Life imitates art (in a clueless way)

Watched this clip and thought about how stupid these healthcare workers are. Then, at 1:38, one of them says something about opinions:  

... and I could only laugh as I thought about this exchange on the big bang theory:

It’s played for laughs, as the mother character says something so stupid that no one can take it seriously.

Truly, talking to these holdouts and anti vaxxers is like the comedy hour.

Auburn’s new football coach raising alarms

We need to see more of this kind of reporting. The message has to be clear: get vaccinated. Adding "dumbass" is optional.

https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2021/07/auburns-new-football-coach-raising-alarms.html


Short. Sweet. To the point. That's the beauty Dave's iPhone.

The virus

I'm a tolerant guy. I can accept various points of view - so long as you can intelligently defend your position on something.

But now we've reached a point of stupidity where "self selection" is happening and survival of the fittest is playing out, right before us.

People are refusing vaccines because…they think they know something?, and they understand "their own bodies" whatever that means.

They are wrong. And it's on them.

I have no sympathy for how they're being singled out, or (heaven forbid!) discriminated against. And limited sympathy for the families for those refusing vaccines who get sick.

The surfside tragedy.

The events that unfolded around the condo collapsing have really hit home.

I'm a native of south Florida, lived near the coast for all of my youth, and still reside here in the southern part of the state. I also happen to be a professional engineer in the state - even though I don't practice in buildings, I still take it personally when an engineering issue surfaces that affects people; we as a group are a part of the public trust.

So there are many connections for me.

But there's another thought that crossed my mind.

Back in 1979 or so, when I was in middle school, one of my teachers (who perhaps was a little eccentric) was talking about the buildings being built along the coast of south Florida.

He had some issue with construction on the sand and construction techniques. 13 year old me remembers some bits of what he said, but in all it was about money and shoddy construction.

I recall him saying something like "One day it will catch up." That thought has crossed my mind a time or two, but never really concerned me.

I remember talking with my dad (also a professional engineer who believed in "the system") about it; he took the altruistic view that the engineers and such would do their job. And there maybe shouldn't be concerns.

And here we are a little over 40 years later, and a condo built in that era suffered a catastrophic failure - perhaps because of an engineering or design issue (at least that's how it appears…The report on the building, and others like it, would certainly seem to paint a picture of many mistakes being made) …. So it turns out that my old teacher was probably right, after all.

* for the casual reader, I am not providing any sort of engineering analysis, or otherwise presenting a professional opinion. I am stating my personal opinion, based on things I've seen in the media. I note my professional affiliation simply to show how deeply personally connected I am to the events.

That’s odd

One of the cruise lines ran a short "test cruise" with some number of passengers. They all tested negative for coronavirus before setting out. And when they returned, two tested positive.

There was reportedly a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated people on board and these two were apparently vaccinated.

While they didn't get sick (and as far as we know, no one else did either), it is strange that they tested positive after being confined on a ship for a couple of days.

Then there was another story about a ship that was getting ready for the first sail of the season had 9 crew members test positive, putting that on hold.

This case is likewise bizarre. For the most part, the crew reportedly had been mostly vaccinated.  And you have to understand that most cruise ships have been sailing "in circles" for the last 15 months with their crews on board.

It's not like they could dock the ships. And with international crews whose countries went through various stages of lockdown, it made sense.

It's fair to say that some were able to leave at times, but until this latest test, none had tested positive before.

So there's something going on. And as a way of looking at this, consider the various norovirus outbreaks that have happened on cruise ships, and how they continued for long periods in spite of the best efforts in sanitation. 

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2019/01/11/norovirus-outbreak-cruise-ships/2547721002/

I can't imagine the coronavirus will be any easier to contain. In fact, I'm sure it will be harder. 

And once again to the foolish who decide that the virus is a joke and decide to take a cruise unvaccinated: good luck. 

Follow up on mask wearing

A friend and I were discussing the idea that vaccinated people don't need to wear masks. The outcome….

Of course, masks are there to protect *me* from you. Not the other way around.

So when businesses glibly say "if you're vaccinated, feel free to not wear a mask," they are implying "and fuck the idiots who chose not to get vaccinated"

Unclear concept

I've seen a number of signs in different places of business telling people "if you are vaccinated, feel free to enter without a mask. But if you are unvaccinated you need to wear a mask."

What baffles me is the fact that I am wearing a mask to protect others. Not to protect myself - that's the nature of a virus.

So telling the vaccinated to go about their business is the opposite of how this is supposed to work.

But that's Murica for you I guess.