Wednesday, September 30, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego County Crosses 47k Cases With 14 New Community Outbreaks| California Mental Health Resources | Your Emotional Hangover Is Real

One of the many "outtake" photos from San Diego Zoo. Call this the Heat Wave Sprawl (Taken 9.28.2020)

This morning I watched yesterday's Dr. Ghaly briefing and Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, the State's first Surgeon General, spoke about mental health during the pandemic and she's so charismatic and soothing that I want her to read me bedtime stories. You can see her portion of yesterday's media briefing here. I was reading about New York state's limited reopening which got me curious to look at their dashboard. For comparison, San Diego county is averaging almost 10k tests per day. Los Angeles is testing just shy of 12.5k tests per day. Yesterday alone, New York City tested more than 37k people!! I know I should be comparing tests/100k people but I just don't feel like digging that hard around their dashboards. 

This week's heat has me pretty much bunkered up at home, especially after being in the sun all day Tuesday for the Battle of the Bands. I watched today's County briefing and there wasn't a whole lot of new information there except...holy shit!.. 14!! new community outbreaks, with five of them in restaurants (not restaurant/bars) which just makes it so clear to me that my family will not be eating at a restaurant in a very, very long time, though we have stepped up our takeout with El Panson and Jochi Resto getting our occasional dollars. Also, Nathan Fletcher clarified that the numbers used to determine our tiers are the "illness onset" days, not the "test reported" data which is what is given in the daily briefings. This is what reader Michael clarified to me, but I kinda think Fletch was specifically answering the email I sent him last week. 

If you're looking for something to watch, I recommend this documentary about Newport Music Hall called "If These Walls Could Talk" (though you should skip the part with the radiant asshole Ted Nugent. I also haven't done any TV recommendations in a hot minute, but I recommend watching "This Is Paris" which is surprisingly good. We're in the middle of watching Utopia, though I'm not sure I'd recommend it because the violence is intense and the subject matter maybe inappropriate while we're enduring a global pandemic. I also started Lodge 49 on Hulu but haven't seen enough to feel any kind of way about it. 

Anyway, today's news and stats as well as some of the information shared yesterday are all after the jump.

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego Stays In Red Tier | Playgrounds Reopen With New Guidelines | Governor Bans Rodenticides | President Tells White Supremacists To "Stand By"

A view from the roof of North Parking (Taken 9.29.2020)

The debate was so painful to watch. If the moderator can't control the mics of the participants than Biden shouldn't agree to do another one. 
I spent the day on the roof of the North Park parking structure helping coordinate the virtual Battle of the Bands. It was a little bit crazy but we got it done and you'll be able to watch and vote here
After watching the debate, not a chance I'm listening to the County Board of Supervisors or Dr. Ghaly's state health report, but just know that Michael was accurate that the County would hit 7.2 cases per 100k cases, but it appears that we passed the median tests per 100k residents, which gives an adjustment factor below 1, meaning they were able to mathematically adjust the county at 6.7 cases per 100k residents. So that means we're staying red through at least October 13th. Today's stats and news after the jump

Monday, September 28, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego Stats | COVID-19 Tops 1 Million Deaths Globally | President's Debt Is A National Threat | SD Red Flag Warning Continues | Photos: San Diego Zoo

Mid-jump ring-tailed lemur at San Diego Zoo (Taken 9.28.2020)

My godsister works at a fancy salon where she does manicures and pedicures. On Sunday while working, a woman made the last appointment of the day then showed up 20 minutes late, causing Claudes to have to stay past regular operating hours. Then the woman berated her for the job she was doing and told her the "right" way to do her feet, and then left giving her a $2 tip. 
What. A Scumbag.
And the thing of it is, these are the people demanding the reopening of everything to full capacity. It's not the people doing the jobs, though I'm sure there are some, it's the people who want people serving them so they can go to One Paseo and make the young black girl take their shit for a goddamn $2 tip. Today, while flipping through channels, we caught Supervisor Desmond complaining about chasing metrics, meanwhile the world passed 1,000,000 deaths. But to him, they're not "pure deaths" so they must not matter. 
Besides all that, it was a nice birthday. Darren and I hung out in the speakeasy last night, I slept in, Darren made me a lovely charcuterie and cheese board for lunch, we went to the Zoo in the afternoon, and then resumed watching Utopia, which I'm gonna get back to now. 
And in case you're wondering, Michael told me that after doing the math, the County's Tuesday assessment should be 7.2 cases per 100k, putting us back at the purple tier, though we won't move because you have to have two weeks for movement.

Sunday, September 27, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego Sunday Stats | Red Flag Warning For Monday

 

Me and the Fam at the San Diego Zoo (Taken 9.20.2020)

Gonna keep it short again today because I'm still celebrating my birthday weekend and I would like to get back to it. Today we celebrated with my parents and sisters and nieces. We grabbed Filipino food from Jochi Resto and enjoyed some cake and a few beers for good measure. Today's news was kinda crazy and I had some links but they got deleted so I'm just gonna let it go for tonight and maybe sort it out tomorrow. I won't be able to watch the Tuesday media briefing with Dr. Ghaly because I'm stage producing for the virtual North Park Festival of Arts (which won't broadcast until later) but regardless of where we end up, we won't be moving tiers. I'll catch up tomorrow with all the fun and terrible bad news. 

