Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Self-isolation Day 63.


Last night I went to bed at 10:45pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 5:30, took a little while to fall back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.



A question on the morning news leads me to believe that the IVA discount will only be available for 3 days. That’s a 19% savings but not sure if its only applicable in Bogota.



According to a report from Politico, Republican lawmakers have been left in an awkward position by Donald Trump after he fired State Department Inspector General Steve Linick — and provided them no talking points or explanation to defend his decision.

“The president has defied Senate Republicans without hesitation, continuing to fire and reassign inspectors general whom he feels are insufficiently loyal to him without engendering blowback from his party. It’s a dynamic that reflects both Trump’s hold on the GOP and the limits of Congress’ broader ability to rein in a president,” Politico reports.

“It’s very clear that the president has to provide a justification 30 days prior to the removal of an inspector general,” stated Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who co-wrote the law requiring notification to Congress prior to removal. “It is not a sufficient justification to say he simply lost confidence. As the co-author of that law, I know that is not what we intended. We intended a more fulsome explanation.”



Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said this downturn will be way shorter than during the Great Depression. He said that while unemployment numbers could get worse, the economy could recover by the end of next year.



MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough: “I’m believing more and more that he [Trump] is blocking himself out of a White House victory right now in May. I think historians may look back, and if he loses the election, they’ll say, ‘You know what, he lost it in April and May, when he was talking about disinfectants, when he was talking about sticking lights inside of stomachs, when he was talking about hydroxychloroquine, talking about taking it, when he was at war with the Health and Human Services Department that he was in charge of, when he was at war with the Centers for Disease Control that he’s in charge of, when he was at war with the Food and Drug Administration that he is in charge of, when he is at war with the Veterans Affairs Administration that he is in charge of, when he was at war with Dr. Fauci, who works in his administration, when he put himself at war with every doctor or every scientist or every person who had spent their entire life planning for this moment when it came to vaccines.'”



Brazil is now 3^rd in coronavirus infections.



I finished season 3 (at least the 10 episodes they’ve made thus far) of Designated Survivor. As I’ve already said, season 1 was excellent, season 2 was very good and season 3 was good. I see now why conservatives didn’t like season 3. Yes, it did have more profanity (although most came from one very brash woman) and it did have more sex scenes although most fit the plot. What I think really pissed them off was bringing in roles for the LBGTQ community.



Today I tied Teresa 3-3 in parcheesi but she’s still way ahead overall 62-29.



New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that the state’s coronavirus outbreak has slowed to levels not seen since the beginning of the pandemic as the number of fatalities, rate of new infections and the daily number of hospitalizations related to Covid-19 continue to fall.  “We’re basically back to where we started before this tragedy descended upon us,” he said at a news briefing.  “When someone asks, Well, why did we go through all this pain for two months, three months? Because we saved lives. That’s why.” 



From tonight’s news, if I understood correctly those 70 or over are quarantined until June 30^th. Sigh! Others may be released starting tomorrow.



And a Trump replay from February 2^nd: “We pretty much shut it down, coming in from China.”

The US has 1,484,482 ð 1,512,153  ð 1,535,011 coronavirus cases with 89,123 ð 90,139  ð 91,837 deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 15,574 ð 16,295 ð 16,935 cases with 613 deaths.  Medellin has 342 ð 350 ð 356 cases, an increase of 6 from May 17^th to 18^th. Looking at the 6-day averages provided by Medellin Guru it looks like the curve is flattening.



Joke of the day

A man drives a train in Bulgaria. One day, he falls asleep driving and runs over someone walking on the tracks. Well, his case goes to court, and he gets the death sentence for murder. So, he's on death row and the executioner approaches him.

"What would you like for your last meal?"

"I would like a banana please."

The executioner thinks it's weird, but shrugs and gives him a banana. The guy eats his banana, waits a while, and gets strapped into the electric chair.

When the flip the switch, nothing happens! In Bulgaria, such an act of divine intervention means you get released.

A few months go by, and the train driver has been working for a new company. Well, old habits die hard, and he falls asleep again, killing 2 people this time. The court has no patience for recklessness, so he ends up on death row again. After a while, the same executioner from last time approaches him.

"You again? Dang! What do you want this time?"

"Two bananas please."

The executioner shrugs and hands him two bananas. A bit weird, but whatever. There's no way he can cheat death twice! But, when they flip the switch, nothing happens again. The train driver walks a second time.

Some time passes, and the executioner is very busy. After another few months, the same dude shows up, apparently having run over 3 people with a train. Exacerbated, the executioner approaches him for the third time.

"Let me guess. Three bananas?"

"Actually yes! How did you know?"

"Too bad! This has gone on long enough. No more bananas! Today you fry."

So, the train driver gets strapped into the chair with no last meal. But, when they flip the switch, nothing happens again.

"I don't get it," says the executioner. "I didn't let you eat any bananas!"

"It's not the bananas," sighed the prisoner. "It’s just that I'm a very bad conductor."