CoViD-19: WaPo Attempts To Predict Virus Wind Down | Jen Psaki Tests Positive For COVID-19 | US-EU Steel Deal Saves Bourbon |

 

Horrifying Remnants Of A Pumpkin Left As A Birdfeeder (Taken 10.17.21)

I don't really do Halloween, but then I saw this Twitter thread of pets in costumes with arms and I couldn't get enough, so maybe I'm not as Scroogy as I let on. Plus I was in a good mood this weekend...I guess taking Saturday off from news and YouTube did, in fact, improve my psyche. Plus I got new pajamas that just look like casual pants so I don't feel quite so guilty wearing them around the house all day. 

Today Darren and I went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park while Nova was with my sister trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving. I didn't get any big moments with the rhinos-- they were down in a lower valley only viewable by the tram -- but I got some cute elephant time including a moment when the entire herd gathered on the upper level and stampeded down to the lower level. I'd like to think they were running toward me, but more likely their dinner was put out for them to discover. 

There was some big news coming out of the G20. The steel and aluminum tariffs being dropped on EU produced imports, for example, is a big deal, and in return, the European Commission agreed to drop a planned 50% tariff on US spirits, including bourbon, which would've been a very, very big deal. Jen Psaki also put out a media release that she's tested positive for COVID-19, which is super unfortunate, though she's fully vaxxed and has mild symptoms. But since media was already writing click-bait headlines about the study from last week, this is a long but worthy twitter thread (again) about breakthrough infection, vaccination, viral load, viral clearance, and everything else the headlines are mostly leaving out. 

I think it's gonna be a busy week so I'm gonna enjoy the rest of my Sunday in peace. 

Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Fully Vaccinated Numbers Inch Forward; Cases Sharply Decline | California Outlines Fire Preparedness | Music Comes Back |

Ficus at Dog Beach OB (Taken 5.23.21)

My favorite local venues have been announcing shows for several weeks as have many of my favorite indie bands, but I just haven't adjusted to the thought of going to shows or what that will look like when the time comes. When we were walking around the jetty on Saturday, I was so shocked to come upon a fully packed bar with a cover band playing. Granted it was outside, but I was like no way do I need someone two feet away screaming in my face "so good, so good, so good!" I'm gonna need some space, you know? 

But as each day passes and we clock another grouping of vaccinated in San Diegans...today we're at 52.3% of the 12+ population fully vaccinated and hitting 90.3% of the County's goal with at least first doses... things are looking up. We're counting down to next week when Nova gets her second shot because it means hundreds of other 12-15 year olds will also be eligible for their second shots and then we may really see the numbers take a quick jump. It's exciting and today after seeing a show coming to town late summer I got so excited and then instantly felt dread because of course it's the same night as another amazing show I would likely go to. 2019 problems, amirite? And so I guess we may have some kind of normal again after all. 

But there's still a ways to go before we get there. Today I saw an online friend complaining about EDD, a news story about a woman who is tired of waiting for funeral reimbursement from FEMA, and venues complaining that the SVOG process has been too slow, too confusing, too difficult. While these are all legit and valid complaints, NONE OF THESE THINGS would exist without this administration so can we just be happy about something for a little quick minute? I mean, I know Biden hasn't singlehandedly fixed immigration, taxes, housing, infrastructure, policing, gun control, climate change, social security, health care, droughts, fires, conflicts in Myanmar, Venezuela, Colombia, Tigray, Ukraine, Belarus, all after 4 months in, but can we breathe for just one little second? I will. 

Scan your favorite music sites and buy tickets early and often! I learned today that during the pandemic, in markets where there were still shows in "pods", outdoors where you had to buy the whole grouping of tickets, people were so hungry for entertainment that they were paying 4x more on average than the same artists had charged in the before-times. That doesn't necessarily mean tickets are going to be jacked prices, but it does mean there will be opportunists manipulating the secondary market and I will hate those people even more now than ever before. But also ticketing sites have found ways to authenticate tickets to prevent resale, so maybe the year off will work in everyone's favor after all. Fingers crossed. 

Stay safe out there.  

