Lessee:  two days at the end of August, the thirty days of September, and now these eight days of October.  That adds up to forty days, I believe.  Price of cigarettes per day on average for me:  $14.00

Forty days I’ve been quit.  That’s $560 I haven’t spent.  That’s better than one-fourth of the way to the price of one of these:

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This is a post where you can come to share what’s on your mind and stay for the expansion.  The diarist is on California time and gets to take a nap when he needs to, or may just wander off and show up again later.  So you know, it's a feature, not a bug.

Grab your supportive indulgence(s) of choice and join us, please.  And if you’re brand new to Morning Open Thread, then Hail and Well Met, new Friend.

Oooh, this is a shadow I’m going to have a lot of fun with in a few months.  I’ll have saved up more than enough by next spring; I’m also buying a new bed and some new clothes in the meantime.

Clothing, maybe something along these lines, eh?

Hey, if you’re ever driving out along the wilderness and see any of these, do you know what they are?  I just took these photos, along Highway 395, coming back from Reno, just after crossing the border into California.

Here’s a couple of photos of the same thing, different style and location and not my photos; these may help you figure it out if you don’t already know.

O.K., they’re wildlife “jumpouts” or “escape ramps”; they let wildlife get out and away from motor vehicle traffic corridors but make it very difficult for them to get in.  Pretty cool, eh?

A different way of watching and seeing what shadow can tell you: