CERAMENT® BONE VOID FILLER is an injectable, moldable, drillable and radiopaque bone substitute which provides rapid and complete bone remodeling within 6-12 months.  CERAMENT is an ideal bone substitute for a wide range of orthopedic applications including hip, knee and shoulder arthroplasty, traumatic fractures, benign bone tumors and cysts, arthrodesis, charcot foot and hardware removal.

Unique features of CERAMENT:

Injectable, moldable, drillable
Rapid and complete bone remodeling
Highly visible under fluoroscopy
30 second, enclosed mix
Not temperature sensitive
Robust clinical data

Amnio Technology, LLC is a global leader in the development and distribution of amniotic tissue allografts. Amniotic tissue contains extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, cytokines, carbohydrates, hyaluronic acid, and other elements naturally present in amniotic fluid and tissue essential for fetal growth and development. Amnio Technology is committed to advancing the science and use of these unique allografts to improve quality of life for patients in need.Type your paragraph here.

MedShape. We are what the future feels like. As a constantly evolving orthopedic device company that utilizes proprietary advanced material technologies, we fuse brilliant design with surgical expertise. Now surgeons can use the most innovative orthopedic devices anywhere - unique devices created from our shape memory biomaterials that can transform and adapt inside the body. Together, we are dramatically improving the technology of soft tissue fixation, fracture repair, and joint fusions. That kind of change isn't just good - it's great!

-       www.rediscoveryourgo.com

They do this by taking a pioneering approach to the design of advanced medical products and services, by securing wider access to diverse technologies for more customers globally, and by enabling better outcomes for patients and healthcare systems.

They have leadership positions in:

-Orthopaedics Reconstruction - joint replacement systems for knees, hips and shoulders
-Trauma & Extremities - products that help repair broken bones

-Annual sales in 2015 were more than $4.6 billion.


TUCKING IN: Cristina

IF you thought they ate odd things in Andalucia, try Madrid.

A colourful mix of innards, guts and offal were on display during a visit to the capital this month.

A bowl of snails, with chorizo, ended up being decidedly ordinary alongside a plate of pigs ears (oreja) and sheep intestines (zarajos) at historic Los Caracoles restaurant, in the La Latina district.

The zarajos, which are typical from Cuenca, come on a wooden skewer and are lightly barbecued.

ODD: Pigs ears

“You need to eat them slowly and savour them,” explained local teacher Cristina Herrera, 31 (pictured).

Meanwhile, a racion of ‘entresijos’ came out with a round of beers at a restaurant up near Alonso Martinez.

A very unusual dish, reminiscent of wild mushrooms, but slightly chewier, turns out to be lamb ‘mesentery’ or, as defined in English, the ‘piece of peritoneum that joins part of the small intestine to the back wall of the abdomen’.

Another unusual tapa is ‘gallinejas’, or chitterlings, which are the intestines of a suckling pig.

WEIRD: Lamb intestines

The specialities are particularly popular during the city’s annual San Isidro festival that ended last week.

They are rarely found in the centre, apart from at feria time, and are more likely to be eaten in the working class suburbs, including Carabanchel and Vallecas.


A: “What makes an activity relevant, yours or anyone else’s? “

B: “The way I see it, for what it stands for, how it forms its stand and how it is communicated.”

A: “Through art?”

B: “In relations, we create, towards what defines us, now and what used to define us then and then. If first we look at now, and define it as one elusive moment of there and there (man points to his head and the surroundings and repeats again in order to emphasize he did not make a mistake), there and there. They are both here both elusive, only history makes this now, graspable.

A: “Through us?”

B: If what we do defines us, it is our responsibility to act with devotion and dignity in order to inspire trust in ourselves and others (at the same time inspire again ourselves and others).

A: “Act/s towards and for art and humanity?”

B: “Individual vocations enrich through collaborations that follow the rules of creative process. Thoughts and ideas provoke actions that are meaningfully and mindfully turned into reality. Only a union of ideas can provoke a reality that puts man’s identity back into the center and identifies what embraces us, as unity. Art not as a reflection, section or mirror of reality, but art that provokes and generates reality.

now switch A for B and read again (just decide where you want to be)

We.are Institute follows a 360-degree approach toward complex contemporary art practices, where concept and form generate and define each other in forms of singular artist’s visions. Through compact group efforts aim/s are established upon the concepts and realities. Mainly operating in fields of spatial and site-specific interventions and multi-media. Installations are tailored within and with collaborating entities, individuals, and institutions joining knowledge and experience in order to reach out and communicate unique voices and stories to a wide circle of people. What we do, we do to give a voice, form and space to voices which are adding to our understandings of existence.


Seeka - Hamsa Necklace 0380

Wearing this Pendant is like wearing a miniature artwork. The piece is truly unique with the intricate design hand painted and set within a very light stainless steel frame. Austrian crystals, beads and a variety of other materials are delicately assembled and set in artist's resin resulting in a beautifully finished and durable piece. The collection conveys a refreshingly unique and highly creative signature. The pendant is exceptionally well made and is produced in limited editions.

Comes with a 19” platinum plated chains (15”+4” extension).

Dimensions: 1.10 x 0.80 x 0.25 (H x W x L)


Is the Earth a planet of trash?!

Is the Earth a planet of trash?! it’s a hands-on activity for children from 6-10 years that took place in Lúcio Craveiro da Silva Library on November 24th from 10:00-12:00.

What can be considered as trash? Did you know that 1.3 billion tons of trash are produced per year? What is toxic waste and how can we avoid or reduce it? In the European Union alone, each person produces 200 kg of this waste per year! How can science help us? In the European Week of Waste Prevention, let us reflect on these issues and carry out some activities that alert us to a more sustainable way of life. Are you curious? Just show up! And don’t forget: it’s time to detoxify!


Nivinskii, Ignatii Ignatevich

Nivinskii, Ignatii Ignat’evich

Born Dec. 30, 1880 (Jan. 11, 1881), in Moscow; died there Oct. 27, 1933. Soviet painter and graphic artist.

Nivinskii graduated from the Stroganov School of Industrial Arts in Moscow in 1898. He taught there from 1898 to 1905 and at the Moscow Vkhutemas-Vkhutein (State Higher Arts and Technical Studios-Higher Art and Technical Institute) from 1921 to 1930. Between 1900 and 1915, Nivinskii worked mainly in the field of decorative monumental painting. Beginning in 1912 he primarily produced etchings. Nivinskii was the founder and chairman of the Engravers’ Union (1918) and a member of the Four Arts Association (from 1924). His graphic works were influenced by G. B. Piranesi and F. Brangwyn (Italian Suite, etching, aquatint, 1912, 1915).

In the mid-1920’s, Nivinskii turned to the theme of industrialization. He believed that the fervor of transforming reality could be conveyed by means of dynamic composition achieved by the juxtaposition of various planes and foreshortenings and by the combination of pictorial elements disparate in time and space (the cycle ZAGES, etching, drypoint, 1927).

Among Nivinskii’s many works for the theater the designs for the staging of Princess Turandot, based on Gozzi’s tale (1922, Third Studio of the Moscow Art Theater, director E. B. Vakhtangov), were particularly noteworthy. The stylized decorativeness and humor of the design were in tune with the ironic and cheerful nature of the production. Nivinskii was also an illustrator.

I.I. Nivinskii: Katalog vystavki. Leningrad, 1934.
Dokuchaeva, V. N. I. I. Nivinskii. Moscow [1969].


The Danger of Double Negatives

Have you ever asked someone what they think of your new dress and they say “Well, I don’t dislike it”? Or are you confused by what The Rolling Stones meant in their song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”? If you answered yes, you have been subject to the confusion of the double negative. Double negatives occur when two forms of negation are present in the same sentence. Double negatives are like math; because there are two negatives, they cancel out to make the sentence positive. Take my first question for example. With this double negative, the goal of your friend is to avoid offending you because obviously they hate your dress. Saying “I don’t dislike it” would translate to “I like it” when you cancel out the negatives, but because the word “dislike” is prominent it doesn’t sound positive. Using this phrase implies that there are parts you like even if it’s untrue and is must less harsh than saying “I dislike it”, but implies you have some parts you dislike. I’ve had this phrase used on me and personally I would much rather someone be straightforward with me rather than sugar-coating their words with double negatives. Sometimes people use double negatives for effect, such as in my second question. When The Rolling Stones said “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”, they really meant that they can’t get ANY satisfaction. If you translate the sentence by cancelling out the double negatives, it would become “I Can Get Satisfaction”, which I’m sure isn’t what The Rolling Stones wanted to say. I think that they just wanted to sound rough and tough by using “no” instead of “any”, but that just made them grammatically confusing. This was just a brief touch on double negatives, but I hope that everyone now knows how to check that their meaning is still intact when they use double negatives. This will be my last post, so I hope anyone who read this enjoyed my rants 🙂

Texting, Slang, and Acronyms: Oh my!

One of the reasons for the evolution of language and the degeneration of grammar is because of a recently new technology called the cell phone, which brought about a new way to communicate called “texting”. Texting is highly influential on any language and is a contributing factor for the common grammatical errors that I mentioned in my previous posts. In my opinion, texting is both beneficial and hazardous. It increases the efficiency of exchanging messages, but because of the need for efficiency, we tend to create shortcuts that sometimes are grammatically incorrect. Also, this new “texting language” or “slang” has often seeped into our academic writing, making it harder to enforce grammar. For example, people shorten the phrases “got to” and “could have” into the words “gotta” and “coulda” just to decrease the time taken to send a message. These words are obviously not real, but because of the increased use of such words they have become prominent in written and spoken English language. People also misuse the forms of “there/their/they’re” and “your/you’re” quite frequently when texting because there is no way of being alerted that your spelling is wrong and most people read the text so fast they don’t even notice. “Autocorrect” can help with correcting spelling and punctuation, but it doesn’t correct grammar. If we rely on autocorrect, we will never learn to be accurate without it. We have also created acronyms such as “brb” to mean “be right back” or “lol” to mean “laugh out loud”. Although texting acronyms are meant to be solely for texting, I have noticed people using these acronyms in their oral communication. I found a website that I think is great for parents of tech-savvy children because all you do is type in the acronym such as “brb” into the box and click the button that says “Translate Slang” and it will tell you what the acronym stands for. There’s no need to study up on your acronyms now! If you are confused by a slang term, this website also has a tab with a large list of slang words commonly used in text messaging. Now you can know what your kids are really saying about you :p. Because we live in the age of technology, we must embrace the new terms and changes to language that texting brings. Although this is true, we must also embrace grammar and not compromise it just because it is inconvenient.

