Covid Shots, Triumph of Reality

[Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.] 

1/23/21

Well, by any measure this was a good week!  The paper announced last week that Covid vaccinations would start for Group 1a, the geezers above age ** (number censored by spouse), an age lower than
some on the mainland are getting but also higher than some.  Anyway, the phone system for making reservations at our local hospital opened Tuesday at 8am for appointments beginning Thursday. I was on the phone at the magic moment, but of course the line was jammed, as it has been the rest of this week.  Even so, as we began our walk on Tuesday, I tried again at about 8:30 and pow!  A human took our info and we were scheduled for Thursday at 11am.  We arrived expecting chaos, but it was all impressively organized, with designated parking, quick check-in, a thorough briefing on the vaccine, side-effects, and instructions on how to report adverse reactions.  Then as a group of five, we went to another location for the quick jab, then we had to wait in another area for 15 minutes to make sure no geezer keeled over.  The whole thing took less than 1 hour.  It was a typically Hawaiian scene – all done outdoors or in MASH style tents, and everyone was chatting and upbeat.  The staff was friendly, considerate, and even helped when Karen and I wanted photos.  We’ve already been scheduled for the 2nd shot in three weeks.  The only reaction so far is a sore arm, equivalent to the flu vaccinations sometimes.  Well, I have noticed a sudden urge to eat a small child, to give all my money to Bill Gates, and to worship Opra Winfrey, but I’m sure those will pass, right?

More venues will open up soon, including our new Safeway store. The pharmacy told us they are ready, and even have the necessary refrigeration. The issue will be how much vaccine we can get, and lining up enough qualified staff to manage a large-volume effort like this. Remember, we have a shortage of medical personnel and infrastructure here. We’ve heard from a number of friends on the mainland (Oregon, California, Colorado, Ohio) who have either just received their first shots or are scheduled to get them shortly.  Hurray!

The other piece of good news is that Wednesday came and went. I’m not so much overjoyed as I am relieved. We will soon have competent and experienced people in charge again, rather than a stable of revolving sycophants, convicted liars and cheats, and unqualified buffoons.  I’m not a radical left-wing liberal, and I do have real issues with socialism, “wokeness” and critical race and gender theory, but the Democrats don’t have a mandate here, and I think that is a good thing.  Otherwise we’d be right back to where we were in 2016 the next time around.  Let’s keep it sane and reasonable, please!  That would be a refreshing change, wouldn’t it?

OK, had a good workout at PF on Wednesday, a day early because we didn’t want to interfere with getting our vaccinations on Thursday.  Reward lunch was a self-provided picnic at a nearby beach.  It had been cloudy up until we arrived, but just like our spirits it cleared and became sunny as we ate enjoying the view, finding ourselves breathing deep again.

Our weather this week has been cloudy, wet, and “cold.”  We got 2.2 inches of rain early in the week, and nighttime temps have been down to 63-64d.  The pool has dropped below our acceptable level, so we’ve skipped going in for several days now.  Yesterday was fairly sunny, and today looks good so far, so maybe it will gain enough for us to start using it again.  Karen is playing golf today instead of her usual Monday or Tuesday, and I’m planning on doing a short, easy hike along the shore this morning.  It’s been ages since I’ve been hiking, so it will be good to get back to it.

Enough. Hang in there. Stay warm.  Stay healthy.  We reached the light at the end of the tunnel and it was real, not a mirage......

A Well-Behaved Eyeball, A Yawning Volcano

 [Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.] 

1/16/21

Aloha, everyone.  Well, as the saying goes, “We live in ‘interesting’ times.” I’m trying hard to stay positive, but my memories of traveling in countries with violent political upheaval, harsh economic disparities, and armed soldiers ringing government buildings to protect lawmakers keep coming to mind. Those experiences used to make me appreciate the uniquely positive situation here at home and to feel fortunate to return to the U.S. Not so sure about that at the moment. Anyway, maybe I can be more hopeful and positive this time next week. We’ll see.

As I mentioned previously, I had an appointment for a retina checkup for last Saturday afternoon. Happy to say it went very well!  No injection needed – the longest interval since my problem began about 6 years ago.  I will go back in 5 weeks for another check up.  My doctor warned that it is very likely I will still need injections in the future, but possibly only one every six months. Note – my vision loss in the right eye is permanent, but I’ve finally come to accept that, and the longer interval is way, way better than the once-a-month trip to the doctor for another injection. Oh, and somewhere down the line I may need cataract surgery.  Geezerhood may have its upside at times, but the overall reality is that it sucks.......

