CoViD-19: Global Peak Of Cases Driven By India & South America | San Diego Music Awards Announces 2021 Nominees | SDPL Replenishes Seed Library |

Friday was #NationalShelterPetDay (Taken 5.1.21)

 It was kinda nice to feel a little bit of winter for a day, though I was optimistic it would help extinguish the fire on the edge of Anza-Borrego, which I guess they're calling the 
Southern Fire, though it's still only 25% contained at the moment. 

I didn't really do jack shit today because I ended up bingeing a show on Hulu all night. It's not really worth mentioning unless you love Gen Z dramas, in which case "Good Trouble" may be the show for you. I'm gonna keep it short today because there's literally nothing going on around here. San Diego Music Awards announced nominees, so I've included the full list at the end of this post. This year they changed up categories since their weren't any live performances, so I'm not sure which ones will be open to public voting and which will be open only to San Diego Music Academy members, but I'm sure we'll know soon enough. 

Perhaps there will be more excitement over the next couple weeks as our vaccination numbers are looking great and your favorite music venues continue to roll out show dates. There are definitely some exciting ones to come. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Young Continue To Drive Transmission, 50+ Pay With Their Lives | San Diego Zoo Elephant Breach Video Emerges | Last Chance To Register For 79th District Election |

 

Me and Darren at the San Diego Zoo (Taken 3.19.2021)

I was trying to find more pictures of Shaba and it just made me sad because I spend so much time taking pictures of the elephant herd at the Safari Park, but I hate shooting through the wires at the San Diego Zoo, so my pictures of the senior elephants is limited. I did come across pictures of Tembo before she died at 48 years old in 2019, so that was kinda special, but I need a way better way of organizing my photos than what I currently have. Maybe I can train the tween to do it for cash. 

Today was another beautiful day in San Diego. We went for a small walk with the dog aroung the San Diego River Garden, had a nice lunch at home, hung out in the backyard, and then Darren and Nova made shrimp linguini that was perfection. After dinner, Darren and I made a grocery run and restocked both fridges and the freezer. I tell ya, Grocery Outlet at 8:30pm on a Saturday night is where it's at. Nobody is in the store, everything is freshly stocked, and the workers are super helpful and fast because they want to start closing up and getting ready to go home. 

I did find some stuff in yesterday's news that I thought was worthy of sharing, but mostly we were just obsessed watching the video of Shaba the elephant 'fake charging' that jackhole that jumped in her enclosure. We'll probably go back next week just to see the scene of the crime, and so I can make sure I get some portraits of the old elephants while they're still around. Stay safe out there. 

CoVid-19: CDC Releases Updated Distance Guidance for Schools | CCC Votes To End ORV At Oceano | Imbecile Breaches Elephant Enclosure | Photos: San Diego Zoo |

 

Shaba the Elephant at San Diego Zoo (Taken 12.3.2020)

Today was such a nice day. The weather was perfect, Darren and I got amazing tacos from El Panson for lunch, which we ate in our backyard which is bursting with plants and color right now, and then we went to the San Diego Zoo. 

Or I should say, attempted to. The parking lot was so crowded, so we checked the site and hours have expanded to close at 6pm instead of 5pm, so we did a little lookie-loo drive around Balboa Park, the bayfront, and downtown before working our way back to the zoo and while still crowded, we got a good spot and were able to get right in and stayed through closing. It wasn't a great photo day...it was a little crowded, the light was terrible from sun to shadows, and lots of sleeping animals, but it was fun to walk around anyway. Plus there was an arrest for some dude jumping into the elephant enclosure with his toddler that was happening while we were there, though we didn't know why the cops were there until after we were home. 

After that, we went to my parents' house and got a little bit of puppy time with Roxy and brought Nova back home. Needless to say, I didn't get through much of my email today, but I'll filter through this weekend and post if there's anything I need to share. One thing I did notice, besides watching the White House COVID-19 response team briefing and the modifications to distancing recommendations in elementary schools was a couple reports that salons and personal care businesses are demanding that they should be vaccine eligible. I know it's a wide swath of people and businesses, but it struck me as a little funny that a couple months ago, this sector was demanding they be allowed to open indoors because they're so safe and following all safety protocols, and now they seem to think they're industry is so dangerous they should bump up their vaccine priority. Pick a lane. Anyway, stay safe out there. San Diego numbers are still high, the US is still testing above 50,000 new cases per day, and hot spots are rising in exactly all the places that have lifted restrictions, and now we'll see what our openings do to our cases in the days and weeks to come. 

