Blueberries & Planes

from husband Bill, May 26, 2026

While I am not all that fond of cheesecake, I do like blueberries.

from husband Bill, May 26, 2026

Happy Birthday Pops

from husband Bill, May 25, 2026

Happy Birthday to my paternal grandfather (b. May 25, 1901) ... passed at age 82 in 1983.

3rd Surgery Anniversary

from husband Bill

Today (May 25, 2026) is the 4th anniversary of my 3rd of 3 heart-related surgeries, which is also my 2nd of 2 chest surgeries. All 3 surgeries were in 2022. My wife took this photo of myself on May 19, 2022, several hours after my 2nd surgery.

*1st Surgery (March 9, 2022): I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. As usual, a section of a vein in my left thigh was removed to be used in my open-heart surgery. I had two drains installed in my belly.

*2nd Surgery (May 19, 2022): A surgeon removed the sternal plates from my 1st surgery that were holding my broken breastbone pieces together from within my chest. The screws became loose. He also cleaned out much of a staph infection also from within my chest. A wound vacuum was then attached to my chest, sucking out the remaining infection and discharge, running 24 hours per day. My chest remained open for a week with the wound vacuum constantly sucking, except during bandage changes for 20 minutes every other day.

*3rd Surgery (May 25, 2022): A surgeon closed my chest by attaching seven sutures, leaving me with eight holes in my body from my lower neck to my upper belly. The wound vacuum was reattached and continued to suck on my chest for many more weeks. The vacuum also served to pull the wounds together to increase the speed of my healing process.

My other recent surgeries:

*September 2023: 1st spine surgery (remove abscess in infected disk)

*October 2023: 2nd spine surgery (placement of titanium metal rod to hold my spine together due to a bone infection)

*April 2024: right ankle surgery due to 2 fractures

*November 2025: artery bypass surgery (3-foot-long blockage in main artery in my left leg; removal of 3-foot-long vein in my right leg and inserted within my left leg)

*November 2025: left foot surgery (3rd and 4th toes of my left foot amputated due to artery blockage)

*April 2026: angioplasty of main vein in left leg related to artery-bypass

Other previous surgeries: three other surgeries on my left foot; nasal/sinus; and tonsils (in 1966, age 5). Also, two plural effusions (draining of fluid surrounding my lungs) and six weeks of dialysis.

Today Is ...

from husband Bill, May 25, 2026

I celebrate being a nerd, not a geek. Actually, Google has the exact same definition for geek and nerd, so I guess I am both: "a person who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject, especially one of specialist or niche interest." I always thought nerds were smarter than geeks. I guess my particular subjects are Austrian pop music, men's rights activism, and chemistry. When I was in high school in the late 1970s, the girls hated nerds. These days, so I have been told, nerds are fashionable. (I have always been in the right place at the wrong time.)

from husband Bill, May 25, 2026

When I was very young, I used to take my lunch to school in a metal lunch box. I remember a barn box with a silo container for my drink. As I got a bit older, still young, I switched to a brown bag just as my classmates did. I don't remember any other metal box.

from husband Bill, May 25, 2026

I prefer Austrian (not Australian) white wine and Italian red wine, specifically Chianti Classico.

from husband Bill, May 25, 2026

Prebiotic Soda Video

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

I created and uploaded onto my YouTube channel a (short) taste-test video for Bloom Pop, flavor: Raspberry Lemonade. (1 minute, 50 seconds)

Taste Test: Prebiotic Soda (May 24, 2026)

https://youtube.com/shorts/GbOLDFIc8Bw?si=qHlheA-2oIlYCQih

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

I was quite close to moving to Wyoming from Florida many years ago, well, after 1998 when I first moved to Florida. I had a telephone interview several hours long for a job as a top editor for a chain of newspapers. I didn't get the job because I screwed up the answer to one question. I am sure that's what knocked me out of contention. The interviewer asked me what makes me laugh. My answer was "hypocritical people." Wrong answer. She seemed horrified by my answer. I then tried to salvage this mishap by frantically saying "The Simpsons, The Simpsons," but it was too late. LOL ... I am happy that I didn't get this job because it would have meant leaving my then-girlfriend and future wife. (funny, but true)

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

I have a stepsister, but no brothers ... except ... for ... my fraternity brothers. Here's a tribute to the brothers of the Gamma Zeta chapter (Villanova University) of Alpha Phi Delta fraternity. ... love you guys !!!

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

I never liked escargot. I only tried it once. When I was very young at restaurants with my parents in the 1960s and 1970s, Dad would order escargot, and Mom and I would enjoy eating bread dipped in the butter-garlic sauce.

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

I have never eaten it, but I would like to try it.

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

I hope there isn't any DEI hiring in this profession like there is with pilots.

from husband Bill, May 24, 2026

Happy Birthday To Ruth

from husband Bill, May 23, 2026

Happy 80th Birthday to Ruth Underwood (née Komanoff; May 23, 1946), an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments for Frank Zappa and his band The Mothers of Invention. She played for Zappa from 1968 until the mid-1970s, and again briefly before Zappa's death in 1993. She married fellow Zappa musician Ian Underwood.

I am a huge fan of Zappa. I was fortunate to attend a Zappa concert in 1984 at The Pier outdoor theater in New York City (Manhattan) with my cousin Scott.

Many decades ago (1970s & 1980s; my teens & 20s), Ruth was one of my rock 'n' roll crushes, along with Martina Weymouth, Linda Ronstadt, Charlotte Caffey, and Gail Petersen.

Taffy & Coins

from husband Bill, May 23, 2026

I grew up eating saltwater taffy on the beaches of south-central Long Island, New York, specifically Jones Beach State Park and, more importantly, Robert Moses State Park, Fields 4 and 5, in the 1960s and 1970s.

from husband Bill, May 23, 2026

The United States ceased minting the 1-cent coin on November 12, 2025.

from husband Bill, May 23, 2026

Today Is ...

from husband Bill, May 22, 2026

My dad was in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, serving on a ship during that time, and his dad was a Merchant Marine after emigrating from Portugal when he was a teenager.

from husband Bill, May 22, 2026

I prefer chocolate pudding mixed with pistachio pudding. I am a huge fan of tapioca pudding with chocolate syrup.

from husband Bill, May 22, 2026

I have been a piano player since the late 1960s. I have a digital piano, so I do not require a musical instrument. I play a little guitar. I wanted to learn to play the oboe, mainly because it is deemed to be the most difficult orchestral instrument to learn. When an orchestra tunes itself, it's the oboe player who first sounds the "A" note so that the other musicians can tune their instruments properly.

from husband Bill, May 22, 2026

I have been on several road trips with friends and family members, each epic in its own way.

from husband Bill, May 22, 2026

Today Is ...

from husband Bill, May 21, 2026

I like Darjeeling tea. Earl Grey tea is nice, too; I like its bergamot (orange) flavour.

from husband Bill, May 21, 2026

It's not my thing. I dislike whipped cream, and I REALLY dislike strawberries, although I sometimes force myself to eat them because they are healthy.

from husband Bill, May 21, 2026