Indisposed for New Year's

Happy New Year, everyone.  As Nicky and I both turned the page to 2015, some sort of flu-like malady was afflicting us.  I got it first, and Nicky followed soon thereafter.  I had a slight fever the last two days, but my temperature was finally back to normal today.  I think that we'll need the remainder of the weekend to completely recover.

ECAC Southeast Bowl: Stevenson 27, Bethany (WV) 9 (11/22)

Given an unexpected opportunity to extend their season -- and on friendly turf, no less -- the Mustangs took full advantage against the Bethany (WV) Bison in a concoction called the ECAC Southeast Bowl.  The game took place at the end of a very cold week, so, despite a fairly benevolent Saturday forecast, Nicky and I came bundled up, with an extra blanket in tow, just in case.  Even so, the wind and cold were severe enough that we decided to vamoose at halftime.  It was a good decision, because Stevenson already had a 23-0 lead, playing an exceptionally crisp first half.  (They did miss an extra point, but we've sort of come to expect that by now.)  The second half was apparently much less pleasing, but the Mustangs already had the game in hand anyway. 

The crowd was a little subdued, partially because of people's attire (it's hard to clap loudly when you're wearing gloves) and partially because there just weren't that many people on hand.  The players made up for it, though; the Mustangs' bench was easily the loudest I have ever heard it.  Evidently, finishing 8-3 and sending the 20-odd seniors out on a winning note was something that the players really wanted to accomplish.

Chalk this season up as a huge success, and let's try for Middle Atlantic title contention in 2015!

Stevenson 57, FDU-Florham 0 (10/25)

Insert your favorite metaphor for utter domination here: Massacree, thumping, curb-stomping, garroting, steamrolling...  Stevenson's first-ever victory on Homecoming Weekend was in the tradition of innumerable Homecoming games past: play a team you are almost guaranteed to beat.  The Mustangs' frequently anemic offense put up a 57-spot on the worst team I have ever seen play at Mustang Stadium (and that counts SU in its first two 2-8 seasons).  The stands were packed for the disembowelment.

Yep, FDU-Florham's unfortunate quarterback was, in fact, named Jagger Green.  I couldn't help but make with the jokes about the QB being unable to find any satisfaction, being knocked off his cloud, and falling to the turf like tumbling dice, to Nicky's groaning discontent.  Somehow, I didn't think to mention feeling sympathy for the Devils.  Esprit de l'escalier, and all that.

The Mustangs are now 5-2, with a good chance of finishing 7-3.

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The college hoops season will soon be upon us, and SU is getting some votes in the preseason men's Division III polls.  Not many, to be sure, but that indicates the progress the Mustangs have made under the current coaching regime.  The women were rated third in the Middle Atlantic Conference.  Since the ladies are literally returning everyone from last season's 14-14 team, 2014-15 could be their best season in quite some time.  Stay tuned.

Delaware Valley 35, Stevenson 13 (10/18)

Last week made it quite clear that, while it has made great strides with its football program in these first four seasons, Stevenson still has plenty of work to do before it can match up with the big boys in the Middle Atlantic Conference.  Last Saturday, playing their first game at home in four weeks, the Mustangs hung with a high-scoring, Top 25 Delaware Valley team until the final few minutes of the second quarter, when a 0-0 tie suddenly became a 14-0 Aggie lead.  Nicky and I were freezing in our seats, thanks to a stiff wind blowing across the stadium, and we decided to retreat to our own fireside (if we had a fire, that is) at halftime.  DVC gradually wore SU down in the second half as the impotence of the Mustang offense continues to be a major issue, forcing the defense to stay too long on the field.  The Mustangs had to use some "trickeration" to help make the final score somewhat respectable.

With the MAC title clearly out of reach, all attention turns to tomorrow's Homecoming game.  The Mustangs have gone 0-3 in these affairs thus far, but tomorrow's opponent is someone they should, theoretically, be able to beat.

52 Skidoo!

Last Friday, Nicky and I celebrated my 52nd birthday (which was actually on Saturday) and her upcoming 48th birthday by visiting our favorite Baltimore-area chomping grounds, Woodberry Kitchen.  For the first time, we were seated in the upstairs loft for dinner.  We walked on the wild side -- just a bit -- with our entrees, with Nicky trying the pork tenderloin and me essaying the catfish, chips, and herb salad.  As expected, both were excellent.