Kilauea volcano has settled down to a steady ooze feeding the lava lake at the summit. The level of the lake is very slowly rising, but it has hundreds of feet to go before it overflows. And since the caldera is wider at the top, it takes more and more lava to raise the level.  The SO2 emissions are much lower than at the beginning of the current eruption, and our vog has subsided considerably, though conditions are not nearly as clear as during the two quiet years we had.  But those were historically unusual – this volcano has been erupting more or less continuously for hundreds of thousands of years.  Mauna Loa, also to our south, has been very active over that time but more intermittent in terms of human time scale, as has Hualalai, the volcano we live on. We knew this before moving here, and we’re prepared for the consequences.

The main geological event of the week was on Thursday, when there was a 4.0 earthquake down south.  We didn’t feel it but I guess some people as far away as Oahu did.  Earthquakes are common here, but not because of tectonic plates and fault lines.  Ours are due either to the movement of magma below the surface or to the settling of the island as it compacts under its own weight.  This seismic activity is very helpful to the volcanologist for forecasting where and when there will be eruptions and our island is “wired” to the hilt with monitors to detect the activity.

Had a good workout at PF on Thursday, though I kept mine light because I’ve been fighting something like a cold this week – no, not what you’re thinking.  As usual, we rewarded ourselves after with a nice lunch at Foster’s Kitchen, an open air restaurant on the bay. No doubt we totally nullified the benefits of the workout....

Ok, it's a bit rainy this morning, but we're still off to beach breakfast (maybe under a pavilion) and a bit of shopping.  Take care and stay physically and mentally healthy if you can.
                                       

Zork in Distress

 [The Intergalactic Council, Expeditionary Division, received the following batch transmission of delayed reports from Agent Zork Zynt, assigned to the Earth unit "USA."  We are still looking into the cause of the delay, but engineers suspect a misalignment in the gravitational wave membranes that provide the message relay route.  At any rate, it was these reports that led the Council to consider recalling all Earth agents and quarantining the planet for a few thousand cycles to see if the civilization might survive and eventually be mature enough for contact.  As you will see, the messages from Agent Zynt suggest a progressive breakdown in his neural transmorgification due to extreme stress.]

Encrypted Transmission #020 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 1.2.21    

Uh...well, he got his wish. Mob stormed building where humans make rules for running society. Disrupted final step in electoral process. Get this, some of mob dragged a security officer down some steps and beat him with flagpoles holding the national flag to "Make America Great Again," following motto of leader. My pre-departure culture briefings must have been inadequate -- have anthro guys check their database for symbolic meanings of human beatings. Transmorgification breakdown may be getting worse. I don't seem to be able to focus clearly and my appendages are shaking occasionally for no good reason.  Even Krispy Kremes have lost appeal......

Encrypted Transmission #022 Agent ZZ to IEC Local Date 1.11.21

Pandemic out of control and getting worse.  We clearly overestimated human's ability to handle our experimental challenge.  Give them a failing mark for this test.  In my political unit many people claim their "right" to be "free" gives them a "right" to infect other people by not taking precautions, like wearing a mask  Does this make any sense?  Demaz gretchop fornzib zefart agzyp....there I go again! Human scientists here did very well in developing countermeasure vaccines, but can't get it distributed and administered because of lack of coordination, planning, and political agendas. In fact, large numbers believe inaccurate info claiming vaccines are harmful, maybe even a plot to exert mind control and refuse be vaccinated.  I don't think I can take much more of this. Besides, I'm beginning to hallucinate that Kryspy Kremes are growing eyeballs and tentacles -- more evidence of breakdown?

Two Kinds of Injections, A Workout, and a Riot

  [Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.] 

1/9/21

The new Electoral College

Well, after the excitement of last week’s fireworks and wild celebrations of the New Year (yawn), I really thought this was going to be a boring week.  Wrong, wrong, wrong. Right? I don’t have much to say, other than (a) months ago I predicted violence if Trump lost, and (b) THIS is what it means to “make America great again?”  Really?  

Ok, back to something more hopeful and positive.  Our island has been moving very well on vaccinating people. Most of the hospital staff should be done by the end of the month including community health care providers, like physicians, dentists, and their staffs. Most of the residents  of nursing homes will have also received their first shots, along with workers at those facilities.  According to our Lieutenant Governor, who is a physician and is in charge of organizing the pandemic response, the vaccine will be available to people in our group by March and to the general public by May.  Of course it will take longer to inoculate everyone who wants it, probably until late summer or fall. But since we're in the geezer group, Karen and I could have both shots completed by the end of March.  We’ll see, but it seems that our state, unlike a number of others, has handled this whole thing very well.  We just received 83 k doses of the Moderna Vaccine and so we have a good start on the number needed to complete the program.  Success will depend on how quickly mainland companies can manufacture and distribute the vaccines.

Speaking of injections, today I will see my retina doctor, and maybe have another eyeball jab.  If so, it will have been 3 months since the last one, which is very, very, positive.  It will all depend on the scans and the rest of the exam to see if there is any fluid building up again.  My acuity in that eye seems to be stable, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t starting to slip. The real test is the laser scan that shows what’s going on below the retina surface.  Anyway, I’m more that happy to get the injection if there is even the slightest sign of trouble.  I’ll let you know.

We skipped our weekly workout last week because of the discombobulation of the holidays, but we went to Planet Fitness on Thursday and had a good session.  Very few people in the gym and everyone was masked and wiping down the equipment before and after using it.  The cost of skipping a week is clear today in terms of muscle complaints.  But I regard that as a good kind of discomfort.  

Our Christmas decorations will come down today and tomorrow.  Now all I have to do is store them again somewhere........

Take care, everyone.  Keep clawing your way toward that light at the end of the tunnel.  IT IS REAL.

A Dragon’s Fury, A Haircut, A Teeth Cleaning

 [Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.] 

1/2/21 

Happy New Year!

Well, I’m not so much hopeful or happy about 2021 as I am relieved to have 2020 behind me. Our last week of the year was spent mostly in activities that used to be routine but these days are anything but.  Early in the week Karen and I both had our teeth cleaned!  Wow.  And I had a haircut! Wow again. And finally, on New Year’s Eve we had lunch with some friends from Ohio who are here for their yearly stay with their daughter, a teacher at Hawai’i Preparatory Academy, in Waimea.  It was a pleasant chit-chat at an open-air beach on the grounds of Mauna Lani Resort up north on the coast, but of course required a lot of precautions that made it definitely not a routine thing.

    
I know this is all just too exciting to bear, but it gets even more intense – at about 9 pm (the beginning of when we’re allowed to set off fireworks) I celebrated with my firework – yes, just one – at the top of  our driveway.  This was something called Dragon’s Fury, which might have been a teense of an oversell. It lasted a total of a little over 3 minutes, producing some nice noise and bright lights and then just kind of ended – like the year 2020 itself. We had a glass of proseco and were asleep by 11:30.  

Karen played golf this week, too.  A highlight for her was that she saw a number of young Nene, our

endangered state bird that looks kind of like a Canadian Goose.  This really is special because there are only about 2500 and it is encouraging to see them having that many chicks. They were nearly wiped out not too long ago, down to just 50 birds.  Captive breeding and release programs have been successfully reversing that trend and they’re now increasing on their own – with protections against hunting or harassing them.

Maybe all this new life and recovery is the perfect antidote to 2020's death, destruction, and mayhem.

Off to the beach, and maybe a delayed workout at Planet Fitness.  Take care, stay warm (!) and keep yourself and others healthy.

Ever See a Baby Nene?

A what?  

The Nene is the Hawai'i state bird.  It looks a lot like a Canadian Goose, but in fact is a bird found only in Hawai'i.  Descended from some geese that arrived here about 500k years ago, Nene have decidedly different genetic makeup from their mainland relatives, and now have evolved unique physical and behavioral traits.  They spend almost no time in the water, have much less webbing on their feet, they are slightly smaller and have unique striations on their necks, and they tend to have fewer offspring. Also, they don't migrate long distances, though they do fly and do move seasonally from one area to another at higher or lower elevations, probably in response to food availability (escaping from freezing temperatures and blizzards isn't necessary).

Canadian Goose

Hawaiian Goose

Nene evolved without fear of the usual predators that Canadian geese have to deal with -- foxes, bears, raccoons, bobcats, etc. because until humans arrived there were only two mammals in the islands, the monk seal and a unique species of bat.  Neither of these was interested in tasting a goose. Their only threat came from two endemic birds of prey -- the Hawaiian Hawk ('Io) and the Hawaiian Owl (Pueo).  When humans arrived about 1000 years ago and brought with them other non-human mammalian predators (dogs, pigs, cats, mongoose, rats), Nene were nearly wiped out.  In the 1950's only about 50 survived, down from as many as 25k.  Vigorous captive breeding and reintroduction efforts have now raised that back to about 2500 birds.  They also seem to be breeding well these days, thanks in part to humans creating some attractive habitat, especially golf courses.

At the course where Karen often plays they love the open fairways bordered by trees, grass, and shrubs, and about this time each year mating pairs show up to nest and raise their goslings. Several weeks ago she counted at least 10 nesting pairs, and now the little offspring have started to venture out to forage with their parents.  On her recent outings she has seen at least 10 babies and has gotten photos of several family groups out and about. Enjoy them -- few people get to witness these rare and magnificent birds.

Babies are between parents' legs

Same family.

Easier to see all three. Two are resting.

Another family of three.

Good view of the three babies.

One more family. Dad is on guard duty.

A Present From Pele, More Vaccine, Cutting Phone Cord Report

 [Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.] 

12/26/20

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Ours was very quiet this year.  On Christmas Eve we went to Planet Fitness, had an Ultimate Burger picnic afterwards, and did some last minute grocery shopping at our new mega-Safeway store.  The mainland visitors have suddenly arrived in numbers we haven’t seen in nearly a year. This is great for our economy, but has come at a cost of choked traffic, stripped store shelves, and many high-energy lost and bewildered folks everywhere.  Hmmmmmm.
                                            
On Christmas day we had a peaceful day around the house, and then had a distanced dinner at our neighbor’s house.  Just the four of us, their dog Zoe and parrots Chico and Sweat Pea. Very nice traditional fare of turkey for the main dish.  

Of course the big excitement here is the waking up last Sunday of our Kilauea volcano after a two-year snooze.  Close-up photos provided by the volcanologists are spectacular, with fountains of lava and big streams of it flowing down into a growing lava lake.  Photos that show the real scale are much less impressive. All of this is taking place at the very summit, in the 1500-foot deep crater within the summit caldera.  The lake is now about 600 feet deep, fed by two fissures on the sides of the crater. This may keep going for a while, but the built-up supply of magma isn’t as great as it was before 2018's big eruption, so it might also be a short event.  The most negative impact for us is the sudden return of Vog that spoils the view of our coastline.  It also complicates treatment of Covid 19 patients who have respitory issues – the prediction is that it could lead to many more severe cases, We’ll see.

More vaccine arrived on island this week – a shipment of the new Moderna vaccine.  Since this can be stored more easily, it is being held while the Pfitzer is used up first.  Many front line health workers here have received their 1st shot, and now other essential workers can get it. Both vaccines have common reactions that are short-lived, with the Moderna being even more likely to produce them.  However, the Moderna is apparently also slightly more effective in preventing severe cases and more effective in geezers. I’ll take whichever is offered as soon as it is available to me. Good luck to those of you on the mainland, but I’m pleased that so far this, just like our mail-in voting procedure, is going very well. The anti-vaxers are unfortunately revving up their misinformation campaign, but I’m hoping most people will ignore it. I’ve looked into every claim they have made and I am confident it is all bunk.

After a period of frustration and disappointment with my new phone arrangement, I’ve now gotten the problems worked out. Although the call quality of the new phone is very good, the link to the cordless house phones was very poor at first. This turned out to be solved by just re-linking the cell phone to the base unit for the cordless phones.  The call quality through the cordless phones is now good – not as clear as the old land line, but very acceptable.  The other problem I had at first was that the cordless handset downstairs where Karen spends a lot of time didn’t have a very good connection to the upstairs base unit.  This was solved by just moving the base unit to a better location where the signal didn’t have to go through as many walls. Now the connection is very good.  All in all I’m satisfied and pleased to be saving $200 per year.

Ok, off to the beach for our usual picnic.  Not as clear as last week, but still very nice.

Merry Christmas, and next we will say goodbye and good riddance to 2020.