Dentistry

 So, adding to the general stress level... I have been having some toothaches, so I went to the dentist first thing this morning.  Yes, the dentist I wasn't sold on, as the other one I called never replied (sigh).  They discovered one cavity -- for which I will need a root canal -- but the other pain is... not sure.  No cavities, but there is a slight gap between my tooth and its filling -- not sure why; age, diabetes, gingivitis.  I called the periodontist to make that appointment, and while I got a human, they didn't return my call (this seems to be a trend).  Something else to do tomorrow.  I told my sister that this will all be handled on my birthday, continuing a long trend of that day being craptastic.  I guess it is consistent, and I always say I want consistency.  

I wasn't tired before and am not now; did some contract work and caught up on some OC stuff -- the lock on the door has been messed with, so a locksmith came out and added a deadbolt.  Some minor changes to how we open -- ugh -- and another bill to pay.  I realize this is not exactly a surprise, given where we are in that part of the world, but it is annoying and unpleasant.  I, of course, wanted to know what happens if people keep trying to break in... at least the Mickey and Minnie issue seems to be in abeyance (for now) as nothing was reported in the traps.

So, the Trump trial (largely) ended today...I am not sure anyone (save for the Donald) was surprised by the result.  Nor do I think that it will move the needle that much either way, though I do wonder what the actual sentence will be.  I guess my other thoughts are 1) if this is a BS trial -- in the views of GOPers -- shouldn't they do something to punish them?  Especially if they say, take back the POTUS and both houses of Congress?  Two... shouldn't the Donald have expected this level of scrutiny into all his operations and planned for this?  Covered it up, burned the docs, paid more bribes, whatever?  I would have thought some functionality in the campaign would have pointed this out along the way...

You Can Thank Private Equity for That Enormous Doctor’s Bill - WSJ
I read this, and I thought -- once again -- we need to rein down, if not get rid of (Ha!) private equity.  Then I remember how modestly libertarian I scored yesterday, and I thought to myself that this is why.  A real libertarian wouldn't care about this -- it's a market function --- but I am of the opinion that the finger is on the scale (in a massive way) and thus we need to fix this.  Brutally, if possible!