So unmotivated to do anything, and I have no idea why my arm hurts more today than yesterday.
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by John Cole| 64 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads
So unmotivated to do anything, and I have no idea why my arm hurts more today than yesterday.
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Ian
You haven’t been petting tunch enough
Politically Lost
Dude… The rehab.
General Winfield Stuck
Recovery from serious injury especially when major, or significant surgery is performed, pain and recovery are not all that linear. At least this soon after getting carved on. Good days bad days for a while, then it will start to level out with consistent improvement. That is if you don’t do like I did with a ruptured Achilles tendon, and keep fucking it up with inability to sit still for 5 minutes. Then your in for some extended unnecessary misery.
matoko_chan
Then….support the Let Them Filibuster Campaign
Make a Doris Kearns-Goodwin thread….plz?
Sarah in Brooklyn
it’s easier to get hurt than it is to get better.
licensed to kill time
The surgery itself was major trauma to your body. Give yourself some slack about being motivated to do anything – what you need to do right now is to heal and take care of yourself, JC. Your pain will probably vary from day to day, that’s to be expected. Like a lot of others have said, don’t be shy about using those pain meds, even though you hate the way they make you feel.
If there was ever a time to veg out and do nothing, this is it!
Svensker
It ain’t fun. But, as my Irish BIL says when he wants to cheer someone up, at least you’re not dying of some horrible disease so look on the bright side. (He means it, too…)
Try to sleep as much as you can — it will help you heal and you won’t notice the pain as much. I recommend HGTV as a sure fire sleep bringer.
Brick Oven Bill
At The Facility, I push a cart, and have oversimplified the description of this act as ‘walking around in circles’.
Let us now delve deeper into the Geometries of The Facility. I will boast and state that I am very fast with my cart. When changing direction, this creates significant centripetal acceleration, and a resultant force on the things on my cart, making them potentially fly off my cart, which would cause damage, and a loss for my employer.
Force equals mass times acceleration.
Thus my optimum performance is ‘acceleration limited’, as the mass is beyond my control, and the counteracting force of friction is proportional to the mass of the object in question even if I could control the mass, which I can’t.
We will now use Mathematics to describe this Geometry, and tie it, as well as we can, to the hoax of global warming. Unless time runs out, and I have leave to go to bowling practice.
First though a recommendation. Don’t put boots on dogs, or even worry about the temperature of their feet. Nothing good ever comes from this. Mother Gaia has given dogs paws.
Incertus
Here. Read this. Nothing quite like bad poetry to convince you that you’re not at the bottom of life’s shitpile.
aimai
I think maybe you should go galt again. That always seems to get your juices flowing.
aimai
PurpleGirl
Aimai’s right, JC. When you go Galt you get a million ideas.
Alternately you could enjoy the recliner and sleep. Leave some open threads to keep us busy and we’ll fill them up.
Teach Lily how to use the computer and she could post pictures of herself and Tunch.
Omnes Omnibus
@PurpleGirl: Lily, sure, but John should not teach Tunch to use the computer. If he learns to order food, he will have no reason to keep John alive. The man is on pain meds and is vulnerable.
Alex S.
Nothing is happening today.
Betsy
I recommend This American Life and Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me free podcasts from NPR. If you get tired of TV but don’t feel like reading, they are a great way to stay entertained.
Also, cookies! Delicious, gooey, chocolate chip cookies, or fabulous, chewy, caramely brown sugar cookies. Which I could send you, if you were to send me your address. Or you could give me the recipe for those ones you said were your favorite, I forget what kind.
ETA: Cookies like these.
And now I will pester you no more. If you don’t want cookies, far be it from me to force you to have cookies. I’ll just sit here in the dark.*
*Hi Nana!
Brick Oven Bill
Entering into this endeavor, for some reason I had presumed that the optimum geometry for moving my cart between aisles would be a parabola, cut in half, with one half mirrored against the other. How foolish I was in this respect.
Of course the correct geometry for all changes in direction is a simple circle! This is because the force on the item in my cart is:
Force equals (mass times velocity times velocity) divided by the radius of my turn.
