Medical Issues, August 31st, 2024

Getting old sucks.

The fractured right ankle has added to my other physical woes of a shot left knee and the constant lung monitoring.

I had planned to finally get the knee attended to in December but the ankle has led me to wonder if I really want to go through this sort of thing again. I'm leaning toward canceling the knee replacement but my wife won't be happy about that.

My next lung checkup is in October. Hopefully the ankle will be better by then but bad news in the lung checkup might impact the scheduled repair even if I decide to go through with it.

I spend way too much time in doctor's offices. Let's look at the current schedule coming up.

September 5th, Pulmonologist, checkup.

September 13th, Dentist, cleaning.

September 16th week, Orthopedist, ankle checkup

October 14th, CT Scan, lungs.

October 29th, Thoracic Surgeon, results of CT Scan (this is the big one)

November 12th, Orthopedic Nurse, Knee Surgery pre-op

November 14th, Cardiologist, checkup and knee surgery clearance

November 18th, Pulmonologist, knee surgery clearance

November 19th, Primary Care, knee surgery clearance.

December 5th, Orthopedist, Knee Surgery

December 6th, Orthopedist, release from hospital

December 18th, Orthopedic PA, post knee surgery check-up 

January 6th, Eye Doctor, checkup

January 15th, Orthopedist, knee surgery checkup

Damn Ankle

It's been a week since I fractured my right ankle and I can say, unequivocally, that this SUCKS!

I hurt it last Saturday but optimistically decided it was just a strain. But walking to the bathroom and especially going up and down steps were kind of painful. I started using a walker to limit the weight on the ankle.

On Sunday I found it hard to get down the stairs and the ankle looked swollen and black and blue so I gave in and went to the spiffy new Valley Hospital Emergence Room.

I'm spending way too much fucking time at this hospital.

They discovered that it was fractured, wrapped the thing up in a splint and told me to confer with a orthopedist at good old Ridgewood Orthopedics. They gave me crutches but said that I could use a walker as well. The walker felt more secure so I've been using that.

I managed to get an appointment at Ridgewood Orthopedics for late Wednesday.

The doctor verified that it was fractured, but shouldn't require surgery (that was REALLY good), and had his assistant set me up with a walking boot.

Let's talk about this boot. First, the thing in big, clunky, plastic and annoying. It's big on Velcro which is used to both wrap the padding in place and on the three straps which holds the plastic cover in place.

OK, so far so good. What I want to know is who is the idiot that decided that rounding the sole of the boot was a good idea. Bad enough that it's hard, and slippery, plastic but the rounded bottom makes it feel like I'm constantly wobbling.

I take it off when I go to bed so I got a urinal to pee in so I don't have to put the damn thing on every time I need to use the facilities.

The doctor told me to get external lifts to fit on my left sneaker to even out the height. I managed to get them the next morning from Amazon and they are designed right. The have a ridged rubber sole which provides secure footing.

So now my bad left leg with the mangled knee has become the leg I need to rely upon. Obviously I spend a lot of time sitting on my rear end. I was told to lay off exercise for at least a weak and then to take it slow and easy.

I was told to come back in three weeks but the girl at checkout couldn't find an opening and said they would get back to me. I haven't heard from them yet so a call to them on Monday is on my agenda.

The 2024 Election, August 30, 2024

Well, it's Friday again. The DNC is over and RFK Jr. has dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. There is some whispering in the back alleys that Trump may dump Vance for RFK but I don't think that's going to happen.

Harris and Walz gave a joint interview on CNN last night and the reactions have been lukewarm at best. Harris may have made the interview controversial by trying to be uncontroversial. Obviously any impact of that interview won't be in this week's numbers.

Again sites that haven't updated this week will be in italics.

