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10pm on Saturday Dec 4.  I had been feeling crappy all day but not horrible either.  My throat hurt, my sinuses were plugged, and I had a bit of a cough.  All day I had been thinking "Oh great, another sinus infection".  Then it came, a very deep cough which produced a lot of green mucus.  

This gave me a moment of pause..."ok, time to test myself" I thought.  I grabbed my COVID self test kit and and started a test.  30 minutes later there it was, COVID-19 Positive, FUCK.  I checked my temperature and there was no fever and my breathing was ok so far. I am fully vaccinated including a booster so this should stay pretty mild.  I popped some Nyquil and went to sleep.

Then I woke up at 2:30am still feeling about the same but somewhat terrified.  I grabbed my computer and started researching Monoclonal Antibodies and if I was eligible.  I found two options.  One was an urgent care and the other was a ER that said they would take walk-in's.  Even though it was 4am at this point, I put clothes and and headed out the door, the ER was only 15minutes away.

When I got to the ER there was no one in line, so I walked right up to the admitting desk an told them that I wanted a confirmation COVID test and Monoclonal Antibodies.  The admitting person didn't even blink, took my information and started filling out the information.  About 10 minutes later a Dr came out to talk to me, he said that the hospital had just changed its policy on Monoclonal Antibodies and since I don't have any other medical issues I don't qualify.  I appreciate that the told me this before taking me into the ER.  We chatted a bit and he said that this was a recent policy change at the hospital so I could definitely try other places. 

Since the urgent care opened at 8am and was only 30mins away I drove up there and waited an hour for them to open.  I was first in line and taken almost immediately.  Once I got into the exam room a nurse ran my vitals and asked what type of covid test I wanted, we did the rapid test and also confirmed positive.  I informed her that I would like Monoclonal Antibodies.  She went to talk to the Dr, who then came in and asked me a list of questions.  Based on my answers he said I likely qualified and told me that the only appt's they had were for 3pm or 5pm.  I opted for 3pm.   With that I left and went home to wait for my treatment.

Vaccine Dose 2 - Day 2:

• Woke up with some minor aches and feeling run down
• Things got progressively worse throughout the day
  • Fever of 101
  • Pain in most of joints
  • Severely run down
  • Generally feeling like crap

~b

Vaccine Dose 2 - Day 1:

• About 5 minutes after the shot felt a small wave of pain down my arm
• Some minor residual pain

~b

I just started watching the docuseries Q: Into the Storm.  It is very well done.  While I was always aware of Q Anon, seeing it unfold in the documentary makes is all the more weirder.  As if it really could any weirder.

~b

Vaccine Day 7:

• Completely back to normal, no soreness and I feel fine
• No more updates on the vaccine until dose 2

~b

Vaccine Day 6:

• I lied yesterday and think I will post for 7 days after vaccine to have a running log
• Arm almost back to normal.  Still some minor soreness.

~b

Vaccine Day 5:

• Some VERY minor soreness in arm
• Feel totally fine otherwise.
• This will be my last vaccine post until my second dose in April

~b

Vaccine Day 4:

• Woke up with very minor pain in my arm
• Not feeling run down anymore

~b

Vaccine Day 3:

• Woke up with minor pain in my left arm
• Still feeling a little run down

~b

Vaccine Day 2:

• Woke up with some pain in my left arm
• Started feeling run down and a bit warm at about 10am
• Increased arm pain throughout the day
• Feeling a bit run down but not terrible

~b

After weeks of hunting around, I got the first shot of my vaccine today.  What a strange experience it was.  The whole thing had a very apocalyptic feel to it.  Luckily, I was able to find an appointment at a pharmacy about an hour from my house.  Even then there was still a line of people waiting.  To add to the weirdness there were people outside trying to shame the people getting the vaccine into giving them their appointments.  Luckily the line moved quickly.  The pharmacist confirmed my reservation and within minutes there was a needle in my arm.  Oddly enough I didn't feel a thing, not a pinch, not a burn, nothing.  It could have been the adrenaline from it finally happening but there is no telling right now.  I guess I will have to see when I get the second shot.  

I can't tell you the sense of relief I felt after though.  It was as if I was waking up after a year long nightmare.  I know we we still have a long way to go fighting COVID but the availability and distribution of the vaccine is a very big step.  The shamers out there can go pound salt.  This is something needed for the public good.

This also marks day 1 of the vaccine log.  So far some minor arm pain 6 hours after dose 1.

~b

Bitwarden (the password manager du jour) introduced a shiny new feature last week.  It's called Bitwarden Send, and it could be a quite useful feature.  It allows a user to create a link to encrypted messages or files of up to 100mb to people.  This link can then be sent via email, text messages, instant message, etc.  This allows someone to easily send fully encrypted information to anyone else regardless of platform.  It also allows you to add a password so the person needs both the link and an associated password to access the data.  

It also has some additional features that are quite useful.  Including specifying the maximum number of accesses and setting an expiration date for the link as well as a deletion date for the actual message or file.  This allows you to make the data relatively ephemeral. 

I think this feature could be quite useful for sharing things with friends, partners, etc that you want to ensure is secure and kept somewhat under control.  I say somewhat because once a message has been copied or a file is downloaded you have essentially lost control of the data.  However, this will ensure that the data stays secure in transit regardless of the platform you are using.  So it is especially useful if you aren't using e2e encryption for your messaging service (although you should be doing that too).  Overall, I think the feature represents Bitwarden adding more value to their already awesome product.  Two thumbs up.

~b

Gov. Cuomo is a lying, manipulative scumbag.  That is all!

~b

Over the last 25 or so years the expectation of security in products has grown.  Along with the expectation of security so has it's importance as a market differentiator.  For example, in the early 2000's Microsoft was almost undone by a series of security issues in it's products that allowed things like the Iloveyou virus and code red worm to spread.  They refocused themselves and made security a priority.  This may have saved their business.  Fast forward to 2020 and in the wake of Solar Winds and most recent exchange vuln it appears they may have lost their way.  Now that privacy, hacking, breaches, and identity theft are int he public consciousness even my 65 year old mother asks me if a product is "safe".

Worries about privacy and security are now really taking hold and defining product roadmaps.  Another example here is Zoom.  Zoom was a savior during the the pandemic, but revelations about it's claimed e2e encryption being non-existent cause a massive public outcry.  Zoom then hired some of the best security people in the industry to help fix these issues.  I am skeptical that they will stay the course but refocusing on security and privacy may have saved their business.  

I feel like this story is going to play out over and over until more companies start realizing that if they put in the effort up front, they will be less likely to have major security issues.  It is becoming too costly to do damage control after the fact.

~b

It's Saturday.  Fuck it.  Have a good time everybody!!

~b

It's Friday.  No interesting posts today.  Have a great weekend everyone.

~b