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Monday Morning Update: 11/11/24

November 11, 2024

Sunday wasn’t a bad day, as things go. I felt decent enough to finally finish Tony’s pictures. It only took me three weeks, which isn’t a record but is still embarrassing. I’d say I can relax now, but there are still pictures from my last trip with Jen that I’ve not yet touched. This puts me in the position of having to ask myself if I’m as ready for a comeback as I thought I was. The answer, most likely, is no. I may never be ready for a complete comeback, which makes me incredibly sad.

Fortunately, G was here to keep my spirits up. He was in a fantastic mood yesterday, joking around, actually being nice to his sister, and talking up a storm. His frequent visits to my room kept me on my toes as his conversations always require me to completely stop what I’m doing and listen carefully to what he is saying. If he can get a zinger in about how old I am, he doesn’t miss it. At the same time, he’ll swing on a tree branch and laugh just like he did when he was six. It’s impossible to be down when you’ve got someone who can consistently make you laugh.

Kat came home and spent the night. As far as I can tell, she seems to have slept well. Her difficulty breathing is still obvious, though. I don’t know what her plans are for today, but I hope they include plenty of time for her to sit or lie down and recover. Kat tends to push herself; something she’s always had to do. Breaking that habit, and giving herself the space and time to fully recover is not easy for her. She wants to be up, taking care of things, moving around, and working. Right now, though, she needs to not do any of those things.

I tried watching the Colts game but turned it off and took a nap after Flacco threw two interceptions in the first quarter. That was enough to tell me that they were going to lose. I have a difficult time believing that there’s not a better QB sitting around somewhere in the NFL universe. And while Coach Stenchen is apologetic, I think Kenny Moore II, who caught an interception in the second half, is more in touch with what’s actually happening with the team. This is what he said in the locker room after the game:

“I don’t think everybody is working as hard as possible, and obviously it’s showing. I’m not the type to sugarcoat it, honestly. I don’t think the urgency is there. I don’t think the details are there. I don’t think the effort is there, and I don’t see everything correlating from meetings to practice to the games, and it shows. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves how bad we want it.”

“The thing that’s frustrating is we’re letting things leak into another week. To go out and make the same mistakes over and over—that’s what drives me insane as a player and individually. We are in November and I don’t see us making that jump from September to November. I’m seeing the same things. We just have to start addressing it and not sugarcoat or beat around the bush. I think that’s what we are lacking and year-to-year it’s the same thing.”

Holy shit. I hope Stenchen ponders on Moore’s words a bit this morning. I understand that there was some booing going on during yesterday’s game. We can’t let that get started here. Chicago fans are booing the Bears. Jets fans are being merciless when the team plays at home. We don’t need to be like them, but the Colts need to step the fuck up and show us they’re worth those million-dollar salaries.

There were some other really tight games yesterday. The Chiefs, in all honesty, should have lost yesterday’s game against the Broncos. Blocking that last-minute field goal saved their ass, but the fact remains that Kansas City played a lousy game. The same applies to the Lions as kicker Jake Bates made a 52-yard field goal at the last second to win the game against the Texans. Again, they should have lost. QB Jared Goff threw five interceptions! You don’t deserve to win when you’re playing that sloppily. Russell Wilson’s TD pass to Mike Williams lifted the Steelers over the Commanders 28-27, but the young Commanders were arguably the better team. This time next year, I expect it to be Washington who’s running roughshod over the division.

I’m not seeing a lot of news this morning that’s worth talking about. 25 of the Escaped Monkeys of 43 were Captured in South Carolina. And, somewhat hilariously, Mattel Mistakenly Listed A Porn Site on the Packaging for ‘Wicked’ Dolls. Oops!

What’s important is that today is Armistice/Veterans Day, one of the most increasingly forgotten holidays on the calendar. I came across an opinion piece by Vietnam vet Frank Lennon in the Providence Journal. The article is behind a paywall that’s difficult for anyone outside of Rhode Island to justify. So, let me quote a significant portion of that article for you here.

While looking up the 1924 Armistice Day information, I came across another event from that year that was pivotal in the history of how we treated our veterans. It was the passage of legislation providing Bonuses to WWI veterans.

After the euphoria of our victory in World War I died down, many veterans went through hard times. Most were disillusioned, because our government, and society at large, left them to fend for themselves. Adequate health care was beyond the reach of many, especially for “shell shock” – what we call PTSD today. Others found it difficult to find a job.

These problems were exacerbated by the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s. The already high unemployment rates among veterans increased. Vets competed for the few available jobs with civilian workers – many of whom had done very well during the way – while “our boys” got by on the pittance that Uncle Same paid them.

In 1924, Congress tried to redress some of this disparity through the World War Adjusted Compensation Act. It gave bonuses to all enlisted personnel who had served during wartime, with the amount based on each individual’s service time. There was an additional payment for overseas service.

The catch was that these bonuses were paid in the form of certificates, not cash. They functioned like insurance policies, and although they did accrue interest, veterans could not redeem them until 1945.

Rendered desperate by the Depression, veterans asked Congress to modify the law to allow the certificates to be cashed out immediately, when the need was most dire.

In May 1932, WWI veterans organized a march on Washington. At least 20,000 (and perhaps as many as 40,000) veterans, their families and supporters set up camps and occupied buildings in various locations in Washington. The largest camp was a shantytown on the Anacostia Flats across from the Navy Yard. They called themselves the BEF – “Bonus Expeditionary Forces,” a play on AEF, the banner under which most of them had fought during the war.

On July 28, 1932, the attorney general ordered their eviction. Washington police fired at the protesters, killing two veterans. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the Army to clear the campsites and move the protesters across the Anacostia River.

The troops advanced with Tanks, fixed bayonets and tear gas.

You might be surprised to know that Gen. Douglas MacArthur led the troops in this confrontation, along with his aide, Maj. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The commander of the tank contingent was Maj. George S. Patton.

Despite specific orders from Hoover not to cross the bridge, MacArthur pressed on to the camp on the far side. (Perhaps a harbinger of things to come?)

The camp still held about 10,000 people. Tanks and tear gas drove out the Bonus Amer marchers, their wives and their children. Their shelters and belongings were burned. Injured civilians overwhelmed D.C.’s hospitals.

Chillingly, the Army deemed the exercise to be a success. The Bonus Army was gone.

The press saw it differently. The Washington Daily News called it “a pitiful spectacle” to see “the mightiest government in the world chasing unarmed men, women, and children with Army tanks. If the Army must be called out to make war on unarmed citizens, this is no longer America.”

And we thought being spit upon was as bad as it could get?

Throughout the 1930s, the strength of our military reached frighteningly low levels, and little if any emphasis was placed on veterans issues.

Then Pearl Harbor happened, and all of a sudden the military became important again. After the war ended, we could not do enough for our veterans. The GI Bill ensured that post-WWI problems would not be repeated. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, respect for veterans reached an all-time high.

Unfortunately, it took another all-in world war to make that happen.

…

About 25 years ago, Ge. Bernard Rogers, former Army chief of staff, made a very interesting point about the unique nature of military service in our society.

“A doctor contributes to his patients; a priest to the members of his parish; a lawyer contributes to his clients; a politician to his constituents. But those privileged to wear our nation’s uniforms belong to a profession in which every member, every day, makes a contribution – no matter how small – to every citizen of this great land.”

Those are words we should take to heart on this Veterans Day.

I concur. And as I consider how the president-elect is setting up his administration, with emphasis on “rounding up” immigrants and “making the country great,” I fear we will see repeats of Hoover’s disastrous orders. If MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Patton weren’t strong enough to stand up to illegal presidential orders, do we dare think that anyone in today’s Pentagon would respond any differently?

This is why I worry. This is why I am committed to being a safe person, a reliable resource, for anyone being assaulted by any portion of our government or the ridiculous laws it may pass.

Pass me that coffee pot. I need a refill.

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Sunday Morning Update: 11/10/24

November 10, 2024

Sunday Morning Chill. [2012 original with AI background]

Please read quietly this morning. The kids are still asleep, and after all the activity they had yesterday, I’m sure they need it. I enjoyed listening to them interact with each other without fighting. Their conversations with friends were frequently hilarious. Neither teen has any filter when talking to their friends. Try cheating in a game? You’re gonna get called out. Heaven forbid you do something wrong while playing on their team! Curses are going to fly, especially if you’re playing with Tipper. There were times when it was difficult to pay attention to the football games because the kids were being too entertaining.

G has taken on the heavy task of helping me get my heavy leather duster back in shape for this winter. I’ve not worn it in several years. There are tears in the lining, one on the left shoulder, and all the buttons are missing. The shell was also pretty dirty. I took care of removing all the cat vomit from the shell and he went to work. I gave him a specific set of leather tools and thread to work with. His hand-stitching is absolutely remarkable! The replacement buttons came early this morning. There is still one place that needs a full leather patch, but I don’t have the funds for that at the moment. Fortunately, we still have a while before the snow starts to fly. But seriously, what G is doing with his sewing is seriously impressive!

Kat spent the day chilling and I’m sure she’ll do the same today. Don’t expect that to change too much. She hasn’t said yet whether she will try taking a couple of clients tomorrow. Please, don’t push. We all would much rather she take her time and come back healthy. Pulmonary embolism isn’t something from which one just bounces back. Please, give her space to heal.

You already know what I was doing yesterday. I’m going to miss college football when the season’s over. Yeah, the playoff games sort of extend the season, and then, there are all the bowl games that don’t mean a helluva lot anymore. I don’t have much faith in the playoff committee, though, in selecting the best teams, and there are so many bowl games scattered from mid-December to mid-January that one has to ask the question: why?

