Week 80
Day 564 Thursday, October 7 - Confusion and complication
Worldwide (Map) October 7, 2021 – 236,735,200 confirmed infections; 4,832,640 deaths
October 8, 2020 – 36,069,000 confirmed infections; 1,055,000 deaths
Total vaccine doses administered: 6,388,963,635
US (Map)
October 8, 2020 – 36,069,000 confirmed infections; 1,055,000 deaths
Total vaccine doses administered: 6,388,963,635
US (Map)
October 7, 2021 – 44,086,000 confirmed infections; 708,200 deaths
October 8, 2020 – 7,550,000 confirmed infections; 212,000 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
October 8, 2020 – 7,550,000 confirmed infections; 212,000 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
October 7, 2021 – 2,909,000 confirmed infections; 88,000 deaths
October 8, 2020 – 685,155 confirmed infections; 17,250 deaths
October 8, 2020 – 685,155 confirmed infections; 17,250 deaths
News blues
Moving in the right direction…. Compare the post describing the Covid goings-on one year ago, “Debatable”, to California today:Although the twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic may continue to surprise us, California seems to be in good shape at this time.Read more >>
Misinformation and conflicting information have been constant features of this pandemic. Even as people line up for booster shots of Pfizer, confusion continues.
A vocal contingent of prominent doctors and scientists is pressing the Biden administration to scrap its plans to provide booster shots to all previously vaccinated adults, according to five people familiar with the matter.Read more >>
Several of these outside experts, including some who advised President Joe Biden’s transition team, objected to the administration’s approach during a private, off-the-record call last week with federal health officials. Current U.S. data on vaccine performance does not justify using boosters widely to reduce the risk of breakthrough infections and slow the virus’ spread, the experts said.
***
Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website >>***
The Lincoln ProjectGlen Trumpkin (0:025 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party... (1:40 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Which Climate Threats Are Most Worrisome? U.S. Agencies Made a List.Two dozen federal agencies flagged the biggest dangers posed by a warming planet. The list spreads across American society >>
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Earlier this week I mused about what the Covid Clinic might teach me this week.Now I know… that I’m a commute wimp, that I have limits, that titrating work, workdays, commute, and compensation, and that assessing my stress levels and finding them wanting is a good thing – at least for me. As of the end of this week, my days of sitting in traffic congestion for 1.5 hours each way, 12.5-hour workdays, insufficient sleep, and constant stress are over.
Stress includes a constant reminder that the ragtag “team” caretaking my mother’s house in South Africa needs more direction than they’re getting from California. It’s time to plan a return.
One thing I know for certain: I will never again use the travel agency called FlyUs. After more that a year back-and-forthing via email (not a single actual person to talk to)for the refund for the flight they cancelled due to lockdown (Yes, I had travel insusrance), they've informed me no refund is forthcoming. Work and commuting long hours meant I had little time remaining to launch a fuller request. Whatever you do, do not use FlyUs for your travel needs.
Life. It’s complicated.
Day 559, Sunday, October 3 - Wild and Crazy
News blues
California has less Covid-19 transmission than any state in the country.Read more >>
That’s according to federal officials, who on Wednesday ranked the state’s current coronavirus case rate the lowest in the nation.
Sure, there are mask mandates and other measures to credit, but most deserving of thanks is the Golden State’s high level of vaccinations.
More than 82 percent of Californians aged 12 and older have at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Only nine states have more of their populations immunized.
Naturally, no matter how they prioritize, overworked doctors will be blamed for making wrong choices.
Life under Covid is sheer madness.
***
Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website >>***
The Lincoln Project….Regret (1:00 mins)
Who They Are (1:00 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
The San Francisco Bay Area is experiencing it’s Indian Summer – clear, warm to hot days, people wearing masks but out and about on the beach. It’s glorious. |
| That's San Francisco skyline in the background. |
 |
| Wider angle view - SF in background |
 |
| A happy ground squirrel on the right. The Pacific Flyway shorebirds are arriving in huge flocks now, too. On their way further south.... |
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Life in the Covid Clinic continues to overwhelm the brave and hardworking team supporting health and safety. We continue to vaccinate – booster shots – as fast as we can, up to 600 per day. That’s a lot of vaccinations… and a lot of folks standing in line complaining about this, that, and the next thing.Some people, unfortunately, are abrasive and rude, some even abusive.
Last week, I had to step between two parents accompanying their teenage sons for vaccinations. As the boys watched, an arrogant father verbally abused a woman, a complete stranger, because she had the temerity to be ahead of him in line. Like a wild animal trainer in a circus, I stared down the man and, with sheer force of words and presence, urged him retreat back in line.
Life is stranger than fiction.
What will the Covid Clinic teach me this week?
Week 79
Day 556, Thursday, September 30 - Tested
Worldwide (Map)
September 30, 2021: 233,414,450 infections; 4,776,885 deaths October 1, 2020 – 33,881,275 confirmed infections: 1,012,980 deaths
Total vaccinations conducted around the world: 6,219,646,200
US (Map)
September 30, 2021: 43,361,700 infections; 7.808,100 deaths
October 1, 2020 – 7,233,199 confirmed infections: 206,940 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 30, 2021: 2,898,900 infections; 87,420 deaths
October 1, 2020 – 674,340 confirmed infections: 16,735 deaths
News blues
South Africa returns to Alert Level 1.Speaking to South Africans last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that as many as 20,000 lives could be saved if the majority of the country's adult population received their Covid-19 vaccines. He pleaded for all citizens to do their bit.
For this reason, the country will embark on a mass vaccination drive which will allow people to receive their jabs on weekends. Ramaphosa, his deputy David Mabuza, and other officials were expected to mobilise communities to take their jabs as the “Vooma Vaccination Weekends” programme kicks off from Friday.
Mass gatherings allowed as Ramaphosa moves SA moves back to lockdown level 1.
The last time SA was under level 1 was between March and May this year.
Listen and watch President Ramaphosa (29:30 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party (2:20 mins)
The Fox Virus (1:20 mins)
Governor Freedumb (0:25 mins)
While holding the positive aspects of vaccination, think also of the waste generated by these efforts (waste that will end up incinerated, in landfill and/or eventually the ocean):
Over 3 days, 990 + 1,200 = 2,200 one-time-use plastic syringes (incinerated… )
Packaging for 2,200 syringes plus dozens of hard paper/soft cardboard boxes of flu vaccine – 10 syringes per box
At least 2,200 cotton balls for swabbing
Plastic packaging for cotton balls
Swabbing antiseptic in plastic containers
2,200 one-time-use band aids
Packaging for 2,200 one-time use band aids
2,200 pairs of rubber gloves for each of 6 nurses. That is, at least 13,200 pairs discarded over 3 days
Packaging for that many rubber gloves (each box holds 25 pairs/50 gloves)
Surgical masks for all staff: 6 nurses, 4 Medical Assistants, 6 to 10 support staff, masks changed several times each day
Additionally, many patients arrive for vaccination either alone in a vehicle or with a spouse and, sometimes, with other family members. Let’s say of 990 clients seeking vaccinations, at least two thirds have more than one person per vehicle (usually SUV or large sedan). That is, 330 to 350 vehicles pass through the tent from 8:30am to 5:30pm each day. That’s a lot of carbon monoxide pumping into the air and captured within the tent where nurses and staff work.
In the SF Bay Area, the hospital system I work for has at least 6 drive through flu clinics and 4 drive through Covid test sites. With the population of the SF Bay Area approximately 7 million, many other companies, from corporate chain pharmacies to grocery stores to independent agencies, offer similar services at similar facilities … all of whom must practice state and federal safety standards. That produces heaps of waste.
Who handles it and how?
Since I work in a Covid vaccination clinic, I know a sore throat can be one symptom of Covid. While my sense of smell remained intact, I chose to exercise an abundance of caution and called in sick.
My manager suggested I take a Covid test. Accordingly, I found a local test site – a drive-through – of the hospital system for which I currently work.
Covid tests are free but by appointment only. Luckily, I was able to make an appointment within the hour and I drove to the facility’s parking garage where tests are conducted.
I drove my vehicle - an older, 6-passenger automatic transmission van currently loaded to the gills a folded Sea Eagle inflatable boat, a 25 HP outboard motor and an electric trolling motor – to the end of a long line of approximately 30 other motor vehicles looping along residential city streets.
Naturally, I have environmental concerns, including dozens of fossil fuel vehicles pumping carbon monoxide into the atmosphere while idling on a city street, moving at a pace of one vehicle length every several minutes) but I mollified my guilt by alternatively running the engine and switching it off then back on. Neither good for the engine nor fuel efficient.
Twenty minutes later, I entered the garage… again to wait in line, albeit in sight of the Covid swabbers. After offering both “nasal passages” for swabbing, I exited the several story garage and drove home. An experience to remember. These photos – edited for patient anonymity – offer another view of life during the pandemic of ’20 – ’21.
For this reason, the country will embark on a mass vaccination drive which will allow people to receive their jabs on weekends. Ramaphosa, his deputy David Mabuza, and other officials were expected to mobilise communities to take their jabs as the “Vooma Vaccination Weekends” programme kicks off from Friday.
Mass gatherings allowed as Ramaphosa moves SA moves back to lockdown level 1.
The last time SA was under level 1 was between March and May this year.
Listen and watch President Ramaphosa (29:30 mins)
***
Kids in the US, from ages 5 to 11, soon could be eligible for vaccine against Covid ***
Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website >>***
Catching up with The Lincoln Project….Last Week in the Republican Party (2:20 mins)
The Fox Virus (1:20 mins)
Governor Freedumb (0:25 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Last Friday, the drive through Flu Clinic where I work vaccinated 990 clients, from babies 6-months and older to adults and retirees. Today and yesterday, our Covid vaccination clinic jabbed the arms of more than 650 patients each of those two days. That’s a good thing: 990 fewer people with flu this year; more than 1,200 fewer people risking Covid-19.While holding the positive aspects of vaccination, think also of the waste generated by these efforts (waste that will end up incinerated, in landfill and/or eventually the ocean):
Over 3 days, 990 + 1,200 = 2,200 one-time-use plastic syringes (incinerated… )
Packaging for 2,200 syringes plus dozens of hard paper/soft cardboard boxes of flu vaccine – 10 syringes per box
At least 2,200 cotton balls for swabbing
Plastic packaging for cotton balls
Swabbing antiseptic in plastic containers
2,200 one-time-use band aids
Packaging for 2,200 one-time use band aids
2,200 pairs of rubber gloves for each of 6 nurses. That is, at least 13,200 pairs discarded over 3 days
Packaging for that many rubber gloves (each box holds 25 pairs/50 gloves)
Surgical masks for all staff: 6 nurses, 4 Medical Assistants, 6 to 10 support staff, masks changed several times each day
Additionally, many patients arrive for vaccination either alone in a vehicle or with a spouse and, sometimes, with other family members. Let’s say of 990 clients seeking vaccinations, at least two thirds have more than one person per vehicle (usually SUV or large sedan). That is, 330 to 350 vehicles pass through the tent from 8:30am to 5:30pm each day. That’s a lot of carbon monoxide pumping into the air and captured within the tent where nurses and staff work.
In the SF Bay Area, the hospital system I work for has at least 6 drive through flu clinics and 4 drive through Covid test sites. With the population of the SF Bay Area approximately 7 million, many other companies, from corporate chain pharmacies to grocery stores to independent agencies, offer similar services at similar facilities … all of whom must practice state and federal safety standards. That produces heaps of waste.
Who handles it and how?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Inevitably, the last weeks of commuting to and from work where I run around like a crazy person for 12-hour workdays five days a week, and, on weekends, have been engaged in selling, moving goods from, and bidding farewell to my beloved houseboat – resulted in a dip in my health.Since I work in a Covid vaccination clinic, I know a sore throat can be one symptom of Covid. While my sense of smell remained intact, I chose to exercise an abundance of caution and called in sick.
My manager suggested I take a Covid test. Accordingly, I found a local test site – a drive-through – of the hospital system for which I currently work.
Covid tests are free but by appointment only. Luckily, I was able to make an appointment within the hour and I drove to the facility’s parking garage where tests are conducted.
I drove my vehicle - an older, 6-passenger automatic transmission van currently loaded to the gills a folded Sea Eagle inflatable boat, a 25 HP outboard motor and an electric trolling motor – to the end of a long line of approximately 30 other motor vehicles looping along residential city streets.
Naturally, I have environmental concerns, including dozens of fossil fuel vehicles pumping carbon monoxide into the atmosphere while idling on a city street, moving at a pace of one vehicle length every several minutes) but I mollified my guilt by alternatively running the engine and switching it off then back on. Neither good for the engine nor fuel efficient.
Twenty minutes later, I entered the garage… again to wait in line, albeit in sight of the Covid swabbers. After offering both “nasal passages” for swabbing, I exited the several story garage and drove home. An experience to remember. These photos – edited for patient anonymity – offer another view of life during the pandemic of ’20 – ’21.
 |
| Still in line... but getting closer to the nasal swab.... |
 |
| The swabbers in sight.... |
 |
| Any minute now I'll have a swab stuck up my nose.... |
 |
| Life in Oakland is not back to normal with venues closed and shows cancelled. |
 |
| Street scene in Oakland, a wonderfully vibrant and human-size city. |
The good news? Within 23 hours, test results declared me free of virus.
Week 78
Day 549, Thursday, September 23 - Falling behind
Last day of the 78th week of this darned Covid hassle aka pandemic! Life has become way too complicated...hard to keep up with commitments, commute, and coffee…. Yet, the numbers of infections continue to rise even as more people accept vaccinations.
