The cancellation/closure dominoes have been falling at an exponential pace due to corona virus concern. The NHL and MLB followed the NBA’s lead and announced a suspension of their seasons. The NCAA who originally planned to play games with no spectators shifted yesterday to an outright cancellation as well. When this many things are getting cancelled it applies great leverage to other similar events to do the same, anything else would make them seem irresponsible or even liable in some people’s eyes. Even Disney announced they were shutting down their parks for the time being.
Locally they have cancelled the local hockey games, the Saint Patricks Day parade, and most public gatherings for the near future. The only thing I am aware of that is still going on is the county fair which started yesterday however I expect that it will either close or have such light attendance that it will be a joke. This will be the first time in 20 years that we will not be attending the fair, which makes me sad.
In my own personal sphere I continue to be more mindful of cleaning my hands after touching any communal surfaces as well as trying to scratch my itchy face with the back of my hands/fingers whenever possible. I am also planning on modifying my gym routine which included going to old person infested Planet Fitness two days a week. Until we hit the other side of this I am going to keep my lunch time workouts exclusively at our small county gym which never has more than three or four people in there at a time. Outside of that Cindy has no interest in doing the normal public interactions we engage in like movies and eating out dinner until further notice.
This morning I had my first experience with a remote “live” teller at my credit union. My tax refund check did not get direct deposited for some reason so I had to deposit the check conventionally. The drive thru line now has these ATM looking machines at each lane where you get a video feed to a real person located in a remote call center. It was a pretty cool and seamless experience. The nice thing was the live tellers actually have extended hours compared to the normal branch, they fire up at 7AM.
This weekend we will surely be doing things that focus on avoiding people although I still see trips to Rural King and Home Depot on the horizon. Outside of that it’s enjoy the comforts and ample entertainment we have available to us at home. My next two weeks are going to be quite busy at work as we are relocating a branch, a task I always dislike. There are so many moving parts I need to keep track of and coordinate that it can get a bit maddening at times.
I shot a video about the history of my 3D printed electric unicycle stand online store last night. Check it out.
I have realized for awhile that the real threat for Covid 19 was not to me personally, as I am a healthy individual that should not be at risk for severe symptoms. The issue was the end result of worldwide fear and panic and just how disruptive it potentially could be. That reality is coming much more clearly into focus the last few days. Even Trump had to get on national TV last night and sound the alarm bell, despite the falsehoods he was propping up in the days prior where the administration downplayed the risk.
Events involving large groups of people are being cancelled left and right. Hell they even suspended the NBA season after one of their players tested positive. As of now they are planning to play the NCAA tournament without fans, which seems unreal, but I would not be shocked if they cancel that altogether as well. The virus is clearly out in the wild and spreading rapidly.
At my office there is a sign posted by the front door informing people that country government is practicing “social distancing” which involves no physical contact and trying to keep a minimum three foot barrier from other people. This is nice but I think “social lock up” would work better where unless required, you avoid situations with large groups of people.
Of course I broke that rule last night as I ventured into Costco after work. I left work early, thinking that may help me avoid some of the horde of people that have been raiding warehouse stores for the last week or two. Of course I was wrong, the parking lot was packed with people. As I pushed the cart around the aisles crowded with mostly social security collecting human beings I tried to not think about the germ factory potential that was all around me. My gym attendance is another riskier activity that I have been not abandoned at this point. I have been trying to be more diligent with cleaning while there but the reality is there so much opportunity for contaminated surfaces at a place like that, I am just rolling the dice every time I step in the door.
Speaking of rolling, the guy that spread my fill and sod was back yesterday with his “roller”. The machine looks like a mini steam roller. It’s used to push the sod firmly into the ground beneath and even out the surface. He was finishing up as I got home. I talked to him about expanding the project to bring in fill/sod to several other areas around the property that are subject to prolonged standing water during wet season. It will add up to a good chunk of money but it will be worth it to me if I can avoid needing a canoe to traverse the grounds in July/August.
The primary results from last night were confirmation that the Democratic fix is officially in, the DNC is going to ram Joe Biden down our throats whether we like it or not. By making an unapologetic effort to get other moderate candidates to lay down and toe the line behind Biden, the DNC has brought Bernie’s campaign to a grinding halt, so much so that there is wonder how long it will be until Bernie himself takes a knee.
This reversal in position is incredible in my eyes because just a couple weeks ago Joe was sort of a joke, performing poorly in every debate, strapped for cash, and misspeaking regularly in ways that make people question if his marbles are dropping out of his ears at this point. Despite all of this the DNC saw his Obama connection as something they could leverage so they are going to prop him up, Weekend at Bernie’s style, ironically.
You hear a lot of people saying that this is a repeat of 2016, when the DNC ensured Hilary got the nomination through the wonders of the slimy “super delegates” system. I see the parallels but hope there is one critical difference this year. In 2016 we had not just been subjected to four years of what history will look back upon as the most embarrassing, corrupt, and toxic presidency of all time. Hopefully that reality is enough to keep Bernie supporters from wasting their votes on can’t win candidates and enough of the sit at home voters to get off their ass to pull the lever for sanity’s sake.
Well it didn’t take long for Covid-19 to arrive locally. Two confirmed cases in Lee County died late last week. I also heard a rumor that there are some cases in local Naples hospitals that they are trying to keep out of the news. The strategy of deliberately hiding or misrepresenting the truth when it comes to a situation like this is a delicate balancing act. Lying to the public is an attempt to keep society from entering into a state of panic, something human beings revert to quite easily. However if the truth is really that ugly and the misinformation prevents people from taking as many precautions as they should, you ultimately wind up with an even bigger problem.
You already see the snowball that is forming and getting bigger every day. The stock market is imploding, travel related businesses are getting crushed, and events involving large groups of humanity are getting cancelled left and right. Basic grocery/sanitation items are being hoarded by the general public at rates faster than they can be produced. All of this has occurred with less than 1000 confirmed cases in the US.
What comes next as the virus, which has expanded far beyond containment, is the medical facilities in the country being obliterated as they are overrun with people that need medical care, both real and imagined. Imagine the repercussions if huge segments of the American workforce “self quarantine”, shutting down core services.
The good news is we have an organized, intelligent, proactive, thoughtful president who surely has a top notch response team working around the clock to minimize the crater covid-19 could potentially cause. Haha, just kidding, we are fcked. He was playing golf this weekend.
I personally am still going about my routines although I have added more hand washing/sanitizing than is the norm. I even went to the gym yesterday which is a germ factory even under normal circumstances. I looked around at the overwhelmingly elderly population that was there with me and questioned which ones were candidates to be taken out if they caught the bug.
With protective masks being basically a luxury item right now I did secure one of these buffs that can be used in various manners, including covering the nose/mouth. It isn’t medical grade obviously but it would prevent you from directly touching your mouth/nose in pubic interactions, which seems to be key. It can be washed/reused infinitely, another bonus.
Friday after work I went to Sugden Park to run for the third week in a row. It was a bit warmer than the prior two runs but still much higher on the enjoyment scale than my track runs have been historically. There are a good number of people throughout the park and wildlife as well which helps keep my mind from focusing on the discomfort my body experiences running at 52 years of age.
When I got home I got a look at my nearly $800 of sod that was put down in the chicken area. It’s bahia grass which is native but not nearly as manicured looking as St Augustine which you see a lot in Florida. The combination of the fill and sod has raised the back chicken yard even higher than “Chicken Island” which I manually built from endless bags of top soil. It felt good to finally have addressed this issue permanently. All it took was a big chunk of money.
On Saturday I was on the go all day long it seemed. I just had one chore after another to complete. In the morning I did some rearranging of the sod, taking stuff that was on the outer edge outside the fence line and covering a few exposed dirt areas inside the fence. I also set up a portable sprinkler that I was running a good portion of the weekend to revive the bahia grass which naturally goes into hibernation during Florida winters.
I originally tried to water the grass using my old hose and sprinkler Friday night. When I hooked it up and turned on the water I was baffled when I saw no water coming out of the sprinkler. So I went and unhooked the hose at the sprinkler side and was upset with what I saw, a tree frog wedged in the inlet of the sprinkler. My guess is this frog had decided to camp out in the hose which had been draped over a fence post for months. My applying water pressure wedged him into the sprinkler. He wasn’t moving but I held out hope he was alive.
I took the sprinkler up to the garage and started trying to pry open the inlet to get the frog out. It became apparent there was no way to do this delicately so I grabbed my hand held mini-sledge and started hammering away at my perfectly functional sprinkler, breaking it into pieces. I did finally get access to that inlet but when I saw the inside of it I saw the frog’s guts squished out so it was a futile effort. I felt terrible for inadvertently causing the frog’s death, seriously.
After working all morning and into the early afternoon I decided to throw car washing into the mix, washing Katie’s Prius, the Tacoma and the Tesla. I was not happy to see that bird shit that inadvertently was left on the hood of the Tesla for a prolonged period of time had put a blemish in the paint. Sure you can’t keep the car living in a bubble but it still annoyed me.
A couple months ago I was contacted by a subscriber on my YouTube channel. Dan lives in Massachusetts but he was doing a Florida road trip. He was considering buying an upgraded EUC and I owned the two choices he was considering. He was wondering if I would entertain him stopping out to test ride the wheels. I told him that was fine. Yesterday was the day we agreed to meet up.
Dan drove over four hours the night before from Deland to Naples. He arrived at our place a little before 11 on Sunday, and came bearing gifts, a DD gift card for me and a watermelon for the chickens. I told him that was very nice but not necessary. We took the melon out to the hens and chopped it up for them to hungrily consume, it was cute. Before riding we hung out at the house for a little while and talked. Dan, who is right around my age has been dealing with cancer for the last four years which he has gotten past, however it is something that has to be constantly monitored. His stories of the procedures involved with the treatment made me cringe and feel lucky I have existed to this point in life with relatively few serious health ailments.
We loaded up a bunch of wheels in the back of the Tacoma and headed out. I originally planned to go to North Collier Park but when we got there some huge car show event was going on and the parking lots were jammed. It would have been a shitty riding experience so I turned around and headed toward the Naples Greenway instead.
We had a great ride there with Dan taking turns on every wheel I brought including the 16X, 18XL, MSX, and Mten 3. I also took some time riding Dan’s Kingsong 14D, a wheel I never rode before. I was surprised how much I loved the way the little wheel felt with ample power and tons of instant torque. We had a good time with a ride that was probably around two hours in length. When we got back Dan was very appreciative of my time and said the experience was one of the highlights of his road trip so far. After riding all of the wheels he seemed to feel the 18XL was the best fit for him, a solid choice.
I got word from my sister that Griffin, who absolutely loves the 3D printed light saber I gave him was upset after he was a little too forceful extending the blade, which caused it to break. Over the weekend I printed a different version of the light saber which has a removable/replaceable blade which should be helpful in a heavy use scenario as Griffin will likely be subjecting the blade to. The great thing about 3D printed toys is you can replace them very easily.
I haven’t commented on the incredible steamrolling the DNC is attempting to perform on Bernie Sanders. The first warning shot was Pete Buttigeig, who I really liked, dropping out before Super Tuesday which made little to no sense to me, at first. When Amy Klobouchar and Mike Bloomberg dropped in the next couple days it was crystal clear what had transpired. The strong establishment segment of the Democratic party was terrified that Bernie would keep gaining momentum by winning delegates against a split of moderate candidates. Their only answer was to prop up Joe Biden as the single moderate choice.
Now I don’t dislike Joe but I certainly am not excited about him as a candidate. He has appeared downright senile at times and has performed poorly by all accounts in every debate he has participated in. It’s unfortunate but I can imagine back room meetings at the DNC where they made this plan, where they probably said the country is not ready for a female or gay candidate and Elizabeth Warren shot nuclear missiles at Bloombergs elect-ability. So they were left with Joe, the only candidate that would not challenge the status quo in any meaningful way, which is what the DNC wants.
Now don’t get me wrong, if my choice was Joe Biden as president or the stable genius, I would vote for Joe, twice if I could to end the reign of ignorance and lunacy. However my concern is if Biden is shoved down everyone’s throat two things are going to happen. Bernie’s hardcore supporters are going to throw away their vote on one of the can’t win candidates in spite, just like they did in 2016 or Old Joe isn’t going to excite the electorate enough to get the voter turnout needed to win. Either of these scenarios would be a nightmare.
