musings . . .

It’s Constitution Day!  And all of Philadelphia’s libraries may be closing as soon as October 2nd.  I can just see Benjamin Franklin rolling over in his grave.  It’s a sad day when one of the institutions that helped form our society (and remains a necessary service) can be neglected in this way.

On the flipside, I think Mr. Franklin would love the citizen involvement with science that new software for Android phones (and soon iPhones) creates.  It seems anyone can access a database of information about a project and upload their own information about that project, complete with GPS coordinates and everything.

Nature is fascinating, and I like to look at the fantastic pictures offered by photographers.  One newly-photographed animal is the golden cat.  Apparently it’s quite elusive and we have little opportunity to study it.  Too bad – it’s such a beautiful specimen!  A less beautiful, but equally fascinating, find is this snake with a foot.  Yup – a snake.  With a single foot.  Kinda creepy?  Sure.  Fascinating and awe-inspiring?  You bet!  And here, just for fun, are some very cool pictures of all kinds of animals.

With the Planck telescope, we are beginning to be able to look back in time, thanks to the nature of light.  Since my understanding of physics is limited at best, I suggest you read the article for further information.  My lame attempts to summarize would probably be completely wrong.  But I understand planets… at least on a basic level!  And a newly discovered planet, Corot-7b,  seems to have a solid, rocky surface.  This isn’t to say it could support life or anything – just that it’s a rare find when most planets outside our solar system are gaseous.

And back to health care.  It’s a big topic, and worthy of much discussion.  This article takes us on a trip through government spending and asks questions about priorities.  I’ve always wondered why we spend inordinate amounts of money on military prowess, space exploration, etc. when we can’t even get our homeless off the streets and our sick taken care of.  Perhaps we should, as a society, reevaluate our values and priorities.  Because without healthy people and proper roofs over our heads, all the military and space spending won’t do a bit of good.

Instead of constantly posting links to articles, videos, and general nonsense I find on the web to Facebook, I thought I would start creating blog posts with links to all the things I find interesting.  Since my Facebook account already pulls in my blog posts and puts them on my Notes page, I will still be sharing on that site.  I’ll just be expanding the sharing to the entire web with this.

Here goes!

Read Economics is Not a Natural Science by Douglas Rushkoff for an interesting take on economics, the history of economies, and why we might just need to rethink everything.  I can say I learned a lot.

A Brave New (Non-Private) World explores some  media that addresses our society and its evolution regarding privacy issues.

I don’t care what the circumstances are, no one in America should have to cook and WASH with bottled water because the tap water is so polluted.  See this NYT article for more information.

I loved watching the shows on tv (The Science Channel?) about synaesthesia.  A BBC article reports on current research and new findings.

For people looking to acquire local food, one new option is VeggieTrader.  Though most of its current listings are focused on the west coast, I could find several locations within 100 miles of my house.  While that may not sound too local, it’s much better than the distance most of our food travels before reaching our plates.  But to improve the number of offerings everywhere, we should all join and list whatever we can!

For a resource that’s a little closer to home for my fellow Milwaukeeans, see this page at the Urban Ecology Center’s website.  And there’s always Growing Power.

And while we’re on the topic of food, please read Dan Barber’s article in The Nation about the importance of cooking and diversifying our diets.

I think that does it for today.  Thoughts, ideas, and comments are always welcome.  If you’re viewing this anywhere other than through my blog, you should visit the original post here: http://www.jen.jllocke.com/blog/2009/09/15/round-up/ to see all the links correctly.

I’ve never been one of those people to censor myself or not talk/write about something that’s sensitive.  But some things truly are very private.  So this post is difficult to write, due to its private, sensitive nature.

PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is typically caused by an imbalance of hormones.  This usually means that the woman has elevated testosterone levels and low estrogen levels (which is a dream to some men, as it can increase the sex drive intensely).  This disrupts the menstrual cycle and forces small cysts to form on the ovaries, preventing ovulation.  Symptoms may include: irregular or absent menses; numerous cysts on the ovaries in many, but not all, cases; high blood pressure; acne; elevated insulin levels, insulin resistance, or diabetes; infertility; excess hair on the face and body (hirsutism); thinning of the scalp hair (alopecia); weight problems or obesity that is centered around your mid section.

As a teenager I had some of the symptoms, but they were easily explained away by varying amounts of exercise, stress, and the teenage body getting used to adult hormones.  At age 16, though, I started taking birth control pills to regulate my cycle.  Thanks to the birth control pills, all the symptoms I was having went away because my hormones went back to levels much closer to normal.  I stayed on hormones (birth control pills) until March of 2007, when my husband and I decided we might want to try to start a family.  We never really even started trying because, very quickly, I began having symptoms.  We couldn’t figure out what was going on.  First, I was gaining weight, despite eating well and exercising.  Then I was sweating profusely, much more than ever before.  My cycle was completely irregular.  Sometimes I would go two months without menstruating, other times it would last up to two weeks.  My skin broke out in all sorts of acne – the kind I haven’t had since I was about 13.  I was depressed, because nothing I tried (and believe me, I tried everything I could do) helped with my weight, my cycle, or my acne.  When I got the first black hair on my neck, my world crumbled.  I was in such a dark place.  It was so embarrassing.  I pulled it and hoped it wouldn’t come back.  When it did, I began to think that maybe everything that was going on with my body was related.  I researched my symptoms on the Internet and decided it was time to go to the doctor, even though we didn’t have insurance.

I went to the doctor and she examined me.  The ultrasound revealed a whole bunch of cysts on my ovaries.  The blood test came back and my level of testosterone was at the level where my estrogen was supposed to be.  And I had as much estrogen as I was supposed to have of testosterone.  Both these things combined indicated PCOS.  So I began my new regimen of birth control – Yaz, for its unique properties.  It’s now four months later and my acne has cleared up, my little black hair is gone, and my cycle is regulated.  It seems like I am still having trouble losing weight, but that will come with time.  And I have to learn to manage the other things going on in my life.

PCOS affects between 6-10% of women in their childbearing years and awareness of this condition is minimal.  The lack of awareness contributes to many women’s confusion when they are experiencing these symptoms.  It may also be difficult to diagnose, because not all doctors are familiar with PCOS.  For more information, please visit http://www.pcosupport.org/ or http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/964648419.html.