Covid-19 Pandemic Discussion

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Something from this thread's Initial Post:

Donnie B. said:
Rules to remember
  1. Be civil and courteous. Attacks, insults or harassment will not be tolerated.
  2. No religion.
  3. NO POLITICS.
Click to expand...
Are we really managing #3, here?

Case in point: @plexi59 expresses his view that three guys who work in the current admin are "A-players" and that he's glad they're "on the team"; @hippietim gives a a wall of pointed laughter in response. It may be that each forum-contributor had heard of the three persons (or at least the two who'd previously been public figures) prior to their involvement in the current administration, and had formed soberly-considered opinions of their capabilities, and retained those opinions unchanged after they joined the current admin...but I kinda doubt it. This exchange feels like a proxy for expressing either support or contempt for the current administration.

Sorry fellows, if I'm being too suspicious, there. If either of you were nodding in approval or retching in protest at Robert Lighthizer's CV way back in 2015, then I'm clearly off-base...but can you see how I might arrive at that misunderstanding?

I thought Matt's invocation (apropos of...not much) of climate change was courting a descent into political rah-rah as well. We mostly dodged that bullet (and had I seen it in a different thread I might have leapt at the chance to talk up 4th-Gen Nuclear!). But here, it felt like a risky mention.

For full disclosure, I'm probably reddish-gray in the Slate Star Codex system of political tribal classifications, but when folk are dying and losing jobs left and right (no pun intended), it gets really depressing seeing all my buds in the teepee still wearing their war-paint.

If I'm being oversensitive on this, I apologize. And if my own war-paint was ever showing when it shouldn't be, I'm sorry for that, as well. I hope we all live and thrive.
 
Was watching footage of the folks who are starting to protest in public over 'stay at home' orders.
Started in Michigan yesterday and it looks to be catching on.
Lots of flags and 'don't tread on me' stuff.

Made me think of the movie Gran Torino and something Roger Ebert wrote about it:

Walt sits on his porch defending the theory that your right to walk through this world ends when your toe touches his lawn.
Click to expand...

Walt was the classic 'don' tread on me' kind of guy.
Pretty sure he'd be yelling DUMBASSES at his TV over this sort of stupidity.

200415135242-02-lansing-coronavirus-protest-0415-exlarge-169.jpg
 
Covid spreads via your shoes.

Nobody seems to be talking about this.

As we have all seen them spraying disinfectant on the streets. Media shows them with hand sprayers, and doesn't talk about it.

Take your shoes off in the house.

Someone with Covid sneezes on the crosswalk, and you walk on it, your tracking that stuff in your house.

Its strange... my first thought of the photo.. then thought it was a PR photo..... then I thought it was a ruse.... now it could be an obvious observation...like the masks
 
Dr. Dipwad said:
Something from this thread's Initial Post:


Are we really managing #3, here?

Case in point: @plexi59 expresses his view that three guys who work in the current admin are "A-players" and that he's glad they're "on the team"; @hippietim gives a a wall of pointed laughter in response. It may be that each forum-contributor had heard of the three persons (or at least the two who'd previously been public figures) prior to their involvement in the current administration, and had formed soberly-considered opinions of their capabilities, and retained those opinions unchanged after they joined the current admin...but I kinda doubt it. This exchange feels like a proxy for expressing either support or contempt for the current administration.

Sorry fellows, if I'm being too suspicious, there. If either of you were nodding in approval or retching in protest at Robert Lighthizer's CV way back in 2015, then I'm clearly off-base...but can you see how I might arrive at that misunderstanding?

I thought Matt's invocation (apropos of...not much) of climate change was courting a descent into political rah-rah as well. We mostly dodged that bullet (and had I seen it in a different thread I might have leapt at the chance to talk up 4th-Gen Nuclear!). But here, it felt like a risky mention.

For full disclosure, I'm probably reddish-gray in the Slate Star Codex system of political tribal classifications, but when folk are dying and losing jobs left and right (no pun intended), it gets really depressing seeing all my buds in the teepee still wearing their war-paint.

If I'm being oversensitive on this, I apologize. And if my own war-paint was ever showing when it shouldn't be, I'm sorry for that, as well. I hope we all live and thrive.
Click to expand...

Matt's invocation of Climate Change is not politics; it is science
 
@Piing, @count_chocolat:
count_chocolat said:
Matt’s climate change comment is all about science not about politics. It’s happening.
Click to expand...
No doubt. But it's a fraught topic anyway. The mere mention is like a turd on the table. It leads immediately to the observation that, in the U.S., the tribes support radically different mitigation strategies, a debate having little to do with science and vastly more to do with economics and policy wonkery, in support of which one tribe calls the other anti-science yokels and the other tribe calls the first brainwashed religious ideologues for whom every problem looks like a nail. Is that the rabbit-trail we want to dash down, in this thread?

And by the way, was Matt's climate change comment "all about the science" of fighting COVID-19? I must have missed that part. If it wasn't helping us understand the COVID-19 problem, why mention it in this thread?

Frustratingly, I find I'm unable even to respond to a question about topicality without having to cite the tribes and wave their banners a bit by proxy, and worry about whether I'm being evenhanded in my representation of their mutual recriminations.

I'm tempted to say, "A pox on both your houses!" but that'd be a pretty Gray Tribe thing to say...and anyway, I'm not dying of a sword wound, and we've already got a pandemic.
 
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Donnie B. said:
Pretty sure he'd be yelling DUMBASSES at his TV over this sort of stupidity.
Click to expand...
Probably.

The bright side is that, apart from the 7 or so pedestrians, all of the (I guesstimate) 200-ish people in that photo are practicing extreme social-distancing: They've taken care to put two layers of safety-glass and six feet of air-gap between themselves and anyone who isn't in their own household!
 
Dr. Dipwad said:
Something from this thread's Initial Post:


Are we really managing #3, here?

Case in point: @plexi59 expresses his view that three guys who work in the current admin are "A-players" and that he's glad they're "on the team"; @hippietim gives a a wall of pointed laughter in response. It may be that each forum-contributor had heard of the three persons (or at least the two who'd previously been public figures) prior to their involvement in the current administration, and had formed soberly-considered opinions of their capabilities, and retained those opinions unchanged after they joined the current admin...but I kinda doubt it. This exchange feels like a proxy for expressing either support or contempt for the current administration.

Sorry fellows, if I'm being too suspicious, there. If either of you were nodding in approval or retching in protest at Robert Lighthizer's CV way back in 2015, then I'm clearly off-base...but can you see how I might arrive at that misunderstanding?

I thought Matt's invocation (apropos of...not much) of climate change was courting a descent into political rah-rah as well. We mostly dodged that bullet (and had I seen it in a different thread I might have leapt at the chance to talk up 4th-Gen Nuclear!). But here, it felt like a risky mention.

For full disclosure, I'm probably reddish-gray in the Slate Star Codex system of political tribal classifications, but when folk are dying and losing jobs left and right (no pun intended), it gets really depressing seeing all my buds in the teepee still wearing their war-paint.

If I'm being oversensitive on this, I apologize. And if my own war-paint was ever showing when it shouldn't be, I'm sorry for that, as well. I hope we all live and thrive.
Click to expand...
It has been political from the get go and some of my replies were aimed at getting it shut down for the BS it is....Political BS . Not all of course, just a few, very few in fact.
 
@Donnie B. I posted a video of this fiasco on my FB page. They are NOT keeping their distance. It's a mob scene. One woman was pissed because she could not go get her gray roots covered. It's on the video. Of course the gray roots were hidden under a RED HAT.

Think I'll go back and fool with my new FM3.......Much more interesting!
 
if the supply chain is going to change... prices of things increase... something you buy..will become expensive... if u can figure that out now...make some money.
hoarding is probably a good idea
pharmaceuticals will become more expensive
 
Dr. Dipwad said:
@Piing, @count_chocolat:

No doubt. But it's a fraught topic anyway. The mere mention is like a turd on the table. It leads immediately to the observation that, in the U.S., the tribes support radically different mitigation strategies, a debate having little to do with science and vastly more to do with economics and policy wonkery, in support of which one tribe calls the other anti-science yokels and the other tribe calls the first brainwashed religious ideologues for whom every problem looks like a nail. Is that the rabbit-trail we want to dash down, in this thread?

And by the way, was Matt's climate change comment "all about the science" of fighting COVID-19? I must have missed that part. If it wasn't helping us understand the COVID-19 problem, why mention it in this thread?

Frustratingly, I find I'm unable even to respond to a question about topicality without having to cite the tribes and wave their banners a bit by proxy, and worry about whether I'm being evenhanded in my representation of their mutual recriminations.

I'm tempted to say, "A pox on both your houses!" but that'd be a pretty Gray Tribe thing to say...and anyway, I'm not dying of a sword wound, and we've already got a pandemic.
Click to expand...

I don't live at the US, so I don't know what tribes and banners you are talking about. But tribal is like primitive, isn't it? Is that about primitive tribes with non-scientific believes and dogmas vs scientifically proven facts and observable data?

IMHO Matt is just putting in perspective two major threats that affect humanity. We cannot forget the one that acts slowly but relentless.

I don't understand why anyone would feel troubled when the topic of climate change is mentioned. Is that taboo for some religious sensibilities?
 
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Piing said:
I don't live at the US, so I don't know what tribes and banners you are talking about. But tribal is like primitive, isn't it? Is that about primitive tribes with non-scientific believes and dogmas vs scientifically proven facts and observable data?

IMHO Matt is just putting in perspective two major threats that affect humanity. We cannot forget the one that acts slowly but relentless.

I don't understand why anyone would feel troubled when the topic of climate change is mentioned. Is that taboo for some religious sensibilities?
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone was troubled by Matts post. It was right on point. As far as primitive and tribal, their are 2 majority groups. One is rational and believes in science. The other is NOT rational and do not believe in climate change or anything science related. Very sad.
 
Dr. Dipwad said:
Something from this thread's Initial Post:


Are we really managing #3, here?

Case in point: @plexi59 expresses his view that three guys who work in the current admin are "A-players" and that he's glad they're "on the team"; @hippietim gives a a wall of pointed laughter in response. It may be that each forum-contributor had heard of the three persons (or at least the two who'd previously been public figures) prior to their involvement in the current administration, and had formed soberly-considered opinions of their capabilities, and retained those opinions unchanged after they joined the current admin...but I kinda doubt it. This exchange feels like a proxy for expressing either support or contempt for the current administration.

Sorry fellows, if I'm being too suspicious, there. If either of you were nodding in approval or retching in protest at Robert Lighthizer's CV way back in 2015, then I'm clearly off-base...but can you see how I might arrive at that misunderstanding?

I thought Matt's invocation (apropos of...not much) of climate change was courting a descent into political rah-rah as well. We mostly dodged that bullet (and had I seen it in a different thread I might have leapt at the chance to talk up 4th-Gen Nuclear!). But here, it felt like a risky mention.

For full disclosure, I'm probably reddish-gray in the Slate Star Codex system of political tribal classifications, but when folk are dying and losing jobs left and right (no pun intended), it gets really depressing seeing all my buds in the teepee still wearing their war-paint.

If I'm being oversensitive on this, I apologize. And if my own war-paint was ever showing when it shouldn't be, I'm sorry for that, as well. I hope we all live and thrive.
Click to expand...
Uh, you’re saying Plexi wasn’t joking?? No way man!
 
Stratman68 said:
One is rational and believes in science. The other is NOT rational and do not believe in climate change or anything science related. Very sad.
Click to expand...

Treading a thin line there without naming those tribes. But even pointing them out and stereotyping is tribal.
 
To sort of balance all the analytical discussions, and maybe to give an upbeat and musical contribution: just posted this song (“Shutdown”) on Youtube - this song would not have happened if this pandemic would not have touched our lives, and I hope the song triggers people to find the positive out of something that is catastrophic for many people mentally, physically or economically.

All guitars, acoustic (Taylor) and electric (Fender Strat de Luxe) recorded using the AXE-FXIII, particularly like the Strat tone for the solo and outtro, let me know what you think…



It started with a text that a friend of mine (Dave Mangene) posted on his socials, which described the feelings of despair, hope and love related to the Shutdown.

Somehow, the lines stuck in my head. Having my acoustic guitar in a different tuning than normal, (DADGAD) a melody and groove came up, and in one day I wrote, arranged and recorded the music & vocals and sent Dave the tune, who had no clue I had worked on it.

That triggered a creative energy and remarkable 'togetherness', where others got involved and where we all from our quarantine homes in different cities worked to bring the song alive with a video in less than a week. This would not have happened if this pandemic hadn’t happened, and even if no soul would listen to this, it has enriched our lives in many ways!

As I write this, we're still in the middle of the pandemic and partial shutdown here in The Netherlands as well, hope we all get through this and wake up in a better world!

R.A.D.I.
 
I want to lay claim to a new word to add to Webster's dictionary...
I have hand sanitizer... jell.
Every time I apply it to my hands.. a big blurp of it falls off my hands... everywhere.. on the pants, car seat, phone, paper... etc.
So a word prescribing this splat of liquified jell.
 
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