by Greg

The Story My Bookshelf Tells

Stack of BooksAs I sat in my reading chair, enjoying a quiet moment to read one of the dozen or so books in which I currently have a bookmark (reminding me again that I really wish I would find more occasion to enjoy sitting down to read…) I noticed the interesting tale that my book choices tell.

Looking at me from the front covers of their two books are the faces of Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly, and the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, Thomas Jefferson. Now, you might not think those two well-known men should be on the same shelf—let alone right next to each other!—but this is what I’m trying to say… they tell my story.

I am of course a big fan of the Buffalo Bills. From 1988 to the present I have cheered heartily and without wavering for the team from western New York state. Sometimes are more fun than others to do so “heartily”, nonetheless it is no surprise to find a book by a Buffalo Bill sitting on my Current Reads shelf.

(Of note regarding Mr. Kelly’s book: 1 – he signed it, 2 – it came as a gift from Jim’s wife (via a contest at her website) along with a signed copy of her book, 3 – and that book—Jill’s—is waiting to be read because it was already read and recommended by my wife. Did you follow all that? I think I did…)

The Jefferson book is just great because it follows on the heels of another book I recently finished by David Barton called The Jefferson Lies, which I just loved. (Well, while I loved it, I also found it infuriating. The book covers seven popular beliefs regarding Jefferson, and then logically and with a great deal of original source documentation eliminates nearly all plausibility in “what we’ve always known” about TJ. Very good read!)

We also got to visit Monticello just over a month ago. It is so interesting to experience history as close to the source as possible!

Also on my shelf are a few more autobiographies: Mark Twain (volume 1), Tim Tebow, and a work by Martin Luther King, Jr, which serves a bit as an autobiography. I really enjoy reading history in the first person.

Add to those a book on current government/political issues by Ron Paul, recommended to me by a friend who is also interested in such things, another book about American government that Jen and Ian and I are all reading copies of simultaneously. (The 5,000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen, which I really feel should be “required reading” for every American citizen.)

I also just finished (this week!) the Eye Of Darkness by my friend Michael (Mike) J. Scott. Written in the fantasy genre, not usually something I’d read, but I definitely enjoy Mike’s books, and this one was no exception.

Funny that I say I don’t enjoy the fantasy genre, because also on my shelf is a lovely copy of The Two Towers by Tolkien. The oldest two boys and I are making our way through The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Just about halfway through!)

Rounding out the collection I call my “current reads” are an assortment of styles and genres: a Brad Thor thriller (The Athena Project), a book on “spiritual warfare” (The Adversary), a book about current events (The Singularity is Near), and a couple biographies, both inspired by the two historical homes we just visited: Sacred Fire (George Washington) and The Fool of God (Alexander Campbell).

(Note: The interesting thing is, the last book there is one from my Bible college days, that I would be interested to read again. My interest was piqued again as it seems the Restoration Movement (in which Campbell played a major role) also apparently had a major impact on Thomas Jefferson… there’s the tie-in to our recent historical homes visits!)

So, it’s quite an assortment, I think. One thing that means more to me than to anyone of you who might be reading this is that many of the books were recommended by a friend here and there, so as I see and/or read the book, I am reminded of my friendship with that person. Bonus!

I hope your reading shelf is well-stocked currently. Take a moment and notice the story that it tells of you and the life you’ve lived so far. It really is quite interesting!

(PS, you can see many of the covers of these titles rotating in the right sidebar… for the full list of books I’m reading, planning to read, and have recently finished, stop by my library page.)

by Greg

Twitter RSS

TwitterQuick techie update here, since it’s on my mind…

Are you a Twitter user? I am not. Well, not really. I never really had any need for it, though I would and do often recommend it to my web clients. It’s a great way to keep in touch with clients, send out short updates, links, multimedia, etc to people who follow you or your product.

But as an individual, it just seemed… well, not for me.

However… I do follow people via Twitter. Folks who share newsy updates, sports-related tidbits, etc. I finally broke down and set up a “Buffalo Bills” account for myself to follow (and yes, even interact with) the Buffalo sports world. That’s been interesting. (Even have gotten to interact with Bills Hall of Famer, Thurman Thomas, which is neat…) But still not really for me.

The way I prefer to follow regularly published updates (to any service) is via RSS. Using Mail.app in Mac OS X, I simply add the RSS feed and I get any RSS item to my inbox with all my other email. (Links to the full web content included with the RSS item.)

BUT, Twitter changed all that when they dropped support for RSS feeds with the release of their new API last month. (September 5th, I believe.)

I wondered why I was seeing the dreaded triangle with the exclamation point icon in my inbox. After a small amount of research today, I ascertained that my method of obtaining updates is (at least slightly) antiquated.

Yes. I am old-fashioned.

(Wait… can you be “old-fashioned” if you use RSS? Hmm…)

Well, after a bit more research, I learned there is still a “backdoor” way to get a timeline via RSS! (Yes!)

It’s quite simple. Use the URL below, and just replace the Xs with the username of the person whose timeline you wish to receive as an RSS feed. It’s that easy!

http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=XXXX

We’ll see how much longer that backdoor option remains open. But it works for now.

