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Embarrassment
Yesterday I installed a the window air conditioner for the summer. I'd got it to front steps and then had to carry it inside. Normally I use a plank and rug to slide it on. Yesterday a young fellow that was working on the roof next door suddenly appeared and asked if he could help. So we both grabbed a side, carried it in and placed it in the window. Took all of maybe three four minutes and all was done.
The embarrassing part is this young fellow could have easily lifted it himself with no trouble. It was almost as if I was in the way. Somewhere over the years I have left my strength behind?? [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Do any of you other seniors have this problem? [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon
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Yeah, I'm not that old (58) and it just happened yesterday at work. I wanted to move a small cardtable-sized lunch table out of the employee lunch room onto the shop floor about 50' feet away. It was kind of heavy but more awkward to move than anything else. I asked one of the welders to help me. He came over, we started to move it and he just said "here let me get it". He picked it up, turned it sideways and carried it out. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
I can't lift full cans of gas out of the back of the pickup over the side anymore with one hand. Stuff like that. Nowadays I think a lot before I just go snatch a toolbox or some other heavy object and fling it around.
Sometimes I can do it but I'll feel a muscle strain or snap and pay for it for days with lots of Advil and limping around. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
I don't jump up on fences or equipment like I used to, either.
My FIL was always a strong guy who worked in a shop. It bugs him at 80 to know that he can't do stuff like he used to.
Bottom line is to keep active but warm those muscles up first. Getting out of bed too fast in the morning can pull a muscle for me. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
I know I'll never get the strength back, but at least I can stay moving. If I lay around too much, I'm afraid they'll bury me. LOL
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Yep every time I go and buy hay. Those guys pick up the bales and just throw em in the truck. I have to drag them out and use my tractor to move them.
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Not only a similar problem, but almost exact. I've removed and installed a few window unit air-conditioners in the past, but a couple of years ago when I put the 12,000 BTU unit in the shop, I did the framing and installed the case, but had to wait on a younger brother to come visit to help me lift the unit and put it in the case. And I recently had to move some folding tables. The largest one is something I can carry by myself, but it's tough. So I told my son-in-law to get one end and I'd get the other. Danged 39 year old kid said, "I'll get it", grabbed it in the middle and walked off with it like it was nothing.
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[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] There was a 5 HP electric motor on the bench at my neighbor's shop not too long ago. All I did was pick it up and sort of shove it to the back part of the benchtop, and you'd have thought I tried to lift the back end of my pickup the way my lower back reacted the next day. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] I find that now that I'm sixty-five, WISDOM is more important than IMPULSE when it comes to lifting stuff around. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] I see these reality shows where these young guys wrestle heavy stuff like crab pots and breakout tongs and I think: "Hmmmmm... I used to do stuff like that!" I would think absolutely nothing about loading a truck and trailer load of baled hay; catching the bales off the side conveyor that brought them up from the ground; with out so much as a stop-and-swig. 312 bales; all placed strategically so that they interlocked. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] I'm a firm believer in Chiropractic and as such keep my chassis in as good alignment as I can to prevent wear on my suspension. I've got a lot of miles on me so I'm careful to not let something run outa line for very long. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
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Gee, after reading this stuff I am starting to get concerned about how I will fare when I get old. It doesn't sound like very much fun.
I already have my small disappointments, now and then. Just today a buddy and I were trying to sneak up on a week old bull calf of his out in one of my pastures. I managed to get close enough to make a dive and grab a hind foot. I got a two handed grip on the right rear leg just above the hoof BUT the calf took off and dragged me and even trying as best I could the little thing pulled its leg away from my two handed "death grip." All I got for my effort was road rash on my left elbow, right through a long sleeved shirt.
Prior to this a few weeks ago we roped one and it was all the two of us could do to hold the rope. Had to get it tied off to a post in the barn before it got away. The two of us could barely hold him down long enough to tie its feet together.
I already have visions of cargo nets to yank up when the target animal walks across it.
I notice my grip is beginning to fail me. I used to be able to pick up a bathroom scale with both hands and slowly squeeze it till I maxed out at 300 lbs or more but those days seem to be gone.
Pat
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Sure would have liked to see a video of you hanging onto that calf's leg. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] And it's been many years since I tried the trick with gripping the bathroom scales with 2 hands. Naturally, your post made me have to go try it again. I only got it to 120. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
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It's a pride thing. We think we have to be tough. But CJDave hit the nail on the head: as we get older we should get smarter. Why pull a muscle or permanently hurt yourself when you can ask for help? And if that younger guy still has to prove something, let him. But what if that youngun hurt himself? Hey, all you did was ask for help- not for him to be some glory seeker and do it alone.
I will gladly trade physical strength for brain power as the years go by. Then all can climb the mountain and seek out my wisdom. [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]
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But when you ain't got nothing to trade what then?? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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Bird, I guess it is a good thing that it is summer and not the middle of winter 'cause I might have said something about sticking your tongue to the pump handle!
I can still get the scales well over 200 (by squeezing) but if I want to get them to 250 I have to stand on them (unfortunately.)
I was not doing so good energy wise for a while. I could hardly do anything without huffing and puffing and I made lots of musical notes when I inhaled and exhaled. Went to family doctor who sent me to pulmonologist. I was on three meds including an inhaler twice a day. I tapered off as per instructions on the one med and stopped the second by instruction. Then on my own after I started to feel a lot better I cut the inhaler to once a day instead of twice and a week later stopped it altogether. I am pretty much OK now.
I didn't like the side effects listed for the inhaler: 1. glaucoma 2. death (in some cases)
My lung capacity tests said I had the lung capacity of a 120 year old. Then 6 weeks later I was 90% of normal and now even better. The return to normal has reduced my embarrassment regarding loss of physical capability but it still peeves me that I can't do what I did even 10 years ago.
Oh well, I'm glad to be above ground and still able to TRY to calf wrestle. I can still reach over the side of the pickup bed and yank out a 5 gal bucket of feed (only about 32 lbs) but I don't hold it out at arms length very long and thats for sure.
Pat
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Pat, I do a lot of huffing and puffing myself if I do any work. However, my two brothers are 5 and 6 years younger than I. The younger of the two had his second little heart attack and a stint installed late last summer and the older of the two had a stint installed last month. I've never had an angiogram, stint, etc. so far.
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Bird, My dad died at age 51 from a heart attack. I have been to the emergency ward with a suspected heart attack (it wasn't one) and now I know how to distinguish a severe heartburn/indigestion from a heart attack.
Take a good hit on a bottle of antacid or pop a couple Tums. Instant relief ensues if it is indigestion and no relief if it is your heart.
It is scary waking up in the middle of the night thinking you are having a heart attack when actually it is indigestion but you had never had the experience before and didn't know any better.
Well, there is good daylight now so I will be gone out to install a water trough and automatic float valve.
Pat
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Gosh, Pat, another place we're much alike. In June, 1975, we were attending a Northwestern University Traffic Institute re-training seminar in Shreveport, LA, when I had a severe attack of chest pain, numbness in my jaw on the left side (in fact, the whole side of my face), and numbness in my left arm. So I got to the emergency room of a hospital and spent 20 hours flat of my back in a coronary care unit hooked up to all kinds of wires and tubes. The chest pains went away pretty soon and my personal diagnosis is that I hyperventilated. Anyway, after 20 hours my back hurt so bad, I told them that I was getting out of there, and did so. The doctors tried to convince my wife that I'd had a heart attack, gave us a bottle of nitro pills and said if I was going to insist on leaving, to get home and get checked out in Dallas. So several days later, in Dallas, I did a stress test and all that good stuff, and learned that I have a hiatal hernia. The doctor prescribed Gaviscon, which I used for a few months before quitting. Then for a long time, I took Alka-Seltzer every night before going to bed. I finally quit that, also. I learned many years ago that when I have an attack of severe chest pain, all I need is a couple of big swallows of a carbonated drink, I burp, and the pain is gone instantly. I never go anywhere (not even to the grocery store 2 miles away) without a 7-Up or Sprite in the car. I may need it 2 days in a row, or not need it for a month or more. It can happen while I'm sitting here at the computer, or wake me in the middle of the night; no identifiable pattern, it can happen anywhere and anytime, but relatively infrequently. It can be a terrific pain, but at least, I know what to do about it.
