I am Cyborg

cy·borg [sahy-bawrg] noun
a person whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device.

Origin: 1960–65; cyb(ernetic) org(anism)

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For a long long time I've had bad vision. I had always chalked it up to simply being my eyes, which had an horrendous amount of astigmatism.

About 14 years ago, I looked into the option of LASIK vision correction, and while I was apparently a candidate at the time, the doctor refused to preform it because, in his words, I would not be "20/20 happy." (I supplied him with a laundry list of questions about the procedure, and that must've scared him off).

In retrospect, that was a blessing in disguise because a few years later I heard a dreaded "C" word…cataract.

By definition, a cataract is the condition where the lens of your eye starts to turn cloudy, thereby blurring your vision. In extremely circumstances it can go completely opaque, effectively rendering a person blind in that eye.

While I wasn't completely blind, my vision was pretty bad. Uncorrected, it was something like 20/500+, and even with my coke bottle glasses it had devolved to a point where it could someday become a hindrance to driving.

As I haven't had vision care for a long time, surgery was out of the question. Out of pocket could be upwards of $7000, or more, per eye.

However, thanks to Obamacare, I was able to finally get my eyes taken care of. I cannot stress enough that had the president not pushed for his changes in health care, I would not have been able to do this.

(And on a side note, I find the earlier comments by opponents that there would be less choice in health care ludicrous as I see more and more advertisements on TV for health care options I've never heard of until recently.)

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I arrived at my appointment mid-morning last Friday. People asked me whether I was nervous? (How could I NOT be?!?). I said, "No." But, the truth came out when they took my blood pressure as it was all over the place. Not enough to abort the surgery. But, enough to make me take pause.

After copious amounts of eye drops, including some type of "cane" drug to numb the eye, as well as a mild sedative, it was time to wheel me into the operating room.

I was bummed that it wasn't equipped with a recording system, as my grandmother's surgery center had been. But, then I would be "the main event" so it didn't really matter.

The overhead light was all a blur. But, it kept moving all over the place and  so I eventually asked, "Have you started yet?"

Turns out he was already several minutes into the operation already when I asked.

Basically, they make a couple of small incisions in the surface of the eye and then use an ultrasonic wave to liquefy the natural lens of the eye. It's then sucked out and debris cleaned up, before the artificial lens is inserted; unfurling similarly to the solar wings on the International Space Station.

After a bit of tweaking to get the lens properly placed, they covered the eye with a shield (what you see in the photo above), and wheeled me back to the recovery room.

All told, I think I was in the operating room for 20-25 minutes. In fact, I was easily on my way home under two hours from when I first got there. Probably closer to 90 minutes!!

I had my first follow-up appointment the next morning and was shocked! I nearly aced the eye chart; missing only one letter on the 20/20 line. Granted, it wasn't crystal clear. But, it was pretty discernable.

Now, at today's second follow-up appointment, I basically slammed the 20/15 line with no problems, and my astigmatism is completely gone! Plus, I got the great comment that I healed a lot quicker than the doctor expected (which accounts for the ultra-high distance vision).

Perhaps the only downer is that I have to wait until June 13th to get my right eye fixed, and so watching TV and using the computer can be a chore at times.

I can either use my old glasses, which render my new eye a total blur, or I can use a cheap pair of reading glasses, which then totally blur out the right eye due to its astigmatism.

It's kind of strange to think that I will have a small piece of plastic in my eye for the rest of my life. But, in this day and age, where it's commonplace for people to get knees and hips replaced, why should my eye lenses be any different?

Plus, I now have the advantage that these lenses are better than the best sunglasses when it comes to blocking out harmful UV light.

About the only negative thing I will come away with is they are not multi-focal, like the natural human eye so I will be doomed to reading glasses for the rest of my life. But, that's certainly better than not being able to see.

Juicing Season One….Complete

After 23 days I have now broken my Juice Fast so that I can enjoy Christmas Eve, eating the same food as relatives when we get together.

