If you know this fella - contact the British Transport Police

My dear friend Jackie Danicki was assaulted on a London tube yesterday by this little prick and a pal of his. The assault took place on the southbound Bakerloo line platform at Baker Street, and the abuse continued from there to Piccadilly Circus. If you know who this POS is, please contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40.

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As for the other folks on the train not stopping this sooner - it doesn't surprise me. It saddens me, but does not surprise me. I am happy to hear others say they would have stepped in. I hope so. I truly do. But I can guarantee if this happened in San Francisco, the odds of anyone stepping in to help would be small - mainly for fear of retaliation (or at least they would not step in initially). It is simply human nature to want to protect oneself. However - I am a diehard optimist and hope that one day we, as humans, can learn to stand up for one another and not allow these abusive situations to happen. To anyone.

I am so glad Jackie is ok. Well, as ok as one can be after her ordeal. One of the things that impresses me about Jax is her willingness to stand up for what is right, and her bold move in taking his photo will hopefully expose this little prick to the world while giving others the courage to stop future assailants.

UPDATED 12/08/06: Looks like one of the fellas (the one Jackie got a photo of) has been arrested. Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word. One more punk off the streets (for a little while at least).

Technorati tags: harassment sexualharassment london londontube physicalassault assaultedseekingjustice

Well, at least they didn't have to amputate...

Two years ago, I had surgery on my right knee to correct a tracking problem I was having that made it extremely painful to do some of the things I loved to do such as hike, bike, swim, and run. There were a couple of months following the initial surgery in which all seemed right with the world and I thought my troubles were behind me...then my left knee got a bit jealous of the right knee and decided to give out on me too.

I have been battling with this for a year and a half now, all the while I kept thinking it would correct itself if I simply reduced the amount of strain I put it through. So, I decided to back away from almost all physical activity to give it a rest. I stayed out of the gym more times than I went, and in the process - I gained 30 pounds which actually compunded the knee problem as it put more pressure on the kneecap.

It seems I am one of the 'lucky' ones who suffer from chondromalacia which is part genetics (thanks mom) and part the wear and tear I put on my body when I was younger (can't tell now, but I was a runner way back when and very active in sports - softball, volleyball, swimming).

In my case - ignoring it was not going to make it go away.


So last Friday I finally conceded it would not heal on its own and let my doctor hack into my left knee in the hopes we could correct the problem and get me back into walking up stairs, swimming, and even walking long distances without crying like a little girl. It was also imperative to do this sooner rather than later as we are trying to eliminate the possibility of arthritis setting in which is a major side effect of this funky 'disease' I have.

The surgery was done arthroscopically, so thankfully the trauma is minimal compared to other surgeries (like ACL). The doctor goes in through little keyhole incisions and performs a lateral release, where s/he divides the vastus lateralis muscle which weakens it, restoring balance to the Quadriceps muscle which allows the kneecap to track correctly. The surgery takes about 1/2 hour to complete, and I am home in two hours.

Four days later and I am feeling pretty darn good. I actually walked up and down our three flights of stairs today which was very liberating as I was getting a bout of cabin fever that needed to be tended to as there are only so many movies one can watch in a day. If all goes well, I should be in physical therapy for two-three months and skiing in three-four months. **keeping fingers crossed**

Technorati tags: kneesurgery surgery arthroscopic arthroscopicsurgery chondromalacia

bub.blicio.us: the bubble is back baby...

A couple of my buddies have decided it is time to embrace the bubble we seem to be in, and have a little fun with it by covering events, parties and the Silicon Valley economy through their new website bub.blicio.us.

Why bub.blicio.us you ask? Greg sums it up nicely with 'when the words "free drinks, free food" start occurring more and more in conversation - you're face is being spritzed with bubbles'. With events happening with what feels like every night of the week, it will give these guys lots to cover and share.

Photo Credit: Arnold Pouteau

Technorati tags: bub.blicio.us parties events livinginabubble siliconvalley bubble

Do I finish the 43 drafts?

Or do I delete them all and start anew today? That is the big question I have been pondering over the last two weeks.

I have found myself staring at these 43 blog posts several times lately, trying desperately to write the endings in my head, but the words have not been able to transfer through my fingertips.

I think the best option is to walk away from some of them (or at least leave them as drafts for now) as the heat of the moment has passed. Maybe it will hit again, maybe they will stay unfinished forever. Who knows. Others I will go ahead and plug away on as they are either so close to being done - or topics I feel I still need to get out of me...and it will happen, eventually.

So here we go. I am holed up in the house following knee surgery and Nurse Chris insists I take a couple days of quiet time. So I shall read. I shall write. I shall rest. Hopefully my batteries will be rejuiced and the writers block will be lifted.

Technorati tags: hiatus takingabreak writersblock drafts