My Health

 For those of you who do not follow me on a regular basis, when I was 60, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and had a triple bypass type of heart attack.  Five years later, I was diagnosed with Melanoma as well and in 2022, I had 5 lower back disks fused as a result of old age, I was told.

In 2007, my weight was 205 lbs and in 2017 it was 250 lbs because of the steroids.  Due to meticulously counting my calories, I reduced my weight down to 220 lbs by 2022.  In the last year, my weight has reduced from 220lbs to 208 lbs as a result of my cancer (but not the melanoma) growing.  However, we are not sure how the Lymphoma has transformed and have sent off a biopsy to be genetically sequenced for treatment.

I will not be in a position to find out the results  and start a new treatment regimen for another two weeks.  Partly because the lab is overworked, partly because my Oncologist is on vacation, and partly because my medical center only has ONE PET SCANNER.

All of this should have been started last week, so I am about 2-3 weeks behind.

I am hoping that this delay does not make it more difficult to treat the cancer than if we started 3 weeks ago.  But, that's water over the dam right now.

In the meantime, I am simply trying to maintain my weight, not loose anymore and not gain anymore.

However, because the cancer inside my body is growing, I am experiencing nausea almost every day as well as extreme fatigue.  Before all of this started, I was walking a mile three times a week and was planning to increase it to 5 times a week.  It is difficult to walk when you wake up from sleeping the night before and feel like you need to go back to bed and continue sleeping.  This is after sleeping for 8 hours.

Stents were put into 3 arteries instead of doing a bypass and those stents are still pristine.  Therefore, I am not worried about my heart.  I take meds for blood pressure, blood thinners, and for cholesterol.  I continue to take pills for Lymphoma even though they are not working and continue to have monthly infusions with Opdivo for my Melanoma.

My lower back is all fused together, and my mobility is somewhat limited as is my bending over, but walking is supposed to help make that a little better.  It bothers me that I have been unable to walk but again, there is nothing I can do about it except try not to spend so much time sitting.

It is an uncomfortable position in which to be, but it is one that is not as bad as what others may be going through with their health.  I am thankful to still be alive after having cancer(s) for 15/10 years.  My new treatment protocol is probably going to incorporate some wicked chemo which I am not looking forward to because I have already gone through that for 6 months and it is no fun.

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

Five Healthy Habits

Dr. Brett Osborn, a board-certified neurosurgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida, is also the founder of a preventative health care and anti-aging facility, Senolytix.

He works with patients to help them achieve a healthy weight, adopt better wellness habits and reduce their risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

1. Assume responsibility for your own health
While it’s important to consult with a health care professional as needed, Osborn emphasized that people should listen to their own bodies and identify potential risks.

2. Take these 6 blood tests — and take them seriously
The best way to prolong your life is to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to Osborn — and the first step in doing so is identifying the risk factors.

3. Embrace these 10 supplements
Although supplements are not to be used as primary treatments for ailments, Osborn said, they can be used as a complement to a well-rounded diet and exercise regimen.

4. Work your brain
Although it’s not a muscle, Osborn emphasized that the brain benefits from exercise, both mentally and physically.

5. Know your food’s glycemic index
Measuring your food’s glycemic index (GI) is a way of rating the impact it has on blood sugar and insulin, Osborn explained.

TO READ MORE DETAILS, CLICK HERE...

Somewhat Political

 

Rain Wish

 

DEJA VU - Already Seen

Most of us interpret this French phrase to mean that when we go to a place that we've never been to before that we have an eerie feeling that we have been there before.

My use of this phrase is slightly different.

Let me explain.

Look at the wheel below.

For the sake of this article, let's assume that the circle in the middle of the wheel represents earth.  And, the larger wheel represents the universe.  One can easily see that the inner circle/wheel that represents earth must make several complete revolutions before the outer wheel makes one complete revolution.

Let's make the further assumption that once the larger wheel makes a complete revolution, 100 years has passed on earth.  One hundred years pretty much takes into consideration one's complete lifetime.

So, if a person was sitting at the outer wheel and had the ability to see what was going on in the smaller wheel, then that person would be able to see a person's entire lifetime before it actually unfolded for the person living on the inner wheel.

To put it another way, the inner wheels spins much much faster than the outer wheel.

Therefore, DEJA VU takes place at the larger wheel.

If the person living on the outer wheel can, in fact, see this, then they must also have the ability to change events that would change the life course of any individual living on the smaller wheel.  Those people living on the smaller wheel would not be aware that their life had been changed, thinking that this is the way it is supposed to be.

