How the Virus is Progressing

Before I forget, I must share this link, which provides up-to-date information about the rate at which the virus is spreading in each state.  Bear in mind though, that very likely those who travel across state lines are infectious.  This is just my prejudice, but I bet it is true.

The mention of r_t  needs some clarification. (I'm going to call it r(t), not to have to write extra html.)  This means an estimate from the graph data, of how many additional people seem to have been infected per person already infected, on any date.  (A sort of a relative derivative, if you know calculus.)  If each person who is already infectious infects just one other person, r(t) would be 1.

Our state, Pennsylvania, appears to be about at the median of all states.  I'm pleased, because so many of our fellow-citizens seem to be at a total loss as to what to do, all my themselves, at home.

But, do you notice that in some states, the infection rate  [I mean r(t)]  seems to have gone down, and then started rising again?  I offer no explanation for that, but if the rate goes up sharply as soon as the lock-down is relaxed, we will have no alternative except to assume that the extra freedom that people feel to go about and earn money for their workplaces is resulting in more infection.

What can we do to help all our friends who are terminally bored at home?

There are some families which have to deal with big muscular guys, who need to get on their pickups, and go somewhere where they're drinking beer.  There are other families which have to deal with young ladies who absolutely need to put on their dancing shoes, and go booze with their friends, or get their hair done, or get coffee.

There are some families with little people who get easily bored, and really need to have supervised activities.  If you've been doing this, you might be at your wit's end, as to what new things to get them started on.  (At one time, I had a dozen little things that kids of 8 and older could do, but I have forgotten them!!  What an unforgivable crime!  Actually, I do have an interesting activity, but it will take a lot of photographs to describe and explain how it goes, and it's more than I have motivation for!  I'll try to get a little help, and put up a page somewhere.)

Recently, a friend of my wife's told her that there are a ton of old ladies who lived in the general area of where this friend was from, many of whom lived in community living--sort of nursing homes--who can no longer get to their library, to find books to read.

My wife said that we have a ton of books at home, which we will probably never read, and would she like to have some of them?

So the other day, my wife insisted that I should comb through my enormous collection of books I haven't read for decades, and give her the least-read ones.

Well, we went through her books and mine, and turned up about 30 books, and sent them off.  We have no idea how the little old ladies will like the books, but I suppose we will get some feedback in a week or two.

I guess the point I'm working my way toward, is that your neighbors might appreciate some of your books that you might never read again.  For instance, I have a few of the Anne of Green Gables books which would probably not interest little old ladies (but you can never tell).  Detective stories might interest people.  It all depends on the books you have; people who never read books before might pick one up in desperation, and read it through to the end!!

Creative Craziness from My Wife's Tribe

I have the fortune to be married to a woman whose family is consists of quite Think Outside The Box sort of people.  Her sister came up with the idea that she would start a story, and then mail it out to her siblings and her children to complete, a paragraph, or a chapter, or a sentence at a time, and mail it to the next person!

I'm dying to get my hands on this story, but it is likely to get a little too political, or a little too musical, or a little too mathematical if I have my dreadful way with it!  It is a sort of fairy story, and my wife is working at it as we speak.  She was third on the list!

It strikes me that the little people---if you have any---might enjoy camping out in your own backyard, if either you or your better half can stand to keep them company out there, and you don't have any ax-murderers in your community.  You may have to read a long bedtime story to keep them in bed long enough to fall asleep.  If they're the sort of kids who need to be put in a padded cell, well, it takes all sorts.

Culinary Arts

This morning, I made myself a fabulous breakfast.  I am full of misgivings about this recipe, because, as with many of the matters that I write about, it is likely to be something that isn't for the taste of the vast majority of citizens!  Anyhow, here it is.  (It is just an omelette, but one that ought not to be generalized any which way.)

Omelet with Mushrooms

Introduction:  (You may skip this introduction, with no penalty.)  Omelets are very forgiving things.  You must make sure not to burn it; and most times, you can eat it even if you do burn it.  There are a few little details that I add, which I think help the taste, but you might think it mere superstition.  Important:  If you're a bad cook, it is probably because you get impatient, and turn the heat way up, to cook it faster.  This will not work.  Anyway: awayy we go, in the immortal words of Jackie Gleason...

