Compelling Coronavirus Coverage from RadioLab

RadioLab has been running a series on the Coronavirus that's been very compelling, especially the latest one:

Dr. Tatiana Prowell of Johns Hopkins

The interview with Dr. Prowell is extraordinary! It's in the latest episode, Dispatch 3, about 1/2 way through the episode (though the whole episode is worthwhile, as is all Radiolab content!)

The idea she's discussing is plasma donation from those have recovered from coronavirus to treat the currently infected!

Fascinating and hopeful!

My latest afib (and general health) regimen

A couple of years ago I gave the list of supplements I was taking to keep afib under control.

One I was taking then:

This became unavailable for quite a while so I substituted copper and zinc, two minerals it includes. I get enough calcium, vitamin D and magnesium from other sources, food and supplement-wise.

Then finally Twinlab got its production back on line and I got a bottle ... but:

I had a relatively mild episode, fortunately, but I wondered WTF and through a tiny bit of research found this:

High Levels of Calcium Interfere With Potassium Uptake In Cells

Harrumph. So the Tri-Boron Plus went back on the shelf.

So now my regimen (no more afib episodes and no cold since the one I had in March 2019):

• Biocardiozyme Forte 4 per day    Biotin Research -- only officially available through a local provider
• Potassium 99mg   6 per day  Vitamin Shoppe
• Magnesium 400mg 2 per day Nature Made via Costco
• Vitamin D   1000iu  4 per day Nature Made via Costco
• Vitamin C  1 gram 1 x per day though considering going to 2-3 grams
• Kelp 600mcg iodine or so per day, split into 2 doses
• Selenium 200mcg 
• Copper + Zinc 1 tab per day 

And I'm working from home and mostly staying home keeping the Other Thing at bay:

Be well!

Coronavirus yields skipped card payments ... but you have to call and ask!

A recent article in the New York Times mentions some banks waiving payment penalties (some even skipping interest charges) in the wake of the coronavirus.

The waivers:

• Goldman Sachs with its Apple Card and Marcus loans
• Capital One
• American Express

Still charges interest but allows you to skip a payment:

• Discover

You pretty much have to call them all to get this. I got ahold of Capital One, American Express and Discover all this evening (Saturday) ... American Express said a late fee ding would appear in the account but would be removed within 7 days. Discover did mention that they continue to charge interest, and I got Capital One in only about 10 minutes after failing the last couple of days, but they just moved my existing payment from April 4 to May 4. Wahoo!

Let's all keep washing our hands!

Atul Gawande on the end of life

I have been reading Atul Gawande in the New Yorker for years, but this is the first book of his that I read:

It was terrific!

I'm still young enough that I hadn't thought much about the issues he brings up:

• Nursing homes and why they're generally awful
• Assisted living's initial promise and how it's been adulterated
• What happens when you add animals to an elder-care facility
• How his grandfather lived to 110 without any of US-style elder care
• Why everyone is different in choosing what a desirable end of life is

Recommended to anybody who's mortal ... i.e. all of us! Five stars!

Dylan Ratigan bitten by a tick, alas

I heard about the tick-borne meat allergy on this podcast:

I heard another podcast episode, Truth or Skepticism, with Tom Sosnoff and Dylan Ratigan, where Ratigan reports the meat allergy after having been bitten by the lone star tick.

The tick in question:

If you get bitten by one of these, you're then restricted to fish, chicken and Impossible meats. Beware!

Scott Adams' Memoir; I just reread this on my Ipad ...

I was out of reading material and started rereading this one from Scott Adams:

I quite enjoyed it and it spoke to me at this stage of my life. I just came up with a trading strategy, I think, that will solve my current family set of financial problems.

His story is very interesting:

• How he decided to move to California from upstate New York
• The idea for Dilbert and its background
• Some physical challenges he's faced and mostly overcome
• Some other business ventures he's tried, including the Dilberito vegan burrito
• His use of affirmations, which he says works for him though he doesn't think it's "magic"

And more ... I think it's well worth reading for anyone, but especially younger people. Four stars!

New consumer item coming: hydrogen stove?

Climate change is getting serious enough that some municipalities around the U.S. are looking to start banning natural gas. But since many cooks prefer cooking with flame, what about hydrogen as a cooking fuel?

YouTube is full of demos:




And a bit off topic: this guy recommends drinking hydrogen-rich water!


 There are some stoves advertised  ... and a system described to bring to poor countries in place of carboniferous alternatives.

Finally, Leeds in the UK is looking to be the first in the world to convert a whole region and then the whole UK from natural gas to hydrogen.