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
Ramen Carbonara
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.
Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting
From Medium. Don’t forget what is happening. It is important.
Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting
COVID-19 Stats
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
Heart Attacks and COVID-19
From just the last few days, either heart attacks have completely disappeared, or are 20x more common in New York City? Sounds like people are having more heart attacks and they are all dying.
First, from Salon:
First responders suspect “crazy increase in cardiac deaths” in NYC is linked to COVID-19
Emergency responders say the poor are dying of COVID-19 in their homes, and appear to be missed in pandemic tallies
And from the New York Times:
Where Have All the Heart Attacks Gone?
Your Medical Emergency is Private Equity’s Profit
I knew about this because they were able to recently block a bi-partisan bill trying to stop “surprise” Emergency Room billing (funny, autocorrect changed this, perhaps appropriately, to “bilking”).
What Wall Street doesn’t want you to know about hospital emergency rooms
Two physician staffing companies are owned by Wall Street investment firms
Fajita Pho Ramen
Had some leftover fajitas from the Chuys Family dinner the other night. Only a small bit of chicken left. Used one of those instant pho bowls again. Didn’t follow the directions, just boiled some water and threw everything in with an egg. Topped with shredded cheese and green onion. And fajita meat of course.
New Orleans and COVID-19
I’m with the author on this. I consider myself way ahead of the curve (I like to panic early and get it over with) but I never thought Mardi Gras would be a problem at the time. I do remember St Patrick’s Day parade gatherings (the parades were cancelled) looking like a bad idea, but that was individuals. But hey, we still have people in my neighborhood who clearly don’t understand Social Distancing, even today.
New Orleans’ Vibe Mid-Coronavirus, Post Mardi Gras
Asimov Quote
I met Asimov when I was an undergraduate. The thing I remember most about him was his crazy sideburns and his trying (unsuccessfully) to make off with my girlfriend. Maybe because of that unfortunate encounter I never read any of his books. I keep thinking of one of his quotes today. Didn’t realize it was his but I will give credit where credit is due.
There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.
Isaac Asimov
Steven A. Guccione 