Weird
Daily Ramble
Portland is not healthy. We arrived here on Saturday, leaving behind our family cranberry farm to spend time with family and friends until harvest in October. A childhood friend has graciously rented us a second home for the duration of our stay. Our arrival was smooth, and we were greeted warmly — though masked.
I thought the masked intro was a bit much, but “hey, it’s Portland,” I thought. Now after wandering the streets of Portland a bit and popping into a few different stores, I fully understand my buddy’s masking up. The fear is palpable. Everywhere I look, I see frightened eyes staring out from behind masks, and there’s a physical aversion to being close to strangers. Our daughter played at a park yesterday with other kids near her age who were masked up. Their helicopter mother came over to separate the children to create more space. I was agog: children not allowed to learn the all-so-important, face-reading skill or play together, and out of COVID fear when the flu is a bigger risk for children!? While I know Antifa and Black Lives Matter demonstrations/riots likely compounded the trauma the city has experienced, I don’t know exactly what has happened in Portland to make it so fearful. I do know that it’s not healthy to live in a fearful setting. So, yeah, we’re questioning our length of stay.
On Friday, I juxtaposed the fear of sharks to the fear of COVID using a chart showing the combination of cancer and heart disease killed around 4x the number of people in 2020. COVID was the only fatal risk listed in the chart that was transmissible, as a couple of readers dutifully pointed out. While true, it still doesn’t take anything away from the mortality risk of COVID being much exaggerated in comparison. Speaking of comparisons, I’ve been looking at John Hopkins University’s country-based mortality data (bottom half of the linked page). I’m sure someone smarter than I can gain insights into the right policies that keep the number of COVID deaths to a minimum, but the only conclusion I’m drawing is there is no pattern. A country with a strict policy is countered by an equal or better result from a loose policy. I don’t get it.
And I doubt I’m alone. If we can’t have the humility to admit that COVID moves in mysterious ways, why are we then firing a tenured ethics professor for being ethical in the face of the unknown?
And while I’m at it with the questions, let’s question the difference between Israel and India for a moment. Israel is the most heavily vaccinated nation on the planet. Its case rates are spiking while the treatment-based approach in India is doing comparative wonders. So should the COVID vaccine really be the primary response tool? Most think it’s the only tool available, unfortunately.
Apparently, Ivermectin is one of the secret sauces to India’s success. I don’t know why it’s so controversial to consider Ivermectin when it’s been used effectively for more than 20 years. To share exactly how controversial it is, Amazon Germany refunded a friend of mine from his book purchase of Ivermectin. A Cure For Covid 19? Here’s a link to the book my friend purchased, and the letter Amazon.de sent is as follows:
Just plain weird since the book clearly isn’t unauthorized by the author. Who was it unauthorized by? And does this smell strongly of The Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 to anyone else?
I’m off to brave the “new” Portland weird. It’s not the Portland weird I loved in my 20s and 30s, but it’s weird nonetheless. Here’s hoping we can all live in less fear, stay healthy, and continue to question things that don’t make sense.
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Weekend: $44.4k - $49.3k
Today: $42.2k - $46.9k
Tomorrow: $41.3k - $45.1k
Though the weekend’s price action stayed in a relatively tight price range from $44.7k-$46.5k, in the last few hours, the price has dropped to a low of $43.3k. As volume is increasing in the market, it could be that we’ll see further downside before the day is closed. Though I remain bullish on the longer-term trend and that we’ve bottomed at $29.8k, it’s clear that the bears have taken the upper hand for the short term. At the moment, I’m watching the $42k area for a logical bounce at the bottom of the range set last week with the $10k price sell-off. My best guess at this point is that we will be stuck, ranging between $42k-$49k for a few weeks before we see the market gain confidence and become bullish again. Until either $42k or $49k are broken, I’ll be singing the same tune.
Bitcoin Q & A
Q: What makes you think international corporations would accept Bitcoin as money?
A: Because of what is occurring in El Salvador.
Since Bitcoin was adopted as legal tender in El Salvador last week, Starbucks, McDonald’s, and PizzaHut have begun to accept it for payment. While this is El Salvador specific, it shows that international corporations have the expertise to accept Bitcoin and will do so to conduct business. And if El Salvador is an indicator, they’ll also proudly advertise their acceptance of Bitcoin.
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