CoViD-19 San Diego County Clarifies Stay-At-Home Order | New County Record High Daily Cases 2,287 | COVID-19 Is Leading Cause of Death This Week

San Diego Zoo Safari Park Wild Holiday (Taken 12.27.2019)

I know that I often come off as an know-it-all and a busy-body and even sometimes a karma's-a-bitch asshole, so I'm sorry that I get so frustrated and finger-waggy. I really do feel sorry for everyone who has been so affected by this pandemic, I mean, all of us have been affected, but some among us more than others. I saw a friend who, after losing their business, is now selling their house and moving out of state. 

I can't imagine the decisions and sacrifices people are having to make. I can't imagine operating a restaurant or bar or music venue of my own. I can't imagine living alone. I can't imagine if I had significant health issues. I can't imagine having to work a job deemed essential and how scary that must be. I can't imagine what it's like for single parents. I can't imagine what it's like for people with multiple children all on distance learning. I can't imagine what it's like for people in dangerous domestic violence or abusive households. I can't even imagine people who have to mask up all day long. 

At the same time, look at our country and the lack of leadership and the screaming heads on conservative television and it's no surprise we are where we are. Look at these jackasses at their stupid fucking superspreader rallies. We should've listened in March when they told us we'd be exactly where we are for all of 2020 and well into 2021. 

That doesn't mean it doesn't suck. 

In fact, as I said yesterday, I was hoping to run out shopping for provisions and today contemplated making reservations for the zoo before they have to close, but if we're to 'minimize interactions' now, maybe we can still do a backyard Christmas with my parents after all. There are some things we need, so I will have to run out to grocery shop, but am hoping that doing it the last hour of the store being open will help it being less busy. But I'll do that alone and quickly and with my mask and goggles. We should've already gotten a tree but we didn't, so we'll grab that tonight, too, and then maybe then we can fully wrap our heads around the new lockdown. Be strong out there.  

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.

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. 

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: 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. 

CoViD-19: United States Forest Service | California State Parks | San DIego County Parks | City of San Diego Parks

Mt Soledad with Ficus (5.8.2019)

It's Memorial Day Weekend, and since beaches still prohibit sitting, sunbathing, or otherwise chillin' on the sand, people will be looking to recreate elsewhere. But just like we have to listen to different rules from our City, our County, and our State, there are numerous agencies that manage trails and canyons and forests and open spaces. Some areas have opened. Some areas have not. Some are open if you walk or bike in, but no driving or parking. And in reality, if you want to go explore nature, why would you do it on Memorial Day Weekend when everyone else will be trying to do the same??? But be that as it may, there are lots of different directives coming from the US Forest Service, California State Parks, and County and City parks. They're not messing around and rangers and law enforcement will be out to control crowds and make sure people are observing regulations. If you must go out, don't expect any kinds of facilities to be at your disposal, so plan ahead for adequate gas, food, supplies, and makeshift bathroom situations. Also, we're supposed to be entering a high heat week. Leave your dogs at home. Snakes are out like crazy, they're forbidden on many trails anyway, and you would never forgive yourself if you killed your own dog from heatstroke. Some FYIs after the jump.

CoViD-19: Governor Newsom Shrugs Off President | County Testing Expands | Westfield Malls To Reopen May 29 |

I have been up all night but haven't been outside.
This is the sky from 3.22.2020. How different could my balcony view really be two months later??

I thought it was going to be a slow or no news day and then covidiot-in-chief decides to challenge all Governors to open all churches, synagogues, mosques immediately, deeming them "essential." (They're not and are not part of the FEDERAL guideline identified by CISA for essential services). So, I'm gonna post this one in the Trump vs Newsom battle of religion, which is SUCH A JOKE if anyone believes there is ANYTHING Christian about Trump, but besides that, all of Governor Newsom's response is after the jump:

CoViD-19: Memorial Day Weekend | Stay At Home Still In Effect | SD Job Portal

Memorial Day Weekend Hike at Kumeyaay Lake 2019

I spent the evening finishing my final post for SoundDiego and going through the remainder of my emails for the day. I'll be tuning into the press briefings on Friday, but I'll only post them if there are major changes. I can't imagine the Governor will approve Stage 3 pilot before the weekend because businesses just aren't ready. Many of the stage 2 restaurants and retail are pushing back openings as it is. It is possible the County or City could expand beach & park parking lots or open up Balboa Park and Mission Bay, but again, I don't see either of those things being ready without more safety protocols and guidelines in place and unfortunately they just lend themselves to gatherings, which are still strictly prohibited with non-household members. A friend of mine got stopped for riding her bike through Balboa Park, so I wouldn't push your luck. Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Some reminders and a job portal after the jump.

