CoViD-19: California Dials Back Openings | SD & LA: Schools Not Returning In The Fall | Global Testing Shortage | Navy Ship Fire Continues

Momma & Baby Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Taken 6.28.2020)

What a day of news. There was a lot of it so there's quite a bit of detail after the jump, specifically that indoor activities related to gyms, salons, malls, personal care, non-essential offices, and worship services have to reclose, SDUSD & LAUSD issued a joint statement that in-person classes will not resume in the fall, and there's a global testing shortage. I'm actually so relieved about schools because it was a decision we didn't want to have to make. It's bad enough that Nova's soccer league is trying to join some statewide petition for guidance on youth sports, a move I can't support. Distance practicing is just fine, thank you very much. I kind of base everything on my parents...if I can't visit and hug my parents, why would I want Nova making contact with some teammate, breathing in their breath, exchanging sweat? If I can't sit inside my parents house for an hour, why would I want Nova in six different classes for an hour everyday or even one or two days a week? I'm reading The Down Days right now (as recommendation by Wired) and it's about a deadly outbreak and it made me realize that not only should we continue to emphasize the deaths by COVID-19, but they should be talking every night about the sickness, how basically your lungs fill with pus that hardens and makes it impossible to breathe while all of your organs shut down. Or that your blood gets choked of oxygen and gets thick and clots and is spiking strokes, even after the patient is considered "recovered". Or read any online support group for COVID-19 patients where they're sharing stories of being sick for months, not weeks. But sure, go to Disneyworld. 

Let's get our shit together. Info after the jump. 

CoViD-19 Why The Virus Is Winning | November Elections Get Scary | My Movie Watchlist | At-Home Science (Get Used To Home Education)

Siamese Crocodile (Taken 7.12.2020)

I was up alone on Friday night trying to stay up to see the comet Neowise, but when 4am finally came around, it was completely overcast with moisture in the air, so much so that it was hard even to see the moon. I felt like such a dummy for not have checked the sky earlier in the night. I tried again on Saturday night/Sunday morning but we're just not in a place where it can be seen, and apparently all those pro-photos I've seen everywhere are misleading because many are saying it cannot be seen with the naked eye. 

Between that and being so hot and gross outside all weekend, I got my share of movies in already this weekend. I was stoked to see that an old pal, Andy Siara, was the writer for Palm Springs on Hulu. The old days with Henry Clay People were super fun and Joey and Andy are both super rad people and I'm stoked they're doing great things. 

There was also a lot of news on the political and CoViD-19 fronts, the covidiot-in-chief finally wore a mask in public (albeit under his nose), and our numbers continue to break records. And of course, we did another trip to the San Diego Zoo on Sunday. I feel like it is the lowest risk because mask wearing is actually kinda enforced (more than in public anyway), social distancing is possible in ways not possible in other public settings, and the greenery offers cooler temperatures than in most places in the county. A Zoo employee who was trying to take pics of the leopard cubs told us two more ring-tailed lemurs were born over the weekend and should be on exhibit this week. Of course, we'll be back. 

Now it's Sunday night and Darren and I are in the speakeasy downing tequila, listening to Sirius XMU, and besides dropping my phone and spiderwebbing the screen and also laying Terro ant traps everywhere that are seething with ants, life is pretty okay. I've got some links and such after the jump per usual.

COVID-19: Lincoln Project Resurrects Reagan | COVID's Lasting Symptoms |

Sea Lion at La Jolla Cove (Taken 7.10.2020)

We had a late night in the speakeasy so I took today off for the most part. Darren and I went to La Jolla Cove during Nova's soccer and it was really frustrating that nobody was wearing a mask, so we went to our little cliff spot away from any other people. I'm still trying to get through email but I just read a disturbing article about Southern California sea lions getting sick from domoic acid, which somes from algae. I can't link the article now because it's behind a paywall and I hate paywalls. Anyway, that article got me to reading about Oceano Dunes in San Luis Obispo and that was infuriating, too. There's an endangered bird called the snowy plover, and they nest on the ground. There's these dunes that people use with recreational vehicles but the park has been closed due to COVID-19 and so the birds are breeding successfully and expanding their nesting areas, but the officials there didn't like that so they did some crazy shit like moving nest and putting mylar flags up to deter their nesting but an environmental group busted them and so now the Coastal Commission has put the smackdown on the park and said they can't open to cars until after the fledglings leave their nests which will be after September. Victory for the birds! Anyway, COVID-19 numbers look grim again today, with five new deaths and 460 new cases. KPBS newshour ran a story on El Centro's hospitals being full and they showed blurred-out 40 year-old patient and said they were trying to do everything they could before they have to intubate him and the doctors just looked so devastated, working out of air-conditioned tents in the triple digit heat. Honestly, I wish more news channels would cover the hospitals and deaths like they did back when it was hitting Italy and Spain but haven't since. Maybe we would wake up and stop being such garbage humans. Anyway, just a couple links after the jump. 

