PLOG 40: Happy Day!

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

I started this PLOG series on May 22, thinking that I would mostly discuss cooking and video games. Today marks my 40th PLOG entry! WOOT! WOOOOO! What an accomplishment!

I want to thank everyone for your support, especially my family and close friends. Through this dark and difficult time, I have found that I enjoy writing my daily blogs. It's a good psychological release, if nothing else. This place allows me to freely express my thoughts and feelings about the world.

What a crazy 40 days it has been. Yesterday, CNN flashed a comparison map on the screen.

Clearly the world, and especially the US, has a serious issue to get under control. I've been very lucky that the people I care about most in the world have not fallen victim to the deadly and dangerous coronavirus. One of my co-workers did get the coronavirus, but she recovered an seems to be ok now. We just have to hope that we continue to be this fortunate.

Meanwhile, the push to try to get students back into school continues. Dr. Fauci is on TV today with the other governmental heads of the medical field, answering questions for congress; he is saying we need to get students back into schools ASAP. This comes on the heels of an NPR article also insisting we need to get students back to school. I hope people understand that this situation comes with the caveat that we need to do what is best for the health of the children and the teenagers by not rushing into situations that the schools are not prepared for locally.

Did you see the jump in the deaths? By the end of today, it'll probably be at 130,000. That was fast. I hope the hospitals aren't getting overwhelmed. I know the news from Houston and Dallas was that the ICU beds were getting to full capacity at the hospitals. 

It's so bizarre that this is our new normal. Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned Dr. Fauci as well and he admitted that if we don't get this under control, he won't be surprised if we end up getting over 100,000 new cases a day. He specifically used the term "very disturbing" referring to the death numbers. Sigh.

Wow. The big 4-0. Here we are. After everything. There's plenty I could complain about, but I think there are also plenty of reasons to be happy. In the larger scale of the world, there's little that I can control. But I can control me. I can control my attitude. I'm going to just sit back and relax today. Probably enjoy my cookie cake, order some pizza, play some Minecraft, talk with friends and family via technology, and hang out with the cats.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe at home)!

PLOG 39: Global Issue

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

I realized I have been using numbers from Texas and the US, but the pandemic really is a global issue. And the global numbers are staggering.

Around the world, half a million people have died from the coronavirus, with over 10 million infected. And that's just the reported numbers; I assume they are actually much higher than those numbers. I think we should keep a global perspective in mind. It is just easier to look at and understand the US numbers, such as the map below:

I have watched over the last few weeks as the green areas on the map have disappeared. Green was good because it meant the numbers were down. There are no longer any dark green states and only a couple of light green ones are left. The nation has gone red and dark red - which means increasing infection numbers. We have 25% of the infections and deaths in the world.

We are losing this battle, but when you look at other countries you do see some hope. Some nations have been able to isolate the cases and convince the majority of the population to wear masks. Hopefully our doubters will eventually see the science and the success of those places and change their minds. 

Even some of the YouTube personalities that I watch talk about how they don't want to wear masks. From various conspiracy theories to just the notion that it's a symbol or that it's uncomfortable, they have various reasons for their resistance. I hope they will change their minds before they get horribly ill.

On a personal note, I will say I have been lucky to have worked at home in the spring and then to be able to just stay home for my "summer vacation" and thus I haven't had to wear masks much. But I do wear my mask to go get the mail or even when retrieving groceries from my front door (from delivery). I'm happy to pay those extra delivery fees in exchange for less worry about getting infected.

Another personal note: I enjoy writing a daily blog. It's been fun and, as of tomorrow, I will have been blogging for the entire month of June! Woot!

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe at home)!

PLOG 38: Mission Impossible

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

There's a Mission Impossible movie marathon on TV today. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed these movies. It's a great distraction from the chaos of the world, so thank you to the FX channel.

I think "Mission Impossible" may end up being what we call our human struggle against the coronavirus. From the very beginning of this situation, back when I heard that China and Italy were struggling, I looked up the science behind the virus and I realized that if it got out of control we would need - at the minimum - 12 to 18 months to develop some sort of vaccine. But that was a hopeful number, because the fact is we have never developed a vaccine against the common cold. We might not be able defeat this thing. And people are in denial of the seriousness of this situation.

People want to think that we can ignore the virus and it will go away. It's not going away. In fact, as yesterday's CNN reports showed, our lack of testing shows that the numbers of infected people could be anywhere from 6 to 24 times the reported number.

That would make the US number, instead of 2.5 million, potentially 15 million to 60 million infected people. That's a lot. I've been saying, just about every day now, that we need new leadership, but it looks like the only way we will get new leadership is through voting in the elections. That means people need to be able to vote in November and we need to make it through this situation through at least January for the change in leadership. Then we need to survive long enough for changes to be made and have impact.

The good news is, the polls make it look like we will get change. The bad news is that polls were inaccurate in the last US Presidential election - and, even if we get change, the worse news is that the change is Biden.

I think it's disgusting that the options for the next US President are Trump and Biden. You would think people would have learned from the last election when neither Trump nor Hillary were popular, unifying choices. But it seems, as the Spanish Flu of 1918 would attest, we don't learn from history like we should.

During the week Jon Stewart made appearances promoting his new movie. When he was on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, they discussed how horrible it was that 102 years ago, during the Spanish Flu, the recommendations were the same as today - wear a mask and maintain distance from others.

With so many bad options around us and a society in denial, with just bad options ahead of it, we definitely seem to be in a "Mission Impossible" situation.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe at home)!

UPDATE: Protesters are now out there against wearing face masks.

PLOG 37: Full Capacity

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Side note: The news isn't covering the protests very much anymore (other than the statues being taken down, but I haven't seen any news statue news in the last couple of days).

Well, the airlines have decided to do something crazy - and by crazy I mean motivated by greed.

Several of the major airlines are no longer allowing social distancing; they are booking at full capacity (which probably means returning to that unethical practice of overbooking). The issue here is, in my opinion, one of the great failings of capitalism. People don't know where to draw the line between making what they need to survive/be happy and allowing greed to overtake them; it's one thing to say you need to go back to work to put food on the table, but it's another to say you're going to purposely ignore science and put people in danger in the most easily avoidable of ways.

Don't expect me to be getting on a full airplane with recycled airflow while literally being forced to touch the person to my left and the person to my right. Studies have made it clear that people in that close of quarters, breathing the same air, eating that close to one another, are going to infect each other.

And the airlines are doing this while we see the highest numbers ever in the US. It's just unfathomable to me. It's also unacceptable. Someone needs to put a stop to this irresponsibility. But our lack of leadership continues. Normally I would say people will speak with their money - and hopefully many people will - but there are some people who need to fly in order to work and make their money - especially people who are used to large salaries.

Luckily, I can stay home. I don't need to fly anywhere. Speaking of homes, I looked up local foreclosures on the internet and it's looking sad. In July the county is planning to do foreclosure auctions and there are some expensive homes that people have lost. I feel bad for people.

Stay safe out there (and I'll stay safe in here)!

PLOG 36: Scapegoats

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

There's so much going on that I haven't been able to discuss everything on my blog here. I tend to focus on just one or two issues per day, but I did want to point out that the protests have been continuing in the form of people pulling down statues of Confederate leaders and slave owners. Trump has seemed more concerned about protecting those statues than protecting people from the coronavirus.

Side note: Today was a cheesy tuna helper day for me.

On to today's main topic though: Texas Gov. Abbott is using bars as a scapegoat for why the numbers of infected people has gone up so much.

The government wants us to believe that the main reason the numbers have gone up is because people are drinking and getting all touchy-feely spreading the virus? Oh please. It's face masks! Come on Abbot. I expected better for you. I really appreciated you in the spring when you kept the schools closed, but I don't know what to think of you now. It appears you're sucking up to Trump and doing what he asks by re-opening the state too quickly (ignoring your own criteria) and then failing to mandate masks. You don't even seem to be fighting the removal of federal funds for testing. So sad!

Meanwhile the numbers have gone up even more in Florida.

What are they going to blame there? Beach bars? Come on people! The overall numbers are just insane. I hope we survive this.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 35: Reactive

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Have you ever spent much time thinking about the difference between being proactive and reactive? I certainly have, because my graduate classes years ago (while working on my masters degree in education and taking communication studies courses along with it) forced me to think about that contrast. You can also think about it from a creative writing/fiction standpoint with characters. In stories, movies, TV shows, etc. people tend to like proactive characters more than reactive characters because the proactive ones are taking responsibility and direction for the action in the world around them.

Thus far our supposed political leaders have been very reactive, not proactive. Take Texas Gov. Abbott for example. Instead of proactively getting in front of the pandemic issues, he has allowed himself to fall behind and thus the virus infection numbers have spiraled out of control here in Texas.

Today brought good news. It looks like Gov. Abbott may at least be reacting in a way that helps.

He seems to be wanting to finally try to stop the hospitals from overcrowding with coronavirus cases. It's still a reactive measure, rather than a proactive one, but it's better than nothing.

In my email I found an article from the Dallas Morning News adding that "He also announced Thursday that he's pausing any further reopening of businesses and other public activities until Texas can 'corral' a recent surge in COVID-19 infections." Does that include opening the public schools? If so, then thank goodness I finally have some hope that our leaders will make a good decision about this fall.

I'm so worried about the children, the students, all of the staff and teachers planned to go back to work in-person in the fall with schools reopening. That includes being worried for myself, of course. One huge complication in this whole mess is that school districts are being so reactive, having waited all summer for news from Gov. Abbott and TEA about funding and attendance. 

I've read about colleges having these same issues. MIT, a university full of genius-level faculty and students even attempted to crowdsource the problem and couldn't come up with a good answer. That's because there isn't one. And that's what people are having trouble accepting. We have to pick a bad option. We just need to pick the bad option that minimizes people getting sick, getting huge medical bills, and dying.

Today my hope is feeling a little more alive than it has been lately. I even cooked one of my favorite meals, some cheeseburger helper.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 34: Fear Itself

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

I woke up this morning and started watching the news, much to my dismay...

It's terrible. It's frightening. And to all of the conservative pundits who say "the liberal media is trying to scare you" I say it's THE CORONAVIRUS that scares me. The "liberal media" is doing its job and reporting the numbers, the facts to me. I can ignore whatever political spin is put onto political issues. It's the numbers that are frightening. It's the fact that every time I have groceries delivered or I leave my house or my spouse goes to work - the coronavirus could forever change our lives in a monumentally bad way.

The numbers don't lie. The lack of leadership, from the national level down to the state level, and even at the local level (in many places) has caused us to completely lose control of this situation. Many citizens confuse facts with opinions (which is unfortunate, because schools try to teach the difference between facts and opinions over and over throughout the years). And then there's the difference between facts and outright lies...

Trump thinks he can just make up his own reality. What's scary is that some of his supporters just nod and smile and accept whatever he says, instead of looking at the actual news and numbers. While Trump is trying to convince people that the pandemic is over, the federal funding for testing is being removed. He wants the numbers to go down, whether they are accurate or not. Now that's fear-inducing. He wants to sell the public a false reality. And why does he do this? To increase his popularity and help his re-election.

I'm scared. I'm happy to admit that I'm scared. But I'm scared because of the way our supposed leaders are acting. I'm scared because the virus can cripple people's health and finances and even kill. I'm not scared because "I'm being manipulated by the liberal media" in some way.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 33: No Kidding

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Finally, Texas Governor Abbott admitted that we still have a serious problem. He's saying home is the safest place to be, so maybe there is hope for us having online school again in the fall to protect students; that's my own though though, as I don't think he has said anything about schools today.

From The Dallas Morning News

Is Abbott trying to sound like a threatening parent? "If you kids don't start behaving, then I'll have to tell your daddy when he gets home!" It's ridiculous to me; people should understand the science and want to stay home or use proper protections when they are out, though only for necessary tasks. Also, he should have taken a stronger stance as a leader and mandated face masks across the state once we started re-opening. Not that we needed to re-open, especially that quickly. In fact, he directly contradicted his own release, as well as the national and CDC guidelines with how quickly he re-opened Texas.

Let me lay it out once again...

EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME YOU RISK:

(1) getting horribly sick;

(2) suffering long-term medical issues;

(3) ending up with massive medical bills; and

(4) dying!

The risks should mean that you only leave home when absolutely necessary. When you do leave, you should wear a face mask and gloves. You should consider "cross-contamination" with what you touch - just like a chef getting yelled at by Jon Taffer in an episode of BAR RESCUE. Just like you shouldn't touch raw chicken and then touch other food without changing gloves or washing your hands, you need to swap gloves or wash your hands with soap for at least 30 seconds after every encounter.

Instead of going grocery shopping, you should be using delivery services or curbside pickup with face masks and gloves in use. Be creative if necessary, but don't practice "business as normal" the way things used to be. The world has changed. Accept that. Change. The medical science isn't 100% clear, but we know enough to know that we should be using best practices as much as possible.

Remember my posts about doublethink and doubletalk? Trump, of course, continues with his deceptive rhetorical tactics. He said at his campaign rally in Oklahoma that he wanted less testing, with the logic(al fallacy) being that less testing means the numbers are lower and that makes him look good. His campaign and the White House staff immediately tried to offer the defense that his statements to that effect were a joke. But Trump came out the next day and insisted he wasn't "kidding" about testing numbers. With this doubletalk, the people who support him get to say it's a joke and the people opposing him get to point out that he's serious. What a mangled postmodern reality we live in.

Why is this a problem? He really is going to have less testing. News reports today indicated the federal funding for the public testing sites for the coronavirus was going away and thus they are going to shut down. That means only people with money and/or insurance will be able to get tested through private facilities. Once again, the poor and uninsured will suffer. We will see it locally and across the nation. No funding means no testing, which means the numbers could look like they are going down again. But it's all a lie. People will still be sick and dying.

Luckily, at the congressional hearings today, the medical personal were willing to testify in opposition to Trump's words. Dr. Fauci pointed out that, with this "surge" continuing, we need to get the numbers down.

Well, it looks like "the woods are burning" as Willy Loman declared in the play Death of a Salesman.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 32: 120,000

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Today the US reported death total increased to 120,000.

That is all.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here).

PLOG 31: OK Rally

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Yesterday, Trump held his rally in Oklahoma.

The crowd size is always an issue with Trump, for some reason. He wants only the biggest, best crowd sizes so his campaign was very excited when it looked like a million people were signing up for this event at a closed 19,000 person seating hall. It turns out the Fire Marshal counted 6,200 people and the Trump campaign is claiming it was 12,000 people - a major letdown either way.

A woman on TikTok had started a movement, in political protest, for people to sign up and pretend they were going to go there. Her trick worked and she trolled the President of the United States and his team. Wow. Oh wow. They expected so many people that they had built "overcrowd stages" so they could address all of the people they thought would be outside. Those people never showed up. The stadium had a lot of empty seats.

It's a funny occurrence, though with dark humor to it since Trump is doing so many harmful things to our society, like when at this rally, he said he wanted to slow down testing of coronavirus so there wouldn't be as many cases. He means reported cases, unless he really is infant-minded and thinks that cases only exist after testing for them.

I congratulate the TikTok movement. They achieved something.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 30: Not Safe

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

The citizens of the state of Texas had been in suspense (and really we still are since we still need more info), waiting to hear from the governor and TEA (Texas Education Agency) about whether or not schools will be reopening in the fall. Mindful, I am a teacher and under contract, and even I didn't know. They couldn't tell us anything when the school year ended because they didn't know. Understandably, with the pandemic, it was impossible for local admins to make plans. We ended the school year with the last 9 weeks being online classes and a pass/fail system. But what would the next school year be like?

Well, during the week we received notification from the governor that they intend to begin the coming school year with in-person classes (with an option for parents who don't feel that it's safe to keep their kids at home and do online classes). Interesting. I wonder how those logistics will work. I'm sure school district admins are scrabbling to figure out how to make these logistics work; here's a hint: it's not possible to guarantee safety in the schools in the fall.

