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.
I wish he would just stick to his knitting instead of riding all of his socio-cultural hobby horses. I'd like to give the guy the benefit of doubt, but sheesh. It's Holy Week. Can we focus on Christ instead of talking about the weather?
... journalists during White House briefings fixate on two agendas.
One is to goad the president into saying something sloppy, by repeatedly suggesting that in reacting to the virus, he was in error, that he is cruel and heartless, or that he is dangerous. That gotcha obsession explains why the media can call Trump a xenophobe and racist for issuing a travel ban against China—contrary to the earlier advice of WHO, the Centers for Disease Control, the media, and the entire Democratic Party hierarchy—then silently support it. It explains why they then use doctored Chinese data and propaganda from the Chinese Communist Party to convince Americans that China—a nation that lied about the origins, spread, and nature of the virus—is admirably doing a better job in containing the virus than is their own country. Even the media cannot keep straight their own anti-Trump gymnastics.
“My role with respect to public safety is something I take very seriously. The people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety. They are the ones that are entrusted with expansive freedoms – they’re free to exercise their rights to work, to worship, and to play – or to even stay at home, or to conduct social distancing. … My responsibility is to respect the rights of people, and the people who elected me.”
A good test of general fitness is to find out how long you can do jumping jacks or jump rope. These old-time calisthenics are time-tested cardio/calisthenic exertions, with no equipment needed (a good rope is good, though).
Like everything in the cardio/calisthenic area, these are not strength-builders. Done right, they have close to zero joint impact. They are endurance exercises, and endurance exercises belong in everybody's routine if they want a vigorous life. I see women and men jump-roping for 15 minutes. I cannot do that. After three minutes of either of those exercises, my form falls apart and I become short of breath, probably from not getting good breathing rhythms.
"The problem with students straight out of high school is that they believe everything you tell them. The problem with students coming later to college, after they have done something else, is that they don't believe anything you tell them."
As I've been recovering, one thing I've thought about is the next four years. There is still a chance (slim, but still exists) Biden could win. So far it seems Trump continues to consolidate his position. His leadership through this isn't what I'd call strong, but then again I don't pay attention to leaders much. I keep hearing how great Cuomo is, but I don't pay attention to him, either. What little I've seen isn't impressive. After all, he was shrinking health care in New York until he decided to play superman. Not to mention he has his fair share of lies and misrepresentations, as all politicians do.
Regardless of which politician you want to listen to, believe, or support, the reality is we'd get through this with or without leaders. Most plagues in the past weren't worse because of poor leadership. Leadership, however, is what democracy and politics is about. So that's why the election is still important. Nothing has changed from a geo-political standpoint, we still need to present ourselves on the world stage.
That is why I decided to write this, because I'm curious to see how many people are familiar with a certain character who was, not too long ago, elected DA of San Francisco. Chesa Boudin. I was introduced to this character by a good friend and I began reading up on him. I realized he is someone to pay attention to because he may be one of the most dangerous people in the US today. In fact, I've begun to believe the Biden candidacy is a campaign designed to undermine the fundamentals of the Democratic Party, drive it further left, and have more characters like Chesa take over as part of a 'drive for younger people who care and vote'. Sounds conspiratorial, but if you know his life story, it's nothing short of a grooming and it's been stage-managed by a cabal of deeply committed leftists. Look for him to become governor of California and ultimately a player on the national stage, driving a very hard left agenda with him.
I don't think Wikipedia is the be-all-to-end-all resource, but note something about the entry. Totally non-threatening. He seems approachable. He's not appearing as a revolutionary, even though he was raised and indoctrinated by revolutionaries of the deepest hard-left ideologies. The devil will appear as a friend, approachable, likable even. He'll make grand promises, utopian in nature. He'll have a good track record, and will be 'qualified'. He's still the devil. I don't believe this fellow is a bad person - I don't even know him. I wouldn't call him 'the devil'. But his ideology, his supporters' beliefs - that is the work of something truly evil.
Just hope you test positive. The more people who test positive, the better for the country. If elederly, overweight, or have other issues, if you test negative you might chose to remain in jail for a while.
Still, I think we'll be surprised by how many people have the covid antibodies already. If you even had a stuffy nose in the past 3 months, you might have the covid antibodies. If you don;t know what they are, read up on them.
The animal body has unbelievable abilities. What is an antibody? Read and learn some basic biology.
Whether with family or friends or alone, in good times or dire, at Passover, still after thousands of years we recall the Exodus, and we thank G-d for helping us to find the strength within and together to persevere in determination to be free and to practice faith. Tonight is the first seder (order of prayers, recollections, food, and songs) for Passover. May all celebrate freedom and faith with perseverance.
