Tuesday 8 February 2011

Bell's Palsy and Standardized Hand Signals for Close Range Engagement.

When I watch Hollywood action movies involving SWAT and the numerous military organisations you see a lot of hand signals flashing between the members of squads that signify some quiet unspoken message to other team members and never knew what some of them meant but now I do ( well I hope I do, the list was valid I believe in 2008).

So I'm trying to introduce this to the security team at work but I'm meeting some resistance (gits) but it has other uses like with paintball so you look like your mercenaries on a day out or on one of those sad team building exercises and you end up as the focus of attention for every other team building group who would rather be back at their desks instead of being a paintball magnet (paintballs leave stunning bruises and that no headshot rule is rarely enforced if they can't find the culprit).

On a lighter note my knees are a lot better but yesterday I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_palsy which basically means partial facial paralysis and is a bit of an inconvenience but shouldn't affect my posting because you can't show slurring in your typing or drooling but I'm taking the meds and taping my eye shut at night (weird) and should if I'm lucky show significant improvement in a couple of weeks and full recovery in a couple of months. But at the moment because Bell's palsy is difficult to explain I am now going to explain it as a botched botox procedure that went south (literally). There is no medical reason for getting it, it just happens and the medical community has no real reason why it happens but I believe being this angry will help as I start to shout at it and scare it away and its not contagious (damn).

35 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about the trouble, but glad to hear it can be dealt with. After the shock of diagnosis passes, there's an adjustment, and this makes us stronger. It's good to know you're already on the road to recovery.

    Useful graphic too, especially for the universality. You never know who you'll get teamed with in the zombie apocalypse, and not having to mesh different approaches could make all the difference..!

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  2. So what your saying is now that half your face has slipped south, you're even uglier than before? Wow, who'd have thought it possible! LoL

    Sorry to hear about the illness, but at least its treatable. Not that that makes putting up with the symptoms any easier of course. I hope your feeling better by the time we have your next zombie game...don't want you drooling on the game table after all.

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  3. I hope you recover soon, oh... And nice hand signals, I use them to order a drink at the bar. Cheers!

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  4. Sounds like a pain mate...Hope it clears up soon.
    BTW...there´s no signal for "mines a lager" or "I´m bursting for a dump !" :-D
    Cheers
    Paul

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  5. We use this all the time in air soft games. Good luck on breaking though the resistance and hope you get well soon.

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  6. Sorry to hear about the Bell's. I'll pray for a quick recovery. Thanks for the Hand Signals, those are great.

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  7. hey Angry sorry about the diagnosis, but it sounds like its treatable, and you are handling it well. Good luck with that. Although, seeing some drooling pics might be cool.

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  8. Sorry to hear about your problems and I do hope your condition improves quickly.

    Best Regards
    Christopher

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  9. Every time I see this chart I'm reminded of Jack Black saying to Steve Zahn "I only know the Air Force hand signals" in Saving Silverman.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHz31tpJHBM

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  10. now i gotta check if they use the correct hand signals in the movies!

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  11. I'm saving that picture to my gaming folder. Very useful! Oh, and best wishes on your recovery!

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  12. wo, nice always wanted to know what those signs mean

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  13. I never knew that! I might start doing them around campus just to mess with ppl

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  14. Hey that's really cool. Hope you get better soon had a friend of mine had that same condition woke up one morning and his cigarette kept falling out of his mouth and sure as shit it was bells palsy whole side of his face was paralyzed. His went away after a little over a year.

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  15. Getting Angry at medical conditions can make them go away? This is awesome. "Ingrown toenail, I am angey at you!"

    Nope, didn't work.

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  16. Also,

    "Misspelled words - I am angry at you!"

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  17. After hearing about poor Fran, (The Angry Lurker) condition, I was very sad, so I bought some chocolate and the lastest copy of Wargames Illustrated and visited him this afternoon. While he wasn't looking a snapped a photo on my mobile. He does look a little strange, so please all send him your best. Click the link below to see the photo of poor Fran.
    http://onelover-ray.blogspot.com/2011/02/poor-angry.html

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  19. pmsl... Nice one Ray. Erm, sorry to hear things are not right mate.

    Talking of not right, the hand signals are off too... the correct ones are here;

    https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/b1BYNmtiz44PUcbY3QJu2w?feat=directlink

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  20. Sending you tons of good wishes for a full recovery, Lurker. I have an uncle who long long time ago, suffer stroke and lost movement in part of his face.

    Glad to hear you can recover. Keeping you in my thoughts.

    -Whisk

    PS: You can buy anything with the 3000xp. Hahaha. Thanks for playing. Those are really fun. And I love that movie. It's just fun.

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  21. Thats the basics right there, then once you get that down you can come up with your own.

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  22. @Ray - glad he's got you looking out for him lol

    Hope everything turns out for the best mate!

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  23. Is there a squad based video game that uses these signals?

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  24. You could work up signals for other things locally important. Armor has a whole different set from infantry, with other needs. Hard to remember them all when you need them.

    I understand fully even if the Bell's doesn't go away. Last lady I knew with that did some facial exercises that might have helped a little, not least because of the feeling of fighting back.

    I would recommend not ever having anger towards any body part as it can cause problems, make them worse or persist. Years later to discover it was some flip remark and then that's what that part has been upset about all those years. I know it sounds weird to the unenlightened, but so do lots of things. It's hard to convince them you're over it afterward, they are like scared kids, you know. Once bit twice shy.

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  25. Friends and I used to use those hand signals in paintball, we owned our opponants, and always had the element of suprise on them.... enemy, two, go crouch, wedge formation, move up.... enemy down ! God bless and Best wishes Lurker.

    PS Your mate Ray is a nasty piece of work hehehe.

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  26. Thanks to everybody who commented except for the liar Ray who never bought me chocolates or a magazine or visiited.

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  27. Sorry Fran, I just had to do it!! I'm sure I would've got the same from you.....LOL!!!!!!!!

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  28. Hey Angry

    Wishing you a speedy recovery and thanks for the many comments. Perhaps we can swap ailments when we get bored!

    PP

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  29. Did the guys at work ever adopt those signals?

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  30. That is hilarious! I'd be good on the number hand signals but everything else would be dicey!

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  31. I know this has been hard for you Fran and has affected you in ways most of us can't understand. One thing us must never forget dear one, is that we smile not just with our faces, but with our eyes.

    Yes, I'm getting girly and you hate that, but you know I adore you, so there.

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  32. Bummer about the Bells Palsy, my Dad gets a flare up periodically but I don't recall him taking medication for it. The hand signal chart is cool, i copied it.

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  33. The drool could get all over your keyboard and your fingers could slip on the keys and type the wrong thing.

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