Living On The Edge Of Science - January 2024

When there is an elephant in the room, introduce it.  3 years after my wife received her transplant and endured many trials,  the gifted heart has begun to fail.  What lies ahead is Living on the Edge of Science.  I am sharing my thoughts about this journey with the hope that it will serve some well. 

Through many trials, I have created this saying:  I'm Living on the Edge of Science. It is the only one that gives me comfort as the journey, while certainly more difficult on the recipients, usually does not spare those in support. I have not been spared either physically or mentally.  Yet, from my basic feelings and beliefs before this all began, I have been forged into something I would not have believed possible. 

The Edge of Science is the infinite source of hopes and dreams as well as the final source of frustration and despair.  Yet, it is in human nature to seek hope like light.  Many of the concepts of medicine today were unimaginable less than 100 years ago.  Some of them were barely imaginable a year ago.  They are not evenly spread amongst needs but appear after much effort and success.  There are many failures along the way.  What we, as support, or as the patient, cling to is hope or belief that next success will affect the outcome of what is being experienced. 

Here in lies the first fact of Living on the Edge of Science:  Not everyone who provides help in medicine is equally knowledgeable or skilled.  In some cases, their knowledge can be as outdated as old milk and equally sour.  This can happen over a period of time or can be fairly abrupt.  My wife's initial diagnosis for her heart problems was well off the mark and began to take her down the path of kidney failure without any benefit to the heart itself.  It took others, more aware of heart issues, to properly diagnose what was happening.  By the time it was, 2 years had passed.  We tried to have faith but things never improved. It must be understood that medical knowledge is constantly changing with some advancements, some changes in direction, some steps back.

The next aspect of Living on the Edge of Science is recognizing that the human species can provide a massive array of possibilities and problems yet medicine has a limited range of tools.  Here it comes down to who is best skilled at using an existing base of knowledge.  This became abundantly clear when my wife simply went into failure notwithstanding great efforts before being put on life support.  One of the team doctors greeted me and said "we did all we could but sometimes we don't understand what and why it happened."  It was a way of saying she is not going to survive.  Yet, I clung to hope that the Cleveland Clinic would be able to save her as they flew a jet down to get her.  Yes, they did succeed.  Yet, even with their skills, there was never a definitive answer as to why it happened at all.  We touched the Edge of Science and could not see beyond.  There were no definitive tests.  The magic word, however, is "Yet."  And there are those who work to find those next tools of understanding and bless them for their work.  The work on "Someday" may one day become "Today."  And for every "Someday" there is someone wishing it would come sooner.

Then, there is the aspect of Living on the Edge of Science:  The trial.  This is where the experience is most personal to both the patient and support.  While each human is unique, there are general approaches to issues.  However, one must understand that some of it also involves trial and error when playing with combinations of medicines.  There is a tuning, so to speak to each human.  Yet, this tuning may only last a short period of time. Likewise, what may be general practice in dosages can also be a problem.  So it was for my wife who needed less than 1/3 of the standard drug as a blood thinner during operations.   In another case, my wife was able to both throw blood clots while profusely bleeding.  Here, another department presented their case for surgery to insert a filter in her groin area.  In less than 24 hours, she threw over 100 blood clots, some as long as 3 inches, any one of which would have killed her.  The filter clogged blood flow to her legs and it almost killed her anyway.  She made it. As support, I got the call from her while she was in extreme agony before surgery and it made for yet another 11 hour drive to be by her side not knowing what I was arriving to.  We know of others who have had equally harrowing experiences, quite different from our own, and they had their trials. Here is comes down to skills, knowledge, and, I think, a bit of pure luck in timing.  A blessing from a greater power, so to speak.

Finally, the greatest aspect of Living on the Edge of Science is faith or belief in what is possible. This is really the sole domain of the patient.  Notwithstanding our own desires from those in support, it is the patient who must use their judgement to decide the path to walk. In support, we can share our faith in what we believe is possible and I think it is our responsibility to do so.  Equally so, we need to be equally informed in our beliefs and understanding of what the patient has already endured.  I was by my wife for nearly 4 months in Cleveland assisting the nurses in all aspects of her care once she left ICU as I needed to understand what she had experienced.  There was another 4 months, at home, doing daily open wound changes that she would not even look upon.  I did my duty and regardless of my efforts, future decisions still remain hers.  And now we approach, once again, the question of a heart transplant.  It is certainly not a given.  The same rules apply as for the first attempt.  The question becomes:  Shall we try Living on the Edge of Science, again?

I will hope and dream once more for what could be.

-Lou

What Does "High-End" Mean? - December 2023

High-end is a sadly overworked expression that has now been translated into expensive resulting in many manufacturers doing things to enhance their appearance and, really, little for performance.

They have reworked the cereal box, nothing more. Sadly, I have heard very expensive equipment that could not carry a tune in a bucket. I have even demonstrated this with the performance of cell phones with headsets vs. an audio system where the cell phone simply sounds better, musically speaking. So, we try to offer things that do what they claim to do which is to correctly play music.

I'd like to add an experience. I took a "non-audiophile" to shows in Denver called Rocky Mountain Audiofest. It was a great show, really, and sadly gone. I took them from room to room, some with systems costing well over 100,000 dollars (and even more), only to hear their response as they left the room "Why would I buy that, I can already get that at Walmart." They were correct.

Likewise, there are some manufacturers or distributors who consistently put up a good sound from very affordable products. Not the best, mind you, but certainly enjoyable. They never blame the room like so many others, they simply get it done. So, if "high-end" is defined as having the most expensive product so one can parade around like a peacock claiming I can afford something you cannot, well, that's a corruption of the term and that is exactly what has happened in my honest opinion. Putting a 14K solid gold steering wheel on a Kia makes it very expensive but I certainly would not put it in the same class as a "high-end" car. A lot of manufacturers have done exactly that with expensive parts, however well meaning, that either simply fail to do what they claim to do or make matters worse. The used market place is littered with these products that only keep their value because of their original asking price, not performance. Conversely, some products now sell for well above their original asking price because of their performance. And, yes, there are some very expensive systems that were truly spectacular. In the end, it comes down to performance and whether or not you choose to spend your money that way.

Even this expression "high-end" how now creeped into nearly every class of product as if obtaining it is some sort of merit badge of honor. Look all over the marketplace and you will quickly see it. High-end stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, cell phones, and the list goes on and on. It becomes imperative for the consumer to distinguish between what is the trade of advertising and what is the trade of engineering. We are trying to help.

This has led us to abandon the use of "high-end" generally speaking. We now use "Sensible" which is not only a monetary comment but also lends itself to exactly what we do. We try to provide quality sound or video to your senses for the dollar you are willing or able to spend to let you enjoy life.

That is the true competition: The best performance for the least amount of dollars.

Lou

Batteries Not Included** - November 2023

What to do when batteries explode in your remote control.

Now that many folks are wandering back indoors, it's not unusual for them to pick up the remote control for one device or another and they don't work. Most people quickly think of opening the battery hatch and replacing the batteries when horror appears. Not only are the batteries dead, they have "exploded" or leaked.

Now, your next step depends upon what brand of batteries you use. That's right, it makes a difference. Higher quality batteries, like Duracell, Energizer, and a few others, will contain themselves for quite some time after going dead. When they do leak, it takes the form of being rather dry and crusty. These are rather easy to address and I shortly will have an upcoming YouTube video how to handle it. The worst offenders are the "discount" batteries and these include both Maker's Mark from Walmart and the Costco house brands and those sold at various outlets like Aldi, Dollar Stores and the like. When they leak, their leakage is more fluid-like and very corrosive. It is not unusual for them to badly eat away the actual contacts in the remote and in some cases, actually leak into the actual remote itself though open slots in the plastic housing. It's a good practice, regardless, to remove batteries from remote controls if they are not going to be used for a period of time. Otherwise, use will tell you if they are working or not and with the cheaper batteries, get them out of the remote ASAP if they are dead.

In any event, never, I repeat never, use a water-based cleaning solution to start. Rather, remove the batteries and throw them away either in the trash or recycling bin. Standard batteries can be recycled so check with your local service first. Some places cannot do it. Ni-Cads and Lithium-Ion cannot be easily recycled and should never be trashed. Very bad for the environment. Instead, put them in a plastic back and take them to the recycle bin at Lowe's or Home Depot. Those bins are usually around the service counter area. It is my understanding that in California they have special recycling centers for those. Kudos.

Next, if they are the better brands and have left a crusty mess, often times the use of a toothbrush is very effective. Take the remote over to a garbage can and brush the contacts while holding the open side of the remote downward so the contamination falls into the can. If you brush with the remote hatch faced upwards, you risk some of that crust wandering into the remote itself. Repeated inspections might be necessary. At this point, a little house cleaning with q-tips is in order and they can be dry or slightly dampened with something like Windex to pick-up the dust. At this point, inspect the contracts. If they are still crusty, a sharp pointed object like a fine screwdriver or knife might be needed to flick off what remains stuck. Brush them again. A sort of rinse and repeat but dry. Once all has been cleared away, you may need to burnish the contact surfaces with the sharp object or small file, depending upon access and the discoloration of the contacts themselves. (If the contacts are deep inside the remote, well, you are going to have to take the remote apart (another upcoming video or buy a new remote). Then, treat those surfaces with Deox-it from a squeeze bottle. Don't use spray (cans) unless you are going to spray it on a surface or bowl and them use a q-tip to mop it up and use it as a brush on the contacts. Or, you can use a fine modeling brush and apply it. Don't use spray in the remote! It's a mess. Once applied, use q-tips again to mop up the excess on those surfaces. I can not speak for other contact cleaners and you really need to be careful about their use as some will "eat" or dissolve plastics. Not good.

Now, if we have the cheap leakers, well, the first step after removing the batteries is to mop up that leakage with q-tips. It may take several of them and multiple passes. Once that is done, you need to look at the contacts themselves. I just got into one of those cases and the leaked acid ate away the contacts! There was nothing to clean. Dead remote. I had other case a few weeks ago that not only ate into the contracts, but caused them to rust. If you have contacts left, that is where you use q-tips soaked in Deox-it and start wiping it down repeatedly trying to remove both the liquid portion and anything that looks like crust. You may need to do the work and let it sit a day or two so that you can then use the toothbrush. The process may then proceed like above. Note, be very careful in these situations as the leaky fluid can also eat through clothing. It doesn't burn like car battery acid but it will put holes in clothing that will show up with the next wash.

Again, for those who like videos, I have an upcoming YouTube video on dealing with the better battery situation and you can watch the process. As for the "Nasties" that will be a separate and later YouTube video. I'll need a remote that has been screwed up by them. So, if you want to donate a remote for an autopsy, I'd appreciate it.

Last words: If you are not going to use a remote, or for awhile, remove those batteries!

Lou