This is probably not the update you were expecting. There will be two posts today, but the second one will most likely be on one of the websites I seldom use. Don’t worry, I’ll post it to Facebook for you. Yes, I’m absolutely furious over the voting results. We have a situation, though, that supersedes the coming fascism being brought into our lives. Please, by all means, pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee (I just made a fresh pot), and let’s chat.
Our house is no longer safe. I don’t want to get into the messy details, but Kat can’t come home for any length of time and I need to move into an Assisted Living facility ASAP. The problem is fixable and Kat and her Dad are working on that. However, solving the problem means extensive demolition of various parts of the house. I still have five months of chemo and unknown effects after that. I CANNOT LIVE HERE DURING THE DEMOLITION AND RECONSTRUCTION. I need your help finding an Assisted Living facility that doesn’t suck.
United Healthcare, which manages my insurance, recommends the following places:
5045 West 52nd Street, Indianapolis, IN
2431 Directors Row, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN
55 Mission Dr, Indianapolis, IN
5651 E 30th St, Indianapolis, IN
810 Loews Boulevard, Greenwood, IN
2345 W 86th St, Indianapolis, IN
3530 Shelby Street, Indianapolis, IN
8041 Knue Road, Indianapolis, IN
7365 E 16th St, Indianapolis, IN
334 South Cherry Street, Westfield, IN
The website lists five more, but they’re much further away, such as Bloomington, Lafayette, and South Bend. I contacted all of these through the website on Monday, but have not received a reply from any of them. I attempted to call the first two yesterday, but it did not go well. My brain went blank and I couldn’t answer the most basic questions. I stuttered and stammered through the conversations until both recommended I have someone else call on my behalf. Both sounded irritated.
I am not well. All you see of me is what I type here. These updates take more than two hours for me to write. I’ve been awake since 3:00 this morning trying to figure out exactly what to say. I can occasionally, with some warning, ramp myself up to be aware, cognizant, and conversant for a few hours. I can often walk without my cane for a while. I’ve not lost my hair and physically people can’t see any sign of my disability if I don’t want them to, and I never want them to.
When I’m here, at home, alone? I stop pretending. I spend hours doing nothing but staring at my walls because my brain won’t engage anything. The dogs have to paw hard at my arm, often leaving scratches, to get my attention. Cats will lie in my lap and I’ll not be aware that they’re present until I try to stand up. Remembering to take my medicine, especially the night set, requires setting multiple alarms. I try to not cook on the stove when I’m here by myself because I worry I’ll forget what I’m doing and accidentally burn the house down.
I am not safe. I need help.
Finances are tight. I have $127 left in my bank account to get me through the rest of the month. Bills will eat all of that and a bit more. Fortunately, the fridge and freezer are full. The only thing we’re likely to need is milk. But how am I supposed to pay for an Assisted Living facility when I’m this broke? I’m not sure I qualify for financial assistance and even if I do I’m pretty sure I am not competent enough to complete the paperwork.
I don’t want to do this. I’ll miss being around Kat and the kids. I can’t take the dogs and they won’t understand why I’m gone. I’ll be even more isolated than I already am. No one will come to visit. I’ll likely be the youngest person there and, I’m sorry, but I don’t always get along well with people who are much older than me (Tony is an exception). Depending on the facility, I may need to furnish my own furniture. I don’t have any furniture other than my bed and I need to leave that for Kat. Where am I going to get furniture? This isn’t going to be fun. I can’t imagine existing in such a place and not hating every moment. Yet, continuing to stay here is not remotely feasible. I need to be somewhere now.
I HATE admitting that I need this much help. I’ve spent the past two years trying to hide the decline and I’m failing more each day. There are days when I wish my heart would just stop beating. I’m not suicidal, mind you. I’m just ready for all this to be over. What good am I to anyone?
And the damn election didn’t make things any better.
Who am I? Why am I here? Who cares?
I am not okay. You may want to take anything I say with a grain of salt and double-check my sources. I’ve already had to delete a post and a couple of Facebook messages this morning. I apologize if anyone was offended. Yes, I’m sober. I’ve had a headache for the past four days, though, and have moments where I completely lose track of reality. Yes, I sent a message to my doctor this morning. No, I don’t expect it to help. The best thing for me to do is keep to myself and not post anything stupid.
Kat will be back at the house this afternoon. She misses the kids (maybe me). The cats are still going to be an issue, though. She was shaving yesterday and accidentally brushed her finger across the blade. The resulting cut, though small, took an hour to stop bleeding. In my opinion, she needs to be wrapped in soft foam. Bubble wrap is useless because the cats like to play with that. She’s still planning on trying to take a couple of clients on Thursday and possibly Friday. If she sees someone on Friday afternoon, G will be there in case there’s a problem. I don’t know about Thursday, though.
Tipper spent the weekend with friends. I’m amazed that they’re willing to travel an hour to pick her up. She says she had “the best fucking time ever.” I told her to watch her language. They’re all furries, and, as a group, walked through their small town while wearing furry heads. No one bothered them and one person even stopped them to show off their pictures of a furry convention. She also came back with a robotic skeleton on her right arm. It’s a good thing she goes to a school that doesn’t mind. I’m sure that one day in the future she’s going to walk in with a full sleeve done. The trip was exhausting apparently. She came home and crashed. I didn’t see her again until this morning.
G is headed to the Purdue University campus at Ft. Wayne this morning for a field trip. I’m rather curious as to why they would consider Ft. Wayne when there are closer options. He has a set of questions to ask and is looking forward to trying out the food. He’s growing up fast and I fear I’m going to blink and he’ll be off to college. He spent much of yesterday playing with his new sewing machine. I’m now the proud owner of two small pouches. make of felt. He’s not pleased with them, but I think they’re rather impressive. No, I have no idea what this kid is going to do with his life. I’m pretty sure it will be impressive, though.
There have been some server issues with the website overnight. I woke up to go to the restroom a little after 3:00 and discovered multiple messages about the site not being accessible. When I sat down and tried to troubleshoot the problem, I got no response. That always makes me so happy [sarcasm]. After trying a couple of things, I finally bit the bullet and opened a support ticket. I hate doing that. Problems are usually small and something I could have fixed on my end. I feel stupid when that happens. This time, though, it was an issue that required technicians to fix. Everything should be up and running now.
The crushing news this morning is the death of long-time music producer Quincy Jones. This hurts in ways I can’t express. As long as I’ve been alive, Quincy Jones has been making music. I was still in grade school when I first heard his name. I’ve spent hours studying the music he produced, finding the special, subtle touches that made his records exceptional. As he’s become less active in recent years, I firmly believe his absence is a significant part of why contemporary music doesn’t have the hold of music he produced in the 60s-90s. The music industry can never be the same without him.
Tornadoes were a problem in Oklahoma over the weekend. Storms hit the greater Oklahoma City area, encompassing everything from the University of Oklahoma campus at Norman to pretty much everything eastward along I-40. The town of Choctaw took a pretty good hit and I’m told the tiny town of Hannah (pop. 102) was pretty much blown off the map. Miraculously, as of this morning, there are no deaths reported. While tornadoes can occur at any time of the year, we mostly associate them with spring weather patterns. A November storm this strong is still rare, but we’ve seen more of them in the last few years. Climate change, anyone?
To ensure accuracy, I’m going to lift this next part directly from the Associated Press: “The trial of eight people in Paris on terrorism charges started on Monday over the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, who was killed by an Islamic extremist after showing caricatures of Islam’s prophet to his middle school students for a lesson on freedom of expression.
Paty’s shocking death left an imprint on France, and several schools are now named after him. Paty was killed outside his school near Paris on Oct. 16, 2020, by an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen origin, who was shot to death by police.”
This is what happens when religion is out of control. This is why making sure we DO NOT elect Christian Nationalists is important. Don’t think for a second that these extremists wouldn’t do similar things here. They’re dangers to all of society and need to be stopped.
The New York Times is following conversations on the Telegram app where right-wing groups are already beginning to organize as they plan to take action in response to tomorrow’s election. Fueling this danger is the Republican nominee himself who now says he ‘shouldn’t have left’ the White House. His rhetoric over the past week has grown dark and brooding. There’s trouble brewing and law enforcement is largely helpless to try and stop it. This could get very nasty over the next few days.
As you look around the various news sites today, you’re going to see a number of variously-angled articles on what to watch during tomorrow’s election. Let me give you my own list:
For perhaps the first time in my life, I’m not looking forward to voting tomorrow. I will, but I won’t feel good about it. The weather forecast predicts rain. The lines will be long. I’ll have to stand the entire time. I worry whether my vote will be counted, or if it will matter. I’m a Blue voter in a historically Red state. I’m used to being disappointed, but this time the consequences could be a matter of life or death for too many people I care about. The ACLU of Indiana has published this notice:
For help at the polls, or if you believe your rights have been violated, the quickest way to get help is by calling the non-partisan Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (Spanish: 1-888-839-8682), or texting MYVOTE to 866-687-8683.
If you witness what you feel is voter intimidation, which is highly possible this year, the ACLU has the following recommendations:
Your rights
Examples of voter intimidation
What to do if you experience voter intimidation
I don’t see how I can make the matter any more clear. This could be the vote of your life. This vote could save your life. YOU HAVE TO VOTE. Staying home or voting for a third party guarantees an outcome you will not like, and yes, this time there will be consequences that affect you.
My head is hurting so badly now I quite literally can’t see straight. I’m eating breakfast, taking my meds, turning off the lights, and going to bed. Don’t @ me. Don’t call me. Don’t text me.
Just fucking vote!
Sunday, I so wasn’t ready for you yet. Yeah, technically I’m starting an hour later than normal, but what I wanted was something more like two or three hours of extra sleep and that just didn’t happen. No, you woke me up early, notified the cats, and there was no going back after that. We fed all the animals, refreshed the water supply, and made fresh coffee because I’m going to need a lot of it if I keep a civil head about me today. There are some interesting things to talk about, even if you don’t follow football. But first, you need to see this:
Look, I’m never going to be as exciting as a Taylor Swift concert or a Travis Kelce spotting (yeah, he was here; the Chiefs don’t play until Monday night). Still, I think we put things together in a unique way that engages people in a manner that most communication outlets can’t. Namely, we talk about our family. You won’t find that on CNN. Not yet, anyway.
Yesterday was rather quiet around the house, though. Kat left and headed North around 9 and Tipper left with her friends a couple of hours later. G played online games with his friends and I did my best to interrupt as often as possible. I took a nap and then settled in to watch football games. Even the dogs seemed bored with the day, keeping their outside time to a minimum. How do I know the dogs are bored? When they ask to go inside before I’m ready.
While the games we watched were entertaining, some of the more interesting moments were off the field. Jason Kelce smashed a Penn State fan’s phone after the fan called Travis a homophobic slur for dating Ms. Swift. The elder brother’s reaction was quick and severe. Obviously, the Penn State student has never watched the Kelce’s podcast or else he would have known how fiercely the brothers protect each other.
Next, there’s the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) offensive line coach who is likely going to lose his job after having a complete meltdown on the sidelines. Yeah, ULM was losing their game to Marshall (final score 28-23) and yeah, his o-line was playing poorly. Still, that’s absolutely no excuse for his behavior, especially with one of the players. The university is saying they’ll take “disciplinary action,” but the chances of this dude still being employed are slim.
THEN, there was Friday night’s cold-shoulder handshake between the University of Southern Florida’s (USF) Alex Golesh and Florida Atlantic’s Tom Herman. Normally, coaches at least tell each other, “good game,” or something similar. Not this time. FAU had just rolled over USF, 44-21. Golesh didn’t take the defeat well. He barely touched Herman as he passed and kept on walking. Maybe he felt that FAU had unnecessarily run up the score. Maybe it was because this is the second year in a row that USF has lost this game. He’s not saying. Still, someone throw a flag for post-game unsportsmanlike conduct.
All the excitement wasn’t limited to NCAA men’s football, though. The NBA is investigating after the Philadephia Sixers’ Joel Embiid yelled at and then shoved Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. The Sixers had just lost to the Grizzlies and Hayes had questioned Embiid’s professionalism in a recent article. So, yeah, he was a bit emotional. Is that justification for his action? Nope. He can most likely expect an example-setting fine from the NBA.
Back to football, though. OU finally won a game! Granted, it was against an undersized and underclassed Maine team that, outside of the touchdown on their opening drive, spent most of the rest of the game carrying injured players off the field. I mean, OU was physically bigger which allowed them to steamroll over Maine. This was the first time the two teams have ever met and after this performance, I wouldn’t expect to see a repeat any time soon.
I was deeply concerned about Georgia possibly losing to Florida, though. They were behind by 7 at the half and the rivalry between the two schools is legendary. This is one of those cross-the-border games where one can normally throw out the record books, and for a while, it looked as though this might be the case again this year. UGA came back strong in the second half and ended up winning, 34-20. Still, this wasn’t a pretty game on either side. Looking in the stands, I think there were almost as many Georgia fans in the Jacksonville stadium as there were Florida fans.
The SEC was pretty hot yesterday, overall. Tennessee held off Kentucky, 28-18. South Carolina surprised Texas A&M, 44-20. Ole Miss absolutely ran the fuck over Arkansas, 63-31. And Vanderbilt again showed that it’s no milquetoast, beating Auburn 17-7.
13th-ranked IU still isn’t getting the respect it deserves. They beat Michigan State, 47-10, giving the team its first 9-0 start in the program’s history. Where’s the love? Why the hell is 6-2 Clemson ranked above them, especially after they lost to Lousiville, of all teams, 33-21? Sure, IU hasn’t had the roughest schedule, but look at how they’ve dominated in every game they’ve played! Bring on Ohio State or someone. I’m pretty sure IU can handle them. [We’ll find out November 23]
In fact, I find it rather disingenuous that Notre Dame is getting all the love and support for possibly making the College Football Playoff after that early season loss to Northern Illinois. The two teams haven’t met since 1991, and they’ve never played at Bloomington. All the games between the two teams have been in South Bend. Come on, guys! This is a game that IU needs! This is a game that Indiana needs! I suppose there’s always the chance they could meet in a bowl game or a CFP game, but this should have been a regular-season matchup.
Oklahoma State and Purdue both lost and, at this point, their seasons are effectively over. They’re neither one ending on the positive side of 500.
A couple of teams are likely looking at fines from the NCAA for student behavior. Clemson fans were throwing water bottles onto the field. That’s a HUGE no-no and the students should already know better by this point in the season. South Carolina already knows that they’ll owe Texas A&M $250,000 after their students rushed the field yesterday. Bad behavior seems to be a thing in the SEC and the conference needs to apply more pressure to the schools to get it to stop before serious injury occurs.
Meanwhile, you’ve got to see this to believe it:
There is some non-football news. Today is the New York City Marathon. I know of at least one person from Indy who is among the 50,000 people running. Good luck and stay safe!
The entire New York Times Magazine is worth reading today. Fortunately, they posted some of the articles yesterday or I wouldn’t be done with it yet.
I suppose there’s other stuff, but none of it is going to make your day any better. You’re better off relaxing and enjoying the day with your family, or a good book, or perhaps a favorite movie.
Personally, I’m going to need to take a fistful of meds. The pain this morning is severe and it’s been a struggle trying to type when my body doesn’t want to participate in anything at all. You’d think I’d be accustomed to this by now. Sorry, that doesn’t seem to be happening.
Maybe I’ll make mashed potatoes for dinner or something.
Yes, I’m getting a late start this morning because I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep. Fat Guy did wake me up to feed the cats at 6:25, but I went right back to bed and slept until 8:00. The dogs didn’t seem to mind one bit. In fact, they’re already back to napping. This is going to be one of those days where I don’t dare promise anyone anything because there’s a good chance that nothing gets accomplished.
Kat came home yesterday afternoon, giving us a chance to chat a little bit before the kids arrived. I’m finding it difficult to explain how incredibly weak she is at the moment. She spent the night in an oversized chair so that she could sleep sitting up. The cats didn’t give her a lot of rest, though. Fat Guy was noisy all night and the other cats were running around, knocking over side tables and making a mess. She’s still coughing up dark masses of blood. She’ll go back up to Brandon’s this afternoon where it will be quieter. She can have her own room there and Brandon watches over her like a mother hen.
Both kids came home in a good mood, having had decent days at school. Tipper is spending tonight with some of her Furry friends, which means G and I will have the house to ourselves. Don’t worry, that just means he’ll be playing games in his room and I’ll be watching football in mine. There’s no wildness of any kind on tap. That’s not who G is, and I’m too damn old.
I’m fighting against a lot of pain this morning. My right forearm feels as if it’s on fire and the right side of my head seems to have someone stepping on it. I’m assuming all the other aches and pains are a result of this morning’s frosty coldness. Even now, it’s still only 34 degrees out. The heater works well, but that still doesn’t seem to affect the way my body responds to the meteorological changes. I’m doing my best to not let depression take over but the struggle is severe and there’s a part of my brain that just doesn’t give a shit.
As we know, most Saturday news is just a rehash of the previous week. So, I want to take a look at what’s going on in the world of science, particularly in the field of battling misinformation. At the center of the research is Kate Starbird, at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle.
“Starbird and her colleagues have spent more than 4 years studying the rumors that swirl around elections. It’s not purely an academic interest: As they amass data, the team writes rapid research blogs explaining to journalists, election officials, and the public what rumors are circulating and where they are coming from—and correcting the record. “I jokingly call our group the ER [emergency room],” Tomson says. “What we do is triage information.”
What has all this work gotten her? Harassment and threats, particularly from Republicans in the US House of Representatives. As Starbird and her team sift out truth from fiction, their work often blunts the ideological rhetoric that the GOP has been putting forth. So far, Starbird, whom colleagues describe as ‘tough as nails,’ has stood firm, waving off the nonsense from people who don’t know what they’re talking about. They’ll be going strong all the way through the election.
Fighting misinformation, from a scientific standpoint, is far from easy. An article in Science magazine, supported by the Pulitzer Center, identifies five significant obstacles.
Those are extremely tough issues to overcome and the more one digs into them, the more confusing and hopeless it can seem. I’ve been down the rabbit hole and, damn, it’s depressing. One wonders if there is any hope of solving the problem of misinformation.
So, what if there was a vaccination? Oh, this gets good. We’re talking about taking a Cold War strategy to prevent people from believing lies and misinformation. What the fuck? As head of the Social Decision-Making Lab at the University of Cambridge, Sander Van der Linden, whose family were Holocaust victims, is studying the power of lies and how to keep people from believing them. He has become academia’s biggest proponent of a strategy pioneered after the Korean War to “inoculate” humans against persuasion, the way they are vaccinated against dangerous infections.
There are two steps to Van der Linden’s method: “First, warn people they may be manipulated. Second, expose them to a weakened form of the misinformation, just enough to intrigue but not persuade anyone. “The goal is to raise eyebrows (antibodies) without convincing (infecting),” No, it’s not an actual shot that you can get at your doctor’s office. Damnit.
Van der Linden’s focus on stopping the spread of misinformation comes under a lot of criticism. His approach doesn’t target the source of the problem at all. The medical analogy confuses in its own way as well. Still, by his estimation, it has a better outcome than other methods being studied. Is that enough for it to be more widely adopted? Probably not, but at least someone’s trying.
This is an important topic because, should the Orange Felon win, he’s likely to put Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in charge of a lot of health issues. Exactly how that would work, no one seems to know. However, Kennedy’s long-standing war against vaccinations would certainly be a point of concern. His extreme views are certainly a large reason for why his own attempt at running for president failed, but they’re also scaring the shit out of a number of researchers. They fear that giving Kennedy any control over federal programs could cause the misinformation and lies to become mainstream. This would severely set back disease research and, as a result, millions of people could die if they are denied access to critical medicines.
Yes, there are real-world consequences to how you vote.
The fact is that science and politics don’t mix well. Science relies on facts and has ways of ensuring that what is published is as true as possible based on current understanding. Politics, on the other hand, relies on unproven conjecture, misinformation, and rhetoric. To the extent that one believes the politicians over the scientists, the world suffers. Politicians, as a whole, aren’t nearly as smart as they pretend. They rely on their staff to tell them what to say and when they go off script they usually get themselves in trouble.
I would very much like for you to delve deep into this week’s NYTimes interview with Peter Singer, perhaps the world’s most influential philosopher who’s still living. A hard-core utilitarian, Singer believes that it isn’t enough to do what is best for ourselves, but that we should focus on what is ultimately best for all beings, and by all beings he does not mean only humans. There’s a lot to unpack in this interview, so carve out some time for yourself. This gets deep.
This is as far as I go for now. My brain is overloaded with all the reading I’ve done over the past couple of hours and my head was hurting before I started. Am I deeply concerned about what happens over the next week? Yes. I hope you are as well. The fight is real and the battles, unfortunately, may get bloody. I’m not willing, at this point, to dismiss even the wildest of outcomes.
I think I’ll refill my coffee cup and put Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on the Victrola. There will be football to watch this afternoon, naps to take, snacks to eat.
Be safe, my friends.
I need to apologize to the entire world for a number of things. I’m aware that portions of my existence may offend some people, so I’d like the opportunity to clear up a few things if you don’t mind.
I’m sorry, but I’m not perfect. In fact, the greater majority of the time I’m rather clueless. The older I get, the more my mind sinks into its internal darkness. I lose awareness of where I am, what the social situation is, and what my behavior should be.
I’m sorry, but I’m not enough for anyone. I think I’ve proven that in both long-term and short-term relationships. People have needs that I am unable to meet, whether they’re physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental. I may try to address needs that are most immediate, but I frequently fail at the most basic tasks.
I’m sorry, but I am no longer young. Neither am I handsome, virile, adventurous, capable, mindful, romantic, or strong. If I ever had any of those traits, they have all left me. At this point, I am little more than an empty shell.
I’m sorry, but I am sick. I will be sick on some level for the rest of my life. Leukemia does not go away. Diabetes does not go away. One or both of them, or something not yet discovered, will eventually kill me. My doctor was very clear: the rest of my life is going to be difficult. There’s not a damn thing I can do about that.
I’m sorry, but I don’t always express sufficient thankfulness for everything that people do for me. Over the past two years, we’ve seen some amazing gestures from a lot of people as they’ve helped us in so many different ways. Thank you, quite seriously, from the bottom of my heart.
I’m sorry, but I’m poor. Social Security pays me a whopping $1,100 a month. That’s it. From that, roughly $800 a month is taken in home expenses such as groceries, toilet paper, and clothing for growing kids. There’s never enough. I can’t afford to go out. I can’t afford to come see your show. I can’t buy your art. I’m truly sorry. I would love to support you more and join you in all the amazing things you’re doing, but that’s not possible.
