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I recently read a book entitled “The Emperor of All Maladies:  A Biography of Cancer”, by Siddhartha Mukherjee.  While not a page turner, and certainly not an upbeat subject matter, I found the book to be incredibly interesting.  In our time and place it seems like cancer certainly is the “emperor” of diseases and misfortunes, as it has touched pretty much everyone in one way or another, and is a most feared and loathsome malady.

The book relates how few examples of cancer can be found in ancient literature, and even in recent centuries cancer has been overshadowed by much more prevalent diseases, such as tuberculosis, cholera, the plague, child birth, infections, and more.  Cancer afflicts the aged, and now that longevity has increased dramatically, so has the prevalence of cancer.

While science and medicine have made so many profound advances in understanding and treating so many illnesses that afflict us, cancer remains a tough nut to crack.  Surgeries, radiation treatments, and chemotherapy have been the tools most often used, and some cancers have seen dramatic improvements in cure rates the past few decades.  Lifestyle changes are also having a positive impact, with avoidance of cigarette smoking, for instance.  Screenings for early detection are also helpful.

Most recent research has focused on gene/DNA/chromosone theories for causes and treatments, and we remain near the starting line for effective cures for many cancers.

The book does relate some dramatic cases where individuals with terminal cases were miraculously cured during experimental trials of a new chemo or genetically engineered drug.  It also touches on the controversy about drug testing, controlled trials, and the scientific and ethical dilemmas about broadening the availability of experimental drugs to terminally sick patients clamoring for any possible cure.

Parts of the book talk about the extensive lab research and testing, especially during the search for effective drugs.  I couldn’t help but think I would have enjoyed a career in that side of the medical profession.  It also gives me a better appreciation for the research and development costs of drug companies, and why medicines are so expensive (and patents warranted).

While cancer avoidance, detection, treatments and cures are better now than ever, let’s hope for even more dramatic improvements for the next generation.

I read that it is normal to suffer from a cold virus three or four times every year.  Well, it is certainly that time of year where many suffer from this malady.  As common as it is there are still mysteries about it in my mind.  Why is it severe one time, and mild the next?  Why might all family members but one catch it?  When are you most contagious, and how long does it take to show symptoms once contracted?  Does it do any good to overload on vitamin C or zinc tablets, or take Airborne tablets?

Daniel and Suzanne caught colds two and three weeks ago, so I had been thinking I had dodged this round.  For a few days I felt some very minor symptoms and wondered if it would flare up, and it finally did just the other day, with the usual sore throat and mild body aches.  I had really hoped since I had such a horrible cold virus in July from our Idaho trip that I might have immunity this time.  No such luck.  However, I came down with cold symptoms while visiting New York in June, but it subsided after a short day or two.

And that poses another question.  Why are we so vulnerable to colds and illness during travel and vacations?  I particularly noticed during college that I would often get sick just after finals and during semester breaks.  Some suggest these could be due to germs’ prevalence in airplanes, and the stress of finals followed by the body relaxing (and saying it is okay now to get sick).

Anyway, this round is feeling like a more mild case for me (knock on wood), unlike for my son Daniel, who has developed bronchitis and is still suffering three weeks into it.

Here is an amusing clip about the “man cold”:

For what it’s worth, here is some info I pulled off the internet:
Facts about the Common Cold Incubation Period
By Patsy Hamilton

The typical common cold incubation period is from two to five days, but symptoms can appear in as little as ten hours after the virus first enters the nose. The range of the common cold incubation period may be explained by the number of different viruses that can cause common cold symptoms. It is known that some viruses produce symptoms of disease more quickly than others and several hundred different viruses have been associated with the common cold. Another explanation for the wide range in the common cold incubation period is that some people never develop symptoms, even though an infection is present. This makes it hard for scientists to determine an exact common cold incubation period, but in most diseases, there is only a range, not an exact figure.
In clinical trials rhinoviruses were introduced directly into the nasal passages of volunteers and 95% of them became infected. But, only 75% of those who become infected developed any common cold symptoms. The scientific community cannot explain this mystery, at this time. Some believe that those people with a well functioning immune system do not develop symptoms. While others point out that common cold symptoms are brought on by immune system functions. Sneezing and coughing are the body’s natural efforts to eject the viruses. Fever reduces the virus’ ability to reproduce inside the nose. It does seem to be likely that in those people who only experience symptoms for a few days, the immune system is functioning well.
Influenza type A & B viruses cause common cold symptoms in some people, while others develop more serious infections from these viruses. While common cold symptoms are typically confined to the nose and throat, the lungs, stomach and intestines may be affected by influenza viruses. Fever is typically higher and comes on more quickly in flu infections than in common cold infections, but again this varies. The very young and the elderly often have more severe flu symptoms than those who are in good health and between the ages of 4 and 64.
Corona viruses are believed to cause a substantial number of common cold cases. Three or four different types of corona viruses infect humans, but they are difficult to grow in a laboratory setting and therefore difficult to study. Estimates vary on the number of colds that are caused by rhinoviruses and corona viruses from 30-50 percent of all adult colds. Testing for different viruses is difficult and usually considered unnecessary, when it is known that the symptoms are caused by a virus and that treating symptoms is all that is possible. Unless the cold is accompanied by a bacterial infection of the sinuses, ears or throat, antibiotics are ineffective.
Other viruses that can cause common cold symptoms in adults are adenoviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, paramyxoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus and enteroviruses. Any of these viruses can cause more serious illness in children and others. And, then there are a number of viruses that have remained unidentified.
Experts do not believe that getting chilled or overheated can shorten the common cold incubation period, worsen symptoms or increase the likelihood of developing a cold. Opinions about preventing colds by taking vitamin C or zinc supplements vary, but many studies suggest that these and other immune system boosters are worthwhile.

The past couple of years I have been in a bit of a tennis funk.  I’ve felt like my game has tailed off some (particularly my singles game, which I rarely play now), I haven’t had a good, consistent doubles partner, I’ve been losing regularly in league play, haven’t even bothered to enter tournaments, and my teams haven’t done as well.

This past summer, though, I got asked by a friend to join his 7.0 mixed doubles team for league play.  I did and , wow, it became obvious immediately we had a very strong team.  I also enjoyed not being captain for a change, while someone else expended all the energy to organize practice play and match lineups.  We ended up winning our division and going on to win the Northern Oregon playoffs.  At Sectionals playoffs in Sunriver we lost one match and ended up tied for first place in our group, but didn’t advance based on tiebreak criteria.  Still it was an immensely successful and enjoyable team.  The whole experience injected new enthusiasm into my tennis playing.

At Sunset Athletic Club (our home club) in the tennis center there is one wall where photos are hung of all the teams that have won Northern Oregon championships over the years.

If you look closely you will notice all the photos are of women’s teams . . .  except one.

This is our team photo from Sunriver sectionals (including insets of three who couldn’t make it to Sunriver).  I often joke to observers that our team broke the gender barrier by finally putting some men on the wall.  Even though it took a mixed doubles team to do it!

One other significant note about this team/photo.  It is a reflection of the international flavor of tennis players at the club, and in our community.  Of the 13 players on our roster, more than half are natives of foreign countries.  Each still has some detectable accent.  They represent 7 countries:  Vietnam, China, Russia, Malaysia, India, Korea, and Bulgaria.

Another exciting thing happened this fall.  New tennis ratings came out and I was dropped back to 3.5 from 4.0.  This was due to my generally poor league results the past couple of years, and particularly two bad losses at singles when, as captain, I put myself at singles since our normal players weren’t available and to avoid a default–called a sacrifice and taking a bullet for the team.  Some people might be discouraged getting bumped down but I’m ecstatic.  I feel like a top dog player again in my new level, and it has even injected new confidence and enthusiasm into my game.  I plan to enter tournaments again, where I feel I can be more competitive than I have been.

Here is a slide show from team photos I took at Sunriver.

I have ten marvelous grandchildren, ranging in age from 13 to zero.  Each one is such a bright spot in my life.  Four of them live three miles away, three more live 700 miles distant, and three live literally half way around the world (but we stay close via blogs and video chats).

I can’t do any better than what my wife already posted, so here is a link to her blog entry about our grandkids.

 

It is only mid-November and it feels like we’ve already had a good share of winter weather this year.  Last week we had a strong, cold wind storm and then some freezing rain.  And yesterday on my bicycle commute to work I encountered this:

Needless to say, it was a rather brisk ride in to work. I don’t recall ever seeing this temperature in mid-November here.  But no wind, so it was fine.

Speaking of wind, I think our fall colors got curtailed with the cold and wind last week.  The trees are quite bare for this time in November, as you can see from my usual Intel vista.

By getting an early start does this mean winter will be milder and shorter, or longer and more severe?  Only time will tell.

 

 

In the summer of 1995 we had an extended family reunion in Utah, and I played tennis with my cousin.  It was a lot of fun, and I have to admit the competitor in me wanted a future rematch, since my cousin beat me.  So I instantly caught the tennis bug and started playing a lot with anyone I could get onto the court with me, including my oldest son just before he left for his two year mission.

Here in the Pacific Northwest tennis is a year round sport, with indoor play being most common for serious players.  I wanted to join a local club for more opportunities to play and ended up joining Sunset Athletic Club with a family membership, though I had to wait a few months until they finished some remodeling after a fire destroyed their main building.

Thus began my “tennis 2nd life”.  At the club I had many opportunities to play, including fun practice, leagues, and tournaments.  I felt like a kid again, having so much fun playing tennis like old times.  My game improved and I took some lessons for the first time in my life.  My younger children also took classes and played with me sometimes.  (My younger daughter went on to play for her high school varsity team.)  Along the way I got revenge at the family reunion in 1997, beating my cousin in a rematch.

To facilitate fair competitive play, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) uses a skill rating system (NTRP), so that players with similar abilities will play each other in tournaments and leagues.  I started out with a 3.5 rating, which is about average for semi-serious club players.  I entered some tournaments and played in some leagues, mostly playing singles, and by 2001 had improved my game sufficiently that I got promoted to the next higher level, 4.0.  I have to say that my last year as a 3.5 was a banner year, and so much fun.  I won several tournaments and went nearly undefeated in league play.  Our team went undefeated and nearly won the Northern Oregon playoffs.  It was a huge ego boost to get moved up, but almost instantly I became an “average” player again, as my competition was improved as well.

I played in men’s leagues, mixed doubles leagues, and summer leagues, as well as various tournaments through the year.  Over time I migrated increasingly towards more doubles play, and at times had a very good partner, yielding great results and very fun times.  Other times I didn’t and results weren’t as stellar, nor was it as much fun.

I’ve always been one to enjoy organizing things so I took on the role of being team captain, which is kind of like a player/manager.  He recruits players for the team, registers the team, organizes team practice play, and sets lineups for matches (including lots of strategy), as well as recording results.  I found it mostly enjoyable and satisfying being captain, and the players always appreciated my efforts.  It was a challenge sometimes trying to keep all the players happy, and deciding whether to play to win, or play everyone equal time.  I’ve been a team captain every year for over a decade now.

For league play, the top two teams in the division standings advance to the Northern Oregon playoffs.  The winner of the playoffs (and sometimes the 2nd place team as a wildcard) advances to the Pacific Northwest Sectionals championships, including teams from Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.  Prior to this year I had been on two teams that made it to sectionals, both times taking place in Sunriver, Oregon, and both times with 7.0 mixed doubles teams (two 3.5 rated partners make a 7.0 team, or also a 4.0/3.0 combo).  I was captain of one of those teams and we had a great group of folks, and this experience was a highlight.  However, both times we went as a wildcard — I had never been on a Northern Oregon championship team.

Until this year.

