“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”
– Marcus Aurelius
My Marcus Aurelius is old, but not 2000 years old. (Actually, 1900 years exactly since Marcus Aurelius was born March 17, 122 AD.) My Marcus was manufactured 28 years ago in 1994. And, rather than a Roman Emperor, my version is a crappy looking Toyota Corolla. But, my Marcus Aurelius has gone farther, MUCH farther than the Roman emperor ever travelled.
Yesterday, Marcus Aurelius, passed through 297,000 miles. I’m documenting the journey on our way to 300K.
Yesterday’s milestone was hit while in South Jordan, Utah on Jordan River Parkway. I was off to get some lunch.
Marcus crossed the 296,000 mark (documented here) on January 13, 26 days ago. (These post the day after, so just trust me on the math.) We started this story when he crossed 295,000 here.)
That’s 38.5 miles per day.
Not surprisingly, I live about 20 miles from work. I commute 5 days per week. And I don’t drive much on the weekends.
In the last 1000 miles, I’ve changed the oil and done a little more work on the terrible growl that Marcus Aurelius has. You would think a throaty growl would make my little four cylinder car sound big and impressive. It doesn’t. My coworkers are starting to notice when I arrive at work just by the sound.
So, is that the muffler going out, Rodney?
No, it’s actually the flex pipe. I had a manifold gasket leak but I fixed that.
The flex pipe is part of the exhaust system. You need a welder to fix it. I hate paying a mechanic to work on my car. That’s what I bought a bunch of tools for. I would imagine that Marcus will have his gravelly voice until Spring when the weather warms up and when he hits the big 300000.
My car, for being as old as it is, gets remarkably good gas milage. I get about 30 MPG on a regular basis.
Marcus is also a pretty no frills car.
– Manual transmission
– Manual windows
– Manual locks
– Aftermarket radio with no CD or cassette player
And I find that it suits me perfectly.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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The title of this post is over 100 years old. It originated as a result of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. A reporter asked Shoeless Joe Jackson about cheating in the World Series. The reporter didn’t want to believe it.
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
The first World Series was played in 1903. It wasn’t played the following year. But, it played every year since 1904. It played on through two world wars. It played on through the cheating scandal of 1919. It played on through the flu epidemic of 1918 and the Covid epidemic of 2019.
Only once since 1904 has the World Series not been played. If world wars and global pandemics couldn’t stop the series what could?
The answer isn’t too surprising: money.
In 1994 baseball players and baseball owners weren’t getting along too well. The players wanted more money and the owners didn’t want to give it to them. The players went on strike. As the World Series drew closer, Neither side blinked. And the World Series dates came and went.
What’s this have to do with us today?
Well, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the contract that governed baseball for the past few years has expired. And now? You guessed it, money.
This time, it’s the owners not the players who are holding out. The owners have locked the players out. It’s not a big loss the first week of February. But, the second week of February is when pitchers and catchers typically report for Spring Training. And the following week the rest of the players. And then the Spring Training games start.
I considered going to Spring Training this year. I’ve never been. I decided not to attend. Family events came up and I ended up using my vacation time. But, I doubt anyone will be going to Spring Training any time soon.
I’m a fan of the Seattle Mariners. The New York Yankees have been to the World Series 40 times of the last 117 series. They’ve won 27. The Mariners? Not a one. Never won it. Never even been.
And yet, every year, hope springs eternal, in the Spring.
The Mariners do hold the record for the most wins in a season. The season is 162 games long. The Mariners won 116 games in 2001. The most of any team in history. They share the record with the 1906 Chicago Cubs who also won 116 games. Some will credit the Cubs with the better record since in 1906 the season was only 152 games.
But, every year the Mariners put on a good show. They are in the middle of a rebuilding process. They just barely missed the playoffs last year.
Oh yeah, that’s one more record they hold: Longest playoff drought of any major sports team. The Mariners last appeared in the playoffs in 2001. Yes, the same year they won 116 games.
Will the Mariners make the playoffs in 2022? (Assuming the season is played at all?)
Probably not.
But, as any baseball fan will tell you, each Spring every team is starts on equal footing. Every team and every fan thinks that THIS might finally be their year.
