Sunday, August 30, 2020

 

Quarantine Day #165.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly (despite at least a dozen Rappi guys hanging out outside Exito), woke up at 6am and got up at 6:30.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 1 and losing 3. Interestingly, the only game I won was the only game where I had the white pieces. In the first game I had black and played the Sicilian Defense and I had the advantage when I blundered a pawn that let him enter my territory and I lost on time. In the 2^nd game I had the white pieces and played the London System and got a strong attack and I checkmated him on the 33^rd move. In the 3^rd game I had black and played the Sicilian Defense. In the end I was about to take his queen when I ran out of time. In the 4^th game I had black again and my opponent played well and I resigned because he would soon checkmate me.

I left the apt in 67 degree mostly sunny skies and walked straight to Glenn’s new apt building. It took exactly 14 minutes. I walked to Aymara in 16 minutes. I continued throught the bat/green tunnel park and down the hill to Avenida Las Vegas and returned to the apt – 55 minutes. Now I cooldown for about an hour before taking my shower.

 

Per the afternoon news, 6,000 restaurants will be reopening in Medellin this week.

As of Saturday, more than 1,200 students and 166 employees and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 at the University of Alabama.

 

Doctors in Israel will try a novel coronavirus therapy on a limited number of patients.

Unlike other studies, the new COVID-19 protocol involves a procedure that’s used regularly in cancer therapy.

Anecdotal evidence showed that low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) could improve the condition of patients with pneumonia symptoms, including COVID-19 patients.

Researchers are looking to determine a radiation-based treatment course for COVID-19 that could reduce complications and hasten recovery.

 

Dozens of Secret Service agents have "been sickened or sidelined" over the past two months after coming in contact with people infected with coronavirus, The Washington Post reported. 

The agents continue to protect President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, as their campaign continues to host in-person gatherings and experts warn they'll likely contribute to a surge in coronavirus.

Multiple Secret Service members were ordered to self-quarantine when several campaign staffers tested positive amid a July campaign rally. Four people tested positive during this week's RNC events. 

 

Coronavirus cases in the Midwest are increasing following warnings from top U.S. health officials. 

Coronavirus cases were growing by 5% or more, based on a weekly average to smooth out daily reporting, in 21 states as of Saturday, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Several Midwestern states were among those reporting growing cases— Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota.

 

A video segment featured at the Republican National Convention featured President Donald Trump proclaiming, “I didn’t back down from my promises — and I’ve kept every single one.”

“Promises made, promises kept” was a theme of the four-day event, which aimed to drive home a message that the president has been fearless in pursuit of delivering on his pledges — that his pugnacious tweets may rub people the wrong way, but they signify a rare fighting spirit on behalf of regular Americans.

The reality isn't quite that simple.

Trump made good on promises like deregulation, picking conservative judges, renegotiating NAFTA and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. As he ticked off those items in his speech Thursday, he said, "I did what our political establishment never expected and could never forgive, breaking the cardinal rule of Washington politics: I kept my promise."

But Trump made other promises that he broke - and in some cases, he did the opposite of what he'd vowed.

CLAIM: Speaking to CBS' "60 Minutes" in September 2015, Trump vowed to deliver universal health care.

CLAIM: Candidate Trump said in 2015 he wanted to cut taxes for the middle class and raise them on rich people like himself.

CLAIM: Trump told the Washington Post in March 2016, “We've got to get rid of the $19 trillion in debt,” adding that he could do it “fairly quickly” and “over a period of eight years” as president.

CLAIM: When Democrat Hillary Clinton released a $500 billion infrastructure spending plan, Trump doubled it and proposed to spend as much as $1 trillion.

CLAIM: With his daughter Ivanka by his side, Trump said at a Pennsylvania speech in September 2016 that he will push to “provide six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.”

 

or all of his bombast, under the leadership of Donald J. Trump the United States has actually grown more and more to resemble a developing nation.

As it happens, the onset of the pandemic tore the mask off all of the rot that had been festering just below the surface of U.S. politics and society. Donald J. Trump, backed by his Republican Party, is the very face of this decline, which manifests itself in five epic failures.

Failure 1: The great giveaway to the rich.

Failure 2: Police it like it's Baghdad.

Failure 3: A failing U.S. healthcare system.

Failure 4: Devastation from climate events.

Failure 5: Widely neglected infrastructure.

 

I left the apt at 2:15 and walked to Aymara where I found Glenn and James waiting for me. We walked to Na Pizza where we had coffee and Glenn talked to Danny, the owner, about having some meals delivered to his apt. Danny mentioned 5 restaurants that have closed here permenantly including one of my favorites La Doctora. I gave the guys a tour of La Buena Mesa. On Carrera 44A they have sideless tents set up in the street for restaurant dining and people were enjoying their meals. I was very surprised that almost all restaurants have already opened up.

 

The US has 5,928,020 ð 5,973,992 ð 6,006,177 coronavirus cases with 181,300+ ð 182,700+ ð 182,900+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 590,520 ð 599,914 ð 607,938 cases with 19,364 deaths.  Medellin has 45,035 ð 45,794 ð 46,361 cases, an increase of 567 from August 29^th to 30^th. Envigado has a total of 2,413 cases, an increase of 17 from August 29^th to 30^th. So new infections continue to decrease for Colombia, Medellin and Envigado.

 

Joke of the day

At Friday night services, Morris went to his friend Irving and said, "I need a favor. I'm sleeping with the Rabbi's wife. Can you hold him in synagogue for an hour after services for me?"

Irving was not very fond of the idea, but being Morris' lifelong friend, he reluctantly agreed.

After services, he struck up a conversation with the Rabbi, asking him all sorts of stupid questions - just to keep him occupied.

After some time the wise Rabbi became suspicious and asked, "Irving what are you really up to?"

Irving, filled with feelings of guilt and remorse confessed to the Rabbi, "I'm sorry, Rabbi. My friend is sleeping with your wife right now, so he asked me to keep you occupied."

The Rabbi smiled, put a brotherly hand on Irving's shoulder and said, "You'd better hurry home, Irving. My wife died two years ago!"

 

Saturday, August 29, 2020

 

Quarantine Day #164.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once during the night, again at 4:30, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 5:30. I went back to bed at 6:30, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 9am.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 3 and losing 1. In the first game I had white and I checkmated him on the 43^rd move. The computer evaluation was “Nice win. You were never in trouble.” In the second game I had black and played the Sicilian Defense. I was up a piece when I lost on time. The computer comment was “You fought back but not quickly enough.” In the third game I had white and my opponent resigned on the 23th move. Again the computer said “Nice win. You were never in trouble. In the last game I had white again and played the London System. It was a very interesting game. I blundered a pawn in the endgame but still won in 51 moves. The computer’s comment was “Nice comeback win.” My new rating is 1241.

I left the apt at 10am and returned at 11am. I ran into Juan Carlos on the way riding a bike. He said he plans to walk to El Salado next week after the quarantine ends. I asked how long a walk it is and he said 90 minutes. And that’s all uphill.

I filled out the info on fvap.com to request my ballot for the November 3^rd election.

Teresa left at 3pm to meet a girlfriend at SantaFe mall.

I talked to Jose and told him to save Tuesday, September 8^th to meet for chess. Restaurants are supposed to start opening on the 1^st and I will check out the food court at the mall to make certain that its open.

At 4:30 a heavy rain started.

Teresa returned at 7:30 with a burger and fries for me from El Corral.

President Duque announced the extension of the national health emergency until November 30 and the transition from compulsory isolation to selective isolation.

 

It wasn't always certain that we would make it to this point, and it's not certain how long we stay here. But on Saturday, at least for one night, we had college football. Central Arkansas defeated Austin Peay, 24-17 in the FCS Kickoff Classic at Cramton Bowl in the first game of the COVID-19 era.

 

As a new school year dawns, the demand for cheaper, faster and more accessible coronavirus testing is growing. But slow and sometimes erroneous test results and confusion over when and how to get tested continue to plague Americans as they wrestle with decisions about resuming their lives.

An abrupt government recommendation last week that fewer people get tested — while at the same time the Trump administration moved to purchase 150 million rapid tests — has made a disorganized testing regimen even murkier.

The controversy sparked by the revised standards and, separately, the fraught decisions about testing that confront local school officials and university administrators open a window onto the persistent problems dogging testing in the United States.

 

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll puts former Vice President Joe Biden at 47% to President Donald Trump's 40% among registered voters. The poll was taken partially during the Democratic National Convention and partially during the Republican National Convention.

 

The US has 5,878,827 ð 5,928,020 ð 5,973,992 coronavirus cases with 180,600+ ð 181,300+ ð 182,700+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 582,022 ð 590,520 ð 599,914 cases with 19,064 deaths.  Medellin has 43,966 ð 45,035 ð 45,794 cases, an increase of 754 from August 28^th to 29^th. Envigado has a total of 2,396 cases, an increase of 23 from August 28^th to 29^th. So new infections are decreasing for Colombia, Medellin and Envigado.

 

Joke of the day

On my way home from work, I stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat. In my billfold are a $50 bill and a $2 bill. I figure that with a $2 bill, I can get something to eat and not have to worry about anyone getting irritated at me for trying to break a $50 bill.

Me: "Hi, I'd like one seven-layer burrito please, to go." 
Server: "That'll be $1.04. Eat in?"
Me: "No, it's to go." At this point, I open my billfold and hand him the $2 bill. He looks at it kind of funny.

Server: "Uh, hang on a sec, I'll be right back."He goes to talk to his manager, who is still within my earshot. The following conversation occurs between the two of them:

Server: "Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?"
Manager: "No. A what?"
Server: "A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me."
Manager: "Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill."
Server: "Yeah, thought so."
He comes back to me and says, "We don't take these. Do you have anything else?"
Me: "Just this fifty. You don't take $2 bills? Why?"
Server: "I don't know."
Me: "See here where it says legal tender?"
Server: "Yeah."
Me: "So, why won't you take it?"
Server: "Well, hang on a sec."

He goes back to his manager, who has been watching me like I'm a shoplifter, and says to him, "He says I have to take it."

Manager: "Doesn't he have anything else?"
Server: "Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it and you can open the safe and get change."
Manager: "I'm not opening the safe with him in here.
"Server: "What should I do?"
Manager: "Tell him to come back later when he has real money."
Server: "I can't tell him that! You tell him."
Manager: "Just tell him."
Server: "No way! This is weird. I'm going in back."
The manager approaches me and says, "I'm sorry, but we don't take big bills this time of night."
Me: "It's only seven o'clock! Well then, here's a two dollar bill."
Manager: "We don't take those, either."
Me: "Why not?"
Manager: "I think you know why."
Me: "No really... tell me why."
Manager: "Please leave before I call mall security."
Me: "Excuse me?"
Manager: "Please leave before I call mall security."
Me: "What on earth for?"
Manager: "Please, sir."
Me: "Uh, go ahead, call them."
Manager: "Would you please just leave?"
Me: "No."
Manager: "Fine -- have it your way then."
Me: "Hey, that's Burger King, isn't it?"

At this point, he backs away from me and calls mall security on the phone around the corner. I have two people staring at me from the dining area, and I begin laughing out loud, just for effect. A few minutes later this 45-year-oldish guy comes in.

Guard: "Yeah, Mike, what's up?"
Manager (whispering): "This guy is trying to give me some (pause) funny money."
Guard: "No kidding! What?"
Manager: "Get this... a two dollar bill."
Guard (incredulous): "Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has is a fifty."
Guard: "Oh, so the fifty's fake!"
Manager: "No, the two dollar bill is."
Guard: "Why would he fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know! Can you talk to him, and get him out of here?"
Guard: "Yeah."
Security Guard walks over to me and...
Guard: "Mike here tells me you have some fake bills you're trying to use."
Me: "Uh, no."
Guard: "Lemme see 'em."
Me: "Why?"
Guard: "Do you want me to get the cops in here?"

At this point I am ready to say, "Sure, please!" but I want to eat, so I say, "I'm just trying to buy a burrito and pay for it with this two dollar bill."

I put the bill up near his face, and he flinches like I'm taking a swing at him. He takes the bill, turns it over a few times in his hands, and says, "Hey, Mike, what's wrong with this bill?"

Manager: "It's fake."
Guard: "It doesn't look fake to me."
Manager: "But it's a two dollar bill."
Guard: "Yeah... ?"
Manager: "Well, there's no such thing, is there?"

The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot, and it dawns on the guy that he has no clue.

So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and he threw in a small drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too.

This all made me want to get a whole stack of two dollar bills just to see what happens when I try to buy stuff. If I got the right group of people, I could probably end up in jail. You get free food there, too!

Friday, August 28, 2020

 

Quarantine Day #163.

Last night I went to bed at 10:45, fell asleep quickly, got up twice during the night, finally waking at 6:30 and getting up at 7:30.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 1 and losing 3. In the first game I had black and played the Stonewall Dutch but in the middle game I dropped a pawn and things fell apart after that and I resigned on the 33^rd move. In the 2^nd game I was up a rook and queen in the endgame but lost on time. In the 3^rd game I had black and my opponent played a very unorthodox opening but I soon had the advantage and had a won game but again lost on time. In the 4^th game I had white and played the London System and I checkmated him on the 20^th move. I think 2 of my games were against Colombians. The games show a flag of the player’s country and they looked like the Colombian flag. My new rating is 1223.

Teresa left at 9:15 for her walk followed by a trip to Exito.

I watched the first 35 minutes of the Today show then left for my walk.

I returned at 10:35 and Teresa 10 minutes later.

In the afternoon I had a 2-hour chess lesson with Juan Carlos.

Teresa beat me in parcheesi 5 games to 4.

 

Earlier this week, The Daily Beast reported that President Trump had one thing on his mind heading into his Republican National Convention. 

The president was telling his closest aides that he was determined to beat his rival Joe Biden in the TV ratings. He was requesting daily ratings for the Democratic National Convention and insisted that his RNC spectacle would demolish their “pathetic” numbers, according to a senior administration official.

In the end, apparently not even all of the unethical pomp and circumstance of a Trump-branded White House as the backdrop of his big speech Thursday night could draw more viewers than Biden’s solemnly rousing speech to an empty auditorium. 

According to initial Nielsen numbers, President Trump’s speech Thursday night drew 14.1 million viewers across the three broadcast networks and three major cable news networks. That is more than three million fewer viewers than the 17.5 million who tuned in to watch Biden’s speech one week earlier.

When those numbers are expanded out across nine broadcast and cable networks, Biden still beat Trump by a fairly wide margin, 23.6 million to 21.6 million.

 

At one point, Trump garbled his words and said, “Thanks to advances, we have pioneered the fatality rate” — when he wanted to say that pioneering advances have led to an 80 percent drop in the fatality rate since April.

A convention speech watched by tens of millions is not the greatest time to slip up in this way. You don’t want your most memorable moment to be a mistake. 

 

On Thursday night, President Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination for a second term. Twenty-four hours earlier, he had a very hard time saying exactly what he would do with another four years.

"But so I think, I think it would be, I think it would be very, very, I think we'd have a very, very solid, we would continue what we're doing, we'd solidify what we've done, and we have other things on our plate that we want to get done," Trump told The New York Times' Peter Baker.

Last month, in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump offered this up when asked about four more years:

"One of the things that will be really great -- the word experience is still good, I always say talent is more important than experience, I've always said that -- but the word experience is a very important word, a very important meaning.

"I never did this before, never slept over in Washington. I was in Washington maybe 17 times and all of a sudden I'm the President of the United States, you know the story, riding down Pennsylvania Avenue with our first lady and I say this is great but I didn't know very many people in Washington, it wasn't my thing. I was from Manhattan, from New York, and now I know everybody. And I have great people in the administration. You make some mistakes, like an idiot like Bolton, you don't have to drop bombs on everybody."

(Sidebar: That is 138 words of not answering the question.)

 

The US has 5,825,039 ð 5,878,827 ð 5,928,020 coronavirus cases with 179,200 ð 180,600+ ð 181,300+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 572,270 ð 582,022 ð 590,520 cases with 18,767 deaths.  Medellin has 43,250 ð 43,966 ð 45,035 cases, an increase of 1,015 from August 27^th to 28^th. Envigado has a total of 2,372 cases, an increase of 44 from August 27^th to8. So new infections have decreased for Colombia but continue to increase in Medellin and Envigado.

 

Joke of the day

An old Native American wanted a loan for $500.  

The banker pulled out the loan application. 
"What are you going to do with the money?" he asks the Indian.

"Buy Silver, make jewelry, and sell it," was the response.

"What have you got for collateral?"

"Don't know collateral," replied the Indian

"Well that's something of value that would cover the cost of the loan.  
"Have you got any vehicles?"

"Yes.  1949 Chevy pickup," replied the Indian.

The banker shook his head, "How about livestock?"

"Yes, I have a horse," replied the Indian.

"How old is it?" the banker asks.

"Don't know, has no teeth," replies the Indian.

Finally the banker decided to make the $500 loan.

Several weeks later the old man was back in the bank.  
He pulled out a roll of bills, "Here to pay." he said.  
He then handed the banker the money to pay his loan off.

"What are you going to do with the rest of that money?" the banker asks.

"Put in hogan", replied the Indian.

"Why don't you deposit it in my bank," the banker asked.

"Don't know deposit," replied the Indian.

"You put the money in our bank and we take care of it for you.  
Whenever you want to use it, you can withdraw it."

The old Indian leaned across the desk and asks the banker... 
"What you got for collateral?"

