Morning Update / Personal

Morning Update: 10/13/24

October 13, 2024

Perhaps I’m simply too messed up to have a good day. I’m sitting here this morning, my head whirling to the point it’s painful, having trouble putting words together. There was nothing inherently wrong with the past 24 hours, but I can’t say I enjoyed them. The dogs were snuggly, the cats were cuddly, and we spent plenty of time together, but the day ended with me feeling empty and alone. Tipper had a fun date at the movies, Kat had a strange reaction to some mystifying dreams, but you’ll have to ask her for details because I’d get it wrong. There was absolutely nothing about the day that justifies being upset, but yet, here I am, feeling somewhere between pissed, for no good reason, and sad. Fortunately, Hamilton is keeping his boopable nose at the ready.

Football was either chaotic or a complete blowout. OU left all their talent and skill on the North side of the Red River as Texas whomped ’em, 34-3. The Sooners never really showed up for the game, which is a familiar frustration. It was a sack on a two-point conversion attempt that caused Purdue to lose to Illinois, 49-50. The last two minutes of that game were pure chaos and made my head hurt. But then, that happened a lot yesterday.

Did you see that South Carolina/Alabama game? There’s little question that SC was the better team for the majority of the game. Yet, after a bizarre fourth quarter, ‘Bama came out on top, 27-25. My opinion: ‘Bama should not get a poll bump off that win. They were sloppy the whole game. They got lucky.

Similarly, how the hell did Oregon beat Ohio State, 32-31? Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel is getting a lot of the credit, and there’s no question that his fourth-quarter play was impressive. Still, Ohio State made far too many errors in judgment and the result was a loss that should have been a win.

Tennessee whooped Florida, 23-17, in a game that ended closer than it should have. I think it is right to question whether Florida came into the game already mentally exhausted from the week’s storms around the state. Give Florida a normal week and I think that game ends differently.

Notre Dame QB, Riley Leonard, was showing off yesterday. He had three TD passes and ran for a fourth as Notre Dame put the hurt on Stanford, 49-7. Stanford looked weak, though, and played weaker. This was an easy win for ND. I’m not impressed.

Oh, in case you thought last week’s Vanderbilt win over Alabama was a fluke, they beat a strong Kentucky team yesterday, 20-13. Everyone left on Vandy’s schedule best sit up and take notice. No one is going to run over this team easily.

IU and Oklahoma State had the week off. IU hopefully used the extra time to prep for a Nebraska team that’s better than their win/loss record indicates. Oklahoma State is stuck with a Friday game at BYU. Don’t expect that one to go well for the Cowboys.

Poor Purdue is stuck with Oregon next week. That’s gonna hurt.

We’re hitting that point where those silly nonconference games that padded records at the beginning of the season become meaningless. This is where the real teams step up and find ways to win. Mettle gets tested. Talent shines through. Upsets happen. Hang on to your hats, this ride could get wild.

Today’s pro games are… up for grabs. Tennessee is favored, barely, as the Colts head to Nashville. This game probably comes down to who’s healthy and who isn’t. Neither team is all that impressive. The Washington/Baltimore game could be interesting. Oddsmakers are giving Baltimore the edge but I think they could be short-selling a Washington team that plays damn well when inspired. The cheap tickets at Allegiant Stadium are going for a league-high $254 as the Raiders take on Pittsburgh. Anyone who pays for those tickets is likely to be disappointed. Bookies have the Steelers by a field goal. I think it could be much more than that.

Ugh. My head hurts. Maybe I should eat something. I have low expectations for today, though. Perhaps I’ll just go back to bed.

I need this funk to go away. Bring on the coffee.

Current Issues / Morning Update / Nature / News & Comment / Personal / science

Morning Update: 10/12/24

October 12, 2024

I am tempted this morning to let Solaris type the update. He’s being my shadow and keeps looking at the keyboard as if he could do a better job. If any of the cats could type, it would be Sol. I’m sure what he wrote would be interesting as well, given his acerbic wit. He doesn’t quite have a hold on the parts of speech, though, which limits his ability to be helpful on mornings like this one. But when Belvedere looks at me with those big hound dog eyes and asks, “You’re coming back to bed, right?” it really is tempting to hand Sol the keyboard and walk away.

If we’re all a little droopy this morning, it’s probably because Kat and Tipper didn’t get home until after 2:00 this morning. I wasn’t expecting Kat home early in the first place. She attended a comedy show with a friend for a much-needed night out. I wasn’t expecting Tipper home until later this morning, though. There was a big text conversation about that issue yesterday afternoon. But something changed during the evening. Tipper messaged her mom around midnight asking to be picked up out near Greenwood. When one of our kids asks for help, we don’t ask questions, we drive. Questions can be addressed this morning, but the bottom line is that her safety always comes first. We’ll sleep later.

This is also one of those mornings where news editors are grasping at straws to find enough copy to cover the empty space. The most compelling headlines I’m seeing this morning? Get a load of these:

How the elephant got its wrinkles. No, it’s not a fable. Actual sciencey stuff.
Gene therapy dilemma: Treatment that halts brain disease can also cause cancer. This only applies to a rare disease that affects young boys, but it’s still a bit troubling.
Ancient creature was a grizzly-size millipede-centipede hybrid, fossil head reveals. Wait, a GRIZZLY-SIZED millipede? Uhm, no, thank you.
Even a Single Bacterial Cell Can Sense the Seasons Changing. No word on whether they like pumpkin spice, though.
Bacon hogs the spotlight in election debates, but reasons for its sizzling inflation are complex. Bacon is political? Now I’m hungry.

There are a few things worth reading as you kill time before today’s football games.

Data shows migrants aren’t taking ‘Black jobs’ or ‘Hispanic jobs.’ Don’t believe the lies.
Children and adults transported to a Pennsylvania hospital after ingesting ‘toxic mushrooms’. You fed them to the kids? Really?
Woman pleads guilty to trying to smuggle 29 turtles across a Vermont lake into Canada by kayak. Hmm, I wonder how they caught her?
Sex bomb: The collateral damage of OnlyFans’ explosive success. Reuters did a deep dive on this one. Give in to the curiosity and read it.
Spirit Halloween will try its hand at a longer run this year with Spirit Christmas. No, really. Apparently, there’s a demand.
Why Do So Many Women Wear Giant Eyeglasses? The Times thinks you need to know.

Look, this may be the last decent-temperature weekend for the year. We’re looking at frost warnings by this time next week. Get out of the house. Do that thing you’ve been putting off. Enjoy what’s left of this late-season heat wave.

Me, I’m going back to bed.

Current Issues / Morning Update / Natural Light / Nature / News & Comment / Personal / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/11/24

October 11, 2024

G is on his way to Florida for the next 10 days. Are we a bit anxious? Absolutely. G has never been one to even stay the night with his friends, let alone travel halfway across the country. The state seems to have spaced the worst storm surge. Milton hit far enough South of Tampa that the storm’s energy sucked water out of Tampa Bay, rather than bringing it in. There are still millions without power and A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico. Where G is going is North of Tampa and inland quite a bit. Kat checked with the host of the AirBnB where they’re staying to make sure the facility is still in good shape. It’s going to feel strange around here without G’s presence.

The stats on Hurricane Milton are still coming in; different sources give you different numbers. As far as I can tell, the current body count is twelve, and there were possibly as many as 150 tornadoes. I think the Weather Channel may have some of the best videos of the devastation. There’s no question that between Helene and Milton, the Southeast is going to spend a lot of time and resources trying to put things back together where they can. The Gulf is still exceptionally warm. There aren’t any new depressions on the radar at this moment, but conditions remain for one to pop up at any time.

President Biden told Trump to ‘get a life, man’ and stop storm misinformation. The Orange Felon won’t listen, of course. He never does. I’ve been watching the President carefully this week, though, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m increasingly of the opinion that his stepping aside and allowing Kamala Harris to take the Democratic nomination was a good move. Watching Biden this week has reminded me too much of the last two years of Reagan’s presidency, where he was little more than a puppet pushed out to stumble through speeches. And the Felon is behaving much the same with slurred speech, difficulty completing sentences, and awkward pauses where pauses don’t belong. We have a constitutionally required minimum age for the president. Perhaps we should have a maximum age as well.

I’m pretty sure almost everyone in North America got a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis last night. How do I know? 90% of you posted your views on social media. Personally, we had too much light pollution to bother taking a picture. I could see a faint hint of pink in the sky, but that was about it. Still, this was the highest coverage across North America I can remember.

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize goes to Nihon Hidankyo, a group of survivors from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts that have worked hard against nuclear proliferation. The group has made sure that the world remains aware of the long-term consequences of nuclear war. We might have thought we were doing the right thing ending WWII this way, but history has proven us wrong. Of course, there are still those who disagree and Vladimir Putin is at the top of that list. I’d rather die slowly and painfully of natural causes, thank you.

Last night was definitely painful. My poor bones were aching to the point that it hurt to have Solaris lying on top of me. I’ve been awake since 4:00 this morning, which means there will be a nap immediately after finishing this post. Sure, I’m drinking plenty of coffee; that’s the only thing that provides a remote sense of coherence to my writing. The caffeine isn’t enough to override the exhaustion I feel after taking my chemo meds, though. I’ll be crashing hard.

BrucePac of Woodburn, OR has issued a recall of five tons of meat and chicken after the FDA found listeria in some of the packages. The recall specifically involves products processed and packed at a plant in Durant, OK, a sleepy city just north of the Texas border. They were produced between June 19 and Oct. 8 and shipped to restaurants, food service vendors, and other sites nationwide. That means you’ll have to just depend on food service managers paying attention to avoid getting tainted food. Good luck with that.

Taylor Swift donated $5 million toward hurricane relief efforts. Ask your local billionaire how much they donated, especially the ones running for office of any kind. Don’t expect a response.

I saw a headline that read, “High food inflation leaves less in lunch boxes of poor school children.” I was halfway through the article before I realized they were talking about India, not the United States. While I was reading, I received a phone alert that the price of Redi-Whip Zero Sugar had dropped. I’m sure whipped cream will solve everyone’s problems, right?

The New York Times is making the argument this morning that viral dances are changing the way women move. It’s an interesting read if you have a couple of minutes. I think women’s movement always changes with the culture, though. When I remember the way my mother walked when she was younger, a very proper but determined step with perfect posture, compared to any generation after hers, there is a marked difference. Does music and dancing influence those changes? Absolutely. But so do fashion, media, and changes in social attitudes. Their study needs a healthy dose of expanded reality.

The twins are making the argument that I’m done typing this morning. As they chase each other back and forth across the keyboard, I’m trying to keep up with the need to delete characters from the middle of words. If you see a misspelling, it’s most likely their fault.

Meanwhile, food, medicine, and coffee are up next.

