Morning Update: 10/03/24

We are running more than an hour late this morning. Neither of the kids has school again until the 14th, so there’s a high probability that we’ll be sleeping later during that time. The dogs don’t seem to mind, though the cats put up quite a fuss. Of course, the cats put up a fuss even when I’m on time with their food. There’s no way to win that battle. Ever.

Most of the food we lost during the power outage has been replaced, thanks to the generous help we’ve received from family and friends. The challenge now is finding the energy to cook anything. Kat warmed up a frozen quiche for dinner last night, which was delicious. And there’s a pork butt she got for 99 cents a pound that should be ready to slow cook. The issue will be on Saturday when she’s not here. I went to bed before 7:30 last night and had no trouble sleeping for 12 hours. I’m still tired this morning and am looking forward to my first nap. I tried testing my endurance yesterday by not taking any naps until after 3:30 in the afternoon, but given how tired I still feel this morning, I don’t think I can regard that test as successful.

Tomorrow is my first oncology appointment in over four months. I’m assuming that my white blood cell count is going to be down, my sugar should be back in a reasonable place, and everything else should be normal. The fatigue is going to continue being there and only time will tell whether it will linger after I go off the chemo in March of next year. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and not have as many health issues for a while. Given our family history, though, I’m not betting on it.

The effects of Hurricane Helene are grim. Grandparents were found hugging each other after a fallen tree killed them in their South Carolina home. We’re only going to see more stories like that. The Shock of deadly floods is a reminder of Appalachia’s risk from violent storms in a warming climate. Under pressure to control housing costs, Republican lawmakers rejected standards meant to protect against disasters, That could be an election issue, but chances are high that many people affected by the hurricane won’t be able to vote as towns are not likely to have recovered sufficiently by November 5. FEMA aid is arriving, but some people are still on their own. A lot of the towns and villages in the Appalachian Mountains were remote, accessible by roads that no longer exist. Getting any aid to them is almost impossible.

Florida communities hit three times by hurricanes grapple with how and whether to rebuild and while that has long been a valid question, the increasing intensity and frequency of storms pushes more people to move away from the area. For those along the Atlantic coast, now is not a good time to return. Hurricane Kirk could cause dangerous surf conditions along the US East Coast, especially the barrier islands, many of which still lack any connection to the mainland. This is the reality in the US now. We might as well start planning for these events so that we’re not so horribly affected by them. Hurricanes like Helene are deadly when they strike and keep killing for years to come. Hundreds of thousands of deaths related to these storms occur for many years after anyone stops paying attention. We may think we’re not at risk, but we’re wrong.

Politically charged headlines, especially those related to Israel, Iran, Gaza, and Jordan, are pretty much the same as they have been the past two months. Am I the only one who’s tired of them? With the refusal on the part of leaders to agree to a cease-fire, I’m ready to throw up my hands and let whatever is going to happen, happen. We’ve tried to encourage peace, yet innocent people are still dying. If there’s anything we can do to stop the stupidity, no one’s doing it.

Meanwhile, Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought. With workable AIDS medications now available, much of the fear that pushed condom use has disappeared. Never mind that all those other nasty STDs are still out there and still a problem. Syphilis, anyone? Wrap it up, kids.

Mormons push ahead with global temple building boom despite cool reception in Las Vegas. This continues the pattern of religions going where no one wants or needs them. Of course, religion always argues that they are needed, that there are souls to be saved, but centuries of data would indicate that society is better off without them. All of them. We need to tell them to go the fuck away.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it would ban the import of goods from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a Chinese maker of artificial sweetener, accusing both of being involved in the use of forced labor from China’s far-west region of Xinjiang. This may affect some construction costs and the price of zero-sugar products, which are already too fucking expensive, but it’s past time to call out China on its long-standing slavery issues.

State and local election officials have made so much progress in securing voting, ballot-counting, and other election infrastructure that the system is more robust than it has ever been, said Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. As a result, she said, there is no way Russia, Iran, or any other foreign adversary will be able to alter the results. Make no mistake, efforts like this, and the fact they’re being made public, are a direct result of challenges to the 2020 election. No one interested in an honest outcome to the election wants to repeat that disgraceful experience. Yet, Republicans have been setting the stage for the past four years to challenge elections even in places where the outcome doesn’t affect the final vote count.

US school-entry vaccination rates fall as exemptions keep rising. This is just stupid. The vaccination works, you idiots. Stop putting kids at risk.

Iranian state media says at least 26 people have died after drinking alcoholic beverages that contained toxic methanol. Accident? Probably not.

Look, the world is not in a good place right now. Civilization stands on the brink of collapse with the elevation of risk factors we don’t even talk about. Headlines such as “Putin Keeps Threatening to Use Nuclear Weapons. Would He?” only touch on one of the critical areas that could prove devastating for all of us. Business owners and foreign governments are preparing for bigger trade wars if Donald Trump is voted back into office. This would result in a level of inflation that many people around the world can’t overcome. In a Cat-and-Mouse Game, Russian Oil Tankers Are Flying New Flags. Someone’s always looking to skirt the laws. We pay the price. Literally.

What can we do? We can vote, but even that has a limited effect. We can’t control the actions of other people. Passing laws only works if people obey those laws, and what we’ve seen in the past ten years is that too many people, especially politicians, are just fine breaking those laws.

Look for the things that make you happy. Do them. To hell with the consequences. I have dogs and people that love me. Hamilton spent much of last night with his head on my chest. Do you have any idea how great that made me feel? Sure, the entire bed is covered in animal hair, but that seems a small price to pay for the happiness that comes with their presence.

And there’s coffee.