New Eyes

You're probably wondering why this guy is  smiling.

It's because after wearing vision-correcting eyeglasses since the fifth grade he's driving his Mustang while wearing a pair of uncorrected sunglasses that set him back a $1.50. 

Since I retired my annual visit to the eye doc has included monitoring the progression of cataracts that have conspired to degrade my vision.  Cataracts are a clouding of the natural lens of the eye, leading to blurred vision, glare, and eventual vision loss. This spring's routine visit resulted in sufficient advancement of the condition to do something about it.

I finally got my chance to get my eyes fixed.  Two visits, one week apart, to the Eye Clinic in Green Bay.   

Cataract surgery removes the cloudy lens and replaces it with a clear artificial intraocular lens (IOL).  And for me it opened up a world where everything is clearer, brighter and more colorful.  I didn't know what I was missing.

This is an outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia with sedation (you’re awake but relaxed).  Most commonly it is performed with phacoemulsification (ultrasound to break up the lens), followed by IOL insertion.  Truthfully, the prep and recovery took up most of the time.  The procedure itself took all of ten minutes and required no eye drops in the follow-up care. 

By all outward appearances things were busy at the clinic.  Inquiring of the surgical staff I learned that there were four operating rooms and two surgeons performing, respectively, approximately 20 procedures each day of my visits.

Cataract surgery is the most commonly-performed procedure on the planet with over 3.7 million surgeries performed annually in the United States.  Over 20 million are performed globally each year and the number continues to rise due to aging populations.

Over 98% of surgeries result in improved vision and complications are rare and usually treatable. 95% of patients achieve 20/40 vision or better (good enough to drive without corrective lenses) and many achieve 20/20 with or without glasses depending on lens choice.

Best of all the procedure is covered by Medicare and my supplemental insurance policy.  Between you and me this is good government policy; trust me, you don't want millions of vision-impaired baby boomers on the road. 

At the present time both my eyes have been corrected to 20/20 vision so I went to the Dollar Store and splurged less than ten bucks for four pair of +1.75 reading glasses and a couple of plain sunglasses - one for each automobile.   My doc sez that I need to allow a month (give or take) before a final correction in vision can be confirmed. 

We are blessed to live in a Golden Age of replacement parts.

Do Vaccines Cause Autism?

Reported cases of autism have been rising for several reasons, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that autism itself is becoming more common. There are a half-dozen key factors at play that explain the increase:

• Improved Awareness – More people, including parents, teachers, and doctors, recognize the signs of autism.  Consequently, better and more frequent diagnoses.

• Expanded Diagnostic Criteria – Over the years, the definition of autism has broadened to include a wider range of symptoms and severity.  This is referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD.

• Better Screening and Early Diagnosis – Many children are now screened for autism at an early age, allowing for earlier detection compared to past decades.

• Changes in Reporting Practices – Schools, healthcare providers, and government agencies track autism diagnoses more systematically than before.  Improved reporting results in more diagnoses. 
  

• Reduced Stigma – As society becomes more accepting of the manner an individual's brain works.  This results in more families and individuals seeking evaluations and support.

• Environmental and Genetic Factors – Some researchers have examined whether environmental influences such as parental age or prenatal factors may contribute to a genuine rise.  Causal relations are inconclusive.

Changes in diagnostic criteria have played a major role in the rising number of reported autism cases. The definition has been broadened.  Autism was first described in the 1940s, but its definition has evolved since. Previously, autism was diagnosed in individuals manifesting severe symptoms. Nowadays it includes a spectrum of behaviors ranging from mild to severe. 

The introduction of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the DSM-5 (2013) now includes several previous diagnoses, including Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), under one umbrella. This change meant that many people who wouldn’t have been diagnosed before were now considered autistic.

There has also been a shift from other diagnoses to autism. Before ASD was widely recognized, many children with mild social or communication difficulties were diagnosed with conditions like intellectual disability, ADHD, or speech and language disorders instead of autism. Individuals previously labeled with other conditions were reclassified as autistic.

