COVID-19 PSA

(Image from the New Scientist)

 I have not made any posts to my life blog since January. There are many reasons for this but the primary one is that of respect for others. Let me explain.

 I and those whom are close to me have not been overtly hit by the effects of COVID-19. Sure we have been tested and quarantined while awaiting the results. Sure we wear masks when we leave the house. Sure we have not been going to restaurants except to get takeout and delivery. Sure we have limited our shopping for pleasure and only grocery shop when we need it. Sure we have limited access to friends and family depending on case count in our area. We do this to be good members of our society. Our community. None in our circle got infected nor died from COVID-19.

 But many have. This website is a handy way to compare data and this one is handy for Canadian data. Life is not going well for many people. These struggles from the physical health, mental health, and financial stability of dealing with COVID-19 are not easy. 

Since my January post, I have done some things: traveled for work (in isolation during the first wave), traveled twice for pleasure (within my province when case counts were low), gave to various charities, and did some things around the house. After doing each of those things, I did not want to post about it out of respect for those who cannot.

There are good signs of multiple vaccines on the horizon, but that is what they are. On the horizon.

Until that is done, I will limit my posts. I hope that each of you who may read this stay safe and do things that help one another, even if it just means staying apart, wearing a mask, washing your hands regularly, and the other items in the image below. Be a helpful member of the community and do your part to defeat this virus.

Balboa Park

Balboa Park was created in 1835 but was built up for the Panama-California Exhibition for 1915-1916. At 1200 acres there is a lot to do.

 Many of the buildings are grand using local architectural influences.

 Here is how it looked leading up to the 1915 exhibition.

 One of the places I went to in the park was the museum of man that had many historical artifacts.

 It also had a very moving exhibit on secrets, written on postcards, that showed the emotions people were going through.

 The botanical gardens were very nice to see although by mid day it was getting quite busy.

 The artist area was quirky and colourful.

 The air and space museum had many actual and replica aircraft inside.

 The Starlight Bowl is over 80 years old and has been closed since 2011 but there is an effort to rejuvenate this part of the park.

The famous San Diego zoo is also in the park along with multiple of other venues. Its worth at least a day or three.

USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum

The USS Midway is an Aircraft carrier that served from 1945 to 1992 and is now a museum in San Diego. I visited it in December of last year. I was here for about 90 minutes and could have spent another hour here to see everything.

 The internal flight bay of the carrier.

One of the many aircraft in the internal flight bay is the SBD Dauntless.

 The crew storage for personal effects were under the bunks.

 They were pretty cramped.

 The officers definitely had it better.

The anchor chain area at the bow of the carrier is quite spacious as well.

 A part of the operations room.

 The computer system for the ship's gyroscope.

 There were also multiple aircraft of the flight deck.

I would come back again in the future.

Maya: The Great Jaguar Rises

The Maya exhibit at the Royal BC museum was an exceptional experience which my wife and I attended in late December. It has now completed its run.

The detail and craftsmanship of the pottery was astounding.

The paint colour on these pots is amazing for being made between 550-800 CE.

The tiny detail on this stone vessel, made from a series of fragments found, is from 600-800 CE. It features the deer as lord of all animals with speech recorded in finely carved glyphs. The deer is boasting of his royal possessions.

A turkey vulture mosaic done in ivory, also from 550-800 CE.

A panel showing King Taj Chan Ahk with two lesser lords was made in 795 CE. It is unusual in that the sculptor's name is engraved on the left side.

This is a replica portion of the Madrid Codex. Made up of 112 pages it is the longest of four preserved Mayan books. Many were burned by missionaries which prevented the translation of the glyphs and a portion of the glyphs are still unknown to this day.

Below is a map of the area the Mayans controlled along with the languages of the peoples that inhabit the area. It was touch screen so you could hear and see the people speak in their language. It was marvelous to hear the similarities and differences in their own words.

A very enjoyable exhibit that took about 90 minutes.

End of 2019 and beginning of 2020

There were many big things this year, some of which I will keep to myself and friends. A change in job responsibilities also occurred and there were improvements to our home, including painting and replacement of our back deck.

Besides the magazines I read this year (3 Archaeology and 15 National Geographic), I read ten non-fiction books: A Great and Noble Scheme by John Mack Farager, Achtung Panzer! by Heinz Guderian, Creating Babylon 5 by David Bassom, God: A Biolgraphy by Jack Miles, National Geographic's Indian Wars, Longitude by Dana Sobel, Napoleon's Buttons by Penny le Couteur and Jay Burreson, Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynaman, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, and The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. In 2020 I intend to read at least 9 non-fiction books and continue with my magazines.

Of Fiction books I read a whopping 24 of them but many were short works. They were: Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer, Best SF vol 2 by Edmund Crispin, Emma by Jane Austen, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen, Gypsies by Robert Charles Wilson, Infinity Box by Kate Wilhelm, Judge Dredd Vol 6, Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler, Little Sister by Raymond Chandler, Man with the Getaway Face by Richard Stark, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin, Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson, Suicide Club by Robert Lewis Stephenson, Sword of Rihannon by Leigh Brackett, The Dain Curse by Dashiell Hammett, The Hunter by Richard Stark, The Outfit by Richard Stark, The Seventh by Richard Stark, The Stars are the Styx by Theodore Sturgeon, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, Them Bones by Howard Waldrop, Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. I do not know if I can read this many in 2020 but will read what I can.

I attended two concerts this year, which were enjoyable: Constantinople: Gate to the East and Tafelmusik: Bach the Circle of Creation. I have no idea of the music concerts i will attend in 2020. For music in the home, I have been watching Band in Seattle (11 of the 30 min program), Fleetwood Mac: The Dance, Queen Elizabeth 1sts battle for church music, Roy Orbison: Black and White Night, Tommy.

I dipped my toe into podcasts this past year, listening to 16 CBC Idea episodes and 7 Under the Influence episodes. I hope to continue with these two great shows and perhaps more.

For movies, I have seen 15 in a theater, 53 at home, and 12 that were feature length documentaries. Standouts in a theater were: Avengers: Endgame, Ford vs Ferrari, Joker, and Spider-man: Into the Spider Verse. Standouts for movies at home were: After Life, Blakkklansmen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Colossal, Gone with the Wind, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Lawrence of Arabia, Mr Deeds goes to Town, Mark of Zorro '40, Ninotchka, Nobody Knows, On the Waterfront, Rashomon, Shape of Water, Split, Upgraded. Standouts for documentaries were: 20 feet from Stardom, An Honest Liar, Apollo 11, Good ol Freda: The Beatles Secretary, Score, The Greatest Party on Earth, and Woodstock.

For non-fiction TV, 185 hours were watched. These were the standouts:  Africa and Britain: A Forgotten History (4), Annie Oakley, Apollo Experience: Apollo 17 (2), Baroque (3), Fake or Fortune (5), Hokusai: Crazy Old Man to Paint, Impressionists (3), Mary Pickford, My Life in Hitler's Germany (2), Nature (10), Nova (14), The Elements (3), Utopia (3).

Of Fiction TV, I watched 275 hours. These were the standouts: And then there were none (3), Babylon 5 - Pilot and S1 and S2 (45), Baroness von Sketch (30 min, 12), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (24), Doom Patrol (15), Elementary (S6 21) (S7 12), Handmaids Tale (11), Orville (15), Rookie (21), Swamp Thing (12), The Crown (10). I hope to reduce the fiction TV I watch and concentrate more on non-fiction and reading.