Gut Feelings

Today is the day for the body as an abode of mindfulness. All dharmas are supreme. Selah.  

Fun fact: there are more neurons in the human intestinal system than there are in the brain of a rat, and rats aren't unintelligent creatures.  The difference is the gut neurons aren't interconnected the way they are in human (and rat) brains, so while each digestive neuron can make a single, binary decision, higher systems of memory and consciousness don't arise.  But the next time you say you have a "gut feeling" about something, don't dismiss that intuition - your gut neurons might be trying to tell you something.  

It's Dwight Evans birthday!  The former Red Sox right fielder turns 70 today.

The storm that caused the recent nor'easter in New England is still out at sea and is now officially known as Tropical Storm Wanda.   The storm is wandering around the mid-Atlantic, seemingly uncertain on where to go next, and is currently out west of the Azores.  Landfall on any continent does not seem to be in Wanda's future.  Other than that, all is quiet on the hurricane, or potential hurricane, front.

The rate of decline in the average number of new covid cases in Georgia has leveled off, and has remained at just over 1,000 cases per day since October 27. Cases have not been below 1,000 per day here in Georgia since July 18.  It's too early to tell if the recent leveling-off of case rates is part of a trend or just an anomaly or aberration in the data. I'm hoping on the latter.

It appears now that the November 30 run-off election for mayor of Atlanta will be between Felicia Moore and Andre Dickens, who narrowly defeated former mayor Kasim Reed's comeback attempt.  I don't have a strong preference for either Moore or Dickens - both have served for years on Atlanta's City Council and neither seems poised to bring substantive change to the city. With the largest share of votes in yesterday's election, though, Moore seems to be in the lead. That makes me neither happy not sad - I have no gut reaction to that.