The View from the Hermitage, Day 291

We interrupt this irregularly scheduled pandemic for a public service announcement on New Year's resolutions, past and present. I'm not even going to try to assess how I did on each and every one of last year's (2020) resolutions given that several were achieved under the influence of the novel coronavirus. Not using plastic straws in particular and using as few single-use plastic items as possible were almost too easy. Not eating out meant not having to refuse a plastic straw and draw out one of my personal metal ones. Much of my single-use plastic items were water bottles, and if I used any it was only a couple and likely on my February trip to Texas. One item on the list was "make good art." In my dreams maybe. I certainly did not foresee living in the basement guest room for six months, emptying and refilling the house in terms of "stuff." But enough of 2020; what did I come up with for 2021?

I had more trouble than usual coming up with ones for next year (2021). The ones for 2020 in retrospect seemed too nebulous or touchy-feely. When I started doing formal resolutions, I tried to make them quantitative, such as "work out so many days each week." Even after deciding to return to some quantitative degree, I struggled a bit. I've been in a bit of a funky mood the last day or two which may have been the reason. I found some notes I'd made on other occasions and came up with the following:

EACH MONTH:

1. Make a pie.
2. Use the Instant Pot.
3. Start, work on, or finish a "creative thing."
4. Donate or toss one banker's box of stuff.
5. Use Apple watch's monthly fitness goal or set one of my own.

AS LONG AS NECESSARY: Continue this blog until I'm fully vaccinated.

 

The pie one is a throwback to one Son #2 had one year, which was to "eat more pie." That same Son also gave me The Pie Almanac for Christmas, so I have a new reference from which to work. The Instant Pot one is an attempt to overcome my fear of it. I have only found a couple of recipes that are at the high level of detail I with which I feel comfortable. What is it they say? Do something every day that scares you. The third and fourth are somewhat self-explanatory. I wanted a resolution dealing with fitness but working out so many days a week doesn't seem to take into account the various aches, pains, and  injuries someone my age (64) might suffer. The Apple watch goal for January is to close all three fitness rings for seven days in a row. The rings are the watch's assessment of how many calories I burn, how long I work out, and how many hours in which I spend some small amount of time not sitting down.

 

Today has been one year since WHO first mentioned a mysterious pneumonia in China. As I understand it, there were docs and scientists who almost immediately started to work on sequencing the genome of the virus. That work made possible the type of vaccines so far approved for use in the US. Of course, not everyone views those vaccines positively. Supposedly, over half of Ohio's nursing home workers are refusing to be vaccinated. The Professor read news of someone removing vials of vaccine from cold storage so they would degrade and be unusable. Something like 500 doses spoiled, which is 500 people who will have to wait longer to get vaccinated. 

 

An Axios survey asked "Are you more hopeful or more fearful about what the year 2021 has in store for you personally?" Overall, 73 percent reported feeling more hopeful compared to 2 5 percent feeling more fearful. The percentages of Black, Asian, and Hispanic respondents feeling hopeful were all in the 80s, while only 70 percent of white respondents felt hopeful. The big split should not be surprising. Republicans were 52 percent hopeful and 47 percent fearful; Independents were 78 percent hopeful and 21 percent fearful; and Democrats were 91 percent hopeful and 8 percent fearful.

 

Every year about this time, the Associated Press has published their list of the top 10 stories of the year passing. This year they did not, instead citing 2020 itself as the story of the year. I cannot disagree with that rationale. 2020: the year that sucked.

 

Finally, I should start carrying my phone with me on the early morning walks with Son #1 and The Family Dog, The clouds to the east this morning had been daubed with pale red paint. Not the sky--red sky and night and so on--just the clouds. And several days ago, the moon seemed at its fullest as it sat almost right atop the horizon. I could have put that as a resolution, I guess, but if I start adding or editing, who knows what I might come up with.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 290

Yesterday we set another new record for the number of Americans dying of covid-19 in one day: 3,275. It's only going to get worse as 2021 sets in. It's three weeks until the inauguration given that there is no Wednesday surprise on January 6 when the House accepts the Electoral College results. January 20  could be our first day over 5,000 deaths. Republican Congressman-Elect Luke Letlow from Louisiana, who was to have been sworn in on Sunday, died yesterday of covid. Father of two young children, he was only 41 and had no underlying conditions. 

Google released data on things we googled during 2020. Excluding "coronavirus" and "election," the largest search of any single event was Kobe Bryant's death. The total number of searches for "coronavirus" over the entire year was more than 10 times the Kobe searches. And the spike in searches for "election" around November 3 was higher than any single "coronavirus" spike. My initial reaction to that was how could the death of a sports idol be more important than ... than ... I couldn't think of any other single event that might have competed with "coronavirus" or "election." It was a pretty weird year.

Workers are removing the parade reviewing stand that had been constructed in from of the White House. Uncle Joe will be sworn in outside, but it sounds as if there won't be the traditional inaugural parade and walk to the White House from the Capitol. It's going to be a mostly virtual day. I'm sure there will be complaints, but not from here. So much of Inauguration Day is for show, and this may not be the time for that. Still, I hope he and Aunt Jill, er, that is, Dr. Biden get to relax a bit and savor the day. I wonder if the couch in the family part of the White House is big enough for both of them as well as Champ and Major.

Argentina has legalized abortion up to 14 weeks in a pregnancy. I did not see that coming. And it's nice to see even if I don't expect many other predominantly Catholic countries to follow suit. I have not looked up how Pope Francis feels about this but probably well eventually.

We're taking down all the Christmas things tomorrow. Normally we do it on New Year's Day, but I'm in such a hurry to bid 2020 a not-so-fond farewell that I want Christmas 2020 over and done with before 2021 steps in. This means I need to get serious if I'm going to make any formal resolutions for the new year. Something other than get my hair cut and highlighted, call the hand clinic about my thumb and/or wrist issues, reschedule Monday's cancelled  otolaryngology appointment, go to the dentist, and so on. The life things put on hold for the months of the pandemic do not equal resolutions for the new year.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 289

Remember from a day or two ago that one in every thousand Americans has died of covid-19? Here's another one for you: one out of 17 Americans has tested positive for covid-19. I know I do know 17 Americans, and since my mom tested positive, that's my one. Coming up with another 17 might be dicey. There's a reason I haven't really minded hermitting: I am more than a bit introverted. 

Continuing with news of the novel coronavirus, new figures released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control reveal that the infection rate in Wuhan could have been 10 times higher than the official figure. Not to be outdone, Russia has admitted that their covid-19 death toll is more than triple the official number. Are they trying to keep up with or outdo us (the US) when it comes to covid numbers? They have a ways to go.

Finally, almost 1.3 million people passed through airports on Sunday, suggesting that Dr. Fauci's prediction of a surge upon a surge may indeed come to pass. Perhaps I should be thankful that neither I nor The Professor come from a family so tightly knit that holidays cannot be passed in nuclear family pods.

Moving on from the pandemic, someone in the business organization named for The Lame Duck has conceded that he will not, in fact, be inaugurated for a second term. The Washington, DC International Hotel bearing the surname of The Lame Duck has released the rooms it was holding for January 16-20, presumably for Duck supporters to attend the inauguration. 

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is always a slow one, but it seems especially slow this year. In several years, this has been the week in which The Professor and I journeyed to the north--Iceland or Norway--in search of the Northern Lights. Last year's visit to Newport News, Virginia, in search of its downtown was an aberration, but one planned because we would be traveling to three of the 'Stans in May. This year, neither Iceland nor Norway would be particularly welcoming, and even Canada is out of the question. (One year we do plan to search for the aurora in Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories.)

I have been thinking about those pesky New Year's resolutions I always make. I never seem to get very far with many of them, though I am still doing the first one I consciously set some decades ago, which is to put the laundry away every night. Interesting how that keeps piles of folded clothes from multiplying in one's bedroom space. For many years, I set goals for working out a certain number of days each year. I think I succeeded at all of those, but when I think of such resolutions now, my aging joints remind me of just how old they are. I am, fingers crossed, about to make it through 2020 without major joint surgery. My major joints and even-numbered years share a history. In 2014, I had my torn right rotator cuff and labrum fixed. In 2016, it was the same on my left side. In 2018,  I had my right knee replaced. I vowed then that the left knee was not to be done in 2020. Treating my right knee the way they advised me to after the replacement has taken strain off the left knee. It hurts less now than it did before the replacement.

I did start on a new creative venture last night, though I have no idea what it will end up being. Several years ago, The Professor gave me a set of kimono pockets obtained from Kyoto Kimono. A friend who went to her brother's wedding in Japan send me some silk pieces she bought there. The pockets were in most cases pieces sewn together with an opening, probably why they were called "pockets." I'm ripping the seams and making them all flat pieces, some of one fabric but most of two. I have a general idea what I might do with them, but I want to get them all flattened before I decide for sure.  I expect I'll be back on this topic before the pandemic ends, so enlightenment may await.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 288

How to avoid not writing until 7:00 in the evening? Write at 1:30 in the afternoon. Last night, I tempted readers with mention of an exploding coffee carafe. When Son #1's company closed their local office, Son #1, one of two local staff members, had to empty the office of  everything. Son #1 ended up with two coffee makers. We thought there might be a problem with our coffee maker, so Son #1 brought the two extra ones out. The Mr. Coffee was missing its carafe, and the handle on the thermal Krup carafe was broken. The Professor never gets rid of anything he thinks he might be able to fix and decided to try to repair the handle using epoxy. He got everything glued and taped into place and set the carafe aside. A while later, there was a rather loud explosion. Even with a hearing aid for one ear, I cannot localize sound, but I thought the explosion came from the kitchen. So did The Professor who was at the kitchen sink washing some dishes. My first thought was the microwave, but we hadn't been using it. No explosion there, nor was there one apparent anywhere. There were a number of gunshots outside, probably hunters breaking in their new guns, but the explosion seemed too loud to be from outside. Oh well. 

The next morning, while  Son #1 and I were out with The Family Dog, The Professor decided to check the repair on the handle of the carafe. When he unscrewed the lid to which the handle was attached, a mist of glass crystals followed the rising lid. The glass lining of the carafe had exploded. My theory is that the repair may have locked the lid tighter than it should have been, letting pressure build up, and boom! Do not try this at home, but it was an explosion worth hearing. 

In The Guardian this morning, the UK's leading psychiatrist called the novel coronavirus the "greatest  threat to mental health since the second world was." Its impact will be felt for years, and will include the time it takes to readjust once the virus is under control. The virus has also changed the social support networks of many people; those, too, will require time in which to readjust. The Washington Post this morning ran "Dreading and dreaming of returning to the office." More readjustment, especially for those who have embraced working from home. Having worked at home for most of what passed for my career, I can say that one does get a lot more work done without the coworker who stops by your desk to pass some time on her way to the ladies'.

The Guardian also contained an article on the "Trump era in 32 words and phrases." I agree with some of them more than others, and they left out two I would have included: covfefe and rino (Republican in name only). Some of the ones they got dead-on: alternative facts, American carnage, America first. bigly, Never Trumper, witch-hunt. And how dare I fail to include Javanka?

On a very different note, if you liked Spam, how would you feel about meat-free Spam? It's getting to be thing in Asia. I think I bought Spam once to show The Sons what I'd meant when I described my mom's serving Spam pizza. I don't think we artit once I'd opened the can, but I might be repressing the fact that we did.

And on another different note, scientists have discovered a new species of snake. Where did they find it? In the University of Kansas' Biodiversity Institute's collection of preserved specimens. One has never been photographed alive. In case you were worried, scientists say it is unlikely to be venomous. 

If you have the interest and time, I highly recommend an upcoming issue of The New Yorker on "The Plague Years." It lays out three moments that the US missed in the early days of the novel coronavirus, one in January, one in February, and one in March. Had any one of them not been missed, we could be in a much better place today than we are. Hindsight is always 20-20. Parts may raise your blood pressure, and you may not want to read it all in one sitting, but it is worth reading.

This morning I cancelled a medical appointment I had scheduled for next Monday. It was to check the abutment screwed into my skull and into which my hearing aid fits. The appointment was supposed to be in October but got moved to January due to the doc's schedule. I figured I could move it due to mine. I told them I would call to schedule something after I'd been vaccinated. Forty-one weeks into being a hermit, I am not going to risk even one brief exposure. That's why I'm not getting my hair cut so that it will no longer fall to cover my eyes. I give it about six more weeks until it's long enough to stay behind my ears. 

Will New Year's Eve and Day feel any different given that we're bidding adieu to a year like no other and hoping against hope that the coming one is less surprising or surprising in a positive way? As I typed that, I did think that any year is like no other. We carry each passing year with us as we felt it--the highs, the lows, the lost opportunities, and the found treasures. We each have different years of our own making. As for the coming year, it will be what it will  be.

The View from the Pandemic, Day 287

Forty-one weeks; can fifty-two be far off? I continue to wonder at times not just what day of the week it is but what month of the year. The Christmas tree reminds me that it is December until it is has been retired to the garage. I write so few checks that at least I won't have the "what year do I put in the date?" conundrum. 

Here's a statistic to think about. One in every 1,000 Americans has died of covid-19. The Census Bureau says that in this last week of December 20202 the population is some 330,750,000. There have been some 311,116 deaths. The math works. One in every 1,000 Americans has died of covid-19. In the early days of the pandemic, people seemed to have no problem with schools being moved to remote learning, assorted businesses being shuttered, and people staying home. How much worse are things now? Considerably. So why can't we accept the same strategies we accepted early on? Why am I even asking? I should know better.

A non-time conundrum: an 82-year-old covid-19 patient was sharing a hospital room with a 37-year-old patient. When the 82-year-old began to pray, the 37-year-old bludgeoned him to death with an oxygen tank. So, will the 82-year-old's death be counted as from covid-19? Here's another stumper. In April, an 86-year-old woman became disoriented and grabbed another patient's IV stand for support. The other patient pushed her back for violating social distance protocols and the elderly patient died. One more death that could fit into one of two boxes. 

The Virginia new case numbers have rebounded from the Christmas Day low. Situation normal except for the percent positivity of 12.2. The last time the percent positivity was 12.2, it was May 26 and reopening was still more of a concept than a practice. 

So, not a very long post today. I could stretch it out by relating the story of the exploding coffee carafe, but I'll save that for a day on which I don't start writing until 7:00 pm.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 286

It's Boxing Day in many countries, the day after Christmas in others. It's been a quiet day, a letdown, but not in a bad way, from the hullabaloo that was Christmas Day. Maybe someday I will feel as if I know what I'm doing pulling a holiday dinner together, things such as getting all the dishes at the right eating temperature at the right time. I can see why some people have two ovens, though it's not worth it to have an extra for just a couple meals a year. Maybe multiple microwaves would offer a solution in terms of  being able to re-heat multiple dishes at the same time.

Son #2 and DiL= arrived late morning bringing dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, mushroom gravy, and more presents to add to the pile already under the tree. We took time in the middle of opening presents to do a Zoom call with my mom. We weren't able to see her, but she could see the five of us. We talked of this and that, what she got for Christmas lunch, how the various animals in Son #2 and Dil='s menagerie are doing, and the difficulty of seeing a barber or stylist while quarantining. As The Professor was bemoaning the state of his lengthening hair, Son #1 picked the scissors up off the desk and started trimming The Professor's hair. He didn't do a bad job; maybe The Professor will have him do it regularly rather than returning to the barber.

I somehow lost track of the number of books I put on my Amazon.com wishlist; I think I got more than a year's worth of reading.

The only one that was not on the list is the one on the far right, not really shown. It's Pie Academy, leading me to consider adding "make more pies" to my list of New Year's resolutions. I also got five 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles. Since I can't do puzzles while reading, I'll have to practice serious time management. I also hope to get back to learning on one of my rigid heddle looms, the reason for the weaving book shown. I've put most creative pastimes on hold while supposedly unpacking and putting away. Another New Year's resolution in the works, perhaps?

Since this is supposedly a pandemic blog, I should report that the number of new cases reported in Virginia yesterday was way down, about a third of each of the previous three days. I was expecting that and would have been more than extremely worried had it not been that low. Nationally, more than 327 thousand people have died, though the nukmber is likely higher because of deaths by other causes being hastened by covid-19.

Want to move to Finland? Too bad, applications have closed for the program through which forreign tech workers and their families can apply to relocate to Finland for 90 days to see if they might like to move there permanently. In that case, the government will assist with granting residency and assist with other paperwork items. There were 5,300 applications in the month in which applications were open. Most of those, 30 percent, came from Canada and the US. Fifty Britons applied, and there was actually one applicant from Vanuatu in the South Pacific. It sounds interesting, but I've read that Finnish is not at all easy to learn.

