It’s supposed to rain multiple times this week which is great because we need it. I headed out to the hills West of Morgan Hill while the weather is still nice. I love the country roads out there, and it is nice to have them so close. This was a pleasant ramble of about 90 minutes. Green Pasture off Watsonville Road Vineyard and Green Hills Near the Corner of Sycamore and Oak Glen Aves (Both Apply Named) SOURCE: BionicOldGuy - … [Read more...]

Getting out in nature is a great antidote for the “hustle and bustle” of modern life. Just a stroll in a local park will do, or a jaunt in a wilder or more “unmanicured” natural setting is even better. I strive to do get a dose of this at least once a day. It doesn’t work if you’re staring at your phone. It may seem obvious that spending time in nature would have mental benefits, but there are physical health benefits as well, as … [Read more...]

Friday was an easy day, I rode for about an hour. I visited the water district perc ponds near San Pedro street on the southern edge of town. The cities in Santa Clara county all use groundwater for their water supply, and the water district recharges the groundwater using various percolation ponds throughout the county, with a small facility here in Morgan Hill. These double as recreation areas, ours has a nice walking path which is especially … [Read more...]

I recently read the interesting and inspiring book Through Blisters and Saddle Sores. Author Ettienne lives in the greater London area. His wife, Tricia is a cancer survivor, and her treatment was quite an ordeal. But she got a lot of help from the local branch of the Haven Breast Cancer Support Centres. Ettienne decides to do an adventure as a fundraiser for the Haven Centres to give something back. What he decides to do is very ambitious: set … [Read more...]

My orthopedic doc in Morgan Hill, Dr. Wong, wanted an update x-ray of my hips since I was complaining of hip pain. He was pretty sure it was piriformis syndrome but wanted to rule out problems with my hip implants. A couple of days ago I did my follow-up visit with him and everything looks fine. I asked what he looked for and he said a tight joint with the bone inside the femur, and no sign of erosion of the bone. Also the area around the socket … [Read more...]

I’m doing a follow-up to try to summarize the seven lessons from the book The Longevity Plan that I discussed recently. They are described in detail in the first seven chapters of the book. Each one is illustrated with stories about some of the centenarians the author, Dr. Day, interacted with. They are hard to summarize but I’ll give it a shot. I highly recommend reading the book to get the full wisdom on each of these … [Read more...]

This reminds me of the song that Unity Church Services typically end with: “Let There be peace on earth, and let it begin with me”. Both of these notions focus us squarely on what is under our own control. And hopefully by changing ourselves for the better we can inspire others to do so. SOURCE: BionicOldGuy - Read entire story here. … [Read more...]

I just read The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China by Dr John D. Day, his wife Jane Ann Day, and Matthew LaPlante. It is a fascinating and informative read. It is about the village of Bapan in southwest China, near the border with Vietnam. This village has the largest concentration of centenarians in the world. Normally that distinction is given to Okinawa, but I think Bapan gets overlooked because it is a smaller … [Read more...]

Yesterday I felt well-rested and my fitness app said my recovery was good, So I really went for it in my workout, about an hour of upper body work in my home gym then a three hour bike ride. I felt great so threw in some extra hard intervals on the bike. I was pretty tired later in the day but had a good night’s sleep and feel fine now. The only problem is I aggravated the piriformis injury in my hip and it was stiff and sore this … [Read more...]

https://www.keepinspiring.me/martin-luther-king-jr-quotes/ I have been a big fan of Dr. King since I saw him give his “I have a dream” speech when I was 10 years old. I am also an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, whose writings on the power of non-violence (satyagraha) were studied by Dr. King. May their message prevail. May we settle our differences with love and non-violence. SOURCE: BionicOldGuy - Read entire story here. … [Read more...]

I’ve been reading about longevity related topics lately. Maybe that’s what happens when you turn 68 The most important distinction to me is between lifespan and healthspan. Lifespan has been increasing due to modern medicine, but often people go through a long debilitating decline at the end of life. In contrast, healthspan is what percentage of your lifespan is healthy and vibrant. For me that is the most important. Adding … [Read more...]

https://jessicasmithtv.com/10-inspirational-walking-quotes-to-help-you-go-the-extra-mile/ I thought this one was appropriate for this time a year, when a lot of us are motivated to make change for the better. SOURCE: BionicOldGuy - Read entire story here. … [Read more...]

I mentioned in my post “Flip the Youth Switch” that heart rate variability is a good indicator of health, and of your biological age as opposed to your chronological age. In the book of that same name, author Dr. Bob Arnot managed to raise his hrv dramatically in four months. In the first month, his hrv went up 50% from 28 to 42. Since reading about this I’ve been endeavoring to follow his tips on how he achieved that. I started … [Read more...]

Dr. Greger at nutritionfacts.org just published an interesting video on this topic. It turns out being in what’s considered the normal (not overweight) bmi range is not enough to ensure health. The most dangerous type of fat is the visceral fat stored around abdominal organs, not the below the skin fat (subcutaneous, or the “inches you can pinch”). Having an excessive waist size is a probable indicator of too much visceral fat. … [Read more...]

Eknath Easwaran recommends inspirational reading as part of his 8-point plan for self-transformation in his book Passage Meditation. It is good for motivating us to stay “on the path”. He especially recommends it for ending the day before sleep. That works well for me. I drift off to sleep pretty quickly if the last thing I do is read something soothing and inspirational. I also like to start my day with something inspirational to … [Read more...]

Waiting for someone to repent before we forgive is to surrender our future to the person who wronged us. Lewis Smedes (from https://thisdaysthought.org/ ) https://positivepsychology.com/forgiveness-benefits/ Many of us trip over this one. The main thing to remember is we are doing this for ourselves, not for the other person. Some situations are obvious. I’ve carried around resentments for decades about people who I’m … [Read more...]

Fellow blogger Tony (One Regular Guy Writing about Food, Exercise and Living Past 100) wrote this interesting post: Test your heart health by climbing stairs. Dr. Jesús Peteiro, a cardiologist wanted a simple field test for cardiovascular health so he came up with one based on stair climbing. By comparing results of the stair test with laboratory exercise results, he determined your are in good cardiovascular health if you can climb four flights … [Read more...]

When I grew up in New Jersey we had a fairly diverse population that included many followers of Orthodox Christianity (mostly Eastern Europeans and Greeks). So I always remember Little Christmas being celebrated on January 6, and many people also treated that as the day the Christmas season was over, and their decorations came down. I was told it had something to do with the difference between the Gregorian calendar, used by Western Christians, … [Read more...]

We’ve gotten a disappointing amount of rain so far this year, about 2 1/4 inches total according to my rain gauge. We’ve gotten multiple storms but no big “gully-washers” yet. Hopefully they’re coming soon, January is usually a wet month. Nevertheless, on a recent bike ride I noticed the hills are turning. The grass in flatter pastureland is already a beautiful velvet green: A pretty ranch off Willow Springs … [Read more...]