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Current Music: Metric -- Gold Guns Girls |
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weak
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Jul. 14th, 2009 @ 02:06 pm
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Call last night kept me there to past 3 am. Shitty eating all day. Tough cases. Overall exhaustion. Fell asleep (almost) while dictating. I wish I were kidding.
Couple that with the rain and the humid weather I'm clearly no longer used to, and I got a rare migraine this morning. Ugh.
I could barely stomach the idea of a full day in the OR though at least it was doing itty cases, but the other senior and I decided instead to swap OR days. He wants more lap choles, I couldn't care less, so I'll do his OR day for him tomorrow, and have come home early.
Weak, I'm just weak. I know. |
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head
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Jul. 14th, 2009 @ 09:39 am
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Current Music: Fol Chen -- The Idiot |
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Today, we stopped by in the morning on our way to the dogpark and to run errands, and just checked to make sure Tucson wasn't laying flat out moaning in agony over his new pedicure. He's a boy, you know he'd have to be dramatic about it. But he was just chillin' in the shelter and he was fine. Faran and River were sleeping practically on top of each other, Faran was using River's butt as a pillow. The Blackberry never starts up fast enough to get these moments. :P
Went back in the afternoon to ride. Faran was really good. We're having such a good run of daily gains. The BO will water the arena around horses she knows can handle it. Tucson has occasionally had his feet hosed off while he's being ridden. Faran has never even been sprinkled, but she can at least work around the watering. We really got somewhere with smoother circles, and some very nice bits of cantering, well-controlled. She's holding herself up much better... or maybe I'm just interfering with her less. Both.
Then I took her outside, away from the humidity of the now-wet arena. In the jump arena, we used some poles and jump standards someone had left out to play with control and steering. I took her into the overgrown dressage ring and we had some really very nice bridlework until she bolted forward and settled into a canter. But... it was a VERY nice canter? And when we came back around to the point of the spook, I saw fresh poop. Aw, I'm so proud of her, I didn't notice her pooping which means she didn't even falter in her step when she took a dump! But... it looks like the poop hitting the ground scared her and made her bolt. Nice. Scared by her own shit. Maybe that's a sign she was just really focused on her work?
hee.
The Boy had swapped Tucson for River and we played around outside, scoping out the arenas for assignments for the show. Generally the girls were very good, some spooky moments of unknown cause (I blame River, River blames butterflies). And then we tidied up, lunged Anton (still stiff to the left, but better and better each day... I hope.)
But back to my horse. She just totally makes my week. To have these kinds of victories, however small. And to feel, generally, like we can have these discussions, because even if she's scared she's really gets her head screwed back on pretty quick. And she gives so much, really. And she can move so smoothly. My pretty golden luck horse. |
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so all my bitching and complaining about how getting a Mac interfered with my addiction to Corel-Draw, and I couldn't find a substitute I was willing to re-learn, and I couldn't get Windows onto the Mac, etc etc.
Well, Corel did support Mac very briefly in its production history -- versions 9-11. But that was not the case with the version, X4, I had recently bought with my mom, not that I had those CDs anyways (they're in Ontario).
So today I'm sitting here, considering Filemaker Pro since I'm frustrated with ooBase for the horse show AND my program cancelled their T-Res subscription, and because we had T-Res I never really developed my own system, so I have a comma delimited file on my desktop with all my cases logged to date sitting all annoyingly raw and unusable...
and I said to the Boy, "I'd like to buy it in a box, if I get it, because that way I'll always have the software safe in case of a harddrive explosion." And I looked up above my desk to where I keep the software boxes of programs I love -- some of which I have had since I went to Guelph and no longer use since I got the Mac. WordPerfect 11. WoW. LOTRO. CorelDRAW 11 for Windows/Macintosh.
Windows/Mac.
Wow.
Am I an observant one or what.
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Obviously the workaround is to stay away from Fisherman's Wharf. Zipping past Fisherman's Wharf, Chris Paget's scanner downloaded to his laptop the unique serial numbers of two pedestrians' electronic U.S. passport cards embedded with radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags. Within an hour, he'd "skimmed" four more of the new, microchipped PASS cards from a distance of 20 feet. "There's a reason you don't wear your Social Security number across your T-shirt," Albrecht says, "and beaming out your new, national RFID number in a 30-foot radius would be far worse." But Gigi Zenk, a spokeswoman for the Washington state Department of Licensing, says Americans "aren't that concerned about the RFID" in a time when "tracking an individual is much easier through a cell phone." Current Music: Emergency Broadcast Network -- Station Identification |
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Jul. 11th, 2009 @ 09:52 pm
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It rained and was miserable all day. So cold! We ended up driving out to a saddlery about 1.5 hrs out of town to check out their saddles. Got a date now to haul the T-man there for a blank-tree fitting and discussion about whether anything off the production line will work, or if we'll need a custom tree. The Boy also started discussion with a Big Name Saddler out of Alberta who we may also consider. We're at that point with the Big Red.