Screening tools have improved with diagnoses being made as early as 18-24 months of age.  Before the 1990s many children with autism went undiagnosed or were diagnosed much later in life.

Finally, schools and medical institutions now have stronger incentives to diagnose autism, partly because children with ASD qualify for special education services and therapies. Better tracking and reporting of cases leaves the impression that autism is increasing dramatically.

As for the theory that vaccines are a causal factor of autism - they do not.

This misconception originated from a 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield, which was subsequently debunked and retracted due to serious flaws, unethical practices, and conflicts of interest. Since then, numerous large-scale scientific studies have found no link between vaccines and autism. Consider this:

Large studies of millions of children have confirmed that vaccines, including the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, do not increase autism risk.

A 2019 Danish study involving over 650,000 children found no difference in autism rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

If anybody tell you that vaccines contain mercury, they're liars.  Concerns about thimerosal (a mercury-containing preservative) led to its removal from most vaccines in the early 2000s.  Autism rates continued to rise even after thimerosal was removed, proving it wasn’t a factor.

Lastly, avoid vaccines at your own peril.  The anti-vaccine movement led to outbreaks of measles, whooping cough, and other preventable diseases.  Vaccines protect children and communities from serious illnesses.

The truth of the matter is that there is no scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism. The idea has been thoroughly investigated and debunked. Vaccines are safe, effective, and essential for preventing deadly diseases.

Link to a Guest Editorial over at the New York Times.

Bonk!

Today was to be a soft opening before the South Dakota trip. 

After a year of training, five guys, sixteen birds and one dog at Woodfire Lodge in Brillion. Sure, it’s a canned hunt; but no better way to make all that hard work come together. 

Cancelled. 

Yesterday we spent an afternoon at the animal ER in Green Bay. 

The Red Rocket collided at full tilt with a steel fence post holding a bluebird box. 

Dog 1 - Nest box 0

Anyway, no broken bones. Close call with the right eye.  Sutures in the face. 

Any of you who’ve raised hunting dogs have been to this rodeo before.  This is one, tough working doggo. 

The debutante has to chill for ten days.  Stay-tuned for SD….

 

 

 

The Healer

From our walk the other day there is this.

Prunella vulgaris - commonly known as Heal-All. A non-native member of the mint family this plant routinely makes its home in and along the edges of our trails. 

As an herb it plays a role in folk-medicine and alternative healing.  If the internet is to be believed a weak infusion of the plant can be used as a medicinal eye wash for sties and pinkeye.  If you ingest a tea made from the plant it can treat fevers, diarrhea, sore mouth and throat, internal bleeding, and weaknesses of the liver and heart.  

There is questionable clinical evidence of antibacterial properties that inhibit the growth of pseudomonas, Bacillus typhi, E. coli, and Mycobacterium tuberculi supporting its use as an alternative medicine internally and externally as an antibiotic and for hard to heal wounds and diseases.  

Some suggest it can also cure herpes, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and many other maladies.  Apparently I have a regular pharmacopeia of cure growing with abandon in my trails.

For kicks I crushed a bit between my hands and it did smell remotely like skunky mint.  But I'm not eating any of it.

Reproduction Meets Religion

Last week The state of Alabama found itself in an unforced and awkward situation.  The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children.  Yes, embryos produced as a consequence of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedures are children.  They have personhood just like me and you.

All of this means that Alabama finds itself in the unique position of being a state where a female can be forced to carry a pregnancy to term - even if a twelve year-old is raped by her incestuous father.  If you find yourself unable to naturally conceive a child, IVF treatment is no longer available to you. 

All of this stems from the Law of Unintended Consequences as no one wants to be arrested and thrown in jail or get cross ways with the State Supreme Court because nobody knows what to do with thousands of frozen children.  Murder is a capital offense in Alabama; so it's not much of a stretch to believe you could be executed if found responsible for the loss of frozen embryos.

When it comes to reproductive options Alabama now finds itself a very unwelcoming place to live.  Republicans have concocted a fine kettle of fish for themselves and I'd be willing to bet that since it's an election year the dems are going to rub their noses in this shit.  Another nail in the coffin of the suburban women vote, eh?  But I digress.

