They Say It Is Never Too Late, but are they right?

Slogans and short little catchy phrases have been the staple of modern logic and philosophy for a long time.  "Where there's smoke there's fire!!".   That means if you get accused of something then you must be guilty.

As many people may have noticed, sometimes smoke can be present, but fire does not happen.  Ignore that though, because we need these non truths in order to do whatever it is we do.  "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem".   That means if you do not do as I say or agree with me, then you are part of the problem and it is OK if we shoot you.

So many more of these gems are being cast over the sea of general nonsense that passes for current affairs, that I can't even keep up.  We actually dance around offensive words like 'THE N-WORD".  Just don't use the word.  I do not like it a bit.  I did not like it when I was working with people who used it.

They were black so that made it cool.  But I told them I did not want to here it and they were playing a racist game with all the "give a nigga a break" talk to one another while I am right there.  But somehow it is twisted into the consciousness that ethnicity is a value and that normal values are different depending upon your condition of birth.

Just like violence is considered impolite, but if you stop traffic with no regard for the health and needs of those strangers, it is OK because you have a "good cause".   If you are part of an angry mob using such force, you are revered as courageous as long as you claim you are in some way a victim.

So, clearly, conventional wisdom  and slogans are not strong philosophical elements which can really stand the test of reason and right.  And that brings me back to suspecting that it really is too late for me.  If it is, what now?  Bring on the parasail and 15000 feet altitude, we'll ad lib the rest.

I want to change this condition and lifestyle.  Drastically.  I did quit smoking and, long before that, I quit drinking.   But I live in a state of fear that I am losing it, and will never de-isolate, find meaning, and do it well.   It is an unknown variable here.

Aside from that, I read a comment somewhere in which the commenter said that the Oxford comma is an insult to the reader.  OK, I thought,  if a reader is insulted by a comma, perhaps he is not someone I am targeting with my writing, so I should just comma away and hope to drive off such pompous dweebs.  Really?

Sometimes English majors, and Music majors can affect the sort of nerdism that will never ever be cool.  They lose the soul of the content by becoming overly enamored with their grasp of the form and esoteric notations and such.   The rules and regulations are necessary and nice but the infatuation with inside knowledge of terms, etc. can be annoying.  Like a cop who has no idea why he is writing a ticket, ignoring the reality of things around him or the needs and condition of his victim.  Sometimes you let it go.

Anyway, comas, punctuation, unusual time signatures, and other nonsense are more important to some than others.  I still hope, that if I am ever read by many people, that I offend those who find particular comma placement insulting.  And I hope they go away and we never meet.  It's probably something to do with the Mr Bobo syndrome.  He said I was tone deaf.  Lots of teachers thought I was an idiot.  They were half right.  They just missed the savant aspect.

Oh, and if you want to annoy people with your culture and beliefs by making it hard for them to ignore you, and you want to make them look bad because you annoy them, just add the suffix "phobic" or "phobia" to whatever your tag is.   That way, if you are being rude and pushy with it, you can just accuse those offended of being ____phobic.  Yay.

No Good Side

Whereas I do believe the incessant self hatred of the progressive political class is at the root of the resurgence in racial hatred, I recognize that there are some real fools in all camps.

Some people sound like they are all ready to ride with the sheriff's posse and go get the bad guys.  "Let's have a neck tie party!", they shout while spinning a lariat rope.   I have to wonder why, if the whereabouts of the IS is known are people only now showing any serious resolve to wipe them out.

Or have they never known what is what and are we flailing in the dark?  I doubt it.  But if not, then something makes no sense.  Why would you wait until this?  Surely a political thing, and that means a person or persons high up is willing to compromise his values.

We Have Been PC Thinking Ourselves Right Over the Edge

Here's the deal.  I don't like funerals very much.  But I do go to those of friends and relatives.
I don't not go to funerals around town just to show solidarinosc and assure them that I do not think my friends and relatives matter more than theirs.

I feel more of a connection with Europe than I do with the MidEast.  Just the way it is. heritage, genealogy, who knows.  Also I tend to expect a lot of blowing up in the mid east. Not sure where that idea came from.

It just works out that I am more upset when Paris gets attacked than I am about cities which have less in common with whatever home is.   That does not mean I am thrilled about any of it.  I have wondered how all the players over there could let this band of lunatics rise to such power.  I suspect we've armed them indirectly.

