Storm Journal 2020: ‘OODA’ (Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.)

What am I supposed to write about she said and crumpled the paper to throw it on the floor.

Just start. You'll see.

“All things are hidden, obscure and debatable if the cause of the phenomena is unknown, but everything is clear if its cause be known.” — Louis Pasteur

Circuit breaker tripped for an entire planet.

Science and medicine. In the storms of life true character emerges.

State parks and woodlands are for the time being, open, but Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont (official site linked here) Executive Order No. 7R includes the following provision:

“Restrictions on entrance to state parks, forests, and other lands: In light of significant visitors to certain state parks in recent days, the order gives the commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection the authorization to ban visitors from entering state parks and other lands under the agency’s control after the property has reached a capacity adequate to supporting implementation of social distancing policies to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“Curbside pickup of alcoholic beverages permitted: The order authorizes package stores and grocery stores to permit the sale of curbside pickup of all alcoholic beverages allowed by their permit type in any space adjacent to their permit premise and during the days and hours allowed for legal sale.”

In your own state, check with the official page of the state's Governor for updates, follow journalists and people with integrity; subscribe, sign up for bulletins and news.

Now reflect. Anyone who has faced fire knows that small spots of burn cannot be allowed to connect to rage and consume. So it is with a contagion.

Smallpox
Yellow fever
Cholera
Scarlet fever
Typhoid
Spanish flu
Diphtheria
Polio
Measles
Whooping cough
AIDS/HIV
(Ebola)

COVID-19 (You are here. So am I.)

(Science and medicine, not wishes and hopes.)

On outings (while still allowed), remember to clean up after your dog(s) and dispose of that waste material properly. Do not use parks, woodlands, land trust holdings, public spaces as latrines. From a lifetime walking and exploring such places, have seen unmentionable messes and deposits left behind. No one needs additional and unnecessary exposure cleaning up after others.

There is no resume normal operations with hot embers potentially sparking outbreaks. Can't track invisible foe without working together, pooling knowledge. An international economy delivers more than food, vital goods and fuel if the virus isn't tracked and tests in place to make informed decisions.

Decisions fueled by data and intelligence. Wishes and hopes, positive statements backed by nothing lead nowhere.

Masks on. Not those needed by front line healthcare professionals. Make your own; if you haven't ever visualize the trajectory of a sneeze, go online and search. Sneeze clouds contain viruses. Apply common sense when venturing out for food and needed supplies. Maintenance (proper cleaning) of a mask is vital.

So. “OODA loop is the cycle observe–orient–decide–act, developed by military strategist and USAF Colonel John Boyd. Boyd applied the concept to the combat operations process, often at the operational level during military campaigns. It is now also often applied to understand commercial operations and learning processes. The approach explains how agility can overcome raw power in dealing with human opponents. It is especially applicable to cyber security and cyberwarfare…”

Arm yourself with good information. While libraries and bookstores are closed, digital options are open. (And wondering how will physical books be sanitized? Browsing in the stacks and aisles, part of a reader's delight.) The skies are alive with bird song, but the distant sound of aircraft are missing. Background noise of commuter traffic from the valley interstate has noticeably lessened.

All the money in the world means nothing when life is lost. Humanity evolved by cooperation, sharing resources and hard won knowledge. (Maybe a branch of humans included renegades, but dollar to a donut some of them joined the more social species by those long ago fires.)

The wind cannot be seen, but the effects of its power can. Facts do not go away because humans deny them. Big things turn on very small things, done at the right time, thinking ahead.

Denying reality costs lives. Being unprepared and blaming others is the sign of a someone not fit to lead. Observe the pattern of behavior.

Any who deny the rippling effect of a prolonged isolation for society are fooling not only themselves, but all others.

Data can be applied to populations, health and science working together. The economy's going to need a bigger ventilator if reckless speed is the goal, facts brushed aside.

Looking up and down.

To be continued. Page one, linked here; page two here. Resources page, linked here.

“…I should like to see these profound words inscribed on the threshold of all the temples of science: ‘The greatest derangement of the mind is to believe in something because one wishes it to be so.'” — Louis Pasteur