compilerbitch

If anyone wants to call RFK Jr. to complain about him not funding vaccines, and specifically about mRNA vaccines, his office phone number is 202-690-7000. I called during office hours (8:30-5 Eastern time) and got voicemail. The message asked for a phone number, and claimed someone would call me back.

If anyone wants a script, my message was:

My name is Vicki Rosenzweig. I’m calling from Boston, to demand that the secretary restore funding for MRNA vaccines. He must make the fall covid and flu boosters available to everyone. I’m immune-compromised, and my safety depends on my family being vaccinated and not giving me a virus. My phone number is [your number here]

I got the idea and phone number from a comment by

threemeninaboat on

sonia's journal. (I also posted a version of this to

thisfinecrew)

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3125/

Chemistry grad students have been spotted trying to lure campus squirrels into laundry hampers in the hope that it sparks inspiration.

https://xkcd.com/3125/

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3124/

We should have you at the gate in just under two hours--two and a half if we get pulled over.

https://xkcd.com/3124/

vampwillow

I'm finding life far too complicated. I want to schedule things but find doing so stressful so put it off then get stressed _because_ I've put things off.

I don't understand.

redbird

Of local interest: JP Licks has fresh peach ice cream.

They didn't make any last year, because there was no local peach harvest, and I'm ery glad to see it this year: they make really good peach ice cream. Not all their flavors are as good as this, and I shop there primarily for this and the cucumber ice cream, when those are available.

green_knight

Lots of stuff happening, mostly annoying, leaving me pretty much wiped out. I could not resist sharing this one…

Watch on YouTube

redbird

The three of us went to a play tonight: As You Like It, on Boston Common, presented by the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. My beloveds bought seats in "tall" (normal-height) chairs for me and Cattitude, and a shorter chair for Adrian; the company sells a few of these in advance, an rents out additional short chairs while supplies last, for people who don't want to sit on the ground, which is free.

The weather was excellent for this, except that I was underdressed because it cooled off sooner than I'd expected. At intermission, I went over to the merchandise booth and bought a blanket. The blankets are intended mostly for sitting on, but I wrapped it around myself, over my hoodie, and draped it over my legs for warmth.

It's a good production, in a straightforward way. I liked the use of music, and the clowning and the choreographed fight scenes were good.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3123/

Achilles was a mighty warrior, but his Achilles' heel was his heel.

https://xkcd.com/3123/

redbird

I got Cattitude to disconnect my old Windows PC from the peripherals, move it out of the way, and put the MacBook in its place instead.

Moving over is being more annoying than I expected. Some of that is that I don't remember offhand where I left some files. But I also spent a bunch of time wrestling with the Mail app, which decided for no apparent reason that the server was offline. Restarting the machine didn't help, and then the problem went away on its own.

Also, the displays for just about everything have too little contrast, and the text is too small. I thought I'd found a way to change that for everything, but apparently not, so I've only done a few.

I'm probably done for tonight. I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned early tomorrow afternoon, and I may not work on this further until I get home afterwards.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3122/

During the most recent glacial maximum, it's believed that land bridges extended from the surfaces and connected several of the spheres together.

https://xkcd.com/3122/

redbird

This was the quarterly check-in so she can refill the Ritalin prescription, and cover anything else non-urgent.

I talked about how my gut is doing, and that I'm trying to reduce my use of naproxen (and NSAIDs generally) at the advice of the GI doctor. So far, that has meant waiting a little while before taking a naproxen because something hurts, and not taking it preventively for short walks. Airports, yes.

Carmen said there aren't a lot of good options, and recommended a turmeric supplement that someone she used to work for, who also did Ayurvedic medicine, recommended. I expressed some general skepticism, and specifically how much turmeric people had to eat to benefit. The recommendation is for a supplement that you tuck in next to your gum, so it's absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Carmen said "you can get it on Amazon," and Adrian pointed out after the visit that I should check the inactive ingredients carefully.

She also asked about my breathing, and I told her that recently, I've coughed up less phlegm after using the flutter valve, without having more trouble breathing. Less crap in my lungs is good, of course, and this means I won't worry much about skipping the flutter valve for things like travel and dental work. However, I'm basically sticking to the same twice-a-day schedule at least until the next time I see the lung doctor.

I also told Carmen about the strawberry allergy, and what symptoms I'd noted. I mentioned that I'm also probably allergic to stevia, and she made a note of both allergies.

The next appointment, in about three months, is for a physical exam, so longer and in person. At 1:30, so I can get lunch in Davis Square, weather allowing.

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3121/

Detectives say the key to tracking down the source of the kites was a large wall map covered in thumbtacks and string. 'It's the first time that method has ever actually worked,' said a spokesperson.

https://xkcd.com/3121/

redbird

I just got off the phone with a (genuinely) helpful person at Amalgamated Bank.

