Aug. 23, 2023: A good issue was just raised in one of the smaller local expat FaceBook forums about how to safely make a left turn, when on a rural highway in Mexico.
Sadly, foreigners reported innocently, yet-proven-guilty**, getting into accidents on rural highways by putting on their left turn signal, and then starting to turn left (just like in the USA & Canada) ~ only to be crashed-into by a driver trying to pass them from behind ~ .
Many foreigners comments expressed shock, horror … or disdain for Mexican drivers …
Yet, it’s important to know that the written Law in many Mexican states require a driver on a 2-lane (libre) rural highway to pull all the way off to the RIGHT … pause … WAIT for all traffic to clear … and then make their left-hand turn. … The purpose of this is to KEEP TRAFFIC flowing on rural highways, and to PREVENT wicked T-Bone accidents.
Why pull over way-off to the right … when making a left turn on a rural highway?
When a US or Canadian driver stops (dead) on rural 2 lane Mexican highway, waiting to make their left, traffic backs up behind the stopped driver. … Plus, driving conventions across Mexico say, drivers who want the trailing car to pass, PUT ON THEIR LEFT TURN SIGNAL as a message that the oncoming lane is empty, and it’s safe for the trailing car to pass.
A few foreigners on the local FB forums have complained that it might not be the law in your individual state, yet big Mexican OTR semi-trucks on the libres highways (two lane roads) will signal with their left turn signal, to let the vehicle following that the left lane is free to overtake-pass …
– and those big truck drivers bring their customs with them to Yucatan, Q. Roo., Campeche & Tabasco.
**And yes, the left-turning driver is cited by the police & insurance companies as the guilty – responsible party.
IOW… regardless of the State law … across Mexico, under no circumstances should you ever thoughtlessly turn left on busy stretches of 2 lane rural highways, when you have other cars following behind you. … Instead, pull to the right and let all vehicles pass from both directions … then, when both lanes are devoid of any traffic, cars, trucks, passenger buses, motorcycles, natives on bicycles … THEN make your left turn.
Here’s our latest Yucatan Ley de Transito for curious people to read, to find out for themselves. 😉
August 19, 2023
The issue of paint blistering off of Yucatan walls has recently come up about 7 times in various local expat FB groups, where people new to Yucatan are very worried about patches of paint coming off damp spots in Yucatecan walls … Please see the technical-scientific explanations below about: “salitre”, efflorescence & “rising-damp” below, lower down in this report.
… The recent posts on MINOR humidity-moisture damaged walls, have been accompanied by a few overly-excited commentors mistakenly imagining that our VERY COMMON problem of “salitre”, efflorescence, “rising-damp” is somehow, supposedly the “black mold” that’s found in the USA & Canada.
This raises a Common Question:
How do you tell the difference between USA’s toxic Stachybotrys Chartarum black mold versus all the other basically-harmless** black molds?
Answer: Look at a map.
If you are in Yucatan … it’s not toxic Stachybotrys Chartarum … 🙂
If the map says you are in the USA or Canada, then GET IT TESTED. 🙁
= = = =
Black Mold Scientific Facts:
The most common black mold is Cladosporium, which has NO known toxic side effects. This type of mold is common both inside and outside of homes and it is generally harmless.**
Other HARMLESS** black molds include Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Dresclera, Pithomyces, Stemphylium, and Ulocladium, but are generally harmless* because THEY DO NOT PRODUCE MYCOTOXINS.
Still … NONE of these are toxic molds that produce mycotoxins,
It’s the ~nasty USA’s~ nasty-Canada’s~ one (1) single species of toxic mold … Stachybotrys Chartarum … that produces nasty mycotoxins.
= = = =
**Heavy or frequent exposures to generally harmless black molds can however trigger allergy~asthma symptoms in people who have allergies.
“Harmless” => No mycotoxins produced.
Example … Up in the USA & Canada Alternaria, Alternaria molds are the ones that commonly cause severe allergy symptoms. …
Alternaria has that distinctive “dank basement smell” or “musty old book stink … that are so common across the Midwestern & Northern USA, and Canada.
Fortunately, Yucatecan homes RARELY have Alternaria mold, unless someone brought a bunch of old moldy Canadian books, or old moldy-USA books down here.
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Environmental & Public Health, and Chemistry
= = = =
Why write about this?
It really is important to reassure new expats’ unnecessary worries.
Why would some new expats worry?
… Unfortunately, two different well-meaning USA-contractors, seeing fotos of normal ordinary common “salitre”, efflorescence, “rising damp” moisture that ruins some paint … got alarmed, and went on to falsely claim:
“Cut your losses and move. “
along with their very-mistaken claim:
“Mold is (supposedly) a killer and not to be meddled with. I couldn’t ever overstate that enough.“
. . .
Sadly, these claims are panic-driven, gross overstatements, that fit the USA … but do NOT fit Yucatan at all.
Notice that while the USA has HUGE problems with Stachybotrys Chartarum, the ONE single species of black-mold that is toxic,
… meanwhile, YUCATAN DOES NOT HAVE TOXIC BLACK MOLD …
. . .
Seriously, US & Canadian builders & tradesmen know USA & Canada, but they so often really don’t know Mexico & especially not Yucatan. 🙁
THERE ARE NO HEALTH REASONS for people with to “sell their home” due to common paint issues,
especially for Yucatecan homes that have normal blotchy sections of paint pushing off by salts leaching out of the concrete… because there really are no health reasons at all for almost all people**.
As a Dr. of Public Health, I (and others) have monitored over 30 yrs of test results for toxic Stachybotrys Chartarum black mold here in Yucatan, and
there HAVE BEEN NO POSITIVE TESTS in 30 yrs – No evidence at all of Stachybotrys Chartarum here, …
even though Stachybotrys Chartarum has been a HUGE problem in the USA & Canada. 🙁
… that commonly push off the paint in big blotchy areas of Yucatecan walls, esp. down in the first meter of the wall, next to the floor:
The issue of “Salitre” ~ Efflorescence ~ “Rising Damp” … is super common here.
Why?? … When walls are built with no moisture barrier between the wall and the concrete foundation, realize that most of the concrete here is likely poured right on the damp-wet bedrock.
Concrete is just like a sponge – it wicks water-moisture up from the damp underlying bedrock, into our walls (when there is no moisture barrier installed). … The moisture then dissolves salts in the concrete, and as the salt-laden moisture wicks out to the surface to dry, and carries the salts with it. … The salts then push off the paint & weaken the concrete in that area…. Here it’s called salitre … in England => rising damp … in the US & Candian construction trades it’s called efflorescence.
If you have this issue in your home, you need a decent experienced albañile to chip-out, chisel*out the soft, salt laden material, down to the underlying solid rock … and then he’ll chemically treat that underlying rock to get the new replacement concrete to stick (typically acido muriatico followed by dilute bleach). … A good albiñile will next also add special additives to the concrete that they patch with, to get the new concrete to bind to the rock, and to not transmit so much humidity.
. . . .
A different approach is to chip out all the soft material, down to the solid material – with a nice straight border cut by a diamond saw … in about a 4 inch high strip above the floor … and leave the rocks exposed, for the moisture rising from the foundation & floor to just evaporate out into the room.
And yes, this bare-border approach is approved by INAH for homes in Merida’s “historic Centro district”.
Good luck … and stay calm,
Dr. Steve
* * * *
For final emphasis: Here’s an example of salitre~efflorescence that looks pretty scary … but the black mold here IS NOT TOXIC … just annoying. 😦
The Piedra de Tízoc, a stunning piece in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, was found in 1790 under the Plaza de Constitución.
This big piece, 93 cm tall, 2.65 meters diameter, and circumference of 8.31 meters, announces the power of the Aztec-Mexica people. Overall, it’s a representation of the “order of the cosmos” that the Aztec-Mexica people brought to Central Mexico – similar to the “order” that Rome “brought” to the Mediterranean world.
The side of the wheel is covered in rich relief carvings that depict 14 Aztec warriors taking captive the gods of other conquered civilizations, which explains some of the repeated elements in the stunning relief-carved frieze.*
The glyphs describe the names of the various cities-civilizations conquored by the Aztecs, so the Stone of Tízoc represents the Aztec domination of central Mexico, glorifying the order that their Empire brought to the cosmos.
Overall, the stone is thought to represent the Aztec Empire’s cosmos, as the top surface has an 8 pointed sun-disk. Each of the 8 rays represents the four cardinal & inter-cardinal directions. Next, the upper edge of the outer ring has a band of stars representing the heavens, while the lower edge has a double row of pointed vertical blades which represent the earth. This lower band also has four masks depicting the Aztec earth deity, each placed at one of the four cardinal points.
*The warriors, all face to the right, therefore, moving counter-clockwise around the stone, are grasping the gods by their hair, represent capture & submission in meso-American art.
The stone also depicts the Aztec God Tízoc with a large headdress, along with the Aztec gods Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca, in their full ceremonial regalia.
This stunning piece resides in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Is it time to travel ???
* * * * * * * Feel free to copy or cite or reference, by citing Yucalandia.com
There are lots of recent comments & posts popping up on various expat FB groups here, inquiring about the details of next year’s upcoming Tren Maya services for Yucatan, Q. Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas & Oaxaca … but the information offered is scattered-though & buried-in so many comments & replies, that it’s difficult to suss it all our, or to even ken a little bit of it.
Here’s a summary of what’s currently known:
There will be 5 different types-levels of train services under the Tren Maya program umbrella.
The highest profile Tren Maya trenes are called “P’atal” … Express trains for “tourists” that run fast (100 mph) … have reclining seat options, dining cars, and sometimes even some sleeper cars for the longer stretches … Yet the P’atal trenes will only be stopping at the major “Estaciónes” – stations … AND there will be only limited numbers of these fast, luxurious, express P’atal trains every day.
The next level of Tren Maya trains are slower trains called “Xiinbal” of “Servicios de pasajeros” trens with lots of local smaller stops (“Paraderos”) for local people to get from point A to point B.
Next … There’s a slightly-more luxurious yet-still-slow trains called “Janal” that have high-levels of services, a coffee shop on board, but with slower speeds and lots of stops at Paraderos and Estaciónes …
Then … There’s Merida’s internal loop of trams, called “IETRAM” or “IeTram”, of smaller electric trains (trams) transporting passengers from stations (Estaciónes) out on the main Tren Maya line running south of Merida, shuttling passengers in and out from downtown Merida’s “La Plancha” station (Calle 47 & Calle 50) out to the eastern Hacienda Teya mainline station & western mainline station outside of Uman.
= = = =
Continuing on: There will also be yet another whole different group of trains, running on the second set-pair of rails along the Tren Maya routes, are called “Trenes de cargas” … Freight trains that are scheduled to start in Sept. 2024 … efficiently carrying cargo from Oaxaca to Merida & Cancun …
So, hopefully, these descriptions of the 5 kinds of trains that will be running along the Tren Maya system helps lift a little of the current confusion … along with this fun map of all the small stops (Paraderos) and the main stations (Estaciónes).
The Rest of the Story: And yes … The Tren Maya program of 5 different kinds of trains doesn’t formally enter Oaxaca … yet, when we consider the Tren Maya’s freight train system, the Tren Maya system really does have direct rail links to Oaxaca …
The key is to look at the overall Mex Gob. Tren developments.
Remember the Tren Maya link under construction to the big important Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT) terminal over on the Gulf of Mexico.
I hope this map is helpful, for people who don’t know Mexican geography … and those who don’t know the current Mex. Federal Gob. Tren projects under construction
Foto courtesy of El Financero*
* * * * * * * This Tren Maya rail connection over to Oaxaca is SUPER important, because the Panama Canal has been FAILING.
The recent years of Global Warming & Global Climate Change have mostly killed-off the rainfall in the Panama highlands, meaning almost NO WATER to operate the Panama Canal …
Panama has scrambled to try to pump massive amounts of water up to those high locks in the mountains of Panama … but it’s been a huge money-losing struggle.
IOW … Mexico’s big new … ” Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT) ” route to efficiently & cheaply transport massive amounts of good & freight from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico … appears to replace the Panama Canal in the future.
With all that massive amounts of the world’s ocean freight-cargo traffic moving through the upcoming Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT) rail system … the Tren Maya’s connection to the FIT system has the potential to drive really positive, beneficial economic growth for our poor Southeast Region of Mexico
… aka big future help for the poor people of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche & Yucatan`.
= = = = and yes, I suspect all the nay-sayers, grumps & critics are unaware-of, or are ignoring this huge part of the plans. ???
May 22, 2023: A very small study** from Zambia just found that “high attractiveness (to Malaria mosquitoes) is associated with whole body odor profiles from humans with increased relative abundances of the volatile carboxylic acids butyric acid, isobutryic acid, and isovaleric acid, and the skin microbe-generated methyl ketone acetoin.”
” Conversely, those least preferred had whole body odor that was depleted of carboxylic acids among other compounds and enriched with the monoterpenoid eucalyptol. “
The study found that the mosquitoes were particularly attuned to the oily secretions that hydrate skin and protect it from microbes, inlcuding chemical compounds called carboxylic acids that are produced by microbes in our eccrine glands. Eccrine glands are the microbe-rich, particularly stinky glands that make our feet stink, butt stick, and pit stink.
**Out of the just 7 people in the study, just one individual in the new study was relatively unappealing. That person’s personal signature scent included an unusually low amount of carboxylic acids, along with high levels of eucalyptols. Because eucalyptols are found in many plants, it raises the possibility that diet can play a role,
Other past studies have shown that pregnant women are more likely to attract mosquitoes. … Drinking alcohol attracts mosquitoes. … Using certain kinds of soap, even ones that leave behind a smell dominated by a chemical known to repel mosquitoes, paradoxically increase people’s attractiveness to mosquitoes.
“What really matters to the mosquito is not the most abundant type of chemical, it’s really those chemical interactions and relative abundances,” said Clément Vinauger, an assistant professor of biochemistry at Virginia Tech. He recently tested four commonly used soaps and found that three increased humans’ attractiveness to Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, while one — Native coconut and vanilla body wash — seemed to decrease it, probably because mosquitoes don’t like coconut oil.”
Scientific Context: In practical terms. we each have some unique odors coming from our personal mix of different microbes (bacteria) living in our eccrine glands.
Our eccrine glands are glands in our skin, that produce the unique odors of our feet, in the crack above our butts, behind our ears, in our armpits, and in our groin area. … Example: Notice how the people whose feet stink like European speciatly cheeses, have the same bacteria in their eccrine glands that are used to make the stinky cheeses. 😉
Because carboxylic acids have been proven by 2 studies to play such big roles, then neutralizing the acids, and changing our mix of bacteria in our eccrine glands can (at least temporarily) can change some people’s distinctive personal odors that attract mosquitoes.
IOW … Selectively apply a small amount of baking soda (wetted with a little water) to your stinky spots, to not only neutralize the mosquito attracting carboxylic acids, but to also change our bacterial mix in our eccrine glands. 🙂
Unless you re-seed your eccrine glands with a beneficial mix of microbes whose waste products do not attract mosquitoes, you may have to re-apply the tiny amounts of baking soda every 3 – 5 days, depending on how sweaty you are.
= = = = Finally, YES … Carbon dioxide CO2 wafting downwind in plumes from our breath does play a significan role in attracting mosquitoes at longer distances, and heat sources also play a role as the mosquitoes get close to us (sensing our hot skin), yet it took ALL 3 components (CO2, heat source and body stink) to attract mosquitoes.
May 20, 2023: There are many basic things about Mexican home construction, Mexicab home design, & home maintenance that don’t seem to be documented on the Internet. This article serves as a repository for some of the answers to these issues, that I keep rewriting on expat forums over the years.
ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
Re How to Stop Algae from Growing in Your Tinaco & Roof Top PVC Pipes, (especially when you have untreated well water).
One reader opined: “Put a pool puck in your tinaco.“
Our thoughts on this: Realize that the pool or spa tablets can work VERY WELL to release free chlorine, WITH RESERVATIONS – EXCEPTIONS – CAUTIONS:
~ Do NOT just put pool pucks straight into the tinaco – because they dissolve WAY TOO FAST releaseing way too much free chlorine too quickly … Notice how we put just 1 or 2 pool pucks into a SLOW RELEASE floater, to dissolve only very slowly, one puck treating a WHOLE swimming pool.
~ Next, notice that even using the floaters that heavily limit the amount of water flowing past the pool puck – the resulting swimming pool free chlorine concentrations ARE MUCH-MUCH HIGHER than you want continuously in your tinaco & plumbing.
~ The much higher swimming pool free chlorine concentrations from uncontrolled pool pucks damages the metal parts in our faucets, showers & plumbing… plus the extra high chlorine levels chew up the rubber seals in toilets, faucets etc.
~ Notice that pool puck are chemically quite simple … with solid chlorine salts that dissolve to release (disinfecting) free chlorine, along with Cyanuric Acid. The Cyanuric Acid is added to pool pucks to absorb the UV light from sunlight, that destroys free chlorine … (note that there is no Cyanuric Acid in swimming pool chlorine powders).
So … If you must use chlorine pucks … get the SMALL ONES designed for spas & tinacos … and USE A very small FLOATING chlorine dispenser, with only 1 quite-small slot open.
and finally … Don’t drink much of the pool puck water treated water – because the Cyanuric Acid is a little hard on our kidneys.
Cheers,
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Environmental & Public Health, and Laboratory Measurement Science
Another local poster opined: “Just one note, if one has a water softener, one must not add chlorine nor pool pucks because those damage (shorten the life) of the softener’s resin (that’s what the guy said).“
Notice that if your water softener guy was correct, then all of the water softners with resin, across America & Canda would be failing … due to all US & Canadian water districts chlorinating their water., with guaranteed residual-disinfecting levels of free chlorine in USA-Canada tap-water, as it exits or kitchen sink faucets.
Then consider how (above) I wrote about the normal big pool pucks release way too much free chlorine for use inside a tinaco.
Unfortunately, the local “water softener guy” appears to not know about the special VERY SMALL floater-dispensers, that only hold the VERY SMALL spa-tinacao chloro tablets …
and he doesn’t seem to know about how you can adjust that VERY SMALL spa floating chloro dispenser, to have just one tiny slot open. 😉
And yes … He may have designed your system a bit poorly to not anticipate the algae plugging up the water softener’s resin … because well water is almost guaranteed to frequently introduce so much algae into the tinacks here …
Does he have really high quality sediment and algae filters and carbon filters installed before the water softener system – because a good set of filters, with a final GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) filter as the last step for polishing the water REMOVES ALL THE CHLORINE …
So, if your special water system was designed properly, there would be no free chlorine reaching your water softener resin …
= = = =
On to the NEXT issue of … Algae Crud Blocking-Plugging up Valves & Aerators in Mexican Homes:
What’s this?? (a local gringo asked)
It’s a blue green algae ..
