Ding! 39!

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Aug 24, 2010

Filed under: Landmarks 135 comments

For reasons that will be apparent in two paragraphs, I’m typing this with my head down, eyes helf-open and fixed on the keyboard. Please be tolerant of errors and typos. Fixing them would hurt me more than they hurt you.

Tuesday (today, for some of us) was my birthday. It was my 39th birthday. It was not a good one. In fact, this is the second-worst birthday so far, only narrowly edged out by the first one where someone pulled me from the warmth and tranquility of the womb and into this nightmare realm of war, famine, and Michael Bay movies.

About a week ago I came down with an eye infection. It started out mild. Just a bit of redness on the eyelid. “Ah. Probably just spending too much time at the computer”, I thought, “It will clear up in no time.” This theory was disproven over the weekend, when it did, in fact, get monumentally worse. And gross. And painful.

If I close my eye, it burns like my tear duct is churning out mace by the gallon. If I open them, the infected eye is pierced with agony because the dang thing refuses to focus on anything or adjust to the light. Covering it up doesn’t seem to help. So it only hurts when my eyes are closed or I’m looking at things. This means the only way to escapse the pain is to sit upright in a dark room with my eyes open, looking at nothing. While this is a tedious way to spend one’s time, it’s better than watching a Michel Bay movie so it’s sort of a mixed blessing.

It’s been days since I’ve slept more thn two or three hours at a stretch. Now I can’t see and I can’t think. This has made me a little irritable. And it’s ALL YOUR FAULT.

No. Sorry. It’s not totally your fault. Anyway. On my birthday I went to see the doctor and she gave me some weapons-grade antibiotics. I can’t read the label to save my life, but I’m pretty sure it says something along the lines of, “Jam this crap into your eyeball every four hours until you’re out of medicine or the thing falls out, either of which should fix the problem.”

So that’s what I’m doing. I have my LCD monitor set to minimum brightness right now, and I can only behold it with fleeting sideways glances. I have to piece togethe rthe world around me with momentary peeks. So all I see are painful flashes of light and abrupt cuts from one disjoined blurry image to the next. So it’s sort of like watching a Michel Bay movie all the time. Which is the worst part.

I’m actually doing a lot better. It’s only been six hours since I took the first dose of medicine, and it already hurts way, way less. I don’t know if I’ll be back to normal tomorrow or if I’ll end up taking the rest of the week off. We’ll see.

So this has been a rough birthday. But still. At the end of the day I can at least be grateful for one thing:

At least I’m not 40.

 


From The Archives:
 

135 thoughts on “Ding! 39!

  1. Philip says:

    Hope it ends up being a happy birthday with your family

  2. Patrick says:

    Sorry to hear you had a bad birthday. Hope you feel better soon.

  3. Nurgh says:

    Have you tried covering the infected eye? Cloth thick enough to block the light, but not coming in contact with the eye. That might let you see out the other eye, at least.

    1. Blackbird71 says:

      Shamus the Pirate! I demand pics!

      Seriously man, I hope those antibiotics kick in and you’re feeling better soon!

  4. Stupidguy12 says:

    Dang, that hurts. When I was four I had an ear infection for an hour, and I thought THAT was bad. I feel sorry for you.

    1. rofltehcat says:

      Had those a few times when I was young.
      Once the medication made me lose my sense of balance… It was like I could feel the world (which I hated at that point) rotate while lying still (couldn’t really do anything else than lying still…)

      @ Shamus: Happy birthday! Man, you’re old… I mean like reeeeaaaally old :P

      But at least in 40 years you can tell something like this to your grand children:
      “When I was young, we didn’t have no radiation-laser-bacteria-sniper-therapy! We had to sit in a dark room for days, unable to sleep and unable to do anything because it was so dark and your eyes hurt when looking at things! And we didn’t have no D2Brain videos and games either!”

      1. Varil says:

        Man, I want some sniper therapy. What if doctors started going “BOOM! Headshot!” whenever they used it?

        1. Pickly says:

          Na, they’re one of those cheap noobs who go for body shots. :)

          1. Pickly says:

            (This is meant to be sarcastic, just to make things clear.)