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / Nature / News & Comment / Personal

Morning Update: 10/10/24

October 10, 2024

Over three million people are without power across Florida. Milton has crossed the state and is now out in the Atlantic, but as it is still dark as I’m writing this morning, there’s no way to know just yet the extent of the damage. What we do know is that the storm was strong enough to shred the fabric covering Tropicana Field. Before the storm itself hit, more than 20 deadly tornadoes wreaked death and havoc across Southern Florida. Walls erected to protect hospitals seem to have worked. A report inside one hospital says they are functional with both electricity and internet. The rest of Sarasota is not likely to be so fortunate.

We know that there will be a number of deaths resulting from the storm. In one video I saw yesterday, a young woman complained, “Where ya’ll getting evacuation money? I can barely pay my rent! I can’t afford to evacuate!” I can relate to that sentiment. Indeed, gas prices ticked up ahead of the storm. There were reports of price gouging as hotel prices more than doubled along the evacuation route. Both state and federal officials, including Vice President Harris, have warned that companies will be punished for price gouging, but that won’t help anyone who was looking for shelter from this storm.

9,000 Florida National Guard members have been called to active duty and more than 5,000 line workers from as far away as California are hitting the state to deal with power outages. A team stayed at Tampa Zoo to help animals deal with the storm. Yet, not all prison inmates were evacuated from dangerous areas. As the sun is beginning to rise, the severity of the damage will become more obvious.

G leaves with his friend’s family to head right into the heart of Florida early tomorrow morning. They do have a contingency plan, should they not be able to reach or stay at their planned destination. I’m asking him to send back pictures as they travel, but he’s 15; the odds of him actually taking pictures are pretty slim. Tipper is spending tonight with her friend as well, which means Kat and I will have the house to ourselves for the first time in years. Don’t expect any hanky panky, though. I’ll probably be asleep before she gets home from the salon.

I’m having some difficulty sitting upright this morning. Balance is the issue as I’m feeling rather light-headed. I’m reasonably sure that this is chemo-related. I’ll take my meds when I finish the update and will lie back down for a few minutes. That’s usually enough to solve the problem. The twins are being rambunctious this morning, though. They just chased each other across my desk. And back. Rest may be challenging to achieve.

Other news? Well, let’s see…

Han Kang has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” No, I’ve not read any of the South Korean author’s work. We’ll have to put that on the list.

Severe solar storms could stress power grids. Normally, I wouldn’t be overly concerned about this. Solar storms happen all the time and rarely do we see any negative affect. This time, though, the power grid is already stressed from back-to-back hurricanes. Don’t be surprised if your power flickers a little this afternoon.

Oh, those “God Bless the USA” Bibles? They were printed in China for $3 each. I have at least two issues with this. One, it’s not exactly patriotic, is it? There are plenty of publishers in the US that would have been happy to print the Bible, but apparently, profit comes before patriotism in the GOP world. The second issue is that, being made in China, it is almost certain that slave-like labor was involved. This is becoming increasingly evident for all goods made in China. I have a HUGE issue with this and it is the reason I won’t buy anything from Shein or Temu. Fuck anyone who is making a profit by underpaying the people who work for them, no matter where in the world they’re located.

Before I finish, though, keep in mind that hurricane season isn’t over. Global meteorological computers are already studying conditions and creating new weather models. I’ve seen two, so far, that are predicting at least one more Category 5 storm in the Gulf. The next one could possibly land well West of Florida, though, giving Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana a taste of the terror. Keep in mind, that these are just models. They’re not actually tracking any tropical depressions… yet.

If you have the means and wish to help victims of Milton, here are some options.

Now, someone hand Jim Cantore a big ol’ mug of coffee and a muffin. The dude has earned it.

Current Issues / Morning Update / Personal

Morning Update: 10/09/24

October 9, 2024

The next 18 hours are critical. I can’t imagine that anyone reading this update is sitting in Southwest Florida thinking that they still have time to respond to evacuation orders. Those who plan to leave are, for the most part, already on the road. Time is running out. You know it’s bad when even the meteorologists are choking up on air. The Waffle House Index shows over 20 Waffle Houses already closed around Tampa with more closing toward St. Petersburg and Ft. Meyers. Multiple locations in Georgia, including the Atlanta Motor Speedway, are open to evacuees. Similarly, Alabama has opened over twenty state parks to take in those with nowhere else to go. ALL state parks in Tennessee are open as well.

The challenge facing those evacuating is the task of getting the fuck out of Florida. Gas stations are running empty, cars are stalling on the freeways, and traffic trying to leave the state is frequently at a standstill. The situation only gets worse today as last-minute stragglers finally get on the road. Hospitals in Florida are preparing for the worst. In some cases, doctors and nurses have moved all or part of their families into hospital offices so that they’ll be able to continue working until help arrives. The New Yorker Magazine is telling us that storms like Milton “are the new abnormal.” What we previously called once-in-a-lifetime storms are becoming commonplace. We can only imagine what might come next.

Here’s the rub: zoom out to look at the national radar and what do you see across the rest of the country? Nothing. There’s a small system of rain in the Northwest corner of Washington State, with scattered showers along the New York/Pennsylvania border. That’s about it. We’ve been dry since the remnants of Hurricane Helene left trees down and power off. Making matters worse, there’s no relief in the 10-day forecast. Temps will get up in the low 80s this weekend, and mornings will be cool, but there’s no moisture, no low-pressure system, coming from anywhere.

As the Midwest dries out, other dangers arise. Even the smallest spark of a flame can result in a wildfire across states that normally don’t see wildfires and aren’t prepared to battle them. When rain does finally occur, less soaks into the hard ground, creating higher levels of toxic runoff. Are you seeing the problem?

I want there to be better news and there is a little bit. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper for their work on proteins. This spurs research that could one day save your life.

In a first-of-its-kind national survey, 3% of High Schoolers Identify as Transgender. Yeah, that number is low as there are still too many states where simply asking about being transgender can get you killed. Still, at least someone’s starting to pay attention.

Oklahoma amends its request for Bibles that initially appeared to match only the version backed by Trump. That’s only marginally better, though. The very presence of the request is still a violation of the religious establishment clause of the First Amendment. Someone doesn’t have a fucking clue what they’re doing.

Everything else is more of what you’ve been reading for the past three months. War. Politics. Elections. I find it difficult to be concerned about any of those at the moment. Previous behavior tells us everything we need to know. One candidate cut relief funding to Puerto Rico after a hurricane. The other is making sure victims of Helene and Milton are getting the help they need. Voting for the former makes one an idiot.

I shudder to think what I might be typing by this time tomorrow. Keeping up with the latest information is going to be difficult. Everyone needs to be accurate but as power goes out and methods of communication go down, it’s almost impossible to get everything correct. We’ll do the best we can. The cats are trying to help, four have participated in this morning’s update. They don’t spell all that well, though.

About all we can do now is grab a fresh cup of coffee and wait.

Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / science

Morning Update: 10/08/24

October 8, 2024

My mood is negative this morning, so I won’t delay getting straight to the news. I’ve taken some extra time to read additional articles regarding the whole Hurricane Milton situation. There’s too much incorrect information to avoid getting this right. While most of the US will not be directly affected by the storm, we will be affected by its impact on the economy and the availability of emergency resources. As you read, you have a responsibility to do the following:

Share what is important to the audience you have.
Offer shelter if you safely can to those leaving Florida.
Avoid misinformation from politically driven sources.
Gently correct friends on social media who share misinformation.
Stay informed throughout the day.

For the record, I’m writing this at 7:30 AM EDT. Updates from the National Weather Service, which is the most trusted information source, generally occur at the top of the hour, every hour. However, given the potential impact of this storm, they will often announce updates the instant a significant change is detected. Here is this morning’s map:

The yellow areas on the map are where the hurricane’s effect is likely to be the strongest. While the storm retreated slightly from a Category 5 to a Category 4 overnight, it could still regain power before making landfall Wednesday evening. This is likely to be the strongest storm to hit the Tampa area since 1921. It is rare for storms that form in the Gulf to move Eastward. This compact storm brings with it some of the lowest pressure possible, which makes it even stronger. Tampa’s mayor has warned that people who stay, “will die.” The state of Florida, still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene, is going to be permanently scarred by this storm.

Somewhat baffling, but not surprising, is the fact that Orlando attractions are not closed… yet. Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld are still open as of this writing. All say they are “closely monitoring” the storm, and be sure that they will not close unless they feel visitors to the park are directly threatened. Now, take a look at the map above. Find Orlando. While it’s not in the bright yellow impact zone, it seems impractical that some closure either Thursday or Friday won’t be ordered. Milton will still be a Category 1 storm when it exits into the Atlantic. Don’t think that won’t put lives in danger.

For the sake of anyone who seriously thinks that the government is controlling the weather: they can’t. Controlling the strength and direction of a storm like Milton is impossible. People who share this kind of nonsense become responsible for the deaths of Floridians who believe this nonsense and choose to stay. Don’t be stupid. Misinformation takes much-needed resources away from disaster recovery. Have no part in it.

Your “thoughts and prayers” are not what is needed right now. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history. That 7,000 won’t be enough. FEMA is already strained, still working on the large disaster space left by Helene. Once the storm pushes through, volunteers are needed to help in search and recovery efforts, clearing debris from roads, and getting utilities up and running. Please, do not volunteer unless you have experience in these areas and are well-equipped to take care of yourself. Otherwise, you risk becoming a liability that no one needs.

There are still a number of variables that cannot be predicted. Whether the storm directly hits Tampa Bay or just South of the Bay will affect which areas see the strongest storm surge. Rainfall amounts ahead of the storm depend on how fast it moves across the state. There is no way to know the exact strength of winds in any given area until they get there. Prudence in these situations demands preparing for the worst.

If you’re looking at maps of the Atlantic and Caribbean, you will likely notice that there’s a Tropical Storm Leslie out there looking menacing. As of the latest information from the National Hurricane Center, Leslie looks as though it will stay out at sea. This does not mean that we won’t see any other storms develop quickly behind it, though. This season is far from over.

Yes, this is going to keep my attention for the rest of the week. There are too many people in Florida that I care about to not keep this as the center of my focus. I also know that a lot of people from Indy like going to Florida this time of year. Maybe next year, okay? Let’s not contribute to the problem.

Fortunately, weather patterns over the rest of the US look rather quiet. If you don’t live in one of the areas affected by Helene, enjoy the luxury of sitting back and having another cup of coffee this morning while you consider tangible ways in which you can help.

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Politics / science / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/07/24

October 7, 2024

Afternoon on the Lake [2024]

There are fresh cat scratches on my body this morning. For reasons I’ve yet to understand, the cats scattered around the room when I went to bed all decided they needed to not only sleep next to my head but to secure their positions by digging their claws into my flesh. Solaris insisted on sleeping on top of me and didn’t want to move when I got up. Instead, he dug his claws in and climbed up my back to sit on my shoulder. Frankie, the smashed-face wheezer kitty, grabbed hold of my hair and wouldn’t let go. Bit slapped me in the face when I tried to roll over. Kronk, aka Pinball, dug into my shoulder. I’m not sure how to interpret this behavior. I definitely look and feel like I lost a fight.

The highlight of yesterday was not football. In fact, I didn’t watch any of yesterday’s games. Instead, Tony Shaw picked me up and we sat out by the lake chatting and watching the boats on what was perhaps the last good-weather day of the year. I’m sure I looked ill, being the only one sitting out there in long sleeves and jeans. Everyone else was running around in shorts and swimwear. I was comfortable, though, and had a fantastic time. Kat even stopped by for a moment on her way to pick up the kids. This was the afternoon I needed. Besides, the Colts lost to the 0-3 Jags. I didn’t miss anything.

While we were sitting there swapping stories, Tony and I briefly touched on the topic of how we’re going to handle the winter. This is the second year in a row where I’m hitting Autumn and the looming cold feeling weaker and more exhausted than I was this time last year. Sure, the numbers looked great at the doctor’s office on Friday, and I’m grateful for that, but the day-to-day reality has me dreading the coldness of winter. My bones already hurt. I was comfortable out there in my long sleeves. I’m getting by, but I’m not okay and that is driving me sort of mad. I’m going to need some help getting through winter.

Both kids are home today and tomorrow. They’re not going to like me. Today, they need to catch up on all the chores they skipped over the weekend. Tomorrow, they need to mow the lawn one last time, without my help. We’re still not sure whether G will get to go to Florida; the situation there isn’t good. I’m anticipating them making alternative plans. Tipper will undoubtedly attempt to spend some time with her friends as well. All the more reason for them both to get their chores caught up now.

Evacuation orders have been issued for almost the entire state of Florida. Here is how this morning’s map is looking:

You’ll notice a couple of significant changes from this time yesterday. First, they’re anticipating Milton will reach Category 4 while still out in the Gulf. This makes perfect sense. In fact, I was telling Tony yesterday that there was no way that this storm was going to settle at Category 3. Second, the landfall projection is now about 50 miles South of Tampa. This is good news for those in Florida’s panhandle and the Carolinas, but bad news for Miami, who looked to dodge the storm in yesterday’s map. And again, if you live anywhere in Florida, you need to get the fuck out. Now. I know one friend has plane reservations for this morning, and another was already making travel plans. Some are suggesting that this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ storm, with a level of evacuations not seen since Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Don’t play. This storm is so bad, I’ll make an offer I probably shouldn’t make (Kat’s asleep so we haven’t discussed it, but I know how she feels). If you live in Florida and have absolutely nowhere to go, and aren’t allergic to cats, you can come here. We’ll pitch a tent in the yard if we have to. Sure, our little 900-square-foot house is already bursting at the seams, but you’ll do better up here than you will in Florida. I would be devastated if we lost a friend because they didn’t think they had anywhere to go. Just get the fuck out of this storm’s path. There’s no playing around with this one.

Today is October 7. Along Israel’s border with Gaza, reminders of the trauma of the Hamas-led assault are inescapable as the few who have returned try to start anew. This morning’s headlines look like this:

Let me be very clear: There are no good guys in this war. Every day, each of the parties involved is committing more war crimes for which they are unlikely to be punished. They are listening to no one, including their own people. If it were up to me, I would duct-tape the leaders of Israel, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah to their chairs so they can’t fire any more missiles, and tape their mouths shut to end the rhetoric. Don’t let them go until they’re ready to sign a permanent cease-fire. Egos are what is driving this war. The whole mess needs to stop. The world has better things to do.

Who’s doing better things? Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, the two Americans who were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine earlier this morning. “MicroRNA provide genetic instructions to tell cells to make new proteins and that there were two main areas where microRNA could be helpful: in developing drugs to treat diseases and in serving as biomarkers.” This changes many games, including finding treatment for various forms of cancer. See? These are the kinds of things humans can do when they’re not having to dodge bombs or be assaulted by political rhetoric. We should be doing more of this, not ruining the lives of innocent peoples.

There are a couple of heads-up articles to take in this morning. Affordable housing could disappear by the tens of thousands. I know, for many of us this is a ‘duh’ statement. We’ve not had affordable housing since the pandemic. This warning, however, underlines the reality that an already bad situation is about to get worse. This inevitably leads to a higher rate of homelessness, which cities don’t know how to handle. Some crimes, particularly sexual assault and theft, are likely to increase as well. There are answers, but you won’t like them.

Did you know there are shyster dentists? Apparently, there are. The AP is warning people to not fall for fake dentists offering veneers and other dental work on social media. “These self-described “veneer techs” often promote themselves on Instagram and TikTok, promising a full set of veneers for less than half of what dentists typically charge. Some also market their own training courses and certifications for people looking to get into the business.

“It’s misleading, health professionals warn — and illegal. All states require dental work, including veneers, to be performed under the supervision of a licensed dentist.” Don’t be one of those who get taken in by all the flash and glitz of social media. It’s not real and it could seriously affect your health.

There are also a couple of sciency things I didn’t get to over the weekend. First up: Computers can be trained to exhibit pareidolia, the phenomenon of recognizing faces in objects. There are some interesting inferences here. One is that if AI can “see” faces where they don’t actually exist, what does that mean for facial recognition programs? Can they be trusted? Second, is pareidolia a learned behavior or a natural phenomenon? If AI can be trained to see faces, the implication is that humans can be “trained” in a similar fashion. Does anyone really need to see things that aren’t there? Can we take this in the other direction?

The second deals with the smoking habits of 18th-century English women. New research finds that women puffed away at various tobacco products during that time. Not just a few women, mind you. Almost all of them. At the core of this discovery is a novel technique analyzing metabolites of tobacco in bone that could be applied to other substances, potentially revising views of past health and behavior. The better we understand what killed people in the past, the better able we are to avoid such things in the future and understand the origins of some hereditary traits. It’s an interesting read if you’re looking to avoid actual work this morning.

There’s also news of a possible ovarian cancer vaccine in the works. The research is being done in the UK. If successful, it could eliminate the need to remove ovaries for women at high risk. Ovarian cancer is extremely painful and brings some nasty, life-altering side effects along with it. The development of a vaccine could improve the lives of millions of women.

That’s all I’ve got this morning. I’m looking over at the two dogs stretched out beside me, sleeping away, and thinking that I may just need to join them. No one else in the house is up yet, the cats have been fed and are quiet, so there’s no good reason for me to not catch a few more Zs.

Or a couple more cups of coffee.

Current Issues / Morning Update / Personal / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/06/24

October 6, 2024

Have you ever tried finding a big, black dog in the dark? Hamilton damn near took me out at the knees this morning because I didn’t see him coming. The sky was so bright that it almost felt as though the constellation Orion was trying to slap me in the face. That resulted in heavier-than-usual shadows into which our lab/pit mix disappeared. Belvedere was waiting patiently to come back inside. I whistled for Hamilton and didn’t see him. I whistled a second time, no obvious response. I was in the midst of whistling a third time when wham all 76 pounds of dog hit me. He almost made me spill my coffee!

If that’s the way today is going to behave, I’ll just go back to bed now. Yesterday was strange without Kat or Tipper here. Tipper is spending the weekend with a friend to avoid the noise from the races at IMS. Someone needs to tell the racing industry that scheduling an eight-hour race to start at noon in October is a bad idea. It was dark by the time the last laps were completed. The oval at IMS isn’t lit (only the dirt track has lighting). See how that might cause some problems? There are shorter races today, but they’ll finish by mid-afternoon. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Keanu Reeves spun out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his pro auto racing debut. Running in circles is more difficult than it looks. Some of you could give lessons.

The only news that isn’t a re-hash of the week is that Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and could intensify to hurricane, threatening Florida. This morning’s map looks like this:

At this time, Florida is taking most of the impact. South Georgia, especially South of Savannah, will see heavy winds and rain. While this model shows the Carolinas missing out on the worst of the storm, stay aware that a lot could change between now and landfall later this week. Storm surge will affect both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. This is not the last storm of the season, and anyone living in these areas would probably do well to plan a long vacation elsewhere.

Hurricane Helene is causing some unique problems. False and misleading claims about Hurricane Helene are spreading about the storm and recovery efforts. What is especially concerning is that these factless claims aren’t just coming from Russia and Iran. The people who say they want to lead us for the next four years are doing far more damage! In addition to the Orange Felon, who lies every time he opens his damn mouth, Elon Musk, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. are among the worst spreaders of misinformation. These lies reduce the ability of people on the ground to address the many problems. Don’t spread them. Don’t share them. And tell those who do that they need to fuck the hell off.

The worst fallout from the hurricane is in western North Carolina, but at least five other states are grappling with their own intractable problems. Now, with a second hurricane potentially coming right back in on top of them, the rush is on to find as many people and secure as much shelter as possible. What doesn’t help is the fact that Homeowners hit by Hurricane Helene face the grim task of rebuilding without flood insurance. Who in Western North Carolina thought they’d need flood insurance? Not many. Now, with supplies already in high demand, those same residents have to prepare for the reality that, at the very least, they’re going to get hit with more rain.

Be thankful if you are safe enough to indulge in distractions such as football. Yesterday was a day full of chaos among the top 25, and there were plenty of surprises elsewhere as well. The big one making headlines this morning is Vanderbilt knocking off number-one-ranked Alabama. I hadn’t planned to watch this one because, under normal conditions, why would you? ‘Bama always routs Vandy. Even when a score popped up showing Vandy in the lead, I falsely assumed the Tide would come back and win. Didn’t happen. Alabama got beat up and this could be a game-changer for the rest of the season.

#4 Tennessee fooled around and lost to Arkansas, 14-19. The problem here wasn’t that the Razorbacks are any good, they’re not. The Vols were sloppy, undisciplined, and made one mistake right after the other. It hurt to watch this game, especially in the fourth quarter. I should have gone on to bed.

What was fun to watch was the way that Texas A&M knocked the wind out of #9 Missouri, 41-10. Missouri was never in this game. A&M was on point, avoided making too many mistakes, and even blocked a field goal in the final seconds of the first half. I never have liked Missouri, so this game had me smiling a lot.

#11 USC played sloppy ball and lost to Minnesota, 24-17. This didn’t have to happen. USC should have won this game. That game-changing interception? Everyone saw that coming. USC’s ball handling sucked the entire game (double-entendre intentional).

This could be the year we see a number of teams who are traditionally underdogs rise and beat the living hell out of long-standing powerhouses. One of the stats I’m finding impressive is that both Army and Navy are now 5-0. Do you know the last time that happened? 1946! While we might question the toughness of their schedule, the military service schools don’t normally field teams this good. Good players go elsewhere. This is going to make the upcoming Army/Navy game on December 14 more watchable than normal.

And who the hell thought IU would be the first bowl-eligible team this season? They extended their winning record to 6-0 yesterday by running right over Northwestern, 41-24. The win makes the Hoosiers the first bowl-eligible team in college football. Who had that one on their football bingo card? Anyone? I’m not sure Bloomington was ready for this!