What I really want to talk about is the religious angle on all of this because Chief Justice Tom Parker had this to say about the court's decision:  Human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God.

Once you get beyond the divine retribution part, he makes a good point.  He's being morally honest.  For him it's all about God and for many of us reproductive decisions are frequently tangled-up in moral, religious and faith beliefs.

I was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith, and even though The Church has washed its hands of me following a divorce decades ago, many of the beliefs I learned as a child and young adult still ring true and continue to shape my life. 

Guidance for many conservative Christians includes a belief that life begins at conception.  This applies to IVF treatment and abortion.  There is no compromise.  Catholic doctrine expressly forbids both including virtually all modern birth control interventions as well.  Just last month Pope Francis condemned surrogacy as despicable and called for a global ban on the practice.

Catholicism also happens to have a long and rich tradition of beliefs couched in social policy regarding reverence for life and care for the the poor.  Sex outside of marriage is forbidden - the act of which is reserved for married individuals and is solely for procreation.  Masturbation causes blindness too.  That's the doctrinaire part of it; truthfully, many Catholics are not that observant and routinely use hormonal birth control and seek IVF treatment.

Protestant beliefs can be more forgiving on the subject of IVF - possibly because the result is more children.  Furthermore, Evangelicals also tend to rely-upon literal interpretation of the bible; and naturally, the bible says nothing about IVF treatment.

The Chief Justice invoked God in his ruling - presumably this is the God of Abraham from whom the three major world religions hail.  

Judaism allows assisted reproduction when medically necessary.  Having children bears witness to the command to be fruitful and multiply.  Furthermore, the destruction of unused embryos is allowed as long as they thaw and dry naturally.

Islamic beliefs also allow all assisted reproductive technologies providing that the sperm, ovum and uterus belong to a legal-married couple during the term of their marriage.  If infertility is beyond cure it should be accepted.  If there are unused fertilized eggs their treatment is consistent with that of Judaism.

Respectfully, faith traditions are not in general agreement on much of this.  And adherents to a belief system should be guided appropriately.  Unlike Iran our country is not a theocracy ruled by mullahs; our government and system of laws is secular.  So if you don't believe in IVF, abortion, divorce, birth control or whatever, don't engage in the practice.  I am not going to impose my beliefs on someone else and I expect reciprocity.  

I happen to think that government already intrudes too much in the private lives of its citizenry.  So stay out of my life, my home, my bedroom and keep your damn hands off my body.  We're rational beings and consequently should be making our own decisions about our own destiny guided only by common sense, family, medical professionals and our faith beliefs.

I know I'm being snarky; but if frozen embryos are children, why aren't parents allowed extra exemptions on their tax return?

Now get off my lawn....

Save A Life

From the New York Times there is this...

More than 100,000 of our countrymen die of overdoses each year, most of them as a consequence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.  This toll is greater than the sum of deaths from homicides and suicides combined.  Ugh.

Nevertheless, the cavalry is coming.  Not in the form of a cure for the horrors of addiction or somehow miraculously halting all traces of fentanyl from our communities; but in the form of a change of policy focused-upon saving lives and the possibility of a second lease on life.  And with that a chance to treat addiction.

In March of this year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the distribution of Narcan, which is the brand name for naloxone, a drug that stops opioid overdoses.  And you can obtain it without a prescription.  Implemented in September this change represents a policy which has come to be known as harm reduction.  In an earlier time lawmakers would have considered this strategy far too radical for their tastes; however, the lethality of fentanyl and the enormity of the deaths attributed to it have changed hearts and minds.  Harm reduction focuses not on abstinence, but reducing the number of deaths.  A dead addict has no chance of recovery.  Saving the life of an overdose victim affords the survivor a chance to overcome their addiction.

I suppose that in some circles this still remains a radical proposition.  This blogger is convinced that preventing a death as a consequence of unintentional overdose is worth a shot (pun intended).  I published on this subject back in March of this year when we introduced a Two Pack of Narcan to our household first aid supplies. 

