Titanoboa - 60m years ago in what is now northern Colombia. A swamp snake that grew up to 42 feet long and weighed about 2,500 pounds, which means it weighed about 15x more than a modern green anaconda. You would be a mere snack.
"Other health experts noted that the tests deployed by the White House, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, were given emergency clearance by the Food and Drug Administration only for people “within the first seven days of the onset of symptoms.” But they were used incorrectly, to screen people who were not showing any signs of illness. Such off-label use, experts said, further compromised a strategy that presumably was designed to keep leading officials safe from a pandemic that so far has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
“It’s not being used for the intended purpose,” said Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist based in New York. “So there will be potentially a lot of false negatives and false positives.”
Abbott’s rapid coronavirus tests, called the ID NOW and BinaxNOW, are speedy, portable and easy to operate, delivering results in minutes. But the convenience comes at a cost: The products are less accurate than laboratory tests that use a technique called polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R., and they more frequently miss infections or mistakenly designate healthy people as infected, as happened to Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio in August.
Nonetheless, shortly after Abbott’s ID NOW test received emergency approval from the F.D.A. in the spring, the White House adopted it as a rapid screening tool for staff members and visitors who came into close contact with the president. Sometime around the end of August or early September, the White House switched to using the BinaxNOW — a similarly quick test that hunts for bits of coronavirus protein rather than viral RNA — according to a senior administration official.
Federal officials recently purchased the BinaxNOW to distribute by the millions to governors and vulnerable communities around the country. Rapid tests have been hailed by some experts as a welcome solution to the lengthy delays that have plagued expensive laboratory tests, although the products come with problems of their own.
People without Covid-19 symptoms have been among those taking the test on White House grounds, where individuals who received negative results were granted swift access to the president and his advisers.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the F.D.A., described these procedures as a misguided attempt at a “zero-fail testing protocol” in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, saying that officials “weren’t taking any precautions beyond testing people who are going to be in contact with the president.”
However, according to the products’ packaging, both Abbott rapid tests are intended for people with Covid-19 symptoms, early on in their illness. When Abbott submitted the tests for emergency authorization from the F.D.A., the company provided data only for people with symptoms. When used appropriately, the company has said, both tests perform about 95 percent as well as P.C.R. But how well the products do in asymptomatic individuals remains murky."
(CNN)Eddie Van Halen, the renowned lead guitarist of iconic rock group Van Halen, has died, according to a social media post by his son. He was 65.
"He was the best father I could ever ask for," his son, Wolf Van Halen, wrote in a note posted to Twitter. "Every moment I've shared with him on and off stage was a gift."
Wolf Van Halen said his father, whose full name was Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, died after a "long and arduous battle with cancer" on Tuesday morning.
"My heart is broken and I don't think I'll ever fully recover from this loss," his son added.
I had no idea he had cancer. I'm not sure I even remember the last time I saw him. I've probably seen Valerie Bertinelli more than I've seen him over the last 5 years. And that probably isn't even that often.
I had sort of heard of her in the context of her eyebrows being the new trend. My brother's girlfriend has been watching Emily in Paris, so I looked up what had been written online, leading to a WaPo column snarking about the show and, "Seriously, has her dad seen this?"
When I talked about this in my other internet community, someone shared that Elle King is the daughter of Rob Schneider, but I had never heard of Elle King before.
OK so you made me go google images of her to check out her eyebrows, and now I'm jealous. I have an eyebrow inferiority complex because mine are almost nonexistent and that hasn't been on trend for like 20 years. 😩
Also Lilly Collins was in “Mirror Mirror” which my daughters enjoyed at the time. I thought “Snow White’s cute, I wonder who she is” and then felt slightly gross when I found out. That’s what I get for being a dirty old man.
She had a passing hit called “Ex’s and Oh’s” a few years ago which is about loving and leaving the boys who still want her - slightly funny given that Rob Schneider went all right wing, one might say.
I first saw her in Stuck in Love, a Greg Kinnear romcom...she was solid. That Tolkien movie with the goofy looking kid from About a Boy didn’t do so well, but she’s a talented enough actress in her own right.
Leftover pasta is probably the thing I throw out uneaten most from my fridge. At some point I need to accept that when it comes to pasta, if I don't eat it the first day I am never going back to it. (exception: lasagna)
I'm beginning to question myself. Seems obvious the WH is a den of the virus. I went by to try to see the link below Monday morning but the chairs were already taken down and in stacks. But I put myself within a quarter mile of the WH.
Some generally and widely respected local/regional people who generally are well regarded for good judgement and leadership got themselves wound up in a "Return the Kids to the Classrooms" event, even though local spread numbers are no where close to health mandates, and some areas have troubling upturns. The stated reason is because they "want kids back in school".
My question, why isn't making improvements in distance and self paced learning seen as a priority to address shortcomings seen as a logical response?
