Two Boys Huffing in a Playground - That Was Last Night's Debate

I had no intentions of watching the Presidential Debate last night. I've already voted and the rhetoric and flying accusations between the two candidates are boring and nonproductive. But DH came downstairs while I was working on the computer and said, "You've got to come up and watch this. It's a train wreck!" So, with a description like that, I grabbed a Halo and spoon and settled down to watch for a little while. He was right. 

I wasn't going to watch the Presidential Debate, figuring I'd 
just read the high and low points the next day, but DH 
called me up to watch the "Train Wreck" and he was 
right. It was beyond ridiculous. 

OMG, "train wreck" was actually a really good description. The candidates interrupted each other constantly, flinging outside accusations and commentary back and forth and verging off-subject often. The moderator (who really didn't manage to keep control at all) kept trying to get them back on track, but it was a hopeless mess. The pundits are now calling it the "Most Juvenile Presidential Debate in U.S. History". I think that about cover it. I did find it amusing, however, watching two grown men in their latter years act like eight-year-old boys in a playground. 

The debate was just like boys on a playground - some 
pushing, some shoving, and some verbal interactions. 
Certainly not reflective of the fact that both candidates 
are old men with adult children of their own. 

I doubt anyone's mind will be changed because of the debate, but I'm also quite sure that world leaders around the globe were laughing into their coffee cups this morning as they mused on our election and the various steps we take before getting the population to the polls. 

I love playgrounds. I spent hours and hours on them as 
a kid and young adult. When we lived in the Mexico 
Avenue house there was a park with a playground 
right across the street. My friend Lori and I would 
go over and swing for hours while we talked in Pig 
Latin. Anyone else remember Pig Latin? I was very 
fluent in it as a kid. 

Of course, there is also the question of the new nominee for the Supreme Court. But, the Court is a different kettle of fish. The Court actually relies on the law, the legal precedents upon which the law rests, and isn't an arbitrary decision made on the spur about which breakfast cereal to choose for the morning repast. The legal name(s) chosen for consideration are probably more conservative than I would like, and may be pushed through quickly to make a complete court before or around Election Day, but in the long run, I don't think the choice will be earthshaking and change personal rights and privileges instantly. The law is a profession that requires intense and thoughtful decisions and anyone high enough in the legal process to be considered for the Supreme Court won't be flighty and change with every shift in the wind. 

We all know that all is not sweetness and light in playgrounds. 
There are bullies and fights and accidents. But most kids 
look back on their youth and playgrounds with a sense of 
positive nostalgia, so I guess some of the fights actually 
ended up as best friends or brothers after all. 

So, with that, I'm going to head out to enjoy my "day off". I think I'm going to tackle the area around that final cabinet in my sewing area today. I received a package yesterday that adds to my fiber toys, and I need to unpack that, and I want to feel as if I have actually accomplished something towards making the house more livable by the end of today. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow, and please, wear your mask! 

Statistics Versus A Single Ray of Sunshine

It seems as if the whole world has gone a bit crazy about the COVID-19 virus. I've got to assume that's because it seems to be so easily transmissible, because realistically, the flu kills more people annually than this virus. Of course, there's also a variety of vaccines available for the flu, but nothing really developed yet for the COVID-19, but that's just a matter of time. Still, the highest rates for mortality hinge around the age of the person contracting the illness. Take a look at the chart below. 

COVID-19 Fatality Rate by AGE:

*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differs depending on the age group. The percentages shown below do not have to add up to 100%, as they do NOT represent share of deaths by age group. Rather, it represents, for a person in a given age group, the risk of dying if infected with COVID-19.

AGE	DEATH RATE confirmed cases	DEATH RATE all cases
80+ years old	21.9%	14.8%
70-79 years old		8.0%
60-69 years old		3.6%
50-59 years old		1.3%
40-49 years old		0.4%
30-39 years old		0.2%
20-29 years old		0.2%
10-19 years old		0.2%
0-9 years old		no fatalities

*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). The percentages do not have to add up to 100%, as they do NOT represent share of deaths by age group.

As you can see, as you are older, your mortality chances increase. Right now, I guess it doesn't really pay to be a senior citizen, but then, those of us who are in that age bracket really didn't have much of a say in when we would be born or what variety of illness might be around to bring us down. Apparently it also helps to be female, although why that might make a difference isn't really clear. Still, the statistics are bearing this out.

COVID-19 Fatality Rate by SEX:

*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). This probability differs depending on sex. When reading these numbers, it must be taken into account that smoking in China is much more prevalent among males. Smoking increases the risks of respiratory complications.

