Tuesday, November 23, 2021

CoViD-19: Global Cases Back On The Rise | US To Release Oil Reserves | GRAMMY Noms Announced | How Shipping Works (Or Doesn't) | San Diego Needs More Public Bathrooms |

Bonobo Hiding From The Crowds at San Diego Zoo (Taken 11.23.21)

A few weeks ago, I told Darren that President Biden was waiting to release crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve the week of Thanksgiving and here we are. It wasn't really prognosticating; if you pay enough attention to what Jen Psaki says and what she doesn't say, it was kinda obvious. I wouldn't be surprised if a full battle is waged with the Dept of the Interior to start pulling permits fro drillers not using them (or something similar within the law) and not maximizing their capacity back to pre-pandemic levels. Obviously energy corporations hate when Dems are the party in charge and they're, along with OPEC+ nations, trying to sabotage any progress in this country to reap maximum profits and subsidies while paying no taxes and not employing union workers to maximum capacity. It's gross if you think about it too hard. 

But you'll remember I also said there would be a Christmas tree shortage, and here we are. It's not necessarily a shortage so much as likely price spikes because of a combination of supply-chain transporting of the trees (or importing of fake ones) and the record fires and droughts and floods across the US. I'm still not sure what we'll do; maybe go retro and buy a tinsel tree. So I have other predicitons. I'm estimating that right around New Year, though if we're lucky not till mid-January, California will have counted 5,000,000 cases of COVID. Numbers are going up across the country quick, and if we look at Europe, and consider about 15 Million Californians still aren't vaccinated AND hardly anybody is wearing masks anywhere AND international and cross border travel both recently opened AND antigen tests are still too expensive AND vaccine and mask mandates are still being litigated all over the country with courts ruling strictly across political lines, we are still kinda fucked. 

Today I had to go to my mom's because a mechanical sling lift was being delivered in case my dad is ever released home. I had a couple of hours to kill before the guy was gonna get there, so I went to the San Diego Zoo, and it was PACKED. I'm gonna be super general here and say almost all Asian tourists are not only wearing masks, but good KN95s. Among everyone else, maybe 10% masked. And I know we're outside, but every exhibit had masses of people hovering around. (Except for my secret ones and I'm not gonna share those hiding places to the masses.) What I don't understand even more is we sure do hear an awful lot about how red-staters hate us, but they sure do love our tourist attractions and our city in general. They're identifiable because they almost always have some identifying shirt or hat on that tells you exactly where they're from. 

I'll stop being mean about tourists. But the point remains. Cases are up and rising. Be even more cautious because it seems nobody else is.

Stay safe out there. 



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