Speaking of running, I’m running late today and don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to drop off this old favorite of mine. There’s much sedentary conversation in Arlo & Janis. I try to make the drawings interesting, but the fact remains there are a lot of talking heads, so it’s always a treat to depict them moving about.
A Running Gag
By Jimmy Johnson
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21 responses to “A Running Gag”
Am I up early or is every one else sleeping in.
Slept in more than usual.
Hey I resemble this comic strip…
This was from earlier this morning:
It was 66° (actually made a typo as 666°:-) ,) and even though I am pretty stiff from getting run over from the day before, I did walk 2 miles around my circle drive. I have to admit that I was super cautious and turned my head every time I heard a car move, but it helped both physically and mentally. I slept better last night and am slowly getting more range of movement. I really hope that all of you can get the chance to venture outside, if only to sit on the porch or drive somewhere and roll down the windows. The vitamin D from the sun and the fresh air really helps.
Last night was a beautiful night for stargazing, so I slept in.
Regarding the vitamin D, it’s one of the few remaining vitamins available in supplements to not be shot down by meta-research (statistical analysis of other people’s actual studies). Supposedly every thing that’s provided in pill form is “artificial” and “inorganic” and does no good for our bodies.
So, I now share an observation passed on through others on the Book of Faces:
First, we hear alcohol may prevent the virus… now research suggests the opposite. Then we’re told heat and humidity has no effect, but wait… direct sunlight might quickly kill the virus. So, if you come across some middle aged woman, standing in the front yard, intoxicated and naked, leave me alone… I’m conducting important medical research.
It’s been years since I saw something similar in my freshman physics lab:
A simple demo of order and chaos (and order again) – Home made Pendulum Wave with 15 billiard balls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsIgubUjTck&fbclid=IwAR1zSQOaTa9Skut7jC_peNkn3FjCQr_IC3sFTHYA4TBoQscLPndsEOr-hAo
I saw this too on Facebook a few days ago and re-posted it there. It’s super cool, isn’t it?
Re the 4-29-20 cartoon: IIRC, we had a discussion of “comic swearwords” here a number of years ago.
Under present conditions, one could make a case that the “bat” part is as much an expletive as the “*%#” part.
Steve & Trucker. Our skin is our largest endocrine gland. When irradiated by sunlight, it secretes a hormone, calciferol, which diffuses directly into the blood in skin capillaries & thus, like other hormones, is distributed throughout the body. Calciferol must be present for normal incorporation of calcium into growing bone. Calcium is in our blood because it’s in our food, including the 2-4 glasses of skim milk I drink / day. Calcium is needed throughout life because bone is living tissue; we continually break it down & rebuild it, less efficiently as we get older. It is, of course, most important in growing children.
There are, however, difficulties. Skin makes all the calciferol it can in a short time, less than it takes Caucasian skin to burn. Therefore, best to expose as much skin as you can, but not for long. [Ghost: cue to pant.] Heavily pigmented skin is protected from burning by its melanin pigments, which unfortunately absorb the radiation that stimulates calciferol production, so it’s harder for many people of color [POC] to make the calciferol they need. Fortunately, vitamin D, found in cod liver oil & various daily vitamin supplements, is chemically enough like calciferol to do the job for growing bone tissue. Blubber is essential Inuit food.
A native Scottish child in winter in Edinburgh makes her day’s worth of calciferol in her ruddy cheeks; no other skin is exposed. Her playmate, Anu, whose parents just migrated from India, cannot do that, so must take vitamin D. They probably both should.
Also, adult galactosemia [inability to digest lactose (milk sugar)] is common in many POC, but there are other dietary sources of calcium. If I’ve said all this in this blog before, it was probably long enough ago that some newbies haven’t seen it. Several thousand BSU students may have learned it. ‘Night, & Peace,
Thanks, emb. I’ve been getting most of my calcium in cheeses and yogurts these past few years, and taking a small amount of D through supplements. I’m prone to skin cancer, and I’d rather not risk getting more than a few minutes of sun each day. Getting even a squamous cell cancer removed was scary enough; the idea that one could spread internally…
I have tried to protect myself from the sun as much as I can but I certainly can do better. I must have done enough as many of my sun-worshiping friends have a lot of wrinkles, but I do not. I do remember my doctor telling me to take Vitamin D supplements, even though I drink 8 oz of milk and was out in the sun for 1/2 hour to 50 minutes a day. Everyone processes things differently though and my Vitamin D levels are now normal
I have really enjoyed the Gene arc this week JJ. You have hit the nail on the head for small businesses and restaurants. We have tried to get takeout from our favorite restaurants in order to support them. Without the drinks, the bill is less but hopefully they getting a lifeline.