• COVID-19:
• In 25 States, More Than Half Of Adults Are Fully Vaccinated - NPR (5.24.21)
• CDC says vaccinated people can largely skip testing, shares new breakthrough case count - Becker's Hospital Review (5.24.21)
• Domestic Travel During COVID-19 - CDC (Update 5.19.21)
• Politics: 
• How Many Californians Is Your Vote Worth? - Paste (5.24.21)
• GOP Governors' Cutoff of COVID Benefits Hits Hard in Rural America - Stateline (5.24.21)
• White House: 
• Return Travel on Recently Expired U.S. Passports - State Dept
  Americans overseas may return to US on expired passports through 12.31.21
• FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Invests $1 Billion To Protect Communities, Families, and Businesses Before Disaster Strikes
• News:
• Budget Presentations Go Before County Supervisors - County News Center
• At McClellan Air Force Base, Governor Newsom Highlights New Firefighting Aircraft, $2 Billion in Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness Investments - California Governor Newsroom (5.24.21)
• Other Reading:
• New York City Has a Brand-New “Floating Park” on Its Hudson River. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, Little Island is a public park that rises out of the water some 200 feet off Manhattan’s West Side. - Architectural Digest (5.24.21)
• Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 5.24.21 5:21pm):
• 167,104,468 Known Cases
• 3,469,303 Known Deaths
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
• JHU
• 33,140,850 Cases
• 590,515 Deaths
• CDC Data Tracker:
• +13,186 New Cases/32,947,548 Known Cases 
• +220 New Deaths/587,342 Known Deaths
• 357,250,475 Doses Delivered
• 286,890,900 Doses Administered
• 163,907,827 Partially Vaccinated
• 130,615,797 Fully Vaccinated
• California COVID-19 Stats:
• State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
• Vaccination progress dashboard
• Aggregate California ICU Bed Availability: 32.8%
• R-effective: 0.79
• 45,119,680 Doses Delivered/36,364,200 Doses Administered
• 4,462,339 Partially Vaccinated/16,691,024 Fully Vaccinated
• 1,081 New Cases/3,674,044 Total Cases (2.7 new cases/100k)
• 7 New Deaths/61,762 Total Deaths (0.04 new deaths/100k)
• 0.8% 7-day test positivity rate
• 1,513 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (-43 patients, -2.8% from prior day)
• 332 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (0 patients, 0% from prior day)
• 2,437 ICU beds available (+60 from prior day)
• San Diego County 
• Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
• VaccinationSuperstationSD
• Vaccination Dashboard
• San Diego County Of Education School Reopening Dashboard
• Evening COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics Coming to North, East, South County

• State Data:
• Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 33.9%
• R-effective: 0.72
• 76 New Cases/279,690 Total Cases
• 0 Deaths/3,751 Total Deaths
• 3.8 cases/100k population (Assessed on 5/18. Unadjusted Case Rate)
• 1.6% Test Positivity (Assessed on 5/18)
• 2.1% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 5/18)
• 132 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (-8 patients, -5.7% from prior day)
• 44 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (+2 patients, +4.8% from prior day)
• 235 ICU beds available (-5 from prior day)
• County Data:
• San Diego County COVID-19 Update – 5-24-2021 - County News Center 
• 25 New Cases/279,714 Total Cases 
• 0 New Daily Deaths/3,749 Total Deaths
• 4,009,835 Doses Received/3,557,805 Doses Administered
• 1,898,283 Partially Vaccinated/1,465,436 Fully Vaccinated
• 0.4% Daily Test Positivity/1.3% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/1% Test Positivity (14-day average)
• 3.4 cases/100k population (Assessed on 5/18. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.) 
• 99.6% Case Investigation 
• -7.2% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (97 patients. -38% over 30 days)
• 38% ICU Capacity (35 patients. -22% over 30 days)
• 47 Staffed ICU Beds Available
• 0 New/15 Community Outbreaks (7-day)
• Universities:
• SDSU COVID-19, UCSD COVID-19, USD COVID-19, CSU San Marcos, PLNU

CoViD-19: A Lot Of People Have A Lot To Say About CDC Mask Guidance For Vaccinated People | The Best Case Yet For Aerosol Transmission | kpbs Profiles Minh Ky |

  

Darren and Nova got straight to work with all the compost we got yesterday and made some new planters and transferred my succulents which outgrew their boxes on my catio. While hanging in the backyard, I talked with my mom on the phone for awhile. She told me that my sister hasn't gotten my niece vaccinated yet because she didn't want to do it before their trip. 
Say what? 