I’m sorry, but I can’t drive. Ever. Anywhere. If you had seen the condition of my last car, the dents, the dings, and the scratches, you would understand why. My spatial awareness is severely diminished. My mind wanders and does not stay focused on the task at hand. I lose track of what I’m doing, where I’m going, and how to get anywhere. I’m not safe.
I’m sorry, but I’m a mess. My mind is a haze and in that haze, I lose track of everything. Did I take out the trash? Did I change my socks? Have I taken my meds? Are the kids home? What time is it? What should I be doing now? What was I just doing? Have I said that already?
I’m sorry, but I love a lot of people, even people I don’t know. I don’t mean that in any superficial “brotherhood of man” kind of way. I seriously love you. There’s no way for me to express that without coming off as either creepy, needy, or both. So, I stay silent. But seriously, I love you.
I’m sorry, but I’m mean. I’ve lost patience with people who are either willfully ignorant or willfully stupid. I don’t understand how anyone can continue to be a Republican. I get why you may have started down that path, but where the party is now is evil. Leave. The same applies to religion. All of them. The older I get, the more vile and treacherous those mythological belief systems become. You don’t love people if you want to control their lives, limit who they are, and prevent them from being who they were meant to be. You are not compassionate if you don’t want everyone to have food, healthcare, and a genuine education void of political or religious interference. You are not humane if you want to control where anyone lives, how they live, or how they raise their families. I am not tolerant. I am not understanding. You need to fucking re-evaluate your life. Now.
I’m sorry, but I’m full of contradictions.
I’m sorry, but I don’t like uniforms or mandatory dress codes. If you want to wear a heavy coat in the middle of summer, go for it. If you don’t want to wear anything, ever, anywhere, that’s your prerogative.
I’m sorry, but I want there to be a way to communicate visually that I am not an abusive asshole. Too many men have done absolutely horrible things to women and children, to the point where it’s safer to regard all men as dangerous. I’m sorry that we share a gender identity. Abusive people are evil.
I’m sorry, but many of you deserve better than what you have. I see too many toxic relationships and too many of you are comfortable being in one. It breaks my heart every time you recommit to scum. It’s not love, dear.
I’m sorry, but I no longer remember why I started this post.
Welcome to November! There’s no question that this month is going to be history-making, one way or the other. The question now is what are we going to have to do to survive it? The prospects of a peaceful holiday season look bleak. Gatherings of any type are likely to be fraught with danger as different perspectives, misinformation, and outright lies color our conversations, turning them from casual to caustic. I’m not looking forward to the next week, no matter how the election goes. This could be traumatic.
The good news is that Kat is coming home today. She’s still not feeling great, obviously, but she misses the kids and wants to see how things go with the cats. Small things like walking and eating still tax her. We will be taking extreme care to ensure her safety while she is here. We greatly appreciate all the thoughts and support coming from our friends during this challenge.
Both kids had fun yesterday. One of G’s friends gave him $5 for wearing his heels to school. Unfortunately, one heel broke when he stumbled over something. He “fixed” it with a glue stick and went on with his day. Tipper enjoyed going out with her friends, but they had a difficult time finding anything exciting. She was disappointed in the haunted house they went to, and few people were participating in the trick-or-treat tradition in any of the neighborhoods they went to. The amount of candy she came back with was too small to bother poaching.
We are extremely thankful to the friend who sent an electrician to fix our problem. It turns out that the problem was a mix of old wiring and a space heater that was pulling too much power. One of the lead wires in the breaker box was quite literally melting and showed signs of having been in that condition for quite some time. We are back to normal activity, minus the space heater in G’s room. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish editing all the photos from the past two weeks before anything else distracts us.
There are plenty of other little petty annoyances, of course, but who doesn’t have those in their life? I thought I was buying sugar-free caramels. They weren’t. The cats escaped out the back door. We got them all back. As frustrating as those things can be in the moment, I think they’re part of what colors our existence. They are problems we can generally resolve and even when we can’t, they’re not matters that dramatically impact our lives. We’re entering a period where we could face some dramatic challenges. If we’re to survive, we need to keep the minor things in perspective. Yes, I’m preaching to myself. I’m horrible at this.
You know the world is going nuts when the 2-5 Jets beat the division-leading Texans, 21-13. I watched most of the game. The first half was full of errors, penalties, and blunders. The second half was better with the Jets pulling off some amazing catches. Does this mean the Jets are getting better? Maybe, but I wouldn’t start betting on them just yet. The Texans have a number of key players out due to injury. They had to rely on their third-string left tackle for most of the game, and that inexperience allowed Jets linemen to get into the backfield too easily. A healthy Houston team would have likely run all over their opponents. So, we’ll have to see how the Jets do next week.
More insanity occurred off the basketball court as Charlotte Hornets point guard, LaMelo Ball, knocked the head off an animatronic clown. The clown was slightly hidden as Ball entered the Spectrum Center for practice. The 23-year-old’s reaction has his teammates laughing and poking fun. Yes, there’s video.
The election dominates most of the other headlines. I won’t bother going over all of them, but there are a few things that bother me. One is the degree to which gender has become a critical issue. The felon says that he will “protect women.” Harris shoots back, “Women can think for themselves, thank you.” At the same time, the felon makes anti-trans attacks central to his campaign’s closing argument. The entire GOP has ramped up the anti-trans vitriol. Should Republicans win on any level, the lives of millions of women and transgender people could be in danger.
At the same time, the felon’s fraud claims revive fears he may again seek to overturn election results. This is especially concerning since he has an ally as Speaker of the House. Mike Johnson has been actively campaigning for the felon and he is in a position to prevent the House of Representatives from certifying the election. Johnson could also, in theory, refuse to seat new members of Congress should Democrats make significant gains. So much of what happens after the election is out of the hands of citizens, making protests and lawsuits inevitable.
Yes, this is going to affect your holiday gatherings. There is almost no chance that rhetoric will calm down by Thanksgiving and the winter holidays are at risk. Family gatherings, and conversations around the table, are going to be perilous. One has to think: do I want my children to witness adults behaving worse than toddlers? Maybe this is the year that we diffuse the danger by making our holiday celebrations smaller and more intimate, limiting participation to immediate family members only. Let the arguments, if there are any, be over things like who got the last roll or who spilled the gravy on great-grandma’s tablecloth. We have to begin planning now to create environments that respect boundaries, put differences of opinion aside, and focus on family rather than the snakes in the grass that would tear us apart.
As I said at the beginning, what happens this month will be historical regardless of the outcome. Nothing about this month is business as usual. We’ve selected people to run for office who have no business even managing a small fast-food outlet in the middle of the desert. While I do find VP Harris dramatically preferable over the felon, it is ridiculous to think that her administration wouldn’t be filled with gaffes, mistakes, and errors in judgment. To create real change we need to take over local political parties, replacing power brokers who push incompetent people onto the ballot. From there, we can move up the ladder, replacing party leaders at both the state and federal levels. Only then will there be any genuine change.
Perhaps, if we focus on pumpkin pie recipes and creative ways of working with leftover stuffing, we can avoid letting politics ruin what should be happy moments over the rest of the year. Shut the door on nonsense that you can’t control. Give the system a chance to work, and if it fails, address those matters after the first of the year. They’ll still be there, waiting to ruin people’s lives.
For now, go grab a cup of coffee. Make sure the garbage is out by the curb. Don’t forget to let people know that you love them. Make your weekend pleasurable.
Welcome, fiends, to this All Hallows Eve edition of the Moaning Update. As storms roll across the Midwest this morning, the lightning brings to life the deceased body of our creator who fell into that eternal slumber after caring too much about what he cannot control. Now, as he attempts to walk among us, it is his own mortal flesh that is uncontrollable. Beware, for this is not the genial soul of days gone by. This is a monster who would feed you cookies for dinner and then deny you a drink of milk. The blood of his enemies has stained his white whiskers. You are wise to run away in fear.
The good news is that Kat was dismissed from the hospital yesterday afternoon without needing any surgical procedures. They have her on blood thinners and pain meds for the time being. She has been warned that the recovery is slow and frequently takes as much as a year before she begins feeling completely normal again. When chatting with her last night, she admitted that taking only a few steps was enough to wear her out. The Salon has closed her books at least until the end of next week. They will do their best to reschedule everyone, but please understand that Kat will not be able to return to the heavy schedule she was accustomed to working.
The kids are participating in the day’s festivities. Tipper is going out with some of her Furry friends after school. G is… wearing heels. Apparently, his classmates were strongly encouraging this act. I’m encouraging him to pack his sneakers as a backup. He says he would have worn eyeliner as an accent if we had any, but neither Kat nor Tipper wears makeup that often, so there’s none in the house. Kat keeps hers at work or at Brandon’s. I’m not sure if he was truly disappointed or happy to have an excuse.
We thought we had the breaker issue resolved. Devon came yesterday morning and replaced the breaker with the one we’d purchased. He also kindly replaced the bulbs on our porch lights. Unfortunately, the instant G tried turning on his computer, everything went down again and stayed that way. No recovery. At least not until shortly after 6:00 this morning, when everything popped back on. I’ve no idea what is happening at this point. So, we’re expecting an electrician to come out late this afternoon and take a look at the situation. Will we have power in the bedrooms by nightfall? There’s a joke to be made there, but I’ll leave it alone.
There’s so much going on this morning, that I’m tempted to stop here. We’ve already had two Amazon deliveries this morning. There are more coming before 11:00. Ultimately, this is a good thing. We’ll have food and such for most of the month. I can miss my morning nap to accommodate that, can’t I?
Hmmmm … Let’s see, the Dodgers won the World Series last night, four games to one. This is the eighth championship in the history of the team. I didn’t watch the game, but apparently, the Yankees blew a five-run lead with an abundance of errors. Expect to see some players traded after that debacle.
Damn, the power in the bedrooms just went back out.
Want to know what’s scary? Get a load of some of these headlines:
I mean, every news source I look at this morning is full of scary stories! This is just nuts! I think what all this tells us is that the entire world is wildly out of control. The election is only aggravating problems that were already there. There is a divide across the world between progress and authoritarianism that fuels violence and anger across the globe. People everywhere are scared and not just by Halloween stories. Although, AP has a bunch of fun stories if you need them.
Do we live in perilous times? Yes. Will the decisions we make in this election affect the entire world? Yes. Even your state and local elections can have a reverberating effect on other countries. How you vote, whether you vote, matters more now than it has in over a century.
As I’m typing, I’m hearing sirens yet again in the neighborhood. There are people everywhere who are making poor choices, perhaps out of ignorance, but also out of fear. I think fear is driving a lot more actions than we think. People are afraid of losing critical rights. People are afraid of losing important values. People are concerned that they may be hunted down and killed because of their sexual orientation. All those fears are valid. That’s why this is such a critical time to vote. Your vote, especially down-ballot, carries more weight and more power than it ever has.
Look, I’m old. I’m worried more about how our actions affect Kat and the kids than myself. If I die, it matters little. I’ve lived a life that’s had love and adventure. But the Kat, the boys, G and Tipper, are all still young. I don’t want them to suffer through the hate and violence of a GOP win. I don’t want them to have to worry about how they dress, what they say, who they are, or where they go. I don’t want them to be targeted because of who they love, where they live, or how they vote. I want them all to live happy and fulfilled lives that are not dominated by fear.
Talking with Kat this morning, she’s concerned about being around the cats. Even the smallest scratch could cause problems for her. The blood pressure cuff bruises her arm and causes her to have to put pressure on the IV wounds to prevent them from bleeding. I think she needs to stay put in Fishers, but she had also agreed to take care of her boss’s dog while they’re gone. And it’s going to rain.