That has always been the goal, so it's not as if I'm failing. Have to tell you though, there were times when it was a real challenge to keep going.

Over the last couple of  days I asked myself a few times if I should continue as I still need to lose a a whole bunch of weight? But, I recognized that I've been slowly burning out and the idea of continuing until February 1st (a brief pipe dream) just didn't seem realistic.

Still, I'm happy with the results. In 23 days, I've lost an estimated 30 pounds. I don't know what my blood chemistry looks like as I still need to talk my doctor into allowing me to take another battery of blood tests.

I may start up again sometime after January 1st. If not then, then definitely by March 1st. I'd like to lose another 50-70 pounds by the Summer. But, anything will be a victory.

Right now, I just have to teach myself better portion control and to keep an eye on what kind of ingredients I cook with. I've found a whole bunch of good ones on the Internet. Unfortunately, they're never single portion size!

My first official solid food since November 30th was a mixed green salad, with green onions, mushrooms, Blood Orange sections and water chestnuts. For a dressing it was Panera Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, which I got for free at Safeway. Can't beat free!!

When that first slice of water chestnut hit my tongue I thought I was in Heaven. Never underestimate the enjoyment of that crispy crunch!

A little bit later I delved into a bag of Tao Kae Noi Crispy Seaweed snacks, which I grabbed at Berkeley Bowl West the other day. So much more flavorful than normal potato chips.

While I didn't have to learn to chew again, as Joe Cross did after his 60 Day Reboot, I was extra careful not to bite my tongue by accident.

Not that I should be considering any type of juicing guru, but should people ask me for advice here's a few things I've gleaned from my juice fast.

1 – Get a really good juicer. You can buy cheap ones for about $100. But, they're a bear to clean up and wear out after extended use. I got a horizontal masticating one because I want to be able to use it for stuff beyond the juice fast. Before starting my juice fast one of the things I made was frozen banana sorbet. The texture was just as good as any fancy store bought variety.

2 – Plan on buying your produce at least a couple of times a week. When I first started I tried stretching it to a week and some of the stuff I bought had went bad. And when going shopping make sure to make yourself a shopping list. Sure enough, you'll forget something if you don't. I did a couple of times.

3 – Properly store your veggies. When you get home immediately remove the twist ties they use to bunch the leafy greens together. Additionally invest in some of those green ethylene produce storage bags. I had my doubts on them till I started using them. I had some radishes which were crispy three weeks later!

4 – Don't be afraid to try different juice combinations. Joe Cross' unwritten rule is to eat 80% veggies and 20% fruits in a day. Originally I had tried writing up a meal plan. However, it just didn't work greatly, and so I ended up adlibbing, usually with a 100% fruit juice for breakfast.

5 – You will probably eat more carrots and kale than you have ever consumed previously! At least the kale part. Kale is the main ingredient in one of Cross' most nutrient rich juices, Joe's Mean Green. Besides kale, it has cucumbers, lemon, ginger and celery. I doubled the lemon and played with the ginger to get a flavor I could drink.

Some juicers handle fruits and veggies differently. The one I bought blew me a way with the way it dealt with carrots. This was great because my favorite Go To juice was Ginger Paradise, which had carrots, ginger and apple. If I wasn't worried about burning out on it, I would have had this every day, twice a day!

6 – Get in the habit of washing your juicer immediately after use. I made it a practice of juicing, and then while the juice was sitting in the catch cup, I'd wash my juicer, scrubbing it with the big tooth brush they included so it would be clean and ready for the next meal.

7 – Don't be afraid to augment with healthy store bought juice if you must. I had issues with getting any juices that I really liked which included tomatoes. I ended up buying a bottle of Low Sodium Spicy Hot V8, and using the same glass size as I'd been juicing.

And as I pointed out, make sure to look for the low sodium variety. It slays me that they still sell the regular variety with all that salt added, when the low sodium one really tastes excellent.

