Busy

Lynn had her first post-operative physical therapy session at their office since the operation ten days ago.  She still has to keep her right leg straight and can't bend it much.  She is working on that but getting the full bend back takes time and is slow.  It is also work and painful.  

We have community trick or treating here from 5 to 8 and we have a gathering at our daughter's house for company, sharing and food. We ew, ah and shiver at costumes as kids come to her door for treats.  It seems to me that kids here and now do less damage than I did as a trick or treater.

"I am Jesus"

When I see illustrations of male ego in action, I wonder about mine.  I think I fully understand that I am valuable and in some ways admirable but quite imperfect.  I could list some ways I am less than admirable but the limitations of space and time and you know.  However, as I see pictures of people in stadiums and such, surrounded by people watching their every move and liking or disliking them all the while, I wonder if I have experienced some many eyes liking or disliking. When I was a drum sergeant and a high school and college wrestler, I was too busy with other things to really take in fans and anti-fans.  

But, in some plays, I could see all those eyes on me.  When I was five or six, I was in a short play in a Baptist church.  I was playing the part of Jesus but I didn't understand that until well after my performance. I was Bertie, a dude cowboy in Jr. Hi.  and in high school, Capt. Queeg, the mentally troubled ship captain in "The Caine Mutiny".  I wrote about my eyes-on-me experiences here: https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/2023/01/my-roles.html

One week later

Today is a week from Lynn's 2nd knee replacement surgery.  It is looking good, even by her estimate.  I admit that her opinion counts but there are times when the husband has to have his own opinion.  The other knee was done in April and we have a tendency to make all sorts of judgments comparing the two operations.  We realize we don't have every dot and tittle noted, photographed, described or documented.   We realize that She had both experiences and I had neither.  However, we are roughly agreed 

that she is doing well and so are her physical therapists and home visiting nurse (who is expecting her baby momentarily).

The Bureau of Magical Things

The Bureau of Magical Things

We don't watch much children's tv but we thought it would be ok to try this Netflix program. We are now into the 2nd, and I think last, season of the show.  It is supposed to be for children but magic is an interesting subject sometimes.  When I was just beginning to watch Harry Potter, I got a little annoyed by the brandishing of wands as though they were swords or pistols.  In this show, magic can be done with the hands or a wand - it isn't clear when to use one or the other. 

CNN Phtos of the week 10/27/24

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/24/world/gallery/photos-this-week-october-17-october-24?

Nocebos

I bought a book today.  I don't like to buy them.  I already have far too many, lots of them I have not downloaded, opened or read.  It is published by the Mayo Clinic Press.  It is called "The Nocebo Effect", subtitled "when words make you sick".  You probably know about placebos, where an empty pill capsule given with high level assurance that it will cure your cold results in no cold in a couple of days. Nocebos do the opposite, make you sick.

I read a novel where a South American medicine man casts a spell on a man so that he will die if he stands up.  I can't remember the author or title but it is an example of a no-see-bo effect.

A little lovely girl

I heard about a very beautiful little girl, born to immigrant parents.  When she was 5 years old, her mother made a long trip with her so that the rest of the family could meet the little lovely.  But while abroad, the child spat out all those traditional foods.  This went on for several days.  Finally, in desperation, they took her to McDonald's.  Wow! Just the right taste! Wow, saved from starvation!

What is heavenly?

A common drawing of absolute heaven shows people lounging on clouds, maybe some of them playing harps.  The picture frequently is about bliss.  No worries, no taxes (I think), no calendars, public or private means of communication.  Just bliss and then more bliss!

If we meet these conditions, can we create a heavenly experience before death?  Seems doubtful.  Before very long, maybe an hour, maybe a couple of days, won't we want some "action", some cause to work for, maybe an enemy or two?  Won't we want a football, a chess set, maybe a sudoku or two?  Will there be Wordle or the Times or porn or Shirley Jackson or Stephen King?

Voted already

Lynn foresaw long lines on election day and asked me to get ballots for early voting.  I had never voted early and I thought it would be interesting to try it.  We have now voted and submitted our ballots.  It seems worth doing.  It is indeed a pleasure to have already voted.  

Personally, I feel that the few minutes used to fill out a ballot are an amazing and surprising contrast to the hullabaloo in the media for months over the coming election.

2nd knee done

Lynn had her 2nd knee joint replace today.   I have assumed my former position as her slave.

Where is best?

Just like there are interesting phenomena and interesting people all around anywhere and any time, there are interesting memories.  They may pop up just from thinking about someone I knew or some place I lived or visited.  My wife and I have lived in Maryland and Wisconsin.  In addition, we lived in London for 2 months twice while leading groups of college students on semesters abroad.

I am focusing on places we stayed for a while, not trips and tours, but we have had quite a few of those, too.  

I don't feel I have been any place that calls to me to be a resident there to a special extent.  I am confident that if I pay attention to what's going on, including what fascinates me and interesting things I have read or heard about, all locations can be interesting or boring, depending mostly on me.

CNN Photos of the Week 10/20

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/17/world/gallery/photos-this-week-october-10-october-17/

Guests at breakfast

It can be surprising if we make arrangements to host guests at breakfast.  They agree to arrive at an early hour of our day.  We planned to seat them at our dining room table.  Lynn decided on quiche and she needed a Pillsbury piecrust for it.  I went to our usual grocery store, since it was the closest one.  I was directed to the pie crusts section near the milk. I looked and looked.  Croissants, biscuits, muffins but no pie crusts.  I looked some more.  I phoned Lynn: No, she needs PIE Crusts.  I drove to the next closest store.  Found the cooler with two boxes of just what Lynn specified.  Bought one.

Sometimes when she has a bothered night, she sleeps late.  Guests planned to arrive at 8 AM.  We are usually awake and ready to go by 6-6:30.  She wanted the house and the greeting to be all just right.  So, be sure she is awake by 6:30 at the latest.  We were both up and moving by then.  Ok, He Brews says the Bible so I better make coffee.  I realized our normal amount would probably be insufficient.  I made extra but after it was brewing, I realized I had made the regular pot with extra water but not extra grounds.  Not likely to be good.  Stopped the brewing and tossed the wrong stuff.  Restarted the regular pot with the right water and grounds.

All set when the doorbell rang at 8.  Whew!  Whole visit was fun!

Mission accomplished

I have found the book "Man Overboard" by Craig Bowron, MD and the statement by Warren Buffet that he is playing "extra innings" very helpful.  More than once I assumed some nearby friend might like a visit or an invitation only to find that person died two months ago.  I have decided that death is perfectly natural and I feel like I am ready to depart.  I like the idea of "Mission Accomplished".  

I don't want to leave Lynn when she needs me, physically or emotionally.  But I realize that usually, death comes as somewhat as a surprise, not necessarily when expected or convenient. Dr. Bowron said that the "golden years" may be the hardest thing one has done.  

I have looked at life expectancy tables and I have heard of Methusalah living 969 years but I don't believe it.  I just saw an article on further research on "Blue Zones" where people live longer than most and it seems that one way to have a long life is to keep "sloppy"records.  I have heard that "age is just a number" and I think it is.

Confusion and doubt

My book group read the book "The Triumph of Doubt" by David Michaels.  It is about political and other groups resisting a movement or idea by questioning the logic and research being cited in support of the notion they are against.  I read that idea of resistance was considered to be creating "confusion" about the truth mostly by creating counter-evidence and counter-argument, as well as doubts of all kinds, such as doubts about the character of the "other side".

Resisting an argument or idea by questioning the reasoning and research cited by supporters is exactly what academics and lawyers do all the time.

One member of the discussion of the Michaels book emphasized that many people want iron-clad, knock-down, rock-solid TRUTH.  He said an ideal of such truth is never available for any question.  Opponents and resistors of any proposition can always raise doubts and give counter suggestions.  Academics, scientists, researchers as well as marital partners, teen-agers and people who dislike an idea because I like it can also be very competent critics and resistors.

In addition to fundamental resistance, other factors can enter the picture.  I had a grad student, a competent and experienced teacher, who told me decades ago that she and her husband wanted a video recorder.  They drove 70 miles to a store to get one.  That store had somewhere around 40 different models.  That many was overwhelming and depressing.  They drove back without buying.  They couldn't decide on a purchase.

Hydration again

I have seen in several places estimates that 75% of older Americans are continuously dehydrated.  Part of the problem is that there is no clear standard or method for measuring hydration, so far as I have found.  The book by Cohen and Bria looks at the subjection and emphasizes that much of the body's water supply comes from water in consumed food rather than from drinking water.  Many sources agree that "8 oz. 8 times a day" is not accurate.  Bria founded the Hydration Foundation and has studied Bedouin and other desert people to see how they survive.  Several of my friends want to avoid stressing their kidneys and avoid having to urinate too many bothersome times a day.  I reported that a nurse practitioner asked me about my hydration and advised me to "aim for 50 oz. a day".  I have read that coffee and tea only function as dehydration agents at high levels of consumption and matter as hydrators at low levels.  That was more than a year ago and since then, I have worked at consuming two 16 oz. mugs of water, first thing in the morning and about 3 PM.  I usually have some water at dinner and afterwards when reading aloud.  I have seen an article in Mozilla's daily collection of suggested reading that some scientists feel that human longevity is approaching a limit but I wouldn't be surprised if better hydration increases years lived.  Part of the problem is that most people lose quite a bit of their ability to feel thirst as they age. 

Resisting or modifying habits and routines

Patterns of thought or behavior are difficult to eliminate or modify.  I find as I age, I have to watch extra-carefully while doing something I have done many times before.  When I deviate from my usual pattern, it can almost feel a little painful at times.  I sometimes find that something I normally do is not a good idea.  Maybe it never was and maybe aging or new understanding has given me a good reason to be different.  But seeing myself being different is often quite different from being actually on the new track I am aiming for.  Even when I have a good reason to change, the established procedure can pull at me and I have to stay conscious of the new one I am trying to establish.

Wrong ideas with a few great ones mixed inv

I recently finished reading Carl Zimmer's "The Soul Made Flesh", the story of work in Oxford, England, on exploring human anatomy and especially what the large spongy mass in the top of the head did.  There had been many statements and theories about its function.  The newer element was evidence.  Proposed functions had to line up with what was known at the time.  It was getting a little less likely that someone of authority would answer the question and others accepted that statement.

I read about Galileo sometime back but I can't track down or remember the title or the author.  I remember it, not because of Galileo's famous difficulty with the Catholic authorities, basically about the Earth being the center of the universe, or a "mere" planet circling our sun, as his telescope showed him but because of the description of him timing swing lamps with his pulse while attending church.  

Much of "argument" and "discussion" involves personal prestige, tradition, habit, language skills and even physical size, weight and temperament of those involved.  Introducing the concept of reported evidence changed the game.  The Zimmer book reports no swords, daggers or pistols involved but people can get very emotional during discussions about issues important to them.  I have been somewhat thankful that my work has not involved basic research which seems to be an activity bound to frustrate and disappoint.

CNN Photos 10/13/24

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/10/world/gallery/photos-this-week-october-3-october-10

Today is October 12

On October 12, 1492, Columbus made landfall in the new world.  "New" to Europeans, that is.  Sometimes, people object to the words "Columbus discovered America" because various humans, maybe descendants of Asians, were already living on the American continents.  But I have recently discovered the movie "Still Alice".  I didn't know about it before even though many other people, fans, cast, and others did.

Because Europeans had guns and tended to use them, some survivors of "indigenous" people have emphasized how their own ancestors suffered various insults, intrusions and worse once Europeans started arriving in the Americas.  Because of the way we do things now, and because of our calendar, it will not be until Monday, that Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day is officially noted. 

"Still Alice" movie

My book group read "Remember" by LIsa Genova.  It is non-fiction and describes how our memories work.  Last night, we watched the movie "Still Alice", starring Juliette Moore. It's about a professor who finds unexplained serious difficulties descend on her with no warning.  She sees a doctor about the problem and learns that she has early-onset Alzheimer's.  It is serious and depressing and her situation is only going to get worse.  It was moving and well-written.  I looked it up and found the script was based on the book, by the same Lisa Genova.  I was impressed and moved by the movie.   Lynn was working on a list of her favorite movies and included "Still Alice".

Satisfying

Maybe a week ago, I thought of an incident I had read about.  I was confident the description of that event was in that Ebel book.  A man named Stephen Leacock was at one time a leading humorous writer.  I first remembered his name as "Stephen Peacock" and I looked up that name but without any validation of what I remembered.  The Ebel book is rather old now but I ordered a print copy and the other day, it arrived in the mail.  The index showed "Stephen Leacock" and I looked up that name.  Yep, he is the one!

Leacock says that when he was in a Canadian university, he reported to a testing session where he picked up a copy of the test questions, took a seat at one of the desks and wrote answers to the questions.  Later, he was given his degree.  The trouble was that testing room was being used for several different exams and it turned out that he had mistakenly written for the wrong exam.  His answer was graded by the examiners so he was awarded a degree in a subject he had no courses in!

I am quite satisfied that I tracked down the right man and the incident I remembered.

More irregularities in me

About a year ago, I felt odd at the end of a morning walk.  I was upright but I just felt like it would be "nice" to just fall forward.  I let myself do that, but it was not a good idea for my face.  I struck the ground and marked up my nose. I wasn't hurt otherwise and I saw a nurse practitioner about the event.  She gave me an EKG and said I was unchanged from my last one.  She asked me about my hydration and advised me to try for 50 ounces of water a day.  I have been interested in hydration since my college days and have heard that "8 oz 8 times a day" is too much for many people.  I found the book "Quench" by a woman MD and a second author who created the Hydration Foundation.

When my wife and I walk the neighborhood, I find that I can hustle and keep up with her but that it is a bit uncomfortable. We have found that my comfortable walking pace has slowed.  I can tell that my walking has included more "staggering" and "lurching" than it used to.  I can focus on my walking and manage, for now, but I understand that my walking motions are part of my unconscious mental processes.  The book "Incognito" by David Eagleman gave me a useful picture of my own unconscious processes such as breathing and posture.

Winchester Academy, J.S. Bach and music composition software

About 30 miles away from where I live is the town of Waupaca.  I get announcements of what their Winchester Academy is featuring for presentations.  The L.I.F.E. program at UWSP also aimed at the general population of retired people interested in a broad variety of subjects.  Both are similar to the Wisconsin PBS program "Wisconsin Life".  

Most of the Winchester Academy programs are presented on a Monday evening in the basement meeting room of the Waupaca public library.  Last night, I attended a presentation by Sharon West called "Learning from Bach in a Digital World".  I enjoy classical music much more than today's popular music. You can read some of West's ideas on her page on Facebook.

West presented music composition software and showed some of its features. Anyone interested will find many different sorts of music composition software available.  As usual, Google search and other search engines can get you started.

Try again!

I have had several occasions when something didn't work but when I immediately tried again, it did work.  I flipped a light switch but the electric light didn't turn on.  I turned it back to the off position and tried again. Still nothing.   Again.  Success!  I pick up a phone on my landline and it immediately says on its screen that there is no connection on that phone.  I turn it off and try again.  Success!

I think that I am too quick and abrupt for the system, even though I am elderly and not fast in most things.  I imagine that younger people might emphasize being out-of-date: landlines???

Where did my note get to?

Sometimes, at lunch, with other retired professors, everyone at the table is gazing up at the ceiling.  I think that may be the classic pose of an older person trying to recall a name.  He has "always" known that damned name, you know, that guy who wrote that book.  It is true that if a person waits, the name may come to him.  But, many Americans are somewhat impatient and don't want to wait.  

If a person has a blog and/or a website, and if he has contributed to them regularly and if (that's already three "ifs") either or both of them are searchable (look for a simple image of a handheld magnifying glass), you may be able to locate the name or whatever it is you are trying to recall.  In some word processors, using Windows and Microsoft, striking Control-F for "find" will open a search window.  

There are various household records that may help, such as a checkbook.  Husbands, wives, older children, neighbors, relatives, friends may help locate information, dates, prices, etc.

I have written for my blog most days since 2009.  Writing of any sort can help even elderly brains.  It also can help to make notes in a regular place, where they can be found.  As brains age, it helps to make a note in a place where you can find the note when you need refreshing.

Writing, reading, speaking, hearing

We have two basic ways to make our ideas and inner states known: speaking and writing.  I am interested in the relative value of these two.  Speaking clearly predates writing and speaking can be quite quick.  Writing is slower to make but can last longer.  The upper grades and levels of typical schooling are famous for involving writing and for reading while the beginning levels are for children who haven't learned to write or read.  

Lynn is a former graduate school professor and she worked on her PhD at a time when librarians were facing new media, such as slide - tape combinations and compact discs.  In some cases, computer programs and "hypermedia" (writing where some of words serve their usual function but are also links to other pages or "web sites") - these new sources of information were not the usual physical shapes and materials and challenged libraries as to convenient storage and collection access and maintenance.

As an elderly man with poor hearing, I pester my wife by asking "What did you say?" after many of her attempts to tell me something.  We haven't gotten to the point where we just communicate in one form of writing or another but we may get there.  Despite being responsible for classes of 5th graders handwriting instruction, I don't always practice good handwriting and she may be thinking of difficulties reading notes from me.  

When we were kids, we didn't have "phones" in our pockets, ready to email or text or record sounds such as speech.  She may avoid note exchange with me because of my typical handwriting, not to mention my typing.

Leaping lizards, no, chipmunks

We try to keep our garage free of chipmunks,  They can cause damage.  Lynn tries to keep any water with clay dissolved in it separate, avoids putting it in our pipes and tosses it on the lawn.  The other day, as she went to toss a bucket of the stuff on the lawn, she found one of the little cuties in our garage.  She chased it.  It panicked and leaped in the air to escape but her bucket of clay water was where it landed.  Not in the plan!  It leaped again out of the bucket and ran off.  Be on the lookout for a chipmunk with dirty clay water dried on it.

Three There

Winchester Academy offerings

https://www.winchesterwaupaca.org/

There are three organizations near me that focus on interesting people and activities:

L.I.F.E. - an organization on the UWSP campus, part of the university's "Continuing Education" program - https://www3.uwsp.edu/conted/Pages/LIFE.aspx

Wisconsin Life - an ongoing PBS tv program about interesting or unusual activities, organizations and creators in Wisconsin - https://www.pbs.org/show/wisconsin-life/

Winchester Academy - in Waupaca, started I understand by UW-O retired faculty from the Oshkosh faculty - link above

All three furnish those with active minds and wide interests with insights and ideas outside what comes on tv entertainment  and popular books. If you don't live near Stevens Point but are interested in something like these possibilities, many college and university campuses offer something along these lines.  You might search or ask about "retirement" organizations.

There are so many patterns!

In high school, I thought about what sort of work I wanted to seek to make a living.  I thought counseling or some sort of work understanding and helping individuals would be interesting enough for a whole career.  I didn't know where I was going to get the money to get training and licensing.  My homeroom teacher and my guidance counselor both told me to go to college. I took their advice to mean investigate possibilities, which I had not done.  My mother advised me to look into the teachers college nearby.  When I found the very low cost of room, board and tuition (in exchange for two years teaching in the public schools), I could see my future.  

Once I got into teaching, I never left.  Additional licensing requirements sent me to graduate school and into a doctoral program in statistics, measurement and experimental design.  I enjoyed it very much.  By age 28, I had a PhD.  I settled on the University of Wisconsin and the UW campus at Stevens Point was looking for a person to replace a retiring faculty member.  37 years later, I retired.  

My mother was right.  Teaching is full of individualization.  Sometimes, when a student just sits in front of the teacher, the teacher can tell lots about that person's worldview and personality.  Sometimes it is something of a mystery and it may take more time and experience before the teacher gets some insight into that student's makeup.  This individuality is a big part of the "American dream" of a life of freedom and fun and fulfillment.  I think it is clear that communication, technology, travel and methods of teaching these days combine to make people more individualized than ever.

Waking up

For years, ok, for decades, I used an alarm clock to wake me at the time I wanted.  Now, most days, I leave it to habit to wake up about when I want.  I think my father, who lived to be about 89, had trouble with falling asleep when he didn't want to and was not in a safe place to do so, such as when driving a car. I haven't had trouble with that so far.  I do understand that aging can bring all sorts of sleep difficulties but so far, things have been pretty much what I want and expect.  

Naturally, we have become accustomed to each other sleep habits.  In the last few years, there have been more nights awake at the "wrong" times and those times often last too long.  One or both of us is usually up and moving by 6:30 or 7:00 but occasionally she sleeps later catching up.  One those days, I turn on fewer lights, stay away from the bedroom and get the coffee made.