Coronavirus Thread v.2

[Adami]

I think he was auditioning for Deadwood.

[lonestar]

Swearing is an art form, and that dude doesn't have it.

[Stadler]

Lonestar is right.  Swearing is an artform.

Best swearers:

Sam Elliott
James Gandolfini
Billy Bob Thornton

[XJDenton]

Well, just got a PCR result back, and apparently I had it last week.

[KevShmev]

Lonestar is right.  Swearing is an artform.

Best swearers:

Sam Elliott
James Gandolfini
Billy Bob Thornton

I would throw Joe Pesci and Samuel L. Jackson on that list as well. 

[lonestar]

Lonestar is right.  Swearing is an artform.

Best swearers:

Sam Elliott
James Gandolfini
Billy Bob Thornton

I would throw Joe Pesci and Samuel L. Jackson on that list as well.

And the sum population of Ireland and Scotland

[TAC]

Not sure I've ever heard James Gandolfini or Billy Bob Thornton ever utter a single line that I can remember.

[King Postwhore]

Not sure I've ever heard James Gandolfini or Billy Bob Thornton ever utter a single line that I can remember.

Hard to do that when you've been buried in a time capsule for decades.

[lonestar]

 

[Melphina]

 

[Dave_Manchester]

Not sure I've ever heard James Gandolfini or Billy Bob Thornton ever utter a single line that I can remember.

Behold, the greatest "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" in television history:

https://youtu.be/hnLnvU8DjBY?t=98

[TAC]

That's a quality STFU.

[MirrorMask]

Got my third Moderna dose yesterday, it was the booster so it was half a dose.

The arm moderately hurts, and my head is heavy and I feel weak and groggy, but no fever, last time I was really knocked out.

Uh well, with a full fever last time around I woke up the next day as if nothing happened, hopefully tomorrow it's gonna be the same and I will be ok.

[Stadler]

Lonestar is right.  Swearing is an artform.

Best swearers:

Sam Elliott
James Gandolfini
Billy Bob Thornton

I would throw Joe Pesci and Samuel L. Jackson on that list as well.

And the sum population of Ireland and Scotland

Ringo Starr would be on my list as well.  "Fook".      

I didn't put Pesci and Jackson on my list only because they're sort of the popular choices.  They are almost memes at this point.  Not to say they aren't great, but I went with more obscure choices on purpose.

[cramx3]

I'm sure some of this is due to a holiday weekend, but covid cases are dropping just as sharply as they inclined locally here. The virus literally burned through everyone so quickly. Going to Florida on Friday with all my siblings, everyone's recovered from covid in the crew heading down.  So crazy how quickly this wave impacted basically everyone I know and seems to be coming to an end, for now.

[ReaPsTA]

I'm sure some of this is due to a holiday weekend, but covid cases are dropping just as sharply as they inclined locally here. The virus literally burned through everyone so quickly. Going to Florida on Friday with all my siblings, everyone's recovered from covid in the crew heading down.  So crazy how quickly this wave impacted basically everyone I know and seems to be coming to an end, for now.

Right, and, to go back to a point that was brought up earlier in this thread - The experts got it wrong again by not realizing that something that spread so rapidly would burn through just as quickly. Why go back and research everything the experts got wrong when if you just wait even a few days they'll screw up again.

I'm sure there are people who research COVID, do not agree with me, but try to do work that is rigorous and ethical. At least in the US, they are not the ones with publicity and decision making power.

[XJDenton]

Been over a week since I had first symptoms, and still have a lingering (if weak) cough, and still feel more lethargic than normal. Bit of a bugger, this.

[Skeever]

Been over a week since I had first symptoms, and still have a lingering (if weak) cough, and still feel more lethargic than normal. Bit of a bugger, this.

My son is still not quite right. He's mostly good, but I'd say about 85%. He's been tiring more easily than usual, and has remained congested despite vast improvement of the worst symptoms. This is going on day 18 or so now.

[cramx3]

Been over a week since I had first symptoms, and still have a lingering (if weak) cough, and still feel more lethargic than normal. Bit of a bugger, this.

Yeah, the lingering cough and fatigue is something I'm finally mostly over.  That just lingers for awhile with basically every I know who got covid recently.

[millahh]

I'm sure some of this is due to a holiday weekend, but covid cases are dropping just as sharply as they inclined locally here. The virus literally burned through everyone so quickly. Going to Florida on Friday with all my siblings, everyone's recovered from covid in the crew heading down.  So crazy how quickly this wave impacted basically everyone I know and seems to be coming to an end, for now.

I'd say not the get too carried away...Omicron seems to be past peak in NY, NJ & FL (but still on the upswing everywhere else_...BUT even in those three places, the rates are still like 3-4x what they were at the peak of any previous wave.  The idea that this has somehow blown over is very, very wrong.

Right, and, to go back to a point that was brought up earlier in this thread - The experts got it wrong again by not realizing that something that spread so rapidly would burn through just as quickly. Why go back and research everything the experts got wrong when if you just wait even a few days they'll screw up again.