Folks in West Lafayette are questioning Purdue coach Ryan Walters’ decision to fire their offensive coordinator leading to yesterday’s 52-6 beat down at the hands of Wisconsin. There are plenty of excuses and attempts to explain the move, but who the fuck does this in the middle of an already-questionable season? Yesterday’s loss showed a complete lack of leadership from the sideline. This team has the talent to be winning. The coaching staff needs to step up and earn their ridiculously high salaries.

The chaos could continue today in the NFL. The 2-2 Colts are barely a favorite over the winless Jags. With QB Anthony Richardson out, and Jacksonville really needing a win, I don’t see this one ending well for Indianapolis. I doubt I’ll watch more than the highlight reel. There are plenty of opportunities for other upsets in today’s schedule, so watch where you place that dip while you’re watching the game. No one wants ranch dressing all over the carpet.

Does anyone else have problems with their bones randomly hurting for no obvious reason? Just me? Okay, I’ll deal with it. Now, where’s that Tylenol bottle?

Make the coffee strong this morning, folks! This could be the start of an interesting week.

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Politics / Social Commentary

Morning Update

October 5, 2024

Return to the 60s [2011 original with AI background]

Taking the dogs out early this morning, I’m reminded of the opening words to a 1978 song by Crystal Gale: “Three O’clock in the morning, and it looks like it’s gonna be another sleepless night.” So, it was 4:00, not 3, and I slept earlier in the night, just not now. It’s my own damn fault. I went to bed around 7:30 without taking the dogs out one last time. As a result, Belvedere was standing on my chest and licking my face at 3:45, letting me know that some outside time was absolutely critical. The only upside of this situation is that the cats aren’t yowling for breakfast yet.

Oh, but be sure, Kronk, aka Pinball, and Solaris are right here doing their best to help me type. That’s why I’m going ahead and taking care of the update now. They’re not going to let me go back to sleep just yet. I have coffee that’s helping keep my eyes open. There will, without apology, be an early nap this morning.

My visit to the oncologist yesterday was probably the best I’ve had in a couple of years. All the numbers were where they needed to be. Even my glucose was lower than its been in a year. As long as this trend continues, I’ll be able to go off the chemo in March and won’t need to take any continuing medication for the Leukemia. We’ll still have to check in every once in a while and make sure those white blood cell numbers aren’t going back up, but at this point, we’re rather hopeful that our days of chemo are short-lived. We just have to survive the next few months.

The kids are in full fall break mode. Tipper spent the night, and possibly the weekend, with her friend. G is making final plans to leave for Florida with his friend on Monday. I’d say that I miss them, but the animals are doing a good job of making sure that they keep my attention. Hamilton has been especially needy of late. At least the animals don’t fuss about what we’re having for dinner.

We’re a week out from Helene making landfall. The storm’s death toll has climbed past 225, but many people remain unaccounted for. Despite the fact that the storm dumped 40 trillion gallons of water over the Southeast, clean drinking water is nowhere to be found. The lack of electric power isn’t helping. Of course, one bad turn generates another. Yellow jackets, who normally live in the ground, are swarming since they don’t have any place to rebuild their nests. North Carolina is distributing Benadryl and EpiPens to help deal with the allergic reactions. Helene’s powerful storm surge killed 12 near Tampa. Now, some are asking whether their deaths were preventable. I question the efficacy of second-guessing a storm that was quite determined to do its own thing. The number of deaths is tragic, but we have to realize that storms like Helene are so deadly because they do the unexpected. The next big storm to come along will almost certainly behave differently. Guessing what a storm is going to do is ultimately a fool’s game. The official Atlantic hurricane season ends in November, but with two more storms churning at sea, experts warned it might last into December. Make no bets as to what might happen.

Grumpy weather is a problem elsewhere in the world as well. Death toll in worst Bosnian floods in years rises to 16. The Brazil drought sinks the Amazon rainforest port river level to a 122-year low. Meanwhile, it’s elephants that are at risk from floods in Thailand. This is the new reality. Get used to it.

A reality I’ll never accept quietly, though, is how stupid people are allowed to disrupt life for the rest of us. There are a couple of stories that stick out to me this morning. In the first, the Heritage Foundation, the same people that brought you the insane Project 2025, are harassing NASA with Freedom of Information requests asking for internal emails. A foundation executive told Reuters that this “is part of that organization’s ongoing push to help Trump weed out uncooperative civil servants if he is reelected to the White House in November.” It’s unfathomable to me that these actions are even remotely legal. All the more reason to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket.

In a move that violates the First Amendment clause against religious establishment, Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Schools wants to put Trump Bibles in the classroom. Where this push runs afoul of the law is the intent to use public funds to pay for the books. If it were done with private funds, the move might be legal. Using tax dollars, however, makes it a government establishment of religion, in violation of the First Amendment. Folks out in Oklahoma need to take Ryan Waters to the woodshed.

Oh, but before we forget, you probably should clean the filter in your dishwasher. Today. You’re killing yourself.

When does child abuse end? Apparently never. A 75-year-old mother has been charged with letting her 40-year-old paralyzed daughter lie on the floor for a week after falling out of bed. Reading stories like this makes my head hurt. The fact that this happened here in Indy is downright frightening, partly because I know there are too many people who would respond exactly the same way this mother did. Indy has some mean old people.

Not that the kids are any better. IMPD took three juveniles into custody yesterday after leading police on a high-speed chase following a string of robberies. As shocking as it may be that teenagers are pulling stunts like this, we’re at a point where it seems logical to assume that they’re learning this behavior from the adults, including grandparents, who are around them.

At least there’s football. Although, given the fact that I’m awake so damn early raises questions as to whether I’ll be conscious when this afternoon’s games kick-off. Purdue is at Wisconsin. IU attempts to keep its winning streak alive at Northwestern. Georgia clashes with Auburn. Oklahoma State hosts West Virginia. Tennessee goes on the road to Arkansas. Oklahoma and Texas both have the week off. We’ll see how many of them I spend time watching.

Ugh. One more act of sheer stupidity just popped up. An Idaho state representative told an indigenous candidate to ‘go back where you came from.’ Witnesses at the bipartisan forum describe the Republican representative’s outburst as “a complete meltdown” that scared their children. Seriously, are there no sane people left in the world that we are forced to put up with this level of incivility? Really?

You know, most Saturdays I struggle to find anything newsworthy that isn’t a rehash of what we covered during the week. Why the fuck is there so much nonsense this morning?

We’re looking at a beautiful weekend here in the Midwest. Get out and do something enjoyable if you can. Love your family. Pet your dogs. Feed your cats. Take naps.

Most importantly, don’t forget the coffee.

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/04/24

October 4, 2024

Welcome to a Friday with no rain in the forecast! Well, not for most of us. Sure, there are a couple of showers coming in Northern Illinois and scattered wetness along the Gulf states, but nothing remotely close to what we saw last week. Overall, this should be a good weekend to grab the kids and go apple picking, select a pumpkin or four, take a hike, enjoy some art or live music, and take advantage of everything the first weekend of October has to offer.

The biggest question around the house yesterday was, “Is Tipper here or there?” She desperately wanted to go to her friend’s house. Her friend desperately wanted to see her. The problem was transportation. Kat was working, the friend’s mom was working, traffic was heavy, and in the end, she sat here and moped. They’ll try making a connection again today, perhaps with better luck. With the Eight-Hour Road Race at IMS this weekend, Tipper desperately wants to be somewhere other than around the track.

There is good news this morning: the Longshoremen have ended their strike against East Coast docks. This isn’t the big sigh of relief one might think, though. What they’ve done is postpone the thing until January 15. The official reason is to allow time for negotiations, but that’s bullshit. It didn’t take them long to see how the strike was going to be politicized and they didn’t want any part of that. Everything will keep moving for now, get us through the holidays, and then it will be a problem.

Everything else I’m reading this morning is a bit blah. There’s speculation about this and that, accusations about him and her, but the facts are missing so there’s no point in getting all angsty about any of it. Everyone has enough challenges in their own life. No one needs to be concerned with the affairs of people who will not affect their lives in any way. Just let it pass.

There is one frustrating note: Using the Uber Eats app can negate any action you might want to take against the ride-sharing company. A New Jersey couple is finding this out the hard way. This is the second time in the past two months that we’ve seen people getting stung by the fine print in user agreements. Such agreements might be legal, but they’re immoral as hell and need to be stopped. Congress could end them fairly easily, but they won’t. Why? Because cheating people out of what they rightly deserve is how the GOP defines capitalism.

Under food no one asked for, McDonald’s is introducing a Chicken Big Mac on the 10th. Why? Because chicken sounds healthier than beef. But it still has the special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickle, and onion on a sugar-intensive bun. Pair that with the fries you know you’re not turning down and you have a day’s worth of caloric intake in about three bites. Don’t be surprised to see other menu additions from fast food vendors this fall. People have been eating at home more and they’re all desperate to get you back. Just wait, someone will come up with a pumpkin spice sandwich of some kind. Just in time for Thanksgiving, I’m betting.

Oh, in case you weren’t feeling old fast enough, Eminem announced that he’s about to become a grandfather. Tipper responded with, “All these music people are suddenly getting old.” I said, “It happens to the best of us.” She shot back, “Nah, we’ve known you were old a long time.” Damn, girl! Someone hand me my cane.

I’m going to stop here because I need to finish getting ready for my oncology appointment this morning. Whee! I get to give them more blood! I’m not expecting anything to have dramatically changed. We have six more months of this mess. I’m ready for it all to be over.

Meanwhile, does coffee count as a meal? I’m thinking anything after the fourth cup…

Cancer Update / Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Politics / pop culture / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/03/24

October 3, 2024

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.

Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Politics / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/02/24

October 2, 2024

Slowly, we’re recovering from the power outage. I am amazed by the outpouring of generous help that we’ve received. Hopefully, we’ll have everything restocked by the time the kids go on Fall Break next week and devour everything in sight. Life will remain a bit hectic as we try to get caught up on laundry and other chores. The weather looks decent for the remainder of the week, so perhaps we’ll get the lawn cleaned up and have a chance to make sure we’ve not missed any damage.

Tipper is mad at me this morning because I won’t let her go to a friend’s house after school. Why am I being so mean? She didn’t finish the dishes last night. She was warned multiple times of the consequences. She only made excuses. And, in her 14-year-old mind, it’s all my fault. I’m laughing inside as I type this because what she left are probably the easiest dishes to wash: plastic Rubbermaid containers. None of them were stained with tomato sauce, so it wouldn’t have taken more than five minutes to finish up. But no, I’m a horrible person for asking her to do so much.