Thanks to SEO-Alien.com for the info.

UPDATE: Jun 12, 2013

(From the dev.twitter.com homepage:) Having trouble with your app? API v1 is retired and no longer functional. | Read more →

by Greg

The State of the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots Sep 30 2012It’s ugly.

No way to sugarcoat that. It’s just ugly. BUT, as with all things, there’s always hope.

First, though, here’s what’s wrong.

Loser Mentality

There is still a feeling among Bills fans—and apparently among the players, too—that the Buffalo Bills are supposed to lose. In the past, that may have been so, with second-rate players and coaches, and roster depth at next-to-none. Is that really where we are now? What about the offensive line that had the team near or at the league lead in rushing, and essentially allowing zero sacks through one game? What about having the league leader (or near it) in rushing and all-purpose yards last year and this year (before injuries)? (And, they were two different players!) What about Fitz still leading the league in TD passes? Stevie Johnson is the first Bill ever to have two straight 1,000-yard seasons; Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, even the somewhat inconspicuous Mario Williams… our whole D-line! Plus Chan Gailey and Dave Wanndstedt are two fairly respectable names around the league on offense and defense.

This team does not lack for talent.

What they also do not lack is a preponderance for self-doubt, throw-in-the-towel, fatalistic, roll-over-and-die…ness.

Chan Gailey mentioned this in the preseason. He saw it in the game against Pittsburgh—you know, the one where the teams play all their starters for most of the game? He said (my paraphrase) that the team gave up too quickly on defense. They had been completely dominant up until allowing Pittsburgh a third-and-very-long conversion from their own goal line. Then they were just in a daze, which the Steelers were happy to take advantage of, marching down the field for a score before half-time. Prior to that, the defense was truly amazing. After that, they were truly horrendous.

Somewhere on this team (I’m still hoping it’s not all of the team) there is a good deal of “loser mentality” that accepts (almost welcomes) being run over (literally) by the opponent.

Somewhere else, there’s the never-give-up, fight to the finish that we saw last year. But it’s been gone for a while now, and the team’s record shows it. They are 3-10 since last October 30th.

(Note: I offer that statistic knowing full well there are many factors. It is still factual. 3-10.)

Thurman Thomas' Super Bowl XXVIII fumble

The Thurman Thomas Fumble

What Bills fan can forget the four straight Super Bowl appearances? We may try, but it’s still enough of an accomplishment that it’s oft-mentioned with pride.

There was the heart-breaking wide right of Super Bowl XXV, then the dominant performance by Mark Rypien and the Redskins offense in Super Bowl XXVI, the disastrous blowout in Super Bowl XXVII, followed by the deflating fumble by Thurman Thomas in Super Bowl XXVIII.

Do you remember that play? The Bills had a good lead into the third quarter of that game. On an offensive possession in the third quarter, Thomas fumbled the ball away, and the Cowboys scored on the return. After that score, the game was still tied, but that didn’t matter. Somehow (see above) the Bills knew they were going to lose—and they played like it.

The Cowboys went on to score a few more times and ended up with an “easy” win, when the reality was, the Bills had been in it, even winning it into the third quarter.

I believe that same thing happened in yesterday’s game.

The Bills had a good, solid lead into the third quarter. Donald Jones scored on a long TD play from Fitzpatrick to make the score 21-7. The Bills had held New England in check (well enough that they had only scored 7 points!) and they had been able to move the ball and score. All was well.

Then the Pats answered.

They moved the ball by running AT WILL. It was bad. Large chunks of yards. It really seemed like the defense was stunned. (See #1 above…) I think they actually were. They were barely moving at the snap of the ball. They seemed shocked that the Patriots—or anybody—could put up yards like that against them on the ground.

(This is almost a case of the opposite of the “loser mentality”, where they seemed to think they were “too good” for that to be happening.)

The Patriots marched down the field and scored their second touchdown of the game, and even though the Bills were still winning, the entire team was completely deflated and had (apparently) already given up the game.

Just like in Super Bowl XXVIII.

Too Much Money?

Everyone in Buffalo is questioning Mario Williams.

Clearly, the expectations were high (probably too high) when he arrived. He was to be the savior of the team. The next coming of Bruce Smith, forever beloved by all Bills fans everywhere.

But Mario Williams was not and is not and will not be Bruce Smith. So far, he’s not even Aaron Maybin. (OK, maybe not that bad…)

The craziest part to most of us fans aside from just being unnoticeable is that he also seems to not care. You can’t really know whether or not someone “cares”, but he just doesn’t seem to “go after it” as they say. There’s no energy to his play. And he’s going up against guys he should just completely dominate as a former 1st overall pick (or even just as a 6’6″ 292 lb “freakish” athlete, as some of his teammates have described him).

