Coronavirus. Not to be confused with Norcovirus.

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herzalot said:
So it makes no difference to you - but will our "forced pause" make a difference for the millions of obsessed fans who spend a tremendous amount of their emotional energy, time and money rooting for a particular team? Will anyone of them wake up to the ridiculousness of that pursuit? I am simultaneously hopeful and doubtful.
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I don’t understand why being a fan of a professional sports team would be considered ridiculous. It’s good entertainment for a lot of people, myself included. I grew up going to games with my Dad and have a lot of great memories doing so. I’m still a fan of those same teams. Is there a difference between following your favorite downhill MTB racer versus your favorite football team?
 
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I think this pause has provided an opportunity for a conspiracy within the gvmt to track people 24/7 under the guise of stoping the spread of CV. Similar to whats now happening China. Also, who is to say the testing now being done isn't creating a national database of DNA with identities.
I've heard on the news they are looking at testing everyone. So it is possible.

I've not seen this, and it's possible my imagination has gone haywire. however....with the current administration and all the Lies they spew on a daily basis i no longer believe anything that comes out on the federal level.
Even the $ 1200 stimulus throws crumbs to those that this is a big help, while giving extreme advantage and additional wealth to the richest in the country..
Rant over...LOL..
 
herzalot said:
So it makes no difference to you - but will our "forced pause" make a difference for the millions of obsessed fans who spend a tremendous amount of their emotional energy, time and money rooting for a particular team? Will anyone of them wake up to the ridiculousness of that pursuit? I am simultaneously hopeful and doubtful.
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“Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries, and yet it is itself the greatest of our miseries.”

Blaise Pascal
 
More Pascal:


I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber…”

“[People] have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness. They have another secret instinct, a remnant of the greatness of our original nature, which teaches them that happiness in reality consists only in rest, and not in stir. And of these two contrary instincts they form within themselves a confused idea, which hides itself from their view in the depths of their soul, inciting them to aim at rest through excitement, and always to fancy that the satisfaction which they have not will come to them, if, by surmounting whatever difficulties confront them, they can thereby open the door to rest…”
 
tick said:
More Pascal:


I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber…”

“[People] have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness. They have another secret instinct, a remnant of the greatness of our original nature, which teaches them that happiness in reality consists only in rest, and not in stir. And of these two contrary instincts they form within themselves a confused idea, which hides itself from their view in the depths of their soul, inciting them to aim at rest through excitement, and always to fancy that the satisfaction which they have not will come to them, if, by surmounting whatever difficulties confront them, they can thereby open the door to rest…”
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Thanks for that. It kind of matches my "In Praise of Stasis" musings. The notion of always seeking, and never being satisfied.
 
BonsaiNut said:
That's a GREAT article. Thanks for posting.

And now... just change every use of "pandemic" with "earthquake" and ask yourself... how prepared is California when the inevitable occurs? At least with a novel virus, you're not 100% confident it will happen. We KNOW a big earthquake is coming.
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Paul Miller has the right resume to opine on all this...in an ordinary Republican administration he’d be in government right now instead of teaching and podcasting, for now he’s a man without a party. He’s someone who knows how to put into words things I can only incoherently sense.
 
Does organized professional sports serve to sublimate tribalism which may reduce overall violence in an innately extremely tribalistic species? Or does it exacerbate tribalism by fanning the flames?

Also, lotsa jobs created....
 
pperrelle said:
I don’t understand why being a fan of a professional sports team would be considered ridiculous. It’s good entertainment for a lot of people, myself included. I grew up going to games with my Dad and have a lot of great memories doing so. I’m still a fan of those same teams. Is there a difference between following your favorite downhill MTB racer versus your favorite football team?
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In terms of resources - I think so. Spending quality time with your kid/parent is awesome. But spending tons of money on merchandise, tickets and other professional sports stuff seems incredibly wasteful to me. Not to mention the emotional energy. I just think it's waaaaaay out of balance. What on earth can justify a $20 million a year contract to play a sport? Where does that money come from? It comes from making professional sports watching a huge economic priority in many people's lives.

I enjoy watching and following professional DHers. I don't buy tickets, I don't buy the products they sell because so and so uses them, I don't buy jerseys and penants and frankly, I would rather go ride my bike than watch a DH on tv. I played all of the big four sports in my life - baseball, football, hockey and basketball. I love playing them. I love watching people who are the best at the game play it too. But they aren't making $20 million a year because of me. I'd rather go outside and do something than watch "the big game."

