Doug's Darkworld

“Constant incredulity is the only non-contrived response to life.” My ex-wife said that decades ago, she was wise beyond her years. Not surprised she divorced my sorry ass, I wasn’t much of a husband. These days, my incredulity is in danger of burning out. Today’s theory is that huge numbers of Americans are so out of touch with reality that they wouldn’t recognize it if it hit them in the face. Though certainly hearing stories of people coming around as they are sick or dying of Covid-19. Covid-19 is actually a real thing, go figure.

In that vein, looking like a lot of otherwise OK Covid-19 survivors have damaged hearts. I’m sure plenty will dismiss this as “fake news.” Decades of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk have turned a lot of brains to mush. I’m getting less inclined to be diplomatic as this insanity continues. We have a president praising a “doctor” who’s about as much of a quack as it’s possible to be (see previous  post,) so it’s no wonder so many of Trump’s remaining supporters keep thinking (if thinking is the operative word here) that actual science is some sort of plot to embarrass Trump. OK then.

Continuing in this vein, a new study indicates that Covid-19 aerosols remain infectious in the air for up to 16 hours. IE the droplets expelled by infectious people from simply breathing. This is apparently unusual, most viruses start breaking down much sooner. Although not surprising in that the evidence is very much pointing at Covid-19 being mostly spread by being in a room with a Covid-19 infected person. We knew really early on Covid-19 was a freakishly contagious disease, now we’re starting to understand why. Now if science could only  figure out why stupidity is so contagious.

I saw this article, not exactly sure how to take it. Claiming that Jared Kushner’s coronavirus task force decided no national response to Covid-19 was needed, because it was primarily a Blue State problem. It’s certainly believable, the GOP has politicized Covid-19 from the very beginning. That’s not really debatable, they turned wearing masks into a freaking political issue for Christ’s sake, which is so stupid as to beggar belief. These are the people who turned married couples’ genitals into a political issue though. In any event, the reason why no national response to Covid-19 has been launched doesn’t freaking matter. It’s stupid beyond belief no matter what the reason, as dumb as Roosevelt saying “Well, Hawaii can handle the Japanese, the attack on Pearl Harbor isn’t really a national problem.” As my friend Jonny recently said “We’re just so screwed man it’s sad.” Three months to go.

Anyhow, weekend coming up, here’s a few non Covid-19 links I found of interest. Scientists won an Ig Nobel Prize for a study about whether cats should be classified as liquids or solids. From Wikipedia: “The Ig Nobel Prize is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research, its stated aim being to “honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think.” The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize, which it parodies, and the word ignoble.” Being an ailurophile, I got a big kick out of it: Are cats liquid or solid?

Well, Japanese scientists did a study that required them to paint zebra stripes on cows. Science is often fun, what can I say. I mean, getting paid to paint zebra stripes on cows, how cool is that? The idea being that maybe zebra stripes protect against fly bites. Looks like a good study, looks like the stripes really did reduce fly bites. They aren’t sure why, they conjecture it somehow confuses the flies’ visual perception. I’m a little puzzled, if it was so effective wouldn’t more animals have evolved zebra stripes? And I always thought the purpose of zebra stripes was dazzle camouflage, IE it made it harder for a predator to single out a single zebra in the herd? Fun stuff though, if one starts seeing zebra striped cows, this is why.

Lastly, I Dream of Jeannie. My older readers will recognize that, a classic sitcom from the sixties. 1965 to 1970 I believe. A different world then. Especially television, there were only three networks, and it was much easier for shows to achieve cultural icon status. I was just a kid, wasn’t one of my faves, I was into science fiction even then. I was one of the kids who thought “Lost in Space” was much better than “Batman.” That was the big schoolyard debate then, simpler times. Less nuanced times? The lost country, as I’ve mentioned before. Anyhow, stumbled on this article analyzing the show from a sociological perspective: Jeannie’s American DreamThe Assimilation of a TV Icon. I thought it was a fascinating thought provoking read, I hope my readers enjoy it.

Stay safe and stay sane this weekend gentle readers. I will continue to blog daily as long as I am able. Judging from my doctor visit today, that might be more limited than I had hoped. No one lives forever. #StaytheFHome #WearaDamnMask

Copyright © 2020 Doug Stych. All rights reserved.

(Random image publicly posted on Facebook of unknown genesis, used without permission. Claimed as Fair Use under US copyright law.)