I won't repeat the Worldometer data for yesterday, but you should know that, while the new deaths in the U.S. dropped from 1658 to 1264, the new case figure slightly rose from 131K to 133K. The scary jumps are the Omicro variant-induced new cases in South Africa: - Tuesday 4300
- Wednesday 8600
- Thursday 11,500
The latest news about COVID-19, although there won't be anything conclusive about the Omicron variant for several weeks:
- Having had previously contracted this ailment won't necessarily protect you much from the Omicron variant. Hawaii's only case was to someone who previously had contracted COVID-19 who did not travel, meaning that this variant has already been established here.
- While vaccines appear to still be working, the efficiency has almost surely dropped.
- If you are younger than fifty, the odds are very, very low that you will die if you get infected.
- The unvaccinated and those over 65 will be significantly aided by Paxlovid, the new Pfizer PILL to avoid serious illness and hospitalization.
- After a positive test, take three pills, twice per day, for five days.
- Each pill costs $700, meaning a cost of $21,000.
- However, the U.S. federal government will absorb this cost, and when made available, will only be allowed for the elderly and those with pre-conditions.
- The FDA has still not approved this pill, but soon should, and the treatment, which just involves taking pills at home, should be available early next year.
- Better for me to wait until this pill is available to do any traveling.
- There is also Merck's Molnupiravir pill which did by a 13-10 panel vote get approved by the FDA. However:
- Not sure if this will be two pills/day for 5 days...or 5 pills, twice per day, for five days.
- The cost of each pill is $700, but like the Pfizer version, will be made available for free.
One of my favorite songs has long been Over the Rainbow, written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, sung by Judy Garland. She was the third choice because of contractual issues with Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song the following year when I was born. MGM executives deleted Over the Rainbow after an advance screening.
Associate producer Arthur Freed stepped in, telling studio head Louis B. Mayer, “The song stays—or I go,” to which Mayer replied: “Let the boys have the damn song. Put it back in the picture. It can’t hurt.”
In 2001 Over the Rainbow was voted the greatest song of the 20th century in a joint survey by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America. Then, the American Film Institute named it the BEST movie song on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list.
The song transported Dorothy over the rainbow from the sepia tone of Kansas to the Technicolor Land of Oz. For me, the significance comes from lines four and five:
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true
I've had numerous over the rainbow dreams. A very few actually did come true. Those that did were Hail Marys that changed my life.
The first one began to gestate in my junior year at McKinley High School. Until then I was an average student. But my family, and many others too, were kicked out of Kakaako by Bishop Estate to make way for what has become Ward Village.
Two months ago I posted THE STORY OF MY LIFE: Roots. That article reports on my childhood. The next day was my 81st birthday, leading to THE STORY OF MY LIFE: My Irrational Quest for Stanford. To quote:
Here is where it gets looney and even preposterous, although I point to this transition as when my life became a series of luck almost too good to be true. I was never much of a student, but always did well in math. In the 8th grade we all took some national comprehensive test to compare us with the mainland. I think I fell into the bottom 10% on verbal ability. But, hey, I grew up in Kakaako where there was no intellectual interest. Yet, a next door neighbor became superintendent of our public schools, and another became president of the University of Hawaii. Some found a way to excel in the midst of this mediocrity.
Anyway, read that Stanford posting for my first miracle, or lucky Hail Mary. It goes on to list a package of experiences that eventually landed me back home in 1972 as an assistant professor of engineering at my home University of Hawaii, when the world was thrust into combined crises: energy and environment. You might say this could well have been a second miracle, for I was able to gain experience in geothermal energy, biofuels, wind/solar energy (leading to a book I co-authored) which enabled me to work on:
- The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) at the NASA Ames Research Center.
- Laser fusion at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
- Helping pass original legislation while working for Senator Spark Matsunaga in DC on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), Hydrogen, Wind Energy and Deep Ocean Minerals.
So two more over the rainbow dreams, SETI and Fusion, both awaiting ultimate success, or not.
Then the third, synthesizing OTEC, hydrogen, next generation fisheries and a cornucopia of marine sustainable resources, while enhancing the marine/atmospheric environment, or the Blue Revolution. Two stages are planned:
- $150 million to design, build and operate the Pacific International Ocean Station for commissioning in 2030. Watch a talk I gave nearly a decade ago in San Francisco on this project.
- $150 billion to build the first floating city to host the 2050 World Ocean Expo.
Eight days from now, Blue Revolution Hawaii will host The Time for the Blue Revolution is Now, a TEDx event that can be watched by clicking on this link. This site will guide you to this FREE webcast. At one time we were hoping to have a live program emanating from the Art Auditorium on the Manoa Campus of the University of Hawaii. This pandemic has forced us to present the program electronically. Thus all of our talks have been pre-recorded. Here is my 18-minute TEDx presentation.
In 1993 Israel Kamakawiwoole released Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World. He recorded this medley in one take. Thus, my current life has been enhanced with this Blue Revolution dream which will someday lead to a wonderful world at sea. Sunday I will end The Story of My Life series by exploring the ultimate dream.
From Leighton Chong, event organizer for the TEDx Hawaii event on December 11, 2021:
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In the West Pacific, east of the Philippines, Nyatoh has strengthened into a typhoon, and by later today could even attain Category 4 strength. However, there is at this time no threat to major land areas or islands. Kind of late in the season to reach this kind of power.
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