Anti-trust Actions and Consumer Frustration Building for Years Coming to a Head in Post-Pandemic World
A groundswell of dissatisfaction bordering on outrage, particularly in Europe, built to a peak by the end of 2019. Lawsuits, investigations, protests and more lay siege on the biggest of the big tech giants. Google, Facebook and Amazon were at the forefront of much of the turmoil.
Judgements, convictions and fines levied against google included a whopping $1.7 billion fine in the European Union for violating antitrust regulations involving unfair advertising practices. The E.U. had already convicted the giant search company twice for similar violations in its business practices. The total fines as of the Match 2019 judgement totaled 9.3 billion imposed by the E.U. alone. While this may be pocket change to a trillion dollar company with a virtual monopoly in search in many parts of the world, it also indicates and impacts a rising awareness of the disturbing anti-competitive behavior of the tech giant.
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Both Facebook and Amazon have been similarly targeted for various anti-trust violations and non-competitive behaviors and were fined accordingly. Although in some ways less targeted for traditional anti-trust violations to date, Amazon, has been increasingly scrutinized and investigated for its methods of market domination. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin was quoted in a televised speech stating that “Amazon destroyed the retail industry”. Amazon’s complex structure and claim to “only” account for 5% of retail sales (and 50% of online retail) make traditional monopolistic behavior claims more difficult to prove. Antitrust experts have called the massive online company a monopsony instead, which can mean having a majority power over suppliers rather than consumers. A similar set of issues and concerns was the focus of famous antitrust battles against the A&P Grocery chain during the Great Depression with a judgement against the giant finally rendered in 1946.
Also recently, the Wall Street Journal published a disturbing story detailing how sellers on Amazon were able to sell products sourced from dumpsters, clean them up and pass off as new. This was a tip-of-the-iceberg moment opening up inquiries into the state of the “3rd party marketplace” which represents more than 50% of Amazon’s revenue.
Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University
After the Pandemic Troubles Likely to Remain for Tech Behemoths
Now, as of the date of this writing the confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. total over five hundred thousand cases with over one hundred thousand deaths worldwide. The U.S. death toll, at over 2.3k , has surpassed every other country, including China (although the numbers coming out of China may not be reliable). The number of cases and the death toll has not yet peaked, according to experts, and Lock-downs across the country are likely to continue for weeks, even months longer.
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Although this situation effectively postpones government investigations and county actions against the giants, public anger and frustration, particularly with Amazon appears to be on the rise. Low paid warehouse workers for Amazon have staged walk outs and protests, delivery times have lengthened dramatically, the newly launched Amazon branded delivery system was cancelled and overall chaos appears on the rise.
None of these or any other side-effects of the pandemic and the lock-downs, such an an increase in streaming and online use in general is likely to be a positive public relations win for any of these massive companies. The trend of the last several years is likely to not only continue but intensify as the world slowly emerges from a state of quarantine shock and gradually tries to find a path to a new business as usual.
Meanwhile, enough time has elapsed that not only articles but books about the Big-Tech backlash and the problems that have been clearly identified in the business models of these companies have been published. Many are zeroing in on the negative impact of these enormous companies on society, the job market and small businesses in particular as they snowball into larger and more dominating versions of themselves .
We have featured a few on this page but they are being published literally as I write this article, and we will continue to catalog and update the subject on our sister site Cherrybooks.
While nothing is a Panacea and Medical Attention is always Advised, at Least Something that could help is being discussed…
A Virus with no cure, no vaccine and no approved drugs available, other than fever reducers such as Tylenol, the novel coronavirus, also known as covid-19 is very scary indeed. One tiny ray of hope has emerged from social media in the form of celebrities that have contracted the disease and either recovered or are recovering as we speak.
Among many in the limelight who have tested positive, some, such as Idris Elba and his wife, were and remain asymptomatic, even as the prescribed quarantine period has elapsed. Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson have now fully recovered. Singer Pink and her 3-year-old son tested positive but have fully recovered and are now negative.
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Writer of the wildly successful Harry Potter book series, author J.K. Rowling frightened millions of fans around the world a few weeks ago when she announced that she had contracted many of the symptoms associated with COVID-19: “For last 2 weeks I’ve had all symptoms of C19 (tho haven’t been tested)”, she said in a tweet.
Luckily, the writer is married to Scottish doctor Neil Murray. He also recommended a home remedy for her symptoms. The remedy is a breathing exercise. It involves taking five deep breaths, holding them in for four full seconds, then exhaling. On the sixth deep breath, you let it out with a forceful cough. After doing this cycle twice, you lie on chest-down on the ground, breathing slightly deeper than regularly. Dr Sarfaraz Munshi, from Queens Hospital in the UK , explains that a larger area of the lungs are in our back rather than front, and by lying on our backs we are closing off more airways. Therefore, he suggests lying face-down when finishing the exercise.
“Here’s the secret to kicking’ this virus. It’s not a pill or a potion. It’s about your will and devotion. The virus wants us to lay down. You’ve got to do things to beat this virus, you’ve got to breathe deep when it hurts. “
– Chris Cuomo
The U.K. doctors who have been sharing this technique advise people feeling sick to spend lots of time lying chest-down, for it places less strain on the lungs than lying on one’s back.
“You have to walk around — it hurts. You don’t want to do it. Everything in your body is telling you not to do it, and it’s lying to you, and I know that now… The more I push myself to do, the better I’m getting, so I’m going to take faith in that for now.“
– Chris Cuomo
Chris Cuomo credits Same Technique and Practices it “5x” per day
From Christina Cuomo’s Instagram post- drinks and fluids to help hydrate during high fever.
On his CNN show, which he continues to broadcast, albeit from his basement, Chris explained that he’s been pushing himself to keep active. “When the fever spikes you just want to curl up in a ball and stay there for the next six, seven hours and you can’t. You’ve got to bundle up your clothes, you’ve got to start drowning yourself in fluid,” he said, sharing the results of his X-ray with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “You have to walk around — it hurts. You don’t want to do it. Everything in your body is telling you not to do it, and it’s lying to you, and I know that now… The more I push myself to do, the better I’m getting, so I’m going to take faith in that for now.”
Thank you for your kind and lovely messages! I really am completely recovered and wanted to share a technique that’s recommended by doctors, costs nothing, has no nasty side effects but could help you/your loved ones a lot, as it did me. Stay safe, everyone x
“When the fever spikes you just want to curl up in a ball and stay there for the next six, seven hours and you can’t. You’ve got to bundle up your clothes, you’ve got to start drowning yourself in fluid”
Chris Cuomo on his struggles with “the Beast” A.K.A. Covid-19
YES. 5x day. And I do stuff on tummy. And I walk a little and take big gasps. Still fighting fever waves. Last night was depressing. Decent day then fever all night. https://t.co/pdMSfIbssm
J.K. Rowling recently Tweeted that she is fully recovered, and she shared the technique that helped her get better via a YouTube link. Chris Cuomo, meanwhile, according to his wife Christina, was experiencing a greatly reduced fever (99º) and appears to be recovering after 121 days+ of fighting “The Beast”. Hearing that Rowling is doing well is a sigh of relief in these trying times. Nevertheless, the case shows that nobody is safe from the coronavirus, and we all must take the proper precautions to eliminate the pandemic’s spread. Of course, such a homemade provision is not a cure or an excuse for seeking legitimate medical help. If you feel sick, you should still go to the doctor.
Independent Bookstores, closed and struggling due to Shelter in Place orders, see Massive Surge in Online Sales
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Bookshop.org, where our sister site Cherrybooks.org is currently housed, seeing a huge surge in sales: starting on March 27th the world appears to have run out of streaming shows to binge-watch and decided to consider reading as a serious alternative.
Some stores are reporting a 300% jump, interestingly focused on this weekend in particular. Our sister company has seen similar numbers. More interestingly the titles that people are buying are like a window into all of our thoughts, hopes, fears and desires.
It’s an encouraging sign to see that people are literally taking this serious, daunting situation to heart and rethinking their own lives and even life itself. Naturally, entertaining escape from reality fiction and romantic fantasy fills a need and there is plenty of those kind of titles in the mix.
And, particularly, in the initial surge of interest, books related to epidemiology and any previous history titles related to pandemics and viruses enjoyed a spike in interest.
It’s Amazing to See how Millions are Searching for ways to Learn and Expand Knowledge, as We Hope to Transform Crisis into Opportunity
The depth and breath of the interest appears to be swelling into a second wave of sorts. Just as we are all going through various psychological stages in our reaction to the crisis we appear to have reached a stage where we are learning to accept that the length of self-isolation or physical separation in the name of “flattening the curve” will not be a week to ten days but could stretch into April and even May.
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Lots of time on your hands? Need to save money due to unemployment? Want to do something that you can do alone in quarantine? All of the above apply to these titles and all DIY and How-to books !
This reality has triggered what appears to be a healthy and even heroic response in many. When viewing the titles people are choosing, and the depth of the thought that appears to have gone into those choices, it’s as if there is a massive worldwide army of people with a tsunami of desire to solve problems. From personal, individual problems and hopes, to world wide challenges in matters of health, economics, ecology, politics and so on.
Know of somebody who is lying all the time? Is he on TV every day? Finding it hard to cope? This one’s for you. Also available on Amazon
Looking inward and toward the rear view mirror, people are researching history, particularly the 1st world war and its massive flu epidemic, along with the great depression as we ponder our financial and economic fates.
Even deeper inward philosophy, religion and all kinds of introspective longing to understand ourselves and societies and our history can be seen in the book titles. Stoicism books are selling by the dozen, as are, not surprisingly books on christianity and faith. Other religions and philosophies are represented also.