Thursday, August 27, 2020

 

Quarantine Day #162.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, took 2 hours to fall asleep, got up thrice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

Last night I played 4 games on Chess.com, winning 2 and losing 2. In the 1^st game I had the white pieces and played the London System. We each had pressure against the other’s king. In the middlegame I blundered a rook that he didn’t see but a couple moves later he forked my queen and rook with his knight and it was downhill for me after that. I fought on but resigned on the 47^th move. In the 2^nd game I had white again and played the same opening and my opponent missed the threat and I checkmated him on the 18^th move. In the 3^rd game I had black and played the Sicilian Defense. He didn’t play well, attacking solely with his queen and he resigned on the 27^th move. In the 4^th game I had the black pieces and I played the Stonewall Dutch. It was a good close game that quickly went into the endgame and he checkmated me on the 33^rd move.

My new rating is 1239.

I watched the first hour of the Today show and then we walked down to Mercado Madrid for groceries. We had a muchacho push the grocery cart up the hill to our apt complex. I guess I was so busy carrying 2 large bottles of laundry liquid and getting everything sprayed by the guards that I forgot to give they boy the 10mil I had put in my back pocket. My bad! I felt bad about that.

After lunch we took a 45-minute nap.

Teresa left at 4pm to exchange some clothes at Zara in SanteFe mall.

She called me at 6:45 and told me she’s on her way back but traffic is horrible. She returned at 7:15.

 

Democrat Joe Biden is ahead in five of six key swing states after last week's Democratic National Convention 

Biden has a lead over President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin 

The two rivals for the White House are essentially tied in North Carolina, where the Republican National Convention was supposed to take place 

At the same time, a slightly smaller number of swing state voters are concerned about the coronavirus and Trump's approval rating has ticked up  

 

Moderna's coronavirus vaccine candidate appears to be safe and produce a strong immune response in older adults, according to new data from an early trial presented by the company at a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting today.

The study of 20 adults over the age of 55 found that almost two months after receiving the second of two vaccine doses, participants had antibody levels higher than those of people who have recovered from Covid-19.

 

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) have found what appears to be the likely order in which COVID-19 symptoms first appear.

The study findings reveal individuals infected with COVID-19 will likely experience symptoms in the following order:

1.   fever

2.   coughing and muscle pain

3.   nausea, vomiting, or both

4.   diarrhea

 

Coronavirus cases linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota have now been identified in eight states. 

Nearly 500,000 people attended this year's festival despite warnings about the pandemic, the state said. 

Before the event kicked off, experts warned about its potential to become a superspreader event. 

And in crowded bars and packed concerts during the 10-day rally, there were few masks in sight, according to photos and videos. 

  

Rite Aid CEO Heyward Donigan told CNBC on Thursday the U.S. health situation could be worrying this fall as people are at risk of becoming sick with both Covid-19 and seasonal influenza.. 

For that reason, Donigan urged Americans to get vaccinated for the flu. “The best thing to do is not get the flu in the first place.”

Donigan said Rite Aid is “anticipating a significant surge” in the need for flu shots.

Several hundred former aides to President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain announced Thursday that they are endorsing Joe Biden for president.

 

Amid intense backlash by experts over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations that asymptomatic people do not need to be tested for coronavirus even if they’d been exposed, CDC Director Robert Redfield walked back those guidelines. In a statement released late Wednesday night, Redfield said “testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients,” adding that “everyone who needs a COVID-19 test can get a test.” Despite Redfield’s statement, the guidelines issued earlier this week still remain on the CDC website as of publication. An official told The New York Times that Redfield made the statement “to clarify the new policy.”

 

Former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and former Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, who both served in the George W. Bush administration, endorsed Joe Biden on Thursday.

 

Elizabeth Neumann is an honest conservative. She voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and later accepted a position in the Department of Homeland Security. In a new ad from Republican Voters Against Trump, Neumann describes herself as "first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ" -- and explains that she chose Trump primarily because she opposes abortion rights.

As a DHS official responsible for counter-terrorist policy, however, Neumann saw what she could not deny: Trump's racism encourages white supremacist violence that is endangering the nation's security. And then she watched in horror as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded, with Trump obstructing every federal effort to mitigate its deadly impact. He betrayed the nation for his own political convenience, again and again.

The US has 5,790,573 ð 5,825,039 ð 5,878,827 coronavirus cases with 178,300 ð 179,200 ð 180,600+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 562,128 ð 572,270 ð 582,022 cases with 18,468 deaths.  Medellin has 41,884 ð 43,250 ð 43,966 cases, an increase of 715 from August 26^th to 27^th. Envigado has a total of 2,328 cases, an increase of 37 from August 26^th to 27^th. So new infections have plateaued or even decreased for Colombia but have only plateaued in Medellin and Envigado.

 

Joke of the day

The World Health Organization has announced that dogs cannot contract Covid-19. Dogs previously held in quarantine can now be released. To be clear, WHO let the dogs out.