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Weekly Update 03/14/26 – 03/20/26 (Work Progress, Hearing Loss, Healthcare Navigation, Personal Reflections)

Weekly Update 03/14/26 – 03/20/26 (Work Progress, Hearing Loss, Healthcare Navigation, Personal Reflections) This week’s update covers progress at work, ongoing medical recovery, hearing changes and next steps, navigating primary care access, and a few reflections tied to personal history and current events as part of the ongoing Weekly Update series. This has been a good week. Things at work are going well. I’m learning a lot. We have a new person, what they call a Product Owner, for FACTS. From what I’ve seen, this is the person responsible for handling our project. But I still report to James. Medically, my foot is continuing to heal. I’m taking it easy on it, constantly. OK, I take it off for showering and changing clothes; otherwise, even when I sleep, it’s on. I’m wearing a special shoe to protect the foot after surgery, though my foot is just broken. It’s a little awkward as the special shoe is shorter than the normal shoe on the other foot. Also, now when I walk, it sound...
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St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ecological Disasters!

St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ecological Disasters!   According to legend, St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea. According to the story, he chased the snakes away after they attacked him while he was fasting on a hill.   Of course, in our modern age we recognize this for what it was: a massive ecological disaster. Not only polluting the sea with snakes, but also removing a beneficial predator from the ecosystem. This supposedly happened in the 5th century. Who knows, the absence of snakes, if they existed at all, might even have contributed to the Great Potato Famine of the 19th century.   Today we understand that ecology is a balance that humanity is usually better off living with rather than drastically altering. All of God's creatures have a role to play.   Perhaps Patrick never heard the story Ramakrishna told in the 19th century about the snake and the holy man.   A holy man passed through a village where a poisonous snake liv...
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Weekly Update 03/07/26 – 03/13/26 (Broken Foot Diagnosis, Workplace Scam Attempt, Daylight Saving Time History)

Weekly Update 03/ 07/ 26 – 03/ 13/ 26 ( Broken Foot Diagnosis, Workplace Scam Attempt, Daylight Saving Time History) Weekly update covering a foot fracture diagnosis, a workplace impersonation scam attempt, and the history behind daylight saving time. I have good news and bad news. The good news is my toe is not broken. The bad news is that my foot is. A couple of weeks ago I was walking out of my bedroom when I managed to catch my pinky toe on the metal leg of my bed. It hurt terribly, and I was concerned that I might have broken my toe. The pain subsided as the day went on, but it still hurt to walk on uneven ground or put on my shoes. Since there is not much that can be done for a broken toe, I just let it heal. A couple of days later, I was stepping into the shower when I stubbed the same toe on the edge of the tub. Again, the pain was severe and then subsided as the day went on. A few days after that, I accidentally kicked a shoe that was on the floor and the pain came back again....
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Weekly update 02/28/26 – 03/07/26 (Injured Toe, Blood Moon Eclipse, Fake War Videos)

 Weekly update 02/28/26 – 03/07/26 (Injured Toe, Blood Moon Eclipse, Fake War Videos) Weekly update covering a painful toe injury, a missed lunar eclipse, music playlists, and thoughts on fake war videos and space program stories. On 02/27/26, I was walking across my bedroom when somehow I managed to bash the little toe on my right foot into one of the legs of my bed. This was the start of my foot ordeal. The pain when it hit was excruciating and lasted most of the day. I was immediately afraid I had broken my toe, but since there is nothing to do about a broken toe except let it heal and possibly tape it, I did not go to the doctor. The pain subsided in a few hours, but it still hurt when I walked, and the swelling made it painful to wear my shoes or walk on uneven ground. This went on for a couple of days with me avoiding walking, not even going for my morning walks, and the pain slowly subsided until I was getting into the shower and re-hit the toe. The pain came back at ...
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Weekly update 02/21/26 – 02/27/26 (Dental Work Experience, Blog Indexing Issues, and Political Reflections)

Weekly update 02/21/26 – 02/27/26 (Dental Work Experience, Blog Indexing Issues, and Political Reflections) I hope everyone has had a good February! This week, I got started on dental work. On Wednesday, I got two fillings, one on the left side and one on the right. The process was mostly painless. The biggest shock came when they were working on the tooth on the right side. I do not know what kind of drill they were using, but man, it was loud. It sounded like they were using a jackhammer on my head. There was a little shaking, but the noise was unbelievable. I think it must have been transmitted directly from the jawbone to the ear. It was odd having to have both sides of my face numbed. The oddest part was later, when I tried to drink from a cup. My upper lip was swollen and very numb. When I put the cup to my mouth, I simply could not feel it or the water in it until the water reached the back of my mouth. I am going to be spending some time this weekend working with Ch...
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Weekly Update 02/14/26 to 02/20/26 (Glasses, Gums, and Better Sleep)

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 Weekly Update 02/14/26 to 02/20/26 (Glasses, Gums, and Better Sleep) Finally, my new glasses arrived. I’m very pleased with them. I can see much better now. In fact, I’m wondering whether I still need separate computer and regular glasses. I can see the screen well with my regular glasses, though the computer ones may still be slightly better. I’m a little disappointed that they are larger than I would prefer, but overall, I’m very satisfied. This week I had my first dental treatment for periodontal disease, and I was very worried about it. I had heard stories about gum cutting with lasers. It was nothing like that. In fact, I’ve had many routine cleanings that were much worse than this treatment. The main differences were that the procedure was done over two days, though I’m not sure why, and that the sonic cleaning technology seems improved since my last visit. In the past, I often felt like I was drowning in the water used during the cleaning. That did not happen this time....
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Weekly update 02/07/26 to 02/13/26 (Work Progress, Drum Corps International, New Glasses, and EKG Results)

 Weekly update 02/07/26 to 02/13/26 (Work Progress, Drum Corps International, New Glasses, and EKG Results) Things are going well at work. I now have FACTS communicating with the web and opening web pages. This is a big step forward. Otherwise, last weekend was the Super Bowl. I, of course, did not watch, not even to see a Bad Bunny at the halftime show. The only reason I would have had to watch was that President Trump did not want me to. Personally, I have felt for a long time that the way the halftime show at the Super Bowl, something I have never seen, is handled, bringing in popular stars to perform, makes no sense. This is supposed to be a halftime show, and as we all know, halftime shows are made up of marching bands. I strongly believe that the people who put on the Super Bowl should team up with www.dci.org , Drum Corps International. If you have ever seen a highly polished marching performance that looks and sounds more like a professional production than a halfti...
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