Happy end of May

News blues

Can you reduce your risk of getting long Covid if you are infected? Yes, you can. Here’s how >> 

A new, massive 23andMe survey reveals who may be at the highest risk for long COVID >> 

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The World Health Organization's governing board agreed to form a new committee to help speed up its response to health emergencies like COVID-19 >> 

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On war

A bank of photos of the war in Ukraine >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Stupid  (0:57 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Conservation can work. Take the wild animals of Europe, for example. Despite the odds against them, they’re making a comeback >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Bus to work … work, work, work … bus back home. Walk, walk, walk… it’s cool and breezy out along the bay. Lovely!

Not easy

News blues

With America in a pandemic lull, communities across the country are choosing to shut down COVID testing and vaccination sites, even as experts warn that another wave could be on the horizon. 

Read more >> 

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Shanghai, China’s financial hub of 25 million people, has quickly become the epicenter of China's worst coronavirus outbreak, posting its highest-ever daily caseload this week.
Read more >> 

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On War:
Tens of thousands gather in London to show solidarity with Ukraine >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Be not afraid (1:53 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Even prior to his words shared here, Senate Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse would have made as good a president of the US as anyone in the political class, certainly better than 99.9 percent of that class. He’ll never get the chance. Alas, his views on US climate policy are good, including his opinion that, to date, US climate action has been ‘a calamity’ >> 

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Amory Lovins, nicknamed the “Einstein of energy efficiency”, and adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, has been one of the world’s leading advocates and innovators of energy conservation for 50 years. He wrote his first paper on climate change while at Oxford in 1968, and in 1976 he offered Jimmy Carter’s government a blueprint for how to triple energy efficiency and get off oil and coal within 40 years. He says,

“Solar and wind are now the cheapest bulk power sources in 91% of the world, and the UN’s International Energy Agency (IEA) expects renewables to generate 90% of all new power in the coming years. The energy revolution has happened. Sorry if you missed it.”
But just as with the 1970s oil shocks, the problem today is not where to find energy but how to use it better. The answer, he says, is what he calls “integrative, or whole-system, design,” a way to employ orthodox engineering to achieve radically more energy-efficient results by changing the design logic.

Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Same old, same old.
Up and at ‘em.
Trying to kick back on this so-called Day of Rest.
Not easy to do.
Alas.

Tired!

News blues

Covid in the UK:

Swab tests suggest about one in every 16 people is infected, as the contagious Omicron variant BA.2 continues to spread.
That's just under 4.3 million people, up from 3.3 million the week before.
The figures for the week ending 19 March, are thought to give the most accurate reflection of what's happening with the virus in the community.

Read more >>

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On War:
The Times' Marcus Yam, no stranger to war photography, gives a first-person account from Ukraine >> 

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Meidas Touch
Republicans exposed as traitors  (1:33 mins)
Ted Cruz gets HUMILIATED during Confirmation Hearing  (3:33 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

It is inevitable, but still creepy:

Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.
The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and microplastics now contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in, and they have been found in the faeces of babies and adults.
The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.

Read “Microplastics found in human blood for first time. Exclusive: The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs” >> 

Abandon hope, all ye who read here: “UN ocean treaty summit collapses as states accused of dragging out talks. Conservationists despair at ‘glacial pace’ of negotiations to protect wildlife and oversee fishing amid high seas’ ‘governance vacuum’”

And, if that’s not enough to worry about, a new investigation by Consumer Reports describes dangerous chemicals found in food wrappers at major fast-food restaurants and grocery chains. Fast-food wrappers and takeout containers at major food chains contain dangerous chemicals known as PFAS.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Tired, tired, tired. 
Tired of painting. 
Tired of clearing pool and pool filter of bamboo and avocado leaves. 
Tired of prepping rental property. 
Tired of being tired.
The good news is the local lap swimming pool is open again, and has been for a week. Truth is, I’m too tired to swim. 
Now that’s tired!