If our entire life is seen before it happens to us, then one could argue that we, as individuals, do not have FREE WILL even though we believe that we do.  Our lives end up the way someone else wants them to end up, not the way we may have wanted them to end up.

In other words, all our choices have already been made for us.

Spiritual War

 

Grilled Cheese Dipping TACO

Some people can solve a Rubik's cube in seconds. Others are really good at sports. But my expertise is all things Taco Bell.

I've gone to the secret test kitchen at the chain's headquarters in Irvine, California, eaten a Crunchwrap Supreme while watching the waves at the world's most beautiful Taco Bell in Pacifica, California, and ranked everything from burritos to the Cravings Value Menu.

Why is this important for you to know? Because Taco Bell has a brand-new taco — and it's the best menu item the chain has released in years.

Trust me, I'm an expert.

For the first time, Taco Bell fans can try the chain's new slow-braised shredded beef. Taco Bell has spent two years perfecting the recipe, which I first got to try when I visited its test kitchen in October.

Liz Matthews, Taco Bell's chief food innovation officer, said the rich and spicy flavors traditionally found in birria were "a major point of inspiration" for the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco.

"By combining slow-braised shredded beef with the two dipping sauces, our fans can enjoy a new range of flavors they may have never had from Taco Bell before," Matthews said in a statement sent to Insider. "This Mexican-inspired dish represents an evolution of what fans typically expect from Taco Bell."  READ MORE...

Laser Fighter

 

Random Variation

 By definition, it would seem that random variation is unpredictable.  Variation is how one item differs from another and random means that it is not consistent.

If we look at the above image, we see a device that has a funnel at the top.  In the middle are a bunch of pegs.  Black balls have been dropped into the funnel and the black balls hit these pegs and bounce down until they get to the bottom.  They have dropped into cylinders and appears to have formed a pyramid shape.

This pyramid shape is what we call a BELL SHAPED curve.  This bell shaped curve will ALWAYS be form if enough black balls are dropped even though, one cannot predict which peg or how many pegs each ball will hit on its way down.

Randomness over time will always form a bell shaped curve and once we have a bell shaped curve, we can predict with 99.99997% accuracy into which cylinder the next black ball will land.

In manufacturing or in LIFE, you want your variation to be random...  random variation is predictable.  When you do not have random variation, you have chaos...  when there is chaos, one cannot predict the future.

One can measure damn near anything and everything in life and determine if it is random or not.

Some (but not all) items that can be measured;

1. lost articles of mail
2. short/long landings at an airport
3. incorrect surgical operations
4. medicines delivered to the wrong floor
5. on time arrivals
6. daily intact of calories or fat grams
7. time it takes to drive to work
8. closing the books at the end of the month
9. time it take to make a determination on insurance claims
10. number on monthly speeding tickets issued
11. time spent in the grocery store
12. time it takes to walk a mile
13. time it takes to mow the lawn
14. babies accidentally dropped by doctors/nurses
15. hospital admissions wait time
16. time it takes to change a flat tire
17. wait time at the dentist office
18. measuring the same dimensions of an item
19. calibrating scales for weigh stations
20. measuring the density of paint on a car after painting

Silence Please

 

Diamonds Making Their Way to the Surface

"A diamond is forever." That iconic slogan, coined for a highly successful advertising campaign in the 1940s, sold the gemstones as a symbol of eternal commitment and unity.

But our new research, carried out by researchers in a variety of countries and published in Nature, suggests that diamonds may be a sign of break up too – of Earth's tectonic plates, that is. It may even provide clues to where is best to go looking for them.


Diamonds, being the hardest naturally-occurring stones, require intense pressures and temperatures to form. These conditions are only achieved deep within the Earth. So how do they get from deep within the Earth, up to the surface?


Diamonds are carried up in molten rocks, or magmas, called kimberlites. Until now, we didn't know what process caused kimberlites to suddenly shoot through the Earth's crust having spent millions, or even billions, of years stowed away under the continents.

Supercontinent cycles

Most geologists agree that the explosive eruptions that unleash diamonds happen in sync with the supercontinent cycle: a recurring pattern of landmass formation and fragmentation that has defined billions of years of Earth's history.


However, the exact mechanisms underlying this relationship are debated. Two main theories have emerged.  READ MORE...

Known

 

Slowing Down Aging

 When I was younger (before high school), I got involved with lifting weights and wanted to be a bodybuilder.  I am glad I did not go in that direction but because of my interest, I began living a very active and physical life.  Mowing lawns, running around a track, calisthenics, felling trees, splitting wood, etc.

It was not until I was 40 years old that I realized (and did something about it) smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol and my diet were negatively countering my physical activity.  So, I stopped...  COLD TURKEY so to speak.

I also stopped eating red meat, fried foods, fast foods, and sugars...  instead, I ate lots of chicken, fish, vegetables, and beans.  I occasionally ate the bad stuff, but it was like only once a month.

Ironically, I still had a heart attack and I still got cancer and I still had five lower back vertebrae that had to be fused together because of arthritis and a narrowing of the spinal column.

At first, I was pissed and complained because of all the exercise I had done and my diet...  the doctor smiled and said, your condition would have been WORSE had you not done that...

OLD FRIGGING AGE is what got me and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it...  you may be able to slow it down, but it will eventually happen to all of us.

I tell you this only so that you will have the knowledge to start doing something for yourself now because the alternative will be horrible as you age.  The aging process is NEVER KIND.

Free Thinker

 

Star Older Then Universe

The star HD 140283 has been called the "Methuselah star" for its extreme age. At an estimated over 14 billion years old, it’s the oldest star we know, at least within our galaxy. A star that old is certainly interesting, particularly when it is so close to us it can be seen with binoculars, however, that appears to put it older than the universe. How that can be? A closer examination reveals the star is special, but not that special.


The standard estimate of the time since the Big Bang is 13.79 billion years. The figure is derived from the rate of expansion of the universe using Einstein's relativity but has been validated through a variety of methods. However, that number is now facing at least three distinct challenges. As evidence, proponents point to the existence of stars estimated to be either older than 13.8 billion years, or so close to that age that there shouldn’t have been time for them to form.


Not surprisingly HD 140283 gets prime billing (helped by its catchy nickname derived from a Biblical ancestor of Noah said to have lived to 969) due to a 2013 study using Hubble data that estimated it is 14.46 billion years old, plus or minus 800 million years. That would make it potentially older than the universe.


The biggest claim regarding HD 140283 is that it disproves the Big Bang. After all, if there is even one star 14.5 billion years old then the explosion that started the universe couldn’t have happened less than 14 billion years ago. The Big Bang is now so central to our cosmology that were it to be disproved it would create a scientific revolution the like of which we have not seen for a long time.


A smaller, but still dramatic, change would be required to adapt to the recent claim that the Big Bang happened, but almost twice as long ago as most estimates put it, at 26.7 billion years ago.


Neither of these views has much support among astrophysicists, but some do suspect we’ve got our estimates of the timing of the Big Bang more modestly wrong, and the universe is really around 15 billion years old. Although such an estimate would raise a few questions about why our estimates for the universe’s expansion rate are out, if proven, accompanying changes to our thinking would be evolutionary not revolutionary.

In that context, it’s worth asking: if the universe was 26 billion years old, wouldn’t we expect to find 20 billion-year-old stars? It’s true we’ve only really looked across a small portion of the galaxy, but if the universe is that old, Methuselah looks suspiciously young. Then take that question a step further and ask what we might expect to see if the universe had no beginning and has always been here.  READ MORE...

Street Art

 

Goodbye Robbie Robinson - The Band

 

USA Down For The Count

 I have known for a long time that the US of America is FLAWED...  and, perhaps that is the wrong word...  being corrupt is not the right word either although most politicians are, in fact, corrupt...  if not with foreign countries then with lobbyists who want certain bills to be passed.

The word I am thinking about is more like intellectual arrogance coupled with greed.  It is almost like Americans were and still are of the opinion that they can do any damn thing they want to do because they know better than anyone else.

That philosophy and feeling is absolutely wrong.

1. We got involved with slavery because we thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
2. We took land away from Native Americans because we thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
3. We fought a war with Mexico over land at our southern border because we thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
4. We got involved in WWI and WWII because we thought it was the right thing to do at the time because, if we won, it would lead to us rebuilding the world.
5. We tried to promote our brand of Democracy in South America and Africa, the Middle East, and Europe because we thought it was the right thing to do at the time.

WE WERE WRONG IN EVERY SINGLE INSTANCE...

The US of America became WEALTHY at the expense of everyone else.  Now the rest of the world is no longer enamored with us.  

• South America dislikes us
• Africa dislikes us
• The Middle East dislikes us
• Russia dislikes us
• Asia dislikes us

Our economy is weak.

Our military is weak.

Our country is divided.

Our national debt is enormous.

Our education sucks.

Our politicians are corrupt.

Liberals try to censor conservatives.

We want to do away with fossil fuels.

Crime and violence are out of control

Illegal immigrants is now a crisis.

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE BEFORE CHINA DECIDES WE ARE PERFECTLY VULNERABLE FOR AN ECONOMIC TAKEOVER?   Rhetorical question...

Taking What You Want