Pages Tagged “Category: Pandemic Diary”
Blog Posts
- The Essentials
When I took this photo back in 2016, it was a combination coffee/Chinese food restaurant: they sold coffee in the mornings and Chinese food for lunch and dinner. The owner had previously run a separate coffee shop (The Bean Counter, IIRC) in the same shopping center, then combined the two businesses to save on rent. […]
- I Voted, Primarily
Last Friday, I dropped off my ballot for today’s primary election. I’ve got to say, I really appreciate the new approach in LA County of mailing everyone eligible a ballot, maintaining permanent drop boxes at relevant locations (libraries, etc.), and opening some polling places early to accept completed ballots. MUCH more convenient than needing the […]
- Asymptomatic Covid and Genetics
People with a particular variation of the HLA gene who had Covid were dramatically more likely to have had an asymptomatic case.
- Faded Guidelines
Some of the signs are still up, almost three years later. Some people still wear masks, sometimes. And some people still get covid, sometimes. And memory of the 2020-2021 lockdown continues to fade.
- Forgotten, But Not Gone
Remember standing six feet apart?
- The Latest COVID?
Overheard at pharmacy: “Do you give out the latest COVID-19, uh, omicron?” Gee, I hope not… (Yeah, i know what he meant, and so did the pharmacist.)
- Elementary Precautions
For the second day in a row we’ve gotten a notice of a Covid exposure in the kid’s classroom. One more case and it’s technically an outbreak. Mask-optional was one thing when cases were low and flat, but the numbers have been climbing for weeks. And that’s not including however many at-home tests don’t get […]
- Well is it a problem or not?
Love how the same people who are all “COVID isn’t a problem” are also dead set on keeping certain people out of the country just in case they might bring COVID in. No wonder they distrust actual public health measures and think the government is just using COVID as an excuse for…something. Because that’s what […]
- Coronaversary
Google wished me a happy second coronaversary this morning. Well, not in so many words. But I count March 8, 2020 as my last normal day, the day I went out to de-stress by taking pictures of the ocean, seagulls, and a zillion tiny clams, grabbed coffee at Peet’s on the way home, and came […]
- I know tastes are supposed to change over time, but this is ridiculous
For a couple of days my sense of smell went really wonky. It never went out completely. It was more like taking an audio equalizer and readjusting the sliders so that some frequencies are barely audible and others are louder than they should be. And maybe shifting tracks out of sync while you’re at it.
- An unwanted guest for the new year
It’s theoretically possible that I picked up a cold in the middle of a surge in a highly-transmissible virus that, in people who have been vaccinated and boosted, has exactly the symptoms I have, and started about a week after a possible exposure. It could happen. [Edit: apparently it did. See the update below.] But […]
- Covid Elementary
The kid has spent parts of three school years now dealing with Covid-19. I’m not sure “normal” school really has much meaning for him at this point. Though things have sort of settled into, if not a new normal yet, something approximating it. Of course everything shut down in March 2020. Like many other school […]
- Things to remember with Omicron in the news
1. Science isn’t handed down from on high fully formed. It’s a process of figuring things out based on what you know so far and what you discover. Like trying to determine the picture on a puzzle when the pieces are still scattered around the house. You look for more pieces, you figure out where […]
- Why I’m not ready to go back to cons yet
Of the two Omicron-variant cases found in the US so far, one of them is a breakthrough case in a patient who hadn’t traveled internationally, but had just been to an anime convention in New York. With 53,000 people. That only required attendees to have gotten their first dose of the vaccine. And struggled with […]
- Boosted!
We’ve both gotten our Covid vaccine boosters, and the kid’s had both initial shots now that a dosage has been approved for his age range. No side effects to speak of for either of them, and while I had a day of brain fog, I think that’s just as likely to be because the shoulder […]
- Halloween with a Vengeance
I could not believe how many kids were out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood this year. Or how many households were handing out candy. There were more kids even than a normal Halloween, through fewer houses active than usual. We weren’t even sure of our plans as late as Sunday afternoon. We’d carved pumpkins on Saturday, […]
- So. Much. Sanitizer.
Remember last year when it was virtually impossible to get hand sanitizer? You couldn’t order it online, you couldn’t order it for an in-store pickup, and stores that had it were limiting how many of those tiny bottles each customer could buy? Breweries and distilleries were stepping in to supplement the supply, but it still […]
- Good Advice
A few Covid-19 rules are still in place at this botanical garden, though it’s a lot more relaxed than it was last spring when they managed to stay open even through the early-pandemic lockdowns.
