Mothers Speak about War and Terror: load shedding

Showing posts with label load shedding. Show all posts

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Inexplicable

Worldwide (Map)
September 8, 2022 - 606,874,650 confirmed infections; 6,507,900 deaths
September 9, 2021 – 223,101,000 confirmed infections; 4,604,450 deaths
September 10, 2020 – 27,766,325 confirmed infections; 902,470 deaths

US (Map)
September 8, 2022 - 95.020.850 confirmed infections; 1,049,050 deaths
September 9, 2021 – 40,601,000 confirmed infections; 654,600 deaths
September 10, 2020 – 6,360,000 confirmed infections; 190,820 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
September 8, 2022- 4,012,950 confirmed infections; 102,108 deaths
September 9, 2021 – 2,843,100 confirmed infections; 84,327 deaths
September 10, 2020 – 6,360,000 confirmed infections; 190,820 deaths

Posts from:
September 9, 2021, “Category of critter”
September 10, 2020, “Cooperation”

News blues

Annual Covid shot joins ranks of annual shots, such as the annual flu shot.

Watch >> (7:14 mins)

Dr Anthony Fauci recently said, "In the absence of a dramatically different variant, we likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine."
Read more >>

(Mary and I have appointments for our soon-to-be-annual Covid boosters and flu shots on September 26, 10:00am at the conveniently located grocery store pharmacy.)

***

If she hadn’t assumed most of her symptoms were due to long Covid, Nic Petermann’s may have received proper treatment and a diagnosis for cancer much earlier. She says, “When I went to get my pain symptoms checked out, I didn’t mention the flu-like symptoms, because I just thought that was something that I would have to deal with.”

As with Meso Mary who discovered mesothelioma in her left lung while being x-rayed for hip pain, Peterman’s symptoms, including those that seemed to be long Covid, were due to Stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The point of this story is not to scare readers. Rather, the point is both practical – don’t rationalize physical symptoms – and philosophical - life is often … inexplicable.

Take precautions to ensure life doesn’t catch you by surprise.

***

On war and the culture war
Putin Says Russia Has Not ‘Lost Anything’ Over War In Ukraine' (1:35 mins) Russian, with English subtitles.

***

The Lincoln Project:
Michelle Obama on democracy (1:55 mins)
Biden v. Trump (0:24 mins>

Sucker (0:58 mins)

Last week in the Republican Party - September 6 , 2022 (2:17 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My bestie, Mary, whom I’m accompanying through the ups and downs of her diagnosis and treatment of pleural epithelial mesothelioma, including pending chemotherapy, is a fighter. I’m so proud of her and her clear-eyed response of what she faces.

Along with the many facets of life with such a diagnosis, she’s re-exploring music. Currently, she’s re-enamored of Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive…” (3:14 mins). Mary’s favorite lines:

“I should have changed that stupid lock
I should have made you leave your key
If I’d know for just one second
You’d be back to bother me…"

That line - "You’d be back to bother me" - refers to the high likelihood Mary's meso will recur. According to medical expereince,

Mesothelioma recurs for all patients who undergo treatment, even after the most aggressive treatment options successfully put it into remission. This happens because it is nearly impossible to surgically remove or kill every mesothelioma cancer cell. The remaining cancer cells eventually form tumors again.

This is daunting information. Mary and I are absorbing it, albeit with jokes others might find "inappropriate" or "distasteful." (To that, we say, "Hey, whatever floats your houseboat!")
Among the many milestones of this illness, is the knowledge that somehow, sometime, somewhere Mary breathed in asbestos fibers. These fibers toiled away in her lung for decades. Sheer coincidence discovered them there. (Backstory, “Oh, the irony”.) As we diligently explore the past decades for the time a DIY woman might or might not have been exposed, Mary re-explores music, too. It’s fun to listen then chat about the assorted musical eras. We're re-exploring art, too. More on that in a following post.

***

“Heat dome” is here. Temps in parts of urban California have reached into 3 digits, even beyond 113F (47C).
Our collective future during our summers?

Breakdowns in electrical supply. Californians currently face “rolling blackouts.” South Africans face “load shedding.” (Meanwhile, Pakistanis face epic flooding with little help in sight.)
Nevertheless, climate change denialism and deniers continue. Know your deniers as …

… they are not all the same. They tend to fit into one of four different categories: the shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological fool.

Read more >>
Buckle up, humans! We’re in for a hot (maybe cold), dry or wet (maybe icy) ride… and we are not prepared.

***

Daylight savings times is coming – well, coming on November 6 – so enjoy the last days of summer – and welcome to fall.
SF Bay Area:
Sunrise: 6:46am
Sunset: 7:27pm

KZN, South Africa:
Sunrise: 6:04am
Sunset: 5:48pm

***

Meet Fiona, aka Fifi. She lives in a local pond. (Those are grass trimmings from the lawn. Somehow gardeners never scoop trimming from ponds even though trimming decompose and upset the delicate balance of water. Fifi hates that!

Meet Finny and Fergy, same pond, same dread of grass trimmings decomposing in their liquid environment.

A photographer friend recently informed me that he
frequently uses his iPhone to create gallery-ready art.
This, due to assorted apps created for just this purpose.
I tried an app to "enhance" this photo of brown pelicans.
I'm too cheap to fork out money for apps so I get what I
don't pay for. Nevertheleoss, a slight improvement though
I'm not gallery ready - yet!

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Turn the tide

Worldwide (Map)
30 June, 2022 - 546,208,900 confirmed infections; 6,334,200 deaths
24 June, 2021 - 179,530,600 confirmed infections; 3,890,200 deaths
25 June, 2020 - 9,409,000 confirmed infections; 482,190 deaths

US (Map)
30 June, 2022 - 87,410,900 confirmed infections; 1,017,470 deaths
24 June, 2021 - 33,578,000 confirmed infections; 603,000 deaths
25 June, 2020 - 2,381,540 infections; 121,980 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
30 June, 2022 - 3,993,050 confirmed infections; 101,750 deaths
24 June, 2021 - 1,861,100 confirmed infections; 59,260 deaths
25 June, 2020 - 111,800 confirmed infections; 2,205 deaths

Post from 25 June 2020, “Mindboggling numbers”

News blues

CDC and FDA approved vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech in children older than 6 months. Vaccinations begin this week >>

***

As if dealing with continued waves of Covid-19 isn’t enough, the U.S. is facing a new outbreak — monkeypox — that highlights just how close the U.S. public health system is to its breaking point >>

***

Dr. Fauci, the US's top infectious disease expert, has been struck by a phenomenon that appears to be becoming more common in the latest stage of the pandemic—rebounding bouts of COVID-19 after a course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid >>

Interview with Dr Fauci >>

***

On war

More than 100 days of war in Ukraine – photo essay >>

***

The Lincoln Project:
He wanted to help (0:25 mins)
Weapons (1:35 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Ocean Rebellion activists in Lisbon as UN declares ocean emergency.
Photograph: Carlos Costa/AFP/Getty Images

Speaking at the opening of the UN ocean conference in Lisbon, Portugal, attended by global leaders and heads of state from 20 countries, UN secretary general António Guterres said: “Sadly, we have taken the ocean for granted and today we face what I would call an ocean emergency. We must turn the tide.”

Nearly 80% of the world’s wastewater is discharged into the sea without treatment, while at least 8m tonnes of plastic enters the oceans each year. “Without drastic action, the plastic could outweigh all the fish in the ocean by 2050,” Guterres warned.
“We cannot have a healthy planet without a healthy ocean,” he said in his opening remarks.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Today, dozens of brown pelicans feeding in shallow water off the beach.
This time of year, packs of adolescent Canada geese follow a handful of adult “babysitters” into the water, then onto and along the sandy beach, then onto the green lawns to graze. Feathered friends; a lovely sight.
After the heat of Texas, San Francisco Bay Area and my small island town are havens of temperature moderation: sunny 72 F/22 C degrees.
Perfect.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Live with it

Worldwide (Map)
April 21, 2022 - 507,015,200 confirmed infections; 6.207,600 deaths
April 22, 2021 – 143,503,705 confirmed infections; 3,056,000 deaths

US (Map)
April 21, 2022 - 80,801,505 confirmed infections; 990,210 deaths
April 22, 2021 – 31,862,100 confirmed infections; 569,500 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
April 21, 2022 - 3,743,590 confirmed infections; 100,195 deaths
April 22, 2021 – 1,568,500 confirmed infections; 53,900 deaths

Post from April 22, 2021: “Earth Day”
Post from April 23, 2020: “Try it, what have you got to lose?”

News blues

…and yet another variant/subvariant of coronavirus as BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12 account for over 80% of cases in New York state- both “more transmissible than BA.2 with a 23% – 27% growth advantage.” This is a 67% increase since last week.

Against the backdrop of rising new variants, the Biden administration is scrambling to provide new guidance around masks after a federal judge in Florida struck down a federal mask mandate for air travel and other forms of public transportation.
…
President Joe Biden and his administration have signaled that people will have to make their own decisions on COVID as the pandemic evolves. Biden on Tuesday told reporters it’s up to Americans to decide whether to mask up aboard airplanes.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said last week that COVID won’t disappear and that people will have to weigh individual risks as cases rise.

On war…

Day 56 of Russian invasion of Ukraine

Healthy planet, anyone?

A drop in the ocean – on sea level rise, with photos >>

***

Why has humanity destroyed such vast forests? And can we bring this to an end?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

The latest bout of Stage 4 power cuts – three 2.5-hour sessions per day - is scheduled for Stage 3 by 10pm tonight. This still entails three 2.5-hour sessions per day, just at different – actually more intrusive – times of the day.

Sigh.
But take heart: Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter apologised to the country for this week's high-level power cuts, but said they were “necessary to avoid a total system blackout.”
Ah, joy. Thank you, Mr. de Ruyter…although when it’s dark, it’s dark. May as well be a “total system blackout.”
Insult to injury? Yesterday's post mentioned a study conducted in 2018 that established loadshedding costs SA business and industry in excess of R 2 billion per week.
That cost increased 1 April 2022 when Eskom increased their rates by 9.61%. We the People, bearers of the brunt of loadshedding’s inconvenience, pay for the luxury of Escom’s incompetent delivery/non-delivery.
Loadshedding focuses the mind and amps up negative emotions.
Looming power downs from 6pm to 8:30pm had me scurrying to secure the house and put the dogs to bed (Pixie hates her sleeping quarters and requires the incentive of 3 Beeno doggie biscuits to shift from her favorite armchair to that doggie bed.) I pull on my jammies, hurry through my pre-bed ablutions, set the emergency light, and ensure my laptop and phone are plugged in and prepped to begin charging as soon as power returns. I draw up my extra blanket, draw down my mosquito net, and hop into bed. Yes, 6pm is early for bed (then again, I’m up before 5am) but I read a library book on my cell phone until I fall asleep, awaken at midnight to read further, and fall back to sleep.

