Ramble Log

This is my ramble about various topics. You will see them listed in reverse order that I write them so that the newest entries are on top.

NOTE: These are whatever I feel like writing. The content frequently expresses my own opinions and nothing should be considered an absolute fact. It's up to YOU to verify the validity of any thing said here.

Note also that I won't intentionally lie to you. I will always give this my best effort to be factual. If you have any questions about anything here drop me an email at: - I am NOT looking for rants, critiques, or corrections. You can expect me to ignore any of these.


The Electoral College - Nov 7, 2020

I know there are many of you out there that think, like I do, that the Electoral College has outlived it's usefulness. It made a lot of sense when the concept was introduced into our constitution. Travel took a LONG time in those days.

Now, in our era of instant communications, it's time is past.

To eliminate the Electoral College would take a constitutional amendment. I don't think this is a practical thing to do. It would be unlikely to pass for several decades if ever.

The states can determine how the Electoral College is implemented. Most states are set up in the 'winner take all' mode. I have alternatives to suggest:

  1. Currently, Maine and Nebraska use a different system where the state's electorate vote as a whole for two delegates. They also vote in their house districts for the remaining delegates. In Maine's case, this year, they voted 2 statewide delegates for Joe Biden, 1 house district for Donald Trump, and 1 house district for Joe Biden. This is an easy to implement and well established system that would better represent the will of the people.

  2. This one would use the popular vote totals and allocate Electoral College delegates based on the ratio of the electors. For Ohio this year (18 delegates) there would be 10 delegates for Donald Trump and 8 delegates for Joe Biden. This is also simple to implement and a fair representation of the will of the people.

  3. There is a movement among several states to simply assign all of their delegates to the candidate with the majority of votes from the entire United States electorate. Although this would probably accomplish the desired result, I don't see how this is representative of the state's electorate. I don't really like this method but it's still better than the current system.
Any of the above systems, if implemented in most states, would force the candidates to court ALL voters, not just the ones in the battleground states.

BTW, Joe Biden just started his speech off with 'My fellow Americans ...' - a good beginning!


The Waiting is Over - Nov 7, 2020

It's 8:30 PM on Saturday after the election.

The Vice President Elect is speaking on stage. She will be introducing the President Elect.

I'm glad it didn't take any longer. There is much to be done. This presidency will face significant inherited challenges and probably some new ones.

There are possibilities where this declaration is premature but they are vanishingly remote. The true confirmation of Joe Biden's election to the presidency will not come until December when the Electoral College comes together to cast their votes.

I'm hoping, but not really expecting, our current president will not, either through bad actions or through inaction, make things worse. This is his chance to salvage something of his term by doing something great.


The Waiting for Results - Nov 6, 2020

It's 7:45 PM on Friday of election week.

Some predictions give Pennsylvania or Nevada to Joe Biden. I'm not confident that either of these projections is based on solid statistical facts. I'm not counting on either of these for the following statements.

Most ballots now being counted are mail-in ballots which tend to be heavily weighted to Joe Biden. It does vary from state to state but generally it's true. There are also provisional ballots to be counted which are not necessarily weighted the same way. Accusations of fraud and other voting irregularities have been levied by the President and have not been backed up by any proof.

There are 5 states (6 if you count Alaska which will very likely go to President Trump) still technically up for grabs: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. President Trump holds leads in North Carolina (and Alaska). Former Vice President Biden has the lead in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.

Assume Alaska goes to President Trump.

To win, President Trump must win Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona. Winning Nevada instead of Georgia would get him 269 - a tie.

Former Vice President Biden can win with Pennsylvania alone - or any 2 of the other states.

I'll add updates if something changes.


It's Looking Bleak - Oct 30, 2020

I just finished updating my spreadsheet for today (COVID-19 statistics for Ohio) and am feeling very concerned. We had nearly 4000 CONFIRMED cases reported. A month ago it was under 1000 per day.

