Obama Pees Liquid Gold

I had a good laugh today when I checked my blog stats By the way anyone that denies they do this either has hundreds of thousands of visitors or doesn't have a counter.

I found that someone reached my blog by doing a Google search for the key words -

OBAMA, PEES, LIQUID, GOLD

So of course I had to copy and paste into Google to see exactlty where the Saipan Scuba Diving Blog would come up in the results.
Number one! - Ya baby
Click to enlarge!
That comes from a post I did when watching his speech at the democratic convention. I was trying to pee for the first time following surgery, it really was liquid gold!

On a similar note it's always been quite entertaining to see the trend with search results from Europe. It seems thats where most of the people looking for SCUBA SEX or SEX UNDERWATER and NAKED DIVING come from!

Obama Live on CNN

I've got a very busy morning before heading back to Saipan tomorrow but I made the mistake (or perhaps not) of turning on CNN as I was finishing a list and preparing to leave the house. Obama had started his speech in Iowa. Part way through, even though I know time is tight, I started to listen. Primarily because I wasn't hearing all the pundits nor was I hearing the same stump speech headlines or all the same deliveries. I was drawn in, bottom line, he makes sense and clearly communicates his ideas and looks to be someone people could be proud of having as the leader of their government.

Do I believe everything he says? No. Will everything he says happen? No. But nor have I ever believed everything any politician looking to get elected has ever said. If I was an undecided American voter I don't think I would believe much of what either of them say!

He's still on and it's probably almost over now. All I can say as he finishes up is that if this man is not elected President of the United States there is something seriously wrong. Seriously!

Time is tight, excitement runs high, only one more sleep and a whole lot of napping (hopefully) on the plane - gotta go!

For What it's Worth - Sink or Bail

I've been falling a bit behind. I've got a few posts in various points of completion. I've had another follow up with my cardiologist that I need to report on and a few "meaning of life" type thoughts that are not quite ready for public viewing. I've been like many others over the past few days. I've been watching and have become intrigued by this whole frantic call for an economic bail out of the US economy. Yes I've watched way too much TV. I'd much rather be diving or doing any number of other things but this little Open-heart surgery thing is my excuse and I'm sticking to it for now.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to see what kind of response I get on this blog if I posted a short little email I wrote to both the Obama and McCain campaigns today. I don't know why I did. I just sat down to type some emails and this kind of spewed out so I sent it.

Dear Senators Obama & McCain (and President Bush)

CEO's that have left Wall Street in the last 5-8 years should be made to repay a portion of their windfalls if they were involved in the companies getting bailed out now.

The markets, including housing, should be left to adjust even if it's a big bad dark black diamond run. There are always two sides. Many people have held off buying a house while waiting for the markets to come down and saving up to do so. Now that the inflated market is on a down turn they're ready to do what investors say to do. Buy when the market is down. Many have done the responsible thing and not lived beyond their means thus leaving themselves in a position to diversify (ie own a home) when the time is right. The bail out penalizes many people twice. It does not let the market correct itself and our tax dollars are used to fix the mess created by the greedy and those who could not afford to over extend themselves but did anyway.

How long can America keep living on credit? How long can America live with a 10 trillion dollar debt? It's time to face reality. Why put it off for our kids and grandkids to deal with? What about the prudent financial institutions that did not over extend themselves? Should they not be able to benefit from the down turn and stupidity of their competitors. Many financial institutions are still running expensive advertising campaigns including national ads on CNN. If the entire financial system is hurting so bad how can this be?

I agree some sectors of the population may need extra help. There are plenty of people out there who have done the right thing and acted responsibly despite the ease of borrowing money. The elderly who have been getting ready to transfer mutual funds or 401K's over to liquid assets to be used in their remaining years should get some form of assistance so they don't loose everything they've saved for. People who loose their job should be given assistance to bridge the gap and buy some time as they find another job so they don't loose a house or business that they otherwise could afford. Or perhaps people affected should be given assistance while they gain training and education related to developing renewable energy sources or if they transfer into community service positions that benefit others hit by natural disaster for example. Seven hundred billion dollars could go a long way in this regard and help th people who are really in need.

This economic crisis and the urgent jump to "do something or else" are quite reminiscent of the days following 911. We must learn from 911. In this case we must ensure facts and opinions from many different economic experts all around the country are taken into account, not just the guys currently in charge. This is especially true when these same people are the ones who should've seen the whole thing coming in the first place.

It is also difficult to comprehend how taking the time to get any bail out package right the first time would do anything other than cause an initial slow down and adjustment in the economy to occur sooner rather than later. A slow down or resession is something that looks inevitable anyway and there is no guarantee that any amount of money thrown at the financial institutions will keep the economy from grinding to a halt now or in the months and years to come. Throwing more money at it does not deal with the core of the problem - DEBT. With a 20 trillion dollar deficit it will be harder and harder in the years ahead for my kids and yours to borrow money, buy a house, own a car or even eat.

