06 April 2014
News of the Week
06/04/14 17:36
In Local News, I've been prepping for my last chemo cycle. Actually, I've been prepping for the last two weeks. They keep saying that that my lab tests aren't good enough putting it off. The details aren't important, for you nurses out there it has to do with low Neutrophils, all I know is that it's been bloody frustrating. We just want to get this part over with. I did have one odd turn this week. You see with all the shots and blood tests, and IV's and such my needle issue has gotten to be more of a problem. The last cycle really stressed me out. They decided that for the last cycle they'd give me some Ativan to relax me. I mentioned this to the nurse doing the blood test and she replied “Are they giving it to you as a pill or a shot?” Seriously, wouldn't giving me a shot for my needle anxiety be kind of, I don't know, counterproductive maybe?
Now, I wasn't the only one visiting the Doctor this week. Tuesday Marsha had a follow up with her cardiologist. He said that everything looks good with her, but he did suggest that she make some changes to her diet. I got a note from her about his suggestions while I was at work. When I got home I had to ask her a question “So your doctor told you to improve your diet by NOT eating fresh fruits and dairy. He said this on April Fools' Day and you believed him??”
In Technology and Business, This week my cell also went to the doctor . It had finally reached the point where I had to recharge the phone every day so I picked up a new battery. When I was talking to the guys at work I mentioned that my phone was about four years old. They were surprised and asked to see the phone. Now it's just a phone. No apps, no modern touch screen, no games, no GPS, it's just a phone. I talk into it and try to ignore it whenever possible. He called me a “hipster” for using such an antique. “No” I replied, “I'm just cheap”.
Also while we were driving around this week we noticed a surfeit ( yes the word, 'excess' just would not do, according to Doug) of sold signs on houses. Saturday driving a few blocks on Hammond Bay Road we counted eight on a stretch less than two kilometers. The Nanaimo Daily News reported that housing sales are up 59% from last year.
http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/news/nanaimo-region/number-of-housing-sales-deals-in-nanaimo-soar-59-per-cent-compared-to-one-year-ago-1.942432
I guess that this means the housing slump is over. Not that it makes any difference to us, we're staying put for the foreseeable future, or at least until the remodelling is done. No, I'm kidding, we are not planning to sell any time soon. However, the final phase of the remodelling, is underway. We've been talking to our friend Dave about doing the roof and this week I'm going to stop and see the remodelling contractor that did the first two phases to get them started. I downloaded a 3D home design App for the iPad and we're using it to finalize the floor plan. Once again we'll have the contractor do the construction, plumbing, electrical, and sheetrock while we'll do the flooring, paint, and fixtures. The only exception will be for the new bathroom. We don't want to be without a second bath in the house. More importantly to be honest I've installed sinks and toilets and tile and it's not fun. We'll let them punch that out for us.
And Now In Entertainment. One thing I've been doing this year is to catch classic films. Last weekend I watched Judgement at Nuremberg. I mentioned to Marsha that they don’t make movies like that any more. Now all that seems to appear are the latest superhero CGI festival and remakes of old TV shows. Not that I wanted to sound like a crotchety old man pining for ‘the good old days’ but where are the films like Mutiny on the Bounty, 12 Angry Men, or 12 O’Clock High. Marsha pointed out that for every Mrs. Minniver there are a hundred sloppy slasher films. For every Ten Commandments there are dozens of films like Meet the Spartans. For every The Day The Earth Stood Still or Forbidden Planet there are dozens of Films like Apollo 18 and Marooned. For every Creature From The Black Lagoon there are dozens like The Black Scorpion and Locusts. For every Spirited Away, there are hundreds of Shark Tails or Antz. Despite Disney Studios describing everything they make as an “Instant Classic” really fine, superbly done, memorable films only come out on average once every five years or so and it's always been that way. I was just looking back over 7 years of film making and picking the cream of the crop. Marsha then mentioned Lord of the Rings and Lincoln as two very fine films made in the recent past.
So I guess I stand corrected.
In world news, the search goes on for that Malaysian airliner that vanished in the Indian Ocean last month. This week the British government announced that one of their submarines, the HMS Tireless would be joining the search.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26845118
I find the name of the submarine to be an interesting choice. I always figured that subs were, by definition, tire-less.
In Health News, I was talking to a friend of ours this week. She mentioned making fried green tomatoes and wanted to know if I'd ever tried them. I said no, they never sounded terribly appealing. She went on about how when you fry them they don't get crispy, rather they soften up and became like a chutney, which, somehow didn't make it more appealing. I know they are a good source of iron, but it just isn't as appetizing as, say, a Lucky Iron Fish. What's a Lucky Iron Fish you ask? It's a program that started in Cambodia and now is spreading throughout the third world. They had a problem with anemia in the Cambodian populace. Most of their food is rice, vegetables, and such, that are low in iron. Supplements help but they are expensive and there is the problem with getting them out into the countryside where they are most needed. Enter the Lucky Iron Fish. It is, as the name implies a little fish made of cast iron. They are put in the cooking pot with the food and it leaches a bit of iron into each dish that's made. It lasts for at least five years and, at a few dollars each, is far less expensive than supplements. Even better they can be made by any metal shop or blacksmith with a furnace and access to scrap iron so getting them into the countryside is not an issue.
http://luckyironfish.com/about/
I think that is brilliant. I like simple practical solutions to problems. It reminds me of an idea put forward here in Canada. You see Nunavut is the northernmost, and largest territory in Canada. It runs from the northern part of Hudson's Bay to the islands near the North Pole. The population is not large and is scattered among little isolated towns. One of the biggest issues faced by the people of Nunavut is the cost of food. Much of it, especially fresh meat and produce, has to be flown in from the South at great expense. This week there was a proposal to allow hunters to sell wild game in stores. They can now but it has to be flown south for inspection then flown back to the territory, making it more expensive than beef and such that are flown in. The idea was to put one or two inspectors in each town. That would be much less expensive than flying game down to existing inspection stations in the South. In addition, the food would be cheaper, the game would be fresher, and it would provide jobs for local hunters, who would be hunting for traditional foods. It’s a brilliant idea that is simple, less expensive, practical and has multiple side benefits. This means that there's no chance it will go anywhere.
In Local News, the school baseball team stopped by on Saturday. They are doing a bottle drive to raise money for equipment and travel expenses for the team. Talk about your good timing. We have been planning to haul a bunch of bottles to the recycling centre for the last couple of weeks but never had the time. They were ecstatic to get a 50 gal trash bag full of bottles and we didn't have to run into town. Win-Win.
And Finally, if you are thinking of visiting us this summer, come on up. We'd love to see you and (assuming they finally get cycle 8 out of the way) we should have the medical stuff pretty much behind us. The best dates would be:
July 1, Canada Day. It's a Tuesday so it makes a four day weekend.
August 4, BC Day. Monday
September 2, Labour Day. Monday again.
There are other holidays but unfortunately Hoser Appreciation Week and Sled Dog Day aren't statutory holidays. However if you are here for Sled Dog Day you have to try the Malemute stew. Of course any time you can make it would be great. We are planning a trip to Minnesota this year but we haven't scheduled it yet so that's flexible.