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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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

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