08:22 – I finished the lab session on vertebrate tissues yesterday and sent it off. Today, I jump back to the first lab session and start working my way forward, cleaning up as I go.
Monday, 16 January 2012
31 Comments and discussion on "Monday, 16 January 2012"
Comments are closed.
Supposedly heard in the Goldman Sachs elevator: “I hear the Euro was at Disney World wearing a Make-A-Wish t-shirt.”
(For those outside the US, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants dying kids a “wish”, like meeting their idol, or (said to be the most popular) a visit to DisneyWorld. As I understand it, Disney does a lot to cater to these kids – private visits with Mickey, line passes, etc.)
When Bob’s working hard, he usually posts “I’m going to be heads down working the next few days, so I won’t be posting.” He then posts more than usual, making all the readers chuckle.
When Bob’s working REALLY hard, he posts no notice, but his entries shorten to a mere two sentences.
I have started on Nutrisystem to lose some weight. My goal is the reduction in 90 pounds over the next year. A pox on that person that brought those box of cherry cordials which I was able to refuse.
My doctor wrote a letter to my health insurance company and they may cover some of the cost of the product. Surprising for a really crappy health insurance company. I have not seen the letter but knowing my doctor he probably told them I would die within the year if I did not do the program. Although come to think about it that would not motivate the insurance company as that would reduct their exposure by one client. Maybe he told them I would have significant medical issues that would cost the insurance company tens of thousands of dollars. After all, insurance companies are not motivated by health, only dollars.
Are ANY of them motivated by anything but money? I see inside lawsuits almost every week, and it sure does not look like it to me. Instead of figuring out ways to provide affordable insurance for high-risk people, they cast them adrift to state-run insurance programs that no one can possibly afford. A good friend my age, who has been self-employed all of his life, has been paying in excess of $500/mo for the state insurance. He just remarried and will now be covered by his wife’s policy — with the exact same company! — for $175/mo. Go figure. He is considered high-risk because of overweight and high blood pressure. But over $5,000 in payments per year for more than a decade, when he has never had a claim besides regular check-ups?
Hope all goes well with the weight loss program. The people I have known who lost — by far — the most weight I have witnessed (couple hundred pounds for 2 different people) used Jenny Craig.
My biggest weight loss occurred because of the sickness and death of my wife, but I have had good luck recently, by switching my main meal to noon (which was how it was in Germany, anyway), and having a small meal for supper that can be eaten in steps over the course of several hours. I might have a small sandwich cut into pieces, that I eat spread out from 6 to 7, then some cheese and fruit sometime later, usually ending with something hot — even if it is only plain hot water. Occasionally, I substitute a small portion of soup for the sandwich. If I am home, I almost always have tea-time at 4, with either some chocolate or toast and jam. It is working. I am losing very close to 1 kilo a week, which is pretty good with little additional increase in my physical exercise — which has been pretty minimal here in the States.
Actually, I find that hot water, with just a small bit of chocolate powder (not enough to add 20 calories), just about kills my appetite, whenever it needs to be — especially when somebody brings something like cherry cordials. Those are a big thing at Xmas in Germany, but hardly seen here, except at Valentine’s. Valentine’s is a non-existent holiday in Germany — as is any holiday that relies on greeting cards. Easter, on the other hand, is almost like a second Xmas, with gifts abounding for everyone — especially kids.
A couple of years ago I started on the South Beach Diet, and I lost about 25 pounds and have managed to keep it off. The only problem is that I wanted to lose 50 pounds. So this year I’m going to exercise, and try to do a little better on the diet.
My real goal is to be healthier. In the 10 years before I started the diet I gained about 80 pounds. My real goal is to be healthier a year from now than I am now. I suspect that if I make a concerted effort to eat a little healthier, and exercise a little more each day I’ll be much healthier at 48 than I am at 47. I might just be 25 pounds lighter too.
But the crucial thing is the healthier, not the 25 pounds lighter.
The real goal is to make the eating healthier and exercising more a part of my normal routine.
Moody’s disagrees with S&P’s downgrade of France, and keeps it at AAA. Meanwhile, the loss to Carnival of their ship sinking off the Italian coast is estimated to be $95 million.
It is hard to believe that with so much publicity surrounding the faults that led to the sinking of the Titanic, that the same lack of emergency preparedness seems to have permeated the sinking of the Costa. There are interviews with survivors who have said there were not enough lifeboats for everyone, and the crew either maintained — up to the actual capsizing — that there was nothing wrong, or they were in a complete state of panic, unable to help anyone, including themselves.