So it turns out they're flying to Indianapolis to see my uncle and cousins. But the girls are unvaccinated. Nadia isn't even eligible until they lower the age threshold or until she turns 12 in October. I cannot understand the thinking on any of it. It would be one thing if they were testing regularly just to be on the safe side, but they're not doing that either. I told my mom that they're going to have to quarantine and forbid my sister and the girls from visiting for a while after they return. My eyes have rolled so far back into my head I've given myself a headache. 

And I've been stewing on the CDC announcement and I posted some opinion pieces about it below, and every news outlet has covered it, every late night host has had their jokes about it, but the thing I keep thinking about is how we're all now just in a living experiment and I don't like it. Despite still standing state and county health orders, friends who work at Trader Joe's and Sprouts have said their stores have stopped requiring masks. Just when things were really starting to feel positive and safe and like we're heading in the right direction. the CDC just made me, and others like me, a massive reason to distrust everyone around me and that really fucking sucks. At least with maskholes, you had a visible cue as to whether the person was nuts or not, but that cue is essentially gone now. I'm not stoked about that at all. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Global Cases Surpass 150M | Biden & Harris 100 Days In | Danny Trejo Denounces California Recall | Photos: San Diego Zoo + New Elephants!! | Reopenings: Disneyland, Living Coast Discover Center |

Inhlonipho, a new bull at the San Diego Zoo to form a bachelor herd (Taken 4.29.21)

Last night I was looking at the press page for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and learned that there were two new elephants, with the goal of starting a bachelor herd. This explains why we saw the keepers "practicing" with the transport cage a few days after that dude went into Shaba's enclosure. One came from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and one came from Tucson. We skipped the elephants the last few trips, so I guess this news was from last week and I had to see them today. We also spend some time with the Bairds Tapir who was taking a nice swim with some ducklings. 

As you leave the Zoo, to add to the annoyance of the lady's collecting money for "charity", there's now an anti-vax COVID-is-a-hoax guy with an 8 foot vinyl sign that looks like the kind unions use when they're boycotting a developer. While he has the right to free speech, I wouldn't be sad if someone kicks his ass. I was watching the news and there are maskholes harassing workers at the Trader Joe's in Carmel Mountain and I will probably be going to jail for assault before this whole thing is over because I have no tolerance for these maskholes. At all. 

It was a pretty good day overall though my email took me forever today, so I'm sorry this post is so late tonight. Stay safe out there. 

CoVid-19: Outdoor Mask Guidance Updated | San Diego County Offers Walk-Up Vaccinations | Fauci Deep-Dive on Variants | Sea World Offers Free 4-Pack To Military/Veterans |

  

Today is Marine Mammal Rescue Day (Taken 3.9.2020)

I was thinking today how it's funny/not funny that 8% of people who get their first shot of Moderna or Pfizer vaccines aren't getting their second shots. There's a lot of speculation why, could be partially due to accessibility and to work/family obligations, but mostly people are attributing fear of side effects as the reason. I am pretty much knocked on my ass for two harsh days during my monthly cycle and I've had some really fun nights that resulted in some harsh pandemic hangovers. A couple years ago I had pneumonia. With my 2nd Pfizer I was sleepy. We were camping so that didn't help things, but I'm just saying there are way worse things, like actually getting COVID-19, than feeling shitty after a second dose of an mRNA vaccine. 

Today, as expected, the president and CDC announced updated mask guidance which really didn't feel like anything we didn't already know. Wear a mask when you're around people you don't know whether you're inside or out. They didn't really talk about kids but I imagine they don't want the backlash that would ensue if they basically said all non-parents can go party, while all parents should wait until their kids get vaccinated. I saw an estimate that they're not expecting the tween EUA until summer and little kids under 12 until next spring. That blows, to be honest, but I hope the estimate was just playing it safe. 

I didn't catch any real Psaki bombs today, but there was this one funny moment where she almost lost her cool with a reporter, like don't tell me how to do my job. Also there's a reporter from some Catholic paper that only ever asks about pro-lifers having to fund abortions so she shuts him down pretty handily every couple days when she even gives the chance for him to ask a question. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: ACIP Recommends Use of J&J Vaccine | Deb Haaland Brings Hope To Indigenous Peoples as Secretary of the Interior | SDHC Wants To Pay Your Rent | Photos: San Diego Zoo |

Malayan Tapir Baby at San Diego Zoo (Taken 4.23.21)

We can walk and chew gum at the same time, so the expression goes. That's how I was feeling this morning. I'm angry about the shooting in the Gaslamp last night and I don't understand why or how FLUXX is opening tonight and I'm worried about my God- sister going to Alabama in these COVID times but also crazy racially tense times and I'm so horrified by the images of India and cardboard hospital beds in Thailand and I'm mad that Reality Winner is still locked up and I'm hopeful that things are getting so close to being good here in San Diego with our accelerated vaccination rollout and free testing widely available. Happy, hopeful, sad, angry. Feeling it all at once, ya know? 

