Sun. Oct. 17, 2021 – Ah, Sunday. A day of rest. Not for me!

By on October 17th, 2021 in Random Stuff, WuFlu

Cooler, sunny, and dry. Yesterday was the same, and it got into the mid 80s by late afternoon. Really pleasant.

So pleasant in fact that I did some yardwork. Cut the grass, used the string trimmer, blew the debris off, and took down the bird net over the blueberry bushes.

The tomato plant bramble mounds are starting to produce tomatoes again. Got a few that are racquetball sized already. The collards are finally starting to grow too. I’ve got about 4 good sized grapefruits on the potted tree as well. Not really enough to feed the kids… which is why I stack cans.

Plan for today —– not saying. Don’t want to tempt the universe.

It’ll probably involve being outdoors in the little bit of nice weather we get here in Satan’s sweaty butt cheeks…

Stack something. Learn something. DO something.

nick

(thinking about some science-y content for Monday… it’s been a while.)

75 Comments and discussion on "Sun. Oct. 17, 2021 – Ah, Sunday. A day of rest. Not for me!"

  1. Lynn says:

    My wife said it was an allegory of what the Amerinds should have done when the white men arrived.

    Little one was very p!ssed that the tree was destroyed and that we destroy trees in the real world.

    n

    –added- and somehow I doubt that the next mining team to go to Pandora will come so lightly armed.

    The American Indians were 50% devastated by the flu and smallpox within five ??? years after the European settlers landed.  And the blackpowder single shot guns made short work of them too unless they became friends with the settlers. Any resistance was dealt with harshly.

  2. Lynn says:

    52 F at 7 am at my house this morning.  No wind at all.

  3. MrAtoz says:

    So far it's all evil corporations, tired tropes about stupid jarheads and Sigourny smoking cigarrettes, because she's a ball buster….

    Don't forget Michelle Rodriguez's umpteenth "tough latina" portrayal. I can't wait for A2 and A3 and how they revive the tough latina. And apparently everybody else who got killed. I won't go to the theater to see Cameron's latest "humans are killing the planet and this is how I'll save it" self promotion.

  4. MrAtoz says:

    This is going to make things fun:

    Thanksgiving travel chaos looms as TSA faces vaccine mandate deadline that could force it to fire anyone unvaccinated – currently 40% of its workers – days before holiday

    WWpD, What Will plugs Do? I guessing every thug off the street is getting a badge in the near future. plugs should hire Snoop Dog to run the whole shebang.

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  5. Nick Flandrey says:

    And my wife decided we need to travel by air to the Boston area for T giving.   She's worried about her dad's health, and seeing him before some sort of surgery, but it isn't going to be fun getting there.

    n

  6. Nick Flandrey says:

    Well I'm up.  Pretty early for a Sunday.

    Was 55F when I went to bed, is 50F and 90%RH now.  Sun is up though and it sure looks nice on the monitor.

    n

  7. MrAtoz says:

    Palate cleanser for all you Neanderthals:

    Superman Changes Motto to ‘Truth, Justice and a Better Tomorrow,’ Says DC Chief

    Welcome to the FUSA. All Hail plugs the First (and Last, I hope). Shiny!

  8. Greg Norton says:

    WWpD, What Will plugs Do? I guessing every thug off the street is getting a badge in the near future. plugs should hire Snoop Dog to run the whole shebang.

    Snoop Dog would be a step up from current management. He’s run a private business and understands customer satisfaction.

  9. Nick Flandrey says:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10098983/Three-Texas-deputy-constables-shot-ambush-attack-Saturday-morning-killed-one.html

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10098727/Police-1-deputy-killed-2-wounded-ambush-Houston-bar.html

    I drive within half a block of the bar when I go to my secondary location, and usually drive past there when going to my rent house or barber.   This is NOT  a nice area.  Full of dealers and pimps, lots of homeless, and the Walmart with the highest rate of theft in the US is right down the street.   So of course, the city built bus stops and a train station and a community college there to allow easy movement and to bring in fresh victims.

    One of the limits to how much work I can do at my secondary location is wanting to be clear of it and thru the surrounding areas before dark.   You couldn't pay me to be there at closing time.

    n

  10. lpdbw says:

    I had to search a bit to find a news article that wasn't paywalled.

    The "nightclub" is the sort that requires at least 3 off-duty cops as bouncers.

    Sounds like a high-class place to me…

    I imagine the music there wouldn't be to my taste.

    Speaking of which, Friday night I went to Miller Outdoor Theater and saw Tuba Skinny from seats in row D.   Originally planned to sit in the grass but we got rained on, and covered seats were available.  Good show.

    To be fair, they had way more than 3 people doing security there, too.

