Can your mom use the pass while you're out?

Does anyone understand the political significance of the UK prime minister calling for an early election? I understand what it is, but does the PM expect to gather more support for her party and Brexit?

The Tories have a massive poll lead and the current Labour party are a complete disaster, so May's reasons for calling an election are: (a) to silence those across the political spectrum, but particularly in her own party, who are casting aspersions on her legitimacy (she wasn't voted in either by the electorate or even by the Conservatives; she was just the last candidate left standing).

(b) To shore up her "Brexit is the will of the people" position. A vote for the Tories is a vote for her brand of Brexit, whatever that might be (nobody actually has a clue, not even the Tories, but we'll leave that aside).

(c) The sooner the better. The next scheduled election would be in 2020, by which time the UK will be up shit creek and paddleless, and the Tories would probably take much more of a kicking.

Could it be the PM just realizes what a trainwreck the whole Brexit thing is and wants to dump it on someone else rather than having to deal with it herself?

Sadly not. On the contrary, in fact.

Huh. Thanks for the explanation, Fiona

Depressing, but thank you, Fiona.

Sorry for everyone's tax woes. It was extraordinarily complex because for some reason I just couldn't wrap my head around the health insurance stuff. Next year will be even more fun because we are all on the same insurance, but the kids each file independently. The only way I managed was having multiple Turbo Tax windows open. I should have started that way.

(Bathing suits as a reward? Clearly you live in Florida, Laura...sigh)

I usually have a dozen bathing suits. But I also swim pretty much every day.

Just saw I wrote this a while ago. Ooops, have to do that post thing.

I have taken a shower and gotten dressed and kinda feel like that's enough accomplishment for one day.

The pollen has attacked my eyes. SO MUCH ITCHING AAAAAAAGH.

Also, I'm editing an article about the association between systolic blood pressure (the top number) and cardiovascular disease/mortality. I made it through one page before I jumped up and got the BP monitor to check my own BP.

Prognosis: looking good. Right on.

Steph I will hope that is true--I always have good BP but have family history on both sides. Though mostly when older, I guess? But I'm about to be in my 40s so...

Shower and dressed is about where I'm at. I'm on my couch on a teleconference for the moment.

From what I've gotten from the abstract of the article (seriously, I really did only make it 1 page before I checked my BP out of sheer paranoia), the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease/mortality is with a systolic BP of 120-124. Mine was 122, which makes me feel totally, blessedly average.

Uh-oh. My systolic is usually around 135-145 which my PCP assures me is okay if not ideal. Sounds like it's very not ideal.

So if "lowest risk of cardiovascular disease/mortality is with a systolic BP of 120-124", does that mean lower than 120 is not any better?

(My previous PCP had me on BP meds to try to bring it down to 110. At my weight and height, I'd have been in a permanent faint. A year of trying and it didn't happen and I felt like caca, so I broke up with him.)