Super Tuesday Eve
01/03/20 07:05
We stopped in to see Mrs G yesterday afternoon for our usual Saturday visit. We gave her a call when we were about 15 minutes out just to let her know we were on our way. We called her on her cell phone since we want her to use her iPhone as often as possible. Repetition is the best teacher or so they say.
She didn't pick up the first go round and it went to voice mail. We gave it another try and that too went to voice mail. We then called on her land line and she picked it up with a chuckle in her voice saying something to the effect that she didn't know how to answer her iPhone. "Not to worry, we'll go over it when we get there", Nancy assured her.
After our arrival we practiced calling her and having her call us while sitting next to her on the couch and Nancy showed her how to turn on the speaker when taking a call so she can listen to calls without having the phone up to her ear. So far, so good. Hello? Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?
Mrs G mentioned that the good folks in her building were somewhat concerned about the coronavirus thing and that makes perfect sense. Not because of any personal experience, mind you, but rather due to the round the clock coverage in the media of casualties around the globe and rumors of pandemics, shortages, and the like. Populations at the greatest risk are the elderly and more specifically the elderly with compromised immune systems. The "elderly" part, at least, defines her community to a tee so it's no surprise that they are on high alert.
The first recorded death of a patient with the deadly coronavirus in the U.S. occurred yesterday in the U.S. on the West Coast and was reported by President Trump and his entourage of scientists at a 1:30 press conference. I think there are only 50 or so known cases here at present but that may have a lot to do with the fact that there has been virtually no mass testing for reasons unknown.
I think that is about to change so buckle up girls and boys. I'm seeing photos of long lines of shoppers waiting with their carts in places like Costco on the West coast so we have that too.
You know things are bad when I have to plan my bike riding around scheduled press conferences so I can stay on top of this thing. That was easy to do in the month of February since we had almost no snow the entire month. There were only a couple of riding days where temperatures were in the twenties so that worked out well too.
My rides are that much more enjoyable these days not only because of the snowless conditions but because of the fact that I can tune into my favorite shows be they radio or television on Sirius Radio with my now unlimited data plan through Sprint.
Nancy isn't happy that I ride with earbuds in so I do my best to conceal that fact when I go riding if she is around to see me before I leave. I don't know how to explain to her that earbuds these days do not block out external sounds and I can hear and sense things around me while riding just fine.
So I've been tuning in to radio talk shows both conservative and progressive while riding and I occasionally listen to music. My winter gear keeps the ear buds in place but I'll need to get some over the ear type of thing come Spring.
I sometimes got into a mindless rhythm while riding before I started listening to music on my rides and I was easily startled by other cyclists coming up on me from the rear or perhaps a dog barking out an open car window as it passed within arms reach. I guess I was in what they refer to as the "zone" and it was a pleasant place to be for the most part. But daydreaming while biking can be dangerous so I think having something to listen to helps keep me in the present as it were.
It should be an interesting day today with tomorrow being Super Tuesday (14 states voting) and all. Did I mention that Butt Edge Edge dropped out yesterday? It seems that the establishment is trying to whittle down the field so that the establishment candidate, Sleepy Joe Biden, can gather enough delegates between now and the convention in Milwaukee so that he can steal the nomination from Crazy Bernie on the second ballot with the help of the superdelegates. The Bernie Bros are not going to go silently into the night if that happens.
Evan spent the night here last night for no particular reason. I think he just likes to get away from time to time and we're an inexpensive and convenient way to do just that. Not sure what his agenda is today or what meetings he may or may not have with the good folks at Seacoast. I should think a little bit about grabbing a few more things at the store just to stay ahead of everything that needs to be done in the event that this coronavirus thing comes to my neighborhood. I'll be making a list and checking it twice.
She didn't pick up the first go round and it went to voice mail. We gave it another try and that too went to voice mail. We then called on her land line and she picked it up with a chuckle in her voice saying something to the effect that she didn't know how to answer her iPhone. "Not to worry, we'll go over it when we get there", Nancy assured her.
After our arrival we practiced calling her and having her call us while sitting next to her on the couch and Nancy showed her how to turn on the speaker when taking a call so she can listen to calls without having the phone up to her ear. So far, so good. Hello? Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?
Mrs G mentioned that the good folks in her building were somewhat concerned about the coronavirus thing and that makes perfect sense. Not because of any personal experience, mind you, but rather due to the round the clock coverage in the media of casualties around the globe and rumors of pandemics, shortages, and the like. Populations at the greatest risk are the elderly and more specifically the elderly with compromised immune systems. The "elderly" part, at least, defines her community to a tee so it's no surprise that they are on high alert.
The first recorded death of a patient with the deadly coronavirus in the U.S. occurred yesterday in the U.S. on the West Coast and was reported by President Trump and his entourage of scientists at a 1:30 press conference. I think there are only 50 or so known cases here at present but that may have a lot to do with the fact that there has been virtually no mass testing for reasons unknown.
I think that is about to change so buckle up girls and boys. I'm seeing photos of long lines of shoppers waiting with their carts in places like Costco on the West coast so we have that too.
You know things are bad when I have to plan my bike riding around scheduled press conferences so I can stay on top of this thing. That was easy to do in the month of February since we had almost no snow the entire month. There were only a couple of riding days where temperatures were in the twenties so that worked out well too.
My rides are that much more enjoyable these days not only because of the snowless conditions but because of the fact that I can tune into my favorite shows be they radio or television on Sirius Radio with my now unlimited data plan through Sprint.
Nancy isn't happy that I ride with earbuds in so I do my best to conceal that fact when I go riding if she is around to see me before I leave. I don't know how to explain to her that earbuds these days do not block out external sounds and I can hear and sense things around me while riding just fine.
So I've been tuning in to radio talk shows both conservative and progressive while riding and I occasionally listen to music. My winter gear keeps the ear buds in place but I'll need to get some over the ear type of thing come Spring.
I sometimes got into a mindless rhythm while riding before I started listening to music on my rides and I was easily startled by other cyclists coming up on me from the rear or perhaps a dog barking out an open car window as it passed within arms reach. I guess I was in what they refer to as the "zone" and it was a pleasant place to be for the most part. But daydreaming while biking can be dangerous so I think having something to listen to helps keep me in the present as it were.
It should be an interesting day today with tomorrow being Super Tuesday (14 states voting) and all. Did I mention that Butt Edge Edge dropped out yesterday? It seems that the establishment is trying to whittle down the field so that the establishment candidate, Sleepy Joe Biden, can gather enough delegates between now and the convention in Milwaukee so that he can steal the nomination from Crazy Bernie on the second ballot with the help of the superdelegates. The Bernie Bros are not going to go silently into the night if that happens.
Evan spent the night here last night for no particular reason. I think he just likes to get away from time to time and we're an inexpensive and convenient way to do just that. Not sure what his agenda is today or what meetings he may or may not have with the good folks at Seacoast. I should think a little bit about grabbing a few more things at the store just to stay ahead of everything that needs to be done in the event that this coronavirus thing comes to my neighborhood. I'll be making a list and checking it twice.