Snitches Get Stitches

As do open-heart surgery patients.   I had hoped there would not be a lot of stitches to sbio and remove but the foot long chest scar is stitched, as is the pacemaker implant and the lower leg from where the vein for the graft came.  Taking out one or two stitches hurts a little, but the foot Kong is going to be a lot of stitches.   Perhaps they can use a typical anesthetic?

Watch for Exploding Pens

In the last couple days Israel has detonated first pagers then handheld radios to injure and kill Hwzbollah who have been appropriately wary of using cellphones because of how easy they are to track.  Alas, ballpoint pens lack MAC addresses (unless there is a WiFi version thst I have not yet seen).

FOMC Cuts Rstes

9/18/24 Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System.  After a pile of explanation of their duty to keep unemployment and inflation both low, and sewing signs of a soft landing they will "lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent..." from looking at market indices, it appears that big money also priced in this reduction. 

No matter.  They seem to be doing their job, managing the disaster caused by a lack of adults running the government overall.

Took a Nap; Feeling Better. amazing admission By Harris

9/18/24 Fox News:

"As San Francisco's district attorney, Kamala Harris told legal gun owners in her community that authorities could "walk into" their homes to inspect whether they were storing their firearms properly under a new law she helped draft."

She wants limits on "misinformation speech," gun ownership,  and now warrantless searches?  Will we be seeing her try for a quadrifecta by calling for government quartering of illegals in private homes (ad long as they are not on Martha's Vineyard)?

I Am Not Sure How Much This Pratically Means but As Rebuie it is Substantial

9/18/24 NBC News:

"Teamsters union declines to endorse in presidential election, breaking decades of precedent

The decision comes just two days after the union's leaders met with Vice President Kamala Harris and months after they met with former President Donald Trump."

In practice,  union endorsements have become less important as members especially blue collar ones such as Teamsters have moved increasingly to the right.   But the symbolism of a major labor union refusing to endorse a Democrat shows a lack of belief that Harris has the "cat in the bag."  (They are not even Hsitians!)

Refusing to endorse will cause them harm if Harris wins so the Teamsters leadership sees little risk.

When the Tylenol Wears Off

The chest reminds you that what happened was not dramatically different from an autopsy: ribs moved; flesh peeled back.

Are You A Law Student in Need of Funding and Recognition?

Since inception, the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund has awarded millions of dollars for legal research, education and support of cases defending the individual right to keep and bear arms.

The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund now proudly announces its Annual Law Student Second Amendment Research and Writing Competition.

Any law student currently enrolled in an ABA Accredited law school is eligible to enter the competition by writing a scholarly article suitable for publication on a specific Second Amendment issue. Articles must be submitted on or before March 1, 2025, to nracrdf_lawschoolcontest@nrahq.org. The awards are $10,000.00 for first place, $7,000.00 for second place, and $3,000.00 for third place.

Lies!

9/5/24 Travel & Leisure:

"This Northwestern State Was Named One of the Best Places to Live in the U.S. for Quality of Life and Affordability"

Do not believe them.  Mountain lions est five small children every day here!  We are about to resume burning witches on Sundays.  The daily temperature range is -100 to 250, often worse in summer.  Stay away! 

Now Down About Ten Pounds From Surgery Weight

My appetite has not fallen that much.  My calorie intake has fallen about 15%.  I suspect that improved oxygenation has increased fuel consumption. 

This Is Sort Of "Shiver My Timbers" News Story

9/17/24 Newsweek:

"An overgrown airfield on a small island in the Pacific, once instrumental in America's role in ending World War II, is being reclaimed by the U.S. Air Force as it prepares for a possible future fight with China.

"The remote island of Tinian, which is less than 40 square miles, is one of three principal islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, a string of sparsely populated islets in the Western Pacific Ocean that make up the U.S.'s westernmost frontier, along with the major military hub of Guam some 100 miles to the south."

You all remember why Tinian tickles a part of your memory bank, right?  For all the concern about Russian-saber-rattling, China is the real risk.

Around the World in 80 Days

 If you are part of my generation, you probably thius classic Jules Verne novel as a kid.  All of his novels have been hacked to bloody, incomprehsnible messes by Hollywood over the years including my favorite, Mysterious Island. There is a new BBC series on Masterpiece Theater.  It was spared no production costs but as usual the original novel has been hacked quite needlessly.  The absurd trip over the Alps by balloon from the 1950s musical is there but nowhere in Verne.

There are some excellent pieces of writing with no similar component in the original.

There are some substitutions that while a bit jarring really do no damage to Verne's story: Passepartout is now a black French valet, although very true to Verne's characterization.  His backstory in Verne is both more interesting and comfortable to the plot than this production.  The female stagecoach driver in the Old West is atypical, but not imaginary.  There were such.

I knew that what is one of the more exciting parts of the novel -- San Francisco to New York City -- could be told with modern sensibilities as our travelers deal with a Sioux Indian raid on the transcontinental railway (which I am pretty was quite imaginary when Verne wrote this).

Dep, Marshall Bass Reeves appears although in an ahistorical context.  Again, this is more about making the "woke" happy than spending the time to tell theinteresting story of Reeves, from slave to federal law enforcement.

The biggest surprise was the replacement of an overzealous police detective chasing Phileas Fogg around the world with a female jouirnalist of the same name recounting Fogg'sadventures for her stick-in-the-mud newspaper editor father.  There are 19th century female journalists such as Nellie Bly, but she feels like a sop thrown to modern audiences.

It is still a bit of fun to watch, with often clever dialog.  The ersatz Western Battle Mountain, Nev. has a Sweenet's Butcher Shop, just to see if you are payimg attention.

I Thought We Were Fully Suburban

The dogs went on a barking frenzy.  Rhonda looked and saw the colors of a coyote.  As it moved she could see it was a fox!

Accused Assassin Has a Very Weird Hiatory

9/16/24 Associated Press:

"KAAAWA, Hawaii (AP) — Ryan Wesley Routh portrayed himself online as a man who built housing for homeless people in Hawaii, tried to recruit fighters for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, and described his support and then disdain for Donald Trump — even urging Iran to kill him.

“You are free to assassinate Trump,” Routh wrote of Iran in an apparently self-published book in 2023, “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War,” which described the former president as a “fool” and “buffoon” for both the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and the “tremendous blunder” of leaving the Iran nuclear deal."

It gets weirder from there.

"The world would be better it were run by women, he wrote in the book that has links to his website and X account, because “it seems that the totality of the world’s problems revolve around men with massive insecurity and childlike intelligence and behavior.”

I smell projection.  AK-47 scope for sniper work.

Below 190 Pounds

Trump Must Be at Risk of Winning

Or there would not have been another assassination attempt today 

The Sternum is Knitting Itself Closed

I van feel it.  It is not painful but there is definitely some tightness across it.  The Tylenol is probably why i am not feeling pain 

I Just Watched the 1950s Version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I keep hoping it is not prescient.   What happens if Harris "wins" the election by tens of millions of votes?

If Americans Will Do this, Why Won't Haitian Refugees?

 9/13/24 [U.K.] Telegraph:

Police have released video footage of an American woman being arrested for eating a cat – 170 miles away from Springfield, Ohio where Donald Trump claimed Haitian immigrants were devouring pets.

The arrest took place in Canton on August 16 after police received several calls from the public.

According to a police report Allexis Ferrell, 27, smashed the cat’s head with her foot and then started eating it.

Police said they saw fur on the woman’s lips and blood on her feet.

When Clintonistas Say There Was Something Suspicious

9/13/24 JustTheNews.com:

" Penn, a former advisor to Bill and Hilary Clinton, called Thursdsy for ABC to launch a formal internal investigation into its news division's planning and execution of this week's presidential debate to determine if there was some effort at "rigging the outcome of this debate."

"ABC News came under significant bipartisan criticism because its moderators fact-checked some of Donald Trump's statements but not a single pushback at any made by Kamala Harris."

Of course if you believe in your deepest heart that Trump is a liar and Harris is not, why would you bother checking her claims?

Rough Way to Do It But Still Good News

192.0 pounds.

I do not know when I lsstweighed this little.

This Morning I Woke Up Early with a Question Thst I Was Happy to Decide

Is there enough pain to take 1000mg of Tylenol?  I had to think about the correct answer.  Barely YES 

My sleep requirement is declining as well 

Not Really in Much Pain

But I am profoundly fatigued.  Every calorie my body has is reknitting sternum back together and saying, "WTF!  We are not doing this again, are we?"  I sure cannot see doing so.

These are the times that remind us that: 

"The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

Or to be a bit more 1970s about it: "all we are is dust in the wind."

If Anyone Thinks Medicine is an Easy Job...

Look at the test results on your chart after open-heart surgery.   (You may prefer to not do the procedure if you are only curious to know.  But the pursuit of knowledge is important,  is it not?)  So many tests to verify blood type of the units to transfuse for you.  Detailed microscopic examination of the replaced parts.   X-rays at the start of surgery and for several days after, looking for stuff that has failed.  I am sure every test has a lawsuit, or at least a grieving widow, behind it.

I Forgot to Post This on 9/11

I like to keep this is front of you younguns' you kids who are young enough that 9/11 is history.  Falling Man. 

 9/10/21 Esquire. 

Never forget and remember that apologists for this crime are now in charge of our government.