Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog August 2026

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. Aug was the slowest month in years. Aug was another month I spent more days out of the house. COVID-19 politics were the headlines.

Thur Aug 6. The Senate Homeland Security And Government Affairs Committee voted along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt. Fauci refused to testify about the US Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The referral was sent to the Justice Department. The department decides whether to charge Fauci with federal contempt charges. The maximum sentence is one year in prison.

Sun Aug 9. Shopped at Nob Hill. Ate lunch at Mitsuwa.

Mon Aug 10. Senators Ron Johnson (R-WN) and Rand Paul (R-KY) released texts from Fauci's former government phone regarding vaccine safety for pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci said there was no risk for pregnant women at any trimester. However, he said there could be miscarriages in the first trimester after the second dose. Pregnant women were not included in vaccine trials.

Thur Aug 13. Wasterwater data showed COVID-19 rates were increasing in the Bay Area. Positive test rates were increasing. A new variant was discovered called Cicada. The Cicada showed more mutations.

Ran errands at Toyota-Stevens Creek and Lucky first thing in the morning.

Sun Aug 16. Shopped at Nob Hill.

Mon Aug 17. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) reported COVID-19 cases increased in the USA. The overall activity was low nationwide. The rates were increasing rapidly. The concentration was the Southern and Western states; in particular, Texas and California.

The XFG.1.1 was the dominant strain accounting for 22%-40% of all cases in Jul 2026. 15% of the cases were the BA.3.2 or Cicada variant.

Wed Aug 19. Former senior adviser at the National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases David Morens pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to hide federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic. Morens was a senior adviser from 2006 to 2022. The records were related to coronavirus grant funding and the COVID-19 virus origins.

Fri Aug 21. Shopped at Costco. More people wore masks.

Sat Aug 22. Family lunch at Peking Delight.

Mon Aug 24. Dropped off my car at S&K Auto Services for repairs. Shopped at Costco Business Center.

Tue Aug 25. Picked up my car at S&K Auto Services for repairs. Visited the library. Got gas at Chevron.

Wed Aug 26. Car maintenance at Firestone.

Thur Aug 27. The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) approved the latest COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and Bio N Tech. The mRNA vaccine targets the LP.8.1 strain. The vaccine is for adults 65 and older. The vaccine is also for people ages 5 to 64 with an underlying condition.

The FDA also approved the latest Moderna mRNA vaccine Spikevax. The vaccine is for adults 65 and older. The vaccine is also for people ages 6 months to 64 with an underlying condition. The mNexspike vaccine is approved for adults 65 and older. The vaccine is also for people age 12 to 64 with an underlying condition. The two Moderna targets the XFG subvariant of the JN.1 strain.

And the FDA approved the Novavax vaccine Nuvaxovid. The vaccine is a protein-based vaccine targeting the JN.1 strain. The vaccine is for adults 65 and older. The vaccine is also for people age 12 to 64 with an underlying condition.

All vaccines are available in Sept 2026.

The CDC said the XFG.1.1 was the dominate strain as of early Jul 2026.

Fri Aug 28. Ran errands at Tai Pan Dim Sum, Lion Market, and Smart & Final first thing in the morning. The afternoon errands were Bank Of America and Target. I was the only customer wearing a mask.

Throwback Blog: Self-Esteem Blog

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Self-Esteem Blog written on Nov 14, 2018. People must develop their own self-esteem. Support is necessary for a person to develop their own self-esteem. It's possible a person himself or herself can develop their own self-esteem. It's difficult.

The timing may be good today's throwback is self-esteem. More people have been talking about more people with poor self-esteem; for example, today's teenagers in high school. Or more people are consciously aware observing more people with poor self-esteem. Perhaps, the Information Age more people with poor social skills explains more people with poor self-esteem, and vice versa. Too much stimuli from screens can be a factor.

The Boring People

The boring people self-esteem may be strong. Never assume boring people are weak and unsure of themselves. The Sesame Street character Bert is boring. Bert self-esteem is strong. Furthermore, people who want to be alone their self-esteem are probably strong. These alone people should know what they're doing. I digress. Perform a self-analysis. Is your self-esteem strong or weak? The question is hard. The question is fair.

How does a person know he or she has poor self-esteem? It's hard for a person to self-asses himself or herself physically, mentally or intelligently, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. He or she does good living a good life for which he or she doesn't question how good. There are people who call out personal shortcomings accurately. How does a person respond when people or the world tells him or her you have poor self-esteem? The question is does he or she accepts the call out sincerely, accepts the call out politely, disagrees the call out knowing it's false, or denies the call out knowing it's true. Recognize and accept or deny. Take note of the conversation tone. It's a personal judgment call.

I'm no expert being a psychologist. I'm no expert teaching self-improvement. I know there is no quick solution to strengthen self-esteem. Time is required. Mistakes are made. Trial and error are required. Prepare to say good-bye to people, places, and things. Patience is necessary. Get healthy. Sleep well. Sitting in front of a television and/or playing video games eight hours a day are prohibited. Spend time with good people. If you don't have good people, then find good people. Good people are hard to find. Prepare for time being alone. Learn to be professional. Learn new skills. Relearn existing skills. Hope for good luck. Hope for fortunate timing.

