Wednesday – Hump Day

SO.. in trying to restore some semblance of sanity in my life I opted to meet my friends  Jeff and Sebastian on their weekly climb up Camels Hump on the Huntington side. . We met at the parking lot of the Burroughs Trail just before 6 AM. It was about 15 degrees with a light dusting of snow. We headed up the trail with headlamps blazing. The trail was well packed, so we didn’t  need snowshoes, we all had crampons. Sebastian and I had poles. . We didn’t actually try to get to the top .. our goal was to go up just over an hour, then back down.. We kept up a good piece for geezer-class walkers.. Enough to break a sweat, but not breathing too hard to talk. in  It was so beautiful.. and so quiet.. well.. actually not that quiet because we talked the whole time. Work topics were off limits, so we stuck to family, mutual friends and our towns.. more than enough for  two hours

The time to turnaorund came so fast.. I couldn’t beleive it had been an hour.. I took a samstone out of my pocket.. and placed it in the snow as a marker of how far we’d come…

I also noticed at that moment that my real camera had fallen out of my pocket and was now under a foot or so of snow somewhere on the trail.. *sigh*..

We turned around and took off down the hill. Going down was faster.. but a little more treacherous. We made the car in just about 50 minutes

I was home and showering b 8:30.. On my first call at 9.. I was relaxed and refreshed unitl about 9:15  At least that first 15 minutes was fabulous.. I had a completely different outlook on my work 🙂

nite all, nite sam

-me

Tuesday night – loosing my bearings

1 Comment

It’s funny how the world sometimes chooses to send you a message.. I’v e been running at about 130 % the last two weeks,. .. I’ve had very little time to play, invent, socialize., sleep or just chill. Last night my head almost exploded from too  much stuff..

In the midst of  that.. both of our cars decided to ask for major repairs.. both were running roughly and making lots of noise

Both required new right front wheel bearings.. could it be any clearer ?

I’ve lost my bearings..

I’m in bearing straights

… time for a tune up 🙂

nite all, note Sam

-me

Monday night – this little piggy

1 Comment

What was I thinking ?!?

I went running this morning in my five fingers ‘barefoot’ shoes.. it was about 16 degrees out.. which isn’t really cold for this time of year.. I tried to run the trail, but the snow concealed a deep layer of pitted ice that was too treacherous.. because the snow concealed the terrain.. both the dogs and I gave up on that pretty quickly.. So we opted for a road run.. It wasn’t that cold or uncomfortable. to me.. but the dogs seemed to be having trouble with it. I turned around to find Chai running behind me alternately lifting her back paws to keep them off the road, so I turned around.. My feet were cold.. but.. my feet are always cold.. I got home, took off my shes and hit the shower.. it was then I realized I might have done something stupid. The forth toe on both of my feet (the one that ‘had none’ in the this little piggy chant).. was numb.. .. as the warm water thawed them out they began to ache like crazy.. .. That usually happens when my feet or fingers thaw.. but this time, it didn’t go away.. long story short, I think I frostbit both of them.. . I’ve done it before.. and that makes it easier to happen again..It’s now about 7PM and they still hurt.. .. but. in a good way. . they are rosy and pink.. no signs of real damage..

but.. I just want to say publicly…

I’m a moron….

Hope youre tootsie are nice an warm

nite folks, nite sam

-me

I’m sitting in the Philly airport on my way home from a quick and interesting trip to CES in Las Vegas. As interesting as they were, the meetings and the conference  both had a funny effect on me. As I wrote last night, I came away with the feeling that there’s just to much ‘stuff’ in the world. I  just can’t get in to making more. My heart is really in to trying to use technology for good.. . I wish I had a better idea on how to make that happen more directly.. I think it will come to me … just not sure how or when

Not much new to report today.. woke up early, ate my ethopian leftovers for breakfast and went for a nice run. Then packed and left for the airport. My heartfelt thanks to friends J and M  for the use of their lovely home as a roost.  The trip home has been uneventful.. got lots of work done. kind of regretting the lack of a weekend this week.. but that’s life.

Two things I want to pass on.. first, The Houston Chronicle ran this article on my Baby Bro – Billy just before Christmas. I’m sure proud of that boy !

11 for ’11: Dr. Billy Cohn on the human heart

During the holiday season I’ve invited 11 of the greater Houston area’s top scientific minds to share a few words on something — a trend, a discovery or an insight — in their field that excites them as they look ahead to the next few years. A new entry in the 11 for ’11 series will be published each morning.

Today’s insight comes from Dr. William E. “Billy” Cohn, a surgeon and researcher at the Texas Heart Institute.

I am a cardiac surgeon at the Texas Heart Institute where I work on the surgical heart failure service with Dr. O. H. Frazier. I have a passion for medical device innovation and, as such, have been closely involved in the rapidly advancing field of mechanical circulatory support.

The field is focused on a new class of turbine-like blood pumps that can be implanted in patients who have advanced heart failure and are facing imminent death. These pumps assist the failing heart, restoring blood flow to the body and returning most of these gravely ill patients to a full and active lifestyle.

It is amazing to see these pumps, most of which were first tested and implanted at our hospital, evolve from highly experimental devices to routine tools in the battle against heart failure–all within the last decade. They are now implanted routinely at hundreds of hospitals across the country. (Recently, one was implanted in a former vice-president.)

Also, friend Mary sent this link to a video made by IBM interns that work with her daughter. Nice !

Looks like we’re boarding.. gotta go. More tomorrow

nite all, nite sam

-me