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| In Foster City, oblivious to the norms |
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| New Orleans on February 25th (Business Insider photo) |
She told CNN that if the outbreak had been taken seriously on the federal level at the time, they would have called off the event.Yes, we have seen this movie before. In fact, that's the opening plotline of Jaws, in which the Mayor of Amity Island refuses to close the beaches after a fatal shark attack. The fictional Mayor of a New England town and the real-life Mayor of New Orleans put the money of tourist season and Mardi Gras, respectively, over lives.
"When it's not taken seriously on the federal level, it's very difficult to transcend down to the local level in making these decisions," Cantrell said, adding that the federal response "backed up by the response of our national leader."
The devil has his uses
Allows us to make excuses
For our own bad choices
When we listened to the voices
Of selfishness and avarice.
So the devil, he wins twice
When our sin leads to shame
"Not me," I say,"he's to blame."
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| Yale's Lanman Center |
the Lanman Center, if activated, will house only “very low acuity” patients who are stable but need to remain isolated from high-risk family members. The facility will provide general care to these patients by monitoring their vitals and supplying food and hydration while they recover....sick and healthy patients would be housed separately, with patients who are severely ill remaining at Yale New Haven Hospital.Below are side-by-side photos of the preparations at Iowa State for the Spanish flu in 1918 and Yale's gym in 2020.
Yale Professor Nicholas A. Christakis' Twitter feed has excellent historical perspective on and current data analyses of COVID-19.Converting gyms to wards: preparing for a pandemic.
— Nicholas A. Christakis (@NAChristakis) March 21, 2020
1918 Influenza pandemic at @IowaStateU
2020 Coronavirus pandemic at @Yale -- today. pic.twitter.com/aG0tj0sFnV
Many long-anticipated milestones will now never happen—or will pass by unobserved—as celebrations and events get canceled. Beneath the world-wide upheaval of lockdowns, quarantines and shortages, thousands of people are also privately mourning the loss of life’s special moments."Big" birthdays, hospital vigils, sports championships, graduations---the highs and lows of life when the human connection is most important--are gone.
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| Give a thought to all the hard work by celebration planners, too. |
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| The view west toward San Mateo from Foster City at 8 a.m. |
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| No baseball at Sea Cloud Park, just geese eyeing dogs warily. |
Some patients have recovered after receiving Gilead Sciences ’ experimental antiviral treatment remdesivir, though there isn’t yet enough clinical data to understand if the drug is truly safe and effective and, if so, for what specific disease stages or populations. That could soon change: A series of clinical trials that began in early February will start to generate results in March and April...The odds are high that at least one of these treatments will prove effective in reducing deaths from COVID-19.
Elsewhere, drugmakers Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sanofi SA are studying whether their jointly-owned drug Kevzara helps prevent overactive lung inflammation in severe Covid-19 patients receiving the drug last week in New York....
Hospitals also have begun to include the old malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in treatment protocols [blogger's note: favorable results have been reported when these drugs are used with azithromycin]. Those drugs, which aren’t approved by regulators to treat the virus but have generated promising but inconclusive results in small, open label studies, can be administered by doctors on an off-label basis. Several large drug manufacturers have vowed to donate large quantities of the drug or crank up production.
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| (Yosemite image from KVDDesign) |
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| Baker Beach, SF, on Saturday (Chron) |
The crowds that swarmed Bay Area beaches, parks and other natural areas over the weekend created fury among residents and others fearful of the fast-spreading coronavirus, prompting some parks to issue closure orders while local leaders wondered how to keep people away from one another.
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| Dolores Park after City parks were closed Monday (Chron) |
“Being forbidden to go to your neighborhood park seems draconian, especially for people who have children,” said Leslie Alden, co-founder of Marin Climate Action Network in Corte Madera.The answer for many, after this is over, is to move to the suburbs, where you can drive your car rather than ride a filthy train, live in a townhouse with safer social distancing, and walk or jog without fear of bumping into someone else.
“If our parks are closed, the question would be, doesn’t that then push more people into smaller recreation spaces, whether on streets or on multi-use paths? I don’t have an answer.”
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| Foster City lagoon and beach on Sunday, March 22nd. |
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| The sign and where it sits is bedraggled, but it's not wrong. |
‘Mommy, I like coronavirus because I get to spend time with you,” a patient of mine, a lawyer, quoted her son as saying. With schools closed, social events postponed and workplaces empty, usually busy professionals find themselves at home baking cookies, playing games, watching movies and doing arts and crafts to keep their children occupied. Some are surprised to find they enjoy it.I do have a great deal of faith that we're going to come out of this stronger than ever, which will be manifested clearly in 3-5 years. The last time that the nation was this united (and everyone was afraid for their own lives) was World War II, and look what inventions came into use because of it: jet airplanes, nuclear power, synthetic rubber, computers, radar, and penicillin.
As anxiety and fear settle over the world, there’s a silver lining to this pandemic. In a self-occupied world, the coronavirus is making people reassess their priorities and values.
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| The cowboy church in Merced, CA |
St. Malachy’s [the Actors’ Chapel] is one of many niche congregations in the U.S.—from skate churches to heavy-metal houses of worship.The coronavirus has forced churches of all sizes, traditions, and niches to conduct their services online.
They aren’t gimmicks but serious religious projects with clear goals: to reach those who feel unwelcome in traditional religious settings or those whose crowded calendar otherwise would keep them away...
But niche churches aren’t only an urban phenomenon. There are an estimated 1,500 cowboy churches around the country, and many hold services in barns, stables and rodeo arenas. Most attendees have spent their lives around cows and horses. Some simply like cowboy culture...
Other congregations focus on hobbies or personal interests rather than vocation. Salty Church is a nondenominational surf congregation in Ormond Beach, Fla., founded by Pastor Robbie O’Brien more than 15 years ago. He started the church for surfers looking to get closer to God but also come as they were—tattoos, shorts, flowing hair and all.
No state is completely preventing people from going outside or to work, but some measures were more drastic. California Gov. Gavin Newsom effectively banned residents from socializing outside their homes, while New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo went further in cordoning off the elderly and sick populations.Now China is suggesting the virus' origin was really a U.S. biowarfare project. Here's the tweet from diplomat Zhao Lijian.
China through its diplomat just threw the accusation out there with no evidence. The not-made-in-China falsehood needs to be stamped out now by political leaders, journalists, and anyone with a platform. If calling it the "Chinese/China/Wuhan virus" in the daily news conference makes them stop, then good, we all can focus on the real enemy, COVID-19.2/2 CDC was caught on the spot. When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation! pic.twitter.com/vYNZRFPWo3
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) March 12, 2020
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| Waiting for lattes: what social distancing? |
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| Kamala Harris, looking thoughtful (Chron photo) |
Harris wanted to know how FEMA would respond if the new virus remained a major public health threat when another potential emergency, including a California wildfire or earthquake, arises.What should we do if an earthquake hits in the midst of a coronavirus lockdown? After saying "we’re screwed", my answer would have been "you're on your own and don't count on the government to save you."
She is keenly aware that major fires often force people into packed evacuation shelters, which would currently conflict with the government’s efforts to encourage social distancing and prevent people from gathering large groups.
“So I asked him, what is the plan? Is there a formal policy to address this issue?” Harris told The Chronicle. “And he basically said ‘We’re learning as we go’ and ‘This has never happened before.’”
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| Front and Sacramento, St. Patrick's Day 2006 |
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
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| The quietest Saturday night, probably ever, at BJ's |
Six Bay Area counties announced “shelter in place” orders for all residents on Monday — the strictest measure of its kind yet in the continental United States — directing everyone to stay inside their homes and away from others as much as possible for the next three weeks in a desperate move to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus across the region.I heard the news on the radio and rushed out to buy some replacement faucets and light fixtures at Home Depot. It was a relief to discover that hardware stores will remain open during the near-lockdown; any project, no matter how small, always involves more than one trip to Home Depot.
The directive was set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and involves San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties — a combined population of more than 6.7 million. It is to stay in place until at least April 7. The three other Bay Area counties — Sonoma, Solano and Napa — did not issue similar mandates.
Just outside the Bay Area, Santa Cruz County late Monday also announced a “shelter in place” order for its 275,000 residents.
The orders — which are all similarly worded — fall just short of a full lockdown, which would forbid people from leaving their homes without explicit permission. The orders (read San Francisco’s here in its entirety at tinyurl.com/waddyqv) call for county and city sheriffs and police chiefs to “ensure compliance,” and local authorities said they would not “rush to enforce” the directives as residents adjusted to understand what activities are no longer allowed. Violation of the orders is considered a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or jail time.
Businesses that do not provide “essential” services must send workers home. Among those remaining open are grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants for delivery only and hardware stores. Most workers are ordered to stay home, with exceptions including health care workers; police, fire and other emergency responders; and utility providers such as electricians, plumbers and sanitation workers. BART will run for essential travel, and airports are not closing.
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| At 8 a.m. on Monday, for the first time ever, there was no one on a treadmill. |
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| Daylight Savings Sunday, 2015 |
We have seen that we can never reach the innermost center of another being. We are always alone, each for himself. But we can reach it in a movement that rises first to God and then returns from Him to the other self. In this way man’s aloneness is not removed, but taken into the community with that in which the centers of all beings rest, and so into community with all of them. Even love is reborn in solitude. For only in solitude are those who are alone able to reach those from whom they are separated. Only the presence of the eternal can break through the walls that isolate the temporal from the temporal. One hour of solitude may bring us closer to those we love than many hours of communication. We can take them with us to the hills of eternity.The concept that God is present in the sacrament of marriage, in the church ("when two or three are gathered together"), and other human relationships is found in the Bible.
