Author: Kim du Toit

Transplanted

Lifestyle

This story (ordinarily the type I’d ignore) really struck a chord with me:

I decided, four years ago, to leave London, selling the flat I owned in Dalston and moving to Somerset.

The life I’d been building in London evaporated and I felt broken. The country seemed to offer a gentle place where I could retreat, lick my wounds and start again. After all, the countryside is where I had always been happy. Or so I told myself.

Of course, the reality blew a ten-foot hole in that dream, because of course life in the country isn’t as idyllic as it’s often painted.  Read the thing for the details.

Anyway, the reason why this silly woman’s article interested me is that I’m a little like her (minus the foolishness).

I’ve often thought about finding a small place out in the boonies — “small” in country terms, i.e. just large enough to where I could make a short .22 range where I could bang away for hours on end without disturbing the neighbors — but of course there are several factors which have always stopped me from doing just that.

The first is that I’m a city boy by inclination.  I mean, most of my life has been spent in the ‘burbs, but the times when I’ve really enjoyed my life was when I lived in downtown Johannesburg and Chicago, and spent lengthy periods in places like London or Vienna.  I liked having a dizzying choice of places to eat out and drink, the movie houses and auditoriums, the shops which sold pretty much anything I needed (outside the gun world, of course), and even art galleries:  all within walking distance of my living room.  For that, I was prepared to put up with the noise of the city, the proximity of neighbors and all the things which would drive other people away.

Likewise when I’ve traveled abroad, I’ve always preferred to stay in the great cities (London, Paris and so on) over the small countryside towns.  Then again, it must be said that I really enjoyed living out in rural Hardy Country at Mr. Free Market’s country estate as well — probably the first time in my life that I’ve properly lived out in the sticks.

I have no illusions about living in the city, because I’ve been there and done that, on two continents.  Also, having spent half a year out in the company of The Englishman and Mr. Free Market, I have no illusions there too — although it must also be said that the Brits do a good job of making their small towns very livable, as anyone who’s ever been to places like Marlborough or Devizes will attest.

So while I often ask myself the question:  if you won the lottery, where would you spend most of your time?  the answer is probably “close to or actually in a city” more than “out in a country retreat”.

If for some reason I did choose the country option, however, I know I’d make a better job of it than the stupid woman who wrote that article.

Big Fat Hairy Deal

Health

…and I use the word “fat” advisedly.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk officials have agreed to lower the cost of GLP-1 obesity drugs for Medicaid and Medicare recipients and those who pay directly and make treatments more accessible, President Donald Trump announced Thursday.

Medicare will begin to provide coverage for the obesity drugs for some people in mid-2026, which also might cause more private insurers to likewise add coverage for them.

The deal could lower the cost of the drugs to $150 per month for prescriptions that are available in pill form and that contain the lowest doses.

I remain skeptical, and here’s why.

I remember doing the math for Ozempic, and calculated that the cost per month (including the little single-use syringe) was about $5, for the .25ml shot.  What you actually pay is about $150 per month.

As anyone who knows anything about this business knows, the .25ml (the “lowest” as quoted above) barely does anything to you, weight-wise:  that’s the dose which prepares your system to handle the drug’s effects.  The serious weight loss starts with the .5ml double dose — well, it did for me, anyway — and guess what happens to the cost.  It increases exponentially with each increase in dosage.

I’ve had to quit taking Ozempic shots — as of last week, actually, because frankly, for someone trying to live on a fixed income amidst soaring inflation and prices of, well, everything except gasoline (which is still too expensive), I just can’t afford it.  (New Wife, by the way, wants me to continue to take it because she thinks if it keeps me alive, that’s worth it.  I remain unconvinced that it’s a lifesaver.)

My annual physical exam is late next week, and I’ll be discussing the matter with my GP.

Anyway, here’s the thing.  Under Medicare, my BP meds, my gout meds and my statins and others cost me…$11 per month.  Those drugs, I’m pretty sure, are actually saving my life;  the weight-loss stuff?  Who knows.

Maybe I’ll regain all the weight I lost (about 50lbs), or maybe I won’t.  Maybe my diabetes has responded well to the weight loss, or maybe it hasn’t:  the blood tests will tell.  One thing Ozempic did do for me was change the way I thought about food, or at least the quantities I consumed thereof.  I’m not sure that stopping the drug will make that attitude revert to its former self;  I don’t think it will.

We’ll see.  All I know is that as currently priced, the GLP-1 regime of drugs are unaffordable so I’ll just quit taking any of them until the cost comes down to what I can afford.

And if that decision ends my life, I don’t care.  I’m 71 years old, next week, and as anyone who’s reached that Biblical age limit can attest, the prospect of death no longer frightens one as much as it may have done in earlier times — which is what I’m going to tell my doctor next week.

Let’s see what he has to say about it.

In the meantime, though, my reaction to Trump’s much-heralded “price reduction” of this stuff is pretty much encapsulated in the title of this post.

News Roundup

Bad News


...wait, you mean that I sold my Chevy Suburban and bought a Prius for nothing?

In


...only 25?  They need to pump up those numbers or else we’ll think they’re just not trying hard enough.


...forgive me if I think the term “migrant economy” should not exist in the United States.


…

And similarly in The Great Cultural Assimilation Project© :


...of course, his motive is a total mystery to both law enforcement and the press.
#France #Unexpected


...see above.
#ThanksAngelaMerkel


...in which we play the “Guess The City” game.
#Minneapolis

In International Hunting News:


...probably a whole lot cheaper just to hire a bunch of good ol’ boys from the Appalachians to do the job.

From the Sports Pages:


...yes, this will absolutely help Nike recover market share.
#BudLiteFuckup

From the Dept. of Education:


...the word “allegedly” is in there somewhere, but we all know the truth.


...Sarah Hoyt’s Shocked Face is in danger of perishing from over-use.

Time for some 

…

In our Almost True Headlines section:


...hey, it wouldn’t surprise me.

And as we peruse the real estate listings in :


...for those who don’t know, this is ol’ Charlie Sheen’s castoff:

In the first iteration of the headline, the word “dating” was used;  I simply edited it to reflect the reality of the thing.

And if that doesn’t sour you on the news, nothing will.

Welcome Back

Business, Management, Marketing / Advertising

This, I think, is Good News:

Long-defunct airline Pan Am is inching towards revival more than three decades after going out of business.

AVi8 Air Capital and Pan American Global Holdings, which owns the intellectual property rights to the Pan Am brand, have begun the certification process with the FAA. AVi8 announced they have completed a business plan for the brand’s revival efforts.

“Avi8 has assembled a world-class team to lead the certification effort and has received strong initial support from aircraft lessors and key vendors,” the company said on Thursday.

If all goes to plan, the company will be based out of Miami with a fleet of Airbus aircrafts*.

Right off the bat, let me say that I loved Pan Am, both the airline and its philosophy — well, before Juan Trippe chased after the lower-income market and cocked up the brand (as documented here).

I just hope that the New Pan Am doesn’t try to be another Spirit or JetBlue (joint motto:  We invented cheap ‘n nasty travel, and we never fail to rub your noses in that ), because that way lies utter, abject failure.

As I said earlier, Pan Am’s road to aviation success and profitability is not through the mass market, but by catering to the affluent traveler, with peerless customer service and spotless aircraft.  Like they used to.

Despite Pan Am’s earlier demise, their brand might still have some cachet left over, even now.  And if they relaunch and re-brand the airline back to its heritage and strengths (including — gasp! comely flight attendants and not grab-a-granny / tattooed slatterns, some overlap), I can almost guarantee they’ll do well.

Go for it, guys.  I for one look forward to your trip [sic] with great anticipation, and I hope that future passengers won’t be able to beat the experience…

And by the way:  resist the impulse to change your old logo.  It was wonderful then, and will serve you well now.

*Ummm… it’s aircraft not aircrafts — “aircraft” is both singular and plural, like “sheep” or “deer”, but let’s not have that interfere with the good news.

Missed It By THISmuch

Bureaucracy, Gummint, Politics

…that would be the end of the Schumer Schuttdown.  I predicted that it would end two days after last Tuesday’s elections (Thursday), and it actually ended yesterday (Sunday).

How nice.  Now the Gummint so-called “workers” head back to their offices (except when “working from home”, what a boondogggle) and go back to wasting taxpayer money while doing so little to justify their existence.

Forgive me for sounding blasé about the whole thing, but at least the Republican Party Reptiles managed to maintain their soft spines and refuse (for once) to capitulate to the Socialists.  I suppose that’s something to celebrate.

So now it’s back to normal, and on we go with the never-ending story.

Bah.

Now it’s time to end ObamaCare, lower income taxes, keep up with the deportations of illegal immigrants and keep reducing the size and impact of the government on our lives.  To mention just a few.

Later, we can discuss the hangings.