A Big Stretch - Yesterday I had my gastroscopy. Apparently I have a lot of stomach inflammation (gastritis) but no ulcer. I think this is "goodish" news, but I haven't had a chance yet to go over the results with the doctor. After the procedure I was groggy. They'd drugged me with Demerol and Versed (Midazolam). Supposedly, I was basically awake during the procedure, but Versed makes you calm and then later you forget what happened. Well, I have forgotten pretty much everything that happened. I do remember that the doctor told me he had dilated my esophagus.

It's still unclear haw bad my gastritis is, or whether it is caused by an infection. We'll see.

The Undetectables - What are the set designers from Wallace and Gromit doing lately? They're making hard-to-detect cell phone antennas. See: BBC NEWS | How mobile phone masts 'vanish'.

Irish History... Or not? An Irish historian exposes his country's mythmaking from the Great Potato Famine to 'Angela's Ashes.' Dublin is distressed.