Bud Baker
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Posts posted by Bud Baker
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 100. There are storms just off to the northwest, but they seem to be stalling, so I'm not sure we'll get any rain here.
That's great news, Ned, congrats! Yes, I would say car shopping is in order. I had to smile at Libby's "shopping for new wheels" comment. That has a completely different meaning to me. I just bought hubs, rims, and spokes to build myself a set of new wheels for the commuting bike.
It sounds like my call for everyone to have a great day didn't work for some, yesterday, I'll try it again: Have a great day, all!
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Great news, congrats!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 100.
Eric, we have so many pecan trees here that the pecan tree is the official state tree of Texas. And native Texas pecans are among the best tasting pecans around. Last winter, for the first time since I was very young, I spent time gathering pecans. The upper end of Lake Whitney ended up being my best winter fishing spot, and the park where I launch my boat to fish there has a grove of very large and old pecan trees. It's an unusual park in that it is open for overnight camping and boat launching, but doesn't allow entry for any other day use activities. So, it doesn't attract many visitors, and the squirrels have all those pecans to themselves.
I started spending half an hour or so, after I'd loaded the boat at the end of my fishing day, gathering pecans. I brought home so many pecans, they're going to last the entire year, in spite of how often Rose uses them in her cooking. I'm thinking I'm going to do that every winter from now on.
Have a great day, all!
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Welcome, Steff. This time just after diagnosis is, indeed, scary. Most of us feel less anxiety once we have a treatment plan in place. I'll look forward to your updates.
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Good morning, everyone!
It is 84 degrees outside as I type. Forecast high is 102. I took off from my driveway yesterday morning at 6:15 and did a 48 mile ride, first making a loop on the county roads south of here, then stopping by for a visit at City Cyclist.
Then, I drove over near DFW Airport to try on the sample of a cycling jersey that my local online recumbent group is ordering. My guess had been correct, an XXL fits me best. Cycling jerseys run so small. I'm 5' 10", 183 pounds and need an XXL. Anyone who's really very big is out of luck with those.
I'm doing a whole lot of nothing today, staying inside and enjoying the air conditioning. Have a great day, all!
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Good afternoon, everyone!
It was a pleasant 103 degrees this afternoon as I loaded up my boat to come home from crappie fishing at Lake Granbury.
Bruce, our fish can't go too deep in most of our lakes in the summer. Lakes here stratify in the summer, setting up a thermocline, below which, there is no oxygen. So all life in the lake is shallower than that.
It's the reason that only a few of our larger, deeper lakes can support stripers and other cool water fish. Stripers want cooler water, and will go to whatever depth it takes to find it, even if that puts them so deep that they die from lack of oxygen.
The crappie bit well today in spite of the heat. If I had been keeping 10 inch fish, I could have brought home a limit of 25. But, I only kept fish that were 11 inches or better, and brought home 12.
I caught half of them under a bridge. Even at 103 degrees, in the shade of a bridge with a breeze coming across the water, it's really not hot. If I had had someone with me, I probably would have just stayed under the bridge the entire time. But, I was fishing alone, and wanted to explore some, so when fishing slowed at the bridge, I got out in the sun and tried some docks. They were holding nice fish, too.
Have a great day, all!
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Jim,
How much one can recover and how long it takes is a very individual thing. Just give your dad all the encouragement you can. Best wishes for him.
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Hi Mary. I was also stage 2. You'll have to avoid lifting much for 6 weeks after surgery, but other than that, you just have to go by how you feel to decide what you can and can't do. Then, the chemo will knock your energy level back again for a while too, but it's all very doable. Best wishes and keep us updated.
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Good morning, everyone! It was 78 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 103. It's been over 100 degrees every day for a couple of weeks, now. It gets old when it's like this.
I rode to work all four days again this week. And, again, I'm taking tomorrow off and going fishing.
KW Judy, sorry you're having gastro issues. I hope it's better soon. Yes, my ride to work in seventy-something degree weather at dark thirty is fun. The ride home is at the very hottest part of the day, though.
MI Judy, nice photos! Olive is a cutie. Like Bruce, I don't get to view photos until I get home. I'm amazed at how much is blocked here at work. I was online shopping for something for work the other day, and ended up at a blocked site because, in addition to selling what I was looking for, they also sell gun stuff.
Eric, I joined AARP mostly because of the great rate they offered on auto insurance. Then, wouldn't you know it, after just one year, they were going to raise my insurance rate a lot, so I ended up getting insurance elsewhere, anyway.
But they do get you discounts on all kinds of stuff, and are a very powerful political lobby, looking out for the interests of older people. They're a little too left leaning for some people, but do have the clout to be worthwhile for most old f@rts like myself, I think. They may end up being the last ones defending my Social Security when I'm too old and feeble to work.
