Sorry about the lack of new posts. The onset of winter seems to have caused a flare-up of my old back injuries, and I have zero energy left over after my library shift for creative or productive endeavors.
In 2007, I was hit by a carelessly-driven telehandler forklift. I learned then that workman's comp is hell and any dream of universal healthcare is absurd. The State does not care, and its monopoly bureaucracy can't help but be abusive and wasteful. The doc encouraged me to overdose on over-the-counter pain relief, and now I get bleeding ulcers when I take any NSAIDs. I have no easy pain relief options as I cope with the aftermath of having been declared "fit for work" again. I had a hell of a legal fight to get any coverage of some physical therapy for which they decided to rescind approval, too.
In 2012, my car was rear-ended as I was making a turn into a parking lot. I was spun 270 degrees or so by the impact and my car was totaled. Fortunately, my car insurance medical coverage took care of that injury reasonably well. I had to lawyer up again to with the other insurance company, but got something that almost resembled a decent settlement in the end. Not great, but better than the slap in the face from the state's workman comp.
This year I did something that screwed up my shoulder. It hurts so much I feel sick to my stomach. Yay. No idea what triggerd it, either.
So expect little in the way of new posts in the near term. When I get home from work, I will be applying alternating ice and heat to my back and shoulder while playing mindless video games in an attempt to escape the pain. The only other effective alternatives are illegal drugs I can't afford or crawling into a bottle of booze, and neither of those are exactly what I would call healthier alternatives.