Spam for blogs

I've had my blog now for over six months, and one ofthe things that has surprised me the most is the spam you get via the comments section.  Here's a sample of a message I got recently:

"I simply want to tell you that I'm beginner to blogging and site-building and honestly enjoyed you're web page. Probably I’m likely to bookmark your site . You actually have beneficial stories. With thanks for sharing your blog."

You see a message like this and you think, "wow, some guy that is clearly not American has been reading my blog and enjoying what I write.  Nice!".  Then you google that message and realize he did the same on a million other sites, likely to boost the visibility of the sketchy site he runs.  The other popular spam I get a lot is trying to sell pharmaceuticals.

As is true with all spam, the only reason people keep spamming is because a very small percentage of people actually fall for it and buy something (or fall victim by giving their credit card).  It sometimes amazes me that people can be so gullable, but I guess I tend to underestimate the stupidity of many people.

Battling sciatica pain - 5 months later

This past July I went to my soccer game, played hard, and then went home and fell asleep.  I woke up the next morning, walked to work, sat at my desk, and like most mornings I started working with my development team in India.  An hour or so later I stood up and could barely walk.  Pain starting in my left buttock was shooting down my leg.  My first reaction was that I must have pulled a muscle in my soccer game the night before and it just took a little while to feel it.  Basically, I thought I pulled my butt muscle. I rested a few days and the pain subsided some, but strangely I began to notice that it would come and go.  That sure didn't sound like a muscle pull, huh?  A trip to the doctor confirmed I was suffering from sciatica.  Sciatica is actually not a diagnosis, but a symptom.  In my case, I'd have to guess it's from a back injury I suffered while skiing last February. Essentially the sciatic nerve runs down your leg starting from the bottom of your spine and mine was getting pinched.  A severe case can cause sharp pain/numbness all the way down your leg.  In my case, it's mostly mild discomfort (such as when I sit here typing this).

Well, fast forward 5 months and I'm still more or less in the same spot.  I've missed two seasons of soccer, played 1.5 seasons of softball without being able to run past first base (I thought my team was going to kill me after 3 months of taking a pinch runner each at bat), got a super embarrassing standing desk at work, and ran a 1:38 half marathon.  Wait, did I just say a half marathon?  Yup, for some reason standing and jogging make my leg feel good, but hills, sprinting, and sitting in a chair/car start to cause issues.  I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to ski this winter pain free, but I think the thing that scares me the most is not actually skiing but sitting in a car or plane (yeah Colorado trip coming up!) getting to the mountain.  To the right is my most recent Amazon purchase to hopefully help that problem.  Yes, I'm 29 years old going on 89.  Come on single ladies, who wouldn't want to date a guy that owns a seat wedge?

So far I've spent a fair amount of time (and a LOT of money) visiting two different chiropractors and a physical therapist.  I've done lots of stretching, some yoga and tried two weeks of no exercise.  Nothing seems to work.  Next week I go to a back/spine specialist and will likely get my first ever MRI.  Other options could include more yoga, acupuncture, cortisone shots, or even surgery.

So what have I learned from all of this?  First, how important my health is to me.  I know I must not be the only one that doesn't appreciate my health until I'm no longer healthy (and I keep doing this over and over and over again).  I know it's affected my mood, especially at work where I'm in the most discomfort.  Second, how important being active and playing sports is to me.  Just the thought of getting worse and having to stop the ~20+ miles a week I run and the many days of skiing I hope to do soon makes me shudder.  Third, how completely messed up our health care system is in this country.  I have a comparatively minor health issue, have a supposedly high quality health insurance plan, and live in a city with some of the world's best hospital's and doctors.  And yet I've been shocked at how wasteful, inefficient, and expensive my experience seeking treatment has been.  I can only imagine what it's like for others in this country.  It's also really peaked my interest in the health care industry and how much  technology can disrupt the status quo (more to come on this soon).

Cold, hard realities

"Without the distortion of a credit bubble, it is clear that far too many Americans don't know how to do anything that the world is willing to pay them a living wage for.  No economic theory offers them easy salvation." Adam Davidson, the creator of one of my favorite podcasts, NPR's Planet Money, is pretty blunt in his assessment of the US economy and I couldn't agree more.  Read the full article here: NY times link.  If you haven't checked out Planet Money, you should do so.  They consistently have stories about things that impact your day-to-day life that you've either never thought about or have no idea how/why they work as they do.  http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/

Lazy Man's Summary of Adam's article:  No politician is able to create jobs even though they all insist that they can.  "Business-friendly" states such as Texas steal jobs from other states but create very few net jobs for the country.  Subsidizing green industries does nothing other than shift jobs from one industry (oil) to another (such as solar).  Stimulus funds do little unless they are enormously huge (and then they still need to be paid for).  Cutting taxes and regulations may or may not have a long term benefit, but in the short term they simply result in laying off many government workers and not growing the economy (ask Britain).  The best solution:  those without jobs need to learn new skills and move to where the jobs are in the country (Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming).

What makes a leader?

A colleague shared this article about the "Solar Demi" -- a guy that has installed 600+ clear soda bottles in the roofs of dark houses in the Philippines.  It's a great read and worth checking out. There has been so much discussion lately about Steve Jobs and how he will be remembered as one of the greatest CEO's of all time.  Steve was successful despite a reputation of being tyrannical and having a really mean temper which he frequently unleashed on those he worked with.  That is certainly not a style that would be recommended for others to try, but it somehow worked for Steve.  The author of the article above, Vineet Nayar, nails it when he says "I believe people are much more likely to respond to a leader who comes across as “real,” who is perceived as a flesh-and-blood individual, complete with flaws and even some doubts or fears."

I know that I will consider myself a failure if I ever find myself not leading by example or staying true to my beliefs and core values.  Thus far I've built my career on transparency and not being fearful of challenging the status quo, now if only some of our world leaders would do the same.