Jump to content

Do you need to vent about things COVID-19?


You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 1133 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Recommended Posts

Oh. Well. I corrected MY mistake, and quite transparently, not doing a sneak edit.

If me thinking anti-vaxxers are nutjobs, and dangerous selfish ones at that (and often hypocritical ones, too),  makes me unfriendly and unfunny (I'm a mean girl again!)... so be it. I stand by my words and thoughts on the subject of anti-vaxxers*. 

I do not understand the reasoning of people who block everyone who doesn't agree with them, and that is the second or third time I've written that in as many days. To the unknowing, I have had quite a few people over the years that I could have blocked and with extremely good reason. It was rather infamous at the time. But why block? Scrolling works. Also, I'd rather know what people are saying than not. Personal choice. But it has to make reading a thread difficult when the (far from exclusionary) blocks take place. 

Whatever.

* I can't spell. I know I can't spell. I thought my spelling of anti-vaxxers looked wrong (not spelled <--- that way). Sigh. More edits.

Edited by Seicher Rae
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

I do not understand the reasoning of people who block everyone who doesn't agree with them

because apparently the general discussion forums are not actually for discussing anything if someone has a different view 

5 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

* I can't spell. I know I can't spell

I have checked the forum guidelines and luckily we don't have to be able to spell here *phew*:/

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Cindy Evanier said:

I have checked the forum guidelines and luckily we don't have to be able to spell here *phew*:/

Luckily it isn't in the LL TOS either, since there's that old story about how I spelled my own made up name wrong when I joined SL. (Should be Siecher...)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had a tree fall in the front of the house yesterday..I got to watch that fall..

I have been waiting for this tree to fall for the past few years and always wondering which way it was going to go..

Well, we seen earlier in the day from the radar that a bad storm was heading our way..That radar was as on time as on time gets..

As soon as the first part of the radar showed the storm hitting us is right when the wind came in..we got a gust and I seen ground starting to break on one side of the tree..then the next gust and it started to tip..I yelled,The Tree's Going!!\o/

Then by the time the kids and my husband got to the window it was already down..

It fell so slow that it didn't even make a divot in the ground..

The first thing my husband said is, Well I guess if a tree falls in the woods or right out in your front yard,it doesn't make a sound..

 

So besides everything else going on,we had this distraction.. So we got up today and cleared that mess up and  taken off to where we keep our wood..

A funny thing that did happen today as we were getting things ready..A guy drove up and said, he was out of work for awhile and would cut it up and take it off for 400.00..

My husband told him..For a guy out of work looking for work, you should check your pricing a little bit better..because you'll end up insulting some people..My husband said I'll tell you what..I'll give you 100.00 and you can help us out..

The guy turned him down..

We had it cut and cleared and at the shed in like an hours time..So for a guy looking for work just turned down 100.00 an hour job..

The thing was with his little truck it would have taken him a good part of the day to cut it up and hall it off in a half bed pickup truck..

He must not have been hurting too much I guess..

 

That was our excitement for the past couple of day's ..hehehe

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Seicher Rae said:

If me thinking anti-vaxxers are nutjobs, and dangerous selfish ones at that (and often hypocritical ones, too),  makes me unfriendly and unfunny (I'm a mean girl again!)... so be it.

I've discovered that a lot of people seem to confuse the word "intelligent" with the word "mean". 

  • Like 4
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Ceka Cianci said:

So for a guy looking for work just turned down 100.00 an hour job..

Several years ago, for some unexplained reason, my lifelong handyman (we played in each other's tree forts when young) stopped returning my calls. I found a replacement through a mutual friend. I invited him over to quote a job, which he refused to do saying he was notoriously incapable of knowing just how long something would take, and preferred to bill $20/hr until the job was done to my satisfaction. I couldn't fault that logic, as I was similarly awful at quoting projects in my own consulting business.

I set him to work. When he handed me the bill at the end I gave it a good hard look, then refused to pay the stated amount, saying it was "nuts". I let him hang on that a moment before explaining that he'd done the work faster and to a higher standard than I'd expected and he'd have to accept no less than $30/hr.

Last summer, I hired his daughter to mow my lawn. Again, beautiful work. She was so happy to drive my tractor that I let her zoom it through the woods after the lawn was done. When she returned, I asked her what she thought was a fair rate for her joy riding. It took a few minutes of serious discussion, but we finally worked out equitable compensation. I'd pay her $10/hr for mowing and $5/hr for joy riding (I get significant pleasure out of her joy). As you might expect, she insisted her joy rides be productive, or she'd just go home. I drove a hard bargain, any productivity would cost me an additional $5/hr. This year, her little brother will be mowing my lawn. I'll make him the same deal.

Meanwhile, amidst all the belt tightening COVID-19 is forcing on people, their father is going to have to get used to the new normal with me.

$40/hr.

Ceka, I imagine your family would strike similar deals when encountering similar people.

Edited by Madelaine McMasters
  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

Several years ago, for some unexplained reason, my lifelong handyman (we played in each other's tree forts when young) stopped returning my calls. I found a replacement through a mutual friend. I invited him over to quote a job, which he refused to do saying he was notoriously incapable of knowing just how long something would take, and preferred to bill $20/hr until the job was done to my satisfaction. I couldn't fault that logic, as I was similarly awful at quoting projects in my own consulting business.

I set him to work. When he handed me the bill at the end I gave it a good hard look, then refused to pay the stated amount, saying it was "nuts". I let him hang on that a moment before explaining that he'd done the work faster and to a higher standard than I'd expected and he'd have to accept no less than $30/hr.

Last summer, I hired his daughter to mow my lawn. Again, beautiful work. She was so happy to drive my tractor that I let her zoom it through the woods after the lawn was done. When she returned, I asked her what she thought was a fair rate for her joy riding. It took a few minutes of serious discussion, but we finally worked out equitable compensation. I'd pay her $10/hr for mowing and $5/hr for joy riding (I get significant pleasure out of her joy). As you might expect, she insisted her joy rides be productive, or she'd just go home. I drove a hard bargain, any productivity would cost me an additional $5/hr. This year, her little brother will be mowing my lawn. I'll make him the same deal.

Meanwhile, amidst all the belt tightening COVID-19 is forcing on people, their father is going to have to get used to the new normal with me.

$40/hr.

Ceka, I imagine your family would strike similar deals when encountering similar people.

My father always did things like that with people.. He's always taken in people that were down on their luck in life and given them a job and trained them.

When he used to contract up north and was on his own,he would hire someone to drive the truck but also be a helper on jobs with him..

He always cut them the same offer..

He said ,I'll train you for a year and then I'll make some calls and find you a job when the year is up..If you can cut it..If not we'll know soon enough..

Some would take the offer and some would just go on their way..

He trained quite a few people..Some even moved down here when we did and still working with him today, when he started his own businesses..

He helped them,but they also helped us in building up..

We're doing much better for ourselves and so are they..

My father always say's,you know it's a good deal when you both walk away smiling..

hehehe

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Sassy Kenin said:

I wish you both a great SL , take care.

This actually belongs in the pet peeve thread. I *really* dislike sneaky editing that dramatically changes the original reading of post. ^^^ This is one such example and apparently not the first one by Sassy in this thread. The original spurred my post (above)* about being called unfriendly, and horrors... unfunny. Unfunny???? Damn. That's a low blow. I should have quoted the original before it changed. I didn't realize I had to. The original comment also had a bit about not reading any more threads by me (and I think Danno because of the "you both.") Hence my little rant about being confused by people blocking others. Anyway. Sigh.

Basically here's my philosophy: Try to think before you type (not something I always follow). Say what you mean. Have the balls to stand by it. If your writing style causes confusion in what you mean (that happens a lot), clarify it, own it, and don't make excuses (like "Americans are too stupid to get my brilliant European sense of humour"). If you make a mistake, own it. Correct it. Be obvious about it. If you need to make an apology, make sure you know how to do it. (A real apology doesn't explain why it is really everyone else's fault, and it never contains the words "actually" and "but.") Humor is great.

*My reply to the original, unaltered comments by Sassy, just for continuity's sake:

 

Edited by Seicher Rae
to add the link and tidy up
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And this also from Washington Post, via their email newsletter The Five Minute Fix (which is why I can't simply post a link).

An Ominous Report as States Move to Reopen

A draft government report obtained by The Washington Post on Monday estimates a big jump in daily deaths from coronavirus in the next month.

Right now, an average of 1,388 are dying each day in the U.S. By June 1, this draft report estimates 3,000 people a day could be dying.

Here are coronavirus deaths reported per day

bffdd7a74661e24072281918af0e5f51-per-day

“The document predicts a sharp increase in both cases and deaths beginning about May 14,” The Post reports, which is actually around the time a separate model, prepared by a Trump adviser, predicts deaths will go to zero. This new, much more dire estimate comes as Trump says most states should start opening up — and most are.

The new estimates were drafted by an epidemiology expert at Johns Hopkins University who told The Post the modeling shown in the report wasn’t complete, but who said things could “get out of control very quickly” depending on different reopening scenarios.

It underscores the risk Trump is taking right now. He has been vocal for a month and counting that he wants the economy going again, and he helped push the White House coronavirus task force to come up with guidelines for states to allow people back to work.

At Bad Daddy's Burger Bar in Decatur, Ga., people eat amid signs reminding them of social distancing. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post)

At Bad Daddy's Burger Bar in Decatur, Ga., people eat amid signs reminding them of social distancing. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post)

Is that reopening push happening as deaths are set to rise in the U.S.? Or worse, could it lead to a dramatic rise in cases? Even though Trump has tried to put the onus on governors to take responsibility for what their states do, he also arguably owns the decision too at this point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

And this also from Washington Post, via their email newsletter The Five Minute Fix (which is why I can't simply post a link).

An Ominous Report as States Move to Reopen

A draft government report obtained by The Washington Post on Monday estimates a big jump in daily deaths from coronavirus in the next month.

Right now, an average of 1,388 are dying each day in the U.S. By June 1, this draft report estimates 3,000 people a day could be dying.

Here are coronavirus deaths reported per day

bffdd7a74661e24072281918af0e5f51-per-day

“The document predicts a sharp increase in both cases and deaths beginning about May 14,” The Post reports, which is actually around the time a separate model, prepared by a Trump adviser, predicts deaths will go to zero. This new, much more dire estimate comes as Trump says most states should start opening up — and most are.

The new estimates were drafted by an epidemiology expert at Johns Hopkins University who told The Post the modeling shown in the report wasn’t complete, but who said things could “get out of control very quickly” depending on different reopening scenarios.

It underscores the risk Trump is taking right now. He has been vocal for a month and counting that he wants the economy going again, and he helped push the White House coronavirus task force to come up with guidelines for states to allow people back to work.

At Bad Daddy's Burger Bar in Decatur, Ga., people eat amid signs reminding them of social distancing. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post)

At Bad Daddy's Burger Bar in Decatur, Ga., people eat amid signs reminding them of social distancing. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post)

Is that reopening push happening as deaths are set to rise in the U.S.? Or worse, could it lead to a dramatic rise in cases? Even though Trump has tried to put the onus on governors to take responsibility for what their states do, he also arguably owns the decision too at this point.

I just have a hard time believing that, that kind of social distancing is going to work..

50% capacity is more than 10 people in a room breathing the same air..then someone finishes and someone new comes in..plus are they going to be washing down the stations when people leave for new customers..

I don't know..I'm leery enough just going back to work let alone thinking about going out..

I think even at 50%capacity, businesses are still going to have a hard time drawing that many in..

Heck,I think Georgia is already getting more cases now with their goofy governor saying ,go full bore and wide open..in so many words..

I'm just leery I guess..

 

hehehe

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Seicher Rae said:

I do not understand the reasoning of people who block everyone who doesn't agree with them

I think I have one person still on my Forums block list, cleared everybody off my in-world mute list (so far, so good), but I have to say that Twitter is much more enjoyable for Qie's typist since he's taken to blocking everybody annoying and everybody who likes their annoying tweets. Twitter is no place to get intelligent discussion from the other side, at least not after they've already demonstrated they froth at the mouth.

_____________

Not as if this is the only source of COVID-19 news, but nonetheless here are the items that got my attention recently:

  1. Excess U.S. deaths hit estimated 37,100 in pandemic’s early days, far more than previously known.  They're not all undercounted deaths of the virus itself - some for example are of other causes that couldn't be treated while the healthcare system is overwhelmed by CV19, but still a lot of them are directly due to the infection but not counted.
  2. French hospital discovers Covid-19 case from December. So who knows when this all really started -- or, really, where. (We do know Hubei province would have been a very bad place to visit as early as November, but even so, December is mighty early for community spread in Europe.)

  3. President erupts at George Conway for ‘Mourning in America’ video, about the ‘deadly virus Trump ignored’ because who ever heard of the Streisand Effect?

  4. White House limits task force appearances on Capitol Hill. Too much winning!

  5. A mutant coronavirus has emerged, even more contagious than the original, study says. Just what we need to get the world economy humming again.

  6. Saved the best for last: Researchers identify antibody with activity against SARS-CoV-2 in lab. This may go nowhere, but it's a potential "plan B" if all the vaccine trials fail, and it might justify a little more optimism about those, too. I don't know nearly enough about monoclonal antibodies to know why it took this long to identify one, but I'm given to understand that eventually this will be an engineering problem instead of a scientific discovery. (Hmmm. Wonder how anti-vaxxers feel about monoclonal antibodies.)

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"No member of the administration’s coronavirus task force can agree to testify on Capitol Hill unless the invitation is expressly approved by the president’s chief of staff."

This sounds horrendeously reminiscent of the Muller investigation. Don't like ppl testifying against you? Just abuse your executive privilege power to forbid them from doing so! Scientists are the ONLY ppl that should be listened to right now. But instead ppl are watching FOX, showing the Orange Man at Lincoln Memorial, aggrandizing his own persona, lying just about everything, frantically trying to shift the blame. So. now China did it. And what's worse: this deflection technique will work. Because ppl are dumb. But as long as some religious nutcases keep applauding his anti-abortion stance, it's all good. 'Pro-life' apparently doesn't apply to those who are, you know, already living... and are now dying in droves, because there's a 5-year-old behind the wheel, with no one having the guts to yank him out of the driver seat.

Edited by kiramanell
  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, kiramanell said:

But as long as some religious nutcases keep applauding his anti-abortion stance, it's all good.

To be perfectly clear, though, the man is definitely not anti-abortion. He has likely paid for more abortions than the number of hairs in my inventory.

Somehow the evangelicals gloss over that. 🙄

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

To be perfectly clear, though, the man is definitely not anti-abortion. He has likely paid for more abortions than the number of hairs in my inventory.

Somehow the evangelicals gloss over that. 🙄

Don't be silly. Republican Jesus forgave him for all of that. 😛 

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

To be perfectly clear, though, the man is definitely not anti-abortion. He has likely paid for more abortions than the number of hairs in my inventory.

Somehow the evangelicals gloss over that. 🙄

 

Wish I could give a 'Laugh' AND a 'Like' :) 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Sylvia Tamalyn said:

Don't be silly. Republican Jesus forgave him for all of that. 😛 

 

JESUS: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

TRUMP: Whatever you're doing yourself, accuse the others of doing!

 

😋

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, kiramanell said:

 

Wish I could give a 'Laugh' AND a 'Like' :) 

Well, I was thinking a laugh, a like and a sad face, to several of these last comments. It is funny because it is true; it is so, so sad because it is true.

Edited by Seicher Rae
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/4/2020 at 3:15 AM, MirandaBowers said:

I have a small vent to get off my chest. I have been working tirelessly with a foreign supplier of masks trying to get supplies to essential workers and people in need, and it just feels like no matter how many hours and orders that I put into all of this it feels like there is no end in sight. I am proud for making an effort and doing my part, but god it's just so awful to see how many people are desperate and pleading for help that aren't getting it. It really takes a toll mentally some days. 

I feel this in my soul. It's never-ending, and so draining. And the endless criticism that borders on spite from the media and parts of the public...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm starting to feel the need to vent over the questionable effectiveness of shutting down the economy to "save" us, especially as it pertains to the dictatorial actions taken by some governors, including moves that have already been (and will doubtless continue to be) found to be unconstitutional.  There really doesn't seem to be much benefit.  Seven states declined to institute stay at home orders in the US. One of them, South Dakota, has gotten particularly bad press for refusing to do so. Yet, 5 of those 7states (including South Dakota) are in the lowest 10 states in terms of Covid death rate. Only 1 of the 7, Iowa, is in the top half (and it's right at the midway mark), and it has the same rate as its neighbor, Wisconsin, which does have such an order, and a lower rate than two of it's other neighbors, Minnesota and Illinois. Meanwhile, most of the states with the highest death rates (New York, NJ, CT, MI and PA have death rates from 11 to 63 times that of South Dakota) have the most draconian measures.

On a national level, Sweden for the most part went on with life as normal, and has been loudly derided for doing so, yet their death rate is quite a bit lower than Italy's (which shut down to the point of riots in parts of the country), Spain, France, UK, Belgium (which has the worst national rate by a fair margin), and the Netherlands - all countries with advanced, modern, and predominantly free health care, like Sweden has - and has a death rate roughly 1/5th that of New York state. We've all heard how much Cuomo is lauded for all his "strong actions", but New York State is by far the most deadly place to live in terms of Covid, despite having so much hospital capacity that much of the emergency hospital space constructed went unused.

Voluntarily crippling the global economy doesn't seem to be getting significantly better results than simply educating citizens and asking them to take sensible precautions, yet we continue to do so at the urging of scientists whose projections and models repeatedly prove to be wildly inaccurate.

Note, in the included sources, one is deaths per 100,000, one is deaths per million, so if you wish to compare states to nations, multiply the state numbers by 10.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Tolya Ugajin said:

I'm starting to feel the need to vent over the questionable effectiveness of shutting down the economy to "save" us, especially as it pertains to the dictatorial actions taken by some governors, including moves that have already been (and will doubtless continue to be) found to be unconstitutional.  There really doesn't seem to be much benefit.  Seven states declined to institute stay at home orders in the US. One of them, South Dakota, has gotten particularly bad press for refusing to do so. Yet, 5 of those 7states (including South Dakota) are in the lowest 10 states in terms of Covid death rate. Only 1 of the 7, Iowa, is in the top half (and it's right at the midway mark), and it has the same rate as its neighbor, Wisconsin, which does have such an order, and a lower rate than two of it's other neighbors, Minnesota and Illinois. Meanwhile, most of the states with the highest death rates (New York, NJ, CT, MI and PA have death rates from 11 to 63 times that of South Dakota) have the most draconian measures.

On a national level, Sweden for the most part went on with life as normal, and has been loudly derided for doing so, yet their death rate is quite a bit lower than Italy's (which shut down to the point of riots in parts of the country), Spain, France, UK, Belgium (which has the worst national rate by a fair margin), and the Netherlands - all countries with advanced, modern, and predominantly free health care, like Sweden has - and has a death rate roughly 1/5th that of New York state. We've all heard how much Cuomo is lauded for all his "strong actions", but New York State is by far the most deadly place to live in terms of Covid, despite having so much hospital capacity that much of the emergency hospital space constructed went unused.

Voluntarily crippling the global economy doesn't seem to be getting significantly better results than simply educating citizens and asking them to take sensible precautions, yet we continue to do so at the urging of scientists whose projections and models repeatedly prove to be wildly inaccurate.

Note, in the included sources, one is deaths per 100,000, one is deaths per million, so if you wish to compare states to nations, multiply the state numbers by 10.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/

Tolya, this is the kind of argument that nearly exemplifies how one can render mere statistics not merely meaningless, but actually misleading.

Let me throw another couple of stats at you that may highlight the problem with your argument.

New York City: Population Density: 10,715/km2

South Dakota: Population Density: 4.42/km2

Why is it, do you think, that the virus has hit urban areas particularly hard? Do you see any, oh, I don't know, demographic similarities between the particularly hard hit areas that might explain why they have been particularly hard hit? Not to mention the fact that NYC, New Jersey, etc. are transportation hubs that see an enormous amount of international traffic.

Then there is the chronological issue: both Italy and New York instituted shut downs after the virus was already firmly established. God knows what the death toll in these places might have been if they had not responded as they did, late as it was. One of the problems, of course, is that we can't know how many would have died, and the impacts upon their economies, had they not shut down.

Oh, and cultural differences. Sweden (which actually has a very high mortality rate compared to its Scandinavian neighbours: 291/million, as opposed to Denmark at 87/million, and Norway at 40/million) possesses a culture in which the populace is generally far more receptive to voluntary restrictions than many other places in the world. The Swedes are simply better at following guidance from their government than are others. (The same is probably true of Canadians, which is one reason why we don't have people shooting security guards or assaulting park rangers over social distancing and face masks. And why our contagion and mortality rates are substantially lower than yours.)

The question of how tightly the economy should be shut down, and when it should be opened up, is entirely legitimate. It's not well served, however, by the selective serving up of statistics freed of all context.

Edited by Scylla Rhiadra
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 1133 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...