tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32155461905094922322024-03-13T10:23:20.545-07:00bugs, bikes, brains, and buffaloThoughts of a myelin challenged woman now living in Fort McMurray.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.comBlogger377125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-92111303579995242082014-01-08T07:54:00.003-08:002014-01-08T07:54:56.559-08:00Sweet 16Well, time certainly flies when you're not paying attention.<br />
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The holidays were a mixed bag of tricks and emotions. Sad to be away from family and happy to be making new friends, but the roller coaster of emotions takes its toll.<br />
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However, it is new year. Speaking of years, it was 16 years ago this week that I was diagnosed with MS. Sweet 16.<br />
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I was concerned, after accepting a job so far away and all that the move entailed, that the stress of all of it might exacerbate one or more of my MS symptoms. In the past, I've noticed that I will get a little more fatigued, have a little more pain, or whatever at the 6 week mark. Meaning 6 weeks after a stressor, I will have more symptoms.<br />
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Well, here I am, 3 months post-decision, and 2 months post-move, and no signs of any flare up or worsening of symptoms.<br />
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So that's the good news.<br />
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I suspect the cold weather has assisted my current health status. It's freakin' cold up here. And dry. Yeah, that famous dry cold. And that was before that polar vortex. At least the frizz has left my hair.<br />
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I have a neuro appointment in a couple of weeks, but it's in Edmonton, which means a few hours on a bus to get there, a stay overnight in the city, then home the next day. I need to be assessed by a neuro in the Alberta Health Services, despite having been on Avonex for 14 years (albeit in Nova Scotia). That seems a little foolish to me, but that's the way our health system works in this country. Sadly, each province handles things differently, which means red tape here and there.<br />
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Interestingly, Alberta has a high number of MS cases. To be fair, the country has one of the highest rates in the world, if not the highest. I keep reading different numbers on different websites about who leads in that race. I still haven't reached out to the MS Society, Alberta division, but hope to do that soon.<br />
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I have met a couple of people who know other people with MS, but haven't met any of them yet. Maybe they're hibernating.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-68697318185926223932013-12-15T16:56:00.003-08:002013-12-15T16:56:50.847-08:00Oil Sands or Pushing DirtThe oil sands industry is a big one in every sense of the word. Unless you've been involved in some aspect of it it's difficult to really imagine a machine so huge and all-encompassing as it is. There are literally thousands and thousands of people involved. There are billions and billions of dollars involved. The heavy equipment used at the mines and at the refineries is so massive it is almost beyond imagining.
And the entity that is the oil sands industry runs like a very well oiled machine (forgive the comparison) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. I've been watching and learning for 7 weeks now and I still have a hard time comprehending it's enormity.<br />
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These guys and gals work long hours. A lot. You think you've got a bad commute. Some of these folks have a 1.5 hour bus ride to the mine. And of course, a 1.5 hour ride back. Each shift. And a shift is 12 hours. There are some pretty strict rules in place for these folks as well. No phones. No drugs. No drinking. No exceptions. And for good reason. Safety is number one, not because the companies are that compassionate, but because injuries and death slow down getting to the bottom line. It's bad for business in a number of ways.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are many people in those companies who genuinely don't want to see a worker injured but the reality of business is that it's all about making money.
And if the people uncover dinosaur bones, fossilized or petrified, the site has to be shut down so the paleontologists can come in and painstakingly remove them to get them to a museum as intact as possible. I've heard a few stories of guys just continuing on with their work and reburying their find. I understand the thinking, but at the same time, the scientist in me cringes.<br />
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But it all comes down to the bottom line.
Speaking of which, the bottom line for the people in the industry is a good one. They work hard for their money and quite often, family life is sacrificed. A lot of the workers live in camps closer to the mines. Some of the camps are very nice, I've been told, with quite a few amenities (including a Tim Hortons coffee shop at the site I visited earlier this week), but as Kyle (my fellow boarder) has told me, living in the camps means you're with the same people 24/7, working and living, and it can really get on your nerves.
A lot of folks come here on a two year or 5 year plan, intending to sock away some money and go back home. There's money to be sure, but few actually save enough to make it worth while. All of a sudden they're getting a huge pay cheque and they start buying all the toys that go along with living in the north: big trucks, skidoos, ATVs, vacations down south a couple of times a year...I have only encountered a few people who actually saved money.<br />
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The demographic that works here in the oil sands industry is young, early thirties, blue collar and these are the guys (and gals) who best exemplify the "multiplier effect". These folks get a pile of money and then spend it on consumer goods, thus keeping those dollars in the economy. The use of the money has been multiplied. There are a bunch of formulae to determine the numerical value but it's way beyond me. The point is, if you want to stimulate the economy, give good paying jobs to construction workers, labourers, etc. and they'll keep the money circulating. And that's exactly what's happening up here.
I really didn't mean to turn this into an economics lesson, but am I ever glad I took an economics class when I went back to school. It's all coming back to me now and I'm actually seeing it in action. Not just with what I'm observing, but I have been writing news stories of late on the financial end of things that a few years ago I wouldn't have understood, let alone been able to write.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uPSdEOyqxbI/Uq5L8ZsEG6I/AAAAAAAABtA/C7GcNgQfBeI/s1600/DSCF1299.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uPSdEOyqxbI/Uq5L8ZsEG6I/AAAAAAAABtA/C7GcNgQfBeI/s320/DSCF1299.JPG" /></a>
This is Syncrude operations. Well, a little bit of it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ugdNMs4XcB8/Uq5MdJ4O9eI/AAAAAAAABtI/-SFE7UgY47c/s1600/DSCF1308.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ugdNMs4XcB8/Uq5MdJ4O9eI/AAAAAAAABtI/-SFE7UgY47c/s320/DSCF1308.JPG" /></a>
That's Kyle (6 foot 3) in a bucket of a drag line. Some of these giant machines are on display close to the Syncrude site. You can't begin to imagine the size of them until you're right next to them. Or in them.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ISC2dk8MP6U/Uq5NAE1kdgI/AAAAAAAABtQ/bR1Tg7q7kGI/s1600/DSCF1311.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ISC2dk8MP6U/Uq5NAE1kdgI/AAAAAAAABtQ/bR1Tg7q7kGI/s320/DSCF1311.JPG" /></a> And that's a bucketwheel.<br />
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Each bucket is about 6 feet long, the whole wheel about 3 stories tall. They don't use these machines in the oil sands anymore as traditional trucks and shovels are more cost efficient. Mind you, the trucks are huge as are the shovels. The tires on the trucks alone are 12 feet high and the trucks have a capacity of 400 tons. Kyle and Joe both drive big-haul trucks as part of their job and Joe sometimes will haul 18 loads in a shift. You do the math.<br />
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And now I've figured out how to properly format the blog again. Should be easier to read.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-10361397496526977252013-12-11T08:20:00.001-08:002013-12-11T08:20:04.863-08:00<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Udg3_e-Ebfg/UqiMFlNMEJI/AAAAAAAABr4/b4x8fz7aN48/s1600/DSCF1275.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Udg3_e-Ebfg/UqiMFlNMEJI/AAAAAAAABr4/b4x8fz7aN48/s320/DSCF1275.JPG" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JxA7m25MRp4/UqiMsdtLoSI/AAAAAAAABsQ/8zwrvby56N0/s1600/DSCF1277.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JxA7m25MRp4/UqiMsdtLoSI/AAAAAAAABsQ/8zwrvby56N0/s320/DSCF1277.JPG" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cO2bu7lpfyo/UqiMsEb2kWI/AAAAAAAABsM/QYz8iajg8uc/s1600/DSCF1278.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cO2bu7lpfyo/UqiMsEb2kWI/AAAAAAAABsM/QYz8iajg8uc/s320/DSCF1278.JPG" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yIChxY_4MnU/UqiMvV-NZMI/AAAAAAAABsc/CqzJ_o15ufY/s1600/DSCF1284.JPG" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yIChxY_4MnU/UqiMvV-NZMI/AAAAAAAABsc/CqzJ_o15ufY/s320/DSCF1284.JPG" /></a>
I finally had a chance to actually leave the town limits yesterday and head out on the road for a little exploration. Anyone who knows me, knows there's little I love more than to explore my surroundings. My schedule (and everyone else's actually) and fewer daylight hours mean that in the 6 weeks since I've arrived I've had no opportunity to get beyond the neighbourhoods of the town and out by the airport (which was actually work related, so no time to lolly gag).
My fellow boarder, Kyle, was off at the same time as me this week, so he agreed to take me for a spin to search for wood bison. There's a herd of them north of the town on reclaimed land. However, we got to the look off point and none were in sight. It's always a gamble with these creatures anyway, but we came to find out that they are kept in an area away from the look off point for the winter.
Kyle and I did a little exploring anyway and found Crane Lake which is also reclaimed land. Once the oil company had finished mining the area and cleaned up the tailings, what they left behind is a beautiful and functional wetland. We weren't familiar with the trail system there so didn't venture far, but there is a trail that circles the lake for about 4.5 kilometres. There are interpretive signs and birdhouses to encourage birds to take up residence. We did see a woodpecker in a tree on the edge of the lake, but that was the only one. The only tracks we saw at first were canid, probably coyote. And they weren't recent so little chance of running into anything. It's definitely a place to explore in the summer time, so that's one to put on my list.
We ventured farther on the road to Syncrude's operations site. I'll get into that more next time, but let me just say that although I've known this industry is big, you never really get a sense until you see the coker in the distance and then closer. The sheer enormity of the machinery is one thing, but the size of the oil sands industry in general just boggles my mind.
We also stopped on the way back at the Wood Bison Gateway Trail head with its ginormous bison stone carvings. I'll hike/bike the trail in the spring, but wanted to take a picture of me in my MS bike shorts next to the carving. Yes, it was closing in on -30, but I whipped off the ski pants, the sweat pants, and Kyle snapped a pic. I'll post that one next time. My legs weren't cold at all but my fingers were numb. Anything for the cause.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-53800149312362419672013-12-07T15:05:00.001-08:002013-12-07T15:05:01.067-08:00Here we are, December 7 and Christmas is just around the corner. I will be wrapping presents tomorrow and putting them in the mail Monday. I have to be ahead of the game this year as I'm thousand of miles away from mom and dad. Or something like that.
The guy I'm renting from and the other boarder are both working Christmas Day, so we're going to have our dinner on Christmas Eve and invite friends to join us. I have no friends yet. Just kidding. But I have invited a couple of co-workers who are going to be in town over Christmas as well.
On Christmas Day I'll be over at a church hall helping out the Knights of Columbus serve up dinner to anyone who wants it. That's another way to get to know some people here. I spoke with the guy who organizes the dinner and he said all walks of life come in, from CEOs to homeless, so it will be interesting anyway. A good way to spend Christmas I think. And if the windchill is negligible I may go for a walk, too. The year before last I was lucky enough to see a seal in the Bedford Basin on my Christmas day walk. No seals in Fort Mac, but maybe I'll see signs of other creatures. Here's hoping!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-25823256242221623492013-12-02T19:53:00.001-08:002013-12-02T19:53:33.023-08:00Week 6The week has gone by rather quickly. Let's see if I can remember what I did...
I attended a Canadian Immigration Services ceremony last Friday (I was there for work). About 100 new citizens took their oath and became Canadians. It's truly amazing to see people who are so excited to have a new nationality. They have worked extremely hard to get to a new country, make a life, and bring or start their families. And it's kind of funny, in a cute sort of way, to see them all wave little Canadian flags. Quite heart warming really. There is a very large immigrant population here - the figures indicate some 60 or more nationalities working here.
One couple I spoke with had been here for 30 years and felt in their hearts they were Canadian already so delayed actually making it official. Until now anyway.
Although about 30% of the population here is from the Maritimes, there is still not the same level of friendliness you find there. No one is rude, just not as friendly as back home. But that doesn't stop me from talking to almost everyone I encounter, like at the gas station, the grocery store, the bus stop...
I've been to the main recreation facility here where I have a membership.It'san amazing facility and I'll probably go for a swim tomorrow after my workout...yay!
On the MS front, no problems. Which is good. Navigating the provincial health system is going to be interesting. I actually have a neurologist lined up before I even have a family doctor. That will be my next task to attend to. And find a dentist, too...
I have done a little Christmas shopping as well. This Christmas will see me having a meal with the guys on Christmas Eve, as I believe both are working Christmas day. The Knights of Columbus put on a Christmas Day meal for anyone who isn't going to be with family on the holiday so I think I'll head there (the Catholic church)as a volunteer(I heard they need people for the meal).
And I was speaking with someone today who is connected to a number of non-profits, so she'll help me find a group to volunteer with.
So as you can see, I'm settling in. The 6-7 hours of daylight thing is a little disconcerting, but not completely bizarre. When you think it's later than it is, it actually isn't. Lol. Still haven't seen the Northern lights though. I'm looking for them.
S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-28952489897766091402013-11-23T17:55:00.003-08:002013-11-23T17:55:56.460-08:00Tomorrow marks the 4 week mark since I've landed in Fort Mac.
In Nova Scotia we thought it was cold when we got the end of an Arctic high pass through. Nova Scotians don't know what cold is. We had a system come through Northern Alberta this week that brought lows of -33. Going to work this morning, I felt it was a lot warmer. It was. -17. Once you hit -20 and lower, it doesn't much matter.
It's. Freakin'. Cold.
Your nostrils glue themselves together when you inhale, so everyone learns to breathe through their mouth. Covered with a scarf, of course. And I'm not being funny. And this is still November! I guess this system is a little out of character for November. More of that type of thing coming our way for longer in January/February.
My schedule leaves little time for recreation. Actually, the weather and my schedule leave little time for recreation. When it's this cold, you have to prep for every time you step out the door. Winter gear on. Check (and that takes a while to get into and out of, so you have to allow time for that). Warm up the plugged in vehicle. Check. Get to your destination. Check. Got your cloth shopping bags? (They have a ban on plastic ones here) Check. And do everything in reverse for the trip home.
I have a new found respect for grocery baggers back in NS. There are some stores here whose staff will bag your groceries in your cloth bags, but not all. So if you've not done it before, it's a learned skill. Especially with a line up of people behind you.
Still haven't seen the Northern lights. But I'm looking for them.....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-57994797175994736652013-11-14T20:01:00.000-08:002013-11-14T20:01:02.564-08:00The main thing you need to know about Fort Mac, as it is affectionately called, is that it is not a city. It's actually one of several communities in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The population of Fort Mac seems to be a bone of contention since no one can easily say how many people are here at any one point in time. Best guesses are 64,000-120,000.
That's a big variation, I realize, but Fort Mac is not like other cities, or towns for that matter. The economy is driven by the oil sands and the industry surrounding them. Men and women come in droves to work for a time, then commute back home for their time off. And the commuters are travelling from one end of the country to another (and this is a big country). There's also a large contingent of foreign workers, too.
There's big money to be made here, if you're in the oil and gas industry. If you're not, it can be difficult to keep yourself afloat. Living accommodations aren't tough to come by, but decent affordable housing is. Most residences have more than two people living in them and that goes for one bedroom apartments. I'm currently living in a house owned by one guy and he and I and one other boarder share the space. Of course we each have our own rooms and kitchen and laundry privileges, but if you're not used to sharing space with others, it can be a big adjustment.
The oil and gas workers have really tough schedules. Company buses come early to get those on day shift (usually between 4 and 5 in the morning) and the guys get home between 7:30 and 9 PM. Night shift is usually picked up around 5 PM and dropped off between 7 and 8 the next morning. 3 days on, then the net 3 nights on and 6 days off or some such similar schedule is the norm. Some guys work for 3 weeks straight then get a lump sum amount of time off. And I haven't even told you about the camps where a good number of workers are housed.
The town of Fort Mac is dirty. That's the only way to describe it. Even though it is in a beautiful part of the province and is an hour away from the nearest mining operations, the town seems to always be coated in a fine layer of dust. The mining operations move tons (literally) of earth every day and of course particles get carried away by the wind. And land in Fort Mac. That being said, the town is laid out fairly well, with a very decent public transit system. Green spaces abound with miles and miles of hiking/walking/cycling trails within the town. And there are several recreation facilities here with another one in the planning stages right now.
I think that after almost 3 weeks of being here, I would describe Fort McMurray as a machine. A borg, like in Star Trek: The Next Generation, only functioning when the individual people work together. That sounds slightly negative and I don't mean it to sound that way. Perhaps comparing it to an ant colony or beehive would be more appropriate, with all the workers heading off to the oil sands sites and the rest of us heading to the city centre to support them in our jobs.
Borg, beehive, or anthill. We're all just trying to make a living and keep well. And then there's me. I'm having another adventure...
S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-7271515427215652382013-11-09T19:15:00.002-08:002013-11-09T19:15:49.991-08:00I will have to just make this a quickie as my work schedule is a little crazy.
Yes, Fort McMurray (or should I say the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo) is cold. But so far I'm enjoying it, and they tell me that "I ain't seen nothin' yet" so my opinion could change.
I have been in frequent contact with the parental units since the move. And a few friends as well have reached out and kept me in the loop of happenings back home.
I haven't had a chance to check out the Alberta MS Society in any great detail yet, but there is apparently a chapter in my neck of the woods. So once I have found those folks, I'll get started on volunteer work. As well, by MS Bike Tour team will have to cycle on without me this year, at least in person. But I'm thinking of forming the Cycledelics -Fort Mac Chapter and maybe organizing a bike tour of my own this summer to coincide with the gang in Nova Scotia. If not, I have my bike and trainer with me so I could set up the bike and just pretend I'm doing the Valleys to Vineyards tour.
Two weeks ago I was at a Halloween party in Halifax. Now I'm at 57°N and a few thousand kilometres to the west of Nova Scotia in a boreal forest zone. Wow.
S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-72577701693842001532013-11-02T17:54:00.000-07:002013-11-02T17:54:05.280-07:00I'm BackHi there everyone! I'm back after quite a hiatus. A lot has happened in the past couple of years including a move to Northern Alberta for work reasons.
I am still relatively healthy and am embarking (or rather, I have embarked) on a new adventure. I have a laptop, my microscope, my bike, and fleece sheets. What more does a gal need? Oh, yeah...coffee...I have that, too.
The decision to pick and leave Nova Scotia was done very quickly. An opportunity presented itself, so I jumped at it. I was in shock the first two days but then on the third started to get excited about the move. And now, after being here less than a week, I believe it was the right thing to do.
So I am back in radio and did my first on air shift this morning. I'll be doing more writing and reporting than anything else, but do have the Weekend News Anchor position. It felt really good to put the headphones back on, that's for sure.
And I'm thinking about altering the title of this blog, but only a little bit. The municipality I am living in is Wood Buffalo. So what do you think about "Bugs, Bikes, Brains, and Buffalo"?