Saturday, September 26, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego Stats | Lockdown Results in Sexy Birds | Torrey Pines Trails Reopen | California Parks Tackle Colonizer Past

 

Today is Mhkaya's 2nd Birthday. I think she's the one on the left with Zuli who is about 2 months older (Taken 9.25.2020 at San Diego Zoo Safari Park) 

I do my best not to run errands on weekends but we made an exception to make a Target run. What a total shitshow. I don't know how they think one line feeding into all the registers is more efficient or safer but hopefully we won't have to go back anytime soon. And I know this is really exciting for nobody but me, but we bought a new toilet seat for the speakeasy and it's looking so much better than it has for the past few years. We also attempted Costco but their lot was nuts so we skipped it, but then we were back home and Nova's friend invited her over for a socially distanced backyard movie night, so we hit the La Mesa Costco and it wasn't quite so crazy being that it was nearing closing time. Plus we only needed a couple things to go with the five cases of beer we loaded up on. (Gotta buy that Alpine box while they still have it!!) Anyway, we're having a chill night in the backyard while the kid's away, so I'm keeping it short today. Stats and articles of interest after the jump.

Friday, September 25, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego Stats | Photos: San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Southern White Rhino Holly and her new male calf at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 9.25.2020)

I'm gonna just bury my head from politics for the weekend. Monday's my birthday and I don't really need to keep reading all the back and forth and back and forth about the Supreme Court and the election and there's just so much to be angry about but we shouldn't be surprised so I'm just going to live in my bubble for a few days if I can.
Today we went to San Diego Zoo Safari Park because we heard there's supposed to be another "heat dome" weighing down on the region and once October hits, it's harder to go because all kids are free and it becomes a madhouse. But today was quite lovely, in the low 80s by the time we got there. I was lingering more, so we didn't do the full park, but we had some gorgeous moments with the baby elephants and then Holly, one of the Southern White  Rhinoceros' who recently gave birth was presenting her calf at the lookout so we spent more than an hour just oohing and aahing at how stinkin' cute they are. I'm gonna post a ton of pics at the end of this post after today's stats. Have a great weekend!!

Thursday, September 24, 2020

CoViD-19 Math Check | DIre Outlook For Music Venues | Anti-Mask Governor Tests Positive

2020 Mercury Prize Winner Michael Kiwanuka (Taken 1.22.2020 at The Observatory North Park)

I got all dressed today to go to the Zoo and then quickly lost motivation and am now staring down another day at home, which is just fine by me. 
I have to give massive heaps of gratitude to a blog reader, Michael J, who reached out to clarify why my math was so off for the County's case rate. I was using both the county and state's daily cases, which measures the new positive cases by the date of the report. But for the tier system, they use the "cases by episode date", which can also be called the onset date, though not every case is symptomatic. Anyway, you have to be a super ambitious spreadsheet nerd to go through the data, but it can be found here. Thanks again, Michael, for walking me through that, and apologies for anyone who was misled by my past posts. 
The state changed their website today, so it took me a little longer to find things but it's actually a much nicer format. They, too, have open data which can be found here. Its a little too in the weeds for me, but I might geek out on it when I have more time. 
Today I watched a clip of Joe Biden speaking about how the president said "practically nobody dies" and Biden saying the 200,000 people who have died were not nobodies, and it got me curious about the people running this country. Did you know that besides the president, 27 senators are 70 or older? A good chunk of those are over 80. And a solid majority of them are over 60. I guess we can all only dream that we could have the healthcare that they do. 

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

CoViD-19 San Diego Stats | County's Remains Red Through (At Least) October 6 | We Need More Nathan Fletchers | Study Your Props | CalIfornia Advances Climate Initiatives

Haven't Left The House in 3 Days, So Here's Another Picture of Tikka On The Catio (9.23.2020)

Today's Governor's briefing was pretty long-winded but addressed the climate crisis. He signed an executive order that ends sales of internal-combustion cars effective 2035, but also included a number of initiatives regarding fracking, e-bikes and scooters, public transit, and infrastructure. I may read through the thing at some point but not today. The County Supervisors briefing, on the other hand, was pretty short because Fletch wasn't present and the phone lines weren't working so they just took a few media questions via text. I have got to get that number!! 
Anyway, Nova stayed home sick from school yesterday, so we've been laying low to keep an eye and we're pretty sure it was because she ate too much pepperoni too early in the day and it just didn't agree with her stomach. So, we'll get back in the world. She's gonna do derby right now and I'm gonna go shopping to pick up a few things we need and then we'll get her and tonight feels like a speakeasy night for sure. I keep saying that and falling asleep by 9pm. Not that that is a bad thing, but I purposefully slept in so I can go all night. 

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

CoViD-19: San Diego County Stays Red By Some Mythical Math Miracle | Rental Assistance Applications Open | San Diego Opera Announces Drive-In Series | More News

Today is also Elephant Appreciation Day (Taken at San Diego Zoo Safari Park on 8.23.2020)

After a new data assessment (which occur every Tuesday,) the County of San Diego is staying in the red tier. I don't know what magical math was done to make this happen, but it certainly isn't the data the state and the county have been presenting every day. Perhaps it's the reporting glitch that Dr. Wooten spoke of a couple weeks back, or maybe the daily counts have included jails and prisons, but it simply doesn't make sense. And if that's the case, then why don't they remove jail/prison counts from daily counts so we, as citizens, can actually follow the data that has been prescribed? This morning the asshole supervisor held a rally for their new efforts to reopen and a couple restaurant groups including Cohn and the Brigantine Family of Restaurants participated. My family doesn't really eat out much and we never choose those overpriced restaurant cliches anyway, but this pandemic sure is bringing to light businesses and restaurants that I will never visit. Anyway, I'm standing by for whenever Dr. Ghaly decides to speak. I have updated will update this post later this evening when with the County data comes in.

US Surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 Deaths | County Crosses 45k Cases | New Research Finds Pet Susceptibility | GAO: USA Lacks Plan

September 22 is World Rhino Day (Taken 6.28.2020 at San Diego Zoo Safari Park

In advance of today's weekly media briefing with California Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Ghaly, I thought I would do a little explainer on that fun little "linear adjustment factor" and COVID-19 news. State website generally updates at 11am, the County has a special meeting today at 3pm, with County data usually updates after 5pm.
More after the jump. 

