Kidney Failure is a “Normal” Result of a Partial Colectomy

After my wife’s partial colectomy her catheter bag was filled with red fluid instead of urine. I pointed this out to the surgeon, and he said, “that’s normal.” She did not look well. I was somewhat relieved she’d survived 5 hours of surgery, but she looked pale and half-comatose, reminding me of the time 29 years earlier when she suffered a stroke and almost died. The next morning, she looked much better–there was color in her cheeks. However, 2 different kidney specialists came to see her, and it was then I learned she came out of surgery with kidney failure. One of the kidney specialists prescribed an IV fluid of just water to re-hydrate her kidneys and get them going, and her catheter bag began filling with normal-colored urine. Beware: when gastroenterologists push this kind of surgery, they don’t tell you kidney failure is a normal complication of the procedure. The 6th floor of Piedmont Hospital holds all the patients of gastroenterologists, and my wife’s room wasn’t the only one visited by the kidney doctors. I found 1 study online that estimated 3%-35% of patients undergoing prolonged abdominal surgery suffer from kidney failure. The wide range in estimates suggests this dangerous complication of a quite common surgery is vastly understudied.

Kidney failure is a common complication of prolonged abdominal surgery. Gastroenterologists won’t tell you this when they are pushing surgery.

Most of the nurses and staff at Piedmont Hospital were professional and excellent, but overall, the care was a uneven. My wife was in the hospital for 5 days including the surgery, and she left on the 6th day. She had an older nurse during the day shift on the weekend, and this nurse was always there for her. The night nurse on the weekend, a woman who looked like Miss America, was also always available. Perhaps the best nurse was with her on the 2nd night after the surgery when my wife was suffering from low oxygen saturation and in great pain. This nurse stuck with her and made sure she was breathing oxygen from the tank through her nose before she administered the pain medication. They gave her 2 types of heavy pain medication: dilaudid (which knocked her out) and robaxin, a special kind of muscle relaxant used for patients who had abdominal surgery. The latter drug caused her to have hallucinations. Some of the other nurses who took care of my wife were masters of the vanishing act. One day, 6 hours passed without a nurse seeing her. The worst times were during shift changes when there was not a single nurse on the entire floor. (I suspect they have some kind of stupid bureaucratic meeting during shift changes.) During 1 shift change my wife waited 2 hours for a Tylenol, while patients in the adjacent rooms begged for help and moaned in pain. On some days nurses came by and scanned by wife’s armband, then left without doing anything. They left evidence they were there, I suppose. Conversely, at night when my wife was trying to sleep, the nurses would be there constantly, checking her vitals, and IV technicians would tag along and take blood samples. The worst sleep disruption was a 5 am non-consensual sponge bath. They had all day to give her a sponge bath. Why do it at 5 am?

Another annoying experience of her hospital stay were the sensers on her monitoring machines. They would beep incessantly, and we couldn’t get a nurse to come in and stop the beeping. Hospital technicians were faster than the nurses, but they aren’t allowed to touch the IV machines. I figured out how to stop the beeping, many of the buttons were self-explanatory. I ended up unhooking the machines myself, so my wife could go to the bathroom. The techs told me not to do that, but she didn’t have time to wait when she had to use the restroom. I was furious at how long they left the catheter in her. The tubes were a tripping hazard when I transferred her in and out of her wheelchair and on and off the toilet. I understand why they kept it in longer–they had to monitor her kidney function–but still, it should have come out a day earlier because her urine was clearing up.

The cafeteria food was not bad, though a tad pricey. They offer the typical fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches, and theme-of-the day meals. None of it was as good as my home-cooking, and I got bored with it. The rooms had nice fold-out beds, and the hospital does let patients have 1 overnight guest. I stayed all 5 nights. The doctors wanted her to stay even longer, but I demanded her discharge a day early. There was nothing they could do that I could not do at home, and our home was better set up for a disabled person.

A Pre-Emptive Subtotal Colectomy?

3 different doctors told us my wife’s colon needed to be removed. This ongoing ordeal began last spring when she sent a fecal sample to Cologuard, a company that advertises frequently since the medical establishment has become fixated on reducing deaths from colon cancer. The results found genetic markers suggesting my wife might have colon cancer. The doctor ordered a colonoscopy. This procedure entails sticking a camera up a person’s ass. The doctor also removes polyps to be biopsied, while they are looking for possible cancerous tumors. Doctors normally find 1 or 2 polyps in most people, and most polyps are not cancerous. The doctor found hundreds of polyps in my wife’s colon–too many to remove at once because there would be an increased risk of perforating the intestinal wall. None of the polyps they removed or looked at were cancerous, but the gastroenterologist called them “pre-cancerous,” and he told us there was a “100% chance” she would develop colon cancer. He told us her colon should be removed.

My wife has hundreds of pre-cancerous polyps in her colon. Doctors want to remove her colon because they can’t biopsy them all.