***

Insider humor from Zapiro

Zandile Gumede is the former mayor of Durban accused of corruption and the ANC’s newly elected eThekwini [Durban] chairperson. Her win is seen as “giving the middle finger” and “a setback for Ramaphosa’s renewal project”

Complicated stuff.

Gumede and her co-accused are facing 2,786 charges relating to a 2017 Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender amounting to more than R320 million. The trial has been set for July 13 to August 31 in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Gumede was charged in May 2019 while she was still eThekwini mayor. She formally resigned as mayor in August 2019 after being recalled by the ANC.”

Monday, November 22, 2021

Further confusion?

News blues

With tens of millions of Americans continuing to refuse to get vaccinated, do the new pills actually give Biden one more tool in blunting the impact of the coronavirus? Hmmm. Read more >>
Given the last two years’ enormous confusion surrounding all things pandemic, I wonder: Will these pills deliver more rounds of “Confusion R Us”?
In other words, do these antiviral pills, in fact, replace vaccines?
No.
“The new antiviral pills are not good alternatives for coronavirus vaccines and do not replace the current Covid-19 vaccines. Rather, these new medicines …are actually developed to help infected individuals to recover from the deadly virus… people can't use them to enhance their immunity.”

Healthy planet, anyone?

Energy. We need it. But how do we create and recreate energy and efficiently dump fossil fuels and the fossilized political economy that supports it?
Energy is the issue of the current moment. (That is, other than, y’know, a raging pandemic, corruption, politics, corrupt politics and politicians, immigration and refuge, climate refugees… indeed, the list goes on and on…)
South Africa presents a nutshell example of global energy difficulties.
Eighty-seven percent of SA’s electrical energy derives from coal. Since 2014, Eskom, the national energy provider, has struggled to deliver electricity. Eskom uses the term Eskom, “load shedding” to describe this struggle that turns electricity off – no power at all - for hours at a time many days per week, any time of year. Eskom defines load shedding as “a measure of last resort to prevent the collapse of the power system country-wide. When power is insufficient, Eskom can thus either increase supply or reduce demand to bring the system back into balance.” (A far simpler and more accurate definition: “we turn off your electricity even as we raise your rates – and, other than complain as you sit in the dark, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
SA, however, has pledged to reduce its overall carbon dioxide emissions between now and 2030 as part of global efforts to tackle climate change. The country faces enormous obstacles in doing so >>
At the same time, South Africa has plans to build new coal-fired power stations during the climate crisis. This is being challenged in court for breaching the rights of current and future generations.
South Africa and renewables: South Africa’s renewable plan…

... picked 25 wind- and solar-power projects to be built by private developers, part of a plan to reduce the nation’s reliance on coal for electricity and end rolling blackouts that are curbing economic growth.
The bidders will add 2,583 megawatts of capacity to the grid using clean-energy technologies….The projects total about 50 billion rand ($3.3 billion) of investment and will create 13,900 job opportunities >>
More on SA’s renewables: “The real deal with renewable energy in South Africa — unpacking the suite of options and inherent problems – acknowledge and unacknowledged >>
South Africa uses nuke energy, too, with Koeberg, its nuclear power station, installed capacity of 1,940MW, generating around 5% of South Africa's electricity. Koeberg, built in 1984, is Africa’s only nuke power plant.
Recent comments from Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer about what is going on at Koeberg nuclear power station were refreshingly frank, and for that, he is to be commended. Whether anyone living near the plant — and that includes everyone in Cape Town and surrounds — will be able to sleep after fully digesting what he had to say is another matter.
Speaking to the press about Eskom’s status as we head into the summer months, Oberholzer said he was “extremely concerned” about the two trips to the unit one reactor at Koeberg (on 30 August and 24 October). He added that he was “horrified” at the number of staff who had left Koeberg in recent times, “taking away with them years of experience”. Some had resigned despite having no other job offers. Rumours abound that there have been as many as 200 resignations from Koeberg recently.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Gearing up for Thanksgiving.

The two national Thanksgiving turkeys are seen in the Rose Garden of the White House before a pardon ceremony in Washington on Nov. 19, 2021.
Photo: Susan Walsh/AP

Peanut Butter and Jelly won't be at the Thanksgiving table this year.
This season’s two national turkeys, Peanut Butter and Jelly, received a presidential pardon.
"With the power vested in me, I pardon you," President Biden said to Peanut Butter at a White House ceremony Friday.
After he spared Peanut Butter from becoming dinner, Biden encouraged the turkey to share his thoughts: "Go ahead, say something."
"Gobble, gobble," Peanut Butter replied.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Persistence

© Mike Luckovich - 2021 Creators Syndicate

News blues…

Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination program grinds to a halt in virtually all of western Europe, as France, Spain, Germany, Italy and more than a dozen other countries pause rollout of that vaccine. This, they say, is a precautionary measure following concerns that the vaccine could be linked to blood clots; decisions that go against the advice of global health agencies. A few countries have stood by the vaccine - including the United Kingdom, where more than 11 million doses have already been administered, and where real-world data has shown vaccines are reducing infections and hospitalizations.

***

More on fake vaccines around the world, including SA (5:28 mins)

***

Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide Authorities in 219 countries and territories have reported about 120.7 million Covid 19 cases and 2.7 million deaths since China reported its first cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2019.

***

The Lincoln Project: Zero-Sum Game (0:55 mins)

Healthy futures, anyone?

Satellite images show air pollution returning to pre-pandemic levels as restrictions loosen.
These images, taken by the ESA using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, show the monthly average nitrogen dioxide concentrations over China in February 2019, February 2020 and February 2021.
Between February 2019 and February 2020, Beijing's nitrogen dioxide concentrations dropped 35%, the ESA said. In Chongqing, the drop was by 45%. As of February 2021, though, Beijing has returned to similar levels, while Chongqing has almost doubled its pre-Covid-19 numbers.

