Between applying a cold compress gel pack several times each day and otherwise wearing a brace, I’m making progress with my knee injury.
The pain has been reduced to discomfort, and hobbling around the house has been improved to reasonably comfortable walking. Here’s hoping I don’t have a torn ligament.
The birthday present I gave myself yesterday was a reminder that I’m a year older. I went jogging (calling it “running” would be disingenuous) then, half a mile from home, I felt something pop in my left knee. It came with immediate pain, but I was able to walk home without difficulty.
If the aspirin I took before going to bed helped, it wasn’t enough to keep my knee from hurting like crazy. I kept waking up from the pain, but then I felt something pop back into place. Suddenly it was better I and slept through the night. Today it’s very stiff when bending, but the pain isn’t too bad.
I am reminded of what happened twenty years ago. At the end of a long run, half a mile from home, I felt something pop in my foot. It was my posterior tibial tendon. Today, I’m self-diagnosing an MCL injury.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/inner-medial-knee-pain
So far, I’m not feeling the need to see an orthopedic specialist. I’ve managed the PTT adequately for these many years. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to similarly manage my knee injury.
Unrelated to my physical condition, but related to what I wrote about yesterday, is Trump’s hollow promise of delivering $5000 to every adult if, and only if, Republicans hold onto both the Senate and the House in November. That’s assuming Trump doesn’t do something crazy, like declaring martial law, to prevent the elections from being held.
Let’s pretend this sad attempt at buying votes is actually real. Trump is determined to get hold of state voter registration lists. He would use them so that only registered voters would be eligible for the cash reward. Second, he would deny payment to everyone except Republicans. Third, we suffered a serious inflation spike from Biden’s stimulus payout, so a similar program would likely have the same effect. Finally, isn’t Trump supposed to be worried about Socialism and government hand-outs?
It’s one con job after another. He just can’t stop himself.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/09/trump-oil-gas-prices-midterm-elections.html
“Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate … I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/10/trump-dividend-midterms-gop.html
Besides those reckless and nonsensical promises, Trump is recklessly and nonsensically labeling all Democrats as Communists. Once again, he’s returning to the playbook that he learned from the piece of shit that was Roy Cohn.
At the start of the year I wrote about my first experience with trouble reading a manufactured CD (rather than burned media).
Now I’ve encountered a case of DVD rot.
No surprise, it’s a Warner DVD.
Warner Bros. will supposedly make good on replacements when possible, by writing to them at whv@wbd.com. But I don’t want to go through the hassle.
The set appears to still be in print, so I ordered a new copy. If Popeye volumes 2&3 show the same problem then I’ll contact Warner.
If nothing else, this site is useful for checking on some things. I see that I wrote about the Popeye set nineteen years ago today, having paid exactly the same price that I paid again a few minutes ago.
The worst mistake of the George W. Bush administration was its “intervention” in Iraq. The worst mistake, so far, of the second Trump administration is its “intervention” in Iran. $100+/barrel for oil here we come.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/08/oil-prices-today-brent-wti-hormuz-iran-war.html
Trump’s alleged, outrageous Venezuela oil deal is pointless. The reserves are mostly asphalt oil for making roads, not light crude for making gasoline.
Diesel fuel is the most expensive it’s ever been, and it’s going to continue setting new records throughout the winter. The cost of home heating oil, that I depend on, tracks diesel. I’m going to look for electric space heaters.