I researched the subject before we decided to follow the doctor’s orders. It didn’t make sense to me that doctors would want to perform such a drastic procedure when they didn’t even find cancer. The average age of a person developing colon cancer is 71, and my wife is only 61. Why go through such an invasive operation before she might even get sick? Serious surgery could make her get sick when she wasn’t sick prior to the operation. I could find no studies that show pre-emptive colectomies (the term for colon removal) decreased mortality rates. Her surgeon later explained to me this data didn’t exist because most people get colectomies when their doctors tell them they need it. I also researched colon cancer, and it is scary. Colon cancer can spread to other organs and cause people to sicken and die within a few years. We consulted with our family doctor, and he concurred with the gastroenterologist. He explained the colon is located so near the liver that cancer could easily spread to this organ. My wife decided to have the operation based on our family doctor’s concurrence, and I didn’t object. Though I am skeptical, I’m not a doctor and I defer to their expertise. If I had this issue, I wouldn’t go through all this medical torture and would be content to take a dirt nap when my body naturally failed me, but I can understand why people fear death. Besides, what if I influenced her not to have the procedure, then she developed colon cancer? How would we feel about that decision? The regret might poison our relationship, and I might become wracked with guilt.

We went to meet the gastro-intestinal surgeon, and he agreed with the other 2 doctors, but he wanted to perform a colonoscopy himself, so he could determine what kind of colectomy would be best. If pre-cancerous polyps were found throughout the entire colon, he would remove it completely, and she would have to wear a plastic bag that collected her waste. Fortunately, he found no pre-cancerous polyps in her rectum and the bottom part of her colon, and he determined he would be able to perform a bowel resection–a procedure that involves connecting the small intestine with the remaining part of the colon. Nobody wants to wear a bag of shit, if it can be avoided.

This is the surgery my wife is going to have. The hospital estimates the cost will be $64,000, but our insurance company is going to cover it entirely. The insurance company isn’t going to pay anything close to $64,000, but if we didn’t have insurance, we would receive the bill in its entirety. What a bunch of crooks.

This is what the surgery looks like. I hope I didn’t ruin your appetite for Thanksgiving dinner.

We scheduled the surgery. It is officially called a hand assisted laparoscopic subtotal colectomy. A laparoscope is used, so they don’t have to make a large incision. Instead, the surgeon makes a smaller incision and inserts a camera that allows him to work without opening her up all the way. A urologist will also perform a procedure to prevent her urethra from being damaged during the surgery. The surgeon will remove most of her colon and suture her small intestine to her remaining colon, probably using absorbable sutures made from polyglycolic acid. The surgery will take 3-4 hours, and my wife will have to stay in the hospital for 3-5 days. The suture between the intestines is known as an anastomosis. The most common complication is leakage at the anastomosis. She won’t be allowed to leave the hospital until she has a bowel movement that proves the surgery was successful, but the opiate pain killers they give her will shut down her digestive system. They will administer additional drugs that will counter this side effect.

The first successful bowel resection was performed by Jean Reybard during 1825, but the Paris Academy of Medicine condemned the risky operation. Until the late 19th century, patients with intestinal injuries were left to die (given up to God, as they referred to it), but with the widespread use of anesthesia, medical science advanced. The surgeon rates my wife’s prognosis as good. Without the procedure he rates her prognosis as “unknown.”

We met a pre-op nurse who gave instructions along with a bag of special Ensure drinks to build up my wife’s immune system a week before the surgery. The nurse seemed a little too delighted. She was thorough, but her syrupy attitude struck me as oddly enthusiastic. It made me wonder what she’s really like at home. The crazy nurse from Stephen King’s novel, Misery, maybe? We have to be at the hospital at 6 am the day before the surgery, so the doctor can mark the spot of the anastomosis with a dye. This requires yet another colonoscopy. The day of the surgery we have to be there at 5 am–literally a nightmare. I’m an old man, and I hate driving in the dark. The sugary nurse told us we couldn’t bring a futon for me to sleep upon, but I am going to try to break that rule. If I have to sleep on a chair for 3 nights, I will be furious. I’m putting this blog on hiatus until next year. Going through this ordeal is going to be all consuming, and I don’t feel like working on it.

Flawed Study Suggests Anthropogenic Fires Caused the Extirpations of Megafauna Near the La Brea Tar Pits

A group of scientists think they’ve found the answer to what caused the disappearance of most of the megafauna species that lived near the La Brea Tar Pits. They took sediment cores from several sites near the tar pits and measured the quantities and composition of pollen and the amount of charcoal present–an indicator of fire frequency. They radio-carbon dated the layers of the core. They also used radio-carbon dates from 172 specimens of megafauna species in the region including saber-tooth, giant lion, dire wolf, coyote, bison, camel, horse, and ground sloth. They fed this data into a statistical model and concluded as the climate became warmer and drier, the environment became more susceptible to fires set by increasing populations of humans. The anthropogenic fires transformed the landscape from juniper-oak woodlands into a semi-arid chapparal, and the only surviving megafauna species (that they studied) was coyote. (A chapparal is a dry landscape covered in pine, shrub, flowering herbs, grass, and cactus, and the climate consists of mild winters and hot summers.) These extirpations in Southern California occurred about 1,000 years before the extinctions in the rest of the North American continent, but they occurred at the same time these species were in decline elsewhere. Camels and ground sloths disappeared a few hundred years before the other species in this study, but I should note (which this study does not) that the most recently dated specimen was likely not the last surviving member of the species–there still could have been a considerable population that perchance left no fossil evidence. A serious flaw in the conclusion reached by this study occurred to me.

