My bags are packed, and I'm ready to fly.....
Yep...mission time. We fly tonight (hopefully). After MONTHS of preparation it's game time. We fly south to LAX tonight if all goes well, and then we get BUSY. I will be down south in the LA area for a bit over 3 weeks, then we fly east to Cape Canaveral for 2 more weeks. If everything goes according to schedule I fly home on March 11th. This is gonna be a long one folks.
And so...there's been a lot going on lately besides work. The Kobe Bryant helicopter crash...how terribly sad that was. Of course, my brother and his engineering data guys pointed out the whole 'danger' level of various travel means...and air travel is like ten times safer than by car (motorcycle is WAY WAY WAY the most dangerous form of transportation). Car deaths just don't make the national news very often.
And yesterday was Ground Hogs Day (Phil predicted an early spring, hooray for Phil!!). And yesterday was ALSO Super Bowl 54 (LIV) day. We watched it (Jeannie and I bet $5...I won, woo-HOO!) as she is a Niner fan from way back when Joe Montana was in the game. I was totally rooting for KC to win it all...was pretty worried after the 3rd quarter. When the came out from half-time I was thinking "here it comes" but it didn't. Nothing like waiting till the 4th quarter to score 21 points! Sheesh...like anybody would predict THAT! Still I was quite happy for them....and I thought it was a good game. San Francisco is a very good team and I didn't truly believe KC could beat them. I was 'hoping'. Once in a wile I get lucky.
And so...it's time for me to grab 'dinner' (I go to work at 6pm tonight...work 6pm to 6am for the next several nights)...so dinner will be breakfast...a bowl of cereal and a grapefruit.
I'll be checking in now and then as I carry my laptop when I travel typically. The babies are shadowing my every move...they know what a suitcase is and what it means...they are all over me knowing I'm leaving, and it breaks my heart. But we had a nice day...and they will get bites from my 'dinner' as always (spoiled).
Later gators! It's Game-time!
So...it's Tuesday and I'm still here (home). We did not fly last night...wait for it...ANOTHER BROKEN AIRPLANE! Yep...so we came home and will try again tonight. Though we have a very short window to fly...there is a Minuteman III missile launch scheduled for sometime tonight and we can't fly after 9pm...SO, if our aircraft doesn't arrive on time today for our crew to load it with all our support equipment, and THEN both aircraft pass pre-flight, then we don't go until tomorrow afternoon. I guess it's amazing that they fly at all, considering that they are all around (or over) 50 years old. Doesn't exactly give me a nice warm feeling getting on them I have to say.
ReplyDeleteBut, the 24 hour delay let me be here for Abbey's birthday (I posted a picture of her on FB after todays playing ball at our park). I hope we fly...our schedule doesn't have that much room for delays, and we haven't even left yet! We have a LOT of work and flying to do before we get to come home.
I hope it has all gone smoothly for you now. I'll be watching for updates!
ReplyDeletePS. I made the jump, bought the tickets! We are flying to Rome for 4 days, then to Lithuania for 4 days (hiring a guide to show us around the ancestral towns) and then to Istanbul for 3 days - then home. Now I have to grit my teeth and pull the funds out of my retirement account to pay the Visa bill!
Good for you Rae!! Wow, that will really be a trip to remember! Jeannie and I are going back to Oktoberfest in Munich this year and we are pretty jazzed about that...a few days in London on both ends to break up the flights (AND, its cheaper to fly to London and then to Munich than to go direct to Munich strangely enough). We have never been to London (Ive flown thru a few times but never left the airport). Rome...wow! And Istanbul!! That is seriously bucket-list stuff! I'm pretty excited for you!
ReplyDeleteOh...and the mission is going well...we are looking good to fly to the Cape next week (hooray!). Its been quite a chore tho. Be good to get this one over...but we have just under 3 weeks of work left and a lot of miles.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt - are you related to the new CEO of Disney? Say "Hi" to Mickey, Minnie & the gang for me. :) :)
ReplyDeleteWELL, with this Covid-19 situation in Italy, our trip is a bit up in the air! My tickets to/from Rome are non-refundable, and even though I bought "cancel for any reason" insurance, they might not cover this situation. So, we are thinking about perhaps still flying in and out of Rome but instead of spending 4 days in Rome, hopping over to Spain or Portugal - or even Amsterdam or Brussels (since we were flying through Brussels to get to Lithuania).
ReplyDeleteI can afford to be quarantined on return to the USA, but my cousin (a doctor with a busy practice) really can't; so he is leaning toward cancelling entirely. No word on whether his conference in Istanbul is still on or not.
