Cheerful Curmudgeon » Health

Heads Up, Doc!

Art Zemon — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:28:22 +0000

Added November 6, 2011: Since sending a copy of this letter to the doctor, I spoke with his office manager and him, receiving both a good explanation and sincere apologies. I have returned to his office for my FAA medical exam and had a delightful experience with everything running on time and like clockwork.

Dear Dr. ___,

I had an appointment with you on Monday, October 17, 2011, and it was much less than a satisfactory experience. I left, appalled at how I had been treated. I hope that this letter will encourage other patients to stand up for their rights, to refuse to be treated like dirt.

Since it was the first time I had been to your office, I showed up at 9:40am for my 10:00am appointment. I recognize that it takes time to complete paperwork before an initial visit. I respect you need to maintain a schedule and used my time to help you out.

At 10:30am, a full 30 minutes after my appointment time, I was finally called from the waiting room. When I commented to the nurse about the half hour delay, she did not apologize. Instead, she told me that you had a lot of appointments for FAA medical exams that morning and only one EKG machine. Why did you make so many appointments for the same morning? Why was I affected, since my particular FAA exam does not include an EKG?

At 11:00am, a full hour after my appointment, I had still not seen you. I was still cooling my heels in one of your examining rooms. I got up and left.

Do you know what is most appalling? No one from your office bothered to call me to ask why I was not there when you finally got around to trying to see me. No one cared enough to find out why one of your patients, one of your cash-paying customers, had vanished.

Heads up, Doc! Including the time required to drive to your office and back, I gave you two hours out of the middle of my work-day. All of us patients who come to see you are people and deserve to be treated as such, with courtesy and respect.

– Art Zemon

Another Boundary

Art Zemon — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:10:50 +0000

I just realized that I created another boundary in my life and have been happily living with it for quite awhile, maybe a year or more. I like boundaries; they keep me sane and productive. For instance, I have two email addresses and I never use my personal address for business or my business address for personal matters. This lets me focus my day on work, by ignoring my personal inbox, and lets me enjoy my off-time, by keeping business cares from intruding when I want to relax. I also have boundaries around my cell phone: it is my personal phone so I never take business calls on it. When I am away from my office, I like the feeling that I am truly away and that a business call will not intrude.

As I was walking to work this morning, it struck me I have another boundary around my work life of which I had not even been consciously aware. When people want to schedule a phone call with me, I tell them that I am available 9:00am to 5:00pm central time. While that is strictly true, it has always bothered me a little bit to say that because it sounds like I work a very short day. What I have been unconsciously doing is protecting a couple of pieces of my workday from interruptions, one at the beginning of the day and a second at the end of the day. Though I am always at my desk well before 8:00 and usually at my desk well after 5:00, I usually do not answer the phone if it rings outside that time period. I keep my early mornings and late afternoons for work that requires uninterrupted thought.

I think I will change my response when people ask about good times for a phone call with me. Something like, “I am available for phone calls between 9:00 and 5:00″ would be a bit more truthful.

Are Psycho-Active Drugs Ineffective and Dangerous?

Art Zemon — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:28:02 +0000

There seems to be mounting evidence that psycho-active drugs are no more effective than placebos; that they may cause real harm; and that the belief that many mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain has never been proven but has been forwarded by the drug manufacturers.

I was most persuaded by Irving Kirsch’s work. Drug companies only publish the studies which are favorable toward their drugs, though they submit all studies to the FDA. The FDA does not publish the negative studies either, considering them to be proprietary information. Kirsch obtained the studies for six anti-depressant drugs from the FDA through a Freedom of Information Act request. The drugs were Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Serzone, and Effexor. He found that these drugs were only slightly more effective than placebos and did not have a “dose response curve,” i.e., that higher doses did not do more that lower doses. That is very unlikely in a drug that actually does something. He then compared these drugs to “active placebos,” things which cause side effects such as a dry mouth but which do nothing more, and found that the drugs were exactly as effective as the active placebos.

