Asteroid Astrology: Page 6

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Out With the Old (Knee), In With the New

On 26 September 2023, I underwent total knee replacement surgery for my right knee.  Both joints have been bone-on-bone for years, and while I have not experienced much pain from the situation, it has severely restricted my mobility.  This, in turn, had negatively impacted my weight and overall health, as someone who always used walking as a means of weight loss and control.

I’ve been told repeatedly from anyone with a mouth that I will be so very happy with this decision, once the dust clears on my recuperative period.  Let’s just say that at this point, I remain in the “I’ll believe that when I see it!” camp.

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House Diary: Rodent Wars

I like to think of myself as a fairly tolerant person.  At least when it comes to other species (with humans, I’m not always that patient).  I far prefer a policy of “live and let live.”  There are exceptions.  I will not suffer a mosquito to live in my presence (buy, hey!  they started it!).  And an ant discovered in the kitchen has a very short shelf life, though I often turn a blind eye to scouts I find elsewhere in the house.  Silverfish and my library don’t mix, and thousand leggers skeeve me out, to the point of hysterics, so I am usually unable to take direct action against them.  I positively cosset spiders of all kinds, which help me deal with other unwanted insects (sorry, spiders, I know you’re actually not insects, but arachnids; it’s just easier to phrase it that way).

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Aaron Rodgers: Down & Out

On Monday, 11 September 2023, the New York Jets pro football franchise saw half of their $75 million investment evaporate when starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked just minutes into his first game with them, resulting in a torn Achilles tendon and the loss of the entire season.  It was just August 1st when the two-year contract was signed, and the injury, coming at age 39 for Rodgers, could well signal the end of his career.

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Aster-Obit: Jimmy Buffett -Wastin’ Away in Paradise

On 1 September 2023, word came of the death of singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who passed away at his Sag Harbor, NY home, surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs, after a four-year battle with an aggressive, rare skin cancer.  Buffet was best known for his patented brand of “tropical rock,” celebrating a back-to-the-beach, “island escapism” aesthetic, especially epitomized by “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” from the 1970s.  But Buffett was also a gifted businessman and entrepreneur, with a net worth at his passing of over a billion dollars, making him one of the richest musicians on the planet, albeit most of his wealth stemmed from these other sidelines, and not record sales.

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Mercury Retrograde Cautionary Tale

As the proud owner of a Stationary Direct Mercury, I must say that in general, I’m fairly immune to Merc retro effects.  I guess it’s the stalwart, embedded stance of my natal Mercury, which turned direct within ninety minutes of my birth – nothing shakes it.  But the recent retrograde period was a notable exception, backed up by unfortunate asteroid placements, resulting in a blown tire the day of the station.

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Asteroid Sleuth: The Case of the Falling Formaggio

On the evening of Sunday, 6 August 2023, 74-year-old Giacomo Chiapparini entered the storage room of his family-run dairy farm’s cheese factory near Bergamo, Italy, to check the robot used to clean the wheels of Grana Padano as they aged, stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves.  No one knows what went wrong, but one of the metal shelves buckled, spilling its store of hundreds of 40 kg (approximately 88-pound) cheeses and creating a domino effect, whereby the entire stock came crashing down, crushing the septuagenarian. 

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