Monday, April 6, 2020

Self-isolation Day 21.


Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4:45, woke up at 7am, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 8am.  Not bad!


Well, last night I had that dream again.  I’m in college, not the university I went to but a much larger one.  I’m in the wing of a large dormitory and I realize it’s the 3^rd day of classes and I haven’t registered yet.  Lol!


After watching the lunchtime news Teresa informed me that my quarantine only extends to the end of May; better than the end of the year.



Boris Johnson, England’s Prime Minister, has been moved to Intensive Care.


I finished watching Neflix’s series Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak.  Some statistics and quotes from the series:

The World Health Organization estimates there are 1 billion seasonal flu cases worldwide and up to 650,000 deaths every year.  A flu pandemic would likely kill hundreds of millions of people.  Most countries remain underprepared and underinvested in measures to deal with this threat.


Ron Klain, White House Ebola Response Coordinator (2014-15): “Our history with this as a country is we have one of these incidents, we invest very heavily in this sort of stuff, and then we slack it. It’s an urgent need. And we obviously saw how close to the edge we have been.  One time we’re not gonna be that lucky.”


Syra Madad, Senior Director, Special Pathogens Program, NYC Health and Hospitals: “Failure to take this as a global crisis will have dire consequences.  We’re all in this together, and the greater our complacency, the greater the crisis will be.”


Dennis Carroll, Director, Emerging Threats Unit, US Agency for International Development “At some point in time, there will be an event where an emergent virus, like the 1918 virus, will emerge and will spread around the world. And we’re talking about the wellbeing of seven-plus billion people. Policy makers and planners, global health leaders, they should be thinking about this in serious terms.  We have to be prepared.”


NFL announces that this year the draft will be fully virtual with club personnel working out of their homes.


Per the evening news the number of coronavirus cases has increased 1,184à1,406à1,485à1,579 with 146à150à172à183 in Antioquia.  Bogota has the most cases with 587à695à725à779.  A total of 46 of died.


Here is the breakdown by age (showing change):

Minors under 20: 45à57à69à75à77à85

20-40 years of age: 399à477à550à610à643à673

40-60 years of age: 304à355à428à473à507à541

Older than 60: 158à176à220à248à258à280


President Duque asked for 3 more weeks of self-isolation which would be until April 27^th and he expects schools to resume on May 31^st.


The US death toll passes 10,000.


Joke of the day

My wife just opened the car door for me.  It would have been a nice gesture had we not been going 70 miles an hour.

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Self-isolation Day 20.


Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4:30, took a while to fall back asleep finally waking/getting up at 8am.  Not bad!


Teresa has been making me pancakes with Bisquick (and blueberries) for some time now but for herself she makes one with the Aunt Jemima mix.  Today she finally made one for herself with Bisquick and exclaimed “how delicious” it is.

With more than 10,000 new cases reported on Friday alone, New York state has seen a "new high," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. At least 3,565 people have died in the state, with more than 114,000 cases reported.

The state has yet to reach the peak of its curve, Cuomo told reporters, saying projections forecast the apex is between four and eight days away. At that point, New York's health care system will face its "ultimate challenge," Cuomo said.

"But there's part of me that says it's good we're not at the apex because we're not yet ready for the apex either," he said. "We're not yet ready for the high point. We're still working on the capacity of the system. The more time we have to improve the capacity of the system, the better."

President Donald Trump on Saturday said the unproven drug combination he has referred to as a coronavirus treatment could be preferable to placing Americans suffering from COVID-19 on any of the 10,000 ventilators states have requested from a federal stockpile.

"One of the reasons that I keep talking about hydroxychloroquine is that the question that nobody ever asks, and the question that I most hate the answer to, is what happens if you do have a ventilator," Trump said.

"But when you have a ventilator... and it's working beautifully, I don't like the answer because it's not a very high percentage," he continued.

"So I want to keep them out of ventilators, I want to keep them -- if this drug works, it will be not a game changer because that's not a nice enough term. It will be wonderful, it'll be so beautiful, it'll be a gift from heaven if it works, because when people go into those ventilators, you know the answers, and I'm glad you don't write about it."

After all these years I thought I was pretty good at English, but can someone tell me what the hell that means?


This is a very good video of what it’s like in the epidemic epicenter in Italy.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRM5yyaDkMc


A review of federal purchasing contracts by The Associated Press shows federal agencies largely waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers.  (I wonder if that was on March 16 when the president finally seemed to accept reality.)


I started watching a series on Netflix titled Pandemic which, incredibly, was released January 22, 2020.  I recommend everyone view it.


For dinner we finished the Mu ribs.


Per the evening news the number of coronavirus cases has increased 1,184à1,406à1,485 with 146à150à172 in Antioquia.  Bogota has the most cases with 587à695à725.  A total of 35 of died.


Here is the breakdown by age (showing change):

Minors under 20: 45à57à69à75à77

20-40 years of age: 399à477à550à610à643

40-60 years of age: 304à355à428à473à507

Older than 60: 158à176à220à248à258


After President Duque spoke on the news Teresa told me he said that if Colombians will take the self-quarantine seriously we can end this by the end of May.  But if they don’t take it seriously then those over 70 will have to self-quarantine until the end of the year.  Yikes!


The US has more cases, 337,000+, than Spain and Italy combined and it looks like its still on an large slope.



Joke of the day

Of course I touch myself when I think about you.  It’s called a facepalm.

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Self-isolation Day 19.


Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 6:30 and got up at 7:30.  That’s a good night’s sleep for me.


Teresa left at 9am to pick up her monthly medicine at the clinic in Itagui.  She came back at 11:30 with several bags of groceries.


For lunch we had leftover ribs.


Republicans have their shorts in a twist because they have a recording of Dr. Fauci saying “… obviously you need to take it seriously. And do the kinds of things that the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security are doing, but this is not a major threat for the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States right now should be worried about.”


The only problem for them is he said that on January 21^st the day after the US reported their first case. That’s a little early don’t you think? Notice he also said “obviously you need to take it seriously” and also not something US citizens need to worry about “right now”.  I wonder what Trump’s daily briefings the following days and weeks said about the coronavirus.


Per the Johns Hopkins website the slope (rate of increase) looks worse for the US than Spain, Italy, or Germany.


Per the evening news the number of coronavirus cases has increased 1,184à1,406 with 146à150 in Antioquia.  Bogota has the most cases with 587à695.


Here is the breakdown by age (showing change):

Minors under 20: 45à57à69à75

20-40 years of age: 399à477à550à610

40-60 years of age: 304à355à428à473

Older than 60: 158à176à220à248


Where they are convalescing:

ICU – 35à47à54à57

Hospitalized – 53à72à103à117

At home – 771à890à1,030à1,115


I read that doctors are a little perplexed that there are more male patients than female.  Same here although it’s close with 714 men and 693 women.  Not a big statistical difference to me.


1,480à 1,344 deaths today in the US with at least 312,245 infected.


Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator: "The next two weeks are extraordinarily important. This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe, and that means everybody doing the six feet distancing, washing your hands."


Social distancing measures already appear to be paying off in Washington state, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases said, calling the measure "our most important tool."


A struggle many states are facing in the effort to understand and combat the virus is inaccessible testing.  Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his state doesn't even have enough tests to get a clear idea of the scale of the outbreak.


Joke of the day

A man enters a sexy lingerie store to purchase a sheer negligee for his wife.

He is shown several possibilities that range from $250 to $500 in price -- the more sheer, the higher the price. Naturally, he opts for the sheerest item, pays the $500, and takes it home.

He presents it to his wife and asks her to go upstairs, put it on, and model it for him. Upstairs the wife thinks (she's no dummy): "I have an idea. It's so sheer that it might as well be nothing. I won't put it on, I'll do the modeling naked, return it tomorrow, and keep the $500 refund for myself."