It is very troubling that, “a 2009 study showed that 18 out of 20 of the shrinks who wrote the American Psychiatric Association’s most recent clinical guidelines [in the DSM] for treating depression, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia had financial ties to drug companies.”

Finally, it is most disturbing that many the psycho-active drugs cause significant side-effects (including shrinkage of the frontal cortex) which in turn cause more psychotic symptoms which are in turn treated with additional psyo-active drugs.

Take a look at two articles that I think are well worth the read. First, Al Jazeera’s Mass psychosis in the US looks at the rising rates of treatment with anti-psychotic drugs in the US. This class of drugs has become the most prescribed in the country, surpassing drugs that treat both high cholesterol and acid reflux. Much of the background for that article comes from the New York Review of Books article, The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?, by a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.

I would love to hear your reactions.

Upbeat Prostate Cancer Info

Art Zemon — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:54:21 +0000

We are all aware of breast cancer (who can escape the pink ribbons, pink grocery bags, etc?) but it is pretty easy to ignore prostate cancer. Perhaps this is a sign of better marketing by the breast cancer advocates. Perhaps we are more comfortable thinking about breasts than urinary tracts. Or perhaps we men are just too stoic to want to spend much time thinking about a disease which will strike one in every six of us.

The good news on prostate cancer, from AOPA Pilot’s article, Fly Well:

Improved awareness, earlier detection, and more effective therapies in the past 20 years have improved survival from 67 to 92 percent. Eight of 10 cancers are found when still confined within the glandular capsule, making treatment easier. As with so many diseases, awareness and early diagnosis are your friends.

For the cavemen among us who don’t read, here it is in little words

Prostate cancer is bad, but
Getting checked is easy, and
Getting checked is good, and
Yes, there is still good life to be enjoyed even if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Even better, just because you have an enlarged prostate or symptoms of prostate cancer (like “low manifold pressure” when urinating) does not mean that you have prostate cancer. You might just have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) which is annoying but treatable and decidedly not life threatening. So, men, get the finger, er, digital exam. Stay healthy. Enjoy life.

Jingle Bell Run 5K

Art Zemon — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:15:20 +0000

I ran my second 5K this morning, the Jingle Bell Run to benefit the Arthritis Foundation. I signed up for the race with two goals in mind: I wanted to raise over $1,000 for the Arthritis Foundation and I wanted to better my 5K time from the first race that I ran in October. Kudos to Lori, my running buddy/coach/partner, for encouraging me to pick this race. Running makes a great way to start the day but it improves hugely when you can run while helping others big time. I registered for the race and paid my $25 fee, assuming that, like most races, at least a portion of that fee would go to the sponsoring charity. Beyond that fee, I committed to raising $1,000. I had no idea whether I could actually do it or not.

(BTW, if you are reading this on Facebook, please click through and read this on my Cheerful Curmudgeon web site. You will not see the pictures properly on the Facebook page.)

After signing up for the race, I sent a message to several mailing lists that I am on. It explained what I was doing and asked the recipient to visit my Jingle Bell Run page and make a contribution. Several generous souls responded with a total of $245. Though “a little” shy of my goal so I clearly needed a next step. I considered sending out several nag notes at decreasing intervals and with increasing levels of urgency as race day approached but could not get excited enough about the idea to send the first note. I am a pretty shameless guy and do not mind abasing myself to ask for money but I hate spam as much as the next guy and could not bring myself to repeatedly spam my friends and associates. Instead, I decided to send exactly one message and to send it on the last possible day, the morning before the race. The message was short and direct.

The Jingle Bell Run is Sunday morning. Help us reach our goal!

Tomorrow morning I will be running the Jingle Bell 5K to support the Arthritis Foundation. The running is great but what they really need is money (doh!) to fund research into arthritis cures.

Please help! We only need a few more dollars to reach our goal. I promise that, after you contribute, you will float through the rest of your day with that warm, fuzzy, satisfied feeling of knowing that you have supported a worthy cause.

Thanks

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Arthritis Foundation, Eastern Missouri Chapter.

I exported every email address that I had in my Thunderbird address book and imported them into the Arthritis Foundation’s fundraising site. Their tool let me send the message to 30 addresses at a time. It took me a couple of hours to work through 2,700 addresses but it paid off in spades, er, hearts. I am awe-struck by the huge number of loving people who contributed almost $800 in less than a day. Thus far, my total stands at $1,336. Thank you to all of you!

From all of those messages, I heard back from several people with whom I have not corresponded in some time. That gave me the unexpected pleasure of swapping personal notes and catching up a bit. Only three people sent “take me off your list” messages and only one was rude about it. Tempting though it is to name him, I will not. Suffice it to say that I do not believe sending exactly one message to the man warranted the response that he shot back at me. Maybe he was having a bad day and I was a convenient target.

Lori encouraged all of her friends to sign up for my Jingle Bell run team, which helped even more with the fundraising aspect of the race. Candy and Kevin joined in as well. All told, our team of 17 people accounted for almost $1,500 in donations. Saying “thank you” hardly seems enough but it comes from my heart so it will have to do.

Part of the fun of race day is dressing up like a nut. We all had jingle bells tied to our shoes. Silly me, Lori talked me into wearing a tutu if we got ten people on the team. When I agreed to it, I did not realize that Lori knows half the people in St. Charles county so ten people was no sweat for her at all. Here we are, just before the start. Next year, Lori, you will need 20 people to get me into the tutu.

Lori & Art in racing tutus

Here is the entire festive Cheerful Curmudgeon team, ready to go. Most of us (blue numbers) are headed for the 5K run but several of us (red numbers) are signed up for the 1 mile walk.

Cheerful Curmudgeon team ready for the Jingle Bell Run/Walk 2010

With 1,600 people at the start, our team got separated pretty quickly. Cori (red “Fleet Feet Sports Training” shirt in the middle of the picture) and I queued up together, since we ran at the same pace a week ago on a training run. I lost track of Candy and did not see her again until the finish. Kevin stayed with Candy but had to head home before I finished so I did not see him after this picture.

My running goal was to beat the 34:17 time that I hit in my first 5K on October 9. Cori and I started out strong at about 10:30-ish pace and I managed to hold that until about 1/2 mile from the end when I petered out a bit and had to slow down. I was overjoyed to crest the levee at the end of the course and see that the finish line was not at the start line, which would have entailed an uphill climb to the end. Instead it was a left hand hairpin and easy downhill into a different parking lot. Oh heavenly day! My official time was 32:57 at 10:38/mile. Here is my GPS track at Garmin Connect.

Goals accomplished, both fundraising and racing! On to the next race. And one more thing, it is not too late to contribute to the Arthritis Foundation on my Jingle Bell Run page. Please click the link and give what you can. Thank you.

Help Needed for the Arthritis Foundation

Art Zemon — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:12:45 +0000

Do you know anybody who has arthritis? I thought so. Me too.

I need your help. I am dressing up in green & red, tying bells on my shoes, running the Jingle Bell 5K tomorrow morning, November 21, to support the Arthritis Foundation. So far there are 17 of us the the Cheerful Curmudgeons team.

Our goal is to raise $1000 and “with a little help from our friends” we will make it. Please click on over to my page and make a donation. It doesn’t need to be big; just a few dollars will go a long way.

Thank you!

Running #7, My First 5K

Art Zemon — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 20:51:24 +0000

I just completed my first 5K race, the Cottleville Fall Run! I left the house with a simple goal: finish the race. From the practicing that I have been doing, I figured that it would take me around 40 minutes, not stellar but I would not be hauling my sorry *ss over the finish line as everyone else packed up to go home. My best run ever had been on Thursday morning when I took a relatively easy, level route instead of the extra-hilly ones that I had been using in order to build up a bit of extra endurance. On Thursday, I had gone 3.53 miles at a pace of 11:58/mile. It was the first time I had ever broken 12:00 and I had spent the day walking on clouds.

