Got my first vaccine appointment on Wednesday. Moderna at the San Mateo County Event Center. Lets f'ing go the end is finally near and I can finally get my college life that i deserve back.
I tried hang gliding in Kitty Hawk, NC because I thought it would be the last chance I ever get to do it. I did the training for a day, only barely skimmed above the sand for dozens of yards at a time. I'm cool with never doing it again.
I personally want to see my Raiders select a linebacker like JOK from Notre Dame or Micah Parsons if he falls, otherwise I'm ready for a trade down since there aren't any other pressing areas unless they want a Right Tackle (where they can find good value later on). I hope they don't draft another secondary player because the last thing our secondary needs is more youth. Let me know who you want your teams to draft.
I would like a better Safety so that Abram doesn't always get beat. Arnette, I think it is, needs to learn how to tackle so he doesn't always get his bell rung.
Watched the first episode of Kung Fu. Premise is a modern day Chinese American girl is tricked into going to China to be fixed up with a husband. She freaks and joins a Shaolin monastery. Comes back to San Francisco to fight the rampant Chinese gangsters there.
Man, there wouldn't have been a better time to keep the original format of some white racists getting their asses beat just after saying "we don't care for your kind around here, Chinaman"
Driving to the MA Cape for 14 days starting on the 7th. I will only be taking one day of official vacation for the day after my 50th birthday, so it's really working from a place with a different view. There is group of 3 other guys who are coming in during the middle weekend - the same guys I typically go to Spring training with. By chance, two of them are turning 50 the same week as me, so it might get a bit hairy as we celebrate a group 50th. We're all vaccinated.
i really like this whole idea of working from somewhere else. while it is true that you have to pay for lodging, but you get to experience a different place, pretend you live there, still eat/drink out all you want all while not using up any vacation days.
i try to do it at least a couple times a year. last year, both my weeklong trips to western NC were that way. rode my bike all morning, worked most of the rest of the day, soaked in the hot tub to recover and repeat ...
Probably next flight will be the TCU game. Don't have any other plans at the moment.
No 1 and 2 will be here for about 2 weeks overlapping so I may try to figure something we can do, but No 3 will still be in HS until after No 2 goes back to Vandy for a research summer internship so we're limited on what we can do.
Spending the week in Ojai next week because I needed a place I could drive to that would be different enough from here to make me relax. Gonna spa, hike, and sit by the pool reading trashy books. Can't wait.
Used to fly international 4-5 times a year for work, but have not boarded a plane since March 2020. I got used to working from home and don't mind having no business trips, but I do miss flying. Thinking of some trip soon now that I'm vaccinated.
Planning (but have not booked) an August trip to Ohio and a November–December trip to Taiwan, both for weddings. Hoping it's safe for both trips (and that global conditions are such that Taiwan can let visitors in so that you all can go with me!)
A friend suggested going to SLC in June, but it seems too soon for air travel, and I'm not super excited about doing that roadtrip, so we will see...
I would drop by T'aipei but I suspect getting back in to the Mainland will be difficult, so instead will just wave from this side of the strait. Maybe you can go to Kinmen and I'll wave at you from Xiamen.
FWIW, when I was getting my second shot, the doctor administering it basically said "stay masked and you'll be fine" re: flying. That meshes with what I've seen from some of the better "generalist" writers on the 'rona including Zeynep Tufekci
I don't know who you're planning to fly with, but most airlines cycle in fresh air and have filters. The NYT did this "be very afraid" visualization last week and it basically amounted to "the air is exchanged pretty frequently and there is a tiny chance that if you get unlucky you could inhale some floating plague if you and someone else happen to be unmasked at the same time and are very close." Which is certainly true, but there basically hasn't been any indication of this actually being a problem in over a year.
going to Alaska May 17-25. The missus and I are both fully vaccinated and we plan on saying "this is our 25th anniversary trip" as much as possible to see how much free stuff we get from hotels and the like
I think this Alaska trip is our only planned one til Fall so whenever is fine. We'll be going to TCU for sure in Sept and I suspect my work travel will resume late in the year but cant think of anything else right now
It's May holiday coming up! May 1-5 are vacation days and I am staying my ass in Shanghai. If you can't leave the country, domestic travel in China during a national holiday is a version of hell. Particularly this year when no one can (easily) leave. Might go play golf. Might bike around. Cook something complicated.
