Que sera sera, what ever will be will be, really? (3/8/2016)

Of late I've been interacting with people or hearing about people who seem to be so fatalistic, and just take life laying down.  I went out to the field with an absolutely great guy, who in is mid forties and already has developed type two diabetes.  He warned me about it, since he had to take an insulin shot at the lunch table, to make sure I did not have to deal with someone in a sugar coma later on during our work in the field.

Not that it grossed me out or so watching someone shoot up, it just upset me to see someone so young and nice to be so matter of fact about it.  He was like: "My grandmother has it, my mother has it, so I knew it was just a matter of time before I developed it."  He went on telling me how skinny his grandmother was (he is not that skinny; he is actually a big bear).  But, he told me it was to be expected since it was familial.  He continued to tell me that the insulin shots actually caused him to gain some weight, which if you believe the books would make a person even more insulin dependent.  More than half of the people in my wife's office have the same affliction of being either pre-diabetic or having full-flung type 2, and yes there are a few who also blame their genes or as I sometimes say, "their uncle Bob."  But then, I seem to blame anything on Bob!

So I come home with this story nagging my brain, and my wife comes home from the field after talking with a guy who is convinced that he will be dead in a year.  All his relatives died by the age of 60 except his father who died at ripe old age of 63, so at the age of 59 he figured his years were limited.  In other words, who cares, he might as well throw in the towel, give up and let his life and health go to hell, since he is going to die after all: a self fulfilling prophecy?  He basically summoned my wife to get his business in order before he died.

Waiting for a food cart in Richmond this afternoon, few people know what their health future will be, or maybe few know what it actually is or they are cavalier about it.  I know that when I travel I don't often eat the most healthy, but at least I try to get some exercise in to offset my diet.

I have just been so bothered by people taking things lying down and taking things spoon fed.  When I teach my students I try to help them think, understand and appreciate what lies beneath it all.  I want to instill a wonder lust; a curiosity.  I know it is often appreciated.  Sadly, all that I see lately is people just blindly following demagogues (politicians); they seem to follow the same paths where the rest of the herd is going without asking questions; or even personally concerning themselves, they let their relatives (uncle Bob) and parents rules their health, life and longevity.

What lies beneath it all.  A dear friend and fellow teacher uses this picture in one of his presentations and it is emblematic of it all.  We need to look beneath it all Look at the root instead of being spoon fed.  The hammer sharks here also symbolize my I need to work (hammer) on myself physically and mentally.

Darn it, if I believe this, I should be having treatment for prostrate cancer by now, because that is what my father had at my age.  I was tested and I'm doing fine.  I also made sure I did not suffer from any brain aneurysms as my mother had and I suspect her mother had.  I will "Go my own way" damn it, just like that popular Fleetwood Mac song.  I know I need to clean up my life, but then again, I am not as bad as some others that I know.  It is such a damn cliche, but such a good one: "getting old is not for sissies," I am stiff, I hurt, but I'm going to fight getting old all the damn way!  That is why I sail, why I bike, why I hike, why I blog, practice yoga, try to meditate, live in the moment, and why I still threaten my wife that I will retire when I am 70.  It is just that I want to live my life my own way, with my wife and my friends, without people telling me how to live it or what to expect based on some preconceived idea or model.

Knowing how essential exercise and moving is I made sure that during my tripto Front Royal Virginia today I stopped over at a point where the Appalachian Train crossed the highway and I went for a walk.  My fitbit reported I walked for an hour and a half for 5640 steps, average heartbeat was 106 with top rate at 159.  I climbed over 500 feet at times.  Great exercise!

Richmond (2/2/2015)

My lunchtime walk in Richmond today took me along Main Street.  It is a little deviation from what I usually do (either Capitol Square or Browns Island), and I'll probably will have to pay the price.  I did not log as many steps on my FitBit as I usually do during my lunchtime walks.  So it looks like I will need a long evening walk, in addition to tonight's yoga.  But it had been raining pretty heavy, and I just did not wanted to get caught in a downpour.

But the walk was good.  Actually, the sun came out and I was struck by the very colorful streetscape that popped up.

It was just after a heavy rainstorm and the air was clean, the streets were still wet and the sun came through the clouds.  I love the different textures, and colors here.  It is amazing you can sometimes walk by a scene for years (I have been passing by this place regularly for almost 6 years now), and all the sudden it strikes you as photogenic and special.  I am not sure if you have to be in a certain psychological state to see it or if it was the weather and the way the sun fell on the buildings, but today it spoke to me.

Actually, Sub Central is one of my favorite lunch places.  The serve killer french fries (killer in all the good and bad connotations, being that they taste great, but also that they are probably not the best for your health).  I have not tried the Asian place, but bought flowers and tried the restaurant on the corner.  All pretty reasonable and decent places to spend your money, but Sub Central is the place I go to when I am traveling that afternoon and need a full belly for my drive.

This picture could be somewhat emblematic of a fairly vigorous downtown; although I'm struck about the fact that there are no people in this picture.  It was taken around 1 pm, right at the end of lunch hour and you would expect it to be crowded.  Oh well.  Being European, I like the hustle and bustle of a vibrant downtown, but even here in Richmond, one block removed from Capitol Square, it seems somewhat deserted.  I have been in this area in the evening, and there is even less going on in this area at that time.  I am happy to report that some of the buildings around here are being converted into urban housing, but my major issue would be groceries.  One gal that works with me lives in the area, and she shops at a local drug store and a seven eleven down the street.  I'm sure it is more expensive and very basic, and hopefully a grocery store or specialty food stores will follow the redevelopment of downtown, otherwise it will not be very attractive to live here.  I really would not want to shop for my food at these places.  Moreover, if I live downtown, I would not want to get on a bus or in a car to go to the nearest grocery store to buy food.  That would defeat the purpose of moving downtown, close to my work.

