Still flying at half mast but here's a few things I found interesting...

At the desk, 9:03 a.m.

I'm actually much better today. When I say "much better", I mean that not only has the injection stuff diminished, my back is actually feeling better for the first time in 24 years. I don't think I realized how much pain I was in and how much it affected me. The relief is unbelievable. I'm still recovering but wanted to give you and update.

Here's an x-ray photo of the injection. You can see the smashed vertebrae in this x-ray. They stuck the needle through the nerve opening, injected the dye, and then the steroid. I've never had it done before, but I'll tell you - as of today, I'm a fan. It's 7-10 days until it reaches it's potential. So far so good! :)

The key to making it all work is rest; so that my main mission today.

Here are a few cool things to look at and think about while I'm resting:

• The Chopra Center is about 1/2 way through a free 8 week course in Happiness. There are some great ideas along with resources such as meditation, yoga poses, and other things to increase your happiness. They are very generous with what they give away. I'd encourage you to take a look.

• Learn a language online for free. Duolingo is a super neat program that is free and will teach you how to learn Spanish, French, or German. I'm hoping to improve my pigeon Spanish and move on to mastery in French. We'll see.

• Have you seen the Story Corps? Their mission is: "to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives." Now how cool is that? Wouldn't you love to have your mother or father or grandparents talk about their lives? This is a non-profit, so you can record your story at no cost.

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