Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Back to the Grind
I'm back in the regular routine following my brief hospital stay. My left arm seems to be the big issue now. The chest pain has mostly receded (until I lift something heavy) but now I've got these pinpricks of pain that are at specific spots on my legs and arms--very strange! I stopped taking the Naproxen as I believe it was making me drowsy and thought maybe its chance of causing easy bruising was somehow contributing to these pain eruptions. Just popped some ibuprofen so we'll see how that goes this afternoon. On and off numbness continues on the top of my left arm and up my pinky.
No work this Sat so I'll have 2 whole days to help my recovery. Next week the Hamburg Sovereign bank is closing so that has been added to my pickup next Friday afternoon as the person who normally does it cannot start at the different pickup time. That'll be another couple bucks without really any deviation of my "flight plan" so it's no problem.
Scot has finished layout of A Matter of Faith and I went through it one more time last night, discovering a handful of small edits that I must give to Scot. Then that puppy will be ready to make its debut!
No work this Sat so I'll have 2 whole days to help my recovery. Next week the Hamburg Sovereign bank is closing so that has been added to my pickup next Friday afternoon as the person who normally does it cannot start at the different pickup time. That'll be another couple bucks without really any deviation of my "flight plan" so it's no problem.
Scot has finished layout of A Matter of Faith and I went through it one more time last night, discovering a handful of small edits that I must give to Scot. Then that puppy will be ready to make its debut!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Hospital Visit
Since Tuesday or Wed. of last week I've had on and off chest pains around my heart area which I attributed to some kind of pulled muscle. As with any pain, I waited to see if it would diminish/disappear on its own. Last night, when the pain became a constant ache and then was accompanied by left arm numbness I decided it was time to either die at the computer or go have myself checked. After consulting my brother on his similar circumstance of a year ago, I asked if he and Zlaty would taxi me out to the Lehigh Valley Hospital. Within a very short amount of time (Scot is part racecar driver!) we arrived at the ER.
When describing my condition at the desk, a wheelchair was brought out for me. "Dear God, a wheelchair?!" I thought. The three of us went back into a small room where many people flooded through to check things, ask me my symptoms, and repeatedly ask me my name and birthdate. It wasn't long before blood was drawn, x-rays taken, and medicine administered (3 bayer and 1 sublingual nitro tab which caused an interesting head swelling/chocking feeling for a minute). When the x-rays came up ok, the head doctor in the ER gave me the option to stay for the full round of tests and then a stress test the next day or to go home but then require likely weeks to set up the tests. After some deliberation, I decided to just stay.
My main concern (aside from my chest pain) was my lack of health insurance. Dumb? Yeah, I guess so. Hey, at least I went didn't I? :)
After seeing me to my room, Scot and Zlaty returned home (this was like at 2am). More blood was drawn at 3am and then around 9am with another EKG at each interval. Everything was coming back negative for bad things (the chief thing, I suppose, being clotting where there shouldn't be). After something like 1-2 hrs sleep I called into work to let them know I wouldn't be there. Marsha was concerned for a brief moment and then had to make alternate driver plans in my absence. She later called back to see how I was and, of course, see if I would be working Tues. Nice. I told her I planned on working since I was supposed to be discharged following the stress test.
That test came around 2:30pm today. After an eternity waiting for my shoes to come to me from my room (did you know they have "tubes" inside hospitals for transporting these things? Of course, they didn't use them for my shoes but they should have, according to the stress test doc). After being reunited with my footwear, I took the test during which there was some nice geek discussion of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and even D&D (got in my Tricky Owlbear plug despite being out of breath). I lasted 13 min. and 20 sec. on the treadmill, which caused me to run by the end. I then waited in my room for the results during which a nice financial planning woman stopped by to explain my insurance-less options.
Forunately, her husband had the same job as me--independent contractor for a courier company. That made the interaction very easy and it looks like most of the hospital bill will likely be forgiven wether through "medical assistance" or the LVH's own "charity" program. Following that, the final blood test and stress test results returned all with good news. Everything was fine with my heart. The only "bad" thing was a low good cholesterol rating which the RN said could be easily be aided by more exercise. Back to walking daily!
