Unified fix Sep 8, 2010
It seems like a desirable thing to have a unified theory of everything that would fix all your personal problems.  For example, I know a person who has been going to a physical therapist because of foot and knee problems.  The knee problems are actually hip problems and the foot problems are a result of both.  And the solution is to do more sit-ups, which sounds ridiculous, but makes a little sense because stronger core muscles would put less stress on the hip flexors or something like that.  The point is that if the physical therapist can find a way to solve all problems with one solution, that would be a really cool thing.  And instead of having ten different fixes for ten different problems, it's nice and neat to solve everything with one simple unified fix. #health
Maple syrup urine disease Jul 19, 2010
Maple syrup urine disease sounds like something good, but it's really not.  It's a condition mostly affecting infants where the body fails to break down certain types of food chemicals, causing the byproducts to be released through the urine, which tends to have a sweet odor, similar to maple syrup.  Weird.  Recommended treatment:  Asparagus.  Kidding! #health
Best sick day Jul 2, 2010
Sometimes I don't sleep well, so I've done a couple of doctor-prescribed sleep studies.  The first one was an overnight monitoring of my body's physical and mental activity during sleep, which included lots of wires glued to my head and a sensor stuck in my nose.  I got a bad night's sleep the night before the study, so I actually ended up sleeping like a baby despite all the wires and sensors.  This gave the doctors no data whatsoever, so they prescribed a second phase of testing.  I just did this second phase the other day, which consisted of monitoring my brain activity during daytime napping.  So essentially I sat around a room all day, reading books and watching movies, and every two hours I had to try to take a nap.  No results yet, but that was easily the best sick day ever. #health
Diet results Jun 28, 2010
My short-lived diet was successful:  I lost 4-5 lbs in 12 days, and it wasn't too bad.  But for the sake of posterity, here are some thoughts: 
  1. The first week was bad.  I was hungry a lot, and hungry is often equivalent to angry.  But after that first week, I got used to being hungry and even going to bed hungry.
  2. My diet consisted solely of calorie counting, which meant I could eat anything as long as I accounted for the calories.  I quickly decided that my morning coffee (which includes creamer and an undisclosed but copious amount of sugar) wasn't worth it, nor was my morning Pop Tart or many other common foods.
  3. I spent a lot of time finding foods that were a good bang for the calorie, i.e. filling but not high in calories, i.e. not rice cakes or things like that.  In addition to blueberries and strawberries, which are fairly low in calories, I made good use of carrots (the least vegetable-y vegetable) and pickles, which are vegetables disguised as non-vegetables.
  4. I finally understood the concept of empty calories, which essentially are things you eat or drink that give you calories but don't make you less hungry.  For me, that includes things like juice, soda, and alcohol.  I've never had more of a craving for alcohol than when I wasn't allowed to have any.
  5. Speaking of cravings, the thought crossed my mind that I might be addicted to food and/or alcohol.  Somebody would open a beer or eat some Oreos near me, and I would look on lustfully, counting the days to when I could gorge myself.  When the diet was finally over, my appetite and metabolism had changed so much that I could barely finish a single beer.  But I'm working on that as I write this.
  6. I felt pretty drained of energy most of the time, but when I would work out, I would feel fine.  I'm not sure if my body has some sort of extra energy reservoir that's only accessed during workouts, but that's how it appears.
All in all, my diet was successful and I survived.  But it's certainly no way to live.  Cheers to a high metabolism! #health
Losing weight Jun 23, 2010
I'm competing in a physical tournament of sorts, and the tournament has weight classes, one of which I'm just over.  So I'm in the process of losing weight.  The thing is, in my 28 years of life, I've only gained weight.  I don't weigh that much, but the trend has only been on the increase, never on the decrease.  So this is an unusual situation for me to be in.  Thankfully, I have an achievable goal (4 lbs) and a realistic time frame (2 weeks).  It's been interesting keeping track of what I've been eating.  It's made me realize (a) how many so-called healthy foods are actually high in calories and (b) just how many calories I normally eat, which is staggering.  I've been using MyPlate to keep track of my food intake and exercise, which has really just turned into a game of "what do I need to do to be able to eat ice cream tonight?"  For example, if my target daily caloric intake is somewhere around 1500, and I do something to burn 500 calories, that means I can eat another 500 calories, which is pretty much another meal.  I've turned "losing weight" into "getting in shape so I can eat more," which for now has the same net effect. #health
Before sunscreen (1) Jun 15, 2010
One of the important lessons I've learned in my 20-some years on this spinning orb is that the sun hates me.  The sun is great for things like photosynthesis, Vitamin D production, and burning things with a magnifying glass.  But if it had the opportunity, the sun would melt my skin off like hot wax dripping off a candle.  In a sense, the sun is a jerk.  But another important lesson I've learned is that I can simply apply a cheap white cream to my skin, and suddenly I can handle anything the sun throws at me.  So the question I ask myself every time I'm putting on this chemical armor is this:  What did people do before sunscreen?  I would assume they moved to cold places and/or simply stayed out of the sun.  But I've gotten sunburn in the winter, and I'm pretty sure I'll get sunburn just by writing bad things about the sun.  I guess covering your skin with clothing is a good idea, but it's a sweaty, smelly idea too.  My aunt told me she once tried Crisco in a misguided belief that it might make her cook more evenly.  It worked, but only in the sense that she got badly though evenly burnt. #health
Appointment times (2) Apr 22, 2010
I went to a doctor yesterday.  My appointment was at 9:30am.  I was on time.  I saw the doctor at 10:40am.  He was not on time.  I personally didn't have too much of a problem with this situation because I had a good book with me.  But honestly, what's the point of setting up an appointment if all parties involved are beyond a shadow of a doubt sure that the appointment will not under any circumstances be kept?  It's an exercise in delusion. 

