CORONAVIRUS - NEW YEAR'S EVE UPDATE

As for the coronavirus...heyyy, it's been a while since we talked about it!  So let's.

At one point, the "experts" were saying that for natural "herd immunity" to kick in, something like 60% of the population had to be infected.  I don't know if that's still true or not; they keep moving the goal posts.  You never know what numbers are going to come out of Dr. Fauci's ass (or hat, or wherever he gets them) on any given day.  In any event, it's instructive to look at the raw numbers for where I live: Escambia County, Florida.  Please refer to the chart above.

The Florida Department of Health reports that we've had 22,008 people turn up positive for COVID-19.  But remember, it is generally assumed that *eight times* more people actually have the virus when you account for the asymptomatics.  Conservatively, that would mean 175,000 people in the Pensacola area have already been infected.  If we divide that number by the 315,000 people who live here, we get 0.555 which works out to be 56%.  So we're getting really close to that 60%.

As you can also see from the chart, 372 people have died here.  That works out to be 0.12% of our population.  A little over one-tenth of one-percent.  Oh wow, what a horrible, deadly epidemic!  Now, statisticians will argue that such a figure is horribly inaccurate and doesn't take into account...blah blah blah.  It doesn't matter.  The number of new infections and deaths are rising so slowly that using the raw data is perfectly fine to give us a snapshot of what the virus is doing right now, today.  In other words, deaths have not gone up "EXPONENTIALLY!!!!" as some feared and predicted.

One last calculation: Percent of infected people who've died.  Now it gets tricky.  Do we use the "official" number of people who've tested positive?  Or do we use the "people who've tested positive times eight" number?  For the sake of argument, let's use the latter.  372 divided by 175,000 equals 0.021, or 2.1%.  So basically, 2% of the people who get coronavirus die from coronavirus.  Turn that around - 98% of people who get coronavirus survive.  

You know what?  I never get the flu.  I mean *never*.  At this point, I'll take  my chances with getting the coronavirus.  I don't believe in asymptomatic spread, and so trust me, the minute I start feeling sick I'll self-quarantine.  And just to be on the safe side, I'll cover my coughs and sneezes...LIKE I'VE BEEN DOING ALL MY LIFE.  Meanwhile, I'm going to continue to live that life.  

I suggest you do the same.  Happy New Year!

Suddenly I See

Country singer KT Oslin died the other day; she was 76.  When I heard the news, I initially thought it was another singer, KT Tunstall who died, but the latter KT is much younger and is still with us.  It reminded me of a funny story though.

Picture it:  We're in Brewster, Washington back in 2012, not long after I met my friend Brandon Arago.  We both love music, and over the years have turned each other on to various artists and songs. Brandon is more of a heavy-metal kind of guy.  But like the saying goes, you can't judge a book... 

This one particular time, I came to him with a song and music video I'd just discovered that I was certain he didn't know of.  It was KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See" - a bouncy, extremely catchy tune about female empowerment.  I love the song and the very creative music video that she made for it.

Anyway, I said, "Hey Brandon, listen to this!" and hit "play."  Within literally two notes (I swear), Brandon screamed, "AAARRRGGHHH!  KT Tunstall...turn it off...TURN IT OFF!"  He was holding his fingers in his ears and had an expression on his face like I was performing an appendectomy on him without anesthesia.  Kind of like the expression peope get when forced to listen to Nickelback, same thing.

Apparently, the song was from 2006.  I'm always late in discovering music.  And in 2006, a teenage Brandon was working on the ground/maintenance crew at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.  KT Tunstall was set to perform in concert one night, and Brandon and his crew were getting the place set up during KT's sound-check.  The song she used to calibrate the mics and speakers and such was, "Suddenly I See."  Over and over.  And Over.  Brandon said, "I must've heard that damn song a hundred times.  I hate it!"

I must admit that Brandon has turned me on to way more music and artists than I have recommended to him.  It was he who introduced me to the group, Stick Figure whose album "Set In Stone" literally changed my life.  But back then it was funny how he'd heard of KT Tunstall and her song when I didn't think it possible.

And so here, for your listening and viewing pleasure (I hope!) is KT Tunstall with "Suddenly I See."

Car Smells

A lot of Uber drivers eat in their cars, but I don't.  I don't want the car smelling like food.  Which is also why I don't do Door Dash, Uber Eats, or any of the other food-delivery services.  It's bad enough that the car smells like me.  I don't need people getting in and going, "So you had McDonalds for lunch, eh?"  And then I'd go, "Uhhhhh yeah, *four hours* ago!"  The smell of fast food does linger.

Having said that, yesterday I went through the Wendy's drive-thru.  For some reason, they up-sized my fries.  It's okay, I like Wendy's fries.  I went over to the airport to sit in the queue and eat.  Since I wasn't number one, and this is Pensacola and not LAX, I knew I had some time to scarf down my oh-so-healthy lunch (with the windows and sunroof open) before I got a run.  

Upon pulling said container of upsized fries out of the bag, the damn thing literally exploded!  Don't ask me how.  I mean, fries went everywhere! What the...!  Mostly all over my passenger seat and a few on the floorboard.  I rounded up most of them, but one little bugger slid down between the seat and the center console. I tried to fish it out with my crossword puzzle pen, but it only got worse.  Then I dropped the pen down there too.  Now I had a french fry *and* a pen lost in the bowels of my car.  The errant fry had slipped down *under* the seat track, out of sight and very inaccessible.  It was *GONE* baby!  Dammit.  Now I'd have to go home and take the passenger seat out.  Don't want no decomposing french fry stinking up my car.  I finished out the day, angry at myself for not being more careful.

And so this morning I figured I'd try something.  I straightened out an old wire coat hanger and slid it in from the front, between the console and the seat track and floorboard.  And by Jove, that did the trick!  It worked a treat, as the Brits say.  That little french fry fucker came pooping right out the back of the seat track, along with my ballpoint pen, thankfully, as I wasn't done with the crossword puzzle yet, and also a dime and a penny, which is odd, because I can't remember the last time I carried any coin change at all.     

Some drivers over-deodorize their cars with powerful air fresheners.  They must think the passengers like it.  They don't.  The passengers just assume the driver is trying to cover up the smell of the weed he just smoked.  Not me.  I just want my car to smell like car.  

Hypocrisy When We See It

1) California Governor Gavin Newsom recently implemented pretty strict lockdown measures in his state, and then was caught attending a birthday party at a super-fancy restaurant.  Initially, Newsom *LIED* and said it was a small gathering that was held outdoors.  Turns out there were 24 people in the group and it was held INDOORS.  Did Newsom exhibit any shame or embarrassment?  Of course not.

2) From the CDC we have heard conflicting, often contradictory claims.  In the summer it was, "Outdoors:bad/Indoors:safe."  Now it's winter and they say, "Outdoors:safe/Indoors:bad."  Or is it the other way 'round?

3) We are told that there are numerous ways of spreading the virus other than coughing/sneezing.  But we allow malls and big stores like Walmart and Costco to remain open, and it's safe - AS LONG AS EVERYONE WEARS A MASK!  Yet we do not see employees of these stores dropping like flies.

4) We know that in the U.S., if you die for whatever reason (e.g. car crash) and you happen to have the coronavirus, then your cause of death is listed as: CORONAVIRUS.  We know that this isn't logical, but we are told that it most certainly is the way it should be done.  In our tiny brains, we wonder if that's also the way COVID-19 deaths are counted in every country...and if not, perhaps that's why the numbers in the U.S. appear to be so much worse than everywhere else?

Many people have full-time jobs, and families, and other interests.  They don't personally know anyone who's either had - or died from - the coronavirus.  They're not obsessed with this disease and have not made a PhD-level study of it like so many "internet experts" do.  And if you consider my first four paragraphs above, all that crap adds up to a huge level of skepticism and confusion among the American people.  We see the inconsistencies...the things that do not make any sense.  And it is hard for us to know what or who to believe.  

We know and don't deny that a lot of people have died "from coronavirus" so far.  But we also know that if you're reasonably healthy, the coronavirus is just not a big risk to your life.  We also know that people die - some would say, "prematurely" from a great number of things every year.  And we know that sooner or later, everyone is going to die.  Logical, intelligent people understand that it doesn't make sense to quarantine the healthy to save those who might get sick.  Doing that cripples a society, and ultimately does more harm than good.  

So right now, if you're in any of those at-risk groups (which are well-known at this point), or if you're a type of person who is always so paranoid and afraid of everything, then by all means, if you leave the house you should take all reasonable precautions.  

The rest of you, get on with your damn lives.