Come celebrate with us. (FYI, Chametz is leavened products that we are supposed to cleanse from our homes)
So. when trump was called a "racist" in january for cutting off travel. When the WaPo called his actions "unprecedented"....when he declared a Public Health Emergency to release funds so others/states could react to the virus....ALL IN JANUARY - JANUARY - JANUARY........that was "sitting on his hands" and "making no preparations" for two months???
I get the impression that people are making home-cooked meals during this so-called quarantine. This weekend, I made this: Marcella's beef braised in red wine. Not bad at all, an Italian pot roast I guess.
I agree with him. We need to get business back in business, with reasonable precautions of course. Since this virus will be circulating for years, the political challenge is when. The first patient who dies after opening up will be Trump's fault. Meanwhile, lives are being destroyed.
Now approved by the FDA, but already in use in other countries. The sooner we can get it everywhere here, the better. It might take a week or two. Obviously, if you have recovered from a confirmed case, you are good to go.
Despite the careful caveats in the article, what a positive test basically tells you is that you have been exposed to covid and have immunity to it. That means you have no to minimal risk, and are no risk to anybody else.
What is the purpose of all of these virus recommendations? The masks, the distancing, the stay-at-home, the hospital and nursing home rules?
The purpose is to lower the curve. Not to reduce cases of those made very ill, but to flatten the burden to make medical care more manageable over time: longer, but less intense at the moment.
This particular covid is sneaky - almost always mild-to-nothing, but sometimes lethal for the frail or unlucky. The unlucky part is what makes it scarey. There is no effective protection, in my view, because viruses go viral. Their RNA is their reason for existing.
I'm now about 12 days into my Covid experience, and I'm getting better. I probably thought I was better than I was. I went out and raked for hour yesterday, trying to benefit from fresh air for the first time and get a little exercise. I was pretty wiped out after that. So I'm resting today. I may have the mild version, but it doesn't make it less difficult to recover from.
However, I'm moving into newer territory. The cough is diminished significantly, the headache has eased, and my main issue now is hydration. I seem to be dehydrated no matter what I do. So I drink a lot of water and Gatorade. But my appetite is back, and I'm finally moving more. Sleep is still at a premium...10 hours every night.
My brother also has it. He has a much tougher version, but he also has adult onset diabetes. So he's at-risk. He's struggled much, much more than I have, had many more symptoms, and is fighting it still. He is also getting better, but at a much slower pace. He warned me not to rake yesterday. He was probably right.
What I'm more concerned about now is not my health, but where we go in the post-shutdown world...
I fear we're not going to move in the best directions. Value structures are a mess. The social shaming over this is an example of the worst of what can happen, and I (sadly) see this as something people will engage in more of.
Who is bored at home? Not possible. Snuggle with a spouse partner. Clean a damn closet. Turn off the f-ing TV. Do a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Throw out stuff you never use. Do 300 pushups each day and 100 body-weight squats. Cook something good. Do a Great Courses series. Go for an hour run. Clean the garage. Prune the shrubs. Make some money by working at home if you can.
"Trump ruined our economy and all for naught!" "Trump and his capitalism put millions out of work for nothing! If you haven't already heard this from the "mainstream media" (AKA "fake news"), you soon will...
Most fitness buffs do not have barbells and racks in their garage or barn, much less a fancy home gym. Still, most have bands, hand weights, some dumbells, maybe a kettlebell or two. TRX straps are versatile and take up no space.
Without barbells, it will be difficult to build strength while away from your gym with their heavy weights, so many of us are stuck doing our weights routines in suboptimal fashion. For example, doing floor bench presses with 10 or 15 lb. hand weights cannot compare with barbell bench presses.
The same applies to dumbell deadlifts.
(Generally-speaking, low reps refers to exertions you can only manage to repeat around 6 times, medium reps refers to exertions you can only manage to repeat 6-15 times, and high reps are over 15 times. High-rep exertions, even to failure, do not build strength but build muscle endurance. Low rep exertions build strength but not endurance.)
The point I want to make is that, without access to a good supply of varied serious weights, April might have to be a month of endurance weight training instead of strength-building. Why not? It is better than nothing.
That would entail, for example with lower body, squats with dumbells/hand weights X 20 per set, or dumbell deadlifts X 20, or 20 floor bench presses per set instead of 5-10. These sorts of things will slow the strength loss that occurs after 10 days without heavy weight stress.
Your calisthenics days and cardio days are easy at home or outdoors, so no need to discuss that.
A general question: Why don't Beijing or Shanghai have a virus problem? I've seen no answer. Was travel completely blocked? 
The Plague Has Been Quietly Killing Yellowstone Cougars for a Decade.
Most fitness buffs do not have barbells and racks in their garage or barn, much less a fancy home gym. Still, most have bands, hand weights, some dumbells, maybe a kettlebell or two.