Formerly DT: COVID-19 - Featuring Lots of Politics, now CR because political talk not going away

[gmr548 16589]

Could you fucking idiots please discuss gun shit on another thread.  Pro-gun, anti-gun, don't care.  Go somewhere else.

Way to shoot it down

[BabaYaga 15302]

Just now, Bozo_Casanova said:

say it again. 

I would love it if we could, but since the gun shit is directly impacting our ability to work together as a culture to contain an epidemic, No.

Put these twats in the corner please.  Jesus fucking Christ.  

[utee94 15835]

Just now, Bozo_Casanova said:

say it again. 

I would love it if we could, but since the gun shit is directly impacting our ability to work together as a culture to contain an epidemic, No.

Say it again.  You're really solving a big problem here, you're changing minds and saving lives.  Way to go.  Good job, good effort.

[Bozo_Casanova 26509]

10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Would be easier if the folks demanding that we re-open weren't playing toy soldier like a motherfucker.  That was a bad move, distracted like hell from whatever message they had, and was done for the purpose of intimidation only, which is utter bullshit.

So, sorry we're discussing the actual actions taken by the "re-open" protest crowd in a discussion of a pandemic that shut down economic activity and now people want to re-open.  Kinda hard to discuss the topic without it.  I mean, I know that many of us would have PREFERRED that the conversation didn't involve dipshits in full battle rattle, but alas, it did.

That's the irony, you know. The people complaining about reference to gun politics on the covid thread are angry because of people concerned about gun politics impacting the Covid response. 

[GringoSalado 1651]

13 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

say it again. 

I would love it if we could, but since the gun shit is directly impacting our ability to work together as a culture to contain an epidemic, 

Jesus tittydancing Christ if you honestly believe this.

[aggie08 21505]

25 minutes ago, blacklab said:

Just a quick note to remind everyone this is not a political thread. 

I'll be going through the last few pages and handing out timeouts shortly. 

 

Congratulations to the heroes who reported posts.

Edited May 5, 2020 by aggie08

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

34 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

I think the major contention was that they picked a Chili's steak as their first post-quarantine meal. I don't think anyone except the true 1% has anything against going to Chili's (or the like) for some random Tuesday happy hour.

Look if Red Lobster is good enough for Isaiah Thomas, then Chilis should be good enough for any of you food snobs here.

[Wulaw Horn 19133]

47 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

 

I don’t particularly care for Silvers politics, and think he can be a pedantic douchenozzle at times, but he gets to the heart of an issue as best as he can. You might not always like his methodology,  but my god if the herp derps on cnn, msnbc and fox actually frames issues through empirical thought and a made a modicum of attempt to get to the heart of an issue the way he does we’d have about 82% less disagreements/problems and fights. 

Mans if I was Nate Silver I’d now go on a 5 page digression letting you know how I arrived at that 82% less disagreement number. 

[Guest Lobo]

26 minutes ago, Hate said:

There is no disdain as great as the Surly intelligentsia disdain for the average human.

While that's partially true, I have to once again point out most of us were cracking wise about that shitty looking Chili's steak because it all seemed like a strange decision, "Our town is hurting, local stores and eateries are closing left and right and we haven't been out in months!...everyone in the car, let's find a below average national chain that doesn't do shit for our community!"  our only meals not homecooked have been from tacodeli, texas honey ham, and one nicer restaurant that was an anniversary treat for the wife.  All of them local.  If a big worry is the economies of our communities (as well it should be), Chili's seems like a curious choice.  If that's the only restaurant in their town, I get the choice but I've never seen a town that had no restaurants except a Chili's.  

You've eaten at every great local Mexican joint in South Austin, don't tell me you think Chili's is good.  

Edited May 5, 2020 by Lobo

[BabaYaga 15302]

15 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

That's the irony, you know. The people complaining about reference to gun politics on the covid thread are angry because of people concerned about gun politics impacting the Covid response. 

This is disingenuous, nonsensical bullshit.  Nobody with an IQ above room temperature thinks for a fucking second a few protests are going to sway or alter anything.  They are pissing into the wind...as are you with this self-righteous diatribe.  

Edited May 5, 2020 by BabaYaga

[dcar00 14314]

3 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

This is disingenuous, nonsensical bullshit.  Nobody with an IQ above room temperature thinks for a fucking second a few protests are going to sway or alter anything.  They are pissing into the wind...as are you with this self-righteous diatribe.  

