A Rough Monday with Rewards

I knew Monday was going to be a rough day with multiple appointments and very little writing time. I also knew today I would pay for running myself ragged.

Whenever I have major amounts of stress, I end up with a ton of muscle and joint pain. The doctors over the last twenty years have no idea why. And since it can't be instantly diagnosed, they give up. It leaves me struggling on days like today.

The overall stress isn't going away any time before 2029. Hell, it may even get worse after 2029. All I can do is try to alleviate personal stress. Which I generally do by writing.

See my problem? LOL

Anyway, the fabulous Mallory Goeke has hand-drawn a new Ohio Rebel Symbol. She shares her work freely, but if you want a copy, kindly tip her of Venmo.

So between this gorgeous bird and some perfectly baked chocolate chip cookies, I'll relax and see how close to finishing A Barrel of Vintner today!

To quote Dustin Pace, aka Non-Toxic Masculinity on Facebook, "Read Books. Lift Weights. Fight Fascists."

Uh, So Where's the Apocalypse?

I was a little disappointed this morning. If the world had ended, I wouldn't have had to let the dogs out to pee at dawn o'clock. But then, predicting the end of the world is like the little boy who cried wolf. No one believes you. I wish I could say I was surprised that I did have to let the dogs out.

A couple of weeks ago, GK asked why everyone claimed the Mayans predicted the end of the world. We'd already covered the Olmec civilization in world history. We talked about them being the precursors of the Mayans, how humans tend to settle the same regions over and over again. How several ancient civilizations were just as accurate with the astronomical calculations.

Me: "Think about it. The Mayans didn't have paper. They lived in a jungle. How did they keep records?"

GK: "They carved them in stone like the Egyptians because it's the most durable stuff they had. Metal working wasn't available in the Americas until much later than the Europeans and Asians."

Me: "Right. Now if your chiseling a calendar into stone--"

GK: "That's a lot of work!"

Me: "Yep. We use paper, and how many calendars do we do into the future?"

GK: "One or two. Oh! So they did a few hundred years into the future, their arms got tired, and they figured they do the rest later?"

Me: "Pretty much."

GK: "Does that mean some doofus on TV is going to claim we were stupid seven hundred years from now because our calendar didn't go past December 31st?"

Me: "Probably. But they won't have TVs."

GK: "Fine. Some doofus will claim through the telepathic implant network that we were idiots who thought the world ended on December 31st, 2012?"

Me: "Yep."

GK: "This is giving me a headache. I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies."