Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

Had my first in-person Karen sighting today. Farmer's market has rigorous controls, mask required, sanitize on the way in, limited access, quick shopping, and limited numbers inside the gate, etc.

As I was finishing up I heard someone shrieking epithets and turned to see an unmasked 30-ish woman being gently pursued by market personnel asking her to mask up. She was literally screaming (while staying out of his reach) at the top of her lungs about harassment, how he had no right to ask her any questions, how she had a right to be there, same ol' shit you've seen on IG. People were agog, and filming it of course.

WTF is wrong with people?

Working memory capacity predicts individual differences in social-distancing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2.../09/2008868117

Sample quote from abstract:

“ We found that participants’ social-distancing compliance at this initial stage could be predicted by individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity, partly due to increased awareness of benefits over costs of social distancing among higher WM capacity individuals.”

Couple that with this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EbxwGi8bTO8

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Originally Posted by KQ

Trump Doubles Down On Claim Coronavirus Will Disappear: ‘I’ll Be Right Eventually’

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Well, he will. It's actually the most truthful thing I've heard from the guy. The only thing more honest to say is that he will be dead eventually.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TBS

So KQ, following on your friend in Sisters reporting on mask compliance here, I came across this guy in Rays Market this AM.
Mask hanging from his ear. Tshirt has logo on back saying "Only You can prevent Socialism".

Attachment 335069

His wife/girlfriend wasn't wearing any face covering.

He saw me taking the photo and glared. So I said "Shit oh dear, put on your fucking mask".
She sez "Mind yer own business"
I said "It is my business when you douchebags are spewing your Pendejo Particles all over the store."

A couple of Fuck Yous were exchanged before a store clerk came over to me, winked and said "it's OK I'll handle this".

Saw them a few minutes later. She had a mask on, his was over his chin. I said to him, Y'know, your dick won't shrivel if you put your mask over your nose and mouth."
I got another fuck you.

This was the first incident of maskless asshattery I've seen in weeks. The occasional mouthbreather (mask not over nose), but no real in-your-face defiance.

I'm done putting up with these fuckheads.

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My hero.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Well, he will. It's actually the most truthful thing I've heard from the guy. The only thing more honest to say is that he will be dead eventually.

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Enough of this bullshit. It's a retarded comment and he's wrong. In our history, we've only successfully eradicated two pathogens depending on how you count. The probability that this one joins the list is very small.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Well, he will. It's actually the most truthful thing I've heard from the guy. The only thing more honest to say is that he will be dead eventually.

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Which first do ya think?

Wow, a Republican governor of a DEEP red state being the voice of reason!

https://buckrail.com/gordon-sick-and...IjMW3uHcp8p6Mo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by old goat

Which first do ya think?

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Dead. Painfully.

Projections through Nov 1st. The models used on this site have been the most accurate to date. No promises of course, but will likely be in the ballpark. Maybe grab a stiff drink first.

https://covid19-projections.com/#view-projections

And are people aware that when the CDC reports ~70K new infections on a single day that this doesn't represent the total number of infections nationwide? That 70K are positive tests and obviously doesn't capture all positives. That number is reflected below.

Attachment 335099

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bennymac

Working memory capacity predicts individual differences in social-distancing compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2.../09/2008868117

Sample quote from abstract:

“ We found that participants’ social-distancing compliance at this initial stage could be predicted by individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity, partly due to increased awareness of benefits over costs of social distancing among higher WM capacity individuals.”

Couple that with this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EbxwGi8bTO8

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I'm a vigilant vigilante about mask wearing and I can't remember shit.

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Originally Posted by rideit

Wow, a Republican governor of a DEEP red state being the voice of reason!

https://buckrail.com/gordon-sick-and...IjMW3uHcp8p6Mo

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This is a common belief among anti-maskers and covid deniers. Supports their wrong-minded beliefs, assuage their fears and helps them sleep better at night knowing these people were already dead with no value what-so-ever.

According to the Casper-Star Tribune, a school board trustee in Natrona County expressed similar sentiments at a board meeting last week. “We’ve had 21 deaths in Wyoming. Most of those were people with pre-existing conditions or in old folks homes,” said Kevin Christopherson said during the board’s Wednesday night meeting. “They were going to die. They just died sooner.”

Wanted to chime on schools reopening, as I work for a company that deals with school bus transportation. In my specific case I help consult with school districts to help plan for the future. The pandemic has been screwing over each and every one of them, as there is no clear idea on how they are going to open schools this fall. School leaders can barely figure out how to manage students under normal conditions, much less how to build/manage their bus routes under COVID-19 guidelines.

