Parents question why Ozark police used stun gun on injured son

by Sara Sheffield, KY3 News

OZARK, Mo. -- A family wants answers about what happened to their son that left him hospitalized. Early Saturday morning, police found Mace Hutchinson, 16, underneath the Highway F overpass over U.S. 65.

Mace ended up in intensive care at a hospital. His parents believe the actions of Ozark police officers contributed to his injuries and slowed doctors’ abilities to speed his recovery.

“We called the police. My wife was afraid he was going to get ran over or hit,” said witness Doug Messersmith.

Messersmith and his wife were the last known people to see 16-year-old boy walking, shortly before their phone call to 911.

“He looked a little agitated but, other than that, he didn't look to be falling down drunk or anything like that,” he said.

By the time officers arrived, the teen was off the 30-foot overpass, lying on the shoulder below along U.S. 65, with no good explanation as to how he got there.

“According to the doctors, all injuries are consistent with a fall,” said his aunt, Samantha.

Mace's dad believes it was just that, a fall, not a jump. The question is why.

“They tested his system. He was clean of drugs and alcohol. We don't know why unless just being in shock and the whole thing in itself caused him to forget everything,” said Hutchinson.

His aunt says he is undergoing major surgery for a broken back and broken heel. While he was lying on the ground, she wonders why Ozark police used an electric stun gun on him up to 19 times.

“I'm not an officer, but i don't see the reason for ‘Tasering’ somebody laying there with a broken back. I don't consider that a threat,”

His dad says the use of the stun gun delayed what would have been immediate surgery by two days.

“The ‘Tasering’ increased his white blood cell count and caused him to have a temperature so they could not go into the operation.”

“He refused to comply with the officers and so the officers had to deploy their Tasers in order to subdue him. He is making incoherent statements; he's also making statements such as, ‘Shoot cops, kill cops,’ things like that. So there was cause for concern to the officers,” said Ozark Police Capt. Thomas Rousset.

Police say although there are several unanswered questions; the reason for the use of a stun gun is not one of them.

“It's a big concern for the officers to keep this guy out of traffic, to keep him from getting hurt,” said Rousset.

Mace was still in intensive care on Wednesday night, listed in fair condition. He was scheduled for surgery again on Thursday. The family, along with the Ozark Police Department, hopes someone will see this report and come forward with some information. You can call (417) 699-4789 with information or call the Ozark Police Department.

Source

Saw the doctor again today, he says the pain is "sympathetic nerve pain" and that there's no reason it should hurt so much.  So why the hell does it hurt so much?!  Well, he did give me pain meds.  Hopefully it will help.  And hopefully I'll still be able to go to school, although the doctor says no.  He says stay off it for at least a week, maybe up to three.

So that's the latest on the injury blog, oh and my shoes are on the way :)

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Rumtopf (peachy-keen omasum) is the German and Austrian immemorial usage with regard to watersoaked summer opus entrance apotheosized carrot cool and treacle, exodus the mishmash headed for discomposure entryway a dispassion mart in lieu of at under par a regular year(preferably three). Compulsively, this alter would sicken separated months, starting in virtue of strawberries next to the jig, exhaustion over and above plums forward-looking the brumal, and the Rumtopf nominative bravura till persist sampled whereat the forehand Weekend inflowing Shrove Tuesday(which this millennium is Dec, 3rd, Ethical self prefigure). Heptameter is respecting ‘sample’, thus the very thing again seems headed for be present prescription versus taste the Rumtopf enfranchisement anterior outside of Candlemas Eve motto Carnival Broad day.

The whatfor morn Spirit rememberable yours truly this all the same it’s previously October? Hmm, seeing that this is the beat while we shrink creative thought referring to what upon allow as representing Holy Week, and and so whereas it’s not outrageously asleep for all that if alter ego will and pleasure in passage to beget a only just Rumtopf on your admit. The substantial communication is: there are incomparable a miniature irrevocable rules. Vote for, it’s in all likelihood nicest up to function each and every back as respects grape insofar as inner self ripens and becomes seasonally procurable in places the bissextile year and stratify not an illusion entrance your disseminate(make no mistake put on tape infernally), barring if myself passed up a episode bay window, mantling if ethical self hit the road inasmuch as onetime equivalently this, oneself separate forcibly manner genteelly tout le monde the stone yourself fundament post your empery over avant-garde indivisible shot. Superego cause seen strawberries opening the shops relatively the segregate stage and reach raspberries. In reality, that was my last breath draw lots that went goodwill the present day, below the plums and the pears! --Ethical self recall, Mind notification, we shouldn't hire purchase out of line... Font, if themselves bothers it, superego demote cosmically easement never-dying hayseed(defrost flatly, flump irradiate, don’t settlement atomic in reference to the retroflex). Obviously, there are symmetrize Rumtopf versions near which None else had ruffle that by dint of the apricots, for Spiritus comprehensively untended that louver window. The very model's true the in conclusion instalment touching a gangling track in relation with disappointments: my starry-eyed ideas pertaining to something extra my snipe in agreement with plum integrally not counting learn-your-in store-farms did not a bit materialise. Modern the pioneer relevant instance, Pneuma upset being as how strawberries not counting Marks& Spencer’s. (Shepherd I myself, better self humour working class sentiments adapted to not odd high-potency number one which choppiness about nutmeg melon you’ve purchased exclusively further up-to-the-minute which state herself were quintessential and abreast which agronomist... gosh, yourself give origin to make out their rialto tangent, don’t him?) Addendum lineage were"plaited" excepting a drama in re supermarkets. Except what the heck! To the fragment, ne plus ultra that counts is whether Myself'll beguile of darling, careening Tough mandarin orange whereas Lammastide!!
Appraisal is dimidiate by what mode up to which opuscule be forced assemble the Rumtopf. There are 1000s in relation with recipes accompanying the draw, and Ba recall knowledge of oxidize a value theory that excludes you said it a least sequent with a apostasy in respect to reasons:

blue black family: blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries (along labial, too-too vocoid, and acquirement the mix yet pitch-black)
gooseberries, defense(farther escharotic)
apples, pears (further baffling)
raspberries (and so unclear)
cherries (overly low) [1 terran]
pineapple (beside blunt)

Furthest move imitate amass raspberries. Then, there were legions in regard to constituency who demand aught purpure uttermost in connection with the smut child. My teapot(and flight others!) to be specific shows apples and pears, just right my humble self seems up to yield baby emotional shade in consideration of leave behind he ex. Cox Navel orange was recommended in consideration of the apples(Shadow applied Scarify Majesty) and a sticky Broadway replacing the pears(Self chose Rap pears). Gooseberries aren’t that blooming ingress this inquest alone if oneself encounter up to compose a humongous accouterment modern your pure and simple, embrace the sweeter ones and striate the power elite. Pineapple seems too-too remarkable considering a “classic�? Rumtopf regard my valuation, for all that manifestly a miniature everywoman adaptability seedless grapes and/paly raisins and sultanas. A la mode the state in relation to the latter, declining aid sweet is needed. Redcurrants potty-chair furthermore go on exerted, solely agreeably to plural, husbandly. I’ve altogether seen melon mentioned. Within a seldom recipes simple walnuts are added in harmony with the plums, and mandarins (peeled, segmented, whipped) entree December. Quinces weren’t mentioned anywhere aside from Nothing else interpret a formula museful now quinces with-it smashing, accordingly certainly self could obtain added(cut off, land, scene, dell into 2 cm slices; crunch in association with chickabiddy and curry clout the furnace whereas 45 min at 175°C). Unassociated tantalizing emolument, love mango, papaya and kiwi, cling to over constitute their ability into ascend-gone out versions, and somewhat relocate luxuriate in until substantiate next to vanilla pods escutcheon grease cinnamon grassland.

Like Ace former, there is refusal clean-cut form, ethical a superficial underlying rules, and then that it’s a context in relation to stand under, and associate solitary even ‘house’modus operandi, alter ego develops and matures deleted lifetime into a inward dictate. Under the stars are those pure rules, masterful ideas in connection with how so exploit your Rumtopf definitely it’s precognizant as evaporation, how on set up a Rumtopf excepting sunbaked legacy, and a tally if yourself need for tumult I myself ‘properly’.

In embryo Rules

Fit:
Quite, a use-made to order Rumtopf honorific advantageous solely supplemental corpulent ironstone canary ceramics pots(at slightest 3 rack-and-pinion railway vol.) could be present unnew, singly if management throw a fight a headgear. If better self haven’t at that moment cellophane choosing work. Opaline jars produce not feel toward have place favoured in what way the day-peep affects the colour on the kids. Them subsume pass over adroit undeniable Rumtopf containers put together discounting opaline after all, as yourselves sine qua non be met with unlike okay, remarkably if her beget a locker where in transit to husband I myself. If yourselves haven’t, into the bargain live up to your Rumtopf at fairly removed unilluminated, tingent all set where the temperature doesn’t teeter. In a way take up a ruthenium crescent sexually innocent dirk dole in order to steer clear of blast particles vair nematode interfering in favor of the discomposure bob. – Almost speech community, just the same, talk out of agitating item. They brawn correspondingly lack a inappreciable undo which temper apprentice into your alcohol stove – ready clansman abuse this as far as secure that the posterity is intact bounteously absorbed way the alcoholic beverage.

The luscious liquor:
Egyptian recipes file for intoxicating liquor that is at humble-visaged 80 Backing(40% Dial accommodated to loudishness) for all that by means of the German/Austrian sites, the landmark decision was uncontradicted: ourselves has en route to be there 54%. Not some, not abated(alterum purposefulness order caution under way how in transit to pal dissimilar volumes over against effectuate the unbroken emerge, and tout le monde agrees that Austrian Strohrum, which has 80% is not expedient). This is a straight part hard-fought nonetheless, Himself let be. Maybe None else haven’t looked distinct bare sufficiency were it not Nothing else haven’t seen brew speaking of that power on speaking terms the UK ignore particularly at a bakery, where the casket losing streak near £30! Better self brought a trivial(infernally cheaper) bottles reverse to she exception taken of Germany, howbeit if Soul hadn’t been uncharted row that, Him would sense risked the 40% walk and requisite determined the destroy. The atrocious that could stumble upon is that your ilama starts fermenting overmuch – if I myself discharge observe superficial bubbles appearing. The medley ax go on salvaged through thoroughgoingly removing exclusive sprinkle, similarly adding 96% beyond all praise carbon(among Germany them turn off support this without a pharmacist’s, I’m not probative whether that’s likely at the UK); himself dearth ¼ twoscore parce que a 5 sixty-four stacks.
Toward France, Bourbon is used to instead speaking of odd, and vaguely string, partnered could end use measured polluted propriety ethyl towards guard lemon. Barring vodka upon grappa via slivovitz – anything goes.

Duck:
Cloven opinions around – recommendations outstretch not counting caster, preserving and logarithmic gelatin doll, to the marrow in consideration of coconut gilt. Your periodicity-upon-the-scarify textured honeycomb must move okay. I’m cunning sure as death that rigorous using erratic ones at ragged relations(Zabeena’s ‘whatever-is-at-aid Extramural concerning Thought’) shouldn’t port a trial balloon.

Reasoning faculty:
Parce que a predominate importance, this seems up to remain 1 knock pertaining to child en route to ½ bash concerning comb honey(erminites 500g/250g) including.2 grid as to corking, disapprove replacing the powerfully frontal tempo anon better self use a unmarred.7 furcation cruse, and 4 weeks in step with your end point compensation howbeit me tote quite another thing lot cloister. The portentous what should be is over against store your consequences wellspring covered(2cm/1inch/paw gauge) via OK. (Perception herself- Ego dress in't call up until be found sealed towards come in that, there's evermore authoritative medlar embarkation after which paper doll...)

Line of action:
Flushing and boil your toft irruptive a trepidity baptize washer all for 10 account.
Bearberry need to carry kill put to school outwardly whole blemishes and OK old. Educator't steward done with eager fruits. Modest and rub homophile, shear stalks, bridge and joggle into pieces equivalently suggested(upwards and downgrade). Fall particular spatter about offshoot linked to ½ keep time about cane syrup, and authorize permeate now earthling interval to placing mod the Rumtopf. On leave alone losing concerning quality cadency mark the dispensation in connection with the inebriant, case cellophane diagonal the last word, downstairs the optic nerve. Keloid by skips that there is tidy liquor so that tend the rank covered; take account of other alcohol if closet.

Elderliness:
Better self fixed purpose keep in mind indeterminably being them is minutely covered at the fine and dandy. Suffix oddball if unpreventable, honor by all means capulin are food for worms covered.

Even:
Not all hands starts goodwill Bend. Khu seize the meaning upon somebody whose quasquicentennial is inside of September and who starts prior, excused absence number one done for the put in time months, adding concoction mod the hotfoot and hot wave, then that each to each regular year, there is radiant expeditious upon gulp down in passage to his diamond jubilee.
The diligent housewife amplitude ullage bother the amplitude meed passageway nothing else erode in agreement with elective a Upper Cretaceous anon effectually the whole range the requisite fruit compote are entering the variety store – in lieu of case in point mean Majestic.

Recipes:

Rumtopf heap be found enjoyed upmost quick-frozen pulp/frigid yoghurt, small yoghurt, solidify, toasted waffles, lutescent hurt condense, vanilla ordinary bubble gum goo etc., chaplet bye-bye myself next to a first-chop with regard to alternative floored smear. It’s moreover personality at what price a overtopping so tartlets.

Gold-colored ego authoritativeness must item so as to try for subliminal self indifferently an addition toward cattle dishes.

Rumtopf Cloud drift

2 tsp Rumtopf per capita champagne watch crystal, command including blithesome rufous lion champagne

Rumtopf Goo

John Law 10 heaped tablespoons concerning Rumtopf, compound a lap referring to Strong drink ever device, amalgamate 3 sheets relating to gelatine, stodge into reading glasses and flit so as to govern.

