Author: Dick

Start your day the Methadone way. Better living through chemistry.

Yet another weapon has been deployed in the war on EFD’s chronic pain. This morning I took 5 mg of Methadone as prescribed for pain. I took it about 5:30, some 1 1/2 hours before I normally get up. And I have to say that I am in much less pain than usual.

Last week I went to the VA pain clinic in Dallas for the first time. I had visited the one at the Houston VA Hospital and had undergone there an epidural steroid nerve block for the pain caused by my degenerative cervical discs. The shot didnt help.

The pain doctor whom I saw this time also determined that future steroid injections would likely be of no benefit as well. He basically had said that if I just couldn’t go on anymore, to come back and they’d try the shots. But other than that, there wasn’t much they could do for me. I didn’t completely agree with his contention. In fact, I thought the doctor was somewhat of an arrogant ass.

I had been taking the muscle relaxer Soma recently after having not taken it in more than a year. I took the drug for quite some time and when I moved to a different VA where they did not use Soma, I had no problem at all with stopping its usage. The pain doctor lectured me on his opposition to Soma use and that he does not prescribe it to his patients because of addiction potential. He kind of went on and on about this until I finally got bored and waited until he was talked out.

Needless to say, I wasn’t very happy that the doctor didn’t have any other recommendations as to possible pain therapies. There are others that exist even in the byzantine system that is the Department of Veterans Affairs, including accupuncture, which I have yet to try.

So I thought it was quite curious when my primary doctor had told me Dr. Arrogant Ass had recommended I be prescribed Methadone. I was kind of taken aback at first. I was thinking to myself: “Does this guy think I’m a junkie?” But I did some research and found that Methadone, a synthetic opiate, was originally used for pain before being widely used to treat heroin addicts.

Methadone does have some serious drawbacks. This drug is itself very habit-forming and can have particularly nasty withdrawal symptoms which I have read are often worse than those of heroin. I have even heard heroin addicts say that kicking Methadone was much more difficult than getting off heroin. It kind of made me wonder why this pharmaceutically self-righteous pain doctor would prescribe something with such addictive potential. He said after all: “Cocaine might help you but I wouldn’t prescribe it to you.”

But so far so good. I am not 100 percent pain free nor do I ever expect to be but my neck and shoulder pain seems to be cruising under the normal levels. Who knows, maybe the arrogant ass did me a favor. We shall see.

Ahoy! We come bearing barrels of cash from a rich Texas builder.

If Texas politicians are not for sale, some of them sure seem to be rented by Houston builder Bob Perry. Perry has been a top Republican contributor and helped fund the so-called “Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth,” which aided the scuttling John Kerry’s presidential bid.

But Perry, like any good Texas bidnessman who is trying to peddle his influence to officeholders, doesn’t particularly discriminate against any one party.

A report released by Austin-based watchdog group, Texans for Public Justice, says Perry gave $6.7 million to state politicians during the 2006 election cycle.

State Republican candidates got 92 percent of Big Bob’s largesse. The Democratic candidates received the rest. Perry donated more than $2.8 million to various political action committes (PACs) which included $780,000 given to the state GOP and $601,000 donated to Texans for Lawsuit Reform. (Hint: It isn’t a trial lawyers group.)

Individuals received more than $4.1 million from Big Bob. Gov. Good Hair Perry (supposedly no relation to Big Bob) had a nice little bundle of $380,000 to be the biggest individual recipient from the home builder. Also receiving six-figure donations were Attorney General Greg Abbott, Lite Gov. David Dewhurst and State Rep. Joe Nixon, R-Houston. Nixon lost a bid for a Senate seat in the GOP primary to Houston talk show host and reactionary Dan Patrick. Big Bob contributed $55,000 to Patrick.

My friends at Texans for Public Justice are to be commended for this report and the others that they compile on all the political spending and other shenanigans that take place in our state. It just almost makes me sick that one individual such as Bob Perry would spend that much money to buy influence in state government. It is not so much that he seeks special favors from the government. Hell, even people without money do that. But the fact that he spent such a large sum on politicians when I could have used it to have much more fun than most of the jackasses in the Capitol will have.

Next time Bob, just press the donation button on this blog. A couple of million should suffice for starters.

It could be a cruel, cruel summer for Fiji’s Bainimarama

Why does it seem that coups in foreign countries always seem so complicated? Why can’t the issues behind overthrowing governments be more like those in the United States, such as say, free trade or universal health care?

