I saw the sunshine!


My nurse let me out on an adventure! I got to see a bit of the prairie garden at the university — I saw it for a long time because I was moving at a snail’s pace past this little patch.

The real purpose of the outing, though, is that it’s been 6 days since I’d been in the lab, and while spiders are hardy beasts that do prefer being left alone, I have to occasionally give them something to eat. So, mealworms and flies all around!

Despite my neglect, the spiders know what season it is, and they’ve been producing egg sacs for me, so another duty I had was to separate eggs from mothers and move them into the special temperature and humidity controlled incubator. I’m accumulating a little collection, labeled Sbor, Ptep, and Lmac, all quietly thriving and awaiting their moment of emergence. I’m going to try and get in to the lab more frequently because they’ll be hatching out soon.

Comments

  1. Jazzlet says

    Yay for lots of egg sacs. I hope you took some decent painkiller before your outing.

  2. birgerjohansson says

    Can you get a walking frame until you get better? Putting weight on a bad leg is counterindicated.

  3. John Morales says

    I reckon it’s something of a truism that we often extend to others a degree of care and effort we might neglect for ourselves, especially when we feel they need us. Very motivational, that aspect of us social apes.

  4. robro says

    birgerjohansson #2 I believe those are generally known as “walkers” in the US. My wife used one around the house and to get to PT for a while but ditched it ASAP because it was awkward and says “old person” to her. Also not real secure feeling crossing the garden She used a cane as well which was easier.

  5. Hemidactylus says

    I had a walker when I busted my knee in late teens. I then transitioned to crutches which took some effort to learn. I felt more mobile but my upper body tired quickly. I think I had asked before about the practicality and economic accessibility of a mobility scooter at least in the short term. Insurance might balk.

    Just be careful not to fall and bust a hip! That takes things to an entirely different level.

  6. robro says

    The walker my wife was using was bought for me when I had pneumonia a few years ago. I didn’t use it a lot, and never in public. There was no point misleading strangers into thinking I was an “old person.” (I have occasionally been mistaken for an old person since then, and particularly now that I’m in my late 70s.)

  7. Hemidactylus says

    robro @7
    I get the whole not wanting to look “old person”. Using a walker in my teens was especially jarring for that. But it should be more what works best to get you through a hopefully very temporary situation in the best possible way without making things potentially worse. Pride should take a back seat.

  8. John Morales says

    re: “I haven’t used it yet because it is awkward and says “old person”.”

    What? You are an old person.

    Also, it’s for mobility, not for age.

    (Correlation, causation, all that)

    Yeah, I know. Dignity. Vanity.

    (Hard to tell those apart, eh?)

    But pragmatism, that works.

  9. Snarki, child of Loki says

    This bit about getting out in the sunlight reminded me of a cartoon (can’t seem to find it) of computer-nerds emerging in sunlight and remarking “It’s the day-star! The legends are TRUE!”

    Yes, I am easily amused. Best of luck with the recovery.

  10. chrislawson says

    @2– Nitpick alert: the word is ‘contraindicated’, not that anyone would have failed to understand your meaning

    @OP– Separating mothers and offspring? Just call ICE!

  11. billseymour says

    I have a walker that I leave in the car and use for support for my arthritic back which doesn‘t want me verticle for more that a minute or two without something to lean on.  Yes, it says “old person”, but it speaks the truth. 8-)

    I bought it for my mother years ago.  It has four wheels, so it rolls everywhere and isn’t particularly awkward.  It also has a seat I can sit on when I would otherwise be standing in line.

  12. robro says

    Of course, I know what the walker aka walking frame is for. I suspect the time is not too far in the future when I’ll be using one on a regular basis, and I’m not too proud to use it in public. However, my wife pointed out that she needed weight support while they are more for balance…at least that’s her perspective.

  13. silvrhalide says

    @5 Weren’t you considering retiring not all that long ago? Also, the only other option to being an “old person” is dying young and leaving a good-looking (youthful) corpse.

    Pro tip: Use the walker. Right now you have the option of using it temporarily. If you fall and break a hip, it may very well be permanent. Which is what happened to the BH’s mom. Pinking your vanity temporarily is the better option than having to use it permanently. At the very least, it would be an end to your spidering expeditions, unless you count checking the corners and closets as an expedition.

    @10 My joke about engineers (back when I worked for an engineering firm) was that periodically they would crawl out from under a rock, blink at the light of day and reveal a technological wonder that changed the course of history forever. Then they’d crawl back under the rock. Kind of like cicadas but without the mating frenzy.

  14. Pierce R. Butler says

    A scientific instrument hardwired to read in °F?!? How old is that “Intelligent Incubator”?

  15. John Morales says

    [seeing the sunshine is better than drinking the sunshine — someone]

  16. John Morales says

    (I know, I know. Me, a nobody with mere tertiary knowledge.
    You, an actual physicist, a proper expert.

    But still… KE = \frac{1}{2}mv^2

    Me, feisty! :)

    Anyway. Momentum transfer. I do get it.

    (But, big booms are big)

  17. rorschach says

    A walker is no use if your knee is fucked. You use these when you are generally frail, or have balance problems or spinal issues. It’s called walker, but you are still the one doing the walking after all, and that won’t work with a knee like that.

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