My wife commented earlier in the preseason that Fitzpatrick “doesn’t seem to care”, either. Is there something to this? What’s going on with these guys with their mega-bucks contracts? Is part of the reason for (at least slightly) lackluster play or effort due to the fact that they’ve already made their (guaranteed) millions? Perhaps…

I’m actually (strangely) hoping it’s more due to #s 1 and 2 above. But, when you’re not working to get paid … it’s easy to get a tad (or more than a tad) lazy.

Conclusion

What do we say then about these Buffalo Bills? After week one, they were the laughing stock of the NFL. The hapless NY Jets (who have indeed appeared quite hapless since week one) put up 38 points on their newly renovated, brick wall defense. Then a pretty sound thrashing of Kansas City (akin to what NY had done to them one week prior) turned the conversation around—or, at least, confused it—and all was at least OK again in Buffalo. After a comfortable-but-challenging win (on the road) in Cleveland—with zero INTs from Fitzpatrick—things were looking up again, even to the third quarter of the game against New England.

45 second-half points later, and the sky is falling, the season is over, and all the familiar refrains resound throughout Bills-landia.

WHEN will it EVER END!?

It only ends when this team decides that they can and they will win. Two big (and I do mean “big”) setbacks are the loss of Cordy Glenn and Kraig Urbik will both be out for 2-3 weeks or more. That’s not good news for a line that was looking like it might be the best in the NFL (until yesterday). Add on the upcoming schedule: @ San Francisco, @ Arizona, Tennessee, @ Houston, and @ New England (followed by Miami at home 4 days later)… things do not look well for the Bills.

However, there’s still reason for hope. (If you’re an optimist like me.)

Surprisingly, Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the league—all by himself—with 12 TD passes. (He also has thrown 7 INTs, which also ties him for the league lead, unless Jay Cutler has a bad night tonight… hmm… doesn’t he always?) CJ Spiller doesn’t lead the league anymore, but he’ll be a week healthier next week, as will Fred Jackson. Scott Chandler seems to be a top-tier tight end. We do still have Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus and the rest of the DL (even if Mario is a no-show). Leodis McKelvin has been pretty impressive when returning kicks (didn’t really get to yesterday).

If this humiliating defeat was a good, hard slap to the face for the Bills players (and, if they actually do care about winning) then I expect they’ll have a big turnaround in effort, attitude, and hopefully results this week. San Francisco lost to Minnesota (they did!) but they also shut out the Jets. (In New Jersey, no less!!) So, it’s a tall task, especially if you watched that 45-pt second half unfold. But it’s doable.

All depends on how the team responds to what happened yesterday.

If Buffalo is cursed, I guess there’s not much we can do. Otherwise, I think they do have the talent they need to have a winning season. They’ll have to win at least one more than they lose the rest of the way to do that.

At this point, that feels like wishful thinking. Sunday in San Fransisco, they get a chance to start making it reality.

by Greg

Cameron’s Hat (and Pockets)

Pweeceman Cam

I’m really not sure when it started. Somewhere in the recent past—perhaps a couple weeks, perhaps a month or more—Cam found, and immediately treasured three specific items. What were previously general possession toys became the sole, well-cared-for property of Cameron James Campbell.

(Officer Campbell to you.)

Upon donning the plastic cowboy hat, Cam assumed the role of “Pweece Offser”, and took very seriously his job of (1) protecting the Campbell home citizenry from “bad guys”, and not any less seriously (2) the task of carrying the tools of his trade with him everywhere he went—every waking moment.

His hat, his keys (an old set from our previous family vehicle) and his glasses (which he saved from his first movie theater experience, in 3D no less!) are usually on his person, or he knows where they are if not. He has a special drawer for his glasses and his keys at sleeping times, and a place for his hat, too, of course.

He just LOVES to have things in his pockets!

All of this is obviously very cute, and quite fun for our family. Brings a smile to my face as I type this! But the funny part is, his hat never fails to draw at least a smile, but usually a comment from nearly everyone who sees him wearing it somewhere in public. 🙂 The photo above was taken by a friend at a birthday party to which Cam wore his new “uniform”.

The uniform has since expanded to include: a tape measure, a plastic hammer, several pieces of “money” (which are anything from Monopoly money to random game cards), and various other tools he might need for his job.

He’s a worker man!

Actually, it may have started there. We had a plumber come over one day to fix various (slightly major) plumbing issues in our home. Cam followed him around for a while (in his gear, so I guess it didn’t start then…) and then he came up to my office with a “briefcase” and proceeded to start his “worker man” work day. (I set him up on our old Performa that still has a home in my office.)

Since then, he’s often referring to himself as either a “pweeceman”, or just a “worker man”.

He’s so fun, funny, cute… great!

It’s so amazing as a parent to see the different personalities in each of our kids. Each one is definitely unique. Cam is definitely the first of the six to keep such careful track of his prized possessions. Everyone else would have either lost interest by now, or lost the treasured items… or both!

Cam, as careful and responsible as he is, still has the mind of a three-year-old. Once before going to the bathroom, instead of setting his keys down gently (or putting them in his pocket), he threw them over into a pile of toys and other things, nearly shooting them down the stairs (right next to this pile). I was stunned he would do that, knowing how very much he cared for these keys. As soon as he was done, he headed straight over to the mess of toys and other things, and proceeded to look for his keys—”where he left them”. Ha!