Other questions include why is safety not a consideration? and why is possibly losing a year's progress in education seen as a bigger concern than some of the students (and teachers) possibly not surviving long enough for their progress to matter?
These aren't the usual Trumpers that don't understand even rudimentary jr high school epidemiology training, and this isn't a redder than red state OR area; those people I understand. These are relatively affluent generally purple to blue voters with generally high levels of education, and considerable practical experience as well. Yet this kids in schools and school systems that are in no way safe is a thing.
Are people seeing this phenomena in other areas? Any ideas as to why?
I wonder if these are really all the ultimate helicopter parents that are positive their kids will be the next star athlete AND class gpa leaders if only the system doesn't deprive them of it? (Completely regardless of factual evidence to the contrary.)
I have mixed feelings about this. Schools seem to be the liberal entry point to corona-denialism / "risk acceptance for thee if not for me."
The main arguments - all of which have merit - are as follows:
1) it's bad for small children to try and learn remote. That's certainly true, it's not a great way to interact and play / intpersonal interaction is a huge part of how younger children learn
2) it's a disaster for working mothers: anecdotal evidence suggests that just as married and employed women with children shoulder a higher burden of domestic work (that's not anecdotal, to be clear), they are shouldering a heavier burden in home-based education. And of course that's massively worse for single employed mothers.
3) it's bad for vulnerable populations, such as children with learning disabilities and poor minority children who don't have the resources (computers, reliable broadband) or personal support structures to make the most of what's on offer - and what's on offer doesn't come close to providing the "high touch" techniques that help these kids to learn.
Then we get into a rationalization that I'm not sure holds water yet. The claim is that because children basically don't suffer from the 'rona and are not a vector for transmission, school districts shouldn't feel that they are hamstrung by CDC guidance that they can't meet (for example, you would reduce bus capacity by 75% if you followed the spacing recommendations). There are also claims that the standards for closing schools are too stringent - e.g. in France (IIRC) they will send a specific class home if 2 kids in the class get sick, whereas in New York state they're talking about closing the entire school if there are 2 cases in the entire school.
This I find less convincing, for a couple of reasons. It does look like kids in the range of 5-10 are low risk for themselves causing outbreaks, wherever they are. However, the data becomes less clear for 11 - 17 year olds - for instance, schools in the UK went back to in-person instruction in August with almost no negative effects for 10 and unders, and persistent spread for 11 and older. The data from other countries suggests that the spread in schools is basically a function of how seriously the local communities take "social hygiene" behaviors... which is why it was a total shambles in Israel and worked pretty well in Germany and France. And yet even with that there are localized spikes happening right now in various western European countries. And the data in the US can't be trusted given the politicization of re-openings and rampant claims of coverups in southern predominantly Republican governed states.
And all of this ignores the fact that adults are required to run schools, who can both transmit to one another and (potentially) kids. Add in the problems with ventilation (a key factor in preventing transmission) and the complete absence of rapid testing to ID groups who should be sent home, and it seems risky.
I actually do think that elementary schools and programs for vulnerable or learning disabled kids should probably be re-opened - but ONLY with adequate testing and physical plant adjustments. The question for any given district is do you have the financial resources and the social capital / trust networks to make that work? It only takes a few assholes to really screw this up, and that's one resource we have aplenty.
It really is a case-by-case situation. One of the neighborhood families I've come to know during the virus has a four year old. Her father is French so she goes to a French school in DC. There's only eight in her class and even though her mom was reluctant to send her to in person class, it seems to be working fine so far.
I think a caveat here is that with the student-to-teacher ratio in most schools...it's impossible to make sure kids are actually following protocol. And spoiler alert: they probably aren't. This means whether or not it affects kids, they're bringing it home to their families. So the entire thing is a shit show of "We really shouldn't be doing this, but we probably need to...so how do we do this not poorly?" It's a nearly impossibly difficult question to answer.
Yes to all of the above. I have a five-year-old autistic son. I can tell he's getting almost nothing out of remote kindergarten. He needs in-person education, of the sort that neither I (trying to work remotely) nor his mother (also trying to care for our 1 year old) can possibly provide. Other families will have it even worse off than us.
I'm not sure when it becomes "safe" enough to send kids like him back to school, but I hope it's soon. The local school district wants to bring the youngest kids back as soon as it's possible (based on guidelines) and will hold off on older students, which makes sense to me.
I'm basing my thoughts on most Covid-induced issues, this one included, on the presumption that we will see 1 or more vaccines with pretty wide distribution sometime between now and the middle of next summer. If that doesn't eventuate, a lot of things are going to have be reassessed, not just education methodologies.
But if it does, the thing I find hard to understand is the lack of patience in the name of safety. I understand its not optimal to have up to a year's delay in the education and development of school age children. I also understand that its taken some time, and will take some more time, to get up to speed with alternative educational presentations, given we culturally have been slow to progress, much less give up the status quo, in this area. It is, however an area that some substantial progress had already been made in before the situation change exponentially.
Perhaps its just another example of a society that has very little patience, or resilience, in any area, and has been increasingly conditioned to not just expect, but demand instant results.
Well, the big trouble is that a lot of our society has been built up around the expectation that kids could physically go to school for most hours of the day, taking some of the burden off their parents for a while. Any time the expected social order starts collapsing you get impatient people. Doesn't seem surprising at all.
to your point #2. I have a single mom of 2 on my staff (ages 7 & 2) and she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown almost daily. Both of her sons have severe allergy and skin issues which require steroid injections. This in turn leads to hyper activity and she is basically struggling to function in any capacity. I've basically taken 75% of her workload off but even that is a struggle because she cant have meetings (screaming baby in background), she is trying to keep the older one on track with remote learning and she cant focus on her own job. Its a horrible situation and she has broken down in front of me on multiple occasions because of the stress.
(Except for matters involving soccer) I never have concerns about handling of any issue. I don't have that level of confidence about a lot of others who seem to be looking for a predetermined outcome.
it's actually much the opposite of helicopter parents, these parents don't want to have to deal with their kids all day everyday. They want them out of the house for 6-8 hours at school and other activities. Also, distance learning sucks ass compared to in person, no matter how much better you try to make it. And working to make it better for nearly all elementary school teachers is an unpaid double level of effort than preparing for regular classroom work, for something that is less than half as effective at teaching.
The "I don't want to have to deal with my kids" crowd I would get. But these aren't those. Some of them have dabbled in home schooling (maybe where they found out it isn't so easy after all?), and some of them are the volunteer and stipend paid assistant coach/advisor types that are deeply immersed in their kids activities. Some are teachers who should understand they are putting their personal health and career, and their entire family, in harms way with this.
Some are willing to frequently interrupt their day/week to facilitate the model.
Have we insulated an entire generation to the point where reality can't even be contemplated as something that can possibility interfere with their preferred vision?
Even some of the very involved parents, who show up to everything and help out/coach/volunteer/etc. are some of the ones at the school mrs works at who are most vocal about being at school, not at home.
There are also those who have found out that even half effort home schooling (which is what distance learning is kind of like) is way more effort than they want to make.
It is not an easy situation, except that 1) distance learning sucks, 2) being at school is much better, and 3) being at school increases greatly the prospect of spreading the 'rona to your family.
I saw that San Ramon Valley High students protested to have in-class learning again. I don't know how many students actually showed up. I had read they were hoping for 300-400 protesters.
Stu was the leader of the Space Sciences Lab up on top of the hill. i worked there all 4 years as an undergrad. his pet project back then was EUVE (extreme UV explorer). it consumed most of SSL's time and resources
i met him a couple times and he was always great to undergrads.
While working at the mothership in Hillsboro we used to get passes to the Columbia employee store. Had a coworker whose husband worked for them. Great prices and their stuff seem to be really good. Got a really nice Omni-tech rain jacket for something like $80. Probably at least 1/2 off. It was one of those where you could zip in a fleece jacket but I didn't get one of those at the time. Ended up getting one through ebay. This jacket is much more useful in Ky than here. Not as much heavy rain here and doesn't get super cold.
I heard it stated in a matter of fact matter on the air that the Black Lives Matter movement is a product of a Marxist organization. One thing that election season seems to stimulate are very creative imaginations.
...But Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his crenellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts.
Naw. The pitch he complained about was a ball. It was a couple of inches off. The one he should be complaining about was the 2nd strike to Tatis in the 3rd. 3-1 and the ball was at least 4 inches off the plate. That was a Glavine or Maddux strike. K'ed on the very next pitch.
Pitchers (14): Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Julio Urías, Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen, Pedro Báez, Jake McGee, Joe Kelly, Brusdar Graterol, Victor González, Adam Kolarek, Dylan Floro
Catchers (2): Will Smith, Austin Barnes
Infielders (5): Max Muncy, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Matt Beaty, Gavin Lux
Outfielders (4): Mookie Betts, A.J. Pollock, Joc Pederson, Terrance Gore
Infielders/outfielders (3): Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernández
Dylan Floro replaced Keibert Ruiz to add an additional pitcher. The surprise is Gavin Lux replaced Edwin Rios. I'm assuming Rios' hamstring is more hurt than it was in the wild card round.
Unfortunately Jaylinn Hawkins, after making a TD-saving tackle at the 2 yard line in the 1st quarter left the game in the 2nd quarter with a concussion.
Of all the things to sink the Oakland A’s in a playoff game, it was their infield defense on Monday.
