Shit Hit The Fan

Gutenberg Printing Press

Beautiful video of Gutenberg printing press in action

The printing press changed the world. Changed the world. Allowing for the dissemination of ideas and thoughts. It brought about the Scientific Method. It's largely the scientific method, capitalism, and democratic form of government that gives us the unfathomable richness and blessings we enjoy daily.

It's after the invention of the printing press we have the likes of Rene Descartes, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon and this beautiful list of names goes on and on.

Reading these great thinkers allows us to learn and absorb their ideas. Ideas that have changed the world and are still changing the world in real-time. Computers and their associated technology make Gutenberg's invention laughable, but without Gutenberg, there are no computers. The debt of gratitude we owe these great thinkers and inventors.... We glorify someone because they can dunk a basketball, but these inventors/thinkers are the heroes when all's said and done. 

Auto Immune Disease

 

Auto immune disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body. RA mainly attacks the joints, usually many joints at once.

The above paragraph was lifted from the CDC.

Now I'm just a layman, not even close to being as smart as doctors or their learned professors. But there are doctors that I follow who go against the protocols of traditional modern medicine.

For instance, years ago I went into a medical office and had my blood pressure taken, which was high. The doctor wanted me to start medication to lower my blood pressure. He told me I'd be on it for life. Thirty years later, I've taken no HBP meds and my BP is normal. What did I do? I eat a Low fat and low-salt diet.

Most doctors don't know the cause of rheumatoid arthritis. It can be inherited. The definition of not knowing the cause of a disease means it's idiopathic.

And from my understanding, the pathological book of diseases used by doctors to define diseases doesn't mention "leaky gut" and "molecular mimicry".  This is my (short) definition of how I define these two terms: Leaky gut is where contents in the intestine moves out of the intestine when it should not. Our immune system then recognizes these foreign bodies and attacks/destroys them. All well and good. But then, through what is called molecular mimicry, our immune system remembers the foreign bodies it attacked, and then goes on to destroy our own thingys inside our bodies. With RA, it's especially devious because it's inside our joints where it's not blood that flows cleansing everything but I'm guessing more like a water type substance in the joints.

So what type of foods would the body want to attack as foreign and then attack our own body? One of the culprits would be foods that have proteins much like our own body. Dairy, (products from the milk of a cow), specifically the protein casein, is what the immune system sees as foreign and attacks it, after these large proteins have escaped the intestine via "leaky gut".

So what might arrest or ease the pain of RA and other auto-immune diseases? Stop ingesting the foods that cause the leaky gut. After seeing a rheumatologist, and different ones for that matter, have any of them mentioned the theory of leaky gut and molecular mimicry? And does the theory appear to make any kind of common sense? Take a half hour or an hour and just type into google "leaky gut/molecular mimicry" and see what some doctors/researches have to say.

Boobs

 

I like boobs. The bigger the better. Problem is, women at my age, their boobs do funny things. A woman who used to be 36DD is now 40 long, know what I'm saying?

Doesn't matter though. Tits are tits. And guys love tits. It's built into our DNA. I wonder, is it just a guy thing, or do women love other women's tits?

So my wife is standing there talking to me in her bra. I asked her to scratch my back, which she does. Then I tell her it's my turn, but I'm not scratching her back.

Uncommonly Brilliant--Not So Much

 

So my blog is called "Uncommonly Brilliant". I must say, that's rather pretentious.

When I can hide behind my computer and just belt out my thoughts, I get to call my blog anything I want. And "Uncommonly Brilliant" is not one of my attributes.

If 100 IQ is the mean, that'd be me. I hope that's me. Because if that is, most people with an average IQ are functional in society and making the world a better place. What's a "better place" is debatable, but it's smoothly going about one's business.

If I'm below the Bell curve on IQness, that's a good thing too. Because if I'm as smart as I think I am, and I'm actually dumber than most, it bodes well for mankind.

