Bike Back From The Shop 310.0

I got the bike back from the shop and it's all spiffy and tuned.

Apparently my HDL cholesterol is not in the proper range, my doctor suggested statins, but I really don't want to unless its a last resort. For the time being I will plunge into an exercise program for the next three months and with the expected weight loss as well as nutritious foods going into my body I will then take another blood test in hopes of a satisfactory reading. I expect a noticeable change.

From this point on I will watch the amounts of food that I eat and I will get a minimum of 20 minutes on the Health Rider per day. With gradual increments I plan on riding 20 miles a day on the bicycle.

I am eliminating the word "procrastinate" from my mind!

Partial test results

Here's a portion of my blood testing results: I should see drastic changes when my weight gets down to 210 lbs or so. Right now I'm plateaued at: 312 but I really haven't been methodically working at any kind of exercise program yet.

I did a Health Rider 20 minute routine yesterday so maybe this is the beginning.

95
Component Your Value Standard Range
GLUCOSE, FASTING 70-99 mg/dL


Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that affects the way your body uses food for energy. The disease develops when the cells of the body become resistant to insulin or when the pancreas cannot make enough insulin, which causes high blood sugar.

Insulin is a hormone that helps your body's cells get needed energy from sugar. When insulin is not able to do its job, too much sugar builds up in your blood. Over time, this extra sugar in your blood can lead to problems with your eyes, heart, blood vessels, nerves, and kidneys.

Common symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, frequent urination, increased hunger, unusual weight loss, and extreme fatigue. But in type 2 diabetes, blood sugar levels rise so slowly that a person usually does not have symptoms and may have the disease for many years before being diagnosed with it.

Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes. People who develop type 2 diabetes often are overweight and not physically active. It is most common in people who are older than 40 but is becoming more common in children. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or at least delayed if a person maintains a healthy body weight and exercises regularly. Treatment focuses on keeping blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure at safe levels. A balanced diet and regular exercise are effective for many people, but some may need one or more medicines, including insulin, to help control blood sugar levels.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

24
Component Your Value Standard Range
ALT 17-63 units/L

Test Overview

An alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test measures the amount of this enzyme in the blood. ALT is found mainly in the liver, but also in smaller amounts in the kidneys , heart , muscles, and pancreas . ALT formerly was called serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT).

ALT is measured to see if the liver is damaged or diseased. Low levels of ALT are normally found in the blood. But when the liver is damaged or diseased, it releases ALT into the bloodstream, which makes ALT levels go up. Most increases in ALT levels are caused by liver damage.

The ALT test is often done along with other tests that check for liver damage, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and bilirubin. Both ALT and AST levels are reliable tests for liver damage.

Watered body 309.8

I read a factoid sheet the other day about water and the human body; One of its attributes: a properly filled tank (body) could eliminate back and joint stiffness. Five days ago I began ingesting at least 64 ounces of H2O and sure enough, I'm already walking much better, far out! ("Far out"...... oh how I pine for the '60's).

I just read an article, Seize The Day, by Derick Lin, in it he constructs a grid 31 X 12 (days in a year) then talks of the fleetingness of a year. I had never considered a graft as such. Before they've either been weekly or monthly.

Hopefully, I'll pick up my bicycle from the shop today. Any money I've saved on gas has been amply replaced by the cost in repairs and upkeep. I do like my bike though, it's a very comfortable and practical ride.

Speaking of rides, congratulations to the Wyoming herd! Dylan and company did 108 miles in two days. Denise bragged about how Collin was so good that he pedaled all 50 miles of upgrade backwards. Does this man have any limits?

Next week there will be a reunion of about eight friends and their wives at John Smith's house in Huntington Beach. Unfortunately Doug McLean won't be there because of physical problems. He has to go under the knife for repair to his neck or he'll face the distinct possibility of paralysis. I am guessing he'll go for it within a month's time. Stuff happens.

I have this feeling that I may finish topping off my garden today. It's remained fallow for over a year and a half so this is quite a propitious occasion. Of course there are some college football games on TV so there will be sirens which will be calling me wayward.

It's time for a power packed breakfast. Not too sure what the menu is for this morning, but I am sure it will be nutritious!

Say It Ain't So Joe 310.0

I was thinking of writing a nasty memo to Joe Wilson, the asshole Representative from South Carolina, but I figured a vent here is just fine. When I heard him blurt out to President Obama, "You lie" I thought it was some kind of outsider, not someone from Congress. I've figured this political whore out. He saw all the press coverage the town hall astro turfers were getting so he thought he'd seize the moment and really make some political hay in the biggest town hall of them all.

South Carolina, you can be proud of this warmed over turd.
_________________


The following is a partial list of his accomplishments:

Wilson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Hugh de Veaux Wilson and Wray Graves Wilson.

He was active in South Carolina Republican politics from a young age, participating in his first Republican campaign in 1962. As a teenager he joined the campaign of Congressman Floyd Spence, later working as an aide to Senator Strom Thurmond.

