and set
off for <a
href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=san+antonio&ie=UTF8&ll=29.424049,-98.495178&spn=0.788252,1.172791&t=p&z=10&iwloc=addr">San
Antonio</a> for the remaining few days of the week. We knew we were
taking a bit of a gamble not knowing what kind of shape I would be in
from the chemo the days before but thankfully the main side effects
held off until we were back home a few days later and did nothing to
spoil our trip. From our house, it's less than 100 miles to San Antonio
and we probably do not make the effort to visit often enough as there
is a lot to do there. Most people think of the <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo_Mission_in_San_Antonio">Alamo</a>
when they think of San Antonio but that is just one of the many fun
things available to go and visit. For this trip, our main reason for
going was that we had tickets for travelling performance of "<a
href="http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/saltimbanco/intro/intro.htm">Saltimbanco"</a>
by <a
href="http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/default.htm#">Cirque
Du Soleil</a> at the AT&T Center on Thursday night. We
decided it would be more fun however, to get a hotel and turn the trip
into a mini-vacation. We got to our hotel (the Doubletree Suites)
around 6pm and after enjoying the free snack buffet the hotel provides
each night we went for a very pleasant stroll along the River Walk to
get some fresh air and to explore some of the local shops along the
way. This hotel, by the way was perfect for a family with kids. Each
room has a separate living area with kitchen and a very respectable
breakfast as well as the sizeable happy hour buffet are included in the
room rate. There is also a very small pool on the roof but our kids
still managed to have fun splashing about in it a couple of times
during our brief stay. On Thursday moring we got up early, had
breakfast and walked along the river to the IMAX theater where we all
enjoyed "Dinosaurs of Patagonia" in 3D. After that we had lunch at the
River Center Mall and took a guided tour boat ride around the river.
It's very "touristy" but still fun. If you have never been to San
Antonio, the River Walk is great. Whether you circumnavigate it on
foot, by tour boat or by river taxi, there is no end of historical
sights and restaurants to enjoy along the way. After the tour we walked
back above ground rather than along the river (which is actually set
down below street level) so that I could take a few photos of the
Alamo. Although I have been back several times since, The last time I
had been to the Alamo with a camera was in 1989 when I was still
carrying my trusty old Canon 35mm SLR. I wanted to get a few digital
shots this time. I only had time to snap a few though, as by this time,
given the very warm Spring weather, my six year old son Jack was both
literally and figuratively melting! We finally got back to the hotel
and rested for a few hours (the kids took the chance to visit the pool
again) before heading off to find the AT&T Center in time for
"Cirque". We had been to Cirque Du Soleil once before, in Orlando and
thoroughly enjoyed it. That time we had seen the <a
href="http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/lanouba/intro/intro.htm">La
Nouba</a> show which has the advantage of being on a permanent stage
and feels considerably larger in scale than this show. However, <a
href="http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/saltimbanco/intro/intro.htm">Saltimbanco</a>
was still very good and well worth seeing.<br>
</p>
<p>On Friday morning we got up and packed, had breakfast and set off
for the San Antonio Zoo. However, on arriving at the Zoo we realized
this had been a bad idea. All of the parking lots were full and even
though the San Antonio Spring Break is the week after ours, we could
see that the Zoo was packed full of school parties getting off to an
early start on their Spring Break plans. In the end we did not even try
to park, we just got back on the freeway and started to head home. Our
daughter, Robyn, was not at all pleased by this turn of events as she
had really been wanting to see some animals. Clearly we needed a plan
B. Luckily my wife knew of a wildlife park near <a
href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=new+braunfels&ie=UTF8&ll=29.698789,-98.12027&spn=0.786111,1.172791&t=p&z=10&iwloc=addr">New
Braunfels</a> called the <a href="http://www.wildliferanchtexas.com/">Natural
Bridge Wildlife Ranch</a>. The park is just a few miles west of
I35 and more importantly right on our way home. We had seen the signs
by the side of the road before but never been there so we decided to
give it a go. It turned out to be a great idea. The park was not that
busy and the main attraction is a "drive in your own car" safari tour.
The highlight for all of us was when a group of Zebra came up to the
car and stuck their heads in and let us feed them some of the animal
food we had been given as we entered the park. Despite the warning
signs about not hand feeding the animals both by the roadside and in
the guidebook, the animals are clearly used to cars and people and
expect to get fed! We saw several animals walk up to a car, wait to get
fed and then on realizing the car had no food walk on in disgust to the
next car. OK so it wasn't quite the full African experience but it was
a lot of fun. That said, we decided not to try hand feeding the
osteriches as they all just looked too cranky to take the chance!
While in New Braunfels, we also took the opportunity to enjoy a really
nice lunch at the famous New Braunfels Smokehouse - the food is great
and if you are ever passing through I recommend it for a lunch or
dinner stop. They focus on barbecue but they also serve salads and
other lighter fare.<br>
</p>
<p>We arrived home around 5pm on Friday afternoon, by which time the
crazy Texas Spring weather was up to 97 degrees Fahrenheit!
Weather wise we have been on a real roller coaster ride (as is normal
for the time of year) with high temperatures ranging from the mid
sixties all the way up to almost 100 degrees. Today as I type this it's
in the eighties outside but very cloudy and we are under a severe
weather watch with the chance of both hail and tornadoes before the end
of Tuesday - such is life in Texas during the Spring time. A few years
back we lost our roof to a Spring time hail storm so you learn rapidly
down here to take these weather notices seriously.<br>
</p>
<p>On Saturday the "chemo fog" finally caught up with me, and today
(Monday) I am still struggling to shake it off. Consequently, I
stayed at home to rest on Saturday while Lorna and Robyn got up really
early to go to a 3 v 3 soccer tournament. They came home tired and
sunburned but as best as I can tell they had a good time despite by all
accounts having had to play some very tough teams in the competition.
Sunday was another rest day for me although I forced myself to go and
play soccer during the afternoon just to get myself out of the house.
Suffice to say my reactions were not that sharp and I mostly stood in
the goal without too much to do but it was nice to get out for a bit.<br>
</p>
<p>Today I was back at the oncologist for my iron shot and other (non
chemo) meds but at least I have a few days now before round nine gets
underway next week. Sadly two of the meds make you sleepy - just what I
needed !!<br>
</p>
<p>That's all the news for now. I took a lot of photos during our brief
trip to San Antonio. I'll try and post a few over the next few days,
but I need to do a little cropping and Photo Shop-ing first!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:10:47 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000066</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round eight and the start of Spring Break</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Mar-10-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Today is the first day of Spring Break here in the Austin area so
naturally the weather is lousy. We awoke to thunderstorms and driving
rain, and given we started Daylight Savings Time (DST) this past
weekend (earlier than in the past under the new rules that recently
went into effect), it was still almost dark outside at 8am this
morning! Getting the kids out of bed was a real challenge, but we had
to wake them up as they start a three day Karate Camp today. At least
that will give them a chance to have some fun indoors out of the rain
and away from the TV and video games - works for me!<br>
</p>
<p>On the topic of DST, for the benefit of my friends and family in the
UK, given that your clocks do not go forward until the end of March, I
am now one hour closer to your time for a couple of weeks. So, for
example, 12pm (midday) here is currently 5pm in the UK where it is
normally 6pm for most of the year.<br>
</p>
<p>As well as getting the kids up early, I also had to leave the house
at the same time as round eight of my chemo treatments starts today -
again what a great way to Start Spring break! I am currently sitting in
one of the comfy reclining chairs at the oncologist's office as I type
this (which is no mean feat I might add given all the meds they pumped
into me a few minutes ago that have made me very dopey). They tested my
blood an hour ago and I just got the results. Thankfully my platelet
count has gone up again and there is no need to adjust my treatment
plan at the present time. I am very happy about this. I'm into a
routine now and as a creature of habit I am hoping I can stay on my
routine until May when my chemo treatments end.<br>
</p>
<p>I'm looking forward to Wednesday when this round ends. I am taking
the rest of the week off so that I can spend some quality play time
with the family.<br>
</p>
<p>I'll post again soon as I get through this round. Only four more to
go after this one!!!<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:55:37 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000065</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Miscellaneous updates</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Mar-07-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
It's hard to believe that it's already March. We have had a very
mild winter here in Central Texas. We did not have a single "ice day"
this year so far. The temperatures the last few days have been all over
the map which is fairly typical for early Spring here. On Wednesday
when I went to pick my daughter up from school I wore shorts as it was
right around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I really like living here!
Yesterday it actually rained a lot and today has been cooler but all in
all the weather remains, for the most part very mild. Yesterday I was
speaking to a colleague who lives in Toronto and he was moaning about
"yet another snow day" so I guess for large parts of the US and Canada
it's not quite Spring yet! Today a cold front blew through and it was
somewhat cooler even here but it is supposed to be back into the 70's
again over the weekend which is good as both of the kids have soccer
games on Saturday and I have a game on Sunday. Next week is Spring
Break here. For my friends and family in the UK it's basically the same
concept as half term. The kids are off all week and I am going to take
part of the week off once I get done with round eight of chemo which is
on Monday, Tuesday and a small part of Wednesday.<br>
</p>
<p>I have been trying to keep up with my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading </a>as
it really does help me relax and thankfully my eyesight seems to have
improved a bit in the last couple of weeks from where the FOLFOX
cocktail had taken it to during the first several weeks of chemo. This
week I finished another of the Harry Turtledove books in the
Colonization series. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately started
reading the next one which is in fact the last in this set of three
(although it's really book seven in a series of eight related books). I
am grateful to my friend Roger who introduced me to this author and I
have really enjoyed every book in the series. The books are science
fiction in nature but take place in an alternate view of history where
an alien race invades the earth right in the middle of the Second World
War and the various human nations have to put their differences aside
to confront the high tech invaders. If that concept for a story line
appeals and you have not read any of the Harry Turtledove books then I
highly recommend these.<br>
</p>
<p>Some of you may have noticed that the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest
Book</a> has changed. My web hosting company recently upgraded their
server software and replaced the guest book tool with a different one.
I have had a few people tell me that they have had trouble posting to
the new guest book but as far as I know it is working correctly.
I am a bit nervous however, as since I switched over no one (except my
wife and I who were testing it) has posted. If you feel the urge I
would appreciate a few of you posting to let me know it is actually
working correctly. All of the old messages are still available in an
archive that I have created and provided a link to on the main <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> page.<br>
</p>
<p>While speaking about hearing from people, I would like to mention
that I have been contacted by several people who found my web site
while doing web searches for information on colon cancer treatment. I
am both humbled and pleased that these people have contacted me and
also hopefully found some of the information I have been posting
useful. As I have mentioned before here, one of my goals when I decided
to be very open about my diagnosis and ongoing treatment was to provide
some relevant information and perhaps also a little hope and
encouragement to others that find themselves in a similar place to me.
I am glad that people have found this site and I am grateful that it
has proven useful for them to be able to compare notes with me. To all
of you who have contacted me, we're in this together, try to stay
positive, the treatment for colon cancer these days has come a long way
even in the last ten years or so. My thoughts and prayers are with all
of you. Keep up the fight!<br>
</p>
<p>On the sports watching front this has been a mixed week for the
teams I follow. I was really happy to see Arsenal beat AC Milan in the
Champions League on Tuesday but I am not quite so happy with the way
the England cricket team is performing in New Zealand this week. Still
you can't have everything as they say.<br>
</p>
<p>For my Mac owning friends who ping me regularly to ask about the
(still fairly new for me) Mac Book Pro - it's official - I'm in love.
This week I did not even open up my Windows laptop once. I was able to
do all of the things required by my job as well as a bunch of personal
projects during the evenings solely on the Mac. I have only found one
program so far (Quicken) for which the Mac native version will not work
for me. This is because for reasons I do not understand, the makers of
Quicken decided that the file formats used by the Windows version of
Quicken and the Mac version would not be 100% compatible. As I like to
share my files between my machines (for backup purposes as well as pure
convenience) I decided to try installing the VMware Fusion product this
week that lets me run Windows applications on the Mac. So far, after
two days of using it, I have to say that this seems like the perfect
solution. I do 90% of the things I need to do using native Mac
applications and then run Quicken using Fusion when I need to. As
one of my good friends commented after I had been saying how much I was
enjoying using the Mac - "I told you so". For the technically minded, I
installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 in the VM and so far it seems to
work just fine. So now I have the best of both Worlds as far as I am
concerned with Mac applications and Windows ones running side by side
on the same desktop without me ever needing to re-boot the Mac to
switch to Windows or go to another machine to run the Windows
applications that I need to run. I guess you can sign me up for the Mac
fan club at this point. I really do like this machine a lot.<br>
</p>
<p>So anyway, that's about it for now. I'm looking forward to another
busy weekend with lots of time hopefully being spent outdoors. Chemo
round eight starts on Monday but at least next week is Spring Break as
I mentioned and I have a few days off with the family to look forward
to at the end of the week.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 7 Mar 2008 22:03:55 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000064</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round seven</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I just got back from the oncologist having been unplugged from my
portable pump which marks the end of round seven. Only five more rounds
to go - yay! Apart from the setback on my platelet count (that I
described in my prior posting) I'm feeling pretty good overall. Later
today I get to go and coach my son's soccer team and tomorrow I get to
go and help couch my daughter's team. Both teams have their first games
this coming weekend. Hopefully the fatigue will hold off enough to
enable me to actively take part in and enjoy all of these activities as
the weather here continues to be fabulous. Mostly blue skies and
temperatures during the day that have ranged from the high 80's F a few
days ago to the mid sixties today. Right now it's about 66 degrees and
just about perfect weather for being outside and running around with
the boys (which I shall be doing around 5pm today).<br>
</p>
<p>Several of you have written to me asking how I am liking my Mac Book
Pro now that I have had it for a couple of months or so. In short I
love it. It is by far the most reliable computer that I have ever
owned. I still use my trusty IBM Thinkpad during the work day to get
some work specific things done but even most of those I could do on the
Mac now that I have the appropriate software installed. In the evenings
when I tend to try and find time to work on more personal things like
surf the web, my non work e-mail or working on the web page I
have been using the Mac almost exclusively for those tasks. I just
installed the Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5.2) upgrade and it seems to be
working well. I particularly like the new Time Machine enhancements. <br>
</p>
<p>As a side note, my web hosting company just upgraded all of their
server side software. As far as I can tell the migration has gone
without a hitch but please do let me know if you see any unexpected
behaviour from the web site over the next few weeks.<br>
</p>
<p>That's about it for right now then. More updates to follow soon and
as always thanks for the continued messages of support. Although as far
as I can tell things are going pretty well this remains a very nervous
time for me and all of the e-mails, calls and messages in the <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> really do help me a lot keep my
spirits up.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:47:09 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000063</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round seven</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-25-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
It's 10:41am here in sunny Round Rock Texas as I type this. I am
currently in my chair at the oncologists office commencing round 7
of the planned 12 chemo treatments. I just finished all of the
regular blood tests that they do at the start of each cycle and they
have now started pumping the prep meds into me before they serve the
"main course". A couple of the meds make me very drowsy so I hope that
this posting stays somewhat coherent!<br>
</p>
<p>Today for the first time since we started working with the
oncologist my blood test results are heading in the wrong direction.
This is another side effect of the FOLFOX cocktail that they have me
on.. My <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow">bone marrow</a>
is not keeping up with production needs and consequently my <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platelet">platelet </a>count is
significantly down. My haemoglobin level is slightly down. While these
side effects are often to be expected and are a common occurrence with
chemotherapy patients, it is still a bit depressing to have any kind of
setback. If my platelet levels get much lower they may have to suspend
treatments until they rise again. Among other things, platelets help
the blood congeal (clot) and stop bleeding from occurring. If my count
drops much lower I will be told to suspend all of my physical
activities that involve any chance of me getting cut - this would mean
no more soccer for a while and would be really depressing. I have
really started to look forward to my weekly Sunday soccer match now
that I am back into the routine and that my body seems to have enough
stamina to get through a game OK. I played again yesterday in fact and
felt more alert than I had the week before - which is good given I am
the goalie! <br>
</p>
<p>In other news ......the Girl Scouts cookie drive which has been
running for the last five weeks finally came to a close yesterday. I
think Robyn has sold something in the region of 500 boxes of cookies so
I think she has more than done her part for the cause! It will be nice
to see more of both Robyn and Lorna again now that they won't be
rushing off all the time to man a cookie booth.<br>
</p>
<p>That's about if for now, and given the meds really are making me
sleepy I'll close this posting. <br>
</p>
<p>As a footnote, you may have noticed that a few days ago I archived
all of the remaining 2007 entries from this page. They are all still
available in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html">archive</a>.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:09:39 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000062</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>No Jack that is not how you make a wireless mouse!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-18-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
This weekend I heard my wife call from the other room to see if I
could figure out what was wrong with the mouse on the new computer (it
turns out she already knew what was wrong but wanted me to see first
hand!). My six year old son had been sitting by the computer and had
found a pair of scissors lying nearby and for reasons known only to him
had decided he wanted to turn the corded mouse into a wireless mouse.