IU faced its biggest test yet, defeating Michigan 20-15. Everything the team does from this point forward sets a new record for the program. They still have a couple of rough games to go, and that final game against Purdue is always unpredictable, despite how much Purdue has been disappointing this season. By the way, Purdue embarrassed themselves again, losing at Ohio State, 0-45.

The Florida Gators should have just stayed home. They’re down to starting their third-string QB and it seems that much of the rest of their starters are out with injuries. As a result, Texas ran all over them, 49-17. That score fails to tell just how dominant Texas was. The score was 35-0 at halftime. The entire second-string squad played the second half. Arch Manning was able to run up the score easily, getting in some good play time that will help next year. This Texas program will be one to fear for several seasons.

There were a couple of significant upsets this week. Georgia got caught with their eyes shut and lost to Ole Miss, 28-17. Will that be enough to pull Georgia from playoff contention? Possibly, but there’s another opening on the playoff sheet as Miami lost to Georgia Tech, 28-23. That almost certainly pulls Miami from the playoff brackets. With three weeks left in the season, everything comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes and keeps their starters healthy.

You know that myth about deaths happening in threes? It’s not true, but deaths do often happen in multiples. This morning’s list includes:

I suppose one could make the argument that there are two sets of three, but c’mon, anyone who’s been around the industry will tell you that myth is false.

There are a few other tidbits of news. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived in New York City, pushing the holiday season on everyone whether they want it or not. If you’re even slightly at risk of stroke, you’ll want to know that there are new guidelines for preventing them. Be sure I’m paying extra close attention to that one. There’s also 8 Factors That Can Raise Your Heart Disease Risk. Don’t let these stories slide. Your life could depend on them.

The kids are both awake now, but still being quiet. The dogs have been out, all the animals are fed, and most everyone has settled back down for a morning nap. The rain that moved in overnight is supposed to continue through mid-afternoon. I’ll eat breakfast, take meds, and then probably pass out.

As Sundays go, this one almost feels normal. We know it isn’t, though. Behind the scenes, there are people planning mass immigrant deportations and the elimination of funding for offshore wind energy, among other things. The threats that we’ve talked about all week are still there. We just never know when they might be put into action. My level of trust in anyone is extremely low at this point.

As long as there’s coffee, we’ll survive. If that ever runs out, just go ahead and shoot me.

Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Social Commentary

Sunday Morning Update

November 3, 2024

The One With All The Frills

Sunday, I so wasn’t ready for you yet. Yeah, technically I’m starting an hour later than normal, but what I wanted was something more like two or three hours of extra sleep and that just didn’t happen. No, you woke me up early, notified the cats, and there was no going back after that. We fed all the animals, refreshed the water supply, and made fresh coffee because I’m going to need a lot of it if I keep a civil head about me today. There are some interesting things to talk about, even if you don’t follow football. But first, you need to see this:

Look, I’m never going to be as exciting as a Taylor Swift concert or a Travis Kelce spotting (yeah, he was here; the Chiefs don’t play until Monday night). Still, I think we put things together in a unique way that engages people in a manner that most communication outlets can’t. Namely, we talk about our family. You won’t find that on CNN. Not yet, anyway.

Yesterday was rather quiet around the house, though. Kat left and headed North around 9 and Tipper left with her friends a couple of hours later. G played online games with his friends and I did my best to interrupt as often as possible. I took a nap and then settled in to watch football games. Even the dogs seemed bored with the day, keeping their outside time to a minimum. How do I know the dogs are bored? When they ask to go inside before I’m ready.

While the games we watched were entertaining, some of the more interesting moments were off the field. Jason Kelce smashed a Penn State fan’s phone after the fan called Travis a homophobic slur for dating Ms. Swift. The elder brother’s reaction was quick and severe. Obviously, the Penn State student has never watched the Kelce’s podcast or else he would have known how fiercely the brothers protect each other.

Next, there’s the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) offensive line coach who is likely going to lose his job after having a complete meltdown on the sidelines. Yeah, ULM was losing their game to Marshall (final score 28-23) and yeah, his o-line was playing poorly. Still, that’s absolutely no excuse for his behavior, especially with one of the players. The university is saying they’ll take “disciplinary action,” but the chances of this dude still being employed are slim.

THEN, there was Friday night’s cold-shoulder handshake between the University of Southern Florida’s (USF) Alex Golesh and Florida Atlantic’s Tom Herman. Normally, coaches at least tell each other, “good game,” or something similar. Not this time. FAU had just rolled over USF, 44-21. Golesh didn’t take the defeat well. He barely touched Herman as he passed and kept on walking. Maybe he felt that FAU had unnecessarily run up the score. Maybe it was because this is the second year in a row that USF has lost this game. He’s not saying. Still, someone throw a flag for post-game unsportsmanlike conduct.

All the excitement wasn’t limited to NCAA men’s football, though. The NBA is investigating after the Philadephia Sixers’ Joel Embiid yelled at and then shoved Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes. The Sixers had just lost to the Grizzlies and Hayes had questioned Embiid’s professionalism in a recent article. So, yeah, he was a bit emotional. Is that justification for his action? Nope. He can most likely expect an example-setting fine from the NBA.

Back to football, though. OU finally won a game! Granted, it was against an undersized and underclassed Maine team that, outside of the touchdown on their opening drive, spent most of the rest of the game carrying injured players off the field. I mean, OU was physically bigger which allowed them to steamroll over Maine. This was the first time the two teams have ever met and after this performance, I wouldn’t expect to see a repeat any time soon.

I was deeply concerned about Georgia possibly losing to Florida, though. They were behind by 7 at the half and the rivalry between the two schools is legendary. This is one of those cross-the-border games where one can normally throw out the record books, and for a while, it looked as though this might be the case again this year. UGA came back strong in the second half and ended up winning, 34-20. Still, this wasn’t a pretty game on either side. Looking in the stands, I think there were almost as many Georgia fans in the Jacksonville stadium as there were Florida fans.

The SEC was pretty hot yesterday, overall. Tennessee held off Kentucky, 28-18. South Carolina surprised Texas A&M, 44-20. Ole Miss absolutely ran the fuck over Arkansas, 63-31. And Vanderbilt again showed that it’s no milquetoast, beating Auburn 17-7.

13th-ranked IU still isn’t getting the respect it deserves. They beat Michigan State, 47-10, giving the team its first 9-0 start in the program’s history. Where’s the love? Why the hell is 6-2 Clemson ranked above them, especially after they lost to Lousiville, of all teams, 33-21? Sure, IU hasn’t had the roughest schedule, but look at how they’ve dominated in every game they’ve played! Bring on Ohio State or someone. I’m pretty sure IU can handle them. [We’ll find out November 23]

In fact, I find it rather disingenuous that Notre Dame is getting all the love and support for possibly making the College Football Playoff after that early season loss to Northern Illinois. The two teams haven’t met since 1991, and they’ve never played at Bloomington. All the games between the two teams have been in South Bend. Come on, guys! This is a game that IU needs! This is a game that Indiana needs! I suppose there’s always the chance they could meet in a bowl game or a CFP game, but this should have been a regular-season matchup.

Oklahoma State and Purdue both lost and, at this point, their seasons are effectively over. They’re neither one ending on the positive side of 500.

A couple of teams are likely looking at fines from the NCAA for student behavior. Clemson fans were throwing water bottles onto the field. That’s a HUGE no-no and the students should already know better by this point in the season. South Carolina already knows that they’ll owe Texas A&M $250,000 after their students rushed the field yesterday. Bad behavior seems to be a thing in the SEC and the conference needs to apply more pressure to the schools to get it to stop before serious injury occurs.

Meanwhile, you’ve got to see this to believe it:

Colorado State scores TD … on its own kickoff?! – ESPN Video
Colorado State recovers their kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown to pad its lead in the third quarter.

That’s NOT supposed to happen, but it sure as hell did! It’s these types of things that make college football fun!

There is some non-football news. Today is the New York City Marathon. I know of at least one person from Indy who is among the 50,000 people running. Good luck and stay safe!

The entire New York Times Magazine is worth reading today. Fortunately, they posted some of the articles yesterday or I wouldn’t be done with it yet.

I suppose there’s other stuff, but none of it is going to make your day any better. You’re better off relaxing and enjoying the day with your family, or a good book, or perhaps a favorite movie.

Personally, I’m going to need to take a fistful of meds. The pain this morning is severe and it’s been a struggle trying to type when my body doesn’t want to participate in anything at all. You’d think I’d be accustomed to this by now. Sorry, that doesn’t seem to be happening.

Maybe I’ll make mashed potatoes for dinner or something.

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

Morning Update: 11/01/24

November 1, 2024

Welcome to November! There’s no question that this month is going to be history-making, one way or the other. The question now is what are we going to have to do to survive it? The prospects of a peaceful holiday season look bleak. Gatherings of any type are likely to be fraught with danger as different perspectives, misinformation, and outright lies color our conversations, turning them from casual to caustic. I’m not looking forward to the next week, no matter how the election goes. This could be traumatic.

The good news is that Kat is coming home today. She’s still not feeling great, obviously, but she misses the kids and wants to see how things go with the cats. Small things like walking and eating still tax her. We will be taking extreme care to ensure her safety while she is here. We greatly appreciate all the thoughts and support coming from our friends during this challenge.

Both kids had fun yesterday. One of G’s friends gave him $5 for wearing his heels to school. Unfortunately, one heel broke when he stumbled over something. He “fixed” it with a glue stick and went on with his day. Tipper enjoyed going out with her friends, but they had a difficult time finding anything exciting. She was disappointed in the haunted house they went to, and few people were participating in the trick-or-treat tradition in any of the neighborhoods they went to. The amount of candy she came back with was too small to bother poaching.

