“Statistics [data] are not truth, they are an approximation of the truth.”
– Bill James; data is the plural of datum
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
– Attributed to Albert Einstein
I am usually on the treadmill 70-80 minutes (4.5-5 miles) every other day. Combine my workout regimen (very helpful in managing stress and my blood sugar) with the fact that, due to severe GERD, I cannot eat dinner–and haven’t in at least 12 years–and I am hungry almost every minute I am awake.
While exercise is, of course, beneficial to one’s health, not being able to go back to sleep after the night’s first bathroom trip because of extreme hunger is not. Sleep is not a luxury, but absolutely necessary for the body and mind to restore themselves. I woke up this morning at 1:30 AM to go to the bathroom and was unable to go back to sleep because I was so hungry. Getting something to eat, even just a protein shake and protein bar, makes it impossible to go back to sleep because of the GERD. Once again, rock meet hard place.
Medications like Diazepam aid with sleep, but cannot be taken every day. I cannot take them the night before a “treadmill day” as they interfere with my workout.
EVERYTHING is a trade-off. However, trade-offs like the ones I have had to make seem extreme to me.
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Is the tide turning?
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From this Why Evolution Is True post: “You know the world is fucked up when Mr. Rogers would be cancelled.”
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On Saturday a piece by Evan Barker was published in The Free Press with the title, “I Raised $50 Million for the Democrats. This Week, I Voted for Trump.” The sub-head reads, “The Democratic Party turned its back on me and my family long before I turned my back on it.” Here is an interesting paragraph among the many interesting paragraphs:
“When you consider what the modern Democratic Party has become, you begin to understand how they lost touch with their base. At the home of a major donor, a billionaire who lives in a mansion overlooking San Francisco Bay, I listened to the speakers hoping to raise funds for the 2022 midterms. Waiters dressed in black with silver trays bounced between wealthy elites. The speakers outlined their strategy for winning the midterms and the 2024 election saying: ‘We no longer want to win the working class. We don’t need those people anymore. They’re gone forever. The future will be young Latinos and people of color.’”
The Republicans have long been thought of as the party of elites, as in the very wealthy. The Democrats are now the party of self-anointed elites, very wealthy or not. Noted economist and author Thomas Sowell, an extremely intelligent person, wrote a book titled “The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy.” Way ahead of the curve, the book was published in 1995.
Of course, the irony is that Trump received 45% of the Latino vote–54% of Latino men–the highest percentage ever for any Republican Presidential candidate. I wish I could simply link to the piece and you could read it, but you need a paid subscription. I believe in property rights so I will not publish the article (almost 2,700 words) here in its entirety.
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Speaking of “property,” tonight’s Mega Millions drawing would net $100+ million after taxes to the only winning ticket, sold in Arizona to me and my wonderful wife of course, after taking the cash option. My wonderful wife and I have often discussed whether or not we could keep such a prize a secret. Yes, we have a ticket.
Of course, Mark Twain’s famous remark (“The only way two people can keep a secret is if one of them is dead.”) always resonates. Winston Churchill once said, “It is wonderful how well men can keep secrets they have not been told.”
A cache of cars would have to wait until we were able to get another garage built. A summer home (in Utah?) would not have to wait. Well, maybe I wouldn’t have to wait to buy a car like this.
Because my F-Type is Red, I have had a reluctance to buy a Red Supra. I now realize that such a restriction is arbitrary. Besides, I can always get the car wrapped in British Racing Green. 😉
Here are some “Pelated Rosts” as determined by me.
Frugal Friday, Einstein Edition
Saturn Saturday
The Pill Ritual
Please feel free to click on the links to any or all of these posts. Thanks.
#Trade-OffTuesday