On December 8, I noted that 15MM people in America had confirmed Covid-19. Just 3 weeks later it's 20MM contracted and almost 350,000 dead. The projections right now for where the world will be in April are dire. Almost 3 million expected to have died of Covid by 1 April 2021 with the US accounting for more than 500k.
So on the eve of New Year's Eve, I contemplate the dread. I've been wishing everyone a much improved 2021, but I'm not so certain.
It's been some week. The US Supreme court has turned down Texas' bid to overturn the election results in four states, the US has a massive coronavirus outbreak clocking up 1.5 million new cases (16.5M total) and 10.5 thousand deaths (305K total) in just the last 5 days, the Pfizer mRNA vaccine got FDA Emergency Use Authorization and began shipping, and the Brexit talks broke down.
Oh, and Biden-Harris were named Time Person of the Year.
Crazy world! My elves on the shelf have been up to mischief. At least it's something to do.
The US has blown past the 15 million confirmed coronavirus cases in a flash. With 290,000 deaths and more than 200,000 new cases daily demonstrating the post-Thanksgiving crush, the run-up to Christmas is going to be devastating for so many families. And yet, the superspreader in chief throws tantrums and begs for states to overturn the election. I am ashamed. Saddened and ashamed.
Globally, 68 million confirmed cases and 1.5 million deaths set the stage for the close of a horrible year. But today, the first of the vaccines began to be distributed outside of clinical trials. The first person to get vaccinated in Ireland was an 80 yo woman in the North. Hope is on the way.
Winter has arrived and the elves are creating mischief on the shelves.
It's been a tough year. Since January, we've been stressing about Covid-19, the US government, elections, and family. I've been having such a hard time concentrating and I'm not the only one. People all over are reporting that their creativity has suffered this year. So many creative people -- musicians and artists in particular -- have no outlet and no income this year, so I shouldn't complain. We're reasonably comfortable in retirement, so at least we don't have that worry.
In the past couple of weeks, while the election results trickled in and Trump tried to stage a coup, I distracted myself by taking up my 'joy of sailing project'. Over the years, I had written many nature essays about things we'd seen and experienced while crossing oceans and living next to or on the sea. I have now collected all those essays and a few poems and I'm now editing them into a book with the working title 'Keeping Watch for Miracles'. The idea is that this is about more than sailing and perhaps nature will connect with more people.
I hope to publish it on Amazon and promote it if people think it's worth reading. Wish me luck. Here's a current list of chapters...
I know there is much to be fretful about, especially for Americans this year. But today, let us count our blessings:
We are alive and healthy and have not lost any loved ones.
We have chosen a new leader to restore world order.
We have a US federal government forming that reflects how we all look.
We have not suffered a massive economic breakdown.
We will soon be vaccinated against this scourge.
This Thanksgiving and most likely Christmas will be different from what we've been used to. Perhaps the alterations will not be so painful. Perhaps we will find ways to make it even better. As long as we can share with loved ones in some way, perhaps we will make it through stronger, wiser and happier, too. Happy Thanksgiving USA and Americans all around the world!
As coronavirus cases close in on 13,000,000 in the US, millions of Americans have been taking to the roads and the skies for Thanksgiving. Traditionally, the highest travel volume period of the year, pandemic concerns have not deterred many even when Fauci implored people to stay home. Hospitalizations and deaths from the highly contagious virus are skyrocketing and the National Guard has been called in in some places to help carry away the dead. I have no doubt that the surge in cases is a direct result of people congregating at rallies held by the Superspreader-in-Chief without masks or distancing precautions just before the election.
Today, Wednesday, millions of Americans will travel for Thanksgiving despite some of the worst daily COVID-19 figures since the pandemic began. According to Johns Hopkins University, the United States reported 2,146 deaths on Tuesday — the highest daily death total since May and higher than any other country. The nation also reported 172,935 new coronavirus infections, and the number of hospitalizations hit a new record of 88,080. The number of deaths per 100,000 population now stands at 802, among the highest in the world.
Millions are expected to ignore holiday guidelines against travel this week, and experts have warned that could cause infection numbers to explode. Jonathan Reiner, CNN medical analyst, has predicted that Thanksgiving could become “the mother of all superspreader events.” We'll see in 2-3 weeks' time.