The A’s led the Houston Astros midway through Game 1 of their ALDS, but a two-out error by shortstop Marcus Semien opened the doors for a four-run rally in the 6th inning. That was enough to permanently swing the tide, and the Astros held on to deliver Oakland a 10-5 loss.
For five innings, this looked like a promising series opener for the green and gold. They took an early lead in the 2nd inning on a two-run homer by Khris Davis, marking his second dinger of the postseason to match his entire total from the regular season. In the 3rd they got a solo homer from Sean Murphy, and then another in the 4th by Matt Olson. One more small-ball run in the 5th put them in a promising position up 5-3, in front of the best bullpen in the majors, but one mistake in the 6th doomed them.
Ball is flying out of Dodger Stadium. Wonder if MLB changed the balls again. Though when it's hot at Dodger Stadium the ball flys out of there. It's the night time when the marine layer keeps the balls inside the park.
UC Berkeley Professor Reinhard Genzel wins a lifetime parking spot on campus due to winning some nerd award. Something about physics and some Swedish guy named Alfred.
SO... the tests the WH has been using aren't even designed to catch asymptomatic people. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/health/covid-white-house-testing.html
"Other health experts noted that the tests deployed by the White House, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, were given emergency clearance by the Food and Drug Administration only for people “within the first seven days of the onset of symptoms.” But they were used incorrectly, to screen people who were not showing any signs of illness. Such off-label use, experts said, further compromised a strategy that presumably was designed to keep leading officials safe from a pandemic that so far has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
“It’s not being used for the intended purpose,” said Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist based in New York. “So there will be potentially a lot of false negatives and false positives.”
Abbott’s rapid coronavirus tests, called the ID NOW and BinaxNOW, are speedy, portable and easy to operate, delivering results in minutes. But the convenience comes at a cost: The products are less accurate than laboratory tests that use a technique called polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R., and they more frequently miss infections or mistakenly designate healthy people as infected, as happened to Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio in August.
Nonetheless, shortly after Abbott’s ID NOW test received emergency approval from the F.D.A. in the spring, the White House adopted it as a rapid screening tool for staff members and visitors who came into close contact with the president. Sometime around the end of August or early September, the White House switched to using the BinaxNOW — a similarly quick test that hunts for bits of coronavirus protein rather than viral RNA — according to a senior administration official.
Federal officials recently purchased the BinaxNOW to distribute by the millions to governors and vulnerable communities around the country. Rapid tests have been hailed by some experts as a welcome solution to the lengthy delays that have plagued expensive laboratory tests, although the products come with problems of their own.
People without Covid-19 symptoms have been among those taking the test on White House grounds, where individuals who received negative results were granted swift access to the president and his advisers.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the F.D.A., described these procedures as a misguided attempt at a “zero-fail testing protocol” in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, saying that officials “weren’t taking any precautions beyond testing people who are going to be in contact with the president.”
However, according to the products’ packaging, both Abbott rapid tests are intended for people with Covid-19 symptoms, early on in their illness. When Abbott submitted the tests for emergency authorization from the F.D.A., the company provided data only for people with symptoms. When used appropriately, the company has said, both tests perform about 95 percent as well as P.C.R. But how well the products do in asymptomatic individuals remains murky."
Eddie Van Halen dies at 65 after cancer battle
https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/entertainment/eddie-van-halen-dead/index.html
(CNN)Eddie Van Halen, the renowned lead guitarist of iconic rock group Van Halen, has died, according to a social media post by his son. He was 65.
"He was the best father I could ever ask for," his son, Wolf Van Halen, wrote in a note posted to Twitter. "Every moment I've shared with him on and off stage was a gift."
Wolf Van Halen said his father, whose full name was Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, died after a "long and arduous battle with cancer" on Tuesday morning.
"My heart is broken and I don't think I'll ever fully recover from this loss," his son added.
Eddie Van Halen, one of the great hidden Asians (he had an Indonesian grandparent).
Very hidden! But that’s interesting
well that blows. though, he's been sick for a long time.
I had no idea he had cancer. I'm not sure I even remember the last time I saw him. I've probably seen Valerie Bertinelli more than I've seen him over the last 5 years. And that probably isn't even that often.
Yeah, same here. I didn’t realize he even had cancer.
Fuck this shit
https://i.imgur.com/vdLE8dJ.gif
Washingtonian boy bikes 2,500+ miles for a good reason.
https://twitter.com/rubydrummr/status/1310287396408299521
I happened to see these folks after they finished when I went out Saturday afternoon.
https://wtop.com/arlington/2020/10/virginia-memorial-will-serve-as-finish-line-for-a-couples-cross-country-bicycle-trip/
I just learned that Lily Collins' dad is Phil Collins.
I keep getting Lily Collins confused with Lily James.
Lily James is a real cutie.
Don't know her either. Guess my kids are too old?
She was the sassy London-based cousin in Downton Abbey.
