Not Entirely Random Wednesday

1. Chicago has gone from a very cold spring (the coldest May on record for over 100 years) to a blast of August and is now finally settling into some reasonable weather.  Probably my favorite temperature range is 70 to 75 degrees farenheit with mild breezes.  The fact that it is relatively rare in Chicago except in late spring and early fall makes it all that much more enjoyable when it arrives.
2. My incredibly resilient father has taken on his third major surgical procedure in less than a year and just had his hip replaced.  He called me after surgery yesterday.  He is very excited to have it done and to be back on the road to much better mobility.  I'm feeling inspired by his willingness to take on the scariness that is major orthopedic surgery so soon after some other major medical events because he wants to be proactive about ensuring his own quality of life.  Sometimes it is easy to let our fears prevent us from opening a door and going someplace better. One of the things he can do as "therapy" is use his spinning wheel.  You've got to love rehabilitation that involves spinning.  Dad was asking me about whether he should make a two ply yarn or a three ply.  Is there anything more fun than sharing a fiber hobby with your dad?   I love you, Dad.  Heal up soon and heal up better than before!
3. Ms. Z is now going to bed between 8 and 9 PM almost every night.  I am still adjusting to this change.  You would think I would have thrown myself full force into knitting and spinning, and I have started a new pair of socks for myself.  But mostly I am just using my free time to do not very much at all except read and watch some mindlessly entertaining TV (Deadliest Catch on Discovery... I am trying to convince myself that it is helping me to understand some of what is really involved in bringing seafood from the ocean to the grocery store, but I really just think that the cinematography of the boats in the Bering Sea is very cool in HD).
4. You know, I'm just not feeling a 4th entry here... probably because I have a big #5...
   

If you are looking for a good cause to get behind for the spring, please consider contributing to Claudia's fundraiser to support the National MS Society.  Claudia is going to be riding as part of a tandem in a big MS ride in the Boston area to help raise money that will hopefully one day help to defeat Multiple Sclerosis. 

MS is an autoimmune disease where in the immune system attacks the nervous system.  This inappropriate immune behavior leads to many symptoms but often includes pain and fatigue and a degradation of neurological function including paralysis and loss of vision.  Different people have different progressions, but the end result is that most victims of this disease must work through both pain and the knowledge that at times they are going to be fighting for control of their own bodies.

Medical research is expensive, and I know many of you must be thinking, "How can my $10 make a difference?".  In and of itself, one ten dollar bill can only do so much, but together, they can do some amazing things.  Last year Claudia raised almost $40,000 for her ride.  That kind of money can help to support a graduate student's stipend for two years, or can cover most of the cost of a post-doctoral researcher's salary for one year.  It can buy almost half of a lower throughput sequencing machine.  It could cover the cost of developing a genetically modified mouse that could be used to study MS or could maintain a small "clean" mouse colony for a year or more to help study the progression of disease and possible interventions.  It could make it possible for 20 researchers to travel to a conference where they can share the results of their research and maybe help to catalyze the next big advance in the science and understanding of the disease.  I saw the value of this money first hand when I was in the laboratory and people received grants and fellowships from the MS Society and organizations like it.  There are so many ways that this money gets put to good use!

I think so many people think that only big government research grants can make a difference when it comes to tackling big disease issues, but the truth is that smaller communities of people really can make a difference with contributions to efficiently run organizations like the MS Society. 

This year, I definitely was the beneficiary of some good karma when I went to Boston.  I plan to make a contribution  to Claudia's fundraising efforts for the MS Society in honor of her dedication to doing a good thing to help others and with thoughts of the people who did a good thing to help me in mind.  If you have the resources to consider contributing to this cause, I hope you'll get on board and help work towards fighting a disease that affects so many of our fellow travelers.