    2. 8th_Pacifist says:

      I had an ear infection once. My Mum poured boiling oil in my ear.

      I didn’t complain after that.

      1. Sumanai says:

        I take it you’re deaf in that ear?

  5. Jeremiah says:

    Shamus… did someone try to embalm you with Worcestershire sauce?

  6. Retlor says:

    That’s not the greatest birthday present I’ve ever heard about…

    I hope you get better soon.

  7. acronix says:

    I was sure that medicine would tell you “You must be 40 to use this item!” everytime you tried to apply it. Weird!

    Hope you get better!

  8. Apparently eye infections coupled with birthdays causes an immense dislike for anyone named Michael Bay?

    Not that I blame you any.

    I hope the pharmaceuticals do their job in a hurry. I’ll see if I can find a Michael Bay dart board for a belated birthday present.

    Leslee

    1. Daf says:

      Knowing Michael Bay, darts wouldn’t be enough; it would need to be a Michael Bay ICBM pad (which just means that everyone can play, regardless of your location, although you’ll have to wait until we radio back your score).

      1. Grag says:

        And then Michael Bay would blow it up.

        1. Scott says:

          Or transform it into a truck.

          1. Irridium says:

            And blow it up again.

  9. toasty says:

    Do my dad did when he turned forty: You stop having birthdays, you simply have anniversaries of your 39th birthday! Yippeee!

    And yea, sorry that you feel horrible. I hate being sick like that. I’m glad you still have that wonderful sense of humor though. :)

    1. SteveDJ says:

      I’m sure that Shamus does NOT want to repeat his 39th birthday ever again… :)

    2. Heron says:

      That’s more or less what my dad did for my mom. Growing up, every year was my mom’s 29th birthday.

      Hope you get better soon, Shamus!

      1. Michael says:

        I do that when I’m at a friend’s house and there are “Happy Xth Birthday” cards/posters/what-have-you’s all over the place.

        I’ll get a sticky note and replace the number with a lower one.

        I changed one friend’s father’s age from 50 to 23.

        Never had an eye infection, though. That seems to really suck, man. Hope it clears up soon!

  10. ehlijen says:

    First of all, I hope you get better soon!

    Second of all: What’s Micheal Bay done now? I know he deserves everything he gets like this, but this does sound a bit more personal than your average rant on him. Was one of his movies recently inflicted on you? Did he threaten to kill another franchise you like?

    1. Pickly says:

      Only the Transformers movies that I’ve heard of at least. Not sure is Shamus is specifically thinking of these or of something else.

    2. Klay F. says:

      I think its just a culmination of Shamus feeling like absolute crap, his birthday being bad because of said eye, and him needing somebody to blame, for which Michael Bay is the perfect scapegoat. I mean seriously, do any of us really need a NEW reason to hate Michael Bay?

      1. Namaps says:

        I ought to start making Michael Bay my default scapegoat for misfortunate events where there would otherwise be no one else to blame. If nothing else it’ll make me feel better.

      2. ehlijen says:

        On the downside, everytime we mention his name, a guy that should by all rights fade into obscurity has his fame extended by another few mintues :(

        1. Aldowyn says:

          right, like anyone who makes something like those movies is going to fade into obscurity.

          It’s sad, really. I mean, sometimes no one remembers the people who directed some really good movies.

          And how come it seems like no one can ever figure out what’s going on in the Transformers fight scenes? I usually know exactly what’s going on…

          1. Raygereio says:

            Oh, I also know what’s going on. The cameraman is preforming a cossack dance, whilst playing hopscotch.

    3. AnZsDad says:

      Michael Bay has been good for only one thing in his history: Uwe Boll’s reputation.

  11. Ravens Cry says:

    I just hope the rest of the year is better then the birthday, Shamus. Hope you feel better soon!

  12. Zyzzyva says:

    Huh, we share a birthday. That’s kinda neat. The eye thing… not so much. Hope you get well soon.

    1. I am sure if he were currently keeping up with comments as he usually does he would have immediately said Happy birthday! but since he is still sitting in a dark room talking on the phone (which is a nice solution to the whole not being able to see thing) I will say it for him. So, “Happy birthday!”

