I wish you could send us some, Andy. Apparently, the extreme lack of humidity is exacerbating allergy conditions (mine is a severe allergy to mold I developed when I was 29 in New Orleans and now made worse because the house molded after Hurricane Milton caused the roof to leak water in the house and in the walls). Allergy medications aren't stopping the symptoms now and my nose hasn't stopped bleeding along with producing constant mucus along with constantly coughing up mucus. It feels like a chronic upper respiratory infection after happening for months. I heard today the lack of humidity might be a partial explanation. I've scheduled an appointment with my Doctor for next week.

I can't follow this. RFK, Jr. Is deranged. He has some good ideas in general and some good analyses of the beuracracy related to the COVID debacle but his rides on Epstein's plane and his complicity in the actions of this administration render him entirely unfit for office.

I present to you the replacement! Link to video

My sincere thanks for telling this wonderful story of your father's life. I related to many aspects of it in thinking about my father's generation and my own.

Burn it to the ground.

I can't help wonder what kind of disability would be conducive to unleashing creativity with this watercolor-like design but I'm all for it. It's creative and sensitive. We need more of this kind of thoughtfulness in the world.

He's said he's sending ground troops. Or at least I think I recall that. He says something new every ten minutes. An official of his government said, "Turkey is the new Iran." At least, I think it was his government official. It could have been an official in Netanyahu's government. They sound the same same. I'm not being snarky. What happened to the old Iran? Is it not still there? Demanding Iran surrender unconditionally shows a complete disconnect from reality.

Ugh. Thanks for the reminder.

This is why we had the New Deal. The FCC is a shadow now of what it used to be. Sad. I keep telling people CNN, CBS, Fox, et. al. are state media. The same is true of broadcast. The same is true of print. The argument I hear back is that they have, "prestige." Well, they might have it. Legitimacy, not so much.

It's hard to tell. One with leverage is one too many.

I lost my Japanese permanent residency during covid, unfortunately. So I no longer have an easy escape.

I miss Mary. She was very influential on my piano journey. Whenever I play the Aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations I think about her and how much she encouraged me to learn Bach. Some memories. Mary playing the Aria. Link to video Mary and her Mother at her Piano Party back in 2006. Wow! 20 years ago. [image: 1772809670961-applesparty-1-06-maryandmom.jpg] The group shot from that party. [image: 1772809670993-applesparty1-2006-group.jpg] Mary and Kim at our house when they visited for a couple of days. She is reading some Mozart. [image: 1772809671022-marykimestonia.jpg]

@wtg said: The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There's irony. Heh!

I like the radiators (perfect, imo) and fireplaces. I like that its stone built to keep out the elements. The closest we have to this in Florida is concrete block. Concrete block houses, apartment buildings, and hotels will stand up to hurricanes, if the there is no ground floor flooding, and if the roof doesn't fail, and both of these risks can be mitigated by researching the flood zone designation and the roof's age. In the case of ground floor flooding in a concrete block built building, the damage can be fixed. These buildings have the added advantage of being sound-proof. I'm ruling out any apartment building that's not concrete block built in the '60's or '70's. The only thing I don't like about this house is it's two stories without a stair lift or a small elevator like a tube elevator. It's not ideal for "age in place." I've observed that sooner or later, nobody can walk up and down stairs. I already mentioned living in a remote location, and especially on an island, isn't for the faint of heart. This is a nit-picking, academic criticism, since the chances of me being able to move to the U.K. and afford this house are approaching zero. Maybe it's perfect like it is because it was built this way.

@jon-nyc said: [image: 1772647741619-bbffc5fa-7bf7-4ca5-8d47-bee35a7e29ca.jpeg] This is great. It's like thinking recycling plastic will save the oceans. The problem is out of control. Plastic doesn't only wash up on beaches in South East Asia. It washes up on beaches on Hawaii Island. There's no way for the U.S. to stop it. How are much poorer countries going to stop it? Carry on.