Do you need to vent about things COVID-19?

[Silent Mistwalker]

29 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

I finally went and got tested today and now have to wait 3 to 5 days to get my results back..

I couldn't call work until Sunday night to let them know that I was around someone diagnosed with covie-19 because the plant was shut down for New Years..

So I called Sunday night and nobody was answering but the security guard..I was like, just patch me through to the machine..

He's like, nobody is there ,I doubt the machine is on.. So rather than get into it with him I just said I'll call back in 30 minutes..

Called back in 30 minutes and the bastage patched me through to the machine  rather than the supervisors offices..

So I said hell with it, I'll just leave a message and they'll get it in the morning..

So I end up calling in the morning ,like the letter they gave us say's.. They say, You can come in if you feel ok and go get tested tomorrow when they are doing testing over at the health department.. I said OK I'll do that..

Later in the day I start to get body aches and nauseated and chills.. I checked my temperature and still 98.6 like always..

I still couldn't go in because of having possible symptoms.. So I call in again last night to let them know that I'm having symptoms.

I get the machines again.. I was like Dammit!!\o/ I can't even get a human at my own job..hehehe

Aaaaanyways, left a message again saying I was going to get tested..

Went to get tested and there is a line a mile long.. But they were pretty quick and I didn't even have to get out of my Jeep..

Come to find out that I won't get my results for 3 to 5 days from now.. Sooo, I call work and get through and tell them I just finished getting tested and when the results will be in.. That I'm feeling really good today ,that it must have been something else messing with me.. Since I'm feeling better I'm gonna go ahead and come on in if that's ok..

They said, Nope.. They said, when you get your results back if they come back negative you can come back in..But if they come back positive, you'll be out for another 10 days at the minimum..

I was like, Well crap..I tell her, I've already been off for 18 days and I'm about to rip my hair out .. She say's ,I know, but we have to do what we have to do..

I said alright then, well thank you..

 

I don't know How you guys have been so shut in all this time with these shut downs..I'm about to go crazy from not being back at work and in my routine..

The thing that really gets me is , I could go through this get back to work and someone being careless could give it to me and start the whole thing over again..

In a way I'm hoping that bump I had going on yesterday with the body aches and the nausea and chills was it and I have it..

It may be possible, because like I've said before, I have been pumping up my immune system just for this and other things..

That virus might have started to attack and found out that this girls got some street fight in her.. hehehehe

I haven't had as much as the sniffles since last winter, So I know that juicing and smoothys and stir fry and everything else is paying off..

 

Either way, now I'm off for no less than 3 more days now.. I think my family is ready for me to get back to work as well.hehehe

 

Sorry for the long post, I'm just really wired today.. I'm also glad it's the waiting phase now..hehehe

 

Go burn some of that energy off! lol

 

 

[Arielle Popstar]

1 hour ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Idiot doctor who advices the US vaccine program asked the FDA to allow giving 18-55 yr olds only half a dose -- because "some data showed it might work".

British health officials decide that it is okay to delay the second dose as long as 12 weeks.  So rather than giving a second dose a month after the first, they'd go out to 3 months.  Because unpublished data from some study suggested it might be better in the long run.

All so that they can bump the numbers on how many have been vaccinated -- because the first dose is all that matters as far as the numbers go.

From a couple different articles I read, it seems the first shot is good for around 80% of the protection that 2 shots would give and also that it seems it is the second shot that a greater percentage of people have some negative reactions towards. Another article pointed out that giving one shot would allow more people to get at least some protection much more quickly. Theoretically at least they would be able to vaccinate double the amount of people in the same time. 

[SlammedSam]

2 hours ago, Ceka Cianci said:

~snip~

ETA: Oh also I just want to add what I've added to my diet.. I know a lot of people like to drink coffee and tea.. I used to never put in any sweetner at all in my tea.. Then decided I'm gonna try Honey..