Perhpas tomorrow I'll comment more on the affairs of the world that matter to me and possibly some that don't. In the meantime, I have to finish my current book (Erik Larson's The Splendid and the Vile) so I can get started on one of the new ones. Oh, Son #2 also brought a book I wanted to borrow from him, Erik Larson's Thunderstruck.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 285

Our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls are rising, the tree and decorations are lit, the animals have been fed, and I have heard from Son #2 about when he and DiL= might arrive. I still need to schedule a Zoom chat with my mom. That and, probably, checking Virginia's covid-19 numbers from yesterday are all I plan to do computer-wise today. Note I said "plan." All things are subject to change.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good day!

The View from the Hermitage, Day 284

Merry Christmas Eve! I have spent the day in the kitchen preparing as much as I could do in advance to take some of the strain off tomorrow. Berry sauce to go with a cheesecake (we are including Son #2's missed birthday, and he asked for cheesecake with berry sauce). Pumpkin pie. Dressing. Simple syrup to go in the pisco sours we'll be making in a bit. The Professor helped with all of it. And once the dressing comes out of the oven, we can put in the half-baked pizza The Professor got curbside at our favorite pizza place. The Professor always buys one of my gifts on Christmas Day, and this year we agreed it could be the pizza. 

No politics today, though there is news on which I could comment. As for the pandemic, Virginia set another record in terms of the number of new cases and the rolling seven-day average number of cases yesterday. We'll hit 5,000 new cases one day next week if not tomorrow. And the TSA screened almost 1.2 million passengers yesterday, the highest number since the pandemic began. Wait for it. Starting about January 4, we'll be slammed even harder than we've already been.

And now for a few non-political, non-pandemic items that don't really relate to Christmas or Christmas Eve, but that caught my attention. KFC, otherwise known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, has launched a game console that include a place to keep your chicken warm as you game. It's sort of a "chicken chamber." This is not the first KFC tie-in to another popular product. In February 2020, KFC and Crocs produced a limited edition shoe covered in fried chicken print. And in December 2019, KFC partnered with EnviroLog for a chicken-scented, 11 herbs and spices fire log. 

It turns out that trees may not be Tolkien's ents but they do talk to one another through an underground network of fungal threads called hyphae. As a result, forests can act like one but super-organism. Just don't call it the Wood-Wide Web. That is not my thought but one from the article I read about this. 

I came across a 2016 National Geographic article I missed on its first run. A hunk of amber purchased at a market in Myanmar contained the first dinosaur tail found in amber. The dinosaur's feathers were even visible through the amber. The feathers remind me of something I recently saw on Facebook wondering if dinosaurs honked or quacked like ducks rather than roaring as the ones in Jurassic Park do. Somehow, a tyrannosaurus rex honking as it charged you doesn't seem the same as one roaring. 

Finally, this year I discovered Tim Cotton, a member of the Bangor, Maine Police Department and a very talented writer. In a short piece posted this morning, he used the phrase "...tall glass of contemplative consideration..." I like that. I think I might make more contemplative consideration one of my New Year's resolutions.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 283

We saw the conjunction plus one day last night; it was pretty darned impressive. The photos I took with my iPhone weren't great, but they were better than the ones I tried through my Canon PowerShot SX50 HS. Here's the best of the phone shots (it's also posted to Facebook, so some may have seen it before).

The darker lines are what you may have thought they might be, tree branches. We were watchingfrom both our second-floor and first-floor decks, and they aren't taller than the trees. We're going to go down the road a bit to try for a tree-less view tonight assuming the clouds don't go beyond the wispy they currently are. We don't have a telescope, but Son #1's rifle sights worked so well that we could see some of the moons of Jupiter. Saturn's rings weren't visible, but that probably would have been asking too much. 

2020 has turned out to be the deadliest year in US history. We're going to have somewhere around 3.2 million deaths or at least 400,000 more than we had in 2019. Right now, someone in the US is dying from covid-19 every 33 seconds. Every. 33. Seconds. That's close to two people per minute, 120 people per hour. Yes, we've made America great again.

Taking the pandemic in a humorous direction, yesterday's New York Times ran a column by Megan Nolan with the title "The Joys of Frivolous Sex." It can be difficult to hook up for frivolous sex when the bars and clubs are closed and you can't stroll the sidewalks. Some countries took that into account when dealing with the pandemic. From the column:

"In Holland, officials advised coming to an arrangement with a sex buddy. Denmark's health chief said, 'Sex is good, sex is healthy. As with any other human contact, there is a rick of infection. But of course one must be able to have sex.' Whether you agree or disagree, at least these countries were capable of addressing what was a serious concern for many of their citizens."

I'm not sure I want to imagine what The Lame Duck might have to say on this topic. Shudder. 

Speaking of The Lame Duck, this morning's Guardian included this line:

"It means a cloud of uncertainty over what Trump is still capable of and how to assess the threat level."

He is still focused on overturning the election results, now discussing how to get the House of Representatives to throw out the electoral votes from certain states. He's also handing out pardons right and left. Pardons, like executive orders, do not require approval or ratification by any other body. It's pure and simple executive power, and that's right up on the top of The Duck's list for Santa. 

At least The Duck isn't Vladimir Putin, who signed a bill granting lifetime immunity to former Russian presidents and their families, immunity that covers anything they may have done or will do in their lifetime. It's not term-limited. Before, they were only immune in terms of crimes committed while they were in office. This immunity makes them exempt from questioning, searches, or arrests. The Lame Duck would not need to pardon The Ducklings. This would cover them as well as himself.

And on the nature front, Norwegian lemmings are evidently "bloodthirsty, hairy berserkers.' You think we have problems getting along.

Time to go assess the cloud cover to see if it's worth Son #2's time to come out from town. Tomorrow, it's supposed to rain all day, so this may be our last chance to get a close-up view. 

The View from the Hermitage, Day 282

I had topics and notes and honestly planned to write a post today. But after an afternoon of wrapping the remaining presents, finishing a couple so that they could be wrapped, and otherwise being busy, I find that it is almost 5:30. The sky is, so far, clear to the southwest, so I have fingers crossed for the conjunction we did not see last night due to clouds. The caveat is that to the southwest of us is the local city, and it's not clear what effect the ambient light is going to have on visibility. There's always something! There is also tomorrow. See you 'round.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 281

The Christmas Ape has spoken. Christmas is coming. I do not remember when the tradition of The Christmas Ape began. My brother gave Son #1 a stuffed ape back in the day. The ape had a zipper up its back and could be opened up to become a globe. At some point, the zipper locked up and became zipless. At some point after that as we were finishing decorating the tree, Son #1 ran up to his room and came down with the ape, announcing that it should sit on top of the tree instead of the star. The top of the tree could fit into the zipless opening. We reached the compromise that the ape, already christened The Christmas Ape, would wear the star as a hat. And so was born a family tradition.

And here's the tree, lit, decorated, and presented. We left a few ornaments off for Son #2 and DiL= to hang on Friday. The presents are for five people and two animals. I like this much better than a large tree that forced the presents out in a larger area. We can actually walk past this tree to move between the living and dining rooms. 

The Washington Post asked readers "How would you describe 2020 in one word or phrase?" You can probably guess what the words were--Ugh, Surreal, Relentless, Heartbreaking, and the like. The Post's choice for "best summation" was from a 9-year-old in Beverly Hills, Michigan. I have heard no better description of 2020 than this:

Like looking both ways before crossing the street and then getting hit by a submarine.

Let me reiterate that this was offered by a 9-year-old. The Onion should hire this kid now or, in the vein of college athletics, offer the kid a full-ride education to finish and turn pro, obviously with The Onion.

Axios reports that The Lame Duck has abandoned plans to announce a 2024 run before the inauguration because doing so would show his base that he's giving up his fight to overturn the 2020 result. And if he's given up that fight, why should they send him more money to keep fighting? There are also reports that The Duck is going off the deep end and again considering declaring martial law so that troops can run new elections in the states he has contested without winning. I really hope it does not come to that, but there is no way in the universe to know what The Lame Duck will say or do from moment to moment. 