We are extremely thankful to the friend who sent an electrician to fix our problem. It turns out that the problem was a mix of old wiring and a space heater that was pulling too much power. One of the lead wires in the breaker box was quite literally melting and showed signs of having been in that condition for quite some time. We are back to normal activity, minus the space heater in G’s room. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish editing all the photos from the past two weeks before anything else distracts us.

There are plenty of other little petty annoyances, of course, but who doesn’t have those in their life? I thought I was buying sugar-free caramels. They weren’t. The cats escaped out the back door. We got them all back. As frustrating as those things can be in the moment, I think they’re part of what colors our existence. They are problems we can generally resolve and even when we can’t, they’re not matters that dramatically impact our lives. We’re entering a period where we could face some dramatic challenges. If we’re to survive, we need to keep the minor things in perspective. Yes, I’m preaching to myself. I’m horrible at this.

You know the world is going nuts when the 2-5 Jets beat the division-leading Texans, 21-13. I watched most of the game. The first half was full of errors, penalties, and blunders. The second half was better with the Jets pulling off some amazing catches. Does this mean the Jets are getting better? Maybe, but I wouldn’t start betting on them just yet. The Texans have a number of key players out due to injury. They had to rely on their third-string left tackle for most of the game, and that inexperience allowed Jets linemen to get into the backfield too easily. A healthy Houston team would have likely run all over their opponents. So, we’ll have to see how the Jets do next week.

More insanity occurred off the basketball court as Charlotte Hornets point guard, LaMelo Ball, knocked the head off an animatronic clown. The clown was slightly hidden as Ball entered the Spectrum Center for practice. The 23-year-old’s reaction has his teammates laughing and poking fun. Yes, there’s video.

The election dominates most of the other headlines. I won’t bother going over all of them, but there are a few things that bother me. One is the degree to which gender has become a critical issue. The felon says that he will “protect women.” Harris shoots back, “Women can think for themselves, thank you.” At the same time, the felon makes anti-trans attacks central to his campaign’s closing argument. The entire GOP has ramped up the anti-trans vitriol. Should Republicans win on any level, the lives of millions of women and transgender people could be in danger.

At the same time, the felon’s fraud claims revive fears he may again seek to overturn election results. This is especially concerning since he has an ally as Speaker of the House. Mike Johnson has been actively campaigning for the felon and he is in a position to prevent the House of Representatives from certifying the election. Johnson could also, in theory, refuse to seat new members of Congress should Democrats make significant gains. So much of what happens after the election is out of the hands of citizens, making protests and lawsuits inevitable.

Yes, this is going to affect your holiday gatherings. There is almost no chance that rhetoric will calm down by Thanksgiving and the winter holidays are at risk. Family gatherings, and conversations around the table, are going to be perilous. One has to think: do I want my children to witness adults behaving worse than toddlers? Maybe this is the year that we diffuse the danger by making our holiday celebrations smaller and more intimate, limiting participation to immediate family members only. Let the arguments, if there are any, be over things like who got the last roll or who spilled the gravy on great-grandma’s tablecloth. We have to begin planning now to create environments that respect boundaries, put differences of opinion aside, and focus on family rather than the snakes in the grass that would tear us apart.

As I said at the beginning, what happens this month will be historical regardless of the outcome. Nothing about this month is business as usual. We’ve selected people to run for office who have no business even managing a small fast-food outlet in the middle of the desert. While I do find VP Harris dramatically preferable over the felon, it is ridiculous to think that her administration wouldn’t be filled with gaffes, mistakes, and errors in judgment. To create real change we need to take over local political parties, replacing power brokers who push incompetent people onto the ballot. From there, we can move up the ladder, replacing party leaders at both the state and federal levels. Only then will there be any genuine change.

Perhaps, if we focus on pumpkin pie recipes and creative ways of working with leftover stuffing, we can avoid letting politics ruin what should be happy moments over the rest of the year. Shut the door on nonsense that you can’t control. Give the system a chance to work, and if it fails, address those matters after the first of the year. They’ll still be there, waiting to ruin people’s lives.

For now, go grab a cup of coffee. Make sure the garbage is out by the curb. Don’t forget to let people know that you love them. Make your weekend pleasurable.

Current Issues / Editorial / Long Read / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / Politics / Social Commentary / Status

Morning Update: 10/28/24

October 28, 2024

Sunday ended up being anything but a day of rest. In fact, I’m typing part of this update Sunday evening because I have no idea what situation I’ll wake up to in the morning. Let’s take the day in somewhat chronological order. We were going quietly through the morning when the power started flickering. At first, it would blink for a second then come right back on. About an hour later, it happened again. Our first reaction was to blame the wind for causing wires to cross somewhere. We really didn’t think it would become a huge problem.

Then, Solaris decided to be destructive and threw my fan off the lamp table, causing it to break. G tried his best to fix it because he was sure that he could, but the fan refused to respond to his life support. I’m going to have to try to sleep listening to all the other sounds tonight.

When the power blinked again, near 1:00, I decided to go ahead and take another nap. I couldn’t watch the Colts game or the Bengals, so I might as well rest. I figured I’d wake up in time for the Washington/Chicago game.

Wrong again. A little after 3:00, I heard sirens, which isn’t unusual. Then, I heard them enter our subdivision, which doesn’t happen as often but does happen. I checked to make sure there was nothing going on in front of the house again, then came back to the room. The dogs wouldn’t leave me alone, though. They knew something outside was wrong. Finally, they convinced me to go outside. Still, I don’t see anything out front. Then, the dogs started barking at the Northeast corner of the fence, on the opposite side of the house. That’s usually a sign that something is happening down the street from us.

As I came around the corner of the house, it was obvious what had the dogs’ attention: six police cars gathered two blocks to our East. Other neighbors were starting to come outside and look, too. I finally got the dogs (mostly Hamilton) to quiet down and it was then that I heard the bullhorn of the SWAT commander telling someone to put down their gun and come out with their hands up. I think the entire neighborhood was holding its breath as we waited. We could see a sniper on a roof and other officers with their rifles trained and ready. An ambulance came in and waited out of range in front of our house. After several tense minutes, the situation was resolved. The ambulance moved in, the cops moved out, and all the neighbors remarked about what a shithole the city has become.

I came back inside and the power was out again. By now, it was staying off long enough that the clocks on the appliances were all blinking. When it came back on, I started my computer back up. Then G started his computer as well. The power immediately went back down. When the power came back, the same thing happened. Then, we noticed that it was only the bedrooms being affected. The washer and dryer were still going. The living room light was still on. That was the heads-up to check the breakers.

I went to check and none of the breakers had flipped. I started turning them off and back on, one at a time, because nothing was marked. After flipping the third one-off, the power came back to the bedrooms. But when G tried powering up his PC, it went back down again.

Bottom line, we have a breaker issue. But, we have questions because this is the original breaker box in a house that’s roughly 80 years old. We have no idea when the breakers or any other wiring might have been updated. There’s no record.

I messaged Kat. Her fever was back up and she was debating going back to the ER. I filled her in and told her to stay in Fishers and not worry about things here. For the moment, she needs to focus on herself, not things here at the house.

I looked at the breaker panel. Do individual breakers have fuses? All that’s visible are the breaker switches. Is there a way to know exactly what I need without turning all the power off to remove the panel cover? I’m going to try to catch our next-door neighbor in the morning. His house is wired similarly to ours and I know he’s completely replaced his breaker box twice. I’m hoping he can give me some answers. I just don’t want the matter to end up on Kat’s plate. She has more than enough right now.

I thought for sure that Chicago had beaten Washington with a last-minute touchdown, and I think they thought the same, but it was not to be. With 25 seconds on the clock, the Commanders’ rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, heaved a 53-yard pass that seemed absolutely impossible. Noah Brown caught it and took it to the end zone. Commanders win, 18-15. I’m going to say it again: Jayden Daniels is the future of the NFL. The kid is amazing. And Chicago? Better luck next week.

Now it’s Monday morning. Everything appears to be okay, at least for the moment. I’m still not turning on my PC until after the kids leave for school. I found a black screen white noise video on YouTube and let that serenade me to sleep, but the cats kept stopping it when they’d jump on the desk. I think I need a better option.

Both kids have PSAT tests this week. G’s is today. He seems relatively ready. Tipper’s is tomorrow. I’m not sure she has a clue what to expect. It will be interesting to see if G’s score differs much from last year. He tests relatively well as long as he is in a quiet room, not being disturbed. Tipper finds tests more of a challenge. In this case, I’m not sure she appreciates what the test is trying to accomplish.

The three primary news sources I check each morning, the Associated Press, Reuters, and the New York Times are all in agreement with their headlines this morning. The Orange Felon’s rally at Madison Square Garden was vile, racist, and misogynistic. Are we surprised or shocked? Of course not. What bothers me is that so many people are comfortable with the rhetoric. With all the emphasis in society on doing away with bullying, why the fuck would we ever consider electing one as president?

Anita Hill has an interesting OpEd in today’s Times, The Smearing of Kamala Harris. Dr. Hill knows a smear job when she sees one. It was her name that was dragged through the mud during the Clarence Thomas Senate hearings all those years ago. As time has passed, we see that she was right to blow the whistle on one of the worst characters to ever sit on the Supreme Court. We should have listened then. Will we listen now?