I've been using 100% Organic Raw & Unfiltered Honey..Which is good at helping fight viruses..It never goes bad because it lasts longer than we've ever been able to find out.. They found some in Egyptian tombs that was still good..

For someone used to putting sugar in your tea or coffee..100% Organic Raw & Unfiltered Honey may taste funny at first, but for me the next day it tasted better for me..

I never used sweeteners before, so that may have something to do with it..But it's really good once you get used to it I think..

Just thought I would add that in there.. Because sugar will work against your immune system rather than help it..

As far as diabetics and stuff. I'm not saying to use this.. Check out with your doctor if you can or not..

I don't want to send someone down the wrong road here.. hehehe

I'm all about honey in hot tea. Here's hoping that you get better soon, and no covid to contend with.

[LittleMe Jewell]

Just now, Arielle Popstar said:

From a couple different articles I read, it seems the first shot is good for around 80% of the protection that 2 shots would give and also that it seems it is the second shot that a greater percentage of people have some negative reactions towards. Another article pointed out that giving one shot would allow more people to get at least some protection much more quickly. Theoretically at least they would be able to vaccinate double the amount of people in the same time. 

Except that the approval of the vaccines - at least in the US - is based on the data from giving 2 shots.  The study groups for the other situations are smaller study groups.  So we can't really even have confidence in that "80% effective" value.  If we don't give a damn about the data and extended large study groups, why insist on them in the first place.  Either studies of multiple very large groups is important or it isn't.  When have we ever given FDA approval of something based on only a few small study groups?  

The US population is just under 332 million people.  If everyone gets vaccinated (which won't happen), then roughly 16.6 million will not actually be protected -- 5%.  If we halve the dosage and the protection rate drops to 80%, then that 16.6 million number goes up to 66.4 million not protected.  

[MoiraKathleen]

2 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Idiot doctor who advices the US vaccine program asked the FDA to allow giving 18-55 yr olds only half a dose -- because "some data showed it might work".

British health officials decide that it is okay to delay the second dose as long as 12 weeks.  So rather than giving a second dose a month after the first, they'd go out to 3 months.  Because unpublished data from some study suggested it might be better in the long run.

All so that they can bump the numbers on how many have been vaccinated -- because the first dose is all that matters as far as the numbers go.

The vaccines are so recent, I have a hard time believing that any credible study would have had time to organize all the necessary testing and control groups for the study, plus have it run long enough to gather a large enough sample for the results to be valid.  

If the one about delaying the second dose as long as 12 weeks doesn't pan out, then people who had initially received only the first dose, may have to have the first and second doses all over again in the manufacturer recommended time frame - that doesn't sound like an efficient use of a limited quantity item.   Likewise, if the half-a-dose doesn't pan out either, than that's a lot of wasted vaccines if people need to go back and get the full dose treatment. 

I am optimistic enough to think that there will still be human civilization around in 50 to 100 years, and how Covid-19 was handled will be a wonderful case study for them about how to handle, or not handle, a global pandemic.

[Ceka Cianci]

2 hours ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

 

Go burn some of that energy off! lol

 

 

I actually have to watch out how much I exercise now.. I don't want to loose too much past my goal that I like to stay at..

With good butt cheeks comes great responsibility.. hehehehe

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

From everything I'm reading, many of the states & various locales are not even managing to actually administer the vaccines as quickly as they had hoped.  In the state of Colorado, as of yesterday, the state had received just over 250,000 doses, but has so far only manage to administer about 42% of them.  I've read that many other states are in similar (or worse) situations.  Thus I think the concern should be refocused on actually getting the dosages administered. The manufacturers have not stopped creating the vaccine, thus they will be shipping more. 

[kali Wylder]

this just in

All that nonsense about how the virus came from weird things Chinese people like to eat? Fake News.  The virus escaped from a research lab.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/05/corrupt-corporate-media-finally-admits-coronavirus-probably-came-from-a-communist-chinese-lab/

 

 

[Lyssa Greymoon]

[Pomeline Pancake]

[Solar Legion]

Oh would you look at that .... A spin site pretending to be news!

[Rowan Amore]

2 hours ago, kali Wylder said:

this just in

All that nonsense about how the virus came from weird things Chinese people like to eat? Fake News.  The virus escaped from a research lab.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/05/corrupt-corporate-media-finally-admits-coronavirus-probably-came-from-a-communist-chinese-lab/

 

 

https://thebulwark.com/the-federalists-dangerous-coronavirus-trutherism/

[Silent Mistwalker]

19 hours ago, Ceka Cianci said:

I actually have to watch out how much I exercise now.. I don't want to loose too much past my goal that I like to stay at..

With good butt cheeks comes great responsibility.. hehehehe

 

I was telling you to dance it off! 🤭

[Ceka Cianci]

Just now, Silent Mistwalker said:

I was telling you to dance it off! 🤭

hehehe

Now this looks more like you want a dance off essay. \o/

 

I pictured Billy Zane

hehehe

[Silent Mistwalker]

41 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

hehehe

Now this looks more like you want a dance off essay. \o/

 

I pictured Billy Zane

hehehe

 

Enit! It's Snoopy!

Edited January 6, 2021 by Silent Mistwalker

[Amina Sopwith]

[Lyssa Greymoon]

1 hour ago, Amina Sopwith said:

[Maryanne Solo]

Looking at my day job calendar and the week prior to campus re-opening is marked as "Student Vaccinations"!
Obviously staff must be in there too. (hopefully).
So that's me and RL Siss, (law enforcement), covered for vaccinations, meaning my lovely mum ❤️ will be safe too.
Yay!
But I'll still be masking up and leaving an Isopropyl Alcohol chemtrail everywhere I go.
Pluck u Covid-19 AND your mutations! 😝

[Madelaine McMasters]

On 12/29/2020 at 1:21 PM, Luna Bliss said:

So how does one teach your critical thinking skills to others? What I call 'big picture' thinking as opposed to only being able to see what's right in front of one's nose or syncs with one's desires for any particular outcome?  There is such a push for simplicity and easy answers, especially with conservative thinkers.

I've been thinking about this.

I wrote a long missive, then tossed it.

I wrote another long missive, then tossed it.

I wondered why you think I have critical thinking skills, thinking maybe yours were lacking ;-).

I've decided I don't know how, or if, you can teach it.

Could it be that we're born critical thinkers and lose the ability when nobody else seems to value it?

[Rolig Loon]

Critical thinking is a practice to be learned, but not easily taught.  We learn through focused trial and error, developing the ability to anticipate outcomes by introspective study of our failures.  What can be taught are patience and the skill of focusing.  Or that's the way it seems to me.

[Qie Niangao]

Is there such a thing as "critical thinking skills" to be taught, or is it a mythical construct we impose on disparate behaviors? I'm thinking about what I consider a pinnacle of such skills: experimental design. It's certainly true that we can learn to read scientific studies and better appreciate their strengths and weaknesses (and thus the evidence for their findings), but it's only by that specific practice that the skill is acquired.

It depends on very specific knowledge (logic, relevant statistical methods and artifacts, contextual "common sense" about what real world factors may interfere). If we say that "critical thinking skills" are acquired by learning some general manipulation of these specific considerations, well, I think that dilutes the whole concept to observing that, overall, thinking is a good thing to do.

(Analogous: Is there really such a thing is "General" intelligence? Maybe, but it's not easy to prove it's a real thing.)

Oh, about honey: reasonably safe for adults, but never give honey to infants. They just don't have the capacity to handle the level of botulotoxin that honey sometimes* contains, and the risks include permanent paralysis or even death. (I doubt the level of poison would be affected much by whether the honey is "raw" or not. I guess it's possible some spores are filtered out with more processing, but I wouldn't bet the baby's life on it.) Informally, about 20% of botulism cases are caused by honey, and about 90% of botulism occurs in infants.

_____________
* about 2% of samples, according to one study

[Love Zhaoying]

5 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

I wrote a long missive, then tossed it.

I wrote another long missive, then tossed it.

Think of these as "first drafts" of a manifesto!

[Luna Bliss]

13 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

On 12/29/2020 at 1:21 PM, Luna Bliss said:

So how does one teach your critical thinking skills to others? What I call 'big picture' thinking as opposed to only being able to see what's right in front of one's nose or syncs with one's desires for any particular outcome?  There is such a push for simplicity and easy answers, especially with conservative thinkers.

I've been thinking about this.

I wrote a long missive, then tossed it.

I wrote another long missive, then tossed it.

I wondered why you think I have critical thinking skills, thinking maybe yours were lacking ;-).

I've decided I don't know how, or if, you can teach it.

Could it be that we're born critical thinkers and lose the ability when nobody else seems to value it?

lol well Maddy I imagine your critical thinking skills are operating better than the QAnon people who overtook the Capitol the day before yesterday   

Researching, and it appears that....

"Critical thinking is the analysis of an issue or situation and the facts, data or evidence related to it. Ideally, critical thinking is to be done objectively—meaning without influence from personal feelings, opinions or biases—and it focuses solely on factual information.

Critical thinking is a skill that allows you to make logical and informed decisions to the best of your ability".
~~~~~~~~~
What do we do with people like this woman, those who descended upon our Capitol the day before yesterday, the QAnon conspiracy theorists who believe the Democrats are running pedophile rings and that Trump is actually Jesus returning to save us all, and that Covid is a hoax?  How did their thinking get so messed up and how can they be returned to some semblance of sanity?

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Luna Bliss

[Luna Bliss]

7 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

Is there such a thing as "critical thinking skills" to be taught, or is it a mythical construct we impose on disparate behaviors? I'm thinking about what I consider a pinnacle of such skills: experimental design. It's certainly true that we can learn to read scientific studies and better appreciate their strengths and weaknesses (and thus the evidence for their findings), but it's only by that specific practice that the skill is acquired.

It depends on very specific knowledge (logic, relevant statistical methods and artifacts, contextual "common sense" about what real world factors may interfere). If we say that "critical thinking skills" are acquired by learning some general manipulation of these specific considerations, well, I think that dilutes the whole concept to observing that, overall, thinking is a good thing to do.

(Analogous: Is there really such a thing is "General" intelligence? Maybe, but it's not easy to prove it's a real thing.)

I don't think critical thinking can only be applied to Scientific endeavors, and so there is no dilution of the skill by applying it to non-scientific experiences.

I'm currently reading a book about how meditation increases critical thinking skills in all walks of life. There are quite a few studies on it too. It appears that the primary reason we don't see things clearly is that our needs get in the way (causing, among other errors, a propensity toward 'confirmation bias') and meditation is the practice of becoming more aware of our needs while not letting their importance affect us so much.

[Luna Bliss]

This book (I'm about a quarter of the way through):

Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment - Kindle edition by Wright, Robert. Self-Help Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Apparently via evolution our brains were created to get our genes into the next generation, and so many of our behaviors are a result of these needs. So our brains were 'designed' not to see reality clearly, but to even lie or believe lies so that the continuation of our species is more likely.

Meditation provides clarity and detachment so that our archaic brain doesn't have such control over us.  There is hope for humankind! (I hope).

From one of the reviewers of this book:

"Secular, naturalistic Buddhism rests on a few key ideas: the idea that people don't have an essential 'self' (no-self), the idea that dissatisfaction (dukkha) is caused by the 'hedonic treadmill' of pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain, and that meditation can help us to get off this treadmill. The philosophical approach is similar to that of Stephen Batchelor in  Confession of a Buddhist Atheist  and  Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World ."