Dubious Quality

An Observation

Jessie Diggins is the single toughest athlete of my lifetime.

posted by Bill Harris @ 12:40 PM

Necessity, Mother, Invention, etc.

Did I  plug in a heating pad with my toes this morning? Why, yes, I did.

I was at the massage therapist yesterday (which is only 300 yards from the house), and when we were done, I came out and saw C waiting for me. 

The front desk person knew what I'd gone in for, and he said, "Sometimes patients are given homework to do. Look up 'Shotgun Technique.'"

"It seems a bit early for that," C said.

"I might still recover," I said.

posted by Bill Harris @ 11:34 AM

And...Crud

This is going to be brief because anything I do today is brief. Still in tremendous pain and have a massage in an hour that will hopefully help.

With C's help, I've been able to locate the source of the pain as the SI joint, which at least it something to go on. In general, though, it's very bad, and it looks like I'm going to an urgent care in the morning to get some medication, which I'd hoped to avoid (beyond Celebrex, anyway). 

Everything is an engineering problem right now in the sense of "engineering" a way to do perfectly normal things (like put on/take off socks) that are now relatively impossible. 

posted by Bill Harris @ 1:05 PM

The Olympics and an Unfortunate Injury

I've come to really enjoy subscribing to Peacock for one month during the Olympics. It's about $20 for the no-ad version, the interface is clean, the coverage is 100X better than the NBC primetime coverage, and it's easy to choose the events you want to add to your personal list.

A+, so far.

I was watching on Saturday (skiathlon, I think) as I lifted weights and did abdominal exercises, which is my usual exercise routine on one day of the weekend. It all went well, and I was very pleased with myself as I went to get up to start shoulder exercises.

Only I found I couldn't get up.

When I tried, I had a sharp pain in my lower back, and by sharp, I mean agonizing. 10/10 no notes. It took a few minutes for me to get back on the couch.

I knew it was going to be bad, because a lower back problem is always bad. 

Since then, my back's been going into spasm 8-12 times a day, painful enough that it makes me shout (a new experience for me). Having to get up at night to go to the bathroom is a real experience in ingenuity.

It hasn't seized up yet today because I'm starting to feel when it's about to happen and shift my position or do something to stop it. 

So far, at least. 

I've also done a thousand cat-cow stretches and I'm trying to sit as little as possible. It's not great.

Oh yeah, Lindsey Vonn got hurt, too. That was also unfortunate.

posted by Bill Harris @ 10:23 AM

Friday Links!

Leading off this week, a terrific story (and photographs): Dallas Is Unwalkable, They Said. So I Tried to Do It in One Day.

A metaphor so many things: Franz Reichelt; The Man That Plunged To His Death From The Eiffel Tower Testing His Homemade Flying Suit.

Amazing: A bonobo tea party: Study shows humans aren't the only species that can pretend.

A reminder that who you vote for has consequences: How a trans woman's removal from a restroom tore the world of competitive pinball apart. Pinball is one of the most welcoming sports for trans players. But after a confrontation at an arcade last fall, pinball’s governing group is struggling to rebuild trust.

Very, very tangled: Are We Tripping? The next billion-dollar blockbuster drug could be a psychedelic. There’s just one problem. 

An excellent short video: What the ‘Louvre of the desert’ reveals about the human story.

Let's hope it's a good sign: What Texas Democrats’ Shocking Win Means for the GOP in November.

This is a wonderful read: When the Flames Went Out: Losing home and rebuilding, reluctantly, in the year after Los Angeles’s Eaton Fire.

A terrific, thoughtful piece of journalism: Victims and villains: In Southeast Asia’s scam compounds, workers are being enslaved but the boundary between victim and perpetrator is blurred

From Wally, and it may be a considerably less valuable idea than last week: The 'bullion prerogative' for science fiction authors. I think I've only had DoorDash once (ever): Freedom With a Side of Guilt: How Food Delivery Is Reshaping Mealtime.

posted by Bill Harris @ 11:01 PM

A Thought

This is going to sound corny.

One of the things I've always struggled with in my life is the feeling that I never mattered. More precisely, I never did enough to matter. 

I should have. I almost did, a few times. But I didn't. 

Other than being Eli's father, which always felt different, this feeling has plagued me my entire life. 

Today, though, I had a thought.

I was in the locker rooms after swimming. Swimmers always make a mess because they come in wet, so there's always water on the floor near their lockers. I always wipe up the water around my locker after I dry off so someone won't slip. 

As I was wiping the floor, I realized something. People who wipe the floors dry and say kind words to people and let others go first genuinely matter because they hold us together. Their kindness keeps us stable just long enough for a decent human being to emerge who can make the world better.

