It is been a year and 5 months since the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last week, the false promise of vaccination fed to us by government health officials have been proven to be a lie. And who is the whistleblower? It is none other than the “Dean of gain of function” Dr. Anthony Fauci himself. And he accomplished this with one statement which has gone on to have multiple impacts.

The good doctor had been trying to explain the CDC’s recent update on masking, reintroducing the practice. He made this statement in an interview with NPR:

“The fact that you have a high level of virus in the nasal pharynx of an infected person who has a breakthrough, namely was vaccinated but had a breakthrough infection, and is now capable of transmitting that infection to an uninfected person, that is the thing that is a bit alarming in the sense of triggering the change in the guidelines that the CDC.”

This has multiple implications. It is true the current vaccinations reduce somewhat people’s chances of contracting COVID-19. But the delta variant may be more resistant than previous strains.

There are and were always going to be breakthrough infections. After all, this is a coronavirus, and for the most part, people get re-infected multiple times during their lives. What the vaccine consistently seems to do, is to protect us against severe disease and keep the infection minimally symptomatic, like a cold. Well, that is certainly useful.

But we have been harangued by the government, that we must obtain the vaccine for the good of humanity; to stop the pandemic and prevent the spread to our fellow man. We now have both governmental and private entities demanding that you be vaccinated if you are to go to their school, work at their facility, or even patronize their business. All of this is said to be for the greater good.

Pardon my French, but given Fauci’s statement, that is total bullsh*t.

If there is a significant breakthrough of this newest variant (between 10 and 40% of new cases), then that concept is now dead. The virus admittedly reduces new infections but does not in any way eliminate them. It’s beginning to look like the main benefit of the vaccine is to the vaccinated person only. It facilitates a mild infection which can lead to more complete natural immunity. In the process of that, however, the breakthrough cases can still spread the virus to others.

Thus, the decision to get “the jabs” is really no one’s business but one’s own. If vaccinated patients can get high titer infections often enough to require re-masking, then there is really no public health issue.

And of course, multiple studies show that vaccinating those with natural immunity confers no benefit. Still, our leaders insist.

There is another interesting twist to Dr. Fauci’s statement. In the months surrounding the vaccine release, I watched a podcast featuring a molecular biologist who was being interviewed. As I recall she was extremely well credentialed and talked about 2 potential problems with the proposed vaccines. She discussed the potential for autoimmunity for which there was a fairly widespread concern. She also discussed a phenomenon that can occur after taking the vaccine that could actually make your next infection worse. Because it was a single source, I did not write about this but filed it in my memory.

When Dr. Fauci described high nasopharyngeal titers in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients alarm bells went off for some in the virology community. Enter Dr. Robert Malone, a physician/pathologist, and vaccinologist who apparently was involved in the development of mRNA vaccine technology. Speaking on Steve Bannon’s podcast he explained that Fauci’s statement was very concerning.

He explained that it is difficult to create vaccines against certain viral types including RSV, the dengue virus, and coronavirus. One of the issues is something called “antibiotic-directed enhancement”. This is a process that apparently occurs particularly when the vaccine effects begin to wane (as may be happening with the Pfizer product). The patient contracts the illness, but only a modest number of antibodies then attach themselves to the virus. This is followed by so-called killer cells (monocytes and macrophages) which attach to the antibodies and destroy the virus. Here’s a very detailed and balanced look at this effect (written this January, before Delta).

If, however, ADE occurs, then the virus can actually invade the monocytes and macrophages, reproduce within them, and destroy their functionality. This leads to much higher viral titers and a much more severe illness. Dr. Malone is concerned that the fact that vaccinated patients having such robust viral loads could mean that this is occurring with the Covid vaccines.

This process can be confirmed by measuring the serum viral titers in groups of vaccinated and unvaccinated patients to check for this “enhancement” effect in the vaccinated. If this is indeed a problem, he claims that the use of the products involved should be discontinued. This has occurred in the past in both human and veterinary vaccine trials.

There has always been a cheaper, and more elegant way to “herd immunity”. There is more and more data to confirm the efficacy of inexpensive, safe, repurposed medications such as hydroxychloroquine and particularly Ivermectin to decrease the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19. Using these drugs in protocols to treat patients could potentially have significantly reduced hospitalizations and saved many lives. It also would’ve led to more durable and complete immunity for our population.

Unfortunately, though, it would’ve interfered with Big Pharma’s bottom line, so we, the people lose.

It’s time for everyone to examine the facts and think for themselves. Our government officials are now flailing around in their own web of ignorance and lies.

Be your own best advocate.

As always, I’d be honored if you would share.

Header image: August on the Nescopeck( Samsung Galaxy S20 5G UW)

It is week 3 since the return of normal commerce and culture to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is wonderful to freely socialize, shake hands, and gasp, even hug family and friends that have been absent for so long.

In fact, the only place where I have to wear a mask is during work, at our VA hospital where the Federal Government still requires face covering.

There are some sad sequelae from the pandemic. For instance, in my case, I had close friends who avoided contact with me for the entire pandemic. Hopefully, this was because of my job, which involved caring for Covid-stricken veterans. Last November, I was infected and recovered. Recently it became clear that these friends still shun me, even though they are vaccinated. They claim it is because I am not.

I have written before about this. When vaccines were first available, doses were limited, I felt ethically, that since I had been infected and very likely was immune, I ought to hold back until more vulnerable people had been immunized. Now with vaccines widely available, I continue to hesitate. Because of this, some people choose to keep their distance.

My reasons for not being vaccinated basically fall into 2 categories:

#1. At least for now, I don’t believe it’s necessary for recovered patient’s to be immunized.

#2. I have concerns over the technology of the new vaccines and the reports of scary side effects, including roughly 11,000 vaccine-linked deaths reported in the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System (VAERS).

I have been watching the literature closely regarding the question of the post-recovery immunity of COVID-19 patients. Early on, there were several studies looking at antibody levels post-recovery. The consensus seems to be that antibody levels are quite high immediately post-infection. There was a point where they appeared to fall which was an early concern, but it now appears that they plateau at a healthy level. So far, since the first infections were seen, this continues to be true.

 A recent study out of New York University looked at the characteristics of the immune response in recovered patients, versus those who are vaccinated. It concluded that “Both the natural infection and mRNA vaccination-induced robust innate and adaptive responses but the authors noticed material differences in the two cohorts”. It was noted that the Pfizer vaccine activated fewer portions of the immune system, whereas natural immunity had a broader response.

Getting any of the vaccines basically exposes you to one small protein on the virus, the “S” or spike protein. This makes up a small percentage of the antibody “targets” on the virus. It does currently confer immunity.  Should the spike protein mutate sufficiently ( which does happen), then these mRNA vaccines could well be rendered ineffective. Natural immunity exposes your body to the whole virus. This includes many more antibody targets creating redundancy to protect from new strains.

In April 2021 researchers from the Israel Institute of Technology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Sheba Medical Center studied the effectiveness of immunity derived from the Pfizer vaccine, versus natural immunity in recovered patients. They found that in terms of percentage effectiveness they were essentially equal in terms of recurrence and hospitalization. They tried to compare deaths, but there were no deaths in the natural immunity arm of the study.

Even more convincing was COVID 19 data from May 2021, to the present, compiled by the Israeli Health Ministry to analyze their most recent outbreak (delta variant). It also compared those who were vaccinated to unvaccinated patients who had recovered from Covid. The data suggests that in Israel you were 6.7 times more likely to be reinfected if you were merely vaccinated, versus recovered from infection. From this data, Israel is trying to decide whether another round of boosters will be necessary.

Even the NIH appears to support post-recovery immunity. In this article from their website, they describe a study done in the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in California that was actually funded by Dr. Fauci’s own agency, the NIAID. Here’s a quote from the article dated 1/21/2021 “our studies showed that natural infection induced a strong response, and this study now shows that the responses last,” Weiskopf says. “We are hopeful that a similar pattern of responses lasting over time will also emerge for the vaccine-induced responses.”

Of course, I am also aware of the availability of cheap, available and effective anti-Covid therapy in the form of ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine. I have had a rather dramatic reversal of my own Covid symptoms last November after taking the latter medication.

Given all of this evidence, and the controversies surrounding the vaccine, I have elected to pass for now. If natural immunity is shown to wane in the future, I would of course be vaccinated, especially as I’m aware that there are several conventional inactivated-virus type immunizations in the pipeline.

This is not meant to be a rant against vaccination. What I wish to get across, is that the products currently offered are not completely benign and still not FDA approved. The decision to be vaccinated should be based on your risks of serious illness, versus the risk of vaccine complications. A 75-year-old obese diabetic should certainly get the “jabs”. An 18-year-old healthy college student… probably not.

As I have written in the past, I feel it’s important for people to do their own research before acquiescing to the government’s recommendations. There is a larger agenda here, one that likely involves unhealthy relationships between government health officials, and big Pharma.

I’ll keep my own counsel for now.

As always I would Be honored if you’d share.

Header Image: Elizabeth’s View( Samsung Galaxy S 20 5G UW)

It has been a year and 10 weeks since our lives were fundamentally altered by a pathogen we are coming to realize was a veritable bioweapon cooked up and sloppily released by the CCP, with monies from the NIH. I am happy to say that we do appear to be emerging into a post-Covid world with decreasing cases and increasing vaccinations.

You may remember that my last post back on May 7 was titled “They’re all lying to us”. Given subsequent developments, it appears this is more true than even I believed. From my point of view, it looks like certain people should be indicted for perjury. It also appears that whatever sliver of credibility was retained by the so-called “mainstream media” should be doused in gasoline and burned to cinders.

Here in Pennsylvania, it’s definitely beginning to feel as though the pandemic is ending. There were 2 public questions on the ballot in the recent primary that were designed to limit the governor’s emergency declaration powers. Both passed easily. Gov. Wolfe has announced the end of pandemic restrictions as of late May, but given the new rules, they may actually have expired already.

I point this out because there is no longer any incentive to spin the pandemic so as to minimize Government restrictions. That’s over.

