A Brief Personal Update

It's been a while since I posted anything even remotely important and today is probably no exception. I do have to report that I have completed my Thallium Stress Test and they found no blockages or damaged heart muscle. While it is a relief to know that I have no impending major cardiac problems it does cause me concern in that it means that my breathing troubles have some other cause which has not yet been determined.

I did a two night sleep study last Thursday and Friday. That was exhausting but not really for the reasons that the sleep specialist thinks. They tell me that I have sleep apnea and that I need to be on a c-pap or bi-pap breathing machine. They tell me that this will allow me to breathe easier at night and that I will awake more rested and refreshed. What they do not realize is that I did not rest peacefully during the tests because I ALWAYS have trouble sleeping in a bed that is not my own! I am also not accustomed to someone coming in every hour or so and checking the myriad of wires that dangled from me during the test. The second night I was supposed to try and sleep with the c-pap machine (face mask) on me. That required having a full face mask strapped over my face. By the end of the night my face was raw where the rubber seals touched my cheeks and the technician kept increasing the pressure throughout the night. By morning it was similiar to trying to get to sleep with the exhaust end of vacuum cleaner hose in your mouth. I have to go back on February 7 to hear the "official" reslults of that test.

Obviously I'm no doctor but I think that my problems stem from the fact that I have gotten downright lazy. I aggravated an old back injury back during the summer and once cold weather set in it really bothers me when I get out in the cold. With the onset of winter I totally stopped exercising. I stopped riding my bicycle and I stopped taking my two mile walks before work in the morning. I come home from work, have dinner, sit on the couch and get fatter and fatter. Hmm, wonder if that could have anything to do with my declining physical well-being?

On another note, today I registered a domain name and set up a website. I have no idea what I am going to do with this site. Yahoo had a sale on domain registrations and I couldn't resist wasting the nine bucks for my three year hold on the website address www.rlhoward.net .

If anyone has any good ideas what to do with some perfectly good web space please let me know.