Tag: life

I Know, I’m Surprised, Too

On By JohnIn healthLeave a comment

There was an old Nike ad years ago: I’m not a runner…

…yet.

I resumed running on about 3 January. About a year after the fall and a stroke. And on the tail end of the infection issue… and a collapsed lung.

I was completely sedentary for the year.

Recovering.

Existing, really.

So, I began walking.

Not very far. I couldn’t even walk much more than a few hundred yards (!) at first.

I’m far too narrow-minded to just hobble along. I wanted to do more.

After a few weeks, I found that I could walk a bit further. I could go half mile then found that I could even jog for very short bursts along that half mile walk.

Re-learn how to walk before you can re-learn how to run.

After a few more months, I was able to jog more than walk. Very, very slowly. And only 10 or 15 minutes or so. Maybe a kilometer. I’m sure it seemed peculiar to the neighbors to see an old guy out at odd hours ambulating around the neighborhood.

I eventually went further and faster than my wife could keep up. So, I made sure that her bicycle was in sufficient shape to travel along with me. She could go with me occasionally when I was out for a run.

I’d posted a few months later that I was going to do a 5k. Okay, fine. Did that. It wasn’t meant to be a metric of speed to compare to anyone else. But a metric of completion.

Fast-forward a few months…

I still run. In fact, now I run a 5k regularly, two or three times per week.

My determination to move, to do more than just exist, has gone a long way toward recovery and improving my overall health.

  • My endurance is improved.
  • My resting and peak heart-rates are improved.
  • My mental focus is improved.
  • My stress is decreased.
  • My fatigue is decreased.
  • I no longer feel consistently “drunk” all the time.
  • I no longer have diplopia.
  • I no longer have migraines.

I am not a physician. Do not expect that running or exercise is going to fix anything and everything for you. Consult your doctor. Seriously. But do not give up and accept defeat.

On each Tuesday and Thursday morning, I run a 5k. On Saturdays, I run a bit further. It seems that over a few months, that Saturday run has grown to a 10k.

Besides, I have a run that I need to prepare meself for next May.

And then another in October.

Random Tech

On By JohnIn amusing, techLeave a comment

Apropos to, well, nothing.

There’s a more effective regex you could use.

c=abcdefg; egrep -i “^[$c]{2,${#c}}$” dictionarylist

Another random bit of randomness, while I hammered out that example var, the only thing I could think of was that maddening commercial from the 1970s for Hooked on Phonics. How did they start off? Weren’t they some over-energetic woman doing a voice-over at the beginning of the commercial starting with the borderline, somewhat musical, “Learn to read!”

Great campaign, really. Memorable.

But wouldn’t it seem strange that your telephone number still said “One Eight-hundred A-B-C-D-E-F-G!” — so, you have to understand letters and reading well-enough to, you know, learn to read?

Yep, Hukt On Fonix werkt fer me!

Install Flash Player?

On By JohnIn techLeave a comment

Uh, no.

Especially won’t do it because you’ve said it not once, not twice, not three times… but four effing times. And, there’s a clear flaw on what would have been a simplistic page itself.

So, no. I won’t be installing it.

And I’m quite pleased with the fact that the now default security policy is to not just run anything from anywhere.

We don’t need no stinking maps!

On By JohnIn education, lifeLeave a comment

It’s comforting to have a figurative road map to guide your way in life.

Perhaps it outlines certain things you must do. Maybe a list of things that indicate success and clearly guide the way to the next step. Achievements to be made. By when.

But do you want to grow?

To really grow?

Step outside of your comfort zone. Well-outside of it. Leave nothing behind to which you can cling assuring you of a safe place to return.

It’s entirely possible that you’ll find that you’ve stepped so far beyond your own comfort zone that no map or process in the world can guide you.

And that’s good. Excellent, actually.

You’ll be defining your own processes and maps to let other people find their way to you.

With certainty, this isn’t for everyone.

But for some, it’s necessary. It’s critical to their growth. And when those few grow, it will help society and culture to find their way.