Syracuse (Actually Liverpool) Snow

These pictures in front of my brother's house are pretty impressive until you realize that he is only 3 feet tall and his two-story house tops out at just over 10 feet. He lives on a cul de sac in Liverpool with seven other "small" families. They refer to themselves as Liverputions.

Kind of proud of this one

Click here to link to a video I did for work. A reporter shot the footage, I did the editing.

snow scenes

We ended up with just under a foot of snow. It is all cleared up. Her is a movie I shot downtown



Here are some pictures of snow.

My entire family from Evergreen, Colorado to Plattsburgh, New York were visited by the same storm.
Here is a photo from my sister's backyard in Colorado:



And here is a photo from the backyard of some friends in Marion. Caden is King of the Mountain!

snow

We came in at just under a foot.
Here is an image that Bill Sinden took for the newspaper
Check out marionstar.com for more

Lucy's Math Problems

This is a simple one - House plus People equals Home


This one is more difficult - Girl in pajamas (notice the yawn) plus Getting dressed minus Pajamas equals Dressed girl


Eggs plus Bacon equals Breakfast - it's yummy


While this one is obvious, she is a unclear on the concept.


Now we are back at the beginning, only this is the transverse. Home minus People equals House.
She is a clever little girl, isn't she?

Weather

Walked into work yesterday. There was about 3/4 of an inch of snow on the ground. Word was that is was going to keep snowing. I didn't want to get my car stuck at work, so I walked.
I got to work about 5 a.m.
I walked home at about 8 p.m. with more than 6 inches of snow on the ground.
Six inches is a lot.
I hope to post some video later tonight to tomorrow.
Probably tomorrow. I have to get ready to hoof it in again today. I am sure that fewer people will show up today than did yesterday.
It is sort of fun. But not too fun.

1 plus zero does not equal 100

Here is a book that Lucy is working on.




I will post some of the problems later this week.

Enaman

I was checking out the Colossal Colon Web site this morning. The Web master is Molly McMaster who is from Glenns Falls, NY. The Colossal Colan was the cause of me discovering my cancer. Molly works for the Adirondack Frostbite, a hockey team in the United Hockey League. That's the league that the Asheville Smoke played in.
Anyway, I ran across a weird photo while cruising the site. It was an Enema Man. I thought I would share it with you.

Sunday weather column

This was my regular Sunday column. I don't understand why we overreact to the weather.

Now, when I was a kid, it was really cold
I can think of no better way to get people to stop reading your column than to start off with a description of a New Yorker cartoon.

But, I'll take the risk.

A woman is speaking on the phone in the cartoon: "We'd love to visit, but the weather mongers have us paralyzed with fear."

I thought about the cartoon a lot this week as we reported on delays and cancellations because of cold weather.

School superintendents face an impossible situation.

For years the TV weather mongers have been dialing up the fear of weather.

This week it was windchill.

You can't expect the superintendent to let the kids wait for the bus when the TV is talking about dangerous wind chill conditions.

Before I start, let me tell you that I know a little bit about cold weather.

I spent my teenage years on the fringes of the Adirondack Park in New York.

I spent many winter weekends skiing or camping in the high peaks region of the park. When we camped we usually had tents but occasionally we slept in open lean-tos.

Skiing is just downright fun and the cold was rarely a factor. We did our skiing at Whiteface Mountain. On days when it was below zero they handed out wool blankets at the chairlifts that brought you to the summit.

We never heard about windchill. The temperature was the temperature and you dressed appropriately.

But the temperature is not good enough when you need to scare people to keep them interested.

Why say it's 5 degrees when you can say the wind chill is 25 below zero?

So what does windchill mean? Here's the definition from the National Weather Service:

"The windchill temperature is how cold people and animals feel when outside. Windchill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold. As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it FEEL much colder. If the temperature is 0 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the windchill is -19 degrees Fahrenheit. At this windchill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes."

The key term is "exposed skin."

If you jump out of the shower, forget to put your clothes on and run out of the house when the wind chill is 25 below zero, you could be in trouble.

If you bothered to get dressed, are wearing a hat, scarf, gloves and a coat of any description - no problem. The wind chill isn't a factor.

Remember, also, that the wind has to be blowing at a constant rate - which it rarely does.