In a matter of 2 weeks, we have seen a huge shift in mainstream opinion on the origins of the virus. Since my last article, the dogma that the SARs Cov-2 virus spread through a “wet market” has all but collapsed. It is increasingly acknowledged that the likely source of this virus was a P4 lab run by the Chinese Communist Party.

At the onset of the illness in Wuhan, after initial intra-virology community disclosures, the Chinese prohibited all information from being released by the Wuhan lab. Shortly afterward, Chinese health authorities descended on a “fish market” in the town. This was done to create the myth that bats sold as “bushmeat” were the source of the infection.

They were ably assisted in this deception by the World Health Organization, the CDC, and by the NIH and NIAID (Dr. Fauci’s organization).

The selling of the “natural source theory” of the bat virus origins was going swimmingly, until last spring, when both Republican Senator Tom Cotton and then-President Trump, claimed to be privy to intelligence suggesting that the virus originated in the Wuhan Lab.

I’m sure you’ll remember what happened next.

Here is a wonderful compilation of the press reaction to those statements:

Let us just say that terms like debunked, discredited, dismissed, hoax and crackpot, all came into common press usage in the weeks afterward. This treatment was also the response to the extremely well-documented report published at that time by Joshua Phillips of the Epoch Times.

So, now it’s May 2021. Within a few weeks, multiple well-established journalists publish reports, supporting, very credibly, the lab origin theory. Suddenly, with Donald Trump banished, the press has changed its tune.

With the press embargo apparently lifted, information starts to flow, Suddenly we find out that in November 2019, 3 workers in the Wuhan lab became ill with symptoms consistent with the virus, so much so that they were transported to a hospital.

We know from the Phillips report, that even the Chinese government investigation found that the first four victims of coronavirus were known to have had nothing to do with the “wet market”.

We have also learned, that in early 2020 both the Australian and Thailand intelligence services, reported to the US on a possible release at the Wuhan site.

Suddenly the Trump and Cotton statements start to make sense. This also explains why the Trump CDC head, Robert Redfield, also supports a lab origin for the virus.

Apparently now, quite suddenly, so does Dr. Fauci. He spent over a year decrying the possibility rather vehemently and mocking those who espouse it. Suddenly this week, he has quietly alluded to the possibility and now suggests an investigation into the matter. I have no words that would express adequately my disgust.

As Tucker Carlson pointed out in a recent opening segment, if the virus was engineered or just accidentally released from the lab, then this is the single worst (by far) man-made disaster in human history. That would make the people that diverted, dissembled, and outright lied to withhold the truth major world-class villains.

One more thought: Donald Trump’s endorsement of the lab origin theory was enough to set the national press on an organized effort to discredit the concept. Now with their dream of his defeat realized, they are suddenly completely reversing their opinion.

What else did Trump endorse? He endorsed hydroxychloroquine, which prompted the same exact response from the press, as well as Dr. Fauci, despite all manner of data, from anecdotal, to peer-reviewed that supported its use, early on, in the disease course.

If this effort to discredit the medication was to “get Trump”, then those who were involved in the effort may be responsible for thousands of patients who may have experienced severe illness or even death, because early treatment was withheld.

I want to remind you that these lies hurt people of all political stripes, not just conservatives. The elite media’s manipulation of the facts potentially harmed even their own loyal consumers. No one should ever trust them again.

In a just world, those public officials and associates who for political reasons, distorted and withheld information needed to address this pandemic would be investigated, and if necessary, indicted and tried. The journalists and pundits who supported the effort would be mocked, shamed, and hopefully fired. Their employers would be sued into bankruptcy by the victims and their families.

The lesson we should learn from this is simple. There is essentially no ethics left in either government, “big tech” or the media. Do your own research(on DuckDuckGo not on Google). If Facebook suppresses a viewpoint, find out more about it.

Stop parroting the orthodoxy on social media. Those posts may not age well.

Form your own opinion. Don’t be afraid if it conflicts with the viewpoint of your particular political or identity group.

In these increasingly weird times… it could save your life.

As always, I’d be honored if you’d share.

Header image: Blueberry blossoms (Fujifilm X100V)

It has a been year and 7 weeks since our lives were truncated by the ruling elites, on account of a virus from China. Here in the US, vaccinations are being made available to a greater portion of the population, and more and more states, including my own, are easing their grip on our lifestyle.

This is our second spring under regulation, and it seems that this year, warming temperature have definitely brought out a lush growth of Covid 19 fatigue. Given our circumstances, I think it is justified.

I for one have absolutely had it with the policy people at the CDC. The new masking guidelines, giving us permission to gather outside without masks, only if it with household members or people known to be vaccinated, is ludicrous on its face. It will obviously be universally ignored. Don’t get me started about Dr. Fauci and his wildly meandering utterances. Someone needs to put a stop to his media appearances.

Especially since he bears some responsibility for our situation.

