Chris, X 2

My daughter in law is a nurse also and has the same situation down here. Only good news is she got a signing bonus not to leave and go to another hospital

Headed norte [because it gonna show this weekend]

 

Greg, I will echo Chris's comment about hoping all goes well for you, and that your wife is able to find another donor.

My little sister left her job as an RN at a hospital to go into patient case management, and COVID was pretty much the last straw for her to leave. My sister-in-law is an RT (respiratory therapist), and has somehow managed to avoid infection throughout this pandemic. It is especially important for her, as her husband had a major stroke 4 years ago and is confined to a wheelchair. We always know when cases are about to spike, as she sees it first-hand, usually a week before anything is reported in the media.

My local school district is switching to remote learning right now, as the high school alone had 35 teachers out with COVID, and they can't get enough subs to cover classes. Yesterday saw 7 school bus routes cancelled due to lack of drivers. High school went remote today, K-8 is going remote on Tuesday. Yet, some parents are losing their minds over it. How in the hell are the schools supposed to operate if we have that many teachers out?? Good grief, people are dumb.

 

Both my daughter and son-in-law are nurses and last night they came up to my place and brought Covid testing devices because I was bitching about being tired and this head cold hanging on then there were the pains in my joints, plus my equilibrium was wacky. Nothing special that an old fart doesn't complain about almost every week. Well, the test came up positive. Seems I have the Covid virus. I have been double shot and boosted, still got the virus anyway. The strange thing, my sister-in-law who stays in my spare bedroom checked out clean... More story as it develops....Tedd

 

Tedd - I'm very glad you are not currently real sick, and hope you are on the back end of it at this point. It appears the vaccine is doing it's primary jobs of keeping you from serious illness, out of the hospital, and out of the ground. With your daughter and son-in-law being nurses, I know you feel my pain for what they are currently subjected to at work. Both of my daughters are nurses, and one of their husband's is a firefighter/paramedic, and I feel for them everyday having to go home from work and hope to God they don't give it to their children who are too young for the vaccine.

 

Gosh Chris, maybe Tedd is the reason your daughter doesn't have childcare.

Tedd I wish you a full and quick recovery.

 

Greg, I hope that you and your wife can get through this with out too many hiccups. The best for both of you. Chris, I agree with you on what is selfishness by the un vaccinated, inexcusable. We have been running out of work at my place due to a covid outbreak at our Morristown, TN. plant. They can't make us parts, nor can they get truck drivers to transport the parts to us, due to the fact that so many are off with covid at that location. When this **** started taking off a year and a half ago, I said that they should make the vaccine mandatory, for the very reason that we are experiencing now. I would love to be on the phone when they explain to G.E. and Pratt-Whitney as to why they cannot get their parts, and why we didn't have a solid contingency plan. Jeff, my best friends son and daughter in-law live in Grand Blanc, and she is a P.A. at the Hurley Medical Center in Flint. she works in the E.R. and is frustrated, exhausted, and pissed at the people who will not vaccinate. She intubates patients pretty much on a daily basis.

 

Mike - That comment is at best insensitive, and at worst just plain $hitty! If you had kids and grandkids, I don't think you would have said that, at least I hope you wouldn't!

 

Not so fast there. Just today in the news:

Omicron variant will eventually 'find everyone,' Dr. Fauci says

" although it is less severe on a case by case basis, when you quantitatively have so many people who are infected, a fraction of them, even if it's a small fraction, are going to get seriously ill and are going to die, and that's the reason why it will challenge our health system," Fauci said.


.

COVID-19: stigmatising the unvaccinated is not justified

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...243-1/fulltext

There is increasing evidence that vaccinated individuals continue to have a relevant role in transmission. In Massachusetts, USA, a total of 469 new COVID-19 cases were detected during various events in July, 2021, and 346 (74%) of these cases were in people who were fully or partly vaccinated, 274 (79%) of whom were symptomatic. Cycle threshold values were similarly low between people who were fully vaccinated (median 22·8) and people who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median 21·5), indicating a high viral load even among people who were fully vaccinated.
In the USA, a total of 10 262 COVID-19 cases were reported in vaccinated people by April 30, 2021, of whom 2725 (26·6%) were asymptomatic, 995 (9·7%) were hospitalised, and 160 (1·6%) died.
In Germany, 55·4% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in patients aged 60 years or older were in fully vaccinated individuals, and this proportion is increasing each week. In Münster, Germany, new cases of COVID-19 occurred in at least 85 (22%) of 380 people who were fully vaccinated or who had recovered from COVID-19 and who attended a nightclub. People who are vaccinated have a lower risk of severe disease but are still a relevant part of the pandemic. It is therefore wrong and dangerous to speak of a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

 

And on the brighter side:

Researchers say cannabis compounds might prevent COVID-19 infection

Researchers in Oregon say that compounds found in cannabis could possibly prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering healthy human cells.