The captain is being jailed under manslaughter charges.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16584591
However, if you look at the map at the bottom of the story, the route he was following looks less than a kilometer closer to land than that taken by the same cruise the previous week. His steering for Giglio Porto is said to have saved a significant number of lives.
One side of my family were Scottish shipbuilders, who left for Canada to build railroads when orders for ships were not forthcoming. Refurbishing that vessel is going to be plenty of work for a lot of people for a long time. Wonder how they will ever get it out of there without tearing it apart?
Or maybe that is what they do.
I assumed it would be a write-off (total loss) and that they’d just scrap it.
I’m currently down 60 lbs. from a “low” of 285. Cost me a fortune in pants and belts! I just ate “less”. I no longer fill my plate, and I try not to have seconds. If I get hungry during non-meal times I eat an apple. Unfortunately, Chuck and I shared the same diet plan, and while it works, I can’t recommend it.
I am reminded of the joke about the guy who is told by his doctor to lose 50 lbs or die within a year. He reads an ad in the paper about a new sure-fire weight loss plan that is billed as a 10 lb, 15 lb or 25 lb weight loss program. Thinking he should start small, he calls up the company and orders the 10 lb program. They tell him to be ready at 7AM, and precised at that time the doorbell rings. He answers and there is a beautiful 20 yr old blonde woman, stark naked except for running shoes and a sign that says “If you can catch me, you can have me”, and she takes off running.
It takes him 2 1/2 hours, but he finally catches her, and has his way with her. When he returns home he weighs himself, and sure enough, he’s down the 10 lbs! Excited he orders the 15 lb program and is provided the same instructions.
Same thing, only this girl might be even more beautiful, and a lot more fit. It takes him almost four hours but finally he catches her. Again, he weighs himself at home and again he is down an additional 15 lbs. He orders the 25 lb program, but this time they warn him that it is very intense and that he should make sure he can handle the stress. He assures them he can, and can barely wait until 7 AM.
The doorbell rings! He flings open the door to find a 6′ 4″ buck naked man wearing running shoes and a sign that says “If I can catch you, I can have you”!
A former GP recommended Opti-fast to me. It tastes okay but I don’t usually eat it, because I like the taste of real food. My weight is drifting down slowly, and every so often I have to get new jeans and a new belt because the old ones are too loose.
Bill wrote:
“I’m currently down 60 lbs. from a “low” of 285. Cost me a fortune in pants and belts! I just ate “less”. I no longer fill my plate, and I try not to have seconds. If I get hungry during non-meal times I eat an apple.”
Christmas Day 1975, after we’d all gorged ourselves, I decided to lose some weight. Amongst other things I went on the Tab diet – drinking no soft drink except the diet cola Tab. (Yes, I love THAT ad too…) By late 1976 I’d lost about 50 pounds and my family became more and more concerned as I got very slim, and suggested I stop. I did and soon put the weight back on with interest… 🙁
Bill wrote:
“The doorbell rings! He flings open the door to find a 6′ 4″ buck naked man wearing running shoes and a sign that says “If I can catch you, I can have you”!”
Well? Did he catch you?
Steve wrote:
“When Bob’s working hard, he usually posts “I’m going to be heads down working the next few days, so I won’t be posting.” He then posts more than usual, making all the readers chuckle.”
I never take him seriously when he says that. I just reserve some extra time to read and reply to his provocations.
Well I used to tell people that were losing weight that I was saving the planet. If everyone lost weight the planet would become imbalanced, wobble on it’s orbit, and destroy all life on earth (or crasha a cruise ship). I was making up for their loss by keeping the planet balanced. The Nutrisystem food is OK, a cut above airline food and I don’t have to pay baggage fees. Plus it was the only system that may be covered by the miserable health insurance that I have.
There is quite a variety of food. A month supply is delivered by UPS. Two massive boxes with non-perishable food and two good sized ice chests (with dry ice) with the frozen food.
The doctor says if I don’t lose weight I will take 10 years off my life. I tell I would only spend those last two years slobbering on myself. He does not get amused. But I see a lot of people that are younger than me that look like they have one foot in the grave. Overall, for 61 I really feel pretty good with no major health issues.
I also suspect that in the coming years, or months, the health insurance company is going to start charging people that smoke, drink or are overweight higher premiums. Any way to gouge people for more money. I don’t drink or smoke.
No, that’s how I ended up with the additional 10 lb loss.
Went through two pairs of runners, though!
Just finished the preliminary on my taxes. I needed to know what my final quarterly payment should be, so I am not so far under as to cause penalties, which HRB’s software said I would owe, if I did not kick the last payment up in amount. I just finished getting that ready to mail at the post office tomorrow. Still have not gotten all the various tax forms from everybody, so the thing is not over yet, but at least a good part of it is done.
I have been using GnuCash for a couple years now, but have not been able to get it to work as usefully as I did the old DOS version of Quicken, back before it was bought out by Turbo Tax and they screwed me in a way that I will never use it again, unless the ownership and policies change. Part of my problem with GnuCash is that I just do not have the time to mess with it, that I did back in the Quicken days. Not everything in life was on the computer back then, and there seemed to be more time to experiment, while there is practically none now. If I could just get a couple days uninterrupted to spend on it, I know I could solve it. But there will be no such time available for the foreseeable future.
On the subject of health, what do y’all think about vitamins in general? I’ve always taken some general-purpose vitamin (at the moment, Centrum), figuring it can’t hurt. Recently, there has been something of a media-blitz here about how vitamin supplements are at best worthless, and may show some statistical tendency towards promoting certain types of cancer.
Now, normally I would read an article like that with interest, and perhaps have a look at the sources. However, what is suspicious: just why is this suddenly hitting multiple, supposedly independent news sources? It looks a bit much like a coordinating publicity campaign, which makes me wonder who might be behind it. Follow the money, but where’s the money in the anti-promotion of vitamin supplements?
I found the nutrition and weight loss information published on the Mayo Clinic to be sensible, simple (though not easy) to follow, and effective. They have good data about portion control and logical suggestions of proportions of protein/veg/etc.
I lost 50 lbs over two years (slow and steady wins the race) by following their guidelines, walking several times a week, and generally taking the stairs. Imaintained motivation by taking up sheepherding. When you first start the sheep are the smartest thing out there and there’s a lot of unnecessary running around. Eating humble pie week to week as a result of lack of fitness motivated me to get fit.
Losing weight is simple but not easy. Adding even a small amount of walking or other exercise helps – doing it by caloric intake alone can be brutal.
Best of luck and congratulations on making the commitment.
IMHO, if you are eating even remotely healthy food, you won’t need the vitamins, and you’re just making your pee really expensive.
OTOH, if you aren’t eating well, then the vitamins may be beneficial, but it would be better and cheaper to start eating well!
As for the media blitz, that’s easy! It’s fear-mongering, and the media is running out of “hot” wars. I recently seen stories about the dangers of drivers under the influence of prescription drugs, head colds, recreational drugs, or merely low blood sugar due to their diabetes. There’s even a story of a Iraq war vet suffering from PTSD while driving.
That, or they’ve discovered that we’re actually living longer, and they want to kill most of us boomers off, and having us stop eat vitamins will soon have us dropping like flies!
Hmmm, maybe I could get a job with the media?
No. You’re too honest.
I don’t smoke, drink or do dope (although I have done all three, some of it to unbelievable excess in my life.)
However, the food and diet and nutrition police will tell me that I am obese (at 6’5″ and 255) and they can kiss my ass. The online BMI test tells me the same thing.
I don’t think so.
You know so? 😀
If I’m obese then so is this guy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolph_Lundgren
The thing about BMI that has been completely lost in the popular press and the chattering of the nincompoops (grandstanding politicians, activists, and MSM, I’m talking to you) is that it is a population metric, not a personal metric. Individual levels of fitness make the results meaningless on an individual basis. Aside from gym rats, think about those missing a limb. Do they suddenly become underweight because they’ve lost 15 pounds? Or what about me, at 6’3″ and maybe 215. I’m solidly “overweight” and not far from “obese”, but I can’t float in fresh water.
The US Army does (or did) something similar using height/weight charts, but they do (or did) apply some common sense. One unit I was in had a gym rat and a “slightly pudgy” guy who were the same amount overweight. The chubster had to go on remedial PT to bring his weight down. The gym rat was just waved on.
In 1983 I had a boss who was stunningly obese, but he was an outstanding squash player. I think BMI is probably a good rule of thumb but I would give greater, ummm, weight to the opinion of a medical professional.
I am not the least bit concerned or worried about my combination of weight/height, and, in fact, will probably put on another twenty pounds, or maybe another fifty pounds and still carry it off pretty well. I do a lot of x-c skiing and snowshoeing in the winter months (when we actually have snow, like we did last year here) and hiking/canoeing in the warm month. Or week.
Genes could have something to do with it; my next younger brother, at 55, is, in his league, weight and age class, the world bench press champ down in MA right now.
My youngest brother is ten years younger and also 6’5 and 250 and is nevertheless surviving prostate cancer at this writing.
If we examine the fatality stats for my family up here in New England for the last hundred years, our three leading causes of death are equally cancer, senility and gunshot. I am, given the choice, preferring the last.
I’ll be happy to arrange your firing squad… 🙂
Take a number.
BMI is deeply flawed, and the interpretations of it even more so. If you look at morbidity/mortality figures, what’s normally stated to be the “normal range” for BMI is in fact significantly underweight.
Holy crap, Davy, WTF have you been up to?
I’m #33,549th, for cryin’ out loud. I’ll die of old age, waiting my turn! 😀
And why did the number machine look like a hand grenade?
I agree with Jennifer A. that Mayo’s is a good source for nutrition information. Suffice it to say more than one member of my family has been saved from certain death at the clinic in Rochester–gunshot wound, cancerous larynx, badly bleeding ulcers, and more.
It is also true that their nutrition info is harder to decipher these days. My dad had nutrition classes that they once held (apparently they don’t do that anymore), and they used to give out diet books that explained exactly what comprised good meals, but they do not do that anymore–referring instead to government charts and food pyramids, which tell most people nothing.
The book my dad got was what he used to teach me about good nutrition when I was a teenager. I lost track of that booklet when we moved to Germany. I hope it is not lost.
So what does a good nutritionally balanced meal actually look like? Basically, the booklet explained that a good meal was comprised of:
(old quantities, not current)
meat — 4oz
potato (or potato substitute) –4oz
2 x veggie dish — 4oz x 2
fruit — 4oz
bread — 2 thin slices
milk — 8oz
(the above were to be lunch and supper; breakfast was different and minimal–bread or cereal, eggs, and juice)
The Mayo booklet instruction was that all the above needed to be eaten at the same sitting. The reason (this info is from the early ‘60’s) is that the contents of all the above needs to be in the stomach at the same time, in order for various elements to work with (and against) each other in breaking down the vitamins, minerals, etc. that our body needs. If any is lacking, then the needed nutrients–although they may be present–will not be usefully extracted and used by the body.
Quantity has varied over the years. I cannot find that they insist on milk any longer. Meat portion was once 4oz, but now they are down to 1.5 to 3oz, a significant reduction from the past. They used to say that the size of your fist indicated how big a portion should be, and your fist size would vary with your body size, automatically compensating for how much you needed to eat. I suspect fist size would be considered too big these days.
None of the above has been outlined at Mayo’s in the above format anymore, although it used to be in those diet booklets they gave to everyone who passed through their doors. But it gives some idea of relationships: more veggies than any other item, and just a tiny amount of meat compared to the overall total.
Potato and veggies are the tricky ones. There are lots of things that are called vegetables, but which are really a potato substitute as far as the body is concerned, and NOT a vegetable. A short list is: corn, peas, lima beans, brussel sprouts, artichokes. The Mayo booklet had a whole page listing the things that are NOT vegetables, but rather, carbohydrates instead. That is the main reason I hope I have not lost that booklet, as I have never seen another such complete list. Even the words “potato substitute” have been morphed into meaning ‘an acceptable low carbohydrate substitute for the potato’, rather than meaning ‘a potato-like and equivalent carbohydrate’, which is what the Mayo’s list was. Wish I had copied that booklet or scanned it before we moved.
Two bits of advice I got from my current doctor, but yours may have differing views. He does not want me taking any pills he does not know about–and that includes vitamins or supplements. He indicated that if I eat the right foods, I will get the vitamins I need. If I am worried or he sees something that makes him think I have an imbalance, he will do tests to see if I have any vitamin deficiencies and will prescribe specifically what I need. Second is that middle-age people like me need to insure that I get sufficient fiber. Bread should have at least 3gm of dietary fiber per serving and preferably 4 or 5. Of all the shelves of all the groceries near me, only 2 loaves have 3gm, one has 4, and none have 5 (the rest have 1 or 2). I buy the 4, but just got a bread machine, so in very short order, I will be back to making my own high-fiber bread from family recipes, like I did in Boston.
On the other hand, my doctor daughter in-law — unlike my own current doctor — gives their 5 kids a chewy children’s vitamin supplement every day, without having them tested for deficiencies..