Electoral Vote

Trump -230 (-11), Harris - 292 (+30), Toss Up - 16 (-19)

Real Clear Politics

Trump -219 (NC), Harris - 208 (NC), Toss Up - 111 (NC)

Real Clear Politics - No Tossups

Trump -268 (-19), Harris - 270 (+19), Toss Up - 0

2024 Consensus

Trump -219 (-16), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 93 (+16)

Polling Map

Trump -218 (NC), Harris - 210 (NC), Toss Up - 110 (NC)

Sabatos Crystal Ball

Trump -219 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 93 (NC)

Cook Political Report

Trump -219 (-16), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 93 (+16)

Fox News

Trump -251 (NC), Harris - 241 (NC), Toss Up - 46 (NC)

Elections Daily

Trump -235 (NC, Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77 (NC)

538 Model

Trump -219 (NC), Harris - 251 (NC), Toss Up - 68 (NC)

JHK Forecasts

Trump -235 (-16), Harris - 226 (-15), Toss Up - 77 (+31)

Polymarket Odds

Trump -287 (NC), Harris - 251 (NC), Toss Up - 0 (NC)

Only one site now has Trump with enough electoral votes to win the election and five others have him leading. The biggest impacts have been Real Clear Politics moving Pennsylvania from Trump to Harris in its No Tossups Map and many places making North Carolina a tossup.

Two sites now have Harris with enough votes to win the election and four have her leading.

What are Harris' Policies?

Republicans and their supporters on the right keep asking what Kamala Harris' policies are?

Honestly, I'm not sure I care what her policies are. Congress passes laws and the budget so the president should be little more than the main suggester and critic. 

Unfortunately Executive Orders have become a way for the president to legislate. This isn't a new development. It has been the case since around the time of Theodore Roosevelt who issued 1,081 Executive orders which was more than the first 25 presidents issued combined. But the king of Executive Orders was Franklyn Roosevelt who issued 3,721. But at least he the excuse of s depression and a world war.

Things haven't been that crazy recently but presidents tend to issue between 200 and 400 Executive Orders during their tenure.

I didn't think much of Harris' economic plan and I'm leery of the idea of taxing unrealized capitol gains. I'm opposed to any consideration or reparations which I know that she at least wants to investigate.

I'm sure she's for a nationwide abortion protection, tax reform, improving the Social Security outlook and improved healthcare. I can probably get behind those although as usual the devil is in the details.

So we agree on some things and disagree on others which is what I would expect. The only way I could agree with a candidate on everything would be if the candidate was me.

The 2024 Election, August 23, 2024

I've noticed that some of these sites I've selected to track just aren't updating as often as I thought. I will mark sites that haven't updated in italics. I've also added four sites, Polling Map, Sabatos Crystal Ball, JHK Forecasts and Polymarket Odds, that have updated. I dropped Inside Elections because it hasn't updated since May.

Electoral Vote

Trump -241 (NC), Harris - 262 (-19), Toss Up - 35 (+19)

Real Clear Politics

Trump -219 (NC), Harris - 208 (NC), Toss Up - 111 (NC)

Real Clear Politics - No Tossups

Trump -287 (NC), Harris - 251 (NC), Toss Up - 0

2024 Consensus

Trump -235 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77 (NC)

Polling Map

Trump -218 (NC), Harris - 210 (NC), Toss Up - 110 (NC)

Sabatos Crystal Ball

Trump -219 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 93 (NC)

Cook Political Report

Trump -235 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77 (NC)

Fox News

Trump -251 (NC), Harris - 241 (NC), Toss Up - 46 (NC)

Elections Daily

Trump -235 (-33), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77

538 Model

Trump -219 (-43), Harris - 251 (+25), Toss Up - 68 (+18)

JHK Forecasts

Trump -251 (NC), Harris - 241 (NC), Toss Up - 46 (NC)

Polymarket Odds

Trump -287 (NC), Harris - 251 (NC), Toss Up - 0 (NC)

There are now 12 prediction sites listed. Two have Trump with enough electoral votes to win the election and seven others have him leading. None have Harris with enough votes which is a change from last week and three have her leading.

The 2024 Election, August 16, 2024

Here's what the election prediction sites are saying.

Electoral Vote

Trump -241 (-29), Harris - 281 (+24), Toss Up - 16 (+5)

Real Clear Politics

Trump -219 (NC), Harris - 208 (NC), Toss Up - 111 (NC)

Real Clear Politics - No Tossups

Trump -287 (NC), Harris - 251 (NC), Toss Up - 0

2024 Consensus

Trump -235 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77 (NC)

Cook Political Report

Trump -235 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77 (NC)

Inside Elections

Trump -235 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77 (NC)

Fox News

Trump -251 (NC), Harris - 241 (NC), Toss Up - 46 (NC)

Elections Daily

Trump -235 (-33), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 77

538 Model

Trump -262 (NC), Harris - 226 (NC), Toss Up - 50 (NC)

Not really a lot of changes. The only major movement was in Electoral Vote which is outweighed by little or no movement anywhere else.

10 Hurtful Things White People do to Their Black Colleagues Without Realizing it!?

This is a reaction to a gallery entitled "10 hurtful things white people do to their black colleagues without realizing it" (sic). Hey, I'm not the one that left out the capitals. As a general observation most of these things are actions of omission. I'm not sure how anyone could categorize an action of omission as "hurtful." At worst it's typically neutral.

1) Lack of Frank Feedback If I ever gave some black people constructive criticism I would immediately be labeled a racist. So why bother? 

 2) Failing to Advocate

It's not my job to "advocate" for someone else. Stand up for yourself. 

3) Exclusion from Social Events 

In my work experience external work events are open to all unless it's a private affair. In that case it's up to the individual to decide who they want to invite. 

4) Lack of Engagement on Issues Affecting the Black Community

The issues of the black community are not my problem. I have enough of my own problems to worry about. 

5) Disinterest in Learning About Black Culture

I've read "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo." Does that count? Or are you talking about only American black culture? What you probably mean by "black culture" I find questionable if not downright warped.

6) Not Showing Up (when invited to an event by black people)

Who people decide to spend their leisure time with is up to them. I'm not sure why anyone would think there is some sort of obligation to accept invitations. 

7) Gossip and Stereotyping

I'm an engineer. We don't really gossip unless it's about mathematical errors or dumb ideas. I suppose if this was something that occurred in a work environment I could see how it would be annoying.

8) Ignoring Microaggressions 

The whole micro transgression concept is a lot of nonsense and does an incredible amount of harm. If you really have a problem with what you call a "micro aggression" call people on it when they do it because they probably don't realize that it's a problem. I wouldn't expect anyone else to do it for you.

9) Tokenism

So we should shut down DEI and Affirmative Action initiatives? I'm all for that. 

10) Inconsistent Support for Racial Justice (including supporting "black businesses" and fighting "systemic racism")

Like I said in #4, I have my own problems to worry about. You need to stand up for yourself. What I won't do is stand in your way. I will only support "black owned businesses" if they are best provider of the products or services that I need. I'm not convinced that "systemic racism" is actually a thing. It strikes me as a convenient scapegoat when looking into the real reasons for something is too expensive or likely to yield an answer that people don't like. If you're pushing for "equity" rather than "equality," then you will find me in the opposition because "equity" is not a rational goal. 

 

The 2024 Election August 9, 2024

Here's what the election prediction sites are saying.

Electoral Vote

Trump -270, Harris - 257, Toss Up - 11

Real Clear Politics

Trump -219, Harris - 208, Toss Up - 111

Real Clear Politics - No Tossups

Trump -287, Harris - 251, Toss Up - 0

2024 Consensus

Trump -235, Harris - 226, Toss Up - 77

Cook Political Report

Trump -235, Harris - 226, Toss Up - 77

Inside Elections

Trump -235, Harris - 226, Toss Up - 77

Fox News

Trump -251, Harris - 241, Toss Up - 46

Elections Daily

Trump -268, Harris - 226, Toss Up - 44

538 Model

Trump -262, Harris - 226, Toss Up - 50

Clearly this is still Trump's election to lose. He leads in every model and in two has the 270 required electoral votes or more. RCP with no tossups has Trump winning handily with 287 electoral votes.

Harris Picks Tim Walz

Harris went with Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her VP choice. Walz may look like everyone's grandpa but he packs a wallop and is not afraid to get in the trenches. He's going to make the perfect pit bull for Harris.

Momentum and enthusiasm have come along with Harris but she still has a long way to go.

Trump's base is very hard to shake and the Democratic Party coalition is still very fragile. It's going to be a tough one.