Friday was a tough day. VT*Grand tested positive for Covid (asymptomatic so far, but it messes up plans badly). Then we got word that my cousin died unexpectedly. She had a heart attack Thursday evening, but was in good spirits...then had another episode on Friday morning, coded and they couldn't bring her back. She was only 72. We're supposed to be going to Canada today to attend a dear friend's funeral, but the Covid numbers are too high and it's going to be close to 90ºF with humidity. Bah.
Thanks! It got better... An hour before the funeral, our friend's son gave us a link to attend the funeral via livestream! Good thing we didn't try the trip to Canada for it, as nine minutes into the service they came under a tornado watch...! It was a beautiful service. We learned so much about him from the eulogies, that we never knew: he was born in southern Africa, worked in secret intelligence in England. As a kid he constructed a mini village in his back yard complete with lights and a real garden. They read Tennyson’s poem Crossing the Bar at the service. Perfect.
Afterward we brought a care package to VT*Grand. Still asymptomatic, but still testing positive. We just left the bag on her steps and stood way back while she came out and opened it. (And we were all masked.) If she HAD to get Covid, at least she’s feeling fine and gets to stay in what we’re calling “the teen apartment.” It’s literally an efficiency apartment over their garage. They use it as a guest room but it’s perfect for quarantining. She LOVES it there and is lobbying to get to keep it.
There are some things Mr. Zeihan seems not to be aware of: that renewable electric power can be transformed into ammonia, which is both a fertilizer and a liquid fuel, for two. For another, modern steam engines are nearly as efficient as diesel engines, and can be fueled quite nicely with pelletized biochar (very similar in handling to coal, but carbon neutral). Nineteenth-Century chemistry enables us to manufacture methanol from ambient carbon dioxide and water (again using renewable electricity). Thus things need not look so grim. Potash (potassium) is more of a problem, but the ash of biochar or wood burnt for power would be one source. Some non-domestic waste waters are also source, [Click] and sewage is also a viable nutrient source. [Click]
Friday was a tough day. VT*Grand tested positive for Covid (asymptomatic so far, but it messes up plans badly). Then we got word that my cousin died unexpectedly. She had a heart attack Thursday evening, but was in good spirits...then had another episode on Friday morning, coded and they couldn't bring her back. She was only 72. We're supposed to be going to Canada today to attend a dear friend's funeral, but the Covid numbers are too high and it's going to be close to 90ºF with humidity. Bah.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope things soon go far better.
Delete---Alan
Too much bad stuff in one lump.
DeleteThanks!
DeleteIt got better...
An hour before the funeral, our friend's son gave us a link to attend the funeral via livestream! Good thing we didn't try the trip to Canada for it, as nine minutes into the service they came under a tornado watch...! It was a beautiful service. We learned so much about him from the eulogies, that we never knew: he was born in southern Africa, worked in secret intelligence in England. As a kid he constructed a mini village in his back yard complete with lights and a real garden.
They read Tennyson’s poem Crossing the Bar at the service. Perfect.
Afterward we brought a care package to VT*Grand. Still asymptomatic, but still testing positive. We just left the bag on her steps and stood way back while she came out and opened it. (And we were all masked.) If she HAD to get Covid, at least she’s feeling fine and gets to stay in what we’re calling “the teen apartment.” It’s literally an efficiency apartment over their garage. They use it as a guest room but it’s perfect for quarantining. She LOVES it there and is lobbying to get to keep it.
That does sound really great. Especially the teen apartment.
DeleteRoses from Colorado’s WWII internment camp may bloom again [Click]
ReplyDelete---Alan
830 Million Year Old Microbes Found In Australia May Still Be Alive [Click] If so, why not on Mars?
ReplyDeletePeter Zeihan: Part 1 - Energy At The End Of The World [Click]
Peter Zeihan: Part 2 - Energy At The End Of The World [Click]
There are some things Mr. Zeihan seems not to be aware of: that renewable electric power can be transformed into ammonia, which is both a fertilizer and a liquid fuel, for two. For another, modern steam engines are nearly as efficient as diesel engines, and can be fueled quite nicely with pelletized biochar (very similar in handling to coal, but carbon neutral). Nineteenth-Century chemistry enables us to manufacture methanol from ambient carbon dioxide and water (again using renewable electricity). Thus things need not look so grim. Potash (potassium) is more of a problem, but the ash of biochar or wood burnt for power would be one source. Some non-domestic waste waters are also source, [Click] and sewage is also a viable nutrient source. [Click]
-----Alan
What Alito Doesn’t Understand About Pregnancy [Click] By a physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies. I cannot imagine it being put any better.
ReplyDelete-----Alan
SpaceX and Boeing's spacecraft cockpits couldn't look more different [Click] Wow!
ReplyDelete----Alan
Delete