Support San Diego Zoo's Virtual Food, Wine & Brew Celebration This Saturday

 

This Saturday at 5pm the San Diego Zoo is hosting a virtual Food, Wine & Brew Celebration. You can buy tickets to the virtual party, which also includes one of four boxes for pickup this week, including a Wine Lover Box, a Beer Enthusiast Box, or a Spirits Sipper Box for $50 each, or a $25 Non-Boozer Box. Get your tickets here until noon on September 25th. More information after the jump.

Today is National Voter Registration Day

Today is #NationalVoterRegistrationDay. Celebrate with @HeadCountOrg and make sure you’re #VoteReady. Register to vote or check your status now at HeadCount.org


You can also follow your ballot for San Diego here.

Monday, September 21, 2020

CoViD-19 Stats | What News Channels Keep Getting Wrong | Small Biz Defiance | Colds Are Back With A Vengeance

A Year Ago Today I Was Working at the Loft for a show with Phum Viphurit (9.21.2019)

I have a rant today, but I'll leave it after the jump because I'm actually in a pretty great mood tonight, despite over 400 new emails today. Seriously, it feels really tone-deaf for the moment, but maybe that's just because I'm the recipient of so much garbage. I slept so solidly (thanks, Bulleit) after a super fun night in the speakeasy. We kinda have fun rearranging things little by little and a good buzz certainly helps. 
What I'm really enjoying at the moment is watching all of Pea Hix's found footage videos on his YouTube channel, particularly this one with old footage of Balboa Park from the 70s. I'm also feeling a little mischievous because while Nova was at an open derby practice, Darren and I sneakily had Tacos el Panson. Seriously, they are the best. So things are bad in the world and also good. I hope everyone out there is coping as best they can with the world as it is. Though it may be time for a rewatch of Man In The High Castle

Sunday, September 20, 2020

CoViD-19 Daily Stats | California Crosses 15k Deaths | Happy Birthday, Mom | San Diego Zoo Pics

My Dad Turned 72 on 9/7. Today My Mom Turned 70. (Taken 9.20.2020)

No doubt I've been hiding from the internet this weekend. I can't handle the right-wing hypocrisy, but I also can't stand the left-wing outrage, as if the moves this administration and Senate are taking should come as any goddamn surprise. They do whatever the fuck they want to, and until we stop letting our elections be determined by the minority with our bullshit electoral system, we are where we are. 
That said, I'm trying to make the most of the freedoms we still have. This morning we went to San Diego Zoo. It was kind of a mistake...arriving at 9:26am, the screening line twists about 9 times and went all the way to the Rondavel. In reality, it took 24 minutes to get in, but by the time you do, you've had enough sun, enough standing around, and enough of cringing at the people refusing to wear masks in line until the very last minute, only to take them off the second they pass the screening. Once inside it was mostly chill. We took some time to reenergize in Fern Canyon, got to see the Andean Bears and the Grizzlies before they went back in their 'apartments', and we got to see the keepers leash a dog and cheetah to walk them to a behind-the-scenes program. We got to see the amur cubs tumble around a little bit. We decided to Skyfari from the West Mesa, which took another half hour or so because they're skipping cars. I would NOT recommend this if you have kids in strollers, because you are no longer allowed to transport your stroller...meaning you either have to wait in line again to ride back or hike across the park with your kid(s) without the stroller to retrieve.
We left before noon because Nova was mopey and it was irritating me. So much so that I dropped her and Darren off for some alone time to do some shopping for a few things we've been adding to our neverending list. I like the Big Lots and Ross on Lake Murray and then swerve through San Carlos to hit the Grocery Outlet in Allied Gardens. 
After I got home I was way more chill, we put everything away, and after a little rest, we grabbed an ice cream cake at Baskin Robbins and spent the rest of the night enjoying Royal Mandarin and dessert to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday. Now D and I are hanging in the speakeasy and he needs attention, so I'm gonna end this here. I'll do news and stuff tomorrow, but today's stats are after the jump. 

Saturday, September 19, 2020

CoViD-19 Stats | Purple Tier Math |

An oldie of Clark the Red Panda for #InternationalRedPandaDay (Taken 11.20.2019)

I attempted to be a functional human being today and have done my best to avoid the anger and punditry back an forth as a result of the death of RBG. I think I signed about a dozen petitions which will likely do absolutely nothing but then I really had to focus on staying offline. It didn't help that I woke up at the crack of dawn because my dad accidentally dialed me at 5:30am, but I found dumb ways to fill the day: some self-care/grooming (my eyebrows haven't gotten much attention these past several months), putting away laundry, making breakfast tacos. I finally started reading a book I had checked out from the San Diego Public Library app that I'm thus far enjoying called Hieroglyphics. We also vacuumed the house, which led me to a two hour project of taking apart my vacuum to clean the brush, hoses, and filters because it just wasn't sucking the way I want it to. Then I read some more until it lulled me into a proper nap.
It's now evening and my family was all gathered on our little balcony enjoying the golden hour of sunlight before Darren made us some bomb-ass cheeseburgers. Sunday is my mom's birthday, so I'm looking forward to hanging out in my parents' backyard, but I'm gonna have to give my sister shit and be especially sure to distance because she took the girls to yet another gathering where our friends are not masking themselves or their dirty little vector children. Needless to say I've not been invited to their gatherings in a very long time. Maybe next year. Today's stats are after the jump.

Friday, September 18, 2020

CoViD-19 Stats | RIP RBG | CDC Reverses Stance on Asymptomatic Testing

 

(Taken 1.16.2020)

Today is a very dark day for the United States of America. The next 45 days and 4 months are going to be scary and more stressful than anything we've already experienced this year. So many of us are feeling the immediate loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and know what the consequences can be moving into the next weeks and months. I don't really have much to say today, but today's stats and tributes are after the jump.

CoViD-19 San Diego Stats | This Administration Has Failed The American People | County Has No Decision Regarding Lawsuit Against California

A pic of the fam at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 8.2.2020)

I had the best. day. ever. 

Wanna know why?
Because I SLEPT.
No bad dreams. No interruptions. And I guess I put a lot of artificial and arbitrary obligations that I create for myself and I has none today.
But yeah, me and Darren stayed up all night long in the speakeasy listening to music and hanging out and it was great. And I slept ALL DAY and it was glorious.
When I did finally wake from my serene slumber in my air conditioned room, it was already near sunset and I showered and dressed and my sweet friend Jeff brought us a spicy chicken dinner from Bonchon and Nothing But Bundt cakes for a socially distanced pre-birthday party. It was so nice sitting in the yard and being outside and then it occurred to me that I didn't open any socials or email all day. I can't do that often, but I super appreciated the day. 
Now everyone in the house is fast asleep, I'm catching up on my Bravo shows, and I thought I should at least give you today's stats and a couple reads. After the jump. 

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

CoViD-19 Admiinistration Drama | Fletcher Names D4 Grant Beneficiaries |

Remember what 'cold' feels like? Old Mission Dam (Taken 1.10.2020)

I promised a second post but I realized later that everything I was reading and sharing was sort of just different iterations of previous articles that I've already shared. So I included the rest of the links below but I assure you your life will be better just skipping them. 
The big things to watch right now are the results from the County Board of Supervisors closed session deciding whether or not to sue the State, the action of Hurricane Sally and how long federal response takes, the reactions to the president's graphs "if you don't count the blue states", and what goes down with HHS and the CDC. We also need to pay attention to Barr's crazy prosecution goals and what goes down over the next couple weeks. 
I didn't get out of the house today besides watching the sunset from our deck. We keep moving plants around so I'm loving what we did to this previously trashy wasted space. Hopefully tomorrow is more chill and I can hide from my screen and have some yard time. 

CoViD-19 Stats | Masking Works* | County Asks State For Exemption of SDSU Cases | Board To Hold Special Meeting To Sue State | Governor Declines Data Exemption For San Diego

Gerenuks eating at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 8.30.2020)

Oh. My. Gosh. There is soooo much news drama today my head might explode. I woke up this morning to share some of the takeaways from a video I watched with Dr. Gandhi who is the head of the HIV/AIDS program at UCSF. Then I watched the County's media briefing and then the State's, and I'm glad I did in that order because Newsom and Dr. Ghaly are not budging on San Diego's stats. "As we look forward to next week, the potential that San Diego meets for two consecutive weeks the need to go to a more restrictive tier; if that's what the data shows, that's what the state is going to expect." So of course, now our Board wants to sue the state, which is a little scary because as we saw in Pennsylvania earlier this week, the court ruled in favor of the petitioner, that the state had overreached on constitutional rights. Which really just goes to show how political this whole thing is when it never should've been. You have Caputo taking a leave of absence, Trump shouting down Redfield, and a whole bunch of other drama. So I'm going to do two posts today, just because I still have so much to work through. Plus it's Fiestas Patrias, celebrating Mexican Independence Day, so I've got some margaritas with my name on them. Later, of course. Today's stats and news after the jump. Part two will be posted later. 

COVID-19 Stats | San Diego Stays Red While Meeting Purple Metrics | SPLC Releases A Vision For A Just Future | Adoptable Animals Arrive From Louisiana

 lemur and rabbit at safari park

That time a rabbit decided to help itself to a lemur's food at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 6.27.2020)

In my new effort to get out of the house a little bit more, we spent this afternoon in Chula Vista. I had to get my hands on one of the free masks the city is giving out featuring the Chula Vista logo on it, available at the main library from 11am-6pm daily. They're super cool and certainly bring out my CV pride. 
We took our dog with us for the drive, so after we scored the masks, we went to the Bayfront and walked the bay and marina. I was super impressed with the mask and distancing compliance there, so we'll definitely mark this as a lower-risk space we can take advantage of to get sunshine, fresh air, and that lovely sea breeze. After all that, we popped by my parents' house to drop off some supplies and my poor mom is going stir crazy. She's been working on the backyard, but because of my dad's health, she really isn't getting out of the house at all and it really, really sucks for her. It doesn't help that my dad just watches news at triple volume all day long. I need to be a better daughter and visit more often. 
It's been a long day, so I'm gonna call it. Stats and info after the jump.

Monday, September 14, 2020

CoViD-19 Stats | National Forests in CA CLOSED Through September 21 | GPMB Releases A World In Disorder | True COVID Mortality Exceeds Current Numbers | La Jolla Cove Photos

This Sea Lion didn't appreciate that the dolphins were getting all the attention (Taken 9.14.200)

