Recent Comments
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Reply to: Gas attack
Our garden has shrunk to a couple of potted tomato plants on the back porch.
short story to share
Last January my doctor wanted me to try using a nebulizer to dispense the Albuteral vs using an inhaler. He set it all up for me and a few days later it was delivered to my door. And it did seem to be a bit better than an inhaler.Anyways, I was only being charged $3.69 per month out of pocket to rent it, Medicare paid the rest. which was $47.04. so I figured pretty good deal for me and thought no more about it. Then one day out of curiosity I went online to see what one actually cost to purchase. The the most expensive one I found was 89 bucks. The average price was $50.
So Medical West, that's the company supplying the nebulizer, they are charging Medicare $564.48 per year for a small appliance that can be purchased outright for 50 bucks. Call it price gouging, a scam, fraud or whatever, but it's damn sure WRONG.
I guess DOGE MUST OF missed that one. Yeah, I know, a small thing to get hed up about but how many thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of these units is Medicare paying for? What a country. Corruption is literally everywhere. Beyond disgusted.
This morning I had the pleasure to tell them what I thought, cancel the rental contract, and now own my own nebulizer. Hey Elon! I'm saving the govt. almost 600 bucks a year. You're welcome!
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Reply to: Gas attack
comes from oil refining and petrochemical processing. Surgical tools mostly come from China. I would suggest Components for MRIs require Chinese rare earths. If you have any control over scheduling surgeries and tests, bear this in mind.
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Reply to: Gas attack
I did have a slew of Dr. visits in the last few weeks. Mostly checkups. And a dreaded coloscopy.
And I've noticed an inordinate amount of RVs on the way up and back from the farm. Seems a little early for vacays.
The farm is 76 miles away, but costs less than 3 bucks in electric, round trip.
So we are good to go unless they spike the rates or shut off the power altogether.
Have a great day. thanks for the post. -
Reply to: Gas attack
People are getting in that one last vacay or family visit before it won't be affordable to do so. Same for doctor visits, needed purchases, etc...
The roads will be pretty empty sooner rather than later.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the farm, friend. I hope you will be able to go and come as you wish in the upcoming economic crash.
Such an enjoyable OT, friend! -
Reply to: Gas attack
that got frost damage a few weeks ago. The damage is on the lower limbs and the tops are still growing and look ok. I'm just going to watch them for now.
I planted 8 new ones at the farm, so I've got plenty.
90 degrees there Saturday.
Thanks for the post. -
Reply to: Gas attack
The internet is more fragile than I thought. -
Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
multicultural and polyglot has a cultural bond to Mexico that was not severed bu the US conquest of our territory, especially since some of the original colonists had become "Californios", seeking and acting out a much greater degree of self governance than they has as "alta California". Unlike Texas, we did not willingly join the USA, we were conquered.
be well and have a good one
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Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
maybe being more or less urban with all kinds of traffic rumble they got inured to it.be well and have a good one
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Reply to: Gas attack
this past weekend, and they had just received their first big shipment of spring plants. And wouldn't you know, they had 4 bush Early Girl tomato plants, already 16" tall and with fruit set! Now, I have a hard and fast rule: I never spend a dime on plants until after Mother's Day. There will always be one more good snow. But they were downright gorgeous, by box-store nursery standards anyway, and I couldn't just leave them there for somebody else to plant too early and watch die when we get our inevitable May freeze.
As a result, I declared my hard and fast rule to merely be a guideline, at least for for this season. So I bought 3 of the 4, and they will now live happily in my garage- until after the snowstorm that is just beginning as we speak. 6-9" forecast, and a hard freeze tonight. I'm still not going to put anything outside until after Mother's Day, but I couldn't just walk away and leave them there....
I feel sorry for the Lowe's employees who are going to have to bust their butts to somehow pack all those plants inside the store today to avoid an utter wipeout. The joys of gardening in the Front Range of the Rockies, where the growing season is 20 minutes long, and we won't tell you when it has started... (;-) This year, I'll actually have tomatoes before the 4th of July!
Nice to have something to look forward to. I'd prefer talking to the plants over watching the news.
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Reply to: Gas attack
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are able to to enjoy the fields and streams.
Grew-up with Danes. They do like to run! I
thought I was swift, but the dog could run circles
around me. Reality check.Found this little item today.
