PhineasC

I can always go back to MD. They are still in the pool and taking pictures of their frozen drinks down there.

Let's hope everyone becomes sick of seeing that phrase.

The wind today did a number on the most vibrant trees. Many are bare already. Those that are left are more dull. Still looks nice but we are on the downswing now in terms of color for sure.

Yeah, I feel pretty good for 1.5”+ here. Hopefully that Randolph magic will be in play to wring out every last drop of precip.

Went up to the top of cranmore today. Still pre-peak there it seems like to me. So leaf peepers can still go there for a while longer.

He’s just mad I am not in MD wallowing in the swampy misery with him any more.

My wife realized she has been taking tons of pictures but we didn’t have one of the classic deck shot.

A shot with our actual camera finally:

We peak.

Glad we both get to chill out in NNE at the same time.

LOL did you read the rest of my post. We are saying the same thing. By "peer pressure" I just mean you get into the habit because everyone else is doing it and you want to fit in, not because you are thinking about COVID death. Public pressure is a much better way to motivate people than fear.

For most people I know, wearing a mask has become more about peer pressure than fear of the virus at this point. It was the other way around in early summer. I think most people have a bit of COVID news/stat fatigue and have been tuning it out, and the hygiene, social distancing, and mask practices are really just habits now versus something they think about actively. That's not a bad thing, really. Fear of dying from COVID when that likelihood is incredibly remote is very unhelpful. Better to just get into good habits that becomes second-nature. I do know a few people who are still "on lockdown" (of their own choosing) and basically never leave the house... I am little worried about them now. It's time to come out, folks.

In order to determine the rates and severity of these long term effects, we need to follow survivors for 5-20 years after recovery and also control for the many other factors that could be causing their lingering issues (such as existing lung tissue scarring from smoking). There is no way to be speaking definitively on long term effects right now. It's just not possible.

Oh yeah I have been out and about. Lots of stuff to do with the house, hoping that winds down soon so I can enjoy that recreation more. Ice gulch is a really neat hike. We did that back in June.

Wow, that’s interesting. I had no clue that was there.

The flu is much deadlier for kids than COVID. Stats show this.

It’s doesn’t necessarily apply to any pandemic. Past flu pandemics killed healthy young people and children at a much higher rate, for example.

About 4%, according to the CDC. https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/new-cdc-report-shows-94-of-covid-19-deaths-in-us-had-underlying-medical-conditions/

Over 90% of those 200k deaths had other major underlying conditions that are also leading causes of death, such as serious diabetes (85k deaths per year), chronic lower respiratory disease (150k deaths per year), and heart disease (655k deaths per year). Just throwing out that 200k number with zero context is super misleading. A sizable percent of that 200k were already deathly ill and were destined to die this year no matter what. COVID helped that along just like a cold or pneumonia could.

Things are much more upbeat here. The MA forum has been like a funeral procession for many months now. Several reasons for that both on and off the boards. No need to rehash it here.

I'll be honest, I don't get it either. I just know the guy who manages my property when I am not there and lives a little north of Berlin said the plows get stuck on my driveway every year and he has to come pull them out with an even bigger machine. LOL He called me tonight and told me I needed to have my property graded in several spots because the plows slip into the lower spots off the driveway and get stuck. Silly plow guy, I said.

That's what they call a "winner's problem." Randolph had 207" last winter. It's a microclimate considering we average 185" and nearby Gorham/Berlin average 85-90".

Seems like when these stories come up it later turns out they either had a false positive with the first test, or the second test is detecting old leftover bits of the virus instead of an active infection. But having only 5-6 months of somewhat weak immunity (especially in the older, vulnerable crowd) lines up with some of the more pessimistic views of the effectiveness of the vaccines. The jury is still out on this since we lack long-term data, obviously.

Yes, I rocked a pair of dinged-up white skinny skis back then. And crappy used mismatched boots. I definitely grew up hobo skiing.