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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
Paul B
NJRC Member
I have been having some back pain for a number of years, I don't remember the number, but since my replacement shoulder it has gotten much worse. Standing, sitting, laying or breathing is very painful so I have to avoid those things. Maybe when he cut out my old shoulder bone he dropped a hack saw blade in there and it fell down to my back. I don't know. 
But the pain has gotten much worse and I have trouble lifting a very pregnant mandarin out of the tank with a net. If they aren't pregnant, I don't have much of a problem.
So my pain management Doctor sent me for an MRI. It didn't come out well and the MRI technician thought she spilled coffee or balsamic vinegar on her screen.
I have a bunch of disks that are all screwed up so she thought she was looking at a MRI of a Nautilus shell. One disk is completely missing. I don't remember it falling out and I think I would have heard it hit the ground but it is gone and the spine there is bone on bone and the disk above that slid forward pinching another nerve.
This often happens on studley looking Manly men.
She told me and my wife "This is a very painful condition". I said "Really! I haven't noticed!"
There is no cure except surgery may help for a while or I can just walk like a snail. They can possibly replace the disk. If I have to do this, to save money I will give them a roll of electrical tape to use for the disk. Of course I will give them a "new" roll of tape in the container, I don't want to look cheap.
But before any of that happens, first she will inject some temporary pain meds in my spine for a test. I figure "Prizapro" or "Preparation H."
Then if that allows the pain to subside a little she will go in and do an ablation or burn the nerves. I don't think she uses a propane torch or one of those things you use to light candles with, I think it's more like radiation.
In the meantime she is giving me some pain medication that you stick inside your cheek. (I never heard of this one). They do that because if you swallow it, it will turn your stomach into a jellyfish looking substance and no one wants that.
So I will see what happens.
But the pain has gotten much worse and I have trouble lifting a very pregnant mandarin out of the tank with a net. If they aren't pregnant, I don't have much of a problem.
So my pain management Doctor sent me for an MRI. It didn't come out well and the MRI technician thought she spilled coffee or balsamic vinegar on her screen.
I have a bunch of disks that are all screwed up so she thought she was looking at a MRI of a Nautilus shell. One disk is completely missing. I don't remember it falling out and I think I would have heard it hit the ground but it is gone and the spine there is bone on bone and the disk above that slid forward pinching another nerve.
This often happens on studley looking Manly men.
She told me and my wife "This is a very painful condition". I said "Really! I haven't noticed!"
There is no cure except surgery may help for a while or I can just walk like a snail. They can possibly replace the disk. If I have to do this, to save money I will give them a roll of electrical tape to use for the disk. Of course I will give them a "new" roll of tape in the container, I don't want to look cheap.
But before any of that happens, first she will inject some temporary pain meds in my spine for a test. I figure "Prizapro" or "Preparation H."
Then if that allows the pain to subside a little she will go in and do an ablation or burn the nerves. I don't think she uses a propane torch or one of those things you use to light candles with, I think it's more like radiation.
In the meantime she is giving me some pain medication that you stick inside your cheek. (I never heard of this one). They do that because if you swallow it, it will turn your stomach into a jellyfish looking substance and no one wants that.
So I will see what happens.
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Maybe introduce her to the majano wand to burn the nerves.
Might save you some money.
Might save you some money.
momof6kids
NJRC Member
Paul, you are an amazing man. Keep your sense of humor.
Paul B
NJRC Member
So yesterday my wife tells me we are going to the library for some type of event with our friends next door. Our library sometimes has some interesting things and shows so we go. We walk in and they give us this brochure with a picture of this nice-looking woman on it and she is a Medium. I see now why my wife didn't tell me what we were going to see because she knows I believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny more than I believe in mediums.
The woman walks out and she seems to be about 60 so it didn't take me long to figure out that that was her high school graduation picture.
So she goes into her spiel for 25 minutes about all her education and how she was a lawyer and what schools she went to like I care.
