Zork's Pandemic Reports from Earth

 [The following are agent Zork Zynt's reports that have been received so far regarding our pandemic experiment on Earth.  Note that after several early reports a batch of garbled transmissions leaves a significant gap in his observations.  Also note that he seems to become increasingly alarmed by the dysfunctional reaction of his study population to the viral agent, something we had not entirely anticipated though we had expected a certain level of chaos.  The batch ends with a disturbing suggestion that our immunization of field agents may not have been as effective as we believed......]

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Encrypted Transmission #010 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 03.02.20

COVID19 experiment going nicely. Global panic spreading fast. Supports plan to use a fast spreading virus to cause chaos and social discord. More later.

Encrypted Transmission #011 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 03.07.20

Congrats to Bio Directorate engineers! COVID 19 perfect for global panic experiment -- moderate R0 and death rate, mostly elderly humans, just as designed . US leader ignoring facts, floundering to control panic. More later...

 Encrypted Transmission #012 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 03.15.20

Pandemic Experiment Directorate: Consider moving up timetable for next round -- humans seem unable to learn from experience. Get this. Many are claiming they have a right to spread virus by not wearing a mask! Chaos continues here. US leader prime source of misinformation.

 

Encrypted Transmission #013 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 03.19.20

 

Pandemic experiment still going better than expected. Our virus is working great -- weeding out those burdensome elderly humans. Kudos to the bio-guys. However, humans are acting more and more bizarrely and I'm getting worried. Report again soon.
 

 [Note -- several garbled transmissions occurred during this gap, Most were unintelligible and have been omitted.]

 

Encrypted Transmission #014 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 10.10.20

 

Cases of experimental virus on the rise again. Didn't expect this. In US over 220k dead, 8 million infected. Leader insists no big deal, wants to go for Herd Immunity (would require 150 million to be immune, around 4.5 million deaths at current rate). Some followers actually endorse this strategy -- obviously many humans lack compassion or good sense or both.

 

Encrypted Transmission #015 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 10.20.20

 

Not feeling so good. Human form leaking more that usual. Can't taste Krispy Kremes anymore. Are you sure field agents are immune to the experimental virus?  Can't seek medical treatment because that would reveal my non-human identity.  Nothing in my field kit helps. Please advise!

A Light in the Dark, A Ballot, and A.C. Woes

 [Note -- this is another in my series of blogs based on weekly emails I send to my family on the mainland.]

 10/17/20

Aloha Guys –                                
                                
Still here and still thankful I am. Like Willy Nelson who jokes when asked how he is doing these days, “Well, woke up again today not dead...”  A teensy bit morbid, but I’ll take it.

My handyman streak continued this week.  I finished refurbishing a landscape light that is in the entry area.  At first I was going to just buy another one because we like the design – sort of a hanging lantern that casts a nice circle of light – but nobody in town is selling them any more.  So I took the old one apart, spray-painted it, rewired it, and used some old hollow rigid tubing I had squirreled away to make a new and taller support post for it.  Damn, *better* than new! Notice the theme here in my latest projects – don’t give up on old things. We geezers have got to stick together!  On a more “iffy” note, I replaced a fill valve in one our toilets but it still kept losing water and turning on intermittently. So I got a flush valve kit, removed the tank and replaced the gaskets and the valve itself.  Good news is that nothing leaks externally.  Badish news is that it still runs occasionally and this will take a bit more problem solving.  Also good news, though, is that this toilet is over 25 years old and the gaskets were really shot – I have probably headed off an even worse problem.

On Wednesday Karen and I cast our ballots, something I’ve been waiting to do for four years. Hawai’i votes entirely by mail in a system that I defy nay-sayers to find fault with.  Besides mailing your signed ballot, you can drop it off at several special drop boxes that are available 24/7 until the end of voting on November 3.  These are located at each of our police stations on the island and at the guarded location in our Kona Civic Center. We opted for the CC option since it was  on our way to Costco and to make sure we didn’t add to the burden of postal workers right now (not because we’re worried about security).  This took about 1 minute, not 7 hours like some voters in Georgia have had to endure. Like most other states, we can now check on the status of our ballots by going online to make sure they were (a) received and (b) the signatures and the ballots themselves were validated (i.e., the same ballot was received that was mailed out to us, no votes on the ballot were changed, and that we have voted only once).  
                        
Yesterday I deferred to the experts for our CRV’s AC problem and dropped it off at my trusty mechanic’s shop for diagnosis.  The refrigerant was down to near zero even though I recently added some.  They refilled the system with a pump that is much more effective than my can-from-Autozone method.  Their refrigerant has a dye in it that will allow them to check for leaks in the external lines.  However, no leaks in the lines means an internal problem that will require a rather major repair (roughly $650), not something I want to tackle myself.  Gotta do it, though – ac is a must for driving here.  The plan is to wait until the refrigerant drops again, check for leaks, and then go from there.  Stay tuned.    

Our Kona Corona contamination continues, and we have now far outstripped the Hilo side of the island in new cases, with 150+ in the last month to their measly 115.  The University of Nations currently accounts for about 1/3 of that total on our side and the rest are in the community somewhere, presumably under isolation.  Despite this, on Thursday the state dropped the 2-week quarantine for people arriving with negative COVID 19 tests, but if you go directly to Hawaii Island you must also have a second test at the airport when you arrive in order to avoid the 2-week quarantine.  Until the end of the month anyone who has spent more than a day on any other island and then comes here will still have to quarantine, no test options unless you get tested again on the previous island within 72 hours of flying here. Even if you aren’t quarantined, you must still wear a mask in public venues and thankfully people here are responsibly doing this – visitors who don’t will find us very unwelcoming. This may sound strict, but I’m all for it, mainly because no other state has health facilities more likely to be overwhelmed than ours, especially on our island.

Also on the health news front, I have an eye appointment today around noon.  I shouldn't jinx this, but my right eye seems to be holding ok even though it has been 3 months since my last injection.  Even if I have one today,  the long interval is a great relief after 5 years of almost monthly injections.  I'll let you know.

Ok, that’s it.  Off to market and beach breakfast.  As nearly always, it’s a beautiful morning here and we intend to enjoy it as much as we can.  Stay safe, warm, and healthy.  And VOTE as soon as you can.

Fixing a Robot, Making Coqui Ceviche, Taking Over First Place

[Note -- this is another in my series of blogs based on weekly emails I send to my family on the mainland.]

10/10.20

Aloha Everybody – Hope you’re still enjoying your fall.

We’re surviving here, although at times the news these days threatens to overwhelm even our rather idyllic life here.  It’s like being hit in the face with a shower of toxic sewer sludge.  I combat this by trying to keep busy and focusing on the positive moments as much as I can.

For instance, this week I solved a maintenance puzzle that has been bugging me for several weeks.  We have a robot pool cleaner that runs around the bottom and sides of the pool sucking up debris and rubbing off algae.  He’s a cute little bugger, about the size of a pumpkin with little feet on either side of the body that provide propulsion in kind of a waddling motion.  The random pattern it follows is a marvel of hydraulic engineering, determined entirely by water flowing through a gearbox mechanism. The exact principle is something I’ve never quite figured out.  Like anything else that is mechanical, the robot needs occasional maintenance to keep it running correctly.  I’ve gotten quite good at doing this myself with parts easily available online. One occasional problem these particular models have is that the movement pattern begins to favor turning one way more than the other and it starts just going in circles.  This tangles the hose that carries away the debris to the filter and the robot can’t do its job any more.  I’ve fixed this problem before several times (thanks to YouTube, of course) and it is usually due to a bad bearing that is easily replaced or some other issue that is pretty obvious.  Not this time, however, and over the last couple of weeks I’ve replaced almost every innard the thing has without success. Finally, I noticed the foot on one side wiggling more than the other – subtle but enough to screw things up.  Turned out to be a bushing that was worn on one side but not the other.  Swapped out the bushing and voila!  Even my pool man was impressed.