As US Tops 12 Million Coronavirus Cases, Air Travel Is Busiest Since March | TODAY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5PDe25qYsw
The people of the United States of America have shown this year that they have some sense. They have elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and VP to be inaugurated in January. Record numbers of people voted this year. Perhaps Trump, who will go down as the worst President in American history, will be best known as the man who mobilised Americans to vote in droves during a pandemic. No more apathy. It was a clear and decisive margin of more than 6 million in the popular vote and a clear win of the electoral vote (306-232). Moreover, almost 154 million voters turned out -- that's almost half the population of the US. More than 100 million votes were cast early either by mail or in person as states took into account safety during the pandemic.
The people showed uncommon sense in choosing a decent and honourable man and a woman of colour both of whom speak in full sentences and make all the sense in the world. Biden had a birthday after the election and he will take office as the oldest President in history at the age of 78. Kamala will make history as the first female VP, and the highest-ranking woman of colour. Finally, girls everywhere will be able to see themselves in important governing roles. Another first will be that President-Elect Biden's wife Jill is a PhD and Dr. Biden plans to continue to teach. We should call her Dr FLOTUS. The Second Gentleman, as VPE Harris' husband Doug Emhoff is to be known, is Jewish. There has never before been a SGOTUS and never has a spouse of POTUS or VPOTUS been Jewish.
The US has the most cases of coronavirus infection in the world at nearly 13 million and more than 264,000 deaths. Trump tried to overturn the election results and was shut down by the courts, Guiliani made a fool of himself with melting hair colour and bizarre conspiracy theories. And still, they have extraordinary support. But they lost.
I believe that Biden-Harris and all the smart people they are bringing in can heal and unite. But it's not going to be easy. It is so refreshing to hear people say reasonable things. It feels like integrity is returning to the People's House.
Thanks be to God and the American people for restoring some order in the world.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing. -Socrates
Some time ago, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. When I was in management, mostly as President of an ad agency, I never wanted to make personal decisions about what to have for dinner, what plans to make for the weekend, or which colour to choose for the house paint.
One summer, I took some time off. I travelled to Ireland, went sailing, visited family and friends and found that decisions, like where to have lunch or what movie to see, became a snap. I found that quite curious.
I think that being in a position in which every moment of every day requires split-second decisions making layered over long-range planning puts a strain on personal decision-making capacity. Personal life becomes overload. Removal from that corporate responsibility frees up the ability and the interest in making basic life choices and decisions again.
Yesterday, 4 days of counting after the US Presidential election, the Biden-Harris ticket was declared the winner with more than 270 electoral college votes and a 4 million count advantage of the popular vote. With the win in Pennsylvania, the Keystone State where I grew up, Joe Biden became President-Elect, the oldest ever at 77, the same age as my brother. Kamala Harris became the first woman and the first woman of colour to become Vice President-Elect. As the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India and married to a Jewish man becoming a stepmom to his children, she broke all kinds of ceilings. Kamala is as all-American as it gets.
This will be an unusual Presidency, of course after all the court challenges Trump is mounting. We have a President-Elect who tried to run twice and third time was lucky. We have a majority in the house but not in the Senate, so there will be obstacles. Unless of course, the run-off in Georgia flips two seats -- or at least one to cause a tie between Republican and Democratic seats, because then Kamala will have the tiebreaker vote. Personally, I'd quite like the latter outcome.
Trump had meltdowns on Twitter as expected and Twitter vowed to treat him like any normal human being if he lost. Well, he has lost and they've been not just flagging his tweets, they've been suppressing them. Cool. Thank you, Twitter. But the second-best moment of the election was that Rudy Guiliani held a press conference at the Four Seasons Landscaping company instead of the Four Seasons Hotel in Philly. He stood in a parking lot between a sex toys shop and a crematorium. The internet has had a field day with that one. And while he was talking about the lawsuits being prepared, the Biden-Harris win was announced. He asked who announced it and the reporters responded, "They all did!" Sweet.
