|
Grex > Health > #87: Sindi Keesan's Lymphoma Journal |  |
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 480 responses total. |
rcurl
|
|
response 315 of 480:
| 
Nov 22 03:47 UTC 2003 |
Sindi, you should read Sailing Alone Around the World, by Joshua Slocum -
see how it's done by a real salt.
|
keesan
|
|
response 316 of 480:
|
Nov 22 13:41 UTC 2003 |
I am not all that focussed on sailing, actually. Now I am reading a book on
the first three billion years of life on earth, which discusses how people
are related to sponges and corals, and to starfish, and how giardia probably
used to have mitochondria but the RNA (DNA?) from them moved to the nucleus.
And fungi are closer to animals than to plants. Slime molds are in there
somewhere. Grex is a slime mold.
I have started taping the 12 library CDs that we have been renewing for two
months, but today we might try to get the CD writer working. I am avoiding
crowds and individuals until at least Monday so we have the time now. I am
feeling a lot less tired than this time last cycle because of the lower dose
of prednisone so I can still go on long walks. Only 1 or 2 pounds instead
of 5 pounds fluid retention means I am not up most of the night urinating and
I have slept as late at 7 am. With the usual awakenings from hot flashes of
course, but only once an hour or so. No more prednisone until December.
I am trying to find out how many square meters of body surface I have. I just
learned that they usually give everyone the same amount of vincristine despite
theoretically adjusting for body size, but now they have cut my dose in half.
The max dose is 2 mg and that is what they give everyone. I want to check
whether everyone also gets two syringes of doxorubicin, the one the causes
the laryngitis and peeling feet, in case they can cut that back too. Maybe
the tables linking height/weight and body area are online somewhere.
|
keesan
|
|
response 317 of 480:
|
Nov 22 15:15 UTC 2003 |
I found a site for calculating body surface area at
www.halls.md/body-surface-area/bsa.htm. Mine is 1.5 m sq, with average women
being 1.6. At 93 pounds I was 1.4. The vincristine dose is 2 mg.
My lean body weight is 90 lb and ideal 131 lb (mine is probably lower than
that since I have small bones). Weight at 10th percentile.
When I weighed 93 lb my lean body weight was 82 lb, which explains why I did
not have much muscle strength. The body apparently preserves about 10 lb as
fat and sacrifices muscle instead. At 120 lb I would have lean body weight
of 98 lb (another 8 lb of muscle) which I could certainly use.
My current BMI is 17.1. Low normal is 19. I am up from 2nd to 10th
percentile in weight versus height.
All these figures are automatically calculated when you type in weight and
height and use a javascript browser to calculate.
This site is full of ads for pills to lose weight.
It is not a good idea to eat breakfast at the keyboard after having taking
vincristine as the oatmeal is not good for the keyboard (shaky hands).
If I can continue to gain one pound a week by January I will be somewhat
better insulated as half the gain will be fat. I was 112 lb for the three
years before getting sick and could sit comfortably and did not need to wear
two sweaters at 70 degrees.
|
keesan
|
|
response 318 of 480:
|
Nov 23 20:28 UTC 2003 |
Today is probably the low point in my cycle. My tongue and throat feel raw
but I still don't have Jim's cold so we took me out for a walk in the balmy
weather. Two cycles ago on this day I barely made it across the street and
back. Today I made it to Eberwhite Woods and around the woods and back and
a few additional blocks. I had to stop and rest a few times. Jim would sit
on a log breathing downwind while I sat on him facing the other direction,
as I still am too bony to sit directly on logs.
We have confirmed that the grey and black squirrels are smaller than the brown
ones and do not have the white fur on the underside. THe former are probably
Eastern grey squirrels in two color variations, the latter fox squirrels.
We did not see the small (red?) squirrel in the woods.
Not too much greenery left to look at. The trees can be identified by their
bark but I only know black cherry, white and red oak, and hickory (shaggy).
We admired a lot of shelf fungus on fallen and standing dead trees. The shelf
fungus is found on the bottoms of logs and mosses on the tops. We also saw
some rounded largish stones in the mostly dried up creeks, granite.
My elbow and knee joints feel sort of loose - perhaps some connective tissue
is not regenerated. My leg muscles feel somewhat numb. Different from the
numbness in hands and feet (numb/tingly), more that I cannot feel the usual
feedback when I use them.
The short-term pain in my upper arm muscles has returned.
Things are still tasting relatively okay.
I have been losing hair in places other than the top of my head, but not leg
hair, which must not grow as often. My eyebrows and lashes are much sparser.