I have been perusing the internet for more Covid news. I recently encountered Sharyl Attkisson’s report on the origins of Covid on one of the compilation sites. I posted it earlier this week on Facebook. Based on multiple sources and documents both conclude that the virus was likely engineered in a Wuhan virology lab and then escaped out into the population. This was a lab had been noted by multiple organizations to have poor containment policies. This “gain of function” research was being done in cooperation with virologists at the University of North Carolina. And… it was funded by the NIH. Yes, our NIH.

Just to clarify: “gain of function” in this care means modifying an animal virus …to infect humans.

Regarding coronavirus, “big tech” continues to lie and distort. Earlier in the week when I posted Attkinsson’s report, it was quickly followed by a disclaimer from Facebook.

 Her report reminded me of a video from April of 2020 written by Joshua Phillips of the Epoch Times, a right of center publication. Reflexively I searched the video to review it. The list of citations Google provided me only included articles ridiculing the theory of the lab origins of the virus and the Phillips documentary. Reading over the list of titles would tend to make one convinced that this was a “crackpot” theory, and move on.

I then searched for the article on the unbiased search engine DuckDuckGo and immediately found the Phillips video as one of the first citations. Watching it again reminded me of how incredibly well researched and persuasive it is. Invest the time, it’s definitely worth it.

https://www.ntd.com/coronavirusfilm.html

What makes this dismissive Google search so infuriating, is that this is no longer a “crackpot” theory. It has been proposed and investigated and promoted by Josh Rogin of the Washington Post,  Robert Redfield, the former CDC director. Add in the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the institution most responsible for our nation’s bioterrorism defense. They apparently did a secret investigation in the spring of last year and raised the same concerns. Make no mistake: Google is lying, probably on China’s behalf.

So here is another wrinkle to this story. When asked about Dr. Redfield’s opinion, Dr. Fauci attempted to shoot down, continuing to claim that the virus passed from a bat species (found nowhere near Wuhan Province) to humans directly. Well here’s the thing: The gain of function coronavirus research going on at Wuhan was being done in cooperation with the University of North Carolina, through several NIH grants including one ultimately sourced to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

Apparently the leader of that organization, who has been called “the godfather of gain of function research” was forced to move this portion of the research to the Wuhan lab at China, when in 2014 the Obama administration declared a moratorium on these practices. The work went on even though multiple scientists in virology circles warned against continuing. It was performed in a lab that were the subjective multiple memos by the US State Department questioning the lack of safety protocols.

Who is the “godfather”? That would be Anthony Fauci.

This may explain a lot. For instance, imagine you’re the beloved Dr Fauci, in early January 2020, and you hear about a viral outbreak, specifically respiratory, in Wuhan China, in the same city you’re sponsoring gain of function research on respiratory viruses.

I’m pretty sure that was a holy sh*t moment for the good doctor.

Fortunately, there happens to be a “wet” market a few blocks from the lab. That made a good cover story for all involved including our NIH/NIAID people as well as the Chinese Communist Party. Neither party would confess that particular sin.

In the early going it made sense for Dr. Fauci to downplay the seriousness of the outbreak. He probably hoped that it would remain confined to East Asia and fade quickly (like SARS1). On January 21, 2020, at the onset of the outbreak in an interview, he stated: “This is not a major threat to the people of the United States and this is not something that the citizens of the United States should be worried about right now,”. At the same time, he reassured us that they were “taking it seriously”.

As late as March 8, 2020, Dr. Fauci stated “there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

Unfortunately, this was not SARS1 and by late March had begun to spread throughout the globe including the United States. And the overzealous, inconsistent, mask-loving Covid-scold Fauci was born.

Maybe he is just cautious by nature.

Or maybe it’s guilt.

And then there’s this, published yesterday.

https://thebulletin.org/2021/05/the-origin-of-covid-did-people-or-nature-open-pandoras-box-at-wuhan/

I am very uncomfortable feeling this way, but it’s becoming clearer by the day.

They’re lying to us. They have been all along.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post

Header Image : The Barrrens Awaken (Sony RX100 Mark III)

It is week 55 of curve-flattening Soviet-style regulation spawned and nurtured by our Governors. Despite our increasingly recovered and/or vaccinated population, there continues to be devotion to the illogical rituals that cannot protect us from an increasingly impotent pathogen. The anxiety goes on, prodded when necessary by our “betters” who continue to stoke terror among their vassals.

A flagrant example could be observed in the behavior of our new CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. She comes to the job seemingly well-qualified, having been a former head of the infectious disease department at Massachusetts General Hospital. Credentials, however, can be misleading.

Speaking at a Coronavirus task force briefing on March 29th, she spoke about her “feeling of impending doom”. She monologed about the horrors she experienced caring for patients presumably in the early stages of the pandemic.

Her voice cracking, she spoke of her experiences worrying about the availability of ventilators and PPE’s, and horrified about the extra morgue set up at her hospital. She forgets to mention, that these issues never really germinated. Looking frightened she blubbered: “Right now I’m scared” alluding to the possibility of a fourth surge.

Unbelievably, she admitted this was just her feeling and not based on data. She urged the country to continue with current measures. “We’re so close now”. Wait a minute. If we are “so close”, then why the “impending doom”?

