The condition is called a Right Bundle Branch Block. You can go to the Mayo Clinic and read on it here.
In a nutshell, the right side of my heart has an electrical irregularity that causes the heart to pump inefficiently. The doctor says that since I was not being treated for hypertension or other heart related illness, the RBBB was probably brought on by the accident. The outside of my body was belted into the car, but as my body was being held in relative position, my gizzards and heart were banging around inside.
I now have had three "episodes" where I don't feel well and there is a heaviness in my chest (not pain, not insufferable). One in the car the moments after collision. One a few days later. One in the cardiologists office.
The cardiologist is taking a wait and see attitude towards my condition because I feel he thinks that it will resolve or not require invasive procedures or be managed. That's good because I take it personally when people want to poke around my insides to see if there is anything wrong. I'm not restricted on movement or anything, so that is good.
Sadly, I have no idea what the future holds. Fortunately, I don't have a Left Bundle Branch Block. That is worse than the Right one (see the Mayo Clinic article to know why). The fear of the unknown is unnerving.
I consulted a personal injury attorney and am considering hiring her to see if I have a case against the insured.
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A man knows...
...when he's up against it.
I was in a car accident right before Christmas. Not severe, but the impact caused me some discomfort of the chest, so I was taken to the hospital.
Now I have a problem with my heart. I have no idea what the future holds. It's more electrical than functional, so I'm probably going to be having to watch it vs. getting a procedure for it.
I have a pretty good doctor, so I think I am in good hands.
I have to try and keeps things in perspective. So far it hasn't caused me to discontinue what I like to do. However, I have to lose more weight (I'm down 40, but I need to lose at least another 20).
Clark
I was in a car accident right before Christmas. Not severe, but the impact caused me some discomfort of the chest, so I was taken to the hospital.
Now I have a problem with my heart. I have no idea what the future holds. It's more electrical than functional, so I'm probably going to be having to watch it vs. getting a procedure for it.
I have a pretty good doctor, so I think I am in good hands.
I have to try and keeps things in perspective. So far it hasn't caused me to discontinue what I like to do. However, I have to lose more weight (I'm down 40, but I need to lose at least another 20).
Clark
Monday, March 09, 2009
GM and Chrysler
I fail to understand how it is that GM and Chrysler are at near catastrophe levels and am begging for handouts at the feet of government. Why are they not just filing for bankruptcy? How is it that Ford has managed to avoid having to beg for money? I’ve thought about this a little bit and have come to the conclusion that both GM and Chrysler just have too many cars to sell. It’s all about choice.
For example, Honda sells just a few models. Three sizes of car (if you count the hybrids), two sizes of SUV, one minivan, and one truck. GM has four car divisions: Cadillac, Chevy, Buick, and Pontiac. What about Saturn? I don’t consider them in the same vein, but I will get to that later. Each of those divisions has multiple models of car at varying price points with varying features. Simply put, most of the cars sold in the Chevy, Buick, and Pontiac divisions are the same except for some sheet metal and badges. There are Minivans and SUVs sold in three out of the four divisions (none in Pontiac). And the Chevy and GMC truck divisions are the only ones that sell trucks and large vans. Saturn sells cars, minivans, and SUVs out of its division, the only one to do all three. Pontiac seems to be a division devoted to young people only, while Chevy appeals across the age spectrum. Buick and Cadillac are supposed to be upscale cars with the Buicks seemingly for a more senior crowd.
Chrysler seems to be in the same boat. They dropped the Plymouth brand years ago because no one really could tell the difference between Plymouth cars, Dodge cars, and Chrysler cars. Smart move then. Chrysler seems to be the luxe division with cars, SUVs, and minivans. Dodge seems to be in the middle of the road with cars, SUVs, minivans, and trucks. Then there’s Jeeps, which are only SUV.
Ford seems to have solved the choice problem by limiting their divisions somewhat. They still have a lot of overlap between Ford and Mercury with cars and some of their smaller SUVs, but they have squarely placed all of the luxury models in the Lincoln division and the majority of their trucks in the Ford division (still trying to understand the Lincoln Blackwood…weird).
Anyhoo, here’s what I think GM should do:
1. Stop playing around with my taxpayer money and file for Chapter 13. We all know you can still operate, so do it. If an airline can do it and I can still board the plane maintained by that airline and get to where I need to go safely, then it should work for you. Clean the slate with the unions and start over. If they are interested in supporting your business and getting back market share by building great cars, then they’ll negotiate. Right now, their labor rates are unsustainable. If they aren’t willing to negotiate, start advertising for employees. Give the employee a reason to want to come help make a great car.
