Back in September 2009, just after running a half marathon, I was told I had dangerously high blood pressure. It took a while for the reasons for this to be worked out, but it’s been a constant in my life now for 13 years. Anyway, today I got a call from my doctor to say that my blood sugars had edged over the line and into type-2 diabetes territory. Cue clinics and lifestyle advice – I already know what it will be: lose weight, take more exercise, follow a careful diet. I daresay I’ll write more about this in the coming weeks as things become clearer.
My cholesterol levels are down on last year, though, and that’s a plus.
Looking back over last few posts, I see I’ve fallen into a trap because of the process of counting votes in the US; the drawing out of the process has given the impression that it was a close election and it is pretty clear now that Biden has a good lead in the popular vote and in the electoral college. Mea culpa. Also, I’m still chuckling at the memory of Rudy dwindling in a parking lot, caught between death and dildos
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An interesting discussion with my doctor today on a subject I haven’t mentioned here before. After I had my annual check up, I got a call to say my blood sugars were high and there was a possibility I was pre-diabetic. So I did a fasting blood test. After that, I got a call from the surgery asking if I could take a phone consultation with a doctor about the results.
I was a little worried about what the doc. was going to say, but it turns out all she wanted to say was that the results of the second test were fine. So Yay! I’m normal.
Otherwise most of the day was spent reading or listening to podcasts, although I dropped off to nap twice. Another early night might be in order. I also wrote a quick 1970 music post; I need to catch up with that.
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Music: Wally Heider’s studio in San Francisco was the place to be in 1970. On any given day you would find some or all of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills Nash and Young or Santana there, recording their own material and guesting on each others albums. One of them, released fifty years ago this month, was Paul Kantner’s sci-fi epic Blows Against the Empire which tells the story of the hijacking of a starship, released under the name of Jefferson Starship. Quintessential hippy shit, in fact.
I have, as a forthcoming 1970 music post will reveal, decidedly mixed views on it as an album, but I like this. Co-written by Kantner and Crosby, with Grace Slick on piano, Crosby on acoustic guitar, Jerry Garcia on steel guitar, Mickey Hart on percussion, and someone (uncredited) layering in electronica. It’s a kind of Californian Hawkwind. Also, I quite like the video someone put together šĀ Have You Seen The Stars Tonight?
I was following links this morning and came acros this site: https://alongtheearth.com/ and followed parts of the journey of the Swiss blogger and photographer as he cycled from Switzerland to Vietnam. In one section in particular, Iran, I found myself feeling strangely optimistic, despite all that’s going on around us.
I also looked with a fresh eye at the breeze-block and corrugated metal housing that covers a lot of the world, and began to reflect on perspectives and privilege. That may crop up here at some future time.
This video is by the same bloke, Fabian Kappeler, on a different trip. It is a tourist point of view, but there are hints of something else, something about the persistence of human culture. That too is likely to crop up in a future post (or possibly slip into a novel somewhere). It isn’t credited, but music isĀ World of Dreamers by Jhukane Bada and Dawn in Rajasthan by Emilio Merone
My only real regret about watching this stuff is the melancholic realisation that I will probably never cycle across central Asia or through India.
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rptnb
Writing: I put up several 1970 music posts today, most of them tending in a negative direction. I also wrote a little fiction, though not as much as the two sessions a couple of days ago. I’ve managed about a thousand words in the last two days.
However, I’ve given up on writing for the evening and plan to spend my time catching up on last week’s magazines that are sitting here glaring at me. I won’t get them done tonight, but putting my feet up and making some headway is an attractive prospect.
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I mentioned that I’ve been issued with a home blood pressure monitor, that I’ve been using for a few days. I’m getting into the swing of it now, although I think I need the next size up of cuff. My routine, before breakfast and at the end of the day, is to find a quiet spot, relax, and take three readings. I then text in either an average of the three readings or the lower of them, depending on how far apart they are.
Just how far apart they can be has been something of a surprise. The conditions when I take them are exactly the same and I take care to run through a relaxation exercise before I begin. Nevertheless, three readings, each taken three to five minutes apart, can be very different and I’m beginning to wonder just exactly what is being measured, and how valuable any single reading can be.
What has pleased me, though, is that the constant number is my resting heart beat, which is consistently between 55 and 60bpm. I think that’s down to the amount of walking and stuff I’ve been doing through lockdown, and the cycling in spring/early summer.
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Music: Tonight’s random LP selection from the shelves is Ivor Cutler’s Jammy Smears. I couldn’t be more delighted. Here’s two tracks, Barabadabada and Life In A Scotch Sitting Room Vol. 2 episode 11
There was an excellent editorial in the British Medical Journal today. I’m not going to quote it all, because it’s quite long. You’ll find it all at this link and it’s worth a read.
Another comes in the form of the āarmchair epidemiologistā who seems blessed with the astounding ability of star economists and physicists to fully assimilate and transcend within weeks what infectious disease specialists have learnt over decades. The seriousness with which they are received in some circles is likely to be damaging. Similar over-reaching is seen within the broad range of disciplines that are central to epidemic disease management, with some academics who are ubiquitous across every media appearing to have complete and cutting edge knowledge on everything from macroeconomics through sociological and psychological science to stochastic RNA mutation. Dealing with pandemics is an inherently multidisciplinary task, and expertise in one area does not confer expertise in another.
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I had an interesting conversation with a guitar tech. earlier. I put a couple of guitars in for maintenance and tlc. They needed their set-up checked and I was worried about the neck angle. The tech. reckons that, over time, they’ve both absorbed moisture and that’s why the neck angle is showing signs of creep. So far so normal. What really interested me was when he said that he didn’t used to see a lot of it but he’s noticed a marked increase in the last seven or eight years. It struck me immediately that this correlates with changes in the climate, with mild, wet winters, and plenty of rain.
As the old saw has it, correlation is not causation, but it is a hypothesis to be considered.
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There seems to be a new scheme in NHS Lothian for those, like me, with a long-standing blood pressure issue, I was presented today with a–free–blood pressure monitor and signed up to a scheme whereby home BP readings are sent in and my doctor keeps a regular eye on them rather than the current annual check up. It’s worth a try.
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Gum Tree Canoe
Music. Tonight’s random selection is from the John Hartford.
John Hartford was a talented fiddler and banjo player who, in 1967, wroteĀ Gentle On My Mind. The song won four Grammies, was a huge hit for Glen Campbell, and was also recorded by, amongst others, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Aretha Franklin, Roger Millar, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Waylon Jennings and many others. It earned Hartford a fortune and left him free to do whatever he wanted for the rest of his life.
He had a succesful career as an innovative musician, but also got his steamboat pilot’s licence and spent his summers on the the Mississippi, the Illinois and the Tennessee rivers.
The title track of Gum Tree Canoe is below, as is Glen Campbell playing Gentle On My Mind with an audience of luminaries. Willie Nelson’s face before and after Campbell’s solo says it all. The solo shows Campbell’s mastery of several styles, from Django Renhardt to Wes Montgomery.
I had a wryly entertaining visit to Hospital last week. It wasn’t anything special, just a check up. It was entertaining for the subtlety of the specialist’s non-directive and ever-so-polite recommendation. He noticed that all of my numbers and readings were fine but still my BP has – or may have been – creeping up. He mentioned some longtitudinal studies which indicated that, all other things being controlled for, the best correlate for increasing BP was increasing weight. He then observed that my weight was also creeping up.
Message received and understood.
In truth, it didn’t need a specialist to tell me that, but it did reinforce what has been obvious to me every time I look in a mirror. So a period of weight loss is in order and the best way to achieve that is to eat less crap and do more exercise. So here we go.
I tried to pick up running again last year but my knees objected. It could be that they objected because of either or both of extra weight or poor technique. Either way I’m not ready to pick up running again – yet. Instead I have borrowed a contraption from a neighbour which attaches to the back wheel of a cycle, raising it off the ground and turning the cycle into an exercise bike. The work effort can be controlled through the cycle’s gears. I had my first 15 minute session this evening and am happy. I didn’t do anything more than cycle at a comfortable pace but that’s good – I’ll do that for a couple of weeks and see how it goes and then start to increase the effort.
As for food: my immediate response has been to cut down on the amount I eat during the day. On days when Kirstin has not been here I have skipped lunch and that’s my main plan for the next while, as well as looking at what I do actually eat and reducing it. I ate particularly well during March – I was in Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the US; probably I ateĀ too well. That has to end.
And lo, the world submitted before the might of the Games and bread and circuses were the order of the day…
At least that is my excuse.Ā In fact although I am deeply sceptical and grumpy about aspects of the games, it has to be said that the minute the competitions actually started all of that faded into the background. At least for now.
For the most part I have not found myself watching sports which I would not otherwise have done with the exception of the boxing. I have enjoyed them nonetheless and it has just occured to me that they have provided a constant background presence which has replaced that of the Leveson Enquiry.
Since last posting I have, for the first time since September 2009, not been taking Blood Pressure medication. This is a good thing I think. It is particularly good because my feet, ankles and shins are returning to their normal size.Ā Last night I made a start on something long delayed – I put on some running shoes and went for a jog.
Oh dear. It was tough and I really didn’t go far or try anything too fast. Just a painful 14 minutes for a run which would once have taken me 10.Ā Tonight I rest then I’ll do the same jog tomorrow. The aim, is to take a week or two until that jog becomes continuous and approaches the 10 minute mark and only then will I try and push it out a bit further.
All being well I’ll then move onto a schedule designed to lead up to a 10K race although my aim is just to get myself to 10K fitness. After that I have no plans except to stay fit.
And finally: This has been written on a Bluetooth keyboard paired with a Nexus 7 tablet. Love it.
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