Wonderduck's Pond2022-11-23T20:21:13ZWonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu/atom.xmlSilver Lining2022-11-23T20:21:13ZY'all likely remember that along with everything else going on, I'm the proud landlord to a colony of bacteria that is antibiotic-resistant. Fortunately there are a FEW bugstompers that are effective to various definitions of "effective". They're all IV-administered however. A course of them is anywhere from 7-14 days long. To prevent my arms from looking like someone threw a pissed-off hedgehog at me, a PICC line is inserted just above the elbow. This provides a medium-term port for the application of IVs and other meds. But there's a catch. This PICC (for the more medically inclined amongst the Pond...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//silver_liningWhole Buncha Nuthin'2022-11-19T20:24:39ZI wish I had more to talk about. There's just not that much going on over here. I mean, the big news I can think of was that they had donuts for the veterans a few days back. Only one of the bunch was in WWII. That was... kinda sad, actually. He had no stories to tell, barely understood why he was there, and may STILL be trying to finish his Donut. Doesn't look a day over 150. There's an eight-episode Arknights anime airing on Fridays; ep04 just aired. Reportedly it's quite good. It's going to cover Act I of...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//whole_buncha_nuthinMedical Shenanigans 2022-10-30T19:19:56ZI'm sure you all remember me whining about my reaction to the anesthetic when the Doc used a laser to play "Death Star and Alderaan" with a kidneystone last month. It happened again. Early last week was the second procedure. This time to remove a stent that had been in my kidney area for 18 months instead of the eight weeks originally planned. See, the idea was that they'd pull it out after I got back from therapy. Oops. Last month when he tried to remove it, nothing happened. I got the distinct impression that maybe he could have yanked...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//medical_shenanigans_Changes2022-10-17T20:43:01ZPond Central is no more. The DuckMobile was junked. And I'm not feeling so good myself. ---------' Thanks to Ph.Duck's efforts, nothing was left behind in the apartment. The well-timed appearance of Vaucaunson's Duck and his younger brother was all that was needed to get the furniture out and into the dumpster. Except for the dining room table, which was a transplant from the kitchen of the Old Home Pond. Vauc's brother, who just moved into a new home himself, took possession of it, meaning it "stayed in the family " so to speak. The coffee table, a lovely little...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//changes3m07s + A Shower2022-09-29T16:21:52ZFor the record: standing up is really tiring. You don't notice it because you're healthy, but take it from me. Hard work, this standing thing. It'll never catch on. Shower was nice, too. First one this month, thanks to my roommate pretending that he's Turkey and the gap between the corner of his bed and the opposite wall, the Dardanelles and my custom wheelchair an aircraft carrier. With its big offroad tires it does not fit in the Dardanelles, and Turkey my roommate refuses passage. So something that should only take a minute or two and a single CNA, tops,...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//3m07s_a_showerMusic Game With Tower Defense Minigame2022-09-14T08:26:00ZJust like how "Doom" and "Doom Eternal" are Mick Gordon solo albums that come with a free first-person shooter game, so does Arknights continue to be a growing collection of OSTs with a tower defense mini game associated with it. A new "side story" event begins in a couple of days, but since the global server is six months behind China's and Japan's, the music is already on yootoob. Cyberpunk/EDM and choirs don't seem like things that go together well, but: ...we'd be wrong. Edit: Something sounded familiar here. Took me a few minutes to figure out, but these would...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//music_game_with_tower_defense_minigameMedical Indignities 2022-09-12T21:57:24ZSo. Hi everybody! A little over a week ago, I went to the hospital for a planned procedure to deal with a kidneystone. The good news is that this stone had been located in a kidney... go figure, right?... back when all this crap began, and now it was in the bladder. PROGRESS! The procedure is called a lithotripsy... spelling may be different in real life... which is a fancy way to say that they were going to run a camera attached to a super laser pointer up my lil' wonderducky and pretend to be the Death Star during its...