USR member Scott Jamieson, in his best of humor, took the assemblage on a rapid-fire visit to eye diseases. Several of his points:

• Good vision is the main cause of blindness, in that, by the time something sinister (or dextral) is found, it may be too late.
• Other risk factors are smoking, aging, sedentary lifestyle, and nutritional matters.
• The optic nerve is actually part of the brain, and as such, is largely unforgiving in injury or illness.
• Antioxidants are deemed beneficial in reducing risk of eye disease.
• The macula, occupying a small part of the retina, is responsible for 95% of vision. Ergo, Macular Degeneration (MD) is a serious threat.
  • The “dry” type of MD, typified by the stippling presence of drusen, cannot be treated.
  • Dry MD can lead to the exudative or “wet” form, with its proliferation of abnormal blood vessels and spillage of red cells.
  • An injection treatment for wet MD may slow the process, but is no cure. Untreated wet MD leads to blindness.

• Diabetic retinopathy is the second leading cause of blindness.
• Bleeding into the vitreous can result in clots to impair vision, as can retinal detachment.
• Retinitis Pigmentosa is untreatable.
• Glaucoma is often an insidious condition in that there is often no pain.
  • In glaucoma, blood flow is compromised, starving the anterior part of the eye of oxygen.
  • It is important to realize that glaucoma can be managed but never cured. The pressure must be kept down.
  • African Americans are quite susceptible to glaucoma. Per Scott: 50% have the condition and do not know it.

• Cataract surgery now entails the choice of the lenses to be implanted.

In conclusion: “Those who are wise take care of their eyes.”

*Onward like the swallow going
Flies the speed of oar and shell.
Oh the wild delight in knowing, ‘
Tis our pow’r that does the rowing…..

Captivated by the book ,”The Boys in the Boat”, Melanie Barstow has successfully volunteered to conduct tours of the University of Washington shell house and related historic spots. The response has been large.

 

 

 

In her talk, she reviews the book’s story, noting:

• the Depression era
• the fortitude of the rowers
• the privations of the young men
• the hard and dangerous jobs they had to take
• the adversities, including the family’s abandonment of the principal character at his age of 15.

Altruism, self-sacrifice, and fortitude were the sine qua non that made possible the successive triumphs of this Husky crew, This culminated in their Olympic triumph in Berlin in 1936 as they represented the U.S. Specifically, the order of finish; USA/Italy/Germany. It is notable that the margin between winning and not winning is at times measured in hundredths of a second. In 1936, the times were 6:25.4, 6:26, and 6:26.4.

*All in unison of action, with the noble satisfaction….
…..Coolly every power invoke…
Onward, make her cut the water,
Onward make her cut the water—
And for fame of alma mater, stroke, stroke, stroke.

*Excerpts from the Cornell Rowing Song.

Julia Cossé, well immersed in the family securities business, Cossé International, spoke on the subject of “How to Pick Stocks that Go UP”.

An exhaustive study, identifying stocks that doubled within six months, found a certain commonality among them. From the results of this have evolved principles to guide one in choosing such companies.

To wit, look for:

• Increase in earnings of the stock’s underlying company to have increased.
• Moreover, the earnings’ increase has accelerated, preferably into double digits.
• The accelerated increase should be due to something, i.e. a new product.
  Example: Microsoft’s periodic new devices to meet demand.
• The industry that includes the company has been doing well as a group.
• Volume. Institutional investors, as contrasted to individuals, create volume changes. Therefore, increased upside volume is a good indicator.
• Medium-sized companies. These have good growth potential. Very large companies have already seen growth. Small companies’ stock may be hard to exit at the right time.
• Pay attention to what kind of market we are in.

Comment: Be thus guided and you cannot lose. Maybe

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

If you, or anyone within earshot, does this at night, there may exist a case of sleep apnea. This is a condition in which an intermittent cessation of breathing temporarily starves the heart and brain of oxygen.
This is one of the points made by Christy Goff of Pacific Science Centers.
In case of the above, a night in the sleep lab would be a well-advised move. If such is the diagnosis, a number of treatments is available.

