Lookin

I'm off to have look at the Salton Sea. Apparently it has had a storied past . . . . . . though its best days are behind it. I can definitely relate to this. ? If anyone feels like coming along, please send a PM. Planning to leave in an hour or so.

Hope I remembered my pool cues

I offered to send one of these cuties a hefty sum last year, as he seemed sincere and was going through a really rough time. Guess he recovered OK. I asked him for $500 in 'earnest money' and never heard from him again. ?

. . . and get me a lab report on those deviled eggs

Interesting topic! ? It sent me back to my history of PM's and it was fun reading through them, including some old ones with posters who are no longer here. The first one was fourteen years ago, and it was an exchange of info on a couple of Bay Area masseurs. It's hard to do statistics as the PM software seems to have separated old "conversations" into separate entries, while the newer ones remain grouped in "conversations", each with multiple entries. If I had to guess, I'd say I've averaged one PM conversation every three or four months. Each conversation has been two - four exchanges. In a few cases, a PM conversation has led to an exchange of email addresses. And a couple of those have led to in-person meetings. I've initiated about half the conversations, and someone else has initiated the other half. For me, it's been a pleasure to see the message alert lit up. I've always responded to messages I got on this site and, with one exception, I've got a response to messages I sent. For the one exception, the other person responded with an emoji, which is a nice way to respond and one I hadn't thought of before. I've never sent a "nasty" message to someone else, as I don't want a connection to somebody I don't care for. I've received only one "nasty" message from a poster on the 'other' site who didn't like one of my posts. Of course, I didn't respond. Most of my communications with fellow posters are through posts on the public forums, but sometimes a PM seems appropriate. All-in-all, my time on the internet is limited and, while I enjoy social interactions on the forums, and the occasional PM exchange, PM's are pretty rare for me. If that's true of others, it may be a reason why someone who sends a lot of PM's might not get a high percentage of responses. Again, thanks for the opportunity to recall some old conversations! ? ?

I’ll sure miss him . . . . . . He’s gone much too soon . . . . . . . . . . Did they say what he died from? The official cause of death was “Constipation” Never heard that one before . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Did he have any last words? . . . . . . . . . . . He said he was dying to take a shit

Not to the point of embalming, no, but there was a guy I saw in the City twenty years back who was as close as I'd ever seen. He opened the door and was chatty as can be until we moved to the bedroom. He then settled down supine on the duvet and didn't move a muscle for the next thirty minutes. I tried everything I knew to get some kind of interactive response but to no avail. I was tuckered out by the time the hour was over. He continued to lie there while I got dressed and headed for the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his arm reach for the envelope on the nightstand and I think I heard him counting under his breath as the door closed behind me. When I got home, I doubled checked his ad and it was only then that I noticed the word 'passive' was underlined.

Perhaps he wandered into the wrong smoke-filled room.

Ditto, ditto, ditto and ditto. ? ? ? ?

Thanks so much, @Cooper, for your support of Daddy. You've been a lifesaver, no doubt. One blessing is that Covid cases and deaths in Nevada are down 80% from post-Christmas peaks. I can't find any info on ICU capacity, but I'd expect that enough ICU beds, healthcare workers and ventilators are available to support the high level of care Daddy is receiving. He's had some good breaks so far, your intervention being a major one. We can hope good fortune stays on his side.

Just shoot me, why don't ya?

Let's hope there's enough to go around.

One of the funniest and brightest lights on the Forums. And a kind man in real life. He'll be missed. ? From one of his heroes: Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her, Alone, shall come fulfilment to our dreams And our desires. Sunday Morning BY WALLACE STEVENS

I tried that one summer with mixed results. The dog was good about bringing in the paper, but soon got fixated on Snoopy's adventures with the Red Baron. Once he realized he wasn't getting a Fokker Triplane, things settled down for a while. Then the local supermarket started running weekly coupons for Snausages® and the big eyes were more than I could bear. That's when I switched to the Evening News with Walter Cronkite. But I had to make sure the closing credits for Lassie were over before I could change the channel.

And he calls himself a Jehovah's Witness . . . ?

I have one taped to the end of my dick. Hopefully the battery will last till those holiday pounds melt away and sightlines are restored.

That's certainly one interpretation. Another more generous take is one of my favorite Thoreau quotes: A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Back when I was earning an honest living, especially in my last job, my time was scheduled to the minute, sometimes six days a week. Since I quit, the luxury of having unscheduled time is one I've done my best to protect. Today's an outlier. I've got a doctor's appointment, and four errands along the way. I've got to head out in a few minutes, and I'll be checking my iPhone as I move through the day. Tomorrow I'm meeting a friend for a hike and dinner, so all I need to know is when to be out the door. After that, time goes by as it goes by. Wednesday, not a thing scheduled. Thursday, Friday and Saturday each have one scheduled event, so I'll need to know when to be out the door. Sunday's free, and next week is less scheduled than this week. So, no watch here, and a few alarms on my iPhone will keep me moving through the week. If I were a rich man - ? Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum ? - I'd probably have someone spritzing rosewater to wake me in the morning and letting me know when it was time to step out the door. That person would need a watch, but not me.

Somewhere I recall reading that really rich folks don't have to know what time it is.

Had my own bout with cancer (prostate) a few years ago and learned that it's its own project and that no two are exactly alike. You sound like you're well into the early part of learning all you can about your particular situation. It can be overwhelming at first but getting the unknowns out of the way, as you're doing, is a really good start. I think having an advocate could be a big help. A friend or family member may work but even a fellow worker could be perfect. The medical part alone can be a full-time job for you. Having a second pair of ears at your appointments is worthwhile. That person can ask questions that you didn't think of and, in some cases, ask the doctor to explain why (s)he's doing something or not doing something. (If you can't arrange for someone to go with you, you can record your appointments on your phone.) An advocate might also take on the insurance company, while you concentrate on your health. I think even the worst insurance plan has the ability to refer you out-of-network if necessary, and your advocate can help make them understand when it's necessary. ? Your state probably also has an insurance commissioner who can help. It could be that your current doctor is perfect for the job at hand but, if you want a second opinion, your doctor should encourage you and your insurance should pay for it. Worst case, I think you'll find that paying out-of-pocket for a half-hour consultation with even the Mayo Clinic will not break the bank. The advantage to connecting with one of these specialists is that, if it ever makes sense, they'll be aware of things that may still be in the research stage. The day I was diagnosed, I started going to one of the best support groups in the country and heard a wide variety of experiences over several months before making my treatment decision. If you can find a support group, it can be a big help. And, of course, you have us. ??? I know this sounds like jumping into the deep end because there's a lot to learn with any cancer. As one of the support group members told me at my first meeting, the first part is usually the most confusing.

Same here. Even if I had been, all my modest childhood resources were going to candy and comic books. When my sinuses required tidying up, I followed my fellows and placed my faith in the ancient ways.

That I'm a good listener . . . ?

Forgetting things.

My freshman year in college, I noticed the peach fuzz on my chest had started turning darker. So for one final summer at the shore I lightened it with hydrogen peroxide. After that summer, I realized my looks were something I hadn't done anything to deserve and, from then on, I concentrated on the things that my own accomplishments would determine. Good thing too as, these days, it would take all the hydrogen peroxide in China to garner me a second look. http://www.boytoy.com/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

No, but all of my so-called friends have. http://www.boytoy.com/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif

If your TV has Sound Settings, it should be in there somewhere. I think it's pretty much a boost of midrange frequencies associated with the human voice, usually 300 - 3400 cycles per second. If you can reduce both the bass and the treble, you might get the same effect. Digital Signal Processing (DSP), which I'm guessing is what my TV uses for Voice Zoom, seems to be showing up a lot these days. Probably because the computing technology keeps getting smaller and cheaper. A friend recently got some new hearing aids and he has all kinds of control over how they shape the sound he hears. Gone are the days when talking in a noisy restaurant posed a problem. As a bonus, his smart phone sound can now go directly to his hearing aids. He told me when I called him a few weeks ago that it sounded like my voice was inside his head. As I have a secret crush on him, I'm hoping this will be a plus and not turn into an issue. http://www.boytoy.com/public/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif