Now that mask mandates are down again, they forcing everyone back to work. Fill up your tanks accordingly. 

I can't quite figure out why they don't dispense of all of this crap and bank the office space money. But... office space is probably no bid right now.

What the hell has happened to Republicans?

FEMA: In Case Of Nuclear Explosion, Maintain Social Distancing And Wear A Mask.

"FEMA recommends the following steps to prevent 'significant radiation exposure,' which include "Try to maintain a distance of at least six feet between yourself and people who are not part of your household," and "If possible, wear a mask if you're sheltering with people who are not part of your household."

Just yesterday CNBC was reporting that Ukraine will run out of oxygen in the next 24 hours. They have just come off an intense COVID wave. Maybe... just maybe.... Republicans might help with the bare minimum to not overwhelm the hospitals more in a WAR. WTF you guys. Honestly. Maybe you guys can not exacerbate the problem by shutting the fuck up and not causing more casualties.

It's so frustrating to watch Democrats call Republicans snowflakes but I'm going to shadow Dee Snider on this.  

We are going to hit our own energy crisis and Republicans are MIA. And then, they will just come out with outrage theater. (outside of Trump) Republicans are do nothings. They are happy to have us fight about this topic because they have NO IDEAS. 

Most days lately, I don't even know what Republicans stand for.  I think they just want to raise money off of doing nothing.

It's pretty refreshing to see what a real battle for freedom looks like after two solid years of American "freedom" wars.  Ukrainians are willing to lay down their lives for their fellow man. Americans are like nah - not my problem.

If Russia was doing the same troop build up on America's borders - people would say it was fear porn, and that dictators were always going to want to invade us. There is nothing we can do about it. We just have to accept it. We would just shoot each other and just hand over the country.

If CORONA was a battlefield, and it is,  we are leaving solidly two thousand people on the battlefield EVERY single day. 60 THOUSAND people a month. An enviable number for a war. Any aggressor would love numbers like that. And Americans are like -  Leave them. Let's move on! Who cares.

I hope Americans start seeing the bigger picture. Finally. The future of our nation depends on it.

This is a sign I've never seen before.

How many times does that have to happen before a sign goes up?

I'm sure it's fine.

18% of US homes bought by investors, highest this century.

"Home prices in the United States increased at the fastest rate on record in 2021. That’s drawn in a flood of investors looking to cash in on the boom.

What’s happening: Investors bought 18.4% of homes sold across the country during the last three months of the year, according to Redfin. That’s an all-time high on records dating back to 2000."

I wonder what happens when those investors can't turn houses? Said in the most sarcastic way.

Zero percent chance they hike rates.

Even without the geopolitical situation.

It's true that there isn't a lot of inventory - but that is changing. Interestingly 3 houses on my block popped up in the past month. One sold in 6 days about a month ago. Another is right across the street from me, so I got to see how strong the market was. Both were time capsule houses. Both going AS-IS. One was 500 square feet bigger, but all else - nice neighborhood. Solid house that just needs updating. The house right across the street just passed 6 days and interest fell off right after the first weekend. It ~is~ overpriced, but you could get away with that a month ago.

My neighborhood has given me a strange insight into the housing market. Most of the people in a few block area of me are original owners. I'm used to neighborhoods turning over every few years. But these people bought in the 70's and most of these houses became forever homes. You basically have to die out. I only understand this phenomenon because of Mr S's mom. She has a time capsule house too bought in the 70's.

The third house is just coming on the market - so we will see how that ones goes. This one has at least been updated.

I think we are going to get a real life test of Bitcoin.

I am definitly dusting off my "Remember when Trump was going to get us into war" sarcasm.

Those sanctions are going to hurt us more than them.

This surely isn't going to be good for cat owners. Some people speculate this is what is driving the cat food shortages. I think it's just hoarding. And I don't even own a cat, but when I'm getting supplies for Lacy even I notice ~whatever~ is going on.

I'm grabbing popcorn though. Biden literally helped make it so our country gave all our industry away to China. But... this is what people wanted because they just wanted to say fuck it to the other guy. That's who our country is.

The world knows we are the paper-est of tigers. Slow Joe gets confused with simple every day stuff. And Kamala  - ooof. Everyone better hope Joe can keep it together. Because you have never seen vacuous like this.

But.... this is what people voted for, or failed to defend. And not like that Jan 6th shit. That doesn't help Trump!

I mean... China basically dropped an Bioweapon on us, and our country still can't come together and see the real threat. (shrug) I'm starting to wonder about China's Covid strategy because - ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS KEEP THEIR PEOPLE ALIVE. 

The US on the other hand is like - you're a pussy if you wear a mask or test  or anything. China has the patience to sit back and watch us die and become disabled.

