The Curmudgeon Speaks

Michelle Obama has a podcast and it is very good. It is only available through Spotify so I am assuming there is money involved. You can listen using the free subscription version of Spotify. To be fair, the podcast is done through Higher Ground – the Obama media company – so the production value (e.g., nice music) is high. I could not help thinking this may be the initial step in an Oprah empire. While the Obamas obviously have political interests, this is not what I consider a political podcast. It involves issues and featured guests. The first full offering is Barack and Michelle talking about their life stories.

I find this kind of rhetoric to be so strange. A sitting President claiming the country to be incapable of completing an election that determines the will of the people. He is promoting the logic – if I win, I deserved to win. If I lose, I have been cheated. Promoting this kind of nonsense is damaging to the core principles on which the country operates and no leader of a democracy should be making such claims as a means of self promotion.

The 2020 pandemic is often compared to the global pandemic of 1918. Trump claimed the 1918 pandemic ended World War II, but he obviously has a seriously limited grasp of history. I read somewhere that the 1918 pandemic was made more difficult to address because some citizens refused to wear masks. I know little of history, but I found this resistance interesting in the same way the present resistance seems illogical. Searching online resources is my remedy in such cases and I found a source focused on this issue.

Because the 1918 pandemic was complicated because of a world war which would seem to create a much more complicated situation, the frustration with folks who refused to wear masks was more intense. Those opposed to wearing masks were labeled “slackers” for not being willing to support the war effort. The danger to those in military service and the production of good relevant to the war effort was obvious. The label should now be applied to those actively resisting mask use and complaining about schools not opening. A special kind of self centered.

Phil Collins is supposedly trending everywhere. The reason seems to be the result of a post from Twins the new Trend. The two teenagers have a YouTube channel they use to share their experience with all kinds of music as a way to bring people together. By chance, they played “In the air tonight” by Phil Collins. They went crazy and so did those who watched their reaction. This reaction video became so popular it bumped interest in Phil Collins.

For those of you who are not Phil Collins fans I provide the following video. Collins was a member of Genisis and an extremely popular solo artist. My family have all long been fans. This video is a good way to experience the surprises in this old song especially the part late in the song when Collins displays his drum skills. Rolling Stone ranks Collins at 43 on their list of rock drummers and the drum fill in In the Air Tonight as the greatest of the decade. It will take a while in this live performance to get to Collins on the drums, but the wait is worth it.

The pandemic has encouraged folks who can’t move about much to find other ways to amuse themselves. My new vice is Cuban Coffee and it has caught on with others in my family.

I have a fancy espresso/latte machine, but my new approach involves simple equipment and inexpensive coffee. The Moka pot is on the right. The pot on the left is a way to make a latte, but I just use the bottom part which heats and froths milk. Cuban coffee is made with a coffee ground to a size similar to espresso. The Cafe Bustelo is a common coffee used in preparing Cuban Coffee. I purchase many kinds of coffee to support my habit. For some reason, Cafe Bustelo is very reasonably priced.

Cuban coffee is similar to espresso but it is combined with a thick sugar paste. The first small amount of coffee generated by the pot is added to sugar and mixed vigorously to produce a paste that when combined with the coffee produces a froth that tops the coffee.

This coffee and paste is combined to produce Cuban Coffee. Adding frothed milk produces a Cuban coffee con leche.

The Pew Research Center just offered an interesting study considering how individuals get their news and what they have learned. Of particular interest were those who relied primarily on social media.

In general, those who rely on social media and local television for news are the least knowledgeable. Younger individuals (18-29) are the group that most heavily relies on social media and older individuals (but not the oldest) are most likely to rely on local television.

The researchers asked nearly 30 questions to estimate knowledge, but did differentiate a set of 9 questions focused on political issues. Respondents were grouped by the number of questions answered correctly with those who relied on social media were most likely to end up in the lowest knowledge group (<5 questions).

The researchers also asked about knowledge of several conspiracy theories. In this case, the social media-focused were most likely to be aware of the conspiracy theories. This study did not evaluate whether the participants believed the conspiracy theories.

A Minneapolis photographer generated a pandemic project photographing families posed on the front steps of their homes. I have no idea what the original plan was, but the photographer has now published his collection as a photo book. The Kickstarter description is available here.

I have no connection with the project except our daughter’s family was selected for the cover photo.

So, if schools must open, the data reported [NYTimes article] here would argue you use school space to accommodate elementary students and bring back middle and high school students in small groups periodically expecting them to learn more remotely using online techniques.

The data come from a study in South Korea indicating that kids 10 and under are far less likely to transmit COVID than adults, but children over 10 approach the transmission rate among adults. This difference conveniently matches differences in independence and the social need for adult oversight. Adequate social distancing is not possible in many schools so it would be possible to take advantage of this age difference to use existing space more effectively.

As the researchers tend to say, more research is necessary. While the researchers do say this, educators, parents, and politicians are running out of time to make decisions so these data may help those seeking guidance.

The White House has offered very little when it comes to setting standards for dealing with the pandemic. This lack of an immediate response and failure to strongly push guidelines have resulted in the terrible situation we now experience. There seems one recent exception to this lack of taking a strong position and that concerns the recent pronouncement that schools will be open for face to face instruction in the Fall.

There are multiple issues about opening schools that trouble me. I am concerned that the resources needed to deliver quality instructions are not being made available. Schools have been cutting back at a time when more personnel (teachers, mental health workers, school nurses, maintenance workers, technology support personnel) are needed. Government expectations influence community expectations and at a minimum should come with the resources necessary for implementation.

The pronouncement from Trump, DeVoss that schools must open bothers me in two other important ways. First, there are the threats that financial pressure will be brought to bear to assure local and state compliance. Aside from this lack of ethics in this tactic, it is difficult to argue that you value the importance of education if your remedy when education experts disagree with you is to take actions that reduce educational effectiveness. My second annoyance is that to address the incompatibility between the pressure to open schools and the guidelines of the CDC, the WH is now pressuring the CDC to change their guidelines. This expectation has resulted in the CDC claiming that their recommendations are based in science and they will not change. Now what – do those with political power trump (haha) those with scientific expertise.

Why some in the public would accept that expectations based on the best science can simply be changed is troubling. This is not the way science works. However, the resistance it expertise has been part of the Trump approach from the beginning. The reasons this is accepted by some is an important issue and the notion that any idea advanced has equal value is a troubling development in public thinking.

I am a big fan of Andrew Zimmern and his recent series on Feeding America. For those averse to political positions, you might want to stay away. In this video. Zimmern highlights the legal and illegal immigrants harvesting and preparing our food.