In the case of a parabola, the radius is constantly changing, and thus so is the acceleration, and force, which we wish to keep constant. We wish to define this force limit, and then define from that force the optimum velocity-radius.
Duh.
I am now out of time so we will get to acceleration, CO2 levels (linear increase) and temperatures (theoretical acceleration upward which stopped a decade ago, even if you believe the government data) later (God willing).
Have a nice day.
rootless_e
@Brick Oven Bill: Glenn Beck! Wow. Dead on rendition.
trollhattan
Since is open thread (“In Soviet Union, thread opens you!”) a photographer who could use some international attention and support:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8473285.stm
I find her work lovely and the countryside spectacular:
http://www.fergana.info/details.php?image_id=1220
jeffreyw
Tattletale
jeffreyw
@Betsy: Mmm…cookies!
Betsy
@jeffreyw:
Wow, your bird photos are amazing!
Betsy
@jeffreyw:
I know, I’m making myself hungry.
jeffreyw
Where’d he go?
Jon H
The BBC has a new series, The History of the World in 100 objects, which is doing a 15 minute show every day about an item from the British Museum’s collection, starting in the distant past.
It’s available as a podcast via iTunes, etc.
Betsy
@Betsy:
I fail at linking. Here’s the other cookie.
matoko_chan
admit….this would be super awesome sauce.
rootless_e
@matoko_chan: that would rock.
Mike E
@Brick Oven Bill:
Enough about the “thing” you have for Lynne Cheney lesbians!
WaterGirl
@Betsy: Okay, if John doesn’t want your cookies, you can send them to me! I’ve never seen anything like this one before. This is going to make me sound really stupid, but is a brown sugar cookie like a sugar cookie, just with brown sugar instead of white?
Betsy
@WaterGirl:
Not stupid! I think so, although I’ve never actually made regular sugar cookies before since I find them kind of boring. For this one, you brown the butter too. The browned butter plus all-brown-sugar gives them a really deep, caramel-like flavor that I love. They’re the only cookie I’ve made that didn’t involve chocolate that I considered to be worth making more than once.
matoko_chan
@rootless_e: yah.
Think about what the conservatives would be filibustering…..the House wants to take away Landrieus and Nelsons bribes.
The refuglicans would be defending AGAINST those amendments.
Comedy gold for Colbert and Stewart, and the CSPAN ratings would go through the roof if the Sargeant-at-Arms has to drag Orangeman and Brown onto the floor.
lawl.
the ultimate in reality TV.
The Real World: Filibusterers don’t get to pee.
;)
Montysano
35 degrees and sleeting/snowing/raining here in north Alabama.
My mission for the day? Installing a new water heater at Casa del Monty. Can I solder copper pipes? I think so. Can I solder copper pipes without burning down the house? We’ll soon know…
CalD
More nerves waking up.
jeffreyw
@Montysano:
True story, guy I know was doing some welding in a college dorm during the summer break just before he left for lunch with his boss. A spark smoldered into a flame and the smoke detectors send a fire alarm to the fire department. On their way back from lunch they got run over by the fire chief who was responding to the alarm. The fellow that started the fire was injured and sued the department, won a settlement.
Dannie22
You’d heal a lot faster if you slept. Your body would repair a lot quicker. And take your pain meds. At least for a week.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Brick Oven Bill: It may just be me but it seems like yer trying too hard.
James K. Polk, Esq.
Is there any way you could be convinced to give us injury pr0n?
I kinda want to see what kind of carving job the surgeon did on ole’ John Cole…
Maude
The arm will feel better tomorrow. Probably the activity of yesterday upset it. Poor arm.
I have the motivation of a slug today.
I hope, Monty, that you tell us about the water heater when it’s installed.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
@Brick Oven Bill:
Something you might want to try, just cut and paste passages from an encyclopedia, and then just take out every other word.
Well, pretty much what you are doing now, but it will give you a way to get some quick material online.
Just trying to be helpful. And, the quality of your posts will go up.
Violet
Rehab. You’re working the muscles. That’s going to make it hurt. Unfortunately you’ve got to keep at it or your arm won’t heal as well.
Plus as someone pointed out upthread, recovery isn’t linear. Two steps forward, one step back; five steps forward, two steps back – that kind of thing. You’re getting better, but it’s not going to be straightforward. Just keep doing what you’re doing. It sucks that it’s not faster.
HRA
“So unmotivated to do anything, and I have no idea why my arm hurts more today than yesterday.”
Could it be you want to do what you are unable to do and know you can’t do it for now? It’s part of recuperating from a major injury and it is depressing. It will pass. Learn to really relax at a certain time of day. IOW make a schedule for yourself with something to look forward to in it.
The pain is most likely from the healing process and as someone mentioned the beginning of rehab.
General Winfield Stuck
We are suffering a furry critter gap today
Charlie pic-me-up
Go Cats!!
metalgirl
@Betsy:
Brown sugar cookie recipe, please! I don’t like chocolate (unless paired with something worthy like caramel or coffee) but I would love the brown sugar cookies, I’m sure :)
I made big pot of chicken stock this morning (including cilantro, which made it even better) and have fixed a Thai peanut soup w/ chicken for lunch, am working on a cranberry bean soup for tomorrow, and froze 12 more cups of chicken stock.
We have the perfect day for cooking at home: 5″ of snow with sleet still falling in Cary, NC (very unusual for us to have snow). We had a great time taking Suzie Q (my rescue dog: half pit/half lab, all sweetie) on a walk in the snow. Thank goodness I had one more suet cake when I filled up the bird feeders this morning — lots of traffic out there. I guess the squirrels don’t like snow — haven’t seen a one all day.
metalgirl
@General Winfield Stuck: To which “cats” are you referring? I grew up in Lexington, KY and went to UK — are you referring to my Wildcats?? I was sorry to see them lose this week to SC but my dad is sending me a “2000 wins” shirt that I’ve promised to wear around my ACC basketball friends here to rub it in (I can offend Duke, UNC, and NCSU friends with a single shirt)!
Thoughtcrime
John,
Maybe your shoulder has become a politics barometer.
http://www.weather.com/activities/health/achesandpains/achesandpains101/barometers.html
Increased pain indicates stormy weather approaching?
Mike E
@metalgirl:
Just watched WRAL-5, the hospitals are reporting sledding injuries. Greg Fishel went on about cosmic radiation or somesuch. I’m staying inside!
ETA My daughter went to an NC State magnet elementary, with frequent visits from Mr. and Mrs. Wulf. When asked about Duke, she would immediatley say, “Boo Duke!” She was so cute at that age!
General Winfield Stuck
@metalgirl: Absolutely. I grew up in KY also, lived in Lexington for 8 years, grew up in eastern KY.
SteveinSC
@AngusTheGodOfMeat: Splendid! Finally, the proverbial 100 monkeys chained to typwriters are begining to hammer out bits and pieces of prose. Incoherent, but still words, fragments of sentances, somewhat matching subject, verb, and predicate. Thus, the mystery of BoB’s identity is solved. One hundred rightwing chimpanzees seated before keyboards, whacking away.
By the way, John Cole, if you are begining to hurt more than the day before, it could be the sign of a problem.
metalgirl
@Mike E: We split Carolina Hurricane’s season tickets with another couple. Thank goodness we don’t have tickets tonight because I think we’d be inclined to watch it on TV instead (although they are offering to exchange tickets for any future game). We went last Sunday and Thursday night and now, after just a few wins in row, I’m expecting them to keep winning (which is nice, for a change). I’ll enjoy it until JR starts renting out our unrestricted free agents anyway.
Sanka
Center for American Progress to New Yorkers:
New Yorkers to CAP: No, FARK YOU….
Stay classy liberals.
metalgirl
@General Winfield Stuck: Very cool! My oldest son is a freshman industrial design student at Univ of Cincinnati and my parents still live in Lexington. They still have season tickets to the UK basketball games (good ones too) but they sell them to a few friends and watch on TV (they are nearly 80 years old). I’m going to plan to attend at least one UK home game next year — I’ll put the word in for my dad to not sell those tickets and hope that he remembers to follow through.
I make bourbon balls every year and have a few left in the freezer. Email me your mailing address and I’ll send you a few :) You can find my email via my web site linked to my name.
Mike E
@metalgirl:
Well, good call on the travel ban. Methinks the ‘Canes peaked with that Cup win–at least the have one.
burnspbesq
@metalgirl:
My kitteh Laettner laughs at your feeble attempt to make us feel bad.
Huge props to Georgetown. They were the better team today, and deserved to win.
C’mon you DORES!!!
frosty
@BrickOvenBill
You need to get some basic highway design books. Parabolas are used for vertical curves, which you shouldn’t be dealing with on a level floor, with your cart, unless you’re building is in a pretty serious case of structural failure.
Horizontal curves for simple transitions are a circular arc. For high-speed transitions, like your freeway on-ramp, a spiral will provide smooth centripetal acceleration.
Given that you’re pushing the envelope while pushing the cart, you oughta focus on starting your curve slowly and tightening up until you’re at the apex, then unwinding it similarly.
PurpleGirl
I don’t like the decision not to hold the KSM trial in NYC.
What people do need to understand about the complaints that the trial would disrupt life in lower Manhattan is that the “financial district” is no longer just a business area. Even before September 11th, the area was becoming more residential and now it’s even more so. Old (and not so old) office buildings have been turned into apartments, new buildings are more likely to be apartments, too. With the mergers of banks and stock brokerages and the movement of back office functions to other places (like Florida or South Dakota), there no longer is the former need for office space.
Mike E
@frosty:
BoB, watch Jackass–but remember, don’t try this at work.
General Winfield Stuck
@burnspbesq: @burnspbesq: Cats are wipin’ the floor with Vandy early on. Sorry to hear about G-town coming to play today. Yes, siree, that’s awful sad :))
I’m a jerk, I know
burnspbesq
@General Winfield Stuck:
I’ve come to expect no less from you. ;-)
Better to be hated than irrelevant. When opposing teams’ students stop rushing the floor after their once-in-a-decade wins over us, I will start to worry.
Svensker
@Sanka:
What? What’s unclassy about what CAP said? What does it have to do with being liberal? People can argue and disagree about stuff without calling into question their sanity, politeness, marital status, etc. It’s not all “teams”. Sometimes people just disagree and have to figure out how to deal with what they disagree about.
WaterGirl
@Betsy: I want the recipe, too!
@metalgirl: There is something terribly wrong about not liking chocolate. Well, real chocolate, anyway… by which I mean dark chocolate.
metalgirl
@WaterGirl: Dark chocolate tastes like medicine to me. I’m also very sensitive to caffeine so I avoid it completely (if I want to sleep :) But I make up for it by cooking/making many chocolate treats for my family and friends. Last year I made over 700 pieces of chocolate candy for the holidays (which is fine for me, since it doesn’t tempt me at all). This year, about half of that (downsizing from working the 2008 campaigns, etc). If I could change one thing about my metabolism, I would wish to be able to drink coffee with abandon!
Linda Featheringill
John –
Have you told your doctor that your arm is hurting more and not less? It is supposed to be getting better. Are you sure you don’t have an infection or a blood clot or something?
Complain. Insist on imaging and/or ultrasound studies. Do it.
Platonicspoof
@Brick Oven Bill:
Ahh, but you can BOB!
Your limiting yourself by confusing the amount of mass and all control.
Slip a couple of coil springs on top of the casters on one side.
Think NASCAR.
I assume from your philosophy you already go counter-clockwise.
Betsy
@metalgirl:
@WaterGirl:
Sorry, I missed this earlier! Here’s the recipe.
Brown Sugar Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
14 T unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks or 7 oz)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups packed light brown sugar (dark brown sugar can also be used)
2 cups plus 2 T unbleached all-purpose flour (10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 T vanilla extract
Heat 10 tablespoons (5 oz) butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan frequently until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons (2 oz) butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. In a pie plate, mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a small bowl.
Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Then add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give the dough a final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.
Divide dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 dough balls per sheet.
Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to rack to cool completely.
metalgirl
@Betsy: THANKS!!!