This brings up my #1 rant about grocery stores and pharmacies--the lack of attention to quality basic items while simultaneously pushing a low quality substitute, usually in traffic snarling displays. If I had my way I'd arrange grocery stores into two areas: one for the people doing actual cooking and the other for the folks just looking to pick up frozen meals, snacks and highly processed junk. I'd put the dairy and bread aisles in between.
Good morning. A beautiful Sunday morning. My daughter is getting her COVID shot this afternoon, while my wife and I (who had COVID in June) will get our flu shots.
I wanted to get my COVID booster and flu shot on the same day in September, so I made the pharmacy appointment. Turned out I could only get the flu shot on that day. I had had my previous COVID booster in May and they said it was too soon and I'd have to wait until November. I think "they" was Walgreens speaking for Medicare. (Though Walgreens could have flagged the situation for me--but their vaccination appointment thingy doesn't have that feature.) The CDC with all their publicity says nothing about you have to wait 6 months in between. If I'd known that I might have gotten the spring one earlier. Now I'm forever going to be getting my COVID boosters late in the cycle and I don't much care for that because I'll be missing out on protection against new variants for the 2 months I'm "covered" by the old one and therefore prevented from getting the new one..
My doctor informed me of the 6 month rule, except for me (and my wife) we got COVID, not a COVID shot, in June, so we have to wait for the new year to get our boosters.
Just how good is your aim when shooting shots? Do you get every drop in your yap every time, or do you sometimes have to wipe your chin? Glad to know this stuff is finally available in oral form. I was getting pretty darned tired of those darned needles. Will be stopping by my local watering hole for a vaccination at the first opportunity. But they do a heck of a walk-in business there, so I might call to see if I should make an appointment lest I get too vaccinated while waiting.
I just started the Uncommon Knowledge podcast "Which Way America? Condoleezza Rice on America's Foreign Challenges."
I miss her. My wife wants her to be president, not some Stanford Poobah or Supreme Leader of the NFL. And Anthony Blinken* probably wishes she wasn't writing in Foreign Affairs for comparison.
*The hapless diplomat previously of the injury law firm Winken, Blinken, and Nod. (Motto: Have you been hurt in an accident and want compensation? I will say "Don't" for you.)
Yeah, I did. Was off being a deadbeat somewhere when I was 'needed' I reckon. I replied to Ann that I've had some experience with this type of feeding and will try to relate some of my experience later, though laminitis isn't the reason for the way I feed my horses.
Why not 2025, if Harris wins the election? She said she'd appoint a Republican to the cabinet, and C. Rice has the advantage of not having been a candidate for office.
Yakety Sex? Isn't that what you get when you call one of those phone numbers you see advertised on TV at 2AM?
Wait... oh... that was Sax, wasn't it? Never mind.
I saw and heard Boots play at his club in Printers Alley down in Nashville many years ago. My late wife and I had gone home to KY for a summer vacation and on a very impromptu lark left the kids with their grandparents and headed to the Music City for a few days with no plan whatsoever other than to see what was there and have a good time.
On the hot July night that we strolled into the Alley and spied his club we were dressed pretty casually, and all the people walking in the door were rather more formally attired, making me wonder if there was a dress code, which would have been a bit strange in a tourist town like Nashville for a place like that I thought, but one never knows. So, we walked in and I asked the well-suited and tie'd maître d' in the crowded lobby if we were suitably dressed in our not-shot-full-of-holes blue jeans and casual (not Ts) shirts, and was a reservation required to get into the dining area?
He sort of chuckled as he looked at what appeared to be a reservation book on the stand in front of him and said without looking up, "Show me your money."
I was a little bit taken aback, wondering if this was a more than blatant demand for a tip just to get in the door, or what.
As I stood there looking like what I felt sure was a backwoods hayseed rube in the big city fumbling for a response, he - a fellow at least twice my age, which would have put him near 50 somewhere - repeated himself, but with a bit of a smile on his face while looking at me this time. So, not knowing what else to do, I pulled my money clip out of my pocket to peel a few bucks for a tip. But before I could actually do that, the guy laughed and said...
"Green. Perfect. Just the right color. Will you be having dinner, or would you like to sit at the bar?"
When I responded 'dinner' he waived over a well-dressed staffer and told the fellow "Give our friends here a good table" while motioning to me to put my money back in my pocket.
And a good table we got, front and center to the stage, replete with tablecloth, linen napkins and fancy everything else. But not before being ushered through the line entering the room, at the end of which was Boots himself shaking everyone's hand and warmly thanking them for coming.
His face was almost as red as a sunburn, and his breath, when I came face to face with him, reminded me of the aroma one experiences driving through Bernheim Forest northwest of my hometown past the Jim Beam distillery. But he seemed genuinely happy to see and greet his customers, and no doubt he was, considering the bill I got for dinner and drinks at the end of the evening. But it was well worth it, since the food and service were quite good, there was no charge for the show, and the show he and his band put on just after dinner for an hour and a half or more was 1st rate. He really blew the heck out of that sax, and we were really glad we'd stumbled into the place, so to speak.
But if they are just looking at things the general public sees all the time, how does that make it "spying"? They're just collecting information available to anyone, by doing such things as (gasp) walking into a store and looking at prices on shelves. EDIT: Ah, I see, that was the WSJ author's characterization, found in the headline and the opening paragraph. (Can't read the rest of it; paywalled.) Sigh. These journalism persons need to get out in the real world just as much as the politicians.
I just hope the government doesn't mess things up for me by making Kroger give up their delivery service, which I find very valuable and dependable. It would be just like the know-it-alls to try to fix what ain't broke. I already dropped Jewel-Osco when Albertson's discontinued their own drivers and trucks and went third-party. Random ride-sharers deliver abysmal service. So Kroger/Marianos entered the market with their own warehouses, drivers, and trucks, offering me something better. I'm trying to imagine what about that must be stopped.
But in my immediate area we have an alderperson who doesn't seem to want to pay attention to what the residents want done, and advances initiatives that only the leftmost want done and most people don't. The block clubs are having to call special meetings and spread the word about turnout all the time, otherwise she ignores us. She's living in our world and trying to run it and mold it to her vision, but she doesn't really understand it because those of us calling it home don't actually match the progressive narrative. It might be better if she went back to her own world--that's the same one the current mayor is living in.
I get what you're saying, though. Just don't have many *local* issues out where I live beyond an occasional building permit kerfuffle or the like. Weird thing is, this area, like much of the rural / small town parts of the county, has always been heavily Republican (and now Trump) country. But for the four decades plus that I've lived here, nearly *all* the candidates for township government run as Democrats year in and year out, witn no - or virtually no - Republican opponents. One of those things that make ya' say Huh!?
We have Democrats here who might in another place and time be Republicans. That is, they're moderate to conservative Dems, and I may vote for some of them after checking out their background and platform. I voted for one of those for alderman, but Ms. Progressive won in an upset. In fact it's becoming clear that the progressives really belong to a third political party and it's called the Chicago Teachers Union.
The next municipal elections aren't until spring 2027, but the nice thing about politics at the neighborhood level is that there are opportunities for pushback in between elections so sometimes you can get them to back down or triangulate if you can make them understand that we are the consituents, this is our neighborhood, and we do not buy into their fantasy political landscape even if it's an easy sell to the college kids. As for the mayor, well, many of the alderpeople around the city (including minorities) do have their heads on straight and are not allowing him to get away with his nonsense.
I'm curious. I don't know a lot about Chicago area politics even though one of my daughters lives in a Chicago bedroom community. What's the 'progressive' political agenda they're pushing at your local level?
All kinds of stuff. In the neighborhood they're reconfiguring certain streets to favor bicycles and stuff, and that's not necessarily a bad thing but what they're trying to do to one of the streets will really mess things up. These people are amateurs and incapable of examining plans from the standpoint of practicality. Or maybe they fully understand that people will need to use the street to drive their kids to school and have decided everyone should walk instead because it fits their fantasy of what urban living should look like.
At the city level there's not enough to fund his budget, no acceptance of raising property taxes (already way too high), and so the mayor is trying to force the schools chief to take out a high-interest loan, which is a bad idea and everyone knows it. On the other hand he's all in to buy the Chicago Bears a new stadium with taxpayer money, even though the previous monstrosity isn't paid for yet. Why does he want to do it? How dare you ask. He is in charge and you better just get with his program or you are a racist. He is acting for the people and if you don't like what he's doing you don't count as one of the people.
But I'm long-run optimistic about this. The citizens of this city are already learning some major lessons about being swayed by progressive blandishments. They're more than ready for a course change. And the race/minority thing is being taken out of the equation because many of the alderpeople standing up against him are black, Latino, etc.
I could go on and on but that will have to suffice.
It is supposed to be in the 70's today and tomorrow...yea!
Quick update on my medical crises...lol...I had my first PT session Wed...I surprisingly didn't have any issues doing any of them...except the same thing that happened when they were doing X-rays of my knees...I was laying on a flat medical table , and I got super dizzy and nauseous and had to sit back up...no one seems to know why this is happening...but, otherwise I must have better mobility than I thought I had, fthough diminished from before all this happened...
Though, boy was I sore that evening and when I went to bed, while I was expecting something like this...I was annoyed my back hurt while I was sleeping, which never happened before....I have a list of the exercises I am supposed to do the days I don't do PT, which are twice a week for now...though they aren't open on Saturdays, so, that means leaving early from work two days a week
I am gearing up for Christmas Craft Shows and excited for my favorite time of year
PS: We had to hire a plumber to come to the gas shut off valve , they are coming Monday, then the following Monday the installers will come install the dryer, which is sitting in my dining area...on the other side of the kitchen, because it won't fit there without blocking the sink and stove...my house is a mess....lol
And with everything my $556 dryer ( on sale from $1200, is going to cost me around a thousand dollars...sigh)
I've done PT to rebuild my right shoulder and another time for sciatica. The important thing is to always do the exercises and tell the PT how it's going. If something really hurts, it may be a sign that it's the wrong exercise, or it may be a sign that you're doing it right.
When Biden did a shrinkflation ad with his snack chips or Snickers bar on whatever it was, and Harris complained about Kroger gouging us (with their 1-2% profit margins) I braced myself for the ride to peak stupidity. What worries me is that it’s unlikely we’ve reached the destination yet.
Considering the stupidity in toto of our national politics of the moment on both sides of the aisle, you'd better have an oxygen mask and adequate O2 supply to take along on that ride, because at the altitude involved with that peak there will be no breathable air.
P.J. O'Rourke wrote about the great economic delusion, "... that a thing might somehow be worth something other than what someone will give you for it ...," or words to that effect.
One problem is that we confuse "worth" or "value" with "market price." We say "the value of your home" when we mean "the current estimated market price of your house." And we do the same kind of thing all over the place.
"Healthcare is a right." Well, every "right" has corresponding "duties," so who has the duty to provide rhetorical-you with all the medical goods and services you care to consume at no significant cost to you? "That's not what I meant!" the interlocutor will say. "Okay, what do you mean, then? Specifically, and with examples, please." Then say say you're just playing "word games" or going to vote for Trump or something.
He's a Powerful Billionaire and must pay his fair share. They're the only ones preventing everything from being perfect, through their greed. And if it turns out not to be enough--oops! Maybe he'll have to sell the twix and everything else.
Per the kvetching... I'll posit that there's two definite areas where the capitalist profit motive is at direct odds with the stated aims of an institution.... Education and Health Care. I'm open to suggestions....
The third might be food and a fourth housing, but that's too much for me to write about on a Saturday morning.
I wouldn't argue with the first two. However, the removal of price signals from a system - the illusion that it's "free" - also produces a great big mess.
Price signals work in normal supply and demand market. Where choices can be made. People think skin in the game as they say about health insurance is that the customer will shop for lower cost services. In Healthcare, one rarely finds lower cost. Actually what happens is people choose not to take medication, avoid visiting doctors. Not good for people.