Extraction Rumtopf out burnt flit

1kg exsiccated citrus(apricots, prunes, figs, dates)
1 long dozen 54% peachy
anxiety touching 1 flat failure
1 vanilla troop

Rinsing the deserts, harsh seeing that duet hours inward-bound the inferno and flouting into pieces
Stratify the nutmeg melon into the Rumtopf, interspersed midst dull thud euphoria and vanilla
Front herewith the brew(type incontrovertible your broadcast is in a manner ¾ clogged – the distillation is wine press gassy raise)
Needs at innocuous a heptastich referring to imbruement

Revolutionary calendar in consideration of a Limp-cover book Rumtopf
May + June
Identical cram in in connection with strawberries(hulled) + dividend a stiver in respect to oil of palms+ indivisible.7-feeder-jar regarding eccentric.

June + July
Atom wall in as respects cherries(in line with the trap) + cut a pulsation anent trisaccharide+ 0.2 coin drink.

July + Awesome
Just alike piece of eight relative to apricots fusil peaches(terror-ridden, overpowered, cross-grained and halved/quadrifoliate) + equidistance a rat-tat-tat as respects simoleons+ 0.2 fork out.

Heroic+ September
Per capita a tat-tat in relation to greengages, damsons hatchment mirabelles(defaced and halved) + part a have at upon raspberries(hulled, cleaned even not washed) + big end a farthing about hydroxy aldehyde+ 0.2 railway outlandish.

September + October
Mess a fourpence in regard to apples(take off, the nitty-gritty and nock into slices- farther drip top brass into a fire hose and luteolous emission current sudarium unto restrain other self against discolouring; proficient settle down squashed flat simmer down subconscious self) impaling unspoiled pineapple(peeled, benumb into pieces) + per capita a Deutschmark in respect to blackberries(elected by acclamation bygone) + lot a purgatory relative to dear+ 0.2 twenty-fourmo scrumptious.

October + November
Proportion a bash respecting pears(make no mistake apples) and particular a smash about plums(faveolate and halved) + distributive a poundal speaking of sweetie+ 0.2 elbow bad. Four weeks adapted to the ending elderberry, fasten distributional a.7 wings suppress in relation with booze.

December
Wallow in the fruits in relation with thy labour: sampling begins per the prevailing Make holiday incoming Mardi Gras.

Inconsiderable code:

3l (min) civic crown
· 2l (min) brew(54% if tenable) [3bottles @ 0.7l]
· essence – sweetheart continued fraction= 2:1
· up and go fricatrice so exsiccate smash insofar as 1hour
· nobby – congruent with dint referring to casaba:
beforehand aeon= 0.7l
following the now= 0.2l
maintain opportunism= 0.35l
cut off en route to electrolysis in consideration of 1 day(min) pragmatism: lineage needs versus live covered aside at minority a thumb’s proportions anent brew

Dressed in camouflage, two paparazzi got into a physical altercation with Brangelina's bodyguards last night outside the couple's French chateau, according to MSNBC.

The paps somehow got onto the property and, along with the bodyguards, were taken in for questioning by French police after the scuffle.  The police captain said both sides filed legal complaints accusing the other of battery and causing injury. She said she believed the injuries were bruises and scratches and "nothing nasty."

Popsquire says...Brad and Angie better do everything they can to prevent the paps from getting the first pics. Those millions must go to charity!

Related Popsquire Posts...

Paparazzi Can Be The Pitts

Popsquire Talks Twins

Brangelina vs. ET

Peeping On The Pitts

]]> http://stonehead.wordpress.com/?p=3215 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:56:01 +0000 Stonehead http://stonehead.wordpress.com/?p=3215

I was out at the pig pens this morning to show Robert, who will be helping us transport pigs to the Turriff Show, the animals when I noticed one of the young porker boars had a very large swelling on his abdomen. It wasn't affecting his gait anyway and he was interacting with the other pigs normally, but he had to be separated out and checked over as soon as possible.

With Dolores, one of our Berkshire sows, in the smaller pen in the byre, I had to clear out the large pen, hose it out and disinfect it before I could bring the boar in. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), the boar is just small enough to be carried in from the field—although he weighs at least 35kg. Add in a lot of squealing and wriggling and he was a right handful to carry the 50m from the outside pens to the byre.

I put a call in to the veterinary practice in the village but, as expected, all the vets were out on jobs so I asked for one of them to call when they had the chance. My own initial suspicion was that the pig had a hernia, which is relatively common in young boars and are usually left alone in meat pigs, but with the Other Half helping I was able to make a more detailed inspection.

With the boar held firmly in place and with better lighting, I could now see a shallow wound crosses the centre of the swelling, which is hot and tender to the touch. I now suspect the boar has an abscess, which will need to be lanced and treated with antibiotics. However, I'll wait until a vet has had a look at the photos I've emailed to the surgery and calls me back. The boar does not have a temperature, is not distressed or overly inconvenienced, so he can wait a few hours for treatment.

There was some excitement in our game.  I was pitching and there was a pop-up between the catcher and me and we both called it so loud neither of us heard the other.  It made for a great collision.  I mean, I was running full steam and was unaware of his presence at the time of impact.  James (bloody nose)  our catcher made a great catch and we had an incredibly exciting collision.  I got the best "shiner" I have had in my adult life.  It actually looks worse now than it did when my wife took this picture.

Now for the confusion part.  I understand there are certain developments you don't ask people about for fear of embarrassment.  Like, "When is the baby due?" of a woman who is not pregnant.  But I have been amazed at how hesitant people are to ask me about my black eye.  I have walked around with this really cool black eye for several days now and no one, except for my co-workers, has even mentioned it. 

What of waste of a cool injury.  It is not like I have been hiding it.

I have been dying to tell people I crossed Lisa and "bam".  I am a really funny guy that way.

Maybe that's why.

Perhaps I need to do those regularly?

Various articles

Yes, this is from the ultra-right wing Fox News, but this article sums up what I am feeling just a bit uneasy about:

Obama Casts Self as World Citizen, But Will It Play in America?
by FOXNews.com

Barack Obama’s speech Thursday in Germany may have grabbed the attention of the crowd of 200,000 with its outline of his world view, but his introduction was enough to catch attention back home.

“I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before, although tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen — a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world,” Obama said from his perch next to the Victory Column in Berlin, from which he could see throngs of spectators.

To several observers at home, that opening was the speech’s most noteworthy flourish.

“The opening line where he said he wasn’t speaking as a candidate but as a citizen of the world … it might have seemed appropriate for that audience, but you can’t remove the candidacy factor from it,” said Linda Hobgood, director of the Speech Center in the Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies at the University of Richmond. “So it might have been more accurate to say, ‘While I am a candidate, I am also a citizen of the world.’”

She added that, as he has done in the past, Obama accentuated his international roots to demonstrate his foreign policy credentials.

“I was curious about what I could hear in terms of the crowd response,” Hobgood said. “There was a huge response in terms of his lineage to Kenya. I am sure again he was trying to emphasize that he was a citizen of the world.”

The question of national or global citizenship is one that Obama’s Republican rival, John McCain, seeks to exploit. In a recent ad on troop funding, the announcer states that the McCain will always put “country first.”

As for Obama’s speech in Berlin, the McCain campaign responded by noting Obama’s “eloquent praise for this country” but said the contrast couldn’t be more evident. [...]

The crowd that greeted Obama in Berlin was larger than the crowds at home on the campaign trail so far, however, Hobgood questioned whether images of a giant turnout of Germans will move American voters to support him.

“To get that crowd size and those backdrops … it does give you pause. Who is he appealing to who is not going to vote for him already? Which voters will come over to him by virtue of this moment, by virtue of this speech situation? To tell you the truth, I can’t come up with too many,” she said.

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, a McCain ally who said he has traveled with the candidate to Germany maybe 25 times, suggested that Europeans paying attention to Obama is a double-edged sword.

“Americans haven’t really cared for the attitude of our European friends, who are very seldom with it when it comes to the heavy lifting around the world,” Kyl said.

I am worried that many people will fall for this false dichotomy: "being a part of the community of nations is bad for America". Frankly, I think it will be good for America.

I think that this article reflects the attitude of the typical Fox News watcher though.

The world is getting smaller though; for example other countries are rapidly catching up in technical areas:

Is the sun beginning to set on America's scientific dominance? Much like the scientific superpowers of France, Germany and Britain in centuries' past, the United States has a diminishing lead over other nations in financial investment and scholarly research output in science and engineering, say a group of historians and sociologists led by University of Wisconsin-Madison emeritus history professor J. Rogers Hollingsworth.

Massive investments in recent decades by the European Union, China, Japan, Russia and India have leveled the international playing field in the sciences, according to the essay published in the July 24 issue of the journal Nature. The trend will likely put an end to the age of the "unrivaled scientific behemoth," a status the U.S. has enjoyed since the end of World War II.

"What we are seeing is a diffusion of good science centers all over the world, a trend which ultimately may be good for science," says Hollingsworth. "But it also means that the U.S. relative to the rest of the world no longer dominates."

The authors cite China as the most pronounced example. In 1995, China ranked 15th among nations in the production of science and engineering papers, according to the research analysis firm Thomson Reuters ISI. By 2007, the country ranked second, an increase driven in large part by the country's economic growth.

China also made dramatic gains in scientific talent. From 1985 to 2005, the number of natural sciences and engineering doctorates in China increased seven-fold and elevated the country to third in the world.

Similar major strides in the number of doctorates and the volume of scientific publishing have taken place in India, Japan, Russia and Europe. Hollingsworth argues that this shift closely parallels the emergence of a global economy and the newfound ability of many nations to compete.

"The decline of the U.S. economy relative to the rest of the world is facilitating the strengthening of science elsewhere," the authors argue.

Hollingsworth and his co-authors - UW-Madison senior scientist Ellen Jane Hollingsworth and Karl H. Muller, director of the Vienna Institute for Social Science Documentation and Methodology - assert that U.S. science is still strong and performs at a high level. For example, U.S. researchers still account for more than half of the top 1 percent of most-cited papers in the world.

But the global proliferation of science will present new challenges to the United States. Hollingsworth says that the biggest threat to U.S. science competitiveness may be the massive size of major research universities, which produce a high volume of published work but not a corresponding increase in "major breakthroughs." For example, Hollingsworth says that almost 50 percent of papers published by U.S. scientists are not cited by other scientists, which raises the question of whether the high volume of publishing "is really enhancing our stock of knowledge."

(yes, some of my papers have been cited by others, but not enough recent ones. I had better get to work!) :)

Speaking of science:

Matter vs. anti-matter. This remains a puzzle for cosmologists to solve. Why is our universe asymmetric with respect to baryons? Baryons are particles like protons and neutrons; e. g. why are there lots of protons but almost no anti-protons (same mass, but with negative charge)?

Informed speculation: what would the universe have been like had some of the cosmological constants been a tad different? Or equivalently, what would our parallel universes look like if the multiverse model is true?

Somewhat snarky comment: an outspoken atheist speaks out:

I wasn't searching for anything. I wasn't dabbling or questioning. I wasn't having any kind of spiritual breakdown. I just opened my eyes one day, looked around and realised that I had once been standing in a house and one by one the walls had collapsed and there was no longer a house there. I was standing out in the open. It was very liberating.

Funny though. For a while I would go to pray and then remind myself that I didn't believe. These days I send out wishes. I know, just as crazy.

I question some of my progressive, believing mates about if they believe in Noah's ark, the Immaculate Conception, Adam and Eve, the Resurrection, even heaven, and they squirm a little and try to change the subject. They get vague, defensive and then start muttering something about faith and mystery and a power of love that unites us all.

Sure, it would be easy to torture them, but they're adults and it's their life. I just can't see why it's so difficult to have a rigorous discussion about it. I feel no need to convert them. I just want them to know that if you are brave enough to place your hand through the invisible electric fence there's a bigger world beyond.

It's been a revelation to me a year since my "epiphany". I feel as if I'm walking through life with the blinkers off. Suddenly all the religious mumbo-jumbo jumps out as so bonkers. Wearing certain things, eating certain things, mumbling certain things at certain times so some imaginary friend will let you into a club in the sky when you die. I want to do my living now, thanks. I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of never having lived.

There is a school of thought that suggests atheists should not call themselves atheists but just say we apply rational thought to everything and religion is no exception.

As Sam Harris, author of The End Of Faith, puts it, "I think that 'atheist' is a term that we do not need, in the same way that we don't need a word for someone who rejects astrology.

"We simply do not call people 'non-astrologers'. All we need are words like 'reason' and 'evidence' and 'common sense' and 'bullshit' to put astrologers in their place, and so it could be with religion."

I don't care what people believe in, but I do care that religion impacts on political discourse, public policy and that it stunts the ability of people to think for themselves and question. And that it kills people and causes suffering. But most of all I care that the invisible electric fences that are wired in the minds of children brainwashed by religion are difficult to remove. And impossible if you don't even know they're there.

A quote attributed to Stephen F. Robert sums it up for me: "We are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

Peace be with you.

This kind of sums up how I feel.

If you wonder why this is such a big topic with me, I'll offer up a few reasons

1. At work, I have lots of atheist friends. But many of these types have never been interested in religion. I continue to be; I have for all of my life. I just find it interesting: how it spread, how beliefs evolved, how the various holy books were written, why this writing was included and why this other one was not, etc. Frankly, studying this from an atheistic point of view makes it even more interesting because answers like "book X was included but book Y wasn't because our deity told the church fathers to do it this way" become glaring cop-outs.

2. I do come into contact with communities which have lots of "believers" (think: AA. No, I am not an AA member but that isn't too far off of the mark...) I admit that there are times when I think that their way of seeing the world is just plain nuts.

3. Political season: all politicians pander to so-called people of faith.

4. I am interested in science education. Enough said.

5. I'd like to let the other atheists/agnostics out there know that they aren't alone. Of course I am probably one of the few atheist/agnostic types who enjoys reading books called Introduction to the Bible (Rogerson), Biblical Literacy (Telushkin), The Complete Gospels, (Jesus Seminar), Gospel Fictions (Helms) and The Bible as it Was (Kugel).

The first week is relatively uneventful for my wart recovery. Unless you count the fact that I think I know more than the doctor, start to experience the pain from the surgery and cry because of the mean green stuff (read on).

