February 5

 Overcast at the moment. Cool but not outright cold. I saw a couple of warmer days predicted to go into the 50s over the next ten days which might be good days to start my garden clean up. We are still two months away from the time the garden centers start ramping up. I still haven't firmed up plans for the garden. And, just a stray thought, perhaps I won't and just fly by the seat of my pants. I do know there are several plants I will put in because I liked them so well over the years: dipladenia and hibiscus. I haven't planted sunflowers for a couple of years so I think it is time to plant them again. What I put in depends also on what returns. Last year the asiatic lily, valerian, indigo all came back. The indigo self seeded. I should dig up the lily and valerian and reset the bulbs/roots. I intended to do it last fall but ran out of energy before I got to it.

CNN published this article that is an interesting treatment of the issues of misinformation and the "wellness movement". I have had my own issues with so-called wellness programs. A while back Mom had an issue with shingles. She thought it might be a good time to get a general practitioner or family medicine doctor and consulted one her endocrinologist recommended. Well, she (it was a female doctor) disposed of the issue of shingles quickly because there is essentially no cure and just treatments to ease the itching. But then the doc started looking for something to treat. Mom agreed to several tests that seemed reasonable but finally decided not to continue after she prescribed an inhaler for a light case of (maybe) emphysema which cost way more than Mom felt comfortable paying for ($400/month). Mom told the doctor that and was told to find out what medication Mom's insurance would pay for and she would prescribe that. At the time Mom had only Medicare and it would have been easier for the Doctor's staff to find out that information. Mom refused to see her again. The point of that long winded story is that "wellness" seems to be a synonym for "let me find something, anything I can treat." We are both at an age where nothing will really kill us before our time.

I have also become increasingly uncomfortable with the medical "industry" on the issue of information vs. misinformation vs. preliminary "information". By "preliminary information" I mean early results of experimental trials which may or may not prove beneficial and may actually be harmful when applied in a clinical setting. I don't know how many people remember the harm thalidomide caused back 50 years ago. It had been shown to alleviate severe morning sickness in trials and was prescribed in Europe for that. The FDA was poised to approve it here when reports of serious birth defects in the children of women given the drug surfaced.  That is one reason that new drugs have to be tested and shown safe in pregnant women now. It is also why I am pretty skeptical of publicity of early trials.

The CNN article hits at the problem of information vs. misinformation by covering the so-called internet "influencers." It basically boils down to who do you trust. It isn't easy to distinguish between valid information, misinformation, malicious disinformation and pure propaganda. Too much, if not all, of the pharmaceutical advertising is propaganda and often so technical that few ordinary people have the expertise or experience to judge. I have a Master's in Zoology and I have no idea of what some of that crap means. After decades of watching the U.S. get sucked into situations because our government either lied or seriously misrepresented the information given to voters, I take government sourced info with a large grain of salt. Financial information is not any better. I won't even get into the "influencers."