DeltaT13

Can you cut and paste the article for those of us that can't bypass the pay wall?

Not surprising but finally official. The State fair has been canceled.

As for the masks, there are several issues at play. When the disease was first emerging, they didn't want to encourage mask wearing as a way to prevent catching it as it simply isnt effective that way. Now that the disease is entrenched and everywhere, along with asymptomatic spreading (which is a super complicated topic and hard to study) they just want everyone to wear masks as a way to reduces the amount of particles spraying out of all our mouths. Masks are just about mass containment of airborne particulates and obviously effective from a standpoint of preventing shit from flying out of our mouths and lungs. The situation has changed since the early days, masks are now a great tool in mitigating spread, they do not do a whole lot for the wearer for themselves, that's why its team effort. I wear a mask for everyone else. Everyone else wears a mask for me. Make sense?

I look at this as a subtle nuance and not a contradiction. Alcohol is bad for the body, there are no two ways about it. But in very select circumstances, alcohol probably has affects on other underlying conditions, like in this case, dementia. That doesnt mean that alcohol is good for you, or even recommended, they just happen to find a unique set of circumstances where it might mitigate the severity of another ailment. Medicine isnt black and white, it is very complex to understand how it is all connected. I think it is still very accurate to say that alcohol is not good for the body in any amount. I wouldn't recommend drinking because it may help prevent another disease 30 years from now. The collateral damage from drinking might cause another condition or outweigh any other potential value. This type of article should be a starting point for further studies on why alcohol might temper the effects of dementia which would lead scientists to a better cure or medicine (not alcohol) for preventatively treating dementia. It should not encourage people to drink in hopes that it prevents this horrible disease that you may or may not get years later. It's all about context.

I trust the thousands of scientists studying this virus, of which zero have made any mention of the virus weakening. That first study is nearly a month old and had no backing from any other major medical doctors. This is simply a matter of people in Europe following instructions while Americans go out of their way to flout said instructions and are almost purposely trying to disobey all guidance.

The virus certainly isnt weakening. We are just seeing the true American selfishness and ignorance on full display. We always knew it existed, but this virus has really made it shine. Americans refuse to give up any of their personal freedoms for the greater good of the country. You reap what you sow.

Will be interested to see if selfish boneheaded Americans can pull this off. And I say this because here are the countries we are comparing right now...

I"m just playing devils advocate here, it's certainly a complicated topic but gyms are a unique place. Using a post you made, your first day back at the gym you planned to go for a massive 3 hour session where you would be breathing heavy for hours, possibly coughing at times if you really exerted yourself. You would be spitting and grunting during heavy lifts. You would be sweating all over the place. You would be lifting up and touching tons of shared items and objects. Gyms are inherently ****ing disgusting and absolute germ factories. Add on to that the fact that people spend orders of magnitude longer in a gym than a regular store and you have a unique space that requires additional measures. What if you had COVID-19 and weren't showing symptoms yet and went to the gym for your 3 hour super session.....it would not be good, and this type of thing will certainly happen Now lets compare a home depot trip. I walk in, grab my stuff, talk to no one, virtually touch nothing, dont sweat, don't grunt, don't breath heavy and leave 10 minutes later (and I wear a mask the entire time). I see a very big difference. Gyms are on a whole different level, and should be treated that way.

In a nutshell.

One can only hope. Nothing personal but he’s the most competent governor in the country right now and tamped down the biggest hot spot in the world in under 2 months. I hope he sticks to his guns for the duration of this thing and continues being strict. I’m blown away that people can’t just take 6-12 months off from traveling and being reckless. It’s pretty wild but exactly what I’d expect from spoiled Americans. I’ve barely left the house for 3 months and I’m thriving. Working on projects, gardening, building shit, fixing things, and doing a lot of reading. It’s a shame people can’t follow directions and not be selfish. Oh well...

