On the eve of Christmas, I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas.

15 December 2021
By Kenneth Libbrecht

SNOWFALL in Pasadena, California, (click here) is so rare, it’s almost unheard of. Except, that is, at the California Institute of Technology, where Kenneth Libbrecht can conjure it up using the world’s most sophisticated snowflake-making equipment.

As a physicist, Libbrecht has tackled some fairly epic questions, like the nature of gravitational waves and the internal workings of the sun. But he also has a delightful sideline in the science of snowflakes, which are far more complex and mysterious than you might think. One of the biggest unanswered questions about them is why they appear to come in two distinct types.

Libbrecht went on a 20-year odyssey to solve this mystery. Recently, he published the fruits of that journey in the form of a monograph that runs to more than 500 pages. It contains a kind of grand unified theory of snowflakes, explaining for the first time how and why they grow into the delicate shapes they do.

Joshua Howgego: What got you interested in snowflakes?

Kenneth Libbrecht: One day I was chewing the fat with one of my students and we got talking about how crystals grow and take on shapes. We started thinking about what we could study in this area and I thought: well, water would be cheap and easy. Then I thought: actually, that would be the physics of snowflakes, I wonder how that works? Apropos of nothing – I was just curious – I started reading up on research on snowflakes and I found it really fascinating....

No matter where an American lives it looks as though "caution first" is prudent when travelng. Please.

Remember to get updates at Weather.gov (click here) the USA National Weather Service.

Looks like NORAD is still focused on the North Pole. (click here)

The "Met Office" (click here) in Europe is reporting Santa is over France.

Below right are storm totals thus far for Eureka, California from Weather.gov when clicking on color of warning.

December 24, 2021
By Doyle Rice

Forget (click here) about trying on those new coats or boots if you live in the south-central U.S.: Record, spring-like warmth is forecast to overspread the region into the Christmas weekend.

"Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock and Memphis all stand to match or top the record high for Dec. 25, this Saturday," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Brett Anderson said.

Highs in the 70s and 80s, which will be common for much of the south-central region, are more typical of early to mid-October, he said.

Weather.com meteorologist Domenica Davis said these highs are 25 to even 30 degrees above average for this time of year and that "dozens" of records are likely to be broken.

The National Weather Service in Houston said record highs remain "a very distinct possibility" for Christmas Day as temperatures surge into the lower 80s there....

This is going to sound hokey and a little old fashion, but, I think it is time for a group effort.

Half a century ago, (click here) the Supreme Court settled the matter of when a court can stop a newspaper from publishing. In 1971, the Nixon administration attempted to block The Times and The Washington Post from publishing classified Defense Department documents detailing the history of the Vietnam War — the so-called Pentagon Papers. Faced with an asserted threat to the nation’s security, the Supreme Court sided with the newspapers. “Without an informed and free press, there cannot be an enlightened people,” Justice Potter Stewart wrote in a concurring opinion....

It seems to me if Project Veritas (click here) can defame and accuse at will, there needs to be a newsprint somewhere with the facts. Veritas is obviously more interested in putting mainstream media out of business before the 2024 elections. No one else sees that? Today, CNN, the one channel of news that Trump insisted on insulting regularly and tomorrow then who?

...In requesting the order from Justice Wood, Project Veritas’s lawyers acknowledged that prior restraints on publication are rare but argued that their case fits a narrow exception the law recognizes for documents that may be used in the course of ongoing litigation....

That is so Trumpian. A narrow anything in the law to carry forward the "Big Lie." Give me a break this is a project far less interested in democracy and it's many freedoms so much as overthrowing it.

The Netherlands is doing the right thing for the people.

The available bed space is the problem and to have those vaccinated, but sick with Omicron needing hospital care is more than the health care service can provide.

There have been disasterous episodes in the USA. There have been some poorer cities and states that were overwhelmed by the virus in the beginning and thereafter. I remember the horrible bed statisics from Louisiana. I am certain Netherlands is looking at those episodes and learning from them. There does need to be clinics established for boosters in the Netherlands.

This is a huge problem. There is no balance with the global pandemic because the virus continues to mutate. It is so grossly unfair for a single past president of the USA to cause this level of hardship. At some point the truth of abrupt change in USA policy with scientific observers in China must be brought to light and remedies of justice decided.

