From CDC.gov

Over at Newsweek, there is an opinion piece that spells out why the author – a mother and a former educator and preschool director – isn’t vaccinated: No, the Unvaccinated Aren’t Selfish or Ignorant. Here’s Why I’m Not Vaxxed.

It’s not terribly persuasive.

Reading the article, the author comes across as well informed and not at all Qanon driven.

However, the whole crux of her argument comes down to two data points:

1. Anecdotal personal contact with those possibly harmed by the vaccine – One who died “reportedly” from side affects of the vaccine, and two others whose health was allegedly harmed (not fatally) by the vaccine.
2. Information – good and bad – is being suppressed/ is confusing – She cites studies have not gotten the publicity she deems is warranted, and shifting guidance by the CDC and other vaccine mouthpieces.

As to the first, she cites just the three cases (under the guise of “If I personally know these three, there must be X more out there!”), only one fatal – and that one “reportedly.”

Are there risks from the vaccine? Absolutely. There are risks to anything like this, especially with the volume: There are currently – in the US alone – 196k people with at least one dose. Get 196k people to eat a bag of Skittles^TM and some are not going to handle it well. And some symptoms will be unrelated to the candy consumed. Just the law of large numbers.

And we know that the vaccines work: Currently, 0.5% of those hospitalized for COVID are vaccinated, and only 0.01% of deaths from COVID are vaccinated.

As of today, there are more than 620k COVID deaths in the US, and the daily number of infections and deaths dropped steadily once people began getting vaccinated. Right now, we are in the midst of a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and it’s driving the fourth wave of the virus – and we have something close to a preventative measure now: the vaccine.

So get the shot, if not for yourself but for others you may come into contact with so you don’t pass it to them. You may be strong enough to weather the infection, but not everyone is. This is where I believe those who deliberately chose to not get vaccinated are selfish (religious and health reasons aside). If the virus was not communicable, go at it without a shot – it’s only you who are at risk. But this is not the case. You’re potentially putting others at risk.

The second point – data available/data suppressed – is a bit muddled.

I agree that there are conflicting messages out of just the CDC, to focus on one organization. It was just yesterday that the CDC gave the go-ahead (actually urged) women who are nursing, pregnant or who want to get pregnant to get the vaccine. Yes, a little late in the game.

But we are continually learning about the vaccine: The CDC (and others) will get some things wrong and have to adjust, but they are trying to not put out information before they are sure. That’s just good science. It’s also good PR because if you keep having to withdraw “facts” about COVID, it’s a way to quickly lose credibility.

As far as suppressing/censoring alternative information, well, again, not promoting unvetted studies or ideas is good science. If the data holds up to peer review and can be duplicated, let’s take a closer look at the same and perhaps promote it in a vigorous manner.

Look and guidance/suppression through this lens: Children under 12 are not currently allowed to get the vaccine. From what we know today, most children could probably tolerate the vaccine. But until there is enough data to support safely vaccinating younger children, it should be off the table, for two reasons:

• This science isn’t there yet to give the thumbs up. And you can’t go with your gut on a decision of this magnitude.
• Imagine if a little more testing showed we needed to tweak the vaccine to account for pre-pubescent bodies – but we had already given the go-ahead and some (even a small number of) children died or were harmed in lesser ways. That would be an avoidable tragedy.

The author also says information is getting censored, and then she supplies a link to the censored story… That’s not censorship, it’s just information many (say, the CDC) don’t find compelling, at least yet.

I said this woman’s argument was unpersuasive. And, to me, it is.

But to be fair, she writes that she is not trying to persuade one way or another; she just wanted to give her reasons for not getting vaccinated, and to explain – as the title says – that not everyone like her is selfish or ignorant.

Fair enough. And she’s entitled to her opinions and authority over her body.

But I still think this is dangerous and selfish – in 2020, the world was essentially parazlyed by COVID. In 2021, we got as close to a magic bullet as we could with the vaccines. Things drifted back to normal (in the developed countries, including the US); masks came off.

