February 21, 2021

I finally made it out to see the sunrise once again.

IMG_2421 

Had not made it out since February 2. Just too cold! And I only need it to be feels-like 9° to be willing to do it. I've done these sunrise runs since September 2019, and — not counting when we were out of town — I'd only ever missed an occasional day, maybe 2 days once or twice. I think I've missed more days this February than in all the other time combined. 

Ah, well! I was happy to get out. 

IMG_5323

IMG_2420

68 comments:

Jupiter said...

Did you see your shadow?

David Begley said...

Looks cold.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Ann and Meade. That's cute.

DavidUW said...

Israel opening up with a vaccine QR code for certain "higher risk" activities.

That won't happen here of course, but the point is that they're about 1/2 vaccinated and ready to reopen.

The UK will be reopening by summer.

The USA will have 1/2 adults vaccinated at this pace by around mid-May.

The question is, will the rapid drop to near zero cases overthrow the teachers unions & tyrants' rule of the slave states and their leading dago dwarf fascist Fraudci?

Sebastian said...

I think I see snow. Not a thing of the past then?

WA-mom said...

The sky looks like our Seattle Seahawks logo.

Laughing Fox said...

That's one wonderful sunrise photo!

Tomcc said...

Glad you got out! It's good to do and also makes one appreciate central heating.
Looks like infrared photography; very nice.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

It is 66 deg F. in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Magic Valley Electric Co-op pulled the plug on us. Back on generator power. Maybe ERCOT told Magic Valley to send the juice up north. BIL in Austin texted they are still without running water.

Narr said...

Dawn's chilly eye.

It's warming up here quite nicely--lots of sun--but we're now on day six of The Ripening.

We can boil enough water through the day to wash dishes, and some of our important parts, but oh for a hot shower!

Narr
No clothes washing

Original Mike said...

Meade is missing a button.

mccullough said...

Nothing himself beholds nothing that is not there

Francisco D said...

It is warming up in Tucson. Morning temps are still in the 30's, but daytime temps are reaching the low 70's. Of course, it is sunny about 90% of the time.

I hated this time of year growing up in the Midwest, but I love it here in the Southwest.

Ask me in July and August how I feel about the weather.

rcocean said...

Good for you. Glad to see you're up and about.

mockturtle said...

Stellar photos, Althouse!

n.n said...

Fashionable on the lake.

Jersey Fled said...

This is odd.

I was just preparing a post about a school superintendent in NJ who forwarded her covid vaccine scheduling link to her entire staff so that they could use it to butt in line ahead of other people who were actually qualified to get the vaccine.

When I went back to get the link, bingo! It was gone.

I saw the story on my Google News feed which linked to a story at NJ.com (Newark Star Ledger). I can't find it, 10 minutes later, on either site.

I know my headwear tends towards tin foil sometimes, but WTF!

Has anyone else seen this story or find a link?

Fled.

Mark said...

school superintendent in NJ who forwarded her covid vaccine scheduling link to her entire staff so that they could use it to butt in line ahead of other people who were actually qualified to get the vaccine

Actually, education workers ARE considered to be high priority for vaccination. And most if not all jurisdictions have a separate, dedicated vaccination process for them, with special sign-up links that others do not get.

Jersey Fled said...

Mark:

Not in NJ.

Narr said...

Hooray! Came the thaw and there's no sign of leakage after turning the tankless back on; we both took short hot showers despite the conservation edict and I am monitoring the leak site.

We're still going to have the installing plumber come out and look, and as it turns out we haven't had code enforcement sign off on the job--after many months, and I'll bug them about it.

Local upmarket Sprouts out of milk and water; local midmarket Superlo out of bread and water.

Narr
Rain tonight will melt the slush

Inga said...

Looks like the smokestacks are belching out the sunrise.

walter said...

Didn't realize that snowman was so big.
I like its panhead.

Jersey Fled said...

According to the Financial Times vaccine tracker, and as of February 10th, the US had administered 60.7 million doses of the Covid vaccine, more than any other country in the world by a significant margin.

Yet President Biden claims that we had neither a vaccine nor a plan on the day he took office.

Jersey Fled said...

Correction: the 60.7 doses was as of February 20th. Fat fingers.

DavidUW said...

Well, Biden has always been a liar.