Wilson obtained a bachelor's degree from Washington and Lee University in 1969, obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1972, worked as a real estate attorney, and co-founded the law firm Kirkland, Wilson, Moore, Taylor & Thomas[1] in West Columbia, where he practiced for over 25 years. Wilson was also a Judge in Springdale.

From 1972 to 1975, Wilson served in the United States Army Reserve, and then as a Staff Judge Advocate in the South Carolina Army National Guard assigned to the 218th Mechanized Infantry Brigade until retiring from military service as a Colonel in 2003.

In 1981 and 1982, during the Reagan Administration, Wilson served as Deputy General Counsel for former Governor Jim Edwards at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wilson was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1984 as a Republican from Lexington County, and never missed a statutory session in 17 years.[citation needed] After the Republicans gained control of the chamber in 1996, he became the first Republican to serve as Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. Wilson was a member of the Columbia College Board of Visitors and Coker College Board of Trustees.
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Wilson_%28U.S._politician%29)
_____________________

To think that a person with such experience would commit an egregious error in judgment as this is unthinkable. He's an opportunistic political whore who certainly would have claimed all of the glory for such a despicable display of bad manners if only his cohorts would have gone along.

He contritely called the White House last night and apologized only because he didn't get away with it and not because he felt bad that his actions had been in poor taste. He's a racist just like all of the birthers and death panelists are. Joe, I despise every sinew, every drop of blood and every hair on your head ( btw I don't see too many on that comb over dome of yours).

"Say it ain't so, Joe" was a banner headline in 1919 about the infamous Chicago Black Sox betting scandal. The asshole Joe I'm writing about collects a bunch of health benefits and salaried tax money from the United States Government and then turns around and rants about how corrupt DC is. Raw Story points out that, "Among Wilson’s top contributors are the American Hospital Association, a lobby group that represents the interests of hospitals and health networks, and the American Medical Association, which represents physicians."

Joe, you have a great gig...... please say it ain't so.

Magic Number? 307.6 redux

I just hate it when I push the wrong key and send out blank blogs.

So perhaps 307.6 lbs is the magic number which makes arthritic pain in my knees subside? I am at 98% recovery now; what a relief!

Went out just a while ago and bought a veggie Subway Submarine Sandwich, then went to the Z-Market and purchased an avocado. I just couldn't resist buying some homemade salsa with ever so little shrimp in it to add to the sandwich. My first backslide since becoming a vegan.

I'm moving right along with the Luminosity.com thing. I figured with all of the scientific information out there on preventative steps to ward off dementia that I might as well jump on the band wagon. I've really progressed in skill level in the two or three months that I've been at it. I'm even in the 90 percentile group of one set of skills (since I can't remember offhand it surely can't be about memory lol :)

Brain Profile

1. Brain Area
   Your BPI
   How do you compare?

   Percentile Comparison

   Your percentile for each category shows you how you compare with other Lumosity users who are within five years of your age. For example, if your percentile in a given category is 40%, that means that you have a higher BPI than 40% of the Lumosity users in your age bracket.

   Note that since you're being compared to other people training with Lumosity, your percentile rank isn't as high as it would be if you were just compared to the general population.

1. Overall

   977
   83%

2. Speed

   953
   79%

   Train Speed

3. Memory

   967
   87%

   Train Memory

4. Attention

   821
   76%

   Train Attention

5. Flexibility

   1131
   91%

   Train Flexibility

6. Problem Solving

   1014
   84%

   Train Problem Solving

Not a lot going on. After this post I'll finish the other half of the sub sandwich and listen to lecture #7 about the Spartans. After that I think I'll try to give the car its first wash in over a year! Then Nancy will get her run around the neighborhood and I'll go inside and finish watching Top Gun ( I haven't watched TG for at least six months, I'm slipping ).

Somewhere I am going to try to figure out some kind of exercise scheme. I think my shoulder is ready now for some body weight.

Got to take my bike in for some sprocket inspection....... it's making clattering noises. Guess I'll drop by Cream of the Crop and pick up some vittles while I am in the vicinity.

lumosity addiction

I've overdosed a tad too much with the website, Lumosity.com. It costs a nominal fee, but I felt it might be worth it to exercise the gray matter. I get off on trying to memorize various grid patterns and seeing myself fail. I stayed with Monster Garden for over five hours straight! My forte is a game involving a cafe, customers and food orders which involves no grids.

Joy and I are about to watch a Netflix movie, The Agronomist, I have no idea what it's about.

Not a heck of lot going on......... just putzing around the house and yard.

Leapin' Lizards! 312

The coolest thing happened just a while ago. I had watered off the patio and was dressed in shorts and thongs relaxing in the chair when I noticed a lizard crawl on to the patio and drink from the wet concrete deck. He was about eight feet from me and I was kicked back taking it easy with my feet out when a bee lands on my big toe. The lizard's head turns towards the bee's movement and before I know is happening he scurries over to the foot thong and up on my toe and seizes the bee in his mouth. Then he slides down my foot, gives the bee a couple of chomps before swallowing and stays next to my foot for about fifteen seconds before scampering off the deck and into the planted section. I was excited when I first saw a lizard catch a spider and then a fly, but for me to actually be part of the hunt and have a ringside seat was the ultimate commune with nature wow!