My thoughts go out to my friends in Perth, Western Australia. Covid-19 has once again reared its ugly head and a serious three-day lockdown has been ordered. Yes, it will help the battle against the coronavirus. But why did it have to happen this weekend? Sunday is Anzac Day. The first time The Professor and I visited Australia, we were in Perth on Anzac Day. I will never forget the reverence of the sunrise service. And the silence, the deafening silence. You can read about it in the blog post I wrote afterwards. I am sure the services this year would not have been nearly as large as the one we attended, but the lockdown may well prohibit even two families from marking the day together.
Japan continues to struggle against its latest covid surge. Officials insist that the Olympics will be held despite nearly three-fourths of Japanese wanting them cancelled or postponed. It's worth noting that the Tokyo Motor Show scheduled for several weeks after the Olympics has been cancelled for the first time in history (the show is held every other year, which is why it was not cancelled in 2020), citing covid concerns. An event after the Games is cancelled due to covid, but the Games themselves are not. I don't buy that an auto show would be more crowded than the spectator-less Games that will still have coaches, officials, judges, not to mention athletes.
The pandemic is accelerating in South America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. This could be due to the Brazil variant, otherwise known as P1. P1 is more contagious but also increases levels of re-infection, which can reduce the efficacy of vaccines. India remains the world's hot spot, reporting 332,348 new cases on Friday. The national total now exceeds 16 million cases. Hospitals are running out of oxygen. Trucks transporting it to hospitals now go with police escorts.
The first covid cases have been discovered at Everest base camp. A Norwegian climber thought to be suffering from pulmonary edema was evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu where he tested positive for covid. A sherpa in the Norwegian's party also tested positive. The climber tested negative before leaving Norway and again while in arrival quarantine in Kathmandu. He said he headed quickly to base camp from quarantine to reduce the chances of catching covid. Nepal has issued 377 Everest permits so far and expects to exceed the 381 issued in 2019, meaning there could be lots more cases. Evacuation from base camp is one thing. Higher might be open to question. It would be impossible to evacuate people by helicopter above 8,000 meters.
Scientists in the UK have found evidence of human-to-cat covid transmission. Fortunately, no evidence of cat-to-human transmission has been found; however, animals could act as "viral reservoirs" allowing continued transmission even with vaccinations.
Stepping totally away from coronavirus, I executed my April Instant Pot and pie resolutions. I mayde Thai Cashew Chicken in the Instant Pot Wednesday. It was very tasty; I'll be eating the leftovers after I publish this. I am not really sure, though, how much faster using the Instant Pot was compared to doing it on the stove. This morning I made miniature apple pies.
Next time I make these, I will do a better job of rolling the crust out as a rectangle and cut better squares that would be neater to seal. I will also add cinnamon and possibly nutmeg to the apple filling. The recipe only included ginger, and cinnamon was noticeably lacking. I have two pies scheduled for May 1--a roasted corn and pepper pie and a coconut cream one as we celebrate the belated birthdays of The Professor and Son #2.
1 comment:
I'm not sure that the Instant Pot is always much faster than a pan not once you've allowed for heating up and cooling down. The advantage is that makes perfect rice every time, no boiling over, no need to fiddle with the gas or the pan lid. It wins every time for rice and beans, risotto (no stirring) and lemon curd (no stirring). For everything else I'll consider whether I'd rather use it as a slow cooker, I have the lifestyle where I can let a slow cooker do its thing all day. I cook a lot more beans now that I don't have to deal with them boiling over the cooker top.
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