Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Open Table is an app that people use to make dinner reservations for people who don't know. This is scary and depressing. Huge dropoff in usage beginning 3/9 across Canada and the US.

I saw a good idea yesterday. If there's a local restaurant you want help during this time but are nervous about eating in public, buy gift cards. Helps them out NOW when they will be hurting for money and let's you come back when things have calmed down.


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[Jeff Buchanan]

DSL, There's nothing wrong with the math on the chart Liney posted or what the publisher of the chart wants us to see, i.e., COVID-19, given the chart's representation of the figures, has a lower death rate than the other viruses.

I liked talent's explanation of the problem with making absolute statements about death rates. For any statistically valid measure of it you have to know the values of the numerator and denominator in the calculation precisely. We don't know that...... yet. The analysis of death rates will improve as the data becomes more robust. That's why testing is so vital to the formulation of public health policy and why, it appears to me, anyway, that Trump's presser focused almost entirely on how the administration is going to roll out scaled up testing.

[iam416]

As far as "handling" the response, the reality is that Italy, Spain, France, Germany -- basically the entire EU is in the same (or worse) boat as the US. I'm sure it's all because of the common response to the pandemic. Merkel and PDJT are two peas in a pod.

[Jeff Buchanan]

On going out to eat in public places ........ I've received several emails from restaurants I frequent specifying what steps they are taking to mitigate the risk of contracting the virus in their establishments. Clearly, an effort to keep people coming in so they don't go out of business.

The WHO Economics Forum I linked to above addresses the impact of unnecessary panic on business. It states that human behavior in the face of a viral pandemic has a grater impact on business than the pathogen itself does on the production capacity of the work force.

The Open Table chart is demonstrative of the reality of that WHO Economics Forum statement. So is the run on food/supplies at grocery and drug stores.

If you are paying attention to the CDC advice on measures you should take to protect yourself and others from contracting COVID-19, while social distancing is an appropriate measure to take, it does not mean you need to isolate yourself from all human contact outside your household. Simply be mindful of washing your hands, not touching public surfaces or your face and avoiding places where large gatherings are occurring.

Bottom line for me, if you want to gout to dinner, do it.

[AlabamAlum]

Jeff, the only thing that is wrong with it is that it is a month and a half out of date. There are now 150,000 known cases and 5,500 reported deaths with Covid-19. Both numbers, through suspected underreporting by China and Iran (and maybe a few others), are probably higher.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Right ..... I recognize that.

[iam416]

Iran is probably underreporting by a factor of at least 10. There's no way they've only had 12,000 cases. I assume the hallowed Chinese and their legendarily fantastic response are also still underreporting. The EU countries are probably closest. The US is also surely underreporting if only because their aren't enough tests. I'd expect a huge spike at the end of next week when tests are far more readily available (thank you private clinics and Big Pharma).

[AlabamAlum]

[Jeff Buchanan]

WRONG!

It's a conspiracy between The Nick, ryan day and Clemson boosters (because Dabo will deny his involvement being the anointed one he acts like he is) to deny Harbaugh and M football access to elite status. Can't get there without practice and they've fixed that problem.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Tucker's been the only Fox Host all week to treat the disease seriously. Turns out he's got good cause. He was at Mar a Lago last weekend too and shook hands with Brazil's President (who has gone into 7 day isolation despite claiming to not be infected).

[Dr. Strangelove]

His all-caps scream-tweets are always among my favorites.

[froot loops]

If it is a conspiracy against a college football coach, it is surely designed to keep Coach Mel Tucker from finding out what he has on the roster.

West Ham wants the EPL seasoned voided to get them out of the drop zone.

[froot loops]

The numbers being posted are somewhat useful but they become dated within a half day. You also have to be careful about some of these projections. Some of the projections were based on no measures being taken, that's clearly not going to be the case now. Also, the use of countries as the organizing category is problematic. It's almost like they should break it down by hotspots or state/province.

[iam416]

Whatever keeps Newcastle up works for me. They were probably going to stay up regardless, but only by playing some of the most unwatching football this side of Stoke. To their credit, they've managed to turn 25 goals in 29 matches into a staggering 35 points. Only Palace tops their efficiency in terms of points per goal.

God, they're fucking miserable. Like watching Atletico without 4-4 organization or the vaguest hope of a counterattack.

[iam416]

Also, the use of countries as the organizing category is problematic. It's almost like they should break it down by hotspots or state/province.

Correct. 80,000 cases in China seems remarkably harmless when compared against the country's size and population. 80,000 cases in two specific regions seems considerably less harmless in terms of assessing the virus.