Don't watch period piece shows or movies. So I guess that's why I don't know her.
Wait, isn't that the whole reason she's famous?
I had sort of heard of her in the context of her eyebrows being the new trend. My brother's girlfriend has been watching Emily in Paris, so I looked up what had been written online, leading to a WaPo column snarking about the show and, "Seriously, has her dad seen this?"
When I talked about this in my other internet community, someone shared that Elle King is the daughter of Rob Schneider, but I had never heard of Elle King before.
OK so you made me go google images of her to check out her eyebrows, and now I'm jealous. I have an eyebrow inferiority complex because mine are almost nonexistent and that hasn't been on trend for like 20 years. 😩
The snark is well done.
Also Lilly Collins was in “Mirror Mirror” which my daughters enjoyed at the time. I thought “Snow White’s cute, I wonder who she is” and then felt slightly gross when I found out. That’s what I get for being a dirty old man.
She had a passing hit called “Ex’s and Oh’s” a few years ago which is about loving and leaving the boys who still want her - slightly funny given that Rob Schneider went all right wing, one might say.
America’s Sweetheart was another catchy Elle King tune. She has a new album out apparently
no, she's been in some movies/TV stuff.
I have never heard of her.
You're not the only one...
I note it's the older people without young kids that haven't heard of her...
I’m your age and have heard of her...I think it has more to do with if you watch movies...
I watch movies! Last Saturday it was "My Life as a Dog" (Mitt liv som hund in Swedish) - quite an enjoyable movie.
perhaps. I probably don't watch the type of movies she's in.
I first saw her in Stuck in Love, a Greg Kinnear romcom...she was solid. That Tolkien movie with the goofy looking kid from About a Boy didn’t do so well, but she’s a talented enough actress in her own right.
I guess I don't watch these movies so I guess that's why I've never heard of her.
Austin TX man arrested for fraudulently ordering/re-selling $1.5m worth of toner over 12 years.
Fire Starkey conspicuously not available for comment.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/former-austin-public-library-employee-stole-sold-over-1-3m-in-printer-toner-over-12-years-city-reports-says/
Now we know how the pool was paid for.
Puppy farmin' sure as shit aint going to pay for it. Grrrr
I want a puppyyyyyy
So do my boys.
What's for lunch?
A peanut butter sandwich. There was a power outage right before lunch, so that was the end of anything that required any cooking.
I had breakfast for lunch. scrambled eggs, cheese and breakfast sausage wrapped up in crescent roll dough. It was TREMENDOUS.
nothing wrong with having breakfast for lunch or dinner
That sounds delish.
Ended up being PBJ (with Raspberry Jam) on Dave's Killer Bread along with a little leftover baked potato salad.
Curry chicken
Gordo's burrito. Actually dinner, though. I'm skipping lunch.
Mmmmm, I miss Gordo’s
FiveGuys double cheeseburger and some fries. I had a frustrating morning so I ate my feelings
Good choice regardless of how the morning went.
Leftover pasta. Gotta finish this before I get the next things I've been craving (banh mi and pizza)
Leftover pasta is probably the thing I throw out uneaten most from my fridge. At some point I need to accept that when it comes to pasta, if I don't eat it the first day I am never going back to it. (exception: lasagna)
That's... weird; there's not wrong with leftover pasta, unless you overcooked at first.
Change of plans, my coworker is returning my pie pan AND BRINGING ME CHEESEBOARD
Probably left over chicken souvlaki, pilaf & yogurt salad.
...and it was very tasty, one of my leftover faves.
Anaconda stew
Got buns, hun?
Thai lentil curry soup with rice, banana.
No idea. I'll think about it around 12:30-1.
so what did you eat?
oh I guess I should've replied to this email.
Ended up being PBJ (with Raspberry Jam) on Dave's Killer Bread along with a little leftover baked potato salad.
not an email...
Made a turkey meatloaf last night, with just enough left over for a nice sandwich for lunch today.
Will that be served with the traditional garnish of a black North Face?
Probably quesadilla.
Burger fried on cast iron. Dave's Killer bun + tomato + onion.
Oh I didn't know Dave's made buns. I may have to get them next time to try them out. I usually get their bread at Costco.
Elsewhere in college
And just like that, Oregon regains one of its 4 opt-outs
https://twitter.com/Dede_lenoir/status/1313144249127378944
And... they gained another player - Boise State DB. Oregon's secondary is now looking much better.
https://twitter.com/SnappleJuice20/status/1313214188039204864
LSU: bigly brain trust
https://twitter.com/BrodyAMiller/status/1313185843587223554
Today in Covid-19
BINGO
Coronavirus has Stephen Miller
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1313612753752518656
I'm beginning to question myself. Seems obvious the WH is a den of the virus. I went by to try to see the link below Monday morning but the chairs were already taken down and in stacks. But I put myself within a quarter mile of the WH.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/memorial-held-outside-white-house-in-solemn-reminder-of-more-than-200000-americans-killed-by-covid-19/2020/10/04/d6914098-0671-11eb-859b-f9c27abe638d_story.html
So the virus does jump from humans to vampires?
