First, a refresher on what you should absolutely avoid if you have not been vaccinated and boosted.  But for those who got all those recommend dosages, even if you catch COVID-19, the odds are very, very high that your symptoms will only fall between a weak flu and a cold.   Or, you could be one of the 40% or so who will show no symptoms.   As of late last year, it looked like the  asymptomatic rate of this virus was 40.5% .   This rate for the seasonal flu is said to be around  33% . One study showed the asymptomatic rate of the common cold was  60% You need to be careful with venereal diseases, for the asymptomatic rate is around  66% . So to continue,  here are where you are most likely to become a statistic of this pandemic : Crowded and poorly ventilated sport or entertainment theater: If no one is wearing a mask and are talking = 54%. Everyone is wearing a mask and there is some talking = 24% If everyone is wearing a mask and there is no talking = 5%. Speaking loudly  can increas

THE BEST ELECTRIC WINE BOTTLE OPENER Super   Hurricane Ida   ( there are reports she just hit 155 MPH while nearing the Louisiana coastline, which qualifies her for Super status ) made landfall near Port Fourchon as a Category 4 with constant winds of 150 MPH at the inner wall of the storm.  There will be considerable wave and wind damage, plus floods from all the rainfall: Reportedly, Ida was the most powerful hurricane to strike Louisiana since the 1850's.   Governor John Bel Edwards  said yesterday that she will be the strongest to make landfall over Louisiana.  This was when when the projected speed was supposed to be 140 MPH. How much more powerful is a 150 MPH hurricane compared to a 75 MPH hurricane?  You need to divide the smaller number into the larger number, then take the cube of the quotient.  Thus, 150/75 = 2, followed by 2x2x2 = 8.  A 155 MPH hurricane is 8.86 times more powerful than a 75 MPH hurricane. Are you one of those still struggling to open a wine bottle usin

Froma Harrop had a recent op-ed entitled, Some countries are happier than others--or are they?   Essentially, she said, Finland is the world's happiest country--fourth year in a row!  At least, according to the World Happiness Report from the United Nations.  The U.S. ranked 14th in the latest, but here is a compilation from 2018-2020, where we are shown at #19: Apparently, this UN report did not ask anyone how they felt about the weather.  How can you be happy when the worst day in London, every day, is like Finland everyday?   One February I went to Helsinki and experienced something that was stunning.  Well-covered with gloves, hat and neck wrap, I walked outside my hotel on a sunny day and instantaneously my nose froze.  The ground was really slippery with ice.  I told myself the next time I come here I would wear a motorcycle helmet  ( in case you fall ) with face covering pre-treated for fog breath.  Maybe golf shoes with real spikes.  But then, you can't walk indoors wi