Good morning, RVA! It's 45°F, and today looks a little bit cooler and a little bit cloudier than yesterday. Today, and for the next few days, you can expect highs in the mid-60 and rain-free skies. However, keep an eye on Monday’s trick-or-treat o’clock, because, at the moment, there’s a small chance of rain. Honestly, though, what’s scarier than wet, bedraggled children banging on your door demanding candy after the sun’s gone down?
Water cooler
As of last night, Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield continue to have low CDC COVID-19 Community Levels. The 7-day average case rate per 100,000 people in each locality is 159, 43, and 81, respectively, and the 7-day average of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people is 8.7. Across the board the numbers have definitely increased but not enough to send us back into a medium level (although on the CDC’s map of Virginia, quite a bit more is shaded yellow than last week). But, it’s not like COVID-19 is the only virus out there that can lay you low and disrupt whatever spooky weekend plans you may have. Katelyn Jetelina at Your Local Epidemiologist has a nice run down on what the media has, possibly prematurely, started calling a “triple threat” of winter disease—COVID-19, flu, and RSV. Here’s her level-headed take: “Lots of viruses are spreading right now and it’s a bit earlier than normal. We don’t have a triple threat yet, but I don’t think we want to see one, as I’m concerned for our healthcare systems. Do your part by getting vaccinated, staying at home while you’re sick, and other measures like washing hands, wearing a mask, and getting that airflow moving.” Listen to her! You can (and should!) get both the COVID-19 bivalent booster and flu shot at the same time, and you can find them both pretty much everywhere at this point. Make a plan to do so today if you haven’t already!
Eric Kolenich at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that VCU has cancelled production of a Rams-themed beer, just a day after its launch. In a letter to the university president, a professor raised concern that selling collegiate-branded beer after a student died of alcohol poisoning on campus last year was insensitive (to say the least). It’s unclear to me whether this is a permanent cancellation or a temporary pause—I’d cynically guess the latter.
Today, October 28th, is the last day to submit an application to vote by mail in this coming election. You can do so here, but, just be aware, we’re only 11 days out from Election Day. I’m sure there is a theoretical world where the Department of Elections, the United States Postal Service, and your own busy calendar all align, and you get your ballot submitted on time (postmarked by Election Day and received by November 14th), but, I dunno, sounds stressful. You can also drop off your by-mail ballot at the local registrars office, but, if that’s your plan, why not just vote early instead? Confused? This FAQ will answer just about every question you may have!
I would never have guessed, but a “goth cowboy” store sounds surprisingly appealing to me? Jack Jacobs at Richmond BizSense reports on Saturn Return’s new location in the heart of the Fan.
The Washington Post reports that Elon Musk finally bought Twitter and will take the company private. I’ve already read a bunch of takes, including this surprisingly positive one from Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, and I’m sure takes will abound over the weekend. As for myself, I’m nowhere near as positive as Gruber, but do think it’s way too early to know how things will shakeout. This, from @heywren, is insightful and just about describes where I’m at: “Everyone thinks Twitter is going to turn into Gab) when it’s just as likely to turn into that block of fake articles at the bottom of your local newspaper’s website.”
For my Charon’s coin, you can’t beat the Richmond Zombie Walk, which celebrates it’s 17th year of shambling through Carytown this coming Saturday at 2:30 PM. What is the Zombie Walk? To quote the website, “Is it an epidemic of mass murder being committed by a virtual army of unidentified assassins or just a parade of zombie fans benefiting various charities?” Either way, get out there, moan about some brains (or run for your life) and take some great pictures.
This morning's longread
On Small Seasons and Long Calendars
I’m over here still thinking about calendars and alternative, slightly less capitalism-driven ways of tracking time. This piece made me think—especially the section below about dividing your life into phases—and save a lot of links to read later.
A friend of mine has a unique method of journaling. He documents moments from his life via a mishmash of words, events, ideas, and screenshots, and groups them into discrete phases in iPhoto. Each phase is roughly two weeks long — but it’s defined by his living situation and activities, not the days of the month. A week-long bike trip across Southern Europe might be one phase, but two months of heads-down focus on school work could be another. It’s a great way to remember things. In conversations, a topic or feeling will come up, only for him to say, “oh man, that was so phase 37.” By chunking his life out into phases it becomes easier to grasp, both in language and in memory. Contrast that with a more standard journaling experience: writing a couple hundred words every few days. At the end of a month or a year, you look back on a sea of sentences, unfiltered and uncategorized. So much is written that it’s hard to extract anything meaningful from it without jumping around to specific days.
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Picture of the Day
Still feeling fall.
