Friday, May 21, 2021

Arghhhhh…


After weeks of struggling to confirm flight details – then paying for my tickets – my fly-by-night agency cancelled the flights, communicated nothing useful to me about it, and now cannot be reached by phone or email!
This time, the agency’s usual warning message - “due to high volume of calls … call back later” – did not cut me off. Desperation kept me on the phone listening to repeated loops of nausea-inducing elevator “musak”. More than 21:42 minutes later the call abruptly ended. Costing me more than R75.00 in airtime, I had no resolution, no idea what was up with my flight, and no way of learning what I needed to know.
I circumvented the agency and emailed the airline directly. I learned the entire journey was cancelled – and no word about rescheduling.
Just like that, my delight at returning to California after more than 1.5 years of lockdown, evaporated. All my preparation – pre-flight Covid test, domestic flight connection to Oliver Tambo Airport, appointment for my post-flight vaxx – all come to naught.
Unless….
I gave up on the agency (FlyUs.com – avoid them, well, like you’ve learned to avoid Covid). I struck out on my own.
I now have a flight, different airline, same day, almost same time, via Paris to San Francisco. It costs me an arm and a leg and I must purchase a seat for more than ZAR500, but I am heading home.
***
It’s my day for “can you believe it” stories. As I finalized a funeral policy for my 88-year-old mother, I learned that the provincial crematorium "went up in smoke."
Actually, it went up in smoke twice!  
Provincial decision-makers decided not to rebuild after the second event. Luckily for my mother, when the time comes she’ll be hosted by the privately-owned crematorium that has been built less than one mile from where she spent six decades of her adult life. Turns out, you can go home again...
***
VoteVets: Hate Crime Hawley (0:50 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The world’s largest iceberg – nearly six times the size of New York City - just broke off
The long block of ice is roughly 1,668 square miles in size, spanning 89 nautical miles on its longest axis and 14 nautical miles on its widest axis. New York City’s land area is about 303 square miles.
What does this mean? Read the article >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Potholes are nothing new around here.
Erosion has sculpted this pothole
into a unique, and very fitting, shape.
It's a dick pic - about 15 feet/5 meters long.
Continues to get darker here... 
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 15: sunrise 6:35am; sunset 5:15pm.
May 21: sunrise 6:40am; sunset 5:11pm.

But, just think, this time next week I'll be on my way to California summer! 

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Still waiting...

Worldwide (Map
May 20, 2021 – 164,620,000 confirmed infections; 3,413,350 deaths
Vaccinations: this week - 1,536,031,895; last week - 1,357,850,000
March 25, 2021 – 124,894,200 confirmed infections; 2,746,000 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 100,920,100 confirmed infections; 2,175,500 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 82,656000 confirmed infections; 1,8040100 deaths

US (Map
May 20, 2021 – 33,026,300 confirmed infections; 587,870 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 30,011,600 confirmed infections; 545,300 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 25,600,000 confirmed infections; 429,160 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 19,737,200 confirmed infections; 342,260 deaths

SA (Tracker
May 20, 2021 – 1,621,370 confirmed infections; 55,510 deaths
March 25, 2021 – 1,540,010, confirmed infections; 52,372 deaths
January 28, 2021 – 1,430,650 confirmed infections; 42,550 deaths
December 31, 2020 – 1,039,165 confirmed infections; 28,035 deaths

Tracking Covid-19:
***
New! The Franklin Project  (2:40 mins)
The Lincoln Project: Allegiance (0:25 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?


The Plastic Waste Makers index  reveals the companies who produce the polymers that become throwaway plastic items, from face masks to plastic bags and bottles, which at the end of their short life pollute the oceans or are burned or thrown into landfill.
Australia leads a list of countries for generating the most single-use plastic waste on a per capita basis, ahead of the United States, South Korea and Britain.
ExxonMobil is the greatest single-use plastic waste polluter in the world, contributing 5.9m tonnes to the global waste mountain…. The largest chemicals company in the world, Dow, which is based in the US, created 5.5m tonnes of plastic waste, while China’s oil and gas enterprise, Sinopec, created 5.3m tonnes.
Eleven of the companies are based in Asia, four in Europe, three in North America, one in Latin America, and one in the Middle East. Their plastic production is funded by leading banks, chief among which are Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.
Read “Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste, report reveals. Plastic Waste Makers index identifies those driving climate crisis with virgin polymer production” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Last minute jitters. This will be the very last time I travel via a third party. Next time I go directly to the airline to reserve a ticket.
This, because the third party agent I’ve used for the last few years – FlyUs – has done a MISERABLE job of responding to my queries. First, they cancelled my flight last year – due to Covid lockdown so understandable. But anytime I’ve tried to contact them since then, there’s been a wall of silence. Cannot phone them – “due to increase in call volume… call back later”. No satisfaction via email – a wall of website “loops”. The message on My Booking states my flights are “not confirmed” yet also, somehow, confirmed. So which is it? Just now, tried to contact the airline directly to get some sort of coherence on the status of my flights.
Moreover, to add to my insecurity, “The biggest mistakes travelers make right now” 
I can’t help feeling the more I look forward to returning to California, the less secure I feel about actually getting there. It is almost exactly a year since my flight was cancelled due to lockdown. A lot has happened in this year. What if it’s not over for me? What if something else delays my flight this time? What if….
***
Other than fretting? I’m prepping the garden for winter, raking up leaves and grass clippings and spreading them as mulch over strawberries, iris, succulents, you name it.
And, inevitably, trying to foresee what can/will go off course while I’m away and forestall it. This includes ensuring I engage “someone” to renew vehicle licenses – due August 31. Turns out, an enterprising local woman has made a business of standing in line for people like me. Her motto? I que for you. I’ll fill out the paperwork and leave it with her to “que” for me – and my mother – to ensure our vehicle paperwork is completed on time.
***
Getting darker here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 14: sunrise 5:58am; sunset 6:15pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 15: sunrise 6:35am; sunset 5:15pm.
May 20: sunrise 6:39am; sunset 5:12pm.



Friday, May 14, 2021

Watching, waiting…

© Fiore, KQED

As the date for my planned departure comes closer, I become more anxious about Covid news. While the US trends towards lifting mask compliance due to what looks like a successful anti-Covid vaccination program, South Africa may be trending towards a third wave of infection.

News blues

[According to SA’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD)] the number of new Covid-19 infections from …May 3 to 9 showed an overall 46% increase compared to the previous week, April 26 to May 2.
The Northern Cape (68%), Gauteng (63%) and Limpopo (47%) topped the list of provinces with new cases.
There has also been an increase in hospital admissions and Covid-19-related deaths increased by 18% compared to the previous week, with the Eastern Cape and Western Cape (both 21%), Gauteng (20%) and KwaZulu-Natal (19%) accounting for 81% of all reported fatalities.
At a provincial level, the NICD said Free State was now experiencing a third wave.
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape are showing sustained increases.
Northern Cape never met the technical criterion for exiting the second wave and has experienced a significant resurgence in recent weeks. https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-05-14-sa-not-in-third-wave-yet-says-nicd--but-here-are-provinces-at-risk/
Confirmed Cases: 1 602 031
Confirmed Deaths: 54 968
Confirmed Recoveries: 1 519 734
Vaccines Administered: 430 730
Updated 10:00, 13 May 2021

Tracking Covid-19:
FYI: The Our World in Data COVID Vaccination dataset has been published in the academic journal, Nature 
***
… health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said the Free State had now technically crossed the line and entered a third wave of coronavirus infections. The number of new daily cases has been slowly increasing over the last few weeks. He also confirmed that the B.1.617.2 variant first found in India, had now arrived in South Africa, along with a variant first found in the UK (so far most scientists have said they believe the B.1.617 variant poses no greater risk to our population than other variants, and that the current vaccines work against this variant).
While Mkhize stressed it is still possible to avoid a third wave of the disease, it does appear the risk of a new wave of infections has increased.
In the meantime, the Sisonke study, which is due to deliver half a million shots-in-arms, still has almost 100-thousand injections to go, aiming to complete that goal by Monday.
Read “Covid-19 vaccination roll-out: South Africa’s greatest political event of 2021” >> 
***
I regularly receive information about and invitations for vaccinations from the State of California where Gov. Gavin Newsom said the outdoor mask mandate will be lifted June 15 if cases and hospitalizations continue to drop and some guidelines will remain for indoor locations….
“… we will be updating our mask guidelines ... outdoor masking ... if we reach that threshold where we hope to be," the governor said. "For indoor activities we will still likely have some mask guidelines and mandates. But we hope sooner than later that those will be lifted as well."
I’m in the process of making a vaccination appointment and, if all goes according to plan, I’ll get “the jab” the day after I arrive. (Who knows, perhaps I can shop for groceries myself – instead of my friend using my list and shop for me.)
Excerpts from emails urging me to get the jab:
Appointments for a first dose of Pfizer are available through Sutter Health at the Alameda County Fairgrounds Drive-Through Point of Dispensing (POD) site on May 15th, 2021.

