Merry Christmas, Everyone

I'm taking a few days off to go south of the border. Here's wishing all my friends and loved ones, including that one loyal reader, a very merry Christmas and happy holiday season. Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo.

Give Blood...Save a Life

I started donating blood in December 2009 in an attempt to conquer my fear of needles. I'm not there yet, but practice makes perfect.

Jan 4, 2012: Just hit my first gallon. 9 more to go and I get my name engraved on a copper milk jug. At 4 visits a year, that's just 18 years away. Yippee!
Jan 11, 2014: I did my first platelet donation. Sort of a good news bad news deal. On the plus side, one can donate platelets every two weeks, which means I could totally get on that milk jug this year if I keep at it. On the downside. It takes about two hours per donation and this last visit resulted in a really nasty bruise. What to do, what to do.
Apr 5, 2014: 2 gallons down, 8 more to go 'til the copper jug.
Apr 28, 2016: Two year lay off (thanks, lower back), but the blood is flowing yet again. Heard there was a critical shortage of my blood type. Tough week for humanity, I guess.
Jun 18, 2017: 3 gallons!
Sep 2, 2018: 4 gallons!
Dec 30, 2018: 7 donations for the year.
Dec 29, 2019: 6 donations for the year. 5 gallons! Halfway to getting my name etched on the copper jug.
Dec 20, 2020: 6 donations for the year.
Apr 11, 2021: 6 gallons!
Aug 1, 2021: Half way to a hundred donations!
Jul 10, 2022: 7 gallons!
Nov 6, 2022: 6 donations for the year.
Oct 22, 2023: 8 gallons!
Dec 31, 2023: 6 donations for the year
Dec 22, 2024: 7 donations for the year
Feb 23, 2025: 9 gallons!
Donation total: 73 pints
Last donation: Apr 20, 2025

Run, Fred, Run

Let Me Count the Days Hall of Fame

Oct 17, 2013: The partial shutdown of the U.S. Federal Government officially ended just after midnight, Thursday, Oct 17, when President Barack Obama signed the budget into law. The shutdown lasted 16 days and 1 hour.

Jan 2, 2019: In 4 days, the latest government shutdown will surpass this, so I guess unless there is a miracle...sorry, compromise, this Hall of Fame entry won't mean as much.

Mar 5, 2013: The New York Stock Exchange hit a new all time high of 14,286.37. The Dow's previous high was October 9, 2007, a span of 1974 days.

Jan 2, 2019: Speaking of relevance, despite the beating the stock markets took at the end of 2018, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a peak of 26,951.81 in August 2018, and is still well over 23,000.

Fredisms - What's On My Mind

Monday, December 24, 2007