So, I’m not sure how long this will last, but for now, we are definitely enjoying it. Just enjoying Cam.

by Greg

The Defeat of the Vile Black Sludge Monster!

The battle was fierce, lasting a few days, culminating with a full day of intense action. The Monster would win one battle, and then another. (And then another…) But I was resilient. I persisted, pushing through adversity after adversity.

At one point, after several humiliating defeats in the protracted fray, I began to feel my will to fight slipping away. It was then that I reached out to a fellow soldier who had passed through many such battles before me. He gave me just the tactics and inspiration that I needed for the final push.

In the end, through sheer power of will, I was victorious over the evil, vile, Black Sludge Monster and he was banished to that horrid place from whence he came; disintegrated into eternal oblivion!

Actually…

I had a really bad drain clog in my bathroom sink. I finally decided to have a go at unclogging it. I fished a wire hook down the drain, only to come up empty. So I removed the trap under the sink… gross!! Bad smelling, cloudy water with flaky black stuff in it dumped out into the bucket I had there to catch whatever came out. I cleaned all that out and replaced the trap.

When I ran the water, it was still clogged. And, now, thanks to me moving the trap, the seals no longer held. Very bad leaking!! Ugh. Now I had two things to fix!!

It was too late to get to the store before bed time, so I just left the sink undone and instructed my fellow cohabitants to desist from any sink usage until further notice.

Then this happened.

So, after a brief health emergency break, I finally got to a hardware store for a new trap. I replaced the trap and… voila! Oh wait… It’s STILL LEAKING!!!

Frustrated, I decided that I had to get some office work done, so I left the still-clogged, leaking drain and reminded everyone to use it as little as possible. (At least it was leaking less?)

As I complained to my friend and co-worker over instant messages about my predicament, he suggested I try to focus on the clog first instead of the leak. Perhaps the leak was simply because the clog wasn’t letting the water go where it is supposed to go. Good thoughts.

So, properly inspired, I headed back for a final push.

I had read a blog post by his wife (she’s a famous blogger!) about drain care not more than a few days earlier, so what he was describing was familiar, and I had intended to do that after fixing the leak. As she describes in her post, I boiled a large pot of water, poured it down the drain (it SLOWLY drained down) then I dropped a good amount of baking soda down and poured vinegar in after it.

FUN! Do you remember making tiny volcanoes this way when you were younger?? I forgot how much fun this was! 🙂 And it sure did seem like it could eat/clean away anything in its path.

Sadly… our problem was a tad bigger than a one-trick fix.

A second pot of boiling water did not show any progress. (In fact, I think it was slower.) So I tried again. Baking soda/vinegar/boiling water. Still slow. Painfully slow. A third time… a fourth…

NO GO.

Finally, slightly exasperated, but still properly inspired, I filled the sink with regularly hot water and grabbed my plunger. I covered the air flow hole with my left index finger and began to plunge…

Three quick pulls later I heard a marvelous, wondrous sound! A loosing of the terrible drain demon and a pleasant sucking sound…

AND THE WATER DRAINED DOWN!!!!!

Oh, joy! Oh wondrous, fabulous joy!!!

Then I looked in the tub.

!!?

It seems that the Black Sludge Monster can not be defeated quite so easily! This horrible, awful (copious) abundunce of dark, thick, black sludge was sitting in my tub around the drain. Lots of it.

I ran the water in the sink to see if the clog was really gone, and the water disappeared down the drain immediately. That was good; one great victory one. Glancing again at the tub, though, I discovered that the water was being directly routed toward the tub drain. As the water entered the sink drain, it came up the tub drain. (Really! As fast as it went down it came up!)

Oh boy…

So, after sucking up the gross stuff with my wet/dry vac, I went to work with what remained of my baking soda and vinegar supplies on the tub drain. Boiling water (ridiculously slow drain—though the tub drain had been free flowing before I plunged the sink drain), followed by baking soda, vinegar (fun!) … short wait, then more boiling water.

Nothing. VERY slow drain.

OK… I’m done with this, Black Sludge Monster! BACK to where you CAME FROM!!!!, I screamed.

Grabbing my weapon (plunger), I filled the tub with a little more water, plugged the air flow with a wet rag and went to work. Slightly more stubborn than the sink, it took a few more aggressive plunges but…

VICTORY WAS MINE!!!

That lovely sucking sound, followed by watching the stopped water flow quickly down a beautiful swirling spiral, through the newly sparkling clean drains (thanks to the massive amounts of baking soda and vinegar used on them!) and out of my house!

I tested both the tub and sink drains and they both performed marvelously.

The Black Sludge Monster put up a dastardly valiant fight, but… I was victorious!

Thanks to perseverance, good (smart, inspirational) friends, and …

My plunger!

🙂

by Greg

Misdiagnoses

It’s been an interesting few days here in the Campbell home.

(I know… when isn’t it, right?)

You see, it all began with a phone call from Grandma. (Well, sort of.)

Last Wednesday, Julia and Dad (that’s me) went out for an OK Night. Just Julia and Dad out on the town. McDonald’s for french fries, games, and play place. Then we hit a couple more places before the night was through. It was a blast!

And the best was still to come!

The next afternoon, Mom drove Julia, her two sisters, and their baby brother, Cam, over to meet Grandma who would take all four youngest kiddos back home with her for three days! They were so excited!

The first night was just wonderful. They love being at Grandma and Grandpa’s house! They even enjoyed a big buffet for dinner. Nice!

(We four back home were having good fun of our own, too!)

But then came Friday.

Now, whether it was the food she ate at the buffet… or the PlayPlace the day before that… or just something else entirely, we still don’t know. What we do know is that that afternoon Julia began throwing up.

(Yes, I said “began”.)

It was probably only a few times, but it was quite unexpected (and messy, according to Julia) so it just caught everyone off guard. Grandma even called us asking, “What do I do??”

“Keep her hydrated and plenty of rest,” was our best advice, not ones to jump to the medicine route. So sad, but Julia wanted to stick it out, and Grandma did, too.

Well, a day of rest on Friday seemed to do the trick. Fever had subsided, throwing up had ceased (though she was still battling the “other end”…) and she even perked up a bit, becoming her regular chatty self.

Whew! Glad that’s over…

NOPE! 🙂

Saturday morning they went to a park. Julia played. And played. When they got back, she was completely spent, hurting, tired, and “out for the count”. She slept on the ride over, and looked pretty bad when she got out to come inside our house. Still had a fever, too.

She went right to the couch and laid down.

We ate dinner (she ate something else… I think?) and made it through the rest of the evening till bedtime.

At this point, as I’m getting everyone ready for bed, Jen comes and tells me that she thinks it might be something more serious than just a little bug, so she wanted to call the doctor and see what they thought. I figured they’d probably just tell us to call them Monday, but it couldn’t hurt. Well, to my surprise (maybe Jen’s, too?) they suggested we bring her to the nearest emergency room to have her checked out, based on what Jen had described to them over the phone.

Interesting. But, they were just thinking it might be some sort of infection thing that could need antibiotics. They just wanted to be sure.

Sure would have been a welcome thing in the hours that followed.

(Yes, hours.)

I’m sure that you, the reader, are aware that late at night on weekends, hospital emergency rooms can have long wait times. Well, as Jen tells it, they actually got in pretty quickly. But, once they did a quick once-over of Julia, they decided (thanks to her not having been “immunized”) that they needed to run every possible blood test. Fun!

No. Not fun.

Jen and Julia left our house at around nine o’clock pm. The hospital is 10-15 minutes drive from our home. They got in rather quickly… but then waited HOURS for the follow up tests.

(Meanwhile, back at home… I have put the other five to bed, enjoyed some quiet reading time, and at this point, started to wonder why I hadn’t heard from the hospital-bound duo. It was 11:45pm and I still hadn’t heard anything! I decided to call and get an update… voicemail! By about 12:10, still having heard nothing, I tried the phone again… and again, voicemail! Worried something had gone wrong, I remembered that I can “Find My Phone” thanks to Apple’s clever technology! I just hoped they weren’t in a ditch somewhere, or worse!! I was relieved to see the phone located in the parking lot of the hospital. 🙂 Jen had left the phone in the van … so a quick call to the hospital and the nurse filled me in.)

BUT THEN…

(I know… how does it always go like this? Can’t it ever just be simple, and go exactly according to plan??? Guess not…)

Around 2:00am, they are still waiting for blood tests, filling Julia with an IV, and now there is some concern that perhaps what she has is appendicitis! In fact, it was such a concern that they ordered a CAT scan for her. That meant, in her very tired, very sick condition, she had to down a large cup of bad-tasting liquid, then wait two hours… and then they would scan her to see if the appendix was inflamed/infected, or whatever it might be.

Two HOURS!? That’s 4am, folks. For my poor, sweet, sick, tired six-year-old Julia!!

At this point, I finally grabbed a few fitful naps… only half-sleeping in case I received a call from Jen, updating me on their progress. I awoke every thirty minutes or so, praying each time I did that Julia could rest, and that God would help the doctors find whatever might be causing this.

At seven o’clock, I awoke again, and found no van, no call.

Time to check in, I thought. So I called our cell phone and talked with Jen, who informed me that they were pretty sure it is appendicitis, and they have scheduled an operation for about an hour from now when the surgeon was to arrive.

!!?

SO, we went from a stomach bug, to a possible minor infection requiring anti-biotics to… emergency surgery???!

It seemed that was the consensus, so I jumped to action.

I definitely wanted to be there—before the surgery—but our van was already at the hospital. And, well, I had the other five kids here! They were all sleeping still, of course, but I couldn’t just leave them, even if I did have a ride!

The wheels were quickly turning in my head. I called Grandma & Grandpa to let them know how the adventure that had begun at their place had escalated. Then I talked with our neighbor about getting a ride to the hospital. Then, deciding to leave the kids in the care of our oldest, Ian, I woke up Alex so that he could stay with Mom while I came back to get everyone else (once Julia was in surgery).

All was going mostly according to plan. We were getting pretty close to eight o’clock. I was hoping that they were running later rather than early.

Alex and I got out and thanked our neighbor for her kindness, bringing us to the hospital so early on a Sunday morning. We rushed inside and asked where to find Julia and her Mom. They said she wasn’t on their list, so that probably meant she was already in the operating room. (No!!) But, they weren’t certain of that, and pointed us in the direction we needed to go.

A brief elevator ride later, we were at the Operating Room area. But… where was everyone? The OR was dark, and there was literally no one in sight?

Weird…

We went down a hall that we knew was not the correct direction or location, but we finally found someone who could perhaps get us to where we needed to go. She tried. She really did. But we kept coming up empty. No Julia anywhere!!

I was really sad that I didn’t get to see Julia before they operated on her! But I just wanted to find Jen at this point, and find out what was going on.

Finally we were sent back downstairs to the ER, where another nurse recognized Julia’s name and took us to the room she had been in that night.

To our surprise—good, happy surprise—there sat Mom, with Julia beside her on a hospital bed. (Looking really, really tired, weak, and sick!)

“Well, hi!” said I. “What is the meaning of all this!?”

I didn’t really say that. But it sounded more fun that way, didn’t it?

Jen explained that the surgeon took a look at the CAT scan results, did his own examination, and he said he was pretty sure it wasn’t appendicitis!

While quite confused, I was certainly relieved. No one wants their six year old daughter to go “under the knife” … do they?

As Jen was explaining, the surgeon returned and explained a bit more that, from everything he observed, and after consulting with another pediatrician that morning, he was fairly certain it was not appendicitis, and that Julia would be able to go home, take a little Tylenol for her fever, and just stay hydrated. “She should be fine.”

Stomach bug… infection… appendicitis/emergency surgery… she’ll be fine.

Hmm. 🙂

And so, we went home. Julia (and Mom!) slept nearly all of the day. As the day went on, she perked up more and more. We finished the day with a movie, and all went to bed feeling very, VERY relieved.

This morning, Julia went back to the doctor to make sure things were progressing as the surgeon had hoped. After her Sunday night experience, Julia was very apprehensive. She really didn’t want to go through all that again!! We assured her (as far as we could tell) it wouldn’t be like that again, and thankfully… it wasn’t. The current diagnosis is some sort of bacterial thing in her intestines.

What will it be tomorrow?!

For now, our little girl had a much better day, was smiling and playing through much of it, and is now peacefully sleeping.

Which is where I plan to be soon…

What a wild, crazy series of events! And all thanks to a handful of well-intentioned misdiagnoses.

by Greg

Things Are Looking Rosy for the Buffalo Bills in 2012! (Really… they are!)

Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, Kyle Williams, Mark Anderson, Shawne Merriman, Chris Kelsay

Yes, fans, football season is upon us!

Tonight the Bills will take the field for the first of four “warm up” games. This evening they play the Washington Redskins at home. (That means that we get to watch it one day later, since we will not be at the game!) If you are a fan of our team, you’ll recall that our quite-sorry defense put on a 10-sack, shut-out performance against this opponent last year! Wow!

Don’t expect a shutout tonight. (Even with a vastly improved defense!) In fact, don’t really expect to learn anything from the score, win or lose.

Preseason games are weird. It’s really not about the game plan, or the scoring, or anything that might matter in a regular NFL game. It’s more about seeing mostly the backup players in “game conditions”. You want to see who should fall where on the roster once the season begins. It’s about “getting into football shape” (readjusting to the quickness of real football, actually hitting people, stuff like that).

At least, that’s what I’ve heard… 🙂

So, rather than discuss tonight’s game here, I thought I’d give me somewhat regular, somewhat annual preview of the upcoming Buffalo Bills season!

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

Believe it or not, there are many. (And those aren’t just Bills-colored glasses!) But, check the reasons for pessimism that follow for the “reality check”.

  1. The Defensive Line
    In the photo at the top of this article—taken on the first day of Bills training camp in Rochester, NY—you see the biggest reason for optimism around Western New York—the greatly-bolstered defensive line! Adding the most prominent free agent (other than Peyton Manning, I suppose) definitely helped. But in addition to Mario Williams, the Bills added Mark Anderson, who had 10 sacks last year. Plus they get Pro Bowler Kyle Williams back, ostensibly healthier than he’s ever been following last year’s surgery. Then there’s Marcell Dareus, last year’s third overall draft pick (who really shouldn’t be overshadowed in anyway, but somehow gets mentioned third or fourth on this line). PLUS, Shawne Merriman seems to be healthy, along with Chris Kelsay. Are you kidding me? If these guys are as good as they seem to be, this defense is going to be fun!
  2. A High-Scoring, Multi-faceted Offense
    I know, it sounds funny. “Who do they have? Uh… Stevie Johnson… and, um… is Marshawn Lynch still on that team?” Right. I know. So far, the Bills (thanks to many losing, non-playoff seasons) are very much “off the radar”. BUT (big but) …

    Last year, Fitzpatrick (he’s the starting QB, the guy with the huge beard) was actually in the top QBs in the league in passing, TDs, rating, etc. Then he got hurt. (After his center(S) got hurt.. and his star RB got hurt… and … yeah. Lots of hurt.) So his numbers dropped off, and people said, “Yeah, that’s just Fitz. He’s not really that good.” But… don’t be so sure.