And perhaps when we ask -- what is the innermost nature of solitude? we should answer -- the presence of the eternal upon the crowded roads of the temporal. It is the experience of being alone but not lonely, in view of the eternal presence that shines through the face of the Christ, and that includes everybody and everything from which we are separated. In the poverty of solitude all riches are present. Let us dare to have solitude -- to face the eternal, to find others, to see ourselves.
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| The bread racks were empty. No gluten this week! |
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| The lagoon is dry from the lack of rain. |
A storm system is expected to bring up to an inch of rain to much of the Bay Area on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service...
Populated areas and valleys could see a quarter-inch to an inch of rain. Amounts are expected to range from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a half in the coastal mountains...
The weather service said long-range forecasts indicate additional storms are possible next week.
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| Bishop Marc Andrus |
I prayerfully ask all churches in the Diocese of California to cancel ALL public worship services for the month of March, with the possible exception of weddings and funerals. This decision will be revisited by March 31, at which time I will communicate our next steps.Canceling services is a prudent move by Bishop Andrus. The largest demographic cohort in many congregations is those over 60, who are highly vulnerable to the coronavirus.
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| City Hall on Wednesday evening |
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| (BBC image) |
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| (Tax Foundation graphic) |
They’re pushing for a single ballot measure that, if approved by two-thirds of voters, would raise sales taxes across the nine counties by 1%, generating $100 billion over 40 years to split between housing and transportation.Last July we noted that California has some of the highest gas, sales, and income taxes in the nation. Property tax increases are constrained by Proposition 13, which tax-and-spenders have tried to repeal since 1978 (they're trying again for a partial repeal this November).
...backers of the combined ballot measure face an aggressive timeline. Their idea would require state legislation to grant taxing authority to a regional agency. That legislation has to pass both houses with a two-thirds vote by summer recess. It would then need approval by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission before the campaign can draft ballot language in August. And then there’s the challenge of wooing voters, who would have to pass the measure by a two-thirds majority.
Suburban voters with long commutes have rejected two tax measures that aimed to drum up funding for roads and transit — raising the question of whether the push to expand rail into the outer reaches of the Bay Area has run its course.Marin, Sonoma county voters say no to SMART train tax measure
An overwhelming majority of professionals in fields affected by AB5 [the "anti-gig-worker law"] identify as liberals and have generally voted along the blue line. Today, however, many are so disillusioned with their representatives that they’re changing political loyalties.
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| Including today's drop (so far), the markets are down 10% from a week ago, 20% from the highs. |
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| Major airline stocks were down sharply last week: Delta (20.48%), United (34.44%), American (44.53%) |
The carrier said Wednesday it plans to store some wide-body jets and is offering staff unpaid leaves of absence in April...United will cut domestic capacity by 10% in April from its previous plan and international flying by 20%Those who are not afraid to buy tickets can seize upon great deals. As for those who keep their reservations, the airlines will bend over backward to accommodate them. Below is an e-mail from Bob, who lives on the Peninsula:
We changed 3 out of our four flight segments with no change fee. The United internet site was going to give us a change fee.Stay safe, Bob and Barbara. The good news and bad news is that Singapore has very strict health protocols.
They also upgraded at no cost every United flight to Economy Plus, window, with vacant seats next to us in the middle. Our first flight is N/S to Singapore, 17.25 hours, the 9th longest commercial flight being flown now, so these good seats will make a difference.
“Oh we have a lot of economy plus seats ,so we’d be happy to give you , our good frequent flyer, any seat there at no cost. And we so apologize for your long wait time time on hold, so that’s another reason we are giving you the upgrade."
Amid a coronavirus outbreak in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging older people and people with severe chronic medical conditions to "stay at home as much as possible"....Matthew 18:20 - "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University professor and longtime adviser to the CDC, said these two groups should consider avoiding activities such as traveling by airplane, going to movie theaters, attending family events, shopping at crowded malls, and going to religious services...
"Don't go. Be reverent at home," Schaffner said.
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| Passing of the Peace, St. Andrew's, Spokane |
March 5, 2020
Dear friends,
In the name of Christ, I send you my greetings and prayers as, together, we navigate this time of intense concern over the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). As of this writing, health authorities today are confirming new cases of coronavirus in the Bay Area, including six in Santa Clara County, and two in San Francisco. Let us add them to our prayers for all those affected by the pandemic, who also include the thousands of passengers on the Grand Princess Cruise ship currently unable to dock in San Francisco because of coronavirus concerns.
In light of these developments, and out of love and concern for all, including our neighbors, I now direct all lay and ordained leaders to cease offering communion wine, either for sipping or by intinction, until we learn more about the nature of COVID-19 transmission and are confident the threat of mass infections has passed.
