buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 6:39:35 AM

1

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 7:28:32 AM

2

Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 1:

As a fellow NPR masochist, did you hear the interview with the former CDC hack who went on about how terrible the Trump Administration's response to coronavirus has been, without being able to do much to come up with examples?

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 7:45:52 AM

3

Reply to Occasional Reader in 2:

Missed that one, though it doesn't surprise me.  Did you hear about Warren ranting that she'd de-fund the border barrier construction to re-purpose the money towards fighting coronavirus?

She seems to miss the concept that having a barrier to keep out illegal and unvetted entrants just might help keep out undesirable diseases.

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 7:49:48 AM

4

In #3 buzzsawmonkey said: She seems to miss the concept that having a barrier to keep out illegal and unvetted entrants just might help keep out undesirable diseases.

Yes, and Ted Cruz neatly skewered her on exactly that point. 

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 7:56:29 AM

5

Syrah 2/28/2020 8:24:05 AM

6

I had to go to the clinic yesterday for a burn. 

No insurance. 

Consultation for 2nd degree burn, treatment etc, out the door charge - $163.00. Prescription for antibiotic burn cream, $15.00. The clinic offers a 50% discount on un insured charges paid the day of service and they offer a 33% discount if you need to work out the payment over a 90 day period.

the insurance company would have been billed twice what I paid.

While what I paid was a huge chunk of my nearly non existent disposable income, that was a lot better than I expected.

i suspect that a big part of our medical cost problem is that too much is charged to high overhead insurance. Also, I think that people go to the doctor way too much, largely because they don’t have any direct payment understanding of what they are paying for and how much it costs at the register. 

Syrah 2/28/2020 8:25:49 AM

7

Reply to Syrah in 6:

the worst part of the whole clinic experience was being in a waiting room full of people couching and sneezing. 

I almost chicken out and ran. 

Syrah 2/28/2020 8:27:20 AM

8

Couching sb coughing. 

There there was one guy there sprawled out on the floor and very clearly I’ll with something nasty. 

Syrah 2/28/2020 8:28:04 AM

9

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 8:31:58 AM

10

Reply to Syrah in 6:

I hope your burn is feeling better, anyway.  How did it happen? 

Syrah 2/28/2020 8:35:41 AM

11

Reply to Occasional Reader in 10:

i learned that when juggling hot cooking pans, it is best to avoid forgetting that the hot parts can leave a nasty burn. 

Shorter answer: clumsiness in the kitchen. 

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 8:38:59 AM

12

In #11 Syrah said: clumsiness in the kitchen. 

Courtin' in the kitchen...

lucius septimius 2/28/2020 8:46:27 AM

13

In #11 Syrah said: i learned that when juggling hot cooking pans,

Good thing you weren't juggling chainsaws.

lucius septimius 2/28/2020 8:47:02 AM

14

Reply to Occasional Reader in 2:

Oh, it's already the Drumpf Plague.  He caused it by thinking un-good thoughts or something.  

Syrah 2/28/2020 9:14:26 AM

15

The Corona Virus outbreak may be bad in Iran.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/2/25/applying-essential-oil-to-anus-cures-coronavirus-iranian-cleric

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 9:31:43 AM

16

Reply to Syrah in 15:

An Iranian rock group, the Quran-Teens, is knockin’ ‘em dead with their new hit song, “My Corona”:

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 9:36:26 AM

17

In #11 Syrah said: i learned that when juggling hot cooking pans, it is best to avoid forgetting that the hot parts can leave a nasty burn. 

I've learned to place an oven mitt on the handle of any cookware that I've just removed from the oven, etc. while it's sitting on the stovetop, so that I don't forget and absent-mindedly try to pick it up by the handle. 

PaladinPhil 2/28/2020 10:50:26 AM

18

Reply to Syrah in 15:

Currently Iran is sitting at a mortality rate of 10%, higher than what China has reported (maybe 2%?). Italy is sitting at a 5% mortality rate, also higher.

Two things to consider; 1.) The mortality of Covid-19 is higher then reported or 2.) there's far more people infected than we realize.

might be a column A, column B. type thing though.

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 11:54:46 AM

19

In #18 PaladinPhil said: Currently Iran is sitting at a mortality rate of 10%, higher than what China has reported (maybe 2%?). Italy is sitting at a 5% mortality rate, also higher.

Where are you getting those figures, if I may ask?  I've seen nothing remotely approaching those 5 and 10% figures; and on the contrary, that South Korea (which for various reasons might be the best benchmark) is at 0.7%. 

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 12:02:01 PM

20

Reply to Occasional Reader in 19:

FWIW:  Five reasons to stop freaking out about coronavirus

Pull quote from embedded Haaretz link:  "Also, according to a recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the mortality rate from the current disease ranges from 0.5 to 2 percent, and is significantly lower than the mortality rate from the 2002 SARS outbreak (9.5 percent) and much lower than the 2012 SARS outbreak (34.4 percent). It may even be close to the mortality rate from an ordinary flu outbreak in the United States."

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 12:05:44 PM

21

Well, so far I've lost some $12,000 thanks to coronavirus panic.

Thanks, panic-mongerers!

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 12:21:19 PM

22

In #21 buzzsawmonkey said: Well, so far I've lost some $12,000 thanks to coronavirus panic.

How so?  Stocks? 

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 12:32:51 PM

23

In #22 Occasional Reader said: How so?  Stocks? 

Yep, my pitiful nest egg.

Syrah 2/28/2020 12:48:36 PM

24

Reply to PaladinPhil in 18:

i think are a few significant factors fueling the Wuhan Corona Virus 

1. Nobody trusts the Chinese government to give truthful numbers on the virus. 

2. Images out of China housing down people and whole cities with disinfectant suggests that China is very frightened about the virus, which does not match their reported numbers. 

3. News prefers to report the awful and the extreme. 

4. People, for better or worse, notice bad news more than good.

5. Other things.

with the virus now out in the wild, we should be able to get better numbers on the infection rate and the mortality rate. 

If the virus is highly contagious but with most people showing mild to no symptoms, it could look more lethal than it is because we are counting the obvious sick against the dead. 

There is a lot of “don’t know” on this thing. 

buzzsawmonkey 2/28/2020 12:52:13 PM

25

Listening to the NPR reportage on the primaries this morning made me immediately think of Creeque Alley, by the Mamas and Papas.  I've got the first verse:

Old Joe Biden thought he was high-ridin’

Right into the candidacy

Pete and Lizzie worked themselves into a tizzy

Pushing intersectionality

Bernie Sanders tried to make his message stick

Sayin’ “Vote for me ‘cause I’m an old Bolshevik!”

Bloomberg and Steyer just kept a-spendin’ higher

To get their poll numbers out of the dumps

And no one's drawing crowds except Donald Trump

lucius septimius 2/28/2020 2:58:40 PM

26

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 3:20:55 PM

27

Reply to lucius septimius in 26:

A friend just happened to send me that joke three days ago.  I wonder is it making the rounds on the internet, hence that coincidence. 

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 3:24:06 PM

28

Reply to Occasional Reader in 27:

And of course, it reminds me of (arguably) the most offensive joke I know.

What's that?  You want to hear it?  Well, of course!  SO REMEMBER IT'S JUST A JOKE, OKAY?

A rabbi, a lawyer and a priest are on a sinking ship.  

"The ship is sinking!" the rabbi exclaims, "everyone to the lifeboats!  Women and children first!" 

The lawyer sneers:  "F**k the children."

The priest earnestly inquires, "do you think there's time?!"

PaladinPhil 2/28/2020 4:29:48 PM

29

Reply to Occasional Reader in 19:

I have the main site of the corona virus on a tab. Iran reports 388 infections with 34 deaths. Not quite 10% but close. Numbers have changed with Italy and it's 888 confirmed with 21 deaths. So more than 2% at the moment.  Might have been over with the previous number for Italy, can't remember much now.

Occasional Reader 2/28/2020 4:51:11 PM

30

In #29 PaladinPhil said: can't remember much now.

 Bartender, CUT HIM OFF