I don’t have the answers I feel I need to have. I’m worried about everyone. I’m worried about all of humanity. Not being able to fix the world is a failure that weighs heavily on me. I want more for you. All of you.
Maybe we just need more coffee.
Getting straight to the important stuff: Kat has a submassive pulmonary embolism. This is more serious than a standard embolism, but not as bad as a massive PE. She spent the night at the hospital and doctors will decide this morning what to do next. They may do a medical procedure, or they could decide to go with a drug regimen. This is immediately more serious than my Leukemia or anything else going on. Kat is the core of our family. We love and need her.
No one has told me yet what caused the embolism. Statistically, most are blood clots that move up from the legs. Kat does spend a lot of time on her feet, so that’s a definite possibility. However, she’s had Covid and pneumonia this month. Either, or both, of those illnesses could have caused the embolism. I’ll pass on more as we know more. The doctors say the clot has been forming for at least a month, which puts it at about the same time as when she had Covid.
Ginger at Biz on Fletcher has called everyone on Kat’s books and is working to reschedule everyone. No, we don’t know when Kat might be back at the salon. She’s been scheduling six days a week lately and that stress has almost certainly contributed to her current condition. If you have any questions about a hair appointment, you can call Ginger at Biz: 317.631.2775.
Our attempt at replacing the breaker failed as well. After a considerable amount of research, I was able to secure a replacement breaker, but when we removed the panel the dead breaker wouldn’t budge. We’re going to need someone who knows what they’re doing, which is something we can’t afford at the moment. A friend has volunteered to take a look at it, but there’s no promise they can do any better. So, our bedrooms are still in the dark.
I gotta say, I’m pissed at the situation. Covid was bad enough. Then came the ear infection. Then pneumonia. AND NOW THIS?? WHAT THE LIVING FUCK!? Kat didn’t have a chance to fully recover from one problem before she was hit with another! She deserves better. She helps too many people and provides too valuable a service to all her clients, especially her trans and other LGBTQIA+ people. She loves every last one of them. THEY need her.
I’m also pissed at my inability to do anything helpful. I thought I could take care of the breakers, but I can’t even get that right. What’s the point of me being here if I can’t help the person I care for the most?
I’ve been careful with what I’ve told the kids. I’ve been honest, but I haven’t let on how serious the situation is. They need to focus on school right now. I fear they would both melt down emotionally if they understood the severity of their mom’s situation.
Honestly, there’s not any news right now that seems more important than what we have going on here. Jaywalking was legalized in New York City, and if you’ve ever been there you understand why that’s such a big deal. Actress Terri Garr died from complications of MS. Her movies were a big part of my youth and it just doesn’t seem possible that she was 79. She had a smile that was contagious and a sense of comedic timing that was wonderful.
Think fast food is safe? A Teen is fighting kidney failure after eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. This was the week before the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria was detected. Maybe it’s better to just eat at home.
President Biden disappointed me yesterday when he suggested that supporters of the Orange Felon are ‘garbage.’ I understand the temptation to make such a comment, but the rhetoric has gotten out of hand the past week. Sure, a lot of people have really shitty ideas for government. Elon Musk and Steve Bannon are among them. But let’s be extremely clear that it’s ideas and concepts such as Project 2025 that are garbage, not people. Such statements, regardless of who makes them, are insulting to all of humanity. Just stop doing it.
The kids are on their way to school. Cats have been fed. Dogs are still asleep. I have coffee. My stomach is doing flips as I still worry about Kat. Hopefully, the doctor should be around soon. Until then, we all have to wait.
I’m fine. Seriously. I just have a cat hair in my eye.
Welcome to the 95th anniversary of the Black Tuesday stock market crash. Are we any better off than our Grandparents and Great-Grandparents were? Technologically, sure, but is our quality of life any better? Certainly not for everyone.
I’m going to be short this morning because I’m typing in the dark. The breaker finally went completely out during the Steelers/Giants game last night. We’ll get it fixed later today.
Kat’s home and trying to rest when the cats will let her. She still has a low-grade fever and feels like crap. Tipper has her PSAT today. Gabe has the day off.
I had an exciting day with Jen yesterday. We took pictures of the new Chevy Colorado as they made a mess of the North 40 and then went to a nature preserve in Wabash. I have pictures, but they’re on the PC. You’ll just have to wait.
Newswise, here’s the headlines that matter:
If you make it through that mess, you have more time on your hands than most people.
Life is short. Find something today that makes you smile.
More coffee usually does it for me.
Sunday ended up being anything but a day of rest. In fact, I’m typing part of this update Sunday evening because I have no idea what situation I’ll wake up to in the morning. Let’s take the day in somewhat chronological order. We were going quietly through the morning when the power started flickering. At first, it would blink for a second then come right back on. About an hour later, it happened again. Our first reaction was to blame the wind for causing wires to cross somewhere. We really didn’t think it would become a huge problem.
Then, Solaris decided to be destructive and threw my fan off the lamp table, causing it to break. G tried his best to fix it because he was sure that he could, but the fan refused to respond to his life support. I’m going to have to try to sleep listening to all the other sounds tonight.
When the power blinked again, near 1:00, I decided to go ahead and take another nap. I couldn’t watch the Colts game or the Bengals, so I might as well rest. I figured I’d wake up in time for the Washington/Chicago game.
Wrong again. A little after 3:00, I heard sirens, which isn’t unusual. Then, I heard them enter our subdivision, which doesn’t happen as often but does happen. I checked to make sure there was nothing going on in front of the house again, then came back to the room. The dogs wouldn’t leave me alone, though. They knew something outside was wrong. Finally, they convinced me to go outside. Still, I don’t see anything out front. Then, the dogs started barking at the Northeast corner of the fence, on the opposite side of the house. That’s usually a sign that something is happening down the street from us.
As I came around the corner of the house, it was obvious what had the dogs’ attention: six police cars gathered two blocks to our East. Other neighbors were starting to come outside and look, too. I finally got the dogs (mostly Hamilton) to quiet down and it was then that I heard the bullhorn of the SWAT commander telling someone to put down their gun and come out with their hands up. I think the entire neighborhood was holding its breath as we waited. We could see a sniper on a roof and other officers with their rifles trained and ready. An ambulance came in and waited out of range in front of our house. After several tense minutes, the situation was resolved. The ambulance moved in, the cops moved out, and all the neighbors remarked about what a shithole the city has become.
I came back inside and the power was out again. By now, it was staying off long enough that the clocks on the appliances were all blinking. When it came back on, I started my computer back up. Then G started his computer as well. The power immediately went back down. When the power came back, the same thing happened. Then, we noticed that it was only the bedrooms being affected. The washer and dryer were still going. The living room light was still on. That was the heads-up to check the breakers.
I went to check and none of the breakers had flipped. I started turning them off and back on, one at a time, because nothing was marked. After flipping the third one-off, the power came back to the bedrooms. But when G tried powering up his PC, it went back down again.
Bottom line, we have a breaker issue. But, we have questions because this is the original breaker box in a house that’s roughly 80 years old. We have no idea when the breakers or any other wiring might have been updated. There’s no record.
I messaged Kat. Her fever was back up and she was debating going back to the ER. I filled her in and told her to stay in Fishers and not worry about things here. For the moment, she needs to focus on herself, not things here at the house.
I looked at the breaker panel. Do individual breakers have fuses? All that’s visible are the breaker switches. Is there a way to know exactly what I need without turning all the power off to remove the panel cover? I’m going to try to catch our next-door neighbor in the morning. His house is wired similarly to ours and I know he’s completely replaced his breaker box twice. I’m hoping he can give me some answers. I just don’t want the matter to end up on Kat’s plate. She has more than enough right now.
I thought for sure that Chicago had beaten Washington with a last-minute touchdown, and I think they thought the same, but it was not to be. With 25 seconds on the clock, the Commanders’ rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, heaved a 53-yard pass that seemed absolutely impossible. Noah Brown caught it and took it to the end zone. Commanders win, 18-15. I’m going to say it again: Jayden Daniels is the future of the NFL. The kid is amazing. And Chicago? Better luck next week.
Now it’s Monday morning. Everything appears to be okay, at least for the moment. I’m still not turning on my PC until after the kids leave for school. I found a black screen white noise video on YouTube and let that serenade me to sleep, but the cats kept stopping it when they’d jump on the desk. I think I need a better option.
Both kids have PSAT tests this week. G’s is today. He seems relatively ready. Tipper’s is tomorrow. I’m not sure she has a clue what to expect. It will be interesting to see if G’s score differs much from last year. He tests relatively well as long as he is in a quiet room, not being disturbed. Tipper finds tests more of a challenge. In this case, I’m not sure she appreciates what the test is trying to accomplish.
The three primary news sources I check each morning, the Associated Press, Reuters, and the New York Times are all in agreement with their headlines this morning. The Orange Felon’s rally at Madison Square Garden was vile, racist, and misogynistic. Are we surprised or shocked? Of course not. What bothers me is that so many people are comfortable with the rhetoric. With all the emphasis in society on doing away with bullying, why the fuck would we ever consider electing one as president?
Anita Hill has an interesting OpEd in today’s Times, The Smearing of Kamala Harris. Dr. Hill knows a smear job when she sees one. It was her name that was dragged through the mud during the Clarence Thomas Senate hearings all those years ago. As time has passed, we see that she was right to blow the whistle on one of the worst characters to ever sit on the Supreme Court. We should have listened then. Will we listen now?
This morning’s AP-NORC poll shows that US voters are concerned about post-election violence and efforts to overturn the results. I know I’m concerned. I look at how things are going in the Georgian (the country) elections and fear that we are every bit as bad, if not possibly worse, than them. Similar things are happening with elections in Lithuania and Uruguay. The world is a dangerous place and we, citizens of presumably the strongest nation in the world, are doing more to make things worse than better. Foreign threats to the US election are on the rise, and officials are moving faster to expose them, but will that be enough? ‘Take our lives seriously,’ Michelle Obama pleads as she rallies for Kamala Harris in Michigan, but is anyone listening?
Global economy chiefs fret over a Trump return as US election draws closer. The Commercial real estate industry worries over higher taxes as election looms. The GOP is going in heavy on immigrants and trans people, but it’s a South African immigrant who worked in the US illegally who’s leading their charge. None of this makes a damn lick of sense, but one thing is for sure: Your vote does not merely affect the course of the country but of the world. Everyone is going to be looking in our direction for the next two weeks and if we blow it, if we elect a fascist or allow them to commit acts of chaos and destruction, it is democracy as a global ideal, not a national one, that takes the hit. Remember, we set the example. Other countries followed. Are we going to kill the dream we started?
Oh, and if you think the election is the reason gas prices are down, guess again. Oil prices plunged 5% after a limited Israeli retaliatory attack on Iran. There are a number of places where the price at the pump has dropped below $3 a gallon. Don’t give any politician the credit for something they didn’t do.
A Florida woman was found guilty of murder for leaving her boyfriend to die in a suitcase. Ladies, don’t tell me you haven’t at least thought about doing this to an abusive person in your life.
A Lebanese family was holding a Sunday gathering when an Israeli strike toppled their building. There’s no question that the strike illustrates Israel’s willingness to kill significant numbers of civilians in pursuit of a single target. More than 70 people died. Innocent people getting together as a family. And we’re supporting this.
