This is a straw bale wall. It's made out of stacked bales of straw and then coated in plaster. They'll last for a long time IF the straw is protected from water intrusion. When we were living in the house here, the owner had a section repaired because it had gotten wet and rotted. The advantage to them is they look so much better than stuccoed cement block walls, and you can make curves and other attractive shapes. Behold, a straw bale wall.
The always lovely Tucson Mountain Park.
Part of my lack of writing anything is that I am so dang angry. I'm pissed that the orange ectoplasm is successfully stalling any and all attempts to prosecute and jail him for something, anything. He has never been held accountable for anything, and he's still not. Yesterday he attacked E. Jean Carrol on his social media site 40 some odd times. She's on round two of defamation lawsuits, maybe it's time to fire up another one.
The Supreme Court has allowed Idaho to continue to enforce its draconian abortion law that was appealed and stayed. Essentially this means that if a woman walks in to an ER bleeding out from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, or septic from a dead fetus the body can't clear, it's ok to tell her they won't help and perhaps go somewhere else to die. Don't want to scare the other patients, don't you know. I can not tell you how angry this is making me. The Biden administration had argued that EMTLA requires emergency treatment for septic/bleeding women, but the Supreme Court has decided that death is a valid option. I just can't stand it. It really is a good time to be old and infertile.
It appears that Covid is back with a vengeance. It also appears that the CDC and our current administration are asleep at the switch and are offering no, none, not any public health guidance. Two data modellers were on the Today Show, trying to get the word out. Now is the time to be masking. The projections are startling. Estimates are that 1 in 3 people in the US will catch Covid during the surge which started just after Christmas. The surge is predicted to go through February. The US population is 331 million as of 2021. Not all cases will be terrible, but 1 out of 10 people are likely to develop Long Covid. The odds of developing LC are not related to the severity of the initial infection, even an asymptomatic case can appear months later as LC. The acute stage of the infection is not always the worst thing that can happen to a person. Here is the Today Show link.
Eric Topol, a doctor and scientist, has an op-ed up in the LA Times, which is an interesting read. The salient points are that the most recent X.B.B booster does have cross over with JN.1, which is the current primary circulating variant, and that NOW is the time to be masking assiduously to avoid the high Covid levels, as well as RSV and flu.
In news of the good, Jim got his stitches out yesterday from the Mohs procedure, the dermo guy complimented Jim on his excellent wound care, and now we're done with this.
I've been angry too, much about the same topics as you. I had heard the East Coast was slammed with another variant and the News isn't saying a thing, I'm hearing it via Bloggers in those regions and how rampant the cases ate in their States. We got our Booster and Flu Shot at the same time and the Pharmacist said few are getting them now, so, most folks won't be Vaxxed and protected. I'm glad to be infertile too, so is The Daughter, but, we have Granddaughters who are fertile and I fear for their reproductive Health. It's like we've returned to the Dark Ages with the Rights of Women, Minorities and the LGBTQ+ Communities at high risk of losing all their Rights if the Lunatic Fringe prevail. As for 45, can't he just FOAD at this point... he wouldn't be ACTUALLY Jailed anyway, so shuffling off this mortal coil would do.
ReplyDeleteOoops, I meant ARE in their States.
DeleteUgh, we got Covid mid-December (despite having gotten the most recent booster in early November). We were stupid and didn't mask when we should have. You're right, now is the time to mask up! Covid was AWFUL even though we're healthy. You better believe we're back to wearing masks in the grocery store and staying away from crowds. Happy New Year, enjoy your winter digs, and stay healthy!
ReplyDeleteGlad Jim has bounced back from the Mohs. Love the scenery shots and the straw bale wall. I am mystified why an anti-abortion law would prevent doctors from removing an already dead fetus. The world is so insane sometimes.
ReplyDeleteSadly, too many people think since the pandemic has been declared over, there is nothing to worry about. I do know I haven't been as diligent about masking but I'll be doing so now as I've been hearing our numbers are climbing. It's not the bout of Covid I worry about, it is the long Covid affects.
ReplyDeleteYour Supreme Court is supremely stupid. I've heard, haven't seen it, that IQ45 has come out with a new video proclaiming he is the second coming of Christ. False prophet is more like it. Scary times!
It seems clear that anti abortion laws are only about controlling and punishing women. And trump, I spit on his name. We watched a CNN thing last night about Jan 6th, it was awful.
ReplyDeleteone of the blogs I read, her entire family came down with covid, her, her husband, both adult children and their SOs. they live in NYC. I'm especially glad I live in a small town and when I go out, it's at times when most people are at work.
ReplyDeleteI was appalled at the SC decision re Idaho (and throw Texas in there too with it's SC overturning the lower court permission for a woman with a deformed fetus that will not survive to have an abortion. the assholes are demanding American, especially white, women have more babies and then they send us back to the time when pregnancy was often a death sentence. what the actual fuck!
The US is well broken, shattered into pieces that will never be put back together. Another reason to abandon ship… wish I could stay in England until I am dead… it’s not perfect mind you, but a damn sight better than US. No news there.
ReplyDeleteA good friend of ours just came down with COVID after having all the vaccinations and boosters available. So far his wife is okay, but since she's taking care of him, is likely to catch it too. She says that half their neighborhood has had it lately. We don't really hang out with anyone so have managed to avoid it, though we did mask up in Costco, which was jam packed even the second week in January on a weekday morning. I don't think anyone works regular hours anymore, or maybe they are too busy influencing or being influenced on Youtube, Instagram, or Tiktok; I have no idea. Of course, there are a lot of retirees like us, and we get that, but really, when is one to shop?
ReplyDelete