CoViD-19: San Diego County Restaurants & Retail Re-Opening Protocols | Support San Diego Zoo & Safari Park | Slow Implementation Caused Unnecessary Deaths

I love these guys at San Diego Zoo. No idea what they are. 1.8.2020

Early in the pandemic, I was sent a bunch of free trials and links to all kinds of virtual things. The ones I can share, I added to the Quarantine Activities Page which you can access from your laptop or desktop underneath my title banner, or with the little triangle pulldown menu on mobile. One of the private things I got was a three month free trial of the streaming service Topic. I will say that I don't love the interface, and I wish all streaming services would include the language of the movies or shows because while I love foreign films, I'm almost always writing while watching and can't follow subtitles when doing so. But besides those things, I've been enjoying some of the programming and last night burned through the 2 seasons of Birds of North America. The episodes vary in length from a few minutes to regular tv show length, but they're well done, the host is funny and knowledgeable and as a person of color from the Bronx, the show addresses the generally narrow demographics of birding and highlights different groups that are more inclusive nationally. The show is also on YouTube, where the episodes are actually numbered backwards from how they appear on TV but they don't necessarily need to be watched in order, either. Anyway, today's briefings mostly clarified the rest of the movement through phase 2, and the news has continued to pivot from how bad outbreaks and the numbers of infections and deaths are to PARTY PARTY PARTY USA #1!, CELEBRATE MEMORIAL DAY NO MATTER WHAT. So yeah, get ready for those spikes in numbers in the next 2-3 weeks. Today's links after the jump.

CoViD-19: California Releases "Resilience Roadmap" & Endorses Statewide Vote By Mail | Local Music News | Phase 2 In Effect

Strawberry, Tikka, Kitty, Monster, Strawbs, Bubba, Babushka

I was trying to fall asleep last night and kept thinking that maybe I should get out of bed and write a happier post so I didn't leave that last one lingering and seething with negativity. Instead, I decided today's post will only be positive even though sometimes the bad stuff just screams out with a louder voice. I can go back to complaining tomorrow ;) California continues to see a modest decline in hospitalization and ICU stays (.6%) though cases continue to rise daily. My house is getting repainted (not surprisingly, without any notice, but keeping it positive so no dwelling on that today) so I was worried my butterfly would be scared away but it was back today so we had a moment this afternoon before Nova and I went for a drive to Harbor Blvd to pick up some fresh ahi from Haworth Fish to make poke bowls at home. It was a little sad to see Spanish Landing empty when normally this weekend would be filled with Gator By The Bay, but I'm certain the state is being proactive enough that those big events will be back by 2021. Lots of new info and State/County/City Health Order clarifications after the jump.

CoViD-19: More Stuff Opening In State, County, and City of San Diego | Beaches NOT Closing (except in OC) | Music Venue Updates

Today is Nova's Last Day of being a 12 year old. Hello, teenager. 

Wow. What a day. I was out running errands today and started listening (though not watching) the San Diego County briefing while I was driving around town. Some thoughts on that after the jump. Mostly I'm just glad, no matter how it happened, that our beaches will remain open with conditions, and that the County and City are reopening parks. I'll lay out the details below.
I went to Costco this morning at 11am (still no TP) but I made a huge basketload of purchases. From there, I dropped our portion at home, then separated stuff to drop off with my parents, and then stopped to say hi to my sister...masked and more than 6 feet away, though I don't think I need to keep saying so. On my way back from Chula Vista, I looped by Harbor Freight (line too long) then Home Depot (line too long) and then ended up back at Costco Mission Valley. By that time is was 2:30 and there was no line!
So I got the dumb things I forgot earlier (cereal, hamburger buns, reading glasses) and decided to pick up some things for Nova's birthday. Not necessarily where I'd normally buy birthday gifts, but for her 13th birthday, she's getting a beach volleyball, a rainbow set of sharpies, some gardening gloves, and a new snorkeling set for when we can actually get back to La Jolla Cove safely. Anyway, I'm on the hunt for trash picker-upper things if anyone has a line on them. My cheap ones I got from Harbor Freight a few years ago are rusted and inadequate and we'd like to clean up the neighborhood while we're out walking. Today's links are after the jump.

CoViD-19: As Some States Lessen Restrictions, California Rumored To Reclose All Beaches & State Parks | Self-Identifying Hypocrite: Bioluminescence | How To Read Covid-19 Charts

I was listening to Todd Gloria do his nightly check-in and people were asking about restrictions being lifted (because apparently we really want the virus to follow our Gregorian calendars, or when rent is due) and he repeated that "the State sets the floor, not the ceiling." I think what he meant by this is that the state sets the minimum restrictions, but counties, cities, and other jurisdictions can be stricter if necessary. We already knew the state stay-at-home order was indefinite, but I guess we needed reiteration when the County said the same thing today. But that's super bad news right now because late Wednesday, word started spreading that the Governor is closing all beaches and state parks on Friday. Before I found out this information, we let the curiosity get the best of us and headed to the ocean around 9pm to catch the bioluminescent waves (video).