Law enforcement and first responders have been equipped with Narcan for several years and combined with availability by prescription, deaths attributed to unintentional overdose have plateaued after doubling between 2014 and 2021.  It is hoped that making Narcan universally accessible to schools, family members and concerned citizens without requiring a prescription will save even more lives and reverse the mortality numbers.  

In my view if it saves the life of an adolescent who made a bad decision that's worth it.  If it reverses an accidental overdose it's worth it.  You cannot get someone into a treatment program if they're dead.  Perhaps if family, friends and communities have an opportunity to intervene, that's a good place to start.

Consider adding it to your first aid kit. 

Thank you.

 

Wild Flower Walk

Plants and flowers have long held an important role in both folk and modern medicine.  Smooth penstemon (Penstemon digitalis) has been used to treat fever and the chills.  And if you chewed the root you might find relief from a toothache.

Meet Prunella vulgaris - a plant called Heal-All. A non-native member of the mint family this plant routinely makes its home in and along the edges of the trails at The Platz. 

As an herb it plays a role in folk-medicine and alternative healing.  If the internet is to be believed a weak infusion of the plant can be used as a medicinal eye wash for sties and pinkeye.  If you ingest a tea made from the plant it can treat fevers, diarrhea, sore mouth and throat, internal bleeding, and weaknesses of the liver and heart.  There is purported (questionable) clinical evidence of antibacterial properties that inhibit the growth of pseudomonas, Bacillus typhi, E. coli, and Mycobacterium tuberculi supporting ts use as an alternative medicine internally and externally as an antibiotic and for hard to heal wounds and diseases.  Some suggest it can also cure herpes, cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and many other maladies.  Apparently I have a regular pharmacopeia of cures growing around here. 

For kicks I crushed a bit between my gloved hands and it did smell remotely like skunky mint.  But I'm not eating any of it.

Cover-up

 

 

 

Interesting analogy.

I can relate.

Mask-up when you are in a crowd.  It's for the safety of the unvaccinated.......

Ringing-In The New Year

I know that about half of my friends are grumpy as we come to the end of the Current Guy's first year in office.  Speaking for myself I don't miss those days of a White House careening from crisis to crisis like a drunken carnival ride operator.  But the purpose of this post is not to dwell on that but share some history.  My attempt to build the case that things are not as dire as you think.  Indulge me the opportunity to lend historical perspective. 

Our current lot in life is not nearly as dreadful considering our forebears who had to live thru the year 536 — the year that may possibly be the absolute worst in human history.  

How bad was it?   

Sometime early in 536 a haze settled across Europe, the Middle East and Asia blotting-out the sun. 

The pall darkened the skies for a year and a half.        
  
The temperature dropped 35-36 degrees Fahrenheit, famine followed widespread crop failures and to top it off there was an outbreak of bubonic plague that decimated the population.  This was a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad year.    

Tree ring analysis provides evidence of a massive cooling event in either late 535 or early 536 – followed by another drop recorded in 542 - a double-whammy of cold temperatures.   

A study of ice core samples from a European glacier uncovered microscopic shards of volcanic glass which were traced to volcanic rocks in Iceland.  Researchers believe that this is evidence of a massive volcanic eruption that loosed a gigantic plume of ash into the atmosphere in 536.  The ash shrouded the Northern Hemisphere for more than a year.  A follow-up eruption in 539 or 540 - linked to North America - explains the double-whammy temperature drop recorded in the tree rings.      

Long story short, the volcanic events, plague outbreak and biggest drop in temperature in more than two thousand years resulted in three decades of global economic stagnation.  

Curiously, additional study of the ice samples revealed a spike in airborne lead particles in the year 575.  Lead ore was used the smelting of silver and its presence in the ice is evidence that the precious metal was once again in demand for making new coins as the European economy started to recover.     

