Dog Flees Stoning Order

This is one of those stories that boggles the imagination. In a country that is not backward, and is considered the birth of monotheism, it pains me to believe that sane men can have such insane thoughts.

Here is a story that appeared in several newspapers across the globe, including the paper in my home town:

June 19, 2011

A Jerusalem rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a dog it suspects is the reincarnation of a secular lawyer who insulted the court's judges 20 years ago, Ynet website reported Friday.

According to Ynet, the large dog made its way into the Monetary Affairs Court in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, frightening judges and plaintiffs.

Despite attempts to drive the dog out of the court, the hound refused to leave the premises.

One of the sitting judges then recalled a curse the court had passed down upon a secular lawyer who had insulted the judges two decades previously.

Their preferred divine retribution was for the lawyer's spirit to move into the body of a dog, an animal considered impure by traditional Judaism.

Clearly still offended, one of the judges sentenced the animal to death by stoning by local children. The canine target, however, managed to escape.

Let the Animals Live, an animal-welfare organization, filed a complaint with the police against the head of the court, Rabbi Avraham Dov Levin.

Followup appointment goes well - I'm back on the road!

I took the train to London on Thursday, June 23rd to see my surgeon for a followup appointment. My vision is good, though apparently my muscle memory is so strong, my body is actually fighting to retain my lazy eye condition, rather than allowing the corrected condition to become stable. The doctor has prescribed some eye exercises that should speed up my recovery and help ensure an optimal result.

Basically, the doctor wants me to take a pen and focus on the nib. She then wants me to draw the pen progressively closer to my nose, so that my eyes have to go "cross-eyed" to keep focused. This tendency to force the eyes "inward" should help me retain better instinctive focus. She wants me to do this exercise for a full FIVE MINUTES every morning right after waking up. Frankly, I can think of a couple of things I'd rather be doing immediately after waking up, so I'll have to work on that.

As far as vision goes, my eyes are both working acceptably well. While the left eye is still a bit blurry, it's well within the allowable parameters for post-surgical expectations. I have been cleared to drive my car. My next followup in London will be in late August.

Today, I wanted to try to get to my optometrist to pick up my new prescription (which was written in February, a few months before the surgery was even scheduled), but it looks like it will have to wait for a few more days. My schedule is just too busy.

Can't wait for the followup appointment...

News flash - going without a car really sucks! Although my concerns about not being able to service my clients during my recovery seemed to have been a non-issue (the clients who know me and want me have been willing to provide transportation), there is, nevertheless, a feeling of powerlessness when you can't just hop in your car and take off!

Over the past couple of days, I've been having concerns that my post-op recovery is not going as well as it should. The doctors don't seem to think that my current condition is anything to worry about, but when it comes to a person's vision, I think worrying is not that bad.

I took (gruesome) pictures of my eyeball that lead me to believe I'm not doing well, but I will bide my time until Thursday and hope that when my surgeon does the followup appointment, she won't say something like "why didn't you call us earlier?"

Surgery was a complete success!

While I have been told it will take between 4-6 weeks for my corrected vision to be completely free of blurriness, I can say with certainty that only hours after the surgery, I already have more control over my lazy eye than I have had for as long as I can remember.

Before the surgery, if I closed my eyes and relaxed, then opened them, my left eye would be completely to the left of the eye socket; and the two different images were BOTH being processed by my brain. It made for some confusing (and amusing) effects - like being able to see things happening to my left without moving my head or particularly concentrating on them. Unfortunately, it also meant that while driving, traffic in my adjacent lane sometimes appeared to be coming directly at me.

All that is gone now - history. Since the operation, when I look at something, I see it with both eyes - the way it was always meant to be. I now have much improved depth perception, and I can't wait until I get official clearance to drive again.

Surgery is back in play

So, I got the call, and my surgery is on again; scheduled for June 15th. We'll see how it goes this time :)

Neato is Neato!

I LIKE IT!

Watch the first few minutes of its maiden voyage:

Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday. I got lovely and thoughtful gifts from my wife and son, phone calls and cards from various family and friends, and a day much to myself, with only a single service call to detract from total relaxation.

Today, I received more "gifts". First, for those familiar with my geek status, you'll know I have several robotic vacuum cleaners (Roombas) in various areas of the house. For the past few months, I've had my eye on a competitor's model - one that promises to do a better job in a fraction of the time. A few days ago, I broke down and ordered it (they even took one of my old Roombas in partial trade), and today it arrived!

I'm trying to exercise patience as it sits on its charging base, but I'm really anxious to use it myself.

The other "gift" I received today is news from the surgeon who broke her arm a month ago. It seems she's up and around, and I received a call today to reschedule my surgery. It should take place two weeks from today! I'm a bit nervous, but otherwise looking forward to the results.

That's it for now. I've got to run and watch my Neato charge...