But hey, McDonald’s Quarter Pounder is back on the menu after testing rules out beef patties as an E. coli source. That’s what’s important, isn’t it? What ever would we do without our overpriced fat sources?
Even the weather isn’t cooperating this week. After a beautifully cool autumnal weekend, winds begin picking up tonight, and into tomorrow and we’ll see highs back in the 80s on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, just in time for all that Trick-or-Treating, it’s going to rain on Thursday. I know Tipper’s planning on going to haunted houses with furry friends.
Ugh. I need to get dressed and get the dogs outside. They’ve been calm and quiet so far this morning. They’re about the only thing calm in my universe. Best to try and keep them that way.
And more coffee. I definitely need more coffee.
Our world seems turned on edge and twisted sideways. Kat’s beyond sick. She’s thoroughly exhausted, and one condition aggravates the other. I think she’d be better off staying in Fishers and resting. The kids and I have moderate control of things here at home. No one’s going to die—probably. Whether she’ll take that offer remains to be seen. G mopped the living room floor yesterday and judging by all the dirty dishes in the sink this morning, Tipper must have cleaned her room after I went to bed. There’s still plenty more to do today, but the kids understand the assignment better than one might think.
Meanwhile, I’m struggling to stay upright. The only game I was able to watch yesterday was Oklahoma State losing to Baylor, 28-38, and boy was that disappointing. OSU beat themselves with the most penalties they’ve had all season. They stayed with Baylor through the first half, but never really got things moving in the second.
In the middle of the game, I stepped outside with the dogs and realized how unaware we had been of what was going on practically in our front yard.
What you can’t see in the picture is that there are two people in handcuffs. Apparently, they led police on a bit of a chase and made the mistake of turning into our neighborhood. When police boxed them in, which is easy to do here, they took off running in our direction. That didn’t work out well for them, either. Hamilton was excited and barked at everyone. Belvedere watched for a minute and then wandered off to poop on the other side of the yard. It would take over an hour for jail transport to arrive and a tow truck to retrieve their vehicle. The bad news for them was good news for the neighborhood, though. There were so many cops at the intersection that no one was able to run the stop sign!
It’s official: Indiana is at risk of becoming a literal hell hole. I’ve never liked Mike Braun in the first place. He’s an asshat. But it’s his running mate, a Christian nationalist from the affluent conclave of Noblesville, who is the real danger. This is one of the reasons we have a McCormick for Governor sign in our yard. Ms. McCormick is the only chance we have to prevent losing our state government to religious fundamentalists who are every bit as restrictive and horrible as the Taliban. No exaggeration. This race is that serious.
But hey, at least Indiana football is making waves! With a national audience watching, the Hoosiers took care of Washington, 31-17. I had expected this game to be a bit closer, but IU hit the field ready to keep Washington’s offense off the field and gave fans a great game. Who would have ever thought that the one thing Indiana is getting right is football?
Upstate, Notre Dame handed Navy their first loss, 51-14. The Irish are trying to prove that they’re worthy of playing for the national title, despite the early season loss to Northern Illinois. I’m not sure their efforts will be rewarded, though, given the tougher schedules other teams are playing.
Officiating was once again the issue as Ohio State narrowly escaped Nebraska, 21-17. And Texas almost fell to Vanderbilt, squeaking out a win 27-24. OU was just an embarrassment, losing to Ole Miss, 14-26.
Frankie, the smashed-face wheezer kitty, has knocked my monitor off the desk twice and keeps turning off the desk lamp while I’m trying to type. I’ve removed him from the desk more times than I care to count and he keeps coming back. He’s quite insistent that I need to be done typing and paying attention to him. Frankie doesn’t give a shit about football or much of anything else as long as he gets fed on time and has a comfortable place (my chair) to sleep.
I think I’m going to refill my coffee cup and maybe make some biscuits for breakfast. I don’t really feel up to making gravy, but the kids don’t like gravy anyway so that won’t be much of a problem. The high today in Indy is a mild 63, so warm food is going to feel good.
Be safe, my friends.
Kat is still sick, though meds are helping. The Kids are fine. The dogs let me sleep late but I’m still in a bad mood. My legs hurt far too much this morning. So, we’re letting AP videos do the talking for us.
That’s it. Everything else is old news.
Enjoy the day. Drink more coffee.
Winning becomes difficult when losing is the dominant experience. Yesterday, we were dealt another setback as Kat was diagnosed with pneumonia, likely a leftover symptom from having COVID-19 a couple of weeks ago. Kat’s chest had been hurting the entire time, but she assumed that she had pulled a muscle or something with all the coughing. Then, she coughed up blood yesterday. To the ER she went. They did multiple EKGs and X-rays before coming to the conclusion that she had pneumonia. This means she won’t be at work until at least Monday, and possibly beyond that if her condition doesn’t improve sufficiently. This hits at a time when her books are so full that she had clients scheduled six days out of the next seven, and well past that.
The kids are rather busy at the moment as well. Tipper is going to a friend’s Halloween party after school today. G is adding an entrepreneurship track and a media emphasis to his already packed schedule. We’re at that stage where even when they’re home we hardly see them. As long as they’re doing well and are happy, we’re supportive of everything they’ve got going on.
Meanwhile, cancer sucks. I’m blaming the fact that my leg bones are screaming on the weather. We’re not going to get a lot of rain, but the change in pressure is enough to make life a bit more miserable than it was. For me, the challenge is how to take care of Kat without walking any more than necessary. Some things can be farmed out or delivered, but we need to visit two different pharmacies to pick up meds for both of us. Getting out isn’t something we’re likely to find invigorating.
Against this backdrop, I’m finding it difficult to be sympathetic toward any news that doesn’t immediately affect our lives. McDonald’s says onions from California-based produce company linked to deadly E. coli outbreak and more fast-food chains are dropping onions from their menus as a result. Okay. We have plenty of healthy onions at home and weren’t planning on eating fast food this week in the first place. Can we be done with this story?
King Charles acknowledges ‘painful’ slavery past as calls for reparations intensify and at the same time, President Biden’s trip to Arizona will be the first time a U.S. president has apologized for the abuses that happened at the schools over a period of 150 years. When politicians apologize for sins committed by other people in a different century, what really changes? Yes, the acknowledgment is nice, but the government isn’t a person. The apology doesn’t mean crimes against other marginalized people groups are suddenly going to end. Neither does it mean that the families of those affected by those crimes are going to get their loved ones, or their loved ones’ potential offspring, back. When we can’t punish the people who were directly responsible, are the political speeches anything more than empty words?
Election polls are pretty much tied at 48% for each party. This is going to get ugly because people on both sides think that democracy hinges on them winning. But then, we’ve never been a united people. Never. Ever. Why should we expect such now? This isn’t even the worst it’s ever been. There is not a political system in the world that is fool-proof. There are just too many fools.
An alert just popped up on my monitor that there is lightning nearby. If it cares to linger, I have a list of targets for it to hit.
At least it’s Friday, which in itself is rather meaningless, but it means there’s football tomorrow. Although, the Rams beat the Vikings, 30-20 last night. The game was an offensive battle as people are starting to return from the injured list. That could be a precursor to what we see this weekend.
Or maybe I’ll just curl up and sleep through the whole thing.
In case you’ve not been paying attention, we have nine cats. They’re all rescues of one kind or another. Each has a very unique personality and plays a specific role in this family of ours. So, when Kat woke up a little before 3:00 this morning and saw a window screen lying on top of Jack-Jack, our mane coon, she quickly jumped up and started taking inventory. One of the front windows was wide open, so the odds that there had been an escape were pretty high.
Seven of the cats were found quickly enough, especially once I was up and moving at 4:00. The cats associate my morning habits with filling their food bowls, so they came running. All but one. Kronk, aka Pinball, was still missing. Kronk doesn’t miss breakfast so that was a sure sign that he was still outside… somewhere. I put on shoes and a coat and started looking, but came up empty. The air was a chilly 40 degrees. I assumed that he was curled up somewhere trying to stay warm. I came back inside.
Now, the dogs were awake and wanted to go outside. Fine. They’re pretty good at rousing any beast of any kind that might be wandering the yard. We went back outside and let them have a look around. Still, nothing. We came back inside, gave them treats, and I started a pot of coffee. There was no point trying to go back to bed when I knew our little guy had to be outside in the cold.
Kat and I were chatting when we heard a noise at the window. She jumped up to look and saw Kronk scamper away. Back outside I went. I saw him for a brief moment, but he darted under a large, bush-like tree and disappeared. Kat soon joined me, barefoot, and we continued trying to coax the little guy out. Finally, he came around the corner of the shed and Kat was quick to scoop him up. He’s now safe, curled up in the middle of my bed, sound asleep.
In the middle of all this, I started getting text messages from Tipper. Her leg hurt. Her arm was numb. She didn’t want to go to school. Her attempts to get out of school are becoming problematic, enough that I’m wondering what’s really going on. Why does she want to avoid school? I’m not getting an answer to that question. We went back and forth while I was looking for Kronk. I’m not letting her stay home today. I’m a mean ol’ Dad, I’m sure.
Kat’s finally back asleep, but I’m wired for the time being. Even on a good day, it takes my body some time to recover from being out in the cold. I’m sure I’ll crash after the kids have gone to school. Fat Guy is reminding me that it’s now the normal time for them to be fed. We have a schedule, you know, and we’re forced to keep it.
The headlines this morning are infuriating. The first set to assault my eyes were:
Israeli strike kills Lebanese troops as France hosts aid conference
Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as tanks tighten siege of north
Attackers kill 5, injure 22 at Turkish aviation site
Election officials are fighting a tsunami of voting conspiracy theories
Hurricane Kristy strengthens into a Category 4 storm in the Pacific Ocean
Seoul vows response as North Korean troops head to Ukraine
Macron says France will provide a 100 million-euro aid package to support Lebanon
Boeing Workers Resoundingly Reject Contract and Vote to Extend Strike
If that’s not enough to give one a headache, there are all the follow-up stories:
John Kelly Warns Donald Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator
At Town Hall Event, Harris Agrees That Trump Is a Fascist
World Opens to the Taliban Despite Their Shredding of Women’s Rights
Seth Meyers Isn’t as Nice as You Think He Is
Study on Puberty Blockers Goes Unpublished Because of Politics, Doctor Says
Los Angeles Times editor resigns after newspaper withholds presidential endorsement
Nearly 25 million votes have already been cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states
Indonesia says its coast guard drove away a Chinese ship that interrupted survey in disputed sea
Should elephants have the same rights as people? (Yes, that’s a serious headline)
People 50 and older should get pneumococcal vaccine, U.S. health officials recommend
More frozen waffles and pancakes recalled over possible listeria contamination
Dizzying, isn’t it? I’ve had plenty of reading time this morning so now I’m thoroughly depressed about the state of the world. With this comes the inevitable question of ‘what can I do about any of it?’ Answers to that question don’t come easily.
One thing we’ve done for the first time is put campaign signs in our yard. Kat came home yesterday with both a Harris/Walz and McCormick for Governor sign. We’ve been cautious about making such statements in the past. Putting signs in our yard, making any kind of political statement in this neighborhood, potentially makes our house a target. We both agreed that should we see anyone in the yard we’ll let the dogs out to wreak their havoc and terror. Hamilton’s been extra high-strung of late anyway and he’s fast for a fat dog.
What else is there? I don’t believe memes change anyone’s mind about anything, and quite honestly, I question the authenticity and origin of most of what I see online. Misinformation is so rampant this year that I hesitate to share anything that doesn’t come from one of the few sources I trust. If anything, I think it might defuse some of the tension if we saw fewer memes on social media.
