So my piano jury is this afternoon! I’m a little nervous but also really excited. And excited to be past it! But obviously there’s a little bit of anxiety there too because I woke up from the funniest anxiety dream this morning. I had a dream that I went to the testing room, and instead of being in the piano classroom with a Steinway grand as expected, it was rundown house (the kind you’d expect to see as “the old lady’s house” in an anime film with stuff everywhere, hoarder style). There was no grand piano, only a very rickety digital keyboard. I sat down at the piano, and the rule was you had to cover your legs with a big pile of winter blankets. When I did that, I realized there was no pedal, instead, under the keyboard was a small child. Every time you wanted to pedal, you had to tap the child’s head with your foot. Then I realized I didn’t have my sheet music (that’s how you can tell it was a dream, because I always play from my iPad!) so after I ruffled through all these scores for the wrong pieces, my husband said he would go and get it. So he left, and then the lead instructor stood up and said “I’m going to the post office, who has mail?” and that was when I realized there were like ten other teachers in the room. Everyone stood up and started running around collecting all these envelops to be mailed. The lead teacher told me to practice while she was gone, and I started to practice (I was trying to figure out how to pedal without stepping on the child’s head). The keyboard was mushy and horrible, but I thought maybe I could get the hang of it but then I realized that one of the walls of the house was missing and open to the street, and a cement mixer came and started pouring cement in the road, and then there was a big rusted metal frame structure, almost like a water tower but without the basin at the top, which was attached to the cement mixer, so the frame started to topple over as the cement mixer continued to move away from it while pouring cement. I was trying to practice my piece, and watching the metal structure slowly get pulled over, and I realized both my husband and the teacher were not going to be able to get back to the house because the road was now covered in wet cement. So I was stuck there Then I realized I was practicing the wrong piece…. And then I woke up. I think it’s going to be a good day.

Link to video Our Secretary of Defense is a former Fox anchor.

Do you like Wal-Mart? Do you like Sam's Club? (Or did they go out of business?) Or is it just Costco? Is their gas still a bargain? Gas has gone up here from $3.75 to $4.50 in about a week.

I do get Tangle but haven’t been reading it recently. I did read this - thanks for posting it.

As if they don't have enough problems.

I received a message from the Universe. It said, "You need to be silent now. The time for words has passed, and the time for action had arrived." Who am I to disagree? ; So, from today, I will occasionally send private messages. Be well, everyone!

@Big_Al I can't remember what I did exactly, but I read about it and got advice from people on PW. In the end it was super easy, and I didn't do anything special to protect the parts outside of the logo. It may be because this is a Yamaha, and the finish is probably as indestructible as you can get for a piano. ??

Well, what I read and listen to (stuff about real estate and about the economy in general) seems to all be pointing to a consensus that we're about to hit something like the 2008 situation but structurally different and even worse. I hope I can buy real estate soon because frankly it's so low here now I don't care if it goes lower. I was paying my rent today and Mr. Monopoly the owner was at the office. He was very friendly because he remembered meeting me when he got parked his car on the road and got out of it a few months ago, and I was likewise. It's all fun and games until the land you live on gets sold to private equity.

It's scheduled to pass through my area on July 11th. I'll certainly make an attempt to see it if the trackside crowds aren't too enormous. Big Al

Q: What do you call a lazy kangaroo? A: A pouch potato.

@Daniel I suspect AIPAC is probably one of the reasons Ken Martin isn't releasing the report. This will hurt the party. There are way too many Democrats who want to see big money out of politics. Martin, as a fundraiser is obviously kissing a** to raise funds which will, in turn, require Democratic candidates to bend the knee to the moneyed interests sending in checks. This is no longer a viable approach for Democrats. I hear a lot of acquaintances saying they will no longer give to the DNC and prefer to send checks directly to the candidates themselves. I think this is a good idea. DNC money is as dirty as GOP money when it comes to politics and it steals politicians away from the average voter's interest. Not always, of course, but way too often.

Oh, and I decided to be a team player, sign the papers, and move on with life. I also reconciled with my cousin and SIL this morning. It's not a perfect world. My father certainly never said any such thing. It's time for me to move forward.

Always been a big fan of his.

Love it!

This country was founded on Enlightenment principles. But good luck arguing with a Christian nationalist. Smashing your head against a concrete wall would be a better use of your time. They believe in a metaphysical power, as the professor said, and they also believe that their point of view constitutes absolute truth. They are theocratic and their metaphysical views contain some very strange ideas. All of this would be fine, if they understood that their religious beliefs were their private concern. But, no. They feel perfectly justified in trying to create a world in which an apocalypse would happen. I live in a Evangelical Christian neighborhood. Let's just say that hell will freeze over before I'll be inviting any of them to my home. I guess I'm beyond the culture shock, and there are good and bad people in any group, but, in general, what I have encountered is appalling to me. YMMV.

Well, into every life a little rain must fall. Pilots do an amazing job, every day. They're awesome. My guess is that they'll handle this like the professionals we know then to be. Pilots? Respect!

Welcome to the club.