Buffalo anniversary

Today is the one-year anniversary of my arrival in Buffalo. Looking back, it doesn't feel like a year. Or maybe it does. Time is hard to measure retrospectively. As things wind down, I'm finding myself starting to say goodbye to people and places that have become familiar parts of my Western NY life. It's a little strange and a little sad, but the world is a smaller place than it used to be, and goodbye less final.

Since I'm moving out of Buffalo in sixteen days, I'm scrambling to get in all the touristy activities I haven't done yet. Yesterday, a college friend and I went to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo's art museum. We had a lot of fun; the Albright-Knox has a respectable line-up of big-name artists in their permanent collection--Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet--as well as a number of painters and sculptors I've never heard of (which admittedly isn't saying much).

I played in the Sardinia Open chess tournament today. In my first tournament since the end of January, I tied for first with a score of 2.5 - 0.5. At times I felt slightly rusty, but overall I was pleased with my play. Here is my favorite game from the event, a Round Two victory over Albert "Pat" Patterson, rated 1764.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Be3 Nbd7 7. Qd2 c5 8. d5 a6 9. Be2 Rb8 10. g4 Ne5 11. h3 Ne8 12. f4 Nd7 13. h4 Nc7 14. a4 Nf6
















15. f5 b5 16.Bf3 bxc4 17. h5 g5 18. Bxg5 e6 19. h6 Bh8 20. Bh4 exd5 21. Qg5+ Black resigns.

If you can think of any can't-miss Buffalo attractions I should visit before moving back to New Hampshire, please let me know!

New York in the news

New York was in the news quite a bit today. For starters, the state legislature finally passed its budget. This would ordinarily be unremarkable, were the budget not 125 days late. The latest budget ever to be turned in, according to The New York Times, was passed on August 11, 2004. This year's edition avoided that dubious milestone by the narrowest of margins. I maintain that California remains the most dysfunctional state, but this budget fiasco certainly didn't help New York's standing any (neither did temporarily relinquishing control of the AL East).

The state legislature also passed a bill that would count prison inmates as residents of their pre-incarceration towns and cities, rather than counting them as residents of the town in which their prison is located. I'm not philosophically opposed to the idea--it makes some sense--but there's one part that confuses me. In some circumstances, individuals with felony convictions are not permitted to vote. What then is the purpose of redrawing Congressional districts to better represent people who cannot vote for their representatives in the first place?

On a more positive note, Tuesday's New York Times also featured an article about an experimental treatment for cardiac arrest patients: Induced hypothermia. The article, which was satisfactory but superficial, focused primarily on the implementation of cooling therapy in New York City. Apparently they piloted the treatment with local hospitals and are now beginning to train prehospital providers in its use.

Induced hypothermia is an interesting and promising treatment. Current research indicates that the actual mechanism of clinical death among cardiac arrest patients is a buildup of lactic acid and other toxic byproducts of cellular respiration. By lowering the body temperature, the reasoning goes, the body's metabolism is decreased, thereby slowing the release of these toxic byproducts. Early results from this new therapy are encouraging.

My only beef with the article--besides failing to give a suitable overview of what the treatment entails and why it might be effective--is that it barely mentions Buffalo's induced hypothermia program, which is much further along than Manhattan's. Whereas New York City paramedics are just now receiving training in the procedure, some ambulance companies in Western New York have been using it on the street for months. I did part of my field internship with one such agency, but I didn't have the opportunity to employ the treatment during my ride time.

Ellen's final Buffalo visit

Ellen came out to visit this weekend for the last time before I move back to New Hampshire. We had a terrific time, combining a belated birthday celebration with sightseeing and low-key time together too. On Saturday, we went to watch the Buffalo Bisons take on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in AAA minor league baseball (the Bisons won, 4-1). Watching a minor league game is a much different experience from attending a major league stadium; for starters, the minor league stadia usually have about one quarter the seating capacity of their big-league brethren. This means you can get much closer to the action without spending a fortune. In fact, it costs the same amount of money to watch two Yankees games from field level ($250 per seat) as it does to buy season tickets to the Bisons ($505 per seat for seventy one home games). Then again, you get what you pay for. Unless A.J. Burnett is pitching, anyway.

On Sunday we crossed the border and went to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. What an experience. We'd been to see the American Falls in February, but the Horseshoe Falls are considerably bigger. The weather was perfect for waterfall-watching: Sunny and clear but not too hot. We bought tickets for the Maid of the Mist boat, which was incredible. It first took us past the base of the American Falls before turning and heading right up to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls. The wind and spray from the waterfall were pretty ferocious, but we had a terrific vantage point from which to appreciate the Falls. I'll post pictures soon.

Ellen is on her way home now, sadly, but it's only three weeks until I head back east for good. And I won't be hurting for things to do between now and then, so hopefully the time will pass quickly!

Practical exam

I passed the NYS practical exam on Monday. The exam consisted of three advanced life support skill stations (cardiology, ventilatory management and intravenous therapy) and four basic life support skill stations (trauma assessment, seated spinal immobilization, bleeding control/shock management and long bone splinting). Some of these stations had multiple components, however, so it actually felt like more. For example, cardiology was broken down into static and dynamic cardiology and there were two pharmacology sub-stations during the intravenous therapy evaluation.

I passed all of the stations on the first try except for one; I accidentally placed my finger in the wrong spot while starting an IV and contaminated the site. That mistake was easy enough to correct, and I passed the retest with no problems. The rest of my class passed as well, which means there are nineteen students preparing to take the state written exam in August (nine from the night class and ten from the day class).

Between now and then, I am studying for the state exam, working on the ambulance and just trying to enjoy my last weeks in Western NY. It's been a full and exciting year, and I'm intent on ending the year on a high note by passing the state exam. Almost there!

In other news, the Boy Scouts of America announced their newest Merit Badge: Chess!

Turning 23

I turned twenty three last Saturday. To celebrate the occasion, I went down to Westchester to visit my family and attend Old Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium. It was a short trip, on account of the looming community college final exam for my paramedic program, but it was chock-full of activities. On Friday, my brother and I saw the just-released "Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Talk about a complex movie, but it was quite an experience, especially seeing it on the big screen.

Saturday was the big day itself. New York City was experiencing a heat wave, which meant staying shielded and hydrated was extremely important. My usual modus operandi for baseball games is to forego sunblock, suffer a severe sunburn and then wish I hadn't. Older and wiser now, I instead opted for the preventative application of some SPF 50. That in conjunction with some well-placed shade made for an altogether sunburn-free day.

The Old Timers' Day festivities were a lot of fun. Many of the surviving figures in Yankees lore were in attendance, luminaries like Whitey Ford, Don Larsen and Ron Guidry. Yogi Berra had planned on coming but he had suffered a fall the night before and was recuperating at home. After the introductions were complete, there was a two-inning scrimmage between the two sides, although many of the old Old Timers were replaced by more recent veterans such as Pat Kelly and David Cone.

The Yankees-Rays game was less dramatic than the exhibition game preceding it, in large part because A.J. Burnett gave an early preview of the final result by allowing five runs in 2.1 innings. Still, we had great seats and it was fun to see my favorite players up close. Watching games on TV just isn't the same experience, for watching the players or the game. And of course the new Yankee Stadium has to be seen to be believed. It was quite a birthday!

Final exams

I finished paramedic school this morning. This doesn't mean I'm a paramedic yet; I still have to pass the state practical and written exams. But as far as the community college is concerned, I have completed its program and will be graduating next month. The program culminated in a two-day, 276 question comprehensive final exam administered yesterday and today. It was a demanding exam but a fair one, and I am satisfied with my score. Now to duplicate it (or better) on the NYS written exam!

Now that the college final is behind me, I'm hoping to tackle the mountain of tasks that have piled up while I was immersed in the thick of clinicals. (Reading, writing, chess, paid ambulance work and vaccuuming my bedroom headline a long and distinguished list.) I'm also looking forward to being able to help Ellen with wedding planning again, after too long with too little to contribute.

I've also picked out two chess tournaments, one in August and one in September. I haven't played over-the-board since January, so I'm looking forward to getting back into it. Hopefully I'll have a little time to study and prepare before playing round one!

Speaking of chess, congratulations to International Masters Irina Krush and Samuel Shankland, the new U.S. Women's and Junior champions, respectively!

A New Hampshire Fourth

I traveled to New Hampshire last weekend to spend the Independence Day holiday with Ellen. It was a terrific trip in so many ways. We continued to set up and furnish our apartment, and apart from those brief errands, there was nothing to do but spend three days enjoying the beautiful weather together. On Sunday, we stopped by the Dartmouth Green after church for Hanover's Fourth of July celebration and then watched Lebanon's fireworks show in the evening. The Hanover event was shockingly small, much more so than in years past. We had a great vantage point for the fireworks, though, and enjoyed the show quite a bit.

I had hoped to continue on to Westchester after my visit to New Hampshire, but unfortunately my clinical schedule did not allow it. I was assigned a new preceptor at the end of last week, and the way his schedule was set up, I just couldn't spare the time away. My father and I had planned to see Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, but I guess it'll have to wait until another year. Happy birthday anyway, Ringo!

Big week for sports coming up. The World Cup final is tomorrow, the Home Run Derby and All-Star game are Monday and Tuesday, and the U.S. Women's and U.S. Junior Closed Chess Championships began today and will last through the week. It's going to be exciting!