Don't feel good today at all...
Posted on 2007-05-14 at 08:22
...so why am I still going into work?
Eat, Drink, Be Merry, Live Long, and Prosper!
Posted on 2007-05-02 at 21:27
Old news: Calorie restriction has a serious positive life-extending effect.
New news: We've isolated the gene responsible for this anomaly.
In short (for those too lazy to read the article), it appears that with some further study we may be able to invoke this longevity gene effect without the need to eat like a bird. I'm pleased and you should be too...unless you are a worshipper of a death cult, in which case you scare me and I hope I do not anger you, my creepy friend.
Only down side: Bryan, too, will benefit from this technology. Well, the bright side is that it gives me more time to plot his painful and humiliating demise.
The hand of death creeps
Posted on 2007-03-05 at 08:47
So, last week I had some flu that put me down, then my wife got ill, then cadence got ill, the I had eye surgery, then I got better, then Cadence got better, then Denise got better, then Friday afternoon, I got ill again (stomach bug), then it goes away by Sunday only to have me with a sore throat Sunday night and this morning.
Damn you Bryan! You've poisoned me, haven't you?!? What is it? Polonium? Cianide? Crack and Tide? I hate you!
If I should die in the next week or so, let it be known that I point my (middle) finger Bryan-ward It was him. I know it. He did this to me---may he rot in that special hell reserved for child molesters and people who talk in the theater.
I was blind but now I see
Posted on 2007-02-27 at 08:18
So, I got the Bzzt Bzzt treatment in my eyeballs. Life is clearer now. Of course, it would've been a more pleasant experience had I chosen to do it on a weekend (I got it done on Friday) when I wasn't also sick...and when Denise wasn't also sick...and Cadence wasn't also sick.
Basically, I waited til the house was a festering pit of germy grossness and then got elective surgery on my eyes. Not brilliant, but not disastrous either. Even with that being the case, I am incredibly happy with the results.
My vision was corrected to 20/30 (my left eye is just weak and can't be corrected to better then that). I can see far away and up close, though I'm having to re-learn how to focus up close. Right now I get head aches if I read too long. In the past, my eyes naturally focused up close for me, with my new corrected vision, i have to do the work myself, like a normal person. It's interested how that can be taxing. It's getting better every day, though, and my eyesight is GREAT!
Shameless plug: If you want it done, I can highly recommend Lasik Plus. Tell them I referred you so I can get a little kick back. :)
Relax. Don't Think. Enjoy.
Posted on 2007-01-13 at 20:38
Click play. You're welcome.
Nanoparticle Cancer Therapy
Posted on 2007-01-10 at 08:28
I saw this a week or two ago, and intended to blog about it but forgot. I just saw it hitting more mainstream news and figured for those of you who hadn't yet heard....
Researchers are moving into animal trials with an exciting new cancer treatment. Using hollow nanoparticles that are injected into the body, they have shown in early tests that the nanoparticles will travel the circulatory system and target the blood vessels that feed tumors---effectively cutting the blood supply to the tumor.
Two huge positives fall from this effect. First, constricting the blood supply of a tumor reduces its efficacy and could eliminate it in many cases, and second, becuase the nanoparticles are hollow and so effective at targeting tumors, they can be used to deliver highly specific chemotherapy cocktials to the tumor directly. Currently, though chemotherapy is often effective, it's essentially a form of carpet-bombing the body in the hopes that the cancer dies before the host. Using this technique, the host is minimally affected by the chemotherapy.
So, if you were planning on picking up some cancer sometime soon, I'd highly recommend that you wait about 10 years. I give it that long before our understanding of cancer treatment is revised entirely.
I, personally, have forbidden my family from getting any form of cancer until this treatment hits the streets.
A Cure for Diabetes? Sweet!
Posted on 2006-12-16 at 21:24
Exerted from an article on a breakthrough discovery about diabetes:
Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.
Seriously, you guys thought I was kidding about living forever but every day brings me one discovery closer to my goal. No, I don't have diabetes, but every medical issue cured/resolved is one less to worry about in my future. On my eleventy-first birthday, I'll have a special surprise for you all.