2. Stop making so many freaking cars! Drop the Pontiac nameplate for cars, minivans, and SUVs. Drop the Buick nameplate completely. Stick anything that could be considered a “crossover” vehicle into Pontiac. Make the crossover the “high tech innovation” line. Drop the GMC Brand of pickup trucks and SUVs. Put GMC on large trucks and semi’s only. Leave pickup trucks in the Chevy division where you will also make a “value line” of sedans, SUVs, and minivans. Cadillac will be your lux division with their unique cars and SUVs. Retain nameplates for limited edition cars like the Corvette, Camaro, and TransAm and produce them in moderate numbers or produce a model line every so often and make them unique enough for the model line to sell out. Retain the Saturn division for small cars and sedans. Stop trying to produce econocars like the Aveo to compete with the other econocars in the Saturn division. Niche vehicles should be carefully marketed between divisions so as not to compete with each other.
3. Adopt a marketplace style of sales model. Publish the costs of the vehicle on a central website and allow customers to pick from a small number of trim levels for that model (3 at the most). If a customer is intent upon loading up extras on a standard Chevy sedan, offer them the ability to compare online against a loaded vehicle from the lux model line. The packages can then be updated at the dealer should the customer wish to add something that isn’t part of the package. That cost is predetermined between the dealer and the manufacturer.
4. Give all vehicles a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty.
5. Stop financing vehicles at the dealership. Let banks to their thing. If you want to buy a bank to use nationwide, fine. You can also let local dealers establish a relationship with a local bank. Let the customer know how much they are going to spend before they even walk into a dealership. The dealership is going to make most of their money on extras and repairs with moderate sales kickbacks from the manufacturer to cover the cost of salespeople and management. The achievement model is the same as before. The more models you sell, the more money you make. Salespeople will need to be knowledgeable about the cars for questions, comparisons, and to help finalize the sale. No more “dancing” with various people in order to get your car. Even if you walked into a dealer without first browsing the online marketplace, you still should be able to start and finish with the salesperson. The only other people that should get involved would be a cashier or finance manager and on rare occasions, the sales manager. CARMAX seems to have done a real good job making the sales process more simplified. Even they aren’t perfect though.
Chrysler is in a similar pickle, but not quite as bad as GM. Based on experience, I’d never buy a Dodge or Chrysler car again. I’d put all my minivans out as Chryslers, stop building SUVs in either Chrysler or Dodge nameplate (leave SUVs to Jeep), and put 80% of the cars in as Dodges. Only the lux cars would be Chrysler. Import the new “A” class Benz as the Dodge compact car. Crossovers would be left to Dodge in a similar path as Pontiac.
Either that or just pick up the mess and fold.
Clark
For example, Honda sells just a few models. Three sizes of car (if you count the hybrids), two sizes of SUV, one minivan, and one truck. GM has four car divisions: Cadillac, Chevy, Buick, and Pontiac. What about Saturn? I don’t consider them in the same vein, but I will get to that later. Each of those divisions has multiple models of car at varying price points with varying features. Simply put, most of the cars sold in the Chevy, Buick, and Pontiac divisions are the same except for some sheet metal and badges. There are Minivans and SUVs sold in three out of the four divisions (none in Pontiac). And the Chevy and GMC truck divisions are the only ones that sell trucks and large vans. Saturn sells cars, minivans, and SUVs out of its division, the only one to do all three. Pontiac seems to be a division devoted to young people only, while Chevy appeals across the age spectrum. Buick and Cadillac are supposed to be upscale cars with the Buicks seemingly for a more senior crowd.
Chrysler seems to be in the same boat. They dropped the Plymouth brand years ago because no one really could tell the difference between Plymouth cars, Dodge cars, and Chrysler cars. Smart move then. Chrysler seems to be the luxe division with cars, SUVs, and minivans. Dodge seems to be in the middle of the road with cars, SUVs, minivans, and trucks. Then there’s Jeeps, which are only SUV.
Ford seems to have solved the choice problem by limiting their divisions somewhat. They still have a lot of overlap between Ford and Mercury with cars and some of their smaller SUVs, but they have squarely placed all of the luxury models in the Lincoln division and the majority of their trucks in the Ford division (still trying to understand the Lincoln Blackwood…weird).