Richmond (8/19/2014)

After eating my lunch at my desk, I generally try to get a lunch time walk in: good for the digestion, great in clearing the mind (sometimes), and good for the total steps I try to accumulate each day.  Regular readers know I am one of those fitbit junkies that David Sedaris wrote about in the New Yorker.

Well today I decided to walk by the line of television trucks that are lined up along 7^th street here in Richmond; all trying to cover the McDonald trial.  As regular readers of my blog know, I write a bit about my travels throughout the state, although they have been less lately; regular life; my hobbies (mostly sailing); nature or things that relate to nature; and an occasional gripe on politics, or may be better the polarization of politicized issues such as the environment and global warming.  I have come to the conclusion that the Supreme Court was wrong when they decided that “companies are people too.”  I really think big money is to blame for all the political impasse, controversy, polarization and anger that I see in this country.  It’s a shame, this is such a great country, and at this time in history no one seems to be able to get along.

Oh well, getting down off my soap box, I had to take a photograph of the lineup of television trucks along the street.  I even saw the vehicle of my favorite TV station in Norfolk in the lineup.  In the plaza there are lots of empty tripods, I guess that is where a certain television station or anchor put his or her claim on a few square feet to broadcast the latest and the greatest from. 

But getting back to money and politics, for those of you who are not from Virginia, judging from the television vehicles, the entire state is glued to their television sets to hear the latest and the greatest from the “trial of the century.”  Our ex-governor is on trial for allegedly taking bribes or shall we say loans from an owner of a pharmaceutical company in the hope that he would push this somewhat unproven supplement.  From the reports it seems that the ex-governor claims that it is all his wife’s doing and that he is Mr. Clean and Mr. Trustable.  No idea what the results are going to be of this trials, but one thing seems for sure: this marriage cannot be saved.  I am putting my money on the prediction that the governor and his wife will file for divorce after the trial.  The Virginia soap opera will continue.  With this photograph I just want to document that a trial is going on and the obvious excitement it evokes, at least among the journalists.

Richmond (4/17/2014)

Had a great walk during my lunch half hour today.  I walked down to the James over 7^th street; and once at the river I went right instead of my usual left.  Near the Belvidere Bridge I walked up the hill to the Virginia War Memorial  and then over 2^nd to Main and then back to the office.  A nice invigorating 35 minute walk.  My FitBit told me that I climbed as much as 20 flights of stairs, just what the doctor ordered I guess.  Took some nice pictures of the river etc, but this one stood out to me.  I just like the colors, the composition and just the feel of it.  It was taken near 2^nd and Main.  They are paving all over town for the collegiate world bicycling championships in early May.

Yorktown (4/13/2014)

It was absolutely beautiful on Sunday, and we decided to go for a walk with the dogs in Yorktown proper.  We parked up in the higher part and already when we opened the car door we were welcomed by the sound of bells ringing from the Baptist Church.  I assume it’s a large speaker system that puts the sound out over the village, but still it set a good atmosphere for Sunday morning.  When we got to the river (around 9:30), people were already staking their claim on the beach.  Also there were the guys with their metal detectors, looking for the things yesterday’s crowds had lost in the sand.  We had a great walk along the water and back up to the car.  In all we walked more than 7000 steps according to the fitbit that I wear, which is pretty darn good since my goal is 10,000 steps.  As I tell people, I am trying to get my girlish figure back, but it is a struggle, especially after a weekend of gluttony and wine tasting.

Yorktown is full with older buildings some of which are owned by the park service and others by individual.  There are also not so old homes, and even some older apartment buildings.  It is a nice combination, and a pleasure to walk.   The photo here is from the Nelson House, which dates from 1730 (here is another reference for the Nelson House).  It is a nice historic building that gives you a flavor of the importance of Yorktown in its hay days.  It’s amazing how fleeting some of these things such as fame and fortune can be, and only some will be kept in our memories forever.  People build monuments to themselves, such as ex-governor Nelson who seems to have built the largest house on Yorktown, or maybe the largest surviving house in Yorktown.  Guess we still do this in modern time, but I assume that most of the McMansions here in the US that are stick built, will eventually deteriorate, and few will remain as monument to their owners.  This is so very unlike the Europeans who built with brick and stones and where you still see many old buildings.

Now in modern time we have other means of leaving a legacy or our own monuments.  Some do it with the (non-biodegradable) trash they throw out of their car or fill the landfills with (my wife and I generate less than 2 bags of trash each week and compost all our food waste).  Others do it by writing, blogging or maybe even through things like facebook, twitter, or any other electronic way.  It should be interesting to see what will remain 100 or more years from now.  I personally hope that some of my writing (a few book chapters on scientific items), this blog, my photos on flickr or even facebook will give me some form of immortality.

Oh well, enough rambling.  We walked back by the beach an hour later, we were tired; the dogs had been swimming in the river and were wet.  Metal detector guys were gone and there was nothing left for future archeologists.  A lot more people were on the beach, ready to enjoy our first really warm day in the sun.