Other facts about sleep included in her talk:

• Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep.
• Cortisol and epinephrine are active in the waking process
• Melatonin, building during waking hours, causes crepuscular drowsiness.
• Serotonin acts to help a happy awakening.
• There are 3-4 sleep cycles per night. Deep sleep comes first, followed by REM sleep. It is during REM that we dream.
• Naps should be limited to about 20 minutes, lest a hormonal imbalance occur.
• As we age. deep sleep time decreases. By age 85, 20% of the night is spent awake.
• Insomnia risks include stress, anxiety, PTSD, and depression.A relation exists between obesity and sleep. Those who sleep less tend to gain weight. The appetite increases in such cases, entailing the hormones Ghelin (appetite enhancer) and Leptin (satiety indicator).

To enhance sleep:

• Finish water intake an hour before retiring.
• Exercise early in the day.
• Get on a schedule for sleep, to balance hormones.
• Restrict time in bed.
• Arise at the same time each day regardless of energy level.
• Do not get into bed until sleepy.
• Don’t stay in bed if not sleepy.
• Read. Do not  use TV or phone.
• Turn off electrical devices 30-60 minutes before wishing to go to sleep.
• Do not use caffeine at the end of  the day. It blocks the hormone, Adenosine, which causes drowsiness.
• Keep it cave like–cool and dark. 65 degrees is the ideal temperature.

See a sleep specialist when–

• There is snoring
• There is a use of sleeping pills
• It is difficult to fall asleep.
• Tossing and turning occur.
• Interruption in breathing occurs
• There is frequent or early awakening.
• Irritability or inability to concentrate during the day occur.
• Tiredness or depressing happen on awakening.
• There is a desire to take frequent naps.
  

Bob Ferguson is Washington’s 18th Attorney General. As the state’s chief legal officer, he directs 500 attorneys and 600 professional staff providing legal services to state agencies, Governor and Legislature.

General Ferguson’s ongoing priorities are:

• Protecting consumers and seniors against fraud by cracking down on powerful interests that don’t play by the rules;
• Keeping communities safer by supporting law enforcement;
• Protecting our environment; and
• Standing up for our veterans by advocating for service men and women and their families.

Bob received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1995. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington, where he was student body president. Bob began his legal career in Spokane where he served as a law clerk for Chief Judge W. Fremming Nielsen of the Federal District Court for Eastern Washington. He then clerked for Judge Myron Bright of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Midwest. Ferguson returned to Seattle and joined Preston, Gates, and Ellis (now K&L Gates), one of Washington’s leading law firms.

In 2003, Bob was elected to the King County Council. In 2005, after the council was reduced from 13 to nine and Bob’s district was eliminated, he was re-elected. He was unopposed in 2009.

Bob is a fourth-generation Washingtonian. His family homesteaded on the beautiful Skagit River, which may explain why Bob is such an enthusiastic mountain climber, backpacker, and birder. He has hiked hundreds of miles of Washington trails and climbed many of the state’s highest peaks.

Bob is an internationally-rated chess master. His games have appeared in local, national and international chess publications. Bob has twice won the Washington State Chess Championship.

Bob, his wife Colleen and their 9-year-old twins, Jack and Katie, reside in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of North Seattle.

Credit: http://www.atg.wa.gov/about-bob-ferguson

City University of Seattle Enactus, an organization working to improve life conditions worldwide, brings together experts in appropriate disciplines. Their principle is to accomplish this via entrepreneurship. Distinguished faculty advisor Kathy Cox was with us to show a recent example of this type of endeavor. She introduced Nathan Patricia and Maheesa Anastasya who were altogether impressive with their description of a most promising device, The Green Energy Stove.