When I got there I found, to admittedly a mix of horror and, yes,
amusement, that he had cut the mouse completely off it's cord using the
aforementioned scissors! For those who may be wondering this does not
turn a corded mouse into a wireless mouse - so don't bother trying it!
Note to self, do not leave Jack and scissors alone EVER ! I went off to
the local Wal-Mart and bought the cheapest replacement mouse I could
find and he has promised never to do it again (of course he actually
swears it was an accident and not on purpose this last time!).<br>
</p>
<p>On Friday evening the kids were invited to an indoor skating party
so I broke the roller blades out of retirement and decided to have a go
too. When I lived in Florida I was a mad keen in-line skater but since
moving to Texas (which is not flat like Florida) I have not skated so
much. That said it all came back to me pretty quickly and while I
didn't push myself very hard it was fun to skate with the kids and also
to find another way to start getting a bit more exercise. Meanwhile,
the weather here this weekend was a real mixed bag. A front came
through on Saturday and it rained and stormed all day. Meanwhile, on
Sunday it was a gorgeous blue-sky day with temperatures right around 70
degrees Fahrenheit. This is not unusual for this part of Texas as we
get close to Spring. Luckily, both Robyn and I got to play our soccer
games as hers was indoors on Saturday and mine was outdoors on Sunday.
I played in goal this weekend (my usual position). My family came to
watch which was great and the kids had fun playing outside and burring
off some steam. I could tell I was a little timid in goal, my wife told
me she could see a difference too (those who know me might find that
hard to believe as after all you do have to be a little crazy to play
in goal as they say). Hopefully as I get a few more matches under my
belt both my confidence and my energy level will return. Despite my
feeling a little sub-par my team won handily as we have an extremely
good set of on-field players in front of me this season - thanks guys
for carrying me! <br>
</p>
<p>On Saturday morning I went over to some other English friends for a
wonderful, full English, cooked breakfast to watch the Man Utd. vs
Arsenal FA cup match live on the BBC. I am ashamed of the way my
Arsenal approached the match and the 4-0 thrashing they endured was no
more than they deserved for the "we don't care" way they seemed to
approach the game. It seems that with all of the money tied up these
days in the Champions League and the Premiership that a lot of clubs
are not taking the FA Cup seriously. This really breaks my heart, as
when I was a boy growing up, the FA Cup was the competition everyone
wanted to win and I used to love getting up early every year to watch
all of the festivities leading up to the FA Cup final, played each year
at Wembley Stadium in May. As far as I can tell the FA Cup has lost its
magic and a whole generation has grown up since I left the UK not able
to enjoy the passion and excitement that we all felt watching the
matches - if this is progress you can keep it!<br>
</p>
<p>On Sunday evening we went to one of my Sister's-in-law for dinner
and they surprised me by throwing a little "half way through chemo"
party - which included my own personal and extremely delicious carot
cake. This was really nice of them and it did help lift my spirits
which have been down a little lately purely because the fatigue seems
to be getting more prolonged each week. To be fair, the oncologist had
warned me that this was likely.</p>
<p>This week is going to be busy both at work and in the evenings after
work. Both my son and daughter have their first practices of the new
outdoor soccer season and as coach of Jack's team and co-coach of
Robyn's I am going to be busy. The good news is that this weekend sees
the end of the Girl Scout cookie selling season so I will be seeing a
lot more of my wife and daughter!</p>
<p>Today is President's Day here in the U.S.A and while I am not off
work a lot of people are. My e-mail in-box has been noticeably quiter
than average today and I am ok with that.<br>
</p>
<p>So that's about all the news for now, wherever you are reading this
I hope you have a safe and pleasant week.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:18:15 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000061</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round six</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-13-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>I just got back from the oncologist again which marks the end of
round six. So I am halfway there! May 5th still seems like a long way
off but at least it's downhill to the finish line from here on. The
fatigue has already started to hit me but other than that this round
seems to be progressing much like all those that have gone before. I
don't have much other news today so I'll keep this posting brief.
Thanks as always for all the messages of support in the
<a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> and
elsewhere that I keep receiving and very much appreciate.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:26:34 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000060</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round six</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-11-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The weather in Texas this weekend was truly beautiful. While much of
the country is still fully in the grips of some severe Winter weather,
we were able to enjoy clear blue skies, cool breezes and temperatures
in the mid 70's Fahrenheit. On Sunday I played soccer again. This time
for my outdoor 7-a-side team. It was a great day to be outdoors and I
came through the game fine (albeit still lacking in stamina). I feel a
lot better for having had some exercise and also having spent some time
"with the guys" again. The kids soccer teams (both of which I help
coach) will also both be starting up again for the Spring season in
another week from now. So I am going to be busy weather
permitting. It gets really hot here in the Summer but I don't mind that
and I love how moderate the Winter weather generally is which allows us
to start doing a lot of outdoor activities quite early in the year. We
have not even had the usual ice storm or two this Winter, which,
admitedly is unusual. The forecast shows that we will have a lot of
days of 70 degrees or higher over the next ten days. So it would seem
that Winter may be winding down already for
those of us that live in this part of the World.</p>
<p>Today, I am back at the oncologist to begin chemotherapy round six
of my twelve planned rounds. So by the end of this week we will be half
way there - yippee !! <br>
</p>
<p>I'll keep this posting short as the meds they just gave me are
making me sleepy!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:39:38 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000059</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>FOLFOX (Chemotherapy) side effects</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Feb-04-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
One of the reasons I decided to be very open about my colon
cancer diagnosis and treatment plan here on this site (starting with
the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-10-a">October 10th</a> posting) was of course
to keep my many friends and relatives around the World updated as to my
progress and in return I have been extremely grateful with all of the
support and encouragement I have received. However, I had a secondary
goal ,which was to share with others who may be faced with a similar
diagnosis some of my own personal experiences and perhaps in some small
way to help them also by allowing them to compare their notes with
mine. I was looking at the statistics that my web hosting company keeps
for me this weekend and noticed that a lot of the traffic coming to
this site is as a result of people doing cancer treatment related
Google searches. In particular I seem to have a lot of people looking
for others sharing insight into the side effects of the FOLFOX
chemotherapy. With the caveat up front that all chemotherapy treatments
are tailored to the individual patient and that the medicines used vary
depending upon the type of cancer being treated I decided I would make
a dedicated posting here discussing the side effects that I am
experiencing now that I have been on the FOLFOX regimen for 5 cycles
(of a planned, 12 cycle, one week on, one week off, program). I
described the specific medicines that I am receiving in the <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-02-a">January 2nd</a> entry so I will not repeat that
here.<br>
</p>
<p>Every time I visit the oncologist, which for me is at least once a
week, they run down a list of possible side effects and ask me if I am
getting any of them. I decided I would try and replicate that list here
and share my current view of which ones I am seeing and which I am not
(there's not a lot to be squeamish about here but if medical stuff is
not your cup of tea, skip to the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html#skip-table">last paragraph</a>
of this entry now).<br>
</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE:</span> I updated this entry on January 5<sup>th</sup> 2008 as I realized I had left fatigue, probably my biggest symptom, out of the original list below:<br>
<table
style="text-align: left; width: 75%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fatigue</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">About two or three days after
each chemo cycle I get hit with fairly severe fatigue that usually
lasts about two or three days. So, as I typically do my chemo on
Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday I usually find myself getting very tired by
mid afternoon of each of the following few days. Usually by the Sunday
I am back to normal again. The only way I know to deal with it is take
a sleeping tablet or a Xanax as needed and go to bed and sleep it off.
I rarely make it past 7pm before "crashing" on these days.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left; font-weight: bold; width: 30%;">Hair
loss</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">With this chemo there is not
supposed to be much hair loss if any. I am maybe seeing minimal
thinning of my head hair but basically I am not
experiencing any hair loss so far and in fact I need a haircut right
now.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nausea</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I have had minimal nausea. The
worst was the first week. I have not even come close to vomiting.I have
two different prescriptions for nausea but I don't find myself needing
to use them too often and then only the weaker of the two.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diarrehea</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">This one I am experiencing.
Sometimes it can get pretty rough but there are medicines like Limotil
that can be prescribed (as was done for me) that really help. I also
find eating lots of yogurt really helps too.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eyesight</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Apparently the meds can cause a
hardening of the cornea which can effect eyesight. Even with my new
glasses, in less than very bright light, I am noticing some problems
reading books for more than a few pages at a time.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruising</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I have not experienced any
bruising but I do notice that on a few days right after chemo
treatments that some parts of my body, often large muscles, are a bit
more tender than normal if I bump into things.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Heartburn</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">Heartburn has been fairly
common. Generally I find a few "Tums" or equivalent antacid tablets
take care of it.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sensitivity
to cold</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">This one was the biggest
surprise. One of the three medicines, the <a
href="http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=4184">Oxaliplatin,</a>
effects the nervous system and has had a lot of odd side effects. The
good news is that this drug is credited with a lot of the recent
successes in treating colon cancer and also it's worse effects wear off
a few days after each chemo cycle. Fundamentally it makes me incredibly
sensitive to cold. Both food and drink and also to things that I
touch I learned early on to only drink warm (or at least room
temperature) drinks for the first few days of each cycle. Drinking cold
liquid leaves me feeling as if my throat were swollen - trust me on
this one, it's a very odd feeling. I also find it hard to hold on to
anything cold (say a pot of ice cream from the freezer) and I never put
my hands into cold water.The oxaliplatin also causes my jaw muscles to
hurt (quite severely) from time to time a lot like I imagine TMJ pain
would be.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mouth
sores</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">They always ask me about this
one but so far I have only had one and I am not convinced the chemo
caused it (I think I may have burned my mouth on hot food). Either way
their are good meds to nip this one in the bud if you experience them.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rashes
and/or breaking out</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">From time to time I have
experienced something like being a teenager again in terms of my skin
but generally it has not been that bad and it seems to always clear
itself up pretty fast.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bleeding</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I have had no abnormal bleeding
thus far.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shaking</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">From time to time I have
experienced some shaking in my hands but as I type this I am actually
back to normal again - it seems to come and go.<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pain</span><br>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">I have not experienced any
unusual pain that could be attributed to the chemo.<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><br>
<a name="skip-table"></a>So there you have it. That's my summary of
what five cycles of FOLFOX has done to me. I hope those of you that got
here by way of a Google search found this useful. If things change over
the next seven rounds I will post an updated version of this table. <br>
</p>
<p>As always thanks to everyone for their support and especially for
all of the birthday wishes I received over the past few days. I had a
very nice birthday on Friday. The Wife and kids took me out with some
good friends to the local Tokyo Steak house and a good time was had by
all. On Saturday I was pretty tired but my energy came back in time to
enjoy the Superbowl on Sunday.<br>
</p>
<p>Finally, if you are reading this as a fellow patient I wish you all
the best towards a cure. <br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 5 Feb 2008 14:02:07 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000058</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round five</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-31-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Five down, seven to go. Thankfully so far this round the side
effects have been a lot less. Maybe I am adjusting finally or maybe I
am just lucky this go around. Either way I am not complaining. Tomorrow
is my birthday as I mentioned in my prior post. Maybe I'll get to
celebrate on the actual day after all! I'm looking forward to the
weekend, especially the Superbowl of course and my usual fix of soccer
from the UK. I managed to catch the Arsenal vs Newcastle match on TV
here earlier this week, now if only Man Utd. would lose a couple of
matches life would be almost perfect on the soccer front! It's
Girl Scout Cookie season here in Texas for the next few weeks which
means Robyn and Lorna have been off sitting outside various stores and
other venues trying to sell cookies to the passers buy to raise funds
for their troop. The weather here has been a real mixed bag lately with
temperatures all over the map (70's F one day 30's the next) so I
really feel for them sitting out there trying to sell the cookies. At
least I think when people see a bunch of cute girl scouts out in the
freezing cold they make a few sympathy purchases. Meanwhile I think
Jack and I have the better end of the deal. We sit at home and play
video games or watch TV while the ladies are off freezing!<br>
</p>
<p>I don't have a lot of other news to share today other than I am
trying to work a full day today which is keeping me busy so I'll keep
this update brief.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:28:49 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000057</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round five</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I would be lying if I said I was not dreading the coming week to
some degree. I have really enjoyed how "normal" and productive I have
been the last several days (the effects of round four having worn off).
I have likewise started to hate the way I feel during the chemo weeks.
However, as my daughter reminded me this evening, it's for a good
reason. Talking of my daughter, today I really enjoyed coaching her
indoor soccer team. All six girls played their socks off and we
came out on top 8 - 5 in a very exciting match. <br>
</p>
<p>Tomorrow (Monday) chemo round five begins. If the last round is
anything to go by, it will probably Saturday or Sunday before the
effects ware off. The really sad part is that this coming Friday is my
birthday and I don't think I'll be up to much celebrating. I promised
the kids we'd go out for a fun dinner but just a few days late. They
seem OK with that. At least I should be able to enjoy the Superbowl on
Sunday.<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, life goes on and I'll just have to tough it out again this
go around as I have done in the prior four. The good news is that we
are getting close to halfway through the planned twelve rounds.
As I have said many times before, I really appreciate that so many of
you are keeping in touch by IM, e-mail, phone or the <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> to offer support. It really does
help and I really appreciate it.<br>
</p>
<p>I'll post again soon.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:05:14 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000056</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A productive "off week"</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-24-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
This week is an "off" week for me, meaning no chemo treatments, my
head is clear, my energy level is high and as a result I always try and
get a lot done. I have caught up well on the work front this week, in
fact I have my business in-box down to just seven e-mails still
requiring my attention. I have also been trying to work through my
to-do list at home (which has been growing longer and longer lately as
I only have so many days a month when I actually feel like trying to
shorten it). One of the focus items this week has been dead light
bulbs. I cannot believe how many light bulbs seem to need replacing (I
think it's a conspiracy but I haven't figured out how they are doing it
yet, but when one goes, boy the others seem to love to go too!). I have
also been spending some time doing some much needed software upgrades
to the (way too many) computers we have scattered about the house.
Sadly, the new Vista PC we bought the kids for Christmas continues to
cause me grief. It has crashed more times than I can remember since we
first set it up on Christmas Day and even basic tasks like copying
files over my network have caused it to hang up so hard that I need to
hit the power switch to recover. This week I decided to install my
version of Quicken 2005 on it (big mistake). After two hours and many
Google searches I finally found the magic spells needed to get it
working but boy oh boy what an ugly experience that was. I think it's
finally time to just take that machine back to XP for a while - at
least that way the kids can play their games, which is, after all, why
I bought the thing in the first place. Worse yet, my new toy (the Mac
Book Pro) had its first fatal crash this week. Nasty one too. For the
technologically curious it took a Kernel exception, crashed hard and
after rebooting phoned home to tell Apple all about its problems. I'm
not sure what caused the crash either. I had left the machine unplugged
from the power and in sleep mode on the coffee table (but I know the
battery was almost full). Before opening the lid I plugged it in to the
power and the minute I did that it woke up all by itself, spun up it's
disk, displayed the password prompt and before I could do anything
crashed. Odd indeed. I'm actually wondering if I had a power spike.
From now on I will plug the power cord into the wall with the other end
of the cable disconnected from the Mac and then connect the power cable
to the Mac just to be safe. Up to this point, I was starting to think I
finally had a machine that never crashed. Oh well, I have used it a lot
and have not rebooted it much so maybe I was asking for it but I guess
we'll see if this was a fluke or an indication of some other problem
over time. Overall I am still more than happy with the Mac.<br>
</p>
<p>My other big news this week is that, for the first time since
September last year, on Tuesday night, I played soccer. Now I don't
want people to get excited thinking I am pushing myself too hard and I
certainly took it very easy first time out. I asked my doctor if it
would be OK to try and in fact he supported the idea saying some
increased activity would be good for me and he re-assured me that my
chemo port was unbreakable (now that sounds like a challenge if ever I
heard one!). So this week I decided to have a go at playing for one of
the three teams I belong to. This particular one is a co-ed team that
plays in a very friendly (read not overly competitive but fun) 6-a-side
indoor league. The matches are 40 minutes long divided into two 20
minute halves. It's a fast moving format but players can sub in and out
at any time. Over the course of the whole match I doubt if I played for
more than a total of 15 minutes but it was great to "have a go". My
stamina was very low but at least this time it's as much due to lack of
fitness than it is oxygen in the blood. My oncologist did warn me that
I will still be lacking for energy for quite some time and he was right
but I really enjoyed seeing my teammates again and doing something a
little more energetic than walking. To be honest, if you had told me
back in October that I would be able to play ever again, yet alone in
mid-January, I am not sure I would have believed you. So, while I did
not contribute very much to the team and I am certainly not going to
push myself too hard, I at least feel like a very important part of my
life (playing sport) is coming back to me and for that I am extremely
grateful. Now if only my energy level would come back enough to give me
the confidence to go and tidy up the disaster area that is our garage.
Oh well, baby steps!!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:42:26 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000055</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round four</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-20-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
It seems each round has taken a little more out of me than the prior
one. Today (Sunday) my head finally feels clear and the fatigue that
seems to start almost immediately the chemo cycle starts has finally
left me again - what a relief. I should now get a few days where I feel
as close to normal as normal gets at present. On Friday I went into the
office for the first time since before my surgery back in October.
Several of my colleagues were in town for a meeting and I was really
keen to see everyone. I have to say that making it through the day was
a struggle for me but it was great to see everyone. Yesterday
(Saturday) I managed to struggle through watching my daughter's indoor
soccer game but I was very grateful that some of the other parents were
on hand to coach the team as I was just not up to it this week. By 7pm
I was worn out and collapsed into bed. This morning, thankfully I woke
up feeling a lot better. Hopefully, then, this coming week will be a
better one and I will be able to get a lot done both at work and at
home before the next round starts on January 28<sup>th</sup>.
Today I am having a lazy, domestic day. I got some housework done and
paid the bills this morning while watching the English Premier League
(Man City vs West Ham) on TV. This afternoon I am "vegging" on the
couch watching the NFL playoffs and trying to get some reading done.
The latter is still a big challenge for me as the chemo has very much
affected my eyesight as I have mentioned before. My oncologist assures
me this is a temporary state resulting from a hardening of the cornea
caused my the chemo meds. Lorna and Robyn are off selling Girl Scout
Cookies (yes it's that time of year again!). Jack is off being Jack
(which right now means he is locked in combat with Mario, Luigi and
other of his best Game Cube friends). So other than that, it's
pretty quiet around here, which is fine by me. I hope you are all
having an enjoyable weekend.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Jan 2008 15:41:36 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000054</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round four</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-14-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Due to the fact that my last round only ended on January 4th
(because of the New Year's day holiday) I have had a few less
days to recover than normal between rounds. Suffice to say, I felt
pretty good this weekend and was really not looking forward to going in
this morning knowing that the side effects would all start coming back
by this evening (which they indeed have as I type this). My visit today
began at 11:15am and after the usual vital signs and weight checks we
spent about 30 minutes talking with the Oncologist to take stock of
where we are now that we are almost a third of the way into the
treatment program. He is basically very happy with my progress. My
haemoglobin count continues to rise and is now teasingly close to the
normal range. Lorna came with me today and she asked more questions
than I did (I tend to not like questions as they usually result in
answers - and answers can be either good or bad!). Today the answers
were all very good. We discussed a lot of statistics and probabilities
and the like but the bottom line is that right now I am doing about as
well as can be expected and no one can predict the future but the
treatment is giving me the best possible chance of having one! I also
learned a lot about microscopic cancer cells and the difference in
resolution between a CT scan and a PET scan. If you are interested in
more details of that I'll leave it as a Google exercise. My treatment
ended around 3L:15pm but they were kind enough to let me hang out there
for another couple of hours so I could finish my e-mail and wait for
Lorna (who left mid afternoon) to return and pick me up. I don't like
driving on chemo day one in particular as some of the meds they pump
into me make me quite dopey (yes, more so than usual!). So
anyway, here I am again, 9:23pm, just me and my portable chemo pump
blogging away together as we get into round four.<br>
</p>
<p>The oncologist was packed today. In fact, when I arrived, I got the
last remaining empty chair, which as luck would have it was at the far
end of the room in a quiet corner. This was handy as for the first time
I had planned to do some work phone calls from there today (with a
headset and a quiet voice of course - I cannot stand overhearing people
yelling to their colleagues on cell phones in planes and such places so
when I absolutely have to take a call in public I always try and be as
unobtrusive as possible). So basically I worked a full day today, in
fact I have reached the point where I can pretty much ignore everything
going on around me and to me and just work (or sometimes play) during
the visits and I find that helps the time pass a lot faster. <br>
</p>
<p>So tomorrow I go back for day two of this round. I need to get there
before the pump runs out which should be around 1:15pm (it needs to run
for 22 hours before they can start their next drug set). The day two
visits hopefully end up being about three hours. Hopefully tomorrow
will keep to that pattern.<br>
</p>
<p>As a side note I have heard from three people who went to have
colonoscopies done having read my blog here and in each case the doctor
found treatable pre-cncerous polyps. So if nothing else, by being
fairly open about what happened to me I have in some small way helped
influence the lives of a few others in a positive way. For that I am
very grateful. Once again we see the power of the Web when used
sensibly.<br>
</p>
<p>Depending on the side effects, I'll try and post again tomorrow, but
if it's like last round, I may be off the air for a day or too. Right
now I am going to go and watch the second episode of the new Terminator
series on TV ("<a href="http://www.fox.com/terminator/">The Sarah Conner Chronicles</a>")
which the DVR hopefully recorded earlier. Episode one was yesterday and
I really enjoyed it. A much better sequel than the recent attempt at
resurrecting the Bionic Woman in my humble opinion.<br>
</p>
<p>So that's the update for now. As always thanks for all the support in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>
and elsewhere. Despite the fact that things (touch wood) seem to be
going well for now I still really appreciate all of the support at what
remains a very nervous time for us.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:51:47 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000053</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Friday update</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-11-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
This has been a busy week work wise but with the kids back at school
(and the house quiet) I have managed to get a lot done. These days I
work predominantly from home (and a lot of that time it seems I spend
on the phone) but next week I am actually planning to go in to the
"real" office for a couple of days towards the end of the week. This
will be the first time back in the office since before my surgery so it
will be great to see a lot of my friends and colleagues "in the flesh"
again. Before that I have to get through chemo round four which starts
on Monday at 11:15am. As of course is always the case (or so it seems)
I am finally feeling "normal" again just in time to get my next
"cocktail" dose on Monday! <br>
</p>
<p>While talking of work, I have also started posting to the <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/KRL">work blog</a>
again finally after many months of almost total silence. I tend to
post items on the work blog that are more technical in nature and
discuss things I am doing on the work front. Consequently those entries
are not of as much interest to everyone that comes here to this site.
If you do check out the work blog you will notice I have been
experimenting with <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>
quite a bit. Thank you everyone that sent me friendship invites
recently during my post-surgery recovery period. I think I have now
accepted them all and have started sending out additional requests of
my own. <br>
</p>
<p>I'm continuing to really enjoy the Mac Book Pro. I'm planning on taking
it with me to the chemo office for the first time on Monday as I now
have enough applications, music and other goodies loaded on to it that
it should prove to be an able companion for the planned five hours
I will be "in the chair". I also ordered (and just received) an Apple
Bluetooth keyboard so that I can plug the Mac into the 42inch wide screen HDTV that
we have the Wii plugged into and use it from the couch. This should be
very cool (as long as the kids ever let me have the TV that is).</p>
<p>If you follow my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">Books and Magazines</a> section you will know that I finally finished reading Harry Turtledove's <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Colonization: Second Contact</span>
this week. This was a another good book in the multi-book series that I
am working my way through. It has taken me several months to finish it.
My reading speed has slowed down a lot in recent months with everything
I have going on but it has been made significantly worse by the fact
that the chemo seems to have negatively affected my eyesight to the
point where my eyes get very tired after reading just a few pages.
Thankfully, I just called the eye doctor and after almost a month of
waiting (the frames I picked were back ordered it turns out) my new
glasses are ready. I am really hoping they help as I am struggling even
working here at the computer all day yet alone reading books in the
evening.<br>
</p>
<p>By the way, for those of you that like to keep up with the kids, I
just posted three photos taken on Christmas Day to the Family Photo
Journal over in the Family & Friends section.<br>
</p>
<p>That's about it for now then. I'm glad the work week is almost over.
I plan to try and enjoy the weekend and eat and drink all the things
that I know I won't feel like eating and drinking next week in vast
quantities over the next two days! This weekend the weather is supposed
to be superb here so I am planning to try and divide my time between
playing with the kids outside and watching the English Premier League
and the NFL playoffs inside. I'll need to get up fairly early tomorrow
(for a Saturday that is) as the Arsenal vs Birmingham match starts on
TV here at 9am I think. I hope everyone has a pleasant and restful
weekend.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:12:58 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000052</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Back to school and back to normal</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-08-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The kids went back to school today. I think we were all ready. I
know I was. Yesterday (Monday) was a bonus day off due to teacher
training. We had the hardest time getting them to go to sleep last
night and as a result we had two little "growly bear cubs" to wake up
this morning. After we got them bundled off and on their way Lorna and
I went to visit the oncologist so they could give me a nice big dose of
iron and an few other things and I must confess that I am feeling much
more my old self again this afternoon. The "fog of war" one gets into
from all the chemo meds has finally worn off again for another round.
After school Lorna took Jack to the park to let off some steam but he
was still being growly. At one point he apparently got so mad that he
told her "fine I'm just going to drop my pants then" , and he did. Hmm,
I don't think that would work as well in the business environment - but
you never know! Could be an ice breaker in an already ugly meeting!
Yesterday Lorna and Robyn went up to Dallas for the day so that Robyn
could visit the huge (two storey) <a href="http://www.americangirl.com/">American Girl</a>
shop they have there. As a typical male this is all alien to me but
apparently this type of quest is quite the thing to do these days.
Suffice to say we have a new addition to the family as of last night.
Complete with matching outfits of course and accessories. Oh well that
takes care of the Santa money for another year! Robyn is already
working on me to fly her to LA so she can visit the (even bigger)
Beverley Hills store! Oh and in case you were wondering about the
Central Texas weather, it's like Spring here this week. A few showers,
lots of sunshine and temperatures in the 70's Fahrenheit - gorgeous.Apart from the time I needed to take to go get "infused" this morning I
managed to work a full day today and in general (for a day or two at
least), things are back to normal. </p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 8 Jan 2008 17:10:23 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000051</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round three - well almost</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-07-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I finished the treatments for this round last Friday but even today
(Monday) the side effects are still hanging around a bit more severely
than it seems they did for either of the prior two rounds. Consequently
I haven't felt like posting here for a few days and I had a very low
key weekend. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be more back to normal again.
Unfortunately due to the schedule being a little out of routine, due to
the New Year break, I have to start round four in just a few days time
(on the 14th). I'll hopefully be back in a day or two with a longer
update. I hope that all of you are off to a more pleasant start to the
year.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 7 Jan 2008 14:57:31 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000050</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Chemo round 3</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2008-Jan-02-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Having enjoyed a nice eleven day break since my last chemo round
finished, I had to get up bright and early today to get to the
oncologist's office by 8:30am to begin round three. I was there a total
of almost five hours this time and the office was very busy as usual.
The first day of each round is always the longest as they run blood
tests on me and have to wait for the results before they can commence
giving me the actual chemo meds. The good news there is that my
haemoglobin level is significantly up from where it was pre-surgery and
is continuing to rise. As a result I am much less anemic now than I was
two months ago which really helps my energy level among other
things. The oncologist has been giving me massive amounts of
intravenous iron which is definitely helping bring the number up. As
well as the iron, they also give me a fairly broad range of additional
medicines on day one, which naturally makes the visit take longer.
These are mainly to help prevent major side effects from or reactions
to the chemo meds and the iron. Hopefully tomorrow I will only
have to be there for about three hours. One of the meds they gave me
today is an intravenous anti nausea drug, that I had not had before,
and has the instant effect that about three glasses of red wine would
have. As a result, it's actually quite easy to relax during the day one
visits!! All the medicines go into a "main line" vein via my <a
href="http://www.bardaccess.com/port-powerport.php">power port</a>
which means they go straight to the heart (do not pass go, do not
collect $200) and shortly thereafter reach all other parts of the body
including the brain!. There is a good photo <a
href="http://portadvantage.com/patient/about_implanted_ports.html">here</a>
of how these ports work although the device type shown is not the same
as the one I have everything else is the same in terms of placement etc.<br>
</p>
<p>Thankfully the wireless network was performing well (as usual) today
and I was able to get a lot of e-mail and other work done while they
worked on me (despite being mildly drunk!) and to be honest the time
went by quite quickly. If my wife or my boss are reading this,
don't worry I didn't sign any important papers or other documents while
"under the influence" !! Unfortunately, as I have mentioned before, the
treatment does not stop when I leave the office. In fact the infusion
process runs almost non stop for 48 hours. I am sitting here at home on
the couch (yes watching more English football) as I type this with my
"take home" battery powered pump buzzing away next to me giving me
regular doses of the <a
href="http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=4007">Fluorouracil</a>
(commonly known as 5FU) medicine. It even comes with its own (not very
stylish) shoulder bag. I think there is money to be made for someone
here who designs a trendy bag that turns this thing into a bit more of
a fashion accessory!<br>
</p>
<p>The other of the two specifc chemo drugs that I get on a "day one"
visit is called <a
href="http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=4184">Oxaliplatin
(OX)</a> It is the one that I find has the weirdest side effects.
It messes up the nervous system to the extent that I become very
sensitive to the touch for anything cold. So much so, in fact,
that if I put my hand in cold water (as I did without thinking, to fish
some leaves out of our pool during round two) it feels like I have had
a significant electric shock followed by prolonged tingling in
the fingers. I also find it close to impossible to swallow any cold
drinks for several days after getting a dose of "<a
href="http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=4184">OX</a>".
It's a good thing that English beer can be drunk and enjoyed at close
to room temperature :-)<br>
</p>
<p>I received several e-mails today, from m any parts of the
World, wishing me all the best for round three. I really
appreciate the fact that so many of you are keeping up with my schedule
and are continuing to send me messages of support and encouragement.
Lorna and I also really look forward to checking the <a
href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> every evening for new messages
and we often also go back and re-read the prior entries. <br>
</p>
<p>Tomorrow I don't have quite such an early start. The portable chemo
pump needs to run for 22 hours before they start "day 2" in the office.
I think that means I need to be there at around 11am or so.<br>
</p>
<p>So that's the update for today. I'll post again soon. On the bright
side, after this round I will be 25% of the way through the treatments.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 2 Jan 2008 20:55:01 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000049</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A lot to be thankful for</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-31-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>About this time of the year I like to reflect upon all of the things
that I have to be thankful for. I suppose I could be forgiven for
looking at 2007 as a year to rapidly forget. On the contrary, despite
all of the medical issues that I have had to face up to, I truly do
have a lot to be thankful for and also have many fond memories to look
back on from the year. Among the highlights were being with my family
to watch the space shuttle Atlantis launch from the Cape back in June
and taking my nine year old daughter to her first rock concert. I took
her to see Rush (one of my long time favourite bands) and she loved it.
We also got to enjoy our new swimming pool for the first time and I
traveled a lot less than usual and as a result got to spend a lot more
time with the wife and kids. Lorna and I did some fun things too,
including a weekend break to Houston to watch the Astros play which was
a lot of fun. So all in all we had a lot of fun in 2007. When October
arrived and I was diagnosed with cancer, I will admit that I did for a
while fall into a brief pit of self pity. However, due to the amazing
support of my wife, other family members and all of my friends around
the World I was able to (for the most part) rebound and keep my spirits
up. I am truly thankful that my family doctor was on the ball and
caught the cancer at what we hope was a fairly early stage. I am also
extremely thankful that we found such a skilled surgeon to operate on
me and that the surgery went by without major incident. I am also
grateful to all of the nurses and other staff at the Seton Medical
Center in Austin for the care and professionalism they showed me during
my time as their "guest". I am also more thankful than simple words can
truly express, for all of the e-mails, other messages of support,
gifts, cards and deliveries of food that arrived (and continue to
arrive). In times of crisis you really do need your friends and you
have all been amazing. Thank you all so much. So as we head into
2008 I have regained much of my optimism and am looking forward to
whatever the year brings. I still have some unknowns in my future, but
hey, which of us doesn't? I also know that I am not alone in
having had to face up to some severe personal challenges in 2007.
Several of my very good friends have lost loved ones or had to face up
to their own medical challenges. All of you remain in my thoughts and
prayers. I pray that you each find strength and happiness in 2008.<br>
</p>
<p>Wherever you are reading this, I hope that 2008 is full of good
things for you.<br>
</p>
<p>Happy New Year!<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:57:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000048</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Enjoying a few days off</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-29-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>As well as having some time off work to spend with the family over
the last week or so, which has been great, I have also enjoyed having a
block of days with no chemo treatments. I have had a lot of side
effects from the previous two treatments so I really need this time to
recover from those. My next round starts next week on January 2<sup>nd</sup>
so I am trying to make the most of the time between Christmas and the
New Year. On "Boxing Day" (December 26th) I spent a lot of time in
front of the TV watching the English Premier League<big> <small>before
I had to go see the oncologist for my "off week" checkup/iron infusion
visit. </small></big>. As many of you know I am a huge Arsenal fan and
the match between Portsmouth and Arsenal was one of the many I enjoyed
watching (despite the Arsenal performance being extremely flat). Of the
matches I watched, the game of the day had to be the 4-4 draw between
Aston Villa and Chelsea. We are fortunate here in the US these days
that the Premier League gets a lot of TV coverage so I am able to keep
up really well with the matches. In fact, as I type this I am watching
Chelsea play Newcastle live on the TV and after this match is over the
Arsenal/Everton match is on so I guess I'll be glued to the TV for a
few more hours yet.<br>
<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br>
<br>
A couple of nights ago our kids had a sleep over with some of their
cousins and Lorna and I were able to go to a movie. We have not really
managed to have a "date night" since my surgery so this was a real
treat. There are currently several movies on that we would like to see
but in the end we chose <a
href="http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/nationaltreasure/">National
Treasure: Book of Secrets</a> and we both really enjoyed it<br>
</p>
<p>I have also been trying to get back into my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading</a>
again. I still haven't finished any of the books that I started before
my surgery back in October. This has nothing to do with the quality of
the books, however. It's more a case of I have had trouble relaxing
enough to read and lately the chemo seems to have negatively affected
my eyesight such that my eyes get tired after just a few pages.
Thankfully I just had my annual eye exam and my new glasses should be
ready next week.<br>
</p>
<p>Given I still get tired pretty easily, I have had to spend a fair
bit of time stuck on the couch resting. Consequently I have finally
managed to spend quite a bit of time playing with the new Mac Book Pro
laptop. I remain really impressed with this machine. The operating
system and all of the preloaded applications seem really well done. I'm
planning to start maintaining this web site using the Mac fairly soon.
The only complaint I have is that the iWeb program that came with the
machine (as far as I can tell) can only be used to create new web sites
and not to edit/manage existing ones - so this for me is not very
useful. While talking about computers, we bought the kids a new PC for
Christmas, primarily to stop them destroying the machine in the office
here at the house (which is the only one we had previously that could
run their favourite games). The machine we got them came preloaded with
Windows Vista. Sadly, of the three games I have tried to install so
far, not one of them has worked. They all worked fine on the other
machine, which is running Windows XP. So I'll either be putting
XP on the new machine this weekend, or I'll end up giving them my home
office machine and putting the new machine in there. <br>
</p>
<p>As my friends outside the US may not realise, this is a big time
here in the US for collegiate football. There are seemingly endless
"bowl" games on TV between Chritmas Eve and New Years Day. This year,
our local team, the University of Texas Longhorns were in the Holiday
Bowl, played in San Diego a couple of nights ago. They were not
expected to win but in fact did win and convincingly so (52 - 34) over
Arizona State. Lorna and I enjoyed watching the game on TV. After an
average season by their standards, it was nice to see Texas end the
season in style.<br>
</p>
<p>Later today (if he ever wakes up!) I promised Jack we would put his
new Hotwheels track together. I'm not sure which of us is looking
forward to it more. After that I have to help Robyn download some more
music into the new iPod that she got for Christmas. In fact Lorna and
Robyn both got new iPods so I think I am going to be busy loading up
iTunes with large chunks of our CD collection over the next few days.<br>
</p>
<p>That's about it for now. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday
season as much as we are.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 29 Dec 2007 10:56:42 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000047</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Merry Christmas!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-25-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The kids were up before the Sun at about 7:30am this morning and I
guess once again they managed to keep off the naughty list as Santa
appears to have been very good to them. The living room floor is
covered in new games, toys and debris! I must admit I really enjoyed
watching them have fun and go nuts ripping into packages this morning.
We just had breakfast and are now taking a few minutes to catch our
breath while the kids play with their loot before worrying about the
next round of activities!<br>
<p>To all my friends and family around the World who celebrate
Christmas I wish you a very special "Merry Christmas" and to all my
friends who celebrate other holidays I wish you likewise nothing but
good things at this festive time of the year. All of you have done so
much to support me these past few months for which I am extremely
grateful. In spite of the tough things we have endured recently I am
constantly reminded of the all the good things in the World that I need
to be so very thankful for.<br>
</p>
<p>From me and my family to you and yours, I wish you peace and joy.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Dec 2007 10:15:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000046</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round two</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-21-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I finished my second (of the 12 planned) chemo rounds this week. So
far the side effects are much the same as last time but I have been a
bit more proactive with the medicines that help fight the side effects
and also got a few good suggestions from my oncologist which have
helped. So far, overall, I think I am coping a little better this time
than the first. The oncologist hopes this trend will continue. We are
trying to have as normal a Christmas as possible and the focus now is
on all of those last minute (non medical) items that go with the season
While I have a checkup visit next week I have no more chemo sessions
until January so this will help me enjoy the break a whole lot more. As
I said we have a lot to do here, so I will be brief today but wanted to
post something as many of you have been asking after me (as always
thanks for all the support and messages in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>).<br>
</p>
<p>I hope wherever you are reading this you have a very safe and enjoyable holiday season.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Dec 2007 09:28:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000045</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Jack turns 6</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">family</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I'm actually sitting in the oncologist's office beginning round two of
my chemo treatments as I type this, but I wanted to make a posting
today that is not about me for a change! Today, is my son Jack's
birthday and he is turning six (where did the time go, they grow so
fast). He went off to school very excited this morning with a plate of
cookies that Lorna made for him to share with his class mates and he
seemed to be really enjoying being the centre of attention. On Saturday
we held his birthday party at a local place called <a
href="http://www.pumpitupparty.com/">Pump it Up</a> where the kids get
to bounce around on all manner of large inflatable toys. We had about
20 kids show up and a good time was had by all. Here's a photo I took
of Jack with his sister (Robyn) enjoying himself at the party.<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Jack and Robyn having fun"
title="Jack and Robyn having fun, December 15th 2007"
src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/JackParty2007.jpg"><br>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">Jack and Robyn, December 15th 2007<br>
</div>
<br>
Jack got several fun presents from his friends at the party and the two
of us spent a lot of time on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning
opening packages and putting things together. I think one of his
favourite toys is the pump action nerf gun that fires table tennis ball
sized nerf projectiles at high speed. Luckily for me his aim isn't too
good yet!<br>
<br>
I'll post some more updates about me as the week progresses and I get
further into chemo round two but for now I just want to enjoy watching
my son be the centre of attention for a change!!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:28:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000044</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The new Mac, Halo 3 and me</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-12-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I finally started feeling "normal" again on Sunday (December 9th),
and have been trying to get caught up on a number of things
since. Consequently, it has been a few days since my last
posting. The good news is that since Sunday I have actually been
feeling pretty good. I visited the oncologist's office on Monday for my
"off week" checkup visit and they told me all of the symptoms I am
experiencing are pretty normal for the drugs they are giving me and
that it is likely that this pattern of good days and bad days will
repeat itself as we progress through the treatment program. From my
point of view, at least knowing there will be several good days will
make it easier (I hope) from now on to adjust to the bad days. The
other good news is that my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobin">haemoglobin</a>
level (which if you read some of my postings from October) was
dangerously low for a while, has improved significantly. This will
certainly help with my energy level and I am really happy to see it
rising.<br>
</p>
<p>Given it took me several days to recover from the first chemo round,
I have not had as much time or energy to play with the new Mac as I
would have liked. However, today, I met a good friend who is a Mac guru
for lunch and he was kind enough to give me a crash course in some of
the cool features and also help me setup some of the key software that
I want to run on the machine. I hope to spend more time over the next
few days exploring. My ultimate goal is to be able to use the machine
for both work and fun. Even in the short amount of time I have had to
play so far, I have been very impressed with both the machine itself
and the new Leopard operating system software that came
preloaded. <br>
</p>
<p>I mentioned in my previous posting that I would comment on the
amazing journey the Mac took to get to me. I guess this just shows what
a global economy we live in. I ordered the machine from the Apple web
site which I assume is in California but have no real idea where it is.
I naively assumed the machine would come from California too. However,
when I got the FedEx tracking number and went to track the delivery I
found the machine was being assembled and shipped from Shanghai in
China. It was a lot of fun to follow the journey from then on. I
managed to figure out which FedEx flights the machine was on by cunning
use of flight trackers and the FedEx web page. I was able to follow the
machine as it made its way to me across the Pacific. In the end, before
being delivered at my front door, the machine visited the
airports in Shanghai, Anchorage, Indianapolis, Memphis and Austin
- quite a journey! What I found even more amazing was that the machine
arrived within 25 minutes (early) of the originally scheduled delivery
date and time that had been given to me when I placed the order a few
days before - pretty impressive I think.</p>
<p>This week I have worked a full day each day so far and that has been
really nice in terms of giving me a strong feeling of normality. I also
managed to finally make time this week for my annual eye exam (which
was months overdue) and I was glad to see that my eyesight is more or
less the same as it was last year. I have been told that the chemo may
negatively affect my eyesight so I wanted to get my new glasses ordered
before the chemo has a chance to distort everything too badly (no pun
intended). While my energy is definitely continuing to come back, in
the evenings I still find I need to spend quite a lot of time taking it
easy by relaxing in front of the TV or doing other low energy things
like playing games. This week (admittedly with help from my kids) we
managed to complete level 8 of the solo player missions in Halo 3
(there are ten in total). We are now fragging our way through level
nine! Halo 3 is a very enjoyable game but also a very pleasing game in
terms of the overall graphics and production quality. Once I am done
with the single player missions I am tempted to try playing on-line but
I am also more than a bit worried that that could turn out to be a
really big consumer/waster of time - but right now maybe that's OK!!<br>
</p>
I'll try to post again soon with more updates. My next chemo round
starts on Monday (December 17th) so I am going to try and enjoy the
next few days before the anticipated next cycle of "feeling lousy"
starts.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:38:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000043</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>End of round one</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-05-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The chemo program I am on feels to me a lot like the way
professional boxing must feel. The two participants pummel each other
over the course of 12 rounds. Only in this case, the 12 rounds are
spread out over six months and the other guy does all the pummelling
and my job is to basically "hang in there" and wait for the bell. Today
I ended round one. I'd say we're maybe about even on points but I am
certainly dealing with a formidable opponent! I have experienced
a lot of side effects. None of them are major when taken independently
but when taken as a whole they have left me feeling pretty wiped out.
Thankfully I have until December 17<sup>th</sup> before round two gets
underway. At least, unlike professional boxing, the opponent is
pummelling me with the intention of leaving me better off at the end
and not out cold on the mat. I don't have the energy to describe the
exact regimen and how it works but I believe it is known commonly as
FOLFOX. I found a site based in the UK that seems to describe it quite
well. Here is a <a
href="http://www.cancerbackup.org.uk/Treatments/Chemotherapy/Combinationregimen/Oxaliplatin5FU">link
to that site</a>. If you read the summary at that link you will see I
am getting treatment both in the oncologist's office and also at home
(via a pump that stays with me during the rounds). They remove the pump
between rounds. It will be nice to be able to sleep tonight without the
pump. I had hoped to post an update yesterday but at least for now I
have been struggling to keep up as much as I have been recently.
Hopefully I will adapt to this and do better over time. <br>
</p>
<p>On a happier note, I bought myself a new toy, an Apple Mac Book Pro
laptop that I hope to use to keep me occupied during some of the
upcoming chemo visits. I have never owned a Mac before so I am excited
to start exploring all of the cool features. I'll make a dedicated
posting in the next day or so to talk about the Mac and my first
impressions. I'll also describe the amazing journey the machine took to
get to me.<br>
</p>
<p>I continue to be grateful for all of the kind messages I continue to
receive via the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>, e-mail and so
many other ways. I really appreciate and continue to need all of your
support.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 05 Dec 2007 22:03:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000042</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>First chemo visit</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Dec-03-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Just a quick update as I am wiped out from today and off to bed in a
few minutes. Today was my first chemo appointment. I arrived at 8:30am
and was expecting to be there about 4 hours maybe 5 at most. As it
turned out, mainly due to this being my first visit but more due to
volume of patients and I think some staffing issues I ended up in my
chair for 9 (yes nine) hours. I was in fact the last patient out the
door and it was already getting dark outside when I left. All of this
said, I love the staff at the office where I am being treated and they
made my time there as pleasant as could be. Also, having a WiFi network
really helped pass the time. I used my laptop to do quite a lot of
work, pay my bills and talk to friends and colleagues via instant
messaging. They sent me home with a pump that keeps infusing more
medicine into me over night which will make sleeping a bit odd tonight
I think. So far I have not noticed much in the way of side effects but
I am expecting a few over the course of the treatment based on my
"education" today. I'll post more tomorrow but wanted to just get a
quick post up tonight as many people have been contacting me to ask how
it went. I certainly appreciate all the support. OK off to bed for me.
More updates soon.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:13:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000041</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>More surgery and more football</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Nov-30-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I spent yesterday afternoon back at the hospital to have the surgery done to put in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-a-Cath">port-a-cath</a>
that will be used to infuse the chemotherapy meds starting next week.
The procedure itself was very quick but we (my wife and I) still ended
up spending several hours at the hospital (by the time you factor in
the waiting room, paperwork, surgery prep, surgery itself and finally
recovery). Before they put me to sleep, I had a chat with my surgeon in
the OR and he again checked the status of my previous repairs and he
gave me the all clear to ramp up my physical activities. I am very
pleased about this but of course will ramp up slowly so as not to
overdo it. My surgeon will see me again in six months, after the
chemotherapy is over at which time he will remove the port (yet another
minor surgery) and begin the three monthly monitoring process that I
discussed briefly in my last posting. We left the hospital around 5pm
and by then I was extremely hungry having not been allowed to eat since
midnight the previous day. <br>
<br>
Thankfully the sedation wore off pretty quickly and I actually felt
pretty good almost immediately I woke up. Given I was both hungry and
as always very open to any and all distractions I was able to accept a
friend's kind offer to to join him at 7pm for dinner while watching the
Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers game at another friend's house
(this specific game was a very big one and was only available via
satellite - something we don't have at our house).<br>
<br>
Today I am a little more tired than I have been in recent days but I
slept well last night and otherwise feel OK. The area around the new
incision is pretty sore as is to be expected but I'm sure that will
calm down soon. <br>
<br>
I forgot to mention in my prior posting that I got the all clear to
drive my car again too. While I don't yet feel confident driving long
distances as my mind tends to wander sometimes, it has been great to be
able to make a couple of very short trips by myself to local shops.
Even the small things mean a lot right now.<br>
<br>
This weekend I mostly plan to take it easy and maybe do a bit of
Christmas decorating around the house - the kids are getting desperate
to make progress on that. When I was a kid growing up in England I am
sure we didn't start this early but it seems these days (at least
around here) as soon as the Thanksgiving holiday is over the Christmas
trees start appearing. On Saturday evening, assuming I feel up to it, I
am going down to San Antonio (which is about 90 miles from here) with
one of my brothers-in-law as we have tickets for the <a href="http://www.big12sports.com/">Big 12 Championship</a>
game. For the benefit of my friends and family outside of the USA, this
is a fairly major college (American) football event. We were hoping
that the University of Texas (which is based here in Austin) would make
it to the game but they fell short this year. Given we already have the
tickets and that it should still be a great game anyway we are still
planing to go and hopefully enjoy the game. This is a fairly big deal
for me as this will be by far my biggest adventure since before the
surgery - and in case you were worrying - no I will not be doing the
driving!<br>
<br>
That's the update for now. I hope you all have a pleasant weekend.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:00:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000040</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A few days of normality</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Nov-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>As I mentioned in my prior posting, last Thursday was the
Thanksgiving day holiday here in the United States. For many of us,
that meant a four day weekend. Despite the weather here in the Austin
area being really nasty (cold and wet) it was nice to have a few days
in a row where no one was pushing me, prodding me or sticking needles
into me! We went to my brother-in-law's house for a fairly large family
gathering on Thursday which was a great distraction for me and it was
also great that I was able to enjoy the wonderful meal that had been
prepared without too many worries. That said, I'm still learning which
foods my new digestive system does best with and which ones mess me up.
This will be an ongoing process for some time yet I think! On Friday we
had a gathering at our house to watch the Univerity of Texas vs Texas
A&M college football game (that's American football for my friends
outside the USA). I am also getting a bit more confident about going
out in public now so on Saturday we took the kids to see the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Movie">Bee Movie</a>
which we all enjoyed. On Sunday we went to visit my wife's mother. So
all in all I had four days of family time with lots of distractions. I
also found some time to play Halo 3 which I am rapidly becoming
addicted to.<br>
</p>
<p>This week I have to get back into the medical routine. Today I went
and got my flu shot so that is taken care of before chemo starts next
week. On Wednesday (tomorrow) I have to go to the hospital for my
prep visit for the small surgery I am having on Thursday to place the
port into my chest that will be used to deliver the chemo meds. It's
supposed to only be a half hour procedure and is being done as day
surgery. Chemo is due to start next week. I am also due to see my
surgeon again next week for another checkup. If he likes my progress I
should get the all clear at that point to resume a few more physical
activities (once I get my strength up some more anyway). I'm actually
going to be seeing a lot of my surgeon over the coming months as at
least for the time being he wants to monitor me at three monthly
intervals. At least the monitoring can be done in his office without
the need for all of the nasty preparations that go with a full
colonoscopy. I guess eventually I'll get into the routine of all these
appointments but right now, and I guess this means I am feeling quite a
bit better, I am about ready for a break from the seemingly endless
visits to one medical office or another! As always I'll just have to
deal with it. The mess my kids make around the house (which can be
substantial) has also started bugging me again for the first time since
before the surgery so I guess that is another sign that I am feeling a
bit better !!<br>
</p>
<p>Many of my neighbours have already put up their exterior Christmas
decorations and my kids are on my case to do the same. I told them that
if I feel up to it that maybe we'll make a start on that later in the
week (energy and weather permitting).<br>
</p>
<p>Apart from a little time off for medical appointments I am planning
to try and work pretty much a full week this week unless but I am being
careful and will take breaks as needed.<br>
</p>
<p>I continue to be grateful for all the messages in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>
as well as the e-mails and calls I am getting from people checking on
me. All in all, I think I am coping fairly well. I still have a long
way to go, and I am definitely a bit nervous about chemo and how I will
react to it, but for the most part I have a lot more good days than bad
ones at the moment. I'm trying to keep my attitide positive which I
manage to do for the most part but I still have my moments!<br>
</p>
<p>Anyway, I'll post again soon, probably after the surgery on Thursday.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:25:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000039</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The plan moving forward</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Nov-21-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
This week I learned a lot more about the next stages of my treatment.
On Monday I met with my surgeon for my post surgery follow up. He is
happy with the way I am healing from the surgery and I think he is
pleased with my overall level of activity, energy and enthusiasm. He
has however told me to remain on a program of very limited activity for
another three weeks. Primarily to risk causing any damage to the area
of the surgery. I have to see him again in early December and at that
time (not that I am probably going to be up to it physically) from his
point of view I should be released to restart more normal activities -
even some sports if I want to.<br>
<br>
Yesterday (Tuesday) I met the oncologist for the first time. I was
extremely nervous going into that appointment as I know that these guys
deal largely in statistics and probabilities and I knew it was time to
face up to some numbers specific to me. However, the doctor could not
have been nicer and explained everything nicely, clearly and even with
a bit of humour. I took to him immediately. We discussed options,
statistics and all manner of related things and he laid out for me his
treatment plan. Even though my cancer was caught fairly early, and is
officially being classified as a stage 2 cancer, he still believes that
a course of chemotherapy adds quite significantly to my chances of a
cure. I am not going to go into the numbers here (they really aren't
that awful but I just prefer not to dwell on the stats too much). So I
will start chemotherapy on December 3rd and it will take six months to
complete the course. I will have to go to his office on two consecutive
days every other week for a total of 12 visits (hence six months). I
will also have to go back briefly on the 3rd day of every "on" week to
have the pump they send you home with removed. He has assured me that
the chemicals used have improved a lot over the years and that I should
not get nauseous or lose much (if any) hair. There are a few possible
side effects, the biggest one being fatigue, but none of them sound too
terrible. The office visits are going to be a little longer than I had
realized. I think (memory fails me a bit here) they said 240 minutes on
the first day and 180 minutes on the second (but I may have got that
wrong). The good news is that this is a pretty high tech oncology
practice and they have wireless internet in the treatment room - maybe
you'll see a blog post from there in the future!!<br>
<br>
As some of you may know, the prefered way of "plugging me in" to the
chemo machinery each visit is through a port that is installed in my
chest. This means I have to go back into the hospital next week
(Thursday November 29th) for a minor surgery to install the port. The
same surgeon who has been treating me can also do this procedure and he
says it takes about 30 minutes and they will send me home the same day.
I'm a little down at having to have yet more (albeit minor) surgery,
but I'll deal with it.<br>
<br>
So that is the update. I am glad I have got through the visits this
week and that the plan both makes sense and also gives me a certain
amount of confidence. Nothing is certain in life but I feel I am
getting the best possible treatment and being given the best possible
chance for a full recovery. In many ways my future is out of my hands
now so I am going to try to just keep up as normal a life as I can over
these next six months and try not to worry about the future and
things that are out of my control.<br>
<br>
As always thanks for all of the continued support and encouragement. It
really helps. This is still a scary time for me but having all of you
with me (I feel a bit like the guy in the Verizon phone
commercial who has his network following him around) is really helping
keep my spirits up.<br>
<br>
I'll post again soon.<br>
<br>
To all of my friends in the USA, a very Happy Thanksgiving. To all of you in other countries have a wonderful rest of the week.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:04:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000038</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Slowly getting my strength back...</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Nov-14-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Hi everyone. I had hoped to be able to post here long before now but
the surgery took a lot more out of me than I had expected it would.
This week for the first time since leaving the hospital (on November 2<sup>nd</sup>)
I have actually felt like looking at a computer for more than just a
few minutes. The good news is that I have been doing what I was told
and getting lots of rest.<br>
<br>
Lorna has been using the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> as a
bulletin board to try and keep everyone up to date on my progress so
hopefully most of you know roughly where things stand. The
Surgery went well but I ended up in the hospital for a full week to
allow me enough time to be ready to go home. I finally got to come home
on November 2<sup>nd</sup> and it was great to be back in my own
"space" again. My appetite is slowly coming back but I have lost about
30 pounds since going into the hospital (some diet plan!!). I still
have some pain but really it has not been that bad and I have had
to use surprisingly few pain pills. My energy is also slowly
coming back (as I mentioned above the surgery took a lot more out of me
than I had anticipated it would). I have been able to take a few (very
short) walks and also watch a couple of my kids soccer games. This week
I even dialed into a couple of work meetings and started reading some
of the 1000 plus e-mails that have accumulated during my "down time".
It was great to both be doing some of the things I would normally be
doing on a work day and also to hear some of my colleagues voices
again. I am also trying to adjust to the physiological changes that my
body has undergone - let's just say that remains a work in progress!<br>
<br>
I am seeing my surgeon for my post-surgery follow up visit next week
and I am also meeting an oncologist who will decide if I need a
(hopefully limited) course of chemotherapy.<br>
<br>
We have been overwhelmed with the number of gifts, meals, cards, messages in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>,
e-mails and other wonderful things that people have sent us over
the last few weeks. I am trying to thank each of you individually but
to all of you a huge THANK YOU. It really has helped keep my spirits up
to know that so many of you are out there cheering us on.<br>
<br>
I'll post again in a few days when we know more about my next steps and
any additional treatment plans. For now I am just working on getting my
strength back and not overdoing it too soon. I am hoping that if I do
need chemotherapy that we can wait until after Thanksgiving here in the
US (which is a big family get together time) before we start.<br>
<br>
Thanks again everyone for your support. You all mean the World to my family and I.<br>
<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 Nov 2007 09:40:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000037</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Almost there...</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-25-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
So the waiting is almost over. My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow
morning (Friday) at 11am Central Time (although we have to be at the
hospital around 9am to check in). For those who know the Austin area, I
will be in the main Seton hospital on 38th Street. We're not sure yet
how many days I will be in the hospital but I am guessing at least
three and maybe a few more.<br>
<br>
Obviously I will not be posting many more updates here for a few days
(at least not from the hospital anyway - but don't think I haven't been
trying to think of a cunning way to pull that off!). After
surgery, as soon as she can, my wife Lorna, is going to put an update
in the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> as she can do
that easily from any web connected computer she happens to find near
the hospital. So if you want the latest news please keep an eye on the
Guest Book for the next few days.<br>
<br>
Last night I coached my U6 boys soccer team (probably for the last time
this season) and enjoyed being out in the fresh air one last time
before I go "under the knife". After practice we ordered a bunch of
pizza's for the boys and the parents and had a few laughs. Not quite
the final pre-surgery meal I had originally intended, but in a
way, it was perfect. This morning I managed to make one final trip to
Starbucks before my pre-surgery special diet kicks in.<br>
<br>
Talking of the special diet, I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything
else now except for clear liquids (sadly I don't think vodka or gin
counts) until after surgery. I also have to start taking the medicine
that "prepares" you for surgery. I'll leave the details of that to the
imagination. If you have ever had any kind of colo/rectal procedure
you'll know what I am talking about!<br>
<br>
So, that really is about it for now. Thanks again to you all for your
endless support and help in keeping my spirits up these past couple of
weeks. I am hoping that now I truly can start on the road to recovery
how ever long or short it may be, and at least I feel like we are
moving forward again now.<br>
<br>
As the waiting is at last (almost) over and we start out on that road forward, I am reminded of the words spoken by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill">famous countryman</a>
of mine back in 1942. "Now this is not the end. It is not even the
beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."<br>
<br>
Thanks again everyone for all your support, I hope to be back here in a few days with some more updates.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:34:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000036</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Quick update</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-22-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I spent all morning at the hospital today getting "prepped" for Friday.
If you have ever had surgery you will know the pre-admission routine:
Answer lots of questions, meet lots of people, have an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrocardiogram">EKG</a>,
give (yet more) blood samples, give other samples, more tests and so
on. Then there is the seemingly endless paperwork. I signed so many
forms today I probably missed something in the small print stating that
the hospital now owns my house and car! I have also had to give blood
samples so often lately I am starting to feel like a pin cushion. I
also spoke to the surgeon again today and I think he's all set to go so
I think we are almost there - I just hope my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alprazolam">Xanax</a>
supply holds out for a few more days! I feel noticably more nervous
today than in recent days but all in all I think I am managing to "hang
in there".<br>
<br>
Over the Summer I had been actively trying (and succeeding - albeit
slowly) to lose a bit of weight. The last few days I have been
trying as hard as I can to put it back on again! I figure that
post-surgery my appetite is not going to be back to normal for a while
and I am not really sure how soon I'll be eating normally again so the
last few days I have been trying to eat things that I love without
worrying too much about what they are doing to me. On the way home from
the hospital today my wife and I stopped at <a href="http://www.daveandbusters.com/">Dave and Busters</a>
and I had a really good (and probably my last for a while) hamburger.
This is one of the few pluses of my current state of mind - if it
sounds good, eat it!<br>
<br>
This past weekend we made the most of the beautiful weather. I helped
coach my daughter's soccer team at 1pm on Saturday and then coached my
son's team right after that. On Saturday night we went to visit the
same friends we saw last weekend to watch the Rugby World Cup Final.
Sadly, this time, England came second but a good time was had by all.
On Sunday I went and watched my soccer team play as the anemia has kept
me from being able to keep playing myself but I wanted to spend a
bit of time with the guys before the enforced downtime I have coming
post-surgery.<br>
<br>
Today, a first blast of Winter arrived in Central Texas. Over night a
cold front blew in. Yesterday it had been in the high 80's Fahrenheit,
today so far (as of 3:45pm) I don't think we have managed to get above
56F here at the house. It has also been raining off and on all day.
This type of 30 degree swing is typical for Texas. It's supposed to be
back into the 70's again by mid-week after this front has done its
thing.<br>
<br>
Finally, I continue to be very humbled by the continued flow of cards, letters, e-mails and postings to the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book.</a>
Thank you all so much for your continued support. I am also very
grateful to several of my work colleagues who got together and sent me
a wonderful basket full of goodies. You are all extremely kind.<br>
<br>
I'll post again soon with any more news but I think, for the most part, I just have to make it through until Friday morning now.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:07:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000035</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>It's hard to feel bad when the weather is this good.</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">weather</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">texas</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-19-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The weather here in Central Texas this past week has been, in a word,
awesome. The overnight lows are in the 60's Fahrenheit with a few
places dipping into the 50's. Right now at 9:20am it is 61 degrees
outside of my home office and I am working with the window open - quite
a luxury at the end of a long Texas Summer. During the day it has been
warming up into the high 80's or even low 90's and it is likely to do
that again today. There is a cool breeze and the sky is clear blue.
Just about perfect. This weather pattern is predicted to continue for
some time yet so we will be looking at another busy weekend of coaching
kids soccer games. My Surgeon wants me to stay active until the surgery
and while the anemia is presenting me from being too active (playing
soccer would be out) at least I can take some gentle walks around
the neighbourhood and enjoy this wonderful weather.<br>
<br>
There is no additional news to report today on the medical front. I'm
still waiting for the test results to come back that I described in my
posting on October 16th but other than that we are proceeding pretty
much according to plan. I have to go to the hospital in the early part
of next week for the pre-surgery work up (to make sure I can handle the
anesthetic etc.) and then of course Friday next week is the big day.<br>
<br>
I am still receiving loads of e-mails from all over the World
wishing me good things and I cannot tell you enough how much I
appreciate that. Also to those of you that are filling the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> with messages - you are very kind, thank you.<br>
<br>
I'll post again here as we get more news and as we get a bit closer to
the 26th. For now I'm going to sit here, get some work done, and enjoy
the cool breeze that is blowing in through my window.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:32:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000034</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Change of plans</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-16-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
The surgeon who is treating me called last night and we met briefly in his office again today. As I mentioned in my posting on <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-11-a">October 11th</a>
, he had met with the doctor who performed the colonoscopy on me and
was calling me after having had that conversation. Unfortunately he now
feels we need to adjust from current "Plan A" to a somewhat more
radical "Plan B". Before I discuss the new plan I should perhaps
explain how we got there. The doctors believe the root cause of my
current problems is a genetic condition called <a href="http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=38787">Attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis </a>(<a href="http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=38787">AFAP</a>
for short). I am not going to try, nor am I qualified to, go into a
lengthy explanation of what AFAP is. Heck, two weeks ago I had never
heard of it. In short, however, it means someone my age is likely to
have a large number (more than 20 but less than 100) of polyps in their
colon and has a much higher than normal predisposition to these
becoming cancerous in a relatively short amount of time. Today I went
and had yet more blood taken so that a genetic analysis can be
performed to prove for certain that I have AFAP (the results will be
several days coming back) but I apparently have all of the classic
indications of it and my medical team seem pretty much convinced on
this one. My bigger worry, as a parent of course, is that there
apparently is a 50% chance of this being passed on to my children.
That, however, is a bridge we do not have to cross today. <br>
</p>
<p>So now for the change of plans. Plan A had been to remove a large
part of the colon, Plan B (I am told the recommended procedure for AFAP
cases like mine) is to remove the entire colon. The logic is along the
lines of if you leave part of the colon behind, because of the AFAP, in
a year or so we'll be right back here again and in the meantime I'll be
almost living in the doctors office getting checked for a recurrence
(I'm exaggerating obviously but not that much). However, to an "average
man in the street" like me, this whole new plan, at least at first,
sounds horrific and I have to tell you that last evening after the
surgeon called, I found myself feeling like I had taken a huge step
backwards. Today, however, after meeting with the surgeon in his office
and asking all kinds of questions about quality of life and future
preventative care needs I think I am (slowly) coming to terms with it.
If all goes according to (the new) plan, I still believe I can live a
fairly normal life. I am not going to go into the gory details of what
it means in terms of living without a colon but I am sure you can find
a lot more information about it on the internet should you so desire!!</p>
<p>Surgery is still scheduled for October 26<sup>th</sup>. Suffice to
say, I am a little shaken by this change of plans but as I had more or
less adjusted to things under Plan A I am sure I will rapidly adjust to
Plan B.....
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:54:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000033</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Keeping distracted</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-15-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
This weekend, with the help of many friends and family and a
very busy social schedule for the kids, we managed to keep me extremely
distracted and I can honestly say I had a really nice weekend. On
Saturday we had to get off to an early start as my daughter's U10
soccer team had a game at 8:30am in Georgetown, which is about a 30
minute drive from our house. At least at that time of day it was still
nice and cool outside (by Texas standards) . In the low 70's Fahrenheit
at most. The play 8 a side (7 on the field plus a goalie). I had fun
coaching the girls and watching them try really hard against a team
that had been together a lot longer than us and were in many cases a
lot bigger than our girls were. For a team that has only been together
a few weeks, to do so well against a team that has been together for
three years, in my opinion, was excellent. It was indeed inspiring to
me to see them all try so hard against a very strong opponent. After
that we drove home for a couple of hours of "down time". This gave me
the chance to experiment with a surprise present that a a couple of
dear friends had sent me on Friday. A package from <a href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a> turned up on my doorstep, out of the blue, on Friday afternoon. When I opened it, inside I found a copy of <a href="http://halo3.com/">Halo 3</a>.
Now if that doesn't keep me distracted I am not sure what will. Look
for more on my Halo experiences in future posts. I got to play for
about an hour before it was time for us all to pile back into the car
and drive to my son's U6 soccer game. This was a fun game too. At this
age it is 3 versus 3 with no goalies and teams have 6 players. We play
8 minute quarters. I usually sub all 3 in or out once a quarter so
everyone plays 4 times. It's great to see the little guys trying to do
all of the things we have worked on at practice like (talk to each
other, pass the ball, look where the goal is before you shoot at it and
so on). This week we faced a tough team who focussed on defending their
own goal and like the great soccer managers who have come before
me (OK well I can dream) I had to devise a plan to break down this
stoic defense. I called the boys together at half time having observed
the opposition strategy throughout the first half and shared with them
my visionary thoughts on this issue "OK boys", I said, "go out there,
have fun, run hard, and score a bunch of goals". Inspired by the
depths of my coaching insight that is exactly what they did!! We
don't keep score at this age - the focus is correctly supposed to be on
fun and learning the game but a couple of our parents who apparently
had been casually counting the goals said we edged it! To me, no matter
what the score, we've won if six tired but smiling faces come trotting
over after the game is over to dive into their well earned snacks!<br>
<br>
On Saturday evening we had a baby sitter come watch the kids so we
could spend the evening with some English friends and watch England
play France in the Semi Final of the Rugby World cup. Aided by the
result ( England 14 - 9 France), the good food and great company we had
a really nice evening.<br>
<br>
On Sunday I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon
playing video games with my son as my daughter was at a birthday party.
We had some quality boy time together which I think we both needed.
Sunday evening we went to visit some family members and it's impossible
not to be distracted when you have so many excited kids all getting
together after a few weeks apart! Again we had more good food and
conversation which included a deep discussion on the topic of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/">Doctor Who</a> between myself and one of my brothers-in-law which was excellent!<br>
<br>
As I mentioned in my previous posts, I am trying to keep up with my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading </a>and on Sunday I finished <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Dark Wind</span> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Cussler">Clive Cussler</a>.
It's another of his Dirk Pitt adventures and was pretty much par for
the course compared to other books of his I have read. Definitely a
"page turner" but perhaps a little formulaic and (in the books I have
read ) the bad guys always seem to come from the same part of the
World. I'm starting to wonder if the author has a secret grudge to
bear. That aside, it was still an enjoyable read.<br>
<br>
Today a couple of my long time good friends from work (who I have
actually not seen a lot of lately) took me out to lunch (thanks
Mike and Mike) and again seeing them was a nice distraction.<br>
<br>
I have continued to receive a large number of cards, phone calls, e-mails, IM's and postings to the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>. As always thank you all so much for that. You guys are doing a great job of keeping my mind off of my troubles.<br>
<br>
That's about it for today. <br>
<br>
Eleven more days until surgery - I'm going to need all of these distractions for quite a few days yet.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:30:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000032</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The waiting game</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-11-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Those who know me well probably have noticed that I have trouble
sitting still. I need to be busy and I hate to wait. I hate to wait for
planes, buses,trains, people who are late for meetings and in this case
necessary surgery. The next few days for me are going to be the
ultimate test of my patience (and probably of many anxiety related
prescription drugs!). We have spoken to all three of the doctors
treating me in the past few days and all have reassured us (multiple
times) that it's OK that we are not doing the surgery until the 26<sup>th</sup>.
For me though it still doesn't make the waiting any easier. I am trying
to focus on work quite a bit and attending several meetings by phone.
The worst time is definitely the evenings when things calm down and my
mind starts imagining all of the amazing disasters that might befall me
next!<br>
<br>
However, many of you have sent me things to keep me pre-occupied and for that I am truly grateful I am indebted to my friend <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/Tom.Glover">Tom Glover</a> who pointed me at the following piece of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N0w2rORwSc">colo rectal surgery humour!</a>
Thanks Tom, that gave us all a good laugh here at my house- I think
I'll e-mail my surgeon the link (AFTER he operates on me!). Talking of
my surgeon, he and the doctor who did the colonoscopy on me are meeting
to consult with each other today. I am not expecting any major plan
changes but I'll let you all know if anything should change.<br>
<br>
Several of you have asked about the kids so today I removed the
password on the family section of the web site. Those of you that want
to can take a look and see how fast they are growing up. I'll try and
add some more pictures in the next day or so. That will be another good
project to keep me busy.<br>
<br>
I am managing to relax enough to keep up with my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading </a>and have also been working on my skills at <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/madden07/review.html?sid=6156201">Madden NFL 2007</a>
to help keep me busy when I just need a little mindless distraction
(mostly in the evenings after the kids are asleep). Also, and this
really was good news to me, the medical folks say it's OK for me to
keep coaching the two soccer teams I am involved with right up until
the surgery. I coach my son's U6 team and I am the assistant coach on
my daughter's U10 team. A little fresh air and exercise is in fact,
JUST what the doctor ordered. We have practice three nights a week and
games on Saturday. Being able to stay involved with these is a major
plus for me.<br>
<br>
Several of you have sent me cards in the mail - thanks so much for that
very kind and very much appreciated act. Thanks also for the continued
stream of e-mails, IM's and postings to the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a>. It really does help.<br>
<br>
That's about it for now...
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:55:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000031</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Health scare and a lesson to us all</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">personal</category>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">medical</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Oct-10-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Over the latter part of the Summer I had been having trouble
sleeping, mainly because my legs were becoming so restless at night. If
you have never struggled with restless legs it's hard to describe but
it is sufficiently annoying enough that it can easily keep you awake
half the night (and for me it was doing so). I had become so restless
my wife had to find another room to sleep in for fear of being karate
kicked to death before morning!! Another symptom that I was having that
I did not realize then but do realize now to be related, was a lack of
stamina when playing sports (drastically more so say than a few months
ago). So, given all this, a few weeks back I went to see my family
doctor to ask if I could have some tablets to help me sleep and to ask
if I needed some of this new Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) medicine that
is being advertised heavily on the TV here in the US at the moment. He
did give me something to help me sleep but also took a blood sample to
check my iron levels as low iron can contribute to restlessness . For
those of us that remember our human biology from school, you will
recall that, iron helps maintain the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobin">haemoglobin</a> level in the blood, or put another way, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobin">haemoglobin</a>
is the iron-containing protein attached to red blood cells that
transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. When my
blood tests came back
the levels were way below normal. So low in fact I was borderline for a
blood transfusion right then and there. This immediately explained the
restlessness and the lack of stamina - basically I did not have enough
oxygen in my body . So I was diagnosed as anemic but now we needed
further tests to find out why. My doctor's opinion (which proved
correct) was that I was losing blood somewhere - basically he suspected
some form of internal bleeding (maybe a stomach ulcer or a colon polyp
that was bleeding). I was referred to a Gastro Intestinal clinic. On
October 1<sup>st</sup> they performed both a colonoscopy and an endoscopy on me
(basically they checked my <a href="http://health.yahoo.com/media/mayoclinic/images/image_popup/colon.jpg">colon</a>
and my stomach for signs of trouble). My stomach was basically
clear but the news in my colon was not so good. The GI doctor found
several polyps, one of which looked "extremely suspicious" (English
translation "we think it's cancer but need a biopsy to be sure").
For the colonoscopy I was heavily sedated and it was many hours
before I really came around enough to comprehend that even at my
relatively young age (42) and with my very active lifestyle and high
fibre diet it was still likely that I had colon cancer. When this
all sank in I was a mess. I don't recall a day in my life when a single
piece of news has hit me quite so personally and quite so hard. I did
not find myself thinking so much of my own future but much more so of
my young kids (5 and 9) and my wife. Thankfully the doctor sent
over a prescription for something to help me relax that night and the
next morning we began the process of more tests and preparing to fight
back. On October 2<sup>nd</sup> I went and had a CT scan and had my blood cross
typed in case I did end up needing a blood transfusion (given I still
was very anemic). On October 3<sup>rd</sup> (Wednesday) we started to get the
results back. The bad news was that the biopsy has confirmed that I do
have cancer in my <a href="http://health.yahoo.com/media/mayoclinic/images/image_popup/colon.jpg">cecum</a>
(bottom of the ascending colon if you again remember your human biology). The
better news was that the CT scan and additional blood work had found no
evidence of spreading and that we believe (I am a pessimist and always
have trouble with good news) that the cancer is localized to the colon.<br>
</p>
<p>Yesterday (October 9<sup>th</sup>) I met with a colo-rectal surgeon
to discuss my options. Based on the collected test results, he has
developed a surgery plan for me which will require quite a large part
of my colon to be removed but if all goes well will enable me to eat
and perform other digestive system related activities pretty much
normally after that. The surgery is planned for October 26<sup>th</sup>.
I'll post details about the hospital and other relevant information
closer to that date. After the surgery they will again test the various
parts of tissue and lymph nodes that get removed during surgery and we
will know much more about what this cancer has been up to. At that point
I will meet with an oncologist to see if I need chemotherapy or not and
I will likely also get a PET scan. I am encouraged by the fact that the
medical team is comfortable waiting a few days to schedule this surgery
on a non-panic basis but I'd still rather have this over with. If an
earlier date opens up on the surgeon's schedule I will most likely take
it for no other reason than to reduce the wait time.<br>
</p>
<p>That then...minus a few of the nastier details, is pretty much the full update. The <span style="text-decoration: underline; font-weight: bold;">lesson for us all</span>
in this (especially us stubborn men) is go see your doctor even for
little things that are bugging you. If I had ignored this we would not
have caught it as soon as we hope we have. I am also very grateful to
my family doctor who did not just give me meds to help me sleep but was
thorough and did that blood test that helped me get a proper diagnosis.
I know that doctors get a lot of pressure to prescribe certain
medications from the reps selling them. Any drug reps out there reading
this please take note - treating the symptom does not always equal
finding the cure.<br>
</p>
<p>I know several of you have already found out about this from the
blogoshpere and other contacts and I truly appreciate all of the
prayers, thoughts, e-mails ands other messages my family and I have
received at this time. To be honest I am still in shock but slowly
getting my energy back to prepare me for my road to recovery. I'm
hoping it's not too long a road but there remain so many unknowns only
time will really tell. Please do keep sending me those e-mails they
really help - sometimes even surrounded by family and friends one can
feel very alone at a time like this and knowing that you are all out
there cheering me on is giving me amazing strength. It's also somewhat
surreal, to have been following the courageous fight of Robert Jordan
(see my prior posting) against a truly evil disease to now find myself
in the middle of my own fight.<br>
</p>
<p>Finally, as several people have asked about it, I have turned on the <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/guestbook.html">Guest Book</a> at this web site. Please do feel free to leave us a message if you are soon inclined.<br>
</p>
<p>My wife Lorna has been a rock by my side through this. It all came
out of
the blue and we have shared a fair amount of tears together
but we are feeling stronger now and ready to start out on the road
towards getting me cured. My kids are doing OK but not great. Jack
(he's
5) is actually fine. We told him daddy will get better and due to his
nature he just accepted that and keeps on trucking. He is however
mad at me that the doctor won't let him have my colon in a jar for show
and tell at school (go figure!). My daughter, Robyn (she is 9) has
taken this hard. She is blessed with about 500% of the empathy found in
an average person. This can be both a blessing and a curse. She has
figured everything out very quickly and she is hurting. We are taking
steps to make sure she gets what
she needs to get through this too.</p>
<p>I will keep responding to e-mails as quickly as I can but I will also post a message here whenever there is any news to share.<br>
</p>
<p>I have always felt one of my greatest gifts in life is having so
many wonderful friends and family around the World. Thanks for sticking
with me through this.I need you all.</p>
<p>Kelvin<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:04:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000030</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Robert Jordan</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">books</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Sep-17-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I <a href="http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/?feed=rss2">read with great sadness</a> today, that James Oliver Rigney, Jr. (known to most of us by his pen name of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_jordan">Robert Jordan</a>), author of the extremely popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time">Wheel of Time</a>
series of books has died. He had been fighting illness for some time
and I had been following his blog and always hoping for good news.
Sadly today the news is that he has lost his battle.<br>
<br>
His books
have kept me company on many a long plane ride and I have met many
others while traveling who were also carrying copies of his books.<br>
<br>
My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Sep 2007 10:37:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000029</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>I'm still way behind</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Sep-16-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Despite my best intentions, I am still way behind in my postings
here. I am managing to keep several of the other sections up to date
and I really am hoping to get back to a regimen of regular postings
here soon. We have crammed a lot of interesting activities into
the Summer break but I have to confess that now that the kids are both
back at school things do feel a little calmer around here and hopefully
that will let me get back to my long planned web site overhaul.
However, with both kids now playing soccer (both insisted they would
only play if I helped coach), a lot of my free time after work and at
the weekends is taken up with that. We have practices three nights a
week and games every Saturday and even a few on Sunday! For those
interested in my work activities, I have been making some (fairly
regular) postings to my <a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/KRL">work blog</a>. One of the things I have managed to do over the Summer is make more time for <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">reading</a> which has been particularly nice.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br>
</span>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000028</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Watching Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-117) launch</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>space</category>
<category>science</category>
<category>travel</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Jun-18a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
I am way behind in my updates here, so over the next week or so
I am going to try and get caught up. What better way to start than with
a brief description of attending a Space Shuttle launch!
<br>
I felt both extremely lucky and privileged to be able to attend the
launch of
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-117) a few days ago on June 8th. It was
even more fun to have been able to have my wife and kids with me.
