The Deserted Garden, 54th of the Dog Days, 526 M.E. (Castor): As you can see, I'm posting again today, so it means that I'm still not dead. The pain in my heart or in my lungs or whatever when I breath in deeply died down but did not disappear yesterday, and it stayed at the same low but still noticeable level all day today. Six more days until I can see a doctor. 

The State of Nevada filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to cut their access to water from the Colorado River by 20%. Much or most of the water goes toward agriculture, mostly alfalfa for feeding livestock. Beef prices are up, along with almost everything else, and in an attempt to address the affordability crisis, the Stable Genius announced he will allow 300,000 metric tons of beef to be imported, mostly from Argentina, and sold 25% below market value for the next 90 days. However, China reportedly rejected a 22-ton shipment of beef from Argentina in March after detecting traces of a banned antibiotic, and concerns over an international screwworm epidemic have consumers worried about the safety of Argentine beef.

Some are calling for a 90-day boycott on beef until the Argentine import window closes, but I would take it further than that. Stop eating beef altogether. In fact, stop eating meat. Do you want to throw a monkey wrench in the Stable Genius' plan to claim he's addressing affordability while simultaneously helping out his far-right friends in the Argentine government? Want to save the Colorado River? Stop eating beef. Stop eating meat. 

Eat like I've been eating for the past several years: an English muffin and black coffee for breakfast, a banana-strawberry-blueberry smoothie for lunch (just not Publix' frozen blueberries, because they're contaminated with E. coli), and a salad for dinner. Peanuts for snacks between meals. You'll lose weight and feel better, as well as save water in the Colorado and elsewhere, and muck up the Stable Genius' import plans. Win, win, win. You can thank me this time next year (just kidding - there will be no next year).

Just kidding - no one knows what's in the future or if there will even be a future. No one knows what in our beef or where it's from, what's on our blueberries, what's in our drinking water. No one knows the true extent of our military losses in Iran, or who's winning the Ukraine-Russian war, or the full scope of the atrocities in Gaza. No one knows why each sequel to Game of Thrones is worse than the one before it, or why the original GoT went ass-up in its final season.   

No one knows how long they will live, or when they will die.