went out late and did a long and very slow run with frequent stretch breaks and a short break to help lorraine, the phenomenologist who lives on a house boat, carry a gang plank back to the friend she borrowed it from; turned out to be the guy in the red toyota truck who lives next to st margaret's truck who waves to me every morning i run that way. along the way we got some help from another friend who's dog barks at me every morning from the window sill she sits on while u run by. in an increasingly smaller world, oxford continues to shrink even more.
did the usual run and won't bore people with the details. to the church, to the river -north and south, to the canal and then eventually headed home; some back and forth due to the aforementioned carrying of the gangplank. worth about 7 miles judging from the time and calorie count.
eventually headed up to practice, but it went badly. the rain and the wind didn't help, but i just could not make a good takeaway and kept getting trapped behind and constant efforts to fix it helped a bit but left me frustrated enough to just give up for the day. hit 25 pitch shots and called it a day. then spent the rest of the day doing lots of paperwork and reconciliation stuff.
all in all, another day over and will leave the depression of it behind. last minute highlight was a call from beth. good timing and was nice to chat a bit. late now and still stuff to do before hoped for sleep.
a depressing whiny blog today- hillary could have written this one huh?
but will be home later next week; not all bad and it is now march tomorrow. 152 days to go. and 20 or so of them at home.
this blog says nothing and should can it but not enough time to write another. reality was the run was so so but pretty along the water as usual- green water today. almost forgot they are working on the river trail again, where the bike rider fell in and drowned and it will be closed for two weeks while i am home. would be nice if they got it done. ha - but will see. oxford runs on native american time.
was good to see lorraine again and the two guys from germany and turkey were at the driving range and they were complaining about how bad the food is here and how lousy eating out is and how expensive it is on top of that. don't like the bread, beans and always bad pizza. what can i say? i think it is bad too. we commiserated. they live on panninis and baguettes. i know how that goes too. suggested a few fair places and told them to try "giraffe's" a decent chain from london. and they have pancakes. still, they go home in 3 weeks and it will be better for them.
away i go. the adventure continues. no word on the cat yet. poor thing.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Phenomenology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Phenomenology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
intrigued by someone i met here i thought i would try and learn something about this part of philosophy.
intrigued by someone i met here i thought i would try and learn something about this part of philosophy.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
good run, bad golf and unfortunately, a sick cat plus the world in general
long day- ran ok this morning- kept it simple; ran up to my measured 100 yards and ran 25 x 100 as a strider workout trying to use the right leg more. wasn't pretty, but i did the workout and was able to go an ok speed. legs not great after yesterday but were ok enough. stretched a lot after and then ran back down the river and over to the canal and then home. about 10 miles all told- stretched out the after strider part to get some easy(i.e. slow) miles in and to see the river.
met gail walking back from the vet where she learned that one of the cats has diabetes. glucose was off the charts. will cost an arm and a leg to deal with it as well as the cat needing 2 shots a day; emailed the owner the options as they are traveling from amsterdam to belgium on their way to the usa in a couple of days. not good timing for sure and they will let us know what they want to do. basically looking at $10,000 if the cat lives another eight years with all of the work travelling they do. still it is a nice little cat and spread out over the years and with just a little bit of a pain arranging care it could be done. wonder if they don't do it if we just bought ourselves a cat? will sleep on that. cat has a passport. guess i could learn to give shots. early baby boomer training huh?
golf was really up and down. i am trying to make a major swing change. i have been so bad since i have been here that i simply will not play golf with the way i have been hitting the ball. the newer swing when it works well is what i want. but like everything else in golf, it has been very day to day or shot to shot even. grounders and shanks interspersed with high smashed dead straight balls. can drive me crazy.
and no short game practice at all. and cold rain tomorrow.
But it is the last day of february in the morning and only at most 5 more months to go. for those keeping score that means 152 days.
going away this weekend to see some sights. more on that later.
somebody needs to decide if we are really going to be a global world or not. because if we are then every country's decisions have more impact on everyone else. so banks giving money to people with no credit, jobs or money to buy a house hurts the world and not just the country.
how can a country of 330 million people end up with these three choices to lead us out of the bush quicksand. hillary should have listened and named clydeburn her vp person way back. she has wimped and whined her way to nowhere. bill could have won again and she can't. obama will get it now and he can hope his students come out and vote. he will get my vote also. what choice is there?
ultimately, the red and blue states are still red and blue. does it come down to ohio, penna and florida again? do mc cain's people steal florida to win again? are we not lucky that jeb bush decided to wait this one out? he could have walked into the white house.
i want to live to be 300 just to see how it all works out. and of course to see how many wins tiger ends up with. something like 112 should do it.
what do i know?
met gail walking back from the vet where she learned that one of the cats has diabetes. glucose was off the charts. will cost an arm and a leg to deal with it as well as the cat needing 2 shots a day; emailed the owner the options as they are traveling from amsterdam to belgium on their way to the usa in a couple of days. not good timing for sure and they will let us know what they want to do. basically looking at $10,000 if the cat lives another eight years with all of the work travelling they do. still it is a nice little cat and spread out over the years and with just a little bit of a pain arranging care it could be done. wonder if they don't do it if we just bought ourselves a cat? will sleep on that. cat has a passport. guess i could learn to give shots. early baby boomer training huh?
golf was really up and down. i am trying to make a major swing change. i have been so bad since i have been here that i simply will not play golf with the way i have been hitting the ball. the newer swing when it works well is what i want. but like everything else in golf, it has been very day to day or shot to shot even. grounders and shanks interspersed with high smashed dead straight balls. can drive me crazy.
and no short game practice at all. and cold rain tomorrow.
But it is the last day of february in the morning and only at most 5 more months to go. for those keeping score that means 152 days.
going away this weekend to see some sights. more on that later.
somebody needs to decide if we are really going to be a global world or not. because if we are then every country's decisions have more impact on everyone else. so banks giving money to people with no credit, jobs or money to buy a house hurts the world and not just the country.
how can a country of 330 million people end up with these three choices to lead us out of the bush quicksand. hillary should have listened and named clydeburn her vp person way back. she has wimped and whined her way to nowhere. bill could have won again and she can't. obama will get it now and he can hope his students come out and vote. he will get my vote also. what choice is there?
ultimately, the red and blue states are still red and blue. does it come down to ohio, penna and florida again? do mc cain's people steal florida to win again? are we not lucky that jeb bush decided to wait this one out? he could have walked into the white house.
i want to live to be 300 just to see how it all works out. and of course to see how many wins tiger ends up with. something like 112 should do it.
what do i know?
ny times article and a good reminder
When Training Becomes Overtraining
"Though it seems innocuous, overtraining isn't just a matter of having overdone things in a workout or two," Gretchen Reynolds writes in her column, "Crash and Burnout." Overtraining is a recognized illness, she writes, one that's similar in some respects to chronic-fatigue syndrome and major depression, with symptoms that might include mood changes, insomnia and fatigue. The conundrum for elite athletes, then, is maximizing training without crossing the line into overtraining. While science doesn't agree on how best to avoid crossing that line, there is consensus on how to treat it: "Rest, rest and more rest," says Robert Schoene, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
From The Times: Fitness and Nutrition
"Though it seems innocuous, overtraining isn't just a matter of having overdone things in a workout or two," Gretchen Reynolds writes in her column, "Crash and Burnout." Overtraining is a recognized illness, she writes, one that's similar in some respects to chronic-fatigue syndrome and major depression, with symptoms that might include mood changes, insomnia and fatigue. The conundrum for elite athletes, then, is maximizing training without crossing the line into overtraining. While science doesn't agree on how best to avoid crossing that line, there is consensus on how to treat it: "Rest, rest and more rest," says Robert Schoene, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
From The Times: Fitness and Nutrition
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
earthquake or not and the rest of the day
sometime around 1a.m. while i was sitting in bed reading we either had a whole lot of wind hit the house or something else happened. the windows rattled and the rest of the room seem to quiver, if that word suggests to you what it felt like. then it passed,and i had work to do on the computer and finally around 4:30 a.m. i went to sleep.
got up about 7:30 when the front door was being banged on by the guy delivering cat litter- 2 huge big boxes ordered from our landlords in amsterdam. is this a great world or what? then gail told me that the UK had an earthquake about 1am somewhere north of us and stretching down to london. not quite in our path probably, but what did i feel? won't know for sure i guess and it wasn't a big anything, but i don't drink and the room was not staying still.
and so i got myself up and carried the cat litter back to where we keep it and got ready to go run. out the door and walked gail to the bus stop as she headed off to brooke's and i headed south to the king george park trail and then did the dirt trail loop around to osney island and turned back towards north hinksey village. picture two parallel trails connected by crisscrossing paths.
today i took the dirt trail along the creek past the horses and got a little muddy, but there is no other way to get that close to the horses and they were worth a little mud. came out along the trail behind the "Fishes" pub and went down to north hinksey village, a small old village of old and somewhat newer houses, plus a tennis club and rugby stadium.
ran down to the stadium and tried to keep going down the trail, but the gate was locked so turned back up and stopped to do the smaller of two hills- still straight up- three times up and three down and then headed down the ring road trail- gail hates this part of the run which is why i tend to do it when she is not running with me. it is a mile basically running alongside a smaller version of the beltway. like running with the ocean in your ears.
the mile goes by and i turn into south hinksey village, a small thatched roof type set of houses in a circle road with one pub and no other stores. development has just come to this village also as they have started to build some new houses about 5 o'clock on the circle. i head around the other way from 6 to 12 and down the bike path at 12. the sun is out and it is warming up fast. i am over dressed.
this takes me across the power lines and some cute little creeks where swans and ducks are out and about and then i jog up many steps and across the reservoir bridge and into north hinksey park. really pretty along the lake and i meet two guys from bozeman, montana doing a three week walk across some of england. chatted for a minute about where they were headed and our previous trip to montana, and then headed off. the water shimmering in the sun a very dark blue today and a couple of hundred ducks were enjoying it. i was thirsty myself. debated adding two miles to the run to hit a store for a drink but passed. bathrooms and water fountains are not easily found around here.
around the park and then up the trail and back out on the street for 3 blocks that would take me back to the thames river. headed north up the river through grand-pont nature park and eventually came back out on the river trail and headed up to botley road and home. basically this is a big circle with a few criss-crosses, but it goes through several park areas and across and along a lot of small creeks and streams and then back up the thames and i like this run a lot. have to accept the ring road mile or it becomes an out and back to run it and it is not the same. and after i ran the three hill repeats the mile follows immediately and it is flat so i can use it to recover somewhat.
all in all a decent 9 miles. i don't have to mention slow 9 do i, as all runs these days are slow. the better runs have some faster parts, but there are no fast runs anymore. i could tell though that i had taken the day off yesterday as the legs were not dead. maybe they weren't bouncy and springy, but they had enough life in them to do this nine miles.
later after usual chores and stuff i walked up to the range and hit 200 balls trying to work on my new swing. worked up from the lob wedge to the 7 iron and did a variety of 30-40 yard pitch shots also. not as good hitting off mats but it is what i had to work with. later i sort of snuck outside to the back of the range hit about 20 chip shots off of the grass. then i spent some time helping the pro with his swing-i get to watch and see if he is on plane or too steep. his tour starts soon. i would like his misses believe me. like a machine.
funny- the guy next to me was hitting his driver almost to the fence every time, almost 275 and i was thinking how nice that would be, when i finished hitting he said to me that he wished he could hit pitch shots like i did. nobody is satisfied are they. difference is that he will learn to hit good pitch shots, but i will NEVER hit 275 yard drives, not counting the roll. oh well...
all good. tired from very little sleep to go with my 9 miles and two hundred balls, but a nice enough day. cold and rain are coming so not sure how the next few days will play out -27 degrees and heavy rain doesn't sound ideal. almost sounds like snow.
eight days to be home to visit and 154 for good.
got up about 7:30 when the front door was being banged on by the guy delivering cat litter- 2 huge big boxes ordered from our landlords in amsterdam. is this a great world or what? then gail told me that the UK had an earthquake about 1am somewhere north of us and stretching down to london. not quite in our path probably, but what did i feel? won't know for sure i guess and it wasn't a big anything, but i don't drink and the room was not staying still.
and so i got myself up and carried the cat litter back to where we keep it and got ready to go run. out the door and walked gail to the bus stop as she headed off to brooke's and i headed south to the king george park trail and then did the dirt trail loop around to osney island and turned back towards north hinksey village. picture two parallel trails connected by crisscrossing paths.
today i took the dirt trail along the creek past the horses and got a little muddy, but there is no other way to get that close to the horses and they were worth a little mud. came out along the trail behind the "Fishes" pub and went down to north hinksey village, a small old village of old and somewhat newer houses, plus a tennis club and rugby stadium.
ran down to the stadium and tried to keep going down the trail, but the gate was locked so turned back up and stopped to do the smaller of two hills- still straight up- three times up and three down and then headed down the ring road trail- gail hates this part of the run which is why i tend to do it when she is not running with me. it is a mile basically running alongside a smaller version of the beltway. like running with the ocean in your ears.
the mile goes by and i turn into south hinksey village, a small thatched roof type set of houses in a circle road with one pub and no other stores. development has just come to this village also as they have started to build some new houses about 5 o'clock on the circle. i head around the other way from 6 to 12 and down the bike path at 12. the sun is out and it is warming up fast. i am over dressed.
this takes me across the power lines and some cute little creeks where swans and ducks are out and about and then i jog up many steps and across the reservoir bridge and into north hinksey park. really pretty along the lake and i meet two guys from bozeman, montana doing a three week walk across some of england. chatted for a minute about where they were headed and our previous trip to montana, and then headed off. the water shimmering in the sun a very dark blue today and a couple of hundred ducks were enjoying it. i was thirsty myself. debated adding two miles to the run to hit a store for a drink but passed. bathrooms and water fountains are not easily found around here.
around the park and then up the trail and back out on the street for 3 blocks that would take me back to the thames river. headed north up the river through grand-pont nature park and eventually came back out on the river trail and headed up to botley road and home. basically this is a big circle with a few criss-crosses, but it goes through several park areas and across and along a lot of small creeks and streams and then back up the thames and i like this run a lot. have to accept the ring road mile or it becomes an out and back to run it and it is not the same. and after i ran the three hill repeats the mile follows immediately and it is flat so i can use it to recover somewhat.
all in all a decent 9 miles. i don't have to mention slow 9 do i, as all runs these days are slow. the better runs have some faster parts, but there are no fast runs anymore. i could tell though that i had taken the day off yesterday as the legs were not dead. maybe they weren't bouncy and springy, but they had enough life in them to do this nine miles.
later after usual chores and stuff i walked up to the range and hit 200 balls trying to work on my new swing. worked up from the lob wedge to the 7 iron and did a variety of 30-40 yard pitch shots also. not as good hitting off mats but it is what i had to work with. later i sort of snuck outside to the back of the range hit about 20 chip shots off of the grass. then i spent some time helping the pro with his swing-i get to watch and see if he is on plane or too steep. his tour starts soon. i would like his misses believe me. like a machine.
funny- the guy next to me was hitting his driver almost to the fence every time, almost 275 and i was thinking how nice that would be, when i finished hitting he said to me that he wished he could hit pitch shots like i did. nobody is satisfied are they. difference is that he will learn to hit good pitch shots, but i will NEVER hit 275 yard drives, not counting the roll. oh well...
all good. tired from very little sleep to go with my 9 miles and two hundred balls, but a nice enough day. cold and rain are coming so not sure how the next few days will play out -27 degrees and heavy rain doesn't sound ideal. almost sounds like snow.
eight days to be home to visit and 154 for good.
huckabee/not that it matters anymore
from crooks and liars:
While I was watching and transcribing Mike Huckabee’s appearance on SNL this weekend, I kept thinking he is so good at being likeable that if you don’t have a clear sense of what he really stands for, it would be easy to be swayed by Huckabee. But then a story like this comes down the wires and you realize that it is really, really important to know EXACTLY what candidates do stand for. Denver Post:
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Monday endorsed a proposed Colorado Human Life Amendment that would define personhood as a fertilized egg.
The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister also supports a human-life amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Huckabee spoke favorably about the Colorado ballot initiative, sponsored by 20-year-old Kristi Burton and her Colorado for Equal Rights group, during his Friday visit to Colorado Springs.
On Monday, Huckabee lent official support to the measure.
“This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception,” Huckabee said in a statement.
“With this amendment, Colorado has an opportunity to send a clear message that every human life has value,” Huckabee said. “Passing this amendment will mean the people of Colorado will protect the sanctity of life from conception until natural death occurs.”
Well, it’s actually a little stickier than that, Huckabee. After all, would we consider a woman who had a miscarriage (also known medically as a “spontaneous abortion” *gasp*) a murderer? What if she conceives ectopically? Would the doctor who operates on her to remove the pregnancy so that the mother will not die also a murderer? Michael Froomkin points out another issue: citizenship.
Aside from the not-so-small point that citizenship is a federal issue and it is not clear from first principles whether the federal rule should or would follow the state rule, theres obviously something powerful about this logic especially if the Colorado model were ever to be adopted on a national basis.
In that case, if a noncitizen female conceives a child in the US, presumably it would be wrong to deport the blastocyte or fetus. And that means we cant deport the mother either. At least until the kid is born after which we are, as news reports from all over show, perfectly willing to deport mothers of small citizens if the mothers lack proper documentation.
While I was watching and transcribing Mike Huckabee’s appearance on SNL this weekend, I kept thinking he is so good at being likeable that if you don’t have a clear sense of what he really stands for, it would be easy to be swayed by Huckabee. But then a story like this comes down the wires and you realize that it is really, really important to know EXACTLY what candidates do stand for. Denver Post:
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Monday endorsed a proposed Colorado Human Life Amendment that would define personhood as a fertilized egg.