 

Greg - Keep us up-to-date. I'm trusting all will go well for the both of you.
Tedd - What a bummer - blah! Hate to hear that. I'm hoping it's Omicron. Most of the rapid tests are protein antigen tests which don't differentiate among the various strains of SARS-CoV-2 - they only test for SARS-CoV-2 protein antigens. There is one company who just released a mini version of an rtPCR test (more specificity) but it takes longer for results, so based on your statements and you had the results right away I suspect you did the rapid COVID-19 (protein antigen) test. Additionally, nearly everyone who has had a breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection has been infected w/ the Omicron strain. That's to your benefit since Omicron is much weaker.

I'll just take this minute to update folks on "why" Omicron presents as a weaker infection with fewer symptoms lasting with less duration than SARS-CoV-2 and the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.
While Omicron is more transmissible, the reason it's more transmissible is because it has far more avenues to exploit entry into ACE-2 cells - e.g. more SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variations to attack ACE-2 cells.
The key part to understand is this. While Omicron is more transmissible, it is terrible at replicating once it gains entry into the cells. Omicron lacks strong replication machinery necessary to mount a strong cytokine response. Remember that word - cytokine? A cytokine storm is what is debilitating to those who catch a severe infection of SARS-CoV-2 and the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant. Omicron is not presenting symptoms associated w/ a cytokine storm. One way (let's say a layman's presentation of a cytokine storm) is to think of it this way. As we age, we fight infections continuously - the immune system does a fantastic job of fighting infections when a cell-mediated response cannot handle the job (e.g. we call upon our T-Cells [immune system]) to fight the brigade. When the immune system can't overcome the antigen-antibody specificity for the infectious agent (virus, bacteria, fungi, etc.) - the immune system sends out a very heavy storm of cytokines to fight the unrecognized infection. This is often what occurs when the elderly die from pneumonia. They don't often die directly from pneumonia (although they can), but they parish perish as the result of an unabated cytokine storm which attempts to flush the infectious agent from the lungs.

In a nutshell, you see VERY, VERY limited replication of the Omicron variant if you become infected (lacks good replication machinery) and the immune system is not being called upon to present cytokine storms (which result in severe infections).

 

They become a municipality in Louisiana?

 

Oh crud - nice one Norm! Let me correct that. Good catch, John! LMAO

 

This is strictly my opinion, but it is based upon some exhaustive current research and previous virology/immunology training/background. SARS-CoV-2 (alpha) will eventually die out as the population develops herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron might become as prevalent as the common cold coronaviruses. The common cold Rhinovirus infects ~50% of the human population (there are some challenges to this percentage in the literature), but Rhinovirus is the most common cold infectious agent. The second leading common cold virus is Coronavirus (NOT SARS-CoV-2). There are a couple hundred or so common cold Coronaviruses - I think a half dozen are the very common cold type coronaviruses. Albeit, the common cold is made of a plethora of Coronavirus variants which nearly every single human has been infected with at some point in their life. They overcome the common cold (MANY of which are Coronaviruses). One of the lesser forms of the common cold is the RSV virus (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). If you are an adult, RSV is quite mild, if you are a child with a less vigorous immune system (an immune system which has not fully developed) RSV can be life-threatening. At any rate, my opinion is the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (and the variants which will appear after Omicron) might become as common as the common cold. Strictly an opinion, but at some point, we're going to need to ramp down on the pandemic hysteria (and I don't mean to be down-playing the significance). But, we don't go to lengths to test every human for the common cold nor do we go to lengths to test every human for influenza. With that said, there's a rather interesting facet which is developing in the halls of virology & immunology and that is the long-term aspects of creating more specific vaccines to help deter severe infections in the future. It's still hit or miss on the various strains of influenza each year - a better regimen of influenza (hell, maybe common cold) vaccines may be a positive outcome from all we have learned. Who knows.

 

Kenneth - My earlier point was, and still is, that the vast majority (easily +75%) of hospitalized cases at this time are the unvaccinated, and this is what is overwhelming our health care system. I see nothing in your quote that disputes that.

 

Guess what Chris, it was supposed to be a shitty comment. And your reply was to imply that since I don't have children my opinions don't count. Talk about shitty. I'm sure it was lost on you that my point was, as Kenneth later posted, it isn't only the unvaccinated that are causing problems.

That you have chosen to buy into all the hysteria over all this is no indication that anyone else needs to. Your comments about being selfish and calling names is unacceptable. You don't know everyone's situation. And frankly, anyone else's medical information is none of your damn business.