Does it feel colder when it's windy? Yes.

Is it dangerous? Not really, not unless you are naked.

If it were dangerous, skiing would be impossible.

Soon the TV weather scarers will be turning to thunderstorms.

Anything to make you afraid of the weather.

One day spring will come and you'll be home, watching TV, when the scroll will come across the screen warning you about a possible thunderstorm.

You're already in the house. What are you supposed to do?

The only thing I can think of is to turn off your TV.

It might not make you any safer, but it will make you feel safer.

I never thought I would get to the age where I started bragging about how much tougher it was when we were kids. My dad says he walked 5 miles uphill to and from school in three feet of snow year round.

I tell my daughter that it took us so long to walk to school that we had to get up a half hour before we went to bed.

Now she sits at home in the morning and waits for it to warm up a bit before she gets in the car for the a block-and-a-half ride to school.

Again, I'm not blaming the schools. They have to do what they have to do.

I'm just worried that my daughter will have nothing to brag about when she discovers that her kids have it even easier than she did.

My Cancer Column

My Saturday Cancer Column

This is the column I wrote for our Saturday Health section. The topic was cancer

Don't be afraid to talk cancer
If there is an upside to being diagnosed with cancer it's that you get to meet a lot of nice people.

It's really not surprising. There are plenty of opportunities. I spent nearly a year visiting doctors, treatment centers, hospitals and imaging centers. I never encountered an empty waiting room.

I have said since the beginning of my cancer journey that people don't talk enough about cancer.

Let me clarify. People don't talk enough about cancer publicly.

People talk to you individually.

As soon as I let people know about my diagnosis, I started to hear stories.

"I was given three months to live and that was 15 years ago," was one of the first stories I heard. It was followed by several survivor stories.

It wasn't just local people, or friends, or business acquaintances.

One night, while I was home alone, the phone rang.

On the other end of the line was the aunt of a friend. A woman I had never met before.

It turns out that 11 years ago she had the same cancer I had and wanted to tell me that she got through it and I would, too.

Believe me, it was great to talk with someone who had been there before.

The best thing she told me was that, while she would tell me everything she knew, she would only tell me things she knew from personal experience.

She wasn't going to tell me stories she had heard or read or offer any speculation.

It was going to be straight up truth about what exactly happened to her.

She gave me tips on diet, let me know what to expect and most importantly, gave encouragement when I needed it most. She constantly reminded me that my experience would likely be different.

We talked almost weekly through my treatment and right up to my surgery. I don't know if my friend on the phone knows how important she was to me.

Her influence lingers. I talk

about my cancer a lot. Some might say I won't shut up about it.

As an editor of a newspaper, I don't like it when we refer to someone by their disease. I cringe when I see phrases like, she is a diabetic, or he is epileptic. You can't define a person by an affliction or a disease.

But, in a way, my cancer has defined me. My cancer is there when I make decisions. My cancer makes me treat people differently. My cancer affects the way I do my job and the way I feel about my family.

And, even though I won't shut up about my cancer, I am sticking to the lesson my telephone friend taught me.

I only talk about things I know from personal experience and I will always emphasize that everyone's experience is different. You might get chemo and have no side effects. Mine for the most part were mild, yours might not be mild. You can't tell how anyone is going to react and I can only tell you what happened to me.

So, here is what I learned from my personal experience.

# Don't be embarrassed to talk to someone about things that might be happening to you.

I kept my symptoms to myself for more than a month because it had to do with what was happening in the bathroom.

If I hadn't finally said something to my wife, who knows what might have happened to me.

# If you are a grown up, you have to have a relationship with a doctor. You might not need a yearly physical if you are young and healthy, but you need to have a medical professional that knows you. You need to have someone you can go to when you notice something going wrong.

# Don't be embarrassed to tell or show your doctor anything. You make your doctor's job a lot easier if you are open and honest. Don't make them figure out what is wrong with you, tell them.

# If you notice a change in how your body works don't assume it is a normal part of aging.

# Don't be afraid of medical procedures no matter how invasive. Nothing hurts for very long and you can get used to most anything.

This is the second time I've been cured of cancer. In each case I had only passing knowledge of the disease before I was diagnosed.

If someone was trying to send me a message, believe me, they got their point across.

I know, from personal experience, that cancer can be beat. But, it can't be beat, if we don't talk, if we don't ask questions, if we don't share our experiences.

3 Saturday afternoon movies

Lucy and I went to Lincoln Park to sled on the "Big Hill." Lucy did all of the sledding, I just stood around at the top and got cold.
Here is her description. Notice how she can't stand still.



While we were at the park Mary had nothing to do but watch the cats indulge themselves.



Late, Lucy decided she wanted to make her own movie, despite my objections.
I don't know what we are going to do with her.

Saturday

Lucy wrote a book today. It's called "1+0 does note equal 100, Lucy's Funny Math Problems."
The math problems are like this.
Lucy plus cat equals mad cat.
Of course, she does it in pictures. Clever girl.
We also made a video. It is Saturday, after all.
It's all Lucy. Her idea. Her Direction. Her Editing. She even typed in the titles.
I tied the knots in the string and manipulated the hands (badly).
Lucy hid under a blanket and only popped her head out at the end. Patient girl.
Here it is:

Haven't blogged in a while

I think that I have not been blogging because I have been feeling good. Actually, I have a cold, but it is just a cold. It is not knocking me flat on my back like it might have a few weeks ago.
I have also been busy with work, so here is a Tragically Hip video about work.
I think of it as the copy-editors song.
It's starts out
"Everything is bleak, it's the middle of the night, you're on your own and the dummies might be right."
If you work at a newspaper, you know what I mean.



The Hip almost always refer to themselves as another name when they appear as a band in their videos. In this one they are "The Filters."

Nephew is funny

Here is my Nephew Marly and his funny college buddies mocking authority.
Excellent work you private school snobs (Just kidding, I love you, you crazy bastards).

Not everyone likes The Hip

I respect everyone's opinion, even when they are not as appreciative of the Tragically Hip as I am.
Take my buddy Chris's fiance who is a photographer.
She recently got a chance to photograph a Hip show in Canada. You would think she would be thrilled. At the foot of the stage with the Tragically Hip!!!???
Take a look at the photo. Does she look thrilled?
Still, I respect her opinion. Maybe it was because she was there for work and not for fun. Yeah, that has to be it. Everyone loves the Hip. I do. Don't you?

Speed Stack challenge

I look a bit short busish in this.
Aunt Babs gave Lucy the speed stackers for Christmas.We haven't practiced that much.
But we are still getting ready to challenge Aunt Babs this summer.
I have a hunch she is not too worried.

Lucy's Cancer Ball movie

Lucy conceived this video while in the car on our way back from Columbus. She was listening to Joe Jackson and really liked the song. She was playing with the ball and decided that it would make a good symbol for cancer. She drew the background and edited the video herself.

Thanks to Dirk!

Here's a clip from a band called Catnap
They kind of sound like The Damned a little cleaned up
Dirk aus Germany sent it to me
Thanks from Catnap aus Ohio!

I might be armed

Read this story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal: Officer assaulted with colostomy bag

What a creative kid. Probably misunderstood.

Speed stacks

Aunt Babs bought Lucy some speed stacking cups and we have done a little practicing. We have set a challenge date for this summer so we need to practice a bit more.
We need to get as good as this guy:

We so funny

We had to stop at the office Saturday afternoon because I needed some photo files. We turned the camera on my new IMac on and Mary showed off some of her fine parenting skills.

We have had some requests to get Mary on video because she always seems to be missing.
Believe me, she is here and not someone I made up.

If you doubt me, here is the proof:

A quiet Saturday in Graser land

Not much up. We are contemplating a trip to Columbus to use up a gift certificate at a restaurant.

Otherwise, it has been pretty still this morning after Lucy and I had our eggamuffins with our new eggamuffins machine.

Oh, and I made this video

My Friend Dirk

I don't know if I have mentioned the friendship I have developed with a fellow from Germany named Dirk. He has a daughter named Lucy - she has a twin name Leah. That's them in the photo below.

He found some of our Lucy videos on Youtube and started corresponding.
We have a more in common than daughters named Lucy.

Fortunately he speaks English very well. My German is non-existant. I know how to say good night and taste, Guten Abend and Schmeken respectivley. I am always asking Lucy to at least have a shmecken of her peas - she is not interested even when so provacatively asked.