Bess loved the car trip. She's so good in the car, she just sits back nice and quiet and enjoys the ride.
New farrier: ... promising? I'm worried they may be a bit too pro-shoe. I'm not a crazy barefoot natural voodoo fanatic, but we got Faran with a textbook natural "mustang" foot, and off-the-cuff comments from one of the farriers during her trim today sounded a bit too much like they thought they'd be shoeing her some day. I see no reason to shoe her, she doesn't need it for performance (like River will) or for therapeutics (like Tucson does), so... all I can figure is they thought we were reiners and would be wanting sliders on Faran at some point. They've already prebooked the next appointment, what a concept! And before then, we'll be sure to talk with them. I'd rather they left too much hoof than them thinking they're aiming to shape for a shoe some day.
Tucson certainly looks better already. Hot-shoed, plain shoe, let's see what happens! He's already standing better, not so base narrow. I don't want to expect miracles, and I worryworryworry we've just exchanged one problem for another, but... but... well we didn't have a choice, did we. I certainly liked the way they (it's a team) handled the horses. So we'll see how the herd is tomorrow.
Got another horse show entry! But got a headache too. Ack! |
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Current Music: Aphex Twin -- Windowlicker |
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Current Music: Gram Rabbit -- Fancy Dancy |
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TGIF
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Jul. 11th, 2009 @ 12:05 am
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Woot, a weekend! No rounding. No call. Attending's on call though, list will have bloomed by Monday. But we'll cross that bridge later.
Started the weekend right. Watched the Boy in his lesson with River and her bosal. That is just too cute. Watched Pickpocket being ridden by his current rider, a very very good teenager who rides hunter/jumper, and is doing fantastic with the little runt.
And got a ride in on my mare. And she was excellent. She started out unusually looky about things, triggered (I think) by a lunge line on the rail, and then carried on to include the wet-to-dry transitions in the recently-watered sand. She got over it. We didn't have any fights about completing circles, and overall the best ride in a while! Okay so our leg-yields weren't quite as sharp as they've been, but the transitions were nice, and we had a most excellent couple rounds at the canter. And some ugly rounds, largely due to me. Really makes a difference if I can avoid tensing up and leaning forward.... funny how that should be so hard to do sometimes.
And then as a bonus, "Dr. F" came by and so much fun conversation was had! In a sad way, though... she's home to hold her dog one last time while an ex-classmate of hers takes care of what needs taking care of. But that didn't stop her sharing with us some of her hilarious "first month in practice" tales. OMG. I might have to share them, too, but in a totally hypothetical way. I was able to reunite her with her favourite goat-hair brush she'd left behind by accident. I miss that girl, we could really vent to each other and it was awesome.
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You stay classy, RMS. Current Music: Matt Loper -- RMS Remix |
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Jul. 10th, 2009 @ 12:46 am
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I love rounding late on Fridays. I plan to go to teaching in the morning too, then half-day in the afternoon. And I can do this, totally guilt-free, because my entire team has ONE (count it up, kids, ONE) patient in hospital.
That's because the heavier-duty half of the team just left for Zimbabwe for 3 weeks.
I don't remember getting such a kick out of being introduced to patients as various things as I have lately, when the attendings (all of them) have taken to referring to me as the "chief resident". Awwww. And the R4 on my Team Grande (which we divided into two mini-teams), keeps calling me "chief" even though I'm technically still R4. And not "chief"... though that's all kind of relative.
Case presentations are typed up. Can't find Mac-video dongle thingy, might have to just buy new one tomorrow.
Rode the mare tonight. She was good. She's so funny when one of her Good Friends enters the arena. River. Troi. She can ignore Little Wild Eyes (the 15.2 Paint/Arab) and pair of OTTBs in the arena, but enter Troi and she's all flirtatious. Geez.
We did what G. asked us to work on, and also a lot of transitions. I like that the placement of knee rolls on the Stubben can almost save my ass from departing when she halts from the trot. Must sit deeper. I know the horse stops in a half-stride, why can't my ass prepare for it.
Our entertainment for the evening has lately been the herd dynamics of our little herd. Tucson is a socially interactive kinda guy, very vocal, very outspoken, just a total character. It lends well to anthropomorphizing.
Once again, Tucson seemed to have forgotten that he'd watched us take the girls out of the pasture. When I took Faran back out, he was at the far end of the pasture staring off into the neighbour's field. When the paddock row inmates let up their welcoming chorus for Faran's return, Tucson turned to see. He called. She called. He called again, shrill, charging like a mad bull all the way to where the pasture narrows. He stopped. She was surprised. He called. She called and started trotting forward briskly. He whinnied again, harshly. She stopped dead in her tracks. He repeated himself. She turned and returned to the gate, looked past me and towards the barn and arena. She called... for River. (I can tell, it's a different call.)
My interpretation:
Tucson: "Hey you're back that's awesome.... wait, where's River?"
Faran: "Hey yeah! Where's River?!"
Tucson: "I thought she was with YOU!"
Faran: "Well, shit, she was... RIVER!!!!"
Tucson did the same thing two days ago, as we were returning both River AND Faran to the pasture together. We had worked him first, then turned him out and brought in the mares while he watched. When we got back... He was at the back, looking forlorn, and came charging to the gate screaming his head off. When he got there, he got all studdish, arching his neck and looking fabulous for River. Then he came the rest of the way to Faran, who pinned her ears and gave him the cold shoulder. Then he rounded them up, and herded them deeper in the pasture. The whole time River was all thrilled for the attention, and Faran was doing her best to pretend she was ignoring him. It was so classic.
Tucson: "River, Faran, THERE YOU ARE!"
River: "Oh we had so much fun! I saw that new saddle of yours, how cool!"
Tucson: "Where the hell were you ladies, I was worried SICK! Don't do that to me! You should have left a NOTE!"
Faran: "WTF, bro, it's not my fault you were too busy eating to notice we were leaving."
Tucson: "Don't give me that sass, I'm the Big Horse On Campus, it's my job to protect you!"
Faran: "I don't need your protection, I'm not a baby!"Current Music: Gonna Shine Up My Boots :: The Corb Lund Band [Five Dollar Bill] |
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I can't make any sense of what this new SoundExchange settlement actually means for DNA Lounge. Is someone going to come knocking on my door asking for an additional $25,000 per year because of our webcasts? Given that A) we are already paying ASCAP/SESAC/BMI for them, and B) the webcasts produce zero revenue. If you think you understand this crap, please explain it to me... Current Music: The Cure -- One Hundred Years |
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| And Soon It Will Destroy You. To begin teaching the robot, the researchers stuck Einstein in front of a mirror and instructed the robot to "body babble" by contorting its face into random positions. A video camera connected to facial recognition software gave the robot feedback: When it made a movement that resembled a "real" expression, it received a reward signal.  |
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Current Music: Dandi Wind -- Einsteinbrains |
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Train
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Jul. 9th, 2009 @ 02:39 pm
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Current Music: Goldfrapp -- Train |
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Current Music: Add N to (X) -- Poke 'er 'ole |
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Current Music: David Bowie -- The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell |
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- case presentations for tomorrow
- script axillary LN dissection
- script approach to breast ca.
- lawn care
- block gap between steps and front door before the third time's the charm
- ride Tucson again under the Amerigo
- adjust Wintec down for Anton
- horse show ribbons
- horse show database
- Faran's bridle path
- horse laundry (polos, wiping cloths, pads)
- shop for bosal
- wash front windows
Farrier on Saturday. Also "Pets in the Park" little pet fun fair hosted by a friend from the barn, as her personal dig at the city for not letting dogs in the city parks except when she pays for it.Current Music: Hold On (BT Mix) :: Sarah McLachlan [Remixed] |
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Jul. 8th, 2009 @ 09:52 pm
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I really have a hard time with this whole "just sit down and do the work, already" concept. Nothing's changed.
Just finished walking the dog since my Bejeweled score was already astronomical.Current Music: Over You :: Daughtry [Daughtry] |
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I has pizza and a series of RLQ pain cases to type up.
Woot.
It was raining with a tornado watch when I left work today. I got Anton under saddle and he's much improved, but still tentative, the poor guy. I waved at my herd, all soaking wet because they like it that way. And now I'm home.
With pizza. A cat. A dog. And a lot of damned slides.Current Music: Jackie's Strength :: Tori Amos [From The Choirgirl Hotel] |
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