We’re trying to finalize arrangements for G to spend his fall break in Florida with a friend. The biggest sticking point at the moment is no one is sure how much damage the area about an hour North of Tampa received. I think we’ll get that figured out, though, and then we get to deal with the anxiety that comes with letting our 15-year-old (almost 16, he would say) go that far from home without us. He’s responsible. The family he’s going with is cool. Still, if Kat and I suddenly disappear next week, you’ll know we got a message and are on our way to pick him up.

Information about the devastation from Hurricane Helene continues to pour in. The death toll stands at 166 this morning and it’s only going to go higher. In the small town of Erwin, TN, 11 workers at a plastics factory were swept away by surprise flood waters. Only five have been found. I’m sure there are going to be more such stories as rescuers make their way into the remote areas of Tennessee and North Carolina. Sadly, first responders who were attempting to help the victims are among the dead. There’s no amount of aid that can fix this. No one can bring back the lives lost, the families whose entire existence was swept away. This was one of those events that reshapes a region. The people and the places may rebuild in time, but nothing will be the same.

Last night’s vice-presidential debate was too polite for aggressive Americans, apparently. Personally, I was in bed and asleep. I think that was a better use of my time. If you’re interested, here are 13 different reviews of the debate. Or, you can jump straight to the required fact-checking. You know politicians lie. You need to know which ones are completely false. The list is always much too long.

Israel, Iran, Jordan, and Gaza are all being controlled by war hawks who have absolutely no concern for the number of innocent lives they are taking. Palestinian medical officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 51 people in southern Gaza overnight, including women and children. India warns its citizens not to travel to Iran, and quite honestly, I think one would be an idiot to be caught in any of the affected countries at this point. Of course, Yemen’s Houthi rebels are looking to gain from continuing conflict in the Middle East because there are far too many people in the world who look to take advantage of others’ suffering. Every last bit of this war is unnecessary and the “leaders” all have blood on their hands.

Suffering is everywhere, though. A Typhoon bringing heavy rain is slowly heading toward Taiwan, where 4,000 have evacuated. In Japan, a WWII-era bomb exploded near an airport runway, canceling 87 flights. And making matters worse for everyone, Fentanyl makers are exploiting holes in US trade law in an effort to kill as many Americans as possible.

There have always been bad people in the world, but the glut of information we now possess gives us the ability to be more aware. There’s a very interesting article in this morning’s NYTimes about the “billionaire preachers” who control Texas. For me, the phrase “billionaire preachers” is a rage-inducing oxymoron. If preachers are billionaires, then they’re obviously not taking care of people in the manner scripture demands. This isn’t new for Texas, though. Religious leaders have been taking control of the political scene in that state since 1972. That’s one of the reasons I could never live there and one of the reasons I don’t want anything to do with Christianity.

After looking through all the news this morning, the one thing that stands out is the need to hold government leaders in every country to a higher moral standard. Not a religious standard, mind you, but one that puts human rights at the top of everyone’s focus. Governments should help, not hurt. Governments should enhance life, not delete it. Governments should make lives better, not try to make a profit off of pain. You and I must make this standard a priority when we vote, and object like hell when our government steps out of bounds.

I started early with the coffee this morning. I’m in no mood to put up with political bullshit.

Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Politics / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/01/24

October 1, 2024

Riding Out The Storms [2010 original with AI background]

Welcome back! Our power finally came back on at 11:44 EDT yesterday morning. Crews showed up right at 8:00 and started working. They identified the local problem but then had to find the cause of the local problem and fix that first. The problem on the pole across from our house wasn’t that bad: a blown fuse. It took longer to level and raise the bucket truck than it did to replace the fuse. The crews working our neighborhood were from Ft. Wayne and South Bend. This morning, they’re heading for Kentucky and will be helping restore power down there. We greatly appreciate their sacrifice in getting power turned back on.

Having our power back was nice, but then came the problem of checking the refrigerator and freezer to see what we had lost. We had been careful to not open the doors, but when the power is out for over 72 hours, there’s not much hope. I opened the door with the trash can by my side. The smell caused my stomach to turn. About the only thing that survived was the various jellies. It took three large garbage bags to cart everything out.

Fortunately, we have fantastic family and friends who have helped us be able to restore some of what we lost. As has consistently been the case over the past two years, you again came to our rescue. Food has been ordered and we’ll be okay. There are still some cleanup issues, but we’ll be able to handle those. Through all of this, we have to remember that what we got here in Indy was but a smattering compared to the decimation in other places throughout the Southeast. The search for survivors still continues, especially in North Carolina, where numerous roads and bridges are just gone. As of this morning, 140 are known dead, but that number will have increased by the time you read this. Helene is one of the deadliest storms to hit the US and it will take weeks to even start putting things back together. For too many, the devastation is incalculable. All the help in the world won’t bring back lost loved ones.

Sadly, the Orange Felon has been spreading lies about disaster recovery. Is anyone surprised? No. However, his rhetoric could cause some to experience delays in getting the help they need. President Biden will look over the devastation today and has promised all the help legally possible. The topic will almost certainly come up at tonight’s vice presidential debate. Please remember, when the felon was president, he minimized disaster relief. Haiti is still dealing with severe hunger and crime because they didn’t get the disaster relief they needed. We don’t need that kind of response again.

What is scary is that the hurricane season isn’t over. The National Weather Service is tracking multiple storms forming in the Caribbean. What had been an unusually quiet season seems to be heating up on the back side and could still cause continued problems for the Southeast US even as they’re trying to put their lives back together after Helene. There’s just a lot going on and the next few weeks could have everyone reaching for their anxiety medication.

Oh, and just as millions of people are needing their food replaced, dockworkers have gone on strike across the East and Gulf Coasts. This is going to affect everything from food to fashion, especially fresh foods that have to be imported this time of year. I saw someone on Facebook foolishly question why we don’t “just grow the vegetables that we need here in the US?” We do. The problem is that all that food has been harvested and much of it has been consumed. This time of year, through April, almost all fresh fruit and vegetables have to be imported and come through those docks along the coasts. Even if the strike doesn’t last long, the ripple effect will cause higher prices on almost everything and make some items unavailable through the holiday season.

I’m not going to even try to catch up on all the news that we missed. I know the big headline story this morning is Israel’s incursion into Lebanon, seriously expanding the war.

Today is former President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, which is nothing short of incredible.

Pete Rose, Dikembe Mutombo, and Kris Kristofferson have all died.

A Judge blocks Georgia law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

The New York Times editorial board has endorsed Kamala Harris for President.

Life sucks for a lot of people right now. Be nice. You never know what someone’s going through.

Thankfully, there’s coffee this morning!

Personal

Morning Update: 09/27/24

September 27, 2024

Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. That’s where we’re at this morning. As Hurricane Helene made landfall in Northwest Florida last night, weather advisories went out across most of the Southeast and into the Ohio Valley. This storm is large enough to simultaneously cover most all of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, both Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. While Florida and Georgia will see the worst of the storm, heavy winds with gusts up to 60 mph and plenty of rain are likely across the rest of the region.

What you need to know right now: If you’re flying Delta, you’re going to be delayed. Atlanta already has numerous cancellations that will affect much of the nation. Don’t expect that situation to get any better until Monday. Friday night football? Just stay home. Make up the game next week. If you have any lawn decorations, they probably should have been brought in last night. At the very least, get them in before noon today. Make sure your phones stay charged as power outages are expected all across the region. Localized flooding is pretty much a certainty; don’t drive into high water. If you can stay in all day, do that.

That being said, G has a school field trip to Fort Wayne today. The good news is that Ft. Wayne is outside the weather-affected area. Barely. The bad news is that they’ll be coming back home when the winds are at their worst. Would I rather they reschedule the trip? Yes. Is that my call? No. Will I worry? Duh, of course. I think Tipper is planning on spending the night with a friend. That makes me anxious because she’s not all that good at keeping her phone charged. If power goes out on that side of town, will she be able to let us know?

This is likely to be a rough day for the dogs as well. Ours don’t particularly like going out in the rain. The rain was rather light when I took them out earlier, and even with that Belvedere was quick to do what needed to be done and run back under the carport for shelter. In the hour since then, rain and wind have both picked up. They’re huddled down, curled up, and under covers. Of course, they won’t go out at all unless I go with them. They’ll just stand there under the carport and whine. So much for having big, brave guard dogs.

Locally, we’re not expecting the really heavy winds until around noon. Once they get here, though, they’ll stay until somewhere around 11:00 tonight. That’s going to make the evening commute something close to a nightmare. Rain is likely to continue most of the weekend. If you have small children, you have my sympathy.

As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has extended the list of scenarios in which he is likely to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. No, that’s not good news. Yes, it pushes the planet closer to WWIII. No, there’s not a damn thing you or I can do to stop it. I’m not convinced anyone can at this point.

Matters aren’t looking good in the Middle East, either. Israel’s Netanyahu is saying he’s planning on hitting Lebanon as has Gaza. This comes even as negotiations for a cease-fire are supposedly continuing. I find it difficult to believe that any progress is being made as long as politicians keep shooting off their mouths. Be sure, if Netanyahu was the one at severe risk, he’d be singing a different song. Politicians only care about their own power.

Yeah, things could be better. At the same time, they could get a lot worse. You can still register to vote online in most states. Do that.

Me, I’m pouring another cup of coffee and keeping my eye on local radar. I’m old. This is what I do.

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Morning Update: 09/26/24

September 26, 2024

When is a fall not really a fall? When you’re already lying down. There’s a feature on my smartwatch, one of the reasons I bought it, that alerts your emergency contact when you fall. I’ve fallen several times over the past two years and not once has it alerted anyone. Until yesterday. The problem? I was sound asleep, napping away, when my watch started a strange ringing. I looked, and the message on the watch was, “Fall detected. Notify emergency contact?” Obviously, I chose to not notify anyone since I was already lying down! This raises the question, however, of exactly what constitutes a fall for the watch. Did I roll over violently? Was I flailing my arms in my sleep? I’ve no idea.

G had his violin lesson yesterday and Tipper seemed to have a good day at school. Kat fixed a fantastic dinner of cheese brats and steamed asparagus. I went to bed a little after 8:00 and fell immediately asleep until 2:30 this morning. That was when my desk lamp decided to spaz out. Normally, if the lamp turns on during the night, it’s because one of the cats walked across it. All the cats were in bed, snoring away. The light would come on, dim, change temperature a couple of times, then go out. I’d close my eyes again, and a few minutes later, it would pop back on. This continued until almost 3:00. I’ve no idea why. The lamp is working fine this morning.

Life is full of mysteries I suppose. For example, Ohio’s GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno says abortion isn’t “an issue” for women “past 50”. Now, why would anyone in their right mind say something that stupid? The backlash is predictably intense and the statement could cause him to lose the election. You’d think that people would open their mouths before saying something stupid. Yet, Republican candidates can’t seem to keep their mouths shut on the issue. The party would prefer they talk about the economy, but candidate after candidate keeps talking about abortion, and when they do, they’re more likely to lose.