What ends up happening is essentially a modified first-come-first-served system for patients with an appointment.  If you show up on time, it doesn't mean you'll be seen on time.  You have to wait in line behind the people with appointments earlier than yours, which essentially negates the purpose of an appointment.  I suppose the alternative -- the absence of appointment times -- wouldn't be all that attractive either:  A veritable free-for-all, with long wait times and the possibility of not even getting to see a doctor. 

Perhaps we could adopt a more rigid system involving financial incentives:  One minute accounts for 1% of money exchanged.  So if the patient is ten minutes late, that's 10% more income for the doctor.  If the doctor is an hour and ten minutes late (as in my case), that saves me 70% of the cost of the visit.  Economics solves healthcare. #health
Blood money Apr 7, 2010
I had been in the practice of giving blood on a regular basis, right up until I visited one of the countries on the "we don't want your blood" list.  So I'm out of the game for a year.  But shortly before I got disqualified, the blood collection center started a loyalty rewards program where the volume of blood you donated equated to a certain number of points which could be used to buy merchandise through an online store.  I wanted to use up some points before they expired, so I ended up buying a video game (which turned out to be terrible, but that's not the point).  I couldn't help but notice that I quite literally payed for that video game with my own blood.  It seems kind of macabre, but really it was just simple economics:  They need blood; I have blood.  I give blood; I get stuff in return. #health
Vaccines and autism Feb 17, 2010
A few weeks ago, the British medical journal The Lancet, which originally published the paper linking autism to vaccinations, retracted that paper after a reassessment showed some questionable research and conflicts of interest.  In other words, it would appear that vaccines don't cause autism. 

Update:  The paper in question is now believed to be fraudulent. #health
Adult braces (2) Dec 10, 2009
I feel bad for adults who decide to get braces.  Most of the rest of us dealt with all that when we were awkward teenagers, when life was messed up to begin with, so the added annoyance of braces was like an inevitable rite of passage.  But adults with braces have to sort of adjust their life temporarily to this new facial contraption that's impossible for people to ignore.  So every conversation includes an explanation of why they decided to get braces, and every picture shows them awkwardly trying not to show their teeth when they smile.  Plus, there's the tendency to associate braces with teenagerhood, which means there's no way anybody will take you seriously. #health