Humor is a big draw at a time we can all use a laugh and a smile. Everything can be seen and felt in the choices people are making as they search for ways to use this mandated time to reflect and regroup. How better to reach out for answers than the oldest technology for wisdom and the progression of ideas: books and solitary reading.
Below: a random smattering of titles from actual orders to illustrate this phenomenon along with our descriptions of the impulses that led to these selections:
This one is an obvious choice. Eyes tired from binge-watching for 37 hours straight? When you wake up tomorrow you can soothe them by forgoing the video version and going straight to the original. We find a surprising number of people become interested in the original book version of a title after the film or video version already hit the streets…
Want to do good? Thinking of role models sorely needed in this world of ours? Thoughts leaning toward what a person can do to help others during this time of crisis and suffering? Biographies of inspirational figures, such as Mother Teresa are very popular now, showing a trend towards introspection and the meaning of life and serving others.
How huge is poetry during self isolation? Very. This is one that has been surprising, from modern to romantic to historic classics, poetry books are flying off the shelves like there’s no tomorrow. Which we all hope is not the case. Even if it does turn out that way, what better last thought to savor than one from a great poet?
From Charles Bukowski to Rumi or Thich Nhat Hanh people are letting words flow from the pages and letting their souls devour the sweet nectar. Whatever style or epoch tickles your fancy it’s out there waiting. Take it and run with it. What have you got to lose?
Religion and Spirituality are huge, which goes without saying. The impulse to look within ourselves is growing stronger even as the world around us appears to be devolving into chaos. Perhaps it’s a feeling of wanting to reach back to our roots and traditions of our families or childhood.
Or it could just as well be a strong desire to explore what’s absolutely new and unknown to us. Either way the solitary time in this unexpected environment we find ourselves in is perfect for exploring things we may not have had an opportunity to investigate during “normal” times.
Or maybe it’s time to figure out how to solve all the world’s problems. Sure it’s great to start with epidemiology and search for a coronavirus vaccination. But what about the rest of our problems? Or how about just great ideas for better ways to live and organize society? Or political solutions and movements? With enough time on our hands to study and reflect there may not be any problem too big or too complex.
Somebody said we are all in quarantine and spending all our time eating and fighting with spouses and relatives. Why not take a break and read about how not to fight with each other. Many have apparently taken that advice to heart as some of our biggest sellers are books and how to get along with each other, and ourselves! Reading has a miraculous influence on us to give us the strength and courage to believe that we can fix anything. Even solve our own inner dilemmas and weaknesses.
Of course there is always the pleasure of exploration. Novels and guilty pleasure reads, cookbooks and food, Romance, Sex, Relationships, Children’s Entertainment, Movies and Music, the list goes on and on. The old saying “there’s an app for that was preceded many, many years earlier by a simple truism that has stood the test of time. There’s a book for that.
Local print and digital news industries have been in a fragile state for the past decade or so. As print journalism becomes outdated, digital news grows oversaturated, and Facebook and Google dominate the online advertising market, newspapers—both young and old, established and local—have been downsizing, reprogramming, and, in some cases, abandoning operations. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic tanking the economy, these papers are getting yet another potentially fatal blow, this time at a moment when we need them the most.
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While subscriptions to various outlets could certainly be higher, the real culprit behind the industry’s recent setback has been a lack in ads. With businesses are closing their doors and the stock market chronically sinking amidst orders for most consumers to stay at home. Temporarily shut down businesses with no active customers naturally have no purpose in increasing or continuing advertising campaigns. People are steadfastly living in isolation, pausing the conventional market flow and thus rendering most ads futile or impotent at best.
Unfortunately for many news media outlets, ads are where most of the revenue comes from. Advertisements fund nearly all of the journalism that makes these publications worthwhile. While actual subscription sales do a part of the job, their contributions are meager compared to the ads. Therefore, while isolation might actually yield increased readership, the ad supported outlets still face financial losses and sink further into debt during this crisis.
While Journalism Struggles America Needs Professional Reporting more than Ever
“Crisis” is the apt word for the present situation, which should speak volumes to the current necessity for quality journalism. Fear, half-truths, political discord, and downright uncertainty grips the nation. The Press has a longstanding Democratic obligation to keep Americans informed and feed them the whole truth. If it ceases to operate—especially in these unstable times—then people may turn to unreliable sources, court misinformation, and render the already scary situation even more dangerous.
In previous periods when journalism hit roadblocks, such as during the Great Recession in 2008, most papers found ways around the situation by increasing pay walls on digital services or seeking private funding. These options might still be available for major publications like The New York Times or The Washington Post. However, smaller, local and regional news outlets are unlikely to find similar rescue options.
A Huge Need For Local and Regional Reporting Exists
Local news organizations are the most vulnerable outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they have tighter readerships, rely on smaller business ads, and don’t share the same major connections that some of the bigger publications boast. They are no less important, though, as they cater to parts of the country removed from urban hubs and spread localized information to contained populations.
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Consequentially, the News Media Alliance and America’s Newspapers—two trade associations representing over 2000 newspapers both big and small—are turning to the federal government for help. On March 30th, NMA President David Chavern and America’s Newspapers CEO H. Dean Ridings penned a letter to President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In the letter, they beseech the feds for relief funding, making a case for journalists as essential workers and crucial parts of the current fight against COVID-19.
In the meantime, however, things are sadly only getting worse for America’s newspapers. According to PressGazette on April 1st, newspaper ad revenues have dropped by 50% since the corona virus shutdowns began. With newsrooms clearing out and many journalists working from home, papers are growing pickier about who and what is essential, cutting costs by laying off personnel and printing fewer stories.
And all of this happening at a time when the Press perseveres as a last line of defense between truth and hysteria.
The reality is sinking in, slowly, that the future is truly unknowable and that big changes and even bigger challenges are looming. Twin shocks of a health emergency and a financial crisis, intertwined and yet with separate trajectories, are still to be resolved in our near future.
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And then there’s the myriad of other challenges that were already acute, such as global warming and the “other” epidemic; corruption and greed. It’s almost too much to face up to, and no one can be blamed for wanting to just turn away.
Too much has been glossed over. After the 2008 crisis we all just wanted to put that ugly mess behind us and get on with our lives. I suppose the criminals that netted billions as a “reward” for almost destroying the entire global economy were also eager to just move on.
All that as it may be, perhaps, a way to begin the process of regaining our courage and looking into the future with some kind of hope, or at least a deeper understanding of the human dilemma and historical precedents, might be to enjoy films about small moments of triumph before great adversity. Here are a few recent options:
Barely 12 years ago, the financial collapse and ensuing “Great Recession” was a nightmare scenario. The aftermath of that debacle is also a contributor to the economic dangers we see before us in 2020. This film, likely the best based on that era, highlights how outsiders and misfits were able to prosper, even as they witnessed the corruption, failure and systemic injustice that brought the world to the brink of total economic chaos.
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.
Click to buy “Antrhopocene” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
For a bird’s-eye overview and scientific perspective – Athropocene is a film for those ready to think deeply on how, once beyond the immediate danger, we would want to emerge into a new era as a species. A positive reaction to the current crisis, worldwide, has been a series of ideas and proposals that show a willingness to confront the challenges from an entirely new perspective. Maybe new leadership can mean starting over and making a pledge to try a new approach to literally everything.
‘The film follows the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group who, after nearly 10 years of research, argue that the Holocene Epoch gave way to the Anthropocene Epoch in the mid-twentieth century as a result of profound and lasting human changes to the Earth.”
Facing death constantly is a reality in war times. This story is a testament to resilience and survival against all odds.
Angelina Jolie directs this adaptation from Laura Hillenbrand’s popular book, “Unbroken” stars Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Alex Russell, Miyavi and Finn Wittrock
Cinderella Man
This Depression era feel-good story takes on new meaning as we see a “Great Depression II” potentially looming. Looking for strength and courage facing forces that threaten our survival, and coming out at the end in a better place, that’s a synopsis and blueprint we can all benefit from observing, even if it’s packaged as a Hollywood vehicle. Russel Crowe at his best. Maybe worth a second look.
Click to buy “Unbroken” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also available on Amazon.
USA now at 237 Thousand Confirmed Cases and Rising
The death toll has passed 50,000 worldwide with Europe close behind the US in confirmed cases. While the increases could be partially due to accelerating testing, there is a clear pattern and the danger is unquestionable. More than 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week in the US.
The Democratic National Convention was postponed until mid-August due to concerns that the current situation will still be an issue in July, when the Milwaukee, Wisconsin located event was originally scheduled to take place.
There was an announcement that in China, the Henan province, with 600,000 residents was placed on lock-down, indicating that the temporary “victory” in the people’s republic was prematurely declared.
The lock-down was declared in Jia county, after a local hospital had reported a number of cases. According to the government, all but a few business have been closed temporally, for an indeterminate length of time.
Authorities are implementing curfew like measure due to fears that a second wave of cases may be in the early stages.
Economic issues and business paralysis is also a continued issue worldwide, including in China, Europe and the US. The overall view is still that containment must be first and at the same time balanced with economic recovery methods, stimulus and, eventually, a resumption of business activities.
We are all gradually emerging from a state of shock. Even if we have no symptoms we see people saying, irresponsibly, that “eventually” somewhere between 50% and 100% will have contracted the novel coronavirus. One the other hand some of us, the brave, such as Idris Elba, who says he is still asymptomatic, choose to use this time to reflect on even bigger issues facing our planet.
What can be bigger than this pandemic? No need to look any further than the climate crisis, which up until sometime in February, was close to the top trending issue we were all very preoccupied with.