Oh, and I just saw that Italy is putting restrictions on all sporting events nationwide - I wonder how/if that is going to apply to the classic cycling races coming up? Strade Bianche is SATURDAY, and Milan - San Remo is 3/21!!
ReplyDeleteHey Rae, I was wondering how this was going to work for you...I am having concerns of our upcoming Okotberfest in Sept...thats a LOT of people from all around the world gathering...talk about a place for the Covid to hang-out and spread. Will be interesting to see what happens to the entire Euro cycling season.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey...we FINALLY flew to Florida last night...landed safely at Cape Canaveral AFB around 6am this morning. We are a week late (aircraft problems of course). Monday night my plane even took off, and then our sister aircraft didnt (landing gear issues)...so we had to circle LA for 3 hours burning fuel before we could land where we started from (neither aircraft can go alone...we go together or not at all). That sucked...knowing that we were landing where we started after flying for hours. But we made it...hooray! Now another 2 weeks or so and we can go home.
Wow...this corona virus thing is really getting crazy. I totally expected it would be a LOT worse by now...tons more dead and oodles more infected. Not seeing it...that doesnt make it a good thing for those that are sick and dying...but it just seems to me that the reaction is going over the top. Just saw on the news that the NBA is postponing their entire season, same with the NHL, and now the NCAA is canceling the ENTIRE March Madness tourney! And now there is a 30 day ban on coming into the US from Europe starting tomorrow night. Am I just wrong (or being insensitive) in thinking this is all over the top? (oh, and lets not even go into the overreaction of the stock market!). Im still working here in Cocoa Beach (HOPEFULLY we fly home Sunday HOORAY!), where nearly every day the big cruise ships are pulling in and offloading THOUSANDS of passengers, and taking on thousands more and departing...yet there have been ZERO cases in this entire area. I just expected the actual infection/death rate to be WAY higher this far in than it is. If you are to believe the news, China says they are over the hump and the new cases are finally declining...if that is true then the rest of the world should be following suit fairly soon. Jeannie says the lines at Costco are out the door, and they are limiting the cases of bottled water to 2 per customer, and same for disinfecting products. And what the heck is up with the Toilet Paper madness Im hearing about?? People are hoarding TP??? Just how much does one person/family need? Apparently Im missing the entire ordeal by being on work travel and away from home for so long (by the time we get home it will be 6 weeks). This was definitely a LONG one...not anxious to do it again soon (for us that will be late June when we go again). Anyway, crazy times for sure!
ReplyDeleteHey Matt - the infection rate IS way higher than you see because there aren't enough tests & some won't/can't afford to go to the Dr. Trump INTENTIONALLY instructed those in the CDC to LIMIT the test so his "numbers would look good & he could get reelected!" Plus, this son of a bitch CUT the CDC funding the past 3year & cut the entire global epidemic response team. This piece of shit & his GOP Nazi collaborators are responsible for him & for this "worst response to this epidemic of any country in the world".
ReplyDeleteBTW, 3 cruise ships that I know of had SEVERAL passengers that tested positive & the ships were quarantined & then the people finally could get off to go into another 2 week quarantine on land.
Yes, for the majority of healthy, young people this virus won't impact them much but for those "over 60 (!) &/or anyone with any health issues", it can be FATAL.
As for the TP hoarding - get used to it as on the East coast (your future domicile) , every time they forecast a big snow, the TP gets sold out in SECONDS! :)
This is the week when the folks in the USA stopped listening to the Sociopath in the WH & his co-conspirators at Fox News & realized we are in "big trouble now!". The only good thing to come out of it will be a NEW occupant in the WH come next January.
Stay safe, Matt & Rae! (BTW, the Giro has been postponed, along with the Masters & the Boston Marathon. In fact, I'm not sure if ANY sports are active right now).
Hey Susie....great to hear from you (I feel like Ive been on another planet for a year or so). I admit Im not seeing too much news lately (working a ton of 12 hr days and living in a hotel does that to you). So TP hoarding is an east coast thing? Id never heard of it...(took a picture of the empty TP aisle at the local grocery store this morning when I swung by to get some sunblock for a bike ride)...seriously....not ONE roll of TP left to buy. Crazy stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey Rae....please chip in with your thoughts...as a nurse I think you will have some serious street cred on what is happening and where its going.
ReplyDeleteAnd WOW! The Giro postponed...wonder how le Tour and the Summer Olympics will do...cant really see how they could possible go on ,but with my layman perspective of things I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteHi guys!