I didn’t mean to post this on the banter page. Haha

Thats a weird take. What exactly has changed? The disease is still just as dangerous, still just as contagious, still no good treatment. People are just getting bored and reckless. The people you speak of are critical thinkers who understand risk and have patience. The phases don't mean any less risk if you catch this, just a slightly lower chance of being infected. Also, aren't you the guy who continually posted updates over and over with the new numbers, basically acting as an arm of media and spreading the fear among this group?

There were many locations available in Rochester starting in early May and there was virtually no wait. I called, made the appointment and got the test a few hours later. The wife and I both got tested and both were negative, boooo. A quick google search seems to show locations in the Buffalo area. The test is covered if you have insurance under the CARES act.

I have to wonder if the seasonal depression many people experience is exacerbated by the fact that we hunker down and basically don't touch the ground or earth for 4-6 months each winter. Certainly intriguing. Also, think about walking around on a carpet in socks. You build up an incredible amount of static electricity that is actually a very high voltage. That can't be good for our circuits. I was wildly skeptical of this idea but am quickly coming around to the idea that it really might be helpful

I'm currently working out a deal with the ROC airport to inflate their numbers even higher next winter to prevent this from happening. I'm thinking we might even get a 200" season if I can round up a enough cash. Taking donations....

I'm a very scientific guy so I'm definitely a little skeptical, but I also can see how some of this makes pretty good logical sense. Humans certainly involved to be in contact with the earth nearly all the time for thousands upon thousands of years (that is until modern inventions began to isolate us from the earth). That certainly happened much faster than we could evolve so perhaps we are living out of electrical balance. Our bodies are run on electrical signals, so there is definitely some intriguing connections between being grounded and not grounded. That said, the placebo effect is incredibly strong so I'm wary of buying into this completely. Would definitely like to see some rigorous double blind studies and will continue to look into this. So if nothing else, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had never heard about it until you mentioned it and find it quite interesting.

Hey Wolfie, you were always tracking something and always trying to remain optimistic. You will be missed but I know you'll still be back to get your fix. Good luck in your future endeavors and thanks for always being a level headed weather watcher with us.

Some rare good news on the COVID-19 front. Seems like asymptomatic spreading isn't nearly as likely as first feared. This could start to change the whole game if true. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html

This will be a major point of conversation for sure.

I think outdoor transmission is minimal at best. Hence why spring break didn’t cause a spike and the reopening protests in Michigan didnt cause a spike.

We will see a second wave and third wave and fourth wave Etc. The goal was to flatten the curve. We flattened it. Hospitals are ready. Time to get back at it while maintaining the best social practices that we can. No large scale concerts or sports for awhile still.

The NFL might be able to limp along for awhile on TV advertising, but I just read that 50 percent of stadium ticket sales are used to pay the athletes salaries. Seems like something would have to give to make that work if it went on all season. Additionally, advertising dollars will be in short supply as we enter the depression. A 2020 football season seems to be in jeopardy in my opinion.

Thats all well and good but I don't imagine these players and teams want to volunteer their time and play sports for free. Sports are built on income from ticket sales. Without it, sports cannot function. The entire foundation is gone without the fans and money. Not sure how this would ever really work.

I think these are the kinds of gatherings we need to slowly start doing. People need to start small. We have to gauge how bad things are and at least test the waters on how bad the spread will be as we begin to crawl out of our houses. The hospitals aren’t overrun if there is a spike. Large gatherings like concerts, sports, and packed bars need to wait, as a super spreader could still cause a dangerous outbreak. But otherwise, I think the time has come. It’s inevitable that we will eventually have to start socializing again, we just need to take baby steps. I still haven’t made the plunge myself, but many of my friends have started to socialize within our group again.

No one knew what to expect, I find it hard to blame anyone with this thing. I think erring on the side of caution was the only logical way to respond. A blunder implies there was an obvious better way to handle it, but we overlooked it. Would be nice if hospitals could have fully segregated wards so that electives can continue. Perhaps we will see specialized hospitals set aside for pandemics someday. Moth balled. Too much on the line to roll those dice this time, we just werent ready.