From The Lame Duck to Neanderthals is not too large a jump and leads nicely into the report I read this morning that Neanderthals and their predecessors may have hibernated. Fossilized human bones show signs of damage similar to that seen in the bones of animals that hibernate. That said, there are scientists who say that large animals such as bears don't actually hibernate as much as they fall into a less deep sleep or torpor. Because of their size, they cannot lower their body temperature enough to hibernate.

Something positive to come out of the pandemic! 2020 has seen one of the lowest levels of lightning deaths. Only 17 people have died from being struck by lightning. Staying indoors more or doing fewer outside activities could be the reason for the decline. It wasn't a huge decline. there were 21 lightning deaths in both 2018 and 2019, but there were 40 in 2016. We need to take the good where we can find it.

The stimulus bill was passed. Unlike with the first stimulus, The Professor and I will not receive any payment. This is fine with us. We did get a payment from the first stimulus. We upped the amount from three to four significant digits and made a donation to one of the local food banks. We would have donated whatever we got this time as well. 

The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter is drawing close. We hope not to have to live until 2080 to see the next one because it was cloudy here tonight. Details tomorrow.

 

The View from the Hermitage, Day 280

Once again, I got distracted yesterday and failed to hit the "Publish" button yesterday. I learned this when I called my mom and she wondered why I had not written anything yesterday. I did; I just didn't hit the final button.

Not going to post a lot today, but I did find some words this morning that make it into my list of quotes to remember. On Facebook, I follow a writer in Maine named Annie Louise Twitchell. Her post this morning included this:

Tomorrow can take care of itself until I get there.

 She followed up on this in her concluding thoughts:

I don't know where I am, but I do know where I'm going. I'm going to tomorrow, and wherever that leads.

As someone who often finds it hard to keep focus on the present, I needed those words this morning. I need those words right now. And I shall need those words in the future, probably more than I think.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 279

Keep America great! If that means breaking records, by jove we're there. Yesterday, there were 251,343 new coronavirus cases, a 19 percent increase over the last 14 days. And there were 2,805 deaths, a 26 percent increase over 14 days. Ten percent of Americans live in areas with a critical shortage of ICU beds. Critically injured in a traffic accident? There may not be room at the inn for you. There may also not be medical personnel who can treat you. When the pandemic started and New York City was the hot zone, doctors and nurses went there from other places to help sustain treatments. Now, everywhere seems to be a hot zone. Doctors and nurses everywhere are stretched thin. I did read that medical school applications were at new highs this year, but those docs won't be graduated for four years. 

To make the pandemic even scarier, Boris Johnson said that the coronavirus variant in southern England appears to be 70 percent more transmissible than existing strains. It does not seem to be more lethal or to cause different symptoms; it is just more contagious. Johnson has imposed restrictions significantly stronger than any we have or will ever see here. Imposition of restrictions does not mean people will follow them. I can't imagine the police storming a residence to count how many families have gathered together. 

The Lame Duck is still tweeting that Uncle Joe stole the election from him. He's also still asking for and accepting financial donations from his base. He's collected around $200 million so far. Not all of this is going toward reversing the elction results. One-fourth, or 25 cents of each dollar, goes to the Republican party. Some of the money has gone or is still going to pay off The Duck's campaign debts. The rest is going to the Save America Political Action Committee, probably laying the ground for The Lame Duck to try to be re-hatched in 2024. 

The Lame Duck is not exiting the the White House into a welcoming world. The neighbors have pointed out that the agreement with Palm Beach to change a mansion into a private club--Mar-a-Lago-- holds that no one can live there. He faces legal challenges from New York City and State, challenges he cannot pardon his way out of. Finally, he has over $400 million in debt coming due, and it is not at all clear he has the funds to repay them. 

It is still not clear if The Lame Duck plans to issue preemptive pardons for the Ducklings and, possibly, Rudy. And let's not forget the theory that he might preemptively pardon himself. For maximal effect, he could do that on January 19 or even the morning of January 20; Uncle Joe is not inaugurated until noon. How about stealing the headlines from Uncle Joe and then making his announcement for 2024 at a rally that coincides with the inauguration ceremony. I would not be at all surprised if any or all of that scenario took place. 

On a totally unrelated front, VP Pence yesterday announced, "Soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come." Guardians? Of the Galaxy? Nope. The Space Force will be made up of guardians. The inspiration was the original command motto of Air Force Space Command in 1983 which referred to "Guardians of the High Frontier." I can't imagine not sleeping better knowing that I have guardians protecting me. 

To protect yourself, I do not recommend flying in a Boeing 737 MAX when they go back in service on December 29. According to a congressional report, the FAA and Boeing "inappropriately coached: test pilots during re-certification efforts. Pilots who had gotten such coaching responded to one contingency within four seconds. Raw or un-coached pilots took 16 seconds. There are circumstances in which 16 seconds would be enough to react safely, but there may be more in which it would not. 

On the home front, the Christmas tree is standing in its intended spot. I have chosen ornaments to decorate it. Because it is shorter than we have had in the past, not all the usual ornaments will fit. I've set aside "special" ones. The Sons made some as did I; others were given to us by special friends. We will decorate the tree tomorrow. After that, I will declare us ready for Christmas. I will still have some gift-wrapping to do, but that's usual for the last minute. And The Professor traditionally purchases a present for me on December 24, a night on which I do not cook.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 278

The numbers continue to be astounding, like more than 17,000,000 coronavirus cases in the US. In Los Angeles, two people are dying of covid-19 every hour. If two people were dying in car accidents, drive-by shootings, or so many other things, there would be a public cry for action to be taken and quickly. I wish I could say that that was because those other causes of death seem more important to society in general than covid-19. But no, to quote the menfolk in my family, many people are stupid. A psychiatric hospital in California with 1,527 beds reports that 335 patients and 327 staff members are positive for covid-19. Don't get seriously ill in California; there are virtually no ICU beds available. 

The numbers in Virginia are not going up, which does not mean that they are going down. I am very afraid of how things will look in mid-January, when the Christmas surge comes. As with Thanksgiving, public health officials recommend people not travel, that they stay at home. As with Thanksgiving, a lot of people won't do that. I would love to have my mom come for Christmas dinner, but if she leaves her facility, she will have to isolate herself for two weeks after she returns. We'll Zoom with her instead. Is Zoom the next best thing to being there? For the time being, yes.

I felt so productive yesterday taking care of little things. Even without lifting heavy boxes or twisting, my back is back to sore today. No, I am not happy. Neither is The Professor since his steroid shot in the knee was rescheduled due to the snow that wasn't. I can't blame the doc's office for rescheduling. It may not have snowed, but the roads were more slippery than they would have been with snow. 

We will decorate the Christmas tree tomorrow, with help from Son #1. He is the only person allowed to put the Christmas Ape atop the tree. I don't remember how that started, but we have a stuffed ape that sits at the top of the tree wearing the Christmas star as a hat. There is even a Christmas ape ditty that might be sung, but no one outside the family will ever hear it. 

VP and Mrs. Pence got vaccinated on live TV this morning, as did CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta. Uncle Joe will be vaccinated, again on live TV, next week. The Lame Duck says he won't get vaccinated but doesn't care to explain that people who have had covid-19 won't be vaccinated until at least three months after they had it. At least that's what my mom was told. She and The Duck should have some antibodies protecting them for several months after their respective infections.

A week from right now, Christmas Day will be winding down. A week after that, 2020 will become history. How many footnotes will there be to any discussion of 2020? And, with two weeks remaining, are we still waiting for another shoe to drop? I would not be at all surprised if one did.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 277

Do we even need novel coronavirus details beyond the fact that we are still fucked? The US set a new death record yesterday with 3,580 people losing their fights with covid-19. There were around 240,000 new cases, and the number of covid-19 patients in hospital set a new high for the 11th day in a row. Eleven. Will we make it to 14 for two full weeks of daily record highs? In the time it took me to take The Family Dog out for the "business walk" she requested, an email from NBC Nightly News hit my inbox with this update:

 As vaccine distribution continues around the country, the enormity of the crisis is growing: Johns Hopkins University reported a record 247,403 new cases on Wednesday, and another 3,656 Americans died of the virus in a single day, also a record. An NBC News count showed more than 17 million confirmed Covid cases and more than 368,000 deaths.

