of bad backs and robots

bad backs

I am still hobbling around because of my gimpy back. I am amazed at variety of opinions I have received regarding lower back pain. I had no idea. Passionate opinions too. I must see a chiropractor; I must not go to a chiropractor; I really need physical therapy; Vitamin B helps nerves; stretch, stretch, stretch; rest and don't aggravate it; exercise; Have I considered a massage?; Codeine; muscle relaxants; heat; ice; reflexology; I probably need better shoes.

It is clear that a lot of people care for me and want to help any way they can. I am touched by their concern. I am still a little fuzzy about what I should be doing, however. Too much information - too many options. The only things I have done so far have been stretching and Codeine. (I have become a big fan of Codeine - it makes all your problems go away - I like it a lot). I am seeing the Doc again tomorrow. I think they will take X-rays. We'll see.

My buddy Rob things I am just being a wimp and that I just need to quit my crying and toughen up. He's a real friend.

Robots

My 12 yr old daughter Abby, just finished a week long robotics camp at Wichita State University. She and the other middle school students on her team worked all day, day after day, designing, building, and programing robots to perform certain tasks in competition with other teams. It was really cool - and she did awesome. It was strange, though, watching her at work. She seemed so much older sitting there with her laptop and wires everywhere trying to program her robot to use echo-location sensors so it doesn't bump into things, or light sensors so her robot can differentiate between colors. It was really quite impressive. And, it's all over my head. I find myself wanting to say things like, "well, I'll be" and "It's amazing what they can do these days" and "I never would have believed it" and "in my day we just read about robots and watched them in movies" - things like that.

My aging back and my aging kids are making me feel quite... aged.