I have often claimed I am a realist and that is the case with Bernie as well. I like him, I support his greater good ideals. I also know that without the majority of lobbyist owned congress being ripped out of office, Bernie’s sweeping agendas have no shot of taking hold. However, if Bernie being the candidate gets enough otherwise unmotivated potential voters off their ass and into the booth that is what matters the most at this point in history, in my opinion. Unfortunately I see the DNC’s plan as being ultimately successful, ironically dooming us to what they proclaim they want to avoid, four more years of the Perfect Big League Very Stable Genius in command.
On Wednesday Torrin, Damon and the kids scheduled a fishing boat charter which was supposed to run until 1PM so I knew I had some time to get stuff done around the house. I used some of that time to apply additional tension to the sun shade I now have covering the bar park. The overall look is wonky for sure but it seems to achieve the goal of providing a shaded area where DJ and Cindy can hang out in the yard during the day.
I also decided to replace the main drive belt on the tractor, something I originally had slated for this weekend. The old belt was either stretched or glazed over, causing the tractor to hardly be able to move at times. Since I had replaced the belt before I more or less knew what to do but it still took a little while since the mower deck has to be removed to do the work. After swapping belts and putting everything back together the tractor once again moved more or less normally.
So I got a surprise message from Torrin after their fishing trip that they were all heading to an Urgent Care. Griffin has been getting over pneumonia, Torrin’s one ear had been closed since she landed in Florida and Damon said he felt like he was weasing a bit. The visit there delayed their arrival at the house by several hours after they were given mostly steroids to address the issues. They hung for a little while but I could tell they were all pretty beat from the day, especially Griffin who wasn’t feeling good. Our hope was after a decent night of rest everyone would feel better for their last full day in Florida on Thursday.
The gang showed up at the house late Thursday morning. The plan was to go to the Corkscrew Sanctuary which is close by. Before heading there we ate lunch and the kids got to feed the chickens. They both loved interacting with the chickens, especially Emily. She had a circle of hens around her that were eating the garden greens she was holding.
We had considered the two swamp hike options, Bird Rookery, where it is just raw trail and Corkscrew which is a state park which has full amenities and an elevated boardwalk. I thought for the kids the more structured experience of Corkscrew might be better, despite it having an admission price.
The walk was a lot of fun for the most part. The only negative was the heat which was rather oppressive for the time of year, climbing above 85 degrees. Luckily I had my mega-brim hat to keep me in the shade full time. We had some cool wildlife sightings including a bunch of birds and a female alligator with her babies gathered around her. Everyone also was impressed by some of the giant cypress trees, some of which are over 500 years old.
By the time we were done everyone was pretty overheated. When we got back to the house the sparsely utilized pool got some actual use. Both kids swam around in it while the adults hung by the edge, content with just soaking the legs. The pool water temp of 70 degrees was chilly for us old people.
So now it was time to get some of our PEVs out. The Minpro is always the first device we have people try since it is the easiest to learn. Damon tried it first followed by the kids. It didn’t take Damon long though to want to try the One Wheel. Years ago Damon used to do some surfing so the One Wheel seemed up his alley. After giving him a few basic tips he quickly got the hang of it. By the end of the session he was riding challenging laps around the backyard without falling off. I am pretty certain he will be joining the One Wheel army in the not too distant future as he absolutely loved it.
The kids tried the One Wheel but it was a bit too advanced for them. They did enjoy zipping around the yard on the Minipro quite a bit however. I also brought out one of my EUCs to demonstrate as well as the all terrain skateboard. The three of them had a great time rolling around the yard.
Cindy once again prepared a tasty dinner for us. Part of it utilized the fish that the gang caught during their fishing charter, which I ate. Cindy really went out of her way to make the meals special which I appreciated greatly. Katie came over with DJ to meet everyone which was cool. DJ was his normal cute and special self. I held him so much my left bicep was cramping by the end of the night.
After supper Griffin hooked up his Nintendo Switch again, he and Emily wanted to beat up on Damon and I one more time in Super Smash Brothers. They continued their unbeaten streak although we did manage to survive longer. The controllers for the Switch are so small when you play in that manner that I find myself constantly hitting buttons unintentionally. After beating us up one last time it was time for them to go. They had to pack up and get to bed at a decent hour for their flight back to Texas today. I think everyone enjoyed themselves which was my ultimate goal.
I haven’t said anything here about the Coronavirus panic but of course I have seen the escalation that has been occurring the last few weeks. I am not concerned about my own personal well being as I think I am healthy enough to fight off such an illness. However what I am concerned about is the hysteria that is already going on. People are quickly adopting a snowstorm/hurricane mentality where they are hoarding supplies and adopting a me first, fck everyone else attitude.
When we were at the sanctuary gift shop yesterday I witnessed a woman sneeze into her open hand and then take that hand to dig out coins in her purse which she handed to the clerk. Then the woman rested that same hand on counter. It was a scenario that assured me that if the hope is for human beings to be trusted to do the right things to minimize transmission, we have no shot. Personally I am trying be more mindful of my interactions with others and public spaces. The biggest challenge for me is avoiding touching my face which is something I do all the time, I am a generally itchy person. I am at least trying to scratch that itch using the back of my appendages or only after my hands have been washed or sanitized.
This weekend I have normal things to accomplish. I also have a subscriber from my YouTube channel that is in the area for vacation. He asked if we could meet up so he could test a couple of my wheels that he is considering buying for himself. I told him I would be ok with that so we should connect on Sunday some time. Today the sod for the now elevated chicken area is due to be delivered and installed. The portable sprinkler I have will be running back there quite a bit over the next week to bring the hibernating bahia grass back to life.
On Monday after work we got word that my sister and her family landed safely. Cindy was babysitting DJ so she couldn’t go but I headed out to the Bonita Carrabas to meet them for dinner. I had not seen Damon or the kids since Cindy and I visited their place in State College years ago during a winter northern road trip. Hell they have lived in two other states since then. The kids, who are now 13 and almost 11 have grown exponentially since then, it was weird seeing such taller versions of them.
Even though it was a Monday night we did actually have to wait at least 20 minutes to get seated. Damon and I hit the bar where he told me about his keto diet and this miracle vodka that he had discovered. We had a fun meal catching up. We laid out a loose game plan for the week including visiting the beach on Tuesday.
They were staying at a hotel close to Bonita Springs so we decided that instead of them driving all the way out to our house only to turn around and go to the beach that I would just meet them there. We picked Lowdermilk as the spot and agreed to get there around 11. Wow, what a mistake.
It’s been years since I have tried to go hang at the beach during snowbird season. By the time we got to the park there was not a parking space to be had and there was a non-stop carousel of cars circling the lot looking for and empty space, like a buzzard circling a carcass. There was no way to make that work so I said we should try Vanderbilt Beach instead as it has a three story parking garage.
Luckily there was still some open parking on the third floor. Damon dropped off the kids and Torrin at the beach with the gear and then met me up top where I was loaded up with the gear I had brought for adventure. The humanity filling the beach area was pretty crazy. After walking awhile we found a small square we could stake out for ourselves.
They had stopped and grabbed some food for lunch, luckily they had some extra as I did not bring anything. I had no plans to go in the water so I was wearing my standard camo shorts with a t-shirt and my mega brim hat we got at the sand sculpture festival. I did go mid calf deep into the ocean a little bit. It felt cold at first but tolerable after a short adjustment period.
Emily and Griffin wasted no time digging into the beach experience, literally. They began construction of a sand fortress close to the water’s edge. The choice of location was challenging as the waves were consistently banging into the front wall, eroding it each time. I took up the role of a human backhoe as I kept collecting buckets of sand that I would dump on the wall that Griffin would tamp into place. Of course every time a wave hit the wall more sand was needed. Despite the chilly by my standards water, Emily was in and out of it constantly, having a great time which was fun to see. I think the kids really enjoyed themselves.
After we had enough sand and surf for the day we packed up and headed out, them to their hotel to shower and I home to do the same. They came out to our house for dinner around 5pm. Before eating we gave them the grand tour. The kids loved the 3D/hobby room as well as the two prints we made for them, a cool purple dragon for Emily and a silver light saber for Griffin.
We then took everyone outside to meet the chickens. We grabbed a bunch of greens from the garden so the kids could feed the hens, which they loved. Our property had changed a ton since they were last there which unbelievably was somewhere around a dozen years ago. Things looked much different from what they recalled.