I am a covidiot and a hypocrite, I know.

We attempted Sunset Cliffs, but the traffic was literally like the 4th of July. Darren knows all the back roads and secret ways, so we navigated to the cliffs, but there were hundreds of cars and people and a few cops, too, so we just did a big giant circle, leaving via Point Loma, headed north, and instead went to a bluff in PB. There were a moderate amount of people there, especially on the beach, but definitely better at social distancing. We literally stayed about 10 minutes on the bluff before moseying back home to put the kid in bed.

So my first article is for me. You can now call me Karen. Lesson learned. I guess we'll be sticking to the backyard for a while longer. And the bioluminescence is super cool, but not if you can get fined checking it out.
Links and things after the jump.

CoViD-19: SoundDiego | Tim Mays Speaks on Future of Casbah | Clarification For Beach Reopenings | Repubs Reveal "Blame China" Strategy

La Jolla Cove Sea Lion 2.17.2020

I imagine that the second I publish this, I'll have to update because we haven't yet heard from Mayor Faulconer, but this seems to be where we're at as of today. Apparently Governor Newsom will be rolling out a plan and timeline on Tuesday to either extend or modify the state stay-at-home order. Like everyone, I want to get out of the house and do stuff, but the reality is I don't trust anyone. I know what I've been doing, how much hand washing I've done, that we haven't had any coughs or sneezes beyond some allergies, which are quickly handled with my Costco Allerfex. But 51% of current County cases right now are 21-49 years old. So we'll be staying home. For now. Lots of information after the jump.

CoViD-19: Comic-Con Cancels (Officially) | Bad Dreams | Musicians To Get Desired AB5 Exemptions | Art Alive Goes Digital

The Intersection of Harbor Drive and 5th Avenue from Comic-Con 2018

I try very hard to remember this important life social rule: Nobody wants to hear about your dreams, you weirdo! Nova can honestly tell you every detail of her dreams and carry on for a half hour or an hour sharing them. I have to interrupt, remind her that dreams only make sense to the person having them (if even that) and tell her to distill them into 5 minutes or less. Still, I'm curious how many people are having traumatic CoViD-19 fueled dreams? At the risk of breaking my own rules, I'll just say I dreamt I was at a local mall for essentials and it was packed and everyone was in my face like a zombie movie and kids were playing soccer and basketball inside a converted gym and I was getting all Karen about it and screaming for everyone to social distance and stop touching shared surfaces and just completely losing my mind. So yeah. No anxiety here.
We're heading out to attempt contactless bread delivery. Wish us luck.
Today's links after the jump.

CoViD-19: This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things Part II. Remaining State Parks/Beaches Closed.

A photo from a previous Soccer In the Sand Tournament at Silver Strand State Beach.
This year's tournament is still scheduled for the end of May 2020, however,
we expect a cancellation or postponement announcement soon.

The following literally dropped in my email at 4:42 pm on April 3rd, as I was reading today's Voice of San Diego newsletter, which was covering how local leaders were begging the State to close the remainder of the state beaches because of overcrowding and lack of safe distancing. Welp, it happened today, thankfully before the weekend.

California State Parks today announced additional temporary full closures of parks. Effective at sunset today in San Diego County, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and the following state beaches are closed until further notice: Cardiff, Carlsbad, San Elijo, Silver Strand, South Carlsbad and Torrey Pines.

Full release after the jump:

CoVID-19: California Closes State Parks To Vehicular Traffic

Hiking Anza-Borrego Slot Canyon in March of 2019

Well, we couldn't stay away. Californians heard the warnings and threats and then, as we do, found the loopholes. Last week it was City parks and beaches and canyons that closed, so everyone (including my family) found county and state park loopholes, or sought the cities where closures hadn't gone into effect, like Oceanside and Coronado. But it's bad. And the numbers keep growing. And we don't want to be like Italy. And I know we are accustomed to a certain lifestyle here in Southern California, that's why we pay the so-called 'sunshine tax' to live here, but now the state parks have had to shut down to vehicular traffic, too. And this is a good little primer from KQED: Can I Go Hiking During California's Shelter in Place? Yes, But Read This First, though I just realized this was posted on Friday, before the state expanded their closures. It's so confusing. I know.

Full press release after the jump.