Syrmax

One thing I was thinking about after returning from HD today...i dont wear a mask around but when doing self checkout, I wish I had brought nitrile gloves with me because they have you scan your items with a scan gun that you pick up to process your purchases. I didn't see where the clueless teenage clerk standing around watching was making any effort to clean the scan guns after uses. I should have mentioned it to them. Next time...

This is similar behavior as what happened around Wuhan right before lockdown happened. Not sure how you fully stop it in an "open" democratic society unless they chuck the rules completely...

If people can maintain appropriate distances I've thought the beach is a great spot to go. If I was in FL that's what I would do. Of course, we then see photos of beaches looking like mosh pits (FL) and it just wrecks it for everyone.

I go out every few days, and take walks, it's pretty rural here. I went to a local restaurant/bar last eve to buy a take out dinner and get a couple "drinks to go" while I waited...which are now allowed by the State Liquor board on a temporary basis. Other than that, the only places I've been is Home Depot for interior fix up now that i have time...and the Liquor store, before the local Kommisars put those off limits. One thing is for sure, judging by local social media, there are a fair number of closet Nazis and Kommunists masquerading as dogooder busybodies living amongst us. I'm pleased that they're outing themselves now, for future reference of course.

If we're gonna reach a million + deaths, people gotta start dying in droves, fast! We're not even at 2K yet.

The source is real, in fact they sum up what is known pretty well. I've read similar elsewhere. Much of the data is being leaked out of China. Noone knows what to make of it though. It does make one wonder although I don't see how even the CCP could hide that many deaths (20M +). There's a lot of foreign eyes in there these days.

Of all the places one would think would be be poleaxed by a pandemic...India is near the top of that list... I wonder if their low numbers to date are more a function of their dysfunction...

i am not sure on how they calculate seasonal flu other than CDC references estimated numbers of total infected - probably for the reason you mention. I've been insisting to "certain people" that i know that this really is more dangerous than seasonal flu but they refuse to believe it. OTOH, even CDC admits we don't have enough data yet to do a proper comparison and risk analysis. Which does make one wonder...what if it turns out its say, 2x more deadly. Was that worth an global economic depression? We'll see how the numbers shake out. From WaPo: By comparison, influenza — known as the common flu — has infected as many as 45 million Americans since October and killed as many as 46,000, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. President Trump invoked the large number of flu deaths each year in a tweet on Monday.

Not sure on the actual US rate. I think the most we can conclude is a rate based on the # tested. We know nothing about the denominator. Even seasonal flu is a guesstimate of total affected. Edit: but as far as comps to other nation's total tested, its interesting. I don't think there's any way that "millions" are going to perish from this. Probably because actions have been taken. The numbers some were throwing around assumed no preventative measures taken. I think...

Damn. He wasn't some geezer with one foot already in the grave. R.I.P.

Likely yes. It's almost impossible to practice sufficient "social distancing" when underway. Here's a Link to what's publically available. Remember, during the Spanish Flu pandemic, US Army training facilities were among the worst clusters of infections...and deaths, in the US.

Oh, the stories about the military and covid-19 problems (CVN-71 namely)...very believable talking to my son who is active duty Navy. And it fits with my experience of how the military "handles" things. Not good. It'll be a Clusterf*ck, believe me...

Stay safe! One of my cousins is a police officer in the Bronx. Walked a beat for a while. Although lately he was doing some plainclothes work cuz the last time I saw him he looked like a homeless man.

No idea of the numbers involved but I've read where "a lot" of people from in and around the NYC metro area have been bagging ass out of there to parts unknown (FL and Carolinas assumedly) over the past two weeks. Almost reminds me of the Exodus out of Wuhan when the word apparently leaked out that Lockdown was imminent. There are estimates that up to 5 million Chinese fled Wuhan area right before they closed it off. So much for containing the spread. Again.

My father (WW II vet from the Bronx) used to say upstate was a good place to be in case of war. Noone knows we're here. Turns out for pandemics, the same sort of applies...

This is a pretty cool read about an Anerican's experience in China during the Lockdown. Some of us can probably relate to this guy's feelings. As bizarre as it is here, I can't imagine being in China. It's a bit long to read but what the hell else do we have to do?