    Stevie Johnson is that good. Fred Jackson was truly an MVP candidate (leading the league in rushing and close in all-purpose yards through the 10 weeks he played) and CJ Spiller filled in more than admirably. Plus, our receivers may not be known yet, but there is a competition for those roster spots because they don’t know who to cut, rather than whom to keep. (Which is how it has been in years past.)

    Add a one-year-smarter offensive line, plus a couple new players for depth, and, barring injury, this offense should put up some points!

  3. The schedule
    Yes, that may seem silly, but really, it is very much in the Bills’ favor. They begin with three win-able games. First at the division-rival NY Jets (a great game to test/prove their off-season improvements), and then Kansas City in Buffalo and at the Cleveland Browns. They should win at least two of those, because the only tough stretch of the season follows. New England, at San Francisco, at Arizona (maybe not so tough? who is their QB again?). Then they play the Tennessee Titans (Chris Johnson…), at Houston Texans (Mario’s home coming). THEN, get this… the Miami Dolphins, at the Colts, St Louis Rams, Seahawks, at the Dolphins, then Jets at home. THAT is a great way to end the season. Even if they are 5-4 or 4-5 after that second New England game, things look pretty good for a return to the playoffs!

REASONS FOR PESSIMISM

  1. Unproven Talent
    Perhaps this doesn’t need to be said, but, the Bills still have to actually put a whole season together. Injuries are definitely to blame for some of their implosions, but regardless, they still have to show they can do it. Period.

    Can the no-name receivers get it done? Can the very young, inexperienced offensive line perform well enough? Can Fitz be a playoff QB in the NFL?? How about our young secondary? And just who are the LBs again??? Plenty of questions.

  2. Injuries
    OK, this is a weird one, but really… STAY HEALTHY!!! Over the past five years or so, the Bills have been among the (or THE) league leaders in players—important players—on injured reserve. The teams that make the playoffs, and the Super Bowl, have fewer. That said, they also have depth. Until now that has not been true of the Bills, but if they expect to make the post season, they will need fewer injuries!!
  3. It’s Buffalo…
    Sadly, this might be the biggest reason for pessimism! 🙂 Whether it’s the Bills (12 years and counting with no playoffs) or the Sabres (new owner spending lots of money on an already OL-to-good team and still missing the playoffs)… Buffalo seems destined to never quite be good enough.

    The four Super Bowls… Wide Right… the Music City Miracle… the President’s Trophy season with no Stanley Cup. No Stanley Cup. No Lombardi Trophy.

    Yep. Buffalo.

So the good thing about 2012, I’m the opinion of this very long-time Bills fan, is that there really do appear to be more reasons for optimism than pessimism.

Tonight begins the proving of that.

Go Bills!

by Greg

How To Write Good

There is no shortage of sharing these days thanks to the wonderful world wide web. I receive many forwarded emails from my dads, and I see many friends posting via Facebook and other such media various content created by others.

Below is one share that I decided must be shared again!

I’m not sure these rules are actually worth following (I’d say some are definitely not) but most of them got a good laugh out of me, and I think they will you, too.

The original list is longer than this. Google tells me that it was published by Frank Visco in the Writer’s digest in June 1986. I found a version that was posted March 20, 1995. (That’s near the infancy of the Web. Neat!)

Without further ado …

How To Write Good

  1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
  2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
  3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
  4. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
  5. One should never generalize.
  6. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
  7. Be more or less specific.
  8. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
  9. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
  10. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
  11. Who needs rhetorical questions?
by Greg

Birthdays

08:06 - August 6thBirthdays are a pretty big deal here in the Campbell home. We really enjoy celebrating each other’s special days, usually for more than just that one day. But that one day is a circled day on the calendar and a number that carries more meaning than others.

We love the months of February, March, July, October, November and December. (We’re nicely spread out!) We love the numbers 5, 11, 13, 25, 28 and 30. (There are two 28s and two 30s! Even more fun!)

And we don’t have to wait till that special day once every 365.25 days…

I remember a long time ago, maybe even before we were married, Jen pointed to the dashboard clock in the car we were in and said, “Look, it’s my birthday.” I was confused at first, but then noticed that the clock said 10:28… October 28th! She told me that she often gets to celebrate her birthday two times a day whenever she can look at a clock at the right time. I smiled then, and I’m smiling now. I sure do love her! 🙂

So that has become a fun thing that we do here (at least Jen and I). We have plenty of chances to catch a birthday on the clocks! We’re coming up on Ian’s birthday as I type this (12:25)

It’s fun to have quirky family traditions!

Perhaps now you’ll notice a birthday next time you glance at your clock?

