“AirPods!”

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Steve Mays

During the early days of the pandemic, as more and more people began showing up on TV via Zoom et al, I would shout out to Barb, “AIRPODS!” That quickly became annoying so I would whisper, “AirPods.” Now I just mouth the words.

I have mine in so frequently I’ve stopped noticing them (they fit my ears perfectly). Arguments about audio quality aside, they have changed my perception of music. It seems to be coming from inside my head, rather than through my ears.

Apple Music playlists (piano solos and cello solos) have become the the background for my awareness, making me noticeably more relaxed and peaceful.

Updating my contacts

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Steve Mays

From the How to Know You Are Old file: 13 of my 139 contacts have been vaccinated. Some will surely disagree but this seems like an important data point.

I put it in the kitchen drawer

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Steve Mays

Barb is of the put-everything-in-one drawer school of organization. Periodically (once a year?) she reboots. Today was the day.

“We die like real men”

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Steve Mays

Not sure where this was taken, or by whom, but it seems… timely. PS: no airbags in my old pickup or the Land Rover.

Vaccinated

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Steve Mays

I got my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) this afternoon. This was a lot sooner than I expected since Missouri is dead last in the nation in the percentage of citizens vaccinated. I was thinking April, maybe.

Our doctors are affiliated with the University of Missouri Hospitals in nearby Columbia so we signed up to their program. On Monday of this week they began online scheduling and –being over 65– I was able to get an appointment.

MU is using Faurot Field as their vaccination site. Not the stadium but what looked to me like the VIP area where the Big Shots watch the games. It was all very well organized and I was in an out in no time. I’m sure it will get more hectic when they start mass vaccinations.

I’ve thought a good deal about vaccinations in recent months. I get a flu shot every year and I’ve been vaccinated for pneumonia and shingles. As a child in the ’50s I was vaccinated against polio and smallpox and all of the other childhood diseases. But at my age (73 next month), COVID-19 could be a death sentence. Worse than death in my opinion. So getting this vaccine had a very real life-or-death feel to it.

If we can believe the CDC (and I do now), the Pfizer vaccine might be 95% effective. While there seems to be lots of questions about just what that means, there’s a good chance it will keep me out of the hospital and off a ventilator.

I go back for the booster shot in 21 days. According to the studies, some immunity starts 10 to 14 days after the first dose, but full immunity appears seven to 14 days after the second. Full immunity. Has a nice ring to it. But you won’t see me out and about without a mask for at least the next six months. We’ll avoid being indoors and still order our groceries online. Not much will change. But we (Barb got her first shot last week) will have some immunity. What a beautiful word. It feels like a super power.

Yes, there will be mutations of the virus and the scientists will be scrambling for years, doing their best to come up with new and more effective vaccines. My secret hope is this process will lead to vaccines for the common cold and other more serious diseases.

PS: Wore my favorite T-shirt (by Dylan Sisson) because you can’t see my shit-eating grin behind the mask.

Snow Joe

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Steve Mays

Got a chance to try out the Snow Joe Cordless Snow Blower this morning. One of our many “pandemic purchases.” Don’t think it could handle a really heavy snow but we don’t get that many of those. And it was much easier to handle than one of those Wisconsin he-man monsters. I wound up using the shovel but in a couple of years…?

Missouri is last in vaccinations

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Steve Mays

“That’s what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting as it tracks vaccinations for COVID-19 state by state. The entire nation is behind pace, due in part to the failures of the previous presidential administration to take virtually anything related to the coronavirus pandemic seriously. But Missouri, as of Sunday, is last, with just 3.6% of its population having received the first shot of the life-saving vaccine.”

“Unfortunately, being last in public health is nothing new in Missouri. It’s been that way for a long time. The average state spends $33.50 per person for various public health measures. Missouri, dead last in the nation, spends $6 per person, according to the Missouri Foundation for Health.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch