[Gorefest]

I was in lockdown for two weeks very early on in March due to my wife having a cough. I was sort of convinced that I had had some mild symptoms myself as well. However, I got my antibody result back today and it is completely negative. Which has thrown me a bit, I must confess. My wife is still feeling a bit wobbly, but it seems highly unlikely now that this is due to lingering covid-19 symptoms. Whereas suddenly my daily commute and lab work feel a lot more hazardous somehow.

Weirdly as well, they tested my T-cell responses to several different coronavirus peptides. Most of them were negative, but for some reason my immune system reacted very strongly to one of the more conserved peptides. I suspect it might have something to do with my exposure to coronaviruses during my PhD, but who knows. Heck, maybe it is actually providing me with some resistance to the disease and my wife -did- have it after all. I guess I may never know....

[Anomander]

Our provincial "bubble" is being expanded to the entirety of Atlantic Canada on July 3rd. Everyone is thrilled at the chance to see relatives in PEI and New Brunswick, the highways will be a shitshow that weekend for sure. Still no entry across the Quebec/NB border but we'll see how strong that is once people start vacationing, I've heard it's currently more porous and easy to cross than described. Not surprising to anyone who's traveled that way as it's in the middle of nowhere.

Every time I'm out no one seems to be wearing masks which is a bit concerning as the bubble expands. There's been a lot of talk about mandating mask usage on buses and such but no one seems to be willing to spearhead that measure. We've been seriously lucky in Halifax (outside of the Northwood longterm care facility) and should be somewhat safe going forward. Canceling cruise ship season and moving university classes fully online has nosedived the amount of people moving/visiting from out of province. The inverse is so many cool shops and restaurants will close from the lack of money being spent (this province is otherwise massively poor so local spending can't compare).

[Aptorian]

Briar King, on 23 June 2020 - 05:26 PM, said:

Doing temp check txt before hopping in the truck to go to destinations.

What a weird fucking world.

Who do you work for or what is your occupation, BK? Do you work with people with compromised immune systems?

[Aptorian]

BK your life is weird. You're like the a gigolo of truck drivers.

[Cause]

BK is the best at truck sex.

Face masks, condoms, he has you fully covered

[Andorion]

Briar King, on 26 June 2020 - 01:41 AM, said:

I've also embraced the mask wearing even though I throughly hate it. Mask should only be worn in certain professions and on Halloween or at kinky swing parties but the old mans insurance has been sending them in the mail so we wearing em. Sometimes that bitch really hurts my left ear! I just want the public masks wearing to go away asap and not become a norm that is still going to stick around forever more.

Same with handshakes. I need em back. I've shaken exactly one fucking hand in the last 2 months. Feels so off not trying to take your mates hand off in friendly greeting when you come upon each other in public.

BK, try a mask that has straps that go over the back of your head instead of anchoring to your ear,. They are far more comfortable.

[QuickTidal]

So Jim Butcher appears to be a COVID-denier...oof, come on Jim! My respect has dropped a bit.

https://www.facebook...223466243109080

[Aptorian]

Seems like a bit of a dickish thing for her to share if that was being discussed in a private forum. As private as anything on facebook can be anyway.

It baffles me that you still hear this stuff from people though. Like, look at Northern Europe. Most of us closed down early and had a low level of disease spread. Then look at Britain and Sweden who didn't close down early and hard. How much more empirical do you need your science to get?

You can argue that now, closing down is less necessary because better protection and safety habits are available and ingrained in the population but they weren't 3-4 months ago.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 26 June 2020 - 12:31 PM

[QuickTidal]

Aptorian, on 26 June 2020 - 12:28 PM, said:

Seems like a bit of a dickish thing to share if that was being discussed in a private forum. As private as anything on facebook can be anyway.

Yeah, I would not have posted it here if it hadn't already made it's way to Reddit, but I would assume that Jim knew she was sharing it? I dunno. They seemed to be friends?

