Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog April 2023

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The XBB.1.16 or Arcturus is the latest variant from the media headlines. Apr started fast which slowed down towards the end.

Sat Apr 1. Watched the Florida Atlantic and San Diego State Final Four basketball game.

Mon Apr 3. Santa Clara County announced the county follows CA state guidelines on COVID-19. Masks are no longer required in health care facilities, jails, homeless shelters, and long-term care homes. Health care workers no longer need to be vaccinated. People who tested positive for COVID-19 isolate for five days. Any facility can set their own masking requirements. John Muir Health mandates masks for vulnerable patients. Kaiser Permanente no mask mandates for patients and visitors.

Santa Clara County data reported 33% of eligible residents received the updated bivalent COVID-19 booster. 12% didn't complete the initial COVID-19 vaccine series. The county wastewater samples were medium level.

25% of eligible residents in the State Of CA received the bivalent booster.

Watched most of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game University Of Connecticut and San Diego State.

Tue Apr 4. Former President Donald Trump arrested for fraud.

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency authorization use to Gohibic which is an injection made by Infla Rx NV. The treatment is given to patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Gohibic lowers the risk of death between the 28th day and the 60th day.

Fri Apr 7. Ran errands at Safeway and filled up my car with gas.

Sun Apr 9. A Chinese scientist claimed the COVID-19 virus originated from humans. The genetic sequences of viral samples taken from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China were identical to infected patients. There was insufficient evidence to prove racoon dogs originated the COVID-19 virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the claim lacked data from China about the beginnings of the virus.

Mon Apr 10. President Joe Biden signed the bill to end the national emergency. The signed bill didn't affect the public health emergency ending on May 11. The COVID-19 national emergency was declared on Mar 13, 2020 retroactive to Mar 1, 2020. Some emergency measures ended. Other emergency measures are being phased out. The administration expedited preparations for normal operations when Congress worked to end the emergency early.

Wed Apr 12. The US government is spending $5 billion for new COVID-19 vaccines and treatments project named "Project Next Gen." The project accelerates and streamlines rapid development of the next generation of vaccines and treatments. The Department Of Health And Human Services coordinates the project with the private sector.

Thur Apr 13. The Calvary Chapel San Jose is ordered to pay $1.2 million in fines accumulated during the global pandemic. The church violated the Santa Clara County public health order. The battle between the church and the county lasted years. Multiple judges issued multiple rulings.

Fri Apr 14. A new COVID-19 variant XBB.1.16 or Arcturus was identified in India. Cases surged. Arcturus is confirmed in 20 countries including the US. The transmissibility rate is high. A new symptom appears causing conjunctivitis or red eye or pink eye. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) reported Arcturus is responsible for 7.2% of US COVID-19 cases. It was 3.9% last week. XBB.1.5 or Kraken is the most common strain.

Tue Apr 18. The FDA authorized the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent vaccines for people age 65 and older and immunocompromised people to receive an additional dose at least four months after their first dose. Immunocompromised people can receive an additional dose at least two months after their first dose. Unvaccinated people may receive a single dose of the bivalent vaccine instead of the multiple doses of the original single-strain vaccine.

Unvaccinated children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years may receive a two dose Moderna bivalent vaccine. Unvaccinated children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years may receive a three dose Pfizer bivalent vaccine.

The CDC said 16.7% of eligible Americans received the bivalent. The CDC also said the bivalent vaccine effectiveness protecting Americans has weaken.

Wed Apr 19. The CDC authorized the additional bivalent vaccines for people age 65 and older and immunocompromised people.

Fri Apr 21. Shopped at Safeway first thing in the morning.

Kaiser Permanente-Santa Rosa reinstated mask mandates due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Dozens of staff and patients tested positive for COVID-19.

Los Angeles County identified cases with the XBB.1.16 or Arcturus variant.

The CDC announced 1,160 Americans died in the last seven days which was the lowest number since Mar 2020. The number of positive cases declined under 100,000; however, the number was an underestimation because of at-home testing. Arcturus represented 10% of positive cases.

Sun Apr 23. Watched the last 42 seconds of the Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings Game 5 of the first round NBA playoffs.

Mon Apr 24. Shopped at Target and the Nike Factory Outlet store.

Thur Apr 27. First spare the air day in 2023.

Fri Apr 28. The CDC said international travelers visiting the US must still be vaccinated. The travelers must be fully vaccinated two weeks after getting the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA bivalent vaccine after Aug 16, 2022. Previously, foreign travelers were fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dosage for vaccines requiring two shots or the first dosage for vaccines requiring one shot.

The CDC stopped its color coded COVID-19 Community Levels tracker soon. The exact date was unannounced. The CDC tracks COVID-19 from hospitalizations in some areas thereafter. Hospitalization rates are a lagging indicator because a person who tested positive takes 7 to 10 days to be hospitalized. Wastewater testing continues in communities and air travelers.

Throwback Blog: Don't Be Me

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 Don't Be Me written on Mar 5, 2017. I was depressed. I shared what I hated about me. One way I expressed my self-hate safely was telling the world not to be me.

Today is April 2023. Six years and one month later. The self-hate motivated me to solve problems. Patience is a virtue. I still live with my parents maturely and professionally. The job training continues with new skills learned and existing skills reviewed. There are new circle of friends waiting to be drawn. Expansions are expanded exponentially; for example, communicating Morse Code, tying rope knots, creating paper airplanes, learning new physical workouts, learning new cooking skills, hiking new trials, and folding bedsheets. The best lesson desire more important than knowledge is still the best lesson to date.

Some parts of me don't be me. I have not earned freedom. Wait for the day people can become me.

Blogger's note: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar.

We've been told to like ourselves. Great. There are parts of our lives we dislike. I accept. Here are parts of my life I don't want other people to be. I also share what I'm doing to turn around my dislike to like. Don't live my life I did in my past. I admit today's blog is another "don't make the same mistakes as me" blog. I remind myself as repetition; don't make these mistakes again.

1. Living at home with my parents. I remember reading a college graduating speech saying live with your parents as long as you can. I accepted the bad advice. A person knows the time to move out is when the person becomes an adult. Independence is achieved when a son or daughter moves out of the house. Become independent naturally; however, don't rush being independent. I became an adult too late in my life. I'm a late bloomer. I'm preparing my moving out when my opportunity comes.

2. Unemployed too many times. I worked in Commercial Real Estate for 8.5 years. High job security. Low career advancement. I failed to learn new skills during the 8.5 years. I learned small skills here and there. Those small skills were weak transferrable skills. The best way to minimize unemployment is learn new job skills indefinitely. I learned the lesson in Aug 2014. Job searching is a full time job. I learn new job skills such as Python and Tableau and I review existing job skills such as Excel and SQL when I'm not job searching.

3. Small circle of friends. Call my circle small. Call my circles few. There are too few people in my life. I need more friends. I need more contacts. I said goodbye to some people because I must move on. Some people held me back. Some people and I diverge to different paths. People come and go naturally in our lives. People change as time moves forward. Meet new people continuously. Make new friends continuously.

4. Expand yourself. My mind was closed most of my life when I was introduced to something new or I discovered something new for which I ignored. I opened my mind for the first time in Oct 2008. The world is full of interesting which must be discovered. Keep an open mind when introduced to new hobbies. Hobbies come and go like people. Some hobbies we lose interest naturally. Some hobbies we grow out. Some hobbies we discover new they're better than existing hobbies. Hobbies, interests, experiences, adventures, and people all belong to expand yourself. Get up and do something, anything.

5. Desire more important than knowledge. I was raised to be a smart person. High GPA is important. A's are important. Know everything. Making mistakes mean I'm a stupid person. They're all incorrect. I recently discovered desire or motivation is more important than a high IQ. My desire is the reason I'm learning new skills I never thought I learn which are Python, JavaScript, and CSS. Nobody knows the future. One of these days the new skills help me become successful. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating. Innovating infinitely. The last three sentences are motivating me to learn. Nobody needs to be smart to motivate oneself to be a better person.