I'm sure this time is different.

With interest rates kissing 4%. Gas at pretty much 5 bucks a gallon.  And home prices going up 18-19% YOY. What could go wrong? So 2008. 

Banks front run the Fed.

Nah.

It's no longer about the virus — remote workers simply don't want to return to the office.

But I was told everyone was depressed.

Yesterday, I listened to an 11 year old tell me how bad electric vehicles were for the environment. (shrug) I could barely process what was happening. 

Mad Max Lambo.

 

Holy cow I'm out of practice. And I'm not used to it being this bright this time of year. And that is a hard color to capture.

Lambos don't really make it to the blog anymore because I get bored of them. But I liked the snorkel and all the flares. Which is really not my jam. But it was today.

Gee... if we could only figure out what is causing these dramatic peaks and valleys.

 

Is The Omicron Wave Finally Over? US Cases Fall To One-Fifth Of Holiday Peak. 

The answer obviously is no. 

Someone on twitter once said - It takes you 30 days to know you are fucked, but it takes three months to know how fucked you are. ZH would like you to believe this disease is magically disappearing in a "will it" "won't it" way for clicks. For that famous herd immunity lie.

And I don't care what anyone does at this point. I've already accepted that y'all are just going to keep killing each other. I'm sporting 99% protection now. I'm even ready to go back into crowded convention halls.

While the whole mask insanity was going on I was trying to find a way to express to people why they worked. But I would up running across an article about people working in TB labs, and they were using n100 masks. The claim is that no one ever got sick. So I've got the next best thing. So... you guys figure it out. I should add that I don't think mandates work,  but masks do. But, people are free to choose, and technically have been for a long time. Despite official mask mandates.

County of San Luis Obispo Health Officer Order Requires Masking in Indoor Public Places
Author: Public Health Date: 8/31/2021 3:16:51 PM - The order goes into effect on September 1, 2021 (12:01 a.m.) and applies to those who are vaccinated as well as to those who are not. 

California Reinstitutes Mask Mandate By Jill L. Ripke, Matthew Goldberg & Jessica Millar on December 14, 2021

This is where variants come from.

Turk sets unenviable COVID record by testing positive for 14 straight months. 

"ISTANBUL, Feb 14 (Reuters) - When Muzaffer Kayasan first caught COVID-19, he thought he was destined to die since he was already suffering from leukemia. Fourteen months and 78 straight positive tests later, he is still alive - and still battling to shake off the infection.

Kayasan, 56, has Turkey's longest recorded continuous COVID-19 infection, doctors say, possibly due to a weakened immune system from the cancer. Despite being in and out of hospital since November 2020, his spirits have been high."

The article goes on to say...

"Coronavirus patients with immunosuppression are at risk of prolonged infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome, according to a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Another by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society shows one in four blood cancer patients do not produce detectable antibodies even after receiving two vaccine shots."

But people "have done enough", so these people don't get to participate in society anymore.

Rumor has it that the Fed wants to hike rates 50-75 points...... which is a sight to behold. I'm almost at the point of taking pictures of the "For Lease" signs on office space ala 2008. You can't walk two feet without a building under sublease.

I don't really know how office space works because I've never owned it. But I get the impression you have to re-up leases every 5 years. And despite all of that bullshit over the previous two years of the pandemic - PEOPLE LIKE WORKING FROM HOME. People living in the Bay Area get two hours a day of their lives back not sitting in traffic.

Interesting.

 

Today I ran across this Ryder branded truck with Lidar pucks. I only got three shots (which is more than Eminem says you get). I could either get the pucks, or the logo. I chose pucks.

Lilly Valley.

 

Today is the third birthday I've had in the pandemic. Sigh. At least the beach is finally back to normal crowd wise. So I'm making up for lost time.

This is the first place I've turned up to, that was an instagram thirst trap. People were down in the creek in dresses and full makeup. There were tons of obvious instagram girls taking selfies. It was kinda weird.

And these things are giant. Almost as tall as I am, and the flowers were the size of a child's head.

This guy is a hero.

Monica Gandhi and Scott Gottlieb are perhaps the most incompetent people on earth. And that is not a high bar. So incompetent, you wonder if they work for China. I tracked down the entire video, and people ~should~ watch it from the beginning. As she ~does~ have valid points - IF this were 2020.

It's not. Our population doesn't look anything like Denmark. And if you aren't looking at Israel with real fear in your heart - we have nothing to say. Deaths are SURGING! After 4 vaccines!

Last night on the Old People News they were telling people the pandemic is over because cases are going down. But BA.2 is waiting in the wings to fuck EVERYTHING up. My people say this virus NEVER becomes endemic. Anything with a RO greater than 3 will never become endemic. And we are basically at the point of virus soup.

I guess I wasn't really prepared for how comfortable people were with Eugenics. And it just really makes me sad. I just don't understand a country that sacrifices itself this way. It truly is a Hatedemic. This virus has gone on so long because we are bitter ugly people willing to kill off people on the other side of the political spectrum. Because they were born not perfect. Because there are too many people on this earth. Because - just fuck em. Because you have to clear out the dead wood. Because - I just don't like you. There are a million reasons we didn't give a fuck. And now we are here worse off than ever.

And now we are getting headlines like this! Record number of Americans missed work due to illness in January.

Peak.

 

I think this is as good as it gets this year. Since the bloom is so early - the air quality has just been not helpful. Hazy ....  every .... day. The only two days it cleared up it was blowing 60. As soon as the wind dies down - back to haze. And it hasn't rained in a month or so, so everything is drying out now.

Everyone on this block would like to talk to your manager.

The metaverse is a total sausage fest.

I've resisted talking about this because the metaverse is completely overblown. But, when I read this story over on Australian News, I was like .... yeah... I can kinda believe that. The reason? 

Shorty BEFORE the whole metaverse thing went popular(?) someone on twitter was inviting people into his event. So I went. I forget what he was hyping at this point( I think art), but when I arrived it was nothing but dudes. I even turned to Mr S. and was like - look at this! It's nothing but a sausage fest. Which doesn't bother ~me~. I worked in tech before there were ANY women.  But, for it to stand out that like that to me - says something. I am vastly more comfortable around men than women. I just don't have a lot in common with most women.

When I get time I will blog about the Augmented Reality conference that I attended virtually this year, and it was complete trash. Everyone asked for a refund. I even got screen shots. I didn't get mine so I feel like I can drag them on line. I was not putting VR headsets on my face this year. And it seems like a natural year to attend virtually. It should have been their year to shine if it wasn't bullshit.

I've spent quite a bit of time in VR over the pandemic and you can apparently acclimate to the motion sickness. It takes a little while... but when I first started I got very motion sick. Now.. not as much.

Crossing the original antigenic sin?

"Original antigenic sin, also known as antigenic imprinting or the Hoskins effect,[1] refers to the propensity of the body's immune system to preferentially utilize immunological memory based on a previous infection when a second slightly different version of that foreign pathogen (e.g. a virus or bacterium) is encountered. This leaves the immune system "trapped" by the first response it has made to each antigen, and unable to mount potentially more effective responses during subsequent infections. Antibodies or T-cells induced during infections with the first variant of the pathogen are subject to a form of original antigenic sin, termed repertoire freeze. 

The phenomenon of original antigenic sin has been described in relation to influenza virus, SARS-CoV-2,[2] dengue fever, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [3] and to several other viruses.[4]"

Source.

I am not a virologist, but I read a lot of really smart people. I admit, I don't understand all of this stuff. But they have been talking about this for at least two boosters. And now......it could be playing out in Israel. It seems the 4th booster has failed.

Now a background.

There are now at least three Omicron siblings. And possibly as many as five. I haven't read today. They are all different enough that you can catch all of them. There are reports of people being reinfected with Omicron(BA2) immediately after being infected with BA1. (OMICRON1)

Additionally, being infected with Omicron doesn't give you ANY protection against reinfection UNLESS you get a severe case. Mild case? Mild unhelpful antibodies. So again.... I don't really understand "Team Everyone's going to Get This's" plan.  Unless they are just trying to get to get a punch in their free sub card. It feels like they are just getting themselves sick for sport at this point.

The best proof (so far) the virus does live on things.

There have been many reports of this out of China and Obvi we don't believe anything they say. But Tonga - that is an interesting case.

They have been virus free because they live on an island. When the Tsunami hit there was a bunch of hand ringing about how they would get relief supplies to them. They decided on contactless delivery. Seriously.

Now, two people have popped up positive. IF and that is a big if, because people are giant fibbers, they have kept the bubble in tact - this would be compelling that the virus does live on things for some time.

I personally have been treating this virus like the flu. Which you can get from touching things. Every single time I get into my car I disinfect. And I've grown to be Howie Mandel level germaphobic. Normally that would only be a trade show thing. But people can't be trusted apparently.

That's a super cool trick.

 Said in the most sarcastic way.

After a huge year for growth, the U.S. economy is about to slam into a wall.

"Combine that with a Federal Reserve that has pivoted from the easiest policy in its history to hawkish inflation-fighters, and the picture has suddenly changed substantially. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow gauge is currently tracking a first-quarter GDP gain of just 0.1%."

Apparently....... just the mere mention of interest rates rising causes "growth"(also said sarcastically) to crater.

This is going to be a wild year because no one seems to understand that all of the past two years were made by printing money.