Enthusiastically Ambiverted Hopepunk
Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful
Surge capacity is a collection of adaptive systems — mental and physical — that humans draw on for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters. But natural disasters occur over a short period, even if recovery is long. Pandemics are different — the disaster itself stretches out indefinitely.
Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.
There are 20 posts previously published on September 20th
Pointing out all the hypocrisy won’t get Democrats very far in what will be one of the most contentious nomination fights in the court’s history. But it should at least clarify who they’re dealing with.
Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.
There are 27 posts previously published on September 19th
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies At 87 :
Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.”
I’m generally an optimistic sort. But my god, is 2020 making it hard to hold on to that when it keeps proving the pessimists right.
Right now, we need Democrats to act like Republicans — by which I mean they need to do absolutely everything in their power, use every trick in the book, to invoke the Merrick Garland precedent and honor Ginsburg’s dying wish
In a bit of pandemic-induced curiosity about just how far along my hair loss has gotten and how much grey might be mixed in, a few months ago I stopped doing my monthly head shave. Mid-June was the last time I shaved it all down, so I’m now at three months of growth.
Verdict so far: The Hanscom hairline holds strong, and has worked its way entirely over the top of my head, leaving just a few wispy stragglers up top. On the upside, this gives me a pretty decent Picard cut, though I certainly can’t lay claim to his gravitas, so I’m not quite the sexiest captain in Starfleet. Grey seems much more visible in my beard than on my head, though it’s definitely lighter around the temples.
Mom will be pleased to know that, while it’s still too short to really be obvious in these photos (especially in shots straight out of the shower directly after having been brushed into place), it’s still quite curly and correspondingly stubborn about which direction it wants to go. Bed head is once again a thing.
I’m not sure quite how long I’ll keep this experiment going (after a certain point, I’ll just start to get back into “creepy guy with a skullet” territory), and I’m sure I’ll go back to my usual “buzz it all off” routine when we’re allowed to be broadly social once again, but since Prairie’s the only one who sees me regularly these days, and she seems to think I’m cute however goofy my head looks, I’ll keep this going for a bit longer, at least.
Since I’ll hit 20 years of blogging this November, this year I’m posting a daily list of anything I published on this day in the past.
There are 28 posts previously published on September 18th
📚 thirty-seven of 2020: Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids by Isaac Asimov ⭐️⭐️
Even for this series of ‘50s YA space adventures, a bit underwhelming. A key point basically depends on magic, and has a twist that is painfully obvious very early on.
Seems the USPS had a fairly well developed plan to distribute reusable masks to US households, and was far enough along to have a press release drafted, until the White House killed it. Excerpted from this Washington Post article:
Some top administration officials even hoped to tap the mail service’s vast network — and its unrivaled ability to reach every U.S. Zip code — to help Americans obtain personal protective equipment. The idea originated out of the Department of Health and Human Services, which suggested a pack of five reusable masks be sent to every residential address in the country, with the first shipments going to the hardest-hit areas.
At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been working on coronavirus guidance that recommended face coverings, a reversal of its previous position, in the face of mounting evidence that people could spread the coronavirus without experiencing symptoms. The Postal Service prepared for the possibility it might be deputized in the effort, drawing up a news release touting that it was “uniquely suited” to help. The service specifically identified Orleans and Jefferson parishes in Louisiana as the first areas to receive face coverings, with deliveries shortly thereafter to King County, Wash.; Wayne County, Mich.; and New York, according to the newly unearthed document, which is labeled a draft.
Before the news release was sent, however, the White House nixed the plan, according to senior administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.’
“There was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,” one administration official said in response to the scrapped mask plan.
Trump on 200,000 COVID deaths:
So we’re down in this territory. And that’s despite the fact that the blue states had tremendous death rates. If you take the blue states out, we’re at a level that I don’t think anybody in the world would be at. We’re really at a very low level.