Happy Tax Day!
A FRIENDLY REMINDER OF WHY YOU NEED TO VOTE!
Some days we just need to be quiet. That explains why I’ve not posted anything extra over the weekend. With the weather being better, I was able to relax and sleep, repairing some of the damage done by almost two straight weeks of rain. When I wasn’t sleeping, I watched the news unfold in Gaza, sitting outside with the dogs, and enjoying Tipper celebrating her birthday. The kids managed to mow the lawn without too much arguing. The dogs rolled around over the fresh-cut grass. We watched as a neighbor’s two-year-old tried kicking a soccer ball and missed repeatedly.
I mentioned yesterday about the huge furry head Tipper got for her birthday. It’s roughly three times the size of her normal head with blue and black fur and a textured face that looks rather vicious. She decided to wear it while G was moving, along with her white and red cape. It was an interesting look.
We have a lot of families who walk through the neighborhood when the weather is nice. A family with a little one, probably 14-16 months old, was out about the same time as the kids. The little guy was already fussy. He absolutely wanted to be carried. Then, he saw Tipper. The volume of his screams went up enough that I heard them from inside the Recovery Room. The little guy was wrapped around his dad’s leg, screaming as much as his little lungs allowed. I think his dad thought the baby was just continuing to fuss, but the look on this baby’s face said otherwise. I’d be willing to be Tipper was in his nightmares last night!
Today iLearn testing begins in Indiana. This is that wonderful time of year when the state attempts, miserably, to make all our multi-shaped personalities fit into the round hole that adults think they need to fit. I cannot say enough bad things about standardized testing. Studies have repeatedly shown how deficient they all are, and iLearn continues to be one of the worst ever conceived. Neurodivergent children are especially misserved during this testing. There are limited resources to help kids get through these tests and if you don’t know about them and advocate for your children, they won’t get the help. I hope our kids will grow up and outlaw this imbecilic means of pushing children toward sameness rather than glorifying their individuality.
We’re still keeping a close eye on the Middle East. President Biden has said that the US will not help Israel retaliate. What the weekend proved, however, is that we can help minimize the effects of attacks without setting foot on soil. Israel is not a member of NATO, yet we are spending MILLIONS to help them defend themselves against attack. Why won’t we do the same for Ukraine? If one deserves our help, there’s no reasonable argument for denying the other. Either we’re in, completely, or we’re out. We can’t afford to let Russia win any more than we can afford to give Iran any manner of foothold. Both are controlled by absolutely insane people who have no concern for human life. We need to put them both out of commission.
G told me yesterday that he needs AA batteries. So, I put together a small order that’s being delivered this morning. A third of the cost is taxes and fees that I wouldn’t need to pay if I could drive. 😒This drives me nuts. On the bright side, it was here before 7:30.
It’s been over three weeks since I’ve set foot outside the confines of the yard. I’m feeling that maybe it’s time to get out again. We’ll see how safe I feel wandering with the dogs today. Meanwhile, Solaris has the zoomies. No place on the bed is safe.
Let’s talk briefly about this morning’s picture. It was taken almost exactly 16 years ago. This is the first time we shot with Alicia. The rain you see is real, not manufactured. We originally processed the 8-megapixel image in black-and-white because technology at the time barely made the rain visible in color. For this morning, we took the processed .TIFF file (because I don’t have the RAWs) and colorized it, then enhanced the texture to pick up on the rain.
Alicia was just stepping into modeling. Her eldest son, Benjamin, was still the tiniest little guy. Now, she’s happily married, living in Florida, and has two more little buggers running around keeping her busy. Looking back on memories like this makes me smile, and make me very happy there was no lightning that morning. I miss moments like this and cherish them to the core of my being.
Have Sex, Avoid Alzheimer’s? Well, Maybe
My paternal Grandfather died of Alzheimer’s disease before it had that name. He was 82 and the last five years of his life were among the most horrible I’ve witnessed. Last year, my Uncle Joe also died of complications from Alzheimer’s. He was 89 and had been much healthier than Granddaddy, but the last few years of his life weren’t any walk in the park, either. Poppa was 72 when cancer took him, so we don’t know if there were signs of Alzheimer’s in his future or not; there were other medical priorities. Still, it seems obvious that Alzheimer’s runs in the family. Therefore, it makes sense to take reasonable precautions against it.
A Washington Post article from February of this year came across my feed this week with an interesting premise: Viagra may reduce the frequency of Alzheimer’s disease in men over the age of 50. Researchers at University College London studied 270,000 men over the age of 40 between 2000 and 2017. All had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. During the study, 1,119 of the men were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. A pattern was noticed: The men who were prescribed Viagra or a similar drug had an 18 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, compared with men who weren’t given the medication.
But wait, there’s more: “The researchers also found an even larger difference in men who appeared to use Viagra more often. Among the highest users, based on total prescriptions, the risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s was 44 percent lower.”
So, to be perfectly clear, the study appears to indicate that, if you have erectile dysfunction and take Viagra, and have sex regularly, you may reduce the chance of getting Alzheimer’s by as much as 44 percent.
Maybe. The study shows an association between Alzheimer’s and Viagra use; it does not show cause and effect. Men who have erectile dysfunction and are prescribed Viagra are told that a) if you take the pill, you need to have sex, and b) don’t take more than one pill a day. To have sex with the level of frequency that might result in a significantly lower risk factor for Alzheimer’s requires a pretty decent amount of physical activity. Physical activity has a higher association with lowering the risks for Alzheimer’s. Therefore, it may be that running around the block each morning helps just as much as having sex, though, I would argue, that one is definitely more fun than the other.
How is this possible? Not surprisingly, this was never the anticipated outcome. Sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra, was developed by Pfizer as a heart medication. During clinical trials for the drug, some men reported that taking the pill resulted in getting an erection. There was no way in hell that Pfizer was going to pass up that marketing opportunity.
For both heart and ED issues, Sildenafil works by increasing blood flow throughout the body. It is also used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in both men and women. We’ve known for a long time that there’s a link between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease. We also know for certain that there is a link between increased blood flow and certain kinds of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. This study shows a significant association as to warrant additional, focused study as to whether there is a direct cause and effect of the medication.
However, the study also raises a lot of questions. The one bugging me most relates to men as they age. For a 40- or even 50-year-old man to have sex on a regular basis doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch. Men of that age are more likely to be in a relationship (for the third or fourth time) and it makes sense that they would be sexually active.
Once we get over 60, though, the entire environment begins to break down. Other diseases, like cancer, interfere with one’s ability to be active. Partners die and finding new ones becomes increasingly difficult. Body parts, such as knees and hips, begin to give out, and replacing them seldom results in a full range of motion.
There are also questions on the sex side of the equation. Is jerking off enough, or do you need to involve your body in the act fully? Does it matter who’s on top or how many positions are used? Who wakes up for the 3:00 AM feeding of one of those little swimmers gets through?
If a direct correlation between Viagra and treating Alzheimer’s disease can be established, can a sex worker then be prescribed as a medical necessity? Would Medicare/Medicaid pay for it?
I agree that a great deal of study needs to happen, and I would hope that it began a couple of weeks ago. In the meantime, I would like to volunteer myself for additional personalized study. Who wants to help?
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