But today was a good day. We all tested negative, which wasn't a surprise, but it's just going to be our protocol while Nova is in school and still can't get vaccinated. Darren and I went to the San Diego Zoo for a couple hours this afternoon and I finally got to see the baby Malayan Tapir. I was also surprised to see a baby Golden Takin. So it was a day of my heart pretty much exploding. After that, I had some of our BBQ leftovers from last night's Bowlegged BBQ, then did a Costco run. I watched all the briefings today but haven't read any email, so I will have more posts to come, but for now, here's what I've got. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: More Evidence It's Airborne | The Disease Is Far Worse Than The Vax | Gun Epidemic: "It's A National Embarrassment" | Gloria's Budget |

I love this puppy. (Taken 4.16.21)

We live on a busy street in Normal Heights. Our street is the access street to all the rest of Normal Heights, so hundreds, maybe thousands of cars pass by every day, usually speeding though the City did install a 25MPH sign after I requested it a few years back. Today the new construction had to cut into the street to connect to the sewer line, leaving steel plates across the roadway that are unavoidable. So now every time a car drives by, the steel hits the asphalt and makes a noise so now my dog is on high alert because the sound resembles a knock on the door. And of course, they stopped working for the weekend, so we get this awesome noise every light cycle for the remainder of the weekend. Super fun. 

It's probably really annoying that I'm always talking about my sleep but I feel so exuberant when I actually fall asleep when I try, and so today was a lovely day. I woke up early, made myself some amazing chilaquiles, watched my press briefings, read my book, got through my email, and now I'm at my parents' house for a little birthday celebration for my sister. So I'm gonna cut. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Breakthrough Virus | Brazilians Suffer Under Bolsinaro | US "Holding Russia To Account" | San Diego Emergency Services To Move To Falck |

Happy Birthday To My Sister (Taken 5.1.2020)

I've been thinking a lot about the past year: what's changed, what we learned, new routines, old and new habits, and all that kinda stuff in general. There are still so many projects and things I thought I'd do if ever given a year off that I haven't even touched. One of the things I'm thinking about is email. Do I keep subscribing to all these newsletters and how do I plan a transition back to music and stuff, and honestly, I don't know that I will go back the way it was before. I'm already getting requests and stuff for calendar listings and I still cringe. I'm not ready.

In the meantime, I get all these COVID and health related newsletters and one I really like comes from Kaiser Health News, which sends a daily recap of the news topics and a grip of articles related to that topic. But sometimes its infuriating. Like I swear there are links to like twenty articles --in one day--about vaccine hesitancy in rural, white, evangelical communities, especially in light of the pause of the J&J vaccine. I understand it is topical but sometimes the amplification itself is the problem. There's a reason Facebook makes so much money off sharing false and bad information. I know I'm isolated and live in a liberal bubble, but I have not met one single person who doesn't want to get vaccinated. So while the news loves the extremes--the lack of vaccines and appointments, and then endless stories about vaccine hesitancy, my head might explode. So I'm gonna cut out early and call it a night. By the way, I'm currently reading “You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism,” by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar and it's a quick read but they're so funny and the stories are both unbelievable and sadly totally true and believable. 

Lots of news today on Russia, vaccine eligibility expanded to all Californians 16 and up, CDC released breakthrough virus numbers and ore

CoViD-19: State Poised to Expand Vaccine Eligibility To All 16+; Expands Orange Tier Activities | Home Casino Busts | San Diego County Fair Announces Home*Grown*Fun |

 

Hummingbird Pollinating at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 4.13.21)

My cousin is a crazy successful fashion buyer in LA and her company was getting ready for a sample sale, but she hooked me up with some of the stuff. It's super high-end designer stuff...one of the tags for a blouse is $398! My sister visited her over the weekend, so she was dropping off the stuff after my nieces' soccer practice, so we surprised her with a cake for her birthday, which is tomorrow. It's so infrequent we have visitors that it it really is a nice treat to have them over. Plus, who doesn't love cake and an excuse to eat it?

