Everything Has An Upside

Personally, I don't recommend you try to develop peripheral neuropathy for any reason, but if you're stuck with it, there can be advantages...

When I was in the neighborhood of ten years old, I accidentally raked the index and middle fingers of my left hand across the rotating blade of a table saw. It sliced into each finger tip parallel to my fingernails and took out chunks of meat. I was surprised at how much blood could come out of fingers, since there aren't any arteries that far from the heart. But those little veins and capillaries carried an awful lot of blood. Yuk. I hate seeing blood. Especially mine.

Of course, the wound healed over within a week or two, but those fingertips were still sensitive to touch for a long time after that. Eventually, though, they got to where I didn't notice them any more.

That is, until the first time I tried to play a guitar. Trying to fret the strings was too painful to endure. Yeah, I know, it hurts every new guitar player until calluses form. Except my index and middle fingers hurt far worse than the other two fingers, especially when I pressed right on the scars in certain directions, so I'm pretty sure that was worse than usual. At any rate, it was bad enough to keep me from trying for more than a few minutes once every few years.

Now, take that scenario, add a couple of decades of nerve deterioration in my hands, and viola, those two troublesome fingertips no longer hurt too much to fret a guitar! They still hurt a little bit, but I figure they're about the level that most people would normally feel. That's where my neuropathy really pays off! :) And as an added bonus, my ring and little fingers on my left hand don't hurt at all... they're too numb!

My best neuro-doc has also told me that my peripheral neuropathy may improve eventually, since it was caused by deficient levels of thyroid hormones that is now being controlled. So, I may lose numb-finger "advantage", but if I do, you can be sure I'll have well-developed calluses long before then. Make hay while the sun shines, as they say, or in this case, make calluses while the pain is numbed!

Why guitar? I couldn't stand the poor sounds I was getting out of my violin long enough to get to the point where it wasn't too annoying. I don't really care much for the sound my autoharp makes. My trumpet is a little too LOUD to practice whenever I want. The guitar is easy to get good sounds out of if you can hold the strings down, I like the sound I get with thumb picking/strumming (don't care much for the sound I get from picks), and its quiet enough that I can practice any time I want!

Oh, and why are my hands and arms numb, but the nerve damage in my feet causes a nasty burning sensation? I dunno. It's relatively common for peripheral neuropathy, but no one seems to know why some people get burning sensations vs. numbness in various places. That's one of the 23,917,603 reasons I say that medical science, like all other sciences, is still in its infancy.

Ouch Relief

Well, the nerve blocks were nice for a few hours each time, but then they wore off. Nothing was helping much and we (the doctors and I) weren't making useful progress in figuring out exactly what was wrong with my muscles, ligaments, and tendons, let alone why.

I can now report very good news, however. About a month ago, I had my annual physical, which showed that my cholesterol was finally back into a healthy range, so I stopped taking Lipitor. A few days later, my muscle/ligament/tendon problems were noticably better, on average. And kept getting better. I didn't want to blog this until now, thinking that couldn't be it, and I might start getting worse again.

My neurologist has just told me that considering all the circumstances, he's certain that my muscle problems for the last 9 months was indeed due to Lipitor side-effects, despite the fact that I was on Lipitor for a couple of years before that without those effects. As I've started telling friends and relatives about the Lipitor connection, now they've been telling me, "Oh, you were on Lipitor? I could have told you that causes muscle problems." Nothing like hindsight...

We have no idea why those side-effects kicked in all of a sudden, but boy, what a relief to be rid of them, and to know what the cause was. That was kind of like my nasty experience with Cymbalta, which the neuro-docs put me on a high "theraputic" dose of to try to ease the burning in my feet. I was on that for a long time also before side-effects kicked in and knocked me sideways.

So, I've been perking up, muscles/tendons/ligaments are back to "normal" for me.
I've gotten caught up at work, and things are looking rosy again. And my hobby activity is picking up again, as evidenced by this post! The only pills I'm on now are Levoxyl (thyroid hormone replacement) and 3000IU/day of vitamin D, so I shouldn't be getting any new side-effects from miscellaneous drugs.

A moral to this story? Perhaps that perscription drugs can be just as dangerous as illegal drugs. And no, I don't use illegal drugs... I have enough problems without intentionally causing more.

Leg? What leg?

My left leg (below the hip/groin area, above the ankle, and excluding the knee), doesn't hurt as much as my right leg, and I think that can only be due to the nerve block & cortisone derivative treatment earlier this week. The funny thing is, those parts of my legs hurt so much less than other parts, the other parts have held my attention to the point that I didn't even realize until now that those parts of my legs were hurting. Hm... is that good or bad?

Well, I'm still going to do my best to follow advice I got many years ago, from my first pain management specialist: ignore it all as much as you can and get on with things. That doesn't always work, but it's better than the alternatives.

Ouch

My excuse for not posting in a long time is that I've been in a lot of pain. Peripheral neuropathy due to hypothyroidism. Yuk. I've been able to keep up with my full-time job, but just barely. Yesterday a neurologist injected some nerve-block type stuff in some muscles and tendons in the left side of my butt. The goal is for us to compare how that effects my left side to my untreated right side. It's a diagnostic process right now. The first few hours were pretty nice, with a neglible amount of pain in my left butt, and even a little less pain in my left leg, but then it started fading, as expected. I'll see that doc again in two weeks. Right now, I'm really wishing I could have a pain free part of me again.

Pig Track

7 June Update: This week, 143 even. I think next week's weight-in will be the final one for this event.



19 Apr Update: Last week, 146.5, this week, 144.5. My long term target was 145, but I think the Pig Club considers it a good thing if you weight less than the weight that was your original target.


What is the Pig Club?

6 Apr Update: Last week I wasn't at HUD, so I missed the weigh-in. This week I'm down to 147 even.

15 Mar Update: Last week I was down to 148. This week I'm down to 147.5 -- just haven't been very hungry...

24 Feb Update: Last week I was up slightly to 153. This week I was down to 150, earning myself the coveted title of Lean Machine of the Week. Who cares about emmies, grammies, and oscars?

9 Feb Update: The Pig Club's tracking system can't handle a goal of staying the same weight, so I've changed my goal to lose 5 pounds from my starting weight. And I'm headed in the wrong direction...

Update & Poem

Hmm. I haven't posted in over a month. Well, that's about when my muscles started going on strike. The first 3 1/2 months of this year seemed like my body was improving steadily, with just a few minor setbacks now and then. Then my muscles started tightening up.

No big deal, I always have a prescription of muscle relaxers (methocarbomol) from my doc, and I usually keep some on hand. I just take those for a day or two, the muscles get over whatever was causing the problem, and I'm no worse for wear. Except this time.

The problem hasn't subsided, is worse than ever before, and the muscle relaxers have barely kept me functional enough to do my job. I have an appt this coming Friday to talk to the doc again to try to figure out what the cause is so I can start improving again. She's a great doc, I procrastinated making an appt, and it takes a long time to get one, because she's so popular.

---

Okay, this isn't Carla's poem, it's mine. But I don't wanna create a new category for one entry, and "Carla's poetry" is the closest. It's the only poem I've ever written that I like. And I thought it had been lost forever, but Carla had copied it years ago, and just found it. This poem is from a guy (me) who used to worry about the "waste" of giving cut flowers as a present, until he realized...

An Economist's Justification

"A waste of money,
these flowers will rot!
They'll dry up and wither,
and then what have you got?"

Yes, I know my dozen messengers
will not produce like kind,
but even if they do prove brief,
I certainly will not mind.

For regardless of their life-span,
and their non-regeneration,
yet they provide a forum
of unequaled demonstration;

The Love that these kind friends reflect
says, "I love you a lot!"
And when these sweet red roses,
with their joy have been forgot,
your knowledge of my love for you,
of a certainty, will not.

Thus their cost is not so great,
when their true benefit you see --
for these flowers tell the whole world
that you're worth everything to me!

P.S. Regarding that last line. You always have been. You always will be.

Prosperity for Posterity

Prosperity for US
Well, I read about Prosper.com a few months ago in Readers Digest magazine, but forgot about it until this past week. It's a pretty cool peer-to-peer loan system for U.S. residents founded by the guy who started ELoan.com, and I've opened an account (it's free) and started fiddling with it. (For details on how it works, visit their web site.)

This prompted me to look at our debts, and I was surprised to find that we have 3 credit card accounts with small balances that have exorbitant interest rates. So, I studied up how to apply for a loan on Prosper, joined a group, got my info verified, and posted an application for a $5k loan to pay off those 3 credit cards. I put in the maximum interest rate allowed by Virginia, 11%, and it got fully funded within minutes. However, I'm letting the listing stay open for the maximum time of 10 days, and since it was fully funded at 11%, additional lenders (individual investors) have been bidding to get a piece of my loan, thereby bidding down the interest rate, which is now below 10%. Way cool! Check it out:

You can borrow, you can earn money by lending, or you can earn money by managing a group.

Prosperity for the rest of the World
One guy borrowing money via Prosper is using the money to reinvest, partly in microloans at kiva.org. I never heard of kiva.org, so of course I had to check it out.

Kiva (from the Swahilli word for "agreement") allows anyone to make microloans to the working poor in some of the poorest areas of the world. The staff at Kiva vets each borrower, and though the amounts are generally small by U.S. standards, they can have profound impacts on the people who receive these loans.

Some of these folks may never have another opportunity like this to improve their and their families lives, and you can help. You can make a small loan to someone on the other side of the planet and improve their lives forever.