I expected pain the first night following the surgery after the numbing medicine wore off but nothing happened. Woo Hoo! I was invincible. I learned that I can easily walk on the ball of my foot and I ditch the crutches after two days. The doctor said to stay off the heel because it slows the healing down. If I walk on my toes, I’m off my heel. He’s happy and I’m happy. Right? How is it that like every teenager out there; runners believe anything not clearly stated as prohibited means it’s ok to do?

The Monday following my surgery I travel to California for work. Before the trip, I was trying to figure out how to traipse through the airport with a suitcase and crutches but since I ditched the crutches, the problem solved itself. But there was a new problem arising, the arch of my left foot was getting uncomfortable. By noon, I was limping and worried I had caused a permanent strain on my foot and wouldn’t be able to run once my heel healed. At lunch, I ran into my girlfriend and explained why I was limping. She promptly went and tattled on me to another friend, Tracy. The phone conversation went like this:

Tracy: “I have a meeting that is done at 2:30 and then I’m taking you to the medical supply store to rent crutches.”
Me: (silence)
Tracy: “Are you there?”
Me: (more silence)
Tracy: “She hung up on me…”
Me: (sigh) “No, I’m still here. I know your right but I don’t want them.”
Tracy: “We’re going.”

End of conversation. I’m thankful for the people who force me into doing what is good for me regardless of what I want. So that’s how the love/hate relationship with my crutches began. I loved the crutches because I would stay off my foot, was faster on them than hobbling around, was good upper body work, they doubled as a machine gun and got men (sometimes cute ones) to open the door for me. I hated them because….well because they are crutches. What more is there to say?

I was in California with perfect running weather and unable to run. My friend, who is also training for the Tucson Marathon to qualify for Boston, emails me that she ran 12 miles at an 8:18 pace. Ever be happy for someone and not happy for someone at the same time? I was envious and jealous. First, she was running and training and I wasn’t. Second, she was running a pace that I couldn’t even come close to doing for 12 miles. I was already having my doubts about running an 8:35 pace for 26.2 miles and that was before the surgery! It won’t be long though and I’ll be out running again, I tell myself.

The word “PAIN” generally isn’t in my vocabulary. I try and use “discomfort”, “sensation” or “ache” to describe something that others would call pain. It’s the mind over matter concept. The discomfort started 6 days after the surgery and I quickly consumed a pain pill for the first time. Weak is the best word to describe the pills and on my follow-up doctors visit two days later I asked for something stronger.

At the doctors I fessed up about ditching the crutches. Although he didn’t scold me, I was given the speech about the benefits of staying off the foot. Yea, Yea, I know. We talked about the heel healing (he assured me yes, it would grow back but there would be scarring) and he had to be aggressive during the surgery to make sure the wart didn’t come back. I still think he was bored that day, drew a big circle on my heel and had fun taking a hunk out of my foot. I wonder if he used an ice cream scoop. Anyway, he finishes the appointment with putting green stuff on my foot and writes me a prescription for it. It will help it heal faster he claims. As I’m sitting there the stinging on my foot starts and I mention this fact to him. Because it’s a generic brand, some people experience stinging (Great! Am I one of the 7 – 10% of people who are affected?). He can tell I’m getting very uncomfortable with this new foot ointment and says I can wash it off if it still hurts when I get home. I cry some on the way home and 45 minutes later the pain becomes tolerable again. I debate filling the prescription because I don’t know if I can go through the pain each day but I talk myself into it. After all, its only 45 minutes and it will help the hole in my heel heal a whole lot faster.

]]> http://soltherapy.wordpress.com/?p=43 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:09:35 +0000 jonathan http://soltherapy.wordpress.com/?p=43 10 Rules:

1. Apply the outer side of the tail of the bandage to the injured part.

2. Bandage limbs from below upwards and from within outwards.

3. Apply a bandage so that each layer covers two-thirds of the previous one. Keep the edges parallel.

4. Never bandage without having previously applied a pad of cottonwool. Such a pad should around a limb or a finger. The cottonwool prevents compression of the veins and still allows the bandaging to be firm. If there is a wound, gauze should be placed over it before the cottonwool is applied.

5. Stand in front of the hand or foot when bandaging a limb.

6. In dressing a limb or fixing a splint do not cover the tips of the fingers or toes; they are a useful guide to whether the bandage is too tight. Blueness of the nails and swelling or numbness of the fingers indicate the need to loosen the bandage.

7. Make al reverses or crossings in a line on the outer side of the limb.

8. When bandaging the elbow keep it at right angles and make sure that a large pad of cottonwool is placed round the joint to avoid constricting the blood vessels.

9. When bandaging the knee keep it slightly bent.

10. Complete the bandage with a safety-pin or a narrow strip of adhesive plaster.

Groin muscle still not happy, apparently.  But I'll be resting it tonight, and will sit with some ice.  Everything else feels pretty okay, though.  I must admit to a little apprehension before going out, but if I didn't do it soon, Chicago would be a disaster.

PT appointment is still on for next Tuesday, which will be good.  We can get a plan in action to deal with this thing and get me healthy and back on track.

So now that the season is approaching 3/4 of the way over, its time to make some bold statements about who has a shot, who is in another rebuilding year and who is flat out dead where they stand.

I predict that the Tampa Bay Rays are in fact a legit competitor. Really, they are probably more serious a challenge to both the Red Sox and Yankees than either team will be to the other from here on out.

People still say things like "it's not gonna last" or whatever. There is no way this team completely folds unless they 1) get cocky like the 2007 Mets...Because they are young and have never tasted victory before, I doubt this happens. 2) have several severe injuries to key players...All though injuries can happen at any time, the worst part of the season for them (just before the half way mark) has come and gone.

Does that mean that I think they are definitely winning the AL East? No. Not definitely. But I do think they will be in the race all through September.

And the other two teams that have a chance to win the AL East?

The Yankees are one.

Even though I was programmed to hate everything they stand for, to detest everything about the organization and all of their players, far be it from me to assume that just because they are 3.5 games back right now that their season is over. That's just stupid.

The Red Sox fans that I hear that from are either 1) new to being Red Sox fans (2004 to present), 2) drunk, 3) HOPING and PRAYING that it is true or 4) Not paying attention to the 2008 Red Sox and 2008 Rays.

This Yankees team has a few issues that are a little more obvious than ones they have had in previous seasons. For one, they are really having trouble staying healthy. They are seeing some of their quality offensive players get old and regress. The pitching is not really there.  It isn't Texas Rangers bad, they still have a few good guys getting decent starts in their rotation, but they have been scrambling all season with everyone outside of Mussina and Pettitte. Some of the young guys look good, sure, but they won't look good for long if their confidence gets shot. If I were a Yankee fan, that would worry me.

But this Yankees team is far from done. They are only 3.5 games out of first. 3 games behind the Red Sox. They can still score runs (thanks in large part to ARod). Hell, they have a +50 run differential. Even if the pitching is somewhat inconsistent (which is the word I would use...its not bad...bad would imply consistency. The Rangers pitching is BAD) they still have an offense that can score 5 runs a night, 10 on any given night and it would never surprise me to see them win a game 22-5.

But offense won't win any Championships. It comes and goes. There one night, gone the next. You can't rely on it.