That was pretty much the whole day. We had this gnarly smell emanating from the kitchen so Darren pretty much turned the kitchen upside down trying to find where it was coming from. Turns out it was a jar of spent butter that had been used to cook shrimp. Nasty, but glad he was finally able to figure that out. 

Today's media briefings were interesting. Today's Psaki-bomb was when she shut down the guy from some Catholic newspaper who always asks the same questions about why pro-life people should pay for abortions in other countries. After shutting that down, he tried to ask again. "I think I've answered your question." She is such a badass. Fletcher shut down KUSI much in the same way. There are definitely some ding-dongs in media. 

Today was an interesting news day. I started listening to a podcast about Kristin Smart just yesterday, and today her suspected murderer was arrested. President Biden announced that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will happen on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. SDPD had some crazy bust of "gambling dens" all over City Heights which had my jaw on the floor because who even knew such a thing existed? There was one like two blocks from my house! Anyway, I think I'm done laptopping for the night. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: B.1.1.7 Now Dominant in US; Youth Sports Driving Spread | Casbah In The News | SD City Council "Passes" Measure C for Convention Center Expansion | Can US Mandate Vax? |

Darren and I had a fun night in the speakeasy, and after Darren went to bed I caught up on yesterday's briefings. I'm still really behind in emails and I'm hoping to catch up tonight. We went back to the San Diego Zoo today --our third day in a row. The Skyfari had only been open on weekends, but during this "Spring Awakening" promotion, it's been open daily so we've taken full advantage. I guess they actually liked when we did the three back to back trips, because we did it again today. The leopards were super active, so we watched them for awhile, and we spent some time with Otis the hippo. I was thinking it would be fun to do a meetup at the seating area over by the elephants, but maybe I'll wait until summer hours and more widespread vaccinations. I still want to get to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park this week, but I just haven't motivated early enough to make the trip worthwhile.

I know I've said over and over that I haven't and won't eat out, but I guess I'm dipping my toe in the water for a private invite-only soft opening of the Casbah tomorrow. Tim Mays was on the news today and I've included the clip below.  

I'm gonna get back to my email now and I'll throw in another post with anything meaningful plus some Zoo photos. Stay safe out there.  

CoViD-19: San Diego Moves To Orange Tier; Governor Newsom Targets June 15 For Statewide Reopening "Beyond The Blueprint" | All 16+ Vaccine Eligible By April 19 |

San Diego Zoo Mandatory Entrance Photo. Looks Like I have a Fairy On My Shoulder (Taken 4.6.21)

I was up all night, partially nerding out on numbers and data, partially keeping an eye on Darren after his second dose of Pfizer. Of course he had zero side effects just to spite us all. (haha) I did, however, watch Concrete Cowboy on Netflix and it was sooo good. I'm probably gonna make the fam watch it with me again. Of course, I was eagerly anticipating the vaccination numbers, so I stayed up until 10am to see we did, in fact, reach the 4M vaccines in HPI Q1, which shifts the tiers and moves San Diego into the Orange Tier. It is worth noting however, that to be in the Orange Tier by the new metrics, which act retroactively, need to be 5.9 cases per 100k or less. Last week we were at 4.9, and this week we've slid back to 5.8. We don't want to move backwards. I'll be watching numbers closely to see things like a week after opening day, post-Easter, etc. 

As I was finally falling asleep, I saw announcements from President Biden that he was moving forward vaccination targets and from the Governor that he's advancing full reopening targets, and I was able to finally drift off to sleep. One thing I will say is that I had a feeling that when Pfizer announced efficacy in teens last week, the admin is maybe asking them to hold off on requesting EUA until more adults are vaccinated, so by making "all adults 16+ eligible by April 19" I wouldn't be surprised if Pfizer now submits and the 12-16 year olds become eligible relatively quickly which would be AWESOME. Pubescent kids are already super gross, don't need to throw a whole pandemic in there, too. Perhaps that's why that June 15 target was set by the Governor, too. 

I missed my window for San Diego Zoo Safari Park, but it turns out Nova doesn't have online school the rest of the week, so perhaps we can take advantage and do something fun. One thing I've been really waiting for is for the large window that is Spring Break to be over so I can finally go back to La Jolla to see my sea lions, which I haven't done since we pulled Nova from soccer last fall. With reopenings, I'm not rushing out to eat out or sit at a bar, but I am hoping this means that other things loosen up, like the return of the tour buses at the San Diego Zoo, the elimination of their every-other-car rule for the Skyfari, and the return of the Africa Tram at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Then again, little kid vectors can't be vaccinated, so maybe they'll be cautious with such things. 

Besides all that, today was an exceptionally busy day in local politics. The agenda for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors was 50 pages long, and San Diego City Council had some big decisions about the Convention Center vote, there's a special election to replace Dr. Shirley Weber that got really contentious as the Dr. Akilah Weber, Shirley's daughter, seemed the stand out favorite until Leticia Munguia started dog-whistling and standing out as the police-endorsed candidate. I hate racism, but I especially hate racism between minorities, i.e. Mexican vs Black, Black vs. AAPI. It's something people don't want to talk about but it is a really ugly part of my Mexican heritage that I've always been acutely aware of, even just so much as I'm the 'guera' of my family and my sister is significantly darker and she's experienced so much racism than I've never had to worry about. Anyway, not a lot of precincts are reporting, but Dr. Weber has over 10,000 votes more than her nearest competitor and 52.34% of the vote as of 10:21pm so that is certainly promising. The sad thing is they're reporting only 18.1% turnout. We need to work on that. You can follow here.

Anyway, we did end up going to the San Diego Zoo for the last hour and a half they were open, mostly because last week my Samsung Health app reminded me that I haven't met the most basic exercise goals. We saw the local owl, which is pretty cool, like our little secret, and at the end of the night I made Nova and Darren ride the Skyfari 3 times in a row...west to east, back east to west, and west to east to the exit as the last announcement came for the park closing. For the record, you cannot really see the Sea World fireworks from the Skyfari, but you can hear the animals terrorized across the park from the booms. Today's post was gonna be especially long, but the speakeasy is calling so I'll have to catch up on all the things next post. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Dr. Walensky "Deeply Concerned" About National Trajectory | Assemblyman Gloria vs Mayor Gloria: Sports Arena Contractors Battle Over Low-Income Housing | Psaki vs FOX | Photos: San Diego Zoo |

Papa Gerenuk Chomps Dinner (Taken 3.26.21)

Darren and I intended to have cocktails last night, but by the time I finished my post, it was kinda late to start drinking. So today I'm gonna keep it short so I can get to hanging out. 

I will comment on a few things, however. We went back to the San Diego Zoo today to try to live it up before it is fully overcome with spring break. I posted about the Mission: Spring Awakening launching on Saturday, and I'll note that when I checked today, all Saturday reservations are gone, at least for members. I don't know if there's a different allotment for single-day ticket buyers. Even though we didn't arrive until 4:30, it was still super crowded. The line for Skyfari was especially long, and while I couldn't tell if they're still using every other car, as far as I could tell, folded strollers are still not allowed at boarding. I crossed paths with dozens of below the nose maskers which wouldn't be so annoying if their groups weren't spread out and hogging up entire pathways and trails. 

Before we went to the Zoo, we watched Jen Psaki's press conference and there was nothing really of note except her testy exchange with the dick reporter from Fox who was crying that mean Mr. Biden wouldn't call on him or his colleagues. Boo hoo. The best answer would've just been that he doesn't call on them because it's a NEWS briefing, and they clearly are not news. But alas, she has integrity and couldn't say so. 

I kinda skipped most of the rest of the day's news, but basically cases are going up in the US and is coinciding with spring travel, school and business reopenings, and people generally increasing mobility. Our cases should still get down some in San Diego, but we're still looking okay. I'd love to lock California up and ban all out of state travelers from anywhere, but obviously I'm an extremist. Oh, there was this funny thing about Sports Arena that VOSD reported on which basically stalls the project unless they commit to more low-income housing based on a law that passed, including a vote from then -Assemblyman Todd Gloria. Definitely worth the read. I'm off to the speakeasy. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Skip The Guilt, Get Your Vax When You're Eligible | Fauci "Don't Declare Victory" | More On San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance | Comic-Con 2021 Remains Online | Stream Fanboy on Amazon |

Today is World Wildlife Day (Taken at San Diego Zoo 2.18.21)

