Snapshots from the poison room
Posted on August 28, 2019
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| 79 words
I took photos throughout my chemo/immunotherapy treatment, to document my reactions and the view from the poison room. Photos generates a decent slideshow (complete with Generic Copyright-takedown-avoiding Sountrack #1) 1
I spent a few weeks back in 1997 building a similar video with photos from our wedding, in Macromedia Director and then output to VHS to play at the reception in town. I tapped a button on my phone and this chemo slideshow video spit out in seconds.
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An update from chemo-land
Posted on July 6, 2019
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| 644 words
The one where our protagonist realizes he hasn't published a blog post since November of last year and becomes paralyzed by the realization that he has nothing of note to write about, aside from a health update. Which is a great problem to have, given the circumstances.
So. I've been on medical leave from work for 4 months now, as I undergo treatment for lymphoma. I've finished round 4 and am gearing up for round 5 next week - then only one more round after that before recovering a bit and returning to work in mid-august.
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1 year
Posted on August 9, 2018
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| 393 words
It's weird. It was only last summer that the whole cancer thing happened, but it feels like so much longer. It went from a simple strange blood test to a confirmed strange blood test to every-single-blood-test-ever to a biopsy and CT scan and full diagnosis within a few weeks last year. I have trouble remembering a time before cancer. And now, it's part of everything I do and think and feel.
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on When Breath Becomes Air
Posted on May 19, 2018
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| 807 words
I'd picked up a copy of the book When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithy after reading a reference to it in a NYTimes article about John McCain, and Grant gave me the nudge to actually start reading it. It's an amazing read, about a young neurologist/budding neuroscientist, who spends his life learning about the nature of life, and death, by experiencing it.
I'm thankful that the decisions I'm faced with are happening in slow motion compared to his story, but the effects are largely the same.
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Slow motion train wreck in progress
Posted on May 12, 2018
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| 656 words
Another in a series of really great articles in the Times, about cancer and dying. Fun topics that are kind of relevant.
"The most obvious" response, wrote the neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi in "When Breath Becomes Air," his memoir of a brilliant life cut short, "might be an impulse to frantic activity: to live life to the fullest, to travel, to dine, to achieve a host of neglected ambitions." But cancer limits the energy for compacted living, and a longer view takes hold.
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What to Say When You Meet the Angel of Death at a Party - The New York Times
Posted on January 28, 2018
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| 130 words
A tragedy is like a fault line. A life is split into a before and an after, and most of the time, the before was better. Few people will let you admit that out loud.
Source: What to Say When You Meet the Angel of Death at a Party - The New York Times
That bit resonated. Actually, the whole article resonated a bit more than I'm comfortable with. Small talk becomes a bit like navigating a mental minefield.
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comments on facebook
Posted on July 5, 2016
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| 571 words
These comments were started in response to a friend, who was taking a stand against Facebook and their take-it-or-leave-it end user license agreement (EULA). They're not the most profound comments, nor the most well-crafted, but I think they need to exist (also) outside of Facebook's corporate walled garden. Ironically, after I posted the first comment, the Facebook iPad app prompted me to take a survey about how (un)comfortable I was with the state of Facebook, with specific questions asking about the algorithmic feed.
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on tony bates retiring
Posted on April 15, 2014
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| 432 words
Dr. Bates has been seriously kicking ass for many years. He's decided to retire - and he deserves it. I can't even imagine how much energy he's dedicated to the field of teaching-and-learning, and eLearning, over the last few decades. Well earned retirement.
His post announcing the decision is full of gems. I have to admire his no-BS summary of the state of eLearning.
Even the processes of learning, which used to be relatively stable, given how much is biological, are also undergoing change.
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scanning the family photo archives
Posted on February 22, 2014
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| 391 words
I picked up a scanner a couple of months ago, and have been slowly scanning in old photos when I get a chance. A few batches in, and I've already done 451 photos. I'm viewing the activity as potentially rescuing family history from fading pieces of paper. I have no idea if JPEG files will still be readable in 100 years, but it's worth a shot to try to preserve photos going back well over 100 years (the oldest photo is from before 1893).
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on 2012
Posted on December 19, 2012
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| 231 words
what a year. this is not a sappy end-of-year recap, but I needed to take a step back to see just what an epic year it's been. in rough chronological order:
a bunch of LMS-related activities, to try to kickstart discussion about what to select traveled to mexico to watch my niece get married on a beach got the all-clear after a potential cancer scare Northern Voice conference (likely my last) rode my bike a lot - Banff Gran Fondo and Highwood Pass (twice) and a bunch of other great rides.
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