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Bird, What size shoe do you wear? Just kidding, probably smaller than my size 13 but gee man, the similarities just go on and on and on. You got any relatives from Mississippi?
I have made two emergency rushes to the ER for "heart attacks" but now that I know how to disambiguate between a heart attack (never had one) and painful indigestion or the like, I can "FIX" the problem quickly with Mylanta, or tums or...
I have had it twice in a day or two days in a row but more likely go for months between incidents or clusters of incidents. I have heard all the suggestions about tilting the bed and taking Mylanta (or similar) as a preventative and such. Between events or clusters of events I typically do nothing. Sometimes I give myself heartburn from bouncing around in the tractor. I typically have a fanny pack and if not wearing it, take it with me like a purse. Among other "just in case" items like my .45 ACP "baby Glock", I carry a roll of Tums.
My family doctor is a fellow sufferer. He says if he gets up in the middle of the night to pee, (with no symptoms) he takes a small swig of Mylanta. If he has symptoms he takes a big swig.
Pat
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I guess that's where the differences start, Pat. I just wear a 9 1/2 shoe and no relatives from Mississippi that I know of. And I just never did like Tums or Mylanta, although I have tried them and guess they worked to some extent. A 7-Up works better for me, although Cola or beer work just fine, too.
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Bird, I sure don't like Mylanta's taste but it gives me INSTANT relief. Tums aren't too bad in the fruit flavors, give me pretty quick relief and they are very convenient to carry. I haven't have many episodes in the last year or so maybe 2-3 and a couple bonus sessions due to overly enthusiastic tractor work.
Pat
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I have always had acid indigestion. Several years ago I had the privilege of an endoscope which showed what the doctor referred to as Class Three type symptoms. He put me on a drug called Losec and all has been well since. Last year another endoscope and indications of great improvement. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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Egon, I wonder if your endoscope is the same as the esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) I had at the same time I had a colonoscopy on 4/17/08. The same doctor did the same procedure 5 years ago, said I had "two erosions at the EG junction less than 5mm in length which is consistent with LA grade esophagitis" (whatever that means). Anyway, he prescribed 40mg of Protonix daily, so I'm currently taking that. Now of course, he also told me it's the same as it was 5 years ago. In other words, it ain't gotten any better or any worse without the Protonix. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
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Egon, I used to have a "cast iron" stomach. I could eat anything with no bad outcome except sometimes with really hot foods which could later make me wish I had followed up with ice cream (not stomach upset but later on.)
Now certain spicy things sometimes cause a little indigestion problem easily handled by antacids. The upset is not predictable as two or three times a certain spicy dish will cause no problem and then another time it will. I haven't noticed a pattern so I don't know why many times it will be OK and seemingly at random it will "get me." So long as it is easy to fix with antacids I don't worry about it.
Now then about aging and loss of brute strength and soreness from exertion... I hooked up a 150 gallon water tank to a hose and float valve. Stock were sort of tripping on the hose so I new I had to have a better situation. I picked up the side of the nearly full tank and dumped the water out. A full tank weighs well over 1200 lbs. I then set up the tank with one end (it is sort of oval shaped) against the well house and ran the hose through the wall where the stock could never step on it. I didn't use a level and GOT IT WRONG. Tank filled to the brim on the low side and when a cow got a drink water splashed over the low side. Didn't suit me to have that water wasting and super mud producing system so once again I grabbed the side of the tank and strained mightily to tip it enough to start pouring out water and eventually rolled the tank over emptying it completely.
A little FEL and shovel work interspersed with 4 ft spirit level checks and I got it right. This morning I notice more back pain than usual. I always have back pain but the degree changes depending on many variables. Apparently advancing age is one of the variables. Uh, maybe trying to lift a really heavy weight is one too.
Pat
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Chances are its about the same thing Bird with a little different terminology. All I know is that there were raw spots that disappeared after the six months of Losec.
