Good News!

Well, finally after 3 long months, I can finally stop wearing my post op shoe and wear regular sneakers/shoes. :)

My stitches from my surgery were removed on Wednesday, and all looks well. The swelling has decreased significantly, and really the only pending issue now is to determine the course of action for the mild bone infection that was listed in the pathology report. I am taking the day off next Wednesday to go to an infection expert and find out what needs to be done, if anything at all. At worst, I'll go on antibiotics for 42days, which isn't really all that bad.

Other than that, things are going well. Work is going well, gonna have a few trips coming up, which I'll keep you guys informed of. Looks like on July 7th I'll be heading out west to San Bernadino, CA to witness some testing. More details once I finalize the plans on Monday.

Ok, time to practice. Catch you all later.

FISA and Telecom Amnesty

Normally, I just read and skim the news for what is happening in our government/politics, but what I've been reading lately about Congress and the new FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) amendment has left me incredulous. Back in 2005, Bush was caught illegally spying on US Americans w/o a warrant (clear violation of the 4th Amendment) through the telecoms (Comcast, AT&T, etc.). What's even more sad is that even though Congress and the Senate are in democratic control, they are touting that the new amendment is a "compromise", when in fact is basically legalizes the spying and gives amnesty + immunity to the telecoms.

Very sad state of affairs, and doesn't bode well at all for what can come in the future. Probably the most revealing quote to describe this debacle (from Sen. Bond) is:

"I'm not here to say that the government is always right, but when the government tells you to do something, I'm sure you would all agree that I think you all recognize that is something you need to do."

So yea... whatever the government tells you, you should do, regardless if it is legal or not? Obviously has never read the Army values, nor follows them:

Loyalty is the faithful adherence to a person, unit, or Army. It is the thread that binds our actions together and causes us to support each other, our superiors, our family, and our country. Open criticism and being disloyal to leaders, soldiers, and the Army destroys the foundation of the organization and results in diminished mission accomplishment. However, loyalty should not be confused with blind obedience to illegal orders. We all take the oath to obey the orders of superiors appointed over us "according to law and regulations".

Sigh, we'll see what happens and if this Amendment gets passed...

P.S. I guess my blog became political for the day. :P

Update on Things

Hey all,

Long time no see. :) Things have been going ok for the most part, just been busy with life and my still ailing toe. I had an MRI done, since it was still swollen after 7-8 weeks. Results couldn't confirm if it was infectious or not, so the podiatrist wanted to do surgery to verify, as if it is infected, it could have lasting effects.

Good news is that the fluid wasn't infectious. :) Thank you for all the prayers.

The diagnosis is that in addition to the fluid that was in the joint, there was also gout. They removed it, cleaned it all up, and sent the fluids plus a tiny piece of my bone for analysis. The analysis determined that I have a mild Osteomyelitis. The results show that it isn't too serious, but undetermined if I have to go on antibiotics or not. The doctor was goign to speak with an expert about it, and I'll probably find out what I need to do in my appointment next Wednesday.

Besides my what seems forever foot problem, everything else is going well. Work has been busy, but it is going well, and the people seem to appreciate my work, which is always nice. I also added Twitter to my blog (shamelessly copying Aaron Shust), but since he's pretty cool, it's ok. :P

Talk to you all later.