The internet has a Strait of Hormuz problem.Iranian state media circulating maps of the Gulf’s undersea cable routes in
apparent threat to sever the global internet.https://asiatimes.com/2026/05/the-internet-has-a-strait-of-hormuz-problem/
It is not just about oil and gas anymore. Wonder if the trumpet is aware of the risks? Prolly not.
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Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
I put a sonic spike in the yard. The gophers were gone in a few days.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Victor-Solar-Powered-Mole-and-Gopher-Sonic-S... -
Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
seem to be taking it back. The Latino population is increasing bigly in those states.
Of course, many Mexican landowners never left after the war, but became citizens, IIRC.
Those returning simply say "I like what you've done with the place".
/s -
Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
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and felines fight back. Can only take so much after all.Hope your anniversary celebration is fun!
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Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
E2 and I have our 25th anniversary being together come next February.
Thanks for reminding me to start planning something special.
I too have problems with gophers, which probably explains the hoot owls taking up residence here. I have mowed the grass so it exposes them more readily. Hope that works because they have made it to the garden enclosure. -
Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
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The US annexed one half of Mexican territory which
included many indigenous lands during the time of
prez Polk using the Monroe doctrine playbook.Pre 1836 -
If you have to steal it, you never really own it. Only possess it for awhile.
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Reply to: Gas attack
It seems like the higher gas prices get, the more everyone gets out there and drives.
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Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
It is also our 25th anniversary so my wife and I shall romp out east to the nearby town of Livermore and lunch at a nice restaurant that is in/at a winery in celebration. May is quite a month beyond May Day, May 2 was the uprising against the French in Madrid celebrated in Goya's "2nd of May 1808" (fight against the Mamelukes), the bloody reprisals against the Madrileños celebrated in Goya's "Third of May", the Murder of student protesters at Kent State on the Fourth, and the battle of Puebla on the 5th. A streak of unrest, uprisings, reprisals and retaliations all quite worthy of note.
Meanwhile, locally, we have some serious morning mist which will help slow the drying out of everything. WE are also witnessing some ecological/biology lesson at work. For many months our immediate neighborhood was saturated with pocket gophers. About 60% of the residents were actively setting traps, with some success but with no overall progress. Over the last month stray and feral cats have showed up in increasing numbers and the gopher numbers have plummeted. Our yard cams show 4 of them regularly patrolling our yard at night, co-existing nicely with the o'possums and raccoons that wander through and we have zero gophers. One neighbor still has some and yesterday evening we watched one of the cats that hang out here overnight go over there and catch and kill one. We haven't noticed any bird kills, so they seem to be specialists.
be well and have a good one
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Reply to: 164 years ago today Mexico defeated the French
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Who to believe?US military behind UAE oil zone strike: IRIB
The unnamed source denied Iranian involvement, telling state television that the incident was the result of US military "adventurism" intended to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and that Washington, not Tehran, must be held accountable.
Use your imagination. Perhaps the last loadout of weapons sent to Israel were at play?
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Reply to: The Evening Blues - 5-4-26
Trump is trying to pull a Gulf of Tonkin on South Korea. Its vessel was hit by Iran's IRGC, the Korean seafarers union says, but it was clearly caught in the crossfire. That's no reason to join Trump's war, President Lee Jae Myung. Don't trust the USA. https://t.co/e9C3euaxs6
— Tim Shorrock (@TimothyS) May 4, 2026
The South Korean Unification Minister Chung Tong-yeong, had recently made an apology for the former Yoon administration's violations of North Korean airspace, and said South Korea would make efforts to prevent it from happening again. Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, acknowledged the apology publicly placing it in a somewhat positive light. Now, News Tomato, a progressive media channel in South Korea, is reporting that informal talks are in process between North Korea and South Korea to bring North Korea's women's soccer team to play soccer with South Korea in Suwon. The team allegedly is expected to arrive
AprilMay 17, practice on the 18th and play on the 20th, if I remember correctly. There are discussions apparently on the condition of the western rail line from north to south, disconnected from South Korea approximately 4 km from the JSA aka Panmunjom.From when the two Koreas fielded a joint table tennis team in 1991 to beat China, to the first joint march under the unification flag during the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, to North Korea’s high-level participation in South Korea’s 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, sports…
— CSIS Korea Chair (@CSISKoreaChair) May 4, 2026
This report was confirmed more or less by Victor Cha over at his (CSIS Korea) X thread. Not that his confirmation was required. Looks like he has a brief article on it. I'm not so interested in Cha's spin on this, he's pretty far to the right.
