Reasons for the sudden uptick in COVID cases .....

...besides the fact that COVID-19 never went away in the first place.  It's been still lingering around here and there.

I think the biggest factor is simply population density, the fact that one has to converge onto a lot of the same areas as everyone else:  shopping at the same stores, riding the same buses and commuter trains along designated routes, dining at a lot of the same restaurants, just all-around being given only so many choices of where to go to conduct certain types of business.

For example, getting a new drivers license or state I.D..  There are only so many branches of the motor vehicle department, hence whichever one you go to you'll still find yourself standing in a long line behind others.

Personally, I think even more so than whether or not one wears a face mask or has been fully vaccinated this "default" interpersonal congestive bottlenecking is probably what's most responsible for increasing exposure to this (or any other) virus.

That said, I still contend shutting down again is not going to help any.  Because, sooner or later, we'll need to reopen once more (you know, to keep our social and financial ecosystem from totally collapsing).  Then all this will continue happening all over again until this COVID-19 virus finally wanes a bit.

Ultimately, COVID-19 will just have to run its full gamut, no matter what we try to do about it.

 "Your rights end where the other person's rights begin.  And right now that 'other person' wishes to expand his personal space another 40 acres, so you'll just have to pack up and move somewhere else."

                                           Musing For Today

Any time there's a conflict of any kind 99 out of a hundred times two elements are always present among all the others:  lack of transparency and a low-to-nonexistent atmosphere of trust

                                       Adage For Today

  Any time you change your address or phone number you make yourself hard to find

                                          Musing For Today

You know, ambulances don't exist anymore.  They haven't existed for at least the past 30 years or so.  They've since been known as "paramedics".

....which means injury law firms haven't been "ambulance chasers" for quite some time.  They're "paramedic chasers"

...hence, instead of "Amber, Lance, and Chase" they should be titled "Perry, Maddie, and Chase"

 The ousting of New York Governor Cuomo over allegations of "sexual harassment" is a lot like when Al Capone finally got nailed----for "tax evasion"

Remember 24-hour restaurants and the weekend "bar rush" from late evening till the early A.M.?

When I was hitchhiking around the country back in the 1980s I'd be at a Waffle House or Denny's late at night, especially on a Friday or Saturday, and one crowd after another would stroll on in, "flooding" the place and practically "taking over" the establishment with their obnoxious personalities and loud mouths.

If the establishment wasn't very friendly they'd often tell me I "had to leave" in order to make room for these fraternal "butt fucker" crowds.  Which makes sense----who do the managers and servers stand to make the most money off of, some lone vagrant nursing a cup of coffee for two hours or a bunch of affluent drunks with wallets full of bills or multiple credit cards, coupled with a guarantee of huge tips galore?

And the folks in these crowds would always order something to eat, never be able to finish their food, throw up half of their late-night meal in the parking lot, but still they dutifully paid their tab just the same.

And the police would always be "taking their break" at the same time in that establishment as well, no doubt observing who was taking off staggering and stumbling out to their car and calling in the description of that person's vehicle to a colleague waiting up the road.

These days I don't think any place stays open past 10:00 or 11:00 P.M..  Anymore, even the bars themselves close early.  The concept of the "all night cafe", "24-hour restaurant", and "24-hour convenience store" has become quite an anachronism overnight.

                         Hey, check out a blog site titled "Living Stingy" on Blogspot.com

 Have you ever noticed .....

...that mass shootings are usually directed toward upper-middle-class environments?

It's true!  Most take place at concerts, or in shopping malls, or restaurants, or in swanky clique bars, or suburban schools, or grocery stores, or large outdoor gatherings, or on university/college campuses.

The primary targets seem to be mainly privileged "trophy" type people.

As for the average inner-city or "trailer park" rabble, those types are more likely to end up being victims of local street violence.  Whenever those "lesser" types get shot or stabbed it's usually by another individual or small group from the same neighborhood or general area.

                                           Musing For Today

You know what makes performing so many tasks such a drag?  The fact that most anything you do has to be done piecemeal.  Even the simplest chores seem to require a "10-step instruction manual".

