Release Thoracic Spinal Cord, Open Approach 14NOV2017.

This week is the sixth anniversary of my Multiple Myeloma diagnosis. It started on Sunday 12Nov2017 with an MRI that showed tumors in my T7 vertebrae. They sent me to the emergency room,, and admitted me to the hospital. That’s where I met my angel surgeon, Dr. Joanna Swartzbaugh, who, literally, saved my life. Or at least my ability to walk, such that it is. Two days later (the 14th) I had that thing in bold up above, Joanna couldn’t get an operating room before then. She took out a tumor the size of two golf balls from my spine. The scar from that surgery is the most wonderful scar in the world.

Three days later Dr Catherine Chodkiewicz did a bone marrow biopsy and confirmed my diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma cancer.

And that was the start of this journey. It’s had its up and downs, but six years later, I’m still here. I “endeavor to persevere”. And I will.

From Charles Hugh Smith on Self Reliance:

In my experience, these eight soft skills (as opposed to the hard skills of tradecraft) are useful because they help us organize working with others. I cover these skills in greater depth in my book Get a Job, Build a Real Career and Defy a Bewildering Economy (2014).

1.​Learn challenging new material.

2.​Creatively apply new skills to a variety of fields.

3.​Be adaptable, responsible and accountable.

4.​Apply entrepreneurial skills to any task, i.e., take ownership of one’s work.

5.​Work effectively with others, both in person and remotely (online).

6.​Communicate clearly and effectively.

7.​Build human and social capital, i.e., knowledge and networks.

8.​Possess a working knowledge of bookkeeping, spreadsheets and project management. Those with hands-on skills and these soft skills will be optimized for an economy that favors flexibility—skills that can be productive in a variety of environments.

That’s it for this week. Always have a plan B, C, etc. … As Mike Tyson said; “Everyone has a plan until they get hit.” Plan for the best, but have back up plans for when the worst happens.

The big news this week is the Beatles releasing new song. It is a Beatles song, and brings you right back to the seventies. I listened to it several times, and it is likeable, but except for the technology used to separate John’s vocals from the piano not that interesting to me, as it might be to other people.

There’s also a short film on how they made it.

Some progress on the house painting:

Here’s something to think on, from an essay by Wendell Berry:

Wendell Berry’s Criteria for Appropriate Technology

To make myself as plain as I can, I should give my standards for technological innovation in my own work. They are as follows:

1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.

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I’m not sure I agree with all points of that, and of course the essay was written a longtime ago (1987), but maybe slowing down on all the tech innovation is not a bad idea.

I think that’ll do it for this week. Hope you have a good one.

Well what’s on the block this week?

Reading list;

• The creative Act: A way of Being– Rick Rubin — Great So far. short chapters full of information.
• The Ten Percent Thief –Lavanya Lakshminarayan — A future where the haves are virtual, and the have-nots are Analog. Told in vignettes.

Typing this on a new laptop, since I screwed up an upgrade on the old one, which is now useless. Nice to be able to use the whole keyboard again.

Here’s a link for us older people: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/calorie-restriction-humans-builds-strong-muscle-stimulates-healthy-aging-genes

And another: https://theconversation.com/steep-physical-decline-with-age-is-not-inevitable-heres-how-strength-training-can-change-the-trajectory-213131

Made a batch of low sodium kimchi this week. First time. Haven’t taste tested yet, I hope it’s good. https://thepaleodiet.com/recipe/low-sodium-kimchi/

I think that’s it for this Monday. Be good to each other, and remember not everyone can do the things they’d like to do. For themselves or others. So kindness is always the option.

Apple Crisp.

Got some Wolf River apples at the farmer’s market Sunday. Wolf Rivers are my favorite baking apple, They are humongous, and just the right tartness for pies and crisps, and baked apples. They bring back memories of climbing on the tree we had behind our childhood house, and eating the giant, tart apples when the tree produced.

This is one of the great thing about farmer’s market — the variety. There is stuff there, you’d never find in a regular supermarket. Also the fact that the food is grown sustainably (including the meats), it’s fresher than supermarket stuff, and better for you. You get to know the farmers, ranchers, bakers, etc.. They become friends, or at least acquaintances. Also their prices don’t go up as fast. Yes they are a bit higher, but that actually reflects the costs they incur.

Anyways the apple crisp is scrumptious.

My cardiologist recommended taking and extra bumax(water pill) on Tuesday. The next day I’d lost 6 pounds of fluid. I’ve kept that off. It didn’t do a lot in the legs, but my torso has been distended for several years now, with a large outgrowth on my left side. That’s all gone now, and I have a fairly normal looking belly. Go me! Now I have to start building muscle back. More protein and exercise.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room for a second. Israel and Palestine/Gaza. Hamas did an a terrible thing earlier this week. It can’t be excused. The reasons for it were/are many, but the action was overly extreme, with the murder of civilians. Now Israel is going to do more of the same to the Palestinians, carrying on their decades of treating the people of Gaza like dirt under a boot heel, or worse.

NEEDS TO END!

Did some painting this week, and finished a couple of commissions for Jenny. Now on to other things.

Well it’s Monday, and I’m trying something new. A free form review of the last week, and anything else I want to put in here.

So I was in the hospital for massive edema in the lower extremities, and got out Tuesday. Wednesday, I took paintings down to Falmouth for the Audubon art show, and sale, “Brush with Nature”. Opens October 6.

Broken Birch Cardinal and Monarch

Next day picked tomatoes and made chicken stock. Something ate my poor sunflower. And worked in the studio.

Studio work this week (Weds. – Sun) was on the Open City comic, as well as starting a new painting project, and working on some small stuff for Jenny, as presents to coworkers.

Of course Cancer Care on Friday. Saw Dr. Siddiqui, and no changes made. Hoping that the Dara isn’t what caused the edema. We’ll see.

And it’s Monday now, with little weight (ie. fluid) gain, so that is good.

Next week I’ll have more on the comic. Maybe a video, and probably some pics of inked pages.

Finished some books in the hospital.

• Sourdough by Robin Sloan. Delightful if a somewhat weird ending.
• Robert A Heinlein Requiem Short stories, and then remembrances of the master.
• Still working on How the World Really Works. Rather dry, but interesting enough that I don’t want to stop reading yet.
• Just started Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon, good so far.

That’s it for this week. All caught up. Hopefully next Monday there will be some actual musings.