Jill Biden is expecting to continue teaching in college so she will become Professor FLOTUS. Of course, she already has experience as Second Lady of the US. Douglas Emhoff is the husband of U.S. Senator and vice president-elect Kamala Harris and a successful litigation attorney. He is set to become the first Second Gentleman of the United States. He will be the first Jewish person in US history to be married to a President or Vice President. He has said he will take a leave of absence from the legal firm of which he is a partner. He could have interesting conflicts.
Things are getting complicated in two-career families who hold elected office. Michelle Obama must have found it extremely difficult to give up her career for 8+ years.
We have a divided country, a soaring pandemic, historic unemployment, a delicately balanced economy, and systemic racism -- can these people heal a country in turmoil? It certainly finally feels like someone is going to try.
I am grateful for the lack of rioting and peaceful celebrations in the interim. I just feel so relieved that we aren't going to have to endure another 4 years of trumpism. He's fired!
May life be interesting.
Sadly, yesterday was also the day that the global confirmed cases of coronavirus infection topped 50 million while America soared to 9.9 million ahead of most third world countries. God help us all.
As 33M have recovered, that means 13M people are sick all around the world. The vaccine trials are on and off as serious side effects appear; same with antibody trials. Westport now has 54 cases of disease transmission (42 yesterday) so have to double down.
The remnants of Hurricane Epsilon came through here Thursday, we had a day of weather respite Friday and today we face Storm Aidan. Always something.
Earthquake off Greece causes destruction in Turkey and Greek islands. A mini tsunami floods towns, and a 30-metre wave is clocked off Ireland.
The elections are underway in the US; it ain't pretty. Trump is Trumpian and Biden stirs up hope.
Not to be depressive, but the world has documented 40M cases, a drop in the bucket compared to the total population figures. They are talking about level 5 lockdown, which would be awful for the winter. It's actually pretty stupid because being winter, if we are permitted to drive some distance, we could just go off and walk in the woods. See nature and recharge as we did this week in Wild Nephin, a rewilding project nearby where 11k hectares of land are being left as wilderness and national park. I hope it works and nature takes its course.
Otherwise, we'd be stuck indoors with people coughing in our faces. Alex and I got our flu shots and I had my teeth cleaned. Still need to get a GP visit in before the winter outbreak becomes too bad in these parts.
Still can't write and people are getting rabid. Facebook is exploding with rancour. I will wait until after the election. If Biden wins, I start writing. If Trump wins, I crawl into a hole and lock out the world.
The world has surpassed 35M confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection, Donald Trump is hospitalised with it at Walter Reed, Melania Trump has it in the White House, and lots of others have been tested positive, including Kellyanne Conway, Chris Christie, several Senators and Trump's campaign manager. The incidence of new infections is on the rise around the world, and we've reached the daily figures of early April here in Ireland. Lockdown is on the way. It's going to get a lot worse.
Interestingly, Trump is being treated with exactly the drugs I would choose: Regeneron's polyclonal antibodies and a 5-day course of remdesivir (Gilead).
Thank goodness that Biden and his wife tested negative as did Pence. At least maybe the election can proceed. We've cast our ballots and Alex has already received his confirmation.
At least Alex and I got our flu shots and Meike had her cataract operation. I should get a physical exam and dental cleaning before it gets worse. And it's going to get a lot worse.
More than 33M confirmed infections and more than 1M excess deaths marks a dark milestone on this pandemic journey. Moreover, people are starting to talk openly about what's being called 'long Covid' by the 'long-haulers'. The symptoms range from chronic conditions that suggest it precipitates metabolic syndrome -- diabetes, hypertension, arrhythmias, to neurologic complications including brain fog and strokes, to nonspecific symptoms like hoarseness, loss of voice, hair loss and exhaustion.
Heard a story on the radio here this morning about a young healthcare worker in his 30s who was very fit and healthy when he contracted Covid-19 and landed in ICU. They put him in a coma for a few days, and he woke up two months later, with chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, arrhythmias, and asthma. Had none before.
An article in the NY Times today indicates the worst problem is that no one, including the docs, are listening to the long-haulers, thinking instead that the ongoing symptoms are psychological. I've been hearing that quite a lot.
An excellent BBC podcast explores all the weird symptoms and what is known about the mechanisms by which the SARS-CoV2 virus operates. Basically, not very much. Yet I am convinced that this virus is going to teach us an awful lot about how chronic disease occurs. I've long thought that it's a combination of genetic susceptibility triggered by microbial infection. Diabetes, hypertension, arrhythmias, dementias, cancers -- I think one day we will know the causes and they will be minuscule.