Update On A Past Blog

Today's blog reminded me a past blog The Person Wants No Help on Mar 24, 2015. I wrote some people don't need help with their problems. Also, how long do people continue telling the problem people they need help? Helpers do the best they can. Some people accept help. Some people refuse help. Maybe the source of a person's problems and the personal choice to accept or to refuse help is poor self-esteem?

Moving Day Is A Judgment Day

One of the best moments to learn about a person is moving day; for instance, the boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancee, or co-worker(s). Moving day is either moving in or moving out. Moving day moves from one place to another place such as a new home, new apartment, or new office building. How do people behave? Moving day shows part of their true selves. Lazy worker? Hard worker? Easily distracted? Laser focus? The people are determined to fulfill their obligations. The organization skills easy to follow. Active socialization people get along with other people. Conversations are interesting. People feed each other's kind morale. Assess the behaviors, actions, trusts, and sincerities. People learn more about their relationships with other people.

The Forgivable Trap

Any person in any social-economic status is gullible to be trapped. The person stops learning. The person stops innovating. The person becomes weak. Intelligence declines. Physical and mental strength maintenance cease. There is emotional instability. Financial discipline disappears. Sleep hours decrease. Memory declines; in particular, the lessons learned to success are forgotten. Life is taken for granted. There is too much complacency.

Fortunately, the trap is temporary. There is an escape strategy. Work is required. Continuous work is required to avoid the trap. Self-improvement is a start. The trap is forgivable because it's easy to fall into the trap. I was a victim. I'm lucky I'm no longer trapped. I work as hard as I can.

"Bud, I like you. Just remember something. Man looks in the abyss. There's nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character, and that is what keeps him out of the abyss." --Lou Mannheim, Wall Street

Minor Gum Irritation And Bleeding Treatment Blog Log

I needed a filling on a tooth located at my bottom right. The filling was not a typical filling on the top of the tooth. The filling was on the backside on top of the gum line. It's the best way I can describe it. The dentist used laser to remove a tiny portion of the overlapping gum covering the hole to be filled.

Unfortunately, there was minor gum irritation which lasted ten days. I was afraid I needed post filling treatment. My home treatment succeeded. I blog my treatment as a reminder for future dental problems.

Tue Aug 4, 2026. Filling operation in the afternoon. Used water pix before I went to bed. Felt pain at the resin composite. Bleeding afterwards while brushing my teeth. Saw blood on the gums.

Wed Aug 5. No blood on the gums when I woke up in the morning.

Thur Aug 6. Dental floss at night. Lowered strength for the water pix. No blood. Felt pain.

Fri Aug 7. Increased strength for the water pix to my preferred setting. I avoided spraying water at the filling. Stopped wearing my bottom retainer temporarily.

Sat Aug 8. It seemed I accidentally cut my gum flossing at the left side of the filling tooth. Maybe the cut delayed healing.

Sun Aug 9. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide. I mixed hydrogen peroxide 3% and water to ratio 1:1 or 50% hydrogen peroxide 3% and 50% water. Rinsed once.

I ate food on the left side of my mouth.

Mon Aug 10. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide two times today.

Tue Aug 11. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide three times today.

Wed Aug 12. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide three times today.

Thur Aug 13. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide three times today.

Fri Aug 14. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide two times today.

Sat Aug 15. Rinsed with hydrogen peroxide one time today.

Mon Aug 17. No bleeding since Mon Aug 10. No pain as long as I ate on the left side of my mouth. The dental floss gum cut looking like a cut on skin had been healing. I see the curve line. Wore my top retainer and bottom retainer.

Tue Aug 18. Began eating on the right side of my mouth. I continued focusing my eating on the left side of my mouth.

Facebook Friends

My Facebook friends count is 233 as of today's blog. 233 is a lot. 1,000 friends are more than 233 friends obviously speaking. A rational perspective 233 is a big number. My friends consist of friends, families, co-workers, friends of friends, and acquaintances.

My true friends count is at least 242. Some friends defriended me. Some friends closed their accounts. I recognize friends closing their accounts for personal reasons. The friends who defriended me must have a good reason. I defriended zero friends because life is a full circle; although, I defriended one friend as a request from my sister. I don't know when the next time I see any of my friends. It can be a reunion. It can be a networking opportunity. It can be a contact person when I'm at their home city. It can be an emergency. My reason to defriend must be serious. I don't defriend to clean my friends list. I don't want to burn bridges unnecessarily. Rebuilding a bridge can be difficult.

Keep the relationships. Maintain the support by like, comment, and posting happy birthdays.

Winning The Nonmonetary Lottery

99.99% of lottery winners are not the big tickets winning the big money prize. These nonmonetary lottery winners are winning from the powers to be, the almighty, the heavens, the unexplained, and/or life itself. It depends on the person's perspective. Talent or unique skills is an example of a nonmonetary prize. Some nonmonetary prizes are natural such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson, and Meryl Streep. Some nonmonetary prizes are won through hard work such as Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Tom Hanks, Taylor Swift, and Bill Gates. Unfortunately, most people don't find the prize, don't discover the prize, or not awarded the prize.