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Adieu.

(BRB)

“Here’s an anonymous dedication to a certain ladybug.”

Update: Poppa Ladybug has a new job. He gave his 2 weeks notice today. Congratulations, Martin.

Happy Anniversary to my Bride, who is just as lovely today as she was on our wedding day.

I just got off the phone with her. She’s extremely upset. Diane went to dialysis yesterday, and has not woken up since she returned. Her potassium is very low, and her ammonia levels are creeping upwards. She’s worried about what the next few hours hold.

Update (6/22): Amanda’s concerned because this is the second time that Diane’s ammonia levels have increased, with out any reason. Apparently this is an indicator of end-stage Kidney failure. Diane’s been on dialysis for over 3 years (4?), and she may be reaching a point where dialysis isn’t able to keep up with what her body is producing. We’re anxiously awaiting her blood tests from this morning. Please keep us all in your prayers.

Update (6/23) Amanda spent last night at the hospital with Diane. Diane woke up, and was pretty much awake and talkative all night. Her ammonia level has dropped from 62 to 37 (normal is 10 to 40). Diane said that she’s ready to get home, kiss her Mom, sleep in her bed, and pet her cat. If we can keep that attitude up, we hope to get there!

Yes, I wanted one of these. Yes, I eventually got one. And no, there’s no way I’d fashionably wear it today.

I was in Tuscaloosa for Father’s Day. I got to see my Dad, and also went by the hospital to see Diane.

What a difference 2 weeks has made. She was awake when I got there, and was able to hold an almost regular conversation with me and everyone else. The boys got to to see her, which I think brightened her day. She’s still got a long way to go, but it’s very encouraging to see her at this stage. Please pray that she’ll regain her appetite and be able to eat and hold her own, nutrition-wise.

Also, please pray for Amanda. The stress is starting to weigh heavily on her. It would have weighed heavily on me, oh, about 5 weeks ago.

My friend Wes brought this to everyone’s attention a while back.

Well, today they dug the car up. Will it start? Stay tuned.

Amanda called last night to tell me that Diane has been moved out of ICU. That’s good news, because she’s stable enough to be moved. But it’s also a little worrying, because, to be blunt, the level of care that she received in the ICU has been head and shoulders above the care she received as a regular floor patient.

Thanks for all your prayers! Please keep them up!

Time to short Apple?

I’ve never owned an Apple laptop. I don’t have an iPod. I have a cell phone through my company, so the chances of me ever owning an iPhone was pretty much zero to start with. But my first thought when I saw the iPhone was, “This is not a good idea”.

I understand the convenience of having one device that can do everything. I’ve seen way too many people walking around with enough gadgetry on their belt to make Batman jealous. I’m not an expert on user interfaces. However, I have, however, had touch-screen phones in the very recent past. I absolutely hated it. It was almost impossible to use while driving, and the accuracy of the touch screen left a lot to be desired. I wound up trading it in for a new BlackBerry the first chance I had.

Maybe Apple’s thought through all of those problems, and found a good way to resolve them. But it was nice to see an article online (even though it was from John “Hey, your keyboard isn’t good enough for me” Dvorak) that agreed with me.

I was so excited to see the .06″ of rain that fell at my house today, I actually stood outside and watched it rain for a good 5 minutes. I had to use my windshield wipers 3 times on the way home from work today. I was amazed to see that they still worked.