Randy Eggert

When I was in high school, we had a cross country ski coach who swore that eating a couple cloves of raw garlic a day boosted your immune system. It seemed to work for him, since he never got sick. But he stunk. The garlic came out his pores, especially when he sweated. During practices, we could smell him out on the trails--the stench in the van on the way home made our eyes water.

So my question: do the various methods described here give the same immunity boost without the stink?

John F Dean wrote:In my area of work, these are called “non-negotiables”. … those little routines we have in life that makes life normal for us

I love this idea. I've shared some of this elsewhere on this site. A little more than 10 years ago a series of events left me with chronic fatigue (along with a slew of other symptoms), which turned out to be a constant migraine lasting a year and a half. During that time, I had to give up a lot of things, among them alcohol and tea. Alcohol was easy. But giving up tea was incredibly difficult; it became the symbol for everything I'd lost.

Now, I drink a pot every morning. It's my non-negotiable.

We had a kai ken (think of a dog in between a shiba inu and an akita) named Basil, about 45 lbs. The only way Basil knew how to play with other dogs was to mount and dominate them, and he had an outsized ego. At the dog park, he didn't bother dominating any dog his own size or smaller--too easy. He went for the biggest, meanest dog in the park. One time he found a malamute, who was probably more than a hundred pounds. That dog liked to play domination too. Basil mounted the malamute, who shook him off with a quick shake of his rump and circled around to mount Basil, who dropped to his belly and crawled out, circling around before the malamute knew what happened and remounting him. This went on for a half an hour.

Another Basil story (I've got hundreds): He loved to hunt, and one time on a hike he chased a marmot into a hollow log. I kept hiking, and when he didn't follow I went back. He was tearing the log apart with his teeth. Blood dripped from his gums, and he kept tearing at the log. I took out his leash and put it on him. He looked at me with such gratefulness in his eyes, like he was saying, "Oh thank God you came, this hurt like hell."

Marvin Weber wrote:I prefer the Russian ploskorez or Fokin hoe. It's a great all around hoe.

The Fokin hoe is pretty great. I use it for small jobs like keeping the trails cleared in our "jungle" (the wild part of our backyard).

For big jobs where I'm digging in hard clay earth, I use a mattock. I hardly ever use the pick end, but it's what I have so I use it.

When I've done trail work, I absolutely love using a pulaski.

Anne Miller wrote:

Randy Eggert wrote:I was reading early posts to this thread and a "dog bed heater" kept coming up. I initially thought the idea was that you invite your dog into your bed to heat it up. I was disappointed to learn what it actually is. I think the other idea is better.

I thought the same thing that you did, so what is it actually?

Apparently is a heating pad designed for a dog kennel.

I was reading early posts to this thread and a "dog bed heater" kept coming up. I initially thought the idea was that you invite your dog into your bed to heat it up. I was disappointed to learn what it actually is. I think the other idea is better.

Cross country skiing.

Twice a week, I coach kinders and first-graders, and I get to see them go from barely standing on their skis to gliding around the tracks.

My son's a freshman and is on the comp team now. For years he chased after me, now I get to chase after him.

Anne Miller wrote:

Randy Eggert wrote:  I find acupressure work best for me. My wife got me some wooden pegs in Myanmar that are designed for stimulating pressure points.

How do you use the wooden pegs?  Are the rolled across the skin at he point of the pain?

I put the rounded end in the palm of my hand, put the pointed end on the pressure point, and push nearly to the point that the sharp pain is unbearable, holding it for 30 seconds.

I started with points that an acupressurist had used, but I've slowly found the most effective for me. Essentially, it's spots that are especially tender during a migraine attack: the temples, the notch above my eye sockets, my forehead near my hairline, the top of my scalp. I do both sides at the same time (i.e, both temples, both eye sockets, etc.). It can be extremely painful depending on the severity of the attack, but 9 times out of 10 the migraine goes away after I complete the final pressure point.

Anne Miller wrote:My remedy for headaches is to use circular massage when the headache is.

This might be similar to the use of pressure points.

I suffer from severe migraines, and one of my triggers is a change in pressure. As witnessed in this thread, it's a trigger for many migraineurs. I find acupressure work best for me. My wife got me some wooden pegs in Myanmar that are designed for stimulating pressure points. They look something like this: Accupressure dowels

I learned to respect the power/danger of pressure cookers when I was young and stupid. I'd obtained an old pressure cooker with a broken release valve. I believed that because it was broken, it wouldn't fully seal. I used the pot mostly for making pasta, and I was prudent enough to just set the lid on it, not lock it, while bringing the water to boil. However, when I was hosting a spaghetti dinner, a friend apparently locked it in place. Looking back, I should have run the whole thing under cold water. Instead I muscled it open, and pressurized hot water hit my forearm. I'm slightly less stupid today, and I now realize how dangerous what I'd done was and how lucky I am to have escaped with just a scar on my forearm.