  13. Kell says:

    :(

    Clearly this is all Michael Bay’s fault. He sucks. But you do not.

    Happy Birthday, Shamus.

  14. HeadHunter says:

    I feel your pain, Shamus.
    A few years ago, I had surgery to correct a lazy eye that developed over time as the result of an injury in my teens. It’s basically like a front-end alignment for your eyes, where they detach and reattach the muscles on both eyes to line it up.

    For a few days after the surgery, my eyes were very swollen so I couldn’t see clearly. I had to sit in the house, shades drawn and lights out, with my sunglasses on. Reading anything was difficult and driving was right out. Then there was the seeping blood… but I digress.

    Suffice to say I know what you must be going through and it can’t bwe pleasant. Happy birthday nonetheless! Have an “observed birthday” when you are feeling better – if presidents and the Queen can do it, so can you!

  15. David W says:

    I’m impressed – writing while in pain, and you still produce work I can laugh at, in addition to arranging for guest bloggers. Best wishes – hope you heal quickly and completely.

  16. Jarenth says:

    I’ll make this a combined ‘Happy birthday’ and ‘Get well soon’ message, then.

    Happy get well soon day!

    1. Trix says:

      You forgot the “birth” bit :)

      But then it would be “Happy get well birth soon day” which is more than a little strange.

  17. Richard says:

    You probably can’t read this at the moment, but I figured I’d leave you a “get well soon” anyways, so you can go back to writing the blog that brightens my life.

  18. Audacity says:

    Wow, if you had been born six months earlier you would have been born prematurely be a full two times older than me.

    Happy birthday, get well, many happy returns, etc…

    EDIT: aren’t strike tags supposed to cross out text, not hide spoilers?

    1. Miral says:

      Yes, but HTML is mostly only overridable, not extensible.

  19. Mr Fletch says:

    Demand a Birthday Mulligan.

    Though, of course, nothing can be done about Michael Bay.

    1. Michael says:

      Demand a Michael Bayulligan.

  20. Sekundaari says:

    Happy birthday from me too, though it’s actually the 25th here already.

    I had several ear infections as a child. I don’t remember them too well now, but I imagine the worst part compared to other pains was soaking the thing in cold water was not a feasible option. I guess the same applies here.

    If you see this already, good for you! Go weapons-grade medicine!
    (If, however, you see the flash, it’s already too late.)

  21. If it makes you feel any better, I just turned 20. (As opposed to being 19.)
    Probably doesn’t, but it was worth a shot.

    Hope you get well soon!

  22. Zeta Kai says:

    Shamus, this may seem like an odd question, but nobody else has asked it, & your article didn’t say:

    Which eye is it? Your right eye, or your left eye?

    To just about everyone but you, I guess it doesn’t really matter, but I though it would be easier to visualize your plight if I knew which eye we’re talking about. Either way, good luck, & I hope that you recover fully soon. I’ve had eye trouble in the past (infections, pointy objects, chemical exposure), & while I’m all better now, I can certainly sympathize.

    P.S.: Blah, blah, blah, I just turned 31YO, blah, blah, blah, who cares, blah, blah, blah, not even me, blah, blah, blah.

  23. Nighty says:

    I’m sorry to hear that Shamus. I hope one of those eventualities solves your problem soon.

  24. Daf says:

    Shamus, it’s too bad your health didn’t fully regen when you dinged.
    I had the mumps on my 8th birthday, so I have both sympathy and empathy for your current plight, even though yours sounds about 4.875 times worse. :(

  25. Rebecca says:

    Get off the computer, fool!

    1. Robyrt says:

      Seconded. Eye infections are nasty things and they don’t need to be made any worse by some misguided heroic desire to update the site. :-P

      Get well soon!

  26. MichaelG says:

    Remember back a couple of months I suggested you remove an eye and replace it with a webcam? So you could just sit and talk about video games and produce content continuously?

    Now is your chance!

    1. Deoxy says:

      This make me giggle. Out loud. At work.

      Heh.

  27. Octal says:

    Yikes! That sounds horrible; I hope you get better as soon as possible.

