It’s also interesting to see the pro-abortion rights people suddenly decide that “your body your choice” doesn’t apply if we are talking about COVID vaccines. These are the same people who flatly reject the argument that “your choice to abort is murdering people so you shouldn’t get to choose.”

There is a difference of degree because an abortion invariably results in the destruction of a fetus while a refusal to not vaccinate doesn’t invariably result in anything.

“Yes, but I don’t agree that abortion is murdering people.” And they don’t agree that their decision to not vaccinate can harm the vaccinated. Why should anybody care about your definition of life if you don’t respect other people’s definitions? If “public interest” decides what happens inside your body, then. . . prepare for some decisions you might not enjoy.

You either support forcing people to carry something inside their body that they don’t want to carry, or you don’t. And there’s absolutely no guarantee that tomorrow you won’t be asked to put something inside yourself that you don’t want.

I highly recommend considering if there’s something you won’t agree to put into your body “for public good.” Psychotropics? Opioids? Fake meat? A chip that reports your movements to your employer? Penis? What will your argument be to defend your right not to? I would take me seconds to come up with an argument how refusing each of these is “like literally murdering people.” Hey, we’ve heard arguments that people reading books somebody doesn’t like is “literal murder.” Why are people so certain that this mentality will never be applied to force them to do things they don’t want?

The same people who are up in arms against the shaming and persecution of those who want to control their own bodies in what concerns masks and therapeutics are losing their shit over a gymnast who refused to jump “for the public good” because she says she knows what’s best for her.

Either you control your body or the collectivity does. You can’t have it both ways. If it’s OK to require that a person perform a gymnastics routine against her will, then the collectivity definitely bcan command you to put medication into your body to assuage its anxiety.

Whining that the gymnast is a selfish snowflake while in the same breath refusing masks because “my body, my choice” is hypocritical.

It’s equally pathetic that the same people who want to force-medicate others against their will are now screeching that everybody should respect the gymnast’s choice not to risk her health if she doesn’t feel like it.

This is what happens when people have zero principles and are guided solely by tribal concerns.

You know how a drug addict who kicked the habit comes into a room, sees a full syringe, and slams it into his vein because you never truly kick the habit?

I’m that addict. I came into my sister’s room and saw a substance my body can no longer tolerate: unshelled sunflower seeds. But an addict is always an addict. I inhaled a bunch and now await the consequences in fear.

Strangely, the only side effect of my gallbladder surgery is that I can’t tolerate anything coming from sunflowers. Seeds, oil – it all makes me feel as if the gallbladder were still in place and hurting like a bastard.

Canadians, who are you going to vote for on the federal level? Erin O’Toole is a total tool. I just saw him abusing reporters, getting people arrested, horrid. Obviously, we don’t have any Trudeau fans here on the blog. What are the options? Who’s sane?

The pickings seem very slim.

It has become clear that I need to move to Florida. I feel so alive and energetic here that it’s almost funny. Love the climate, the lifestyle, the landscape, the people, everything.

If anybody is hiring, I’m a great colleague, very friendly, haven’t been involved in a single academic feud in my whole life, good schmoozer, tons of publications, very non-woke, extremely bad memory which makes me incapable of holding a grudge for longer than 3 minutes, some administrative experience, zero complaints from students in 20 years of teaching, don’t care what I teach or what textbook is used, very busy with my research and personal life to care about the things that often have academics at each other’s throats, never had a problem filling a classroom, honestly don’t notice half of what’s happening around me, extremely non-envious, a seriously comfortable person to be around because I just don’t give a crap. Plus, I recently got into perfumes so I smell real nice.

Please consider this a job application and reach out if you are a languages department at a university in Florida.

It took me years to understand the purpose of ceiling fans but now I’m really into them. I even bought a bedecked pull cord to primp up mine.

It’s really, really pleasurable to observe the three kids at play. I’m so happy for them!

It’s even more pleasurable not to be one of them.

What was really great about the 6-hour work meeting is that nobody talked about COVID. One person tried bleating about how her 8-year-old isn’t vaccinated which means something something masks something but her bleatings were greeted with a stony silence. I’m thinking people are peaking on COVID and are ready to move on.

The 6-hour Zoom meeting went well. I was one of the 3 people who attended through Zoom. Everybody else was in person.

The meeting went particularly well during the mental health workshop that I happily muted. That did wonders for my mental health.

Unfortunately, the really important part where the Dean was talking about the budget sucked bullets because the sound suddenly disappeared. I figured out that budget news were bad because a) I could see the reaction of the people in the audience and b) budget news are always bad. I think that the day a university administrator says, “we have good news regarding the budget,” we will realize that his mental health is beyond rescue.

By the way, I figured out why the university budget is always in such terrible shape. Imagine that you get your salary once a month, and whatever you don’t spend by the end of the month simply gets taken away. Every month it’s the same thing. A clean slate that wipes off the previous month. How would that impact your financial behavior? Would you make savings and try to be careful about your spending? Of course, not. It makes absolutely no sense to be careful and provident in this setup. You’ll buy a ton of little things you don’t need, would never have anything to cover unexpected emergencies, and wouldn’t be able to make a big purchase.

This is how our budget works. It gets wiped out on June 30 and starts with a clean slate on July 1. I have no reason to be careful and think long-term. Departments that are careful aren’t rewarded, and those that are profligate aren’t punished. It’s truly the dumbest system imaginable. It can only lead to unreasonable, stupid spending for the sake of spending.

The Chairs’ retreat includes an obligatory session on “mental health.” Why not sexual health? Nutritional? Podiatric? Back pain issues, which are intensely relevant to most professors? Vocal cord health? Eye health?

Nobody ever talks about these health issues in the work environment, no matter how widespread and serious they might be. Yet it’s “mental health” that’s supposed to have some imaginary stigma attached to it even though people can’t stop discussing it.