Daily Diary Notes - August

08/29/2008 - Today we attended the opening of a new casino, The Cannery East, over on Boulder Hwy. It was a pretty bad afternoon. We both had players cards from their other casino but the machines would not accept them. It took over an hour and a half in line to get a new card. The AC was not working well and the casino was warm. We both played slots and poker, and lost money. Except for the fact that their new poker room had some nice opening offers during the month of September, it doesn't look like we will be making too many return trips with gas still nearly $4.00/gal.

08/27/2008 - Check out our latest Netflix review of the movie, "My Left Foot." Today was my 'boys out' day shooting pool with my neighbors. This is our third week in a row, and the "old game" is definitely getting better, as I beat them both at 9-ball, eight-ball, and straight pool. At one point I actually had a run of 8 balls which included the making of two bank shots. It felt good to be "back in the groove" again. This evening we went to dinner at the Rainbow inside the Peppermill Casino with our downstairs neighbors.

08/23/2008 - This city has the worst drivers! Just last week on our way home from a night out, at around 11:30 pm, we were headed home down Green Valley Parkway when coming up the hill on my side of the road in the middle of my three lanes was a car doing about 40. I moved as far as I could towards the cement median, as he whizzed by just missing us. Yesterday, headed home on Windmill, I was driving in the left of the three lanes when a guy in a pickup truck in the middle lane cut right in front of me to cross into the other side of the road. I still not sure how I managed to miss him. Then just today one of my neighbor friends got into an accident, citing almost the same circumstances, causing him to scrape the cement barrier on his left, blowing a tire, as another car was forced to sideswipe his car on the right side. Naturally, the idiot that caused it all kept on going. If things happen in threes, we hope this is the end of it all for a while!

08/22/2008 - Today we tried a new restaurant for breakfast called the "Egg Works." This is their 3rd restaurant in Las Vegas, but the first one on our side of town. It was everything everyone said it was - huge menu, huge portions, and the food was excellent. It definitely reminded us of one we used to go to back in Rye, NH called the Egg & I. In fact, one of their other restaurants is actually named the "Egg & I." We went to GVR afterwards and I picked up a couple of hundred playing poker. It was then home to watch the American basketball team beat Argentina in the semi-final round of the Olympic basketball series. They now play Spain on Sunday for the Gold medal.

08/20/2008 - Perseverance pays off! Other than watching and enjoying the Olympics, it doesn't seem like I have been doing much the past several days but playing poker at Green Valley Ranch. The reason, their "Bad-Beat" jackpot was up to $430,000 dollars after starting out at $150,000 7 weeks ago. It starts at four 10's or better getting beat by a higher hand, and then goes down each week until it is hit. Today was four 2's beat. The person with the low end (bad beat) gets $45,000, the winner gets $30,000, then everyone playing at all 6 Station casinos shares the difference. After playing 60 plus hours this week it hit at 4:00 am this morning at Sunset Casino and we all received $1,172 for being there. The really good news is that I had already won over $1,500 in the past week waiting for it to hit. Not a bad weeks pay! Now for some time off and a little relaxation.

08/15/2008 - Had another meeting with Connie's neurologist today to get the results of the last two weeks worth of tests - x-rays, CT Scan, and all the neurological prodding, poking and pricking. In a nutshell, he couldn't find anything that seemed out of the ordinary that would have caused the numbness that she has been occasionally having in her left arm and leg. He prescribed some more medication and told her to come back after she sees the rheumatologist.

08/14/2008 - Today we had to stay home and watch a bunch of programs we had previously recorded on our DVR system so we would have room to record more Olympic stuff. One that we watched was the final of "So you think you can Dance", which was one of our favorite summer shows. One of the other ones was "Last Comic Standing" which we thought was nowhere near as good as some of the previous season's.

08/12/2008 - Today is pool day - No not that one - Shooting pool. For the past couple of weeks I've been getting together with a couple of my neighbors and making every Tuesday our Shooting Pool day. Today we went to Sunset Station for buffet Lunch and some Nine-ball. Connie and I watched the Olympics and especially enjoyed Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones, who won the 4x100 freestyle relay in 3:08.24, beating the old world record by more than 3 seconds, and giving Michael Phelps his 3rd Gold Medal.

08/11/2008 - Not much new here. Pretty much the same routine of reading at the pool, a little gambling and lunch or dinner out. Today I tried a new restaurant that was only so-so for the price. Of course we are watching the Olympics and are especially enjoying the swimming.

08/08/2008 - They had a special in honor of the opening of the Olympics at the poker room today, from midnight last night to midnight tonight, anyone who got 4-eights would win $8,888.88. Well, I played for 21-hours, but didn't hit it. Five players won, three at the table I played on. In addition, their bad beat jackpot was up to nearly half a million dollars. No luck on the jackpots, but at least I won nearly $600 playing. Better luck tomorrow.

08/06/2008 - Today was another doctor visit for Connie. Except for a high cholesterol count, her blood tests appeared to be relatively OK. The doctor did say that some of the previous tests showed a clear indication that the osteoporosis, especially in her hip, was getting worse and that there might be some signs of Lupus. Osteoporosis, a term that means "porous bones," is a skeletal disease or condition in which bones have lost minerals—especially calcium—making them weaker, more brittle, and susceptible to fractures (broken bones). Any bone in the body can be affected by osteoporosis, but the most common places where fractures occur are the back (spine), hips, and wrists. Even though she has been taking Bonevia for the past 6-months, he set her up with an appointment with a specialist.

In general, Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, heart, lungs, blood, kidneys and brain. The cause(s) of lupus is currently unknown, but there are environmental and genetic factors involved. Some environmental factors which may trigger the disease include infections, antibiotics (especially those in the sulfa and penicillin groups), ultraviolet light, extreme stress, certain drugs, and hormones. Drug-induced lupus occurs after the use of certain prescribed drugs. The drugs most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are hydralazine (used to treat high blood pressure).

Normally the body's immune system makes proteins called antibodies, to protect the body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign materials. These foreign materials are called antigens. In an autoimmune disorder like lupus, the immune system cannot tell the difference between foreign substances and its own cells and tissues. The immune system then makes antibodies directed against itself. These antibodies -- called "auto-antibodies" (auto means 'self') -- cause inflammation, pain and damage in various parts of the body.

08/04/2008 - Today Connie had another appointment with the neurologist. They did a couple of different kinds of tests on her that made her come out feeling nearly as bad as the first day she sought treatment. A neurological examination is suppose to assess motor and sensory skills, the functioning of one or more cranial nerves, hearing and speech, vision, coordination and balance, mental status, and changes in mood or behavior, among other things. Generally, a reflex hammer, ophthalmoscope, and needles are used to help diagnose brain tumors, infections, and diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and epilepsy. Some tests require the services of a specialist to perform and analyze results.

08/04/2008 - I went out with two of my neighbors and shot pool this afternoon. this is the second week we have done this and enjoyed it so much, that we talked about making it a weekly happening. Later in the day we went with out to dinner to a new restaurant (The American Grill) with our downstairs neighbors. We both had 2-1 coupons making the meal very reasonable. Even though the crabcake appetizers were excellent, the rest of the meal and service were just OK. We haven't eaten steak for quite a while and felt full and bloated all the next day.

08/01/2008 - This was Connie's first appointment with a neurologist. He performed a general test for surface muscle pain and reflex response, but didn't seem to do any more that the doctor a few days before. Another appointment was scheduled for a more detailed test. She had x-rays of the chest and lower body taken as part of a neurological work-up.