Annual Physical

I just got back from my annual physical.

I'd been nervous, of course; I always am. But not terribly nervous. It's funny, but blood tests no longer terrify me the way that they used to - in fact, they hardly bother me at all. For some reason this lack of fear is almost inconceivable to me.

Anyway (and to my surprise), my general health continues to be excellent! I should lose weight, of course, but otherwise everything is as good as could be expected. My weight's back to pre-diet levels, which is actually better than I feared.

I do have bronchitis, so the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and cough medicine with codeine; she was a bit concerned that I started coughing up blood this morning. But basically, everything is fine.

Annual Physical

I just got back from my annual physical.

I'd been nervous, of course; I always am. But not terribly nervous. It's funny, but blood tests no longer terrify me the way that they used to - in fact, they hardly bother me at all. For some reason this lack of fear is almost inconceivable to me.

Anyway (and to my surprise), my general health continues to be excellent! I should lose weight, of course, but otherwise everything is as good as could be expected. My weight's back to pre-diet levels, which is actually better than I feared.

I do have bronchitis, so the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and cough medicine with codeine; she was a bit concerned that I started coughing up blood this morning. But basically, everything is fine.

Cartoon comments

Couldn't resist commenting over on the Washington Post site about a couple of comics today:

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Wilkinson's comic is a bit inaccurate. Instead of the Democratic donkey and George W. Bush trying to strangle each other in the Oval Office, it should have shown the Democratic Donkey bent over and taking it up the ass from George, same as it always does.

And as for Glenn McCoy...why doesn't he just march over to the White House and give George W. a blowjob? You know he wants to!

Cartoon comments

Couldn't resist commenting over on the Washington Post site about a couple of comics today:

---

Wilkinson's comic is a bit inaccurate. Instead of the Democratic donkey and George W. Bush trying to strangle each other in the Oval Office, it should have shown the Democratic Donkey bent over and taking it up the ass from George, same as it always does.

And as for Glenn McCoy...why doesn't he just march over to the White House and give George W. a blowjob? You know he wants to!

Standing

It's a truism that you need to walk or jog for at least 30 minutes to elevate your metabolism. Anything less doesn't really help much, I'd heard.

But a couple of weeks ago, I found myself wondering: what would happen if, every two hours, I got up from my desk and took a five-minute walk down and up the stairs? Would it make any difference? I was planning to try it, but between the holidays and getting sick I didn't really have a chance.

But now I will, because apparently researchers have found that sitting for hours on end actually causes the enzymes that burn fat to shut down.

A New Way to Control Weight? Scientists Say Just Standing Up May Be as Important as Exercise

Go figure! This also explains why some Wii users lose weight, come to think of it.

Standing

It's a truism that you need to walk or jog for at least 30 minutes to elevate your metabolism. Anything less doesn't really help much, I'd heard.

But a couple of weeks ago, I found myself wondering: what would happen if, every two hours, I got up from my desk and took a five-minute walk down and up the stairs? Would it make any difference? I was planning to try it, but between the holidays and getting sick I didn't really have a chance.

But now I will, because apparently researchers have found that sitting for hours on end actually causes the enzymes that burn fat to shut down.

A New Way to Control Weight? Scientists Say Just Standing Up May Be as Important as Exercise

Go figure! This also explains why some Wii users lose weight, come to think of it.

Hillary, China

Here are a couple of totally unrelated articles:

White House Civil War, an interesting excerpt from an upcoming book detailing the surprising number of ways that Bill and Hillary screwed the Gore 2000 campaign. It seems that in some ways, we have the Clintons to thank for the George W. Bush Presidency!

Made in China on the Sly, a New York Times article about some of the sleazy and frankly illegal ways in which the country of origin labelling requirement is being circumvented or simply defied in order to keep consumers from seeing the "Made in China" designation.

Hillary, China

Here are a couple of totally unrelated articles:

White House Civil War, an interesting excerpt from an upcoming book detailing the surprising number of ways that Bill and Hillary screwed the Gore 2000 campaign. It seems that in some ways, we have the Clintons to thank for the George W. Bush Presidency!

Made in China on the Sly, a New York Times article about some of the sleazy and frankly illegal ways in which the country of origin labelling requirement is being circumvented or simply defied in order to keep consumers from seeing the "Made in China" designation.

Email to Culligan

Sirs: I have a Culligan FM-15 which I bought roughly six months ago. I just noticed that during use, hairline cracks appear around the indentation at the middle of the top of the unit, and the casing visibly bulges upwards. When the water is turned off, the cracks disappear and the bulge subsides.

Should I be concerned? Is the unit safe to use?

Email to Culligan

Sirs: I have a Culligan FM-15 which I bought roughly six months ago. I just noticed that during use, hairline cracks appear around the indentation at the middle of the top of the unit, and the casing visibly bulges upwards. When the water is turned off, the cracks disappear and the bulge subsides.

Should I be concerned? Is the unit safe to use?