We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
It is not exactly a disease of the immune system, but some supposedly strong immune systems over-react, as I posted yesterday. Cytokine Storm.
It continues to be apparent that the elderly, overweight, or pre-diabetic/diabetic seem to be most likely to face death with this virus. Those people ought to be protected as best we can, but that's difficult. Most people weather it just fine, if miserable for a while. The luckiest ones (most people) get the sniffles and a headache for a few days and then feel fine.
Losing someone you love, particularly a family member, is painful. I can't say I know, nobody in my closest circle of friends or family has died. My brother-in-law died 22 years ago, and while we were friendly I wouldn't say we were close. He was family and that was painful enough. For my in-laws it was much worse, but I was more observer and shoulder to cry on.
I received a message from a fraternity brother on Sunday night that my former roommate (also a fraternity brother) had lost his younger (real) brother in a tragic late night car accident on Saturday. I happen to be friendly with my former roommate's older (real) brother through work, and I was friendly with the deceased as well, though only from a distance. My wife knows my former roommate well, as we played beach volleyball for a summer the year she and I started dating, and we've gone to the Preakness every year as part of a large group.
Mrs. Bulldog, having gone through this experience of family loss, insisted I set up a call with all our fraternity brothers as soon as possible. I wasn't sure this was wise. She was adamant. So I checked with my roommate's older brother (who, obviously, was also hurting) to express my condolences and see if this was a good decision. We are all separated by many miles and the lockdown will prevent any of us traveling for a funeral. His reaction was rapid, emphatically positive, and it didn't take much insistence on my part to assure he join.
For 2 hours Tuesday night we videoconferenced with 8 old college buddies, 1 close friend, and 1 older brother. 10 people just sharing experiences. Mostly, however, my former roommate and his brother were expressing grief, sharing their fondest memories, how they will be there for their niece, and all the thoughts and feelings that pass through peoples' minds at moment like this. The rest of us listened, shared some smiles, casual observations, a joke or two where it was fitting, and it felt good to just soak in their memories and feelings. It may be hard for me to empathize, never having lost anyone very close. But I can sympathize and provide some consolation.
As skeptical as I was, I hoped it would be cathartic and meaningful. It seems to have done some good. The older brother sent me a note this morning of an old Jewish saying that grief shared is grief halved. He is a lay minister, and we began to share our thoughts on the nature of God. We concluded a videoconference may not be an optimal setting, yet the appearance of everybody on that call was evidence of God and God's love.
There is a line in The Big Chill: "a long time ago we knew each other for a short period of time; you don't know anything about me. It was easy back then. No one had a cushier berth than we did. It's not surprising our friendship could survive that. It's only out there in the real world that it gets tough." As I contemplate this movie quote, I realized something. If it wasn't for technology, this quote may have described my relationship with these fellows perfectly. I doubt I would be as close with some of them as I have become. I reconnected with many as a result of the internet. The internet provides a source of communion.
We knew each other well for 2-4 years 37 years ago. Some of us fell off the map for many years. Others maintained relationships. In many cases we've had to renew old friendships. Even now, sometimes, we struggle to maintain these connections. Technology has helped us avoid the loss that comes from no longer living together with few responsibilities. It has, now, helped us lean on each other in times of need and sorrow. It has provided great benefit at a very unusual and difficult period in everybody's life.
The conference ended with an exchange that summed up how useful the videoconference was in restoring humor and good feeling. My former roommate: "Steve, it's been a while, we need to catch up some. I know when we do, it will be like yesterday."
Steve: "No, not like yesterday. Yesterday was a crappy day. We'll make it like the day before yesterday. That was a pretty good day."
It might very well turn out that way. I tend to feel now that lockdown was extreme, but good hygiene and masks would have been sufficient especially in hot spots.
We generally recommend resistance (weights) for strength-building, but some people are just afraid of weights or associate them with body-builders. Wrong, but whatever.
However, there are some exertions which can be useful upper body fitness-builders without weights. Four calisthenics in particular: Pushups, pullups, planks, and Burpees.
These are far from comprehensive, but they cover lots of the basic muscle groups, and proper pushups stress core too. There is a reason these are basics of military basic training.
Another good thing about them is that they can be modified until you can do the real thing. For examples, you can do "girl" pushups (on knees) until you can do real ones. You can do assisted pullups (with bands) until you can do real ones. Everybody can do straight-arm or elbow planks, but duration is the challenge. Aim for several minutes. Shoulder-touch planks are a cool variation. Burpees (with the pushups and jumps) are a great upper-body and whole body calisthenic.
How many? That depends on you. Generally speaking, for a middle-aged (45-75) guy or gal who avoids weights, I'd aim for 25-50 pullups assisted or not, 100 pushups (modified or unmodified), 3 or 4 30-45-second planks, and 50 Burpees. Not all in a row, but on the same day.
