Random Thoughts

I’m sitting here smarting after an upper endoscopy today.

There’s good news and bad news. Good news is there wasn’t anything really horrible like a tumor. Bad news, my throat and upper esophagus is scarred and ‘hard’ with scar tissue from cancer therapy. That won’t go away. Ever.

So I have that going for me, which is nice.

Zman had a piece about how the world should be, especially whilst traveling:

The first change would be how people dress in the airport. Shorts for men would be banned inside all revolutionary airports. Men and women would be required to dress as they would at a proper office. There is no reason for men to be in shorts at an airport other than slovenliness. Men arrive in an air-conditioned car and are quickly transported on an air-conditioned bus then to an air-conditioned terminal. You can hang meat in most airports, so there is no need for beach wear.

This is not about comfort or aesthetics, even though the latter is important. It is about instilling confidence and self-respect back into the people. The reason people dress up for special events like weddings is they want to feel their best. Erasmus famously wrote, “vestis virum facit”, which means clothes make a man. The reason this is true is how you dress reflects how you think of yourself. The same can be said for how we dress our people in our airports.

The ZMan

I’m with him here. So much so that sometime ago I made the decision that if I was going to the effort of meeting other humans during the day, I’d take the effort to get dressed (as opposed to showing up in shorts and a t-shirt). So I have some Wrangler cargo pants that are super light, and I put on a polo. As St. Paul said, time to put away childish things. Besides, I can’t tell the difference wearing them vs. shorts.

Winston is settling in. He reminds me of Jasper more and more. Even to the point of Aria snapping at him when he comes in the dog door. So he sits out there and barks, just like Jasper. He’s a super sweet dog.

He’s a sweet dog that needs a bath. He came over here needing one.

He also gets into mischief. I forgot what it was like to have a “teenager” dog. I will teach him. He will learn.

I have a ‘wet end’ to replace in the spa. A ‘wet end’ is the pump part that’s bolted to an electric motor, not unlike a car’s water pump. I’ve been dragging my heals on this, figuring I’d have to drain the thing. It’s a day long process and I haven’t had a day to do it. But I found out that it has ‘slice valves’ on both the feed end and the output end. So I can isolate it and make the job way easier. It has to be done. That’s the pump that doubles as a circulation pump.

Aesop had a few pieces about masks. Starting with this one, reminding us of what he wrote way back when, as all this bullshit was starting. I read that piece as well as his others on infectious diseases as he published them. That’s why I was unworried, unhindered during the whole ugly coof mess. That said, I’m seeing more and more wearing masks, and wearing them wrong. The worst are the homemade ones. None of them fit. Every mask wearer I see has huge gaps by the nose and sides. But they are clearly going to try and screw with us again. I don’t think they have a prayer this time.

Or 2024.

Didact put up a great quote on his telegram channel:

I forget where I read this wise saying, but it is worth repeating, in the admittedly mangled form in which I remember it:

Men don’t understand women, which is why we love them. Women, however, understand women perfectly – which is why they hate each other.

Didact, via telegram

That’s a keeper. But they do hate us too, from time to time.

Speaking of which, I’ve found Herself is an avid reader and fan of the blog here. Apparently stuff I write strokes her fur backwards from time to time. Well…

Like I care.

I’ll hold back the punchline that was in my head. That said, I have an agreement I can live with so it won’t be long now. Then, I have some decisions to make. Do I want to move to a far suburb, like where my daughter lives? or small town Texas. I’m leaning towards the small town, since that’s where I’d buy eventually. We’ll see. I will absolutely move well out of Dallas county. There’s just my office and the garage that need to be thinned out. Then a small fixup and clean punch list and this place will be on the market.

Have a good weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last of the over-the-top miserable heat around here. Good time to get out and fix a spa.