  11. Nick Flandrey says:

    @ lpdbw , were my links paywalled?  Granted you need an ad blocker turned to 11 for DailyMail, but that's true for far too many sites these days.

    n

  12. Nick Flandrey says:

    Tuba Skinny — ah, they've been in my youtube suggestions before.

    Check out Pokey LaFarge if you haven't already.  H/T James Wesley, Rawles.

    n

  13. Greg Norton says:

    And my wife decided we need to travel by air to the Boston area for T giving.   She's worried about her dad's health, and seeing him before some sort of surgery, but it isn't going to be fun getting there.

    I've already seen a story about a turkey "shortage", but the featured company profiled in the piece was a boutique place similar to what Balasm Hill is to fake Christmas trees.

  14. Nick Flandrey says:

    Former President Bill Clinton is expected to be released from hospital today: Wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea pay him a visit as spokesman reveals he is in 'great spirits' and has been watching college football

    –warms my heart to think that the headline writer felt the need to identify Killary and the Chisler by relationship, and not expect the reader to just know who they were…

    n

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  15. drwilliams says:

    @Lynn

    Weber's influence is already established. Honor Harrington. He was at the forefront of the new era of collaborative science fiction, first with John Ringo, but most notably the Honorverse.

    "Actually, Niven and Pournelle collaborated on "Lucifer's Hammer" and "Footfall" in the 1970s, over a decade before David Weber and Steve White's 1992 Starfire collaborations. "

    And Pohl and Kornbluth preceded Niven and Pournelle, as did Kuttner and Moore, although the latter was often not credited.

    Before Weber, duos writing science fiction were rare–only a handfull. The "new era" has multiple collaborations with multiple authors. The Honorverse has stories by several dozen writers, as does Flint's 1632 universe. Ringo, Flint, and other Baen writers have been in multiple collaborations with multiple authors, all doubtless using modern internet-based tech that didn't exist a few years ago.

    Heinlein was known for painstaking research. Can you imagine his writing legacy being 50-100% more if he had the internet, modern communication, and word processing? Parse Grumbles from the Grave for references to typing manuscripts, sending them via mail, etc. I was not kidding when I mentioned some time ago that I would use a time machine to gift him with an Apple Macintosh IIci with MS Office and Word 5.1. The time saved in cutting 50,000 words from SiaSL and then retyping would have been enough for another novel.

    (h/t to Joe Haldeman. He already did the best Heinlein time travel story)

  16. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    Yeah, cool to look at, marvelous tech, but tired, oh so tired and predictable.

    All that art in service to such a pile of suck.

    Nearly half a billion dollars to produce and advertise such a pile of suck.

    That will be $2 billion in 2023 dollars.

  17. drwilliams says:

    @Nick

    CBS news was careful to report that Billary's urinary infection was not KungFlu related, but they were silent on clap.

  18. drwilliams says:

    CBS football from London this a.m. replaced Sunday Morning.

    I'd guess 90% of the attendees are ex-pat Americans. I remember 40+ years ago when they heavily edited U.S. football games for length (90 min?) and the UK tv audience was not impressed.

  19. Greg Norton says:

    –warms my heart to think that the headline writer felt the need to identify Killary and the Chisler by relationship, and not expect the reader to just know who they were…

    It has been a very long time since Bill Clinton was relevant.

    Here's hoping Bubba has a speedy recovery and a long life living in shame. Even Richard Nixon did not lose his law license.

  20. Greg Norton says:

    I'd guess 90% of the attendees are ex-pat Americans. I remember 40+ years ago when they heavily edited U.S. football games for length (90 min?) and the UK tv audience was not impressed.

    The Tampa Bay Yucs ownership also currently owns ManU. They're part of the push to make the NFL relevant in the European market.

  21. Geoff Powell says:

    @greg:

    Even Richard Nixon did not lose his law license.

    Is that the reason why the US legal system appears (from this side of the pond) to be such a b*tched-up mess? It's certainly a full-employment system for those of a legal mind.

    Mark you, I'm not holding the UK system up as something to be lauded. On the contrary, I believe that the reason the UK legal system is so fscked-up is because of the preponderance of PPE graduates among our lawmakers – that's Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

    I don't trust any politician (at whatever level, whether local or national) as far as I can throw a brick chimney – by its smoke.

    "Any person who wishes to have power over others should be prevented from doing so." Attrib. R.A. Heinlein (although I've not been able to find the quote). Also attrib. (in a slightly different form) Douglas Adams.

    G.

  22. drwilliams says:

    Jax and Miami playing in London this a.m. preempted CBS Sunday Morning. From the prevalence of team jerseys in the stands (intermingled) it would appear that 90% were U.S. ex-pats, although they did mention that Jax has played in London more often than other teams, and has been "adopted".

    In addition to being winless, Jax was 0-5 in field goals this year going into the game. First year kicker Matthew Wright hit one from 54 yards–his longest in college or pro–to gain the tie at 20-20. With a few seconds left Jax hit a Hail Mary pass to get them into position for a game-ending 53-yard fg, and Wright delivered again. His two longest career field goals back-to-back in a game in London, snapping the NFL's second-longest losing streak.  If Matt is single I hope his teammates are chipping in for his date tonight. If not, I hope they chip in for a night out back home.

  23. Geoff Powell says:

    @drwilliams:

    I'd guess 90% of the attendees are ex-pat Americans.

    That percentage may be a bit lower than you think, these days. Even Auntie Beeb does a Saturday night NFL show. Late at night, near midnight UK time.

    @greg:

    The Tampa Bay Yucs ownership also currently owns ManU.

     

    That would be the Glaser family. They did a heavily-leveraged buyout, and loaded ManU with all the debt. Ticket prices rocketed, to service the debt, and the UK fans were incensed. I don't think attendances dropped much, though.

    But what do I know? I don't follow grid-iron, or soccer. I just remember the outrage.

    G.

  24. Greg Norton says:

    Is that the reason why the US legal system appears (from this side of the pond) to be such a b*tched-up mess? It's certainly a full-employment system for those of a legal mind.

    Full employment but at a very low rate of compensation for a junior associate, barely above the paralegal staff.

    Many of the degreed lawyers in the US study something fluff for undergrad. "PPE". It is called "Arts & Letters" here. Law school is a Doctorate program.

    Most of the time, the legal system works, but results are stacked in favor of those with money.

    I'm not kidding when I suggest watching "My Cousin Vinny" if you want to see how a US courtroom works and what kind of people study law. Reportedly, Justice Antonin Scalia was a huge fan, and the film was required viewing for my Digital Forensics class.

    A lawyer wrote and directed "My Cousin Vinny".

    And, yes, it is Herman Munster as the judge. He finally broke typecasting with that movie, but his new success was sadly short lived.

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  25. drwilliams says:

    @Geoff Powell

    "I don't trust any politician (at whatever level, whether local or national) as far as I can throw a brick chimney – by its smoke."

    I don't recall hearing that one before–I like it.

    My old standby was "as far as I can through a cheesecake underwater" courtesy of Troop Leader Jeff Crocker in one of Bertrand R. Brinley's "Mad Scientists Club" stories in Boy's Life in the early 1960's.

    Highly recommended:

    http://www.madscientistsclub.com/MSC/Books.html

  26. ~jim says:

    I got bitten by the Nanny state today and boy am I pissed. Spent the night at a friend's and tried to cook on his stove. WTF is with the temperature limiting sensors??? 

    Grrrr… Argh….. 

    ( although they might be a good idea for Steve's mother-in-law!) 

    PS — I get around the paywall on The Economist by disabling JavaScript for that site. Might work on others, I don’t know.

  27. drwilliams says:

    @~Jim

    "I got bitten by the Nanny state today and boy am I pissed. Spent the night at a friend's and tried to cook on his stove. WTF is with the temperature limiting sensors??? "

    WTAF?

  28. drwilliams says:

    I seek assistance from the collective regarding an important philosophical question.

    Not so many years ago, Cheez-It's came in one size and one flavor. Now they come in at least two sizes "Single Serving" (the default regular size) and "Personal (mislabeled "Family") and have expanded to 8-10 flavors, several combination flavors, and some ultra-light crispy versions that are simply an excuse to lower the weight, under-fill the box, and charge more.

    (My personal faves are parmesan, white cheddar, and Extra Toasty, fwiw)

    All of these have the same packaging defect: Spill a few down the sides of the box, and they hide there until the very end, when you are dismayed to fish around and get nothing, only to spy a few in the depths below the bag.

    You know that they are 99% sure to be stale, as they probably dropped there when you first opened the bag.

    So, here's the question for the ages:

    To eat, or not to eat?

    (Those who are a.r. and say "Put them in the air fryer for x seconds" will not have their votes counted either way.)

  29. Greg Norton says:

    California? Irvine? Bubba Clinton's hospitalization story gets more curious by the hour.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/nation-world/2021/10/17/bill-clinton-released-from-california-hospital/

  30. Greg Norton says:

    So, here's the question for the ages:

    To eat, or not to eat?

    Yes, at the Cheez-It's Bowl in Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

    (I’m not kidding)

    Cheez-It's is possibly the most lethal foodstuff Kellogg's makes. Read the label.

  31. Nick Flandrey says:

    Why would anyone eat Chez Itz?   D2 loves them, and goldfish, but jebus on a cracker they are nasty.