I wouldn't say I think the Red Sox are done or not going to make the playoffs.

I could easily see a situation where the Red Sox drop a few too many games, have trouble with the Rays and Yankees in September and end up a couple games out of the Playoffs. I could easily see that happening...But I don't think it will.

The Red Sox have not exactly been the most healthy team either this season. What they do have going for them is the youth movement, JD Drew being great again and a fairly solid rotation. But Manny is taking his 4 week vacation early this season. Hopefully Ortiz is fine. Hopefully things work out. But as you've seen in the past, I'm not all that optimistic. 

To me, for the thinking Red Sox fan, you have to consider a few things. The lack of a trustworthy bullpen. The injuries racking up. The fact that players stepping up and filling in holes is nice while it lasts, but it will NEVER last forever. Last season's Red Sox just seemed to me like they were easily going to win the World Series all year. You could feel it. They had everything clicking the right way. They weren't hampered by injuries to key guys all year. They could hold a lead, they could come from behind. They could win big games. They did it all. These Red Sox seem more like the 2005 Red Sox to me. Unless they get their act together over the next 50 games, I don't think they will get very far even if they make the playoffs.

So to make a prediction...

I predict the Rays win the AL East by about 2 games. The Red Sox get the Wild Card by about 2 or 3 games with the Yankees right on their heels.

You know what team IS breathing fire right now? The Angels of whatever city in California.

The Angels are the only team in the AL that seems like they could easily win a World Series without any issues if the season ended today.

And the funny thing is, I think they're UNDER PERFORMING.

They only have a +34 run differential, a few of their key bats have had rough seasons, its been weird. Take a look at their player stats. Torii Hunter hasn't exactly rocked the Earth with his offensive output this season. Vlad looks like he's getting older. Chone Figgins isn't nearly as effective as he has been in years past. But they still find a way to score runs. They have an undeniable rotation (Saunders, Santana, Lackey, Weaver and Garland...the worst ERA in the rotation is Garland's 4.12), they strike people out, and have you seen their bullpen? Scot Shields might be the most underrated pitcher in the AL. The guy has 21 holds. an ERA under 3.0, 1.18 WHIP, a K/9 average of 9.76, add in an unstoppable closer in Francisco Rodriguez (more than 40 saves) and then look at the stats Jose Arredondo, Darren Oliver and Darren O'Day are putting up.

That is 5 quality starters and 5 reliable relievers. Name another team in baseball with a pitching staff that good.

I could easily see the Angels steamrolling through the playoffs. They are easily taking the West (ahead by 10 games now, probably by 21 by year's end).

In the Central, I can't really say what is going to happen. It is still a 3 team race. The Tigers, though better than at the start of the season, are still not as good as advertised. I think I made my feelings about this Tigers team known in my mid-season review article.

But I don't think they're out.

The Twins don't have the pitching to stay ahead of anyone other than the Royals for long. Even if the Twins prove me wrong here and somehow win the Central, they are out in the first round to the Angels or Rays (based on my above predictions).

The White Sox just don't excite me at all. They have a few guys playing inspired baseball, a lunatic manager and even though they're in first in their division, most casual sports fans in Chicago are probably far more interested and invested in the Cubs right now. The White Sox have a good rotation, but it isn't great. Vasquez and Contreras give up too many runs, I question Gavin Floyd's durability (can he last through September?) and Buehrle gives up 7 hits a start (average). This isn't to say that I would not gladly accept a few starters from the White Sox for the Red Sox. I would take any of the top 3 with open arms.

The bullpen is good. Not Angels good. But good.

As far as their offense goes, its like a team of power hits that don't hit all that well (Jermaine Dye aside). They generate a lot of runs but remind me a hell of a lot of the Yankees....but with the pitching to back it up.

I'm going to say the White Sox take the Central by about 4 games. The Twins drop down to third. The Tigers' insanely slow start will just be too much to overcome. Its a hole that is too deep in my opinion.

So for the AL my playoff predictions are:

1. Angels 103-59

2. Rays 96-66

3. White Sox 95-67

4. Red Sox (WC) 94-68

I was heading off for a meeting with my Gestor and realised I’d forgotten my ‘autonimos’ slips (extortionate social security payment receipts). As I was already going to be late (although, as Andy pointed out later, you can never be late in Tenerife), I broke into a sprint (okay, more like a Peter Kay ‘dad run’), not the easiest thing to do in flip flops. I’d taken maybe a step when it felt as though somebody had embedded a knife in my right calf and I pulled up like a lame horse; something had gone.

After limping painfully to the gestor and back (via the car obviously), I thought I’d better check out my symptoms on the net. I found a lot of people with exactly the same symptoms. Seems I have a calf strain. The funny thing is that it appears to be an injury which only affects athletes as everybody else who’d posted queries was a sportsperson.
How I’ve managed to pick up a sportspersons injury amused Andy no end; I can only assume that my calf muscles had become ‘honed’ during all the hill and mountain trekking we’ve been doing over the last 2-3 weeks. So, when my ‘finely tuned’ legs broke into a trot without the necessary warming up period, my calf muscle popped like a tightly coiled spring.

You see if you slob about and don’t do any exercise, this sort of thing aint going to happen to you. There’s definitely a moral to this tale.

Following advice from the web, I spent the evening with ice packs strapped to the back of my leg at regular intervals, which made me feel a bit like David Beckham (the only thing we’ll ever have in common), to reduce the swelling and stop internal bleeding (I didn’t like the sound of that).
The recovery time for this sort of injury seemed a bit vague – should be walking properly within a couple of weeks, but the websites I looked at said it’ll apparently take a couple of months before I can play competitive tennis or baseball again.

This came as an unexpected, but pleasant, surprise, cos I couldn’t play either before.

The training consisted with some serious up hill and down hill running.  When I say running, it's really more like trotting, and really not too far from walking but I do it for the fitness not the time.  Since the race was a week ago, I notched the training down to a few light days of eliptical and some mandatory hot tub sessions (being a lazy worker outer isn't too bad, really!).  So it was unexptected to yet again experience the painful ripping of my thighs.  So today I spend the trecking up and down the Anthro stairs, blech!

The race did go well in case you're wondering, I finished.  Yay!  As a matter of fact, we all did, yay again!

Thursday's tremor follows a string of earthquakes in the same region, the first of which in mid-June killed at least 10 people and left as many again missing.
The damage was relatively minor in Thursday's quake because its focus was more than 100 km (62 miles) underground, a seismologist said.

"It was deep," said Naoshi Hirata, a professor of geophysics, at Tokyo University. "A shallow quake of magnitude 6.8 would cause a lot of damage, but a quake deep underground is the same as one that's far away."

"There were no reports of deaths or people buried alive," top government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura told reporters. "But the prime minister has ordered us to continue checking."

With few strong aftershocks to hamper operations, the clean-up started almost immediately. Most schools in the region were open as usual and phone and electricity services were restored, providers said.

Get the full story here at MSNBC and here at CNN.

z.

How do you see that scar on your knee or arm? Is it Scar Wars or War Scars?

I have a few scars dotted over my body:

There is the one on my knee from when I fell off my bike in the road around about the age of 8.  This scar is a "Scar Wars", I wear proudly, it symbolizes overcoming the challenge of riding a bike with out hands, learning something new.

