Workouts have been so terrible that I won't even list them this week. My best showing so far is 2 @ 8:43 today at Montreat. I did do my blood donation today. No serious effects. I'm a little weak and light headed but that actually didn't kick in until a couple hours later. Earlier this week, I reacted TERRIBLY to Glutathione. For the last time, if a pill is not the right fit for me, I should feel a little weakened after a few days but NOT like that!! I think my best (and last) hope is to take BOTH Probiotics and Lactoferrin in low doses. When I did that before, I was NOT nearly as sensitive. The local store is out of the brand that I need so I had to order on Amazon. Maryland is now only 4 weeks from Saturday. Not looking good at all but I've got to get this done. I'd like to be at 49 by year's end and finish next Spring.
COVID:
I really cannot predict where we will be in 6 months. Under a best case scenario, herd immunity will kick in and the vaccine is effective against the new variants. If the disease is no longer a threat, hopefully the travel restrictions will be lifted and there will be no vaccine requirement to travel internationally. Worst case scenario is that the virus is resistant and we could be back to Square 1 if there is a spike. If the vaccine is not effective, why should it be required? Who knows? I predict that the outcome will be somewhere in between. Cuomo is on record supporting a vaccine passport to attend a Yankee game or a concert. As I predicted, it won't be illegal to refuse it but it will be de-facto required to live a normal life.
I had to jump through hoops to get into Hawaii and many states still require a negative test prior to entry. That could affect my travel plans. I've got to go through with the test to visit Maryland and Maine. I will do it because there is no guarantee that I'll be able to run next year or beyond. I will not submit to a test to visit a non-race state such as New York or Oregon. That means that a beach hopping trip will likely be in North Carolina and Virginia rather than New York and New Jersey even though I need the latter but not the former on the Catch a Wave Challenge.
While restrictions on my movement are pretty stiff, hundreds of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS have tested positive yet have been released into American cities. I still cannot drive to Canada or walk to Mexico and if I am to visit the latter, I will need a negative test to get back into the USA. Welcome to the Bizzaro World.
LGBT:
I've been silent on this issue and for the record, I believe that you should be allowed to live your life free from harassment and discrimination. I have no problems unless you infringe on the rights of others. Allowing biological men to compete in women's sports definitely crosses that line. For example, a time of 50 seconds flat was good for 4th place in the Women's 400 meters at the Rio Olympics. Some years, it is good enough to medal in major international championships. In the US alone, there are over TWO HUNDRED HIGH SCHOOL BOYS who can beat that time. Granted, hormone therapy will slow you down a bit but you retain the advantages of a larger bone structure, increased muscle mass and greater lung capacity. Every scientific study confirms this to be true. My high school 800 PR of 2:13 would have put me among the best in the state if I had competed as a girl but sometimes, it was not even good enough to place in a dual meet. More recently, I beat the 1st place overall female at Statue 2 Statue but did not even place in my age group among the Men. Nobody is saying that trans athletes can't participate in sports. They just have to compete against the boys. EDIT: There are calls to allow children to take puberty blockers without parental consent. Many kids with gender dysphoria will grow out of it too. If I wanted to go on a field trip or play sports, oh that permission slip had better be signed.
Global Warming/Climate Change
It is indisputable that the Earth's climate has undergone cycles of warming and cooling over its history. There was a medieval warm period that was followed by a "little ice age" during the American colonial period. We are currently in a warming cycle, which actually began before the Industrial Revolution. The question is to what extent is human activity a contributing factor and what should be done to stop it? That's where people disagree. My opinion is that humans are partially responsible for the current warming cycle. I want clean air and water just like everyone else and support reasonable and common sense regulations. How far do we go? It should stop once the costs exceed the benefits. Simple.
I don't buy into the alarmist rhetoric that we must act drastically before the end of the decade or it will be too late nor do I believe predictions that much of Florida will be under water by the end of the century. My best guess is that global temperatures will rise by about 1 degree F in 50 years if we do absolutely nothing. If the entire world imposes the whole Green New Deal, the temp still rises by 0.6 degrees. If the US alone acts while China and India do nothing, the effects will be negligible.
If you are in a head on crash, would you rather be driving a big long Cadillac or Volkswagen Bug? How about if you get T-boned? Do you want to be driving a Ford F-150 or a little Toyota Tercel? Rhetorical, Farley. We all know the answers. If you value your safety and choose to drive a gas guzzler and pay through the nose at the pump, that should be your choice. The free market will decide the point in which fuel economy trumps safety in the unlikely event of a serious crash.
Cancel Culture-
I'm all for taking a strong stance against racial injustice but teaching people to be ashamed of being white?. I have a BIG problem with that as well as double standards and such garbage as the Coca Cola training to "be less white." I guarantee that if any major company taught their employees to "be less black," they'd be finished. Every store would pull their products and no apology or tears will ever be good enough. And rightly so. I would never support a business that promotes such blatant racism. If I am to drink a Coke, it will be Pepsi products from now on. Southerners will know what I mean by that.
The n-word is disgusting and should never be used under any circumstances. That said, I don't believe that you should be ruined forever if you are caught saying it especially if it was when you were a kid. I recall hearing about a girl who had her admission to the Univ. of Tennessee rescinded because a recording with the offensive slur from 3 years ago resurfaced due to a jealous ex-boyfriend. If the word was directed at black students after she was enrolled, yes I would punish her. I may even support expulsion depending on the nature of the incidents. In this case, she was 15 years old and was actually quoting lyrics of a rap song. If a black student in the same position was caught saying something anti-Semitic, I highly doubt that he or she would be punished. Nick Cannon called white people "savages" and "closer to animals" and though he took some heat, he was not permanently cancelled. Some say that black people have a license to be hateful given the history and ongoing discrimination. I vehemently disagree. Actual white supremacists will point to that crap to justify their sick views. Anyone who accepts racism in any form is part of the problem. I predicted that the mob would go after America's Founding Fathers but I never saw attacks on Dr. Seuss. I'm at a loss for words on that.
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