Darn. I like his stuff less now that I know that.

Not exactly a bloom, but we emerged from winter this week and I found this little tree. Yikes! [image: IMG-5311.jpg] It’s a dwarf weeping Altas Cedar. It came through the winter of ‘24-‘25 just fine, but the cold snap this winter may have killed it. What? Don’t cedars grow in Alaska and stuff? Nursery guy says it’s probably fine - that it will drop the brown needles and grow new ones. Sure enough, the branches are still pliable so maybe there is hope.

I'll read this! I couldn't sleep, at all, last night. It was insomnia, not a disturbance in the neighborhood. (My neighbors on their best behavior). So, I took two naps today. I had to do it. But how will I get to sleep tonight? And then tomorrow we have that stupid time change, meaning it will be in effect tomorrow morning.

Where's the drummer emoticon when you need it?

Apple and justme were the two people who welcomed me to the old Coffee Room so many years ago. It's been quite a trip since then. Big Al

@Steve-Miller said: @Mik said: Bad Bunny. Kennedy Center. The stupid never stops. The “Bad Bunny Kennedy Center” does have a nice ring to it… What did I miss re Bad Bunny and the Kennedy Center?

Great stories! Thanks!

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.

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.

@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.