I told Dirk about how I love to smoke pork shoulders in the summer. I get to sit around and drink some beer and play with fire all day long.

Here is a clip from his latest e-mail describing his summer gilling

"In summer we are standing with a few beers (I don't drink too much) and talking about our favourite themes. And we light our grills. He has a brick-built one - very nice and good for normal german bratwurst and some pig steaks. But that grill is not so big. Our grill is round ... and a little bit bigger - with 65 cm diameter and a smoke cover dome. He is good for bigger parties, but he is also very fast with a great heat. I gave him the name "Fast breeder reactor" and I think he comes from Tschernobyl.
I think in summer you can give me some special tipps for some great american flesh slices called steaks!"

I love the last line and will now refer to steaks only as Great American Flesh Slices.

Great name for a band or a butcher shop.

It is a very interesting relationship because there is so much to talk about. Our cultures are surprisingly similar but very different at the same time.

we both have young kids and jobs and houses that need repair and we have both been ill recently.

It's good to have friends from other places. It makes you see your place a little differently. And it is fun. Almost as much fun as grilling up some flesh slices.
I can't wait for summer.



Okay so she is not cooking steak! But what is a discussion about cooking without a little Rachel Ray?

Normal Care

My oncologist now considers me to be a normal care patient. That means I see him every 6 weeks for blood work.

From now on I am to call my GP for everything and then fill him in only if symptoms become persistant.

It's funny, I have spent almost a year visiting my onocologist at least once a month and it seems most of the time, once a week.

I have seen my GP once in my life. I got a finger up the butt and a colonoscopy appointment.

I aslo had dinner once with the GP at a charitable function - But that was before our doctor - patient relationship and we just sat at the same table and barely talked.

So, the big news is that I am no longer a cancer patient!

Let's hear a big Whoo HOO!

Our favorite German Twins

It's Lucy and Leah!

News about Dan the Robot

Sadly, but expectedly, Dan the Robot stopped functioning three days after being brought to the Graser household.
It was an "accident."
Turns out if you wind him real tight his clockwork goes Kablooie and he can only work for a few seconds before falling over. Kind of like daddy. If only Dan had some change to jingle.

Dan the Dancing Robot

He likes Madness Midis... funny robot

Grandpa's book

We donated a book to Harrison Elementary in honor of Lucy's grandpa Ted as a Christmas present to him.
Here is a video about it.

From the Associated Press

Castro should have called me. The colostomy is no big deal and a great ice-breaker at parties.
I'm wearing one now!

MADRID, Spain -
Fidel Castro himself told surgeons not to perform a colostomy, opting instead for a course of surgery that produced a complication leaving the Cuban leader in far worse condition, according to a newspaper report Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

After removing an inflamed piece of Castro's large intestine in an operation last year, the doctors connected the remainder directly to his rectum, rather than attaching a colostomy bag, El Pais said, quoting two medical sources at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital. The operation failed when a suture burst.

No Doctors

It is Friday and I have spent the entire week without one visit to a doctor's office.
I can't recall the last time that happened.
I do have an appointment on Monday but it is just a check up.
I feel like I am getting stronger everyday. I wish it wasn't winter. I would love to get out of the house for long walks or even possibly a bike ride (not sure how my bottom would respond)But it has finally turned cold and I don't get home until after dark and I am not interested in dealing with the cold and dark.

Time for some more hip

Ahead by a Century



Best line: With Revenge and Doubt, Tonight we Smoke Them Out.

Here is the Hip U.S. tour schedule

THE TRAGICALLY HIP: LIVE 2007
*note: all times provided are local to each city

Monday February 26, 2007
Long Beach, Ca
Long Beach Arena

The Who with Special Guests The Tragically Hip


Tickets: $47.00 - $152.00
On Sale: Monday December 11th @ 10:00am (pac)
February 28. 2007
Phoenix, Az
US Airways Center

The Who with Special Guests The Tragically Hip

KSLX & KDKB Present The Who with Special Guests The Tragically Hip

Tickets: $47.00 - $177.00
On Sale: Monday December 11th @ 10:00am (mtn
March 1, 2007
ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena
San Diego, California