I got M1 a couple of weeks ago and my wife got it last Friday. Decided to travel after we get our M2s. Thought about MX, but it and most countries are still on the "don't go there" list (which does *not* include Rwanda, surprisingly). So thought HI: But I think everyone had that thought a month ago...almost nothing available. So went mack to MX plan. We'll be at a resort, which is "safe" (self contained, has policies, etc.) and 5-yo can enjoy the sun and pool.
My wife and I are probably going to forgo long trips via plane for the time being, but that has less to do with COVID and more to do that we have a deaf cat at home and we have to make sure she doesn't get out into the dangerous wild.
My wife and the girls will be in Vermont again this summer, but as the camp COVID protocols are currently defined, I won't be able to visit. I thought that maybe I'd take a long weekend away just for grins, and then realized that we have a cat and have not yet worked out any cat-sitting arrangements. So that's a small hurdle.
I'm due to get on a plane on Wednesday, first flight since December 2019, so of course I got a text from United that the first leg to SFO might be canceled because of runway work. Nature is healing.
The only reason I'd be in the Bay area more than an hour would be if I was delayed on route to SFO and missed my connection to PDX. But if that happens I will definitely need a drink ;)
meanwhile the US reactionary press and associated twitter bots are freaking out that this will mean EU will demand vaccine passports which is an intolerable imposition on American freedom. I thought this was satire at first but then it occurred to me that a lot of people have no sense that their American rights don't extend outside of the US.
They do, but facts are not important here. I was actually wondering what the overlap is between "won't get a COVID vaccine" and "doesn't have a US passport." I don't think it's 1:1 because of the affluent liberal strain of anti-vaxxers, but one wonders.
hello after a long time! have we considered making a CGB/W4C Discord? I have that app open all day and it'd be easier than checking a Web page for new comments
Wow, that decision to award the lead actor categories after Best Picture really blew up in their faces. They clearly expected an emotional posthumous Chadwick Boseman win and instead they got: Frances McDormand, who had already given a speech when her movie won Best Picture and didn't have much else to say, and Anthony Hopkins, who wasn't there to give a speech. And that's it, show's over, folks!
Yeah, at first I kind of liked how loosey-goosey the whole thing was, Regina King walking all the way down the hall as the camera followed her to present the first award, etc. But those decisions at the end were bizarre.
I also would have liked to see more clips of the nominated movies, especially in a year like this when none of them are blockbusters that everybody's seen already. Why not advertise your own product a bit more?
I missed the clips too, especially following a year when I had much less exposure to the nominated films. I find the clips to be particularly helpful for the technical categories like cinematography, visual effects, costume design, hair/makeup, set design, etc. Although they unfortunately cut several of those from this year's broadcast...
The Oscars are always a month-long interruption. At least before it was on Hollywood Blvd which, while busy, isn't a lifeline for the Greater Los Angeles region.
Anybody here living in Los Angeles? I wonder if Union Station business is way down lately anyway. Also, I wonder if much of Union Station didn't have to be shut down. I've only been there a few times, but I think you could transfer among light rail routes without going into the building.
A lot of people drive to Union Station and that access was completely shut down. Also, people with disabilities have not been able to use Union Station for the past month.
Basically, the Oscars are a blight and need to be cancelled entirely.
I read a funny tweet about someone relaying that a friend had announced she was ready for summer because she was "waxed and vaxxed" so I guess some people are already back to being ready to be inside strangers again
AK State Senator Reinbold (R) got in a battle over masks at Alaskan Airlines - the only airline to serve the state capitol. Now she has a 14-hour commute to work. Naturally, she says it's tyranny for a business to do this to her.
The worst thing I read this weekend was about what's going on in AZ, with a group of crazy Republicans doing a wholly unnecessary, and unsupervised recount of Maricopa county, run by partisan hacks.
Either that, or like all their prior efforts to prove voter fraud, they silently shut down their efforts and pretend like it never happened. Then, after the next election, they cry out that rampant fraud is occurring.
yeah, I read a little about this. It looks like a complete shitshow and why the Arizona Dems aren't demanding full participation in this is beyond me cause my read is the same as yours. "3rd party" unsupervised recount? Guaranteed that the numbers change/Dem ballots disappear, etc
WaPo/ABC News Poll: 41% of Americans think the J&J vaccine is not safe (vs. 16% each for Pfizer & Moderna). Of those not vaccinated, 73% are not willing to get the J&J vaccine.