This illustration is a ridiculous exaggeration, and I think it is based on a seriously flawed assumption. From the below referenced study.

List of species used in the below referenced study and their final extirpation date estimates.

The authors of this study assume the transformation of juniper/oak woodlands to a dry chapparal environment resulted in the local extirpations of megafauna here. The problem with this hypothesis is that at least 3 of the species used in this study thrive in semi-arid chapparal like environments. Lions live in semi-arid environments all across Africa. Wild horses are most common in the American southwest where they roam deserts. And camels, of course, are known to live in arid environments, and today introduced wild camels survive in Australian deserts. I realize the North America Pleistocene versions of these species are not exactly the same as modern species, but they were highly adaptable and lived all across North America, and they endured all kinds of sudden dramatic shifts in climate, including peak Ice Ages which caused widespread arid conditions. I seriously doubt a shift to more open drier conditions negatively affected horses, camels, and lions. I think populations of these species would increase in this type of environment.

Horses thrive in the semi-arid type of environment that the below referenced study erroneously assumed caused their extirpation in southern California.

Camels also can endure semi-arid conditions. I think the authors of this study blundered in their conclusion.

19 scientists put their name on this paper. I find it hard to believe this obvious flaw in their conclusion occurred to none of them. It occurred to me before I finished reading the paper. I contacted the lead author of the paper and pointed out this flaw, but so far, he has not responded. It seems as if scientists want to bridge the gap between climate models of extinction with those who hold humans are solely responsible. Put me in the latter camp. The increase in fire frequency is proxy evidence for the presence of humans. Direct hunting by humans increased megafauna mortality above the ability of these large slow-reproducing animals to maintain their populations. It was overhunting by humans, not a change in fire regime that caused the extinction of these species. It is the simplest explanation, and the only one that makes sense to me.

Reference:

O’Keefe, R. et. al.

“Pre-Younger Dryas Megafaunal Extirpations at Rancho La Brea Linked to Fire-Driven Shift”

Science August 17, 2023

The Ancestors of House Cats (Felis sylvestris) Followed Human Farmers into Europe

I’m living the “Trouble with Tribbles” episode of Star Trek. The plot of this episode revolves around cute, little, furry animals introduced on board the star ship Enterprise as pets. A problem arises when they reproduce so rapidly, they clog the engines and foul the food supply. The plot must have been inspired by house cats. Two years ago, animal control (without my knowledge at the time) removed most of the cats living near my house. Years before this, I started feeding just a couple of stray cats, and my neighbors love cats and feed them too. The population exploded. After so many cats were removed it didn’t take long for them to replenish their population. I’m attached to 3 of the cats, but I wish a coyote would come along and get rid of the rest. They swarm the front door, and when I have to take my disabled wife to an appointment, it is a nuisance to try and get her wheelchair out of the house when the cats get in the way. I’m going to research birth control cat food because I don’t have the heart to do anything else about it.

Scene from the “Trouble with Tribbles” episode of Star Trek. It seems as if I am living in the episode.

Cats are cute and entertaining, and I am attached to some of the cats, but they can be a real nuisance when I am trying to roll my wife’s wheelchair in and out of the house.

House cats are a commensal species that thrive near human habitations. They descend from a North African subspecies of wild cat, but scientists have determined it is the same species as the European wild cat. The ancestors of this subspecies of wild cat first started living near man in the Middle East (also known as the Levant) about 9500 years ago when humans transformed forest into farmland, thus increasing populations of the mice that feed upon cereal crops. An isotopic study of 6 cat remains found in caves located in Poland determined this Middle Eastern subspecies of wild cat followed human farmers into central Europe between 6200-4300 years ago. These are the oldest known cat remains (of this subspecies) in Europe. They occupied the same ecological niche as the European subspecies of wild cat and had a similar diet. The specimens found in Polish caves were living wild and their diets were not supplemented by humans. There are no cat remains in this region near human habitations from this time period, so scientists aren’t sure if tame populations occurred here this early.

The transformation of forest into wheat, barley, rye, and fallow fields greatly increased the population of house mice (Mus musculus), a primary food of both subspecies of wild cats. Wild cats also fed upon rabbits, hares, and birds; especially black grouse, migratory thrushes, and woodcocks. The latter species spends much time on the ground and is particularly vulnerable to cat predation.

Image from the below referenced study. The North African subspecies of wild cat followed humans into Europe where a different subspecies of wild cat already occurred. Remains of the former were found in Polish caves and date to about 5,000 years ago. From the below referenced study.

Chart showing species fed upon by wildcats in Europe based on isotopic evidence. These are species of mice and voles that lived in the wilderness rather than near farmland. From the below referenced study.

Both subspecies of wild cats interbreed on occasion, but they have somewhat different behavior patterns. House cats sleep more; European wild cats spend more time scent marking and are more vigilant.

