We had to leave the island & drive about 30 minutes to the country health center on the mainland. (Which made us both realize we hadn't been on the mainland in over a year, since COVID started.) They had 2 lines of drive-through, National Guard directing traffic, roll down the windows, get a shot, park for 15 minutes, & pick up vax cards with the 2nd appointment date & time on the way out.

It was very fast & efficient, I was impressed (& I'm in FL).

Afterward we treated ourselves to double mochas at a coffee shop followed by a yummy lunch at a nearby Indian restaurant. It was a great morning!

It's only been a few hours but I'm not feeling any effects yet, fingers crossed.

I've been eligible for a couple weeks (over 50) & my wife just became eligible yesterday (over 40), & this morning the FL state vaccine folks called & we now have appointments for this Friday morning, 15 minutes apart!

We're in Brevard County, & it's the Moderna vaccine.

WOOOO-HOOOO!!!!!!

It's almost like he was named for it.

"Chauvinism is the irrational belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak or unworthy."

-Wikipedia

MESSAGING!!!

Democrats launch TV ads in Vegas to take credit for new stimulus package, vaccination effort

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a new advertising campaign — including in Las Vegas — aimed at promoting President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill and slamming the Republican lawmakers who opposed the bill.

The ads begin running on Monday, the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris will be coming to Las Vegas — for her first trip to Nevada since taking office — to tout the stimulus bill.

The “Help is Here” campaign is centered around a 60-second television ad that will be run in battleground regions, such as Las Vegas, for a week. The ad features a speech from Biden focused on vaccine distribution and the $1,400 direct payments for Americans approved as part of a bill he signed last week.

-snip-

[link:https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/democrats-launch-tv-ads-in-vegas-to-take-credit-for-new-stimulus-package-vaccination-effort|]

Interesting short Twitter thread. I'll post the first tweet for Twitter users, plus text of the thread:

[link:https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1369712902115049474?s=19|]

Man, the 2022 senate map would normally be a rough one for Democrats. AK, FL, ID, IN, KS, LA, ND, OK, SC, SD, UT, not exactly Democratic strongholds.

Far too soon to say what it looks like in 2022, but so much hinges on Biden continuing to deliver a #COVID19 recovery.

It's hard to argue against the effectiveness of the Biden stimulus for both red and blue states nationwide.

In 2021 alone, the Biden stimulus is expected to cut poverty among Black Americans by **42%** and lower the poverty rate overall by at least 5%.

https://t.co/cAh9wDhpsW

The economic benefits of Biden's stimlus plan will be immediate and widespread. It's not just that 42% poverty reduction among Black folks, but a nearly 40% drop among Hispanics and 34% for whites.

Nearly every single American will feel a boost because of this #COVID19 deal.

Now it's up to Democrats to effectively message that victory--and future victories--to red state audiences who will feel that improvement in their lives even as @GOP media outlets try to convince them Biden has made them poorer.

/End

Let me repeat that last bit:

Now it's up to Democrats to effectively message that victory--and future victories--to red state audiences who will feel that improvement in their lives even as @GOP media outlets try to convince them Biden has made them poorer.

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a bid by former President Trump to nullify his electoral loss in Wisconsin, rejecting the former president's final pending appeal over the results of the 2020 election.

In an unsigned order without noted dissent, the justices declined to take up Trump's lawsuit alleging Wisconsin election officials violated the Constitution by expanding absentee voting amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

[link:https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/542082-supreme-court-rejects-final-trump-bid-to-nullify-2020-election|]

Not sure if anyone already posted this, but whisky fans on Twitter are celebrating the removal of a 25% tariff on Scotch whisky. Looks like our next bottle of Glenmorangie single malt should be a little less expensive.

Scotch whisky tariffs have been suspended after a agreement was reached with the United States.

The United States will now temporarily suspend all retaliatory tariffs on direct exports from the UK after a settlement agreement over the Airbus despite.

It means Scotch whisky will now see its tariffs go from 25 per cent to 0 per cent, as will textiles such as cashmere.

-snip-

Not sure what the "Airbus despite" is but that's what the article says.

The Scotsman:

[link:https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scotch-whisky-tariffs-suspended-in-new-us-agreement-3154414|]

Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt is resigning from the group's board amid a series of scandals that has rocked the high-dollar anti-Trump super PAC, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Schmidt, a veteran Republican operative, is the latest and most high-profile departure from the group, which is reeling from revelations that another co-founder, John Weaver, used offers of professional advancement in a series of attempts to solicit sex from young men.

[link:https://www.axios.com/lincoln-project-co-founder-resigns-ad554687-f2d1-4b7c-ac0c-5aa555fb312f.html|

I feel a little silly asking for this because I'm a former professional video producer who managed a corporate video production department. We had things like After Effects, Smoke, Flame, Combustion, World Builder & a ton of other professional graphics/video editing/production tools. I expanded our machine room to more than 100 rack-mount CPUs to render HD graphics, which required a major HVAC upgrade, & negotiated an upgrade to the size of the diesel fuel tank (supplying the generator) on the roof of the building so that even if the power was out all weekend the machine room (rendering) would still keep running.

So, that's the world I'm used to.

Now, I just want to do some basic things on my own.

Here's what I want to do: I want to take my cell phone pics & add lower thirds. The idea it to make it look like the subjects of the pics (our cats) are appearing on TV, with a typical CNN/MSNBC/etc lower third. I want to be able to save templates, choose my pallet, & do basic animation (like fly-ins or an animated opening logo).

Ideally, I'd like to be able to create templates on my Win 10 PC, & copy them to my Android phone where the animation is preserved, & I can add details to the template like the cat's name & a description like "Nap Enthusiast."

ANY help is appreciated! Thanks!

Like many of us, I've gone through some hard times over the past year or so, & every day I've felt like my "DU family" has been here for me... the whole time I haven't been able to travel across the country, or to another continent, to see my family relations (by blood or by marriage) & all the friends who live there.

THANK YOU!!! Thank every one of you. You have made the whole T* era... well... survivable... which is probably the most I can ask.