This morning’s AP-NORC poll shows that US voters are concerned about post-election violence and efforts to overturn the results. I know I’m concerned. I look at how things are going in the Georgian (the country) elections and fear that we are every bit as bad, if not possibly worse, than them. Similar things are happening with elections in Lithuania and Uruguay. The world is a dangerous place and we, citizens of presumably the strongest nation in the world, are doing more to make things worse than better. Foreign threats to the US election are on the rise, and officials are moving faster to expose them, but will that be enough? ‘Take our lives seriously,’ Michelle Obama pleads as she rallies for Kamala Harris in Michigan, but is anyone listening?

Global economy chiefs fret over a Trump return as US election draws closer. The Commercial real estate industry worries over higher taxes as election looms. The GOP is going in heavy on immigrants and trans people, but it’s a South African immigrant who worked in the US illegally who’s leading their charge. None of this makes a damn lick of sense, but one thing is for sure: Your vote does not merely affect the course of the country but of the world. Everyone is going to be looking in our direction for the next two weeks and if we blow it, if we elect a fascist or allow them to commit acts of chaos and destruction, it is democracy as a global ideal, not a national one, that takes the hit. Remember, we set the example. Other countries followed. Are we going to kill the dream we started?

Oh, and if you think the election is the reason gas prices are down, guess again. Oil prices plunged 5% after a limited Israeli retaliatory attack on Iran. There are a number of places where the price at the pump has dropped below $3 a gallon. Don’t give any politician the credit for something they didn’t do.

A Florida woman was found guilty of murder for leaving her boyfriend to die in a suitcase. Ladies, don’t tell me you haven’t at least thought about doing this to an abusive person in your life.

A Lebanese family was holding a Sunday gathering when an Israeli strike toppled their building. There’s no question that the strike illustrates Israel’s willingness to kill significant numbers of civilians in pursuit of a single target. More than 70 people died. Innocent people getting together as a family. And we’re supporting this.

But hey, McDonald’s Quarter Pounder is back on the menu after testing rules out beef patties as an E. coli source. That’s what’s important, isn’t it? What ever would we do without our overpriced fat sources?

Even the weather isn’t cooperating this week. After a beautifully cool autumnal weekend, winds begin picking up tonight, and into tomorrow and we’ll see highs back in the 80s on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, just in time for all that Trick-or-Treating, it’s going to rain on Thursday. I know Tipper’s planning on going to haunted houses with furry friends.

Ugh. I need to get dressed and get the dogs outside. They’ve been calm and quiet so far this morning. They’re about the only thing calm in my universe. Best to try and keep them that way.

And more coffee. I definitely need more coffee.

Current Issues / Morning Update / Personal / pop culture

Morning Update: 10/21/24

October 21, 2024

Did anyone really want to wake up early this morning? I might be tempted to call you a liar if you say you did. Another Monday starts another dry week. Temps today are warmer than usual—plenty of sunshine. There’s rain to our west, but there is little chance of it surviving long enough to even give us a sprinkle. Leaves on trees are about as colorful as they’re going to get this year. And you still have to work.

On the positive side of things, G made it back to Indiana last night. We’ll see him after school and I’m looking forward to his chatter, assuming he’s not completely exhausted. The animals will be happy to greet him, too. His absence has made quite a difference in how everyone behaves.

Kat’s car started throwing codes at her over the weekend and one of them is potentially bad news: The battery pack is dying. She’ll have to take it to a dealership to find out if they can replace single cells in the battery pack or if the whole thing is dead. She was planning to buy another vehicle in January. Having to do so now would be a tremendous hit to finances.

At least yesterday had some interesting football. We’re at that point in the season where injuries are causing good teams to struggle. The Colts managed to beat the hapless Dolphins, 16-10. It wasn’t a terrific game for either team and for a moment in the fourth quarter, it looked as though Miami might mount a comeback. Chiefs beat the 49ers, 28-18 in a Super Bowl rematch that, if we’re honest, was totally disappointing. Statistically, Mahomes is having his worst year ever. San Francisco is struggling to field a healthy team. That the Chiefs are now 6-0 speaks to how good the team is and how lousy the league is at the same time. A late field goal allowed the Lions to give the Vikings their first loss of the season, 31-29. Both teams are playing surprisingly well for the first time in decades. They’re going to make the playoffs interesting. After so many tight games yesterday, can tonight’s games be anything but disappointing? Ravens play the Bucs in Tampa and the Chargers travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. Baltimore and LA are the favorites, but this could be a real snooze fest.

The exciting news comes from the WNBA where the New York Liberty won their first title over the Lynx, 67-62 in overtime. Of course, it’s the WNBA so the officiating is being blamed for affecting the outcome of the game. Still, it was one of the most exciting basketball games we’re likely to see this year. The men will have to actually work hard for once if they want to be as entertaining.

And, because we’re in that time of the year, there’s baseball news worth mentioning. It will be the Yankees versus the Dodgers in the World Series. Again. This is the 12th time the two teams have met in the World Series, going back to 1941. The rivalry is almost as old as the leagues. Jet lag plays a strong role in how the visiting teams play. If you can stand to watch baseball on television (I can’t), this could be a decent series.

The rest of this morning’s news is boring by comparison. Here are a few headlines.

US convenience stores look abroad for the secret to decent food. They’re fast becoming an alternative to traditional fast food.
Israel’s wars are expensive. Paying the bill could force tough choices. This is the result of win-at-all-cost thinking. No one wins.
Musk offers voters $1 million a day to sign a PAC petition backing the Constitution. Is that legal? In an age where people can now gamble on the outcome of elections, it’s questionable.
Lionel Richie likens touring to vacation as he announces Europe shows. WTF? Maybe the musician needs to cut back his activities at home if the chaotic schedule of touring is considered a break.
New cases of political violence roil the U.S. ahead of a contentious election. This is sheer stupidity. You don’t get to force your views on others. Remember when people kept quiet about how they were voting? Let’s go back to that.
These are the 21 best types of American cheese. Because everyone needs to know, don’t they?

I’d list more, but you might fall asleep reading them.

Sunrise is sneaking up on us. I suppose it’s time to start looking around for something that resembles motivation. Maybe I’ll find it under the covers.

Or in another cup of coffee.

Current Issues / Morning Update / Personal / pop culture

Morning Update: 10/20/24

October 20, 2024

Every morning, shortly after waking up, I have to answer the question that determines the direction of the day: How much am I going to care? I often go to bed thinking that I care a great deal, full of ideas for how I might comment on the day’s activities. Yet, by the time I sit down at the desk the next morning and am ready to write, my opinions are likely to be quite different. I’m struggling this morning. There are a number of things that I could talk about, probably should mention, and opine upon. Motivation escapes me. I want waffles. I want to go back to bed.

Tipper had a great time yesterday at the furry meet-up at Riverside Park. She brought home the shell of a big-assed furry head that goes down over her shoulders! She also brought home all the leftover soda. What is the sweetest thing, though, is that she won a raffle for a hat with mushrooms painted on the crown and ivy on the brim. In her opinion, it’s a “cowboy” hat and she couldn’t wait to give it to me when she got home. It’s actually a wide-brimmed fedora, and I’m not sure where or when I will ever wear it, but it’s a gift of love that I’ll cherish.

G starts the trek back home from Florida today. We won’t see him until after school tomorrow, though. They’ll get in late enough that it makes more sense for him to go to school with his friend. I’m hoping that he’s not too tired to answer all the questions that I’ve been saving up for him. Kat and I have missed having him around. The cats have missed having him to snuggle. It will be good for him to be home.

Kat felt some better yesterday, enough that I didn’t need to go with her to the salon. She’s still struggling, though, and this constant pattern of getting over one illness only to catch another is wearing heavily on her. There are too many days where it’s impossible for her to keep down anything solid. I wish I could give her a giant box of good health, but that’s not in my bag of tricks.

I’m looking at the weather maps this morning and we’ve got this stupid high-pressure system sitting over the entire Ohio Valley that’s keeping our days warm and sunny, but also very, very dry. Be careful with your autumn bonfires, please. There might be the slightest chance of scattered showers on Friday, and temperatures will cool down starting Tuesday, but I don’t see anything that’s going to give us the drought relief we need. Hurricane Oscar became a reality yesterday, but it’s too early to tell how it’s going to impact us, if at all. At the moment, it’s giving Cuba hell, which they didn’t need after their power grid failed this week.

College football was interesting in places, and disappointing in Oklahoma. Both the Sooners and the Cowboys lost. At least the Oklahoma State game was close, but OU is looking as though they forgot how to play the game. WTF happened? They both started the season strong, but there’s no wind in their sails now.

Likewise, Purdue lost to number two-ranked Oregon Friday night, 35-0. I’m not sure that many people in Indiana care anymore, though, because IU absolutely slaughtered Nebraska yesterday afternoon, 56-7. This whole going undefeated thing is new for Indiana, and it’s giving some rise to questioning why the team is still ranked so low. They’re not only winning, but they’re doing so by large margins against teams that have previously taken them to the woodshed. I think it’s about time they started getting some credit.

Most of the other top 25 teams handled their games well enough, but where there were exceptions there were some amazing games. Number 6-ranked Miami held on to beat Louisville, 52-45, but they had to work hard to get there. The unranked Louisville team was out for blood from the first kickoff and were it not for a litany of mistakes they might have won.

Both Army and Navy are still undefeated which is as remarkable as IU’s record. One has to go wayyyyyyyy back in the records to find the last time this happened. Next month’s Army/Navy game is going to be hot!