Oh wait - TEA made a statement:

Thankfully, hundreds of people replied upset at this announcement. How can TEA possibly guarantee that it "will be safe for Texas public school students, teachers, and staff to return to school campuses for in-person instruction this fall" when science says the threat of the coronavirus continues? Many of the public responses asked to see the evidence and reasoning behind TEA's statement. I wonder if that will ever be forthcoming.

It isn't safe. I don't understand how it could possibly, suddenly, magically, be safer without a vaccine/cure for the coronavirus. The TEA statement was released during the week of the highest reported number of coronavirus cases in Texas. If it wasn't safe last spring, it certainly hasn't gotten safer. There's no logic here.

Here's a nice infographic put together by Yahoo Finance to explain the danger:

Schools are one of the places with the highest danger of getting the coronavirus. The safest option is staying home. I typically have 30 students enrolled in a class that I teach, in a room with no windows. That AC system pumping air throughout the building is going to be spreading the coronavirus. Those students are going to be breathing on each other, sneezing and coughing, touching each other and the same surfaces - and that's just in the classroom. In the cafeteria, it's going to spread even easier.

Teacher unions are fighting the good fight. Many parents have posted online that they intend to keep their students at home, even homeschooling if necessary. Let's not put the students in danger. Let's not put the teachers in danger. Let's not force people to do homeschooling when they don't really want to. Let's just go with improved online learning. Teacher video instruction and personal interaction. Let's do our best to keep people from getting sick, getting medical bills, forever having their health ruined, or - worst of all - dying.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 29: Juneteenth

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Today is Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day that the US slaves were freed/knew that they were free. It should be a holiday to commemorate/reflect upon progress and our society's ability to evolve beyond past issues. As always these days, there were protests - though they were called "rallies" today instead.

Also, as always these days, Trump tried to steal the spotlight by (1) claiming he made Juneteenth famous by rescheduling his political rally and (2) refusing the cancel his rally or require face masks/safety precautions. We need real leadership; hopefully it isn't too late to turn this ship around (it's starting to feel like the Titanic).

Today should be a day for us all to come together (with social distancing, maybe online) as one people. It's time to honor and respect our diversity. It should also be a day to worry about our future and the children. There's a lot I want to say about the plans to reopen schools in the fall, but I'll wait until the next blog entry for that.

It's been a busy day, including cleaning my home.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 28: Doubletalk

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

There's more doublethink going on in the sense of doubletalk today, as Trump tries to convince people to ignore the numbers and just trust him (even though he contradicts the numbers and science).

To this I say, "Really?" But really, many people are falling for these lies - day after day. Trump is such a narcissistic person that he seems to think people are putting on facial masks just to spite him; he is in such denial of the serious threat to people's health, that he can't see reality for what it is. And the reality is, until a medical breakthrough is made to deal with coronavirus, we are in serious trouble.

Dr. Fauci is on CNN explaining that people shouldn't be expecting major league football this year. Pulling it off seems unfeasible because of both the issue of the fans crowding the arenas and the players being at risk from one another. 

People need to accept that life has changed for us. It may never be the same again. Or, we could end up with a major medical solution to the virus. In the meantime, people need to make sacrfices and then keep making sacrifices.

I would like to leave my apartment for more than just getting the mail, but I am staying put because it's my summer vacation and I know that every contact with someone outside is a chance of catching a deadly virus. Even if it doesn't kill me, it could forever change my health for the worse and/or leave me with medical bills that I can't afford to pay.

In other news, the police may not be much help to us in the future (as CNN was discussing earlier, regarding the Atlanta police)...

Many police officers are upset at how law enforcement is being treated during this time period. With racial tension at an all-time high for our modern times, cops are afraid they could end up in a situation out of their control that causes them to not only have their lives in danger, but also to lose their jobs and be painted as a racist person - maybe even charged with murder. Out of protest, out of anger, out of fear, or any other number of reasons - we are now seeing more and more cops calling in sick or refusing to go to the scenes of certain incidents.

It sounds like society is falling apart. And people are worried about going to see their favorite football team. More and more customers and businesses are fighting over wearing facial masks because of the lack of leadership from our government (local, state, and national). I haven't even begun to consider the global ramifications of all of this... sigh. I'm all worked up today!