Reference:

Krajcarz, M.; M. Krajcarz, M. Baca, and H. Bocherens

“Ancestors of Domestic Cat in Neolithic Central Europe: Isotopic Evidence of a Synanthropic Diet”

PNAS 117 (30) July 2020

Some Selected Snail Species Native to Georgia

Historically, famines occurred across France, perhaps explaining why the French hold such reverence for good cooking. People subject to starvation may have a greater appreciation for food preparation and gastronomic enjoyment. During the French Revolution for example there was a shortage of bread and people rioted. The hungry populace was reduced to dietary desperation and turned to frogs and snails. The former tastes pretty good, frog meat is clean and white, but snails are completely neutral in flavor. Nevertheless, they are a good source of protein, though they have to be carefully prepared because they often carry parasites. Some species of snails may consume toxic vegetation as well. I have eaten snails–they don’t taste bad; they simply have no flavor. The appeal of the famous French dish of escargot is dunking good bread in the garlic butter sauce the snails are cooked in.

Escargot. Just about any protein tastes good in parsley, garlic, and butter. Snails are very lean meat and need the fat from the butter.

In a recent study scientists estimated there are between 215-282 species of land snails native to the state of Georgia, far more than the known 67 species of aquatic snails that live in the state. There are 214 species of land snails from 28 different families with representative specimens in museums, but the authors of the below referenced study estimate there are 68 more. The list of species in this 2019 study was the first snail species list published since 1964. Snails are understudied (like I have mentioned about spiders previously) because the number of species far outnumbers the scientists interested in studying them. Snails are abundant wherever soils are rich in calcium, an element necessary for them to develop shells. Snails are valuable components of the ecosystem. Their droppings fertilize soil, they reprocess organic material, making nutrients more available for plant roots, and they disperse seeds.

A few interesting species of snails found in Georgia include the bearded mystery snail (Viviparus georgianus), Goniabasis catenaria, and the eastern whitelip (Neohelion albolabris). The bearded mystery snail lives in ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. These snails live in shallow water during summer but move to deeper water during winter. They are unusual because they give birth to live young–most snails lay eggs. They feed upon detritus, diatoms, algae, and fish eggs. Although they are currently considered 1 species, scientists suspect populations from 3 different river systems are 3 different species.

Bearded mystery snail.

Goniobasis catenaria. This species doesn’t have a common name.

This species of land snail is abundant in Georgia.

Goniobasis has no common name. It lives on rocky shoals in the piedmont and is accordingly endangered. Many shoals in the piedmont have been inundated by reservoirs or silt from erosion. Eastern whitelips on the other hand are common. They are the largest widespread snails in Georgia. (Apple snails, a larger species, are restricted to 1 county in southwestern Georgia.) They reach 40 mm in size. They are common from Georgia west to Mississippi. During wet weather I often see them in my yard, especially on my compost pile where they feed upon fruit and vegetable refuse. I also seem them foraging on rock, cement, and brick; somehow getting calcium from these sources. I used to grow napa cabbage and bok choy in my garden, and they loved these calcium rich vegetables. I don’t use pesticide on green leafy vegetables, and I was also plagued with tiny black snails that seemed to do just as much damage to the vegetables as the larger snails.

Reference:

Felix, Z; M. Dubue, and H. Rona

“A Tentative List of Land Snails in Georgia”

Georgia Journal of Science 77 (27) 2019

Pleistocene Sumac (Rhus sp.)

Sumac is a common shrub found throughout eastern North America where it thrives in old fields and roadsides because it prefers sunny locations. The red berries ripen in late September here in Augusta, Georgia, and I often make a pleasantly acid tea with them. Malic acid, the same substance that makes apples tart, is what gives sumac berries a sour taste. To make the tea, steep the berries in hot water for about an hour. Don’t refrigerate the tea, or the sour taste will become bitter. The berries are also used as a seasoning in Middle Eastern cuisine.

There are 29 species of sumac in North America, 1 in western Asia and Europe, 1 in Hawaii, and 4 in eastern Asia. This is evidence sumac originated in North America. Genetic evidence suggests sumac spread across the Bering land bridge to Eurasia 33 million years ago. Birds spread sumac seeds by consuming the fruit and depositing the still viable seeds in their droppings. I’ve witnessed cardinals and mockingbirds eating sumac berries. Sumac also spreads through their underground roots.

Staghorn sumac. It is easily distinguished from poison sumac.

Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) looks nothing like true sumac. It is a species of poison ivy.

Sumac has been common in North America since the Eocene.

Poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix) is not a true sumac but instead is a species of poison ivy. It is easy to distinguish between poison sumac and true edible sumac. True sumac produces seed clusters that stand up, like an erection. Poison sumac berries droop.

Sumac is a member of the cashew family (Anacardiacaea). Sumac’s closest relatives are poison ivy and pistachio. Sumac diverged from their closest relatives about 49 million years ago. Within the sumac genus (Rhus) there was a divergence between 2 subgroups (Lobelia and Rhus) about 33 million years ago. Some of the better known species of sumac include 3 leaf sumac (R. trilobata), staghorn sumac (R. typhina), and smooth sumac (R. glabra). Dwarf sumac (R. michauxii) is considered endangered and is only known from 1 site in Georgia, 1 site in North Carolina, and 1 site in Virginia. Most species grow from 3-33 feet high.

Genetic evidence suggests sumac has been a common plant since the Eocene. The open conditions that prevailed during Ice Ages likely favored the development of sumac patches then.

References:

Burke, J., and J.C. Hamrish

“Genetic Variation and Evidence of Hybridization in the Genus Rhus (Anacardiaceae)

Journal of Heredity 2002

Huang. L., et al

“Three complete Chloroplast genomes from the North American Rhus Species, Phylogenome of Anacardiaceae”

BMC Genome Data March 2025

Freshwater Drum (Aplodinatus grunniens) Remains Found in Indian Middens

I went to my brother-in-law’s wedding 2 weeks ago. The ceremony was held at a winery with a beautiful view of Nickajack Lake and the surrounding mountains located in southern Tennessee. Benny Hull caught the world record freshwater drum in this lake during 1972. This specimen weighed 54 pounds, far larger than any other freshwater drum ever caught. Josh Cole caught the largest freshwater drum when using bow fishing equipment, and it was about 31 pounds.

I can’t find a photo on the web of the world record freshwater drum caught by Benny Hull, but this is the world record specimen caught using bowfishing equipment by Josh Cole. The record caught by Hull using rod and reel was almost twice as big.

Adult freshwater drum average 5-15 pounds.

The freshwater drum belongs to the Scianidae family. Most of the species in this family live in shallow salt water. Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) and red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) are better known species in this family. Like their saltwater cousins, freshwater drum make a drumming noise when fishermen land them. Freshwater drums dwell near the bottom where they feed upon mussels, snails, crayfish, small fish, and aquatic insects. The shellfish diet suggests freshwater drums have a good flavor, but many fishermen consider them trash fish and throw them away. An article written on the meateater.com website stated 95% of people who try freshwater drum like the flavor, so it is another fish species with an unfounded poor reputation. Adult drums average 5-15 pounds, showing just how unusually large the world record specimens were. This species spawns in shallow water during early-midsummer. They inhabit large rivers and lakes.

Freshwater drum remains are often found in ancient Indian middens, and without modern food prejudices Indians probably preferred them over other species. Preservation bias, however, might explain why their remains are prevalent in Indian trash refuse. The ear bones (known as otoliths) of drums consist of calcium carbonate and are more resistant to decay, making them more likely to be preserved. Indians caught freshwater drum using hook and line, nets, fish traps, and night fishing techniques when they used torches to attract fish that were then speared.

Ear bones of drums yield valuable scientific information about age and size of the fish. They also provide data about past climate. Some people call them lucky stones and collect them.

Indians used torches at night to attract freshwater drum to the surface where they could be speared. They also used hook and line, nets, and fish traps.

A scientist who published a study in 1960 looked at hundreds of otoliths from 5 sites including Lee Mill Cave, Minnesota; Nader Rock Shelter, Illinois; The Clear Lake Site, Illinois; Dustin Green Point Site, Michigan; and Etowah Indian Mounds, Georgia. All the sites are located near rivers. The otoliths date from 985 AD-1530 AD. He used otoliths to estimate the age and size of the fish. Oddly enough, freshwater drum from ancient times were smaller on average than modern drum–a finding that seems counterintuitive because the pristine environment should have produced larger fish. Huge sturgeons were abundant then, and of course trees in virgin forests grew to prodigious size. I hypothesize that because there was less fishing pressure from fewer people perhaps population sizes were larger, and there was more competition for resources, just like underfished lakes and ponds today produce smaller fish. Another study used isotopic values of drum otoliths to estimate past average temperatures, and the results were interesting. During the medieval warm period about 1000 years ago average temperatures were 4-11 degrees F warmer than modern day temperatures–additional evidence the current rate of warming is not unprecedented as alarmists claim. Average annual temperatures equaled modern-day averages after the medieval warm period ended, but between 1400 AD-1500 AD there was an increase in seasonality with winter temperatures averaging 14 degrees F cooler, while summer temperatures averaged .7 degrees warmer than those of today.

Reference:

Patterson, W.

“North American Continental Seasonality During the Last Millenium: High Resolution Analysis of Sagittal Otoliths”

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 138 April 1997

Witt A.

“Length and Width of Ancient Freshwater Drum, Aplodinatus grunniens, Calculated from Otoliths Found in Indian Middens”

Copeia September 26, 1960

Hurricane Helene Knocked Me off the Internet for 2 Weeks

Hurricane Helene left >90% of Augusta, Georgia without power including me. Ironically, in my last blog post before the storm, I mentioned it was a below average hurricane season. Maybe the God of irony was punishing me.

I awoke at 4:12 am on September 26th to take a leak and noticed the power was out. It sounded like a freight train outside, and I could hear sticks and tree limbs striking the house relentlessly. The racket prevented me from falling back asleep. I lit a candle, little knowing how long I was going to have to keep it burning. At the time I was hoping the power would be restored by 5:00 pm that evening because every Friday I enjoy getting drunk and stoned while listening to music on my Alexa. I did not know we would be without power for more than 132.5 hours, breaking the 2014 record 5-day power outage at my house caused by an ice storm. I did realize power was going to be out for some time when later that day we went for a drive around town. There were uprooted hardwood trees everywhere, and many pine trees were broken in half. Fallen trees rested on numerous houses. There were no working traffic lights. (Drivers are supposed to treat these as 4-way stops, but most people don’t know this, and I nearly got into several traffic accidents.) Abandoned cars were left throughout the area because there were few open gas stations, and they had run out of gas. The few gas stations that were open had lines a quarter mile long. Many panicked citizens were filling up gas cans for their generators. Power lines were also down all over the place, and fallen trees blocked some roads. We found a Publix supermarket that was open, and we bought a few things we thought we needed. We stayed in line for over an hour. We bought staples, but I was surprised how much junk food people were purchasing.

Some roads in Augusta were blocked for days by fallen debris.

This power line dangled hazardously on this busy road for days.

It’s still humid during early October in Augusta and with no air conditioning or ceiling fans, we sat and sweated. I did have a battery-operated CD player with a radio that picked up a few stations. I got tired of NPR and their “balanced” coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict when they give equal coverage to Jew-killing terrorists, and the Jewish victims of that terrorism. It didn’t pick up any sports stations, and we couldn’t listen to football games. Being without television and internet was boring. I hated washing dishes with cold water in the dark. We did not have a good flashlight, and I broke some dishes because I could not see, missed the counter, and dropped them on the floor. A stack of dirty laundry stunk up the house. My wife handwashed some of her panties, and I hung them to dry. We tried some uncomfortably cold showers, but mostly we relied on bird baths. The experience totally sucked. Finally, power was restored over five and a half days later, but it took over a week for Xfinity to restore our internet–about 7 days longer than I thought it would. Luckily, when I signed up for Xfinity internet service, I rejected their deal to switch to cable tv or I would have had no television for another week as well. I’m glad I stayed with DirectTV which was available as soon as we got power restored. That was the longest period of time I went without internet since October of 1997 when I bought our first computer.

A pile of dirty clothes stunk up the darkened house.

I didn’t lose any weight during our ordeal. I had leftover baked chicken, coleslaw and rolls prepared ahead of time, so I wouldn’t have to cook during weekend football games. I bought 1 of the last bags of ice from the corner convenience store and put it in the freezer. I moved food from the refrigerator to the freezer and that kept food cool for 2 days, like with an old-fashioned ice box. On Sunday my neighbor let me use his outdoor propane stove to fry fish and hushpuppies, and I saved the only meat left in my freezer from spoiling. We went to the local community center on a whim and discovered a working electrical outlet where we could charge our cell phones. I used an electric skillet here to make pancakes and bacon. Another supper consisted of canned soups cooked on a chafing dish. We also ate a lot of cheese and peanut butter on bread and bagels.

Potato pancakes, tomato salad, and delicata squash. This was the first meal I made after power was restored. The local grocery store didn’t have any fresh meats, dairy products, or lettuce. I only lost about $15 worth of food–a fairly new jar of Hellman’s mayo, a carton of eggs, and some partly used exotic soft cheeses. I didn’t throw out the hard cheeses, and they seemed ok.

The federal government’s response was impressive, contrary to what some ignorant naysayers claim. The army was handing out MRE’s, bags of ice, and big bottles of water, though we didn’t need them. One of my daughter’s co-workers’ lived in a house destroyed by a fallen tree. FEMA provided them with housing in 3 days.

A weird thing happened to me the Friday night after the hurricane. I have a great CD collection that collects dust, since I began listening to music on the internet. As is my tradition, I listened to music while I drank a bottle of wine and enjoyed a THC edible. I rediscovered the James Gang’s Greatest Hits, Elton John’s Honky Chateau album, and I educated my wife and daughter about how Abbey Road by the Beatles should be listened to in its entirety. After they went to the bed, I sat at the kitchen table (as I do every Friday night) and continued to listen to music by candlelight. I got up to take a leak in the bathroom on the opposite side of the house from where my wife was sleeping. It was pitch dark, and I was so stoned, I forgot where I was. I called out to my wife, so I could figure out where I was, but she was asleep and couldn’t hear me. I suddenly began to think I had died and gone to a different dimension. I tried to relax and accept my fate, though I worried what my daughter and disabled wife would do without me. I felt along the wall and kept going until I saw the faint candlelight on the kitchen table, much to my relief. I was not dead after all.

I got drunk and stoned by candlelight. I went to take a leak and got lost in my house.

Science Says Vote for Kamala Harris

Scientific American magazine recently endorsed Kamala Harris for President, and I agree. I am shocked that roughly half of U.S. voters are going to cast their ballots for an admitted serial rapist who ATTEMPTED THE VIOLENT OVERTHROW OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. (I am going to repeat this disqualifying fact throughout this essay because it doesn’t seem to be sinking into the American voters’ psyche.) Trump is also a convicted felon, but integrity doesn’t seem to matter to many Americans anymore. Many Trump voters acknowledge Trump is a rotten human being, and they don’t like his “mean tweets,” but they insist on voting for him because they like his policies. What in the hell are they thinking? What policies? Tax cuts for the rich? Being cruel to brown-skinned people? Appointing judges far outside the American mainstream? Or do they like his VIOLENT ATTEMPT TO OVERTHROW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT?

Polls show a majority of U.S. voters think Trump would do a better job handling the economy. What? Do Americans suffer from some kind of collective amnesia? The economy collapsed under Trump. We couldn’t even find toilet paper when Trump’s economy collapsed due to his incompetent administration of the Covid crisis. Gross Domestic Product fell drastically and unemployment reached double digits. The national debt skyrocketed when Trump was President.

The economy collapsed under Donald Trump. How can people forget this?