She appears naked on the balcony and strikes a pose.

The husband says, "Good Grief! You'd think for $500, they'd at least iron it!"

He never heard the shot.

Funeral on Thursday at Noon.

The coffin will be closed.

Friday, April 3, 2020

Self-isolation Day 18.


Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 6:15 and got up at 6:45.


In Bogota they are using drones to find people who are breaking the quarantine.


Dr. Link from Bellevue Hospital, NY: “The cow is out of the barn.  The virus is here.  However serious you think it is, it’s probably worse than you think because there are a lot of invisible cases that you don’t know about. New York, 2 weeks ago, had only 300 cases.  New York today has 30,000.  The cities around America with 300 cases should realize the only difference between them and New York is 2 weeks.  It’s the most crucial time for them to implement the shutting down of the social interactions and the mingling, the sheltering in place, all of that, the wave of patients that they are imagining will hit them in 2 weeks.  Those patients have not yet been infected and if you can prevent that infection you will prevent the wave.”


At noon Teresa ordered a large order of ribs from Mu. I understood the ribs were to arrive between 2 and 2:30.


Jared Kushner: “The notion of the federal stockpile was it’s supposed to be our stockpile.  It’s not supposed to be States’ stockpiles that they then use.”  Per the US Government’s website “Strategic National Stockpile is the nation’s largest supply of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.  When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts,” it continued, “the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency. Organized for scalable response to a variety of public health threats this repository contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously.”


Hours later the language on the National Stockpile Website had been changed to “The Strategic National Stockpile’s role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies.  Many states have products stockpiled, as well.  The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available.”


So someone changed it so that now the national stockpiles are only there so supplement the states supplies putting more of the burden on states to cover their own needs.


I understood the ribs were to arrive between 2 and 2:30 but they didn’t arrive until 3:10. The charge was 93 mil (77 for the ribs, 2mil packing charge and 14mil delivery charge) and I gave the driver 100mil and told him to keep the change.  They were no longer hot and I should have put them in the microwave.  I had two and Teresa had one and we have lots left over.


“The problem with most people is that they don’t believe something can happen until it already has.  It’s not stupidity or weakness.  It’s just human nature.” World War Z.


Per the evening news the number of coronavirus cases has increased to 1,184 with 146 in Antioquia.  Bogota has the most cases with 587.


Here is the breakdown by age (showing change keeping in mind I missed yesterday’s):

Minors under 20: 45à57à69

20-40 years of age: 399à477à550

40-60 years of age: 304à355à428

Older than 60: 158à176à220


Where they are convalescing:

ICU – 35à47à54

Hospitalized – 53à72à103

At home – 771à890à1,030


1,480 new deaths today in the US.


Trump fires Michael Atkinson, the inspector general of the intelligence community, who just happened to be the one to inform Congress that a whistleblower complaint had been filed in his office about the Trump administration.

Joke of the day

Three Russian men are sitting in a jail cell together.

One of them asks the two others: "So what did you do?"

The first one answers: "Well, I arrived late at the factory, and so they accused me of slowing down the Revolution and the victory of the Proletariat."

The second one answers: "Well, I arrived early at the factory, and so they accused me of wanting to be favored and promoted over my fellow workers."

Then they turn to the one who asked the question: "How about you, then?"

"Well, I arrived at the factory right on time, and so they accused me of having a watch from the West.

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Self-isolation Day 17.


Even though I left the apt yesterday, I’m still going to count it as an isolation day since I didn’t have the freedom to go wherever I wanted.


Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 5:15 and got up at 6:15.  I took a little nap after breakfast.


My pension and SS money arrived in my account so at least I know the government’s computers are working.


I called Jose to check on how he and Maria are doing.  They are as bored as we are.


A military helicopter circled overhead a couple times broadcasting something about the coronavirus.


I had Teresa call Alpha, the nature store, and deliver a bottle of L-Arginina for 31,900.  (I think the original price is closer to 25mil but I guess that’s the cost of delivery in these uncertain times.)