These appointments are for 1st doses of Pfizer or Moderna
Walk-ups are not accepted – you must book an appointment 
… Important information for your appointment:
This is a Drive-Through Vaccination Clinic only so please plan accordingly If you are under the age of 18:
  • Your parent or legal guardian will need to consent on your behalf.
  • If you receive an appointment, your parent or legal guardian will also need to be present with you on site in order for you to receive a vaccination.
  • You need to bring the following to your COVID-19 vaccination appointment:
  • Photo Identification (ID). Your photo ID does not have to be government issued.
  • Appointment Confirmation. If you have an appointment, print the confirmation or provide it on your phone.
  • Mask. Please remember to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Oh boy! After 1.5 years in South Africa, I appreciate planning…
***
The Lincoln Project: Civility  (0:40 mins)
MeidasTouch: The Rules of the Demagogue  (1:46 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Close to one year ago, my mother’s longtime live-in domestic worker’s adult son, drunk, threaten to kill me, rape me, shoot me, “f**k me in the a**. (Disconcerting from someone who’d spent 5 years in prison for rape.)  This, because I’d dared tell the jobless, drunk, 40-year-old that he could no longer sponge off my mother nor live on her property.
The saga of the drunk son and his belligerent-towards-me-domestic-worker mother continued for weeks. (Backstory )
I was granted a restraining order and he has not been near my mother’s property since.
After my mother moved to the Care Center, the longtime, live-in domestic worker was retrenched (retired/laid off). Xhosa, she returned to the Transkei, the land of her birth. Her drunk son elected to stay in the area and live off money she sent. Rumor tells he regularly made a drunken nuisance of himself in the local township of Mpophomeni, that residents urged his mother to get him out of town before he was attacked, or worse.
As of Monday this week, he has “disappeared” with speculation running from “someone” driving him far from town and dumping him … “someone” attacking him and he lies, unidentified, in local hospital (“police are asking people for his ID book”) … or “someone” killing him and his body hasn’t turned up – yet (or is that why police seek his ID book?).
***
Now that it appears I may enjoy spring in my houseboat on the Sacramento Delta, my imagination is flourishing. Plans include having the pontoons inspected for wear, then revamping the houseboat to squeeze our more living space and greater comfort. First, though, I’ll have to convince the many spiders who take up residence in the marina to abandon the webs they’re spun on my boat. Fish generally enjoy my spring cleaning and hover at the water’s surface to eat slow spiders. I’ll also enjoy the sight of cliff swallows arriving from their migration from Chile. And check on the two cliff swallows that return to a well-made cup-shaped mud nest built above the pontoons under my boat. I look forward to seeing them again.
***
Two more weeks of tracking winter days here….
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 13: sunrise 6:35am; sunset 5:15pm.
May 15: sunrise 6:36am; sunset 5:14pm.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Here we are...

Here we are, more than 400 days into a pandemic. Who knew, back in June last year, we’d still be locked down?
The mind-boggling numbers back then
  • June 25, 2020 - worldwide: 9,409,000 confirmed infections; 482,190 deaths
    June 19, 2020 - worldwide: 8,489,000 confirmed infections; 454,007 deaths
  • June 25, 2020 - US: 2,381,540 infections; 121,980 deaths
    June 19, 2020 - US: 2,191,100 confirmed infections; 118,435 deaths
  • June 25, 2020 - SA: 111,800 confirmed infections; 2,205 deaths
    June 19, 2020 - SA: 83,890 confirmed infections; 1,737 deaths
Predictions were dire back on 20 May, 2020…  
Today's numbers:
Worldwide (Map
May 13, 2021 – 160,450,550 confirmed infections; 3,331,300 deaths
   Vaccine doses administered: 1,357,850,000
April 29, 2021 – 149,206,600 confirmed infections; 3,146,300 deaths

