Shutdown Diary
The reader may well wonder: how long will I continue this segment series. I had similar lengthy coverage after the Fukushima nuclear accident. As I write, the rolling average of daily cases has dipped below 30K, which I think is the first time in almost 11 months. I haven't been to my local Walmat or Sam's Club since the state of Maryland made masks optional to counties, and my local county has elected to roll back the mandate. Walmart and other vendors have announced they will respond in accordance with liberalized local policies. My new favorite local grocery, Lidl's, a Germany-based chain, sent out an email suggesting masks are now optional. So I'll probably test the concept over the weekend, with my mask pulled down but ready to pull up in the event I run into a hassle. (The short answer I expect to follow this story for at least a few months; for example, I'm still working remotely.)
As I write this, the WWE show Friday Smackdown finally announced they are weeks away from resuming on the road weekly broadcasts for both shows and PPV events (they did have a limited live audience for the recent signature Wrestlemania). Sports events, like the Kentucky Derby and the Master's, have resumed normal scheduling, and some upcoming events, like auto racing and NBA playoffs, seem to dropping limited capacity quota, and even NYC has relaxed indoor dining constraints (with some spacing between tables and resumed around the clock subway operation). (You wonder, for example, why they don't allow open seating for the vaccinated and designated seating for the unvaccinated.) Travel is apparently booming, and I've seen some airlines dropping policies of blocking off middle seats. (Being overweight, I didn't mind that policy (I've been stuck in seats next to other big people), but I haven't taken a flight since the holidays 2019.)
So according to the latest stats below, we are approaching 40% for the fully vaccinated and 50% of the American population being at least partially vaccinated. With the vaccinated unlikely to get seriously infected and transmit the virus to others, the primary risks are among the unvaccinated. One would expect less concentrations of bioaerosols. And some of the unvaccinated could already have been exposed and/or naturally immune. Not to mention masking poses breathing risks to some people. Let's be clear: to me, it's insane someone would turn down free vaccine shots against a disease that has killed over 500K and permanently impaired the health of many others. Granted, some people cannot physically tolerate vaccines, and there are reasons they make you wait 15 minutes after getting a shot.
My entire nuclear family is now fully vaccinated. I'm not sure about some of my 21 nephews and nieces (and some of my grandnieces/nephews aren't eligible, being too young), but I think a majority of them are. And at least 2 nephews and a niece (separately) have been infected.
The latest stats from Wahpo:
In the past week in the U.S. ...
New daily reported cases fell 17.4%
New daily reported deaths fell 7.9%
Covid-related hospitalizations fell 13.1%
Among reported tests, the positivity rate was 4.6%.
The number of tests reported fell 13.3%
161.3 million people have received one or both doses of the vaccine in the U.S.
This includes more than 127.8 million people who have been fully vaccinated.
Life's Little Problems
There are things on my wishlists that are so geeky I may have to explain. As a professional DBA, I've been in a lot of server rooms and dealt with a lot of KVM switches. Now to non-geek readers, servers are often vertically stacked in racks and monitors for each would take a lot of space and/or be difficult to view, never mind the expense. So imagine a single monitor being shared by a number of computers. A KVM switch allows you to toggle the monitor to the targeted server. I've seen different mechanisms, including physical controls and/or hotkeys. And the concept, of course, goes beyond sharing monitors; you can also share other devices, like mice, keyboards, and printers. (My current printer will wirelessly connect to my PC's, but if I want to use my integrated scanner. I need a USB connection.) (I, of course, have other gadgets, like USB cable extenders.) Let's just say with multiple PC's, a Chromebook, and tablets I have limited desk space for gadgets and peripherals.
So I browsed at Amazon; obviously these things can get more expensive for more PC connections and/or ports, but I was mostly looking at a device looking at two HDMI connections, which roughly range in the $30-75 range, but likely cheaper than buying a second external monitor. (I had bought one a while back when one of my laptop screens developed what I jokingly refer to as my Northern Lights problem)
I bought one with other products. I was annoyed the switch was shipped separately days apart although shown in stock. And in a rare disappointment from Amazon, it's like the package disappeared off their radar; I don't think I had ever seen a package probably lost screen from Amazon; they said if I didn't get it the next day, I could apply for a refund (they said, without giving a reason, they couldn't ship aa replacement although the item appeared in stock). There would be no point to the story if I got the item, so then I applied for a refund. In probably the worst timing in Amazon history, the vendor reached out to me thanking me for my purchase soon after I canceled the transaction, thanking me, etc. He probably had no idea the item was in the Twilight Zone probably with my Mom's birthday package lost by USPS. Amazon usually doesn't screw up. While I was in Arizona, they once sent me a wrong item (I don't remember if it was a low-carb mix I had originally ordered, but they sent me an item not even close to what I ordered. They paid the postage to return the item and get credit, but it was still a hassle to return.)
