The woman by the window

It's an amazing view, from 13 stories above Lake Michigan, and it changes every 15 minutes. Here is S by the window in the winter

(it is still winter here, but no snow and ice)

The First Effective Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. Maybe.

Listening to  Dale Bredesen, UCLA "Reducing the Global Burden of Dementia: The First Effective Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease" on what we know about Alzheimer and how to treat it:

CommonwealthClub.org/events/archive/podcast/reducing-global-burden-dementia-first-effective-treatment-alzheimers-disease

A very charismatic speaker, he advocates for a very broad-front approach to early testing, and intricate individually tailored treatment regimen.

A few tidbits from his talk: Saturation of oxygen at night is very important (get an oximeter, stick it on your finger at home, measure).  Mouth herpes has a strong correlation with dementia. Diet is crucial. Exercise. Sleep. Reduce stress. Gluten is not good for most people.

I am not aware of anyone in my biological family having had Alzheimer (or, any form of dementia), but it hits close to home - not only do I know of friends' parents suffering, but also Benny Lautrup,



a close friend since 1973, is in Alzheimer decline, and is very brave and outspoken about it. Rasmus Friis wrote about his life with Alzheimer in Farvel til viden, a very thoughtful and sensitive interview.

Bredesen speaks Californian (he's even a CalTech undergrad), and sounds too good to be true, so for balance I Googled for a skeptical assessment. In Hope and Hype for Alzheimer’s,  Harriet A. Hall (2018) writes:

The Bredesen Protocol is a personalized, comprehensive therapeutic program involving multiple modalities designed to achieve metabolic enhancement for neurodegeneration. Bredesen has published a report of ten patients, with three case studies and a summary table that merely lists the other seven patients. Only half of them were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s; the others had mild cognitive impairment or subjective cognitive impairment. The case studies describe a complicated individual regimen. For example, one case was treated with fasting, a limited, mostly vegetarian diet, probiotics, coconut oil, strenuous exercise (swimming, cycling, running), melatonin, numerous herbs and vitamins, DHA and EPA. Nine patients had “subjective or objective improvement;” the tenth had advanced Alzheimer’s and failed to improve. He now claims to have treated 100 patients. The treatments are based loosely on his hypotheses about causation, with no clear rationale for the combination of interventions.

Bredesen thinks the amyloid deposits that characterize the disease are not the problem, but rather a protectant that kills microbes and fungi and protects from inflammation like from sugar. And he believes chronic Lyme disease (which doesn’t exist) is a critical factor.

His method looks at over 100 parameters: copper to zinc ratio, estradiol to progesterone ratio, vitamin D status, stress level, HSCRP, IL6, TNF alpha, etc. He says, “Most people don’t do well with gluten,” and says everyone should fast 12–16 hours at night to clean out the brain.

It's such a huge issue for all of us that it is hard to know where to turn - there are so many voices - but it seems we are not out of the woods yet. So far all FDA approved drugs that are meant to decrease the amyloid deposits have had no effect. Not aware of anything else on horizon, but then again, I am no neurologist.

Sie sind nicht allein :)

Ich bezweifle, dass ich C morgen zu ihrem 11. Geburtstag sehen werde, also stattdessen ein Video von C, die dieses köstliche Ratatouille würzt (das Gene mochte, aber sie war sicher, dass A der Kleine Grump nicht gefallen würde):

        Klicken Sie hier: youtu.be/rhDgMJTQvG0

Ich bin sicher, dass die kleine Familie C's Geburtstag auf die beste Art und Weise feiern wird.

Ich möchte mich jedoch dem Thema zuwenden, von dem C in ihrem zarten Alter noch nichts weiß, aber das beschäftigt mich seit Jahrzehnten:

Bielefeld hat die Bielefelder Verschwörung offiziell begraben:

Erinnerst du dich an die alten Zeiten?