US (Map
May 13, 2021 – 32,814,500 confirmed infections; 583,700 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 32,229,350 confirmed infections; 574,350 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal
May 13, 2021 – 1,602,100 confirmed infections; 54,970 deaths
April 29, 2021 – 1,578,500 confirmed infections; 54,290 deaths
The Our World in Data COVID Vaccination dataset has been published in the academic journal, Nature 

News blues

Herd immunity” is achieved when a large enough portion of a community becomes immune to a disease (either through natural infection or vaccination) that there’s nowhere left for the virus to spread. There may still be small outbreaks, but they would be contained. (That’s different than eradicating the disease altogether, which has only ever been done twice in global history, with smallpox and rinderpest, a bovine disease that decimated southern Africa’s cattle from 1896 through 1899.) So, is coronavirus here to stay? What to know… 
***
India, already reeling from Covid shows signs of yet more trauma, this time a deadly fungus:
A rare black fungus that invades the brain is being increasingly seen in vulnerable patients in India, including those with Covid-19, as the health system continues to struggle in the midst of the pandemic.
…The fungus, called mucormycosis, “is very serious, has a high mortality, and you need surgery and lots of drugs to get on top of it once it takes hold”, said Prof Peter Collignon, who sits on the World Health Organization’s expert committee on antibiotic resistance and infectious diseases.
The disease is caused by a group of moulds, called mucormycetes, that live throughout the environment including in soil and on plants. Mucormycosis is seen throughout the world, including in the US and Australia. It can be acquired in hospitals – most commonly by vulnerable transplant patients – when the moulds get on hospital linens, travel through ventilation systems, or are transmitted on adhesives.
“They’re a family of fungus that gets into your sinuses and deposit there, and they can get into the air spaces in your head,” Collignon said.
Read “What is the deadly ‘black fungus’ seen in Covid patients in India?” >> 
***
The glory of humor in dire times: an interview with Gary Trudeau of the cartoon, Doonesbury  (4:17 mins)
The Lincoln Project:
And, a clip from “our own” – SA’s Trevor Noah and The Daily Show: “a brutal look back at the life and times of Ted Cruz, ‘The Booger on the Lip of Democracy’”  (9:15 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Guardian News series on our disappearing glaciers

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

If only I could chill! I hoped that pressure of trying to sell my mother’s house would diminish after we/I took it off the market for the interim. Alas, it turns out cultural norms in this country still have the power to reduce me to a quivering mass of anger.
Preface to what I’m about to relate: After living in California for about a decade, I returned to college to earn under- and graduate degrees. By then, I’d experienced many bouts of culture shock and, paying attention to what I’d learned, I wrote my undergraduate thesis on that topic. I worked on graduate level studies of cultural shock as an adult learning experience. It was a wonderful, fascinating and very enlightening course of study that continues to serve me every day of my life … 
But “knowing” what one is experiences only helps reduce – not extinguish – the negative sides of an experience.
I’ve complained about South African small businesspeople not showing up anywhere near the agreed upon day, and/or not showing up at all. I remind myself that, after decades in the US, I’ve taken on that culture’s view of time: linear, with a definitive beginning and end, and limited in supply. Working as a project manager made me especially attuned to “on time and on budget” focus on milestones and deadlines…
The US can be described as a monochronic culture that values orderliness and agrees that there’s appropriate time and place for everything. Most Americans hold the belief that “time is money” and do not value interruptions.
South Africa, I realize, is a polychronic culture that perceives time as cyclical and endless, a go with the “flow” attitude in which time-based schedule are followed loosely – if at all - and changes or interruptions are viewed as a normal part of the routine.
Here, it’s known as “African time” – and, if I don’t catch myself, it drives me crazy. That’s when I remind myself: “only 2 more weeks”… then I’m back to California, my family, my houseboat, and summer….
***
Getting darker here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.
May 10: sunrise 6:33am; sunset 5:17pm.
May 13: sunrise 6:35am; sunset 5:15pm.

Sunday, May 9, 2021

What if?

© Counterpoint.com 
As I prepare to return to California, I’m hypersensitive to the reality of contracting Covid-19. For more than a year, I’ve hunkered down, worn a mask, kept my distance from other humans, and, luckily, not contracted the potentially fatal malady. I’m highly motivated to remain coronavirus-free. 
What if that’s not enough? 
What if, after purchasing my tickets and various travel insurance policies, my pre-flight Covid test signals I’m positive for the virus?
What if I’m forced to remain here? 
Hmmm, best to work at keeping a level head… 

News blues

United States:
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said he has “no doubt” that the number of Americans killed by COVID-19 is much higher than what has been officially reported, after a recent study counted nearly double the amount recorded by federal health officials. 
It’s estimated up to 900,000 Americans have dies from Covid as “Public health experts agree that official COVID-19 death tolls are undercounts, but there is disagreement over how high the actual tolls are.” 
***
Africa:
Africa has suffered about three million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic—at least officially. The continent’s comparatively low number of reported cases has puzzled scientists and prompted many theories about its exceptionalism, from its young population to its countries’ rapid and aggressive lockdowns.
But numerous seroprevalence surveys, which use blood tests to identify whether people have antibodies from prior infection with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), point to a significant underestimation of African countries’ COVID burden. Undercounting could increase the risk of the disease spreading widely, hinder vaccine rollout and uptake, and ultimately threaten global efforts to control the pandemic, experts warn. Wherever the virus is circulating—especially in regions with little access to vaccines—new mutations are likely to arise, and it is crucial to identify them quickly.
Statistics from around the world concur. View a chart mapping excess deaths and track cases.
As covid-19 has spread around the world, people have become grimly familiar with the death tolls that their governments publish each day. Unfortunately, the total number of fatalities caused by the pandemic may be even higher, for several reasons. First, the official statistics in many countries exclude victims who did not test positive for coronavirus before dying—which can be a substantial majority in places with little capacity for testing. Second, hospitals and civil registries may not process death certificates for several days, or even weeks, which creates lags in the data. And third, the pandemic has made it harder for doctors to treat other conditions and discouraged people from going to hospital, which may have indirectly caused an increase in fatalities from diseases other than covid-19.
Further tracking Covid-19:

Healthy planet, anyone?

To reiterate what most humans know but cannot figure out how, collectively, to address: fossil fuels, cattle and rotting waste produce greenhouse gas responsible for 30% of global heating 
Slashing methane emissions is vital to tackling the climate crisis and rapidly curbing the extreme weather already hitting people across the world today, according to a new UN report…that found that methane emissions could be almost halved by 2030 using existing technology and at reasonable cost. A significant proportion of the actions would actually make money, such as capturing methane gas leaks at fossil fuel sites.
Read “Cutting methane emissions is quickest way to slow global heating – UN report” >> 
***
A reminder: “The explosive growth of the human population—from 2.5 billion to 6 billion since the second half of the 20th century—may have already started changing how infectious diseases emerge” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I began my birthday – Saturday - paying more attention to the garden at my mother’s house. Since taking the house off the market, my enthusiasm for gardening has returned and I weeded, cleared, and sorted through piles of discarded wood, most of which is recyclable. 
After that, I visited my mother at the Care Center (tight lockdown reigns again and I needed prior permission to visit). She was tired and, after dropping asleep twice in ten minutes, I let her catch up on her sleep.
I returned to my own place and continued trimming the overgrown hedge. My initial plan had been to purchase an electric hedge trimmer and carve animal shapes into the hedge. Indeed, I started with a bison, or a wildebeest, depending on one’s perspective, then, put aside my hedge aspirations as more pressing tasks demanded attention. I returned to hedge clipping after a contract gardener failed to show up. Hedge clipping, particularly for a hedge with branches reaching above the roof line, is hard work. I divided the work over two days. It’s finished, now, though the hedge has the semi-bald, chopped look of a child’s doll after the child discovers scissors and haircuts. 
Ah well, a gal does her best….
***
A SA postal service story: a Christmas card arrived for my mother. Posted in England well before Christmas, 2020 it arrived 6 May, 2021.
***
This year, my solitary birthday was one-of-a-kind. Sunlight poured the French doors into the living room/kitchen (shut tight to prevent dogs from entering and begging). As I cooked a delicious meal, I sipped a claret wine (similar to a cabernet) and, by lunch, I was nicely buzzed. (A glassful does it: I’m not much of a wine drinker.) A wine buzz is conducive to reviewing the past year and I concluded 2020/2021 has been a “learning experience par excellence.”
Red red wine, Bob Marley version  (5:30 mins)
***
I found a small gecko among my blankets as I made my bed. I tossed a sock over him/her/it and, as I laid the creature on the windowsill, wondered, first, how it become entangled in my blankets and, second, if a gecko can find its way into my bed, could a snake do so, too?
Hmmm, best not to overthink….
Meantime, days are sunny, bright, and warm. Nights? Not so much. Late fall means shorter days and less sunlight…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.
May 10: sunrise 6:33am; sunset 5:17pm.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Choices

Worldwide (Map
May 6, 2021 – 154,775,000,0xx confirmed infections; 3,237,590 deaths
November 19, 2020 – 56,188,000 confirmed infections; 1,348,600 deaths
October 22, 2020 – 41,150,000 confirmed infections; 1,130.410 deaths

US (Map)  
May 6, 2021 – 32,557,300,xx confirmed infections; 579,300 deaths
November 19, 2020 – 11,525,600 confirmed infections; 250,485 deaths
October 22, 2020 – 8,333,595 confirmed infections; 222,100 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)  
May 6, 2021 – 1,588,225 confirmed infections; 54,560 deaths
November 19, 2020 – 757,145 confirmed infections; 20,556 deaths
October 22, 2020 – 708,360 confirmed infections; 18,750 deaths

Tracking Covid-19:
***

News blues

Over the past six months, a battle has been brewing over intellectual property and patents on vaccines. Some – many US Congress people included, who receive corporate political donations from pharmaceutical companies – find the idea of sharing human ingenuity during a pandemic anathema and refuse to back the trend.  Others, including US President Biden – back the suggestion to share patents.
India and South Africa were the leading voices in a group of about 60 countries which for the last six months has been trying to get the patents on vaccines set aside. However, they met with strong opposition from the previous US administration of Donald Trump, the UK and the EU.
… Biden, has taken a different tack… backed a waiver during the 2020 presidential campaign and reiterated his support on Wednesday. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called the move a "monumental moment" in the fight against Covid-19….” 
Let’s hear a giant cheer for sharing….

Local news blues 

The post back on January 10, 2021 – Covid closes in -  mentioned two cases of Covid-19 infection in the Care Center where my mother resides. Details of patients were confidential, but the grapevine reported both patients recovered.
During my visit last Monday, my mother complained that Center caregivers wear masks and that she, my mother, cannot hear what they’re saying. (Ironic, as even with my ear an inch from my mother’s mouth, I cannot hear what she is saying….) I explained to her, again, the need for masks, updated her on the pandemic’s effects upon India, and reminded her that even the carefully monitored Center had experienced two infections.
The resident sitting in the Laz-i-boy next to my mother overheard my explanation (through my own mask) and said, “I was one of the residents infected!”
About 70-years-old, a recent amputee, and suffering skin cancer on his bald scalp – he described that experience: no sense of smell; no interest in food – “tasted horribly salty or horribly sugary”; unable to breath without additional oxygen; painful lungs; general malaise.
He’s the first person I’ve met with firsthand experience.
***
On May 4, I received an email from the Care Center with the following excerpts:
As of last week, our staff began receiving COVID Vaccinations… and will continue to do so until all are vaccinated.
Yesterday, however, one of our clinic Sisters tested positive. She’s been sick since Saturday and is isolated at home. While not a Care Centre staff member, she interacts with our staff and some residents and her office is located in the Care Centre.
Two Care Centre residents who recently visited with family members – and those family members – also tested positive. Both residents will isolate for the next days, both are doing well, and neither shows symptoms.
Random COVID tests are regularly conducted in the Care Centre and we are happy to advise that there are no positive cases at this time.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. If you wish to see your Mom please phone to make an appointment or to advise if you plan to take her out.
Due to recent exposures… we must return to strict lockdown until May 12, 2021…
The email goes on to describe the tighter restrictions.
Alas, not only is it Mother’s Day, it’s also my birthday. Moreover, I’ve yet to share my travel plans with my mother – or that my brother was admitted to hospital.
I’m highly motivated to pass my pre-flight Covid test and return to California. I have no intention of exposing myself to an infection that could, potentially, keep me here.
Thank the gods Care Center staff accept and play WhatsApp audio messages to residents. I frequently communicate with my mother via WhatsApp – and will continue to do so in California. Nevertheless, it feels ‘cold’ to inform her via audio message that 1) her beloved son is in hospital, and 2) that I plan to board 3 planes – in Pietermaritzburg, Johannesburg, and Heathrow – and skedaddle back to California.
I’ve requested permission to visit my mother on my birthday and, weather permitting, take her for a wheelchair ride. Depending on how she’s doing, I will break the news to her in person.
***
If all goes well, on May 11, I will make an online appointment at any of several clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive the first of two free Pfizer “shots” (vaccinations). After the initial shot, onsite clinicians will make an appointment for my second shot 3 weeks later.
Never have I more looked forward to shots!
***
The Lincoln Project: 
Mourning One Year (1:52 mins)
This message  (0:45 mins)
Swamp Thing  (0:56 mins)
Lincoln Project Town Hall – Republican Party  (1:20 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Autumn/fall days are here: cooler evenings and nights and warm sunlit days with a tendency toward chilly in the shade. This is a glorious time of year in the Midlands. Snakes like it too.
I head the domestic worker shriek, “Inyoka!”
Snake!
I grabbed my cellphone camera and dashed upstairs where a lovely, slender, 12-to-14-inch bright green snake coiled in the passageway. 
Likely a juvenile, its eyes and jaw appeared a lighter shade of green. Google suggested it was a Common Green Snake.
I’ve seen far fewer snakes in the Midlands than I saw when I grew up in Valley of 1000 Hills of KwaZulu Natal. There, one regularly – daily? - spotted large, venomous snakes – puff- and night-adders, boomslang, mambas, ringhals (spitting cobra) along with occasional non-venomous mole and grass snakes.
Five years, off and on, in the Midlands, and I’ve seen six snakes: two gorgeous rhombic night adders, two green snakes (likely Common Green Snakes), and two Common Brown River Snakes. (Does “common” refer to the shade of brown, the shade of the river, the frequency of the snake, all the above? LOL!) 
According to herpetologists, snakes are viewed more frequently during autumn as they seek shelter for their winter hibernation.
***
In consultation with my mother, we agreed that seven months trying to sell this house with little success, we’d take it off the market for now.
The decision is a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. The stress, uncertainty, and anger I’ve experienced for months is disappearing. Moreover, I’m enjoying working in the garden again, feel creative, generous with my time and energy. I’m once more nourished by pruning, weeding, transplanting, and imagining what may unexpectedly sprout in the garden after winter.
I depart for California in 25 days… with yet many more “Miles to go before I sleep…”. My mojo is back….
***
Since purchasing return tickets, my California friend and I regularly discuss a list of food items he will purchase from Trader Joe’s and deposit in my vehicle when I return to my houseboat. (Monday’s post outlines safety protocols he insists upon before allowing me near him or his home .)
At first, we argued about how each of us wanted me to format the grocery list. He wanted a straight Word-formatted list. My preference had been to create a fancy, bells and whistles list that, as I worked on it, allowed me to imagine the look, feel, and taste of foods I’ve missed for more than 485 days.
First on that list? 
Laceys Cookies Dark Chocolate Almond
(c) Trader Joe's
Laceys Cookies Dark Chocolate Almond.
Food porn! Yum! 
Thank you, Google!

I’ve been gone so long from California that I had not realized Google provides photos and descriptions of TJ items! (TJ’s website is not half as nourishing as Google-searching for items.) 
Since that discovery, no more arguing over formatting of my grocery list. He’ll get explicit photos to guide him and I have the satisfaction of food porn until I’m driving the real thing to my houseboat.
(FYI for readers unfamiliar with the US and its hype-consumerism. American shoppers have multiple brands and multiple versions of most food items: multiple choices of dairy, for example, from full fat, low fat, non-fat, even non-dairy. Multiple diets: “junk”, healthy, meat eater, veggie, vegan, non-GMO, non-dairy, etc.
In America, shopping for groceries requires full attention, total concentration, scrutinizing of labels, scratching, sniffing… and buying, usually constrained not by actual need but by how much money one can afford to spend.
Freedom. Ain’t it great? (Confusing, too. I’ve heard shagging-dog stories about people from other countries being overwhelmed by the stress of such variety choice – and high-tailing it “back home”….)
***
Getting darker here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.
May 6: sunrise 6:30am; sunset 5:20pm.