"We expected air pollution to rebound as lockdowns are lifted across the globe," said Claus Zehner, ESA's Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission manager, in a statement. "Nitrogen dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere do not depend on human activity alone. Weather conditions such as wind speed and cloud cover also affect those levels, however a large quantity of these reductions are due to restrictions being eased. In the coming weeks and months, we expect increases of nitrogen dioxide concentrations also over Europe."
A similar trend is possible in the US.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Bliss-inducing rain tempers local high temperatures. Will rain affect today’s visit from a potential buyer? Eskom’s load shedding affected her visit yesterday: lack of electricity disabled her ability to make/receive phone calls; the visit was cancelled.
The auctioneer’s truck comes this morning to pick up another batch of goods to auction. After several weeks, time permitting, of clearing the garage, the batch of goods nicely grouped – box of assorted nails, collections of assorted plumbing supplies, wall channel, doors, roofing, etc. – packaged, listed, and photographed will go. More news indicating possible forward momentum:
I received an email from my mother’s accountant that he’d sent SARS (revenue service) the package of documents – including a photograph of her holding her ID book – and that SARS might release her tax refund into her bank account. This, after 6 months of wrangling. The accountant reports it “can take up to 21 days to verify, but often takes less.” Hmmm. Over the past 355 days living in KZN I’ve developed a suspicious and skeptical mind when it comes to “official business.”
Several months ago, in an effort to surrender my mother’s elderly weapons, I’d carried three to a local gun shop. The gun shop couldn’t accept them for surrender but advised speaking to a certain warrant officer at the local SAPS (SA Police Service). The warrant officer advised me to download and have my mother sign the required documents that allow the turn in her (elderly) weapons for which she held licenses: a shotgun and a Beretta hand pistol, along with a bag of bullets.
I took his advice - thank the gods as my mother is currently unable to sign her name – but hesitated to carry a bagful of weapons in public and stand in line outside the police station with potential Covid spreaders. Instead, I asked my brother to finish that chore. He forgot. For months, the weapons and forms remained on the floor of my bedroom. After I cracked my small toe on the pile, I again requested my brother’s help. This time, he and his stepson complied. As of yesterday, elderly weapons and bullets are in the custody of local police ready for destruction. Sigh of relief.
Persistence has its advantages....

***

Remember Eskom and its ongoing program of load shedding? Now, courtesy of Eskom, a double whammy: South Africans must pay 15 percent more for the luxury of no electricity. Now that’s shoving a scam down the throats of people unable to resist.

***

South African days getting shorter while nightfall happens earlier:
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 9: sunrise 5:55am; sunset 6:21pm.
March 17: sunrise 6:00am; sunset 6:12pm.

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Load shedding, reprise

Eskom – Electricity Supply Commission – is “maintaining” power stations, again. This means 2-to-2.5-hour stints of no electrical power across the country. Eskom mentioned the current schedule yesterday, about one hour before the first stint of load shedding began.
Eskom’s operating mantra: Planning? Nah, who needs it? Over-rated.
Power in my neighborhood went off at 6:00am, just as I began working on today’s post. Internet and wireless – and clarity of phone calls (already patchy) will be non-existent for at least the next 2 hours.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc across our shrinking planet:
Worldwide (Map)
March 11, 2021 – 117, 645,000 confirmed infections; 2,612,000 deaths
February 11, 2021 – 107,324,00 confirmed infections; 2,354,000 deaths
January 6 – 87,157,000 confirmed infections; 1,882,100 deaths

December 3 – 64,469,710 confirmed infections; 1,492,100 deaths

View BBC’s interactive map and chart of data in detail
Source: Johns Hopkins University, national public health agencies
Figures last updated 8 March 2021, 10:39 GMT

US (Map)
March 11, 2021 - 29,222,420 confirmed infections; 529,884 deaths
February 11, 2021 – 27,285,150 confirmed infections; 471,450 deaths
January 6 – 21,294,100 confirmed infections; 361,100 deaths

December 3 – 13,920,000 confirmed infections; 273,370 deaths

View the interactive map

SA (Coronavirus portal)
March 11, 2021 – 1.522,700 confirmed infections; 50,910 deaths
February 11, 2021 – 1,482,412 confirmed infections; 47,145 deaths
January 6 – 1,150,000 confirmed infections; 30,525 deaths

December 3 – 796,475 confirmed infections; 21,710 deaths

***

Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide

News blues…

Today, a year ago, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Within days, companies across the globe began shutting offices - many with little time to prepare employees for working entirely outside the office.
Besides logistics – how to equip employees with technologies for working at home, smart employers also had to address challenges posed by the pandemic’s mental and emotional toll.
Cisco’s executive vice president and chief people, policy and purpose officer Fran Katsoudas said,

"our employees were coming to us for guidance for everything: the pandemic, how they lived, wanting to know what was safe and what wasn't safe. … It became very natural for us to have meetings where we had medical and mental health practitioners and discussions about business strategy, all in the same meeting."
To help employees cope with the changes and uncertainties of the pandemic, some companies enhanced their benefits, offering things like free counseling, stipends for childcare and office set-ups and increased days off.

This has radically changed the post-pandemic workforce in many countries. Remote work is no longer be considered a special perk. What other changes do employers and employees face in the future?

Read >> “The pandemic forced a massive remote-work experiment. Now comes the hard part”

Healthy futures, anyone?

Good news / bad news…
Paradoxically (since Australia has some retro ideas about coal power) Queensland passed laws banning 'killer' single-use plastics. Environmentalists hail ‘fantastic news’ for the state’s turtles, whales and seabirds

Queensland has become the second Australian state to pass laws banning single-use plastics including straws and cutlery that are blighting the state’s waterways and beaches and endangering wildlife.
Environmental groups congratulated the Queensland government after it passed legislation on Wednesday night that will ban single-use plastic items, including polystyrene food containers and cups, from 1 September. The state’s environment minister, Meaghan Scanlon, said the state had seen benefits from its 2018 ban on single-use plastic bags, which had dropped 70% in litter surveys.

Not so good news:

Plastic bags and flexible packaging are the deadliest plastic items in the ocean, killing wildlife including whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds around the globe, according to a review of hundreds of scientific articles.
Discarded fishing line and nets as well as latex gloves and balloons were also found to be disproportionately lethal when compared with other ocean debris that animals mistakenly eat.
The review, by the Australian government’s science agency, CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, found ingesting plastic was responsible for killing animals across 80 different species.
Whales, dolphins and turtles were especially at risk from eating plastic film, with seabird deaths linked more with ingestion of hard plastic pieces and balloons.

…and Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestlé are accused of “zero progress” on reducing plastic waste for the third year in a row - with Coca-Cola ranked No 1 for most littered products.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

When stress starts to erode one’s confidence in one’s ability to remember names, dates, and other details, it’s advised to focus on “the little things.” Mosquitos fit that description: small but highly flexible and very annoying.
There’s not much I can do against mosquitos during the day, but at night I erect a barrier – mosquito net – and crawl under it to thwart the ever-voracious pests.
Alas, my mosquito net is old and a bit tatty. I use it solely in South Africa and have done so for the past 15 years. It’s showing its age for, now and again, an enterprising mosquito finds its way through one of the small holes that have developed with age in the net. Last night, two enterprising mosquitos buzzed around me inside the net.
I can’t help but wish Eskom could harness such persistence to run that state-owned enterprise.

***

Best laid plans.
At last I have complained enough that I’m getting help to try to loosen my mother’s tax refund from SARS. I’ve the forms, instructions on how to prove to SARS that my mom is, indeed, the woman who has paid taxes on time for the past 60 years and the woman whose bank account number is the same she’s used since 1988.
I took these forms to the Care Center today in an attempt to have my mother sign and two witnesses view her signing the documents.
Alas, my mother was too exhausted today. There was no way that she had the energy to do any of what SARS requires.
But tomorrow is another day.
I’ll keep trying.

***

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Looking ahead

Worldwide (Map)
February 11, 2021 – 107,324,00 confirmed infections; 2,354,000 deaths
January 6 – 87,157,000 confirmed infections; 1,882,100 deaths

December 3 – 64,469,710 confirmed infections; 1,492,100 deaths

US (Map)
February 11, 2021 – 27,285,150 confirmed infections; 471,450 deaths
January 6 – 21,294,100 confirmed infections; 361,100 deaths

December 3 – 13,920,000 confirmed infections; 273,370 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
February 11, 2021 – 1,482,412 confirmed infections; 47,145 deaths
January 6 – 1,150,000 confirmed infections; 30,525 deaths

December 3 – 796,475 confirmed infections; 21,710 deaths

News blues…

Is the pandemic in tenuous retreat? New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all dropped this week.

The good news in COVID-19 data continued this week, as new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths all dropped. For the seven-day period running January 28 to February 3, weekly new cases were down more than 16 percent over the previous week, and dropped below 1 million for the first time since the week of November 5. This is still an astonishing number of new cases a week, but far better than the nearly 1.8 million cases reported the week of January 14. Tests also declined nationally, but by less than 3 percent, nowhere near enough to explain the steep drop in cases.

***

The more infectious variant of he coronavirus first identified in South Africa has surfaced in California for the first time, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday.
The state has identified two cases of the variant, Newsom said: one in Alameda County and one in Santa Clara County, both of which are part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

***

President Ramaphosa addresses the nation tonight at 7pm.

Afterwards, Unpack the SoNA – a webinar

Healthy planet, anyone?

The world’s most commonly used family of pesticides, developed in the 1990s as a “safer” alternative, may be harming mammals, too. Bees, essential for crop pollination, have been especially hard hit by neonics—and the EU has banned the outdoor use of three popular types. Exposure to neonics “reduces sperm production and increases abortions and skeletal abnormalities in rats; suppresses the immune response of mice and the sexual function of Italian male wall lizards; impairs mobility of tadpoles; increases miscarriage and premature birth in rabbits; and reduces survival of red-legged partridges, both adults and chicks,” Elizabeth Royte writes for Nat Geo.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Yesterday morning, 8:30am, a trio of potential buyers and the realtor came by the house for a third visit with a view to purchase. They lined up their vehicles next to the carport.
At 9:15am three more people in two more small trucks arrived to carry off two large chest freezers I’d sold.
After all visitors completed a series of vehicle moves to allow the trucks access to load the freezers, yet another visitor arrived. He’d dropped by unexpectedly after I’d texted him asking for advice on what to with what seems like miles of tangled electrical cable.
An electricity expert, the third visitor reminded me a key ingredient in electrical cable is copper, much sought after and sells well. (It is, after all, what thieves risk their lives for when they steal Eskom cabling from live overhead transmission lines.)
Note on Eskom: I received my first Eskom newsletter and it explains how “non payment” is a serious threat to the business and that “payment for services is a universal principle, and by ensuring that everyone pays for electricity, Eskom could ensure the future electricity tariffs are kept as low as possible.”
From 2017 to 2020, Eskom incurred costs to the value of as much as R188m related to theft, illegal connections, and vandalism of the electricity network. The cost over the last three years was R53m at March 2018, R64m at March last year and R71m as at the end of March. This excludes the loss of revenue.
No company can sustain this kind of financial damage. Nevertheless, it doesn’t help that the company’s communications via app regarding load shedding is so confusing. One minute a notice comes regarding an imminent 2.5 hour period without power, next minute the opposite information arrives: “load shedding suspended.”