And for good reason. While the death estimates for the coronavirus are very frightening the climate crisis has the potential not only to affect or infect the lives of 100% of the world it will end it if we do not act.
Idris Elba in a publicity still from “The Mountain Between Us”
Big Problems need Big Thinkers and Brave Ideas
Along with other big thinkers, Idris Elba is on to something. Why not take this time to find ways to survive, but also put the energy we all have at our disposal into realigning our thinking towards a better way to live as a species on this planet. If it helps to see this as a message or even and attack by the much maligned and mistreated planet earth, and if that inspires us to dig deeper and, while staring into the abyss represented by the pandemic, so be it.
So much the better. Stay at home workers might be better off never going into an office high rise again. I know the planet will choke on less carbon if millions of people stop commuting. We have known that for 50 years. Software needs to grow, our ability to communicate via networked human communication systems, a.k.a. the internet, needs to improve radically and at a mind-bending pace. Why? Because, only when we change everything we do an how, can we avoid surviving something like this worldwide disease threat and then suddenly finding ourselves facing something even worse. Let’s inspire each other to dig deep and find ways to stop that scenario from happening.
In her latest instagram post, created from her Quarantine with husband Tom Hanks in Australia, Rita Wilson calls it Quarantine Stir Crazy – which is far nicer than turning into a Homicidal Maniac… but then she’s a nice and talented lady who happens to be married to Tom Hanks. While Idris Elba is writing his own Sci-fi script, and along with all the rest of us, concurrently living it – he is also spinning out extremely thoughtful, even deep, ideas while face-timing with Oprah:
“One of the upsides of this whole drama is that we are forced to think together as a race. Our world has been taking a kicking. We have damaged our world and it’s no surprise that our world is reacting to the human race.”
“It is no surprise that a virus has been created that is going to slow us down, and ultimately make us think differently about our world and ourselves. For me, that’s a stand-out thing that is really obvious. This is almost like the world’s cry out.”
“Like: ‘Hey, hey, hey – you are kicking me and what you’re doing is not good, so we will get rid of you.’ “As any organism would do, (the world) is trying to get rid of an infection, and maybe this is it for the world.”“As any organism would do, (the world) is trying to get rid of an infection, and maybe this is it for the world.”
Idris Elba, in facetime chat with Oprah while in quarantine in London
Rita Wilson calls it Quarantine Stir Crazy – which is far nicer than turning into a Homicidal Maniac… but then she’s a nice and talented lady who happens to be married to Tom Hanks. While Idris Elba is writing his own Sci-fi script, while, along with all the rest of us, concurrently living it –
“Like: ‘Hey, hey, hey – you are kicking me and what you’re doing is not good, so we will get rid of you.’ “As any organism would do, (the world) is trying to get rid of an infection, and maybe this is it for the world.”“As any organism would do, (the world) is trying to get rid of an infection, and maybe this is it for the world.”
– Idris Elba. while face-timing from Quarantine with Oprah
While perhaps slightly less creative and mind-bending – seeing Rita rapping to Naughty by Nature – “hip hop hooray” straight off an Ender’s Game sci-fi reading session could conceivably qualify as BSC or at least stir-crazy:
Enders Game, is a great Sci-fi book and series and, of course film. The choices show a hunger for distraction, diversion, stimulation and overall entertainment. After witnessing the cute yet vaguely disturbing image of the reading / rap hybrid video by this celebrity shut in, somehow our common plight begins to get real.
It’s as if we have all reached, or are reaching, stage two or maybe in this epic yet unwelcome journey and are all trying to search within ourselves for the creativity to turn it positive. Once again, Idris Elba deserves the final word for today with hit thoughtful take on how we might all actually benefit from the bizarre and challenging state of the world in the time of the coronavirus:
“One of the upsides of this whole drama is that we are forced to think together as a race.
“Our world has been taking a kicking. We have damaged our world and it’s no surprise that our world is reacting to the human race.
“One of the upsides of this whole drama is that we are forced to think together as a race. Our world has been taking a kicking. We have damaged our world and it’s no surprise that our world is reacting to the human race. It is no surprise that a virus has been created that is going to slow us down, and ultimately make us think differentlyabout our world and ourselves.
Find Sci-fi, Epidemiology, Fiction Reads, as well as books on many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org
Four Corona Virus Charts – Bottom right: March 16th – Upper left March 21st, Bottom left: March 21st bar chart and Upper right: logarithmic chart from March 21st
Subjective Interpretation and Projected Knowledge are always at Play with Visual Data
Looking at the four charts above – all show what appears to be an extremely rapid increase in the number of coronavirus cases worldwide. The three large charts are different methods to show the same data, and they illustrate how dangerous it is to take any emotional stance based on the “feeling” of information when presented visually.
The chart in the upper right for example is based on the same data as the chart on the upper left, and yet it appears far less alarming simply because it is plotted logarithmically, causing the “curve to appear flatter and less “alarming” unless you bring expert eyes to the charts.
Nevertheless, it does’t take a doctor or even a scientist to see events that are unfolding and make a judgment on what is likely to happen next. Unfortunately, as humans, we are often prone to clouded conclusions and even false interpretations of data, especially as a layman looking at charts and figures.
Clearly, this is the very good reason why we look to professionals, epidemiologists, doctors and event statisticians and computer modeling experts to help us make sense of something like a global pandemic outbreak.
Yet at times, perhaps this time in particular, it takes a reporter’s eyes looking at various expert sources and various aggregations of information and knowledge to try and craft an unbiased overview of the rapidly changing landscape even as it continuouslydevelops.
That is what reporters are tasked to do and, with various success rates, to do on a daily basis. It helps to use a little common sense as well, particularly at times when fear and emotion are running high.
March 16th, 2020 chart showing the rise in the number of new coronavirus cases outside Mainland China (click to enlarge)March 21, 2020 chart showing the rapid rise in the number of new coronavirus cases outside Mainland China (click to enlarge)
Many have likely seen the chart above from March 21st – which is available in a live interactive version here, posted by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The overall change over time can be seen when comparing the two charts, simply showing the increase in the number of cases on a daily basis. The data is separated into three categories:
Mainland China
The rest of the world (other countries)
Total Recoverd
The reason for this grouping is that, early in the breakout during January and February, the vast majority of new cases were in Mainland China and the increase in new cases was growing very rapidly. More recently, as can be seen in the second chart, the rest of the world has not only overtaken China in the total number of cases but also in the increase, or acceleration, of the number reported per day.
When breaking this data down over the past two weeks, in a “news” context, there have been stories about how various countries and governments were dealing with the crisis, and attempts were made to draw conclusions and learn from those examples.
South Korea was cited as an example of a country that took a very proactive approach to testing for the virus, which can be carried by people that do not exhibit any overt symptoms, and methods such as a government funded drive-through testing program were implemented. Tests administered per day were estimated at 15,000 in a country with a population of 51 million.
click to enlarge / chart courtesy of Business Insider
This is where pure numbers and science diverge from a common sense look at the extenuating circumstances. It is logical and often cited that the more testing and reporting done the faster the number of cases will grow. For example, at a time when the USA was testing approximately 5 patients per million in population, South Korea was testing 3,692. The chart below was created by, and is shown courtesy of, Business Insider.
Similar to the stock market, which is a vast world of endless charts and data, this is a perfect example of the adage: “correlation does not imply causation”. In other words, if you are measuring the number of new confirmed cases, as a way to show the spread of the disease, the relationship of that number, to the number of tests administered, is essential in any interpretation of the data.
Is the Glass Half Empty, Half Full or just a Cup of Confusion?
There is a planet sized elephant in the room when you begin to try to gauge the spread of the coronavirus in the USA. In essence, what this means is that the frantic counting of the “spread” in various countries to see where the number of cases is rising the most rapidly is, in effect, counting not the number of infected people but the number of tests being administered and the velocity of the reporting.
So, going back to the example of South Korea, by aggressively testing and quarantining those found to be carrying the virus they were able to “[flatten the curve]”, which is the ultimate goal of lock-downs and self-isolation and all other measures we can take in lieu of the availability of effective treatment options.
A relatively unimportant side-effect of the rapid testing was a temporary large increase in the number of confirmed cases. More important was the success based on the separation of more people carrying the virus from the general population, informed by the results of all those tests.
In a widely shared graphic, a tan curve represents a scenario without social distancing measures and where the U.S. hospital system becomes inundated with coronavirus patients. Chart source / PBS
Mainland China, along with, to a lesser extent, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan appear to also have had some success in slowing down the spread via quarantine.
Which leads to the confusion in the USA as to the severity of the spread and the steps being taken to try and flatten the curves. The USA is now taking action, in the hope to be among those countries who have had some measure of success, rather than joining Italy, Iran and others, mainly in Europe, that have been struggling with a surge in illness and deaths, due to the spread of the virus.
Testing in the USA is starting to increase, finally, after a chaotic and late response by the Trump administration. What this means, however, is that the testing itself will lead to an increase in the number of “confirmed” cases and the rate of that increase will also likely be higher, for at least several weeks.
In the Confusion, a Hidden Thread of Good News is Lurking
Essentially, this means that nobody can look at a chart of the number of cases and discern any comparisons about the real numbers of people infected, other than that the number is growing fast, unless the rate of testing is somehow factored in.
And, further, that the so-called lockdowns and other serious steps are more than warranted as , particularly in the USA, the “real” number of infected people is almost certainly far higher than the published number.
nobody can look at a chart of the number of cases and discern anything about the real numbers of people infected, other than that it is growing fast, unless the rate of testing is somehow factored in.
– E.C.