Sunday, May 2, 2021

Fly me to SFO…

News blues

First batch of Pfizer vaccine arrives in South Africa
***
Tracking Covid-19:
***
Recent political ad from MeidasTouch: Voices  (1:15 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

© Our World in Data 
Most of the plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources: by weight, 70 percent to 80 percent is plastic that is transported from land to the sea via rivers or coastlines. The other 20 percent to 30 percent comes from marine sources such as fishing nets, lines, ropes, and abandoned vessels.
…higher-resolution modeling of global riverine plastics… found that rivers emitted around 1 million tonnes of plastics into the oceans in 2015 (with an uncertainty ranging from 0.8 to 2.7 million tonnes). Around one-third of the 100,000 river outlets that they modeled contributed to this. The other two-thirds emitted almost no plastic to the ocean. It’s an important point because we might think that most, if not all, rivers are contributing to the problem. This is not the case.
But, importantly, the latest research suggests that smaller rivers play a much larger role than previously thought. In this chart 
(c) Meijer et al

we see the comparison of the latest research (in red) with the two earlier studies which mapped global riverine inputs. This chart shows how many of the top-emitting rivers (on the x-axis) make up a given percentage of plastic inputs (y-axis). Note that the number of rivers on the x-axis is given on a logarithmic scale.
… the latest research suggests that the top ten emitting rivers contribute a much smaller amount than previously thought: just 18% of plastics compared to 56% and 91% from previous studies. And to account for 80% of river plastics we need to include the top 1,656 rivers. This compares to previous studies which suggested the largest five or 162 rivers were responsible for 80%.
This makes a massive difference to how we tackle plastic pollution. If five rivers were responsible for most of the problem then we should focus the majority of our efforts there. A targeted approach. But if this comprises thousands of rivers we’re going to need to cast a much wider net of mitigation efforts.
Read “Where does the plastics in our oceans come from?” >> 
The Ocean Cleanup Project’s beautiful interactive map encourages you to explore plastic inputs from each of the world’s rivers.
Very interesting data. Most interesting to me? Given its consumer-orientation, the US and US rivers are, by far, not emitters of plastics via rivers.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I did it! I booked tickets to return to San Francisco Bay Area. I’m going home!
Listen to oldies on this happy topic: My plan after I land in SFO? 
Head to my daughter’s place to hole up for the night. Next day, go for the first appointment of two for the Pfizer vaccinations. My daughter will make the appointment for me before I arrive.
After that, still wearing face shield and mask, I'll head to the BART train station nearest the friend who has kept my vehicle in good shape during my absence.
Among the first to have received the two-step Pfizer vaccination, this friend has made clear that – until I’ve had both vaccinations - I’m not invited to stay in his home. He plans to shop for and place essential groceries in my van and, maintaining needed social distance at the train station, point out the location of my vehicle so I can drive to my houseboat.
***
The grim humor of flying commercial in South Africa? Airlines carrying travelers on the short, one hour flight to Johannesburg offer insurance to “Receive a full refund of airfare and taxes if the airline you are flying with is liquidated prior to departure.”
This is the reality of political corruption and the results of politicians draining the country’s coffers, particularly SOEs - State-owned Enterprises - of vitally needed funds in a country with 55.75 percent unemployed and largely uneducated youth.
Recent stories of endemic corruption in South Africa: "Millions Out, Billions In (Part One): Businessman Thulani Majola’s investment in ANC and EFF kept everyone sweet "  
Even as the Zondo commission warns, “ANC must confront 'painful truths' about its non-response to state capture…”  news regularly breaks about of Eskom’s ongoing corruption. I’ve railed about Eskom in this blog. It’s the SOE that regularly imposes “load shedding” – power outages - even as it seeks to raise the cost of electricity. The latest, “Power utility’s R178 000 000 000 dodgy tender tsunami.” 
Cry, the beloved country?
***
Longer nights, shorter days.…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.