S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-8741693050112788512011-06-15T16:50:00.000-07:002011-06-15T17:14:39.118-07:00BIG Water BugDartmouth, Nova Scotia is often referred to as the City of Lakes. It has lots of them. Little ones, big ones, you name it, turn a corner and there’s another lake. This means there’s lots of really cool wildlife to check out any time you go for a walk or a bike ride in Dartmouth.<br /><br />Yesterday I decided to take my bike around Spectacle Lake which just happens to be in an industrial park. There had already been a bit of a trail laid down and some boardwalk over the wetter areas, but when I returned yesterday, I discovered that a little more has been developed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GshN7bmp0h8/TflIW28l9bI/AAAAAAAABiA/QPHe3ztPsm0/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GshN7bmp0h8/TflIW28l9bI/AAAAAAAABiA/QPHe3ztPsm0/s320/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618601567665386930" /></a><br /><br />I came across an excellent example of a constructed wetland. Natural wetlands are biofilters, helping to remove pollutants from water. A constructed wetland works in much the same way, as a natural filter of runoff water, storm drain discharge and a block to pollutants and garbage. On the top side of the trail is a rock hill,<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C_g5bJ8YG0s/TflImmJ1jaI/AAAAAAAABiI/4c0W261VQzE/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C_g5bJ8YG0s/TflImmJ1jaI/AAAAAAAABiI/4c0W261VQzE/s320/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618601838035439010" /></a><br /><br />on the bottom side of the trail is the constructed wetland with layers of rock, sand, and grasses and rushes. As well, bales of hay and a black “geotextile” (looks like a black tarp) are placed closer to the bottom of the wetland to catch bigger items and keep them from getting into the body of water the wetland is protecting. Very nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DN38mWIaOZE/TflI5szy_wI/AAAAAAAABiQ/bTo0_A2vgrw/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DN38mWIaOZE/TflI5szy_wI/AAAAAAAABiQ/bTo0_A2vgrw/s320/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618602166239559426" /></a><br /><br />Also on the trails through the park I came across a vigilant mama or papa osprey, the province’s official bird. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ac3AKskXmSc/TflJUyowH_I/AAAAAAAABiY/s6AqXcDbI8k/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ac3AKskXmSc/TflJUyowH_I/AAAAAAAABiY/s6AqXcDbI8k/s320/001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618602631660314610" /></a><br /><br />At this time of year, I’m on the lookout for trilliums and lady slippers. The trilliums are almost done, but the lady slippers are in full bloom and as an added bonus I came across a thick patch of pitcher plants. These are carnivorous plants that trap insects in their pitchers in order to boost their nutrient intake. Creepy but cool. While I was taking pictures of these flowers, movement caught my attention. There appeared to be a leaf moving on the surface of the water. Closer inspection revealed it to actually be a giant water bug! What a find! And it was huge, at least 4 inches long. I got a few good pictures of it and desperately wanted to take it home to put under the microscope to get a closer look, but with what would I catch the thing? I hadn’t taken my bug kit on the bike with me (it has everything I need to catch and safely hold bugs) and I didn’t dare try to pick the thing up with my bare hands. These guys bite and they bite hard. So there I am, lying on my tummy on the boardwalk, with my hand alternately reaching out then withdrawing as I debated my chances of catching this thing and getting it into my jacket pocket without getting bitten. Oy, what a dilemma. Over my shoulder, about 100 yards away is a construction crew working on the new RCMP regional headquarters and I know there’s a guy in the crane watching me and probably wondering what the heck I’m doing. I’m also thinking to myself that this bug could bite through my jacket into my side and I don’t want that to happen while I bike back to the car. So I left it. Yeah, I have to admit, this thing scared me a little bit. But I took pictures. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8bK-RBdGrM/TflJiAicOoI/AAAAAAAABig/djlqtgWdiRE/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8bK-RBdGrM/TflJiAicOoI/AAAAAAAABig/djlqtgWdiRE/s320/014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618602858730240642" /></a><br /><br />Interestingly enough, some water bugs carry around the eggs on their backs until they hatch. They’re good dads. My dad used to carry me around on his back until I hatched, too…..Happy Father's Day!<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-48645485183780723672011-06-14T03:57:00.000-07:002011-06-14T04:29:55.249-07:00Back to the BugsI may have gone a little overboard with my last post. Well, maybe not overboard so much as rambling. I get so excited about things that interest me, like the brain, and there's so much to know and learn, I get a little carried away.<br /><br />Anyway, I have been trying to find some cool bugs to show you. Many of us have seen these little clumps of baby spiders in cracks and crevices. They are another source of amusement for me. If you disturb the clump, the spiders disperse. This is a defense mechanism; if a predator, like a bird comes along, it is likely to get fewer of the spiders if they run away in different directions. When the danger passes, they come together again. A few days after the babies have hatched, they release a thread of silk and are carried away by the wind.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyePuuX56BA4K7oAlT1of2Uu7SwIQ7dF8MLWrNIVyjS-VzhQLfIx6PYyPISYIohjSFQOTezG_64e_3N0B17Ag' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />I found a crane fly larva the other day and took it home to look at more closely under the microscope. Crane flies look like daddy long legs, only with wings. The larvae live in the soil and can cause damage to grass and flower roots. When it rains, they surface, like earthworms, to avoid suffocation. And the birds have a feast. Anyway, if you look at the video closely, you can see the back end of this one and as an added bonus, there's a tiny beetle crawling around its butt. <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxzJol601creKyEXP-itDRtxx5m1LcUQ830_86HC1WqFLqiNRmN1lYAZmL_81wGrpaPqXXTBpktCmz3oA5dlQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />I came across some wild blue flag iris when the Wookie and I were on a Sunday drive and a few weeks ago we came across a small family of Canada geese. I rarely see these magnificent birds in this part of the world. The geese land an hour north of me as a rule, so when I do see them, they're on their way to and from their summer homes, too high in the air to get a decent picture.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8puOhw6jkLE/TfdC93_HTPI/AAAAAAAABhI/xB-L2hCC3jQ/s1600/028.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8puOhw6jkLE/TfdC93_HTPI/AAAAAAAABhI/xB-L2hCC3jQ/s320/028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618032690936106226" border="0"></a><br /><br />On the biking front, I'm trying to get physically ready for the bike tour, which is coming up July 23 and 24. 10 k is my max so far, since the weather has been so crappy<br />it's really hard to get out. I can walk or hike in anything, but it's more dangerous cycling so prefer days that aren't raining. We've had an extraordinarily wet spring. <br />Of course, my fund raising is underway. Feel free to contribute by clicking on the link on the right. One of my instructors this past year is also doing the Bike Tour. I have to admit that my highest mark last semester was in his class. Blair rides for another team, but once he sees how much fun the Cycledelics have, I may be able to convince him to cross over to the dark side. <br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-75301161062577353522011-05-25T19:08:00.000-07:002011-05-25T19:11:48.583-07:00Jedi Mind Tricks? Or Placebo Effect?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xxwfv66VneI/Td22TL753kI/AAAAAAAABg8/5Blq3Gb_B4g/s1600/jedi%252Bmind%252Btricks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xxwfv66VneI/Td22TL753kI/AAAAAAAABg8/5Blq3Gb_B4g/s320/jedi%252Bmind%252Btricks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610841151511322178" /></a><br /><br />Our brains are the most complex living machine on the planet. They receive coordinated feedback from all the senses in order to determine what is going on around the body. Sometimes they cope well, but other times, they’re pretty screwed up. Our brains are easily fooled, mostly when the feedback from all the senses is not coordinated.<br /><br />You’ve probably heard of phantom limb syndrome, a really interesting phenomena that occurs after a limb is amputated. The affected person feels pain in the missing limb. Well, actually, it’s the brain telling the person that there’s pain in the affected limb. No amount of telling yourself there’s no limb, hence no pain, will change your feeling of pain. (In his book Phantoms of the Brain, Dr. Ramashandran describes a simple technique to relieve this common problem for amputees)<br />You’ve probably heard of false memory syndrome as well. Maybe someone has told you a story about when you were a kid that you don’t recall, but the more the story is told to you, the better you can remember it – even if it never happened. It explains the dearth of “I was abused by a Satanic ritual club” stories in the 80s.<br />People are biased. They see information and will interpret it based on their pre-existing views. “If we believe something about the world, we are more likely to passively accept as truth any information that confirms our beliefs, and actively dismiss information that doesn’t. This is known as “motivated reasoning.” Whether or not the consistent information is accurate, we might accept it as fact, as confirmation of our beliefs. This makes us more confident in said beliefs, and even less likely to entertain facts that contradict them.” (Joe Keohane, How Facts Backfire –Boston Globe, online edition, June, 2010) Why else would a mountain of scientific evidence and admissions of falsifying evidence still not cause people to change their minds about the vaccine/autism connection?<br /><br />These are just a few of the many ways our minds can play tricks on us. Not all tricks are bad; some are pretty cool, actually (especially those visual illusion ones, you know, is it a vase or two people?). And we have an enormous capacity to learn. Those two things combine to allow us to deal with any number of difficult situations, physical or mental.<br /><br />In the case of phantom limb syndrome, Dr. Ramashandran had patients sit with the intact limb facing a mirror so it appeared the patient had two intact limbs. Just seeing a “normal” appearing limb and feeling an unpainful limb where they knew there shouldn’t be one because of the amputation was enough to lessen or remove the pain from the phantom limb. The patients knew they still had a missing limb, and they knew that what they saw was a mirror image of their intact limb, yet their brain saw two intact, healthy limbs. Nifty, eh? So the patients had a relatively easy way to relieve a common and painful condition, just by fooling their brains.<br /><br />There was an episode of MASH a number of years ago that left a big impression on me. In this episode, the medical unit was very low on painkillers for soldiers recovering after surgery. They were awaiting fresh supplies, but in the meantime, they had to ration what little they had and come up with a creative way of dealing with what was very real pain for the patients. The doctors had a meeting and came up with the idea of using a placebo. They would tell the recovering patients that they were trying a new painkiller medication, but it was so powerful that it could only be given in small doses. They were actually administering sugar pills, a placebo. It worked for most of the patients. I realize that this was a TV show but it demonstrated what has long been known about placebos. We can use them to fool our brains. <br /><br />A placebo effect is an action unanticipated by theory or known scientific data. It is a well-documented and expected part of scientific research. They are many factors involved in the effectiveness of a placebo. The relationship between the patient and the caregiver and the patient’s expectancies of the effectiveness of the treatment are two of the more important ones. In university I recall a paper I wrote about the effects of LSD on human behaviour. People who had “bad” trips on LSD were anxious about their reaction to the drug before they took it or they didn’t know they were being given the drug. People who had “good” trips, had a different outlook before they took the drug. They were looking forward to the mind altering experience and expected it to be a pleasant one. This demonstrated to me (and others), that a person’s perception of what might happen was very important for the drug to be effective in a positive way. If perception was positive, so was the experience. If the perception was negative, so was the experience.<br /><br />All of this to say that perception and attitude are two of the biggest determining factors in a placebo effect and in how someone will deal with what happens to them in life. You’ve heard the term “think positive”. You’ve met people whose mindset is one of positivity. They’re the ones who find the silver lining in every cloud, the ones who make lemonade when life hands them lemons. The ones who get on our nerves. (And yes, I am usually one of those people – but not always)<br />The positive ones trust the people they surround themselves with – because they surround themselves with only people they can trust. Like doctors or caregivers. Or spouses. You get the idea. They have a good relationship with their health care professional and they have a positive attitude. They are perhaps more likely to follow health care advice in general and do so with a smile on their face. They are compliant with medication and look at side effects as a minor inconvenience or perhaps a sign that the meds are working. They get better, or live longer, or seem happier than the patients with negative attitudes.<br /> <br />Remember all the hoopla around the book, The Secret? Positive thinking was all it was about. It was Norman Vincent Peale but without all the God stuff. Norman Vincent Peal was a little ahead of his time. He had described cognitive behavioural therapy (albeit on a religious level) long before the therapy was developed. CBT is highly effective for people motivated to change their way of thinking and their behaviour. By changing your thought processes, you can change your behaviour. Think positive! Sounds simple doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s a lot of hard work, but it can be done. One simple example: someone compliments you on what you are wearing. Do you smile and say Thank you? Or do you frown and say This old thing? The first response is the one that gives you a lift because someone noticed that new sweater and it gives the complimenter a lift when you acknowledge it. You have just exchanged gifts. The second response is a put down to the complimenter, suggesting their taste isn’t all that great and you have made them feel bad by implying it. See if that person ever compliments you again.<br /> <br />Let’s go back to the placebo effect. Surround someone with lots of people and outings for them to go to where they have been limited before because of their illness. They’re moving around, talking and engaging with people, they’re the centre of attention for a while, they’re the focus of a bunch of people fundraising for their “treatment” that the bad ole government won’t pay for. Have them watch videos on Youtube about others who’ve had the same treatment and see how well they are now. Now send them to a foreign country, give them a treatment and tell them it might “liberate” them, where nothing else has worked well before.<br /><br />Many of these folks have been isolated because of their illness or their attitude about their illness. They are not active because of their illness or their attitude. A bunch of anecdotes showing them that this treatment will work increases their expectations that it will work. And so it appears to work. This is what the doctors mean by placebo effect. As you can see there are a number of things happening, from expectations, to simple want, to bias. <br /><br />I spoke with a health care provider last year and she told me a neurologist she once spoke with told her he estimated 25% of his MS patients in wheelchairs, didn’t need to be in them. Their attitude is what kept them in the chairs. “I have MS. My life is over. Woe is me.” That’s what I mean by attitude. <br /><br />I’m not sure if this post helps you understand the placebo effect and why some drugs or treatments can appear to work. I found an enormous amount of really interesting stuff on the brain and how it’s fooled, on the placebo effect in general, and why it is expected to occur as part of scientific studies. I could have written for a couple of more days about the topic, but instead, I’ll suggest you type How does your mind play tricks on you? into Google and do a search.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-40154116607606663442011-05-19T00:37:00.000-07:002011-05-19T00:45:15.864-07:00A Mother's LoveTwo weeks ago, several of us from the SRA carefully placed 63 salmon in two spots on the Sackville River. These were about 2-3 pounds each so they were a couple of years old. We had to transport them in a truck and then have them fished out of their tanks and ferried one or two at a time in a rubber sleeve to the river itself. Kind of like a relay race.<br /><br />Last week we put 80,000 salmon fry all over the watershed in about a dozen brooks and streams. They were only about an inch or two long, having just exhausted their nutrition from their yolk sacs. This time a truck with one tank came with us. In the tank were several square shaped buckets with the babies in them. The driver would scoop out a bunch and put them in another bucket for us to carry to the stream and we’d let them go. Lots of fun.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nXDq4sbMVqU/TdTJImN5oLI/AAAAAAAABgk/0-qZbeFUQZU/s1600/May%2B2011%2B004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nXDq4sbMVqU/TdTJImN5oLI/AAAAAAAABgk/0-qZbeFUQZU/s320/May%2B2011%2B004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608328585518096562" /></a><br /><br />We’ve had almost a month of rain in Nova Scotia. If it wasn’t pouring it was drizzly. And damp. And cold. That didn’t keep me from walking or hiking, but it did make it near impossible for me to take the bike out. Normally the weather won’t prevent me from biking, but I just couldn’t do it this time. The rain stopped today, we saw the sun for the first time in weeks and tomorrow should be all right as well, so the tires are filled with air (I pumped it myself) and I’m ready for a 4 k ride to start.<br /><br />With the wet weather, the bugs have held off, too. Except for those blasted red lily beetles that enjoy my ornamental lilies. The moths have begun to emerge and the bees are flitting around like they’re on speed. Not on speed was this critter. Snails are kind of gross, but still fascinating. Sooooooooooooo slow…………..and with two sets of thingies sticking out of their head they look pretty alien. The longer tentacles have eyes on them, the shorter ones are for sensory activites, like smelling and feeling.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3uTAqtoamc/TdTJqyeNqpI/AAAAAAAABgs/6GLwHrYrGAY/s1600/snail%2B003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3uTAqtoamc/TdTJqyeNqpI/AAAAAAAABgs/6GLwHrYrGAY/s320/snail%2B003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608329172923296402" /></a><br /> <br />For some reason I seem to come across animal poop in all forms and places. Today was no exception. The snail proceeded to poop before my eyes. Looking up more info on these things, I discovered that when a snail lays eggs in the ground it covers them with dirt, mucous, and then POOP. A mother’s love, eh? <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ycceCKFpreE/TdTJrdumRVI/AAAAAAAABg0/at9eLXQO9gs/s1600/snail%2B007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ycceCKFpreE/TdTJrdumRVI/AAAAAAAABg0/at9eLXQO9gs/s320/snail%2B007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608329184534742354" /></a><br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-68226538651403242822011-05-16T17:14:00.000-07:002011-05-16T17:21:44.593-07:00The Importance of Clinical TrialsBloodletting as a medical treatment has been around for over 2000 years. The ancients believed that the human body was controlled by and contained 4 “humors”. These were black and yellow bile, phlegm and blood. While we still do look at the colour and consistency of some of these “humors” to help diagnose conditions (think of your runny nose during a cold vs. during an allergy attack), we do not depend on Humorism as a method of medical practice.<br /> <br />For the 2000 years that bloodletting was common, sometimes it worked, most times it didn’t. The physicians of the day believed that relieving an ailing body of some or a lot of its sanguine humor(blood) would cure the patient of whatever ailed him. It wasn’t until the 1800s, when a French doctor conducted what is considered the first clinical trial, that the practice of bloodletting as a cure or treatment was disproved.<br /><br />To be fair, for a few people who have an iron overload because of a genetic condition, bloodletting allows them to live normal lives. Leeches, used for years as a bloodletting tool, are used in some surgeries to prevent clotting of some tiny blood vessels. So there is a use for bloodletting, in controlled and very well defined situations.<br /><br />Before there were clinical trials, belief and experience were the bases of medical treatment. Let’s look at this in the context of multiple sclerosis:<br /><br />- We know that the natural history of MS is one of relapse and remission with and without treatment. That’s the way this disease works for the majority of us. (In my case, my first attack was treated with IV steroids, then pill form for two weeks – I eventually gained back about 97% of what the initial attack caused me to temporarily lose.)<br /><br />- People seek help from their doctor when they’re at their worst. We don’t go to the doc for a tingly finger, but if the whole side of our body is numb, we go in pretty fast, even though both may be symptoms of a relapse. Sometimes we aren’t even aware we had a relapse(or attack) until months or years later when we recall “that time my finger was asleep for three days” - this is precisely what happened to me; two months before going to the doctor because of increasing weakness on my right side, I had a tingly finger for three days, but I didn’t recall it until two years later when wondering if I had earlier symptoms of MS than January 1998.<br /><br />- People, both patients and doctors, have a strong sense of hope and look for positive results with treatment.<br /><br />- Placebo response – this is such an important topic, I will be spending an entire blog post on it.<br /><br />- The power of anecdotes is amazingly strong and it is the lowest level of evidence. Again, I’ll have to spend an entire blog post on this one.<br /><br />One of the many early treatments for MS was strychnine (!) After all, in small doses, it was a stimulant; anyone with MS fatigue knows what a stimulant can help us accomplish. As well, application of severe and prolonged cold wraps then blasting with cold water (that’ll get me up and moving for sure, if only to get away from the treatment), inducing fevers to rid the body of toxins , other poisons like arsenic and mercury, and electrical stimulation were all treatments for MS at some point in time. After receiving any or all of these treatments, some people with MS got better and some didn’t. I would like to suggest that those who got better did so in spite of their treatment. That’s the natural history of MS. (Remember the adage for the common cold? A cold will last 7 days if you do nothing, a week if you treat it.)<br />Doctors, in general, want to help their patients. Both are invested in the patient’s improving condition. We all (docs and patients) hope that we’ll get over our cold if we go to bed with chicken soup and apple juice and acetaminophen for aches. We all hope a round of steroids will improve our current attack of MS or that by taking a long term disease modifying drug the attack won’t last as long or be as damaging. If there is some improvement we, both docs and patients attribute it to the course of treatment (and not the alignment of the planets that week).<br /><br />The jury is still out on chicken soup as a cure or treatment for the common cold (is it the warm steam from the soup that helps clear your sinuses, is there some nutritional factor in the soup needed to fight a cold, would drinking any hot beverage do the same thing by keeping us hydrated), but some clinical trials have been undertaken to answer these questions. The jury is in on the current batch of disease modifying drugs for MS, though. Years of research and clinical trials have been undertaken that show these drugs are effective. Yes, some people don’t do well on these DMDs, others can’t or won’t tolerate the side effects or taking a needle every day or a couple of times a week or even once a week (MS patient compliance with treatment is a big topic for docs and researchers in this field). Some current research is looking at an individual’s genetic make-up and blood chemistry response to a DMD to find out who is most likely to benefit from a certain treatment (I should know, as they continue to receive samples of my blood for this reason). My point is that we wouldn’t be at this stage in the treatment of MS without clinical trials. 20 years ago, there was nothing to offer an MS patient except hope that something would be developed or discovered soon.<br /><br />Hopefully you have a better understanding of the importance of clinical trials. Our limited and biased beliefs and experiences simply can't substitute for clinical trials. They are part of what we call evidence based medicine or evidence based practice. There are levels of evidence of which I mentioned anecdotal earlier. It is the lowest level of evidence. It has not been tested or studied enough. Ethics, cost, design of studies, and the number of participants are all factors that contribute to determining the level of evidence. And so, another topic in which to delve in greater detail in the near future.<br /><br />S.<br />PS: Much of this blog post was inspired by the lecture by Dr. T.J. Murray earlier this week. So a tip of the hat to my good doctor.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-26535240670158884622011-05-15T03:58:00.000-07:002011-05-15T03:59:36.891-07:00Still HereHey everybody! I’m still here. I finished up my first year of studies last month and have been trying to catch up on sleep and rest. I’m afraid that it took more out of me physically than I had anticipated. Looking back, I sometimes wonder how I kept going. <br /><br />There’s not a lot new going on. I will spend the summer on a few projects both at the building and at the Sackville Rivers Association (SRA) office. I’m looking forward to starting up again in September to learn more stuff.<br />I did accept a (volunteer) position on the Board of Directors for the SRA. I hate meetings of more than two people, but hopefully these guys have agendas. If not, they WILL have them from now on. I went into the office recently only to discover that our dear leader, Walter, had been ordered by the fire department to do some “clean up” of all the papers on the walls and in storage. So I’ve begun the daunting task, along with my new best friend, Melissa (from school), of sorting through 20 plus years of paperwork. We need a database of all the info we’ve gathered over the years related to the river, the watershed, acid rain, etc….Apparently there is some sort of one somewhere already, but it’s probably buried underneath all the paperwork. Now that I have the basics to do database on the computer, I think we’ll have a better shot of building something everyone can use and have access to.<br /><br />And of course, the CCSVI saga continues. I went to a most interesting lecture the other night, presented by neurologists and a neurology physician assistant. Are you interested in learning about why we need clinical trials? How long it takes for a drug or treatment to reach the general public? Why we shouldn’t be jumping on the CCSVI bandwagon? Then stay tuned dear readers as I have the answers.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-90969226347055317602010-12-13T03:03:00.000-08:002010-12-13T03:05:09.753-08:00Finally An UpdateSo I have been amazingly busy since I last wrote. Schoolwork will do that to you. However, the semester is winding down and I have time actually sit and write (or type) something other than an Economics paper.<br /><br />I also have a new reader who has been nagging me for something new for awhile now, so Erin, quit bugging me.<br /><br />I have to admit that the past few months have been great for my mind, but not my waist. I am hungry all the time. I can only attribute that to the amount of knowledge my brain is trying to process. It uses up a lot of fuel, you know, and I am craving carbs like nobody’s business. I remember being like this in university. Anyway, the point is that the more I do mentally, the hungrier I get. That’s one of the more interesting side effects of school. <br /><br />A less interesting side effect, is the fatigue. I have begun taking amantadine once or twice a week to battle the fatigue that hits me. I’m good for most of the day, except on a couple of really heavy days. Our classes range from an hour to two hours long, and sitting all that time, sometimes in the dark while watching a powerpoint lesson, can just drain me of the energy needed to sit up straight. I have to admit to having availed myself of the couches scattered around the building for a rest. But I’m not the only one.<br /><br />Around October, I realized that I was not going to get through accounting without some back up. It just wasn’t sinking in, so I, and several others, actually, requested a tutor. Sadly, they were swamped with those requests and it was several weeks before one of my classmates and I managed to snag one. She’s great and we’re both back on track. I had begun to think that maybe I shouldn’t concentrate on accounting my second year, which was my plan from the beginning. The whole point of going back to school to begin with, anyway. But, as I mentioned, I’m back on track. And who knew bank reconciliations could be so much fun? They’re like big puzzles. <br /><br />Economics was an absolute blast. The instructor we had was so good, that the subject I dreaded the most has turned out to be the one I learned the most from and enjoyed the most. I actually pay attention to the business news now and read that section of the paper. <br /><br />Marketing has been interesting, usually. I did take marketing in university (when dinosaurs roamed the planet), and having worked in media, especially promotions and advertising, has been an advantage for me. I had actually thought about a career in marketing 25 years ago, but never pursued that line. If I did follow that path today, it would be in research. <br /><br />I was also in a computer course. Those of you who know me, know that I am technologically inept. Yes, I can e-mail, and I write a blog online, and I can download my pictures, but I really didn’t understand all that I was doing. I still don’t understand it all, but I have a better idea of what this process is. And my confidence level in my computing abilities has gone up 100%. For one of my Economics projects, I had the Wookie video an interview I did with a farmer about the economics of farming. The Wookie downloaded the video and I edited the thing myself. I threw in titles and script and even had a few outtakes at the end. I impressed the crap outta myself with that one. I’m throwing stuff on thumb drives, using tabs properly, and all the usual stuff folks take for granted who do this on a regular basis. Next semester we get into spreadsheets and databases (woo hoo!).<br /><br />The Communications course I am taking has to be the least interesting of the bunch. I am learning a few things as far as grammar goes (I can tell the difference between infinitive phrases and verb phrases for instance), but so far I am not really getting too much out of this one. Maybe things will heat up in January. I hope so.<br /><br />That leaves math, one of my strongest subjects. But now, all that algebra I learned in high school has a real life application. It only took 30 years to discover what that application is. But at least I now know it. Our instructor is really good and is also a grad of my alma matter, albeit 10 years before me. <br /><br />So that’s life on the academic front. On the home front, the Wookie has been really good. On my busier days, he gets dinner ready. And the poor man has had to listen to me go on ad nauseum about all subjects until I work out what I’m trying to understand. Which has led to the discovery that if I can talk it out, I can understand it better. Who knew? Apparently, the Wookie. He was the one who brought it to my attention.<br /><br />I have also discovered that the dollar store reading glasses are great. Turns out, not only am I near sighted, but need stronger bifocals than what I have on my lenses now. Which leads me to the question, “If I’m near sighted, why can’t I read the numbers in my math book or the nutritional labels on cans?” One of life’s paradoxes I guess.<br /><br />On the MS front, things are well, except for the fatigue, but I’ve already discussed that. I have had a few people ask me about the subject of CCSVI and I try to enlighten them about what the theory is and why the MS Society hasn’t jumped all over it the way a number of people want them to. Again, I will say, there is no SCIENTIFIC evidence yet to support the theory that narrowing of the neck veins has anything to do with MS. There are current studies under way to determine if there is a connection. If one is found, the MS Society of Canada and the National MS Society in the US will look closer at possible clinical trials. In the meantime, some people will continue to have good, bad, and indifferent results with the treatment. Remember, too, folks, I have been on Avonex for 11 years, with only one attack in all that time. Avonex is working for me, so if it ain’t broke, as they say, don’t fix it. I will not undergo an experimental treatment that in my mind, makes little sense to the mechanics of MS. Remember, too, that I am part of an ongoing study, where my blood is tested regularly to examine the role my personal biology plays in the effectiveness of Avonex. I have also been recently informed that a follow up study is soon to get under way of those of us in the initial CHAMPS study for Avonex to see how it’s working long term.<br /><br />I was saddened, but not surprised, to learn of the death of a Canadian man who underwent the treatment for CCSVI, then received a stent to keep his veins open, which probably led to his passing. I abhor the fact that this disease can make some people so desperate for a treatment they risk their lives. This simply reinforces my feeling that we must continue to raise funds for research and treatment, we must continue to educate the public about this disease, and we must continue to take care of those less physically able than ourselves. I urge any and all MS patients and their loved ones to continue to spread the word about MS, to take any opportunity to educate others about MS, and to keep the faith - we will end MS.<br /><br />S.<br /><br />PS: Next time, I’ll post some pics.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-86065836853571167952010-10-02T04:18:00.000-07:002010-10-06T21:16:11.756-07:00Another AdventureLast Sunday morning, the Wookie and I joined 4 other volunteers from the Sackville Rivers Association to do a species survey of a brook in the Sackville watershed. It involved driving to a spot on the highway, about 10 k from Sackville, hiking about a kilometre into the woods, donning insulated chest waders, and insulated gloves, then elctro-fishing a section of the brook. Colin led the way with the electro-fishing zapper (I'm afraid I don't know the technical name for it), Will was right beside him to scoop anything that surfaced, and Gwen and I took up the rear with a net across the width of the brook to catch anything that got by Colin or Will. It took an hour to travel up stream a few hundred metres. Phew!<br /><br />The zapper emits an electrical field that once a fish enters results in it getting a stun. Cool. The zapper is quite the device, really, and apparently quite expensive. The TD Bank gave us $10,000 to go towards its purchase - thanks TD Bank! Anyway, we were able to scoop up the stunned fish and put them in a bucket for identification and measurement after we got to the lake from which the brook emerges. We caught a couple of trout, several small mouth bass (which we don't like - they're an invasive species in this watershed), and many eels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVlc7w4OI/AAAAAAAABgU/KFUDJdkyQSc/s1600/IMGP1895-web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVlc7w4OI/AAAAAAAABgU/KFUDJdkyQSc/s320/IMGP1895-web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523407201159405794" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVlaaZtpI/AAAAAAAABgM/Z3Yxlhw9DSg/s1600/IMGP1897-web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVlaaZtpI/AAAAAAAABgM/Z3Yxlhw9DSg/s320/IMGP1897-web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523407200482604690" /></a><br />All the info we gather on these types of outings help us determine what part of the watershed perhaps needs human intervention in the form of clean up, un-straightening of the flow of water (remember, we want it to meander, not flow in a straight line), and placement of digger logs and sills (to better oxygenate the water and provide shelter and cooler spots for the fish). It also can give us an idea of the fish species population. And all this information can help us to get funding for various projects.<br /><br />Small mouth bass are aggressive fish and will destroy other populations. It's not a good sign when you find them. Finding a few trout today was a good sign, though, and the eel population is quite good, too. Colin's field of study concentrated on the American eel, an amazing animal few people understand. Eels hatch in the Sargasso Sea. They find their way all over North and Central America where they enter bodies of fresh water. Once they reach maturity (4-20 years), they swim down stream to the ocean, and back to the Sargasso Sea where they spawn and die.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVlDzNP-I/AAAAAAAABgE/ljVlNBfcvnc/s1600/IMGP1910-web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVlDzNP-I/AAAAAAAABgE/ljVlNBfcvnc/s320/IMGP1910-web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523407194412629986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVk-4xJYI/AAAAAAAABf8/t8mZNr7yMws/s1600/IMGP1935-web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVk-4xJYI/AAAAAAAABf8/t8mZNr7yMws/s320/IMGP1935-web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523407193093776770" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVkb6JBaI/AAAAAAAABf0/iwqFMhL8FtI/s1600/IMGP1939-web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TKcVkb6JBaI/AAAAAAAABf0/iwqFMhL8FtI/s320/IMGP1939-web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523407183704294818" <br />/></a><br />And we even found a couple of frogs (accidently zapped while we were electro-fishing). After a few seconds they were ok and they swam off to a safer place. On the hike back to the highway, the Wookie pointed out what he thought was a frog on the side of the very mucky and puddle covered road. Against my better judgement, I decided to go the route he was taking so I could see the frog. I was back in my sneakers by this point in time, carrying the chest waders and other gear we had used in the field. One wrong step and my left foot landed in a puddle of muck, leaves, and water. But I did get to see the creature identified as a frog, even though it turned out to be a toad. All in all it was a good adventure. <br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-4005966428131543212010-09-16T16:01:00.000-07:002010-09-16T16:04:03.034-07:00The Learning Has BegunAlmost two weeks into my return to school and I finally have a few moments to post an entry. I am so impressed with the whole process that the Nova Scotia Community College has arranged; they have made it so easy to get through the usual red tape that this sort of thing involves. Although, as I think about it now, the efficient use of information technology is probably what has made the process simpler to navigate, even for those of us who are technologically challenged.<br /><br />The campus I am attending is about a half hour drive away from where I live. It is situated in Dartmouth, along the waterfront, with a phenomenal view of the harbour and Halifax on the other side. If you're outside at noon, you can hear the firing of the noon cannon from the Halifax Citadel. On foggy days, you can hear the harbour fog horns signaling to the sea going ships. I can also see Theodore Tugboat tied up at a dock directly across the harbour (for those of you with small children, you may be aware of this children's TV character). The grounds themselves are attractive, with walking paths and lots of greenery. <br /><br />Parking is at a premium and as the college is trying to get "green" certification, they are not really doing too much about it. There are shuttle buses available from a couple of parking lots off site which definitely assists those of us with a finite amount of available energy for walking.<br /><br />So far, the staff I've met have been warm, welcoming, and helpful. This applies to teaching staff and maintenance personnel alike. I already knew a couple of the instructors and I have run into a few other people I knew from other parts of my life, including a gal who works at the local coffee shop, a former MS Society employee, and a former co-worker. A funny thing happened on the second day when a young man, Shane, sat next to me in class. As we were talking I realized he is the son of a man with whom I attended junior high school and recently renewed my acquaintance. I also ran into a young woman I had mentored at the radio station a couple of years ago, Jessica. She is now in the paralegal program at the college.<br /><br />I am not the oldest student in my class, but close to it. I wasn't feeling old until I met Shane on day two. And then yesterday, when our marketing instructor asked for an example of an aggressive salesman, I volunteered "Herb Tarlick". The silence was deafening. Not one student in the class was familiar with this character from WKRP in Cincinnati. At least the instructor knew who I was talking about. <br /><br />The one class I was dreading was economics. However, the instructor is energetic, interesting, charismatic, and he just loves teaching. he also appears to be a fan (or at least has read) Malcolm Gladwell, whose books I have consumed in the past year. I am now looking forward to this class. <br /><br />I was doing math homework last night and it was like I was back in grade 10. I loved doing it. A blank piece of paper, a pencil, and a calculator, and I was in my glory. Some of it was a little difficult as I couldn't recall a few basic things about fractions, but I managed to complete it. The Wookie assisted me in recalling those basics this evening and the light went on above my head. I love that feeling.<br /><br />I will take my camera to school tomorrow so I can post some pictures on the weekend. This is going to be fun.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-56597880553596324142010-09-03T06:37:00.000-07:002010-09-03T06:38:12.337-07:00Back to School As a 47 Year OldAt a recent river restoration outing (we were clearing river rocks and silt from below a digger log to form a deeper pool for the fish), I was speaking with a fellow volunteer about going back to school. He was saying that it can be a difficult thing to be in a classroom again after so much time. Not for me, I don't think. My mother took courses all the time I was in school, and when I was 13 she began a degree program. (I used to go with her to classes and labs when I was off from school myself) She finished a 4 year program in 3 years by taking courses during the summer. A little over 20 years ago, my dad took a computer course at the local technical university (I got him a lunch box, crayons, an eraser, and other "supplies" as a joke). Over the years, I have taken the odd course (Russian being one of them) and while some of it was a little tedious, I enjoyed the majority of my time in class.<br /><br />Several years ago, I became a volunteer tutor with a literacy group, tutoring adults (mostly at the GED level) in a one on one situation. The best part of that was watching the light bulb go on above their heads when they had that "aha!" moment - math was especially fun. I'm looking forward to my own "aha!" moments. And when speaking with my fellow river volunteer, I told him I was looking forward to feeding off the energy of my fellow classmates. Kids in their early 20s have so much energy and excitement, especially in a learning environment, that I suspect it will be a tremendous motivator and aid for me.<br /><br />I was speaking with the mayor of Halifax a little while ago and telling him about going back to school. He also took some courses recently and said it's a different experience when you're a grown-up. I told him (and my folks) it'll be easier for me in one way, as I don't have two teenagers, and all that angst, as a distraction.<br /><br />Yesterday, I went to get my school ID and parking pass, and then went to sign all the official papers with the government agency who are aiding my return to school. I have had the example of lifelong learning all of my 47 years. I have the support of the Wookie and my folks and friends. I even have some support from the government. I'm ready for school! Now to survive the arrival of hurricane Earl overnight tonight.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-15042403272066297722010-08-20T15:22:00.000-07:002010-08-20T16:15:23.526-07:00School and Learnin' StuffThe summer is beginning to wind down and the kids are getting ready for back to school. Me, too. I start at the community college September 7th now that everything is settled. I finally got confirmation of funding this week and am doing the last few things required of me by the government. It has been a long drawn out process with a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth (mostly on my part, but I'm sure a little bit on theirs, too).<br /><br />The gig at the radio station didn't work out as was becoming quite apparent in my last two weeks there. I gave them my notice after they hired someone else. Just as well, to be honest, as these folks were not to be trusted. There was such a culture of defeat in that office, with folks working for just above minimum wage, and the lack of communication between departments, I'm surprised they are still in business. They do have the worst reputation in the business and now I know why.<br /><br />So this week, I have been "supervising" the installation of new windows on the first floor. The building is keeping me busy.<br /><br />The Wookie and I went to his step sister's wedding two weeks ago. It was absolutely wonderful, in a spectacular location, and the bride and groom were just gorgeous and beaming. The two of them will make a great tag team, as both are med students with an interest in global health issues and a penchant for travel. I have said that I suspect the new Mrs. Doc will one day head the WHO (I don't know Mr. Doc as well, but imagine he'll be right up there with her). And the Wookie's half sister, who was the maid of honour, did her job perfectly, looking like a million bucks at the same time. I'm not sure what the maid of honour's plans are for the future, as she has had an interest in criminology in the recent past, but I haven't spoken with her about it for a while. (I will probably refer to her as Miss CSI until informed otherwise)<br /><br />The bugs are alive and well in the neighbourhood. I have found a good number of creepy crawlies around, sometimes taking them inside for a photo shoot, then back to the wilds of the garden. A chartreuse crab spider has taken up residence in a tall white flower that smells like lily of the valley. I discovered it by accident as I leaned over to smell the newly opened blossoms and it insolently reared up on two sets of back legs with the two sets of front legs raised in an offensive position. OK, it was really defensive, but these spiders are so small, I laugh every time they do this, and imagine it's an act of bravado rather than instinct (like they could really fight off a predator as large as myself - confidence is everything I guess).<br /><br />On the CCSVI front, my former boss is scheduled to go to Mexico for the treatment. The Nova Scotia government, taking a cue from other provinces has said it's interested in partly funding clinical trials if the federal government steps in. The Wookie and I are at a slight disagreement over this recent announcement, but it's more about semantics. The message I got was that the province is interested in clinical trials of the procedure, whereas he got the message that the government is interested in research in the broad sense. I do not want to see trials of the procedure until it's been demonstrated that a clear and defined link exists between CCSVI and MS. <br /><br />That opinion will make me unpopular with all the folks who are demanding government action. Even Dr. Zamboni has been telling folks to wait for more research before going for the procedure. But as I have explained to people ad nauseum, if I thought there was anything to this treatment I would have had it already. I will not rely on anecdotal evidence to dictate medical treatment of any condition I may have and I cannot support others in seeking out this treatment. I do not wish anyone any harm and hope that they can gain some relief.<br /><br />Here's a question to ponder: how many people are disabled by the thought of MS? There are some folks out there, who, when given the diagnosis of a chronic disabling condition, sit down and give up. Over time, depression leads to inactivity, which leads to fatigue, which leads to disability. They essentially give up on life in general and allow others to look after them. This topic has been on my mind for a while. I have met folks over the years who love to play the "poor me" card. I'd love to know how many of those folks are going for the "liberation" treatment instead of living a healthy lifestyle (that includes movement). <br /><br />CCSVI may be a red herring. Or it may be the key to it all. Whatever it turns out to be, further research is on the agenda. I'm just sad that folks are so desperate they are jumping on this bandwagon like the "vaccines cause autism" lobby did. Even in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary, that group continued to believe what they believed. I'm afraid that this is what may happen to the believers in this group.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-977457475247918412010-08-06T17:29:00.000-07:002010-08-06T17:41:28.020-07:00Pictures (Finally!)As promised, some pics:<br /><br />First a mosquito larva at 10 times magnification:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypgLGQu5I/AAAAAAAABfk/TTSIl4bMeFY/s1600/mos.+lar.+x+60.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypgLGQu5I/AAAAAAAABfk/TTSIl4bMeFY/s320/mos.+lar.+x+60.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502459214939863954" /></a><br /><br />Now a little stag beetle (of which there are many species and sizes). The pinchers are actually used for wrestling other male stag beetles, if it comes to that. Generally, though, they're more for show than anything, as a stag beetle with smaller pinchers will cede to the one with the larger pinchers. This pic is also 10 times magnification and is lit from the bottom so you get a better idea of the shape of it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypf7ED98I/AAAAAAAABfc/daaqll64UrU/s1600/stag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypf7ED98I/AAAAAAAABfc/daaqll64UrU/s320/stag.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502459210635671490" /></a><br /><br />From one of my CSI: Bug files is this wing of a small fly that had fallen prey to a spider. As I was moving it around under the microscope lens, light was being refracted most beautifully. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypfnPU03I/AAAAAAAABfU/VzlOZOOv-Lw/s1600/dead+fly+wing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypfnPU03I/AAAAAAAABfU/VzlOZOOv-Lw/s320/dead+fly+wing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502459205314204530" /></a><br /><br />And finally, a couple of pictures of the team (without me, I'm afraid - I had already been riding for an hour when the rest of them got to the start). See why we took home the Best Dressed title?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypKMe2DYI/AAAAAAAABfM/D_yghe30HkU/s1600/DSCF0902.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFypKMe2DYI/AAAAAAAABfM/D_yghe30HkU/s320/DSCF0902.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502458837354286466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFyo-rrmwNI/AAAAAAAABfE/6AX8kd7ejU4/s1600/DSCF0875.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TFyo-rrmwNI/AAAAAAAABfE/6AX8kd7ejU4/s320/DSCF0875.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502458639570878674" /></a><br /><br />I'm still working, though only for another week. I have paid my tuition, so officially, I'm a student again. In another week or so I'll get my class schedule, photo id, books etc. and then enter the land of the learning.<br /><br />Oy vey.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-21383162816162843212010-07-27T17:16:00.000-07:002010-07-27T17:18:09.860-07:00Here I Am!Where to start?<br /><br />I am in the land of the living, I've just not had a lot of time on my hands of late.<br /><br />First of all, I am now employed (temporarily) for another radio station (country and western!!) in town. This may or may not be permanent. I can't get into details at the moment, but suffice to say, it was like getting on the bike again. It all came back to me fairly quickly.<br /><br />Secondly, I had two falls from my bike, 3 weeks apart, same body part injured both times. Of course it was when I was at a complete stop and couldn't get out of my clips fast enough, so the damage done was minimal (my pride suffered a greater bruising than my knee - though there was blood; the little kid watching me clean up the scrape asked me to show him my other boo boos). I took the bike in for servicing and had them loosen and grease the pedal clips and lo and behold a week later, I came to a sudden stop when my derailleur caught my spokes, and I was able to easily hop off the bike. So back to the shop it went for fixing and that meant I had a couple of days more where I wasn't training. <br /><br />In between all this falling, scraping, and working, I was trying to do some last minute fund raising for the bike tour. I finally hit the $3000 mark (and change) and our team, the Cycledelics was third runner up for team total and individual average. I also was in charge of securing a sponsor for our shirts and I called on my philanthropist friend, Mickey MacDonald, of Micco Corp or Inc or Ltd (I'm not sure which it is). He's a former firefighter and our theme was firefighting, so......Anyway, his company made up our shirts and we took home the Best Dressed Award. We even had a real fireman on our team and he brought a hose to he tour that we dragged to the banquet for our grand entrance. We all had little fire helmets on, too. Pics are coming.<br /><br />Day one of the bike tour was pretty good, though by 11:30, it was 30 degrees(Celsius, for my American friends) and with only 6 kilometres left to bike I had to pack it in. A shower and a short nap later and I was wandering around in my jammies until the banquet when we all changed into our firefighting gear again.<br /><br />Day two was bad. I woke feeling like I'd been hit by a truck and my eyes were so puffy I looked like I had been crying all night. I got on the bike to ride it from the storage area to the cafeteria for breakfast and I knew after one bump I wouldn't get one kilometre on the thing, my inner thighs and but were sooooooooooooooooooooooo sore. I made the executive decision to skip riding on the second day, so loaded my bike into someone's van and got a ride to the halfway point to meet up with the team. There were support vehicles going up and down the road constantly so I had no fear of being left somewhere to fend for myself. I eventually got a ride back to the end where I cheered on folks arriving by bike as they crossed the finish line. The heavens had opened up and the wind had picked up so everyone was soaked and frozen. Just as well I wasn't riding. Between the wind and rain and the butt spasms, I might have just curled up on the side of the road waiting for the end to come. Everyone else on the team managed to do both days, but there were a few other folks like me who bowed out of riding on the second day. Over 400 riders, about 75 volunteers, and $330,000 raised. I'd say it was a success.<br /><br />In the past 6 weeks there have been a couple of more news stories about CCSVI. I will not comment right now, but will in a future post.<br /><br />The bug hunting has continued, though not as regularly as before, and I do have pics. I'm working on another CSI: Bugs episode, too. Those pics are coming, too.<br /><br />And in between all this stuff is the building I'm managing....<br /><br />That's all I have time for right now. I'll be back to regular posting real soon. I promise.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-10186791145787354952010-06-22T07:14:00.000-07:002010-06-22T07:16:43.745-07:003 Billion RidesSometimes the most bizarre thoughts will pop into my head. Which is probably no surprise to anyone. I realize that most people have weird ideas from time to time; they can't be original thoughts, either. Very few of those left in the world, I suspect.<br /><br />I once heard or read that the human heart has the capacity for only so many beats. In an average 80 year lifespan it will beat about 3 billion times. Does that mean if you exercise a lot and increase your rate of heartbeats, you'll die sooner? Exercise strengthens the heart, so your resting heartrate will be lower, so the number of heartbeats will even out in the end (I think that's how it would work). <br /><br />When you live with a diagnosis of MS and one of your symptoms is fatigue, you learn to pace yourself in your day to day activities. Come to think of it, sometimes week to week or month to month. You don't do laundry on the same day that you shop for groceries, for example.<br /><br />So after Sunday's 21 k bike ride, I was thinking, "What if I have a finite number of long bike rides in me?" Say, 100. Do I get more and more fatigued with each ride until I've reached the finite number and can't ride any more? <br /><br />Like I said at the beginning, bizarre thought. However, after mulling it over, I think I've rationalized it to this: Each ride will build my physical strength. The exercise is good for both body and brain (increased oxygenation, better circulation of nutrients). My eating habits have improved, so my nutrition is better, and my overall health is improving. And I know that if my overall health is good, my brain is better able to deal with the MS. So if I hit a wall from fatigue, taking a day or 3 or 4 off is not going to set me back. I can get back on the bike and do a couple of shorter rides, then a big one again. After all, marathon runners don't run a marathon every day for training.<br /><br />I suspect a day will come when a genetic test will determine what number of heartbeats a person is predetermined to have. A full screening at birth will tell us if we are destined to live to 100 or 25. 10 years ago the average lifespan for a person with cystic fibrosis was 18 years. Today it is 35 (last year I met a CF patient who was 40). We will be able to determine and treat conditions in order to extend lifespans; actually, we already do that to a degree. If we are diagnosed with a treatable disease, we take medicines or alter our lifestyle to enable us to not be as affected by our disease. But a day will come when we find out at birth (if not prenatally).<br /><br />So how many long bike rides do I have in me? Ask me when I'm 80.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-30236399764131456682010-06-20T15:26:00.000-07:002010-06-20T15:30:56.496-07:00Porcupine CrossingGas stations are great places to find bugs. They have these really big lights that are on at night attracting all sort of insect. Yesterday morning I raided the local station and retrieved a polyphemus and an azalea sphinx. Just beautiful specimens - which are now napping in my freezer until tomorrow when I will preserve them for posterity (actually, for my own amusement and study). Pics in the very near future, dear reader.<br /><br />Today, the Wookie and I went on a 21 k ride, half on a trail, the other half back to the car on the highway. On the trail, I nearly ran over a porcupine that hadn't looked both ways before attempting to cross. It waddled off into the trees while I stopped to get my camera. I managed a few shots of it in the tree. These adorable animals have poor eyesight and not great hearing; they don't really need those senses too much anyway, what with all the sharp pointy things sticking out of their fur. Anyway, I had to get a pic for Lisa (I think), who last year was disappointed that I hadn't posted a pic of the one crossing a street that I had stopped for. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TB6WMDxE9gI/AAAAAAAABeo/D8tKZ_saVRs/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TB6WMDxE9gI/AAAAAAAABeo/D8tKZ_saVRs/s320/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484986530097591810" /></a><br /><br />We left the trail just short of the end as I could see the ocean down a drive that crossed the trail and wanted to be next to the water. It was about 2k on that road to the main highway, then 9 more to the car. I took a couple of pics of the beach on one side, and pics of a fresh water marsh on the other side of the road. The marsh had several pitcher plants and a few clumps of blue flag irises. I had noticed both plants along the trail as well, though not as many pitcher plants (they are a protected species).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TB6WC4WGKBI/AAAAAAAABeg/poM7TT5t5qE/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TB6WC4WGKBI/AAAAAAAABeg/poM7TT5t5qE/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484986372412811282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TB6V0jcpdqI/AAAAAAAABeY/Wlb5Q_4-0hE/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YI49M_jnHUg/TB6V0jcpdqI/AAAAAAAABeY/Wlb5Q_4-0hE/s320/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484986126284977826" /></a><br /><br />All in all it was a good ride, lots of sweat dripping everywhere and a few drops of rain from time to time to tease us. I was wishing the skies would just open up to cool us down. Then off to mom and dad's to wish a dad a Happy Pappy Day. He was happy with the gifts, of course. "Don't be spending your money on me" is a quote to be ignored. <br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3215546190509492232.post-85751867236461045152010-06-17T16:55:00.000-07:002010-06-17T16:57:27.656-07:00I'm Here!!I have been amazingly lax the past few weeks as far as the blog goes. You should go make yourself a cup of tea before you sit down to read the rest of this post.<br /><br />I really have put the push on for getting donations for the Bike Tour since I don't have the support of a "work" network this time 'round. So that's been keeping me hopping. Though I did have one really good experience at the grocery store last week. A man in line in front of me commented on the bike tour jacket I wear and asked if I did the bike tour. Turns out he had been invited to participate with some friends but is unable to do so. I told him he could help out just the same by sponsoring me. So he found a bank machine to get some money to give me. I took down his name and address of course so he can get a tax receipt, but while waiting at the bank machine I told him I felt like I was shaking him down. He laughed, gave me 20 bucks and next year he may bike with my team instead of his friend's. <br /><br />I have been in "serious" training for the tour as well. I have made a few short but heavy duty rides, lots of hills to work the legs. I am very pleased with my progress, getting up these hills with fewer stops, increasing my kilometres per hour average, and generally building strength in my legs. I have also fallen off the bike twice in the past 3 weeks, both times (as usual, actually) when I was coming to a stop. Last Sunday I'm afraid the spill I took drew a little more blood than usual, and two little boys watched intently as I administered my own first aid. The older of the two had questions for me about my "boo boo" and asked me to show him my other ones (after he showed me his). They were too cute for words and their mother pointed out the fact that I had a first aid kit with me which she informed them is always a good idea when going on a long bike ride. Come to think of it, it's a good idea for me to always have a first aid kit....I had to replenish my first aid supplies after the ride.<br /><br />I took my bike in yesterday for its 1000k tune up. When the guy working at the shop saw me, I just showed him my bandaged knee and he said, "Again?". They put a new chain on the bike and tuned it up for me, as well, they have checked my pedal clips and hopefully loosened them (that's why I fall - can't get unclipped fast enough).<br /><br />A couple of weeks ago, the majority of Canadian MS Walks were held. The Wookie, Margo, Marc, and I walked as a team, going 8 kilometres by foot. I had hoped to have a team picture to show you by now, but don't so you'll just have to wait. It was definitely fun and good to catch up with a number of people including the Sackville Kinsmen Club who are holding their car show again this year and asked me to set my bike up again. That's on the 27th.<br /><br />About a week ago, one of the local tv stations ran a story about a local woman who is trying to raise money so she can go overseas and get the "liberation" treatment. Don't get me started. but what irked me was that she yanked her team from the MS Walk in protest of the fact that the MS Society is not lobbying the government to pay for this procedure. That angered me more than anything else I've heard recently. The MS Society of Canada along with the NMSS in the US has designated 2.4 millions dollars to study CCSVI and the link it appears to have with MS (this was announced just last week). It will not be funding surgical procedures at this point because we don't know if there is a link between the two. Depending on the outcome of these initial studies, then perhaps the "liberation" procedure itself will be studied.<br /><br />The media still hasn't caught on to the fact that the theory behind CCSVI is that a build up of iron in the brain because of closed off veins is what causes MS. If there are iron deposits in the brain it would take more than half an hour to clear them from the brain, but half an hour seems to be the length of time between having the procedure performed and noticing a difference in MS symptoms.<br /><br />So why do some people report miraculous results from this procedure? There are a number of factors at play including the Placebo Effect, not to mention improved circulation of blood in the brain. We all know that improving the circulation of blood in the brain is going to be good for you. My thoughts about miraculous improvements all involve improving oxygenation and toxin removal (by toxin, I mean cellular byproducts like waste). So until the folks who have had the procedure done can show measured reduction in MS symptoms over a period of time, I stand by my idea that this treatment is not an effectual one. Not for MS, anyway. It may be an effectual treatment for a vascular condition that many people without MS have. I would love to have this treatment proven to be an effective one for MS. But you must show me the scientific evidence first.<br /><br />A couple of days ago, I was one of three people on a panel for a presentation to a group of health professionals about what it's like to be a research participant. It was part of a series of lunch hour sessions set up for health workers in the Capital District Health Association (which covers all of Halifax and surrounding areas). It was teleconferenced to other sites as well in 4 or 5 other hospitals. Most of the questions had to do with how we felt as "guinea pigs", why we agreed to be in a clinical study and our likes and dislikes about the experience. All three of us were quite positive about our feelings and how we were treated. Learning why we participated was important for these folks to hear as it helps them determine how to ask future participants to be in studies. It was a very cool experience for me as I had never really given any thought to other participants' reasons for being in a study, only mine; I'm curious, I need to know stuff (which they thought was funny). One panelist was given a drug in a different form that was being measured to see if it was more effective or just as effective as it's regular form. The other panelist was in a similar type study. In my case, in my first trial, this was one of the first disease modifying drugs (the other being Copaxone) for MS. Plus, I was in a Phase 3 trial which had the chance of me being on a placebo. The other studies have involved the course of my MS or looking for genetic markers, so have involved MRIs and blood work (both now a walk in the park for me).<br /><br />And finally, on the bug front, it's almost SUMMERTIME!! Which means warmer evenings and lots of night time bugs. Like june bugs, face down on the pavement trying to drill their way to China. Or carrion beetles searching for meals. Or moths beating themselves against the building under the security lights - picture me below the lights after dark with my net in hand just waiting for them to get within reach. I retrieved a beautiful hawk moth last night which spent the day in my freezer. Taking a nap. In a couple of days I'll take him out, photograph him and preserve him. Pictures will be up before too long of my latest finds. <br /><br />I promise not to be so lax from now on. Really.<br /><br />S.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08793047835261862513noreply@blogger.com0