(For general fitness without weights, this can (should) be coupled with a day of lower-body body-weight workout (eg lunges, squats, step-ups, box jumps, etc) plus a couple of days of cardio. That all is good enough for casual or club tennis fitness, or for a long day hill hike.)
When life gets back to normal, then we can return to our usual routines. Or maybe just stick with these sorts of things.
A cytokine storm is the body's reaction to various forms of infections. We might consider it to be an over-reaction, because it is the defensive reaction which kills people rather than the germ itself.
Some people seem to be more prone to it than others. In the case of COVID-19, children with their less-developed immune systems are unlikely to react in this way.
This recipe is good enough, but don't mix the beans with the rice. Make lots more of the beans, and dump them on top of the rice. The beans are the food, the rice is the vehicle.
I think I lived on this in college, and I still like it. Beans from the cans, as we always recommend. If anybody wants to spend the time to soak dried beans, God bless ya. That ain't me.
Plenty of salt, and hot sauce of your choice on the side, of course. Salad on the side if you like that stuff, but I think salad causes cancer, and maybe corona too. A Conona beer, on the other had, goes well with this supper.
That infamous explanation from a Vietnam War incident comes to mind as I read and listen to the debates about lockdowns and shutdowns.
I don't know what to believe anymore. Everybody with an opinion seems to be viewing the situation through their own particular lens, or filter as Scott would say. Of course, that's normal for everything all the time, but everything is exaggerated now to the point that balanced wisdom seems to have left the room. I guess that's normal too.
"When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout."
I understand that Covid is not the seasonal flu. I also understand that it is neither polio nor the 1918 flu, nor, God forbid, the Black Plague. I understand that it seems to be a highly infectious virus with the power to cut people down and stress medical care in some areas (although less so much right now). I understand that this SARS Covid will be around forever, like all viruses. No escape, ever. Even vaccines are not 100% and it could be 12 months before we have them.
Let's discuss in the comments, in a calm, civil and respectful way. Later, I'll take you on a nice airplane ride.
I'll just add that one thing that has appalled me — in the comments here, on social media, and well, everywhere — is that so many people dealing with a situation full of uncertainty and unreliable data are so dead-certain of their positions and so abusive of people who disagree. And that’s certainly true of both sides in this debate.
It is “unconscionable” that Rikers Island inmates who were released due to coronavirus concerns are committing new crimes, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
This situation is intolerable. It cannot go on. It must not go on. It's getting to the point where it must not be allowed to go on. Infer from that what you will. That said, my fear is that we have crossed a Rubicon, insofar as the Left now sees how easy it is to grab total control. Had any other Republican from the 2016 field been President, I think this would have been lights out for America. That said, Trump will not be President forever, despite the Left's insane fever dreams to the contrary. This situation, though it may not seem so right now, still is only temporary and we'll come out of it. But long term, unless the Democrat-Media Complex, the unelected, unaccountable Deep State bureaucracy and the brainwashing mills of academia are somehow brought to heel, we are not going to be voting our way out of the inevitable showdown.
LET ME TRANSLATE THIS FOR LEFTISTS AND THOSE ON THE RIGHT WHO MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN. MONEY IS NOT JUST MONEY. NONE OF US IS PILING MONEY IN TO SWIM IN, LIKE UNCLE SCROOGE. MONEY IS LIFE. YOU TRADE YOUR LIFE FOR MONEY WITH WHICH YOU BUY THINGS TO SUSTAIN AND ENHANCE THAT LIFE. THIS IS GOING TO DESTROY LIVES. IS ALREADY DESTROYING LIVES. AND IT WILL COST US LIVES: IN POVERTY, DESPAIR AND OUTRIGHT SUICIDE
My town, Encinitas, CA, has a hard left City Council and a recent majority that elected it. Today was a significant protest about its fear-mongering and controlling lives excessiveness shutting down the beach and walkways above the beach. I'm down there every day walking long distances, and walkers have been keeping distances and many wearing masks. I hope come November, the fear mongerers and sheepies get sent home.
Bulldog's post earlier today suggests what many of us have imagined but had no hard data about: this corona virus may be about as lethal as seasonal influenza. That means it kills 0.1 to 0.15% of infected people and, in this case, mostly frail and elderly.
That would make it comparable to the H1N1 virus pandemic of 2009 which had little media or political hysteria.
Read the post, and listen. It's a random sample from California, but it makes sense to me because it gives us an inkling of a denominator. No denominator, no data. More probably similar data will be trickling in over the next weeks. Many people have had this bug and barely noticed it, much less got tested for it.
If the world has hysterically overreacted to this germ for lack of data (thanks a lot, China) - what then?
Since I am always a skeptic, I was always skeptical about the hysteria around me. Skepticism is my default setting, and it usually works out.
Ants Can Do
Steve Martin's