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My understanding is that what is changing is the ability to download books you have bought over Kindle, I guess that means they will exist but only online and could disappear? I have downloaded all of my Kindle books on the Ipad (and will do so on the Android tablet I bought also) but actually I am trying to limit Amazon purchases as much as I can for the time being.

I'm Catholic and I am very concerned. I really hope Pope Francis recovers fully.

So very sorry to hear about Victor Wembanyama and the blood clot. I hope he will be all right.

My coop apartment has a rule that technically requires 80 percent carpeting in all units, apparently for noise prevention. However my super has confided to me that a lot of the owners/renters have hardwood floors (including him, he lives in the building). While fixing my bedroom paint situation he suggested taking out my old wall to wall carpet and just refinishing the original wood floor. I have to say it looks really nice even now before the refinishing. Really after the whole lead paint/dust issue it was almost a necessity anyway. I think that eventually I will have at least some of the living area carpet removed in favor of the wood flooring as well. By the way due to the above issue I bought a very expensive Miele vacuum because they are said to be sealed and don't release any more dust back into the air. I'm sure it works as they say but I really hate that it has something like an eight foot hose. It's a bit much for picking up a few crumbs but it is what it is I guess.

I haven't commented on the Sinner doping case up to now, but I don't know how anyone can feel this isn't a black eye for the sport. I was never a fan of his game or on court persona, and so I imagine I'd have wanted to believe his story if I were - but either way, no matter what you believe, the favoritism being shown here is outrageous. He isn't being penalized in any significant way - coming back just in time to play Rome and Roland Garros! And again, I obviously don't know this guy at all but making comments like Now I know who my friends are - who hired the trainer who bought the banned cream and applied it? By the way the fired trainer was promptly hired by Berretini so he's had no problem getting work again. It's bad enough that the ATP tried all they could to ignore Z's domestic violence cases, and is planning a 1000 in Saudi Arabia - but add in this and it really makes it hard to watch. A lot of observers are said to be really appalled by the favoritism here, even if some haven't come out and said it publicly. I wonder what they will say now.

@Anduin are you buying the treadmill for yourself (you said "assigned")? If so is there a way you could try out the treadmills at a local gym first to see how much you like them and might use them? I'm only posting because my super and building staff recently helped me get rid of a treadmill that was sitting in my bedroom for....years. I bought it pre-internet. I was storing stuff on it, and all of it had to go when the lead paint and dust started coming down from the ceiling. The guys were really nice about taking the thing apart and getting it out of here. But let's face it this is a thing that's so huge and heavy that - aside from the point @EtheltoTillie makes about quality - are you sure you will want one long term? Just throwing that out (no pun intended). By the way my super tells me they now make treadmills with no arm handles. !!!!!!

Pets in grocery stores and restaurants are getting to be a big peeve of mine. It seems to have become a huge issue in NY in particular, apparently a lot of people adopted pets during the pandemic and now think it's cool to bring their pet dogs everywhere, never mind the health codes. I just think it's an extremely inconsiderate thing to do, aside from sanitary issues some people are allergic (and everyone can't just find a pill to take at a moment's notice) and there are children who are afraid of dogs. I was bit by a collie right under the eye at age 5 and was scared of big dogs for a long time. We did eventually get 2 scottie dogs that we loved. But no one in the family would have taken either of them to a grocery or restaurant.

Just when you think it's over...my super was about to finish painting the bedroom after he encapsulated and painted over it after the flaking lead paint issue - and then I saw paint flaking in the closet. Which is full of stuff I will now have to remove and toss most or all of. Worse news, he will have to deal with the other closet there as well before repainting. More stuff to toss...sigh. I can't deal with the rest of the apartment - which also has paint issues but not nearly as bad - until I can go away for a while in May - but there will be so much de-cluttering and tossing ahead. Fortunately my record collection and stereo can go to a young relative who's into that stuff. Also fortunately I guess, I don't live in a house. Much as I would otherwise love to.

Very sad about Marianne Faithfull. I remember reading an interview with her not that long ago in which she described barely surviving Covid. Her obituary mentioned that she had gone through both a miscarriage and the lost of custody of her son. It occurred to me to wonder if any of this inspired the lyrics to Jagger and Richard's As Tears Go By.

I'm so happy for Madison Keys as well. She played such a brave and smart match, and it's great to see her win her first Slam. I don't know how the other women can stand Sablenka's screaming.

It was a huge problem in my family also. Good advice that I got from my therapist at the time was to have the doctor say you can't drive anymore. That way they can be mad at the doctor, not the family.

Madison Keys has upset Iga to make the final! The deciding 10 point tiebreak is on Youtube. Great to see her going for it, I really hope she takes the title, some 7 plus years after that USO against Sloane. Good luck to Maddie.

Speaking of hand creams, I just discovered Aquaphor, made by the Eucerin people. I ordered it because I spilled boiling water from my electric kettle on my left hand last week (the top fell off while I was making tea). I've been using the stuff for days and I guess it helps. It still looks somewhat red and is peeling but seems to be getting better but I'm still so annoyed at myself for letting it happen in the first place.

These past couple of days have been really cold in my building here in NYC (I'm in a pre-war coop built around 1927). The heat in my bedroom is okay but there's some kind of a draft coming from my kitchen window which I can feel in the living area and though I've put up a "thermal" window shade and put one of those draft "snakes" on the sill I can feel cold air walking around. I went down to our lobby to look for the super and had to leave after a few minutes. I told one of the doormen later that I don't know how they are standing it right now. It's supposed to get a little better tomorrow, I hope so. I will be going to a reception at the art club tomorrow but can always come and go when I want. I had my wellness visit with my doctor last week, and am so glad it wasn't this week! I do have a space heater made by Dreo that's sitting on a small wooden table next to my desk, I do turn it off at night though. It has the tip over safety feature. Meanwhile the falling paint in my bedroom turned into a major ordeal when I found out it contained lead (I guess from the older layers). My super has done the patching (he is certified) but still has to plaster and paint and we are going to replace the bed frame and put in a new mattress. He took away the carpet and will refinish the floor there which looks good at least. He is a really nice guy but of course a lot of other things come up that delay things and I am already working out mentally how to arrange fixing the rest of the apartment which is not as bad but will have to be done soon. He knows a contractor who works in the building and I will have to have them come to paint the living area and later work on the bathroom - only I can't be here for all that so will have to wait on it until I can go away starting maybe in May. It was so awful throwing out nearly everything from the bedroom but after all the paint chips and dust all over I had to. It does look better though at least but it was hard. The rest will need a major de-clutter also though he and all the staff are great about taking things away. Still I've been so preoccupied with all this that it's been hard to concentrate on everything else.

I'm annoyed at ESPN plus also. I subscribed to it just to watch matches during the slams, but they post such a random selection and leave out some of the most interesting. I'm a Musetti fan and wanted to watch him vs Shapo on replay but it was no where to be found. On my computer they listed the doubles with Hsieh su Wei and Jelena Ostopenko playing together (!!) but it was gone when I logged into my Roku. How much work would it take to add matches like these especially when they are on the larger courts?