I’m out west for a while…
…visiting family and friends.
Yesterday was a long journey, and the easiest part was the plane ride.
But the bus that takes me to the airport had changed one of its policies unexpectedly. The airport was unusually crowded and I have no idea why. I had gotten to the airport so early that they put my bags on another flight without telling me, and I waited a half hour on the other end while the bags circled on the carousel and mine wasn’t there, only to find that it had been safe and sound at the airport already for hours (and don’t tell me to just take a carry-on; for various reasons, including orthopedic ones, it’s not possible).
And then on the way to where I was staying, there was a detour of which my GPS was blissfully ignorant, and it kept stubbornly sending me back to the closed road again and again. The detour instruction signs then suddenly disappeared when they were most needed.
But here I am, and very happy to be here. Where is “here”? Somewhere out west.
Also, even though the flight was from one blue stronghold to another, I noticed that only about 15% to 20% of the people on the plane wore masks. Interesting.
Here are three photos I took from the plane. It was sunset over the Rockies with a thick cloud cover. Time passed and the night got darker.
Here’s the first one:
The second:
The third:
Well, you missed the worst of the heat wave. In my coastal CA area, it broke 80 F for the first time in a couple years. Shorts and T-shirt weather finally. Yay.
Wow, almost a fifth of the passengers wore masks?? How sad. On my trip this past weekend, from Florida to Dallas and then back, maybe 5 people out of about 170 (SWA 737-800) on each flight wore masks. That’s about 3%. None of the flight crews did.
physicsguy:
As I said, I was flying to and from very blue places, so 20% was very low, considering. Also, when I looked at the passengers without counting the incidence of masks, I thought it was 5% or even less. But when I actually counted – which I did, out of curiosity – I found it was about 20%. If you think about it, 4 people in 20 doesn’t look like much, but it adds up. Unless you actually counted the passengers who were masked vs. the total, you might be underestimating, as I was.
Neo, I did count while sitting on the plane for 2 hours due to a weather delay. 🙁
Lately. I’m very interested in the cultural reaction to the pandemic being over.
‘I’m very interested in the cultural reaction to the pandemic being over’
There is a certain percentage of the people who are just broken, maybe permanently. Around western WA if you drive around for any amount of time you will still see people driving alone wearing a mask or walking outside wearing a mask. I often wonder what has been done to these people. Do they really think that is helping protect them from something or are they simply unable or unwilling to admit they were wrong?
We are going to be dealing with the after effects of the last few years for decades in countless different ways.
Griffin:
When I see someone wearing a mask outdoors I try to think they have a genuine medical condition and not a mental impairment. I’ve seen few outdoor maskers here in eastern WA.
om,
Yes, I try to think the best and I would never say anything to them because my thinking on this from the beginning has been do what you want just don’t make me do it too.
I just fear that it is sign of other life problems involving risk analysis for most of these people that will manifest itself in other ways for them in the future.
The pandemic isn’t over. It’s just that people have given up on the idea that you can do much to reduce your risk of infection and have returned to their mundane lives. Tentatively, it does appear to be over in India. There are some other places where it may be in the process of passing away.
At the wedding I attended in Dallas there’s one uncle who is known as the raving progressive in the family. He showed up double masked, and literally the only person wearing a mask 🙂 . Yet in typical prog hypocritical manner dropped the masks during the reception, but they were back on at breakfast the next morning. Such an asshole.
How many trees do you have to plant now?
Nice pics. Tumultuous clouds. Your flight chasing the sun.
Agree with comments that there is nothing to be gained by arguing with mask-wearers. It’s in bad taste to question what others wear, particularly those caught up in a kind of religious episode. In fact I feel a certain gratitude to the mask-wearers for giving me an early tip that logic and science may not be their strong suit.
Have a great time out West, and safe home.
These days wearing masks is a political statement. I think that explains how many of the mask wearers are young. I figure my risk from covid is about 30x that of a forty year old, yet most of the wearers I’ve seen look to be 20 or 30 somethings.
physicsguy: “I’m very interested in the cultural reaction to the pandemic being over.”
Most people I know no longer bother with masks, although the local doctors and veterinarians still require people to wear masks in their offices. OTOH, the vet techs in my vet’s office will admit privately that they hate the masks and are well aware that they’re useless.
I do have one cousin, a retired dental hygienist in NC, who is a full-blown Covidiot– sent me an e-mail last month boasting about how she restricts her visiting and daily jogging to a select handful of carefully monitored friends. I don’t argue with her as there is no point in it, but as Owen said, I’ve quietly noted that “logic and science may not be [her] strong suit.”
Waze is better than gps for some locations
Some of our clinics and hospitals are no longer requiring masks. Most of the people that I see out and about with masks on look like they are in a health battle of some kind, and I never question them. There are quite a few that appear young and fit that still indulge in them though, and I suspect that the COVID public policy campaign has incidentally revealed that a fair portion of our population is highly suggestible. Maybe there’s a study in there somewhere, a provable correlation.
When I worked in Indonesia, the air pollution was so bad nearly everybody had them on. That’s when I stopped viewing it as weird, and I guess it’s a sentiment that has endured.
Neo, I hope that your trip is pleasant, fulfilling, and memorable, and that your journey home is without complication.
Even prior to Covid, there were some Americans that wore mask outdoors during various allergy seasons.
In East Texas we have an annual yellow dusting from the pollen. This year I saw pollen blowing out of a pine tree so thick it looked like yellow smoke, like the tree was on fire.
Steve Bannon says 35 on the Right Side have been served with subpoena from the FIB. California based attorney Harmeet Dhillon confirms that three of her clients have been so served for their phone records months before and after J6.
What’s going on is rankest speech suppression by our King and his Deep State minions.
Tucker compares this to the worst work of Stalin.
Look at the official letters and several accounts of what’s going on.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/4092239/posts
Trump arrested BEFORE the election to rouse the fascists base and intimidate the opposition.
Then more arrests from this 35-50 after?
That’s my crystal ball report. What’s your say?
TJ
Crystal Ball ~ Gonna be a lot of [fill in name] didn’t kill himself going on.
Neo, Relax and enjoy each moment : )
Agree with commenter on Waze – more up-to-date info on things like detours with added bonus of warnings about police and traffic cameras.
Also seeing fewer masks on recent flights. I mostly feel sorry for people who still feel a need to wear them. On my increasingly less frequent trips into NYC I am always surprised to see people walking outside still wearing masks – not many, but more than I would have expected (and no one in CT is wearing them, so it is really jarring at this point to see people masking outdoors).
The NY governor recently eliminated the mask requirement on public transportation. Finally! And yet, callers on a radio program were angry! They can continue wearing masks, but they want everyone to wear them, forever I guess. The current argument seems to be that the wearer of the mask makes it safer for the most vulnerable (playing the guilt card), even though the vulnerable can chose to continue wearing masks. Zero willingness to even consider that masks don’t work
Been on the road for maybe 3-4k miles in August. From the Porcupine Mountains in far northern Michigan to Houston. Maybe further, come to think about it.
Out in public, 5%, maybe less. In settings which were or were similar to offices, 20% among the desk sitters.
Some of those who continue to mask, I think, NEED to be made to do stupid stuff. Without covid, and without Warming, I really don’t know what they’ll do.
neo,
I am a big fan of checking luggage. I pack rather lightly, but unless I can get by with a very small bag or case I prefer to check. Much more civilized.
Last time at the airport I noticed the Skycaps are starting to appear again for some airlines. It’s so nice to hand them a bag before entering the airport. Well worth the $5 I typically tip for the service.
neo:
Don’t be stealing any watts (electricity) from CA’s green grid when you leave the Fool’s Golden State. Be sure to plug all your devices into their wall dischargers to return the electrons to those in need! (sarc)
Have a great visit!