The clonoscopy showed diverticulitis. Due to ongoing inflammations on the descending portion of the colon I had a bowel resection last winter. Still feel quite week after that and no endurance. This thing had been slowly dragging me down for about four to five years I figure. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
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Egon, I believe the couple of polyps I had removed in April was a lot easier on me than your bowel resection. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Although on 5/29/08, I had a little rear end surgery that was probably just about as bad. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
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Hey, I stubbed my toe last month an it hurt really bad.
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Yeah, and I got these really tight shoes!
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You guys just keep this up all day i bet!! Oh well guess the rest of us poor souls can learn from the experience and give up our seats on the bus for you, and not grouse about discount cards at wallys world!
They are going off on a smoking thing here at work. They say cigs cause death 20% of the time. Last time i thought about it the only think that causes death 100% of the time is birth, so maybe 'they' should ban that!! Dad used to say ' too soon we grow old and too late we gro smart'. Do not mind the grease on the other side of the hill, but those bumps in the road really hurt!!
Best doctor in the world has had what you have and has gone thru treatment for it.
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One of the problems with statistics is that over 90% of the people don't really understand them more than 10% of the time .
Like walking across the street without looking either way, smoking tends to reduce yoiur lifespan. Just because it doesn't kill you right away doesn't make it safe.
There is NO DOUBT that tobacco use is not healthy. Joking and playing games is just whistling in the dark.
I had this same conversation with my mom several times. She died from lung cancer in '06. I don't recommend it.
Pat
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Pat, of course I'm sorry about your mother dying of lung cancer, but I'll bet there's no scientific evidence that smoking was actually the cause. I think you're talking about anecdotal evidence only, and in that regard, I can give you plenty of evidence to the contrary.
My Dad smoked most of his life; died at the age of 80. His dad never smoked at all; died at the age of 80. Dad's mother never smoked, was adamantly against smoking; died of lung cancer at the age of 73. Dad's oldest sister smoked for a couple of years as a young woman, then quit. She died of lung cancer 40 years later at the age of 64.
Second hand smoke?? My Mother never smoked; said she tried it one time AND LIKED IT! But decided it would be too expensive. However, she grew up with a father who smoked, was married for 58 years to a man who smoked, so she lived with a smoker until she was 75 when my Dad died, and she died (not of cancer) at the age of 85. No one else in my family EVER lived past 80!
So all the anecdotal evidence I have indicates that smoking is better for you than not smoking. [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]
But do I recommend smoking? Nope. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] I smoked for 47 years; quit a little over 2 years ago. My wife smoked for over 40 years and finally quit just a little over one year ago. But I didn't quit for health reasons; I quit because (1) it got too expensive, and (2) it's a dirty habit; the house and car stay cleaner when you don't smoke. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Is my health any better since I quit? Not one bit. If anything it's worse. Do I attribute my health declining to quitting smoking? Nope; I attribute it to getting older. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
Yep, all anecdotal evidence only, but evidence in which I actually have more confidence that what the medical profession has been selling.
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[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Bird, it's like so many things.... one guy can slurp up ten ounces and it's like candy to him; another guy sips just six drops and he goes into toxic shock. We are SO DIFFERENT chemically that our reactions vary tremendously when we ingest or breathe substances; even gases. I have no doubt that there would be instances where a good slug of Red Man each day would be a life-saving measure; it COULD happen. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
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Jazzdad I agree 100%. You have nothing to prove when you reach your golden years. Let the young bucks brake their backs while you take the easy route (paying them to do it for you). [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
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Bird, Lets just agree to disagree on the science behind the effects of smoking. I personally believe that, in aggregate, the effects of smoking are easily demonstrated to be deleterious to human health. We have the statistics. Insurance companies keep a close look at the statistics.
Selecting particular individuals who lived this long or that long and did or didn't smoke or get second hand smoke is NOT GOOD SCIENCE. My mom was 86 when diagnosed and died within about 6 months. It is entirely possible she may have died sooner if she had not smoked. Unlikely but possible. Making gross judgments for the overall effects across a population based on a few individuals is just not statistically sound.
I don't want to argue the topic as it is a hot button for so many people who have emotional positions to which they will hold irrespective of the overwhelming preponderance of good science and statistics that give credence to the opposite view.
