One way to gain a reputation of being smart is to keep abreast of what is happening around you. Here are some tips, in priority order.
LIFE- Today is June 20, the Monday holiday for Juneteenth, if you live in the U.S. and work for the federal government or live in those 18 states approving day. Here are other countries with a national holiday today, as for example Flag Day for Argentina and Corpus Christi in Columbia, which just had a presidential election:
- Gustavo Petro, former mayor of Bogota, was elected as the first leftist (for social equality and egalitarianism) president of the country. While you would have surmised that the country's relationship with the USA would improve, just the opposite, for Petro has been very critical of the U.S. war on drugs. There is room for agreement, as he further is strong on reversing global climate warming.
- The vice president is Francia Marquez, the first Black women in that office, who vows to stand for "nobodies." She is a single mother and former housekeeper.
- PANDEMIC
- I have over-reported on COVID-19, so will again. The current fear is that this disease will be with us for a very long time, with more and more reporting as many as their fourth infection, and the continuing fear of become a long-hauler, which unfortunately affects 10-30% of those who get sick. Here is a list of more than 200 symptoms. Medical reports indicate that your chances of getting long COVID is significantly reduced with vaccinations/boosters. A study of 240,000 U.S. patients indicate that you are 7 to 10 times less likely than unvaccinated patients. Then, too, there are other studies which did not show this glaring benefit.
However deaths are continuing to drop, so at some point in the not too, too distant future, WHO might announce that the pandemic is over, and, with so many vaccinated/boosted or already previously infected, COVID-19 will just become part of the seasonal flu.
The matter of home-testing continues to be confusing.- If you fear exposure, you need to wait something like four or five days before bothering to do the test.
- Worse, if you test negative and feel okay, you might still be infected, and can transmit this disease.
- So what should you do? Best to continue to wear a mask for a while more. And, of course, get vaccinated and boosted twice, with a new fall shot coming. All these shots even if you in the past contracted COVID.
- WAR
- All signs point to the Ukraine War lingering for years. In one way this is a positive statement, for Russia expected a quick victory.
- Of course things are terrible if you live in Ukraine, but we all suffer, for this sudden inflation, shortages and high price of gasoline can be blamed on this war.
- Clearly, what happens in Ukraine will affect China and Taiwan, and the rest of the world.
POLITICS- The House January 6 Committee hearing tomorrow will delve into the states Trump talked into helping him with his attempted coup, especially Georgia.
- The fourth public hearing will begin at 1PM EDT (7AM in Hawaii).
- To personally appear: Brad Raffensperger (R, above) , Gabriel Sterling (R) and Wandrea Moss (D) of Georgia, and Rusty Bowers, Arizona House Speaker, a Republican.
In an Ipsos/ABC poll, 60% of Americans believed that the Committee was conducting a fair and impartial investigation, while 58% felt that Trump should be charged with a crime.
- ECONOMY
- Interest rates have shot up.
- U.S. inflation rose last month to a four-decade high of 8.6%.
- Last week the Federal Reserve increased the interest rate by 0.75%, the most since 1994.
- The 30-year mortgage rate jumped to 5.78% last week, the highest since November of 2008 during the housing crisis. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 2.24% a year ago. Today, 4.81%.
- Will there be a recession?
- President Biden thinks not inevitable, but he has to be optimistic.
- General sense is that this is unlikely to occur this year.
- People are actually waiting to spend money, saved during the pandemic.
- However, the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate increase means that 2023 will be the year of concern. But any recession should be mild.
- WEATHER
- Be aware of your immediate surroundings.
- There was an ocean storm heading for Hawaii in the East Pacific named Blas, who became a hurricane on Friday, but seems now to be dissipating and will not get to us.
- Conditions will be great for outdoor activities in Honolulu on Wednesday, when I will go golfing.
- Keep track of unusual world conditions.
- The world is cooling.
- The ice in the Arctic is melting only very slowly this year, the 16th slowest ever on record.
- We will suffer through a rare third season of La Nina this year in the Pacific, meaning cooler than average sea surface temperatures, which should reduce the number of hurricanes for Hawaii.
- But this triple dip La Nina is the strongest since historical recording from 1950, and will weaken upper-level winds over the Atlantic Ocean, creating more favorable conditions for hurricanes there.
- This La Nina will exacerbate drought conditions in the Southwest USA.
- So is Planet Earth cooling? Nope. Last month was the ninth-warmest May on record, and would have been a lot hotter were it not for La Nina's influence. NOAA predicts 2022 is almost certain to be among the top 10 warmest years.
- Heat Dome:
- The players and spectators at the U.S. Open this weekend were wearing sweaters. Here we're well into the summer, but the Boston afternoon temperature will remained in the 60's, with strong winds.
- However, one-third of the nation suffered under warnings of this early-season heat wave.
- Tomorrow, June 21, is the solstice, the day when spring becomes summer. The acreage consumed by fires in the U.S. is already three times worse than last year.
- No sign of incoming asteroid (last bad one was 65 million years ago) and infinitesimal chance of gamma-ray burst within 6,000 light years of Earth (while a minor one happens every 5 million years, a biggie might have caused the Ordovician-Silurian extinction, 450 million years ago).
- SPORTS
- Why sports? Shows you are a regular person too. You don't want to be only known as smart.
- Yesterday I wrote that Jon Rahm had just had an eagle to move past Colin Morikawa, the then leader of the U.S. Open. Morikawa went on to card a 77, the worst round of his pro career. Rahm was leading going into the final hole, but scored a double bogie, losing lead. He won last year. Only sideshows, as #18-ranked 27-year old Matthew Fitzpatrick won his very first PGA tour win with a major. Now ranked #10 in the world.
- The Colorado Avalanche team is favored to win the NHL Stanley Cup at -250. This carries an implied probability of 71.4%.
- But it might be more rewarding to bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning at +210, or 32.3%. Why? From the Rowdies to the Buccanneers to the Lightning to the Rays, Tampa Bay has recently become the city of the most champions.
- You should know that the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics to become NBA champions. Steph Curry had a fabulous series. The NBA draft is on Thursday.
- Wimbledon tennis began today, and will drag on until July 10. Novak Djokovic is at -125 (56% chance of winning), with Rafael Nadal #2 at +650 (13%).
- Three of my Major League Baseball fantasy teams are in first place, and my fourth is only in third, but in good position to make the eventual playoffs. The season is 40% complete, with the final of 162 games scheduled for October 5.
- Heard of pickleball?
- Fasting growing sport in the USA.
- Why? Easy to learn and play
- Created in the 1960's near Seattle, and is now the official sport of the state of Washington.
- Why pickleball? Pickles was the name of the dog of one of the founders.
- Combination of tennis, pingpong and badminton.
- Watch the game.
- ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
- Some strange 100% Rotten Tomatoes films are coming.
- I should have also added SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY, but these are difficult subjects for many. To some degree a few of the above topics delve into these fields. All you need to do is read my Wednesday postings to quickly become smart enough about these subjects.
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