I'm rereading the nonfiction book "Flu" by Gina Kolata, a NY Times Science reporter. Or she was back then. The book is from 1999 or 2000, when i first read it. Pretty much a recounting of the 1918 "Spanish Flu" and the scientists that first discovered it, along with other pandemic backgrounds. Great read and not expensive on Amazon, like $10. I'm just getting to the part about the 1976 Swine Flu fiasco. Most of you don't remember it but I do. And it goes a long way towards explaining why a lot of people have a certain amount of skepticism when it comes to an event like this. Another curiosity is the (H1N1)pdm09 (Swine flu) virus from 2009: CDC estimated that 151,700-575,400 people worldwide died from (H1N1)pdm09 virus infection during the first year the virus circulated. It is estimated that 0.001 percent to 0.007 percent of the world’s population died of respiratory complications associated with (H1N1)pdm09 virus infection during the first 12 months the virus circulated. There were about 20K US deaths in the first year it circulated. Much like covid-19, Seasonal flu vaccines were ineffective against the 2009 H1N1 and yet somehow there wasn't any panic. Although covid-19 has a much higher R0 value, meaning higher transmissibility and it's thought to have a higher mortality, especially among elderly that get infected. Though we are not comparing apples to apples between covid-19 and any other pandemic, yet. So those are really the only differences between this and 2009, which frankly, I didn't even remember. Once this is over it will be interesting to gain some understanding on how this all developed and the global response.

China admitted, years ago, to understating H1N1 and SARS data. That's public record. They had some phoney baloney excuse but it goes hand in hand with their overstatement of economic data since, forever. There were some slick videos circulating out of Wuhan showing a lot of local protest when the Hubei Province CCP leaders came to town basically to have a Mission Accomplished moment. People were yelling "fake" and "F#ck You" out of their windows to the local head party hack that arrived. They probably had a lot more cases overall but the mortality ratio makes some sense so they probably just undercounted both values.

I was more referring in general. You'll get more head nods without the personal attacks is all i'm saying. We're all guilty of it at times. In real life, i get slammed or attacked by both Right and Left and frankly my patience with it has worn out.

You need to calm the f*ck down and read what you post before clicking Enter.

And to my point above....new data is breaking this a.m. (CNBC) Americans displaced by the coronavirus crisis filed unemployment claims in record numbers, with the Labor Department reporting Thursday a surge to 3.28 million. The number shatters the Great Recession peak of 665,000 in March 2009 and the all-time mark of 695,000 in October 1982. The previous week, which reflected the period before the worst of the coronavirus hit, was just 282,000. Consensus estimates from economists surveyed by Dow Jones showed an expectation for 1.5 million new claims, though individual forecasts on Wall Street had been anticipating a much higher number. The surge comes amid a crippling slowdown brought on by the coronavirus crisis. The 4-week moving average, which smooths out weekly distortions, was 1,731,000, an increase of 27,500 from the previous week’s revised average.

From what i have gleaned, the bill, pending House adjustments, would prevent stock buybacks for a period of time going forward. Many corporations have use the artificially low interest rate environment of the past decade (one of the distortions of QE and Fed policy ), to buyback stock to goose share values and P/E's, ostensibly to boost Executive Suite compensation and drive more upward price action. Everyone can agree that it turned out to be shortsighted and greedy but the problem going forward is to protect jobs and business. Sure, it would feel good to let Boeing, American and other major corporations fail. But then there's the jobs that would be lost, many permanently. So, being adults, we hold our nose at the various provisions of the Bailout Bill that we don't agree with but one side or the other wanted. For the greater good.

How far from Niantic River waterfront are you? Trying to confirm that a friend's sandbagging me in a friendly wager for Niantic this storm. My old stomping grounds.

S Fork of LI is already over freezing and just RN, CC is up to 36 and will probably rise another 10...RUC looks good to me which takes slp over BID and CC and slows it up there...HV and ALB look good here, IMO.

Exactly right. Way more demand & much higher pay. I actually thought about a met degree at one point many yrs ago but everyone I talked to said go into engineering (or finance). They weren't wrong and likely even moreso today. Probably more private sector met opportunities exist today than 20-30 yrs ago but the engineering demand is much greater as the US continues to produce increasing volumes of WalMart greeters w/ hs diplomas.