But then, there’s this headline this morning: One Tech Tip: How to prepare your online accounts in case you die. That’s an above-the-fold headline. What it inevitably says, though its intent is otherwise, is that the world is going to hell without the luxury of a handbasket and you need to have your shit in order just in case we all become victims. In conversations with a friend earlier this week I admitted that I’m not making any plans of any kind beyond November 5 because I don’t trust what might happen. There are too many people who think they need to take back something that never existed. They won’t be happy until the US is covered in chaos and disorder.
Even religious gatherings aren’t safe anymore. I’m seeing an increase in the number of people stating that Christianity in the US is acting more like a political party than a religion. No, I’m not linking to any of those articles because, again, I don’t trust the sources. The simple fact that I’ve seen more than five related pieces, though, should be alarming. People shouldn’t have reason to ask such a question of their faith.
There is no crystal ball capable of predicting what happens next. Don’t trust the polls. Don’t trust the talking heads on television. If elephants have the same rights as people, does that mean they get to vote? At this point, there’s not much that surprises me.
Both kids are headed to school. Tipper didn’t bother coming in and talking to me as she got ready. We’ll see how the day goes. Life is hard for everyone. While I’m largely sympathetic, Frankie, the smashed-face wheezer kitty, reminds me that we have to overcome obstacles and keep our fur clean. No one thrives when their lives become a matted mess.
I’m still unreasonably wired. I’m going to eat something, take my meds, and hopefully catch a few Zs.
Stay safe. Drink more coffee.
Our chat this morning is going to be disappointingly short, not because there’s nothing to talk about, but because my head has been spinning from the moment I sat in my chair and it’s not getting any better. I’ll go as long as possible, but please understand if I need to leave abruptly.
The kids are fine. Kat had a much-needed day off. I made a chicken and eggplant dinner that both kids actually ate. For the second day in a row, a complete stranger stopped their car to chat with me at some length. Apparently, I look friendly. Hamilton doesn’t like this trend, though. He wants all the people to stay away from his fence.
This is not going well at all.
Am I the only one who finds it interesting that McDonald’s has an E.Coli problem the day after the Orange Felon pretended to work at one? And the problem exists only in Quarter Pounders, the felon’s favorite burger. McDonald’s, for their part, swears they’re not making a presidential endorsement.
Has anyone offered you pink cocaine? Don’t risk it. The stuff doesn’t contain any coke, but a random mix of drugs, mostly ketamine, dyed pink. The stuff has a fun rating of 0.
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was charged with sex trafficking. The 16-count indictment is probably just the beginning. Teen boys were the targets, which probably explains some of those questionable ads.
Deep dive: Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide? The mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy says he became obsessed with a chatbot on Character.AI before his death. Yes, you have all the reason in the world to be concerned.
Genetic tests showed that certain patients were predisposed to brain injuries if they took the drugs. That information remained secret. Admittedly, many Alzheimer’s patients and their families are desperate enough to have dismissed the risk had they known, but they still should have been told.
If you’re into NYTimes opinions, there are some decent ones this morning:
Okay, I’m tapping out for today. Be nice to each other. Drink plenty of coffee. We’ll try again tomorrow.
G IS HOME! We gave him quite the welcome: everyone was gone. The doors were locked, and he had to crawl through a window to get in. How did that happen? I wasn’t expecting him home until after 5:00. He skipped his afterschool activities and game straight home, which is understandable, but it still caught me by surprise. We had a good chat, talking about alligators, kayaking, and the new games he learned to play while on the trip. There’s no question in my mind that this was a good experience for him. Now, he gets to start prepping for the PSAT next week.
Who wasn’t home? Kat or Tipper. Tipper went to a friend’s house after school with the understanding that Kat would pick her up after she finished at the salon. The problem with that plan was that Kat had a last-minute guest that pushed her all the way to 10:00 before closing the salon. By the time she picked up Tipper and made it home, it was almost 11:00 and I had already gone to bed. Tipper was still in a reasonably good mood this morning, despite Hamilton farting directly in her face. I’m not expecting as much from Kat, though. Today is her only day off all week. I’m gonna just stay away.
I wasn’t home yesterday afternoon because I was out taking pictures of the dapper Tony Shaw. This was the first time I’ve done any portraits of any kind in over three years. I wasn’t sure of the camera, the lens, or my ability to hold the camera still. This was a test I needed. I’ve looked through the thumbnails and am reasonably pleased with most of what we captured. But does this mean I’m ready to make a comeback?
I’m not sure. We were out a little over three hours, shot three looks, and dropped a little over 130 frames. From an efficiency perspective, I’ve still got it. But by the time I got home, chatted with G, and fixed dinner (which no one ate but me), I was extremely dizzy and seriously in danger of falling. During the last few minutes of cooking dinner, I should have called G for help. I wasn’t safe. I didn’t want to bother G, though, because I knew he was resting. I ate and took a nap, watched a little football, then went to bed.
Tony was a good person to have in front of the camera. He looks good from almost any angle, he doesn’t need a lot of coaching, and he has a great attitude that made my job a lot easier. How different would it have been if I’d had someone less experienced and more challenging? I don’t think I would have done as well. We definitely wouldn’t have gotten in more than two looks. I was able to rely on Tony’s creativity where mine was lacking. That situation is rare and if I’m not able to handle someone with little/no experience, am I really ready to come back? I know I’m not ready to book anyone else just yet.
Sitting here this morning, I’m still struggling. This is all cancer’s fault. If I were to feel this way without the cancer, I’d be checking with my doctor. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. That’s just par for the course, isn’t it? We’ve been battling this for almost two years so the symptoms shouldn’t come as a surprise. I want to be well, but wanting it isn’t enough. I felt good going into the shoot but was dragging by the time we finished. The conditions weren’t challenging, so this should have been easy. Why wasn’t it? Fucking cancer.
This raises the question of how long-term the chemo effects might be. My body has had two years to adapt to having the poison in my system. What happens when it’s gone? My fear is that I’ll have a boomerang effect where my body will respond negatively to the sudden shift. There’s certainly plenty of data to support that concern. There’s also a fair amount of data warning that some effects, such as fatigue and light-headedness, may never go completely away. We’ve known this for a while, but I’ve been hoping that I’d be among those who walk out with no ill effects. Now, I’m not so sure.
But then, we already know I’m crazy. Can my thoughts be trusted? Is what I’m feeling legitimate?
I looked through the news this morning and it all seemed so repetitive. The biggest takeaway is that everyone needs to vote. Election fatigue has set in and there are a lot of people, especially those on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, who see no reason to vote because they don’t think either candidate is going to substantially help them in any way. Many fear that both candidates will make things worse for them. I can’t say that they’re wrong, but I do know that not voting is playing the victim to a crime that has yet to be committed. Over 15 million people have already voted. You should plan on doing the same.
And with that, I’m taking my meds and going back to bed, probably for the majority of the day. Fuck cancer. Fuck chemo.
And keep your fucking hands off my coffee. I’m not sharing.
Did anyone really want to wake up early this morning? I might be tempted to call you a liar if you say you did. Another Monday starts another dry week. Temps today are warmer than usual—plenty of sunshine. There’s rain to our west, but there is little chance of it surviving long enough to even give us a sprinkle. Leaves on trees are about as colorful as they’re going to get this year. And you still have to work.
On the positive side of things, G made it back to Indiana last night. We’ll see him after school and I’m looking forward to his chatter, assuming he’s not completely exhausted. The animals will be happy to greet him, too. His absence has made quite a difference in how everyone behaves.
Kat’s car started throwing codes at her over the weekend and one of them is potentially bad news: The battery pack is dying. She’ll have to take it to a dealership to find out if they can replace single cells in the battery pack or if the whole thing is dead. She was planning to buy another vehicle in January. Having to do so now would be a tremendous hit to finances.
At least yesterday had some interesting football. We’re at that point in the season where injuries are causing good teams to struggle. The Colts managed to beat the hapless Dolphins, 16-10. It wasn’t a terrific game for either team and for a moment in the fourth quarter, it looked as though Miami might mount a comeback. Chiefs beat the 49ers, 28-18 in a Super Bowl rematch that, if we’re honest, was totally disappointing. Statistically, Mahomes is having his worst year ever. San Francisco is struggling to field a healthy team. That the Chiefs are now 6-0 speaks to how good the team is and how lousy the league is at the same time. A late field goal allowed the Lions to give the Vikings their first loss of the season, 31-29. Both teams are playing surprisingly well for the first time in decades. They’re going to make the playoffs interesting. After so many tight games yesterday, can tonight’s games be anything but disappointing? Ravens play the Bucs in Tampa and the Chargers travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. Baltimore and LA are the favorites, but this could be a real snooze fest.
The exciting news comes from the WNBA where the New York Liberty won their first title over the Lynx, 67-62 in overtime. Of course, it’s the WNBA so the officiating is being blamed for affecting the outcome of the game. Still, it was one of the most exciting basketball games we’re likely to see this year. The men will have to actually work hard for once if they want to be as entertaining.
And, because we’re in that time of the year, there’s baseball news worth mentioning. It will be the Yankees versus the Dodgers in the World Series. Again. This is the 12th time the two teams have met in the World Series, going back to 1941. The rivalry is almost as old as the leagues. Jet lag plays a strong role in how the visiting teams play. If you can stand to watch baseball on television (I can’t), this could be a decent series.
The rest of this morning’s news is boring by comparison. Here are a few headlines.
I’d list more, but you might fall asleep reading them.
Sunrise is sneaking up on us. I suppose it’s time to start looking around for something that resembles motivation. Maybe I’ll find it under the covers.
Or in another cup of coffee.
Every morning, shortly after waking up, I have to answer the question that determines the direction of the day: How much am I going to care? I often go to bed thinking that I care a great deal, full of ideas for how I might comment on the day’s activities. Yet, by the time I sit down at the desk the next morning and am ready to write, my opinions are likely to be quite different. I’m struggling this morning. There are a number of things that I could talk about, probably should mention, and opine upon. Motivation escapes me. I want waffles. I want to go back to bed.
Tipper had a great time yesterday at the furry meet-up at Riverside Park. She brought home the shell of a big-assed furry head that goes down over her shoulders! She also brought home all the leftover soda. What is the sweetest thing, though, is that she won a raffle for a hat with mushrooms painted on the crown and ivy on the brim. In her opinion, it’s a “cowboy” hat and she couldn’t wait to give it to me when she got home. It’s actually a wide-brimmed fedora, and I’m not sure where or when I will ever wear it, but it’s a gift of love that I’ll cherish.
G starts the trek back home from Florida today. We won’t see him until after school tomorrow, though. They’ll get in late enough that it makes more sense for him to go to school with his friend. I’m hoping that he’s not too tired to answer all the questions that I’ve been saving up for him. Kat and I have missed having him around. The cats have missed having him to snuggle. It will be good for him to be home.
Kat felt some better yesterday, enough that I didn’t need to go with her to the salon. She’s still struggling, though, and this constant pattern of getting over one illness only to catch another is wearing heavily on her. There are too many days where it’s impossible for her to keep down anything solid. I wish I could give her a giant box of good health, but that’s not in my bag of tricks.
I’m looking at the weather maps this morning and we’ve got this stupid high-pressure system sitting over the entire Ohio Valley that’s keeping our days warm and sunny, but also very, very dry. Be careful with your autumn bonfires, please. There might be the slightest chance of scattered showers on Friday, and temperatures will cool down starting Tuesday, but I don’t see anything that’s going to give us the drought relief we need. Hurricane Oscar became a reality yesterday, but it’s too early to tell how it’s going to impact us, if at all. At the moment, it’s giving Cuba hell, which they didn’t need after their power grid failed this week.
College football was interesting in places, and disappointing in Oklahoma. Both the Sooners and the Cowboys lost. At least the Oklahoma State game was close, but OU is looking as though they forgot how to play the game. WTF happened? They both started the season strong, but there’s no wind in their sails now.
Likewise, Purdue lost to number two-ranked Oregon Friday night, 35-0. I’m not sure that many people in Indiana care anymore, though, because IU absolutely slaughtered Nebraska yesterday afternoon, 56-7. This whole going undefeated thing is new for Indiana, and it’s giving some rise to questioning why the team is still ranked so low. They’re not only winning, but they’re doing so by large margins against teams that have previously taken them to the woodshed. I think it’s about time they started getting some credit.
Most of the other top 25 teams handled their games well enough, but where there were exceptions there were some amazing games. Number 6-ranked Miami held on to beat Louisville, 52-45, but they had to work hard to get there. The unranked Louisville team was out for blood from the first kickoff and were it not for a litany of mistakes they might have won.
Both Army and Navy are still undefeated which is as remarkable as IU’s record. One has to go wayyyyyyyy back in the records to find the last time this happened. Next month’s Army/Navy game is going to be hot!
The game everyone is talking about this morning is number 5-ranked Georgia knocking off #1 Texas, 30-15, and let me tell you, it was never that close. After a scoreless first quarter, Georgia spent the second quarter intercepting balls and scoring touchdowns. It got so bad, that Texas pulled starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and replaced him with redshirt freshman Arch Manning. That helped, but it wasn’t enough to get them past a Georgia defense that owned the line of scrimmage for the entire game. UGA coach Kirby Smart felt that they were having to play against the officials the entire game, and to be fair, 23 penalties in the first half is a lot of yellow flags floating around. Then, there was a reversed call on an interception after Texas fans threw water bottles onto the field. Again, Smart was pissed. “Now, we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said. “And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.” Be careful bringing up this game around the coffee pot this morning. There are still some hurt feelings out there.
The Holocaust’s grandchildren are speaking now. Generational trauma is the topic. The current war isn’t helping any.
Boeing workers to vote on new wage deal that could end strike. Boeing is making a slightly better wage deal, but don’t expect it to be enough.
Judges punishing Jan. 6 rioters say they fear more political violence as Election Day nears. This is insane behavior one normally expects from underdeveloped, undereducated countries. Can a complete collapse of our governmental system be that far behind?
Those are really serious topics, though, and do you want to be that serious today? I know I don’t. This recipe for pork chile verde looks interesting. I just don’t need the rice. And someone needs to come wash the dishes.
I am surrounded by orange cats. One behind me, one on the armrest, and one on the desk. I think they’re looking for a brain cell. There are none here.
And I’m not sharing my coffee.
Today will be a beautiful day almost anywhere you live in North America. Sure, there are some scattered showers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Southern Colorado, and Northern New Mexico are a bit damp this morning. Still, the whole planet is on the dry side today, and temperatures are moderate for this time of year. The leaves are changing colors, there are fall festivals everywhere one turns, and there’s a furry meetup this afternoon, which is why Tipper is up early.
Yeah, that’s Tipper in the giant furry head. She’s excited about hanging out with friends this afternoon. G is still in Florida, not really missing us at all, just his cat. Kat’s the one not having a good time. Her double ear infection is leaving her dizzy and nauseous as fuck. I spent much of yesterday at the salon with her, “just in case.” I’ve not talked with her yet this morning, but I’m concerned about her driving all the way up to Fishers this afternoon.
Of course, the idea of me being anyone’s backup option is almost laughable. Is it any safer to put me in the driver’s seat of a car? Hmmm … would you rather drive with the person who’s light-headed or the one whose brain wanders off in traffic, not paying attention? I would be the latter. Maybe Kat needs a better option.
Being Saturday, I think we need to keep the conversations lighter because all the politics makes my head hurt. For example, were you aware that Halloween has become a retail juggernaut? Costumes are big business now, as are decorations and candy. The emphasis has shifted from little kids running around being cute to young adults trying to figure out how to define “sexy.” There’s less concern about someone giving your kids drugs and more concern about them being hit by drunk drivers. And doing Halloween at church may be the scariest thing out there. Some of those deacons are more devilish than anyone’s comfortable admitting.
Oh, and did you know that your cat may be smarter than your kindergartener? When it comes to word association, the family feline recognizes and understands a lot more than they’ve been letting on. Now, like your preschooler, just because they know what you’re saying doesn’t mean they’re going to acknowledge your presence. If anything, what this shows is that their attitude is a deliberate denial of human authority.
By the way, where do you stand on the candy corn controversy? Despite all the jokes, it turns out that people have strong feelings one way or the other and friendships have ended over the topic. This is getting worse than the Easter Peeps controversy.
Want to Rent a Panda? Here Are 5 Things China Demands in Return. Zoos aren’t normally where one expects to find deep political controversy, but the popularity of these rolly-polly bears gives China the ability to make some severe demands. Could Panda Wars be on the horizon?
Could gem dust be the answer to global warming? Imagine actual diamond flakes in the sky. No, you’re not on an acid trip. This is real science hypothesizing that the reflection could send deadly ultraviolet light back out into space. The cost, of course, would be stupidly expensive because you can be sure that DeBeers is going to make a buck anywhere they can.
These are the questions burning in the back of our minds, the things we care about more than politics and war. These issues sizzle. Our parents didn’t have to worry about these things. We’re forging new ground here as we try to get a grasp on the reality handed to us. No wonder we all need therapy.
Or, at least, a bigger coffee pot.
Welcome to Friday and all the cheer and joy that it brings! Yes, I’m being quite facetious. Friday is trash day around here, both literally and figuratively. For whatever reason, the dogs and I woke up early. I took a shower, attempted to dry this graying hair, gathered the trash and set it by the curb, then took the dogs out while chatting with Tipper. She was angling to stay home, saying her stomach hurt, but I didn’t give in and sent her on her way. I think what she’s experiencing is more anxiety than illness. Yes, anxiety is real and its effects are nothing to laugh about, but if she stayed home every time she felt a bit anxious, she’d rarely go to school!
Kat’s the one who’s ill. She ended up having to go to emergency care yesterday and was found to have an ear infection in both ears! She has meds and is still sleeping this morning. The question is whether she’ll be able to stand without getting light-headed. No one needs a dizzy stylist.
I finally got a text from G last night, after I’d gone to bed. Yes, he’s seen “a few” alligators. Yes, he’s having fun. That’s all the info he gave me. Can you tell he’s a teenager?
Tipper is still trying to get out of school. She’s texting me that a constant air horn noise on the bus is giving her a headache. I won’t be surprised if she’s home early today.
If anyone was thinking that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar might mean a cooling of tensions in the Gaza war, think again. Netanyahu is saying that the war will go on. No peace. That should tell you everything you need to know about the man who is bankrupting Israel, starving Gazans, and murdering civilians. Why the fuck is the US still supporting him?
Meanwhile, a Reuters investigation shows that the UN’s World Food Program allowed donated grain to go to all the wrong people. As a result, Ethiopians are starving. There’s only so much NGOs can do to take up the slack when corruption is at the core of the government.
AP’s deep dive takes aim at the increasing number of military veterans who are advocating violence against their own country. This goes well beyond the Jan. 6 debacle of 2021. These folks are advocating and prepping for civil war, and the outcome of the election either way may not slow them down. These are your neighbors, maybe your friends. They need to be stopped.
Then, there’s this:
Here’s a fun one for your Friday: Scientists show how sperm and egg come together like a key in a lock. I bet you thought you already knew how babies are made, didn’t you? This brings to mind the 1971 by the artist Melanie that sings, “I’ve got a pair of brand new roller skates, you got a brand new key. Why don’t we get together and try them out to see…” Roller skates are an interesting euphemism, aren’t they?
The entire world is watching sleepy little Delphi, Indiana as the trial of a man charged with killing two teenage girls in 2017 finally begins today. This is way overdue. The judge has changed. Attorneys have changed. The whole thing is a mess where comma placement and scientific details are manipulated in attempts to either convict and prove the innocence of the person on trial. At this point, one has to question whether there is any remaining chance of actually getting to the truth.
Ya’ know what stinks? Thousands in North Carolina can’t flush their toilets amid hurricane damage. As if things weren’t already bad enough.
NOAA released its winter outlook yesterday. Remember, they’re focused on climate, not the daily weather. What we’re looking at is a 60% chance of a change in the jet stream that is likely to lead to a wetter but warmer winter here in Indiana, and a significantly drier winter for the South and Southwest. The drier, warmer weather along the Southeast coast may actually help hurricane-ravaged areas in their attempt to recover from back-to-back hurrricanes. Around here, it means we’ll probably have more snow than we did last year.
Okay, that should get your Friday kick started. Don’t expect much, if anything, to change over the weekend. You should be able to get out and enjoy the fall leaves, pick some apples, drink some cider, and all those fun things. I’ll be right here, snuggling with sleepy pups, worrying about everyone. Some of ya’ll need to wrap yourselves in bubble wrap.
More coffee.
Go back to bed. Even the dogs are convinced that this morning’s frost is too harsh. They both came in from their morning duty and walked right past their full food bowls on their way to going back to bed. There’s nothing this early that needs your attention all that much unless you have preschoolers, which we don’t. This is going to be short and to the point. Neither of the twins is interested in helping, so it shouldn’t take long.
The big social news this morning is the death of One Direction’s Liam Payne yesterday. Allegedly, he was behaving ‘erratically’ in the hotel lobby before going up to his room and falling off the balcony. Of course, we’ve all watched too many movies, and immediately people started claiming that he was pushed. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. The whole world is erratic at the moment so neither possibility is unreasonable. I never was a One Direction fan, though, so it’s difficult for me to give a shit.
A new pair of giant pandas arrived at The National Zoo in Washington. They’re cute. They’ll draw a crowd. They’ll fall down and roll around as pandas do. At least they’re not killing anyone or running for office, though they’d probably win if they did.
This whole Internet thing is becoming a problem. Amazon and Google are using so much electricity at their data centers that both companies are investing in nuclear power to keep them running. Is this what the creators intended? If we were actually using the web to make ourselves smarter, then it would be worth the investment. We’re not doing that, though. We’re sharing cat pictures, spreading lies and conspiracy theories, and challenging established science with some of the most ridiculous ideas anyone’s ever heard. Using nuclear power for such useless activities is the equivalent of leaving the lights on after everyone’s left the room. There’s no sign of intelligent life, Captain.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse. That’s not nearly enough for the long-term pain and suffering they’ve caused. No amount is sufficient. Best possible penalty: close the damn churches and put the offending priests in prison where they belong.
You know the election has gone off the rails when even the polling companies are making excuses for getting everything wrong. We’re at that point in the cycle where it’s difficult to trust anything anyone says. Perhaps we need to stop supporting candidates that we know from the outset have no business running the country.
What’d I tell you? There’s nothing here worth getting out from under the covers. Stay in bed. Cuddle. Have sex, maybe.
Or have another cup of coffee.