People struggle to make choices for non-human healthcare for something of not equal, but precious,
Their pets.
I'm changing from Medigap/Supplement to Advantage for cost. Supplements increasedramatically with age . Frankly, it's technically not much different that Original Medicare I've paid into since 1968, and still pay a monthly SS deduction. Add a stand alone Rx maybe.
Exactly. That's where it gets ridiculous with food and housing, as it essentially tells the creators of food and housing that what they do has no value.
The first two...Health care and capture by private equity. I've worked for enough of those folks in the second category to understand how it got this way. It's a weasel profession. Education, which theoretically should be immune from weaselness, nevertheless seems to embrace it in unique ever evolving forms.
My head hurts. Who started this?!? I'm going to the farmer's market and pay exorbitant prices for delicious food, where at least I know where the money goes.
> Sinwar became unhoused following the Zionist invasion of Gaza, but he continued to oversee resistance forces while residing in the Hamas tunnel network, widely renowned as a marvel of structural engineering. There, he cultivated a diverse group of companions, including a number of Jewish civilians visiting from the Occupied Territories. <
"The reformed inmate's loss will be mourned with excruciating sorrow at America's elite universities, where Sinwar was embraced as a symbol of anti-colonial resistance and beloved for his tenacious commitment to solving the Jewish Problem."
"Poe's Law": You can't do satire any more because someone out there has already unironically asserted the craziest thing you can think of. What passes for satire is just repeating what people are seriously saying, and then having them freak out at the suggestion that what they've said is in any way ridiculous.
This is an all-sides phenomenon: Trump True Believers get furious when you suggest that what they're saying in all seriousness could be mistaken for parody.
Years ago, before we married but with her having gained a modicum of understanding of my sense of humor, my soon-to-be wife gave me an old bumper sticker she'd found while cleaning out some boxes of stuff in her basement...
Guys in the tool & die trade such as myself were wont to display all manner of things on the inside lids of their Gerstner or Kennedy toolboxes, those items being somewhat reflective of their personalities in one way or another, and of which I had both...
I immediately placed it inside the lid of the 'top box' on my Kennedy roll-around at the job shop where I was working part-time, said lid always being up and open whenever I was working, and not being as full of stuff like kid's photos and such as my Gerstner at my full-time job at GM / Delphi was. And it stayed there for the next 20+ years, making the rounds of full & part-time job shop employment with me after Delphi's bankruptcy. I found it perfectly emblematic of the SNAFU atmosphere that sometimes permeated such workplaces, at least to some degree, depending on the work, the workers, the management and a couple of other factors.
I guess I sort of underestimated how "literal minded" most guys in my trade were, because I have no idea how many times I got a very pointed "What hell does *that* mean?!" when someone would spy it for the first time, usually not long after the start of my employment in a new shop. It turned out to be something of a conversation starter, albeit said conversations were usually pretty brief. But I do know, after repeated attempts to explain, that these folks' unfamiliarity with Joseph Heller's rather catchy novel was pretty close to 100%.
But I'll not forget the grizzled-bearded, Col. Sanders-bespectacled, engineer-overall'd Old School old timer who had the hands-down best and most memorable reaction when he saw it the first time not long after I started working in a new shop. He knew nothing of me other than I was "the new guy", and he leveled a gaze at me as I turned on the mill I was running that would cut 60 Rockwell steel like butter and said, "Are you a f**kin' hippie, or what?" A charge I would again suffer nearly 2 decades later under similar circumstances, but from a much younger fellow.
"Or what," I replied, as I adjusted the feed on the Bridgeport in front of me. Didn't even bother mentioning that double-deuce thing.
I run the air in the winter at times, especially at night , because I breathe better in cool air...I just use throws and my comforter to keep the rest of me warm...lol
The situation with my house prohibits opening the couple of windows I have often...plus, where I am if I open the sliding glass doors in my living room, nosy neighbors look in and I hate that...lol...plus , I admit to being leery about opening windows, because that is how the people who robbed my house got in
Good morning. Supposed high in that 70s today. The weather person on TV talks about a “second summer” coming, which sounds to me like Indian Summer. That weather person must have seen some memo telling him not to use that term. I bet he didn’t celebrate Columbus Day, either.
I know, I’m rabble rousing. But I’m pretty sure I’m in good company here!
I am ambivelant about that stuff, plus, I did a survey of the Senaca Indians in NY where I used to go for bingo..most them said they didn't care, it wasn't a big deal, some even liked it
We don't always get an "Indian " Summer, but I am hoping we do...before the real cold starts...not looking forward to cold
I came across this last night. Tom Campbell is the host of NC Spin, a weekly bipartisan discussion of state issues that strives for light rather than heat.
I would be fine with having electoral college votes allocated proportionally. It would be great if all state legislatures decided to do that. However, I think his using the word "steal" in this discussion is unacceptable.
Yeah, the people he needs to convince are going to be turned off by it. Earning the right ti be straightforward (shall we say) should come with the wisdom to see when it is counter- productive.
I thought the recommendations were interesting. I like the compromise for keeping the electoral college.
After two extremely long days of early voting and having o get up 3 hours earlier than has been the case the past several years, our son is in good spirits: voters are respectful, grateful and patient. And there is no glitter (he worked at a craft store).
My experience matches that of your son. A couple of jerks, but mostly very civil voters.
I did have one voter who was worried about all the Venezuelans voting. I cast a furtive look around the few dozen voters in the room and asked him if he saw any. He didn't think so. But he had heard stories. I told him I had too. Lots of stories, but no evidence.
I overcame the urge to ask for HIS citizenship papers.
I felt like I needed the long black leather overcoat of a Gestapo ubergruppenfuher, a pungent unfiltered cigarette, and a particularly thick accent to pull that last part off.
Somehow I was reminded of Arte Johnson. He was the German soldier on Laugh-In whose catchphrase, spoken with an accent, was "Very interesting." I believe he had a characteristic way of holding his cigarette. I wonder if he picked that bit up from some old movie or other that I never saw.
When I was in my late teens, I worked as a stocker at a Piggly Wiggly. The nearby Safeway grocery was the only competition we had in that small college town. Our employees routinely cruised the competition's aisles to compare prices so that we could think about what we need to put on sale. *shrug*
That never struck me as inappropriate.
What does is medical care which can't even give you a ballpark estimate on the cost of a procedure. Doctors just tell you to spend your (unknown quantity of) money on this with no thought of guaranteeing some refund if there isn't success. I know most docs are honest, even if they don't think about how this must seem to the consumer. Sometimes, it seems to have all the credibility of a degree from Trump University.
Probably something to do with the 11 dozen inhabitants of your abode.
I'm assuming the plumber figured out the blockage of a couple weeks ago, or else we'd hear about it. For my professional edification, what was the specific problem and where was it?
"I know most docs are honest, even if they don't think about how this must seem to the consumer."
I agree. They're in the system, and the system is a mess of cross-purposes and upwhacked incentives. It doesn't mean that most individuals aren't doing their best.
Have an appointment with my primary doc before long. Am going to ask him about any possible upwhacking going on in his practice and tell him you're the one that made me suspicious.
A bunch of years ago, I had a wonderful doctor, a sole practitioner who used to rail against the "medical-industrial complex." Small office, only two employees, but he was always on time and returned every phone call by the end of the day. One day he gave up, I guess, and joined a mega-doctor group practice. I guess part of the entrance fee was that he had to agree to never, ever, return a patient's call no matter how urgent. We up and left for another doc.
Yup. Recently I had bloodwork done for my annual visit to my PCP. The doctor had to postpone our session for a medical issue (hers). And every day I would get an email reminding me to look at my test results. Every. Frigging. Day. For 2 months. When I finally had my appointment, I pointed out to them that I was not a medical professional and me looking at test results was akin to asking Cynthia's cat, Jake, to analyze a passage from Shakespeare (I used a different analogy, but thought this would be more relatable for CSLF). I noted that when I presented a complex financial or insurance plan to a client, I didn't say, "Well, just analyze it yourself and see what you think." They understood. It actually wasn't them, but the relentlessness of the "patient portal" and its automatic reminder mode. But to me, it was just an example of a "just fix it yourself" attitude. Everyone wants you to do the work and then pay them for it.
There’s a basic observation in medicine that some patients like docs who wear the white lab coat as a mark of their authority and expertise. They just want their doctor to give them a straight-forward diagnosis and solution.
There are other patients who are skeptical of a doctor’s certainty and want to have a range of possible diagnoses and solutions. These types of patients will do their own online searching and sometimes come into the doc’s consultations with ideas of their own diagnoses.
For the latter, there’s also the testing organization Own Your Labs:
No, the doc is fine. Its the testing area that's wonky. Also, I disagree: Doing your own testing interpretation is a bad idea. For example, there is one test they do where I yield a result that is not at all normal---for the bulk of the population. But it has been normal for me since I was a teen. This whole "do your own research" stuff is, in my opinion, BS. There is value in expertise.
This brings up my #1 rant about grocery stores and pharmacies--the lack of attention to quality basic items while simultaneously pushing a low quality substitute, usually in traffic snarling displays. If I had my way I'd arrange grocery stores into two areas: one for the people doing actual cooking and the other for the folks just looking to pick up frozen meals, snacks and highly processed junk. I'd put the dairy and bread aisles in between.
Good morning. A beautiful Sunday morning. My daughter is getting her COVID shot this afternoon, while my wife and I (who had COVID in June) will get our flu shots.
I wanted to get my COVID booster and flu shot on the same day in September, so I made the pharmacy appointment. Turned out I could only get the flu shot on that day. I had had my previous COVID booster in May and they said it was too soon and I'd have to wait until November. I think "they" was Walgreens speaking for Medicare. (Though Walgreens could have flagged the situation for me--but their vaccination appointment thingy doesn't have that feature.) The CDC with all their publicity says nothing about you have to wait 6 months in between. If I'd known that I might have gotten the spring one earlier. Now I'm forever going to be getting my COVID boosters late in the cycle and I don't much care for that because I'll be missing out on protection against new variants for the 2 months I'm "covered" by the old one and therefore prevented from getting the new one..
My doctor informed me of the 6 month rule, except for me (and my wife) we got COVID, not a COVID shot, in June, so we have to wait for the new year to get our boosters.
We got our new COVID shots, pneumonia 2 weeks back. Ms Pinki got the RSV, I had it. I got Shingles-1st, she has had both.
47F overnight in the Sonoran Desert
Clear as a bell and frost at sunup.
Good reminder: I aimed to get a flu shot. Thanks!
Just how good is your aim when shooting shots? Do you get every drop in your yap every time, or do you sometimes have to wipe your chin? Glad to know this stuff is finally available in oral form. I was getting pretty darned tired of those darned needles. Will be stopping by my local watering hole for a vaccination at the first opportunity. But they do a heck of a walk-in business there, so I might call to see if I should make an appointment lest I get too vaccinated while waiting.
i don't think those kind of shots protect you from the flu or COVID. 🙂
No, they don't. But if you do get sick, you just may not care all that much that you are.
I may try out that theory on Election Night.
If you going to submit the results of your research here and you need them peer reviewed before publication, I'd be happy to help with that.
Any excuse you need—happy to oblige. Walk-in, crawl-in…
... to the Stumble Inn.
Happy Sunday, all.
I just started the Uncommon Knowledge podcast "Which Way America? Condoleezza Rice on America's Foreign Challenges."
I miss her. My wife wants her to be president, not some Stanford Poobah or Supreme Leader of the NFL. And Anthony Blinken* probably wishes she wasn't writing in Foreign Affairs for comparison.
*The hapless diplomat previously of the injury law firm Winken, Blinken, and Nod. (Motto: Have you been hurt in an accident and want compensation? I will say "Don't" for you.)
I would vote for Condolezza Rice in.a heartbeat.
I'd probably vote for her in a voting booth.
That too.