***

Driving to visit my mother, driving back to ensure the house is secure, packing up stuff to sell, driving to the recycling center, charity shop, and scrap yard, and placing goods on the lawn for passersby to take (the best way to recycle), seeking and not finding the right fitting for the hose pipe to connect to the power washer to clean the large rug the dog pissed on…. and trying to fit in exercise (walking and swimming) to ensure I’m not injured by some small but necessary task…. I am exhausted.
The good news? My mother continues to improve although she’s still very weak.

I'm optimistic. If - when? - a cash offer is made on the house, the future becomes clearer, a path forward becomes smoother, and it'll become easier to invest gobs for energy into what currently feel like overwhelmingly stupid but vital tasks (such as washing dog piss off a rug.)

Sell house, sell!

Sunday, January 17, 2021

“Free again, free again…”

I’ve been in South Africa for almost one year – 8 months beyond what I’d planned. One luxury I’ve granted myself during this time is an Internet connection. While I love the location of this house - semi-rural in a valley with wonderful vegetation and tall trees - I pay a premium for the Internet connection.
As of next Thursday, I’ll move to a connection one third the price for four times the data.

It’ll be awkward and disruptive and my posting schedule will change, but I’m looking forward to no longer being exploited by an ISP that considers me a source of endless Yankee dollas.
I’ve managed, despite load shedding and ISP troubles, to post every day since the beginning of Covid and Lockdown and I intend to maintain that discipline.
Thank you for reading this blog and, after Thursday, please be patient as we segue to a modified schedule. Daily posts will continue albeit slightly later in the day.

News blues…

Since the recent attempted coup/insurrection/siege of the Capitol, will America and Americans have another round of soul searching around race and xenophobia?

For African Americans, Wednesday’s siege of the U.S. Capitol by a mob bent on keeping President Donald Trump in office despite his election loss in November offered fresh evidence that the double standard and the racism … remain firmly in place.

The Lincoln Project: Which side (0:55 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

A Black Lives Matter rally
in Brisbane in June after the death of
George Floyd in the US.
'In a just world, no one should
have to fight for oxygen,’
writes author Jennifer Mills .
Photo: James D Morgan/Getty Images

The question of who breathes, and who suffocates, is a question of who deserves to live. It’s a question that will only become more urgent as the climate crisis develops.
Read, Trouble breathing: 'We all breathe the same air, but we don't breathe equally' >>

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Eskom, South Africa’s electrical supply commission parastatal, regularly displays its budgetary and executive/managerial shortcomings.
Load shedding – shutting down the country’s power grid to cope with diminished supply – is an ‘in your face’ display of shortcomings, but the devil, as they say, is in the details.
Once upon a time, Eskom offered industry and residents the cheapest electricity in the world.

Yes, politically and socially those were the “bad old days” of apartheid: labor was abundant, cheap, and exploitative.

And yes, since electricity was so cheap, it was the power source of choice (for those who could afford installation). Natural gas was available, but more expensive therefore less desirable than electricity.
These days, for purposes of load shedding, Eskom’s supply grid is segmented into named and numbered neighborhoods that endure load shedding together. Our neighborhood, “same-village name_A-14”, is across the freeway from “same-village name_B-14”.
About a month ago“same-village name_A-14” – our neighborhood – endured several days without power due to theft of electrical cable from a transformer on our street.

A week after that, we endured another day without power because a drunk driver crashed into and damaged the same transformer.
This weekend, a portion of “same-village name_A-14” endured 19 hours without electricity while our house, endured 2.5 hours of scheduled load shedding.
Nineteen hours is a long time without power, more so if you’re an elderly, alone, shut-in with ill health that includes diabetes. My neighbor and friend could not cook her solitary hot meal, could not bath, could only worry as she watched her stash of frozen food slowly thaw.
She and her dog ate processed meat and bread.
I dared not reach out to her since I suffered a sore throat, potentially a Covid indicator.
Naturally, social media was rife with rumor and conjecture about why power was off only in sections of the same grid.
Eskom was silent.
Hour 20, power returned – and a reason for the outage. Somehow, physical cable for “same-village name_A-14” and “same-village name_B-14” had been confused and mis-connected at a local transformer.
That is, residents endured 19 hours without power along with the regular load-shedding schedule due to a faulty transformer connection,.
Did I mention that Eskom now has among the most expensive electricity in Africa?

***

Sore throat update: I’ve now had a sore throat for longer than Eskom supplied continuous power: from Friday night to Monday morning.

It’s worse overnight.

Still no other overt signs it’s evolving into a more dire illness.

Sunday, January 3, 2021

“Call it Covid”

We begin the first work week of 2021 with not-good stats.

News blues…

The number of Covid-19 cases in SA is now at 1,100,748, afte3r 11,859 new cases. The death toll sits at 29577, after 402 new fatalities.
This, as KZN;s daily rate of infection edges toward 6,000.

***

MSNBC data.

These astonishing numbers as the lame duck US president continues to obsess about losing the election and becomes more whacky by the day as his whims are ignored.

[Trump] attacked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for having a “ridiculous method” for counting the number of infections and deaths.
“When in doubt, call it Covid,’” Trump tweeted, appearing to suggest that was the CDC’s stance on recording pandemic-related statistics. “Fake News!”
But some public health experts say the number of COVID-19 cases is actually likely underreported since many people infected with the virus may be asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms and not seek treatment.

Lordy, isn’t it time this lame duck flew off to a different swamp?
The lame duck is still more obsessed with overturning election results than he is with the infection devastating the U.S. Audio excerpts from a phone call during which he tries to bully Republicans to go along with his version of election fraud….

Healthy planet, anyone?

New Year’s day protest in
Howick West against Eskom’s
spotty delivery of electricity.

Electricity in my neighborhood went off due to a drunk driver crashing into a transformer. Other parts of KZN, though, reported outages, too – many of which were “business as usual” Eskom outages not scheduled in the EskomSe Push app. From Howick West (pictured) through Hillcrest (Valley of 1,000 Hills, near Durban) outages were the norm.
Background on SA’s energy crisis:

The South African Energy Crisis is an ongoing period when South Africa experiences widespread rolling blackouts as supply falls behind demand, threatening to destabilize the national grid. It began in the later months of 2007 and continues to this day. The government owned national power utility and primary power generator, Eskom, and various parliamentarians attributed these rolling-blackouts to insufficient generation capacity. With a reserve margin estimated at 8% or below, such "load shedding" is implemented whenever generating units are taken offline for maintenance, repairs or re-fueling (in the case of nuclear units). According to Eskom and government officials, the solution requires the construction of additional power stations and generators.
Read more >>

FYI: World Bank data on electricity supply of countries around the world.

***

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I’m always interested in what’s happening in the world. So much so that, curious, I departed SA as a young woman to explore the world. (As required by then-SA's patriarchal gov’t, my father had to sign a waiver allowing me to leave the country as I was under 21 years old.)
Cultures and intra-and intercultural communication intrigues me (my BA is in intercultural communication.) Lots more to share about this, but for now, an interesting item of to go/take away food found in local grocery store: Pizza Tikka Chicken.
Who’da thunk Italian cuisine could meld with Indian cuisine?
The dough is not up to basic standards but the flavors works!
If pizzas can meld interculturally, so can people.

No?

***

Jessica The Dog has settled back into her home. Despite advancing age and arthritis, she’s game to chase monkeys (they taunt her by staying just out of reach) and roly-poly on the lawn.

She appears to have decided I’m her vice-pack-leader since THE pack leader – my mother – is out of sight. This is a new role, not one I relish.
I avoid the responsibility pets impose on my life. My last pet, a decade ago, was a cat left with me by my daughter. Cats are more my speed: independent, self-absorbed, curious (like me?).
Dogs require regular doses of affirmations – “what a good, dog,” “who’s a fine girl?” etc., ad nauseum - and are underfoot (Jessica, glued to my hip, recently caused me to trip while pulling on my shoes).
What’s going to happen to Jessica – and Pixie and Ozzie – when this house is sold?
A friend is interested in adopting Jessica. She already has 3 dogs and lives in a small house with small garden. I’m concerned about elderly Jessica fitting into that scene.

One the other hand, my mother’s desire is that I “put down” (euthanize) the dogs. After that, I’m expected to combine their cremains with hers- and her cremains collection - when she passes.

Not a joke.
My mother stores 8 or 9 boxes of cremains – boxes made of fine wood with brass latches – in her small room at the Care Center. The boxes are set out like other old ladies set out photographs of family.
My job is to ensure all cremains are mixed together and deposited at the property where my mother spent ssix decades of her life.
One problem – other than the request’s macabre nature?
The property belongs to a corporation and, while the land is fallow – I’d be trespassing if I crept onto it to deposit a large bag of cremains.

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Storm in a teacup

News blues…

Bheki Cele, SA Minister of Police,
under his signature Trilby hat.
Image: Esa Alexander

Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, looks like a man who loves his work and has fun doing it. Yesterday, he warned creative South Africans about the sale of alcohol during Lockdown Level 3:

The non-sale of alcohol is the non-sale of alcohol - do not put alcohol in teapots in your restaurants or in bottles ... We know your tricks, don’t invite the police to come and check whether there is really Rooibos [tea] in there or there is something else in the teapot.

Further advice from Cele >>

***

More pithy advice from the front lines of the Battle against Covid:

“Some of us will die, but those left behind should continue the fight… Your chances of survival when arriving at a hospital will decided whether you are admitted to ICU or receive oxygen.”

***

Eskom may have stumbled upon a load shedding schedule that least annoys South Africans: coincide load shedding with curfew.
Perhaps it’s the intense heat of the last few days, but electricity supply has been unreliable and We the People find ourselves suddenly in the dark. Electricity simply goes off – and comes back on – and goes off – and comes back on… Surely this defies the intention behind a schedule?
Yesterday, we learned at 3pm of a load shedding event from 22:00 to 5:00, aka 10pm to 5am.
Curfew extends from 21:00 to 6:00 for all medical, security, and essential workers.
Has Eskom hit upon perfect timing?
Perhaps Bheki Cele – and his Trilby – is working with Eskom to persuade South Africans to adhere to curfew? Stay home and drink Rooibos tea?

Healthy planet, anyone?

… and yet another climate-change-related crisis, this one a fatal freshwater skin disease in dolphins:

Dolphins are increasingly dying slow, painful deaths from skin lesions likened to severe burns as a result of exposure to fresh water, exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Researchers in the US and Australia have defined for the first time an emerging “freshwater skin disease” reported in coastal dolphin populations in the US, South America and Australia.
While cetaceans can survive in fresh water for short periods, sudden and prolonged exposure – such as when an animal becomes trapped, or the salinity of their habitat is affected by heavy rainfall – has been found to cause a form of dermatitis.
This progresses into ulcers and lesions that can affect up to 70% of the animal’s surface area, with the severity of a third-degree burn.
“Their skin is just as sensitive as ours, and possibly even more so – it would be incredibly painful,” says Dr Nahiid Stephens, a veterinary pathologist at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, and co-author of the paper published in Scientific Reports journal.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

It’s been a long day of waiting for news on my mother’s health.
She underwent surgery to insert a metal pin into the neck of her femur (where upper leg bone fits into hip socket). The surgeon reported that all went well, and she could be returned to the Care Center as soon as today, tomorrow at the latest. All depends upon the negative result of Covid test. (The test was conducted on Monday, the day of her injury, and we’re still awaiting results.)
I’d be happy with delayed results keeping her in the hospital another day. I know, theoretically, that hospitals are the best dispensers of assorted infections, but they’re also not the Care Center where my mother is comfortable enough to complain ad nauseum. In hospital, a new environment, she’d have to work up the nerve to complain. Every day of her not complaining is a day of healing.

***

Jessica, The Dog, is depressed. Her pleasure at returning to the house, her old stomping-sniffing-roly-poly ground, has been accompanied by what looks like depression. She spent all day yesterday – 34C/95F temperature – in a part of the garden she once resorted to only when she was miffed or depressed.
Jessica is a dog sensitive to human – and dog – moods and emotions. As with many creatures with high degrees of sensitivity, Jessica shares - perhaps over-shares - her own emotionality.
She is, however, slowly settling.
I’ve decided – and the Care Center agrees – that Jessica should stay at the house until my mother is mobile enough for Jessica to return there. To all adhering to the philosophy of Common Sense, my mom is recovering from a fall and surgery and is in no shape to get out of bed to feed and walk the dog. Alas, there’s my mother’s version of reality: “Of course I can take care of Jessica. I want her back!” She’ll be unhappy without me!”
I dread telling my mother of this decision. Perhaps I should try to manipulate her into thinking she made the decision?
Manipulation is not in my comfort zone. I tend to take the direct approach – usually to my detriment. But I'm desperate. Perhaps, if I rose to the occasion I'd learn a new skill? Learning to manipulate also may increase my own psychological range.
At the very least, it would break the monotony of Lockdown.

Friday, December 11, 2020

Notice

Two o’clock this morning, I received a notice from Eskom (SA’s national electricity providing parastatal) that load-shedding is back on across the country. Our freedom-from-the-tyranny-of-electricity begins this weekend from 6am to 8:30am and 2pm to 4:30pm. No time to prepare, just wake up to no electricity, repeated early afternoon. (Ah, life in SA returns to new-normal. I feel so at home.)
I also received a notice to download a Covid-tracker app that alerts a user about rises in Covid infections in the user’s locale. I downloaded it (do so at your own risk) from discv.co/COVID19Hotspots.
A third notice on my phone declared SA will return to Lockdown Level 4 on December 16. A hoax? Who knows? December 16 has been a public holiday from way back. During my youth, Dingaan Day recognized a triumph of the Voortrekkers against the Zulu army led by Zulu King Dingaan at the 'Battle of Blood River', now it’s The Day of Reconciliation. Time will tell whether is also Hoax Day.

News blues…

According to the CDC director, the US will likely have more daily Covid-19 deaths for the next 60 to 90 days than died on 9/11. That’s more than 3,000 deaths a day. For that atrocity, the US went to war and remains at war. For Covid, nah, not a prob, let’s convene super-spreader events and undermine US-style democracy.

***

Food for thought: Steve Schmidt, former Republican, continues to examine current events and dangers to the American system (3:09 mins)

Another look at Whackidoodleitude

It’s clear whacky ideas and conspiracy theories currently are transcendent in the US. A pastor in this video clip actually says, “I’m forty-four years old and there’s never been a pandemic in my lifetime. There isn’t one now either." Take a look…. (5:28 mins)

***

The Lincoln Project: Mitch’s Tears (0:55 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Neighborhood monkeys’ summer schedule includes invading the garden early, before the alarm is disarmed. Today, before 5am, a wave of the small furry critters pours over the walls and fences and made for the bird feeder and for my veggie garden. (Monkeys, I’ve discovered, love to snack on green onions!) I did my duty as Neighborhood Crazy Lady and thwarted their monkey plans. After disarming the alarm, still wearing pajamas, I dashed outside waving my arms and yelling. A bracing way to awaken my sleepy blood.
I’m really going to miss the little buggers when this house is sold, and I move to my new place. No monkeys at that community, only zebra, warthog, impala, blesbok….
Prior to lockdown, on a walk along that community’s Game Trail, I chatted briefly with someone about his enjoyment at seeing wild animals, including African wildebeest (buffalo). I thought he’d misidentified a blesbok for I’d never seen a buffalo on any of my many walks along Game Trail. Searching with binoculars revealed the usual zebra, blesbok, impala but no wildebeest.

Yesterday, driving a new route through the community, I spotted a small herd of wildebeest grazing contently, not in the residential area, but in an adjacent area.
I look forward to more discoveries.
I’m blessed to have decided to move to an area that presents a safe, sanitized version of African wildlife, right on my doorstep. Not even Amazon Prime could deliver that!