Inside and Out

One line of dialog that stuck in my brain from the hit TV series M*A*S*H was from the episode where Col. Potter was away and his horse, Sophie, got colic.  When the Colonel called to ask how the horse was doing, Radar, not wanting to worry the man and tell him they'd had to treat her, simply said she was "Clean as a whistle, inside and out!"

Right now, that's how i feel.

February is the month in which i always have my annual physical.  Mine is a head to toe exam, blood work, EKG, eye check, hearing check, ankle-brachial index, pulmonary function, pelvic exam, questions to make sure i'm not suffering from depression or anxiety or at risk of being abused, you name it, just about, they check for it.

The whole thing takes two appointments, and it's worth it.  It shows how i'm doing from year to year.

My numbers are still excellent -- i have almost no likelihood of having any kind of heart trouble, diabetes, or anything else.  My thyroid, as usual, needs adjusting.  That happens every few months, i have to adjust up and down but it's not totally out of line and in 3 months it will probably adjust again.  It's close enough that there's no danger of my thyroid enlarging or needing more treatment.

My only concern is to get more consistent with my exercise, and get my body fat percent down just a bit.  My height and weight haven't changed, but the fact that i can't afford the gym any more is showing, so i need to step up what i do at home even more than i already have.

There's nothing in my exam that raises any red flags, so i really do feel clean as a whistle, inside and out.  It's a pretty good feeling, and i need to keep it this way, as i still have kids around.


Today is:

Abu Simbel Festival -- Egypt (one of the two days a year when the light illuminates the statutes of Rameses, Ra and Amun in the temple complex)
     Festival of the Perpendicular Sun/Illumination of the Inner Sanctum of Ramses II's Abu Simbel Temple -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

American Birkebeiner Race -- Cable to Hayward, WI, US (largest and most prestigious cross-country ski marathon)

Be Humble Day -- can't find the origin of this one, s/he wants to humbly remain anonymous

Call Somebody "Boo Boo" Day -- apparently just to see what s/he will call you back; be careful, this one started before anyone heard of Honey Boo Boo and doesn't take that into account

Clam Chowder Cook-Off -- Santa Cruz, CA, US (if you love clam chowder of any variety, this is the place for you)

Concordia/Caristia  -- Ancient Roman Calendar, Festival of Goodwill

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch -- Roman Catholic Church

Handing Back of Goblin Orphans Day -- Fairy Calendar (You know, the goblin orphans they adopted 2 days ago!  No fairy can tolerate a goblin longer than that.)

Independence Day -- Santa Lucia(1979)

International Sword Swallowers Day -- an amazing, and a bit weird, group

International Tongue Twister Contest -- Logic Puzzle Museum, Burlington, WI, US (an afternoon of fun, come to watch or try your hand at the tongue twisters, with a gift for everyone, and the prize of a portion of a peck of pickled peppers for the winner!)

International World Thinking Day -- a/k/a "B.-P. day" or "Founder's Day" -- World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
     Girl Guides Day -- UK

Katsuyama Sagicho -- Katsuyama, Japan (Chinese influenced fire festival held the last weekend of every February; large stages are built and decorated, then burned the next day)

National Margarita Day (How is that going to help with the thinking?)

Open That Bottle Night -- time to finally drink that bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion; after all, the final Saturday in February only comes once a year (sponsored by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of The Wall Street Journal)

Parke County Maple Fair -- Rockville, IN, US (pancake meals, a Covered Bridge Art Assn. show, and more; this weekend and next)

Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen Tournament -- Japan; snowball fighting (yukigassen) at its best, through tomorrow

St. Margaret of Cortona's Day (Patron of falsely accused people, hobos, homeless people, mentally ill people, midwives, penitent women, people ridiculed for their piety, reformed prostitutes, single laywomen, teriaries, and tramps; against insanity, loss of parents, mental illness, sexual temptation, and temptation)

Swamp Cabbage Festival -- LaBelle, FL, US (also called Hearts of Palm, gear up for two days of food, entertainment, and family fun)

Walking the Dog Day -- Can't find the originator of this one, but walk your dog, or do your yoyo tricks, whichever works for you

Washington's Birthday -- US


Anniversaries Today:

Ed McMahon marries Pamela Hurn, 1992
Kurt Corbin marries Courtney Love, 1992
Bill Bixby marries Laura Michael, 1991
Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania, 1855
Washington University in St. Louis is founded, 1853


Birthdays Today:

James Blunt, 1977
Drew Barrymore, 1975
Michael Chang, 1972
Lea Salonga, 1971
Clinton Kelly, 1969
Jeri Ryan, 1968
Vijay Singh, 1963
Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, 1962
Kyle MacLachlan, 1959
Julie Walters, 1950
Julius "Dr. J" Erving, 1950
Miou-Miou, 1950
Dan Millman, 1946
Jonathan Demme, 1944
Sparky Anderson, 1934
Edward M. Kennedy, 1932
Paul Dooley, 1928
Robert Wadlow, 1918
John Mills, 1908
Sheldon Leonard, 1907
Robert Young, 1907
Luis Bunuel, 1900
Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1892
"Chico" Marx, 1891
Lady Olave Baden-Powell, 1889
Lord Robert Baden-Powell, 1857
James Russel Lowell, 1819
Frederic Chopin, 1810
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788
George Washington, 1732


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"It Happened One Night"(Film), 1934
"Lady Windermere's Fan"(Play), 1892
"Symphony No. 4 in F minor"(Tchaikovsky Op. 36), 1878


Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Zurich, Switzerland, 1349
Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published, 1632
The English House of Lords rules that authors do not have perpetual copyright of their material, 1774
Jews are expelled from the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland, 1775
The first US ship to trade with China, the "Empress of China," sails from New York, 1784
The Last Invasion of Britain by the French begins near Fishguard, Wales, 1797
Spain signs the Adams-Onis Treaty, renouncing its claim to the Oregon territory and west Florida, 1819
Spain sells east Florida to the US, 1821
Edward Payson Weston, "The Father of Modern Pedestrianism," who gave lectures on the health benefits of walking, first comes into the public eye by leaving on this date to walk to Lincoln's inauguration, a distance of 478 miles, 1861*
Frank W. Woolworth opens the first US chain store, his  "Woolworth's" 5 and 10 cent store, in Utica, NY, 1879
John Reid of Scotland establishes a 3 hole golf course near Yonkers, New York, thus introducing the game to the US, 1888
Hawaii becomes a US territory, 1900
Due to drought, the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water, 1903
The Great White Fleet, the first US fleet to circumnavigate the globe, returns to Virginia, 1909
Calvin Coolidge gives the first US presidential radio address, 1924
Bert Hinkler successfully completes the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928
Australian swimmer John Konrads sets 6 world records in two days, 1958
Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500, 1959
Following United States President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices, 1973
In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history, 1980
In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned, 1997
An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude strikes Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 181 people, 2011

*Yes, he got there in 10 days, in time for the inaugural ball!