I think we've reached a point now where whoever wanted that "vaccine" has gotten it and the rest who haven't have decided against it. Last I looked this was still a free country and we could each decide what was best for us. You must be a real laugh-riot if someone mentions abortion. These days it's beyond me how any sane person would want what is now proven to not do what was advertised. I'm sure you'll be first in line for your 5th, 12th, 20th, 40th booster. Hey whatever it takes. I am genuinely glad that you or anyone in your family don't have reactions or side effects from these shots. I hear bloodclots are a bitch. Or brain damage. Or chronic lung issues or heart issues.

In the future, please feel free to jump to conclusions and spew your own selfishness. I won't be participating. I'm done with you.

 

Gentleman, this is a forum to express ideas, let's not make it something it has avoided in the most part for a long time and not bend friendship till they break. It is a serious subject and if it touches you personally it can get feelings in an uproar. Let's just take a deep breath, reset and let things settle as they once were. Chances are no one is going to change the world anyway.... Friend are forever....Tedd

 

- Good, at least you admitted your original comment was intended to be shitty, that puts your original comment in the worst case category!
- I never stated or implied that because you don't have children your opinion didn't count, I implied it might be different if you did.
- You're right, it isn't just the unvaccinated that are causing problems, but the unvaccinated are accounting for >75% of Covid hospitalizations and overwhelming our health care system unnecessarily. That hurts people I love, and places them and their children in danger.
- I have bought into what you call "hysteria". 845,000 Americans dead in 2-years, and more every day! Sad truth is, the magnitude of future pain and suffering could be greatly reduced if folks who can, would just get vaccinated.
- I never asked about your personal situation, called you out, or asked about your medical history, I wrote about the situation in general here in St. Louis and how it's impacting my family. Where in the f*#@ are you getting this ****???

 

James - The weather looks rather nasty for the next several days - maybe weeks. You ever made homemade egg noodles? I'm thinking I'll be indoors for some time & it might be a decent opportunity to fire up the KitchenAid Power Plus beast. I managed to get in 18 yesterday & today - it's doubtful I'll see any golf for awhile.

I think the fact they are now assigning a name on every single storm in the entire country provides ammunition for all the insurance companies to increase their revenue with statements such as your default deductible wind & hail damage coverage will be higher for a "named storm" (gritting my teeth).

 

It appears the percentage is a bit less than 75% per Jan 13 official data:

https://covidactnow.org/us/missouri-...ty/?s=28041695

St. Louis County, Missouri has reported having 348 staffed adult ICU beds.195 are filled by non-COVID patients and 122 are filled by COVID patients.

 

Winter Storm "Izzy" is named after my Mom's beagle.

 

Kenneth - St. Louis County is a different geo-political entity from St. Louis City, with their own unique Covid statics separate from those of St. Louis City. However that is irrelevant to the point I am trying to make.

The point I am making is, in the case you have presented above, of the 122 ICU beds currently occupied by Covid patients, >75% are Covid patients that are unvaccinated. I am being very conservative with the 75% figure. A specific case would be like at my oldest daughter's hospital, where currently 95% of the Covid admitted patients are unvaccinated. National data I believe documents an unvaccinated person has at least 20-times greater chance of hospitalization vs. one who is fully vaccinated (3-shots).

Here are real life stats from NYC Public Health on 19 December 2021: "The hospitalization rate of vaccinated people was 3 out of every 100,000 vaccinated. The hospitalization rate of unvaccinated people was 97 out of every 100,000 unvaccinated. Thus in this case, unvaccinated people had a hospitization rate more than 32 times that of fully vaccinated individuals.

 

What's not to love about a Beagle. The ubiquitous enigmatic "They" most likely never thought to ask "Izzy" herself if it was OK to name a storm after her.

 

And this is why we don't talk politics. This issue may not be political but has people worked up just like political topics. Everyone has an opinion on this based on their life experiences. Its not likely anyone here is going to change their mind based on what someone else may say. Tedd, I hope your feeling better soon. I hope that anyone who gets the virus will pursue the treatment they feel is best for them and get well soon. That said, I really like Beagles. Let's all step away from topics that will get heated and share things we can agree on.

 

Beagles appear to be great dogs, other than that howling thing they do. Folks down the road had 2 or 3 and they would make quite a racket when my dogs and I walked past their house.

 

Agree on the howling. I've known several friends with Beagles - that howling is unmistakable and really funnier than the dickens to watch.

 

Norm, I've never made noodles but this morning I had county ham with red eye gravy on home made biscuits

I always thought beagles came in packs


Koda I thought the storm was named after my wife

 

Well said Tedd.
Okay, I can't believe how hot Facebook Marketplace is. I sold a Snowmobile trailer and a Snowmobile and bought another snowmobile trailer all off FBM in the last few days. I almost had a fight/ bidding war over the items I sold! I really hate the main part of Facebook but Market place is amazing. You have to move fast if you want something, usually items are gone in a few hours! This was the first time I used it. I used Craigslist before and it seems to be dying out now. Things sure are faster than the old days of putting a classified ad in the paper and waiting for calls! Have a good one guys!!

