Author Archives: Jeff

Last week when we went to the HEB supermarket, they offered curbside service with all fees waived. We’ve now eaten all fresh fruit and vegetables in the house. It’s time to go again. Central Market (HEB’s premium brand) carries several … Continue reading →

For those who believe in salvation by numbers, Worldometer‘s Coronavirus pages are ongoing source of revelation, especially the “Confirmed Cases and Deaths by Country, Territory, or Conveyance” chart partway down the page. You can sort by total cases, total deaths, … Continue reading →

Donald Trump and Dan Patrick (Texas Lt. Governor) are suggesting we roll back the lockdowns, shelter-in-place orders, and other measures to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in order to save the economy. Spain’s approach to controlling the COVID-19 … Continue reading →

A week ago, the Austin mayor and a Travis County judge issued a lockdown order. Today, a week later, they issued a “shelter in place” order. Usually, a lockdown is more restrictive than a shelter in place order. Here, it’s … Continue reading →

Why is it so hard to get tested? And why does it take so long? It isn’t a technical problem, so much as a supply problem. FiveThirtyEight, the sports prediction and political polling/prediction Web site has two articles describing the … Continue reading →

My wife, an extrovert, is going nuts during the lockdown. Shopping is our only face to face interaction with other people. Because of our age, various supermarkets will deliver, often for free. We understand the risk and appreciate the offers. … Continue reading →

Austin has plenty of coffeehouses and seems to start the day with breakfast tacos and coffee, frequently espresso drinks. The Starbucks in Austin without drive-thru windows are closed in line with the city’s “lockdown” to slow the spread of the … Continue reading →

Last week 185 test kits were available for drive-thru tests in Austin. The CDC eligibility criteria is still in place: fever and difficulty breathing, or contact with an infected person. This week there are 160 test kits available. Two Fridays … Continue reading →

On Saturday our pharmacy stopped accepting cash. Credit cards and checks are okay. Today our credit union was ATM and drive-thru only. The cash from the drive-thru was all new bills. China is destroying a lot of cash and printing … Continue reading →