The beat goes on

Funny signs from © Happy Land 

Worldwide (Map) 

March 24, 2022 - 475,487,400 confirmed infections; 6,104,200 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 124,894,200 confirmed infections; 2,746,000 deaths

US (Map) 
March 24, 2022 - 79,844,400 confirmed infections; 974,830 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 30,011,600 confirmed infections; 545,300 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
March 24, 2022 - 3,705,700 confirmed infections; 99,895 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 1,540,010, confirmed infections; 52,372 deaths

 
Note:
The US has still not reached the 1 millionth confirmed deaths rate. A feat indeed.
South Africa hovers on 100,000 confirmed deaths. 

Unfortunately, ‘confirmed’ numbers do not reflect anything near actual numbers. It is likely the world will never know numbers of confirmed infections and deaths from Covid-19.
Post from one year ago, “One down, one to go?” >> 

News blues

President Ramaphosa updated South Africans on current Covid—19 situation  and the (slight) changes to Level 1 restrictions. (15:50 mins)
Editorial note: skip to about 8:00 mins for the nitty gritty on changes.
And… the pushback…

The high force of SARS-CoV-2 infections in SA, and the 300,000 excess deaths that have been mostly attributed to Covid-19, is indicative of the failure of the government-enforced regulations to prevent significant numbers of infections in South Africa.
These regulations, such as lockdown strategies, limits on gatherings, curfews, social distancing and mask mandates, at best drew out the initial period over which roughly the same number of infections would have occurred.

Read more >> 

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The World Health Organization (WHO) says several European countries lifted their coronavirus restrictions too soon. The result? Sharp rises in infections probably linked to the new, more transmissible BA2 subvariant.
Read more >> 

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Covid-19 cases are rising again in Europe. They’re outright exploding across much of Asia. The United States, however, is in a Covid lull, having just come down from the winter’s omicron outbreak.
It’s an uneasy time. On one hand, it’s likely the worst of the pandemic is over, at least in terms of severe illness and death. But on the other hand, we have to ask: Do these upticks in the rest of the world foreshadow America’s future?

Read more >> 

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South Korea struggles as Covid-19 cases top 10 million - nearly 20% of its population - and crematoria and funeral homes are overwhelmed. 

Read more >> 

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On War:
More than 10 million displaced. Photos from Ukraine >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Kid Rock  (1:13 mins)
Josh Mandel: Ohioans or Trump?  (o:46 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party - March 23  (1:50 mins)
Bringing humor to the day with signing punny funs – oops, I mean funny puns >>  (7:50 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Eyes on wildlife: photo essay >> 

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As climate breakdown takes hold across the globe, more people are likely to be affected by extreme weather, including flash floods, heatwaves, more violent storms and coastal storm surges, made worse by sea level rises.
About a third of people around the world are not now covered by early warning systems, but in Africa the problem is greater, with about six in 10 people lacking such warnings. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had recently found  half of humanity was “in the danger zone” for climate breakdown. That so many people were still not covered by early warning systems is “unacceptable”, said António Guterres.
Read more >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The beat goes on. Painting, repairing, and, finally, untangling the house’s electrical wiring and systems. The hodge podge of an electrical system that was certified when this house changed owners should never have passed. I assume the certification was purchased under the table, a ‘not uncommon’ transaction in South Africa. (One example of common fraud >>.)  The net haul for fraudulent certifications when transferring ownership of higher ticket items such as houses and commercial buildings must be worth the risk to fraudsters. After all, it’s taken almost ten years to untangle the mess in this house’s electrical system. And, if I were not obsessive about fixing it, it’s likely no one would have noticed – until an electrical fire ignited.

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Perfect equinox today:
KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:05am
Sunset: 6:05pm

The Opposite is true in
San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 7:06am
Sunset: 7:24pm

Discoveries

News blues

Deltacron – the new hybrid version of the coronavirus combines the delta and the omicron variants of the virus. What to know >> 

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On history Yesterday, 21 March, was the public holiday of Human Rights Day in South Africa. It’s also close to or on the spring equinox.
I asked several South Africans what, if anything, was the focus of Human Rights Day. Or is it a day to recognize humans and their rights. All shrugged. Being a curious curmudgeon, I tackled the Internet. Human Rights Day:

Human Rights Day is a national day that is commemorated annually on 21 March to remind South Africans about the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa.

And

The day is linked with the Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960, when 69 people died and 180 were wounded after police opened fire on a group protesting against apartheid pass laws. It is intended to commemorate those ordinary people who united to proclaim their rights.

This is more like it. Sharpeville, a day and a place that lives on in infamy.

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On War:
Photos from Ukraine >> 

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The Lincoln Project:

Ohio GOP Debate - Any Questions  (0:35 mins)
The Union  (1:20 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Celebrate wildlife – in pictures >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’ve muttered deprecations each time I’ve opened the door to my late mother’s fridge. The door’s design is unfamiliar: no door or pull handle in sight. Made no sense, but I figured my mom had opted not to purchase a handle when the fridge could be opened with fingers pulling at the door “seam”. 

Odd, but no more odd than other decisions people make. 

Then, a foray into purchasing a box of frozen fish revealed the fascinating truth. Not much of a frozen food purchaser or eater, I'd had few reasons to open the freezer section before. If, however, I’d opted for frozen food earlier, I may have saved myself much muttering about painful fingers and odd decisions. How,?
On placing the frozen fish package into the freezer section of the fridge, I tugged at the clearly visible groove that runs horizontally along the top of the door. I returned to opening the “regular” fridge by tugging along the door “seam”… and grunting my dissatisfaction with sore fingers. 

Then, a ray of light! An "ah hah" moment. 

The fridge door is opened with a similarly designed groove that runs horizontally along the bottom of the door. Imagine! An invisible door opener! Such a design concept.
It is in such moments that one recognizes the impact of a blind spot, the years of complaining about an unsupported assumption. Such recognition humbles. And frees. My fingers are gleeful, too.
Time to re-examine other assumptions. Where to begin?

R.I.P.

News blues

A pandemic and a regional war threatening to morph into a wider conflagration – plus the threat of the use of nukes. Humans are in a pickle even as economies reopen and governments look to move beyond their "pandemic footing." 

Read more >> 

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US Congress failed to approve additional pandemic response funding and prominent Covid-19 experts are worried. Congress may yet approve more funding but experts warn of potentially devastating consequences if the federal government runs out of funding to invest in more therapeutics, vaccines, testing, and other pandemic response initiatives. 

Read more >> 

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Two years of a pandemic: photo essay >> 

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The Covid-19 pandemic may have claimed more than three times the official death toll, a new study suggests  – some 18.2 million lives around the world.
The higher figure is a better estimate of the true global casualty figure to the end of 2021…
Read more >> 

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On War: Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their country began to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border between Tijuana and San Diego this week. They were met with pair of court rulings on Title 42 - cruel restrictions put in place at the beginning of the pandemic by the Trump administration.
"The fact that we're using COVID as an excuse to keep out asylum seekers at this moment in time, it's just becoming more and more absurd and untenable for the administration," said Blaine Bookey, an attorney at the Center for Gender & Refugees Studies, who is representing the Ukrainian family.
Read more >> 

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The Lincoln Project: Red phone (0:35 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Notice our world, its little and the large critters: photo essay >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

We gathered yesterday to carry out my late mother’s wishes for her ashes and those of her dogs and significant others: scatter them at what was her home for more than 6 decades.
It was a seat-of-the-pants event. Just the way she’d like it.
I transported the many boxes of ashes - I was late to the gathering. (I discovered all the cargo-laden trucks plying the road between Johannesburg and the Port of Durban were on the main drag. And that 3 lanes of traffic had been whittled down to one lane. A Toyota Yaris is very small and vulnerable amid hundreds of trucks. The main drag is under repair and widening efforts for the entire distance I had to drive.)
We all made it, though, including family flying own to Durban from Johannesburg.
Some might have found our “ceremony” too informal, but I believe it worked for my mother. We snuck onto the property – now overgrown with weeds and vegetation (my mother would approve as she resisted pruning trees), emptied the many boxes of ashes into a common receptacle, then walked around and drizzled them out onto “her” land.
Never did I expect to have my hands dusty with the ash residue of so many once-thriving critters.
R.I.P. mother and friends.

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US daylight saving time and that means no more darkness upon waking and setting off to work. Yay!
San Francisco Bay Area
Sunrise: 6:22am
Sunset: 6:14pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 5:58am
Sunset: 6:18pm