Review: H1N1 (Swine Flu)
September 20th, 2009
Disclaimer: I got this flu for free from an unknown source somewhere in Mississippi, or possibly Virginia. I have tried to not let this affect my honesty in reviewing it.
Compared to other influenzas (“flus” from here on out), this one is … well I have never had any other flus. That alone allows me some specific comparison, which is to say, that since I never got any other flus, but I got this flu, then H1N1 is harder to not get than flus in the past.
Early onset was nonspecific and might have been last Tuesday, or might have been any of the few days before. Midday Tuesday, H1N1 told me it was time to leave work. H1N1 did this by making me hurt all over and tired. The next morning I was administered a very unenjoyable ((that stick, at that angle, should not go that far into one’s nose)) flu test after some wait at Urgent Care, to find that I was “negative.” Only “negative” doesn’t really mean that…. All negative means is that the treatment becomes less sure. The flu test tells a patient two things. One: You have the flu. Or, Two: You probably have the flu. They call the second option “negative” because if you “probably” have the flu, then you only sort of think you will not have to get immunized, and only sort of get sympathy from your friends and family….
As you might imagine, I fell into this latter category. Having officially gone to the doctor, H1N1 officially said, “You, sir, are sick.” It was very professional about the matter, setting in to work immediately using such methods as crippling headache; pain in the eye socket that almost prevented eye movement; rattle in the upper chest that sounded like a rock in an old beater’s hubcap; congestion, body aches, chills. Oh. and fever. The fever had some pleasant effects you can imagine the inability to control one’s internal temperature would.
Due to my having had H1N1 for some time (a day) before it was diagnosed (improperly?), there is no real treatment. Rest, fluids, Advil for fever, rinse, repeat. I did.
Days of the same.
And after days of the same, a day with something new. A new symptom. Due to polite company I won’t get into the details of that symptom, but let’s just say I wasn’t having trouble keeping food down….
With a fever below 100.5 the day before, one is “allowed” to go to work. I doubt you’ll have the energy.
Pros:
Weight Loss.
Time off work.
You get plenty of privacy.
Cons:
You are sick.
Congestion.
Diarrhea.
Fever.
Muscle Aches.
Tiredness.
Headaches.
Chills.
Dry cough.
No one wants to be around you (more than usual).
You can’t get comfortable anywhere.
Conclusion:
I don’t recommend this flu. I tried liking it. I was receiving excellent care from Loving Wife, but try as I might, I just could not get “into” H1N1. In fact, I recommend active avoidance of H1N1 by getting immunized asap. Or, just get the flu (free, plenty of sources, I might even know some current ones if you’re interested). Get it now while it’s not so bad (yes, 4.5 days out of work is “not so bad” by flu standards from what I hear), get over it, and then when it IS nasty, we’ll all be safe.
Filed under: Reviews | No Comments »
100 Miles of Nowhere (completed!)
May 25th, 2009
Extremely early on the morning of 5/23 (8:43), I began an arduous journey. At 8:43am, I also arrived at my destination. The journey, however, was only beginning. I required four hours, forty four minutes and forty one seconds to reach my goal of 100 miles, and tacked on an extra two tenths (and a ride to the mailbox, if you want to be technical about it) for good measure. To call it “good measure” in fact is a little ambiguous and disingenuous… I rode the Mississippi division of 100 Miles of Nowhere on a 1up USA Trainer, and … lets just say if the resistance levels offered by the 1up were one to 10, I had mine set at about… zero. So that serves as my disclaimer. Let’s call it a “downhill event” and leave it at that. Nevertheless, I did actually spin on my trainer for 4:44:41 hours, to the tune of “100.2 miles.” That gives an average speed of 21.12 miles per hour. The proof that I should be on the pro tour comes when one knows I did that feat of winningness at an average heart rate of 102 beats per minute while spinning my big ring at an average of 66 revolutions per minute (that’s around 20,000 revolutions). I thusly utterly destroyed the competition. As yet, I have no proof there was any competition even finishing in the same state as I finished, much less anywhere near me. What follows is some graphical data related to my ride.
First, satellite from my Garmin Edge 705:
Then a very unrealistic elevation data graph:
Truth is something much more like the following picture:
in that after almost 43 miles, I had gained approximately 2 feet in elevation, give or take 2 feet. According to the “on-Garmin” data, this 2 feet of elevation would be about 30% of my total elevation gained for the day. Obviously with more than 70% of the climbing remaining within the last 58 miles of the race, it was setting up to be a brutal mountain finish…
Another irrelevant graph based on the aforementioned lack of resistance I chose to use for the event. A downhill event, as I said. Don’t judge me… Also since apparently the Garmin Edge 705 will not PICK which to use between GPS and cadence sensor, the “speed” is based on the (motionless) gps. Which means speed is basically always zero, or very nearly so. Relatedly, this is something I’d like to discuss with Garmin, to tell them to record both sets of data, speed from gps and speed from cadence sensor.
“Grade” over distance. I have no idea what this graph represents, and I checked numerous times to make sure it wasn’t pulling data from some other ride.
Cadence versus Time (also, HR vs Time), which among these graphs probably is actually an interesting one, if there is one.
I can report that my arms are very tired. I won’t say “sore” because it just seems that they’d rather hang there than do anything, but aren’t particularly sore. My sit area also had had enough, and by, let’s say, the 2 hour mark, I was tired of sitting on the bike. By 3 hours, I was very tired of sitting on the bike. By 4 hours, sitting on the bike seemed like downright wrong. And after 4 hours… well…
I did a fair amount of carb loading the night before, at a local Hibachi. That worked out nicely for both me and my lovely wife (namely because it’s her favorite place to eat).
I had no specific plan of how to occupy my mind for the time required to finish this event. Here is how it worked out: The first 3 episodes of Season 1 of The Office. Then Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, then another The Office (maybe, memory gets fuzzy here), and then we switched to Dr. Who (the 2005 edition), season 1, episode 1 – 3 or 4. Yes that is much more than 4:44:41 worth of television: I took a fair amount of long breaks toward the end.
My lovely wife kindly prepared sag stops for me.
This was the “breakfast” stop. Lovely Wife started cooking when I started riding, so this worked out nicely.
This was the “somewhere in the middle” stop (the muffins were started immediately after the breakfast stop, and the smell of their cooking and ultimate doneness dictated my second (and third and fourth) rest stop.
And this was the lunch stop. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
Garmin tells me I burned 7437 cal, which if resistance on the 1up had been set to “real-world” then I could potentially believe. As it were I only ate like I had burned that many calories, both during the race and after. Actually, probably much more after. I ate for the rest of the day Saturday, and most of the day Sunday my appetite was insatiable.
There was one (official) feed station during the race. I chose not to get food but just got a hand-up from my Lovely Wife. As you can see, much skillful deliberation led to a perfect exchange of loving looks (from me) and water bottle (from her). Notice and appreciate the intensity with which the exchange was facilitated with her attentiveness.
And now on with a few race shots:
Due to the hot day, I had shed my jersey to the team car earlier in the race. Then I heard the shifting of gears behind me (phantom? I might never know…) and so there was but one thing to do: ATTACK!
And finally, photos of the victory itself.
A final disclaimer: If the Lord wills my participation in this event on it’s next occasion, then I already have a small loop in mind, that is probably less than a mile, and I look quite forward to defeating it thusly.
Filed under: Reviews, road biking | 3 Comments »
I’ve been tracking calories.
March 4th, 2009
Yes, this is actually bike related.
My lovely wife has been tracking her calories for a couple of weeks, and since I have to do everything she does, I started as well. Probably the fair truth of it is that I wanted to show her how much easier the Livestrong app (itunes link) is than the one she’d used, called Lose It (itunes link). Devious of me but I still maintain that the Livestrong one is better. Mainly because it can be interacted with on their website, which can make all the data entering vastly easier. I will say that the interface for Lose It is easy enough to make the previous point about Livestrong app moot. But whatever. 
In any case I have been tracking my calories for a whole three days. I haven’t found out too much, aside from that I eat a lot. I haven’t been just terribly hungry all the time, and I’m pretty much hitting the target (that, according to Livestrong and my profile, would have me lose a pound or 2 per week). Throw some exercise in the mix, and I should be good to go. Exercise is something that Lose It couldn’t handle, so it’s nice to use the Livestrong app for that reason alone.
Going on. I have glanced over the clearly representative set of data from my eating pattern. And come to this conclusion. I eat. a. lot. of. salt. I hit 149% of my goal today. That is 3 and a half grams of salt. I’m not sure if you know how much salt that is. I do. It’s a lot. And my first day was 122%. Yesterday was much less, but then I didn’t enter all the foods I ate, and incidentally they were some of the saltier ones (canned beans x 2). I will have to go add that data.
Now. The part that relates to cycling. I have shed a few pounds lately, and that’s very needed. I hope to hit 175 by the time I do any serious group rides. And by that I mean races. But will include any ride where I don’t want to feel like a tool at the back of the pack, sweating his winter weight. Fortunately the lovely wife is on my side this time! It’s nice for her to be counting calories too. Nice for me, I mean; she’s beautiful any way, of course.
Now I wonder if Rold Gold make slow salt pretzles. If they don’t, they should. (duh).
Update: Yesterday’s properly updated salt (yes I mean sodium salt) was 134%. Also not good.
Filed under: Reviews, gadgets, mountain biking, road biking | 1 Comment »
Review of Ghost Trails by Jill Homer
February 25th, 2009
Disclaimer: I received my copy of Ghost Trails directly from Jill Homer at no cost.
Ghost Trails
©Copyright 2008 by Jill Homer
Contact Jill Homer at jillhomer66@hotmail.com
First edition, November 2008
$8, ISBN — 9780557024070
I have long been a reader and fan of Jill Homer’s very popular blog “Up In Alaska“, and was excited when I discovered she has written a book. Jill’s blog is engaging, and the pictures she uses artfully depict landscapes most of us don’t even think of experiencing. The stories on the blog flow around her training and riding her bicycle. Jill’s posts aren’t necessarily written as an treatise about winter cycling, but they absolutely lend themselves to that. Jill’s mileage log and continual riding in temperatures where most of us push the button on our remote car starter, and let our car warm for 20 minutes before the 5 minute drive to work prove that not only is it possible, but there are people who find it enjoyable.
With that small introduction of my knowledge of Jill and her style of writing, let me tell you a little about her book, Ghost Trails.
Jill begins the 185 page book with an account from her most troubling time spent racing the Iditarod Trail. She’s forlorn: at a physiological wall miles and hours from any form of help, with nothing to rely on but the few items she’s carefully prepared for this 350 mile race. Jill also can rely on her iron will, which at the moment is fading, freezing into temperatures as low as minus twenty. There is nothing to do but hope that what her body can’t do, her equipment can. She says “I wondered if I would ever wake up. I had no way of knowing for sure,” and with that, succumbs to the cold tired punishment that is the Alaskan Iditarod Trail race.
The book then goes back and begins the explanation of what got Jill from being the typical teenage girl in Utah to this unlikely point so cold and far from everything comfortable. But the explanation doesn’t come full force at you, as each chapter is an alternating account of the Iditarod Trail race and Jill’s life, with the life stories building to the race itself. At times the alternating chapters seem like two completely separate books, both interesting, with a tenuous connection to each other that the reader perceives will eventually meld into one story that is Jill Homer. This very nearly happens, but interestingly ends not with the story of the conclusion of the Iditarod, but with with Geoff and Jill moving to Alaska from Idaho, such that it is the feeling of ending at the “beginning.”
Geoff, Jill’s boyfriend, plays an integral role in the development of the Iditarod Trail racer. Geoff is there very nearly from the “beginning of Jill”, but is introduced by a mutual friend in New York. The free spirit’s outlook on life promotes Jill’s wandering, and they begin outdoor pursuits together, including canyon rafting. Geoff’s naturally-great-at-everything persona helps Jill build on her natural abilities, and they prosper together. As such, maybe the book ending on the chapter about their final move to Alaska is fitting.
As a reader of Up In Alaska, one becomes accustomed to Jill’s writing being punctuated with great pictures. Jill is great at photography. Sure she has a great camera, but she also knows how to use it. I was disappointed that Ghost Trails only has pictures from Jill’s adventures at the beginning of each chapter, and at that, a generally low resolution version. To say it was disappointing is an understatement. But this book is not Jill’s blog, and I certainly would not hold the lack of pictures against the book.
Also unexpected was the writing style variation from blog to book. In her blog Up In Alaska, Jill’s words flow smoothly, written by a clearly intelligent writer, such that they need no editing. In Ghost Trails, word choice seems poured over, and often verbose.
All told, Jill’s story is an interesting one. I won’t say “inspring” since even as a cyclist that’s on the fringe of what is considered possible for humans, and that makes me applaud Jill even more fervently. Ghost Trails proves that preparation will take one very far, and determination will almost assuredly fill the gap.
Thanks to Jill for the opportunity to review her book.
J
Filed under: Reviews | No Comments »
25 Random Things.
February 13th, 2009
- Being married is pretty fun. It’s amazing to know I have someone on whom I can always depend. I hope she can feel the same about me.
- I’m a big kid when it comes to toys. I often sell a year old model of something (Canon SD800, for example) just to buy the new model (Canon SD870). Interestingly in that case, the day after I got the 870 in the mail, the 880 was announced.
- To further #2, I have two jobs so that my toys will be affordable. It’s been this way since I had any jobs, and I’ve had 2 jobs for about 13 years now, and this is the only reason, really.
- I own my own snowboard. I have never lived anywhere except Mississippi. (This is not two random things, it’s a tandem.) I have never actually used that snowboard.
- I consider myself a google guru (gooru? [you heard it here first folks]. I also want to strangle people when they ask me to do things that can as easily be done with a google search (and sometimes reply with http://lmgtfy.com/ .
- I have a way with words…
- That way with words frustrates nearly everyone…
- I collect stickers (among other things). I put the stickers on my “sticker box.” I keep hiking (and more recently, some biking) gear in those sticker boxes (yes, multiple boxes, at this point). In our bedroom. (One is my night stand).
- I also have a collection of wide mouth Nalgene bottles, the 32 oz kind. Unfortunately it was recently understood that when used to hold hot substances, these bottles can leech Bisphenol A. Now I consider most of my collection a museum, and am going about collecting the new Tritan “Everyday” type bottle. (Oh and the opaque bottles were always and are of course still ok to use.) The Bisphenol A thing actually doesn’t bother me all that much, so I still use my bottles anyway. (Never used them for hot, in any case.)
- I hate the way the period goes within the quote marks.
- I don’t care much about watching tv (only a few shows interest me, including The Office). That being said, I could easily spend days in front of a computer, including watching tv on my computer. Not surprisingly, I dislike tv commercials enough that I will watch a movie that I hate on HBO, just to avoid commercials.
- Also, I almost never care at what point I pick up a movie on tv. If the part I happen to see is marginally interesting, I’ll watch, even if it’s 3/4 through.
- If I get the feeling that someone is “attention-seeking” me, I’ll actively give no attention to that person. This is both good and bad… This plays into why I so deeply hate watching commercials.
- I can not take a compliment.
- And while we’re on the topic of what I can’t do… I can not NOT take it personally. I don’t care what the Four Agreements say. And I agree with that one, know it’s right, and want to practice it. But it just never seems right.
- I go out of my way to follow the path of the sidewalk, and I generally try to give my walking companion the same option. (Which is to say, I don’t cut corners, and I won’t walk in a way to cause you to, either.)
- I have a man-purse like collection of messenger bags and backpacks. And jackets.
- Clutter is what will make me go insane.
- I built my own computer, about 4 years ago. I’m still using the same computer. I have about 1.5TB of storage space on the computer.
- I am a terrible creator, but an extremely talented and gifted editor. From English papers to Science journal papers to resumes…
- I use, overuse, and probably often misuse the ellipsis. (#20 above proves at least 2 of these.) No in fact it proves them all.
- Even though most of my face has hair, I do maintain my brow (I use Tweezerman, you probably should too). (no I mean you probably should.)
- I have an unusual obsession with the Appalachian Trail. I intend to hike it’s full length one day (approximately 2200 miles) but don’t know when, and worse, don’t know if I’m capable.
- I did not know how to spell “definitely” until somewhere around Firefox 2. It was right around then, also, that I learned that I’m a pretty terrible speller.
- I’m not generally “socially comfortable”… By that I mean I almost never know how close friends I am with someone. It’s pretty frustrating.
Filed under: Photography, Reviews, logic | No Comments »
Bike bag contents (& stuff “on” me).
January 10th, 2009
I figured it’d be fun (for me, probably not for anyone else) to see what all I carry in my bag when I ride to work (and increasingly, wherever I go). It’s a bit of a “goal” and not something I always do, just yet. In any case, the following is a list of what I generally carry, or generally intend to carry. Remind me to go back through the list before I fly anywhere. O_o
I carry a Crumpler Considerable Embarrassment (too small to put shoes and anything else) Osprey Resource Elroy (1/2/2009), and this stuff in it:
- Fenix PD20 (1/5/2009)
- Leatherman CX Skeletool (1/10/2009) [pre-review: the blade on this thing is incredible. in. cred. uh. ble.]
- Leatherman Bit Kit (1/5/2009)
- Moleskine Soft Cover Pocket Ruled Notebook (3.5 x 5.5)
- Pigma Micron 01 (0.25mm) #1 Archival Ink Pen, Black
- Sharpie Pen, black (testing)
- Shure IC2-MP Sound isolating earphones (11/5/2008)
- Granite Gear Air Tote (1/2/2009)
- Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (and three 4GB SD cards so I can take a hundred bajillion pictures if I need to (9/12/2008)
- Lowepro Ridge 10
- Joby Gorillapod Go-Go! (1/2/2009)
- Sandisk SD Extreme III 4GB – for my portable apps – it’s like a computer in my pocket (because I also carry a usb reader)
- Sigg Metro Thermos 13oz Dark Blue (6/17/2008)
- iPhone 3G 16gb of course, in black (7/12/2008) (in a Griffin Elan Form case)
- Topeak Master Blaster DX Pump (rei.com link since Topeak doesn’t make it anymore)
- Gore Bike Wear Signature Cap
- WhiBal G6 Pocket Kit (1/10/2009)
Pocket:
Gerber Paraframe IICRKT P.E.C.K. Knife (a “money clip” knife) (9/22/2008)- Chapstick Moisturizer
- Kavu Wally Wallet in Khaki of course (I love this thing)
Over the course of … something … I’ll probably review each of these items. I’ll try to annotate here when I’ve done the review.
Need to add:
- medical stuff (bandaids at the very least)
- spare tube
- multi-tool (one in the mail to me, now, actually [that I won!!!]) (and actually the Leatherman Bit Kit I already carry has a hex set)
- HP Mini 2140 netbook (no link yet because they haven’t been released [but I can't wait to get one])
This brings up a fair few important and interesting points. I have a love for messenger bags, and before it was messenger bags, it was backpacks and hip bags in general. I have had more than my fair share of them. In fact still have most of them. And there is one more on it’s way to me now (to fill a gap in my bag lineup that I created just for it to fill) [sidenote: I listed things on ebay just today to "make room" for the new item(s)].
It also exaggerates the point of my interest in gadgetry (for example, the Leatherman). And my firm commitment to things I’m used to and comfortable with (ChapStick).
I try to keep only items I will use, but at the same time, try to always have items I need. It’s a fine line, and one that an expanding bag size and diminutive bike commute has allowed me to push dramatically. I was never a Boy Scout, but my preparedness (at least in this one case, which is carrying stuff I might need ["Be Prepared"]) is clear. Yes, all this stuff is easily overkill. But, it’s good practice. Plus it’s fun. It’s like a man-purse. Full of gadgetry.
If you read that all intently you’ll notice that at pretty much all times I have thirty-two gigabytes of storage on my person. I hadn’t realized that until just now. That’s heavy.
Also, I am interested in suggestions on items I have left out. I know there’s something obvious that I need to have but just hasn’t happened to come up on my list just yet. Ok if I haven’t needed it, do I really need it? Maybe not. But there could be that one thing…
Filed under: Canon SD870, Photography, Reviews, commuting, gadgets | No Comments »