Dave rants about some of salient features of 2022. The big one is that it is almost over! During the year, Dave traded autos, continued care for bladder lining cancer, and is breaking up with Twitter to follow Mastodon. Most of this article is about Mastodon as Dave’s AniPal (dog, cat, and plushie buddies) are unwanted participants in the drama that is Twitter and are looking to abandon ship.
Year of the snake? Treatment of Dave’s bladder cancer has been the big news of the year. So far, it remains confined to the bladder lining where it is very treatable and is more a nuisance than an existential threat but its treatment has set the rhythm for the year.
Ahoy, all. Its been a crazy year. So far, I’ve missed the plague but my list of pre-existing conditions is getting longer. I hope the year finds you healthy and looking forward to a better 2021.
The year started off with cataract surgery. I now have Tleilaxu eyes and Warby Parker readers. It is nice having good distant vision and not needing glasses for most tasks. I have aspheric prosthetic lenses that correct my astigmatism. So fancy lenses and laser surgery Medicare wouldn’t pay for. The interesting bit is that laser incisions heal more quickly and have lower complication rates. Should be the standard of care CMS.
Happy Yuletide. It is time for the yearly Yuletide letter. I rather like the notion of Yule, the pagan winter solstice holiday. Most of the things we enjoy about the Yule season have their roots in Germanic Pagan traditions. Thinking it would be nice to have some music while writing this, I went noodling about in Roon starting with George Winston’s Winter Solstice record. It turns out that George has quite a catalog and that some of it is top shelf.
I’d always looked askance at George Winston’s music back in the day because it was in the new age section and and most things in that category were uninteresting. But, this time of year, a good chill tune is appreciated. These are slow straight ahead improvizations. If by another artist like say, Kieth Jarrett, they might be called jazz instead. In fact, George Winston is a noted interpreter of jazz composer and pianist Vince Guaraldi’s music. George’s best records feature Vince’s compositions. As I listen to December, I’m recalling the Lost Songs of St Kilda.
Best wishes for a wonderful 2019. Boy has it been a busy year. As 2018 closes, Dave, Nick, and Missy are well. Dave remains busy with club activities while the Greyhounds continue to keep our garden zombie free.
I turned 70 and started collecting Social Security. This should be a good bet as monthly benefits increase by about 30 percent. The design is neutral from an actuarial vantage point. Social Security will pay out the same total from commencement to median life expectancy. The bet you make is that you will live past median life expectancy, a good bet as most relatives who dodged early canecer have done so on both sides of the family. Most cancer cases involve risk factors like tobacco use, agent orange exposure, or alcohol abuse. I now actually have some income. Surprisingly, Social Security covers about 1/2 of my income needs.
What a strange year. The first year of continuous scandal national government. Real scandals, not pretend scandal like those during 44’s watch. 45 became in violation of a building lease with the US Government upon inauguration (can’t lease to USG employees or elected officials) and it has been a steady slide from there.
That Was the Week that Was is an old ’60s TV show of news satire. Robert Frost, BBC refugee, hosted with his British accent, prescient interviewing skills, and imperial irony. The show suggested the title for the 2015 year end post.
I’m doing something novel this year. I’m actually writing my holiday post in the year it is about. Usually, I keep putting off holiday cards and the the holiday post. This whole business got started in 2006 when I moved up north to Rhode Island and it became difficult to make the Thanksgiving and Christmas pilgrimages to visit the relatives. The 2 day drive from Newport was too long, especially with dog lodging and wee breaks. So I started a Facebook page and began writing the yearly letter to send out with Holiday cards. Over the years, the on-line community got larger and a good bit of it (second cousins) were mobile making it hard to send cards. The card list is down to 10 or so retired moochers.
Medicare sets you free! In January, I joined the retired moochers. Several cousins had preceded me by retiring early. With the health insurance situation in the US, I felt compelled to work until 65 when I became eligible for Medicare. So I retired at the end of 2013 having given my employer a year’s warning that i was going to bail. I don’t miss work one bit. Since moving from Newport to Norfolk, my command had become increasingly dysfunctional, largely as a result of the location down the street from the real Navy but also as a result of some unfortunate choices of support staff. IT was trying to wag the dog in modeling and simulation and the security pukes were getting increasingly obnoxious, and I was becoming less connected to the product over the last couple of years.
This photograph is an Internet image by the artist Pete at the link. Unfortunately, Pete didn’t give contact information or license information. I’ve used this image without permission on a non-commercial share with attribution basis.
With apologies to Alice Cooper! But this October I celebrated my 65th name day. (Well 66th if you are a C programmer) One of the good things about becoming 65 is that you are Medicare eligible and Congress encourages you to sign up in a timely manner. Well, I did. And I also signed up for an AARP Medicare Supplement policy that picks up much of what Medicare does not, like the 20 percent copay. Medicare sets you free from the swamp of the individual policy market and from employer group insurance. This latter item was the last check in the box for retirement for me. I have a pre-existing condition and the CABG scars to show for it. Entering the personal market as it was before the ACA (Obamacare) would have been ugly. I’ve yet to make a Medicare claim but that will change in January as my 6 month well baby checks become due again.
2012 has been an interesting year that included bidding a fond farewell to Faux News, my 64th birthday, Barak Obama’s reelection, a new blue ray player, and a new camera and several milestones.
Dismal Manor Dispatches 
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