You might think that you have a lot to complain-about at the start of the new year.  Sure, you may be unhappy with the Current Guy and his policies.  And there are COVID variants to grapple-with.  Yet we live in a golden age of modern medicine.  We have vaccines and new anti-viral therapeutics being introduced to market almost daily.  And we have evolved from incandescent, to compact fluorescent to LED lighting.  There is central heat and clean water.  Indoor plumbing too.  At least you're not fighting off the Black Death while shivering in the gloom and darkness of a cloud of volcanic ash. This was at the front end of the Dark Ages for a reason. 

There are a couple of lessons to be learned by this.  Be thankful you weren't around in 536 and beware of global cooling events.  They do happen.  And they can happen again.     

Learn more about this time in history here.

 

Get Stabbed

Lest you continue to share the belief that COVID is a vast conspiracy or hoax I want to share with you that among my immediate circle of friends I am personally-acquainted with six deaths from this.  Including two individuals from my high school that I became reconnected-with in retirement.

A shirt-tail relative caught the variant and spent a month in the hospital followed by an additional month of skilled nursing care.  A year and a half later she now depends-upon oxygen to get thru the day.

My State Senator spent more than a month in the ICU on a vent.  He's permanently impacted as well. 

The administrator of one of my favorite private FB groups is dead following more than three weeks in the ICU on a vent.  Young guy too - thirty-four.  And knocking on heaven's door.

And in the last month a 47 year-old neighbor succumbed to the disease.  His lungs trashed.

Not a one of these individuals was vaccinated.  And I am pleased to have learned via personal account that the family of the most recent victim has received their second course of the vaccine.

Both the Current Guy and the Former Guy say to take the vaccine.

So get the stab, people.  It's no big deal.

If you were bitten by a rabid skunk would you refuse a rabies vaccine?

Postmortem

The last, larger, organized deer camp wrapped-up yesterday and by the time you are reading this my former business partner and her ten-year-old son will have left to return home.

I don't normally wax-philosophical about deer camp but indulge me.  This is the postmortem.

This year the plan was to host a normal camp.  With all of the eating, drinking, socializing, yuks and close-quarters living arrangement upstairs on the second floor. 

With COVID variants cropping-up and case counts climbing as everyone at our latitude began to move indoors on the advice of three medical doctors I figured it prudent to ask everyone wishing to stay here to be vaccinated.  All of the docs agreed that vaxxing is never a sure thing, but considering the lodging arrangements and abundant co-morbidities among my circle of hunting pals and their families being vaccinated reduced probabilities of bad outcomes like community spread.

The hunting part had few, if any, risks as hunting from an outdoor deer stand is about as socially-distanced as you can get.

Sleeping multiple individuals to a room and shared bathrooms - not so much.

Small group bow hunting basically fell off the cliff altogether.  A consequence of the vaccine request, scheduling conflicts and me.  The only weekend I had to pull it-off had to be cancelled due to a last minute conflict for a small non-profit I head.  I was the asshole on that and will not allow it to repeat.  There will be more small group bow hunting in 2022. 

The gun opener had some difficulties too.  As a consequence of the vax request one hunter socially distanced for drinks and meals and lodged off-site.  One hunter was pissed about the unvaxxed individual breathing HIS air, gave me a lecture on the subject and went home early.  Two of our group stayed home altogether.

I'm not making a political display over any of this - I'm just following the best medical guidance I have at my disposal and follow best practices under difficult conditions.  Moreover, I cannot please everyone.  

Does that make me an asshole? 

On balance, it was a successful camp - seven deer on the old meat pole.  And everyone that attended and stayed to the end had a terrific time.  Perhaps the future will bring less vaccine hesitancy and less spread of disease and a real return to normal.

This past weekend was actually a resounding success.  A small group of vaccinated adults, good food, adult beverages, plenty of yuks, five dead deer on the old meat pole AND a ten-year-old hunter got his first deer!  

No drama.  No assholery.

And things seemed a wee bit less rushed with fewer hunters traipsing all over the landscape.  It just doesn't get much better that that.  I think next year I'll invite my pal Smokey Joe and his kid to join us for the December antlerless hunt.  That would be fun. 

In conclusion that amounts to twelve deer this year with some additional hunting for me and anyone that wants to show and follow the guidelines.

I should also point out that if the hieroglyphic tally on the old meat pole is to be believed (and I have no reason not to believe it) in the past five years we've witnessed a total of 69 dead deer hung from its pullies.  That is impressive.

I'd like to raise a toast to Wisconsin's top big game species - Odocoileus virginianus - the whitetail deer.  And my hunting friends too.

 

Who Was Joe Pye and Wassup With His Weed?

Meet Eupatorium maculatum - commonly known as Joe-Pye Weed. The monarch butterfly is bonus.

This stuff grows all over around here - not a single plant introduced by us.  

A member of the aster family it is a native plant.  Like blue vervain it also likes wet feet and thrives in the lower and wetter areas of topography and along the creek banks.

Butterflies love this plant and if you could successfully propagate it - it would make for a showy addition to your naturalized home garden.

Joe Pye?

Some say he was a native American medicine man from Salem, Massachusetts who earned fame and fortune curing colonial settlers of typhus with his eponymous herb.  There are other theories as well. 

 You can learn more about the story of Joe Pye and his weed here.  

Herbal Pollinator

Wild bergamot - Monarda fistulosa - AKA Horsemint or Bee Balm.  These lavender flowers attract many insects and are terrific in native pollinator habitat. 

It also plays an important role in folk medicine, history and cooking.  It was used to make an infusion by the Oswego Indians (Oswego tea) and was adopted by early European settlers following the Boston tea party in 1773.  The common name - bergamot – is associated with its citrus flavor that is very similar to the bergamot orange used to flavor Earl Grey tea.  

It is a terrific addition to oil used to cook fish and shellfish and has medicinal properties useful in the treatment of colds, reducing fever, soothing sore throats, headaches, insomnia and menstrual cramps.   The plant contains thymol which imparts antibacterial and antiseptic properties useful in the treatment of infections. 

Thunderboomer

Two years ago the kids were visiting for a spell and we had just sat down to one of my infamous Wisconsin yellow perch homemade fish-fry dinners.  Just as we were concluding the blessing over our food there was a sizzle, CRACKLE, KABOOM!

The power went off.  The alarm went off.  Then the power came on.  The Blonde dog was freaked-out.

Lightning strike it was - and it not only blew-out the mother boards for the HVAC and overhead garage door openers it also fried and destroyed the alarm system.

We never did locate precisely where it hit but as near as we can tell it was close enough for the charge to travel through the ground and enter the house by means of the buried power line with just enough force to damage direct-wired delicate circuitry and not enough to start a fire or damage the larger appliances sharing a power outlet.  None of the GFI circuits were tripped.

Alas, the dog was also a casualty and ever since gets nervous and stressed with thunder storms.  Even when if the thunderstorm is on a television movie - we have to mute the volume until it passes.

Adaptil Canine appeasing pheromone 2% spray helps somewhat but there's nothing better than 70 pounds of Labrador retriever on your lap to calm the dog..... 

 

Friday Music Comes to Monday

In further news individuals and families have been fleeing larger urban communities in Illinois, Wisconsin and even New York to their seasonal homes on the peninsula.      Apparently they feel they will be safer sheltering in place here.

Two weeks ago Door County Emergency Management asked visitors and everyone else to stay away.  The County requested lodging entities to consider reducing the risk to our neighbors by not accepting new reservations and canceling those that exist to encourage people to temporarily not travel to the area.        

Officially, traveling to or visiting Door County is not recommended at this time due to COVID-19.  

Emergency management reminds you that visitation can be damaging to small, isolated communities like ours that have limited resources and infrastructure available to cope with a potential outbreak. 

The brutal truth is that the peninsula does not have the medical infrastructure to handle an outbreak.      

By definition 'sheltering in place' means exactly that.  Stay where you are.  No travel.  Stay put.  This is how you slow the spread of a pathogen. 
 

Maybe the peninsula should do what Rhode Island is doing.    

