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Dos ojos son mejores que uno.

Yesterday I had a cataract removed from my left eye. I didn’t meet the surgeon until I was in the operating room. That is because the ophthalmologist I had previously spoken with was on leave due to a new baby in his family. I ended up having an equally apt surgeon. Or hopefully it will be the case.

Any sort of surgery is imperfect. Saying, ” … having a cataract removed,” is kind of half of the work performed in 30 minutes or so in the operating room. During the surgery, one’s lens is removed from the eye. And a new artificial lens is implanted, As we age, the lens in an eye often is made opaque. The result is what can be described as a “cloudy lens.” Vision is hampered and colors are less brilliant. In my case, I also see so-called “starburst” halos from light including those from automobiles. I have driven too many times more than I should have with this condition because your depth perception is shot to hell.  Driving becomes dangerous with this condition.

This is what I see at night, plus hundreds of even more lights glaring as such. Hopefully cataract surgery will reduce “starburst” halos.

Cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries these days.

Most doctors use a technique known as Phacoemulsification. In very general terms the surgeon makes a tiny incision then uses tools to break up the lens and cataract followed by the implanting the new lens.

Different eye drops are used during and after this surgery. Eye drops and a numbing “gel” which enables the surgeon to anesthetize the eye were used in surgery. I was given a little kit at the VA, where my surgery was done Wednesday, that contains an eye shield and three different eye drops. These eye drops are applied for a month or more.

The amount of tape the surgeon used on me could prompt a commercial for whatever company where the medical tape is purchased. I had an IV inserted on top of my hand and it was taped. As the surgery began, my surgeon said she was going to tape head to the bed.

“This is for, in the event that you doze off, you will remember you are on the OR table, she said.

The attending surgeon told those personnel, however many there were, that they and I should not talk when she began to do her thing. And I could only talk if experienced pain. I was given some kind of sedative, I was pretty loose but not knocked out. I must admit when I was rolled into the OR, I felt a small measure of panic. That soon diminished. Although, I was again freaked somewhat when she looked down at me on the table. Perhaps her brown eyes provided perhaps equal parts strangeness and the rest perhaps a bit of attraction. I know that sounds like something George Constanza from “Seinfeld” would say.

After the surgery, the tape was removed on my head. An eye shield was then placed on my eye, held into place by more tape. This was after the other tape holding my head to the table was ripped off and seemingly took skin or hair. Just kidding.

I wore the patch overnight and had to return to see a doctor the next morning. The doctor I saw had been in the OR, but assisted with the surgery.

When she took the tape holding my eye shield, the doctor was careful to remove the tape. The doctor said she was in the OR, and remembered how annoyed I was the day before when that happened. But, I must admit I was pretty stunned when she took off the shield off and everything was, at least from my left eye, bold and beautiful.

“I can see,” I said. The doctor said that was kind of the whole point of all this.

The difference between my left and my right eye are quite stark. When I close my surgically-interventioned eye, the sight from my right eye appeared is if has a slightly brown tint. For some reason, it looks as if all I see from that right eye had been covered in nicotine. It is pretty strange.

My eyesight overall is much better, even using the right eye. I notice some instability in my left eye. But, I am hopeful that I can get that other eye fixed as soon as possible.

I thought about all the precautions given to me before and after surgery. Some of these are common sense such as having someone to drive you. Others were less clear. It is definitely a drag having to take three different eye drop. However, these drops supposedly help healing and preventing harmful infections. This is pretty important for someone like me who has Type 2 diabetes..

I remain helpful my improved and implanted new lens will continue healing and hope my right eye will join its eye brother. To paraphrase an old Mexican proverb, uh well — read the heading.

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I don’t want to say “I told you so,” about Trump. But really, I do

One sentence said again and again by the supporters of our new co-presidency of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin really chaps my hind quarters. You guess it, it is that damned “get over it.”

I still say there is something wrong in our country when the losing presidential candidate garners something close to 3 million votes ahead of Trump. Just “joking”” about the co-presidency. Sorta kinda.

This country already had one election in recent times stolen by the Republicans and the Supreme Court.

Make no mistake about it, the Hillary Clinton team appeared clueless when the results came pouring in for that Super Comb-over Orangutan.

The Clinton campaign could never win over the barrage from the Republicans and the media in what former Democratic primary candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called “those damned e-mails.”

Trump was able to fly into cities and fill up an arena so the angry white voters could be led into a frenzy by Trump and his continual lies.

But while the Clinton team have themselves to blame, that blame can be passed around as well to FBI Director James Comey, Julian Assange and Wiki Leaks, and Vladimir Putin.