For obvious reasons, this birthday is extremely special to me, and it's caused me to reflect on the great gift that my brother gave me this Summer.  Nicky and I are considering making July 21, the date of my kidney transplant surgery, an "unofficial Barat holiday."  At what eating establishment do you think we plan to celebrate it?  You only get one guess.

Up and Out

I reached a couple of post-transplant milestones today.  The JP fluid drain was finally removed from the incision site, and the stent that had helped the surgeons connect my new kidney to the bladder was pulled out of... well, let's just say out of ME and be done with it.  Both procedures were relatively painless (emphasis on "relatively") and, thanks to Nicky's constant care over the past month, there were no signs of any infection or similar difficulties.

My next clinic visit is September 4, at which time I hope to get the all-clear to resume driving.

You Snooze, You Lose... Sleep, That Is

I finally got a new CPAP machine with a revised prescription to combat my sleep apnea.  In case any of my readers think that this medical issue sounds a touch exaggerated, here is what Nicky would have to deal with if I DIDN'T have a working machine.  She doesn't usually film me in such "compromising positions" without my knowledge, but she heard a strange sound clear on the other side of the house and came to investigate.

In other, less noisy medical news, I'll be having my kidney transplant pre-op consultation at Johns Hopkins on Monday.  Once that is done, I'll provide you with a more detailed update on exactly what I will be facing in several weeks' time.

A Belated Update

Sorry for the long, long silence.  I got back from the AP Reading in Kansas City last Wednesday, and Nicky and I have since been supervising the complete reconstruction of our kitchen, so things are in a bit of a mess.  In addition to that, my CPAP machine, which I use to combat my sleep apnea, is broken and I can't get a new one until the first week of July at the earliest, so I haven't been getting quality sleep.

I can let loose with the good news that my kidney transplant surgery is now officially scheduled for July 21 at Johns Hopkins.  I was planning on attending another statistics meeting in Arizona the week prior to that but was advised to cancel those plans.  If the surgery goes well, I'll have to lay out a minimum of 6-8 weeks from school, because I'll be taking anti-rejection medication and my immune system will be temporarily compromised.  I may come back to teach the remainder of the Fall semester after that, or Stevenson may ask me to wait until spring, as they did when I had my hematoma last Fall.  The exact plan is unknown as yet.

I should resume regular blogging activities in the next day or two.

We Are the Champions

A quick medical update:  earlier this month, Nicky and I attended the last of six monthly meetings of a Johns Hopkins-sponsored group called Live Donor Champions.  The members were all people who were on the wait list to receive a kidney transplant and/or were expecting to begin dialysis soon.  The goal was to learn strategies for seeking potential live kidney donors and informing them about the process, risks, and rewards of live donation. 

I'm happy to report that several of the people shown in the picture above have just recently received new kidneys (albeit from deceased, rather than live, donors).  I'll be sure to update you about my own progress.

... "Don't Quote Me On That."

Whelp, the best laid plans... go poof.  A couple of hours after I posted the news that our phone, TV, and internet service had been fixed, down went the system again.  Luckily, the Verizon guy was able to come this morning and replace the offending device.  Apparently, the electrical wiring around the gizmo was pretty old, as old as the original part of the house, in fact.  To wit: some of it was made out of cloth.  We'll have to get an electrician to come out here and do some work so that this doesn't happen again.

Bottom line, I'm going to have to postpone the start of "Super DuckTales" until next weekend... when I will also be facing a big stack of test papers to grade.  What fun.

On the positive side, the promised bad weather this weekend has not (yet??) materialized.

Our "Frozen Assets" are Now... Un-frozen!

Well, now, THIS has been a week that even Fenton Crackshell would have found somewhat unsettling.  The snow that wiped out Monday's classes was followed by an ice storm early on Wednesday morning.  Just as Nicky told me that Stevenson would be opening at 11 a.m., a neighborhood transformer blew (or was smacked by a falling tree branch, same difference) and the power failed.  We had no power until Thursday afternoon, so Wednesday night was a chilly one.  At least we were able to preserve (most of) the food in our fridge and freezers by storing it outside in the below-freezing temps.

When the power went down, it apparently did something to the battery in the Verizon router that services our house.  Even after we regained electricity, we lacked TV, phone, and internet service.  I was all set to announce a delay in the posting of the next DUCKTALES RETROSPECTIVE on "Liquid Assets" (which, due to the introduction of new characters, extensive Barks references, and censorship cuts, is threatening to be a monster of a piece).  Nicky, however, just called me at my office to tell me that she bought a replacement battery and managed to fix the problem, so those "assets" may indeed be flowing your way before the weekend is over.  I do have several tests to create, however, so please bear with me.

Too Bad We Weren't There

Time for an update on Stevenson's basketball fortunes.  Nicky and I typically try to attend as many home games as we can.  Last Wednesday, however, we couldn't attend either game against Messiah, as Nicky had to get up very early the next morning.  We picked a bad night to be absent... and, by "night," I mean pretty much the whole night, as the guys' game didn't end until past 10:30.  It started with the women's team snatching a 72-70 win on a buzzer-beater:

After their 0-3 start, the lady Mustangs have improved to 8-7 and are tied for second place in their conference.

The nightcap saw the Mustang men battle tooth and nail with the undefeated, #15 Falcons in a wild game that went into double overtime.  SU had a shot to win in regulation, Messiah at the end of OT number one, and ultimately the Mustangs pulled off the 103-99 upset, the second time this season that they've beaten a Top 20 team.  Lured by the promise of free soup and cupcakes -- on a mid-January night, the offer sounds even better than it normally would -- the game drew a sizable crowd for a midweek contest.  The Mustangs followed that up with a win at Lycoming this weekend and are currently 12-3 (with two of the losses being by one point) and hovering on the fringe of the national Top 25:

A 20-win season and Division III Tournament berth (which would be the first since Villa Julie College qualified in 2005-06) seem within reach if the men take care of business.

Ponies (well, horses), Beer, and DUCKS for Christmas? Well, Why Not?

And finally... can anyone recall seeing this DuckTales holiday commercial from 1989?  I certainly can't.  With original animation AND Bubba Duck, yet!

  Merry Christmas from Chris and Nicky!

"DUCKTALES Remastered": No More Games

David Gerstein was in the area doing some research and stayed overnight at our place.  Some of his and my time together included a bit of ogling of the "movie" (between-game-play) portion of the DuckTales Remastered video game.  Never having been a gamer, THIS is the part of greatest interest to me.  It is the closest we're ever going to get to a 101st episode of the series (or, if you prefer, a second theatrical feature film).

I'll post some thoughts on the action when I have time. For the moment, I'm concentrating on doing screen-grabbing from the second-season eps in preparation for resuming my regular RETROSPECTIVES in January.

RIP Captain Harvey's Restaurant and Coffee with T.

Two local eateries of Nicky's and my acquaintance closed their doors recently.  Actually, Coffee with T. would be better described as a "nibblery," since its main selling point was -- you guessed it -- caffeinated drinks of various sorts.  After the demise of Owings Mills' Java Journeys a few years ago, Coffee with T. was one of the very few coffee-centric joints within a reasonable distance of where we live.  It was located in Stevenson Village, a collection of eclectic shops and a tiny post office in "the heart of Stevenson" (a somewhat unverifiable claim given that the town of Stevenson doesn't consist of very much to begin with).  I went to Coffee with T. to get lunch on those occasions when I needed to mail something and didn't have the time or inclination to wait in line at the much larger Owings Mills P.O.  I might still be able to do that, since the site has been turned into a satellite of Stone Mill Bakery, a larger (and much more outrageously overpriced) concern of similar type, but I would feel better about patronizing the business if it were still a go-it-alone concern.

