SALMAGUNDI

  From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD   Brazil    India    South Africa

June     9    1093     4732         1185       246       82

July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572

Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130

Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82

Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85

Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518      118

Dec    30      3880    14748       1224       299      465

Jan     14       4142    15512         1151        189       712              

Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398

          25       2414    10578        1582        119      144

Mar     2        1989      9490       1726       110      194

          31       1115      12301        3950       458       58

April   6         906     11787         4211        631       37

May    4         853     13667         3025     3786      59 

         26         607     12348         2399     3842     101

June    1        287     10637         2346      3205      95

            2        514     10984         2394      2899    110

            9        401     10240         2693      2213    120  

          10        452     14097         2484       6138    127

          15        353       9248         2760      1470    208

          16        434       9497         2673      1411      136

Summary:  the pandemic just does not want to go away.  

A point of concern is that South Africa is now up to #7 in new COVID-19 cases with 13,246.  This means that two weeks from today, the deaths/day will jump to 435.  If this is symptomatic of Africa (which is suspected of not adequately reporting cases and deaths anyway), there should be serious worry about the 1.2 billion living on that continent.

This is one of those days when nothing much is happening and I don't know what to blog about.  The past three days were so esoterically scientific that I'll just dabble today.  Let me start with the Supreme Court upholding Obamacare, for they dismissed by a 7-2 vote a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, leaving intact health care coverage for a lot of Americans.  Republican states and Donald Trump had urged the justices to end the program

As you know, Biden met Putin in Geneva yesterday.  Putin is 5'7" tall and Joe Biden is 6'.  Terms like cordial, stubborn optimism, tonal toughness and exercise in global pragmatism were used.  No progress over cyberattacks and other issues, but they did agree to return ambassadors to work again.  Biden could not lose, for Senator John McCain branded Donald Trump's meeting with Putin as disgraceful.

If you have nothing better to do today, watch Danny MacAskill riding a bike through the Scottish Highlands near Edinburgh.  You can only wonder how he and  his bike survived, and need to stay through to the end to watch the near disasters.

Last week I mentioned that my brother climbed those two tall towers on the right at Lualualei (higher than the Empire State Building) on perhaps a secret Naval project.  Maybe it was just to change a light bulb.

Did you know that there has been minimal inflation for more than 12 years...until now?  From the New York Times this morning.

If you can remember back that far, in 2008 the stock market crashed when inflation rose past 5%, and this is when I leaped into the stock market and did well.  I only invest when this happens. 

Further, you would have thought that the Pandemic should have depleted bank savings.  Just the opposite happened.

Economists appear not particularly concerned about serious inflation.  They say that when spending for the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill signed by Biden in March soon comes to an end, inflation will drop.

The cruise industry will begin sailing mostly in August:

Alaska
Bahamas
Bermuda
Caribbean
Europe
Galapagos
Mexico & Central America
Northern Europe
Tahiti & South Pacific

As you decide which cruise line to take, here is a comprehensive review of the ten worst ships.

As far as I know, our 111-day around the world cruise will still leave San Pedro on January 11, and the Island Princess is not on that list.

When I taught Technology and Society at the University of Hawaii, I many times had a final essay question that asked the students to relate three topics into a cohesive story...and spend no more than 5 minutes doing this.  I picked three that I could not imagine any possible connection.  Almost every student in all those years brilliantly created a story that not only made sense, but were amazing.  Watch this video about another professor attempting a similar experiment.  Both tests teach you a different lesson.  Mine that we all show potential for creativity, while this other one indicating how unfortunately focused we are.

For those wondering, SALMAGUNDI is a word derived from the French salmigondis, meaning a disparate array of things, but forming an incoherent whole.   A salmagundi, sometimes shortened to salmi, is also a dish made of a mashup of ingredients. Your new word of the day.

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