Finished and klaar?*

Worldwide (Map) 
February 2, 2023 – 671,115,152 confirmed infections; 6,836,400 deaths
February 3, 2022 - 386,005,000 confirmed infections; 5,704,100 deaths
February 4, 2021 – 104,367,000 confirmed infections; 2,268,000 deaths

US (Map) 
February 2, 2023 – 102,468,581 confirmed infections; 1,109,745 deaths
February 3, 2022 - 386,005,000 confirmed infections; 5,704,100 deaths
February 4, 2021 – 104,367,000 confirmed infections; 2,268,000 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
February 2, 2023 – 4,056,201 confirmed infections; 102,595 deaths
February 3, 2022 - 3,613,000 confirmed infections; 95,465 deaths
February 4, 2021 - 1,463,016 confirmed infections; 45,344 deaths

Post from:
February 3, 2022 - “Culture shock” 
February 3, 2021 – “Mutant variants” 

* "Finished and klaar" means finished and finished in English and Afrikaans. In other words, more than finished, double finished!

News blues…

According to the Biden administration, Covid’s ravages upon our planet will be over in May – at least here in the US (and where else counts? [cynical jab at America’s assumed preeminence]. Specifically,

The Biden administration will end the Covid-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, the White House said Monday in a major step meant to signal that the crisis era of the pandemic is over.
The move would restructure the federal government’s coronavirus response and unwind a sprawling set of flexibilities put in place nearly three years ago that paved the way for free Covid treatments and tests. The White House disclosed its plan in response to two House Republican measures aimed at immediately ending the emergencies, calling those proposals “a grave disservice to the American people.”

Woo hoo! (Let’s hope someone tells those pesky mutating viruses.) 

Read more >> 

***

On war… and culture war
Loss and resilience: Photos from a year of war in Ukraine >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Default  (0:47 mins)
Nikki Haley  (0:30 mins)
Elise knew  (0:55 mins)
RNC chaos  (1:40 mins)
Competition  (0:25 mins)
Who is The Lincoln Project? Last week in the Republican Party – January 24, 2023  (1:26 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party – January 31, 2023  (2:08 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

After decades of being killed for their fur, then because considered “nuisances”, beavers are now sought after as flood control engineers.
Take a quick tour of beavers, nature's engineers, making a comeback in UK >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Life goes on. Meso Mary prepares to begin immunotherapy – Yervoy and Opdivo – with her first session on February 9. 

Nervous? Yes, but so far undeterred. Me, too.

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:11am
Sunset: 5:33pm
More rain predicted...
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:29am
Sunset: 6:55pm
More rain predicted...

 

Is that spring in the air?

Worldwide (Map) 
January 26, 2023 – 669,818,916confirmed infections; 6,820,465 deaths
January 27, 2022 - 363,582,100 confirmed infections; 5,630,850 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 100,920,100 confirmed infections; 2,175,500 deaths

US (Map) 
January 26, 2023 – 102,254,233 confirmed infections; 1,107,466 deaths
January 27, 2022 -   72,991,900 confirmed infections;     876,800 deaths
January 28, 2021 –  25,600,000 confirmed infections;    429,160 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
January 20, 2023 - 4,054,803confirmed infections; 102,595 deaths
January 27, 2022 - 3,590,400 confirmed infections;    94,495 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 1,430,650 confirmed infections;   42,550 deaths

Post from:
January 27, 2022 - “Turn, turn, turn ” 
January 28, 2021 – “Anniversary” 

News blues…

It turns out that early waves of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza peaked before the new year, according to new data from the [US] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the expected winter uptick of coronavirus is nowhere close to overwhelming hospitals, as it did in 2021 when covid wards were filled with unvaccinated people struggling to breathe and last winter when the highly transmissible omicron variant ignited a massive wave of illness.

Read more >> 

***

XBB.1.5 is a spinoff of XBB, a subvariant of omicron that health officials worldwide have been warning about since the fall. XBB.1.5 is considered a recombinant virus because it carries genetic data from two previous mutations, Nexstar’s The Hill reports. XBB was first detected in India in August and spread quickly through Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization. At the time, the WHO described XBB as “the most antibody-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variant identified to date.”
Since first being discovered, XBB has evolved and now has two subvariants, XBB.1 and XBB.1.5. XBB.1.5 differs from its family members because it has a mutation that allows it to better bind to cells, Andrew Pekosz, a virologist for Johns Hopkins University, told CNBC. That ability to bind gives it a better chance of infecting people.
Earlier this month, XBB.1.5 began sweeping through the Northeast. As of Thursday, the CDC reports the variant makes up roughly 82% of cases in New England, New York, and New Jersey. It’s now becoming more prevalent across states along the East Coast.

Read more >> 

***

The [US] Food and Drug Administration is considering a major shift in the nation's COVID-19 vaccine strategy.
The goal is to simplify vaccination against COVID and perhaps adopt an approach similar to what is used for the flu vaccine, with annual updates to match whatever strain of the virus is circulating. This is according to a federal official who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
NPR reported the proposed shift early Monday morning, and later Monday the FDA outlined it publicly in a set of documents released in advance of a meeting Thursday of the agency's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC). The committee will vote on the agency's proposal. Currently, people who want to be fully vaccinated against COVID have to first get their primary vaccinations — two shots of the original vaccine spaced weeks apart. That's followed at least two months later by a booster, currently the bivalent shot that's tailored to protect against omicron.
Under the new approach, most people would be advised to simply get whatever the latest version of the vaccine is annually each fall like the flu vaccine. They wouldn't have to worry about how many shots they've already gotten and which one they got when. Those who still need to receive two doses initially, such as young children and older people, would use the same formulation for all three shots.

Read more >> 

About 80% of China’s population has been infected with Covid-19 since restrictions were lifted in early December, Chinese health authorities have said.
The figure, which would equate to about 1.2 billion people but cannot be confirmed by outside bodies, prompted some pandemic experts to estimate that more than 1 million may have died – far more than the government’s official tally of about 72,000.

