Saturday, May 30, 2020

Self-isolation Day 74.


Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once during the night, woke up at 6:30 and got up at 7am.


It’s obvious we had some rain during the night. The expected high temperature for the next week is supposed to only be between 79-81 degrees so we’ll probably have more rain.



Chaos spread across the country Friday night into Saturday morning as thousands of protesters descended on city streets, demanding justice in the wake of 46-year-old George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis earlier this week.

Several demonstrations escalated into violence as police cars were burned and scuffles broke out between law enforcement and protesters.

Banks, gas stations, and even a post office were destroyed in Minneapolis where the unrest began earlier this week. A 19-year-old man was killed in Detroit.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pleaded with protestors and looters to return home and stop the destruction of businesses. He called the situation on the ground "incredibly dangerous" and "incredibly dynamic," prompting the mobilization of more than 2,500 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the National Guard.

Walz, at a news conference early Saturday, said maintaining control of the Twin Cities was starting to look more like a military operation than a peacekeeping mission."This is not about George's death. This is not about inequalities that were real. This is about chaos," he said.

As unrest spread across dozens of American cities on Friday, the Pentagon took the rare step of ordering the Army to put several active-duty U.S. military police units on the ready to deploy to Minneapolis, where the police killing of George Floyd sparked the widespread protests.



One in 10 coronavirus patients with diabetes died within the first seven days of hospitalization, and one in five needed a ventilator to breathe, according to a new study by French researchers.



I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to the mall. Today it seemed to be more traffic than usual, almost like a normal Saturday.


Outside Exito the recycling machine was missing.


There was no line to enter Exito although I had to show my cedula, they took my temperature and gave me hand sanitizer. After a trip to the ATM, I found a recycling bin with plastic inside so I left my bottle there.


I stopped and checked the refrigerators. Our current refrigerator is 67cm wide in a 98cm space. Exito's largest refrigerator is 91cm wide and the next 84cm wide so at least there appears to be no problem with it fitting. I would like one with an ice maker and water outlet (spout? Faucet?).

I waited about 10 minutes in line to pay the Une bill but the cashier said I had to go to Baloto. I think it was because, it being from the previous month, it didn’t have a payment stub.


Outside I noticed the new location for the plastic recycling machine. I was 2^nd in line at Baloto. I gave the cashier last month’s bill with the payment attached and gave her 100mil for the 97mil bill. She asked me for another 100 and gave me about 6mil in change. I asked her if this was for 2 months and she said “yes”.


Back inside Exito I bought another package of Zopiclona sleeping pills.

I had forgotten to bring my cellphone (drat!) so I didn’t have a list of things to buy at Exito. Well, I understand we’re making a trip to the supermarket later. Walking back to the apt a mid-sized tree branch fell about 6 feet from me. It wouldn’t have killed me but had it hit right it might have knocked me out – or at least hurt me.


As I walked through the gas station it starting drizzling. I was back at the apt by 10:30 and by 11am it was a steady rain.



I understand we’ll go to the grocery store this afternoon after the rain stops.



Teresa called Une and even after talking to Laura I understood she learned nothing.



New Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Friday announced that he has declassified the transcripts related to Michael Flynn’s conversations with a Russian diplomat during the presidential transition.



Just before noon I used Rappi to order a pizza from Papa John’s. it was easy peasy as the interface was in English. A medium pizza with bacon and green peppers and a 600ml Coke was 36,500 plus 2,000 delivery charge for a total fo 38,500 ($10).


Teresa found this month’s Une bill. I wish she had found it earlier.


The Rappi app kept me up-to-date on the progress of the delivery of my pizza. It arrived at 12:35 and I went downstairs to pick it up. It was still drizzling a bit. I tipped the driver generously. Back upstairs I ate one slice, heated and ate two others, and wrapped 5 others for later. My plan is to have 2 tonight for dinner and 3 again tomorrow for lunch.


Again Teresa said there’s no hurry going to the grocery store because they are open until 7pm. (It’s now 2:45.)



On Friday afternoon, Taylor Swift tweeted directly at Donald Trump to criticize him for his tweet encouraging police officers to shoot protestors should they begin looting. Her tweet got more than one million likes in less than five hours and became her most-liked tweet ever.

"After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence?," she wrote. "'When the looting starts the shooting starts'??? We will vote you out in November @realdonaldtrump."



I finished season 3 of The 100 on Netflix.



I spent about an hour logging into Zoom and met with Juan Castro my chess instructor. We’re going to meet again tomorrow at 3pm.



The mayor of Medellin mayor announced that the lower part of Comuna 2, Santa Cruz, must undergo a mandatory quarantine in which its inhabitants will not be able to leave the sector, they will be guarded by police and army, and they will deliver humanitatian aid during their time of isolation.



We never made it to the grocery store.



Vietnam, a country of 97 million people has not reported a single coronavirus-related death and on Saturday had just 328 confirmed cases, despite its long border with China and the millions of Chinese visitors it receives each year.



Another Trump replay from February 28^th: Trump attends a campaign rally in North Charleston, NC.  He describes the coronavirus as a “new hoax” of his political rivals. “Now the Democrats are politicizing coronavirus.  And this is their new hoax.”

The US has 1,726,613  ð 1,752,499 ð 1,777,633 coronavirus cases with 101,502 ð 102,761 ð 103,769 deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of  25,366 ð 26,688 ð 28,236 cases with 890 deaths.  Medellin has 508 ð 514 ð 516 cases, an increase of 2 from May 29^th to 30^th. Looking at the 6-day averages Colombia’s curve is still accelerating.



Joke of the day

Bouncer: “Sorry, I need to see an ID.”

Girl: “I told you I’m 30.  Why would anyone lie about that?”