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Jerry May

Sandra, 

Danny and You are in my thoughts and prayers! And Hull is right! Until one has been through it,

it's impossible to know the pain. I've had persistent lower back pain for 30 years, due to another driver's

inattention! And I had open heart 11 years ago. 

And switching meds is something I'm always cautious about. (more inclined not to)

Hope Danny gets all the help he needs. It's tough going through life with constant pain~j

David Wier

I just posted a file I created to the Politics section of the User Forums called Algorithms of Control. It includes exerpts from a recent show called "Rabbit Hole". I found it interesting in that follows todays politics (IMHO) in a quite general, somewhat tongue in cheek way. It's a little lengthy and I didn't want to post it here because of that. So, if you're up to a 5 minute read, check it out.

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Jerry,

Thank you for your thoughts and concern.  We are all good here.  I bit of pain, yes, a few muscle cramps too, but nothing like it was over the last summer, or prior years.  The infection Danny had in his heart affected all the metal in his spine.  He experienced the worse pain of his life last summer.  Not one doctor knew what was causing this intense pain, but guessed back issues.  They all tried their best to help, but I am afraid their attempts to cure the pain with steriods just made the infection worse. It was the routine Echo and later a trans esphosgeal echo (TEE) revealed the trashed valve.   It seems that the type of cardiac infection is almost impossible to detect with normal blood work.  You must draw the blood from the actual site of the infection to detect it.  The bacteria are encapsulated.  They only realized it was an infection when the surgeon held the old heart valve in his hand. 

Danny was quite lucky he had a relatively non-invasive heart surgery to replace the mitral valve (with a bovine valve).  They went in between two ribs on the right side and collasped the lungs to reach the heart.  So no bones were sawed and his recovery was actually quite swift. He was walking the same day (hooked up to 10 IV's but walking).  We went to UT Southwestern where they pioneered this surgery.  He had the surgery on a Friday (early December) and returned home on Monday.  He was on an IV PIC line for 6 weeks.  Which was expensive (insurance would not cover this) and I had to learn to change out the bags, and flush the two lines, with saline and heparin.  I am now pretty qualified as a nurse....Home health came once per week to clean the lines and change the bandage.  He was on the line 23 hours per day for 6 weeks.  One hour per day off to take a shower.  His only complication was AFIB.  That brought him to the hospital three times and he stayed for almost a week twice to regulate the heart, all totaled 15 days in various hospitals.  I witnessed them putting the paddles to him in the ER once.  That was an experience!  He was one sick puppy.  Lost 40 pounds.  Happliy gained it back and then some.

For sicker or poorer.  Boy I know that all too well.

It is not uncommon to experience AFIB after heart surgery.  For a  lower percentage of patients it is permanent.  It is permanent with Danny.  He has to take two drugs to control the rhythm.  Another for blood pressure, plus baby aspirin and Eliquis.  

Sorry for the rant.  When this stuff happens you realize that all the other stuff we normally worry about is just stuff and means nothing.  We are alive.  We laugh, and try to enjoy what we have.  It is all good.

Kurt Fischer

David:

I saw your note in Next Door asking what had happened to your St Augustine lawn.  I had the same experience.  I'm afraid the winter and attendant snow/ice killed quite a bit of our lawns.  I'm lucky enough that I'm already getting some coverage by the spreading of small patches that made it through the winter.  

Advice from my fertilizer company.  Don't attempt to rake the "dead" grass.  There's a good chance you'll rake off the spreading stolons (new word for me....).  Fertilize, water, and hope for sunshine.  

Hope this is helpful.

David Cordell

Thanks, Kurt. 

We have also been told that it could be a fungus. In looking closely at my lawn, I was surprised to see how many little weeds are in it. We have a lawn service, and we fertilize as suggested. We only have a small problem compared to many in the neighborhood, and our lawn is fairly small because most of the front yard is taken up by flower beds. But I think we need to get, and stay, on top of this situation.

Steve Keene

Wayne and Janalu,

I am not saying Tommy is stuck up, but I hear he is dealing with constipation from a taffy pulling accident.

Lowell Tuttle

David.   So all these banks and financials which have holdings in bonds (for safety, lol) with lower interest rates and who have (in banks cases) over loaned out assets and are now having their deposits put under pressure.  And the insurance companies who have positions in bonds which have been devalued significantly...they are under pressure due to rising claims costs in the inflationary environment.  (We are seeing insurance company downgrading in the financial ratings.)