Because you’re TOO full, I will give TWO pieces of pie TO your sister

My title is my attempt to make a sentence that uses all three forms of to/too/two and hopefully shows the differences between them. Normally people mix up “to” and “too” and don’t often mix up “to” and “two” or “too” and “two”. I don’t know if this confusion is because people don’t realize the three forms are not interchangeable or they are too lazy to add or take away one letter. I want to distinguish between these three forms so people will stop making this annoying mistake. The word “two” is a cardinal (counting) number and identifies a set of things such as “two pieces of pie”. The word “to” is a preposition that is used to: a) express motion or direction (eg. I gave it to your sister); b) express limit of movement or extension (eg. He grew to 6 feet); c) express contact or contiguity (eg. I gave him a punch to the jaw); or d) express a point of limit in time (eg. I work from 9 to 5). The word “too” is an adverb that is used: a) as a synonym for “in addition” or “also” (eg. I like pie also); b) to show an excessive extent or degree (eg. I’m too full for pie); c) as an affirmative to contradict a negative statement (eg. I am too) or d) as a synonym for “extremely” or “very” (eg. She wasn’t too pleased with his behavior). As you can see, the three forms all have very different uses. All you have to remember  is that the word “two” is used as a number, the word “to” is used as a preposition, and the word “too” is used to show excess or in addition to something. If you can remember the uses of these words, then you will be able to figure out which one is appropriate in your sentence without doubt.

A Brief List of Songs with Atrocious Grammar

I was thinking about how there are so many songs that are grammatically incorrect, so I decided to search the Internet to find some examples and I came across this man’s blog. After reading through his list of 20 songs with horrible grammar, I noticed that some of the songs use improper grammar for no reason at all. For example, in Queen’s song “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy”, the line “I’d like for you and I to go romancing” is grammatically incorrect when it doesn’t need to be. “I” and “me” are both one syllable, so they could be interchangeable. Also, the phase “you and I” is in the middle of the sentence and is not being used to rhyme such as in the song “Run to You”, therefore Queen could have and should have used “me” instead of “I”. Many artists use improper grammar because they want to make their song rhyme, but sometimes it is not necessary to be incorrect. Another example he brought up that is also baffling is when artists such as Dan Fogelberg mix up the simple past tense and the perfect tense. I think his mistake is pretty obvious and it would not have affected his message or the flow of the song if he had used the correct word. Also, this blogger mentioned that some artists make up words just to make their song rhyme, even when the words are completely incorrect. In Gwen Stefani’s song “Bubble Pop Electric”, she makes up the word “bestest” to rhyme with “restless” and in Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around”, he makes up the word “bleeded”. Gwen has shown she doesn’t understand that “best” is a gradable adjective and Justin has shown that he doesn’t know what the past tense of “bleed” is. I’m sure these artists could have found a way to rhyme without butchering grammar this severely. Although the grammatical errors this blogger previously brought up are cringe worthy, the error that irks me the most is the one in Timbaland’s song “The Way I Are”, because it is completely unnecessary to use “are” instead of “am” and it just makes the line sound awkward. I hope future songs do not overlook grammar as much as these songs do, but from the looks of it there isn’t much hope.

Why do people keep saying “I seen”?

Only one of my friends has a tendency to say this, so I’m not sure if this grammatical error is as common as I think it is. Even though it may not be common, this mistake is one we must eliminate because it shows we have no understanding of grammar and it makes us sound uneducated. I have heard people say “I seen” and it makes me cringe. How do people not realize it sounds completely incorrect? I can see why people could confuse “seen” and “saw”, because they are both used to describe the past. Although this is true, there is one major difference between the usages of these words. “Seen” must be preceded by the helper verb “to have” whereas “saw” is never preceded by this helper verb. This would make the phrase become “I have seen”, which sounds correct. We must remember that “seen” is a past participle and used in the perfect tense while “saw” is used in the simple past. We cannot interchange the two because of the need for the helper verb. The difference between these two words may be hard to remember for some people, but if we familiarize ourselves with the various verb tenses we will be able to recognize which word is correct to apply.

“Than” vs. “Then”

This blog is a gold mine! The author has addressed yet another common grammatical error and distinguished between the two commonly mixed up words with ease and clarity. I don’t have an issue with these words anymore, but I did when I was younger. If I had seen this back then, I would have learned the difference much faster. The problem with these words is that they are supposed to have distinct sounds, (a hard “a” sound for the word “than” and a hard “e” sound for the word “then”) but people often make then words sound the same. This makes it difficult to distinguish between the two when having an oral conversation, which in turn makes it difficult to choose which one to use in written communication. Luckily, this blogger has come up with an easy method to remember in which contexts to use these words. Even though we know our message will get across regardless of whether or not we use the correct word, it is important to think carefully about whether or not we are correct. If we give in to our laziness, this error will contribute to the deterioration of our grammar and cause the rapid loss of our structured language that we must strive to uphold.

“Who” vs. “Whom”

I was reading through this woman’s blog and I couldn’t have shown the distinction between “who” and “whom” better myself.  Now whenever I think of one episode of “The Big Bang Theory” where Penny is saying “Who do we love!” while Sheldon is doing his door knocking routine, I can’t help but cringe because she is using the wrong pronoun. I hope you are familiar with this episode, or at least with the show, or else this reference will not make sense and I will look silly.


I do agree that the priority of every government should be to protect its country. Protecting a country includes protecting even the people of that country, and therefore, it is the duty of every government to defend its citizens from foreign competition and loss, and to put the interest of its nation first. For instance, economies are vital for the survival of every country. Lack of a good economy leaves a country reliant on other countries for survival; therefore it’s the legal duty of every government to defend the economy of its country. This includes actively defending its citizens in all areas, including the job market; a government should do everything possible to ensure that its citizens are not outsourced out of jobs.

            Protecting its citizens from overseas competition and loss should be the responsibility of every government, in order to make sure that viable jobs and skills are kept within the borders of its country. A majority of times, governments of countries are usually faced with business competition. If the foreign business environment offers better opportunities for business, a government may loose both its citizens and jobs to countries overseas, if it does not intervene. One way to keep its citizens working at home is by making jobs within the country more attractive in terms of salaries and working conditions.

            In addition, matters of national security are important to every government.  Protecting its country means not allowing foreign forces to pose security risks in its country. Foreign militia groups such as Al Shabaab if allowed to attack the citizens of a country, it not only risks the lives and property of its people, but also the national security, which is a key determinant whether tourists will be willing to visit that country, and whether foreign investors will want to invest in a country that is facing insecurity. In addition, if a government does not defend its security officers from foreign competition, many of them will seek job opportunities oversees and know one will remain to provide security within the country. Therefore, every government should make it a responsibility to defend its country.

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Related essays


PATRONS: The Realization Of Self Within Other.

That which surrounds you is what you are choosing to integrate.

What you are isn’t contained within a single, physical body. There are circles, within circles, within circles of people that surround you (with each circle and your level of focus upon it representing a layer of meaning). When you look at your life in this way, what is seen is that the closest of these circles is what you are most focused on integrating (with the circle outside of that being the next, and so forth). This means that your focus on these different “circles of other” is like a road-map of your intention to expand — rather like looking into your future.

In this vision of circles I want you to feel how what you are is represented not just by your immediate self, but by everything you choose to focus on (regardless of whether that is perceived as being your personal self or other). In this we begin to see how what we have called “other” is actually a description of the human qualities that are currently awakening / resolving / clarifying within us. In this light the other people upon whom you are most focused are seen to reflect / reveal your choice of evolution (through the direction of your focus).

What we call “other” could also be called our personal “next” in terms of it representing our expansion of focus.


Source: Independent

Lately, President Trump has been kind of predictable in the sense that at every turn we expect him to come up with unexpected policies or what some would refer to as his “promises.” The latest being the first budget blueprint he released on Thursday. The $1.15 trillion budget proposed by the President will basically affect every department that will incur cuts with other programs experiencing a total cut-off of funds.

Some of the agencies that would get cut off entirely would include public broadcasting, arts, development groups, etc. Others that will experience steep cuts would be agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department.

In short, every department is set to get a massive cut or complete cut-off with the funds getting transferred to three major agencies: Homeland Security, Defense Department, and Veterans Affairs who will get a generous boost from the budget.

Trump says that this budget is aimed at putting America first and the only way to do that is by making sure that the safety of Americans is taken care of; hence the big budget allocation to the National Security departments.

Trump proposes the following increases for the various departments: a 10% ($54 billion) increase in the defense spending, 6% increase in the Veteran’s Affairs Department, and a 7% raise in the Department of Homeland Security.

White House Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney, describes this as a “hard-power budget.” This budget will use nearly $1.5 billion to stop illegal immigrants and $314 million to hire 1,000 new Customs and Immigration Enforcement Officers and 500 Border Patrol Officers.
The President’s budget proposal suggests $2.6 billion to be used for the building of the proposed border wall which excludes the $1.5 billion that he had asked for earlier in the 2017 as a supplemental spending measure.