The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister also supports a human-life amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Huckabee spoke favorably about the Colorado ballot initiative, sponsored by 20-year-old Kristi Burton and her Colorado for Equal Rights group, during his Friday visit to Colorado Springs.
On Monday, Huckabee lent official support to the measure.
“This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception,” Huckabee said in a statement.
“With this amendment, Colorado has an opportunity to send a clear message that every human life has value,” Huckabee said. “Passing this amendment will mean the people of Colorado will protect the sanctity of life from conception until natural death occurs.”
Well, it’s actually a little stickier than that, Huckabee. After all, would we consider a woman who had a miscarriage (also known medically as a “spontaneous abortion” *gasp*) a murderer? What if she conceives ectopically? Would the doctor who operates on her to remove the pregnancy so that the mother will not die also a murderer? Michael Froomkin points out another issue: citizenship.
Aside from the not-so-small point that citizenship is a federal issue and it is not clear from first principles whether the federal rule should or would follow the state rule, theres obviously something powerful about this logic especially if the Colorado model were ever to be adopted on a national basis.
In that case, if a noncitizen female conceives a child in the US, presumably it would be wrong to deport the blastocyte or fetus. And that means we cant deport the mother either. At least until the kid is born after which we are, as news reports from all over show, perfectly willing to deport mothers of small citizens if the mothers lack proper documentation.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
continued -the golfer's mind by dr bob rotella(chapters 15- 29)
more thoughts, quotes and/or paraphrases
commit to each shot and commit to a program of improvement
on every shot the golfer must have an image of how the ball will travel and of the club and swing he will use to get it there
and then hit the shot with a clear mind, an absence of doubt and an unwavering mind
observe all of the factors involved in a shot in your pre-shot routine; back away and start over again until you are committed to what you are about to do
indecision will negate talent and skill
lessons, practice, fitness, and evaluate and address weaknesses
be an optimist
player's seem to get their best results when their intensity level is somewhere between three and six on a scale of 1--10; below 3 they get sloppy and above 6 they get mechanical
have a pre-shot routine; practice it
where do you want the ball to go
how do you want it to get there
what club do you want to use
you play the way you practice
find one shot shape and stick with it
the game of golf is not hitting fairways; it is putting the ball in the hole
commit to having fun hitting tee shots; you can only control how well you go through your pre-shot routine
have one club in your bag that you can hit confidently on tough driving holes
everyone who wants to improve must fall in love with putting
skill with the long clubs determines how high your score will be while skill with the short clubs determines how low your score will be
even the best players miss one out of three greens and amateurs miss 2 of 3 or more
the majority of the strokes are made within 100 yards of the green
have the target in mind
chipping-hands ahead of ball; handle of the club is in front of the head and maintain that shaft angle through impact; weight is left; ball is back
from around the green you must always pitch or chip to make it;not to just get close
have no fear when you putt; if you care whether you miss you are in trouble(brad faxon)
don't worry about the length of your second putt
trust your fist impression when you read a green; see it and do it; get a sense of how the ball will roll into the hole; putt to make it, not just get it close
stroke the putt freely; trust your stroke
the game will beat you up; don't beat yourself up as well
let your mistakes go and forget about them; move on
one thing you can control in golf is your attitude; don't wallow in self pity; be good company; don't dwell on setbacks
visualization-you can mentally rehearse doing well
imagine yourself doing good things
concentrate and focus-be relaxed
a golfer can always win the battle with himself
***get out of results and into process
love the challenge of the day whatever it might be
commit to each shot and commit to a program of improvement
on every shot the golfer must have an image of how the ball will travel and of the club and swing he will use to get it there
and then hit the shot with a clear mind, an absence of doubt and an unwavering mind
observe all of the factors involved in a shot in your pre-shot routine; back away and start over again until you are committed to what you are about to do
indecision will negate talent and skill
lessons, practice, fitness, and evaluate and address weaknesses
be an optimist
player's seem to get their best results when their intensity level is somewhere between three and six on a scale of 1--10; below 3 they get sloppy and above 6 they get mechanical
have a pre-shot routine; practice it
where do you want the ball to go
how do you want it to get there
what club do you want to use
you play the way you practice
find one shot shape and stick with it
the game of golf is not hitting fairways; it is putting the ball in the hole
commit to having fun hitting tee shots; you can only control how well you go through your pre-shot routine
have one club in your bag that you can hit confidently on tough driving holes
everyone who wants to improve must fall in love with putting
skill with the long clubs determines how high your score will be while skill with the short clubs determines how low your score will be
even the best players miss one out of three greens and amateurs miss 2 of 3 or more
the majority of the strokes are made within 100 yards of the green
have the target in mind
chipping-hands ahead of ball; handle of the club is in front of the head and maintain that shaft angle through impact; weight is left; ball is back
from around the green you must always pitch or chip to make it;not to just get close
have no fear when you putt; if you care whether you miss you are in trouble(brad faxon)
don't worry about the length of your second putt
trust your fist impression when you read a green; see it and do it; get a sense of how the ball will roll into the hole; putt to make it, not just get it close
stroke the putt freely; trust your stroke
the game will beat you up; don't beat yourself up as well
let your mistakes go and forget about them; move on
one thing you can control in golf is your attitude; don't wallow in self pity; be good company; don't dwell on setbacks
visualization-you can mentally rehearse doing well
imagine yourself doing good things
concentrate and focus-be relaxed
a golfer can always win the battle with himself
***get out of results and into process
love the challenge of the day whatever it might be
a day off finally/raynaud's syndrome/happy birthday betty blank!
tried hard to make sure i would take the day off by staying up a little later than normal doing paperwork and reading some of an interesting book about cabato, columbus and vespuci.
then stayed in bed until 11:30am reading and making sure i didn't run. legs needed it and frankly, i am not sure i have the discipline right now to not run when there is so little else to do.
did go and hit some balls at the range and worked with two guys from germany and turkey. still trying and that is the best i can say. just staying in touch with the swing until i come home and try to relocate it.
one way to make the day go by quickly for sure is to stay in bed. will get out there tomorrow and see what i have in the legs and if it is not good, will take another day off. can always plod around, but would like some life in the legs. morning heart rate was 47. high, but not horrible.
on a more serious note, my golfing buddy harry was most likely correct when he said i had raynaud's syndrome and being here and outside in the cold has exasperated it. not havinga car to help protect it and walking nearly everywhere has exposed me to more damp and cold weather. i have the perfect symptoms now and am soaking my right hand to keep the soreness out of the skin, and the blue colored skin as normal as possible. doesn't help either that we have been without a hot water boiler for two months now or that it is near impossible to get the temperature in the house over 62 degrees. haven't yet.
will give kaiser perm. a chance to help when i get home as i am not sure i want to become anymore a part of the health care system here than i have tried already. this is the same right hand that has had two splinters, a thorn and a screw attack it since i have been here. bacitracin, vitamin e, and heat have helped so far. this comes under the heading more info than i need i know i am sure.
anyway- a shout out of happy birthday to betty blank back there in falls church, va. am sure frank o and steve t would shout out too if they could betty b. hope you had a nice birthday today. soon another age group to conquer.
that's all folks. more soon. way to go tiger.
then stayed in bed until 11:30am reading and making sure i didn't run. legs needed it and frankly, i am not sure i have the discipline right now to not run when there is so little else to do.
did go and hit some balls at the range and worked with two guys from germany and turkey. still trying and that is the best i can say. just staying in touch with the swing until i come home and try to relocate it.
one way to make the day go by quickly for sure is to stay in bed. will get out there tomorrow and see what i have in the legs and if it is not good, will take another day off. can always plod around, but would like some life in the legs. morning heart rate was 47. high, but not horrible.
on a more serious note, my golfing buddy harry was most likely correct when he said i had raynaud's syndrome and being here and outside in the cold has exasperated it. not havinga car to help protect it and walking nearly everywhere has exposed me to more damp and cold weather. i have the perfect symptoms now and am soaking my right hand to keep the soreness out of the skin, and the blue colored skin as normal as possible. doesn't help either that we have been without a hot water boiler for two months now or that it is near impossible to get the temperature in the house over 62 degrees. haven't yet.
will give kaiser perm. a chance to help when i get home as i am not sure i want to become anymore a part of the health care system here than i have tried already. this is the same right hand that has had two splinters, a thorn and a screw attack it since i have been here. bacitracin, vitamin e, and heat have helped so far. this comes under the heading more info than i need i know i am sure.
anyway- a shout out of happy birthday to betty blank back there in falls church, va. am sure frank o and steve t would shout out too if they could betty b. hope you had a nice birthday today. soon another age group to conquer.
that's all folks. more soon. way to go tiger.
raynaud's disease-fyi and mine
Raynaud's Disease
Also called: Raynaud's phenomenon
Raynaud's disease is a rare disorder of the blood vessels, usually in the fingers and toes. People with this disorder have attacks that cause the blood vessels to narrow. When this happens, blood can't get to the surface of the skin and the affected areas turn white and blue. When the blood flow returns, the skin turns red and throbs or tingles. In severe cases, loss of blood flow can cause sores or tissue death. Cold weather and stress can trigger attacks. Often the cause of Raynaud's is not known. People in colder climates are more likely to develop Raynaud's than people in warmer areas.
Treatment for Raynaud's may include drugs to keep the blood vessels open. There are also simple things you can do yourself, such as
Soaking hands in warm water at the first sign of an attack
Keeping your hands and feet warm in cold weather
Also called: Raynaud's phenomenon
Raynaud's disease is a rare disorder of the blood vessels, usually in the fingers and toes. People with this disorder have attacks that cause the blood vessels to narrow. When this happens, blood can't get to the surface of the skin and the affected areas turn white and blue. When the blood flow returns, the skin turns red and throbs or tingles. In severe cases, loss of blood flow can cause sores or tissue death. Cold weather and stress can trigger attacks. Often the cause of Raynaud's is not known. People in colder climates are more likely to develop Raynaud's than people in warmer areas.
Treatment for Raynaud's may include drugs to keep the blood vessels open. There are also simple things you can do yourself, such as
Soaking hands in warm water at the first sign of an attack
Keeping your hands and feet warm in cold weather
raynaud's phenomenon
Raynaud's Phenomenon
Publication Date: May 2001
Revised June 2006
Questions and Answers about Raynaud's Phenomenon
What Is Raynaud's Phenomenon?
Raynaud’s phenomenon is a condition that affects the blood vessels in the extremities—generally, the fingers and toes. It is characterized by episodic attacks, called vasospastic attacks, in which the blood vessels in the digits (fingers and toes) constrict (narrow), usually in response to cold temperatures and/or emotional stress. When this condition occurs on its own, it is called primary Raynaud’s phenomenon. When it occurs with another condition such as scleroderma or lupus, it is called secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Who Gets Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
Although people of any age can have Raynaud’s phenomenon, the primary form typically begins between the ages of 15 and 25. Women are more likely than men to have Raynaud’s phenomenon. It appears to be more common in people who live in colder climates. This is likely true because people with the disorder have more Raynaud’s attacks during periods of colder weather.
Although estimates vary, most studies show that Raynaud’s phenomenon affects about 3 percent of the general population. For most, the symptoms are mild and not associated with any blood vessel or tissue damage.
Most people with Raynaud’s phenomenon have the primary form, which is not associated with any underlying disease. In fact, in these individuals it is thought to be an exaggeration of normal responses to cold temperature and/or stress.
When Raynaud’s phenomenon is caused by or associated with an underlying disease, it is referred to as secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon tends to begin later in life than the primary form, typically after 35 to 40 years of age.
It is common for patients with a connective tissue disease to have Raynaud’s phenomenon. It occurs in more than 90 percent of patients with scleroderma, and in about 30 percent of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and with Sjögren’s syndrome. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon may also be associated with exposure to vibrating tools such as jackhammers, which cause trauma to the hands and wrists. And it may be linked to certain drugs, such as chemotherapy agents, or to chemicals such as vinyl chloride.
What Happens During an Attack?
Attacks of Raynaud’s phenomenon are caused by an intensification of the body’s natural response to cold. When a person is exposed to cold, the body’s normal response is to slow the loss of heat and preserve its core temperature. Blood vessels in the surface of the skin are called thermoregulatory vessels because they react to changes in the ambient temperature. To maintain normal core temperature, these specialized blood vessels in the skin surface constrict and move blood from arteries near the surface to veins deeper in the body. But for people who have Raynaud’s phenomenon, the thermoregulatory vessels overreact to cold exposure with sudden and intense spasmodic contractions of these small blood vessels that supply blood to the skin of the fingers, toes, ears, face, and other body areas.
Once an attack begins, a person may experience three phases (though not all people have all three) of skin color changes—typically from white to blue to red—in the fingers or toes. Whiteness (called pallor) may occur in response to spasms of the arterioles (small branches of an artery) and the resulting collapse of the arteries supplying the fingers and toes. Blueness (cyanosis) may appear because the fingers or toes are not getting enough oxygen-rich blood. Finally, as the arterioles dilate (relax) and blood returns to the digits, redness (rubor) may occur.
During the attack, the fingers or toes may feel cold and numb as blood flow to them is interrupted. As the attack ends and blood flow returns, fingers or toes may throb and tingle. Typically, the blood flow to the skin will remain low until the skin is rewarmed. After warming, it usually takes 15 minutes to recover normal blood flow to the skin.
What Is the Difference Between Primary and Secondary Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
In medical literature, primary Raynaud’s phenomenon may also be called idiopathic Raynaud’s phenomenon, primary Raynaud’s syndrome, or Raynaud’s disease. There is no known cause for primary Raynaud’s phenomenon. It is more common than the secondary form and often is so mild the patient never seeks medical attention. It generally is an annoyance that causes little disability. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon is a more complex and serious disorder.
The most common cause of secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon is connective tissue disease. The condition most commonly occurs with scleroderma or lupus, but is also associated with Sjögren’s syndrome, dermatomyositis, and polymyositis. Some of these diseases reduce blood flow to the fingers and toes by causing blood vessel walls to thicken and the vessels to constrict too easily.
Other possible causes of secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon are carpal tunnel syndrome and obstructive arterial disease (blood vessel disease). Some drugs are also linked to Raynaud’s phenomenon. They include beta-blockers, such as Lopressor1 or Cartrol, used to treat high blood pressure; ergotamine preparations, such as Cafergot or Wigrane, used for migraine headaches; certain agents used in cancer chemotherapy; and drugs, such as over-the-counter cold medication and narcotics, that cause vasoconstriction.
People in certain occupations may be more vulnerable to secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. Some workers in the plastics industry who are exposed to vinyl chloride, for example, develop a scleroderma-like illness, of which Raynaud’s phenomenon can be a part. Workers who operate vibrating tools can develop a type of Raynaud’s phenomenon called vibration-induced white finger.
Severe cases of Raynaud’s phenomenon—usually of the secondary form—can lead to problems such as skin ulcers (sores) or gangrene (tissue death) in the fingers and toes, which can be painful and difficult to treat.
1 Brand names included in this fact sheet are provided as examples only, and their inclusion does not mean that these products are endorsed by the National Institutes of Health or any other Government agency. Also, if a particular brand name is not mentioned, this does not mean or imply that the product is unsatisfactory.
How Does a Doctor Diagnose Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
Most doctors find it fairly easy to diagnose Raynaud’s phenomenon but find it more difficult to identify the form of the disorder.
Physicians can now distinguish primary from secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon with a complete history and physical examination. Sometimes, special blood testing is needed. If the evaluation and special testing studies are normal, then the diagnosis of primary Raynaud’s phenomenon can be made and it is unlikely to change into a secondary form. Interestingly, about 30 percent of first-degree relatives of patients with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon also have the condition. This finding suggests that primary Raynaud’s phenomenon is determined by some yet-to-be discovered genetic trait.
A few tests can help the doctor distinguish between primary and secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. They are:
Nailfold capillaroscopy—During this test, the doctor puts a drop of oil on the patient’s nailfolds, the skin at the base of the fingernail. The doctor then examines the nailfolds under a microscope to look for problems in the tiny blood vessels called capillaries. If the capillaries are enlarged or malformed, the patient may have a connective tissue disease.
Antinuclear antibody (ANA) test—In this blood test, the doctor determines whether the body is producing special proteins called antibodies that are directed against the nuclei of the body’s cells. These abnormal antibodies are often found in people who have connective tissue diseases or other autoimmune disorders.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate)—This is a laboratory test for inflammation that measures how quickly red blood cells fall to the bottom of a test tube of unclotted blood. Rapidly descending cells (an elevated sed rate) indicate inflammation in the body.
What Is the Treatment for Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
The aims of treatment are to reduce the number and severity of attacks and to prevent tissue damage and loss of tissue in the fingers and toes. Most doctors are conservative in treating patients with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon because they do not get tissue damage. For these patients, doctors tend to recommend nondrug treatments before moving onto medications. For patients with secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon, medications are more often prescribed, because severe attacks with ulcers or tissue damage are more likely.
In the most severe cases, Raynaud’s causes ulcers and serious tissue damage that does not respond to medications. Doctors may use a surgical procedure called a digital sympathectomy with adventitial stripping (which involves removing the tissue and nerves around the blood vessels supplying the affected digits). While this procedure may result in reducing symptoms and healing tissue, it only helps temporarily and therefore is reserved for difficult cases.
The most common treatments and self-help measures are described below.
Nondrug Treatments and Self-Help Measures
The following nondrug treatments and self-help measures can decrease the severity of Raynaud’s attacks and promote overall well-being.
Take action during an attack. You can decrease both its length and severity by a few simple actions. The first and most important one is avoid the cold. Warming the body and the hands or feet is also helpful. If you’re outside and the weather is cold, go indoors. Run warm water over your fingers or toes or soak them in a bowl of warm water to warm them. If a stressful situation triggers the attack, get out of the stressful situation, if possible, and relax. While biofeedback and similar nondrug methods are used, formal studies have suggested they are not helpful.
