Goodbye Youth. Hello High Cholesterol.

*sigh. I had the second half of my (now) annual physical. It sucks to get old. When did this happen to me and how? I suppose getting old does beat the alternative. The verdict is: High Cholesterol. High cholesterol runs in the family. I am grateful that at least now there are ways to moderate it. But after reading the possible side affects, is the cure worse than the disease? I have to take a pill every night. I'm lucky to remember my name, now I'm supposed to remember to take a pill? Oh yeah, that's a great idea. Time to set a reminder on my PDA and see if that'll help.

For those of you who don't know my current habits, a little background. I have a terrible time with remembering dates and appointments. So I set about 7 or so years ago to use (more or less faithfully) a Day Timer. This worked very well for me for a number of years. The main problem was if I was away from the office (where I kept the archived months, and next month's booklet) and the month changed I was out of luck. So after a long weekend (Labor Day weekend as I recall), I added a PDA system and left the Day Timer at home. This made keeping current easier, and it interfaced well with Microsoft Outlook, synchronizing my calendar and contact list and allowing me to download small web pages and emails. However it had massive hole for me. I couldn't take quick notes on it, nor did it have the "feel" of a paper based system.

After a couple of years working with my PDA (a Handspring Visor), I upgraded to a Tungsten C with a wireless capability. It has a small thumb keyboard, and a color screen and works better than the Visor. It also allows me to take very small notes. It will also run spreadsheets, and word documents, but not very well.

So now I use a combination of Day Timer and PDA and it seems to work for me. It can be a little awkward, and redundant, but it's Good Enough. I'll try to post more on that later

I see that another attack has happened in London. This is one American who is behind our British friends 100%. You were there for us after 9/11, we are here for you now! My thoughts are with those hurt, and my sympathies to their families.

I am listening to "Terrorism Analyst" Steve Emerson on Fox News and he made a great point. Those that blame all the attacks on the U.S. and our allies on our presence in Iraq have missed the point. The 9/11 attacks were perpetrated prior to our foray into Afghanistan and Iraq. I'm not sure who he is, nor what if any, credentials he may have. But it is a valid point he makes, and one that deserves repeating here.