Source: Reutersmedia

The budget also seems to target the Obama administration’s efforts in fighting climate change with the first blow being towards the EPA where the cuts mainly focus on the previous administration’s Clean Power Plan, International Climate Change programs, and Climate Change Research. The proposed 30% EPA cut could see almost 3,000 people losing their jobs.

Some of the other departments that would experience significant cuts include the Labor Department with 20.7% ($2.5 billion), Agriculture Department with 20.7% ($5 billion), US Army Corps of Engineers with 16.3% (1 billion), Health and Human Services with 16.2% (12.6 billion), as well as others such as Transportation, Education, and Housing and Urban Development, etc.

The budget is set to not tamper with the Medicare and Social Security Departments, Mulvaney said. This is as a result of the promise that the President made during his campaign to leave alone the two elements. According to the Budget Director, these slashes will get directed toward other departments with an example being the cut from the Energy Department.
The budget is set to be met with heavy criticism from the lawmakers with the full budget to get released in May. The budget named “America First” will make America great again, according to President Donald Trump.


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“The ‘a’ which stands for ‘Arts’” is crucial in our education program – The Gluon STEAM Labs

Interview with Fleur Wirtz,
Project Manager Education, Gluon Foundation, Brussels

What is the work of Gluon?

Gluon is an independent non-profit organization and a network bringing together researchers, artists, entrepreneurs and scientists. For example, we work with an artist who builds robots that use micro-organisms in the water to generate energy to move. In order to come up with innovative solutions to societal questions, we collaborate with universities, artists and industry in Belgium and elsewhere.

And Gluon education projects?

That’s my part. It is bringing this interdisciplinary approach to secondary school programs. We organize two laboratories per year for young people in between fourteen and eighteen years old. They come up with their own ideas and then, within a week, they realise these ideas with support from artists and technologists. We explore the city with them and they get input from sociologists and artists before they start working on their own projects. They gather and use data on pollution in its various meanings (sound, light, air, water, CO2 et cetera) and visualize these with the tools they create during the lab week.

In your labs, there is a special emphasis on creativity…

Yes, the programs are called STEAM-labs. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but we think more is needed and also want to work with the “a” which stands for “Arts”. We’re not the only ones to do this, but we think it’s crucial and it should be put in practice more widely. It’s mostly about adding a critical approach to working with technology and scientific subject matter. This means asking questions such as ‘How do the projects I develop actually contribute to society?’ and putting the things we create in their social context. We think it’ s important to depart from the life world of the pupils participating; they come up with an idea that interests them and they work on it by using all the STEM disciplines. In this way we think that these abstract subjects like mathematics, are put in context and become relevant to the students’ direct environment.

Does this creative approach also imply more freedom in learning than usual?

Definitely, in the sense that participants can depart from their own interests. The teacher actually is more of a coach than a teacher. Mostly, they have teaching experience, but it’s not necessarily required, as long as they have the right social and content skills. For them, the experience also is one of discovery and invention. It’s a collective and playful process.

After her master studies in sociology, Fleur Wirtz worked as a journalist in both London and Amsterdam. She combined her writing activities with a teaching and research position at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In 2016, she got on board of the Gluon team as education manager.


Toenail, 3.0 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm

A relatively sharp, striated, gemmy and lustrous, vivid blue euclase crystal from Zimbabwe - this is the classic locality that has produced the world's most intense blue crystals of the species. This euhedral, highly lustrous and partially gemmy crystal has only one edge and one point of contact. Specimens of this quality and color variety came out in the 1970s, with very little found as a trickle since (and those mostly of the same habit but a much paler, although attractive, pastel blue color with deep blue highlights only) .


Donate Today!Donate Today!Donate Today!

Please donate today to the JustWorld International Annual Fund!  Your donation will help create a brighter future for a child in need.

"Imagine."  Let's take a minute to think about this powerful word.  It suggests ideas and dreams for the future. It brings hope that what can be imagined, can be achieved.  I'm happy to say that with our donors' help, we have achieved what was once just an idea, hope, and dream for thousands of children.

Can you imagine what more we can do together?


jeanprouve French engineer and designer, Jean Prouvé (1901 - 1984) considered both form and function in creating his now iconic furnishings. Recently his work has gained popularity among collectors and retailers such as Vitra and Design Within Reach.  His designs have a striking industrial feel often pairing steel with wood.  Prouvé understood how to manipulate materials to efficiently create furniture and he would often collaborate with designers such as Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.  The following are some of the pieces that are on my wish list.

Cité Armchair, 1934

Antony Chair, 1954

Potence Lamp, 1954

EM Table, 1950

Standard Chair, 1934

Bibliotheque by Charlotte Perriand, Sonia Delaunay, and Jean Prouve, 1953

IMAGE CREDITS: 1st Image from Pullpusher, Cite Armchair from Christies, Antony Chair from Nova68, Potence Lamp from Vitra, EM Table and Standard Chair from Nova68, and Bibliotheque from Jean Prouve Museum.


C7 TYPE DEMI-BERLINE TWO-DOOR Meer informatie

    Standard Silhouette VOISIN - C7 TYPE DEMI-BERLINE TWO-DOOR - 1925

There isn’t a single superfluous detail on this Voisin C7, which is still in its original state. Engineer Gabriel Voisin was an adherent of Functionalism, a movement which rejected ornate embellishment and was gaining momentum in the 1920s. The only exception is the radiator mascot. Here Voisin bowed to commercialism – at the time, a car without a mascot did not sell.

“Any line which cannot be justified by its function, does not deserve to be called ‘beautiful’”, declared Gabriel Voisin, who hailed from Issy-les-Moulineaux, a suburb of Paris. Voisin was originally an aircraft designer but started producing cars in 1919, as the demand for aeroplanes declined after the First World War.

The Functionalist movement in art and architecture which found expression in the early 1920s expounded the idea that buildings and objects had to be stripped of unnecessary trimmings and be determined solely by their function. It was a reaction against the decorative ‘Jugendstil’ or ‘Art Nouveau’ movement at the turn of the century. Voisin had befriended the architect and artist Le Corbusier and they admired each other’s work, exchanging ideas as often as they could. In 1925 Voisin gave financial backing to Le Corbusier’s ambitious plan for urban housing in Paris, the ‘Plan Voisin’. The plan was never realised.


5 Reasons You Should Book an All-Inclusive Vacation

Everyone needs a vacation sometimes, but booking them can be so stressful. Are there added fees? What happens if the weather doesn’t cooperate? How are you going to get to and from the airport? Do I need to exchange currency? All-Inclusive resorts take away a lot of the stress associated with booking a vacation.

5 Reasons you Should Book an All-Inclusive Vacation:

1. Booze

Most all-inclusive packages include unlimited food and drinks. You can have all the margaritas, mimosas and little fruity drinks without having to worry about keeping an eye on the tab. When I stayed at Sandals Ochi in Jamaica last year, my mini bar was stocked with mixers and Red Stripe, while the room came with three handles of alcohol: gin, rum and vodka. Even if you’re not a heavy drinker, it’s nice to have access to as much Diet Coke as you require to survive.

2. No Need to Uber

Transportation can be one of the most frustrating part of traveling. Can you trust the cabbie? What happens if you get lost? If you stay at an all-inclusive resort, transportation is usually included. In most countries, there will be a shuttle waiting when you arrive. Jamaica even has lounges where visitors can grab a drink and snack and recover before hitting the van.

3. Safety

All-inclusive resorts usually have high security to enter their complexes. Not to mention, their activities and excursions happen every day, so you don’t have to worry about losing your deposit on some fly-by-night scuba instructor or sketchy boat captain.

4. Turn Key Vacation

Have you ever been on a vacation where you’re trying to figure out what to do and by the time you decide you’ve wasted half the day? All-inclusive resorts let you plan your activities before you arrive. Everything can be scheduled and accounted for before you even arrive. This way you don’t waste time planning and get to experience all of your vacation.

5. You Know Exactly How Much to Budget

Vacations can be tough on the budget. When you’re paying for everything separately you can easily miscalculate what you’ll need. With all-inclusive packages, you know how much you’re going to spend going in. You don’t have to add that unexpected cab ride or that one night you decided to order a bottle of wine. Don’t surprises that cause you more worry when you’re trying to get a tan.

Erin Duvall
Erin has more than decade of experience writing about country music. She's written for publications such as Rolling Stone Country, AOL's The Boot and Country Weekly magazine. Erin has a BBA in Music Business from Nashville's Belmont University and a Masters in Film and Creative Media from Music City's Lipscomb University. She is the author of 'Country Music Hair' (Buy it : https://t.co/e6LsQScGlq) Contact her at [email protected]


How to read classroom body language

As vacation is wrapping up and the first day of school approaches (if it already hasn’t arrived), the prep time for the classroom is vital. As a teacher or professor, how can we tell if our students are learning during the first days of school–or just zoning out? Are they leaning forward focused on the material? Or are they mid-collapse into a narcoleptic nap?
Dr. Joanne Chesley, Ed. D. CETL Pedagogy Specialist, helps uncover the meaning of students’ body language to guide teachers to know when their lessons are going in one ear, and when they are coming back out the other.
An open body signals an open mind: TRUE
According to Dr. Chesley, attentive body language “signals interest in the other person and the message.” Some signals to look for when teaching students is if they are ignoring distractions like their phones and friends and leaning forward as if involved in the conversation. Even a furrowed brow shows focus, but beware—furrowed brows may also show attentiveness to the point of confusion. With tilted heads and still posture, the student is sure to be paying attention to the lesson.
The best body language a professor can receive is open body language, as it signals change in how the student thinks or feels, added Chesley. With relaxed arms and legs, good eye contact (not staring, glaring, or deer-in-headlights mode), and a face directed towards the professor, the student is sure to be learning effectively.
Checking the time means students are bored: TRUE
This is stating the obvious.
We’ve all checked our phones, watches, and wall clocks to watch the time pass when we no longer want to be where we are. Checking the time, tapping toes, talking to others, and blank/yawn-filled stares are all signals that the student has lost interest in the lesson. This body language signals “that we would rather not be there, or that the material is uninteresting or irrelevant,” said Dr. Chesley.
Don’t lose hope, though, if your class seems disinterested. If the lecture is creating more yawns than notes, create an active class discussion!
Crossed arms are used only for the mad at heart: FALSE
This closed body language can mean multiple things when it comes to students. A set of crossed arms can signal someone feeling threatened and wanting to create a barrier for protection. It can signal the need to be nurtured, or the need to hide something. It can signal the room is too cold (crossed arms keep a person warm). Or it could just be a relaxing position to sit in.
Students are in the classroom to learn and grow, whether they will admit it or not, so reading the body language of the room can help create the strongest influence on the class learning. Don’t forget what the post-summer days were like, and give the students—and the professors—a break. The start of the semester is near!
Disclaimer: While reading body language is all in good fun and can help us read a situation, you must use caution when attempting to read your students. Not all body language is as it seems, and so using context clues will help. Read the person, read the room, and then read body language with caution. Give the students time and your attention, and it may very well be the lesson they need the most.
Feature Image: Thinkstock


