We bring you more on the new Covid saliva test, the best beach towns, a history of electric cars, a comprehensive State election guide, some amazing links for aviation geeks, the best Covid-19 coverage you have come to expect, flying trains and nuclear reactors, oil spills and dead micronations, look at police around the world and lots more.
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COVID-19
Another post and here we are: Seven months later, what we know about Covid-19 — and the pressing questions that remain. We are getting there…ever so slowly.
Many countries focused on testing. Maybe one day we do this too: The Plan That Could Give Us Our Lives Back. We are already starting to hit bottlenecks in the present system, maybe the answer is “pooling”. Or maybe the answer is this new saliva test developed by Yale and funded by the NBA: Saliva-based coronavirus test funded by NBA, NBPA gets emergency authorization from FDA.
Everything by Bill Gates lately is a must read: Bill Gates on Covid Vaccine Timing, Hydroxychloroquine, and That 5G Conspiracy Theory.
How do you think this all ends?
The innovations in therapeutics will start to cut the death rate, but the true end will come from the spread of natural infections and the vaccine giving us herd immunity. For rich countries, that will be sometime next year, ideally in the first half. We’ll get out of this by the end of 2021.
So we’re going to be OK?
Certainly. We’re lucky this one wasn’t a more fatal disease.
This will show you where Covid-19 stands with other pandemics. How did we fall asleep with this one is beyond criminal, we need a much better globally coordinated system to prevent another one like it!
This is a deep article and will leave you optimistic in the end I think: The Good (But Not Great) News About T-Cells and Herd Immunity. If you pick one article to read in this section I recommend this one.
Be careful out there! Read This Before You Go to the Dentist.
MILES & POINTS
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If you do not see a credit card you want with my affiliate links, perhaps I could refer you to it? Some cards I can refer are: ChaseFreedomUnlimited, ChaseSapphirePreferred, AmexHiltonAspire, AmexBlueBusinesPlus, AmexHiltonBusiness. Contact me please and thanks for your support!
There is not much going on in this space. Unless you consider getting an extra 25% Avianca LifeMiles when you transfer from Citi ThankYou Points. Zzzzzz….
I am enjoying using my new Amex Hilton Aspire card eating some nice meals now that the $250 resort credit is also good for restaurant purchases until August 31st.
You can take some time off from the hobby or perhaps zero in on earning some miles/points to pad your balances for the coming post Covid-19 travel madness run. I am again at over 4 million miles/points in the bank. Long are the days when I had around 10 million laying around but maybe at this road trip rate I am on lately I see myself easily past 5 million miles/points 🙂 Yeah, it is an addiction for sure…
TRAVEL
You are in for some real treats in this section today: Belly Of The Beast: Illicit Photos From Inside The Soviet Ekranoplan. I had never heard of this airplane before!
Yomadic is not blogging much lately but started posting videos in his youtube channel. And the first one is great: Soviet Modernism – Largest Abandoned Hotel in the former USSR – Parus Hotel, Dnipro City, Ukraine. What’s next, podcast? 🙂
Well, one of these weird micronations has ceased to exist. RIP Principality of Hutt River. A tiny “nation” in outback Australia. Fifty years ago, this remote micronation declared independence in a story of princes and princesses, taxes and treason and wheat quotas and war.
We like beaches a lot in my household: The 20 Greatest Beach Towns in America.
Sad to see this happen near Mauritius, damn you 2020! Devastating Oil Spill is Wreaking Havoc on Pristine Mauritius.
One more for aviation geeks. Japan was pretty advanced before World War II I found out. These Japanese Lindberghs Made a 10,000 Mile-Flight in 1937.
Not done with you aviation geeks:Boeing 747s still get critical updates via floppy disks. Before you scream WTF, ponder this: Despite modern technology being available, it hasn’t stopped floppy disks from persisting in other industries. The US Defense Department only ended the use of 8-inch floppy disks for coordinating the country’s nuclear forces in October, and the International Space Station is full of floppy disks.
PERSONAL FINANCE
With the craziness around Tesla stock and electric cars in general, you may be surprised about the history of them. This is a fascinating account which I really enjoyed reading: Speculation & Innovation.
