Thursday, November 5th, 2020
Life here as well as the news continue to be consumed by the election. There are no definite results as yet and four States are still counting ballots. It is likely that final results may not be available until a week from now. The Senate race is also not yet completed. Currently each of the two parties holds 47 seats and 50 are needed for a majority. 4 races are still being counted. It is known thought the Republicans have added a number of house seats, reducing the democratic majority. Likewise, the Republicans have won all state houses which were up for election. This is particularly worrying as this year was a census year and the latest census is typically used to redraw maps for instance for the purpose of voting, enabling “gerrymandering” where districts are cut in such a way that a party secures that it will always win the district and hence have guaranteed representatives in the house of congress. The more I learn about the system here, the less I believe it to be a democratic. The all dominating election today proved to be a productive day starting with calls at 7:00 I managed to get a lot done.
Since Halloween we have been on another weather high one day more beautiful than the next with temperatures in the 20th C, though nights are cold and I am so happy to have invested in my pop-up fire pit. We huddled around it last night with a colleague and his wife. It was a distracting and very entertaining evening. The very nice neighbors serving wine to adults in lieu of treats were meant to come over tonight, but work prevented that. Rain check for maybe tomorrow or Saturday.
The weekend promises some distraction from election misery. For our mental health we will enjoy a semi final sail tomorrow followed by a swim and maybe drinks with the neighbors. Saturday is looking cheerful too as I will head back to practice in the park. With all that is going on I feel the need for distraction. I find I am spending too much time on news, Twitter and FB for my mental health. It would be so nice to live in a normal country.
Corona continues to spread. The USA today reports a total of 9.9 million cases out of the global total of 48.3 million. Across 35 States numbers continue to rise. Even if Biden wins, the current administration will remain in charge of the pandemic management until January 20th, which basically means the rampant spread of the virus will continue. The virus is spreading the most widely in battleground States, who would have thought? I cannot help but think: “well deserved”. Someone else called it Darwinist selection, either one is fine by me. The only way each of us can be sure to stay safe is self managed lockdowns, i.e. avoid contact outside of a small core group.
I may be doing just that - self isolate, that is - over the next week as my brilliant friend has been in touch asking me to test for COVID-19 so we could hang out. Given he is immune compromised I am happy to enforce any protocol which makes him feel comfortable. We haven’t met since late January and spending time with this mind would be a special treat I would do almost anything for. It also means I shall rush to the nail spa and get a pedicure on Saturday and stock up the fridge, just in case I need to isolate for the next week. I am very excited at the prospect of spending time with him but also a little weary that naught will come of it; he is not exactly the most reliable person out there.
Scientists have solved another puzzle of COVID-19, why some patients develop blood clots. The main reason seems to be that similar with autoimmune diseases the body turns its antibodies against itself. What is unclear still is how this can be dealt with.
The WHO is narrowing down potential treatments for COVID-19 and remesdivir is not on the list. Their bet is on Monoclonal antibodies.