Read more >> 

On war… and culture war
A diversion from the usual…
In an out of the way area of South Africa, near the Orange River, lies the growing town of Orania. This “homeland for Whites” offers a way of life to predominantly Afrikaner people “far from the madding crowd.”
Check out with cultural anomaly presented in this 16 minute video show >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Still here  (0:50 mins)
MTG and McCarthy  (1:35 mins)
The way I handle things  (0:29 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party – January 24, 2023  (1:50 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

There’s …

a murky brown sheen sitting on the surface of the South African city’s harbour, where brilliantly white yachts worth millions of rand float in water contaminated with human excrement.
“We all call it Shit Creek,” said Brad Groddler, 50, a boat captain who takes tourists out for whale-watching and fishing trips.
Ever since deadly floods in April last year damaged an already ailing sewage and water system, millions of litres of untreated sewage have spilled into the beaches, rivers, harbours and ocean in and around Durban.
Between April and December many of the city’s beaches – which usually draw hundreds of thousands of tourists for the southern hemisphere’s summer – were closed after critical levels of E coli, a bacteria that can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and fever, were found in the water.
Nine months after the floods, environmental scientists say contamination is still a big problem.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Here in California, we’re experiencing promising signs of spring on the way: sunshine, people out and about enjoying that sunshine, warmer temperatures, and teeny tiny buds of greenery in trees and plants.
I say, enjoy this while we can!

Here comes the sun

Worldwide (Map) 
January 20, 2023 – 668,465,287 confirmed infections; 6,736,686 deaths
January 20, 2022 – 317,486,000 confirmed infections; 5,516,000 deaths
January 21, 2021 –  96,830,000 confirmed infections;  2,074,000 deaths

US (Map) 
January 20, 2023 – 101,964,661confirmed infections;  1,103,724 deaths
January 20, 2022 – 338,550,400 confirmed infections; 5,568,100 deaths
January 21, 2021 – 24,450,000 confirmed infections:     406,100 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
January 20, 2023 - 4,053,527 confirmed infections; 102,568 deaths
January 20, 2022 – 3,564,600 confirmed infections;  93,571 deaths 

January 21, 2021 – 1,370,000 confirmed infections;  38,900 deaths

Post from:
January 20, 2022 - “Plus ça change” 
January 21, 2021 – “The vulgarian has left the building” 

News blues…

COVID is never going away. But the pandemic will inevitably end at some point. Right?
For many, it already has, with masks, social distancing, and frequent handwashing relegated to a traumatic past they’re unwilling to revisit.
[Recently] the Biden administration extended the U.S. public health emergency for another 90 days, though U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials recently warned states that the emergency status may soon come to an end. World Health Organization officials, too, continue to express optimism that the global health emergency may draw to a close this year. A committee meeting on the matter is set for Jan. 27.
Are we—or are we not—still in a pandemic, three years in?

Read “COVID keeps surging, but life is returning to normal everywhere you look. When will the pandemic really be over?” 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Decision  (1:20 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Look on the bright side: We the People face unprecedented weather …and this ground squirrel is doing its best to warn us to, "for god's sake, do something about climate change"…

***

The United States endured 18 separate disasters in 2022 whose damages exceeded $1 billion, with the total coming to $165 billion, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
… Extreme weather events, fueled by human-caused climate change, are occurring at a higher frequency with an increased cost — in dollars and lives.
"Climate change is creating more and more intense, extreme events that cause significant damage and often sets off cascading hazards like intense drought, followed by devastating wildfires, followed by dangerous flooding and mudslides," said Dr. Rick Spinrad, NOAA's administrator, citing the flooding and landslides currently happening in California.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

As it did yesterday morning, a large, shiny golden orb appeared in the eastern section of the sky this morning. I assume it will disappear, as it did yesterday, in the western section of the sky at the end of day. I’ve not seen this golden orb for weeks. It is very welcome.

***

Reading the tealeaves, Meso Mary is in for a rough ride. Her latest PET scan shows “hypermetabolic” activity “under the diaphragm”. Translated: the cancer has spread outside the thoracic cavity (her lung pleura) and into her “belly.” Moreover, it has entered the lymph system.
This is scary stuff. 

As Mary – and I – absorb this news, we’re also preparing for the next phase of her treatment: immunotherapy.
Immunotherapy has successfully treated mesothelioma in some patients – at least for a period of time. Mesothelioma, however, is not curable. It goes underground for a period then flares up again. Immunotherapy can create longer periods between resurgence of the disease. That’s not to be sneezed at.
The downside of immunotherapy? The immune system can ‘over-react’ and ‘attack’ organs it assumes are ill or inflamed … leading to damaged liver, or kidneys, or adrenals, or heart, or ….
Alas.
Neither Mary nor I will, as we’d planned, travel to South Africa at the end of this month. Indeed, given the treatment’s expected course, we’ll not travel there until at least August.

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:29am
Sunset: 5:10pm
Sun... welcome, sun!
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:18am
Sunset: 7:01pm

Bogged down

Worldwide (Map) 
January 12, 2023 – 665,599,815 confirmed infections; 6,714,255 deaths
January 13, 2022 – 317,486,000 confirmed infections; 5,516,000 deaths
January 14, 2021 –  92,314,000 confirmed infections; 1,977,900 deaths

US (Map) 
January 12, 2023 – 101,511,950 confirmed infections; 1,098,512 deeaths
January 13, 2022 –  63,232,340 confirmed infections;   844,650 deaths
January 14, 2021 –  23,071,100 confirmed infections;  384,635 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
January 12, 2023 - 4,050,290 confirmed infections; 102,568 deaths
January 13, 2022 – 3,540,900 confirmed infections;  92,830 deaths 

January 14, 2021 – 1,278,305 confirmed infections;  35,140 deaths

Post from January 13, 2022 - “The beat goes on…” 

News blues…

Four weeks ago, the XBB.1.5 variant caused less than 10% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Now it causes more than 25% of them. Virologists including Andy Pekosz, a professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, are paying attention. Should the general public be concerned?
The Bloomberg School of Public Health provided this Q&A with Pekosz to help explain what virologists are seeing, what this new variant means for case rates and treatments, and why it’s so important for more people to get the bivalent booster.

Read “What you need to know about XBB.1.5, Omicron’s latest variant” >> 

People who haven't had COVID will likely catch XBB.1.5 – and many will get reinfected, experts say.
Variant XBB.1.5 is very contagious, meaning everyone is at risk even if you've already been infected. As the U.S. enters year 3 of the pandemic, here's an update on the state of COVID.
Read more >>

COVID-19 is more widespread in animals than we thought. From lions and tigers to big hairy armadillos, a growing number of animals have been infected with the coronavirus. 

Here’s what we’ve learned >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Warning  (1:11 mins)
What has violence ever accomplished? (0:30 mins)

Presidential Citizens Medal Ceremony  (2:07 mins)
Kingmaker  (1:25 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - January 10, 2023 (2:13 mins)
Last year in the Republican Party - January 6, 2023 (2:20 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

To bee or not to bee?
The USDA has issued a conditional vaccine license as its “first licensure of a honeybee product.”
“We hope the availability of this product will aid in the prevention and/or treatment of the disease American Foulbrood in honeybees given their central role in American agriculture (e.g. pollination),” said the USDA.
Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Raining, raining, raining…. My part of California – inner bay – is soggy, floody in some spots, hosting fallen trees, but essentially doing well in comparison to many other areas of this state. It is cold and wet: a weather combination that makes one feel truly bogged down. And more rain forecast for the coming week. 