- Double-Shot
We’ve both received the second dose of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine! Same location and keep-you-moving procedure as the first dose, in and out within a half hour. Like many people seem to, we got stronger side effects after the second dose than the first. She got fatigue and a fever, I also got loopiness, chills, and […]
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot
We have both gotten the first dose of the Moderna vaccine against Covid! *whew!* The kid can’t get vaccinated until the <16 safety and efficacy data comes back, but he’s still young enough that he’s at a lot less risk to begin with, and having all the adults around him vaccinated will let us all […]
- Four Covid Tests
I’ve gone through or seen four different Covid-19 testing procedures over the past year, not counting the ones I’ve only read about. (You remember, the early days of the pandemic when they were still trying to make enough tests, and weren’t sure just how easily transmissible it was, so they had people wearing haz-mat suits […]
- X Marks the Spot
I do appreciate the bandage motif for the distancing markers at this urgent care.
- Reflections of Manhattan Village
An outdoor mall extension completed in 2020. Which wasn’t exactly ideal timing. The courtyard was at least someplace they could set up chairs and signs reminding you to keep your distance. I saw a few people walking through on their way to somewhere else (like I was), and could hear an exercise class running in […]
- Normal is Weird
The other day I grabbed a coffee and muffin while out walking, and found an out-of-the-way outdoor place where I could unmask and eat without being near anyone else. It was weird! It felt like I was getting away with something. This sort of thing used to be normal, but now it isn’t… and that’s […]
- Two Years Without a Con
Surprising no-one, WonderCon will be online-only again this year. Last year’s event was canceled just as we all started to realize that Covid-19 was spreading in California. And while the winter surge in cases is finally slowing down, the coronavirus is still more prevalent out there now than it was last March. They’re still hoping […]
- New Year’s Eve: 2019 vs 2020
Stay safe tonight.
- 2020: Overachiever (The Monoliths)
November 23: Helicopter pilot finds “strange” monolith in remote part of Utah. November 25: Using Google Earth to look for the Utah monolith site. One candidate that matches the landscape seems to have something vertical that appeared between the 2015 and 2016 images. No coordinates in the article. Attempt no landings there. December 7: After […]
- Virus protection down the drain (photo)
I’ve mostly gotten tired of the discarded-mask theme, but I saw this today and it seemed like an appropriate metaphor with a new wave of cases surging and so many people refusing to take precautions.
- An Expression
Overheard during Zoom Mad Libs: Teacher: “I need an expression.” Student: (unintelligible) Teacher: “An appropriate expression.”
- Distant Halloween
Halloween was weird this year. OK, everything has been weird this year. I mean, I’ve been in the same place as my parents only once since…February? January? I forget. We stood out in their front yard one evening this summer, 10 feet apart, talking for about an hour. Hooray for living in a time when […]
- “Tyranny”
Seems like the only reason certain groups aren’t complaining loudly about the “tyranny” of traffic signals and refusing to obey out of “fear” is that the consequences of running every red light you see hit you faster than the consequences of not taking precautions against covid.
- Be sure to wear a face covering when out in public
- Too Soon, Comic-Con
Earlier this week we were talking about cosplay ideas for when we can finally go back to comic conventions. Literally the next day, I read that LA Comic-Con is planning an in-person convention in December. OH HELL NO! I don’t care that they’re limiting attendance, requiring masks and distancing, and keeping it at the cavernous […]
- Wearing is Caring
Every city around here has its own publicity and enforcement schemes for Covid-19 safety, though the criteria and general requirements are mostly decided at the county or state level. I haven’t gotten out to El Segundo much since the pandemic hit, so I hadn’t seen their “Wearing is Caring” slogan until this weekend.
- Snakes on a Bus
A Manchester (UK) man boarded a bus wearing a snake wrapped around his neck and mouth. Officials’ comments on what constitutes a suitable face covering: “While there is a small degree of interpretation that can be applied to this, we do not believe it extends to the use of snakeskin – especially when still attached […]
- We Dance Outside
When Covid-19 hit the area, a lot of arts lessons halted or went online. But it’s a bit tricky to do things like a dance class over Zoom. Back in June when I went hiking at the botanical gardens, I was there on the day that a local kids’ dance studio had set up a […]
- Be Like Spark
Spark is considerate enough to wear a face mask per pandemic recommendations. Unlike Jessie and James. You know they’ll only wear masks for disguises.
- Devovid
Bizarre story (how could it not be?) in the LA Times on Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh’s experience with Covid-19 and the delusions he experienced at the height of the illness during two weeks in the ICU. Among other things, he became convinced he’d written an entire new Devo album and hallucinated the band performing it […]
- No Quarter(s)
I went into the bank for quarters the other day, and they’re back to rationing them, only exchanging one roll at a time. Meanwhile, the landlord is finally looking at switching the laundry room to a card system. A coin shortage seems oddly specific, and the first time I encountered the limit back in… June? […]
- Pandemic Litter
- What DAY is it???
Finally got around to updating this meme for 2020:
- Summer Survival Rate Up
Infections are still high, but the LA/CA case-fatality rate has dropped since spring. Partly we’re spotting more of the mild cases, and younger people are a bigger percentage of cases now. But also we’ve learned more about how to treat it: dexamethasone for patients on oxygen remdesivir shortens recovery time nasal oxygen turns out to […]
- Hypothetical Jack-Boots
As usual, the people who yell the loudest about hypothetical jack-booted government thugs are perfectly happy with actual jack-booted government thugs as long as they’re aimed at someone else. Note also that the small-government, local-is-always-better anti-Fed/states’ rights crowd is totally happy with the feds overriding the state and city government in Portland, even while they […]
- Closed Again
I stopped by the mall the other day to pick up dinner at one of the restaurants that’s open to the outside. The mall interior, however, is closed again as California has re-shuttered indoor gathering spots to slow down the resurgent coronavirus.
- Virtual Waiting Room
Waiting at home for a link to a video call is, in some ways, better than waiting at the doctor’s office. You’re home, after all! You can use your most comfortable chair. You don’t have to worry about getting sick from other people in the waiting room. You know where the bathroom is, you can […]
- Only a Test. (Whew!)
A couple of days ago I developed a cough and measured a fever. The cough has been very intermittent, and the fever went away after a couple of hours. Still, I went for a Covid-19 test after measuring the fever, and we all went into lockdown mode just in case. No errands or walks. Just […]
- Individualism: Healthy vs Unhealthy Varieties
I’ve been thinking about individualism, and how there are healthy versions and unhealthy versions. For instance… Healthy: If you can take care of something yourself, do it, so you don’t have to rely on someone else to do those things. Self-reliance is valuable, but it’s only one tool in the toolbox, and you recognize situations […]
- Still Here
OK, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to stop posting for almost two months during a global pandemic. (May 6, really? Time feels like it doesn’t mean anything anymore.) Though I have still been active on Mastodon. (Update: I’ve imported some of those posts to the blog since writing this.) And occasionally I’ll share a […]
- The Masked Guitarist
- Cocktails to Go 😵
Still not used to that being a thing.
- How to Order Coffee During a Pandemic
Hmm, hope they didn’t leave anything out!
- Social Distancing Piplup
Sorry, there’s no exception in the rules for Pokemon.
- Wishful Thinking
Some wishful thinking on the part of auto-complete, here.
- Covid Garden
Finally made it out to the botanical gardens up in the hills for a hike. They’ve actually stayed open this whole time by requiring reservations to limit the number of people on the grounds at a time. (Also face masks, distancing, and closing off benches and some sections.) Ironically there were more people there than […]
- Objection!
Went out for a walk. Group of jerkwads in a pickup covered in conspiracy slogans about Bill Gates, beaches, and Wal-Mart were driving around shouting about not believing stuff and “freedom.” First time we got stuck at the same light, I studiously ignored their attempts to get my attention. (I was the only one at […]
- Bicycle Barricades are Down
…and replaced with these warning signs to maintain distance. I think this particular path could have been left open with these warnings to begin with, because there’s so much room to go around people even if it did draw a crowd. It’s not like the paths along the base or top of the bluffs near […]
- Pillage Safely!
Even Minions are wearing face masks when they’re out pillaging.
- Sorta Open. Maaaybe. If You’re Careful.
I mentioned last week that Manhattan Beach had closed all their parks outright, rather than just closing equipment and facilities. Over the weekend heat wave, they reopened at least Polliwog Park, taking down the caution tape from the perimeter and instead wrapping individual playgrounds, gazebos, sculptures and even picnic tables with metal fencing. And signs. […]
- American Gothic: Social Distancing Edition
2026 update: The building, and several around it including an entire bowling alley, have been demolished to build a giant blocky monstrosity that, according to the banners on it, will soon be “luxury apartments.” The camera shop has been operating out of a warehouse unit, doing online and phone orders, ever since.
