Routine Revelations

Mother Earth is providing glorious weather in Michigan to start the month of August.

The good news is that the vaccines have definitely decreased the rate of death due to COVID in the United States. The bad news is that the Delta variant is more contagious.

We need to change the focus on COVID from death rates to other measures that show the impact of the continuing spread. COVID still can have significant impacts even when ti doesn’t kill you, and we need to put the focus on that. Too many still think COVID is nothing more than a cold, or at worst case the flu.

I’ve observed this before and I will write it again, the trend of COVID cases in my county right now looks nearly identical to the trend last year at this time. We have the vaccine right now but we also are outdoors more. My expectation is that due to the Delta variant and the vaccination rate, the trend will look nearly the same for the rest of the year.

And here is what to worry about… what will the variant after Delta be like?

The attempted insurrection on the United States on January 6, 2021 was predicted on this date last year.

The last time I bought a notebook PC was three years ago. Microsoft’s Windows 11 announcement has me thinking about my next notebook. I want one that can run Windows 11. I’ve also been attracted to the new M1 Macbooks but right now it doesn’t look like they will run Win 11, even virtualized.

As I drove home yesterday I drove past Groves High School where I saw signs of support for Annie Lazor, 2020 Olympian competing in the 200-meter breaststroke in Tokyo.

Dave has a feature on Scripting News that he calls tagging, which is basically a reference to all the writing on his site that includes that tag. It’s a similar concept to how Roam, Logseq, and Obsidian use what I call wiki links that not only link to an internal page but also show all places where that page is referenced.

The problem for me is that Dave is using an editing construct in a published form. In my opinion in a published HTML page, a hyperlink is a hyperlink is a hyperlink. Wiki does have the concept of providing an indicator to show a hyperlink is to an external site.

The problem is I find these additional “indicators' intrusive to reading the page. The underline commonly associated to hyperlinks on web pages is the least intrusive to my reading content.

If it were me, I would keep the appearance of the linsk the same in the HTML, but I would open external links to a new browser tab or page while keeping internal links on the page one is in, if it is even important to the reader to understand the difference between an internal and external link.

According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%), and Jews (1.1%). source

How much does the amount of wealth that Christians influence how they practice their beliefs and faith?

These changes made to Waze sound really useful if I were still commuting to work. I am surprised that Google has kept Waze a separate product.

If you are a wealthy man and found yourself in a group of wealthy men with the opportunity to found a new country, would you model that new country on a monarchy like England that imposes a hierarchy on the wealthy class or create something that looks democracy that imposes no hierarchy and leaves your wealth and your status alone?

Don’t kid yourself, class was very much a part of the founding of the United States. Washington, Jefferson and the rest did not live in shacks. The three fifths compromise, the electoral college, and the original “election/selection” of Senators are all parts of the U.S. Constitution that institutionalized class.

When is the last time that you changed your mind about something?

Finished reading: Hoping Against Hope: Confessions of a Postmodern Pilgrim by John D. Caputo 📚

Rather than a Platonic, matter and spirit (body and soul) metaphysics, Caputo says the distinction is between two types of time. Conditional time, or time spent doing this to achieve/obtain that, and unconditional time, times when something comes over us that is savored for itself. As metaphor, Caputo uses the rose, which is without why, it blossoms because it blossoms, it cares not for itself and not if it’s seen.

I can’t help but feel that the days are numbered for the Great Lakes Invitational hockey tournament with the announcement that the 56th GLI will be showcase at Yost and Munn. Attendance at the games has not been great for several years and the Pistons move to Little Caesar’s arena has made it difficult to schedule games. I hope that I am wrong.