Ingredients

2 eggs (for a single serving; four eggs for 2-3 people.  For more, make two omelets, please.)

1/2 cupful of sliced Shiitake mushrooms  (Can use any mushrooms, but my instructions are for this kind.)

3 slices of Canadian bacon!  (I know you might not have this on hand!  Well, you could substitute regular bacon, or a slice of sausage patty, but all bets are off if you do.)

A tablespoon of water, salt to taste, a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper, a tiny pinch of black pepper.  (You could substitute a teaspoon of soy sauce for the water.  Use hardly any salt; the bacon or the sausage will make it too salty otherwise, and the same with the soy sauce.  The cayenne pepper should be hardly noticeable.  We're not making Mexican food, here.  The same goes for the black pepper.)

Have ready: a medium fry-pan / skillet for the omelet.  Clean it nicely, and put in enough oil or butter to coat the bottom, and leave it on the lowest possible heat setting on a back burner.  You should use a second, smaller fry-pan for the first part of the prep.

Some butter.  Three drops of lemon, or a tiny bit of chopped tomato (e.g. 1/8 of a Romano tomato).

Method

Put the water, salt and pepper(s) in a bowl, and mix them up.  (This ensures that the cayenne pepper doesn't clump together and kill someone.)  Crack open the eggs, add them to the bowl; beat them together slightly.  Don't beat them up into a frothy mix; that would not be good.  Leave aside.

Cut up the mushrooms into strips.  Cut up the Canadian bacon into strips.

Put the smaller fry-pan on low heat, with a tiny bit of butter.  Put in the bacon and the mushroom, and fry slowly, over low-to-medium heat, until the bacon is browned, and the mushrooms sweat.  (This is something they do when they're cooking: they get covered with a layer of moisture.)  Lay this fry-pan aside, away from the cooking surfaces.  The residual heat of the pan should keep them warm.

Now turn your attention to the main skillet or fry-pan on which you're going to make the omelet.  (Bring it forward, if you really have it on a back burner.)  If the butter has been burned, you've heated it too much; in this case, get rid of the burned butter with a paper towel.

Put in a little butter--half a tablespoonful--and melt it over medium-to-low heat.

Pour in the egg mix, and patiently wait until it sets; that is, the bottom layer should be cooked, but the top may still be liquid.

With a rubber or wooden spatula, move one edge of the egg mix to the middle, allowing the liquid egg to flow around to the bare area of the pan.  Wait until the whole thing is set enough that nothing is flowing.

Carefully put in the mushroom / bacon mix, piled up in a sort of crocodile shape across the middle of the egg.  It doesn't really matter if it goes everywhere, but you might not be able to fold it.

Add the lemon, nicely spaced, onto the mushroom mix, or add the little bit of tomato.

With a wide spatula, fold one half of the omelet over across the pile of mushroom in the middle.

Let this cook for about half a minute, and serve.  There might be a little uncooked egg in the middle; if you absolutely don't want this, cook it for a whole minute.

What to do if you're using ordinary bacon, or sausage:

Cut up the bacon into little pieces with cooking scissors.  (If you don't have these, make a note to acquire some soon.  For now, use a sharp knife instead.)  Once the bacon is just cooked, with no uncooked parts, add the mushrooms, and proceed as before.

Sausage:  Flatten the patty (or slice up the link), cook over low or medium fire; wait until the grease appears.  Pour off the grease if there's more than just a little.  Crumble the sausage.  If you must, take the fried patty off, chop up with a knife, and put it back.  Proceed with the mushroom.

Quite honestly, this is just the general method of making an omelet.  The only novel instructions here are (1) the little bit of cayenne, (2) the little bit of lemon, and (3) the filling.  The remaining cautions and instructions are just to ensure that you make a decent generic omelet.  You can fill an omelet with any reasonable mix of non-egg stuff.  Just stay away from silly things such as: french fries, and potatoes, generally.  (They will be better cooked separately and served by the side of the omelet.)  Steaks, etc.  Oatmeal and fruits, too, do not work.  Also yogurt, leftover Jello, or pizza.  Salad will also not work, in general.

Happy experimenting!!

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