If you check this blog very often for updates, you may have noticed a big drop in activity after last week. I’ve had my hands pretty full. Here’s my sob story:

Last weekend I was involved in an accident at work and I got what has turned out to be a pretty darn serious third degree burn. Being the John-Wayne-Wannabe type ("Why, no, little lady, it don't hurt a bit, just lemme pour some of this sippin' whiskey on it and get on back to workin’”) I just treated the burn myself by having my reluctant girlfriend smear various over-the-counter antibiotics on it for a couple of days. I was convinced that this would work, eventually, in spite of the fact that the burn kept changing colors and shapes and smells and in spite of the fact that the pain was getting worse instead of better, and in spite of the fact that I am not a doctor and don’t even play one on TV. Finally, one morning, I woke up almost unable to move that arm at all, with really pretty red stripes shooting down the side of my arm.

At this point I realized that the burn was getting out of hand. So, being a genius, I put some more over-the-counter antibiotic on it and went to work. When I got to work I walked into my department break room where several of my co-workers were waiting to begin their shift. I pulled up my sleeve and asked a question that I am probably destined to repeat as my last words on earth some day: “Does this look infected?”

After some gasping and cursing and blasphemy among my co-workers, it was decided that I should have the company nurse take a look at my arm right away. She, in turn, sent me to the hospital straight away, where I was admitted and put on IV antibiotics and assorted other wonderful drugs, and there I remained until this afternoon, when the various medical professionals responsible for sparing my life decided that I was healthy enough (although, debatibly, not smart enough) to be allowed to go back to my house.

I hope to say that I've learned my lesson. This process turned out to be very painful and frustrating. The reason it got this bad is because I was too stupid to get the medical attention I needed soon enough. I've paid the price. If you've ever had a third degree burn scrubbed regularly to remove bacteria and dead tissue, you know what I mean. If you haven't, let me put it this way... if, during the scrubbing process, I'd looked up to see Mel Gibson filming the whole thing, I'd not have been surprised.

Doc says I may be well enough to go back to work by next Wednesday, but he’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, there’s nothing much for me to do except sit at home and lose wages and read blogs.

I had plenty of butt-time to watch the convention and follow the news a bit this week. Here are a few quick observations about what I saw:

n Republican balloons seem to drop more easily than do Democratic balloons. I guess the GOP balloons just have less hot air in them.



n The speeches I saw, rated on a scale of one to ten: McCain disappointed me, ranking only a 3.5 … Giuliani underperformed, I’d give him a 4 …. Pataki blew me away, a respectable 6 for the New York governor … Dubya’s speech was the best I’ve ever heard from him and went beyond my expectations and hopes. He covered ALL the bases and the speech was a solid 8. I’m sorry to say that I was too drugged to stay awake during Zell Miller’s speech, and I am not even sure if I was on this planet when the Vice President spoke. From what I’ve heard, I missed some good Kerry baiting. Damn. I hate that I missed that. I enjoy both hearing and participating in the good ol’ Kerry baiting.

n Kerry’s speech in Ohio after the convention wrapped up (which I saw in it’s entirety in rerun, thanks to the glory of C-SPAN) was just silly. There was nothing in it… nothing at all… worth even taking the time to counter. The guy just has nothing at all to say, nothing at all to offer, and no reason other than personal ambition to run for President. I’ll be surprised if the polls don’t tip quite a bit to the right pretty soon.

n I am truly sorry the Chechen terrorist situation at the school in Russia ended the way it did. No good can come out of something like that, of course. We know that… how long will it take terrorists to realize that?

When I got home from the Hospital and checked my e-mail I found a good message from my friend Saul in Kansas. Saul is really good about finding these news stories from the ‘90’s that support my theory that all Dubya is doing abroad right now is cleaning up the mess that was left him by the Clinton administration, and that the Clinton people KNEW what kind of mess they were leaving for him. Check out this item about the missile strikes Clinton ordered in August of 1998:

"This is not going to be something that is dealt with overnight," Mrs. Albright said on NBC. "This is going to be a long-term battle against terrorists who have declared war on the United States."

Other key officials joined Mrs. Albright in warning that the battle with terrorists was far from over.

"We are certainly going to do everything we can to defend ourselves," said Samuel Berger, the national security adviser, "but we're also going to be on offense."

He added, "We have to be ready to take a wide range of actions."

And, better, still, is the title of the story:

This Is Going To Be A Long Term Battle - U.S. on Alert, Preparing for 'War' on Terror

Alright, that’s all for now… it’s time to get to the really fun part of my role in the blogosphere… not the writing, but the reading. So many missed blogs, so little time.