The chest pain was on and off throughout the day (mostly on) but not too bad. The Toradol injection last night and today seemed to diminish the pain and the RN agreed that my malady was likely being caused by a strained chest muscle. She prescribed some Naproxen (Rx Alleve) which I will dutifully fill and consume tomorrow. Now, I'm home, cleaned up, and well fed. That's the basics of my otherwise pleasant stay at the LVH. The people were very nice and the facility clean. I could share more tales (old man roomate and coming home with less chest hair) but my arms are now aching at the needle entry points so I guess it's time to stop typing.
When describing my condition at the desk, a wheelchair was brought out for me. "Dear God, a wheelchair?!" I thought. The three of us went back into a small room where many people flooded through to check things, ask me my symptoms, and repeatedly ask me my name and birthdate. It wasn't long before blood was drawn, x-rays taken, and medicine administered (3 bayer and 1 sublingual nitro tab which caused an interesting head swelling/chocking feeling for a minute). When the x-rays came up ok, the head doctor in the ER gave me the option to stay for the full round of tests and then a stress test the next day or to go home but then require likely weeks to set up the tests. After some deliberation, I decided to just stay.
My main concern (aside from my chest pain) was my lack of health insurance. Dumb? Yeah, I guess so. Hey, at least I went didn't I? :)
After seeing me to my room, Scot and Zlaty returned home (this was like at 2am). More blood was drawn at 3am and then around 9am with another EKG at each interval. Everything was coming back negative for bad things (the chief thing, I suppose, being clotting where there shouldn't be). After something like 1-2 hrs sleep I called into work to let them know I wouldn't be there. Marsha was concerned for a brief moment and then had to make alternate driver plans in my absence. She later called back to see how I was and, of course, see if I would be working Tues. Nice. I told her I planned on working since I was supposed to be discharged following the stress test.
That test came around 2:30pm today. After an eternity waiting for my shoes to come to me from my room (did you know they have "tubes" inside hospitals for transporting these things? Of course, they didn't use them for my shoes but they should have, according to the stress test doc). After being reunited with my footwear, I took the test during which there was some nice geek discussion of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and even D&D (got in my Tricky Owlbear plug despite being out of breath). I lasted 13 min. and 20 sec. on the treadmill, which caused me to run by the end. I then waited in my room for the results during which a nice financial planning woman stopped by to explain my insurance-less options.
Forunately, her husband had the same job as me--independent contractor for a courier company. That made the interaction very easy and it looks like most of the hospital bill will likely be forgiven wether through "medical assistance" or the LVH's own "charity" program. Following that, the final blood test and stress test results returned all with good news. Everything was fine with my heart. The only "bad" thing was a low good cholesterol rating which the RN said could be easily be aided by more exercise. Back to walking daily!
The chest pain was on and off throughout the day (mostly on) but not too bad. The Toradol injection last night and today seemed to diminish the pain and the RN agreed that my malady was likely being caused by a strained chest muscle. She prescribed some Naproxen (Rx Alleve) which I will dutifully fill and consume tomorrow. Now, I'm home, cleaned up, and well fed. That's the basics of my otherwise pleasant stay at the LVH. The people were very nice and the facility clean. I could share more tales (old man roomate and coming home with less chest hair) but my arms are now aching at the needle entry points so I guess it's time to stop typing.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Pathfinder Preview
Okay, not a preview of the actual rules but I wanted to post something from Tricky Owlbear's first Pathfinder-compatible product. Check out the art preview and tell us what you think!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hump Day Ramblings
As of 1:30pm this afternoon, my mirror is fixed! A nice bonus on this otherwise normal "hump day" Wednesday. I asked Schlenker's if they had a cot I could sleep on as I've been there many times this week now and will be taking my car in for its 100K mile maintenance on Sat. Despite the mirror difficulty, Linda and I visited Delaware Park last night and returned with...uh, happy memories but no cash.
In writing news, I've been fiddling for BtM: Invisible Stalker but I really thought I'd be done with that by now. No rush, I suppose, as Scot now has 2 things for Tricky Owlbear layout to get done.
Been getting a bit more walking in this week (Sun and Mon); just normal town walks of 45 min/3-mile-ish length but that's better than nothing. What do you folks do to stay healthy and fit? Walking is, I've been told, one of the best things one can do.
In writing news, I've been fiddling for BtM: Invisible Stalker but I really thought I'd be done with that by now. No rush, I suppose, as Scot now has 2 things for Tricky Owlbear layout to get done.
Been getting a bit more walking in this week (Sun and Mon); just normal town walks of 45 min/3-mile-ish length but that's better than nothing. What do you folks do to stay healthy and fit? Walking is, I've been told, one of the best things one can do.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Shattered Mirror!
When I stopped to grab some coffee today in Hamburg I was parked along State St. (or, as I like to call it, the "Death Star Trench"). I was waiting for some cars to pass by before exiting the vehicle and then I saw a school bus coming down the road. I waited and then noted, with some alarm, that the bus was awefully close to the parked cars and was not adjusting itself away. I figured I'd step on the brake pedal just to make the driver see the lights and, as normal drivers might do, give the car that might be about to move (although I wasn't) a wider berth. Instead, my side view mirror granted me the last image it would ever reflect--of the school bus decapitating it!
It was like watching the accident in slow motion as the bus shredded the poor mirror just inches away from me. The bus pulled over after the red light, obviously seeing what had happened, as I exited and retrieved whatever looked salvageable from the street. The driver apologized and said he had to get his kids down to the park but would return right away. I agreed even though I really needed to get my coffee and get up to my first bank stop. The man did return and we exchanged information before parting. Somehow, I made it to my first stop with no time to spare.
I called my State Farm woman and she advised me to just let the school's ins. company handle everything lest I need to pay my SF deductible. I didn't get the school's company's number but I was able to call the school (BCIU) and inquire. The woman there said after the driver reported everything then I would get a call. This is all well and good but I need the car to be in one usable piece since it's my livelihood. So, I got an estimate from Schlenkers (the dealership where I bought the vehicle and take it for anything it needs) and they said they could get the parts in as soon as tomorrow! Fortunately, they have one less piece to order as the rear housing of the mirror somehow escaped intact. Good thing I didn't impulsively throw it away. The estimate is less than $150 so I'm hoping the other insurance company won't balk when I get the thing repaired hopefully tomorrow. I don't have time to run around to whatever repair places they'd like an estimates from. I'm the victim here and they will pay. In the meantime, what's left of the mirror's casing has been duct taped to make it less noticeable to roaming police. :)
It was like watching the accident in slow motion as the bus shredded the poor mirror just inches away from me. The bus pulled over after the red light, obviously seeing what had happened, as I exited and retrieved whatever looked salvageable from the street. The driver apologized and said he had to get his kids down to the park but would return right away. I agreed even though I really needed to get my coffee and get up to my first bank stop. The man did return and we exchanged information before parting. Somehow, I made it to my first stop with no time to spare.
I called my State Farm woman and she advised me to just let the school's ins. company handle everything lest I need to pay my SF deductible. I didn't get the school's company's number but I was able to call the school (BCIU) and inquire. The woman there said after the driver reported everything then I would get a call. This is all well and good but I need the car to be in one usable piece since it's my livelihood. So, I got an estimate from Schlenkers (the dealership where I bought the vehicle and take it for anything it needs) and they said they could get the parts in as soon as tomorrow! Fortunately, they have one less piece to order as the rear housing of the mirror somehow escaped intact. Good thing I didn't impulsively throw it away. The estimate is less than $150 so I'm hoping the other insurance company won't balk when I get the thing repaired hopefully tomorrow. I don't have time to run around to whatever repair places they'd like an estimates from. I'm the victim here and they will pay. In the meantime, what's left of the mirror's casing has been duct taped to make it less noticeable to roaming police. :)
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Lazy Day
Do you ever have one of those days where you just wake up and think, "Nothing's gonna bother me today." That's today. The weather is perfect. Work is normal and I'm gonna leave a bit early to my first run and grab some Sheetz breakfast blend coffee--yum! I'm working with artist David Hamilton on a few small pieces for Abbey of the Golden Sparrow and I guess I'll get back to some "BtM: Invisible Stalker" today as well. Maybe I'll get more brainstorming done on what else Tricky Owlbear should do with the Pathfinder rules. Whatever; doesn't matter. It's a lazy day. Enjoy yours!
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Tricky Owlbear Turns Two!
I made a post regarding the company's status on ENWorld here.
Overall, it's been a fun experience so far. Mainly, I just wanted to see the Compendium in print but now we'll have a 3rd edition "revival" with Paizo's Pathfinder RPG releasing next month. We'll be ready with a freelance-written product Abbey of the Golden Sparrow. It's about 14 pages of content regarding monks in their mountain abbey. There's plenty of fluff and crunch to go around for both players and GMs to use so I'm hoping it will sell well to both those camps.
I'm also excited about jumping into Swords & Wizardry. I just think it's going to be so much easier a system to write for. The grognards don't like a whole slew of rules info to be included in their adventures so I'm only too happy to comply! The first adventure for that is tentatively entitled What Goes Up and I'm still just in the planning stages for it. Scot's away for a few days at the beach but he'll be finishing the layout for A Matter of Faith (our medieval adventure using 3.5 rules) as well as for Abbey.
Don't worry, I'm not abandoning the two "Behind the..." series quite yet. It's true that sales are dismal but I think we'll see renewed interest once the Paizo fans see we're an active company (much less one producing content for their game of choice). And there's no reason you can't use the spell and monster info from those pdfs with your Pathfinder game either.
Here's to many more years of fun!
Overall, it's been a fun experience so far. Mainly, I just wanted to see the Compendium in print but now we'll have a 3rd edition "revival" with Paizo's Pathfinder RPG releasing next month. We'll be ready with a freelance-written product Abbey of the Golden Sparrow. It's about 14 pages of content regarding monks in their mountain abbey. There's plenty of fluff and crunch to go around for both players and GMs to use so I'm hoping it will sell well to both those camps.
I'm also excited about jumping into Swords & Wizardry. I just think it's going to be so much easier a system to write for. The grognards don't like a whole slew of rules info to be included in their adventures so I'm only too happy to comply! The first adventure for that is tentatively entitled What Goes Up and I'm still just in the planning stages for it. Scot's away for a few days at the beach but he'll be finishing the layout for A Matter of Faith (our medieval adventure using 3.5 rules) as well as for Abbey.
Don't worry, I'm not abandoning the two "Behind the..." series quite yet. It's true that sales are dismal but I think we'll see renewed interest once the Paizo fans see we're an active company (much less one producing content for their game of choice). And there's no reason you can't use the spell and monster info from those pdfs with your Pathfinder game either.
Here's to many more years of fun!
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Jim Holloway
One of my all-time favorite TSR artists has been Jim Holloway. I just discovered that you can not only buy some original pieces (if you have the $$) but you can have some of his work on a shirt, mug, etc. via cafepress through this website! I thought of fellow gamer/blogger Mike Ferguson's recent B4 post when I saw the first image after following the link. :)
Friday, July 03, 2009
3e: A Fix for Jerk DMs?
That's what Skip Williams appears to be on about in this interview: http://grognardia.blogspot./com/2009/06/interview-skip-williams.html
I don't know why I don't have Grognardia on my blogroll here. I'll remedy that! Ooh, looks like a "Zeb" Cook interview was just posted today there too.
I don't know why I don't have Grognardia on my blogroll here. I'll remedy that! Ooh, looks like a "Zeb" Cook interview was just posted today there too.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Taxes!
Alright, I knew quarterly taxes were going to be steep but not to the tune of $3,000!! Sure, I didn't file for this year until now but gee whiz government. Fortunately, I had most of that already put aside so now it's a matter of transferring it to the checking acct. Combine this news with getting a call to do 3 pharmacies stops early this morning and it's been a *bleh* day. It'll be extra nice to settle in for some reflexology tonight. Ahh...
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