My wife is trying to negotiate a covert operation with her hairdresser in order to get a cut and color. She is 6 years younger than me, but may have as much gray as me. I think that she would look great if she didn’t color it because she has beautiful skin but there is a stigma for a professional woman in her business to have gray hair, so she won’t. I’m cool with that.
My doctor tells me that everyone in the upper Midwest is vitamin D deficient. I used to scoff until the Seasonal Affective Disorder happened to me. Now I take those little golden pills daily.
Of course, being one of those people who like expose all of their skin to the sun helps, too. Gotta get me some vitamin D.
If I come across the naked woman from Facebook I’ll join her.
Cheers, y’all
Otis: “… everyone in the upper Midwest is vitamin D deficient.” One source available to most Midwesterners is milk. Commercial milk contains 25% of your daily need of D per 8oz, 100% /qt. Also, of course, Ca for your calciferol to work with. When I get back to volunteering at SHB, I will again lunch in “Northern Dining” [the hospital cafeteria]. Usually sit where I see each MD, DO, OD, DP, MBA, RN, NP, PA, MPT, DPT, OT, housekeeper, etc., come out into the dining area. The drinks on their trays: soda pop, I’m guessing some 95% of the time. Even the occasional DDS, and of course parents, their kids, and visitors. On occasion, I’ve discreetly [c x-p please note] congratulated one of the rare exceptions carrying 0 or 2% milk. [I use 2% as cream for my coffee; the machine is one social distance from my Family Waiting Volunteer desk.] No idea what the layout w/b after COVID-19.
Peace,
Duly noted.
Re 4-30-20 real-time cartoon: It’s very good to see that Gus hasn’t lost it…and even better to see that Gene, ML and Meg haven’t lost him.
He’s without doubt my favorite ancillary character of the strip. I suspect that Jimmy knows or has known an old-school restaurateur or two on whom Gus is based. As have I.
Not only is sunshine good for vitamin D production, I have found it is good for the psyche. We’ve had a fair amount of rain here in Conroe at the same time we’ve had the Covid crisis and I have to admit I was getting a bit down. I miss seeing my friends. I miss getting out and about, even though my mobility issues have made those occasions fewer.
When the sun started shining again I found it improved my mood a lot to sit in the sunshine for a little while and enjoy the flowers (amaryllis and crinums are blooming, plus my yesterday, today & tomorrow bush) and watch the hummingbirds come to the feeder. I wonder if we are going to get the hummingbird migration this spring because there are only a few, but I love to watch them. I can see them from inside, but as John Denver so aptly put it – sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.
Judy
You found out what Cats all know – sitin’ in the Sun on the floor or bed is AWSOME!
Old Bears think so too.
Our friend, Jenni, the founder of the not-for-profit Husky Halfway House rescue shelter in Eufaula, was involved, along with county deputy sheriffs and shelters in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, in the Wednesday rescue of 72 dogs (huskies, husky mixes, malamutes, Nordic mixes) from a unregulated dog hoarding/breeding operation in the Tulsa area. There were adult dogs, including pregnant females (one about to deliver in a filthy shed), and three litters of new puppies. Their living conditions were horrible, and charges are pending against the two owners. The other shelters helped with the recovery and transportation but Jenni’s was the only facility with space available for that many dogs…even though she already has 29 others on board. (Yes, she is now sheltering 101 huskies…perhaps there’s a Disney movie in there somewhere.)
I know that solicitations are not the norm here, and also that this is not a good time for many of us financially, but since there may be some animal lovers in the Village (duh!), and since this is a highly unusual situation, I wanted to make the request. The huskies can use help in the form of (tax deductible) donations for medical care/vaccinations, food, collars, beds, and feed bowls. Below is a link to the Foundation web site for any who are interested in contributing. Any amount will help, and the huskies need help.
https://www.huskyhalfwayhouse.org/
You may recall the my wonderful Cilla, my tortie, got glaucoma and had to have her right eye removed. As previously reported she seems none the worse for it. I only mention it because the eye doctor, who is not open for business but snuck me in secretly, tells me that I am getting glaucoma in my right eye. I suppose if you always put my food in the same place on the floor I’ll be ok.
Jerry, you have a great sense of humor! Sorry about the glaucoma. I trust there is a less drastic treatment.