RenegadeRider

I think my health issues have been resolved. For the past three months or so I have been experiencing stomach aches, nausea and lack of appetite. I weigh about 30 lbs less than I did six months ago. We had suspected that somehow it might be connected with the drugs I had been taking because of my coronary problems. The cardiologist noticed abnormally high liver enzymes in a blood test. He adjusted and then eliminated an anti-cholesterol drug. It didn't seem to help. We then considered other drugs I had been taking for a number of years. This also proved fruitless. He referred me to a gastroenterologist who ordered more blood tests. Eventually, after a procession of tests that seemed to confirm nothing, he ordered a liver biopsy. The liver biopsy was a procedure that uses ultrasound to guide a needle that was inserted between my ribs to remove a small sample of my lever for examination. I considered the procedure to be essentially a fishing expedition. Following the biops

About the puppy: we got him from an organization called Corgi Rescue. They told us that the mother was a Corgi and the father was probably a Border Collie, an Australian Shepherd, or an Australian Cattle Dog. We never saw either parent. Now that he is nearing 5 months old we have noticed that he doesn’t resemble any of these breeds. Nor does he resemble either of the corgi breeds. We even attended a dog show, and other than having four legs, we noticed few, if any similarities. His endless energy and bouncing off the wall behavior suggests that he is some variety of herding dog. We have noticed other behavior that also looks to belong to a herding breed. About a week ago Dianne walked him to the nearby Starbucks. Another customer began a conversation and told her it looked like a Kelpie. Searching Google led us to http://www.kelpiesinc.com /, The Working Kelpie. Our opinion is that he could have been one of the dogs that was photographed for this site. A compact, robust, enthu

Over the past few years Florida has experienced the nearly nation-wide boom in real estate prices and possibly even more so. However, in the past year, the Tampa area has seen a substantial drop in home prices. It may be due in part to the market being over-heated. Another factor might also be the rise in interest rates. But another thing that is driving the price decline is the huge increase in insurance costs since last years hurricane season along with large increases in property taxes due to the increased home values. One home owner, when asked why he was selling said that his insurance went from $500 annually to over $2500. He felt he could not afford to keep his home at that added expense.

I just returned from a week-long trip to Florida. I attended a weekend real estate class by Pete Fortunato. The remainder of the time was spent visiting family and friends. It was the perfect amount of time away from home. In the past, it nearly always seemed too long. It seemed that the last day or even the last week on an extended trip was spent with me wanting to be back home.

Letter to Reno Gazette Journal printed 5/7/06.

Yesterday I had a cardiac stress test. Since I have been participating in a cardiac rehab program for the past six weeks or so, I assumed that the stress test would be relatively easy. Remember the cliche about assuming. I soon learned how wrong my assumptions were. In the rehab program I usually get 40 - 45 minutes of consistent cardio exercise 3 times a week, along with a series of exercises with free weights. Then I usually walk between 2 and 3 miles 2 or 3 of the remaining days. The stress test is designed to monitor the heart function in varying conditions. It begins with the insertion of an IV for the puropse of injecting a radioactive isotope and also for a saline solution while on the treadmill. The isotope used was "technesium". It emits gamma rays and has a half-life of about 6 hours. I believe it does not occur in nature. I then climbed onto the bed of a machine that was a gamma detector. In some ways it resembles a MRI in that the bed moves into the hea

Need help digging?

A new member of the family.

This past weekend marked the third anniversary of the Iraq war. Anti-war protests were scheduled in many communities all across the country, and even all around the world. Not to be outshone, the Reno lefties held their own protest. It included many of the usual suspects, such as A.N.S.W.E.R. and Code Pink, both with strong Marxist/Stalinist ties. They marched through the downtown casino area and finished up at the Federal building. They had their usual assortment of signs such as "Bush is the terrorist" and "Impeach Bush" etc. In opposition we joined forces with the local Patriot Warrior group and some students from the UNR College Republicans. They had prepared a large number of signs and we brought our flags. We were stationed at the Federal building to greet them as they arrived. We should note that the operation did not seem as smooth and polished as the San Diego PW group. I considered the message on many of the signs to be caustic insults against &quo

Protest Warrior group before the arrival of the anti-war group.

The usual suspects, Int'l A.N.S.W.E.R wa in attendance.

The Code Pink contigent.

Standard message.

Typical messages. I don't understand the "Pick Fruit". Note the happy faces.

Our back yard. The mountains at sunrise.

It's been cold and snowy the last week or so. It usually melts off fairly early and doesn't constitute a major problem. It just makes the cars very dirty. I had my first meeting with the cardiologist. He insisted that I walk at least an hour EVERY day. I get no excuses for snow, other inclement weather, or any other cheap excuse. This is going to make me tired.

Moving day has come and gone. It was raining the whole day. We even saw a double rainbow form horizon to horizon. Dianne thinks it was an good-luck omen. It doesn't show on the photo. We have now moved in. The boxes are mostly unpacked. Our garage is now crammed full of empty moving boxes. Maybe someday we'll even be able to put our cars in there. We wanted to put some items in our back garage. The ground was too soggy to be able to drive on so some things didn't get where we wanted. Every day the house inches into a better, more desirable order and we get more comfortable in our nest. I have had my first meeting with my cardiologist and have begun my cardiac rehab program. Dianne really liked the doctor. I agreed with her. He was much better than the cardiologist in San Diego.

I have been very negligent about posting for a very long time. This may (or not) be the continuation of the process. Our house is due to close on Wednesday. Life has been hectic. Mix the move with the doctor’s instructions that I should restrict and strenuous physical exertion. We have been busy squeezing in all the last moment social visits that seem to always get neglected when the time seems to be a luxury. Perhaps it is a reminder that time is never a luxury. Today was packing day. The crew was very good. I have heard stories of packing crews even packing the garbage. Tomorrow the truck gets loaded. And then we are off. My recent adventure. Three weeks ago Friday I awoke at about 5:30 am. While lying in bed I noticed some minor chest pain. I then arose and went down stairs to begin the day. I soon experienced other symptoms that I recognized as possible heart attack symptoms. I informed Dianne about what was happening. We were soon ready and drove to a nearby hospital