I also add to our evolving set of guidelines* the ask that all those who touch the communion bread/wafers, including altar guild members, wash their hands for thoroughly beforehand and use hand sanitizer during the service if handling communion elements during that time.
As I said in Tuesday's letter to the diocese, I understand the tremendous upset that these and other health precautions taken during the coronavirus outbreak may bring to you. As we walk this path together, I hope you will remember that our all-loving God will give us what we ask for from our hearts. On behalf of the entire diocese, thank you for your willingness to alter, temporarily, some of our behavior in favor of protecting one another and the neighbors we serve.
In Christ,
Marc Andrus
*At the peace, please consider alternatives to handshaking or hugging. A nod, a wave, or touching our hands to our hearts are among the many ways we can acknowledge Christ in one another.
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| 2017: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Melania Trump and President Trump during the opening of an anti-extremist center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (NYT) |
President Trump produced one of the most memorable photos of his presidency when he placed his hands on a glowing Orb at the opening of a new center to combat Islamic extremism during a visit to Saudi Arabia nearly three years ago.To those who are skeptical of the power of the supernatural, we will remind them that many educated people believe that we can magically eliminate all petroleum products like gasoline and plastics without any diminution in our quality of life or can have a government takeover of the entire medical industry, give everyone free medical care, and keep the miracle cures coming.
It is locked up, largely forgotten, in storage at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh....exactly where U.S. officials won’t say.It wouldn't surprise me at all if the orb has been moved to Area 51.
Gently painted on the evening sky*Global warmists may claim credit, but not even they predicted the coronavirus pandemic or the plague of locusts. Furthermore, California was going to have droughts forever until it had four consecutive normal-to-wet winters. If it's science, I say make the prediction! Will we have a bad hurricane season? Will we have a dry or wet winter? If it's obvious in retrospect only, then it's religion (the earth quaked because of our sins).
By a Hand, infinitely Divine.
The orange orb rests assuredly--
-------Lawan, 2016
When Jill Biden blocked a protestor from approaching her husband on Tuesday, the moment was primal.
Paradoxically I’m out and about more this week—shopping, business and regular doctor appointments etc.—before the virus has illimitable dominion over the Bay Area. Old joke: today is an average day, worse than yesterday, better than tomorrow. #coronavirus
— Stephen Yuen (@stephenyuen) March 5, 2020
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| (Image from phillymag) |
At checkout, the clerk, someone you see all the time, spins the point-of-sale tablet around to display your tipping options, ranging from a buck to two or even three.Payment screens are usually found at establishments with no table service, so no one should feel embarrassed about pressing the "No Tip" button. However, I often do succumb to social pressure and chip in a buck or two under the "Custom Tip" option whenever paying with a card.
You feel bad denying a friendly face but did the clerk’s efforts really rise to a level that merits a gratuity, let alone one of 60% or even 100%?
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| Gardening outfit |
And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
Plague doctor (allthatsinteresting)
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| The chicken was sold out at FC Costco. |
Bare shelves and frayed nerves were on full display over the weekend at Bay Area grocery stores as the coronavirus continued to spread.I have been restocking more frequently, but not to the extent of amassing above-normal levels of supplies. (Think of it as refilling the gas tank when it is half full and not waiting until the one-quarter mark.) A 50-lb. bag of rice, plus 20 cans of spam, will ensure survival through summer.
Shoppers described chaotic scenes, many of which were shared on social media: stacks of rice and toilet paper snatched up within seconds, checkout lines that snaked through entire stores, and jam-packed parking lots reminiscent of Christmas Eve.
San Francisco Chinatown restaurants have seen the neighborhood’s streets empty out because of misplaced concerns and suspected xenophobia. Other restaurant owners aren’t sure exactly why business has dipped, but mounting fears around the coronavirus as cases emerge in Northern California could be the answer...
Easy to get a table at pricey Mr. Jiu's
in SF Chinatown (Chron photo).
Christopher Kostow, executive chef at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley...said some cancellations stemmed from international tourists who opted out of their vacation plans, while others were domestic visitors newly nervous about coming to the Bay Area after San Francisco Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency.
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| Gilead HQ in Foster City on a Saturday morning in 2015. |
Shares of American biotech firm Gilead Sciences rose nearly 5% Monday after an official from the World Health Organization said that Gilead's drug remdesivir is showing signs that it may be able to help treat the deadly coronavirus.Testing on remdesivir and potential vaccines will take months, a seemingly interminable wait in a world in which we expect miracles to occur at light-speed.
"There is only one drug right now that we think may have real efficacy and that's remdesivir," Bruce Aylward, an assistant director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a press conference in Beijing.
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?The passage inspired the spiritual:
There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.
Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.