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

From that screenshot, it doesn't seem like he's a denier, as much as he's relying too much on bad preprint science and testing being thorough. Lemme tell ya, both Florida and Japan are stellar examples of how NOT to test.

[Malankazooie]

Don't mess with Texas. Everything's bigger in Texas.

This post has been edited by Malankazooie: 26 June 2020 - 05:21 PM

[Gorefest]

Even pandemics.

[Obdigore]

Gorefest, on 26 June 2020 - 06:22 PM, said:

Even pandemics.

5k a day! Goooo Texas!

[Aptorian]

Those keeping track of The US's Corona statistics, can you explain why I keep hearing about rising or steady but high rates of new infected, yet the death toll in the US remains relatively low day to day. How is this possible? Is it a case of the virus already having killed many of the most vulnerable? Or has the US just become better at protecting the most vulnerable, even though new infections are rising? Are the numbers being fudged?

[Cause]

Aptorian, on 26 June 2020 - 08:06 PM, said:

Those keeping track of The US's Corona statistics, can you explain why I keep hearing about rising or steady but high rates of new infected, yet the death toll in the US remains relatively low day to day. How is this possible? Is it a case of the virus already having killed many of the most vulnerable? Or has the US just become better at protecting the most vulnerable, even though new infections are rising? Are the numbers being fudged?

New cases seem to predominantly in the 20's and 30's age group as they begin to socialise heavily now that social distancing and lockdowns are ending. Beaches, bars, parties etc So cases are surging but the death rate is low. Problem is its unlikely to stay in that age group I would think. They will eventually infect older family memebrs.

[Andorion]

Briar King, on 26 June 2020 - 08:06 PM, said:

Did I sanitize my hands good enough last week in TX? I usually stop at whataburger since they closed ours down but I wasn't about to this time. I don't wash my clothes between outings. Is this throat tickle not desert dust but instead the corona?

Shit.
On
A
Stick
Bruh

Stay safe please BK.

Regarding clothes I only wear cotton which can keep the virus for 24 hours, so I hang them in an isolated area and let the time elapse.

Also our new case total is over 18K in one day. Its getting worse fast.

[Malankazooie]

Jacksonville requiring masks now. RNC moved to Jacksonville, scheduled for August. I wonder how this will play out?

Also, can some please explain to me what the whole "Karens'" thing is about? Its origins and its use in emphasizing a point (or something?)

[Tiste Simeon]

Karen has become a generic term for racist white woman and is usually used in a derogatory manner for people who want to see the manager, probably anti-vax, most likely to call the police cos a black person is nearby and is generally a horrible human being.

There is a bit of blowback with "Karen is just as bad as the n-word!" But it's pretty funny.

[Mezla PigDog]

So Trump has bought the entire existing stock of Remdesivir and 90% of the August and September manufacturing runs too. Hardly a surprise and here is hoping the first vaccine isn't created in the US. Although I look forward to the diplomacy attempts wherever the first vaccine (if any) becomes available. Sowing the seeds for WWIII.

Though the more awful trade stuff the US does the better the anti-Brexit argument looks that the UK are better off trading with the EU. So yeah, more deaths but my side might win a moral victory and get to say I-told-you-so.

[Andorion]

Mezla PigDog, on 30 June 2020 - 08:27 PM, said:

So Trump has bought the entire existing stock of Remdesivir and 90% of the August and September manufacturing runs too. Hardly a surprise and here is hoping the first vaccine isn't created in the US. Although I look forward to the diplomacy attempts wherever the first vaccine (if any) becomes available. Sowing the seeds for WWIII.

Though the more awful trade stuff the US does the better the anti-Brexit argument looks that the UK are better off trading with the EU. So yeah, more deaths but my side might win a moral victory and get to say I-told-you-so.

I saw that.

What are the chances of the UK coming up with the first vaccine?
Our own vaccine goes to human trials from this month.