September 3, 2020 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths
Total vaccinations: 5,981,351,780
US (Map)
September 22, 2021 – 42, 425,400 confirmed infections; 678.815 deaths
US (Map)
September 22, 2021 – 42, 425,400 confirmed infections; 678.815 deaths
September 3, 2020 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths
September 3, 2020 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
Finally, almost a year and a half, hints of sanity during an insane time in the life of America. President Biden expands vaccine push with mandates for the private sector and announces sweeping vaccination and testing requirements for federal government workers, contractors and even private sector employees, as his administration works to fight the spreading coronavirus.
Sturgis-associated infections are higher this year than they were last year.. Go figure.
Moreover, the marina is moored on edge of Central Valley where…
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (1:25 mins)
Brian Kemp laugh track (0:30 mins)
The Fox Virus (1:20 mins)
Democracy is under attack (0:46 mins)
News blues
Past week’s news:Finally, almost a year and a half, hints of sanity during an insane time in the life of America. President Biden expands vaccine push with mandates for the private sector and announces sweeping vaccination and testing requirements for federal government workers, contractors and even private sector employees, as his administration works to fight the spreading coronavirus.
***
The owners of the marina in which I moor my houseboat joined the thousands of mask-free Covid skeptics at Sturgis, South Dakota for a giant FU motorcycle rally. A week later, they were abed, infected with Covid. Sturgis-associated infections are higher this year than they were last year.. Go figure.
Moreover, the marina is moored on edge of Central Valley where…
Hospitals in California’s Central Valley have been increasingly overwhelmed by the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, with officials scrambling to transfer some critically ill patients more than 100 miles away because local intensive care units are full.My houseboat is moored in the San Joaquin River, part of this region. With mixed emotions, one over-riding emotion is relief that I’m not living on my houseboat right now.
The San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento area and rural Northern California are now the regions of the state being hit the hardest by COVID-19 hospitalizations on a per capita basis… The regions have lower vaccination rates than in the highly populated, coastal areas of Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
***
Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website >>***
Catching up with The Lincoln Project….Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (1:25 mins)
Brian Kemp laugh track (0:30 mins)
The Fox Virus (1:20 mins)
Democracy is under attack (0:46 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (0:45 mins)
Abbott’s Wall (0:55 mins)
Sad (0:56 mins)
Ivermectin (1:25 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (1:55 mins)
And
Lincoln Project’s Steve Schmidt “There’s a Battle for Control of MAGA Empire” | Amanpour and Company (18:25 mins)
Covid, schmovid.
Masks…social distancing… hand sanitizing… whatever…
This, despite the obvious and huge changes occurring around us, moment-by-moment.
Evolution. Schmevolution…
I suspect there’s an evolutionary advantage to peoples’ inability to recognize and change as change presses, but I cannot fathom the positive outcomes for such resistant to recognize when change is essential.
Then again, many humans believe evolution is a hoax, too. and that dinosaurs existed concurrent to slightly before BCE (Before Christ Era).
And, each day, millions of Americans drive bumper to bumper along utterly congested freeways. My commute offers a firsthand view of this craziness as I participate, too. We know we’re driving the planet and our oceans to extinction with our garbage, our plastics, our carbon monoxide, and our lack of ability to change. Yet we continue.
For the last 3 weeks, I’ve started most days addressing, one-on-one, individuals who’ve decided they need “the booster shot.”
Armed with clip boards loaded with Attestation forms, I respond,
“We’re not doing booster shots yet. As you may know, the CDC is working out the details of booster shots. For now, we are not offering boosters. We are, however, offering “third dose” shots to immunocompromised people.”
“That’s me. I’m here for that.”
As I hand over the clip board with form and pen, I say, “These are the immunocompromised health issues we’re currently serving…”
I run through the six bullet points, one at a time: current cancer treatment; organ transplant, stem cell transplant, immunocompromised syndromes, HIV treatment, and high dose steroid treatments. The client shakes his or her head at each bullet point… until we reach the end of the list. Then,
“Well, my doctor sent me an email (or phoned me) and told me to get a booster shot.”
“Yes, I understand that doctors’ office admins have been doing that. Unfortunately, we’re administering third doses only to people that fall into one of these categories.” “Well, I came all the way down here to get my booster.”
“Yes, that is frustrating. Unfortunately, we’re not administering boosters yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks when the CDC et al officially decide how to administer boosters. At this time, however, we’re administering third doses only to people that fall into one of these categories.” I tap the form.
The client either accepts this information – with good or ill grace – and (muttering his or her displeasure) departs the long line. Or she or he explodes into anger. Facing a stranger’s wrath is not the way I prefer to start my day – especially as this line-filtering role evolved to ensure a positive experience for the many other people standing in our usually long vaccination lines - and keep healthy our front-line workers.
I hold fast. If the client insists on forcing a “booster”, I say, “I cannot stop you from signing this form and attesting to its accuracy, even as you know it may not be accurate. This signed attestation will appear on your health record… You decide.”
At that point I depart to assist the next client.
Iran: My Iranian neighbor reports Iran’s “government and mullahs are vaccinating themselves and their families and ignoring the general population.”
Iran’s Covid data, if accurate, shows 5,477,230 infected and 118,200 dead.
India An Indian client at the clinic for this first Covid shot after returning to the US after visiting family in India describes nightmare scenes of Indians dying in the streets of the country’s cities. India’s Covid data, if accurate, is the second highest in the world with 33,531,500 confirmed infections and 445,800 confirmed dead. (US still “numbah One”.)
Californians officially head towards winter, despite glorious weather. Rain is predicted in the San Francisco Bay Area; none has fallen.
My cookie-cutter days have me arising in the dark, Monday through Friday. By by 6:45am I’ve taken my place in a freeway lane and, with luck, I arrive at work by 8:00am. I run around all day supervising both the Covid and flu clinics (Covid clients served inside the clinic, flu clients outside, in their vehicles parked under a drive-through tent. Soon after 5:15pm, I take my place in a freeway lane and, watching my fuel/petrol gauge drop, I head home. (These days, fuel/petrol costs anything from $4.15 to $4.85 per gallon.)
Stress, commuting, and lack of time has me neglecting my exercise regime. Not a good strategy for future health.
Alas, practicality forced my understanding the unfeasibility of continuing to to maintain my houseboat. Of the 2.5 years I’ve owned and paid slip fees for the boat, I’ve lived aboard for only 6 months. My current work commute – in the opposite direction of the marina – plus trips to the marina each weekend to maintain the boat made continued ownership impractical.
Moreover, after my job ends in February, I must return to South Africa (Covid willing) to wrap up my mother’s business.
Further paying slip fees and not living aboard.,br> Accepting reality albeit with a heavy heart, I sold my beloved houseboat.
The purchaser is a loving son seeking to ameliorate his father’s pandemic-related social isolation yet maintaining his health.
How could I refuse?
Fascinating.
Humans. Constantly evolving into an evolutionary ornery and hard to understand critter.
Week 76
Well, the United State continues to lead the world in Covid infections. Amazing.
Worldwide (Map)
September 9, 2021 – 223,101,000 confirmed infections; 4,604,450 deaths
Abbott’s Wall (0:55 mins)
Sad (0:56 mins)
Ivermectin (1:25 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (1:55 mins)
And
Lincoln Project’s Steve Schmidt “There’s a Battle for Control of MAGA Empire” | Amanpour and Company (18:25 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
An important article with full excerpt from the National Geographic newsletter by By Victoria Jaggard, SCIENCE executive editorSince the beginning of the pandemic, scientists and government officials have gotten sage advice from a group of people who were already battling a massive threat to public health: climate scientists. From piles of sometimes contradictory evidence to rampant misinformation to mind-boggling denials of established facts, the issues that have plagued COVID-19 researchers and policymakers are starkly like those that have influenced the climate crisis. The pandemic has also laid bare similar issues with equity, access to healthcare, intergovernmental squabbling, and reluctance to embrace solutions that might harm the bottom line.
But while the state of things may seem bleak right now, we actually have a lot to celebrate with COVID-19, in part because the pandemic spurred people to act urgently and drove a lot of innovation. Now mRNA vaccines are not only keeping people out of hospitals, they hold potential for combating a host of other diseases .
More people are saying they will embrace masks as an effective way to prevent respiratory illness beyond COVID-19. And governments and institutions are investigating ways to improve healthcare infrastructure.
So why can’t we learn a few things from COVID-19 to get serious about tackling climate change? That’s what the editors of more than 200 medical journals are asking this week in an article co-published across their pages. “Many governments met the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic with unprecedented funding. The environmental crisis demands a similar emergency response,” the editors write.
And yes, they add, “the science is unequivocal” that climate change is a huge risk to public health. Extreme heat already threatens the health of about 30 percent of the world’s population, according to a 2017 study. Shifting climate zones mean that tropical diseases—many carried by my personal archnemeses, mosquitoes—are pushing into higher latitudes, threatening even more people with ailments such as dengue fever, malaria, Zika, and valley fever. Droughts are making crops harder to grow and less nutritious, while floods create stagnant waters that can carry all sorts of icky infectious agents. Heck, climate change has even been implicated in making seasonal allergies worse
The global response to COVID-19 has not been perfect. But it has shown the world what’s possible when people come together with the resources and the willpower to overcome a deadly challenge. And as the journal authors write: “Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with Covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions.” All our lives depend on it.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Human beings are not well adapted to evolution. We tend, unconsciously, to insist that nothing much has changed, that ‘life goes on…’ (except for the more than 4 million dead from Covid… “Suckers”, Donald Trump would call them). Sure, pandemic; shandemic.Covid, schmovid.
Masks…social distancing… hand sanitizing… whatever…
This, despite the obvious and huge changes occurring around us, moment-by-moment.
Evolution. Schmevolution…
I suspect there’s an evolutionary advantage to peoples’ inability to recognize and change as change presses, but I cannot fathom the positive outcomes for such resistant to recognize when change is essential.
Then again, many humans believe evolution is a hoax, too. and that dinosaurs existed concurrent to slightly before BCE (Before Christ Era).
And, each day, millions of Americans drive bumper to bumper along utterly congested freeways. My commute offers a firsthand view of this craziness as I participate, too. We know we’re driving the planet and our oceans to extinction with our garbage, our plastics, our carbon monoxide, and our lack of ability to change. Yet we continue.
***
Stories from the Covid clinic frontlinesFor the last 3 weeks, I’ve started most days addressing, one-on-one, individuals who’ve decided they need “the booster shot.”
Armed with clip boards loaded with Attestation forms, I respond,
“We’re not doing booster shots yet. As you may know, the CDC is working out the details of booster shots. For now, we are not offering boosters. We are, however, offering “third dose” shots to immunocompromised people.”
“That’s me. I’m here for that.”
As I hand over the clip board with form and pen, I say, “These are the immunocompromised health issues we’re currently serving…”
I run through the six bullet points, one at a time: current cancer treatment; organ transplant, stem cell transplant, immunocompromised syndromes, HIV treatment, and high dose steroid treatments. The client shakes his or her head at each bullet point… until we reach the end of the list. Then,
“Well, my doctor sent me an email (or phoned me) and told me to get a booster shot.”
“Yes, I understand that doctors’ office admins have been doing that. Unfortunately, we’re administering third doses only to people that fall into one of these categories.” “Well, I came all the way down here to get my booster.”
“Yes, that is frustrating. Unfortunately, we’re not administering boosters yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks when the CDC et al officially decide how to administer boosters. At this time, however, we’re administering third doses only to people that fall into one of these categories.” I tap the form.
The client either accepts this information – with good or ill grace – and (muttering his or her displeasure) departs the long line. Or she or he explodes into anger. Facing a stranger’s wrath is not the way I prefer to start my day – especially as this line-filtering role evolved to ensure a positive experience for the many other people standing in our usually long vaccination lines - and keep healthy our front-line workers.
I hold fast. If the client insists on forcing a “booster”, I say, “I cannot stop you from signing this form and attesting to its accuracy, even as you know it may not be accurate. This signed attestation will appear on your health record… You decide.”
At that point I depart to assist the next client.
Iran: My Iranian neighbor reports Iran’s “government and mullahs are vaccinating themselves and their families and ignoring the general population.”
Iran’s Covid data, if accurate, shows 5,477,230 infected and 118,200 dead.
India An Indian client at the clinic for this first Covid shot after returning to the US after visiting family in India describes nightmare scenes of Indians dying in the streets of the country’s cities. India’s Covid data, if accurate, is the second highest in the world with 33,531,500 confirmed infections and 445,800 confirmed dead. (US still “numbah One”.)
***
Meanwhile, in the northern hemisphere, yesterday was the fall equinox (spring equinox in South Africa / the southern hemisphere). Californians officially head towards winter, despite glorious weather. Rain is predicted in the San Francisco Bay Area; none has fallen.
My cookie-cutter days have me arising in the dark, Monday through Friday. By by 6:45am I’ve taken my place in a freeway lane and, with luck, I arrive at work by 8:00am. I run around all day supervising both the Covid and flu clinics (Covid clients served inside the clinic, flu clients outside, in their vehicles parked under a drive-through tent. Soon after 5:15pm, I take my place in a freeway lane and, watching my fuel/petrol gauge drop, I head home. (These days, fuel/petrol costs anything from $4.15 to $4.85 per gallon.)
Stress, commuting, and lack of time has me neglecting my exercise regime. Not a good strategy for future health.