Tom, when is the future?
Posted on 2006-12-14 at 07:57
The Future? Why that would be now, my fine reader.
waiting for you to read the linked article....
For those too lazy to click the link, I'll offer some juicy snippets:
"It was the world's first purely electronic communication from brain to brain, and therefore the basis for thought communication."
"At the moment there is an implant that can be pushed right into the middle of the brain - in the subthalamic nucleus is one potential area - and it provides a stimulation that counteracts the tremor effects of Parkinson's Disease to the extent that many patients can lead a normal life, and so they leave the implant switched on all the time."
"One of them that is now ongoing is culturing neural networks - that is actually growing artificial brains from biological tissue - and we're working on that to control a little robot. So rather than have a robot controlled by a computer brain, the robot will be controlled by a biological brain."
So, the natural follow up question is can you define "Human"? How might your definition be altered or attacked in a future where the biological, the mechanical, and the electrical mashup into an indistinct glob? How much of the brain can be replaced before you will consider the person affected non-human? Does your definition of "Human" distinguish humanity in that way? If a being encapsulates a human brain and organs, but was built from the ground up mechanistically rather than organically is that being a human, a robot, or neither?
Bronchitis
Posted on 2006-11-13 at 09:00
So, a week and a half ago, I got a cold. No big. I got over it...mostly. Took a day off, rested, moaned, etc.... By the end of that week I was fine. Following week I went to work every day, had the sniffles left over, nothing much else. The cold was going away and I was all good.
Then Friday afternoon hit.
The sniffling came back hard. The coughing turned ugly. The lungs felt heavy. By Friday evening I knew something went horribly awry. Saturday morning, I went to the doctor. Some bloodwork and chest x-rays later, and I had Brochitis. Boooooo!
By Saturday afternoon I was on Zithromax (a 5-day antibiotic). By Sunday I felt better. Today (Monday), I feel a lot better. Still coughing and sniffling, but it's better now. Hopefully within a day or so I'll see a full recovery. God bless modern medicine.
Are you tone deaf?
Posted on 2006-11-13 at 08:54
Test the quality of your musical ear. I scored a 72.2%. The scale is as follows:
Greater than 90%: World Class Musical Ability
Greater than 75%: Excellent Musical Ability
Greater than 60%: Good Musical Ability
Less than 50%: You may have a Pitch PErception Issue
It takes about 5 minutes or so. It was fun. Now you try.
More about how I will live forever
Posted on 2006-11-01 at 14:50
Resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine among other places, has been shown in controlled experiments to prevent many of the negative effects of poor diet.
It has been proved that the chemical is linked in mammals (mice in the experiments) to decreased glucose levels (helping to prevent diabetes) and healthier hearts and liver tissue (with positive effects on cholesterol).
Moreover, the chemical has been shown to increase the life expectancy of obese mice by 31%, bringing them in line with mice who've eaten a healthy diet.
Prior research into this chemical links it to increased life expectancies in general. It has granted abnormal lifespans to everything from yeast to worms to fish...and now to mice.
The next phase will include limited and tightly controlled human trials. This is not a panacea but it is a good reason to be hopeful.
See you all on my 768th birthday!
I've removed the October pink coloring
Posted on 2006-11-01 at 07:01
James should be happy now.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Posted on 2006-10-02 at 09:32
For those reading this blog by way of the feed, you will have not noticed that the site is now a (not so) pretty pink color. This entry (which will show up on the feed) is for you.
This is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. I know some of you will point out that there exists no National Prostate Cancer Awareness month, but you should be thankful. I mean, what color would my site be then? Either way, whether it's the breast cancer research, prostate cancer research, or the research of your choice, you should consider giving a small donation. It's tax deductable and you can give as little as $20.00. For the price of a dinner out with the spouse (or a lunch out by yourself if Work Brian is picking the location!) you can make a difference. The National Cancer Society takes donations for many types of cancer research (and you can specify which type you want to support). Seriously. Do it. It'll take a couple of minutes. Cancer is not a nice end to a full life. It's a messy and often abrupt end to a life that wasn't done. This is something we, as a species, need to eradicate. Let's give it a shot. In a decade when the cure rolls out, you can say you helped.