    "Water" crackers too.  Is there a dryer cracker than a "water" cracker? or is it an acknowledgement that they need to be consumed with a pitcher of water?

    they were silent on clap.   — my FIRST thought was "syphilis"

    Huh, keyboard shortcuts for formatting work in this editor, well, some of them.  ctrl-b, -i, at least.

    n

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  32. Nick Flandrey says:

    Beijing blasts nuke right around globe: China fires hypersonic missile to circle planet in low orbit in terrifying display of its advanced weapons… catching US intelligence chiefs off-guard

        Report from Financial Times said test showed China had made 'astounding progress' on hypersonic weapons
        Hypersonic missile launched in August, circling the globe at low orbit and missed target by two dozen miles
        US intelligence was caught off guard as US is one of eight nations developing their own hypersonic missiles

    I don't know what's worse, that they did it or that we supposedly didn't know how.

    Get your second J&J dose ASAP say health experts after FDA advisory committee recommended approval of booster: Protection fell from 88% to just 3% in six months, study finds

        Experts have suggested that adults get their Johnson & Johnson booster shots as soon as possible
        The FDA advisory committee unanimously voted on Friday to recommend COVID booster shots of J&J's vaccine to all adults after two months
        Research has shown the immunity provided by the vaccine diminishes over time
        A recent study of 620,000 military veterans found that J&J's vaccine's protection fell from 88% in March to just 3% in August
        On Thursday, the FDA advisory committee recommended that the Moderna vaccine be approved for a booster shot for those 65 and older
        The Pfizer COVID vaccine was approved for a booster shot in September for those 65 and older and adults at risk

    I think I'll pass this time around.

    Biden has given only 10 one-on-one press interviews in the first year since taking office – compared to 113 for Obama and 50 for Trump – drawing attention to how the president is handled by White House

        President Joe Biden has only done 10 one-on-one interviews since taking office
        Top Democratic strategist say the White House has coordinated this to reign in Biden, who famously goes off script when talking with reporters
        Some see it as the best strategy to help the president's image as he deals with low approval ratings and a series of national crisis
        Despite the moves to keep him in check, Biden appears to enjoy taking questions from reports in less formal venues, one White House historian notes

    Trump was supposed to be the endless self promoter, but the Lightbringer had more than twice as many 'hey look at me' interviews.   And, DM is pretty mainstream these days, and even they see that SloJoe is being 'handled' even if they assign it to "the White House" and don't ask "who is really running things?"

    Hollywood strike averted: Union for behind-the-scenes workers reaches deal with producers over hours and pay days before crippling shut down

        A mass-walkout of behind-the-scenes workers in TV and film has been averted after producers came to a tentative agreement improving working conditions
         Grips, hairstylists and designers wanted better, more equal pay and time off, and have  complained of 'unsafe' working hours and 'unlivable' wages
        Among issued addressed in the contract are mandatory 54-hour weekends off, meal breaks, and improved wages and conditions for streaming service workers

    In general, I'm not very pro-union believing that they are mostly organized crime and that there are few industries where they actually protect the worker.  HOWEVER.  "The IA" or IATSE is the union that governed most of the work I did in Hollywood and in the entertainment industry in general.  We all benefited from their contracts, because even when we weren't covered by them, our contracts were very derivative of them.   IE, some of the numbers changed but the ideas didn't.   My wife was card carrying until a few years ago when she finally cashed out her 'health and welfare' balance and stopped paying dues.  They funnel  an enormous sum to democrat candidates, skim a ton more, but the contracts do still establish a baseline in a VERY abusive industry.  It'll be interesting to see the details.   (I was once asked to be a charter member of a new local, and declined.  My life trajectory would have been VERY different if I'd accepted.  I'm not entirely sure I chose well.)

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10098719/Hillary-Clinton-leaves-hospital-seeing-Bill-fourth-night-suffering-sepsis.html

    –syphilis.   Or UTI from sitting in a wet diaper.  Either is plausible.

    n

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  33. Nick Flandrey says:

    More.

     Fauci admits J&J shot should have been a double dose from the start after study found that protection fell to just THREE PER CENT in six months
    Fauci says J&J shot should have been a double dose from the start

    Dr. Anthony Fauci (pictured) has recommended that Americans who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (inset) get a booster shot as soon as possible. His comments came just days after a FDA advisory committee unanimously voted to recommend booster shots for adult J&J recipients. Fauci also confirmed reports that those who got the J&J jab could be better off by getting a booster shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. A recently released study found that the J&J shot's protection fell from 88% in March to just 3% in August. In comparison, Moderna's vaccine effectiveness fell from 92% to 64% and Pfizer's vaccine protection dropped from 91% to 50%. However, Fauci notes that the advisory committee will issue a recommendation on what shot those who received J&J should get after analyzing all data.