    

Die offizielle Linie war, dass es niemandem gelungen ist, zu beweisen, dass Bielefeld nicht existiert. Was vor etwa zwei Wochen offiziell angekündigt wurde. An diesem Freitag feierte das Mathematische Institut der Universität sein 50-jähriges Bestehen, und zu den Begrüßungsreden gehörte auch eine des ersten Vizebürgermeisters von Bielefeld, der erklärte, dass damit nun bewiesen ist, dass es Bielefeld gibt. Sie sagte, dass vor etwa hundert Mathematikern.... Einschließlich Günter Ziegler, der Präsident der Freien Universität in Berlin.

Now US has the problem:

Die Delawareaner werden nichtlinear, aber wie wollen sie beweisen, dass sie existieren? Mathematisch gesehen ist es kein einfaches Problem.


PS DeepL übersetzt meinen Namen ins Deutsche als "Vorziehen". Jetzt verstehe ich, wie meine Mutter über die ganze Angelegenheit empfindet.

Rapture

Dear baby boomers

You might have left an uninhabitable planet to your grandchildren. Not to worry - you are covered by  premillennial dispensationalism.

PS  How like you are to suffer Rapture? Check its SBL (Struck By Lightning) number.

Bike to work day

Almost every workday, for 18 years, I bike to Georgia Teach and back to VaHi, crossing Monroe at Park Drive, then on 12th to Williams St, then to 10th on the Williams St sidewalk, and then on 10th on the sidewalks until one can get onto campus bike / walking paths. It's very safe.
There is only one dangerous spot, the corner of 10th and Williams, where the traffic to interstate is already speeding up, and I see no way of improving the dangerous driving at that corner. Other than educating drivers...

(Not) my grandmother's štrudla s jabukama

[Deutsche Übersetzung ist unten]                                       [blue text: live hyperlink]

C remembered I had a recipe for apfelstrudel. So she wanted to come over and make it with me, as a school project, to show off her Österreichische Kultur, what would her mother and grandmother bake for a project like this.

I biked out to the closest supermarket to get the phyllo dough. Came back with a ton of supplies I did not need, with one exception: the phyllo dough. Biked out again. They did not have the right size. Three supermarkets later I got the right size.

I biked over to fetch her at 6pm, as agreed. But the 3 little grumps were not there - so I sat on their doorstep, waiting, for 1 1/2 hour. Worried about something happened to Big Grumpy, as he did not respond to my text.

When they showed up, C giggled and said that - well - they had just forgotten me. Don't know what school of etiquette they get their manners from ("thank you" is a verbotten phrase in that school). On the other hand, they are doing very well in their respective schools, so OK. Takes love to put up with the little grumps.

The Little Grumpy did not even say hi, he just marched right by, so I'll never know why - out of roughly millions of Konfirmationsspruche possible - three kids in his confirmation class picked out the same Luke 18:27: "Was für Menschen unmöglich ist, ist für Gott möglich?" Not the most obvious choice, nein? Well elucidated, however by Rabelais.

On the other hand, in his confirmation service I learned that Jesus was indeed the first Republican:  Johannes 15, 16a: "Nicht ihr habt mich erwählt, sondern ich habe euch erwähl." The fundamental Christian teaching, now that Jim Crow needs a tweak: draw up Congressional districts by choosing the voters that chose you.

Now C and I had very little time before she would be picked up again. Usually C gets me to do everything, but this time she was the chef - read the recipe, measured ingredients, brushed the phyllo dough with butter, rolled up the strudel rolls. I was strictly assistant sous chef. The result were two gigantic apfelstrudel rolls that neither C's nor my grandma would ever approve of.

Turned out not to be the supposed school project, that had been due today. It's really for her classmate Alexander the Dutchman "he does not even have an accent"), who she has a crush on (see "On Gender").

Then, as we were waiting for the strudel to bake, and whipping up the requisite schlag, we discussed The Wandering Earth. Worldwide blockbuster, except in US, because heroes are the real cosmonauts, i.e. Chinese and Russians, no Gringos. Movie is made for teenage gamers. I would invite Little Grump to see it on the big screen - 700 million viewers so far - but it is not shown in USA movie theaters. C is against messing with gravity. Not good.

C switches to German, and shares with me her currently favorite racy videos, with words and references to various body parts fascinating to 10 year-olds. But Ugly is touching.

When I packed it, it was 2 immaculate strudel rolls. Next morning it was like a medical school dermatology textbook illustration of the dreaded Baghdad boils. Hope it tastes better than what it looks, and do not forget the schlag!

Meanwhile, Google remembers May 17, 2010

And I remember Mother's Day from a year ago.

            ======== Deutsche Übersetzung ========================

C erinnerte sich, dass ich ein Rezept für Apfelstrudel hatte. Also wollte sie rüberkommen und es mit mir machen, als Schulprojekt, um ihre Österreichische Kultur zu zeigen, was würden ihre Mutter und Großmutter für ein solches Projekt backen?

Ich fuhr zum nächsten Supermarkt, um den Phylloteig zu holen. Ich kam mit einer Tonne Vorräte zurück, die ich nicht brauchte, mit einer Ausnahme: dem Phylloteig. Ich bin wieder rausgefahren. Sie hatten die richtige Größe. Drei Supermärkte später bekam ich die richtige Größe.

Ich fuhr hinüber, um sie um 18 Uhr abzuholen, wie vereinbart. Aber die 3 kleinen Nörgler waren nicht da - also saß ich auf ihrer Türschwelle und wartete 1 1/2 Stunden lang. Besorgt über etwas, das Großer Jammerer passiert ist, da er nicht auf meinen Text reagiert hat.

Als sie auftauchten, kicherte C und sagte, dass sie mich - naja - einfach vergessen hatten. Ich weiß nicht, von welcher Schule der Etikette sie ihre Manieren bekommen ("Danke" ist ein verbottener Satz in dieser Schule). Auf der anderen Seite geht es ihnen in ihren jeweiligen Schulen sehr gut, so OK. Man braucht Liebe, um sich mit den kleinen Miesepeterchen abzufinden.

Kleine Jammerer grüßte nicht einmal, er marschierte einfach vorbei, also werde ich nie wissen, warum - aus etwa Millionen von Konfirmationsspruchen möglich - drei Kinder in seiner Konfirmationsklasse den gleichen Lukas 18:27 auswählten: "Was für Menschen unmöglich ist, ist für Gott möglich"? Nicht die offensichtlichste Wahl, oder?

Andererseits habe ich in seinem Konfirmationsdienst erfahren, dass Jesus tatsächlich der erste Republikaner war:  Johannes 15, 16a: "Nicht ihr habt mich erwählt, sondern ich habe euch erwähl." Die grundlegende christliche Lektion, jetzt, da Jim Crow gezwickt werden muss: Erstellen Sie Kongressbezirke, indem Sie die Wähler auswählen, die Sie gewählt haben.

Jetzt hatten C und ich sehr wenig Zeit, bevor sie wieder abgeholt wurde. Normalerweise bringt mich C dazu, alles zu tun, aber diesmal war sie die Köchin - las das Rezept, maß die Zutaten, streichelte den Phylloteig mit Butter, rollte die Strudelrollen auf. Ich war ausschließlich Assistentin des Sous-Chefs. Das Ergebnis waren zwei gigantische Apfelstrudelrollen, die weder C's noch meine Oma je gutheißen würden.

Es stellte sich heraus, dass es sich nicht um ein Schulprojekt handelte, das heute fällig war. Es ist wirklich für ihren Klassenkameraden Alexander den Holländer, den sie mag.

Dann, als wir darauf warteten, dass der Strudel backt, und die erforderliche Schlagsahne auftreiben, diskutierten wir Die Wandernde Erde. Weltweiter Blockbuster, außer in den USA, weil Helden Chinesen und Russen sind, keine Gringos. Ein Film, der für Teenager-Spieler gemacht wurde. Ich würde Kleine Jammerer einladen, es auf der großen Leinwand zu sehen, aber es wird in den USA nicht gezeigt. C ist dagegen, sich mit der Schwerkraft zu beschäftigen. Nicht gut.

C wechselt nach Deutsch und teilt mit mir ihre derzeit beliebtesten rassigen Videos mit Worten und Hinweisen auf verschiedene Körperteile, die für 10-Jährige faszinierend sind. Aber Hässlich ist rührend.

Als ich es verpackte, waren es 2 makellose Strudelrollen. Am nächsten Morgen war es wie ein Lehrbuch der Medizinischen Fakultät für Dermatologie, das die gefürchteten Bagdad Geschwüre illustrierte. Ich hoffe, es schmeckt besser als das, was es aussieht, und vergiss nicht den Schlagsahne!

The strange and wonderful manner of Gargantua's birth, and old grumpies

Now it is my fate to have to humour any number of old grumpies, all totally uninhibited about their endless lists of dislikes. Which reminds me of one of my favorite parts (well, there are many) of Rabelais Gargantua and Pantagruel  in 1936 Jacques Le Clercq translation:

I.VI The strange and wonderful manner of Gargantua's birth

A few moments later she began to groan, lament and cry out. Suddenly crowds of midwives came rushing up from all directions. Feeling and groping her below, they found certain loose shreds of skin, of a rather unsavory odor, which they took to be the child. It was, on the contrary, her fundament which had escaped with the mollification of her right intestine (you call it the bumgut) because she had eaten too much tripe, as I explained above.

Here comes the part the reminds me of the sins of old grumpies, and their loong looong lists of dislikes:

A truly revolting thought, this, but one suggested by the story of the Devil at St. Martin's Mass noting down the chatter of two trollops and with his teeth stretching the parchment he wrote on, in a vain effort to keep up with them.

And now we carry on with the miraculous birth of Gargantua:

As a result of Gargamelle’s discomfort, the cotyledons of the placenta of her matrix were enlarged. The child, leaping through the breech and entering the hollow vein, ascended through her diaphragm to a point above her shoulders. Here the vein divides into two; the child accordingly worked his way in a sinistral direction, to issue, finally, through the left ear.

No sooner born, he did not, like other babes, cry: "'"Whaay! Whaay!” but in a full, loud voice bawled: "'Drink, drink, drink!’’ as though inviting the company to fall to. What is more, he shouted so lustily that he was heard throughout the regions of Beuxe (pronounced "booze”) and Bibarois (which in sound evokes bibbers and is how the Gascons pronounce "Vivarais”) .

Now I suspect that you do not thoroughly believe this strange nativity. If you do not, I care but little, though an honest and sensible man always believes what he is told and what he finds written. Does not Solomon say in Proverbs (XIII, 15): "Innocens credit omni verbo, the innocent believeth every word,” and does not St. Paul (I Corinthians, 13) declare: "Charitas omma credit, Charity believeth all.”

Why should you not believe what I tell you? Because, you reply, there is no evidence. And I reply in turn that for this very reason you should believe with perfect faith. For the gentlemen of the Sorbonne say that faith is the argument of non-evident truths.

Is anything I have related beyond our law or faith, contrary to our reason, or opposed to Divine Scriptures? For my part, I find nothing in the Holy Bible that stands against it. And if such had been the will of God, would you affirm that He could not accomplish it? Ha, I pray you, do not ambiguembrangle your minds with such vain conceits. I tell you that nothing is impossible to God and, if He but pleased, women would henceforth give birth to their children through the left ear.

Was not Bacchus engendered out of the very thigh of Jupiter? Was not Roquetaillade or Cleftrock ushered into the world through his mother’s heel? Did not Croquemouche or Craunchfly first see the light out of his nurse’s slipper? Was not Minerva progenerated out of the brain and through the ear of Jupiter? Was not the bark of a myrrh tree brought to bed of Adonis? And did not an eggshell, laid and hatched by Leda, extravasate Castor and Pollux into being?

You would be infinitely more surprised and stunned were I presently to expose to you the entire chapter in which Pliny deals with fantastic and unnatural births, yet I am not nearly so accomplished a liar as he was. Read his Natural History, Book VII. Chapter III, yourselves, and do not plague me further with the subject.

Going to "Planet Nine From Outer Space" lecture with a teen

[Deutsche Übersetzung ist unten]

I had invited Konstantin Batygin to give us a public lecture on "Planet Nine From Outer Space" because Konstantin is a riot - very California, pierced, tattooed, purple punk hairdo. Then I thought - you know, A might like it. So I SMSed him that if he comes to the lecture there is a $25 reward from you-know-who.