I'm finding it so curious that I'm seeing news story after news story that San Diego may be moving tiers "as early as next week" as I read online. Nathan Fletcher alluded to modifications of the formulation of the tier system by the state because they were set before vaccines were available, so the projections of X amount of cases today doesn't necessarily translate to Y hospitalizations in 3-4 weeks. (At one point, the projection was 12% of all cases ended up hospitalized. That has dropped dramatically.) But for now, the old rules remain. "To advance, a county must meet criteria for movement to the next less restrictive for the prior two consecutive weeks in order to progress to the next tier; which can be achieved by either or combination of criteria described: Meeting the Adjusted Case Rate, Test Positivity, and Health Equity metric criteria for a less restrictive tier or meeting the criteria for movement to the next less restrictive tier through health equity accelerated progression." All of this still indicates we'd have to get red by Tuesday and stay there for a second week before we actually move to the red tier, but I guess it could all change should the tier system be modified. Tonight the state has indicated that in fact, 40% of vaccines will be reserved for certain zip codes, 1.6 million doses have already been distributed to those specific areas and the tiering could change once 2 million doses have been distributed, which could also mean the tier system stays the same but the offset could dramatically improve the "health equity accelerated progression." (Here's the AP News story that came out late Wednesday night. According to the article, moving from purple to red can happen at 10 cases per 100k instead of the current case/100k of 7. Right now, San Diego is still at 10.8)

In case I haven't been clear, I still think this would be a huge mistake. We messed up and let restaurants and bars open before and it meant that most schools never got to open. Can't we let this play out? Get the teachers vaccinated, get the schools open, then we can all go party at breweries, eat at restaurants, go to Padres games, and whatever else we're so desperately vying to do once we see community transmission is way down? I understand the political pressures, I understand the optics of trying to get things back to 'normal' before the March 13th anniversary of the first shutdown, and the rapid drop in cases is all good news, but I just feel like we need to slow our roll. 

Nothing else going on around here. We let the thunderstorm dictate our day and stayed in all day. Nova has opted to stay at my parents' house so we've been just lazing around staying warm and cozy. Last night I finished Ginny and Georgia on Netflix and I want more. Now I have to find something else to watch. And while talking about TV, you can now stream Fanboy on Amazon. Support Ben!! And stay safe out there...

CoViD-19: While Cases Drop, US Sets Record With 5,212 Deaths | Biden Flexes Human Rights Muscles | AP Reports Catholic Dioceses Took In Billions of PPP |

 

Cape Buffalo at San Diego Zoo Safari Park Taken 2.3.2021

Obviously I'm so glad that the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park are open now, but I'm still shaking my head at the lifting of outdoor dining restrictions and the constant drumbeat that schools need to reopen, even now when our numbers are way higher than they were back when we started shutting everything down in the first place. I think it is incredibly irresponsible for Dr. Walensky to say that schools can open safely when that is not the official CDC guidance and the statement needs to be qualified with 'if masks are worn, if students are distanced, if HEPA air filters are installed," etc.. Whatever...we are pretty much counting on no in-person school this year and are totally fine with that, though I realize that is not a popular position and a lot of parents, especially with multiple children households, are having a really rough time. 

I didn't really do anything noteworthy today except for sitting out in the sun and trying to wrap my head around my missing trees. Grieving trees is real. 
I've got a newsletter to get to so I'm gonna cut, but I still have a ton of email to sort through, so I may do another interim post if necessary. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: San Diego Reports Under 1,000 New Cases For First Time Since November 29 | Dr. Ghaly Cautiously Optimistic | San Diego Zoo Photos |

We went to the Zoo! The San Diego Zoo reopened on Saturday and I made a handful of reservations last Monday when the Stay-At-Home order was lifted. We arrived around 3pm and there was no line at the health screening and no line to get in, though there was a peahen walking through the gate when we got there which was pretty cute. It wasn't crowded at all which was nice, and everyone mostly seemed to be masked and compliant with distancing, except for the few Mommy Militias who always seem to have 18 kids running around shoving Cheetos or Takis in their grubby little vector faces. It was fun and there are a lot of babies...we didn't glimpse the few-day old giraffe who was hiding in its barn, but the babirusa piglets were adorable with their zoomies. We have reservations for Wednesday at Safari Park. After the zoo we got Tacos el Panson, so it almost felt like life is getting back to normal. 

Which is also to say I have some catching up to do. I've got some media briefings to watch and emails to read. I'll make sure they make it to the next post if there's anything worthwhile to share. Stay safe out there!

CoViD-19 Mistaking 'Open' for 'Safe' | Missing 'Weak Ties' | Late Night Twitter Wars | Twisting Words | COVID Is Still Deadly | Mayor Gloria Hosts Vaccine Town Hall (VIDEO) |

My Trees Have Now Been Slaughtered (Taken 12.9.2020)

Darren and I were totally gonna rage last night and of course, we both zonked out. Unfortunately it meant I napped at night and ended up waking up and watching Friendsgiving on Netflix which was pretty funny. I ended up going to bed but just endlessly scrolling through my phone and discovering late night Twitter. I got caught up with university and government epidemiologists fighting over school openings, Biden diehards joining with trolls lighting up a hashtag of #BlueMAGA, the idea that basically Biden is the same as T***p and lied about $2,000 checks, and people outraged over Governor Cuomo and Governor Newsom. I have a lot to say about all of those things, but I'll throw them after the jump and just keep it simple here. 

I ended up staying up all night, finally falling asleep around 8am, which I guess was ideal because then the developers came and cut down our trees. Darren made sure to vacuum, run my fan and air conditioner, and generally make noise so I wouldn't hear them and go chain myself to the trees or shoot arrows at them. By afternoon, Darren got Nova from her sleepover and it's been a pretty normal Monday. News is still bonkers, but what can we do? It will be this way for some time. I may skip tomorrow's media briefings because we have our San Diego Zoo reservation, but we'll see. Stay safe out there. 

COVID-19: Cases Decline But Deaths Still High | SD Resumes Parking Enforcement | County Attempts To Improve Vaccine Distribution | Stop Saying Schools Can Reopen |

Monkey Puzzle Tree (Taken 1.28.2021)

It is safe to assume that everyone wants kids back in school. The differences of opinions have been about how and when it is safe to do so. So the other day, the CDC shared a study saying that schools can reopen with specific safety precautions. The problem is that this was not a guidance or recommendation or even an endorsement, but every single media outlet took it as such. That's why it was so refreshing today to hear Press Secretary Jen Psaki emphasized this point and also the fact that the study was based on one school in rural Wisconsin. What they also aren't talking about is that the actual age of a school matters. If ventilation is one of the highest determinants of spread, newer modern buildings have a clear advantage. Are my nieces safe to go back to High Tech High sooner than students who go to my alma mater Hilltop High which was build decades ago? Probably. But even then, the time isn't here yet. Especially since teachers aren't getting vaccinated until the next tier (after the 1.2 million health care workers and 65+) and students under 16 can't even get vaccinated until the studies are done and vaccines approved for kids. The news channels love to get people riled up and make them think opening is in the near future and then show the outrage when they are reality checked and told that it is not. It is incredibly frustrating. 

I've been thinking of questions I would ask at media briefings and would hope that I would come off better than some of the idiots who get the privilege of calling in. I would ask Dr. Ghaly if the 4 week ICU projections include hospital rooms at normal function or are they including the surge beds, where non-traditional spaces have been converted to hospital beds and ERs turned into additional ICU capacity. Does it also include the waivers so that staff can be more thinly ratioed from 1 nurse to 2 patients to 1 nurse to 3 patients. 

I would ask Nathan Fletcher if there is a plan for homebound seniors like my dad, or the people receiving the 92,000 daily meal deliveries through the Great Plates program to be vaccinated and if so, how they can sign up for such a program. 

I would ask Governor Newsom to speak about the issues with EDD and when the "reopen claim" glitch will be fixed on all accounts, and I would also ask him to speak about filing for Covered California when people have been on unemployment for nearly a year and their income is likely to have dramatically changed from prior years. 

Today's briefings were pretty interesting so there are a lot of notes if you're interested what is coming from the president's office and San Diego County Board with regard to vaccines and variants and all that stuff, check the notes below. 

Nothing really new around here. Apparently my trees will be coming down this weekend or by Monday and we'll have a new fence by the end of next week. I'll believe it when I see it. It was a really beautiful day today, so we did spend a lot of time in the backyard enjoying the trees while we still have them and I took dozens of photos so I could have them forever. We talked to my parents and Nova will be staying with them on Sunday so she doesn't have to do distance school with all the construction noise while they break up the asphalt currently covering the lot. We continue to stay home, but I am getting more and more excited about our San Diego Zoo and Safari Park reservations next week. 

Quote of the Day: "In terms of executive actions, he also ran with a commitment to take steps immediately to address the pain and suffering that the American people were feeling, and that includes overturning some of the detrimental, harmful, and at times immoral policies and actions of the prior administration." - Jen Psaki (when the 5th or 6th reporter asked about Biden's executive orders being contrary to his claims of 'unity')