That is if they don’t end up cancelling the season over some crazy labor strife.
Say it ain’t so, Joe!
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I wasn’t as smart as they thought I was. But, I wasn’t dumb enough to let them know that.
I was working for WordPerfect on their S.W.A.T team: Strategic WordPerfect Assistance Team. My job was to get on a plane and fly to wherever the problem was and fix it.
Pretty simple job description. And really high pressure.
I’d actually been the very first SWAT team member before we had a SWAT team. I just just a guy who a Product Manager convinced to fly to Washington DC and try to fix a problem for the EPA. Well, I fixed that issue and our new team was born. (Oh, it also cost the Executive Vice President his job, but that really wasn’t my fault. . .much.)
I spent a lot of time flying to Washington DC. On the trip I’m thinking about I don’t even remember who was paying for me to fly out to DC. Probably EPA or World Bank. But, when one of the SWAT guys came into town, the Sales guys lined up several visits.
Oh, while you’re here could you just pop in and see XYZ corp? They’ve been having some issues with their Email system.
The only problem is that before flying out to visit the EPA or the IMF or whomever, I did a bunch of research. I knew what their issue was. I knew what we had tried to in order to make it work. I had a relationship with the IT folks I would be working with.
But, walking into a client cold? No research? No prep? I didn’t even hear the issue until I was through the door being fitted with a temporary access badge.
My sales buddy asked if I wouldn’t mind stopping by Hyatt Hotels headquarters. See, they had a version of our product called WordPerfect Library and they were getting some weird errors and “it will only take a minute.”
Sure. I don’t mind jumping in blind. Not like I had a lot of choice.
The Hyatt IT guys got me logged into a computer. Sure enough. If you loaded our Library menu program the system crashed hard with a DIVIDE BY ZERO error. That means somewhere the software went seriously off the rails.
Okay, smart guy, you’re in a room surrounded by a WHOLE bunch of people who make a lot more money than you do and who’ve been in IT a lot longer. But, I’m sure you’ll do fine!
To kill some time, I rebooted the computer (nothing else when you get a DIVIDE BY ZERO error back in the DOS days. And I did a directory listing. A bunch of files scrolled by. They seemed to be okay.
But, something caught my eye. The amount of free space seemed especially high.
Do y’all have a lot of free space on this drive?
Yes, we’ve been cleaning up our network drives. There is probably over a gigabyte of free space.
(This was a VERY long time ago when a gigabyte was a VERY large amount of space.)
One of the features of our Library program was that it showed you how much free disk space your drive had. I’d never seen a drive with over a gigabyte free. I wondered if the program hadn’t seen it either.
Can I make a quick phone call?
Sure, just dial 9 for an outside line.
I called one of the programmers who wrote the Library program. His name, incidentally was Rod.
Rod, yeah this is Rodney, I’m at Hyatt headquarters here in Washington DC. Can you do me a favor. Would you check and see what the largest amount of free disk space Library can display? Sure, I’ll wait.
A few minutes later Rod was back on the phone.
Looks like we can display up to 640MB of free space.
So, if they had a gigabyte free, would that cause the program to crash?
Oh, definitely. You’d get a DIVIDE BY ZERO error.
Thanks, the sales guy is going to be requesting an enhancement for Hyatt.
I looked like a genius. I certainly didn’t feel like one. That was not the client I was in town to see. There was no way I should have figured that out after they’d been working with support for weeks on it.
But, sometimes you just have to take the Win and move on.
Yeah, our sales guys always loved it when I came to town.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I have a confession to make. I’m biased. (Actually, EVERY writer is biased. But, we like to pretend we are evenhanded.) I couldn’t do it with this book. David Farland was my friend. He was also my mentor. He is a big part of whatever measure of success I manage to acquire as a writer. I started reading this book a couple of months ago. I thought it was time I read my friend’s most famous series. (Spoiler alert, there are eight volumes in this series. You’ve been warned.)
And then, three weeks ago my friend fell on the stairs in his home. His family rushed him to the hospital, but he never woke up and quietly slipped the bonds of this world.
