Category: SARS-CoV-2

Tea and toast

Woke up just after three after a restful sleep. Three kudos on my dashboard this morning. Always fun to see what people are reading. Another person has subscribed to my mailchimp account for UPSUN as well. In addition I logged into dreamwidth (the ‘replacement’ for live journal for people who don’t want all their data stolen by the Russians) because I really wanted to read something one of my filk buddies has posted and …. I hadn’t posted since 2018. uff dah. I posted. It was sad having to mention that Tom had died.

Worked on the fanfic a bit, not much. In the portion I just wrote one of the brothers is teasing the other about his new relationship and I very much enjoyed writing that because one of the great wellsprings of Supernatural fanfic is the abiding love (and shittalk) between the bros… it’s very easy to write the shittalk because they are constantly teasing each other (and would die for each other).

Still not experiencing hunger and thirst properly. It’s very strange to be forcing myself to eat, unless it’s something sweet.

The wind is gusting hard and it makes the plastic siding creak in an alarming way.

Ryker’s got a mucousy cold, poor wee tyke. Alex is a snot factory whether he has a cold or not. Just sayin’.

Had to shovel again; the lack of walkway salt was mitigated by the fact that it started raining and melting, so we didn’t get freezing rain. Lawks that was one big raccoon we got through the property night before last though, HUGE pawprints.

It’s very pleasant to no longer be required to run a heater all night in my room. It’s quite pleasant in the house now.

Well, I boiled water but I haven’t made tea, and the toast is still waiting for my work, so time for some foodicles and to start my day. FIRST TASK. Wrestling my weighted blanket back into its cover. This will literally take me half an hour as it’s like a USB cable. First you attach the WRONG zipper, and then you attach the RIGHT ONE, IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, and then omg maybe THIS will work. Heavy sigh. Still haven’t put all my clothes away.

This morning my twitter feed is full of: Trans people commenting (still) on Matrix Resurrections, including the best tweet sized appreciation of it I’ve seen so far; disabled people saying CAN YOU PLEASE STOP TRYING TO KILL US BY NOT WEARING MASKS AND SHITTY POLICY; Glenn Greenwald, may the great Parent of the Universe buy him a fucking clue, saying how twitter doesn’t have the right to eject people from its platform cause free speech, when it’s already been established that it really isn’t. He’s defending Marjorie, by the way. Candidly, clownbag is too kind for that man.

The Cincinnati Beagles won the division (over KC). We did not see that coming. It was a weird game with some patently ugly and bad calls. I mean, how many times is it possible to repeat 4th down?

@ElSangito:

i understand finding matrix 4’s lack of subtlety grating but i would never wanna use metaphors again either if the metaphorical allegory i wrote before got co-opted by far right patriarchal fascists whose whole thing is to eradicate my entire people

 

 

happy Christmas everyone

Yup, a day whose importance has deflated like a cluster of birthday balloons blown into a ditch has arrived again. I haven’t wrapped a present or done any running around. I haven’t prepped a turkey or assembled the mass of vegetables to peel that oppresses the groaning board. The dining room table remains covered in filk memorabilia, craft cruft and a thousand piece puzzle (Jeff finished the edge). I don’t have to work, be responsible, be hospitable, put on a spread, worry about snax, worry about entertainment, worry about a gathering during a pandemic.

Rob W showed up briefly yesterday with firefly and snowpiercer comics! We mourned for his coworker, killed while moving poles for an electric bus (by another worker in their bus). translink is OF COURSE being remarkably silent about it and Rob, who drove bus in this part of solh temexw (remember? pronounced Sole te mawk) said he always hated doing it because you’re outside the bus and even more vulnerable than usual. I gave him a piece of Sugru (rubber moldable glue, incredible stuff I’m sure he’ll find a use for it) and two KN95 masks, one of which he promptly broke, so I’m glad I gave him two. I provided him with the address at Caspell Junction. Then he mentioned he’s got heart surgery on the docket but not scheduled yet (ablation, ouch). I warned him that COVID is severely fucking with surgery waits. Then we mourned for Tom for a while, exchanged a couple of flying anecdotes  (mine about writing a fanfic with soaring in it, and him about ‘landing out’ as in right out of Germany (he was paragliding) and walking home from France, somehow without attracting the attention of the gendarmes) and parted on friendly terms. We were both masked the whole time he was here and Jeff closed his door. Yes, I know showing up unannounced during the plague is not optimal, but what is in these parlous times and I did immediate upgrade his mask.

We both spent a minute just flapping our gums over the last communique about the plague from the government and Doc Henry. Like who the fuck cares, the hospitals are full, N95 masks are unavailable except at ‘this is what is charged during wartime’ prices, people are lining up to be tested using inadequate masks, test kits are unavailable, disabled people are left at the side of society to die unimpeded and thousands of people are at risk of freezing to death on the streets of Vancouver this week. Yup, Merry Christmas we get wished from a bubble of vacuity. Nothing she says means a fucking thing as long as universities and schools are forced to stay open. Maybe she hopes this omicron wave will burn out in six weeks like it did in Gauteng province. I’ve long since given up trying to understand the rationale for the bs.

I picked up a few treats yesterday while I was out getting my BP meds at Guardian (jammed past pandemic standards with anxious people seeking booster shots…) which included FLORENTINES four of them, strangely available at the butcher shop on 6th, Jeff asked for something caramelly and that was as close as I could get, a beefsteak for a steak and eggs brekky this am, six Timmy Hos donuts, and two handpies (strawberry rhubarb) for Jeff. So that obviously means that I walked two k in the slush and muck yesterday but the traction wasn’t bad and I was having a good balance day so walking home a bunch of groceries while I got a little out of breath was certainly manageable. I leave the walking stick by the door in case I’m having a wobbly day, but I’m getting a lot fewer of those…

Okay, time to get the steak out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. I think I’m just going to bake it, the idea of standing to cook it for any length of time simply appalls. I’m about to blow through two days worth of salt consumption in one go, better make it worthwhile….

¯\_(?)_/¯

what a fucking arsepick

I know, I know, talking about cops like this is so stupid. There’s no opsec. Under my own name, with all the skilsaw I can muster I’m saying that A SPECIFIC COP a REAL LIVE HUMAN COP as if those words aggregate meaning in any meaningful way IS AN ARSEPICK.

Y I SAY THIS

y i say this

I SAY THIS BECAUSE IS TRUE, COP IS ARSEPICK

This arsepick, this noted and particular arsepick, chose to ticket A WOMAN WAITING IN LINE FOR COVID TESTING.

for operating a vehicle while using a cellphone

WHILE SHE WASN’T IN THE VEHICLE because she’d stepped out of the car.

I’m not arguing that he had the right. BUT I HOPE TO CHRIST SHE FIGHTS THE TICKET AND THE COP HAS TO FACE A JUDGE FOR DOING THIS.

I HOPE TO FUCKING CHRIST SHE FIGHTS THE TICKET.

Roundup of news I cannot use

Queen Elizabeth was hospitalized for tests on Wednesday. Some wag on twitter was exclaiming that she couldn’t possibly have it lined up to die on Remembrance Sunday. Personally I think she’ll at least make her mother’s advanced age, she drinks less than her mom Mary did.

The fucking TURNER DIARIES a horrific pile of racist trash about white supremacists attacking Washington, like that never happened, is carried by the venerable Powell’s Books hq’d in Portland. Now, candidly, I wouldn’t mind because I’m not keen on censorship, but the fucking REVIEW OF THE BOOK is stomach churning.

Because ALMOST FOR SURE Powells is going to get fucking roasted and take it down, I’ve copied it in jpg form.

To say that this is glossing over a) one of the worst novels ever written in English which b) shows the protagonists killing Black people like they were houseflies and c) CONTINUES TO INSPIRE GUNTOTING FASCIST SYMPS is putting it small. Read the Wikipedia article if you want to see what they’re window dressing for.

DISGUSTING.

Canada FINALLY has a vaccine passport. I don’t mean to fly any more but I would like to see my friends in the US of A and this is a step forward.

ALEX IS COMING AT 4 PM TODAY.

Barometer so low I thought my head would explode yesterday. I couldn’t get anything done I was so distracted. Paul took me for a short walk but the kids on the school grounds were too plentiful, running on the path, and Paul needed the washroom so it was abbreviated.

restless anal syndrome is now a thing

THANKS COVID.

I ordered mask braces today, including a size that will fit Alex.

I am a happy girl, somebody vacuumed the games room. Someone named Suzanne.

I hope to a) do a shop and b) visit Tom today. We shall see.

I try not to comment on shit Trudeau does because mine is not an informed opinion but I literally and honestly believe that him holidaying in Tofino for Truth and Reconciliation day was specifically and vindictively aimed at JWR (Jody) for having the nerve to not be his house NDN.

I wore an Anishnaabe design on my chest for yesterday. I want to uphold Indigenous joy as well as sorrow. It was solemn for me, seeing how many people of different racial backgrounds were wearing Every Child Matters gear at Lougheed yesterday when I went walking there with Paul.

Paul is … more like Paul than ever. He spent ten minutes trying to get his vaxx card up on his phone and I asked him to print it out. Watching him deal with his phone at all is extra crispy difficult.

 

 

BUGATTI WITH THE BUGATTI ROYALE IN 1932

JABBERWOCKY IN WELSH

USEFUL IF YOU’RE MAKING NEW PASSWORDS

Siaberwoci

Selyf Roberts

Mae’n brydgell ac mae’r brochgim stwd
Yn gimblo a gyrian yn y mhello:
Pob cólomrws yn féddabwd,
A’r hoch oma’n chwibruo.

‘Gwylia’r hen Siaberwoc, fy mab!
Y brathiad llym a’r crafanc tynn!
A rhed pan weli’r Gwbigab
A’r ofnynllyd Barllyn!’

Cym’rodd ei gleddyf yn ei law
I geisio ei fanawaidd brae–
A gorffwys ger y goeden Taw,
I feddwl–fel pe tae.

A thra pendronai ymhlith y coed
Y Siaberwoc a’i lygaid fflam
A ddaeth, mor wallgof ag erioed
Gan ffrwtian gam a cham!

Un, dau! Un, dau! drwy’r awyr oer
Aeth min y cledd ysgiw, ysgôl!
Fe’i lladdodd, a chan gludo’i ben
Hwblamodd yn ei ôl.

‘A lleddaist ti y Siaberwoc?
Tyrd yma, hapllon fachgen!
O jiwblus ddydd! Hwrê! Hwroc!’
Gan wenu arno’n llawen.

Mae’n brydgell ac mae’r brochgim stwd
Yn gimblo a gyrian yn y mhello:
Pob cólomrws yn féddabwd,
A’r hoch oma’n chwibruo.

No difference

Took ADD meds this morning. I can’t feel any difference, honestly.

 

This is the busking info for New Westminster. Portions of it are unintentionally amusing. DO NOT BUSK MIT CHAINSAWS. DO NOT!

Canadian Blood Services is going to TERMINATE employees who do not get the COVID vaccine. I wish every health care organization and provider would follow suit.

How is this news

So some witless mofo in Texas with three girls and one on the way in September was an antimasker and antivaxxer and he’s now dying in hospital.

Caleb Wallace COVIDIOT of note, isn’t dead yet but he likely will be soon and I really wish papers would stop running this story and all the ones like it.

He was a fucking idiot. Sorry he got sick, sorry he has RUINED THE LIFE of his children and wife; but he was a fucking idiot, and now he’s dying. Giving him press is kind to the wife, who has a GoFundMe to bury him and defray costs, but honestly, I wish the docs could tell them to wait in the hall until the people who got vaccinated OR COULDN’T BECAUSE THEY’RE IMMUNOSUPPRESSED get treated. Because I’m cruel and mean that way.

Burnaby is having a surge, thanks to rude young men.

Small shop & collapse

Well my brief burst of energy has imploded. I’m feeling small and tangled-up and misanthropic, but many things, including Buster’s training schedule, are exactly as they should be. But…. blueberry turnovers, for the first time, so that was tasty.

Slept from 9:30 pm to 6 am this morning! I am well rested but not energetic, what gives, body.

Heading to Victoria next week with some descendants, unless something hinders. Fingers crossed for a good visit.

This is for me mam.

Still LOVING “Wanted”, coming up on the end of the show, 3rd season.

And from the JOSUS FUKING CHRIS IT’S A PANDEMIC PEOPLE department…

OTTAWA — The Public Service Alliance of Canada president says he “will not stand for the termination” of federal public servants who refuse to get vaccinated, after Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau warned of “consequences” for those civil servants.

In an interview with CTV News, Chris Aylward said “it’s very concerning to us when national party leaders are making statements around discipline around terminations when it comes to these vaccinations. That is totally unacceptable to us.”

Aylward, who represents more than 160,000 federal public servants, stated that he supports the government’s stance that all federal public servants should be vaccinated. But he said unvaccinated employees will require accommodations to keep their jobs.

  • CTV News, from website 10;08 am PST 18 Aug 2021

An Alabama doctor is tired of helping people who refuse to protect themselves and others – so he’s no longer taking appointments with anti-vaxxers.

Mobile, Ala., physician Dr. Jason Valentine posted a photo on Facebook in which he’s seen standing in front of a sign that reads “Effective Oct. 1, 2021, Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients that are not vaccinated against COVID-19.”

from

By 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
AUG 17, 2021  5:23 PM
Today is the 40th anniversary of the day Paul and I went to housekeeping. I emailed him asking him if he wants to get takeout for lunch. His response was that he has appointments so we’ll do it tomorrow.
copyright Masato Mattori

I am not going to spend a lot of time yoinking your chain about Afghanistan. The politics of exploitation and colonization stretch into pre-history and I’m not a pro. Therefore I will stick with the present.

  1. If you have the money or donations in kind, please give generously to Afghan refugee and aid organizations in Canada or your jurisdiction. They are more clued in to what is going on and what is needed than I am and I’d rather give money to an Afghani woman in Canada, who will most intelligently disburse what she can to current refugees, than try to give a dime to international aid organizations, given the difficulties with freight at the moment. If your hope is lively donate directly to Afghan Red Crescent
  2. Please, if you have the stomach for it, read this: Stonekettle’s comments about Afghanistan.
  3. Please consider sponsoring or assisting in sponsoring a refugee, or asking your house of worship to sponsor someone. The one time I signed sponsorship papers for an individual it was the brother in law of a co-worker. I signed up for being financially responsible for him (as did another co-worker, who awesome as they are will remain nameless here) but never had to expend cash because he was working and self supporting two months after landing here (despite his considerable health problems, a consequence of the privations he endured as a refugee).

Happy Sunday

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Above noted needlework rondel of two skeletons looking at each other and shaped like a heart from @AnythingSews on twitter.

Mini turkey patties on breakfast muffins this morning. The sweet Walla Walla onions are in season now so that plus a slice of havarti cheese and it’s food! Hardly any effort, and the turkey mince got to mingle its flavours for a day longer while I got ‘round to cooking it.

The 2021 Heat Dome Round II is now over. Hopefully 500 senior citizens extra didn’t die this go round.

I’m working on writing and interspersing that with watching the Keith and Kate show, transferred 8mm video from the 80s….

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Sign says MASKS REQUIRED . If you are standing either inside or on the patio, please wear a mask. Once seated (drinking or eating) we do not require you to wear a mask

If you cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition, ask yourself if you should be going to a bar\restaurant during a pandemic. If you are making up a medical condition to avoid wearing a mask, please don’t, none of us have the patience to deal with your crap.