If I'm smarter than I think I am, ie higher on the Bell curve of IQness, that means there are more people dumber than me. Oh my, that's not a good thing. Fortunately, where I live, people around me are smart. Smart people instinctively realize one must be kind to those they meet and those that come into their circle.

I think I'm dumber though sometimes, like when my wife tells a joke, I often don't get it. And I forget people's names five seconds after meeting them. Shit like that. But on the other hand, I know the universe is made up of elements, which are made up of atoms. The atoms consist of a nucleus containing a proton and a neutron, outside of the nucleus, electrons. I know the earth is not flat. I know that beyond our solar system (the earth rotates around the sun) and beyond our galaxy there are billions of galaxies. Those last few sentences are mind-blowing in that I know that but it was the most brilliant of minds who discovered those things in the last just few hundreds of years. Their brilliance I can assimilate into my mind.

One of the subjects I believe I know about that other's don't is nutrition. To me, once one has achieved a comfortable standard of living, health becomes even more important. And I believe I know what's cause for good health but people don't want to be bothered. Much easier to take medication for life, go have surgery than eat food that in the short term doesn't not have the pizaaz of what they're used to, but would benefit in the long run.

But back to IQ. The more I see, the more I believe people aren't equipped or don't have the tools to function optimally in life. But I don't believe it is solely IQ based. It's inquisitiveness, being willing or having the courage to go against the tide. Much easier to be at a bar on a Sunday afternoon eating shit cheering and acting like an idiot because some football team kicked a field goal. 

Car Pile Up-Dream Sunday Nite

 

So last night I had this weird dream.

I dreamed I was working in a factory fixing an under-the-counter 2" cast iron pipe. I finished doing the job with my buddy and we're heading home on the freeway. All of a sudden we're seeing this burned-out wrecked truck totally demolished.

We don't stop but go around. Now we're the only ones on the freeway that's driving. The freeway on the other side can't be seen. We keep driving and all we're seeing is total devastation, heavy equipment trucks all crashed, burned and wrecked, lying there in all directions. It goes on and on. The freeway is five lanes wide, new and clean, with no cars beside us passing all this destruction. It just goes on and on. We're going uphill, around bends, heavy equipment trucks (only), burnt out and demolished.

We get home,  and as we're leaving the garage, others come in with yellow vests. I'm assuming they've been called to assist in this huge heavy equipment truck pileup.

Universal (Unifying) Theory Of Chronic Disease

 

Have you ever watched Dr. House? He portrayed a brilliant doctor who found the rare/esoteric diseases causing his patient's stress. Doctors study many of these diseases in medical school. But the fact is, all those patients flowing into hospitals each morning, are there for the most common of diseases. Diabetes, heart disease, obesity, non-working Johnson, hearing loss, Alzheimer's/memory issues, and back issues/pain. 

The unifying theory of all these diseases is lack of blood flow. Lack of blood flow is caused by stenosis. Stenosis is a narrowing of the arteries. Often, when we think of stenosis, we think of our coronary arteries, but it's happening all over our bodies. Dr. William C. Roberts performed many autopsies and found artery disease occurred throughout the whole body, not just one single vessel. IOW, it was diffuse. Our heart (atherosclerosis), eyes (diabetes),  legs (PAD peripheral artery disease), Johnson (often the canary in the coal mine IOW most likely have heart disease), brain (dementia/Alzheimer's/stroke) and back (OPLL, DISH, spinal stenosis). Ischemia, (lack of blood flow), is caused by stenosis (narrowing of the arteries), and the build-up of fat, cholesterol, and calcium in our arteries and is the cause of all our chronic diseases. And this is all caused by eating a high-fat diet. IOW, it's totally preventable if we choose to put different foods into our bodies.

Nathan Pritikin, not a doctor, but simply a layperson, had it figured out in the early 1970's. He called it "Lipotoximia". The dude had it figured out in the 70's and we're still saying it's idiopathic, meaning we don't know what is causing all these chronic diseases. We do know. 