I am simply hoping that our big pause might throw a wrench into these priorities. Parents are finding other ways to spend quality time with their kids. Maybe professional sports can exist at a level that is more rational in our personal and global priorities.
 
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herzalot said:
In terms of resources - I think so. Spending quality time with your kid/parent is awesome. But spending tons of money on merchandise, tickets and other professional sports stuff seems incredibly wasteful to me. Not to mention the emotional energy. I just think it's waaaaaay out of balance. What on earth can justify a $20 million a year contract to play a sport? Where does that money come from? It comes from making professional sports watching a huge economic priority in many people's lives.

I enjoy watching and following professional DHers. I don't buy tickets, I don't buy the products they sell because so and so uses them, I don't buy jerseys and penants and frankly, I would rather go ride my bike than watch a DH on tv. I played all of the big four sports in my life - baseball, football, hockey and basketball. I love playing them. I love watching people who are the best at the game play it too. But they aren't making $20 million a year because of me. I'd rather go outside and do something than watch "the big game."

I am simply hoping that our big pause might throw a wrench into these priorities. Parents are finding other ways to spend quality time with their kids. Maybe professional sports can exist at a level that is more rational in our global priorities.
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Well articulated, IMO!
 
herzalot said:
In terms of resources - I think so. Spending quality time with your kid/parent is awesome. But spending tons of money on merchandise, tickets and other professional sports stuff seems incredibly wasteful to me. Not to mention the emotional energy. I just think it's waaaaaay out of balance. What on earth can justify a $20 million a year contract to play a sport? Where does that money come from? It comes from making professional sports watching a huge economic priority in many people's lives.

I enjoy watching and following professional DHers. I don't buy tickets, I don't buy the products they sell because so and so uses them, I don't buy jerseys and penants and frankly, I would rather go ride my bike than watch a DH on tv. I played all of the big four sports in my life - baseball, football, hockey and basketball. I love playing them. I love watching people who are the best at the game play it too. But they aren't making $20 million a year because of me. I'd rather go outside and do something than watch "the big game."

I am simply hoping that our big pause might throw a wrench into these priorities. Parents are finding other ways to spend quality time with their kids. Maybe professional sports can exist at a level that is more rational in our personal and global priorities.
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Fair enough, different strokes for different folks. It’s very easy to be a sports fan and still go outside and do stuff and I don’t know anyone who has endured an economic hardship due to watching sports. Most people have a few jerseys, watch games on TV that they are paying for anyway, and maybe go to a game once or twice a season. And very few players make over $20m per season. Average salaries are well below that for all 3 major sports. I understand that not all people are sports fans, but I just felt that going to the extreme and saying that it’s ridiculous to be one and that people should re-adjust their priorities was a bit far reaching.

Sorry for the derail, back to Covid-19 talk....
 
pperrelle said:
Fair enough, different strokes for different folks. It’s very easy to be a sports fan and still go outside and do stuff and I don’t know anyone who has endured an economic hardship due to watching sports. Most people have a few jerseys, watch games on TV that they are paying for anyway, and maybe go to a game once or twice a season. And very few players make over $20m per season. Average salaries are well below that for all 3 major sports. I understand that not all people are sports fans, but I just felt that going to the extreme and saying that it’s ridiculous to be one and that people should re-adjust their priorities was a bit far reaching.

Sorry for the derail, back to Covid-19 talk....
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good points too...maybe the difference between the rare obsessed superfan and the average fan?

more fodder...average pro athlete’s career is quite short, and often requires sacrifice of other lucrative educational trajectories, so higher salaries could be justified (as long as the market supports) to reward the risk taken....
 
Danimal said:
....
I think this pause has provided an opportunity for a conspiracy within the gvmt to track people 24/7 under the guise of stoping the spread of CV. Similar to whats now happening China. Also, who is to say the testing now being done isn't creating a national database of DNA with identities.
I've heard on the news they are looking at testing everyone. So it is possible.

I've not seen this, and it's possible my imagination has gone haywire. however....with the current administration and all the Lies they spew on a daily basis i no longer believe anything that comes out on the federal level.
Even the $ 1200 stimulus throws crumbs to those that this is a big help, while giving extreme advantage and additional wealth to the richest in the country..
Rant over...LOL..
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I don't know about China but Trump has point blank said we won't be testing everybody....period. That's nearly 340 million tests and what would it prove anyway?