ReplyDeleteI am actually a bit surprised that there are still races (ie Paris-Nice) going on - did you know that there were teams quarantined in the UAE? Cofidis and Ineos, with a couple of others I think. And one or two of the smaller teams had to pull out of races because too many were tied up in that quarantine.
We cancelled our trip entirely. I don't know if his Istanbul conference (he was to be one of the speakers) has been cancelled - Turkey isn't admitting to any cases, which I find hard to believe - but he isn't going. Now I am hoping that Alitalia will refund my fare, since they have cancelled one of the 4 legs of my round trip.
Here is my take on the whole COVID-19 thing, partly colored by 40 years in critical care, and by 5 years as a research coordinator in infectious disease.
Sorry, you did ask!
This virus, first of all, is not the flu, and isn't behaving like the flu or even other coronaviri. It is truly new and much is still unknown. What does seem clear to me is that it is HIGHLY contagious and is spreading rapidly from people who don't appear ill (yet or ever) as well as from those who are obviously getting sick. We still don't have a good grasp on how long the incubation period is; it may be more than 14 days -there are some indications of that. We also don't have a good grip on how long victims are contagious - they may be even after they appear well, there are some indications of that as well. The test is new and there will be false negatives. Work is being done to improve it. If you've paid attention to how this has gone in Europe, various countries have gone from 1 or 2 cases (like Spain and Portugal) to hundreds then to thousands in A WEEK.
And communications from doctors and nurses in the hardest hit parts of Italy (ie Bergamo) are describing hospitals without enough beds, rooms, or ventilators for critically ill victims, and are starting to employ battlefield type triage. Oh, and also, they point out that it is NOT just the elderly and infirm that are getting critically ill, although that population is the hardest hit as would be true of any kind of outbreak. (We have seen that already in this country: some young, previously healthy are very ill).
So, no, even though there is a lot of educated guessing as is always and forever will be in the practice of medicine, I don't think any of the closings and warnings are overblown and "panic" (well, except that toilet paper thing, LOL!) I remember AIDS - West Nile - Lyme - all played down at first (I clearly remember nursing being told that there was no chance we could acquire it from patients - and it wasn't until that was proven wrong that gloves, gowns and masks became readily available to us!) and still to this day it can be hard to get diagnosed and treated for West Nile (actually still no treatment for it) and Lyme because suspicions are low, many are only mildly or moderately ill, testing isn't happening aggressively and true incidence (and sequalae) is probably way underreported. And also I remember laypeople pooh-poohing the risk of the swine flu outbreak a few years ago - and that killed many thousands.
I will err on the side of heeding the most stringent recommendations, as much as possible, and hope they ARE overblown, rather than not and find out that they were correct.
Wandering into politics -- I have heard ridiculousness from Trump as always, he is an idiot, but several of the very appropriate actions of the administration have been unfairly criticized by the opposition as well. I have heard the travel ban and the imposition of quarantine on the cruise ship and China tourists criticized as over reach, unfair, and unnecessary for just 2 examples, then criticized for not wanting to bring the sick cruise passengers on shore. Frying pan/fire situation. The story that Trump ordered the CDC to limit test kits is not factual. The CDC got a test developed within a month or so of the virus being identified (pretty darn good response, actually) and got the kits manufactured -at first adhering to its usual practice of having sample sent to the CDC for analysis (we still do that for many rarer infectious diseases - I had a patient that turned out to have Dengue the last year I worked & the sample had to go to Atlanta) then releasing the kit widely but that first iteration turned out to be imperfect. It has also always been the practice of the FDA to closely regulate the efficacy and manufacture of such kits - why labs didn't have carte blanche to create and use their own. That is not new. So I THINK - of course I do not KNOW - because of business as usual thought processes in these two agencies - typical human errors in analysis and judgement of the situation - the availability of test kits is not even yet what is needed. And even where kits are available, many MDs are making misinformed judgements about who or when to test.
ReplyDeleteBecause this virus spread so quickly and covertly they were caught flat footed (as were Italy, Germany, France, and yes China). The USA has not been the best but also far from the worst in responding - that would be Italy and China IMO.
Lastly, it will be impossible and to be realistic, to no overall advantage to test everyone who may have had exposure and/or who develops symptoms. There is no treatment for it. I have no doubt that the virus is already widely circulating in this country. You could test negative today and positive 4 days from now. So, if a person has any glimmering of a real reason to think he has been exposed much less having symptoms, he should self quarantine as much as possible, and/ or wear a mask if he must go out, and not rely on a test to tell him what to do. Yeah I know "masks don't work" except they do to a significant degree, and that is why we wear them in isolation rooms. Even the ones that aren't N-95s.
This is really going to be horribly difficult if not impossible for those who are in insecure jobs or have small businesses - so it is going to be well nigh impossible to stop the spread. All we can hope to do is slow it down as much as possible.
It would be best if all refused to make this situation into a football for political gain. And I say that while also looking forward to a change in the occupant of the White House.
Stepping off my soapbox now...
Hi Rae, I'm so glad you didn't go on your trip but sorry for you too. I was worried you had gone & were over there with everything going nuts & then couldn't get out of Lithuania. Do you think you can get all your money back since this is such an unexpected emergency? If the airlines get a bailout, YOU better be able to get your money back from them!
DeleteAbout Trump - it IS factual that Trump wanted the testing limited at the beginning (& that he lied repeatedly day after day saying anyone could get tested). I've read this from several reputable sites, including NPR, whose sources are those in the WH & in HHS.
And the USA response has been abominable, largely due to all the things Trump & his pathetic administration did NOT DO in January & February. Plus, the abhorrent & (should be criminal) constant LIES by Fox News for weeks telling all their viewers it's a hoax or a Democrat conspiracy! And that god damn Rush Limbaugh telling his listeners it's "just the common cold!" This asshat just got the freakin Medal of Freedom & he should be IN PRISON for what he said! He put countless people in danger! HE probably is responsible for at least some of the current & future sick & dying!
In our lifetimes, we've never seen anything like this in the USA. The closest I can think, going back in American history is the polio epidemics, especially the last one in the early 50s. But they didn't also crash the economy.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of us!
Hi Susie, I just saw this -- I am in COMPLETE agreement about Trump's "say anything because he is in the limelight and getting RATINGS" MO and about Fox, Hannity, Limbaugh - the whole cabal. Also that the Trump administration is failing to lead - and he still is not, wrapped up in his ego wars against governors! He only changes his mind or his story when he realizes that he is looking bad!
DeleteBut, I have searched about the story that Trump "ordered" testing to be limited, and that is what I still call false. I found NO source that backs that up, only interpretations by a few reporters, that because "he did not push to increase testing", and said that he "liked the current numbers" (in the context of allowing the cruise ship passengers to land or not), equals he "blocked" more testing. Not the same thing. IMO the thing that is true in that narrative, is that his chance for re-election is his most important concern. He thinks he is still the boss on "The Apprentice" and is running his administration just like the show.
I still think that the CDC and FDA, HHS and all were just too complacent and in the typical "we have plenty of time", "wait and see how it develops" mindset. This isn't the first time I have seen the medical establishment get things way wrong. If the CDC's missteps were really in response to political pressure that would be beyond shocking and reason to completely clean house in that agency.
Hey Rae, thanks so much for getting on the soapbox! Really appreciate having actual information from somebody I know that has actual knowledge! I obviously have none. Sorry about your trip...Im still worried about Munich in Sept...this may or may not be over by then...Jeannie just got us our airfare to London as prices are like HALF of what they were a month ago (I think its refundable too)...airlines are desperate it seems. Id think cruises will be VERY cheap too...though I think Id stay away from them for a while yet. Anyway...its all still like a scifi movie scenario...except that here in Cocoa Beach other than the great TP crisis of 2020 there are zero signs of anything out of the ordinary going on (that TP thing really cracks me up!) Back home Jeannie says the line is out the door to get into Costco...cant imagine that. Im just hoping we get out of here and back home...both our aircraft landed here (Cape Canaveral Air Force Station) today...HOORAY! We are on track to load the aircraft tomorrow and fly home with both on Sunday...keeping our fingers crossed we have no more airplane problems like we did back in LA. Once we get home if we end up with a national emergency and everybody stay home for 2 weeks Im fine with that (hope I can ride my bikes tho...THAT would be a catastrophe if I cant!) We had today off (first one in a while) and I rented a beach cruiser and rode it 32 miles (4 hours)...I am THAT desperate to ride! Not too crazy about that tractor-seat on a cruiser tho...other than that it was a blast! And a really nice day for it too! OK...gotta get to bed...we are working tomorrow. Now that Im almost done with this mission I should be way more apt to get back online. Its been a long one (left home back on Feb 3rd). Other than the complete lack of ANY sports, its game ON!
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