Please! No more!

News blues

Last week, a new variant reported from southern France. (Scroll to “WHO downplays French variant”.)  
This week? Deltacron: 

A new variant of COVID-19 with 10 mutations from Omicron and genetic background similar to the Delta has reportedly been detected in the small European country of Cyprus. Dubbed ‘Deltacron’ by the researchers, the new COVID-19 variant has been found to have infected 25 people in the country until now. 

Read more >>

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How do key COVID-19 metrics compare to previous waves? Our World in Data presents interactive charts to view comparisons. Sobering info at your fingertips >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Dagger  (0:55 mins)
Last year in the Republican Party  (2:17 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

A murmuration of starlings at sunset in Rome, Italy.

Between 1 and 4 million starlings come to Rome during their annual migration every winter 

Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images 

© Guardian News: Week in wildlife pictures 

Our fragile world: photo essay >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Monday. A day to catch up on pressing chores. .. more pressing now that I’ve actually managed to contact a South African travel agent. Alas, the area towards which I’m heading continues to suffer torrential rain.
The good news?
California beginning to experience slighter longer daylight.
Bay Area, California:
Sunrise: 7:24am
Sunset: 5:09pm
California on track for spring  – at least a minute more daylight each day over the last few days.
Fiat lux! (“let there be light”.)
Every minute counts…
Howick, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:10am
Sunset: 7:03pm

Rain continues...   

Pesky numbers

Worldwide (Map) 
December 22, 2021 – 277,088,800 confirmed infections; 5,376,100 deaths
Over last 28 days: 17,480,000 confirmed infections; 202,000 deaths
Total doses of vaccine administered: 8,798,205,750

US (Map) 
December 22, 2021 – 51,537,000 confirmed infections; 812,100 deaths
Over last 28 days: 3,323,525 confirmed infections; 35,185 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
December 22, 2021 – 3,353,110 confirmed infections; 90,587 deaths
Over last 28 days: 383,250 confirmed infections; 855 deaths

News blues

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new forecast that estimates the Omicron variant is already the dominant variant in the U.S.
New York state posted an all-time record of new Covid cases. Over the last weeks, new cases have climbed in the Northeast and Midwest. The nation’s Delta wave isn’t over and an Omicron wave has just begun. Read more >> 
Cleveland-area hospitals put ad in local Cleveland Plain-Dealer stating, “HELP”, in response to the latest Covid-19 health crisis exploding in Northern Ohio. The ad continued:

“We need your help. W now have more Covid-19 patients n our hospitals than ever before. And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated. This is preventable.

Read more >> 

Yet, in Japan, numbers of new Covid infections plummet. Why? No one knows.  
And in South Africa’s Gauteng province – the epicenter of that country’s infections – Covid cases appear to have peaked with the impact of surging infections less severe than previous waves.
Read more >> 

How to make sense of the case and hospitalization data as Omicron takes off. Both metrics are important, but all of our data doesn’t matter if we don’t do anything with it.

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Dr Sanjay Gupta breaks down how Omicron variant compares to other variants  (3:50 mins)

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The Lincoln Project:
Corporate Accountability  (0:53 mins)
Santa Trump  (0:30 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The U.S. is gently discouraging states from building new highways A recent urges states to fix roads before constructing new ones, and to consider climate-friendly projects like bike lanes. 

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Raining in the Bay Area. Forecast calls for more rain over the next several days. I’m not complaining about the rain (took a walk along the foggy, damp beach anyway) but the tedium of Omicron-forced isolation can overwhelm.
Today’s baking obsession? Baked custard with sherry syrup.
My upper left arm – site of the booster shot – has been sore although that’s passing.

Winter solstice - San Francisco Bay Area:
Sunrise: 7:21am
Sunset: 4:54pm
Rain, rain, rain….

Summer solstice - Howick, South Africa:
Sunrise: 4:57am
Sunset: 6:59pm
Rain, rain, rain….