The Who with Special Guests The Tragically Hip

KGB 101.5 Presents

Doors: 7:30pm
Tickets: $55.00 - 180.00
On Sale: Saturday November 18, 2006

March 5, 2007
Hoffman Estates, Ill
The Sears Centre

The Who with Special Guests The Tragically Hip

Tickets: $54.00 - $99.00
On Sale: Monday January 15th @ 10:00am (ctl)

March 06, 2007
Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, Indiana

The Who with Special Guests The Tragically Hip

Tickets: $53.50 and $83.50 with a limited number of gold circle seats.
On Sale: Monday December 4th at 10am

March 8, 2007
Rochester, NY
Harro East Ballroom

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $35.00 Adv, $40.00 day of show
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ Noon (est)


March 9 & 10, 2007
Buffalo, NY
Town Ballroom

Age : All Ages (under 16 to be accompanied by parent or guardian)
Tickets : $45.00
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ Noon (est)


March 13, 2007
Atlanta, Ga
Roxy Theater

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $25.00
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (est)


March 15, 2007
Houston, Tx
Scout Bar


Age : 18+
Tickets : $25.00
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (ctl)


March 16, 2007
Dallas, Tx
Palladium Ballroom

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $25.00
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (ctl)

March 19, 2007
Denver, Co
Gothic Theater

Age : 16+
Tickets : $30.00
Tickets Onsale : January 20th @ 10:00am


March 21, 2007
Las Vegas, Nv
House of Blues

Age : 21+
Tickets : $35.00 Reserved Adv, $25.00 GA Adv, $30 GA day of show
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (pac)


March 26, 2007
San Francisco, Ca
The Fillmore

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $25.00
Tickets Onsale : January 21st @ 10:00am (pac)


March 28, 2007
Portland, Or
Roseland Theater
Age : 21+

Tickets : $25.00 Adv, $28.00 Doors
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (pac)


March 29, 2007
Seattle, Wa
Moore Theater

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $33.50
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ Noon (pac)


April 12, 2007
Detroit, MI
State Theater

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $45.00 & $35.00
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (est)



April 16 & 17, 2007
South Burlington, VT
Higher Ground

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $40.00 adv, $45.00 day of show
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 11:00am (est)



April 18, 2007
Clifton Park, NY
Northern Lights

Age : All Ages (under 16 to be accompanied by parent or guardian)
Tickets : $20.00
Tickets Onsale : January 20th @ 10:00am (est)


April 20, 2007
Boston, MA
Avalon

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $28.00
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ 10:00am (est)


April 24 & 25, 2007
New York, NY
Irving Plaza

Age : 16+
Tickets : $25.00 adv, $28.00 day of show
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ Noon (est)


April 28, 2007
Philadelphia, Pa
Theater of Living Arts

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $25.00 adv, $28.00 day of show
Tickets Onsale : January 19th @ Noon (est)


April 29, 2007
Washington, DC
9:30 Club

Age : All Ages
Tickets : $25.00
Tickets Onsale : January 18th @ 10:00am (est)

Martin Luther King Day

We had a caller at the newspaper the other day who couldn't for the life of her figure out what MLK stood for and didn't understand why the schools were closed.

We did take a video at Christmas

Lucy grabbed the camera in Liverpool. Chao ensued.

new video of me and Lucy being crafty

I really did feel bad about this

Goo Goo Dolls Saved my brother

where have I been?

I have been lying on the couch.
Since last Thursday I have had diarrhea, which is an altogether new experience with an ostomy bag.
I
became seriously dehydrated and spent two days getting IV fluids pumped
into me at a doctors office. It is believed that I have a bacterial
infection in my colon.
I have barely had the strength to get to the computer to check work e-mail, let alone blog.
I
will be back, next week... Hopefully I will start to feel better this
weekend. but I am finding that increasingly hard to believe.

Back from Christmas in New York

We took no video, shot few pictures... to big and fast moving to capture..so to sum up .... we had a great time, saw all the family, had a big fat visit from Santa and will be weeks in recovering.

New topic.
I was watching Jeopardy last night and I was wondering what I would say after the first commercial break if I were ever on that program.

I think I would either tell the story about the time my colostomy bag fell off in the airport and I got shit on my shirt and had to buy a new one.

Alex: "I understand you had an interesting experience in the Columbus Airport once."

Me: "Yes, Alex, I had just passed through security when I noticed a suspicious odor ... and I still have both shirts, hahahahahahah."

Or perhaps the story of my daughter being born on my birthday.

Alex: "I understand you daughter was born on a special day."

Me: "That's not in the form of a question Alex, but I will answer anyway. Yes, she was. But did I ever tell you about the time my colostomy bag fell off in the Columbus Airport?"

I don't know, the chemo is hooked up again and I think I am delerious.

what would you tell Alex?

In Syracuse

terrible sore throat.....but we had a nice drive yesterday and now it is just a short hop to Chateaugay.

I wear the chains I forged in life

Christmas has us by the throat. We are going home this year. First time in about 10 years. That is my sole reason for not posting more. That and not much happening. Chemo has me down in the dumps and I believe I am addicted to my sleeping pills...mmmmmm sleep. droooool.

Hip video

This is Lucy's favorite Tragically Hip video. It always reminds me of my friend Melissa, cause I am always wondering what that poet is doing.
Lucy likes this because we have a tape of her dancing to this when she was a curly haird 18 month old. Also it has cats. When we play the song in the car she always points out the spot where Gordon hits the light switch. We have it on DVD, but this guy stole it from TV

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 5 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

famous ostomates

Humbling list of famous people with ostomies

fake tree, real music

this came out pretty crappy

I am trying to learn Imovie for work, and I realy truly think it sucks. Windows movie maker is way more intuitive, easier to manipulate and, as far as I can tell, offers more features.

Sorry about that all you Mac fan, but the stuff Apple brags about in its commercials is bs stuff, that other programs and platforms generally do better. And Macs, in my experience crash more than PCs.

Merry Christmas all you Charlie Browns

Too lazy to do my own work.... it's the chemo .....

what a difference a year makes

Last year, when Lucy was attending a pre-school at a Methodist Church, we asked her to tell us about Christmas and this is what we got:



This year she attends public school for kindergarten and this was her response when we asked her to tell us about Christmas:



I don't think the school has anything to do with it. I think it is more of a reflection of us -- or that damn TV!

What part of Thanksgiving am I?

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

More Lunch Notes

sorta recent photos

Here is Lucy and our backdooyard neighbor Logan enjoying some carrots while watching TV. Logan is a good kid.


That's Lucy in the white hat about to put her boot to the ball. It must have been early in the game.


This is Lucy playing goal. Notice her outstretched hands. Nothing is getting by her.


Here is Lucy making a play while playing goal. Nice job!


This is Chris and his son Peter. Peter is just one-year-old!

This was living

latest lunch note poem

What I am worth

Just totalled up my medical claims for the year, so far. I think I have a few thousand more befoe the end of the year because of the ongoing chemo.
the grand total processed by the insurance company as of today:

$122,590.55


I think I am worth it. Don't you?

Purely biological fixed so you can see it

I fixed the YouTube settings so you can see this without some ridiculous registrations crap.

A couple of days ago, when it came time to change my ostomy equipment, I decided to film a little one-man how to.
It came out OK and I offer it here for those of you that are curious.
It is really more interesting than anything else.
Going into my operation I knew that there was a chance that I would end up with a stoma. Unlike the rest of the operation I did very little research and had only the vaquest notion how the whole thing would work.
I am sure that most of you are a little unclear.
So, in the spirit on my openess about the consequences of cancer you can click here and see how it works for yourself.
It is not as horrible as you might imganine, but if you are squeamish about things like this, you might want to skip it.

Mom's Away

Lucy and I are bakers

mmmm supplies.

new video

It has been a while since we have seen Lucy on video.... I know you have all been dying for this. Most of these did not work out quite right.

Restaurant Eating

Day two of exclusively eating in restaurants and everything has gone OK.
Note to self: sit on outside of booth if you are going to get gassy.
I had to get up a lot and that meant displacing the fellow next to me.
I will leave Kent State around noon today. The drive home should be interesting. Something has to happen with all this food and it hasn't happened yet! eep!