Hopefully this is something that my kids will never forget. I know I
won't.<br>
<br>
I used to live in
South Florida (about 200 miles from the Cape) and I have seen several
launches from there. However, from that far away, you only see the
Shuttle on very clear days and only when it has climbed fairly high
into the sky. By pure chance, I found myself able to be at the Cape for
the recent launch and seeing a it up close is just waaaay better! <br>
<br>
I
was in Orlando for a short vacation with the family and had not even
realized that a launch was planned anytime soon. When we heard that the
launch was scheduled for 7:38pm on Friday evening (June 8th) and that
there was an 80% chance of good weather,
we decided the chance it and drive the 60 miles out to the Cape. The
roads were very busy, clearly a few other people had the same idea
:-)
The whole way there and the whole time we were waiting for the launch,
I kept saying to myself "try not to get excited, something will
probably delay the launch, this probably won't happen today" - but
could not hold back a sense of great excitement and it did launch!<br>
<br>
<img style="width: 418px; height: 556px;" alt="Atlantis blasts into space" title="Atlantis blasts into space" src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/STS117-Launch-1.jpg" align="left" hspace="20"></img><br>
We watched the launch from
the lawn alongside the Astronaut Hall of Fame which is about 8 or 9
miles from the launch pad (on the mainland side of the causeway). We
got there several hours early but NASA did an excellent job of keeping
us both informed and entertained during the wait for launch. They had a
big screen setup with up close shots of the launch preparations and
they also had a stage setup. Former Shuttle Astronaut <a href="http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/springer-rc.html">Col. Bob Springer </a>made
several appearances on the stage and spoke to us about where things
were in the launch. He also took questions (many from young children)
and answered them all very well. What a great role model he was (if
only other people kids look up to were such good advocates for
believing in your dreams). NASA also had setup a food tent, toilets,
and gave everyone who had paid the small fee to park and attend the
launch there unlimited access to the Hall of Fame and Museum (which my
wife and I and the kids really enjoyed).<br>
<br>
The picture below shows pretty much the view
we had. Not knowing there was any chance this might happen when we left
home for our vacation, I had left all of my bulky long lenses behind so this was taken
with my small 35-90mm lens but it still captures the moment pretty
well. Unfortunately there were two launch pads visible and I had
positioned myself with a great view of the wrong one! Right before
launch I heard that the Shuttle was actually on the launchpad behind
the tree (and power lines) that were right in front of me - but hey - I
was not looking for a professional shot, just a few great memories and
we sure got that. The only thing that this picture cannot convey is the
sound wave that we both heard and felt a few seconds after launch.<br>
<br>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br>
</div>
There was great feeling of community during the wait and the few
thousand of us there all counted out loud for the final few seconds
before ignition. There was also a noticeable moment of quiet when
Atlantis reached the point in it's takeoff where Challenger had
suffered the malfunction that none of us will ever forget.<br>
<br>
As I said at the start of this posting, I felt both lucky and privileged to be part of this experience - WOW!<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000027</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Things that make me feel old #27</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>kids</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Apr-20a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
During the mid 1980's while I was at university and during the late 80's
on into the early 90's while enjoying having a real job for the first time
and a bit of money to spend I was quite a big collector of music CDs
(which at the time were fairly new and we still called them albums!).
Consequently, I have a fairly large and extremely diverse CD collection
covering most forms of music popular during those years. I'm already
feeling old as a large chunk of what I bought back then is now only played
on radio stations that include the word "Classic" in the name but this
week I found myself feeling even older - want to know why? Read on...
One band I was really into during my university years (and before) was The
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Light_Orchestra">Electric Light Orchestra</a> (E.L.O). I think I own all of their albums on
both vinyl (many bought during the 70's) and on CD . I even (I think)
still have a few cassettes of theirs laying around as well (yeah I know
that's pretty hard core). I had not listened to much E.L.O stuff for a
while but this week I felt like listening to a few of the early E.L.O
albums while working. For some reason I decided to (foolishley I now
realize) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Light_Orchestra_discography">look up</a> on the web when "Face the Music" by said E.L.O (which I
was listening to at the time) was recorded. Well the answer, if you can
believe this, is 1975. Can it really be that long ago? 32 years? Wow!
I think I'm gonna go listen to one of my Cold Play CDs for a while. When
I look up when they were recorded I feel much younger again (and a bit
more with it as well!!!)
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:02:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000026</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Spring Break, DST comes early, and other updates</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>kids</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Mar-12-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Things have been very busy both at work and home. As a result I have not posted
here (to the home page) for a while. I have been keeping some of the other sections
of the site updated but I still have a lot of updates that I need to make waiting in
the queue. Work wise I have been traveling quite a bit (just inside the US so far).
On one of the trips (a week in the Raleigh Durham area) I passed over the 2 million
mile mark in the American Airlines frequent flier program on the way home. While a
lot of my colleagues fly substantially more than I do, this was still a stark reminder
of just how much I have been traveling the last few years. I am more than ready for
the amount of travel to slow down. Sadly, travel is the price I pay for choosing to
live in a place that is remote from many of my co-workers and customers.</p>
<p>While on the subject of travel, last week I had to go to Chicago for the day to
attend some meetings. It was amazing to see the difference that a few hundred
miles makes to weather conditions (Chicago is just under 1000 miles from here).
I left Austin at 6:00am on a beautiful clear sunny day (the high that day was
in the high 70's F). When we landed in Chicago it was a scene from mid-Winter.
Frozen lakes, snow, planes being de-iced and a high temperature of 29 degrees
Fahrenheit. This was a good reminder of why I live as far south as I do! I got
back to Austin around 11pm the same day - tired but happy to be back in warmer
climes!</p>
<p>The other reason that I have been posting a bit less here than usual is that
I have started working on a prototype for a completely re-designed look for
this site. My goal is to switch over to that later in the year (yes it's time
for the pink to go!).</p>
<p>We have had drought conditions for a long time now as well as some fairly warm
temperatures. In fact it's been sufficiently warm that the temperature of the
water in the pool has been hovering around 70 degrees (Fahrenheit) for the last few
weeks without needing to use the heater. I think I was the first one in the pool in
mid February aided by the fact that I have a very high tolerance for cold water. I
think this is due to growing up in England where the English Channel was often this
cold even in the midst of Summer! Both kids have also now been swimming several times
now, but Lorna has yet to "take the plunge" !</p>
<p>This weekend in the US, we switched over to Daylight Savings Time. This is
considerably earlier than usual due to a change in the law that came into effect
this year. I spent most of Sunday morning making sure that all of the computers
and other electronic devices in the house had realized the time has changed. For
the next few weeks we find ourselves only 5 hours behind the UK which will make
working with my colleagues there just a little bit easier. Of course getting the
kids out of bed while it is still dark outside is not so easy (that's the downside
of starting DST so early!).</p>
<p>In the sporting world, this week sees the start of the Cricket World Cup. I'm keeping
my expectations extremely low for England's chances but of course I wish the team all
the best as they head into this two month long event. Hopefully the successes they
enjoyed towards the end of the recent tour of Australia will give them some momentum
going into this competition. As with the football World Cup, one of the interesting
dynamics is that as well as the big name cricketing nations you also get some other
countries playing in the event that are not known for their cricketing prowess. It
will be interesting to see if we get any surprises. What odds for a Scotland vs Holland
final I wonder ? :-)</p>
<p>This week the kids are off school for Spring Break so, naturally, drought
notwithstanding, it's pouring with rain and supposed to be wet until at least
Wednesday.</p>
<p>Anyway, that's the update for now. I will try and get into a more regular pattern
of posting over the next few months.</p>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2007 10:15:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000025</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>The downside of working from home - no ice day!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>kids</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2007-Jan-16-a</link>
<description>
Wherever you are reading this I hope that your year is off to a good
start. I took a large part of December off to recharge the batteries
after a very busy 2006. Consequently I have not posted here at all since
early December. The new year for me is already off to a busy start but at
least I feel somewhat rested and ready to go. Over the holiday period in
the Austin area we had a mix of warm,cold and wet weather. The new year
has started in much the same way. It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit here last
Friday but since then it has become quite cold. Today we awoke to
temperatures in the low 20's Fahrenheit with a mix of ice, freezing rain,
sleet and snow. A few minutes ago we had about 30 minutes of snow but not
enough for the kids to have a good snowball fight. Around here the kids
don't see snow very ofter so as soon as it starts they all run outdoors .
I think the last time we had any snow that settled was in 2004 and even
then it only stayed on the ground for a few hours. The weather forecast I
just listened to says we could see a few inches of snow before the week is
over. All of the area schools are closed and most businesses are shut and
I just looked at the airport website and am really glad I am not trying to
fly anywhere today. This is definitely a day for not going anywhere if
you can avoid it. Those who live in colder climes would be taking a day
like this in their stride but this far South the place basically grinds to
a halt when we get a rare day of real Winter. So while many people are
enjoying an "ice day" off work - yours truly is at his desk working away
as usual. I work from home a lot but one of the few downsides is that
when we have a really bad weather day I can't say "sorry I can't look at
that today as the office is closed". That said we have started having
some power and gas outages and that could certainly slow me down a bit.
<p>I'd like to express my best wishes to all my many friends and
colleagues around the World for a safe and prosperous 2007. I hope I'll
get to meet many of you during my travels in the coming months.
</description>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:15:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000024</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Taking time to reflect and be grateful</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>kids</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Dec-31-a</link>
<description>
As another year winds down, I find myself reflecting on the fact that
I have a lot to be thankful for. My wife, my kids, a stable job, many
wonderful friends and family members all over the World. Wherever you
may be reading this, I wish you all the very best for 2007.
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 31 Dec 2006 22:48:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000023</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>"Beam me up...err...Anthony"</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>kids</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Dec-11-a</link>
<description>
Over the weekend I was with my wife and kids in a store looking at a large
display of Christmas tree ornaments. There was the usual collection of
novelty ornaments to hang on your Christmas tree. Among them was a Star
Trek one showing Kirk, Spock and Scotty standing in the transporter. My
son, on spotting this one unpromted by me, says, "Dad, let's buy that one,
look...it's the Wiggles".
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2006 08:18:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000022</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Welcome to my new home!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Dec-06-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
If you are reading this message you have already found me at my new home!
<br><br>I created this web site in the Summer of 2004. At that time it was
mostly done to give me a way to experiment with different aspects of
building a site and to allow me to post a few articles of
interest to friends and family around the World. Until this week I was
using the limited web site hosting service offered by my ISP, which has
served me well enough until now. However, I have finally reached the
point where I can no longer work towards building the type of site that
I ultimately want to build within the constraints imposed by my ISP.
They only give me 5mb of disk space and do not allow any server side
scripts (including things like PHP) to run. As I look back at the site
and how it has evolved over the last few years, I am actually amazed
how much I have been able to cram in to that 5mb allocation. This week
I signed up with a real hosting company and I now have more disk space
at my disposal than I know what to do with (at least for now!). This
will allow me to upload a lot more photos and also (over time) to
enable more features than I have been able to in the past. I also
finally got around to registering the "kelvinlawrence.net" domain as
part of this fairly major upgrade. Initially the new site will look a
lot like the old one but over time I hope to add a lot more here....as
they say..."watch this space".<br>
<br>
While migrating everything over to the new hosting company and the new
domain name I have tried to be very careful and adjust any links so
that they correctly reference the new site and not the old one. If you
come across any broken links with the new site please do let me know.<br>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Dec 2006 16:51:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000021</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Here we go again...that crazy Texas weather!</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/index.html">travel</category>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Nov-30-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Yesterday evening before we went to bed it was in the low 70's Fahrenheit
and during the day the temperature had been up as high as 80 degrees. Overnight
a very strong cold front came in and we awoke to find ice on the windows and
temperatures down in the 20's. I have written here many times about the crazy
Texas weather but you never quite get used to it. Yesterday we sent the kids to
school in shorts and t-shirts and today we sent them off in heavy coats
and sweaters! Along with cold front last night we had an interesting selection
of severe weather alerts (hail, wind, thunder storms, tornadoes) that kept the
program on my PC that monitors the weather chirping out warnings all night.
<p>I have been maintaining my effort to keep up with my reading. This
month I read Tom Clancy's <b><i>The Bear and the Dragon</i></b> (all 1100
plus pages of it) which I enjoyed a lot. I also read <b><i>The Partner</i></b>
by John Grisham which I also thoroughly enjoyed. I am now reading <b><i>Deception
Point</i></b> by Dan Brown and <b><i>Hyperion</i></b> by Dan Simmons.
When it comes to books, one of my bad habits is that I tend to buy them
in batches and then go back and read them. The net result of this is that
some books have sat on my bokshelves for a very long time before I get
around to reading them. <b><i>Hyperion</i></b> is a prime example, as I bought it while
still living in tyhe UK back in 1990 and I am only now getting around to
reading it in November 2006!
<p>Last week the kids were sick and this week I have been very much under
the weather as well but other than that things at home are going well.
The pool project is coming along quite nicely (I'll try and upload some
photos soon) and what looked like a large muddy hole in the ground a few
weeks ago is now starting to look a lot more like a swimming pool as each
day passes. If the weather cooperates, I am hoping it might be finished
and ready for water in about two or three weeks.
<p>I would be remiss in posting this update if I did not comment on the
Ashes series that has just got underway in Australia. If any of my
Australian friends and colleagues are reading this, what can I say, it
looks like revenge may well be yours unless things change drastically
after England's less than stellar performance in the first test!! That
said, back in 2005, I recall feeling like this after Australia easily won
the first test at Lords so maybe history can and will repeat itself -
we'll have to wait and see. Either way, I hope it's another great series
and as much fun to watch as the 2005 one was. Keeping up with the matches
is hard from here in the U.S. The coverage starts at around 6pm in the
evening here (which is not too bad considering that equates to midnight
for those following the matches in the U.K.) but almost all of the regular
internet feeds are blacked out due to licensing restrictions. The second test
starts this evening (Friday morning for those in Australia) and I'll be doing
my best to follow along and hopefully will not be made to suffer as much as I was a few
days ago listening to Australia make record scores at the Gabba.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 23:26:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000020</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Miscellaneous notes from a busy week</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net">travel</category>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Oct-27-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<p>Most weeks are busy these days between work and family commitments and this
week was no exception. Several days I stayed up late (and into the next day) to
dial into some business meetings in Asia (but that was better than having to travel
there given how crazy things have been at home).
<p>In spite of how busy life has been, I have made a promise to myself that I
will somehow find more time to read
than I have been managing of late. This week I managed
to read a couple of fairly short books. The first was <b><i>Digital
Fortress</i></b> by Dan Brown and the second was the <b><i>Great Train
Robbery</i></b> by Michael Crichton. I enjoyed both and found it easy
to get through them but neither were in
my opinion that great. If you look at my <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html">Books and
Magazines</a> page you will see that I gave each book a score of 7 out of
10. <b><i>Digital Fortress</b></i> is the third of the four Dan Brown
books currently in print that I have read. The other two being <b><i>Angels and
Demons</b></i> and <b><i>The DaVinci Code</i></b>. Of the three I enjoyed <b><i>Angels and Demons</b></i>
the most. His other book <b><i>Deception Point</i></b> is in my queue of
books sitting next to my desk waiting to be read.
<b><i>The Great Train Robbery</i></b> is one of Crichton's first books (written
I think in 1974). To be honest I didn't know it even existed until
I saw it in a discount rack at the local supermarket a couple of weeks
ago. Given my background (being born and raised myself in the UK) I picked up a
copy as it looked like a storyline that I would enjoy. To be honest, it reads as
much as a history book as it does a novel but it was none the less quite
readable.
I enjoyed his portrayal of events in Victorian England around the middle of the
19th Century and found it easy to relate to the period having studied it in detail
while at school. The book was enjoyable enough but not as compelling a read as
some of his other works. I guess, for me, it was a bit like watching the movie
"Titanic", you already know the punchline before you get there, which for me,
has never worked as well as a style of storytelling as one where suspense is
maintained until the final chapter.
<p>
Other than being busy and finding time for a bit more reading, there has not been
too much of note to report this week (which is just fine). We had quite a bit
of rain during the week and so there has not been any progress made on the pool. The
weather has been the usual mixed bag for this time of the year. A cool front (the tail
end of a storm that left 18 inches of snow in Colorado earlier in the week) finally
came in last night and we haven't yet quite managed to reach 70 Fahrenheit here today.
It's also been quite windy here all day. The forecast is good for the weekend
so hopefully I can spend a lot of time outdoors with the family and the dogs.
<p>Finally, the dreaded annual test of willpower (also known as "how the heck
am I going to stop myself eating too much Halloween candy?") is just a few
days away. Luckily I have a soccer game on Sunday to try and run off a few calories first!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:21:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000019</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Kakuro puzzles, the new pool and other miscellany</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net">travel</category>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Oct-19-a</link>
<description>
<![CDATA[
Towards the end of last year I got quite hooked on Sudoku puzzles for a
while. They can be quite addictive. I ended up writing a small computer
program in Java that solved them and that helped cure me of that particular
addiction! Recently while checking
out at my local grocery store I spotted (and bought) a new book
of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakuro">Kakuro</a> (also
known as Cross Sum) puzzles. Although I believe that these puzzles are quite
popular I had not come across them before. In my spare time I have been trying
to teach myself the Python programming language and so last weekend I decided
to write a Python program to help solve Kakuro puzzles! I decided not to
let the program fully solve the puzzles but to be more of a solver's aid (listing possible
combinations of numbers that achieve the desired sum etc.). So for now the
Kakuro puzzle book is remaining a fairly regular companion!
<p>Life at home has been very busy (I think we've
visited just about every flavour of kids doctor and dentist in the last two weeks!)
and so I haven't been able to update the
pages here too much lately. You may have noticed that I have been trying to
keep up with <a href="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/books.html" >my reading</a> and I just
finished <b><i>World War: In the balance</i></b> by Harry Turtledove which was a good read.
I'm grateful to my friend Roger for introducing me to this author, whose work
I had not read before.
<p>Meanwhile, we finally broke down, after living here for 10 years, and
decided to put in a pool. Today I am working from home with all the windows
shut (despite the nice cool weather) as the guys are outside spraying the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunite">gunite</a>. There is so much vibration
that my car alarm goes off about once every 10 minutes! Yesterday it was almost
90 degrees Fahrenheit here but today (after a cold front came through last night)
we are in the 50's....I don't think we'll be using the new pool for a while!
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 Oct 2006 11:21:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000018</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Google Gadgets</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net">travel</category>
<category>web</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Oct-09-a</link>
<description>
I was interested to see the announcement by Google yesterday that they
are making their Google Gadgets available so that people can embed them
(via a simple script tag) in their own web pages.
This is particularly interesting for people like myself, whose web sites
are hosted by their ISP with limited space and features enabled (as in my
case).If you missed the announcement you can find
it
<![CDATA[
<a href="http://www.google.com/press/annc/synd_gadgets.html">here</a>.
The list of available gadgets is <a href="http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open&num=24">here</a>.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Oct 2006 13:13:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000017</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Has Autumn finally arrived in Central Texas?</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net">travel</category>
<category>texas</category>
<category>weather</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Sep-25-a</link>
<description>
We awoke this morning to temparatures in the 50's Fahrenheit. It's
wonderful to be able to open all the windows again and let in some truly
fresh air. This Summer we have endured in excess of 30 days where the
temparature was over 100F. It's supposed to warm up into the high 70's or
even mid 80's by mid afternoon but at least the evenings and mornings
should be cooler for the next few days. We had a very strong storm front
go through this area on Saturday (it was severe enough to cause the
Univerity of Texas to suspend play in it's football game for over an
hour). Now that the storm has passed through we are getting our first
real relief from what has been a very hot Summer.
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:10:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000016</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A long week on the road and now two weeks off</title>
<category domain="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net">travel</category>
<category>conferences</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Aug-25-a</link>
<description>
Last week I travelled to Baltimore to speak at the
SHARE conference. I
left home before dawn on Sunday (August 13th) to get to the airport in
plenty of time given the new security procedures in effect. Apart from it
taking longer than usual to check-in (due to a lot more passengers than
normal checking bags) I did not encounter any other unexpected delays.
Given the recent events in the UK, I was happy to see that the planes were
full and that the airports were busy - people are just getting on with
life, which is good to see. I arrived in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon and
left on Thursday afternoon for New York to attend some business meetings
at our corporate headquarters before finally flying home from New York
(via Chicago) on Friday evening. I did not have as much spare time in
Baltimore as I would have liked but I did at least get to walk around the
harbour and take some photographs. It was hot and at times quite humid
during the week. I didn't sleep well at all in Baltimore. I think my
hotel must have been either close to a fire station or a police station
as all night I kept getting woken up by one siren after another.
From Baltimore I travelled to New York for some meetings on Friday (I actually
got off in Stamford CT as it was more convenient for my friend who
met me at the station). I travelled by
train for the first time in a while in the US as it was both cheaper
and more convenient than flying for that particular leg of my trip.
I have to say it was a
very pleasant experience. I took the new Acela Express service that
Amtrak runs between Washington DC and Boston. I would definitely take
this train again. It was very comfortable, with plenty of space to work
and even had AC power that I could plug my laptop into.
I got the impression that a lot of people were taking the train for the
first time to avoid the travel delays being reported by many of the airports
in the North Eastern United States. The train was full.
I stayed with my friends and his family in Connecticut on
Thursday night and I slept really well (no sirens - or any other loud noises
for that matter). It was great to not have to check-in to yet another hotel
and spend the night with some good friends that I don't see as often as I would
like. I'm very grateful to them for putting me up for the night.
I got home about 1:30am Saturday morning after getting delayed in both
New York and Chicago by a mixture of bad weather and an Instrument Landing
System (ILS) failure on one of the runways at Chicago O'Hare airport. The
weather in New York was bright and sunny but we could not leave on time
due to the problems at O'Hare.
I haven't taken much vacation time yet this year so I am taking the
next two weeks off (I'm not going back to work in fact until after the
Labor day holiday here in the US). We're in the middle of a really bad
drought in Central Texas. I wish some of the heavy rain I had to
deal with in Chicago last Friday would find its way here. We have been
over 100 degrees Farenheit every day for the past week or so. I played
soccer on Sunday afternoon (August 20th). It was 97F when the game
started and 103F by the end of the game (yes I know, mad dogs and
Englishmen etc). My daughter went back to School last week. I still have
trouble getting used to how early the schools go back in Texas compared
to what I was used to growing up in England where August is considered the
height of Summer.
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:20:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000015</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Started working on updates to Family & Friends section</title>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Jul-19-a</link>
<description>
For those of you that follow the
Family & Friends section, after a long delay of
about seven months, I have started getting some more recent photos of the kids posted.
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jul 2006 16:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000014</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Started working on various updates</title>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Jul-15-a</link>
<description>
Enjoying a period of almost two weeks since I last had to travel, I have
finally started making updates to many sections of the site. I still have a lot
more photos from my recent trip to Europe that I want to get on-line as soon as
possible, but if you care to look around hopefully you will notice a lot of updates.
For folks that monitor the Family & Friends area I promise I will get some new
kid photos uploaded soon!
</description>
<pubDate>Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:00:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000013</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Finally home after a very busy June</title>
<category>travel</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Jul-02-a</link>
<description>
June was a very busy month for me. I travelled to Europe for 15 days of
business meetings that took me to Prague, Vienna and various parts of the UK.
I did manage to see a lot of friends and family members in between meetings and
that was great. I will try over the next week or two to update the various parts
of this site with some photos and other information about my recent travels. Upon
my return from Europe I had to go out to California for a couple of days so I'll
not start working on the updates until my head gets a bit more back into the
correct timezone!
As a temporary measure, I have placed a few photos from Prague into my
<![CDATA[
<a href="http://photos.yahoo.com/gfxman">Yahoo! photo album</a>.
]]>
Note that the resolution of the pictures is
greatly reduced from the original by the upload process but at least (hopefully)
you can get an idea of what a beautiful city Prague is.
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Jul 2006 16:00:00 CST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title>A really stormy Spring in Texas></title>
<category>texas</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-May-11-a</link>
<description>
I have been incredibly busy at work (including quite a bit of travel)
and things at home have also been busy and as a result I have not been
able to post as often as I would like here in recent weeks. I have, however,
managed to find a little bit of time to update other sections of the site. As
has been reported in the news, May has so far been incredibly stormy in Texas. We
have had numerous Thunderstorm Warnings and Tornado Watches issued by the Weather
Service and sadly some areas of the state have suffered major damage as a result.
We have also seen a lot of hail and very heavy rain. Mixed in with this it has been
very hot. Just south of Austin, it hit 106F yesterday. Today it was cooler when we
woke up as a light cold front moved through the area over night. Certainly a pleasant
break from the recent very muggy conditions. The next few days are supposed to be
more pleasant both in terms of temparature and calmer weather.
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 11 May 2006 16:00:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000011</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A day at the Johnson Space Center - Houston</title>
<category>science</category>
<category>space</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Mar-23-a</link>
<description>
As I mentioned in my prior posting, a couple of weekends ago I finally
was able to make the time to visit
the Johnson Space Center in Houston. We took one of the tours that included
a visit to one of the two former Mission Control rooms that were used during
the Apollo program. It is fascinating to think that the total computing power
in the room was about the same as that found in a modern day cell phone (at least
that is what the tour guide told us). Note also the plastic tubes on the left
side of the console. There was no e-mail in those days so if you wanted to send
a message to someone else anywhere in the building you sent a note on paper
in a tube to them through a system of pipes like those used today in many
banks and other businesses! We have come a long way since then but I bet the didn't have
the spam problem then that we have now! As I mentioned in my prior posting, if you
are at all interested in the space program's of both the US and Russia, this tour
is a must. There is another tour that takes you into the current mission control
room but we did not have the time to do that tour as well. We also got to go inside
many of the other buildings, including the one that contains the training areas for
the Space Shuttle and for Space Station Freedom.
<![CDATA[
<p>
<div ALIGN="CENTER">
<img src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/MissionControlConsole.jpg"></img>
<br>One of the consoles in the former Apollo 13 Mission Control room
</div>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Mar 2006 16:00:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000010</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Spring has sprung - in Texas</title>
<category>texas</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Mar-13-a</link>
<description>
Things have been so busy that I have not posted to the homepage here in
almost a month (although I have been keeping many of the other sections of
the site up to date during that time). I spent last week in Seattle where
it is still very much Winter, in fact it was snowing the night before I
flew home. Here in Texas this week the kids are on Spring Break and
Spring has definitely arrived. We have have had almost no Winter this
year and last Friday the high temparature was 90 degrees Farenheit where
we live. This week it's a little cooler but still very mild. Many of the
trees in our garden (mostly the Red Buds) have already bloomed. Over the
weekend we drove to Houston to tour the
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/home/index.html">Johnson Space
Center</a> and to visit the really excellent visitors center called
<a href="http://www.spacecenter.org/">Space Center Houston</a>
(a fabulous day out by the way) and along the way we saw many
Texas Blue Bonnets along the side of State Road 71. I'll try and get a few of
the photos I took at the Space Center posted here over the next few weeks.
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Mar 2006 21:00:00 CST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title>Crazy Texas weather - again!</title>
<category>texas</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Feb-17-a</link>
<description>
As you will know if you have explored this site at all,
I have lived in the Austin (Texas) area for a little over 10 years now.
Despite that, the frequent and often dramatic shifts in weather here never cease
to amaze me. Yesterday afternoon it was 81 degrees Farenheit and I was
wearing shorts and playing with the kids outside. Overnight a cold front
blew in and today (at 11:00) it is 39 degrees Farenheit and it has just
started to rain and apparently ice storms are a possibility for the
weekend. If you've ever had the pleasure of driving through or even
flying through this area on an "ice day" you'll know just how much fun
that can be! My friends and colleagues in the North East of the USA
probably wonder why I am complaining given they are burried under snow at
the moment but even so, a more than 40 degrees temparature swing in under
12 hours is amazing! The Freescale Marathon is being run here in Austin
on Sunday and sadly this weather looks like making that a tough run for
those involved. I am supposed to be playing soccer on Sunday afternoon
and that should be fun too. Forecast highs for Sunday are in the low
30's. Despite growing up in the UK I haved most recently lived in
predominantly warm areas and it's always a shock to the system when this
kind of weather literally blows in. Looks like being a weekend for
movies, video games and reading!
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:29:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000008</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A busy start to a busy year</title>
<category>travel</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Jan-30-a</link>
<description>
As I suspected, 2006 has indeed got off to a busy start. I have
already had to travel on business three times (all within the Continental
USA) and we are not yet out of January. So far I have found myself in
Raleigh, Las Vegas,and San Jose. I had not been to Las Vegas for a few
years but it did not seem to have changed very much. I think the airport
however, may make it onto my unofficial list of the "top 10 airports
I least like to fly through"! Arriving is not too bad but departing
is a different story. I arrived at the airport at around 5am (maybe even
a little before that) for a 7am flight. I guess to an extent I was a bit
naiive and expected the airport to be somewhat quiet at this early hour (I
guess I have become spoiled getting used to calm early departures out of
Austin). Far from being quiet, the place reminded me of LAX at four in
the afternoon (LAX would also make my list). The teminal was mobbed.
Long lines were everywhere, at check in, security, even for the train to
the gates. In fact, even the automatic ticket kisok machines had long
lines in front of them. Mental note to self,
<![CDATA[Las Vegas <b>never</b> sleeps and this <b>includes</b> the airport! ]]>
The one saving grace was that
there is a separate frequent flyer line for the security checkpoint. It
appeared that 90% of the people leaving Vegas at that morning either were
not frequent flyers or did not realize that there was such a line
available. I estimate that this saved me more than 30 minutes if not
more. The other saving grace was that after finally navigating all of the
lines, squeezing into the train and walking through the "last chance
to win" gauntlet of slot machines that I found myself right in front
of a Starbucks! Oh well, enough of my complaining, 2006 is indeed off to
a very busy start.
</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2006 11:18:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000007</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Another busy year ahead</title>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2006-Jan-11-a</link>
<description>
So the holidays are over and 2006 is here. One of my resolutions for the
new year is to spend a bit more time on this web site. We'll see how well I
actually manage to do that as the year progresses. As I look at my calendar for
2006 it is already filled with both personal and business commitments. Looks
like being another hectic year. First day back after the break I found myself on
a plane at 6:50am to attend some business meetings in North Carolina. This week
I seem to have managed to catch a really nasty cold or the flu. So between work,
kids and feeling under the weather, I'm already in need of another holiday and I
have only been back at work for a week and a half! I hope that your year is perhaps
off to a calmer start.
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2006 15:51:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000006</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>A time to reflect</title>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2005-Dec-22-a</link>
<description>
At this time of year it is important for me to stop and reflect on all
of the many things that I am thankful for. I am blessed in that I have
many things that I am thanful for. Most of all I have a wonderful wife,
two fantastic kids and a great extended family. I also am extremely
fortunate to have such a large collection of friends and work colleagues
all over the World. To all of you, here's wishing for a safe and merry
Christmas/Holiday season and a very happy and successful 2006.
</description>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:34:00 CST</pubDate>
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</item>
<item>
<title>I can't believe it's already December</title>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2005-Dec-02-a</link>
<description>
Where has the year gone? Time just seems to be flying by. We put up the
Christmas lights outside the house last weekend. Indeed our entire street
is now looking very festive. The last few weeks both work and family life
have been extremely hectic so I have not been posting here as often as
normal. We had a restful Thanksgiving break and the weather here in
central Texas has been great recently. Clear skies, highs in the 60's
Farenheit and overnight lows in the 40's and 50's (once or twice even into
the 30's) over the past couple of weeks. It's supposed to be warmer again
over the weekend. I have a soccer tourament to play in on Sunday and the
forecast looks great for that. A friend in the UK sent me the official set of
3 DVDs containing all the highlights of the Ashes series from this Summer. I am
hoping to make some time to watch those soon. Another good friend who just visited
the UK brought me back the "Botham's Ashes" DVD which has all the
highlights of the 1981 Headingly test on it. I did force myself to find time
to watch that and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was great to re-live those
few days again. I remember being home from school part of that day (but not why)
and watching Botham's epic knock on TV live. Taling of how time flies, I cannot
believe that that was 24 years ago now.
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2005 23:35:00 CST</pubDate>
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<item>
<title>RSS Feed now tested and live</title>
<category>miscellaneous</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2005-Nov-23-a</link>
<description>
I finally added RSS support to this web page. For those of you that like
using RSS readers or live bookmarks (in Firefox) the RSS feed is now
available. For the time being the RSS feed is jut for the main page.
</description>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:30:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000003</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>I'm ready for a rest</title>
<category>texas</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2005-Nov-18-a</link>
<description>
I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. Work has been busy, the kids have
been sick, I had to have surgery (nothing major but surgery is never fun)
and my wife has been looking after us all. Suffice to say, we're all
hoping to get a few days rest at the end of next week during the
Thanksgiving holiday (long) weekend here. In the meantime some cooler
weather finally arrived here in Texas. As recently as a week ago, we were
still in the 80's Farenheit but then a cold front arrived and finally we
have some sweater weather for the first time since last Winter. The
daytime highs have been in the 50's and 60's and at night it's been
getting down into the 30's. The cooler weather is supposed to stay with
us until at least the middle of next week.
</description>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Nov 2005 11:30:00 CST</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000002</guid>
</item>
<item>
<title>Colorado Software Summit 2005</title>
<category>conferences</category>
<category>travel</category>
<link>http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/daily-archive.html#2005-Oct-30-a </link>
<description>
I spent last week in Keystone (Colorado) at the <![CDATA[
<a href="http://www.softwaresummit.com">Colorado Software Summit</a>. ]]>You'll
find more details if you follow the link to my web page. The photo below
shows a picture of the beautiful Keystone Village where the conference was
held.
<![CDATA[<p><center><img src="http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/images/Keystone-2005-1.jpg"></img></center>
]]>
</description>
<pubDate>Sun, 30 Oct 2005 02:00:00 CDT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.kelvinlawrence.net/main.html/000001</guid>
</item>
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