Physics 4.0

Light -- is it a particle, or is it a wave? The answer, of course, is that it is neither, or both, depending on your point of view. But it's not one or the other.

I was looking forward to starting a new career in physics someday, probably two or three careers from now, and resolving the particle vs. wave discrepancy. Alas, it looks like I'm too late, as Xiao-Gang Wen (MIT) and Michael Levin (Harvard) have come up with what may be just that resolution. Here's a summary explanation in New Scientist magazine.

String-nets. It's elegant. Its covers a lot of concepts. It appears to be validated by the existence of a mineral named Herbertsmithite. (No kidding, it's discoverers named it after a man they admired.) And I'm betting it will even lead directly to a quantum theory of gravity.

If Newtonian physics was Physics 1.0, then Relativity could be Physics version 2, and Quantum Mechanics could be Physics 3. String-nets could be the beginning of Physics 4.0. Pretty cool!

But... so far it doesn't seem to resolve my dilema of entanglement vs. relativity, so maybe there's still room for me to make a contribution to physics by redirecting my efforts. Eventually...

Simple vs. Complex

A friend recently suggested that complex people tend to have simple ring tones (ring, ring) on their cell phones, and simple people tend to have complex ring tones (musical ditties), just based on her personal observations.

So, is my ring tone simple or complex? Well, my phone's almost always on vibrate, so I don't know what that says about me. But for those rare occasions when I have the sound on, my ring tone is a recording of my own voice saying, "Telephone... telephone..." What do you think? Is that simple, complex, or just strange?

Taking People For Granted

I've always heard that it's wrong to take people for granted.

Why is that?

Carla and I have lots of moments that we concentrate on each other and drink in every little nuance of our friendship, but the vast majority of the time, we don't... we take each other for granted.

Between the times we verbally profess our love for each other (about every few hours), we take it for granted that we love each other. Between the times we're physically intimate (about every few hours), we take it for granted that we're being faithful to each other. [Just kidding about being intimate every few hours... sometimes we take a day off to rest!] Between the times we make plans together, we take if for granted that neither of us will make big decisions without involving the other.

So, yes, we take each for granted. Is that a bad thing? We know each other, we help each other, and we trust each other, and that's why we can take each other for granted. That seems to me like a pretty wonderful thing!

John's Famous Relatives

Our family tree on Ancestry.com now has over 1700 people in it, thanks to many contributions from family and ties into the One World Tree. This goes back far enough and wide enough for the web site's famous relative search tool to work. And, it turns out I have some bad apples in the family, such as train robbers and politicians. Good or bad, here are some famous people related to John Donovan Lambert:

James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937)
Scottish Novelist
James Matthew Barrie wrote the stories of Peter Pan and The Lost Boys. His college acquaintances include Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Lewis Stevenson, with whom he wrote for the university newspaper.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 12 times removed

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield (1832-1918)
First Lady
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, wife of President James A. Garfield, wasn't interested in the social duties of the First Lady, but her genuine hospitality made her gatherings very enjoyable.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 7 times removed

Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919)
American Activist and Surgeon
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a feminist Union surgeon. She was given a Medal of Honor after the Civil War for her bravery as a prisoner of war, making her the only woman to have received this medal.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 5 times removed

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
26th President of the United States
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the first president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. With the assassination of President McKinley he became the youngest president in the nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the presidency as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. His popular presidency had many accomplishments, but he personally considered his greatest accomplishment to be the creation of the Panama Canal. The "Teddy" Bear got its name from President Roosevelt.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 7 times removed

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
American Author
Spending 2 years "living simply" in the forest was the premise for Henry David Thoreau's famous book, "Walden". Thoreau also wrote "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience", an essay that encouraged people to prohibit governments from having absolute power.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 8 times removed

Lucille Ball (1911-1989)
American Actress and Comedian
Lucille Desiree Ball was the comedic star of the 1950s TV show I Love Lucy. Often called, "The Queen of Comedy," Ball has acted in Broadway productions, motion pictures, and TV shows.
Relationship: 9th Cousin 3 times removed

Desi Arnaz (1917-1986)
Cuban American Performer
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz was a Cuban-American musician, comedian, and actor. He performed with his wife, Lucille Ball, for several years before their divorce.
Relationship: 11th Cousin 1 times removed

Edward Winslow (1595-1655)
Mayflower Passenger
Edward Winslow served as the governor of the Plymouth Colony. He also signed the Mayflower Compact.
Relationship: 12th Great Grand Uncle

Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Irish Physicist
Robert Boyle is regarded today as the first modern chemist. He was also an alchemist and a physicist.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 12 times removed

Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832)
Maryland Representative
Charles Carroll was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. His signature reads "Charles Carroll of Carrollton", so he is widely known as such.
Relationship: 5th Cousin 8 times removed

George Ross (1730-1779)
Pennsylvania Representative
George Ross served in the Continental Army and on the Committee of Safety. He later served in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 8 times removed

William Osler (1849-1919)
Physician
William Osler has been called one of the greatest icons of modern medicine, the Father of Modern Medicine, which is what he considered Avicenna to be.
Relationship: 9th Cousin 4 times removed

Francis Lightfoot Lee (1734-1797)
Virginia Representative
Francis Lightfoot Lee was a radical patriot during the revolution. He worked with Patrick Henry to oppose the Stamp Act. He later signed the Declaration of Independence.
Relationship: 4th Cousin 8 times removed

Sam Bass (1851-1878)
American Outlaw
American train robber Sam Bass robbed the Union pacific gold train and took $60,000, the largest robbery of the Union Pacific to date.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 5 times removed

Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893)
19th President of the United States of America
Rutherford B. Hayes was known for his honesty and military involvement in the American Civil War. After the scandal ridden years of the Grant administration, Hayes restored trust to the presidency and ended Reconstruction during his term.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 5 times removed

Elvis Presley (1935-1977)
American Entertainer
Elvis Aaron Presley is often called "The King of Rock and Roll", or simply "The King". He starred in movies but is best known for his music which includes over 100 top 40 songs including "Blue Suede Shoes", "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", "Don't Be Cruel", and "Jailhouse Rock".
Relationship: 8th Cousin 2 times removed

Oliver Winchester (1810-1880)
Gun Company Owner
Oliver Fisher Winchester was an American businessman and politician. He manufactured and marketed the Winchester repeating rifle, which was a much re-designed descendant of the volcanic rifle of some years earlier.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 5 times removed

William W. Winchester (1837-1881)
Gun Company Owner
William Wirt Winchester was the second president of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from 1880 to 1881. He was the son of Oliver Fisher Winchester who manufactured and marketed the first Winchester repeating rifle.
Relationship: 8th Cousin 4 times removed

J.P. Morgan (1837-1913)
American Banker
John Piermont Morgan I was one of the wealthiest men at the beginning of the 20th century. A financier and banker, he arranged the merger for General Electric, and his bank today is known as Morgan Stanley.
Relationship: 8th Cousin 3 times removed

William Charles Wentworth (1790-1872)
Early Settler
Australian explorer, journalist, and politician William Wentworth was a leading figure of early New South Wales. He helped explore the Blue Mountains, founded a newspaper, and helped draft the New South Wales constitution.
Relationship: 11th Cousin 7 times removed

Benjamin West (1738-1820)
American Painter
Benjamin West is known for his paintings of historical scenes set in and around the time of the American Revolution. His most famous painting "The Death of General Wolfe" is more than 5 feet tall and more than 7 feet long! West was also commissioned by King George III to paint royal portraits.
Relationship: 2nd Cousin 10 times removed

Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (1831-1889)
First Lady
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes convinced her husband, Rutherford B. Hayes, to fight in the Union army and to oppose slavery. He later became an influential part of the abolitionist cause.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 3 times removed

William Ellery (1727-1820)
Rhode Island Representative
A successful merchant from Rhode Island, William Ellery was the only representative from Rhode Island to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Relationship: 3rd Cousin 10 times removed

Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)
American Actress
Four time Academy Award winning actress Katharine Hepburn maintained a successful acting career for over 70 years. Her notable performances in The African Queen and On Golden Pond, as well as countless other films, contributed to her title as the AFI's Greatest American Female Star.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 3 times removed

John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
American Author
John Steinbeck's writing is characterized by portrayals of working class families in California. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature as well as the Pulitzer Prize. Two of his most famous works are The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 3 times removed

Ruth Benedict (1887-1948)
American Anthropologist
American anthropologist Ruth Benedict wrote, Patterns of Culture which was translated into 14 languages. She studied cultural relativism and spoke out against fascism.
Relationship: 7th Cousin 3 times removed

Ida Saxton McKinley (1847-1907)
First Lady
Ida Saxton McKinley suffered very poor health and many seizures during her time as First Lady to President William McKinley. She hosted her guests seated in a blue velvet wheel chair.
Relationship: 6th Cousin 6 times removed

Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)
British-born Actor, Director and Producer
Laurence Kerr Olivier was an Academy Award-winning actor, director, and producer. He acted in such films as Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and Spartacus. Olivier also appeared in many plays throughout his career.
Relationship: 10th Cousin 3 times removed

Elizabeth Browning (1806-1861)
English Author and poet
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. These famous words were penned by English poet and author Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of the most respected writers of the Victorian era.
Relationship: 11th Cousin 3 times removed

Ben Stein's Excellent Perspective

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on a CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

Herewith a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife. Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Ma! libu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.

I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?"(regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believ! e God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events.terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school .. the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bo! ther them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes'through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein