Garbage in, garbage out

Never in a million years did I ever fathom when I resurrected the Epstein story in 2018 that it would lead to first arrest of a British Royal in four centuries. Not since King Charles I was arrested in 1647. open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...

I'm absolutely losing my mind over my hospital indemnity claim being so flipping difficult to manage.

I grew up with the Washington Post, wrote editorials for the Washington Post and published a column there for more than 15 years. To watch its owners destroy it, seemingly deliberately, in just a year and a half is devastating.

If you read @anneapplebaum.bsky.social then the world around us and all of the insistence that we can't believe our lying eyes makes a whole lot more sense. What a wretched time to be alive.

The refs for tonight's Pacers game seem committed to keeping us here as long as possible. Totally normal for both teams to be in the penalty after fewer than 10 minutes of play.

I love generative AI: "Expect a chewier, less chewy..."

@tonyreast.bsky.social I know there are a lot of important basketball questions this season regarding the Pacers, but I have an important Fieldhouse question - Why is Sour Punch advertised in the fieldhouse but not available for purchase in any fast break location? Inquiring minds want to know!

Has anyone considered that the problem with the Pacers this season is the lack of JJ on the roster?

FRISBEE DOGS!!!!

I caught up with an old college friend last night to discuss plans for a mutual friend's birthday. I let him know that I'd had breast cancer this summer so he wouldn't be surprised when he sees me and the first thing out of his mouth was "Julie, what the FUCK" and honestly, same.

Should I get french fries at the Pacers game on Thursday in observance of Chanukah?

Despite asking the pharmacy tech when I last picked up my medication to remove my dead dog's profile so I wouldn't get prescription reminder texts, I just got a reminder text more than a month after we euthanized him. Cool cool cool.

A couple across the aisle from us at the Pacers game just stood up and told the guy behind them "we're heading home" which is something you couldn't pay me to do when a game is tied up in the 4th quarter.

I have so many questions right now. Mostly "Jay... Huff?" and "him?!"

I've had $196,938.81 in medical billing since April 1. My plan paid $61,273.70 so far (I have two bills that are in-process for about $5000) which means a WHOLE lot of billing was make-believe because we have network plan discounts.

The most Midwestern thing about having a half season for the Pacers is that our section usher greets us with a hug.

If there's one thing I wish I could teach travelers at IND it's that you don't need to adjust all of your belongings in the immediate security conveyor area. That's why they have benches and tables.

Pro-tip: if you get breast cancer and a bilateral mastectomy in the interim between dentist appointments you'll totally forget that you're scheduled for a crown and filling, thus avoiding any dental anxiety prior to showing up at the appointment and finding out what's on the docket.

Send help - the new Indy Star opinion columnist with the worst takes known to man has found me on Threads

I can't decide what's my favorite local news story today in Indianapolis: The pig on the loose in Holliday Park or the retired NFL QB/ Fox Sports commentator getting arrested while recovering in the hospital from a stabbing that was a result of an altercation he started with a 69 year old man.

Through three quarters the Fever have 10 more free throws than the Aces, so even if we win this game, people will be talking about the officials influencing the outcome because ALL SEASON they've given everyone ample reason to doubt their qualifications.

I just love Aliyah Boston.

I'm disappointed by all the empty lower level seats at the Fever game but hope it means that ticket prices will come back down to Earth next season. It looks like a lot of season ticket holders didn't opt in for the playoffs in the lower level. Balcony is packed.

The cool thing about health insurance, and mine is pretty much the best, is that they've paid for everything associated with my bilateral mastectomy and cancer care, except they're really unsure about the medical necessity of the surgery bill.

I don't normally love it when my husband works late, but it's convenient on days when I receive multiple packages, including 16lbs of artisanal pasta from Brooklyn, so that I can avoid unboxing commentary.

Who are the best #mastectomy scar coverage #tattoo artists in the US? I'm interested in perennial pollinator wildflowers of the Midwest surrounding both scars. My shoulder has phalaenopsis, amborella, and magnolia and I'd like something complementary in style, but not matching. #breastcancer

My high school experience was wild because I was in NY through junior year then moved to Carmel for my senior year, & this house is where I went to after-prom: www.ibj.com/articles/for... The HS friend whose grandparents own it is an anti-science conspiracy theorist, the owner was a pharma exec.

What a day for my basic husband - PSL and Taylor Swift's engagement.

I promise those of us with cancer coming to you for a blowout since we can't lift our arms don't want to hear you talk about how brilliant Dr. Sebi is and how curative different teas can be. Pinky promise! Heaven help us.

Hey, friends who've dabbled in being a hoe in the past, who could've possibly thought this sign was a good idea?

Looking at the schedule, March seems like it's going to be the most grueling month for the Pacers.

Everyone should care about infrastructure spending and maintenance because hospitals having to tell people not to wash their hands just isn't great. The water main break around 10:00 this morning still has a boil water order in place, and multiple hospitals are in the impacted area.

There's no planet in which I'd voluntarily give a DNA sample to the state police and it pains me to know that there are people out there who would. I feel for those who have missing loved ones and got those who are unidentified but I do not trust a state DNA database.

I'm a bad millennial in that I only downloaded Doordash today, for the first time ever, because we received several gift cards from very kind people to help with my recovery. We've never used this, Postmates, or UberEats before.

I decided to sleep on the couch last night because I just couldn't get comfortable in bed (surgery, man) & it sent our poor Blizzard into a tizzy going back and forth between the couch with me and the bed with my husband 3x running up and down the stairs, trying to decide. 📸: @keeler.bsky.social

The senior quote for the new Fed Governor in our high school yearbook indicates to me that he *should* be bothered by the current state of due process. (Nanuet High School 2002, Nanuet, NY)

I've always hated BMI, as a densely built, short woman who likes to strength train, but the fact that my BMI dropped by 1.2 points as a result of my bilateral mastectomy really shows how dumb it is as an individual metric.

Our neighbors have been generously bringing us meals to make life easier since my surgery last week. I've definitely talked all of their ears off about the native pollinator friendly plants in the garden & what butterflies, moths, & birds come to each flower, offering them all splits for the fall.

@andybchen.bsky.social was right about this guy, the two reasonable pieces were a lark: Check out this story from IndyStar: Retaining Indiana's out-of-state college students is a lost cause We need an Indiana-first approach to higher education. www.indystar.com/story/opinio...

Look at this tiny baby monarch caterpillar! This is 8x magnification.

We do a produce CSA every summer. So far this season I've frozen +3lbs cauliflower,+3lbs green beans, +4lbs corn, & pickled some beets. I could probably freeze another ~2lbs corn this week. All on top of what we consumed. $602 for 14 weeks of produce. It's a great way to eat local, seasonal food.

The thing about having breast cancer is that your phone autocorrects "canner" to "cancer" which makes talking about your homemade blueberry jam a bit awkward.

I cannot think of a more out of touch take than making news media subscriptions tax deductible as a way to subsidize news & media access without federal/state funding. We're discussing a populace that largely takes the standard deduction, some don't need to file www.indystar.com/story/opinio...

It's wild seeing someone post this when you live in Indianapolis where people at Angie's List made outrageous salaries in sales for nearly 2 decades that the company didn't make a profit. Businesses not being profitable is way more common than people realize.

It's really disappointing to see so many lower level seats that have been empty the entire WNBA All-Star game.

Outraged that during the Q1 Fever break fan game they counted "mushrooms" in the vegetables list when mushrooms aren't even a plant. SMH.

What are the odds that the driver was sober when parking this vehicle, so new it still has temporary tags, at an angle in her yard with the side panel scraped up to high heaven?

I've prepped 3.5 lbs of cauliflower and 2 lbs of green beans to freeze which included chopping, blanching, making an ice bath, drying and laying flat on a baking sheet to freeze since Thursday night. This is the benefit of using a CSA, fresh local produce to be used year-round.

I'm preparing to break my husband's heart when he gets home this afternoon because of all of the trees the arborist and I determined need to come down in our backyard. Your thoughts and prayers are accepted at this challenging time.