The national debt skyrocketed under Trump because of his ill-advised tax cuts for the rich. This increases the tax burden on the middle class and will eventually lead to hyper-inflation when the government has to print paper money to pay for everything.

Trump is a clear danger to democracy, according to his own admission. Trump admits, if elected, he would be a dictator starting on day one and that he would “terminate the constitution.” He also cryptically warned that if he wins the election, Americans will “never have to vote again.” He’s threatened retribution upon his political opponents, suggested assassinating generals who disagree with him, and will use the Justice Department to persecute his perceived enemies. The extremist-controlled Supreme Court, several of whom Trump appointed, recently ruled that the President is above the law, so Trump could use his office to lock up people he doesn’t like. Trump’s acolytes already have a plan to replace government bureaucrats with political stooges that will break the law to do Trump’s bidding. Trump has long expressed his admiration for dictators and has obviously wanted to become one because he already ATTEMPTED THE VIOLENT OVERTHROW OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

Trump said he would terminate the constitution. Anybody who would vote for him is un-American and doesn’t believe in the constitution or the rule of law.

Like all dictators, Trump is corrupt and cares more about his personal finances than the well-being of 330 million American citizens. Along with his daughter and son-in-law his time in office was used to make hundreds of millions of dollars–a clear violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution. Trump falsely claims law enforcement investigations of his blatant corruption are political witch-hunts, but he was indicted 91 times by independent grand juries. He was convicted 34 times. These were not made-up phony charges. Trump is so dumb; he has accidentally confessed to most of his crimes. He is angry about the investigations not because he is innocent, but because he has the mentality of a spoiled child who wants to be able to do whatever he feels like with no restraints. Trump has been corrupt his entire adult life, and we probably only know of a fraction of his illegal acts. Of course, Trump’s biggest crime occurred on January 6, 2021 when he ATTEMPTED THE VIOLENT OVERTHROW OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. I will never understand why he wasn’t jailed the next day.

Trump is not even on the right side of the foreign policy that most people agree will keep our country safe. He invited Russia to attack any country in NATO and has said the U.S. shouldn’t come to that country’s aid. He doesn’t understand the concept of a mutual defense pact. He wants Russia to conquer Ukraine because he has a grudge against Ukraine’s President Zelensky who refused to dig up phony dirt on Biden before the 2020 election. Trump was impeached for asking a foreign leader to interfere in a U.S. election, and he should have been removed from office, but Republicans in the Senate fear his cult following. Trump has proposed tariffs on all imports. This is insane. It would spark a trade war that would lead to a worldwide recession at the very least. The tariffs would punish consumers and businesses. Some selective tariffs make sense, but the broad tariffs favored by Trump are stupid and counterproductive.

Trump is not fit to be President. He is pathologically dishonest, senile, and he suffers from some kind of psychotic narcissistic disorder. It’s disturbing to me that half of Americans are so unobservant they can’t recognize this dangerous buffoon doesn’t have all his marbles. His speeches are always rambling and incoherent. Almost every statement he makes is a lie, some of them paranoid conspiracies found on right wing web sites, and others just invented while he is speaking without thinking. He keeps claiming Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, a town that overwhelmingly voted for him, and now, Springfield is paralyzed by bomb threats coming from Trumpanzees around the country. Trump is also confused and has difficulty pronouncing simple words. The way the old man speaks is becoming more and more slurred.

Trumpanzees accuse Trump critics of having “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The deranged people are the brainwashed shitheads supporting an admitted serial rapist who ATTEMPTED THE VIOLENT OVERTHROW OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. Look at the photos below of the Trump supporters who stormed the capital 4 years ago. They suffer from “TDS.” Trumpanzees using the term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” can sit down and shut up.

Deranged Trump supporters stormed the capital 4 years ago and tried to physically stop the electoral college vote count. Trump wanted to lead them, but the Secret Service wouldn’t let him. Trump critics aren’t mentally ill…Trump supporters are.

Look at this crazy idiot. And Trumpanzees accuse us of being mentally ill. They can sit down and shut up.

Trump is stupid and uneducated, and he reveals it every day. He often says Latin American countries empty out their insane asylums and send their crazy people to the U.S. It’s clear he has insane asylum confused with offering asylum to political refugees. Just the other day, he expressed surprise when he learned Russia was on the same side as the U.S. during World War II. His uneducated stupidity would be comical, if he was not seeking the most powerful office in the world. This is why a huge majority of scientists are endorsing Kamala Harris. Trump’s stupidity about science endangers our lives. During the pandemic he advocated dangerous medicine that didn’t work and even suggested injecting bleach into people’s blood systems. Countries that become dictatorships, a definite possibility if Trump is elected, eventually lag behind when it comes to science and technology. Sadly, our own great country would decline under more years of a Trump presidency/dictatorship.