The examples in the areas where partial containment or at least a slowdown in the spread were the most successful, occurred in those locations where steps were taken, as quickly as possible, to quarantine those that could spread the disease to others.
Unfortunately, the “South Korean model”, focusing on rapid and aggressive testing, has not been an option in the USA. Instead we have basically skipped that step and proceeded to a “lockdown”, of, at this moment, over 70 million people in 5 states, with likely more to come.
Digging beneath the data we can see that the charts are best used, not to alarm unnecessarily, but to inform of the degree to which the steps toward prevention are warranted, and why we should all avoid panic and creatively isolate and maintain safe social distances.
We should all bear in mind, when looking at the charts and the statistics, that a rising chart does not necessarily mean that the situation is spinning out of control.
Incredibly, it likely means that the implementation of controlled steps, such as an increased number and frequency of people being tested, will result in a temporary “bump” in the “bad news” but that news will be, in reality, hidden good news. Namely, that we are finally beginning to proactively respond as a society and, as has been seen in South Korea, this can and should lead to a calming, flatter curve on our charts in the weeks to come.
With recommendations to stay inside and social distance, many people, couples and families in particular have extra time on their hands. What can you do together? Do some online shopping? Read about novel coronavirus or politics? Listen to an Audiobook? Watch TV? Well many have also turned to social media, where there has been an onslaught of creative and funny posts about the real struggles of having to live with other people. Here’s some humorous and relatable content in the form of tweets and videos that have been created while couples/families have been quarantined together.
Many of us have busy lives and couples can sometimes use dinner time as a way to reconnect and “check in” on how each others’ days went. With couples spending much more time together – the feeling of having nothing much to left to say can definitely set in.
Pro-tip for couples suddenly working from home together: Get yourselves an imaginary coworker to blame things on. In our apartment, Cheryl keeps leaving her dirty water cups all over the place and we really don't know what to do about her.
Working remote from home has become an option. When you have a family and young children also at home from school, teleconferences and Skype meetings can get a tad bit messy!
Also the whole blaming coworkers has been a quick and dirty way to pass the buck at work (only half joking) but when you’re at home it’s just you and your partner, so creating an imaginary worker to place blame on is the “perfect” solution!
Usually there is healthy distance between partners. We go to work which is time apart and then normally in the evenings and weekends you spend time together. Having to be together all the time, especially if you live in a one bedroom, frustrations are surely going to kick in. Hopefully ya’ll have healthy communication skills to proactively diffuse any tense scenarios if they will arise. Yet the above are some funny (hopefully very rare and extreme cases!)
The End
divorce lawyers waiting for couples to come out of their house after spending 14 straight days together in quarantine pic.twitter.com/HpyXLFNqMJ
Click to Buy “Love Sense” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon.
All joking aside, if you are struggling in your intimate relationship and now have some time on your hands and interested in a good read, check out “Love Sense“. Every day, we hear of relationships failing and questions of whether humans are meant to be monogamous.
Love Sense presents new scientific evidence that tells us that humans are meant to mate for life. Dr. Johnson explains that romantic love is an attachment bond, just like that between mother and child, and shows us how to develop our “love sense” — our ability to develop long-lasting relationships. Also Available on Amazon.
Find books on Relationships, as well as many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org
End of Day Bounce-back perhaps triggered by Passage of Aid Package
In spite of unprecedented intervention from the Federal Reserve and Congress the markets continue to plunge, generally every other day, in what has become a volatile and, for many, alarming pattern.
Intraday, the Dow dropped to more than 2000 points lower, for the second time this week. At moment in time the level was below where the Dow sat on January 20th, 2017 when Trump was inaugurated.
Neither the two rate cuts, the second one being a massive 1% “surprise” (which sent rates to zero for the first time in history) intervention on Sunday, nor the trillion dollar stimulus package pushed forward by the White House, appears to have had any significant effect on the consistently declining share prices.
Click to Buy “Elliott Wave Trading” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
The Senate today passed the congress approved relief package, which provides for free coronavirus testing and paid emergency leave, and is expected to be signed into law by the President.
As we have pointed out in previous posts, while the novel coronavirus is getting 100% of the credit for the unwelcome bear market and the attendant fears, the market swoon and the pandemic could also be parallel events without any direct causal connection.
Naturally the companies and sectors such as travel which are directly and negatively affected have had large hits to their stock prices based on the catastrophic business outlook.
On the other hand there are companies and business that could even benefit from the shift of economic activity necessitated by the preventive measures that are being universally implemented. For those companies it is the underlying bear market sentiment that can and will, in all likelihood, drag them down along with the rest.
Oil Continues to Plummet as Likely Halt to the Travel Industry Looms Large
The oil shock as mirrored in Exon (XOM) and U.S. Oil (USO) shares continues in spectacular fashion falling over 10% and 16% respectively. This can be seen as a secondary shock in the cascading price depressions influences initially by the production increases used by Saudi Arabia and Russia to start an all out price war, and now being hit by the virtual shutdown of the travel industry. The initial shockwaves reverberated sending the crude prices down 30% while the losses in the socks (and ETF) above are adding to the depressed levels.
Delta Airlines (DAL) was down even more on the outlook for the travel industry dropping an incredible 26.73% today alone. At $23.02 it is hard to believe that the stock was over $63 two days ago. Pending bailout aside, this is indicating that airline bankruptcies are now beyond probable and verging on a strong likelihood. Presumably a bailout would turn the stock price around, but potentially not shield it completely from the bear market across-the-board progression.
Naturally, after crowing and bragging at every uptick and new all-time high in the markets for more than three years, Trump is placing the “blame” for current intensely downward trajectory squarely on the “chinese” coronavirus and attempting to avoid any responsibility for the state of the markets, economy or anything at all on planet earth for that matter.
Naturally, in an election year this is to be expected. At the same time the reality that this bear market has only just begun, the all time high was little more than a month ago on February 12th, does not bode well for his chances, likely against Joe Biden, in the general election this November.
You can also find books on Stock Trading, Economics and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org
As the preventive measures being implemented to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, many of us are beginning to wonder if, along with the deprivations, there may also be hidden benefits, or at least alternatives to sadness or worry. Movie theaters are closed, gyms are closed, dining in restaurants forbidden, you’ve binged all the latest shows and movies and are looking for something to do other than read news headlines about the novel coronavirus.
What about focusing inward and changing up some of those bad habits/behaviors we’ve been wanting to modify but never seem to have the time? Now seems to be the perfect time to make some personal changes in our lives. And sometimes all is takes is just a little help to be able to implement small changes consistently over time to discover more of your potential.
In case you decide to refresh the ways you think and care about your mind, body or thought process, below we have curated a list of the most popular and time tested titles you can read to make positive changes in your everyday life.
Click to Buy “Get Out of Your Head” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
Are your thoughts holding you captive? I’ll never be good enough. Other people have better lives than I do. God couldn’t really love me. Jennie Allen knows what it’s like to swirl in a spiral of destructive thoughts, but she also knows we don’t have to stay stuck in toxic thinking patterns.
As she discovered in her own life, God built a way for us to escape that downward spiral. Freedom comes when we refuse to be victims to our thoughts and realize we have already been equipped with power from God to fight and win the war for our minds.
In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie inspires and equips us to transform our emotions, our outlook, and even our circumstances by taking control of our thoughts. Our enemy is determined to get in our heads to make us feel helpless, overwhelmed, and incapable of making a difference for the kingdom of God. But when we submit our minds to Christ, the promises and goodness of God flood our lives in remarkable ways.It starts in your head. And from there, the possibilities are endless. Also Available on Amazon.
Click to Buy “Atomic Habits” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you’ll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Also Available on Amazon.
In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be “positive” all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.
For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. “F**k positivity,” Mark Manson says. “Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it.” In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is–a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected modern society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.
Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited–“not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.
There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives. Also Available on Amazon.
Click to Buy “Make Your Bed” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon.
Based on a Navy SEAL’s inspiring graduation speech, this #1 New York Times bestseller of powerful life lessons “should be read by every leader in America” (Wall Street Journal).
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day. Taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better.
Admiral McRaven’s original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage. Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life’s darkest moments. Available on Amazon and Walmart.
Click to Buy “Daring Greatly” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon and Walmart.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.“–Theodore Roosevelt.
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, Bren Brown PhD, LMSW, dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.Brown explains how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief, and disappointment, and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation, and creativity. She writes: “When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.”
Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. It’s about courage. In a world where “never enough” dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. It’s even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there’s a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena–whether it’s a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen. Available on Amazon and Walmart.
One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose of-fice she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.
As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients’ lives — a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can’t stop hooking up with the wrong guys — she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.
With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is rev-olutionary in its candor, offering a deeply per-sonal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly reveal-ing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them. Available on Amazon and Walmart.
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Check out more of our Book recommendations below. You can also find more books on Self-Help, Personal Transformation and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org
Idris Elba announced today via his twitter account that he has been diagnosed with covid-19, also known as the novel coronavirus. He posted a video along with the tweet and indicated that he has no symptoms so far and feels ok. Along with Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who are in isolation recovering in Australia, this announcement is the second recent one involving a major Hollywood star.
Long lines all over L.A. with people trying to buy staples, Sports events and Concerts cancelled, empty shelves everywhere and now both Disney and Universal are releasing current upcoming films for streaming – since box office will be zero or even cancelled for an undetermined time period. Not to mention the Dow is down nearly 3000 points at closing today (-2997.10 / -12.92%). Yikes.