The inevitable confusion issued because A the-wild-child answered "yes" only to he $25 SMS, no SMS or voicemail response to anything after that. Gene knew nothing about the lecture (but I had written to him as well?), not having been told by A. And I had no clue about how the child is to get to Georgia Tech campus. 

I got a Lyft, more or less kidnapped the child on the spot, Lyft turned around and took us back to the campus, leaving Gene trying to reach the drumming teacher that A should have had a class with at 7:30 (but had not told me anything about).

In other words, everything was normal.

A in flip-flops and I ran across the campus in a tropical downpour, and got totally drenched and happy into the lecture. Konstantin is a very young astronomer (especially for a discoverer of a new planet), totally Los Angeles / Hollywood: an American Russian who speaks Japanese as he grew up in Japan, and has a rock band, so he combines public lectures with gigs for his band. Audience was roaring with laughter, and A, usually his little grumpy teenage self, could not help himself - he laughed several times too.

He told me about his favorite game now. I forget the name, but a mad scientist develops a cocktail of Ebola and like viruses in order to wipe out humanity and save the planet. Perhaps this game? I have to admit that I find the premise of the game appealing :)

Gene, however, is dead set against the kid being paid to attend lectures, so I very solemnly declared "I will absolutely not pay him".

I'll just tell grandma he went to the lecture. What happens then is not my department:)

Also, I told him he could do some work for Marty and Steve to help them with their electronics and get paid. I'll talk to Steve about it.

All in all, A one on one, without the family, is a pleasant date.

------------------------------------------------------

Ich hatte Konstantin Batygin eingeladen, um uns einen öffentlichen Vortrag über "Planet Nine From Outer Space" zu halten, weil Konstantin ein Aufstand ist - sehr californisch, durchbohrt, tätowiert, lila Punkfrisur. Dann dachte ich - weißt du, A könnte es gefallen. Also habe ich ihm eine SMS geschickt, dass, wenn er zu der Vorlesung kommt, es eine Belohnung von $25 gibt.

Die unvermeidliche Verwirrung entstand, weil A das Wildkind nur auf die $25 SMS, keine SMS oder Voicemail-Antwort auf irgendetwas danach mit "ja" antwortete. Gene wusste nichts über den Vortrag (aber ich hatte ihm auch geschrieben?), ohne dass A es ihm gesagt hatte. Und ich hatte keine Ahnung, wie das Kind zum Georgia Tech Campus kommen sollte.

Ich bekam ein Lyft, mehr oder weniger entführt das Kind auf der Stelle, Lyft drehte sich um und brachte uns zurück auf den Campus, wobei Gene versuchte, den Schlagzeuglehrer zu erreichen, mit dem A um 7:30 Uhr eine Klasse hätte haben sollen (aber mir nichts davon erzählt hatte).

Mit anderen Worten, alles war normal.

A in Flip-Flops und ich lief in einem tropischen Regenguss über den Campus und wurde völlig durchnässt und glücklich in den Vortrag. Konstantin ist ein sehr junger Astronom (besonders für einen Entdecker eines neuen Planeten), total Los Angeles / Hollywood: ein amerikanischer Russe, der Japanisch spricht, als er in Japan aufgewachsen ist, und eine Rockband hat, also kombiniert er öffentliche Vorträge mit Auftritten für seine Band. Das Publikum lachte vor Lachen, und A, meist sein kleines, mürrisches Teenager-Selbst, konnte sich nicht helfen - er lachte auch mehrmals.

Er hat mir jetzt von seinem Lieblingsspiel erzählt. Ich vergesse den Namen, aber ein verrückter Wissenschaftler entwickelt einen Cocktail aus Ebola und ähnlichen Viren, um die Menschheit auszulöschen und den Planeten zu retten. Vielleicht dieses Spiel? Ich muss zugeben, dass ich die Prämisse des Spiels attraktiv finde :)

Gene ist jedoch völlig dagegen, dass das Kind für die Teilnahme an Vorträgen bezahlt wird, also habe ich sehr feierlich erklärt: "Ich werde ihn absolut nicht bezahlen".

