Tuesday, April 7, 2020

[Angel Shark] Yesterday, while fishing in the channel in front of Little Palm Island, my girlfriend caught an angel shark.  I’ve been here forty years and have never caught one nor have I heard of anyone catching one.  Is it as unusual as it appears to be? Link

[Trump Bucks] The government is throwing free money at us and I’m grateful, but when this is all over they’ll be coming after us and say we received the money without really qualifying or our paperwork was wrong or something. That’s what happened after Irma. Every agency in the world was throwing money at us until they decided to take it back.

[Bill Withers Dead] Aw man, Bill Withers was really the greatest. Grandma’s Hands, Ain’t No Sunshine, Lean on Me, Use Me Up, Just The Two Of Us, and Lovely Day are some of the best songs of all time. My heart really hurts remembering him, it reminds me of playing records at my grandma’s house. Link
Ain’t No Sunshine

[“Trump & Romney’s tanning beds”] It was likely a joke, but Donald Trump does not use a tanning bed. That lumpy, fat, white skin has not seen the sun in decades. Trump has a spray-on tan. That is also why it is so yellow.

March Madness is cancelled, the NBA is shut down, the Masters is postponed, and my Aunt Marge’s senior bowling has even thrown in the towel. Now restaurants and bars are closed, and our 40-handicap governor is threatening to shut down all entertainment facilities including golf courses. I have not tested positive, but the coronavirus is killing me.

I always thought we lived in a sick society, now I can prove it.

[Border Wall Progress] This video was filmed by a drone that was controlled by a man sitting in a lawn chair.  He would move his location to different sections where wall construction was taking place.  Music and title work were then added to the film and … voila! The resultant video was done in January, 2020 and is very cool. Video

[Killing Germs] I had a conversation with the Director of Public Utilities at a city on the mainland today, who told me that so much disinfectant is being used by people and establishments on his city’s sewer who are fearful of Covid-19 virus, that it is killing much of the bacteria in the city’s sewer treatment plants! They are having to import bacteria to restore a functional population. No bacteria means no significant treatment or nutrient removal. The same applies to septic tanks and is why you should not use chlorine bleach if your washing machine drains to the septic tank instead of your papayas. “The Law of Unintended Consequences” is seldom broken.

The shipment, which amounts to about $70,000 worth of meat, was organized by Islamorada resident and former Cargill employee Michale Rempe, and Mike Forster, owner of locally famous Mangrove Mike’s Cafe. “That’s a nice donation,” Rempe said this week. Forster has been offering free meals at his restaurant to locals since Monroe County ordered all hotels in the Keys closed last month, and he has donated supplies to local food banks.

[National Healthcare] The United Kingdom is praising its National Health Service for their handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. They are making their own respirators and will be delivering them at the beginning of the week.

Now here in the USA, all we have is words promising, but not delivering, on this and that. That is the difference between not-for-profit health care and for-profit healthcare. One treats you, the other bills you.

Key West jail ends lucrative contract and gives ICE back its detainees because of the virus. Link

[Mileage]One good thy that has come from the stay at home directive is that my car is now getting two weeks to the gallon.

You don’t need a bookmark with eBooks.

Could our sheriff need to pad the coffers with Coley Family[?] monies?

Or, are they just looking after our well-being by keeping us out of the way of the captains working for Little Palm. Hmmmm! Perhaps they should check their licenses and credentials, doh, never mind. But thanks for protecting the delicate sea bottom that wasn’t even there before Hurricane Irma.

[Sick Tiger] A tiger in the Bronx Zoo has contracted Coronavirus, a cross-species infection. Not good.

[Zombie Brain] If you really know what a virus can do, you will realize that it attacks the brain first, or is seems so with all the people not wanting to take correct precautions for this world plague. Something tells me this bug is way beyond anything we can handle.

[Passing Quarantine Time] Half of us are going to come out of this quarantine as amazing cooks. The other half will come out with a drinking problem. I used to spin that toilet paper like I was on Wheel of Fortune. Now I turn it like I’m cracking a safe.

[Stop The Press] The Key West Citizen is no longer publishing the newspaper on Mondays. They don’t have enough people

We have new heroes of this latest world-changing disaster are the health workers. They are the new hero fireman like from the World Trade Center rescue. These people are risking their lives trying to save lives of people who they never met.

Pennsylvania is closed.

They tell us only old people with pre-existing conditions need to worry about death. Another lie. Notice all the people in their 30’s including doctors who are dying on the front pages of our newspapers. Personally I think the guidance to wear masks was delayed due to Trump’s resistance that he did not want to see the public masses wearing masks (to be shown in the media) because then nobody would believe his lies about the pandemic.

They all seem to forget that during the 1918 influenza pandemic it was mandatory to wear masks. That flu affected 500 million people and over 50 million died. A half-million in the US alone. Today, COVID-19 Testing, which got a really late start, has been a shambles and one commercial lab has a backlog of 160,000 swabs to still be tested. Lots of good that is going to do.

Now, there are others making masks. Two local groups have been profiled locally. I applaud their intentions, but they should have paid some attention. These were feel-good puff pieces, not real news. A cloth mask will provide some protection, it is better than nothing. Cloth is woven and real medical masks are not woven, that material is spun. Cloth masks should be made with a pocket so that a filter can be inserted. N95 masks and medical masks are not made of cloth, they are made from non-woven polyethylene and they are at least 3 layers thick. It is easier to buy rolls of that material than to find masks.

We have Law Enforcement manning a checkpoint. I don’t know how many here have seen the video of this operation. Those officers are within 2-3 feet of hundreds of people every day and not a one did I see wearing a mask. What good’s keeping the infected out, while getting the infected on the job and taking it home?

Ten days ago I made various contacts with Keys LEO, the County mayor, individual officers, the Florida Dept. of Health offering to sell them N95 face masks for far less than what New York is willing to pay for them, and not a word back. I offered whole face shields and have not heard a freaking word back. I can deliver 10,000, 100,000 or a million masks within 10 days and I’ve been ignored.

[Fake Treatment] The fog machine they use to kill the virus makes hydrogen peroxide steam or Lysol steam. Can boil water add chemicals pour in bucket with towel tied to rope. Lift rope raise towel and steam rises up and out. Boil more water and repeat thoroughly throughout home. Probably a more efficient way than this though. Stay safe and sanitary.

Astrophysicist gets magnets stuck up his nose while inventing coronavirus device. The Australian doctor ended up in hospital after inserting magnets in his nostrils while trying to build a necklace that warns you when you touch your face. Like I’ve always said, you can have all the book-smarts in the world, but if you don’t have any common sense you’re still a moron. Link

[We’re All Going To Die] Government experts are finally admitting that Covid-19 will not be eliminated, no matter how long or severe the restrictions. Already, there are several strains of the corona virus in circulation, and there will likely be many more. They expect a new threat every year with another mutant for which the last vaccine does nothing. People will get sick, a small percentage of them will die. Maybe me, maybe you, but we were destined to die before being born. Pandora’s Box has been opened. The common cold killed a large percentage of isolated peoples when they were first exposed. We need to develop a robust immune system and hiding will not affect that.

Supermarkets, drug stores and gas stations with a plethora of dedicated service workers have dutifully kept  food, nutrition, medicines and energy at the ready for the communities they serve. Sanitation workers regularly remove toxic and contaminating debris  from our trash, without much notoriety or fanfare. Our families and children are safer because of their bold and unquestioning actions.

Law-enforcement, fire/rescue, paramedics, EMT’s, Emergency Room Personnel, medical staff, Post Office Employees, Electric Co-op, Aqueduct Authority, Food Pantry Volunteers and the “Free Press”; are the  “Guardians of the Gate” maintaining our security and well-being, whatever the cost and sacrifice they may have to make.

In addition, through fair weather and foul members of our Armed Forces provide a protective umbrella under which all of our Constitutional freedoms and liberties are able to coalesce; bringing about the best possible outcome for the challenges that we face.

The kinder, compassionate and gentler society we’ve been promised by our government schools, colleges and universities appears not to have taken hold as of yet. Nasty hoarders, dangerously self-absorbed would allow another person and their family to suffer needlessly, as they abscond with all valuable items, rather than share the limited supply available with their neighbors.

In some individuals, or maybe many, fear and opportunity triggers animalistic thoughts, action and behavior. Societal breakdowns are all too common. We’re not as advanced nor civilized as we purport to be.

The extraordinary command and control exhibited by County Administrator Roman Gastesi and his courageous staff,  along with the distinguished and inspirational leadership Sheriff Rick Ramsay and State Attorney Dennis Ward have delivered during these times of uncertainty. They sustain and comfort many families throughout the Keys.

As far as ordinary folk going about their daily lives dealing with lay-offs, firings, infirmities and uncertainty for themselves and their families; it brings to mind a renowned quote I’m familiar with: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue”. ~John Donnelly

[Keys Check Points] I heard people are trying to breeze through the Keys’ checkpoint with fake hurricane re-entry stickers. You got to love those Dade and Broward folks, they are so creative.