Bric-a-brac

Yesterday I had another installment in my Adventures in Modern Dentistry, but this time it was kinda cool: LANAP.

After LANAP, most patients experience new root surface coating (cementum) and new connective tissues (periodontal ligament) formation (collagen) on tooth roots, preventing tooth loss. Pocket depth reduction is excellent and comparable to that achieved by conventional resective osseous or pocket reduction surgery, but without the gingival recession normally associated with osseous surgery. Significant post-operative reduction in gingival indices, gingival inflammation, and bleeding on probing are also desirable results of LANAP.

The patient experience is also generally positive. As LANAP is tissue-sparing and contrary to the old fashioned resective paradigm, patients enjoy a smile with minimal post-operative recession and attendant disfigurement or root sensitivity. Minimization of post-therapy gingival recession also reduces the future risk of root caries/dental decay of the tooth root. Through the natural analgesic biostimulatory effects of laser irradiation, patients usually have minimal post-operative discomfort. This discomfort is easily controlled through the use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (over the counter NSAIDs) such as Ibuprofen.

Laser-assisted new attachment procedure (LANAP) is head and shoulders above the alternative treatment for gum disease… by which I mean the traditional cut 'n' stitch slash approach… most specifically in its after effects. I've had the old slash and burn bit done two or three times and it ain't fun, Gentle Reader. Oh no, not at all. Recovery from that experience is measured in weeks, not hours or days, and there are on-going after-effects (like root sensitivity) that take a year or more to resolve. My biggest issue with LANAP was waiting for the anesthetic to wear off, which took a good four hours. My second biggest issue is the fact we cancelled Happy Hour yesterday and will probably do so again today. I'm thinking cigar smoke probably isn't a good idea after surgery… even laser surgery. And me with a new shipment of Big Dirt Torpedoes, too. (Sigh)

Well, we might have a beer or two this afternoon. We'll just dispense with the cee-gars. It's been done before, albeit not often.

―:☺:―

Speaking of coolness… in both the literal and figurative sense… Here's a short video from the Discovery Channel on how ice is made… at a hockey rink. And I find the process rather fascinating. But I would, ya know.

h/t: Kukla's Korner

―:☺:―

Well… there goes the housing market here on The High Plains of New Mexico… (from the usual source of these sorts of items)

Accommodating the Buildup: As Cannon AFB, N.M., continues to grow into the Air Force Special Operations Command's second hub of operations—along with Hurlburt Field, Fla.—the desert base is expected to run out of on-base dorm rooms and housing units by around the end of the year for the new throngs of arriving airmen and their families. So reported KVII TV news of Amarillo, Tex., last week. And, according to the news station, leases for off-base housing will end in 2012 or 2013. Together, these two factors are causing the Air Force to reach out to the city commission of Clovis, N.M., which is near the base, to seek assistance in dealing with the pending housing dearth. The commission is reportedly going to mull options.

This means THPoNM might be one of the very few housing markets in America that could be considered a "sellers market." I may (or may not) have mentioned at some point in the past I've been entertaining buying another house, particularly since Cannon Airplane Patch survived BRAC and looks to live longer than I will. And it certainly looks like I missed my window of opportunity in this space. While housing prices around here won't begin to approach California levels… even in the post-real-estate-collapse market… they will escalate beyond "real" value. In other words, we shall have our own "mini-bubble." It'll happen: supply and demand. Works every time.

―:☺:―

Today's Pics, Self-Indulgent Division: Well, Hell… Virtually ALL my pics are self-indulgent in one form or another. But today I'm posting the full-sized, unedited version of the pic I use on both my Blogger and Twitter profiles, plus an outtake from the same session.

Both pics were taken at an RV park just outside Oklahoma City in the Spring of 2000 (in April, to be exact). Note the old technology… which is to say humongous… cell phone sitting on the picnic table. And speaking of old technology, both pics are first-generation digital pics... taken with my old one-megapixel Kodak point and shoot, with a quality commensurate with the age.

These pics were taken back in the day when the view from the verandah changed on a frequent basis… like every week or so… sometimes more, sometimes less. It all depended on how much fun I was having wherever I happened to be…

Bad Mediocre Day at Black Rock

Well... to begin with... we find ourselves kinda-sorta upside down again where our sleeping habits are concerned. We arose around 1000 hrs this morning, fired off the coffee pot and retreated to our bed, ostensibly for just enough time to allow the coffee pot to finish its magic. An hour later we awakened yet again to semi-fresh-brewed coffee. After pouring our first cup we began to make the rounds of our Daily Reads.... which we did NOT finish, on account of because we had an appointment at 1400 hrs today for our periodic cleaning and dental check-up. Which is the source of today's not-inconsiderable angst.

Before we get too deep into the whining... it helps to know the edge was taken off by the fact that we launched Happy Hour directly upon our return from Dr. Thompson's Dental Palace, after spending nearly two hours therein. And this prompts a minor digression... about which: I'm thinking I (a) should have stayed in school and (b) pursued a career path that involved dentistry, rather than the profession of arms and information technology, as a follow-on career. Why? Regard:

The above is an illustration blatantly purloined from the Good Doctor's web site. In what other career field would one be able to surround himself with visions of beauty such as depicted above? I can't think of another example, but I AM open to suggestion. Which, of course, is not to say that I didn't have the opportunity to associate myself with beautiful women in MY chosen fields... it's just that said opportunities were rare. And to top it all off, Dr. Thmpson's distaff staff are truly great people, aside from being classic "lookers." End of digression.