Keep warm. It is important not only to keep the extremities warm but also to avoid chilling any part of the body. Remember, a drop in the body’s core temperature triggers the attack. Shifting temperature (for example, rapidly moving from 90 degrees outside to a 70 degree air-conditioned room) and damp rainy weather are to be avoided. In cold weather, pay particular attention to dressing. Several layers of loose clothing, socks, hats, and gloves or mittens are recommended. A hat is important because a great deal of body heat is lost through the scalp. Keep feet warm and dry. Some people find it helpful to wear mittens and socks to bed during the winter. Chemical warmers, such as small heating pouches that can be placed in pockets, mittens, boots, or shoes, can give added protection during long periods outdoors.
People who have secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon should talk to their doctors before exercising outdoors in cold weather.
In warm weather, be aware that air conditioning also can trigger attacks. Setting the thermostat for a higher temperature or wearing a sweater indoors can help prevent an attack. Some people find it helpful to use insulated drinking glasses and to put on gloves before handling frozen or refrigerated foods.
Do not smoke. The nicotine in cigarettes causes the skin temperature to drop, which may lead to an attack.
Avoid aggravating medications such as vasconstrictors, which cause the blood vessels to narrow. Vasoconstrictors include beta-blockers, many cold preparations, caffeine, narcotics, some migraine headache medications, some chemotherapeutic drugs, and clonidine, a blood pressure medication. Some studies also associate the use of estrogen with Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Control stress. Because stress and emotional upsets may trigger an attack, particularly for people who have primary Raynaud’s phenomenon, learning to recognize and avoid stressful situations may help control the number of attacks. Many people have found that relaxation can help decrease the number and severity of attacks. Local hospitals and other community organizations, such as schools, often offer programs in stress management.
Exercise regularly. Many doctors encourage patients who have Raynaud’s phenomenon—particularly the primary form—to exercise regularly. Most people find that exercise promotes overall well-being, increases energy level, helps control weight, and promotes cardiovascular fitness and restful sleep. Patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon should talk to their doctors before starting an exercise program.
See a doctor. People with Raynaud’s phenomenon should see their doctors if they are worried or frightened about attacks or if they have questions about caring for themselves. They should always see their doctors if episodes occur only on one side of the body (one hand or one foot) and any time one results in sores or ulcers on the fingers or toes.
Treatment with Medications
People with secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon are more likely than those with the primary form to be treated with medications. Many doctors believe that the most effective and safest drugs for Raynaud’s phenomenon are calciumchannel blockers such as nifedipine (Procardia) or amlodipine (Norvasc). These drugs, which are used to treat high blood pressure, work by relaxing the smooth muscle and dilating the small blood vessels. This decreases the frequency and severity of Raynaud’s attacks. These drugs can also help heal skin ulcers on the fingers or toes.
Some patients have found relief with alpha receptor blockers, which are high blood pressure medications such as prazosin (Minipres) or doxazosin (Cardura). These medications counteract the actions of norepinephrine, a hormone that constricts blood vessels. Effects are reported to be modest and side effects are associated with long-term use. However, preliminary research has found that a more highly targeted blocker for a specific alpha receptor shows promise. This receptor blocker is under investigation.
To help heal skin ulcers, some doctors prescribe a nonspecific vasodilator (drug that relaxes blood vessels) such as nitroglycerine paste, which is applied to the fingers. Many new agents that vasodilate are being used in cases that do not respond. These include the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac); phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as cilostazol (Pletal), pentoxifylline (Trental), and sildenafil (Viagra); and an angiotensin II receptor antagonist (used for blood pressure control), losartan (Cozaar). Patients should keep in mind that the treatment for Raynaud’s phenomenon is not always successful. Often, patients with the secondary form will not respond as well to treatment as those with the primary form of the disorder. In cases of critical digital ischemia (where the blood flow will not return and finger loss may result), intravenous vasodilator therapy is used with prostaglandins such as epoprostenol (Flolan).
Patients may find that one drug works better than another. Some people may experience side effects that require stopping the medication. For other people, a drug may become less effective over time. Women of childbearing age should know that the medications used to treat Raynaud’s phenomenon may affect the growing fetus. Therefore, women who are pregnant or who might become pregnant should avoid taking these medications if possible. Interestingly, Raynaud’s phenomenon gets better or goes away during pregnancy.
Where Can People Find More Information About Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Information Clearinghouse
National Institutes of Health
1 AMS Circle
Bethesda, MD 20892-3675
Phone: 301-495-4484
Toll Free: 877-22-NIAMS (226-4267)
TTY: 301–565–2966
Fax: 301-718-6366
Email: NIAMSinfo@mail.nih.gov
Website: http://www.niams.nih.gov
The clearinghouse provides information about various forms of arthritis and rheumatic diseases and bone, muscle, and skin diseases. It distributes patient and professional education materials and refers people to other sources of information. Additional information and updates can also be found on the NIAMS Web site.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National Institutes of Health
31 Center Drive, MSC 2480
Bethesda, MD 20892-2480
Phone: 301-496-4236
Fax: 301-402-2405
Website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. The NHLBI Information Center develops and maintains information on numerous topics to respond to inquiries on specific diseases related to the heart, lungs, and blood.
American College of Rheumatology (ACR)
1800 Century Place, Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30345-4300
Phone: 404-633-3777
Fax: 404-633-1870
Website: http://www.rheumatology.org
This professional organization of rheumatologists (doctors specializing in arthritis and related conditions such as Raynaud’s phenomenon) and associated health professionals is involved in research, education, and patient care. It provides referrals to rheumatologists and other health professionals.
Arthritis Foundation
P.O. Box 7669
Atlanta, GA 30357-0669
Phone: 404-872-7100
Toll Free: 800-283-7800
Website: http://www.arthritis.org
This is the main voluntary organization devoted to all forms of arthritis. The foundation offers free information about Raynaud’s on its Web site and also provides physician referrals.
Lupus Foundation of America (LFA)
2000 L Street, N.W., Suite 710
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-349-1155
Toll Free: 800-558-0121
Fax: 202-349-1156
Email: lupusinfo@lupus.org
Website: http://www.lupus.org
This is the main voluntary organization devoted to lupus. The LFA offers information and referral services, health fairs, newsletters, publications, seminars, support group meetings, hospital visits, and telephone help lines.
Scleroderma Foundation
300 Rosewood Drive, Suite 105
Danvers, MA 1923
Phone: 978-463-5843
Toll Free: 800-722-4673
Fax: 978-463-5809
Email: sfinfo@scleroderma.org
Website: http://www.scleroderma.org
This voluntary organization publishes information on scleroderma and funds research. It also offers patient education seminars, support groups, physician referrals, and information hotlines.
Scleroderma Research Foundation
220 Montgomery Street, Suite 1411
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 415-834-9444
Toll Free: 800-441-CURE
Fax: 415-834-9177
Website: http://www.srfcure.org
The foundation's goal is to find a cure for scleroderma by funding and facilitating the most promising, highest quality research and by placing the disease and its need for a cure in the public eye. The foundation distributes patient handbooks and a twice yearly, research-related newsletter.
Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation, Inc.
6707 Democracy Blvd, Suite 325
Bethesda, MD 20817
Phone: 301-530-4420
Toll Free: 800-475-6473
Fax: 301-530-4415
Website: http://www.sjogrens.org
This organization is devoted to Sjögren’s syndrome. It publishes free pamphlets and a newsletter for members that provides up-to-date information. It also provides clinic and physician referrals.
Key Words
Adventitial stripping—a surgical treatment for severe Raynaud’s phenomenon that involves removing the outer layer of the blood vessels supplying the affected extremities.
Antinuclear antibody (ANA)—an abnormal protein called an autoantibody that is directed against the nuclei in the body’s cells. The presence of these autoantibodies in the body, particularly at high levels, often indicates a connective tissue disease.
Arteriole—a small branch of an artery (blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart) that leads into many smaller blood vessels near the skin’s surface.
Beta-blocker—a type of medication used to treat high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. The medications work by blocking the effects of stress hormones on the body’s beta receptors. This slows the nerve impulses that travel through the heart. As a result, your heart does not have to work as hard because it needs less blood and oxygen.
Biofeedback—a technique that uses electronic instruments to measure body functions and feed that information back to you, teaching you to bring involuntary body processes, such as blood pressure or skin temperature, under voluntary control.
Calcium-channel blocker—a type of medication that affects the movement of calcium within the cells of the heart and blood vessels, thus relaxing the blood vessels and increasing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.
Carpal tunnel syndrome—a condition in which the median nerve, which supplies the thumb side of the palm, becomes compressed in the space between the bones of the wrist through which the nerves and tendons run. It can cause tingling of the middle and index finger and weakness of the thumb.
Connective tissue disease—any of a group of diseases characterized by degeneration of collagen, a key component of connective tissues such as skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Connective tissue diseases include scleroderma, lupus, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis.
Cyanosis—a bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood.
Dermatomyositis—an inflammatory disorder of the skin and underlying tissue, including the muscles.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate)—a laboratory test for inflammation that measures how quickly red blood cells fall to the bottom of a test tube of unclotted blood. Rapidly descending cells (an elevated sed rate) indicate inflammation in the body.
Gangrene—death and decay of part of the body caused by lack of blood supply.
Idiopathic—a word used to describe a disease for which the cause is not known.
Lupus—short for systemic lupus erythematosus, an inflammatory disease of the connective tissue, which can affect the skin, joints, and internal organs.
Nailfold capillaroscopy—a test used to look for abnormalities of the tiny blood vessels called capillaries in the skin at the base of the fingernails. Enlarged or malformed capillaries may indicate a connective tissue disease.
Vasodilator—a drug that relaxes blood vessels, making the cavities within the vessels larger and allowing more blood to pass through them.
Pallor—paleness of the skin due to reduced blood flow.
Polymyositis—a disease characterized by inflammation of the muscles, particularly those of the shoulders and hip girdles, which may become weak and tender to the touch.
Rubor—redness of tissue. In Raynaud’s phenomenon, redness is caused by an increase in size of the small blood vessels of the affected extremities.
Sed rate—(see erythrocyte sedimentation rate).
Sjögren’s syndrome—a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the moisture-producing glands, resulting in uncomfortable and sometimes damaging dryness of tissues, particularly those of the eyes and mouth.
Vasospastic attack—an episode of the small blood vessels going into spasms, temporarily reducing blood flow to the extremities.
Acknowledgments
The NIAMS gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Elizabeth Gretz, Ph.D., NIAMS, NIH; Paul Plotz, M.D., NIAMS, NIH; Gabor Illei, M.D., Ph.D., NIDCR, NIH; Phillip J. Clements, M.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles; Jay D. Coffman, M.D., of the Boston University Medical Center; and Frederick M. Wigley, M.D., of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; in the preparation and review of this booklet.
Publication Date: May 2001
Revised June 2006
Questions and Answers about Raynaud's Phenomenon
What Is Raynaud's Phenomenon?
Raynaud’s phenomenon is a condition that affects the blood vessels in the extremities—generally, the fingers and toes. It is characterized by episodic attacks, called vasospastic attacks, in which the blood vessels in the digits (fingers and toes) constrict (narrow), usually in response to cold temperatures and/or emotional stress. When this condition occurs on its own, it is called primary Raynaud’s phenomenon. When it occurs with another condition such as scleroderma or lupus, it is called secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Who Gets Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
Although people of any age can have Raynaud’s phenomenon, the primary form typically begins between the ages of 15 and 25. Women are more likely than men to have Raynaud’s phenomenon. It appears to be more common in people who live in colder climates. This is likely true because people with the disorder have more Raynaud’s attacks during periods of colder weather.
Although estimates vary, most studies show that Raynaud’s phenomenon affects about 3 percent of the general population. For most, the symptoms are mild and not associated with any blood vessel or tissue damage.
Most people with Raynaud’s phenomenon have the primary form, which is not associated with any underlying disease. In fact, in these individuals it is thought to be an exaggeration of normal responses to cold temperature and/or stress.
When Raynaud’s phenomenon is caused by or associated with an underlying disease, it is referred to as secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon tends to begin later in life than the primary form, typically after 35 to 40 years of age.
It is common for patients with a connective tissue disease to have Raynaud’s phenomenon. It occurs in more than 90 percent of patients with scleroderma, and in about 30 percent of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and with Sjögren’s syndrome. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon may also be associated with exposure to vibrating tools such as jackhammers, which cause trauma to the hands and wrists. And it may be linked to certain drugs, such as chemotherapy agents, or to chemicals such as vinyl chloride.
What Happens During an Attack?
Attacks of Raynaud’s phenomenon are caused by an intensification of the body’s natural response to cold. When a person is exposed to cold, the body’s normal response is to slow the loss of heat and preserve its core temperature. Blood vessels in the surface of the skin are called thermoregulatory vessels because they react to changes in the ambient temperature. To maintain normal core temperature, these specialized blood vessels in the skin surface constrict and move blood from arteries near the surface to veins deeper in the body. But for people who have Raynaud’s phenomenon, the thermoregulatory vessels overreact to cold exposure with sudden and intense spasmodic contractions of these small blood vessels that supply blood to the skin of the fingers, toes, ears, face, and other body areas.
Once an attack begins, a person may experience three phases (though not all people have all three) of skin color changes—typically from white to blue to red—in the fingers or toes. Whiteness (called pallor) may occur in response to spasms of the arterioles (small branches of an artery) and the resulting collapse of the arteries supplying the fingers and toes. Blueness (cyanosis) may appear because the fingers or toes are not getting enough oxygen-rich blood. Finally, as the arterioles dilate (relax) and blood returns to the digits, redness (rubor) may occur.
During the attack, the fingers or toes may feel cold and numb as blood flow to them is interrupted. As the attack ends and blood flow returns, fingers or toes may throb and tingle. Typically, the blood flow to the skin will remain low until the skin is rewarmed. After warming, it usually takes 15 minutes to recover normal blood flow to the skin.
What Is the Difference Between Primary and Secondary Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
In medical literature, primary Raynaud’s phenomenon may also be called idiopathic Raynaud’s phenomenon, primary Raynaud’s syndrome, or Raynaud’s disease. There is no known cause for primary Raynaud’s phenomenon. It is more common than the secondary form and often is so mild the patient never seeks medical attention. It generally is an annoyance that causes little disability. Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon is a more complex and serious disorder.
The most common cause of secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon is connective tissue disease. The condition most commonly occurs with scleroderma or lupus, but is also associated with Sjögren’s syndrome, dermatomyositis, and polymyositis. Some of these diseases reduce blood flow to the fingers and toes by causing blood vessel walls to thicken and the vessels to constrict too easily.
Other possible causes of secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon are carpal tunnel syndrome and obstructive arterial disease (blood vessel disease). Some drugs are also linked to Raynaud’s phenomenon. They include beta-blockers, such as Lopressor1 or Cartrol, used to treat high blood pressure; ergotamine preparations, such as Cafergot or Wigrane, used for migraine headaches; certain agents used in cancer chemotherapy; and drugs, such as over-the-counter cold medication and narcotics, that cause vasoconstriction.
People in certain occupations may be more vulnerable to secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. Some workers in the plastics industry who are exposed to vinyl chloride, for example, develop a scleroderma-like illness, of which Raynaud’s phenomenon can be a part. Workers who operate vibrating tools can develop a type of Raynaud’s phenomenon called vibration-induced white finger.
Severe cases of Raynaud’s phenomenon—usually of the secondary form—can lead to problems such as skin ulcers (sores) or gangrene (tissue death) in the fingers and toes, which can be painful and difficult to treat.
1 Brand names included in this fact sheet are provided as examples only, and their inclusion does not mean that these products are endorsed by the National Institutes of Health or any other Government agency. Also, if a particular brand name is not mentioned, this does not mean or imply that the product is unsatisfactory.
How Does a Doctor Diagnose Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
Most doctors find it fairly easy to diagnose Raynaud’s phenomenon but find it more difficult to identify the form of the disorder.
Physicians can now distinguish primary from secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon with a complete history and physical examination. Sometimes, special blood testing is needed. If the evaluation and special testing studies are normal, then the diagnosis of primary Raynaud’s phenomenon can be made and it is unlikely to change into a secondary form. Interestingly, about 30 percent of first-degree relatives of patients with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon also have the condition. This finding suggests that primary Raynaud’s phenomenon is determined by some yet-to-be discovered genetic trait.
A few tests can help the doctor distinguish between primary and secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon. They are:
Nailfold capillaroscopy—During this test, the doctor puts a drop of oil on the patient’s nailfolds, the skin at the base of the fingernail. The doctor then examines the nailfolds under a microscope to look for problems in the tiny blood vessels called capillaries. If the capillaries are enlarged or malformed, the patient may have a connective tissue disease.
Antinuclear antibody (ANA) test—In this blood test, the doctor determines whether the body is producing special proteins called antibodies that are directed against the nuclei of the body’s cells. These abnormal antibodies are often found in people who have connective tissue diseases or other autoimmune disorders.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate)—This is a laboratory test for inflammation that measures how quickly red blood cells fall to the bottom of a test tube of unclotted blood. Rapidly descending cells (an elevated sed rate) indicate inflammation in the body.
What Is the Treatment for Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
The aims of treatment are to reduce the number and severity of attacks and to prevent tissue damage and loss of tissue in the fingers and toes. Most doctors are conservative in treating patients with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon because they do not get tissue damage. For these patients, doctors tend to recommend nondrug treatments before moving onto medications. For patients with secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon, medications are more often prescribed, because severe attacks with ulcers or tissue damage are more likely.
In the most severe cases, Raynaud’s causes ulcers and serious tissue damage that does not respond to medications. Doctors may use a surgical procedure called a digital sympathectomy with adventitial stripping (which involves removing the tissue and nerves around the blood vessels supplying the affected digits). While this procedure may result in reducing symptoms and healing tissue, it only helps temporarily and therefore is reserved for difficult cases.