I was devastated. Dave and I have been friends for over thirty years. He was not only a brilliant writer, but an inspired teacher. And I was in his writing group. We all got the advantage of his mentorship.
I’m still not totally over it.
But, although Dave was gone, I found I could still have a conversation with him. Well, I could if I was willing to listen and let him talk. It’s as if I said, “Dave, how about telling me a story?” And he took me on a magical journey that was RuneLords – Sum of All Men.
The book is set in a magical land. The central character, Gaborn is a prince in love with the Princess Iome. But, an invading army gets in the way of their courtship and Gaborn has to run for his life from the attacking Raj Ahten.
The title “Runelords” comes from the in-universe ability of people to give away a part of themselves; grace, stamina, strength, metabolism, sight, voice, hearing. Runelords are those who are the receivers of these endowments. Someone with a extra measure of sight can see better. Gift of voice means you can speak louder and more convincingly. The more endowments you have the more of that trait you exhibit.
Anyone can take endowments. RuneLords are those that have multiple. Endowments can be given, sold or taken.
RuneLords is more than endowments, of course. Dave creates an entire universe. It not only has magic, it has history, politics, haunted forests, magicians, mythical creatures. He creates an entire world that lives and breathes. They title, Sum of All Men relates to the Raj Ahten’s attempt to turn himself into a mythical powerful person.
What I Liked
The world is well developed. The story moved at a brisk and at times breakneck pace. Dave introduces twists and turns. At times I was certain of how the story would go, and then Dave took it in a differenct direction. The characters are sympathetic. Even the villians and the morally ambiguous ones have a purpose.
What I Didn’T
Sum Of All Men is the first of an 8 book series. Parts of book 1 feel unanswered. And while endowments are well explained, at times the story seemed too extreme. Raj Ahten is described as having thousands of endowments. So many that he cannot be killed. And yet, certain endowments incapacitate the giver. Dave addresses the need to care of these people, but even our modern medical system would have trouble caring for literally thousands of invalids.
What It Means To You
It’s not a light thing to starting a new series. But, if you are going to start a new fantasy series, RuneLords is a great choice. The books are written for adults, but suitable for any age.
My Rating
Four out of four stars
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I’ve written poems. I’ve written stories. I’ve written rules for games. The point is that I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing.
I kept much of what I wrote; notebooks, scraps of paper, journals, goals.
Recently I went through a lot of my old writing stuff. I discovered a piece of writing that I immediately threw away.
Now, you probably think, “It probably wasn’t that bad.”
It was bad.
It was a list.
When I was young and stupid, about 19, I decide to set some life goals. But, I didn’t really think about what I wanted to do in my life. Instead I thought about what I wanted to be able to say I’d accomplished. And I let me imagination run wild. I added a half dozen languages. I put travel. I put motorcycle racing. I put mountain climbing. I put anything and everything. And that was the problem.
My dad you to say, “You can do anything. But, you can’t do everything.” My egotistical list was a “do everything” list. It’s been years since I wrote it. And every time I thought about it I cringed. I knew it was somewhere in my papers.
I actually dreaded finding it. Or worse yet, someone else finding it.
I didn’t even bother to read through it. I think there were over 50 items on the list. I obviously don’t remember everything that was on the list. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I remember. I’m pretty sure it was.
I did learn something from my il-advised writing experiment. I’d like to think I learned about goal setting. I didn’t. I learned about value. I learned that a few things, or one thing, done well, is much more important than 50 things done to check off boxes.
I learned that my value is defined by the person I am in the moment, not by imagining some future grand accomplishments.
I try not to look back with regret. The list was one of the regrets. I’m glad I learned that lesson when I was 19 and not when I was 57.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I live in the Rocky Mountains. We don’t call them the Rocky Mountains, of course. The Rocky Mountains stretch from central Canada nearly to the Mexican border. Our little portion of the Rocky Mountains around Salt Lake City is called The Wasatch Range on the East side of Salt Lake and the Oquirrh Mountains on the West side of Salt Lake. (BTW, that word that you can’t pronounce is pronounced OAK-er.)