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:24am
Sunset: 5:10pm
More rain, rain, rain….
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:11am
Sunset: 7:03pm
More rain, rain, rain….

Meanwhile...

Worldwide (Map) 
January 5, 2023 - 662,096,600 confirmed infections; 7,507,700 deaths
January 6, 2022 – 298,194,650 confirmed infections; 5,468,100 deaths
January 6, 2021 – 87,157,000 confirmed infections; 1,882,100 deaths

US (Map) 
January 5, 2023 - 101,043,100 confirmed infections; 1,095,225 deaths
January 6, 2022 – 57,826,000 confirmed infections; 823,359 deaths January 6, 2021 – 21,294,100 confirmed infections; 361,100 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
January 5, 2023 - 4,049,460 confirmed infections; 102,568 deaths
January 6, 2022 – 3,494,700 confirmed infections; 91,561 deaths January 6, 2021 – 1,150,000 confirmed infections; 30,525 deathsbr />
Post from:
January 6, 2022 – “Enough already!” 
January 6, 2021 – “Over-the-top whackidoodle-itude” 

News blues…

US Congress is at a standstill. It appears there’s no way to move beyond the whacky shenanigans of the whackidoodles. No Speaker of the House of Representatives – after at least 9 sessions of voting for a Speaker – and still no one and nothing accomplished!
Meanwhile…

… [recently] the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 variant dashboard revealed a new dark horse that could soon sweep the field: XBB.1.5.
The CDC estimates that XBB.1.5 has more than doubled its share of the Covid-19 pie each week for the last four, rising from about 4% to 41% of new infections over the month of December. In the Northeast, the CDC estimates, XBB.1.5 is causing 75% of new cases.
“For a few months now, we haven’t seen a variant that’s taken off at that speed,” said Pavitra Roychoudhury, director of Covid-19 sequencing at the University of Washington School of Medicine’s virology lab.

Read “Omicron offshoot XBB.1.5 could drive new Covid-19 surge in US” 

***

Is China’s data ‘under-representing’ the true impact of its Covid outbreak?

The UN agency released data provided by the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a day after WHO officials met Chinese scientists. China has been reporting daily Covid deaths in single figures.
“We believe that the current numbers being published from China under-represent the true impact of the disease in terms of hospital admissions, in terms of ICU admissions, and particularly in terms of deaths.”
China has recorded only 22 Covid deaths since December and has dramatically narrowed the criteria for classifying such fatalities, meaning that Beijing’s own statistics about the unprecedented wave are now widely seen as not reflecting reality.

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
McCarthy (v)  (1:00 mins)
MAGA vs. MAGA  (0:56 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

On the eve of her second PET scan, Mary (diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma) got word that the PET scan equipment was out of order so her appointment had been rescheduled. It went from Wednesday January 4 to Friday, 13th.
Recall Mary had surgery on July 14 last year and proceeded to and completed her first set of 4 chemotherapy treatments on November 17. The results of her follow up CT scan on Dec 14 were troubling enough (no clear indication “nodules” were gone) that a follow up PET scan was ordered for January 4.
Now, we wait some more….
Meanwhile…
California is amid continuing flooding from yet another “atmospheric river” – with more on the way.

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:24am
Sunset: 5:04pm
More rain, rain, rain….

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:05am
Sunset: 7:03pm
More rain, rain, rain….

With all the rain, I continue to send letters with photos to local KZN road works departments to ensure the disastrous flooding the occurred December 29 does not happen again this year as the rains continue.
Getting effective action is like peeing into the wind: all that happens is more flooding.

Soggy new year 2023

News blues…

…A pandemic has long been known to be far riskier for global security than conventional, nuclear or chemical warfare, said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health law at Georgetown University and a leading expert in global health.

Read “As COVID turns 3, experts worry where the next pandemic will come from – and if we'll be ready” >> 

***

Public health experts are concerned for omicron’s new subvariant XBB with one study suggesting the strain is resistant to Covid-19 boosters from prior infections. NBC News’ Valerie Castro has more on whether the U.S. is looking at another surge as hospitals are already overwhelmed with RSV and flu cases.
Read more >> 

No country has a perfect COVID-vaccination rate, even this far into the pandemic, but America’s record is particularly dismal. About a third of Americans—more than a hundred million people—have yet to get their initial shots. You can find anti-vaxxers in every corner of the country. But by far the single group of adults most likely to be unvaccinated is Republicans: 37 percent of Republicans are still unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, compared with 9 percent of Democrats. Fourteen of the 15 states with the lowest vaccination rates voted for Donald Trump in 2020. (The other is Georgia.)

Read “How Many Republicans Died Because the GOP Turned Against Vaccines? Party leaders are unquestionably complicit in the premature deaths of their own supporters.” >> 

***

On war… and culture war
American comedian David Letterman interview Ukrainian comedian – and president – Volodymyr Zelenskyy . A touching interview well worth watching >>  (44:00 mins)
Note: More and more Russians are logging onto and reading this blog. If you are Russian, I hope you enjoy it. My pleasure to provide hard-to-get information about the war to you in Russia.

Healthy planet, anyone?

We aim to encourage a healthy planet. We understand, however that our aim and worldview has formidable foes. Take, for example, the tobacco industry and its tie to mesothelioma.

It’s hard to think of anything more reckless than adding a deadly carcinogen to a product that already causes cancer—and then bragging about the health benefits. Yet that’s precisely what Lorillard Tobacco did 60 years ago when it introduced Kent cigarettes, whose patented ‘Micronite” filter contained a particularly virulent form of asbestos.
Smokers puffed their way through 13 billion Kents between March 1952 and May 1956, when Lorillard changed the filter design. Six decades later, the legal fallout continues—just last month, a Florida jury awarded more than $3.5 million in damages to a former Kent smoker stricken with mesothelioma, an extremely rare and deadly asbestos-related cancer that typically shows up decades after the initial exposures.

Read “Remember When Big Tobacco Sold Asbestos as the “Greatest Health Protection”?” >> 
More on asbestos cigarette filters >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Along with torrential rain in Kwa Zulu Natal and California - dramatic flooding here, there, and everywhere – I stepped outside today for a quick walk in the park before the next deluge. Alas, I discovered trees along the park entrance toppled over sometime overnight. This includes a most spectacular and my favorite buckeye. No more walking up to this lovely tree and whispering how beautiful it is and how much I appreciate its glorious candelabra blossoms. 

So sad.

 

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:24am
Sunset: 5:01pm
More rain, rain, rain….

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:03am
Sunset: 7:02pm
More rain, rain, rain….

oh oh!

Worldwide (Map) 
December 29, 2022 - 659,290,487 confirmed infections; 6,685,590 deaths
December 30, 2021 – 284,807,650 confirmed infections; 5,425,550 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map) 
December 29, 2022 - 100,588,312 confirmed infections; 1,091,522 deaths
December 30, 2021 – 53,659,715 confirmed infections; 823,120 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 29, 2022 - 4,048,580 confirmed infections; 102,568 deaths
December 30, 2021 – 3,433,555 confirmed infections; 90,935 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Post from:
December 30, 2021 – “Auld lang syne” 

December 30, 2020 - “TGIO” 

News blues…

Current US joke:

Why is Covid better than Southwest airlines? 

Because it’s airborne!

(This, in response to Southwest airlines cancelling thousands of flights across the US.)
 

***

Not a joke:
“As Covid-19 Continues to Spread, So Does Misinformation About It. Doctors are exasperated by the persistence of false and misleading claims about the virus :

As Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths rise in parts of the country, myths and misleading narratives continue to evolve and spread, exasperating overburdened doctors and evading content moderators.
What began in 2020 as rumors that cast doubt on the existence or seriousness of Covid quickly evolved into often outlandish claims about dangerous technology lurking in masks and the supposed miracle cures from unproven drugs, like ivermectin. Last year’s vaccine rollout fueled another wave of unfounded alarm. Now, in addition to all the claims still being bandied about, there are consiracy theories about the long-term effects of the treatments, researchers say.

Read more >> 

***

Depressing Covid news:
China
China’s hospitals were already overcrowded, underfunded and inadequately staffed in the best of times. But now with Covid spreading freely for the first time in China, the medical system is being pushed to its limits. 

Read more >> 

Could the COVID-19 surge in China unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world?
Scientists don’t know but worry that might happen. It could be similar to omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say.
“China has a population that is very large and there’s limited immunity. And that seems to be the setting in which we may see an explosion of a new variant,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University. 

And…

The Biden administration is weighing new precautionary measures for travelers entering the U.S. from China, according to American officials, as sales of air tickets out of China soared following Beijing’s decision to reopen its borders to international travel for the first time in almost three years.

Read more >> 

UK
UK hit by fifth Covid wave this year as cases shoot up by 20 per cent in a week. While Covid levels will be higher than for most of the pandemic in the next few weeks they will still be some way short of the previous record, set in July, experts predict.
Read more >> 

India

India has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travelers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, the federal health minister said.
Passengers from those countries would be put under quarantine if they showed symptoms of COVID-19 or tested positive, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on Saturday, as he posted photographs of tests being conducted at the international airport in the capital, New Delhi.

Read more >> 

***

On war… and culture war
Ukraine war photo essay >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

Photo essay to remind us what we might lose unless we get out conservation act together. (And “we” here means ALL of us, not just a few; ALL OF US.)  

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I remain in California rather than having returned to South Africa, as planned. Here, we’ve had lots of rain, aka an “atmospheric river”  and the “pineapple express”. I’m not complaining about rain. We need it here and winter is the time for rainfall in California. (Luckily, I reside near the beach on San Francisco Bay and I’ve had no trouble with flooding as have some regions of coastal California.)
Southern hemisphere South Africa gets it monsoonal rainfall in summer (that is, now) beginning around October. This year, Kwa Zulu Natal is experiencing excessive thunderstorms, hailstorms, and rainfall. (As it did last year, alas!)
SA is 10 hours ahead of CA. Today, I awoke to a pinging cell phone. Two video clips had been sent from my late mother’s domestic worker about the SA house. The videos chilled my blood: the garden and the house’s lower flat have been completely flooded. The garden at the bottom of the property built on a slope culminates in a shallow valley with a lovely stream. This is not the first time the area has flooded but it is the first time I’ve seen it so completely flooded. Eyeballing it from rainy California I’d judge the water at least six to seven foot deep...and at least one foot deep in lower apartment.

Take a look:

Panic stations!
I immediately called KZN's local head of road works department who told me “It is end of the work day here and we cannot do anything until tomorrow.”

Alas, it’s not the first time I’ve worked with KZN's roads department folks. Unfortunately, they arrive with heavy equipment totally unsuited to the needs of the job. Both culverts must be cleared out, and regularly maintained so that water can can drain under the road and into a marsh area on the other side.  Moreover, silt and debris must be regularly cleared from the dirt road "gutters" so that this material does not drop into the house side of the stream. It's as clear as day that this is a good solution. It is a solution that the roads work team refuses to implement in any consistent fashion. 
I aslo notified the local Democratic Alliance councilor who has been terrifically helpful in the past. (The corrupt ANC has been outvoted in our district – largely due to ANC councilors’ complete lack of responsiveness.) 
My past dealings with roads works department and description of ongoing drainage problems with mindblowing photos:
From 2022, “More of the same”  and “Mortality rate backlog” 
From 2021, “Fishy” 
From 2019, “Fact or fake” 
It is NOT as if this problem has not been tackled in the past. It IS as if this problem has been tackled ineptly and incompetently in the past.
Now, from 14,000 miles away, I must figure out how to get competent assistance fast and get an insurance adjuster in to evaluate the downstairs damage and to pay out so I can get the damage fixed AND get the @#$#$#$# roads department people to DO THEIR JOBS FOR WHICH I PAY EXHORBITANT PROPERTY TAX.
‘nuf said!

… rain expected to continue through this AND next week in KZN and in California.
Groan!

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:24am
Sunset: 4:58pm
     Rain, rain, rain….

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:01am
Sunset: 7:02pm
    Rain, rain, rain….

Chillax!

The Lincoln Project:
Biden Christmas address (2:20 mins)

United!

Worldwide (Map) 
December 22, 2022 – 655,145,823 confirmed infections; 6,671,946 deaths
December 22, 2021 – 277,088,800 confirmed infections; 5,376,100 deaths
December 24, 2020 – 78,674,530 confirmed infections; 1,730,000 deaths

US (Map) 
December 22, 2022 – 100,183,071 confirmed infections; 1,089,327deaths
December 22, 2021 – 51,537,000 confirmed infections; 812,100 deaths
December 24, 2020 – 18,455,660 confirmed infections; 326,100 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 22, 2022 – 4,046,986 confirmed infections; 102,568 deaths
December 22, 2021 – 3,353,110 confirmed infections; 90,587 deaths
December 24, 2020 – 974,260 confirmed infections; 25,660 deaths

Post from:
December 24, 2021 – “Pesky numbers"
December 24, 2020 – “Holiday madness" 

News blues…

Covid levels surge in San Francisco Bay Area wastewater. Is the next surge here?

