-=> CHARLES ANGELICH wrote to WAYNE CHIRNSIDE <=-

 WC> that however has changed with the severe injuries that left
 WC> me crippled. Gradually my stamina failed on me over the
 WC> last 6 years.

 CA> In the movies the more pain the more the guy can tolerate. Real
 CA> life is less glamorous and we all eventually succumb to the
 CA> pain and fear of same.

Yeah, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", what a bunch 
of bull.
 
 CA> I get the impression you still don't think "toughing it out" is
 CA> a bad idea.

 Nope, had to learn to micromanage my time.
 Everything I do during the day means something I must give up 
 doing or I could not walk the dog.
 Dog hasn't had a bath in three months and I need to schedule
 that. I mean how many people lay motionless in bed
 for hours thirsty or hungry with food in the fridge because the pain
 of moving to get food or drink just isn't worth the cost?
 Recently as 1995 I had a broken ankle, called it my "walking break."
 Hurt like hell started to mend a bit when the girlfriend brought 
 home a "Fender" amplifier. I carried the amp upstairs rebreaking the 
 ankle, heard and _felt_ it snap on the third step from the top
 and steeled myself taking the next three
 steps, hey it was either that or go down the stair with the amp 
 landing  on me. Ankle turned black but circulation finally came
 back. Never thought about going to the hospital and that's
 the last macho gesture I've pulled. Finally healed correctly,
 I used to be TOUGH, no more.

 CA>> My first AMI was at work and I stayed there and finished
 CA>> my shift.

 WC> AMI? Some kind of myocardial infarction? Atrial? That was
 WC> not a good idea as beta blockers can limit damage to the
 WC> heart if administered promptly.

 CA> AFAIK you have to get there within 45 minutes. It took me
 CA> awhile to figure out what was happening to me since I normally
 CA> worked 12-14 hour days 6-7 days a week occasional dizziness
 CA> and/or nausea was an old friend (low blood sugar?). 
 
Thought I was bad at 6 days a week 11 hours a day, you've got
me beat. Hard physical work and I recall some days
sitting at the front of the plant at the end of the day my eyes
closed and ears ringing for a few before driving the motorcycle
home. 7 years at that place.

 CA> This was
 CA> about 20 years ago (or more) not sure they even had
 CA> beta-blockers back then?

 that might have been right around the time or slightly before
 I recall them being available.
 
 CA> btw: My brother insisted I let him poke my finger a few days
 CA> ago.  He is a diabetic after his heart surgery.  The medication
 CA> for thinning the blood seems to always push people into diabetes?
 CA> Anyhow I had just finished a can of Cola (no breakfast) and it
 CA> came up 115.  He said it can go to 140 and still be OK.

 I had someone insist I do one of those things, think mine
 came back 117. They knew I drink too much and were concerned.
 Diabetes does not run in the family though.
 
 CA>> Seems a bit insane to me now that I did that but the

 WC> Ah the good old days when young and thought ourselves
 WC> indestructable...

 CA> Well in my mid 30's, yes.

Same here, thought nothing could ever bring me down,
WRONG.

 CA>> We each deserve the same care and consideration we would
 CA>> show to our pets, our friends, and our family.

 CA> My last dog died when I was 18 from hardening of the arteries.
 CA> I was allowed to decide if we should medicate him or put him
 CA> to sleep.  I chose to medicate him and he died in his sleep at
 CA> the age of 13.  I don't know for certain if he was in any pain
 CA> or not.  He was not complaining, just acting very tired.

Spanky was looking old and on the worst night was screaming when 
he walked, believe me you do NOT want to hear a Pit Bull scream :-(
He's doing OK now, climbs up on the bed again, climbs the steps 
to visit upstairs neighbor, ect.
I'm onto the signs he's in pain, tail droops on walks, flinches
when I pet him on the backside, general inactivity, ect.
When the medication fails to relieve all these I'll do the deed.

 WC> Last time I saw a doctor was in 1995.

 CA> I can't recall my last doctor visit.  I took my children to
 CA> see the doctor and I get confused about whose appointment
 CA> was whose.  One doctor even asked when I was going to make
 CA> an appointment for myself.  I didn't realize that I looked
 CA> _that_ bad but I guess I did to him.

 I'd love to sit in on my own autopsy and hear what a doctor
 had to say about my spinal injuries.
 I don't look so good myself.