For reference, a standard school bus can accommodate 72 students during normal times, but the pandemic reduces that to as low as 15-20 students at a time. So it's basically going to mean skyrocketing costs just for getting kids to-and-from school. That will pull more and more money out of the classroom at a time when it's needed the most.

Most school boards are completely unable to grasp this concept, pushing forward with openings like a bunch of fucking automatons. So many of these are asking us for help planning that I'm solidly booked through the next 2 months, and having to turn them away. It sucks to see us having to do that, since so many of them are genuinely just trying to do their jobs. But so many of them have been spinning wheels all summer that they were kind of screwed either way.

The best approaches I've seen split time between the classroom and virtual spaces. A lot are opting for A/B schedules, where students spend 2 days in-class, and 2 days in the virtual classroom (with no school on Wednesday for cleaning/disinfecting). Even this though has serious drawbacks, as a significant portion of the teacher population can be considered "at-risk". It just doesn't matter how much preparation there is- teachers will get sick and there will be deaths as a result.

It's a shame that this is going to be the end result, but sadly it doesn't seem like there will be any other way to drill these lessons into people's brains.

I've been right probably more than anyone - Trump on Covid

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Originally Posted by S_jenks

Wanted to chime on schools reopening, as I work for a company that deals with school bus transportation. In my specific case I help consult with school districts to help plan for the future. The pandemic has been screwing over each and every one of them, as there is no clear idea on how they are going to open schools this fall. School leaders can barely figure out how to manage students under normal conditions, much less how to build/manage their bus routes under COVID-19 guidelines.

For reference, a standard school bus can accommodate 72 students during normal times, but the pandemic reduces that to as low as 15-20 students at a time. So it's basically going to mean skyrocketing costs just for getting kids to-and-from school. That will pull more and more money out of the classroom at a time when it's needed the most.

Most school boards are completely unable to grasp this concept, pushing forward with openings like a bunch of fucking automatons. So many of these are asking us for help planning that I'm solidly booked through the next 2 months, and having to turn them away. It sucks to see us having to do that, since so many of them are genuinely just trying to do their jobs. But so many of them have been spinning wheels all summer that they were kind of screwed either way.

The best approaches I've seen split time between the classroom and virtual spaces. A lot are opting for A/B schedules, where students spend 2 days in-class, and 2 days in the virtual classroom (with no school on Wednesday for cleaning/disinfecting). Even this though has serious drawbacks, as a significant portion of the teacher population can be considered "at-risk". It just doesn't matter how much preparation there is- teachers will get sick and there will be deaths as a result.

It's a shame that this is going to be the end result, but sadly it doesn't seem like there will be any other way to drill these lessons into people's brains.

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The problem I see with hybrid A/B weeks is that the teachers are still all exposed to each kid/family and therefore each kid/family is still exposed to one another through the teacher. Also, who know what the kids will be doing on that off day, exposing themselves to another group in daycare.

Good luck finding and keeping bus drivers. Around here a large percentage are older retired folks and from my casual observations don't look particularly heathy.

Can anyone source me 200K sqft of plexiglass to quick fab driver shields?

Somebody was asking how/if we know masks work. Here's a very recent UCSF video featuring a few doctors/researchers who present the latest.

Likely understandable by the educated public. (Though I've been watching the TWIV videos, and may not notice excess jargon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cio3rh6ta3w

Some summary items:
Masks work, protecting both others, and the wearer.
Viral dose matters. Smaller dose means milder infection. Mask reduces dose.
Discussions about how far particles spread. 6 feet is arbitrary, further is better.
I found the third presenter less interesting.
Face shields also promising. They don't discuss, but could be a solution for those who can't mask.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LongShortLong

Somebody was asking how/if we know masks work. Here's a very recent UCSF video featuring a few doctors/researchers who present the latest.

Likely understandable by the educated public. (Though I've been watching the TWIV videos, and may not notice excess jargon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cio3rh6ta3w

Some summary items:

Masks work, protecting both others, and the wearer.
Viral dose matters. Smaller dose means milder infection. Mask reduces dose.
Discussions about how far particles spread. 6 feet is arbitrary, further is better.
I found the third presenter less interesting.
Face shields also promising. They don't discuss, but could be a solution for those who can't mask.

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Along those same lines this article came out today (posting only an excerpt - for further detail click link)

Top health officials have changed their minds about face masks -- but for good reasons


But for the past several months, Fauci, Adams, the CDC and the World Health Organization have all agreed that wearing face masks is critical in stopping the spread of the coronavirus. That's because doctors and scientists now know much more about how easily the virus spreads:

-- It's easy to spread this virus by just talking or breathing.

-- This coronavirus is highly contagious. Without mitigation efforts like stay-at-home orders, each person with the coronavirus infects an average of two to three other people. That makes it twice as contagious as the flu.