8 – Don't be a scale watcher. Though it was really obvious I was losing weight quickly, I decided to only weigh myself on Sunday evening, and then wearing the exact same clothes as the week before. Seeing the scale go down 7-10 pounds in a week was a lot more exciting than seeing a one pound loss in a day.

9 – Don't buy properly fitting clothes three days before starting a juice fast. I bought some pants on Black Friday and three weeks later they're huge on me. Suppose a good problem to have.

Good luck to anyone that who takes up this type of a challenge!

Let the Juicing Begin…

A few months ago I was at the Albany Library surfing the DVD selection, hoping to find a few titles for the coming week.

Mid way through the collection I stumbled into the F titles, and amongst them was Joe Cross' Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. This 2010 documentary followed Cross as he transformed himself through a 60 Day Juice Fast.

Though it had been recommended to me a few times before, it wasn't even on my radar that day. But, once I saw the DVD jacket, something sparked me to take it home.

It's amazing what he was able to accomplish over a two month period; losing 80 pounds and kicking to the curb all sorts of medicines he was forced to take due to health ailments.

After watching the documentary I thought about it a bit, and realized it might be doable. After all, if it didn't pan out, I could always try something else. But, the most intriguing part, is that it seems nearly everyone who had attempted it, saw a tremendous weight loss, along with improvements in blood pressure and chemistry.

So, with much thought, I spent some time researching juicers. Half the enjoyment of buying a new "play toy" is the research in figuring which one to buy.

Most people who have even a general idea of what a juicer is, have probably heard of the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. It's marketed very well, and can get a person into a juicer for about $100.

While I've seen it in usage, the cleanup looked like an absolute nightmare. Plus, there was a question about its longevity after constant usage.

Cross touts juicers made by Breville. They are apparently well known with foodies and have models that fit in any budget; from the mid-$100 to $400.

In doing research I always like to check out YouTube for video reviews. There's no guarantee the reviews will be accurate. However, when there's a common thread, I take that as a good indication.

It's through videos from Discountjuicers.com that I was enlightened about the Omega Juicer line.

Omega also has models to fit in anybody's budget. However, one of the big selling points for me was that they warranty their products for 10-15 years (depending on the model). They even have some models that are commercial grade rated.

Bed, Bath and Beyond carries some of the Omega Juicers (right next to the Breville juicers, which included a free DVD of Cross' film). While not all models are available in the store, many others can be purchased from the catalog, and shipped directly to your house.

With, BB/B 20% coupon in hand (the only way to buy big ticket items there!!) I ended up ordering the Omega NC800HDS. This is one of their masticating models.

There are two types of juicers. The centrifugal style which operates at ultra high speed. It juices fast, and models are generally cheaper. But, cleanup is involved.

Then there's the masticating, which uses a relatively slow speed. Supposedly, this has the added benefit of being gentile on the juice, and so it can last up to three days before it starts to lose its nutrition value.

The model I got not only makes juice. But, it can be used for making nut butter and frozen sorbets! Before embarking on the juice fast I tried out these two features and it's amazing, especially the sorbet. Frozen chunks of organic banana were turned into something resembling soft serve ice cream in less than a minute.

I figured that these extra features will be a good use a long time after I've completed the juice fast. However, long that turns out to be. And a big benefit is that cleanup takes about two minutes!!

In preparation for the big push, I've been juicing for lunch every day for the last couple of weeks. I broke that rule for Thanksgiving, and since Turkey Day came so late this year, I also took the rest of the month off (two days).

Anyone who knows anything about my favorite foods, has to wonder how this is going to work? The thought of the next few weeks without salami, cheese and other carnivorous goodies, sends a shiver down my spine.

To prevent temptation, I used up all food in the house, except for a few condiments in the fridge, and some frozen oxtails and homemade cranberry sauce.

Another hard thing will be no caffeinated coffee! To wean myself off coffee, I bought some decaf, so that my morning cup would be 50% regular/50% unleaded. Now, I'm moving on to full decaf.