For instance:  In order to clean the floor in your living room you have to move all the furniture, tables, bookshelves, and cabinets to another room, then fill a bucket with soapy water, wipe up, rinse rag, dump out the dirty water and refill with soapy water again.

Then, when finished, move all that furniture and other stuff back into the living room where they were.   Sort of like "working for a moving company" and "doing janitorial work" at the same time.

Just about any task you take on, whether mandated or by your own free choice, has to be done in a similar manner:  doing laundry; washing dishes; going shopping; transporting yourself to an appointment; filling out forms; logging onto online accounts (e-mail and password); even engaging in hobbies or certain forms of recreation entail a lot of "preparation" beforehand.

 A lot of people get "stark" confused with "harsh"

                ...and "blunt" confused with "abusive"

One thing to be said about the "Wokesters" and "Cancel Culture":  a lot of what used to be reserved for the social misfits (the oddballs, weirdos, freaks, malcontents, lunatics) has finally trickled down to the quintessential "average" Joe and Jane.

Then:  Anyone behaving "strangely", not just irrational and psycho but even simply acting weird or saying off-the-wall things, stood to be committed to a state mental institution involuntarily.  And once collectively judged to be "crazy" would lose all credibility as a person.

Nowadays:  Anyone who contradicts, or points out any discrepancies or inconsistencies in or within popular narratives put forth by the current social, corporate, or political environment or by favored "special interest" groups stand to be banished from social media sites, or even fired from their job (or removed from their profession), or ignored altogether by most major media outlets.

Then:  Students get expelled from school for using obscenities or for disruptive behavior

Nowadays:  Employees and even bosses lose their jobs or positions over "hate speech", "inappropriate statements", or "saying something 'abusive'".

Then:  A lot of establishments reserved "the right to refuse service to anyone".  And were big on enforcing laws against "loitering".   NO HITCHHIKERS OR VAGRANTS.  VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED FOR TRESPASSING was a common notice on the entrance to a lot of truck stops, and even a lot of restaurants would refuse entry to anyone carrying a back pack or duffel bag.

Nowadays:  Facemasks or proof of vaccination for COVID required to enter.

This sort of  ostracizing and humiliating is nothing new for us "malcontents", "undesirables", and overall "unwanted".   But for the average "respectable" normals, so used to being entitled to "mandated" unconditional general respect from others and "having command over" their lives and everything around them, it's probably quite a traumatic experience to suddenly find themselves being treated like some kind of "menace" and "threat" to others around them.

                           Musing For Today

Why, when companies, businesses, and government agencies hire individuals for higher positions (such as managers) they never seem to hire single people.  It's always someone who's married.

And married people always, somehow, manage to have "family issues" or a spouse or offspring with some kind of medical or mental health issue that necessitates a need for frequent "time off"

...which makes getting in touch with whoever's "in charge" often quite difficult-to-impossible.  Hence, when a critical issue needs to be resolved it can be quite frustrating and stressful.

Wouldn't it make more sense to hire someone who's single for the positions with more authority and/or oversight?  Theoretically speaking, wouldn't someone with little or no ties be more freed up to be better able to focus more on their job and also be more readily available?

                             Gotta Love Summer ....

...Death Valley temperatures and frequent monsoons with tornadic winds

 The way the barbarous have pretty much taken over society, even if they were to "defund the police" a lot of us probably wouldn't notice any difference

                         Musing For Today

With all this concern over the Chinese government having an online "Social Credit Score", where individuals who fall below a certain rating are barred from the essentials and spoils of society, such as:  the right to attain any kind of employment; riding public transit; being allowed in businesses, stores, and restaurants; being allowed to have a place to live or reside; entitlement to any kind of government benefits;  the right to socialize or freely associate with others

....it should be noted that all throughout history----long before the existence of any internet or sophisticated satellite systems, going all the way back to (and well before) medieval times where communication was strictly the printed page and word-of-mouth----social network systems of this sort have always been the norm in ALL societies.  They simply went by "reputation", "social class", "social status", "arrest and conviction records", "school records", "employment records", "community involvement", "character references" ........