It is necessary first to review a condition that prevails throughout Africa, that of cooking over a wood fire. This generates the smoke that smites the eyes and lungs and impairs the atmosphere. Also, it takes up time that could better be spent caring for one’s family. Moreover, while it takes too much time and expense to walk to a cellphone-charging center, a source of electricity.

Enter the Green Energy Stove. What are its virtues?

–      It is smokeless.

–      It can use any vegetation for fuel, i.e., plentiful bamboo.

–      It operates by clean power generators.

–      No carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide is produced.

–      The burnt fuel can be used as fertilizer.

–      Deforestation is ameliorated, since wood is not required.

–      The heat energy is converted to electricity, powering lamps and cellphones.

–      A person can borrow the cost of a stove through a microloan and then pay off the loan with proceeds from sale of electricity.

–      The surface of the stove is not hot, precluding injury.

The device has been proven in Gabon and is now ready for distribution in Gambia, Ethiopia, Gabon, and Nigeria.

Our  Speaker October 27th was Zimbabwe-born Kwapi Vengesayi and the 5th Avenue Theater encountered each other and neither has been the same since. He had been trained in architecture and then in sociology. He found his calling, however, as the theater’s Community Engagement Specialist. The showplace had been a venerable landmark. It is now undergoing renovation in modern facilities, acoustics, and space. At the same time, efforts are afoot to preserve much of its old charm.

Vengesayi’s mission is to immerse the community in performance culture.  Also, his aim is to reach out to under-served and under-represented areas of the community. He realized, upon arrival, how much musical theater is around us. Therefore, he works to engage the community in musical theater. Indeed, several of the musicals at the 5th have made it to Broadway.
The crux of the endeavor has been that of partnerships. In the process, high school students have at one time run the theater, under supervision. Variously, there have been served those with dementia, Thai dancers, kids who met the casts, and those of Tech Tuesday. This has catered to those who study all stages of production as to what foes into staging a show.  It is hoped that time and effort may be devoted to autism.

Other partners have included the UW Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, the Thai community, Alaska and Delta Airlines, US Bank, Bank of America, Renton Skyway Boys and Girls Club, and others either current or pending.

Meanwhile, the project goes on to make the theater more spacious and to have patrons interact in the large entrance area.

 

Although a Chinese Medicine practitioner has proposed a full body transplant, Jason Robertson’s immersion into this discipline has not embraced such a concept. His is a traditional form which he practices and teaches. He traces his pathway to dedication in both the language and the concepts to years spent in both of the Chinas and in San Francisco. His mentor, Wang Ju-Yi, has been both teacher and inspiration.

Although there is an herbal branch of Chinese Medicine, the preponderant technique is that of acupuncture. There are some 30,000 acupuncturists in the US, 1300 in the Seattle area, and three accredited local schools. The local society is named East Asian Medical Practitioners. The scope of the process includes: clinical history, acupuncture, advice, supplemental advice, and herbal therapies. Within this mix is the connection of signs and symptoms, clues, and patterns of disease.

The evolution of the art (actually a very old one) was expedited during the Cultural Revolution of the ’60s. Mao Tse-Tung approved of sending “barefoot doctors” into the hinterlands to administer to the masses. Subsequently, the techniques came to the larger cities, particularly Beijing. Wang was one of these.

The sequence of events, as practiced by Wang, is first to check the pulse, then to ask questions, laying on of hands to palpate acupuncture channels while running the thumb along limbs and torso, determining the effect on organs, and at times slapping the contralateral limb to direct attention away from the site of the acupuncture. The effect, it is postulated, is mediated by channels toward the target organ. It has been found that acupuncture increases the oxygen levels at the sites. A very narrow-gauge needle is used. 10-15 needle pricks are generally given per hour.

Observation: A student must keenly prick up his/her ears as the instructor makes his points, lest said student be needled by classmates at not having been too sharp, the motto being, “Get on the stick.”