From where I sit, while I have seen people of all genders ignore suggestions to wear masks, but the videos I've seen of people getting a bit crazy about the issue have been women. Of course, this is not a scientific sample, but I did actually run into friend of a friend, woman who said "I just can't do masks". I'm wondering how much of this is about make-up? I have known women who would rather die than appear in public without make-up, and a face mask confounds the problem. And so, literally, they may die or subject those around them to potential death because of this make-up issue. When I Google, first page I see all sorts of tips on how to apply make-up that complements the face mask. Aie. Unfortunate that something like that has become an issue to the point of people losing it in public. Thoughts??
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Exercise overrated - fitness underrated
My theory on exercise is that it's overrated. Look at Stephen Hawking - he didn't get much exercise for the last fifty years of his life and he lived to 76, which isn't bad. Look at people lying in nursing homes who don't leave their beds for years. The difference - those people don't eat whatever they want. They are fed by a tube, get weighed, and their institutional diets adjusted accordingly. So diet is probably more important than exercise in preventing sludge buildup.
But if you want to do something besides lie in bed all day, or if you want to walk instead of having someone push you in a wheelchair; if you want to climb a mountain or paddle a canoe, fitness is important. And if you want to avoid injury, you work your way up to it gradually.
But if you want to do something besides lie in bed all day, or if you want to walk instead of having someone push you in a wheelchair; if you want to climb a mountain or paddle a canoe, fitness is important. And if you want to avoid injury, you work your way up to it gradually.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Return of the ammo-sexuals
A friend who's a hospitalist; physician in Oregon lamented the revived protests by the ammo-sexuals. Ah yes - I remember the word from back when one group decided to seize federal land and other groups across the country became adamant about their right to carry firearms into grocery stores.
The ammo-sexual is the hero of countless movies where justice is eventually meted out by a gun. Or a sword. The courts are too slow and corrupt for an action movie. When America Was Great™ the hero was always a male; even the lone woman with enough grit to live alone in the countryside eventually realized the advantages of having that alpha male around. She could resist every man's clumsy advances until the true alpha male came into town.
How the city-slicker from New York City became the hero of ammo-sexuals, and hero of the Religious Right, and now it seems maybe even anti-vaxxers (at least the ones on the libertarian end of the movement), was a coalition shuffling that surprised even The Great Orange One.
And now, as The Great Orange One's stature seemed to be on the verge of humbling by an invisible virus that defied his hunches and a Deep State of scientists and physicians, newly joined by Bill Gates standing in for George Soros, the ammo-sexuals are back in the streets to rescue their hero.
They are the white alpha males, whose asses had generally been kicked around until The Great Orange One rose to power. And now The Deep State was telling them whether they could leave their homes, go to work, or even cough in public without their neighbors casting an eye of aspersion. The Great Orange One initially denied the common enemy, then relented to the so-called experts. The ammo-sexuals felt The Great Orange One's pain as he struggled to intuitively crunch the numbers and balance between lives lost and points of the Dow Jones. He vacillated enough times to give the day traders a few rallies and short-calls. But no one tells The Great Orange One OR the ammo-sexuals what to do. They don't want government handouts to stay at home - they want jobs and to walk freely in public. They're tired of standing aside for The Deep State of scientists, and doctors, and even an invisible virus - no, they are not afraid. They are the alpha males. They are the ammo-sexuals.
The ammo-sexual is the hero of countless movies where justice is eventually meted out by a gun. Or a sword. The courts are too slow and corrupt for an action movie. When America Was Great™ the hero was always a male; even the lone woman with enough grit to live alone in the countryside eventually realized the advantages of having that alpha male around. She could resist every man's clumsy advances until the true alpha male came into town.
How the city-slicker from New York City became the hero of ammo-sexuals, and hero of the Religious Right, and now it seems maybe even anti-vaxxers (at least the ones on the libertarian end of the movement), was a coalition shuffling that surprised even The Great Orange One.
And now, as The Great Orange One's stature seemed to be on the verge of humbling by an invisible virus that defied his hunches and a Deep State of scientists and physicians, newly joined by Bill Gates standing in for George Soros, the ammo-sexuals are back in the streets to rescue their hero.
They are the white alpha males, whose asses had generally been kicked around until The Great Orange One rose to power. And now The Deep State was telling them whether they could leave their homes, go to work, or even cough in public without their neighbors casting an eye of aspersion. The Great Orange One initially denied the common enemy, then relented to the so-called experts. The ammo-sexuals felt The Great Orange One's pain as he struggled to intuitively crunch the numbers and balance between lives lost and points of the Dow Jones. He vacillated enough times to give the day traders a few rallies and short-calls. But no one tells The Great Orange One OR the ammo-sexuals what to do. They don't want government handouts to stay at home - they want jobs and to walk freely in public. They're tired of standing aside for The Deep State of scientists, and doctors, and even an invisible virus - no, they are not afraid. They are the alpha males. They are the ammo-sexuals.
Saturday, April 11, 2020
As the United States becomes number one*
*in the number of deaths.
While the election of Donald Trump seemed like a step backwards for the United States, his actual leadership (or lack thereof) is what diminished the US as a consistent anchor in global politics. Similar to the domestic front, the attention and global markets shifted from "what is the United States going to do" to "what kind of mood is Donald in today?" "Who will be the next person in his administration to get fired?"