                         The Faux "Poor"

What does the government consider "poverty level"?  $45,000-a-year or below?

This sort of thing kind of gets to me---those who are clinically "poverty level" and, as such, are eligible for benefits like SNAP (food stamps/EBT), Medicaid, subsidized housing, and what-have-you

....yet they can still afford to finance brand-new $80,000 S.U.V.s, $1200 phones with 5G, home internet, cable/satellite TV .....

Why are such swanky proles considered in the same category as those making $1200-a-month or less than $1000-a-month?

                           The Florida Condominium Collapse

              Well, that's the sum total of American architecture for you .....structures made out of cardboard and tin, not much better than a mud and grass hut

One way to irk any poor person

       ...is to hear some wealthy famous black celebrity or athlete go on about "white privilege"

....I have a great suggestion:  Next time you cruise around in your Lexus or BMW S.U.V. (or whatever luxury vehicle you own) take a trip down to, say, eastern Kentucky and look around at some of Appalachia and just envy all those "whiteys" and the shacks they call home, a great number of them still having to truck out to outhouses just to take a crap---even in sub-zero temperatures mid-winter

...and just wish you could trade places with them and live the same type of "privileged" lifestyle they do.

Once again:  it's not just about race or religion---it's about economics, social status, and social standing as well.

There ARE also other forms of discrimination.

 The U.S. Postal Service is still struggling financially, cutting back on services, creating even further delays in mail delivery time

....yet they STILL have Saturday service instead of only operating Monday thru Friday

A Great Career Opportunity For All You Jehovah's Witnesses Out There

Being that you're already used to going door-to-door soliciting total strangers, a new program recently initiated by the U.S. Federal Government may be the perfect way for you to earn extra $$$$ part-time.

Starting soon, individuals will be needed for the purpose of going door-to-door to check on the vaccination status of their fellow citizens.  And who better qualified for this type of structured intrusion than those already adept at such practices?

So do consider this (what may be a) once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

                                                 Musing For Today

How many of you, upon hearing HEY JUDE for the first time, spent a good three minutes or so "waiting for a return to the main verse during the middle part"

....only to finally realize it wasn't a "middle part" but, rather, an elongated final chorus?

                                              Adage For Today

Too many things in life are tantamount to an unmarked railroad crossing in the middle of the night----something you need to know that you don't learn about until it's too late

                                                       PELOTON

 Nothing like a virtual Simon Legree barking orders at you incessantly

 "Okay, honey, I'm heading out to the store now.  In case I never make it back home you know where the Life Insurance policy is."

"In the top left-hand drawer of the bedroom dresser."

"You got it!"

Now, exclusively from Entitlement Mutual: a life insurance policy that also includes Active Shooter Protection

If you should find yourself suddenly "under fire" while at the store, in a restaurant, at a concert, at the park, or in any other public or commercial space, you can rest assured your loved ones will still be able to continue on without you----even as you lay bleeding to death from chest wounds.

            Peace of mind.  That's the Entitlement Mutual way.

Irony ....

 Pre-Pandemic:

Companies and corporations lay off workers, downsize, outsource abroad, rely more and more on automation to perform certain tasks

Post-Pandemic:

Employers are desperate to find applicants to fill vacant positions now available

 I've noticed a lot of people lately driving up, riding up (on bicycle), or walking up to the residential dumpsters behind my apartment building and either climbing up on the side, reaching in, grabbing bags, tearing them open and rummaging through them----or climbing on top of the dumpsters, opening the panels on top, jumping into them and rummaging through everything in them, throwing whatever doesn't "interest them" aside.

Now..... are these folks prospectors or what?  And whatever do they hope to find in a residential dumpster anyway-----"the hidden jewels of Ali Babba"?

No-one's going to find anything in a residential dumpster that isn't either in ten pieces, threadbare, burnt-out, or smothered in coffee grounds and glop.

                                        Adages For Today

"Paranoia" is a term used by those who have never themselves been gaslighted or a victim of incompetence, corruption, or conspiracy

You do recognize "Cancel Culture" to be a pogrom, don't you? 

 A joke Lenny Bruce made performing at a nightclub (sometime in either the late 1950s or early 1960s) that got him arrested due to the necessity of an unavoidable profanity without which the skit would have been rendered ineffectual:

"...parents are all up in arms upon learning than a certain camp counselor recently admitted to being a homosexual.

Just WHAT IS IT these parents are afraid of?  That their son's going to return from camp and say "Hey mom, camp was great!  We had all kinds of activities---fishing, woodworking, hiking, baseball, swimming, barbecuing, and cock-sucking!"

...clearly taking a stab at the dogmas and social prejudices of that timeframe.

The idea that just because someone is different in one critical area it automatically means that "nothing else about them can be normal either".

                                          Musing For Today

There are too many who cannot distinguish between Rights, Liberties, and Carte Blanche

              What is the internet for .....

....if not to be NOT like "the Emperor", cloaking oneself in "garments" of false fronts and imagery, but instead to freely expose oneself candidly to the world?

But with the threats of censorship (or the potential thereof) a lot of folks are stifling their innermost thoughts, reactions, and viewpoints, opting instead to resign themselves to repeating trendy platitudes and mantras, thus rendering their offerings no better than what one would normally expect from the types who exist solely to represent whatever "shadow government" faction they identify with (race, academic, political affiliation, social class, gender, religion, cultural/sub-cultural, sexual orientation) instead of being a unique one-of-a-kind individual

....becoming indistinguishable in the process.

I think it's great they're contemplating establishing a manned base station on the moon in the near future.

I think that's where all the funding should go----to a project that has a potential for actually accomplishing something useful and constructive.

They shouldn't spend one more penny on wasted efforts at social or economic reform.  Societies are total losers.  Nothing but aggregates of "abusive parents" and "abused rivaling siblings".

The average U.S. citizen is like "the child who can't decide whether to believe his parents or his teachers".

(Fixing the infrastructure is about the only terrestrial issue I can think of that's worth investing in) 

                                       Musing For Today

You'll notice how little overall choice one has of consumer products when shopping

...yet try to purchase any one product and you're given a thousand variations of that same product to choose from

                                        Constitutionality

                                          First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof

So what's with this "War On Christianity", or hatred of Muslims, or hatred of Jews, or atheists bashing anyone who "believes in God"?

Just as governments should keep their nose out of religion and religions should, likewise, keep their noses out of government, a lot of individuals could afford to keep their own personal beliefs out of social and business interactions and only to themselves

Or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press

Making bomb threats may not be covered by this, but one should be able to express strong opinions nonetheless.

And, also, keep politics and religion out of the media (they won't, though, of course)

Or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of  grievances

Rioting, smashing windows, setting fires, overturning vehicles is NOT a "peaceable assembling"

            Eighth Amendment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted.

Society sure sacked THIS one A LONG TIME AGO!!!!

 I have a stiff soreness on the inside of my right knee.  I'm hoping it goes away soon.  If not, then I'll have to get it looked into.

THAT I'm hoping I don't have to do. I always dread needing the services of ANY kind of professional.  Once you put yourself into the hands of one your time is no longer your own----you're now on THEIR schedule.  They can have you coming in any time of day.

What's even worse is when it takes a multitude of appointments or sessions to complete the treatment(s) (or repair(s)).  They never seem to be able to schedule each appointment "two days apart"  

...instead, it's like: "I'm all booked up the entire month of March.  It won't be 'till sometime mid-April when we can see each other again".  ("'All booked up'?  What are you, a medical doctor, or are you running a commercial airline?  Should I have 'made reservations ahead of time'?  What IS this shit?")

All "professional class" types do this:  Lawyers, doctors, dentists, financial consultants, psychiatrists, psychologists, auto mechanics, the cable company, plumbers, and so forth

...they all figure you're "not going anywhere or doing anything" and will always "be indefinitely available at all times" whenever they decide they want to "serve you" or "do business with you".