The question remains, that no "journalist" has asked from the beginning:

What case rate is low enough to open ALL schools? remove mask mandates? to open indoor dining? to allow large events?

Because the USA will be at a very low case rate by May and the petty tyrants from Fraudci to Biden to Newsom and Cuomo will be surprised at how quickly it's going to go to near zero.

If they're not careful, they'll lose even the remaining good german karens.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Is that snowman smoking weed or something? Clever move.

Original Mike said...

"Hooray! Came the thaw and there's no sign of leakage after turning the tankless back on;"

Good news!

DavidUW said...

Hey idiot Inga, ever figure out to find the most prestigious medical journal in America?

NCMoss said...

The snowman thankfully has a nose (now) and what looks like nose hair.

walter said...

Sandra Fluke in Venezuela?
It's a bad situation. But look at how many tweets put forth with no mention of abstinence or men's responsibility. It's as if pregnancy is a respiratory virus: LINK

Mutaman said...

AOC raises nearly $5 million in Texas relief efforts

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-texas-relief/

Inga said...

David UW aka The Yeller, how about you learn how to make a hyperlink or even just a working link? How hard can that be? You seem pretty bent out of shape that you couldn’t prove your assertion that the Covid vaccine keeps virus from living in the nose after successful vaccination. Nothing would be better if the vaccines prevented illness AND prevented transmission from virus in the nose. But that is YET unknown.

“Will the COVID vaccine prevent me from infecting others?

The answer is, we don't know.

Clinical trials of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines found that both do a good job preventing symptomatic COVID-19 disease, including severe COVID-19. However, the trials did not measure whether a person who is vaccinated is less likely to spread the virus to someone else.

It's possible that the vaccines protect against COVID-19 disease by preventing a person from becoming infected in the first place. However, it's also possible that the vaccine protects a person from COVID-19 illness, but does not prevent a person from becoming infected. In other words, a vaccinated person may have replicating virus in their nose and throat even if they are protected from becoming sick.

But does that mean that you have enough virus in your nose and throat to infect someone else? Not necessarily. It's possible that the immune response triggered by the vaccine, which protects you from becoming sick, also reduces the amount of virus in your nose and throat to a point where you are unlikely to spread it to someone else. But we need more research to know for sure.

The bottom line? If you're among the first groups of people to get vaccinated, it's best to continue wearing masks and maintaining physical distance in order to protect others who haven't yet gotten the vaccine.”

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-resource-center

Mutaman said...

I heard the republicans handed out water

walter said...

Mutaman said...
AOC raises nearly $5 million in Texas relief efforts
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/21/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-texas-relief/
--
She got 'em good! Awesome!
Now if she can just get those cattle ranchers to attach methane catchers to their herd.

walter said...

"It's possible that the immune response triggered by the vaccine, which protects you from becoming sick, also reduces the amount of virus in your nose and throat to a point where you are unlikely to spread it to someone else. But we need more research to know for sure."

Do we have any prior respiratory viral illness to inform us here?
Is the question based on it not being a vaccine in the traditional sense?

Inga said...

DavidUW is too thick to realize I’m on his side. I’m just not so arrogant as to say it’s a GIVEN that the vaccine prohibits transmission of the virus in successfully vaccinated people. We don’t know that YET despite DavidUW’s claims.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/02/21/why-covid-19-vaccines-could-make-us-mask-free-and-huggable/

Why COVID-19 vaccines could make us mask-free and huggable
To be safe, mask up — but emerging evidence suggests that vaccines reduce transmission

You’re vaccinated. They’re not. When visiting, is it safe to toss the tiresome mask?

Perhaps. There’s growing evidence that vaccines not only save lives, but can stop or greatly slow spread of the COVID-19 virus – portending a day when we can see each other’s faces again. But because the findings are not yet conclusive, the impact of vaccines on viral transmission remains one of the biggest issues affecting the shape of a post-pandemic world.

Still, UCSF’s infectious disease expert Dr. Monica Gandhi is so confident of the emerging clues that an upcoming family gathering – elders vaccinated, youngsters not – will be mask-free.

Does it stop transmission of the virus? Remarkably, none of the vaccine trials were set up to answer this question. The focus, instead, was on the vaccine’s ability to keep people out of ICUs and morgues.

So there’s not yet definitive proof that vaccines block infection – or whether they prevent an inoculated yet infected person from passing a secret smoldering virus to others. That’s important, because people who are “silent spreaders,” never feeling sick, fuel the pandemic.”

DavidUW said...

Hey idiot Inga, ever consider looking at the primary source rather than lying media shills?
It's right there, NEJM.ORG.
look it up

DavidUW said...

I spelled it out for you, idiot Inga.

I gave you the citation, the page number, and the table.

But you'd rather google fake media and mucosal immunity.

It's right there in the table, page 44, supplemental appendix. Feb. 4, 2021

No virus in the RT-PCR tests, collected from the naspharyngeal region as all 'Rona tests.

But somehow, you think it can be transmitted.
Because you're an idiot.

Inga said...

DavidUW, you really are a sad case. Harvard Health is a shill? UCSF’s infectious disease expert Dr. Monica Gandhi is a shill?

“Does it stop transmission of the virus? Remarkably, none of the vaccine trials were set up to answer this question.”

What is it about this that has you stymied?

Inga said...

Keep making the claim DavidUW, but it’s not in the trail data no matter how much you claim it is.

“However, the trials did not measure whether a person who is vaccinated is less likely to spread the virus to someone else.”

DavidUW said...

Inga,
Harvard health and the others you "cite" are taking a very "sciencey" weaselly way out by saying that, yes, it's true the trial was not designed to answer specifically the question of transmission.

I'm giving you the fucking fact you moron.

Virus was not detected in the the vaccinated people.

You cannot transmit NON-EXISTENT virus you fucking moron.

You can't reason.
This is a simple reasoning exercise.
But you're a moron who thinks Q is real, so why bother.

DavidUW said...

Inga

I'll just say this, and I usually don't bring it up with fucktards like you

I got my undergrad in biochemistry at the UW. With honors.
I got my PhD in molecular and cell biology at the UC-Berkeley working with a woman who is likely to be a Nobel Laureate in the near future.

You are a fucking moron.

walter said...

"Does it stop transmission of the virus? Remarkably, none of the vaccine trials were set up to answer this question"

Perhaps because...

Inga said...

“In fact, most vaccines don't fully protect against infection, even if they can block symptoms from appearing. As a result, vaccinated people can unknowingly carry and spread pathogens. Occasionally, they can even start epidemics.

"Effective" or "sterilising" immunity

There are two main types of immunity you can achieve with vaccines. One is so-called "effective" immunity, which can prevent a pathogen from causing serious disease, but can't stop it from entering the body or making more copies of itself. The other is "sterilising immunity", which can thwart infections entirely, and even prevent asymptomatic cases. The latter is the aspiration of all vaccine research, but surprisingly rarely achieved.

What type of immunity do the Covid-19 vaccines provide?

"In a nutshell we don't know, because they’re too new," says Neal.

So far, the available Covid-19 vaccines have not been judged primarily on their ability to prevent transmission – though this is now being evaluated as a secondary endpoint for many of them. Instead, their efficacy was assessed by whether they could prevent symptoms from developing. "This means that we set our targets kind of pragmatically," says Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London.”

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210203-why-vaccinated-people-may-still-be-able-to-spread-covid-19

Inga said...

“I got my undergrad in biochemistry at the UW. With honors.
I got my PhD in molecular and cell biology at the UC-Berkeley working with a woman who is likely to be a Nobel Laureate in the near future.”

Yet you seem to have failed Covid mucosal immunity 101. I’m not impressed with your credentials, anyone can be a dog on the internet.

DavidUW said...

As a result, vaccinated people can unknowingly carry and spread pathogens. Occasionally, they can even start epidemics.
>>
Bullshit.
"Occasionally" yeah. once a century or whatever you'll pull up that ancient reference of 1 guy spreading mumps and 1 guy spreading measles after vaccination.

There's a reason we don't wear masks and worry about measles and mumps after our MMR shots.

>>
"In a nutshell we don't know, because they’re too new," says Neal.
>>
Science weasel bullshit. CYA.

We know.
We looked for virus in the patients as that would define a "failure"
The detection was in the same area that would REQUIRE virus to be present to be infectious.
With no virus, no transmission.

>>
So far, the available Covid-19 vaccines have not been judged primarily on their ability to prevent transmission – though this is now being evaluated as a secondary endpoint for many of them.
>>
False.
He didn't read the paper.
You might be surprised at how prevalent this is.