Some generally and widely respected local/regional people who generally are well regarded for good judgement and leadership got themselves wound up in a "Return the Kids to the Classrooms" event, even though local spread numbers are no where close to health mandates, and some areas have troubling upturns. The stated reason is because they "want kids back in school".
My question, why isn't making improvements in distance and self paced learning seen as a priority to address shortcomings seen as a logical response?
Other questions include why is safety not a consideration? and why is possibly losing a year's progress in education seen as a bigger concern than some of the students (and teachers) possibly not surviving long enough for their progress to matter?
These aren't the usual Trumpers that don't understand even rudimentary jr high school epidemiology training, and this isn't a redder than red state OR area; those people I understand. These are relatively affluent generally purple to blue voters with generally high levels of education, and considerable practical experience as well. Yet this kids in schools and school systems that are in no way safe is a thing.
Are people seeing this phenomena in other areas? Any ideas as to why?
I wonder if these are really all the ultimate helicopter parents that are positive their kids will be the next star athlete AND class gpa leaders if only the system doesn't deprive them of it? (Completely regardless of factual evidence to the contrary.)
I have mixed feelings about this. Schools seem to be the liberal entry point to corona-denialism / "risk acceptance for thee if not for me."
The main arguments - all of which have merit - are as follows:
1) it's bad for small children to try and learn remote. That's certainly true, it's not a great way to interact and play / intpersonal interaction is a huge part of how younger children learn
2) it's a disaster for working mothers: anecdotal evidence suggests that just as married and employed women with children shoulder a higher burden of domestic work (that's not anecdotal, to be clear), they are shouldering a heavier burden in home-based education. And of course that's massively worse for single employed mothers.
3) it's bad for vulnerable populations, such as children with learning disabilities and poor minority children who don't have the resources (computers, reliable broadband) or personal support structures to make the most of what's on offer - and what's on offer doesn't come close to providing the "high touch" techniques that help these kids to learn.
Then we get into a rationalization that I'm not sure holds water yet. The claim is that because children basically don't suffer from the 'rona and are not a vector for transmission, school districts shouldn't feel that they are hamstrung by CDC guidance that they can't meet (for example, you would reduce bus capacity by 75% if you followed the spacing recommendations). There are also claims that the standards for closing schools are too stringent - e.g. in France (IIRC) they will send a specific class home if 2 kids in the class get sick, whereas in New York state they're talking about closing the entire school if there are 2 cases in the entire school.
This I find less convincing, for a couple of reasons. It does look like kids in the range of 5-10 are low risk for themselves causing outbreaks, wherever they are. However, the data becomes less clear for 11 - 17 year olds - for instance, schools in the UK went back to in-person instruction in August with almost no negative effects for 10 and unders, and persistent spread for 11 and older. The data from other countries suggests that the spread in schools is basically a function of how seriously the local communities take "social hygiene" behaviors... which is why it was a total shambles in Israel and worked pretty well in Germany and France. And yet even with that there are localized spikes happening right now in various western European countries. And the data in the US can't be trusted given the politicization of re-openings and rampant claims of coverups in southern predominantly Republican governed states.
And all of this ignores the fact that adults are required to run schools, who can both transmit to one another and (potentially) kids. Add in the problems with ventilation (a key factor in preventing transmission) and the complete absence of rapid testing to ID groups who should be sent home, and it seems risky.
I actually do think that elementary schools and programs for vulnerable or learning disabled kids should probably be re-opened - but ONLY with adequate testing and physical plant adjustments. The question for any given district is do you have the financial resources and the social capital / trust networks to make that work? It only takes a few assholes to really screw this up, and that's one resource we have aplenty.
It really is a case-by-case situation. One of the neighborhood families I've come to know during the virus has a four year old. Her father is French so she goes to a French school in DC. There's only eight in her class and even though her mom was reluctant to send her to in person class, it seems to be working fine so far.
I think a caveat here is that with the student-to-teacher ratio in most schools...it's impossible to make sure kids are actually following protocol. And spoiler alert: they probably aren't. This means whether or not it affects kids, they're bringing it home to their families. So the entire thing is a shit show of "We really shouldn't be doing this, but we probably need to...so how do we do this not poorly?" It's a nearly impossibly difficult question to answer.
Yes to all of the above. I have a five-year-old autistic son. I can tell he's getting almost nothing out of remote kindergarten. He needs in-person education, of the sort that neither I (trying to work remotely) nor his mother (also trying to care for our 1 year old) can possibly provide. Other families will have it even worse off than us.
I'm not sure when it becomes "safe" enough to send kids like him back to school, but I hope it's soon. The local school district wants to bring the youngest kids back as soon as it's possible (based on guidelines) and will hold off on older students, which makes sense to me.
I'm basing my thoughts on most Covid-induced issues, this one included, on the presumption that we will see 1 or more vaccines with pretty wide distribution sometime between now and the middle of next summer. If that doesn't eventuate, a lot of things are going to have be reassessed, not just education methodologies.
But if it does, the thing I find hard to understand is the lack of patience in the name of safety. I understand its not optimal to have up to a year's delay in the education and development of school age children. I also understand that its taken some time, and will take some more time, to get up to speed with alternative educational presentations, given we culturally have been slow to progress, much less give up the status quo, in this area. It is, however an area that some substantial progress had already been made in before the situation change exponentially.
Perhaps its just another example of a society that has very little patience, or resilience, in any area, and has been increasingly conditioned to not just expect, but demand instant results.
Well, the big trouble is that a lot of our society has been built up around the expectation that kids could physically go to school for most hours of the day, taking some of the burden off their parents for a while. Any time the expected social order starts collapsing you get impatient people. Doesn't seem surprising at all.
to your point #2. I have a single mom of 2 on my staff (ages 7 & 2) and she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown almost daily. Both of her sons have severe allergy and skin issues which require steroid injections. This in turn leads to hyper activity and she is basically struggling to function in any capacity. I've basically taken 75% of her workload off but even that is a struggle because she cant have meetings (screaming baby in background), she is trying to keep the older one on track with remote learning and she cant focus on her own job. Its a horrible situation and she has broken down in front of me on multiple occasions because of the stress.
I can tell you've given this a lot of thought.
I’m very conflicted about this whole question and I’ve been making an effort to take it seriously
(Except for matters involving soccer) I never have concerns about handling of any issue. I don't have that level of confidence about a lot of others who seem to be looking for a predetermined outcome.
@more thought than any of his 4 years at U$C?@
it's actually much the opposite of helicopter parents, these parents don't want to have to deal with their kids all day everyday. They want them out of the house for 6-8 hours at school and other activities. Also, distance learning sucks ass compared to in person, no matter how much better you try to make it. And working to make it better for nearly all elementary school teachers is an unpaid double level of effort than preparing for regular classroom work, for something that is less than half as effective at teaching.
The "I don't want to have to deal with my kids" crowd I would get. But these aren't those. Some of them have dabbled in home schooling (maybe where they found out it isn't so easy after all?), and some of them are the volunteer and stipend paid assistant coach/advisor types that are deeply immersed in their kids activities. Some are teachers who should understand they are putting their personal health and career, and their entire family, in harms way with this.
Some are willing to frequently interrupt their day/week to facilitate the model.
Have we insulated an entire generation to the point where reality can't even be contemplated as something that can possibility interfere with their preferred vision?
Even some of the very involved parents, who show up to everything and help out/coach/volunteer/etc. are some of the ones at the school mrs works at who are most vocal about being at school, not at home.
There are also those who have found out that even half effort home schooling (which is what distance learning is kind of like) is way more effort than they want to make.
It is not an easy situation, except that 1) distance learning sucks, 2) being at school is much better, and 3) being at school increases greatly the prospect of spreading the 'rona to your family.
I saw that San Ramon Valley High students protested to have in-class learning again. I don't know how many students actually showed up. I had read they were hoping for 300-400 protesters.
Stuart Bowyer, astronomy professor at Berkeley, passes away from Covid19 at age 86. Took Astro 7 from him back in the 90's.
https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/10/02/stuart-bowyer-pioneer-of-euv-astronomy-and-seti-dies-at-86/
Stu was the leader of the Space Sciences Lab up on top of the hill. i worked there all 4 years as an undergrad. his pet project back then was EUVE (extreme UV explorer). it consumed most of SSL's time and resources
i met him a couple times and he was always great to undergrads.
Yep. He was often surrounded by his talented grad students/TA's in the lecture hall but would happily answer any undergrad questions, including mine.
Kevin Sumlin (UofA HC) has la Rona
https://twitter.com/michaeljlev/status/1313185073638727680?s=21
Columbia
Saving Columbia...Biden's 2nd Gettysburg address
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz0Ay13elzc
While working at the mothership in Hillsboro we used to get passes to the Columbia employee store. Had a coworker whose husband worked for them. Great prices and their stuff seem to be really good. Got a really nice Omni-tech rain jacket for something like $80. Probably at least 1/2 off. It was one of those where you could zip in a fleece jacket but I didn't get one of those at the time. Ended up getting one through ebay. This jacket is much more useful in Ky than here. Not as much heavy rain here and doesn't get super cold.