But in June 2021, after falling to the lowest infection levels since the beginning of the pandemic, the US is now in its fourth wave, with infection levels spiking to the second highest levels ever, exceed only by the turn of the year (2020/2021) spike when the pandemic was nine-to-ten months old and, crucially, we didn’t yet have mass vaccinations!

It’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated – imagine where we’d be today if even a quarter of those currently vaccinated thought like this woman.

I don’t want to imagine that.

Over the weekend (7/24/2021), we went to our first art fair since COVID landed, the Geneva, IL art fair.

As part of our day trip, we had lunch in a bar – for me, the first time I’d been in a restaurant, or any non-shopping area, since February 2020 (except for work).

It was as hot as hell – 90° – but there was an occasional breeze, so it wasn’t unbearable.

The tents of art, because of COVID, were spaced about 10 feet apart, so the breeze was able to cut across the street on which the fair was parked. In the past, the three blocks of vinyl tents formed a solid wall on either side of the street, making any breeze a rarity.

The show was a little disappointing – the limited number of entrants (due to COVID protocols) made for less to look at. However, it was nice to get out there and just see something for a change. We enjoy just checking out what is there; always hoping to come across something different.

When I was looking for places to eat in Geneva earlier in the week, one thing that struck me was there were few – if any – places where you could “build” a burger. You know, “I’d like the [bar name] burger with cheddar and bacon” and so on.

Now, it seems like most places had a roster of burgers to choose from that were all tricked out. Odd, to me. To get what you want you have to get there by subtraction, not addition.

We ate at the Geneva Ale House, and they had a bunch of burgers, as well, but at least it had one – the Ale House Burger – that had what I wanted (bacon, cheese, grilled onions). I just had to subtract the fried egg (what is with all the burgers topped with a fried egg? I like fried eggs, but…).

Beer, burger, fries. Nothing exceptional but hit the spot.

As did wandering around Geneva and the art.

Not a great adventure, but good to get out and see things. It’s been a long time for me.

From CDC.gov

I was going to whine a bit about how the COVID vaccine has remained political – instead of science based — and because of that we’re starting to dig ourselves deeper into the COVID hole.

But over at Talking Points Memo, a TPM reader wrote in and spelled things out more clearly than I could:

It’s worth pausing every so often to admire (if that’s the right word) the sheer insanity of the pandemic situation in the United States. Specifically: despite the widespread availability of vaccines for Covid; despite the fact that the vaccines are free; despite the fact that they are astonishingly effective at preventing a disease that is frequently fatal and often results in long-term disability; despite the fact that mass vaccination is clearly the only way we’re going to get out of the Covid pandemic that doesn’t involve mass suffering and trauma on an unimaginable scale; nonetheless, the US vaccination campaign is failing.

And it’s failing because of politics (and stupidity, but that’s another entry…).

The same people wailing about how the Covid vaccine is just a way to inject a tracking microchip are probably clutching their smartphones, which are GIANT trackers that collect more information about you than most would be comfortable with.

Vaccines were supposed to be the silver bullet that ended the pandemic, allowed us to take off masks and congregate again. And in areas where people made the effort to get vaccinated, that has become a reality.

Yet in the other, primarily Red areas….

Here’s an idea – As the Republicans tried to scare people about the Affordable Cara Act (ACA) by calling it Obamacare, why not use the same trick for the Covid vaccines: Call them Trump vaccines!

Why not? To be fair, they were developed during his administration, and stroking Trump’s ego would probably get him to repeat the phrase non-stop. Suddenly, the vaccines would be politically acceptable.

Hey, it’ll never happen, but I can dream, can’t I?

Rain is never good in a Hemingway novel – it’s invariably portends something somber/sad.

But after I had got them out and shut the door and turned off the light it wasn’t any good. It was like saying good-bye to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.

