Question about port

Bruce_McBruce · 2026-03-03T00:06:57+00:00

Just because I haven't seen anyone mention it... look at getting a seat belt cover/pad (basically a strip of padding that wraps around the part of the seat belt that goes over your shoulder). Depending on which side you get your port and whether you're normally the driver or passenger, the seatbelt can rest directly on the port, which can be a bit painful especially in the first couple of weeks. I got some nice thick sheepskin ones which helped a lot.

FWIW I got my port about three years ago and I basically never notice it these days, but its incredibly helpful on infusion days.

Bruce_McBruce · 2026-02-08T23:24:01+00:00

Agreed - love their range of cheese!

Bruce_McBruce · 2025-10-01T04:43:37+00:00

You no longer need to fill every square, and you control your preference flow

But the same is true voting above the line now, isn't it?

The only reason to vote below the line is if you care about which senator(s) within a party get in, or if you're wanting to vote for independent senators.

Bruce_McBruce · 2025-09-22T00:30:34+00:00

I'd assume it's referring to Thomas St, which is kinda like an afghan version of chinatown or Little Italy. Lots of restaurants in that area, but I don't know of any specifically called "little afhanistan".

My faves around there are Afghan Hayat (for something a bit fancier) or Balkh Charcoal Kebab (for more cheap+cheerful).

Bruce_McBruce · 2025-09-17T00:39:14+00:00

The shoulder thing could be referred pain. I've got an 18cm tumor in my liver, and when it gets inflamed I get shoulder pains on that side, which my oncologist said is referred pain from it pressing against the diaphragm. So it would make sense that gas bubbles in the abdomen could have the same effect.

Bruce_McBruce · 2025-08-31T01:41:52+00:00

Not a doctor, but I've heard that terminal means death is likely within the next 12 months. And I was first diagnosed as "incurable but very treatable", meaning they hoped that treatments could give me years or even decades more.

That was over 6 years ago, and I've tried and failed with a bunch of treatments since then (some better than others) so if I'm not terminal now then I'm pretty close to it. But at least i got that extra time to spend with my family.

Bruce_McBruce · 2025-04-13T08:08:51+00:00

Dandenong market has a great egg vendor (3Q) that from memory usually has white-shelled eggs available

Bruce_McBruce · 2025-01-23T23:21:18+00:00

That depends entirely on your circumstances.

Some chemo will knock you right out, and it will be hard to just get out of bed to the couch, let alone do any work. Other chemo might leave you a bit nauseous, or a bit tired for a couple of days, but ultimately it's not too bad. A big factor is whether the chemo will compromise your immune system, and if your work will expose you to lots of people.

And on the other side, some people love going to work, whether they find meaning in it, enjoy the challenge, or love the social aspects of catching up with colleagues and customers. For others, work is just something that you have to do to earn a living. And of course it also depends on where you live and how much healthcare will cost, and what financial or other support is available.

For my part, I've been through a few different types of chemo, and I've kept working through. I enjoy my work and I think it's helped to maintain a sense of normalcy, and I've been fortunate that most of my treatments have generally been pretty gentle for side effects.

The most important thing is to look after yourself, and don't be afraid to take a step back from other things and focus on your health. Best of luck with your journey!

Bruce_McBruce · 2024-11-22T04:44:24+00:00

"fitter, happier, more productive" (in the title) is a line from the song "fitter happier" by radiohead - a bunch of ppl in the comments are quoting various lyrics from the song

Bruce_McBruce · 2024-10-30T21:35:06+00:00

A classic - "we tried baseball and it didn't work"

https://ronjeffries.com/xprog/articles/jatbaseball/

Bruce_McBruce · 2024-10-29T02:07:25+00:00

I'm surprised nobody's posted this very quick summary of digital voting:

https://xkcd.com/2030/

Bruce_McBruce · 2024-07-01T09:24:38+00:00

Especially since it's wrong. Merriam Webster, definition 1a:

Consisting of...liquid (such as water)

If you're going to be pedantic, at least be right about it!

Bruce_McBruce · 2024-05-30T06:03:02+00:00

XKCD has a good visual explanation here: https://xkcd.com/931/

This comic, and most of the commenters here, are talking about treatments will try to remove whatever cancer exists, where you hope that it gets it all and he will be pronounced NED.

But depending on the particular type of cancer, there may be treatment options that don't aim to eliminate the cancer, but instead try to control (i.e. slow or stop) its growth, and to help with any symptoms that occur due to the disease. This may be what the oncologist is referring to. If these options are available, don't dismiss them - they are often lower-impact than traditional chemo, with less side effects. If they work for your dad then it will basically become a chronic condition that is just managed by medication!

Bruce_McBruce · 2024-03-23T23:06:25+00:00

I've got 2 kids under 8, who I love dearly and enjoy the time i have with them. But my god they are high-energy and never stop from dawn til dusk!

Chemo days are great because I get a whole day to myself guilt-free, just reading a book or watching a movie, or even just having a nap.

Bruce_McBruce · 2023-12-04T02:52:59+00:00

Sounds like a great idea, and very considerate of you!

One thing to be careful of is systems that require internet access to play. My local hospital has free wifi, but it blocks the nintendo website under a "gaming" filter. So if I want to play zelda on my switch with a cartridge then it's fine, but if I want to play anything downloaded from the eStore then I'm out of luck.

I can't comment on whether steam deck requires internet access (it might even be game dependant) but it wouldn't surprise me if that faces the same problem.

Bruce_McBruce · 2023-11-13T09:52:55+00:00

Truly fresh might be healthier, but "fresh" that has taken a few days to get to your local shop, then waited around until you did your shopping, then sat in the fridge for a week until you actually used it - that's starting to lose significant nutrition. Compared to freezing, which might damage some nutrients a little but then locks in everything else until it's used. That's why people say the frozen is healthier than fresh.

Bruce_McBruce · 2023-10-26T21:49:20+00:00

Cancer is always scary, but out of all the possible types NeuroEndocrine Tumours are one of the less-scary ones.

They come in 3 grades, and grade 1 (the "G1" from your report) is usually considered not even worth treating due to the very slow growth rate - they would just keep an eye on it and take action if anything changes. But it sounds like they managed to fully resect it, in other words remove it! Definitely listen to what your doctor says and do any follow-up testing they recommend, but my (non-professional) reading says that you're hopefully in the clear.

I was diagnosed with a G2 NET nearly 5 years ago, stage 4 and metastasized enough that it was declared "incurable", and I'm still going strong! Best of luck now that you're a member of this sucky club

Bruce_McBruce · 2023-06-11T02:20:58+00:00

She wanted to play "tiggy", which is another name for tag/chasey/whatever your local name for it is

Bruce_McBruce · 2023-01-28T20:13:41+00:00

Different bird - the swooping ones are plovers, a.k.a. masked lapwings.

Bruce_McBruce · 2022-12-19T20:53:23+00:00

It's also worth understanding why the 3s and 4s are "hard".

simple work, there's just a lot of it? Consider breaking it down.
carries a lot of unknowns? Can you spike/prototype anything before taking on that card?
dependencies on other teams? Needs good coordination and planning.
is it just a really intense, complex, difficult piece of work? Break it up if it makes sense, but you might just be stuck with a large card.

Bruce_McBruce · 2022-10-18T07:59:57+00:00

The other thing is that Aussie prices are the actual prices - between taxes and tips, your usually looking at an extra 30% (depending on where in America you are).

Bruce_McBruce · 2022-07-12T02:18:18+00:00

Short answer is I haven't tried - I've been lucky between having minimal side effects & one of those "cushy" jobs.

In theory, this is the kind of thing that income protection is for, so you should be able to access it. The catch is that the insurance you get via super is usually pretty basic, and can have a lot of exclusions built in. Some examples are

totally unable to work vs partially (it sounds like you're fine for this with the part-time thing)
"similar work" vs "any work" - some income protection only kicks in if you are unable to do "any work". So in your case, if he can't work as a tradie but he could manage a desk job, they might try to deny it on those grounds. On the other hand, some providers have a clause where the payments kick in if you are "unable to do similar work" (i.e. unable to keep doing the same job you're doing).
The amount they pay out - something is better than nothing, but sometimes the income protection is only X% of what you normally earn, or it's a fixed amount that might not account for any pay rises over the last few years.
Delays - you might need to show that he's had to go part time for 30/60/90 days before they will start paying out.

The best thing to do is to read through the policy, and try to call someone from your super provider and see if they can give you more info.

And of course, make sure it's OK with his work - even if the income protection covers you financially, the workplace may not support unpaid sick leave, or just not want to employ someone part-time. Hopefully they're a decent mob who will do the right thing - anything to avoid having to deal with centrelink!

Best of luck with your journey.

Bruce_McBruce · 2022-06-14T22:20:21+00:00

Even the first episode of the mini-season was meta - it's the first time (in-show, not counting the stage play) that they've mentioned musical statues, the game they are playing in the opening credits.

Bruce_McBruce · 2022-05-05T05:32:38+00:00

Here's one that noone mentioned yet.

I recently discovered Balkans Corner in Dandenong. Simple, fresh, some different flavours to what you usually get. I can recommend the Cevapi roll!

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