‘Butt’, one or two Ts?

Happy Saturday morning. Not to start with negativity, but yesterday morning I struggled getting ready for my Zoom exercise session. There was a reason. See, Thursday evening I organized a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ Cigar & Bourbon (with some food thrown in) gathering in Covington Kentucky for Jason, Marin, and myself – it was a guy’s night out. The evening was maybe a bit too good and I experienced a slight penalty yesterday morning.

Now, back to normal it’s time for a morning coffee and then the rest of The Rambling should then start to flow.

Last week I had my Halloween decoration picture of the week. This week it’s a look at how simplicity can also be just as an effective decoration.

3 guys evening out – It had been way too long for Marin, Jason, and I, to get together to catch up. As noted above, we ended up at Smoke Justis in Covington. They had a package deal; three quality cigars and a 2-ounce mid-shelf Bourbon pour for a fixed price.

So, what better venue for catching up than their outdoor patio where we could both light up, eat, and chat. And, yes, it was all most excellent as was the whole evening.

No King – No Clue – On the heels of the well-funded and then instantly disappearing staging of the “No Kings” protestations let it be said that our history is replete with government overreach. The IRS used it’s ‘iron heel’ to stomp on people in many administrations, Theodore Roosevelt, Clinton, Obama, George W. Bush, and Biden just to name some.

It’s Dr Ron Paul MD (Distinguished Counselor to the Mises Institute) who opined: “instead of focusing just on electing the “right” president, we should focus on shrinking the size and scope of the federal government to its constitutional limitations. This will ensure that Americans can exercise their right to criticize the government without fear of reprisal.”

With that thought in mind, here are the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said; “in questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution.”

A Peppercorn for your house – It seems that getting away from all this ‘kingly’ stuff is almost an impossibility. This’ll be the final such a thing. I did learn that the UK’s Prince Andrew (he of Jeffrey Epstein ‘Lolita Isle’ fame) is being punished by the remaining Royals. He had to ‘disrobe’ himself of some of his titles.

However, he can remain in a palatial home, Royal Lodge (Queen Elisabeth’s favorite house). It’s a mere 30-room place, which he does share with his ex – Sarah Ferguson. But he must pay an annual rent. The rent of a single Peppercorn each year.

Now that’s the kind of Royalty I can appreciate enough to join in with some march or other.

Butterfly – Last Tuesday Adrianne and I went to see John Batiste in town. I’ve attached a YouTube of his song, “Butterfly” which he performed. The song’s backdrop is as follows: His wife Suleika Jaouad was undergoing her second bone marrow transplant and for a time could have no visitors. Batiste, in lieu of visiting her, wrote a song or poem for her every day while she was recovering. As an aside, they first met at age 14 in music camp. Butterfly is one of those songs. It’s lovely, so enjoy:

‘Butt Breathing’? – Our town has an amazing place, and in a moment, you’ll see why I bloviate on this place. It’s about Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. For the past 15 years it’s appeared in the US news and World Report honor roll as a top performer. This year it’s #1 for pediatric cancer care, gastroenterology, and endocrinology, plus more.

So, why all this hoopla on this page and why now?

The reason I am writing about this place is because of a breakthrough study. Maybe I should say; a TOP to BOTTOM study.

As a side study to Covid 19, a research team at The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center team took their inspiration from the modes Loach, a freshwater bottom-dwelling fish found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Want to know why the Loach? It seems that the Loach employs intestinal breathing (i.e., through the anus) rather than gills to survive under low oxygen conditions. In other words, the Loach can breathe through its butt!

See where this is going?

Building on the work of a Leland Clark, also of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who invented a perfluorocarbon liquid called Oxycyte as a possible form of artificial blood, they studied this liquid in mammals. Building on success and human trials they are currently studying the next phase.

Assuming success this ‘butt-breathing’ could aid treating patients who require mechanical ventilation & therefore possible lung damage to breathe. This technique would give time, time for lungs to heal properly.

Cool, don’t you think?

The other – realize that Christmas is a mere 8½ weeks away. For those of you who go bonkers with the whole hyped-up shopping thing, it’s time to get nervous. Not get panicked mind you, just nervous.

Now best get organized to plan for travel into town and The Cincinnati Coffee Festival

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What do NVIDIA, Amazon, Uber, and White Castle have in common? They’re all working with ……….

1) “Babel”
2) “Ford, to fleet on F150 trucks”
3) “offering Montessori style child care”
4) “a product referred to as ‘sliders’”
5) “Miso”
6) “to equip premises with a Kindle”