Back to the whining. I got the usual and customary dose of "good news, bad news" during today's visit. The bad news? I'm in danger of losing yet another tooth, this time one of the teeth that anchors a bridge I've had for about eight years or so. This is bad news, indeed, as said bridge contains our three front teeth, which are critical for doing things like eating apples or gnawing on barbecued ribs. The good news is that tooth may yet be saved, albeit at "a certain cost." Further bad news is that although the tooth may be saved in the short run the longer term prognosis is not good... which means I'll have to pop for more implants three or four years down the road. Aiiieeee...

But. We remain accepting and philosophical about our fate after four beers. We 're also grateful that (a) we have the wherewithal to defray these sorts of expenses (even after absorbing significant hits to the 401(k) during the latest economic crisis, which has left us listing significantly to port yet still afloat) and (b) we live in America, where there are solutions to such problems beyond yanking all your teeth out and forcing one to subsist on gruel forever thereafter. Further... I find comfort in the fact that although I have the "bad teeth" gene (or I lack the "good teeth" gene), things could be worse. I could have the "fall over dead from a heart attack at age 53" gene. Or I could face the constant struggle with the "I'm too fat" gene and its fall-out. One must count one's blessings, no?

On the other hand... we had plans to spend our retirement money in other pursuits, such as opportunities to contract exotic social diseases in equally exotic climes while destroying our liver with indigenous alcohol (mmm... Singha! and Mekong!). Thailand comes to mind (see the foregoing), as do certain Central American destinations (mmm... tequila! and pulque!). We also had envisioned passing on what was left after said peccadilloes were done to our offspring upon our demise, making them instant hundredaires... or, best case, thousandaires. But, Hey! "The best laid plans..." and all that.

On the other, other hand, I'm gratified to learn that one can, indeed, "take it with you" when one leaves this mortal coil... if only in the form of really cool dental prostheses. Ya takes what ya gets...

News From the Poor and Obscure... as Opposed to the Rich and Famous

There’s light at the end of my Adventures In Modern Dentistry tunnel in the form of a date: September 21. That’s the day I get my new prosthetic molars installed. Yays!

I had a follow-up with Dr. Thompson yesterday and he says things are looking good. We need to give everything six months to heal, “everything” being the recent (last month) installation of screws in my jaw that hold the prostheses in place. I now get to begin thinking just where I’m gonna go to enjoy my first steak in over a year and a half. It’ll be ABQ, Amarillo, or Lubbock… I’ve eaten in excellent steak houses in all three cities. Neither P-Ville nor The Big(ger) City^TM have first-class steak houses and The Golden Corral… or even Cattle Baron… just ain’t gonna cut it, yanno?

OTOH… I could buy a slab of beef and grill it myself. But let’s be honest here. NO one grills a steak in his or her backyard to the same standard as that found in a first-class steak house. I do good work, true, and so do some of my friends. But I’d give the best backyard steak I’ve ever had a B+… no higher. And this occasion calls for an A… nothing less.

―:☺:―

Speaking of The Big(ger) City^TM… we were over that way yesterday to run the periodic errands, like giving baby a bath, picking up the week’s supply of El Pinto, and such. And new de-flappers for the awning, too. The Velcro strap on one of my old de-flappers came apart in my hands as I was cinching it down yesterday, and de-flappers ONLY work in pairs… one just doesn’t cut it. I bought a pair of High Plains of New Mexico Class de-flappers (which look like they’d be suitable for tornadoes and such), meaning they have approximately four times the clamping surface area of the old units. They may not work any better than the old ones, but they sure as Hell look impressive.

I also have a new scar on The Green Hornet. I was attacked by a passel of tumbleweeds on the way over to Clovis… including about three really big suckers… all of which came at me like a Greek phalanx. There wasn’t any sort of evasive maneuver to be had, at least not for a vehicle confined to two dimensions. So I just held on as I plowed through them, one of which had the nerve to jump about a foot into the air as I made contact. The resulting collision was with my hood and windshield (as opposed to the bumper area which got yet another two or more), leaving a noticeable scratch on my hood. I’m just glad the damned thing didn’t land inside the car (the top was down, of course)… coz those things HURT.

Ah… we do have SUCH exciting news, don’t we?

―:☺:―

Predictions are in for the Wings-Ducks series, which begins tomorrow evening in Detroit. ESPN’s Scott Burnside sez Wings in six, MLive.com's own Ansar Khan sez Wings in seven, The Hockey News sez Wings in six, Eric Duhatschek (Toronto Globe and Mail) sez Wings in six… and so on. Curiously, neither the LA Times nor the OC Register make predictions… and that might be telling. Or not. As for me? I went on the record day before yesterday as saying Wings in six. But these are the playoffs... and anything can happen. See: New Jersey.

One common thread: everyone agrees this will be a fun series. I’m thinking they’re right.

Under the WX

So... here it is, a couple o' few minutes past noon and I've just poured my first cup. We had a rather rough night what with being up more often than not, and most definitely against our will, too.

The good news is we're feeling much better, having gotten about two and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep after 0930. The bad news is the day's well and truly shot in the ass... including a blown dental appointment I rescheduled for later this week. But I did reschedule well before I was due at the Good Doctor's office; there's some small saving grace in that.

Back in a few, once I collect my thoughts (heh) and the caffeine takes hold.

(image: Steffen Jensen)

One Good Thing and a Few Variations on "Worst"

Here’s a pretty cool piece on Twitter from Ed Driscoll which contains everything you ever wanted to know about Tweeting, and then some:

If you moused over the Ed Driscoll link you probably saw it takes you to a piece Ed wrote called “Twitter: ‘The Worst Person in the World.’” And yeah… that’s a nod to one of Olbermann’s signature shticks, wherein he names a daily “Worst Person” on his “show”… which is nearly always someone like Dubya, Cheney, Newt, Ann Coulter, or any other conservative who happens to pop into his ever-so-short attention span. Being named as “Worst Person” is a Badge Of Honor for conservatives, ya know.

Well, Dear Keith put his foot in it last week, BIG Time, by claiming... on air, in a “Worst Person” segment, no less!... his @countdownMSNBC Twitter account was a false-flag op by none other than Fox News. In the words of Red State: “Epic Fail!” The whole story, if’n ya missed it… is here… complete with Olby video and screenshots of the now-closed @countdownMSNBC Twitter account.

Heh. This couldn’t have happened to a more deserving asshat. Long time readers know I used to beat up on Olby quite often in the way-back… I’ve since discovered I (generally) have better things to do with my time, but this is TOO good to let slide…

―:☺:―

Apropos of “worst”… this weekend was a serious downer for YrHmblScrb. First there was the weather, wherein Ol Man Winter made a curtain-call here on The High Plains of New Mexico on Friday and Saturday… complete with freezing rain, snow, wind, and other undesirable weather thingies. Sunday was a little better in that our temps got back up into the 70s… but there was that howling wind… ever-present at this time of year. Here’s what we looked like last Friday morning:

I took that screenshot and went directly back to bed and stayed there until around 1400 hrs. It wasn’t only the weather that drove me to return abed though, Gentle Reader. I’m still not healing as well from the latest Adventures in Modern Dentistry as I think I should be and there’s a distinct possibility I may be nursing an infection of sorts. I’m scheduled to have my stitches removed late this week but I may go in earlier if The Good Doctor is available (he’s on his annual, well-deserved Spring Break at the moment).

So… there’s all that and more. I spent the entire day Sunday down with an absolutely miserable case of gastric distress, of the type where one cannot be more than a few feet from The Little Room at any given point in time. Nothing… not even water… would remain in my gut longer than about six minutes. Pepto-Bismol normally works pretty well for me when I’m so afflicted, but NOT yesterday. Whatever gut-bugs are resident in my frame simply drank The Pink Stuff up and sent it on its way… quickly. This also tells me I may be nursing some sort of infection.

This, too, shall pass.

Strange Days

Strange Days... That's a nod and a wink to The Doors, ya know. But... that said, today has been the strangest of strange days. It all began at oh-dark-thirty, when I rolled out of bed around five-ish. Two cups of coffee later and I began thinking "this isn't such a good ideer..." so it was back to bed, with the alarm set for 0945, given as how I had a dentist's appointment scheduled for 1100. I got up (again) around 0915... checked e-mail and had a brief chat with a friend on Facebook. Hit the shower, saddled up and headed out to what I thought was a regularly-scheduled cleaning appointment with my hygienist.

Wrong, Bucko!

I checked in at the dentist's and sat for a couple of CAT scans, followed with a consultation with Dr. Thompson. Lo and Behold... we are now scheduled for the next step in our Adventures in Modern Dentistry, which began exactly one year ago today.

Yep, in a couple of weeks time... March 3rd, to be exact... we'll sit for the first step in our implantations, which is the begining of the end. To say I'm ecstatic is an understatement of massive proportions. I've not had a steak in over one year's time... and there's BEEF at the end of our tunnel, Gentle Reader. Huge, massive slabs of rare, bleeding, tender beef! Oh, my... oh MY!

So... we came home and celebrated with two 2-Belows, followed by two Fat Tires. It was a great good thing the weather was in a cooperative mood, what with 65 degree temps and crystal clear skies. I fired up one of those wonderful Acids (a Ming, second from left in the image to the left) recently delivered to my door and took the air.

We're only just back inside and are waiting for SN3 to ring us up to discuss the finer points of cigar boxes and "Planet Earth," which constituted the sum total of his birthday gift... which The Second Mrs. Pennington advises me arrived intact and on-time... yesterday.

And we were entertained with the usual soundtrack... illustrated at the top of this post. It don't get a whole helluva lot better than this, Gentle Reader. Unless there are large slabs of rare beef involved... which there will be. Soon.