The most common treatments and self-help measures are described below.
Nondrug Treatments and Self-Help Measures
The following nondrug treatments and self-help measures can decrease the severity of Raynaud’s attacks and promote overall well-being.
Take action during an attack. You can decrease both its length and severity by a few simple actions. The first and most important one is avoid the cold. Warming the body and the hands or feet is also helpful. If you’re outside and the weather is cold, go indoors. Run warm water over your fingers or toes or soak them in a bowl of warm water to warm them. If a stressful situation triggers the attack, get out of the stressful situation, if possible, and relax. While biofeedback and similar nondrug methods are used, formal studies have suggested they are not helpful.
Keep warm. It is important not only to keep the extremities warm but also to avoid chilling any part of the body. Remember, a drop in the body’s core temperature triggers the attack. Shifting temperature (for example, rapidly moving from 90 degrees outside to a 70 degree air-conditioned room) and damp rainy weather are to be avoided. In cold weather, pay particular attention to dressing. Several layers of loose clothing, socks, hats, and gloves or mittens are recommended. A hat is important because a great deal of body heat is lost through the scalp. Keep feet warm and dry. Some people find it helpful to wear mittens and socks to bed during the winter. Chemical warmers, such as small heating pouches that can be placed in pockets, mittens, boots, or shoes, can give added protection during long periods outdoors.
People who have secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon should talk to their doctors before exercising outdoors in cold weather.
In warm weather, be aware that air conditioning also can trigger attacks. Setting the thermostat for a higher temperature or wearing a sweater indoors can help prevent an attack. Some people find it helpful to use insulated drinking glasses and to put on gloves before handling frozen or refrigerated foods.
Do not smoke. The nicotine in cigarettes causes the skin temperature to drop, which may lead to an attack.
Avoid aggravating medications such as vasconstrictors, which cause the blood vessels to narrow. Vasoconstrictors include beta-blockers, many cold preparations, caffeine, narcotics, some migraine headache medications, some chemotherapeutic drugs, and clonidine, a blood pressure medication. Some studies also associate the use of estrogen with Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Control stress. Because stress and emotional upsets may trigger an attack, particularly for people who have primary Raynaud’s phenomenon, learning to recognize and avoid stressful situations may help control the number of attacks. Many people have found that relaxation can help decrease the number and severity of attacks. Local hospitals and other community organizations, such as schools, often offer programs in stress management.
Exercise regularly. Many doctors encourage patients who have Raynaud’s phenomenon—particularly the primary form—to exercise regularly. Most people find that exercise promotes overall well-being, increases energy level, helps control weight, and promotes cardiovascular fitness and restful sleep. Patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon should talk to their doctors before starting an exercise program.
See a doctor. People with Raynaud’s phenomenon should see their doctors if they are worried or frightened about attacks or if they have questions about caring for themselves. They should always see their doctors if episodes occur only on one side of the body (one hand or one foot) and any time one results in sores or ulcers on the fingers or toes.
Treatment with Medications
People with secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon are more likely than those with the primary form to be treated with medications. Many doctors believe that the most effective and safest drugs for Raynaud’s phenomenon are calciumchannel blockers such as nifedipine (Procardia) or amlodipine (Norvasc). These drugs, which are used to treat high blood pressure, work by relaxing the smooth muscle and dilating the small blood vessels. This decreases the frequency and severity of Raynaud’s attacks. These drugs can also help heal skin ulcers on the fingers or toes.
Some patients have found relief with alpha receptor blockers, which are high blood pressure medications such as prazosin (Minipres) or doxazosin (Cardura). These medications counteract the actions of norepinephrine, a hormone that constricts blood vessels. Effects are reported to be modest and side effects are associated with long-term use. However, preliminary research has found that a more highly targeted blocker for a specific alpha receptor shows promise. This receptor blocker is under investigation.
To help heal skin ulcers, some doctors prescribe a nonspecific vasodilator (drug that relaxes blood vessels) such as nitroglycerine paste, which is applied to the fingers. Many new agents that vasodilate are being used in cases that do not respond. These include the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac); phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as cilostazol (Pletal), pentoxifylline (Trental), and sildenafil (Viagra); and an angiotensin II receptor antagonist (used for blood pressure control), losartan (Cozaar). Patients should keep in mind that the treatment for Raynaud’s phenomenon is not always successful. Often, patients with the secondary form will not respond as well to treatment as those with the primary form of the disorder. In cases of critical digital ischemia (where the blood flow will not return and finger loss may result), intravenous vasodilator therapy is used with prostaglandins such as epoprostenol (Flolan).
Patients may find that one drug works better than another. Some people may experience side effects that require stopping the medication. For other people, a drug may become less effective over time. Women of childbearing age should know that the medications used to treat Raynaud’s phenomenon may affect the growing fetus. Therefore, women who are pregnant or who might become pregnant should avoid taking these medications if possible. Interestingly, Raynaud’s phenomenon gets better or goes away during pregnancy.
Where Can People Find More Information About Raynaud’s Phenomenon?
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Information Clearinghouse
National Institutes of Health
1 AMS Circle
Bethesda, MD 20892-3675
Phone: 301-495-4484
Toll Free: 877-22-NIAMS (226-4267)
TTY: 301–565–2966
Fax: 301-718-6366
Email: NIAMSinfo@mail.nih.gov
Website: http://www.niams.nih.gov
The clearinghouse provides information about various forms of arthritis and rheumatic diseases and bone, muscle, and skin diseases. It distributes patient and professional education materials and refers people to other sources of information. Additional information and updates can also be found on the NIAMS Web site.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National Institutes of Health
31 Center Drive, MSC 2480
Bethesda, MD 20892-2480
Phone: 301-496-4236
Fax: 301-402-2405
Website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. The NHLBI Information Center develops and maintains information on numerous topics to respond to inquiries on specific diseases related to the heart, lungs, and blood.
American College of Rheumatology (ACR)
1800 Century Place, Suite 250
Atlanta, GA 30345-4300
Phone: 404-633-3777
Fax: 404-633-1870
Website: http://www.rheumatology.org
This professional organization of rheumatologists (doctors specializing in arthritis and related conditions such as Raynaud’s phenomenon) and associated health professionals is involved in research, education, and patient care. It provides referrals to rheumatologists and other health professionals.
Arthritis Foundation
P.O. Box 7669
Atlanta, GA 30357-0669
Phone: 404-872-7100
Toll Free: 800-283-7800
Website: http://www.arthritis.org
This is the main voluntary organization devoted to all forms of arthritis. The foundation offers free information about Raynaud’s on its Web site and also provides physician referrals.
Lupus Foundation of America (LFA)
2000 L Street, N.W., Suite 710
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-349-1155
Toll Free: 800-558-0121
Fax: 202-349-1156
Email: lupusinfo@lupus.org
Website: http://www.lupus.org
This is the main voluntary organization devoted to lupus. The LFA offers information and referral services, health fairs, newsletters, publications, seminars, support group meetings, hospital visits, and telephone help lines.
Scleroderma Foundation
300 Rosewood Drive, Suite 105
Danvers, MA 1923
Phone: 978-463-5843
Toll Free: 800-722-4673
Fax: 978-463-5809
Email: sfinfo@scleroderma.org
Website: http://www.scleroderma.org
This voluntary organization publishes information on scleroderma and funds research. It also offers patient education seminars, support groups, physician referrals, and information hotlines.
Scleroderma Research Foundation
220 Montgomery Street, Suite 1411
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 415-834-9444
Toll Free: 800-441-CURE
Fax: 415-834-9177
Website: http://www.srfcure.org
The foundation's goal is to find a cure for scleroderma by funding and facilitating the most promising, highest quality research and by placing the disease and its need for a cure in the public eye. The foundation distributes patient handbooks and a twice yearly, research-related newsletter.
Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation, Inc.
6707 Democracy Blvd, Suite 325
Bethesda, MD 20817
Phone: 301-530-4420
Toll Free: 800-475-6473
Fax: 301-530-4415
Website: http://www.sjogrens.org
This organization is devoted to Sjögren’s syndrome. It publishes free pamphlets and a newsletter for members that provides up-to-date information. It also provides clinic and physician referrals.
Key Words
Adventitial stripping—a surgical treatment for severe Raynaud’s phenomenon that involves removing the outer layer of the blood vessels supplying the affected extremities.
Antinuclear antibody (ANA)—an abnormal protein called an autoantibody that is directed against the nuclei in the body’s cells. The presence of these autoantibodies in the body, particularly at high levels, often indicates a connective tissue disease.
Arteriole—a small branch of an artery (blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart) that leads into many smaller blood vessels near the skin’s surface.
Beta-blocker—a type of medication used to treat high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. The medications work by blocking the effects of stress hormones on the body’s beta receptors. This slows the nerve impulses that travel through the heart. As a result, your heart does not have to work as hard because it needs less blood and oxygen.
Biofeedback—a technique that uses electronic instruments to measure body functions and feed that information back to you, teaching you to bring involuntary body processes, such as blood pressure or skin temperature, under voluntary control.
Calcium-channel blocker—a type of medication that affects the movement of calcium within the cells of the heart and blood vessels, thus relaxing the blood vessels and increasing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.
Carpal tunnel syndrome—a condition in which the median nerve, which supplies the thumb side of the palm, becomes compressed in the space between the bones of the wrist through which the nerves and tendons run. It can cause tingling of the middle and index finger and weakness of the thumb.
Connective tissue disease—any of a group of diseases characterized by degeneration of collagen, a key component of connective tissues such as skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Connective tissue diseases include scleroderma, lupus, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis.
Cyanosis—a bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood.
Dermatomyositis—an inflammatory disorder of the skin and underlying tissue, including the muscles.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate)—a laboratory test for inflammation that measures how quickly red blood cells fall to the bottom of a test tube of unclotted blood. Rapidly descending cells (an elevated sed rate) indicate inflammation in the body.
Gangrene—death and decay of part of the body caused by lack of blood supply.
Idiopathic—a word used to describe a disease for which the cause is not known.
Lupus—short for systemic lupus erythematosus, an inflammatory disease of the connective tissue, which can affect the skin, joints, and internal organs.
Nailfold capillaroscopy—a test used to look for abnormalities of the tiny blood vessels called capillaries in the skin at the base of the fingernails. Enlarged or malformed capillaries may indicate a connective tissue disease.
Vasodilator—a drug that relaxes blood vessels, making the cavities within the vessels larger and allowing more blood to pass through them.
Pallor—paleness of the skin due to reduced blood flow.
Polymyositis—a disease characterized by inflammation of the muscles, particularly those of the shoulders and hip girdles, which may become weak and tender to the touch.
Rubor—redness of tissue. In Raynaud’s phenomenon, redness is caused by an increase in size of the small blood vessels of the affected extremities.
Sed rate—(see erythrocyte sedimentation rate).
Sjögren’s syndrome—a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the moisture-producing glands, resulting in uncomfortable and sometimes damaging dryness of tissues, particularly those of the eyes and mouth.
Vasospastic attack—an episode of the small blood vessels going into spasms, temporarily reducing blood flow to the extremities.
Acknowledgments
The NIAMS gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Elizabeth Gretz, Ph.D., NIAMS, NIH; Paul Plotz, M.D., NIAMS, NIH; Gabor Illei, M.D., Ph.D., NIDCR, NIH; Phillip J. Clements, M.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles; Jay D. Coffman, M.D., of the Boston University Medical Center; and Frederick M. Wigley, M.D., of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; in the preparation and review of this booklet.
another mc cain flip flop from liars and cheaters blog
McCain Flip Flops On “100 Years in Iraq” Remark
Posted: 25 Feb 2008 06:30 PM CST
Flippity, floppity, flip, flop. Just like a fish on the deck of a boat, John McCain is gasping for the life of his campaign. Knowing full well that tying his campaign to staying in Iraq and the “success” of the “surge” (quick, McCain, explain what that means!) and that the majority of Americans just aren’t willing to buy it, McCain executes a perfect “cut and run” from his earlier statement of staying in Iraq for 100 years.
By the way, that reminds me of that 100 year thing . My friends, the war will be over soon. The war, for all intents and purposes, although the insurgency will go on for years and years and years. But it will be handled by the Iraqis, not by us.
Huh? The war will be “over soon”??? Mission Accomplished redux? But the insurgency will go on. But that’s not a war. But the Iraqis will handle it. Aren’t the insurgents Iraqis too? Can anyone make heads or tails of this ridiculous excuse of a back pedal?
How in the hell does McCain think he can get away with this?
Posted: 25 Feb 2008 06:30 PM CST
Flippity, floppity, flip, flop. Just like a fish on the deck of a boat, John McCain is gasping for the life of his campaign. Knowing full well that tying his campaign to staying in Iraq and the “success” of the “surge” (quick, McCain, explain what that means!) and that the majority of Americans just aren’t willing to buy it, McCain executes a perfect “cut and run” from his earlier statement of staying in Iraq for 100 years.
By the way, that reminds me of that 100 year thing . My friends, the war will be over soon. The war, for all intents and purposes, although the insurgency will go on for years and years and years. But it will be handled by the Iraqis, not by us.
Huh? The war will be “over soon”??? Mission Accomplished redux? But the insurgency will go on. But that’s not a war. But the Iraqis will handle it. Aren’t the insurgents Iraqis too? Can anyone make heads or tails of this ridiculous excuse of a back pedal?
How in the hell does McCain think he can get away with this?
Monday, February 25, 2008
today's effort
woke up with a heart rate of 46 after about 6 hours of sleep and despite my best efforts i couldn't talk myself into taking the day off. first the trash had to go out and then we had to start getting ready to take the cats to the vet for a checkup and their shots.
then out the door into 30 degrees and some frost on the ground. didn't actually take long to realize i would have been better off taking the day off so i immediately switched gears so to speak and slowed down and decided to stop and stretch every so often to at least get some decent stretching in.
at least it was a pretty morning. and i did the usual run. up to the church and then over to the river and over to the canal. water level was high as it had rained most of the night. some ice here and there, but nothing to worry about. up and down the canal and then back down to the river and headed home after a loop around the trails behind the train station. all in all about 8 very slow miles and several stretch breaks that i really would hesitate to call a real run. still, it felt good to be out in the air and just seeing the day start, the swans on the water, the geese in the air and my favorite work horse grazing. you either like that or you don't i guess.
then to catch the cats and cage them to take them to the vets. not something they loved or gave into freely, but gail is a hunter and she got them in their cages with very little assistance from me. there and back went ok and unfortunately one of the cats must go back for more tests as they have lost some weight.
then to the range where i was just not good at all today while i re-work my swing. how can a 6 iron go 160 yards and then 120 yards and right or left? anyway- worked on it for 250 balls and then stopped. learned a few things, but not ready to play yet and i never hit anything longer than a six iron.
anyone reading this can tell how tired it sounds and with a little luck i will get more sleep tonight. one less day at least.
then out the door into 30 degrees and some frost on the ground. didn't actually take long to realize i would have been better off taking the day off so i immediately switched gears so to speak and slowed down and decided to stop and stretch every so often to at least get some decent stretching in.
at least it was a pretty morning. and i did the usual run. up to the church and then over to the river and over to the canal. water level was high as it had rained most of the night. some ice here and there, but nothing to worry about. up and down the canal and then back down to the river and headed home after a loop around the trails behind the train station. all in all about 8 very slow miles and several stretch breaks that i really would hesitate to call a real run. still, it felt good to be out in the air and just seeing the day start, the swans on the water, the geese in the air and my favorite work horse grazing. you either like that or you don't i guess.
then to catch the cats and cage them to take them to the vets. not something they loved or gave into freely, but gail is a hunter and she got them in their cages with very little assistance from me. there and back went ok and unfortunately one of the cats must go back for more tests as they have lost some weight.
then to the range where i was just not good at all today while i re-work my swing. how can a 6 iron go 160 yards and then 120 yards and right or left? anyway- worked on it for 250 balls and then stopped. learned a few things, but not ready to play yet and i never hit anything longer than a six iron.
anyone reading this can tell how tired it sounds and with a little luck i will get more sleep tonight. one less day at least.
interesting survey on religion in america
washingtonpost.com
» Survey: Many Americans Switch Faith Identity
On Faith Join Two Nobel Prize winners, Iran's former president, the author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and others in a dynamic conversation about faith and its impact on the world.
Survey: Many Americans Switch Faith Identity
Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, February 25, 2008; 12:00 PM
Forty-four percent of Americans have either switched their religious affiliation since childhood or dropped out of any formal religious group, according to the largest recent survey on American religious identification.
This Story
Survey: Many Americans Switch Faith Identity
Summary of Key Findings
Full Report (PDF)
The survey, released today by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, found that Americans' faith identity fluctuates during their lives, with vast numbers moving away from the faith tradition of their childhood to embrace other religious traditions-- or no faith at all. The survey interviewed 35,000 people.
Among other findings, the survey indicated that members of Protestant denominations now make up only a slight majority -- 51.3 percent -- of the adult population.
The 44 percent figure includes people who switch affiliations within one of the major faith traditions, such as a Protestant who goes from Baptist to Methodist. Counting only people who switch traditions altogether -- say, from Catholic to Orthodox, or Protestant to Muslim -- the number drops to 28 percent.
"Constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents," the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey said.
The survey also concluded that 16 percent of American adults are not affiliated with any faith today. About 4 percent describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. Young adults ages 18 to 29 are much more likely than people 70 and older to say they are unaffiliated with any particular religion, Pew found.
"America has always been very diverse [religiously,] but it is diverse in a very different way now because we have more different religious traditions," said John C. Green, senior fellow in religion and American politics for the Pew Forum. "Somebody raised in 1900 could be a Catholic or various kinds of Protestants . . . today, of course, one has available Islam and Buddhism and Hinduism as well as all those differences between Protestants that used to exist, and maybe a few different ones that didn't exist around 1900."
Among other findings:
-- Among the smaller faith groups in the United States, Muslims account for about 0.6 percent of the American adult population, Mormons account for 1.7 percent and Hindus make up 0.4 percent.
-- Muslims and Mormons have the largest families of any faith group.
-- Catholicism, claimed by 24 percent of Americans, has experienced the greatest net loss as a result of people switching to a different faith tradition, such as a Protestant denomination. But that loss has been offset by the number of Catholic immigrants. Nearly half of immigrants are Catholics.
» Survey: Many Americans Switch Faith Identity
On Faith Join Two Nobel Prize winners, Iran's former president, the author of "The Purpose Driven Life" and others in a dynamic conversation about faith and its impact on the world.
Survey: Many Americans Switch Faith Identity
Who's Blogging» Links to this article
By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, February 25, 2008; 12:00 PM
Forty-four percent of Americans have either switched their religious affiliation since childhood or dropped out of any formal religious group, according to the largest recent survey on American religious identification.
This Story
Survey: Many Americans Switch Faith Identity
Summary of Key Findings
Full Report (PDF)
The survey, released today by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, found that Americans' faith identity fluctuates during their lives, with vast numbers moving away from the faith tradition of their childhood to embrace other religious traditions-- or no faith at all. The survey interviewed 35,000 people.
Among other findings, the survey indicated that members of Protestant denominations now make up only a slight majority -- 51.3 percent -- of the adult population.
The 44 percent figure includes people who switch affiliations within one of the major faith traditions, such as a Protestant who goes from Baptist to Methodist. Counting only people who switch traditions altogether -- say, from Catholic to Orthodox, or Protestant to Muslim -- the number drops to 28 percent.
"Constant movement characterizes the American religious marketplace, as every major religious group is simultaneously gaining and losing adherents," the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey said.
The survey also concluded that 16 percent of American adults are not affiliated with any faith today. About 4 percent describe themselves as atheist or agnostic. Young adults ages 18 to 29 are much more likely than people 70 and older to say they are unaffiliated with any particular religion, Pew found.
"America has always been very diverse [religiously,] but it is diverse in a very different way now because we have more different religious traditions," said John C. Green, senior fellow in religion and American politics for the Pew Forum. "Somebody raised in 1900 could be a Catholic or various kinds of Protestants . . . today, of course, one has available Islam and Buddhism and Hinduism as well as all those differences between Protestants that used to exist, and maybe a few different ones that didn't exist around 1900."
Among other findings:
-- Among the smaller faith groups in the United States, Muslims account for about 0.6 percent of the American adult population, Mormons account for 1.7 percent and Hindus make up 0.4 percent.
-- Muslims and Mormons have the largest families of any faith group.
-- Catholicism, claimed by 24 percent of Americans, has experienced the greatest net loss as a result of people switching to a different faith tradition, such as a Protestant denomination. But that loss has been offset by the number of Catholic immigrants. Nearly half of immigrants are Catholics.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
the golfer's mind by dr bob rotella(chapters 0ne - fourteen)
some thoughts from the book -quotes or paraphrases------
use your mind to achieve greatness
play to play great; don't play to play poorly
love the challenge of the day
get out of results and get into process
be in a great state of mind on the golf course
be careful about caring too much in the outcome
believe in yourself so you can play freely
have faith in yourself
see where you want the ball to go on every shot
be decisive, committed and clear
be your own best friend
LOVE YOUR WEDGE and YOUR PUTTER
bring the best possible attitude to play and practice
necessity of trust in your swing
don't swing while sorting out bits and pieces of conflicting advice
your mind is powerful, but you must control it and use it properly
to be committed takes discipline and practice
virtually every golfer has the potential to be MUCH better than he or she is
and using the mind is one way to do it
commit to developing physical and mental skills
have fun doing it
golf is a game of confidence and competence
if you trust a bad swing it will still give bad shots
there is no such thing as muscle memory; muscles have no capacity
to remember anything. memory resides in your head;
muscles are controlled by your mind
golf is a game of mistakes and unpredictable fortune
don't end up a ninety year old wondering when if the game will come together
don't be consumed by anxiety and tension
react to the inevitable mistakes and misfortunes
one thing you can be about your game is to be proud of how you react to mistakes
you cannot have complete control over the golf ball, but you can control your
attitude
don't respond passively to what happens on the golf course;don't let how you play
dictate your attitude
*mastering this concept helps determine how good a golfer you become and how
fun you have along the way
a player's worth is not directly correlated to the score he shoots
but you must care enough about the score to want to practice and improve
be an optimist
don't be a sponge who listens to everyone who has advice on your game
learn when to listen to someone you trust and when to be self reliant and learn
the difference
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT IN THE TIME AND ENERGY TO DEVELOP
THE TALENT YOU HAVE
real people are always out of balance in some way; at some point they keep redressing
the balance
playing to play great is not playing recklessly
playing to be good can keep you from becoming great
control your destiny as a golfer; you have free will
make the4 right choices so you can look back on the part of your life you devoted to your golf game and say "that was great"
you control your self image; you create it yourself and you can improve it
your subconscious never ignores a destructive thought; it's always listening
make sure helpful thoughts dominate
recent thoughts have more impact than older thoughts
process goals- trust myself and my swing on every shot
golf is a game of mistakes
the key to scoring well is to make your misses better
remember your good shots- feel joy about them
forget your bad shots almost as soon as they happen and get ready for the next shot
have compassion for yourself when you mishit a shot
think about what you want to happen on the golf course and not what you don't
want to happen
focus the mind and think about the ball going to the target
confidence about a shot is no more than thinking only about the ball going to
the target
stay in the present- golf presents numerous opportunities for the mind to wander
stepping onto the tee thinking that this is a birdie hole means you are already
thinking 2-3 shots ahead-think only about how and where you want to hit your tee
shot;;;;;; you hit the tee shot; you accept the shot; you find it; you think
about the shot you have now and you repeat the process until the ball is in
the hole; and you do that until you run out of holes; you don't think about how
you are playing as that would be staying in the past;don't judge or critique;
nor do you keep a running score total(past and present)
if your mind is truly in the present you don't play tight and scared; you don't
get overly excited or discouraged on the golf course
don't think about the outcome and don't stay mired in past mistakes
during the round there is only trust and acceptance
you want the smallest possible target you can see easily; look at it with soft eyes;
don't be rigid
don't guide or steer the ball-swing freely
the more your mind is consumed with the target, the more your instincts and
sub-conscious will help you
if you are angry you are focused on the last shot; anger is a choice
accept whatever happens to a shot and move on-mistakes are going to happen
if you play golf you have to accept that weird things are going to happen to your
golf ball
a good round starts with a good game plan-and an honest assessment of your strengths
thinking confidently is not thinking recklessly
you must trust your swing on the golf course - you must believe it will work
the idea isn't to try your hardest, it is to try your best
why should you trust a flawed swing?
the correct response to a bad shot is to forget about it
on the next shot do your pre-swing routine and trust your swing
if you cannot trust the swing you are about to hit, then go ahead and change it
to a swing you can trust;don't just hit it anyway
you are better off hitting a five iron you trust than a driver you don't
and just accepting less distance from it
around the greens hit a shot you can trust-putt instead of chip for example
TAKE THE CONSCIOUS,DOUBTING,SELF-CRITICAL, ANALYTICAL, AND CAREFUL SIDE OF YOUR MIND
AND STICK IT IN YOUR LOCKER BEFORE YOU PLAY; FIND A WAY TO GET THE BALL INTO THE HOLE
UNCONSCIOUSLY
if you don't trust yourself, you will only trust your swing when it is working
perfectly
think about swing mechanics only on the practice range
the perfectionism syndrome can lead to mood swings, depression, increased anxiety,
and reduced self-esteem; all advice is perceived as critical and he gets
defensive; this leads to more frustration
--- learn to like yourself; you must be able to leave the course and enjoy
yourself in the evening regardless of how you played that day
setbacks are opportunities for growth and improvement
perfectionism is an easy problem to fix
you should play as if missing fairways and greens don't matter rather than be a perfectionist
use your mind to achieve greatness
play to play great; don't play to play poorly
love the challenge of the day
get out of results and get into process
be in a great state of mind on the golf course
be careful about caring too much in the outcome
believe in yourself so you can play freely
have faith in yourself
see where you want the ball to go on every shot
be decisive, committed and clear
be your own best friend
LOVE YOUR WEDGE and YOUR PUTTER
bring the best possible attitude to play and practice
necessity of trust in your swing
don't swing while sorting out bits and pieces of conflicting advice
your mind is powerful, but you must control it and use it properly
to be committed takes discipline and practice
virtually every golfer has the potential to be MUCH better than he or she is
and using the mind is one way to do it
commit to developing physical and mental skills
have fun doing it
golf is a game of confidence and competence
if you trust a bad swing it will still give bad shots
there is no such thing as muscle memory; muscles have no capacity
to remember anything. memory resides in your head;
muscles are controlled by your mind
golf is a game of mistakes and unpredictable fortune
don't end up a ninety year old wondering when if the game will come together
don't be consumed by anxiety and tension
react to the inevitable mistakes and misfortunes
one thing you can be about your game is to be proud of how you react to mistakes
you cannot have complete control over the golf ball, but you can control your
attitude
don't respond passively to what happens on the golf course;don't let how you play
dictate your attitude
*mastering this concept helps determine how good a golfer you become and how
fun you have along the way
a player's worth is not directly correlated to the score he shoots
but you must care enough about the score to want to practice and improve
be an optimist
don't be a sponge who listens to everyone who has advice on your game
learn when to listen to someone you trust and when to be self reliant and learn
the difference
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT IN THE TIME AND ENERGY TO DEVELOP
THE TALENT YOU HAVE
real people are always out of balance in some way; at some point they keep redressing
the balance
playing to play great is not playing recklessly
playing to be good can keep you from becoming great
control your destiny as a golfer; you have free will
make the4 right choices so you can look back on the part of your life you devoted to your golf game and say "that was great"
you control your self image; you create it yourself and you can improve it
your subconscious never ignores a destructive thought; it's always listening
make sure helpful thoughts dominate
recent thoughts have more impact than older thoughts
process goals- trust myself and my swing on every shot
golf is a game of mistakes
the key to scoring well is to make your misses better
remember your good shots- feel joy about them
forget your bad shots almost as soon as they happen and get ready for the next shot
have compassion for yourself when you mishit a shot
think about what you want to happen on the golf course and not what you don't
want to happen
focus the mind and think about the ball going to the target
confidence about a shot is no more than thinking only about the ball going to
the target
stay in the present- golf presents numerous opportunities for the mind to wander
stepping onto the tee thinking that this is a birdie hole means you are already
thinking 2-3 shots ahead-think only about how and where you want to hit your tee
shot;;;;;; you hit the tee shot; you accept the shot; you find it; you think
about the shot you have now and you repeat the process until the ball is in
the hole; and you do that until you run out of holes; you don't think about how
you are playing as that would be staying in the past;don't judge or critique;
nor do you keep a running score total(past and present)
if your mind is truly in the present you don't play tight and scared; you don't
get overly excited or discouraged on the golf course
don't think about the outcome and don't stay mired in past mistakes
during the round there is only trust and acceptance
you want the smallest possible target you can see easily; look at it with soft eyes;
don't be rigid
don't guide or steer the ball-swing freely
the more your mind is consumed with the target, the more your instincts and
sub-conscious will help you
if you are angry you are focused on the last shot; anger is a choice
accept whatever happens to a shot and move on-mistakes are going to happen
if you play golf you have to accept that weird things are going to happen to your
golf ball
a good round starts with a good game plan-and an honest assessment of your strengths
thinking confidently is not thinking recklessly
you must trust your swing on the golf course - you must believe it will work
the idea isn't to try your hardest, it is to try your best
why should you trust a flawed swing?
the correct response to a bad shot is to forget about it
on the next shot do your pre-swing routine and trust your swing
if you cannot trust the swing you are about to hit, then go ahead and change it
to a swing you can trust;don't just hit it anyway
you are better off hitting a five iron you trust than a driver you don't
and just accepting less distance from it
around the greens hit a shot you can trust-putt instead of chip for example
TAKE THE CONSCIOUS,DOUBTING,SELF-CRITICAL, ANALYTICAL, AND CAREFUL SIDE OF YOUR MIND
AND STICK IT IN YOUR LOCKER BEFORE YOU PLAY; FIND A WAY TO GET THE BALL INTO THE HOLE
UNCONSCIOUSLY
if you don't trust yourself, you will only trust your swing when it is working
perfectly
think about swing mechanics only on the practice range
the perfectionism syndrome can lead to mood swings, depression, increased anxiety,
and reduced self-esteem; all advice is perceived as critical and he gets
defensive; this leads to more frustration
--- learn to like yourself; you must be able to leave the course and enjoy
yourself in the evening regardless of how you played that day
setbacks are opportunities for growth and improvement
perfectionism is an easy problem to fix
you should play as if missing fairways and greens don't matter rather than be a perfectionist
another day down
gail rested the heel today and i headed out to do my usual route to start; heart rate was 45, but the legs are tired again. you can always tell when you need more rest when only one day of rest lasts only one day. will plan two days off this week if the weather cooperates. we also have to take the two cats to the vet for their shots tomorrow morning and that may add to the equation.
but for today i went up to the church and then over to the river. was almost 50 degrees and the crew teams were out as i headed down the thames intending to cut over to the canal. but fate intervened and i ran into a guy i knew out with his dog so i turned around and headed back up the river with him towards rainbow bridge. then left him to go on and i turned back down river. water was black today and a little low and quiet.
there was a fishing competition going on, and the guys were spread out every so many yards along the river. they bring so much equipment to fish and they cart it around on 2 or 3 wheeled carts like a golf cart flattened out to hold stuff. some just sit there and watch the water. some have their dogs on their laps. some, their significant other, and some stand and walk around and even say good morning to me. one guy asked me if i ever took a day off. funny.
over to the canal taking the under the bridge trail where i have to duck my head so i don't get creamed and at the same time shoo the pigeons away who hide here for whatever reason. on the canal i caught up to two students out jogging and was happy they let me join them, while they apologized for going slow and i thanked them for the company. no pace was too slow today believe me.
all the way down to the channel bridge and then i left them and headed home. always nice to have company i can keep up with, a real rarity anymore. passed the two swans who have moved into a little blip of a cove along the channel and always look at me when i pass. and to the street and stopped at the grocery store. picked up a feta cheese and spinach pastry roll plus a tomato bap- sort of a big kaiser type roll you can build a decent sandwich out of. skipped the $5.00 newspaper and will get the news on the web.
note- web says nader will run again. what a shame and loss of democrat votes. his right to do it though.
rain was due at 3pm but never came. tried to hit some golf balls while gail worked on her last chapter of the book. went so-so but i am learning more and more. even spent some time helping the local pro with his swing-observer help- as i know his swing really well now. his tour starts in 4 weeks.
then home and gail and i went for a walk to give her a break and some air. we headed over to a cemetary i had found the other day and walked around it for awhile. must have been two hundred years old, but certainly not under perpetual care. still pretty interesting if you like that part of history. lots of world war one vets buried in there. many old christ church workers buried there also. shame that nobody seems to be taking care of it. i would cut the grass if i had a gas mower.
sitting here now listening to tiger woods/stewart cink match. tiger up 4 at this point. announcers just cannot believe some of tiger's shots, but the one i really liked was the 3wood he carried 295 yards and over 300+ with roll. why does he ever try to hit a driver? yesterday he hit a 4 iron 243. nice to be tiger sometimes huh?
no rain yet today? day in the life.....
but for today i went up to the church and then over to the river. was almost 50 degrees and the crew teams were out as i headed down the thames intending to cut over to the canal. but fate intervened and i ran into a guy i knew out with his dog so i turned around and headed back up the river with him towards rainbow bridge. then left him to go on and i turned back down river. water was black today and a little low and quiet.
there was a fishing competition going on, and the guys were spread out every so many yards along the river. they bring so much equipment to fish and they cart it around on 2 or 3 wheeled carts like a golf cart flattened out to hold stuff. some just sit there and watch the water. some have their dogs on their laps. some, their significant other, and some stand and walk around and even say good morning to me. one guy asked me if i ever took a day off. funny.
over to the canal taking the under the bridge trail where i have to duck my head so i don't get creamed and at the same time shoo the pigeons away who hide here for whatever reason. on the canal i caught up to two students out jogging and was happy they let me join them, while they apologized for going slow and i thanked them for the company. no pace was too slow today believe me.
all the way down to the channel bridge and then i left them and headed home. always nice to have company i can keep up with, a real rarity anymore. passed the two swans who have moved into a little blip of a cove along the channel and always look at me when i pass. and to the street and stopped at the grocery store. picked up a feta cheese and spinach pastry roll plus a tomato bap- sort of a big kaiser type roll you can build a decent sandwich out of. skipped the $5.00 newspaper and will get the news on the web.
note- web says nader will run again. what a shame and loss of democrat votes. his right to do it though.
rain was due at 3pm but never came. tried to hit some golf balls while gail worked on her last chapter of the book. went so-so but i am learning more and more. even spent some time helping the local pro with his swing-observer help- as i know his swing really well now. his tour starts in 4 weeks.
then home and gail and i went for a walk to give her a break and some air. we headed over to a cemetary i had found the other day and walked around it for awhile. must have been two hundred years old, but certainly not under perpetual care. still pretty interesting if you like that part of history. lots of world war one vets buried in there. many old christ church workers buried there also. shame that nobody seems to be taking care of it. i would cut the grass if i had a gas mower.
sitting here now listening to tiger woods/stewart cink match. tiger up 4 at this point. announcers just cannot believe some of tiger's shots, but the one i really liked was the 3wood he carried 295 yards and over 300+ with roll. why does he ever try to hit a driver? yesterday he hit a 4 iron 243. nice to be tiger sometimes huh?
no rain yet today? day in the life.....
state of florida and evolution/theory
Florida takes two steps forward, one step back
Posted: 23 Feb 2008 07:15 AM CST
(blogs.sun) The good news is, Florida, for the first time in its history, will feature the word evolution in its state science standards. The bad news is, the reality-based community in the state had to make a compromise in order to get the word in there.
Floridas State Board of Education has voted to use the term scientific theory of evolution in new science standards, the first time the word evolution has been included.
Floridas current standards require the teaching of evolution using code words like change over time.
Adding the term scientific theory before the term evolution was a modified proposal at least one board member called a compromise, not standards proposed originally to the committee. The option to include scientific theory was made late last week.
The board narrowly passed the proposed change, voting 4-3, after more than an hour of public comment and additional discussion by the board.
Religious fundamentalists, not surprisingly, wanted to keep the e word out altogether, but were willing to accept the compromise, because it emphasized the word theory.
It reminds me of one of my biggest creationist pet peeves: they have no idea what a scientific theory is.
Given how much they use the word, one would like to think they could have looked it up by now.
This is going back a ways, but James Q. Wilson had a good piece on the subject a few years ago.
People use theory when they mean a guess, a faith or an idea. A theory in this sense does not state a testable relationship between two or more things. It is a belief that may be true, but its truth cannot be tested by scientific inquiry. One such theory is that God exists and intervenes in human life in ways that affect the outcome of human life. God may well exist, and He may well help people overcome problems or even (if we believe certain athletes) determine the outcome of a game. But that theory cannot be tested. There is no way anyone has found that we can prove empirically that God exists or that His action has affected some human life. If such a test could be found, the scientist who executed it would overnight become a hero.
Evolution is a theory in the scientific sense. It has been tested repeatedly by examining the remains of now-extinct creatures to see how one species has emerged to replace another. Even today we can see some kinds of evolution at work, as when scholars watch how birds on the Galapagos Islands adapt their beak size from generation to generation to the food supplies they encounter.
Watch any conflict over evolution and, within minutes, youll hear a creationist insist that students should be exposed to competing theories and that the theory of evolution is no better than any other theory. The idea is to suggest that if the science were absolutely true, itd be called the fact of evolution.
Its maddening, and yet, the reality-based crowd has to keep dealing with it. The National Academy of Sciences, one of the worlds most respected institutions of scientific and engineering research, took this on a few years ago.
Scientists most often use the word fact to describe an observation. But scientists can also use fact to mean something that has been tested or observed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing or looking for examples. The occurrence of evolution in this sense is a fact. Scientists no longer question whether descent with modification occurred because the evidence supporting the idea is so strong.
Gravity is a theory; just like electromagnetism, plate tectonics, and general relativity. For Florida to go out of its way to label the bedrock of modern biology as the scientific theory of evolution is actually quite accurate. But for creationists to consider the phrase a compromise that helps their side is nothing short of amusing
Posted: 23 Feb 2008 07:15 AM CST
(blogs.sun) The good news is, Florida, for the first time in its history, will feature the word evolution in its state science standards. The bad news is, the reality-based community in the state had to make a compromise in order to get the word in there.
Floridas State Board of Education has voted to use the term scientific theory of evolution in new science standards, the first time the word evolution has been included.
Floridas current standards require the teaching of evolution using code words like change over time.
Adding the term scientific theory before the term evolution was a modified proposal at least one board member called a compromise, not standards proposed originally to the committee. The option to include scientific theory was made late last week.
The board narrowly passed the proposed change, voting 4-3, after more than an hour of public comment and additional discussion by the board.
Religious fundamentalists, not surprisingly, wanted to keep the e word out altogether, but were willing to accept the compromise, because it emphasized the word theory.
It reminds me of one of my biggest creationist pet peeves: they have no idea what a scientific theory is.
Given how much they use the word, one would like to think they could have looked it up by now.
This is going back a ways, but James Q. Wilson had a good piece on the subject a few years ago.
People use theory when they mean a guess, a faith or an idea. A theory in this sense does not state a testable relationship between two or more things. It is a belief that may be true, but its truth cannot be tested by scientific inquiry. One such theory is that God exists and intervenes in human life in ways that affect the outcome of human life. God may well exist, and He may well help people overcome problems or even (if we believe certain athletes) determine the outcome of a game. But that theory cannot be tested. There is no way anyone has found that we can prove empirically that God exists or that His action has affected some human life. If such a test could be found, the scientist who executed it would overnight become a hero.
Evolution is a theory in the scientific sense. It has been tested repeatedly by examining the remains of now-extinct creatures to see how one species has emerged to replace another. Even today we can see some kinds of evolution at work, as when scholars watch how birds on the Galapagos Islands adapt their beak size from generation to generation to the food supplies they encounter.
Watch any conflict over evolution and, within minutes, youll hear a creationist insist that students should be exposed to competing theories and that the theory of evolution is no better than any other theory. The idea is to suggest that if the science were absolutely true, itd be called the fact of evolution.
Its maddening, and yet, the reality-based crowd has to keep dealing with it. The National Academy of Sciences, one of the worlds most respected institutions of scientific and engineering research, took this on a few years ago.
Scientists most often use the word fact to describe an observation. But scientists can also use fact to mean something that has been tested or observed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing or looking for examples. The occurrence of evolution in this sense is a fact. Scientists no longer question whether descent with modification occurred because the evidence supporting the idea is so strong.
Gravity is a theory; just like electromagnetism, plate tectonics, and general relativity. For Florida to go out of its way to label the bedrock of modern biology as the scientific theory of evolution is actually quite accurate. But for creationists to consider the phrase a compromise that helps their side is nothing short of amusing
mc cain missing on environment vote-last in the senate
John McCain Skipped Every Crucial Vote in 2007, Ranked Dead Last Among all 535 Members of Congress
The Daily Green:
McCain skipped every one of the 15 votes that the League of Conservation Voters deemed critical measures for the environment, including votes where the Arizona Senator’s yea would have meant passage by a single-vote margin.
McCain has won support from many environmentalists … but his absenteeism on important votes this session calls into question his reputation as a maverick who might buck the party line on some energy and environmental issues.
“Out of 535 Members of Congress, John McCain is the only one who chose to miss every single key environmental vote scored by the League of Conservation Voters last year. When it came time to stand up and vote for the environment, John McCain was nowhere to be found,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. “Every other Member who received a zero from LCV last year at least had the temerity to show up and vote against the environment and clean energy time after time. And unlike John McCain, I doubt any of them would claim to be environmental leaders or champions on global warming.”
Although McCain likes to play up his environmental record in a positive light, and the media often plays along, the facts don’t always back it up, and since he began his run for the White House he has ignored environmental issues entirely. “McCains LCV score exposes the real record behind the rhetoric: a lifetime pattern of voting with polluters and special interests instead of consumers and the planet when it comes time to stand up and be counted. Or perhaps worse yet: a consistent refusal to stand up and be counted at all.” The Sierra Club is sponsoring a letter to the editor campaign to help point out the hypocrisy.
The Daily Green:
McCain skipped every one of the 15 votes that the League of Conservation Voters deemed critical measures for the environment, including votes where the Arizona Senator’s yea would have meant passage by a single-vote margin.
McCain has won support from many environmentalists … but his absenteeism on important votes this session calls into question his reputation as a maverick who might buck the party line on some energy and environmental issues.
“Out of 535 Members of Congress, John McCain is the only one who chose to miss every single key environmental vote scored by the League of Conservation Voters last year. When it came time to stand up and vote for the environment, John McCain was nowhere to be found,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. “Every other Member who received a zero from LCV last year at least had the temerity to show up and vote against the environment and clean energy time after time. And unlike John McCain, I doubt any of them would claim to be environmental leaders or champions on global warming.”
Although McCain likes to play up his environmental record in a positive light, and the media often plays along, the facts don’t always back it up, and since he began his run for the White House he has ignored environmental issues entirely. “McCains LCV score exposes the real record behind the rhetoric: a lifetime pattern of voting with polluters and special interests instead of consumers and the planet when it comes time to stand up and be counted. Or perhaps worse yet: a consistent refusal to stand up and be counted at all.” The Sierra Club is sponsoring a letter to the editor campaign to help point out the hypocrisy.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
a little bit of a few things
always interesting the day after a horrible run when trying to decide what to do about that day's run. tom lehman, the golfer, when asked what the toughest shot in golf was, replied - the shot after you hit a shank-
same thing about a run. morning heart rate was 46. not too bad. gail and i went out and to be kind to her heel we headed north on the river. i'm thinking if i feel ok i will stay out for ten miles and if not try to bag it fast so i can recover more quickly. close to 50 degrees, but windy and cloudy. must have rained last night as the ground was still wet, but it was all ok. legs got going a bit going up binsey lane and i waited patiently to see if the back would loosen up, which eventually it did. feeling ok so far, but no need to decide what to do yet.
the oxford crew teams were out on the water-which looked pretty green today- and we made our way up towards the godstow nunnery ruins. the nunnery was built on land given to the widow of sir william launceline in 1133 to be used by the nuns of the benedictine order. the church was consecrated in 1139. there is a lot of history regarding the church and lots of stuff went on as the roman catholic church and the church of england did their own little battle.
later henry II buried his mistress rosanne clifford there in 1176. known for her beauty, she was laid to rest in the choir part of the church. and there she stayed until two years after he died when the bishop of lincoln realized she was there, and calling her a "harlot", had her moved to the nun's cemetary.
eventually henry VII dissolved the monasteries and it was somewhat destroyed and then owned by private families. there is so much more history to this place of course, but that is a bit of it.
we ran up and into the ruins to see what was left inside and you could clearly see where the chapel had been and some of the leftover stone walls, but not much else and now i am told they use the land for cow grazing.
back down the river all the way to botley road where i left gail to head home and i went back out for another hour or so. even found another old cemetary which i will explore later sometime and then i headed over to the canal to add some miles along the water. warm going north, but the wind really picked up coming back south and i headed over to the loop around the train station and then ran some striders there on the trail. all in all i felt pretty good and not really sure how i recovered as well as i did from yesterday. got 11 miles in and called it a day. gave me 52 for the week. at some point i will need to stay out and get a longer run in, but i am just doing too many similar days right now of 7 - 11. will live with it that way until it is lighter earlier and i change my schedule a bit. with gail running every other day or short second days because of her heel, my loop runs are harder to get in. all good though as i recovered from yesterday and after the striders and good stretching i should be ok tomorrow. will see....
after breakfast, laundry and listening to pbs from last night we headed out and took a bus up to bicester village, an old shopping village about 11-12 miles north east of oxford. cost us $13.20 for two roundtrip tickets senior rate. a bennie of being old.
we saw some of the village and shops and took time to visit the st edburgh's church site. trying to piece together the history goes something like this. the current church which is several hundred years old replaced a saxon church from the 11th century. the first listed vicar is from 1106. old anyway you put it but very pretty and interesting.
bought some books at the used book sale and some goodies at the local bakery. got the roger bannister book about the 4 minute mile and a dr rotella golf book to help my head. gail bought 2 world war one history books.
and then back home where i sit now listening to tiger play stenson on pga radio. a decent day and another one almost behind me. no golf range at all today; gave the body and head a rest. root for justin leonard as well. and look forward to a good day tomorrow.
ps. i almost forgot- had my watch battery changed at a kiosk in bicester for $8.00,$12 cheaper there than in oxford. guy was a golfer who went to the states every year and loved olive garden and red lobster. everyone here loves those two places, he didn't like denny's. of course.
same thing about a run. morning heart rate was 46. not too bad. gail and i went out and to be kind to her heel we headed north on the river. i'm thinking if i feel ok i will stay out for ten miles and if not try to bag it fast so i can recover more quickly. close to 50 degrees, but windy and cloudy. must have rained last night as the ground was still wet, but it was all ok. legs got going a bit going up binsey lane and i waited patiently to see if the back would loosen up, which eventually it did. feeling ok so far, but no need to decide what to do yet.
the oxford crew teams were out on the water-which looked pretty green today- and we made our way up towards the godstow nunnery ruins. the nunnery was built on land given to the widow of sir william launceline in 1133 to be used by the nuns of the benedictine order. the church was consecrated in 1139. there is a lot of history regarding the church and lots of stuff went on as the roman catholic church and the church of england did their own little battle.
later henry II buried his mistress rosanne clifford there in 1176. known for her beauty, she was laid to rest in the choir part of the church. and there she stayed until two years after he died when the bishop of lincoln realized she was there, and calling her a "harlot", had her moved to the nun's cemetary.
eventually henry VII dissolved the monasteries and it was somewhat destroyed and then owned by private families. there is so much more history to this place of course, but that is a bit of it.
we ran up and into the ruins to see what was left inside and you could clearly see where the chapel had been and some of the leftover stone walls, but not much else and now i am told they use the land for cow grazing.
back down the river all the way to botley road where i left gail to head home and i went back out for another hour or so. even found another old cemetary which i will explore later sometime and then i headed over to the canal to add some miles along the water. warm going north, but the wind really picked up coming back south and i headed over to the loop around the train station and then ran some striders there on the trail. all in all i felt pretty good and not really sure how i recovered as well as i did from yesterday. got 11 miles in and called it a day. gave me 52 for the week. at some point i will need to stay out and get a longer run in, but i am just doing too many similar days right now of 7 - 11. will live with it that way until it is lighter earlier and i change my schedule a bit. with gail running every other day or short second days because of her heel, my loop runs are harder to get in. all good though as i recovered from yesterday and after the striders and good stretching i should be ok tomorrow. will see....
after breakfast, laundry and listening to pbs from last night we headed out and took a bus up to bicester village, an old shopping village about 11-12 miles north east of oxford. cost us $13.20 for two roundtrip tickets senior rate. a bennie of being old.
we saw some of the village and shops and took time to visit the st edburgh's church site. trying to piece together the history goes something like this. the current church which is several hundred years old replaced a saxon church from the 11th century. the first listed vicar is from 1106. old anyway you put it but very pretty and interesting.
bought some books at the used book sale and some goodies at the local bakery. got the roger bannister book about the 4 minute mile and a dr rotella golf book to help my head. gail bought 2 world war one history books.
and then back home where i sit now listening to tiger play stenson on pga radio. a decent day and another one almost behind me. no golf range at all today; gave the body and head a rest. root for justin leonard as well. and look forward to a good day tomorrow.
ps. i almost forgot- had my watch battery changed at a kiosk in bicester for $8.00,$12 cheaper there than in oxford. guy was a golfer who went to the states every year and loved olive garden and red lobster. everyone here loves those two places, he didn't like denny's. of course.
Cox High Speed Internet WebMail - Inbox
"Open Thread: 50th Anniversary of the Peace Sign
Posted: 22 Feb 2008 11:00 PM CST
…the peace sign turns fifty years old today. Over the past five decades the peace sign has become one of the worlds enduring icons. The original peace sign was developed in 1958 by a British textile designer and conscientious objector named Gerald Holtom. He created the symbol by combining the semaphore letters N and D, for nuclear disarmament. On Feb. 21, 1958 the symbol was accepted by the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War. The symbol soon began to be used in anti-nuclear protests across Britain and then spread across the globe."
Posted: 22 Feb 2008 11:00 PM CST
…the peace sign turns fifty years old today. Over the past five decades the peace sign has become one of the worlds enduring icons. The original peace sign was developed in 1958 by a British textile designer and conscientious objector named Gerald Holtom. He created the symbol by combining the semaphore letters N and D, for nuclear disarmament. On Feb. 21, 1958 the symbol was accepted by the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War. The symbol soon began to be used in anti-nuclear protests across Britain and then spread across the globe."
