More evidence of fairies

It's said that fairies, indeed, exist but only infants younger than a year old can see them. Any older and humans lose their ability to discern these denizens of dark and unvisited shadows. While fairies may be invisible, the results of the mischievous presence are not. I know this because I have a few corded phones.

Have you ever noticed that at any given time, the helix wire that twists between handset and the phone itself lays orderly in its slnky imitation? Then the next time you look at it, the wire is a tangled mess of knots and reversed twists. At first I suspected that a friend or spouse may be playing tricks on me or perhaps they enjoy doing cartwheels when talking on the phone. I spend countless minutes spinning the handset to make things right or disconnect the wire to allow it to "relax" to its orderly state. Howerver, I know that sometimes no one can possibly have access to the phone and yet, there it is, a hopelessly tangly ganglia of wire. What can be the cause?

Got to be fairies. Working for the "wireless" companies, no doubt.

Until I hear of a better theory, I'm sticking to my theory.

Accidentally Green

I have a 12-year-old SUV. I also have a Super-Ultra Low Emission Vehicle. I get some hazing from my left leaning buddies about the SUV but when I tell them I have a SULEV complying with the latest green standards, they want to see it. I show them my 12-year-old SUV. I have but one vehicle.

Turns out I learned that my 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, one that has played a poster-boy that is leading us into Global Warming Hell, is actually in the same emissions class as the Prius. And I got the emissions test to prove it.

In the meantime, some research into vehicle rankings show that my SUV isn't the only one that is among the greenest. Also, some of the sedans and compacts that one would think are atmospherically benign are among the worst offenders.

Part of the equation is the small 150 HP engine in my truck compared to, say, a 303 HP engine in a compact sport sedan. One of these vehicles may be over-powered. With one engine being twice as powerful as the other, you have to consider the amount of fuel enabling that.

It's something to think about as you consider just who exactly is the bad guy when it comes to air pollution and greenhouse gases.

A message of hope for folks with prostate cancer -- my story

I'd always thought that a diagnosis of cancer would be nearly intolerable news for me to bear. Yet, when my urologist announced they found "a problem", I not only was not devastated but somehow relieved. It's kind of like knowing something is wrong with your computer. You know something isn't right but you're glad when you troubleshoot the problem and narrow it down to a particular cause. At that point, I knew my enemy was not a phantom menace but a thing with a name and a history and one that medicine, my doctor and I could fight.

It's not like the news came out of nowhere. I had already undergone three biopsies because of elevated PSA readings. With that, I had done some research at the library and on the Internet. Also, I spoke with guys who had already gone through what I was facing. Overall, my condition was not a death sentence.

Still, facing the words, "you have cancer" is a deep cut into one's psyche. It sticks like a tenacious and gooey patch of slime on everything you do and think about. Oddly, mitigating the circumstance was the fact that I was extremely busy with projects at work and home. Nothing like being overworked to dilute the spector of uncertainty that comes before cancer treatment. Working at a startup struggling to gain business and pay bills has a way of keeping one focused. The biggest comfort, however, was a supporting wife who accommodated my sometimes pissy attitude. Keeping me out of a funk was a chore she performed admirably and happily, at least happily from what I saw. Indeed, with her encouragement, I continued to work, go to the gym, do some traveling just as we planned before the diagnosis.

My doctor briefed me on the number of ways to proceed. As with most guys my age, I selected prostatectomy -- get rid of the house the bad guys live in. Two months after my diagnosis I underwent surgery. Two days later I was back home. Two weeks later I was back at work and back in the gym.

As is the norm, they undergo an inspection of the organ after the prostatectomy. The pathology on my prostate is so-so. Unfortunately, the cancer wasn't fully contained within the prostate. Some cancer was on the surface. I will continue to undergo testing. My doctor assures me that with a watchful eye on the blood tests, we'll be able to nail this thing down.

Today is the end of my "recovery" period and feel great. OK, I don't place the pin in the weight machines as highly as I did pre-op but I'm working towards it. I'm looking forward to some more traveling. I'm up to my incision in work at home and at the office so I feel "useful".

Having talked to folks who are years beyond their own surgery, I'm encouraged at the stories of total recovery. "As if I'd never had cancer at all," one said. I'm looking forward to visiting Yosemite next month and Lake Tahoe a month beyond. A bike trip in Italy next year is on the agenda as is a trip to Canada. Things are also looking up at work as the business picks up. Mabye i'll even start getting paid. Life is good.