- …Or Was It?
With more symptoms being added to the list for Covid-19, I’m beginning to think I should have gone in for a flu test when I had the flu at the beginning of March. At the time, chills, muscle aches and headache (and lack of coughing) seemed like a clear “not Covid” indicator. I was staying […]
- The Last Normal Weekend
I found myself thinking back to the last “normal” weekend in southern California before it became clear that covid-19 was spreading locally and closures started. After a busy Saturday and Sunday morning, I went out for a calming photo walk at the beach. Not many people were there. I’m not sure if it was just […]
- No Ducks Past the Yellow Tape!
While some cities around here have only closed playgrounds and sports facilities at their parks, Manhattan Beach has closed their parks outright. Polliwog Park has a large pond year-round that attracts ducks, geese, coots, herons and more, plus the local gulls and pigeons that wander by. But the park has been literally wrapped in caution […]
- Theater for Nobody
This is fascinating: A college theater production of Sophocles’ “The Women of Trachis,” a rarely-performed Greek tragedy, was interrupted by the pandemic. It’s been transformed into a one-night only automated performance featuring video clips of the actors (each sheltering in place at home), collected by TikTok and iMovie and assembled by the director to be […]
- Wait, What Hands?
Kiddo found this image somewhere and wanted to put up a few signs.
- Chalk it up to Social Distancing
Spotted on a walk around the neighborhood yesterday. Actually I’ve been seeing a lot of sidewalk chalk messages lately, some written by adults, others clearly written by kids. Starting about a week into the shutdown, when I went out for a walk and found a note from one of the kiddo’s former classmates saying hello. […]
- Where Everyone Wears a Mask
I wore a mask to the bank today. Nobody batted an eye. They probably would have been more concerned if I hadn’t worn a mask, since they’re now required for anyone working at or visiting an “essential” business that’s still open to the public. A month ago, when I first went outside after recovering from […]
- Outbreakers
You know how in every outbreak movie there’s someone who thinks quarantines shouldn’t apply to them and ends up spreading the disease past where it could have been stopped? I never thought we’d see a bunch of them getting together for protest marches. Basically “we don’t need brakes because we didn’t actually hit the wall […]
- That’s What They Want You To Think
I know there’s essentially zero chance that the audio stream from my phone playing the Cracked podcast on ridiculous psy-ops that governments have actually considered will get picked up by my kid’s video-conference class session on another device. Even if Zoom is listening for more traffic than it should, there’s HTTPS, WPA2, etc. I’d have […]
- Get ’em while they’re hot!
The spammers who’ve made it as far as the junk mail folder have oddly consistent messaging lately: 🤔
- No Wonder
WonderCon has been our main fan convention for the past decade or so. We’ve been every year since it moved to Anaheim in 2012, and several years back when it was in San Francisco. But this year it’s not happening. By February we were already looking at what was going on with the new coronavirus […]
- Open for Take-Out
I’ve been seeing a lot of these signs in front of restaurants when I go walking in the neighborhood. Most restaurants in the area seem to be trying to keep going as all-takeout/delivery, at least for now. A couple of small chains have closed some locations and are continuing to operate take-out from others. The […]
- Keep Going
I find myself thinking about Sam’s speech a lot. About how in the stories that really matter, people faced overwhelming darkness, and had a lot of chances to stop, but they kept going. Geek Mom’s A Reminder About Story Middles was written before the coronavirus pandemic hit the US, but it’s even more important now: […]
- Bulk Bins in the Era of Social Distancing
I braved the grocery store last week. It was a bit nerve-wracking after weeks of avoiding people for safety reasons. But it was also interesting to see what was still low and what had been restocked since my last grocery trip a few weeks earlier. Pasta was almost totally gone. Pasta sauce was really low, […]
- A Month of Semi-Isolation
As of today, it’s been a full month since I last set foot in the office. I went home Friday night, did a zillion errands Saturday, went for a photowalk on Sunday, and got slammed by the flu Sunday night. By the time I was over the flu, Los Angeles and California were shutting down […]
- Mask-maker
Mask-maker, mask-maker, make me a mask. I’ll bring the cloth. You do the task…
- Despite everything else going on, it *is* still spring
Most people are stuck at home except for short trips (like this walk), but the hawthorns are still blooming.
- Fitbit vs. Coronavirus?
I was thinking about how my step count is waaaaay down just from staying home, but I’m still wearing the tracker for heart rate. So I wondered what else it might be able to infer and went looking… It turns out some newer fitness trackers can measure oxygen saturation. Imagine hooking that up to an […]
- Welcome to the Park. Now Stay Away (From Each Other)
There’s a difference between “going out” to a destination or event, and “going outside” for fresh air or exercise. The first is more likely to land you in the kind of crowds that can help spread the pandemic. The second can usually be done while still keeping your distance from people. Depending on how easy […]
- Song of Ice and Virus
Pandemic analogy overheard while out for a walk: “It’s not a blizzard, it’s a very long winter. It’s a Game of Thrones winter.”
- Small Markets
Most people panic-buying supplies went to the supermarkets, not to smaller local groceries.
- Bike Path Closed on Account of Virus
This bike path was closed in response to too many people going outdoors to the same places, creating the crowds that the closures of bars, restaurants and retail stores were trying to avoid in an effort to slow the virus spread. I’m kind of surprised at this one. Unlike the paths near the beach, it […]
- The Shrinking Outdoors
Last weekend, a lot of people in the Los Angeles area tried to go hiking, or to the beach, or otherwise outdoors…to the same places. Which ended up creating the crowds that the shutdown was supposed to prevent, just in different places. 🤦♂️ So over the last few days, various cities, counties and the state […]
- I Assure You We’re Open!
More scenes from a pandemic shutdown: Panera really wants you to know they’re open! (California is currently limiting all restaurants to take-out/delivery only as part of the attempt to limit coronavirus spread.) They also had a sign propped up in their delivery van window pointing out that they’re selling bread, eggs and dairy — all […]
- Goodwill: Stay Healthy
Scenes from pandemic shutdown: Shuttered Goodwill. To be fair, I seem to remember they were already planning to remodel, so the plywood all over the windows could just be a case of bad timing. Update: Here’s a better picture of the sign from the near side of the street.
- Poor Substitute
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to find isopropyl alcohol in stock, but the “related” results are…questionable.
- Birds in the Social Distance
I finally recovered enough from the flu to get out for a walk in the neighborhood (while that’s still an option). More people were out than I expected, but they were all either solo or in small groups, keeping their distance. And it really helped my stress levels. I didn’t even go very far, just […]
- CA Lockdown Confusion
On Thursday, Los Angeles County ordered that everyone stay at home except for essential activities like buying food, getting medical care, taking care of someone, or going to an “essential” job. Later that evening, California issued a similar order. But something was unclear: The county specifically mentioned that the guidelines didn’t apply to just going […]
- Last Walk Along the Coast Before the Virus (No, Not That One)
Last weekend, before the flu hit me, I tried to de-stress by going somewhere for a photo-and-nature walk. I ended up at the actual Redondo Beach, south of the pier. Partly because there was nowhere to park near the pier due to the Kite Festival, which now that I think of it may have been […]
- Flu in the time of Covid-19
Last weekend, after spending Saturday running errands and Sunday taking care of stuff around the house, I went out to de-stress with a photo-walk at the coast, taking pictures of shorebirds, waves, sailboats, sand patterns and a zillon tiny shells. On the way back I started feeling aches and chills, and by evening I had […]
- Lack of Audience
Back in my college theater days, I remember one of the teachers remarking that what sets theater apart from other types of events is the audience. A sporting event with no one watching still counts for the rankings and records. A play without an audience might as well be a dress rehearsal. Well, sporting events […]
- Coronawhere?
A lot of the maps I see showing coronavirus cases, even from sources like the CDC, have a problem: They’re labeled by country, or by state. It’s too big to be useful. Labeling the number of cases reported in the US doesn’t tell you that they’re mostly in clusters in Washington and California. Labeling the […]
- Mild Cases of Coronavirus
The Washington Post points out that 82% of covid-19 cases identified so far are mild, basically a bad cold. Virologists are trying to determine: How many more mild cases haven’t been counted? And what factors cause some cases to be mild and others lethal? There are several coronaviruses that already circulate globally and just cause […]
- Eating in the Car
Why do people get take-out fast food, then sit and eat it in their car in the parking lot, idling with the AC on? Update: It’s weird how this became normal for me during the 2020 Covid shutdown. I always figured, if you’re going to eat right there anyway, why not just eat at the […]