Day 3829

Living in the shadow of the coronavirus for most of 2020 doesn't really fill you with confidence about anything. Why don't we know anything definitive about this thing? At first it was nothing to worry about. Then it was something that only affected the old and sick. Now practically every story I read is about how the virus struck down a young, healthy marathon runner who works out and never gets sick. There is no consistency anywhere. Masks are worthless. Masks are vital. Nobody knows how to wear a mask properly. Pick a topic and you will find a conflicting opinion.

Retail stores are opening up, but you can't try on clothes. What is the point of this? Restaurants are opening again only to close a few days later when the chef or a waiter turns up sick. At least five newly opened restaurants in Dallas have already had to close again. Airlines and hotels send me tempting offers almost every day, but where would you go these days? If a destination isn't a virus hotspot it it probably the site of rioting and looting. I wonder how long this can go on without everyone going insane?

It would be nice if you could trust what you read and hear. The media aren't doing us any favors. As far as I can tell, the scientists don't have any answers yet. The politicians keep trying to spin whatever the scientists say and use it to their own advantage. You certainly can't believe what your friends and neighbors say. Most of them get all their information from Facebook memes.

This whole situation certainly hasn't turned out the way I expected. I never thought that the United States would end up with the highest death rate. I guess I thought that there was be lots of devastation but that it would all be very far away in countries I couldn't pronounce properly. I certainly thought we would know more about how the virus works by now. We know nothing. Nobody seems to be developing herd immunity and everybody keeps arguing about mitigation strategies. Now that civil unrest has taken center stage, we don't even hear from Dr. Fauci anymore. It's easy to imagine Dr. Evil sitting in his favorite chair petting Mr. Bigglesworth while orchestrating this entire mess.

I feel like all my plans have been put on hold. Even if I do manage to get press clearance for the upcoming Mars 2020 launch, I'm not sure it would be wise to go to Florida. Florida is a mess right now. Texas isn't looking so good either. Janet and I keep thinking of taking a car trip, but neither of us can think of a place to go. We aren't fans of camping and who would want to go to a city right now. I don't think I would ever go on a cruise again. I"m looking forward to the day when McDonald Observatory opens up but I doubt that it will be happening soon. The place is so remote that the staff can't afford for anyone to get sick. The last thing they probably want right now is visitors from big cities.

I guess this leaves me with walking. I continue to walk. The weather was nice today. We're all getting used to getting up early to avoid the heat and Dawn really enjoys these morning outings. My afternoon walk is not as fun, but I do it anyway. Even when nothing happens, I can end the day with 20,000 steps.

Rugby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day