Thursday, February 29, 2024

Nearly all fungi form and release vast quantities of spores as part of their life cycle

 begin quote from:

Nearly all fungi form and release vast quantities of spores as part of their life cycle. Spores are the main reproductive units for fungi and are usually single cells. They may be produced either directly by asexual methods or indirectly by sexual reproduction.

Yeasts are microscopic fungi and I believe if I'm correct all Fungi come from Spores?

 Begin quote from:

Yeasts are microscopic fungi consisting of solitary cells that reproduce by budding. Molds, in contrast, occur in long filaments known as hyphae, which grow by apical extension.

Introduction to Mycology - Medical Microbiology - NCBI

Spores travel through space and enter earth's atmosphere

They likely are the only one of things that we consider to be alive that are neither plant or animal that can actually withstand Cosmic Rays and travel through space here to earth.

Begin quote from:

Fungal spores are microscopic biological particles that allow fungi to be reproduced, serving a similar purpose to that of seeds in the plant world. Fungi decompose organic waste and are essential for recycling of carbon and minerals in our ecosystem.

What are fungal spores? - University Of Worcester

 

With the Changing Climate Fungus of all kinds seem to be flourishing in not good ways for humans and other mammals

As you can see from the previous article, a Frog in India with a mushroom growing out it's side is basically unheard of. However, as the climate warms scientists are predicting that fungus' of all kinds are going to mutate and do better in this brave new world we are entering into. For example, in this new environment things like Athletes  Foot and Jock Itch would be more normal for people to deal with all over the world. There are many other ways that Fungus of all kinds will mutate and become new things as well.

begin quote from:

Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. They constitute their own kingdom: the Fungi. These include the familiar mushroom-forming species, as well as yeasts, molds, smuts, and rusts.

Mushroom Facts | Missouri Department of Conservation

A frog in India has a mushroom sprouting out of it. Researchers have never seen anything like it

begin quote from:

A frog in India has a mushroom sprouting out of it. Researchers have never seen anything like it

Hearse drivers refuse to take Navalny’s body to Moscow funeral because government has threatened their lives

 

Hearse drivers refuse to take Navalny’s body to Moscow funeral, Putin critic’s team say

California could get 10 feet of snow as Sierra Nevada braces for blizzard with up to 100 mph winds

 begin quote from:

California could get 10 feet of snow as Sierra Nevada braces for blizzard with up to 100 mph winds

Smokehouse Creek Fire is officially largest in Texas history, covering over 1 million acres

begin quote from:

Smokehouse Creek Fire is officially largest in Texas history, covering over 1 million acres

Nasdaq and S&P 500 soar to record highs as markets appear unsinkable

 

Nasdaq and S&P 500 soar to record highs as markets appear unsinkable

My neighbor a retired Doctor said to me: "Isn't Medicare Wonderful?"

 Yes. Medicare is wonderful if you are 65 or older. Because I found that trying to make it from 50 to 64 was the hardest. By the time I was 64 I was paying 1800 dollars a month for full medical coverage and most people can't come up with 21,600 dollars a year for insurance payments for their health. So, I was very lucky I could afford this. Without medical care at age 50 with a heart virus I likely would not be alive today. However, it is also true that if I didn't have medical coverage in 2015 when my appendix burst I likely wouldn't be alive today either. So, I think that having some sort of medical coverage even if it is a bronze plan only for catastrophic injuries or illnesses is a good and necessary idea for most people if you want to actually make it to 60 or 70 years old in the first place.

I could cruise along most of the time until my 40s without any medical coverage at all while I ran my businesses but after 45 or 50 doing that likely would have been fatal at least for me.

I find most people by 40 and 50 have to see doctors more regularly if they want to stay alive. Also, even in your 20s it's likely good to be screened for Skin Cancer or Colon Cancer these days as well.

However, from 15 to 45 I often didn't have medical insurance at all and I survived it but I wouldn't have very well or at all after 45 or 50. Something to think about.

Writing

Everyone has their own unique writing style just like everyone has their own unique speaking style as well. I find that writing helps me better understand myself and the world around me and all the people in it better so I feel more empowered in my life to move forward more confident of my decisions ongoing.

If you can make better decisions from being better informed then often you can survive things that others cannot. There is something to be said for being strong but sometimes being as strong as an oak also makes a person brittle in difficult times. Though one might not want to always be a tree that bends in the wind there are times when bending is better than breaking and then being gone either mentally or physically.

So, I find the trick is actually adaptability more than anything else and trying to have enough fun in life where you actually want to stay alive to see another day. If you are all work and no play why would you want to stay alive?

This is the thing about life.  You have to often work a lot to stay alive but then if you don't play enough to actually want to be alive then often you are not alive either mentally or physically anymore.

