Lamb’s blood on the lintel

Looks like I neglected one of my autumnal chores. To be honest, Home Depot was out of lamb’s blood.

We kind of hoped that by staying home and being hermits all year this virus would pass us by, but that wasn’t to be the case. We both have to work and be around others to a degree.

My wife tested positive for Covid on Monday. As a health care worker, she got a rapid turn around. In fact they told her not to drive off and delivered her results in 20 minutes.

I went for my test on Tuesday. You start off with an online survey to get a case number that you need to write down. They they tell you when and where. It looks something like this.

You aren’t allowed out of your car, you have to be able to follow directions.

After you find a spot, you have to text them with your case number and date of birth. They come out with the kit and you have to swab your own nostrils. The tech bundles everything up and you drive away.

I never got my personal results until about two hours ago. My results were negative. I have no idea how this could happen, because we share a bed, a bathroom, and everything else. Still, there are the results.

I have to quarantine with her, but have to work from home at the same time. Given all the garbage that 2020 threw at us, I’m a veteran of working from home.

Honestly, I’d almost rather have had a positive result at this point. Then I’d have a known date to return to the office. This way, I could be out for two weeks, then earn two weeks of my own at home.

There is no way I’m going to go get the camper after we just winterized it. I’m not moving to another bedroom or any of the garbage people seem to dream up. We live together and we’ll get through this together… or we won’t as the case may be.

Even with a negative test, it messes with your mind. This stuff is on the couch about twelve feet away. It’s more realistic than it was this weekend. I also compulsively checked my email every ten minutes expecting a different answer.

It may not sound like I’m worried, but I am. I know most people don’t have the severe symptoms that make the nightly news, but enough do to be concerned.

This is an author’s blog, so I’ll chock this post up to “slice of life.” I probably won’t update unless there’s something interesting to say. Maybe I can report on word metrics or story gyrations this weekend. That’s why you come here.

Not looking for sympathy or anything. If you take anything away from this, it’s to stay vigilant and even that might not be enough.

Another Idea Mill post, kind of

I’ve been very unproductive this weekend, and it irks me. The ladies are getting ready to go shopping and I may get a few hours to concentrate on my projects. (Stay away from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.)

I wanted to post this morning, but had to interact with real humans for awhile. While they’re all in the shower, I decided to throw a few goodies your way.

The first one involves two articles about the FDA. First they found some unsecured smallpox virus in a closet. This is considered extinct for all intents and purposes. The article is here: Smallpox  (Note: there is a character named Variola in my book, Arson. You’ll have to read it to find out why.) Then they found even more goodies. These include oldies but goodies like spotted fever and dengue. Here is the article: Oldies but Goodies (I’ve had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I don’t recommend it.)

Now they know what it feels like to have a kid move out. You go through their bedroom and find a sandwich from 1997. These are supposed to be some of the most secure facilities on the planet, and they don’t even know what’s there. “Hey, Bob. We’re getting inspected tomorrow. You need to straighten up the lab. Just shove all that crap in the closet or crawl space.”

As a writer, I can see all kinds of possibilities here. Lovers of distopian or contagion type stories should be rejoicing. Writers can apply what happened to chemical compounds too. Why should biologicals have all the fun?

Next, scientists have invented a new shade of black. It sounds stupid on the surface, but it’s kind of interesting. It absorbs almost all light sent its way. It’s so black the human eye has a hard time detecting it. You can read about it here: Black The article mentions Wile E. Coyote, so you know it has to be good.

Writers could turn this into all kinds of camouflage. Everything from cloaks of concealment to space ship cloaking devices. Maybe it also absorbs laser blasts or light sabers. Maybe it’s used for hypothermia blankets. I can see all kinds of secret societies and shadow organizations using this to conduct business undetected.

This is why it’s a hodgepodge. I usually save the links until I have three. The last one is today’s blog post from Chris McMullen. It’s not part of the idea mill, but writers need to know about this. Chris adds some real common sense to the discussion about Kindle Unlimited. This is a new subscription based program; whereby, subscribers can download anything on the KDP list for free. I think it sounds pretty cool for voracious readers. Here’s Chris’ article: Kindle Unlimited & Marketing Strategies. One thing is certain, Amazon just changed the game again.

For all you early adopters of Kindle Unlimited, all of my books are already there. (Hint.) Chris may have just convinced me not to lower my prices.

I’m off to paint my truck a new shade of black and see if it works on police speed guns. If I accomplish anything today I’ll log on and post about it.