She R a GradU8 ...

... and we are so proud!

Mobile post sent by osumailguy using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

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Wonder if I could put one outside of my office?

A device named the Mosquito has been developed that emits a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is being installed in various areas of the United States.  I wonder if I could get one for near my office.  I wouldn't leave it on all the time, just when the hall rats decide to stand outside my office door and have long, heated conversations about anything and everything on their cellphones.

 

For more information, see this CNN story

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First test of Utterz

Mobile post sent by osumailguy using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

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"Gary England Drinking Game"

If you are not from Oklahoma, or never visited Oklahoma during stormy-weather seasons, this post really won't mean anything to you.  However, if you are from around here, you will understand the humor behind the Gary England Drinking Game. 

 

This isn't an original game invented by yours truly (me), as you can find it online several places like here, here, here & here (the last is my favorite due to the comments added within the game).  I will share the game here, and provide a few comments at the end, as to why certain pieces are personal favorites.

 

GARY ENGLAND DRINKING GAME:

Pregame

1. Everyone selects a storm chaser other than Val Castor*. Every time Gary talks to your storm chaser, you take one drink. Take two drinks every time we see footage from your storm chaser. Take four drinks if your storm chaser says "tornado on the ground."

 

2. Everyone selects a county other than Pottawatomie County**. Every time Gary mentions your county, you take one drink. Take two drinks every time we see footage from your county. Take four drinks if a tornado touches down in your county.

 

One drink

1. Take one drink every time Gary says the following:

"Hook echo" | "Updraft" | "Metro" | "Doppler radar" | "Wall cloud" | "Ranger 9" | "Underground" | "Mobile home"

2. When Gary gives a list of counties, take one drink for every county in the list.

3. Take one drink every time Gary interrupts a program.

     Take one drink if Gary says "You're not missing any of [program name]."

     Take one drink when Gary says "We'll keep you advised."

 

Two drinks

1. Take two drinks every time Gary says the following:

"Baseball-sized hail" | "Waterloo Road" | "Pottawatomie County" | "Deer Creek High School"

2. Take two drinks every time Gary mentions the following towns:

Altus | Burns Flat | Dill City | Gotebo | Hydro | Lookeba | Meeker | Mulhall | Oktaha | Olustee | Shattuck | Slaughterville | Tryon | Vici | Waukomis | Wayne (or Payne) | Weleetka | Wetumkah

3. Take two drinks every time Gary talks to Val Castor.

 

Three drinks

1. Take three drinks if we see footage from Val Castor.

2. Take three drinks if we see footage from Pottawatomie County.

3. Take three drinks if Gary mentions the following:

"Immediate tornado precautions" | "National Weather Service" | "Mesocyclone" | "Portable Radio" | "Take shelter" | "Tornado warning in effect until ..."

Four drinks

1. Take four drinks if Ranger 9 must land to refuel.

2. Take four drinks if Gary issues his own tornado warning, not recognized by the NWS or says the following:

"Will someone please answer that phone?" | "Do you see power flashes?"

3. Take four drinks if a shirt-less tornado victim is interviewed.

 

Finish your drink

1. Finish your drink if someone uses the word tornado as a verb or if Gary mentions the nearest cross streets to you.

2. If Gary says "We've lost Val," pour a little out for your homies and finish your drink.

===============================================

 

Comments:

* Val Castor lives in my hometown.  Sarah has been babysitting for him lately when he and his wife go "storm chasing".  Yesterday was a long day for them.

** Pottawatomie County is where Renee grew up.  They are very used to hearing Gary England mention their county and home-town.

 

Believe me, if you play this game to its fullest, it is a good thing that one of the safest places to be during a tornado is a bathroom .... as your bladder will be filling quite rapidly!

 

Personal Note: This drinking game doesn't have to be done with alcoholic beverages, which is very nice for a recovered alcoholic.

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To page this person, press 5

I have always had my cellular service with Cingular (the new AT&T, whatever name that multi-personality company currently uses).  When an inbound call goes to voice mail, the first thing the caller would always hear is "To page this person, press 5...".  What the heck is that about?  If I wanted to page them, I would have sent a text message!

 

I was playing around with my voicemail settings and found that option to be called cut-thru paging, and it can be turned off. To deactivate this 'feature', once you call your voice mail, use the following options:

     - 4 (personal)

     - 2 (administrative)

     - 7 (cut thru paging)

     - 2 (turn it off)

 

Now, when callers go to my voice mail, they no longer will receive a prompting to page me.

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In case you were wondering

Polar Foils is an anagram for April Fools

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It's official ... I am going to be a guinea pig!

Currently, a BK (below knee) amputee's normal method of wearing a prosthetic leg involves donning (putting on) a liner of some type and then their socket which has a foot at the end of it. This means it takes a little while each morning before getting out of bed or doing anything, unless you hop around on your good leg (which is bad for your sound leg).

There have been advancements in the dental world that has pioneered the implantation of 'studs' into the boney parts of the jaw for attaching dentures for extended wearing. This technology has progressed to where some orthopedic surgeons believe it is possible to do the same thing with lower limb prosthetics.

A team in Europe has experimented with attaching a prosthesis directly into the femur (thigh) bone, which allows the skin to 'grow around' the pylon attachment. The AK (above knee) approach was used as it provided an anchoring into the largest bone in the body.

Enter the US attempt: This method will use an Ertl Bridge attempt as the anchoring location for the internal pylon attachment. (The bridge is the stabilizing link at the bottom of the tibia & fibula) The pylon will be attached by going through the bridge so that it can be secured between the tib/fib as well. Once the pylon and bone work strengthens and the skin heals around the titanium pylon, the prosthetic foot could be permanently affixed to the leg. This would be as close to being 'normal again' as possible for an amputee.

Why do I share this? An 'Ertl amputee' is needed for the initial attempt and I just happen to be an Ertl amputee. I received notification that I have been lucky enough to be selected for this ground-breaking and historical procedure. I have a few more tests to confirm I am a valid candidate for the surgery, but those shouldn't be any problem at all.

From what I have reviewed of the proposed procedure, I believe it should work very well. I will have a good amount of "down time" while I am healing and will have to be in a wheelchair again for several weeks. But if this works, it will be one gigantic leap forward for both the fields of orthopedics and prosthetics. If nothing else, I will get to at least travel and share about this adventure.

The Ertl Procedure was named after the man who designed it: Janos Ertl

The BK bone-implantation procedure I have described above has a peculiar name, of which I am unsure of the exact origin. It is named oddly enough: Polar Foils

Follow-up: Additional information can be found here
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