Day #319 - The Blizzard..or rather Nor-Easter.

It's not doing anything now, however. We appear to have a lull. Unclear if it has stopped.

One of the bonuses of working for a major transportation agency, is I get about twenty emails on the winter storm.

Email #1 : Winter Storm Warning - State of Emergency. All non-essential business and work halted and should stay home. Police, Fire and transportation workers are included in that and should come into work unless otherwise notified.

ME: I think you meant excluded? Or Are Not included? But okay. Someone didn't edit their email - which they sent out twice.

Email #2 : Everyone who doesn't need to go to construction site - stay home and work remotely. Repeat, stay home and work remotely.

Email #3: If you don't need to be here, and can work from home, do so.

Email #4: There's no vaccines today. Stay home.

Email #5: The subways are closing at 2, the trains will stop around 2:30-3:30, but buses are still operational.

Email #6 : Repeat, anyone who doesn't have to come in - stay home. We know you are essential, but if you can work from home remotely - please do so.

Plus side, less idiots gallivanting about for no good reason.

I got each of those emails in triplicate. And to all three email sites. Plus I got the alerts that schools were closed, testing was closed, vaccines were closed, and transit was shutting down. On the news they stated that some people didn't get the message and I thought - are you on a total news blockage or something? How is that even possible?



I've no idea how much snow I got. Right now, folks are saying anywhere between 9-15 inches fell. We're getting about 2-4 more inches more, plus potentially more snow tomorrow. It's a nor'easter they hang about until they get tired or bored. But the worst is over, so not much more expected. (Apparently the last one was in 2016 - which was when they shut down the city and I couldn't get home, there were bad ones after that - but with varying results.)

I installed my new printer today - for phone and computer. So if I have to, I can print stuff off. I got it because I may need to print off any appointment notices I get for the vaccine. I also may need to forward to my own email account - because my crazy org's administrator won't let me use the home printer in connection to Teams and One Drive.

Its an HP Tango, wireless, easy to transport, and has an inkjet delivery service. Does up to 300 pages, I only need 150. I'm not doing that much printing.

The Governor vs. the News Media

Lately the news media has decided it doesn't like our erstwhile Governor all that much and has gone on the attack. The only one that I'm kind of paying attention to - because it's disconcerting, and also classic Cuomo, is his decision to take over the vaccine effort from the public health system and authorities, and do it himself through the hospitals. That was a major mistake. He doesn't trust his own health officials, apparently.

The reporters are worried.

The other one - I'm kind of skeptical about regarding the reporters - the first is their claim that Cuomo didn't care about the people who died in the nursing homes. He did. And that was complicated. I watched those briefings, and read about it, blaming him - shifts the focus from the people managing and running the nursing homes.

The reporting on the nursing homes has been less than clear.

Cuomo has always been a touch problematic - he has a huge ego, is a touch on the arrogant side, very competitive, and a control freak. Also he thinks he needs to fix things - that don't need fixing. He's created a mess at crazy company - to the point that people in crazy company want to kick him. OTOH - he was very useful in the early days of the pandemic and did manage to push various things forward. If this had been a short term deal - it would have been fine, but it wasn't. And the cracks are beginning to show.

( NY Times Breifing )

I don't know what to think. It's hard to know who to trust any more. Which is problematic in of itself these days.

They are also trying to fight vaccine fraud, from the Governor's newsletter:
( Read more... )

It was snowing again for a bit, but now not so much. Below is an earlier pic of the storm. I tried to take a photo of the cardinals that were flying around the back yard, but, alas, they are photo shy.



Alas, Burma now Myanmar ended up with a military coup, and has been returned to military rule - because they've decided there was voter fraud in the November elections. (Remind you of anything? It should considering the US President and various members of the Republican Party attempted the same thing - the difference is our military doesn't want an authoritarian/dictatorship ruled by the military. They've spent too many years fighting other countries who did that. It would be a tad hypocritical to do it themselves. Good to know our military isn't run by power-mad hypocrites, isn't it?)

( it does however explain the discussions on Burma in the White House Press Briefing )

For the first time in four or five years, I'm watching White House briefings again.

And..sigh, the weather service is calling this a lowly "Nor-Easter" not a blizzard. What's the difference? I don't know. Just that Nor-Easter's tend to circle around and around until they finally get bored or run out of steam and move on.

Other news..

*For this spaceflight, you don’t need a $55 million ticket.

Last week, we got word that three private citizens will each pay that price for an eight-day trip to the International Space Station as soon as next year.
( Jared Isaacbman is raffling off seats on SpaceX flights to billionaires, and kids from St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital )

[Anyone else feel like they are trapped in a Philip K Dick science fiction novel and can't get out?]

*And Tony Bennett, the 94-year-old singer whose popularity saw a resurgence over the past decade, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. His symptoms first appeared in 2015.

“Life is a gift — even with Alzheimer’s,” Bennett tweeted this morning.

I don't know. They also conducted a study and apparently a writing test can help them determine if people will get get Alzheimers.
I remain skeptical. Why? The brain is unique to everyone. And there are other reasons someone may not respond well to that writing test.

Alzheimers affects everyone differently. And no one has the same life. My father has a form that is physically debilitating that is making his quality of life increasingly difficult. Also he hallucinates. Not everyone with Alzheimers does. My father's is more of a form of dementia.

I've seen three different forms or types of dementia/senility to date.
My grandfather, my grandmother, and now my father. None were the same. Nor did any of them have the same cause or effect the people the same way.

Neurology - I've discovered over time is an inexact science. With lots of variables.

And in regards to Alzheimers? Everyone thinks they are an expert. They aren't. And they want to give us advice, it's often wrong. You can't generalize about it. I'm learning to just listen to my mother, and ask how can I help.

Family

Mother: I've decided to cancel the evening home health care aid.
ME: Oh? Why? Don't you need them?
( apparently the home health care aide feel asleep on the job, it happens )

Good night.