Closer to home, Virginia's numbers hold steady at too high. I have not heard that the governor plans any further tightening of restrictions. If he needs help, he can read the post I got this morning form Huffington Post listing the seven places one is most apt to contract covid-19. One's own home heads the list, though I suspect that only holds if you invite people not in your pod in. If you won't let people in, then you could always go out yourself and be exposed at a social gathering. You might be tired of cooking or picking up take-out and head to a restaurant or bar which would not be a good idea. If you think your pandemic body isn't fit to be seen in a bar, don't even think about hitting a gym or fitness center. Need to thank the gods you haven't yet gotten covid-19? A religious service is not a good place to do that. Be thankful if you're still working from home because not all workplaces are covid-free; some have free-range covid-19 lurking. Finally, you don't need any new clothes or board games. Don't even think about going into a shop or store unless vitally necessary.

As for avoiding restaurants and bars, someone asked Dr. Fauci about the first place he would go when going places was no longer dangerous. He's longing for a beer and a burger at a neighborhood bar. Yet another reason I hold him in high esteem.

If I'd won the mega-millions lottery, I would be sorely tempted to spend whatever it takes to push the button to take down one of The Lame Duck's former casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The casino will be imploded in late January, and being able to push the button to start the process is being auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City. 

Yesterday's forecast snow turned out to be a good, old-fashioned ice storm. I took some photos while walking with The Family Dog this morning; there was just so much beauty out there. There still is, because not a lot of it melted away during the day. We rarely see icicles here, though I well remember the ones we had in Montana which could take you out if they fell on your head. We actually had some small icicles here this morning; these were hanging from our mailbox.

Being a quilter, I like lines. I shall add this photo to my collection of photos of roads from the air, tiles, and anything else with neat angles.

As an alternative to icicles, there are coats of ice, some of which might actually offer some protection from something that isn't ice.

Finally, if you need a demonstration of how strong a thread of spider silk is, this one was strong enough to support an icicle-in-training.

 

 

Not a lot of news in here today, but some days that's a good thing. I expect the ice will stay with us overnight, but tomorrow may take us out of a glistening, magical world and back to sobering reality.

View from the Hermitage, Day 276

I was so excited and ecstatic from yesterday's scream that I forgot to publish the post. I found the positive feeling lasted through the evening. In pondering it, I think that just screaming to my immediate surroundings would not have had the effect of screaming to nowhere. There's something about knowing that one's scream is becoming a free range scream. And having been to Iceland three times helped me appreciate it even more. 

I think I noted yesterday that I had an ending picked out for that day's post but would not use it post-scream. So I'll use it now. I read yesterday about China spying on the cell conversations of tens of thousands of Americans. I do not understand how anyone could be interested in my cell conversations. Do they really want to hear The Professor stopping at a grocery store on his way home and calling to see if there's anything I want other than what is on the list in his hand? Perhaps they'd like to know every time I call or text Son #1 to tell him what cute thing The Family Dog just did. Granted, The Family Dog is interesting but probably not that interesting. Tens of thousands of Americans. Are there really that many people whose conversations might matter in an intelligence or espionage sense? Every member of Congress, the Cabinet, Supreme Court...that doesn't even bring us to one thousand let alone tens thereof. I guess there is some method in their madness, but still...

The forecast was for snow today, but what started in the morning and is still coming down is sleet, freezing rain, and/or rain. Judging by the view out the window behind me, We're working on a good old-fashioned ice storm. 

They announced last night that schools would be closed today. For those of us who thought virtual school meant no more snow days, we did not consider the big picture. Many if not most teachers are teaching from school buildings. Besides classroom items that might be needed, the Internet connections at schools are vastly superior to many home ones. Instead of the issue being kids on buses, it's teachers in cars.

On the novel coronavirus front, South Korea is considering the national lockdown they did not need for their first covid-19 wave. California is ordering extra body bags. The Netherlands has closed gyms, cinemas, schools, and non-essential shops until January 19. I actually wish they'd close gyms here; I think that would do more good than a midnight to 5:00 am curfew. To be safer here at home, there will not be crowds in New York City's Times Square on New Year's Eve. The crystal ball will still drop, and Gloria Gaynor will still sing "I Will Survive," but those events will be live-streamed. At least people will be able to stay warm while they watch.

If you're interested in the covid-19 White House news, MSNBC has created a very nice explanatory graphic.

I think this is in order of who got what when, but maybe they put Rudy at the bottom of the list on general principle.

Poor Mitch McConnell. The Lame Duck is mad that McConnell acknowledged Uncle Joe as President-Elect. The Duck says the Republican Party needs to learn how to fight. The Duck was probably made even angrier by McConnell's urging Congressional Republicans not to interfere with the January process of certifying Biden's election. I actually respect McConnell a hair more now that The Duck is not pleased with him. McConnell has also stated that Congress will "not (be) leaving here without a COVID package." I may respect McConnell a hair more, but I'll believe that stimulus package when I see it. 

And now, in anticipation of Mother Nature's icy grasp on our power and router, I'm going to publish this. Stay warm and safe wherever you are.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 275

On the Senate floor, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today extolled the many accomplishments of The Lame Duck and then, gasp, acknowledged Uncle Joe as President-Elect and Kamala Harris as Vice-President Elect. There may have been a bit of a volcanic eruption at the White House, but the world as we know it did not end. And The Lame Duck's good friend Vladimir from Moscow, phoned Uncle Joe to congratulate him. I don't expect that gesture was well-received at the White House either. As for why it took a long while for Vlad to call, I'm going to go with that he was waiting for the Electoral College to make things official. 

A new strain of covid-19 has been found in the South of England. It is not uncommon for viruses to mutate, and this is not the first covid-19 one found. This new strain apparently spreads more quickly than the "original" one but it does not appear to be more dangerous. Investigations of whether it might be drug-resistant are ongoing. 

As far as the House of Representative in the US Congress goes, I live in the 5th Congressional District of Virginia. Our November election featured a doctor at the local university's health center who also had a law degree and had served on health care task forces in the administrations of both Obama and The Lame Duck (the Democrat) running against a former administrator at a very Christian college who stands slightly to the right of Attila the Hun. The 5th district having been gerrymandered to favor the Republican in any race did, as expected, elect the Republican. From this morning's Washington Post: "Future Va. Lawmaker doubts the pandemic: Bob Good calls it 'phony' despite 300 covid deaths in congressional district." Of course, in searching for that link, I also found this little gem. Discussing this article would not be good for my blood pressure issues, so I'll let readers find out or not just how disheartening it can be to live in Virginia. 

To make me, and possibly you, feel better, today's Washington Post also contained a Health and Science article on "pandemic frustration." It included this little gem that I shall not forget:

In Iceland the government launched a campaign, called Let It Out, to improve people’s moods during the pandemic. People worldwide were invited to record their screams online “to release their bottled-up frustrations,” which were then played via gigantic speakers in some of Iceland’s most remote locations. According to the project’s website, “screaming is a therapeutic tool and can be effective to release pent-up emotion.” I can’t cite a study for that but I can tell you it worked for me.

I especially love the part about the government playing the screams in some remote locations. There are a lot of remote locations in Iceland, so they probably won't run out.My scream (yes, you can still do this via lookslikeyouneediceland.com) plays in the northern part of Iceland. And, yes, I did feel better after screaming.

I was going to end on a non-coronavirus note, but I feel so good right now that I'll save that note for tomorrow. If you send a scream, I hope it works as well for you as it did for me.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 274

It appears that there have been no Electoral College surprises so far. The sessions in the six states in which The Lame Duck challenged the outcome have all come and gone, going as expected for Uncle Joe. I did read something about some Republicans' wanting to try to reverse things on January 6 when the Electoral College votes go to the House of Representatives. Most constitutional law experts expect such challenges to fail. New representatives will be sworn in on January 3, so it will be the new House accepting the results. VP Pence will open state results in alphabetical order. He may end up being the person to officially declare that The Lame Duck lost to Uncle Joe. 

On the novel coronavirus front, am I supposed to worry because Virginia has not yet done the daily update scheduled for 10:00 this morning? I sincerely hope the delay is not due to any staggering increase in the number of cases. If it is, I would hope the governor would increase the restrictions. That's what is happening in Europe right now, and they're taking no prisoners. Italy, home to Vatican City and Pope Francis, is considering more stringent nationwide restrictions. They may declare the whole country a "red zone" and shut things down from December 24 to January 2. It will be interesting, should they do so, to see how they handle what must be huge crowds in Catholic churches for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

The Netherlands is also considering tightening their restrictions. And Germany is closing all non-essential shops, schools, and nurseries from December 16 to January 10. The government minister in charge of the economy is encouraging Germans to give vouchers (aka gift cards in the US) as Christmas presents rather than go out to shop.