Without the kind people, society would turn into Lord of the Flies, where everyone is a mercenary. In that environment, no one good could ever emerge. We would just keep spiraling down.

I think quite a few of you are like me in this sense. And we do matter. 

It's a happy thought. We earned it.

posted by Bill Harris @ 1:43 PM

Innovation Through Desperation

I do four sets of exercise three days a week, targeting the back, shoulder, foot, and stomach.

As I've added body parts (phrasing), the exercises take longer and longer. Over an hour now.

I've grown to loathe them.

I've been trying to think of a way to keep going that isn't utter misery, and I finally found a solution. What I do is play NCAA, but sim defense (slow speed, which lets you watch the game like you're watching on TV). A series with two or three first downs will take several minutes, which gives me time to do exercises. Eventually, I work through the entire routine, even though it takes me two games. 

It's slower than doing them straight through, but it helps with my sanity.

Also helping with my sanity: it's 31 and sunny today, so it's the first day in almost three weeks where it doesn't feel living in a frozen Russian hellscape.

posted by Bill Harris @ 3:28 PM

Big Things

posted by Bill Harris @ 2:31 PM

Now I Understand Why They Didn't Announce Sooner

Bad Bunny kicks ass, but since he didn't pass the Trump-Kampff test for a true believer, an "alternative" Super Bowl halftime show was announced by a well-known "conservative" organization.

I've been wondering who they'd name as the musical act (almost gleefully, I admit). Wouldn't you  have announced it weeks ago to build momentum? The Super Bowl is this Sunday, after all.

They finally announced it today, and--wait for it--it's Kid Rock. 

Oh, the humanity. 

posted by Bill Harris @ 2:37 PM

Friday Links!

Light this week, presumably due to Stormageddon.

If you want to understand why almost 40% of this country believe immigration enforcement now is either "about right" or "not doing enough," I implore you to read this: They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45

Fascinating: A century in the Siberian wilderness: the Old Believers who time forgot.

This is excellent reading: Science Cheats: A Reading List on Unscrupulous Scientists. 

Terrific: The shape of time In the 19th century, the linear idea of time became dominant, forever changing how those in the West experience the world.

This completely blows my mind: Playing in flatland: Physicists believe a third class of particles – anyons – could exist, but only in 2D. What kind of existence is that? 

This will keep you busy for hours: ‘Actually Really Sacred’: A George Saunders Reading List. Nine essays and interviews from literature’s favorite laureate of compassion.

From Wally, and it's a bummer: Mass Market Paperbacks are discontinued. I read a ton of 5"x7" paperbacks as a kid. Next, and it very accurately describes being a writer: The Velveteen Author. A deep dive: Exploration Log 12: Adam Rowe on the Best Retro Science Fiction Art Collections. Astonishing (woodworking): Recreating Studley.

posted by Bill Harris @ 11:05 PM

Strange Days, Indeed

It's getting a little weird: NYC Ferry service may be suspended for days due to ice in rivers. That's including the East River, which is actually a saltwater tidal estuary. 

I didn't see service was suspended because the schedule wasn't updated until ten minutes before the ferry was due to arrive. So I was already standing at the gate, waiting, hoping someone would open up.

No dice.

The turned a somewhat straightforward process to get to the pool into seven miles of walking and three separate trains. However, in the end, I did get to swim.

I thought Manhattan would be in better shape than Astoria in terms of walking, but it wasn't. Giant masses of snow (some taller than me) were piled up on the side of major streets, and some intersections were just sacrificed in terms of walking. It's all triage right now.

Our trash got picked up today for the first time in a week. That's good news.

The high tomorrow is only projected to be 16F (20 degrees lower than usual), so the ferry isn't going to run for a while (the first time since 2015 service has been suspended for ice). Meanwhile, I'm discovering how a thick scarf is critical to your comfort level when it's below 15F. I wasn't even cold walking around today, thanks to the scarf. Well, and six other layers of clothing. And a heated jacket.

posted by Bill Harris @ 3:13 PM

Yuck

I'm struggling this week.

I'm winter-phobic at this point after having spent eight years in Grand Rapids (which is on pace for 90" of snow before it finally stops in April). It's been better in Queens, much better, but this last cold snap has been brutal. 

It's just not getting warmer.

The high was 21F today, or something in that range. I still managed to do 7,000 steps and didn't enjoy any of them. The barriers to doing anything in this weather just feel so high. 

I'm still swimming tomorrow, though, even though I may Uber to the ferry. Too much ice at 8:30 a.m. to want to chance walking. 

I'm writing twaddle, basically, and I apologize, but I'm just in a funk.

posted by Bill Harris @ 5:14 PM