But then, that story isn’t nearly as bizarre as the Taliban saying it’s absurd to accuse them of gender discrimination. WTF? Something tells me they don’t understand the meaning of that word. Their defense is that Afghan law is in line with Sharia law. But that’s a non-starter because Sharia law itself is discriminatory toward women. According to AP, “Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands are set to start legal proceedings against the Taliban for violating a U.N. convention on women, to which Afghanistan is a party.” Afghan officials say they don’t understand the problem. Once again, this is what happens when right-wing religious nut jobs are allowed to run a country. Absolute absurdity.

Insane in a different way is the forecast that Hurricane Helene threatens ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge and vast inland damage. Dear Florida friends: go somewhere else. But not here. Local meteorologists are anticipating that by Friday evening, we’ll be getting the leftovers of the hurricane with 40-50 mph winds. Friday night football is having a tough time getting their games in. This will make the third week in a row that some games may have to be canceled due to storms. With wind speeds at that level, we can expect downed tree limbs, possible power outages, and an increased chance of roof damage. Depending on how the system hits and where one lives, the metro area could see as much as two inches of rain by Monday.

Tommy Kramer, another former NFL quarterback, said yesterday that he’s been diagnosed with dementia. Sooner or later, we, as a nation, may have to come to grips with the possibility that football is too violent a sport for our kids to be playing. In fact, if we’re totally honest with ourselves, football may be too dangerous for anyone to play at any age. I’ve been to NFL Players Union events. No one retires from that sport without permanent injury of some kind. While I enjoy watching football as much as the next person, if my pleasure is coming at the expense of people’s lives, then it’s morally wrong. What do you think?

After the mess of the 2020 election, News Outlets are Bracing for Chaos on Election Night (and Perhaps Beyond). GOP rhetoric has been especially violent and more than a few counties are threatening to not certify the election. However, Mark Zuckerberg says he Is Done With Politics. Will that translate to less misinformation on Meta-owned platforms? I wouldn’t bet on it. Zuck is seeing that opening his mouth on political matters costs him money. That’s not likely to push any policy changes within the company itself.

There are times when life is just weird. This is being one of those times.

Just don’t mess with my coffee, okay?

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Morning Update: 09/25/24

September 25, 2024

What are we going to do with today that we didn’t do yesterday? To be honest, I don’t know. I’m still congested, running the slightest fever, and feeling like shit on a stick. The kids did get up and off to school. I can verify that they’re both dressed. Beyond that, we didn’t talk much. Belvedere wants me to go back to bed. He presents an alluring argument: snuggles. I’m likely to accept his offer.

The biggest news locally this morning is that Terre Haute school janitor, Richard Goodall, won America’s Got Talent last night. His final performance on the show was a recap of his audition song, “Don’t Stop Believing” but this time with members of Journey accompanying him. Whether he’ll return to his janitorial job, he hasn’t said. At 54 years old, breaking into a music career would be difficult even with all the attention of the show. All of Indiana is claiming him as their winner, though, and I’m sure the newlywed couldn’t be happier.

Another big story that’s resonating broadly is former QB Brett Favre’s almost off-handed admission yesterday that he has Parkinson’s Disease. The cause of Parkinson’s is unknown, making it inappropriate to blame Favre’s ailment on his football career, but it’s difficult to imagine that all those years of rough treatment at the hands of defensive linemen didn’t have some negative impact. This will almost certainly spur more concerning discussions about the long-term effects of concussions in football.

The Department of Justice sued Visa, alleging that the card issuer monopolizes debit card markets. This is going to be a tough charge for Visa to dodge. They have such a huge majority of debit cards that some stores, such as Costco, have made Visa their exclusive form of credit card payment. The net effect for consumers is likely to be an increase in card fees in response to whatever fine the company has to pay.

In a massive overstep of power and misinterpretation of the First Amendment, U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor, of Bismarck, North Dakota, granted a preliminary injunction Monday, ruling that the Catholic Benefits Association and the Diocese of Bismarck were likely to succeed in proving that a final rule adopted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April violated their freedom of religion. The regulations are meant to enforce the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. This is an unmitigated disaster. To claim that religious beliefs are more important than basic human rights is unconscionable. Yet, here we are. Protests should be forthcoming.

Hurricane warnings were issued in Florida as Tropical Storm Helene intensified. Don’t count this hurricane season as done just yet.

There’s not really anything else that motivates me enough to include this morning. There are too many stories where the status quo simply continues from one day to the next. Until someone, somewhere, actually does something to change those situations, there’s not much point prattling on about them.

By the way, deadlines for registering to vote in this year’s election are coming up fast in several states. I can’t imagine that anyone reading this isn’t registered, but if you’re not, get to it.

The dogs have left me just enough space to squeeze into bed between them. Frank keeps turning off my desk lamp. I think that’s a pretty good sign of what I need to do. I’m going back to bed.

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Morning Update: 09/24/24

September 24, 2024

Monday had more rain than I was expecting, so we spent more time in bed than we might have. All the pets were more than happy to sleep the day away. I did try eating some oatmeal, but that didn’t stay down so I didn’t try anything else. That was followed by severe dizziness again, and that stuck around far longer than it should. I don’t know if that’s from dehydration (yes, I’m drinking water), COVID leftovers, or the Chemo. I’m glad I haven’t fallen.

The kids seemed to have had a good day. G went to the salon after school while Tipper went to robotics. Neither one was very talkative when they got home, though, and, hmmm… no one did their chores. That’ll be a fun conversation when they get in this afternoon.

I did manage to watch about three quarters of football. The Bengals may have gone into the game being a two-touchdown favorite, but the Commanders showed that their defense can make one hell of a stand in the red zone and that rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is the real thing. Washington won the game 38-33, and even that doesn’t capture how pitiful the Bengals looked. Of course, that was better than the other Monday night game, where the Bills ran all over the Jaguars, 47-10. The only time that game was close was before the Jags got on the field.

Kat fell asleep mid-scroll. I’m not kidding. Her phone is in one hand, the other is poised for scrolling, and she’s dead asleep. It’s so cute!

The death toll in Lebanon is now over 560 following two days of Israeli bombardment. Someone needs to intervene, but I don’t think anyone has the guts. We’re not going to see a cease-fire in the region until everyone is covered in blood. The sheer stupidity of it all is mind-boggling.

I’m not sure how this is possible, but the last full-sized K-Mart is just now closing. The discounter was failing long before Sears Holdings declared bankruptcy in 2019. This final store in Bridgehampton, NY, on Long Island, will close its doors forever on October 20. Those of you who are younger will never know the thrill of hearing a blue-light special announcement in the store.

Your diet isn’t working. Severe obesity is on the rise in the US. All 50 states and territories posted obesity rates higher than 20%. We’re committing a slow suicide, and paying for it with higher medical costs. Have we reached a point where we just don’t fucking care? That seems to be the consensus.

Stephen & Evie Colbert have a cookbook. The Late Night talk show’s host is getting pretty close to having his wife as a full-time sidekick. Audiences don’t seem to mind. Many even enjoy the romantic back and forth between the couple. This still isn’t likely to be enough for him to capture a coveted Emmy award.

Two Outer Banks Homes Collapse Into the Ocean in North Carolina. The article tells you that this is the ninth home to fall into the ocean in the past four years. What I find more disturbing is that this is the third home to collapse this year. I used to camp along the islands of the Outer Banks when the boys were little. This development is both sad and frightening as a special way of life on these islands is dissolving.

Tuesdays are often shit-hits-the-fan days. It’s still early, so who knows what could go down today. One thing’s for certain: I’ll most likely sleep through it.

Remember when I used to actually do things?

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Morning Update: 09/23/24

September 23, 2024

A Pleasant Day, Otherwise [2011 original with AI background]

Oversleeping is anxiety-inducing and I have it by the truckloads this morning. After a rough day yesterday that had me dizzy and puking, I slept right through the kids getting up and ready for school. Fortunately, Kat was awake and saw them off without any issue. Still, not only do I feel horrible for having missed them, but I feel as though I have to rush to catch up with the things that need to be done today. That’s silly since there’s nothing overly pressing on my calendar, but that’s the way my brain works.

The kids did have a good weekend. G was a sewing fiend; if you see Kat, she’ll show you his handiwork. Tipper had a movie date to see the new Transformers movie. I was asleep when she got in, though, so I can only assume that it went well. She’s back in school this morning, so we’re hoping that goes well.

Apparently, there were a couple of tornadoes across the state yesterday, but none of them were close to here. I’m not sure we got a quarter of an inch of rain here; it was spotty. There’s more moisture in the atmosphere, though, so we could see some scattered showers this afternoon and more heavy rain tomorrow. Welcome to Autumn.

Since I’m already running late, I won’t linger much over the news this morning. Lebanon says Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 people and let’s just go ahead and say the war is now regional. Stop pretending that this is merely a defensive maneuver on Israel’s part. We need a cease-fire and we need it now.

This is Banned Books Week and if you’re not putting banned books in the hands of your kids, especially your teens, are you really parenting? New U.S. State Laws Are Fueling a Surge in Book Bans, Reports by Activists Say. If other parents want their kids to grow up to be closed-minded idiots, there’s not much we can do about that. Our kids don’t have to be ignorant, though. Buy the books. Discuss the books. Let them learn.

Congress managed to avoid a shutdown of the government late last night, but there’s no reason to celebrate. This is only a three-month stop-gap bill. Come December, we’ll be having the same conversations again. This is a stupid way to govern. Remember this nonsense when you vote.

The Colts managed to win! Honestly, this was one of the most boring games I’ve seen in quite a while. The fact that the Horse won has less to do with their superior ability and more to do with who made the fewest mistakes. The whole game was sloppy and at this point, I’m pretty sure either team could be beaten by any of the top five college teams. Yeah, it was that bad.

KC pulled out a win over Atlanta, but they’re still not close to playing championship football. The Chiefs simply are not playing up to par. Dare I say that Mahomes is starting to look old? They’re going to have a rough season if they can’t play better than they did yesterday.

Who did play well? The Rams. When I checked in at half-time, I didn’t figure there was any way they’d beat the 49rs. Boy, was I wrong. The second-half highlight reel is nothing short of spectacular. Rams come back and win it, 27-24, in an exhibition that proves they need to be taken seriously.

Have I typed enough for you this morning? I hope so. I’m already starting to feel tired again. The skies are going to be mostly cloudy, so that will make sleeping easier. Maybe I’ll actually wake up on time in the morning.

Let’s see if I can keep breakfast down, though.

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Morning Update: 09/22/24

September 22, 2024

Saturdays should always be chill. I firmly believe this and do my best to put it into practice. After a long week of everyone being sick, I think we all just needed a chance to decompress from that stress. Tipper played online games with her friends. G hand-sewed a zippered pouch. That would have been stressful to me, but it was relaxing for him. I did a lot of sleeping, still. Sure, there was some football and I’ll get to that shortly, but my body just wouldn’t let me sit up too long at a time. I’m okay with that.

