Read Audrey

Shingles: Prevent Searing Pain

My grandmother, a fiercely independent woman of 86 years contracted Shingles a week ago.  Related to Chicken Pox, Shingles is a virus that is excruciatingly painful and could lead to long term chronic pain and even blindness in the elderly.  Imagine having the most painful mouth sore, but instead its spread all over one side of your face, into your eye and through your scalp.  You can’t see.  Suddenly, the world is gone.  Combine that with fever, chills and dizziness.  Then when you’re getting better, the searing pain turns into the most aggravating itchiness.  It’s hard to sleep, eat or even use the bathroom.  In my grandmothers case, she’s also suffering from extreme disorientation and loss of memory.  She doesn’t recognize her own daughter (my Mom) and has no idea she’s been in the hospital for the past week.  My grandmother went from being sharp as nails and totally mobile to seeing imaginary pots of boiling stew and wetting her pants.  My heart is broken.

I read that 1 in 5 elderly people contract Shingles.  That number doesn’t have to be so high.  There is a vaccine.  If you have parents or grandparents over 50, tell them about the Shingles vaccine.  Lots of parents know about their kids getting Chicken Pox, but there aren’t as many people who know about Shingles among the elderly.  It’s also important to know that if you see signs of Shingles, get treatment immediately.  It will looks like a bunch of blisters filling up with liquid on one side of the body, typically around the eyes and forehead.  A quick response to the first signs of Shingles can lesson the duration, pain and probability of long term effects. 

Why There’s A Pre-Lab

Reminiscing about my favorite style notebook: the research lab notebook. Grid paper with a tight wire bounding.  Oh the glory of it.

My actual Chemistry notebook at U of I.  Mechanical pencil is a must have.

Everything lined up.  My tables were a thing of perfection.  The grid  improved my organization and penmanship.  I did better in classes that had these notebooks.  Not only because my notes were beautiful, but because there was usually a pre-lab.

I’m huge fan of the pre-lab.  I finally get why all my science teachers made us read the lab before actually doing it.  It’s because if you are learning something new, you probably won’t really get it the first time you meet it.  Sure, some are better at quick comprehension, but I think even the best and the brightest can benefit from it.  Pre-labs, pre-work, pre-reading - it wets the pallet for whats to come.  So when you’re in the middle of doing it, things finally click.  Sound obvious, but only recently did I fully understand how a little bit a pre-work goes a really long ways.

In my Starter League classes, Shay has us read the next weeks lesson before actually teaching the lesson.  I’ve found this really helpful.  I read the lesson, understand it at a high level - but if you asked me to jump in and code what I just read, I’d draw a blank.  Nothing gained.  But when I’ve done the reading before class, then listen to the Shay talk about what I’ve just read, the pieces start coming together.  Lightbulbs go off.    I’m way more engaged.  I feel more confident.

I wish I was like Data from Star Trek. Wouldn’t it be great to learn something once and have it forever stored stored in your neuro processor?  

Unfortunately, I”m no where close to learning things that fast.  I have to see it, type it, read it, hear it again and again before the glue becomes permanent.  So if you’re learning anything new (we always should be) - do the Pre-Lab.  An inch of prep will give you miles of understanding.

Realism vs Skepticism - A Fine Line

There are a lot of startup ideas floating around.

What has been will be again,

what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

- King Solomon

Skeptics are children of doubt.  They read the news.  They’ve seen it before, and it doesn’t have a happy ending.  They’ve been let down by friends, beat down their bosses and seen their heros fall.  Every time a skeptic hurts, an emotional scar slowly forms, numbing away their ability to believe in something better.  Skeptics rarely forget.

Realists too remember the ugly parts, but they separate what happened with what could be.  Realists combine fact and experience, but believe their fate is not sealed.  Their thoughts are not mired by the sting of memories past.  Realists know they have the scars, but aren’t afraid of getting more. 

Was he a skeptic or a realist?  Something else?