JCM 7/14/2020 5:19:10 PM

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buzzsawmonkey 7/14/2020 5:25:33 PM

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lucius septimius 7/14/2020 5:39:33 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 2:

I remember seeing in old National Geographics ads for various European car companies trying to get people to do just that.  I gather you avoided import duties if you had driven it for a certain length of time.

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 5:42:25 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 2:

There were two transmission types according to Wikipedia (link)

One was "Hydraulique" or "Citromatique"
This was a four-speed gearbox and clutch, operated by a hydraulic controller. To change gears, the driver flicked a lever behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased-up on the accelerator pedal. The hydraulic controller disengaged the clutch, engaged the nominated gear, and re-engaged the clutch.

And yes, it had some sort of hydraulic-pneumatic suspension (also described on wikipedia)

The cars did not do well in the US.

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 5:45:56 PM

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What does "We don't have much time" against Coronavirus mean? (link)

What kind of bioweapon is it?

From a virologist who escaped from Hong Kong:

"I am waiting to tell all the things I know, provide all the evidence to the U.S. Government," Yan added. "And I want them to understand, and I also want the U.S. people to understand how terrible this is. It is not what you have seen ... This is something very different. We have to chase the true evidence and get the real evidence because this is a key part to stop this pandemic. We don't have much time."

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 5:46:33 PM

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Worth a repost

Once upon a time there was a blogsite
Where we used to blaze a path or two
Remember how we read Buzz's parodies
And think of all the great things the US could do

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd post and reply for many a day
We'd have the thoughts we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were right and sure to have our way

Then Barack Obama got elected
Bloggers got banned and thrown away
When we ran off to blogspot
We'd post until C2 gave us our say

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd post and reply for many a day
We'd have the thoughts we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were right and sure to have our way

Then C2 vanished beneath us
Nothing was the way it used to be
In Rude Bridge we saw a reflection
Was that lonely poster really me?

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd post and reply for many a day
We'd have the thoughts we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were right and sure to have our way

Jukebox

JCM 7/14/2020 5:46:47 PM

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Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 5:50:38 PM

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In #7 JCM said: Joe will be selling our kids!

Is it a 5-year plan? How many deaths? The Cultural Energy Revolution! A great leap downward! The Horrormodor!

doppelganglander 7/14/2020 5:52:18 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 5:

It's a remarkably ineffective bioweapon, actually. It's hard to say with various agencies submitting inaccurate numbers, but it still seems the death rate is less than 1% unless you're an elderly person in a NY nursing home.

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 6:02:00 PM

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In #9 doppelganglander said: It's a remarkably ineffective bioweapon, actually. It's hard to say with various agencies submitting inaccurate numbers, but it still seems the death rate is less than 1% unless you're an elderly person in a NY nursing home.

But we don't know - does it hide and come back later? Why is she so concerned about it?

Why does the Defense Department have a travel ban into August, at least? What do they know they aren't telling?

I have gotten the impression there is something about this the US does know, but is not letting out yet.

buzzsawmonkey 7/14/2020 6:04:40 PM

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In #4 Kosh's Shadow said: The cars did not do well in the US.

Joe Greasemonkey had no idea how to fix Citroens---and, even if he did, you couldn't get parts.

My brother had a friend when he was in school who had a Citroen he'd purchased overseas---and who picked up the partial corpse of one in a junkyard here in order to be able to switch serial numbers somehow, and thereby make it fraudulently street-legal.

Back in the '60s and '70s the domestic car manufacturers worked really hard to keep out imports---the burgeoning popularity of the Volkswagen scared the shit out of them.   I remember ads on the radio in the '60s for the Renault Dauphine---"the smart buy in small cars"---but don't remember ever seeing one.  My folks had a series of VWs, and my first 3 cars were Volvos.  I'd love to have another 544.

buzzsawmonkey 7/14/2020 6:05:04 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 6:

NICE!  And not merely because I'm mentioned.

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 6:06:44 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 10:

I thought that COVID wasn't much of anything until I saw the reaction by people who do know much more than I do.

The more I read about it, the more I think there are bioweapon aspects to it.

And a bioweapon that spreads without killing much until later is a more useful one.

Maybe there is another trigger that will cause it to be more deadly, but some people were more prone to the severe version without the trigger.

I can come up with all sorts of scenarios, but the reaction I see says there is something to it.

And the SciAm article showed the genome to be very cleanly organized - not what I'd expect. (OK, I'm not a virologinst)

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 6:09:17 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 11:

The Renault came with a toolbox. You needed it.

I had a cousin who had a VW Beetle. (She later moved to San Francisco, where she took me to a Mexican place for my first taste of Mexican food. Long before that, she had been in the West End (Boston) amateur theater group - with Leonard Nimoy.)

doppelganglander 7/14/2020 6:09:25 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 13:

Oh, I believe the Chinese engineered a natural virus to be a bioweapon. I just think it's less effective than they had hoped. 

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 6:10:28 PM

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In #12 buzzsawmonkey said: NICE!  And not merely because I'm mentioned.

Thanks. The idea had been stewing in my mind for months, and last night, after reading Mary Hopkin was 70, I wrote that in 5-10 minutes.

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 6:11:39 PM

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In #15 doppelganglander said: Oh, I believe the Chinese engineered a natural virus to be a bioweapon. I just think it's less effective than they had hoped. 

I think the bioweapon escaped before it was finished. But there are bad aspects to it, including damage to the brain, that are not covered well.

PaladinPhil 7/14/2020 6:34:26 PM

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Evening folks. Just had an interesting visit from a close friend that drives trucks for a living. Apparently farmers up here in Canada are having issues in getting the labour force to pick crops. There's talk of them just plowing under what they can't pick. Which means in a month or so there's going to be shortages of vegetables. Fresh and canned. Don't know what it's like in the States currently, but it's something to keep an ear to the ground for.

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 8:17:16 PM

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I know no one will see this now, but I'll find it tomorrow

The Ghost of Smokey Joe

lucius septimius 7/14/2020 8:21:52 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 19:

Kicking the gong around?

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 8:33:04 PM

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In #20 lucius septimius said: Kicking the gong around?

Not me, I'd get COVID

Kosh's Shadow 7/14/2020 8:35:05 PM

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If I get to bed soon, just might get some sleep tonight

Jukebox