God loves even the humble Musk Ox

I had coffee with my friend Phil this morning.  The conversation drifted somehow to trophy hunting, which we both deplore.  I mentioned that I had read somewhere that Alaska had issued some permits for a musk ox hunt.  Phil summed it up beautifully: “Hunting a musk ox is about as much sport as shooting a cow.”  I couldn’t agree more.

DIRTBAG

Just saw this “feature documentary”, Dirtbag:  The legend of Fred Beckey, (96 minutes long).  If you are a climber, a back packer, a trail hiker,  a lover of human diversity,or simply someone who likes to look at mountains,  YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!  But buy your tickets in advance: we didn’t, and were lucky to be shoehorned in. 

Even Jerimiah Gundelberg lived in awe of this guy!

Fred just died.

A SAD STORY

It is gloomy today, and I have just read one of the most saddening stories I have ever been exposed to.  It is from Chapter 7 of book 14 in the Aubrey-Maturin series, written by Patrick O’Brian.  The book’s name is The Nutmeg of Consolation.  The story involves some polar bears.

Sad though this story is, perversely it raised my spirits a little – after a long time mulling it over.  In the early 19^th century the actions described would have been considered perfectly acceptable and natural.  Now, however, in the early 21^st century, most of us would regard this kind of behavior as reprehensible and disgusting.  So, my contemplation suggests, maybe -despite all the terrible things that are going on all around us – as individual human beings maybe we have improved a little in the last 200 years.

Nah!  Who am I kidding?

As to the story – you’ll have to read it for yourselves.  In doing so you will gain an introduction to a great series of literature.

THE REAL REASON THAT COLIN KAEPERNICK IS NOT PLAYING FOOTBALL

The real reason why Colin Kaepernick is not playing in the NFL has nothing to do with politics.  Most NFL owners would sell their mother to the Taliban if it would win them a few more games.  Nor has it much to do with his abilities; Kaepernick is an experienced, second-tier quarterback: not Tom Brady, for sure, but not Ryan Leaf, either.  Even the Green Bay Packers would be happy to have him as back-up quarterback.  Especially now.

No, the real reason Colin Kaepernick is not on an NFL roster is obvious from his photograph.  No NFL team has a helmet big enough to accommodate all that hair.

HOW TO RUN A MARATHON AND FEEL GREAT

Fun?

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that running a full marathon (26.2 miles) is harder on a person  than running half that far (a half-marathon).  You probably also would expect that, although full-marathon runners train more than half-marathoners, they feel disproportionately crappier at the end of their race.  My personal experience was that at the end of a “halfathon” I wanted to wait around and see whom I had beaten (if anyone), whereas after a  ”fullathon” all I wanted to do was sit down and drink beer.  And this was true, no matter how many miles I had run in preparation.

Well, it turns out I should have burned some of those training hours in a weight room.  A scientific-sounding study conducted in Spain indicates that building leg muscles by means of weight training is beneficial – extremely so.  I don’t recall conspicuously bulging thigh muscles on any of those Kenyans that win all the important races these days, but maybe I just don’t know what to look for.

I have a relative who runs marathons – runs them well, in fact.  Maybe she should look into this.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/well/move/what-half-marathons-teach-us-about-running-a-marathon.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

A FIB AND OVCA

Poor lady

Are you an old fart with a non-standard heart?  Well, I am.  I “suffer” from atrial fibrillation (a fib, to most of us.)  I use the “ thing because, in my case, there is no “suffering” involved; apparently I go in and out of a fib episodes, but I never detect the difference.  Not so many folks; for some, an a fib episode pole axes them to a state of non-functionality.  I guess I’m lucky.

Well, if you do have a fib, you probably take some kind of blood thinner.  I take warfarin, which is the most common prescribed.  After a little trial-and-error groping my med team has found a regimen that keeps my blood in the Goldilocks zone; not too thin (you die of internal bleeding) nor too thick (you die from a blood clot.)  I get checked every six weeks or so.

It turns out that a gene scan can make getting the right warfarin dose quicker and more precise.  Apparently the people in white coats, by means of a clinical trial, have established that the functionality of certain genes affects proper dosage.  Good, I guess.  What truly is good is that they say that such a gene scan should cost only about $200.  Hell, my checkups – involving a pharmacy tech, one drop of blood, five minutes and a $19.94 machine – cost almost that!

Maybe gene scans will get cheap enough so that ALL FEMALE BABIES can be tested for bad genes at birth.  And the same scan can be had periodically throughout life, like mammograms. 

      

Devoutly to be wished for.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/genetic-testing-improves-blood-thinner-dosing