Side note: Here's the top mistakes blog I wrote in my Finding Raymond Mar blog titled Top Mistakes The Final Part. Click the label "Top Mistakes" below to read my top mistakes blogs.

Update On A Past Blog

The movie All The President's Men (1976) is one of my all time favorite movies. Actor Jason Robards played Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. He said, "I screwed up. I wasn't wrong." The quote reminded me the blog Top Ten I Was Correct When I Was Young I wrote on Jun 9, 2016. I screwed up on some of the top ten. I stopped practicing. My patience was poor. Most of my priorities were wrong. I wasn't a good person sincerely. On the other hand, I daydreamed appropriately. I never stopped exercising. I kept my expenses in check. The top ten are followed daily.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Answered Failure

The 2023 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference number one seed Milwaukee Bucks lost to the number eight seed Miami Heat 4-1 in the first-round best of seven series on Wed Apr 26. Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked if the 2022-2023 season was a failure? The question was fair. He answered honestly. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't attack the reporter. He responded humility taking the high road. "Michael Jordan played 15 years. Won six championships. The other nine years were a failure? . . . It's a wrong question. There's no failure in sports."

There is a common wisdom: failure is absolute, success is relative. Did Antetokounmpo dodge the failure question? The answer depends on the person's reference point. The answer depends on the person's base case. One perspective is the Bucks failed. The Bucks were eliminated in the first round to the lowest seed. The Bucks were eliminated early by five games in the series. The Bucks won an NBA Championship in 2021. They team should have won another. The odds were in favor. Antetokounmpo was an MVP in 2018-2019.

Another perspective is the Bucks succeeded. The Bucks already won an NBA Championship in 2021. Antetokounmpo was a former MVP. 16 teams play in the NBA Playoffs. The Bucks was one of the 16 teams. One team is a champion. 15 playoff teams are not a champion. The remaining NBA teams didn't reach the playoffs. And Antetokounmpo has a successful NBA career.

Another successful perspective is the Bucks' best regular season record in the NBA 58-24 earning the number one seed. The Bucks did their best. Unfortunately, the timing was bad to play poor basketball. The Heat played the best basketball at the best moment. The games favored the Heat. The Bucks' shots didn't go in the bucket. Injuries factored in the Bucks performance. Antetokounmpo missed two full games. The Bucks couldn't control everything.

Click Giannis Calls Out Reporter In HEATED Response: "There's No Failure In Sports" to watch the failure question interview. Click Giannis AMAZING exchange with Reporter During Postgame Interview to watch the full interview.

Men Can Also Shop For Dresses

I shopped at a Nike Factory Outlet store earlier in the morning. There was a 20% sale for all shoes. Good timing. My current running shoes need to be replaced as soon as possible.

I'm a beginner runner learning running techniques and learning how to buy running shoes to match my running style. I was lucky I purchased a pair of running shoes at random with good cushion and good stability at the center of my feet on Mar 2021. The pair of running shoes was the React Infinity Run Flyknit 2. The store disallowed customers trying on shoes due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. All benches were removed.

The store didn't have my React Infinity Run Flyknit 2 shoe size. I must take advantage of the sale. I choose to try running with different shoes. I tried multiple shoes. The looks were secondary. The shoes felt from good cushion to no cushion, strong stability to no stability, ankle support or the rear of the shoe moving up and down along the ankle, and the feel of my feet as if my feet touch the pavement. Pardon the weak running shoe terminology.

My estimated time trying on different shoes and slow running along an aisle was one hour and 20 minutes. I retried some shoes for a second time. I purchased two shoes which were the Renew Retaliation 3 with good stability at the center of my feet and the Air Winflo 9 with good cushion. Both shoes have good ankle support and long height separation between my feet and the pavement. I look forward running with different shoes for new experiences.

There are two takeaways. The first is always shop in desired outlet stores. Almost all sales are unannounced. Customers must enter the outlet store for the current sales. The second is men should be patient when women try clothes. Men can take a long time to shop for shoes like women take a long time to shop for dresses.

