Market Day

Posted on by Thor

Stella Arbeláez Tascón and I went to the Webster Westside Flea Market (516 NW 3rd Street, Webster, FL). This is a painting of the combined haul before we divvied up the spoils of the marketing war.

Stella is great at comparing prices and finding the best deal while I just grab on impulse and sometimes forget to pay. I’m just excited to get the produce in my ancient granny cart which was rickety by the end of the shopping spree due to the produce weight.

The jar contains, Tamarind, a hard shelled pea shaped Fruit legume, which is sweet and bitter at the same time. I bit off individual seed pods and nurse the fruit off the seed with my front teeth while rolling it in my mouth.

I have become addicted to having several oranges every day. I am also a fan of cooking corn on the cob every night. It only takes 5 minutes to boil an ear so it is a quick snack.

In the background of the sketch are some ink bottles. Stella was testing each bottle of ink for it’s permanence when used with watercolor washes. It turns out one bottle is not permanent and that is the one she had been using.

My backpack for my Europe trip arrived yesterday. Each morning I put it on to walk around the block to see how it feels. I shopped at REI and maybe packed it 1/3 full. I hope on my travels I can find keep finding lush bounties of fruit as I hike, train and drive from town to town. I am getting close to finishing my itinerary. Which will give me a list of the towns and hamlets I must visit to follow in 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken‘s footsteps as his C-Company infantry unit moved from France to Belgium, Norway and ultimately the heart of Germany at the end of WWII. I think I solved the mystery of which work concentration camp his unit might have liberated and moved the victims toward Eastern Europe via train box cars. The displaced person’s didn’t want to get on the train and his unit had to hammer the box car doors shut with nails. The trip East might have been a death sentence. Skeletal faces started out from between box car boards in sorrow.

Morning Laps

Posted on by Thor

My friend Stella Arbeláez Tascón and I subscribed for morning lap swims three times a week for the summer, at the H.O. Dabney Pool (312 Pine Street Leesburg Florida). I might have to miss a couple of lap swims while I am traveling to The Wild Rivers Film Festival, in Oregon, but the lap swims are a great way to start the day.

In the first session, we must have swum for well over an hour. I should have felt exhausted, after coming out of the water, but instead I felt euphoric. A sense of peace sweeps over me after a swim, and I feel ready to tackle the tasks for the day.

There are showers in the men’s and women’s rooms to rinse away the chlorine. The chlorine was making Stella’s long hair start too turn blonde. My stark white hair, what remains of it, refused to turn blonde. It might have been nice to have a hint of blonde since I am planning a long trip to Germany, and I would blend in better with my Nordic ancestors.

I tried swimming freestyle, but I really don’t like having my face in the water. I need to blow bobbles out of my nose, so I feel that I get winded too fast. I also seem to always breath on the upward stroke of my right arm. I am sure that with a few lessons I would get much better at this fast swimming style. I prefer to swim with a modified butterfly style. It is modified in that I don’t submerge my face with each stroke. My version of the swimming style looks more like a frog swimming, although a frog is probably is more graceful.

I also like to swim on my back, spreading my arms like Christ to check that I am not steering off course into the floating ropes. There are blue and white flags over the pool at each end,. When doing the back stroke, I use those flags to let me know to raise my arms to be prepared to touch the wall thus saving me from crashing my head into the cement.

As we were leaving the lap pool, the water was turned on with the water slide and it gushed out a top speed. Kids and parents, who have been waiting at the front gate rushed inside as we walked out the front gates to the parked Prius, and the place started buzzing with chaotic activity.

COVID Lung Damage

Posted on by Thor

Lungs are the main organs affected by a COVID-19 infection. A study published in Radiology showed that there is Persistent Lung Damage after recovering from COVID-19. The study of COVID’s long term effects are being studied as more people suffer from Long COVID. Researchers in Germany evaluated changes in lung structure and function in 54 pediatric COVID-19 survivors and nine healthy controls aged 5 to 17 years using low-field MRI. Twenty-nine patients (54%) had recovered from their infections, 25 (46%) had long COVID, and all but one were unvaccinated at the time of infection. Four COVID-19 patients had asymptomatic acute infections. The study findings show that lung abnormalities persist among children who have experienced COVID-19 illness.

Long COVID can cause lingering health problems and wreak havoc for months. Long COVId can include symptoms like, shortness of breath, fatigue and brain fog. The symptoms can come and go, but have an impact on the person’s everyday functioning, and cannot be explained by another health problem. Long COVID can happen in people who have mild symptoms. COVID can cause damage to the lungs, heart, nervous system, kidneys, liver and other organs.

A bad case of COVID-19 can produce scarring and other permanent problems in the lungs but even mild infections can cause persistent shortness of breath — getting winded easily after even light exertion.