My fingernails persist in growing strongly and I still have a struggle cutting
them with one hand. If I put my finger on the table and prop the toenail
cutter against the table and lean on it, it cuts the nail.
|
keesan
|
|
response 319 of 480:
|
Nov 24 15:21 UTC 2003 |
Lots more hair coming off my head today and I hope last night was the low
point because I had aching insides of my knees, elbows, upper arms, spleen,
and ribs, and raw tongue and throat. I finally had an interesting dream
around dawn before the 7:20 garbage truck woke me up, which involved among
other things Marcus Watts with a beard that covered all but his eyes. I had
been reading someone's travel stories about Afghanistan, where the women went
out dressed in large bags, I think without anything showing but hands. And
the dream involved our neighbor (who called late to help with geting our CD-R
drive to work) starting up a restaurant with a Korean cook - I had also
been reading travel stories about South America, where the Korean immigrants
own lots of restaurants like they do in Ann Arbor, and we now have our own
Chinese cook (who promises to send over some good leftovers until I get
well enough to visit with her).
I don't like Mondays - garbage trucks, blood draws, infusions, CT scans are
all scheduled for Mondays.
The sailors have just weathered a 3 day gale that blew away or shredded every
one of their sails. Luckily their sailmaker had prepared a few new ones for
their return voyage. I have out a library book on atlases of exploration with
several illustrations of sailing ships. It looks like the large square sails
(used for sailing downwind) are normally hung down from the boom (yard?), not
attached to it at their bottoms like the mainsails in smaller sailboats. The
triangular sails can be attached along one of their two upper edges, or
attached only by their three corners (sometomes to a piece of wood that
projects forward - what is that called?).
There are lots of words for rope - tack, sheets, halyards, hanks, frapping
lines, bolt-rope, footropes. What are brails and gaskets and gaff?
spritsail, martingale guys.
|
gelinas
|
|
response 320 of 480:
|
Nov 24 15:55 UTC 2003 |
Right: the spar at the top of a square sail is a "yard." Ships with square
sails (known as "square-rigged ships", or "square-riggers") could sail
*slightly* upwind, maybe to within seventy degress of the wind.
} Brail \Brail\, n. [OE. brayle furling rope, OF. braiol a band
} placed around the breeches, fr.F. braies, pl., breeches,
} fr.L. braca, bracae, breeches, a Gallic word; cf. Arm.
} bragez. Cf. {Breeches}.]
}
} 2. pl. (Naut.) Ropes passing through pulleys, and used to
} haul in or up the leeches, bottoms, or corners of sails,
} preparatory to furling.
A gaff is a spar at the top of a sail. It differs from a yard in
projecting only aft from the mast, rather than across the mast. It sets
a sail fore-and-aft, rather than across the ship.
The "piece of wood sticking out", from which a three-cornered sail is
flown, should be the bowsprit. It is at the front of the ship, right?
|
keesan
|
|
response 321 of 480:
|
Nov 24 16:58 UTC 2003 |
Yes the bowsprit is in front. The sail on it must be the spritsail.
What is a gaffer, if a gaff is a spar at the top of a sail?
The Polynesians had sailing ships up to 100 feet long, with a platform resting
on two dugout canoes. I think they had only one sail. In the 1830s a lot
of the sailors were natives of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). They were very
good swimmers. Sailing ships included merchant ships, military ships,
privateers (pirates), slavers, and whalers The author said that the whalers
were very good at rowing but not very good at working with sails, and that
they did not wear the usual matching outfits (white cotton in summer, blue
wool pants in winter) but dressed like farmers or fishermen in all colors of
pants, with suspenders. The crews amused themselves at times by having rowing
or sailing races, they sang while hoisting up the anchor, fiddled, and told
tall tales. They also traded books between ships and read a lot.
The author got a packet brought to him by another ship containing cloth to
make a new Sunday best outfit, and one year old letters, and one year old
Boston newspapers. He read every word including the auction sales.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 322 of 480:
|
Nov 24 17:33 UTC 2003 |
Sindi, borrow "harbors and High Seas: An Atlas and Geographical Guide to the
Aubrey-Maturin novels.
The Third Edition contains the maps and charts that cover all 21 books.
|
keesan
|
|
response 323 of 480:
|
Nov 24 20:11 UTC 2003 |
What is an Aubrey-Maturin novel? I don't think I need an Atlas to understand
the book I am reading right now, just some detailed drawings of ships.
Jim went over and made two attempts to provide our guest with a working
washing machine. The replacement control (switch) worked worse than the old
one and the backup machine no longer works (after sitting about 10 years in
the basement it does not even fill). Our grateful guest sent back her
equivalent of chicken soup for a cold (it has large chunks of ginger in it)
and some boiled peanuts with anise, and a type of pudding made probably out
of sticky rice flour (it is nearly as sticky as taffy) and dried chestnuts
and jujubes.
I have just been offered more translation work. I had to explain that I might
be about to get an awful cold (with no immunity - but Jim has been sick for
a few days and I am still okay) followed by three days of headache, and I
wanted to have the option of returning it a couple of days late.
We might be going to a potluck Thursday on the organic farm if we are all
well. I cannot plan life very far ahead yet.
|
flem
|
|
response 324 of 480:
|
Nov 24 20:13 UTC 2003 |
I made it through only a couple of the Patrick O'Brian books. They
seemed to be a lot more about the main character's social life on land
than about anything having to do with water. The Hornblowers were much
better.
|
gelinas
|
|
response 325 of 480:
|
Nov 24 23:38 UTC 2003 |
Sindi, Jack Aubrey is the captain in _Master_and_Commander_; Stephen Maturin
is his ship's surgeon. The books about their adventures were written by
Patrick O'Brian.