It's weird how the Korean owned merchant vessel gets struck in the Gulf while this is going on. At the same time, Trump had some post expressing discontent with South Korea for not providing naval support for the US operations in and around Hormuz. Naturally, this new sports diplomacy generates hopeful expectations of positive developments between North and South Korea, and even the US. I don't know how likely the latter aspect might be. Is Trump trying to exert leverage on the South?
I doubt President Trump would follow up on any potential negotiations with North Korea. He could just be looking for the media hype of a meeting with Kim. The circumstance that he's supposed to come to Asia to meet with Xi, has generated expectations for some grandstand play. Pence went to the Winter Games... Cha's contention that the 9.18 agreement didn't preclude Yoon's drone flights into North Korea is just weird. Who thinks you can fly military aircraft north of the DMZ?
As always JS, thanks for your efforts on EBs. I intend to dig in to them tonight.
(edited to fix dates)
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Reply to: The Evening Blues - 5-4-26
I should have mentioned this more recent provocation of North Korea with drones from the South.
There is a March 26 article in NK News that lays out in some detail, the immediate events that prompted the South Korean Unification Minister to apologize to North Korea. Specifically, it was North Korean disclosure of drone flights allegedly carried out by a private civilian engineer in South Korea who launched drones from Gangwha Island into North Korea during the Lee administration. It's a bizarre story. I put it in the category of a legend as it's known in the spy business. Others might characterize it as a limited hangout. The key thing to keep in mind, is that the hard right, politically active engineer, reputed to be an Ayn Rand afficionado, worked in the Yoon administration's Presidential Office. The "lone droner" if you will.
Take note that drone flights into North Korea, had been, a part or subpart of Yoon's cloak and dagger conspiracy to overthrow the South Korean government with a martial law coup, the aim of which was to make Yoon dictator. The mysterious Mr. Oh was a worshipper of the dictator Syngman Rhee and waxed eloquently about the former Japanese Imperial Government building in Seoul, and lamented that it was torn down in a written work. His more recent private "civilian effort" to send drones into North Korea during the Lee administration referred to prosecution on February 26 this year, doesn't seem so innocent. I view the NK News article as an implausible whitewash. It is ironic that such cloak and dagger operations if anything may have indirectly lead to renewed contact with North Korea.
I was quite surprised that the article isn't behind a paywall, like most of the NK News' work. One other oddity, among many, is that Mr. Oh, an engineer by training, directed his drone flights, purportedly to monitor radiation "leakage" at a North Korea uranium enrichment facility north of Pyongyang. Sounds like an environmentalist, right? Well, here's the link below with a brief excerpt to whet the appetite. I hope the site is accessible and that others don't get a paywall.
Crossing the line: The making of the man who flew drones into North Korea
According to the Korea National Police Agency, Oh launched drones into North Korean airspace four times: Sept. 27, Nov. 16 and Nov. 22, 2025, and on Jan. 4, 2026.
Each flight departed from Ganghwa Island on the west coast and was programmed to fly autonomously over Kaesong and Pyeongsan County before returning to Paju. A round trip took roughly four hours, potentially stretching to six in strong winds.
The first three flights drew no public response. Then, on Jan. 10, North Korea broke its silence.
The Korean Central News Agency carried a statement claiming South Korean drones had intruded into its airspace in September and on Jan. 4, calling the incidents “grave provocations.” The DPRK army said it used electronic warfare to force the January drone to crash near Kaesong. The party daily Rodong Sinmun published detailed photographs of the wreckage.
#1.1 #1.1
I did have a slew of Dr. visits in the last few weeks. Mostly checkups. And a dreaded coloscopy.
And I've noticed an inordinate amount of RVs on the way up and back from the farm. Seems a little early for vacays.
The farm is 76 miles away, but costs less than 3 bucks in electric, round trip.
So we are good to go unless they spike the rates or shut off the power altogether.
Have a great day. thanks for the post.