Operation Forty Cal

...commences at 0900 Thursday 17 SEP 2020. (Yes, a .40 caliber bullet is about 10 millimetres in diameter.)

Little hiccup, the hospital where I was going to have the operation to remove the 10mm stone, for some reason, apparently was not authorized by my insurance company to use that medical procedure code (and charge for it.) They wanted me to call back in 2 weeks - which, if you are familiar with how long it actually takes to get things accomplished in this country, seemed a tad ambitious. So, I took my business down the road. The place I'm headed to, International Medical Center, looks from the outside more like a palace. (Here's a virtual tour of the place: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=L8BKBzZx2QG) It is obviously newer, cleaner, etc. Dr. Abdou was very helpful, friendly and informative about what would go on. He even pushed to get me added to the Thursday schedule (there was no space on Saturday) and this all on a Tuesday after 7:30 p.m. Doctors keep different hours here apparently. His 'clinic', i.e. office/examination room, was much larger than the one at GNP Hospital at about 9'x12' which included desk, chairs, exam table, sink, cabinets, etc. Got my x-rays, both picture of the stone & pre-op chest picture. The insurance authorization took a bit of time so it was too late to get my labs drawn. Went back today after work to drop off the CD of the CT from GNP and let Dracula get a refill (best needle stick I've gotten in a very long time.) Tomorrow I show up bright and early for the rest of the pre-op festivities and then it will be showtime! Odd thing is that they said I'd be spending one night, maybe two, in the hospital. Aw well, didn't really have any plans for the weekend at any rate. Although I do need a haircut. Stay tuned.

For fun, here's a little something I have been working on for the General...

I was working from a publication (clock-makers don't document everything correctly I've found) but had to model everything in the CAD software I use so the machinist can build it (he's Swiss.) If you are really interested I can provide a 3D PDF file that you can zoom & spin around to view the entire mechanism. Let me know what you think. Next step is to produce the 2D drawings of every piece, that'll keep me busy for a bit.