The wife made some curry chicken thighs the other night. I removed the bones and sliced them up, perfect for a little ramen. Was in a bit of a hurry again and forgot to add an egg. Basically soy, garlic and ginger and some green tea soba noodles. This one seemed light and healthy. Added a big handful of arugula at the end and topped with some green onion. Been eating too much during this lockdown, so something light was a nice change.
My brother lives in Germany and we were talking about how Germany’s system responds to a crisis like COVID-19. Even though it is an extraordinary event the German system seems to be handling the challenge well. A good article from Boston Review on how they do it in Germany.
Lucky to Live in Berlin
Germany’s low death rate and quick payout of relief to workers makes a case for social democracy as preparedness.
So I didn’t want to turn this into a COVID-19 blog, but there is really only one discussion right now in the world. I keep looking for a plan, but I’m not really seeing one. I did see Neel Kashkari from the Federal Reserve seems to be talking about these things, but I suppose they aren’t a political organization.
I have to add I remember Kashkari from the 2008 financial crisis. He was Hank Paulson’s little Goldman Sachs buddy. I give them the same respect I would have for someone who sets your house on fire, but also tries to help you put it out. But maybe I’ve been too harsh on Mr Kashkari. He seems to have given up his fast track job at Goldman for public service. I also see his sister is a doctor specializing in infectious diseases. Might want to listen to this guy. From Business Insider.
‘Hard for me to see a V-shaped recovery’: The Fed’s Kashkari says the US could face 18 months of rolling shutdowns as it tries to shake coronavirus
Perry’s Steakhouse has a Friday lunch Porkchop special. Found out they are doing a takeout until 5pm on Friday and Wednesday. Picked up some for dinner a few nights back. Used the leftovers to make a really nice ramen.
This was basic soy sauce, garlic and ginger for the broth with chopped onion and carrots. Put in some fish sauce in my haste thinking it was sesame oil (the bottles in the fridge look similar). No harm done. Added some sesame oil when I realized my mistake. Also a bit of chili oil. Noodles were Japanese somen. Oh, meant to put in an egg but forgot. Again, no harm done. Was probably rich enough with all that pork.
A good, but sad, story about how this is hitting a small part of the world. In this case the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans.
‘Wearing a mask won’t protect us from our history.’
Was reading about the history of the Polio vaccine on Wiki. It seems promising vaccines with controversial results were available as early as 1935. Even the vaccines that eventually had widespread use had several safety incidents, including the famous Salk vaccine. I also learned that the vaccine used today was not the one developed by Salk but one with Soviet sponsorship by Sabin. This isn’t my field, and experts seem to be confident that a COVID-19 vaccine will be forthcoming shortly. One can’t help but think that there still isn’t a vaccine for, say, HIV, all these decades later.
We might want to have a look at their medical and insurance system. Their unemployment insurance system too.
It was the saltshaker: How Germany meticulously traced its coronavirus outbreak
My wife sent me a recipe for Ramen Carbonara from the New York Times. Decided to use it as inspiration. My family has been making carbonara since the 1970s. I wish I could say it was an old family recipe, but we saw it on a PBS cooking show called The Ronagnolis Table. I make it for my family now so I suppose it can be considered an old family recipe now.
This one was easy. Was going to use ramen, but we had a bowl of leftover angel hair pasta in the fridge. I made some bacon, boiled some water with salt and garlic. Spooned some bacon grease into the pasta to warm it up a little. Basically dumped the already cooked pasta into the boiling water with some beaten egg and black pepper. Topped with cheese, bacon and some green onion. Really more carbonara soup, since no actual ramen was involved.
From Medium. Don’t forget what is happening. It is important.
Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting
Although I don’t seem to be hearing complaints, promises of COVID-19 testing still seems to be missing. In spite of promises that everyone who wants a test will get a test, this still doesn’t seem to be the case. It also looks like many people are dying, often in their homes, often without being tested. There were also spikes in pneumonia deaths reported in nursing homes in the early days of the pandemic. I one article (sorry, lost the cite) that the current overall death rate (all causes) in NYC is 8x the death rate last year at this time.
I do understand these things are hard to count, but lack of testing and possibilities of an order of magnitude undercount don’t seem acceptable for so many reasons.
Official Counts Understate the U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll:
Update:. Watching the BBC news and the lead story was about mass graves in NYC. Saw this new article that indicates about 3x the normal death rate in NYC.
Deaths in New York City Are More Than Double the Usual Total
Steven A. Guccione 