See that map? It’s all about American White Pelicans. The orange/peach-colored areas are where they go for breeding. The yellow areas are part of their natural migration patterns. The blue areas are where they like to call home. Look in all that white area. Can you find Indiana? Take off -25 points if you can’t. Indiana is one of the states that normally don’t see pelicans. That’s not to say that there aren’t occasional exceptions, but generally if one sees a pelican in Indiana it’s because it’s gotten lost.
So, how do we explain almost 40 pelicans flying in over our heads and landing in front of us at Eagle Creek this past Monday? Our best guess, which is not the least bit scientific, is that Hurricane Helene blew them off course. It could also be that these were younger pelicans who got lost during the storm, but we didn’t have the equipment to card any of the birds so we can’t be sure. Nonetheless, they were here and we took pictures of them. There are also some blue Herron, egrets, and a whole bunch of seagulls who weren’t expecting the invasion. I’ll let the pictures tell the story. You can put on your David Attenborough hat and narrate as you wish.
Welcome to another edition of Weary Wednesday! I don’t know what was up with the animals last night, but it was after 1:30 before they all finally settled down and went to sleep. I’m blaming the fact that neither Kat nor G was home, which left half the cats without a snuggle buddy. Tipper doesn’t allow the cats in her room because of allergies. As a result, they were all running in and out of the Recovery Room, picking fights with the dogs and each other. I’m seriously dragging this morning.
Tipper seemed to have a good day. With Cycle 2 having started this week, she’s excited about the engineering and radio classes that she’s taking. World History, not so much. I reminded her that history is kind of my jam, but the problem, as it was with Spanish, is that the teacher is soft-spoken so she can’t hear half of what he’s saying. In the engineering class yesterday, they built towers out of spaghetti and mini marshmallows. Her group came in second. In her opinion, they should have won. The first-place team stuck an extra piece of spaghetti on top, giving them a centimeter’s edge. Tipper objected that the winning tower wasn’t as strong and would have fallen in the wind. It is exciting to see her so passionate about a subject!
I was frustrated yesterday as I wanted to post all the pelican pictures from Monday. There are 23 pictures in total. It took four hours to get them all uploaded to the server, which crashed twice during the process. My plan is to post them this morning if I can manage to stay awake long enough.
There’s not really anything life-altering in the news this morning. Politics are politics. War is war. Neither makes a lick of sense. Of course, that doesn’t prevent Reuters from going where none of us want to go: What could happen if Trump rejects the US election results. The deep dive is a disturbing look at what could potentially happen between Nov. 6 and January 21. As the race tightens, voter registration rolls are being inspected and, in some cases challenged, but no matter what you need to vote! Don’t trust what you see in the polls. They were wrong in both 2016 and 2020. Just go ahead and vote.
Is this my future? Indiana woman, 103, dies while on an FSSA Medicaid waiver waitlist. Indiana’s Medicaid requirements are some of the worst in the country. People shouldn’t be dying while waiting for basic help. All the more reason your vote matters.
A number of places are waking up to frost on the ground this morning. We were still too warm here as cloud cover both insulated the ground and kept us from seeing the supermoon and the comet that was passing. The clouds will be gone by tonight, though, so be sure to bring in your plants, animals, and spouses.
I have a kitty sitting behind me, making biscuits on my back. I shouldn’t, but I may have a bagel for breakfast this morning; that’s easier than having to fight the cats over cereal, eggs, or bacon. Eating breakfast shouldn’t be this much of a struggle.
Fortunately, no one bothers my coffee.
Yesterday was full of surprises, the biggest of which was PELICANS at Eagle Creek! Jen and I were out again, along with her daughter Ali, to see if we could catch some larger birds than we had the last time out. There was the usual collection of smaller birds floating on the water, and we caught a handful of blue herons and egrets wading around the shoreline. We first saw a couple of pelicans out in the middle of the lake and considered it unusual, but they were too far away for either of our cameras to get a good shot. But then, as we came around the North side of the land bridge, the first group flew in right over our heads, the shot above. Over the next several minutes, more came in groups of three, five, or seven. In total, nearly forty pelicans were taking a breather along the shallow water.
Why is this a surprise? Because pelicans don’t belong in Indiana! Sure, one might occasionally find one up around Lake Michigan during the summer, but we’re too far inland for them to be interested in hanging out here. More often, they prefer the warmer climates of Southern California and … Florida. Our best guess is that Helene’s winds blew the sea birds up here and now they’re trying to get back home before frost hits tomorrow night. I’ll share more pictures in a separate post later this morning.
Then, I came home, took a nap, and went outside to find that it rained? Not a lot, nothing more than a brief shower, just enough to leave droplets on top of the trash bin and make the road wet. But, there wasn’t any rain in the forecast yesterday morning! Conditions with the advancing cold front were just right to generate spotting showers around the region. More could pop up today. The cloud cover prevents air tempts from dropping too low. Only when the skies clear Wednesday night will we see frost.
Solaris wants you to know that he thinks human life is silly and that we should spend more time napping in the sunlight and cleaning ourselves. In fact, he’s decided that if a human touches him, he needs to clean the filthy area immediately. I gave him pets as I sat down and now he’s ferociously attempting to remove the stink from his body. Too bad that desire for cleanliness doesn’t extend to things like cleaning up his vomit from the floor.
Other news? It’s concerning that the UN is concerned about the safety of their peacekeepers. This is a sign that no one is playing fair and none of the leaders can be trusted. None of them. Just toss the Geneva Convention out of the window. War crimes are being committed daily and no one is doing a damn thing about them. I have ideas, but they’re probably too extreme.
North Korea is throwing a hissy fit, blowing up roads and rail yards in its own country. Those with multiple children will recognize this tactic of throwing toys all over the room while yelling and screaming in frustration. Why? Who the fuck knows. Perhaps the tomato slipped out from their cheeseburger. Maybe their wearing the red outfit when they want to wear the dirty brown one. Possibly a sibling walked past without saying anything. North Korea has a brain deficiency that doesn’t allow them to progress and grow. And their diaper stinks.
Oh, if you’re one of those selfish people who thinks that the US needs to seriously crack down on immigration, I hope you’re ready to pay more for milk. You see, the price of milk has long been regarded as a bellwether for families with children. When milk prices rise, family health declines. Dairy farms rely on migrant labor because lazy Americans don’t want to work seven days a week. Most milk cows have to be milked twice a day, every day. No exceptions. Take away the migrant labor and… you see where this is going, don’t you? A hard line on immigration almost immediately relates to higher prices on the most basic necessities. Perhaps we need to rethink our approach.
I know October is a spooky scary month, but most people prefer their horrors to be pretend. Russia, however, is making them real. As the trial in the death of a British woman in 2018 began yesterday, we found out that the vial containing the poison that killed her had enough to kill thousands of people. That only one person was killed was not Russia’s intended outcome. Let that sit and simmer in your nightmares for a while.
FEMA workers change some hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina after receiving threats. You would think that people would welcome those trying to help them. That doesn’t seem to be the case in the backwaters of North Carolina where apparently Fox News is the only television station anyone watches. One person was arrested yesterday for apparently attempting to carry out violence against federal aid workers. Maybe next time we let them drown.
I know, that statement is cold, harsh, and inhumane. I’m over all the stupidity, though. When people are trying to kill those who want to help, we’re no longer in a position to offer them humane support. The election is getting tighter as we move closer to November 5 and whether or not the election is peaceful is a serious concern! Who the fuck have we become? Last week, Australia sentenced a man to prison for giving a nazi salute in public. There’s no tolerance there for the kinds of stupidity that lead to people being killed. The problem with the US taking that approach at this juncture is that we’d have to jail a quarter of the population! We have become too tolerant of the type of speech and behaviors that lead to violence. We have become too tolerant of rhetoric that marginalizes immigrants, LGBTQIA+ populations, and women. Continuing down this path inevitably leads to a fall that makes what happened to the Roman Empire look like a child’s birthday party by comparison. We must vote better. We must scream louder. We dare not sit silent.
I’m glad I’m old and probably won’t live to see Mad Max become a reality. There’s little question in my mind that the US, and perhaps the world, is headed in that direction.
Don’t mind me, though. I’m just going to sit over here and drink coffee and take pictures of birds.
Tuesday Morning Update: 11/05/24
Election Day Edition
The election takes precedence over everything else this morning. This is the last day. Everything after today is a consequence of the decisions we have made. Remember that polls are wrong; a simple common error can hide what is actually a landslide one way or the other. Remember that it is your responsibility as a citizen to vote. Remember that all the generations coming behind you will pay for the decisions you make today. This is not a game or a fantasy. This is not an experiment or an academic exercise. This election results in real changes, real consequences, and history-making.
I decided to vote early this morning. Polls here opened at 6:00 AM and are among the earliest to close at 6:00 PM. I walked the kids to the bus stop since it was on the way, then on to the elementary school that serves as a polling place for general elections. I was there by 6:45. I didn’t leave until an hour later, and that was with a short line. I’ve gone later in the morning for other elections and had to wait in a line that stretched down the sidewalk. This morning was quick by comparison.
The gentleman standing next to me in line, who almost certainly voted Republican, bemoaned the voting machines of earlier years where there were physical switches to flip and a lever to pull. To some extent, I can sympathize. The touchscreen ballot was finicky about recording votes. If you didn’t touch it hard enough, it didn’t register. If you didn’t touch it in exactly the right place, it didn’t register. Instruction pages were confusing and required careful reading. Voting has been easier in some aspects, but it is still worth every effort.
People at our polling place were polite and congenial. No one wore the wrong clothes, buttons, or hats. No one chatted in line about how they were going to vote. This is exactly the way I think voting should be. You don’t try to influence me, I won’t try to influence you.
My parents were married for 42 years and voted in countless elections. I’m not sure they ever discussed with each other how they were voting. I know this because not only was there no political talk in our house, but more than once Mother was upset because Poppa’s vote had effectively canceled hers. Only after they had voted was there any discussion, and even then it was quite brief.
Now, we have media everywhere. Candidates’ rallies are poured over, fact-checked, and split up into three-second sound bites. We see them in commercials, on social media, and even at the gas pump. Every source claims to be telling the truth, but be honest: what is the truth? Would we recognize Truth if it came up and slapped us in the face? I seriously think that our views and opinions have been so severely manipulated that we don’t actually know what is going on, and the politicians like it that way.
I am of the opinion that they should give away cookies after we vote. Yes, that is against the law, which makes me wonder what the judge was smoking when he decided that Elon Musk’s stupid giveaway could continue. I can’t have a free cookie, but a highly partisan billionaire can give away a million dollars? Is it just me or does that feel pathetically skewed in the wrong direction? I may treat myself anyway. I’m thinking of a burger and fries for lunch if I get my breath back.
Yeah, walking to the polling center and back was taxing. There are ways to get a free ride to the polls and back but we live so damn close that it seems like a waste to have someone come get me. Of course, the weather isn’t helping. We’re expecting storms sometime after 3:00 PM today, but the skies are already gray, the wind is blustery, and the fucking barometric pressure has to be down on the floor somewhere. The simple act of existing is difficult enough. Walking a half mile and back? Yeah, that part was less than fun.
There are other news stories today. Boeing workers ended their strike last night. Global stocks are mixed as investors watch the US election. Andrea Bocelli has released a new compilation album to celebrate 30 years in the music biz. Feel free to buy that one for me. On vinyl.
From here, we sit and wait. The news stations are already doing their analytical thing, but again, you can’t trust any of it to be accurate. Regardless of what they say, GO VOTE. This is your right, your privilege, and your responsibility. Make good choices.
Share this:
Like this: