Scattered Thoughts . . .

As most of you already know, I enjoy sailing.  Of course, I enjoy just about all boating, but sailing is a lot of fun on my fast, little Minifish sailboat. Not only is it a lot of fun, but my little Minifish has some history to it... my history. It holds many memories and stories.  I was a young teenager when I received this boat so it holds a lot of memories and stories.  Putting aside the history of this particular boat, sailing can be fast, wet, and heart-pounding exhilarating which is always a plus for enjoying an activity! It should come as no surprise then that ice boat sailing has always intrigued me. Ice boats are sleek and fast...  and, I suspect, very cold!  With the speed and all that wind whipping across a frozen lake on a cold winter's day, I imagine the cold could be brutal.  These little 'boats' gliding across the ice seem to move much faster than a sailboat can in water.  All that friction and drag of the water really slows a boat down considerably.  This

The left side of the photo is what my LCD monitor showed... the right side is what it looked like printed. I recently decided to have some of my photos and artwork printed by a professional lab.  The quality of prints from these pro labs just cannot be matched on your home printer.  Additionally, the quality of these prints and their durability/longevity far surpasses those cheapo prints from local kiosks like at Walmart or online economy prints like at Snapfish.  There is just no comparison in quality.   I should also point out that printing photos or artwork on your own printer is exceedingly expensive when compared to having prints professionally printed. The cost of ink is very high. The cost of quality paper is very high. And, to be honest, a Professional Lab will actually print photos at a level of quality that is just not possible on any home printer. Regardless of where you have your photos printed, you must ensure your computer monitor (or your camera if the photos

Systemic Mastocytosis patients are very sensitive (for lack of a better term) to many foods.  In particular, foods which are high in histamine are very dangerous for those of us with this illness. Foods high in nitrates and other preservatives are dangerous for us as well.    Typically, frozen foods aren't too bad for us if they were flash frozen without preservatives.  For example, frozen vegetables are really just flash frozen cut vegetables...  nothing wrong with that, right?  Well, nothing is wrong as long as the frozen foods are handled properly. Now, let's move on to frozen prepared foods such as frozen meals, frozen dishes, frozen ravioli, frozen chicken, etc...  These prepared foods start off bad for us (Systemic Mastocytosis patients) because they are high in preservatives.  These preservatives are known to cause sudden mast cell degranulation which, in turn, causes anaphylaxis.   As if that is not bad enough... Now, if these frozen meals are handled properly w

As I had already written previously, I had a very rough night with poor health last night.  I didn't get to bed until 4am...  and then I was up and in the bathroom again at around 8:30am.   I was hoping I could sleep away most of the day and, if luck would have it, I would recover a bit while I was getting some much-needed rest.  Well, no luck today as far as my health is concerned. I ended up suffering from some more episodes of anaphylaxis, although considerably more mild than last night.  My heart-rate was in the 120-140 beats per minute range most of the day making it impossible to sleep.   I've also been very flushed, on and off, all day and all evening tonight.  That is never a good sign.  Flushing on my face, neck and shoulders typically is a precursor to failing health again. This flushing is irritating too...  It gives me a deep burning feeling and I actually look like I have a splotchy sunburn...  when it is a bad case, all of my skin is a solid red that resembles

The official Air Force letter, signed by Sheila, notifying me that a 'Legacy Data Plate' in my name will be installed at the entrance to the National Museum of the Air Force. On Christmas morning, Sheila informed me that she had arranged for me to be honored at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio!  How is that for a nice Christmas surprise? In the official Air Force notification letter, Sheila wrote, "...what better way of immortalizing and honoring the airman you are and the highlights of your impressive and proud, albeit short career, than in a place of honor and respect at the National Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio." Personally, I can think of no better place for this honor. A beautiful aviation-style stainless steel 'Legacy Data Plate' in my name will be mounted on the "Wall of Honor" at the entrance to the museum.  This Legacy Data Plate will include my name, my specialty, my branc

