This is a record, I think, for the latest EA post ever. I had started two posts this morning, and then my run of bad luck in all respects over the past two weeks struck again. Yesterday, in the late afternoon, a wind storm knocked out just enough of our electricity—only ours, in this area of Northern Virginia—to render our appliances, my PC, our internet, TV, our air conditioning and our phones inoperable. A lucky encounter with a power company crew working on a street light (Grace, Spuds and I were aimlessly driving around the neighborhood so we could at least listen to the Red Sox game) resulted in three trucks arriving at our home in about ten minutes, and they brought us out of the Stone Age in about two hours. Then today, Comcast had “an outage in our area.” They fixed that problem a little after 7 pm.
Getting any posts up in this stretch has been a chore, mostly because I’ve been feeling terrible along with having some income-producing obligations that had to take priority. I want to thank all of the readers and regular commenters who have sent me kind emails, and others of you who I owe personal replies, acknowledgments and thanks and am tardy on those along with such essentials as calculating invoices, shopping, walking Spuds (I owe him about ten) and clearing fallen branches off off the lawn.
Naturally, traffic here, already unstable since the election, has really crashed, and the hell with it. I’ve decided that of all the things to worry about, that’s a waste of time. My mistake has been thinking that I have any control over traffic, other than to keep myself healthy enough to try to cover the ethics landscape and provide something for the traffic to come to. The commentariat here has, as usual, come through with flags flying while I was languishing.
There is some good news: we finally figured out what caused the tsunami of health issues that hit me about a week ago following my ugly oral surgery (How ugly? I could hear a tiny Norman Bates crying out in my mouth, “Blood! Oh, mother so much blood!”). It turned out that the antibiotic the dentist prescribed was, to put it mildly, not good for me. I didn’t suspect that it was the cause of my problems because I had taken it many times before without any problems—but only in single doses, before regular trips to the dentist. This time I was taking the stuff three times a day for more than a week. My clever wife decided to check the reported bad side effects of the drug, and it was like reading my medical diary. I have been experiencing every one of them. Every single one!
And there’s the little problem of eating, which has been just about impossible
I’m going to try to finish those two posts, and maybe get another up, but no promises. I’ve learned a lesson; not nearly all the lessons I need to learn, but it’s still progress.
Ethics Alarms 
Jack,
Just take a break, you’ve earned it, we’ll be here when you get back.
Steve
What Steve said!
Glad to hear. Been checking in regularly all day and was starting to wonder what was going on.
-Jut
Take care of yourself first. It’s okay to prioritize that.
By the way, thank you for recommending the HBO original movie, “Conspiracy” a couple of months ago. Our cable provider has given us one of their periodic Watchathon promotions that have given us limited access to HBO and other programming we usually don’t get. We watched the movie this evening. Banality of evil, indeed.
Oh, good. I’m glad you saw it.
Really glad you know what’s happening and that you’re completely better ASAP! Big hugs.
Thanks CD. I came from an anti-hug family and from Boston, where hugs are considered gauche. I am far, far underhugged.
That’s ok, Jack, you just do as you are able. Hope you feel better soon.
Glad you hear you have a path to mending – that’s 3/4 of the task, right there. You keep watching out for yourself, your wife, your dog, and even your kids when they’ll let you. We know where to find some of the most level-headed commentary on the net, and them as can’t see it don’t deserve it.
Ethics alarms can wait. Get well.
jvb
That’s awful. Get better, the traffic probably won’t. I hope it wasn’t a sulfa drug. I finally realized I was allergic to one of those last year, those were awful side effects (but the side effects were the same as the sinus infections I had).
Oh man! Sorry about your adventures in medication, but glad you’re on your way to recovery. Best wishes from the West Coast.
Take the time you need. Trust me; we’ll hang around like junkies waiting for a fix, but we’ll survive!
Just make sure you do!.
So, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, eh? Okay, but the effect is not immediate. Take care of yourself, and, as already noted, we’ll be here when you are ready.
It is not unethical to focus on your own needs from time to time. Hope you begin top feel better soon. I know the pain of oral surgery is a bear.
BTW
on the traffic issue: Keep in mind that Thomas Paine had fewer readers than Nora Roberts but I think we can establish who writings were more important.
Please take care of yourself, Jack! I don’t comment here much, but I read this blog with as much fervor as my Dad used to read the morning paper. I can wait patiently for you to return comfortably and take in the wisdom of yourself and the commentators. This blog feels like the only oasis in this desert. Thank you.
Yeah. Something had to take the place of the New York Times when it went down the Tubes and got run over on the way to Jersey.
Ditto what everyone else said. If you don’t take care of yourself, you end up spending more time away. Please do what you need to do to get better.
Jeeze. Is that Barrymore quote on target or what? Yikes. I’ve always gotten a kick out of the social correspondence directive “regrets only.” It’s the title of my short story about a woman losing the nuclear family in which she was raised, as we all eventually do.
Whey you are feeling better would love to hear your Ethics review of the series BILLIONS. I’ve been watching it and have a pad full of ethic violations for all the characters.
Health first. Blog later.
But you know this. So be wise, and execute accordingly. Thanks for what you do, but … priorities!
You take care of yourself, your family, and pay Spuds back the walk debt you owe him. We’ll be around when you recover.
Years ago I had to learn the hard way that I was terribly allergic to a specific painkiller. It was awful. It is a widely-prescribed medication, but because once it almost killed me it now appears on my medical records as a major allergy.
So report it. Your dentist. And to your primary care physician. Get it in your records!