People need to wake up from their denials and delusions and accept that it's a new world we are living in. It's a dangerous world that requires precautions to be taken. It's no longer the fun, kind of carefree existence we had before. It's like the Earth has lost its innocence.

I can't imagine being someone who has lost a loved one due to the coronavirus, or being someone who has serious health complications or financial bills from it, and then have Trump out there making it sound like it's not a big deal. I would feel so belittled.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 27: Doublethink

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

In 1949 George Orwell published the dystopian novel 1984 as a warning of what could happen in the future with the media using "doublethink" as a means of manipulating citizens. Doublethink confuses people to the point that they accept lies as truth, or they can't tell what's real and not real so they just go along with what they are told by the government. Isn't it amazing how prophetic Orwell was, even back then?

Here we are, in the midst of a pandemic, and much of the population is in denial of the seriousness of the situation because government leaders are saying that it's not a big deal, or that's it's been dealt with, or just by example with them not wearing masks and continuing on with events as if there is no serious health risk. US VP Pence, who is the person in charge of the coronavirus task force, continues to say that progress has been made and we are doing fine. It's a lie. Numbers are up.

Trump is hosting a rally in Oklahoma, even though the local authorities are saying they wish he wouldn't; they want him to postpone or hold his rally somewhere else because of health concerns, but Trump won't budge. He will hold his rally. He will go there without a mask on, encouraging the people not to wear facial masks or worry about taking other precautions of social distancing. That's just going to lead to more people getting sick. More people in the hospital. More people with huge medical bills that they can't afford to pay. And worst of all, more people dying from the virus or health complications involving the virus.

I'm feeling mentally and psychologically devastated by the actions of people in society. It's shocking and it's sad. I'm sitting at home wondering why so many people are in denial or if maybe some of them have a death wish or something. I don't know. I realize people like normalcy. I know people need to go to work and make money, but there are still precautions to be taken for that. Maybe people have just decided to give into chaos and let whatever is going to happen, happen.

Who knows what the future will bring? I feel especially bad for younger people growing up in a society in which they may not be able to tell what is real or what is true. At least I'm old enough and educated enough to be able to see through a lot of the lies. Though, at this point, I also know it's possible I'm being manipulated by plenty of lies as well. I've probably fallen for propaganda and doublethink or doublespeak plenty of times.

On CNN, Don Lemon just said "The whole world is upside down." I agree.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 26: More Virus

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

One of the theories that people have been clinging to during the pandemic is that once someone gets the coronavirus, their body will be immune to getting it again. Unfortunately, that isn't true. Part of that could be because the virus continues to mutate (sadly, reminding me of Star Trek: TNG when the crew would fire their phasers at the Borg and they would adapt so that the weapon blasts wouldn't hurt them in the future), but the other part of that could be that scientists were just wrong about this aspect of the virus.

There have been several instances of people claiming to have gotten the coronavirus more than once, but this recent article from a woman in Dallas shows that it was all fully documented in her case.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/coronavirus/dallas-woman-battling-coronavirus-again/2389265/

Well, I suppose that just goes to show that we have a long way to go in this battle. I wish everyone was taking this situation more seriously.

Be careful out there (and I'll be careful in here)!

PLOG 25: Pizza

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

After 3 months of not eating any fast food or ordering pizza, I finally gave in and ordered pizza today. I explored the websites for the big 3 and realized the best deal I could get was with Papa John's since I had apparently earned $10 off, in addition to the coupons.

I went big. Papa John's counts half-toppings as actual half-toppings so I divided the pizza into 2 and got 2 different setups. I added the extra cheese and then "supersized" the pizza.

It was delicious. So wonderful. But I really shouldn't have done it. I didn't need to eat the pizza. I didn't need to risk dealing with the delivery driver and the coronavirus (even though I do really like contactless delivery - it makes no sense considering the boxes and food could be contaminated).

That's it for today. Just a little food failure/enjoyment.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 24: Trump's Bday

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Apparently today is Trump's birthday, which explains why protesters in Washington, DC are destroying a fake birthday cake for him as part of their protest. It's also 20 days on constant protesting across the United States.