The shameless guilting is complete. We now return you to our regularly scheduled blog. Other than the pink motif and the top blurb, I don't intend to mention this again.
My inevitable march toward immortality continues
Posted on 2006-09-11 at 08:50
According to several sources online scientists in Britain have just announced substantial success in eliminating allergies from our lives.
They state that within 5 to 7 years that food allergies, hayfever, and the like could likely be eradicated. They have discovered that we are not allergic to the entire food or pollen grain but rather to certain proteins that are just a small part of them. They have identified these proteins and they are already testing a vaccine on humans. This is not an allergy shot as you may have experienced or heard of. Rather than being designed to get your body accustomed to the foreign substance over time through exposure, this method will eliminate your bodies need to attack said foreign substance.
Note that this has application in eliminating Asthma as well.
I'm achieving immortality one health discovery at a time.
Hydra Biosciences working on organs that can regenerate themselves
Posted on 2006-05-11 at 08:32
"Although doctors may someday heal weakened body parts by infusing them with stem cells that develop into specialized tissues, coaxing the body’s own cells to become self-repairing would be an even bigger biological coup. What if we could simply prompt damaged organs to repair themselves?"
If you share my obsession with living forever, you can read the rest of the article now.
Imagine how many of those little guys we can save!
Posted on 2006-05-09 at 07:33
Cancer researchers at Wake Forest University have successfully cured cancer in mice. See the original research, the peer reviewed article, and a local news story on the event.
In short, researchers found a single mouse who resisted all the cancers thrown at it in a lab. They extracted purified immune cells (white blood cells) from that mouse and injected it into the system of other mice of the same strain. Those mice saw their various (not just a single type!) cancers disappear. They tried the same on a normal mouse (i.e., one not from the same strain) and sure enough, the same effect! Cancer goes away. They tried it first by injecting the SR/CR immune cells with the cancer cells, then they put the cancer cells in first and let them grow and added the SR/CR immune cells to the cancerous region, then they put the cancers cells in first and let them grow and added the SR/CR immune cells to a different region to see if they would seek out and find the cancer on their own. In each case, the SR/CR immune cells found and destroys the extant cancerous cells.
As with many of the medical breakthroughs I mention on my blog, human trials are not around the corner just yet, but neither are they a century away. This, along with all the other work done in the field of cancer and heart health research adds up to my living forever. FYI, it also means you might as well.
Mutations affecting the lamin A protein and the aging process
Posted on 2006-04-28 at 07:56
According to two researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland (Tom Misteli and Paola Scaffidi) in an article they wrote for the journal Science (Scaffidi P. & Misteli T. . Sciencexpress, 10.1126/science.1127168 (2006).), the nuclei of cells taken from the elderly tend to be wrinkled. The DNA accumulates damage, and the levels of some proteins that package up DNA deviate from the norm of youth. This mirrors the same changes that have been previously observed in cells from children who suffer from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.
In short, this is caused by a mutation in the healthy formation of our lamin A protein (one of the components of the nucleus and nucleus wall).
Why should you care?
Well, that same pair of researchers say that healthy cells always produce trace amounts of aberrant lamin A protein, but that younger cells regularly eliminate the aberration. Elderly cells don't. When the production of this aberration is blocked, the cell shows none of these nucleus mutations. In other words, the cells can correct themselves if given normal lamin A protein instead of the aberration. We can make old cells young again.
The next step in this research is to develop a drug to assist the body with fighting aberrant lamin A protein and testing with animals. We are a ways off from a human trial of such a drug, but we are talking years not centuries. I can wait.
To what extent is our Will free?
Posted on 2006-04-27 at 07:53
Brought up in a discussion on slashdot:
Jose M.R. Delgado, M.D. published Physical Control of the Mind: Toward a Psychocivilized Society. From that book, he states:
ESB [electrical stimulation of the brain -- JAB] may evoke more elaborate responses. For example, in one of our patients, electrical stimulation of the rostral part of the internal capsule produced head turning and slow displacement of the body to either side with a well-oriented and apparently normal sequence, as if the patient were looking for something. This stimulation was repeated six times on two different days with comparable results. The interesting fact was that the patient considered the evoked activity spontaneous and always offered a reasonable explanation for it. When asked, "What are you doing?" the answers were, "I am looking for my slippers," "I heard a noise," "I am restless," and "I was looking under the bed." In this case it was difficult to ascertain whether the stimulation had evoked a movement which the patient tried to justify, or if an hallucination had been elicited which subsequently induced the patient to move and to explore the surroundings.
Consider also Richard Dawkins' The Extended Phenotype (in the chapter titled "Host Phenotypes of Parasite Genes"):
Many fascinating examples of parasites manipulating the behavior of their hosts can be given. For nematomorph larvae, who need to break out of their insect hosts and get into water where they live as adults, '...a major difficulty in the parasite's life is the return to water. It is, therefore, of particular interest that the parasite appears to affect the behavior of its host, and "encourages" it to return to water. The mechanism by which this is achieved is obscure, but there are sufficient isolated reports to certify that the parasite does influence its host, and often suicidally for the host... One of the more dramatic reports describes an infected bee flying over a pool and, when about six feet over it, diving straight into the water. Immediately on impact the gordian worm burst out and swam into the water, the maimed bee being left to die' (Croll 1966).
Wanna lose a leg? You aren't alone.
Posted on 2006-04-07 at 08:35
Body Integrity Identity Disorder is a malady that causes the sufferer to desire to loss of one of more of him own limbs. Though uncommon, it's not unheard of to voluntarily amputate one's own limbs to achieve "the body you were meant to have".
I'd throw a Darwinian insult here if the reality weren't so pathetic. I guess there is an illness for just about everything.
I've got the body rot!
Posted on 2006-03-01 at 14:40
I've come down with that flu thing that my daughter had. That's why I ain't blogging right now. I'll blog more when I can breath through my nose and when my fingertips don't ache from typing.
But just a quick sidenote: I know she's 18 months old, but damn, seriously, it should be biult into the human genome that you don't cough into someone else's mouth! I mean, come on! WTF?!? I'm not asking that she cover her mouth properly yet or anything, but coughing into another person's mouth is totally unacceptable! We'll be working on with some urgency over the next few days.
Now back to my death bed, I crawl.
McDonald's Fries Are More Unhealthy Than Previously Accepted
Posted on 2006-02-09 at 08:30
According the Associated Press, McDonald's has changed to a newer and more accurate nutritional testing method that yielded surprising results about their fries. The new tests showed that McDonald's fries contain a third more trans fats than previous estimates.
How much fat does an order of large fries contain? 30 grams (up from the previous estimate of 25), of which 8 grams (up from the previous estimate of 6) are trans fat, believed to be the worst type of fat for heart disease and other arterial problems. This means that when you eat a large order of fries from McDonalds, you are ingesting the equivalent of a shotglass of pure, greasy fat.
McDonald's nutritional information is posted on their web site (where you can see the new values for French Fries) and it is of note that McDonald's menu is diverse and offers healthier alternatives. Additionally, though there existed some external pressure, McDonald's did release the results voluntarily as part of their ongoing project to make the nutritional data available to their patrons.
After the annoucement, McDonald's shares rose 17 cents to close at $36.36 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Say wha?!?
Eat up, America.
It calls to me
Posted on 2006-01-23 at 09:28
Must...have...Starbuck's Soy Hot Chocolate.
Word of the Day: Mesothelioma
Posted on 2006-01-17 at 08:15
Mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer, usually associated with previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant (cancerous) cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart).
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products.
Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and cachexia, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.
These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions.