— A Farewell to Arms, last lines

Similarly, pop rock songs about rain are often dark (Dylan’s A Hard Rain’s Going to Fall, for example).

But moving past the dark songs, it’s surprising just how many songs have (at least) “rain” in the title – some sad, some boisterous, some just, well, mention rain. In no particular order:

• A Hard Rain’s Going to Fall – Bob Dylan
• Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 – Bob Dylan (just a silly song)
• Who’ll Stop the Rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain? – CCR, again
• In the Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot (I heard an early version of this song – not the one on “Gord’s Gold” – and he sounds like he’s trying to do the Dylan nasal sound. Not pretty.)
• Rainy Day People – Gordon Lightfoot
• Let It Rain – Eric Claption (with Derek and the Dominos?)
• Rain – The Beatles (Not on any album; B side of Paperback Writer – not really well known)
• Fool in the Rain – The Beatles
• Like a Rainbow – Rolling Stones (OK – a stretch, but one of my favorite Stones songs. So peppy!)
• Fire and Rain – James Taylor
• Purple Rain – Prince
• It’s Raining Men – The Weather Girls (I had to look that up. Classic camp!)
• Here Comes the Rain Again – Eurythmics
• The Rain Song – Led Zeppelin
• Rainy Days and Mondays – The Carpenters (before I started listening to the radio: released in 1971)
• Rainy Night in Georgia – Written by Tony Joe White in 1967; popularized by Brook Benton in 1970.
• Raindrop Keep Falling on My Head – B.J. Thomas (you think he’d have those initials today? I only like this because it was in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and used effectively.)
• Red Rain – Peter Gabriel (solo, after Genesis. The “So” album)
• Famous Blue Raincoat – Leonard Cohen (yeah, a stretch, but a great song. Jennifer Warnes does a great cover of this song – and other Cohen favorites – on her “Famous Blue Raincoat” album.)

I deliberately left out Singing in the Rain just because…

Could also pad out the list with “thunder” references (You Love the Thunder, Jackson Browne; Thunder Road, Bruce Springstein), but I didn’t go there.

Also, off the top of my head I can’t think of any other “thunder” songs.

This book, a collection of essays about nature (flora/fauna) was a disappointment – I had read great reviews about her H is for Hawk book, so I thought this book would be a good intro to her writing,

I guess it was, and it was not anywhere as good as expected.

The essays were more – to me – like diary entries than essays. Just didn’t have the gravitas of EB White or James McPhee (who does?).

She writes well, and decidedly knows whats she’s talking about – be it ducks or bugs (a favorite of mine – really) – it’s interesting but not compelling.

Again, less than I expected.

I’m probably not going to read H is for Hawk.

Hmmm…..

Recently watched Ken Burns’ latest documentary, Hemingway.

Like all Burns’ (with Lynn Novick) ) work, this was meticulous, well done and had some incredible (old) photography, both stills and movies..

While Hemingway is one of my favorite authors, and Burns/Novick probably my favorite documentations, this one just didn’t do it for me. Mind you, well done and a deep dive on the controversial author, it seemed, surprisingly, empty. Don’t exactly know why.

It’s a three-part documentary (two hours for each segment:

• A Writer – learning his craft, working as a journalist, and becoming a very successful writer – first short stories, and then the early novels.
• The Avatar – A better name for this section should be “The Myth” – Hemingway was as much a myth as he was a writer: Big game hunter, traveler, consummate alcoholic, rubbing elbows with other famous writers, actors and – especially – other women.
• The Blank Page – The later years, the destructive behavior and the decline of his abilities, with some notable exceptions, the great A Moveable Feast (published posthumously).

The first part was my favorite; this era is when the Hemingway I like was doing his best work, and gathering experiences (ambulance driver in the First World War) that would help fuel future works.

The third part was interesting as it really showed how Hemingway’s later life was – full of booze, erratic behavior, womanizing and so on. A lot of what was presented was new to me, and I’ve read a lot about Hemingway.

Burns/Novick are scheduled to come out with a Frank Lloyd Wright documentary in April 2021; high hopes for this one, as well. Hemingway and Wright are somewhat similar characters: both womanizers, 20th Century giants in their respective fields, and – especially – both held themselves in higher regard than others did.

From CDC.gov

I had my first covid shot Thursday, April 22, had my second and final shot Monday May 10th. (Pfizer)

While the process went quicker this time (my appointment was at 8:30am, just after opening), this shot put me on my ass. I felt fine the day of the shot, but the next day (today) I just slept for a good part of the day: chills, headache etc.

That’s why I took the day after the shot off, just in case there were issues.

Feeling better already (it’s about 3pm), and by tomorrow I expect everything to be back to normal.

Small price to pay.

Update 5/14/2021: Yep, it kicked me in the ass. Got vaccine Monday, all was good. Tuesday I had flu-like symptoms (aches, chills, fatigue), and I tried to sleep it off. Couple of nights of night sweats – nothing worse – and I’m fully healed. And on the road to fully vaccinated (5/24).

Again, no issues – felt crappy for a spell (which means the vaccine is working), but shortly I will be a shield for myself and others against something that has killed 550k+ in the US alone.

Night sweats? Beats dying. Beats passing this on to others….

Be a Man (or woman) – get vaccinated, dammit!

OK, stop me if you know of a real-world implementation of what I’m looking for: Basically, the way paired special characters – such as () {} [] – are handled by keyboards on our smart devices (focus on texting, but writ large).

To the best of my knowledge, they are not handled in any way.

Just keep typing and switch from the alpha keyboard to the special character keyboard and back again.

Here is an example:

I start typing, then add a parenthetical comment. Word guesses appear to help speed the texting.

But what if, after I typed an opening special character – ( { [ – the close character then appeared in the text guesses bar? Like so:

And when I’m ready, I can hit the close parens from the text guesses, it disappears from that bar but is added to the text (without spaces, like word adds supply).

No flipping the special chars keyboard to enter: ). Just hit that character and keep typing.

I think this would be awesome.

Some refinements/issues:

• What if I never hit the close parens character? I guess it stays until the text is sent.
• Should other characters be treated like the parenthesis, curly bracket and square bracket? Perhaps the dash, as sentences like the following are common: “I like Georgia – the country – more than other former Soviet regions.” I would vote no, simply because the dash is often used alone: “Diner at 5 – don’t be late.”
• What happens when we have more than one open special character? First/last one wins? Both are shown? Example: “The First Lady ([Dr.] Jill Biden) spoke at the conference…” Not quite sure on this one. I guess keep the last, and when you use that one, the other reappears? – Because they are matching brackets, supposed to nest. I.e. “(aa {bb} )” not “(aa {bb) }.

Just some thoughts…and if this does become a thing, I can say I called it!

From CDC.gov

I had my first Covid-19 vaccine (PFizer) shot last Thursday, April 22, 2021.

The second and final shot is scheduled for May 10.

No side effects; no issues.

The shot was administered at a mass vaccination location near where I live and work, a shuttered Kmart repurposed for this pandemic issue.

Things went smoothly, about 15 minutes in line (like the lines at the airport when you’re trying to get through TSA screening), 15 minutes to give information and get a shot, and 15 minutes afterwards – they want to make sure you don’t leave before any potential side effects can manifest themselves, such as an allergic reaction.

No biggie: 45 minutes beginning to end, run by the IL National Guard with nurses giving the shots and doing post-shot observation.

But in the US, we are beginning to see a decline in the number of people getting vaccinated – a couple of mass vaccination sites in the Chicago area (where I live) no longer require appointments; you can just walk in.