And many have found the answer and are betting their lives on it. Neil Barnard, Michael Greger, Caldwell Esselstyn, Alan Goldhamer, Doug Lisle, John McDougall, T. Colin Campbell. Just to name a few. 

"Atherosclerosis is the most toxic disease in Western society and will kill 45% of us". Dr. William C. Roberts https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxE_QVAV-2tOE3vtAR_oQPBgJIteNAPktV?si=SCjj2HTZapiXRtNP

Ask a doctor if he thinks there's a unifying theory of chronic diseases suffered by those eating the standard American diet. Or all these diseases mentioned above separate entities all caused by different reasons. 

Salt

 

Salt. Necessary for life. Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Sodium's Latin word is Natrium. Na is the chemical abbreviation on the periodic chart. Eating at most 2300mg/day is recommended, which we exceed. The recommendation is actually 1500mg/day. Just 1% meet this minimum standard. 

The Yanomami Indians, a tribe of 35,000 in Brazil/Venezuela, eat a diet considered very low in sodium, less than 600mg/day. Their blood pressure is ~95/65. We're talking old folks too. So not only are the Yanomami Indians in the 1 percentile, at <600mg/day, they are probably in the 1% of the 1%.

There used to be a website called Megaheart.com. The guy who founded Megaheart was on the waiting list at Stanford for a heart transplant. He asked his physician if there was anything he could do while waiting for a heart, his doctor mentioned a very low salt diet. He pursued that and ended up not needing a transplant. Many others followed his experience with outstanding results.

Eating a low-salt diet, or at least one recommended by the RDA folks of 1500mg/day will be much better than what most Americans eat in a single day. But cutting back to levels like the Yanomami Indians can be a real game changer.

Walter Kempner (you've got to check out this dude on Google) saved the lives of many people by putting them on a low-salt diet. Back in the day, there were no drugs for hypertension and people died from it. Of course nowadays, one can pop a pill and merrily go on one's way. But in the long run, those who suffer from HBP and go on medication end up suffering from Alzheimer's in greater numbers than others.

Not only should we lower our sodium (Na), but our potassium (K) level should be raised. To meet just the minimum standard of 1500mg/day of sodium and the recommended level of potassium, you'd be in the 1 in 6000 people. Take your sodium intake to under 600mg/day and you're truly an oddball.

The best book I think ever written on hypertension is called The High Blood Pressure Solution, by Richard Moore. It's a fascinating book that takes a deep dive at how sodium works at the cellular level and sodium's interaction at the atomic level with potassium and calcium. Mr. Moore was on the cutting edge of discovering the importance of what he calls the K ratio, of potassium to sodium. 

If one eliminates high-sodium foods, it can only be that one will gradually eat a predominantly plant-based diet. Fruits/vegetables while both have sodium and potassium, the K ratio is much higher of K to Na. Almost all of us have a K ratio of <1.

A problem with HBP is what's called the Windkessel Effect. Little known is that the aorta acts like a second heart which pumps blood during the diastolic stage. As we age, along with continued HBP, and a diet that promotes atherosclerosis, ends up stiffening the aortic fibers, hence lessening the Windkessel Effect. 

Black people in US suffer an inordinate amount of HBP. Many on kidney dialysis. What is it with blacks ending up with this so-called idiopathic disease? How is it, not sure about the times of today, Kenyans virtually had no one with HBP?

To check out more about high salt related to HBP, check out Dr Peter Rogers and Nutrition Facts on YouTube. 

On Writing

 Writing. If one reads a lot, it follows one must be a good writer. Most of my outlet for writing is in the comments section after someone posts. For the most part, I think my writing is a waste of time, I'm not sure if anyone reads it, but it lets me formulate my thoughts. And writing on the computer comments could come back to bite me, in that what I write is there forever.

When I write, I like to have something to say. A different view or take that no one has thought of that might tickle the curious brain of someone reading. Reading something and getting the expected is boring. What fun is reading that? I like being surprised when I read, or when someone has personal experience about a topic that brings it much more to life. 

So when I write about something in my blog, I might give a statement of facts, but I want to give a spin that the reader might not have of. (Not good to end a sentence in a preposition). And even if my writing is poor, that's OK too, that's who I am. 

The Ascetic Diet

 Dr. Mc Dougall calls his diet "The Starch Solution". Nathan Pritikin "The Pritikin Diet". Alan Goldhamer's diet. They are all the same with a few iterations. And might I say, these 3 gentlemen are my nutritional heroes who I consider brilliant.

So there are different names for the diet, but they all boil down to the same foods, high in carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, grains), with no oil, and very low in salt. Of course no meat or alcohol.

Since many like to name the diet, I'll call mine, "The Ascetic Diet". So 99.99% can read this and say "No fuckin way". Believe me, I understand and don't blame you.

But what if all the studies done that ultimately lead to this kind of diet are true? What studies you ask? Yep, there are reputable, well-researched studies that one could peruse to draw a conclusion. 

NutritionFacts.org has a YT channel and Michael Greger (the host) will flash studies on the screen. I'll pause the video while he's talking, open another tab, and find the study the doctor is talking about so I can read myself. Sadly, some studies are behind a paywall, and only when a fee is paid can the studies be viewed. Other times, the studies mentioned will be indexed in a nutrition book and the studies can then be researched.

Did you know you can reverse heart disease through diet (and exercise)? Sugar diabetes (Check out Mastering Diabetes) cured? Become unobese?

What if there truly is an ideal diet that will normalize blood pressure, glucose levels, and weight? There is such a diet. Or better said, a way of eating. But restaurants, our culture, food commercials, everything about everything, is 180D opposite of this. Going to a friend's house for dinner? Pack your fruit and veggies and don't eat what they serve. Same with restaurants, except don't bring food, eat before you leave. 

It's a decision not to be taken lightly, but it can prove to be the most important decision of your life. But it takes total commitment. Chef AJ's YT channel has excellent guests, and I recommend looking up Dr. Peter Rogers.

The beautiful part about finally learning that a low salt/fat vegan diet is the most healthy, you place yourself in parameters of what you can eat ad libitum. There virtually are no boundaries to eating the foods our bodies have evolved to eat. Look up environmental mismatch and how it relates to the foods we eat and how we evolved to this modern processed food culture. It'll blow your socks off.

Post Op Nurse

 An interesting job would be a post-op nurse. They are the ones who are around you after you wake up from surgery. The drugs used to put one to sleep during an operation have for real some kind of truth serum in it.

You know how when you have conversations but rarely get up close and personal? Well, when I woke up from my operation last week, there was the post-op nurse beside me. She just let me talk and I soon told her intimate details of my life. In fact, more intimate than my wife even knows. 

So if I'm not a one-off, others experience the same thing I do. Therefore, being a post-op nurse, they must have some interesting stories to tell.

That's a big reason I like Jehovah's Witnesses. Where else can you walk up to some random person and talk about the great issues of life.

If you ever want to get a load off your mind, and can't afford an hour with a psychologist, seek out where the Witnesses hang out. Usually, I find them in parks (by two). If you're lucky they might be hot chicks, but that's not been my experience. 

3 Big Days of My Life

 

I went to the library on campus (Cerritos College). This is back in the latter '70s. Even though I always loved libraries, that day I made a discovery I had never known before. I understood the power of libraries and how I could use them to access any information I needed. Coming upon the realization, I went outside the library and sat on a bench in front. I sat there in glorious happiness soaking in what I had just learned. 

My second "Aha" moment came in 1995. That's the year Microsoft came out with GUI (graphical user interface) instead of MSDOS. From there, I'd spend so much time getting on the internet via a company called America Online better known as America Offline. But realizing then what I just discovered, again, I just went outside, sat on my porch steps, and thought of the wonders of the internet and my new reality.

