The good new is I went to the hospital again today and they think I need only one more week in the splint. Much more sensible in my mind. It pays to be a good patient!
The bad news is from China and Burma. When the last tsunami hit, I remember being in a pub with a collection jar. I got change from a ten pound note, and started to put the small change in, and then thought a second and put it all in. The pub's owner looked surprised, but then looked in then looked in the jar and saw it was full of pound coins and notes. I think no one could imagine losing everything, even your city, with no insurance, no development.
The two new tragedies are equally incomprehensible -- as is Iraq, which has lost far more civilians and buildings than any of those three events. But various barriers make it unlikely they will get the same assistance --- China's perceived wealth (which isn't really that great), Burma's government, and the fact we're the ones doing the damage in Iraq, not nature.
When I was young I might have felt sorry for myself over the finger thing, but now I'm just annoyed, and even there not very. If anything it just reminds you how good you have it, and also of how much of your future is likely to involve hospitals.
I submitted a paper and a white paper / funding draft today. I have another paper I'll try to get done today on the plane & a chapter draft due Wed and a final quick paper due Friday. The three papers are for a symposia series but I'll hopefully make them all into journal articles by July (plus a few other things!) It's hard to give up programming, but writing can be fun too.
The bad news is from China and Burma. When the last tsunami hit, I remember being in a pub with a collection jar. I got change from a ten pound note, and started to put the small change in, and then thought a second and put it all in. The pub's owner looked surprised, but then looked in then looked in the jar and saw it was full of pound coins and notes. I think no one could imagine losing everything, even your city, with no insurance, no development.
The two new tragedies are equally incomprehensible -- as is Iraq, which has lost far more civilians and buildings than any of those three events. But various barriers make it unlikely they will get the same assistance --- China's perceived wealth (which isn't really that great), Burma's government, and the fact we're the ones doing the damage in Iraq, not nature.
When I was young I might have felt sorry for myself over the finger thing, but now I'm just annoyed, and even there not very. If anything it just reminds you how good you have it, and also of how much of your future is likely to involve hospitals.
I submitted a paper and a white paper / funding draft today. I have another paper I'll try to get done today on the plane & a chapter draft due Wed and a final quick paper due Friday. The three papers are for a symposia series but I'll hopefully make them all into journal articles by July (plus a few other things!) It's hard to give up programming, but writing can be fun too.
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