CoViD-19: Governor Newsom Gives Fire & Covid Updates | Cabrillo Monument Extends Weekend Hours | San Diego News of Interest | Experts Weigh In On Covid-19

Fiesta Island Leash-Free Dog Park is fully reopened (Taken 8.24.2019)

About half an hour ago, Nova asked me if we were doing anything today. Darren is sleeping after playing music in the studio all night but I think maybe I owe it to her to go do something fun and before the weather gets unbearable this weekend. I don't really have much to say today that I haven't been saying every day so I'm gonna go offline and try and have a day with the kid. News after the jump. 

CoViD-19: "Inevitable" Increases Demonstrate Utter Human Failure | School Reopening Will Be Based On Data, Not Threats or Tweets | 27 Outbreaks In San Diego Seven Days Into July

Amur Leopard cub at San Diego Zoo (Taken 7.7.2020)

We had a super great day yesterday and had a fun night rockin' out in the 'speakeasy' but then today I started listening to the press briefings and got super cranky. It feels like all bad news all the time. Then I read the "open letter on Justice and Oppression" and I had to give the biggest eyeroll. As dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of people have pointed out, JK Rowling is certainly free to continue her transphobic tweets all she wants, but she doesn't get to be free of consequences, and crying about 'cancel culture' isn't helping her cause. I've been trying to distract and watch new stuff but even that's grim. I'm watching Hanna on Amazon and it is the first time I've ever seen Joel Kinnaman in a role and holy shit is he beautiful, but now I'm stuck watching and the writing and acting in season two is seriously horrible, which is sad, because it definitely had a La Femme Nikita vibe for awhile. We're also watching The Babysitter's Club on Netflix and it's obviously made for children, but they cover real-world topics well, especially episode six where one of the girls learns that her grandmother was in the Japanese Internment Camp at Manzanar. She asks how they could do that to people and treat them that way and her sister poignantly responds, "we still do." I also tried to watch the David Foster documentary on Netflix but he is such a arrogant piece of shit, I only made it through 9 minutes before I had to turn it off, and I'm the kind of person who has to watch things to the end once I've started them. If you've seen anything good lately, please let me know. I finished Ramy and have watched all the standup I can handle at this point. You can read my angry rant and today's briefing news after the jump. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Mayor Expands Outdoor Dining | City Council Approves Police Accountability Ballot Measure | Chicano Federation Slams Gaspar and more!!

Koalas at San Diego Zoo (6.21.2020)

As I said earlier, we had a very productive morning. I eventually gave up on the County Supervisor's meeting, however. It is excruciating to listen to Gaspar grandstand and repeat the blatantly false talking points of the administration. If anyone who reads this is in her district, PLEASE support Terra Lawson-Remer in November. We made plans for an afternoon trip to San Diego Zoo and I know I mentioned it on Instagram, but now they give rubber wristbands by party so you're not comingling with other groups of people. It was a little more crowded than I like, but it was still comfortable and easy to avoid crowds, though I don't know why the volunteer docents can't at least remind people that they need to keep masks on over their noses and to follow designated one-way paths where they're already clearly marked, like by they pygmy hippos. Anyway, it was still pretty fun but now I'm home and see I missed a bunch of action today, so some links after the jump.  

COVID-19: Now Worse Than Ever! | County Board of Supervisors COVID Update | Doctors Urge WHO To Recognize Aerosolized Transmission of Coronavirus

Arctic Fox at San Diego Zoo (Taken 6.21.2020)

I finally caught up on sleep and woke up bright and shiny this morning. We did some upstairs cleaning, some studio cleaning, made a nice big breakfast and I've been listening to today's County Supervisors meeting and now it's just pissing me off. We knew from the beginning of this pandemic that we were looking at TWO YEARS of a pandemic if we didn't get control of it. And guess what? We didn't get control of it. Hong Kong headlines go crazy when they have TWO NEW CASES while we're normalizing 500+ new cases daily in our county alone. This thing is still fucking serious. In your youth and good health you may not end up hospitalized or in ICU or even showing symptoms at all, but the science is there that you are spreading it to other people and I'm frankly tired of everyone formulating incredibly uneducated conclusions, complaining about these shutdowns, having to wear masks, or not being able to sit in a bar or go bowling, or god forbid, not be able to go indoor skydiving or to an arcade. Grow the fuck up, let us get control of this stupid virus, wear your fucking mask. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Added To State Watchlist: Must Close (Some) Indoor Activities For 3 Weeks

Well, to nobody's surprise, San Diego is now added to the State's impacted list and will have to close specific sectors for 3 weeks (regardless of whether numbers improve in that time). The good news is that Fletch is saying the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park should be relatively unaffected, because the action is specifically for INDOOR activities related to the specific sectors. The bar rules are still pretty confusing, but just keep it simple: stop going places where you're sitting and socializing with anyone outside of your household or breathing in other people's air for any extended amount of time. It's gross that gyms are still open, but if there've been no outbreaks, I don't foresee them adding more sectors to the updated health order. Anyway, today's briefing updates are after the jump. I think I'm going back to sleep. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Cases Increase by 1030 from Friday To Sunday | Amur Leopard Cubs Are Cute AF | San Diego Music Awards Stream Monday

I have had quite a lovely weekend. On Friday we did La Jolla Cove as planned, Saturday we lounged around and Darren grilled some grub, then we went to the San Diego Zoo for the final two hours they were open. My downstairs neighbors moved out, so last night I took full advantage and got to long ignored cleaning and organizing. It's much easier when everyone else is asleep and it's not 85 degrees in the house. Darren had crashed super early, so he ended up waking up around 3 am and we hung out in the speakeasy until well into morning which was super fun. Today was my catch up on sleep day, but my cousin came down from LA to stay with my parents, so we went down for a visit, too. I find it frustrating that my own family isn't distancing and masking, but they seem to all believe that they've been quarantining and thus have no chance of exposure. We kept our masks on and kept our distance anyway, but I'm certain that I'm not alone in this frustration. There were 1030 new cases reported between Friday and Sunday which is astonishing because all the County test sites were closed on Saturday.

CoViD-19: No Testing Saturday | Beluga Whale Sighting In San Diego | Weekend Watching | The US Hasn't Failed- We're Not Even Trying |

Let's Hope This June Gloom Acts As Beach Control (Taken 6.29.2020)

We're heading out to take Nova to soccer, so we'll probably actually do two trips to La Jolla Cove, one without her and one with her. Unless it's crazy, then we'll find something else to do, I suppose. I thought this might be my last post for the weekend, but if I'm going to be sitting around the house all weekend, maybe it won't be. Lots of links and info and stuff after the jump. Hope everyone has a great Independence Day weekend. 

California State Parks & Beaches Closures and Partial Closures

Bloom of Anza Borrego State Park (Taken 3.26.2019)

I meant to post this press release on Wednesday, but I guess I forgot. As you probably know by now, all the counties surrounding San Diego have been put on the state watchlist and had to roll back reopenings of indoor activities. San Diego is on pace to face the same rollbacks by Monday. In the meantime, the County has not put any beach restrictions in place, rather leaving it up to individual jurisdictions. Oceanside has opted to close their beaches, but I haven't seen other coastal cities follow suit. The reality now is that if you don't think the beaches should be open, you just shouldn't go. Yes, we expect them to be full of Zonies and other out-of-towners. It won't be pleasant. There's simply not any evidence that bathrooms can be cleaned with the frequency they would need to with the impacted crowds. While the County says no community outbreaks have occurred from outdoor activity, there's only one way of not getting the virus: stay home with members of your own household. Full state press release after the jump.