What I’m not okay with is 4 Killed in a Shooting Near the University of Alabama’s Birmingham Campus. Multiple shooters fired into a crowd. None of the shooters have been caught. This is just stupid. I’m not okay with the seeming fact that The presidential race has exposed a fault line over the deeply personal decision to become a mother. Candace Bergen, speaking at the Emmy Awards last week, reminded us of when former VP (and Indiana loser) Dan Quayle criticized her Murphy Brown character for choosing to raise a child as a single mother. We laughed at the ridiculousness of attacking a fictional character then. Republicans still think they have some right over women’s bodies, though, and we’re not laughing now. This needs to stop.

And how did this whole Diddy mess go unreported for so long? I do not support kink-shaming and I’m concerned that is what this trial is going to dissolve into. If it was coercive and nonconsensual, though, he deserves to have the book thrown at him. We need to stop giving celebrities a pass.

I don’t understand this stupid endurance race taking place at IMS today. Whyyyyyyyy? When I took the dogs out earlier, there was the smallest trickle of cars coming into the North 40. I’m fairly sure the East gate will not be open. And what happens if it’s still raining at the 11:30 start time? The way I’m looking at radar, rainfall could be a bit heavy at times. Are they actually going to run in that mess? For six hours?

Now, about those football games …

Even in week four of this NCAA season, there were still a number of blowouts. Texas crushed UL Monroe, 51-3, despite Arch Manning tossing a whale of an interception. Ohio State trounced Marshal 49-14. Penn State beat up Kent State, 56-0. And even Notre Dame crushed Miami (OH), 28-3. Conferences are too large now for any of the schools to still be playing meaningless non-conference games in week four. The NCAA needs to do a better job with the scheduling.

Speaking of non-conference games, who would have imagined that we’d be this far into the season and IU is still undefeated? The unranked Hoosiers downed Charlotte, 52-14. Either they’re playing some really bad teams and will get crushed in conference play, or they’re better than anyone realizes and need to be ranked. There are definitely some places open in the top 25 after this week’s games.

Some of this week’s losses hurt. Utah topped Oklahoma State in a tough one, 22-19. I didn’t get to watch that one because it wasn’t made available in our area, damnit. And I was asleep. The highlights are gut-wrenching, though. I did manage to watch the first half of Tennessee dominating OU, 25-15. There was a lot being made of this being Tennessee head coach Josh Hoeple’s return to his alma mater. He said it didn’t matter. His team said otherwise. OU never mounted a threatening offense and this may be the end of their top 25 run.

Purdue didn’t fare any better, losing to Oregon State, 21-38. Again, I could only watch the highlight reel, but Purdue seems to have lost its soul after that Notre Dame loss. I think the Boilermakers could be better than this, but they need to convince themselves that they can win.

The embarrassment of the week has to go to the student body at North Carolina. Little James Madison came in and just had their way with UNC in the first half. They scored 25 points in the first quarter and 28 in the second. What did the UNC student body do? They left the fucking game like the bunch of losers they are. When the second half started, the stadium was less than 30% full. The Tarheels came back and made a reasonable showing in the second half, though still losing, 50-70, but no one was there to see it. The UNC study body needs to be ashamed of itself. Talk about unsportsmanlike conduct! No one should accept any excuses for that type of behavior.

Today, we’ll attempt to watch as much of the Bears/Colts game as we can. Personally, as much as I’d like to see the Colts make a decent showing, I think this one goes to the Bears. Indy just doesn’t have their act together this year. Sure, they’re close, but they’re not going over .500 this season. Again. KC takes on Atlanta in a night game and so help me if KC doesn’t dominate this one from beginning to end, they need to be taken to the woodshed. We don’t need another last-minute win on a questionable call by the refs. There won’t be any three-peat if the Chiefs can’t beat the hapless Falcons.

The pets are telling me it’s time to go back to bed and they’re probably not wrong, especially if I’m going to be awake for the Colts game. The sun is shining for now, but the clouds to the West and North look pretty dark. I think I may go ahead and take a couple of Ibuprofen now, and try to get ahead of the arthritis pain.

Sigh. Why is Solaris on top of the fridge? Everyone else is asleep, but not this kitty. Is it going to be a zoomies day? We’ll find out.

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Morning Update: 09/21/24

September 21, 2024

Today is technically the last day of summer. The high here in Indy is forecasted to be 91 degrees. Tomorrow’s high is 80 and it falls from there for all next week. It’s time to start making chili and making sure the kids have jackets with them when they leave for school. I’m not aware of anyone who is terribly upset. The past couple of weeks have been oppressive to the point that even the dogs haven’t wanted to stay outside very long. Autumn will get a cheerful welcome here tomorrow morning.

There were some storms to our near North last night. In fact, I was sitting in the front yard for a while, enjoying the light show. After a particularly entertaining flash of lightning about a mile away, though, Hamilton decided that he was quite done and the anxious pup demanded we go back inside. We never did get more than a few sprinkles here at the hose.

I’m starting to feel better. In fact, I felt well enough last night to devour about three-quarters of a rotisserie chicken for dinner. That may be the most I’ve eaten all week. I’m still congested as hell, though, which makes breathing difficult, which tires me to the point of complete exhaustion. I’m glad my bed is comfortable, but it’s getting to be too familiar.

There’s not a lot of impactful world news this morning. This fact-checking article is probably worth a couple of minutes of your time, but it’s not likely to sway anyone’s vote. I don’t know if Hamas is getting a breather as Israel goes after Hezbollah, but they’re not showing up in any headlines this morning. There is a bit of an “oops.” Iran did not include mobile launchers with the close-range ballistic missiles that Washington last week accused Tehran of delivering to Russia for use against Ukraine, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Pardon me while I giggle at that one.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is getting some blowback over its criticism of GMO foods. Critics are saying that important evidence wasn’t considered in determining the safety of the foods. However, one is right to question the ties those critics have to major food conglomerates. Here’s the thing: GMO foods are cheaper to farm and therefore easier on the pocketbook, which is stretched to its limit. Are the risks worth the savings? Who do you want to believe?

The truly disturbing articles this morning are all local. Here’s a list of headlines from Indy’s CBS affiliate:

If anyone was thinking about moving here, those headlines would be enough to cause one to pause. For those of us already here, we hold our children a little closer and make sure their phones are charged when they leave for school. One piece of good news: Marion County proposal would let police impound cars used in street takeovers. I wholly support this idea. Here’s hoping it happens.

Of course, this afternoon/evening is full of football. I have a problem, though. Tennessee visits OU this evening. I have reasons for supporting both teams, but they’ve never played each other enough for there to be an established rivalry. For whom do I root? When OU plays Texas, we root for OU. When OU plays Oklahoma State, we root for the Cowboys. Those are easy. But this one? I dunno. I do have a sinking feeling that the Volunteers are likely to run all over the Sooners, but counting the Sooners out is never a good idea. The game doesn’t start until like 7:30 local time, though, so I doubt I’ll see much of it.

Between now and then, I think I’ll sleep. There doesn’t seem to be a good reason not to. The twins seem supportive of that idea. The dogs are already back to snoring. Seems like a waste of time to not join them.

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Morning Update: 09/20/24

September 20, 2024

Waiting For This To End

Somehow, I managed to have the best night’s sleep in quite a while. The rest was solid. Dreams were happy and idyllic. The pets snuggled nicely. I’m almost in a good mood. If only I could breathe. I’m still feeling like my head is full of cotton and a couple of cinder blocks are sitting on my chest. This is day six of this stupid disease. I want to be young and bouncing back like everyone else. I’m not. I’m old and my body had no immunity going into the situation. So, bonus points for, so far, managing to stay out of the hospital.

I’ve sat here long enough, reading through the news, and I’m already feeling exhausted. I’m going to toss some headlines at you with maybe a comment, maybe not. You’ll need to read the articles for yourself, please (yes, I know whether you do or not).

The Orange Felon vows to be ‘best friend’ to Jewish Americans, as allegations of ally’s antisemitism surface, which is kind of odd when he also said Jews will be partly to blame if he loses election. Why is he talking in circles yet again? The Republican Governor Candidate in North Carolina called himself ‘Black Nazi’ on Porn Site, according to CNN. This is a mess and it’s hitting at just the wrong time. The Jewish population doesn’t exactly need these idiots taking their side. They have enough trouble as it is.

Why? Thousands of exploding devices in Lebanon trigger a nation that has been on edge for years. Even device makers are a little stumped as to how Israel pulled this off, and it’s frightening a lot of people on both sides of the war. Overnight, Israel and Hezbollah traded fire after heaviest airstrikes yet, which pretty much brings Lebanon kicking and screaming into a war they didn’t want. After two days of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies, Beirut was a city on edge, with people worried there were bombs in their bags or pockets. What is concerning security officials everywhere is talk of retaliation. Hezbollah is a significantly large, better-financed organization than Hamas. Be scared.

Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs. This is totally political and corporate bosses need to evaluate which side of the coin they’re going to embrace. Getting it wrong will prove costly.

Police fatally shot a blasphemy suspect in Pakistan in 2nd such killing in a week. This is what happens when religion is allowed to have governmental control. Be aware.

Hmmm … this is interesting. Huge Australian king penguin chick Pesto grows into social media star. He’s 22 kilograms at only nine moths old, which may be some kind of record. What makes it interesting was that the new DC Comics short series, Penguin, debuted on MAX last night. Go ahead. Look at the pictures. Tell me you don’t see a resemblance.

We could be in for a noisy weekend around the house as today begins practice sessions and a couple of short races in preparation for Sunday’s “Battle On The Bricks” road course race. This is a six-hour race to see who can go the longest without having to pee, or something like that. Races like this are especially attractive to those Dads who think it shouldn’t be a problem to drive 18 hours from Indy to Orlando without a pit stop.

What could spoil all the “fun” at IMS is the weather, though. We’ve got a couple of cold fronts moving across the state this weekend. The stronger of the two should hit us Sunday morning and with that could come as much as half-an-inch of rain along with cooler temperatures. While road course races don’t use the same tires as those on the oval, the rain would still impact the race and could even cause some delays. Maybe it’s just better to stay home and watch football. Near a bathroom. Pee when you want.

Me, I’ll just be here trying to survive. The pets and I have settled into a new routine where we rotate who’s sleeping on which side of the bed. The only problem is that Queen Bit insists on sleeping dead in the center and she’s kinda ferocious when bothered.

You have a good weekend and we’ll tread carefully.

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Morning Update: 09/19/24

September 19, 2024

Yeah, Still COVID.

There’s nothing new to say other than G is going to school today. Kat will be at the salon but wearing a mask. I’m sick of being sick. This is absolutely ridiculous. My head hurts. The coughing is incessant. Appetite: gone. Tipper is getting better. In fact, it’s difficult for me to keep her home the rest of the week, but that’s what we were told to do. I went to get up this morning and Hamilton tried lying on top of me so that I couldn’t. On average, I was only able to sit up about 45 minutes at a time yesterday, and that was pushing it. I can’t wait for this to go the fuck away.

The news is making me angry because everyone’s being so fucking stupid. Tensions rose sharply after Israel’s defense minister announced a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack set off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. No one asked for that war to broaden. No one.

A California man is part of a wave of Orange Felon supporters who bombard the ex-president’s opponents with threatening messages worded carefully to avoid arrest. As fears of violence rise ahead of the election, has he crossed a line? Fuck yes! There’s no room for crying when someone gets fed up and puts an end to these little charades by eliminating the creators. Fucking idiots.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears has filed criminal charges against nine students in just the past two weeks for separate threats at schools across Indianapolis. This is a nationwide problem and I fail to understand why we’re having so much trouble addressing it. Parents, this is a YOU issue at the core. Take the fucking phones away if you need to. One sheriff is posting pictures and videos online. This nonsense has got to stop. But then, look back at the paragraph above this one. Monkey see, monkey do?

111 Former G.O.P. Officials Back Harris, Calling The Orange Felon ‘Unfit to Serve’, but if they’re former officials, does that endorsement carry any actual weight? This race is too fucking close and it’s going to come down to who can get the most people out to vote on November 5.

Nine people have been charged after last weekend’s street takeovers, but the charges are mostly misdemeanors and none of those involved are likely to see any severe jail time. This is a case where the law is insufficient to adequately address the crime. I guess we’ll have to wait until someone ends up dead for anything substantive to happen.

The only good news I’m seeing is that we might get some rain and cooler temps toward the first of next week. Today’s high is going to be back up to 90, though. Even the dogs don’t want to put up with that kind of bullshit.

You know what sounds good right now? A giant-sized Milky Way bar. Do you understand just how much I do not need that? But nothing else sounds even remotely interesting.

Sol says it’s time to take the dogs out because they’re being annoying. He actually stopped me from trying to call Hamilton onto the bed last night. Talk about a cat with attitude.

At least tomorrow’s Friday. This is being the longest fucking week.

Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Photography / Politics / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 09/18/24

September 18, 2024

Covid Edition, Day 4

How is it even possible that I feel worse today than I did yesterday? The only reason there’s an update this morning is because I had to get up to feed the cats. Everyone’s staying home again today and it’s a good thing I have an auto-editor correcting my typing mistakes as I go or this would be unreadable. I think the kids will likely be fine by tomorrow (maybe) but for me, this is dragging on far too long and I’m feeling much too miserable. The only plus side is that I’m getting plenty of snuggle time in with the pets.

I’m gonna just copy/paste content in here this morning. I apologize for the lack of personalization. I’m doing well to sit upright.

From The Daily Skim: At least two women in Georgia died after the state’s abortion ban delayed their access to critical medical care, according to a ProPublica investigation. Georgia’s maternal mortality review committee deemed Amber Nicole Thurman’s death as “preventable.” ProPublica said it’s the first time such a designation for an abortion-related death has become public. In Thurman’s case, the “otherwise healthy” 28-year-old needed a dilation and curettage, or D&C (used routinely for both abortions and miscarriages), to remove fetal tissue causing an infection. However, doctors delayed the routine procedure for 20 hours, even though they were well-equipped to treat her. Georgia’s abortion laws threaten doctors with up to a decade in prison unless they can prove a patient is near death or facing “irreversible physical impairment” — criteria with no clearly defined protocols. The hospital declined to comment, but ProPublica found there was no policy to guide doctors on how to interpret the ban when Thurman came in needing help. Thurman, a single mom who had planned to attend nursing school, told her mother before she died: “Promise me you’ll take care of my son.” Be angry. Be very angry.

Yesterday’s exploding pagers sounds like such an 80s thing, but no, it’s real, and it’s all Israel’s fault. Exploding Hezbollah pagers in apparent Israeli attack made by Hungarian company, Taiwanese firm says. Small amounts of explosives were placed inside the pages and then all detonated at once. Israel says they were targeting Hezbollah, but a nine-year-old girl was among those killed, so we’re not buying that excuse. Be pissed.

Vice President Kamala Harris has decried Republican Donald Trump for inflammatory rhetoric about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and on other topics, and said voters should make sure he “can’t have that microphone again.” One of the most compelling campaign lines I’ve heard yet.

Major companies abandon an LGBTQ+ rights report card after facing anti-diversity backlash. This is straight-up bullshit. Massive boycotts, anyone?

Milan Fashion Week started yesterday, but once again the “Made In Italy” tag is underfire because garment manufacturers are sons of bitches who would just as soon use slave labor and pocket the profit for themselves. If you’re buying designer clothing, you’re part of the problem.

Lena Ervin of Lenaria Photography has probably lost her entire photography business because she’s apparently a bitch. The local CBS affiliate and its sister FOX affiliate both ran a story about the photographer’s failing. What irks me is that NONE of the problems mentioned would have been difficult to resolve. Wearing a bright pink jumpsuit to a Halloween wedding is just straight-up tacky. Failure to give refunds generally means your money has already been spent. This is just stupid and is a black eye on the business of all photographers.

I posted yesterday on Facebook about the problem Indy has with street takeovers. One local station is trying to calm the situation by saying that other cities are having similar issues. That’s not reassuring in the least. These absolutely infantile events have become dangerous now. Time for the police to start destroying the cars that are involved, IMO.

Tupperware, Food Container Pioneer, Files for Bankruptcy. The once-mighty kitchenware company has struggled financially for years. It says the direct sales model that fueled its success has become a weakness. Trying to sell the products on store shelves isn’t working well, either. Could this be the end of an era?

Fed Officials Are Expected to Cut Rates Today. The Question Is How Much. While there’s plenty of room for debate on that question, one thing’s for sure: it’s going to piss off the Orange Felon, who didn’t want any rate cut before the election. Cry, little cry baby, cry.

Damnit. Now the dogs want out. That means I have to put on pants. And shoes. Fuck.

At least there’s fresh coffee.

Current Issues / News & Comment / Personal / pop culture / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 09/17/24

September 17, 2024

COVID Edition, Day 3

On Point [2013 original with AI background]

Everyone is home today. G hasn’t tested positive, yet, but he’s not feeling great. We’re keeping him home out of an abundance of caution to prevent any further spread. Tipper is feeling better and may be able to go back to school tomorrow. Kat seemed better yesterday, but I was already asleep by the time she got home last night so I don’t know how a full day of work affected her. I still feel like absolute shit. How bad is it? Hamilton, the dog who hates to snuggle, snuggled as close as he possibly could last night. I’m worried I may be dying.

Fortunately, there’s not really much in the news worth your time. There’s a lot of blabber about this, that, and some other thing, but none of it is going to directly affect your life in any way today. Breathe deep. Let it go.

I do find it interesting that the KC Chiefs dumped Tight End Peyton Hendershot yesterday. The IU grad wasn’t even suited up and playing last week when he shoved a Baltimore Ravens player on the sidelines. That earned the Chiefs a $100,000 fine. We’re assuming this is behavior he learned during his previous stint with the Cowboys. Such nonsense isn’t tolerated by Andy Reid & Co.

Ohio is having to assign state troopers to protect schools in Springfield due to the overwhelming number of threats. This is beyond ridiculous. Anyone who thinks there’s a shred of truth to the myth of Haitian immigrants eating pets is a moron. Anyone who would threaten to harm people because of that myth needs to be locked away in an asylum.

Houston got an unexpected jolt yesterday when a car ran through a fence and hit a valve on a gas pipeline, resulting in a massive explosion. The fire didn’t even think about dying down until early this morning. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated, and if you’ve never been trapped by a gas leak (I have), I gotta tell you it’s a harrowing moment of wondering whether it’s safe to move. Of course, the dude in the car was incinerated.

Oh, here’s a fun conversation to have with someone. A New York woman is challenging Miss America and Miss World rules banning mothers from beauty pageants. Now, this should raise at least a couple of arguments. The first one that comes to mind is why the fuck are we still having fucking beauty contests? The fact that any part of our society is not over the whole concept of comparative beauty is disgusting. The second conversation is the entire topic of single mothers who have never been married. This is a social thing, not a moral one. Quite honestly, I don’t have a problem with it. If you’re going to insist that everyone carry their baby to term, then you have to support them once the kid is here, not block their access to scholarships.

If you’re feeling really brave, jump in on the conversation about how pregnancy affects a woman’s brain. Mind you, this is real science, not hyperbole. We’re better understanding the adjustments the brain has to make to support the growth of a fetus and the stress it places on a woman’s body.

Speaking of births, today is my eldest son’s 33rd birthday!! I doubt anyone who knows him reads this, though. I’ll have to say something on Facebook to get him some attention.

I think this is about all I can handle this morning. The twins have been trying to help me type since I sat down at the desk. The dogs are ready to go out.

Don’t forget to drink your coffee, by the way. A new study suggests that drinking coffee offsets the negative effect of sitting on your ass all day. Mind you, it’s still theory at this point, but why take any chances?

Cancer Update / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / pop culture

Morning Update: 09/16/24

September 16, 2024

COVID Edition, Day 2

Giddy-Up [2011] (Yes, I know the picture’s blurry, and yes I know Des is all grown up and engaged. It’s a flashback moment)

Looks like Tipper is going to be joining me at home this week. I expressed concern over her frequent coughing yesterday morning and Kat administered a test when she got home. It hit positive about as fast as scientifically possible. So, my doctors’ appointments are canceled, Tipper won’t be at school or clubs, and we both need to try and stay away from the universe as much as possible. This is going to get interesting.

Question: Why the hell do my ankle bones hurt? This is a new pain this morning. I don’t know if it’s a COVID pain or a chemo pain. It hurts like hell, though. Balance is still a tough issue, but I’m assuming that it’s related to all the congestion fucking with my ears.

Decision: I’m not repeating a damn thing whose origin was a social media post. You shouldn’t either. First, social media is not the primary means through which intelligent people communicate. Second, I don’t care how many blue checks there are, it is impossible to verify that the post was created and sent by the name on the account. This includes politicians. So, if there’s not a legit source, I’m ignoring it.

In old-person gut check this morning: Tito Jackson is dead at age 70. Poor Tito, he tried like hell to play off Michael’s fame, but it never worked for him like it did Janet. Expect to hear a lot of Jackson 5 on the radio today.

There were plenty of tight NFL games yesterday if you were watching. Of course, the Colts lost to the Packers, 16-10, but at least they showed up for the game this time. Jets came from behind to beat the Titans, 24-17. And would someone kindly explain to me how the hell the 49ers lost to the f’n Vikings, 17-23? Who didn’t have a squeaker? The Cowboys, of course. New Orleans drilled ’em 44-19.

Nothing else is likely to impact your normal conversations today. Enjoy that.

I’m going back to bed.

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Waiting For This To End

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Yeah, Still COVID.

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Covid Edition, Day 4

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COVID Edition, Day 3

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