I assume she was reacting to multiple states that shortly before, had decided to partially or completely eliminate their coronavirus restrictions.

I have never heard more unprofessional statements from a director at this level. Her histrionic comments were grossly inappropriate, and I think disqualifying. Her words seemed to be an absolutely shameless attempt to reinforce fear within the populace.

At one time I thought I understood the rationale for this behavior. Provoking panic would help to destroy the Trump economy, leading to his replacement. Now, with the orange man gone, the motivation now would seem to be about control, and in some cases, profit.

There is a video available by a fellow by the name of James O’Keefe who runs an investigative outfit called Project Veritas. Their M.O. is to infiltrate largely liberal organizations and do hidden camera interviews exposing their actual agendas. This week he released a video of a CNN technical director, apparently in a tavern, speaking off the cuff.

A big part of this conversation was about Covid. He implied that they were deliberately hyping the situation because it was good for ratings.

He asserts that the powers that be at CNN are worried that there will be eventually “Covid fatigue” and that the fear will dissipate. When it does, they’re ready with their next “focused issue” which, they have decided will be “climate change”. This was specifically chosen as a fear generator because the CNN leadership feels it will have a longer lifespan than the current focus on the pandemic.

In essence, they will use the threat of “global warming” will be used to drive viewership.

They’re doing this, as he puts it, because “Fear sells”. All this from an editor at CNN “the most trusted name in news”.

Meanwhile, perusing the data for the individual states on the Time magazine website, it appears that throughout the country, even in former hotspots such as California, cases, and deaths have dropped precipitously.

Here in Pennsylvania, our numbers are down significantly from December and are oscillating week by week. In Texas, more than 3 weeks after the state opened up, their case numbers continue to fall.

My prediction is, that regardless of our control measures, we are likely to see the numbers in the northeast to be relatively stable until fall. People in the south, however, driven indoors by the heat are likely to see a summer surge, similar to last year. Hopefully, as we begin to approach some level of herd immunity, the morbidity and mortality numbers will be blunted.

I want to acknowledge our governor’s resonable decision to reopen the economy in the last week. Hopefully, the executive branch realizes the lack of linkage between the degree of restrictions, and the “case” numbers (positive PCR tests).

Currently, the available vaccines are a topic of interest. in the last several months, I’ve seen commentary from several molecular biologists who have been concerned that the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) have the potential not only to code for the coronavirus spike protein but actually become incorporated in the host DNA. There is some thought that this may be one reason why people have been seen to test positive by PCR, even after they’ve been immunized.

I’ve now encountered a paper in preprint (not yet peer-reviewed) from Harvard and MIT scientists. They have shown, in cell culture that mRNA in vaccines actually will incorporate into an exposed cell’s DNA. This could lead to a variety of problems including autoimmune disease and an over-aggressive immune response after future Sars Cov-2 exposure. Though I don’t think this scant data justifies abandoning the Pfizer and Moderna products, it certainly bears further investigation.

Now, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been put “on hold”. This due to some incidence of abnormal blood clotting, particularly in young women. These incidences involved clotting in the brain, and the legs, and involve a mechanism that means the traditional anticoagulants such as heparin can actually make things worse. Still, it’s a very small number of incidents in the large population of vaccinated patients. It’s important in this situation to tease out the women that are on birth control, particularly those that smoke, as they have an independent risk for clotting.

So what should we make of this? For myself, having been infected, I consider myself immunized and not currently seeking the vaccine. There is plenty of literature to support this position. If I were compelled to be vaccinated (which I would deeply resent) I would probably go with the J and J inoculation as I am not currently a young woman.

Meanwhile, it’s time to go out, have a few beverages and reconnect with friends. Maybe I’ll cook some barbeque.

Be careful… but have fun.

As always, I’d be honored if you’d share

Header Image : Random Daffidils (Samsung Galaxy S20)

Smartphone fine art photography? After two months with my Samsung Galaxy S 20, I have to admit it appears to be a real option. Though I am not sure, that all of my work qualifies as “fine art” I would say that in 2021, a state-of-the-art phone camera module is no longer severely limiting.

I’m writing this follow-up article to demonstrate what I’ve been able to capture with my new phone.

First, let me say that these images are not all intended to be jaw-droppers. Some of them were shot rather specifically to reveal the sensor’s abilities/limitations. Others were shot with somewhat higher aspirations Hopefully, they are somewhat pleasing.

In 2015, Samsung introduced a brand-new line of cameras called the NX series. It was Samsung’s first foray into a mirror list interchangeable lens camera, and it hit the market with a splash. It was beautifully constructed, extremely well-featured, and came with very fine newly designed lenses.

Most interestingly, it also featured a Samsung-manufactured, very high-quality 28-megapixel sensor. This was shockingly competitive with sensors made by the dominant manufacturer’s Sony and Canon. It was for a time, highly promoted. Samsung hired a number of very well-known photographers for this purpose. I shot with a loaner camera at a photo expo in Seattle and was very impressed.

Then suddenly, the Samsung NX series was no more. Apparently, Samsung decided that cameras “weren’t their bag” and they dropped the product line rather abruptly. It’s actually a shame because there was clear potential for this product.

