Olympics, Doglympics, and a Quirk

Like most people, I’ve watched highlights of Summer Olympics. Sometimes I gasp at the feats of the gymnasts. How do they do those things?

Charlie is athletic, although he is not trained enough to win in the Doglympics. His specialty is running. He can also jump very well, albeit sometimes recklessly. He makes up for his lack of training by being very social.

I did not watch the Olympics on television but watched short videos on the Internet. Here is a quirk about me: I don’t like television. I haven’t turned it on in over a year and I suspect that the battery in the remote had died by now. I have nothing against entertainment; it’s just that when I was married, the television was on just almost all the time and I got sick of hearing it, especially since so much of it was the same thing over and over.

I do keep up with the news on the radio and online. I have apps for NPR and Reuters, as well as weather programs. I subscribe to the Washington Post online, partly because it seems important to financially support at least one newspaper. I listen to music on the radio, and I borrow CDs from the library to round out my own collection. I suppose CDs are old-fashioned now, but music over the Internet sounds tinny to me. 

I may as well give quick health updates. My vision has not cleared up yet, but it can take a week or so, or I might have to get a different injection. I had the infected tooth pulled and took antibiotics. I hoped that would help clear up my sinus infection, but it hasn’t. I quit physical therapy because it kept making my back hurt and they were limited by what insurance would allow. I don’t think my balance improved. I still suffer from extreme fatigue, but it’s hard to tell how much of that is due to the dog waking me up before dawn. I try going to bed earlier, but then I toss and turn. My plan now is to stop consuming caffeine at 2 PM instead of 3 PM to see if that helps me sleep. I’m sensitive to so many things, it’s ridiculous. And don’t get me started on allergies.

But the amount of medical knowledge is said to double every 73 days. That means that things that are a mystery to us now may be known a few months from now. The trick is keeping up with what’s new. Chances are that a doctor who actually treats patients does not have time to read all the new research. Thus it behooves us to try to keep up with news on our own conditions. This is complicated by all the fake news and rumors on social media, and the misinterpretations that we see on regular media. Frankly, some reporters don’t understand what they’re writing about. Still, I am hopeful. Seventy-three days… and it’s exponential. Amazing.