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Many people once believed in a flat Earth. Some people STILL believe the Earth is flat! Fortunately, Portuguese discoverers weren’t so gullible over 500 years ago. Prince Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama weren’t afraid of falling off the edge and being eaten by dragons.

Early explorers and other innovators followed the science available to them at the time, even though they didn’t have the tools most preschoolers have today. Now, most conspiracy theorists are not even following common sense, let alone science.

I will talk more about Flat Earthers later in this blog. After all, that is a rather small fringe element. But first, I want to discuss the lack of critical thinking behind more prevalent conspiracy theories, as well as their dangerous consequences.

Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories

An old friend of mine posted one of the latest conspiracy theories about the coronavirus. He asked, rhetorically, if it was spread by world leaders in order to quell the public unrest in Hong Kong, France and other countries. It was guised as a question but the intention of it being presented as fact was rather clear.

I responded by saying that it was a nutty theory. As if world leaders are going to agree on something like this and be able keep it secret. Even if the virus was intentionally spread by only one world leader, he (always a he) couldn’t have done it all by himself. He would have had to have a team of virus spreaders. And then he would have had to kill them all, along with their friends and families, in order to keep it secret.

Unfortunately, I was a minority scoffer in the group. I was happy to see one other person say that it was a stupid and dangerous theory to be spreading. She was immediately attacked for being a sheep and for being ignorant to the truth. “Truthers” is now what they call conspiracy believers.

Then the topic “evolved” into 9/11 and how it was an inside job. I’m still following this thread. So far, nobody has brought up anything about the moon landing being faked or Hillary running a pedophile ring out of a pizza joint.

When You Challenge a Friend’s Conspiracy Theory

I am warning you right now that you will lose friends if you challenge their conspiracy theories. Is it worth it? That is for you to decide. I let a lot of nuttiness go unchallenged, but more and more I just can’t help myself. Maybe it is because I am isolated in my house now and looking for a new form of entertainment.

I was “unfriended” and blocked by someone when I had the audacity to claim that her cancer-curing celebrity doctor was a charlatan. I suppose I could have been more diplomatic, but his so-called cure was tested and failed miserably in scientific tests. Although, that didn’t stop him from making millions of dollars promoting it.

Thousands of doctors and scientists are not hiding a cure for cancer. That’s ludicrous! And it is dangerous to promote a quack doctor. I simply cannot remain silent when I see that degree of gullibility.

I am not suggesting that natural remedies and alternative medicines are hocus pocus. I owned an herb store in Hawaii way back in the seventies. And my daughter studied herbal medicine at Bastyr University. I believe in the healing power of herbs and acknowledge that western medicine doesn’t have all the answers. But everything needs to be tested before being accepted as truth simply because you saw it on a meme.

When a vaccination comes out for the coronavirus, don’t be swayed by anti-vaxers with clever memes. By the way, the link between vaccines and autism originated from a bogus study using falsified data which has long since been discredited.

The chemtrail conspiracy is another classic. Not as dangerous a theory as those that affect your health, but just as ludicrous. The contrails we see left behind jets overhead are not chemtrails containing chemicals to modify your psychological behavior. The government is not spiking the air with hypnotic drugs or birth control or a dozen other crazy theories of what they might be spraying. Contrails are a trail of condensed water created by atmospheric conditions. That’s all, folks!

What Harm is there in Spreading Conspiracy Theories?

If you think these crazy conspiracists don’t do any harm, the pizza joint I mentioned earlier almost went out of business. Nutcases started to congregate outside, protesting the pedophile ring and harassing customers who just wanted their damn pizza. It came to a head when some deranged fellow actually opened fire at it with an assault weapon!

One of my favorites, how stupid does one have to be to believe that the moon landing was faked? How many thousands of people would have had to have kept that secret? I saw a video clip of some ignoramus hounding astronaut Buzz Aldrin about his part in the fake moon landing, calling him a coward and a liar. Aldrin had finally had enough and decked the guy. Buzz was about 85 years old when he punched the younger fool. Thank goodness he wasn’t prosecuted.

But even that conspiracy theory pales behind another popular one; that COVID-19 was created to distract us from a doomsday asteroid. Yes, world leaders created the COVID-19 pandemic as a distraction to force everyone to spend the end times with their families.

How I Spend My Time Before the Asteroid Hits

Now I have more time to practice my Portuguese. My wife and I take online classes twice a week with an excellent teacher and five students, including myself, four of whom are smarter than me. No matter how much I repeat Stuart Smalley’s affirmations in the mirror; “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me”, I still need to do my homework. I have to admit that I spend just as much time avoiding practice as practicing. Right now, I should probably be doing my homework.

I have always been a bad student. I was always the one asking my neighbor if she (always a she) had an extra pencil or paper (or answers to the questions). Later in life, I thought that if I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I would be a good student. So here is finally my chance for a do-over, to become a good student. Lo and behold, I’m still a bad student!

I should add that you can get by in Portugal without learning Portuguese. Most of the Portuguese people are so kind and patient, and many speak English. However, I have two reasons for wanting to learn Portuguese, or at least make the attempt to learn it. One, it will enrich my experience here. Two, I feel like it is the polite and respectful thing to do when one is a guest in a foreign country.

Our Multi-Lingual Tuk-Tuk Driver

Last year when we came to Portugal on a visit, we hired a tuk-tuk driver in Sintra to take us up to Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle. Our beautiful tuk-tuk driver spoke five languages fluently. This young Portuguese woman was speaking to us in English and to the other couple with us, in French. And this is not what you would call a rare exception. Many young people here speak a few languages, as is somewhat common across Europe. I don’t know many Americans who speak more than English, or sometimes Spanish.

Now that I am trying to learn Portuguese, I’m even more impressed with this tuk-tuk driver speaking five languages. Why she isn’t working in a place like the U.N. I’ll never know. Although she seemed to be enjoying driving an open air tuk-tuk in the lovely weather.

More About Flat Earth

Most Greeks knew that the Earth was round about 2500 years ago. Aristotle used physical evidence around 350 B.C. About a hundred years later, Eratosthenes (I’m guessing his friends called him Erat), compared tales from returning travelers, and used the sun and measuring sticks to solidify Aristotle’s round-Earth theory.

Erat could easily match wits against anyone in the modern era. He was an astronomer, mathematician, geographer, philosopher, and a poet who had published works in each of those fields. But now, in the year 2020, there are still people who are convinced that the world is flat. And they vote (not saying necessarily for who).

What the World Needs Now.. More Balconies!

During WWII, the French showered troops with flowers and kisses from their balconies after allied forces chased out the fascists and Nazis.

Lately, you have witnessed pictures of people, mostly in Europe, on their balconies. They are lifting spirits by having group singalongs or cheering in coordinated “hoots and hollers” and rounds of applause to show support for our healthcare heroes. Well-deserved, I might add!

Walking down the street yesterday, keeping my social distance of course, I saw a dad talking with his young son on their balcony. On another balcony I saw a mother coloring with her daughter.

Balconies keep us connected, especially when isolated. They are a bridge between our inside world and outside world. My wife and our Portuguese neighbor make playdates to talk to each other in our adjoining balconies. They don’t understand a lot of what each other is saying but they’re both getting better at communicating.

Currently in Mafra

Below are two picture of Mafra from outside our balcony window. The first one was taken the other night which eerily shows an army tent that was recently propped in front of the hospital while in the background is a truck spraying disinfectant. It is comforting to have a hospital right next door. And the disinfectant is not a bad idea, either.

The other picture was taken in the morning. I love how the morning light is shining down the street on the statue of Papa João XXI. On the left side of the street you might be able to make out the banner that they just put up that reads CENTRO DE TESTES, which means Testing Center. It has nothing to do with testicles. The arrow points right, but seeing as it is on the roundabout, I don’t know if that means it is actually on the right, or on the left after you go around the roundabout. There are medical facilities on both sides. [Now, I see that it is clearly on the right as they have since put up another large banner.]

Has your Internet Slowed Down? It’s not a Virus.

It is not a computer virus or your imagination. Bandwidth is not wide enough to absorb the millions of isolated entertainment and information seekers around the globe.

While Netflix stock might be rising, unlike most of the stock market, the same can’t be said for your internet speed. You might be experiencing buffering problems.

Netflix and other streaming services have been lowering some of their bandwidth streams to cope with the usage. One thing I have found helpful is to make sure you have the highest megabytes per second that you can afford from your service provider.

I like the 100mbps I get here in Portugal rather than the 30mbps (when I was lucky) that I was getting from Frontier Communications (grrrr!) in the US. Also, hardwire cable is generally faster and more reliable than wireless connection.

Last night we shared an online dinner with our son, his girlfriend and three of our grandkids, using an app called Zoom. The streaming was pretty smooth and it was a welcome diversion.

It was so nice to see them and to be able to interact as a group. They were all supposed to be here with us in person right now, but sadly, had to cancel due to the pandemic.

A couple of minutes before our scheduled meeting time, I was opening a bottle of wine but the wine opener had run out of juice. So I used a knife to pry out the cork and ended up splashing wine on myself, Cathy and the wall!

Forte de Sao Pedro de Milreu in Ericeira

A couple of weeks ago Cathy and I took a stroll along the cliff, above one of Ericeira’s beaches, to the very old Forte de Sao Pedro de Milreu (the Fort of St. Peter of Milreu). It was built as part of Portugal’s coastal defenses back around 1670.

A lot of trails and beaches have been closed since our walk. There has been a justified concern that people might not be observing adequate social distancing. Portugal is trying to stay ahead of the curve, and is taking lessons from the dire consequences in Italy and Spain.

Here are a few pictures of the fort. I will never tire of the historical landmarks in plain view all across Portugal. Although I admit to “sometimes” (not all the time) rolling my eyes when Cathy suggests we go here or there, I haven’t been disappointed yet.

Of course, the rules have changed now and our explorations have become curtailed. I am in total agreement with the strict measures being taken by the Portuguese government until the pandemic virus passes. We only need look to Italy and Spain to see the results stemming from procrastination, and the US is now also seeing a rapid rise in cases.

The Coronovirus Spreads like Glitter

Putting this in layman’s terms, think of the coronavirus as glitter. Easy to spread, like glitter. You’re still finding it everywhere weeks later, like glitter. Young people who ignored warnings, while partying on Spring break, are now realizing that it is more dangerous than glitter after all.

So please heed the warnings and stay safe out there, from wherever you are reading this. Feel free to comment below and let me know how you are doing. What are you are doing to keep busy in isolation and what do you miss most?

Make sure to take before and after pics of yourselves. All this extra free time will surely produce some buffed bodies. Didn’t we say that we would get more exercise if only we had more time?