Hopefully, once that bag is gone I can skip coffee totally, though I really do like the taste of black coffee. to help, I've also picked up some flavorful herbal tea.

And what about that No Alcohol rule Robert? I love craft beer, though I don't drink it all the time due to price. Still, it's nice to grab a pint when the mood strikes. I've went cold turkey before just to challenge myself, and I survived, though Hot Buttered Rum weather is upon us!

Don't expect to see any Before and After photos purposely posted. There won't be any. Stats will probably be kept to a minimum too. It's just not stuff I feel the need to share.

This blog entry has turned out to be a lot longer than I had intended. So much, that I will consider this a "pre-amble" to the main event, which I'll start in a different blog entry; perhaps later tonight.

No need to wish me good luck. Just keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Hoping Jake's kibble doesn't drive me nuts at feeding time. It's made with real herring, after all.

Leaves of Three, Let them Be!!

Photo: Franco Folini

Today I was riding along Pierce Street, at the base of Albany Hill. Amongst the Eucalyptus trees was some guy collecting small branches and twigs. For what I don't know.

I remarked to my sister that I wondered if the guy knew he was near several patches of Poison Oak?

Over the past few months, the annual Poison Oak crop has returned. At first, it was a nice shiny green color. However, as the temperatures have risen, and there's been less rain, it has started to dry out and turn a vibrant reddish color.

Every year the patches seem to creep closer and closer to the Pierce Street sidewalk, within arms length of unsuspecting pedestrians.

For those that don't know what Poison Oak looks like, it has three leaves, similarly shaped like Oak leafs (hence the name). The stem has no thorns. It usually grows in small bushes that spread across the ground. However, it has been known to climb up into trees too.

Photographer Hans Kellner has put together a web gallery showing several good examples of what it looks like.

The easiest way to stay safe is to remember the old adage, Leaves of Three, Let it be!

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Tolerances very from person to person. Some people are lucky enough to be immune. My great-grandfather one time picked a bouquet of this beautiful wild plant he found to take home and give to someone. He couldn't figure out why everyone on the street car was giving him a very wide birth as he got on and found a seat.

Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky. My father was the extreme opposite. Allergic, to the point that, as a kid, his eyes swelled shut, his face puffed up and he was forced to drink soup through a straw anytime it was meal time.

And just because you don't get it the first time you encounter the plant, don't assume you're set for life. I've was pretty lucky for the longest time, especially when in Boy Scouts. Then, sometime in high school, my immunity weakened and I had a reaction.

While it was mild, it reminded me that you always need to give the plant a good healthy respect.

Should you find yourself a bit itchy after returning from your outing, whatever you do DON'T SCRATCH!! No matter how much it feels good. It's through the scratching that the Poison Oak oil is spread across the skin. And if you should break the skin, it can get nasty and infected.

For those brave enough, or who are not currently eating, here are some photos of reactions, including some that are pretty extreme.

Chances are that should you catch it, your case won't be anywhere near the worst examples, and it will clear up in only a few days.

If you find yourself in need of some quick relief, you can make a thin paste of baking soda, so even a solution of good old fashioned vinegar mixed with water, will help.

When I was growing up, one of the go-to lotions was Calamine. It looked awful, because it left you with a white paste look wherever you applied it. But, it felt so good!

Should you find yourself in need of drugs, the pill form of Benadryl, usually knocks down the urge to scratch. However, do NOT use the Benadryl lotion. If you do, you might find yourself with a reaction of some sort that's just as bad as the Poison Oak you're trying to combat.

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On the small chance Poison Oak makes itself to your landscaping, one of the simplest was to get rid of it, is by manually going at it with a hoe and pulling it out.

There are also poisons that can be used to kill the plant. But, a organic option would be to find yourself a goat! It turns out that the goats will munch away on the stuff, and never get sick. Nor will the poison make itself into their milk, should they be dairy goats.

Just make sure you are very careful around your furry friends, should be exposed to the bushes, as the oil will be picked up by their fur.