Per Johns Hopkins data, reported coronavirus cases worldwide passed 1,000,000 with 50,000 deaths.  (Confirmed cases topped 500,000 a week ago so its doubled in a week.)

World Health Organization: “Over the past five weeks, we have witnessed a near exponential growth in the number of new cases, reaching almost every country, territory, and area.”

If you don’t want to reread my Trump coronavirus posting, may I direct your attention to at least Infectious disease specialist Dr. Desai’s statements April 1^st on Fox News.


Look at the contrast between these two quotes:

February 5^th, 2020: Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweets “Just left the Administration briefing on coronavirus.  Bottom Line: they aren’t taking this serious enough.  Notably, no request for ANY emergency funding, which is a big mistake. Local health systems need supplies, training, screening staff, etc. And they need it now.”

March 9^th, 2020: Trump: “The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant.

So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”

That was the month the Trump administration wasted, 4+ weeks that could have been used to prepare for the coronavirus.  I can’t wait to see the congressional investigations.  Back to “what did you know and when did you know it?” for agencies and individuals.  Someone(s) should be held accountable for the lack of preparedness.  Let’s find out who it was that put the country in unncecessary danger.  Of course, now we’re busy fighting the coronavirus so it won’t go into high gear until this epidemic is in the rear-view mirror.



Joke of the day

A newly ordained priest, nervous about hearing confessions, finally asks an older priest to observe how he does and give some tips.

After listening in on the second confession, the older priest suggested that the younger man fold his arms, maybe rub his chin with one hand while saying phrases like "I see" or "I understand" or "Yes, my child. Go on".

The young priest puts the suggestions into practice and later tells the older priest how much it has helped getting more information from his flock.

"You've done well," said the older man.  "Isn't that much better than slapping your knee and yelling 'No way! What happened next?'"

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Self-isolation Day 16.


Last night I went to bed at 10:45, got up once about 4:15, woke up at 6:30am and got up at 7am.


My back has been feeling much better the last few mornings so I guess the marigold extract is working.


I left the apt at 8:45. I wanted to walk by Eduardo Madrid Bakery to see if it was open, Parva to ensure it was closed and the copy center next to Aymara to see if it was open, but Teresa insisted I take a taxi.


I got out at the Exito back entrance and it they had it marked exit only.  At the main entrance I saw about a dozen people waiting their turn to go in.


I walked across the courtyard to Bancolombia where I found a sign that they were closed and to use their branches in Mayorca and Viva Envigado.  


In Todo Drogas, quieter than usual, I picked up my medications for the month.  I walked thru the park to the large copy center but it was closed.  Back at Exito I waited in line for 10 minutes to enter.  I had to show my cedula to the guard to prove I was allowed to enter (my cedula ends in ‘7’ allowing me to grocery shop on Wednesdays and Saturdays).  I looked for a jigsaw puzzle or parcheesi game but all the games they had were for little kids.  I took a taxi to Viva Envigado where I had to show my cedula again just to enter the mall.  All the stores were closed but I went up to the 2^nd floor where I found a long line for Bancolombia.  I got in line, most people maintained an approximate 6’ distance from each other, and I finally reached the entrance 100 minutes later.  By then my whole back was feeling a little sore from all the standing in place.  I took my number and was called 5 minutes later.  With no problem I paid for the apt, health insurance and deposited the usual gym amount into Laura’s account – not sure if Smartfit will withdraw it.  The only good news is I got 4,030 pesos per dollar for my World Remit transfer.


I saw that Dollar City was open and I walked through but they didn’t have any adult games either.


In Exito I picked up a few things and walked back to the apt., the whole procedure of getting my medications and paying for the apt, etc. taking 2 hours and 45 minutes.


Teresa was concerned because she had a doctor’s prescription emailed to her but we don’t know where to print it.  I know the Envigado park copy center is closed, I don’t know about the one next to Aymara and I didn’t notice if Auros was open when I was in Exito.  I copied the pdf file to a flash drive and Teresa found a friend of Wilson’s to print it this weekend.  I noticed that her doctor gave her an appointment for October 6^th.


I don’t think we got up to 80 degrees today.


Per the evening news the number of coronavirus cases has increased from 906 to 1,065 since yesterday with 107 in Antioquia.  Bogota has the most cases with 472.  It seems the smaller the town the fewer cases and Jeff from Medellin Guru mentioned that there are quite a few pueblos with no cases so they will probably reopen (no quarantine) first.


Here is the breakdown by age (showing change since yesterday):

Minors under 20: 45à57

20-40 years of age: 399à477

40-60 years of age: 304à355

Older than 60: 158à176


There have been 17 deaths and where the others are convalescing:

ICU – 35à47

Hospitalized – 53à72

At home – 771à890


Meanwhile, back in the US, for the first time 1,000 deaths in a single day.  Hmmm, for those who were comparing the coronavirus to annual auto deaths, aren’t we now higher than the daily average highway deaths?  One of those deaths was a six-week-old baby, who never got the chance to learn to drive.


At 10:15 we experienced a tremblor.  I was lying on the couch when I heard the balcony door shake slightly, otherwise I wouldn’t have noticed anything.  That must have been the foreshock because a minute later it happened again only this time much stronger.  According to my Earthquake Alert app it was a 5.1 earthquake, 46 miles away in Betania and at a depth of 59.3 miles.


Joke of the day

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered.

They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother.

The first said: "I built a big house for our mother."

The second said: "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."

The third said: "You remember how our mother enjoys reading the Bible. Now she can't see very well. So I sent her a remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church 12 years to teach him. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot recites it."

Soon thereafter, their mother sent out her letters of thanks.

"William," she said, "the house you built is so huge. I live only in one room, but I have to clean the whole house."

"Arnold," she said, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the time at home so I rarely use the Mercedes. And that driver is so rude! He's a pain!"

"But David," she said, "the chicken was delicious!"

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Self-isolation Day 15.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, woke up at 6am and got up at 7am.

The guy from the finca finally dropped off the rent.

US virus deaths exceeded 700 in one day, overall toll surpasses China.  New CDC data shows danger of coronavirus for those with diabetes, heart or lung disease, and other chronic conditions.
Per the evening news the number of coronavirus cases has increased from 798 to 906 since yesterday.  101 of them are in Antioquia.

Here is the breakdown by age:
Minors under 20: 45
20-40 years of age: 399
40-60 years of age: 304
Older than 60: 158.

Tonight they also included where they are convalescing:
ICU – 35
Hospitalized – 53
At home – 771

Joke of the day

A local business was looking for office help. They put a sign in the window saying: "HELP WANTED. Must be able to type, must be good with a computer and must be bilingual. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer."

A short time afterward, a dog trotted up to the window, saw the sign and went inside.

He looked at the receptionist and wagged his tail, then walked over to the sign, looked at it and whined.

Getting the idea, the receptionist got the office manager.

The office manager looked at the dog and was surprised, to say the least.

However, the dog looked determined, so he led him into the office.

Inside, the dog jumped up on the chair and stared at the manager.

The manager said, "I can't hire you. The sign says you have to be able to type."

The dog jumped down, went to the typewriter and proceeded to type out a perfect letter.

He took out the page and trotted over to the manager and gave it to him, then jumped back on the chair.

The manager was stunned, but then told the dog, "The sign says you have to be good with a computer."

The dog jumped down again and went to the computer.

The dog proceeded to demonstrate his expertise with various programs and produced a sample spreadsheet and database and presented them to the manager.

By this time the manager was totally dumbfounded!

He looked at the dog and said, "I realize that you are a very intelligent dog and have some interesting abilities. However, I still can't give you the job."

The dog jumped down and went to a copy of the sign and put his paw on the part about being an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The manager said, "Yes, but the sign also says that you have to be bilingual."

The dog looked at him straight in the face and said, "Meow."