 

Well, even though I think we should drop this subject, I read this article in The American Legion magazine. It kinda explains some people's reluctance to get vacinations. I found it interesting... read it if you want.

 

James - That ham looks lip-smacking good esp. along w/ homemade biscuits/gravy. You make some killer breakfasts.

I had a proper sleep-in until 9:00am this morning. For some reason I feel no guilt.

 

I dare say you priced your snowmobile and trailer on the low end, then. Of course, you're further north, our snow down here below the M-46 line has sucked for a couple of decades now, so sleds tend to take longer to sell. The pandemic has created an odd market for a lot of things, though. PWC's, motorcycles, ATV's, snowmobiles have all seen their prices inflated for old used stuff, even those that are beat to hell. I sold an oddball Kawasaki SC PWC in 2019 so that I could buy a pair of SeaDoos, and got a reasonable return on the SC and paid the right price for the pair of Doo's. However, had I waited 'til 2020 or 21, I would've sold the SC for double what I got for it, but paid too much for the Doos.

The geographic radius within FB Marketplace also helps for selling, so that buyers stay within their reasonable area if they don't want to travel too far for cheaper stuff. I've been using FBM for years, and sometimes I'll get lucky and sell stuff right away, other times I'll have items listed for a year or longer. I've been pulling stuff off of shelves and totes in the basement since Thanksgiving, and have been pretty happy at how quickly some items have sold. I'm going to keep decluttering and avoid buying anything for the time being, and stop into the Salvation Army store on the hunt for vintage stereo gear when I can.

 

Tanks Norm, Red eye gravy is almost a thing of the past but when I have country ham, I always make some. Tomorrow it's going to be grits butter and red eye gravy


stock pic [cause I haven't made it yet]

 

The grocery store was running low on bread [It's a southern snow panic thing] Soooooooooooooo, I got tortillas, Looks like Taco Tuesday may turn into Juan Wednesday, and Quesadilla Thursday

 

I hear you about the panic attack. Some is completely warranted. The Izzy storm is going to be a significant storm with most likely significant power outages for many people beginning early tomorrow morning through Sunday night depending on location. Lots of heavy freezing rain followed by heavy snow makes for some nasty weather.

Chris - You get your roof ice dam issue fixed from last year? In whatever state of repair it exists, it sounds like it will be tested.

 

Norm - When it was still warm, I got up there and treated the seam in the shallow trough between the garage roof pitch and the main house roof pitch with Flex Seal rubberized sealant. I also have not forgotten what you said about insuring that I don't let any appreciable accumulation up there sit, melt, and refreeze to form an ice dam. If we do get 3" - 6" as projected, I will break the hose out and melt it out of trough before an ice dam can form.

 

Chris - Good deal, Roger that.

 

That reminded me of a time we stayed in a Forest Service cabin. In the middle of the night we were awakened to some loud scratching sounds, which turned out to be a mouse that had burrowed through our cardboard food box and was inside the bread bag, chewing his way from one end to the other. Apparently mice really, really like bread. The tortillas were untouched, so we had turkey n swiss tortilla sammiches that weekend.

 

I'm not sure why, but I think a split tractor is cool

 

Really? LOL Back in the "day" - soooooo.... many years ago (mid-60s - I was 14yrs-15 yrs old) - I assisted (I was nothing more than a tool chaser and an extra pair of hands/arms) my Uncles (Mom's brothers) in splitting a couple (1951/52?) JD Model A and Model B tractors, watching them pull the crankcase in each. Pulleys on the tractor barn ceiling rafters hoisting big pieces of iron. I loved those days.

 

I don't know, it's been cold and I needed to go somewhere for a short distance so I haven't driven the '71 CS for a couple weeks. I can't figure it out. This engine/car screams like a greased pig. I haven't split the head and I have no idea if it's the original cam &/or crank in this thing - I've only examined the timing chain, R&R the manifold gasket, R&R oil pump/screen/tube, new valve cover gaskets, reviewed the rocker arms, rebuilt the distributor, etc. done really pretty much I'd say basic stuff. The rear-end is nothing more than 2.56, the entire drive train is original numbers matching, I can see a couple rocker arm hold-downs have been replaced and the compression check is 140psi on every single cylinder (both wet/dry).

When I go WOT at 65mph, this damn car will throw your head back as the throttle kicks-down the TH-350 and immediately hit 100mph. I'm astonished at the power of this car. Honestly, it boggles my mind.

 

Norm, The previous owners [high school kids] ripped the rear end out of my drop top and their grandfather got a junk yard [with chalk markings ] 3: 08 [ I think it's been 20 years] I later replaced the peg leg with an original posi

Anyway, Going down an on ramp, once ya got rolling and put the pedal to the metal, I had the same reaction

They really are a blast to drive