To be continued…

 

 

My earliest experiences swinging a tennis racquet were in 4th grade when our family played on some courts at Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada.  In high school, I played basketball and hung around with fellow sports minded guys, and in the spring of my sophomore year several of us were playing a lot of tennis for fun, so we joined the school tennis team my junior year.  Being new to the team we had to start at the bottom of the junior varsity ladder and work our way up.  Several of us got to varsity before the end of the season, and I reached #3 singles.  My senior year I switched from basketball to focus on tennis, and played #1 singles for the team.  I wasn’t a great player, and had never had a lesson, but I won about half of my league matches.  And our school team, with its influx of ex-basketball players, had its best season in many years, perhaps ever.

I still have my actual Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph racquet from high school.  That was the popular model at the time.

I wasn’t good enough to play competitively in college, but I did enjoy playing intramural tournaments and other casual play.

Then life got busy with family and work, and I rarely played tennis for the next 20 years or so.

To be continued…

We have lived in our home for nearly 30 years.  We have a large loft in the garage which serves as a great storage area.  But we had to use an extension ladder to access it, so it was inconvenient, to say the least.  For the longest time we thought about constructing some stairs for better access and utilization, but never got around to it.

Until this year.  I was feeling ambitious, and perhaps inspired by the carpentry work being done in our bathroom remodel, so I set to work.

We have stairs that go up from the garage floor to a landing area to enter the house.  I designed an additional set of stairs to go from the landing to the loft.  It took quite a bit of study and planning, including use of trigonometry to calculate the stair step dimensions for the rise and length.  I also designed some shelves for storing shoes and other items.

I think it took the better part of a week to plan and construct the project.  But I have to say it was engaging work and very satisfying to accomplish.  We now have convenient access to the loft area.  I constructed more shelves up in the loft to offload our former master bedroom shelves and bookcase.

We were traveling outside the country for a month while most of the remodel work was being done.  It was a little uncomfortable not being there to monitor progress, and answer questions as they came up.  Thank goodness for email, so we could view photos and resolve questions.

The job was nearly complete when we returned in early February.  It was very exciting and we were quite pleased.  There was still quite a bit of work for us to do, as we painted all the walls, ceilings, and doors and window frames.  I also constructed the closet shelves and hanging rods.

Here is a video tour of the finished remodel.

Almost every day we reflect on how pleased we are with the new bedroom and bathroom.  It was (a lot of) money well spent!

For years we made do with an inconvenient walk-in closet, a small shower stall, and a single sink in our master bedroom/bathroom.  We contemplated various strategies of moving this wall or that.  To make a long story short(er) we arrived at a remodel plan that would leave all exterior walls intact, yet solve the major irritants.

We did two things to make more room, and reoriented the closet to make it much more usable.  First, we removed the jet tub.  While there were pleasant memories of kids splashing away in it, and using soap bubbles to create beards, it was very rarely used.  This allowed us to move the sink to that space and expand to a double sink.

Second, we extended one wall a few feet into the bedroom space to enlarge the shower stall.  We compensated by removing a shelf unit from our bedroom, simplifying the furniture arrangement for the reduced space.

Removing the old sink opened up a new wall into the walk-in closet, where we moved the door and the space became much more usable.  We also scaled back the amount of shelves in the closet, expanding the area for hanging clothes.  We found we didn’t need to store so much stuff in our bedroom closet, moving much of it into the garage loft area (which became much more accessible after another project, which I will blog about later).

We met several times with the same contractor who remodeled our kitchen a few years ago.  Initial ballpark cost estimates came in around $13K–not inexpensive, but doable.  Of course, once the pencils got sharpened and we planned more details, the price went up and up.  When we got to $23K we were pretty discouraged and looking for ways to cut costs.  But ultimately, we decided if we going to go to this much trouble and expense we might as well do it right, and make sure we would be happy with it in the years to come.  I think the total cost ended up around $26K or so.  We splurged on a few extras, like granite slab counter, tiled shower, and heated floor.

We did save some money by doing much of the demolition ourselves, and all of the painting.

Here are a couple of photos showing the demolition progress, and the rough framing.

The next post will show the finished product.