In the United States, the average mesothelioma-related settlement was $1 million; for cases that go to trial awards averaged $6 million, according to a study by the RAND Corporation. Only a small fraction of the thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits in the United States every year are related to mesothelioma. In 2004, a bill in the United States Senate aimed a asbestos litigation reform failed to reach a floor vote. In January of 2005, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter announced he would again try to pass an asbestos litigation reform bill.
A separate bill introduced on March 17, 2005, the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005 (FAIR act of 2005), seeks to ensure a set amount of compensation dependent on the symptoms of the victim. The range is from Medical Monitoring for victims with Asbestosis or Pleural Disease to $35,000 for victims with Mixed Disease With Impairment all the way to over $1,000,000 for Mesothelioma victims and nonsmoking Lung Cancer victims.
The above data regarding Mesothelioma was gleaned mostly from the wikipedia. Learn to love the LazyWeb. And before the rumors begin a-flying, the answer is "no". I do not have or know anyone who has this afflication. I really did just write about it as a "Word of the Day".
The James Martin Institute of Oxford
Posted on 2006-01-08 at 19:20
I was speaking with an Oxford fellow this morning about science, human advancement, and the role of ethics therein and he referred me to the James Martin Institute. It seems to be in it's early stages, but plans to directly address those issues surrounding the radical polymorphing of humanness that our species is intent upon inflicting (gifting?) on itself. Fascinating.
While on the subject, if you have an interest in such things as living forever and doing so in a healthy manner, you should also check out the Biosingularity blog. It's a well done blog that---unlike my monstrosity of a personal podium---has a point, a focus, and a use.
Am I crazy to consider the possibility that I might reach 200 or even 768 years of age? No, I am not. Not only are we continually advancing the limits of medical science, we are quickening the rate of that advancement with each new advance. What took 30 years to determine a century ago can be tested and resolved in a few years, in a decade or two, it might be resolvable in a matter of weeks. All I need to do is survive until the next breakthrough. Give me 5 more years and I'll be alive to see the next advance to see 10 more years and so on. Am I certain that I'll see 768? No, but I have a far better chance than you might think. And that's no joke.
I miss Jow Ga
Posted on 2005-12-29 at 13:45
I need to start thinking about how I'm gonna get back to Jow Ga. I miss it. Financially, I think it's doable with some serious planning, but in terms of time, I'm gonna have to get creative to fit it all in and still spend time with Cadence. It'll be better when she's old enough to go with me and take classes.
Healthy Breakfast Muffin
Posted on 2005-12-15 at 08:04
This recipe makes 1 healthy sausage and egg muffin to enjoy guilt-free in the morning. Enjoy!
1 frozen Morningstar veggie sausage patty
1/4 cup of eggbeaters
1 English Muffin (I prefer Thomas English Muffins, but pick your favorite brand and flavor)
Bake the sausage in the oven at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes. Fry the egg in a pan over a low heat until it is the desired consistency (personal taste...I like my eggs quite dry). While the sausage and egg are cooking, toast the English muffin. Sandwich the egg and sausage between the two halves of the English muffin. Once complete, bite into your tasty new morning treat and send me a thank you note as payment for your inevitable breakfast bliss.
Healthy or not, this is some good stuff!
How to Build a Better Brain Cancer
Posted on 2005-10-10 at 08:01
Step One: Run a high voltage line to a ceramic platter. Step Two: Let said platter bleed a power field all over the room. Step Three: Stand in the room all the time and bask in the glory of your newer, better tumor.
OK. Look it's way cool, actually, but I'm such a paranoid freak. You guys are just lucky I didn't accuse the ceramic platter of sending audio signals back to the NSA to spy on me!
One more step toward my immortality!
Posted on 2005-08-26 at 08:01
Scientists have discovered a gene that can extend a mouse's life expectancy by 30%. Currently, it has the side effects of reduced fertility and increasing risk of diabetes. The first makes sense (nature says "live longer but have fewer children") but the second is kinda serious. Still, it's a solid research gain and I look forward to seeing my 200th birthday (and eventually my 768th). You are all invited to the party in 2169. I want a pony.
America's Manifest Destiny...
Posted on 2005-08-25 at 08:01
...is the next largest rung on the belt buckle? How interesting that 80% of the planet is dying from too little food and the other 20% is dying from too much. Can we try something different now? I don't think this model is working as advertised.
DNA Microarrays
Posted on 2005-08-04 at 08:03
...Here's another small step toward my living to the ripe old age of 768 (or at least 200!). And they called me crazy when I made the claim. Besides, if I can't do it this way, then maybe I can just decapitate myself right before death, and shoot my frozen head into orbit until my robot body has been completed. Mmmm, robot body.
It's a Soy Hot Chocolate morning
Posted on 2005-04-19 at 08:02
Not sure why, but it is. Must have Soy Hot Chocolate. Damn you, Starbucks, for your tasty liquid confectionary with a healthy twist!
Chocolate Silk
Posted on 2005-04-13 at 08:02
I've tried Silk (Soy Milk) in the past and didn't much like it, but yesterday I drove through Starbucks and got a Silk-based hot chocolate. Pretty dang good! I think I may be doing that again.
Getting fat
Posted on 2005-02-17 at 08:02
Personal health is something I've struggled with for a few years now---since I discovered my horrid Cholesterol numbers. To that end, I have spent no small amount of time looking for ways to make myself healthier and more fit. I found this article on Carbohydrates interesting. I already knew that foods with a High Glysemic Index were not good for my cholesterol, but what was interesting was the distinction between complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates as it relates to weight gain. I should make Bryan aware of this as well. He's fat and I want him dead, but it will be unltimately unsatisfying if he dies from a heart attack instead of my vile machinations. I can't let my years of martial arts training go to waste by not killing him with my bare hands.
Who wants to live forever?
Posted on 2005-01-21 at 08:01
I do and this guy wants to help.
Been sick
Posted on 2004-11-10 at 08:01
Let this entertain you in my absence:
Cholesterol Free
Posted on 2004-09-30 at 08:02
A correction to my earlier report that I'd be taking Zocor. Apparently, I can get Lipitor, but my copay goes up a little. Acceptable. They are still evil, just slightly less evil than I originally claimed.
Zocor
Posted on 2004-09-26 at 08:02
My latest test results came back. Not horrid, but not great either, so I am gonna start taking Zocor for cholesterol. According to the doc, I should be on Lipitor, but apparently my insurance won't cover that until I've tried Zocor...because they are evil.
Untitled Haiku
Posted on 2004-06-09 at 08:04
The strength of my youth
bends to the vengeance of age
and time poorly spent
-Tom Caudron
-Inspired by my current post-op condition.
I must be getting better
Posted on 2004-06-09 at 08:01
Because I'm more active feeling and I am writing again. Damn surgery took it outta me! Anyway, Here is my latest installment of poetry.
The gutting has been completed
Posted on 2004-05-24 at 08:01
I've been silent for a few days while my body recovered from the boning knife with which they sawed me open. I'm still not really recovered, but I'm able to get upstairs finally and get some work done and other stuff. The operation was a success, in that they found and fixed the problem, but once the doctor got in he found the hole to be larger than expected so he had to enlarge the incision. My incision was to be a 1.5 inch slice and turned into a 4 inch gaping wound. Of course, that didn't prevent the hospital from kicking me out before the anesthesia wore off. I'm sure my pain saved them a great deal of money.
Tomorrow is the day...
Posted on 2004-05-18 at 08:01
I'm going under the knife tomorrow. This blows, but I still expect to live long enough to dance on Bryan's grave. Die, you fat bastard, die!
Gutted like a fish
Posted on 2004-05-14 at 08:03
I've scheduled my operation (note to self: don't lift heavy things improperly anymore!) for this coming Wednesday (the 19th). Let's hope it all goes well. I'm told these things are quite routine, but I find nothing routine about being sliced open and twiddled with.
NyQuil
Posted on 2004-03-04 at 08:01
Still feeling under the weather. I took some NyQuil last night before going to bed. Woke up today 2 hours late feeling like B.A. Baracus after a plane ride.