Anyway, we live in between these two mountain ranges. In fact, that’s why there IS a Great Salt Lake. It’s in a bowl surrounded by mountains. It’s beautiful here. Because of the mountains, in the mountain, before the sun actually peaks over the Wasatch, it lights up the Oquirrh Mountains. And then the line of sunlight marches East across the valley until it reaches the Wasatch peaks. Evenings are the reverse. The last thing bathed in sunlight as the sun sinks behind the Oquirrhs in the West are the majestic peaks of the Wasatch. The valley is cloaked in shadow as the sun-line climbs up the slopes the mountains to the East. The last bit of light is the highest peak.
This morning as I was headed to work, it was during the magical time where the sun-line was only half way across the valley. As I got on the freeway for my 20 mile drive to work, I made the transition from shadow to sunlight. And, it was magical. I could see across the valley and the mountains on each side. The sky was a brilliant azure blue. I felt really good.
And that’s when the panic attack happened. Well, not a full on panic attack, but definitely some nerves.
In a book or a movie, if the writer has done his (or her) job properly, they will take you to a really happy place. A place that feels safe. Possibly even a magical place. And they will hold you in that place just long enough to let the world fall apart. The soldier who finally decides to ask his girlfriend to marry him after this tour is done, will invariably die on that tour. The skier who finally masters his fear of the mountain and successfully completes a slalom run. . .will then be killed in the ensuing avalanche.
We writers are jerks that way.
So, this morning as I looked out that this perfect scene, I realized that this was where my little Toyota would be crushed by a gravel truck, or rear ended by a dump truck, or something.
It was too late to exit the freeway. I got into the far left carpool lane and checked all my mirrors and blind spots for the rest of the trip to work.
Nothing happened. But, I’m not reassured. Maybe the writer is simply letting the tension build? I’m hoping the weather is crummy tomorrow on the way to work.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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“A prophet has no honor in his own country”
– John 4:44
Everyone who is a parent knows this. You can tell your kids some important piece of parental advice.
They ignore it.
The neighbor up the street tells them the same important piece of advice.
“Hey, Dad, guess what Mr. Simmons taught me?”
But, what happens when you combine the scripture from John with a little bit of imposter syndrome?
You become the one ignoring your own expertise.
My brother suggested I post something on LinkedIn about writing and publishing. “You’re an expert at that,” he assured me.
Am I?
My brother has published multiple books and his company actually has a small publishing arm.
I’ve published multiple books, generally as part of a group. (Most recent one, Miscellany Volume II available here.) I’ve also written hundreds of thousands of words in this space, and elsewhere doing documentation, stories, articles, and columns.
Does that make me an expert?
The problem is that I’m friends with some really good writers. People who do it full time for a living. I tend to look at them as experts. (Which they are.) And if they are an expert and I’m not at their level, can I really say that I am an expert?
My heart tells me no. But, my head tells me yes.
I just built a bathroom cabinet. Our main bath needed one so I looked at our existing cabinets. Figured out the design. Bought some wood from Home Depot and built a cabinet. Actually, this was the third one I’ve completed.
Am I an expert cabinet maker?
Depends on who you ask. To the cabinet making craftsmen, the people who made YOUR home cabinets? No. I’m just a guy with some tools in my garage. But, to the average homeowner, the people who don’t have experience hanging cabinets let alone making them? Yeah. There’s lots I could teach someone about how to make a simple cabinet.
And that’s the trick with being an expert. No one knows everything about everything. We each have areas we are good at, and areas we have no experience.
“Expert” is simply someone who knows enough to teach you about a subject.
And when it comes to writing, I certainly have things to teach. . .even if I still have a lot to learn.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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I recently recovered from COVID. Based on the numbers chances are you did too. As of today, two of my daughters’ families have COVID.
I’m fully recovered. I do have a lingering cough, but Jolly Rancher candies make pretty good cough drops.
This is a day by day recounting of my COVID journey.
I was vaccinated (J&J vaccine back in May.) But, was not boosted. (I am now. Again with J&J)
My case would be described as mild. Parts of it certainly didn’t feel mild. I went to the doctor, but didn’t end up in the hospital and didn’t require anything more than rest and chicken soup. I credit being vaccinated with preventing me from getting more severe symptoms.