Alas, practicality forced my understanding the unfeasibility of continuing to to maintain my houseboat. Of the 2.5 years I’ve owned and paid slip fees for the boat, I’ve lived aboard for only 6 months. My current work commute – in the opposite direction of the marina – plus trips to the marina each weekend to maintain the boat made continued ownership impractical.
Moreover, after my job ends in February, I must return to South Africa (Covid willing) to wrap up my mother’s business.
Further paying slip fees and not living aboard.,br> Accepting reality albeit with a heavy heart, I sold my beloved houseboat.
The purchaser is a loving son seeking to ameliorate his father’s pandemic-related social isolation yet maintaining his health.
How could I refuse?
***
Among the many vax skeptics and conspiracy theorists are people – one of whom I know and care about – swallowing the anti-bacterial dog and horse de-wormer medication (not even a viral medication) Ivermectin. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/why-you-should-not-use-ivermectin-treat-or-prevent-covid-19 Fascinating.
Humans. Constantly evolving into an evolutionary ornery and hard to understand critter.
Week 76
Day 534 Thursday, September 9 - Category of critter
Well, the United State continues to lead the world in Covid infections. Amazing.
Worldwide (Map)
September 9, 2021 – 223,101,000 confirmed infections; 4,604,450 deaths
September 3, 2020 – 26,940,000 confirmed infections; 861,870 deaths
US (Map)
September 9, 2021 – 40,601,000 confirmed infections; 654,600 deaths
US (Map)
September 9, 2021 – 40,601,000 confirmed infections; 654,600 deaths
September 3, 2020 – 6,114,000 confirmed infections; 185,710 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 9, 2021 – 2,843,100 confirmed infections; 84,327 deaths
September 3, 2020 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
About time, Mr. Biden!
Sad (0:56 mins)
Ivermectin (1:25 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (1:55 mins)
An important article with full excerpt from the National Geographic newsletter by By Victoria Jaggard, SCIENCE executive editor:
I’m trying but it’s a learning curve.
Naturally, people being people, many not suffering such illnesses arrive at the clinic and try to bulldoze their way into receiving this cautionary measure. One of my jobs is to try to explain to the latter category of people the difference between the third dose for the immunocompromised and “booster shots”.
SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 9, 2021 – 2,843,100 confirmed infections; 84,327 deaths
September 3, 2020 – 630,596 confirmed infections; 14,390 deaths
News blues
Finally, some sanity during an insane time in the life of America. President Biden expands vaccine push with mandates for the private sector and announces sweeping vaccination and testing requirements for federal government workers, contractors and even private sector employees, as his administration works to fight the spreading coronavirus.About time, Mr. Biden!
***
Hospitals in California’s Central Valley have been increasingly overwhelmed by the fourth surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, with officials scrambling to transfer some critically ill patients more than 100 miles away because local intensive care units are full.
The San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento area and rural Northern California are now the regions of the state being hit the hardest by COVID-19 hospitalizations on a per capita basis… The regions have lower vaccination rates than in the highly populated, coastal areas of Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.My houseboat is moored in the San Joaquin River, part of this region. I’m grateful that I’m not living on my houseboat right now.
***
Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website >> ***
The Lincoln ProjectSad (0:56 mins)
Ivermectin (1:25 mins)
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (1:55 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Since the beginning of the pandemic, scientists and government officials have gotten sage advice from a group of people who were already battling a massive threat to public health: climate scientists. From piles of sometimes contradictory evidence to rampant misinformation to mind-boggling denials of established facts, the issues that have plagued COVID-19 researchers and policymakers are starkly like those that have influenced the climate crisis. The pandemic has also laid bare similar issues with equity, access to healthcare, intergovernmental squabbling, and reluctance to embrace solutions that might harm the bottom line. But while the state of things may seem bleak right now, we actually have a lot to celebrate with COVID-19, in part because the pandemic spurred people to act urgently and drove a lot of innovation. Now mRNA vaccines are not only keeping people out of hospitals, they hold potential for combating a host of other diseases. More people are saying they will embrace masks as an effective way to prevent respiratory illness beyond COVID-19. And governments and institutions are investigating ways to improve healthcare infrastructure. So why can’t we learn a few things from COVID-19 to get serious about tackling climate change? That’s what the editors of more than 200 medical journals are asking this week in an article co-published across their pages.
“Many governments met the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic with unprecedented funding. The environmental crisis demands a similar emergency response,” the editors write. And yes, they add, “the science is unequivocal” that climate change is a huge risk to public health. Extreme heat already threatens the health of about 30 percent of the world’s population, according to a 2017 study. Shifting climate zones mean that tropical diseases—many carried by my personal archnemeses, mosquitoes—are pushing into higher latitudes, threatening even more people with ailments such as dengue fever, malaria, Zika, and valley fever. Droughts are making crops harder to grow and less nutritious, while floods create stagnant waters that can carry all sorts of icky infectious agents. Heck, climate change has even been implicated in making seasonal allergies worse
The global response to COVID-19 has not been perfect. But it has shown the world what’s possible when people come together with the resources and the willpower to overcome a deadly challenge. And as the journal authors write: “Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with Covid-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions.” All our lives depend on it.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I still have not acclimated to my new life as a commuter, nor found a way to commute, work a full day, and come home regularly post on this blog.I’m trying but it’s a learning curve.
***
Currently, people who are medically immunocompromised – suffering from illnesses associated with underperforming immune systems such as cancers, organ transplants, untreated HIV, and high dose steroid treatments – can receive a third dose of a Covid vaccine.Naturally, people being people, many not suffering such illnesses arrive at the clinic and try to bulldoze their way into receiving this cautionary measure. One of my jobs is to try to explain to the latter category of people the difference between the third dose for the immunocompromised and “booster shots”.
The simplest explanation? Booster shots are not yet available.
I repeat the same information scores of times a day – while also performing my “real” duties. A part of me enjoys these glimpses into how the human mind works to bamboozle it’s way into getting third doses. Healthy people know they’re ineligible, but they’re willing to sign their names to Attestations and have false information entered into their medical records – in other words, create proof that they’re liars – simply to get a third dose of vaccine.
These people are the opposite of the people who’d rather take an anti-bacterial horse de-wormer – Ivermectin – than a human anti-viral vaccine.
Fascinating.
Humans.
These people are the opposite of the people who’d rather take an anti-bacterial horse de-wormer – Ivermectin – than a human anti-viral vaccine.
Fascinating.
Humans.
A hard to understand category of critter.
Day 531 Monday, September 6 - Down the rabbit hole
Commuting and working and organizing the vax clinics – yes, clinics, as flu season vaccinations began last week – leaves me little free time to present the planet’s Covid-19 numbers. (Luckily the world doesn’t depend on me, eh?)Here are the numbers as of today, compared to 2 weeks ago and to the last day of last year:
Worldwide (Map)
September 6, 2021 – 220,863,350 confirmed infections; 4,571,200 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 209,892,500 confirmed infections; 4,401,700 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
US (Map)
September 6, 2021 – 39,955,200 confirmed infections; 648,615 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 37,201,600 confirmed infections; 625,150 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths
SA (Tracker)
September 6, 2021 – 2,820,000 confirmed infections; 83,419 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 2,652,660 confirmed infections; 78,694 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths
Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (0:55 mins)
People, being people – quirky, diverse and diversely quirky – continue to wrestle with, well, whatever is the wrestle-able item of the day. For example, counterfeit Covid cards.
Last week, someone showed up at the clinic with a fake vaccination card. How did we know it was fake? She wanted a Maderna jab. There is no such jab as Maderna. On closer inspection, the card presented other spelling and editorial errors.
Why bother to present a counterfeit card? Who knows? Covid vaccinations are free with few questions asked. Why go to the trouble of making or acquiring a fake card? Who knows? People display all the inexplicable complexities of people-dom.
It’s also possible that my forays turn into further forays, and I’ll not return to Covid statistic for hours. Down the rabbit hole….
I love the ability to research on the fly. It’s increasingly challenging to stay focused on one topic.
What does it mean for “us” – people – that this is the wave of the future? Will we lose the ability to concentrate on one issue at a time?
It certainly means more conspiracy theories.
What of young minds? How do young people strengthen their ability to concentrate and stay focused?
Beats me.
Week 75
(More below on Sturgis fallout….)
I’m visiting family in Texas, and chagrined as I am to admit it, I’m following local protocol and not wearing a mask every time I venture into the community.
Friday night we went to dinner in a crowded, Texas-style restaurant – that is, large, crowded, full of parents and kids and a busy, crowded, outdoor play area for kids.
This morning, Sunday, we opted for an IHOP for breakfast. Smaller venue but still busy and full of unmasked patrons. Servers and staff wore chin covers rather than masks.
I feel embarrassed by my action – or lack of action. But I am “in touch” with my embarrassment, even have come to terms with it. It’s called “when in Texas do as Texans do”. I pray that I live to regret this attitude.
I plan to be tested for Covid when I return to work on Tuesday.
Testing. Better late than never? Or too late to do anything about it?
Yes, of course, I’m vaccinated, but that does not mean I’m not also one of the stupidly, willfully blind following the stupidly, willfully blind.
Heck, in South Africa, where snow is falling - an extraordinary though not unheard of event - even the snow-people wear masks.
Worldwide (Map)
September 6, 2021 – 220,863,350 confirmed infections; 4,571,200 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 209,892,500 confirmed infections; 4,401,700 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
US (Map)
September 6, 2021 – 39,955,200 confirmed infections; 648,615 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 37,201,600 confirmed infections; 625,150 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths
SA (Tracker)
September 6, 2021 – 2,820,000 confirmed infections; 83,419 deaths
August 19, 2021 – 2,652,660 confirmed infections; 78,694 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths
News blues
Cases are being driver down by vaccinations
About 370.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered across the country as of Tuesday, according to CNN data About 370.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been administered across the country as of Tuesday, according to CNN data.
An average of 899,462 doses are being administered each day, and 426,311 people are getting their first dose each day. When it comes to booster shots, as of August 13 -- when the CDC endorsed booster doses for certain immunocompromised people -- about 996,000 people had received that third dose.
"We are already getting the benefit of community immunity," Lessler said. "It's not an absolute number but a continuum. We will turn the corner when we reach a critical threshold of immunity and that's when cases will start to go down -- we always get there, either the virus or the vaccine gets us there. But that (community immunity) is still what is going to get this under control."
Even though 25 states have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents and half the United States is fully vaccinated, the country is inching back to winter levels in terms of cases, deaths and hospitalizations. Cases in the United States are averaging more than 159,000 each day, which has not been this high since January.
The country is averaging 1,329 deaths a day, a seven-day average not seen since March. As for hospitalizations, the US seven-day average stands at 100,057, which has not been seen since January.
"There are still a lot of people out there who are susceptible. That's one reason why this has been so bad," Lessler said. "Yes, we have a lot of immunity, and yes, we're in a better place than we were, but there are still huge pockets of susceptible people and those people cluster together. They interact."
With 4 months left in 2021, here's where the US stands with Covid-19
***
The Lincoln Project Pro-Life (0:56 mins)Last Week in the Republican Party – (reprise) (0:55 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
The new Kivi Kuaka project focuses on birds’ ability to hear infrasound, the low-frequency sound inaudible to humans ¬ that researchers believe is the most likely signal birds would use to sense storms and tsunamis. Infrasound has myriad sources, including lightning strikes, jet engines, and the songlike vocalizations of rhinoceroses. Even the Earth itself generates a continuous infrasonic hum. Though rarely measured, it is known that tsunamis generate infrasound, too, and that these sound waves travel faster than the tsunami wave, offering a potential window in which to detect a tsunami before it hits.Read “Birds Can Hear Tsunamis Way Before They Hit. Scientists hope the ability can be turned into an early-warning system." >>
There is some evidence that birds dodge storms by listening to infrasound. In a 2014 study, scientists tracking golden-winged warblers in the central and southeastern United States recorded what’s known as an evacuation migration when the birds flew up to 9,300 miles to evade an outbreak of tornadoes that killed 35 people and caused more than $1 billion in damage. The birds fled at least 24 hours before any foul weather hit, leaving the scientists to deduce they had heard the storm system from more than 250 miles away.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Conspiracy theories continue… and people continue to line up at our clinic for jabs where we, in the Covid’s effects-can-be-reduced Camp, continue to inject vaccine into willing arms.People, being people – quirky, diverse and diversely quirky – continue to wrestle with, well, whatever is the wrestle-able item of the day. For example, counterfeit Covid cards.
Last week, someone showed up at the clinic with a fake vaccination card. How did we know it was fake? She wanted a Maderna jab. There is no such jab as Maderna. On closer inspection, the card presented other spelling and editorial errors.
Why bother to present a counterfeit card? Who knows? Covid vaccinations are free with few questions asked. Why go to the trouble of making or acquiring a fake card? Who knows? People display all the inexplicable complexities of people-dom.
***
My new life as a commuter severely cuts down on my ability to follow the news. I do not own – nor do I want to own – a television. Living on the beachfront, however lovely, presents internet connection issues. Spending many hours on the freeway to and from work, and many hours at work, means few hours spent at home. I’m unwilling to spend hard-earned dollars on internet service that I’d hardly use. Well, that’s the thought for today. Tomorrow, I may re-think the wisdom of that decision. Having internet at home is convenient. Then again, not having internet at home makes me realize how often, when I do have access at home, albeit squirrelly, I interrupt one online activity for a quick sidebar to review another online activity. That is, frequently I find myself breaking my online focus to explore or research a tangential topic that pops into my head. So, while researching, say, Covid statistics, I think of fires in northern California. Since internet access make it easy, I take a side trip to catch up on fire news, then that topic stimulates another topic, say, the air quality index, then I’m off to read about the rising cases of, say, asthma… then I might circle back to Covid statistics. Or not. It’s also possible that my forays turn into further forays, and I’ll not return to Covid statistic for hours. Down the rabbit hole….
I love the ability to research on the fly. It’s increasingly challenging to stay focused on one topic.
What does it mean for “us” – people – that this is the wave of the future? Will we lose the ability to concentrate on one issue at a time?
It certainly means more conspiracy theories.
What of young minds? How do young people strengthen their ability to concentrate and stay focused?
Beats me.
Week 75
Day 523 Sunday, August 29 - When on Texas
News blues
A thought-provoking article written by evangelical pastorI don't believe in editing information from my daughters, from the churches where I served as an evangelical pastor, from my students or from my family and friends. I never understood when people were unwilling to engage with material that threatened their own point of view. Unfortunately for my fellow Christians, this is a major part of church history and the current Christian culture. This close-minded approach has been on full display during this pandemic of the unvaccinated.Read “Evangelicals, science and the vaccine: Refusal is built on deep-seated fear” >>
***
Reporting from Texas on the Houston border with Galveston County, where rates of Covid infection are high, masks are invisible and unprotected people are everywhere. COVID-19 hospitalizations approach a peak in the US as Delta variant spreads. Patients are younger, and disparities across race and ethnicity persist as hospitalizations soar***
Despite last year’s lessons from the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, a repeat this year: “Sturgis Rally Is What a Vaccine-Era Coronavirus Superspreader Event Looks Like” (More below on Sturgis fallout….)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Monkey see, monkey do.I’m visiting family in Texas, and chagrined as I am to admit it, I’m following local protocol and not wearing a mask every time I venture into the community.
Friday night we went to dinner in a crowded, Texas-style restaurant – that is, large, crowded, full of parents and kids and a busy, crowded, outdoor play area for kids.
This morning, Sunday, we opted for an IHOP for breakfast. Smaller venue but still busy and full of unmasked patrons. Servers and staff wore chin covers rather than masks.
I feel embarrassed by my action – or lack of action. But I am “in touch” with my embarrassment, even have come to terms with it. It’s called “when in Texas do as Texans do”. I pray that I live to regret this attitude.
I plan to be tested for Covid when I return to work on Tuesday.
Testing. Better late than never? Or too late to do anything about it?
Yes, of course, I’m vaccinated, but that does not mean I’m not also one of the stupidly, willfully blind following the stupidly, willfully blind.
Pray for this sinner in Texas (who knows better…)
I should have more compassion for a couple of people I know at the marina where I moor my houseboat. They schlepped their motorcycles to Sturgis to participate in the rally. (See link in News blues section.) I just got notice that they’ve come down with Covid and been abed for the past two weeks.
On the bright side, Hurricane Ida, in its headlong rush for Louisiana, passed by this area of Texas. Lots of lightning and thunder last night and power when down for about an hour in the early hours of the morning, but no further flooding or hurricane mayhem.
Pray for Louisiana, too.
What do 203 doctors tell us about what they think Of COVID vaccines…
And, what’s in a dose?
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is supplied as a frozen suspension in multiple dose vials; each vial must be diluted with 1.8 mL of sterile 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP prior to use to form the vaccine. Each dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine contains 30 mcg of a nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2.
Each dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine also includes the following ingredients: lipids (0.43mg (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 0.05 mg 2[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 0.09 mg 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and 0.2 mg cholesterol), 0.01mg potassium chloride, 0.01 mg monobasic potassium phosphate, 0.36 mg sodium chloride, 0.07 mg dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and 6mg sucrose. The diluent (0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP) contributes an additional 2.16 mg sodium chloride per dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine does not contain preservative.
See a breakdown of components in all 3 vaccines used in the US:
A close scrutiny of this list shows no sign of aborted fetal tissue, no micro microchips, no Fauci ouchie, no live virus, and no signs of magnetic components - not in any of these vaccines.
Of course, I could simply be naïve in believing what I’m reading, and the conspiracy theorists are 100 percent correct: “the government – aka “they” and “the deep state” – are lying and these ingredients are a smoke screen to “take away our freedoms”, etc., etc., etc.
DeSantis Lies (0:25 mins)
Meidas Touch America’s Biggest Loser (2:16 mins)
In 2010, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, announced the One Million Trees initiative. The aim? To increase green areas in Dubai through afforestation, while contributing to overall beautification of the city.
It went horribly wrong. Hundreds of thousands of trees died after costly real estate projects thwarted attempts to halt desertification.
The last weeks have been very busy. I’m semi-moved from my houseboat in the Sacto Delta, semi-moved into my condo on San Francisco Bay, semi-prepared for my upcoming work for California’s upcoming flu season and, after a week, almost fully functional in the Covid vax clinic.
I’ve learned so much about Covid, from the CDC website, hospital training sessions, and documents prepared by the federal government about protocols.
I’m impressed by the overall attention to detail that went into the planning and rollout for vaccinating Americans.
Is it a conspiracy? Well, I suggest that anyone paying attention would recognize that the program is too well-organized for a nationwide, ubiquitous federal (or Fauci or Bill Gates) hoax perpetrated to “take away our freedoms.”
The effort to vax millions of Americans – and the rest of the world – involves millions of workers with amazing training and skills working in concert day and night to ensure We the People have the best chances of success against a virulent virus and emerging variants.
If you haven’t yet, get vaxed. Stories from the front lines:
Last week, third dose vaccinations were made available to immunocompromised individuals. Simultaneously, Pfizer’s vaccine was fully approved and people older than 12 became eligible for vaccination.
Our clinic was inundated with immunocompromised people, some walking independently, some in wheelchairs or on walkers and walking sticks as well as dozens of young people over the age of 12 accompanied by a parent – sometimes two parents - and dozens of people who’d been waiting for the move from EUA (Emergency Use Approval) to full approval before accepting a jab.
A young woman arrived with her mother seeking a second Astrazeneca jab. She’d received her first Astrazeneca shot in India. Turns out the US does not offer that vaccine. Her options: accept either a first Moderna or first Pfizer jab, then return for a second jab of the same vaccine in 28 days.
While every person who takes a jab must remain in the clinic for observation for at least 15 minutes after the jab – 30 minutes if sensitive – we’ve had only 3 people requiring extra care. One woman left after 15 minutes then returned an hour later as she was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I accompanied her to the Emergency department for evaluation. Outcome? Nothing further than her initial symptoms and she was released after two hours of observation.
I should have more compassion for a couple of people I know at the marina where I moor my houseboat. They schlepped their motorcycles to Sturgis to participate in the rally. (See link in News blues section.) I just got notice that they’ve come down with Covid and been abed for the past two weeks.
On the bright side, Hurricane Ida, in its headlong rush for Louisiana, passed by this area of Texas. Lots of lightning and thunder last night and power when down for about an hour in the early hours of the morning, but no further flooding or hurricane mayhem.
Pray for Louisiana, too.
Day 521, Friday, August 27 - Covid - la vida loca
News blues
With all the conflicting information, conspiracies, and craziness “out there”, you may feel dazed and confused. If so, here’s a view of what to consider believing about Covid-19….What do 203 doctors tell us about what they think Of COVID vaccines…
And, what’s in a dose?
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is supplied as a frozen suspension in multiple dose vials; each vial must be diluted with 1.8 mL of sterile 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP prior to use to form the vaccine. Each dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine contains 30 mcg of a nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike (S) glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2.
Each dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine also includes the following ingredients: lipids (0.43mg (4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 0.05 mg 2[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 0.09 mg 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and 0.2 mg cholesterol), 0.01mg potassium chloride, 0.01 mg monobasic potassium phosphate, 0.36 mg sodium chloride, 0.07 mg dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and 6mg sucrose. The diluent (0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP) contributes an additional 2.16 mg sodium chloride per dose. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine does not contain preservative.
See a breakdown of components in all 3 vaccines used in the US:
A close scrutiny of this list shows no sign of aborted fetal tissue, no micro microchips, no Fauci ouchie, no live virus, and no signs of magnetic components - not in any of these vaccines.
Of course, I could simply be naïve in believing what I’m reading, and the conspiracy theorists are 100 percent correct: “the government – aka “they” and “the deep state” – are lying and these ingredients are a smoke screen to “take away our freedoms”, etc., etc., etc.
***
The Lincoln Project Pro-Life (0:55 mins)DeSantis Lies (0:25 mins)
Meidas Touch America’s Biggest Loser (2:16 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Does smoke make it harder for clouds to drop rain and alleviate drought, potentially kicking of a “very scary” feedback loop?***
Best intentions… or, the helping hand strikes again….In 2010, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, announced the One Million Trees initiative. The aim? To increase green areas in Dubai through afforestation, while contributing to overall beautification of the city.
It went horribly wrong. Hundreds of thousands of trees died after costly real estate projects thwarted attempts to halt desertification.
***
On Covid and climate we can achieve change – but we’re running out of time Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Thousands of feet over the southwest, cooped up in a fuselage with dozens of others all wearing masks and, for the most part, practicing social distancing. This flight is unlike the first leg of my trip to Texas. For that leg, stopover in Los Angeles, the plane was full to the brim - what I call a flying Petrie dish. I must be nuts to take a Flying a Petrie dish to Texas, the Covid Capital of the southwest. But here I am.The last weeks have been very busy. I’m semi-moved from my houseboat in the Sacto Delta, semi-moved into my condo on San Francisco Bay, semi-prepared for my upcoming work for California’s upcoming flu season and, after a week, almost fully functional in the Covid vax clinic.
I’ve learned so much about Covid, from the CDC website, hospital training sessions, and documents prepared by the federal government about protocols.
I’m impressed by the overall attention to detail that went into the planning and rollout for vaccinating Americans.
Is it a conspiracy? Well, I suggest that anyone paying attention would recognize that the program is too well-organized for a nationwide, ubiquitous federal (or Fauci or Bill Gates) hoax perpetrated to “take away our freedoms.”
The effort to vax millions of Americans – and the rest of the world – involves millions of workers with amazing training and skills working in concert day and night to ensure We the People have the best chances of success against a virulent virus and emerging variants.
If you haven’t yet, get vaxed. Stories from the front lines:
Last week, third dose vaccinations were made available to immunocompromised individuals. Simultaneously, Pfizer’s vaccine was fully approved and people older than 12 became eligible for vaccination.
Our clinic was inundated with immunocompromised people, some walking independently, some in wheelchairs or on walkers and walking sticks as well as dozens of young people over the age of 12 accompanied by a parent – sometimes two parents - and dozens of people who’d been waiting for the move from EUA (Emergency Use Approval) to full approval before accepting a jab.
A young woman arrived with her mother seeking a second Astrazeneca jab. She’d received her first Astrazeneca shot in India. Turns out the US does not offer that vaccine. Her options: accept either a first Moderna or first Pfizer jab, then return for a second jab of the same vaccine in 28 days.
While every person who takes a jab must remain in the clinic for observation for at least 15 minutes after the jab – 30 minutes if sensitive – we’ve had only 3 people requiring extra care. One woman left after 15 minutes then returned an hour later as she was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I accompanied her to the Emergency department for evaluation. Outcome? Nothing further than her initial symptoms and she was released after two hours of observation.
One man opted for the J&J vax and, while sitting in the clinic afterwards, was berated by an opinionated and over-solicitous patient who’d opted for the Pfizer vax. “Why did you take J&J? Don’t you know J&J has negative symptoms? You shoulda done xx, like I did…”
Unfortunately, with a stranger kvetching at him, the J&J candidate had a panic attack.
Lesson learned? Keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to which vaccine other people choose.
The third person was diabetic and under-estimated the effect on his blood sugar levels of not eating breakfast. He’d decided he was tough enough to skip breakfast and get his vax. Afterwards, he became light-headed, likely because of low-blood sugar and notthe vaccine. He was medically checked, provided snacks and juice, then opted to go home to recover.
Oy, people!
Next month, boosters will be available to anyone who was vaccinated 8 months ago. I expect we’ll experience more days with lines 500 to 600 people deep.
Our Covid clinic’s future promises 8-hour nightmares exacerbated by the opening of the drive-thru flu clinic. (According to those working the flu clinic in past years, in the first weeks of flu season up to 1,500 people per day arrive for flu shots.)
Yet, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing with my life.
Working with dedicated people.
Performing necessary tasks in concert with others, all of us doing vital work…
What’s the downside?
Experiences to remember.
Week 74
Worldwide (Map)
August 26, 2021 – 213,854,000 confirmed infections; 4,463,000 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths
US (Map)
August 26, 2021 – 38,222,000 confirmed infections; 632,300 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 34,724,000 confirmed infections; 612,050 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
August 26, 2021 – 2,722,205 confirmed infections; 80,470 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths
Monster Trump Rally (1:00 mins)
The staff is truly amazing. Project manager type that I am, this job presents multiple tasks, from big to little – to occupy my busy mind.
I’ve so much to say about the wonderful work – exhausting as it is - and share what I’m learning about Covid-19. There’s nothing secret or confidential about the information. It is available to anyone who knows where to look. That’ll be my role: indicating areas of good information.
I fly to Texas today, but I plan to begin sharing information over the next couple of days.
Tune in for more….
So, finally, with Covid-19 hospitalizations increasing, a greater number of Americans have recently made the decision to get vaccinated than in the last six weeks. .”