What are the symptoms of an infection with BQ.1 and BQ.1.1? 

***

Cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening clinics on Tuesday as authorities reported five more deaths and international concern grew about Beijing's surprise decision to let the virus run free.

Read “China races to bolster health system as COVID surge sparks global concern” >>

***

A raging epidemic in China could be bad news for controlling the virus in the U.S., he and other experts said, because travelers will arrive sick and the chances of mutation increase anytime a virus infects a lot of people.

Read “COVID-19 is about to explode in China. What that could mean for the United States?” 

***

On war… and culture war
Ukraine President Zelensky arrives at the White House where he participates in a press conference with President Biden then addresses US Congress. 

***

The Lincoln Project:

We are united (Zelensky in US Congress) (2:00 mins)

Two meetings, a world of difference for democracy (0:45 mins) 
Uh oh, Donald  (0:44 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - December 20, 2022 (2:15 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - December 18, 2022  (2:57 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Way back in 1976, I visited the Dead Sea and floated in the ultra salty water. There was not much there then, few tourist amenities and fewer tourists. Today, the Dead Sea is dying. Beautiful, ominous photos show the impact as its water level drops and big sinkholes swallow whole tracts of land around it. 

Learn why this disaster is unfolding at the Middle East's iconic salt lake >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

As mentioned in the previous post, Mary and I had read the results of her recent scan but could not accurately decipher results. That is, the results we deciphered described several “areas of concern” – potentially active nodules. How could that be?
A discussion with the oncologist confirmed our fears: either the chemo had failed to flush what nodules remained after surgery or scar tissue in the lung affected/hid what was apparent. Of particular concern was a vascular bundle associated with lymph nodes behind the sternum. The oncologist had already contacted the surgeon and discussed the possibility of further surgical intervention in that area. His response? Too sensitive an area with too many blood vessels – also the reason he’d not addressed the area during initial surgery. And I suspect, the reason why he’d re-staged Mary’s diagnosis from Stage 2 to Stage 3 A.
What to do?
Inconclusive.
Next step?
Learn more with another PET scan.
That’s scheduled for Jan 4, 2023.
How to medically address the situation if, indeed, the chemo was insufficient to dissuade further growth?
Immunotherapy is an option.
Groan.

***

Given Meso Mary’s toxic contamination and my concern, these days I am hyperalert to all things asbestos and mesothelioma related. Here’s a view of the future, for India and Indians.
India banned asbestos mining in 1993, when the government stopped reissuing licenses, but it imports more of the toxic mineral than any other country. In 2021, India accounted for 44% of global imports, a 29% increase over 2020. Russia and Brazil are its key sources.
In India, “there’s almost no home or car that isn’t being built with asbestos as an ingredient…”

“The government is basically saying that Indian asbestos is poisonous, but Brazilian or Russian asbestos is not,” says Gopal Krishna, an occupational health researcher and founder of the Ban Asbestos Network of India. “It makes no sense.” India’s unmatched scale of exposure to asbestos means that in the coming decades more than 6 million people could have an asbestos-related disease, including more than 600,000 cancer cases, according to research published by Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). “It’s a ticking timebomb,” says Abhijeet Vasant Jadhav, lead author of the research. Asbestos is used in everything from cement to brake parts, says Krishna. “There’s almost no home or car in India that isn’t being built with asbestos as an ingredient. We are all exposed to it.”

Read “'We are all exposed to it’: the human face of India’s asbestos timebomb. Experts say country’s vulnerability to asbestos-related diseases is putting the health of millions of people at risk” >> 

***

Winter solstice and the US is cold!. The Bay Area is not as cold as many, most, areas across the US but it is still cold.
The good news? While it will be cold, even colder next month, we’re on the upswing. Spring is in the cards!

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:21am
Sunset: 4:54pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 4:56am
Sunset: 6:59pm

Scanned

Worldwide (Map) 
December 15, 2022 – 650,987,530 confirmed infections; 6,658,200 deaths
December 16, 2021 – 272,521,350 confirmed infections; 5,333,815 deaths
December 17, 2020 - 73,557,500 confirmed infections; 1,637,100 deaths

US (Map) 
December 15, 2022 - 99,629,185 confirmed infections; 1,085,900 deaths
December 16, 2021 – 50,408,000 confirmed infections; 802,770 deaths
December 17, 2020 – 16,724,775 confirmed infections; 303,900 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 15, 2022 - 4,045,475 confirmed infections; 102,550 deaths
December 16, 2021 – 3,231,100 confirmed infections; 90,226 deaths
December 17, 2020 – 873,680 confirmed infections; 23,665 deaths
Posts from:
December 16, 2021 – “Reconciliation” 
December 17, 2020 – “What can go wrong…” 

News blues…

Telltale signs of a ‘tripledemic’: “with flu, RSV and Covid-19 all swirling, hospitals and health care systems are approaching capacity as millions still refuse to get vaccinated >> 

***

State health officials are warning people that time is running out to get vaccinated before gathering with family over the holidays as Covid-19 cases surge nationwide alongside unseasonably severe waves of flu and respiratory syncytial virus.
The guidance comes after two excruciating holiday seasons that sent Covid-19 cases and deaths skyrocketing. And it underscores the ongoing struggle of public health officials at the state and federal level to get Americans vaccinated against the flu and Covid.

Read “‘The situation in the hospitals is grim’: States face brutal virus fallout” >> 

***

The spread of Covid-19 in China is now “impossible” to track, the country’s health authorities have said, announcing they have stopped recording asymptomatic cases in their daily tallies.
The admission comes amid soaring presentations to hospitals and clinics as Covid-19 spreads rapidly through the population in the wake of the sudden removal of strict pandemic measures. Authorities have urged people not to seek emergency healthcare unless necessary, and announced the rollout of second boosters to elderly and vulnerable people.
China’s government abruptly ended the long-running and strict zero-Covid policy last week, rolling back measures including travel restrictions and lockdowns. Health authorities also ended the mass testing drives and compulsory regular testing which were pillars of the policy. As a result, official daily reports have become an increasingly inaccurate measure of the outbreak.

