8[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. In the last few editions I've related my aging woes to the extent that this might be called The Geezer Gazette.]
12/28/24
Aloha Everybody!
three photos, the first two are from NBC and NYT, while the third is from the USGS web cam showing the entire Kilauea summit crater. If you look really hard in the USGS photo you'll see the real extent of the eruption in the upper left corner.Our Christmas was quiet and pleasant. On Christmas Eve we cooked a prime rib roast and very much enjoyed its evil goodness.We use the technique of cooking the roast for only about 25 minutes (depending on weight) in a 500 degree oven, then turning off the heat and leaving the roast in the oven undisturbed for the next two hours. It was perfectly medium rare. If you're not the blood thirsty carnivores that we are, you can always nuke it to your own taste before eating it. On Christmas Day we joined about 15 other people at a neighbor's house for a traditional turkey pot luck dinner. We've done this for the past several years, and it was quite pleasant sitting on the neighbor's open lanai with a view of the Kona coast.
Not much news in the Geezer Gazette this week, My 1-week cataract surgery checkup went ok. The new lens is staying correctly positioned and the incision is healing nicely. My acuity increased markedly from earlier in the week, but only to about what it was before the surgery, I have to keep in mind that this eye is limited in how much it can improve because about 25% of the retina cells are defunct. In short, I'm mot raving abut how I should have done this sooner because I can see so much better. By the way, here are a couple of fun facts about cataract surgery you might find interesting. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, about 50% of cataract patients experience "secondary cataracts"within 5 years of their surgery. This isn't a clouding of the implanted lens, but rather of the eye tissue that holds it in place. Fortunately there is a quick and effective procedure in which a special kind of laser (Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet, or YAG for short) is used to punch a small hole in the tissue to allow clear light to reach the new lens. The second fun fact is that although about 90% of cataract patients have improved acuity after surgery, 30-50% will still need to wear glasses for close vision, distance vision, or both, according to All About Vision. My take away from these data is that you should make certain you really need cataract surgery before having it, and be realistic in your expectations about the outcome.
In other Geezer news, my poop test results came back and they present something of a puzzle, because they didn't show signs of parasites, bacteria, or any other nasties that could be causing my symptoms. I haven't talked with my internist yet, and it will be interesting to see what he recommends now. Fortunately, my symptoms have gotten better and I'm hopeful they will clear up soon. Finally, I will be sending my heart monitor off for analysis on Monday. It takes about 2 weeks for the results to come back, and I have an appointment in January to go over them with my cardiologist. In the meantime, I am pleased to report that I haven't recorded an AFIB episode on my portable ECG device since December 2, nearly 3 1/2 weeks ago. Of course, brief ones may have occurred between my measurements. If so,the great thing about the monitor is that it will have recorded them.
OK, that's it for this week. I sincerely wish you all a Happy New Year. But I have to confess that I have a sense of foreboding about 2025 that makes me less than enthusiastic about celebrating its beginning. Not since the Vietnam War have I been this concerned about the direction that the country seems to be taking. And even at that time I didn't feel that the very nature of our democracy was under threat. I do now. The majority of the electorate just voted into office, by a large margin, a man who is a convicted felon, a documented prolific liar, and a person who openly endorses a form of government that is authoritarian, oligarchic, and fascist. I have traveled all over the world and witnessed first hand this kind of governance and I've always been proud that I lived in a country that was based on more humanitarian and inclusive principles. But I can't be proud of what I fear is coming, and I certainly can't celebrate its arrival.
Take care, and as always, Carpe Vitam .
6 comments:
And a Happy New Year to you too
I have some of the same apprehensions as you do for the coming administration. Although, I do have high hopes for myself for a healthier and stronger 2025.
One should note that he won the popular vote by only 1.6 % and did not reach 50%. It is the electoral college that makes it appear so strong.
Believe it or not, I love the geezer aspect of your posts. I find your problems/issues interesting, and I learn from them. As for Pele, well I loved the pictures. That third one was a knockout. So I love my eyesight post-cataract surgery. I had it done when I was 63 and I am so glad I did it. On January 20, we will again have a raving lunatic in the White House, without any sane people to keep him from going off the rails. We should all be scared sh**less. There is an entertainment side of this, however. As I write, I am laughing at how “President-elect Musk” and the hardcore MAGA right are having an absurd pi$$ing contest over which types of immigrants we are allowed to have, and how our apparently useless educational system is unable to produce employees up to the standards of the tech bros. These folks are going to eat each others’ faces off, with the big stupid lump caught in the middle. And this is all before the administration has officially begun!
Thanks for the insightful and encouraging comments. I truly appreciate them.
Sounds like your health is pretty good given the goods! Mine seems kinda similar, just different! What can I say about the reprise of the Trump administration? It seemed so improbable that even more people would vote him in again. Clearly I don't know everyone and don't have their worldview. California is trying to shock proof the state from this administration. That's new. Maybe it will be somewhat effective. If so, I am happy to pay taxes to make it so! Something will happen and maybe this administration will crash and burn upon take off! One can hope!
Well said, all! Perhaps they will self destruct, eaten from the inside out by lust for power and greed.
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