Since this was my first race, I did not know what to expect so I pinned my number to my shirt and drove to the Legacy Park a bit earlier than I usually like to arrive for events. That gave me about 30 minutes to pace around and realize that I don’t wait well at all. It also gave me time to check out the playground, where I will certainly take Caedmon, and to watch a kid on a scooter drive right in front of a car without looking. No blood was spilled, however, and I saw him later (on his scooter) accompanying his parents as they walked the course.

There were 183 runners so it didn’t take me long to cross the starting line after the siren sounded and then I was off on what was billed as “the flattest course in Missouri.” We left Cottleville’s Legacy Park on the paved trail, headed due east to Mid Rivers Mall Drive, then south to Wendy’s (perhaps for a half-way-through-the-race bowl of chilli?), and back the way we came. I was greatly bemused (and humbled) to have the lead runner pass me on his return trip before I even got to Mid Rivers Mall Drive.

Coming down the home stretch of my first 5K

I had a little trouble pacing myself at the beginning. If there was someone in front of me (and there was always someone in front of me), my legs wanted to chase them and pass them. I did have enough brains to hold myself back; there was no way that I would have finished the 5K if I had started sprinting from the get go. Even so, I felt tired and breathless throughout the whole race and chalked that up to this being “just one of those days.” Otther than being a bit short of breath, the race was completely uneventful to within about 200 yards of the finish when I caught wind of the music from the loudspeakers. That, and catchng sight of Candy just before the finish, were sorely needed pick-me-ups.

My only confusion came when I got close enough to the finish line that I could read the clock. The number was way too small and I was too tired to figure it out. I thought there was some quirk of the timing display that I did not understand. I took another breath, gave it my all across the line, and got my belly scanned. When I checked the results later, I was amazed to find that I had run a 34:17 giving me a pace of 11:04/mile!

Yee hah! Where’s the next race?

Finishing the 2010 Cottleville Fall Run 5K

Running #6, Goal Achieved

Art Zemon — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:11:15 +0000

I achieved my goal this morning and ran (more than) 30 minutes without a break! I would have run 40 but my left calf was tightening up. I didn’t want it to cramp so I quit running after about 37 minutes and walked home. I’ll try again on Tuesday morning. My next goal is to finish my first 5K race on October 9.

I am startled at how much stuff I have accumulated over the last couple of months of running. I have several sets of shorts, several sleeveless shirts (don’t I look macho ), and several pairs of high tech socks. With the race looming, and me pushing my runs beyond 30 minutes, I invested in a belt which holds a couple of small water bottles. The belt also gives me a place to put the pouch for my phone/MP3 player; I never liked the armband much. And with the weather turning colder, I found a really warm 1/2 zip on a sale rack and invested in a couple of short sleeve shirts and a couple of long sleeve shirts at Target.

I feel like I have rounded the last curve and am in the home stretch of my training for this first race. More to the point, I am still thoroughly enjoying the running and plan to keep at it indefinitely.

Running #5, A Day of Surprises

Art Zemon — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:23:10 +0000

It does not seem like a month since I started running but, sure enough, I wrote Now I’m a Runner back on July 20. This week I am up to running five minutes then walking five minutes (repeated three times, for a total of 30 minutes). A month ago, I could not have run for five minutes, let alone 15 minutes out of a 30 minute span. In a few more weeks, I should be up to jogging 30 minutes non-stop. That will be a first for me.

I spent yesterday at the airport, washing and waxing the plane with David’s help. It was hot, hard work but we got it done. We then verified that reduced air friction from the smoother paint truly does improve performance; the glistening plane is at least 5 knots faster while parked in the hangar. I woke up this morning with my body tired and achy. After all that work yesterday, I figured that I would take it easy and skip my usual Monday run. Imagine my surprise when 7:00am rolled around and I found that I wanted to get outside and at least walk for half an hour or so. Heck, it was just 68° outside; I could not waste a cool morning. I was doubly surprised when I had walked to the point where I usually being to run and I felt like running, not walking, so I did. The half hour run/walk felt great. A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would actually be looking forward to my next chance to get outside and run.