I've been talking to them in order to close a joint account in my and my mother's names, and the bank told me in June that the easiest way to do this would be to withdraw all the money and then have them close the account. In order to do that, I had to set up online banking, but only after adding my phone number to the account, which I did in June. Apparently the reason I couldn't log in to the online account after setting it up was that I'd written the password down wrong.

The person at the bank reset my password for me, and then told me how to link this account to an account at another bank. I'm waiting for the test deposits to hit my account, which may take a few days. After than, I can transfer the rest of the money.

Also, I got up in time to go for a walk this morning, to the grocery store and back, before it got too hot. It's a hot day in July, so the six things I bought included ice cream, Italian ices, and fresh blueberries.

liv

This week P'tite Soeur organized a family trip to London. All four siblings and Dad, which is quite a feat of logistics even if we didn't manage to also include partners.

( London )

Another thing I was able to do due to not being in Israel was to visit the community I'll be spending Yom Kippur with, the amazing Kehillat Kernow, a peripatetic community covering most of the Cornwall peninsula. (Yes, that's me in the news article at the top of their website, they are very prompt at reporting!) The long train journey was not as wonderful as I had hoped, because the trains were very very overcrowded in peak season, but at least I had a seat and got to enjoy the lovely views. And read a bunch of novels, which is definitely making my brain happier.

They invited me to dinner Friday evening, and had a very Liv conversation about dealing with racism in education and medicine, with the other guests having direct professional expertise, not just setting the world to rights. And put me up in a super nice hotel in a neo-gothic pile that used to be a convent, and were gracious enough to invite me to stay Saturday night as well so I even got a little bit of time in Truro, which is where they held this particular service. I walked along the river a bit, I found a teeny-tiny Pride festival in the town centre, but it was packing up by the time I had finished dinner at 7 pm, so I wasn't able to get dessert from one of the sparkly rainbow doughnut stands.

In between I lead a Shabbat service, with very enthusiastic participation from the community, and they even appreciated my somewhat political sermon about whether we can still be Zionists in this moment. Because it was the new moon of Av, I got to read from their super-exciting Historic scroll. Well, actually I chanted the verses about the creation of the sun and moon; it's still a big deal for me to do that in public. I'm pretty pleased with how all that went.

And now I'm back and I have another month of relatively uncrowded schedule. It's very nice.

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Kensington, London, UK

redbird

Tom Lehrer, a satirical songwriter and professor of math and musical theater, has died, age 97. A lot of his songs are satirical, often about then-current events, but most of those songs hold up pretty well, I think.

The Universal Hub post about Lehrer's death links to several videos.

Lehrer placed all his music in the public domain, including performance rights and the right to publish parodies and distortions, in the public domain a few years ago. Everything is available for download, though the website includes a notice that it will be shut down at some date in the not too distant future (relative to 2022.

Oh, and Lehrer also wrote my favorite song from the PBS program The Electric Company, "Silent E."

firecat

Just got out of a week intubated in the icu (not outta the woods but on the mend) and had lost my ability to walk I felt proud of being able to walk around as a fat person so I was embarrassed and described myself as ”weak as a newborn kitten” but when I thought about it I realized kittens come out pretty darn weak but they’re designed to develop into killing machines whch they do in short order yeah I got this. No plans to kill any one just, metaphors have power

xkcd_feed

https://xkcd.com/3120/

Geologists claim it's because the earlier Cenozoic used to be called the Tertiary, but that's just a ruse to hide the secret third geologic period, between the Neogene and the Quaternary, that they won't tell us about.

https://xkcd.com/3120/

redbird

This is health/health care, specifically vaccines, but it's related to US politics: If you live in the United States and are wondering whether you can get a flu shot this fall, yes they will be available. Whether you have to pay for it depends on what kind of insurance you have. The following applies specifically to the flu vaccine, and not to most other vaccines.

If you have Medicare, the seasonal flu shot is covered at no charge. For adults with private insurance, that's up to the insurer, and Dr. Jeremy Faust thinks most insurance companies will cover it. For children, either their insurance covers the flu vaccine, or they can get it from the "Vaccines for Children" program, but only in certain locations, which do not include the pediatrician's office. I'm linking to Dr. Faust's post, and his description is complicated because it's describing a complicated situation.

https://insidemedicine.substack.com/p/is-rfk-jr-calling-the-shots-who-can

That article says that federal law also has specific rules for three other vaccines--pneumococcus, covid, and hepatitis B--but neither Dr. Faust nor the website he links to say whether the same rules apply to them and to seasonal flu shots.

The information above is as of July 25, 2025.

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I called RFK Jr about vaccine access

Snake-in-the-Box Problem

Grounded

(no subject)

Peach ice cream

Dragons are a girl's best friend

Shakespeare on the Common

Canon

Macintosh (computer)

Bad Map Projection: Interrupted Spheres

appointment with Carmen: naproxen, gut, lungs

Kite Incident

a productive day

Excursions

RIP Tom Lehrer

(no subject)

Geologic Periods

flu vaccines

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January 2016

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