Colombia
RIP Andres Escobar
https://twitter.com/ParcerosUnited/status/1275114721763606529
OUR GASPING FOR AIR WHILE TRYING TO NOT LOOK WEAK DEMOCRACY
I heard it stated in a matter of fact matter on the air that the Black Lives Matter movement is a product of a Marxist organization. One thing that election season seems to stimulate are very creative imaginations.
The Republicans really have become the stupid party, 100%.
You just can't make it up: Giuliani tries to assure people that going without masks is fine while coughing his way through the interview.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/06/trump-lawyer-rudy-giuliani-masks-coronavirus-fox-news
And this guy used to be considered one of the "good" Republicans.
Who can lend me $100? I'll pay you back from the profits from selling this.
https://www.whitehousegiftshop.com/product-p/trump-defeats-covid.htm
This looks like something John Oliver would've created.
Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
https://www.poemuseum.org/the-masque-of-the-red-death
...But Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his crenellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts.
"Don't be afraid of Covid"
- some guy who hasn't yet joined the 210k Americans he's helped kill in eight months
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313186529058136070
Unfortunately some patients appear to improve, leave the hospital, only to experience a quick decline in their health, a ventilator, and death.
Well that'd be a shame.
A real shame indeed.
He's mistaking being doped up on the steroids for getting better. Once those stop, he will likely crash. or go back to cocaine.
I'm... [gasp]... fine... [gasp]
https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1313268303922634755
Like I said, he is really trying to commit suicide by Covid.
PRO
Padres manager gets thrown out for pointing out the Dodgers bias was a little too obvious.
Naw. The pitch he complained about was a ball. It was a couple of inches off. The one he should be complaining about was the 2nd strike to Tatis in the 3rd. 3-1 and the ball was at least 4 inches off the plate. That was a Glavine or Maddux strike. K'ed on the very next pitch.
In my experience, the defensive coach never complains about getting a called strike on a pitch that was a ball, only the misses that go against him.
The umpires missed quite a few pitches horizontally for both teams. And tomorrow is Angel Hernandez. I think he may be tossed in two in a row.
Dodgers NLDS roster:
Pitchers (14): Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Julio Urías, Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen, Pedro Báez, Jake McGee, Joe Kelly, Brusdar Graterol, Victor González, Adam Kolarek, Dylan Floro
Catchers (2): Will Smith, Austin Barnes
Infielders (5): Max Muncy, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Matt Beaty, Gavin Lux
Outfielders (4): Mookie Betts, A.J. Pollock, Joc Pederson, Terrance Gore
Infielders/outfielders (3): Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernández
Dylan Floro replaced Keibert Ruiz to add an additional pitcher. The surprise is Gavin Lux replaced Edwin Rios. I'm assuming Rios' hamstring is more hurt than it was in the wild card round.
Rodgers, Tonyan lead Packers to 30-16 win over Atlanta
https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap?gameId=401220293
Unfortunately Jaylinn Hawkins, after making a TD-saving tackle at the 2 yard line in the 1st quarter left the game in the 2nd quarter with a concussion.
ALDS Game 1: Oakland A’s defense falters in 10-5 slugfest loss
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2020/10/5/21503364/mlb-postseason-2020-alds-game-1-oakland-as-houston-astros-score-result
Of all the things to sink the Oakland A’s in a playoff game, it was their infield defense on Monday.
The A’s led the Houston Astros midway through Game 1 of their ALDS, but a two-out error by shortstop Marcus Semien opened the doors for a four-run rally in the 6th inning. That was enough to permanently swing the tide, and the Astros held on to deliver Oakland a 10-5 loss.
For five innings, this looked like a promising series opener for the green and gold. They took an early lead in the 2nd inning on a two-run homer by Khris Davis, marking his second dinger of the postseason to match his entire total from the regular season. In the 3rd they got a solo homer from Sean Murphy, and then another in the 4th by Matt Olson. One more small-ball run in the 5th put them in a promising position up 5-3, in front of the best bullpen in the majors, but one mistake in the 6th doomed them.
Ball is flying out of Dodger Stadium. Wonder if MLB changed the balls again. Though when it's hot at Dodger Stadium the ball flys out of there. It's the night time when the marine layer keeps the balls inside the park.
Seems like the A's can't do a playoff series without immediately dumping themselves into a hole.
2015 Marcus Semien decided to reappear
Painful to watch. Gotta pull one out today or the A's will be down 2-0 and would need to win three in a row, which is unlikely.
CAL
Go Bears.
UC Berkeley Professor Reinhard Genzel wins a lifetime parking spot on campus due to winning some nerd award. Something about physics and some Swedish guy named Alfred.
https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1313419698789404672
whoo Hoo Go Bears!
Yay GO BEARS!
[Heavy breathing] Bynum opts back in
https://twitter.com/Cambeezy_/status/1313200211372642306
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