If so, happy birthday to you!

by Greg

Mortimer The Frog

Several years ago, I thought I’d try my hand at writing a few children’s tales. I had some ideas and just went for it. Some were your typical light and fluffy kid fare, others were more moral-of-the-story kind of tales, and also a bit lengthy.

Then there was Mortimer The Frog.

I just remembered these stories this week, and then read it to our two youngest tonight before bed. They actually really enjoyed it (though they wished there were pictures to go along with it). It kept their attention, and I loved hearing their thoughts after it was over 🙂

So, making its public debut here at GregsHead.net … Mortimer The Frog:

Mortimer The Frog

On a day like this, the bog is the best place to be. Everything is so quiet and still, all that you hear are the tiny bugs flying lazily from place to place before they land right in a hungry frog’s belly. Yes, the life of a frog is really quite good.

But sometimes, even the best frogs make mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes hurt! That’s what happened to Mortimer. We’ll call him Mort, for short.

Mortimer was the oldest of three little froglets. He had a younger Brother Frog and a younger Sister Frog. They all lived in the bog together, enjoying the quiet and eating as many bugs as they could catch with their nice long tongues.

But Mort felt like he wanted to do more. He liked his life with his Mom Frog and his Dad Frog, and his Brother and Sister Frogs, but sometimes he wished his Mom Frog or his Dad Frog wouldn’t always tell him what not to do. They always had something to say to him like, “Mort, don’t jump on those flowers!” or, “Mort, don’t go too far from the bog!” or, “Watch out, Mort! That is a slippery log!”

Mort got tired of always listening to his Mom Frog and his Dad Frog. He was tired of being a good example for his baby Brother and Sister Frogs. So one day, he decided to see what would happen if he didn’t listen to what his Mom Frog had said.

“Don’t go past that log over there, Mort. You need to stay on this side of the log in the bog.”

All Mort could think about after his Mom Frog said that was what might be on the other side of that log? What could it be that worried his Mom Frog so? It couldn’t be that bad, now could it?

When Mom Frog was tending to the other froglets, Mort took a chance and hopped as quietly as he could over to the log.

Flop-Plop. Flop-Plop.

It was a big log. It was covered with slippery moss. It was even hollow to explore on the end. It looked like a lot of fun to Mort! What could be so dangerous?

So Mort poked his head in the log and found some delicious looking bugs crawling around. With a few swift shots of his tongue, he found himself a nice afternoon snack! This was the life! Out on his own, doing what he wanted, eating bugs no one else knew about… what more could a young frog want?

After he had explored every nook and cranny of that hollowed out log, he hopped outside again and thought, “I wonder what is on the other side of this log? It couldn’t be the bad now, could it?”

Once again, he decided that his Mom Frog must be thinking about something else. This all seems so good and so fun! He knew she loved him, so she would want him to have fun. “She just didn’t know that the log was perfectly fine!” Mort thought, “There’s no danger here! I’ll hop around the other side and tell her all about it when I get back! She’ll be so happy for all the fun that I have had!”

So on he hopped. Past the corner of the hollowed out log. Past the confines of their quaint little bog. No one there, just Mortimer Frog.

Just then he heard a strange voice say, “Hellooo there! What a surprise to see such a nice young frog on this side of the log outside of the bog!”

When Mort turned around, he saw a big friendly snake, wearing a grin.

“My Mom Frog told me I shouldn’t go out here, but it seemed to me to be not only safe, but great fun as well! And I know my Mom Frog wants me to have fun…” Mort said it almost as though he was convincing himself that he was right.

“Oh yessss,” came the happy snake’s reply. “Mom Frogs sometimes just don’t know what’s on the other side of the log outside the bog. If they knew, they would definitely want their young frogs to be out here having fun! That’s what we do on this side of the log!”

“I can see! I have had so many delicious bugs, and explored places I never knew were there! What a great day!”

“And all because you decided for yourself, and went your own way, instead of listening to your Mom Frog, and what she had to say,” offered the sly snake.

“Why don’t you come over here and let me show you some more fun things on this side of the log?” invited the still grinning snake.

“Sure!” said Mort. He was so excited about his adventures on his own, he wasn’t even thinking at all about what his Mom Frog had warned about going past the log outside the bog.

The snake went down the hill a bit, past another log, “It’s not far now,” he said, and stopped at the edge of a big rock.

“Come over here, there’s something I want to show you.” said the snake, with his wide, scaly grin.

Mort happily hopped to the edge of the rock. He was so free! His choices were his own! His Mom Frog and Dad Frog would be so proud when he got home!

But as Mort reached the edge of that rock past the log that was outside the bog, he learned the reason his Mom Frog had said, “Don’t go past that log over there, Mort. You need to stay on this side of the log in the bog.”

Mort did not know what his Mom Frog had known. Outside the bog, on the other side of the log, are the snakes. Snakes who eat frogs.

The snake still wore his grin, as he slithered away. He had a belly full of Frog that day. That sly snake was mighty happy the day that Mortimer Frog decided to do things his way!