Monday April 7, 2025

– First Quarter Moon Phase – step out, take action, breaking away, expression

– Moon in LEO – 

– Retrogrades –

• Venus March 2 – April 13
• Mercury March 16 – April 7 Ends Today!

– Best Days (from the Farmer’s Almanac)  – April 6-7 – Cut Firewood, Dig Holes, Get Married, Host a Party, Kill Plant Pests, Mow to Increase Growth, Paint, Travel for Pleasure

– Planting Calendar (from the Farmer’s Almanac) – April  6th – 9th Grub out weeds, briars, and other plant pests.

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Year: – 11 ARIES: the ruler of a nation

– Aspect of the Aeon Sophia: (Wisdom): – Kali – The Destroyer

– Aspect of the Aeon Thelete: (Will/Desire): Ian (God of The East)

– Sabian Symbol for the Solar-Lunar Month – New Moon in ARIES SUN/MOON –  11 ARIES: the ruler of a nation   (EARTH –  11 LIBRA: a professor peering over his glasses at his students )

SUN – 18 ARIES: an empty hammock

EARTH – 18 LIBRA: two men placed under arrest

Happy Monday! Just follow the day and reach for the sun! R.J. Palacio

My Transhuman Adventure – Into the Unknown

On Friday I took my first step into my conversion into a transhuman. In early June, I will go under the knife to replace one of my knee joints. I call it the first step, but it is my fourth knee surgery and third on this knee alone.

This has become a pretty commonplace procedure (the medical industry estimates that over 700,000 replacements per year and performed). I know my own mother had it done outpatient about 10 years ago. My doctor claims mine will be unique due to the degeneration of my knee (ooooo I am special). But will it be enough?

This journey began back when I was 18 and had the misfortune of tripping while running in the rain (it never rained in Southern California in the 80’s). I tore my medial meniscus as well as my ACL and PCL. After my second surgery in about 4 years, my doctor gave me the unhappy news that I would suffer arthritis as a result. I have been able to feel the weather changing since about 1990.

After dealing with increasing pain, a year on steroid injections, being on daily anti-inflammatories for the last 10+ years (and a threat of bone degeneration), we have decided to get it done.

On the surface, this seems like a pretty straight forward medical decision. However, it also opens many moral and ethical questions as well. Questions my doctor cannot answer. Like the whole dilemma of how comfortable I am with having technology implants in my system. A lot of questions!

Am I Digital?

The idea of implants has been in the zeitgeist show recently with Elon Musk’s company Neuralink implanting chips in people’s brains. The idea? Make us better. somehow. They claim it shows promise for people who have lost some ability or need it improved. That sounds nice, but not quite so fun as the idea of having a bionic brain.

I grew up in the 70’s with The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman. This form of sci fi offered amazing robotic implants. “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better. Stronger. Faster.” And for Steve Austin, it was 2 robotic Legs, an Arm and an eye that made him super-human. Jamie Summers got the Legs, arm and an ear.

I thought it was cool enough to have a Six Million Dollar Man Lunchbox! This was pretty wild stuff for the time. In 1974 we did not have personal computers. And the height of technology was a calculator that could do +, -, *,/ and square root.

10 years later I had my eye surgically repaired (could have used that superpower) and 50 years later it is my knee.

Bummer that the technology dreamed up for the show is not yet commercially available. But you have to ask yourself how the dreams of shows such as that influenced the direction of technology development.

While working technology has made amazing strides in medical miracles, it still has not reached the level of what we dreamed up. And I have to wonder how far technology has actually gotten and we just have not been allowed to find out.

Am I Analog?

I am pretty sure that whatever they implant in me, at least I know that my lame insurance policy will never spring for something as cool as bionic legs. But surprisingly enough, what they offer is pretty high tech. My bone is riddled with holes from arthritis, and they will have to fill a lot in and use bone grafts for the bigger holes. Metal. Plastic. Cement. Cadaver bone. No microchips. No battery assist.

All for about a 15-year lifespan if I am lucky.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my biggest fear is the pain that will be involved. I am allergic to opiates. And the synthetics as well. The Doc has decided to put me on dilaudid (the strongest opiate based pain killer) with the hopes of being able to use lower doses. Who cares about the hives and constipation or potential addiction.

In the end, the hope is to deliver me to a point I can walk with less pain. I say less because my second knee is not a whole lot better and still is getting injections. This may be a long-term, multi surgery thing for me. They aren’t getting it through pharma, so they will get it with cutting me open. The medical establishment sucks!

A lot to think about. At least I can do it now out from under the spector of Mercury Retrograde hanging over our heads.