(See below for a personal experience of front vaccinations of at least 600 of those 1.05 million doses.)
Last week in the Republican Party, next episode (1:45 mins)
A reminder: the day after I returned from my 1.5-year unexpected sojourn in South Africa, I was vaxed at a local grocery store. No line, no wait, in and out with vital vax record card in hand. Three weeks later, I repeated the process at the grocery store. Easy peasy. Why travel to a hospital and stand in line?
I work in one vax clinic in a multiple-hospital system that is member-based. My role is to ensure smooth sailing of the day-to-day vaccine program so that medical professionals can vax as many people as show up at the hospital seeking one of the three currently available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J).
With member medical records residing on the central computer system, check in is, in general, smooth. Member-clients make appointments before they arrive and have their documentation ready for check-in.
With the vaccines and associated collateral – syringes, etc. - provided by the federal government, vax clinic providers must guarantee that anyone who wants a free vaccination can have a free vaccination. In return, the Feds want documentation – and lots of it.
Our vax team consists of 2 client reps checking in clients, 1 client rep managing the line, 2 nurses prepping, 5 to 7 nurses jabbing, and me, smoothing the overall process. My workday begins with updating information on the numbers of registered member clients expected that day.
The member count is easy.
What is not easy is guessing how many unregistered, non-member clients will drop in for jabs – and when.
Until Friday, the process was, for the most part, smooth. Things slow down when nurses take fed Labor Department-mandated lunch breaks of one hour, but for the most part, we manage. Until Friday, numbers of drop ins each day averaged between 175 to 300 - each requiring the generation of a temporary member number and other necessary documents.
Then came Friday.
The unexpected news that immunocompromised people were eligible for a 3rd dose of vaccine threw off everything. Third doses are not booster shots (scheduled to begin mid-September), but people lined up for “booster” shots anyway. Dozens of people were given personalized explanations on the difference between “3rd dose” and “booster”; some went away resigned, some angry.
Dozens of immunocompromised members and non-members arrived, many in wheelchairs or using walkers (blocking hallways).
One person, after taking her second jab and staying for the mandatory 15 minutes of observation, left the clinic… then returned an hour later with dizziness and high blood pressure. The usual protocol is to wheel such a patient to the emergency department. This time, since her symptoms were ambiguous, a nurse and I wheeled her to an upstairs clinic for further observation by an emergency department doctor.
Third dose protocols coincided, too, with opening Pfizer vaccinations to children over 12 years old. Dozens of children - some braver than others - accompanied by parents or guardians, arrived for their first jabs.
Most touching, a young man, blind, came in with his parents for a shot. It took some persuading to seat him, have him raise his sleeve, and accept the jab. Afterwards, he received an ovation.
My next several months promise to provide many insights into people and pandemic. My current over-riding emotions? Grateful that We the People are at the point of accepting lifesaving vaccinations; being part of a team providing lifesaving vaccines; and love, yes, love for the many, many people coming into the clinic, trusting we’re doing our best for them, offering their arms for an Emergency Use Authorized (EUA) vax, and supporting one another, young and old, firm and infirm, all human.
On Friday, our team administered about 600 of the more than 1 million vaccine doses - the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed across this nation.
Amazing times.,
Unfortunately, with a stranger kvetching at him, the J&J candidate had a panic attack.
Lesson learned? Keep your opinions to yourself when it comes to which vaccine other people choose.
The third person was diabetic and under-estimated the effect on his blood sugar levels of not eating breakfast. He’d decided he was tough enough to skip breakfast and get his vax. Afterwards, he became light-headed, likely because of low-blood sugar and notthe vaccine. He was medically checked, provided snacks and juice, then opted to go home to recover.
Oy, people!
Next month, boosters will be available to anyone who was vaccinated 8 months ago. I expect we’ll experience more days with lines 500 to 600 people deep.
Our Covid clinic’s future promises 8-hour nightmares exacerbated by the opening of the drive-thru flu clinic. (According to those working the flu clinic in past years, in the first weeks of flu season up to 1,500 people per day arrive for flu shots.)
Yet, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing with my life.
Working with dedicated people.
Performing necessary tasks in concert with others, all of us doing vital work…
What’s the downside?
Experiences to remember.
Week 74
Day 520, Thursday, August 26 - Forever?
Worldwide (Map) August 26, 2021 – 213,854,000 confirmed infections; 4,463,000 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths
US (Map)
August 26, 2021 – 38,222,000 confirmed infections; 632,300 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 34,724,000 confirmed infections; 612,050 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
August 26, 2021 – 2,722,205 confirmed infections; 80,470 deaths
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths
News blues
The virus will be around “forever”? Advice on how to live with it – a compendium of articles from The Atlantic MonthlyCOVID-19 is not going away. The virus that causes it is on track to become endemic, like the ones that cause the common cold. You’ll probably encounter it at some point, if you haven’t already.
That doesn’t mean you should stop taking precautions. We can still buy ourselves time — time to vaccinate more people and avoid deadly hospital surges. But the virus will be part of our lives in the long term.
“We need to prepare people that [the current wave of cases is] not going to come down to zero,” one psychologist warns…
- The virus itself could still get worse. “Delta could continue to ratchet up its rate of spread, or it could be ousted by another super-infectious variant,” our staff writer Katherine J. Wu warns. “There is no playbook for evolution.”
- Global inequities could worsen as the virus transitions to endemicity. “The human and economic costs of new diseases are borne by all, but unequally,” the historian Kyle Harper reminds us.
- But eventually, the coronavirus will become a less worrisome part of life. “When everyone has some immunity, a COVID-19 diagnosis becomes as routine as diagnosis of strep or flu”….
***
Deaths Data Shows 80% of South Africans May Have Had Covid As many as four out of five South Africans may have contracted the coronavirus, indicating that the country may be one of the world’s hardest-hit nations by the disease, the chief actuary at Africa’s biggest health insurer said.
Emile Stipp, the actuary at Discovery Health, based his calculations on the country’s case-fatality rate and excess deaths, a measure of the number of fatalities compared with an historical average. They are thought to provide a more accurate picture of the impact of the pandemic than the official toll.
***
The Lincoln Project The Best of Us (0:41 mins)Monster Trump Rally (1:00 mins)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Well, I’m snowed under. My new job – at a Covid vax clinic – presents an hour each way commute for 28 miles each direction. Stop and go traffic up the wazoo. Nine hours putting out fires at the job, supervising the vax-ing of at least 200, and sometimes more than double that number, per day.The staff is truly amazing. Project manager type that I am, this job presents multiple tasks, from big to little – to occupy my busy mind.
I’ve so much to say about the wonderful work – exhausting as it is - and share what I’m learning about Covid-19. There’s nothing secret or confidential about the information. It is available to anyone who knows where to look. That’ll be my role: indicating areas of good information.
I fly to Texas today, but I plan to begin sharing information over the next couple of days.
Tune in for more….
Day 516, Sunday, August 22 - Hip deep
News blues
The not-so-blue news: “The U.S. administered more than 1 million vaccine doses Friday, marking the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed, including 526,000 first shots.So, finally, with Covid-19 hospitalizations increasing, a greater number of Americans have recently made the decision to get vaccinated than in the last six weeks. .”
(See below for a personal experience of front vaccinations of at least 600 of those 1.05 million doses.)
***
According to Daily Maverick, 80% or as many as four out of five South Africans may have contracted coronavirus, indicating South Africa may be among the world’s hardest-hit nations. ***
The Lincoln Project Ducey (0:38 mins)Last week in the Republican Party, next episode (1:45 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
We can’t predict the next coronavirus variant. But there are some fundamental principles that explain why the virus has morphed as it has and where we could be headed next.Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Posting here took a backseat to working this week – and posting will continue to take a backseat as long as I work in a Covid vaccination clinic. It’s a wild, wild ride!A reminder: the day after I returned from my 1.5-year unexpected sojourn in South Africa, I was vaxed at a local grocery store. No line, no wait, in and out with vital vax record card in hand. Three weeks later, I repeated the process at the grocery store. Easy peasy. Why travel to a hospital and stand in line?
I work in one vax clinic in a multiple-hospital system that is member-based. My role is to ensure smooth sailing of the day-to-day vaccine program so that medical professionals can vax as many people as show up at the hospital seeking one of the three currently available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J).
With member medical records residing on the central computer system, check in is, in general, smooth. Member-clients make appointments before they arrive and have their documentation ready for check-in.
With the vaccines and associated collateral – syringes, etc. - provided by the federal government, vax clinic providers must guarantee that anyone who wants a free vaccination can have a free vaccination. In return, the Feds want documentation – and lots of it.
Our vax team consists of 2 client reps checking in clients, 1 client rep managing the line, 2 nurses prepping, 5 to 7 nurses jabbing, and me, smoothing the overall process. My workday begins with updating information on the numbers of registered member clients expected that day.
The member count is easy.
What is not easy is guessing how many unregistered, non-member clients will drop in for jabs – and when.
Until Friday, the process was, for the most part, smooth. Things slow down when nurses take fed Labor Department-mandated lunch breaks of one hour, but for the most part, we manage. Until Friday, numbers of drop ins each day averaged between 175 to 300 - each requiring the generation of a temporary member number and other necessary documents.
Then came Friday.
The unexpected news that immunocompromised people were eligible for a 3rd dose of vaccine threw off everything. Third doses are not booster shots (scheduled to begin mid-September), but people lined up for “booster” shots anyway. Dozens of people were given personalized explanations on the difference between “3rd dose” and “booster”; some went away resigned, some angry.
Dozens of immunocompromised members and non-members arrived, many in wheelchairs or using walkers (blocking hallways).
One person, after taking her second jab and staying for the mandatory 15 minutes of observation, left the clinic… then returned an hour later with dizziness and high blood pressure. The usual protocol is to wheel such a patient to the emergency department. This time, since her symptoms were ambiguous, a nurse and I wheeled her to an upstairs clinic for further observation by an emergency department doctor.
Third dose protocols coincided, too, with opening Pfizer vaccinations to children over 12 years old. Dozens of children - some braver than others - accompanied by parents or guardians, arrived for their first jabs.
Most touching, a young man, blind, came in with his parents for a shot. It took some persuading to seat him, have him raise his sleeve, and accept the jab. Afterwards, he received an ovation.
My next several months promise to provide many insights into people and pandemic. My current over-riding emotions? Grateful that We the People are at the point of accepting lifesaving vaccinations; being part of a team providing lifesaving vaccines; and love, yes, love for the many, many people coming into the clinic, trusting we’re doing our best for them, offering their arms for an Emergency Use Authorized (EUA) vax, and supporting one another, young and old, firm and infirm, all human.
On Friday, our team administered about 600 of the more than 1 million vaccine doses - the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed across this nation.
Amazing times.,
We expect the FDA to fully approve the Pfizer vaccine on Monday. Once that happens, well, last Friday’s rush will have been a precursor to many more people flooding in…
Bring ‘em on…
Week 73
Worldwide (Map)
SA (Tracker)
August 19, 2021 – 2,652,660 confirmed infections; 78,694 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 1,621,370 confirmed infections; 55,510 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths
I’m now supervising a Covid vaccination clinic for a large hospital system in California. Soon – this weekend – I’ll have much information about Covid, about folks getting vaccinated, and about the day-to-day life of a worker with one hour commutes at the start and the end of the day.
How do people commute like this for a lifetime?
After just one week, the answer to the question is, “who knows? I couldn’t do it…."
This brings the cumulative number of cases in the country to 2,605,586 and the total number of deaths to 77,141.
The number of vaccinations administered is 9,387,129.
KZN officially in its third Covid-19 wave, largely driven by riots
This is false!
…yet more nuttiness
…some straight talk from one ‘Merican to other ‘Mericans (2:20 mins)
...and another attempt to educate and elucidate, this one from the Republican Accountability Project (0:55 mins)
Bring ‘em on…
Week 73
Day 513, Thursday, August 19 - Hip to Covid
Worldwide (Map) August 19, 2021 – 209,892,500 confirmed infections; 4,401,700 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 164,620,000 confirmed infections; 3,413,350 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
US (Map)
August 19, 2021 – 37,201,600 confirmed infections; 625,150 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 33,026,300 confirmed infections; 587,870 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 164,620,000 confirmed infections; 3,413,350 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths
US (Map)
August 19, 2021 – 37,201,600 confirmed infections; 625,150 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 33,026,300 confirmed infections; 587,870 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths
SA (Tracker)
August 19, 2021 – 2,652,660 confirmed infections; 78,694 deaths
May 20, 2021 – 1,621,370 confirmed infections; 55,510 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
A sparse post for today but…I’m now supervising a Covid vaccination clinic for a large hospital system in California. Soon – this weekend – I’ll have much information about Covid, about folks getting vaccinated, and about the day-to-day life of a worker with one hour commutes at the start and the end of the day.
How do people commute like this for a lifetime?
After just one week, the answer to the question is, “who knows? I couldn’t do it…."
Day 509, Sunday, August 15 - Dumb and dumber
News blues
It’s bleak out thereCOVID-19 hospitalizations for people in their 30s have reached a record high in the U.S. in the latest evidence that the dangerous delta variant of the disease poses formidable risks for younger age groups.Read more >>
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 170,852 hospital admissions of those age 30 to 39 from the beginning of August 2020 to last Wednesday. The number of daily admissions, based on a seven-day average, jumped from 908 the week beginning July 29 to 1,113 the week starting Aug. 5. That’s a 22.6% bounce — and still climbing
***
South Africa records 10,139 new cases and 272 deaths with 10,139 new Covid-19 cases and 272 deaths recorded on Sunday. This brings the cumulative number of cases in the country to 2,605,586 and the total number of deaths to 77,141.
The number of vaccinations administered is 9,387,129.
KZN officially in its third Covid-19 wave, largely driven by riots
***
Not directly related to Covid 19 and our global response to the pandemic, some inevitable news: Donald Trump is on the outs. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person >> (3:05 mins)
***
Whackidoodle-itude reaches new heights as social media posts claim the coronavirus vaccines can be passed – or “shed” – from an immunized person to an unvaccinated woman and then somehow affect the woman’s reproductive system are whipping around social media. This is false!
Top medical experts agree that it is impossible for a person to transmit the vaccines to people they happen to be near and for a woman to experience miscarriage, menstrual cycle changes, and other reproductive problems by being around a vaccinated person.Read more >>
“This is a conspiracy that has been created to weaken trust in a series of vaccines that have been demonstrated in clinical trials to be safe and effective,” said Dr Christopher Zahn, Vice President for Practice Activities at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the leading U.S. organization for medical professionals in women’s healthcare.
Calling the vaccines “our single best tool for confronting a global pandemic that has taken 600,000 lives in this country alone,” Zahn added in a statement emailed to Reuters that “such conspiracies and false narratives are dangerous and have nothing to do with science.”
…yet more nuttiness
…some straight talk from one ‘Merican to other ‘Mericans (2:20 mins)
...and another attempt to educate and elucidate, this one from the Republican Accountability Project (0:55 mins)
Read the current top 10 conspiracy theories >>
Watch "Let's Talk About the Climate Apocalypse" series >>
Worrying to learn that, this year, one of the co-owners of the marina in which I moor my houseboat attended this year’s event.
My new job begins tomorrow. Thank the gods it places me far from the marina for at least the next week. That’s not really enough time for Covid infections to replicate – the virus can incubate up to 2 weeks – but I’m still glad to be far from there.
Continuing the topic of environmental contamination, after two years away in South Africa, yesterday evening I participated in an online board meeting as a member of a community overseeing the federally mandated clean up of toxic waste of former Naval Air Station Alameda.
Healthy planet, anyone?
Lilly Geisler goes to a lot of trouble to recycle. So, she left CNN a voicemail asking: How much of my recycling actually gets recycled? John Sutter travels to Muncie, Indiana, to find out.Watch "Let's Talk About the Climate Apocalypse" series >>
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Second thoughts on spraying wasps… I did not, after all, spray the wasps that live in my houseboat ceiling. Instead, I was able to complete installing the trim without further riling up the wasps and inviting more stings. I opted, instead, for the live and let live option. Go wasps!***
Last year’s motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, made the news as a giant Covid super-spreader event. Alas, that wasn’t enough of a lesson for that state’s governor or motorcyclists from around the country. They had to do it again. Worrying to learn that, this year, one of the co-owners of the marina in which I moor my houseboat attended this year’s event.
My new job begins tomorrow. Thank the gods it places me far from the marina for at least the next week. That’s not really enough time for Covid infections to replicate – the virus can incubate up to 2 weeks – but I’m still glad to be far from there.
Day 507, Friday, August 13 - Stung
News blues
According to researchers, including immunologist Nicole Doria-Rose and colleagues at the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine protects people for at least six months and likely longer – even against new variants.
Protection against the Delta variant, now dominant across the US, barely waned, the National Institutes of Health-led team found. The team will continue to look for evidence of protection beyond six months. “High levels of binding antibodies recognizing all tested variants, including B.1.351 (Beta) and B.1.617.2 (Delta), were maintained in all subjects over this time period.”Great for those who took the Moderna jab (including my son who works in a medical facility)… not so great for others, such as, well, for example, me. I guess I’ll be back in line again soon, baring my arm for another jab.
Thanks the gods I have that option…. Thank you, scientists, immunologists, and, yes, Dr Fauci!
Read it >>
Then, how We the People wreak havoc on that same planet – and how nature tries to respond:
I’d noticed the browning and shriveling of outer perimeters of the river’s vegetative islands of burgeoning hyacinth and other invasive plants. I suspected that some state department – Fish and wildlife? Regional water board? California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways? All the above – were spraying herbicides again.
My suspicion proved correct when I captured this shot yesterday morning: herbicides being sprayed along the levee wall across from my houseboat.
While that’s not unusual, it boggles my mind that, knowing what “we” know about chemicals in our environment, “we” continue to choose this chemical way of addressing the problem.
Ironically, having expressed my distrust of environmental contaminants passed off to the public as “of no significance”, today I sprayed a pesticide advertised as “safe around people and pets” at residents of a wasp nest.
I’d repaired and repainted sections of wood trim and was nailing it back into place on the boat when several fierce wasps shot out from under the trim and stung my bare hands. Unlike bees, wasps live to sting again, and again, so I skedaddled – fast - and slammed shut the screen doors behind me.
Spiders, wasps, and similar bugs have staked out hunting and nesting territory on the houseboat. Not a problem. I’m not fearful of bugs. Indeed, I’ve built their presence into my life even as I enjoy my early morning ritual circumnavigating the boat with feather duster to remove the overnight crop of spider webs.
Through the closed window I watched several wasps aggressively patrol the area. They appeared to mean mean business.
I retrieved a can of “safe” insect spray that a friend had left on the boat and, carefully, aimed the spray nozzle in the direction of the hidden nest.
Naturally, the wasps became more agitated.
Since then, I've remained shut up in my hot and stuffy houseboat and given up my plan to finish the trim during daylight. Perhaps tonight, when the wasps are cozily tucked into their nest, I’ll sneak up and spray them. After all, as poet John Lyly wrote, “The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war.”
***
Ed Yong, staff writer at The Atlantic Monthly, has consistently turned out some of the best writing on the pandemic and coronavirus. His most recent piece, “How the Pandemic Ends Now,” is another excellent source of (non-politicized) information.Read it >>
Healthy planet, anyone?
First, a photographic reminder of the beauty of our planet >>Then, how We the People wreak havoc on that same planet – and how nature tries to respond:
Plastic bottles dominate waste in the ocean, with an estimated 1m of them reaching the sea every minute. The biggest culprit is polyethylene terephthalate (Pet) bottles.Read “…the ‘plastisphere’: the synthetic ecosystem evolving at sea” >>
A recent study found two bacteria capable of breaking down Pet – or, as the headlines put it, “eating plastic”. Known as Thioclava sp. BHET1 and Bacillus sp. BHET2, the bacteria were isolated in a laboratory – but they were discovered in the ocean.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
My suspicion proved correct when I captured this shot yesterday morning: herbicides being sprayed along the levee wall across from my houseboat.
While that’s not unusual, it boggles my mind that, knowing what “we” know about chemicals in our environment, “we” continue to choose this chemical way of addressing the problem.
Ironically, having expressed my distrust of environmental contaminants passed off to the public as “of no significance”, today I sprayed a pesticide advertised as “safe around people and pets” at residents of a wasp nest.
I’d repaired and repainted sections of wood trim and was nailing it back into place on the boat when several fierce wasps shot out from under the trim and stung my bare hands. Unlike bees, wasps live to sting again, and again, so I skedaddled – fast - and slammed shut the screen doors behind me.
Spiders, wasps, and similar bugs have staked out hunting and nesting territory on the houseboat. Not a problem. I’m not fearful of bugs. Indeed, I’ve built their presence into my life even as I enjoy my early morning ritual circumnavigating the boat with feather duster to remove the overnight crop of spider webs.
Through the closed window I watched several wasps aggressively patrol the area. They appeared to mean mean business.
I retrieved a can of “safe” insect spray that a friend had left on the boat and, carefully, aimed the spray nozzle in the direction of the hidden nest.
Naturally, the wasps became more agitated.
Since then, I've remained shut up in my hot and stuffy houseboat and given up my plan to finish the trim during daylight. Perhaps tonight, when the wasps are cozily tucked into their nest, I’ll sneak up and spray them. After all, as poet John Lyly wrote, “The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war.”
Continuing the topic of environmental contamination, after two years away in South Africa, yesterday evening I participated in an online board meeting as a member of a community overseeing the federally mandated clean up of toxic waste of former Naval Air Station Alameda.
I’ve participated in this enterprise – the Restoration Advisory Board, RAB - since about 2003, taken great pleasure in doing so, and learned a massive amount about environmental contamination and the effort required to clean it up.
RABs are common around the nation. Many, many contaminated sites, from military bases to private and public businesses, have CERCLA (Superfund) site clean up overseen by community members.
Our community’s cleanup consists of a 2,806-acre area once a Navy installation located on the San Francisco Bay. Solid wastes generated at the site were disposed of in two on-base landfills as well as many sites with unanticipated chemical spills. All liquid industrial wastewaters generated at the site prior to 1974 were discharged untreated into a manmade lagoon and local inner harbor.
RABs are common around the nation. Many, many contaminated sites, from military bases to private and public businesses, have CERCLA (Superfund) site clean up overseen by community members.
Our community’s cleanup consists of a 2,806-acre area once a Navy installation located on the San Francisco Bay. Solid wastes generated at the site were disposed of in two on-base landfills as well as many sites with unanticipated chemical spills. All liquid industrial wastewaters generated at the site prior to 1974 were discharged untreated into a manmade lagoon and local inner harbor.
Since this base closed in 1997, about $1 billion has been spent on clean up and rehabilitation. And this NAS is only one of at least four similar sites, all former military bases on San Francisco Bay.
It was good to be back on the board. Moreover, with mixed emotion, we bade farewell to one member who’d been part of the planning of the base closure since 1995. Bert’s about to celebrate his 100th year of life – 26 years of which were spent serving on the RAB - and he’s decided to cut back on his many community serving activities.
Thanks for your many faithful years, Bert!
Week 72
Worldwide (Map)
August 12, 2021 – 204,965,350 confirmed infections; 4,328,770 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 1,888,565,400 confirmed infections; 4,061,275 deaths
US (Map)
August 12, 2021 – 36,198,200 confirmed infections; 618,520 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 33,952,000 confirmed infections; 608,120 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
August 12, 2021 – 2,554,300 confirmed infections; 75,775 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 2,236,800 confirmed infections; 65,595 deaths
Tracking coronavirus vaccinations around the world >>
MeidasTouch …Infrastructure… (1:13 mins)
The other county, edging the Bay and directly across from San Francisco, is Covid conscious with far fewer anti-vaxxers.
I’m heading back to that county and, for the next several months, these are my last few days living fulltime on my boat. As of Sunday, I return to the inner bay island city in which I have a condo. This, as I begin another stint of short-term work - after two years out of the workplace. I’ll also be back in cooler weather tempered by fog and bay breezes.
I’ll be back to ye olde 8 to 5 worker-bee slog and a long commute with thousands of other one-per-vehicle commuters – choosing to drive to work instead of my usual option, public transportation. It’s about the math: 1.5 to 1.75 hours getting to work via public transportation – bus, train – as opposed to 40 minutes by personal vehicle.
This will be the first time in years that I elect personal over public transportation – egged on by an additional advantage: not fretting about whether the person sitting next to me on public transportation has been vaccinated or is quietly spreading virulent coronavirus. I’m not overly cautious, but recent news about the efficacy of available vaccines against the Delta variant is worrisome.
I enjoy life.
It was good to be back on the board. Moreover, with mixed emotion, we bade farewell to one member who’d been part of the planning of the base closure since 1995. Bert’s about to celebrate his 100th year of life – 26 years of which were spent serving on the RAB - and he’s decided to cut back on his many community serving activities.
Thanks for your many faithful years, Bert!
Week 72
Day 506, Thursday, August 12 - Next phase
Worldwide (Map) August 12, 2021 – 204,965,350 confirmed infections; 4,328,770 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 1,888,565,400 confirmed infections; 4,061,275 deaths
US (Map)
August 12, 2021 – 36,198,200 confirmed infections; 618,520 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 33,952,000 confirmed infections; 608,120 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
August 12, 2021 – 2,554,300 confirmed infections; 75,775 deaths
July 15, 2021 – 2,236,800 confirmed infections; 65,595 deaths
Tracking coronavirus vaccinations around the world >>
News blues
Kids and Covid.The timing of the latest COVID-19 surge [in the US] isn’t great for children. Millions have already started the school year, the rest will do so in the coming weeks, and COVID-19 vaccines aren’t yet available.Read “Why Is It Taking So Long to Get Vaccines for Kids?”
Vaccine availability will not bring this pediatric outbreak to a halt. But it will help curb the spread of the virus for everyone, and give many families a better sense of how to plan for the future. Particularly for the 50 million Americans who haven’t reached their 12th birthday.
***
SA administered its nine-millionth Covid-19 vaccination on Wednesday, making a positive milestone in the country's battle to stem the coronavirus.Read more >>
But while this was an important victory, the number of new Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past 24 hours — 573, according to the health department and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases — is a reminder that the fight is far from over.