The decline is not because we have reached out to just about everyone: According to the CDC Covid Tracker has the following data for today:

• 42% of the population have had at least one (of two) shots
• 28.5% of the population fully vaccinated (two Modena/Pfizer shots; one J&J single-shot vaccine)
• The rates are higher for older folks (67.5% of those older than 65 are fully vaccinated), but that still leaves a full third of the most vulnerable (by age) part of the population unprotected.
• And no vaccine is yet available for those younger than 16, so that’s a good chunk of the population, as well. A less at-risk portion of the population, but still…

So leaving out the under 16 population, and understanding that the vaccines have just not reached some areas yet, we are approaching the point where we have vaccinated all those who have access to the vaccine and have been fully vaccinated.

In other words, a lot of people don’t want to get vaccinated.Or are bailing on getting the crucial second shot (which gives you fuller protection, especially against variants)..

Why?

I can get the religious reasons or those whose health could be compromised by the vaccine, but that’s a small bucket, edge cases.

Mostly, it’s political – either covid is a hoax, or “freedom!” (I chose to not have the vaccine because I can).

This is where I lose it: The biggest politically charged complaints about the whole pandemic come down to two things (once you get past “it’s a hoax”):

• I don’t want to be told I should/have to wear a mask.
• We need to get back to “normal,” whatever that is.

You know how we can address both of those concerns?

Get as many people as possible vaccinated.

While daily Covid-19 deaths have plunged since the peak in January 2021, the US is still seeing a consistent rate in April of more than 600 deaths/day – and that translates to 200,000+ a year.

And that’s unacceptable.

I expect this rate to go down as more are vaccinated, but we need more vaccinations.

Why not?

It’ll help others, but what about the individual? The vaccine is safer than the flu vaccine many get, and how many cases of the flu have led to a double-lung transplant? None that I know of, but Covid-19 has seen this event more than once.

Help yourself. Help others. Let’s peel off those masks and get back to normal..

Get vaccinated.

Over at The Atlantic, there’s an article that tries to make the case that All in the Family basically changed television forever.

All in the Family was the first program to genuinely reckon with the cultural upheaval of 1960s America. TV would never be the same.

I’d have to agree.

As the article (by Ronald Browstein) notes, before Norman Lear’s breakthrough sitcom, network TV was safe, down the middle of the road shows that could appeal to almost anyone. Think The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction – bland, inoffensive time killers.

After All in the Family, the viewing audience was more open to more challenging shows, such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and M*A*S*H, for example. Without these shows, I don’t know how we would have gotten to much more challenging fare, ushc as The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Streets..

And today this in-the-cultural-moment shows continue with Fleabag and Breaking Bad, among others.

But those last two shows also exemplify another trend – or connected series of trends – that has, over the past decade or so, has once again “changed television forever.”

When All in the Family first aired in 1971 (wow, that’s 50 years ago!), there were three networks (ABC, CBS and NBC). You watched shows in their time slot; if you missed a show, tough noogies until the summer reruns. Offerings were half-hour sitcoms and hour-long dramas, and most shows had 20-24 episodes per year.

No more:

• No more time slots – Shows drop – usually the whole series – on one day and you can binge watch it all.
• Streaming – Need I elaborate how this has changed everything?
• Networks are now the followers – Streaming services like HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime have original content that over blows the networks’ offerings out of the water: Fleabag, Game of Thrones and so on. What’s the best network shows out there? Law and Order: SVU season 22? How about sitcoms? They’ve almost disappeared from network TV. But HBO’s brilliant Veep, Amazon Prime’s Fleabag (yes, I’m obsessed), and Catastrophe.
• Shorter seasons – I believe The Sopranos started this.- the first five seasons had only 13 episodes each, vs. networks series’ length of 20-25 episodes. Today, most streamers are just 10-13 episodes, some shorter. The brilliant Fleabag (I told you I was obsessed) has only two seasons of six episodes each. And that’s just right for this show.

And with the exception of big events (breaking news/weather, Oscars), there really isn’t a need to huddle around a TV as a family or whatever – stream it anytime you want on your smartphone, watch it on YouTube and so on.

Brave New World….