Despite this success there are still other challenges, of course.  The coqui frogs are still trying to move in, but so far I’ve managed to keep them at bay.  On Tuesday I cleared a huge amount of stuff from an area that borders the infested property next door to make us a less attractive breeding ground.  This seems to have helped but my muscles are *still* recovering.  My fellow coqui warrior in the neighborhood tried something this week that seems to have been very effective, though limited in where you can do it for safety reasons.  It seems that agricultural lime powder * (used to balance soil ph) is very deadly to coquis and for a while it was an approved treatment for controlling them. The usual technique is to blow the powder into the foliage with a leaf blower, creating a cloud of dust that coats everything with a fine coating, including the coquis.  The lime is tolerated by most plants but not by human lungs, it turns out.  People were applying it without proper precautions for themselves and neighbors, and it lost its approval. That doesn’t mean people don’t still use it in certain instances. The area that my fellow warrior used it on was a large patch of Monstera (large leafy plant that looks like a philodendron) that he shares with a neighbor.  Coquis love this plant and there were a dozen or more in that area.  With the neighbor’s agreement and with proper protective gear he treated the area one night this week and it has been blissfully silent ever since. I’d like to use it on my next door neighbor’s property, but as I mentioned before he refuses to try to control them.  Wonder if he has the same attitude toward rats, cockroaches, or termites.  

On the Covid 19 front, our west side of the island has now moved ahead of the Hilo side in terms of the number of new cases in the past month.  Whoopee.  Quite a few of our new cases, but not all of them, are connected with the University of Nations missionary school that I mentioned last week.  About 800 staff, students, and community contacts have now been tested and we’re waiting for all of the results.  So far it looks like it has been well-contained, but I’m remaining somewhat skeptical.  Yesterday we had a record number of new cases on the island, and 4 more at the University of Nations. In the midst of this upsurge is the possibility of opening up to tourists again this month, probably with a second test required after arrival. What a quandary, though -- we need the money from tourists but our meager hospitals are nearly at capacity now. What will happen with even a modest increase in cases?

On a more positive note, we had a good workout yesterday at PF.  Arrived about 12:30 and just about had the place to ourselves.  Our guess that Friday was less busy than Thursday was correct. We followed the workout with a take-out Vietnamese sandwich at the beach and a long nap when we got home.

Ok, on that happy note I’ll close.  Off for our usual Saturday morning routine of market, beach breakfast, and a few errands.  Take care everyone.  We’ll get through this somehow.  Right?

 

*[Disclaimer:  Ok, Ok. I know that Ceviche is actually made with the lime from citrus trees, not from agricultural lime, which is a mineral.  I suppose Coqui Ceviche could be made that way, too, but I don't really propose eating coquis with either preparation.]

Undoing Surgery, Fixing Time, and Corona Comes to Kona

 [Note:  This is another in my Mainland Missive series, based on weekly emails I send to my relatives on the mainland]

10/03/20

Aloha All –

Well, a reasonably quiet week here, but still some peak moments also.  First, I mentioned that last week I replaced the cooling fan in my desktop computer, only to notice that the new unit was making a faint but irritating high-pitched whine.  I tried to live with it for awhile but it got just too irritating so I put the old one back in.  It was still working but had occasionally started racing fast and loud for no good reason.  This wasn’t all the time, but often enough to warrant the attempt to fix it.  When I put the old fan back in I took care to clean the contacts and all the fins on the mother board, and so far it has been fine.  In the meantime, I complained to the vendor and although they offered to send a new fan I declined and opted for a refund instead.  They are letting me keep the one I bought and so I’ll use it as a backup.  Sometimes the best repair is one you achieve by undoing your first attempt.

My other house projects this week included some vigorous pruning of a bush we had our tree trimmers cut back about a year ago.  This is called “Star of India” and is a bullet-proof plant that can grow up to 30 feet or more, which is what it was before the tree trimmers whacked it.  I’m trying to keep the thing low so I can trim it myself, but it requires some heavy duty pole pruning while standing on loose lava rock. I always have my cell phone with me in situations like this to summon someone to save me from myself.  Also on the project list and definitely safer – was that I fixed two of our battery-operated clocks by replacing their motors.  Got to have constant reminders of the creep of time these days, right?

The other big event here this week was the sudden appearance of a number cases of Covid 19 on our side of the island, nine of them at the University of Nations campus.  This “university” is a Christian facility where young missionaries are trained, though their activities are now curtailed. Another cluster is rumored to be associated with our local Walmart, but we haven't heard confirmation of this yet. Remember, up until now our surge has been confined largely to the east and south sides of our island, so this is rather sobering.  The next week or so will be crucial in finding out how much community spread there might be, but so far the number of new cases each day is staying in the single digits (we even had one day of zero), but then a spike of 27, and yesterday 16.  We’re on a Disney World ride without the long lines.

We worked out at Planet Fitness this week on Thursday.  When we first arrived I was a bit nervous because there seemed to be quite a few more people than usual.  But it turned out most were likely there on there lunch breaks and they soon left.  By the time we were halfway done with our routines the place was comfortably empty.  We also are suspecting that Friday is a better day because people are focused on weekend fun rather than working out so there are fewer huffer and puffers.  We’ll see. We’ll switch back to Friday next week.

Had a pleasant dinner at one of our favorite open-air restaurants last night, Jackie Rey’s.  No view but still nice.  We regard this as one of the best-managed businesses on the island, and their survival through the pandemic is evidence of that.

Ok.  That’s it.  I won’t comment on the insanity, chaos, and destruction that is raging seemingly everywhere these days.  You hear enough from other sources, I imagine.  Instead, we’re off for our run to Farmers’ Market and a beach (now reopened) breakfast picnic.  It is gorgeous here and we’ll try to focus on something positive.

Take care.  Stay warm and stay healthy.

Mom's Advice for Troubled Times

I'm writing this on September 30, 2020, roughly eight months into the Covid 19 pandemic. Like everyone else, my life has been upended by a tiny virus that I had never heard of a short time ago. On top of that, there is the turmoil of the most contentious, rancorous, and consequential Presidential election of my lifetime.  On top of THAT I see world-wide discord and social upheaval that seems far worse and dangerous that I can ever remember.  And THEN there is the politicization of science and attacks on rationality and evidence-based decision-making by our highest leaders and the acceptance of this denigration by a disturbingly large portion of our populace.  And THEN I'm watching the splintering of our society into fragments defined by self-interest and group identity that are vehemently against unity through compromise.  And I ALSO see tremendous social upheaval in my country that is clearly the legacy of our racist past and present and is leading to excesses on all sides. On top of all THAT I'm watching an economy collapse, putting millions in dire economic straights while others are getting ever richer without lifting a finger. And finally, the daily news is full of stories about hurricanes, fires, floods, record polar ice melting, species extinctions, etc., etc., etc. Have I left anything out?

In short, everyday experience can seem pretty grim in these troubled times.

Like many other people, I find myself wishing that I could just fast-forward to a calmer, gentler, safer, and more just world. You know, just erase the near future and all the negative experiences it will bring.  Even skipping a year or two would perhaps ease my angst -- by then a COVID 19 vaccine will have been deployed to enough of the population to allow a return to "normal" life again. 

But then a small voice in my head insistently and sternly echoes something my mother used to tell me when I would whine that I wished I were older and could just skip the restrictions and unpleasantness of the present and get to the good part of life:  Never wish away time because you can never get it back! 

As with a lot of other advice she gave me, I had to acquire a bit of wisdom myself in order to finally appreciate the wisdom of her words. But I realize now that she was absolutely right.  To wish for a shorter life is not a real good idea for anyone, but particularly not for someone of my age. I simply don't have enough years left to wish the next couple of them away. And the assumption that the future will be peachy-keen and necessarily better than right now is, well, stupid. Most glaringly, it ignores the fact that some of the most challenging times of my life (i.e., full of angst and pain) have turned out in retrospect to have been enriching and enlightening in ways that the easy times can't match. And of course my predictions about the future have often been glaringly inaccurate.  Bottom line: We can't know the future nor relive the past -- we can only truly experience now. 

So I'm trying to follow Mom's advice by buckling up for the ride, looking for and appreciating the many good things along the way as this current maelstrom slugs and churns its way toward the future.  

Oh, and speaking of buckling up, another bit of Mom's advice (also sound) was Always wear clean underwear when you take a trip in a car.  If you are in an accident the people who care for you won't think you're a slob.

 

A Hanging, a Vaccination, Two Executions, and Some Computer Surgery

 [Note:  this is another in my Mainland Missive Series, based on weekly emails to my relatives on the mainland.]

9/25/20

Aloha All –

Well, life lurches on here.  A bit more sun here to produce power and heat for our pool and shower, though Thursday night we did have .7” of rain overnight and another .2" last night. Our bedroom a.c. is working splendidly and I confirmed this week that it is surprisingly efficient in terms of the sun juice it uses. It’s always nice when things work better than you expected!

My kitchen fan saga took a little detour this week.  I re-hung the main part and got it re-wired  successfully (after one teensy, non-electrocuting mistake).  However, as I was re-attaching the blades I noticed how crappy the brackets that hold them to the fan motor looked, and decided to take them off the blades and repaint them before declaring the project a success.  I didn’t do this on the entry way fan because the bracket bolts were so badly rusted they wouldn’t come off.  The kitchen grease actually prevented rust on this fan’s screws, so they came off easily.  After the paint dried for a couple of days I reattached them on Thursday and admired the result.  Project finished!  Looks much better and certainly is a lot safer.
                                       
On Wednesday I got my yearly flu shot.  We usually do this before we take our yearly fall trip somewhere, but of course that won’t happen this year.  But at least now I can have a reduced probability of getting BOTH Covid 19 and the flu at the same time, pretty much a death sentence for someone like me.  Slightly sore arm Thursday and Friday, but not a bad trade-off. Didn’t bother me as much as I feared when we went to PF for our workout yesterday.

The battle against the neighbors’ (yes, plural) coqui frogs continues.  It is amazing how much more quiet they are on the evenings are when we don’t have as much rain, but then when we do get some moisture they come out again in force.  My neighbor Scott and I refuse to give in to the onslaught and neither of us have resident coqui’s in our yards for long.  The best way to get them is by hand-catching them as they are singing (LOUDLY) for mates, something that is much harder done than said.  Their call is so loud that it is very difficult to find exactly where they are because the sound bounces off surfaces and makes it seem that the reflection is the source.  Scott and I have gotten pretty good at homing in on them anyway, and although there is a spray you can use to discourage them from taking up residence, it will only kill them if they are hit directly, and you don’t know for sure if you were successful because they may shut up for a while and then start up again if they don’t get enough spray on them.  A coqui in the hand is a certain kill if you bag them and put them in the freezer for a while.  Anyway, Scott and I decided to test if the spray really works, so when he caught one this week we gave it a quick spritz and watched.  Yup, in less that 2 minutes it was indeed dead, but of course it got a direct and thorough coating.  The spray is citric acid and though harmless to us and to most plants, it really does a job on coquis’ delicate skins. We both continue to spray but we also hand-catch whenever we can.  I had one such victory on Thursday night, when I caught and executed (by freezing) a newcomer that was trying to set up a mating territory under our study window. Even a small victory feels good.

Finally, I did some surgery on my old desktop to keep it going.  The cooling fan was starting to have a case of arrhythmia – racing for no good reason then settling down again.  This was erratic, not tied to temperature or usage.  Fans are cheap so I thought I’d try to replace it and see if that helps.  Kind of fun to conquer the innards of a computer, and I managed the swap pretty easily.  However, the new fan has an irritating hum to it that may be another problem.  We’ll see.

Covid 19 is settling down, with new cases each day this week mostly in the single digits.  We’re at about 180 active cases, still concentrated in the Hilo area.  As I said, lurching along.

Ok. Off for our usual Saturday routine this morning. Take care, and try to enjoy your fall weather as much as you can. As one t.v. news anchor has said, "Stay positive and test negative."  Hopefully someday we'll forget what that means.