POTD: Gezirah Palace in Cairo

From 2019 11 17 Ancient Cairo

Today's photo-of-the-day is from outside the entrance to the Cairo Marriott Hotel, on an island in the Nile River, originally constructed as the Gezirah Palace in 1869 for the Khedive Isma'il Pasha. We stayed there in November of 2019, which was only five months ago, but it seems like five millennia ago (but more of that in later posts). Good times.

Bonus photo after the jump, of the patio restaurant in the back of the hotel.

Blow the Man Down (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Blow the Man Down (2020): A small fishing village in Maine is the setting for a murder mystery, or two. Great characters, all deserving more screen time. You can't tell the good guys from the bad guys, as the plot unfolds or even after. Just how a great whodunnit should be. A-

Tales from the Loop (TV 2020)

Rotten Tomatoes

Tales from the Loop (TV 2020): Sci-fi with less focus on the science and more on the characters, lots of them kids, who live naturally in a world of time travel, parallel universes, robots, and machinery with a 1980s retro futuristic tech feel. Stories are slow but charming. B-

POTD: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

From 2019 10 10 State Fair of Texas

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the State Fair of Texas. It just looks hopeful somehow. Despite the rain, with proper precautions we can remain dry until the sun comes out, which it will.

COVID-19: Reopening the Country

Source: Libertarian Party of Kentucky.

This Venn diagram illustrates the challenge we face reopening the country during the COVID-19 epidemic. Many of us are in the middle of this Venn diagram. We support the stay-at-home and social distancing orders because we are in the upper left circle of the Venn diagram: "People taking COVID-19 seriously." We supported the $2 trillion relief package passed by Congress because we are also in the bottom circle: "People concerned with economic devastation." And we supported strong oversight in the distribution of that relief because we are also in the upper right circle, which I'll paraphrase as: "People worried about government accountability." In balance, we are in the bulls-eye of the Venn diagram.

But the people who are nearer the outside edges of the circles are getting restless. The cries that the cure is worse than the disease are growing louder from those firmly in the bottom circle. People on Facebook wring their hands and say, "People die every day. Life has to go on." (Maybe they aren't even wringing their hands. It's hard to tell sometimes.) Such people are being joined by people who fit snugly in the upper right circle, those who distrust government, which is most of us, although some go farther than others. "You shut down people's businesses and lives and civil war is the next step."

How do we return to normal in an environment like we're in?

POTD: Back in the Saddle

From 2019 10 10 State Fair of Texas

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the State Fair of Texas. It's time for more photos-of-the-day.

COVID-19 Response: Who's in Charge?

The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to a flurry of government orders in an effort to stem the pandemic. I don't claim to be an expert on any of them. They seem to change every few day, so don't rely on anything written today to be accurate tomorrow. But here's what I think I know, and here's what I think about what I think I know.