It appears to me the strategy these companies are using is hold on to those bonds until they mature, and in the meantime get rescued, either by the government or privately.

As the bonds are paid off, they have to re invest...and I am assuming like me, when I go to the bank to buy a CD, the returns are much better on the short term stuff rather than the long term stuff.

What does this portend for long term safe investing.   I guess there is not any for now.   Everything invested in fixed investments will be transferred to shorter term treasuries, CD's, and the like.

I wonder what this does for economic growth.   I would guess eventually, long term demands like mortgages and commercial lending will eventually have to raise their interest rates more to attract the paid off bond and other money, thus causing further interest rate hikes...and another cycle start viciously...

I mean, USAA has lost some 25 billion in assets over the last 18 months.   Progressive, has had to raise rates three or four times and institute some fairly strict underwriting rules to slow their new business growth...Homeowners insurance rates are going thru the roof.   I am seeing 20-30-40-50% increases on customers who have no losses for five six seven years...

The knee jerk reaction we are seeing in P & C rates will cause a lot of market problems...especially in weather affected areas like Texas...(Florida, La, Miss, Ala, SC, NC...)

But then, the rates will have to bounce back down from that knee jerk hike the market has taken, as the profits will be too high to maintain those rates.

Just ranting...

Bob Davidson

David,

In the Art Institute of Chicago, did you make it to the Picasso exhibit?  Until I saw that many of his paintings in order, I wasn't particularly a fan -- I saw him as a sort of celebrity playing a great artist, like so many (I started with some names, then thought better of it).  When I had the opportunity to see how his work evolved, I was pretty much awestruck and realized that the guy really was a genius.

Lowell Tuttle

This is a hyperlink to the show Susie and I went to see last year here in Houston...

https://www.immersivevangogh.com/

Steve Keene

Wayne,

Take solace in the fact that Tommy called you a Lamplighter kindergartner.  Tommy is so out of touch he does not realize that he has put you among kindergarten elite.  A true insult would have put you in a Hamilton Park or Garland kindergarten.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

According to genious Biden, our most urgent problem is White Supremacy, as was spoken at a Black university graduation ceremony recently.

And THIS is the man we are supposed to believe will be able to lead our country for another term against the encroaching Chinese, Russian and Iranian dilemma headed our way?

Russ Stovall

Kurt and David:

I have the same problem.  You are correct in the annology of the cause.  I think it was more the that hard winter that got a lot of the St. Augstine.  What I have is healthy looking and hope for it to spread.  I have more weeds this year than I have ever had.  

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

This discussion of weeds got me to thinking about why etc.  I found this facinating article which tells you that depending upon the weed, is an indicator of what is up with the soil  For example, Dandelions indicate poor soil low in calcium and compacted.   Here is the link if anyone is interested:  What Weeds Tell You About Your Soil

As for my "yard", it is an acre of crazyness.  I had a good patch of St. Augustine last year, which appeared dead in early spring this year.  It is right over where our aerobic system sprays daily, so it gets plenty of water.  So that was not the issue, I suspect it was the hard freezes we had this year and last.  I have noticed in the last three weeks it has miraculously regenerated.  I have mowed it only twice so as not to stress it too much.  Now it seems to be spreading.  The rest is either bare ground (especially under our trees) or a mixed bag of weeds.  The later of which I mow every two weeks or so depending upon the weather.  We have a huge patch of some sort of weed that has some nasty burrs that bother our dog.  It covers almost half of our acre.  Poison on such a mass scale would affect the birds (we have a few wild turkeys), frogs, lizards and yes, deer.  So I don't do it.  Besides, it would cost an arm and leg to first, kill it and then plant and water the bare ground replacing it with something that is constantly thristy.  All this to no avail.  We tried it on a small patch last year and the stuff just spread even more.  What I really cheer on is the native bermuda grass.   The kind you buy at the local nurseries is tiff and if you don't give it an expensive drink of water three times weekly dries up and dies immediately.  I have vowed never to spend another dime on grass seed or grass by the pallet ever again.  The water restrictions imposed on us the last two years killed off roughly 2K in useless grass, rose bushes and assorted ornamentals.  No more.  Weeds or not, what I do have is green.  When it is mowed to a reasonable height it covers most of the yard and looks decent from a distance.  Good enough for me, the butterflies and bees.  I have also started a rather impressive cactus garden....

