Walking Again!

I got up early enough, and the car was not blocked in, so I went walking this morning! First time in a little over 6 weeks! During my walk I saw Yan with Mary & Noe (I later saw Mary again as I was going up Lurline and she was on her way home), Lorraine, and Miss Paula. As I was passing the top of Sierra on my way back to the car I saw Stef & Kathy, I walked with them around another lap of the circle before I went back to the car. When I walk "with" people, one person is walking at the edge of the road and the other is either walking along the center line or on the other side of the road.

Twenty-nine minutes before sunrise as I leave home.

Twelve minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

New roof & solar panels at Maunalani.

The first Kõlea I have seen this year.

An old sign; it should now say September 23, 2020.

Eleven minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Then I headed over to take care of the hāpuʻu which was getting overgrown by the shrubs and weeds. Shortly after I started, Gerry came by so we talked for a bit; Kelly came out and started loading up the car to go surfing while we talked. I had a nice chat with both Gerry & Kelly before I got back to work on the hāpuʻu. I also saw Suzette with Willow, Nicklas with Aya twice, and Ken with Orion. I also got to play with Abby for a little bit. The hapuʻu is doing good but I forgot to take before and after photos. (Kelly correctly observed that I "love" the hāpuʻu.)

Shortly after I got home, I had a text from Lorraine; she said, "I was telling Yan about you taking that contact tracing class and she had some questions about it." I told her to give my number to Yan and have her call; about 15 minutes later we had a nice chat about the training and what we have been told will be the work schedule.  encouraged her to apply even though she would only be able to work part-time. 

The Star-Advertiser conducted a survey about quarantining. They asked if you could safely quarantine at home.


I read a great article about herd immunity. Apparently it is one of the "strategies" being proposed by the president; but it's a bad idea. The author says, "If it were a military strategy, it would mean letting the enemy tear through you until they stop because there's no one left to attack." So-called herd immunity is reached when a certain percent of the population has developed enough immunity to a disease that the transmission rate is so low it does not become an epidemic. Generally, heard immunity is discussed in terms of how much of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to suppress the spread of a disease; not how many people need to get it through the disease process. Too many people have already died, we don't need more people dying with this hare-brained idea! (If you're wondering how Sweden was able to do it, read the article linked above.)


Speaking about vaccines, it was nice to see that AstraZeneca suspended its testing of their version of a COVID-19 vaccine. It was stopped because a participant in the study had an unexpected illness; they are investigating whether it is a coincidence or if it was caused by the vaccine. I am glad they are being transparent about what is happening with the process.


I found a new mask concept, the SEEUS95; it will be made by the same company that makes the small solar lights that I use. I was a Kickstarter supporter for the lights so I was also sent the email about the Kickstarter fundraising for this new mask. It is a very novel idea using a silicone shield with a replaceable filter; it attaches to your face with a silicone-chitosan strip that is the same thing used on burn victims to help their skin heal. The idea is to eliminate the pressure sores that first responders and medical staff get from the PPE they need to wear during their entire shift. The mask has been tested by MIT Laboratories in collaboration with other labs providing testing of PPE to be used against COVID-19 and found to meet or exceed the N95 requirements.


Today there were 100 new cases bringing the total known COVID-19 cases up to 10, 123. There were also 3 more deaths, bringing the death toll up to 91.


Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Mr. Kam! Hauʻoli lā Hoʻomanaʻo e Bruce & Monava a me ka Pierce Sensei & Mrs. Pierce.