I had a bad dream and woke myself up when I was kicking the bed full force correlating to me kicking some rando in the balls who was attacking my friends in the dream. I didn't hurt my foot, thankfully, but it sorta set this icky feeling for the rest of the day. 
I was irritated when news channels were covering the arrival of Air Force One and the "hundreds of supporters" but not one showing what they did to anyone who might've been there in opposition. They certainly weren't allowed anywhere near the tarmac, making it just like a really dumb taxpayer paid photo-op campaign rally.
I was irritated when I saw that the "fire briefing" with the president wasn't open to the media, but then it was, but I couldn't find the stream anywhere. I did, however, see the clip where he says "it'll get cooler, trust me" and not one person in the room said "WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT WEATHER, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE YOU DUMBFUCK!!"
I was irritated when I saw a News 8 clip, "Will San Diego County slide into state's most restrictive tier?" and they interviewed Supervisor Desmond, who has, for months, been parroting the "pure COVID death" bullshit, and they didn't even try to do the math of the data, which is available to EVERYONE. As I stated yesterday, tomorrow's unadjusted cases per 100k, which will reflect the week ending September 5th, will be 9.96 based on the County's numbers. But we already know there were "data issues" and this will further be adjusted. But don't mislead people and act like it is all arbitrary. It's not. 
It was one news thing after another that got me more and more irritated. 
I proceeded to try to do my usual bloggy and email stuff but I just realized it was pointless to do in the morning. 
Instead I cleaned the house and caught up with Reality Checked. Darren did all of our laundry. Nova did online school. After we all had a nice lunch and folded and put away all the laundry, then went to La Jolla Cove. It's something they promised me would still happen even though Nova has quit soccer and that's when I'd usually go. 
It was more poopy than usual but not quite so crowded now that we're past Labor Day. It was pretty cool, too, because a pod of dolphins swam by while we were watching the pups.
After all that, we hit Costco and loaded up on speakeasy supplies and now we're reaping the rewards, so I guess I'll sleep in on Tuesday and watch any of the press conference streams later instead of wasting my day watching news in real-time. 

CoViD-19 Stats | Hiking Ramona Grasslands & Photos | Conspiracy Theories Run Rampant | Vaccine Equity Threatened | Wildfire Death Count Rising

A midday hike on the permit-only Ramona Grasslands trail (Taken 9.13.2020)

I don't keep it any secret that I have terrible sleep habits. If you've ever asked me (pre-pandemic) to get together, you'll generally get a hem-haw. Plans give me debilitating anxiety. I do well with spontaneity, where in that moment I can say yes or no and move on. 
When I actually got to bed before midnight on Saturday, I woke up rested at 4am. And I thought, no day like today to go for a hike. 
I thought I did my research. A couple weeks ago, we got permits to hike the Ramona Grasslands Old Survey Road 97 Trail, but obviously with the recent heat and fires, we hadn't really thought about it. I mean, just last week I was railing against people who were hiking in the dangerous conditions, being rescued, diverting frontline personnel. 
But I thought I did all the things. I got my map to Ramona Grasslands and screenshotted in case we lost service. I consulted the local hiking group on the essential things to carry on a hike. I filled water bottles and refrigerated them. I froze my cold pack cooler. I packed a basic first-aid kid and found my multi-tool. I packed snacks. I checked the air quality, local fire situation, and the projected weather forecast. When I finally woke Nova up to see if she was onboard (she's always game for something new,) I had her pack a bag for the hike and one for the car for after. Same for Darren. We had binocs and my camera and extra water and food in the car (probably enough for 3 days though we were only hiking 6 miles.) Once everyone was up, we all had healthy, energy packed breakfasts. 
We did all the things. 
(More after the jump.)

Saturday, September 12, 2020

CoViD-19 Stats | CDC: On-Site Eating & Drinking Risky | Must Watch: /The Social Dilemma

Nova: Retiring From Soccer in 2020 (Taken 11.16.2019)

There was so much news yesterday that I didn't even mention that the reason Darren and I were quasi-celebrating in the studio on Thursday night was because after an agonizing week of making the decision to pull Nova from soccer and a dozen drafts, we finally wrote the email to her coaches. I'm still not super happy with the decision having been involved with sports from the time I could walk, but you can't force a square peg into a round hole and in a time when kids are already challenged by the circumstances of the pandemic, her extracurriculars should bring her joy, and soccer just wasn't doing that for her. We expect she'll be taking advantage of Derby United open skate nights, we've already been playing tennis, and she's pretty consistent about getting a bike ride in every day, so we just have to keep up the motivation. Which I guess is what everyone is going through in our own way. \

I haven't read much news today; I guess /The Social Dilemma really sunk in. And I also realize that citing a CDC study the very day after they admitted to have been edited by communication aides, but it can't be overstated: the CDC advises in a new report that dining and drinking at places that offer on-site eating and drinking is one of the riskiest activities for COVID-19 transmission.  

I'm keeping it short today. Stats and stuff are after the jump. San Diego hit a second trigger today based on their own self-imposed metrics. Hospitalizations are on the rise at 11%, which we should be keeping under 10%. Meanwhile Canada had a day without a COVID-19 death nationwide. 

CoViD-19 Stats | Youth Are Not Immune | CSU System Will Remain Online For Spring 2021 | Streetlight Surveillance Shutdown | Valley Fire Reaches 55% Containment | SDSU Confirms 562 Cases

Saturday is National Aunt's Day, so here's a pic of my nieces and sisters. (Taken 5.1.2020)


On my dad's birthday, my brother called to wish him a happy birthday. And also to defend the president. "What they're saying about him, it isn't true." A NAVY captain, he was defending the accusations that the White House occupant defamed dead and injured soldiers. 
Then we got the Woodward tapes admitting that the American people were repeatedly and intentionally lied to about the severity of the novel coronavirus and the pandemic.  
The gaslighting happening right now is simply unbelievable. We are told that we can't believe what we're actually seeing and hearing with our own eyes and ears. 
Earlier tonight, Politico dropped a story that confirmed what we already believed to be true; the administration's health department communications aides have been editing CDC reports because the TRUTH reflects poorly on the way the pandemic was handled and is still being handled. 
We're lucky we don't live in an information bubble and can trust people who know what they're doing or have the scientific curiosity to admit that we don't know what we don't know. But the terrifying reality is that there a lot of people playing politics with this pandemic and I seriously hope we see major changes come election day. 
Anyway, last night Darren and I had a fun night in the 'speakeasy' and distantly cocktailed with our neighbor as she told us how things happening right now correlate to the Jewish end-times prophecies. 
Fun times. 
Today was a relatively quiet Friday with a zillion emails and I binged The Duchess on Netflix. It stars (and is created by) great stand-up comedian Katherine Ryan and definitely locks in on her awkward/funny humor. The short 6 episodes are a breezy watch, though the dialog is fast so you've got to pay attention so as not to miss her quips.   

Thursday, September 10, 2020

CoViD-19 Have We Learned Anything? | Valley Fire Containment Increases | San Diego Museums: What's Open

Greg Laswell at Belly Up (Taken 9.11.2019)

I'm sorry about how many people are struggling during this pandemic, but I have to say, I am naturally a homebody. We *almost* went to the Safari Park today, but by the time we ate a late lunch, double checked the weather, and I realized how much email I had to get through, it was a no-go. Darren and Nova went and played tennis again while I had an hour of quiet at home. 
I watched a local news clip where the reporter was trying to explain the tier system and the current San Diego numbers and he kept saying that our cases per 100k were "6.9 percent" which is not accurate. He also said we're being adjusted for not enough testing whereas I understood the opposite. But either way, the point is that the County is basically objecting to the current numbers because of data reporting issues from some of the testing centers back to the state. So I'm not the only one who is confused, but I think I have it all somewhat sorted in my brain now. 
Since we've been home a lot, we've been watching a lot. We're watching Away on Netflix but it's super dramatic, so we're sticking to one episode a night. I also watched Krystal on Netflix which, despite being directed by William H Macy, I don't really recommend, unless you can sit through a couple hours of literally the worst acted southern accents you can imagine. Does this ever appeal to anyone from the actual south or midwest? And then the background music is always some slow strum banjo or some bullshit. I watched the whole thing (because I can't start something without finishing) but you've been warned. 
I also watch Chemical Hearts on Amazon Prime. It's about a high-school kid who lives a very normal, uneventful life until he meets the new girl at school, who is sorta the opposite of the manic-pixie, but no less a trope: dark, mysterious, walks with a cane from a traumatic injury, and has a very bipolar vibe as she works through her shit. Still, I enjoyed it enough that I checked out the book it's based on from the San Diego Public Library app immediately after I watched it. Anyway, lots of news and stuff, but you won't find any links about Fury or any of the outcry by the tapes here. We already know where I stand on this, I've already blocked family from Facebook, and I'm gonna try to temper the rage until the election is over. 

San Diego Livestreams: September 10-14, 2020

A Sold Out Casbah Show in the "Before Times" (Taken 1.18.2020)

I'm still gathering some of the livestreams happening this weekend. If you know of any more, please email sddialedin AT gmail and I'll update. 

Thursday, September 10, 2020:

Friday, September 11, 2020:

Saturday, September 12, 2020:

Sunday, September 10, 2020:

Monday, September 10, 2020:


Wednesday, September 09, 2020

CoViD-19: Mass Testing Only Way To Resume Festivals, Schools, "Normal" Life | CA Prioritizes Small Biz Recovery | SDSU Case Counts Continue To Rise

Hummingbirds love the flowers at Africa Rocks at San Diego Zoo (Taken 8.2.2020)

Okay, okay. We got the clarification we needed. Kind of. On the one hand, there are San Diego County testing counts that are somehow getting boggled when reporting to the state. Dr. Wooten says those will take two weeks to work out. Additionally, Supervisor Fletcher maintains that you have to reach a new tier's base level for two weeks before moving, in both a positive or negative direction. Then there's an "adjustment rate" that San Diego received based on testing; we're being adjusted to lower numbers because our testing exceeds minimum required amounts set by the state based on tests/population.
It was my understanding that you had to meet the new metrics for two weeks to move in less-restrictive categories, but apparently the same is for more-restrictive. So supposing we hit the purple tier metric when it's reevaluated on Tuesday, we'd have to hit it a second week to actually move into purple. Or something like that. 
This new tier system was supposed to be more simple, not more complicated, to allow anyone to look at the data and be able to assess where concerns should be, i.e. a restaurant owner could follow the data and know they'd have to be ready to close down some capacity or back to fully outdoor, but that's just not where we are with data anomalies and testing adjustment rates. So I'll keep it zipped, follow their reports and skip the math because it's all just too much of a headache. 
In the meantime, we're still mostly chillin' around the house, though we did leave for a couple hours to hit some tennis balls on some public courts and picked up some steaks from Vons that were still on Labor Day specials. It was my first time shopping there since March.
The County is moving to just one press conference per week on Wednesdays moving forward. Governor Newsom seems to be a little more random depending on the wildfires and information he has to get out. I'll still keep up my dailies here because I'm looking over the data anyway and it's somewhat calming in that nothing really comes as a surprise anymore. Lots of news from today's briefings and stats, after the jump.  

Tuesday, September 08, 2020

CoViD-19: San Diego Stays Red: "Hold Harmless Due To Data Issues" | Don't Sacrifice Teachers | Chill Your Need To Hike | SDSU Cases Continue To Rise

September 8 is iguana awareness day. Close enough. (Taken 8.13.2020)

Nobody likes to admit that they're wrong, so instead I had to dig deep to prove to myself that I was not. (hahaha). Tuesday came and went and San Diego stayed in Tier 2/Red Tier. Using the state's data, San Diego should've moved into the purple tier, and in fact, it is indicated as so on the state's California Blueprint Data Chart, but there's a caveat specific for San Diego to "hold harmless due to data issues." Whatever that means. 
If we already look into the future and use the current County provided data for the week ending September 5th, without any adjustments, our case rate jumps to 9.96 per 100,000 people of the population, well into the Purple/Tier 1. I'd be shocked if they can find some way to manipulate the data to keep us in red after that. But okay, I'll chill on my math and predictions and leave that to California. 
Darren and I hung out in the speakeasy on Monday night, so it was a low-key day around here. We'll largely be staying home this week just because we know how everyone was out raging this weekend and it always seems like a good idea to quarantine after visiting non-household members, even when we were safe, masked, distanced, goggled, and outside.  Today's weather was a nice reprieve, and hopefully the expected Santa Ana winds are overstated so firefighters can get a better handle on the current wildfires raging in the County and State. Today's stats and reading are after the jump. 