Blue green algae spores are floating around all the time here in Yucatan, Tabasco, and Q. Roo.
Unless you maintain reasonable free chlorine levels in your tinaco & pipes … it will return.
If you have PVC tubes on the roof, exposed to the sun, the algae grows into quite hard chunks – and slowly clogs the pipes … and as time goes by, bits – chunks of that roof-top algae garden inside the pipe … break off … and plug up toilet fill valves, and plug up shower mix valves, and other things that can be difficult to clean or replace.
Once the algae is established (as proven by you finding it coming out your faucet), then just running water through the system does basically nothing to stop or clear it.
In our experience, you can hit the water system really hard with heavy chlorine …. and then let that strong chlorine sit in the pipes for an hour … and then apply a pressure washer to a low point in the system … to force gradually increasing pressurized water backwards through the system … opening a port in the plumbing on the roof, for all the accumulated algae to spurt out.
Then, after back-flushing/pressure-washing out the plumbing lines from different key points, then heavily re-chlorinate the system another time …. and then open the taps in bathrooms & kitchen, to flush out the remaining small bits of hard algae residues.
Basically … one has to treat well water about 1 time a week with a ½ cup of bleach per tinaco … to maintain enough chloro in the pipes, to stop new algae growth, as algae spores keep blowing in…
Jan. 26, 2023: As of this week, the USA has a new dominant mutant COVID substrain called Omicron XBB.1.5 … yet another highly contagious strain out of South Africa.
In further COVID news: The CDC just announced that the “bi-valent” vaccines are only just a little over 33% effective against the new dominant substrain of COVID: Omicron XBB.1.5 for people over age 65.
“Based on data collected from Dec. 1 to Jan. 13, researchers found that the updated boosters cut the risk of symptomatic infection by about half for most adults, and by more than one-third for people 65 and older.”
Big Pharma’s e m-RNA booster’s &vaccines’ low levels of protection fits with earlier lab study results that had raised concerns that the bivalent m-RNA vaccines produced lower levels of virus-fighting antibodies against the XBB-related subvariants.
Since even the latest “bivalent” boosters provide only nominal protection (just 33% – 50%), and because prior COVID infections are providing insubstantial protection from the latest mutant-COVID strains, it means that people concerned about long-COVID harm and serious COVID hospitalizations & COVID deaths need to continue to wear tight-fitting N95 quality masks or use 8 ft of social distancing around strangers, especially when indoors.**
**How effective is the bivalent booster against severe outcomes from XBB.1.5?
Because the Omicron XBB.1.5 mutant subvariant is so much better at evading immunity (evading the vaccines), that even after over 5 months data there are NO DATA that show that the updated boosters protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death.
Since the XBB.1.5 subvariant moved into our populations AFTER people were vaccinated with the “bi-valent” m-RNA vaccines, then IF the new vaccines provided protection against severe COVID disease, hospitalization and death, then we should have seen evidence of even a little protection by now – 5 months later.
Because the vaccines & prior COVID infections have shown NO PROTECTION so far, it is proof that the latest mutant COVID substrains have mutated so much in the last 9 months since Big Pharma Pfizer & Moderna designed the current “bivalent” boosters, those boosters basically do not work well ~ providing only minor 33% effective protection ~ practical people need to take additional precautions.
IOW … Because the m-RNA “bi-valent” vaccines are NOT providing substantial protection from the current dominant COVID mutant substrains for people over age 65 … and just 50% protection for others …
… readers should continue to mask-up with N95 grade masks and use 8 ft of Social Distancing around strangers w/o masks, especially indoors.
FORTUNATELY … Yucatan’s COVID CASES ARE AT RELATIVELY LOW LEVELS (less than 400) THIS PAST 3 WEEKS …
* * * * * * * Also note that over 200 COVID strains, substrains & variants have been catalogued so far,
The m-RNA Trap: Sadly the m-RNA vaccines & boosters have the tiny-est viral payloads of any prior vaccines. … Over 200 varieties of COVID viruses point to the folly of trying to rely on vaccines … because each m-RNA vaccine can only target a few subvariants … because m-RNA vaccines have only a TINY VIRAL PAYLOAD ….
Remember that the whiz-bang m-RNA vaccines offer literally just a kiddie-sand-box pail sized payload of viral payload
… when the job actually requires a Terex Titan sized vaccine payload, to include all the current circulating variants & subvariants … meaning the m-RNA vaccines are doomed to providing only minimal- incomplete protection from all the new COVID substrains that will continue to appear:
Attentive readers may have already realized that is is yet another basic-yet-essential fact about m-RNA vaccines & boosters that neither Big Pharma, nor Biden, nor government bureaucrats like Faucci & Wallensky all neglected to report, even though some top scientists reported this, and predicted the built-in problems & likely failures from choosing to use m-RNA as the vehicle for vaccines.
For these exact reasons, (tiny viral payloads and too narrow a selection of SARS protein segments), some scientists, including top virologists, chose to also get vaccinated with broader-spectrum vaccines using the WHOLE SARS-CoV-2 virus, like Sinovac.
And yes, these facts were known & reported in March, 2020 through Dec. 2020, and again in 2021, and again in 2022, even though Faucci, Wallensky, Biden et al said nothing about these troubling realities:
Previous COVID infections supposedly giving protections from Omicron exposed as a myth – anti-vaxxers hoax:
Finally, it has become clear that having a prior COVID infection IS NOT GIVING PROTECTION from Omicron infections, as people who recently had Delta infections ARE GETTING OMICRON infections, too many with NASTY lung thrombosis, hospitalized due to coughing up blood … along with other Omicron patients getting nasty brain, liver, & kidney thrombosis => which are PRIMARY CAUSES of COVID deaths.
So … The whole set of some people’s claims that somehow “COVID ~magically~ might not kill people“, continues to be exposed as a big anti-vaxxer’s, anti-COVID hoax … along with unvaccinated people being the vast majorities of serious injury, hospitalizations and deaths.
Keep wearing tight-fitting medical grade masks & Socially Distancing by 8 ft when masks are off for eating & drinking indoors.
Stay informed … Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
A recent post by a foreigner here reported that they were *shocked* to find that their tinaco was secretly overflowing into their pool’s disposal well – wasting 1,000’s of gallons of treated water … and she commented:
“…how were we to know? “
In the domain of pinned posts, here’s another suggestion for a post of some things essential to good living in Mexico. 😉
Living in Mexico is different from the USA or Canada. There are a number of pretty essential tasks that sharp homeowners do here, that never cross the mind of a Canadian or USA-nian homeowner.
Check your tincaco at least 4 times a year (or 6 times a year) to make sure :
~ The lid is on securely.
~ There are no frogs, or roots, or crud growing inside your tinaco.
~ That there are no leaks.
~ That there are no dead birds in the tank.
~ Consider treating the water in your tinaco with ¼ cup of bleach 4 times a year … to disinfect your home’s plumbing.
The last big study found that 25% of Merida homes had bacteriological (fecal coliformes) contamination inside their home”s plumbing … meanwhile 97% of Merida homes tested HAD CLEAN WATER AT THE METER.
= = = =
While you are up on the roof checking the tinaco:
~ Make sure there are no puddles of standing water on your roof.
~ Briefly examine the condition of the impermibilizante – that it is not lifting away from the roof, with leaks, or with water trapped underneath it (slowly wrecking the concrete underneath the impermbilizante).
~ Do a simple examination of the electrical connections to look for junction boxes missing their covers, or exposed electrical connections with their tape baking in the sun.
~ Also take a look at your solar panels(?) and air conditioners to see if they need maintenance or cleaning
~ BE SURE there are no accumulations of leaves or other debris that’s holding water, esp in the corners of the roof.
= = = =
It’s a decent idea to take a peek at your water meter about once a month, to see if you have any hidden leaks … running toilets (leaking at the flush valve in the bottom of the tank – or toilets with bad float valves overflowing water inside the toilet tank) … or for leaks under floors, or inside walls…. If no water is turned on in your home, the meter’s wheel should not be spinning. 😉
= = = =
Every 2 months, review your CFE kWh of electrical usage to see if it makes sense (esp looking at the back of the bill).
Do the calculations to determine if the kWh used makes sense with your daily-weekly use of air conditioners, water purifiers (UV lamp energy pigs) … (pointlessly?) running wasteful ceiling fans 24-7 … pool pumps running more than 1 – 2 hrs a day … irrigation or well pumps running …
If you don’t know how to do those energy kWh usage, then hire a professional home energy auditor to do the job…
= = = =
and also, check your property outside for anything that holds 1 tbsp of water for 7 days … to eliminate standing water that breeds the Dengue-Chikungunya mosquitoes that love clean standing water … treat fountains, flower pot bases, etc with anti-larval pellets.
= = = =
Run a botttle of a good fuel system cleaner (like Chevron Techron) every 4 – 5 tankfuls of gasoline, because the gasoline across Mexico is such poor quality – and your fuel tank, fuel pump, and injectors get so crapped up by poor quality Mexican gasoline.
= = = =
Here’s an Editor’s Addition (after the fact):
Check electronics, and electrical devices, and digital circuit boards, and electrical wiring, and electrical contacts on the pressure sensor switches for hidropneumaticos for … ants.