I realize I didn’t spend any time discussing Kamala Harris’s qualifications. Listen to her speak. She is a normal human being who puts America’s interests first. I agree with some of her policies and disagree with others. But I am endorsing her because she is not a dangerous buffoon who ATTEMPTED THE VIOLENT OVERTHROW OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

The Increase in Average Annual Temperatures over the Past Century is not Unprecedented

I get so annoyed at news reporters and political pundits when they talk about climate change because they invariably get climate confused with weather. All summer long, reporters were warning about how awful the upcoming hurricane season was going to be, and they always blamed anthropogenic-influenced climate change. Then, hurricane activity this year was below average (so far). Few of these same reporters mention this. A hurricane season is weather, not climate. The definition of climate is the long-term weather pattern of a region based on at least 30 years of data. Another ignorant statement made by reporters and pundits is how the recent increase in average annual temperatures is unprecedented. This misinformation is easily demonstrated as false. Average annual temperatures over the past 150 years have increased by less than 2 degrees F. This isn’t even close to being unprecedented. 14,700 years ago, average annual temperatures increased by 18 degrees F in a period of 10-20 years. This warming event began the Boling-Allerod Insterstadial which lasted until 12,900 years ago when average annual temperatures plummeted to full Ice Age conditions, also in less than 2 decades. Then, again 11,000 years ago average annual temperatures abruptly increased by 18 degrees F in a few decades, beginning the Interglacial conditions we currently enjoy. Contrary to alarmist news reporters and pundits, earth is experiencing a period of relative climatic stability.

Average annual temperatures over the past 100,000 years. Note how stable temperatures have been for the past 10,000 years. Note also how many abrupt warm changes have occurred. The increase in average annual temperatures over the past 150 years doesn’t even show up on this graph compared to past changes.

Data from Greenland and Antarctic Ice Cores. Average annual temperatures are calculated from oxygen isotope ratios found in ice core layers. Note the spike in temperatures about 14,700 years ago. The change was less pronounced in Antarctica.

Sea surface temperatures calculated from data extracted from deep sea sediment cores correlate well with data from Greenland ice cores. From 60,000 years BP-30,000 years BP there were frequent abrupt warming events that far surpassed the average annual temperature increase from the past 150 years.

Scientists have interesting ways of determining past climate. They take cores of ice in Greenland from a glacier that has existed for over 100,000 years. The cores can be easily dated because they have annual rings that form every summer when the glacier partially melts. The scientists examine the oxygen isotope ratios from air bubbles within each annual layer, and they can calculate the average annual temperature from that year. Oxygen isotope ratios vary depending upon whether the ice is melting (summer) or accumulating (winter). They also look at dust concentration. High levels of dust suggest cold arid climates with less vegetative cover; low levels of dust indicate warm humid climate. Another method of determining past climate is to examine deep sea sediment cores. The layers are carbon dated, and scientists look at the chemical isotope ratios and species composition of foraminifera present in each layer. Foraminifera are tiny organisms with shells that can be chemically analyzed, and species vary depending upon temperatures. Some of the more utilized cores come off the coasts of Bermuda and Venezuela. This gives us an excellent record of past climates. The data from Greenland ice cores, tropical deep sea sediment cores, and ice cores from Andes Mountain glaciers is remarkably correlated, showing abrupt warming events occurred from Greenland to well into the tropics. However, ice core data from Antartica suggest these abrupt warming events were less pronounced in the Southern Hemisphere.

The occurrence of an abrupt warm shift of climate 14,700 years ago baffles scientists. It’s a confounding mystery. These events don’t fit any of the statistical models used by climate scientists to estimate future climate scenarios that figure in anthropogenic factors. Scientists can’t understand how earth’s average annual temperatures reached modern day parameters when ice sheets still covered most of Canada and northern Europe. From ~29,000 years ago to 14,700 years ago earth was locked in a stable Ice Age, then for no apparent reason temperatures rose dramatically. Scientists believe the difference in average annual temperatures were entirely due to changes in winter temperatures. A study of fossil beetle species composition in Great Britain determined winter temperatures during the Ice Age were similar to modern day temperatures found in Siberia. Summertime temperatures were about the same as today. The abrupt shift to average annual temperatures was the result of much milder winters, such as occur in Great Britain today. 12,900 years ago, winter temperatures plummeted back to Ice Age levels, but scientists understand why this happened.

Scientists know how thermohaline cycles influence climate. Today, the Gulf Stream carries warm currents from the tropics north and this keeps northern Europe and New England relatively mild during winter compared to the Ice Age condition of brutal winters. Thermohaline circulation was weak during most of the Ice Age and shut down completely during the Younger Dryas cold stage that began 12,900 years ago. Thermohaline circulation is active during warm phases of climate. Following abrupt warm shifts during the Ice Age, ice dams that created huge glacial lakes melted, and the flood of fresh cold water into the North Atlantic shut down the Gulf Stream. Changes in thermohaline circulation explain sudden shifts to cold climate phases, but they do not explain what causes sudden warm shifts.

Possible explanations for these abrupt warm shifts in climate include glaciers reflecting sunlight into the atmosphere causing earth’s atmosphere to warm, changes in zonal winds that bring warm tropical air into higher latitudes, and the Gulf Stream shifting east. None of these explanations fits any model, nor are they satisfactory. Scientists are awaiting a breakthrough theory to solve the mystery of abrupt warming events.

Reference:

Schneider, T.; and A. Sobel

The Global Circulation of the Atmosphere

Seager, R. and D. Battisti

Chapter 12: “Challenges to our Understanding of the General Circulation: Abrupt Climate Change”

Princeton University Press 2008

https://atmos.uw.edu/~david/paleo_circ.pdf