I can still smell. No, I didn't say "stink." We've already established that. It's never been in question. I'm saying my nose works. Other than a couple times post-surgeries, it's always been pretty good. It comes from Mom. She was always the first in the family to smell something. Growing up, it was one of those things that just was. Ho hum, boring.
Mine came into its own during my first pregnancy, when suddenly the whole olfactory world twisted. Everything I previously loved was suddenly nauseating. Literally. Nine months of morning/afternoon/evening sickness. That was for each ten-month gestation, and became my own positive pregnancy test for the three kids, having never actually had a positive test. Barf? Pregnant again. Somehow it all never kept me from gaining weight, though. Dang!
The post surgery olfactory slump turned out to be a favor, since food also lost it's grip and I began a very slow weight loss. Stress seems to have the opposite effect, of course. I'd almost welcome it back, except we've just learned that loss of smell and taste is one of the symptoms of the virus, possibly the only one in otherwise asymptomatic people. While we just learned it, already one of the CBS national morning news anchors is self quarantining due to exposure to somebody who just lost those senses. Let's hope the news spreads more widely than the virus.
Another tidbit is getting traction. There is a thermometer company, Kinsa, with an accompanying app on people's smart phones. Those phones send the data to the company. They've been tracking fevers in relation to flu outbreaks for a while. Somebody noticed new patterns in the spikes, and figured out how to weed out the "normal" flu fever data and compare the results to covid 19 statistics. The non-typical fever spikes preceded by a few days the rise in covid 19 statistics.
They've mapped their data. Rachel Maddow showed it Tuesday night. Two things stood out for me, personally. Florida is showing the highest spike right now, and they haven't yet ordered any kind of stay-home orders. Spring break....
The other thing was contrasting Minnesota and Arizona data. Minnesota was in the lowest fevers category. Arizona showed a low (1st tier) level of fevers, again in a state with no actual stay home orders yet, though piecemeal things like schools out have been happening. However, the color showed up on our state's map covering a very wide swath from north to south borders. By "wide swath" I mean all but a very narrow band along the east and west borders.
Think we're going to continue hunkering down, as much as possible. AZ reported "only" 8 deaths in morning news, with 508 verified cases, but our curve is angling up. Exponentially. Compound interest.
Oh, the great grandson was 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and 19-point-something inches. I forget exactly, and Steve's sleeping. He got the text. He also got pictures which, amazingly for a newborn, capture his eyes open. He is adorable. Of course.
Talked to a friend from Minnesota a bit ago. She and her husband have both been sick. all the symptoms of covid 19 except their fevers weren't "high enough." They asked for a test, but were refused. Not enough tests around to"waste" them. With my new knowledge, I asked and verified they both had lost smell and taste for the duration. But we'll never know now what it was. She's had flu several times over the years, but never as bad as this. I filled her in on the progress being made for finding a test for antibodies to establish who had it without knowing, and may now be immune. He'd love to be able to return to work. So far their sons are showing no symptoms of anything, except boredom. Teenagers.
Pure plagiarism from the internet, reaction to the "seniors should sacrifice" idiocy, coupled with the alleged Christianity of those spouting it. It was in comments on Daily Kos Tuesday, but I can't relocate the exact article and commenter for attribution. Sorry. So something like this:
For God so loved the Market that he sent his only Son, for whosoever believeth in their banker should not perish but have everlasting wealth. John $3.16.
State prisoners are being sent to an egg farm to work, and will be housed there. A pizza joint offers toilet paper with pizza. The favorite local Mexican restaurant has a free taco salad when you buy one, and now will take credit cards despite years of refusing them. Congress is offering hope... for some. The President declares himself a war president but doesn't bother to use his "war powers" to ramp up production of ventilators or personal protective equipment, while refrigerator trucks collect and store bodies. Mississippi's idiot governor refuses to ask people to change their habits. Against all logic, 59% of people polled actually approve of Trump's handling of the pandemic.
And you're still reading this.
Go figure.
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