 So-o-o-o-o-o-o ....

The Japanese government has decided to discharge some of the wastewater from the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear power plant directly into the Pacific Ocean.

I wonder how the late Jacques Cousteau would have felt about this.

 Remember ....

...when a lot of those who rode the bus and subway were either on their morning 9-to-5 commute or college students on their way to class?

Nowadays it's mainly those who can't afford SUVs, pickup trucks, or luxury sedans who make up most bus riders and subway commuters

Why is it ....

....that restaurants that serve rice with their meals don't provide spoons for their customers----only forks and knives?

Should one always have to pick rice pellets off their shirt and the edge of the table every time they dine at certain establishments?

 Have you noticed ....

...that when the COVID-19 crisis was declared we suddenly weren't hearing any more about Greta Thunberg?

I'm guessing it's because of all the intense passion and fervor the illustrious teen "white knightess" put into her ubiquitous environmentalism crusades alongside her obsession with "the detrimental impact greenhouse gasses are having on planet earth".

Once the shutdowns were implemented all services were reduced to "take-out only" or "online shopping and delivery".

All business, medical, and occupational activities were converted to "virtual online".  And all aid and assistance, like food pantries and COVID testing sites, were "drive-thru only"

...not only excluding and discriminating against non-drivers, bus riders and subway commuters, as well as those without home internet service, but also clearly nurturing and profiting the automotive industry, the oil industry, and the high-tech industries as well.

They mandated that we all "wear face masks", don't get too close to strangers and casual acquaintances, "wash our hands frequently" and "wipe down all surfaces"

...while it was still okay to subject us all to a further increase in air and environmental pollution.

                                               Musing For Today

Focusing all of one's attention on

...COVID-19 while oblivious to all other health concerns

...racism while oblivious to all other forms of prejudice and discrimination

...gun control while ignoring other crucial social issues

...is a lot like a country sending every one of its spies into just ONE hostile nation instead of spreading them all out evenly into all hostile ones.

 Authorities, government agencies, and professionals

....all vying for your time, attention, and space.

God help you any time you become dependent on any one of them, as each one considers the agendas of their profession or of the agency they work for to be of the utmost priority (and practically "all that exists in the world").  They'll start "owning you", force you onto THEIR schedule (always early morning, too.  Why so early? Are they "harvesting wheat"?), force you to halt whatever else you're doing in your life at the time in insisting on your "undivided attention".

What's even worse is if you're dealing with more than one of these factions at the same time

....while hoping none of the appointment times overlap.

I'm talking about ALL the "legitimate" and "official" factions.  Not just government and the police but also ANYONE ELSE with any kind of authority, including even those with a miniscule amount, from government agencies to even medical and dental clinics, even bosses and landlords, business owners, managers, and the like.

                                   Adages For Today

Nowadays Mozart would be warned to "tone down" the complexities of his compositions so as to "not injure the self-esteem of less talented composers"

My empathy and respect for another ends where that other person's ignorance, incompetence, and insolence begins

Two of the worst types of people:  Hustlers and Reformers

RESPONSIBILITY:

....shorthand for "I don't know anyone able or willing to help me"

Decades ago airline passengers got steak mid-flight.  Nowadays they only get shit mid-flight

Why is "working" a noun instead of a verb?  Just because one doesn't get a paycheck doesn't mean one isn't putting effort into SOMETHING they might be doing

                                          Musing For Today

Shopping online, filling out government forms online, banking online, having virtual exams online, doing any kind of business online

...is quite infeasible for those of us without an internet connection of our own, who depend on either public libraries or public Wi-Fi to get online

...and who are not about to pay the exorbitant fees charged by charlatan Internet Service Provider hustlers (Spectrum; WOW; AT&T Uverse) just to have our own access to the internet, or hand out even more of our dough to corporate "protection money" racketeers (LifeLock) to guard us against hacking and identity theft.