More CPAPpery

On December 16, 2022 By Luther M. SilerIn idiocyLeave a comment

So the geriatric snail that UPS assigned my new CPAP mask to finally completed his mission today, and my new “nasal pillows” mask has officially arrived. Good news and bad news! The good news is that my wife (I deserve no credit for this) figured out how to get the damned machine working; the bad news is that I’m an idiot. The problem? Was the fucking water reservoir, which wasn’t clicked in properly. The whole fucking time.

I checked that, by the way. Multiple fucking times. And I have to admit I’m a trifle pissed with my respiratory therapist, because once we had the reservoir snapped into place properly the entire machine became whisper quiet when before it was louder than both the fan and the air purifier in the room by a good amount. And my therapist, who commented on being able to hear it, didn’t realize that was a problem, or at least didn’t communicate that to me, where the knowledge could have done some good. So it turns out that both the new mask and the old mask work fine, so I just need to figure out which one I want to use. I thought the nasal pillows would be an easy choice, but … well, have you ever had air blown up your nose? Not, like, through a cannula or something, which is much smaller than your nostrils, but something that covers your nostrils to blow air up into them? My first thought upon putting the thing on was holy shit I can’t breathe, and I kind of forgot my mouth was there for a couple of moments, and while it’s more comfortable to wear I feel like the regular mask will be easier to sleep in. So we’re going to try that one tonight and swap back and forth for a while and see how it goes.

Four days to winter break. I can do this. Piece of cake.

In which I am dadding today

On June 29, 2017July 2, 2017 By Luther M. SilerIn Parenting6 Comments

Sick_kid_t751x500 So… four years ago, maybe? my son contracted the nastiest case of hand- foot- and mouth syndrome I’ve ever seen. This isn’t saying much, as I know so little about the disease that I keep insisting on sticking the word hoof in there whenever I have any reason to bring it up. The boy, to be clear, lacks hooves. But whatever he had, it was Goddamned horrible– there were scabs all over him, particularly around his face and his eyes, and he was basically a giant ball of horror and misery for a week and a half or so before it finally cleared up.

Amazingly, though, other than a couple of bouts with the sniffles that was the last time he’d been sick, until this week. On Saturday he abruptly threw up in a parking lot on the way to the grocery, and last night– yes, four days later– he threw up again three more times. In between? Completely fine. Today? Completely fine as well, eating everything in the house. And I’ve been queasy as fuck and waiting to throw up all night, as well as the vague nightmare where all you really want to do is sleep and all the boy wants to do is lay around and watch videos because He Threw Up Last Night and he knows he can get away with it. I’ve been trying not to nap all day. Blech.

In other news, Balremesh and Other Stories was, for a brief period of time, actually outselling a few Neil Gaiman books in one of the microcategories it’s slotted into. It’s still available for preorder, for just 99 cents. Go get it!

Call your Senators

On June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 By Luther M. SilerIn Politics3 Comments

Pure anecdata, and I just said this on Twitter but sometimes I like to say things in more than one place: I just called both of my Senators, one a Democrat and one a Republican, and told their staffers that I needed them both to vote against the Senate healthcare bill. Also said to the Democrat’s staffer (who sounded exhausted) that I expected him to do literally everything in his power to oppose it.

I got through to the Democrat’s office on the first try. It took four to get through to the Republican’s office. And damn near every single response to this tweet by Todd Young is anti-AHCA. It’s amazing:

My statement on the Senate discussion draft: pic.twitter.com/ktXqwAH3LI

— Senator Todd Young (@SenToddYoung) June 22, 2017

There’s a lot of weasel words in there, but I’m choosing to take a bit of solace in the fact that it’s not a full-throated endorsement of the bill.

This bill will hurt literally every person living in this country. Every single one. Get on the phones, folks, and make your voices heard. The DC Senate switchboard is (202) 224-3121, but I find more luck getting ahold of actual people by calling the local offices.

Really?

On July 3, 2014July 3, 2014 By Luther M. SilerIn idiocy7 Comments

Four observations:

Do you think there’s a male version somewhere with “Dinkie (Penis)” on it?
This makes me think that women should probably go anywhere but this place for health care.
“Eggs” comes before “Ovaries,” because we know which part of the woman is actually the important part, right? Some of those eggs might turn into boys.
What, no “Hoo-hah (Vagina)”?