Still, because of US economic and military might, other leaders were required to humor him, and stay on top of the tweets, even as they sorted out how they were going to manage in a world that no longer had the US as a consistent global voice. And of course, every country has its own set of priorities. The pandemic has only heightened that trend, with the only upside being that Trump has virtually zero (actually, less than zero) standing in this global situation. While the US consulate has made some posts about US assistance to other countries, the headlines have been dominated by every country scrambling to save their own people (and Republicans in the US pushing policies to increase deaths in some countries they consider enemies). At least in Australia, the only major collaborative news was about China sending a team to Italy. And so, it seems this pandemic, at least as far as the Trump administration is concerned, has cemented the US position as a non-leader. Even Trump himself has tried to push his "states rights" agenda towards saying that the management of the pandemic is up to governors; not a federal issue. While another administration might have thought globally in response to a global issue, as I say, Trump's response has been less than zero; overall increasing the likelihood of deaths.
Does this mean the end of an empire? The United States is still a large population with a large economy and that doesn't end overnight. Regardless of whether the US has good leadership or not, its economy will still carry weight, even if its military becomes dysfunctional and demoralized. But lack of leadership will definitely be a factor in recovery. Economists and Congress seem to have grabbed the reins, but in the absence of any sense of shared destiny, the US recovery may take the same path as its initial response to the danger - too much partisan squabbling and not enough coherent action. Inside the United States, the last catastrophe was known as the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Outside the US, it's referred to as the GFC - Global Financial Crisis. Even if the US is not a leader, it drags the rest of the world along whatever trajectory. In that regard, seeing the decline of the US as a global leader is like the death of a drug cartel leader. While it's an opportunity for someone, it means a lot of unrest and violence as they claw their way into the void.
While the election of Donald Trump seemed like a step backwards for the United States, his actual leadership (or lack thereof) is what diminished the US as a consistent anchor in global politics. Similar to the domestic front, the attention and global markets shifted from "what is the United States going to do" to "what kind of mood is Donald in today?" "Who will be the next person in his administration to get fired?"
Still, because of US economic and military might, other leaders were required to humor him, and stay on top of the tweets, even as they sorted out how they were going to manage in a world that no longer had the US as a consistent global voice. And of course, every country has its own set of priorities. The pandemic has only heightened that trend, with the only upside being that Trump has virtually zero (actually, less than zero) standing in this global situation. While the US consulate has made some posts about US assistance to other countries, the headlines have been dominated by every country scrambling to save their own people (and Republicans in the US pushing policies to increase deaths in some countries they consider enemies). At least in Australia, the only major collaborative news was about China sending a team to Italy. And so, it seems this pandemic, at least as far as the Trump administration is concerned, has cemented the US position as a non-leader. Even Trump himself has tried to push his "states rights" agenda towards saying that the management of the pandemic is up to governors; not a federal issue. While another administration might have thought globally in response to a global issue, as I say, Trump's response has been less than zero; overall increasing the likelihood of deaths.
Does this mean the end of an empire? The United States is still a large population with a large economy and that doesn't end overnight. Regardless of whether the US has good leadership or not, its economy will still carry weight, even if its military becomes dysfunctional and demoralized. But lack of leadership will definitely be a factor in recovery. Economists and Congress seem to have grabbed the reins, but in the absence of any sense of shared destiny, the US recovery may take the same path as its initial response to the danger - too much partisan squabbling and not enough coherent action. Inside the United States, the last catastrophe was known as the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Outside the US, it's referred to as the GFC - Global Financial Crisis. Even if the US is not a leader, it drags the rest of the world along whatever trajectory. In that regard, seeing the decline of the US as a global leader is like the death of a drug cartel leader. While it's an opportunity for someone, it means a lot of unrest and violence as they claw their way into the void.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Bullets and toilet paper
Hygiene. Some people think they need to hoard toilet paper. Some people think foreigners are dirty and the problem would be solved if we just keep them out and get rid of them. Those people are buying up ammo. Trump's political career has relied, and continues to rely on the dystopian notion that it's always the foreigners that are the problem, so he insists on calling it the China virus to continue on the political theme of his campaign to remain in power. Unfortunately for the spread of the pandemic, this distracts from the real hygiene that's required.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Storm run-off
What I find interesting about this article is Washington DC's approach, but also, that someone recently suggested a similar concept not for raw sewage leakage, but for Sydney Australia's water shortage. The person suggested that Sydney's run-off should be captured by a system such as this and that would help reduce the water shortage problem. I might add, the City Council in which I reside has program incentives for building permits to reduce hard spaces and create spaces where storm water will be more slowly released. To my knowledge, Australians don't use wells for water as much as the US does - it seems in many locations the water is unsuitable for drinking. The storm water reduction effort is largely to keep water at the beaches cleaner.
E.P.A. Is Letting Cities Dump More Raw Sewage Into Rivers for Years to Come
E.P.A. Is Letting Cities Dump More Raw Sewage Into Rivers for Years to Come
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Difficult goodbyes
This post is about leaving Facebook, which I intend to do in the near future. My two strongest beliefs in this moment are 1. that the current President of the United States is not fit for that office and 2. the management of Facebook is not fit for the level of access to personal data that they have. I don't believe that either of those entities will ever be capable of the level of responsibility they should have. They may have earned their position, and taking it away from them may be difficult, but it's past time, and damage has been done.
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