Recovering Knee and Doomscrolling, 27

Tuesday morning, not long after I finished my morning knee exercises, I drove to Barrie for my annual visit to my urologist — and the surgeon who removed my cancer-riddled prostate, back in 2020. You can read more about my journey with prostate cancer here. I also visit my oncologist once a year, usually in the spring. Both visits involve a prior PSA blood test to check if I have any of that hormone showing. And I don’t. Haven’t had a positive PSA result since my surgery. What matters for me about today’s visit is that I drove there and back, alone. It’s the furthest I’ve driven since my knee surgery. I was a little concerned that I would be uncomfortable, keeping my leg in a fixed position for so long. However, it was only mild discomfort, and a little motion of the foot helped relieve it.

On the way back, I stopped at Centra, Barrie’s excellent Asian supermarket on Bayfield Street, where I bought myself three jars of kimchi (all different, but I have had one of them previously; I really like kimchi and can have it with almost every meal), a coconut curry sauce, Kikkoman wasabi sauce (a personal favourite for sandwiches), and some “sweet” olives (a type I’ve never tried; my current favourite are Sicilian Casteltrevano olives, but I’ll eat all of them). I have also bought ice cream there, too, including red or black bean, ginger, green tea, and other flavours. I’ve also bought cream corn and condensed milk popsicles there. Interesting, but neither really appealled to my taste and were too sweet. Ginger ice cream remains my favourite ice cream, but green tea is a close second.*

After I returned, we walked Bella (800m), and I did my second set of exercises, starting with my second 21-min/150 cal pedal of the day. I started my third set just after 6 p.m. with a 15-min/120 cal pedal, and finished the rest at 6:55. Just in time to watch the end of Predator 2 before we had dinner. Next film? Maybe one of the later Terminator films, maybe Valerian, maybe it’s time to watch a Godzilla film again. But I might settle on seeing Conclave again.

Doomscrolling: The Wannabe-King-Dictator Trump has a new grift: he has demanded the Justice Department (aka the American taxpayers) pay him $230 million for the indignities of being investigated for his criminal activities, such as hoarding classified documents and sharing them with his cronies. The Independent headline reads, “Trump demands DOJ pay him $230M for cases against him. His ex-lawyer Blanche could decide the claim.” Forbes adds:

Any settlement received by Trump may be greenlit by DOJ officials who have defended the president or are in his orbit, the Times reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

So the cronies he appointed to high places get to decide if their boss gets the money and the taxpayers get screwed. The corruption in the White House reaches new levels every day. Meanwhile, Trump is illegally destroying the historic East Wing of the White House (a designated heritage building the law says cannot be altered, let alone demolished) so he can build his vanity ballroom (a $200 million travesty that no one but him wanted). And he continues to fight and win against court orders not to deploy the National Guard against American citizens: soon he will be able to implement martial law across the country and start shooting Americans who oppose him.

And Trump commuted the sentence of the convicted criminal conman George Santos, who was in jail for more than seven years after pleading guilty to fraud, fleecing people, and identity theft of 11 people — including his own family members — to make illegal donations to his campaign. Never a day goes by without some outrage against democracy and justice by Trump and his MAGA minions.

And on the Maple MAGA side of things, the rage-farming Trump mimic Pierre PoiLIEvre is taking heat for calling the RCMP “despicable” for not charging Justin Trudeau with alleged crimes. PoiLIEvre can’t stop hating Trudeau even though Justin is no longer PM, no longer leader, not even in politics these days. Barack Obama lives rent-free in the dictator Trump’s head, and Trudeau does the same in the puerile PoiLIEvre’s head. PoiLIEvre continues to drag the CONservative party into the MAGA mud with him. As podcaster Billy Kelly writes:

Members of his party are flocking to the media to try and soften the backlash, as Poilievre shows no remorse. Clearly, he has fully embraced his role as a Maple MAGA icon, and the divisive political tactics are only going to get worse.

Wednesday: Two 20-min/150 cal pedals to start my first exercise sessions. Plus two 800m walks with Bella. My knee feels stiff from the extra effort and compression I’m putting on it, in the hope of getting to the magical 120° bend. Okay, it’s not magic (only metaphorically), but I am pushing myself harder these past few days.

Today we got our flu shots at our doctor’s office (a visit that included walking a couple of blocks downtown, then climbing the stairs to the building’s third floor then coming back the same way; a bit of a challenge for my knee). We get our flu shots every fall, as all the smart people do. My arm feels a bit tender but not aching (yet) as it sometimes does.

Next week we will get our COVID boosters, too. None of this MAGA anti-vaxxer/pseudoscience nonsense for us. Anti-vaxxers are, as far as I’m concerned, on the same intellectual plane as flat-earthers, creationists, and 5G disinformation spreaders: their brains have been addled by inane conspiracies from QAnon and drivel from Fox Newz. I have no tolerance for pseudoscience and conspiracy piffle, or selfish people who won’t do anything for the greater good.

Doomscrolling: From Barron’s and other media comes a piece about the other grifter in the White House: Bitcoin, Ethereum Drop Again. Melania Trump’s Crypto Architects Accused of Fraud. We often forget the First Lady’s cons because her husband’s are so much more corrupt.

The designers of a cryptocurrency launched by US First Lady Melania Trump in January were accused in court filings on Tuesday of organizing the operation knowing that the digital currency’s value would plummet.
The $MELANIA coins were released for just a few cents each on January 19, the day before her husband Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States.
Within hours, the $MELANIA coin’s price had soared to $13.73.
However, it then collapsed almost as quickly, and is now only worth around 10 cents — less than one percent of its peak price.

Surprised? Me, either. It’s what you expect from a Trump. And PS: crypto is a Ponzi scheme and a platform for corruption and money laundering. But here’s an entertaining diversion about debunking some risible pseudoscience (or is it New Age codswallop? Hard to tell the difference, if there is any…):

I like this guy because he is sarcastic, funny, and debunks piffle, pseudoscience, and religious woohoo.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was playing Sniper Elite 5 on my PC. Well, I finished the main campaign, albeit on an easy level, and am now working through the DLC scenarios. It’s a good game, but I still think SE4 was better in most ways. When I’ve finished the DLCs, I may do the whole thing again on a higher level of difficulty.

Notes:

* Locally, the types and sizes of kimchi I can get are limited. I can get two brands (both Napa cabbage) in different supermarkets, and an “artisanal” and overpriced brand in another (in small containers). The two brands are both good quality, but one is only sold in small containers, usually about four-six day supply for me. At Centra, I saw six or more brands, as well as beet and carrot kimchi, and radish kimchi, plus some large containers that could last me at least two weeks, maybe longer. I like my kimchi to have a spicy bite, so at least one of the locally-available brands suits my taste.

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