Last night was one of those exceptionally bad nights... a bad, bad night... When Sheila and I headed to the bedroom for the night, I was feeling rather lousy and suspected my health would be crashing before long.  My stomach was upset and gurgling... I was very nauseated holding back vomit... I was a bit dizzy... and I had been flushed all evening. I should have jumped on taking extra medications and emergency medications right away. I don't know why I didn't... perhaps I was experiencing cognitive problems also so was not thinking clearly. Anyway, I didn't take any extra medications. Before long the dizziness felt more like light-headedness and I definitely need to get to the bathroom as soon as possible. I was sick as a dog.  At this point, I knew I needed extra emergency medications but now I was stuck in the bathroom, sick, without a glass for water to help down a few emergency pills.   I knew the first thing I needed was anti-nausea medications. The nausea was

January is always our "train show month".  This is when we head down to Springfield, Massachusetts every year for the largest train show in the northeast.  Actually, I would not be surprised if this is the largest train show in the country every year.   The Amherst Railway Society's Annual Railroad Hobby Show is a very large and amazing event which is not only a lot of fun all weekend long, but it is also a very productive fundraiser.  The primary beneficiary of this fundraiser is always a children's hospital.  Since we have been attending the show I believe the Bay State Children's Hospital has been the recipient each year. Additionally, a dozen or two historical railroads and railroad museums receive proceeds each year as well.   In the years we have been attending the show, I believe we have seen between 50,000-60,000 visitors at each show.  Considering the problems we had this year in finding hotel accomodations, a few months in advance, I suspect this yea

The wind chill outside is now at -20 degrees but it is sunny and clear out there!  It looks really nice from the living room window so I decided to pick up one of my cameras to shoot a few photos.   These photos are shot with my old camera body with the Kodak sensor in it.  I love the color tonality and depth that this sensor produces.  What I don't like is that I really should be using this particular camera body on a tripod because it does not have any image stabilization capabilities.  My shot of the mountains has a bit of camera shake in it so it is not as sharp as it should be... I had opened the window in the living room so I could shoot the photo of the mountains without shooting through the dirty glass window...  Turns out the heat that was escaping the house through the open window was causing those visual jello-type waves you see coming off hot pavement in the summer!  So, I had to step outside to shoot the photo of the mountains.  Yes, it is cold out there! Hope yo

Today, January 1st, 2014, this blog passed the 10,000 page view milestone.  Considering that many websites get this many page views in one single day, this really isn't any sort of amazing record.  That being said, I started this website just to babble about my health, our family activities, and just to keep my family and friends updated on what is happening in our lives here in Vermont so, considering the purpose of this blog, reaching 10,000 page views is actually pretty impressive! Reaching 10,000 page views is interesting but what I find more interesting is where all these people reading my blog are located.  Of course, the US is where the vast majority of people are located.  Next, however, is Russia, United Kingdom, China, Canada, France, Germany, Malaysia, Sweden and Ukraine. I've had page views from a lot more countries but those are the top 10 locations. For a blog that is just about my own scattered thoughts and family activities and not about anything specific, thi

As many of you know, I enjoy photography.  The arts, in general, can be a great tool for those struggling with chronic illness, chronic pain and/or incurable illnesses.  For me, photography provides a way to express myself and to be productive during a time when I can't seem to get anything right because I am struggling so frequently with health issues and associated debilitating symptoms.  Perhaps more importantly, it is also a way to distract myself from my health issues.  Needless to say, I enjoy the artistic and creative aspects of photography and I try to stay as active as my health will allow with this expressive hobby. Part of this hobby is knowing your tools.  Actually, 'knowing your tools' is a part of everything in life.  Not only must I understand my own tools completely, but I must also understand what is available to replace my tools when they break, wear out or just start acting finicky.   Currently, I use camera gear from multiple manufacturers...  Fuji,