Monday, September 07, 2020

CoViD-19 Disney Clears Sick Employees To Work | Fall Virus Fatigue Inevitable | Valley Fire 3% Contained | Humane Society Aids Animal Evacuations

Darren, Nova, and cousin Robin (Taken 9.7.2020)

I hope everyone had a superb weekend. As I mentioned, we spent the whole day Saturday in the yard in the sprinkler, then all of Sunday in the house, bunkering like it was our jobs because of the smoke from the Valley Fire. 
For actual Labor Day, we got a text from Darren's cousin from Anchorage that she was in town for a flight layover. He hadn't seen her in over a decade, so we had to risk assess and opted to meet up with her. We picked up tacos from El Panson (because everyone should experience tacos from El Panson) and met her at the pool of her hotel, Carte, in the Columbia District of downtown. There are nice big bench seats so we were able to spread out while we ate, though of course we got scolded by hotel staff halfway through our meal because you're not supposed to bring in outside food or drinks. Uh, sorry not sorry. 
After finishing up, we walked toward the waterfront and decided to use the empty bocce ball court at Waterfront Park. It was nice of the County Parks people to be open on the holiday, so we played while the cousins caught up with each other. Nova and I beat them, but who's keeping track? ;)
We returned home to rest for awhile, then picked up a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake to take to my parents' house for my dad's 72nd birthday. Unfortunately he's not in great health, so while the family masked and distanced in the backyard, he was stuck in the house, too painful to get on his scooter to join us. But it was still nice to all get together and we'll be doing it again soon as both my mom and I celebrate birthdays later in the month. 
The County didn't report new stats today, but I still maintain that using their formula, San Diego will be moved to the purple tier tomorrow, reverting back to some older closures. 
I suspect Tuesday will be a busy day, since the state will be reassessing all counties for the new metrics, fires continue to rage out of control, and police continue to do whatever the eff they want. News after the jump. 

Sunday, September 06, 2020

CoVID-19 Stats | As Election Approaches, Things Are Increasingly Terrifying | East County Fire Grows to Nearly 10k Acres

One of Many Summer Trips to San Diego Zoo (Taken 8.5.2020)

On Saturday, we spent the day in the yard with the sprinkler running to cool us off. We didn't expect that Sunday would be so drastically different with the Valley Fire burning in East County. We kinda all did our own thing today, with Darren making music in the studio, Nova and I watched a movie called Ride Like A Girl, based on the true story of the first woman jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. And then I slept. I took advantage of the air conditioned bedroom to dodge the record setting heat of the weekend. I also watched Wildlife on Netflix but it was pretty slow moving, and I'm not really down with the "floozy wife of the sixties" trope, so I'd maybe skip this one on Netflix. 
I have to say I was disappointed by the dozens of beach and hiking photos I've seen this weekend. But even more, I've been happily muting people on Facebook. We're about a month out from ballots being mailed out for the election, and I just have no capacity for non-voters or Trump supporters. So much is at stake and I just can't tolerate the nonsense. Sorry, not sorry. 
Today's news and stats are after the jump.  

Saturday, September 05, 2020

CoViD-19 Stats | Pack in, Pack Out | Stay Home, Stay Safe



It was definitely a scorcher today. Thankfully it is a holiday weekend and my email was mostly quiet because we decided to spend our day in the yard and I went screenless most of the day. We recently bought a new sprinkler head, so naturally we took advantage of the yard with the sprinkler blasting us to keep cool. 
I got at least three different notices from SDG&E about their "flex alert" and it only makes me resentful. Sorry, but I'm sure even with 3 air conditioners and 3 fans running in our 900 square feet hardly compare to the mansions, malls, and office-plexes running way more usage than us. Thankfully there are no rolling blackouts, but it's completely absurd that my apartment and studio, even with all of those things running and still holding at over 85 degrees, is putting pressure on the grid. Anyway, it's after 10pm and it is still 86 degrees outside. Ick. I imagine we'll spend Sunday in much the same way...with the sprinkler spraying us in the yard and eating the cold pizza leftovers from today. Stats are after the jump. I should note that I'm still using the state and county data, but the metrics for our case rate and positivity will reassess on Tuesday at which point we'll be moving back into the PURPLE tier, which means we're back into the "WIDESPREAD" level and things will have to shut down or minimize capacity yet again.  

Friday, September 04, 2020

CoViD-19 County WIll Likely Move To Purple Tier On Tuesday | Cases Among SDSU Students Triples | Labor Day Partying Will Lead To Mid-September Spikes | Governor Signs AB2257, Amending AB5 For Musicians

A couple local Mule Deer Chillin' at San Diego Zoo Safari Park
in honor of National Wildlife Day (Taken 6.28.2020)

We are continuing our bingeing, no lights, dark cave, air-conditioning weekend around here. Nova and I watched All Together Now on Netflix and while many of the Netflix original movies have reused tropes across the board, this movie about a musically talented and all-around good souled teenager and her mom who are experiencing homelessness pulls at all the heartstrings and I think even Nova cried a little, and I've maybe seen her cry 10 times in our whole lives together. (Unlike me, who will cry on the spot for anything, even just if I'm asked, "Are you crying?") We also watched Trolls World Tour which is finally on Hulu. I'm certain that I don't have to rate that one. It is exactly what you expect. 
Anyway, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the State reassesses our case count per 100k people on Tuesday based on the 7 days preceeding a 7 day lag. But the case rates are already available, so if they assess the numbers that are currently available from 8/25-8/31, our case rate will be almost 8.0, which puts us back into the PURPLE Tier, meaning even further capacity limitations and moving certain businesses back to outdoor only. 
And this is before Labor Day weekend, which will certainly cause a spike in mid-to-late September. The only possibility that this is inaccurate is if the daily counts as they're reported include inmates, (which the assessment will not) and could lower the county numbers. There's also a funny allowance if we exceed a certain amount of baseline daily tests, but that formula is foggier. 
Still, it isn't looking good. So I guess live it up this weekend, go tattoo up before they close again, be careless and wreckless, then prepare for the outrage again on Tuesday when even more restrictions come back, yet again. We only have ourselves to blame. Or do the right thing, don't mix households, wear your mask, wash your hands, and maintain space. At least you might save yourself and loved ones, even if as a county we're pretty much doomed yet again. Lots of reading for the weekend, after the jump.

CoViD-19 Vaccine Trials Launching In South Bay | Pandemic May Match Or Exceed Flu of 1918 | Pet Safety During Heatwave | When Police Stop Policing


I think I'm making a Labor Day Weekend mistake by binging all the newish Netflix movies. At this rate, I won't have anything to watch while we're sheltering-in-place this weekend during the impending heat wave. So far, I watched Freak Show, about a queer high school kid who overcomes unspeakable school bullying, and really liked it. I finished Strange But True about a girl who think s she's pregnant with her dead boyfriend's baby which was pretty terrible. Then I watched Love, Guaranteed which is a pretty cheesy and predictable rom-com, but I liked it anyway, and now I'm watching The Lost Husband, which already feels like a Lifetime movie and therefore I am all in. 
It took me awhile to get through all of Thursday's email and news, but we did some shopping while Nova skated. We didn't realize it was just a one hour class, so we felt terrible when we got a text from Derby United that she was waiting for us, but she seemed to be okay and obviously we'll check next time we register. I think the decision has been made that we're pulling her from soccer so we'll probably be back at Derby United a whole lot more in the near future. 

Wednesday, September 02, 2020

CoViD-19 County & State Stats | Gov. Newsom Explains Eviction Protections | SDSU Closes In-Person Classes For 4 Weeks | Last Chance For Fair Food | Photos: Dog Beach

Social Distancing at OB Dog Beach (Taken 9.2.2020)

I got up pretty early this morning since the plumbers were back demolishing the downstairs bathroom. There were state and county briefings today and there was a lot of information, so all the notes on those are below. 
We're kinda planning ahead to be home all weekend to avoid holiday crowds, so Darren tackled all of our household laundry, and since Nova still has a minimum days on Wednesday-- even when distance learning-- we decided to get the dog to the beach. We were initially headed toward Fiesta Island but thought since it was overcast, OB might be chill enough. The parking was almost enough to deter us, but it ended up being just fine and we could distance from everyone else most of the time (even if at times the dogs didn't). 
Darren and I have a speakeasy night planned ahead of us so I'll be sleeping in tomorrow and certainly enjoying the break from media briefings. I'd like to think that emails will slow down the next few days, but somehow I doubt it. 

Tuesday, September 01, 2020

COVID-19: Scott Lewis Is Pissed About Reopenings | County Health Requires Sign-In At Indoor Businesses | CA Legislature Ends Session With Loads of Bills | Photos: La Jolla Cove

This little pup walked right over to us while we sat on a ledge about 7 feet up from him (Taken 8.31.2020)

It's no secret among my family and friends that I'm bossy. I like things the way I like them, and if I don't like the way someone is doing something, I'm generally not shy about letting them know. It's why we're probably pulling Nova from soccer; they just can't seem to follow the rules and are telling us our season is proceeding to start on October 3rd, which is absolutely bonkers. 
With coronavirus, this means constantly correcting: "stop touching your face", "take your mask off from the ear straps, not the cloth part", use your elbows, arms, or feet when you have to push or pull something. When we do go to public spaces like the Zoo or Safari Park, we're adamant about not touching surfaces at all. We make sure to go to the bathroom at home to minimize the need to use public ones, and when we must use them, we keep our masks and goggles on. We don't touch railings. We're constantly hand-sanitizing or hand-washing. So I'm not surprised to find that research is showing that the novel coronavirus can last on surfaces for a few days and longer when the temperatures start to drop. It's not super concerning in Southern California but it's certainly going to affect the country through the fall, especially if people are less diligent than we are. And it should be noted that it doesn't speak to the transmission from fomites which is still unknown, just that the risk is there. 
Today was the first day of my birthday month (ha!), which means more email today than usual. It's after 10pm and I still haven't even gotten to my second email account, though I was a little distracted watchingl the last few episodes of World's Toughest Race. It is cheesily inspiring and makes me want to go on a hike, though we haven't done much of that because the few times we did, nobody was wearing masks and the trails are busier than ever, but we just got season permits for a hike that is limited to 50 people a day, so hopefully we can do that soon and often. If anyone has any secret spots they love, I'd love to hear them.
Nova's second day of school was mostly okay, though she has to learn time management and how to take criticism because she had a meltdown when a teacher told her that her work wasn't up to par, something she is definitely not used to. Her school reported 95% connectivity/attendance for the first day and it went up to 98% on the second day, so that's pretty good news. Anyway, first of the month means a ton of news and long reads today. All after the jump.