My 3rd "Aha" came less than a month ago, Jan 15. I call it my reborn again day. I learned how a diode works. I've studied diodes for ~50 years, but I never truly got it. (The valence shell with the 4 electrons, allowing them to pass in one direction). I kinda knew before, but that day I knew. And since that day, the floodgates have opened up. I've been able to absorb information/knowledge like never before in my life.

What's interesting about these "3 big days" is they all revolve around knowledge. There's so much to know, so much to learn, and it's sitting, waiting. I especially love watching YouTube videos followed by Wikipedia. Here's a trick if you want to learn something quick, but don't want to watch 5-20 minutes of bullshit on YT. In the YouTube search bar, type in #shorts then the subject. That way if there's a topic of interest and a video has been made of that in "shorts", it'll pop up. Great time saver.

Slava Ukraini. Heroyam Slava.

 I totally support President Zelinski and the people of Ukraine.

The civilized world, knowing the lessons from WWII, that if we don't stop Russia now, we're in a world of shit. There's a reason why Finland joined NATO and Sweden, long a neutral country, is itself trying to join NATO.

And countries around the world are helping Ukraine. 

A couple of YouTube channels I follow are Anna From Ukraine, Jake Broe, and Denys Davydov.

All are wonderful blogs. Anna reminds me of the girl protagonist in the movie "All the Light We Cannot See". I seriously pray the FSB doesn't get to her. Brave woman.

Jake is from the US and does a great job.

Denys is a pilot (from Ukraine) and used to do pilot videos. Now with the war, I'm guessing he's exclusively doing videos about the war. Also, I subscribe to his telegram channel, where he posts pictures and videos that aren't allowed on YT.

Banana Chips (Part Deux)

 So yes, I had my oatmeal for breakfast.

Yeah, I cried.

No more my Sweet Dulce.

Banana Chips

Most mornings I have oatmeal for breakfast. Sweet Dulce, (my girl in the pic above) would always be there to share my banana. I oftened thought, "what's it going to be like the first time I cut bananas for my oatmeal, and Dulce's not here?". This morning I'll be finding out.

Dulce passed away last night. To say I loved Dulce would not do justice. Only people who have pets can understand the deep love we have for our animals. 

Dulce, from the very beginning, had me wrapped around her little paw. And I was wrapped around her paw until the day she died. Dulce was an independent ol' cus. In her younger years, she really didn't like being petted. I'd go to pet her, and she'd be like "fuck off" and get away from me. It never bothered me, in fact, it would crack me up. It wasn't until the later years, she would let me love on her all I wanted.

I don't know the bond Dulce had with me, but for me, the bond I had with Dulce was like no other. I never had dogs growing up, but I think if I did, I would have been a different person in my youth. Dulce, in her way, humanized me. She brought something out of me I didn't know was there. She was my best friend, I loved her so.

Goodbye, Sweet Dulce, you brought me much happiness in all the years we were together. 

 

Getting Old

 Getting Old

I just came across my blog after 10 years. I completely forgot about it, so it's cool to read my old posts. I think they hold up quite well.

I'm definitely in the autumn of my life, probably not too far from entering winter. I'm now 69, and my goal is to make it to 70. My paternal grandfather, father, and brother all died in their sixties. So if I make it to 70, it'll be quite the feat.

 

Three kids, all 13 years old, go to a fortune teller. The fortune teller tells them, one will die before turning 14, one will die before 15 and the other will die before the age of 16. Sure enough, one died before turning 14, another died before turning 15 and the one about to turn 16 got so scared, he committed suicide.

For me, if I do commit suicide, I'm at least waiting till 70. Eighty or ninety wouldn't be too shabby either. 

Ray Kurzweil, a most brilliant man, believes this generation will escape death. Not sure how that will happen, but one way I suppose would be to upload our brain to a computer. A quasi-computer/humanoid. That shit sounds frightening to me. I'd like to live a long life, but imagine being part of a computer and you couldn't off yourself even if you wanted, stuck forever inside some kind of algorithm.