    THIS time we're not lying or mistaken…. oh and get the one with the other tech….

    –also, first time I've seen these low numbers.  They were not that low in the previous reporting iirc.

    n

    added– I can’t afford to lose another couple of days to side effects, especially since there is zero data on severity or kind for the JJj “booster”. I’ll take my chances on masks and hygiene like I did for the first year to keep me from losing time by actually contracting wuflu…

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  34. lynn says:

    WWpD, What Will plugs Do? I guessing every thug off the street is getting a badge in the near future. plugs should hire Snoop Dog to run the whole shebang.

    Snoop Dog would be a step up from current management. He’s run a private business and understands customer satisfaction.

    Customer Satisfaction is hard !

  35. Nick Flandrey says:

    Christopher Steele finally admits his infamous dossier is 'not 100% accurate' but claims Michael Cohen DID meet Kremlin officials and Trump golden showers tape 'probably' exists, in ex-spy's first TV interview with George Stephanopoulos

    any jail time in the works?  No?  Wanna bet he somehow makes money off of this?

    n

  36. drwilliams says:

    Some see it as the best strategy to help the continue tanking the president's image as he deals with low approval ratings and a series of national crisis

    FIFT

  37. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ya know, WTAF?

    Influencer makes history as Playboy's first-ever gay male cover star, posing in a version of iconic bunny costume – but Twitter is baffled by guy-focused magazine's 'nonsense' choice to feature a man on its front

        Filipino influencer Bretman Rock, 23, who lives in Hawaii, covers the digital issue dressed in a sexy Playboy bunny costume
        While his followers are thrilled, many Playboy readers have complained on Twitter that it's 'how to kill a brand in 9 seconds'
        Many are confused as to whether Playboy knows who its audience is
        Musician Bad Bunny covered the magazine's first digital issue last summer, while Hugh Hefner had a solo cover in 2017

    "dancing around in its skin, demanding respect"   I think playboy as an idea and an industry qualifies as an "institution".  And in this case, so fully taken over that this can happen.

    n

  38. drwilliams says:

    Christopher Steele needs to be fixed up with a taser, a random interval timer, and a Powerwall.

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  39. Greg Norton says:

    THIS time we're not lying or mistaken…. oh and get the one with the other tech….

    –also, first time I've seen these low numbers.  They were not that low in the previous reporting iirc.

    My doctor's wife and adult daughter took J&J. He did Moderna.

    While he hasn't voiced the opinion to me directly, from what I understand, he's not convinced Pfizer even works.

    That isn't an uncommon opinion in the medical community. Only Subcontinent goes out of their way to get that shot.

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  40. drwilliams says:

    For those dissing my beloved Cheez-It's, I would aver that a bowl of Cheez-It's and diet cream soda for breakfast is probably more nutritious than a bowl of the average breakfast cereal and the "skim milk" side panel standard. Less of a hydrocarbate spike, too.

  41. ~jim says:

    To eat, or not to eat?

    That's what a dog is for.

    Temperature limiting elements on stove tops are to protect you from fire. It senses the heat in the pan and turns the element off above 450° F, turning it back on again when the temperature drops.

    Absolutely ridiculous! Pan won't stay hot enough for long enough to fry bacon or boil water, or do anything else the stove is supposed to do.

  42. Greg Norton says:

    "dancing around in its skin, demanding respect"   I think playboy as an idea and an industry qualifies as an "institution".  And in this case, so fully taken over that this can happen.

    The bunny costume is registered with the US Patent and Trademark office. I've posted before about my problems with Playboy Legal over replicas we have in our possession over which the company claims ownership under their IP.

    If he's going to wear the costume, he should make sure he is regulation. The bodice is a serious piece of hardware which should be altered to fit correctly to company standards along with heels dyed to match and non-patterned black tights layered over another pair of nylons. Name rosette. Minimal jewelry except earrings and the company logo cufflinks. No tattoos visible.

    A sizeable book exists within the company dictating the look. Do it right or don't do it at all.

  43. Alan says:

    >> Mark you, I'm not holding the UK system up as something to be lauded. On the contrary, I believe that the reason the UK legal system is so fscked-up is because of the preponderance of PPE graduates among our lawmakers – that's Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

    And then there's the wigs…

  44. Alan says:

    >> For those dissing my beloved Cheez-It's, I would aver that a bowl of Cheez-It's and diet cream soda for breakfast is probably more nutritious than a bowl of the average breakfast cereal and the "skim milk" side panel standard. Less of a hydrocarbate spike, too.

    Wait, are you pouring the soda over the Cheez-Its??