Vaccinations have started in the US. Health care workers, front and center, please. OPMC, a major health care corporation in Pennsylvania, has chosen staff to get the first shots at the same time as they say they estimate that only half of the employees are willing to get vaccinated as soon as it's offered to them. Health care workers! The anti-vaccine crowd is going to feed off that fact. And Dr. Fauci has stated that health care workers declining vaccinations may discourage "regular" people from getting vaccinated. This is just what we don't need as the US death toll goes past 300,000.

In more mundane news, Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians has announced that they will be dropping the team name "Indians" at the end of the 2021 season. No replacement name has yet been chosen. I'd like to see them take a page from the Washington Football Team and become the Cleveland Baseball Team. The proposed change in the team name did not go over well with The Lame Duck who tweeted that it was "Cancel culture at work." That was the last line of the tweet following "Oh no!What is going on? This is not good news, even for 'Indians.'" Raise your hand if you think The Lame Duck really wrote that. My hands are firmly on the keyboard. No words in all caps, correct punctuation, and using the concept of "cancel culture." There is no way The Lame Duck wrote that.

On the unpacking and putting away front, I finally found the box of empty sheet protectors and got all the loose craft papers protected and sorted. I still need to go through the recipes I've collected during the pandemic, but that will give me something to do this evening or tomorrow. 

Still no covid data updates from the state. I really hope it's a technical reason and not just that they're so effing big they want to figure out what to do before the numbers go public.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 273

It appears that The Professor and I have accomplished all the things on the weekend list save one, and that one may still get done. Among the things we accomplished was planting the bulbs I purchased in a possibly pandemic-induced Mother Nature moment. I have never been good with plants; my mom would back me up on this. I have gotten better with certain houseplants but recognize my limits. Speaking of houseplants, excuse me while I water them. Weekend watering accomplished, back to bulbs. I loved the flowers the year we spent in the Netherlands. They were so inexpensive, we always had fresh flowers on the dining table. Possibly because of this, I purchased a collection of Dutch bulbs from Michigan Bulb. Between the directions that came with the bulbs and the book Month-By-Month Gardening in the Mid-Atlantic, The Professor and I decided that this weekend was the time to plant them. So we did. 

When I ordered bulbs, and there were a lot of bulbs, I had no idea that I would be trying not to have a relapse of lower back pain. The Professor dug up the bed we wanted to use, ad I set about putting the bulbs in, trying to squat rather than bend over and not move too quickly. The diagram from Michigan Bulb showed how all the bulbs would be planted in a space roughly 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet. If we had soil in Virginia rather than a dirt-clay mixture, I may have been able to be precise about things. When I got to the teeny weeny bulbs, I ended up just clearing an area, dumping them in, then turning them to have the pointed end up as the instructions suggested. We'll see what comes up when knowing full well that the neighborhood deer may have something to say about that. 

The New York Times ran a story reporting that since August, deaths from covid-19 have doubled in counties with a large college population, while the increase elsewhere was 58 percent. There were very, very few student deaths, but there were plenty among older residents of the area. I don't think that's been a problem around here, but the local university is not huge despite being the state's flagship university. Of course, no one knows what will happen when all those students go back to campus after the winter holidays. Things might be worse then. 

The local university offered undergraduate students the option of taking classes pass-fail instead of for a letter grade. They had to make this decision late in the semester but before taking the final exam. Colorado State University on the other hand allowed students to choose pass-fail after seeing the letter grade they would be getting. The Professor noted that when he ranked the students in his class by their final scores, the students wanting letter grades were at the top, and those who had switched to pass-fail were on the bottom end of the distribution. I guess they figured a pass was better than some letter grade likely a C or lower. 

The Professor's alma mater (for his PhD) is MIT, and even there they gave students with letter grades worse than a C the option of not having those classes appear on their transcripts. Students don't receive credit for those classes but presumably future employers won't know the student bombed out in some classes. That said, I have heard that the only potential employer who might care about undergraduate classes and GPA is the employer hiring someone for their first job. 

Coronavirus numbers in Virginia aren't going down. In fact, Virginia was one of 19 states to set a weekly case record in the week ending on December 10. In Virginia's case, that meant over 26,000 new cases in seven days. It will be interesting to see if the governor strengthens the restrictions. I can understand not wanting to further restrict indoor dining during the holiday season, but I could see closing gyms or cutting back on their capacity limits. Right now, they can only operate at 75 percent of capacity. 

The other news that caught my eye this morning was the editorial controversy brewing at The Wall Street Journal. The Journal ran an op-ed piece written by someone named Joseph Epstein who claimed to have taught at Northwestern University for 30 years despite his highest degree being a BA from the University of Chicago. He thinks that Aunt Jill should not refer to herself using the honorific "Dr." After all, her degree is an EdD from the University of Delaware based on a thesis on student retention at community colleges. I am not the only person who thinks Mr. Epstein is full of shit. She legitimately earned that degree and has every right to use the honorific "Dr." As I was graduating with my PhD, one of my graduate professors advised me never to say that I received my PhD from the local university. They did not give it to me; I earned it. 

As for that PhD, I think that the last time I went by "Dr." was maybe 10 years ago when I attended a professional conference with a former professor with whom I was considering writing a book. (The project never got off the ground, but I count it among my 15 minutes of fame.) He would refer to me as "Dr." It felt funny. The last time I used the "Dr." myself was in the last year of my first go-round working at the local university. I was going to work as the assistant to the Vice President over Health Sciences. When I went to get my photo ID, a colleague told me to make sure it said "Dr." because the medical doctors tended to be dismissive of non-Dr. people. I did, but I can't recall ever introducing myself or referring to myself as "Dr."

Not much on the coronavirus front and possibly more about myself than I usually include. It felt good to step away from the virus-troubled split-screen country in which my little bubble exists. I should probably do that more often.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 272

I could write things, but a picture is better than a thousand words. Rob Rogers is a freelance editorial cartoonist living in Pittsburgh, and his cartoon today surpasses any words I could struggle to write. He does have a website where the cartoon below as well as others can be seen. I really hope he doesn't mind my sharing this one here.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 271

I must admit that it did not surprise me that Time's Person of the Year was Uncle Joe and Kamala Harris, though Dr. Fauci would have been a good pick as well, especially when paired with front-line health care workers. It gave me a bit of perverse pleasure to see that The Lame Duck was one of the also-rans. (The last of the final four was the social justice and Black Lives Matter protestors.) The Lame Duck supposedly has photo-shopped Person of the Year covers hanging in several of his golf resorts. He came close this year, but lost to Uncle Joe for the second time in two months. I wonder if he'll try to overturn this vote as well as the general election one.

We're now losing 3,000 or more people to covid-19 each day. We lost fewer than that on September 11, 2001. Right now, every day is September 11, 2001, yet people don't seem nearly as upset now as they did then. Covid-19 is, right now, the leading cause of death in this country. About 1,800 people daily die from heart disease; another 1,640 die from cancer. We haven't even started to see the deaths coming out of the Thanksgiving surge, since deaths lag case numbers as well as hospitalization ones. Truly frightening is the number of public health officials I have seen quoted to the effect that "the worst is yet to come." Total deaths are in the neighborhood of 293,000; for comparison, the US suffered 291,557 battle deaths in World War II.

For someone who claims to be pro-life, The Lame Duck is bent on executing as many federal prisoners as he can before he golfs off into the sunset. There was another execution last night, and four more are coming before January 20. Last night's was the first execution during a President's lame duck period in 130 years. It was the ninth federal execution since July. Four more are planned before The Duck leaves office. I wrestle with capital punishment. I say that I oppose it, but then I hear about some really heinous crime, usually one directed at a child or a woman, and want to make an exception. I am not at all certain how I would respond to the question do I support it if I were ever called to be on a jury in a potentially capital case. 

My sister-by-another-mother this morning posted a quote on Facebook relevant to both the subjects I've touched on:

"Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?"

You probably already recognized it, but that's from "Blowin' in the Wind" by Nobel Prize winning songwriter Bob Dylan.

I'm working on getting into Christmas, but it hasn't been easy. I have been putting Christmas cards on the mantle as I usually do. Our Christmas cards are awaiting The Professor's signature and the holiday stamps that shipped today. After discussion, I did order an artificial Christmas tree that should arrive in about a week. I've wrapped some of the presents I've bought and sorted the others for wrapping. I've listened to a bit of holiday music. I said I alternated between anger and sadness. This is the sadness as a Christmas like no other (that my generation has known) begins to take shape. We hope to have Son #2 and DiL= here for Christmas day; they will quarantine before and not come if there is any question re their health. I think I am saddened by hoping others forego large family gatherings and help stop the spread of covid at the same time as I know their holiday won't be as happy as it usually is.

Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 270

First, the good news. The Professor's covid-19 test came up negative! Needless to say, we were both very pleased. I did not jump up and down but only because he yelled the news to me as I was trying to fall asleep. We are staying apart for a couple more days just in case and to meet CDC guidance.

So The Lame Duck wanted to Make America Great Again. Usually "great" would mean the best (remember the "America First" inaugural address?) or first place. The other day, The Duck said things were going "incredibly." Was he celebrating that the US has 20 percent of the world's covid-19 deaths. We certainly don't have 20 percent of the world's population living here. As for how many deaths that 20 percent might be, it's probably going to hit 300,000 in the next week. Over 3,000 people died from covid-19 here yesterday. New cases? Yeah, we're doing our best to lead there as well. We had over 222,000 new cases yesterday. The total number of cases is around 15.5 million. Do I hear 16? Give it two days, three is we're lucky.

Virginia numbers continue to rise. We're seeing nearly 3,800 new cases per day here, and the percent positivity continues to climb. It's at 11 percent now. The governor had a briefing this afternoon. After briefly discussing the rising numbers, he announced the state's new or revised measures to deal with the increases, not that they really will deal with the increases. I think I mentioned yesterday the 10:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew in North Carolina. As of 12:01 am Monday, Virginia will have a midnight to 5:00 am curfew, with the only travel allowed being to or from work. That might mean something in terms of students at the local university, but they've all gone home and won't reappear until February 1, 2021.

Masks will be required for everybody even indoors. The police aren't going to break your door down and give you a ticket for not wearing a mask, but everyone in a grocery or department store must be wearing a mask. Masks are required outdoors if it is not possible to stay more than six feet apart. Since I don't go out, I have no idea what percent of people now might be wearing or not wearing masks in public. I do see news photos showing people walking together not wearing masks. If they actually enforce that, it might do a bit of good. 

Social gatherings were limited to 25 people before Thanksgiving. As of Monday, that limit will be 10. While this might mean something if an office is planning a holiday lunch for 20 at a local restaurant, the same 20 people could go to a party at someone's house with no chance of being "caught." It's nice in theory, but I'm not sure how much it will help in practice. And religious institutions are exempt from these limits.

Finally, they've changed crowd size rules for "recreational sports." I'm assuming that the "recreational" means things such as kids' soccer or intramural softball. The limits will be 25 people per "field" for sports held indoors. For outdoor sports, the limit will be two people per participant. The governor suggested that basketball games be played on a playground instead of in a gym; depending on the sport, more spectators might be possible outdoors as opposed to indoors. 

When I emailed Son #1 about the governor's actions, I told him I did not know whether these probably-won't-do-anything changes made me angry or sad. I seem to be alternating between the two lately. Angry that so many people are putting the lives of other people in danger, but at the same time sad that so many people are dying. It does not have to be this way. I read yesterday that half of Americans said they would not get vaccinated against covid-19. Again, I'm angry that half of Americans are idiots--I should not say that, but it is what popped into my head. More politely, I'm angry that the half of Americans who won't get vaccinated will prevent the development of any herd immunity. And, again, I'm sad that so many families will lose beloved members and probably not have the opportunity to say goodbye before they go. 

The View from the Hermitage, Day 269

The Guardian and The New York Times today sed the same metaphor to describe the US, and an apt one it is. We are a split-screen nation. Two stories being shown side-by-side. Uncle Joe and The Lame Duck. There were two briefings, conferences, or the like yesterday, one by each of the main characters in our split-screen drama. Uncle Joe spoke about the "serious pandemic" we are facing and will be facing for quite a while. The Lame Duck (seated again at his tiny desk) said that we are "doing incredibly." Given that covid-19 was the leading cause of death last week, we can't be doing all that incredibly. And The Lame Duck again stated that the next administration would be a Surname-of-The-Lame-Duck administration. Dr. Fauci was unable to attend either event since there was a celebration for a colleague at NIH who had won the Nobel Prize. Since it was at NIH, I imagine it was masked and distanced; attendance might even have been in waves to limit the number of attendees. Fauci wasn't there in person, but he had taped a message to be shown at ... wait for it ... Uncle Joe's event. 

Dr. Fauci has worked under multiple presidents and, so far at least, even survived The Lame Duck's administration. As to how that has happened, he said that he follows a key bit of advice he was once given: 

“When you go into the White House, you should be prepared that that is the last time you will ever go in. Because if you go in saying, I’m going to tell somebody something they want to hear, then you’ve shot yourself in the foot.’ Now everybody knows I’m going to tell them exactly what’s the truth.” 

I love that and wonder just who it was that gave him that nugget of wisdom. Dr. Fauci will turn 80 on December 24, Christmas Eve. This will be the first birthday he will celebrate in the absence of his three daughters. As with Thanksgiving, they will Zoom their celebrations. He sets a good example. Do as he does, not as some others say.

Covid-19 numbers here in Virginia are skyrocketing. Yesterday was the first day with more than 4,000 new cases, with the seven-day rolling average going over 3,500. The county schools here are going back to all virtual sessions as of Monday, which starts the last week before the winter break. They will stay all virtual for at least one week after winter break, though I don't think things are going to improve all that much by then. I expect they'll be all virtual for a while longer. I'm still waiting to hear what the governor has to say about new or repeat mitigation measures. Our neighbor to the south, North Carolina, has instituted a curfew for 10:00 pm to 5:00 am. I'm not sure what good this will do. If the idea is to keep people out of bars after 10:00, close the bars. There may be some way to ban alcohol sales even at retail locations after 10:00. A curfew all by itself doesn't seen a strong enough measure.

The Professor has not yet received the results of his covid-19 test. Another of his grad students, who was in the company of the student who tested positive for longer than The Professor was has tested negative. I told The Professor I wasn't taking my mask off until he had gotten the results and we had discussed whatever they might be. Back to preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

On the more humorous (well, in a bizarre sort of way) side of covid-19, Royal Caribbean has been running "voyages to nowhere" out of Singapore. You get on the ship, sail around for several days, and then go back to Singapore. The voyages are supposed to give people something to do not to mention to make money for Royal Caribbean. On the most recent voyage, an elderly passenger tested positive for covid-19, forcing the ship to return to Singapore one day early. All the passengers but the covid-afflicted one got one day of their fare refunded. The covid-afflicted passenger got his whole fare refunded.  Want a free trip? Schedule your positive test for a couple days into the voyage, and you won't have to pay for the early day(s) of your trip, before any symptoms arise. 

In copying a few past posts into the Word file of all these posts (it's up to 280 pages long), I noticed that I had promised photos of whatever metal garden creations I might make as Christmas presents for my daughter-in-law equivalent. I made two before I packed away all the metal stuff to get back to using fabric. I don't think that DiL= (I may keep using that for her) reads this blog, but just in case she stumbles on it, I'll put the photos up after the gifts have been opened. I know that my mom reads this blog, but I have no way of knowing if The Professor or The Sons do. If they do, they've never mentioned anything to me. I'm not sure they've visited my website either, though I really need to spend a morning or afternoon updating it. Maybe I'll try to do that tomorrow.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 268

The last time The Professor took a covid-19 test, he got the results via email the day after he sent it in, via UPS Overnight. It went in the same way this time, but no word yet. It did go to a lab in California, so there is the three-hour time difference to consider. I'm more than a little nervous. I keep imagining the worst--he has it and has passed it to me. A couple of days ago, I came across a quote from Stephen King about hoping for the best only if you're prepared for the worst. Maybe that's the game my mind is playing. The Professor is in his office proctoring his final exam, and I can't really say whether he would come down and tell me the results were he to get them before the exam ends in 50 minutes. We may make a good couple because as I've been imagining the worst, he's all about the best. No temperature, pulse-ox a-okay, feelin' just fine. I'm thinking what I should throw into a bag to take to Son #1's house, remember to tell The Professor to sign the stack of Christmas cards I have on the desk, but wait to mail them until the Christmas stamps I ordered have arrived. 

Continuing with covid-19 means continuing in an upward direction. Nationally, we're over 15 million confirmed cases, and more than 284,000 people have died. The number of new cases in Virginia each day is staying above 3,500, and the seven-day rolling average is on the way up with a pit stop at 3,238. The percent positivity is 10.9, in kissing distance of 11.0. The governor has said that he is considering what mitigation measures might be added or strengthened and an announcement may be coming this week. Closer to home, the number of cases is hitting new highs in the regional health district in which I live. And covid-19 admissions to the local university's medical center are rising as well. I can think of a whole lot of other things I'd rather see rising, but then I don't run things around this planet. 

The Lame Duck pardoned Michael Flynn recently. The judge today dismissed all the charges but in the ruling noted that 

                                                pardoned ≠ innocent

I hope that thought is noted when The Duck preemptively pardons The Ducklings and maybe Rudy G. Rudy, meanwhile, is supposedly suffering "minor symptoms" of covid-19, though no description of what those mild symptoms are was provided. The only figures I could find for odds that The Duck will pardon himself were somewhat dated, so I'm not going to discuss them. I go back and forth myself about what he might do. He at one point tweeted that why should he pardon himself when he has done no wrong. I wonder if he would view pardoning himself as admitting he did. I also wonder if he would view resigning and getting President Pence to pardon him as "better."

I got back to some unpacking and putting away today, clearing out two boxes of random things from the master bedroom closet and master bath. Some got thrown away, a couple of things went into the donation box, and the other things found a new home. It felt good to be somewhat productive. Tomorrow I may attack some boxes in the basement or just assemble or mark all the various donation boxes. There are some on each level of the house. I just need to remember not to try to lift them, since I'm pretty sure that's what set off my six weeks of lower back pain. I still have pain if I twist wrong or pick up a heavy something, but otherwise, it feels fine.

Still no word on The Professor's test. He assures me I will be the second person to know. Fingers crossed and trying not to assume the worst.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 267

I did Christmas songs yesterday, so let's do winter songs today. "Let It Snow" anyone? Yes, we had our first snowfall this morning, albeit a very small one. At its peak, there was a white dusting on mulch and grass, and a black car turned white. Son #1 and I enjoyed it while walking The Family Dog. I think she enjoyed it, too, even though we had not put her red flannel coat on her. We put that on her for her second walk and watched it collect a dusting of snow until she decided that shaking was called for. 

The snow at least helped it feel a bit more as if Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. It did not bother me as much this morning to see decorated trees shining through windows. They had looked out of place yesterday, but not today. The Professor even hung the icicle lights on the porch yesterday. Last year, he put it off until a couple of days before Christmas, and it just wasn't the same. It only took him four or five nights to go through all the little bulbs and make sure all worked. Son #1 and I are getting him LED icicle lights to use next year. It's the least we can do. 

We have been discussing whether or not to get an artificial Christmas tree. It would save a tree's life year after year. Getting a real tree was a bit of a family tradition. The Professor and Sons would go look for a tree while I cleared the space in which it would be put. Once at the tree lot--they tried to go to one operated as a Boy Scout fundraiser since Son #2 was a Scout--the Sons engaged in verbal battle over which tree should be chosen. Some years this took longer than others. Damned covid! If I'd known we might go the artificial tree route, I would have suggested we wait until next year and gotten both Sons in on doing one final tree selection trip for a semi-formal end to a family tradition out-grown. 

More than 280,000 people have died from covid-19. More people die each day than died on September 11, 2001. That date took us into a war in Afghanistan. Why can't we declare war on the novel coronavirus and do the things we know work, such as wear masks? Uncle Joe says he'll ask all Americans to wear masks for 100 days as part of his inauguration. That sounds good, Uncle Joe, but do you really think enough people will do it? It sounds as if only 60 percent of Americans plan to be vaccinated, and that's not going to be enough to approach herd immunity. If only 60 percent of Americans wear masks for 100 days. that may not be enough to slow transmission down enough.

It sounds as if Attorney General Bill Barr is contemplating quitting before The Lame Duck can fire him. We know The Lame Duck will fire him because Barr veered off the party line with his statement that no investigation had shown there was election fraud. Son #1 hopes that a movie about The Lame Duck's days in office is cast soon enough that John Goodman can put on Bill-Barr-type glasses and play the role with no other makeup or facial altering. I wonder why Barr is only growing a pair now given how many of The Lame Duck's falsehoods he's accepted in the past. Was voter fraud the straw that broke the camel's back?

Rudy Giuliani remains in hospital suffering "mild symptoms." I, of course, wonder what those mild symptoms are and why would he be hospitalized if they're really that mild. I also wonder if he's getting the special pharmaceutical treatment that The Lame Duck got back in October. Might The Duck pull some strings for his buddy Rudy? Rudy might want a preemptive parson instead. 

There is no snow in the forecast for tomorrow; Mother Nature might now wait until the first day of winter to give us another snowfall. To stay with a musical theme, how about a white Christmas. I honestly cannot recall one that I've seen here in Virginia. I have worn shorts on Christmas, though.

The View from the Hermitage, Day 266

Thirty-eight weeks and counting. I could start counting down the weeks leading up to the one-year point, but it's so much easier to count up. Just as the covid-19 stats are always counting up. Virginia hit new highs again today in terms of new cases and the seven-day rolling average of cases. The percent positivity was also up but nowhere near a new high. It's closer to 11 percent now than it is to the magical 10 percent. Actually, the World Health Organization likes 5 percent positivity, but we either don 't belong to that any longer or we are on our way out. I haven't discussed it with Uncle Joe, but I imagine we'll be re-upping come January. 

Parade, the Sunday newspaper insert, today included the feature that appears almost everywhere this time of year. Parade called it "We Remember: Parade Salutes the Stars Who Made Our Lives More Interesting." These features always bother me, not because they salute our dearly departed. They bother me because they leave anyone who dies between the list's appearance and January 1, next year, in the lurch. By the time New Year's Eve and Day roll around, we're in no mood to look back and see who died in December. I wonder if the people compiling such features ever wonder about that. I may have seen one or two that did list the December, previous year, deaths, but those were lists ordered by months in which the deaths took place, which may have been why the compilers included it. The Parade feature appeared to be ordered by how well known they thought the deceased were or maybe not. I certainly would not have listed Sean Connery and Alex Trebek on the second page. I think I'd demote Diana Rigg and Charlie Daniels to the second page. The other three on the front page were Chadwick Boseman, the Notorious RBG, and Kobe Bryant. 

Another "death" factoid I encountered this morning is that fewer than half of Americans know that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. They way that is worded suggests to me that these people were not flat-out Holocaust deniers; they just didn't learn, didn't care, or forgot how many Jewish people died. (I almost typed "how many deaths" but corrected myself to be true to a recent post here.) None of those three reasons is justifiable. We should be teaching the Holocaust in history or social studies classes. possibly not starting at too young a grade, but certainly by middle or high school. We should cover it often enough and in enough detail (you don't have to go into too great detail to teach that 6 million people died) that students reflect on the magnitude of that number and don't forget it. 

Shriners Hospitals for Children has been running an ad featuring children singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" line by line. I've always enjoyed Christmas music, though not before Thanksgiving or after Epiphany. Hearing the kids sing "I'll Be Home for Christmas" makes me think of all those who can't be home this year. There are always people who can't be home for Christmas, the military being the first group that comes to mind. This year, though, there are many people who will stay away from home intentionally so as not to spread the novel coronavirus to loved ones or to people encountered while traveling to and from "home." [As I type this, I am listening to the album Noel by Josh Groban. You can probably guess what song just started playing.] There will be an extra layer of sadness to the "if only in my dreams." Staying away voluntarily may hurt more. I fall back on the social media post that not spending {insert holiday here} with family this year helps ensure they will be around for next year's celebrations. It may not help much nor help all the time, but I hold that thought.

I could expound on The Lame Duck's request for the names of the Republican Congresspeople who have acknowledged Uncle Joe as legitimately elected. Can you say "enemies list"? Beyond that, I refuse to let The Duck sully the Christmas I'm feeling listening to Christmas music. I'll confront reality again tomorrow. Maybe.