Have a great day, all!
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Eric, here's a link to the online version of AARP's Dennis Quaid story: http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movie ... -life.html
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Congratulations on three years, Judy!
I'll bet most of us have seen lung cancer horror stories close to home. A couple of years before I was diagnosed, a man here at work was admitted to the hospital, feeling very sick, and jaundiced. They did exploratory surgery and found that the jaundice was from lung cancer that had spread to his liver. It had already spread lots of other places, too. They closed him up and told his family he had two weeks or so to live. He died four days later. So, he went right from work one day, to the hospital the next, to surgery the next, to dying four days after that. And all this was a year before his planned retirement.
So, yeah, I'm thinking that three years is a great reason for a celebration. Congrats!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 102.
Happy birthday, Judy, Stephanie, and Donny! Good luck with the scans, Ned! It all sounds good, though, so I expect it's car shopping time. I'm thinking I would have a tough time car shopping on what my retirement budget will be. I'd better get lots of miles out of the bike.
Stephanie, I did the same thing on my last house, refinanced a few years after buying it, going from a 30 year mortgage to a 15 year. I had already been paying an extra $100 every month since the beginning, so it was going to pay off in pretty much the same amount of time anyway, so I probably didn't gain much by adding finance charges to the principle to get a lower rate.
Anyone else belong to AARP and read this month's magazine? There was a very interesting article about Dennis Quaid and what happened to his twins in a hospital. His estimate was that a third of all deaths in this country are caused by health care harm. What a scary thought for us sickly types......LOL.
Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 102.
Bruce, I know what you mean. Even in this, the most greedy of all countries, some of us do reach a point where the appeal of living simply and spending our time doing things we enjoy becomes greater than the desire to keep acquiring more "stuff", and I have definitely reached that point.
I expect that cancer probably hurried me along the way some, and besides the physical wear and tear this job puts on the body, the stresses are bound to eventually take a toll, as well. I'm thinking that retirement would be good for me.
Eric, your problem of not knowing what to do with yourself in retirement is very common. So many people who retire end up going back to some kind of work because of it. But, I expect my problem will always be the opposite. I can't find enough time to do everything I'd like to do. I loved the month off work I had after surgery, even though I was restricted with what I could do.
I hope you get some sunshine, KW Judy. Have a great day, all!
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That's great news, Ken! Congrats!
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Congrats, Bruce!
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Great photos, Eric!
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Oscar and Tony winning actress Patricia Neal died Sunday at her home on Martha's Vineyard. She was 84. Neal had been battling lung cancer. In 1963, Neal starred in 'Hud' with Paul Newman, a movie that earned her an Oscar for her role as Alma Brown.
Patricia Neal Overcame Three Debilitating Strokes:
After the first day of filming 'Seven Women', Patricia Neal was giving her daughter a bath when she suffered a stroke at the age of 39. Once she arrived at UCLA Medical Center, she had two more and was taken in for surgery. She was comatose for 21 days and during that time, 'Variety' ran a story that the actress had died.
Patricia Neal had difficulty speaking and talking following her strokes. For a while, she wore a brace on her right leg and there was evidence that she was suffering from some paralysis. According to the LA Times, her therapy included swimming in a pool, crossword puzzles, and memory games.
"I loathed life when I first went back to England," Neal said. "I had exercises to do every day. My husband had people coming in to teach me — three a day. I wanted to commit suicide, but I didn't know how."
In 1968, Patricia Neal returned to the stage to perform in the play, 'The Subject Was Roses' and was once again nominated for an Academy Award.
Neal's determination to overcome these strokes and reclaim her acting career is chronicled in the 1981 television movie 'The Patricia Neal Story' starring Glenda Jackson. Neal became a champion for rehabilitation after going through her own recovery process and in 1978, the rehab center at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee was dedicated as 'The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center'.
You can read the entire article at: http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... tml?cat=40
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 80 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 100. I modified my route a bit, since I found a multi-use path through a park that connects two neighborhoods and lets me stay off a busier street and avoid a traffic light that my bike just won't trigger.
I took the kayak fishing on Friday and rode 53 miles from home on Saturday. Yesterday was Rose's birthday. I took her out for dinner, but the rest of the day, I just stayed home and annoyed her (that's my job).
MI Judy, my oncs are doing the same as yours, wanting me in for six month checkups even though I've been moved to annual scans. I think they just want to do blood work more often than once a year, although with lung cancer, I'm not sure how worthwhile that is.
Bruce, I'm in a similar retirement situation. I say I'm ready, but my budget says I'm not. We downsized to a smaller home that I was able to pay off this year, but there won't be much of a retirement income other than Social Security, and I'm still over 2 1/2 years away from being old enough for that. Still, I'd like to work less hours until I can really retire.
Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 79 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 105. I'm off work tomorrow, so today is my Friday. I'm thinking I'll take the pedal kayak fishing tomorrow.
KW Judy, with all the HBO channels you get with Uverse, there's lots to watch. They repeat their series shows, too.
I'm another ice cream nut. These days, it's reduced fat ice cream or sherbet. I have some after dinner pretty much every day. But, I'm watching my weight closer this year. With the hot weather and all the miles I'm riding right now, I'll probably keep eating ice cream every day, but as soon as it gets cooler and my mileage gets less, it's a sure thing that my weight will take off and I'll be back to 30 calorie sugar free popsicles instead......LOL.
Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 78 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 104.
Whirlwinds are very common here in the summer, MI Judy. In West Texas, which is pretty barren for the most part, they call them dust devils. With all the dust they pick up, you can see them from many miles away.
Libby, we get lots of humid days here. Even some of the days in the 90's are humid. But, it usually only gets over 100 degrees on lower humidity days.
Eric, I hope you still find time to stop by after you return to work. Have a great day, all!
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Condolences. So sorry to read this.
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work today. Forecast high is 104. Today is my 93rd commute by bike of the year.
Welcome to The Air, Libby! As you've no doubt seen already, there are some great people here at LCSC. But, we usually only get to see them talk about cancer. Off Topics gives us a place to talk other stuff, and a few of us discuss the day to day in The Air. Who's birthday was yesterday?
And yes, I'm the cycling nut in the group. I'm sure my enthusiasm for it is annoying sometimes, but this is a tolerant group, and they put up with me.
Remind me to never take a whirlwind lightly again. I was blown down by a really strong one on the ride home yestercay. I was southbound on Lubbock Avenue, about a half mile from work, when I saw a whirlwind cross about a block in front of me. Like most, this one was moving west to east. It had cleared the road and I thought it was gone, but for some reason, it turned and crossed the road again, hitting me squarely before I knew what was happening.
I didn't have a lot of speed, and the strong swirling winds instantly stopped me completely, then blew me over on my left side. In a moment that made me glad I was on a close to the ground bike, I put my left hand down and stopped my fall, feet still clipped to the pedals. There I was for an instant, using just my left arm to keep myself off the concrete. I managed to unclip, got my left foot on the road, and used my left leg to upright myself, without anything other than my hand and foot ever touching the concrete. It was a strange feeling maneuver that I'd never attempted before. My handlebar had been tweaked crooked, but there was no other damage to either bike or rider. I quickly straightened my handlebar and continued on my way.
Did I mention that 103 degrees makes for a very hot ride home? Have a great day, all!
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Good morning, everyone!
It was 76 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high for this afternoon is 105 degrees.
I enjoyed yesterday's club ride and ended up with 58 miles. I finished just past noon, and joined the club picnic after that. Once I got home, I pretty much zombied out in front of the tv the rest of the day. I had another good mileage month in July, finishing with 814 miles for the month.
MI Judy, are those rented movies on DVD? If so, you'll need a DVD player to watch them. Your DVR won't do it. You could probably watch them on your computer.
Hope you're feeling better today, Donny. Have a great day, all!
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Good afternoon, everyone!
I threw the kayak on the truck yesterday and spent the day fishing. This morning, I got up early and drove to Cleburne to ride the Tour de Goatneck charity bike ride. It's lots of rolling hills and great scenery. There were around 2,500 other riders. I finished with an 18.0 mph average speed, which is the best I've done on this ride's hills. Then, to relax, I came home and mowed the back yard.......LOL. I'm cooling off before I go back out and run the trimmer.
Wow, it sounds like both Judy's had a tough day yesterday. I hope today is going a lot better. Heidi, it sounds like you're working too many hours. That has a way of catching up with you.
Eric, your doctor is not the only one who isn't convinced about the value of CT scans for early detection. It's hotly debated here, and there are still large studies going on. A study that was done a few years ago showed great five year survival rates for patients who had early cancer found by CT scans, but critics pointed out that everyone scanned, not just those who had cancer found and treated, should have been followed, and the study should have followed everyone until they died, not just five years, since that's what would be necessary to really find out how much CT scans affect overall mortality rates. Ongoing studies are doing just that, so it will be interesting to see what they find.
Have a great day, all!
Thursday's Air
in JUST FOR FUN
Posted
Good morning, everyone!
It was 77 degrees as I rode to work this morning. Forecast high is 100.
This is my Friday, again. I'm taking off and going fishing tomorrow. I haven't decided whether to take the boat or kayak, but I'm just making a short trip to Lake Granbury.
I need to come home early enough to make a trip to the bank to get an assumed name form notarized. That's for the dba I'll be using for my tackle business. Then, it will be time to get my tax ID number. Don't you just love paperwork?
Have a great day, all!