But to get upset because we tend to mourn our own more intensely than we do the misfortune of strangers is to be searching for yet another excuse to play superior to one's people by vilifying them for their natural compassion.  Hate your own people because they react naturally.  These other places are certainly not as sympathetic toward others as they are their own.

Another of the self hating white people trying to pander so they can be cool and glom on to the victimhood of minorities.   If they do it just right, no one will notice that they are white, or even rich and white.  It is almost an Uncle Tom horse of a different color.  

I mean, why be so race obsessed?  I suspect it is the only way they can sooth their secret angst at their true feelings of superiority. They will lead the poor, ignorant other minorities against the white, Mr. Man devil.   Kind of like musical chairs.  Can't parse it down much further, although the lbgt contingent managed to get some traction there.

If I were famous, I could not say this.  It would be taken wrong in many circles anyway.

You cannot fix racism or oppression with more racism and oppression.  Affirmative action has been a big step in that direction.  The shaping of the culture has encouraged it.  And now we wonder why students consider it peaceful as long as they are in control or the ones being heard.  Never mind all the violations of the rights of others.  In their minds, if you disagree with them, you are evil, and trying to kill them, so any form of retaliation is OK.  Standard victim mentality fare.

It is embarrassing what people say and do.  The upset that Paris got such attention is twisted.  Do you think the Chinese see it as we do?  Probably not.  France is not a big deal to them in that way.  Doesn't mean they are happy about it.  Now, I know the self haters can't say anything bad about China, and it is just human nature for what I said to be true.  So, how can you argue with that?

Here we go

I deleted the page.  No use even trying to say anything.  The responses people get for saying anything about Paris, other than whining because Europeans and Americans have more interest in Paris than Somalia or Beirut, cause me to thing free speech is a thing of the past and so is reason.

It is a waste to even bother.  It is like trying to reason with a mob.  Doesn't work.  But I wonder

Why are the people leaving Syria not going to nearby Islamic states?  If it is just the small faction who do the violence, then there are closer stops.  And if they come here why would we encourage retaining the culture?  The culture seems conducive to mass mischief which ends poorly.   Maybe I don't get it.

But I do not go other places and try to make them bend to my ways, either.  Most people must do it otherwise

What Is With The Stubborn Progressive Koolaid Kult?

So, I see lots of French flags now on facebook.   Just like the rainbow thing people did to show solidarinosc with same-same marriage, even though they are not in that condition.  Hate to say it but I think it is nonsense.  But I also don't think it is the job of the federal government to involve itself in marriage other than when contracts are involved.  Marry your car, I do not care.  So, I see it as an intrusion that it ever got to court because I think it is a power overstep.

But my way would require wiping out the majority if not all of the tax code, and plenty else.

Now, I look and we have the French solidarinosc, and I get that, sort of.  These symbolic gestures are dandy, but if you then turn around and ridicule those who suggest the muslim influx and segregated sharia law zones may set the groundwork for trouble, I think you are naive.

I see responses that say things like, yea, ok, pray for Paris, but what about all these people walking a thousand miles and no one wants to let them in?  and on and on. It is nuts, really nuts.  Some progressive spin to ignore the fact that there is a pattern to these events.  It is not just random people.

It is as if they want to ignore the fact that a well orchestrated act of terror and mass murder occurred, and further, to ignore any information regarding the perps.  Just bizarre.  But let someone post a year old pic on facebook, claiming it just now happened on campus--like the fecal swastika--did not even happen in context we been hearing--and oh my god, no talk of Lebanon and Iraq now.

The thing I saw went on and on about how awful it is that people suggest that the flood of islamic immigrants may in any way influence domestic tranquility, as if that was actually a bigger crime than mass murder in the name of alah 'n' 'em.

How bizarre to all of a sudden hijack an undeniably sick, backwards, act of murder and cruelty in order to deride those who most vehemently decry such acts.  How dare they condemn mass murderers and their sanctuaries when babies are suffering in refugee camps?  WTF?

If this were a series of microaggressions rather than full tilt slaughter, I suppose then those koolaid addled progressive, humanity hating types would be a little more upset and sympathetic to the victims and their families.

The writer of this little essay was so upset that Paris received more attention and sympathy on line that bombings in Beirut and Baghdad.  I unapologetically care more about Paris, and Europe, in general, than I do about Lebanon or Iraq.  For one thing, Lebanon and Iraq are pretty much in the thick of the world of islam and its various splinter factions.  We expect them to blow up one another because that is what happens a lot.

Granted, many Lebanese and Iraqis are fine peaceful people who have probably never even participated in a stoning.  Apparently not enough are of that ilk that they create free and peaceful places which do not allow any such activity.  In any case, mourning the fact that the news in the free world is more concerned with Paris than Baghdad is nuts.  Just ridiculously nuts.

I want to go to Beirut and complain about what they find of interest if it doesn't include me.

I'm afraid to set foot on a college campus because I am, no doubt, a walking bundle of micro-aggressions and triggers.  The students would either be in tears or would burn me at the stake.  That is how the victim thing works; any brutality the self proclaimed victims inflict is OK because they got dibs on being the oppressed.

I expect a lot of insanity from stubborn progressives who always start at the point of creating a victim class and a pretend oppressor class that they hate; a class on which they declare open season. Amazing.  So sorry that the opposition is mostly comprised of cartoonish panderers who hurt the cause of sanity, even though they are somewhat saner than the koolaid drinking progressive, lockstep, nazi-like narrow minded misanthropes.

Anything remotely western or european or, God forbid, American seems to trigger a kneejerk reaction of disapproval, hatred, ridicule.  And that is from european-Americans.  The ones who think if they pretend to hate white people that blacks and Mexicans won't beat them up or kill them.  Maybe they'll even accept them as cool if they pretend to hate themselves enough.  Lame idiots.

I'm going to find a safe place where none of my thoughts are challenged, the 1% can't get me, and no one will trigger me or micro assault me.

Social Commentary; the surly bonds of comm device hubris

So, this guy, on the face booking, who has obviously done it right, is visiting his son in Colorado on an idyllic mountainside, in a two or three story wooden, chalet sort of place.  He sees some birds, black with white stripes, and he asks if anyone knows what kind of bird it is.

Just a simple question.  Had I known, I would have left the information in a comment.   Someone left a comment.  I thought, oh good, I will discover the type of bird because I am now curious.

But NO!  This person says, get xyz app.  It is free and it tells you bird types.  WTF?  Do you have the app.?  If so, why do you not look up the bird he posted in the pictures, then share the info.  If you care to you can inform him about the app that has this info.  He may not want to add an app.  And he might.  Would a friend withhold the info just to force him to comply?

I would be ticked if someone gave me "There's an app, go get it" in answer to a question. That is a snarky, annoying answer.  If anyone does this, you have my permission to slap them and kick them to the curb.

No, Education Involving Others is Not a Right

I feel your pain.  Debt sucks, and look at all the privilege and such, and bad viewpoints that need squashing on campus.  Who wouldn't be happier without debt, worry, and hurt feelings?

So, I am with you but wait until I buy some stuff on credit then we can wipe out all debts and give me some free education.

Geez.  How hard is it to realize that anything which requires action from others is NOT A RIGHT?  Education, in the context of this protest, requires people to teach, buildings, maintenance, books, etc. It is not a right if you make them teach you for nothing.  You are trying to enslave others to suit your fancy.  How can that be so tough to see?

Obviously, public education failed, and your parents failed, if you thought taking on thousands and thousands in debt to get a degree in ethnic victimhood, or gender confusion and anger, or almost anything might not leave you wealthy soon after graduating.  

It is unkind to encourage student loans and all that without really shining some light on the downside of gambling.  Just because you think you are going to make tons of money in four years, based upon today's trends, does not mean it is not a serious gamble. Laws, governments, privilege leveling, and any number of unknown factors can queer the deal, and certainly have in the last thirty years.   

When I was that young I was just wanting somewhere to mark time so I borrowed because it was easy.  Took awhile to pay it. Glad I wasn't crazy enough to get into the debt common today. 

No true right demands anything on the part of others except that they don't infringe on your rights.  People try to parse words and pretend that personal boundaries are not implied in the concept of allowing others to live as they choose.  If you choose to live in a way that forces others to hear you or see you with no escape, you are violating rights, not exercising them.  Got no right to force others,  That is how rights work.  

