Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 6:19:20 AM

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revobob 5/5/2020 6:52:03 AM

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Buenos dias, OR. Como esta frijoles?

Saw Lucius' post about correspondence with RealWest. I too saved my exchanges with him from the end. I also spoke to him on the phone a very few days before he passed- it was obvious at that point that his brain was affected. And I too miss his on-line presence. Skaal!

I go in tomorrow for some more microwave ablation to kill some new cancer. Small area, no big deal in the scheme of things, but that leads too easily into thoughts of all the folks who have been in my life and have now moved on. More than half of my old circle of shootin buddies are gone now, but the thing that really struck home came up while filling out job apps. (I'm looking for some part-time to supplement the fixed income.) I had a hard time coming up with live people to offer as references! On the plus side that also means that most who might have had anything negative to say have also been silenced...

lucius septimius 5/5/2020 6:58:54 AM

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revobob 5/5/2020 7:14:56 AM

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To further brighten my mood, the alumni magazine from my college came yesterday. After checking to see how many classmates have kicked off, I started reading the articles. Oy to the veh! Macalester was founded along strict Presbyterian principles- even when I started there daily chapel was mandatory. Now they proudly boast that 'Princeton Review' lists them as the most welcoming of LGBTAUetcetc students and faculty. One side bar article was written by a (female?)  psychologist who insists on being addressed as they/them. (Not only is she perverted, but she is proudly plural about it!) The school President for the past 17 years is retiring at the end of May, and his replacement is a woman who is referred to as a 'Latinx". I'm not sure if that indicates she is otherly gendered or what. Pride days and marches, separate Reunions for the LGBTAUetcetc students (there have been separate reunions for 'students of color' for at least a decade now), the attendant curriculum additions of all the weird courses, etc- Things have sure come a long way from Class of '69 days! The scary thing to a conservative reactionary curmudgeon like me is that for a school of somewhere around 2000 or so, Mac is heavily over-represented in legislative aide, asst. attorneys general, various levels of judgeships, and educational administrative positions. They recruit worldwide, so their teachings are spread through many countries.

Gosh! If only I could have stomached those changes when they first took hold, I could have been somebody! On the other hand I don't think I would like that somebody very much.

revobob 5/5/2020 7:17:32 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 3:  I made hash browns with eggs and sausage. Got the hash browns slightly crispy, just the way I like them!

We're fairly warm today, but showers and T-storms passing through all day today and tomorrow. Yesterday was beautiful though.

revobob 5/5/2020 7:19:21 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 1: The Murder Hornets will have to get by Kentucky first, and we've all got shotguns. Since those bugs are only a bit smaller than Bob-White quail, I reckon we'll deal with them here OK!  ;=)

vxbush 5/5/2020 7:21:12 AM

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In #4 revobob said: Gosh! If only I could have stomached those changes when they first took hold, I could have been somebody! On the other hand I don't think I would like that somebody very much.

Yeah, I'm seeing the similar slide into multiculti nonsense at a local university, and I just have to shake my head at these supposedly hugely important issues. The level of pettiness is breathtaking. 

Alice in Dairyland 5/5/2020 7:44:04 AM

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revobob 5/5/2020 7:47:00 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 7: When I was at Mac, tuition and other costs were essentially the same as the Ivy League schools. Two years before I started, the owner of Reader's Digest matched whatever the school could raise- It amounted to IIRC something like $33 million, which in 1963 was pretty serious money. It was like a trailer-parker hitting the lottery! They built some new buildings, which were fantastic- we had an electron microscope and a radioactive Cesium source in the Science Building at a time when few state universities had those. The Performing Arts Center was visited by people from all over the world to see the moveable stage- could be configured from a 'normal' straight stage to a rostrum, the ceilings and walls had moveable acoustic panels to 'tune' the acoustics, etc. Then they decided to have an all-PhD faculty. They forced out a number of lower level instructors, and replaced them with inexperienced professional students, some of whom were not much older than us. They introduced pass-fail grading and several other latest-fad in education tactics. In the end, my class graduated in cut-offs and flip-flops instead of cap-and-gown, and some of my fellows destroyed or refused their diplomas, usually with expletive-laced comments. Instead of Pomp and Circumstance the music was acid rock. That finally demonstrated to my parents why I had left.  Even I was not callow enough to demonstrate my appreciation for the sacrifices our parents made to put them through that. 

revobob 5/5/2020 7:50:32 AM

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Reply to Alice in Dairyland in 8: Sorry about that. I guess my wife and I are lucky. We get by quite well with just each other, so this isn't hitting us as hard as a lot of folks. It is a bit aggravating because we have a slowly growing group of friends we have made here, and this is slowing that process down.

vxbush 5/5/2020 7:57:29 AM

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Hmmm. Fauci knew about hydroxychloroquine back in 2005. I'm not a doctor, but that seems very odd. Further research needed, as this was testing done on cells, not testing on humans. 

We have lots and lots of data of the usefulness of HCQ with azithromycin and zinc in humans during this COVID-19 situation, but I'm now more interested in why WHO and CDC weren't willing to support this earlier. Is someone financially involved with the remdesivir research and is hoping to make gobs of money? 

JCM 5/5/2020 8:00:58 AM

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Since COVID Seattle has been letting he homeless run rampant.

One camp in a city park has been come a focal point for hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other delightful charms of a liberal city.

The City cleaned it up.... and the Clowncil goes nuts.

After clean-up of Ballard homeless encampment, some council members want answers 

buzzsawmonkey 5/5/2020 8:06:20 AM

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In #12 vxbush said: Further research needed, as this was testing done on cells, not testing on humans. 

One of the things that has struck me is that it used to be routine to offer prisoners serving long sentences a commutation if they agreed to serve as human subjects for drug testing.   Nathan Leopold, of the Loeb-Leopold murder, was serving a life sentence for his part in the crime (Richard Loeb had been murdered in prison); Leopold won his release by participating in such tests.

Instead of anyone talking about such a program for testing potential cures for coronavirus, we have governors letting criminals out of prison lest they catch the virus.

Alice in Dairyland 5/5/2020 8:14:17 AM

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Reply to revobob in 10: It's not you really.  I'm just so sick of every single commercial telling me we're in this together, the emails from every company I've ever done business with telling me what they're doing to fight this, the "Karens", the media, every celebrity who thinks we care what they think!, no f*cking toilet paper (why?), free school lunches for everyone, the endless hysteria.  It's wearing on me.  I just want to get back to the normal crazy.  I have to admit, I rather enjoy the isolation, but I'm the rather anti-social type.  So there is that. 

buzzsawmonkey 5/5/2020 8:17:47 AM

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It is my understanding Trump recently raised an estimate of the projected coronavirus deaths upward, to a possible 60,000.  

In light of the recent stories of places like New York grossly inflating the death figures---nobody dies of anything in NYC except coronavirus any more---I found myself wondering if his raising the projected figure was actually an oblique effort to address this inflation of the death figures; since the Democrats basically say "black" if Trump says "white," and say "white" if he says "black," if he projects a 60,000 figure will they start keeping (somewhat more) honest records, thereby lowering the reported death rate, simply to prove him wrong?

Alice in Dairyland 5/5/2020 8:18:01 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 14:   Maybe they inoculated them before they released them; for their own good, you know?  See which drugs worked and which ones didn't?/

buzzsawmonkey 5/5/2020 8:20:38 AM

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Everybody just keep singing:

revobob 5/5/2020 8:28:20 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 12: In a word, yes. Hydroyquinone and a-mycin are public domain, and I have seen that a dose of either is about $1.00. Remdesivir is newly developed and the patent is reportedly held by the Chinese lab. The lab/legal entity in question has been reported to be heavily funded by George Soros and Bill Gates. (I have seen credible reports that Soros has invested heavily in a couple of research labs and pharmaceutical companies in China.) Dr. Fauci is also involved in some way- probably through funneling US research grant money to Wuhan. There are also close ties between a Dr. Li, nicknamed 'The Bat Lady', a lab in North Carolina where she was a visiting researcher, and the Wuhan lab complex. The lab in NC was doing research on 'chimerical' viruses. These are basically artificially created by taking a snip of this DNA from one type of virus, a pinch of DNA from another, and combining them. A law was passed in the US that banned such research, and the lab in NC closed out that project. Dr. Li then returned to China where they don't have such silly laws. 

Oh, and the Remdesivir? About $1000 per pill.

revobob 5/5/2020 8:29:54 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 14:  Criminals have better advocacy groups than law-abiding citizens.

revobob 5/5/2020 8:40:12 AM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 16: We've been following the press conferences pretty closely. Trump has made it very clear that the governors of all the states and territories are responsible for their own polities- the Feds are supporting the states and offering suggestions based on the overall collected data. There are variations in the way that many of the states are categorizing their numbers, some motivated by politics, some by obsolescent technology, and some by sluggish reporting response from many areas, probably especially low density rural regions. In addition, it has been stressed from the outset that they are basing their projections on models which are adjusted on a nearly hourly basis as new data comes in. Factor in the lags between infection, treatment (if any), death reporting, and it all becomes basically a crapshoot. I would also suspect that as the roles of Fauci and Birx become better revealed as probably knowing more and sooner than was previously guessed they may be adjusting numbers to look less culpable.

buzzsawmonkey 5/5/2020 8:40:42 AM

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Reply to Alice in Dairyland in 17:

Nice sarc, but I find myself wondering whether the destruction of such prison volunteer programs is/was one of the results of the "prison rights movement."  Back when I was in law school I worked for the ACLU as part of the school's "clinical program"; the head of the ACLU chapter's legal department was a big prisoners' rights advocate, and we got all kinds of notes from Florida prisoners: "I want my TV privileges back.  They only took them away because I shanked someone," and similar such things.  

I haven't kept up with the whole prison-rights thing (the entire experience made me resolve that while these people may have needed advocates, I was not going to be one of them), but ending prisoner drug-testing programs would certainly have been in keeping with the whole tenor of that area of law.

Syrah 5/5/2020 8:56:25 AM

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From John Hayward

That little bitty taste of power - reporting someone for violations, telling them what to do, participating in a mob that ruins them for violating a speech code - hits the unprepared psyche like a jolt of electricity. The appetite for more awakens with surprising speed. 

Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 8:57:57 AM

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Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 8:58:53 AM

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In #16 buzzsawmonkey said: It is my understanding Trump recently raised an estimate of the projected coronavirus deaths upward, to a possible 60,000.  

Er, we're already past that... 69K or so.

lucius septimius 5/5/2020 9:04:07 AM

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Syrah 5/5/2020 9:12:35 AM

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Murder Hornets are a great excuse to go and buy a shotgun. 

I am sure the neighbors will understand. I will buy them some spackle and spatula for when I miss the little bastards. 

Do they make shotguns that are semi-automatic? Are full auto shotguns legal?

Those murder hornets need killing. 

revobob 5/5/2020 9:25:57 AM

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Reply to Syrah in 27: Semi auto shotguns? Heck yes! In fact there are a couple now that have new types of magazine tubes so you can load 24 or more rounds at a time. Full auto, not so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5QTFvnENRc

Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 9:27:39 AM

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In #27 Syrah said: Do they make shotguns that are semi-automatic?

Yes, many.  (I don't have one myself, mine is pump.)

"Are full auto shotguns legal?"

Those are scarce and would likely be very, very expensive if you could find one (e.g. the AA-12).  I imagine they'd be subject to the same Class III Fed registration process of any other full-auto firearm, but I don't know for a fact.  (Revo might know.)

In any event, for the murder hornets, I'll make the same observation that was made regarding the Starship Troopers in the enjoyably bad film of the same name, as they blasted away semi-ineffectually at the alien bugs with what appeared to be ordinary assault rifles (with lots of extra plastic furniture); wouldn't big cans of Raid be more effective? 

Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 9:32:49 AM

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In #28 revobob said: In fact there are a couple now that have new types of magazine tubes so you can load 24 or more

I'd think I'd rather look into a box magazine-fed semiauto shotgun were I to go that route; of course, that would also be subject to local law, etc. 

revobob 5/5/2020 9:50:47 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 30: I should have stopped at new magazines. That would have included the box mags too.

Full auto shotguns are subject to the same restrictions as any other full auto- Class III FFL, heavy tax per gun, etc. IMHO not worth it for any full auto.  For me it is hard to imagine a reason for full auto for a civilian. Even in military/ LE their only real use is suppressive fire, and especially for an individual a magazine, no matter how large, goes dry awful fast. Full auto is difficult to control and would likely raise the probability of collateral casualties. 

JCM 5/5/2020 9:54:54 AM

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Reply to Syrah in 27:

Gatling shotgun.... that would be legal.

Gatling guns are not consider "automatic" weapons.

Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 10:23:35 AM

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In #31 revobob said: Full auto is difficult to control

In full auto I’re fired an M4A1, Uzi, MP5 and Thompson.  I would say only the Thompson did I find difficult to control. But yes, the ammunition runs out awfully quickly on all of them.

Occasional Reader 5/5/2020 10:30:58 AM

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revobob 5/5/2020 10:34:08 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 33: Well,,, by some folks standards, the Thompson is the only one of those firing 'real' bullets! By now you are a more experienced shooter than most. The average Joe who rips off a mag with an AK will be shooting airplanes by about the 6th round.

I once hit 8 separate steel targets (18 x 24"- big!) in just over 1 second from low ready, timed by electronic timer. The distance was 7 yards, so close, big targets. I couldn't do that now, but aimed shots at the rate of 3 or 4 per second will keep opponents heads down. If you can approach that, full auto is probably unnecessary. (I was the 3rd fastest in the group of us who tried this test. Our club had some good shooters. My gun was a full-race STI with high cap mags in .38 Super. Red dot sight, recoil compensator, 2 lb trigger.)

revobob 5/5/2020 10:36:34 AM

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Reply to JCM in 32: Probably have to use the old school full brass shotgun shells though- even some of the really fast cycling semi autos have trouble feeding paper or plastic shells.

doppelganglander 5/5/2020 10:55:41 AM

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Reply to revobob in 4:

That's exactly the sort of school that may not recover from the lockdown. Not sure about their endowment,  but they have massive overhead in useless people and programs. Older alumni, the ones more likely to have money, will be disinclined to donate. Fewer students will be willing to pay top dollar for that BS, especially if classes are online - in hard times, they want marketable degrees. Sounds like the school needs to go the way of the dodo.