So for you people who say the Democrats should stop whining about the election, the Republicans need to stop their whining about the Democrats. All the noble GOP-ers have called for unity now that Trump  has  finally secured the votes by the Electoral College.

Trump is a classless swine who is being played by Vladimir Putin and is being looked upon by our nation’s enemies as their gift from wherever.

I was not very prescient concerning my presidential predictions. Hell, I was way, way out there. I never expected that ass to win the presidency. I don’t think, however, that Trump will have an easy ride. We really should worry about what Trump tweets or what happens when is awakened at, whatever time he sleeps. I am sure no one will mind if he snorts some coke to help him make it through the day. Of course, if you are black and are caught with a tiny amount of any drug their asses will go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

I think Trump and his group of millionaires and generals will turn out immaculately attired, but when it comes to running a nation they have a lot to prove.

I don’t believe that if Trump fails, America fails. It all depends on context. I hope for the sake of our nation that he doesn’t fail at something which is a life or death decision. I hope he doesn’t screw up our economy. Of course, he is inheriting a great economic situation despite what Trump or his minions, and those who are under the Trump spell, say.

But should this fruit cake mess up royalty, to the point of impeachment, or worse. Please my Republican friends, don’t whine about the Trumpster. It would just be too much fun to say “I told you so.”

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Welcome to Barrack’s world, Mr. Birther-in-Chief

Donald Trump is puzzling those in the news media over his refusing to consider that his Russkie pals may have tried to tilt the U.S. elections toward the president-to-be.

China called Trump a child for other reasons. But Trump is certainly acting like a kid who covers his hands with both of his ears and repeats a mantra of “no no no no no … ” The real estate mogul and reality TV star seems to be building his future presidency over whether  he can sit at the cool lunchroom table with Vladimir Putin. I bet Barron Trump, the 10-year-old son of The Donald, has more sense than his old man.

One minute Trump is saying the talk about the Russians hacking activities is all a figment of the Democratic Party because they lost by the biggest sizeable amount in history. That isn’t true, by the way. The next minute he says that if all this hacking was being done by Russia, why weren’t people told about it during the election. Uh, look at this big guy:

Joint Statement from the Department Of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security

Release Date:
October 7, 2016

DHS and ODNI Seals

For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010

The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts. These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow—the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there. We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.
Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government. The USIC and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assess that it would be extremely difficult for someone, including a nation-state actor, to alter actual ballot counts or election results by cyber attack or intrusion. This assessment is based on the decentralized nature of our election system in this country and the number of protections state and local election officials have in place. States ensure that voting machines are not connected to the Internet, and there are numerous checks and balances as well as extensive oversight at multiple levels built into our election process.
Nevertheless, DHS continues to urge state and local election officials to be vigilant and seek cybersecurity assistance from DHS. A number of states have already done so. DHS is providing several services to state and local election officials to assist in their cybersecurity. These services include cyber “hygiene” scans of Internet-facing systems, risk and vulnerability assessments, information sharing about cyber incidents, and best practices for securing voter registration databases and addressing potential cyber threats. DHS has convened an Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group with experts across all levels of government to raise awareness of cybersecurity risks potentially affecting election infrastructure and the elections process. Secretary Johnson and DHS officials are working directly with the National Association of Secretaries of State to offer assistance, share information, and provide additional resources to state and local officials.

I’d say read it and weep but I am not sure that the president-to-be can read something unless there are pictures. Our intelligence agencies should remember that when he finally asks for a classified briefing.

And here is another thought. Trump steadfastly refuses to hear anything bad about Putin. Perhaps one reason is because of his man crush on Putin. Then again, perhaps Trump worries that if people believe these charges it could undermine his presidency.

Welcome to Barrack H. Obama’s world, birther-in-chief.

 

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“Busy as a bong on Willie Nelson’s bus.”

There is no need mentioning that I have been quite lax in writing in (or is it on?) my blog.

Part of the reason is that I have been busier than a bong on Willie Nelson’s bus. Part of it is work. My office is down to just me after as many as three people had been staffed out of it. It’s a long story. There is nothing to get upset about. You do all of the work you can do until you can’t do any more.

The medical side of my life has also been busy. I’ve had trouble sleeping. My neck hurts more than it has. My lower back pain has increased in pain by twos. To top all of this off, I have cataracts. My sight hasn’t been too hot, it is horrible at night. I see “starburst” halos on all lights that make it difficult to see where you are going. After finally getting to see an optometrist who seems to know what she is doing as well as consulting with an ophthalmologist, I have been scheduled to have cataract surgery almost three weeks from now. My left eye will go first. I haven’t heard about the right eye yet. I’m hoping it will be done fairly soon to have some stable eyesight. We’ll see how it goes.

I am also enrolling in a VA weight and wellness program. I need it. I have been successful with diets in the past. But chronic pain cut the walking I did every day with an occasional hike. I really miss that. I doubt I can get back to what I consider as “normal” weight. That is about 190-195 lbs. That is about 90-95 lbs. away.

In past times, when I was younger, I lost weight primarily to feel better and to look better. I would like to look better, although that is not a primary concern at 61. I definitely would like to feel better.

So, there is an update of my life. We shall see what happens. I have never been good at New Year’s resolution, maybe I will make one this year. If not, it is a personal resolution, to write more. Get a book done. Find a place to live. Get a dog. Maybe a cat.

That all sounds reasonable, right?B

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Trump: What next?

Our President-elect started his “victory lap” today in Indiana where he reportedly saved “thousands,” “1,000,” “800” some Carrier plant jobs from exile to Mexico. Of course, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the outgoing governor of Indiana, got a little personal thanks since it was, after all, in the state where he will remain in office until, well, who really cares?

Trump is the new shiny object for the media so the national, especially TV media stars, must all sit up with their paws poised like little dogs ready to lap up the next treat. All the while, Trump gets his standard little, and yes it is very little, laugh, when he denounces the media.

I had the mostly misfortune of being thrown into the traveling media pool of White House reporters who were, they felt, thrown into Hell by covering President George W. Bush and his entourage in Crawford, Texas. Note to future presidents: Just because you bought a ranch in the backwater where August vacations are spent in 100-plus-degree temperatures, doesn’t mean that reporters will ditch you.

You can look back to many of the posts since I started this blog in the Spring of 2005 and you will tend to think I hated George W. “Dubya” Bush with an unbridled passion. That is far from the truth, however. The passion was, many times, bridled.

No, I will say that George W. handed me a lot to write about both as a reporter and as a blogger. You will probably find, if you search and not particularly hard, of my recounting  when I interviewed “Shrub” before he was ever elected to office. I may have interviewed him twice without his press handlers or Secret Service agents. I can’t remember how many pressers I attended when Bush was governor. I do know I attended his events as governor at two different newspapers. I also covered four events at another newspaper when Dubya was president, one was at the “Ranch” and the others were at Fort Hood.

One particular policy put me at odds with Gee Dubya forever as president. That was his decision for us to invade Iraq. It doesn’t matter whether he was doing what his Daddy hadn’t at the end of Gulf War I, or whether he started a war because Iraq not-so-strong-man, the late Saddam Hussein, had reportedly plotted an assassination of George Herbert Walker Bush, or Bush Sr.

I was pretty ticked off at that decision to invade Iraq. I wasn’t very happy when his Dad invaded Iraq the first go-round. I thought Iraq I was fool-hardy. I though Iraq II was insane. My reasoning was that, even I — a former Navy mid-grade non-commissioned officer, and no big whiz in foreign policy — could see that Iraq II was a war from which we would never extricate ourselves, American + Allies. Perhaps one day but no time soon. Yes, I’ve been right about that so far.

This brings us to the most foolhardy president-elect in my lifetime. I thought Nixon would be the one. Then I figured Ronald Reagan would bring us to nuclear war. Then there was George W. Bush. Holy frijoles, man, none of those seem bad at all — compared with, The Donald.

We have this lucky con-man on deck, who lacks intellect and intellectual curiosity, Donald J. Trump. Unless a miracle happens and it is found out the 2.5 million-margin in popular voting somehow, crazy as it seems, finally elects Hillary Clinton, then Trump is our president.

And finally, it comes down to Trump and his, supposed animus for the media. Hell, Trump should kiss the ass of every reporter or photojournalist who graces his presences. Or at the very least, he should engage in ass-kissing of every news executive he knows. Trump won his primary contests against the top of the Republican candidate food chain — more or less. He probably spent a couple of thousand bucks for those cheap-ass “Make America Great Again” ball caps.

But the leaders of the big American media, led by a menagerie of gutless wonders, feel their lower-paid employees should let Donald knock the reporters into the water. Hell, we won’t get wet, those honchos would say.

I can only hope someone with the balls to do so, will foment a mutiny. Just stop covering that obnoxious son-of-a-bitch Trump at his “press” ops. That won’t prevent the news people from doing their jobs. I mean, I found out I didn’t have to worry about copying every word of a presidential speech. Why it was posted online, you just had to check spelling, etc.

Perhaps one day we might see a grovelling Donald Trump begging for news coverage. I doubt it. But, at least we can hope he will be indicted. Or maybe he will take his bro-mance with Vladimir Putin to even a greater extent. I can just see it. Donald breaks up with Melania, and he runs off to Moscow where the very odd couple will live in holy matrimony. Or macaroni. It doesn’t really matter does it?