THE OL’BUZZARD’S ADVICE FOR HANDLING ISOLATION.

All bloggers eventually run through dry spells; and especially now, with the pandemic, everything I would blog feels banal in comparison.  

Who gives a fuck about cat pics when 60,000 have died over the past six weeks from a pandemic that is being mismanaged by the federal government (Trump?)

They tell us to stay home and wear a mask when we go out: sounds like good advice; but staying home isolated wears over time. 

  

It is not being home that will drive you crazy, it is living the same routine day to day that eventually gets to you.  

I get up in the morning and feed the cats; I work out ten minutes on my Total Gym; eat breakfast and watch the news to see what outrage Trump committed yesterday;  spend some time on the computer; eat lunch and play scrabble with my wife; take a nap; watch TV; make supper, watch a movie while eating supper; go to bed and read until I fall asleep. 

 

The next day I get up and feed the cats….

The routine will eventually drive you crazy.   You have to do something different each day to break up the routine.  

 

Take a drive, work outside, take a walk, get high, have sex…   Do something each day to change the routine, and staying isolated will not be a problem. 

Check out Masters Classes

the Ol’Buzzard

AN ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE YOU WON'T DIE FROM COVID-19

The odds that Trump would come up with a sure fire treatment to prevent death by COVID-19 is like me playing the Power Ball; but eventually some one does win.  

So it looks like Trump has finally gotten one right:

Just shove a flashlight up your ass, shoot up a vile of Lysol and drink a glass of Clorox: guarantee you will not die of COVID-19.

the Ol'Buzzard

WINTER'S BONE

  In almost every case, the book is better than the movie.   This one is the exception.   The book is good, but sometimes the descriptions wandered and detracted from the actual drama that move nailed.  

Jennifer Lawrence was great in her portrayal of a mountain girl caught in a violent culture of clans and poverty.  

The movie is not available on Netflix; but even if you have to pay to view, it is worth it.   










This is a gritty dark drama, and if you are looking for something uplifting during this time of pandemic - this isn't it. 
But, damn.  It's a good story.

the Ol'Buzzard

NEWS OBSCURED BY CORONAVIRUS

 Michael Cohen will be released from prison on May first due to coronavirus outbreaks in the prison system.  He will serve the remainder of his term in house arrest.

I know he was a crooked son of a bitch; but, I have always felt bad for Cohen, because he was nailed for a crime in which Donald Trump was not only the co-conspirator, but the prime motivator. 

Trump enjoys freedom while Cohen sits in a prison cell.   

the Ol’Buzzard

CATS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO COVID-19

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID-19, and was believed to have contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zookeeper.   Five other tigers and lions at the zoo have shown signs of respiratory distress. 

 

Though animals are a comfort to the sick, people showing symptoms of the virus should isolate themselves from their pets.

  

If you must have a comfort animal, I think buzzards are probably OK. 

the Ol’Buzzard

BLUE CHEESE SALAD DRESSING

Now that we can’t go out to eat, many are preparing  home cooked foods for the first time.     My favorite salad dressing is blue cheese, so I thought I would share this easy recipe.

·       Two parts sour cream

·       One part mayonnaise

·       One part cottage cheese

·       Two parts blue cheese (you can adjust this to your liking.)

Blend until smooth in a blender or food processor.   Will keep in a refrigerator up to five days. 

the Ol’Buzzard

A NEW WORLD ORDER ON THE HORIZON

For the past thirty years we have been moving toward a time when technology would rule our world.  First computers, then the internet, cell phones, robotics, social media…

Now comes a quantum jump ushered in by Covid-19. 

We see that distance learning is now practical.    Elementary and high schools will probably go back to some semblance of normal, for the short term, because parents are use to the schools babysitting their broods.  But, think how much money school districts can save by not having to maintain facilities, bus schedules, school lunches, libraries, and support staff.  Teachers can be trained to work from home and coordinate electronically.   Parents that, in the future, will work from home can then supervise their own children’s learning. 

 Now that we see it possible, distance learning makes tremendous sense financially. 

 

Universities only need to maintain lab semesters.  Again, the overhead of not having to maintaining massive infrastructure, dorms, support staff, cafeterias, office space…  could bring down the cost of an education within the reach of all Americans.    This lock down we are experiencing will move us faster toward that realization. 

The same goes for businesses.   Much of their management could be accomplished through some platform similar to Zoom.    Now that technology is moving us in that direction, we can see most non-physical labor can be successfully and cheaply conducted by home workers.

 

This Coronavirus has shown us that moving toward a more technological and socially isolated society is not only possible but doable.

  

People resist change; but when there is an economical advantage driving the change, it will come regardless.

   

There will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; but the technology revolution has just taken a massive jump forward. 

the Ol’Buzzard

INJURY TO INSULT TO INJURY

INJURY:

Ok, we are hunkered down because of the Corona virus.   We have food in our freezer and cabinets stocked, planning to go into town only once every ten days to restock with fresh produce.

INSULT:

People are getting sick, people are dying, we are on an exponential scale of increase with no end in sight; and we have a moron for a President whose primary concern is the economy and his reelection.

(All you snowflakes that had to prove your purity by voting for the Green Party or Libertarian because of ‘Hillary’s e-mails’ - you own this.)

INJURY:

Nature was not through with us here in Maine.  We don’t have the infection rate of the rest of New England, so she decided to through us 10 inches of wet snow, taking down power lines for three days, leaving 200,000 customers without power. 

  

We usually lose power in the winter time when food in our freezer, in our unheated mud room, is not a concern.  We have gas lamp in the living room and kitchen and a wood stove.    However, this time of year our day temperatures are in the forties and night temps are only dropping to the mid-thirties.

After the first day I decided not to open the freezer and check the food, fearing it would increase the rate of thawing.   By the end of the third day I was afraid that if I opened the freezer, I would find a mess that I did not want to deal with (we have a drilled well, so when we lose power we lose water.  When we have a storm forecast we put water by for drinking, cleaning and flushing the toilet.)

Last night the power came back own, and miraculously the food in the freezer was still frozen.  

Today we are having a wind and rain storm with gust over forty, and I just heard thunder.

Trump was avoidable, but the rest: shit happens.

The Ol’Buzzard

PURELL PLACEBO

As soon as Covat-19 began to infect the U.S. population there was a run on Purell as well as toilet paper.

Actually, Purell is not the magic bullet for prevention of viral infections.   Washing your hands is more effective.

Purell is great as an anti-bacterial, but has no effect on viruses.

The reason is, that Viruses are not technically alive – so you can’t kill them.

  

A virus has either DNA or RNA, but not both.   Viruses don’t metabolize, respond to environmental changes, grow or excrete.  They can not reproduce on their own, but must inject their genetic material into a living host – the infected host cell then makes copies of itself.  Therefore, viruses technically cannot be classified as a living organism.

So, forget Purell and anti-bacterial soaps.   Wash you hands to rinse away any particles carrying the virus before it can enter your body through your mouth, your eyes, your ass, your urethra or cuts or abrasions. 

 

THE BEST YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE CORONA VIRUS; IS STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE AND WASH YOUR FUCKING HANDS.  

I am not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV; but I do remember some of my Biology 101. 

the Ol’Buzzard

THINNING OF THE HERD

We tend to forget that we are just another animal species.  We invent Gods in our own image or to fill our own need, thereby anointing ourselves Demigods.

But in reality, we are the current manifestation of a long line of primates dating back 3.2 million years.  

   

We are a wonderful creature, when compared to the rest of the animal kingdoms.   We have conquered the earth, the water and the air; and weaponized each of them.   Our technological and architectural advances are a testament to our own development. 

But we are still, basically, animals, and our population growth is out of control. 

 Around 1804 the world human population reached one billion.   Approximately 130 years later the world population doubled to two billion.   Now, in less than 100 years, we are approaching a world population of eight billion (last year (2019) the human world population increased by eighty-one million.) See World PopulationClock  

In the animal kingdom, in general, nature keeps a balance of predator and prey; but when one species exceeds that balance in an environmental area, nature tends to regulate the herd with a pandemic, taking out the old, the weak and the infirm. 

Nature has been trying to regulate our population growth for the last hundred years; but our medical and technological advances have been able to defy pandemics – as we will this one.

    

Perhaps, after we move beyond this pandemic, we should look at the root cause of pandemics in general; which is density of population, caused by uncontrolled population growth.

  

I am not proposing an enforced one child restriction like China; but we should make available, and educate the world youth in birth control methods.    We should be acknowledging the realization that having more than one child increased pollution in our environment in an unsustainable way.  We need to quit glorifying large families.  Of course, we will have to get past the bronze age teachings of religions, which always lags science and reason by thousands of years. 

We are the most intelligent species on this earth; but perhaps our arrogance in our abilities to control and confront nature will be our downfall. 

the Ol’Buzzard

THE PRESIDENT HAS THE CORONAVIRUS UNDER CONTROL

In January the president turns down test kits from the World Health Organization.

January 20^th:  It is all under control.  One person coming from China.  It will be all right.

January 24^th:  It will all work out well

January 28^th:  Johnson and Johnson created the coronavirus.

January 30^th:  It is under control.  Five people all recovering.

February 10^th:  It will go away.  By April this will miraculously go away.

February 23^rd:  Fifteen people.   Within a couple of days, it will be down to zero.

February 26^th:  We are going down not up.

February 27^th:  It is going to disappear one day.   Like a miracle it will disappear.

February 29^th:  A vaccine will be available very quickly.  The coronavirus is the Democrat’s New Hoax.

March 4^th:  It will be very mild.

March 6^th:  Anybody that wants a test kit can get one.

“Every one of the doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’  Maybe I have a natural ability.”

March 7^th:  I am not concerned at all

March 10^th:  It is going away.  Just be calm.

March 13^th:  I don’t take responsibility at all.

March 17:  I knew it was a pandemic all along, before it was called a pandemic.  We have it under control.

March 27:  Trump said State governors must “treat me well” in order to obtain mask and ventilators from federal reserves.

As of April 3, 2020, there are 258,054 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the United states with 6,601 deaths reported.

the Ol’Buzzard

ANOTHER ONE FROM MY GENERATION GONE

Last week we lost Kenny Rogers.

enough said

the Ol'Buzzard

THE REAL FEAR DURING THE PANDEMIC SHOULD BE NOVEMBER

Yes, I am concerned about the availability of mask and protective equipment for our health care providers, and for the number of ventilators available in hospitals, the death toll and the infection rate.   

But, the real and pressing danger is Donald Trump who is absolutely incompetent and is mishandling the federal  response.    Trump's stupidity and ineptitude may well result in a U.S. death toll into the millions and the total destruction of the U.S. economy. 

We have got to get rid of Trump.   I fear what Trump and the Republicans will do in November to delay the election, to invalidate the election, to rig the election by voter suppression, in order to keep Trump in office past January 2021.  

There is little we can do but protect ourselves to the best of our ability over the next nine months; but our resistance should be focused on insuring the November elections take place and the voting is not suppressed by Trump and the Republicans.