COVID-19 San Diego Decreasing Case Rate | Diary: Meet-Cute Anniversary | TV Watchlist | San Diego Zoo Safari Park Baby Rhino Photos

Today is the 8th anniversary of the night me and Darren met at Soda Bar. I was blowing off steam after the Black Lips show at the Hard Rock Show got shut down after three songs because mixing a belligerent band and meathead bouncers turned out to be a bad combination. Darren was there enjoying a beer after work. From the second we started talking, I guess I knew he was my guy, and here we are 8 years later in a life I never could have imagined.  

I was mostly offline today because I convinced Darren and Nova to go to the Safari Park for the last couple hours of the day because I wanted to try to glimpse the 2 week-old rhino calf. I learned from a photographer who was there that she is Kacy's 4th calf, with Justin being one of her brothers. He's been banished for now while mom protects the new calf and it was pretty spectacular to see for a short time, though the viewpoint was a little crowded and the drive-up private safaris blocked the view for awhile. 

I'll post those pics at the end of the post. In the meantime, happy anniversary of my meet-cute with Darren, who has given me a love like I'd never known before, even if he is currently passed out from our day's adventures. Today's news and stats are after the jump. 

• CALIFORNIA COVID-19 STATS:
• 5,258 New Cases/529,980 Total Cases (1% increase)
• 166 New Deaths/9,869 Total Deaths (1.7% increase)
• 6.1% 14-day test positivity rate
• COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO COVID-19 STATS:
• State Data:
• 5,757 New Cases (Last 14 Days)/30,866 Total Cases
• 73 Deaths (Last 14 Days)/578 Total Deaths
• 170.8 cases/100k population 
• 8.5% Test Positivity
• County Data:
• 263 New Cases/31,127 Total Cases
• 5 New Daily Deaths/583 Total Deaths
• 110.1 cases (112.4 State Reporting)/100k population 
• 2% Daily Test Positivity/4.9% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• Case Investigation is 81%
• 6 New/31 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• Postcards to Registered Voters – They Will Get Mail Ballots - County News Service (8.6.2020)
  The Registrar of Voters is sending postcards to over 1.8 million registered voters in San Diego County this week telling them to expect a mail ballot for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election.
• COVID-19 Other News
• The Winter Will Be Worse: When socializing outside gets harder in much of the U.S., daily life will get more dismal, and the virus might spread even further. - The Atlantic (8.5.2020) 
  “There really is no easy way to socialize during late fall [and] winter in large parts of the country if you're not doing it outside,” Ashish Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told me. “Could I have people over in my house for two hours on a Sunday morning in December? Barring really good testing, probably not.”
• Even Asymptomatic People Carry the Coronavirus in High Amounts: Researchers in South Korea found that roughly 30 percent of those infected never develop symptoms yet probably spread the virus. - New York Times (8.6.2020)
• Watchlist/Entertainment:
• We Deserve Better Than Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Maher: Society and the political landscape have outgrown these two TV hosts - Paste (8.6.2020)
• The other day I was very touched by the show Tales By Light on Netflix after having seen the first four episodes of Season 3 on Children In Need and Ocean-reefs and Shark-finning. Now that I've watched more, I have to say that while I still enjoy the show to an extent, the earlier two seasons are pretty much full of old white guys marveling at other cultures in a way that feels very white-saviorish. Especially when they're directing indigenous people into their 'dream shots'. There are a couple women, too, but instead of being wowed, I feel more like as an industry, photography is so exclusive, and it kinda bummed me out. Watch with your own open mind, but that's where I am after almost finishing all the episodes.
• Watched a couple decent movies on Netflix
• almost love - A gay couple and their circle of friends feel their power shift as money, building wealth, being needed, having kids all shift their needs and expectations within their relationships.
• Banana Split- Girl makes friends with her ex's new gf before they go off to college and learns about herself and true friendship after several embarrassing and betraying events. 

San Diego Zoo Safari Park Photos (Taken 8.6.2020 Between 4:30-6:30pm)

I usually just post photos as captured, but today I did some slight cropping and light/color correction on a few because the rhino was so far away. I also left most of them as is to show the distance and variable light. Also threw in a few non-rhinos for good measure. Cannot wait to go back.