There's No Need to Fear! - 17 December 2021 - Plague Journal Day 645

Micah 6:8
1 John 4:18-21
Yes, your life matters.

Some of you are still sheltering in place, but fear not: I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Underdog Day! Yes, that classic(?) cartoon is the source of my title today.There's no need to fear - Underdog is here!

I think it's very cool that this day comes up at the time I was going to post about the good news we're getting on the COVID front these days. The omicron variety seems like it's asking us to just go ahead and declare victory. As is generally the case, this virus is mutating its way toward being more virulent and (much) less deadly. Remember - virulent means how easily it spreads, not how severe it is; don't let media hype of a more virulent strain freak you out.
Why does a virus tend to mutate this way? If it doesn't, it won't survive - that's the basic reason. If it doesn't spread quickly, it will die out. If it kills its host, it will die out. The ideal situation from the virus's perspective is to spread quickly and do less damage. That's what they tend to do because if they don't they won't be around long.
It really is time to stop being deathly afraid of something that is getting less and less deadly, don't you think? As the saying goes, fear is the mind-killer. Even better, check the link to 1 John above!
By the way, as far as newsworthy strains, it sure seems like we skipped from Delta (#4) straight to Omicron (#15). Were the other ones really that extra-wimpy? (I know we skipped Nu and Xi for linguistic and political reasons - that still leaves eight other letters we never heard.)

On an even happier note, today is also National Maple Syrup Day, so I'm glad I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast with a little dose of maple syrup on it. Jack and Roma are glad too - they get to lick out the bowl!

Keep Calm and Don't Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Get Up And Do It Again, Amen - 27 May 2021 - Plague Journal Day 441

Micah 6:8
Jude 1:17-23  Romans 5:1-5
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Channel 9 in Windsor is doing the Greater Windsor/Detroit Metroplex a huge favour these days. After the evening news each weekday they play an episode of the Rick Mercer Report. This was one of the CBC's greatest shows, and it's wonderful to be able to watch it again - even his weekly Rants about whatever was going on in Canadian politics back when the show was airing for the first time.

We were watching an episode recently where Rick was rappelling down a cliff - face first. He was pretty obviously terrified, but managed to make it down with some great coaching by the staff. He stood at the base of the cliff, finished quaking, and asked, "now what?"
"Now you do it again." was the reply. And he did.

Heidi and I then talked about the wisdom of that repetition. She thought it made total sense - a way to convince your adrenaline-besotted self that this really was something you can do. She spoke in general terms until I interjected that I had assumed she would be bringing up her lone skydiving experience.
"Oh, exactly," she agreed, "I should have done it again right away; then I could have done it over and over, rather than just the once."

Today is Heidi's birthday and Nothing To Fear Day. What a perfect pairing after that conversation, eh?

So go out today and do something that frightens you - and then do it again. You'll thank me (or Rick Mercer) later.

Today also has one of those odd conjunctions of celebrations - it's Sunscreen Protection Day and Red Nose Day. Don't those cancel out?


Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.