...."no longer believe anything that comes out on the Federal level". You do realize the CDC is the Federal level and so is Dr Fauci at this point, a guy apparently deeply tied to a certain political party (I haven't looked into that much because I don't care that much) and THE GUY talking about everybody having to carry around a card to prove they are clear or have already had Covid19. But you're probably directing your comments at one person. Even people that despise Trump (Newsom, Cuomo and Ilhan Omar) have praised the President's response to this crisis.

How does the stimulus give extra advantage and additional wealth to the richest in the country? I know I'm not getting a dime and find no advantage in that. I have friends that had to close their business, losing 6 figures so far as they've continued to support their employees and no "loan" is going to get them whole. If their area of the state is closed thru May 15th, they might not ever re-open, a business that's been in operation 50+ years and has 15 full time employees with full benefits all without jobs. They weren't going to qualify for the $1200 based on last years tax statements but could probably use it right about now. Disclaimer: I do agree 100% that too much money is going where it shouldn't.
 
mtbMike said:
t Trump has point blank said we won't be testing everybody....period. That's nearly 340 million tests and what would it prove anyway?
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If they could test everyone we would very likely find out that there were 10 to 15 times as many cases as are currently known, and the mortality rate would be 1/10th what they say it is, and they'd never be able to justify the draconian actions they've taken.

And a significant number would refuse to be tested.
 
Runs with Scissors said:
If they could test everyone we would very likely find out that there were 10 to 15 times as many cases as are currently known, and the mortality rate would be 1/10th what they say it is, and they'd never be able to justify the draconian actions they've taken.

And a significant number would refuse to be tested.
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Right - and very wrong. The draconian measures were absolutely necessary for the level of preparation of our health care system. Italy and New York City were real, even if the statistics aren't very impressive. The danger of this virus lies in the huge number of asymptomatic carriers combined with no treatment, no vaccine and no testing. We have made a HUGE logical error equivocating the extremely low mortality rate with it being "no big deal."
 
@mtbMike thank you, appreciate your reply.
We can agree to disagree on what we don't agree about. And we do agree on other things.
I stand by my perception, which on some counts is just a conspiracy theory i tossed out there, as flawed as some may see it.

@SnakeCharmer :thumbsup:
Negativity is toxic. Thank you@

So for the positive, I did have a great ride today, 23 miles and a Lotta smiles with good friends and mostly well "distanced".:)
 
herzalot said:
Right - and very wrong. The draconian measures were absolutely necessary for the level of preparation of our health care system. Italy and New York City were real, even if the statistics aren't very impressive. The danger of this virus lies in the huge number of asymptomatic carriers combined with no treatment, no vaccine and no testing. We have made a HUGE logical error equivocating the extremely low mortality rate with it being "no big deal."
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It's a huge deal to those families who lose someone to it. What isn't being said - and won't be - is what I said before. NYC is self-inflicted due to the density. If that were not the case every other place would have the same issue. But it doesn't.

I agree, hindsight is 20/20 and it's easy to be an armchair quarterback and pooh-pooh the actions taken in the moment without the knowledge obtained later. We will never know if it really needed to be instituted to the level it was, everywhere.

What we need to learn from this won't be learned. We will still be told we need to live like we are cordwood, within 0.5 mile of transit, stay out of our vehicles, and kowtow to the New Urban planners. What we also won't learn is the telecommuting is doable, and probably essential to continuing to defeat something like this. It should not end for those who can perform their jobs wherever they are. Just think what that would do - and has already done - for the environment.
 
Old&InTheWay said:
Financial Incentives for reporting Covid-19 assumed cases:
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Try the "But for" test that is common in tort cases (negligence and responsibility). But for Covid 19, would this person have died right now? If the answer is no, then I think it's OK to list it as a Covid death, unless he died of an actual heart attack or similar. Regardless, we know the overall morbidity rate of the virus is pretty low, but that doesn't mean it's a minor problem. Why is this piece of logic so hard to grasp?
 
This may be too simplistic, but seems as though the average number of deaths (normalized for slight change in population size) of 50+, 60+, 70+ or whatever year old individuals in Italy, Britain, US, CA or NY during March could be compared with this year for a reflection of the corona influence (obviously subtract murders, car accident deaths etc).
 
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