This is the end of my sixth week of shelter in place/cower in place/safer at home/whateverthefuckmyincompetentgovernorcallsit. The weather has stayed warm in California and we are getting a few days of real heat later this week. My fellow Californians seem about done with this stay at home crap.  We are getting so close to a good oldfashion riot.  Here is hoping for a heatwave in northern California.  I want to make sure Newsom sees the proles in the street.  The CHP has done their best to prevent any protests the Governor might see.  Anyone who clicked the link will be rewarded with one more reason to be disgusted with the ACLU.  I cannot believe I used to give them money.

Personally, this week has been mixed news.  I have experienced the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles of being at the government’s whim.  Every area court has extended their closures to at least the third week of May.  The reported numbers of backlogged cases are huge.  Every court will have a “phased reopening.”  I also got my PPP money.  So, I can stay solvent for another month while I lose sleep wondering what the government will do next to make it impossible for me to earn a living.

Part of what chafes (drink!) me about these overbroad measures is the unwillingness to consider secondary consequences. I’m no scientist, but the last time I checked, sitting on your ass all day for weeks on end can lead to weight gain. That led me to wonder which is deadlier, Covid-19 or obesity?

Let’s stipulate the number of Covid-19 deaths suffer from both overcounting and undercounting. But I must put a number on it somehow, so I’m turning to the same people the federal government appears to rely on. Current projections are about 73,000 deaths in the US.

I have heard plenty about the obesity “epidemic” but had no idea how many people it kills in the US each year. Turns out it kills about 300,000. More accurately, the fatties kill themselves by getting and staying obese but you get the point.

You medical and/or science types (I’m looking at you Gustave Lytton and C. Anacreon) will have to tell us how much we can expect the obesity death rate to increase when the entire US population is told to stay inside. It’s not like the chronic stress of not knowing what restrictions the government will impose next, widespread job loss, and the inability to gather with family and friends will exacerbate the problem, right?

This week’s music choice really is a choice. You can select a song that tells your local tyrant you are going to take your chances, you will fight back, or you don’t believe them.