Doggies and Crits

So this weekend was the AMLI Crit in downtown Austin. It was also my first weekend with my new dog, Dante. I've taken lots of pictures of him and posted them HERE. Before he came home Friday night, I decided to give the cats a bath so they would look all nice and fresh for him... they weren't too excited. Saturday morning I immediately took him out to Reimers for some climbing and he did really well with the other dogs and hiking. Saturday afternoon he had to stay home while I watched the AMLI Crit downtown. There were just too many people, and he was already a bit stressed from getting a new home.

As a side note... on the way downtown to the crit, I tried to jump a curb on my new bike, and ended up face first on the pavement with the rear axle of my bike crashing down upon my head. Fortunately, I had a spare shirt with me to soak up all the blood, and eventually about 6 hours later, it stopped bleeding. I probably should have gone to the hospital, but I was really excited about watching the crit. Above, are two pictures from the race. The picture on the left is from the pro race, and the picture on the right is from the mens cat 123 race. It was an awesome day, besides the head cut, and all the racers did really well.

On Sunday, Dante came with to the Austin St. Hospital Crit, and he enjoyed being outside with the other doggies. He's really such a sweetheart, and loves other dogs. This crit was a little more low key, so he did very well. I also took him to the dog park and let him play in the water for a few hours. Man, he loves the water!

Crits All Weekend

So, I wasn't going to post again until after I got my doggie, but I wanted to tell everyone about the AMLI Crit this weekend. It's downtown near 2nd and Lavaca and will be packed with people and riders from around the country. Be sure to check it out. The Jrs. race starts at 2pm and the Men's PRO race at 8:15, with lots of other categories in between. It's really a lot of fun.

Also, the Thursday night Crit series will be having a PRO night this week, due to the AMLI Crit on Saturday. See you there!

UPDATE: There will also be a Crit on Sunday at the Austin State Hospital. The eRacing Stigma Crit starts at 9am with the Cat 4 Women, and the Pro 1 Men's group is at 1:10pm, with lots of other races before, after, and in between.

New Doggie!

So next week I will be adding to my family... I'm getting a new dog. Well, a puppy really. He is 7 months old and has been training for the last 4 months at the Triple Crown Dog Academy here in Austin. He's a rescue dog from the Blue Dog Rescue group. I'm very excited to have him in the house, and I've already got lots of fun toys and treats for his arrival. This Sunday I'll be going up to train with him at the academy and then next Friday I can bring him home! So far, I've got new pet names narrowed down to: Dante, Diego, and Max. What do you think is the best name for him?

My New Bike

So it's only been a few days, but I thought I'd post a quick picture of my new bicycle. It's a 2005 Bianchi Pista Concept track bike. I'm really excited to take it out and ride. Currently I only have it set up with a free wheel, but it's got a flip flop hub and in a few days I'll probably flip it over to a fixed gear.

Some yard work...

A lot has happened in the last few days. Last Saturday night I found out that there was a leak in my main water pipe under the house. No good. So over the next three days a trench was dug in the front yard so the plumber could come replace the pipe. Also during this time, there was no water going into the house. Basically it was like camping but without the stars or campfire. I choose to take showers at work for those few days. But now the new pipe is in, and there is much more water pressure in the house than before... and no leaks under the house. While the plumber was here he showed me the inside of the old pipe. It was all clogged up and nasty, and you couldn't even see through it. It's amazing I even had any water pressure to begin with.

Also, the city decided that today would be a great day for them to dig up the gas line on the street and replace it. The nice thing about this, is that the city is going to replace the main gas line to my house too... for free! One less thing to worry about in the future.

Finally, this weekend is my friends baby shower. Stay tuned for cake pictures and stories!

7 years later...

7 years ago today a friend of mine, Amy, chose to have elective liposuction surgery. She was a freshman at Penn State University, and had just completed her first year. She went in for the surgery that day a bright and happy person... unfortunately she only lived to see another 2 days. What happened in her surgery was a case of great negligence by the doctors and the nurses. Last Friday (5/23) a jury handed down a $20 million dollar verdict against the doctor and staff for their negligence... his medical license is currently under review because of this case, and two other cases similar to it (fortunately the other two victims lived). I'm very happy to see that the doctor in this case was found guilty and for the fact that more people will now be aware of this guys medical history. If the family should ever see a cent of this money, they will be using it toward a scholarship fund in Amy's name. Read the articles below to learn more...

http://www.nbc10.com/investigators/16377683/detail.html?dl=mainclick

and some highlights from a different article...

For five weeks, the jury listened to testimony about the death of the 18-year-old from Newtown Square, Delaware County, who was an honors student at Penn State University.

In May 2001, she went to Glunk's plastic surgery office in King of Prussia for liposuction on her legs, stomach and under her chin. "He brought Amy Fledderman to his office and told her, 'You'll be as safe in my office as you'll be in a hospital,' and clearly she wasn't," said Slade McLaughlin, Fledderman's attorney.

Jurors heard testimony that Glunk's ambulatory surgical center was not licensed by the state for this kind of liposuction procedure and that, during the surgery, Glunk hit a blood vessel, then waited for two-and-a-half hours to call for an ambulance. Fledderman died of a fat embolism -- a common risk of liposuction -- two days after surgery.

Meanwhile, the state has held hearings considering revoking Glunk's medical license based on the Fledderman case and two others. The NBC 10 Investigators have reported about Daniel Antolini. He received a major monetary settlement after he said Glunk punched a hole in his bowel while performing liposuction. Records show another woman received a settlement after she said she nearly died from Glunk's liposuction surgery days before Fledderman's death.

Memorial Day

Memorial day weekend was awesome. I headed to Houston on Friday afternoon to meet up with my friends, Phil and Heather, for a few days. On Friday night a friend was nice enough to take us to the Houston Astro's game, then we went out to the Flying Saucer for a few drinks. Saturday we all chilled and at night headed to a party where a few bands were playing to benefit charity. One of the bands that played was Death Carpet Trio (DC3), you should check them out on iTunes. If you wanna hear an interesting song, check out "Al's Diner." After getting back into town on Sunday I headed out to Pace Bend, which i would not recommend on a holiday weekend. There were way too many drunk idiots that we only stayed for an hour before leaving. Today, Memorial Day, will be a nice relaxing and lazy day cleaning up the house and shopping for some pet toys.... maybe i'll even bake a cake :)