I still check in on the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard from time to time (but not at the twice-daily frequency I used to) and when I went to do that yesterday, I saw this message: JHU has stopped collecting data as of 03 / 10 / 2023After three years of around-the-clock tracking of COVID-19 data from around the world, Johns Hopkins has discontinued the Coronavirus Resource Center’s operations. The site’s two raw data repositories will remain accessible for information collected from 1/22/20 ...
We caught Covid.
I didn't catch it from HersheyPark last August, or the indoor wedding that I was advised to skip in October, or from the Walt Disney World trip in January. Or from going to see a show in February, or going back to the office 1x/week starting in March*, or from going to TNP's giant conference in mostly-unmasked Tennessee. Not even the baseball game on Mother's Day. Or from the now-dozens of times I've eaten indoors in restaurants. I didn't catch it from any of those bad ...
Pfizer COVID-19 VAX #2!
On Friday I received the 2nd of the 2 Pfizer vaccines, which means in 2 weeks I'll be protected from serious illness/death and mostly protected from catching and transmitting the original strains and possibly substantially protected from the newer variants? The news changes every day. The side effects of vaccine #2 are on a spectrum that ranges from nothing to two days of sickness. I ended up with a fever that lasted about 18 hours. Friday, 11:30am - I receive the vaccine and the nurse ...
Covid-19 Journal: January 2021
As predicted, US cases are surging because people continue to put their own personal freedoms ahead of public health. We're at 393,000, which is more than the current population of New Orleans. This, which was unfathomable 8 months ago, is now, 'oh, ok.' Vacations are still happening, pro sports continues to push forward, and the celebrities who were 'in it together' with us when things were tough in April have all gone back to their own lives. And the news is screaming about more ...
Rage and Helplessness in the Time of COVID-19
This is another attempt to journal about life through the USA's Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. It's rough and not pretty, but we're all original sources during this historic time. Maybe someday someone will benefit. For consistency's sake, I'm going to refer to the virus as COVID-19. It has been 6 months since I've been to my office, eaten at a restaurant, or seen any member of my extended family. Most summer activities that I enjoy -- summer festivals, outdoor concerts, etc -- were ...
Friday Movie Night
I am not a fan of movies. In fact, I used to have a blog category called I hate movies. I only went a handful of times as a child, and as I got older, I'd only go if it was part of a group outing or a date. My gripes with movies are plentiful - they are LONG, the audio is LOUD, the theaters are COLD, the food is EXPENSIVE (but so tasty), the seats were sticky and UNCOMFORTABLE, and there's always a chance you'll be seated near a group of jerks. But many people adore movies, and to that I say ...
What I Learned during the Pandemic (So far)
How to make refrigerator bread and butter pickles How to keep a sourdough starter alive and bake bread with it What Rt means with regards to an infectious disease How to make 14 common cocktails How to identify the birdcalls of blue jays, cardinals, robins, and nuthatches How to find Jupiter and its moons in the night sky with binoculars How to make mint liqueur How to make pancakes from scratch (using sourdough starter) How to watch the International Space ...
Sunshine, Sadness, and Social Distancing
2020 continues to be a gigantic mirror maze. When we're finally comfortable enough to move forward a few steps we run right into a pane of glass. New Jersey is slowly 'opening back up' because our transmission rate has fallen so much. Yay for everyone who's going out. Me? I'm staying home as much as I can. I didn't go to any BLM protests because I do not want to catch COVID. I'm cycling through all sorts of guilt about that. TNP has us all working from home until after Labor Day. I cried a ...
The One with the Unfriending
We've known each other for a long time but we're from an era where when you lost touch, you truly lost touch. Because of that I was initially delighted to get back in touch via social media. And for years it was fine. You were always a meme sharer, but they were harmless and funny. I don't know if it was Donald Trump's cult of personality or that new church you started attending but hoo boy. You kept communicating primarily by meme but the memes turned dark. Fear of immigrants, fear of ...
A (Work)Day in the Life
I used to work from home one day a week -- usually Mondays. As of March 16th all of us at TNP are working from home until June 1st at the earliest. Here is a typical work-from-home day... 7:30 - My alarm goes off. If I actually travel to work, it's set for 5:45. I don't know how I'll ever go back to that. 7:45-8:25, depending on laziness - Go downstairs to the office. 8:26 - Turn laptop on, connect it to large monitor, press the USB switcher button that switches my mouse and keyboard ...
Will it ever feel right again?
The outside world, that is. States are (foolishly, imo) opening up again. Not NJ because we're still throbbing with illness and death, with our long term care/nursing homes being hit hardest. For months now I've been watching the cases creep further and further south in the state. With a tentative return-to-office date of June 1, I have no idea how I'm going to switch from "stay in or else you're going to spread death" mode back to "don't forget your id badge byyeeee" mode. I don't think I ...
Entertainment in the time of … ugh whatever
When you're living in a time where all sporting events, concerts, and performances have been cancelled, and bars, restaurants, movie theaters and stores have closed how do you pass the time? Videoconferencing for fun What would we do without the Internet? One of the great things about living in 2020 is that the prevalence of smartphones makes it easy to see faces. One of our friends started using the Kast app to screen movies. We pop in, share cameras and audio, and watch together. So ...