One species of ants LOVES the toasty warmth of a circuit board that’s always ON, like the control board on an airconditioner … except THIS species of little ants include some nasty blackish-brown goo in their nest constructions – and when they make enough of the black gooy gunk across components on the board, it conducts electricity between components and fries them.
Yet a DIFFERENT species of ants here love the taste of the plastic covering on electric wires, turning the protective covering on electric wires into Swiss cheese, inside our homes electrical outlets and electrical conduit-tubes (which they use as super-highways) … and once they have turned the protective coating on our electrical wires to Swiss cheese, the wires corrode & short out if a homeowner or electrician pull out an outlet – causing wires to touch…
and Yet a THIRD species of ants here LOVES SPARKS … as this variety of Yucatecan ants is attracted to metal electrical contact points that open & close (to turn on & off a pump) … so this species of ants strangely is attracted to the sparking that happens with every opening and closing of the metal points (aka contacts) – and the little bugger climb between the points – and get FRIED … burning their little bodies into charred black goo in the sparks & 10A currents … coating the points with burnt black goo charred offering to their God … ???
In all 3 cases, the organic pesticide H24 white powder BANISHES THEM … as you liberally sprinkle insecticide powder onto the wires & onto all entrance-exit points-paths … aka Better Living Through Chemistry. … and yes, the organic ant powder lasts for years … and NO… DO NOT USE BORIC ACID for this (esp as a conductor of electricity) … Dr. Fry * Chemistry Professor …
= = = =
For Comparison: Centro Architects posted this helpful chart on FaceBook for public use, of their version
Because the ‘latest’ COVID vaccine shots showed no real efficacy at reducing the current Omicron mutant subvariants’ transmission, and no efficacy at reducing the current COVID hospitalizations nor COVID death rates … My virologist wife & I chose to forgo this last round of COVID vaccines …
Context: As scientists, we had each accepted 6 prior jabs of COVID vaccines, because they ALL showed significant efficacy at reducing COVID transmission, and were proven to significantly reduce COVID hospitalizations and deaths.
Yet, because the current COVID vaccines showed NO efficacy at stopping COVID since last August, we chose to not get vaccinated this time.
We are now glad that we followed the science, followed the published data, and skipped this latest problematic set of COVID vaccinations, that are shown to … not work at all … to protect against the current 13 COVID subvariants.
Why has this round of COVID vaccines failed?
Big Pharma Pfizer & Moderna designed their ‘latest’ “bi-valent” vaccines last May, and they did not include the Omicron’s mutant 13 subvariants in the design … Big Pharma chose to focus on only the old, past Omicron BA.4 & BA.5 subvariants – which were long past, (out-of-date), no longer circulating by the time Pfizer & Moderna released their latest vaccines last September.
How to Stay Safe:
N95 or better tight-fitting masks … and 8 ft of Social Distancing … and dilution of COVID’s infectious invisible fine aerosols by fresh air & fans … are still the only proven protections from COVID transmission.
IOW … Faucci, Wallensky’s & Biden’s plans to PUT ALL EGGS into just one basket (vaccines) … worked out just like so many scientists predicted… The vaccines were predicted to only work as long as the SARS virus mutates slowly (a bad assumption) … With this past Summer’s & Fall’s 13 new heavily mutated COVID subvariants, the politicians, Medical Doctors, Big Pharma and bureaucrats at the FDA & CDC have let us all down … again … by ignoring the proven Science. 😦
*sigh*
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
= = = = Recent Background Information on Why the Latest COVID Vaccines Are Not Working:
Jan. 3, 2023 Yet more new heavily-mutated COVID Omicron subvariant strains are driving new mutant Omicron COVID waves across the USA, unimpeded by the USA’s failed vaccination strategies.** Omicron XBB.1.5 is now causing 40% of COVID infections across the USA, as the ‘latest’ COVID vaccines fail to work, just like the COVID Vaccines have been failing to work this past 2 months against Omicon BW.1 and Omicron BQ.1 & BQ.1.1 subvariants.
Meanwhile in Yucatan, the Omicron BQ.1, BQ.1.1 subvariants, along with Yucatan’s own surprising new Omicron BW.1 subvariant continue to drive Yucatan’s 6’th COVID Wave.
What must we do to stay safe? Fortunately, the same physical barrier methods proven to work in March, 2020 still work to stop COVID’s spread, as reported here at the very beginnings of the COVID Pandemia: How to Keep Yourself Safe from COVID-19 ~ SARS-CoV-2
** It’s time to go back to the proven methods of COVID protection. con ~ Mask up … with tight-fitting N95 or better masks.
Time to go to 8 ft of Social Distancing when inside with masks off, around people talking …
Alternately, you can use strategically placed fans paired-with 6 ft of social distancing … Strategically placed fans blowing between people give enough dilution to keep people safe from inhaling too many of the invisible infectious aerosols from people talking, because these invisible aerosols float around infectious for 4 – 6 hrs after a person talks, yells, or sings indoors.
Why medical-masks, fans, fresh air & Social Distancing?
Unfortunately, even the latest Big Pharma vaccines do not protect against these (15 total) new heavily-mutated Omicron subvariants … This means that good tight-fitting masks & Social Distancing and sufficient fresh air are the only protective methods that still work.
Note that Cloth masks are proven to need at least 12 layers to equal one N95 grade mask.
Curiously, our Yucatan Department of Health has stopped reporting COVID cases, yet Johns Hopkins Univ. and the CDC and local Yucatecan physicians & UNAM researchers are all reporting that … WE ARE ALREADY IN A NEW COVID WAVE here …
“The swift growth of the Omicron BW.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant coincides with a new rapid increase of COVID-19 cases occurring in Southeast Mexico in October, 2022 … putting an END to a period of low transmission after Mexico’s fifth epidemiological wave. Up to 75% of weekly sequenced genomes in the region have been identified as BW.1. “
“BW.1 appears to have arisen in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico sometime around July 2022 during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Its explosive growth may be in part explained by relevant escape mutations also found in BQ.1.“
* * * * * * Are all these new mutant COVID subvariants … the new norm?
I believe they are ‘A’ new normal … but it is not necessarily THE new norm.
Consider the links in the COVID mutation-transmission chain:
~ Not masking results in LOTS of people with COVID…
~ LOTs of people with COVID is proven to create NEW MUTATIONS …
because new nasty mutations of the SARS virus are proven to come from too many people with COVID.
~ With 13 new heavily mutated COVID SARS subvariants currently circulating around the USA & Mexico, unfortunately, Big Pharma’s “newest” vaccines are out-of-date, providing no proven protection from all the new mutant forms.
~ If everyone masked up with tight-fitting N95 masks (or better) and Socially Distanced, we could have so few people with COVID that the new mutations would be shut down … or at least we’d have far fewer mutant SARS variants appearing.
~ NOTICE THAT THIS NEW Omicron BW.1 came (originated) from too many YUCATECANS who got COVID from not being appropriately N95 masked nor sufficiently Socially Distanced.
Choose proven science … Choose proven facts …
or … muddle through with yet more fresh future waves of new COVID mutant subvariants
… because getting COVID one time GIVES ZERO PROTECTION from getting it again from the new mutant forms.
Tight fitting N95 masks … Socially Distancing by 8 ft when indoors
… and using fans or fresh air to dilute out invisible fine aerosols from people talking … are the scientifically proven keys to establishing a NEW new norm.
Get educated .. Take reasonable precautions …
… Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Public Health & Environment and Laboratory Measurement Science
* * * * * * * Background: The CDC announced this on Nov. 22’nd that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4, 2022 Latest COVID News from the USA: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Jan. 6, 2022: As we watch expat Message Boards & FB Groups, posts from people seeking a Spanish teacher, keep popping year after year, which leaves me wondering about how much Spanish language do typical Americans & Canadians already know, without realizing it.
People asking for Spanish teachers could consider a few simple “first Spanish lessons” at home, before going to class. … A solid first step is to recognize all the Latin-Spanish based words that you already know from English, as different from all the Teutonic-Germanic based words you know in English.
Once you jump that hurdle, you can recognize that you likely already have a HUGE Spanish vocabulary. When asking questions in Spanish, simply insert the (elegant, multisyllabic) Latin based word that you already know from English … and “Spanglicize” it … saying it in your best ersatz-Spanish accent, along with adding Spanish emphases on the correct syllables…
e.g. Would you say …. underground or subterranean ? Obviously subterranean – So… Spanglicize subterranean to … subterráneo … Soob-tear-RAH-nee-o
Take … “chocolate” … and Spanglicize to “choe-coe-LAH-tay”
… Note that all Spanish “o” sounds are long-o’s, like in Row Boat. … aka Quintana Row .. no Roo’s.
Take … “brutal” … and Spanglicize to “bru-TAL”
Take … “actor” … and Spanglicize to “ac-TOR”
Take “base” … and Spanglicize to “BAH-se”
Take “regional” … and Spanglicize to “REH-heeo-nal”
Seriously, if you can learn to Spanglicize all the elegant English words that have Latin-Roots … you then know at least 1000 words in Spanish … as COGNATES … as in conocer ..
Next Lesson: Be really cautious with Spanish words beginning with “A” … and expect to use some mental energy to learn them.
Just like English is a seaweed-tangled-mix of Germanic & Latin languages … Spanish is a mix of Arab & Latin words, and yes … Arab is “Arabe” ~ AHR-ah-beh ~ in Spanish. … Because Spain is a relatively new country (1492), the roots of Spain being Arabic run deep, because much of the Iberian Peninsula was Arab for over 500 years (750 – 1300)… so there are LOTS of Ah-words in Spanish …
So, don’t get frustrated when using English-cognates doesn’t work, because all those ‘palabras Arabes’ are just a little sweetness (like azúcar) that force us to grow some new brain cells … in our impending dotage (“ancianidad” – becoming ancient) …
= = = =
Next Lesson: After you master the Cognates … then pay a little attention to the FALSE Cognates …
Embarazada sounds like “embarrassed”, yet if you say:
… Yo soy embarazada …
You just announced to everyone: I am PREGNANT!
So, using the approach of trying English cognates in place of Spanish lead to lots of HILARITY !
Final Lesson: Don’t be afraid to babble like a 3 yr old. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes …
Mistakes are just opportunities to laugh at yourself, and to laugh with others !
If you don’t take some risks, you’ll wind up like our 50 or so gringo-friends who have taken over 10 years of Spanish lessons, but still can’t speak Spanish when out in public – as their brains just lock*up in fear.
X’Mexil*: A little village on the way to Valladolid that specializes in making-forging steel tools … where you can watch them hand-forge steel into axes, hatchets, machetes, etc. *X’Mexil: Go to Yokdzonot (west of Chichen on the Libre), turn south to the tourist cenote they have there and keep going until the road ends.
plus … Ticul for superb ceramics and for shoes …
plus … Temozón for superb wood furniture AND FABULOUS cured hams and bacons …
plus … Okutzcab for honey & great citrus fruits…
plus … Santa Helena for honey …
plus … Dzitya for artistic stone-work, stone-statues, etc
plus … Muna for the best in classic Maya ceramics & museum quality art pieces => by the families of Patricia Martin & Rodrigo Martin … 😉
plus Bekal … (Campeche) … for superb ‘Panama’ hats !
and …. ___________ (fill in the blank) … or post a comment below, with your Go-To place!
Jan. 3, 2022 Yet more new heavily-mutated COVID Omicron subvariant strains are driving new mutant Omicron COVID waves across the USA, unimpeded by the USA’s failed vaccination strategies.** Omicron XBB.1.5 is now causing 40% of COVID infections across the USA, as the ‘latest’ COVID vaccines fail to work, just like the COVID Vaccines have been failing to work this past 2 months against Omicon BW.1 and Omicron BQ.1 & BQ.1.1 subvariants.
Meanwhile in Yucatan, the Omicron BQ.1, BQ.1.1 subvariants, along with Yucatan’s own surprising new Omicron BW.1 subvariant continue to drive Yucatan’s 6’th COVID Wave.
What must we do to stay safe? Fortunately, the same physical barrier methods proven to work in March, 2020 still work to stop COVID’s spread, as reported here at the very beginnings of the COVID Pandemia: How to Keep Yourself Safe from COVID-19 ~ SARS-CoV-2
** It’s time to go back to the proven methods of COVID protection. con ~ Mask up … with tight-fitting N95 or better masks.
Time to go to 8 ft of Social Distancing when inside with masks off, around people talking …
Alternately, you can use strategically placed fans paired-with 6 ft of social distancing … Strategically placed fans blowing between people give enough dilution to keep people safe from inhaling too many of the invisible infectious aerosols from people talking, because these invisible aerosols float around infectious for 4 – 6 hrs after a person talks, yells, or sings indoors.
Why medical-masks, fans, fresh air & Social Distancing?
Unfortunately, even the latest Big Pharma vaccines do not protect against these (15 total) new heavily-mutated Omicron subvariants … This means that good tight-fitting masks & Social Distancing and sufficient fresh air are the only protective methods that still work.
Note that Cloth masks are proven to need at least 12 layers to equal one N95 grade mask.
Curiously, our Yucatan Department of Health has stopped reporting COVID cases, yet Johns Hopkins Univ. and the CDC and local Yucatecan physicians & UNAM researchers are all reporting that … WE ARE ALREADY IN A NEW COVID WAVE here …
“The swift growth of the Omicron BW.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant coincides with a new rapid increase of COVID-19 cases occurring in Southeast Mexico in October, 2022 … putting an END to a period of low transmission after Mexico’s fifth epidemiological wave. Up to 75% of weekly sequenced genomes in the region have been identified as BW.1. “
“BW.1 appears to have arisen in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico sometime around July 2022 during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Its explosive growth may be in part explained by relevant escape mutations also found in BQ.1.“
* * * * * * Are all these new mutant COVID subvariants … the new norm?
I believe they are ‘A’ new normal … but it is not necessarily THE new norm.
Consider the links in the COVID mutation-transmission chain:
~ Not masking results in LOTS of people with COVID…
~ LOTs of people with COVID is proven to create NEW MUTATIONS …
because new nasty mutations of the SARS virus are proven to come from too many people with COVID.
~ With 13 new heavily mutated COVID SARS subvariants currently circulating around the USA & Mexico, unfortunately, Big Pharma’s “newest” vaccines are out-of-date, providing no proven protection from all the new mutant forms.
~ If everyone masked up with tight-fitting N95 masks (or better) and Socially Distanced, we could have so few people with COVID that the new mutations would be shut down … or at least we’d have far fewer mutant SARS variants appearing.
~ NOTICE THAT THIS NEW Omicron BW.1 came (originated) from too many YUCATECANS who got COVID from not being appropriately N95 masked nor sufficiently Socially Distanced.
Choose proven science … Choose proven facts …
or … muddle through with yet more fresh future waves of new COVID mutant subvariants
… because getting COVID one time GIVES ZERO PROTECTION from getting it again from the new mutant forms.
Tight fitting N95 masks … Socially Distancing by 8 ft when indoors
… and using fans or fresh air to dilute out invisible fine aerosols from people talking … are the scientifically proven keys to establishing a NEW new norm.
Get educated .. Take reasonable precautions …
… Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Public Health & Environment and Laboratory Measurement Science
* * * * * * * Background: The CDC announced this on Nov. 22’nd that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4 Latest COVID News from the USA: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
December 27, 2022 UPDATE:
Rather than the previous minimum 6 legally required paid-vacation days off work for Mexican workers, it’s now a minimum of 12 “continuous”** total paid-vacation days off work for all employees in 2023.
D.O.F. 12/26/2022 (Diario Official de la Federacion)
**Notice that if both the worker & employer mutually agree, the 12 days of vacation do not have to be taken consecutively.
Vacaciones dignas 2023:
AGUINALDO’s ! … and Vacation Days-Pay …
Nov. 21, 2023
As Christmas holiday chatzkies are appearing on store shelves …. as we make our holiday plans … It’s time to remember our beloved household help and employees (including nuestro querido “muchachas” y “mozos”).
Please plan ahead to pay them their end of the year Aguinaldos and Vacation Pay by at least December 20’th …. and Plan to also give them paid-Vacation days OFF for the year … Ignore the gringo-myths: The Aguinaldo is NOT a optional bonus. Our Mexican workers and their families count-on and depend on these critical annual payments owed to them, by law.
Because the Annual vacation pay & Aguinaldo payments are mandatory, you can pay them whenever you want … like even ~NOW~ … so they can enjoy using those $$ for the upcoming holiday sales !
Aguinaldo
Basically the Aguinaldo is 15 days of pay. (calculated on a 7 day work wk).
Specifically, the annual aguinaldo payment is precisely 15 days of “Daily Rate pay”. … “Daily Rate pay” is a bit peculiar, because you take their weekly pay, and divide by 7 days.
Example, if your cleaning person is paid $400 pesos each time, for 2 times a week, then their “Daily Rate Pay” is => $800/7 days = $114.29 per day.
This means a 15 day Aguinaldo for her would be:
15 days x $114.29/day = $1,714.29 for the Year
It is not a Christmas bonus. It is a mandatory wage payment that is due by the 20’th of December. The aguinaldo is equivalent to at least “15 days wages”, and may be pro-rated if the employee has been working for you for less than a full year.
If the person only worked part time or just some months of the year … You can simply divide their TOTAL annual pay by 365 days … to get the “Daily Rate Pay”.
Note. The “Daily Rate” is based on a full week. For example, if your maid only works two days per week, and gets paid $700 pesos per week ($350 pesos per day of work). You take the weeks salary of $700 divided by 7
=> $100 pesos is the Daily Rate.
Aguinaldo in $ Pesos $
** If a worker is hired to work by the week, the “Daily Rate” equals their weekly pay … divided by 7. If he / she is hired by the month, the “Daily Rate” is the monthly amount divided by 30.
Note that if they work only a part year:
An alternate way of calculating the aguinaldo is determined by multiplying the total days they worked in current year times 15 … then divide by 365 days .. and then finally … multiply that value by the daily rate:
For a part-year worker coming in for 2 days a month for 9 months =>
18 days total worked … x … 15 days of Aguinaldo = 270
270 / 365 = 0.7392 … 0.74 x $Daily Rate ($100 pesos/day?) = $ _____
==================================
Vacation Pay – 2023 Update !
Vacation pay for current year worked. … Remember that this is the official Mexican Labor Law’s “Daily Rate” ** (see below) … and remember they should also receive this pay for all past years worked.
1st year – 12 days of Daily Rate pay**
2 years – 14 days
3 years – 16 days
4 years – 18 days
5 years – 20 days
6 to 10 years – 22 days
11 to 15 years – 24 days
16 to 20 years – 26 days
21 to 25 years – 28 days
26 to 30 years – 30 days
31 to 36 years – 32 days
**Daily Rate pay is based on a 7 day work-week calculation. Either divide their weekly pay by 7 to get their Daily Rate pay … or .. Calculate the full year pay, and divide by 365 days to get the Daily Rate pay.
Happy Holidays !
* * * *
See more details at our Full Articles:
Dec. 3, 2022 New heavily-mutated COVID subvariant strains are now driving a new 6’th COVID Wave in Yucatan, including the Omicron BQ.1, BQ.1.1 subvariants, along with Yucatan’s own surprising new Omicron BW.1 subvariant … all & all of which even the latest newest COVID vaccines are providing no proven protections.
The new heavily mutated Omicron BW.1 (commonly called Xibalbá ~ “the Mayan underworld”) NOW PREDOMINATES in the southeast of the Mexico … aka Yucatan … according to the analysis of researcher Rodrigo García López, from the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Time to go back to the proven methods of COVID protection. ~ Mask up … with tight-fitting N95 or better masks.
Time to go to 8 ft of Social Distancing when inside with masks off, around people talking …
Alternately, you can use strategically placed fans paired-with 6 ft of social distancing … Strategically placed fans blowing between people give enough dilution to keep people safe from inhaling too many of the invisible infectious aerosols from people talking, because these invisible aerosols float around infectious for 4 – 6 hrs after a person talks, yells, or sings indoors.
Why medical-masks, fans, fresh air & Social Distancing?
Unfortunately, even the latest Big Pharma vaccines do not protect against these (13 total) new heavily-mutated Omicron subvariants … This means that good tight-fitting masks & Social Distancing and sufficient fresh air are the only protective methods that still work.
Note that Cloth masks are proven to need at least 12 layers to equal one N95 grade mask.
Curiously, our Yucatan Department of Health has stopped reporting COVID cases, yet Johns Hopkins Univ. and the CDC and local Yucatecan physicians & UNAM researchers are all reporting that … WE ARE ALREADY IN A NEW COVID WAVE here …
“The swift growth of the Omicron BW.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant coincides with a new rapid increase of COVID-19 cases occurring in Southeast Mexico in October, 2022 … putting an END to a period of low transmission after Mexico’s fifth epidemiological wave. Up to 75% of weekly sequenced genomes in the region have been identified as BW.1. “
“BW.1 appears to have arisen in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico sometime around July 2022 during the fifth COVID-19 wave. Its explosive growth may be in part explained by relevant escape mutations also found in BQ.1.“
Here are more scientific details that describe Omicron BW.1’s mutations that cause the vaccines to not work, mutations that allow Omicron BW.1 to evade the “latest” vaccines from Pfizer & Moderna … because the Pfizer & Moderna vaccines were designed in May, 2022, too long before the latest mutant Omicron strains appeared … meaning the new mutant Omicron strains are evolving faster than Big Pharma’s doctors can make new vaccines.
* * * * * * Are all these new mutant COVID subvariants … the new norm?
I believe they are ‘A’ new normal … but it is not necessarily THE new norm.
Consider the links in the COVID mutation-transmission chain:
~ Not masking results in LOTS of people with COVID…
~ LOTs of people with COVID is proven to create NEW MUTATIONS …
because new nasty mutations of the SARS virus are proven to come from too many people with COVID.
~ With 13 new heavily mutated COVID SARS subvariants currently circulating around the USA & Mexico, unfortunately, Big Pharma’s “newest” vaccines are out-of-date, providing no proven protection from all the new mutant forms.
~ If everyone masked up with tight-fitting N95 masks (or better) and Socially Distanced, we could have so few people with COVID that the new mutations would be shut down … or at least we’d have far fewer mutant SARS variants appearing.
~ NOTICE THAT THIS NEW Omicron BW.1 came (originated) from too many YUCATECANS who got COVID from not being appropriately N95 masked nor sufficiently Socially Distanced.
Choose proven science … Choose proven facts …
or … muddle through with yet more fresh future waves of new COVID mutant subvariants
… because getting COVID one time GIVES ZERO PROTECTION from getting it again from the new mutant forms.
Tight fitting N95 masks … Socially Distancing by 8 ft when indoors
… and using fans or fresh air to dilute out invisible fine aerosols from people talking … are the scientifically proven keys to establishing a NEW new norm.
Get educated .. Take reasonable precautions …
… Stay healthy … Stay safe …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Public Health & Environment and Laboratory Measurement Science
* * * * * * * Background: The CDC announced this on Nov. 22’nd that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4 Latest COVID News from the USA: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Nov. 27, 2022 UPDATE The CDC announced this weekend that COVID is surging in the USA, with the relatively new OMICRON BQ.1 and OMICRON BQ.1.1 subvariants causing 57% of new COVID cases nationwide. This is really significant (as described below), because NONE of the COVID vaccines are working to stop the spread of BQ.1 nor BQ1.1. … These 2 new Omicron subvariants have exploded onto the scene this past month because they are 4X times to 7X time more transmissable than the previous Omicron COVID variants, which were 2X to 4X times more transmissable than the previous Delta COVID.
So … All the past talk of COVID mutating to supposedly less harmful & supposedly less virulent strains turns out to just be HOT AIR … as the latest OMICRON BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants have enough new virulent mutations that even the most recent “new” vaccines do NOT WORK … not reducing transmission rates … so the vacciones ARE NOT reducing serious COVID disease … ARE NOT reducing hospitaliztions … nor reducing deaths.
Nov. 4 Latest COVID News: The new Omicron BQ.1 & Omicron BQ.1.1 subvarients are “poised to become dominant” this winter.
CDC has been tracking the spread of 12 different new COVID subvariants viruses these past 2 months, and they announced this morning that two (2) of them are starting small outbreaks around the USA the last two weeks, as we begin to spend more time inside due to cooler temperatures.
Because these 2 new COVID subvariants “appear to be 2X times to 7X times more immune evasive than the BA.5 subvariant“, “it’s likely that people who have been vacinated or had a prior COVID infection will still get infected by these 2 new subvariants“.**
Vaccine Effects: Doctors hope that the latest ‘Bivalent’ COVID vaccine booster will help give some protection against COVID hospitalizations & death, but there is no evidence of this for Omichron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
**As such, the 2 best proven ways to not get the 2 new COVID subvariants is to wear a tight fitting N95 grade or better mask, or maintain 8 ft of Social Distancing when in indoor spaces.
These 2 new COVID subvariants are primarily transmitted by people talking, emitting 1000’s of invisible fine aerosols that continue to float around infectious in indoor spaces for 4 – 6 hours after the infected person was talking, unless there is a lot of air turnover to dilute the invisible aerosols to safe levels.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false … again.
‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also mistakenly told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be absolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.5 and now BQ2.1 & BQ2.1.1.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer“, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses.
The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale no COVID aerosols, or to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Coming to a clinic near you, this Fall or Winter … COVID boosters designed to stop Omicron BA.5 !
Updated 2/17/2025 … Original August 19, 2022: The US Social Security system requires all people receiving Social Security benefits who are living abroad*, who have a foreign address, to file a form SSA–7162 every year in July or August. Fortunately, SSA Form 7162 is a simple form that certifies our current address, and certifies that the SS benefits recipient is still alive.
Notice how this version of the form 7162 shows where to type in your Name, Address and Social Security number.
*Who is required to file? All people receiving Social Security benefits, who have foreign addresses registered with the SSA are required to file. It does not matter if your check is deposited in the USA or to a foreign bank account, because it’s all about the mailing address you have on file with the SSA.
*2022 Updates: The SSA typically mails the forms out in May each year, with a 60 day due date for returning the form after the day your receive it … Yet the program was suspended due to COVID mailing problems, and this year, the notices were not sent out until June 2022, A follow up notice is sent in October and December if the completed questionnaire has not been received.
* * * * * * * For USA-nians on Social Security living abroad. who have not received their notice in the mail, just download the SSA’s pdf form for SSA–7162, https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/ssa7162ocrsm.pdf
print a copy, complete the form, and mail it back to the USA using registered Mexican mail, to:
Social Security Administration P.O. Box 7162 Wikes Barre, PA 18767-7162 USA
2024 UPDATE to Where You Send/Deliver Your Form: Prior the Biden Presidency, SSA offices were better staffed and SSA benefit recipients living abroad could simply drop off their annual SSA-7162 filings at any SSA office. Under last year’s Biden short-staffing issues, the SSA interoffice mail service stopped working, and SSA systems stopped reliably delivering our SSA-7162’s to WILKES BARRE, PA, causing some people’s benefits to be inappropriately suspended … So be sure to mail your form to the WILKES BARRE, PA SSA office.
SSA Official Due Dates for Filing in 2022: Per the SSA: “The Social Security Administration will resume mailing the forms SSA-7161 and SSA-7162 in late June 2022.”
~ We personally received our SSA 2022 notices with our form SSA-7162’s on July 17, 2022 here in Merida, Yucatan … and DESPITE WHAT SOME INTERNET POSTERS SAY, the form clear says:
“Then, complete your report and return it to the Social Security Administration, P.O. Box 7162, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 18767-7162, U.S.A. in the enclosed envelope within 60 days from the day you receive it. “
NOTE to READERS: There are multiple legitimate workable ways to get your SS Form into the US Postal Service mail, to get to the SS Wilkes Barre office well before the SS’s Dec. 15 deadline.
NOTE to READERS: There are multiple legitimate workable ways to get your SS Form into the US Postal Service mail, to get to the SS Wilkes Barre office before the Dec. 15 SS deadline.
1. You can use very expensive DHL or Fed Ex to get your USPS stampled letter to the SS, delivered to a friend or family member in the USA – and trust them to make a special trip, STAND IN LINE at a US Post Office … to send it by Registered or Certified mail.
2. Go into any Mexi-Post office and mail the letter to the SS Wilkes Barre address, using REGISTERED / CERTIFIED Mexi-Post mail. … This service works VERY WELL … and is cheap … and takes about 2 weeks … and while Mexi-Post delivery of things coming INTO Mexico (or to your house), instead Mexi-Post of OUT-GOING registered/certified mail TO the USA works well – and Mexi-Post’s outgoing mail goes straight to the USPS. 😉
AND the US Government accepts the Mexi-Post certified reception dates – as proof that you mailed it by certified mail.
AND the US Government accepts the Mexi-Post certified reception dates – as proof that you mailed it by certified mail.
3. Use a trusted human here, to personally mule your mail to the USA, and to put your application into the US Mail with plenty of time for delivery … Costs about 50 cents. Yucatan Mule Connection works well. . BECAUSE we each have a 60 DAY GRACE PERIOD for mailing in your Form 7162 … it’s hard to see why expensive Fed Ex or DHL is needed
… unless a person screws around from July until December … and then expensive DHL to a friend or family member becomes necessary … and for them to mail the Form 7162 by USPS Express Mail delivery before Dec. 15 … ???
Why explain all of this? There are a number of official sounding reports & posts on expat social-media forums claiming that we must file the forms every May, or supposedly risk losing our benefits.
Fortunately, the SSA’s official announcements clearly explain the actual US Govt. policies.
August 16, 2022: If your Yucatan license plate has a green stripe and a pyramid at the top, it’s high-time to get new plates.
Expired Yucatan Plate from 2021
If your plate looks like the plate above, the Yucatan police have already “temporarily arrested” (temporarily detained & fined) over 3,200 drivers for driving on expired plates like these with the pyramid.
Per this morning’s Diario de Yucatan report (amd Google Translate): “As of September 1OCTOBER 1, any car, bus, truck, motorcycle or trailer that circulates with expired license plates will be subject to an infraction and will be transferred to the corralón based on the current Traffic Law.
For this reason, the state police personnel, located at the speed, breathalyzer and security checkpoints , will continue to hold for a few moments the vehicles that circulate with expired license plates to make the exhortation to their drivers.”
Per this week’s new changes (Aug 30) as of OCTOBER 1, any car, bus, truck, motorcycle or trailer that circulates with expired license plates will be subject to an infraction and will be transferred to the corralón based on the current Traffic Law.
Diario de Yucatan, Aug. 16, 2022 “MÉRIDA.- The Ministry of Public Security (SSP) reports that it has made more than 3,200 temporary arrests to drivers of vehicles circulating with expired license plates, this in order to urge them to comply with the 2022 replacement process, which expires next August 31 next .
The SSP in Yucatan reiterates to the public that the operation will continue to invite the guides to exchange plates, since the police corporation previously warned that there will be no more extensions. As of September 1, OCTOBER 1 any car, bus, truck, motorcycle or trailer that circulates with expired license plates will be subject to an infraction and will be transferred to the corralón based on the current Traffic Law .
For this reason, the state police personnel, located at the speed, breathalyzer, polarized and security checkpoints , will continue to hold for a few moments the vehicles that circulate with expired license plates to make the exhortation to their drivers…. “
IF however your plate does not have a green stripe & pyramid at the top, looking like the plate below, then your plate is good until at least Dec. 31, 2022:
Yucatan Plate that is valid for 2022
The process for getting new Yucatan plates can be renewed in person at SSP modules – requiring 3 hrs to 6 hrs of waiting in line …. or go online at the SSP website, including paying with a credit card at OXXO, and then getting a special appointment to go to the State of Yucatan’s new modulo on the North West corner of Siglo X. These special appointments for people who are prepaid and pre-approved are sailing through the onsite-process and walking out with new plates in less than 15 minutes onsite … or you can go to the SSP office behind Costco in Merida – who send you to the Siglo XXI … going through a process that takes 4 – 5 hrs of waiting (behind the online pre-approved people who prepaid)
Also note that past SSP procedures have been altered due to COVID: Vehicles with 2020 plates, now officially they expire on December 31, 2022, yet we can extend the expiration date to December 2024, as long as we file for the 2023 and 2024 extensions, NOW.
August 15, 2022 COVID Update: We are now back to just under 500 new COVID cases in Yucatan State. This likely means it’s safe to get back to ordinary life when out of doors, yet wearing masks when indoors with strangers.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
July 29, 2022 COVID Updates: It has been a very busy past 3 days in COVID scientific news reporting, with no less than 5 critical updates. Summary:
~ As many as 1 in 5 Americans are now experiencing long COVID, as even asymptomatic COVID patients and COVID patients with only mild symptoms are experiencing troubling levels of long COVID problems.
~ The FDA & CDC have cancelled this summer’s COVID booster campaigns, asking people under age 60 to instead wait until this Fall’s anticipated release of new COVID vaccines that are targeted to work on Omicron BA.5
~ The US Govt just announced it is buying 66 million doses of Moderna’s new “Bivalent COVID-19 Booster”, that targets Omicron BA.5. Moderna’s “Bivalent” COVID booster is now scheduled to come out this Fall.
~ Because so many 10’s of millions of Americans are experiencing long COVID symptoms, CDC & FDA and top independent epidemiologists are saying that taking anti-viral drugs even with mild COVID infections may be the best option for stopping long COVID.
~ Because neither the vaccines nor the boosters are working well to stop BA.5 & BA.6 transmissions, the best solutions right now are wearing tight-fitting medical-grade N95 masks (or better) & Socially Distancing by at least 8 ft when eating and drinking with masks off.
Yucatan’s Twist: Because almost all cases documented here in our current big COVID wave are from the earlier-arriving COVID Omicron BA.2.12.1 variant, with very few documented Omicron BA.5 cases, we can likely expect another 6 – 8 weeks of too high numbers of new COVID cases as Omicron BA.5 arrives & spreads here, because the Omicron BA.5 is highly infectious (a likely 16 additional people infected by each new case) and because the current COVID vaccines & boosters are not stopping BA.5 in the recent 6 – 8 week BA.5 waves in Gr. Britain & the USA.
USA’s COVID Summer 2022 Booster Campaigns Cancelled: The US Government has officially cancelled their planned summer booster campaigns, because even the best current vaccination & boosters are not working to stop COVID BA.5 & BA.6 transmissions. CDC officials are cautioning people under age 60 to NOT get boosted now, and to instead wait until this Fall when the new vaccines for Omicron BA.5 come out.
The CDC & DOD have just this morning announced that Moderna’s “Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine Booster” is working well against Omicron BA.5 in trials, so they have just signed contracts for 66 million doses of Moderna’s new “Bivalent COVID Booster”.
Further, study after study for the past year are showing long COVID patients who had only mild symptoms are too consistently showing long-term elevated T-Cell levels that cause ongoing significant inflammation. These nasty long COVID effects are being caused by even asymptomatic & very mild COVID infections. This means ANY COVID INFECTION is too often harmimg people.
Long COVID Problems are Worse than Expected: Finally, because BA.5 & BA.6 have unusually high R0 values of 16 – 18 (where one patient infects 16 – 18 other people), top epidemiologists are saying that taking antiviral drugs to reduce T-Cell levels is the best current option for people with even with mild active COVID infections and for people with long COVID.
Because having a prior COVID infection is providing very little protection from getting the current COVID strain (Omicron BA2+), and because having vaccinations provides only some protection from serious COVID symptoms & hospitalization … top Epidimiologists are saying we really MUST return to wearing tight fitting medical grade N95 or better masks and using 8 feet of social distancing inside buildings to reduce our inhaled COVID aerosol loads from infected people talking.
The wrong mask to wear ** … Use only N95 or better masks.
Ongoing Scientific Factual Conclusions: Except for protection by wearing tight-fitting masks & Socially Distancing, unfortunately Omicron COVID is rewriting most of what non-scientist Medical Doctors have been telling people the past 2 years. Example: Many so-called ‘experts’ previously told us that COVID would supposedly mutate to milder & milder, supposedly less contagious strains. This has proven to be absolutely false. … ‘Expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) also told us that having a prior infection would protect us, which has proven to be asolutely false, especially with the most recent Omicron BA.2, BA.2.12.1, and BA.5 and BA.6 variants.
**Remember that ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) told us to “Wash your hands & use hand sanitizer”, actions which provide and provided absolutely no protection from COVID, because COVID is only transmitted by inhaling invisible fine aerosols from people talking or singing.
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors on TV (who are not scientists) mistakenly told us to “Wear your cloth masks.” for 2 full years from July 2020 – July 2022, even though the last 40 yrs of scientific testing shows that cloth masks leak horribly, providing almost no protection from inhaled viruses. The ‘expert’ non-scientist Medical Doctors unfortunately ignored that it is proven that it takes at least 12 layers of cloth to equal just one layer of N95 material … And yes, Medical Doctors ignored all these known proven facts on these things, even though they were published in the first month of COVID back in March, 2020:
Remember how ‘expert’ Medical Doctors (who are not scientists) told us to “Disinfect EVERYTHING” back in 2020 … which provides absolutely no protection from COVID, because the only way to stop COVID transmissions is to inhale only very small amounts COVID’s highly-infectious invisible fine aerosols.
Because COVID’s invisible fine aerosols persist indoors by floating around infectious for 4 to 6 HOURS AFTER a COVID infected person talks, sings, or wheezes, then either fine high quality tight masks, or diluting out the aerosols by Social Distancing, breezes or fans are the only real solutions to not getting infected.
* * * * * * *
Get educated … Stay informed … Stay healthy …
Dr. Steven M. Fry
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.
Coming to a clinic near you, this Fall or Winter … COVID boosters designed to stop Omicron BA.5 !
July 17, 2022 COVID Update for Yucatan, Mexico: The latest COVID wave may have peaked in Yucatan. After 12 prior consecutive weeks of significantly increasing Omicron 2.12.1 COVID cases, last week’s PCR confirmed COVID cases across Yucatan finally stabilized at 4160 cases versus 4148 cases the prior week.
Yucatan’s 4160 PCR-confirmed COVID cases is still troubling for 2 reasons. We saw 11 COVID deaths last week, along with the likely over 50,000 actual cases of COVID, likely means 1 Yucatecan out of 45 had active COVID infections => We still need to keep masking-up with N95 or better quality masks, and we need to Socially Distance by 8 ft or more when out in public places with masks-off for eating and drinking.
Still, seeing our COVID cases level-off for even a week is a relief, because it points to us having a slight pause in the prior 12 weeks of large increases due to Omicron BA.2.12.1 – giving us ‘a breather’ until the NEXT COVID WAVE of Omicron BA.5 & BA.6 arrives from the USA & Gr. Britain. … So, we likely can expect another 6 weeks of wearing good masks & Socially Distancing – because the vaccines, boosters, and prior COVID infections give NO PROTECTION from catching the current Omicron BA.2.12.1 … BA.5 … & BA.6 variants.
July 11, 2022 COVID Update: We are now in our 12’th consecutive week of increasing Omicron 2.12.1 COVID cases, with another 30% increase in Yucatan’s PCR-confirmed COVID cases last week. The latest 4148 new PCR-test confirmed COVID cases last week is very troubling, because only a small fraction of COVID infected people here get tested by the expensive PCR test (1 in 12 likely). Because of the severe undertesting rates, we likely currently have over 50,000 actual cases a week. This corresponds to 1 COVID infected Yucatecan out of 45 Yucatecans whose highly infectious invisible COVID aerosols from talking, linger infectious in indoor spaces for 4 to 6 hours after the sick person talks without an N95 mask.
Neither a prior COVID infection nor being vaccinated nor boosted gives any protection from getting the current COVID strain in Yucatan (Omicron BA.2.12.1). Next, because having vaccinations provide only some protection from serious COVID symptoms & hospitalization caused by the current BA.2.12.1 COVID strain in Yucatan … we really MUST return to wearing tight fitting medical grade N95 or better masks and using 8 feet of social distancing inside buildings when eating with masks off, or use fans & 6 ft of distance to dilute out our inhaled COVID aerosol loads from infected people talking with masks off. … and NO, cloth masks do NOT work and they provide basically NO protection.
Yucatan Bill’s July 10, 2022 Weekly COVID Report for PCR-Confirmed COVID Cases
And yes, Virginia … If this latest 12 week long peak looks troubling, realize that it is only going to get worse this coming 3 months, because the even nastier strains of Omicron BA.5 & BA.6 that are currently ravaging the USA, have NOT YET gotten here to Yucatan.
This is very important, because vaccines, nor boosters, or having even a prior Omicron infection (like having COVID last January) GIVE NO PROTECTION from transmitting the future COMING waves of Omicron BA.5 and Omicron BA.6. Despite media reports & reassuring words from the White House, prior vaccinations & boosters are NOT EFFECTIVELY PROTECTING PEOPLE from BA.5 hospitalizations in many parts of the USA (as reported on NPR this morning).
Omicron BA.5 is now the dominant strain in the USA as 50% of new USA infections are causing US HOSPITALIZATIONS to spike wickedly by up to 30% in parts of America this past week, even for patients who were vaccinated & boosted or who had prior COVID infections (even last January’s Omicron infections). … Sadly, naive Medical Doctors (non-scientists) & TV talking head ‘experts’ (non-scientists) are now mistakenly claiming that because COVID deaths have not been spiking *yet*, that the current COVID BA.5 must magically not be risky … yet talented scientists instead point out that the spikes of past COVID deaths have LAGGED the prior spikes of COVID infections by typically 7 weeks. This means we really will not know the real COVID BA.5 death rates for at least 6 more weeks, which is why we again, still cannot rely on Medical Doctors nor TV Talking Head ‘experts’ for accurate timely useful advice.
and no, Virginia … There is no current evidence that BA.5 or BA.6 are here in Yucatan yet: This means that there are likely new worse COVID waves on the way, that are ONLY stopped by GOOD tight fitting MEDICAL MASKS of N95 quality or Social Distancing when out in public. … This means NO MORE CRAPPY CLOTH MASKS that leak dangerous amounts of invisible aerosols from people talking … Further, when you have your N95 mask off to eat or drink in public, KEEP YOUR DISTANCE (8 ft) … or take advantage of breezes or fans paired with at least 6 ft of Social Distancing, to keep yourself from inhaling risky amounts the highly infectious INVISIBLE AEROSOLS from people talking or singing.
Why? The vaccines & boosters are NOT working well enough to keep us out of the hospital from the coming BA.5 and BA.6 variants. Forewarned is fore-armed: BA.5 & BA.6 are not here yet, so we likely will see the current COVID wave’s surge last until September or October – being stopped only by good masks & Social Distancing … as new future cases of BA.5 & BA.6 will likely add to our current BA.2.12.1 cases.
Added Reasons Why the Latest COVID Infections in Yucatan Are So NEW and Scary: Check out Yucatan Bill’s new plot of COVID waves top see how nasty Omicron is & how different it is from previous COVID waves:
Yucatan Bill’s Plot of Cumulative Weekly PCR-Confirmed Yucatan COVID Cases
Notice how the earlier waves of COVID are barely noticeable in this plot, because their R0 values were relatively small – especially compared to Measles R0’s of 16 to 18.
e.g. The original COVID strain had an R0 of about 4 … Alpha had an R0 of just 1.1 … Delta had an R0 of 1.5 … Omicron variants are now up at R0’s of 16 – 18 (these are the highest levels for viral transmission rates, equal to measles) … where a COVID infected patient early in the wave infects 16 to 18 people.
Why Care? Notice that VACCINES DO NOT WORK to stop Omicron transmission … Only tight-fitting N95 grade masks (or better) work, or Social Distancing of 8 ft. out in public indoor spaces … or fans briskly blowing fresh air between people to dilute out people’s invisible, HIGHLY INFECTIOUS aersols from TALKING or SINGING work to protect us … and long-COVID consequences are now harming over 21 million Americans.
These scientific facts about N95 or better masks & 8 ft of Social Distancing are the ONLY guaranteed solutions to stopping COVID’s spread, and they were proven, known & reported effective by good scientists at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, published in March 2020, the first month of the COVID pandemic.
Realize, that talking head ‘experts’ on TV and Medical Doctors are not trained scientists, and realize that Medical Doctors like Dr. Faucci & Dr. Wallensky are not scientists, and have ignored the critical COVID scientific facts for years.
See Details Here on Staying Safe from COVID (Mar. 2020):
So … Having even a prior Omicron infection (like in January) GIVES NO PROTECTION from transmitting Yucatan’s current Omicron BA.2.12.1 … and having vaccines & boosters are not protecting Americans from COVID BA.5 hospitalizations. … So, it’s time to MASK-UP again … and time to go back to 8 ft of Social Distancing when eating or drinking without masks in public.
~ Stay well, Stay informed, Stay safe. ~
Dr. Steven Michael Fry Ph.D. Chemistry, Public Health & Environment, & Laboratory Measurement Science
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Aguinaldo in $ Pesos $
** If a worker is hired to work by the week, the “Daily Rate” equals their weekly pay … divided by 7. If he / she is hired by the month, the “Daily Rate” is the monthly amount divided by 30.
Note that if they work only a part year:
An alternate way of calculating the aguinaldo is determined by multiplying the total days they worked in current year times 15 … then divide by 365 days .. and then finally … multiply that value by the daily rate:
For a part-year worker coming in for 2 days a month for 9 months =>
18 days total worked … x … 15 days of Aguinaldo = 270
270 / 365 = 0.7392 … 0.74 x $Daily Rate ($100 pesos/day?) = $ _____
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Vacation Pay – 2023 Update !
Vacation pay for current year worked. … Remember that this is the official Mexican Labor Law’s “Daily Rate” ** (see below) … and remember they should also receive this pay for all past years worked.
1st year – 12 days of Daily Rate pay**
2 years – 14 days
3 years – 16 days
4 years – 18 days
5 years – 20 days
6 to 10 years – 22 days
11 to 15 years – 24 days
16 to 20 years – 26 days
21 to 25 years – 28 days
26 to 30 years – 30 days
31 to 36 years – 32 days
**Daily Rate pay is based on a 7 day work-week calculation. Either divide their weekly pay by 7 to get their Daily Rate pay … or .. Calculate the full year pay, and divide by 365 days to get the Daily Rate pay.
Happy Holidays !
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See more details at our Full Articles:
Surviving Yucatan 