Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Tom W]

Whoa, last year's highly controversial Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirt, collapsed and died in California today

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story...na-spirit-dies

Epstein’s people were into horses?

[CGVT]

No. Just jackasses

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[Mike]

There's plenty of jackasses to go around.

[lineygoblue]

Whoa, last year's highly controversial Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirt, collapsed and died in California today

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story...na-spirit-dies

Wait a minute.

Where's Hillary?

[Hannibal]

There's plenty of sexual predators in high positions of power to go around.

FIFY

[Mike]

Wow, USA is boycotting the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Edit: never mind. The athletes are still going. We’re just not sending fancy people. That’ll show those guys!

[Hannibal]

Are we doing the “Russian Olympic Committee” thing?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Sentient cowpie Devin Nunes is quitting Congress and going to be CEO of Trump's barely existent media company. He will not finish his term and is quitting within weeks.

[Kapture1]

If I get infected with the Omicron variant, does that give natural immunity against the Delta variant?

[Hannibal]

If I get infected with the Omicron variant, does that give natural immunity against the Delta variant?

I don’t know but you should probably never leave your house just in case. Also — wear your mask 24/7 — including while sleeping and driving.

[Hannibal]

RIP Bob Dole.

He’s voting Democrat from now on.

[CGVT]

Sentient cowpie Devin Nunes is quitting Congress and going to be CEO of Trump's barely existent media company. He will not finish his term and is quitting within weeks.

Good place for his dumb ass

[Mike]

For some reason I thought he already left Congress.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Trust the markets........

The Dow was up some 600 points today. I mentioned up thread that the press is behind the results of research on Omicron that are actually taking place. The word is that Omicron doesn't seem to be a big deal and, of course, from researchers we still have the typical caveats, you know, it's early we need more data. But over the last two days global virologists are making public statements about finding the same sort of Omicron indicators - it's a nothing burger. This is a big deal if you're looking to invest in the companies that offer shit that people want to buy - airline tickets, appliances, anything that you can get on Amazon, cars, vacations, etc. The markets are good indicators of truth when it comes to COVID.

I read a ridiculous article in the NYTs this evening, just when I thought they were getting their shit together about COVID, that the risk of serious illness is decreasing and that, in real terms, if you are under 50 without comorbid conditions, nothing to worry about: if older than 50, with comorbid conditions or over 75, you might want to consider taking extra precautions..... like using common sense. Do I want to go into a packed bar of under 40s, doing head banging Karaoke? Probably not. Go find a quieter bar and there are plenty of options to do that.

The NYT's article was probably authored by some germaphobe that's lived a life that is completely foreign to most of us who despite our mother's warnings, we had constant runny noses of thick yellow stuff, ate dirt, crawled around on dirty floors and rarely, if ever, took antibiotics. We have robust immune systems because of that frivolity where this author probably doesn't. She probably carried bleach wipes around and sanitized anything, including toilets, sinks and shower stalls she might come in contact with.

In the article she had this check list of things to do before meeting up with a bunch of friends. Check for vaccine status, a gathering where the host runs a HEPA filter and opens the windows, booster status and, of course, if there are vulnerable people there, be considerate and wear a mask, Fuck that. Vulnerable people stay the fuck home and let the rest of us low risk people, about 98% of us, have a nice Holiday office or family party.

Anyway, nothing new. Oh, wait, Norwegian Cruise lines returned to Nola with 17 confirmed COVID positives aboard ...... holy fuck out of the hundreds of thousands of people who have cruised since June, 2021, one ship having a well controlled outbreak of 17 guests, is praiseworthy. The cruise lines know what they are doing with infection control and offer a vacation and at affordable price that is 100X safer wrt SARS2 exposure than any all inclusive at your best flea-bag resort in Cancun. Critics of the cruise industry, GTFO. I'm leaving for a 12n Southern Caribbean itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale on Friday. It's my 7th cruise since June. Have I had a cold from any of those? A GI disease, COVID? Nope.

[Jeff Buchanan]

......... an edit to my post above. The impact of the SARS2 variant, Omicron, is nuanced and you're not going to get that from press reports. This morning, press reports of what virologists are telling them is more ominous in tone. That does not mean what I posted above is inaccurate or misleading. It means that nothing has changed but the press would rather their tone be more ominous that up-beat.

Here's the deal: You'll read that Omicron is spreading rapidly in the district of South Africa that is most populated and contains major cities. You'll read that the slope of the curve is steeper than it has been for other outbreaks of Delta in SA and might (emphasis on might) outcompete Delta in SA. Buried in the report is that SA hasn't and does not now have much COVID infection to start with (lots of naïve hosts). Contributing is the high rate of HIV in SA (depressed immune systems). Low vax rates are also a factor (context). Not seeing reports of an increase in hospitalizations or deaths. These rates remain flat. Furrowed brows appear among virologists in SA regarding whether or not Omicron will out-compete Delta and replace it.

That question is not being asked in any serious quarters in the US, Asia or Europe. If it does and produces symptoms more like the common cold, there is no cause for alarm or calls for tighter restrictions on mobility and social interaction ...... I think this is exactly the end-game for Omicron as it continues to be managed, produce local but controlled outbreaks with these becoming less common over time.

While Omicron is showing up elsewhere outside of SA, you'll get reports from Fauci and his counterparts in Europe that the spread seems muted and that most of the new cases, so far, have been either asymptomatic or mild, not requiring medical management or hospitalization. To my knowledge there have been no reported deaths. Obviously a statement like that in a press report wouldn't fit the narrative so, nope, not going to hear that unless you dig.

Like I said, while the jury is not out yet on Omicron, so far, the impact is muted and nuanced. If your local rag is waving their arms wildly about Omicron (and the Sun Sentinel in my neck of the woods is doing a little of that despite viral prevalence in the state being very low), TIFWIW - not much.