The rate has been accelerating over the last couple of weeks. It is NOT a good direction. I expect that we will be in lock down mode before Thanksgiving. I hope we will be in lock down mode. Nothing else is going to stop, or at least slow down, the spread.

It's not getting any better nationally, or world wide either. The United States is on the path to 9 MILLION cases and 230,000 deaths before election day.

The RT value showing the rate of case increase is above 1.0 for every state but one - Mississippi. That means it's growing everywhere.

As much as I want to get out more I've decided to get out LESS. We have to stop the spread.


Would You Believe ... - Oct 9, 2020

Look back a year ago to Halloween 2019. If I predicted the following would happen in 2020 ...

  • A global pandemic would infect millions and over a million would die from it.
  • Our president would know about this pandemic and it's severity in January but would do NOTHING about it until mid March.
  • Our president would continue to downplay the pandemic right up through the election in November (a little guessing here but will probably be true).
  • The pandemic would be capable of infecting nearly everyone with at least 5 million infected in the United States (it's already above that number).
  • All travel in and out of the US would be halted.
  • With no guidance from the federal government, our governor (Ohio) takes action which no doubt saved thousands from contracting the pandemic virus. The actions are sometimes unpopular but they are effective.
  • Schools would close down in March to slow the spread of the pandemic. All of the day cares were also closed. Students would suddenly be at home full time and parents couldn't go to work because they had to be with their kids. Many parents lost their jobs (at least temporarily).
  • Unemployment would be widespread with millions more applying every week for several weeks.
  • Congress, in an unprecedented show of bipartisan cooperation, passed a multi-trillion dollar aid package which included a flat payment to EVERY citizen, grants to small businesses to keep them afloat, loans (that had conditions where they didn't need to be repaid) to airlines, unemployment assistance to everyone on unemployment, and various other perks.
  • Restaurants, bars, and all other public gatherings are banned to curtail the spread.
  • Large numbers of workers will work from home. Students will study from home. Meetings become virtual.
I know I've missed a few things but even this list would seem absolutely absurd to anyone a year ago.


How Not Being Truthful Hurts Everyone - Sep 10, 2020

I always thought of Trump as a person who would lie whenever he thought it would help him. No secret here - we all saw it (or were blind) well before he was elected.

But ... lying about the very basics of the coronavirus to the public is just plain unacceptable. We could all see what the rest of the world was saying. It wasn't anything like what he was saying. He's claiming that it was to avoid panic.

Well, I wonder how those people who DIED (and their close friends and relatives) feel about that lie. Actions that could have saved THOUSANDS of lives were not taken because we were lied to. The economic impact is also much worse because we didn't prepare like we should have - because we were lied to.

Many of us saw through the lies and acted accordingly. All too many of us followed like sheep. Many have suffered the consequences.

Let's Not Let It Happen Again!


Pandemic Update - Sep 1, 2020

I'm seeing some interesting developments in the pandemic world we are living in. Most are good things.

  • It turns out masks are not just useful to protect others from your germs. They can help you with incoming germs too. They will NOT protect you from getting the virus but they will reduce how much of the virus you are exposed to. Less virus means your immune system can concentrate on fewer targets making it more likely that your infection will be milder or even without symptoms at all. Good news!

  • Some confusion has arisen from news sources who misinterpreted a statement from the CDC. The statment stated that only 6% of the deaths generally attributed to COVID-19 had 'COVID-19' actually listed as the cause of death. Usually something triggered by COVID-19 ends up being the cause of death and COVID-19 doesn't get listed as the actual cause of death. It's like dying from blood loss caused by being shot. The cause of death is not the bullet but it certainly contributed. It's too bad several media outlets jumped on this without actually reading the information carefully before writing a false and misleading article.

  • Studies have shown that almost 50% of infections come from someone who has no symptoms. This ability of the virus to spread from someone who doesn't even know they have the virus is what makes this virus so dangerous.

  • From Ohio statistics I'm seeing that about 1 in 50 people who become infected don't survive. This is better than the 1 in 25 I saw back in mid July. It's still not great though. If you end up in the hospital then your chances are only about 1 in 4 or 5 that you will survive.

  • The best way to stay out of the hospital is of course to not get the virus. The next best way is to have a strong immune system that can fight off the virus before things get bad. Make sure you get your vitamins (C and D) and do anything else to get your immune system working at it's peak.

  • Get your flu shot! The one thing you don't need is to have the flu and then get COVID-19. Your chances of survival go down a lot if your immune system is already busy fighting off something else.
A vaccine is coming. We should not rush it. I want one that works and doesn't try to kill me.

I'm also rooting for improved treatments. Until we can block the virus with a vaccine better ways to fight it off will be welcome.

Stay Well, Stay Safe


The Mall - September Update - Sep 1, 2020

This will probably be the last mall update for a while. I visited Monday, August 31st, and all was pretty good. Still a couple of vendors (the same ones) that don't wear masks but I don't interact with them so not much of a problem.

Today, September 1st, things were different. Most was the same but there were some actual customers and they were mostly without masks or improperly worn masks. They were also the type of customer that I did NOT want to interact with. It's time to avoid the mall for a while - waiting for those who are being stupid to remove themselves from the gene pool.


The Mall - August Update - Aug 24, 2020

After the last time I was at the mall I had decided that it was becoming a place I did not want to visit. That was at the beginning of July and things have changed since then - for the better.

Not everything is OK though. I saw one kiosk vendor without masks (2 employees). That is outright defiance of the orders - and totally irresponsible and disrespectful.

Down to the numbers - I counted 16 apparently open main concourse stores (up from 13) so things are looking up. One of those is a temporary store so it may not be fair to count it. I didn't see any vendor at that store but it was open. Two others are questionable - they did not open before 11:30 when I left.

JC Penney is closed. No merchandise is left although there are some store fixtures still in there.

The stores that are open seem to be serious about staying with it. None of them seem to be clearing out - except the temporary store which is their stated goal. I still don't see the mall lasting past the end of the year.

If the mall was opening at a reasonable time I'd probably go back to walking there on a daily basis. With things not opening until 11:00 it makes it difficult to fit walking in with my other activities. The best I see is 2 or 3 days a week. I'm going to give it a try for a while.


The Pandemic - Again ... - Jul 22, 2020

Of course I need to say something about it. It's THE MOST IMPORTANT thing going on right now. It will be the most important thing for at least months to come. We may NEVER totally get rid of it.

Today, Ohio has instituted a 'Mask Required' directive that says you need to wear a mask in public or where you can't social distance. There are exceptions of course. I would encourage those with those exceptions to just stay home so you don't become a spreader of this disease.

Those who are obstinate jerks who won't wear a mask should just stay away from me. My idea for dealing with such people is to carry around a super soaker loaded with disinfectant that I can use on such people. Maybe add something smelly to the mix - cheap perfume would work. Essence of skunk would be better.

We HAVE to get this thing under control for at least as long as it takes to get an effective and safe vaccine widely available. Effective treatment procedures could be a short term solution but a vaccine would be much better.

Similar things have happened before. Polio (see WIKI at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio) was one I remember. Polio is still out there. It's not all that common (only hundreds of cases per year) but it is still with us and probably will be for a long time. I remember getting the vaccine sometime when I was in grade school. EVERYBODY participated in getting the vaccine. It was done at the grade school gym since this was the only place big enough to handle everybody. That school was the only one in our township of only about 1000 people. Yes, it was tiny and still is although it's somewhat bigger now.

So I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing - limited shopping (once a week at Marc's, BJs, and Acme's) and limited interactions with trusted friends in minimal sized groups. I'm not even doing neighborhood walks. I may give walking on the nearby hiking trail a try later this week though. I miss my walks.

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