This was designed specifically for you the other day—I think you missed it:
https://open.substack.com/pub/marqueg68/p/digital-dark?r=28xvw&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=72987527
Yeah, I did. Was off being a deadbeat somewhere when I was 'needed' I reckon. I replied to Ann that I've had some experience with this type of feeding and will try to relate some of my experience later, though laminitis isn't the reason for the way I feed my horses.
Same. She's not a geezer!
She's also not crazy, and she has good conservative credentials.
Secretary of State in 2029, then.
Why not 2025, if Harris wins the election? She said she'd appoint a Republican to the cabinet, and C. Rice has the advantage of not having been a candidate for office.
If it's 2025, I want Liz for Secretary of State. If Liz becomes president in 2029, then Condi.
Good morning. Good comments.
Placido Domingo, everyone.
It's a good day for Manul kittens!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1fu36GXcx0
Happy Sunday. That’s…a lot of cats! Someone should try redoing the sound, changing it to suspenseful music to see what the effect is…or Yakety Sax.
Yakety Sex? Isn't that what you get when you call one of those phone numbers you see advertised on TV at 2AM?
Wait... oh... that was Sax, wasn't it? Never mind.
I saw and heard Boots play at his club in Printers Alley down in Nashville many years ago. My late wife and I had gone home to KY for a summer vacation and on a very impromptu lark left the kids with their grandparents and headed to the Music City for a few days with no plan whatsoever other than to see what was there and have a good time.
On the hot July night that we strolled into the Alley and spied his club we were dressed pretty casually, and all the people walking in the door were rather more formally attired, making me wonder if there was a dress code, which would have been a bit strange in a tourist town like Nashville for a place like that I thought, but one never knows. So, we walked in and I asked the well-suited and tie'd maître d' in the crowded lobby if we were suitably dressed in our not-shot-full-of-holes blue jeans and casual (not Ts) shirts, and was a reservation required to get into the dining area?
He sort of chuckled as he looked at what appeared to be a reservation book on the stand in front of him and said without looking up, "Show me your money."
I was a little bit taken aback, wondering if this was a more than blatant demand for a tip just to get in the door, or what.
As I stood there looking like what I felt sure was a backwoods hayseed rube in the big city fumbling for a response, he - a fellow at least twice my age, which would have put him near 50 somewhere - repeated himself, but with a bit of a smile on his face while looking at me this time. So, not knowing what else to do, I pulled my money clip out of my pocket to peel a few bucks for a tip. But before I could actually do that, the guy laughed and said...
"Green. Perfect. Just the right color. Will you be having dinner, or would you like to sit at the bar?"
When I responded 'dinner' he waived over a well-dressed staffer and told the fellow "Give our friends here a good table" while motioning to me to put my money back in my pocket.
And a good table we got, front and center to the stage, replete with tablecloth, linen napkins and fancy everything else. But not before being ushered through the line entering the room, at the end of which was Boots himself shaking everyone's hand and warmly thanking them for coming.
His face was almost as red as a sunburn, and his breath, when I came face to face with him, reminded me of the aroma one experiences driving through Bernheim Forest northwest of my hometown past the Jim Beam distillery. But he seemed genuinely happy to see and greet his customers, and no doubt he was, considering the bill I got for dinner and drinks at the end of the evening. But it was well worth it, since the food and service were quite good, there was no charge for the show, and the show he and his band put on just after dinner for an hour and a half or more was 1st rate. He really blew the heck out of that sax, and we were really glad we'd stumbled into the place, so to speak.
But if they are just looking at things the general public sees all the time, how does that make it "spying"? They're just collecting information available to anyone, by doing such things as (gasp) walking into a store and looking at prices on shelves. EDIT: Ah, I see, that was the WSJ author's characterization, found in the headline and the opening paragraph. (Can't read the rest of it; paywalled.) Sigh. These journalism persons need to get out in the real world just as much as the politicians.
I just hope the government doesn't mess things up for me by making Kroger give up their delivery service, which I find very valuable and dependable. It would be just like the know-it-alls to try to fix what ain't broke. I already dropped Jewel-Osco when Albertson's discontinued their own drivers and trucks and went third-party. Random ride-sharers deliver abysmal service. So Kroger/Marianos entered the market with their own warehouses, drivers, and trucks, offering me something better. I'm trying to imagine what about that must be stopped.
RE: These journalism persons need to get out in the real world just as much as the politicians.
Journalism persons, maybe. But the *politicians*?
What have we folks out here in the real world ever done to deserve that?
Well, I get the joke.
But in my immediate area we have an alderperson who doesn't seem to want to pay attention to what the residents want done, and advances initiatives that only the leftmost want done and most people don't. The block clubs are having to call special meetings and spread the word about turnout all the time, otherwise she ignores us. She's living in our world and trying to run it and mold it to her vision, but she doesn't really understand it because those of us calling it home don't actually match the progressive narrative. It might be better if she went back to her own world--that's the same one the current mayor is living in.
Maybe you could book her a flight with SpaceX?
I get what you're saying, though. Just don't have many *local* issues out where I live beyond an occasional building permit kerfuffle or the like. Weird thing is, this area, like much of the rural / small town parts of the county, has always been heavily Republican (and now Trump) country. But for the four decades plus that I've lived here, nearly *all* the candidates for township government run as Democrats year in and year out, witn no - or virtually no - Republican opponents. One of those things that make ya' say Huh!?
We have Democrats here who might in another place and time be Republicans. That is, they're moderate to conservative Dems, and I may vote for some of them after checking out their background and platform. I voted for one of those for alderman, but Ms. Progressive won in an upset. In fact it's becoming clear that the progressives really belong to a third political party and it's called the Chicago Teachers Union.
The next municipal elections aren't until spring 2027, but the nice thing about politics at the neighborhood level is that there are opportunities for pushback in between elections so sometimes you can get them to back down or triangulate if you can make them understand that we are the consituents, this is our neighborhood, and we do not buy into their fantasy political landscape even if it's an easy sell to the college kids. As for the mayor, well, many of the alderpeople around the city (including minorities) do have their heads on straight and are not allowing him to get away with his nonsense.
I'm curious. I don't know a lot about Chicago area politics even though one of my daughters lives in a Chicago bedroom community. What's the 'progressive' political agenda they're pushing at your local level?
All kinds of stuff. In the neighborhood they're reconfiguring certain streets to favor bicycles and stuff, and that's not necessarily a bad thing but what they're trying to do to one of the streets will really mess things up. These people are amateurs and incapable of examining plans from the standpoint of practicality. Or maybe they fully understand that people will need to use the street to drive their kids to school and have decided everyone should walk instead because it fits their fantasy of what urban living should look like.
At the city level there's not enough to fund his budget, no acceptance of raising property taxes (already way too high), and so the mayor is trying to force the schools chief to take out a high-interest loan, which is a bad idea and everyone knows it. On the other hand he's all in to buy the Chicago Bears a new stadium with taxpayer money, even though the previous monstrosity isn't paid for yet. Why does he want to do it? How dare you ask. He is in charge and you better just get with his program or you are a racist. He is acting for the people and if you don't like what he's doing you don't count as one of the people.
But I'm long-run optimistic about this. The citizens of this city are already learning some major lessons about being swayed by progressive blandishments. They're more than ready for a course change. And the race/minority thing is being taken out of the equation because many of the alderpeople standing up against him are black, Latino, etc.
I could go on and on but that will have to suffice.
Just saying Good Morning
It is supposed to be in the 70's today and tomorrow...yea!
Quick update on my medical crises...lol...I had my first PT session Wed...I surprisingly didn't have any issues doing any of them...except the same thing that happened when they were doing X-rays of my knees...I was laying on a flat medical table , and I got super dizzy and nauseous and had to sit back up...no one seems to know why this is happening...but, otherwise I must have better mobility than I thought I had, fthough diminished from before all this happened...
Though, boy was I sore that evening and when I went to bed, while I was expecting something like this...I was annoyed my back hurt while I was sleeping, which never happened before....I have a list of the exercises I am supposed to do the days I don't do PT, which are twice a week for now...though they aren't open on Saturdays, so, that means leaving early from work two days a week
I am gearing up for Christmas Craft Shows and excited for my favorite time of year
PS: We had to hire a plumber to come to the gas shut off valve , they are coming Monday, then the following Monday the installers will come install the dryer, which is sitting in my dining area...on the other side of the kitchen, because it won't fit there without blocking the sink and stove...my house is a mess....lol
And with everything my $556 dryer ( on sale from $1200, is going to cost me around a thousand dollars...sigh)
Good luck with your dryer repair and PT!
Thanks Cynthia...
The PT is going to be challenge ,but, I am hoping I can overcome it
I've done PT to rebuild my right shoulder and another time for sciatica. The important thing is to always do the exercises and tell the PT how it's going. If something really hurts, it may be a sign that it's the wrong exercise, or it may be a sign that you're doing it right.
Thanks Cynthia, I appreciate the advice
I couldn't today , but I will tomorrow and try to make a scheduled time for me when I get home from work on work days...
I thought we hit mid 50s, down from mid 70s 3 days ago and down from mid 90s 10 days ago. Nope.
45F. Screen doors and windows. 62 in the house
When Biden did a shrinkflation ad with his snack chips or Snickers bar on whatever it was, and Harris complained about Kroger gouging us (with their 1-2% profit margins) I braced myself for the ride to peak stupidity. What worries me is that it’s unlikely we’ve reached the destination yet.
Considering the stupidity in toto of our national politics of the moment on both sides of the aisle, you'd better have an oxygen mask and adequate O2 supply to take along on that ride, because at the altitude involved with that peak there will be no breathable air.
P.J. O'Rourke wrote about the great economic delusion, "... that a thing might somehow be worth something other than what someone will give you for it ...," or words to that effect.
One problem is that we confuse "worth" or "value" with "market price." We say "the value of your home" when we mean "the current estimated market price of your house." And we do the same kind of thing all over the place.
"Healthcare is a right." Well, every "right" has corresponding "duties," so who has the duty to provide rhetorical-you with all the medical goods and services you care to consume at no significant cost to you? "That's not what I meant!" the interlocutor will say. "Okay, what do you mean, then? Specifically, and with examples, please." Then say say you're just playing "word games" or going to vote for Trump or something.
Gah.
Who has the duty? The billionaires, of course.
Modest proposal: Go after Musk and make him pay for healthcare for everyone.
It would take his entire fortune to pay for his own mental health care and that still probably wouldn't have a successful outcome.
He's a Powerful Billionaire and must pay his fair share. They're the only ones preventing everything from being perfect, through their greed. And if it turns out not to be enough--oops! Maybe he'll have to sell the twix and everything else.
Per the kvetching... I'll posit that there's two definite areas where the capitalist profit motive is at direct odds with the stated aims of an institution.... Education and Health Care. I'm open to suggestions....
The third might be food and a fourth housing, but that's too much for me to write about on a Saturday morning.
Not to get into a long discussion, but as a professional product and market manager, Health is Not a Product.
A Product and a Market require choice of substitution, fungible.
Your loved ones, children, spouse are not fungible. There is no Chevy truck son to exchange for a Ford son.
Thus, health is not ruled by price supply demand.
Oh. Insurance we know, merely decides only one thing. Who not to cover and what not to pay for. 😇
I wouldn't argue with the first two. However, the removal of price signals from a system - the illusion that it's "free" - also produces a great big mess.
Price signals work in normal supply and demand market. Where choices can be made. People think skin in the game as they say about health insurance is that the customer will shop for lower cost services. In Healthcare, one rarely finds lower cost. Actually what happens is people choose not to take medication, avoid visiting doctors. Not good for people.
People struggle to make choices for non-human healthcare for something of not equal, but precious,
Their pets.
I'm changing from Medigap/Supplement to Advantage for cost. Supplements increasedramatically with age . Frankly, it's technically not much different that Original Medicare I've paid into since 1968, and still pay a monthly SS deduction. Add a stand alone Rx maybe.