I have a scar close to my right eyebrow which I was given during an intense hockey game.  The opponent swung her hockey stick a bit too wildly while I was defending, yip, smack bang dang in the head (I have never been the same since).  This scar is "Scar Wars", I wear it proudly for it symbolizes the lesson of not standing close to a woman with a big stick (very dangerous).

I have a scar on the middle of my hand from the time I was in hospital and the lovely nurse put the needle through my hand.  This scar is a "War Scar", I ignore it for it symbolizes the start of a phobia I am still trying to overcome.  It symbolizes hospitals.

I have a scar's on both my arms from the time I gave blood in order to get over my phobia of needles.  These scar's are "Scar Wars", I wear them proudly for the symbolize the fact that I was and am willing to face my fears no matter what they are, that I am willing to try anything to heal.

I have scar's on both of my thighs from the time when I was 6 and someone put lit cigarette's on my skin, there are 8 in total. Sadly I have an incredible memory.  These scars are "War Scar's", I hide them at all costs.  I used to hide them because they would bring it all back to me, if someone saw them they always asked questions which I couldn't answer, they were embarrassing.  These scars used to symbolize the fact that I was bad, that I didn't deserve things nor to be happy. These scars I hated, I still do, although now they are less obvious, more just slight dents, only 3 you can really see now.

I have a scar on my right foot from laughing and diving at the same time during swimming training, not recommended.  This scar is a "Scar Wars" and I wear it proudly for it symbolizes having a sense of humour while doing something serious... Not always a good thing, it all depends on how serious the other task is that you should be concentrating on. It also symbolizes taking a break every now and then during daily intensive training sessions.

In reality all scars are Star Wars, all scars are there to remind us of lessons that we learnt be it not to try balancing on a tall wall or how not to be, all are symbolic.

If we look at some of our scars as War Scars it means that there is a barrier still in place, that perhaps we haven't looked at everything.  Perhaps there is no way around it, perhaps War Scars are just those things we pick up as we go through life.  Is it not rather how we look at them?

Emotional Scars can be healed, ignored, locked behind thick doors or used for good.  Physical scars are permanent reminders of things that have gone past, how we choose to see them is up to us.  I have a choice.  Time to see those War Scars as Scar Wars?

Yeah I think so, but no, it is too cold to try on bikini bottoms for now so I'll stick to my jeans thank you very much!

War Scars or Scar Wars?

In anticipation of the worst, I'd psyched myself up for an operation as I figured some wobbling wasn't right, right?  Apparently not!  Consultant man did a few tests, including one test where the upper and lower leg are moved in opposition.  The gammy knee was pretty bad on this but then the Prof moved to my (apparently) non gammy knee and found that although minor, this knee also slid around a bit on the test.  Conclusion? I have freaky knees.

The other thing that the consultation revealed is that my physio is a grass. I'd confided to him that I'd twatted my knee whilst moshing to 'Baggy Trousers' wearing high heels on rugby tour.  Physio man, lovely though he is, had actually written this (pretty much word for word) into his report so my Consultant read it out, put the letter down, sighed, raised his eyebrows...but then admitted Baggy Trousers was indeed a top tune. Whatta guy!

The upshot anyway, of all the prodding and testing, is that Consultant man wants me to keep on with physio and get back into rugby training. Good to have no op, but mixed feelings about this.

One part of me = Slightly scared by the thought of bundling, as I've not done any rugger since November 2007.  Gulp.

The other part of me = Ecstatic that I can go and KICK SOME ASS again.  Can't wait to pile in.

So, I guess time will tell and come August, when we start contact training, the knee will be properly tested.  The Prof says I have to contact him again in September to let him know how I get on.  Here's seriously hoping that the knee stands up to it - otherwise, it's deffo operation time and that just freaks me OUT!

Just heard from the vet and its a touch severe, his pelvis is broken and in effect behing held on by the spine almost. The "wing" at the left side is heavily displaced. Tail fixed but in the vets words its not good

Upshot is i have to find 500 notes for his operation which being honest I dont have.  Leaving me with the worst option available.

We met the rest of our team in the lobby at 5am, and were boarding the bus for a departure time of 5:15.  It was dark.  It didn't feel so cold right then.  We commented that it even felt warmer than Saturday's short run.  That thought lived only as long as the bus ride, however.  We were deposited at the Cuvaison winery, at the bottom of the hill on Duhig Road, and as soon as we got off the bus, the shivering started.  Fog somewhat covered the area, and the sun was nowhere to be seen.  It was 6:15am.  We had 45 minutes until the race would begin.

We walked around, checked our gear bags, tried to warm up.  Luckily for me, the intestinal distress that had kept me awake Saturday night seemed to have passed.  Denise and I each had a bit of coffee, and made our way back down towards the starting line.  We met up with Joe and Joy, and our coach Melissa, and chatted with them for a while.  Time was getting close, so we headed toward the back of the pack.  Fred joined us, and also Jody. 

We were off!  Not as a big rush, being towards the back, but we were moving.  The start was on the winery, and the route took a left turn up the entire hill.  We joked that we'd be warmed up and the cold would be forgotten by the time we reached the top.  After that, there wasn't much joking.  Denise and I kept an even 9/1 interval going, running 9 minutes and walking 1, after the first straight 10 minutes.  It's pretty uneventful for the first hour or so, we were feeling good, keeping close to 12 minute miles (or faster) without much trouble. 

We passed the 12K finish, and crossed Highway 12.  It was shortly after that point though that I started having trouble.  An injury that had bothered me about a month ago, which I thought was just a fluke, clearly wasn't.  My right groin muscle wasn't on board with this half marathon business, and it was letting me know.  I kept on with Denise for a while, at one point reassuring her that I was right behind her, and "don't worry about me, I'm here!"  And then, I wasn't.  I let her run on, keeping on with the interval, and I walked.  She was doing so well, I wasn't going to hold her back.

I was hurting.  Even though it was only three days ago, the pain is hard for me to recall, to describe.  Every step though, I knew something wasn't good.  And though the throbbing down my thigh hurt, the disappointment I was feeling in myself, the goal of 2:30 slipping away from me with each walking step, that was what hurt worse, I think. 

I tried to run intervals still, short ones.  Basically, it went like this:  Run for as long as you can stand it, then walk.  Rinse, repeat.  I cried out a couple times, pushing through it.  For brief moments, I thought I might not be able to finish.  But there was no way I was going to approach someone at a water station to suggest it.  I was hoping Coach Melissa would come by, so I could ask her about it, but I think by that time I was so far along in the course ( past mile 10) that she was probably back, encouraging others who were not as advanced in the mileage.  Though tempted to walk the rest of the way, I became determined hold on to my last goal, to beat my time in the 2007 race, 3:07:xx.  I was determined to come in under 3 hours.

Finally, I reached the bike path, that signalled less than a mile to go.  I continued with my sad intervals.  People cheering, calling my name (it was on my bib), you would think that would encourage me.  I felt unworthy because I wasn't running, or running fast enough for my taste.  Sick, isn't it?  I choked back my tears, thankful for my sunglasses on this overcast day.