Then she says she is an animal lover and has a bunch of cats and dogs but no fish. I figure I would ty to have an open mind as I realize many people believe in this nonsense, I mean this ability to talk to dead people. So, as I am listening, she says she can also communicate with her dead dogs and cats. Now she lost me. I started thinking about the conversations she is having with her dead cats.
Did the cat say: Hey crazy lady, remember when you wrapped me up nice and snug and took me to the Vet where he put me to sleep? Then I woke up with this huge pain between my hind legs! Do you remember that? I used to walk past a cute cat and want to put my moves on her, now I look at another cat and just long for Kibbles and Bits. By the way, what are those bits?
How would you like to wake up with that pain, then be thrown out in the street naked and the only thing you long for is dead fish that was put in a can 5 years before you were born?
I could imagine someone who lost a copperband butterfly and a week later the fish contacted the person yelling about how they were so mad in quarantine especially when they were dosed with copper, Prizapro and dipped in tree stump remover because you saw a spot.
The woman was droning on and on and a few smarter people started to leave. I myself walked out for a while and fell asleep behind some dusty books in the corner of the room where they have books on torture chambers..
I came back in and the Median was "Reading" people. She picked on this elderly woman in front of me and asked if she lost her husband. The Lady said, No. Then she said, I know your Husband was tall. The Lady said, No, he was short. She said I am pretty sure your husband died because I can see him. He is here with us. The Lady said, No, he's alive but my Son died.
The medium said Oh, I can see him. He had a heart attack. the Lady said, No. He drowned. Well, either way, his heart stopped. The Lady said, yes, I guess that is correct.
Then the Medium said there is this little boy who stays with her. He is with her now standing right next to her. But "most" people can't see him. I'm sure "most" people can't see him. I have a Supermodel who usually stands next to me but I have never seen her and most people can't see her either.
So this went on for an hour and I was looking for some crazy glue to keep my eyes open. I kept looking around the room to see if there was anything that I could bash myself in the head with because I figured if I croaked, I could contact this woman and the little boy standing next to so I could tell her not to give up her day job.
In the corner I saw an American Flag and figured I could put the point on the top through my neck but there was no point on the flag, it was an eagle. I would have smashed it into my head but then I figured it might be made of plastic and that would just chip my tooth and I already have a mouth full of very expensive implants.
You can't make this stuff up.
The woman walks out and she seems to be about 60 so it didn't take me long to figure out that that was her high school graduation picture.
So she goes into her spiel for 25 minutes about all her education and how she was a lawyer and what schools she went to like I care.
Then she says she is an animal lover and has a bunch of cats and dogs but no fish. I figure I would ty to have an open mind as I realize many people believe in this nonsense, I mean this ability to talk to dead people. So, as I am listening, she says she can also communicate with her dead dogs and cats. Now she lost me. I started thinking about the conversations she is having with her dead cats.
Did the cat say: Hey crazy lady, remember when you wrapped me up nice and snug and took me to the Vet where he put me to sleep? Then I woke up with this huge pain between my hind legs! Do you remember that? I used to walk past a cute cat and want to put my moves on her, now I look at another cat and just long for Kibbles and Bits. By the way, what are those bits?
How would you like to wake up with that pain, then be thrown out in the street naked and the only thing you long for is dead fish that was put in a can 5 years before you were born?
I could imagine someone who lost a copperband butterfly and a week later the fish contacted the person yelling about how they were so mad in quarantine especially when they were dosed with copper, Prizapro and dipped in tree stump remover because you saw a spot.
The woman was droning on and on and a few smarter people started to leave. I myself walked out for a while and fell asleep behind some dusty books in the corner of the room where they have books on torture chambers..
I came back in and the Median was "Reading" people. She picked on this elderly woman in front of me and asked if she lost her husband. The Lady said, No. Then she said, I know your Husband was tall. The Lady said, No, he was short. She said I am pretty sure your husband died because I can see him. He is here with us. The Lady said, No, he's alive but my Son died.
The medium said Oh, I can see him. He had a heart attack. the Lady said, No. He drowned. Well, either way, his heart stopped. The Lady said, yes, I guess that is correct.
Then the Medium said there is this little boy who stays with her. He is with her now standing right next to her. But "most" people can't see him. I'm sure "most" people can't see him. I have a Supermodel who usually stands next to me but I have never seen her and most people can't see her either.
So this went on for an hour and I was looking for some crazy glue to keep my eyes open. I kept looking around the room to see if there was anything that I could bash myself in the head with because I figured if I croaked, I could contact this woman and the little boy standing next to so I could tell her not to give up her day job.
In the corner I saw an American Flag and figured I could put the point on the top through my neck but there was no point on the flag, it was an eagle. I would have smashed it into my head but then I figured it might be made of plastic and that would just chip my tooth and I already have a mouth full of very expensive implants.
You can't make this stuff up.
momof6kids
NJRC Member
"If you have 6 kids, you must really have a sense of humor. "
More like insane. What on earth were we thinking?? lol
"More like insane. What on earth were we thinking?? lol
Paul B
NJRC Member
I don't know, but I know what it costs to put one kid through Fordham University. Our Daughter went twice, once for her normal degree and 20 years later she went back to Law school there. (I didn't pay for the second time in Law School) I don't get it but she likes school. I don't know who she takes after but I hated school."If you have 6 kids, you must really have a sense of humor.
More like insane. What on earth were we thinking?? lol
I just Googled it, now it costs $245,900.00 to go to Fordham. Thats if you don't dorm there as my Daughter did. Thats more than a whole lot of Copperband Buterflies, No thanks.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yesterday for our 50th anniversary (which was a couple of weeks ago) our close friends took us out for the day. We went out east to Orient State park which is on the eastern tip of the North Fork of Long Island. It's a beautiful park and this time of the year there is rarely anyone there.
I picked up some nice seaweed for my tank.
We did meet an Asian woman there on the beach who was fishing by herself. She said she drove there from Queens which is about 70 miles away to try to catch a porgy. I give her a lot of credit because even though I like to fish, I wouldn't drive that far to catch a fish that is one of the cheapest fish out here. But she was my kind of woman. I like the determination.
This park is on a thin peninsula of land which is almost all ocean beach on one side and oyster ponds on the other side. Off to the south is Plum Island where the Govt. did all sorts of animal experiments including germ warfare and other not so nice, scary things. They now closed the Island after some diseases escaped. One was Lymes disease that is carried on ticks and very prevalent here. (Of course they don't admit that)
After the park they took us to a really nice Turkish restaurant in the town of Greenport. Very nice day.
I picked up some nice seaweed for my tank.
We did meet an Asian woman there on the beach who was fishing by herself. She said she drove there from Queens which is about 70 miles away to try to catch a porgy. I give her a lot of credit because even though I like to fish, I wouldn't drive that far to catch a fish that is one of the cheapest fish out here. But she was my kind of woman. I like the determination.
This park is on a thin peninsula of land which is almost all ocean beach on one side and oyster ponds on the other side. Off to the south is Plum Island where the Govt. did all sorts of animal experiments including germ warfare and other not so nice, scary things. They now closed the Island after some diseases escaped. One was Lymes disease that is carried on ticks and very prevalent here. (Of course they don't admit that)
After the park they took us to a really nice Turkish restaurant in the town of Greenport. Very nice day.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Every morning I peruse these threads on multiple forums and am in awe at all the diseases, maladies, symptoms and surprise deaths that so many people experience. It's disheartening to think of all the creatures we are senselessly killing mostly by to much love.
I am old and have seen most everything, (TV was invented the year before I was born and transistors not much later.)
I still feel almost all of these diseases, most of which I never heard of and neither have the fish are the result of how we keep fish.
I have never had to de-worm a fish and flukes maybe once or twice in 50 years. I think healthy fish housed in a proper tank given the proper food and aquascape will not have these maladies in the first place so we don't have to intervene with poisons.
If I had to deal with all these issues, I would not be in this hobby. Instead maybe I would be a shoe salesman.
But that is just my opinion and I know it doesn't go over very big on these forums so don't read what I post. But what do I know?
I am old and have seen most everything, (TV was invented the year before I was born and transistors not much later.)
I still feel almost all of these diseases, most of which I never heard of and neither have the fish are the result of how we keep fish.
I have never had to de-worm a fish and flukes maybe once or twice in 50 years. I think healthy fish housed in a proper tank given the proper food and aquascape will not have these maladies in the first place so we don't have to intervene with poisons.
If I had to deal with all these issues, I would not be in this hobby. Instead maybe I would be a shoe salesman.
But that is just my opinion and I know it doesn't go over very big on these forums so don't read what I post. But what do I know?
Paul B
NJRC Member
I just read in this month "Discover" magazine an article about to much copper in a person's blood. It causes a rare disease called "Wilsons disease". I never heard of it until today and have absolutely no idea if copper has the same effect on fish. But in Humans, it adversely affects our brain and causes us to have weird symptoms akin to a drug user.
The one person in the article stopped shaving or washing and his girlfriend broke up with him because of his nasty attitude.
Besides his attitude and appearance, it affects your muscles.
One symptom in "Humans" is a ring around the iris in your eyes. As I said. I have no idea how it affects fish but it's interesting.
The one person in the article stopped shaving or washing and his girlfriend broke up with him because of his nasty attitude.
Besides his attitude and appearance, it affects your muscles.
One symptom in "Humans" is a ring around the iris in your eyes. As I said. I have no idea how it affects fish but it's interesting.
Definition & Facts
Wilson disease is a genetic disorder that prevents the body from removing extra copper, causing copper to build up in the liver, brain, eyes, and other organs. Without treatment, high copper levels can cause life-threatening organ damage.
Paul B
NJRC Member
So a little while ago I was in my Man Cave which is on street level. I was putzing with my fish and I heard a loud Knock, Knock, Knock on my door.
Then I hear a Lady screem, HELP, Help, I need HELP. So of course I run to the door thinking maybe Godzilla was attacking her or she found varicose veins and I see the lady who we know all disturbed and excited looking.
She said I need help, but it's not an emergency. Like, if it's not an emergency why is she screaming HELP!?... (Godzilla was nowhere in sight)
Her car was around the corner and she had a flat. She called an auto repair company who showed up and changed her tire, but her spare, a doughnut tire also had a flat. So of course, call Paul. She said "I helped her friend last week".
I fill my compressor with air and drag it there. (In a week I am going in for a spine ablation and can barely almost stand up, and I got a new shoulder about 8 weeks ago and it doesn't really work yet)
But being I like helping people I get the compressor there and try to fill the tire. Of course it doesn't fill because it is so flat that the rubber came away from the bead of the tire so air won't stay in.
I go back home to get my hydraulic jack which is not made out of Styrofoam and quite heavy so I can jack up the car.
I try to put in air again but the bead is still off the tire so air still wouldn't go in. I removed her tire and trecked back home again to get a strap clamp. Sometimes a strap clamp is needed to set a tire. You put it around the treads of the tire and tighten it up so the tire flattens and goes against the bead so air will stay in.
I filled the tire, put it back on the car and dragged my jack and compressor back home. Now I really can't stand up and am walking like a blue legged hermit crab with rickets.
Then I hear a Lady screem, HELP, Help, I need HELP. So of course I run to the door thinking maybe Godzilla was attacking her or she found varicose veins and I see the lady who we know all disturbed and excited looking.
She said I need help, but it's not an emergency. Like, if it's not an emergency why is she screaming HELP!?... (Godzilla was nowhere in sight)
Her car was around the corner and she had a flat. She called an auto repair company who showed up and changed her tire, but her spare, a doughnut tire also had a flat. So of course, call Paul. She said "I helped her friend last week".
I fill my compressor with air and drag it there. (In a week I am going in for a spine ablation and can barely almost stand up, and I got a new shoulder about 8 weeks ago and it doesn't really work yet)
But being I like helping people I get the compressor there and try to fill the tire. Of course it doesn't fill because it is so flat that the rubber came away from the bead of the tire so air won't stay in.
I go back home to get my hydraulic jack which is not made out of Styrofoam and quite heavy so I can jack up the car.
I try to put in air again but the bead is still off the tire so air still wouldn't go in. I removed her tire and trecked back home again to get a strap clamp. Sometimes a strap clamp is needed to set a tire. You put it around the treads of the tire and tighten it up so the tire flattens and goes against the bead so air will stay in.
I filled the tire, put it back on the car and dragged my jack and compressor back home. Now I really can't stand up and am walking like a blue legged hermit crab with rickets.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I don't know about "wonderful". I was going for awesome, but some may say awful.
I had to take my wife to one of her Doctors and for some reason they are all near my favorite, and cheap LFS. I picked up a few clown gobies. A yellow, a green and a blue. I love those guys and they immediately wanted to mate as soon as they hit the water. He raised his prices, now they are $11.00 Still cheap.
These are older ones I already had but I got the same type of fish. I don't know how many of these little guys I have, maybe a dozen as they don't really take up any room and they are so dam cute.
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I don't have a picture of the blue one.
I had to take my wife to one of her Doctors and for some reason they are all near my favorite, and cheap LFS. I picked up a few clown gobies. A yellow, a green and a blue. I love those guys and they immediately wanted to mate as soon as they hit the water. He raised his prices, now they are $11.00
Still cheap. These are older ones I already had but I got the same type of fish. I don't know how many of these little guys I have, maybe a dozen as they don't really take up any room and they are so dam cute.
I don't have a picture of the blue one.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Yesterday I took my wife to her PT place which is near the clean LFS I sometimes go to. I only get food there because my favorite but "filthy" store doesn't sell the food I like. I don't normally buy fish there because he is two or three times the price as the dirty store. Besides, I don't have to live in these stores, just walk through while I am sipping a cup of espresso and feeding a duck they have there in an indoor goldfish pond.
For an example he sells hippo tangs for $79.00 and the other guy I can get them for about $25.00. Of course I don't need one because I have one and they normally live for me about 10 years and mine is only about 3.
These guys are also a third of the price in the dirty store. I got one at the clean store a few years ago for about $79.00 and one from the dirty store for about $30.00. I would get some more if I could find them. I have seen them called a few things, here they call them Sunburst Anthius.
There are a few fish I would get but no one seems to have the rare or odd fish I prefer
I have to find them accidently in the back or in the dark sump of a dealers tank. Usually the owner doesn't even know he had the thing.
The owner of the clean store makes fun of the owner of the dirty store even though he used to work for him. The clean store tells me the dirty store sells ich infected fish. LOL. I am sure that would concern some people but all fish have ich in a store. In the dirty store you can't see it because there is probably dust in the tanks that looks like ich. :LOL:
He has been in business over 50 years. How many LFSs can say that?
For an example he sells hippo tangs for $79.00 and the other guy I can get them for about $25.00. Of course I don't need one because I have one and they normally live for me about 10 years and mine is only about 3.
These guys are also a third of the price in the dirty store. I got one at the clean store a few years ago for about $79.00 and one from the dirty store for about $30.00. I would get some more if I could find them. I have seen them called a few things, here they call them Sunburst Anthius.
There are a few fish I would get but no one seems to have the rare or odd fish I prefer
I have to find them accidently in the back or in the dark sump of a dealers tank. Usually the owner doesn't even know he had the thing.
The owner of the clean store makes fun of the owner of the dirty store even though he used to work for him. The clean store tells me the dirty store sells ich infected fish. LOL. I am sure that would concern some people but all fish have ich in a store. In the dirty store you can't see it because there is probably dust in the tanks that looks like ich. :LOL:
He has been in business over 50 years. How many LFSs can say that?
Hey Paul, you've got to give up the name/location of this "dirty" store. Even though I was born on Long Island (Port Jefferson) I very much dispise going out to this godforsaken island....either because of the cost to cross two bridges, or the horrendous traffic. However, if and when I go, I would like to check out this store, and therefore have one good thing to say about the trip. So give it up! What's this store that offers great prices?