Tag: health
All Stretching for Old Men
The great thing about being an aging Millennial man is having access to information that my father, papaw, and forefathers didn't have. The bad thing about being an aging Millennial is having access to information that my father, papaw, and forefathers didn't have, because it means I don't have any excuse to not do the things I need to do!
The four stages of getting better
I'm still getting on with my recovery, and I'm slowly regaining the ability to do tasks that I couldn't do immediately after my fall. I've found that I go through four stages with tasks: I can't do it myself I can't quite do it myself I can just about do it myself I can do...
Recently in June '26
Woah! It's that time of the month again. June has gone by very fast, full of activity, travel, and a - way too hot for The Netherlands - heatwave. Let's look back and reflect on everything that has happened this past month!
Surrendering my driving license to the DVLA
The good news is that I was discharged from hospital on Wednesday. The bad news is that, as I've now had two seizures in six weeks, I've had to surrender my driving license to the DVLA. I can't get it back until a doctor confirms that I haven't had a seizure for 12 months, so...
Back in hospital
I'm writing this from my hospital bed, having been re-admitted on Sunday. I had a seizure at home, and this time Christine and our ten-year-old were there to witness it. Last month I had a fall at home, which I put down to feeling faint but a seizure hadn't been ruled out. Now it seems...
The injury explanation post
As it's been almost five weeks since my fall, it's probably about time that I explained what happened, and how I'm recovering. How did I fall I actually don't remember the fall, or getting up from the fall. What I do know was that I had felt faint a couple of times earlier in the...
New Bluetooth hearing aids
Back in autumn 2022, following a decline in my hearing, I started wearing hearing aids. Almost four years on, and following a new hearing test, I've got new, upgraded hearing aids - and these ones have Bluetooth. Bluetooth hearing aids have been around for some time now, but were normally only available if you paid...
The Galileo Gambit: Scientific Liberty, Consensus, and the Cost of Persuasion
Recently in May '26
May was an incredibly packed month, which sort of explains why it took me so long to write this post. Now that I have some time to go through all the events, let's take a look back together, and go through some of the things that happened in May!
No Way?!
This is my submission for the June 2026 IndieWeb Carnival. The theme is 'No way!?', hosted by Alex Hsu.
SPICE: Our Antifragile Biology
Spicy food and capsaicin demonstrate hormesis and antifragility in human biology. The science of pain, TRPV1 receptors, and how controlled exposure to stressors makes our bodies stronger rather than weaker.
Manifestation, the Law of Attraction, Cancer and Abuse
Examining the dark side of manifestation and Law of Attraction movement: its New Thought origins, cultural appropriation of Eastern and Indigenous practices, gender dynamics, and the hidden cruelty of victim blaming cancer survivors and abuse victims.
Hiatus
This is a short blog post that I am tapping out on my phone. Since Thursday last week, I have been in hospital, having had a fall at home which resulted in me fracturing bones in both my shoulders (specifically necks of humerus). I've now exhausted the scheduled posts that I'd written before the fall,...
The Hondius Pneumonia (Low Risk Assessment)
A hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius in the South Atlantic has sent thirty passengers home across twenty-three countries before a single test was run. What does the WHO's 'low risk' framing mean? The institutional failure of January 2020, and what honest communication about uncertainty actually requires. The incubation window is open. We are watching.
Appearing Productive in The Workplace
GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio — April update
Recently in April '26
April is now coming to and end, and with it, a new blog post is born. Around 33% of the year has now gone by, and we're starting to head into the prime time of the spring. Looking back at this month, it's been quite quiet. I know I said the same thing last month, but now it's for real.
Brain Surgery
Hydrocephalus shunt surgery on 17 April 2026 — the event, the recovery, and the impact on work.
Recently in March '26
Now that I am looking back at what happened in March, I see it was quite of a calm month. Oddly enough, I didn't perceive it as so, since I feel like it went by so fast. Let's then take a look back together, but I'm sure this will be a shorter post than in the previous months.
hand tremors and other physical disruptions to making art
a few years ago i was diagnosed with hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease of the thyroid, with one of the most self-disrupting symptoms at that time being hand tremors. when my hands shake, it makes for a very frustrating and unsuccessful session of drawing grids by hand for my pixel art paintings. autoimmune symptoms are typically heightened by the stress that they initially cause, a hilarious (laugh so i don't cry and get stressed out) and cruel cycle. to work through this adversity, i looked to...
machines will never understand language
I thought language was too complicated for machines to understand, until I got sick. a lifelong, meandering journey of parsing, learning, and fixing my broken body.