CoViD-19: San Diego Reports 10 New Community Outbreaks In One Day | EU Strikes Back | Covid Deaths Underreported

I listened to the Governor's briefing today and it was essentially 45 minutes of begging people to wear masks. We went to the Zoo for the last hour and a half they were open and it was nice and empty; I hope they keep the no re-entry rule until this pandemic is under control because the afternoons there are dreamy. We also had to drop some supplies off at my parents' house in Chula Vista, so it was nice to be able to catch up with my mom (masked and physically distanced in the backyard, no hugs) and we picked up Jochi Filipino food on the way home, which was the first take-out we've had since March. I get that people are supporting small businesses, but we've just been super frugal with our spending because if the CARES unemployment ends, we're kinda gonna be screwed. It took me the rest of the night to get through my email and whatnot, so sorry for the late night post. Basically what you need to know is that Friday, San Diego County will be added to the State "watchlist" and we'll likely stay there for three days with current trends, which means we'll have to face the rollbacks on Monday. The only thing that might change that is the fact that Saturday is a holiday so testing might fall off. I've included that graphic, and also posted the trigger dashboard from Wednesday and Thursday, which is quite scary because one dropped off, which means 10 new outbreaks were identified in one day.  

CoViD-19: Universal Call To Wear A Mask | EU vs USA | USA Gets All The Things And You Can't Have None

Masked up at San Diego Zoo (6.29.2020)

As I watched tonight's news, I noticed a change of tone. Republican mayors and governors are embracing mask wearing. Goldman Sachs made a statement that the economy won't survive unless people mask up. Even the covidiot-in-chief said he *would* wear one and has worn them when in group settings (though I believe we've only seen it exactly once). This was a thing that pissed me off in the early days of the pandemic. Instead of saying, "we don't know if face coverings work" (because we're too arrogant to look at Asian nations who've done this with literally every SARS- type virus), they actively told people not to wear them because they would give "a false sense of security" and make people touch their faces more. I remember I was wearing a bandanna at Costco before it was required, and an Asian employee told me in an aside, "your bandanna is smart, but you should protect your eyes with glasses or a shield, too." It freaked me out. Getting infected through your eyeballs from someone else's spit is not a way I want to die, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, I'm glad the tone is changing. Basically, mask up or further tank the economy. You don't get to have it both ways. Also, my video post of the wallaby sent my pageviews through the roof today. Thanks to all the Russian bots who came to check it out. 

CoViD-19: San Diego County On "Elevated Measure"- Likely To Be Added To State Watchlist By Friday; 3 Week Indoor Restrictions By Monday

La Jolla Cove (6.15.2020)

Man. That was a hell of a media briefing with a lot of information to unpack. The short version is that the County of San Diego is not yet on the state watchlist of 19 counties that have to close down all indoor activities, but if our stats stay the same over the next 5 days, we will be and all those indoor non-essential things will have to reclose by Monday. The county wants to give those businesses time to face that reality, but certainly also wants them to get all of that 4th of July weekend money. The one thing that is confusing is that Zoos are on the list but they're all outdoor, so would that just mean their gift shops would close? I don't really know. But that's where we are. Besides taking some supplies to my parents and Nova's soccer, I don't expect to really leave the orbit of our house, though the impulse is always there to hit those late afternoon hours at the Zoo or Safari Park. Today's stats after the jump. 

CoViD-19: California Creates "Strike Teams" For Health Enforcement | SoCal State Beach Lots Closed This Weekend |

It's not really clear if we're going to get a County or City briefing today, so I'm just gonna go ahead and post the Governor's notes and I'll do another post later if we get more info from the City and County. I'll just be spending the day like most of the days...sitting around in pajamas reading email. Our downstairs neighbors are moving across the street to a bigger apartment, so I don't know how long it will be vacant, but it's our fourth neighbor to leave in as many years, so hopefully the property management finally addresses some of the issues (plumbing, rainwater seepage, ants) that have plagued the spot so someone can actually comfortably live there. Though I guess living below the three of us in all of our crazy hours of the day, is probably not that ideal either, they're just too nice to say so. Anyway, some big stuff from the Governor. I'd say I did pretty well with my pandemic predictions. Fireworks aren't cancelled statewide, but it's recommended for 19 counties. They're not closing state parks and beaches, but are closing beach lots and restricting park lots. Bars are closed in those 19 counties (which make up over 70% of the population). We didn't see any quarantine requirements or specifics about no new reopenings, but I'll take the latter as implied. More after the jump. 

Albino Wallaby Emerges From Mother's Pouch at San Diego Zoo Safari Park

We went back to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Sunday and I got to see the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Fortunately, my camera was rolling. I'll post pictures another time, but here for your viewing pleasure:

 

This rare albino wallaby joey was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. We were hoping to get a glimpse of him when he decided to assert his individuality and come all of the way out. I don't know how old the joey is, but the volunteer docent suggested that it would be permanently out of the pouch soon, which puts him at nearly 9 months old if the information was accurate. I asked if it will have to wear sunscreen and it was suggested that it will probably be made an animal ambassador so that it would spend more time indoors. Video taken Sunday, June 27, 2020.

CoViD-19: County of San Diego Creates Restaurant Curfew | Beaches to Remain Open | Eviction Moratorium Extended

A Mandrill at San Diego Zoo (Taken 6.28.2020)

I had a bit of a crisis today when my laptop charger stopped working. Darren zipped off to Fry's to get me a replacement (which was not cheap) only to find that it didn't fit, but then suddenly my originally charger started working again. I'm not sure what's going on with it, but hopefully it was just an anomaly and we can just take the new one back. I didn't listen to the governor today, and only part of the county briefing, but I think I've got the gist below. I'm pretty wiped out today. After doing Monday's blog, we took Nova to soccer and went to La Jolla Cove during the practice, then after stopped along Mission Bay, and then Darren and I had a late night in the speakeasy. The big takeaways today are that beside the bar closure from yesterday, restaurants and businesses that do serve food or have partnered with food service must close from 10pm-5am, though technically the public health order allows for reservations up until 10pm but the spaces must be completely closed by 11pm. The County also noted that beaches would not be closed for 4th of July weekend, though individual jurisdictions may choose that for themselves. According to Nathan Fletcher, San Diego is using data to make decisions and as of now, there have been no outbreaks attributed to any outdoor activities. That doesn't mean they're *no* risk, but so far seem to be *low* risk. Apparently the Governor is making new restriction announcements on Wednesday, so as I said last night, hang on to your mask, things are still going from bad to worse. If you're looking for something new to watch, Homemade on Netflix is pretty great and each "episode" is a short-film by acclaimed filmmakers produced during the pandemic amid stay-at-home orders. They can be watched in any order, but number 3 hit me in all the feels. It's called "The Lucky Ones," by Rachel Morrison. Anyway, news after the jump. 

LA County Closes All Beaches For Fourth Of July Holiday Weekend: Will San Diego Follow? (Fireworks are done, too)

Will It All Come Crashing Back Down? (La Jolla Cove, 10.23.2019)

On Sunday, Governor Newsom sent a tweet. 

Due to the rising spread of #COVID19, CA is ordering bars to close in Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, San Joaquin, and Tulare, while recommending they close in Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, & Ventura.

On Monday, San Diego proactively decided to close bars, too, effective July 1st at 12am, so like, in the middle of Tuesday night bar hours. Many questions were asked of other closings and it was left open...the County would discuss with local cities and see if additional moves were needed. 

But now LA is closing all of their beaches for 4th of July weekend. That will certainly reverberate to all other nearby counties, including San Diego. Our County and all the coastal cities within should close the beaches for the weekend with tight enforcement. The LA press release is after the jump. Sounds like Tuesday is going to be another busy day of news and briefings and fighting over whose statistics matter, what they mean. Put on your masks, shit is about to get SUPER FUCKING UGLY. I'ma go drown myself in rye. 

*updated to add their press release about cancellation of all fireworks. PLEASE DO THIS IN SAN DIEGO 

CoViD-19 Continues to Spread | San Diego County Is Reclosing All Bars, Wineries, and Breweries | Stop Hate For Profit

Albino Wallaby Joey at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Photo by Nova (6.28.2020)

I took the weekend off from CoViD-19 updates because at this point, if you're not paying attention, you're not going to now but I will do updates for today nonetheless. Instead, we spent Friday evening checking out the sea lions after Nova's first soccer practice/"camp", , we did a big CostCo run (but no paper towels!!), I finished reading another Mindy McGinnis book and started a new one, binged "Love, Victor" on Hulu, watched some other random streaming movies, and went to San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the late afternoon on Sunday. I got a new camera so it was fun to test it out, and Nova's learning to use my old one, so this is a pic of the albino wallaby joey that she took. We went back to the Zoo today but it turned into Stroller Derby and we had to get out of there. We hit up Costco again and people are either stocking up for the 4th or expecting stay-at-home to be reinstated so we still couldn't find paper towels. Today's news is pretty grim but not unexpected, so I'll do some Zoo and Safari Posts soon just to break things up a little bit. In the meantime, here's your briefing news...after the jump.