Ich sage Oma einfach, dass er zur Vorlesung gegangen ist. Was dann passiert, ist nicht meine Abteilung:)

Außerdem sagte ich ihm, dass er etwas für Marty und Steve arbeiten könnte, um ihnen mit ihrer Elektronik zu helfen und bezahlt zu werden. Ich werde mit Steve darüber reden.

Alles in allem ist A eins zu eins, ohne die Familie, ein angenehmes Date.

Child labor is illegal

10-year old C. came over and made us dynamite carbonara, and even though the prep was not perfect (she did not mention she needed heavy cream). We also made a mean chili con carne together. I can recommend her as a cook for hire.

"However," says C., "I am a child, and child labor is illegal. But you know what? I can pretend to be cooking just because I enjoy cooking, and you can pretend that you are giving me the money a gift, as adults give kids gifts. So you are really paying me, but we pretend it's all for fun, OK?"

Child labor injury - as she was mincing jalapeno, a drop of jalapeno fluid flew into her eye. Ouch! and a red eye.

Scott Locklin on the death of Marty Halpern

In his blog, Scott Locklin reminisces about the death of his buddy Marty Halpern. A sweet manly friendship. The only thing I can add is that to the best of my knowledge,  I do not tell jokes. That must have been the famous Cvitanović.

Now that I'm on Scott: Scott finds Mussolini a more talented writer than Hitler. I dunno, but that's a low threshold. I believe every thinking person should read Mein Kampf not for its literary value, but to understand that he wrote down everything he would eventually do when he was still just another freak in the Weimar Republic freak show. And still, the moron industrialists put him in the position of total power. They clearly did not read Das Buch.

Killing of Scout Schultz, 2 years later

(continued from my post of  Sept 20, 2017)

I found nothing new the status of killing of Scout Schultz investigation (wiki) since September. Do not know anyone at Georgia Tech other than Andrea in School of Physics who cares.  Georgia is high even for United States in the number of police homicides. Historically zero in indicting policemen who kill, though in recent years a few especially nasty killing have led to indictments.

Casey Miles interviewed Hallie Lieberman about the death of Scout Schultz and the aftermath: getlively.podbean.com (Media link;  podcastrepublic.net, 18 Oct 2018)

Hallie Lieberman: "The Trigger Effect" (magazine.atavist.com,  Aug 2018)

A tribute from a friend, written as Anonymous: Scout Schultz was a burning flare maskmagazine.com (Sept 2017)

Officer Tyler Beck who killed Schultz (see the ajc.com article of Sept 25, 2017) rejoined Georgia Tech’s police force in December 2017 in an administrative capacity after being placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation.. The investigation was completed March 2020, see my post of March 12, 2020, so I presume officer Beck is again patrolling the campus.

The family has a civil suit against him and GTPD: cbs46.com (Sept 19, 2018); ajc.com (Sept 11, 2019). I do not know whether the prosecutor decision of March 2020 (see above) vacates the suit.

This Oct 11, 2017 ajc.com article appears informative.

PS
 
On Sept 17, 2019, the 2nd anniversary of the murder, Scout's friends pasted stickers around Georgia Tech's campus in their memory.

Technique: One year later memorial and vigil remember Scout (Sept 22, 2018) 

The Contemporaries Project: It’s A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird - Writings on Scout Schultz (Sept 17, 2018)

Technique: Schultz death sparks outrage, promises, change (Sept 17, 2019) The Technique filed an Open Records Act request on Aug. 27 for information on Beck’s employment status. At the time of publishing, Institute’s legal team had not complied with the request.

11alive.com: 'Scout was a literal genius' (Sept 12, 2019)

GoFundMe (March 21, 2019): Help JT sue cops who lied to falsely arrest him

A tribute from Anonymous: Scout Schultz was a burning flare maskmagazine.com (Sept 2017)

And did I mention how important it is to have independent journalism? Were it not for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, all news would be controlled by the State of Georgia, be it through Georgia Tech administration or Georgia State police, and we would have never even known that a student in a moment of mental crises was killed in front of his dorm, to the horror of students watching the killing through dorm windows.

(continued in my post of March 12, 2020)