COVID Diaries Pt. 23

Someone needs to mess with Texas

It’s been a couple months between posts again, but I guess I’ve been in a fairly grey mood.  We cancelled a week in Vegas due to their hospitals being stressed, and a week at home doing the same stuff I always do didn’t feel like the refreshing vacation I had hoped for.

So that sucked, and work has been extremely stressful.  One of my most trusted staff and good friends moved on to an awesome gig, and I couldn’t be happier for him, but after 15 years of working together, it’s going to take a while to get over the fact he’s no longer there.  He’s still a good friend outside of work, but it’s still a bummer.  There is some good stuff going on with work though, so hopefully the stress levels can subside a bit soon.

Fall is my favorite time of year, but we’ve had a week of gloomy, rainy days as well, so I think that hasn’t helped the mood.  I just have to “keep fucking going” like we say.

Since I last wrote here, Texas passed a bill that basically outlaws abortion by deputizing Texas residents to be able to sue anyone who has anything to do with an abortion, including people like the Lyft driver who takes the person to the clinic.  The Supreme Court refused to hear it due to the technicality of the law, so for now anyway, abortion is effectively banned in Texas.

The thing that is so glaringly hypocritical is the fact that the Governor also signed an executive order banning any vaccine mandates.  And he also banned mask mandates.   You know, the two things that could help reduce the spread of the virus.  The things that could help his constituents NOT DIE.   You have the right to choose to not get a vaccination and not wear a mask because of FREEDOM.  Women just don’t have the same rights when it comes to their own bodies.  They don’t have that freedom.  It’s appalling.

Also, Texas schools are being told to teach “opposing views” of the Holocaust.  Holy shit, how do you even spin this?  I really have no words.

I guess Texas is going to Texas.  Sorry Austin.

In other news, William Shatner got a ride into space on Blue Origin’s rocket.  He was the oldest person to do it at the age of 90.   Some people are giving him a hard time for it, saying the money could go to better things, but come on.  If someone offers you a ride to space for free and you are nearing the end of your life, of course you take it.   And if you heard how he spoke after he got out you could tell it affected him deeply.  The innovations in space travel always propel mainstream technology, at least from NASA.  Let’s hope the billionaires and their rocket schlongs do the same.

In a less uplifting story, Jon Gruden resigned as coach from the Las Vegas Raiders after emails surfaced in which he hit every racist, homophobic, and sexist trope imaginable.  I imagine this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this stuff.  Apparently, there were 650,000 emails in the Washington investigation, and these leaked.  If these did, so will others.

Lastly, vaccine boosters have been approved for all the various ones, and guidance says you can mix and match different versions.  It’s only approved for elderly and at-risk right now, so I imagine we’ll have more information to go on once it’s approved for everyone.  But for right now, it’s a good sign, and hopefully we can finally get past this thing.