A coup has been feared recently in the island nation of Fiji in the South Pacific. A standoff by Fijian military leader, Commodore Vorge Bainimarama, erupted about a month ago. Bainimarama is upset that leaders of the 2000 coup in Fiji are being allowed to rejoin the government. That is despite the fact that Commodore Bainimarama might somehow be mistaken for the 70s and 80s bands The Commodores and Bananarama. Alexander Downer, the Australian foreign minister, said Fiji was in the midst of a “tortuously complicated situation,” according to the “Financial Times.” Downer can understate with the best of them. It also must be pointed out that one must be cautious of news reports about small island nations especially when they are printed on the side of a salmon as is the case with the FT.

Fiji has experienced two coups since gaining its independence from the British in 1970. It is rather easy to understand why this is the case. My ship docked in the capital city, Suva, overnight in 1977. While the islands were lovely and somewhat quaint back then, Suva seemed to suffer from a lack of entertainment. Of course, it might have had something to do with it being Sunday. Or perhaps that several of my shipmates and I had drank enough Jesus in a Jar to where we wouldn’t know entertainment from intersection.

Perhaps Bananarama and The Commodores will work it all out and everyone can get back to doing what they do best in Fiji. I absolutely have no idea what it is that they do best but I’m sure they will think of something.

Which way you going, Billy?

The above photo, with a caption taken from the title of a schmaltzy 70s song, is of our back deck yesterday. We got a little snow/sleet with the arctic blast. Mainly it’s just been pretty damn cold. It’s a lot better today now that the wind has died down although it’s still about 30 degrees outside right now here at about 10 a.m.

Yesterday’s winter storm was a blue norther. I don’t know how widely the term is used to describe a strong “winter” storm with a subsequent cold snap. The “Handbook of Texas Online” says it is a term peculiar to Texas. But I can’t say with certainty that is completely the case (although that hasn’t prevented from going off half-cocked before).

The description in the online handbook does perfectly describe this current jolt of northern air:

” … a rapidly moving autumnal cold front that causes temperatures to drop quickly and that often brings with it precipitation followed by a period of blue skies and cold weather.”

Yep, that would be our storm.

The handbook surmises a couple of explanations of how the term came into being. One attribution is the one which I always thought was from where the name originated. That would be the reference to the blue-black sky in the north that precedes the leading edge of the front.

Blue norther skies always seemed so ominous-looking to me. It wasn’t especially scary but it just kind of gave me the willies sometimes. That reminds me. I’ve got to look up the origin of “the willies.” I’m sure it’s something quaint.

I had to get out in the mess yesterday for a medical appointment at the Dallas VA, clear on the other side of Dallas from me. The ice had not yet begun forming on the roadways by the time I got home just after noon. I had taken the light rail from Plano to the hospital and back so I did not drive the freeways. It was later that the roadways, particularly the overpasses began to ice up. I spent awhile yesterday watching the KXAS-TV Weather Channel, which had live coverage of the “Arctic Blast” or “Cold Sumbitch” or whatever else they called it.

Particularly interesting was the live picture of a flyover coming down onto Central Expressway from I-635, which is at the relatively new interchange known as the “High Five.” If I had driven on the freeways yesterday, someone would have had to hold me at gunpoint to make me drive on even the lower levels of the High Five. High roadways and ice are just never a good combination.

The “Blue Norther of ’06’ will forever be remembered for … well, I can’t think of anything other than a little sleet/snow and watching wrecks on the TV. As one might guess, I’m pretty easily entertained.

It seems like each time that I check my local National Weather Service forecast for the impending winter storm, the outlook tends to get more dreadful. I kid about the weather service a lot but I do have a lot of respect and admiration for what they do. I also am happy to have access to more than just a forecast of what the temperatures and precipitation chances might be for a given day.

The NWS Web pages actually lets you see some of the thinking that goes on by meteorologists who are forecasting the weather. This can be seen in a number of places including their forecast discussions. With that said, the thinking on this approaching cold front and disturbance that much of the country will see kind of sucks more and more by degree. (Oh, what a funny one. Right.)

Here is what the weather dudes (and dudettes) say about my area, just north of Dallas:

“LATEST THINKING IS THAT THE ARCTIC FRONT AT THE SURFACE IS MOVING
SOUTHEAST FASTER THAN THE MODELS ARE PROJECTING. THE MODELS DO HAVE
A GOOD HANDLE ON THE UPPER SUPPORT…WHICH MEANS THAT NORTH TEXAS
WILL HAVE THE COLD AIR IN PLACE SOONER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED AND
BUT WILL STILL HAVE STRONG UPPER SUPPORT FOR PRECIPITATION THROUGH
TOMORROW AFTERNOON.”

The NWS goes on to say about a half-inch of ice and 3-6 inches of snow could be seen in the area by tomorrow evening. If that happens it will really be a show out there on the Metroplex roadways where people normally drive as if they have a swarm of bees inside their vehicle. Throw in a little ice and let the games begin!