Cindy busted her ass making food for everyone which included barbecue chicken, burgers and some great gluten free deserts. After eating Griffin was very excited to hook up his Nintendo Switch to our big tv to play games with me. Griffin and Emily teamed up against Damon and me in Super Smash Brothers. They destroyed us every game, Damon and I had no idea what was going on, the game looks like it was designed to cause epileptic seizures, there is that much going on at once. Even though we were beaten badly every game it was still fun playing with the kids, who thoroughly enjoyed dominating us.
At one point Damon almost passed out from sugar overload. His keto diet is very low on carbs and sugar, ingesting a ton of them in a short period of time really did a number on him. The gang headed out a little after 8. They are going on a fishing charter this morning and then will meet back up with us this afternoon at some point. We are going to hit Corkscrew Sanctuary more than likely but I’m not sure if that will happen today or tomorrow. It’s been a fun visit so far and there should be more of the same for the next couple days.
Friday after work I had another run around Sugden Park. The temps were again in the mid-60s but the bright sunshine made for a better experience. I knocked 30 seconds off my per mile pace compared to the week prior, don’t ask me how.
Saturday I had several tasks, the most time consuming being weed whacking and mowing the property. While I did that Cindy repainted the front door a cool greenish blue which freshened up the front of the house. I was hauling ass to get done because we had to leave around 5PM to go to the spring training game. Despite my efforts I walked inside at 4:30 where I quickly cleaned up so we could go.
I knew it would be on the cool side for the game but I thought the jeans and hoodie I was wearing would keep me warm enough, I was wrong. As soon as the sun went down and the breeze kicked up it felt annoyingly cold. I plunked down good money for good seats on the first base line, 10th row up.
I’m not sure why I thought this, but I assumed the Twins/Pirates game would not be heavily attended. I was wrong, again. Our section was totally packed and even though these were supposedly premium seats, I felt extremely cramped as we tried to eat our food as the game was starting. Cindy felt the same.
It didn’t take very long for us to head up on the concourse and walk around. There are some cool bar seats up top and even grassy hills where you can just throw down a blanket and watch the game from the outfield. I could care less about the outcome of the game so I would have been totally ok in retrospect in some of the less expensive seating options. What neither of us were ok with was how cold we both felt. It just sucked most of the enjoyment out of trying to actually watch the game. We had most of our fun eating roasted nuts.
Cindy had a funny experience with some woman at one of the food stands. Cindy asked for some desert that included a honey bun with ice cream served in a souvenir Twins helmet. The woman walked back with the desert. We both looked at it oddly as it seemed to be all ice cream. Cindy asked and the woman just gave her ice cream, perhaps she didn’t hear Cindy correctly. So then oddly the woman in a sort of frustrated way asked Cindy if she wanted anything at all. Cindy said yes, the honey bun with ice cream deal that she asked for originally.
So the woman takes the ice cream filled hat and disappears around the back wall. She come back out and plops some more ice cream on top and hands it to Cindy. This was a PREMIUM desert that cost over $13, more than double what ice cream alone cost. For that money we got a little ball of cold dough in the middle. It was not money well spent, oh well. We bailed after the 7th inning and felt no guilt for doing so. We were both frozen and looked forward to a warm shower more than seeing the final outcome of the game.
On Sunday we had Miguel, the son of the guy that does yard work for my neighbor stop by with his Bobcat. He agreed to spread the fill in the yard for $200 which is less than I would have paid just to rent one myself. He also is able to obtain and lay down bahia sod for me for a reasonable number as well so I arranged for that to happen later this week. He did a great job with spreading the fill, much better than I would have since I would have no skill in doing so. The entire back of the chicken area is a good half foot higher. When combined with the sod we are hoping the days of the chickens swimming in water are behind us.
Later in the day I got out on my One Wheel in the back yard with the new Skydio drone in the air. I was testing just how good the autonomous flight and tracking really is. It was impressive as hell as you can see from the video. Now I just need to figure out places I can fly and ride without getting fined by the park ranger service.
Late Sunday afternoon I did some work modifying the bar park to be able to support a sun shade so DJ can play out there without the sun abusing his baby skin. The design needs a little fine tuning but I think it will work.
I am off till Friday for my Sister’s visit, should be 72 hours of fun!