The idea China created this virus is ridiculous. Recent explosions in Chinese student laboratories (click here) is proof that China is not even close to being considered a First World country and it's people are still exposed to animal markets that breed deadly viruses.

The current light at the end of the tunnel is that South Africa is proving to have emerged from Omicron and travel restrictions were lifted by the USA. There is still a deficit of vaccine in South Africa. Both the WHO and CDC along with the NIH are still concerned for a greater threat, so the idea this is over is too soon to tell. It would be good if Omicron was the last of the variants. But, as to the Netherlands, it's government is doing the right thing and people need to realize they are lucky if they are free of the most recent variant and the lack of movement is protecting them further.

I might add, this area of the world was hit very hard with storms, floods and devastating destruction to infrastructure. It doesn't make the responsibility any easier now that a virus can cause more hardship.

December 24, 2021
By Senay Boztas

Amsterdam - Since 5 a.m. on Sunday, (click here) bars, restaurants, museums, schools, clothing stores, gift shops and anything resembling fun have been closed across the Netherlands. We’ve become the first European country to go back to lockdown life amid Omicron (until at least early January): It was “unavoidable,” said Prime Minister Mark Rutte. So here we are, looking over the borders enviously at holiday sales and seasonal celebrations in Belgian Antwerp. Once more, it doesn’t look a lot like Christmas.

The Netherlands’ lockdown stands as a warning to the United States, other European countries and Covid hot spots across the globe. The warning, though, isn’t just about Omicron — other countries have more coronavirus cases and worse vaccination rates than the Netherlands does, and they are not locking down (at least yet).

The warning is about policy failures — the failure to start a booster campaign sooner, to spin up free testing capacity quickly when needed, to persuade more groups of the benefits of vaccines and to ensure there are enough beds in intensive care. Now our hospitals are already full of patients who are infected with the Delta variant, and we probably won’t have enough beds for all of the people who need care if the Omicron wave hits vaccinated people hard too....

The formula is a bit more complicated based on whether a person is vaccinated or not.

But, I should not be a monumental task for the CDC or Dr. Fauci from the NIH to formulate recommendations or have a hotline for employers.

I would think the seven day isolation in the nurse recommendation can also be a guide to employers, too.

December 24, 2021
By Lauren Hirsch and Emma Goldberg

Barbara Sibley’s (click here) four New York restaurants had already weathered the city’s initial Covid-19 wave, the prevaccine surge last winter and this summer’s Delta spike when last weekend it finally happened: Fearing an outbreak and struggling with staffing after one of her workers got sick with Covid, she temporarily shut down one of her locations.

That was only the start of Ms. Sibley’s worries. She also had to weigh how long the employee, who was fully vaccinated, should isolate before returning to the job. And the messaging from public health experts was not clear-cut.

In the early days of the pandemic the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that most people who tested positive for the coronavirus isolate for 14 days. It later reduced its recommended isolation period to 10 days. But these policies were based on data from unvaccinated individuals and were implemented before the widespread availability of rapid tests. An increasing number of health and policy professionals now suggest that vaccinated people can end their isolation after five to seven days, so long as they are not symptomatic and they test negative....

Any fines paid to Russia is a national security threat to Ukraine and the USA.

This is censorship. The Russia Roubles are basically worthless anyway, but, $40,000 USD is still more than should be tolerated in paying a fine to the Russian government. The Tech companies should consider removing their exectives from the country, such as Russia and China, and end their companies interest.

The Russian Rouble above (click here) has gained value due to natural gas exports. Worth a little more than a penny now, when natural gas values went up so did Russian curreny. There are a lot of reasons to convent to alternative fuels and Russia is still another reason. Russia achieves income from the petroleum industry.

...The recovery of the Russian ruble coincides with the decline in the dollar exchange rate, during the trading of the Moscow Stock Exchange, to below 72 rubles to the dollar for the first time since last June....

December 23, 2021

A Moscow court on Thursday (click here) said it had fined Twitter TWTR.N 3 million roubles ($40,920) for failing to delete content Russia deems illegal, the latest in a string of penalties against foreign technology firms.

Moscow has increased pressure on Big Tech this year in a campaign that critics characterise as an attempt by the Russian authorities to exert tighter control over the internet, something they say threatens to stifle individual and corporate freedom.

Twitter has denied allowing its platform to be used to promote illegal behaviour.Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moscow's Tagansky District Court said Twitter had been fined 3 million roubles for failing to delete banned content....

A word from the national weather service.

For complete and up to date weather information check their website (click here). Easy to remember:

https://www.weather.gov/

Arrive alive!

A series of Pacific storms will bring periods of heavy low elevation rain and heavy mountain snow to the Western U.S. through the Christmas weekend. Flash flooding and debris flows are possible in the vicinity of recently burned areas.

9:48 PM · Dec 22, 2021·Twitter Web App

Tic-Toc is a populous website and it is very dangerous.

Tic Toc does not compare to Google in that it exceeds in popularity. Google is a work space and the most popular work space on the planet. Tic Toc is a populous attraction, highly sexual and spawning iconic challenges to the youth of our country in a very unhealthy way. Google is taking responsibility for what is occuring in their internet environment, while Tic Toc is a free for all.

December 24, 2021

Editor:

In the Dec. 18/19 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, (click here) the Journal's investigation team pointed out the terrible dangers faced by teenage users of Tik Tok. Teenage girls seem to be especially targeted by this site. Many of the posts on the site urge girls to starve themselves, advocate consuming only 300 calories a day, and promote the so-called "corpse bride" diet, among other life threatening actions. Too many young girls have actually died as a result of following this terrible advice.

I wonder how many parents realize that Tik Tok is owned by the Chinese company Byte Dance, and that Byte Dance is owned and controlled by the government of Communist China?...

There are terrible things occurring do to the lack of cyber regulations. The USA needs to stop this malicous use of American cyber space. This is outrageous. American children have plenty of challenges in growing up, they don't need a cyber space where sexuality and guns are promoted.

December 16, 2021

PECATONICA, Ill. (WIFR) - Pecatonica Schools Superintendent (click here) posted a google document on the districts Facebook page on Thursday, warning parents and teachers of a viral Tik Tok challenge flagged by The Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center.

The document, on official District 321 letterhead reads:

“Subject: TikTok Challenge...

The need for Congress to act to end malicous software is now. This is not a freedom of speech issue and falls into the National Security interest under the Patriot Act. 

I don't see at home testing as a critical statistic.

The postives will show up at the point of care. There is no way reporting from home can be enforced. The at home testing will result in higher reporting of positive results. That is what is important. While some negatives may be reported, the incidence of postitives is what will result as an overriding importance.

Currently, the number of Omicron cases reported exceed that of Delta at it's peak. That could be due to testing. That is a good thing. This is an important holiday to most Americans and it is wise to be safe and to be treated. Soon there will be pill available to Americans that will result in better treatment and conquer the symptoms of the Omicron variant. That is also a good thing.

This holiday season the USA and First World countries need to focus on the Third World. The statistics in the Third World are very poor and why Omicron was reported in South Africa in the first place.

The World Health Organization has voiced it's concern for the administraiton of boosters in the First World Countries. The Third World is as important as the First World in receiving vaccines. The WHO is concerned with still another variant emerging because of the unvaccinated in the Third World. This concern is the fact that Omicron came out of South Africa where vaccines have not reached all the people. These folks want to be vaccinated and they are used to it as well. The Third World countries are some of the most vaccinated people globally.

Infrastructure to vaccinate the Third World is in place thanks to the exceptional work of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. All that is needed is the vaccine. Considering the urgency of this, the First World needs to up their game and begin to produce MORE AND EFFECTIVE vaccine as soon as is possible. The Third World has the same human rights as everyone else on Earth. It is time to realize while other countries are having less incidence of the variants of COVID-19, it is more important than ever that they are vaccinated.

December 23, 2021
By Emily Deruy

With the omicron variant spreading quickly (click here) even among vaccinated people, and pandemic-weary families eager to gather for the holidays, at-home COVID tests are flying off the shelves as fast as stores can stock them. Lines at testing sites across the Bay Area are long, and some places that welcomed walk-ins are now requiring appointments as demand outstrips availability at certain locations.

While health experts say testing is a valuable tool for keeping people safe, all those nasal swabs happening at home this week could actually pose a challenge when it comes to the state’s COVID-19 data and our understanding of exactly where and how the virus is spreading. That’s because the results of the more accurate “PCR” tests done by private and county labs are reflected in California’s COVID-19 data, but the results of rapid tests people take at home are not, which could mean a major undercount....