CR is boring/circle jerk

[Bozo_Casanova 26509]

3 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

This is disingenuous, nonsensical bullshit.  Nobody with an IQ above room temperature thinks for a fucking second a few protests are going to sway or alter anything.  They are pissing into the wind...as are you with this self-righteous diatribe.  

That's not what diatribe means.  

[Bozo_Casanova 26509]

16 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Congratulations to the heroes who reported posts.

I wonder if they suited up in tactical gear and locked in an empty purple glitter PMag 50 before hitting the report button. 

Edited May 5, 2020 by Bozo_Casanova

[BabaYaga 15302]

3 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

That's not what diatribe means.  

Bless your self righteous little heart....

[Armybrat 40854]

16 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Congratulations to the heroes who reported posts.

Karen has Surly socks?

[Brisketexan 105168]

1 minute ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

That's not what diatribe means.  

See, you gotta break it down.  "Di" means "two," and "tribe" means "tribe," and that "a" in there, well, it's just surplus.  So, what we have here is "two tribes," which means that the key to all of this was first revealed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood back in '84.

I learned everything I know about breaking down words from Bill Blaze.....

[SHOOTER12 8811]

1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Am I now ?... You must be what they call one of them there  sven-jollies.

Whut, Ben's Jolly?

[Hate 20126]

6 minutes ago, Lobo said:

While that's partially true, I have to once again point out most of us were cracking wise about that shitty looking Chili's steak because it all seemed like a strange decision, "Our town is hurting, local stores and eateries are closing left and right and we haven't been out in months!...everyone in the car, let's find a below average national chain that doesn't do shit for our community!"  our only meals not homecooked have been from tacodeli, texas honey ham, and one nicer restaurant that was an anniversary treat for the wife.  All of them local.  If a big worry is the economies of our communities (as well it should be), Chili's seems like a curious choice.  If that's the only restaurant in their town, I get the choice but I've never seen a town that had no restaurants except a Chili's.  

You've eaten at every great local Mexican joint in South Austin, don't tell me you think Chili's is good.  

First of all, there are no “great” Mexican joints in South Austin. Second of all, local people work at the Chili’s. The waiters, cooks, and managers are just as much a part of the community as other places. Ideally, all people would be aware of how important dollars going to small and local restaurants is, but most people just want a sense of normalcy right now. And like it or not Surly 1%, most people can’t really afford to spend $30+ on a steak at a Surly approved steakhouse. To many people, eating out at Chili’s may be their “big night out” for the family. Some people, gulp, may actually like the food there in the absence of being able to attend French Laundry on a weekly basis. 
 

I get that “Chili’s” is easy to make fun and I understand why. The intelligentsia’s disdain for it is merely a metaphor for their disdain for the average American.

[Anastasis 23479]

35 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

since the gun shit is directly impacting our ability to work together as a culture to contain an epidemic

[Armybrat 40854]

Many years ago Applebee’s used to have a really good dessert called The Blondie.

Edited May 5, 2020 by Armybrat

[Anastasis 23479]

7 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

CR is boring

[dcar00 14314]

38 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

Good for Nate -- that obvious issue has been in my mind over the last couple of weeks.  Numbers MUST be adjusted when you are aware that there are new variables impacting those numbers.  "Cases" are absolutely a function of testing, and we are seeing significantly increased testing.

The number that matters is the number of actual, live infections.  Cases are a subset of that, and that number can give us artificially low (mostly) numbers, and then when we compare over time, can give us artificially high (when testing increases) "growth" rates.

We should figure out how to adjust for increased testing (looks like Nate is on it), and using that adjustment, see where numbers go after this round of "re-openings."  Toothpaste is outta the tube.  We need to figure out how to manage it.

And again, I don't understand the resistance to wearing masks when out among other people -- that and frequent hand washing are such easy and effective measures to take, which allow us to maintain economic activity.  Why the resistance?

yep. Nate is right and IMO, a slight "growth" rate in cases is OK.  we are at 3% per 1point3.   we had to limit testing to the really sick for multiple reasons(yes we didn't have enough early) as I believe the US knew early on there were MANY asymptomatic cases/people.

 

[clapclapclap 9000]

Awesome, the dominant strain of CCP-19 may leave victims vulnerable to reinfection:

 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/mutant-coronavirus-has-emerged-more-contagious-than-original

Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that has become dominant worldwide and appears to be more contagious than the versions that spread in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The new strain appeared in February in Europe, migrated quickly to the East Coast of the United States and has been the dominant strain across the world since mid-March, the scientists wrote.

In addition to spreading faster, it may make people vulnerable to a second infection after a first bout with the disease, the report warned.

The 33-page report was posted Thursday on BioRxiv, a website that researchers use to share their work before it is peer reviewed, an effort to speed up collaborations with scientists working on COVID-19 vaccines or treatments. That research has been largely based on the genetic sequence of earlier strains and might not be effective against the new one....(snip)

Edited May 5, 2020 by clapclapclap
It's 12:46 and China still sucks

[Anastasis 23479]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

See, you gotta break it down.  "Di" means "two," and "tribe" means "tribe,"

My favorite tribe.

 

 

[Incredulity 11679]

1 hour ago, Enchubben said:

Can the gun rights/protests talk go back to the Cloak Room?

In regards to the steak discussion - have you guys not been paying attention to @Royalfan5 at all? Wait to buy your steaks until end of next week or week after when supply ramps back up.  If you can find good meat, you are going to pay double for it (unless you are South Austin's mom who gets an unlimited supply for free).  Now is the perfect time to perfect your chicken wing game.

Its going to be longer than next week.

[Somnio 751]

5 minutes ago, Hate said:

First of all, there are no “great” Mexican joints in South Austin. 

All of your credibility is lost.  The remainder of your post is rendered null and void.

[dcar00 14314]

50 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

Good for Nate -- that obvious issue has been in my mind over the last couple of weeks.  Numbers MUST be adjusted when you are aware that there are new variables impacting those numbers.  "Cases" are absolutely a function of testing, and we are seeing significantly increased testing.

The number that matters is the number of actual, live infections.  Cases are a subset of that, and that number can give us artificially low (mostly) numbers, and then when we compare over time, can give us artificially high (when testing increases) "growth" rates.

We should figure out how to adjust for increased testing (looks like Nate is on it), and using that adjustment, see where numbers go after this round of "re-openings."  Toothpaste is outta the tube.  We need to figure out how to manage it.

And again, I don't understand the resistance to wearing masks when out among other people -- that and frequent hand washing are such easy and effective measures to take, which allow us to maintain economic activity.  Why the resistance?

In my travels around town I don't really see any resistance to wearing masks where appropriate and you are going to be within 6 feet of people(inside a store, picking up take out).  then again I haven't gone to a big park(only local).

[SHOOTER12 8811]

43 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

Way to shoot it down

That son-of-a-gun Blacklab ain't kidding neither boys...

[atomheartbevo 89750]

1 hour ago, GringoSalado said:

The culinary signaling about how the Shag 1% would never eat at Chili's is as predictable as it is tiring. I don't like the place either but this is the same elitist bigotry saying that the clingers are protesting they can't have Applebee's when the issue is that folks are out of work.

First, sorry about your clients and sister.   That business is tough, I had a cousin who went through building and opening a restaurant, and watching it fail, when most of the pieces were there for success.   The margins suck   My impression was that it would have survived if he could have had a few hundred more customers a month.    Ironically, it is a successful restaurant now (went through 3-4 further attempts by others), because 10 years later, it has the traffic it needed, thanks to a couple of subdivisions that were put in over the past 10 years.   

But places like Chili’s are the kinds of places that put beans in their chili.  

As for what those employees will do, I have no doubt there are plenty of new places that will spring up to take their place, but it is going to be a shitshow for those folks in the meantime.   A new round of stimulus checks are not on the horizon, and I think the help with rent etc. is probably going to run out - the appetite in DC for helping these folks seems to be shrinking   The attitude we had in March is just not there.

 

[aggie08 21505]

5 minutes ago, Hate said:

First of all, there are no “great” Mexican joints in South Austin. Second of all, local people work at the Chili’s. The waiters, cooks, and managers are just as much a part of the community as other places. Ideally, all people would be aware of how important dollars going to small and local restaurants is, but most people just want a sense of normalcy right now. And like it or not Surly 1%, most people can’t really afford to spend $30+ on a steak at a Surly approved steakhouse. To many people, eating out at Chili’s may be their “big night out” for the family. Some people, gulp, may actually like the food there in the absence of being able to attend French Laundry on a weekly basis. 
 

I get that “Chili’s” is easy to make fun and I understand why. The intelligentsia’s disdain for it is merely a metaphor for their disdain for the average American.

I don't think there would have been nearly the backlash had dude ordered a quesadilla or burger or something Chili's does relatively "well." Just an odd choice for a first night of freedom meal.

I get that Chili's if staffed by local residents, but how much of your bill goes in their pockets? There are plenty of cheap local joints in every community that I'd choose to support first. Chili's is a Week 3 meal, at best.

[Armybrat 40854]

1 minute ago, SHOOTER12 said:

That son-of-a-gun Blacklab ain't kidding neither boys...

Well, keep your powder dry, boys.

[Fondren & Main 6726]

14 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Karen has Surly socks?

They all post in the cuck room.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

First of all, there are no “great” Mexican joints in South Austin. Second of all, local people work at the Chili’s. The waiters, cooks, and managers are just as much a part of the community as other places. Ideally, all people would be aware of how important dollars going to small and local restaurants is, but most people just want a sense of normalcy right now. And like it or not Surly 1%, most people can’t really afford to spend $30+ on a steak at a Surly approved steakhouse. To many people, eating out at Chili’s may be their “big night out” for the family. Some people, gulp, may actually like the food there in the absence of being able to attend French Laundry on a weekly basis. 
 
I get that “Chili’s” is easy to make fun and I understand why. The intelligentsia’s disdain for it is merely a metaphor for their disdain for the average American.

Chili’s slams but my initial gripe stands that he was missing their ranch to dip with the salsa

[atomheartbevo 89750]

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

People just want a sense of normalcy and want to eat out and enjoy themselves - don't read too much into this.  

I get that.  I have cooked and fed my kids more corn dogs, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, sandwiches and pasta of all varieties, etc, than I care to think about.

But going to Chili’s after not being able to eat out for a month or two, is like a sailor being away at sea for months, getting off the ship, and immediately running into the arms of listeater.

[Armybrat 40854]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

I get that.  I have cooked and fed my kids more corn dogs, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, sandwiches and pasta of all varieties, etc, than I care to think about.

But going to Chili’s after not being able to eat out for a month or two, is like a sailor being away at sea for months, getting off the ship, and immediately running into the arms of listeater.

I chortled so loud it disturbed the wife.

[SHOOTER12 8811]

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

I get that.  I have cooked and fed my kids more corn dogs, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, sandwiches and pasta of all varieties, etc, than I care to think about.

But going to Chili’s after not being able to eat out for a month or two, is like a sailor being away at sea for months, getting off the ship, and immediately running into the arms of listeater.

God help us all....the end really is at hand.

[Tex Long 4409]

No offense to any y'all politics haters – or lovers, for that matter – insisting on pretending, if not actually believing, you're following or ignoring a “NO Politics!!” party line is dumbfuckery on a level exceeding even Surly's usual high-quality 7X Beaver asshat displays. Everything you're ranting about is completely derived from “information” distributed by various levels of government from intergalactic to HOA, all of which are politics.

 

Punch, meet Judy. Judy, meet Punch.

 

On the bright side, reading this whole thread is remarkably similar to watching a football game between... oh, I dunno, how about Notre Dame and Meat Chicken... when you're entertained by both the athleticism and the abject stupidity, but secretly hoping for an asteroid strike.

 

Thanks to all, you know who you are.

[drt 640]

18 minutes ago, Hate said:

First of all, there are no “great” Mexican joints in South Austin.

El Meson and Habenero say "Que?"

[Brisketexan 105168]

8 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

In my travels around town I don't really see any resistance to wearing masks where appropriate and you are going to be within 6 feet of people(inside a store, picking up take out).  then again I haven't gone to a big park(only local).

From the anecdotes I've read (including on this thread), Austin is on the high-end in terms of mask usage.  Other areas are much more resistant.  And yes, the divide does seem to correlate to political lines.  Which again, is insane.  It's insane to me that the concept of "wear a simple facemask to protect both yourself and your fellow humans" is a political hot-button, and the decision to wear or not wear one is a sign of "solidarity" with a particular political view.

How in the blue fuck did we reach a point where "how about we each choose to take a simple measure to protect other people, so don't be a dick about it" became a fighting point?  What the fucking fuck?

[Hate 20126]

10 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

I don't think there would have been nearly the backlash had dude ordered a quesadilla or burger or something Chili's does relatively "well." Just an odd choice for a first night of freedom meal.

I get that Chili's if staffed by local residents, but how much of your bill goes in their pockets? There are plenty of cheap local joints in every community that I'd choose to support first. Chili's is a Week 3 meal, at best.

I don’t disagree. I was making a larger point.

13 minutes ago, Somnio said:

All of your credibility is lost.  The remainder of your post is rendered null and void.

Says the person that says Texas Roadhouse serves a great steak.

[GringoSalado 1651]

15 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

Awesome, the dominant strain of CCP-19 may leave victims vulnerable to reinfection:

 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-05/mutant-coronavirus-has-emerged-more-contagious-than-original

Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that has become dominant worldwide and appears to be more contagious than the versions that spread in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The new strain appeared in February in Europe, migrated quickly to the East Coast of the United States and has been the dominant strain across the world since mid-March, the scientists wrote.

In addition to spreading faster, it may make people vulnerable to a second infection after a first bout with the disease, the report warned.

The 33-page report was posted Thursday on BioRxiv, a website that researchers use to share their work before it is peer reviewed, an effort to speed up collaborations with scientists working on COVID-19 vaccines or treatments. That research has been largely based on the genetic sequence of earlier strains and might not be effective against the new one....(snip)

Thanks for posting I saw that but don't have a sub. So I read the Los Alamos paper:

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.29.069054v1.full.pdf

 

Unlike the rest of you I'm no epidemiologists but I thought overall the paper was good news as my takeaways were:

 

1) no significant diff in outcomes for this "dominant" strain based on an outcomes study in England

2) much more significant indicator of outcome was viral load, but that was still much smaller than age, and even gender.

3) mutations of the spike protein of Covid are very rare

 

I totally missed the ref to reinfection but I kinda sped read it

[atomheartbevo 89750]

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

I think the major contention was that they picked a Chili's steak as their first post-quarantine meal. I don't think anyone except the true 1% has anything against going to Chili's (or the like) for some random Tuesday happy hour.

1234.  If you have a Chili’s in your area, you have at least a handful of local joints that are (hopefully) serving better food as well.

I make fun of it, but hell, I’ve got plenty of friends and relatives who couldn’t afford even Chili’s right now.   

I would love to get out and return to normal, but wife and I are the primary....the term caregivers is the closest I can come up with, for a couple of older relatives with the fabled underlying conditions.  These are folks who were living a normal life prior to covid, driving, getting their own groceries, etc,, and definitely have more years left, but the stats say they would be in a world of shit with covid.   So we are having to be careful and help them out with certain necessities.  

[GringoSalado 1651]

14 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

As for what those employees will do, I have no doubt there are plenty of new places that will spring up to take their place, 

 

I increasingly do. Hope I'm wrong and you are right.

[Royalfan5 2354]

On the livestock front, we pushed cattle runs back to 80K and was up about 10% week on week, hogs were up about 5% week on week, and almost back to 300K run. Hopefully we can be closer to 90K and 325K by the end of the week. It's being noted that there is no spot meat available outside of standing orders right now, with almost no one getting the full standing order on pork and beef anyway. 

[rpspeed 1398]

29 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Karen has Surly socks?

[Loco 3753]

23 minutes ago, Hate said:

First of all, there are no “great” Mexican joints in South Austin. Second of all, local people work at the Chili’s. The waiters, cooks, and managers are just as much a part of the community as other places. Ideally, all people would be aware of how important dollars going to small and local restaurants is, but most people just want a sense of normalcy right now. And like it or not Surly 1%, most people can’t really afford to spend $30+ on a steak at a Surly approved steakhouse. To many people, eating out at Chili’s may be their “big night out” for the family. Some people, gulp, may actually like the food there in the absence of being able to attend French Laundry on a weekly basis. 
 

I get that “Chili’s” is easy to make fun and I understand why. The intelligentsia’s disdain for it is merely a metaphor for their disdain for the average American.

I agree with 99% of your take here.  And if you like Chili's or have a weird craving...  fine.  But my first meal out will be at a non chain restaurant.  I want my money to go fully back into my community and not to distant C-level exec comp packages & shareholders.

The only thing I've been craving that I can't make at home (very well) is some Thai Red Duck Curry & spicy calamari. 

[gyroprotagonist 2594]

1 hour ago, Hate said:

There is no disdain as great as the Surly intelligentsia disdain for the average human.

I almost would not care what was served as long as someone else did the effing dishes after the meal.  3+ meals a day x 4 people = too many dishes.  seriously considering just using paper plates for a week to get a break.

[atomheartbevo 89750]

11 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

God help us all....the end really is at hand.

Dude, she got married.  

[SHOOTER12 8811]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

Dude, she got married.  

A ring don't stop no ho..  Sloots gonna sloot.

[GringoSalado 1651]

One idea I heard was like a high-end food delivery that is more akin to a catered meal. One or two waiters show up with hot food in Cambros, with flatware & etc. and your food is served, then everything is picked up and hauled off in a bus tub.

This would not be cheap, so I suggested advertising on the Surl.

 

2 minutes ago, gyroprotagonist said:

I almost would not care what was served as long as someone else did the effing dishes after the meal.  3+ meals a day x 4 people = too many dishes.  seriously considering just using paper plates for a week to get a break.