Apparently, they didn’t forget how to make sensors. As you saw perhaps in the last article I wrote about the S20 weeks ago, despite the diminutive size and tiny pixels, it can produce very high-quality files. Given this, I decided to keep it in service.

For the most part, I shot it entirely in raw which is available in “pro” mode. Shot this way the camera produces a .dng file in a 4/3 format and a wide format JPEG. The latter is processed by the phone’s software. Very typically the results of the processing are fairly pleasing and pleasant to look at on the small screen. Details in the JPEG files are definitely smoothed out by the processing and don’t appear useful for anything beyond digital display.

In early March my wife and I spent a week in the Adirondacks. I brought my typical travel kit including my Fujifilm X100V and my XE3 with a variety of lenses. I never got them out of their bags. When skiing or snowshoeing, I would merely take my small Manfrotto tripod and the smartphone mount, and shot with the Samsung exclusively. I have been doing that ever since, in part with this article in mind.

I have to say that I didn’t really miss my Fujis. Part of this, however, is that I’ve been photographing the high peaks region in early March for so many years, it’s hard to find novel scenery. This was thus an interesting new challenge.

Once home, I continued with the exercise playing with the bleak, early spring scenery as our snow finally melted away.

This is a really good sensor. Many of these images you will note, were shot into the sun with prominent shadows. Better digital sensors have several qualities. One of them is dynamic range, which in part feeds into their true resolution.

Dynamic range describes the ability of the sensor to capture very bright scenes, and deep shadows, but still retain detail when the images are edited. Small pixel phone sensors have traditionally been terrible at this. This sensor handles it brilliantly, certainly as good as for instance my 2009 vintage Panasonic GH1, a much larger sensor interchangeable lens camera (also 12 megapixels).

Another attribute of a good sensor is tonality. This describes the subtle gradations shades of gray, and of color. Earlier technology recorded shades in discrete steps makes the image look more like a painting than a photograph, especially when viewed in detail. More sophisticated sensors have much more subtle gradations. I would say this Samsung sensor does surprisingly well in this regard.

I’ll offer one more thought. No one really talks about the lenses in these tiny camera modules, but in the case of this Samsung S20, there is little to criticize. There is some lens flare, and given the lack of any lens shading, but it is pretty well controlled. And if there other lens distortions that can be measured, they are well hidden in normal usage

At any rate, I think I’m done with this experiment. I’m going back to my more serious gear as the Spring season presents more photographic opportunities.

But it’s nice to know I’ll have the Samsung just in case.

As always, I’d Be honored if you’de share.

Header image: Wind and Snow( Samsung Galaxy S20 EW 5G)

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 1 full year since rising COVID-19 infections inspired the policy of “3 weeks to flatten the curve”. In that period of time, we have been living our lives subject to the whims of our public servants. They have wielded, what many would consider unconstitutional power. They have imposed draconian, and often capricious rules and regulations, ostensibly to protect us from an increasingly manageable viral infection.

One year ago, I remember feeling a fair amount of anxiety. We assumed that no one was immune to this novel virus. We did understand that mortality increased with increasing age. I remember the nervous joking in the room as I taught a course for my non-pulmonary colleagues on how to run ventilators. This was set up out of concern that I and my fellow pulmonologists, all of us in our 60s, might fall ill, or worse, and be unavailable.

Yikes.

Caution was certainly warranted at that stage. We were hearing reports out of Italy of legions of sick people and overwhelmed hospital facilities. New York City was starting to have problems. Here in Pennsylvania, we had our first reported case. This was the point where Governor Wolfe shut down schools, and most businesses, other than those deemed “essential”.

 Nonessential businesses, including haircare salons, bars, restaurants car dealers, and other retailers were either fully or partially shuttered. Because of unemployment benefits that were offered, many people out of fear of the virus chose not to work. This affected many of the businesses allowed to open. It was a circumstance unprecedented in our lifetime. I think most people accepted the restrictions as necessary. Many of us, however, assumed that the disease and the lockdown would disappear by late spring.

As I have written before, we are in an entirely different place in March 2021. First off we know much more about this virus. We know that something like 40% of the population (based on blood bank studies from blood drawn before the pandemic) have pre-existing T-cell immunity. This is probably due to previous exposures to other Coronaviruses.

We have much better therapeutics including two inexpensive generic regimens that appear to have activity against the virus (ivermectin, and HCQ/azithromycin. Mortality rates are falling, and hospitals are non-stressed. Importantly, caregivers and most of the elderly population have been immunized.

I think my biggest fear now, is that even though it is only been a year, I see signs that people remain devoted to the illogical dogma that has been cultivated by media hype and governmental overreaction. If they cling to this. we may struggle to return to an open, welcoming society.

I’m concerned about the psychology of this. People tell me that their memories of our pre-Covid lifestyle are fading into the mists, as we grow ever more habituated to the lockdown life. We have been steeped in the belief that both family, friends and strangers, are potential vectors for Covid and must be kept at a distance. Greeting kisses and embraces for many are unthinkable. When people do gather, there is a wariness in personal interactions that I do not remember prior years. I see this, even in those who have recovered or have been immunized.

We need to get over this mentality. If you have recovered from the illness, or have been vaccinated, you are at best immune from further infection, and at worst, unlikely to become very sick if reinfected. You certainly do not need a mask. The fact that public health organizations will not admit this, suggests to me an inappropriate zeal for control.

I for one, welcome the relaxation of regulations scheduled for April 4 here in Pennsylvania. I am watching the data from states such as Texas where restrictions are almost completely eliminated. So far, after nine days there has been little change in their infection/mortality rates which continue to decline.

It should be clear I think to all of us, that going forward, that lockdowns are not a long-term strategy for dealing with this pandemic. If cases increase again sometime over the summer or in the fall, we need to recognize the virus may be endemic. We need to react to the disease burden, and not just positive PCR tests. Remember, people have been contracting coronaviruses for millennia, and a few become critically ill. A small number die. This is nothing new.

We should focus now on immunization and therapeutics, rather than curtailing our lives and liberty.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post.

Header Image: Dying Spruces at Brady’s Lake ( Fujifilm XE3, XF 18-55mm f2.8-4).

It is the 38^th week of our battle with the Wuhan modified “gain of function” Bat virus known as SARSCoV-2 and the cult of obedience it has spawned. Overall, in the United States, we are just coming out of our second peak of “cases” and hospitalizations. Deaths have also begun to fall. There are significant regional differences, however.

In Pennsylvania for instance, we are clearly past peak with daily “cases” roughly 2/3 of those seen in the third week of December. Hospitalizations have seen a similar decline. Deaths too are on the downslope but as always, are lagging the other indicators. This rise and fall of cases seems to be occurring independently of other factors. My sense is that there was little impact, for instance, from the tightening of restrictions over the holidays.  

Also notice that this outbreak is declining in the dead of winter. Last spring, when we assumed that the warming conditions were responsible for the reduction in cases but there’s no warming now. This further suggests that the virus is on its own schedule, not ours.

Still the current number of new “cases” is formidable, in most cases far higher than the spring. Thankfully there is generally far less hospital utilization.

I am disturbed by several developments. First is the sudden change of heart among governors and mayors who have had a miraculous epiphany and now realize that remaining in lockdown will destroy what’s left of their economies. Funny thing that with a new president inaugurated, that suddenly their positions have changed.

I am disturbed by this on multiple levels. With the possible exception of Illinois, where cases clearly have bottomed out, all of the involved states still have significant disease burdens. New York in particular has just probably rounded the curve. So, with numbers the same or worse than in late November and December but with the electors counted and accepted, now we can reopen our restaurants and businesses. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is the right decision. But it should absolutely destroy any remaining trust between our elected officials, and the citizens who have suffered under their capricious dictates.

Now let’s turn to the newest utterance from the venerable Anthony Fauci, who has essentially supported the wearing of two, yes count them, two masks. Asked by Savannah Guthrie on The Today Show as to the advisability of “doubling up” Dr. Fauci responded: “It likely does because this is a physical covering to prevent droplets and virus to get in. If you have a physical covering with one layer and you put another layer on it, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective”.

 Not so fast.

First off, “America’s doctor” is up to now been a devout adherent to empiric data, first noted when he rejected case reports suggesting hydroxychloroquine might be useful for the virus (it is). Now we’re going with common sense? I could find no empirical data to support that two masks are better than one.

Secondly, I think, the good Doctor is unfamiliar with the dynamics of respiratory devices. The more you increase the resistance of air penetration through the masking material, the more likely the air will seek an alternate route. Most of the masks currently in use fit poorly to the face and thus tend to leak. With 2 masks, during inhalation one is more likely to “entrain” air from around the mask and then reverse the process when exhaling. Thus, you will be inhaling and exhaling more unfiltered air. How is this helpful?

By coincidence I had a gentleman enter my clinic office today with 2 masks on, one paper, and one cloth. I could watch the sides of the masks flare as he breathed. It looked like a fish’s gills.

There is also the issue that we refer to in pulmonary medicine as “work of breathing”. For people who have reduced pulmonary reserve, increasing the airflow resistance with a second mask would likely result in significant increases in shortness of breath. I know this because I do have respiratory problems, and wearing a single mask makes it difficult for me during any exertion. Two masks for some could be extremely uncomfortable.

It’s also worth remembering that this is the same Dr. Fauci who suppressed the use of masks in the initial phases of the pandemic, so to preserve the limited supply of the PPE’s. I hope we have lots of supply now because his words could double facemask consumption.

My final point will be an “I told you so”. Very quietly on January 20, the World Health Organization released new guidelines for Covid testing. They finally addressed what we have known all along: that the PCR test has been incorrectly used, which has inflated the number of cases. They now recommend, a decrease in the amplification cycles (sound familiar?) and the use of other confirmatory evidence such as actual symptoms and a second, different diagnostic study, such as an antigen test,

Just how many “cases” have been diagnosed incorrectly is anyone’s guess; but let me try. I’m thinking…a lot (between 60 and 90% according to the August 29th New York Times article).

