2018-01-25 – No bullets in me. At least none that I am aware of. The docs wanted to know. So that’s what I told them.

I’m having an MRI tomorrow to try to find out what’s wrong with my knee before bicycling season starts and the technicians want to know what kind of metal I’m packing because MRIs use strong magnetic fields. If I have metal in me, I could be hurt when they turn the machine on.

I know what this is like.

The summer of 1969, I worked in a solid-state physics lab at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. We were cooling materials down to near absolute zero (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, not counting wind chill) and used a strong magnetic field in the process. It was not a good idea to be carrying tools anywhere near the magnet when it was on, but I walked in holding a screwdriver one day. Needless to say, I was quickly disarmed.

Fortunately, I didn’t break anything.

Then, over the weekend, I need to get my bike to the shop to get it in shape for the season. I bought the bike at the beginning of last season and put 2,000 miles on it. It’s still in pretty good shape, but the derailleur needs a little work. It tends to miss the gear when I downshift. That’s not a good thing to happen if you’re approaching an uphill ride. (Fortunately, there aren’t many of those in the Chicago area.)

If it seems a tad early to be thinking of spring, you’re probably right. But the optimists have always been this way. A week from tomorrow is Groundhog Day. Apart from the silly ideas about the groundhog looking for its shadow, Groundhog Day roughly marks the midpoint of winter. While we could still get hit with nasty weather, the end is clearly in sight.

So I’m getting things fixed up so I’ll be ready.