To me it is extremely frustrating to note the lack of understanding exhibited by so many otherwise seemingly intelligent people. Of course I feel that way about the proponents of "creation science" too when they tell me that long ago light was way slower than it is now and that is why it "seems" like some stars are so far away their light took millions of years to get here which they claim is totally untrue given the universe was created about 6000 years ago. Oh, and I really like the part of their spiel about how the fossils were created in place in the various rock strata and not by geologic processes over time.
I find little difference in the level of scientific understanding in the proponents of creation science and the folks holding certain views on the health effects of tobacco.
I guess we finally found something where we are not close to congruent.
Pat
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Yep, Pat, we'll have to just agree to disagree this time. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] And, nope, I don't have any emotional position on the topic except I, long ago, got tired of a great deal of the medical profession blaming every ailment known to mankind on smoking. And when you refer to "good science", I guess that depends on who determines what is "good science" and what is not. How many things can you think of that were considered "good science" at one time, but were debunked later. I guess the earth being flat may be one of the earliest examples of "good science" that turned out to not be so good. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] And the list actually gets quite long.
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Bird, Let's not confuse GOOD science with popular or accepted view of any group. Good science is based on the scientific method and a great deal of active skepticism. Just because the opinion du jour is expressed by a guy wearing a white lab coat doesn't make it good science any more than a minority collection of anecdotal findings that are contrary to scientifically gathered data disprove the "science" of that data.
Flat earth was never good science, just the accepted popular view.
Galileo Galilei championed Copernicanism, a controversial view within his lifetime. The geocentric view had been dominant since the time of Aristotle. It was THE ACCEPTED view. Galileo would have been put to death as a heretic by the Pope had he not been persuaded by his friends to recant. I read that he was heard to mutter under his breath as he left the papal audience, "it moves." Galileo was a scientist.
The presentation of and understanding of statistics is one of the points of difficulty that tends to obscure a common understanding of the underlying causal relationships for most of the population.
When you microwave a bag of popcorn you expect a certain percentage of kernels to not pop based on your observation over several trials. Those kernels that don't pop are not justification for claiming the bag did not contain popcorn. Similarly, there are many investigations, especially in medical science, where there are a significant number of "odd flyers." The overwhelming evidence may show that for the vast majority a certain set of situations greatly increases the chances of some outcome(s) but still there will be those whose actual experience is contrary to the majority.
Most critics of "smoking is hazordous to your health" use this small minority to try to prove the general case. That in itself is really bad science. Statistically, walking across the street without looking in either direction is not prudent behavior but because it is not Consumer Reports check rated lethal first time every time and you did it unharmed, is it therefore not dangerous?
Pat
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</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Good science is based on the scientific method and a great deal of active skepticism.
[/ QUOTE ]
Once again, who decides what a "scientific method" is vs. someone else's observations and/or "scientific methods"? And yep, I have a great deal of active skepticism about some of the things medical researchers tell us. And by "medical researchers", I include those working for pharmaceutical companies.
But lest anyone get the wrong idea, I never meant that I believe smoking is actually good for your health. I know how dirty it got everything, including yellowing the walls in the house as well as ash trays, so I'm confident that it cannot be "good" for your innards. And I'm glad my daughters, their husbands, and their kids don't smoke. But I just don't think it's as bad as the medical profession would lead us to believe.
I am very skeptical of a great deal of "research" that's theoretically done scientifically in order to obtain the results that the researcher wanted to obtain before starting (and I don't mean just in the medical field, but "research" in many fields).
And Pat, I know that you're both a very intelligent and a highly educated person (much more so than I), so I have a very high regard for your opinions. But you may have more confidence in some researchers than I have. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
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Bird, here is an excerpt from some humorous political material I received...
I'm voting Democrat because I
believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on
Friday can surely tell us that the polar ice caps
will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.
Just one of the many statements in a litany of reasons to vote Dem.
(Oh by the way, I am neither supporting nor detracting from Democrats nor proponents of global warming, at least in this forum.)
Here is the fallacy of the implied but flawed logic.
There is little or no connection between the science involved in predicting Friday's weather and long term climatology. The time scales are so totally different as to stagger the imagination.
It is just a very poor example that shows the author to be ignorant, willing to ignore reality in order to support a point, or both.