I had my annual physical exam last week and got the best surprise of the day came late this afternoon when I called the doctor’s office to learn the results of the blood tests. Not only was everything “OK” but my cholesterol numbers have continued to drop. When I started walking in May 2009, I was taking both Zetia and Lipitor to keep my cholesterol under control. The walking and weight loss helped enough that I was able to drop the Zetia on February 8. This afternoon, my doctor agreed that I can drop the Lipitor as well. I will do another blood test in six weeks to confirm that my numbers stay within the desired limits but I have high hopes.

Pulse 50

Art Zemon — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:38:55 +0000

I guess all this running and walking is good for me after all. I had my annual physical today and learned that my resting pulse rate is down to 50.

The new hybrid cars like the Ford Fusion shut their engines down completely at stop signs. I wonder if I can do that, too.

Running #4

Art Zemon — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:09:20 +0000

Hamstring stretch

I got there! When I first started running and stretching, I started doing the canonical hamstring stretch after each run. Close your eyes and picture, if you will, graceful and youthful me lithely stretching toward my oh so distant toes and failing miserably to achieve that oh so distant goal. My fingertips lingered in mid-air somewhere past my knee; you could even have imagined them at mid-calf if you had been generously inclined.

But today, ah joyous morning, I was able to reach my toes with both hands for the first time. Photo attached. Whoo hoo!

I have been running for two minutes and then walking for eight (repeating for a total of 30 minutes). Next week, I advance to run three, walk seven.

Running #3

Art Zemon — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 15:25:40 +0000

I ran again, yesterday; third time this week. All is still going well. I can sure feel the workout in various parts of my body but no pain, just aches from working parts of me that have not worked since dirt was new. This one was longer. I ran/walked for most of an hour and determined that downhill is still easier than uphill.

Having done this for a week, I know that I can continue with the program, that I will not need to drop back to solely walking. So, here is my first goal: to be able to run comfortably for 30 minutes. I am nowhere near that yet; running 1 minute then walking 1 minute is still tough but give me a few weeks. I’ll get there.

Lesson for the day: If I am sweating, I am working hard. If I am sweating like a pig and water is pouring down my arms and off my hands faster than it flows out of my garden hose then I am running in St. Louis on a summer morning. Gotta love this weather!

Running #2

Art Zemon — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:50:43 +0000

I ran again this morning. All is good with no aches or pains. (And if you believe that, I have this bridge to sell you….) Seriously, I am a little sore and can definitely feel parts of me which do not “normally” make themselves felt but nothing extreme.

I am alternating between jogging for one minute and walking for one minute. I will build up slowly, as advised by everyone I talk to any everything that I read. Next week will involve a LOT of walking, since I am headed to AirVenture, but I plan to take my running shoes and keep on track with my new hobby, too.

As for technology, JogStats on the Palm Pre is my friend.

Lesson for the day: downhill is easier!

Now I’m a Runner

Art Zemon — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:06:12 +0000

I’ve been walking almost daily for over a year and recently got to thinking about running, which I have never done. As a kid, I was always too chunky. As an adult, I have neither been in good enough shape nor have I had the motivation to get in shape. For the first time, I am close enough to give it a try. I think, more than anything else, I am intrigued by the thought of being able to do something that I could never do before.

On advice of a friend (and several books and web sites), I realized that I needed good shoes and headed over to Fleet Street Sports, the local athletic cobbler. (I suppose that “cobbler” is not quite right, since they do not actually make any shoes, but this is probably the only chance that I will have to use “cobbler” in a sentence.) Jason fitted me out with a pair of ASICS GT-2150 shoes, a pair of inserts with modest arch support, and some truly weird socks. I took the socks because my friend said that I should and I had read the same thing in a few other places. I figured they could not possibly be worth the big bucks but was willing to suspend disbelief for one run and give them a try.