Exactly. That's where it gets ridiculous with food and housing, as it essentially tells the creators of food and housing that what they do has no value.
The first two...Health care and capture by private equity. I've worked for enough of those folks in the second category to understand how it got this way. It's a weasel profession. Education, which theoretically should be immune from weaselness, nevertheless seems to embrace it in unique ever evolving forms.
My head hurts. Who started this?!? I'm going to the farmer's market and pay exorbitant prices for delicious food, where at least I know where the money goes.
See ! You can choose nice squash or tomatoes from vendor a or lesser and lower cost from vendor B!
You can even choose how much or little Veterinary treatment for dog or cat.
Not daughter a or b or son a etc. No substitution available.
WFB spoofs NYT obit:
> Sinwar became unhoused following the Zionist invasion of Gaza, but he continued to oversee resistance forces while residing in the Hamas tunnel network, widely renowned as a marvel of structural engineering. There, he cultivated a diverse group of companions, including a number of Jewish civilians visiting from the Occupied Territories. <
https://freebeacon.com/author/stiles/satire/exclusive-read-the-new-york-times-obituary-of-hamas-leader-yahya-sinwar/
RE: 'Peace be upon him'
Um, I thought that was a collapsed building that be upon him. And good riddance to bad company.
Good one.
Print shops are busy this weekend printing “We are Sinwar!” signs in New York and a few coastal cities.
"The reformed inmate's loss will be mourned with excruciating sorrow at America's elite universities, where Sinwar was embraced as a symbol of anti-colonial resistance and beloved for his tenacious commitment to solving the Jewish Problem."
"Poe's Law": You can't do satire any more because someone out there has already unironically asserted the craziest thing you can think of. What passes for satire is just repeating what people are seriously saying, and then having them freak out at the suggestion that what they've said is in any way ridiculous.
This is an all-sides phenomenon: Trump True Believers get furious when you suggest that what they're saying in all seriousness could be mistaken for parody.
Sort of reminds me of something...
Years ago, before we married but with her having gained a modicum of understanding of my sense of humor, my soon-to-be wife gave me an old bumper sticker she'd found while cleaning out some boxes of stuff in her basement...
https://artmuseum.wayne.edu/objects/8135/it-cant-happen-here-because-its-already-happened-here
Guys in the tool & die trade such as myself were wont to display all manner of things on the inside lids of their Gerstner or Kennedy toolboxes, those items being somewhat reflective of their personalities in one way or another, and of which I had both...
https://gerstnerusa.com/shop/2610-chest/
https://buykennedy.com/products/stack-and-add/
I immediately placed it inside the lid of the 'top box' on my Kennedy roll-around at the job shop where I was working part-time, said lid always being up and open whenever I was working, and not being as full of stuff like kid's photos and such as my Gerstner at my full-time job at GM / Delphi was. And it stayed there for the next 20+ years, making the rounds of full & part-time job shop employment with me after Delphi's bankruptcy. I found it perfectly emblematic of the SNAFU atmosphere that sometimes permeated such workplaces, at least to some degree, depending on the work, the workers, the management and a couple of other factors.
I guess I sort of underestimated how "literal minded" most guys in my trade were, because I have no idea how many times I got a very pointed "What hell does *that* mean?!" when someone would spy it for the first time, usually not long after the start of my employment in a new shop. It turned out to be something of a conversation starter, albeit said conversations were usually pretty brief. But I do know, after repeated attempts to explain, that these folks' unfamiliarity with Joseph Heller's rather catchy novel was pretty close to 100%.
But I'll not forget the grizzled-bearded, Col. Sanders-bespectacled, engineer-overall'd Old School old timer who had the hands-down best and most memorable reaction when he saw it the first time not long after I started working in a new shop. He knew nothing of me other than I was "the new guy", and he leveled a gaze at me as I turned on the mill I was running that would cut 60 Rockwell steel like butter and said, "Are you a f**kin' hippie, or what?" A charge I would again suffer nearly 2 decades later under similar circumstances, but from a much younger fellow.
"Or what," I replied, as I adjusted the feed on the Bridgeport in front of me. Didn't even bother mentioning that double-deuce thing.
Nicely observed. Who could have imagined that free speech would become a problem?
Everyone paying attention?
In a week we went from mid 90s overnight to mid 50s. Windows open! Delicious air.
I run the air in the winter at times, especially at night , because I breathe better in cool air...I just use throws and my comforter to keep the rest of me warm...lol
The situation with my house prohibits opening the couple of windows I have often...plus, where I am if I open the sliding glass doors in my living room, nosy neighbors look in and I hate that...lol...plus , I admit to being leery about opening windows, because that is how the people who robbed my house got in
It's 67 in my dining room this morning. Aaaaah.
61 in the bedroom. Love it.
Mid-90s for lows is pretty swampy!
Good morning. Supposed high in that 70s today. The weather person on TV talks about a “second summer” coming, which sounds to me like Indian Summer. That weather person must have seen some memo telling him not to use that term. I bet he didn’t celebrate Columbus Day, either.
I know, I’m rabble rousing. But I’m pretty sure I’m in good company here!
If it's so good, why do you keep showing so many of us the door on a regular basis? Just askin' for one of those guys who happens to be a friend...
I am ambivelant about that stuff, plus, I did a survey of the Senaca Indians in NY where I used to go for bingo..most them said they didn't care, it wasn't a big deal, some even liked it
We don't always get an "Indian " Summer, but I am hoping we do...before the real cold starts...not looking forward to cold
Stirring the pot!
Two frosty mornings in a row under clear skies. Getting into the 70s the next few days.
Maybe we should have South-Asian Summer to avoid any confusion with AmerInd Summer.
I think it's Native American instead of AmerInd, although they may have changed it back while I wasn't paying attention.
AmerInd was the category used in aboriginal linguistics.
I came across this last night. Tom Campbell is the host of NC Spin, a weekly bipartisan discussion of state issues that strives for light rather than heat.
https://www.ncspin.com/nc-should-stop-the-steal
I would be fine with having electoral college votes allocated proportionally. It would be great if all state legislatures decided to do that. However, I think his using the word "steal" in this discussion is unacceptable.
Yeah, the people he needs to convince are going to be turned off by it. Earning the right ti be straightforward (shall we say) should come with the wisdom to see when it is counter- productive.
I thought the recommendations were interesting. I like the compromise for keeping the electoral college.
Yes, I like the concept. I just don't like overwrought and inaccurate language.
"But it's gratifying to us--what do you mean the target audience won't like it? They have to, because we are owed entertainment."
^^^^ This!!!
Agreed.
Good morning!
After two extremely long days of early voting and having o get up 3 hours earlier than has been the case the past several years, our son is in good spirits: voters are respectful, grateful and patient. And there is no glitter (he worked at a craft store).
My experience matches that of your son. A couple of jerks, but mostly very civil voters.
I did have one voter who was worried about all the Venezuelans voting. I cast a furtive look around the few dozen voters in the room and asked him if he saw any. He didn't think so. But he had heard stories. I told him I had too. Lots of stories, but no evidence.
I overcame the urge to ask for HIS citizenship papers.
I'd have had to overcome the urge to hand him a citizenship test and tell him no pass, no vote.
He was dumb as a stump
Probably runs in his family tree.
Sorry. Not sorry. :-)
I admire your restraint.
I felt like I needed the long black leather overcoat of a Gestapo ubergruppenfuher, a pungent unfiltered cigarette, and a particularly thick accent to pull that last part off.
I'm sure you're not allowed to smoke in the location, and now I'm thinking about "Hogan's Heroes".
Somehow I was reminded of Arte Johnson. He was the German soldier on Laugh-In whose catchphrase, spoken with an accent, was "Very interesting." I believe he had a characteristic way of holding his cigarette. I wonder if he picked that bit up from some old movie or other that I never saw.
You left off the rest of the skit, "Very interesting, but stupid."
Major Hochstetter maybe?
Yes, that's it. I didn't feel confident trying to spell the name.
I'm very pleased for your son!
Good morning. I agree.
When I was in my late teens, I worked as a stocker at a Piggly Wiggly. The nearby Safeway grocery was the only competition we had in that small college town. Our employees routinely cruised the competition's aisles to compare prices so that we could think about what we need to put on sale. *shrug*
That never struck me as inappropriate.
What does is medical care which can't even give you a ballpark estimate on the cost of a procedure. Doctors just tell you to spend your (unknown quantity of) money on this with no thought of guaranteeing some refund if there isn't success. I know most docs are honest, even if they don't think about how this must seem to the consumer. Sometimes, it seems to have all the credibility of a degree from Trump University.
Test...
Will this be on the test?
I'm still wondering why I can't "like" a Wilhelm comment, but I can reply to him...(?)
Yeah, sometimes it takes a while for the like option to display for the page.
Computer stuff. It's teh crazy.
I need to go to Walmart again. How does this keep happening to me?
Probably something to do with the 11 dozen inhabitants of your abode.
I'm assuming the plumber figured out the blockage of a couple weeks ago, or else we'd hear about it. For my professional edification, what was the specific problem and where was it?
Yes, the sink is draining. The problem was a clog, and it was about 60 feet down.
Good morning, Wilhelm.
"I know most docs are honest, even if they don't think about how this must seem to the consumer."
I agree. They're in the system, and the system is a mess of cross-purposes and upwhacked incentives. It doesn't mean that most individuals aren't doing their best.
*upwhacked incentives*
Have an appointment with my primary doc before long. Am going to ask him about any possible upwhacking going on in his practice and tell him you're the one that made me suspicious.
A bunch of years ago, I had a wonderful doctor, a sole practitioner who used to rail against the "medical-industrial complex." Small office, only two employees, but he was always on time and returned every phone call by the end of the day. One day he gave up, I guess, and joined a mega-doctor group practice. I guess part of the entrance fee was that he had to agree to never, ever, return a patient's call no matter how urgent. We up and left for another doc.
RE: ... a wonderful doctor, a sole practitioner...
So, he did shoe repair on the side? Talented guy.
At least he wasn’t a heel.
I'm biting my tongue trying not to say, "An archetypical good guy, then?"
Glad you didn’t. I would have had to cry “ankle!”
The US healthcare system is full of perverse and unaffordable incentives.
Yup. Recently I had bloodwork done for my annual visit to my PCP. The doctor had to postpone our session for a medical issue (hers). And every day I would get an email reminding me to look at my test results. Every. Frigging. Day. For 2 months. When I finally had my appointment, I pointed out to them that I was not a medical professional and me looking at test results was akin to asking Cynthia's cat, Jake, to analyze a passage from Shakespeare (I used a different analogy, but thought this would be more relatable for CSLF). I noted that when I presented a complex financial or insurance plan to a client, I didn't say, "Well, just analyze it yourself and see what you think." They understood. It actually wasn't them, but the relentlessness of the "patient portal" and its automatic reminder mode. But to me, it was just an example of a "just fix it yourself" attitude. Everyone wants you to do the work and then pay them for it.
Sounds like a mismatch between you and your doc.
There’s a basic observation in medicine that some patients like docs who wear the white lab coat as a mark of their authority and expertise. They just want their doctor to give them a straight-forward diagnosis and solution.
There are other patients who are skeptical of a doctor’s certainty and want to have a range of possible diagnoses and solutions. These types of patients will do their own online searching and sometimes come into the doc’s consultations with ideas of their own diagnoses.
For the latter, there’s also the testing organization Own Your Labs:
https://ownyourlabs.com/about-us/
No, the doc is fine. Its the testing area that's wonky. Also, I disagree: Doing your own testing interpretation is a bad idea. For example, there is one test they do where I yield a result that is not at all normal---for the bulk of the population. But it has been normal for me since I was a teen. This whole "do your own research" stuff is, in my opinion, BS. There is value in expertise.
"Everyone wants you to do the work and then pay them for it."
Good conclusion.
Jake's opinion on Shakespeare is that if he sits on your book, he's important, and you might give him a snack to get him to move.
That about sums it up.