-- It's easy to spread the coronavirus without any symptoms -- either from asymptomatic carriers or pre-symptomatic carriers.

-- This virus has a long incubation period -- up to 14 days -- giving a wide window of opportunity for people to infect others before they even know they're infected.

-- Carriers may be most contagious in the 48 hours before they get symptoms, making transmission even more blind.

In other words, it's not just people who are sneezing and coughing who can spread coronavirus. It's often people who look completely normal and don't have a fever. And that could include you.

"Cloth face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms," the CDC said.

It said everyone "should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public, for example to the grocery store or to pick up other necessities."

But the benefits go both ways. "Your cloth face covering may protect them. Their cloth face covering may protect you," the CDC said.

If 95% of Americans wore face masks in public, it could prevent 33,000 deaths by October 1, according to the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

I would just like to remind all of you that some of us here were calling for face masks before the CDC and Fauci. (of course they knew better and wanted to preserve masks for HCW's but the short term benefit of lying about it may wind up causing a lot more deaths due to lack of trust of the experts.)

I kinda figured the benefits of mask-wearing were so incredibly obvious, no one could dispute it.
But that was in March.
Oh, how far we have come as a nation!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vt-Freeheel

Good luck finding and keeping bus drivers. Around here a large percentage are older retired folks and from my casual observations don't look particularly heathy.

Can anyone source me 200K sqft of plexiglass to quick fab driver shields?

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There is definitely a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers. It's really difficult to retain drivers for more than a year, since most get higher-paying jobs driving trucks for private companies. District will do their best to accommodate, even paying for drivers to get licensed, but they typically can't compete against the private markets, especially when there is an insatiable hunger for qualified drivers with clean records. Way too many districts have teachers and support staff filling driver shortages. There have also been some bus accidents (involving fatalities, tragically) that were a direct result of under-qualified drivers being put behind the wheel, in order to fill the gaps.

It's a mess, no doubt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

The problem I see with hybrid A/B weeks is that the teachers are still all exposed to each kid/family and therefore each kid/family is still exposed to one another through the teacher. Also, who know what the kids will be doing on that off day, exposing themselves to another group in daycare.

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Agreed. IMO, a large number of these schools will try these programs out, but will then abandon them for virtual learning once the first infections start showing up.

I think there is an incentive to get kids in the physical classroom at least once to start the year before they are forced to go virtual again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by S_jenks

There is definitely a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers. It's really difficult to retain drivers for more than a year, since most get higher-paying jobs driving trucks for private companies. District will do their best to accommodate, even paying for drivers to get licensed, but they typically can't compete against the private markets, especially when there is an insatiable hunger for qualified drivers with clean records. Way too many districts have teachers and support staff filling driver shortages. There have also been some bus accidents (involving fatalities, tragically) that were a direct result of under-qualified drivers being put behind the wheel, in order to fill the gaps.

It's a mess, no doubt.

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And most, if not all, have to be drug free, regularly tested.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vt-Freeheel

Good luck finding and keeping bus drivers. Around here a large percentage are older retired folks and from my casual observations don't look particularly heathy.

Can anyone source me 200K sqft of plexiglass to quick fab driver shields?

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Did some mods to buses in our area with some plexiglass. Also, everybody enter through the rear door with a mask on, and stay behind a barrier about 6 feet behind driver.
I am still not going to ride the bus anytime soon in less a last resort,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rideit

I kinda figured the benefits of mask-wearing were so incredibly obvious, no one could dispute it.
But that was in March.
Oh, how far we have come as a nation!

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Says it all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LongShortLong

Somebody was asking how/if we know masks work. Here's a very recent UCSF video featuring a few doctors/researchers who present the latest.

Likely understandable by the educated public. (Though I've been watching the TWIV videos, and may not notice excess jargon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cio3rh6ta3w

Some summary items:
Masks work, protecting both others, and the wearer.
Viral dose matters. Smaller dose means milder infection. Mask reduces dose.
Discussions about how far particles spread. 6 feet is arbitrary, further is better.
I found the third presenter less interesting.
Face shields also promising. They don't discuss, but could be a solution for those who can't mask.

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I kept expecting to turn that off but finding interesting stuff from each of them. Pretty good news, too.

Particularly (~0:30-0:45) the evidence that dose is (often?) tied to severity, so the mask you wear also protects you. It may not be perfect, but a 2/3rds reduction in your exposure can be really important. Just another thing that was suggested here months ago, and now it looks like there's more proof--possibly even including (in part) the lower death rates.

It seems like that's a critical change in messaging: wear a mask to protect yourself (and others too).

Interesting that the only one who won't fly yet is the guy that worked on the airplane studies.