  45. drwilliams says:

    It is always wise to first combine foods ex-stomachus, if only as a test (see "pop rocks and coke")

  46. RickH says:

    42 is now the number of years since the publication of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, the first in the series of wacky and beloved sci-fi books by Douglas Adams. https://www.npr.org/2021/10/17/1046593657/its-been-42-years-since-the-hitchhikers-guide-answered-the-ultimate-question

    And the answer to everything. (Although it could be '43'.)

    Don't forget to bring your towel.

     

  47. Alan says:

    >> Full employment but at a very low rate of compensation for a junior associate, barely above the paralegal staff.

    If you're going to work lawyer hours you'd probably be better off getting your MBA and going into investment banking. There's a price war going on and starting salaries for associates are $200K+.

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  48. ech says:

    he's not convinced Pfizer even works.

    The data from Israel show it works and works well. Deaths in the vaccinated population are a small fraction of the unvaccinated.

    I'm going to try to get a Moderna booster to go with my Pfizer baseline.

     

    Also, the last of the reasonably sized trials of Ivermectin has been shown to have possibly falsified data in it, as did the largest and several others. If you eliminate them, the remaining studies show no benefit to taking it for COVID. I’ll have a link to the series of articles with the problems with the studies (several of which have been withdrawn) when the last one goes up this week.

    For now, here are analyses of the biggest study, which when you remove from the meta-analysis it goes from Ivermectin very effective, to Ivermectin might be slightly effective.

    https://steamtraen.blogspot.com/2021/07/Some-problems-with-the-data-from-a-Covid-study.html

    https://grftr.news/why-was-a-major-study-on-ivermectin-for-covid-19-just-retracted/

    It turns out that the in vitro tests of Ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2, which showed it working, only worked at concentrations 10x the safe dose of the drug. Those tests were the basis of trying it in people.

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  49. lynn says:

    "Fortress of the Six Moons (Perry Rhodan #7)" by K. H. Scheer, translated by Wendayne Ackerman
    https://www.amazon.com/Fortress-Six-Moons-Perry-Rhodan/dp/B0006W26HMbr?tag=ttgnet-20 />

    Book number seven of a series of one hundred and twenty-six space opera books in English. The original German books, actually pamphlets, number in the thousands. The English books started with two translated German stories per book and transitioned to one story per book with the sixth book. The German books were written from 1961 to present time, having sold two billion copies and even recently been rebooted. I read the well printed and well bound book published by Ace in 1971 that I had to be very careful with due to age. I bought an almost complete box of Perry Rhodans a decade or two ago on ebay that I am finally getting to since I lost my original Perry Rhodans in The Great Flood of 1989.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan

    In this alternate universe, USSF Major Perry Rhodan and his three fellow astronauts blasted off in a three stage rocket to the Moon in 1971. The first stage of the rocket was chemical, the second and third stages were nuclear. After crashing on the Moon due to a strange radio interference, they discover a massive crashed alien spaceship with an aged male scientist (Khrest), a female commander (Thora), and a crew of 500.

    The Topide lizards have retreated to the outer edges of the Vega star system and built a large fortress. Rhodan tries subterfuge in order to get the Topides to move to another star system. Khrest makes the subterfuge even deeper.

    One has to remember that this book was written in German in 1961 and translated to English in 1970. Many items that came about in the 1970s and beyond such as cell phones are not reflected in the book. However, commercial aircraft commonly traveling at Mach 3 are not available to the public as talked about in the book. Niels Bohr's saying "Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future" comes to mind.

    My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (3 reviews)

  50. lynn says:

    he's not convinced Pfizer even works.

    The data from Israel show it works and works well. Deaths in the vaccinated population are a small fraction of the unvaccinated.

    I'm going to try to get a Moderna booster to go with my Pfizer baseline.

    The Moderna booster has delta vaccine in it according to a friend of mine.  He had a very strong reaction to it a couple of months ago.  He was down for a day and a half recovering from it.  Made me want to run out and get one immediately.

  51. drwilliams says:

    It's past time for clinical studies on ivermectin.

    It's time for studies looking for the X-factor in India's response to KungFlu.

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  52. lynn says:

    "China Backtracking?"

       https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/10/17/china-backtracking/

    "China plans to build more coal-fired power plants and has hinted that it will rethink its timetable to slash emissions, in a significant blow to the UK’s ambitions for securing a global agreement on phasing out coal at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow."

    What !  I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

  53. lynn says:

    "Fortress of the Six Moons (Perry Rhodan #7)" by K. H. Scheer, translated by Wendayne Ackerman
    https://www.amazon.com/Fortress-Six-Moons-Perry-Rhodan/dp/B0006W26HMbr?tag=ttgnet-20 />

    The Perry Rhodan #7 URL is actually

    https://www.amazon.com/Fortress-Six-Moons-Perry-Rhodan/dp/B0006W26HM//p?tag=ttgnet-20

  54. lynn says:

    he's not convinced Pfizer even works.