Owings Mills itself suffered a much bigger dining loss in early November when Captain Harvey's Seafood Restaurant closed its doors.  The restaurant had existed since the 1930s and had been in its location on Reisterstown Road for 60 years. Though it is one of a relatively small number of higher-end, "non-chain" dining establishments in the area, it took Nicky and I a while before we decided to give it a try.  Perhaps it was the yardarm roadside sign, perhaps the crabhouse attached to the side of the main dining area like an oversized barnacle, but we rarely drove by it without making some joke about the proprietors greeting patrons with "Welcome Aboard!" or there being old fishing nets and crab pots tacked on the dining-room walls.  In downtown Baltimore, there's a seafood place that is literally shaped like a boat, and we figured that Captain Harvey's, for all of its conventional exterior looks, was probably such a place.

When we finally decided to gird our loins (not in public, mind you) and visit the Captain's quarters, the place turned out to be... not that bad.  Since we are not big fish, crab, or lobster eaters, the two big selling points for us were the weekly non-seafood dinner specials (beef tenderloin, fried chicken, etc.) and the everything-included Thanksgiving dinner.  On the few occasions we visited, the food was at least reasonably decent.  The wood-paneled, darkish main dining area and dark patterned rug, however, simply screamed "70s."  Since the place was partially rebuilt in 1972 after it was damaged by a fire, I suppose that we shouldn't have been all that surprised by the decor.  The refusal to change said decor, however, probably made it harder to attract a younger clientele in recent years.  Nicky suggested that the restaurant had to close because many of its key patrons had died off, and that seems a reasonable conclusion. 

Whereas Coffee with T. was at least replaced by another, somewhat similar establishment, Captain Harvey's suffered the indignity of being bought out by the Royal Farms convenience-store chain.  For the moment, the crabhouse is still open, but the place's supplies are slowly being sold off.  It's a sad way to end 80 years in business, but the dining world, like the rest of the cosmos, does move.

Of Hoops and Hooves

Stevenson's men basketball team came through the Hoopsville Classic in far better shape than I could have anticipated.  Nicky and I were in the stands on Friday as the Mustangs recorded their first-ever win over a Top 20 team, beating #18 Middlebury 80-69.  And, folks, it wasn't that close, as SU missed half of its 28 free throws.  Unfortunately, I was in the bathroom when a Mustang alley-oop dunk in the first half brought the house down. 

Nicky can be seen just to the left of the arm of Middlebury #43, in the top row.  I'm to her right.

 The dunk I missed.

In Saturday's game, the Mustangs lost 70-69 to Birmingham Southern on a buzzer-beater.  I'll gladly take the split.  For the second straight year, SU has brought in a strong group of transfers and several good freshmen, and their athleticism, especially on defense, is immediately apparent.  If the Mustangs can maintain this level of play and become more consistent at the line, then this could be the school's strongest team since the 2004-05 and 2005-06 squads that played in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

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At present, I'm not certain how in-depth I'm going to get with reviews of the new fourth-season episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.  I'm well aware that (1) a number of my regular readers do not follow the show and (2) those who do might not appreciate the spoilers.  Plus, working on the DUCKTALES RETROSPECTIVE and doing the book and comics reviews still take precedence for me.  So you'll forgive me if my comments on the new MLP:FIM eps here seem a little... well, gauzily generic.  If you want to see more of my thoughts, go to Equestria Daily and look for kimba_1962, then click on the "Intense Debate profile" link.  If you have specific suggestions regarding how I should handle things here, they'd be very much appreciated.

** MILD SPOILERS **

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, Parts 1 and 2" does a fine job of both getting newcomers to the series up to speed and launching what would appear to be a new, continuing story arc.  The major question leading up to the season 4 premiere -- how would Twilight's accession to the status of an alicorn princess affect the relationship between her and the rest of the Mane 6 -- was met and answered head-on: It will take some adjustment on the part of both Twilight and her friends, but the underlying "friendship dynamic" of the series will be unaffected.  Indeed, the climax of the storyline suggests that the girls will have to rely upon friendship more than magic in order to solve the task laid out for them.

The series' animation quality has taken a definite uptick, which is reflected in "PTS"' action scenes, most of which are flashbacks retelling the stories of how Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon was banished to the Moon and how Luna and Princess Celestia previously defeated Discord.  Speaking of the chaotic one, he's back in "full farce," and I'm glad to report that his "reform" is being handled in the manner that I had hoped.  Namely, he's "helpful," but only on his terms.

The episodes get a little talky at times and the humor is somewhat lacking -- only Discord raised any chuckles from me -- but all those concerns over the show "jumping the shark" appear to have been wildly inaccurate.

Lycoming 36, Stevenson 20... and more sports news

They just didn't have it in them -- players, coaches, the whole lot.  Especially in the second half.  The Mustangs outscored their three weakest opponents of the season 84-6 after halftime... but in their other seven games, they were outscored 107-22 in the third and fourth quarters.  With that much-sought-after .500 record at stake, the home finale against Lycoming was more of the same.  Despite giving away eight points thanks to a fumbled snap by the punter and a blocked extra point that was returned for two points by the Warriors, SU trailed only 22-20 at halftime.  With Lycoming pounding out yards on the ground and the offense basically impotent, the Mustangs' defense was dog-tired by the end.  Given the 3-0 start, the 4-6 final record has to be regarded as a disappointment of sorts.  Next year, with an immense senior class, the pressure will REALLY be on.

The conduct of the Mustangs' head coach during the game was extremely displeasing and became almost comical towards the end.  He tore the refs a new one following a disputed reception call early in the game, and that seemed to set the tone.  Nicky and I both thought that he spent far too much time bitching about this, that, and the other thing and not nearly enough getting his team to concentrate on the tasks at hand.  I can imagine that he was even more disappointed in the finish to the season than we were.  However, combined with the boorish behavior of the assistant coach at the end of the Misericordia game, I'm beginning to sense a disturbing pattern here.  We're not expecting ballroom deportment, but there is a limit, especially when the meltdowns are taking place in full view of university officials.

We were finally able to get a complete video of the marching band's halftime show:

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Even after a decade away from Virginia State University, I was appalled and even slightly embarrassed by the news that some VSU football players allegedly beat up a player from Winston-Salem State before the CIAA championship game.  Obviously, an investigation is still ongoing, but VSU's team was banned from the Division II football playoffs.  I still keep in touch with some of my former colleagues from the VSU Math Department, and I can only imagine the emotions over such a self-inflicted black eye.  It's not as if VSU hadn't been its own worst enemy many times before in terms of its treatment of certain employees, but that news was strictly local.  Sustaining national humiliation is something else again.

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College basketball season is here, and Stevenson's men's team started with an easy victory over Cairn University.  The women, meanwhile, dropped two games in a tournament in the Boston area.  This coming weekend, SU will host the second annual Hoopsville Classic tournament, featuring 10 men's teams from around the country, many with high (for D-III) national profiles.  Nicky and I hope to attend some of the tournament and I'll be sure to file a report.

Wilkes 21, Stevenson 17

While Nicky and I were away for the weekend -- visiting Nicky's sister and hospitalized brother-in-law in NYC and meeting up with David Gerstein and Joe Torcivia -- Stevenson was, in all likelihood, kicking away any chance of its first .500 season, thanks to a dreadful fourth-quarter meltdown at Wilkes.  For three quarters, the Mustangs had things their own way against the Colonels, building a 17-0 lead.  Wilkes finally managed to score on a gadget play early in the fourth.  An SU fumble and a subsequent personal foul penalty helped the Colonels narrow the margin to 17-14 with about 1 1/2 minutes left.  The Mustangs needed only one first down to ice the game but couldn't get it.  Working with no timeouts, Wilkes connected on two long pass plays to get down to the SU 1, then scored on another pass to take the lead with :24 remaining.  A desperation pass by the Mustangs was intercepted as time ran out.

The Mustangs' mental mindset will be key as they host winless Misericordia this weekend.  This should be win number four at long last, but who knows how long that Wilkes wilt will linger.

An Update and a PSA

On Tuesday, Nicky and I paid a visit to the neurosurgeon who operated on my subdural hematoma two weeks ago.  He officially cleared me to return to work as of October 1 (pending the reception of paperwork by Stevenson's HR office).  However, the exact nature of said "work," at least for the remainder of this semester, remains to be determined.  My classes and independent study student have been assigned to other faculty members for the balance of the Fall semester.  My chair and I are going to have to work out plans for me for the next several months.  Obviously, I'd prefer to get right back into the swing of teaching, but I understand the university's caution in this matter.  I'm generally feeling fine and am gradually getting my stamina back.

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From occasional blog contributor "kenisu" comes the following message regarding a DuckTales initiative:

I've put together a petition to try and get Disney Records or Intrada to release the complete music score from DuckTales, and it's going to need all the signatures it can get. If there's any way you can promote this thing on your blog, I'd appreciate it immensely!

Here's the link:

http://www.change.org/petitions/disney-records-and-or-intrada-release-the-complete-music-score-for-ducktales-and-other-disney-afternoon-shows-on-cd-2

There's a Hole in My Head, But The Rain ISN'T Coming In... Yet.

A number of regular readers of my blog are aware that I was hospitalized from Tuesday afternoon the 10th through Sunday afternoon the 15th for an operation to repair a subdural hematoma.  Let me get the rest of you up to date.

This trouble stemmed from an accident I had on campus on Tuesday the 3rd.  I recently moved into a new office in a quirky old building that used to be a carriage house.  The corridors are narrow, there are several flights of stairs to be negotiated in order to get to the faculty offices and computer labs in the building, and, most significantly of all, there are low, vaulted ceilings in certain places.  I walked smack dab into one of these ceilings while returning to my office from the copier room.  I didn't lose consciousness but, as it turned out, the impact resulted in my brain literally being shifted several centimeters inside my cranium and blood and cerebrospinal fluid leaking into the space between the skull and the membranes protecting the brain.

I was still able to teach and drive the rest of the week, but Nicky and I began to notice some strange symptoms over the weekend.  I began to have persistent headaches and seemed to be having trouble keeping my balance.  When Nicky and I went out walking around our neighborhood, I tired more quickly and started dragging my left foot a bit behind my right.  It almost felt as if the top and bottom halves of my body were moving at different speeds.  I still wasn't overly alarmed.  I attributed the headaches and general air of lassitude to the stress of starting a new academic year and having to get up early every morning. Once I got into the swing of the new schedule, I thought, all would be well.

On Tuesday afternoon the 10th, I had just started my Basic Statistics class and was going over a quiz with the students, perched on the edge of the desk in a half-sitting, half-standing position.  I suddenly lost my balance and fell to the floor.  Several students had to help me up, while another student went to get help from security.  I had already been examined by a security guard on the 3rd, so the security personnel were aware of what had recently happened.  They insisted that EMTs come and take me to the ER of nearby Sinai Hospital for evaluation.  There, a CT scan confirmed the existence of the hematoma and a large quantity of fluid in my head.  I was operated on the next morning and a suction drain was inserted into a small hole in my head to pull out the fluid and help my brain ooze (is that the right term?) back to its normal position.  In the process, my hairline was shot to hell.

I felt OK after surgery, but I was still under the influence of pain medication.  Once that wore off, the ordeal began in earnest.  I was unable to keep food or drink down and began to experience a constant migraine-level headache.  My blood pressure also spiked, leading us to believe that my kidney function had somehow been affected.  In truth, my kidneys behaved well throughout.  All of the pain and difficulty was caused by the negative pressure exerted by the head drain, leading to what's called a low CSF pressure headache.  Even doses of morphine helped only a little.  I endured for 36 hours before the neurosurgeon's assistant came on Friday afternoon and removed the drain, fixing the cranial battlefield up with staples and stitches after the fact.

Once the sucker (sorry) was gone from my dome, everything headed north with a vengeance.  I could eat and drink again and my headache quickly subsided to the more typical "I haven't slept well or had caffeine in X days" version.  Nicky was with me virtually the whole time, and my mother and three siblings were also on hand at various times to lend support and advocacy to my cause.  Nicky did a wonderful job of keeping as many people as possible informed of my condition, both at Stevenson and elsewhere.

I'm now at home with instructions to stay out of work and avoid driving for two weeks while my head recovers from the surgery.  I'm hoping to get back to teaching by October 1 if all goes well in my follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon on the 24th.  I should be able to resume "normal blogging activities" in another day or so.  Thanks to all who were able to send good wishes during my hospital stay.