By the way

My photo a day video on YouTube is up to 1,070 views. It has seven ratings - it is not rated very well. And there are only two comments. One is gobbledygook, which I am afraid is some sort of Web geek speak for, "it sucks" and the other is in French and actually means "it sucks."
C'est la vie.

From Kent, Ohio

In Kent State doing some recruiting work. It is very early in the morning and I am at loose ends. Maybe if I don't start working at 4 a.m. I won't get so tired in the afternoon.
Nah... it's the chemo.

Lucy celebrities

http://www.myheritage.com

Thursday already

Elections tend to send you into a time vortex... where am I? When am I? Somebody throw me a time preserver!!
Tried to make a DVD of Lucy movies to send with Lucy to school for show and tell.
Is that a little over-the-top.
WTF are we going to do for science fairs? Full length cgi movie?
Create a spell check just for daddy?

Lucy photos, soccer, school

More lunch notes

Click on the notes to see them real big


I had to spend a few hours sitting around a doctor's office getting juiced up on cancer drugs. So, I had some time to doodle. People say Lucy is lucky. I am not so sure.




I guess I could have used my time better, but I can't see how.

Vote early, then lay back in a comfy chair and get stuffed full of drugs

MMMm....second day of chemo....
Shouldn't be too bad, the needle is already in and that is the only painful part. I have had some side effects. When I touch something cold with my hands itmakes them feel like they are falling asleep and when I drink something just the slightest bit cold it feels like there is a fishbone stuck in my throat. I did get really tired yesterday afternoon but that might be because I have not been sleeping much.

Let's make it a thousand

This is the most viewed of my 60 or so videos on YouTube at 964. It would make me complete to see it hit 1,000

chemo underway

My first session of chemo has been completed and I am hooked up with my old pal the Curlin Medical 4000 CMS. I have to wear this for 22 hours then get another 2 hour batch at the doctor's office and then 22 more hours on the pump. Then I take a week off from medicine before I do it all again. I have to complete the 3 day course 4 times before I have any hope of not seeing a doctor for a while.
I like doctors alright, I got nothing against them, but this is getting a little silly.

Pictures from our trip to Cincinnati

Guess who is older!



Posing with the brew crew.. Hey it was after 10 a.m.!



Dad giving Syracuse Athletic Director Dr. Daryl Gross some sage advice. "Get a player like Dave Bing."


Mike with a statue of Cincinnati great Oscar Robertson.


Dad with Syracuse Athletic Director Dr. Daryl Gross.

Weekend movies

We wrapped up the soccer season with a trip to Tim Hortons for some hot chocolate and some Timbits (donut holes. I played a little disc golf and Lucy and I made some movies for our friends in Germany.
We are going to try to learn some German phrases. It's part of our heritage so it might come easy.

The first one is a video about Lucy's Halloween Candy. She got more candy than any little girl should eat in a lifetime, but I am betting it will last a week (with mommy and daddy's help).


And here is Lucy's new version on an old favorite. She really does think that she is funny. Maybe she is. You be the judge.

Celebrity Look alikes

Check out Warren G.!

late halloween costume idea

I could have gone as a kangaroo!!! I already have my pouch!

Parent Teacher Conference Results

Turns out Lucy is doing well in kindergarten.
In all the categories they have tested so far, she scored above where she is supposed to be at the end of the year.
We still have concerns about her ability to keep her hands to herself but the teacher says it is getting better.
The big deal about her behaviour is that,the teacher thinks, Lucy is developing a sense of humor and is exploring the boundaries of that humor.
In most families each generation gets smarter.
I believe in the Graser family we have evidence that while each generation is showing incremental increases in intelligence, the humor factor is off the charts.
Graser's aren't getting smarter, they're getting funnier.
Not sure if that's a good thing.

Parent Teacher Conference Tonight

Should be interesting. Lucy was shown a yellow card today for "beating up" a class mate.
Lucy used the term "beat up" but I am not sure if it means what we think it means. Sounds like there was a lot of playing involved. At least that's my story.
Soccer game tonight got called because of cold conditions.. babies.

Expensive bones

Lucy and I made the headstone and we bought the bag o' bones at Wal Mart.
The dirt pile was courtesy of our sewer repairmen who left us a great big bill too.

This is the only fun we got out of the great wads of money we spent.

My toilet time has dropped by about 95 percent, for chissakes!