Yikes

I'm on the list to borrow a Audio-gd DAC, at which time I'll compare it to my PS Audio PWD. It'll be interesting to see if the Audio-gd DAC lives up to the HF Hype.

That's it? Whimps.

Papa! Congratulations! Roughly 6600 Days until she's ready for College.

Obviously didn't even look around before Signing up, so won't understand the Shovel reference. I just found and read the Welcome PM. It took me over 4 years to read it.

Both are HF FOTM's so you'll find few here who have given either of them much thought, and even fewer who will offer any opinions in response to a Newbs 1st post. JH13's

Andy's the age where he was probably thinking of retiring anyway. The landlord being a dick was just enough incentive for him to pull the plug.

I really don't see a fantasy league assembled on this forum being too intense... Even for the admin. We'd hold the draft (pick) teams. Then I'd enter the teams in the system. Then everyone would get email updates with standings. At some point we could hold a 2nd draft. I see it as something that motivates following the hockey season a little closer.

No need to post anything. I appreciate good thoughts, but I posted to vent. Frightening, a little, but what's Frightening is having people who depend on you and being in similar situations, or having people depending on you and being a 99er (Unemployment running out). The only person depending on me, is me. So absolute worse case I end up staying on friends sofas, or dying because I can't continue to pay for my health insurance. What would freak me out is not being able to take care of someone I was responsible for. Which is no one, so...

Been off the roids for almost a week, so not an issue. My right arm is no worse than it was ay 4am this morning. Still picking up a shoe is painful enough to cause me to grimace in pain. Oh well, time to switch hands.

I had a CPAP with O2. I tried 5 different masks and none of them would stay on. I ultimately abandoned its use. There are some people whom it does wonders for, but I'm fairly sure that a large percentage of the time they are mis-prescribed. Not to mention that Sleep Studies are a major racket. Its primarily due to the fact that the US Health-care Industry promotes Treatments as opposed to cures. They LOVE billing for ongoing care. And for someone sharing the bed a CPAP can be extremely annoying. We had to put the O2 generator in the basement, and it still makes your partner think that they are sleeping with Darth Vader.

Thanks Everyone, I've been on colchicine for about 6 weeks, primarily because with the surgery (and the GI bleed) NSAID's are a no-no. Colchicine is normally fairly effective, it obviously hasn't stopped this Gout episode, and I can only speculate about whether the colchicine has lessoned the severity of this prolonged Gout attack. I've been taking Allopurinol (To lower Uric Acid level) for about ten days. It doesn't seem to be helping, but who knows how bad it would be now if I were not taking it. Earlier today I restarted taking Protein (Whey) supplements. This should also help reduce my Uric Acid level. As far as disability goes I have looked into it. Taking the SSA guidelines as Gospel I wouldn't qualify. They have strict guidelines and my condition doesn't qualify (It has qualified for maybe 3 weeks out of the 3 months, but it would need to be that bad for much longer 3-6 months before I'd be considered for SS Disability). I'm hopeful because of two things; my restarting the Protein supplements and that data shows that this period of increased Gout will pass.

As time goes by I am less enamored with my surgical team. There was no mention of increased instance of Gout in the seminars leading up to the surgery. Just to night doing research I discovered that there is a firmly established link. After the surgery the body consumes (eats it's self) a lot of protein and hopefully fat, but it does consume a lot of protein. When it does this it ultimately floods the body with levels of Uric Acid the likes of which the body has never seen before. So it is the reason for the severity and duration of this outbreak. It's one reason why they have the patients taking protein supplements. In the first month I took the supplements religiously, but I then began decreasing them. My body was responding well and I had no issue consuming meat (after the surgery most people have problems with beef and chicken, I didn't so I reduced the supplements). So I have restarted the whey protein supplements in the hope that my body will release less uric acid. The fucked up thing. I had to research and learn this on the Internet, my surgical team should have made this possibility known to me, they didn't. Now the hopeful news: the data shows that this period of increased gout passes and that ultimately the surgery usually improves or cures gout (people who had frequent gout outbreaks before the surgery initially have SEVERE Outbreaks after the surgery but eventually the gout goes away once the body has acclimated (6-12 months). This make me feel much better, I feared an existence where gout was going to be an ever-present antagonist. Now at least I have the hope that this condition will be finite. I can hang on if there is an end in sight, whether it's 3 month or 9 months there is a good chance it will end. In the meantime I may take up residence in a shopping cart, methinks I should be paying more attention to my portable rig

Some of you may be aware that in mid April I had Gastrointestinal bypass surgery. It appeared to go really well. I was recovering/responding better than anyone I've ever heard of. Then in May A Gout flareup started (I'd never been officially diagnosed with Gout, but I might have had 3-4 brief (2-3 day) flareups over the last 15 years), it was misdiagnosed at the ER which directly resulted in my having a severe G.I. bleed. I ended up almost dying, spent six days in the hospital (where I received 12 units of Plasma and 9 Units of Whole Blood). To make a long story shorter I'm still fighting the same Gout Flareup. 3 Fucking months and on-going. The last month I've been on steroids, which helped a lot. The gout was almost gone, but the steroids ended last Wednesday, by Saturday I could feel twinges of the gout in my foot and right arm. Today it has really come on strong, over a period of about 6 hours my right arm has gone from a little pain when I move it to a continuous pain in the 3-4 range (in the elbow area) and a lovely new symptom; my arm heading toward the wrist is numb. WTF! Numbness. Is the swelling in the elbow cutting off the blood flow? Or pressing on nerves? Either way it's fucked. I need to get a job. How do you get a job when you can't use your arm because of a gout flareup? Or when you are forced to wear an orthotic on your foot? Or when it's really bad in your feet crutches? At the moment I can barely use my arm, much less type with my right hand. A Three month long Gout Flareup! At what point is it no longer a flareup? I'm squarely in what I am calling the FU Zone. Out of the three months I might have met the Social Security definition of disabled for two weeks, but the gout is still keeping me from getting a job. So I'm fucked, the gout isn't severe enough to qualify me for SS, but it is severe enough to keep me from getting a job. My savings are gone. I'm now selling off my not insignificant stockpile of toys. So taking stock. The good I'm down to 304 lbs from 361 on April 14th (435 lbs last September) The surgery has pretty much cured my Type 2 diabetes (I'm now what would be called non-symptomatic) The bad Gout non-stop to varying degrees (the severity and duration of the gout is almost certainly due to metabolic changes from the surgery, which they never mentioned) Sorry, the Gout trumps the positive aspects of the surgery. I couldn't move around well at 435, but better than I can now. The Type 2 I had under control with diet and oral medications before the surgery. I'm sorry, next week I'm probably going to change a major digit (299 lbs), but the gout has me totally demoralized. Anyway.... Just venting.

I found a site for managing a Hockey Pool. It's free, so I signed up for it. Which would make me the administrator. Now if we can get let's say 8 to 12 of us interested in taking part. If we get enough people we can decide how to hold a draft. A live draft using Head-Case Chat might be interesting. Anyway, we have some time. Post your interest. Otherwise we could start a Fantasy Tennis Pool,.... maybe not

Brent, Here's hoping you as easy a time as possible. Been there, done that. It reminds me. I was a bouncer for years at a big Philadelphia Gentleman's Club. Whenever I would throw a Bachelor out, before I threw them out I'd tell them the three most important things a bachelor can be told. (Jokingly) 1) Marriage is a form of Death. 2) Children are Nails in the Coffin 3) Divorce is the Birth of Hope

I saw that there is a gathering HC fantasy FB thang, but I didn't chime in because I'm ignorant about Football (ok, and most other things). The only sport that I know anything about (besides synchronized swimming) is NHL Hockey. So I thought I'd just throw it out there. Any interest in a Fantasy Hockey League? I've never participated in a Fantasy anything, that is unless you count Crush Videos (it took me a minute to think of something really bizarre). But I'd be game.

Sort of. It's also true that this site has more than it's fair share of condescending sadistic bullies, but that's part of the appeal. Read read READ. Is key, if you ask the same question that was asked yesterday, last week, last month, you will be abused, deservedly so.

Stax O2

70 volts? Most electronics wouldn't even function. I doubt that a PS Audio PPP could cope with such a drop. That's greater than 40% under voltage (unless you're in Japan), rent an analyzer that provides a printout. Then withhold rent until they fix your wiring. Good luck.

MTT San Francisco SO Copland The Populist. Only problem is now I feel like having a steak

I'm sorry. It must be me. I know that this is a serious DIY thread, but the title keeps coming up under New Posts. And for the life of me "Drill Press Spindle keeps falling out" sounds like the lead in for a Joke. So where is the freaking Punchline? Please, someone come up with a punchline. Sorry for thread crapping.

Regarding Rudistor all I know is that after I visited their display at the first National meet I walked away shaking my head. As far as I could tell the stuff was the very definition of Bad Value. Haven't bothered listening to it since.

Hello All, The Bridge has landed. If you would like to follow all of the Beta testers trials and tribulations there is a Beta Testers Blog that is totally open to the Public. I'll give PS Audio credit where credit is due. Their goal is a beta Test that is totally transparent, and it is. FYI- I'm Ethan http://www.psaudio.com/betablog/

TANSTAAFL - If it seems too good to be true, it usually (Almost always) is. That being said; I have no idea. Dew it! it's only $70

I too enjoyed this program, glad it was picked up.