I attended a seminar a while back where one of the speakers was a weather expert. Although Oklahoma was having the wettest spring in recorded history, his contention was that we were about in the middle of the dry cycle and the rain was a fluke, an odd flyer. (Oklahoma has a wet-dry cycle of about 10 year period) He contends that you can have wet years in a drought cycle and dry years in the wet part of the cycle. His was a good presentation, his evidence substantial, and convincing to me. But, however, "The Old Farmer's Almanac" did not agree so clearly to many of the attendees the guy was just some young whipper snapper promoting hogwash.
Pat
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Bird,
"And yep, I have a great deal of active skepticism about some of the things medical researchers tell us. And by "medical researchers", I include those working for pharmaceutical companies."
And well you should. My wife is a University Researcher who sometimes conducts studies for drug companies. Interesting what happens when the research doesn't back up the claims. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
My 2 cents on smoking: Years ago, there was no data to indicate smoking caused harm. Now that we know it IS harmful, the risk-reward calculation for a sensible person should tip in favor of NOT smoking.
Kind of like wearing a helmet on a motorcycle. Do a risk-reward calculation. Result should be in favor of wearing one, but if you want to go out and ride without one, go for it. However, if you get in an accident and are paralyzed or killed because you DIDN'T have one on, then you alone should pay the price for it (increased insurance, etc).
Everyday we do a lot of things that are dangerous. Can't go live in a bubble. But as Pat says, I don't walk across a street without looking. Too much risk, too little reward.
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Re: "Kind of like wearing a helmet on a motorcycle."
When I sell motorcycle insurance I ask if they routinely wear a helmet. To those who reply 'no', I say "Thank you! If you run into the side of my car, then your head will pop like an over-ripe tomato, and cause little damage to me. But, if you were wearing a helmet, then that might do some serious damage to my car, so again, thanks!" I don't know if it causes them to think...
[img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]
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JazzDad,
Probably not. Although, I've been skiing for many years (40+)and my kids have been skiing since they were 4 (now 18-26), all without helmets. They didn't come into vogue for recreational skiers until relatively recently. By that time, my kids were all excellent skiers and we still ski without them. Some would say we're crazy, but I am sure we are more cautious on the slopes than most people. I think that some of the kids I see get a false sense of security from wearing them, judging by the speed with which they zip through the trees. Hitting a tree on skis can be pretty unforgiving. Kind of like hitting the side of your car. [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img] By the way, I did try wearing one once but found that it limited my audible sense of the surroundings and I rely upon that a lot to be a safe skier.
Anyway, does the answer "No" to your question raise the rates for those honest enough to answer truthfully?
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</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
found that it limited my audible sense of the surroundings and I rely upon that a lot to be a safe skier.
[/ QUOTE ]
I guess you know that the limited hearing and the heat are the most frequent reasons given by motorcycle riders for not wearing a helmet. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I did wear my motorcycle helmet nearly all the time, but not quite all the time. And of course I grew up in the days before anyone ever heard of those silly looking little helmets the bicycle riders wear. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] But if it makes them safer, then I reckon they're a good idea. [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]
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Technically, yes- your insurance rate is higher if you don't wear a helmet. In Texas you have to carry a line of insurance for YOUR injuries. I guess we don't want the system to pay for those folks who prefer to keep their noggin au naturel.
And that's no fabrication. (How about this for bringing the topic back onto the subject?)
We usually wear our helmets when we bicycle, although it wasn't even an option when we were growing up.
I have heard of trauma doctors who advocate wearing a helmet whenever you are in an automobile.
__________________________________
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Re: Embarrassment
There's no doubt that a helmet would give added protection in the event of an accident in an automobile. It's just a matter of deciding how much risk we're willing to take, and how much insurance against risk we can afford.
It would have been nice to have had a helmet the evening of December 29, 1965, when my partner hit a tree head on, my seat belt broke, and I stuck my head through the windshield. As it was, just the uniform cap may have saved my life, and at least saved my eyes.
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Re: Embarrassment
I always used to wear a climbing helmet when Skiing. It was good for stopping wind and keeping the head warm if one wore a light toque underneath. And it kept your head dry after face plants. I did have to drill a small hole in the top to release sweat vapours though. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]