Below is my 10 day COVID journey.
December 30, 2021 (Day 1)
Spike Milligan was a comedian whose headstone reads, “I told you I was ill.” I’m not dying, I don’t think. But, I am COVID positive. My son was diagnosed a few days ago. We’ve been in the mandatory 5 day quarantine. And then, I started feeling poorly. I threw up on December 23. It wasn’t terrible. I sneezed and then threw up in my garbage can at work. I went home. Because that’s what you do, but I was feeling fine. . .well, maybe not fine, but not terribly sick. And then, I kind of got better. Christmas was good. And I decided I’d work from home due to my son’s positive test.
I took a home COVID test just to be sure. I sent my family a group text: I’m NOT pregnant. The test came back negative.
I thought I was clever.
And then, I got worse. My throat was scratchy. (That’s a COVID symptom.) And then, last night, it got worse. A LOT worse. My throat and also my kidneys. I was in a lot of discomfort all night. I went out to the living room to avoid disturbing my lovely wife. Finally around 8:00am this morning I couldn’t take it anymore. My throat was on fire and my back ached. And I was alternating cold and hot. I finally woke my lovey wife and told her I needed to go to the doctor.
A call to the on-call nurse and WAY too many minutes later they basically said, “You can go to the Instacare, the ER or stay home.” Those were the options we had BEFORE we called. We opted for Instacare. Again, way too long of a wait when every swallow felt like a fork stabbing the back of my throat.
They did a urinalysis. Ruled out a UTI.
They did X-Rays. Ruled out pneumonia.
And, of course, they did a COVID test because it’s 2021 and that’s what you do. “We’ll, call you with the results.” This did nothing for my aching back and sore throat.
I missed the first call, but my phone started blowing up with text messages telling me to quarantine and not be around people, oh and would you tell us who you’ve been around for the past week?
December 31, 2021 (Day 2)
Last night was worse than the night before. I finally was able to sleep by kneeling next to the couch and laying my head on the couch. Even then, I only made it a couple hours at a time. And my throat was still killing me. Well, not ACTUALLY killing me, but certainly making it painful. I tried to drink. I would take a mouthful of ginger ale and then slowly let it trickle down the back of my throat. Applesauce seemed to help. And bananas. The yellow fruit didn’t bother me at all. My lovely wife fixed some kind of lentil and ham soup. I was able to eat most of it.
Orange juice, honey, ginger. Is this really the 21st century response to a world wide pandemic?
I tried to work, but a certain amount of brain fog and fatigue is setting in too. I went off caffeine completely when I started getting sick. But, at least one report on the internet suggested
Caffeine has been proven to be an effective anti-inflammatory and immunomodulator. In airway smooth muscle, it has bronchodilator effects mainly due to its activity as a phosphodiesterase inhibitor and adenosine receptor antagonist.
I have NO idea what that means. But I think it means it can help.
And it did. I drank a powered energy drink and finally after two days I could swallow without pain.
Thank God for small miracles. It’s not until you are in extreme discomfort that you realize the small things are answers to prayers.
January 1, 2022 (Day 3)
What a difference a day makes. The problem with treating COVID with caffeine is that it makes the sleeping part harder. Despite my lack of interest, I managed to stay up until midnight last night and “ring” in the New Year.
But, the caffeine really seemed to knock down the COVID sore throat symptoms. I could eat. I could drink. I still couldn’t really talk. But, once I managed to get to sleep, I did pretty good. I kept waking up to use the bathroom. (Stay hydrated they said!) Around 2:00am I finally took a couple of Benadryl. Sure, it’s a antihistamine. Good for allergies and such. But, it also has the same ingredients as sleeping pills. (As way too many parents of young babies probably won’t ever admit.)
I wake up later in the morning. . .a lot later. It was 11:30. My throat was a little sore, but nothing like what it had been.
Today, was sitting in my office, writing and watching football.
When I first found out I was COVID+ I send the following text to my family.
Looks like I really am pregnant after all. Went to teh doctor today and tested positive for COVID.
Not feeling too bad. Last night was a little rough. Ten day quarantine.
My lovely wife thinks I undersold my condition. Maybe. But, how do you know how bad YOUR pain is versus someone else’s? I don’t. During the doctor visit the nurse asked,
What is your pain level on a scale of 0 is totally fine and 10 is the worst pain you’ve ever felt?
Probably about a 7.
Again, my lovely wife wasn’t buying it. She offered,
He actually has a really high pain threshold, so I’m not sure I would believe the 7.
I suppose I do. But, honestly, I don’t know YOUR pain threshold, so how do I know if mine is higher?
And today, of course, I feel mostly fine. So, was I actually a 7? Or should it have maybe even been lower?
January 2, 2022 (Day 4)
Scratchy throat? achy body? Elevated fever?
Yep
Not me.
My lovely wife who had COVID last year and was being a trooper taking care of me now has COVID. I handed over the pulse oximeter. And we all quit wearing masks in the house. My daughter also has it.
Fortunately, my son and I seem to be coming out of it. We are both. . .mostly back to normal. But, now the girls are sick. We don’t know for sure if it’s Omicron or not, but last year we had two people sick and everyone else quarantined and we managed to avoid it. Not this time.
I still have a runny nose. My sore throat, the throat that had the stabbing fork symptoms is fine. My son said he also had trouble swallowing.
My niece in California also announced she and her two young children have it. She asked me for advice,
It really sounds like advice from the 19th century:
Drink plenty of liquids
Get plenty of rest
Soup
I did share my caffeine insights.
And my cousin in Washington posted that she and her young son also have it.
Fortunately all the adults involved were vaccinated. The kids are too young.
At least I’m able to go back to work tomorrow. . .remotely, of course.
January 3, 2022 (Day 5)
It’s clear to me that despite the negative results from the OTC home tests, I had COVID prior to when I was officially diagnosed on Dec 30, 2021. The 4th and 5th day are often the worst. And while it’s clear I’m still sick, at this point I’ve had colds that were debilitating.
I’m writing this COVID journal in real-time. Given how I feel today it’s hard to remember how terrible I felt just four days ago. My throat is fine. I have a sniffly nose. My appetite has returned. I’m back (almost) full time at work today. My household is also feeling like they are on the other side of the worst of it.
My niece is pretty miserable, but she really is in day 4. Here’s what should NOT happen from reading this story: It would be absolutely wrong to minimize COVID, or masks or vaccines based on my experience.
See? It’s not that bad. My friend Rodney got it and four days later was munching popcorn while updating his blog!
My household and myself were all vaccinated. (As was my niece and cousin.) Without the vaccine I’m convinced my symptoms would have been much worse.
How can you say that, Rodney? You don’t know what your experiences would have been if you weren’t vaccinated. You can’t know that.
I don’t know for me, but there are millions of people sick with COVID. Our hospitals are fuller than they have ever been. Of those needing hospitalization, 99% were NOT vaccinated. And people are still dying. Of those dying, ALSO 99% were the unvaccinated.
Do SOME people survive COVID without vaccines? Of course. My lovely wife got COVID last year before the vaccines were available. She nearly died.
It’s a pandemic. We look at patterns, trends and statistics. And those say that without a vaccine, you are 99x more likely to go to the hospital or die without a vaccine.
I’m grateful for my relatively quick recovery. But, not everyone in accident dies either. But, those wearing seatbelts have a better chance of surviving.
January 4, 2022 (Day 6)
Did I say quick recovery in yesterday’s update? Yes,I’m sure I did. It’s right there in the line above this one.
I guess this is why they call it a journey. Today was rough day. My cough, dry and infrequent yesterday is now hacking and at times constant. This morning was especially bad. And after feeling “pretty good” yesterday, I realize I did too much.
Fortunately I’m still able to work. Unfortunately, I had a lot of deliverables today. No chance to lay around all day recovering.
I added Jolly Ranchers to my list of “medicines” today. They are much easier on the linings of my mouth than the medicated cough drops. Thanks to my Masonic brother Tanner Zaugg for following through on the oft-heard promise, “Let me know if I can get you anything.”
Another busy day tomorrow after a late night development meeting with my team tonight. I really am grateful. This could be so much worse. And it is for many people.
January 5, 2022 (Day 7)
Rodney, how are you feeling?
Well, I’m not dead.
It got a laugh. Every time. Multiple time today.
Of course, when I got COVID, I made sure to let people know. Contact tracing, if nothing else, dictates that someone who tests COVID+ let the people in their life know that they too might have been exposed. And, I didn’t know how it would affect my ability to work, so of course I had to tell my boss. And the client.
I guess 7 days is the “Time to ask how he feels,” time. I’m not complaining. Not even a little. I honestly believe that people ask because they care. WHY they care is another story. I gave several updates today.
I’m not dead. And I don’t feel particularly close to death.
My sore throat is much better.
I have a lingering cough, severe at times.
I still have general fatigue.
I never lost my sense of taste or smell. The sore throat is unique to Omicron variant. I also found out today that night sweats are a symptom of Omicron. I’m mostly over them, but I certainly had those too.
January 6, 2022 (Day 8)
The COVID cough is a real thing. I must have sucked down two dozen Jolly Rangers. Waking up is the worst. Feel like I’m hacking up a lung. A bowl of plain applesauce seems to work. Then, it’s a full-time diet of sugar rocks.
The fatigue is a thing, too. But, fortunately I’m able to work. Overall, life is good. Annie is doing better. Ammon is doing better. Sabine is doing better. My niece is doing better.
I’m a statistic. One of the hundreds of thousands who got COVID and recovered. Will Omicron be the end of the pandemic? Will everyone eventually get it and that will end it?
I hope so.
January 7, 2022 (Day 9)
Two words: cough and fatigue.
That’s pretty much what I’m left with. The Jolly Ranchers take care of the first. Although my tongue is starting to get a little raw. Today was my last day of work for the week. While I spent the week at home, I really am ready for the weekend. I’ll try to go back to work next week.
January 8, 2022 (Day 10)
And now it’s ten. Finally get out quarantine. First trip was taking my lovely wife to Instacare. She has a sinus infection. The Physician’s Assistant was named Nathan Bliss. Coincidence. He prescribed a Neti pot. And a humidifier. I had a lot of errands that had stacked up. I did them today. About half way through I really ran out of gas. The car had plenty. But, personally I was worn out.
I’m calling today the end, but I think the recovery will be long.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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What kind of an idiot writes a review of his own book?
Oh, oh, pick me! Pick ME!
No, I’m not going to actually review Miscellany II. But, I’m not going to not review it either. The book is 279 pages. I wrote 13 of them. I considered reviewing the other 266 pages. But, that still seemed like a really bad (idiotic?) idea.
But, now that I’ve actually seen, and read the rest of the book, I can hone my sales pitch a little stronger. (You can buy the book here.)
There are twelve authors in Miscellany Volume II writing across multiple genres.
- Mice! A memoir by Natalie Gate
- Of Crayons and Angels, literary fiction by Amanda Luzzader (Read an interview with her here)
- A Baggy Coat for Two, humor by Lawrence Gardner
- Of Wind And Waves, literary fiction by Amy Jorgensen (Read an interview with her here)
- Child In The Storm, horror by James Elliot (Read an interview with him here)
- Slender, horror by Chadd VanZanten
- Wear Blue, paranormal by Toney Larson
- The Wheel is Turning, fantasy by Kevin A. Davis (Read an interview with him here)
- The Vagabond Knight, fantasy by C.R. Truitt (Read an interview with him here)
- The Mercy System, science fiction by Rodney M. Bliss (No interview but he has an obscure blog somewhere)
- Them, science fiction by A. Shepherd (Read an interview here)
- Space Traveller, science fiction by Marsha Workman
I love the short story format. It’s like eating a cup cake. Not a whole meal, but a tasty treat that you can finish is one sitting. All of these stories were very good. Amanda made me cry in her story Of Crayons and Angels. She told me that it made her cry as well.
I enjoyed the humor of Mice! .and A Baggy Coat for Two. Lawrence Gardner does an amazing job of capturing voice. The accents are amazing. Not an easy feat in written form. Amy Jorgensen had me guessing all the way through her delightful story Of Wind And Waves. And being a transplant to Utah after growing up near the ocean, I very much identified with her main character. I sometimes want to run away.
I’m not much of a horror fan. And it wasn’t until after I finished reading Child In The Storm and Slender that I realized James Elliott and Chadd VanZenten were more psychological thriller than the slasher type that passes for horror in much of popular entertainment.
The fantasy entries in the book were both stories that take you away. Not just from whatever room you are reading in, but away from the world that you know.
And the science fiction by Shepherd and Workman was everything I love a science fiction story to be. Them especially could have been in any genre. And I appreciated Shepherd’s view of the human race as evidenced in her story. I’ll look forward to reading that one again.
At the end of my book reviews I typically list four headings
- What I Liked
- What I Didn’t
- What It Means To You
- My Rating
And here’s where my not-a-review kicks in. I loved this book. I got to know several of the authors. And James Elliott, in addition to contributing a story, was the editor and publisher. I’m very proud of this book, as are all my fellow authors.
I’ll leave it to others to decide a rating. . .because that will mean they bought a copy. (You can get it here.)
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved
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“I realized I could no longer read German.”
– Charlie Flowers For Algernon
I probably read Daniel Keyes’ classic “Flowers For Algernon,” when I was in high school. It seems like the kind of book that Ms Thomas, our high school English teacher would pick. It’s one of those books that sometimes gets banned. If you ever write a book, hope that someone wants to ban it at some point. Nothing increases interest in a book as much as putting it on a ban list.
I don’t think I’ve read “Flowers For Algernon” since high school. That’s a lot of days, months and years. Lots of reading (and a little writing.) And yet, across all those years that phrase has stuck with me.
If you are unfamiliar with the story, Algernon is a mouse. Doctors do a procedure that turns him into the Einstein of all mice. Charlie is a mentally challenged character. In an experiment that could only happen in books, the doctors try the same procedure on Charlie. And like Algernon, Charlie becomes smart. Not just smart, he becomes Good Will Hunting wicked smart.
Naturally, he learns numerous languages. He eventually learns more than his doctors. Good story, so far, right?
Except, remember Algernon? Algernon loses his smarts. He eventually reverts back to just a normal mouse. And then he dies. (Hence the flowers in the title.) Charlie, is super smart and does his own research, but he actually, you know does research not just read about stuff on the internet. . .which also didn’t exist.
Anyway, he realizes that there is no hope. He will share Algernon’s fate. First he will lose his intelligence and then he’ll die. He must face not only his death, but his diminished mental capacity. It’s almost more than he can bear.
And the way that he knows it’s happening is that at one point he picks up a book written in German. It was at that point he says, “I realized I could no longer read German.” That one sentence hit teenage Rodney hard. I don’t know why, but it struck a chord.
Not just to not know something, but to know that you used to know. To be forced to confront that fact.
The author, in a cruel twist shows us that Charlie isn’t better for his brief foray into the land of the uber intelligent. Before the procedure he didn’t know what he didn’t know. He was even happy with his life. He had a job he liked. He had friends. But, at the end, he’s not just back to where he was. He’s lost his job. His friends have abandoned him. And now he knows what he doesn’t know.
I need to create a website. Sure, this site is technically a website. But, I need it to be more than a blog. I need a mailing list. I need a place that you can go and click a link to buy my books. And of course, it needs to host this blog. I talked briefly with a freelance web designer. He said it would be in the $2000-$3000 range most likely. That’s absolutely a reasonable price.
But, see, I have to admit that I can no longer build web sites. I’ve built a few over the years. I built my first one back in the late 1990’s. And now I’m one of those that used to know how.
Unlike Charlie, of course, I can relearn how. And there are plenty of tools. But, it made me think of Charlie and Algernon.
If you have a suggestion for where I should go to brush up on web design, feel free to leave a comment or contact me at one of the locations below.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
Follow him on
Twitter (@rodneymbliss)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/rbliss)
LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/in/rbliss)
or email him at rbliss at msn dot com(c) 2022 Rodney M Bliss, all rights reserved