Tesla + Norm Abrams= 1 middle school science project
2004-11-15, 9:19 p.m.

First, go read GroovyGuru�s entry regarding the science project escapades.

Done? Good. Because here�s my take:

�Dexter�, child #3 out of 6 in the Together Family, is one very bright kid, so bright that he devised a science experiment that would completely befuddle three grown men and turn them into a pack of hyperventilating Tool Time escapees. As one, his dad, has now been deployed for a greater purpose, that leaves two little boys in grown men�s bodies, and one smart thirteen year old in the supervisory position. Task at hand: Build a current-generating windmill. Unfortunately, it did not specify that it had to be built with under $1K in materials. Super-genius Hubby overspent in the course of 500 treks to Radio $hack and H0me Depot and contributed to our rent check bouncing as a result. Good job, Boy Wonder. Good job.

Being married to him for 14 years means very little fazes me anymore, so the day I walked in to find him at the kitchen table disassembling a perfectly good box fan was no surprise. At least he picked a fan that we hated. He had a few million parts strewn about the table and floor and was trying to pry apart the motor. Did he come away with any usable parts? That I do not know; I am simply glad he did not electrocute himself in the process. In the past there have been several instances where Hubby + electrically-powered device = ZAT, so I am always steeled for the bright blue flash and accompanying yelp.

It�s fun to watch Hubby when he gets involved in something that interests him. He lights up like a kid on Christmas morning who got everything on his Santa list, and sets about the task with a fervor previously unmatched until the Guru family came into our lives. He and GroovyGuru together are not just creative, they�re downright intimidating.

GroovyGuru works nights and sleeps days, so Hubby has had the bulk of free time to help Dexter design his project. They have spent hours on the computer with all sorts of whiz-bang computer programs that in my wildest dreams I could not fathom, and created the blueprints for the ultimate windmill. Theory does not always equal practice, though, hence the Guru�s tale of requiring a typhoon to produce half a volt of electricity. Back to work they go. With both Guru and Hubby generating ideas, the end result will be constructed of titanium and contain an anti-matter core, surrounded by a filigreed wood frame with ivory inlays. I told Dexter that he�s more than welcome to hang out here and watch a movie and the guys will let him know when his science project is done.

Changing the subject�

Today I went to the doctor for a follow up visit regarding my abysmal cholesterol. Let me interject that I am a medical anomaly. If no one else catches it, reacts to it, or suffers from it, you can guarantee that I will. Therefore, when my doctor prescribed a cholesterol medication lauded for practically no one having an adverse reaction to it, I had a reaction. An unusual one at that. Cholesterol meds, or statins, can produce muscle pains, most often in the legs. That can either be just pain, or it can be a symptom of your muscle fiber disintegrating and releasing potassium into your blood stream and damaging your heart. L!pitor gave me leg pain, but Crest0r caused bad arm pain, which is almost unheard of. Before going on the meds, I went to a nutritionist and followed her low-cholesterol diet to the letter. Weeks later, my cholesterol level had RISEN 100 points, inching towards 400. If I don�t eat it, my body makes more instead. Go me.

So, after being off the Crest0r for a couple of months, the pain is gone, my cholesterol is happily ensconced in the upper echelon like it prefers, and I�m going to try yet another medication. This one is a combination of Z0cor and Zet!a. The first one lowers cholesterol, and the second blocks your body�s absorption of it. My doctor is going to try everything out there, because there is such a big family history of heart disease and stroke on both my parents� sides. If I don�t update D�land by the end of the week, assume that I�ve had a reaction to yet another medication, and feel free to cash in on the life insurance policies *some* of you have taken out on me. I guess if the cholesterol doesn�t get me, the cure will. Joy.

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