This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ
This news, based on the incredible familiarity that we all have with stars of this magnitude, is making the pandemic more and more “real” for all of us. In the chart below a big reason for the extreme precautionary measures can be seen:
The line all the way to the right, almost straight up vertical is the number of cases not in China. As is clear the total is nearly as many as all that have been reported in China to date and will soon overtake that number. Most alarming is the vertical rise – far steeper than the gradual increase that was seen since February 16th, after the drastic measures were taken in China by that time.
In a widely shared graphic, a tan curve represents a scenario without social distancing measures and where the U.S. hospital system becomes inundated with coronavirus patients. Chart / PBS
Just such a slow down in additional cases will “flatten the curve” of non-China cases and is the goal of the extreme and increasingly invasive measures we are taking in the US and Europe. Although the feeling in the air, especially if shopping for supplies, seems somewhat panicked, it is important to recognize that all of these measures, most of all self-quarantine and social distancing are meant to protect us, and ultimately, flatten the curve to a point where the number of cases can actually slow down enough that this chart will actually be on a downward slope.
The interactive chart of Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases can be accessed here, courtesy of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The mobile version of the chart can be accessed here.
As virtually everyone is aware by now the second biggest story of the week (third?) has been the literal deluge of shopping crowds converging on grocery and big-box stores buying large quantities of water, paper products, disinfectants and, more recently, food staples and whatever else is not nailed down.
Interviews with company presidents that manufacture paper products have shown that this is truly panic buying as the apparent shortages are based not on a lack of supply or the ability to produce more, but on the logistical difficulty in getting the shelves stocked fast enough.
“There is not some big underground warehouse like in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ where there is all this toilet paper sitting around in case it is needed”
Dan Clarahan, president of United Converting,quoted in the NY Times
Instead people are literally filling their closets with excess paper, more than they can use in a year, all due to psychological reactions to the uncertainty of the overall situation. We as humans are notoriously bad at calculating needs and usage of supplies and making time based buying decisions.
Paper aisle of a discount store today in Los Angeles. Photo / Lynxotic
Case in point: the box of tin-foil above, which is admittedly a 500 ft roll meant for restaurant use (bought at Costco) is, for all intents and purposes, an antique. I bought it for around $15 in 2012. It’s not gone yet.
I am not, as you can see, an industrial grade user of tin-foil. However, this box has been used several times a week for various household refrigerator storage tasks for 8 Years!
Without getting into the fine mathematics of how long, per person, a roll of toilet paper should last (including all the minutia such as the length of the roll and how many “layers of comfort” are included) grabbing shopping carts full is likely not a necessity, even if practicing social distancing for a month or two.
“Empty” shelves at Los Angeles discount store – Photo / Lynxotic
And then what about food? This photo is of “shockingly empty” shelves in the meat section of a discount store in Los Angeles, today. What’s the first thing you see? What I see is just how many great things to eat are readily available, still, on these empty shelves.
So, all in all, I guess its called “panic” for a reason. Because it’s not about “reason” but rather that lack thereof. Just as with paper products food supplies are not in any huge danger of total collapse. You just might have to choose a different entrée for a time or two. Shelves are being restocked as fast as the stores can muster, but the speed, and in particular the amount per person, of the buying is making it impossible to physically get the goods into place soon enough.
Teleconferencing, Cloud apps, Work-from-home and the carbon conundrum
And, while on the subject of what’s not-as-bad as it seems, interestingly many common behaviors that were considered necessary, up until the coronavirus became a danger when combined with those practices, such as the 4oz limit on liquids taken on to an aircraft are being phased out. When people were allowed, starting recently, to take 12oz bottles of hand sanitizer onto flights, literally nothing bad happened.
And what about working from home, as has been almost universally adopted by major tech companies such as Amazon, Twitter, Apple, etc. Many are saying this could, and should, be a permanent change and that the don’t think that the practice of commuting to work will ever be the norm again.
Wait… what? So, along with having oil shoved down our throats (or at lest into our gas tanks) by the fossil fuel industry for half a century longer than technologically necessary, we have been commuting and destroying the planet for no reason at all?
Surprisingly positive and even optimistic signs are already appearing like this everywhere – green shoots of the new season of change. Ands change, radical change, is the common denominator.
Electric cars were driving around London as early as 1884, but it took Elon Musk and Tesla to finally take the idea of owning one to the mainstream. A car with an internal combustion engine created in 1934 got over 30 MPG, could reach speeds upwards of 90 mph and could seat 11. It’s no accident that these technologies were stifled for all these years. Ask Putin and MBS.
Living in a Box might help us to think Outside the Box
So, without putting too fine a point on it, a lot of good things are already potentially coming out of the massive changes underfoot – not just our fight to escape the worst of the coronaviruses potential, but the economic fallout, which is only partially related, and the coming shift in thinking about, well, everything.
The reality is, from Climate Change and carbon overload to corruption in government and big business, the biggest changes needed are possible if the old ways just disappear, or are swept away, in order for existing technological potential to be realized. And what better time for that to happen than now?
Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you
We are all so often lost. Feeling lost and wondering what to do. We run to the stores and try to race against one another for the chance to hoard things we don’t really need. But, perhaps, just as toilet paper won’t protect you from the novel coronavirus, even bigger issues such as climate change can only begin to be solved once we find a way to live in a totally different way.
”Well…You know, so much of the time we’re just lost. We say, “Please, God, tell us what is right. Tell us what is true.”
I mean there is no justice. The rich win; the poor are powerless. We become tired of hearing people lie. And after a time we become dead, a little dead.
“The Verdict”
What way? That is unknown. Big changes are coming, like it or not. But changes don’t always mean worsening circumstances. We might have the solutions right under our noses. That tin-foil might last longer than we expected. Accepting, even embracing change might reveal a chance for better things to come. Learning not to burn fossilized plant matter to go to an office to work on a computer that you also have at home. Believing in our ability as humans to find solutions, and for those solutions to be brought into the light of day, without being obstructed or suppressed for greedy, stupid reasons.
…But today you are the law. You are the law, not some book, not the lawyers, not a marble statue, or the trappings of the court. See, those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are, in fact, a prayer, I mean a fervent and a frightened prayer.
The next big challenge, which we as a planet are clearly not yet prepared to face, is climate change and the environmental damage wrought by “man”. What if interconnected human communications, enhanced by software and the internet, can play a roll in changing the way we live – and by doing that changing the equation that has been a negative one for over a century? That could be a building block toward not just survival but to a new way to prevail and prosper.
In my religion, they say, “Act as if you had faith; faith will be given to you.”
If we are to have faith in justice we need only to believe in ourselves and act with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts.”
Words by David Mamet – Performed by Paul Newman in Sidney Lumet’s, ‘The Verdict
The most talked about car in 2019 has been Tesla’s Model 3, an electric vehicle from Tesla that is sleek, modern looking, and highly desirable. In Tesla’s latest quarter alone, the company has sold nearly 80,000 Model 3s, sustaining it as the most popular EV on the market. This is not Tesla’s only achievement for the year. The company’s Cybertruck and Semi have received copious attention; its Model X and Model S continue to be popular; and consumers are eagerly awaiting 2020’s releases of the Model Y and Roadster.
Click to Buy “Dark Towers” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon .
Based on its title, David Enrich’s new book “Dark Towers” might sound like an appendix to the nine part horror-fantasy series that Stephen King wrote between 1982 and 2012. In reality, though, Enrich’s book is a true story of financial corruption, with the full title “Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump and an Epic Trail of Destruction.”
Nevertheless, the tale is just as riveting as any novel, and is perhaps even darker than any work of fiction.
Four years ago, Russia played an illegal hand in deciding the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, using social media to spread misinformation, disenfranchise voters, and contribute to the Trump campaign in ways that reaped obvious results. Following the election, social media and tech moguls behind companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and more have been called into question, pressed by politicians to provide greater cyber security and proactively catch instances of foreign powers trying to infiltrate American politics.
While actual amendments made by these social media companies have appeared lackluster and hollow—changes in leadership, marketing ploys, logo changes, etc.—Facebook and Twitter did recently find and suspend several accounts that were linked to Russian operations.
Feb 26, 2020: Twitter suspends all accounts associated with EBLA office in Ghana
– CNN
These accounts, ran by people from Ghana, were targeting African/Black American constituents, making radical posts about liberation, identity, and rebellion. Although the posts did not show preference for any specific candidate, they were unambiguously voicing a political message and attempting to influence the American populace at this integral time.
The Ghanaian-based group that ran these accounts was dubbed EBLA online. Across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the group had over 150 pages and accounts, and over a quarter-million followers. It also had a false headquarters location of Charleston, South Carolina to appear authentically American.
March 12, 2020:Facebook removes 49 accounts, 69 pages and 85 Instagram accounts associated with the troll farm. Twitter removes 72 EBLA accounts.
– CNN estimate based on multi-month investigation
Obvious Inauthentic Behavior Masked by Human Trolls
Tech company personnel, AI security software, and a few active users noticed the conspicuous aspects of these page’s posts and flagged them. Further analysis eventually ousted them as inauthentic. Oddly enough, however, the investigation revealed that the posts were not created by bots (which is typical for such scams), but by actual people in Ghana. Thus, it took real digging along with some cross references with Russia’s previous posts to realize that EBLA was tied up and led by Russian operations. The Ghanaian representatives were essentially a ploy, an extra layer of protection for Russia to carry out its sneaky offenses
In the end, EBLA got the boot from social media, kicked off of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. While EBLA never endorsed or even mentioned a 2020 candidate, this seemed like an appropriate precaution on the social networks’ behalves, for the foreign accounts were clearly attempting to sway the American political climate.
Ever since its social media exile, EBLA has gone silent and reporters have been unable to reach anyone involved in with the suspicious organization. In the digital age, disappearing becomes quite easy. Such is why social network users have to be all the more vigilant, critiquing false information and halting suspicious online behavior before it overtakes the truth this election year.
Find books on Politics, Social Media and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org
teractive dashboard from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) showing a live update of the current data on the coronavirus (links below)
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Updates
As the daily coronavirus case count rises worldwide – the “panic buying” has reached a crescendo in the USA this weekend. As can be seen on this interactive chart provided by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases continue to rise with North America following Asia and Europe.
Total Confirmed worldwide 145,267 with 5,411 deaths and 70,296 recovered. More than 138 countries / regions have been affected. In the USA alone there are so far, 2,084 cases, 44 deaths and 12 recovered. Bar far the largest number of deaths occurred in Washing State (37) due to the outbreak associated with the nursing home.
There is an incubation period for the virus that is up to 14 days, thus it is possible many people may be infected yet are asymptomatic. Director of National Insituite for Allergy and Infection Disease reported a concern for community-released spreading of the virus. With all the confusion, it’s hard to get a grasp of accurate numbers.
Highest Numbers ofConfirmed Cases by Country/Region/Sovereignty as of March 13th, 2020 at 7:30PM Pacific
80,949 China
17,660 Italy
11,364 Iran
8,086 Korea, South
5,232 Spain
3,675 Germany
3,667 France
2,034 USA
1,139 Switzerland
996 Norway
814 Sweden
804 Netherlands
804 Denmark
801 United Kingdom
725 Japan
696 Cruise Ship
559 Belgium
504 Austria
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently reported that up to 1-3 million tests could be conducted very soon.
By Whatever Name the Prep is Still Valid and Advised
The World Health Organization (WHO) is not yet calling the Coronavirus a pandemic, but reported it has “pandemic potentially” to spread worldwide.
Director of The World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke at a media briefing regarding Coronavirus.
“We are in unchartered territory. We have never before seen a respiratory pathogen that is capable of community transmission, but which can also be contained with the right measures.”
– Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus / director of who
Walmart and Costco Restocking Staple Items ‘Constantly’ as Quarantine Threat Looms
Click to Buy “The Great Influenza” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores Also Available on Amazon
With CDC, WHO, and other medical experts urging caution and daily news on more Coronavirus related outbreaks and deaths, many shoppers are rushing to grocery and shopping centers to buy necessary supplies like food and water in bulk.
The sense of urgency is unquestionable with images of long lines and barren shelves flooding social media and news outlets. Supplies including disinfecting wipes, paper goods, grains, canned food, frozen goods, and water are a growing demand.
Face masks have reported large sales boosts and many stores have struggled to keep up with restocking. Limits on masks and N95 respirators have been placed to 10 per customer at places like Home Depot.
“Caution is appropriate. Preparedness is appropriate. Panic is not”.
Getting your household ready for an emergency is helpful and always a smart idea. There is no need to go overboard but having a supply of food staples and household supplies is recommended. Ensure at least a 30 day supply of prescription medications, as well as over the counter health products (ex: pain relievers, vitamins, etc). Below are the general guidelines for self protection and reducing the risk of infection. These are, naturally, not bad ideas for anytime, not only in the face of a potential pandemic:
Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
Cover your moth when you sneeze or cough
Disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces around your house and work
Stay home if you are sick
Avoid handshakes and touching your face, eyes, nose or mouth in pubic
(If possible) steer clear from people that are sick
There is no need to wear a face mask unless you are sick
Practicing Good Hygiene is key, below are practical steps that if maintained consistently can help to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus:
Social Distancing now Impacting World’s Happiest Place
March 12th was a bleak day for Southern California from the beginning. The morning brought in dank temperatures and dark clouds that by midday opened up to a persistent grey rainfall. Amidst the storm, news outlets could only talk about one thing—the coronavirus, which had infected over 150 people in the Golden State at the time. The virus had already led to schools shutting down, movies being delayed, and professional sports leagues such as the MLB, NBA, and NHL suspending their seasons. And as of 1:30 in the afternoon on this tempestuous Thursday, the disease even caused Disneyland, the “Happiest Place On Earth,” to close its doors for the first time in nearly two decades.
In the morning, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a public warning for all Californians to avoid gatherings of 250 people or more. This included urging businesses to temporarily close stores and cancel large events in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At first, the House-Of-Mouse announced that it would be keeping its doors open despite the Governor’s recommendations. In an initial online message, the Walt Disney Company stated that its Anaheim and Orlando parks would stay operational, but implement heightened precautions to ensure everyone’s health and safety. By the early afternoon, however, the entertainment conglomerate changed its mind, and announced that the Anaheim park would shut down from the 14th through the end of the month.
Thousands of people visit Disney each day; they come from all around the world to see it. The last time Disneyland closed was following the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, which speaks volumes to the current situation’s extremity. While it is a shame that so many people must sacrifice their dream vacation due to the unfortunate circumstances, the park’s closure is in the public health’s best interest.
Disney also announced that its hotels surrounding the park will stay in business for guests, that Anaheim’s Downtown Disney will remain open and functioning throughout the hiatus, and that the park will continue to pay its employees despite all interruptions.
Photo / Unsplash
Rival Parks also Decide on Caution
Disneyland was not the only theme park to close its doors on the 12th. Shortly after the company broke the news about its Anaheim park shutting down, it revealed that Walt Disney World Orlando and Walt Disney World Paris would be following suit. Likewise, all Disney cruise lines will be suspended and Universal Studios similarly closed its parks in Los Angeles and Orlando for the rest of the month.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, other Southern California spots such as Six Flags: Magic Mountain, SeaWorld, Legoland, and Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier all chose to remain open. However, each of these attractions’ respective owners made statements ensuring that their businesses are on high alert for guest well-being.
Currently, Governor Newsom, like many politicians across the United States, is trying to coordinate with more business owners and healthcare professionals to make sure the public remains safe. Major parks like Disney and Universal heeding the governor’s advice is a good sign, but other institutions are less keen to comply. Theaters, shopping malls, and casinos in particular have been unwilling to sacrifice their business in light of COVID-19.
Buffalo Games Star Wars – The Mandalorian – The Child – 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle: see on Amazon
The theaters, however, might soon be empty, as more and more movies are pushing back release dates due to the virus. It started with James Bond’s “No Time To Die” getting pushed from April to November a few weeks ago, and now many movies are taking the same precaution. The Fast & Furious franchise’s “F9” has been delayed to 2021; John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place: Part II” was pushed back indefinitely; and Disney shifted its entire cinematic timeline to postpone the releases of “Mulan,” “The New Mutants,” and “Antlers.”
With the exception of the 007 flick that led the charge, all of these movie delays were announced on March 12th, the same dreary, wet day that Disney Parks announced their closure on. All of this corporate obstruction also led to the biggest drop in the stock market since 1987 crash, earning March 12th, 2020 the infamous new nickname: Black Tuesday.
It almost feels like a COVID-19 judgment day for businesses, especially those in the entertainment industry—an industry that managed to thrive through the Great Depression, World War II, and just about every national crisis of America’s past hundred years.
At last, the industry may have met its match. Nevertheless, this is not a true judgment day, but rather an evasion of one. Despite monetary setbacks and temporary closures, March 12th did not demonstrate a downfall. Instead, it demonstrated wise choices on many conglomerates’ behalves to comply with scientific evidence and place public safety above business-as-usual procedures. When the virus eventually passes, these movies, parks, and rides will still be there, and their part-time suspensions for the sustained health of millions will be well worth the wait.
Although these titles are all coming from a perspective that challenges the current resident of the White House, the details are stunning and do matter – great research and reporting can help us to get beneath and beyond the slogans and the rhetoric. With this year being possibly the most important election year in history, staying informed is key. If you are one of the millions of Americans that have suffered during the chaos that President Trump has instigated during his time in office these books might add a deeper level of understanding just how we got to this point and what will be required to change the direction for the better in the next four years.
Click to Buy “Running Against the Devil” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
Donald Trump is exactly the disaster we feared for America. Hated by a majority of Americans, Trump’s administration is rocked by daily scandals, and he’s embarrassed us at home and abroad. Trump can’t win in 2020, right? Wrong.
As 2016 proved, Trump can’t win, but the Democrats can sure as hell lose. Only one thing can save Trump, and that’s a Democratic candidate who runs the race Trump wants them to run instead of the campaign they must run to win in 2020. Wilson combines decades of national political experience and insight in his take-no-prisoners analysis, hammering Trump’s destructive and dangerous first term in a case-by-case takedown of the worst president in history and describing the terrifying prospect of four more years of Trump. Like no one else can, Wilson blows the lid off Trump’s 2020 Republican war machine, showing the exact strategies and tactics they’ll use against the Democratic nominee . . . and how the Democrats can avoid the catastrophe waiting for them if they fall into Trump’s trap. Available on Amazon.
If you’ve asked yourself the question, what more can I do to make sure Donald Trump does not continue to occupy the Oval Office on January 20, 2021?–then this book is for you. A playbook for the common citizen, A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump addresses the many things individuals can do in 2020 every day, without having to leave their jobs, move to Iowa, or spend every waking moment on the election. In A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump, Plouffe’s message is simple: the only way change happens, especially on scale, is one human being talking to another. It won’t happen magically, it won’t happen because of debates and conventions, it won’t happen because of ads.
It will happen because citizens take action. And Plouffe is here to help, with specific strategies and tailored talking points to make sure your time and energy aren’t wasted. He lays out why different activities the average citizen can take can make a difference to getting to 270 electoral votes, how people can go about doing them and examples of where it’s worked in the past. There are at least 65 million Americans who are likely committed to voting against Trump. It is entirely in our control to grow that number and make sure the support materializes in actual votes. Plouffe arms us with advice on how to defend against misinformation online, how to create and spread content, how to register and get out the vote early, how to make a difference in the battlegrounds and how to stay involved after the big election. Filled with stories from the last sixteen years, both successes and failures, as well as political strategies that have evolved in the wake of the breakthrough campaign that Plouffe masterminded, A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump is a pragmatic, specific, and very motivational guide for the path forward. Also Available on Amazon.
Click to Buy “Un-Trumping America” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
Dan Pfeiffer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Yes We (Still) Can and cohost of Pod Save America, is back — a sharp political playbook for defeating Trump and saving the nation from Republican-driven disaster.
There is nothing more important than beating Donald Trump in 2020, but defeating Trump is just the start of this timely book. Un-Trumping America offers readers three critical insights: first, Trump is not an aberration, but rather the logical extension of the modern Republican Party; second, how Democrats can defeat Trump in 2020; and third, preventing the likes of Trump from ever happening again with a plan to fix democracy.
“[UN-TRUMPING AMERICA] lays out the path for Democrats to save the day, not by beating Republicans at their own (dirty, he convincingly claims) game but by, like, actually doing democracy.”–Booklist. Available on Amazon.
Click to Buy “A Very Stable Genius” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and White House bureau chief Philip Rucker, both Pulitzer Prize winners, provide the definitive insider narrative of Donald Trump’s unique presidency with shocking new reporting and insight into its implications.
“I alone can fix it.” So went Donald J. Trump’s march to the presidency on July 21, 2016, when he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in Cleveland, promising to restore what he described as a fallen nation. Yet over the subsequent years, as he has undertaken the actual work of the commander in chief, it has been hard to see beyond the daily chaos of scandal, investigation, and constant bluster. It would be all too easy to mistake Trump’s first term for one of pure and uninhibited chaos, but there were patterns to his behavior and that of his associates. The universal value of the Trump administration is loyalty – not to the country, but to the president himself – and Trump’s North Star has been the perpetuation of his own power, even when it meant imperiling our shaky and mistrustful democracy. Available on Amazon.
Click to Buy “Everything Trump Touches Dies” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
In the #1 New York Times bestselling Everything Trump Touches Dies, political campaign strategist and commentator Rick Wilson delivers “a searingly honest, bitingly funny, comprehensive answer to the question we find ourselves asking most mornings: ‘What the hell is going on?’ (Chicago Tribune). The Guardian hails Everything Trump Touches Dies, saying it gives, “more unvarnished truths about Donald Trump than anyone else in the American political establishment has offered. Wilson never holds back.” Rick mercilessly exposes the damage Trump has done to the country, to the Republican Party, and to the conservative movement that has abandoned its principles for the worst President in American history.
Wilson unblinkingly dismantles Trump’s deceptions and the illusions to which his supporters cling, shedding light on the guilty parties who empower and enable Trump in Washington and in the media. He calls out the race-war dead-enders who hitched a ride with Trump, the alt-right basement dwellers who worship him, and the social conservatives who looked the other way. Publishers Weekly calls it, “a scathing, profane, unflinching, and laugh-out-loud funny rebuke of Donald Trump and his presidency.” No left-winger, Wilson is a lifelong conservative who delivers his withering critique of Trump from the right. A leader of the Never Trump movement, he warned from the start that Trump would destroy the lives and reputations of everyone in his orbit, and Everything Trump Touches Dies is a deft chronicle the tragicomic political story of our time. From the early campaign days through the shock of election night, to the inconceivable train-wreck of Trump’s first year. Rick Wilson provides not only an insightful analysis of the Trump administration, but also an optimistic path forward for the GOP, the conservative movement, and the country. Available on Amazon.
The Best Method is a Combination Approach: Good Hand Hygiene and Approved Products
The Coronavirus has been transmitted as a majority from person to person. The CDC has warned that the virus can also be transmitted as a result of touching objects or surfaces that are infected. This has resulted in many people turning to every day household cleaning and disinfecting products.
To ensure that you are using the right products to stave off the virus, the US. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just released a list of approved antimicrobial products that officially qualify against Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19.
“Using the correct disinfectant is an important part of preventing and reducing the spread of illnesses along with other critical aspects such as hand washing.
Andrew Wheeler – epa administrator – March 5th news release
Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner + Bleach. Available on Amazon
The news release from the EPA explained that the coronaviruses are enveloped viruses – which means they are the easier types of viruses to kill when the appropriate disinfectant products are utilized.
Below is a list of the most well known products that are now EPA approved for fighting Coronavirus. See full list here.
Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner + Bleach. Available on Amazon.
Klercide 70/30
Lonza Formulation
Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Cleaner. Available on Amazon.
Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist. Available on Amazon.
Lysol Heavy-Duty Cleaner Disinfectant Concentrate. Available on Amazon.
Oxy-Team Disinfectant Cleaner
Oxycide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner
Peak Disinfectant Wipes
Peroxide Multi Surface Cleaner and Disinfectant
Peroxide Disinfectant and Glass Cleaner
Purell Professional Surface Disinfectant Wipes
Sani-Prime Germicidal Disposable Wipe. Amazon on Amazon.
Sani-Prime Germicidal Spray
It is recommended to follow the directions of the approved products found on the master label in order to ensure proper directions are followed (ex: how long disinfectant should stay on treated surface to best kill off virus).
Caution is appropriate. Preparedness is Appropriate.
Below are the general guidelines for self protection and reducing the risk of infection. These are, naturally, not bad ideas for anytime, not only in the face of a potential pandemic:
Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
Cover your moth when you sneeze or cough
Disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces around your house and work
Stay home if you are sick
Avoid handshakes and touching your face, eyes, nose or mouth in pubic
(If possible) steer clear from people that are sick
There is no need to wear a face mask unless you are sick
Practicing Good Hygiene is key, below are practical steps that if maintained consistently can help to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus:
Above: An empty Las Vegas Blvd. March 7, 2020 – Photo / Monique Ly
Are there Layers of Meaning in Today’s Ocean of Fear that belie a Bright Spot hidden Beneath?
If you are, like me, someone who reads articles on your phone or iPad, you probably noticed that the news cycle has turned to 24/7 coronavirus coverage. And why not? There are dangers to be warned of, statistics changing hour by hour and, inadvertently or surreptitiously, products to be hawked and sold.
“Forewarned is Forearmed” goes the saying and prevention sounds fine, to whatever degree possible. Wash your hands, stay 6ft feet away, stock up on paper and water (?), stop traveling, etc etc. We seem to be taking these admonitions to heart.
However, if you are like me, you are also wondering if the deluge of articles and advice are not somehow toxic in and of themselves. Are you feeling exhausted after reading a hundred or so? And can’t being exhausted and fearful promote infection in an otherwise healthy host?
Fear and Prepping in Las Vegas: a Gonzo Silver Linings Playbook
In the city that lives on Trade Shows and Tourists what does it look like in the moments just prior to the pandemic finally receiving its rightful moniker? If you browse the news you’ve seen the headlines, everything is preparing to be cancelled, from movies to concerts to sporting events and so on. Not to mention meetings and events from the two-point-five trillion dollar trade show industry.
Apparently, this is based on the assumption, possibly correct, that at some point, the entire world will look like China, where the streets are empty and 46 million people are quarantined. Really? Is that even possible?
Today in Vegas I had a foretaste of what we could be headed for. Walmart – panic buying à la mode with empty shelves and all the usual scenes of confused people doing what first instinct dictates after ingesting the news.
But beyond hunkering down what else is happening? Well, deals for travel and especially casinos are starting to emerge, big time. Your fearless scribe has hunkered down in a corner luxury suite for a modest “resort fee” of $38 per night. Next I will brave the wilds of the LV night to gain insight into the current state of preparedness on the monorail and throughout the dangerous casino floors…
View from my $38 Penthouse Luxury Suite – Photo / Lynxotic
Near the Walmart a man stood next to his bike, which was made for a child with tiny wheels, dressed in rainbow colors and looking around 40, an assessment perhaps tainted by the bike and the outfit. As I attempted to look busy and walk by anonymously, he suddenly perked up and, apropos of nothing, gushed, “I have to brag, as a photographer, this is really fantastic!”. As the only person within earshot, I felt compelled to respond and, as he rapidly approached, holding up his iPhone 6s and pointing it into my face. “Wow, nice, clouds can be amazing” I stammered looking at the admittedly decent cloud shot that he was so enthused about.
POV Reactions to the New Normal LV Strip-style on a Saturday Night
This, of course, was his cue to jump into a “conversation” which went forward too fast and too deep for my trying-to-keep-walking-anonymously plan. “I was in Vegas a long time but then my girlfriend had a baby” he machine-gunned at me, “then she said we had to move to Des Moines”. “Des Moines, Des Moines, that’s the only option”, I sensed a dive even deeper into the OCD rant was coming, “Baby looked exactly like the Gerber baby, ya know, so I had to go”. As he spoke we were dancing. I had read, like you, that 6ft was the requisite distance for safety nowadays, so as he continually leaned in, I kept backing up, ending up an average 4ft as he kept leaning and I kept backpedaling.
“He doesn’t seem sick, I thought, as I scanned his clothes for signs of homelessness or disease, “maybe he’s just a harmless nut” I thought as I danced the 6ft dance. Struggling for a fitting rejoinder for this situation, something bland that wouldn’t encourage him to get deeper into his Gerber baby, Iowa adventure with his mommy girlfriend story, “Iowa’s an interesting place too” I said as blandly as possible, thinking of the summer I spent in Fort Dodge (not very interesting in reality).