***
The Lincoln Project Back to school (0:30 mins) MeidasTouch …Infrastructure… (1:13 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Pacific north-west prepares for triple-digit temperatures just weeks after heat resulted in hundreds of deaths in region ... and, in Sicily, the highest recorded temperature, 48.8C /119.8F .***
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I reside in two different Bay Area counties, Contra Costa and Alameda. CCC, the county in which my houseboat is moored – and I’ve resided in for the past 2.5 months since returning from South Africa – has, for California, a high rate of Covid infections. This, because residents in certain parts of the county (including many marina residents) indulge the Trumpie mindset and hold confused and confusing ideas about “freedom” (freedom to avoid vaccinations and get Covid but Covid doesn’t really exist anyway, it’s all a Democrat Plan to take away our Freedom, Fauci works for Wuhan labs, Gates implants microchips via vaccines, etc., etc.). In other words, residents of this county hold mixed bags of ideologies, some of which promise to lead to infections. For health – and sanity - I maintain social distance with marina residents, ensure there’s lots of fresh air between us, never enter anyone’s boat, and take basic precautions to avoid infection.The other county, edging the Bay and directly across from San Francisco, is Covid conscious with far fewer anti-vaxxers.
I’m heading back to that county and, for the next several months, these are my last few days living fulltime on my boat. As of Sunday, I return to the inner bay island city in which I have a condo. This, as I begin another stint of short-term work - after two years out of the workplace. I’ll also be back in cooler weather tempered by fog and bay breezes.
I’ll be back to ye olde 8 to 5 worker-bee slog and a long commute with thousands of other one-per-vehicle commuters – choosing to drive to work instead of my usual option, public transportation. It’s about the math: 1.5 to 1.75 hours getting to work via public transportation – bus, train – as opposed to 40 minutes by personal vehicle.
This will be the first time in years that I elect personal over public transportation – egged on by an additional advantage: not fretting about whether the person sitting next to me on public transportation has been vaccinated or is quietly spreading virulent coronavirus. I’m not overly cautious, but recent news about the efficacy of available vaccines against the Delta variant is worrisome.
I enjoy life.
Why risk it?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC - a group of the world’s climate experts, formed in 1988 and charged with preparing comprehensive reports on the state of our knowledge of the climate, has stated – yet again – that only drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions starting yesterday, might prevent us from raising global temperatures to a disastrous extent.
Their sixth and latest assessment report,
Coronavirus is simply one more, albeit devastating, symptom of the disrespect with which too many of the world’s people treat our planet.
Yet, few elected and unelected officials and politicians have a handle on the coronavirus pandemic. Some are worse than others – through choice. Florida Governor DeSantis is among the worst. As he rakes in money for being a stubborn idiot Florida’s death toll increases by the day and DeSantis continues to scorn science and scientists in general and Dr Fauci in particular.
Then there’s US Senator Manchin, supporter and supportee of fossil fuels industries, saying, against all evidence, “Eliminating fossil fuels won’t help fight global heating… If anything, it would be worse.”
What to say?
What to do>?
Last Week in the Republican Party (latest), (1:40 mins)
Other sculptures around the world by this artist….
I finished up painting the exterior and roof of the houseboat and erected the 10 x 10-foot pop up canopy. Alas, after pushing up a foam mattress and cushion, binoculars, water, and reading matter, I spent only an hour under the canopy shade before heat drove me back inside. But the canopy is up. When the heat dies down – after 8pm or so – I’ll head back up under the canopy and enjoy the expanded view.
I worked hard on these projects, carried them out alone, and now can enjoy the fruits of my labor. If only the extreme heat and weather would play ball…
The Best Way to Keep Your Kids Safe from Delta? Get the adults in your community vaccinated.
Buckle up.
More importantly, get vaccinated….
Our quality of healthy life will nosedive. 
That news deflates…
Day 504, Tuesday, August 10 - Running out of time
News blues
Another formal recognition that those of us living on planet earth are running out of time to turn things around and avoid cataclysm.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC - a group of the world’s climate experts, formed in 1988 and charged with preparing comprehensive reports on the state of our knowledge of the climate, has stated – yet again – that only drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions starting yesterday, might prevent us from raising global temperatures to a disastrous extent.
Their sixth and latest assessment report,
addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.The dwindling number of people still lucky enough to live in environments that have not yet experienced extreme weather – and unlucky enough not to have to pay attention – might miss the what’s happening around the planet. The rest of us understand what’s going on but have no idea how to address it. Looking to neighbors is comforting (hopefully your neighbors will have your back when you need help). Looking to leaders and politicians is useless.
Coronavirus is simply one more, albeit devastating, symptom of the disrespect with which too many of the world’s people treat our planet.
Yet, few elected and unelected officials and politicians have a handle on the coronavirus pandemic. Some are worse than others – through choice. Florida Governor DeSantis is among the worst. As he rakes in money for being a stubborn idiot Florida’s death toll increases by the day and DeSantis continues to scorn science and scientists in general and Dr Fauci in particular.
Then there’s US Senator Manchin, supporter and supportee of fossil fuels industries, saying, against all evidence, “Eliminating fossil fuels won’t help fight global heating… If anything, it would be worse.”
What to say?
What to do>?
***
The Lincoln Project co-founder – and former Republican operative - Rick Wilson accuses GOP leaders of destroying America to entertain Fox News viewers, “This is how the world ends….”Last Week in the Republican Party (latest), (1:40 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
A look at the work of a favorite artist, Jason deCaires Taylor. recent in Cyprus.Other sculptures around the world by this artist….
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Suffocatingly hot again.I finished up painting the exterior and roof of the houseboat and erected the 10 x 10-foot pop up canopy. Alas, after pushing up a foam mattress and cushion, binoculars, water, and reading matter, I spent only an hour under the canopy shade before heat drove me back inside. But the canopy is up. When the heat dies down – after 8pm or so – I’ll head back up under the canopy and enjoy the expanded view.
I worked hard on these projects, carried them out alone, and now can enjoy the fruits of my labor. If only the extreme heat and weather would play ball…
Day 501, Saturday, August 7 - Doom sun
Throughout the summer, you might have looked to the skies and noticed that the Sun looked distinctly scarier than usual. Maybe it’s taken on dark shades of crimson and burnt orange not-too-unlike that of hellfire and scorched brimstone. It’s also typically accompanied by smoke and bad air. This is the dreaded “Doom Sun.”***
Day 500, Friday, August 6 - Smokin'
News blues
The surge in pediatric infections worries doctors as Delta makes a growing number of kids very sick. On the cusp of flu season, doctors say Covid's potential impact on kids is "beyond what flu would ever do."The Best Way to Keep Your Kids Safe from Delta? Get the adults in your community vaccinated.
***
Couple of weeks ago, I wrote of the Lambda variant. Sorry to say, it is heeeere….
First cases of COVID Lambda variant reported in north Louisiana Buckle up.
More importantly, get vaccinated….
***
The Lincoln Project, Last Week on the Republican Party (part 2) (1:28 mins) Healthy planet, anyone?
So much bad news. It’s time for some unexpected news – about birds. Gotta love ‘em.Hair from dogs, raccoons and even humans has been found in the nests of birds, which scientists believe makes the nests better insulated. For a long time, scientists assumed that birds had to collect hair that had been shed or scavenge it from mammal carcasses. However, a new study, published last week in the journal Ecology, shows that several species of bird, including chickadees and titmice, don’t just scavenge hair, they steal it.Read >> “Sneaky Thieves Steal Hair from Foxes, Raccoons, Dogs, Even You It’s simple: Mammals have hair or fur. Birds want it.”
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
I rose early to apply the first coat of roof paint to the houseboat. As I painted, I noticed the weather wasn’t conforming to the weather report. The day, instead of bright and sunny, appeared foggy or overcast. I continue to work until I’d applied the first coat then, bathed in sweat, I packed up the tools, cleaned the brushes, and made my way to the shower. After that, I consulted the online weather forecast. What I’d assumed was fog or low clouds was smoke from the fires burning around California. This time of the year, until now until mid to late October, the wind blows offshore. This means Californians will be subjected to smoke for the next several months.
Our quality of healthy life will nosedive. And the Air Quality Index (AQI) shows that. Earlier in the day, the AQI reached 187, then dropped to 157, then 107. (AQI increments by 50 so from 1 to 50 is classified “good”.)
Interestingly, as I write this, it’s at 93 - “moderate” - although in this area the smoke haze is actually thicker than an hour previous and the air smells of smoke.
I was out of the country last year when Californians hunkered down under vast clouds of thick smoke so it’s a new experience, not pleasant but the sign of the times…
That news deflates… and that's perfectly expressed by what was, two days ago, an astonishingly lovely blossom on my barrel cactus. Today? Deflated.
Not sure if this is its regular lifecycle – I’ve never seen it blossom before.)
Nevertheless, I’ve applied the first coat of roof paint. Tomorrow I plan to do the second coat. Smoke permitting.
It’s hard work … both to paint and to breathe.
Week 71
Worldwide (Map)
August 5, 2021 – 200,670,800 confirmed infections; 4,264,000 deaths
Vaccinated worldwide: 4,303,804,250
June 3, 2021 – 171,746,400 confirmed infections; 3,693,300 deaths
Vaccinated worldwide: 2,002,900,000
US (Map)
August 5, 2021 – 35,392,700 confirmed infections; 615,150 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 33,308,000 confirmed infections; 596,000 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
August 5, 2021 – 2,497,655 confirmed infections; 73,875 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 1,669,300 confirmed infections; 56,610 deaths
Trump’s North Carolina Speech in 70 Seconds (1:05 mins)
Scary.
Fires: The Dixie Fire is still uncontained after burning for several weeks and taking down towns .
Another, newer fire near Auburn in the Sierra foothills brought evacuees to share friends’ home in Grass Valley.
Even small Bradford Island in the Delta – population estimated at 15 to 20 individuals - was alight. Three residents were assisted by the fire district to evacuate via ferry boat.
It’s hard work … both to paint and to breathe.
Week 71
Day 499, Thursday, August 5 - Hyacinth as virus
 |
| As fog rose off the water, I captured drifting water hyacinth. |
 |
| Doesn't it look like illustrations of the coronavirus? |
Worldwide (Map)
August 5, 2021 – 200,670,800 confirmed infections; 4,264,000 deaths
Vaccinated worldwide: 4,303,804,250
June 3, 2021 – 171,746,400 confirmed infections; 3,693,300 deaths
Vaccinated worldwide: 2,002,900,000
US (Map)
August 5, 2021 – 35,392,700 confirmed infections; 615,150 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 33,308,000 confirmed infections; 596,000 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
August 5, 2021 – 2,497,655 confirmed infections; 73,875 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 1,669,300 confirmed infections; 56,610 deaths
***
The Lincoln Project, Made (0:55 mins)Trump’s North Carolina Speech in 70 Seconds (1:05 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
Fires, drought, and Covid plague California and the Pacific Northwest.Scary.
Fires: The Dixie Fire is still uncontained after burning for several weeks and taking down towns .
Another, newer fire near Auburn in the Sierra foothills brought evacuees to share friends’ home in Grass Valley.
Even small Bradford Island in the Delta – population estimated at 15 to 20 individuals - was alight. Three residents were assisted by the fire district to evacuate via ferry boat.
Bradford Island was flooded to put out a brush fire that started early Monday morning on what is a reclaimed peat wetland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.Drought: As irrigated crops compete with fish for scarce water, farmers in the Klamath Basin lose hope as drought closes in. ‘It’s like a sad country song’ and they lament they may be the last generation to work the land. >>
The fire was reported at about 1:30 a.m. on the 2,100-acre island, according to the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and prompted evacuations. As of 5 a.m. the fire had burned 212 acres and two structures, but no injuries were reported.
Covid:
Louisiana’s Attorney General Jeff Landry advises how to invoke the Bible to object to face masks in schools and encourages employees to undermine COVID restrictions.
I’d swept dust from the deck last night and this morning I schlepped up a hosepipe to wash the deck then I patched assorted cracks and holes. While waiting for this material to dry, I prepped other sections and, alas, had to destroy a nest of wasps ensconced in canvas. By the time I was ready to paint, the heat had blossomed, and it was just too hot to continue.
I’ll wait until late afternoon after the heat dissipates to continue.
Best lain plans of mice and (wo)man, etc., etc.
Background: The Sacramento Delta – ‘the Delta” - is California’s largest surface water source, supplying two-thirds of Californians with at least some portion of their drinking water. The state is going through what is expected to be the second driest two-year period on record. April, May and June were the warmest and driest on record since 1896.
Worldwide, more than 200 million people have been infected with COVID-19, more than 4.2 million people have died from the virus, a staggering figure that includes more than 614,000 Americans, 558,000 Brazilians and at least 425,000 people in India.And yet, in the US, particularly Florida, politicians continue an idiotic path. Florida’s governor chooses to squabble with the president instead of the virus…
…remember that those figures are only the known accounts of infections and deaths associated with COVID-19. Various studies have estimated that the true toll of the pandemic is much higher in some areas. In India, for example, experts suggest the official death toll could be one-half, one-fifth or even less than one-tenth of the actual figure, which may never be known.
It took about 12 months for the coronavirus to infect the first 100 million people worldwide; the next 100 million were infected in just a six-month time frame.
Read more >>
Louisiana’s Attorney General Jeff Landry advises how to invoke the Bible to object to face masks in schools and encourages employees to undermine COVID restrictions.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Based on a lower temperature forecast for today, I began, soon after sunrise, to patch the houseboat’s deck roof. I’d picked up materials while visiting the inner Bay and had my schedule neatly planned. Alas, 88F has the same effect on this human body as 98F: just too hot to tiptoe around with tools.I’d swept dust from the deck last night and this morning I schlepped up a hosepipe to wash the deck then I patched assorted cracks and holes. While waiting for this material to dry, I prepped other sections and, alas, had to destroy a nest of wasps ensconced in canvas. By the time I was ready to paint, the heat had blossomed, and it was just too hot to continue.
I’ll wait until late afternoon after the heat dissipates to continue.
Best lain plans of mice and (wo)man, etc., etc.
Day 498, Wednesday, August 4 - Seeing red
News blues
In the US, the summer COVID surge is predicted to get worse before it gets better. We the People can either take precautions and get vaccinated, or allow the surge to accelerate. Read >>Healthy planet, anyone?
With many of the world’s pollinator insects in decline, what does this mean for global food production? Just how much of the world’s food production is dependent on pollinators?***
Seeing red:- Why are patches of snow in the French alps taking on a garish red hue during the summer months?
- The red tide has been an issue on Florida’s coast since 2017. This year, hundreds of coastal sharks are sheltering in Florida canals to avoid it.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Departing my idyll on a relatively slow-moving tributary of the San Joaquin River to visit friends in the inner Bay Area, I noticed the next step in California regulators voting to restrict water access for thousands of California farmers amid severe drought.Background: The Sacramento Delta – ‘the Delta” - is California’s largest surface water source, supplying two-thirds of Californians with at least some portion of their drinking water. The state is going through what is expected to be the second driest two-year period on record. April, May and June were the warmest and driest on record since 1896.
The California State Water Board unanimously agreed to issue an emergency order that bans some farmers from diverting water from rivers and streams in the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds to irrigate their crops.Read more >>
Amid one of California’s worst droughts, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed has been suffering from low supply as demand continues to climb.
Under the new order, Californians who plan to divert more than 55 gallons per day from rivers or streams in this region must submit a petition and proposal to the state’s deputy director for approval. All water rights holders must also report their water use and submit a certification to comply with the new standards.
Any person, business or group that violates the order will be subject to possible penalties and fines. The water board said enforcement will be incremental and focused mainly on high-grade water violations that significantly impact water flow.
The order must be approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the Secretary of State before it becomes effective, according to a news release from the state water board. The regulations are expected to go into effect August 16.
Any water from the Delta earmarked for drinking must first be thoroughly de-contaminated. It’s a long way from potable. My mistake, when I moved onto the houseboat, was drinking water that came out of taps. A day later, I vomited outside my office at work, into the garden of the hospital emergency department. Naturally, emergency workers noticed – and brought me inside for diagnosis. Cure? Get a clue, girl and do not drink Delta water. Now I carry potable water into the boat and carefully monitor its use.
Moreover, I hope the water board monitors the effects of their diversion plans. Or I, and others, might end up living, not on houseboats, but on a tiny houses on deep mud.
Quelle horreur.
Not surprising. It’s a Covid-angst-provoking time….
Too many opinions, too much contradictory messaging from officials, and way too much deeper, thicker, stinkier … mulch… from The Whackidoodles. Take this Whackidoodle in Tennessee …
Meanwhile,
Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser and The Whackidoodles’ most-hated scientist, warns, ‘Things are going to get worse,’ and shares his COVID-19 Projections >>
How did it comes to this? The Delta variant is winning, for the moment, and the CDC’s coronavirus map shows that we’re failing to fight it >>
Some sanity from South Africa: Things to know about vaccines and Covid :
What not, indeed?
Background: with help, I attached the heavy 1983 15 HP Johnson/Evinrude outboard motor to the transom of the Sea Eagle inflatable. Alas, I had trouble starting the motor with the rope pull. Turns out the fellow that I hired to “service” – and check, replace if needed, the pull rope – instead simply greasing various joints after he - strong, healthy, young - easily started the motor.
Trustingly, I paid him… before he dashed off to Las Vegas… and after learning he couldn’t help attach the motor as he has “a bad back.”
I found someone else to help to attach the outboard. Even then, I wasn’t able to start the outboard. Instead, I switched out the gas/petrol-fueled Evinrude motor with a small, light and easy to manage, battery-powered electrical trolling outboard.
I hopped into the inflatable, pushed off from the pier, and… ran into weeds. Yes, I know there are weeds, after all I swim through these long stringy weeds every day. This babe in the water, however, never guessed a motor would be beaten those same weeds!
For, alas, the trolling motor cannot handle the long strands of water weeds that tangle in the propeller and prevent it from propelling.
Additionally, the outgoing tide simply carried away the inflatable. Trying to paddle with oars, I watched the houseboat until it was out of sight.
Invasives to the rescue! Tangling with invasives slowed the vessel as I entertained scary thoughts (carried willy nilly into fast water? arriving in San Francisco Bay … then under the Golden Gate Bridge …then into the ‘potato patch’ ?).
I noticed nearby a lovely boat with a large 120 HP outboard - and a trolling motor - piloted by two confident fishermen.
I called out, “Can you tow me home?”
I explained the weed/outboard/lack-of-experience experience. Generously, they towed me back home.
Back to square one.
A short while later, I noticed another, smaller Sea Eagle inflatable with a man, woman, and young girl aboard, struggling with their similar-sized trolling motor succumb to tangling weeds and outgoing tide. That family, too, was towed to a pier.
Babes on the water….
The reality? If I’m to enjoy the inflatable, I need to fix the rope pull.
You Tube to the rescue. As always, You Tube offers great, on the ground information. I found a detailed demo on how to replace the rope pull.
A new challenge. And, a name for the inflatable? The Challenger.
Week 71
Worldwide (Map)
July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 29,902,200 confirmed infections; 941,400 deaths)
US (Map)
Moreover, I hope the water board monitors the effects of their diversion plans. Or I, and others, might end up living, not on houseboats, but on a tiny houses on deep mud.
Quelle horreur.
Day 497, Tuesday, August 3 - Babes in the water
News blues
Vaxed, yet feeling The Covid Angst?Not surprising. It’s a Covid-angst-provoking time….
Too many opinions, too much contradictory messaging from officials, and way too much deeper, thicker, stinkier … mulch… from The Whackidoodles. Take this Whackidoodle in Tennessee …
Meanwhile,
Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser and The Whackidoodles’ most-hated scientist, warns, ‘Things are going to get worse,’ and shares his COVID-19 Projections >>
How did it comes to this? The Delta variant is winning, for the moment, and the CDC’s coronavirus map shows that we’re failing to fight it >>
Some sanity from South Africa: Things to know about vaccines and Covid :
- Vaccines will give you near-complete protection against severe illness and dying from Covid.
- Vaccines are safe. All vaccines used in the vaccination programme in South Africa have undergone extensive trials and have been proven to be effective and safe.
- The risk of serious side effects is similar to the chance of being struck by lightning, and side effects are treatable and generally go away on their own.
- It takes time for vaccines to start working well — usually about two weeks, and their working steadily improves after this.
- Vaccines differ in how well they protect against infection and mild Covid. Most vaccines will require at least two doses and provide good protection against severe illness from Covid two weeks after your first shot. Until you are fully vaccinated you should continue to take the same precautions as if you are unvaccinated.
Healthy planet, anyone?
As heavy rains and floods around the world displace people and those living in conflict zones – from Asia, Latin America and Africa (not to mention the “heat domes” over North America continent) – a Malawian farmer visiting the US wants to know: ‘Why not do more on the climate crisis?’ >>What not, indeed?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Even as I settle into my floaty life – my version of a tiny house and living gently on the planet – I rise to new challenges. The latest challenge suggest a parallel between babes in the woods and a babe on the water.Background: with help, I attached the heavy 1983 15 HP Johnson/Evinrude outboard motor to the transom of the Sea Eagle inflatable. Alas, I had trouble starting the motor with the rope pull. Turns out the fellow that I hired to “service” – and check, replace if needed, the pull rope – instead simply greasing various joints after he - strong, healthy, young - easily started the motor.
Trustingly, I paid him… before he dashed off to Las Vegas… and after learning he couldn’t help attach the motor as he has “a bad back.”
I found someone else to help to attach the outboard. Even then, I wasn’t able to start the outboard. Instead, I switched out the gas/petrol-fueled Evinrude motor with a small, light and easy to manage, battery-powered electrical trolling outboard.
I hopped into the inflatable, pushed off from the pier, and… ran into weeds. Yes, I know there are weeds, after all I swim through these long stringy weeds every day. This babe in the water, however, never guessed a motor would be beaten those same weeds!
For, alas, the trolling motor cannot handle the long strands of water weeds that tangle in the propeller and prevent it from propelling.
Additionally, the outgoing tide simply carried away the inflatable. Trying to paddle with oars, I watched the houseboat until it was out of sight.
Invasives to the rescue! Tangling with invasives slowed the vessel as I entertained scary thoughts (carried willy nilly into fast water? arriving in San Francisco Bay … then under the Golden Gate Bridge …then into the ‘potato patch’ ?).
I noticed nearby a lovely boat with a large 120 HP outboard - and a trolling motor - piloted by two confident fishermen.
I called out, “Can you tow me home?”
I explained the weed/outboard/lack-of-experience experience. Generously, they towed me back home.
Back to square one.
A short while later, I noticed another, smaller Sea Eagle inflatable with a man, woman, and young girl aboard, struggling with their similar-sized trolling motor succumb to tangling weeds and outgoing tide. That family, too, was towed to a pier.
Babes on the water….
The reality? If I’m to enjoy the inflatable, I need to fix the rope pull.
You Tube to the rescue. As always, You Tube offers great, on the ground information. I found a detailed demo on how to replace the rope pull.
A new challenge. And, a name for the inflatable? The Challenger.
Week 71
Day 492, Thursday, July 29 - Turning tables
Worldwide (Map) July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 29,902,200 confirmed infections; 941,400 deaths)
US (Map)
July 29, 2021 – 34,724,000 confirmed infections; 612,050 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 6,630,100 confirmed infections; 196,831 deaths
SA (Coronavirus portal)
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 653,445 confirmed infections; 15,705 deaths
LP chief breaks down at cruelty…
Rematch (0:58 mins>
I’ve been waiting out the heat – getting up early to work on the boat, siesta-ing during maximum heat, finding enjoyment as the day wanes and cooler temps prevail. But productive years of my life are flitting away. Can’t go on this way….
SA (Coronavirus portal)
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 653,445 confirmed infections; 15,705 deaths
News blues
There’s a new trend beginning: no more BS about “freedom” and “rights” to not get a vaccination… As idiotic Republican congress people continue to whine about masks it looks like commonsense is resurging. Let’s hope so, anyway….***
The US is giving 5.66 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines to South Africa, the US embassy in Pretoria has announced. Half of them will arrive by plane on Sunday and the other half on Tuesday.Read >>
The acting US ambassador to SA, Todd Haskell, explained this was part of President Joe Biden’s promise to give 500 million vaccines to the world by the end of 2022.
The vaccines will be channelled to South Africa through Covax, the international aid initiative to try to ensure that low- and middle-income countries are not left behind in the global effort to vaccinate against Covid-19.
Haskell said the 5.66 million vaccines for South Africa would be the largest donation of Covid-19 vaccines to a single country by the US. The second-largest would be four million to Nigeria.
***
The Lincoln Project Heroes (0:57 mins) LP chief breaks down at cruelty…
Rematch (0:58 mins>
Healthy planet, anyone?
Photos: the week in wildlife >>***
Three Americans create enough carbon emissions to kill one person, study finds Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
More heat. It’s been unrelenting heat since I returned to my houseboat in California. Sure, I take time to hunker down in friends’ air con homes, but no air con on my boat. My small fan doesn’t cut it as an effective cooler. And, no, I do not intend to buy a portable air con system. The reality for millions of us, in California and beyond, is that climate change is here to stay (at least for the remainder of my lifetime). Temperatures unhealthy-for-humans are now part of life.I’ve been waiting out the heat – getting up early to work on the boat, siesta-ing during maximum heat, finding enjoyment as the day wanes and cooler temps prevail. But productive years of my life are flitting away. Can’t go on this way….
***
So, Prez Biden suggests $100 to each vax-hesitator who overcomes his/her hesitation and accepts a jab. We shall see.
California offered $50 to anyone getting the jab after April or May.
I had intended to be vaccinated asap after re-entry to US. The day after I returned, I did exactly that. At the local grocery store. Vaccinations are available almost everywhere.
Soon after my second dose and quarantine ended, I was sent a congratulatory text with a one time code that, supposedly, would allow me to claim my $50 within 65 days. I’ve tried several times and – no go. The online site will not accept my code. I followed directions and contacted the help line. I was shuffled from one human filter to the next, each passing me to someone who was promised to help. No dice. The final person – fourth person and 55 minutes later – said someone else would call me “within 3 days.” I’m still waiting. So, my advice to the $100 bribe-for-vax folks? Don’t hold your breath.
The irony? I didn’t get vaxed to get $50, but now I’m determined – well, sort of – to harass the system until it does what it promised.
Fifty more days to go.
California offered $50 to anyone getting the jab after April or May.
I had intended to be vaccinated asap after re-entry to US. The day after I returned, I did exactly that. At the local grocery store. Vaccinations are available almost everywhere.
Soon after my second dose and quarantine ended, I was sent a congratulatory text with a one time code that, supposedly, would allow me to claim my $50 within 65 days. I’ve tried several times and – no go. The online site will not accept my code. I followed directions and contacted the help line. I was shuffled from one human filter to the next, each passing me to someone who was promised to help. No dice. The final person – fourth person and 55 minutes later – said someone else would call me “within 3 days.” I’m still waiting. So, my advice to the $100 bribe-for-vax folks? Don’t hold your breath.
The irony? I didn’t get vaxed to get $50, but now I’m determined – well, sort of – to harass the system until it does what it promised.
Fifty more days to go.
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