SEX	DEATH RATE confirmed cases	DEATH RATE all cases
Male	4.7%	2.8%
Female	2.8%	1.7%

*Death Rate = (number of deaths / number of cases) = probability of dying if infected by the virus (%). The percentages do not have to add up to 100%, as they do NOT represent share of deaths by sex.

We're being inundated from all sides now. COVID-19 on the one side, the precipitous fall of the stock market on the other. It's doom and gloom and it's taking over the airwaves. So I've got a single request for all of us. Let's all take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and allow ourselves to think about some positive things today. The news might be focused on lots of terrible things, and they will ripple through all communities - we're all affected in some way or another - but we don't have to succumb to the negativity. We can still smile at others. We can still brighten a single person's life in some way. By doing that simple act of kindness, we've opened the clouds to one ray of sunshine. If enough of us do this, we'll dispel a lot of the gloom. 

Have an excellent Tuesday. I get to see my accountant for our personal income tax prep tonight. Oh joy. The best thing is, however, that if I forgot to bring something along, I can easily drop it off tomorrow morning, so no major delays in getting the darned thing done and into the system. I'll be back tomorrow - enjoy your day! 

Just Say "No" - Is It Said Enough?

To my friends who were looking forward to the "Great American Baking Show" as much as I was, we were doomed for disappointment. I turned it on at 8:00 pm on Thursday, only to find the "Great Christmas Light Fight" on instead. The different places we check for listings on commercial TV all agreed that we should have been seeing bakers make macaroons and gingerbread houses, not watching idiots string so many lights onto their homes that they were in danger of causing a black-out for their cities. I sent off a rather angry email to my local station and they responded with the whys and wherefores early the next day. *sigh* yet another case of inappropriate behavior. The response was: 

"The Great American Baking Show" was pulled by ABC. ... (the network statement follows)  "In light of allegations that recently came to our attention, ABC has ended its relationship with Johnny Iuzzini and will not be airing the remainder of "The Great American Baking Show" episodes. ABC takes matters such as those described in the allegations very seriously and has come to the conclusion that they violate our standards of conduct. This season's winner will be announced at a later date. ..." 

Johnny Iuzzini made his own problems this time. The
initial accusations of four women were followed up by
accusations from another four, and after investigation,
ABC cancelled the "Great American Baking Show"
airing, effective immediately. 

So, once again charges of sexual harassment have raised their heads, causing reactions that changed the lives of many in a broad and sweeping stroke. I'm far from disagreeing with this trend. It does seem, however, that every piece of woodwork currently features a sexual harassment accusation. I'm at the point of supporting these women, yet wondering if all claims are legitimate. These particular claims do appear to have teeth - more than eight women over the span of almost a decade in various restaurants. But other accusations made against other people may not be as strong. 

Every industry has sexual harassment charges, but those people working
in the entertainment industry are certainly feeling the negative press and
immediate publicity. Want to know about this wall of people?
Follow the link. 

Over the past three months or so, when cries of "sexual harassment" have been heard almost daily, rock bands have lost their record labels, managers and tour dates. Movie stars have been escorted off sound stages and written out of productions. Entertainment personnel, from the small blips to the great and mighty have fallen under microscopic scrutiny. This is, in the main, a very good thing. 

Women are speaking out about inappropriate behavior. That's
a great thing! It's never easy to face bad experiences
and crack them open again. 

I think back on my youth and I was stupid, and in cases very lucky. My issues with sexuality were when I was very young, not when I was actually old enough for sexual activity, raging hormones, and stupid decisions. I recall at least three separate occasions while in college when I left the home or apartment of someone, saving me from what could easily have been a situation of rape. I recall saying "No" at some really important times, or walking home alone in the cold and snow rather than stay with someone. I was no nun, but I still had some common sense. 

Are we teaching our kids to understand the power
of "No"? Are we teaching them to walk away
or phone a cab or stay with friends? Are we
teaching them safe behavior? We can't lock them
up in a castle tower until their Prince comes
looking for them. 

Are we training our children to be sexually intelligent? Will they say "No" at appropriate times and leave uncertain situations behind them? Will they understand that others can and sometimes will take advantage of them? I don't think this is covered in basic sex-ed classes, and doubt that a lot of parents will take the courageous step of telling their kids about sexual predators among their peers and employers. Maybe they should just grit their teeth and add it to their "birds and bees" and their "don't talk to strangers" discussions. 

