20210109 the crucible

Welcome from our little tin can by the sea. This has been a rough week: I had a very good friend die on Monday, we passed 4000 COVID deaths in a single day in the US, and our president committed a seditious act by inciting a gathering of over 100,000 to ransack the Capitol. On top of that, I'm ill.

I met Ed Stephens on my first day at Honeywell Industrial Automation and Control in Phoenix AZ, after transferring from their Atlanta, GA location. Ed had just hired on the day before after working at Asea Brown Bovari (ABB) in Columbus, OH. Ed had a strong wit, and was a dynamo with knowledge. He could recite delicate intricacies in acquisitions with this person going here and that person fitting there - it was an education to hear him over lunch or during a break. Ed's wife, Elaine, was quite a treat, too. Originally a Mississippi lady, Elaine was comfortable with everyone. She passed in 2019 and a little over a year later, so has Ed. We stayed casual friends over the years, exchanging Christmas cards and an occasional phone call or email. How precious those wisps of communication are now. I miss you both, Ed and Elaine!

COVID-19 is uncontrolled in the US and the rollout of the vaccine is moving very slow. Biden, the pres-elect, has promised to improve this state. A: I wish him luck, and B: It should be an easy task, considering how terrible it is now.

sedition n. - incitement of resistance to or insurrection against lawful authority

Our sitting president has committed an act of sedition by sending his rally audience to ransack the Capitol. Five people died, one of them an officer. Republican members of the senate and house raised objections to the certified counts from the states, becoming accomplices. At the rally, the sitting pres continued his reckless lies of voter fraud despite losing numerous court cases on that very item. By facilitating the lie, these congressional members became complicit in sedition:

Senate: Tommy Tuberville, Ala. Roger Marshall, Kan. John Kennedy, La. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss. Josh Hawley, Mo. Ted Cruz, Texas 

House: Robert B. Aderholt, Ala. Mo Brooks, Ala. Jerry Carl, Ala. Barry Moore, Ala. Gary Palmer, Ala. Mike Rogers, Ala. Andy Biggs, Ariz. Paul Gosar, Ariz. Debbie Lesko, Ariz. Rick Crawford, Ark. Ken Calvert, Calif. Mike Garcia, Calif. Darrell Issa, Calif. Doug LaMalfa, Calif. Kevin McCarthy, Calif. Devin Nunes, Calif. Jay Obernolte, Calif. Lauren Boebert, Colo. Doug Lamborn, Colo. Kat Cammack, Fla. Mario Diaz-Balart, Fla. Byron Donalds, Fla. Neal Dunn, Fla. Scott Franklin, Fla. Matt Gaetz, Fla. Carlos Gimenez, Fla. Brian Mast, Fla. Bill Posey, Fla. John Rutherford, Fla. Greg Steube, Fla. Daniel Webster, Fla. Rick Allen, Ga. Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, Ga. Andrew Clyde, Ga. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga. Jody Hice, Ga. Barry Loudermilk, Ga. Russ Fulcher, Idaho Mike Bost, Ill. Mary Miller, Ill. Jim Baird, Ind. Jim Banks, Ind. Jackie Walorski, Ind. Ron Estes, Kan. Jacob LaTurner, Kan. Tracey Mann, Kan. Harold Rogers, Ky. Clay Higgins, La. Mike Johnson, La. Steve Scalise, La. Andy Harris, Md. Jack Bergman, Mich. Lisa McClain, Mich. Tim Walberg, Mich. Michelle Fischbach, Minn. Jim Hagedorn, Minn. Michael Guest, Miss. Trent Kelly, Miss. Steven Palazzo, Miss. Sam Graves, Mo. Vicky Hartzler, Mo. Billy Long, Mo. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Mo. Jason Smith, Mo. Matt Rosendale, Mont. Dan Bishop, N.C. Ted Budd, N.C. Madison Cawthorn, N.C. Richard Hudson, N.C. David Rouzer, N.C. Jeff Van Drew, N.J. Yvette Herrell, N.M. Chris Jacobs, N.Y. Nicole Malliotakis, N.Y. Lee Zeldin, N.Y. Adrian Smith, Neb. Warren Davidson, Ohio Bob Gibbs, Ohio Bill Johnson, Ohio Jim Jordan, Ohio Stephanie Bice, Okla. Tom Cole, Okla. Kevin Hern, Okla. Frank Lucas, Okla. Markwayne Mullin, Okla. John Joyce, Pa. Mike Kelly, Pa. Scott Perry, Pa. Guy Reschenthaler, Pa. Jeff Duncan, S.C. Ralph Norman, S.C. Tom Rice, S.C. William Timmons, S.C. Joe Wilson, S.C. Tim Burchett, Tenn. Scott DesJarlais, Tenn. Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn. Mark E. Green, Tenn. Diana Harshbarger, Tenn. John Rose, Tenn. Jodey Arrington, Texas Brian Babin, Texas Michael C. Burgess, Texas John R. Carter, Texas Michael Cloud, Texas Pat Fallon, Texas Louie Gohmert, Texas Lance Gooden, Texas Ronny Jackson, Texas Troy Nehls, Texas August Pfluger, Texas Pete Sessions, Texas Randy Weber, Texas Roger Williams, Texas Ron Wright, Texas Ben Cline, Va. Bob Good, Va. Morgan Griffith, Va. Carol Miller, W.Va. Scott Fitzgerald, Wis. Tom Tiffany, Wis.

20210103 we begin

Hope. Every New Years eve brings hope that this next year will be better than the last. Considering how atrocious 2020 was, it should be a low-bar for 2021. On the COVID front, my son-in-law plans to go to work today after a stint with COVID where he still has a cough. Personally, I think that's stupid, but I don't get to set the rules this year, either. My daughter has come down with the virus and is hurting. I hope that her run with it is quick and not long-lasting. I've managed to come down with something affecting my intestines. I see the doc on a televisit this coming Tuesday. 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
- Emily Dickenson

20201224 eve

Happy holidays from us in the tin can by the sea. These are rough days this year. My son-in-law has come down with COVID and that has quarantined my daughter and grandson as well. My granddaughter and her son are isolated from the family due to the quarantine, with all the presents that were bought for them isolated in the house with my daughter and her family. Meanwhile, my niece and her husband are recovering from COVID that they came down with earlier in December. Further, my nephew is recovering after surgery to re-attach his retina. Another sister-in-law is recovering after surgery to replace a heart valve earlier this month. Another cousin is in cancer remission. One friend of the family has learned that he will be fighting cancer for the rest of his life. Another close friend is undergoing surgery early in January.

This year has taken it's toll on me. 

2020 has taken the lives of many dear friends and I'm sorry that I didn't say hello often enough or get a hug or handshake goodbye. "There will be another day" is no more. 

I've got to make it to tomorrow.

20201219 the Holidays

I miss my daughter, my grandchildren, and my great-grandson.

Happy holidays.

20201213 - Vaccine Day

 To date, in the USA:

Cases: 16,690,058

Deaths: 306,057

Hope: yes

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has received clearance from the FDA, and the Moderna vaccine is right behind. Tomorrow, someone in the US, presumably a health care worker, will be inoculated against COVID-19, beginning the en masse delivery of the vaccine to US Citizens. 

There's a lot that I could say regarding the vaccine, but, right now, there's no sense in doing that. The fact is that this will save lives and people will breathe for another day. 

I could go on about our lame-duck pres' attempts to disenfranchise a large number of voters in the US, but, really, why? Why rant? The election of 2020 will be filed alongside the election of 1876, where political shenanigans abounded. 

It's vaccine day.

20201121 - Figures don't lie

 

The number of daily cases in the US broke 200,000 yesterday. On November 19th, the US had over 2,000 deaths attributable to COVID-19.

Georgia certified their election results, which awarded the election of president to Joe Biden.

After meeting with the sitting president, Michigan lawmakers didn't buy in.

The old saying is that “figures will not lie,” but a new saying is “liars will figure.” It is our duty, as practical statisticians, to prevent the liar from figuring; in other words, to prevent him from perverting the truth, in the interest of some theory he wishes to establish.
- Carrol D. Wright, 1889

20201108 - Hitchhiker's Guide

42.

In the comic sci-fi "trilogy", "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the number 42 is touted as the answer to the question, "What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything." Oddly, it is also the percentage of white males in the US that did not vote for Trump. Coincidence? I think not.