I WAS A FOOL TO BELIEVE THIS

 Dan, April 23, 2011 

Our hospital subscribes to "Up-to-date". The articles are objective, non-partisan review articles, with excellent references on a variety of topics. Below is the recent article on Prostate cancer and "screening" for it. Here is my take on it... There is a very good chance that at your age you have cancer cells in your prostate gland. There is even a better chance that these cells will never cause you any harm, and you will die a long time from now from some other disease process. There is a very small percentage of prostate cancer that is aggressive and will kill you in less than a few years. 

Modern medical science has no way to differentiate these cancers from the garden variety of harmless prostate cancer. Urologists have to convert 48 healthy men into whimpering dribbling impotent cancer patients to prevent one prostate cancer death. It's all in this article but said in a much nicer way. A prostate biopsy is performed by firing a large core needle through your rectum and into your prostate gland about ten times. Nature never intended this. You'll be ejaculating blood for awhile. Cancer cells can get out into your blood stream and go places they never would have gone. DRE (digital rectal exam) is no longer indicated for screening. It doesn't make people live longer. I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I would do. I would NOT have a biopsy. REPEAT: I would NOT have a biopsy. 

I would NOT pursue any kind of prostate cancer screening. REPEAT: I would NOT pursue any kind of prostate cancer screening. Just don't do it. Take your chances. Urologists have a big financial stake in this. The science is NOT with them. Read this article carefully. If you aren't convinced, I'll get you some more articles. I don't normally come on so strongly on medical issues, but I've seen too many men's lives ruined by aggressive urologists. And we need you out there on the road, kicking ass, not wearing Depends on the sidelines. Print this out. Read it over and over again. 

Your friend, Jim Parker, Radiologist

WHAT IS DIGITAL DEMOCRACY?

 Digital democracy is the use of digital technology—especially the internet, data systems, and sometimes AI—to expand, deepen, and reinvent how citizens participate in democratic life. It’s democracy upgraded with code, networks, and collective intelligence.

Here’s a breakdown with some creative perspectives:

---

🧠 Core Idea

At its heart, digital democracy means using technology to enhance transparency, participation, and accountability—the three pillars of democratic governance. But it’s not just “voting online.” It’s reimagining how citizens can co-create public policy, deliberate, and even govern between elections.

---

💡 Real-World Forms

• E-voting & e-petitions: Casting ballots or signing initiatives online. (Estonia does this securely.)

• Civic platforms: Like Pol.is in Taiwan, where thousands of people discuss policies and AI finds consensus points instead of conflict.

• Open-data governance: Governments publish datasets so citizens and journalists can investigate, innovate, and hold them accountable.

• Participatory budgeting: Citizens allocate real portions of city budgets using digital tools.

• AI-assisted deliberation: Algorithms summarize thousands of citizen comments, identifying shared values or areas of agreement—essentially digital “listening.”

---

🌐 The Deeper Vision

Digital democracy isn’t just about speed or convenience—it’s about evolving how collective intelligence works.
Imagine democracy as an organism that learns: every citizen’s input, every data stream, every conversation becomes part of a vast civic neural network. The aim is a responsive, adaptive democracy that can sense public needs in real time and act accordingly.

In other words:

“Digital democracy turns a government from a castle into a commons.”

---

⚠️ But Beware the Shadows

Technology can amplify democracy—or distort it. Surveillance, deepfakes, algorithmic bias, and misinformation can poison trust. That’s why the “digital” must always serve the “democracy,” not the other way around.

---

🚀 Emerging Directions

• AI-mediated dialogue: Systems that detect and diffuse online polarization by highlighting shared values.

• Blockchain voting: Transparent, tamper-proof systems for trust-building in elections.

• Metaverse town halls: Virtual civic assemblies that bring people together across geography.

• Digital twins of governments: Simulation models that test policies before they’re enacted.

---

Back End of Eighth Decade - Training

 Odd.

I have two cycling events scheduled over the next six months.  A six hour Time Trial in Borrego Springs, CA (Nov '25).  And a twenty-four hour Ultra event in Sebring, FL (Feb '26). I'll be 80 for the Sebring Ultra.  

A relief.

A decade or so ago I trained with Volume (miles and feet climbed) and Intensity (watts and heart rate).  I struggled to be Consistent in my training.  Cycling events have always anchored my training.  I trained to be able to finish events rather than set performance records.  I did o.k..

In context.

Cycling ranks fifth on my list of priorities (wife and family, health, finances, clients ... cycling).  So, suffice it to say, my training was inconsistent.  Without consistency in training everything else (volume and intensity) amounts to little more than `exercise'.  

Now.

I train for good health.  Eat well.  Sleep well.  I love my family.  I love my work.  

Pleasure and enjoyment.

As I close out my 70's and enter my 80's I don't feel the need for Intensity as much.  Metaphorically, I suppose I can say that I got rid of the `pain shed' in training.  Watts and heart rate numbers are a distant (very distant) goal.  I really look forward to training now.  

========

Exhaustion.

One of the cycling training tasks is to push past perceived physical limits.  And then back off to recover and rest.  A series of gradual pushing of the boundaries.  Careful attention to this aspect of training improves performance.  As Larry Graham says: "Too much is never enough".  

Time.

I don't/won't have time for exhaustion.  Time is now more of a limit than in the past.  I'm getting (or `AM') old.  Those I love and care about are also getting old.  I sense the desire to indulge myself in attending to close family and beloved relationships. And that means cutting way back on exhaustion.  It is an indulgence.

But none of what I said above will ever deprive me of the luxury of contradiction.  I lack perfection and embrace the right to change my mind if and when I want to.  

So there.