Fall Banter and General Discussion

[Spanks45]

This guy has been around 2 out of the last 3 nights....first at 430 am and last night at 815 pm, 5 minutes after I had the dog out. I do not really want to run into him.

[dryslot]

1 hour ago, Spanks45 said:

This guy has been around 2 out of the last 3 nights....first at 430 am and last night at 815 pm, 5 minutes after I had the dog out. I do not really want to run into him.

A little up close and personal with my game cam right by my ground blind.

[SJonesWX]

what critter would have dug up 2 of my mulch beds? holes were too big to be a skunk, as I’ve only seen them dig smaller holes in the grass. the holes were ~6” deep, right through the mulch into the dirt, throwing the mulch everywhere. Dug right under some of the bushes. would a bear have done that?

[512high]

1 hour ago, SJonesWX said:

what critter would have dug up 2 of my mulch beds? holes were too big to be a skunk, as I’ve only seen them dig smaller holes in the grass. the holes were ~6” deep, right through the mulch into the dirt, throwing the mulch everywhere. Dug right under some of the bushes. would a bear have done that?

woodchuck/ground hog....also chipmunks is a possibility 

[dryslot]

2 hours ago, SJonesWX said:

what critter would have dug up 2 of my mulch beds? holes were too big to be a skunk, as I’ve only seen them dig smaller holes in the grass. the holes were ~6” deep, right through the mulch into the dirt, throwing the mulch everywhere. Dug right under some of the bushes. would a bear have done that?

Could be grey squirrels too burying the acorns, They seem to like my mulch bed for my blueberry plants.

[Bostonseminole]

Over 1M dead from COVID-19, pretty sure that number is underestimated, will likely be close to top 10 leading causes of death in 2020

[PhineasC]

17 minutes ago, Bostonseminole said:

Over 1M dead from COVID-19, pretty sure that number is underestimated, will likely be close to top 10 leading causes of death in 2020

Probably not, when you analyze based on quality-adjusted life years and factor in the up to 50% of victims who were 80+ with existing major underlying diseases who were in hospice/nursing homes already...

Yes, it's sad they died, but a cold or stumble in the hallway could also be deadly for them. It's kind of disingenuous to put those deaths in the same broad bucket as the vibrant 30-something mom who succumbed.

[Bostonseminole]

1 minute ago, PhineasC said:

Probably not, when you analyze based on quality-adjusted life years and factor in the up to 50% of victims who were 80+ with existing major underlying diseases who were in hospice/nursing homes already...

Yes, it's sad they died, but a cold or stumble in the hallway could also be deadly for them. It's kind of disingenuous to put those deaths in the same broad bucket as the vibrant 30-something mom who succumbed.

Not sure how that changes that it will be close to top 10, if not top 10 WW. Should we not count the 80 yr olds?   Most people in their 70s and 80s die of multiple illnesses. In addition allot of them died alone due to the nature of the virus, sad.. And then you have the other 50%

[PhineasC]

27 minutes ago, Bostonseminole said:

Not sure how that changes that it will be close to top 10, if not top 10 WW. Should we not count the 80 yr olds?   Most people in their 70s and 80s die of multiple illnesses. In addition allot of them died alone due to the nature of the virus, sad.. And then you have the other 50%

Sure count them. Just factor in the corresponding drop in deaths from ARDS, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and general organ failure from past years in that population to get a better view of the real "excess deaths" toll. There is no hiding that COVID-19 is really only truly deadly for people age 65 and up with major underlying diseases, despite the persistent narrative that young healthy college students are dropping dead left and right. People under 25 should fear the flu much more.

[PhineasC]

This debate is honestly pointless because after Election Day, America is done with COVID. It will quickly drop completely off the radar (it's already become mostly background noise). That's not to say the virus will be gone. It will just no longer be advantageous to harp on it non-stop.

[HoarfrostHubb]

That narrative is pure garbage. 

[greenmtnwx]

What’s clear is that the death factor with COVID has changed. Whether it be there has been some immunity built up, the virus has mutated to less virulent, the knowledge on how to treat the disease or quality of therapeutics, or perhaps the fact that it thinned out those most susceptible to death over the spring when there were very sick people around. Whatever it is, I speak to many healthcare professionals during the week and they tell me COVID just isn’t what it was. It’s just not making people very sick, even older and weaker people, they just aren’t lining up like they were in March-may. 

[SJonesWX]

11 hours ago, 512high said:

woodchuck/ground hog....also chipmunks is a possibility 

 

9 hours ago, dryslot said:

Could be grey squirrels too burying the acorns, They seem to like my mulch bed for my blueberry plants.

thanks guys. it’s def not chipmunks, they are way too small to do this kind of damage. squirrels are a possibility but I kind of doubt it. I have seen some groundhogs in the area, could be that. size seems about right

[CoastalWx]

30 minutes ago, greenmtnwx said:

What’s clear is that the death factor with COVID has changed. Whether it be there has been some immunity built up, the virus has mutated to less virulent, the knowledge on how to treat the disease or quality of therapeutics, or perhaps the fact that it thinned out those most susceptible to death over the spring when there were very sick people around. Whatever it is, I speak to many healthcare professionals during the week and they tell me COVID just isn’t what it was. It’s just not making people very sick, even older and weaker people, they just aren’t lining up like they were in March-may. 