Many people recovering from COVID-19 suffer from long-term symptoms of lung damage, including breathlessness, coughing, fatigue and limited ability to exercise. COVID-19 can lead to inflammation in the lungs due to the infection and the immune system’s reaction to it. The inflammation may improve over time, but in some people it persists. Lung recovery after COVID-19 is possible, but takes time. Experts say it can take months for a person’s lung function to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. Breathing exercises and respiratory therapy can help.

Covid Macht Frei

Posted on by Thor

In Germany the number of ICU patients in the hospitals was just 200 two weeks ago, that has surged to over 1600 patients as of October 13, 2022. On October 10, 2022 a clinic in Munich, Germany had to deal with a sudden wave of COVID patients. Thirty to 50 percent of the hospital staff were out sick. The clinic work counsel reported that they could not guarantee optimal care of their patients. This clinic is in the same city that just finished hosting Octoberfest celebrations after a two year hiatus.

An estimated 5.7 million people attended Octoberfest in Germany. Nothing has been learned from past super spreader events. The virus thrived in such a setting where thousands gather together and drink beer while taking no respiratory safety measure such as social distancing, and masking. This is the perfect storm. Germany’s health minister, Karl Lauterbach said, that the festival likely had an impact on the rise in COVID cases. Cases are rising all across Europe.

Besides the festival itself, changing behavior in general are likely leading to the rise in cases. German politicians of all parties have published pictures of themselves without a mask at the festival. According to the new Infection Protection Act, even minor requirements, such as access restrictions, mandatory hygiene and mask mandates, are no longer permitted. People are over COVID and they want to get drunk to forget about the 151,000 Germans who have died from COVID so far. Over six million Jews were murdered in the holocaust, so several hundred thousand dead do to COVID is a drop in the bucket.

In Germany about 80 people lose their lives to COVID-19 every day in Germany and a new wave is gathering speed, at the same time the German federal and state governments are dismantling the last remaining measures and promoting a “live with the virus” strategy. In cities around the country that host Octoberfest celebrations similar rises in cases are happening. In Rosenheim, Germany for example, the seven-day infection rate rose there to over 1,000 infections per 100,000 inhabitants approximately one-and-a-half weeks after the start of the Oktoberfest.

Right now over 85% of hospital beds are occupied in Germany. On October 14, 2022 Germany record 114, 198 new cases. With at home testing and under reporting that is just the tip of the iceberg. Germany’s doctors association, Marburger Bund, urges states with surging COVID rates to reintroduce mask mandates in public indoor settings and transport. Germany’s Health Minister also called for the re-introduction of mask mandates, citing the “Shar increase” in COVID cases. As with most “suggestions” and “urgings”, both will go ignored. PROST!

 

 

Human Porcupine

Posted on by Thor

A 60 year old German man allegedly got up to 90 vaccination shots in order to collect and sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

The man from the eastern German city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, kept getting  shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him this month, the German news agency dpa reported April 3, 2022.

He was caught at a vaccination center in Eilenburg in Saxony when he showed up for a COVID-19 shot for the second day in a row. Police confiscated several blank vaccination cards from him and initiated criminal proceedings. It wasn’t immediately clear what impact the approximately 90 shots of COVID-19 vaccines, which were from different brands, had on the man’s health.

Many COVID-19 deniers refuse to get vaccinated in Germany but at the same time want to have the coveted COVID-19 passports that make access to public life and venues such as restaurants, theaters, swimming pools or workplaces much easier.

Germany has seen high infection numbers for weeks, due to the BA.2 omicron sub variant, yet many measures to rein in the pandemic ended on April Fools day. Donning masks is no longer compulsory in grocery stores and most theaters but it is still mandatory on public transportation. In most schools in Germany, students also no longer have to wear masks, which has led teachers’ associations to warn of possible conflicts in class a masking set up  caste bullying system among the students.

Stealth

Posted on by Thor

Multiple countries in Europe are showing an increase in infections, fueling concerns about the possibility of another global surge. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy were among those that saw an upswing in cases this past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The European surge also comes alongside conflict in Ukraine after the Russian invasion, leading to rising concerns about a public health crisis in the region sparked by densely crowded shelters and forced travel across borders. The WHO said earlier this month that the conflict may cause a surge in infections, straining scarce resources and contributing to more suffering and death.

BA.2, known as the “stealth” omicron variant, is making up a growing number of cases in some countries, and some studies show that it may be up to 30% more transmissible than the original omicron variant. China just locked down 52.5 million people to try and stop the spread of BA.2 stealth omicron. On March 15, China issued city-wide lockdowns in place in Shenzhen, affecting 12.5 million people, Dongguan (10.5 million), and Langfang (5.5 million), and locked down the whole province of Jilin, affecting 24 million. That’s 52.5 million people.

Cases of BA.2 made up an estimated 11.6% percent of cases in the United States as of March 5, 2022 according to CDC data, up from 6.6% February 26, 2022. In the United States hospitalizations are on the decline but this country has always lead the world in the number of cases and deaths. Only 44.3% of the U.S. population has received a booster dose so this country is ripe for another surge.

Omicron which was supposed to be a “milder” variant has killed more people than the Delta variant. World wide the number of deaths from COVID-19 is over 6 million. A new study found that the actual number may be 3 times higher, up to 18 million dead.

No Immunity

Posted on by Thor

Every person vaccinated is another brick in the wall to try and reach herd immunity against COVID-19. As of 6 a.m. November 23, 2021 only 59 % of the country’s population, according to the CDC‘s data. That leaves plenty of unvaccinated human fuel for the virus to burn through.

As we approach the holidays, the hospitalizations are again on the rise. Americans have grown weary and are returning to pre-pandemic life styles with no masks and no social distancing. Even when American locked down at the beginning of the pandemic, only 35% truly locked down and isolated. Many European countries locked down far harder but like America they re-opened too  soon.

Only 42% of Germans are vaccinated. The German health minister, Jens Spahn, has warned citizens that they would be either “vaccinated, cured or dead” from COVID-19 by the end of winter as several European countries impose restrictions amid surging infections. As intensive care beds fill up fast, Germany’s worst-hit regions have ordered new shutdowns, including the closure of Christmas markets. In regions with high hospitalisation rates, the unvaccinated will be barred from public spaces like cinemas, gyms and indoor dining.

Austria has only 42% of it’s population vaccinated. They are experiencing a huge surge in cases that is forcing the country into a hard lock down. At first only the unvaccinated had to stay at home, but now everyone is in a forced lockdown to try and slow the spread of the virus. Everyone in the country has been mandated too get vaccinated.

What is happening in Europe can and likely will occur in America again as complacency, ignorance and misinformation allows people to let their guard down.  With winter the once hoped for wall  of immunity will collapse.

German COVID-19 Surge

Posted on by Thor

BBC News reported that Germany is experiencing it’s 4th COVID-19 surge. One of Germany’s top virologists has warned that a further 100,000 people will die from Covid-19 if nothing’s done to halt an aggressive fourth wave.

On November 10, 2021 the country registered its highest rate of infection since the pandemic began, with almost 40,000 cases in a day. Doctors in the intensive care COVID-19 ward at Leipzig University Hospital warn this fourth wave could be the worst yet.

The state of Saxony has the highest seven-day infection rate in Germany at 459 cases per 100,000 people. The national rate is 232. It also has the lowest take-up of vaccine with just  57% of the population vaccinated. At the start of this week, Saxony banned unvaccinated people from bars, restaurants, public events and sport and leisure facilities. At least several other states are expected to follow suit.

Sixteen million Germans over the age of 12 have not been fully vaccinated. The German government has admitted it’s unlikely to persuade many of those people now. Germany’s anti-vaxxers are furious. Several thousand protested last weekend in Leipzig.

Irish DNA & Genealogy

Posted on by Thor

Pam Schwartz and I went to a presentation about the use of DNA for genealogists. In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a
total of 46. Twenty-two of these pairs, called autosomes, look the same
in both males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, differ
between males and females. Females have two copies of the X chromosome, while males have one X and one Y chromosome. Pam has been getting DNA test from all of her oldest living relatives. In particular it is a good idea to get tests from male relatives because they will have both x and Y chromosomes which means the results will be different that a females test.

I have done some family history research and, with the name Thorspecken, I figured that clearly my heritage goes back to Germany. I traveled to Germany and found the Thorspecken home which is now a museum in Wetterburg. A name plate for Jacob Thorspecken was still on an upstairs door. Pam encouraged me to do a DNA test. It involved spitting in a small test tube and sending that off to a lab. The results came back complete with a map that showed where my ancestors immigrated from. The results were surprising. 60% of my ancestors came from Ireland and Scotland with most from Northern Ulster Ireland. 36% came from England, Whales and Northern Europe which included a bit of Western Germany. Only 4% came from Germanic Europe.

Of course I have already proven that the Thorspecken name is from Germany, but this DNA test showed me that that one family name is just a small fraction of the DNA story that defines where I came from. I also see 2nd and 3rd cousins that I didn’t know existed before. DNA clearly sheds a whole new light on family history research.  I now have a far greater reason to celebrate my Irish heritage every Saint Patrick’s day. At a time when our country is trying to wall off our borders, it is good to look back at the ethnic diversity that makes this country great.