Anyhoo, here’s what I think GM should do:
1. Stop playing around with my taxpayer money and file for Chapter 13. We all know you can still operate, so do it. If an airline can do it and I can still board the plane maintained by that airline and get to where I need to go safely, then it should work for you. Clean the slate with the unions and start over. If they are interested in supporting your business and getting back market share by building great cars, then they’ll negotiate. Right now, their labor rates are unsustainable. If they aren’t willing to negotiate, start advertising for employees. Give the employee a reason to want to come help make a great car.
2. Stop making so many freaking cars! Drop the Pontiac nameplate for cars, minivans, and SUVs. Drop the Buick nameplate completely. Stick anything that could be considered a “crossover” vehicle into Pontiac. Make the crossover the “high tech innovation” line. Drop the GMC Brand of pickup trucks and SUVs. Put GMC on large trucks and semi’s only. Leave pickup trucks in the Chevy division where you will also make a “value line” of sedans, SUVs, and minivans. Cadillac will be your lux division with their unique cars and SUVs. Retain nameplates for limited edition cars like the Corvette, Camaro, and TransAm and produce them in moderate numbers or produce a model line every so often and make them unique enough for the model line to sell out. Retain the Saturn division for small cars and sedans. Stop trying to produce econocars like the Aveo to compete with the other econocars in the Saturn division. Niche vehicles should be carefully marketed between divisions so as not to compete with each other.
3. Adopt a marketplace style of sales model. Publish the costs of the vehicle on a central website and allow customers to pick from a small number of trim levels for that model (3 at the most). If a customer is intent upon loading up extras on a standard Chevy sedan, offer them the ability to compare online against a loaded vehicle from the lux model line. The packages can then be updated at the dealer should the customer wish to add something that isn’t part of the package. That cost is predetermined between the dealer and the manufacturer.
4. Give all vehicles a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty.
5. Stop financing vehicles at the dealership. Let banks to their thing. If you want to buy a bank to use nationwide, fine. You can also let local dealers establish a relationship with a local bank. Let the customer know how much they are going to spend before they even walk into a dealership. The dealership is going to make most of their money on extras and repairs with moderate sales kickbacks from the manufacturer to cover the cost of salespeople and management. The achievement model is the same as before. The more models you sell, the more money you make. Salespeople will need to be knowledgeable about the cars for questions, comparisons, and to help finalize the sale. No more “dancing” with various people in order to get your car. Even if you walked into a dealer without first browsing the online marketplace, you still should be able to start and finish with the salesperson. The only other people that should get involved would be a cashier or finance manager and on rare occasions, the sales manager. CARMAX seems to have done a real good job making the sales process more simplified. Even they aren’t perfect though.
Chrysler is in a similar pickle, but not quite as bad as GM. Based on experience, I’d never buy a Dodge or Chrysler car again. I’d put all my minivans out as Chryslers, stop building SUVs in either Chrysler or Dodge nameplate (leave SUVs to Jeep), and put 80% of the cars in as Dodges. Only the lux cars would be Chrysler. Import the new “A” class Benz as the Dodge compact car. Crossovers would be left to Dodge in a similar path as Pontiac.
Either that or just pick up the mess and fold.
Clark
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Happy Birthday!
I woke up this morning to my birthday feeling sick to my stomach and a little dizzy. I’m 45 today. Laying down didn’t help…in fact it got worse. I went on with my morning (I was better when I was up and moving around) and gathered up my things and was walking with my 4 year old to the indomitable Speck when…there it was…in all it’s rubbery glory. A flat tire!
Undaunted by the cold I sent the 4 year old back inside (that was the intent, she kept coming out to “check on you, daddy”) and set to work. I pulled open the trunk and lifted the cover and pulled out the temporary tire. It looked a little worse for wear, but I assumed it would be OK. I went back for the lug wrench. Where was the lug wrench? That was when I saw it: the Styrofoam insert holding a screwdriver and an empty indentation where a lug wrench would go. Crestfallen, I went back to the garage and sought some tools. I saw one of my neighbors and asked to borrow his lug wrench from his Acura. Sadly, it was too small. I then saw another neighbor who owned a Honda. Bingo! His wrench fit. I managed to get the tire off and the spare on using my floor jack. I inspected the tire. Yup, a wood screw head was clearly visible. I must have run over it the day before and parked on it that night.
