Posted inLiving with a catheter

After eight years of using a urinary catheter, TURP is planned due to improved bladder function

In May 2017 I had a serious urine retention episode -- unable to pee, more bluntly put -- that kicked off a lengthy period of depression and anxiety due to the difficulty I had with needing to insert a catheter five times a day, since I couldn't urinate on my own. Not at all. Not even a drop. My urologist told me that smooth bladder muscle doesn't recover from an injury as regular muscle can. So I'd need to use an intermittent catheter for the rest of my life. Which wasn't a cheery prospect. But as the years passed, I…
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Posted inHealth

I chose ATRIO Medicare Advantage after Providence dumped me, but wished for more options

For eleven years after I became eligible for Medicare at age 65, I was mostly happy with my Regence Medicare Advantage plan. But near the end of 2024 Regence was enmeshed in a contract dispute with Salem Health. Since I wasn't going to take a chance on not having in-network coverage for Salem's dominant health care provider, I switched to Providence Medicare Advantage in 2025. Then I got a letter from Providence a few weeks ago saying they weren't offering my plan in Marion County for 2026. No reason was given. I'm guessing that Providence wanted a higher fee schedule…
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Posted inSports

Why a favored sports team losing hurts almost as much as physical pain

I don't follow professional baseball very closely. I'm much more of a college baseball fan, the Oregon State Beavers being my favorite team. But since the Seattle Mariners are the closest professional baseball team to Oregon, I was rooting for them to beat the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League Championship, especially since Seattle had never made it to the World Series. When the Mariners lost 4-3 yesterday in the deciding game of the Seattle-Toronto series, after taking a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning, I was only mildly disappointed. I could understand the pain felt…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem Weblogs

Les Zaitz of Salem Reporter advises “Don’t trust the media!” at City Club talk

Last Friday Les Zaitz, the editor and CEO of Salem Reporter (our town's digital-only news source), gave a talk to the Salem City Club with the surprising title, "DON'T trust the media!" But what Zaitz meant by "media" is an expanded conception that reflects the fractured media landscape now. The day is long gone when Walter Cronkite would say at the end of his evening network news program, "And that's the way it is," followed by the date of the broadcast. These days, the way it is depends on what media source you're getting news from. Fox News may have…
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Posted inWeb/Tech Weblogs

How I went wrong in verifying my domain names with the DNS option in Google Search Console

I'm not an internet neophyte. My first personal computer was an Apple II+. At least, I think that's what its name was, so much time has passed. I started using the world wide web as soon as a dial-up log in became available through the city library here in Salem, Oregon. I've been blogging since 2002, a near-eternity in internet years. But while I'm competent with using and maintaining a computer, when it comes to the technical aspects of HTML, DNS, and other acronyms whose inner workings still largely mystify me, I've got a hell of a lot to learn.…
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