We’re really glad to live somewhere there are fireflies. I didn’t grow up with them in Southern California. Judy had them in Missouri when she was young. We spotted them a couple times in Colorado, but that’s not a natural place for them in that altitude and dry air. In South Texas, they’re here all summer. We see them at night when we’re out for a walk. When we sit on the deck in the dark, we see them in the yard. Once in a while they fly up on the porch with us. Yesterday evening, one was even in the house, blinking his way from room to room. We just like them.
Speaking of Spring Break camping trips
Here is how we rocked them; with a VW Bus, pup tent, supplemental tent in the later years, and a glorious desert.
With a look at the Grand Canyon along the way.
With a look at the Grand Canyon along the way. The economics of politics
The presidential political campaigns are on. We are campaigning in earnest. Untold millions will be spent on efforts to get specific people elected. There will be a positive result for only one person. It’s guaranteed that every other one will fail. I wonder if spending all this money helps us elect a better president. Is all this spending productive in any way? We don’t build anything; the money just goes around in circles. People donate to campaigns. Campaigns pay their staff. Staff buy media ads. Media outlets take the money, broadcast some ads, and pay their employees. Employees buy groceries, houses, and cars. Some employees might even make political contributions. What just happened? Where did the money go? Where is the benefit? Maybe in economic terms that’s all that has to happen. Maybe it doesn’t matter what money gets spent on, as long as it gets spent. Whether there is any benefit or not is irrelevant. Is that all that economics is about; money going around in circles? Just for the sake of conversation, what if we spent the same untold millions on say, rebuilding building roads and bridges? When we were all through, at least we could point to the improved roads and bridges as something accomplished. There you have it. I stand before you, my political and economic naiveté totally exposed.
Fantasy football
I don’t know anything about fantasy football; never played it, but I think I can infer something about it. Given the recent flood of advertisements on the sports channels about fantasy football leagues, essentially promising to give away free money, it appears that there is a lot of money to be made at fantasy football. And given how much the sponsors of fantasy football are spending on advertising promising how easy it is to win, I also infer that the primary beneficiaries of this recent phenomenon are not the people playing.
It took four neck surgeries to fix Peyton Manning
…and he only had one disc screwed up. I’ve got three. We’ve got the next surgery scheduled for early November. If they fix me with one more round, I’ll be way ahead of Peyton. There is a downside though. One spinal fusion (like Peyton), and a person can return to pro football. Two fusions, and with a little longer rehab, a person can still play for the pros. Three fusions and you’re out; never again to play pro football. Damn. My pro football career is over before it even began.