No matter, I thought to myself. I can take it over to the tire shop and get it patched. I tightened the lugs and lowered the car. Ugh. The temporary was almost as flat as the tire with the screw in it. I didn’t have much choice. Towing would have cost me hundreds. I put the tire in the trunk and strapped in the 4 year old. Slowly I made my way to the nearest station which had an air compressor. Natch! It was broken. I hobbled to the next station. Topeka! I filled up the temporary and took the 4 year old to breakfast. I was feeling a little better, so we shared some pancakes and sausage. I dropped off the tire at the local tire shop for repair and decided it was in my best interest to stay local since the temporary tire made a pretty bad rumbling noise. After an hour, I drove the Speck back to the shop, had the tire put back on, and was on my way to work.
Happy 45th Clark!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Fixed!
Well, after a couple of weeks of torture and turmoil, the Dodge is fixed!
They did a nice job. I can't even tell where the accident happened! They washed the exterior and cleaned the interior. They even sprayed some nice smelling stuff inside. It almost makes me forget the following:
Clark
They did a nice job. I can't even tell where the accident happened! They washed the exterior and cleaned the interior. They even sprayed some nice smelling stuff inside. It almost makes me forget the following:
- It took two whole days just to get the estimate
- They lied about the kind of part they were going to put on the car (used vs. new)
- The insurance company denied (at first) to repair the damaged driver window, but after sending my dearest to talk to them, they relented and fixed it
- It took over a week to get the door
- The replacement door had a defective "check strap" that had to be replaced before they could release the car. The "check strap" communicates with the driver display to show when the doors are opened or closed and to lock the windows.
Clark
Monday, November 17, 2008
The dents, they are a changin'
Well, the Dodge is in the shop, hopefully getting fixed. It only took them five days to get me to this point. Our own insurer had an estimate in around 4 hours.
They set me up in a pretty good rental. A KIA Optima. It's the largest KIA model and is about as luxurious as the Dodge. I'd much rather drive it than the Dodge.
Oh well.
Clark
Update: 10/21/08 - Well, I've found out that there is a larger KIA, the Amanti. So I'm in the middle of the road model, I guess.
They set me up in a pretty good rental. A KIA Optima. It's the largest KIA model and is about as luxurious as the Dodge. I'd much rather drive it than the Dodge.
Oh well.
Clark
Update: 10/21/08 - Well, I've found out that there is a larger KIA, the Amanti. So I'm in the middle of the road model, I guess.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Whoops!
My dearest Ellen was involved in a minor accident the other day. Here's a pic of the damage. The other person was driving a brand-new Lexus SUV. The bumper was high enough to make a mess of the door. The Lexus driver was backing out of the drive through at a local fast food restaurant while my dearest was driving past. Yes, you heard right. The knucklehead was backing OUT of the drive thru.
I've spent the past three days negotiating with the other person's insurance company for money. I go to get an estimate on Monday. I hope they don't total the car. That would be bad. The car is about 5 years old and has over 92K miles on it. It's not worth a whole lot, but it would suck immensely if they totaled it because then I would have to go out an try and find a comparable car for whatever they give me (which probably won't be a lot). My insurance company said they wouldn't total the car because it's not that old and it was in good working order prior to the accident. I'm banking that my insurance company is right.
Clark
Saturday, May 17, 2008
What's new
Hey!
It's your old pal Clark. It's been a little while since I last blogged. I'm not very good at this yet, so time passes before I can get back to writing here.
The Speck is running fine. I still don't have a radio...but I have been getting consistent gas mileage...around 27 to 28 mpg.
We have a new guy on the team at work. He has more experience than I do, so the CIO put him in charge of the project while I retained a corporate management position. He's the subject matter expert, so there is a ton of hope that he can right some of the messes that are going along with things. One things for sure, I already like him. You see, he has a way about him. In fact he called "she" "weirder than a football bat". In his honor, "she" will now be known as "football bat".
The kids are doing well in school and their teams are doing reasonably well for their spring seasons. Oldest has done a great job on her varsity team. The middle has done a super job on her house league team. She's played first base and pitched well. Youngest has done a super job being toted around like luggage. She's been practicing her hitting in the back yard. I must say she can smack a whiffle ball pretty good.
Clark
It's your old pal Clark. It's been a little while since I last blogged. I'm not very good at this yet, so time passes before I can get back to writing here.