Recipe: Vegan Fish Sauce

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Fish sauce is that magical, secret ingredient that somehow completes any dish that it’s added to. Traditional to most asian cuisines, a version of fish sauce was also used in ancient Rome. Fish sauce is obviously based on fish, so what’s a vegetarian (or vegan) to do if she wants to cook Thai or Vietnamese food, for example? Can’t she have some of that magical savoriness, too? The answer is yes! Read on for a fish-free version of fish sauce that uses some very interesting ingredients.

The purpose of adding fish sauce to recipes is to add umami, or depth of flavor and savoriness. Most umami-rich foods are animal based, such as bacon or fish or parmesan cheese. But there are also several vegan friendly foods that contain a lot of umami, such as seaweed, mushrooms, and miso. Fermented foods are especially loaded with umami, so soy sauce is high on that list as well.

The recipe for vegan fish sauce below is based on these ingredients and its the best one I’ve found so far to replace fish sauce in vegetarian/vegan recipes. If you can’t find mushroom soy sauce, add a few dried shiitake to the seaweed mixture in the beginning.

Vegan Fish Sauce
(makes about 3 cups)

1 1/2 cups shredded seaweed (I use wakame)
6 cups water
6 fat cloves garlic, crushed but not peeled
1 T peppercorns
1 cup mushroom soy sauce
1 T miso

Combine wakame, garlic, peppercorns and water in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 20 minutes. Strain and return the liquid back to the pot. Add soy sauce, bring back to a boil and cook until mixture is reduced and almost unbearable salty. Remove from heat and stir in miso.

Note: You should be able to find wakame in most health food and Japanese grocery stores. Its also readily available online.

(Image: Dana Velden)


No naps in the sun today. A Western Lowland gorilla finds some afternoon shade at the National Zoo. Angela N via Flickr.

*Air Quality Alert. Avoid strenuous activity or exercise outdoors*

Happy Fathers Day! Conditions were not very conducive to spending a lot of time outdoors today. However, we’ve had some beneficial cloud cover for much of the day, moderating temperatures. Unfortunately, there won’t be much in the way of moderation Monday. The humidity will build tonight, and the heat will join the party tomorrow, making it a very uncomfortable day to be outside.

Listen to the latest forecast:

Through tonight: Some isolated showers have been popping up to the west and south of the District, but I don’t expect any of these showers to affect our area. An air-quality alert remains in place, so make sure to avoid exercising outside. Cloud cover will slowly begin to break up as we approach sunset. It will remain quite warm well into the evening hours, with temperatures likely staying in the 80s until about 10 p.m. We won’t cool off very much overnight, with lows expected to be in the low to mid 70s. Dew-point values will be on the rise as well, likely reaching the low 70s by tomorrow morning. That means some areas of patchy fog are likely to develop. Winds will remain light and variable, generally from the south.

View the current weather at The Washington Post.

Tomorrow (Monday): Any low clouds or fog in the early morning will quickly give way to mostly sunny skies. After that, we are off to the races in the temperature department. Pretty much everyone should see temperatures reach the low 90s in the early afternoon, with metro locations likely to hit the mid 90s under a light southwest wind. Dew-point values will be in the low 70s, so the midday heat index will vary between 100 and 105 degrees. Technically, this would keep us below the heat advisory threshold (see below), but that won’t make it feel any less unpleasant. Another air quality alert is likely to be issued, so please limit strenuous outdoor activity. Quite warm and muggy tomorrow night, with lows in the mid to upper 70s.

What is a heat advisory? We throw the phrase “heat advisory” around a lot this time of year, but what are the environmental conditions that prompt such advisories?

The heat index is often referred to as the “apparent temperature” because it represents the temperature that our bodies feel when we incorporate relative humidity.

If the body gets too hot, we sweat or perspire as a means to cool ourselves and regulate temperature. However, sweat and perspiration needs to evaporate off our skin to complete the cooling process. When the relative humidity of the atmosphere is high, there is essentially no more room in the surrounding environment for liquid, including sweat. Combine high temperatures with high relative humidity and you get a human body that is going to warm up very quickly without a proper cooling mechanism to regulate overheating.

Heat index advisory thresholds for the eastern U.S. via NOAA.

You may be surprised to learn that the threshold values for when a heat index advisory is issued vary by region. Take a look at the official threshold values in the image above, and you will notice that in general, it takes “more” to have a heat advisory issued the farther south one goes. Climatology is primarily considered when developing these thresholds, and not just atmospheric climatology. To a certain degree, the local populations’ exposure frequency to high heat and humidity is considered as well. Simply put, the D.C. region’s  population is more acclimated to high heat and humidity than most regions on the map.


Why Uranus’s Moon is Butt Ugly

DISCLAIMER: This article contains extremely immature references. Reader discretion is advised.

A mystery revolving around Uranus is solved. One of its five moons, Miranda, was subject to much speculation regarding its oddly missed-matched terrain. The moon’s strange deformity literally and figuratively created a puzzle for scientists. Previous notions suggested that these trapezoidal deformities, uniquely known as coronae, resulted from harsh impacts of asteroids or meteors.  However, a more concrete theory recently emerged. Uranus is so immense that its gravitational pull squeezes and distorts the moon’s surface, heating the core of Miranda.

The heat generated in the core of Miranda is equivalent to that of the earth’s core, therefore allowing the moon earth-like properties such as moving its surface. Miranda’s once eccentric orbit around Uranus also caused the moon to heat and cool as it approached closer and further from the planet.  This explains how the coronae can form on a seemingly dormant moon.

Guess you didn’t know Uranus was big enough to influence a moon’s landscape.

Comment your thoughts below and follow me of Facebook and Twitter for instant updates of blog postings!

– Julia

(IMAGE CREDIT: Space.com)

Comments are closed


Post Industrial technology, then, is distinct from Industrial technology. Industrial technology produces energy by burning material, polluting the air, soil and water, and leaving a residue behind in the process. Post Industrial technology redirects already existing sources of energy by changing them from one form to another. Wind, sun, geothermal and moving water are all forms of energy already. Transforming them requires neither destruction nor pollution. A photovoltaic cell transforms light into electricity; the electricity can be turned back into light. Nothing is destroyed. In reality, the actuality is more complicated and the transformation not quite so simple, but the principle remains the same. Energy does not have to be created; it already exists. It only needs to be collected, transformed and redistributed. Like money, it is fungible.

This is not to ignore the importance of regional differences. Quite the opposite, unlike the Industrial system, which seeks to flatten regional differences by making the same products which are burned to create energy available everywhere, PostIndustrial technology relies on regional differences not only to to balance the system, but to be net producers. Each longitude and latitude, each local environment, has a different potential to produce energy in excess of local needs. One has an abundance of solar energy, another huge seasonal temperature swings, a third is almost constantly windy, a fourth many rivers and and waterfalls, a fifth fissures to the hot core of the earth, and so on. These differences not only suggest that local users may find one source more reliable than others, but that a global system of distribution can rely on energy always being available for transformation and instantaneous transportation to where it can be consumed.

This has clear implications for regional differences in the design of buildings and the organization of communities. This is not a new idea; it is a new cycle of a very old one. Prior to the Industrial Age, regional distinctions in building and community organization were the norm. They were driven by limitations in the availability and transportation of building materials, of communication and of the ability to control local climatic conditions. All of this was concurrent, of course, with the development of local culture. The countervailing force against regional differentiation was social, economic and military, but was technologically limited. The Roman Empire planted its emblematic baths and temples in every land it conquered, but in the end had to recognize that Mediterranean housing was simply not feasible in the wintery north of Gaul.

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Playing long balls into empty space since 2012.

Friday, 26 July 2013

'Soccer' in Adelaide in 1854

The Register in Adelaide published this piece in 1907

"One of the Old School" writes: - "As an intimate and almost lifelong acquaintance of the late Mr. John Acraman, I was pleased to peruse the interesting account of his career published in The Register last week.
Among the various points which attracted my attention particularly was that in regard to Mr Acraman's association with athletics and sports, especially football. It is quite true that he was the first man to introduce football properly into South Australia, and that he had five round balls sent out from England. He also erected the first set of goalposts. That was over 50 years ago - to be exact, in 1854. As there were no rival clubs the pioneer 'hunters of the leather,' who included numerous St. Peter's College old boys, picked sides. The combats took place on the park lands between the Frome Road and City Bridges, under what were known as the Harrow rules. The goalposts were about 9 ft high with a bar across the top. The ball had to be kicked below this, and could not be handled except when being marked. Shouldering was permitted, but holding and hacking were strictly prohibited. The teams usually comprised 20 men each. . . .
Written as a recollection on the life of the recently departed Adelaide identity John Acraman, it details a very early football game in Adelaide. The game description seems very close (as far as we can ascertain) to the very first FA rules (of which the mark was a part). It seems to me that in 'genetic' terms this game is closer to soccer than any other code and that we are able to claim this as an early example of soccer in Australia.