The game everyone is talking about this morning is number 5-ranked Georgia knocking off #1 Texas, 30-15, and let me tell you, it was never that close. After a scoreless first quarter, Georgia spent the second quarter intercepting balls and scoring touchdowns. It got so bad, that Texas pulled starting quarterback Quinn Ewers and replaced him with redshirt freshman Arch Manning. That helped, but it wasn’t enough to get them past a Georgia defense that owned the line of scrimmage for the entire game. UGA coach Kirby Smart felt that they were having to play against the officials the entire game, and to be fair, 23 penalties in the first half is a lot of yellow flags floating around. Then, there was a reversed call on an interception after Texas fans threw water bottles onto the field. Again, Smart was pissed. “Now, we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said. “And that’s unfortunate because, to me, that’s dangerous. That’s not what we want, and that’s not criticizing officials. That’s what happened.” Be careful bringing up this game around the coffee pot this morning. There are still some hurt feelings out there.

Kirby Smart bashes officiating: ‘They tried to rob us!’ – ESPN Video
Georgia coach Kirby Smart praises his team’s resilience and bashes the officiating in their win over Texas.

Now, let me add a few things for those of you who aren’t football fans.

The Holocaust’s grandchildren are speaking now. Generational trauma is the topic. The current war isn’t helping any.

Boeing workers to vote on new wage deal that could end strike. Boeing is making a slightly better wage deal, but don’t expect it to be enough.

Judges punishing Jan. 6 rioters say they fear more political violence as Election Day nears. This is insane behavior one normally expects from underdeveloped, undereducated countries. Can a complete collapse of our governmental system be that far behind?

Those are really serious topics, though, and do you want to be that serious today? I know I don’t. This recipe for pork chile verde looks interesting. I just don’t need the rice. And someone needs to come wash the dishes.

I am surrounded by orange cats. One behind me, one on the armrest, and one on the desk. I think they’re looking for a brain cell. There are none here.

And I’m not sharing my coffee.

Current Issues / Holidays / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal / science / Social Commentary

Morning Update: 10/14/24

October 14, 2024

What a difference a day makes; twenty-four little hours. Fall break is over, but that doesn’t mean both kids are heading back to school. G will be in Florida until next Sunday. They arrived yesterday without incident. He told Kat that he didn’t see “that much” damage. That means the biggest danger he’s likely to face down there is ‘gators. I was so concerned about the storms that I didn’t think to warn him about the giant reptiles and their ability to hide in seemingly harmless bodies of water. So, now I’ll worry about getting him back in one piece.

Yesterday involved a couple of interesting conversations with Tipper as well. Since G won’t be here to take the bus with her in the morning, we gave her a can of pepper spray to carry. That required plenty of instruction and warnings against spraying it into the wind. She has to turn it in at the school when she gets there and pick it back up before heading home. We’re hoping she never has reason to use it, but statistics say she will. There was also a conversation about mammograms that Kat fielded beautifully. A friend of Kat’s discovered last week that she has breast cancer. As we were discussing that, Tipper asked about “that thing that squishes them.” Kat was straightforward but gentle in her wording. We’ve had too many friends diagnosed with various forms of the disease this year to ignore the questions.

Then, it had to turn around and get cold. The wind was strong yesterday as the cold front moved in. By this morning, the thermometer was reading 48 degrees. No, it’s not really cold, but we’ve been accustomed to 80-degree days for so long that the contrast feels dramatic. Today’s high won’t get above 60 and by Wednesday, there’s a decent chance of frost. I’m avoiding getting the heavy coat out just yet, though. I layered a hoodie with my lightweight jacket when I took the dogs out this morning. While I’m ready for fall, I’m not ready for the added pain that comes with the cold.

I’m a little pissed that the NFL wouldn’t let me watch the Washington/Baltimore game on Prime yesterday. For some stupid reason, it was blocked here. I never have understood the NFL’s blackout policies. They don’t make a damn bit of sense. Baltimore ended up winning, 30-23. But hey, the Colts won over the Titans, 20-17! That’s more of a comment on how poorly the Titans are playing than anything special the Colts did to win. The game could have gone either way. There were a couple of absolute routs. The Lions completely crushed the Cowboys, 47-9. The folks in Dallas need to be ashamed of that performance and should probably give ticketholders their money back. Steelers whomped the Raiders in Vegas, making those overpriced tickets seem ridiculous. And what the Bucs did to the Saints was anything but holy, taking them out with a score of 51-27. The Bills take on the Jets tonight and if Buffalo doesn’t win by at least two touchdowns I’ll be shocked.

Sadly, not everything is fun and games. Reuters is reporting that the US is sending to anti-missile system and troops to Israel. You read that correctly. We’re putting boots on the ground in an escalating war that has no equitable outcome. This comes as Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen accused UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon of being a “useless” force. Why? Because they won’t brutally slaughter every person they encounter? This has seriously become the most disgusting war of our lifetime.

China’s acting like a jackass as well. China sent 125 military aircraft in exercises aimed at Taiwan in a single-day record, Taiwan says. Taiwan is holding firm to the belief that China had “no right to represent” the island. Should China get too aggressive, both Japan and the US are likely to become involved. China should stop and consider that outcome for a moment. Japan hasn’t been involved in any conflict since WWII. We wouldn’t let them. Now, China’s aggression against Taiwan is also a threat to Japan. Don’t expect Japan to play nice. They’ve been waiting.

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson win the Nobel Prize for Economics. They studied what caused some countries to succeed while others failed. The question is whether anyone outside of the Nobel Committee will pay any attention to their findings.

Indigenous Peoples Day hits a bit differently this year as many tribes are pushing people to get out and vote. In 2020, tribal voting is what pivoted Arizona for Biden. This year, the effort to get indigenous people to vote is even stronger and there are several states in which a strong turnout could cause a decisive difference.

Meanwhile, research is now saying that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe. I’m not sure that has any bearing on the fact that he was a murderous SOB. I’m willing to forget he ever existed.

There’s some other stuff. Meteorologists are facing harassment and death threats amid disinformation about the recent hurricanes. Why? Because people are fucking stupid and believing GOP lies. Fisher-Price Recalls 2 Million ‘Snuga Swings’ After Five Infant Deaths. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission isn’t all that convinced that the recall will do any good. And you should Stop Carving a Hole at the Top of Your Jack-o’-lantern. Unless you have squirrels, in which case it really doesn’t matter because they’re going to eat the damn thing anyway.

If that wasn’t enough, it’s Monday. Not a damn thing we can do about that.

Perhaps, more coffee.

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 / 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.

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

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?

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

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?

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

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.

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?

Morning Update / Personal / pop culture

Morning Update: 09/15/24

September 15, 2024

COVID EDITION

News flash: in case the headline didn’t give it away, I tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday afternoon. I’m feeling so sick that I was only able to watch parts of two games yesterday, and one of those was severely disappointing. So, we’re going to look at the most important scores (in my opinion), I’ll link you to a long read from NYT Magazine, and then I’m going back to bed.

There were still a number of routs in the top 25, but none upset me more than Notre Dame running all over Purdue, 66-7. After losing to Northern Illinois last week, I fully expected the game to at least be close. Nope, not at all. Notre Dame was on a mission to get their confidence back and that game should have done it very well. The question now is where Purdue goes from here. Normally, I might say that one loss on the season isn’t that bad, but holy hell, they didn’t even score a fucking field goal until the fourth quarter! Penalties and turnovers plagued the game as well. I went to bed at the half because I didn’t need the stress.

Does IU actually have a football team this year? It would certainly seem that way as they just stomped all over UCLA, 42-13. When the fuck was the last time IU football started the season 3-0? Is there even anyone alive who still remembers? The game wasn’t broadcast on anything that I could stream, but I may have to start looking around for sources if they’re going to make this season interesting.

Oklahoma teams continued to dominate. Oklahoma State stomped poor little Tulsa, 45-10. It’s almost unfair to put Tulsa up against a Division 1 school of any kind. I think I was in high school the last time they even came close to having a team that could keep up. OU gave Tulane a headache, 34-19. I doubt the win is going to give OU much of a boost in the polls, though. Tulane isn’t exactly a football powerhouse and with plenty of others in the top 25 racking up considerably higher scores, OU doesn’t come off looking like the strongest team in the conference.

The other game that surprised me was Georgia/Kentucky. Georgia won 13-12, but damn was that a nail-biter. The question being asked this morning is whether that was too lackluster of an effort on the Bulldogs’ part to keep them in the number 1 seat this week.

You know who’s going to expect to be number 1? Texas. It’s not so much that they stomped poor little UTSA 56-7, but the fact that they lost their starting quarterback and still won. How did that happen? It might be because coming off the bench was none other than Arch Manning. That’s right, there’s another Manning in the pipeline. Five of those touchdowns are his. Five. Coming in cold. We’ve seen this before as both of his uncles quickly ran through college and straight to the pros. Just go ahead and try to not confuse him with his grandfather.

Tennessee whomped Kent State, 71-0. This might be a good time to question why the Top 25 teams are still playing out-of-conference nobodies. First two weeks, I can understand. It can take a couple of weeks for a team to gel. Everyone should have their act together by now, though. I’m ready to see some real football with low scores and a lot of effort.

There should be a few good games next week. Tennessee gets OU and I’m not sure that the Sooners are ready to ride that train. Purdue is at Oregon State, so perhaps they can make a decent comeback. But Texas gets UL Monroe. WTF? They’ve proven they have the power, give them someone who can stand up to them! Utah comes to Stillwater to set up a 12vs13 matchup, but I’m not sure Utah has any clue what they’re getting themselves into. That Cowboy crowd can be rough. The Hoosiers get Charlotte in Bloomington and … am I wrong to be skeptical about IU going 4-0?

I’m seriously not sure if I’m going to be awake for any of the pro games this afternoon. There are some decent matchups, but I’m not feeling invested enough to sit here and cough up a lung for 2-3 hours.

If you’re looking for something to do until game time, though, consider this interview with Demi Moore. If you’re of an age where you remember her as a low-voiced sexy actress, this may make you uncomfortable. It’s a good read that’s well worth your time.

I’m done. That’s about all I can handle today. OJ is being delivered. I’m going back to bed or something.

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

Morning Update: 09/13/24

September 13, 2024

Friday the 13th Edition

Welcome to one of the most dreaded days of the year (by some)! Those who are superstitious are likely staying in bed today if they can, or being extremely careful if they can’t. I do want to put something to rest quickly, though: THERE IS NO FRIDAY THE 13TH IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR. I’ve seen the memes going around since June. They’re wrong. There is a supermoon, but the 13th lands on a Sunday next month. I know some were hoping for a super spooky Halloween season, but that particular element isn’t happening. If you are a spooky-oriented person, celebrate today instead.

Only one person gave me any direct feedback on yesterday’s video edition, and views were down compared to other days this week. I think, at least for today, we’ll mix it up a bit, giving video coverage where it makes sense, but going ahead and typing out the rest. There was some mention that some of the videos were blocked for some people. I don’t understand that at all. Most of the videos came from YouTube and should have been available to everyone. For them to be blocked doesn’t make any sense.

Kat is still quarantined. Queen Bit and Fat Guy have been taking care of her, Bit insisting on lying on her head most of the day. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to cure, but she’s definitely committed to the task. At least no one here is running to AI for medical advice. According to this morning’s Times, many Americans are taking the advice of AI chatbots for medical information. The primary reason is that it takes too long to see an actual doctor. But, of course, the question immediately raised is whether the advice is accurate. The answer is obvious: not always. Go see a real, living, breathing doctor before doing anything stupid.

Can we stop with the Springfield-related memes already? Yeah, I’ve seen some cute ones, but the issue is that they’re causing problems. Here’s your first video of the day.

As much as anything, this is a clear example of the degree to which words do matter, and Republicans such as the Orange Felon and his idiotic running mate don’t seem to care. If anything, they’re delighting in the chaos because it keeps bringing people back to the concept that immigrants are ruining the country. They’re not. They’re not ruining Europe, either. Immigration is not out of control. This is clear fear-mongering from the GOP. In the case of Springfield, they need immigrants. So, let’s just cancel the memes, okay?

Of course, the big news of the day is that 33,000 Boeing factory workers went on strike after rejecting the contract offer. This is going to put a big dent in Boeing’s cash flow as it means they can’t deliver the 737s that airlines have ordered. Boeing is already cash-strapped thanks to its multiple failures this year. They really can’t afford to let this strike go much longer than the weekend, and even then the ripple effect is going to cause numerous problems for the company. Boeing workers have put up with a lot of flack and no small amount of bullshit of late. This is their first work stoppage since 2008. The folks in Boeing’s C-Suite need to get their act together and end this strike quickly.

I totally forgot that there was a football game last night. I can’t believe that I let that slip my mind. I was in bed shortly after 9:00 anyway, and the Bills pretty much handled the Dolphins without any problem. No one is terribly surprised by that. There was some drama, though. Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion after hitting his head on the turf. This was a scary moment for Dolphins fans as much of the team’s hopes for this season ride on the quarterback’s abilities. There have been a number of problems with the turf in various stadiums already this season. If you were watching the Colts/Texans game last Sunday, you saw both quarterbacks plagued with slipping on Lucas Oil’s new turf. There were plenty of complaints at other stadiums as well. None of the teams want to lose their highly-paid star players to an injury. But can the problem even be addressed now that the season is underway?

Time for another video. This one is actually a little frightening in my opinion.

Considering that North Korea isn’t supposed to have any nukes at all makes this a slap directly in the face of the UN and its member countries. Why should this bother us? First of all, the world does not need another nuclear power, especially not one controlled by a family of power-hungry deranged lunatics. No one trusts a nuclear-equipped North Korea to not attempt a takeover of South Korea. Most critical, though, is the Russian factor. Putin has been under increasing pressure to utilize the country’s nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Among the multiple problems with that idea, including the fact that fallout would likely blowback over Russia, is that their nuclear arsenal is decades old and operates on what is now horribly obsolete technology that hasn’t been tested since the 1980s. However, European intel is saying that Russia has a new kamikaze drone. Putin’s been getting cozy with North Korea’s Kim of late. If Russia were to put brand new North Korean nukes on kamikaze drones, it could spell danger for all of Eastern Europe, including several NATO countries. Now, see why this is really a big deal?

There is some interesting moon-related news this morning. On one hand, New research suggests the moon had active volcanoes when dinosaurs roamed Earth. Granted, this was millions of years ago, but it’s still important as it may mean that underground deposits of both water and magma may still exist. This could be extremely important if anyone wants to actually attempt colonizing the moon.

However, the Times is reporting that a new mini-moon is being captured by Earth’s gravity. There are a couple of caveats here. First, what scientists are tracking is an extremely small space rock. So small, that you wouldn’t likely be able to see it with the naked eye. Second, not everyone agrees that it’s a moon. Again, size matters, but so does the shape of its orbit, which is still up for questioning. Nonetheless, it would be exciting, in my opinion, if Earth were to join the collection of cool planets that have more than one moon. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Who knows, maybe the little rock will grow!

Locally, it’s looking as though the drought across much of Indiana is going to continue. Any rain effect from Tropical Storm Francine is going to be limited to the Southwestern part of the state, leaving the rest of us hot and dry for at least the next week. This is unusual since September is normally a fairly wet month. Without any rain, fall foliage is going to suck. Already, I’m seeing the leaves on trees in our neighborhood beginning to turn brown. Belvedere’s been digging holes to lie in because the surface ground is too hot. This is not a good sign at all.

Fortunately, there’s football tomorrow. The big game for everyone in Indiana is Purdue vs. Notre Dame. Purdue is 2-0 and ND is coming off a devestating loss to Northern Illinois last week. This in-state rivalry is always a big game, but this year it could possibly determine how the rest of the season goes for both teams. The winner gets a shove forward in the polls, which is important come bowl time. The loser could be down for the count, especially if it’s Notre Dame. Either way, we’re looking forward to an exciting game tomorrow afternoon.

I need to eat breakfast and then probably take a nap. Or two. Maybe three. Or four. Never underestimate my napping ability.

Nor my need for MORE COFFEE!!

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

Morning Update: 09/09/24

September 9, 2024

This is going to be one of those weeks where how you dress in the morning isn’t going to be comfortable by midday. We’re at that time of year, and I’m more grateful this year than I was last year that I’m not covering anyone’s Fashion Weeks this fall. The pace and the hours would kill me. Malia Obama’s choice of Vivienne Westwood for her red carpet look in Paris is pretty smart, but few of us “normal” people have red carpets to walk, so we might want to be more careful about our choices. The kids, of course, chose slightly heavier hoodies than the ones they normally wear.

Kat is having to take the kids to school this morning. The IndyGo bus that normally picks them up was already full by the time it arrived at their stop. Waiting for the next bus an hour later would make them late for school. Over-capacity buses along school routes are a known issue that IndyGo seems to be ignoring. Drivers have complained. Riders have complained. I’m not sure what it’s going to take to get additional buses on the street, but something needs to be resolved quickly. Looks like I’ll be making another complaint this morning.

We survived the first Sunday of NFL football, which may be more than we can say for some coaches. I didn’t expect the Colts to win, so I’ve nothing bad to say about their two-point loss to Houston. They kept it close, which is saying something against a team that is already getting Super Bowl chatter. The Cowboys actually won against the Browns, which is a damn good thing given how much the team is paying Dak Prescott now. The Bears pulled off an impressive win against the Titans after being down 17-3 at the half. And the Dolphins stayed close enough to win the game on a last-second field goal against the Jags. You’ll hear a lot of armchair quarterbacking this morning, but don’t buy it. The first-week strategy for every team is pretty much, “Let’s try this and see what happens.” They’ll make adjustments and hopefully, next week will be different.

Emotionally, this could be a tough week for a lot of people. Questions are being raised as to whether or not the Apalachee school shooting might have been prevented. While the newly installed panic buttons helped alert police to a problem, questions now center around whether the entire incident could have been prevented. Of course, the ultimate prevention would have been to not give the child the gun in the first place, but no one wants to talk about that.

Tuesday is the big debate between the two major-party presidential candidates. Their approaches are vastly different and their histories could make this one of the most entertaining debates we’ve seen in many years. In the background, though, lies the fact that the Orange Felon is threatening to jail his adversaries if he wins. Be prepared for there to be a lot of emotion on both sides and the rhetoric will be impossible by Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning, however, brings another set of emotions with it as we once again recognize the anniversary of the 9/11 bombings. Activities have morphed some over the years. The children who lost their parents that day are now adults and bring their own unique feelings to the commemorative events. The day inevitably stirs emotions for us much as December 7 did for our parents and grandparents. We can only hope that those born after that day will never have such an experience of their own.

If you’re a fan of discount stores, you may be sad to learn that Big Lots is declaring bankruptcy. I don’t think anyone familiar with the store’s history is surprised. Private equity firm Nexus Capital is acting as the stalking horse bidder. No mention has been made yet whether any stores will be closed. That likely will be the decision of whoever buys the company.

Police are under scrutiny yet again after Miami police handcuffed and detained Dolphins RB Tyreek Hill and defensive tackle Calais Campbell early Sunday morning. While those involved are being careful to not yell racism, after the arresting officer was placed on leave it’s difficult to not imagine anything else being at the center of the problem. That problems such as this keep happening shows how little is being done to correct a problem that’s been in the news for several years now. More needs to happen.

I’m not even sure what to think about the entire Middle East situation this morning. It’s a mess. On one hand, Israeli strikes in Syria left 14 dead and more than 40 wounded. Israel says they were only acting in retaliation for Syrian involvement in the war with Hamas. Syria says those killed were civilians. Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights chief asked countries to act on what he called Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. Uhm, stoking the fire there much? Comments like that aren’t going to push either side toward accepting a cease-fire anytime soon.

If you thought Tim Ballard of Operation Underground Railroad was an anti-trafficking good guy, you may want to think again. A number of women are accusing him of being a predator. This seems to be a pattern for conservatives who use non-profit organizations to hide their devious acts. The Latter-day Saints church last September denounced Mr. Ballard’s “morally unacceptable” activities in a statement to VICE News, which had published a series of stories raising questions about the nonprofit’s operations. At least ten women have come forward. You’ve been warned.

Speaking of nefarious conservative action, there’s an interesting opinion piece in this morning’s Times on how the state of Tennessee is preventing at least half a million people from voting. “About 9 percent of the state’s voting-age population is prohibited from voting because of felony convictions. And the effects are particularly acute among the Black population, with an astonishing 21 percent of Black adults barred from voting — the highest rate in the country.” This is shameful. This is racist as hell. And this is not surprising.

The Times also has an interesting test for you. Can you tell the difference between real videos and those generated by AI? This is going to be an increasingly difficult issue and our perception of what is real is in jeopardy.

It’s only Monday and we already need a break. This could be a long week.

Grab your coffee mug and hold on.

Morning Update / Personal

Morning Update: 09/08/24

September 8, 2024

Nothing But Trouble [2011 original with AI background]

Yesterday was a good day to stay indoors and watch football if you could. I laid down a little after 4:00, thinking that Iowa was going to run over Iowa State (they didn’t) only to be awakened around 6:00 by kids complaining that the power was out. At first, Kat thought it might be a billing problem. AES has been transferring over to a digital payment method this week and not everything has gone well. As it turned out, though, the outage was considerably larger. Over 750 customers were affected as power didn’t return until 7:30. By that time, all the mid-afternoon games were over, and late games were starting.

I had to turn on the heat in the house this morning as the temperature inside dropped to 64. Outside, it’s a chilly 43 at the moment, but still too warm for any frost to appear around the yard. The dogs are showing no interest in going outside. The bed is safe and warm. If anything, they’re more likely wondering why I’m not up there with them.

So, we might as well talk football. Everyone we wanted to win, did. IU took Western Illinois, 77-3. Ohio State played pretty much everyone on the team as they beat Western Michigan 56-0. Georgia trounced Tennessee Tech 48-3. Tennessee took care of NC State 51-10 in a game that had far too many penalties. And Oklahoma squeaked by Houston, 16-12.

The day’s nail-biter, at least for me, was Oklahoma State’s win over Arkansas in double overtime, 39-31. Despite the fact that Oklahoma and Arkansas are neighbors, being in different conferences has prevented them from playing each other very often. OSU hadn’t played them in over 40 years. This was a big game for both teams. Right from the start Arkansas came out with two touchdowns in the first quarter. With the score 21-7 at the half, I was preparing myself to be disappointed. The Pokes came back, though, and tied the game, sending the whole mess into overtime. Two missed field goals defined the first OT. On their second possession, though, OSU took the ball into the endzone and scored the two-point conversion, then held Arkansas scoreless. It was a happy day in Stillwater, and I assume my baby brother was relieved. He still hasn’t said anything about the game.

The game that caught the nation off guard, of course, was Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois, 14-16. That was not the outcome anyone other than Northern Illinois expected and has the New York Times asking if Notre Dame’s football season is over. Northern Illinois was a 28-point underdog going into the game. By all accounts, this shouldn’t have been a close game at all. But the team that Notre Dame put on the field didn’t look like the same one that beat Texas A&M last week. Suffering through an error-filled game, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw an interception with 5:55 left while holding a 14-13 lead, NIU drove 31 yards in 11 plays and got a 35-yard field goal from Kanon Woodill to take the lead with 31 seconds left. A long field goal attempt by Notre Dame fell outside the goalposts. The game was over and a large number of Catholics were, once again, severely disappointed. I’m sure the cold air feels especially bitter in South Bend this morning.

The bulk of NFL teams are playing today after Kansas City beat Baltimore, 27-20 on Thursday and the Eagles beat the Packers 34-29 in Brazil on Friday. Today, we’ll see if the Colts have what it takes to beat Houston. The Texans hold a slight edge if you’re placing bets, but the roof will be open at Lucas Oil Stadium and the crowd will be loud. I’m hoping the game is at least close. A shutout would spell bad news and Indianapolis fans are notoriously fickle when the Colts lose.

The dogs finally decided they needed to go out. Hamilton was terribly disappointed that he wasn’t able to catch the squirrel before it scampered up a tree. I tried telling him that Notre Dame fans feel the same. He just looked at me like I’m crazy.

Let’s just enjoy our coffee, shall we?

Current Issues / Morning Update / News & Comment / Personal

Morning Update: 09/06/24

September 6, 2024

Welcome to Friday! Is it just me or does it seem that Labor Day was a month ago, not just five days? The week has been long and trying for a number of people. Personally, I spent most of yesterday alone and in bed. I didn’t know when Kat left for work, and since the kids went to the salon after school, I didn’t know when any of them came in last night. The dogs were quite willing to spend the day in bed with me, getting up only when they picked up on Police cars outside. Exactly how they know that without looking out the window, I don’t know. One was giving a neighbor a parking ticket for having their vehicle parked over the sidewalk. I’m not sure what the second was doing as they left before we could get outside. I guess all the real crimes have sufficient manpower if they’re out writing petty tickets for non-crimes.

The only thing I expect to be different about today is that the temperatures will be cooler. There’s an off chance of a random rain shower, but looking at things this morning, I think it’s all going to stay primarily to our North. Even if we do see a few drops hitting the ground, it will be so little that it won’t put a dent in the moderate drought conditions we’re currently facing. With no rain and temperatures yo-yo-ing up and down, the outlook for a brightly-colored autumn diminishes. Leaves are more likely to go straight to brown, eliminating the colorful fall foliage that everyone enjoys.

There’s not a lot in the news that’s worth talking about, either. The father of the shooter at Apalachee High School has been arrested and charged with murder. Police are saying that he knowingly allowed his son to take the weapon that killed four people on Wednesday. For a moment yesterday, it appeared as if the shooter’s extended family was willing to come to his defense, but all of those posts and articles have since been deleted, raising the question as to whether they were legitimate in the first place. Probably the most important article regarding the shooting is this piece from the Associated Press on How to talk with kids about school shootings and other traumatic events. Then, notice the silence from your politicians. “Thoughts and prayers” is about all they’re saying. That means nothing is going to change and more children and teachers will die because of their cowardness.

The first NFL game of the season was last night and, at least on paper, the Chiefs won, 27-20. Every sportscaster outside of Kansas City is questioning that win, though. A Ravens’ last-second touchdown was nullified in a move that culminated a night of hard-nosed and questionable officiating. Before the game, the NFL issued a memo stating that certain rules would be judged harshly. Those judgments affected the Ravens much more than they did the Chiefs. While all the complaints are likely to fall on deaf ears, if this kind of officiating proceeds into Sunday’s games, fans could deliver a severe financial blow to the NFL by turning away from the sport.

If there was ever any question as to whether the Orange Felon was lying about January 6, 2021, the truth is being exposed in court. All the collusion, deceit, and blatant efforts to overturn the election are being laid out clearly. What’s being presented in courts is a story that not even NPR has picked up. Anyone who votes for the Felon after seeing all this evidence can only be considered a traitor to the Constitution.

Teenage E-Cigarette Use Drops to a 10-Year Low.

Surprising New Research Links Infant Mortality to Crashing Bat Populations.

What happens to priests who are accused or convicted of abuse? They end up here.

I’m not expecting much news over the weekend, either. This is the time of year that tends to be historically boring. Sure, there have been exceptions, such as 2001, but overall September is usually a good time to take vacation. I won’t, of course, but don’t expect there to be as much to talk about.

Which is fine. That leaves more time for coffee.

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

Morning Update: 09/01/24

September 1, 2024

Once Upon A Car [2013 original with AI background]

Saturdays that can be chill moments for everyone are good for the soul. No one was rushing around to get out the door early. Everyone was able to move at their own pace. G worked on a sewing project he started earlier this week in the sewing club. Tipper went over to a friend’s house and hung out most of the afternoon/evening. Kat went to work around 11:30 and then to Brandon’s for the weekend. I got to watch football. If every Saturday this fall can be as restful, we’ll all be a lot healthier. The only one who’s being ornery is Frankie, the smashed-face wheezer kitty, who is determined to either sit directly behind me in my office chair, or directly in front of the monitor while I’m typing. Right now, he’s nudging my coffee cup, encouraging me to get a refill so he can take my seat.

Football was exactly what one would expect from the first game of the season. Everyone who was supposed to win, all the top-ranked teams, pretty much blew out their opponents. OU and Oklahoma State both won. IU and Purdue both won. Georgia and Tennessee both won. None of those games were even close past the first quarter. I was a little surprised that UCLA seemed to have a rough time with Hawai’i, winning with one of the lower scores of the day, 16-13. And how the hell did tiny little Abilene Christian manage to stay so close to Texas Tech? Tech won, barely, 52-51. A score like that indicates that neither team had any defense on the field. I kinda felt sorry for Akron’s starting QB. Akron got a 3-0 jump on Ohio State in the first quarter, but then OSU came roaring back and was absolutely pummeling Akron’s QB. After only four plays into the third quarter, the poor dude limped off the field, never to return to the game. I would imagine he’s reconsidering his career choices this morning. Ah, football.