Not unlike in the War of the Worlds, it will be the smallest inhabitants that bring us down. How's that for apocalyptic thinking?
More than 30M confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, and almost 1M dead worldwide, 200,000 dead surpassed in the US alone. But this is just a drop in the bucket when considering the total population of the world, 7.8B people. We have a long way to go.
Sir David Attenborough's new documentary, Extinction: the facts, is profound in its directness. Humans are at the root of extinction of the earth's biodiversity. And it's our sheer numbers at fault. I know that. I have known that since I was a young girl reading science fiction. In the year I was born, there were 2.7B people on this earth. There was space between them. Now with 7.8B and growing, it's closing in on us. The earth can no longer sustain us. It's a small wonder all the rich people are looking for a way off this planet. They know we won't change before it collapses.
We've just passed 25M confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. That's less than 1% of the world population (7.8B). We have a long way to go. It's only just sinking in to people that this is far from over. The US deaths per 1K population has reached 562, same as Brazil. Shocking.
The US spends more on healthcare but has the lowest life expectancy of any OECD country. It has the highest suicide rate among the nations surveyed. How can this be? It's all so broken.
I have been unable to write and I'm not the only one. People all over are reporting inability to concentrate. We all struggle to deal with the pandemic yet we morosely follow the numbers. It's like the old days with the Vietnam war and the tallies of deaths on both sides and horrific images of children being maimed and massacred.
Elections are around the corner. I hope people have been shocked out of complacency and will do the right thing. VOTE!
It's mid-August and the pandemic is just beginning to resurge. People just can't stay away from each other, and so they slip into their old behaviours. It's a very 'me' centric world. 'It's not going to affect me. I'm young and healthy,' and they congregate in bars, on beaches and on the streets. There are 7.8 billion people in the world right now. Even if there are 10 times more infections than documented, that's less than 3% of the population. We have a long way to go.
This week is the 75th Anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, where 100,000 people died. Between Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is estimated that 129,000–226,000 were killed. Maybe because it was men who dropped bombs that killed instantly, the atrocity committed by Americans for 'just cause' seems so catastrophically evil.
Less than a month ago, I reported 12M cases of confirmed Covid-19. Now it's up to 18M and almost 700,000 dead. Yet, the fact that this virus, which behaves so unlike anything previously known to man not unlike the atom bomb of the microbial world, has killed so many over the course of six months is hard to get my head around. It has made it almost impossible for me to write anything but factual pieces and blogs. Everything else seems so pointless.
Since my birthday, 2M more people have been confirmed infected and another 50k have died. It's escalating. But there have been no new cases in County Mayo where we live in a couple of weeks. I am feeling blessed to be living in the west of Ireland.
I haven't written much since the start of the coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic. I've been telling myself it's because I've been so busy helping the yachting community get home or at least to safe harbour through the Ocean Cruising Club. The truth is that I haven't been motivated. It seems that there is little reason to be productive when the world is crashing down around us. Today we've surpassed 10M confirmed infected with coronavirus and >500,000 dead of Covid-19. With 5.5M recovered that leaves 4M people sick throughout the world. Probably ten times more can be assumed not to have been diagnosed.
Then again, the weather is Ireland has been so great that we've spent an inordinate amount of time outdoors. We've had a prolonged drought during which I went kayaking daily on the Bay. Now the weather has broken and we've had a ridiculous amount of rainfall over the past three days, 75 mm yesterday alone. So maybe that will encourage me to sit still and get back into doing what I have been intending.
I'm 66 today, a nice round number. I will fill out my Free Trave Scheme form but I don't intend to use it just yet. Had it been before pandemic, I would have taken a train ride to Belfast where I haven't been yet. It will have to wait. Hopefully, a vaccine will become available within the next six months or so. Hopefully it will confer long-lasting protection. Hopefully, we'll have access to it. Hopefully, I'll get to take that train ride.
For now I'll just go wash my hands while singing happy birthday to myself twice -- the length of time it takes to kill all the pathogens that hands carry.
United States