[ReaPsTA]

I'm sure some of this is due to a holiday weekend, but covid cases are dropping just as sharply as they inclined locally here. The virus literally burned through everyone so quickly. Going to Florida on Friday with all my siblings, everyone's recovered from covid in the crew heading down.  So crazy how quickly this wave impacted basically everyone I know and seems to be coming to an end, for now.

I'd say not the get too carried away...Omicron seems to be past peak in NY, NJ & FL (but still on the upswing everywhere else_...BUT even in those three places, the rates are still like 3-4x what they were at the peak of any previous wave.  The idea that this has somehow blown over is very, very wrong.

Right, and, to go back to a point that was brought up earlier in this thread - The experts got it wrong again by not realizing that something that spread so rapidly would burn through just as quickly. Why go back and research everything the experts got wrong when if you just wait even a few days they'll screw up again.

- Seven day moving average of new cases in the US is down. I guess *maybe* it's possible that those three states are so influential on the numbers that they push the overall rate down? But just scanning through a few states I see the same trend - https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/

- The case count is 3-4x, but the hospitalization rate is not. The amount of deaths is only about half what was seen during the winter wave last year. I don't know why case count is still used as the metric for measuring severity. It does not accurately capture how much damage is actually being done. The death count is far more useful and no where near the worst we've seen

- Just this morning I saw that the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is still recommending masking for children after their state's mandate was removed. Children are the last at-risk group for COVID. Schools are not some extra-dangerous vector for transmission. I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Again, the "experts" on COVID engaging in incompetence, fear mongering, and dishonesty is a daily occurrence. The fact we ever elevated these people to a position of authority, and have allowed them to stay there, is a failure of our societey.

[Grappler]

I'm still amazed that covid basically bounced off of my family.  Daughter was over her fever in 12-18 hours, sniffles were gone after 2 days.  My wife and just had symptoms that felt like booster shot side effects, and after 2-3 days, we were fine.  My unvaccinated son never got sick - he was either asymptomatic or we weren't contagious enough to infect him.

I have a physical scheduled for Friday and I'll ask the doctor if the antibody blood test would pick up whether I had covid, even with such minor symptoms.  My wife and I were a little sad that we never had enough symptoms to test positive on a home rapid test. 

The experience really made me believe in the efficacy of the vaccines and boosters.  My unvaccinated brother in law tested positive and was sick enough to miss 5 days of work.  If he had the vaccine and booster, his symptoms could have been so minor that he'd never test positive and never would have had to miss work. 

[XJDenton]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

[ReaPsTA]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

[Chino]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

Idk. My best buddy's daughter just turned 4 a month ago. Nearly half of her existence has been during a pandemic. I know it's entirely anecdotal, but she's 100% fine. She's hilarious and picks up on social queues just fine. She's more polite and has better communication skills than many of the adults I regularly encounter.   

[XJDenton]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

You went, within the span of two sentences, from being a non-expert who can only imagine how it would affect kids (i.e. someone who is ignorant of the science) to being confident that the bunch of doctors who specialise in childrens' care have not based their policy on this science you are ignorant of.

Hence: Hmmm.

[ReaPsTA]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

Idk. My best buddy's daughter just turned 4 a month ago. Nearly half of her existence has been during a pandemic. I know it's entirely anecdotal, but she's 100% fine. She's hilarious and picks up on social queues just fine. She's more polite and has better communication skills than many of the adults I regularly encounter.

I have friends who put their kid in a mask sometimes, but they also make sure to engage with them a lot and get them playtime outside with other kids. Political disagreements aside, they are good people and engaged with raising their kids.

Raising normal children with masking is not impossible but raises the difficulty bar, and in my opinion for no reason.

[ReaPsTA]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

You went, within the span of two sentences, from being a non-expert who can only imagine how it would affect kids (i.e. someone who is ignorant of the science) to being confident that the bunch of doctors who specialise in childrens' care have not based their policy on this science you are ignorant of.

Hence: Hmmm.

It's not like this is some topic where everyone with credentials agrees. Multiple European countries have recommended against masking children - https://ajlamesa.medium.com/children-in-much-of-europe-will-be-going-maskless-at-school-this-fall-b244e4f035ad

If there were a topic where everyone educated about the issue believed masking children was important, perhaps I'd think about it differently. But when you have disagreement among educated people on the topic and basic practical life experience says it's a bad idea, no, I care not about my lack of credentials or having spent years researching the topic.

If you're working on a house, you don't need a degree in physics or structural engineering to know that you want to check where the load bearing studs are to make sure you don't accidently weaken them. As I do not raise kids myself, I haven't criticized anyone I know in real life for how they raise their kids and will not do the same here. My main point in this thread has been that what you want to do about COVID is a personal decision, and that includes the ability to make decisions I don't agree with.

But, as a public policy recommendation, I see nothing to make me believe recommending masking kids is a good idea and a couple major obvious problems.

This whole discussion about who's qualified to talk about what is a pissing contest that can only end badly. My memory of the olden days is faded but I know there are multiple people in this thread who can say they're qualified to talk about certain things.

Rather than waste time with this, is there something you have to say why masking kids is good? I did actually read your meta-analysis on masking, even if I ultimately found things in it that made me question its credibility. I would certainly read something else if you posted it here.

[Grappler]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

Idk. My best buddy's daughter just turned 4 a month ago. Nearly half of her existence has been during a pandemic. I know it's entirely anecdotal, but she's 100% fine. She's hilarious and picks up on social queues just fine. She's more polite and has better communication skills than many of the adults I regularly encounter.

I have friends who put their kid in a mask sometimes, but they also make sure to engage with them a lot and get them playtime outside with other kids. Political disagreements aside, they are good people and engaged with raising their kids.

Raising normal children with masking is not impossible but raises the difficulty bar, and in my opinion for no reason.

This is the dumbest conversation I've ever read on this forum.

I have kids, and while my heart breaks because they have to wear masks at school, the mask has not changed who they are, affected how they interact with others, nor has it impeded their learning.  When my son was 2, sure, he'd rip the mask off, along with any sort of a hat or something else placed on his head.  But he's four now and he understands that he needs to wear them in public.  He's learned a ton at preschool while wearing a mask.  My daughter is 6 - she's learned to read, do math, spell and has made friends all while wearing a mask.

There is more to learning and developing than seeing someone's nose and mouth - eyes and voice inflection convey just as much information as seeing someone speak, smile or frown.  This is just a complaint of adults who think that children (or anyone for that matter) shouldn't have to wear masks.  Blah blah blah, it's the same crap i've heard for two years now. 

Kids adapt to situations very well, moreso than adults who are set in their ways and resistant to change or being considerate to others.

[XJDenton]

I am not a child psychologist, but I can't imagine children reliably wearing their masks correctly or being able to learn normal social interaction while wearing them. So what is the point of this recommendation other than fear-mongering? It's certainly not based in science.

Hmmm.

What of it? Have you ever been around children ever? They can't not fidget with anything they hold/wear. They learn how to interact with people, including facial cues, from the adults around them. Hard to do that with a mask on.

Credentialism is a worse disease than COVID. A whole industry of people with billions of dollars of schooling and degrees understood COVID worse than people with anime avatars on Twitter who thought "wait, doesn't this sound like bullshit?"

You went, within the span of two sentences, from being a non-expert who can only imagine how it would affect kids (i.e. someone who is ignorant of the science) to being confident that the bunch of doctors who specialise in childrens' care have not based their policy on this science you are ignorant of.

Hence: Hmmm.

It's not like this is some topic where everyone with credentials agrees. Multiple European countries have recommended against masking children - https://ajlamesa.medium.com/children-in-much-of-europe-will-be-going-maskless-at-school-this-fall-b244e4f035ad

If there were a topic where everyone educated about the issue believed masking children was important, perhaps I'd think about it differently. But when you have disagreement among educated people on the topic and basic practical life experience says it's a bad idea, no, I care not about my lack of credentials or having spent years researching the topic.

If you're working on a house, you don't need a degree in physics or structural engineering to know that you want to check where the load bearing studs are to make sure you don't accidently weaken them. As I do not raise kids myself, I haven't criticized anyone I know in real life for how they raise their kids and will not do the same here. My main point in this thread has been that what you want to do about COVID is a personal decision, and that includes the ability to make decisions I don't agree with.

But, as a public policy recommendation, I see nothing to make me believe recommending masking kids is a good idea and a couple major obvious problems.

This whole discussion about who's qualified to talk about what is a pissing contest that can only end badly. My memory of the olden days is faded but I know there are multiple people in this thread who can say they're qualified to talk about certain things.

Rather than waste time with this, is there something you have to say why masking kids is good? I did actually read your meta-analysis on masking, even if I ultimately found things in it that made me question its credibility. I would certainly read something else if you posted it here.

I have no opinion on the topic. I've not read enough on the subject as concerns children specifically.

[ReaPsTA]

This is the dumbest conversation I've ever read on this forum.

Now that's just rude, and my bar for rudeness is pretty high.

[ReaPsTA]

I have no opinion on the topic. I've not read enough on the subject as concerns children specifically.

This is the internet debating version of ruined orgasm porn

[XJDenton]

Don't kink-shame.

[Grappler]

This is the dumbest conversation I've ever read on this forum.

Now that's just rude, and my bar for rudeness is pretty high.

What's rude is people who are non-parents making a one-size fits all assumption about how children learn while wearing masks. 

[ReaPsTA]

This is the dumbest conversation I've ever read on this forum.

Now that's just rude, and my bar for rudeness is pretty high.

What's rude is people who are non-parents making a one-size fits all assumption about how children learn while wearing masks.

You can flip that though and say the people recommending masks for all children are doing the same. It's why I think the public health institutions should stay out of it and let parents make their own choices.