    PS: If it does take longer to clear up, I hope you can at least find some books on tape or podcasts or something to make it less boring to not be able to look at things and make it easier on yourself. I liked http://succeedinevil.com/category/original_series/ (haven’t listened to the audio novel, but I assume it’s similarly funny).

    1. Nidokoenig says:

      Or he could do a Let’s Play of Ocarina of Time:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM0Nwxgt8dg

      Hope you get better soon, Shamus. Remember to ask your doctor about stacking pain meds, like how aspirin and paracetemol work in different ways so you can max out on both. Just don’t pile on too much or the cold turkey will wipe you out. Happened to me once with an infected wisdom tooth, I was maxing out the daily dosage of Paramol(dihydrocodeine and paracetemol), aspirin, and rubbing in benzocaine gel, along with prescribed antibiotics right up until it got pulled, stopped everything(the prescription had ended) and spent the next couple of weeks in a daze. Not smart, but it kept the pain under control and I can’t say I wouldn’t do it again.

  28. Jep jep says:

    I’ll just say: Happy birthday!.. for all what it’s worth. Get well soon.

  29. Koriantor says:

    Well on the bright side… new toys?

    Happy birthday!

  30. wootage says:

    Sorry to hear, Shamus, hope it gets better soon! I had about the same thing because of a teensy tiny flake of something in my eye, sideways so the doctor couldn’t see it the first time round. I had about the same symptoms, so I took to wearing very dark sunglasses and was able to somewhat function.

    After I got through the first round of laboratory experiments – I mean “treatment” – for my invisible ailment, I got them to look harder and from different angles until they found it and fished it out.

    So, maybe try dark glasses, darkened room, and cold on the eye to reduce the inflammation? And don’t fear to go back and tell them “look harder” – it’s their job, k? :)

  31. Dante says:

    Hope you feel better Shamus.

    The birthday I had this year (I turned 26) was the worst one I’ve had so far. I didn’t do anything, and had to stay home to take care of my dying dog, who had to be put to sleep 4 days after my birthday….she was 12.5 years old, which for a German Shepared-Greyhound mix, was a pretty long life…but her spine gave out and she had to be put down.

    1. Yahzi says:

      12 years is a good long time for a shepherd. But it never seems long enough. We lost two dogs in the last two years, both after twelve years. :(

  32. Ell Jay says:

    Get well soon, Shamus!

  33. Adam says:

    Shamus – this pain is keeping you from thinking straight.

    This is the perfect opportunity to wear an eye patch.

    Think of it! The only other valid reason out there is to actually LOSE your eye, which you don’t really want to do.

    Ask you wife to go get you one, then to photograph you throughout the day looking awesome.

    1. Rosseloh says:

      I misread this at first and thought you told Mrs. Young to go get him another eye.

      Then I imagined Shamus with a bionic eye.

      1. Sumanai says:

        As I read your post I thought about Shamus with a third eye on the forehead.

  34. [d20]thegrinner says:

    Wear the eyepatch!

    But seriously, hope you feel better soon and can make up for the crappiness of the birthday.

  35. Miral says:

    (Points at Stolen Pixels) See, this is why you have an eye infection…

    But seriously: that sounds painful, and I hope it gets better soon.
    (Also, I second the calls for eyepatch usage.)

    1. ps238principal says:

      But don’t forget the advice of Eddie Izzard: Some things look cool with just one, but if you use two or more your cool factor drops immensely.

      This was given regarding eyepatches and toothpicks, I believe.

  36. Fenix says:

    Happy Birthday?
    Hope you feel better soon.

  37. Gandaug says:

    My condolences on the infection.

    Happy Birthday!

  38. Rutskarn says:

    Happy Your-Birthday-Where-I-Am, Shamus. Now, it has often been said that I am not a doctor–a statement which has some truth to it–but it seems to me that you could solve this problem by jabbing yourself with some sort of 200-year-old stimulant encased in a rusty, neglected, irradiated needle. Use a couple, just to be safe. And eat a cockroach.

    Alternately, just swap it out for your spare eyeball until the infection dies down.

    Oh, and feel better soon.

    1. Irridium says:

      He should also consume any random drugs lying around. Just to be safe.

      OT: Eye hope you feel better soon Shamus.

      1. ps238principal says:

        Jeeze, you people!

        You forgot to suggest beer and vodka. What’s wrong with you?!!

  39. nehumanuscrede says:

    Sounds like you got a good shot of Pink-Eye to me. Having it at all just sucks. Having it in BOTH eyes at the same time makes it all that more impressive :D Ask me how I know :D ( Don’t those anti-biotics just burn like hell when you first put them in ? )

    Grats on surviving to 39. Be there myself in ohhhh. . . checks calendar . . . eight days. Here’s hoping my eye doesn’t catch fire in celebration :D

    1. Sumanai says:

      If it does that literally, be sure to get a picture.

  40. Galenor says:

    Happy Birthday! May you get better soon! :D

  41. RichardB says:

    Happy Birthday!

    Sorry that it finds you unwell. If it’s any consolation you share a birthday with two more of my best-respected people: my housemate and Stephen Fry.

    (Also the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, but I’m sure that’s entirely coincidental. Nothing to see here, move along.)

    I wish you a speedy recovery.

    PS Real geeks consider “round numbers” to be very arbitrary, based on an accident of evolution, and regard prime number birthdays as the “milestone” ones. You’ve two years to go…

  42. Melf_Himself says:

    Be a little cautious about treatment from the GP re: eye problems. They are somewhat famous for mis-diagnosing eye infections (I am an optometrist). If things don’t keep getting better, get yourself to an optometrist or ophthalmologist pretty quickly. It’s a good sign that it seemed to get better after you started the meds though – hope this continues.

    Also, grats on 39.

  43. Aldowyn says:

    that sounds like it hurts. Of course, I had ear infections as a kid and they never seemed to hurt. Apparently I didn’t even notice my eardrum rupture, and that REALLY hurts!

    Oh, and you should wait until you’re 42 to start celebrating birthday anniversaries. Then you can do like my mom did and say that you’re the answer to the life, the universe, and everything. (I am totally going to do that when I turn 42. Hopefully, it won’t be forgotten.)

  44. Talby says:

    I’m posting a comment to wish you well – that is to say, I don’t wish you any specific harm. Get well soon, Shamus!

    1. Michael says:

      While I don’t mean to come off as rude, italicizing “specific” like that reads (to me) that you would still wish harm on him, but in a general sense, instead of say.. wishing he would get an eye infection – since it’s topical.

      It’s a start, though, since you would wish ill on him in a very direct sense, otherwise.

      It’s the thought that counts, I guess?

  45. Cameron says:

    Shamus, you’ve provided us with so much over the years. From entertainment to relevant news, thoughtful analysis and numerous educational articles. The very least everyone here can do is to wish you well and hope you get better.

    So get well soon. And hope you have a happier birthday next year.

    P.S. How you wrote this post is how most of the Internet-using public are at 2AM.

  46. Kreek says:

    hey happy birthday, and get well soon
    id give advice but being neather a qualified doctor, nor over 39 means i really dont have much of import to say on eather matter

    however, i hope things get better for you soon, the thoughts you place in this blog are really the only bright spots in my otherwise dreary monotone life and i would surely miss them if you stoped for a bit, though i can understand if you did

  47. Thom says:

    Get well soon!

  48. drow says:

    it could be worse, you could be a beholder.
    get well soon!

    and i’m sure the doctor said it, but i’ll second it.
    make sure you go through the complete course of antibiotics.

  49. Yahzi says:

    This will make you feel better: my birthday, just last week, was worse.

    I had 2 different parties on 2 different days, with tons of friends over and chocolate cake (twice!), and my wife got me a whole bunch of new Dave Duncan books I want to read.

    So what was bad about it?

    I turned 48…

    Durn whippersnappers! GET OFFA MY LAWN!

    1. Kdansky says:

      whippersnappers

      HOLD IT!

      Sorry, reflex. Use the drugs, get better. I just got over a nasty eye-infection. Luckily, modern antibiotics are incredible.

      1. Lovecrafter says:

        But watch out for the side effects. Antibiotics aren’t exactly picky about which organisms they destroy.

        1. wtrmute says:

          Unless you’re talking about intestinal flora, he’s good — antibiotics target specifically prokariot biochemical pathways so they don’t affect the human cells. You may be confusing them with chemotherapy; that one is the proverbial “medicine that is so strong that it kills you a little bit every day”.

  50. Conlaen says:

    I was hoping to read that you had to type like that because you had one hell of a party for your birthday and were drunk as a skunk, but had great fun. Sorry to hear it diodn’t uite work out like that. Get well soon!

  51. Avilan says:

    Not sure if you want to hear this, but I always had the impression that you were quite older than me. I am almost 38 (November 4th).

    Anyway, please accept a TON of “get well” and “happy birthday” wishes!!!!!

  52. Joerg Mosthaf says:

    Sorry about your eye infection. Sounds really bad. Get well soon.
    And also Happy Birthday anyway. (Probably a bit late – damn time zones ;)) You’re about one year (minus a few weeks) ahead of me.

  53. Mario l. says:

    It reminds me of new years eve, when I woke up with a red eye. I thought it was because of the wind, then when it became evident it wasn’t going to go away I went to a doctor, who told me I got a metal splinter in my eye.
    I’ve had completely forgotten I was working with the dremel without protective glasses the 31st…

    So… happy birthday pirate Shamus?
    :-)

  54. Blanko2 says:

    HAPPY BIRTH- oh… uh… bit late for happy, i guess…
    uh…
    oh gross, no, dont come near me.
    here, a present. on a stick. far away.it’s alcohol. oh, right… antibiotics.
    GGNNN

    seriously, though. sorry to hear that your birthday was a drag ):
    hope you get better soon!
    and hope it stops hurting sooner!

  55. Haviland says:

    “At least I'm not 40”

    Meh, I’m 49 tomorrow.

  56. Unhappy birthday indeed. Of course it could get worse when you’re dragged out of the warm, dark room into the bright light again (which would emulate that first one which annoyed you so). Hope you get better soon and that the pain goes away even sooner.

  57. ClearWater says:

    gz!

    I hope your eye gets better soon.

  58. Zaxares says:

    My eyes are watering up in sympathy just reading about your infection, Shamus. *wince* I hope the antibiotics work and you’re back to normal soon.

    Your own birthday is also not far from my own. I’ll be 30 this year. I’m trying not to think about it…

  59. ooli says:

    grats .. and wtg !

  60. Stephen M. says:

    Honestly Shamus, that sounds like some kind of torture procedure implemented in the dot-com boom. Get well soon!

  61. somebodys_kid says:

    Happy Birthday, and I hope you have a speedy recovery…my day is incomplete without a visit to this site.

  62. Fat Tony says:

    This may be your future: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/8222/shamus.png = )

    hope you get well soon man.

  63. Ken says:

    Now, I know these messages will still be here when his eye is healed up, but I am nonetheless compelled to point out that y’all are leaving WRITTEN “Get Well” messages for a guy who cannot presently READ.

    Just sayin’

    Shamus, if you’re reading this, I’m glad you feel better. And don’t worry about turning 39. You’re almost exactly a year younger than me, meaning you’ll always be at least a couple years away from old.

    1. Swedmarine says:

      You’re right…

      To Shamus: Welcome back to the world of the seers of the past!

    2. Jarenth says:

      It’s the thought that counts, not the practical application. ;)

  64. Valaqil says:

    “Great Scott! 88 comments! If only this website was a DeLorean…”

    How apropos of the timing and content. I’m sure going back in time sounds like a good idea right about now. Or forward to when you’re healthy.

    If you need to take the week off from the site, do it. Both to get better and relax. Play games, spend time with the family. Do it as a birthday present to yourself. (Unless you find you’ve got a writing itch that needs to be scratched. Then let it out.)

    To parrot everyone else, hope you feel better soon.

  65. Wolfwood says:

    No midlife crisis for you! at least not for another year! Huzzah!

    Well hope you get better soon.

    Also, if ever there was something not right with your eye seek medical attention immediately (no matter how trivial you might think it is.) That one sense you don’t want to mess around with.

  66. SolkaTruesilver says:

    Shamus Young interrupts writing Masterwork Blog: Interrupted by Infection.

    A Vile Force of Darkness has arrived!

    SolkaTruesilver interrupts writing Dwarf Fortress post: Interrupted by Shamus Young

    SolkaTruesilver has been struct down

    1. Deoxy says:

      Heh.

      Sometimes I think Dwarf Fortress plays us more than we play it.

      1. SolkaTruesilver says:

        In Socialist Fortress, Kitten adopts you!

  67. Jack says:

    These are your eyes.

    And these are you eyes on World of Warcraft.

  68. will says:

    happy birthday man, hope you get better soon

  69. Andrew says:

    Happy Birthday Dude – just Remember – 40 is next year :)

    Get well

  70. Jokerman89 says:

    So this will become your 3rd worse birthday in 365 days

  71. chabuhi says:

    Well, Shamus, I *was* going to wish you a happy birthday and speedy recovery, but then you took that dig at 40-year-olds, so instead I’ll just say :p

  72. Nazgul says:

    Happy birthday! May we all live long enough to live in a world free of Michael Bay movies…

  73. Deoxy says:

    Get well soon, and for goodness sake, the internet CAN get along without you for a few days! (Not nearly as well as with you, mind, but it won’t just up and die or anything.)

  74. Maddy says:

    Argh! Sorry to hear about your eye. Hope it gets better soon. Hope it’s a happy birthday otherwise!

  75. Low-Level DM says:

    Hey, Dm of the Rings is still all there, in the archives. That’s more than enough to tide us over. Get well soon. Eye-infections are rather nasty creatures. Had pink eye a couple years ago fairly badly, and then morphed it into a throat infection just to lengthen the suffering. Just got over a lymph node infection a month ago, too. In other words, sympathy, empathy, and pity are all yours.

    On the other hand, I notice (I don’t post much, you see) that these dice you have at the bottom of the page really are rather nice. Maybe I need some new ones.

  76. Timelady says:

    My sympathies and belated (Tuesday I was busy celebrating my mother’s birthday to get on the computer) birthday wishes; hope you get better and are able to celebrate soon.

  77. The Rocketeer says:

    Our hearts are with ye, Shamus. Happy 39th Birthday.

    And you do type better afflicted than most people do fully aware, so try not to get bent out of shape about whatever typos you find yourself making, for crying out loud. Just try not to walk into any doorframes.

  78. Axle says:

    First, Mazal Tov!

    Second, I will tel you about the best jewish medicinr for any eye ailment – Tea!
    Dip some cotton wool in a strong, room temperaure, tea and place it over your eyes.
    Works every time.
    Works eve better with other medicine :)

    Feel well…

  79. jdaubenb says:

    Get well soon!

  80. randy says:

    Get better, man.

  81. Grats being 21 Shamus, (30-9=21 right?).

    Oh and I hope you don’t mind some selfish self-ego rubbing here but,
    I just wrote an article that became a Featured Post on http://www.gamasutra.com/

    It’s called “Save Game Statistics (The missed opportunity!)”
    And maybe you or somebody else here will find it an interesting read.

    And here is the direct url to it (in case you can’t see it on the frontpage):
    http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/RogerHgensen/20100825/5821/Save_Game_Statistics_The_missed_opportunity.php

  82. RudeMorgue says:

    Feel better, Shamus! That’s not a request. Don’t make me dispatch minions.

  83. JimminyJoJo says:

    I wouldn’t want my favorite blogger to lose an eye!

  84. neolith says:

    Happy Birthday and get well soon! :)

  85. Cuthalion says:

    I would wish you a happy birthday, but it’s obviously too late for that. So…

    Happy AfterYourBirthday!

    Blog is good. Keep it up. Much <3

  86. Jack of Spades says:

    If you can read this… feel better.

  87. Matt says:

    Half way there. At least you’re not dead yet

  88. Corylea says:

    Sorry you feel so bad, and on your birthday, no less. I hope you’ll feel better soon.

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