Trivial (or not so trivial) stuff that makes you happy.

[Extravoice]

I bet the removal was the happy part... but you never know.

It certainly wasn’t the prep!

[Trebuchet]

Screening colonoscopy.
Precancerous polyp found.
Polyp removed.

That's me, about every 3-5 years. What bugs me is that I can't get my wife to have one.l

[Extravoice]

That's me, about every 3-5 years. What bugs me is that I can't get my wife to have one.l

In that case, I’d guess Cologuard is recommended. Colorectal cancer being the #2 cause of cancer deaths in the US, it isn’t something to ignore.

[KaiYeves]

I had a great bike ride today down the Custis Trail to Arlington, where I split off onto the city bike lanes to get up to the Potomac quicker (they were very nice bike lanes, marked in green, Northern Virginia is quite bike-friendly) and visited the Marine Corps War Memorial. When I first came here with my Mom back in May, we drove there, so it felt really powerful to make the same trip with only my own muscle power.

I headed down along the edge of Arlington National Cemetery, down a path that went through a field of native plants, and up Memorial Avenue to photograph Admiral Byrd’s memorial. It turned out the cemetery is (finally) open to the public again, but I know from experience it’s better to reserve a whole day to visit, so I just stopped at the Visitor Center to top off my water bottles at the water fountain. (I still had to show ID and go through the metal detector.)

Then it was off across Arlington Memorial Bridge and if I’d ever wished I had a helmet cam to record what I see when I ride, that would have been a good moment for it, riding over the Potomac towards the Lincoln Memorial, circling around it, and cycling past the Reflecting Pool up to the Washington Monument. It was a beautiful clear day, back up to 80 degrees after some colder days we’d been having that felt a bit too far into autumn a bit too soon, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

I have a fairly good grip on where things are in the eastern half of the Mall after the summers I interned at NASA HQ and on Capitol Hill, so it was pretty easy to get up to the red granite Smithsonian Castle and ride through the gardens (the Arts and Industries building is finally restored after years of work!), past the Hirshhorn and the Air and Space Museum (sadly still closed), and up to the new Eisenhower Memorial that opened last week. I had a good time exploring and talking to the rangers, and because their gift shop is open (the one at the park where I work is not), I bought an “I like Ike” pin and a stuffed toy bison. (His name is Toby.)

That was my planned destination, but I still had to get home and I knew from last week that the Custis Trail is almost all uphill coming back from DC, so I went down to the Tidal Basin and past the Jefferson Memorial, crossed over on another bridge, and took the Mount Vernon Trail past Reagan Airport (I was not there at the right time to have a plane fly right over me.) Once I got to Four Mile Run, I was just biking a route I had done before but in reverse, so I just took in the sights along that trail that follows Four Mile Run creek through Arlington.

I had about an hour and a half until sunset by the time I merged with the W&OD Trail that used to be a railway, and a few miles in the sun started to reach the clouds that had gathered on the horizon and the temperature fell a few degrees. I was starting to feel the burn, so I started singing songs in my head like I used to do running cross country in High School and got to Falls Church with about 45 minutes of sunlight left. The last few miles back to my apartment are definitely the route I know best around here, so that went well even though my knees were starting to hurt. After the last hill, it was a pretty smooth and easy ride back to my building and I got in with about twenty minutes of daylight to spare.

Overall, about 32 miles, my farthest ride so far, and while it was a workout, I didn’t feel too bad at the end. (I think I paced myself pretty well with the water and the electrolyte tablets helped.) I came home, took a brief shower, and went out for Pad Thai. I want to take a full bath with Epsom salts before I go to bed to get the cramps out of my knees.

[ozduck]

Best of luck, and swift recovery. I've had both hands done, it's not that bad as surgeries go.

The nurse I saw first yesterday assured me that it is not as bad as a tooth root canal treatment - we shall see.

Trebuchet: Hope it works out for you! I've had CTS for decades, but never reached the point of needing surgery. Now I haven't even worn a splint in years. One change I made was to mouse with the left hand, which had immediate benefits for the right.

The Neurologist and Surgeon were both adamant that there was no option but surgery. After I left the surgeons office yesterday I went to use my left hand to get my backpack off my shoulders. I got a really bad "shock" and the hand has been very painful since so I think that I have only one choice. P.S I am right handed.

Swift: Yes ozduck, good luck and quick healing.

Thanks all of for all your good wishes.

Extravoice Screening colonoscopy.
Precancerous polyp found.
Polyp removed.

Certainly better out than in. I had a couple removed on my first visit and no sign of regrowth after about 12 years. That first meal afterwards is very nice.

[Gillianren]

In that case, I’d guess Cologuard is recommended. Colorectal cancer being the #2 cause of cancer deaths in the US, it isn’t something to ignore.

It's what Chadwick Boseman died of.

[Gillianren]

I woke up early this morning for no good reason. Rather than risk waking Graham up, I went into the living room and made myself a new pair of around-the-house shorts--for when I want enough pants on to have pants on but am not actually planning to go out into the world. Essentially pajama bottoms. Especially important as Simon does his Zoom meetings in my room, meaning I've got to be wearing enough to be decent if I end up on camera!

[Noclevername]

I'm glad my recent change of meds has had positive results overall. I'm more functional now than ever in my life.

[Swift]

I'm glad my recent change of meds has had positive results overall. I'm more functional now than ever in my life.

Excellent

[ozduck]

I'm glad my recent change of meds has had positive results overall. I'm more functional now than ever in my life.

That is nice to hear.

[Extravoice]

I got a nice view of the predawn sky during this morning’s bicycle ride. To quote Paul McCartney, “Venus and Mars are alright tonight.”

This morning, too.

[Trebuchet]

We went to Sequim yesterday so my wife could see the neurologist. She'd been getting botox injections for migraines but Medicare denied it the last time. She's spent three miserable months. Now it got approved and she got her injections! Yay! The alternative treatment was doing nothing for her.

While there, I went into Costco and scored three big tins of Walker's Shortbread Cookies. Almost 14 pounds of buttery goodness! We send one off to Idaho for the family holidays there; the other two must last us a year. They only carry them at this time of year.

[Swift]

While there, I went into Costco and scored three big tins of Walker's Shortbread Cookies. Almost 14 pounds of buttery goodness! We send one off to Idaho for the family holidays there; the other two must last us a year. They only carry them at this time of year.

I love those things; I could polish off a tin all by myself.

[Solfe]

I got a job offer and accepted it. I didn't think I was ready to leave my current job, but it's getting close.

[The Backroad Astronomer]

I got a job offer and accepted it. I didn't think I was ready to leave my current job, but it's getting close.

Good to hear.

[grant hutchison]

While there, I went into Costco and scored three big tins of Walker's Shortbread Cookies. Almost 14 pounds of buttery goodness!

Saints preserve us. They market it as "shortbread cookies" in the USA? That's like calling Balvenie a "whisky drink". It's shortbread.

Grant Hutchison

[Noclevername]

I got a job offer and accepted it. I didn't think I was ready to leave my current job, but it's getting close.

Best of luck! I know it's hard to switch jobs, and you've talked about how involved you were with that situation. A big change, indeed.

[Van Rijn]

Saints preserve us. They market it as "shortbread cookies" in the USA? That's like calling Balvenie a "whisky drink". It's shortbread.

I’m not terribly familiar with the word “shortbread” so I looked it up, and I see it is a type of cookie. I guess your concern is that it is a bit like talking about an ATM machine? But since I wasn’t familiar with the term, without clarification I’d assume “shortbread” was referring to a type of bread. Since I wasn’t familiar with the term, so I suspect a lot of people in the US also wouldn’t be.

I’ll have to check them out, since I never tried them before. I do like Danish butter cookies and this sounds similar?

Oh, I just looked up “Balvenie,” and it is apparently a brand of whiskey (or whisky? More research: We usually say “whiskey” in the US but I guess an exception is made for the drink made in Scotland). I very rarely drink whisk(e)y even if I do drink alcohol. I remember not liking the taste at all. I probably haven’t had any in decades, so I wouldn’t have any idea what that was without context.

[Van Rijn]

I got a job offer and accepted it. I didn't think I was ready to leave my current job, but it's getting close.

Sounds good - hopefully this will be a bit safer than what your current job sounded like?

[Trebuchet]

Saints preserve us. They market it as "shortbread cookies" in the USA? That's like calling Balvenie a "whisky drink". It's shortbread.

Grant Hutchison

It does not, of course, say "cookies" on the tin, just "Shortbread Selection". A Scottish member on my other forum also took exception.

I’m not terribly familiar with the word “shortbread” so I looked it up, and I see it is a type of cookie. I guess your concern is that it is a bit like talking about an ATM machine? But since I wasn’t familiar with the term, without clarification I’d assume “shortbread” was referring to a type of bread. Since I wasn’t familiar with the term, so I suspect a lot of people in the US also wouldn’t be.

I’ll have to check them out, since I never tried them before. I do like Danish butter cookies and this sounds similar?

Oh, I just looked up “Balvenie,” and it is apparently a brand of whiskey (or whisky? More research: We usually say “whiskey” in the US but I guess an exception is made for the drink made in Scotland). I very rarely drink whisk(e)y even if I do drink alcohol. I remember not liking the taste at all. I probably haven’t had any in decades, so I wouldn’t have any idea what that was without context.

Similar to the Danish butter cookies, but, and I say this as a person of Danish ancestry, 100 times better!

[schlaugh]

Ok. Now I’m hungry for cookies dunked in scotch.

[Trebuchet]

Probably a waste of both!

[grant hutchison]

I’m not terribly familiar with the word “shortbread” so I looked it up, and I see it is a type of cookie. I guess your concern is that it is a bit like talking about an ATM machine? But since I wasn’t familiar with the term, without clarification I’d assume “shortbread” was referring to a type of bread. Since I wasn’t familiar with the term, so I suspect a lot of people in the US also wouldn’t be.

Well, shortbread has its origin in twice-baked bread, just with a dollop of butter that gives it its characteristic taste and mouthfeel. So "shortbread" is the name of a particular kind of vaguely breadlike foodstuff, not a particular kind of cookie. It comes in various traditional shapes, included a rather big flat round object you'd be hard-pressed to call a cookie. And while it can be made into cookie-sized objects, in Scotland these are known by their shapes--so you have a shortbread round or a shortbread finger, not a shortbread biscuit (which would be our equivalent of your cookie). If offering someone one of these you'd say, "Would you like a piece of shortbread?"

I’ll have to check them out, since I never tried them before. I do like Danish butter cookies and this sounds similar?

I don't know what a Danish butter cookie is, sorry. I do know the Danes produce something largely equivalent to Scottish shortbread.

Oh, I just looked up “Balvenie,” and it is apparently a brand of whiskey (or whisky? More research: We usually say “whiskey” in the US but I guess an exception is made for the drink made in Scotland). I very rarely drink whisk(e)y even if I do drink alcohol. I remember not liking the taste at all. I probably haven’t had any in decades, so I wouldn’t have any idea what that was without context.

"Whiskey" is the Irish spelling, which was adopted in the USA. "Whisky" is the Scottish spelling. So it's Irish and American whiskey, but Scottish (and Japanese) whisky.

Grant Hutchison

[profloater]

And English Whisky too! (From Norfolk but they dragged a Scottish master distiller down south to do it). Shortbread is very hard to resist , for some reason, when drinking Whisky. At least that’s my excuse.

[Noclevername]

Well, shortbread has its origin in twice-baked bread, just with a dollop of butter that gives it its characteristic taste and mouthfeel. So "shortbread" is the name of a particular kind of vaguely breadlike foodstuff, not a particular kind of cookie. It comes in various traditional shapes, included a rather big flat round object you'd be hard-pressed to call a cookie. And while it can be made into cookie-sized objects, in Scotland these are known by their shapes--so you have a shortbread round or a shortbread finger, not a shortbread biscuit (which would be our equivalent of your cookie). If offering someone one of these you'd say, "Would you like a piece of shortbread?"

In the US shortbread cookies are just sweet biscuits that happen to taste buttery. By the traditional measure then, they aren't literally shortbread.

[Swift]

I don't know what a Danish butter cookie is, sorry. I do know the Danes produce something largely equivalent to Scottish shortbread.

Danish butter cookies, at least in the United States, particularly the ones packaged in the blue tins. I have no clue if they actually have anything to Denmark, or if it is just a marketing thing or what. I like them

[Extravoice]

My wife brought home a tin of “Danish” butter cookies that had a very British sounding brand name. They were imported... from India.

[grant hutchison]

In the US shortbread cookies are just sweet biscuits that happen to taste buttery. By the traditional measure then, they aren't literally shortbread.

But the Walker's Shortbread Selection that Trebuchet purchased is shortbread. Walker's is an old Scottish company that produces traditional foodstuffs (including the "World's Finest Shortbread", apparently) for the domestic and export markets. I've never seen the word "cookie" (or "biscuit") appear on any of their shortbread products, hence my question to Trebuchet. From his reply, it seems it's just plain shortbread for their export products, too.
There's no logical reason you can't call a small piece of shortbread a shortbread cookie--it's a thing that looks like a cookie and it's made of shortbread. And you can find any number of recipes online for "shortbread cookies" and "shortbread biscuits". It's just a curiosity of usage in Scotland that we think of it as being just plain shortbread, whatever shape it comes in, and I'd guess that most Scots have the concepts of "shortbread" and "biscuit/cookie" stored in separate bits of their brains. So saying something like, "Would you like a biscuit? Or would you prefer a bit of shortbread?" is, to a Scot, a perfectly reasonable and intuitive division of the set of things you might care to eat with your cup of tea.

Grant Hutchison

[Torsten]

I think I've only ever had shortbread as small cookie-sized delights, and referred to only as shortbread. I can't have them in the house as any discipline I have evaporates upon tasting one.

[Noclevername]

Ah, I see!

I moved from the New England region of the US to a Midwestern area where soda is pop, tea refers to iced tea instead of hot, and macaroni means, not pasta with sauce, but mac and cheese ...which they put bread crumbs on for no good reason. Regional variations can be confusing even within one country, let alone across oceans.