I had mentioned in a recent post about losing a wireless earbud somewhere in my car while adjusting my facemask. Now to be honest, they weren't one of those $100+ Apple pairs, just like I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars to get the latest cellphone when I can buy a full-featured budget phone for under $100. Similarly you can buy reasonably decent rechargeable pairs in the $10-25 range. They've occasionally popped out, e.g., walking through the Walmart parking lot. So in the interim I had found a pair on Amazon that come with attached ear loops. Now it's SUPPOSED to come with a USB charge cable, but I didn't find it in the packaging. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those with common type USB-B connectors (for the device port). I've got a lot of those (among others, I had bought aa multi-pack from Amazon some time back). Some devices like my Garmin devices require a more trapezoidal vs elliptical connector. The new earbud charge case required a type-C connector, sometimes found on USB 3.0 devices. I don't think I have a spare one of those. I groaned--I really didn't want to go through the hassle of returning the airbuds to Amazon over a stupid charge cable or buying new cables just to charge my airbuds. And then I suddenly remembered. After I bought my first notebook computer with a USB 3.0 port, I had bought a set of Type-C adapters from Amazon--which basically meant I could convert one of my spare USB charge cables for the new airbuds. Problem solved!
Entertainment
I primarily use Amazon Prime and Peacock as my streaming services. As familiar readers may know, I was one of the early Netflix subscribers. I went off cable for years and really didn't see the logic of spending stiff monthly fee for a movie I could probably rent at a Blockbuster. But I also loathed going to a video store and find titles I wanted out of stock. Netflix made it easy; I could browse a huge selection and build watchlists. I think you could check out about 4 concurrently; they came in red envelopes with an attached postage-paid return sleeve. So the process was relatively painless, obviously not as convenient as a moue click on an Internet connection, and it worked well in Silicon Valley. But when I moved back to the Chicago area, I don't think their logistics worked as well with my returns (and follow-up shipments) taking forever. I eventually decided to end my subscription, and they did not take it well, threatening to charge me list price for any unreturned elections (I had already returned them but they claimed they hadn't received them yet). It took weeks before they finally acknowledged receipt, but their lack of grace in handling the situation permanently alienated me. As I write this, I'm rewatching the Law and Order Criminal Intent series on Peacock.. I'm not a mystery or crime show fan, but I love the brainy, quirky Robert Goren character.
On cable I continue to watch PosiTV and there are a couple of movies on rotation I recommend:
- The Lamp. This is in the fantasy genre (like in the "rub the lamp, and the genie grants you 3 wishes" type), but the human drama is what makes the story compelling. A married couple is struggling in the aftermath of their young son's fatal bike accident. The husband encounters a tomboyish baseball-playing orphan girl with an attitude who lives in a nearby foster home. You can guess the outcome from the setup, but the story is how you get there. One of the key scenes is when she comes across and admires the late son's baseball glove, and the grieving father explodes at her.
- The Encounter. Also from the early 2010's. Remember Joan Osborne's signature hit "One of Us"? "What if God was one of us, just a slob like one of us...." I have an unpublished short story with an entirely different context similar to this. A handful of motorists stop into a diner as the detour road they are following is blocked. And the diner is managed and staffed by someone claiming to be "the" Jesus. (Among the characters emerging late in the story is a police officer going by the surname of "DeVille": get it? Nudge, nudge.) One of the key characters in the story is Nick, played by pro wrestling icon Sting (Steve Borden), who to my irritation has this distinct goatee stemming from under his lower lip. Jesus knows all their dark secrets. His hardest case is Nick, self-made successful businessman following a successful pro football career. Nick wasn't buying anything Jesus was saying, even after Jesus serves him a piece of pie just like his beloved grandmother used to bake especially for him. Again, you can guess the outcome from the setup, but how you get there is the story.
