Thurzda’s Wandering Thoughts
I’m pivoting to pop culture and movies today. Cuz Gene Hackman. The death of Mr. Hackman and his wife, Ms Arakawa, makes me long for the details and explanations of what happened to them. The open door, the space heater, the pills, etc. Makes me want to write a novel to explain it but my explanation would go off the rails and Gene Hackman would probably end up as a retired secret agent who used acting as a cover.
I enjoyed his work, though. He made his characters seem real and nuanced. As I read different tributes about Gene Hackman, I encountered a decent story in The Hollywood Reporter that listed Gene Hackman’s ‘ten best scenes’. I don’t disagree with their list. I’m not an expert on films (though I sometimes pretend to be to impress others) but I did enjoy all these movies.
Here’s their list. You can check out their whole story. For me, Gene Hackman’s top three films were Unforgiven, The Conversation, and The French Connection, with The Royal Tennenbaums lucking just outside those three.
In no particular order, The Hollywood Reporter list:
The Birdcage
Unforgiven
The French Connection
Hoosiers
The Conversation
Crimson Tide
The Royal Tennenbaums
The Poseidon Adventure
Superman
Mississippi Burning
I’m thankful that technology will let me continue to enjoy his talents and skills after his departure. RIP, Mr. Hackman and Ms Arakawa.
Papi
Daily writing prompt
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?
I think I’d like to be my cat, Papi. With us almost eight years, he remains so wary, I’d like to be him and know if there are memories of events that shaped him.
I’d like to get some insights into what the little floof is thinking when he comes to me and sits by me, staring up. He often does this after he finishes eating. I assume he wants attention, affection, so I scratch his head and chin and pet him. It usually seems to answer his need but sometimes he scurries off like he’s disappointed.
I want to be him so I can find out where he goes when he disappears for an hour. I want to be him to gain insights into how much he endangers himself with his roaming. Kind of looking for reassurance that the worse which I imagine isn’t what’s happening. I want comfort that he’s not running from dogs, almost getting hit by cars, narrowly escaping bears, cougars, and foxes. I want to know what he has against the gray and white cat that shows up once in a while, and why they start yelling at each other. Is it territorial, politics, or something else, like a miscommunicaiton.
I just want to know who he is, what he thinks, and what he does. Really, is that asking too much?
Good Point
Saw this on Facebook and stole it to circulate. I think Ryan DeGooyer’s insight has some merit; many people miss connections between what their state offers and the Federal Medicaid program. To put this into context, remember that many people do not realize the ACA — the Affordable Care Act — is the same thing as “Obamacare”.
This list might help.
Ryan DeGooyer
I couldn’t figure out why there wasn’t even more outrage about impending Medicaid cuts. then saw a lady on tv state she wasn’t concerned because she’s on medi-cal… and I realized… some people don’t even know THEIR benefits are being cut because states often rename Medicaid (we all see where this is going right?). So, If you or your loved ones are covered by any of the following… they are talking about you:
Alabama: Medicaid
Alaska : DenaliCare
Arizona: Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS)
Arkansas: Health Care
California: Medi-Cal
Colorado: Health First Colorado
Connecticut: HuskyHealth, Husky C (for aged, blind or disabled persons)
Delaware: Diamond State Health Plan (Plus)
Florida: Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Program (SMMC), Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) Program, Long-term Care (LTC) Program
Georgia: Medicaid
Hawaii : MedQuest
Idaho: Medicaid
Illinois: Medical Assistance Program
Indiana: Hoosier Healthwise, Hoosier Care Connect, M.E.D. Works, Health Indiana Plan (HIP), Traditional Medicaid
Iowa: IA Health Link
Kansas: KanCare Medical Assistance Program
Kentucky: Medicaid
Louisiana: Bayou Health, Healthy Louisiana
Maine: MaineCare
Maryland: Medical Assistance
Massachusetts: MassHealth
Michigan: Medical Assistance or MA
Minnesota: Medical Assistance (MA),
MinnesotaCare
Mississippi: Mississippi Coordinated Access Network (MississippiCAN)
Missouri: MO HealthNet
Montana: Medicaid
Nebraska: ACCESSNebraska, Nebraska Medical Assistance Program (NMAP)
Nevada: Medicaid
New Hampshire: NH Medicaid, Medical Assistance
New Jersey: NJ FamilyCare
New Mexico: Turquoise Care
New York: Medicaid Managed Care
North Carolina: Division of Health Benefits (DHB), Medicaid
North Dakota: North Dakota Medicaid Expansion Program
Ohio: Medicaid.
Oklahoma: SoonerCare
Oregon: Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
Pennsylvania: Medical Assistance (MA)
Rhode Island: RI Medical Assistance Program
South Carolina: Healthy Connections
South Dakota: Medicaid
Tennessee: TennCare
Texas: STAR+PLUS
Utah: Medicaid
Vermont: Green Mountain Care
Virginia: Cardinal Care
Washington: Apple Health
Washington D.C. : Healthy Families
West Virginia : Medicaid
Wisconsin: Forward Health, BadgerCare
Wyoming: Wyoming Medicaid
Floofscan
Floofscan (floofinition) – A quick glance to spot an animal. Origins: 1973, UK.
In Use: “Bob did a quick floofscan to find his fur friend, fast checking her regular haunts before discovering her in the clothes basket atop darks waiting to be washed.”
In Use: “Many wags who live with cats refer to floofscans as catscans.”
Thurzda’s Theme Music
Pop, pow, sunshine has laid out winter. Sprinter holds Ashlandia in its palm and leans hard toward spring. Blooms and blossoms and things are cropping up on trees as life feasts on the strong sunshine. Current temperature is 58 F and the weather ‘they’ say we’ll punch in over 68 F by the day’s completion. Cool beans.
Papi the ginger blade, aka Meep and Butter Butt, loves the sunshine but seems a little perplexed by its presence. Circumstances have promoted him to the only floof in the house, meaning he is also number one floof. He’s still adjusting to his duties but has taken to sleeping in every chair and surface he can find. It’s like he’s stating, “This is mine, and this is mine, and that’s mine, too.”
My wife and I were chatting this morning. She was indulging in her ritual doomscrolling and worrying that she’s in a news bubble. share the concern. Trying to ensure I’m not, I chased down online newspapers in Des Moines, Bismark, Santa Fe, and Tempe to peruse their samples. They mostly focused on local news stories. Only one mentioned PINO Trusk and DOGE. Most said little about politics in general. Interesting. They do seem like the sort of newspaper my wife is constantly bucking for in Ashlandia, a local site focused on local issues, just telling us what’s happening in the community, like why the firetrucks raced down the road with sirens screaming. We rarely get that sort of info these days, unless someone in the known takes to social media such as Reddit, Facebook, or NextDoor to tell what happened.
I have a 1981 R.E.M song, “Sitting Still”, rocking the morning mental music stream. I think The Neurons directed its playing because of the sense that we’re sitting still, waiting for the fall out from the Great Shitsorm of 2025 and the Great Undoing. I’m personally searching for validation of how I was taught the world works from A-Z, including the economy and features like supply and demand, inflation, and tariffs, and the Federal government and its systems of checks and balances. News about angry constituents at GOTP townhall meetings keep my interest piqued: many people are pissed off about what they’ve seen happening — or so it’s reported in my bubble. The GOTP response is to not hold meetings to hear what the people are saying. I’m sort of amused and intrigued whether this tactic can and will hold, especially if cuts to Medicaid are initiated. So I’m sitting still, waiting for results.
Fer instance, eggs. The price of eggs was a big deal in the 2024 elections. Now, The price of eggs is expected to skyrocket by more than 40% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Meanwhile, the PINO Trusk cuts have reached home with several friends in Ashlandia. They were planning river trips. To use the rivers, passes are required. To limit the number of passes, a lottery system is used. The Federal government runs the lottery. With the PINO Trusk cuts, there is now no one to run the lottery.
Well, coffee has signed a treaty with me to provide energy. I’m going with it while coffee still exists and is affordable. Hope your day is strong in many good ways. Cheers
Floofsciousness
Floofsciousness (floofinition) – State of awareness regarding an animal’s presence. Origins: first known use in 1605 in northern Europe.
In Use: “Karla had developed a keen floofsciousness from living fifteen years with Sammy. She could feel him enter the bedroom when she settled her head onto the pillow and awaited sleep, anticipating his jump onto the bed and his progress to her side. Now, with him no longer with her, her floofsciousness felt sharper but untethered. She closed her eyes against crying again but tears still put hot paths across her cheeks, and the unstoppable litany, it’s not fair, went through her mind again.”
Ambitious? Just Back Off
When it comes to DIY, ‘ambitious’ isn’t in my vocabulary. Honestly, I keep it simple.
I miss the old days, when part of my DIY routines were working on the car. Changing oil, cleaning or replacing the spark plugs, setting the ignition timing, rotating the tires, installing new brakes, bleeding that system, replacing the radiator coolant, etc. Those were fun and rewarding DIY projects. Then, though, cars became complicated. Engine bays became packed so tightly that reaching spark plugs was an ordeal. Getting to the oil filter was a nightmare. I’m reduced to installing a new battery in the car and topping off the windshield wiper fluid.
Around the house, I’ve done multiple small jobs. Replaced the furnace’s control board. Installed new thermostat. Replaced the filters, installed capacitators on the air conditioning, along with some other pieces on it. I’ve installed new light fixtures in various rooms, took the dishwasher apart and fixed it, and did troubleshooting on the microwave, replacing fuses and different parts. Likewise, I’ve done some plumbing work but I keep it simple. I’ve painted all the rooms except two, installed a blower in the gas fireplace, and do all my yard work. Yes, I’ve installed some shelving and assembled furniture.
On my computers, I’ve swapped out hard drives, processors, fans, video cards, and power supplies, and added or changed memory. In many ways, I think of them as the modern equivalent of working on cars back when cars had mechanical systems. I’ve installed and replaced routers and modems, replaced keyboards, added different streaming devices and printers, and did basic troubleshooting on software and security, uninstalling, reinstalling things as necessary, and took apart the keyboards and cleaned them.
Many of these things are driven by being cheap. I don’t want to pay others for what I think I might be able to fix. I’m also driven to understand these things more. I want to know how they work, how the parts interact, etc. These systems are mature and demonstrate ingenious engineering solutions. Finding how they work amazes me, and the Internet is a useful tool for that purpose. Then, to restore them when they’ve died is such a validating process.
That validation process is a big component. In a complex world, where so much seems beyond our control, it’s satisfying to take something broken apart, and make it work again. Just keep it simple.
Michael Seidel, writer 