Read “China says spread of Covid ‘impossible’ to track as infections soar in Beijing” >> 

***

A study released Tuesday by the Commonwealth Fund shows that in [the past] two years, the Covid vaccines have averted over 3 million deaths in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 1 million Americans have died from Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic. But the study results show the toll would have been even worse had the U.S. had relied upon so-called natural immunity acquired through infection as the only immunological defense against the virus. Without vaccines, the country would have experienced four times as many deaths, 1.5 times more infections, and 3.8 times more hospitalizations in the time since December of 2020. The vaccines also saved the U.S. $1 trillion in additional medical costs.
The study’s key message is that vaccines are “worth our money as taxpayers,” said Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, an associate professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University, who was not involved in the study. “We pay for the vaccination campaign and it works. It saves us money and it saves lives.”

Read “Covid vaccines averted 3 million deaths in U.S., according to new study” >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

Jane Goodall tells it like it is!

Environmental activist and primatologist Jane Goodall still believes Donald Trump essentially acts like a male chimpanzee.
Goodall first made the observation in 2016, during Trump's first presidential campaign, and told MSNBC's Ari Melber … that the former president still displayed the aggressive tendencies of the primate species….

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Base CT scan completed. Mary and I bussed to the scan department, half an hour before appointment time, as requested, filled in the inevitable forms and Mary drank the 2 cups of water required to filter scan “ink” medium from her system. Then, the scan. Then out of door…before her actual 10 o’clock appointment… indeed, back in the bus by 10. That’s service we appreciate!
Additionally, we received the scan results two hours later. Since neither of us can read/understand the results presented, we wait until Friday to review with the oncologist.
Waiting. We hate waiting under these conditions. Particularly as nothing on the scan results appear clearly to states that Mary is free of malignancy; the opposite, in fact.
Groan.
Mary has, however, expressed a “total lack of interest in yet another dose of chemo this year.”

***

The weather is cold here along the SF Bay. (It’s colder even 25 minutes away from the bay.) The waterfowl, however, are plentiful, beautiful, and a pleasure to watch.
TGFWF. (thank gods for waterfowl.)

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:17am
Sunset: 4:51pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 4:53am
Sunset: 6:55pm

It's baaack!

Worldwide (Map) 
December 8, 2022 – 647,326,420 confirmed infections; 6,647,910 deaths
December 10, 2020 – 68,849,000 confirmed infections; 1,568,750 deaths

US (Map) 
December 8, 2022 – 99,269,100 confirmed infections; 1,083,645 deaths
December 10 – 15,385,00 confirmed infections; 289,500 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 8, 2022 - 4,043,545 confirmed infections; 102,465 deaths
December 10 – 829,600 confirmed infections; 22,580 deaths

Post from
December 9, 2021, 2021 “Year 3 of the Covid Era” 
December 10, 2020, “Wear a mask” 

News blues…

Covid appeared to go underground for the summer and fall – at least in the SF Bay Area. Now it’s reappearing, along with ‘flu and RSV - Respiratory syncytial virus, a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
My Covid-cautious “bubble” of friends and acquaintances avoided Thanksgiving meal get-togethers this year as several close friends were infected prior to the holiday. Thankfully, all are well again.

***

On war… and culture war

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is this year’s 2022 Person of the Year.
Read more >> 

Illustration by Neil Jamieson for TIME
Source Images: Getty Images (12); Ivanchuk: Lena Mucha—The New York Times/Redux;
Kondratova: Kristina Pashkina—UNICEF; Kutkov:
Courtesy Oleg Kutkov; Nott: Annabel Moeller—David Nott Foundation;
Payevska: Evgeniy Maloletka—AP

***

The Lincoln Project:
Trump Against The Constitution(1:10 mins)
It begins again  (0:58 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - December 6, 2022  (2:12 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Infinite waste in boundless seas – a photo essay >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Been on hiatus … taking care of a friend. Meso Mary finished her 4th and last session of this first round of chemo. While each session was progressively more intense, the last session was the worst. Indeed, Mary has still not recovered to the point she was before she began that last session. 

It has been tough, perhaps made worse by the cold and wet weather. Who, after all, wants to step outside, wrapped up in winter woolies while feeling – and being – nauseous? Certainly not Mary, nor me accompanying her if she's not so inclined. 
Next step: CT scan to ascertain the results of the four session of intense chemotherapy.  The downside? CT scans only detect active malignancies that are at least one centimeter in size. This scan will act as a baseline to inform the next scan and the next stage of mesothelioma.

***

The good news? California and the SF Bay Area have benefitted from the rain. Not too much, not too little; just the right amount, so far. 

The worry is that, as has happened for the past several years, we have rain in December then it stops and there’s no more rain. Here’s hopin’ that’s not this year’s pattern.

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:12am
Sunset: 4:49pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 4:51am
Sunset: 6:51pm

Veterans Day 2022

Worldwide (Map) 
November 10, 2022 – 634,056,770 confirmed infections; 6.60.235 deaths
November 10, 2021 – 251,624,400 confirmed infections; 5,076,300 deaths
November 12, 2020 – 52,070,000 confirmed infections; 1,274,000 deaths

US (Map) 
November 10, 2022 - 97.961.940 confirmed infections; 1,074,300 deaths
November 10, 2021 – 46,793,200 confirmed infections; 759,100 deaths
November 12, 2020 – 10,258,100 confirmed infections; 239,700 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
November 10, 2022 - 4,031,625 confirmed infections; 102,365 deaths
November 10, 2021 – 2,924,625 confirmed infections; 89,435 deaths
November 12, 2020 – 740,255 confirmed infections; 19,951 deaths

Post from:
November 11, 2021 “Veterans Day” 
November 11, 2020, “Veterans Day” 

News blues…

An uptick in sore throats, coughs, and fevers are telltale signs that flu season has arrived in the United States. But this fall, those common symptoms might be a sign of something more sinister: Public health experts warn we are likely facing a "tripledemic," the convergence of flu, COVID-19, and the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

Donald Trump v. Marco Rubio  (1:20 mins)
Who we are (1:55 mins)
The Red Mirage  (1:00 mins)
Never (0:30 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Pumpkin pollution? Tossing jack-o-lanterns in landfills generates harmful methane gas. There's a better way to get a second life out of your decorative gourds. 

Read more >> 

***

COP 27 is on the go. Here’s my view of COP 26 from November 13 last year >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It’s been a long week. Long. Cold. Rainy.
The good news: one more chemo session to go. Next week, Thursday. Then a few days of malaise before Mary bounces back. 

More good news: Mary has a date for the post chemo CT scan. December 14. A day or so later we will know the results of four sessions of chemo. That is, we will know the results that the CT scan can capture. The reality of mesothelioma is there are always microscopic “nodules” – read malignancies – ready to blossom that, to all intents and purposes, do not meet the scan's "eye". That is, according to her oncologist, scans can only capture the signs of new growth when that new growth reaches about a centimeter in size.

It's what you can't see that'll kill ya!

New vistas in reality

Worldwide (Map) 
November 5, 2022 – 631,240,410 confirmed infections; 6,594,475 deaths
November 4, 2021 –248,312,000 confirmed infections; 5,026,000 deaths
November 5, 2020 – 48,136,225 confirmed infections; 1,225,915 deaths

US (Map) 
November 5, 2022 - 97,610,630 confirmed infections; 1,071,630 deaths
November 4, 2021 – 46,261,150 confirmed infections; 750,580 deaths 

November 5, 2020– 9,487,470 confirmed infections; 237,730 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
November 5, 2022 - 4,028,655 confirmed infections; 102,312 deaths
November 4, 2021 – 2,922,800 confirmed infections; 89,220 deaths
November 5, 2020– 730,500 confirmed infections; 19,585 deaths

Post from:
November 4, 2021, “What a difference…” 

5 November, 2020, “Counting Chickens Thursday” 

On war… and culture war
Crowdfunding campaigns have been powering the Ukrainian military since the early days of the war.

The fundraising appeal for the armoured vehicles – tagline “Grab them all” – had only been launched …[hoping] that the $5.5m (£4.8m) required for the major purchase would be secured within a week.
Within nine hours, half of the funds had been pledged by donors, ranging from private individuals to big Ukrainian corporations and smaller high street firms, such as the bedding company World of Mattresses.
[T]here was no need to continue pumping out the calls for cash, and the social media memes that had made much of the conceit of the coming battle between Spartans and Persians, a wry nod to the Iranian kamikaze drones that have been plaguing Ukrainian cities in recent months.

Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

President Biden speaks on democracy (2:15 mins)
Time for a change  (0:55 mins)
Denial (0:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Despite a pledge to reduce use of plastics, a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme revealed that some companies – including Coca-Cola KO.N and Pepsi – are using more virgin plastic than ever and are almost certain to miss a target to make plastic packaging more sustainable by 2025.

The headline pledge was that 100% of plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, but this goal will “almost certainly be missed by most organisations”, the environmental group’s report said. Nestle said these targets were hampered by a lack of government recycling infrastructure globally, noting that it had reduced the amount of virgin plastic it uses by 8% since 2018.
Mars said it is making progress in tackling plastic waste and investing hundreds of millions of dollars to redesign thousands of packaging components.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola did not respond to requests for comment.
Greenpeace said the report is evidence that voluntary corporate targets have failed and called on the U.N. to forge a treaty that forces governments and companies to use less single-use plastic packaging.
“This underlines the need for governments to ensure that the global plastic treaty … delivers major reductions in plastic production and use.”

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Mary is making a slow but sure comeback. The reality of mesothelioma and its long-term consequences in her life are slowly sinking in.
“It’s five months since my diagnosis, surgery, and first foray into chemo. It’s rough. I thought I’d sail through and come out smarter and stronger. Now? I’m done with chemo session 3, awaiting chemo session 4, and I’m not sure I can do this for the rest of my abbreviated life.”
Mary has been blessed with good health all her life. I remind her that she can cope with this as she’s coped with other obstacles in her life. She agrees and adds, “But let me feel out this new direction. It’s not something I ever thought I’d deal with. I’m disappointed in myself but I’m also trying to face a reality that’s, well, very real.”
She’s right.
All I can do is support her.

Flu season

News blues

Covid has not disappeared “like a miracle” (as predicted by The Donald during his disastrous term). It’s no longer getting much attention, despite the approaching winter months in the US and the confluence of winter flu.

COVID-19 infections have run into an early flu season and an usual surge of respiratory infections in young children to create what some experts are calling a “tripledemic.”
Northeastern University experts explain what is behind the triple whammy, why it’s hitting now— and why next year might not be as bad.
“I think it’s going to be a rough winter,” says Brandon Dionne, associate clinical professor at Northeastern University’s School of Pharmacy. “There’s lots of factors at play.”
But chief among them is what experts are calling the “immunity gap,” the lack of regular exposure to viruses that helps rebuild the body’s immune response to individual viruses.
“People were taking all these precautions in the past few years that were really mitigating the spread of all respiratory viruses,” Dionne says.

Read more >> 
Buckle up. Get boosted.

***

The Lincoln Project:
Country over Party (0:57 mins)
Hell, no  (1:20 mins)
DJ Trump - Texas remix  (0:55 mins)
De Santis or Trump (1:02 mins)
Pelosi attack  (1:00 mins)
Election Denier Tudor Dixon (1:00 mins)
Finchem (1:10 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - November 1, 2022  (2:12 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It’s been a rough few days post chemo. Mary stayed in bed from Saturday afternoon until today. She was feeling better yesterday but not well enough to spend much time away from bed. Falling over was replaced by “mere” feelings of light-headedness followed by needing to sit down. All accompanied by muscles spasms in her back. These latter likely associated with lack of exercise.
What to do but ride it out?

Never a dull moment

On war…
Ukrainians use phone app to alert military about incoming drone and missile attacks.

Ukraine has been subject to months of deadly long-range missile strikes, but the attacks have stepped up in the past month as Russia has fired hundreds of cheap, Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones into cities and at Ukraine’s infrastructure.
…
A simple mobile phone app has been developed by Ukrainian volunteers to allow civilians to report sightings of incoming Russian drones and missiles – and, it is hoped, increase the proportion shot down before they hit the ground.
The app, ePPO, relies on a phone’s GPS and compass, and a user only has to point their device in the direction of the incoming object and press a single button for it to send a location report to the country’s military.

Read more >>

***

The Lincoln Project:
Answer the question, Ron (0:50 mins)
Large Marge  (0:58 mins)
Funding Fascism  (0:57 mins)
House of Horrors  (0:56 mins)
Lip lickin’ liar  (0:40 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - October 25, 2022  (2:05 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Does the photo below not appear to show two exhausted swimmers taking a well-earned rest against an iceberg? Or perhaps a Jason deCaires Taylor  sculpture?
Rather, it is nature doing its thing in the far away ocean. Imagine all the other amazing natural feats we landlocked humans miss each moment.

 See more amazing photos >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Chemotherapy session three down the hatch. Well, almost. It’s all over but for the recovery from the session – including yet more drugs, this time to counter nausea. Mary returned from her post-chemo acupuncture session – to address nausea, too – and will lie low for the rest of the day. Best to not push too hard two days after poisons have been infused through one’s system.
The recent session followed the usual protocols although with the addition of infused Emend anti-nausea drug, instead of taking the pill form of Zyprexa. This change added extra time to the session. During the hours of 9am to 2pm, Mary took in more than 5 liters of liquid, from water to Emend to water and pemetrexed to water and cisplatin and yet more water to finish off. By the time she departed the oncology clinic water retention made her puffy from forehead to toes. Today, she’s still puffy though less than yesterday. Now she must contend with nausea.
Moreover, she must continue to imbibe at least two liters of water each day to ensure her kidneys continue to flush the poisonous meds.
Mesothelioma: never a dull moment.
The good news? Only one more session to go – at least that’s what we’re expecting. The post chemo sessions scan will confirm that (or not). Then, she’s free until the next scan in 6 months to track any resurgence.

Troublesome

News blues

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned about a pair of "pretty troublesome" Covid variants — omicron descendants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 — as the U.S. braces for a winter surge. 

Read more >> 

And,

People who reported experiencing side effects to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines such as fever, chills or muscle pain tended to have a greater antibody response following vaccination, according to new research.
Having such symptoms after vaccination is associated with greater antibody responses compared with having only pain or rash at the injection site or no symptoms at all….
“In conclusion, these findings support reframing postvaccination symptoms as signals of vaccine effectiveness and reinforce guidelines for vaccine boosters in older adults,”

Read more >> 

A team of scientists affiliated with Duke University found that ivermectin does not meaningfully improve the recovery of people with mild to moderate Covid.
“These findings do not support the use of ivermectin in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19,” they concluded.
The FDA has warned people against taking the tablets for anything other than their approved use.
Read more >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:
Tyranny  (0:57 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

On plastics and the myth of recyclable plastics

Just 5% of plastic products are recycled in America and many common items just aren’t able to be recycled at all, according to a damning new study released by Greenpeace USA.
The study estimates the U.S. produced about 51 million tons of plastic waste in 2021, but just 2.4 million tons of that was reprocessed.
The data compiled by Greenpeace is even more bleak than that released by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018. The government estimated at the time just 9% of all plastics had been recycled that year, with the remaining 91% winding up in landfills. (At the time much of the country’s plastic was shipped to China and considered recycled, even if it was dumped in a landfill anyways).
Shockingly, the research said no type of plastic packaging in America met the threshold needed to be considered “recyclable” promoted….

Read more >> 

Recycling plastic waste fails for a variety of reasons that Greenpeace boils down to: the impossibility of collection and sorting, the environmental toxicity, synthetic compositions and contamination, and a lack of economic feasibility.
There are thousands of different types of plastics with different compositions that cannot be recycled together, let alone sorted. Plastic recycling facilities are likely to catch on fire because plastic is flammable, and living near one poses a huge health risk—take Turkey, which became a new plastic waste export destination after China banned imports and saw an influx of EU waste expose workers and communities to new health risks. Plastics can also absorb toxic chemicals, further complicating recycling efforts and increasing their toxicity. On top of all this, recycled plastic costs more than new plastic because of the aforementioned factors encouraging companies to simply make more instead of pursuing alternatives.

Read more >> 

***

More than four months after devastating monsoon floods began in Pakistan, at least 1,500 people have died, and the waters that inundated nearly the entire country have yet to recede. This ongoing emergency is causing illness and communicable disease to spread, and these effects are likely to be much more deadly than the initial catastrophe. “The public health risks are worse, and the death toll could be much higher”....

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Another foray into battling mesothelioma. Today, Mary's trip to the blood lab begins her third chemo session – and, we hope, her second to last treatment of this round. Why “this round”? Well, the unpleasant truth is, to date, there is no cure for mesothelioma. The asbestos fibers that stimulate, aka cause, the disease never are dissuaded: they simply regenerate. This, because indiscernible microfibers are ready, willing, and able to regrow. It’s the job of the patient and her medical team to stay ahread of new growth. This means that after this round of four sessions of chemo, Mary will undergo a scan to judge the chemo sessions’ effectiveness. If all appears clear in the scan, Mary will be free of scans for the next six months. If anything appears suspicious in the scan, the medical team will suggest next steps.
So, today, blood tests ascertain that Mary’s system is up to the task of another round. If any element of her blood suggests she’s above or below desired “measurements” the chemo session will be delayed until her blood levels are more “workable.” To date, Mary “feels fine” and is preparing for another several days of feeling under par.

“At least my chemo sessions are every three weeks. This gives me enough time to recover between bouts. And I do recover. Yes, my lung/chest feels wooden but I have full movement of my left arm. Indeed, I can almost forget the dire disease and prognosis for … well, minutes… at a time.” At that she chuckles warily and wearily and adds, “Perhaps one of these days, it’ll be forgetfulness for half-hourly bouts of time.”
I can attest to Mary’s fortitude. Yesterday, together, we added a layer of bottom shelves to a set of wooden shelves on my patio. Mary was an active  participant in adding this new layer that will house small pots of newly propagated succulents. We’ve added several more rarer-than-usual-for-us cacti and succulents. In general, our philosophy for such plants is “don’t pay money for what’s readily available.” Problem with that philosophy? Some cacti – for examples, Rebutia  - native to Bolivia and Argentina, and Lithops,  native to South Africa and Namibia. These beautiful plants are not, alas, not “readily available” except by purchase.

Relax, it's Sunday

News blues

Interesting information, from discovering Omicron to how data is and is not used, from Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health >> 

***

On war…
Six months of war in Ukraine: photos >> 

***

The Lincoln Project:

We've been warning you (0:45 mins)
Daddy  (0:57 mins)
Puppies  (0:58 mins)
Doug Mastriano Threatens American Democracy  (1:15 mins)
Val Demings owns Marco Rubio  (1:58 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Just chuggin' along. Mary undergoes another session of chemo next Thursday. We feel and we hope that we are slightly better prepared with two sessions behind us. Moreover, Mary video conferenced with her oncologist last week and they agreed on another strategy to address potential nausea associated with her falling over post-chemo last time around. 

Here’s hopin’ this new strategy will improve Mary's pace of healing.

Her oncologist also confirmed with Mary that, as of now we’re expecting two more chemo sessions. That is, she’s half way through this round of chemo. After the fourth and last session mid-November Mary will undergo another scan – likely a CT scan – to evaluate the chemo’s effects and create a baseline to evaluate future resurgences of growth of mesothelioma malignancies.

Want to know more about mesothelioma and surgeries that address it? Link to a recent webinar with the surgeon who performed the P/D on Mary’s left lung >> 

***

SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:26am
Sunset: 6:20pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:12am
Sunset: 6:13pm