When you’re sick, it’s always there.  Unlike baseball and football and such, rugby union simply never ends.

Between Super 14, Six Nations, Tri-Nations, NPC, Currie Cup,
Celtic League, Guinness Premiership, IRB
Sevens (returning to L.A. in February!), and a
gazillion other competitions, not to mention test tours and the quadrennial World Cup, somebody is playing.  Always.

(It helps to get Setanta, which will also flood you with images of Irish people kicking things, throwing things, and whacking each other with sticks.)

Since I have to be on my back today, I have the Heineken Cup going while trying to work and rest at the same time. 
(And you wonder why I never get better…)  Ronan O’Gara, the fine Irish fly-half (pictured), is leading Munster against a
struggling Dragons side from Wales.  Later on, if I’m still awake,
I’m looking forward to seeing how Jonah Lomu does in his return for
the Cardiff Blues.  (I got to walk around the Blues’ field last year, so I enjoy their games particularly.)

I know this is total gibberish to most of you (although more visitors from rugby-speaking and cricket-fluent bits of the planet seem
to be wandering in).  Precisely my point. 
If you love sport and enjoy international competition,
cultivate rugby love.  You will never lack diversion again.

You’ve probably noticed that blogging has slowed again.  That infection
I’ve been fighting for the last five weeks has re-emerged, and I’m
under doctor’s orders to be as flat and unconscious as possible for a
while.  No worries; I’ll be fine.  I have a guy I trust working on it, and it really should be all done soon.  Just don’t think I’ve abandoned the
blog if it just sits here for a while.

Incidentally, I’m on some shiny new meds with even more interesting possible — and (thank the FSM) unlikely — side effects than the last batch:

Well.  This could be interesting.  Bottoms up!  We’ll hope for the best.

In addition, I am to avoid aspirin, antacids, and (weirdly enough) licorice.  How odd.

I originally picked up this case of cooties, mind you, in a doctor’s office,
when I went in for a routine guy-in-his-40s health-maintenance thing. 
This is called "iatrogenic" (doctor-induced) disease, and if memory
serves, the are studies which say about 25% of all medical problems in
the United States are iatrogenic.

I’d look up the exact stat, but you have Google if you’re curious. 
Meanwhile, I have a pudu to post, some paying work I need to finish,
and then I need to be in bed.

See you in a few days with the usual litany of complaining and goofing around.

You’ve probably noticed that blogging has slowed again.  That infection
I’ve been fighting for the last five weeks has re-emerged, and I’m
under doctor’s orders to be as flat and unconscious as possible for a
while.  No worries; I’ll be fine.  I have a guy I trust working on it, and it really should be all done soon.  Just don’t think I’ve abandoned the
blog if it just sits here for a while.

Incidentally, I’m on some shiny new meds with even more interesting possible — and (thank the FSM) unlikely — side effects than the last batch:

Well.  This could be interesting.  Bottoms up!  We’ll hope for the best.

In addition, I am to avoid aspirin, antacids, and (weirdly enough) licorice.  How odd.

I originally picked up this case of cooties, mind you, in a doctor’s office,
when I went in for a routine guy-in-his-40s health-maintenance thing. 
This is called "iatrogenic" (doctor-induced) disease, and if memory
serves, the are studies which say about 25% of all medical problems in
the United States are iatrogenic.

I’d look up the exact stat, but you have Google if you’re curious. 
Meanwhile, I have a pudu to post, some paying work I need to finish,
and then I need to be in bed.

See you in a few days with the usual litany of complaining and goofing around.

Less than 16 hours after this post, O’Reilly’s people changed his site.

Now they can pretend it never happened, and keeping acting like this phony "War On Christmas" actually exists.

Tipped by this Kos diary.