The verdict: The shoes are possibly the most comfortable things I have ever worn on my feet. And my socks and feet were dry after a “test run/walk” of 35 minutes, which was quite the contrast from the rest of me which was clad in drenched cotton.

Thoroughly convinced of the value of “technical” clothing, I visited the local athletic haberdashery for new duds. My son laughed out loud when I told him that I had bought Spandex clothes!

As for the run, I managed 2.2 miles. Not bad for my first go at running and my second workout of the day.

Aged on the Best Authority

Art Zemon — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:54:48 +0000

I have been walking regularly for over a year and have lost almost 30 pounds. Now I want to start running and the calcified structure within my skull nudged me and suggested that a little research might be in order before I hit the pavement. I checked the library and discovered that the authority record for grey beards in my age bracket is Running for the aged.

"Running for the Aged" Library of Congress subject authority record

Aged?!?! Me? Hope springs eternal, though. At the Library of Congress, hope takes the form of the “see: Running for older people” line. I was sure that if I checked that record, it would unequivocally exclude me.

"Running for older people" Library of Congress subject authority record

Sadly, it unequivocally includes me. But on the bright side, I now have it on two of the best authorities in the world, the US Congress and the US Congress’ library, that I am officially aged. Wisdom must certainly arrive soon.

Ban the Bikes!

Art Zemon — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:54:07 +0000

St. Charles County, MO, will try to ban bicyclists from using some state highways, as reported in the Suburban Journals, Bill would ban bicycles from some highways in St. Charles County. How wrong can you get? In the year 2010, amidst all the hue and cry about poor health, obesity, and greenhouse gases from automobiles, Councilman Joe Brazil, R-District 2 is seriously proposing that,

The bicyclists need to stay on the trails that were made for bikes and off the roads in southwest St. Charles County.

Why, Joe?

I get more complaints about this single issue than any other issue. The speed limit is 55 mph. You come around a corner and there are two bikes in your lane. You can’t pass them, and it becomes a hazard.

This sounds like an opportunity for education on sharing the road and respecting all persons’ rights to use the roads within the limits of the law. 55 mph is the speed limit; there are no minimum speeds on the proposed county roads. It is perfectly legal to drive a car or ride a motorcycle at 15-20 mph; so why ban bicycles? If you are in a car behind two bikes, or any kind of slow vehicle, I would hope that a polite toot of the horn or flash of the headlights would encourage the slower vehicle to move over and let you by.

We live in the 21st century, Joe. Segregation is “out.” Coexistence and cooperation are “in.” There is plenty of room for all of us here in St. Charles County. Won’t you join us?

If you live in St. Charles County, I encourage you to contact your council representative.

2,4-D Precautions

Art Zemon — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:40:54 +0000

The chemical 2,4-D is a primary ingredient in many common home-use herbicides and I always figured that it must be safe. This morning, I was disturbed to find this on OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Guideline for 2,4-D (DICHLOROPHENOXYACETIC ACID):

Personal Hygiene Procedures

If 2,4-D contacts the skin, workers should immediately wash the affected areas with soap and water.

Clothing contaminated with 2,4-D should be removed immediately, and provisions should be made for the safe removal of the chemical from the clothing. Persons laundering the clothes should be informed of the hazardous properties of 2,4-D, particularly its potential for causing irritation and central nervous system effects.

A worker who handles 2,4-D should thoroughly wash hands, forearms, and face with soap and water before eating, using tobacco products, using toilet facilities, applying cosmetics, or taking medication.

