Category Archives: COVID19

04/18/20

The Doolittle Raid and COVID19

On 18 April 1942 — today is 18 April, y’all — sixteen B-25B Mitchell bomber aircraft flew off the deck of the USS Hornet and conducted a bombing raid on Tokyo. The raid was militarily insignificant, but it sent a message to the Japanese. America was in the fight — four months after Pearl Harbor — and intended to take the fight to their capital.

My father told me it was an enormous boost to American morale. He was in the Army and the Army was getting ready to go to war in North Africa on 8 November 1942 with the Operation Torch landings.

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04/16/20

Moving Home

We are approaching 15% unemployment in the country, maybe 20% on the horizon before the economy gets lit again. Call it the Temporary COVID19 Unemployment Wave. 

Not going to last forever. There are therapeutics on the horizon, a vaccine. Life will return, but there will be some lean days until it does.

You may have to relocate to find a new job? Start thinking about that now.

Austin postcard

It is, unfortunately, real. If you are one of those who is without a job, take a second, take a deep breath, and, then, whisper — “Hey, maybe I need to move home.”

No, I don’t mean you should move in with the parental units. No, I mean it is time for you to make a decision, chart a new course, to pick the spot where life is waiting for you, and you are going to thrive.

Flick a booger in the COVID19 eyes and get yours. It is time to move home, y’all.

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04/14/20

The Post COVID19 World Will Be Different?

I have been mulling the post COVID19 world as this matter continues to evolve. I have been reading a lot of others’ opinions, many of whom I respect and several of whom I despise — but one has to build a base of knowledge, right?

So, here are some thoughts.

This COVID19 Thing Will End

Just to be clear, there will be an end to this COVID19 affliction. Yes, there will.

There will be ingrained better hygiene practices (says the chap on his 16,393rd hand washing since 1 Mar 2020), some therapeutics, and a vaccine.

There will be multiple vaccines and the whole vaccine thing will be integrated with the flu vaccine of which 170MM Americans got the needle this flu season. [I got mine at Costco from a guy who had been to school to learn how to do it. Free.]

COVID19 will become like polio — something we figured out, but which was very dangerous. Dr Jonas Salk, University of Pittsburg, talking to you, amigo.

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04/12/20

From Whence Comes the COVID19 Vaccine?

Happy Easter, world. He has risen.

In much the same way that Christ came to life on Easter, there are those who are working hard to develop a vaccine for COVID19 to preserve our lives.

We hear about this, but I never get the details. So, I researched several promising efforts and want to share one with you.

Remember this name: INOVIO PHARMACEUTICALS.

Inovio

On 3 March 2020, the President and CEO of Inovio, Dr. J Joseph Kim shared his company’s plans to develop a vaccine (INO-4800) for the treatment of COVID 19. He called it an “accelerated plan.”

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04/3/20

Paycheck Protection Program Interim Report Card — A+++

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said he would get money to eligible persons as soon as possible.

“My name is Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and I have money for YOU! Come on down, amigos. Get some. Get yours. Let’s get busy.”

But, of course, he’s the “government” and — yawn — who believes the GOVERNMENT?

First day report:

Loans made — 1,926 (as of today at 11:00 AM EST)

Funds disbursed — $756,985,761

Participating lenders — 245 banks

This element of the rescue is dealing with Main Street not Wall Street and your Big Red Car has to say: “Well played, Federal Government. Well played, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin. Well played indeed!”

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04/3/20

Fifty Fights — COVID19 War

The United States is a big country with fifty states. These individual states are the distinct battlegrounds in which the COVID19 War is being waged.

Some areas — the NY-NJ-Conn Tri-State Area — are linked at the hip, but the rest of the country is seeing a series of individual fights that may have different regional outcomes based on the elemental nature of their population density — urban/dense and rural/sparse — and the way the fight is undertaken.

There is good news and bad news:

 1. The good news — individual states, cities, counties will rise to the occasion and, through superior execution, conduct an effective campaign and bear a lighter burden.

 2. The bad news — the individual states, cities, counties who do well will become domestic immigration targets. People will start moving from high risk areas to these lower risk areas, thereby importing — potentially — the COVID19.

The phenomenon of the Manhattan Beautiful Persons moving out to their Hamptons homes is a real thing and will overwhelm the small hospitals thereat.

In addition to the political subdivision fights, there is the personal fight — you and me. We need to do our individual duty to ensure we are not the target of COVID19 and that we do not spread it.

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