Friday, February 22, 2008
dead legs and short blog day
today was one of those days that once you were out running and found out you had absolutely no legs to run on you wish you had stayed in bed. good heart rate of 45 and the weather was ok, though pretty windy. just no legs. i tried every little trick i have learned over time, but nothing worked. by that time i was more than two miles away and having to get back i struggled in for 5 miles. in a marathon this is the point that they call -the wall falling down on you-.
actually did see a stone wall which had fallen down in the last two days and is on the way to st margaret's church. didn't see any runners for the longest time and maybe everyone was waiting for the wind to die down. and glad that the run was over and could forget it.
the rest of the day was pretty forgetful also as i ran chores in the morning after doing laundry and then went to work on my golf swing. working on a new swing and grip and it is going so-so. anyway, the dead legs didn't help.
while i type this i am listening to match play on the pga radio station which is nice since we don't get it on tv. lots of tv cannot be sent to the uk from the usa. tiger and badds all squared. badds is putting great but they driving really so so and all over the place. they will battle for awhile and in the end the best putter today will win. tiger now one up.
have to do some banking and bill stuff. did actually get some mail today and it is nice to know it is not all lost.
will be home two weeks from now. need to change scenery for sure as i am one step away from being depressed and bored and cannot find the mental energy to do stuff i know i need to do. for someone who is never depressed or bored it is not a good feeling. tired of dealing with the infection in my hand and now have this nice screw hole i put there two days ago. the hand is still swollen and varies between pain and itch. weird.
enough of this. am consoled to obama now and just want him to beat mc cain and i will worry about the rest later. i can still remember carter putting all of his campaign workers in schedule c jobs(political appointees) and then the career people just did them in. we uysed to call it the gs-14 room. but it was when carter's people shut off our hot water in an energy saving move that i knew his was (as we were also) a doomed presidency. seemed like a great guy too.
maybe hillary and huckabee can drop out at the same time. was reading that the huckster is hoping for a brokered convention. is he a dreamer? hillary must want the super delegates to give it to her also if neither has the delegates. the democrats are too cowardly to do that- they will vote what they think the media wants them to vote. there are only a zillion issues to deal with after "w" goes back to his ranch and does what he is really qualified to do- clear brush. regardless of who mis president not much can get done unless you can control congress. someone needs 65% so when they lose a few people they can still get a vote through.
and enough from me. hope for more energy tomorrow.
actually did see a stone wall which had fallen down in the last two days and is on the way to st margaret's church. didn't see any runners for the longest time and maybe everyone was waiting for the wind to die down. and glad that the run was over and could forget it.
the rest of the day was pretty forgetful also as i ran chores in the morning after doing laundry and then went to work on my golf swing. working on a new swing and grip and it is going so-so. anyway, the dead legs didn't help.
while i type this i am listening to match play on the pga radio station which is nice since we don't get it on tv. lots of tv cannot be sent to the uk from the usa. tiger and badds all squared. badds is putting great but they driving really so so and all over the place. they will battle for awhile and in the end the best putter today will win. tiger now one up.
have to do some banking and bill stuff. did actually get some mail today and it is nice to know it is not all lost.
will be home two weeks from now. need to change scenery for sure as i am one step away from being depressed and bored and cannot find the mental energy to do stuff i know i need to do. for someone who is never depressed or bored it is not a good feeling. tired of dealing with the infection in my hand and now have this nice screw hole i put there two days ago. the hand is still swollen and varies between pain and itch. weird.
enough of this. am consoled to obama now and just want him to beat mc cain and i will worry about the rest later. i can still remember carter putting all of his campaign workers in schedule c jobs(political appointees) and then the career people just did them in. we uysed to call it the gs-14 room. but it was when carter's people shut off our hot water in an energy saving move that i knew his was (as we were also) a doomed presidency. seemed like a great guy too.
maybe hillary and huckabee can drop out at the same time. was reading that the huckster is hoping for a brokered convention. is he a dreamer? hillary must want the super delegates to give it to her also if neither has the delegates. the democrats are too cowardly to do that- they will vote what they think the media wants them to vote. there are only a zillion issues to deal with after "w" goes back to his ranch and does what he is really qualified to do- clear brush. regardless of who mis president not much can get done unless you can control congress. someone needs 65% so when they lose a few people they can still get a vote through.
and enough from me. hope for more energy tomorrow.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
decent run day, while hillary looks like toast
strange start to the day as we must have lost power last night and the clock was off about an hour this morning and so thinking i was up early, i ended up going out to run a little late. heart rate was back down to 45.
still got in ten miles after starting out with gail and headed down to north hinksey village and the rugby stadium. nice little run through a small and old village and then back along the bike trail to the river and north up the river to the road. then gail headed home and i went up and over to the train trail and then over to the canal headed north. went a good ways up and then stopped at a lundi's (our version of 7/11) to buy a drink.
then back down the canal and over to the river and headed home. down by the allotment trail(allotments are small parcels of land people can rent by the year to raise vegetables and flowers, and for people who don't have land for a garden it is a nice treat-also really cheap), i stopped along the way to run 100 yard pickups on the nice soft dirt trail along the channel with the swans trying to figure out what i was doing.
some good stretching when i was done and headed home. lots of paperwork to do and trying to locate some lost checks in the mail. then off to hit some golf balls in somewhat cold and windy weather with a slight drizzle- a more typical day than those of late.
and home to find out about mc cain and his friend, the bombing of the embassy and the end of hillary-not officially yet, but like huckabee, she has virtually no mathematical chance. after having run a very poorly planned campaign and now sounding like a whiny crybaby, she is near the end. what a process?
how did biden and richardson lose to these two?
another day down. and i sound more like the whiny hillary i know. but she is home and i am not. and fed-ex forgot my package today. what's with that?
today is exactly 18 years since my grandmom died. time does fly. would love to have some of her potato latkes right now. never do find sour cream here either. oh well.
still got in ten miles after starting out with gail and headed down to north hinksey village and the rugby stadium. nice little run through a small and old village and then back along the bike trail to the river and north up the river to the road. then gail headed home and i went up and over to the train trail and then over to the canal headed north. went a good ways up and then stopped at a lundi's (our version of 7/11) to buy a drink.
then back down the canal and over to the river and headed home. down by the allotment trail(allotments are small parcels of land people can rent by the year to raise vegetables and flowers, and for people who don't have land for a garden it is a nice treat-also really cheap), i stopped along the way to run 100 yard pickups on the nice soft dirt trail along the channel with the swans trying to figure out what i was doing.
some good stretching when i was done and headed home. lots of paperwork to do and trying to locate some lost checks in the mail. then off to hit some golf balls in somewhat cold and windy weather with a slight drizzle- a more typical day than those of late.
and home to find out about mc cain and his friend, the bombing of the embassy and the end of hillary-not officially yet, but like huckabee, she has virtually no mathematical chance. after having run a very poorly planned campaign and now sounding like a whiny crybaby, she is near the end. what a process?
how did biden and richardson lose to these two?
another day down. and i sound more like the whiny hillary i know. but she is home and i am not. and fed-ex forgot my package today. what's with that?
today is exactly 18 years since my grandmom died. time does fly. would love to have some of her potato latkes right now. never do find sour cream here either. oh well.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
some days you just shouldn't write a blog
and today would be that day, but here i am anyway. started out ok as i was up early(a.m. heart rate was 48-coming back down) and out the door at 7:15am to run. very foggy and cold, about 27 degrees. left gail on her computer and agreed to meet up later. out and about and did my usual loop plus some and headed back to the house to look for gail and hooked up with a neighbor and we ran home together. btw- the river was blue today beth. was green yesterday.
gail was just coming out and that was nice as i had 5+ miles in at this point. all hard miles, slow enough, but with trouble breathing and a right leg that yelled, no more. why? who knows? with yesterday off to play golf one would think the legs would have some life in them after 28 straight days of running, but it was all a struggle. walking a golf course never tires me, though walking up the one hill at pinecrest is always a pain.
we went back up to the river and did the down the river trail and back towards botley road where i again left gail and headed back up the river as she heded home and to the bodlean library. i was determined to get at least 10 miles in regardless of how i felt. stubbornly stupid- not the way i would coach me for sure.
at 8+ miles the legs had some life suddenly-still hurting, but at least able to run. did a pretty decent 2+ miles of almost 2 minute pickups, concentrating on form and breathing rather than pace. this almost always makes me go faster anyway and i tried again to use the right leg. and then a slowwwwww two mile cooldown.
as tri-athelete and coach debbi bernardes says-"Then you have the issues of slapping the feet as you get tired - creating more force on the whole area. No matter how tired you are you need to pick up your feet and pretend that you are 'hunting for wabbits...be wery, wery quiet!"
finally had enough and headed home. where my pc was still not working correctly and where i proceeded to put a screw through my right hand. just what i need is another really pretty scar and this one will be a beaut. a good start to the day.
so i skipped the market in the morning and headed up to the driving range to see if i could build on yesterday's golf game with the stuff i noted i had to practice.
no power at the range for awhile, but they fixed it to my not good fortune as i was pure rubbish and just wrapped up 140 efforts and headed home. will figure that out later.
off to the market - nice walk up and back and got some of what i needed. the public market is real hit and miss, but gave me the time to get a $2 usa today and a cheese and salad sandwich on spinach bread. pretty good too. will miss the fresh bread here when i am home in bush's world.
and that brings me to here- trying to fix the pc and blogging while i wait for tech support to guess again what is wrong-
12 miles, did laundry, bad golf range, good market, decent sandwich and a usa today-how can you beat that day? and 160 and a wakeup of more opportunities for similar experiences.
so who was the second baseman for the braves? i will not google it.....
gail was just coming out and that was nice as i had 5+ miles in at this point. all hard miles, slow enough, but with trouble breathing and a right leg that yelled, no more. why? who knows? with yesterday off to play golf one would think the legs would have some life in them after 28 straight days of running, but it was all a struggle. walking a golf course never tires me, though walking up the one hill at pinecrest is always a pain.
we went back up to the river and did the down the river trail and back towards botley road where i again left gail and headed back up the river as she heded home and to the bodlean library. i was determined to get at least 10 miles in regardless of how i felt. stubbornly stupid- not the way i would coach me for sure.
at 8+ miles the legs had some life suddenly-still hurting, but at least able to run. did a pretty decent 2+ miles of almost 2 minute pickups, concentrating on form and breathing rather than pace. this almost always makes me go faster anyway and i tried again to use the right leg. and then a slowwwwww two mile cooldown.
as tri-athelete and coach debbi bernardes says-"Then you have the issues of slapping the feet as you get tired - creating more force on the whole area. No matter how tired you are you need to pick up your feet and pretend that you are 'hunting for wabbits...be wery, wery quiet!"
finally had enough and headed home. where my pc was still not working correctly and where i proceeded to put a screw through my right hand. just what i need is another really pretty scar and this one will be a beaut. a good start to the day.
so i skipped the market in the morning and headed up to the driving range to see if i could build on yesterday's golf game with the stuff i noted i had to practice.
no power at the range for awhile, but they fixed it to my not good fortune as i was pure rubbish and just wrapped up 140 efforts and headed home. will figure that out later.
off to the market - nice walk up and back and got some of what i needed. the public market is real hit and miss, but gave me the time to get a $2 usa today and a cheese and salad sandwich on spinach bread. pretty good too. will miss the fresh bread here when i am home in bush's world.
and that brings me to here- trying to fix the pc and blogging while i wait for tech support to guess again what is wrong-
12 miles, did laundry, bad golf range, good market, decent sandwich and a usa today-how can you beat that day? and 160 and a wakeup of more opportunities for similar experiences.
so who was the second baseman for the braves? i will not google it.....
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
a golf day at last
the perfect storm of happenchance. after 28 straight days running i knew i needed a day off and after getting to sleep pretty late and waking up with a morning heart rate of 50/51 i knew it had to be today. and then a phone call asking me if i wanted to play golf despite the weather? what could i say but yes!
and so my driving range friend chris - the cancer geneticist from austrailia - picked me up in a rented renault clio and off we went to the kirtlington golf course, about 10 miles from my house, but an eternity away without a car.
27 degrees when we left my house and a high of 44 degrees by the time we got to the 15th hole. ever feel like you owned the golf course? a few other people were out
there somewhere, but we had nobody in front or behind us. and the two of us played on. even warmed up a bit after a few holes. the warm soup we had just before we started long forgotten in a search for warm winter golf gloves. and easy to say now that it was not too bad, but for a few holes i wondered what we were doing out there.
a very pretty course out in the country with some trees and some water and many bunkers everywhere. lots of long holes into the wind, but every hole different and an interesting challenge of how to play it.
i could easily feel the rust, but it was just nice to be on a golf course again. chris is the perfect partner for this. he would fit in perfectly with the character of my thursday golf friends at home with one minor exception. there are no mulligans and you play it as it lies. good by me and i learned to love the 7 i took on one hole as i momentarily forgot how to keep the ball in play. message to self- have to start fades down the left side and not down the right side as they tend to fade out of bounds that way.
all in all i managed six pars and an assortment of various looking bogies to stay in the 80's and finish happy. could tell how out of practice some of my game is, though amazingly i putted great despite not having hit a putt in almost three months. not so the 45 yard pitch shot. but still, we played and had fun and all with one ball- a titlelist so lo btw. for reference sake the par threes were -159 uphill; 188 into the wind; 204-marsh would have love this one(i hit driver also); and 165 uphill into the wind again. note-the course starts with a 500 yard par 5; always a good way to warm up in 27 degrees huh?
anyway- no run today and no early grocery store trip. still a very nice day. and home to a letter from my mom and a bank staement from bb&t. like in viet nam, all mail is good mail.
and onto the wisconsin primary results. will miss brambleton on thursday.sorry, believe me.
and so my driving range friend chris - the cancer geneticist from austrailia - picked me up in a rented renault clio and off we went to the kirtlington golf course, about 10 miles from my house, but an eternity away without a car.
27 degrees when we left my house and a high of 44 degrees by the time we got to the 15th hole. ever feel like you owned the golf course? a few other people were out
there somewhere, but we had nobody in front or behind us. and the two of us played on. even warmed up a bit after a few holes. the warm soup we had just before we started long forgotten in a search for warm winter golf gloves. and easy to say now that it was not too bad, but for a few holes i wondered what we were doing out there.
a very pretty course out in the country with some trees and some water and many bunkers everywhere. lots of long holes into the wind, but every hole different and an interesting challenge of how to play it.
i could easily feel the rust, but it was just nice to be on a golf course again. chris is the perfect partner for this. he would fit in perfectly with the character of my thursday golf friends at home with one minor exception. there are no mulligans and you play it as it lies. good by me and i learned to love the 7 i took on one hole as i momentarily forgot how to keep the ball in play. message to self- have to start fades down the left side and not down the right side as they tend to fade out of bounds that way.
all in all i managed six pars and an assortment of various looking bogies to stay in the 80's and finish happy. could tell how out of practice some of my game is, though amazingly i putted great despite not having hit a putt in almost three months. not so the 45 yard pitch shot. but still, we played and had fun and all with one ball- a titlelist so lo btw. for reference sake the par threes were -159 uphill; 188 into the wind; 204-marsh would have love this one(i hit driver also); and 165 uphill into the wind again. note-the course starts with a 500 yard par 5; always a good way to warm up in 27 degrees huh?
anyway- no run today and no early grocery store trip. still a very nice day. and home to a letter from my mom and a bank staement from bb&t. like in viet nam, all mail is good mail.
and onto the wisconsin primary results. will miss brambleton on thursday.sorry, believe me.
Monday, February 18, 2008
signs, signs, everwhere signs
remember that lousy song?
went to sleep pretty late last night and woke up with a morning heart rate of 48; first time in several days it was going back up. could tell the legs were not fresh as i went down the steps. and it was 27 degrees and frosty outside. everything said go back to bed, but today was the first day of the new schedule as well as the prison camp diet..... so out we went, vowing to take it easy.
gail was out also to test her heel and new heel inserts which we bought at the local running store for $18. a slight ripoff but what can you do?
wanting to saty with gail meant i would run a smaller loop and we headed over to the river and up the thames; beautiful chilly morning out and the under class were out on the river practicing. ran and stretched. that was the first part of the run. walked as necessary and finally got it together. ran gail or should i say she ran me up and down the river to botley road and she headed home and i headed back up the river. i am nothing if not stubborn and once out i was out so on i went.
back up to rainbow bridge and then over to port meadow and did a small loop around the outside of fiddler's island and then past the horses. wonder what they are thinking when they just stand there in their pose like a live statute?
back down the river and did several striders of 100 meters or so to see if there was life in the legs and they felt pretty good. i have done so many miles here that i am much stronger than i was at home and the second parts of my runs usually get better if i am not dead legged. called it quits at nine miles and headed over to the grocery store to get some cereal and yogurt. they were out of almsot everything. shopping here can be a real adventure as they stock exactly what they think they can sell and not one more of anything; if i buy 3 yogurts instead of two someone doesn't get yogurt that day. like me today.....
and then home to do two loads of laundry. do lots of laundry here as we only have what 4 suitcases can bring for each of u
question for today? who was the second baseman for the old milwaukee braves. was it frank bolling? sure i can google but where's the fun in that?
crandall - c
adcock - 1st base
bolling? - 2nd base
logan - ss and my hero
matthews - 3rd base
aaron, bruton and pafko -outfielders
spahn, buhl, burdette, mc mahon pitchers
why can't i remember second base? in those days people stayed on the same team for years. robin roberts pitched against aaron a zillion times and they pitched until their arms were gone. every 4 days for years. robbie could have pitched until he was 8o if he only pitched into the 6th inning every five days. but i am old and you know what they say- it was always better back than- not really... of course you don't get too many richie allen's and harry the horse anymore either.
anyway- my brother will remember this and my kids might- when we played infield/outfield a game i made up and this was the team that mostly played the great phillies.
went to sleep pretty late last night and woke up with a morning heart rate of 48; first time in several days it was going back up. could tell the legs were not fresh as i went down the steps. and it was 27 degrees and frosty outside. everything said go back to bed, but today was the first day of the new schedule as well as the prison camp diet..... so out we went, vowing to take it easy.
gail was out also to test her heel and new heel inserts which we bought at the local running store for $18. a slight ripoff but what can you do?
wanting to saty with gail meant i would run a smaller loop and we headed over to the river and up the thames; beautiful chilly morning out and the under class were out on the river practicing. ran and stretched. that was the first part of the run. walked as necessary and finally got it together. ran gail or should i say she ran me up and down the river to botley road and she headed home and i headed back up the river. i am nothing if not stubborn and once out i was out so on i went.
back up to rainbow bridge and then over to port meadow and did a small loop around the outside of fiddler's island and then past the horses. wonder what they are thinking when they just stand there in their pose like a live statute?
back down the river and did several striders of 100 meters or so to see if there was life in the legs and they felt pretty good. i have done so many miles here that i am much stronger than i was at home and the second parts of my runs usually get better if i am not dead legged. called it quits at nine miles and headed over to the grocery store to get some cereal and yogurt. they were out of almsot everything. shopping here can be a real adventure as they stock exactly what they think they can sell and not one more of anything; if i buy 3 yogurts instead of two someone doesn't get yogurt that day. like me today.....
and then home to do two loads of laundry. do lots of laundry here as we only have what 4 suitcases can bring for each of u
question for today? who was the second baseman for the old milwaukee braves. was it frank bolling? sure i can google but where's the fun in that?
crandall - c
adcock - 1st base
bolling? - 2nd base
logan - ss and my hero
matthews - 3rd base
aaron, bruton and pafko -outfielders
spahn, buhl, burdette, mc mahon pitchers
why can't i remember second base? in those days people stayed on the same team for years. robin roberts pitched against aaron a zillion times and they pitched until their arms were gone. every 4 days for years. robbie could have pitched until he was 8o if he only pitched into the 6th inning every five days. but i am old and you know what they say- it was always better back than- not really... of course you don't get too many richie allen's and harry the horse anymore either.
anyway- my brother will remember this and my kids might- when we played infield/outfield a game i made up and this was the team that mostly played the great phillies.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
day of the fox and the rabbitt
went out to run early this morning while gail rested her heel and worked on her book. very chilly out, about 26 degrees and lots of frost again. i had dressed a little warmer i hoped, but it took 2 miles to feel like i wasn't pretty cold. i used the sun to my advantage and changed directions to have it in my face for awhile several times. and eventually i was ok and headed on my usual route. had hopes of doing a bigger loop, but given the temperature and the state of my legs, decided against that.
so up to st margaret's i went and then over to the river. but first - i was coming down the lane from the church when i spied a fox in the east field which had just been plowed. small dog like quality with a pointed nose and bushy tail and red coloring. even my eyes saw it as a fox and i slowed down a bit to watch it circling the field searching for something. he was in the middle of a very large field and i am sure it all looked the same to him.
as i continued running a rabbitt bolted out of the west field, across the lane and through the hedges and straight at the fox. well, it didn't take the rabbitt long to realize he had made a big mistake and the chase was on. and now they were both coming straight at me, while i still watched. and the rabbitt won; made it to the hedge and cut in front of me and if i could have bent down fast enough i could have snared him-pun intended. it was the fox i didn't want that close and the fox got up to the hedge and looked at me and turned back. i am sure it was more exciting to watch than to read about it, but i was hoping for the rabbitt to escape and it did.
and down the lane i went, still able to my breathing. and the day was waking up to a big sunny sky. melting frost steamed off of the river as the crew teams were out pushing their way past the ducks and geese. off on the meadow- where there was grass and not water, the usual 10 horses followed their leader down the shoreline looking for munchies. runners and bikers as well as the every morning dog walkers went up and down the paths and another beautiful day was unfolding in oxford. the best part of being here for me.
easy to tell today that these were not seniors on the water as the coaches were yelling more and the same smoothness of yesterday was not there. saw two people hit the bottom of the bridge foundations. to me they also looked under-dressed and they must have been cold on the water. they must be allowed to wear some sort of pants and i wonder if gloves would get in the way of moving the oars. there were still icy patches that had not melted yet on the channel and the rainbow bridge was all frosted over and i carefully picked my way up and over. they have foot aids to help people not slip on the bridges, but they are short hilly bridges and do ice over.
three miles in i stopped and did a quick stretch. i was going to try and use both legs for the next few miles and thought i would help the right leg out a bit. so down the river i went at a decent pace and for awhile i was all alone on the trail. running down the trail with water and ducks and geese on both sides of me and the sun coming through over the west fields was really a pretty sight. same reason i love playing golf early or late in the day.
headed down and over the the allotments bridge and did a loop around the neighborhood and back up the train trail and towards port meadow car park. not as pretty on this stretch, but this early on a sunday morning there was nobody out but me and i ran up and through the car park(parking lot) and up the hill and down to the oxford canal. picked up the pace and passed a couple walking who yelled at me to get a motorbike. funny.
down over the next bridge and around the side trails, no yoga lady out today, but i promised myself i would start back in with my own yoga. through the train station and over the botley st bridge and down botley towards my favorite grocery store and then home. about twelve miles due to the doubling back and went well over 60 for the week.
bicester will wait for another day as gail decided she needed to write and do laundry. i went off to the driving range to watch the golf tournament as they get cable. later in the day gail and i took a three mile walk around some of town and the canal. just as the sun was setting. a pretty way to end the day. but later the email system ate up 28 of my inbox emails and now to track them down.
btw- am heart rate this morning was 44. was 45 yesterday. have knocked it down 4 since i have been here. some decent tempo running and maybe some track work could get it back to 42 maybe.
so up to st margaret's i went and then over to the river. but first - i was coming down the lane from the church when i spied a fox in the east field which had just been plowed. small dog like quality with a pointed nose and bushy tail and red coloring. even my eyes saw it as a fox and i slowed down a bit to watch it circling the field searching for something. he was in the middle of a very large field and i am sure it all looked the same to him.
as i continued running a rabbitt bolted out of the west field, across the lane and through the hedges and straight at the fox. well, it didn't take the rabbitt long to realize he had made a big mistake and the chase was on. and now they were both coming straight at me, while i still watched. and the rabbitt won; made it to the hedge and cut in front of me and if i could have bent down fast enough i could have snared him-pun intended. it was the fox i didn't want that close and the fox got up to the hedge and looked at me and turned back. i am sure it was more exciting to watch than to read about it, but i was hoping for the rabbitt to escape and it did.
and down the lane i went, still able to my breathing. and the day was waking up to a big sunny sky. melting frost steamed off of the river as the crew teams were out pushing their way past the ducks and geese. off on the meadow- where there was grass and not water, the usual 10 horses followed their leader down the shoreline looking for munchies. runners and bikers as well as the every morning dog walkers went up and down the paths and another beautiful day was unfolding in oxford. the best part of being here for me.
easy to tell today that these were not seniors on the water as the coaches were yelling more and the same smoothness of yesterday was not there. saw two people hit the bottom of the bridge foundations. to me they also looked under-dressed and they must have been cold on the water. they must be allowed to wear some sort of pants and i wonder if gloves would get in the way of moving the oars. there were still icy patches that had not melted yet on the channel and the rainbow bridge was all frosted over and i carefully picked my way up and over. they have foot aids to help people not slip on the bridges, but they are short hilly bridges and do ice over.
three miles in i stopped and did a quick stretch. i was going to try and use both legs for the next few miles and thought i would help the right leg out a bit. so down the river i went at a decent pace and for awhile i was all alone on the trail. running down the trail with water and ducks and geese on both sides of me and the sun coming through over the west fields was really a pretty sight. same reason i love playing golf early or late in the day.
headed down and over the the allotments bridge and did a loop around the neighborhood and back up the train trail and towards port meadow car park. not as pretty on this stretch, but this early on a sunday morning there was nobody out but me and i ran up and through the car park(parking lot) and up the hill and down to the oxford canal. picked up the pace and passed a couple walking who yelled at me to get a motorbike. funny.
down over the next bridge and around the side trails, no yoga lady out today, but i promised myself i would start back in with my own yoga. through the train station and over the botley st bridge and down botley towards my favorite grocery store and then home. about twelve miles due to the doubling back and went well over 60 for the week.
bicester will wait for another day as gail decided she needed to write and do laundry. i went off to the driving range to watch the golf tournament as they get cable. later in the day gail and i took a three mile walk around some of town and the canal. just as the sun was setting. a pretty way to end the day. but later the email system ate up 28 of my inbox emails and now to track them down.
btw- am heart rate this morning was 44. was 45 yesterday. have knocked it down 4 since i have been here. some decent tempo running and maybe some track work could get it back to 42 maybe.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
who doesn't love max lockwood?
TREADMILL LOVE
Posted by: "Max Lockwood" xamwood@yahoo.com xamwood
Fri Feb 15, 2008 6:53 pm (PST)
I am not saying I love the mill but I will say that its ok once in a while. Here is why. Today, got off work and headed to the gym. Brand new gym downtown with state of the art treadmills and kick ass music. Good looking women and all around cool vibes. Got on a brand new Life Fitness mill and started a jog as Bob Marley's Were Jammin is cranking in the background. Start to get into a rythm and the clash's Rock the Caspa comes on and then the legs start to whirl. Meanwhile there are beautiful women rockin to the same vibes via the mills. Now a great tune by D-Light is hammering and the sweat is just coming off. Eventually the hour is up and the experience is done. I wander over to the yoga space, do some stretches and head to the locker for a shower. A day in the life of a runner.TREADMILL LOVE
Posted by: "Max Lockwood" xamwood@yahoo.com xamwood
Posted by: "Max Lockwood" xamwood@yahoo.com xamwood
Fri Feb 15, 2008 6:53 pm (PST)
I am not saying I love the mill but I will say that its ok once in a while. Here is why. Today, got off work and headed to the gym. Brand new gym downtown with state of the art treadmills and kick ass music. Good looking women and all around cool vibes. Got on a brand new Life Fitness mill and started a jog as Bob Marley's Were Jammin is cranking in the background. Start to get into a rythm and the clash's Rock the Caspa comes on and then the legs start to whirl. Meanwhile there are beautiful women rockin to the same vibes via the mills. Now a great tune by D-Light is hammering and the sweat is just coming off. Eventually the hour is up and the experience is done. I wander over to the yoga space, do some stretches and head to the locker for a shower. A day in the life of a runner.TREADMILL LOVE
Posted by: "Max Lockwood" xamwood@yahoo.com xamwood
nice day in the UK/ run and art shows
today was another one of those days that got off to an ebay beginning. had bid on something i wanted and it ended at 3:08am my time. so i put in a new maximun bid and went to sleep; got up at 5 to see what happened. usually would have gotten up at 2:30 but wasn't desperate enough.
anyway, sure enough while i was sleeping there were nine other bids, but i won out by a buck. paid and tried to go back to sleep. paying was easy- back to sleep was not, but i managed about 7am to grab another 90 minutes. figured as long as it was 24 degrees out i could let the sun come up first before i ran/
gail and i headed over to the river past the frost covered fields and skipping the church part of the run so we could get her heel onto the softer dirt trail. it was still cold but really pretty and the crew teams were all out on the water and there were many other runners and dog walkers also on the trail going in both directions.
we headed north towards wolvercote, but turned around early at what we call the turnaround gate (usually lots of mud on the other side of this gate) and headed back down the thames as about one hundred geese flew honking by and landed in the river. pretty sight. down the trail we went and over the rainbow bridge-the 1836 bridge-
i ran gail back down the river trail towards botley road and as she headed home i turned around and headed back up the river. decided to skip the canal and ran all of the way back up to rainbow again. had some really decent and quick pieces of the run, but could only hold that pace for so long. eventually i gave into saving something for tomorrow and headed home. only 8 miles and i will comfort myself by knowing that lots of it was nice and steady and at a good pace, and allow myself the wimp out by stopping at 8 . sort of hoped for another 10 at that point.
i am trying to teach my right leg how to run again. to that end i force myself to use it as a runner would rather than drag it along as i have been doing these past eight years or so. the periformis is not good and the quad and hip are full of scar tissue and there is only so much range of motion left. at home i was getting deep tissue work by dr kathy and of course i am not getting that here, though i do stretch and she would like that.
i can tell of course when i am using the leg and when i am not. i do feel like i am making very slow progress and am determined to keep trying. eight bad years is not going to be made up that fast and frankly, it needs the dr's help. dr kathy does say that it is the left leg that is tight and i know i put more stress on the "good" leg, as i call it. it may be tighter, but it doesn't hurt. i would hope that most people are not running with the amount of pain i have on my right side, but the alternative seems to be months off and hope that helps. like most runners i want guarantees before i take months off. not going to happen until i am literally forced into that. and at least it hasn't gotten worse after the 1456 miles i have run since i have been in the UK. time will tell.
if i can keep going until i get home i can go back for treatment and see what else i can do about it. of course, injuries are vicious cycles. you get hurt. you run less or not at all. you gain weight as you continue to eat as if you were still running. maybe you get better. you start running and you are slower. downtime starts in 72 hours as a runner. 3 days off and you begin to de-condition. eight years is a long three days. at home i ride the bike 150-300 miles a week and run and it helps. not here. all running all of the time.
went past all 7's today - 77, 783. at home i will run less. there is more to do and frankly it is easier to run here as the weather is generally better without the extremes and the daily runs are more varied. love the mt vernon trail and ft hunt, but there are more ways to go here as long as one is not wedded to measured course and nice ground.
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art shows- a very nice treat. we walked up to the ashmolean museum and saw a show i had been looking forward to, chinese prints from 1950-2006. showed the changes in the chinese republic over the past half century as the brochure said. they were great. mostly multi block printed with oil or water based inkwood cuts some of my favorites were by:
chao mei yu chengyou
hao boyi guan housheng
zheng shuang chen yuping
zhang chaoyang zhao xiaomo
zhang xinyu zhang zhenqi
li qun cao jianfeng
will do more research on them later. the show was free and we bought the book about the show and some postcards. really enjoyed it.
then we decided it was early enough to walk over to christ church and go through the picture gallery and see the german and italian drawings and prints. these were works from the 15th-17th century. always interesting to stand in front of a 550 year old painting. and it was easy to admire the work even when the subject matter wasn't as interesting to me. two bucks each to get in as seniors- still find that amusing that i am using the senior discount. enjoyed it and the walk over through three very old colleges.
to bring us back into this century we stopped at starbucks and then headed home. all in all a nice day out after a decent run. still cold, probably hit 38 degrees today. and here we are settled in with our saturday paper( would be the sunday paper at home) and will watch a tommy lee jones movie at 9pm.
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like mitt romney i have decided to suspend my golf practice here. it has just been too frustrating and my swing is all confused right now. will wait until i get home or get the bug again. will be back there for a visit in 3 weeks and maybe i can get some help or maybe the rest will help. either way it is only golf.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
also like mitt romney i noticed that john mc cain has turned into someone he didn't use to be. what a disaster. changed his mind on torture, immigration, taxes, abortion and what else....
dinner bell chimes and still no spell check working
last comment- why is it that "Juno" was up for picture of the year? ha
anyway, sure enough while i was sleeping there were nine other bids, but i won out by a buck. paid and tried to go back to sleep. paying was easy- back to sleep was not, but i managed about 7am to grab another 90 minutes. figured as long as it was 24 degrees out i could let the sun come up first before i ran/
gail and i headed over to the river past the frost covered fields and skipping the church part of the run so we could get her heel onto the softer dirt trail. it was still cold but really pretty and the crew teams were all out on the water and there were many other runners and dog walkers also on the trail going in both directions.
we headed north towards wolvercote, but turned around early at what we call the turnaround gate (usually lots of mud on the other side of this gate) and headed back down the thames as about one hundred geese flew honking by and landed in the river. pretty sight. down the trail we went and over the rainbow bridge-the 1836 bridge-
i ran gail back down the river trail towards botley road and as she headed home i turned around and headed back up the river. decided to skip the canal and ran all of the way back up to rainbow again. had some really decent and quick pieces of the run, but could only hold that pace for so long. eventually i gave into saving something for tomorrow and headed home. only 8 miles and i will comfort myself by knowing that lots of it was nice and steady and at a good pace, and allow myself the wimp out by stopping at 8 . sort of hoped for another 10 at that point.
i am trying to teach my right leg how to run again. to that end i force myself to use it as a runner would rather than drag it along as i have been doing these past eight years or so. the periformis is not good and the quad and hip are full of scar tissue and there is only so much range of motion left. at home i was getting deep tissue work by dr kathy and of course i am not getting that here, though i do stretch and she would like that.
i can tell of course when i am using the leg and when i am not. i do feel like i am making very slow progress and am determined to keep trying. eight bad years is not going to be made up that fast and frankly, it needs the dr's help. dr kathy does say that it is the left leg that is tight and i know i put more stress on the "good" leg, as i call it. it may be tighter, but it doesn't hurt. i would hope that most people are not running with the amount of pain i have on my right side, but the alternative seems to be months off and hope that helps. like most runners i want guarantees before i take months off. not going to happen until i am literally forced into that. and at least it hasn't gotten worse after the 1456 miles i have run since i have been in the UK. time will tell.
if i can keep going until i get home i can go back for treatment and see what else i can do about it. of course, injuries are vicious cycles. you get hurt. you run less or not at all. you gain weight as you continue to eat as if you were still running. maybe you get better. you start running and you are slower. downtime starts in 72 hours as a runner. 3 days off and you begin to de-condition. eight years is a long three days. at home i ride the bike 150-300 miles a week and run and it helps. not here. all running all of the time.
went past all 7's today - 77, 783. at home i will run less. there is more to do and frankly it is easier to run here as the weather is generally better without the extremes and the daily runs are more varied. love the mt vernon trail and ft hunt, but there are more ways to go here as long as one is not wedded to measured course and nice ground.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
art shows- a very nice treat. we walked up to the ashmolean museum and saw a show i had been looking forward to, chinese prints from 1950-2006. showed the changes in the chinese republic over the past half century as the brochure said. they were great. mostly multi block printed with oil or water based inkwood cuts some of my favorites were by:
chao mei yu chengyou
hao boyi guan housheng
zheng shuang chen yuping
zhang chaoyang zhao xiaomo
zhang xinyu zhang zhenqi
li qun cao jianfeng
will do more research on them later. the show was free and we bought the book about the show and some postcards. really enjoyed it.
then we decided it was early enough to walk over to christ church and go through the picture gallery and see the german and italian drawings and prints. these were works from the 15th-17th century. always interesting to stand in front of a 550 year old painting. and it was easy to admire the work even when the subject matter wasn't as interesting to me. two bucks each to get in as seniors- still find that amusing that i am using the senior discount. enjoyed it and the walk over through three very old colleges.
to bring us back into this century we stopped at starbucks and then headed home. all in all a nice day out after a decent run. still cold, probably hit 38 degrees today. and here we are settled in with our saturday paper( would be the sunday paper at home) and will watch a tommy lee jones movie at 9pm.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
like mitt romney i have decided to suspend my golf practice here. it has just been too frustrating and my swing is all confused right now. will wait until i get home or get the bug again. will be back there for a visit in 3 weeks and maybe i can get some help or maybe the rest will help. either way it is only golf.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
also like mitt romney i noticed that john mc cain has turned into someone he didn't use to be. what a disaster. changed his mind on torture, immigration, taxes, abortion and what else....
dinner bell chimes and still no spell check working
last comment- why is it that "Juno" was up for picture of the year? ha
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