On that note, have a wonderful weekend. I'll be on my way to the pool soon, but will have to shovel away the snow that fell overnight first. *sigh* Nothing like adding another 30 minutes of work into my early morning. Oh well, nothing to be done. Snow comes with living in the Frozen Northlands. 

Treading Water in a Shrinking Pond

And yet another one bites the dust and I begin wondering. The politicians and financial pundits all tell us that the US is in great shape, that our economy is strong and getting better every day, that unemployment is down and earning dollars are up, and that (basically) everything is coming up roses. But then I look around me at small businesses and I wonder what in hell they have all been smoking!

The Bead Monkey in Minneapolis is the latest store to shut their
doors. I don't have a time-frame (yet), but just got notified
that they're closing in my emails this morning. 

Commerce has changed, and not for the better. Small businesses are closing left and right and while internet commerce is strengthening, the small stores along the main streets and in the smaller shopping areas are closing. It's March and so far this year in my state and industry alone, two more stores have closed. The pool is shrinking under the hot sun of e-commerce and it's making cookie-cutter consumers out of all of us.

The pool of small stores is shrinking almost as dramatically as
the water levels of Lake Mead, Nevada. 

Instead of being able to actually touch an item. Instead of talking with knowledgeable salespeople about what a product will (or won't) do for you, you're looking at a screen and ordering blind. The only other alternative available is the "big box" store - in my industry, the Michaels and the Jo-Ann Arts and Crafts. They carry less than 1/10th of my product and they know absolutely nothing about it because their sales people have too many products and no in-depth knowledge about any of them.

Small town America is shrinking and their stable businesses are
closing and leaving. Commerce is the backbone of this nation and
commerce isn't working for local economy any more. 

Sure, people can go on-line and order beads - they're out there, they're quite accessible. Hell, I have a website too (not up-to-date, but still used and still quite functional). My customers keep telling me that they want to see the beads in person. That colors are so important and that they need to find out from us which beads will actually work in their projects. We're happy to help. It's why we're there.

It doesn't have to be that way, though. Small businesses can survive
as long as their customers shop them instead of the internet. Money
spent in your community benefits your community. Support your
local small businesses whenever possible and help yourself. 

That said, if I was given the chance to sell the store and retire tomorrow, I'd do in it a flash. I too would join the small business exodus because when you're in a group, you don't feel as alone. I keep that beacon light of "retirement" shining ahead of me and I keep working because I'm not there yet. But it's getting harder and harder to tread water in a shrinking pond.

Have a good Friday, all. Sorry to end the week on a downer, but I'll try to make up for it with tomorrow's post. *hugs* to all.

Just Because I Don't Have Anything To Do....

Just because time lies heavy on my hands and I have nothing to do, I decided to sign up for an eight-week quick on-line course on writing dialog. Because. Just....because. *sigh*

Yes, I know I have a thousand things already going on in my life.

Yes, I know that I'm not that horrible with dialog and that I have friends and fellow authors who are happy to give specific feedback if I ask for it.

Because my schedule was just screaming for one more
entry - yeah....sure!

But - there's just something about a course that pulls into one of the areas I feel weak and that I want to try and hone my skills in. The fact that it was less than $16 for the course didn't hurt either. I figured I would read through the lessons and do the homework when possible, and see if by the end of the eight weeks I can hone dialog in my o-fic to be more productive and more of a story-mover instead of a place setting. Anyway, that's the goal. And for less than $20, it's well worth the try.

I spent the time in my shower thinking about the architecture of Barad-dûr. What? Doesn't everyone think about the architecture of Sauron's high-rise while they are washing their hair? No? Shame on you for not casting a thought in that direction. Just think about it for a moment.

So Barad-dûr is supposed to be the tallest
thing EVER! How was it built without a
steel skeleton for the pressure and the weight? Was
it all just smoke and mirrors (and one ring)? 

We have a tall tower - the only skyscraper of its height in Middle-earth and all made without the internal structure of steel that modern-day equivalents require to obtain such a height. So how does he do it? Without that steel skeleton, relying on stone and mortar only, a tower will reach a point where it will collapse upon itself and it's not all that high. So what did Sauron do to make it possible to build such an edifice?

Look at this lovely pic I found while searching for Barad-dûr. I put it
on a black background and added the text, but the different pics
are just fun, so I thought I'd share with all of you. 

Orthanc, Saruman's current domicile, was supposedly built by powers never specified and held properties of its own that allowed it to escape the wrath of the Ents unharmed and showing minimal damage. The Ents managed to destroy everything else around it perfectly well, but they bounced off the Teflon surface of Orthanc.

So is Barad-dûr a similar situation? I suspect not because Sauron's tower collapsed in spectacular fashion when the One Ring was cast into the flames of Orodruin. So what is the architecture of Barad-dûr that allowed it to stretch to the skies above, rivaling the very mountains themselves? Something to think about today. 

Happy Thor (and Loki) day to all my friends!

Happy Thursday (or for fans - Happy Thor's Day). 

Possible Activities For My Day Off

Originally my day off was supposed to be the great weather day of the week. That's turned into a lie - today is supposed to be warmer, but filled with rain. That mean, however, that I may be able to buckle down and actually get some writing down, an activity that will make me much happier.

Time to buckle down and get some writing done.

As I said yesterday, my muse has gone on vacation - a rare thing for me. I looked under a lot of rocks (as well as with a cabana boy because - well - it was a cabana boy!), but she was nowhere to be seen. She seems to be peeking over the horizon today, though, so I'm going to try and lasso her and bring her into line.

Time to lasso that muse of mine. No more cabana boys for her. She needs
to get back to work!

I have three drabbles to do, a birthday fic to continue, and I have the Dark Challenge to prep a fic for (I always look forward to indulging in my dark side). I want to catch up a bit because May is progressing and my schedule is compressing into limited hours of open space.

I loved my Alienware computer - I put it through its
paces and make it rock. I got a new computer because
it eventually just got too slow for what I needed.
It's perfect for our warehouse, though. 

We need a computer at the shop that isn't my laptop, so I'm thinking about taking my old Alienware computer, which still works fine, pulling off the non-essential information so that it will be faster, and taking that to the shop to put into the warehouse area. I can then link it to the store Wi-Fi  or cable it into the server directly so that we can do internet searches, etc without needing my laptop.

I'm sharing my space this morning. I don't share gracefully.

Well, DH can't sleep so he's sitting nearby, has the TV turned on, and my quiet time has been shattered. Therefore, I'm calling this blog post done and I'll find my pics and post. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

More Car Troubles

My car is fine (knocking on the nearest piece of wood) but DH's is not doing so well. He was noticing serious leakage so I arranged for us to drop the car off at the repair shop yesterday, hoping that it was a loose gasket or whatever (I'm not so knowledgeable about cars). They cleaned it up and took it out for two test drives and came up with the conclusion that it is something they can't do - a transmission problem. *sigh*

So, today we are repeating the experience, just with a different repair shop, this one specializing in transmission work. I'm hoping this one comes in at $500. The timing couldn't be much worse with April/May being one of our very expensive months - property taxes, income taxes. Ick! But somehow we'll make it happen.

B2ME is coming to an end, the final number will be announced tonight. I am finally all but caught up, one story in the hopper but all of the pending ones reviewed and reviewed and edited and edited and posted last night. It has been a wonderful ride. Now to catch up with reading and reviewing.

Good Fat Tuesday - Celebrate!

Today is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. People throughout the world will be partying as if there is no tomorrow, because Lent and its season of denial begins tomorrow. Now, I wonder if this is human nature. Do we always party when the "end of the world" is facing us? I mean...why not? With the end of the world ahead (although Lent is only a minor inconvenience, let's stretch just a bit...). So...with the end of the world ahead, do we run mindlessly like voles under the eye of the owls? Or do we break the glass to the liquor store, grab a few of their best bottles, and sit with our loved ones in the rooftop garden, drinking and listening to the emergency sirens piercing the air from far below us? The stars are still in the sky, your beloved ones are nearby, and you have good alcohol. I suspect that's a better way to go out instead of running. But that's just me.

Apocalyptic novels have been written for generations based on those who do run, or those who are in locales that are enough out of the way that they escape the nuclear holocaust, the plague, or the invasion. So, when looking for a place to live, do we base our choices on how likely it will be to survive the upcoming, indeterminate apocalypse? Of course not. We choose where to live based on personal contacts such as family and friends, employment opportunities, and housing availability and affordability.

So as you celebrate the end of our season of indulgence tonight and look forward to the season of Lent ahead tomorrow, wear your beads proudly. You celebrated when the minor apocalypse happened, and I firmly believe that partying is a better way to go. And for those of you (including myself) who will wake tomorrow clear eyed without a pounding head from overindulgence, at least we won't have to check YouTube carefully to make sure that our outrageous behavior has not been filmed and put out for public view. Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras.