COVID - SB Hopper

Well hello there

Excuse me for a moment while I dust off the cobwebs! This feels unnervingly strange. I know I've been gone for a while, but in the big scheme of things, it hasn't been that long. It feels like I'm having to re-learn the internet

Blog

A little catch up

I'm striking out on getting a COVID booster. A perfect storm of demand, staffing shortages, and glitchy websites. I've spent a lot of time walking to local pharmacies. It's not pleasant. The pharmacy workers across the board seem exhausted and stressed. I missed my

Photography

The Essentials

COVID

That's a relief

COVID

Some COVID observations

COVID

Well that sucks

Climate Change

Here comes the sickly sun

I couldn't sleep. Ohh, there's a lame joke there. Too hot. I should have invested in a bigger fan. I commiserated with friends yesterday about the heat and smoky (I think it should be smokey) skies. They all mentioned some variation of new normal. I don&

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What goes up...

Quick post. If you've had more than enough of COVID, just skip this one. I'm fascinated by the very consistent rises and falls of this lousy virus. During every surge, just as people are warning that things are going off the rails, the case numbers fall.

Blog

My mask is back and there's gonna be trouble

Sing along. My mask's back and you're gonna be in trouble (Hey-la-day-la my mask's back) Gaps, always the gaps. Or oops I did it again. I'm still trying to figure out how to be a journal writer and a blog writer. I

On the Streets

How do you know a pandemic is ending?

Salivating neocons can gratefully and unabashedly return to the (very distant) sidelines and cheer on the slaughter of Palestinians. Our tax dollars at work. There's probably a box somewhere on our tax forms that would allow us to waive our refunds to help send more bombs and ammunition

Blog

Humility

Practice what you preach. If today's Worldometers numbers [https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us] are correct, something weird just happened in Washington. I give up trying to make heads or tails of it. (Update at end.) Sorry, I didn't grab the column headers. +2,177

Blog

Keep it up, Washington

When facing down a pandemic caused by a frightening virus, humility is key, especially when you're a blogger without any trace of scientific or medical background. But we're all allowed to discuss the pandemic, right? I think things are looking up in Washington. According to Bloomberg

Blog

Quick Check in

Hello! Sorry for the absence. That second Pfizer shot knocked me on my keister and off rhythm. I got the shot early, at about 1000. At about 2200 I started feeling off. By 2300 I felt like I'd been hit by a freight train. I was pretty much

Blog

It's that time...

A few friends of mine and I have an ongoing text thread where we discuss anything and everything. Understandably, the topics have been heavy on the pandemic, COVID numbers, and vaccines. One of the guys on the thread works for one of the vaccine makers, so 3 parts know-nothing amateurs

Lensatic Essays

The Cosmos Giveth...the Cosmos Taketh Away...

No buried ledes tonight. I got my first Pfizer vaxx today. I'm relieved and grateful. I understand vaccine hesitancy, and I think we could all use an added dose of empathy and humility when it comes to people's decisions about the vaccines one way or another.

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Tufekci's look at what we knew when in COVID fight

How's your COVID bandwidth? Zeynep Tufekci has an amazing e [https://zeynep.substack.com/p/the-gaslighting-of-science?r=8r0u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy] ssay examining the early timeline of our COVID knowledge. Hmm, poorly worded. I've had too much

Photojournalism

Photojournalism: Lindsey Wasson does it again

Photojournalist Lindsey Wasson took an awesome photo of a reunion. > Yoshia Uomoto, 98, reacts as her son and niece surprise her with their first in-person visit in a year after visitation restrictions were lifted at Nikkei Manor, an assisted living facility primarily serving Japanese-American seniors, in Seattle.⁠⁠ ⁠ 📸 Lindsey Wasson/

Blog

Consuming Journalism: Rising numbers...why?

I know I said I was done with Consuming Journalism. I've never claimed to not not be an unreliable narrator (untangle that...and then let me know what it means, because I'm not sure). I am very much interested in how we consume and interpret journalism,

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Shoulda been a tweet: Vaxx ethics

Ashley Fetters has an interesting article in the Washington Post about how the vaccines are testing friendships in cases where one of the friends may have lied to get the vaccine.

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The Friedman Unit

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Governor Inslee, please expand vaccinations to restaurant workers

I'm not an expert (on anything), but it sure seems like Washington state has done a lot more right than it has wrong in the pandemic. It's not perfect, though. Governor Inslee, please add restaurant workers to the list of people eligible for vaccinations. The restaurant

Out of the Shoebox

Out of the Shoebox: Defiance

Long walk today. Long for me, at least. Out of shape. Down the Hill to Pike Place Market. Braved some of the interior corridors, but the words variants and mutations hung over my head. Best to get back outside. Walked up to Belltown. Lots of places closed. I wonder what

PR 101

Public Relations 101: Optics

I'm not in public relations. I'm going out on a limb and claiming that, even as a complete amateur, I could help some organizations avoid pitfalls. I know I could have helped Overlake Medical Center [https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/27/us/washington-overlake-medical-center-apology-vip-list/index.html]

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Shoulda been a tweet: Seattle Times FYI Guy on COVID numbers

Interesting article in the Seattle Times by Gene Balk [https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/positive-coronavirus-tests-surge-across-king-county-seattle-hits-10-rate/] . It's a pretty detailed look at Seattle's infection rates from mid-November using King County's Health Reporting Areas. The numbers aren't good anywhere. It will be interesting

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Shoulda been a tweet: Light at the end of the tunnel

If you're reading this, you've probably made a typo or a wrong turn in Google. But welcome. I hope you're well, all things considered. You're no doubt very curious about where you've landed. Just an obscure blog out of Seattle.