 CA>> It was a mistake to treat myself with such disregard. I
 CA>> would've never treated another living soul that badly.

 WC> I agree especially given the nature of the illness you
 WC> recount. I've had some angina but taken steps to limit
 WC> physical and psychological stress as well as attuned myself
 WC> to my respiration rate. No attacks in a year though I may
 WC> have aborted one last week by feeling what felt like first
 WC> onset took a bunch of short rapid breaths. Back when I was
 WC> having them regular it was a hell of a way to wake up!

 CA> The lucky ones don't wake up. ;-)

Actually when the angina went away I was dissappoinnted, the pain in
the spine is _that_ bad. Crushing pressure and chest pain but
nothing compared to the back. Gotta see my best friend  to the
end is the only reason I took measures to relieve the angina.
You know I'd have to say we're both pretty much a real mess ;-)
This may not be the proper echo for this but it may make someone 
feel better about their situation should our conditions
exceed what they suffer from. Besides we eventually get back to 
technical stuff.

 CA>> If you can detail just what is happening to you and when
 CA>> (after a 'clean' boot with the machine turned off/on or
 CA>> 'other' etc.) something may click here.

 WC> It's some kind of weird problem where the operating system
 WC> is not found on boot. I've seen error messages "No


 CA> This sounds like a bad connector or ribbon cable but I don't
 
 The ribbon cable is where I'm going next, I've got three spares 
 including a three connector one for two drives.
 Now I just have to micromanage that into my schedule, break out
 the trouble light and magnifier glasses to undertake the swap.
 
 CA> think that could reset the CMOS settings for the drive unless
 CA> it was set to auto-detect and saw no hard drive? 
 
It was set on auto detect and I have a new CMOS coin cell 
at hand. Now I just need a good day to come along where
I can spent a half hour in patience to swap the IDE 
cable and battery.
If I undertake the task on a typical day I'll rush to get it done
and likely manage to mess something up.
Sad, used to do ALL my own motorcycle repairs for 20 years :-(

 CA> Otherwise that
 CA> would seem to indicate a low/bad battery for the CMOS.  
 
Actually glad to hear you say it could be the ribbon cable or
CMOS cell, gives me hope for the system :-)
I had planned on swapping both but like I say I need
a good day to do it, maybe sometime in the next ten days.

 CA> Being
 CA> an older machine it is possible that it is both a bad connection
 CA> and a bad battery in the CMOS?  Ribbon cables _used_ to be
 CA> cheaper than batteries for the CMOS.  I might try the cable
 CA> first.

 IIRC the ribbon cable is easy to get at, don't recall
 if the CMOS cell is in the open or behind something where
 I'll have to further dissassemble. I'll give it a look today
 as that just requires the trouble lamp, glasses and a couple 
 of minutes. As I say both are handy as I'd just bought a cell 
 for the NEC before the CPU toasted.
 You've lifted my spirits a bit by suggesting these things I'd 
 thought of but had little hope were the problem. Actually given the
 intermittent nature that's a clue too.
 Bloody H.P. manual is useless as to layout as the manuaul
 is generic for many models and not the least bit technical,
 in fact it says in several chapters to look for components
 as they may be in different places :-(
 Why bother to ship such a manual in the first place?
 I mean say what you will about the 486 Packard Bell but the 
 manual was comprehensive and you could consult it and and _know_
 what you needed to do before you cracked the case.
 BIOS on the H.P. reads 1999 and I know there's a later release on the
 H.P. site but that's not it as this system ran fine for the landlady
 for three years before she gave to a friend.
 Oh please let it be the ribbon cable as the Quantum 6.4 drive 
 I took out may still be good in which case I could snag up 
 the 256 RAM the system maxes out at and be rocking.
 Swapping the drive in this system is five minutes tops.

 CA>> http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/dos/w31_cfg2.htm

 WC> I'll save this URL and snag it.

 CA> The page will help with memory/intermittent hangups in W31 but
 CA> your problem sounds like a hardware problem to me.

Yeah, your input is much appreciated. I'll go over all the options
you mentioned in the next 10 days max and let you know.
I was thinking since the landlady lives on the water
corrosion on the IDE connectors?
Sorry your health is so bad, being so messed up myself
I would not wish either of our conditions on
my worst enemy. Actually given their natures my three
enemies of years gone by have likely managed to either
have someone off them or gotten themselves killed
in some other way.
 
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