Apparently Friday night at a Wendy's parking lot in Atlanta, another white cop shot and killed a black man. I watched the videos shown on CNN. The man who was killed had fallen asleep in his car while in the line for the drive-thru at Wendy's; someone had called 911, which was why a cop was there. The responding cop woke him up and got him to pull his car into a parking spot. The man admitted to having been drinking. The cop called in backup for a DUI test. The 2 officers decided to arrest the man, but when they tried to handcuff him, he fought both cops. He took the taser from one of them and ran. The other cop chased with his taser, but when the escaping man fired the taser back at the officer, the officer responded by shooting him.

Did the officer fear for his life? He'd already been hit by the man as they had been fighting and wrestling. Was he afraid he could be knocked down or knocked out by the taser and further harmed, possibly killed? Should the cop have just allowed the man to run away and escape? This is such a crazy case; it looks like an unjustified use of deadly force, but now it's going to be in the hands of the DA and the judicial system. The cop has been fired, but I don't think charges have actually been filed yet.

After the event, protestors burned down the Wendy's. That's clearly unjustifiable. That's a criminal act. Meanwhile, at other protests across the nation, CNN and other news outlets continue to label protestors who are blocking roads and disrupting people's lives as "peaceful" protesters. I wish they would do a better job of labeling different levels of protests.

So much anger, so much sadness, so much confusion.

Be safe out there (I'll ne safe in here)!

PLOG 23: CHAZ Confusion

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

The recent events in Seattle, Washington confuse me. Apparently a group of civilians protesting have taken over part of the city and claimed it as their own. They have claimed that it is no longer a part of the United States. They seem to be engaged in an exercise of self-rule without police and authorities. They are calling the area CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) and they have a police precinct as part of their captured territory.

I have seen the police chief say she did not want to abandon the police station there, but was ordered to by the city leaders. The mayor of Seattle keeps doing interviews making it sound like everything is fine and people shouldn't be worried about the situation. Trump sent some angry tweets, saying they needed to get control or else he would send in the military. The mayor responded that it would be illegal for Trump to do so... and it's been going on for days now.

I'm confused. I guess I was raised to believe that we lived in a society in which this type of situation would be unacceptable. I didn't think people could just decide to rebel and create pockets of anarchy. I have always assumed force would be used to stop this sort of thing. I expect the police and/or federal backup to go in guns blazing and retake areas.

Remember the novel The Outsiders and the idea of "suicide by cop" from decades ago? Apparently these days, the police are trained to not use lethal force. Ever? Are they never supposed to use lethal force? When is it justified? I suppose the big disconnect in my mind is that I was always taught to believe that lethal force would happen. Maybe that's not what people have been taught in the latest generation as they have grown up. I expected to be put down if I rebelled. People today don't seem to expect that anymore.

In the meantime, I decided to read some books that may at least help me better understand the racial tension in our society today: How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo.

Also, be careful because the coronavirus numbers keep going up.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 22: The End?

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues in this time of pandemic and protests...

Apparently the calendar/math was off and the Mayan predication about the end of the world has now been recalculated to... June 21, 2020 (which is about a week away).

Woot. The text explains...

While I doubt the world will end on June 21, it does bring up the question: If you only had a week to live, what would you do? Reflecting on your life, what do you wish you could do before you die, and what is standing in your way?

I'm proud to say that I've enjoyed my life. I've accomplished my career goals. I've travelled all over the world to the destinations I wanted to see. I've been a mentor/teacher/leader to a lot of people; I've led numerous students to success winning awards and championships, as well as helping students to get published and win scholarship money. I've found love, allowing myself to love and be loved. I've raised 2 spoiled cats. I've written some powerful poetry and interesting stories. Along the way I've also had amazing times hanging out with my friends. I'm sure there are things I could complain about (if I wanted to), but I'm really happy with how things have turned out in my life.*

*Other than these external factors, like the pandemic and the unpredictability of our current politics that are spiraling into violence and death. I suppose what I am saying is, for the things that I can control, I am happy.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 21: 2nd Wave

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

As the number of coronavirus cases and deaths increase, they are now officially calling this the "Second Wave" for the deadly pandemic.

My goodness! I mean, for those of us who have paid attention to the science, we knew this was coming - but it really hits home as more and more people are getting sick.

(From the article above)

Some naysayers on the internet are trying to say that the numbers are only going up because testing is increasing - but to that I reply, "that means the numbers should have always been higher, which means you should take this situation even more seriously, not less so." The Texas numbers have increased, in part, due to outbreaks at prisons and the fact that we have now tested the people in the prisons. That, in no way, negates the seriousness of this article.

The fact that nursing homes and prisons are the areas where the virus spreads the easiest makes me very fearful for the children and the possibility of returning to school classrooms in the fall. I have heard the virus is easily spreading in daycares as well. You put a bunch of people close together in a building with the AC pushing the air around them without proper social distancing - and eating together in close proximity and it's a recipe for disaster. I don't think we can guarantee the safety of the children. And yet, the schools continue to say "let's wait and see" for plans for the fall.

I suspect the school districts are waiting for official word from state governors and state education associations, but I assume the realists out there have to be predicting that it will be difficult to justify in-person classroom learning while the coronavirus case numbers are continuing to increase. Who knows what will happen? Only time will tell. I, for one, am willing to do everything I can to improve the online learning environment if it means keeping kids safe.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 20: Book Club

My Personal Log continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

Before all of the protests started, I was planning on writing an entry about being a part of a book club. I feel like events have calmed down enough now that I can speak, at least a little bit, about the joys (and frustrations) of being in a book club. Overall, I love being in the teacher book club that I joined and I feel like I've gotten a lot out of it.

Above is a graphic of some of the books we read during the school year. The only book on that list that I had read on my own was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, but I'm glad I read all of them. For the most part, reading books that are atypical selections for me means that the first 40-100 pages feel slow while I wait for the story to build into something more interesting. Every sing time though, I have been glad that I stuck with the book.

The Bad:

    *sometimes the group picks a weird book that I'm not interested in.

    *sometimes the group changes meetings dates/times/expectations.

    *the books are really random, even though we nominate and vote on them.

The Good:

    *it's a fun, social activity for bonding with some of my fellow teachers.

    *it's interesting to read different books that I wouldn't normally choose to read.

    *it was fun to meet up at a restaurant and socialize (before the pandemic struck).

    *the online voice-chatting during the pandemic has worked out well.

    *it's interesting to hear different people's opinions about the characters/stories.

    *when I joined the book club, I was reminded about the website GoodReads.com.

I could go on and on, but I think I'll cut myself short here. I need to do an entire post about the awesomeness of GoodReads.com sometime. 

Bottom line, I think everyone should join a book club, though most people would probably prefer finding a book club that reads only books of a certain genre or theme.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!

PLOG 19: Purpose

My Personal Log (PLOG) continues during this time of pandemic and protests...

There's so much doom and gloom out there. I realized yesterday's PLOG entry was full of it as well. So today I'm taking a breather from the harsh realities of the real world and making another Minecraft post (though it links up with the real world because it's about PURPOSE).

One of the reasons Minecraft remains in my top 3 favorite video games after all these years is because, as a player, I get to make my own purpose. Some people dislike games like this and only play them for a brief period and then stop, but not me. I'll come up with all kind of roleplay-esque concepts and building ideas and keep going and going. I also credit Minecraft for continuing to give free upgrades to their game, instead of making people pay for "expansions," "DLC," or "sequels."

I designed and made this building. I have a whole city I'm working on with a couple of people on the server. We play in survival mode, which means we have to collect everything we build with - though there are some advantages (like the skeleton spawner, zombie spawner, and spider spawner).

It's fun. It's social. We can have community goals, project goals we work on together, and individual goals. I have my own desert village I'll be working on more later. All of these projects give me purpose in the game, reasons to keep logging on and interacting with the community.

Minecraft is turning out to be a good way to spend some of my vacation time while I am staying indoors avoiding the pandemic. I'm rather proud of my Nether Hub and the community projects.

Be safe out there (and I'll be safe in here)!