I received an email today from the Feds on the topic of COVID-19 immunization. the email explains that the vaccine does not confer immunity, but the antibodies and immunity derived, merely help those who are vaccinated to fight off the virus (We knew this, though). It states that “guidelines for masking, social distancing all remain in place and should be adhered to regardless of vaccination or antibody status”.

In other words, there is no end in sight for this truncated, stilted lifestyle that we have all been forced to adopt. Even if 100% of people are vaccinated, there will likely always be vulnerable people that need to be protected. You know, the same way it has been with influenza over the years.

The pandemic was real. But it was shamefully manipulated by people in power for their own benefit. Yes, people have died from this virus much as people have been dying from respiratory virus infections for centuries. But the illogical, emotion-based restrictions placed upon us, are also causing financial, educational, and emotional devastation which may have very long-term effects.

It’s time to leave the cult, and return to life.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post.

Header image: St William’s at Raquette Lake (Fujifilm XE2, XF 18-55mm f2.8-4)

I was going to post a “Viral Post” today. Given yesterday’s fiasco at the nation’s capital, I felt that such a post would seem obtuse. Given the postings in my Facebook stream, I have been provoked to weigh in.

As a conservative and at least for now, a Republican, I unequivocally condemn the invasion of the capital. It is a stain on the MAGA movement for whom peaceful protests were part of the brand. Just who incited the invasion remains obscure (Q Anon vs. Antifa). It was an act of insurrection, one that was tactically stupid.

This summer, during the BLM/Antifa multi-city riots, we were told by Democrats and the press, that these were essential political activities by citizens that feel frustrated, and have no other recourse. We watched attacks on federal courthouses, businesses burned to the ground and people assaulted and even murdered. This occurred with the tacit approval of Democratic mayors and district attorneys. these disturbances occurred over many months, not just one over one afternoon. Our upcoming vice president actually supported a program to bail these criminals out of jail, returning them to the street.

I also remember the invasion of the Senate Office building during the Kavanaugh hearings. The leftists involved were lauded by the press and allowed to come into contact with Republican senators who were harrassed. Democrat response…crickets.

Now after a 4-hour MAGA tantrum in the Capital, the left suddenly finds their outrage. To be blunt, when I see their indignation on Facebook, it makes me want to vomit. They have no shame.

Make no mistake, the people of the right have been exposed to real evidence of voter and election fraud, largely through the alternative media. They believe that the “no evidence ” mantra of the left is a lie. When they watch the leaders of both political parties cut off their options, they believe that they are without recourse.

75 million people voted for Donald Trump. The vast majority feel that they were disenfranchised by Democrat-run election fraud. More powerfully, they can see no way forward where this doesn’t happen again. Whether you agree with them or not, this is an untenable situation.

It is in everybody’s best interest, in the long run, to reassure all voters that are elections are valid. This could be accomplished by creating a truly non-partisan Election Commission( if it is still possible). It would have to proceed with the understanding that the 2020 election is over

We need to fix this quickly, or we will lose this country.

As always, I would be honored if you would share this post.

Header image: At the Capital (Panasonic G1, Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8)

Well, here we are at Christmas, 2020. Like everything else in this godforsaken year, it trends toward joyless. My wife and I are spending it alone as our children are essentially trapped in the Pacific Northwest by current circumstances. We will have a small dinner at the family homestead, but attendance is limited. Those of us who work in healthcare, (and have not, like me, recovered from Covid) have chosen not to attend given my father’s advanced age. All agree that this is prudent.

We had hoped for a white Christmas given the roughly 13 inches of snow that fell last week. My little Victorian hamlet looked like the background of a Norman Rockwell Christmas painting. But it’s 2020. Yesterday temperatures warmed into the 50s, and we had roughly 3 inches of rain. The high winds that accompanied this trough were sufficient to knock down a strategically placed tree, wiping out power for our little village about 8 PM. Power did eventually return overnight. I awakened this morning to green lawns, and with temperatures plummeting, freezing rain. Down in the Susquehanna River Valley, given the rain and the snowmelt, they’re making preparations for the river to crest above flood stage in a day or so.

Merry Christmas.

Still, I don’t want my seasonal affective disorder to completely overwhelm this Christmas posting. My family has much for which to be grateful. Despite several of us working in healthcare, my case of Covid 19 made me the only one affected. Despite misery of the lockdowns, we remain gainfully employed which cannot be said for many of our friends. My father, at 94 years old, still fully functional. I love having a beer with him at the end of the day.

For my Christmas gift to you, I offer a pleasant discovery I made this year. From Branson Missouri, I give you The Petersons, a wonderful bluegrass band that I found in my YouTube lineup. They are a very traditional family with a wonderful back story well worth reading. They are also, as a clan I think, an almost freakishly musical.

And here in the east… try to ignore the weather.

So Merry Christmas to one and all. Indulge yourself in the joy of friends and family. Stay safe. Eat a little, drink a little more.

As always, I would be honored to share this post.

Header Image: Christmas Bench (Fujifilm XE3, XF 18-55 f2.8-4)