Saturday. Lights out before ten. Tired yesterday, tired for no good reason was the thought, and so to bed early to sleep pretty much straight through until six. Still early, but the head cleared soon enough and so off to breakfast. For some reason I'd decided to drive to breakfast as I was getting in bed last night. Not good, but we'll make up for this morning's lost walking later in the afternoon.

Overcast, no sun, light fog at breakfast, but we're due for another warm day later, still no rain forecast until next week. The lack of rain doesn't really affect me day to day other than to use it as a rationalization for fewer baths. The state as a whole is another matter and some (of whom I am one) have had the dark thought maybe this drought isn't going away, it's here to stay, well, forever.

Anyway, off to have steak and eggs, something I haven't had for breakfast in a very long time, years really, this after getting on the scale this morning and seeing the number come in at one fifty-one. Why so much trouble keeping weight up? We're not breaking a sweat over it, you understand, but this morning a decision to have a large breakfast, one that went down quite nicely, actually. A serious problem worth mentioning if you're not eating because there's no money, a trivial problem when all you're doing is whinging about it like a child.

You can just, you know, stop. Whinging. Babbling.

Later. A walk to the ATM at ten, the sun now through the clouds, the eyes clear, none of the slightly off vision that I didn't mention having yesterday while I was out walking. Clear today for what reason I cannot say - foggy-clear, sharp-blurred - but again, clear headed so far, good energy, a good walk to and from the ATM.

Later still. Presidents Day on Monday. OK, best to go by the pharmacy and pick up the prescription refill I'll need Tuesday and make sure, if there are still any issues with the switch in health insurance, to work them out right now before I run out of the others. And so a bus downtown.

The refill was ready and the bill was five times what it's been in the past, so we will indeed have the prescriptions taken care of before we need more refills. My stupidity. Nothing new in stumbling over that.

Still a good outing, though. Still no fuzzy vision issues, clear headed. The sinus-upper palate could be better, but another dose of the sinus meds may relieve that. I say “may”. For all the years I've taken them I still can't say with any certainty they do any good. But a nice day, the sound of the brass band that plays over by the lake on the weekends is drifting in through the open balcony door, the fan is pumping out just enough air to make things (close to) perfect. Well, pretty good.

Read about a study in the Guardian on Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) saying flatly it will eliminate one half of all the world's jobs in thirty years. Whether it's even half accurate who can say, but I suspect changes of that magnitude have now been long built into the system and the changes coming are going to make the changes I've observed over the last seventy years pale by comparison.

You do go on and on.

Just buzzing along on a sunny afternoon in Oakland. No thought to urge people to move to Canada or build a water proof bomb shelter under the house.

Evening. Watched the Republican debate. No way to avoid it, particularly as it was broadcast over the air on CBS and I couldn't use not subscribing to cable as an excuse. There was an episode of Elementary right before the debate started at six, one I've seen before, but, as usual, barely remembered the plot. Still, enjoyed it well enough and so the mood was good leading into the debate. If that thing I saw was a debate.

Are the Republicans going to come up with a candidate with any chance of winning the election with these candidates and party divisions? Also a question with the Democrats. I have no idea. Nobody does. How will South Carolina and the people voting in following primaries interpret any of this? Did any significant number of people watch it tonight? Did they react in any way similar to mine? Flying blind. All of us.