For the love of God and all that is holy don't make a damn personal exodus to Door County thinking it's safer here. Keep to yourself and stay home!        



Caution - Adult Language.....

 

My Kingdom for a Leader

The news this week is that President Trump will open the country for business for the  Easter holiday.

I suppose the president is clairvoyant?  Has he mystical powers that allow him to divine the future?  Raise his staff and part the waters of our unseen viral enemy?  I digress.  

If the president actually implements this plan it would be an interesting gamble as Trump would be betting that conditions across the country will be less serious than expected by Easter Sunday.  If he wins that bet the economic damage caused by his administration’s delays, bungling and malingering might eventually be stemmed.  Recovery of the economy and investment markets would eventually follow.  And he might triumphantly win reelection.  

If he loses the bet he may be held responsible for damaging the economy to such a degree that it plunges into a seriously deeper recession.  Maybe even a depression.  He will have contributed to a larger death toll and possibly lose the November election.  

Betting is risky business.

Consider the story of South Korea.  Only a few months ago the incidence of Covid-19 cases in South Korea went from a couple dozen to thousands.  On the last day of February - 909 new cases were identified.  Nevertheless, in the space of about a week the number of new cases was cut in half.  And cut in half – again – in the space of an additional day.  

Last weekend South Korea reported 64 new cases and never more than 8 deaths in a single day.  This in a country of 50 million people.  And without the economic damage caused by lock downs both here and in Europe.

So how is it that the South Koreans whipped Covid-19's ass while here it is growing exponentially? 

First, the government of South Korea recognized the risk and acted decisively.  There was no dithering-about or blame-shifting to save face.  More importantly the success of South Korea came from their understanding of pandemics and epidemiology.  Yes, science.  Something that makes Donald Trump's head hurt.  Contact tracing was performed on a massive scale so as to identify and test the persons who had been in contact with an infected individual.  At its peak they were testing 50,000 people a day!  

Identifying and quarantining the exposed from their families and others became a high priority item.  And guess what?  It worked.    

Team Trump could have chosen to embrace the same actions as early as January of this year.  Instead they placed a high priority-upon lying, denials and keeping-up appearances.  Which is not at all surprising to this casual observer.  There, again, my threshold of tolerance for liars is exceedingly low.  When you surround yourself with sycophants and minions to stroke your ego you have a higher probability of provoking the wrath of The Law of Unintended Consequences.  

This is the kind of national emergency that only strong presidential leadership can solve. Alas, President Trump has decided not to solve it.  

As long as bets are being made - my bet is that if he loses his bet he’ll blame it on someone else.

Stay tuned......

You Snooze You Lose

The big dog came-up lame the other day and on Monday she and I paid a call to the vet in Green Bay.

An exam and a couple of x-rays revealed nothing out of the ordinary so we'll chalk-it-up to an elderly dog soft tissue injury.  She's on a course of doggie NSAID and a pain meds with strict orders to rest.  She's been sleeping a lot.

Nonetheless, with exercise and potty calls less regimented we're leaving her 'unlocked' in the crate with the option to summon a person for a visit outside.

She woke me up for this the other day.  Not sure if she really had to pee or if she didn't want me to miss the sunrise....

You Too Might Save a Life

Two hillbillies walk into a restaurant.  While having a bite to eat, they talk about their moonshine operation.  Suddenly, a woman at a nearby table, who is eating a sandwich, begins to cough.  

After a minute or so, it becomes apparent that she is in real distress. One of the hillbillies looks at her and says, Kin ya swallar?   

The woman shakes her head no.  

Then he asks, Kin ya breathe?      

The woman begins to turn blue, and shakes her head no.    

The hillbilly walks over to the woman, lifts up her dress, yanks down her drawers, and quickly gives her right butt cheek a lick with his tongue.    

The woman is so shocked that she has a violent spasm, and the obstruction flies out of her airway.       

As she begins to breathe again, the hillbilly walks slowly back to his table.   His partner says, Ya know, I'd heerd of that there 'Hind Lick Maneuver' but I never seed nobody done it.