Gimme Some Cash

I dreamed last night the day was Super Bowl Sunday. ABC telecasted the football game for America. I was a teen in high school. ABC guaranteed all celebrity employees tickets to the game; otherwise, ABC reimbursed at a 4.5 to 1.0 ratio. Two anchors didn't have tickets at an $100 face value. One of the anchors was Cokie Roberts. The second anchor looked like actress Sandra Bullock. The Bullock anchor received both the cash and a ticket at the nosebleed section. She gave me the $450.00 before she attended the game. My dream didn't explain how I received the cash.

The next scene was my room. I counted the cash. My two brothers who don't exist in real life were present. One of the brothers reminded me of a classmate in my P.E. class in my sophomore year. He looked like the Bertram character from Family Guy. He was a natural bully. The second brother was a tag-a-long. Both brothers teased me, angered me, and frustrated me. I told my parents my brothers gave me trouble. They did nothing. Their intention was they wanted some money. There was no stealing. There was no dishonestly. They asked for money in a negative way.

I woke up. I realized I should have deposited the cash at an ATM before I went home. Nobody in the family knew about the cash; although, I'm honest I told my parents.

The Green Steno Notebook 8

The picture above is the notebook I acquired on the first day of my new white collar job. I wrote notes during my job training. I wrote other notes, reminders, and knowledge thereafter. I share many of them. Here is the eighth blog.

*Jan 1, 2019. I began to flip my pillow vertically before I go to sleep.

I played the piano. The song was Mary Had A Little Lamb pressing middle C, D, and E keys.

*Jan 2. I stopped eating oatmeal.

*Jan 8. My gym changed the outdoor signage from The Right Stuff to Fitness 19.

*Jan 13. I dreamed last night I hiked at a fictional city with a boardwalk along the ocean. I stayed at the boardwalk the entire day. The boardwalk included a video arcade, a midway arcade, and a vintage arcade a mile long. Family members were seen including my brother's family, a cousin's family, and more cousins from Southern California.

*Jan 23. Blisters appeared at my right mouth. I switched toothpaste from Arm & Hammer to Colgate.

*Jan 23. Played Solitaire with a deck of playing cards.

Five minute shower using a bar of soap and body wash for my back scrubber. The shower is quicker instead of using body wash for my entire body.

*Jan 27. Installed florescent LED light bulbs.

*Feb 1. A action game my brother, cousin, and I played when we were kids was Immortals Of Change.

*Feb 5. Polished and shinned old gold color game tokens. I use the tokens as markers for any tabletop game.

The night temperature was 40 degrees exiting the gym. It might explain fewer people in the weight room.

*Feb 11. Car maintenance. I checked spare tire air pressure. I increased the air pressure from 22.5psi to 35psi. I removed corrosion on battery. I applied baking soda on the corrosion, sprayed water with a squirt bottle, used a wired brush to remove excess corrosion, and used an air compressor to blow out the small corrosion. A bowl was placed under the battery to catch the corrosion.

A bonus was polish and shine the house address numbers.

*Feb 13. Power outage at 9:20am. Family used the emergency radio for the first time. Big storm with heavy rain and strong winds. Power restored at 9:59am.

*Mar 8. I dreamed last night I worked in a United States Post Office branch. I helped the branch's post master edit the monthly newsletter. Dr. Phil made an appearance.

*Mar 9. I dreamed last night I piloted a blue color A-10 Warthog Thunderbolt.

*Mar 12. I experienced a bloody nose running on the treadmill. The gym worker turned off the ceiling fans ten minutes before closing.

*Mar 14. Replaced my car's license plate.

The orange hammer is a dead blow. I used the dead blow to reattach the emergency trunk opener.

*Apr 7. I dropped my Samsung Galaxy S7 for the first time in a house backyard.

*Apr 9. A self-discovery. Doesn't make sense. Don't waste your time. Let it be.

*Apr 16. Security disguise procedure. Information written on a piece of paper. Write additional information as fake information. Create fake information. For example, account numbers create math problems and/or create more numbers.

*Apr 18. I dreamed last night I was a lawyer for Steve Jobs' estate. Apple shareholders filed a civil lawsuit against his estate. I was part of a team. I was a rookie. TV cameras were allowed because the plaintiffs wanted to make me nervous. It failed.

Discovered a boring and a healthy fast food option. I purchased a loaf of bread, a container of peanuts, bananas, and a package of beef jerky in a market. Buying Snickers candy bars was optional.

*Apr 25. Replaced expensive windshield wipers with Costco windshield wipers for the spring season and summer season.

*May 5. May 2 was the National Day Of Prayer. I read my personal bible.

*May 13. Flushed home hot water heater. Suggested flush once a year.

*Jun 1. Stomach ache. Too much gas. Time was between 2pm and 6pm. The pain felt the same when I admitted myself to O'Connor Hospital in Mar 2017. I relaxed in the family room watching Major League Soccer Atlanta vs. Chicago and Major League Baseball Boston at New York. I sat on the sofa at an angle. The pain concentrated at my belly button.

*Jun 3. Raged quit BTD 6. I uninstalled the game on my Galaxy S7.

*Jun 4. Changed the Oracle executable file from automatic to manual. Uninstalled PostgreSQL. Changed the MySQL executable file from automatic to manual. Desktop bootup time decreased.

*Jul 13. Watched The Lion King on BD.

*Jul 16. Pour flavored oatmeal first because the flavor powder in the middle adds flavor to the regular oatmeal.

Blogger's note: It appeared I continued eating oatmeal past Jan 2.

*Jul 18. Cleaned the dryer lint duct.

*Jul 20. I'm allergic to Potassium Sorbate.

Update On A Past Blog

The set up for earning freedom continues today. The set up is taking years. The blogs 2019 Year In Review. It Was Barely A Good Year. written on Mar 8, 2020 and 2018 Year In Review. Three Consecutive Bad Years For The First Time in My Life. written on Mar 9, 2019 mentioned momentum going into the next year became a good year. 2020 and 2021 were good years. Momentum continues for years including year 2023. Momentum is indefinite.

Level Up Life Infinitely written on Dec 2, 2019 is a reminder ". . . life levels never stop. Never stop leveling up life. Leveling up is infinite. Never stop innovating life." More job training is near completion. Physical workouts are improving.

Finally, I wrote an update on a past blog for Money And Life on Sep 12, 2019. I said, "It's possible I need more [set up] time." The correct answer is I need more set up time. It's not possible. It's definite.

The Person Has Priors In A Negative Way

The NBA suspends Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs first round against the Sacramento Kings on Thur Apr 20, 2023. Green stepped on the chest of Kings center Domantas Sabonis in Game 2 with 7:03 remaining in the fourth quarter on Mon Apr 17, 2023. The Kings defeated the Warriors 114-106 taking a 2-0 game lead in a best of seven series. Green was ejected when he received a Flagrant Foul 2. Sabonis was assessed a technical foul.

Green isn't suspended for stepping on Sabonis' chest. Green is suspended for numerous heated exchanges with referees. Green is suspended for his past history of unsportsmanlike conduct. Green is suspended for his bad reputation. Some of the suspensions or fines:

*The Warriors fined Green for an altercation with guard Jordan Poole during a team practice on Oct 5, 2022. Green punched Poole in the face.
*The Warriors suspended Green for one game when he argued with Warriors forward Kevin Durant during a game with the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov 12, 2018.
*Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals Green swung his arm at Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James in the groin area. Green was suspended for Game 5 due to accumulating four flagrant fouls in the 2016 playoffs.
*Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals Green kicked Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams twice. One of the kicks was in the groin.

Reputations matter. Past behaviors matter. People sincerely earn their benefits of the doubt. It can make or break a judgement in favor or against. Give it time. Life is full circle. They come back in favor or against. Add up the past problems. The haunted history comes back. There are limits to tolerations. There are lines drawn. Don't lose the mini points. Keep the small stuff positive.

Green is a ten-year veteran. Four-time NBA Finals champion. Four-time NBA all-star. Seven-time all-defensive team. One-time defensive player of the year. Yet, he can act like a twelve year old. Don't be a pain in the butt. Don't be unprofessional.