A friend pointed out that Hornblower was a 20th-century man placed in the
early 19th century. Aubrey and company seem much more to be men of their
times.
In what context was 'gaffer" used?
|
keesan
|
|
response 326 of 480:
|
Nov 25 00:23 UTC 2003 |
Gaffer as in making movies. Is it related to sailing terminology?
|
rcurl
|
|
response 327 of 480:
|
Nov 25 01:34 UTC 2003 |
Then a gaffer is a lighting electrician on a motion-picture or television
set.
|
bru
|
|
response 328 of 480:
|
Nov 25 04:35 UTC 2003 |
I wish I knew where my book on ships is. It has detailed drawings on various
ships and their riggings. Ill have to see if Ican find it.
|
davel
|
|
response 329 of 480:
|
Nov 25 15:06 UTC 2003 |
(The current issue of _Smithsonian_ has an article on the Aubrey books & their
author, FWIW.)
|
gull
|
|
response 330 of 480:
|
Nov 25 16:51 UTC 2003 |
Re #294: Is sailing also the origin of the expression "three sheets to
the wind"? I've always wondered about that.
|
rcurl
|
|
response 331 of 480:
|
Nov 25 21:12 UTC 2003 |
Yup. From the web: "To be 'three sheets to the wind' is to be drunk. The
sheet is the line that controls the sails on a ship. If the line is not
secured, the sail flops in the wind, and the ship loses headway and
control. If all three sails are loose, the ship is out of control."
I would only add that only some boats have three sails (and sheets), so
you can also be out of control with one or two - and more - "sheets to
|
remmers
|
|
response 332 of 480:
|
Nov 25 21:50 UTC 2003 |
the wind".
|
twenex
|
|
response 333 of 480:
|
Nov 25 22:30 UTC 2003 |
"Gaffer" usually means "boss"; Sam Gamgee's father and
predecessor as Bag End's gardener in Lord of the Rigns was
known as Gaffer Gamgee, on account of his being an
authority on all things gossipy, probably.
|
gelinas
|
|
response 334 of 480:
|
Nov 26 03:35 UTC 2003 |
} Gaffer \Gaf"fer\, n. [Possibly contr. fr. godfather; but prob.
} fr. gramfer for grandfather. Cf. {Gammer}.]
} 1. An old fellow; an aged rustic.
}
} Go to each gaffer and each goody. --Fawkes.
}
} Note: Gaffer was originally a respectful title, now
} degenerated into a term of familiarity or contempt when
} addressed to an aged man in humble life.
}
} 2. A foreman or overseer of a gang of laborers. [Prov. Eng.]
|
rcurl
|
|
response 335 of 480:
|
Nov 26 06:05 UTC 2003 |
The definition of gaffer I gave in #327 was #4 copy/pasted from the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary. At least they have caught up with the
"times".
|
gelinas
|
|
response 336 of 480:
|
Nov 26 06:13 UTC 2003 |
I wasn't disagreeing with your definition, Rane; I was responding to the
response immediately before mine.
|
keesan
|
|
response 337 of 480:
|
Nov 26 13:25 UTC 2003 |
I have also come across 'gammer'. Jim says the electricians are the ones who
are in charge at construction projects because they are there throughout most
of the job. He was once an apprentice electrician for a year. This year he
might get around to switching from fuse box to circuit breaker panel. The
insurance company says that can cut the rates 30%. It will also cut our
heating costs by 2/3 if he finishes the wiring.
|
gelinas
|
|
response 338 of 480:
|
Nov 26 19:22 UTC 2003 |
And 'gammer' is the feminine equivalent of "gaffer": "prob. fr. grammer for
grandmother. Cf. {Gaffer}."
|
keesan
|
|
response 339 of 480:
|
Nov 27 01:37 UTC 2003 |
Today I read an Agatha Christie novel whose blurb starts off:
For thousands of years the ancient city of Baghdad had been the scene of every
kind of evil known to mankind.
The book continues with something about a secret organization stockpiling
nuclear weapons somewhere in the mountains in some place like
Baluchistan.....There is a band of men, mostly young men, so evil in their
hearts and aims that the truth would hardly be believed....Antichrist!....
There must be total war--total destruction. The small chosen band of higher
beings...when destruction had run its course, they would step in and take
over.
Apparently the current paranoia is not recent.
Today my legs are still so wobbly that I did not go for a walk. It feels as
if I would pull a muscle in my calves if I tried, or my knees would bend the
wrong direction. This seems to be getting worse each cycle. I was warned
the side effects could be cumulative. Some people do eight cycles somehow.
But I am much better than in July-September. They told me things would
average out between getting generally stronger and the side effects getting
worse in some ways. Hands are shakier than last time.
|