And another gem: Expiring vs. Permanent Skills. Definitely lean towards permanent skills you guys (sent this to my kids):
- Not being a jerk
- The willingness to adapt views you wish were permanent
- Getting along with people you disagree with
- Getting to the point
- Respecting luck as much as you respect risk
- Staying out of the way as much as you offer to help
- Accepting a certain degree of hassle and nonsense when reality demands it
- The ability to distinguish “temporarily out of favor” from “wrong”
CURRENT EVENTS/POLITICS
This is great: How To Vote In The 2020 Election. A state-by-state guide to voting in the age of COVID-19.
Ready for NBA playoffs? In August, all in Orlando without fans? Talk about weird!
ODDZ & ENDZ
Some of them we have all but forgotten. Which is a good thing most likely lol. Every Presidential Candidate’s Running Mate Since WWII.
I usually walk away but maybe there is hope to save these brain washed people? The Facts Just Aren’t Getting Through. The electorate is split into separate information bubbles. But unconventional messengers, appeals to patriotism, and even jokes can reach voters who don’t want to listen.
INCREDIBLE footage from 1902 in a German city: The Flying Train.
What is missing in 2020 is one of these accidents %$#@! Mapped: The World’s Nuclear Reactor Landscape.
Very interesting! How Police Compare in Different Democracies. Check out the killings in the US vs other countries, come on!
BLOG BUZZ
We are now entering BLOG BUZZ, a section for advanced hobbyists and veterans of this fast imploding hobby and also a section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life because it helps me feel better about myself.
This is a beautiful new post by one of my favorite travel bloggers, Jodie at Legal Nomads: 12 Years of Legal Nomads: Work, Gratitude, and the Challenge of the Present Moment. The vast majority of people writing in the travel/miles/points blogs are not talented writers. On the contrary…I am taking a stand not to call them out because some are very sensitive 😉 Jodie is a very talented writer and this is an amazing post about where she stands after dealing with a health event that has changed her life.
Surrender does not mean you give up on things getting better. Nor does it mean you give up on yourself. But so much advice these days includes the doing – the exercise, the journaling, the meditation and more. Yes, all of those are important tools to help support your mind and spirit. When I am “in” it though, when I am so in it that I can barely see light at the top of that dark, deep well, the last thing that helps me is a list of things that I ought to be doing but am not.
That list just adds resistance.
And more resistance means less letting go. It means more frustration when you’re grieving. It skips that first critical step of just laying down in the well and going, “Ok I’m here. It seems dark and I can’t see any light but it’s where I am now and I know that no matter how my mind is lying to me right now, I won’t be here forever.”
Sounds laughable, right? But it’s been the only way through.
Besides, what’s the alternative? Fearing the future, or feeling saudade for the past. Neither will help me get through today. I’ve reverted back to an anxious mind many, many times and lost my present moment focus. In times like these, how could I not? It takes a conscious reminder to dust myself off and try to move back to the now. I’ve learned anxiety is simply dragging your past into your future, causing a double whammy: not only are you living in worry, but you’re also letting the present pass you by.
Every time I check my conversions it is demoralizing, easily the worst aspect of blogging. If I could only do this I guess…
I actually put the posting of this post off by one day because I was disgusted with myself…Oh well, it is what it is. Every time you see a new post here just enjoy it I guess. Or you can stop me from whining because I hate it too lol.
Yes I am keeping up the running…a reader had asked me. Running and biking 25 to 30 miles every week. Eating on the other part…I would rather not talk about that.
I enjoy discovering new music. Obscure weird “alternative” stuff. My latest obsession is this band from former Yugoslavia “Demolition Group”. Here they are with a song form 1986 that sounds so fresh it is unreal! Beware: My taste is eclectic, cough!
One more pic from our road trip to the Michigan Upper Peninsula:
And I leave you with this…
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First! When was the last time you had a Tuesday post?
I don’t remember…I don’t even know what day it is anymore…
Good morning!
Tuesday? Why not. Good links again. Thanks.
The Delta cards (Reserve and Platinum) are throwing miles and MQMs into the competition for spend. Not hard to predict inflation so better start hedging with contingency bookings.
Could have a separate blog with “Latest credit card spending offers” and keep posting daily 🙂
This is something that Mile Nerd might have undertaken. Another reason for regret at his retirement.
I bet he is not sharing your feelings about it…Keeping a blog is NOT easy!
A Surprised Bronze for the Pacific Northwest! SO happy to see a post today. I think this is brilliant. Post when YOU want. We will read it no matter when it comes out. Thanks!
Yeah…I just gather material and will just post it when it gets to be too much to hold on to it 🙂
Wife just applied for a Southwest card, could she be conversion #2 this month? Talk about a family business LOL.
Thanks for the support Carl.
Looks like the Wuhan virus could have been the UNC virus. “We” were lucky it didn’t end up being a pandemic. Imagine a potentially infected, asymptomatic student walking around on UNC campus….. it could have been a clusterfcuk with more than 130 infected students!
https://www.propublica.org/article/near-misses-at-unc-chapel-hills-high-security-lab-illustrate-risk-of-accidents-with-coronaviruses
For the first time last night daughter sounded apprehensive but we are now past due the cancel deadline date for the housing contract #%^%#@#! I think I should have been more assertive here and just told her to stay the phuck at home this year and not throw her (and us) in danger…
I should have a contest how many days it goes by before a UNC similar outbreak…
Saudade — I learned a new word today! Thanks to you and Legal Nomad.
You are welcome, thanks for the note…If it wasn’t for comments like that this blog would not have existed for so long
Saudade is a very tricky word. My Brazilian friends once got in argument trying to explain it to me. It’s a beautiful word, though — sad, melancholic and a bit dark, but with a dash of hope.
I can’t believe they used Kool & The Gang – Celebration during Biden’s official acceptance of the nomination
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=roRQ2mNwMMQ
I am going to have calamari sometime this week 😉
Calamari sounds so much better than squid; how do you prefer it, deep fried rings and tentacles? Calamari steak is a real delicacy, especially as served in the Monterey area of California. Very lightly breaded, then grilled, served with a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy.
TPG now recommends getting dual citizenship with your next CC application. I am not surprised the comment section was removed.
Interesting point by Spencer:
“Major media publications have been scooping up more and more writers and putting more into credit card content.”
https://twitter.com/spencerformiles/status/1296110189322604544
This may be a big threat to TPG, OMMAT etc. It’s about the size of your platform.
Yes…Forbes, CNN, CNBC and a bunch of others are getting into the affiliate travel rewards cc market….No doubt it has been eating into the conversions across this space. We’ll see how long they will last…
On another note, Red Ventures looking to buy CNET for $500 million…these guys have lots of money to blow and Brian K. has been taking them for a ride for years.
They can buy me, I am much cheaper lol.
I think you meant lots of money FOR blow.
Hey George,
There’s a typo in your comment above.
S/b “…lots of money for blow to Brian K…”
All the best.
Dammit, didn’t see your comment before I made the same one ha
Ramsey’s buddy Stevie was busted for fraud 🙂
I wonder if Flynn et al will be at the Rep Convention and chant “Lock her/him up”…
No post today…aiming for Monday or Tuesday.
Thanks to the reader who has spent about $1.5k with my Amazon link, much appreciated.
Thanks to my wife for getting a Southwest card with my link. Her and daughter are the only two cc conversions this month sad lol.
I did not have enough material to do one of my usual posts today…maybe I need to become ok with the idea to do smaller posts. Especially considering so much crap that is posted every day in this space…
Summer is ending WTF!
Enjoy the weekend.
Vote Blue to stop the killing!
Great to see PSG lose. Gives me some hope for the remainder of the years.
Meanwhile, the FDA shows that it can’t be trusted anymore.
I think it was great PSG only lost by one 🙂 I was expecting more for sure. Bayern is just a well oiled machine. With one of the most intimidating goalies in the game!
Yeah, really, wtf FDA. And CDC…I think we need a deep cleaning across the board!
Remember the link I had about a farmer living in Narita airport. And I had added next to it this:
“Thanks to all the bloggers who will link to this story without an HT again smh…”.
It was back on August 14. Gary Leff just posted it..abt 9 days later on a Sunday night…LOL. If I had a dollar…never mind.