Speaking of football, it’s the first Sunday in September. Why the hell aren’t the pro teams playing today? Oh, I get it, it all has to do with where the season ends and how the playoff games hit the calendar. Still, it seems odd to not have any pro games to watch today. Of course, San Francisco is probably happy about that after rookie Ricky Pearsall was shot during an attempted robbery yesterday afternoon. Pearsall’s in stable condition this morning and the 17-year-old assailant is in jail.

Someone tried calling me at 11:36 last night. I was so dead asleep that I never heard the phone ring, which is saying something since the ringer was set high while Tipper was out. Local number, not in my contacts list. If that is you, please let me know. My guess, however, is that it was a wrong number.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the hot seat this morning after the bodies of six hostages were recovered. Evidence shows that the hostages were all killed shortly before they might have been rescued. Israelis are blaming Netanyahu for not having signed an earlier cease-fire that would have returned the hostages while they were still alive. It seems the world has grown tired of this senseless war. It’s time for the whole thing to end.

There’s a deeply disturbing story in the Sunday Times. Acadia Healthcare has been holding people against their will to maximize insurance payout. Acadia operates a chain of psychiatric hospitals. Their patients are essentially held captive until the hospital decides to let them go. Attempting to leave a psych hospital without proper authorization can get a person arrested in most states. This gives Acadia the leverage they need to hold patients longer than legitimate treatment would require. The story leaves me wondering just how many other psych hospitals utilize the same method. I’m thinking a nationwide investigation is necessary to get to the bottom of the issue.

Labor Day weekend is when we allegedly celebrate the working person and the advantages brought to the workforce by organized labor. Our adoption of the 5-day, 40-hour workweek was a fundamental change for workers around the world. We may be losing our edge, though. Japan wants its hardworking citizens to try a 4-day workweek. As hardworking as US people are, Japanese workers break the scale. They even have a phrase (that doesn’t translate well) for working yourself to death. If Japan ends up embracing the 4-day workweek, that will put pressure on all other industrialized nations, including the US, to match the schedule. While a few US companies have tried adding an extra day to the weekend or other variations, no major company has fully adopted the concept and stayed with it. We’ll all be interested to see how this plays out.

You know, I still haven’t found those readers that disappeared yesterday. I did find an old, wire-rimmed pair that sits loosely on my face, so I’m getting by. I’m still baffled by where they could have gone.

I need to get moving, though. There’s some yard work that needs to get done before the temp gets too high. The humidity is suffocating so putting things off works against us.

I think I need another cup of coffee first, though.

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

Morning Update: 08/28/24

August 28, 2024

The colonoscopy is done. Everything looked fantastic. No polyps needed to be removed. Everything looked good. In fact, apparently, they had a cancellation because I was back in the surgery room well before my scheduled time. We were out of there a little after 10:00 and looking for cheap food. I don’t have to go back for another one for five years. The only potential concern I saw was that my weight had dropped 18 pounds since last month. In theory, that could signal another uptick in my white blood cell count. My weight isn’t too low, though, so I’m not going to worry about it at this point.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for our air conditioning. We noticed that it had stopped cooling during the night but assumed that it had just frozen up and would be fine after being turned off for a while. Wrong. So, we called Grandpa Bob. Bob called the people who installed the AC. They said their after-hours technician would be by after he finished the job he was currently on. We waited. And waited. The temperature inside the house went up to 89. The sun went down. We were still waiting. The kids went to bed, G choosing to sleep on the floor where it was cooler. Still waiting. Finally, around 10:00, my phone made noise, but Verizon’s spam filter cut it off before I had a chance to answer. Cue a couple of rounds of phone tag as it turns out the AC company’s numbers are all on Verizon’s spam list. Around 10:30, the technician arrived.

A burned-out capacitor was the problem. Some four-hundred-plus dollars later, the AC kicked back on. There are plans in the work to physically move the location of the AC as its proximity to the house may have contributed to the capacitor’s demise. I went to bed a little after 11:00, significantly later than my normal bedtime of 8:30.

Through it all, my biggest concern was the dogs and our mane coon hybrid, Jack-Jack (the kids are adaptive, though they complained constantly). Jack’s heavy fur makes him susceptible to heat. He stretched out on the tile floor in the living room and seemed to be okay. The dogs were having a more difficult time. They refused to not be in the same room as me. The Recovery Room is carpeted, so there’s a limit to how cool the floor gets. They lay there, stretched out as much as they could, panting heavily, and frequently getting up to drink water. I knew the AC had cooled the house significantly when they both finally jumped back onto the bed. Everyone seems to be fine this morning.

After all that, you’d think I’d be anxious for a rest day. That’s not going to happen. While Bob was here yesterday, he noticed that both of the outside water spigots were constantly dripping. So, he called the plumber and they will be here sometime this morning to replace both spigots. That’s going to mean turning off the water for an undetermined amount of time. That’s also going to mean shutting the dogs in the Recovery Room. A few years ago, we ran off one plumber from the same company because he was afraid the dogs were going to jump the gate between the living room and the kitchen (they can’t, they’re too fat). My biggest fear is that they’ll look at the 80-year-old pipes and declare that the whole mess has to be replaced. We’re crossing our fingers that the solution doesn’t involve thousands of dollars in new plumbing.

At least I get to eat.

With everything going on here at home, I’m not overly worried about the mundane aspects of this morning’s news. A few things are sticking in my craw, though.

Home improvement chain Lowe’s is scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, joining the ranks of a few other companies who have altered their programs since the end of affirmative action in higher education and amid conservative backlash online. This kowtowing to right-wing nut jobs is infuriating. They’re letting the online trolls win. Mind you, the people who are making the most noise don’t know one end of a hammer from the other. They’re not actually shopping at any of the companies they target. Yet, they’re effectively killing jobs and making the US a more inhospitable and inequitable place to live.

Investigators are looking at whether UN World Food Program staff sought to hide the alleged role of Sudan’s army in obstructing aid. That anyone would block aid to starving people is unconscionable. That the people responsible for delivering that aid would cover up the crime is just as bad. Bad actors have no excuse and should be given no assistance in committing their crimes. People all across Sudan are dying because of the nonsense going on there. That the agencies we depend on and financially support are involved in the lies and deceit is inexcusable.

The US isn’t the only country with a far-right problem. Eastern Germany is finding that far-right factions there are both making hiring difficult for business and causing problems for renewable energy. The far-right is hoping to gain some ground in upcoming elections, so they’re flexing their muscle. Remember what happened the last time the far right came to power in Germany? The entire reason the country was divided between East and West after WWII was so that they couldn’t become a global threat again. The world hailed the reunification of the country as a sign of progress and peace, but now it would seem that the original concerns might have been more accurate than anyone cares to admit.

If you’re a Lego fan, as I know my older boys are, be prepared for a price jump on those building blocks. Lego has announced that they’re replacing the oil-based plastic with a biodegradable version. The problem with that is the price tag is considerably higher. The popular blocks we all played with as children, and many as collectors, have never been cheap, but no one is expecting Lego to eat the increased production costs, despite the fact that the company is outperforming the overall toy market in Europe and the US. No one is sure when that price jump will hit retail stores, but stocking up on those collectible kits might not be a bad idea.

The Mormon Church is going after transgender rights again. They’re now prohibiting anyone even considering transitioning from working with children and prohibiting those who have transitioned from being baptized. The percentage of Mormons who are trans isn’t necessarily high, and anyone who has looked critically at the faith largely considers them to be more cultish than a legitimate religion. Nonetheless, they are far too public an entity for this type of action to not have repercussions throughout the trans community. Feel free to shame them.

If you had any remaining concerns as to whether Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was a complete nut job, I think the case has just been sealed. According to his daughter, Kick Kennedy (seriously, that’s her name), the fool “chain-sawed the head off a dead whale on a beach in Hyannis Port, Mass., bungee-corded it to their vehicle’s roof, and drove it five hours to the family home in Mount Kisco, N.Y.” She first told the story in a 2012 interview in Town and Country magazine, but now the political arm of the Center for Biological Diversity, a progressive environmental organization, is screaming for an investigation.

Another youth football player has died from injuries sustained on the field. This season is getting off to an especially rocky start as the number of injuries overall appears to have increased. Of course, it’s too early for there to be any hard numbers behind that assumption, but there seems to be plenty of cause for concern. Not that I expect every parent to pay attention to those concerns. Why? Travis and Jason Kelce just signed a $100 million podcast deal with Amazon. That along with a litany of stories of NIT wealth at the college level, obsessed parents are pushing harder than ever to make sure their kids are the ones bringing home the bacon. As long as there’s money on the table, greedy parents are going to treat their kids dirty, health and safety be damned.

Speaking of sports, have you ever known a major-league player to play for both teams in a game? It happened Monday as catcher Danny Jantsen played for both the Red Sox and the Bluejays in the resumption of a rain-delayed game from two months ago. The issue is that Jantsen was playing for the Bluejays when the game was originally scheduled. During the interim, he was traded to the Red Sox. So, he appeared on both teams’ rosters. You know that has to make scoring the game a bit difficult.

On the upside, Dolly Parton is at it again, sending books to five-year-olds in 21 states and a growing international participation as well. In many states, her Imagination Library has the ability to reach every child with new books before they even start kindergarten. In a world full of greedy sons of bitches, the 78-year-old singer is a shining example of one using their privilege to help others.

That seems like a good place to stop this morning. We’re expecting heavy rain with a chance of severe weather across the Midwest this afternoon, but that’s not going to do anything to bring down the record-setting temps. That makes me all the more thankful that we have the AC back up and working.

I never have liked iced coffee, but if they hadn’t fixed the AC I’d be considering it.

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