Well we’ll test that in a few months. I sure hope that is right. 

[CoastalWx]

57 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

That narrative is pure garbage. 

Yeah I haven’t heard that either. 

[Bostonseminole]

Just now, CoastalWx said:

Well we’ll test that in a few months. I sure hope that is right. 

In reality it will never be March/May again, behaviors have changed.  Virus has not mutated but folks are careful and thus the ro has dropped.  I told my wife that I don’t think we get a second wave. At least I don’t expect wide range lock downs.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

The closing of schools because of one or two positive cases is pretty dumb. If that is the threshold, schools won’t be open again until a vaccine has been widely distributed to the entire population.

Read an article that Baker is asking for documentation and reasoning behind communities with little to no spread or cases opting to go fully remote.

[CoastalWx]

7 minutes ago, Bostonseminole said:

In reality it will never be March/May again, behaviors have changed.  Virus has not mutated but folks are careful and thus the ro has dropped.  I told my wife that I don’t think we get a second wave. At least I don’t expect wide range lock downs.

I don't either. I think we know a lot more now in terms of what age group to protect, and much better safety/sanitation measures in place. We won't be anything like that 3 month period.

[Baroclinic Zone]

I'm still weary of the hospitalization increases over the last 2 weeks,  There's been a sharp increase in MA.  Hopefully it does not translate to deaths.

[PowderBeard]

9 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

I'm still weary of the hospitalization increases over the last 2 weeks,  There's been a sharp increase in MA.  Hopefully it does not translate to deaths.

This. Many other states (e.g., Wisconsin, Ohio, Colorado) have had some steady increases in hospitalizations in the past 2-4 weeks. Hospitals in northern Wisconsin are pretty tapped out. 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

Yikes, 3 climbers/hikers in New Hampshire have died the past week.

[Baroclinic Zone]

13 minutes ago, HIPPYVALLEY said:

Yikes, 3 climbers/hikers in New Hampshire have died the past week.

Someone was found on Pleasant Mountain the other day.  Kind of surprised by this.  If you're in good health, all you need to do is walk down hill and you'll hit either a road or water since it's completely surrounded.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2020/09/28/body-of-missing-maine-man-29-found-after-multi-day-search

[HIPPYVALLEY]

1 minute ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Someone was found on Pleasant Mountain the other day.  Kind of surprised by this.  If you're in good health, all you need to do is walk down hill and you'll hit either a road or water since it's completely surrounded.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2020/09/28/body-of-missing-maine-man-29-found-after-multi-day-search

I think that makes 6 in New England in the past week. 

[Ginx snewx]

7 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Someone was found on Pleasant Mountain the other day.  Kind of surprised by this.  If you're in good health, all you need to do is walk down hill and you'll hit either a road or water since it's completely surrounded.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2020/09/28/body-of-missing-maine-man-29-found-after-multi-day-search

Not suspicious death, sounds like an OD or suicide 

[Baroclinic Zone]

24 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said:

Not suspicious death, sounds like an OD or suicide 

That's what we were thinking.  Not a high risk hiking area for sure.

[PhineasC]

2 hours ago, Bostonseminole said:

In reality it will never be March/May again, behaviors have changed.  Virus has not mutated but folks are careful and thus the ro has dropped.  I told my wife that I don’t think we get a second wave. At least I don’t expect wide range lock downs.

Better practices in the nursing homes could cut deaths almost in half compared to March-May. We made a lot of mistakes early on. Spent more time worrying about the beaches than the LTC facilities... also, "ventilator shortages."

[Bostonseminole]

18 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Better practices in the nursing homes could cut deaths almost in half compared to March-May. We made a lot of mistakes early on. Spent more time worrying about the beaches than the LTC facilities... also, "ventilator shortages."

yeap, for sure, I hope we never see that again and lots of lessons learned for the next one, we did not know much about the virus back then.  

[NorEastermass128]

I wonder when business travel will resume in earnest.  All trips are canceled through the end of the calendar year for me. Maybe some time next spring?

[NorEastermass128]

32 minutes ago, NorEastermass128 said:

I wonder when business travel will resume in earnest.  All trips are canceled through the end of the calendar year for me. Maybe some time next spring?

I equate increased business travel with a return to normalcy economically speaking. Once companies start sending employees around the country, we’ll (hopefully) be in a good/safer spot. 

[Bostonseminole]

7 minutes ago, NorEastermass128 said:

I equate increased business travel with a return to normalcy economically speaking. Once companies start sending employees around the country, we’ll (hopefully) be in a good/safer spot. 

yeah, no international travel for us till next year and then TBD, domestic is OK but if you are in a sales role only, otherwise needs CEO approval.