health

by

Mosquitoes

Aedes aegypti, the main vector of yellow fever (Wikipedia)

The Guardian has a recent article: Good news for Trump before midterms: he’s still more popular than cockroaches.

A YouGov poll had asked Americans about their least favorite insects (or small arthropods). 86% had a “very or somewhat negative” reaction to mosquitoes; cockroaches, 84%; wasps, 76%.

Trump’s disapproval rating is currently 61%, meaning that he’s not as unpopular as wasps, cockroaches, and mosquitoes, but is disliked more than spiders (57%) and ants (52%).

Mosquitoes in our ecosystem

I was saddened to see mosquitoes being judged less popular than Trump. Unlike Trump, they serve essential ecological roles, being a major food source for fish, aquatic insects such as dragonflies, and birds. Adult mosquitoes are eaten by bats, spiders, birds, and dragonflies.

Both male and female mosquitoes feed on flower nectar, serving as pollinators for many plant species. Larval mosquitoes live in water and consume organic matter, such as detritus, leaves, and microbes, which helps filter the water and break down nutrients.

While mosquitoes do transmit diseases such as malaria, Zika, and dengue, only a small percentage of the 3,500+ species feed on humans. As a result of that small percentage, over 120 people die from West Nile virus each year in the US. During a year I spent in Paris, I was unable to donate blood for a month because of fear that I might bring that virus from the US. Deaths from other mosquito-borne diseases are rare, but do happen, and are of course tragic for individuals and families. These are serious concerns.

Bottom line

In comparison, looking just at health, Trump’s significant cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, could result in not a few, but over 50,000 preventable deaths annually. One study estimates over 14 million additional deaths by 2030 due to the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development and millions more due to other cuts to global health programs.

So, while mosquitoes can be annoying, and even dangerous, I hardly think they are more deserving of disapproval than Trump. The same could be said for cockroaches and wasps.

by

The snow pile is happy

The 12 foot high snow pile at the top of our driveway plans to stay there for the foreseeable future. S/he seems quite happy with this arrangement.

A series of snow falls (the Blizzards of 2026) and steady low temps has kept life more interesting than we might like this winter. Early on, a large snow plow truck got stuck close to where the gleeful snow pile sits now. It had to be towed out. A neighbor with a snow blower couldn’t help because the snow blower broke down. Another helper had his plow blade break. Shovels were useless with this volume of snow.

Various people had trucks and plows––a guy who delivers firewood, someone at an excavation company, a landscaper––but they were all already overcommitted. Our usual strategy, to rely on our Forester with all-wheel drive, doesn’t work when the snow gets above 6 inches. That’s especially true for going up a steep driveway.

There were other effects. Three of the five therapists at my PT clinic fell on the ice and hurt themselves. Those are the professionals dedicated to improving our strength and balance! Susan’s eye surgery took longer than scheduled because an accident on the canal bridge made the doctors wait over an hour to get to the Cape.

But, as I said, the snow pile seems quite pleased.

And I’ve enjoyed the sledding, using either a kids’ sled or a beach boogie board.

by

Repairing my lab reports

After cancer and chemo, I feel surprisingly healthy. The main problem is that my blood lab numbers are dismal.

At first I considered looking for a new lab service that could produce the numbers I wanted, but I’ve now come up with a better solution: An AI chat program can do the trick.

I asked ChatGPT to produce a report for a healthy male my age. And did it come through! The numbers are much more to my liking.

You can see the report below. The bottom line is that this way of getting a lab report is easier, faster, and cheaper. It doesn’t require being poked with a syringe needle. Best of all I can customize the results.

What can possibly go wrong?

cbcDownload