Age = Illness

[BigDumbDinosaur]

Dr Jefyll wrote:

( ps and btw: Arrhythmia, eh? For a bass player that'll be a matter of some concern! )

Tell me about it! Just you wait until you're my age. We'll see if you're up to doing some of those Christian McBride solos.

[rpiguy2]

My experience with older generations (WW2 and prior) is not at all what you describe. They did not take care of themselves, smoked and drank heavily, ate very heavy foods, and generally had heart attacks, strokes, or cancer (which are the same primary causes of death today). They were full of energy because their lives were incredibly stressful in their youths either through world wars or the depression and they never learnt to stop worrying and stop working.

The reason that older generations seemed happier is multi-fold.

They grew up with less so they were grateful for their circumstances.

Life was structured around norms in a such a way that you felt like you accomplished what you were supposed to. They did not grow up believing they could be the next American Idol and their expectations were far lower.

They were never encouraged to think about themselves or dwell on themselves.

They were intimately acquainted with death. Through war, disease, depression the older generation saw people die around them all the time. They saw the animals they tended die all the time. So they were just happy to be alive. Today we treat death like its an anomaly even though it happens to all of us, and we expect to feel physically good all of the time. This is a relatively new phenomenon.

Go to any remote village where people lived the way most of the older generation did and you will meet similarly hardened people.

[Mike Naberezny]

I've removed the last five posts from this thread. You all know that I rarely delete or edit anything, and I don't intend to make a habit of it. However, this sort of discussion is not why I run this website. I'm removing it with the hopes that it is dropped and not picked up again. I want this forum to be about the 6502, electronics, and computers.

I want this forum to be a welcoming place for anyone who shares our hobby. People should feel welcome here regardless of background such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, politics or religion, or other factors that don't have anything to do with computers. Comments such as those that were in this thread, that express viewpoints on these sorts of topics, are better posted on other websites. These things don't have anything to do with the main reason we are here (the 6502).

Updates on members and the usual banter and joking is welcome, but let's please be mindful that forum is read by a large number of people from different backgrounds and age ranges. Please try to keep the focus on our shared interest in electronics.

[barrym95838]

Thank you, Mike. I was trying to keep it playful in my own clumsy way, but in hindsight I think you administered firmly and appropriately.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

BigDumbDinosaur wrote:

On July 18 [2018] I was fitted with a pacemaker in an effort to control chronic bradychardia...

The saga continues...

A while back, the pacemaker was replaced with a defibrillator in an effort to stop left ventricular fibrillation (V-fib). That unit seemed to work okay for a while, but ultimately just couldn’t cut it. My heart had gotten too weak to keep me adequately perfused, and there were a number of times in which I fainted doing something as simple as getting up from a chair. The possible fixes were implantation of a cardioverter, or a heart transplant. My age disqualifies me for heart transplantation, so a cardioverter was the only option.

On September 1, I underwent the cardioverter implantation. The unit acts like a conventional pacemaker during periods of rest or light activity, but with a twist. During heavier activity, it will accelerate my heart rate to increase blood flow, something that a conventional pacemaker can't do. This “adaptive pacing” process mimics what a healthy heart naturally does.

Most importantly, if V-fib occurs and lasts for more than a few seconds, the cardioverter will administer a timed electric shock to the heart in an attempt to get it back into sinus rhythm, a process akin to using an external defibrillator on someone who has gone into cardiac arrest. This feature is critical, as V-fib will ultimately lead to sudden cardiac death.

I am feeling some improvement, with more energy than I've had in over a year. Cardioverter battery life is generally six to eight years, depending on how often the unit has to administer therapy. The cardioverter is physically larger than a pacemaker, mainly because it has a larger battery and more electronics. It was a little uncomfortable at first but I've gotten used to it. In any case, having it beats the alternative.

Here’s to modern technology!

[Dr Jefyll]

Here's wishing you all the best, BDD. And let's hope they didn't use WinCUPL to prepare the logic that runs in your new-fangled cardio-contraption!

-- Jeff

[commodorejohn]

Glad to hear it went well

[BigDumbDinosaur]

Dr Jefyll wrote:

Here's wishing you all the best, BDD. And let's hope they didn't use WinCUPL to prepare the logic that runs in your new-fangled cardio-contraption!

Also, let’s hope the logic isn’t a Microsoft product.

commodorejohn wrote:

Glad to hear it went well

Thanks! You never know with this cardiac stuff how things might go. The only negative is the cardioverter isn’t 65C02-powered.

[gfoot]

All the best, and I hope it continues to function well! I'd never heard of a cardioverter before, it was interesting to hear what it does.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

gfoot wrote:

All the best, and I hope it continues to function well! I'd never heard of a cardioverter before, it was interesting to hear what it does.

Thanks! Here is some more info on cardioverters.

[CountChocula]

All the best to you, BDD. I look forward to many more updates on your POC

[BigDumbDinosaur]

CountChocula wrote:

All the best to you, BDD.

Thanks!

Quote:

I look forward to many more updates on your POC

More will be coming soon. The PCBs for POC V1.4 have been shipped and should arrive near the end of this week. I have all other needed parts.

[sburrow]

Glad you are still kicking BDD. You are a great asset to this forum, and you have personally helped me many times in my short span here. Thank you for that, and thank you for everything else in the future. I'll be praying for your continued health.

Chad

[BigDumbDinosaur]

sburrow wrote:

Glad you are still kicking BDD. You are a great asset to this forum, and you have personally helped me many times in my short span here. Thank you for that, and thank you for everything else in the future. I'll be praying for your continued health.

Chad

Thanks!

[JimBoyd]

Glad it went well, BDD. I'll be praying for you as well.