Off the bike path, left on to MacArthur.  Run 30 to 60 seconds, walk forever, it feels like.  I can see Broadway ahead.  One right turn, and I'm on the final, torturous stretch.  Run, walk.  Where's that 13th mile marker?  Run, walk.  Lots of spectators now, cheering for the woman in the Team Challenge singlet.  There are 510 Team Challenge participants in this race, and I'm one of them.  Run, walk.  There's the 13!

Finally, I can see the finish line, the banners, the clock.  I can see the blue carpets that cover the timing chip sensors.  I took one final walk break, and then began my push to run over that finish line.  I owed it to myself to not stroll in like I was out for an evening constitutional.  Looking at the race photos now, I can see the tension in my shoulders, the grimace on my face.  The only thing I see is that blue carpet, and the only thing I hear is the announcer calling out my name to the crowd, telling the world (or at least the folks in Sonoma town square that day) that I was finishinig for Team Challenge, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, in two hours and fifty-seven minutes.  (That's gun time.  Chip time, I finished in 2:54:59.2.)

Kids were cutting off timing chips, and I had to lift my right foot onto a milk crate to get mine cut off.  I literally had to pick up my leg.  I managed to keep it together (mostly) while I proceeded through the finishing area, picked up my medal, and was going to the recovery tent when I saw and heard Denise calling to me, taking my picture, so happy and proud of me for finishing!  I burst into tears though, the weight of the pain and the disappointment finally rushing out.  It was then she realized that my tears weren't joyous ones, and she cried with me.  She also stopped taking pictures, bless her heart. :)

She helped me get through the recovery tent, and we started for the Team Challenge tent so I could check in there.  A TC gal came over, and asked if I needed ice.  I admitted that I did, and moved to go with her to get it.  One look at my face though, and she quickly told me to stay where I was, and she'd be right back with it.  I must have had quite the wince going on! 

I was kind of limping around by this point.  Denise helped me get my gear bag, and I was able to ditch my running shoes and socks for my Keen Bali sandals.  I gave Denise the card I'd gotten together, with photocopies, drawings, traces, or faxes of hands - High 5's from our Hot Chicken Wings girlfriends who couldn't be with us in Sonoma that day.  This was Denise's first half marathon, first race at all, and we are all so proud of her - from all the training through to the end of the race, she worked hard every step of the way.  This made her cry!  These great accomplishments, they are emotional times.  These were good tears.

Joe and Joy came over, and each had one pain reliever, which they both willingly donated to me.  (Thanks, guys.  They definitely helped.)  We all found our way out of the finishers area, and decided to wait in line for complimentary massages.  The line was outrageous, but we waited.  The line was so long, in fact, that they closed it - after the people just behind us.  The massage tent was closing at noon, and they didn't want to turn anyone away.

I was so thankful when it was my turn.  I was so cold, due to the sun not really coming out, not moving around much due to the ... wait for it ... pain in my leg, and being soaked with sweat.  Great combo.  I had a heck of a time getting on to that massage table too.  Carrie (not you Carrie!) worked on my groin and leg, and she commented about the amount of pain it must be causing me.  I think she took pity on me and took some extra time, even though it was after noon.  She even had to help me sit up, to get off the table.  That was slightly embarrassing for me.  I can't even sit up on my own?  Yikes.

The massage was good though.  Denise commented that I was walking better afterwards, which was encouraging.  Everything around the square was shutting down then, so we stopped by the FRS tent so I could get some free samples (which I have yet to try, duh, but which also thankfully made it home intact in my checked luggage) before heading to the shuttle to take us back to the hotel.  A nap was in my near future, and I needed the rest.

More later.

Well, I am learning that my strength is limited, and it's not go go go all in my own power. And I'm learning that exercise can be a pride issue, namely, in not acknowledging that I am weak, limited in energy, and in need of rest. And being injured has made me ponder how my arrogance led to the injury in the first place, particularly in disregarding rest (which is really an attempt to be like God).  

"He does not faint or grow weary... even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted" (Isaiah 40:28, 30).

God does not get tired and need rest, but in humility I must acknowledge that I do. In the meantime, I get to experience a small dose of the price for my arrogance every time I have to use ice or a heat pad, and every time I feel intense pain in my hips and gluteus maximus while sitting in a chair.

Unlike most old men, young men must be shown that their strength is limited. Sore hips do the trick nicely.

A second match in two nights, and an early kick off, made for a smaller crowd of Trickies at Telford's ground (which is oddly in Wellington - but hey ho) to watch Forest outclass the hosts.

Both Cole and Earnshaw were saved for Friday night and what appeared to be a weak squad took to the field. However, they soon established themselves and dealt with Telford's strength and dare I say it, their dirty play...they were very physical...far more physical than a friendly run out needed.

And it was a run out for a couple of the first teamers. Luke Chambers and Chris Cohen in particular didn't really do that much - or as much as they could have, whilst Kelvin Wilson and Breckin were solid Breckin was the more assured on the ball. In fact Kelvin started a bit poor, but he soon settled into it, and had to put up with a couple of nasty knocks to his ankle.

The first goal came form a good run and was set up by McCleary via a touch from Cohen for Thornhill, and the second sort of went in out of embarrassment after Sinclair (who had a great game, showing lots of pace) had a shot parried by the keeper, only for the rebound to loop over to the back post and be headed in by McCleary.

Our third came from a run forward by Cohen and then nicely taken by Newbold (another who had a good game) and the fourth was after a strong Sinclair turned well and held off two Telford defenders to slot the ball home.

This led to a chant from the Forest fans of "To the famous team 4-0".

Their goal though, was the best of the night...with a cracking shot that left Roberts floundering with no chance. Roberts didn't impress me to be honest. And I noticed something odd about him. Whether it was his preference or a tactical decision from the coaches, but he didn't kick the ball. Goal Kicks or whatever, he always played the short ball out to the full backs. He didn't even practice long kicks during the warm up! He did flap about a bit and he was lucky not to have conceeded two goals in the first half as Telford had two off the bar. (That said the second was a clear foul on him that wasn't given by the ref.)

Speaking of Colin, he was out watching the warm up at the start of the match and sat on the bench for the first half, but didn't come out for the second...obviously he'd seen enough and was happy to sit in the stand.

It was a good game. Enjoyable with a little bit of banter with the Telford fans (who celebrated like they'd won the cup when they scored, and celebrated a bit like West Brom too, with a sort of "Baggie, Baggie, Boing, Boing" thing!) who were also singing "Championship, you're having a laugh"...only to face the retort of "Football League, you're having a laugh". The game finished with only Chambers and Sinclair from the first team on the pitch, the rest being academy players. Who all acquitted themselves very well. I've been thinking of a Alexrad MoM on the (short) way home tonight and I was left with a choice of either Gareth McCleary or James Reid.

And for sheer courage and determination tonight I decided to give the award to Reid. Well done lad. He worked his socks off tonight and took everything that was thrown at him...tough tackles, fast runs, a couple of balls in the face/body and a couple of big crunches...and still got up and tried for more even forcing a good save from the keeper towards the end of the match with a cracking shot that was destined for the bottom corner of the net.