Dress rehearsal for my old age

Sure, I'm thirty. I can't reprogram my body clock on the fly like I could in college. My metabolism's even slower than it was when I was twenty. I have to relearn how much alcohol I can drink without becoming an idiot. But in general, I'm as physically able as I was in college - maybe moreso, since I've started with the gym thing.

Enter the Spud.

I get winded going up stairs. It's getting hard to bend over and tie my shoelaces. I find that I want to sit down and take a breather after doing certain mundane, daily tasks, especially if they involve bending at the waist or holding my breath, even briefly. I am extra-careful to lift, push and pull on things the "right" way whenever possible, complete with a smooth exhalation of air. (Not a Valsalva maneuver; I know that's Right Out.)

I know this is normal. It's still weird. It's like a sneak preview of getting much older. Definite enhanced understanding of/sympathy for the frustration that arises when your body won't do what you think it ought to be able to do anymore.

The Hans Commission

Thirteen respected scientists and others were gathered together in 1904 by the German government. Their task was to investigate a phenomenom which had captivated the attention of the German people and, indeed, the world. Their subject: Hans, aka "Clever Hans," a horse which could apparently do complicated math.

While the idea of a world government paying real money to study a counting horse amuses me, the Hans commission discovered how the horse did the trick, unbeknownst to its trainer. It watched his body language. That discovery had a profound impact on later experimental design in animal and human studies.

The primary investigator, apparently repeatedly bitten by the horse during testing, was surely pleased to know that it had been worth it.