An obvious exception could be taken insofar as Soccer does not technically exist until 1863. This is true but it would be based on the assumption that soccer magically appeared at that point without any developmental impulses. Soccer emerges from a number of strains of football: Eton, Harrow, Cambridge and Sheffield as well as local rule-bound small-sided games across Britain. This game in Adelaide is about as close to soccer that you can get in its pre-figurative forms.

It is worth noting that this date is 4 years before the first game under the 'Melbourne Rules' (a game which looks nothing like contemporary Australian rules) and 23 years before Victorian Rules is adopted as the major code of football in Adelaide.

Check out this example of Harrow football from 2011.  Given that the rules have altered very little over time, it's a kind of time capsule for how the game was played 150 years ago. Here's the Wikipedia link to Harrow football supplied by Albert Ross below.

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Restart of soccer in mellbourne 1909

Here's a photograph of the framed collage of teams and dignitaries in 1909, the first season after soccer's 12-year break in Melbourne.

The teams are, in no particular order:
  1. Melbourne United
  2. Carlton United
  3. Williamstown
  4. Fitzroy Districts
  5. Prahran
  6. St Kilda

The collage also depicts the Dockerty Cup, the man himself, and the committee in the middle.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Thursday, 18 July 2013

The Forgotten Grounds of Sydney

The derelict stand at St George

This is a taster for Les Street's recent article 'A Retrospective Overview of Select National Soccer League Venues' published in the International Journal for Sports History. For copyright reasons we can only run so much but hope that it gives you a taste of Les's work. The piece open with an abstract:

In 1977, the National Soccer League (NSL) became Australia’s ﬁrst national sporting club competition. However, throughout its lifespan until its eventual demise in 2004, it was plagued with turmoil. One major issue faced by the League was the excessive number and range of grounds used for competition matches, including ﬁnals. Whilst the code of soccer obviously revolves around these so-called theatres of sport, there has not been any comprehensive study or analysis of the history and development of football stadiums in Australia. Indeed, in the Australian context, the focus of academic writing on the code has largely been on matters relating to ethnicity and governance to the detriment of other worthy areas of research. Against such a historiographical background, this paper provides a unique snapshot of selected former NSL grounds in Sydney, Australia, detailing their growth and development using both primary and secondary sources. The key ﬁndings not only highlight a number of contrasts and changes in the evolution and expansion of these football grounds, but also help to contextualise the evolution of the League itself.
Football – the terminology used throughout this article to describe association football or soccer – is an area of study where the main focus of scholarship in Australia has traditionally been concerned with ethnicity and its associated paradigms. This is due to the intrinsic link the game has had with migrant communities, particularly those from Continental Europe, who by and large immigrated to Australia during the post-Second World War migration boom, setting up community clubs in their image. In addition to this, these clubs and communities facilitated the growth and development of the sport through the federating of state and national bodies, thus breaking down the Anglo-centric amateur vestiges of the code that had permeated its past. The governance of football has also featured as a key area of study by scholars. Over the years of national league competition, the sport had a reputation for poor administration, creating an ever-present problem of whether the game at the highest level would succeed or die, despite the healthy number of participants across all levels of the code. The vast and wide-ranging changes that have occurred since the establishment of Football Federation Australia (FFA) in 2004, including the commencement of the A-League, the entry of Australia into the Asian Football Confederation and the relative success of the Socceroos in qualifying for major world tournaments, are also part of a necessary reassessment of the recent history of the code in Australia.

The framework for this paper differs from the above-mentioned topics of ethnicity and governance, as it is based on football stadiums, in particular a selection of venues in Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, that hosted National Soccer League (NSL) matches at various times during the life cycle of that competition. It is also worth noting in the context of this research that in the vernacular used in football circles throughout Australia, the term ‘stadium’ is a loose descriptor, with the titular name being anything from an enclosed suburban sporting ﬁeld with rudimentary facilities to an all-seated venue with large stands.

Football grounds are obviously the heartbeat of the sport, for without a venue no game can take place. Yet in both academic and fandom spheres, there has been no comprehensive study, let alone substantive discussion, of the venues used by the NSL. Unlike other codes, the NSL offers little consistency in terms of the number of competing teams and grounds used in its competition. Between the birth of the League in 1977 and its demise in 2004, a total of 100 recorded venues hosted regular season games and ﬁnals, adding to the unique and rich tapestry of the League. By providing a retrospective appraisal of a select number of these venues, the aim of this study is to broaden the body of knowledge so that football grounds become a part of the discourse about the code. In this way, the role of venues in hosting national league games will not be forgotten, but rather integrated into understandings of the history of the game by both academics and fans.

Football and the NSL

Football has often been seen as the poor relation of Australia’s other professional codes (Australian Rules, rugby league and rugby union) that share the same nomenclature, even though the round-ball game has the greatest purchase across the whole nation. Throughout a history of mismanagement, maladministration, marginalisation and political self-interest, the ‘sleeping giant’ of Australian sport was seen to be in perpetual slumber. The NSL, the forerunner to the current A-League, was Australia’s ﬁrst national sporting club competition. Predating similar developments in basketball, Australian Rules, rugby league, baseball, rugby union, netball and Twenty 20 cricket, the League was formed in April 1977.

Led by visionary NSW Federation club presidents in the late Alex Pongrass of St George Budapest and Frank Lowy of Eastern Suburbs Hakoah, the ambition to create a national football league was almost stymied by the big Victorian Soccer Federation clubs of the day who saw it as a Sydney imposition. It was not until Mooroolbark, a small club from Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs, made the NSL possible by breaking the impasse that the other major Melbourne teams decided to join, as they did not want the ‘Barkers’ (as the Mooroolbark club is known) to dominate the Melbourne market.

Over its 27-year lifespan until termination in 2004, the NSL lived a chequered existence. A total of 42 clubs, including one from New Zealand, came and went during the life of the competition, an indication of its inherent instability. Plagued with problems and controversy, particularly the ever-present question of ethnicity and the perception of spectator unrest, off-ﬁeld matters almost garnered more attention than what occurred on the ﬁeld of play. This lack of success and instability at the highest echelon of the code was at odds with the vast numbers of participants (both male and female) throughout junior and senior amateur levels. Evaluating the NSL following its demise, Thompson states that ‘there had been thrilling games, high drama, outstanding players and quality teams, but the whole project had run its course. It was time for a new beginning’.

Continued in the International Journal of the History of Sport


How many inches are there in 0.4 meters?

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There are 0.0254 metres in one inch. Therefore, 0.4 metres is equal to 0.4/0.0254 = 15.75 inches.
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In Math and Arithmetic

How many inches is 0.4 centimeters?

0.157 in Algebraic Steps / Dimensional Analysis Formula . 0.4 cm . . 1 in 2.54 cm . = . 0.157480315 in.
In Units of Measure

How many milometers are in 0.4 meters?

In the measurement of length, a millimeter is much shorter than a meter. There is 1 millimeter in 0.001 meters. So in .4 meters there are 400 millimeters.


How will we travel to another star?

  • Eventually, humanity will want to travel to a new solar system to propagate the human race, explore, and maybe find signs of alien life.
  • But our closest neighbor, Proxima Centauri, is so far away that current methods could take tens of thousands of years.
  • How will we surmount this incredible distance and the other challenges associated with interstellar travel?

Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own, isn’t actually close at all. While light takes 8 minutes to travel from the sun to Earth, it takes 4.37 years to travel from Proxima Centauri — that system’s star — to Earth. That’s all well and good for light, but human beings can’t go quite so fast. Voyager 1 passed the boundaries of our solar system at around 37,000 miles per hour, which seems pretty fast. This speed, though, is only 1/18,000th the speed of light; were Voyager 1 pointed towards Proxima Centauri, it would take 80,000 years.

This is a problem. If humanity is to survive in the long term, we need to become a multiplanetary species. And while we may be able to terraform other planets in our own solar system to become new homes, we will eventually need to travel to other stars. Equally important, we want to do so in order to learn more about our universe, satisfy our curiosity, and maybe even find alien life. But before we can, we’ll have to surmount some pretty significant challenges.

Right now, we just don’t have any good methods of propelling a spacecraft at the necessary speed for interstellar travel. In order to travel far and fast, we need to carry lots of fuel. But the more fuel we carry, the more mass we need to propel through space, making the use of on-board fuel reserves for a rocket exponentially more challenging for long journeys.

Most modern spacecraft use a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel, but this certainly wouldn’t work for a trip to Proxima Centauri. NASA presented a quick scenario where we aimed to arrive at Proxima Centauri in 900 years with a conventional, chemical rocket without slowing down when we got there (which a real manned mission would certainly want to do). Using this method, there wouldn’t be enough matter in the universe to fuel our rocket.

So, we would need a new method. There are a few different candidate technologies that we could pursue, each of which deserves its own separate article to examine fully: there’s antimatter engines, warp drives, laser-powered light sails, and many others.

However, warp drives are entirely speculative; humanity has only succeeded in producing a little less than 20 nanograms of antimatter, and making a gram of antimatter would cost a million billion dollars; and laser-powered light sails would require a steady power source equivalent to what the Earth consumes in a day. The most likely initial engines for getting us to our stellar neighbor will probably rely on nuclear fusion, and they’ll probably need to host human life for decades, if not centuries.

Project Daedalus, a British Interplanetary Society study, examined the feasibility of this approach and found that a fusion-powered spacecraft could accelerate to 12 percent the speed of light, then cruise for a period of time before slowing down prior to reaching a distant star. If we could pull this massive undertaking off, a fusion rocket could reach our closest stellar neighbor in just 36 years, compared to the tens of thousands of years other methods would require. Unfortunately, the kind of fuel we would use (helium-3) is extremely rare on Earth, the project would cost about $5.267 trillion, and the study focused on unmanned missions. A spacecraft that could support human life would be significantly more difficult to design.

If we travel anywhere through space at significant fractions of the speed of light (almost certainly a requirement for interstellar travel), then impacting interstellar dust or larger objects like space debris or micrometeoroids could be disastrous. Even in the short trips we made during the space shuttle program, more than 100 shuttle windows were replaced after being chipped or cracked by space debris. Traveling to Proxima Centauri would be over a 100 million times the distance, and we’d almost certainly run into something.

Fortunately, actual asteroid collisions would be fairly rare. If we were to encounter any large obstacles, the same Project Daedalus that conceived of a fusion-powered spacecraft proposed using drones to eject small particles that would sweep those obstacles away. It’s also been suggested that magnetic superconductors could divert the smaller dust particles away from a hypothetical spacecraft.

The technical challenges of interstellar travel also extend to the problem of how to preserve our mental and physical health. Outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere, cosmic radiation can cause dementia and damage cognitive function as well as cause cancer. Fortunately, magnetic superconductors such as the one’s mentioned above may be able to protect against dangerous cosmic radiation.

There are also the challenges associated with low-gravity environments. Without gravity, our bones’ density drops by 1 percent per month, our muscles atrophy, and the risk of developing vision problems and kidney stones increases. If a spaceship were to constantly accelerate, it could mimic Earth’s gravity, but this would require more fuel, driving up the cost and engineering challenges associated with a hypothetical interstellar project.

Alternatively, we could develop a rotating spacecraft whose centripetal force simulates gravity. But again, this brings up additional engineering challenges. A rotating spacecraft would need to supply extra energy to maintain the rotation, complicated seals and motors would need to be placed between the rotating and non-rotating components, and the structure of the ship would need to be stronger (and thus heavier) to prevent it from flying apart over time.

The mind and the unknown

With enough research, we can see a path forward to solving all of these issues. But the biggest challenges may be less clear cut. How do we prevent human beings trapped on a spaceship for decades from completely losing their minds? Even after arrival, how will they contend with the idea that they most likely will never return to Earth and may never see new human beings again?

And then, there’s always the unknowns. We can plan, mitigate, develop redundancies and innovations, but there will always be something unanticipated, especially in a project whose primary goal is to explore the unknown. But then again, the reason why we explore at all is to learn more about the currently mysterious.


Flu shot, steroids, arthritis. #lupus #addisonsdisease #vasculitis

It’s been a little over a week since I had the flu shot. I’ve been more tired, and I’ve been having some muscle pain. It doesn’t really seem like it made my lupus flare though. I did have some pain in my throat glands yesterday but it was short-lived. I had a headache the day after the shot. All in all it hasn’t been a bad experience. If your doctor wants you to get the flu shot, you probably should. Just don’t get the nasal spray vaccine, and make sure that anyone that lives with you doesn’t get the nasal spray either. People with autoimmune disease can catch the flu from the spray and from being in close contact with anyone that has had the spray.

My endocrinologist said I’m on a high dose of hydrocortisone. At the time of the appointment I wasn’t showing signs of being on too much, but I did find out afterward that I have osteopenia. I really would like to be on the lowest dose possible, but whenever I taper it makes me sick. I had Rituxan infusions over the summer to treat vasculitis in my brain caused by lupus. I had to stress dose 10mg extra of hydrocortisone to deal with the treatments. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to ween off that extra dose without feeling horrible. I tried again this week, 1.25mg at a time, and by the third day I had the shakes at bedtime. I’m not gaining weight from it, I’ve actually been underweight for a while and trying to gain. In total now I take 37.5mg every day. I feel like I’m burning it all up. Aside from plaquenil, I’m not on anything else to treat the lupus itself. My immune system basically behaves as if I have a cold all the time, which is causing extra stress on my body. When I was on Benlysta, I was taking 22.5-27.5mg a day. I would sometimes stress dose on the day of the Benlysta infusion, but I never felt low on cortisol all the time like I did with the Rituxan. I’m not sure if being on the Rituxan or being off the Benlysta is what caused the need for extra cortisol. I hope that if they choose to put me on another immunosuppressant to treat my lupus, my body won’t be so stressed and I can taper down the hydrocortisone again.

Also, as a side note: Around the time of my Rituxan treatments, my pharmacy switched my brand of hydrocortisone from Qualitest to Greenstone Cortef. Most people in the Addison’s support group seem to prefer Greenstone, but I’ve been on Qualitest for at least 7-8 years and it’s what I’m used to. Not all brands are created equal and I had a theory that I wasn’t absorbing the Greenstone, so I asked CVS to switch me back to Qualitest. I haven’t really noticed a difference yet, but I’m more comfortable being on my usual brand. It’s something to keep in mind if your pharmacy suddenly changes your brand and you feel weird.

The kenalog shot is wearing off. For a few days, it seemed like it helped the joint pain in my hands as well as my fevers. Even though it helped the pain, the kenalog didn’t seem to help the stiffness. The aching went away but I was still experiencing my joints getting stuck and losing control. My doctor said that if the kenalog was helpful, I probably have inflammatory arthritis. I feel like I only got partial relief. I have some hypermobility in my hands and I want to ask my doctor if that has any effect on the pain or stiffness, or if it could be a symptom of something else.

I’m on a beta blocker for my heart palpitations. My rheumatologist said it can make the Raynaud’s worse. He was right. My hands and feet are really cold all the time now. It probably doesn’t help the joint pain either. I can’t have a resting heart rate of 116 though. That’s just ridiculous. So for now, I’m just dealing with the cold.

I had “ice pick” headaches last night. They’re like this surge of shooting pain in your head that lasts a couple seconds and then goes away. They’re benign, but later I ended up getting a migraine, and I still have a headache now. I haven’t had the ice pick headaches in a long time. They feel really weird and alarming but they aren’t anything to worry about. I guess last night’s episode was a migraine precursor. That’s new for me so while I’m not worried, it is strange and worth telling my doctor. The pamelor has really helped my headaches. It hasn’t been perfect, but I went from having a migraine every day to lesser daily headaches, sometimes almost no headache, and only getting migraines a few times a week. That’s a big deal considering I’ve been incapacitated by daily migraines for more than a year.

Spinal Taps and Google Maps. #Lupus

I had a spinal tap done yesterday. I had one about 5 years ago that went terribly. With that experience, I really wasn’t looking forward to having another one. Luckily, it went differently.

First off, I’m going to say that if you have to have a tap done, get it at a major city hospital where the doctor probably does dozens of them a week. The problem with my first tap was that it was done by a local doctor who didn’t have the confidence to do it, so she fucked it up. I’ve had ongoing weakness in my lower back since then. I don’t know what the hell she did back there, but I barfed afterwards and they had to give me Valium because I had a panic attack.

I was originally scheduled to go next Thursday, but my doctor called the hospital and they were able to squeeze me in yesterday morning. I was happy to get it over with rather than worry about it for a week.

If you’re nervous, and you have Xanax with you, take it before you check in. Once you’re admitted you’re not allowed to take anything. I learned that the hard way, and sat there with heart palpitations. I felt like I was in the waiting room for an eternity.

Some dude at the front desk told my mom she wasn’t allowed to be there with me. I panicked a little on the inside. My mom followed me back just to take my bag for me when it was time. The nurses and doctor didn’t say one word about her being there, and even offered her a chair. One of the nurses handed her some post-procedure information and said “here’s some bathroom reading”.

If you’re a funny nurse, it makes being a patient suck a lot less. Thank you for that, and be proud of it. It’s the little things, y’know?

I’m built like a feather, so I was able to lie down for the procedure. I was on my side, knees pulled up to my chest as far as they could go (apparently, I’m pretty flexible, despite feeling like the Tin Man most of the time). For my first tap, they made me bend over a table, which isn’t unusual, but lying down is much more comfortable. I recommend it, if you can choose. The nurses were really nice and reassured me that it wasn’t going to be as bad as I thought. The doctor came in and prepped my back, and made some jokes about having to do taps on people that weigh 300lbs. He used ultrasound to find the right spot (a technique that was not used the first time) and marked my back with a pen. They first injected the area with Lidocaine to numb it, which is honestly the worst part of the whole deal. It can really burn sometimes but it wasn’t too bad yesterday. This doctor really knew what he was doing. After they do that, the tap needle goes in. They used a pediatric needle, another thing I recommend. It takes longer but is less traumatic in the end. I didn’t feel pain really, but I wasn’t completely numb either, I felt everything that went on. When the needle goes in, you’ll feel a weird pop, it’s hard to describe, but not really painful. Just strange. Sometimes, some people get an electric shock pain that shoots down their leg and makes it kick. It happened to me the first time, but not this time. It can be painful. Somehow they managed to avoid it altogether yesterday. Once the needle is in, you can feel pressure in your lower back, but it wasn’t really painful. It is uncomfortable, though. As the fluid was being collected, I felt some tingling in my lower spine. The doctor had to ask me to relax because I was tensing up, making the fluid take longer to collect in the vials. It took a while anyway, because they used a really small needle, but given the choice, I’ll take the small needle over a big one. There was a point during the procedure where I thought I was going to panic, because reality set in and I remembered how it went the first time. I focused on this picture on the wall and started singing the lyrics to some song in my head. I can’t remember what the picture or song was now, but I managed to somehow talk myself out of the anxiety. I wasn’t able to count because I couldn’t see, but my mom said they took 5 vials that were fatter than your standard blood vials. The nurse said it was nice and clear, which is great news.

After I was done, I thought I’d have to lie on my back for an hour. Since the needle was so small, I was able to get patched up and go right home instead.

The ride home was hard. Traffic was stop-and-go for part of the way. After the adrenaline wore off, reality hit me and I just wanted to cry the whole way home. My back has been pretty sore on and off. I’ve also been having pain and tense muscles in my butt and legs. My neck has been pretty stiff. Spinal taps cause headaches in some people because it can create a small air bubble in your cerebrospinal fluid. Luckily, I haven’t had any major headaches, just small ones.

When I got home, I crashed. I couldn’t stay awake. I slept for about 2 hours. My body doesn’t handle stress well because of my adrenal insufficiency.

I’m not sure how long it will take my back to heal completely, but I have to keep the bandages on it for 2 days and skip showering to keep the puncture site sterile. My muscles are pretty sore. I can’t bend over or lift anything. I have a back brace to wear when the pain gets bad.

I will get the results when I go back to my rheumatologist in a couple weeks. He is looking for the cause of my chronic daily migraines. Even though the SPECT scan showed vasculitis, it didn’t determine the specific cause. The Rituxan does not seem to be helping at all. Once we get the results, we can figure out if the Rituxan was the right move, or if I need another lupus medicine.

I love you Mom.

On the way home from the hospital, I saw a Google Maps car. I’ve never seen one before so I was strangely excited about it.

2 weeks post-Rituxan #lupus

Well kids, I’m 2 weeks into that magical-yet-guesstimated 3-month time period it supposedly takes for 4 weeks-worth of cancer drug to put Lupus in remission. Is that a run-on sentence?

Anyhoo, I have a really bad headache, as usual. I’m still getting fevers every day. I actually think I’m in a flare of sorts. I’m not due for my “lady’s days” (as Ray Barone lovingly calls it) for at least 10 days, so I don’t think it’s a hormonal flare. Perhaps that’s TMI, but you should all know by now that this is a medical blog, and I spare no personal detail because someone might be able to relate. I’ve been waking about at about 4-5am aching everywhere, especially in my glutes. That’s a big pain spot for me. It’s fun waking up at the crack o’ dawn (literally) because your ass is cramped.

I think the brain fog is letting up a little. I haven’t been my comedic self in a while. I couldn’t find my words for months. I’m not really sure what makes it come and go. I wish I knew, because when it happens I feel like I can’t do anything. I can’t get out of my own way or do things in an order that makes any sense. When I was writing during the brain fog I just felt like it didn’t sound like me, it didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. I took a break from hat-making which is a big hobby of mine. I have a couple blogs I’ve been meaning to write. I’m hoping to have the energy to work on those things in the coming weeks.

I’m getting pretty tired of the fevers. I don’t know how I’m going to get through the summer heat and have a constant fever at the same time. I can’t even sip my coffee in the morning without triggering an episode of the sweats. It’s obnoxious. Its also very irritating to my already-irritated skin. I’ve been alternating between rx-strength ibuprofen (Duexis) and tylenol to help keep them down. They both wear off rather quickly. I do get episodes of the chills too, as anyone with a fever would, and that can be annoying as well. But it’s not as prominent as feeling too hot.

I’ve failed to include Addison’s disease and how I’ve managed it during and after my Rituxan treatment. I think I will write a separate blog about that within the next few days, so long as my brain allows it.

It doesn’t burn when I pee anymore. No one told me Rituxan makes it burn when you pee, so this is me telling you now. If you’re having that problem, it’s still a good idea to get a urine test done just to make sure, but also don’t be alarmed if it’s happening to you. Cystex is a great over-the-counter treatment for the pain. It’s an NSAID, so be careful with it.

I’m going in to the Rheumatologist on Tuesday so they can take blood to see if my white cell count is back up. I’ve stayed out of crowds for the most part, save a few trips to the store. I noticed when I’m out my throat glands get really sore. I attribute it to more of a flare than an immune reaction to being in public, though. It’s almost like my whole body aches along with it. Sometimes I wonder if the vasculitis is effecting more than just my brain.

My headaches have been a bit different lately. I’m noticing a pattern that my nasal passages swell at the same time that my headaches come on, as well as pain in my teeth and neck/back area. It’s kind of weird how I can feel that it’s all interconnected. The gland soreness in my throat goes with it sometimes, too. I’m still treating it with Duexis and Fioricet. Since giving up the Nifedipine, I think the head pounding is less intense, but the pain and frequency are the same they have always been. I’m back to having blue feet without nifedipine, but it wasn’t worth the pain I was in. While on nifedipine I felt like I could tolerate salt a little more, which is important for the Addison’s, and now I’m back to being intolerant of it, which sucks. It has made my diet so strange. I feel like I can’t eat anything that hasn’t been prepared at my house, because food is just so damn salty.

I’m trying really hard not to hurry these next few months, because I know it will only make them drag by slower. I’m not exactly anticipating a remission either, because I don’t want to be disappointed. Would be nice to kick the daily headaches, though.

Chiari and conflicting opinions.

As you read previously, I had an appointment with a top chiari specialist last Friday. I haven’t written about it because I’m still mulling it over in my head, and I’m also waiting on another MRI.

I’ll just come out with it. The chiari specialist says I don’t have chiari, or syringomyelia either. Although I have low-lying cerebellar tonsils, I don’t have any blockage in the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, and that just because you’re tonsils are low doesn’t mean it’s a malformation. What I and the radiologists thought was a syrinx, is actually hydromyelia, a pocket of fluid that sometimes appears in childhood growth, and occasionally still makes an appearance into adulthood. It doesn’t cause any problems.

MRI from September 2012

The explanation I got for all the pain and headaches is that I have a long, thin neck, but I still have to support the weight of a normal-sized head, causing instability. My muscles also probably have some atrophy from not being able to exercise regularly. This combination is probably causing severe tension headaches.

He showed me some isometric neck exercises to strengthen these spots. So far they’ve just aggravated the muscles, but that goes with all exercise in the beginning.

I’m going to have another MRI on my brain just to see where I’m at now. The MRI he was looking at is about a year old. I won’t feel comfortable with being misdiagnosed all this time until the specialist can comfirm it to me on a new MRI.

I’ve seen 2 radiologists, a neurologist, and a neurosurgeon, who all validated the Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia diagnosis. The neurosurgeon was ready to do surgery. The specialist said that radiologists tend to over-diagnose to avoid the repercussions of under-diagnosing. Plus, not that many people know their ass from their elbow when it comes to chiari, all they’ve seen of it was a paragraph in some textbook from med school.

But in the end, I’m still conflicted. I’ve lived with this diagnosis for a year, and all the symptoms made sense. While I still have a doctor’s explanation for my headaches, there are a lot of things that are suddenly left unexplained now. The vertigo, hot flashes, heart palpitations, chest heaviness, headaches when I bend over, choking on water, clumsiness, dizziness, trouble with coordination and motor skills, memory and focus issues. I’ve had a lot of these symptoms for a long time, way longer than the period of diagnosis. I won’t feel sure of it until I get another MRI. It all just seems too coincidental. What are the chances of having a thing that looks like chiari, a thing that looks like a syrinx, many of the symptoms, but then not actually having it?

Don’t take it the wrong way, if I really don’t have chiari, I will be incredibly grateful. The only thing I really want is an explanation, and some pain-management. My pain and symptoms are so bad that I was ready to do surgery if it meant getting relief. But on the other side of that coin, I could’ve had surgery that I don’t need.

Still mulling.

Chiari in Charge.

This is from July 8th but I didn’t get around to publishing it til now.

I wanted to draw today. I have this shiny-new set of copic markers to which I’ve only acquainted myself. I brought all my supplies downstairs to start working, and I realized after sitting at the table deciding what to draw that I wasn’t going to be able to sit there any longer. I’m having a day where looking down is making the room spin. It’s really hard for me to spend time drawing anyway, I always get a really bad headache when I work on something, but today I couldn’t even start something.

I’m having more and more days where I can’t ‘start something’. I used to just get rebellious against the pain and power through it, but the pain is so bad that I can’t even get started. It’s not that I’m losing the ‘rebelliousness’, it’s just that the pain has reached a peak where it is impossible to power through anymore. If I were to just ignore it, it would progress into a ‘point of no return’ where none of my pain meds would help it, and I’d probably throw up.

It is against my nature to give up on something. It is leaving me incredibly frustrated. Technically I’m not giving up, I’m just unable, but it still feels the same. I feel like I don’t know what to do with myself, because the only things that don’t lead to a raging vomit headache are standing and walking, and I can’t do that all day long.

It’s not just pain either. It’s a pressure my head fills with that is hard to describe to someone without chiari. It makes my ears throb, and the back of my head pulse. It dulls my hearing and narrows my field of vision. It throbs and pulses even more when I turn my head. My teeth hurt. My head feels too ‘full’.

I’m not entirely sure as of yet why it has gotten so much worse, or what the exact cause of such symptoms might be. After researching and talking to other chiarians, I have a few theories.

My most recent MRI report from September 2012 states that there is no blockage of Cerebrospinal fluid. I don’t think that is entirely true. Perhaps at that moment there wasn’t, but I have a syrinx, which is evidence that at some point, fluid was trapped somewhere. Since that was almost a year ago, it is probably time for another MRI to look for progression. If I do get trapped CSF fluid sometimes, that would explain the pressure and throbbing, and the ‘full’ feeling.

Chronic Pain and Movie Theaters.

I love a good movie. Especially on the big screen. But in the past few years, my chronic pain has made the experience somewhat less enjoyable. I deal with it because it’s worth it, but it gets difficult to handle sometimes.

You know how movie theater seats are. They aren’t that bad, but they are specifically designed to not be too comfortable, because they don’t want people sneaking into the theater and seeing more than one movie on just one ticket fare. They are required to have wheelchair space, which they should be, but they aren’t required to do much more than that, and that leaves people with different kinds of disabilities in limbo.

For instance, take the front row. Who can stand to sit there? Why do they even have a front row? If you’re unlucky enough to get there when the theater is full, and the only seat that is left is in the front row, you’re in for an agonizing 2 hours, especially if you have chiari. At that point, I would just leave. It’s not like you could go up to somebody and be like “could you give up your seat? I have an issue with my skull.” Yelling that over the previews would just be too awkward.

Most of the time, I make it a point to get there in decent time, so I can pick a good seat. I don’t mind the back row, sometimes I prefer it. I try to sit in the center of the row so I’m not turning my head to see the screen head-on for the duration. keeping my head in a turned position for longer than a few minutes gives me an instant headache. It’s one of the reasons I don’t have my driver’s license, because I can’t look over my shoulder.

Sitting for long periods is always aggravating to chiari. It puts a lot of strain on my already-vulnerable neck and shoulder muscles. I always get a headache about halfway through the movie. I sometimes take preventative painkillers or muscle relaxers before the movie but it doesn’t always work. Sitting absolutely upright for a few hours is just bad for some reason. I find myself leaning my face on my fist to alleviate the chiari discomfort, but that always aggravates my trigeminal nerve, which can be excruciating. Halfway through the movie I feel like I start getting the “I can’t wait for this to be over” feeling, even if the movie is great. It sucks when you’re sitting there and you feel it coming on. You get a pulse in the back of your head. You feel like your brain is beating like a heart against your skull, which it actually is, since spinal fluid pulses with your heart. Your neck muscles tighten, then your back muscles, into burning knots. The back of your head gets full of “pressure” which can be likened to sinus pressure. Then the pain starts to wrap around to the front of your face. It goes into your jaw, ear, and eyebrow.

When I’m at home watching a movie, I have the luxury of lying on my side on the couch, which will eventually bother me too, but it’s so much more comfortable, and I can usually watch a whole movie like that without much of a problem.

In certain theaters, the sound is too loud. The theater in my area has imax, and if your theater room is next to the imax theater, you won’t be able to hear your own movie because the imax speakers are too loud. This is always a good headache starter, and makes it a lot less fun if you already have a headache.

I’ve gotten to the point where the pain is so bad from sitting, that I cringe at the thought of going to the movie theater. I still go, it’s the kind of rebellious person I am, but I notice now that I concern myself with how long a movie is.

On a side note, I wish they offered more at the snack bar that was sick-people-friendly. They post signs all over that say “no outside food or drinks”, and they don’t really enforce it, but it seems unfair. I’m not a diabetic, but I have bad reactions to large amounts of sugar, and sometimes salt as well. If you can name something that would be safe for me to eat from the movie theater, I’ll stand on my head for ten minutes.

That being said, I’m a big “food-sneaker-inner.” I have to do it, and if they ever give me a hard time about it, I’ll just tell them about my health problems and ask them if they want a lawsuit. So far though, no one has ever looked in my bag or noticed my giant bottle of water that I bring in.

Plus, who wants to pay four bucks for a handful of candy anyway?

It would be nice if one day I could comfortably enjoy a movie on the big screen. In the mean time, I’ll just deal with it. It’s most definitely not going to stop me from seeing Iron Man 3, so suck on that, chiari.

Benlysta #6

I had my 6th infusion yesterday. It went well, as it usually does, without the aggravation of talking on the phone with the pharmacy like last time.

I’ve probably talked about what an infusion is like before, but I’m just gonna run through what it’s like again.

It’s about an hour’s drive each way from my house to the office where I get my infusions. My rheumatologist’s office is actually in Beverly Hills, which can be interesting in itself. It’s not my cup of tea but I do manage to see some funny things while I’m there. I have to get my infusions in Los Angeles because it’s not something they seem to offer near me, and the doctors in a big city tend to know more and have the latest treatments when it comes to complex and rare diseases. Travelling isn’t a big deal I guess, it’s something I have to do to get the best possible treatments. I sometimes have a hard time with it though. With the Chiari Malformation, my neck gets really stiff and I get a lot of pressure in the back of my head from sitting too much. I do ok dealing with it on the way out there, but on the way back, when I’m almost home, it gets hard to deal with. I’ve tried lying down in the car and it helps the pressure, but it unfortunately gives me a headache. Some trips go really well, and others just give me a headache.

When I get there, we park in the parking garage across the way, run across the street, and take the elevator to the second floor of the building. They usually call me back as soon as I get there. I sit in the doctor’s actual work office, in a recliner (which unfortunately isn’t as comfortable as it sounds) and they wheel the IV cart in. They poke me with a needle and insert the line (the RN is really great at doing this, doesn’t really hurt and I don’t even have a hole in my skin you can see and it’s only been a day, always thankful for someone who can do it well). Before they hook me up to the IV bag, they draw blood through the line. They always draw blood before an infusion to check out how the last infusion is effecting your body. They are checking to see how your liver is handling it, and checking to see if the Benlysta is lowering the lupus activity. After they draw blood, they give me tylenol and claritin, because benlysta can give you headaches(like I need another cause, heh), and the claritin is just an allergy precaution. Then, at last, they hook the line up to the bag, and you’re stuck there for the next 60-90 minutes, depending on how long it takes your bag to empty (definitely make sure you go pee right before they hook you up, ’cause pushing around an IV tree to the bathroom is not a good time, and neither is holding your pee forever). I also recommend bringing some good books, your tablet, ipod, an awesome mom, just something or someone to keep you company while you’re sitting there, or else you’ll just be staring at the wall for a while. Sometimes infusions can make you have a funny taste in your mouth, so it’s good to bring some mints to keep you from having that ‘bleh’ taste in your mouth. I like the Ice Breakers Duo fruity mints. You probably won’t really feel anything while getting your infusion. Sometimes I feel a little warm, but I never know if it’s the treatment or the fact that I’m heat sensitive and my doctor keeps her office at 75-80 degrees F (23-26C)…I tend to hold heat in for whatever reason. I’ll be sitting there in my tank top and my doctor is like “Aren’t you cold?” and I’m like “No, its hot in here.” It partially has to do with sitting in the sun in the car on the way there. Like I said, I hold in heat. It sucks.

Once the bag is empty, they remove the line, and give me a snazzy bandage that doesn’t stick to my skin, it only sticks to itself (like florist’s tape) so I don’t have to worry about the adhesive ripping my skin off.

After the infusion is done I wait a while, and the doctor comes in to have a chat with me so I can catch her up on all the day-to-day things that go on. This time, we were talking about getting me in to see a cardiologist she works with, so I can finally get some answers on why I am having the heart/chest symptoms (see other blogs). She said that I tested positive for an antibody that sometimes attacks the heart (RNP), but that my ultrasound didn’t seem indicative of any sort of inflammation or otherwise negative activity that she could tell, but she also wants to have her cardiologist check it out because it can be tricky to spot. Benlysta doesn’t protect your heart so it would mean switching treatments if something was going on, and I’d really rather not have to do that, some of the other drugs just sound scary. I’m a little anemic, which always seems to be a bit of an issue for me, and I talked to her about it over the phone and I meant to bring it up to her while I was there, but I forgot. It’s hard to remember everything. “Keep a notepad” I know, I know. I get tired of doing that. Plus, I am lucky if I can remember to bring the damned thing with me half the time. Anyway, I did read online that sometimes anemia can cause chest discomfort and heart palpitations, and also cold hands and feet, so it had me curious. I started taking a supplement after I read that, can’t say I feel any better or anything, but it’s only been about a week since I started it.

Back to the infusions, they don’t make me feel weird after. Usually, just tired from riding in the car. Sometimes though I notice when I get an infusion, my throat glands get sore and I get the butterfly rash during the actual infusion. I didn’t seem to get that this time, although I noticed a little gland soreness when I got home. I don’t think my face flushed though.

Something that is important to remember about benlysta is to drink a lot of water before, during and after. It helps ward off the headaches that it causes. Since my ride in the car isn’t just a skip down the road, I tend to subconsciously avoid drinking water so I don’t have to hold my wee-wee all the way home. I don’t mean to do it. But it results in a terrible headache and I have to make a conscious effort to drink water. Last night I ended up with a headache, but it seemed to go away after a bunch of water and lying down. It wasn’t as bad as my chiari headaches, that’s how I know it was the benlysta. Chiari headaches don’t just ‘go away’ per se. Once you get a chiari headache you’re sort of fucked for the rest of the day.

So the day after an infusion, I usually feel somewhat worn out. Not sure if it’s the medicine or the trip or all of it. I make the trip sound bad, but really, it’s not. It’s relatively a quick hour. But it’s still tiring. I got in the car today to pick up my brother from somewhere and I had that “I feel like I was just in the car forever” feeling. I was pretty tired after a few errands, and it could have been leftover, but it could have also been the cardio/shortness of breath issues I’ve been having. Sometimes when I have an episode of that, I’m just suddenly so tired I can’t stand. It’s been happening even when my heart rate is normal (and my bp is always normal no matter what’s going on). It feels really awful to be out somewhere and just be like, “Man, I’m too tired to stand anymore all the sudden.” and it becomes this agonizing wait to sit down.

That’s really it for now. It’s bedtime and my cat is yelling at me.


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earlier burfling | later burfling

The world in review

Long-time readers of this journal know that I'm a fan of The Economist magazine, in large part because of their ability to be both informative and witty at the same time. (Not that I always agree with their editorial positions.) Most weeks, they have two one-page features at the front of the issue - "Politics this week" and "Business this week". But, at the end of the year, they run a double-sized issue with a number of special articles; they also substitute "The world this year" for the two weekly items.

This year, their "The world this year" feature closed with the following gem:

The first protons were circulated around the Large Hadron Collider. Designed to help physicists explain the existence of mass, some feared the experiment would create a gigantic black hole. Wall Street’s collapse just a few days after the LHC was switched on was deemed a coincidence.

(For those who are still concerned that the LHC might destroy the Earth, there is an online monitoring service available.)