Now, someone or a group may choose to give you an education but you have absolutely no right to demand that they do so free of charge.  Why can't you work free?  You want $15 an hour minimum no matter what.  Hypocrite!!  You want others to provide you with services for free, then you bitch about wanting more pay.  Got to treat them the same as you want to be treated.  The equality thing.

Good to know that baby boomers weren't the only generation that was dumb enough to spout idiocy in public.  I did not like VietNam or the draft, but these idiots were pushing nonsense and calling draftees all sorts of vile names.  The rewrite of history painting protestors as altruistic, informed, highly moral philosophers is a big lie.  They wanted dope and willing young women, and the girls wanted to be seen, and to have an excuse.  Harsh, sexist sounding, but it is true.  People know it, but won't own up to it.

So now, how about forgetting the wasteful loans I took because I am not ready for the workplace and life is confusing?  I wouldn't expect otherwise.  Fun is out of the question because there is too much chance of offending someone.  Or worse yet, what if you have fun and it can be shown that it is only because of your white privilege?  

The truth is that people, and I use the term loosely, tend to get on the victim wagon (and/or the guilt wagon) which suspends all morals, and they claim to be correcting oppression by instituting the very same cruelty they decry. But now they are the oppressors so it is OK.   I thank baby boomers and "the greatest generation" for getting this ball rolling.  The greatest did win the last war that had any definition or apparent goals.  Give them that.  Most were kids who had no clue what was what, but they had learned some about work and roles in life meant something.  It was less confused.

Then they came home and raised brats and spawned confusion.  Fueling that confusion has become a national effort ever since.  It got me.  It won, I lost.  Maybe why I hate the sixties so much.  If I had ignored it, and if my parents from the greatest generation had given me even a clue, life would probably not be so sad.  As it is I took on their sadness and guilt and never got rid of it.  And I am scared to death now.

I find it very hard to interact, in reality.  I fake it some, and just play a little music to be around people.  But I am sinking.  Maybe that is why I find the ptsd military people easy.  They make sense to me and I feel comfortable there.  To a point. 

I may just rent a truck, empty the place out so I can clean it. Drop all at the dump and cash it in.  The external mess is something I have to eliminate first.  

So now we have more confused post high school people being fed lies and being treated like this nonsense makes sense; being told education is a right, that all we have to do is make those meanies who hoard money pay.  They are told that it is unfair if they are white, heterosexual, and not physically or mentally impaired in any way.  It is downright oppressive and you should be punished.  There has been some truly unkind and cruel oppression in history.   Making it cool to then torture others is not a good long term fix.  It just continues the yoyo deal.  So does lying.

Europeans did not invent slavery and Americans weren't the biggest offenders ever.  None of that changes the pain of those who were abused.  But truth is truth.  Irish were enslaved, as were most groups sometime in their history.  Does not speak well of humans that this has happened.  Truth sucks.  Like Ferguson.  No hands up don't shoot scenario ever occurred, but that interferes with the money making anger pandering.   As dumb as people are, I don't think free education will help.  There is an army of dimwits calling the shots in higher education.  How you clear that out, I do not know.  

Maybe if they are forced to teach for free or for minimum wage they will go away.  The ones I know can do some good things but promote the PC nonsense to absurdity, all the while patting themselves on the back publicly for doing such a "high calling".  I like teachers who don't constantly brag about their superior worth in the world.  I don't know any, though.  And I disagree.  I only had few teachers who did not do everything but kill me in some way. I do thank those few.

Last One Was Too Much

OK. The short of it is that I am going to Austin for a few days right after Christmas, returning on Jan.1.  Let us hope I don't stress and grab a pack of cigarettes on the way home.  Lack of availability will help.  Seems like it has been close to 2 years.

The last 2 years have been murder.  All that time wondering how to cope with those hot itchy attacks which interfered with work and life.  I thought I would have to give up the little bit of a job I have.  Luckily I managed not to do that.  Months of narrowing it all down to discover blood disease, or more accurately bone marrow issues.

But the situation appears to be in a somewhat stable mode, sort of.  One pill, every other day, and levels are somewhat OK.  At first the attacks went away and I thought it would all get better.  But they came back.  Still it is not as common or severe as it once was.  And I have learned various ways to mitigate the trouble.

Austin will be an adventure.  Just the lack of control the plane trip gives is spooky.  I know others have similar need to be able to withdraw to conditions which don't set off physical trouble, too.  But I am supposed to be healthy no matter what, and have no problems.  It will be OK.

Then there is the matter of being on someone else's turf and not being in control of much.  I see now the genius of my brother's life and how he constructed it.  I do not think he ever goes anywhere that he isn't in pretty strong control of things.  He worked to build that form of security.  Well, he built a family and stuck with it.  I guess that is what I wanted but never had the ability to do it.  It makes me cry.

So, I'd rather think about nothing.

Still Just Here

San Diego is definitely a big military town.  I am not really a big military person.  I mean, I like having a good military and ours is more impressive than one might think, as far as some of the individuals and their level of expertise and training.  But I do not get all slobbery with the hollow and somehow self righteous sounding "oh thank you for your service" mantras.  And I don't try to glean some glory by trying to imitate the OOHRAH! stuff.  

I show respect, like I would often upgrade military when I worked for the airline.  Mostly because I didn't think most of them knew what they really signed up for.  And some might be guard or air guard...outfits that never should be used except for defense, but since 911 have been misused just like the rest.

On an individual level, though, it is a very rough thing that can happen.  You get the most incredibly well trained and conditioned people and then let politicians and corrupt interests decide what they do and where, then wonder what could possibly go wrong.  It is sick.  And the public is herded into the madness like sheep.  In order to keep it going, they blindly glorify in a way that reeks of insincerity, if you ask me. 

Anyway it is confusing, as far as the big picture.  On the smaller scale I just end up in weird places, like playing on the Midway aircraft carrier on Veterans' day.  It is a word war two vintage aircraft carrier which is moored in San Diego harbor and has been made into a big museum.  A very popular one at that.  The place was swarming with people.  They have planes below deck and on the flight deck and tours and all kinds of stuff.

There I was. On top of that I was right there in the midst of a lot of PTSD people involved in the music therapy program, and some who have had serious injuries from things blowing up in Iraq and elsewhere.  Nations, and how they go about things, are really screwed up.  That can be confusing.

I do not like too much involvement with anyone right now.  Unless the right person...but that is different.  All I can say is that I am glad my nephews did not join the military.  Not sure where they may have gone if they had.  When was the last time a deployment to a war zone made sense all the way through?

Usually the parts that made sense were just patches to fix the misguided initial effort.  It is criminal. I am in disbelief that after VietNam we suckered for letting people go to Bosnia and all manner of places.  How did we let Bush get away with sending guard units for extended tours in Iraq and elsewhere?  Doing wars which don't work and for which we are so unprepared that you deplete the stores of reservists?  Insane.  But here in SD the main thing is to thank everyone and ignore the cruel reality of it.  

How do you appreciate the military itself but not how they are used and where they are sent?  And the other part is that it is a choice in this age.  No draft at the moment.  It brings up some conflicting questions and beliefs, I guess.  For me, I could not be loyal to a government that ignores the Constitution, which is what you swear to protect.  You do not swear allegiance to some arrogant politician.  No way to really think it through and do the job.  So, loyalty takes on another meaning.

In the military it comes down to not leaving your colleagues in a lurch. Your loyalty is to your team.  The big picture has to be ignored.  And it is life or death, losing limbs, and crazy, so the fidelity aspect toward your comrades in arms is the all important value. No way to succeed if they are thinking much beyond that, looking at motives, goals, and the Constitution.  

Wars suck but should be fought with a clear goal.  Bringing democracy and happy times to lunatic cultures is not a lofty or sane and moral goal.  Winning hearts and minds is absolute bullshit. A kinder, gentler army, there to build schools and hand out candy is pure lunacy.  If you could see the lives that are altered, the people scarred for life because politicians and those that own them want to serve needs having zero to do with protecting our shores or our Constitution, you'd probably hesitate to send them in harm's way.  Not so with those doing the sending. They see the results and try to make people feel wonderful for getting blown up in ill conceived endeavors of their making.  

And I don't care to think about my life.  It is worrying me how hard it is to have a positive thought about myself or my circumstances and what I have destroyed and created for myself.  What a waste.  I'd rather think of the follow orders syndrome that makes me less than gung ho when it comes to police work or military service.  I would thank them all, but they make more money than I do, and they know where to be and what to do at any time because that is how it works.  There is security in jobs with pensions and insurance and job security.  The down side is that you could get blown up or sent somewhere unpleasant.  For a lot of years most people did not have to go anywhere stupid.

If you joined in 1973, you could have probably taken a retirement after twenty years, never got shot at or had to hang in the hot hot desert winning the hearts of lunatics from the medieval times.  You could then have started your own business or found other government work and wrangled a second pension by age 60.  Lots of people did that.  I never had it in me. Still don't.  But it would have been a fu--ing improvement so I cannot knock it.

People join for any number of reasons.  I doubt the clarity and sanity of our foreign policy are high on that list.  How many people have a clue what we are doing and why?  I really do not.  I do know we manage to arm the bad guys and that friends are ex enemies quite often, and enemies are ex friends.  Very fluid loyalties all around.  Obviously it is not working well. I think using the military to kill the aberrant, and to do it without being polite and risking our lives needlessly is the best approach.  Anything else risks lives.  So, if we aren't going to wipe them out, don't go their.  Do not engage. 

Then I look Around and Think, I Could Do Worse

As much as I rue the days I let the good ones go,  I sometimes realize it was for the best.  For one thing I don't think any of them are even remotely in the semi-anarchist camp where I dwell, philosophically.  Although I must admit, beliefs that were once carved in stone are often, now, just etched in silly putty.

I think all of the heartbreakers have achieved a much better standard of living and definitely more stability than would have been found with me.  Maybe.  It is possible that proper love, support and coaching would have yielded magnificent results.  But how often does anyone want to admit I am sort of a quasi autistic functioning adult?  People think they know stuff, but they don't.  Just the way it is.

I did not even realize where my extreme weaknesses and mild strengths lay until recently.  It is a lot to get past, but maybe I will yet work it out.  In my thirties, I was like a kid in a candy store, and that was most likely a good bit of my downfall.   Judgement lapses have not been infrequent in my life.

It is great to see someone go on to a wonderful life.  But once in awhile I look and think, "Holy smoke, how can you possibly enjoy what you have landed in?"  Then it dawns on me; if such circumstances are pleasing to my old companions, then I was clearly a very, very poor fit.

The real dilemma is; is it worth dealing with a number of characteristics I find abhorrent in order to not be alone?  Most of my life I felt that it was better to be alone than to be with someone whose beliefs and behavior were in conflict with what I consider good form and endearing.

Now, I am not so sure.  I guess if the person does not directly lie, cheat and steal, maybe ego annoyances can be overlooked.  Or maybe I wish I felt that.  But, probably, I couldn't bend to that extent.  Bummer.  It is amazing what a little cash, and some status can manifest in one's life.  Or bedroom.  Mostly it works for men, because despite what anyone says, women are naturally drawn to security and power.  Money represents both, and status also gives a sense of safety on a subtle level.  It is nature and anyone who argues otherwise is just wishing.  Nothing wrong with it.

Survival of the species depends upon women being safe to carry to term so that children can have a chance to be born and to survive rather than be eaten by creeps who mill about.  The riffraff has always been there from the earliest days to now.  A man's job is to keep the creeps away so that babies get born and all that.  Women have a power over men to keep them coming back.  Trying to deny that is nonsense.  Not that it stops anyone.

As technology and culture evolves, maybe the whole thing will change and we become one big ant-like commune.  I don't know.  For now, the forces of nature guiding humans in the early days still hold sway over instincts and such.  That is why they have to drug the hell out of kids to make them fit the way we've structured schools and such.  And we have to drug adults to deal with the way we've structured civilized life.  Something is clearly awry.

But, that still leaves me alone, casting my eye on memories of the ones who got away, were pushed out, or who ran away.  And I think I find a bit of satisfaction when I see one living in a way I would never want, and with a guy that I cannot imagine hanging with.  Of course I don't imagine hanging with the guy, but you know what I mean.  I see the point and charm in some cases.  In others, I think, that is everything I never wanted to be, so yay.   Although I would gladly take some of their security and stability, just none of the attitude and etc.

Yikes.  I look at myself and think I wouldn't want the attitude and many of the activities in which I engage.  I do what I do because I can and because it keeps me from laying down on the railroad tracks waiting for the Chattanooga Choo Choo late at night.

Oops, this is an odd day of the month.  Nov. 7.  I take the hydrea on odd days.  Almost forgot.