Wayne Gary

Kurt, David and Russ

I have the same problem with the areas of my yard that had direct afternoon sun during Aug amd Sept.  I was gone 3 weeks and had sprinklers every 3 days and the areas ended up burning. I have put in 6-8" square plugs and I do have sprigs that survived. I went to a grass seller on 14th in Plano and bought sod and cut it into 6-8" squares Thursday week before last and they are taking hold.

Lowell Tuttle

They are cutting and digging out new drainage and water lines in Champions and when they fill in the holes with a back ho, they put down any/everyman's sod.   We have so much rain, it immediately betrays our lawn to be under served by us.   We have big clumps of new sod only a week and half old now growing about 4 inches every week.   Mower are overworked.

Throw it down it grows here...

Wayne Gary

Steve,

Thank you for your info.  I will not say the name and he/she/they/them (I don't know which PGP is correct) continually confirms my thoughts.

David Cordell

Bob -

I've been to the Art Institute at least three times, but I don't remember a Picasso exhibit. Tons of impressionists, though. I have seen some of Picasso's earlier work. He clearly knew how to paint more traditionally before he became the Picasso we know.

Bob and Sandra -

I'm sure I have shared the details of my son Rob's descent into drug usage. We were able to keep him on track long enough to earn his Eagle Scout rank and Order of the Arrow, but there was bad stuff along the way, and worse stuff subsequently. When Sandra mentioned seeing the paddles applied to Danny, it brought back the very dark memory of seeing the paddles applied to Rob, only it was too late.

Lowell -

Some of the banking problems are are associated with bad management, but the big problem was inflation, which raised interest rates so much. Matching the duration (which is not the same as maturity and considers maturity, rate, and payment structure) of assets and liabilities is critical. Borrowing-short-and-lending-long is disastrous if rates rise precipitously. Two years ago we refinanced our house at 2 7/8 percent. The market value of that loan if sold to another entity is considerably lower than it was then because of the rise in interest rates. That is the situation with the insurance companies. They've taken a big hit on their asset (mostly bond) valuations, but there are no runs on insurance companies like there are on banks. By the way, earlier today I heard a market watcher speak favorably about Lincoln Financial. Negative earnings because of rate changes, but dividend yield is 9+%. (No, I'm not recommending it.) But when rates go back down, the value of insurance company assets will go back up.

David Cordell

Martha and I watched the documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie on Apple TV last night. It looks at his battle with Parkinson's disease.I highly recommend it. Here is a trailer.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Steve referred to Hamilton Park, not Highland Park; two very different schools.

Steve is still very informative and sharp as a tack.  Stop attacking him.

He's a darling guy, and funny with lots of jokes and puns.

He deserves respect from his peers; not jeers.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

I've heard ponyfoot is a good groundcover.  One of its colors is silver ponyfoot, but there are darker colors in varieties that are related to ponyfoot. 

Ponyfoot is considered a weed by some, but it is a nice, friendly, cooperative weed of value.  Dollarweed is another one.

Ajuga is another groundcover that likes lots of sun and is attractive.

Trying to have grass is almost a losing proposition in the Texas heat.  Bermuda is an inexpensive grass, but needs a lot of water, so some people take a couple of buckets into the shower with them, to collect shower water, then throw the water out on the lawn afterwards.  They also save their "gray" water and reuse it too. Most folks don't want to go to those lengths, as they/we are a spoiled lot.  Our ancestors were a more determined, inventive and thrifty people.

Do any of you remember watching THE LIFE OF RILEY on TV?  (just popped into my mind when I was thinking of my Dad's old push mower.......I liked pushing that darn thing back when I was about 5 or 6.....  He would fuss at me to stop doing that, because I was barefoot.  He would tell me to go put on some shoes before messing with the mower, worried about toes being chopped, I guess by other kids who would want to try pushing the contraption too....) 

Jerry May

I had almost forgotten about this one! This evokes memories of: dancing, miniskirts, hairdo's, the war 

and 1969! And this wasn't Tommy Roes' only hit!

Lowell Tuttle

Janalu, my brother in law left us a push mower he used and I sharpened it up and greased the axles.   I had to cut down some huge pine trees last year and sodded up the yard in those sections.   I hire my yard folks to come every two weeks.   The new sod outgrew the old grass by 3-5 inches a week.   I have no mower, so I got out the old push mower.   It works well, but you have to go twice to properly clip...and though it seems efficient at first, it wears a mother out.

Hanging in my garage now...back issues don't allow further use until after I get that fixed.   

It's very charming though...and not for a Life of Riley.

David:   The run on insurance companies, at least P & C, is the inflationary claims process coming out of Covid as well as the weather situation and increasing re insurance costs.   This is happening at the same time as the loss of reserves in the investment side.   Companies have to have a good financial sheet relative to the volume in premium they write or they can be down graded by S & P and Best.   Then, their paper will not be acceptable by mortgage companies, lenders, lien holders....blah blah blah...   So, it's not a run as such...and the avenue they have to recover is fairly quick.   In most states they can raise their rates as high at that state's political climate has allowed them.   California?  A problem for carriers.  Texas?  no problem...

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Lowell,

You are correct!   The old push mowers are great exercise for a body of any sort, and, yes, you do have to push them over a spot a couple of times to snip every blade of grass to uniform height, but the mowers may be brought back to life, since gasoline is now considered a scourge upon the earth. 

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Have any of you readers seen the foot bridge built by Mexican cartel, over the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona, videoed by Ben Bergquam, a US reporter who works for a news organization called Real America's Voice?  The organization is an 'up and coming' company that I've come across recently.  They are mad as hell at the way Biden, Mayorkas and the DNC is blatantly ignoring US law, and is allowing illegals to enter this country, rather than keeping Americans safe from cartel members crossing the bridge carrying fentanyl and other drugs right into the US, as Real America Voice stood by filming them.  The news organization has reported the situation to authorities, but the authorities have already known about the bridge, and have their own video from their drones at their disposal.  They seem to be unable or unwilling to take any action about the problem.

Ben Bergquam walked across the bridge to find all kinds of discarded paper garbage scattered on the ground.  He found discarded passports that he held up to the cameramen for all to see, from China, Ghana in Africa, Nepal, Malaysia, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Kazakhstan, etc,. and stated that the passports are tossed aside so as to arrive in the US with no identifying ID.  The cartels tell the illegals to take that action and probably, they also tell the obeying tresspassers to lie about their true names.

This is the total remaking of the America population that Obama told us he intended to have in the America he envisioned, just as he was about to gain power through his initial election.  This is the "transformation" he advised would come about when he gained office.  He always envisioned America to be reinvented to be like Europe, I think, because he felt America was developed originally to be a racist country, and he wanted to have revenge for the African people brought here against their will.  He wanted to "stick it" to the Anglo-Americans who are our ancestors.  How sweet of him to set all of this in motion, as he "set up" Biden and Harris, his two obedient lap dogs, to be ushered into office for the Obama THIRD TERM, with almost the exact same presidential staff of his own administration.  And now we hear that Michelle Obama is considering running for president, to bring to Washington DC the FOURTH TERM of Obama's continuing stranglehold on this nation.  How did we get so lucky as to have his VISION become our reinvention?

Has anyone really known Obama, the man he truly is?  Is he really the Black Messiah that many feel he is?

David Cordell

Jerry - Your Tommy Roe video reminded me of my favorite example of the concept of synergy: Short skirts and windy days. Last Sunday at church I saw a couple of girls wearing dresses almost as short. Would have been sent hom from RHS circa 1969.

Janalu - I think I have already mentioned this. My water heater is on the opposite end of the house from my shower. I run the water into a bucket about two-thirds of the way to the top (so I can carry it without spilling) and then I pour it into the swimming pool. No, it doesn't solve the water situation, but at least it is more than a drop in the bucket.

Re Life of Riley -- yes, I enjoyed that show. Sadly, my second memory of William Bendix is his lame portrayal of Babe Ruth in the Babe Ruth Story. It is hard to play someone who is bigger than life. (Don't mention the difficulty of playing the role of Jesus. It's easy by comparison. No existing film and no need to replicate his swing!)