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//medical_indignities_Mental Note2022-09-01T19:08:04ZWhen you've still got anesthesia in you, DONT EAT A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH. It will not end...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//mental_noteSurgery, And A Philosophical Question 2022-08-31T16:50:34ZWell, the procedure that was canceled last month is tomorrow morning. I wouldn't be lying if I said I wasn't a little terrified, because I'm not. I'm a LOT terrified. The Nephrologist that spearheaded my infection treatment... and brought me pizza yesterday so I'm obliged to love her... thinks all my nagging issues should be handled when this is over and done with. She's a doctor, so she knows what she's talking about. I'm just the patient, and there's a little me in my brain running around screeching in fear. Because that's what I do: I overthink things, then panic....Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//surgery_and_a_philosophical_question_Blue Hamham2022-08-14T06:54:00ZYou may now go about your business, knowing that four blue hamsters are out there somewhere, making music videos for your...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//blue_hamham1m24s2022-08-05T13:26:08ZOne minute, twenty-four seconds. Doesn't sound like all that much of a much, does it? And to you, the members of my Pond Scum, it isn't. For me, though? It's the culmination of 18 miserable, stinking months. Because that's how long I stood up for, completely without help of any sort. 48 seconds, 16 seconds, and 20 seconds, using only a grab bar for balance so I didn't faceplant immediately. By the end of the third stint, I was a bit winded. Okay, a lot winded. But what would you expect, considering this was the first time since February 28,...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//1m24sA New Life Awaits You In The Off-World Colonies2022-08-03T17:00:00ZThere's been a bit of fun and excitement over here over the past couple of weeks! The best news is that real physical therapy guided by real physical therapists has restarted. After a week, I very nearly stood up totally unassisted. The only thing that stopped me was that I was alone and my feet were tangled in the leg rests of the wheelchair. If I had stood up, given the positioning I'd have ended up faceplanting almost immediately. The sit-to-stand device has become almost laughable. Today the harness gave me a little boost, but I pulled and stood up...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//a_new_life_awaits_you_in_the_off-world_coloniesArknights: When The Music Is Better Than The Game2022-07-16T18:45:00ZAs I mentioned last time we got together here, I began playing the tower defense game Arknights a few weeks ago. It's really quite decent with so many possible team combinations that it makes your head spin. I recently stopped doing "build-a-team" for every mission, after stumbling on a team that can handle itself against anything but overwhelming aerial attacks. But that's not why I'm here at the moment. Just in the last couple of days I've been paying attention to the OST involved and I'm glad I did. I'm VERY impressed. From the very first song you hear when...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//arknights_when_the_music_is_better_than_the_gameNo Longer Hagridden2022-07-03T07:12:43ZAfter 11 days, the Powers That Be decided that I was COVID-19 free and could rejoin the general populace. I still feel not so great, but I guess that'll be a thing for a while. Food tastes . different, like vaguely metallic maybe. It's not like the kitchen here needs any help in the "making food poorly" category. Well, at least I have a new roommate. My last one, who I loathed, went into Plagueville a week after me roughly, so I've been placed in a room with an elderly man who can't really speak, or honestly much of anything....Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//no_longer_hagriddenToo Ranty To NOT Use...2022-06-21T17:13:44ZSo I got an email from the official First Friend of the Pond Vaucaunson's Duck (est 1978) today that ended with "Hang In There." The following is much of the response I sent. ---------- Hanging is sounding more and more like the right choice! Though all things considered, my luck has been so bad recently that the hangin' folks ("Nooses R Us"?) would probably use a bungee cord instead of a rope: "May Heaven grant you forgiveness, for you'll get none from us. Hangman, if you would?" -----Boi-i-i-i-nnnnnnggggg----- "Haw haw haw!!! You shoulda seen the look on your face! Actually,...Wonderduckhttp://wonderduck.mu.nu//too_ranty_to_not_use...