MASS SHOOTINGS, CHINESE CUISINE AND WELLNESS

My China series continues today, but first, a few comments on mass shootings in the USA. From the New York Times this morning:

If anything, the chart, which uses data from 2017 and 2018, understates America’s problem. The U.S. rate of gun homicides has increased in recent years, according to the Small Arms Survey.

The data exposes a clear trend: Where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths. Studies have found this to be true at the state and national level, and for homicides, suicides, mass shootings and police shootings. Stricter regulations on firearms are linked to fewer gun deaths.

The latest Lunar New Year Monterey Park incident was the 33rd Mass Shooting of 2023. The month isn't yet over. Eleven killed, and the deadliest in the U.S. since the May 2022 Uvalde, Texas tragedy. There were 647 of these last year, and more than 44,000 people in the country died due to gun violence. It's pretty clear why.

Why? Too many guns, Republicans, the National Rifle Association, the American people, mental illness, racism, politics, etc. Well, here is an article debunking the myths perpetuated by the gun lobbies:

In the U.S. and world, both show data indicating that 1 in 5 live with a diagnosed mental illness. Only the USA has this high a level of mass shootings. Those countries with strong gun oversight experience significantly less gun violence. Anyway, an FBI reporter found that just around the same percent, 22%, committed these crimes, with only 8% documented to be so.
The U.S. experiences 26 times more gun violence than that of peer nations.!!! 26 times!!
You read the rest of these NRA myths. There are many more, and a good percentage of the American public actually believes them.

Today, my Chinese posting features Chinese cuisine, with a Stanford Chardonnay and Johnny Walker Blue Label. First, our Chef Jordan and lunch provided by 15 Craigside, which we shared with Pat and Babe:

A surprise was the presence of 101-year old Henry, who had been incapacitated for two months. He looked great.

About half an hour after lunch I measured my blood pressure.

Not a big surprise, because I noticed these low blood pressures after every lunch, especially when I have an alcoholic drink. After one hour, it was even lower.

This is the lowest I've seen in my life, which should be a little worrisome. I've noticed that these low pressures make me very sleepy, but perhaps can be a solution for insomnia.

Several years ago I had a large bento with a beer and watched the wind surfers off Diamond Head. Then I drove down to the Ala Wai Golf Course and walked. At hole #6, when I went to pick up my ball I felt dizzy. Happened several times, so I bought one of these wrist blood pressure devices. Surely enough, my blood pressure, which measured 130/75 before teeing off, dropped to around 100/60, and sometimes 90/55. Stopped eating before golf, and the problem disappeared.

Mind you, I'm taking two blood pressure pills, which have lowered by usual pressure of 145/85 to now mostly 125/75. These lunches are thus great to prepare me for a nap. I'm trying to maximize my sleep schedule to maintain a desirable weight range. Read my posting on this discovery. Sleep minimizes ghrelin and maximizes leptin.

A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

By now most know that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the dominant infectious agent, now accounting for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases. Very few are aware that a new one, BA.4.6, is sneaking in and steadily rising, now accounting for 13% of sequenced samples . However, as BA.4.6 has emerged from BA.4, while there is uncertainty, the scientific sense is that the latest bivalent booster targeting BA.4 and BA.5 should also be effective for this next threat. One concern is that Evusheld--the only monoclonal antibody authorized for COVID prevention in immunocompromised individuals--is not effective against BA.4.6. Here is a reference as to what this means. A series of two injections is involved. Evusheld was developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and is a t ixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab . More recently, Los Angeles County reported on subvariant BA.2.75.2 . which Tony Fauci termed suspicious and troublesome. This strain has also been spreading in

Part 3: OUR NEXT AROUND THE WORLD ODYSSEY

Before I get into my third, and final, part of this cruise series, let me start with some more newsworthy topics. Thursday was my pandemic day for years. Thus, every so often I return to bring you up to date on the latest developments. All these subvariants derived from that Omicron variant, and each quickly became dominant, with slightly different symptoms. One of these will shock you. There has been a significant decline in the lost of taste and smell. From two-thirds of early patients to now only 10-20% show these symptoms. JN.1, now the dominant subvariant, results in mostly mild symptoms. However, once JN.1 infects some, there seem to be longer-lasting symptoms. Clearly, the latest booster helps prevent contracting Covid. A competing subvariant, BA.2.86, also known as Pirola , a month ago made a run, but JN.1 prevailed. No variant in particular, but research has shown that some of you will begin to lose hair for several months. This is caused by stress more than anythi

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These are held every five years, and there have only been

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