If physically writing doesn't work for you maybe videoing what you want to say on your smartphone and then transcibing it or having it transcribed for you later might work. For example, it is possible I believe to call up SIRI to convert your speech to text and then possibly you could print that speech in some format also to the printed word on your computer printer as well.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

We must help Ukraine now or fight costlier wars later

 

We must help Ukraine now or fight costlier wars later

Biden officials weigh giving Ukraine weapons without replacing U.S. stocks right away

begin quote from:

Biden officials weigh giving Ukraine weapons without replacing U.S. stocks right away or waiting for Congress funds

 

Deadly Texas wildfire is spreading too fast for firefighters to keep up, forest service says

 

Using marijuana as little as once per month is linked to higher risk of heart attack and stroke

 begin quote from:

Using marijuana as little as once per month is linked to higher risk of heart attack and stroke

Congress strikes deal to avert a partial government shutdown — for now

 

Congress strikes deal to avert a partial government shutdown — for now

Richard Lewis, revered comic and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' star, dies at 76

 begin quote from:

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/richard-lewis-revered-comic-curb-enthusiasm-star-dies-76-rcna141028

Richard Lewis, revered comic and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' star, dies at 76

The comedian and actor died in his home after he had a heart attack Tuesday night.
Get more news
on


  • LOS ANGELES — Richard Lewis, the beloved stand-up comedian and a star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," has died, his publicist announced.

    Lewis, 76, died at his home in Los Angeles after he had a heart attack Tuesday night, according to his publicist, Jeff Abraham.

    Lewis revealed in April that he had been living with Parkinson's disease.

    Joyce Lapinsky, Lewis’ wife, "thanks everyone for all the love, friendship and support and asks for privacy at this time," Abraham said in a statement.

    Richard Lewis performing.
    Comedian Richard Lewis in Las Vegas in 2005.Ethan Miller / Getty Images

    Lewis is co-starring in the final season of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO.

    David said Wednesday he was mourning his lifelong friend's death.

    “Richard and I were born three days apart in the same hospital and for most of my life he’s been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest,” David said in a statement. “But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him.”

    Lewis, born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, first tried his hand at stand-up in New York City in the early 1970s — alongside the likes of Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer and Elayne Boosler — before he made a career of it when comedian David Brenner discovered him. By the middle of the decade, he had already appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

    He was immediately recognized as a dark comic, literally and figuratively, known for his all-black getups and performing frequently self-loathing sets about his neuroses and addictions.

    Lewis made his TV debut with "Diary of a Young Comic," a 90-minute movie that took the place of "Saturday Night Live" on NBC in 1979, but he really rose to prominence with his continued late-night appearances during the '80s and the '90s.

    He became a veritable rock star of the comedy world in those decades, starring in multiple stand-up specials on Showtime and HBO, while making high-profile appearances on specials like the Comic Relief charitable fundraisers.

    He starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the sitcom "Anything but Love," which aired from 1988 to 1992, before he landed roles in a few short-lived sitcoms and movies throughout the late '80s and the early '90s.

    In a tribute on Instagram, Curtis said Lewis "blew everyone else away" during his audition and "got the part when I snort laughed when he mispronounced the word Bundt cake."

    "It turns out he was a wonderful actor. Deep and so freaking funny," Curtis said. She said his last text to her was an effort to persuade execs at ABC and Disney to put out another boxed set of episodes of the show.

    Curtis also said Lewis was the reason she is sober.

    "He helped me. I am forever grateful for him for that act of grace alone," she said. "I’m weeping as I write this. Strange way of saying thank you to a sweet and funny man. Rest in laughter, Richard."

    Richard Lewis and Larry David in Season 10 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
    Richard Lewis and Larry David in season 10 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."HBO

    In 2000, Lewis became a staple on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," playing a dramatized version of himself in the same vein as David, the star and creator.

    The show, airing now in what David claims to be the final season, features Lewis as his same curmudgeonly character who often hits the golf course with David. A season five storyline even featured David donating a kidney to Lewis.

    David and Lewis go way back. The pair were born days apart at a Brooklyn hospital but officially met for the first time at a summer camp when they were 12.

    Lewis has said he and David hated each other as teens but reconciled when they met as adults in the New York comedy scene.

    "We were arch-rivals as teenagers at a summer sports camp. Our issues started at birth," Lewis told New Jersey Monthly in a 2015 interview. "I’m convinced that Larry tried to strangle me with my mother’s umbilical cord."

    Lewis said he was a good athlete at camp, while "Larry was a gangly, obnoxious asshole."

    "I hated him," Lewis said in 2015. "We became friendly years later as young comics in New York, but I noticed something one night. 'There’s something about you I hate,' I told him. 'Wait, you’re that Larry David from summer camp.' And he said, 'You’re that Richard Lewis.' We nearly came to blows."

    A spokesperson for HBO, where "Curb" and a number of Lewis' comedy specials have aired, said in a statement that it was "heartbroken."

    "His comedic brilliance, wit and talent were unmatched. Richard will always be a cherished member of the HBO and Curb Your Enthusiasm families, our heartfelt condolences go out to his family, friends and all the fans who could count on Richard to brighten their days with laughter," the spokesperson said.

    Richard Lewis on the final season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
    Richard Lewis on the final season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."HBO