The Speck is running fine. I still don't have a radio...but I have been getting consistent gas mileage...around 27 to 28 mpg.
We have a new guy on the team at work. He has more experience than I do, so the CIO put him in charge of the project while I retained a corporate management position. He's the subject matter expert, so there is a ton of hope that he can right some of the messes that are going along with things. One things for sure, I already like him. You see, he has a way about him. In fact he called "she" "weirder than a football bat". In his honor, "she" will now be known as "football bat".
The kids are doing well in school and their teams are doing reasonably well for their spring seasons. Oldest has done a great job on her varsity team. The middle has done a super job on her house league team. She's played first base and pitched well. Youngest has done a super job being toted around like luggage. She's been practicing her hitting in the back yard. I must say she can smack a whiffle ball pretty good.
Clark
Thursday, April 03, 2008
New toys!
I bought a new car!
Ahem...let me be honest. It's new to me. To the rest of the world it's a 2002 KIA Spectra with 55K miles and dark green paint.
Since my dearest has returned to work, she's been filling up the Grizzwold family SUV each week to the tune of around 80 bucks a tank. Your ol' pal Clark was eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches in order to afford the near $500 a month gas bill. Now, my dearest is driving my Dodge and I'm driving the KIA (or Speck as the kids call it).
Believe me folks, it's just basic transportation. Check out these pictures:
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2002/kia/spectra/photos/index.html.
It has an engine, doors, wheels, glass, and a host of other features. However, it is lacking a radio, power windows, and power door locks. I miss those features a lot. But, it gets decent gas mileage (27 mpg in city commuting). I hope I made a good choice. So far, it has performed flawlessy.
Clark
Ahem...let me be honest. It's new to me. To the rest of the world it's a 2002 KIA Spectra with 55K miles and dark green paint.
Since my dearest has returned to work, she's been filling up the Grizzwold family SUV each week to the tune of around 80 bucks a tank. Your ol' pal Clark was eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches in order to afford the near $500 a month gas bill. Now, my dearest is driving my Dodge and I'm driving the KIA (or Speck as the kids call it).
Believe me folks, it's just basic transportation. Check out these pictures:
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2002/kia/spectra/photos/index.html.
It has an engine, doors, wheels, glass, and a host of other features. However, it is lacking a radio, power windows, and power door locks. I miss those features a lot. But, it gets decent gas mileage (27 mpg in city commuting). I hope I made a good choice. So far, it has performed flawlessy.
Clark
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Nused car
My cousin (You remember my cousin, the one who visited at Christmas time in the RV?) had a car he was trying to unload. He had it checked out and everything. I looked at it myself and thought it was a pretty good car. The kids were even excited because it had a connector for their MP3 players!
Well, we worked out a deal that I would pay him in a couple months with the tax return I was getting. The car had a lot of miles on it, but my cousin took pretty good care of it. The car did great on the trip back home. I thought we were very lucky to find a decent car for not a lot of money.
Well, everything was good until I drove it to work. It did great on the way to work, but started acting funny on the drive home. It started missing under acceleration. Well, I stopped by my mechanic and he took a look at it. He thought it was either a spark plug problem or a distributor problem. I tried to leave with it, but it wouldn't start up. So I left it there. Long story short, what seemed like a great car was in need of about $1000 dollars worth of repairs. Not such a good deal. The mechanic was able to get it running right again
Thankfully, my cousin was cool with it and he decided to donate the car to charity...eventually. Right now it's sitting in my garage with a mostly flat tire. I hope I can get it inflated before the tow truck comes!
Clark
Well, we worked out a deal that I would pay him in a couple months with the tax return I was getting. The car had a lot of miles on it, but my cousin took pretty good care of it. The car did great on the trip back home. I thought we were very lucky to find a decent car for not a lot of money.
Well, everything was good until I drove it to work. It did great on the way to work, but started acting funny on the drive home. It started missing under acceleration. Well, I stopped by my mechanic and he took a look at it. He thought it was either a spark plug problem or a distributor problem. I tried to leave with it, but it wouldn't start up. So I left it there. Long story short, what seemed like a great car was in need of about $1000 dollars worth of repairs. Not such a good deal. The mechanic was able to get it running right again
Thankfully, my cousin was cool with it and he decided to donate the car to charity...eventually. Right now it's sitting in my garage with a mostly flat tire. I hope I can get it inflated before the tow truck comes!
Clark
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