    The data from Israel show it works and works well. Deaths in the vaccinated population are a small fraction of the unvaccinated.

    I'm going to try to get a Moderna booster to go with my Pfizer baseline.

    The Moderna booster has delta vaccine in it according to a friend of mine.  He had a very strong reaction to it a couple of months ago.  He was down for a day and a half recovering from it.  Made me want to run out and get one immediately.

    BTW, if you do find out that a Moderna booster on a Pfizer baseline is safe, please let us know.  I am seriously thinking that way also.

  55. Greg Norton says:

    "China plans to build more coal-fired power plants and has hinted that it will rethink its timetable to slash emissions, in a significant blow to the UK’s ambitions for securing a global agreement on phasing out coal at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow."

    What !  I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

    China never stopped building coal plants. They are backtracking on a proposed timetable.

    It is going to be a cold Winter in Britain, regardless of what the thermometer reads.

    You Ain't Got No Ice Cream

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  56. lynn says:

    "China plans to build more coal-fired power plants and has hinted that it will rethink its timetable to slash emissions, in a significant blow to the UK’s ambitions for securing a global agreement on phasing out coal at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow."

    What !  I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

    China never stopped building coal plants. They are backtracking on a proposed timetable.

    It is going to be a cold Winter in Britain, regardless of what the thermometer reads.

    You Ain't Got No Ice Cream

    But they said it would never snow in Britain again !

  57. lynn says:

    Pearls Before Swine: Mary Lee, Mary Lee, Mary Lee, Mary Lee

       https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2021/10/17

    Stephan Pastis should be ashamed of himself.  And Rat's momma for naming her daughters the same name.

  58. Geoff Powell says:

    @lynn:

    But they said it would never snow in Britain again !

    Never say never again.

    G.

  59. MrAtoz says:

    It really sounds like the goobermint is spitballing on COVID vaccines. Uh, that didn't turn out the way we thought, so get a booster. Well, the booster didn't turn out the way we thought, so get a booster every quarter for the rest of existence. We're working on a mecho-gene splicing pseudo vaccine for the flu. You'll have to take a booster every month for the rest of existence. IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN, DAMNIT!

    Come on, man!

    I'll get a booster if I need it to do something I want to do and it's required. Like a cruise we're planning for next year.

    We should all move to Alaska, secede form the Union, and Let's Go, Brandon!

    LONG LIVE GOVERNOR JENNY!

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  60. Nick Flandrey says:

    OMFG that Pearls was SOOOOOOOOO BAD!

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  61. Alan says:

    >> BTW, if you do find out that a Moderna booster on a Pfizer baseline is safe, please let us know.  I am seriously thinking that way also.

    "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will decide whether to recommend that people “mix and match” their initial COVID-19 vaccine with booster shots from a different manufacturer in late October, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. The National Institutes of Health has been conducting studies on every combination of coronavirus vaccines in order to test the safety and effectiveness of the pairings."

    https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/coronavirus/article254585482.html

    Trick or Treat!

    In any case, there are over three million people that are "immuno-comprimised" that have already gotten boosters, and I'd imagine more than a few have gotten 'cross-vaxxed.'

  62. Nick Flandrey says:

    Remember when this was just crazy conspiracy talk?

    China's real-life Squid Game: How organs are harvested from THOUSANDS every week for a 'kill to order' market – and why the world is powerless to stop it… 'They'll take your liver and you won't even know'

    China's Communist Party removes hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas from 100,000 dissidents and political prisoners every year, with a government-run 'kill to order' organ-trafficking network which shares parallels with the smash hit South Korean horror show Squid Game. But the international community remains powerless to stop the slaughter of up to 100,000 detainees each year because the World Health Organisation is compelled to accept the totalitarian nation's 'inadequate and misleading' hospital data without question.

    — but, but, but….

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  63. Alan says:

    @Rick, any reason why the "strong" tags around "…in late October…" didn't bold that text in my original post but do show on the copy/paste here?

    "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will decide whether to recommend that people “mix and match” their initial COVID-19 vaccine with booster shots from a different manufacturer in late October, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. The National Institutes of Health has been conducting studies on every combination of coronavirus vaccines in order to test the safety and effectiveness of the pairings."

    ADDED: Hmm, it was Bold in the RTE in my second post but not when I submitted it, as you can see just above.

  64. Marcelo says:

    The one thing that I really dislike about Win11 is the new Start and handling of taskbar. I like Win 10s much more. Fortunately I came across the following that will solve that issue:

    https://www.neowin.net/news/explorer-patcher-restores-the-windows-11-taskbar-to-be-exactly-like-windows-10/

  65. Greg Norton says:

    Remember when this was just crazy conspiracy talk?

    That was conspiracy theory 30 years ago, maybe, but by the time my father-in-law needed a heart transplant circa 2000, all of his Mainland Chinese friends told him to go have it taken care of by the clinics in their country in six weeks rather than wait a year.

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  66. Nick Flandrey says:

    @alan, the tag buttons use (strong) and it doesn't display after the blockquote is applied… so there may be some reason besides blockquote…  add (b) for bold tags and they display correctly. 

    no idea why b was changed to strong  and i to em   but change for change sake has always been a thing.

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  67. lynn says:

    "'It is inevitable that China will take an upper hand over the US': Chinese state media celebrates new nuclear-capable 21,000mph missile that can circle Earth in low orbit before striking anywhere from space in MINUTES"

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10101953/Beijing-mocks-America-saying-new-21-000mph-nuclear-capable-missile-new-blow-US.html

    Oops. I guess that our ground based space lasers will have something to shoot down after all. We do have ground based space lasers, right ???

    I guess that somebody did read that THOR article by Dr. Pournelle.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment

  68. RickH says:

    Although the 'strong' and 'bold' tags look mostly the same, there is a semantic difference in their use. There are lots of references to the proper use of 'strong' and 'bold' ('b') tags. One is here https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/b 

    That page has the proper usage for the strong and bold/b tags, plus examples of proper use.

    So while this word is bold, the above paragraph is 'strong'. Modern browsers make them both look similar. The same is true with the italic tags ('em' and 'i').

    Even though they look the same, they are different. See https://help.siteimprove.com/support/solutions/articles/80000448460-accessibility-bold-vs-strong-and-italic-vs-emphasis , where it states:

    But the Bold tag, 'b' and the italic tag, 'i', are listed as a WCAG compliance Level A error because most screen readers will NOT announce these changes to the screen reader user. 'b' and 'i' should not be used to style text when the author wants to emphasize a word or passage of text. 

    So, the comment editor here (CKEditor 4) uses 'strong', instead of 'b', although they will both render the same. But when using a screen reader (for accessibility), the 'strong' is preferred. So the above two examples will 'read' differently with a screen reader.

    Which is why the editor here uses 'strong' when you it the 'b' button.

     

  69. RickH says:

    I think there is a CSS issue with bolded (or strong'd) text in a blockquote. I may look at that later.

    For example, here is a bold word (using strong) inside a blockquote. Although the source in the editor shows the strong tag, it is not rendered properly. That is an issue with the CSS in the theme, I think.

    It looks OK while entering the content, but not afterwards. More research is needed.

  70. Nick Flandrey says:

    Ah, rabbit, meet hole……

    n

  71. Nick Flandrey says:

    In a further twist on my insurance claim for hitting that parked car with a big rental truck, I was reviewing photos and noticed that the VIN on the dash doesn't match the VIN on the door frame sticker…

    HMMM.   Now call me silly, but the only reasons I know of for that are

    1 the vehicle was badly wrecked and needed a new dash as part of the rebuild-and probably you would need to 'wash' the salvage title before sale

    2 the vehicle is stolen and they did a dash swap to a clean VIN from the junkyard

    3 the vehicle had really high miles and they did a dash swap to a lower mile odometer

    – none of those are good things if you are a buyer. 

    I uploaded the photos to my insurance claim site.  If nothing else, it should affect the value of their payout to the guy.   I feel a whole lot less bad if he's involved in something shady.

    n

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  72. Nick Flandrey says:

    A break from doom and gloom, some fluffy puppies falling over 'cuz dey got stumpy legs!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9QRW12Z46w

    n

  73. Alan says:

    @Rick, sorry to beat the proverbial deceased equine but…when the below text in your post is rendered in my browser (W11, Chrome 94) nothing is bolded, everything is ‘plain’ text, but if I copy/paste it, the bold shows properly, so  am I missing something in your explanation?

    @nick, no Blockquote was applied in my original post (at 20:32).

    [copy/paste of Rick’s post follows]

    Although the ‘strong’ and ‘bold’ tags look mostly the same, there is a semantic difference in their use. There are lots of references to the proper use of ‘strong’ and ‘bold’ (‘b’) tags. One is here https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/b 

    That page has the proper usage for the strong and bold/b tags, plus examples of proper use.

    So while this word is bold, the above paragraph is ‘strong’. Modern browsers make them both look similar. The same is true with the italic tags (’em’ and ‘i’).

    ADDED: Seems the above should read “…the bold shows properly in the RTE,…”, got a 500 error trying to post, used the work-around of posting just a period and then edited the post and pasted in my comment.

    It was much easier doing UI programming when the screen had one color (green) and the layout was fixed at 80×24.

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