Starting Personal Statistics for 2008

Jan 1, 2008 at 7:51 AM
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Just for the record, at the start of this new year:

My weight is 235 (too high, but it is what it is) (However, it "ought" to be below 190!)
My blood glucose reading is 165 (that is also too high; now they like it below 100).
My blood pressure is 146/99 (and that is too high, but at the gym it is always lower than that!)
My pulse beat is 72, but irregular. (The average for an adult is also 72--60 to 100 range) so that is okay).
My nose is runny (and has been for a couple months)
I have ringing in my ears (tinnitus)
My feet tingle (peripheral nerve damage)
My vision is a little sort of foggy (diabetic effect?)
My memory, especially for names, is terrible!
I have the same chronic headache that I have had for decades!
It is pretty hard to walk up and downstairs, as it has been since I broke my leg a couple years ago)
I'm taking 13 pills a day!

On the brighter side:

My house is paid for
We have two cars, both of which run well
My total investment portfolio, upon which I depend for retirement income, adds up to $946,000. That ought to last me for a few years, although a friend in a nursing home is paying $8,000 month for care!). Anyhow, my impression is that many people at or nearing retirement are worse off than that!
I do have a really great wife, who made us a fine breakfast this morning.

Out there in the world, there is rioting in Pakistan and Kenya today. Public figures were shot last night in Sudan and Sri Lanka. What with a variety of dangerous global circumstances, the Doomsday Clock stands at five minutes to midnight.

I'm not sure about the U.S., I don't think there is a U.S. doom clock, but for sure we have a bunch of major economic, political, social, technological and ethical problems. This is a country where major bridges, on major roads, in big cities, can just fall down! Where about 46 million people lack health insurance! The federal deficit is--well it is enormous, really really really big! We as a country are spending a lot for things without being willing to pay enough taxes to provide them, and of course we are spending a lot of money on the wrong things. Including, in my mind at least, a very costly (n blood and dollars) war in Iraq which is where the international terrorists who actually may pose a threat to the U.S. are not hiding and plotting.

So, there are a lot of things to think about in assessing how things are right now, from the personal to the planetary. I'm not sure how to sum it up.

However, it does pay to remember that (a) the isn't supposed to be paradise, and it isn't; and (b) for all its flaws, Earth--the third rock from the sun--still is the garden spot of the known universe.

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I have a friend who will be retiring in a few months. He will be 60 years old. He really hates working and he went to a Financial Advisor who said "yes, you can retire at 60 as long as you are dead by 70"..... because the money will not last any longer than that.

It is sort of scary to think about how much one might need as we all live longer.

I look forward to your travel photos for many years to come.

"same chronic headache".....I had that problem too. Until the situation I described in my blog yesterday...and after he prescribed the Allegra, it disappeared. I have been basically headache free since April!

Have a Happy Happy New Year! Your plans sound like so much fun.

Thank you. I do want to travel, and to take photos, and I will be delighted to have you see them! I don't try very hard to be a really good photographer, and now I mostly use my iPhone. But I like to take the pictures, and some of them do turn out well.

Yes, the money thing is scary, but at the same time, with a fair amount of savings, and with a kind of modest life expectancy, probably it will all work out okay... ;)

Starting Personal Statistics for 2008

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