Workers should not eat, drink, use tobacco products, apply cosmetics, or take medication in areas where 2,4-D or a solution containing 2,4-D is handled, processed, or stored.

and the following (in which I have added my own emphasis)

Effects on Humans: Human exposure to 2,4-D has been associated with central and peripheral nervous system effects, liver and kidney damage, and death [NLM 1995; Hathaway et al. 1991; ACGIH 1991]. Several case control studies of soft-tissue sarcoma and lymphoma have suggested an increased risk among workers exposed to phenoxyacetic acid herbicides, including 2,4-D. However, IARC deems the evidence of 2,4-D’s carcinogenicity in humans inadequate, and other studies have failed to confirm an increased incidence of malignancy in workers using such herbicides [Hathaway et al. 1991]. Workers employed in the manufacture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5,-T had a significantly increased frequency of slowed nerve conduction [Hathaway et al. 1991]. A farming student committed suicide by ingesting at least 6.5 grams of 2,4-D. Violent convulsions preceded death, but no significant autopsy findings were noted [Hathaway et al. 1991]. One terminal patient with disseminated coccidiomycosis was administered 2,4-D intravenously for 19 doses. Central nervous system depression and peripheral neuropathology followed this treatment. 2,4-D is mutagenic in human test systems [NIOSH 1995].

Sure… I want that stuff around my family, friends and neighbors.

2,4-D can be found in lawn herbicide mixtures such as “Weed B Gon MAX”, “PAR III”, “Trillion”, “Tri-Kil”, “Killex” and “Weedaway Premium 3-Way XP Turf Herbicide.” If you use herbicides on your lawn, check the label and take appropriate precautions. Be safe.

Trouble’s Brewing

Art Zemon — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:56:35 +0000

I just read a shocking article in the paper about a newly available intoxicant. It starts on the front page and continues for almost the entirety of page A8. That’s a lot of words for our local rag. Here are a few quotes so you can understand why so many people are concerned:

The clerk at the… shop called it a “slow night” Thursday but a steady stream of customer filed in to purchase [it]…. During one hour, 16 people purchased [it].

and

One of the customers Thursday night was Jeff Jacobs, a 50-year-old former Chrysler worker from Afton.

and

[Tom Neer, St. Charles County Sheriff,] said some people report it gives them a high, while others say it makes them dizzy or gives them a headache. “I have a concern about the product if it is determined that it can alter a person’s senses,” Neer said. “You get someone using it behind the wheel and it impairs their driving. Certainly, I’m concerned about it.”

Sounds like alcohol, no?

The article continues:

State Rep. Ward Frans, R-151st District, sponsored a bill that would place [it] on the state’s list of controlled substances. Possession would become a felony, Franz said.

Well it sure can’t be alcohol if the state is about to outlaw it.

But what’s going on here? Someone comes up with a new intoxicant and our government’s response is to make it illegal. The effects sound just like alcohol, which is legal. Is our government protecting us from a dangerous drug or from the need to take personal responsibility for what we put into our bodies? Is our government shielding us from the responsibility for our actions, regardless of what we put into our bodies?

What are the criteria for deciding to create another law? When was the last time that anyone, anywhere examined those criteria and held a frank discussion on whether or not our society is well served by them?

Lose Weight, Save Money

Art Zemon — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:23:40 +0000

I have dropped 24 pounds since last May, which makes me smile. Now, in addition to simply being smaller, I have two more reasons to smile. First, my last blood test for cholesterol levels came back with greatly improved numbers across the board. This means that I will likely be around longer to sponge off my kids (are you listening, guys?). Second, because of the lower cholesterol levels in my bloodstream, my doctor agreed that I could drop one of the two meds that I have been taking. Dropping the Zetia will save me $75 per month, an unexpected and wonderful surprise. I had heard and read that losing weight would have collateral health benefits. Now I have first hand proof.

My friend Jimbo sent me the following exercise program. I’m well along with it and, so far, it has been pretty do-able, even for a greybeard like me.

This seems a little daunting to start with but if you apply yourself you may find that it’s not as difficult as you think.

EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 50

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-Lbs potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-Lbs potato sacks.

Then try 25-Lbs potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 50-Lbs potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I’m at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each sack.

Remember, nothing is more valuable than your health. Get the best quality potato sacks that you can!

199 Pounds!

Art Zemon — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:15:34 +0000

As anticipated on December 22, today I made it down to 199 pounds for the first time since, well, since heaven-only knows when! To the groans of all, I celebrate with another six word story:

One hundred ninety nine pounds. Yipee!