Above: Photo / Monique Ly
His close-talker persistence got more intense, leaning in aggressively for the coup de grace, “You know what they told me that Iowa means?” Me: leaning about 3.5 feet away, him: leaning into my face as best he could, “Idiots Outside Walking Around” was the inevitable punchline, as he smiled a satisfied Cheshire Cat smile.
As subtly as possible I turned, also smiling weakly, saying “yea, I can image, and have a good one, buddy”.
As I walked away from him toward the monorail station I wondered how I would learn to maintain a 6ft distance at all times from now on? Was that even possible? And if he sneezed at me from 4.5 feet? How can I forget now about the Gerber baby in Des Moines?
Blissfully isolated on the escalator up to the tram, I enjoyed the fresh, presumably clean air, and wondered about health and sanity. I could almost imagine normalcy as I prepared myself mentally for the journey back to my $38 luxury penthouse. On the platform there was a gaggle of typical party-style-revelers, and, to my delight, they all appeared to be 18-22 years of age. In my “research” I had seen the statistics, speculation perhaps, that young people and children were unlikely candidates for Coronavirus fatality, although they could still conceivably be carriers…
Seeing their obvious health and high energy antics was somehow a sudden, stark reminder that we all really want to survive for a reason. To live life itself.
Looking out toward the same beautiful watercolor, golden hour sunset sky I had enjoyed earlier in the Gerber-baby-daddy’s photo, I inhaled deeply, felt the balmy Las Vegas 72° evening air and came upon a comforting thought; Oh, sweet resilience, your name is golden.
Eat meals from diets that are balanced, taste good and that also shed pounds
There are many diets and weight loss trends that come and go, making it hard to decide which is the “best” as well as easiest to follow, while also yielding improved health and weight loss results. Below we have curated some information about the top 4 ranking diets: The Mediterranean Diet, The DASH Diet, Intermittent Fasting, and The Weight Watchers Diet. Also included are a handful of corresponding books and/or cookbooks that can help implement better health tips, meal plans and eating behaviors in whichever diet method works best for you.
The Mediterranean Diet
Ranked as the #1 diet by U.S. News’ health experts, the Mediterranean Diet is actually not a structured diet plan, but rather a change in eating patterns. Those living in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea have been known to live much longer and experience less cardiovascular illness and cancer than most Americans. The secrets, which is now well known – is the low intake of red meat, sugars and saturated fats and instead high intake of produce, olive olive, nuts, and lean proteins (including fish and chicken).
Bring the Mediterranean–from Italy and Greece, to Morocco and Egypt, to Turkey and Lebanon–into your kitchen with more than 500 fresh, flavorful recipes. This comprehensive cookbook translates the famously healthy Mediterranean diet for home cooks with a wide range of creative recipes, many fast enough to be made on a weeknight, using ingredients available at your local supermarket.
The structure of the book follows the guidelines of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. You’ll find large chapters devoted to Beans and to Vegetables, the Seafood Chapter is larger than Poultry and Meat, and the Fruits and Sweets chapter, while shorter, is packed with recipes you can truly feel good eating. Recipes include Spiced Baked Rice with Potatoes and Fennel, Tagliatelle with Artichokes and Parmesan, Orzo with Shrimp, Feta, and Lemon, Za’atar-Rubbed Chicken, Greek-Style Braised Pork with Leeks, and Orange Polenta Cake. Also Available on Amazon
(Above) The Mediterranean diet is more a way of life, it does involve eating more produce, healthier fats, less sugar and less red meat, yet it is far more comprehensive than that, there is the physical and social elements that makes it all work.
The DASH Diet
DASH – short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (also known as high blood pressure), the diet has been promoted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as a heart healthy and nutritionally sound diet. One key component means capping sodium intake initially at 2,300 milligrams and eventually lowering all the way down to 1,5000 milligrams. The emphasis is on fruits, vegetables, grains, low fat diary and lean proteins (similar to the Mediterranean diet) that include high potassium, calcium, protein and fiber, as these include the nutrients necessary to decrease high blood pressure.
The DASH diet isn’t just for healthy living anymore-now it’s for healthy weight loss, too. Using the key elements of the DASH diet and proven, never-before-published NIH research, bestselling author, foremost DASH dietitian and leading nutrition expert Marla Heller has created the most effective diet for quick-and lasting-weight loss.
Based on the diet rated the #1 Best Overall Diet by Us News & World Report, this effective and easy program includes menu plans, recipes, shopping lists, and more. Everything you need to lose weight and get healthy With a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat and nonfat dairy, lean meats, fish and poultry, nuts, beans and seeds, heart healthy fats, and whole grains, you will drop pounds and revolutionize your health, while eating foods you love. In just 2-weeks you’ll experience: Faster metabolism, Lower body fat, Improved strength and cardiovascular fitness. Plus lower cholesterol and blood pressure without medication, without counting calories. Also Available on Amazon.
Intermittent Fasting
Scheduling eating around a cycle between eating and not eating (fasting) is the most basic breakdown of how intermittent fasting works. There are several different fasting methods including the every other day diet, 16/8 method and the 5/2 diet, with the focus of “when” you eat rather than “what” you are actually eating – although there is usually a caloric restriction (usually around 500 calories) that needs to be followed in order to see loss in pounds.
Click to Buy “The Every Other Day Diet” and at the same time help Lynxotic and All Independent Local Bookstores. Also Available on Amazon
Dr. Krista Varady has been researching intermittent fasting for over ten years and has written the widely popular title on the subject, “The Every Other Day Diet”.
That’s the satisfied declaration of a dieter who lost 41 pounds on the Every-Other-Day Diet. (And kept it off ) You too can expect dramatic results with this revolutionary approach to weight loss that is incredibly simple, easy, and effective. Created by Dr. Krista Varady, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, the Every-Other-Day Diet will change the way you think of dieting forever. Among its many benefits:
It’s science-tested, science-proven. Dr. Varady has conducted many scientific studies on the Every-Other-Day Diet, involving hundreds of people, with consistently positive results published in top medical journals such as the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Obesity. Unlike most other diets, the Every-Other-Day Diet is proven to work. Also Available on Amazon.
With all the different types of weight-loss strategies available, it can be difficult to choose what the best method is, and what’s right for you. What is Intermittent Fasting One recently popular way to lose weight is through intermittent fasting, which is an eating pattern where a person will regularly alternate between time periods of …(photo link at right)
Weight Watchers has been around for over 50 years and has been a guiding light for many struggling with weight loss. WW has always followed the belief that dieting is one factor in the long term process of managing weight. This includes taking a holistic approach and flexible program style to fit the needs of anyone. The SmartPoints system which is WW’s guide to what most diets strive for, lower caloric intake, less sugars and saturated fats. The guides are color coded (green, blue, purple) depending on how many overall daily points you want to stick with. Weight Watchers allows you to eat what you want with no foods off- limit as long as you don’t go over your points and givers people the flexibility to shape their their own diet (not a cookie cutter nor structured diet plan).
In this book, you will find the best Weight Watchers Freestyle recipes under various sections such as:
Helpful Tips and TricksDetailed Ingredient ListsDelicious Meals the Whole Family Will LoveRecipes for VegetariansRecipes for Busy PeopleEasy-to-follow Instructions on Making Each Dish
Photo Image Courtesy of NASA – Curiosity Mars Rover – Highest resolution available – here –
Curiosity, NASA’s Mars rover first landed on the planet and has been there since 2004 and has taken many images of the Martian surface. None have come close to the details the rover was able to capture and NASA released March 4th, 2020. The largest and highest resolution images ever taken by the Curiosity rover is comprised of over 1,000 individual images from the Mast Camera that spanned four days and six and a half hours of footage between November 24th and December 1st of 2019. To ensure consistent lighting the collection of images were only captured each day between 12-2 p.m. Mars time.
NASA Curiosity Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada guides this tour of the rover’s view of the Martian surface
The main role of the Mast Camera is to take color images and video footage of surfaces and overall terrain ahead of the rover in Mars. The images are then able to be configured to create panoramas of the landscape. Which can be seen by the image NASA released of the 1.8 billion pixel panorama.
“While many on our team were at home enjoying turkey, Curiosity produced this feast for the eyes.
This is the first time during the mission we’ve dedicated our operations to a stereo 360-degree panorama.”
-Ashwin Vasavada/ Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Panoramas shows “Glen Torridon” a region near Mount Sharp where Curiosity has been exploring. The 360 view the camera was able to obtain gives scientists a little window to another world. Even after seven years on the Red Planet – the mission to exploring Mars has just begun.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover produced this 360-degree panorama of “Glen Torridon,” a region on the side of Mount Sharp.
Mars 2020 Rover has a Name!
The next rover is set to land on Mars, February 18th, 2021 and NASA has just come up with its name…. PERSEVERANCE
Call me Perseverance.
I'm headed for Mars: driven to search for signs of ancient life, test new tech to help future human explorers, and collect the first rock samples for future return to Earth.
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) March 5, 2020
Beautiful Images and Getting Better with Higher Resolution
From NASA: “In 2013, Curiosity produced a 1.3-billion-pixel panorama using both Mastcam cameras; its black-and-white Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, provided images of the rover itself. Imaging specialists carefully assemble Mars panoramas by creating mosaics composed of individual pictures and blending their edges to create a seamless look.”
Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Curiosity’s Mastcam. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington and built the Navigation Cameras and the rover.
“While many on our team were at home enjoying turkey, Curiosity produced this feast for the eyes,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which leads the Curiosity rover mission. “This is the first time during the mission we’ve dedicated our operations to a stereo 360-degree panorama.”
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