Read the paper.
It's there on page 44 in the supplementary appendix.

No virus by RT-PCR.
No virus.
No transmission


you are a fucking moron.

DavidUW said...

You can google mucosal immunity but not nejm.org.

I'm comfortable in my assessment of your idiocy.

walter said...

Starting to think the Fauci action figure will need updating to include "kung flu grip".

Inga said...

Look DavidUW Mr.Yeller, this is how one makes a link and adds a copy and paste. It would be wonderful if you were 100% correct, but it’s too soon to know for sure. Things look promising BUT you are still wrong to claim that it’s been PROVEN that a symptomatic transmission cannot happen in a successfully vaccinated person. As I said yesterday and the day before, it looks like the vaccine MAY prevent the virus from colonizing in the nose and being spread to others, BUT it’s too soon to know for sure yet.

https://www.nejm.org/covid-vaccine?query=ppc&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=c19jan&gclid=Cj0KCQiApsiBBhCKARIsAN8o_4hH7_w_At2lNSxbNAWHGMjk3Ys4NW8h9zEUsAnHlVy94R8cQVj9-i4aArkIEALw_wcB

“Do the vaccines prevent transmission of the virus to others?
Many commentaries on the results of the vaccine clinical trials cite a lack of information on asymptomatic infection as a limitation in our knowledge about the vaccines’ effectiveness. Indeed, this is a theoretical concern, since up to 40% of people who get infected with SARS-CoV-2 have no symptoms but may still transmit the virus to others.

So, until we know whether the vaccines protect against asymptomatic infection, we should continue to emphasize to our patients that vaccination does not allow us to stop other important measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We need to continue social distancing, masking, avoiding crowded indoor settings, and regular hand washing.

There are several good reasons to be optimistic about the vaccines’ effect on disease transmission. First, in the Moderna trial. opens in new tab, participants underwent nasopharyngeal swab PCR testing at baseline and again at week 4, when they returned for their second dose. Among those who were negative at baseline and without symptoms, 39 (0.3%) in the placebo group and 15 (0.1%) in the mRNA-1273 group had nasopharyngeal swabs that were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR at week 4. These data suggest that even after one dose, the vaccine has a protective effect in preventing asymptomatic infection. Among those who do get infection after vaccination, furthermore, it appears that viral loads are lower than in infected people who have not been immunized. opens in new tab.

Second, findings from population-based studies now suggest that people without symptoms are less likely to transmit the virus to others. Third, many vaccines in wide use powerfully protect against both disease and transmission, so much so that infection control is one of the main motivators behind some vaccine policies. opens in new tab.

Since originally posting these comments, some of my colleagues have reminded me that certain vaccines allow asymptomatic colonization and no doubt this will sometimes be true about the Covid-19 vaccines. Plus, the protective effect will never be 100%, which is why while case numbers are still high, we still recommend the use of social distancing and masking in public. These caveats notwithstanding, the likelihood that these vaccines will reduce the capacity to transmit the virus to others remains excellent. (Last reviewed/updated on 10 Feb 2021)”

DavidUW said...

The actual numbers are better than that.
That just looks at the first dose.

I'm amazed you figured out how to find something in the most prestigious journal in American medicine. (that I provided a copy and paste link just like that, but you're a fucking moron).

Now go to the supplemental appendix, page 44 and behold the difference between "symptomatic infection OR RT-PCR"

there's nearly a 90% reduction.

The rest of that bullshit is scientific/medical ass covering.

You need to mask about as much as you need to mask after your MMR shot, which is to say you don't.



DavidUW said...

Now, Inga I understand because you're a fucking idiot you look to Fraudci and what you think are your intellectual betters (and there are many) for your marching orders.

I'm giving you a single line on a single table to make it as simple as possible for you, to equip you to try to think on your own. A single line.

Now I understand that's even beyond your ken.

You are truly a fucking idiot.
Follow your betters, who might have a room temperature IQ, like the trained seal you are.

Bark about Q
Bark about mucosal immunity.
keep barking you moron.


Inga said...

Hey Yeller, didn’t you say that if Biden won you would leave the country? Why yes, you did. Why are you still here? You hate the Italians, you hate the Irish, what other nationalities do you hate? From your rantings the last several weeks, whatever brains you may have had are being scrambled by your strange and aggressive behavior.

DavidUW said...

Hey Inga.
As I've posted multiple times I'm leaving the country after I get my second shot.
I just got it last week

Late last year, I purchased my second citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis.

As I posted, that's going to be my primary residence after I wrap up my move in progress.

Fuck you moron.

Inga said...

“Hey Inga.
As I've posted multiple times I'm leaving the country after I get my second shot.
I just got it last week.”

Yay! Good riddance.

DavidUW said...

Since I own multiple rental properties in Madison, I should probably vote absentee from there

Bark, you fucking idiot, bark.

Inga said...

How funny.

“Are the restaurants and bars open in Saint Kitts and Nevis?

Restaurants in Saint Kitts and Nevis are open, under social distancing requirements.

Are businesses and attractions open in Saint Kitts and Nevis?

Non-essential businesses and attractions are re-opening, under social distancing requirements.

Do I need to wear a face mask in Saint Kitts and Nevis?

Wearing face masks is required in all public places.”

DavidUW said...

How funny.
>>
Did I say they didn't have masking requirements there?

Bark, seal, bark.

You seem to remember much from my posts.

Did I post about that?

Bark seal, bark.

Fucking idiot.

Inga said...

So Yeller, explain to the people here why you hate Italians and Irish? What have you got against them?

DavidUW said...

Hey Inga you dumbfuck

after you find the table, in the supplementary appendix on page 44 of the paper detailing the Phase 3 trial of the Moderna rona vaccine and read the line that I have given you, I'll consider responding to your questions.

Bark seal
Bark
fucking idiot.

FullMoon said...

DavidUW said...

Hey Inga.
As I've posted multiple times I'm leaving the country after I get my second shot.
I just got it last week

Late last year, I purchased my second citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis.

As I posted, that's going to be my primary residence after I wrap up my move in progress.


Doesn't mean you will stop commenting, hopefully.

Inga said...

Hey Yeller,
What’s wrong with Italians and Irish? Did some little Irish guy kick your ass in high school? Did some Italian cuckold you?

FullMoon said...

Ya killed her. She off into diversionary. Lol.

DavidUW said...

Hey idiot inga,
Now you're sounding like some other poster except you switched the dago for the mick.
Sorry I never looked your way, but as I've also posted repeatedly, white women are the worst.

Keep barking, seal, keep on barking.

Fucking idiot.

DavidUW said...

Full moon--the innerwebs are everywhere.
I'm going to be fully retired at the ripe old age of 45 here, so well, I'll be posting as much as I please. Heh. Until the world opens up for a bit more travel as that's my goal for retirement, to see the world etc.

Well, I'll be starting up a new biz or three also.

Unknown said...

Camped out in the Arizona desert for 6 months during the winter. Nighttime temps in the 30s. Day time, 70s.

Worked nights, drove to the desert to sleep during the day. Just got tired of paying rent. Swung by the Holiday Inn on Grand Ave at 5am, after I dropped my cab off, to fill cooler with their ice. Bought a newspaper. Stole the ice. In my defense, when it rained, I always stayed at the Holiday Inn. Didn't use the ice when I stayed there, so... seemed a fair trade to me.

I quickly learned that flys came out at 10AM. Desert flies, Black flies. I had to go get mosquito netting in a box shape to fit the rig I had.

I discovered we live in a world where you can get mosquito netting in a box shape! We can get anything, because those who became before us created the market.

Man, I just need to pause here, because we have a culture that creates...Everything. If you need it, and it doesn't exist...somebody's gonna create it.

Anyway...in the afternoon, when I woke up...I sat in my lawn chair, with the Arizona Republic Newspaper, looking out at a field of Saguaro Cacti, white clouds playing their way across a blue sky. Hours.

The immensity of it. (The Coyotes and Scorpions only came out at night.)

The Glory of it.

FullMoon said...

DavidUW said...

Full moon--the innerwebs are everywhere.


Well, make time for Inga, she seems to enjoy the spankings.

Mr. Forward said...

David UW
Can I have your snow shovel?

DavidUW said...

Sorry, Mr. Forward, while I grew up in Milwaukee and went to UW-Madison, since I moved to the Bay Area 24 years ago, I got rid of the snow shovel about 24 years ago.

But I'll keep the rentals in Madison.
Nice yields ya got there. Property taxes suck tho.