Should America really be built on credit? Or should people, businesses and institutions that have risked a shaky foundation be asked to deal with the consequences as their bubble bursts?

Oh and by the way, for what it's worth canceling the debate on Friday would be a very bad mistake!

Election Politics

I came across this BBC article last night while searching some headline stories. I'm very out of touch when it comes to Canadian news in general but especially the politics. That's both a function of being away from Canada for the last 6 years and also getting caught up in the long drawn out spectacle here in the US. It seems the president's first term ends up being only a tad bit longer than the time it takes to elect him / her.
Anyway, I found it quite funny to see that the entire election campaign in Canada will last exactly 37 days. The article says Steven Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, is expected to ask the Governor-General to dissolve parliament on Sunday while the general election will follow on October 14th!

Now that the Democratic and Republican conventions are over here in the USA there's only 2 more months to go before one of these guys get the nod. That assumes of course there are no legal attempts to change the results!

Where Were You When Obama Spoke?

Well, two full days into recovery and 103 photos later I was transferred from the ICU to the general ward last night. Quite incredible really! Not even three days after the whole procedure started!

(Mary from the UK & Marilyn the nurse in charge!)

There is so much to say and so many people to thank I won't be able to do it all in one post but as I said before all this started I should have quite a bit of time during recovery to share this experience and post on a regular basis. With over a hundred photos, mostly of the people who've cared for me in some way, there are many stories to tell and I can't possibly relate to you how happy I am to be alive to tell them!

Two nurses got away last night without their photo being taken. The order to transfer came at midnight and Denise had already left with the camera. That meant Alison (my ICU nurse) escaped after giving me the great news and escorting me to the ward. Then I was quite bummed when Joe's shift (nurse on the ward) ended before the camera was back for more action. Joe is from Kenya and we had a great time talking as he helped me get settled into my new room. He was so excited to hear about my life on Saipan, apparently word had spread of the crazy Canadians with the camera and it was also wonderful to hear his story. I thought it was quite fitting to end the night talking to him as we watched the end of the repeat of Senator Obama's speech. For those of you living under a rock this past 18 months Obama's father was also from Kenya.

Most of my night had been spent watching the Democrats and the endless build up but I only got to see half of Obama’s performance live. I know I'll never forget where I was for his speech both the live version and when it was repeated later in the night. What would cause me to interrupt his speech half way through after listening to over 5 hours of commentary and "expert" speculation you ask?

I had to PEE!

No easy task for me after the catheter was pulled out earlier in the day. You see I suffer from stage fright at the best of times. I've had surgeries before where post-op urination did not come easy and the only thing worse than having a catheter pulled out is having one inserted while you are awake! This concept played on my mind all day which does not make things any easier. Fortunately with some careful planning including warm water, properly timed pain medications and as much privacy as I could get in an intensive care unit everything worked. With Obama drowning out the noises from the busy nursing unit, 500ml of liquid gold finally appeared and the only one happier with the days’ events than Obama was probably me!

Perhaps a little more detail than anyone needs but I'll never forget where I was when he accepted the nomination and gave what you must admit was a pretty incredible speech regardless of whether you're Democrat or Republican.

(Anita & Vicky , nurse practitioners extraordinaire)(Anita & Erica getting ready to pull tubes)

I can now also answer the question as to which tube was the most uncomfortable to be pulled from my body. Just before Anita and Vicki (Top photo above) pulled out my chest tubes and heart wire the day before they had asked me to tell them which procedure was more uncomfortable. They deal mostly with kids so they wanted an adult opinion. The general thought was the chest tubes would hurt more but after it was all said and done having the thread with wires attached to my heart pulled through my skin was definitely more uncomfortable and just plain freaky. Everything was done quick and any discomfort from the pull was thankfully replaced with a more comfortable feeling of having them gone. Twenty-four hours later it was the catheter and well, I’ll take a chest tube or heart wire over that any day.

(Erica pulling the central line)

So now I’m tubeless, only one IV left in my right arm and on my way to being discharged. As Denise said, yesterday didn’t start off so well with some inflammation around my heart. I did not feel well in the morning. Every time I would lie down I felt a clicking sensation with every beat of my heart. My white blood cell count was also up. Both are not all that uncommon after surgery but they were an agonizing reminder that despite how well things were going there were (and are) real risks to making a full recovery.

What a difference 24 hours makes. A repeat echo late yesterday showed all is good in there and everyone who’s come by to see me today has said the rub is much less than it was and that I look much better. I feel much better and with things progressing the way they are the game plan as of now is to have me discharged sometime tomorrow.