I agree with you that it was the prudent thing to pause and investigate. Unfortunately, it's a no-win situation: don't pause it and get accused of a cover-up/risking lives; pause it and have anti-vaxxers spin it like SEE THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU WITH 5G 1111ONE!!!1
Got my first Moderna shot at midnight Friday night in a clinic in South Central LA. Was waiting for the shot when I saw the nurse putting a bandaid on my arm. Ten minutes later I felt a split second of pain in the injection site and light-headedness, but that passed just as quickly. Over the weekend had soreness in the injection site but that's it.
One of my wife's "camp friends" (also an adult counselor, has kids who go to camp) lives in Florida and they've basically been doing nothing in terms of mask wearing, kids have been in school, sports with no distancing, all that. Fair enough, they haven't got sick. But they're pissed that the summer camp (in Vermont) will have masks and pods and so on... so rather than complain about the rules directly, this woman is making some kind of fucked up "equity" argument that if some other kid gives her kid the 'rona, it's not fair to her kid to be quarantined. My wife is taking the view of "I'm not getting into this ridiculous argument with you, if you don't like the approach for this summer, don't send your kids, we'll be here in 2022 as well."
Dustin May struck out a career-high 10 batters, but that seemed like ages ago Sunday night at Dodger Stadium inexplicably became a battle of the bullpens, and an extra-inning one at that. The Dodgers blew a six-run lead and lost 8-7 in 11 innings, giving the Padres three wins in four games during the weekend series at Dodger Stadium.
On a night Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen, and Scott Alexander weren’t available after recent usage, the Dodgers turned a 7-1 lead over to different parts of their bullpen, and nothing seemed to go right.
David Price, pitching in his first game in six days, allowed three hits and two runs, aided by an error on Sheldon Neuse. He might have pitched longer than one inning, but suffered a hamstring strain, and will be evaluated on Monday to see if a roster move is needed.
ugh...Dodgers couldn't hit all series long. They left like 19 runners on base yesterday. Probably hit like .050 with runners in scoring position.
Although, many of their best relievers didn't pitch yesterday since they had pitched 2 of the previous 3 games and Jansen pitched 4 outs yesterday. If it were the playoffs they would've pitched.
Tatis is amazing to watch. He and Soto are both such great hitters.
The Golden State Warriors didn’t play close to their best, but they did enough to get a much-needed 117-113 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Stephen Curry led the way with 37 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 19, while Draymond Green recorded his 13th triple-double of the season with eight points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
The Dubs struggled to find consistency against an undermanned Kings squad that is without its best player in De’Aaron Fox. Sacramento pushed the pace and kept coming at Golden State throughout the game.
Looks like the Warriors are 4.5 games up on the 11th place team so I think they'll definitely make the playoffs. Also 3 games from the 6th place team.
7 Blazers -
8 Grizzlies. .5
9 Spurs. 1.5
10 Warriors 1.5
Not sure about remaining games strength of schedule but it looks like about 11 games left. Games remaining against Dallas, Minnesota, Houston, New Orleans x3, OKC x2, Utah, Phoenix, Memphis. Utah and Phoenix should be tough. The key games are beating the teams below them and Memphis.
It was a heck of a win streak, but after more than two weeks of indulging on nothing but good times, it was time to pay the piper.
The Oakland A’s finally lost a game, for the first time since April 8, snapping a string of 13 straight victories. The final score was 8-1 at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, as the Baseball Gods who had been so charitable in recent days sent a Hays & Means Committee to collect a contribution.
The A’s lineup has been humming, averaging more than six runs per contest during the streak and piling up 10 between their first two wins in this series in Baltimore. But they finally met their match in John Means, who has quietly built an impressive track record with the rebuilding Orioles. The lefty was an All-Star in 2019 and entered today leading the AL in ERA, and Oakland was every bit as stymied as everyone else has been.
The San Francisco Giants squandered an opportunity in the first inning against the Miami Marlins. After Austin Slater drew a leadoff walk, he stole second (easily). One Mike Yastrzemski strikeout later, and Slater stole third (easily). Runner on third, less than two outs? Easy run.
Except no. Nothing came of it.
So they tried harder in the second inning. A Wilmer Flores walk, followed by a Tommy La Stella single, put runners at the corners with no outs. Following a Curt Casali strikeout, Mauricio Dubón laid down a perfect base-hit bunt to score a run, and suddenly the Giants led 1-0.
Got my first vaccine appointment on Wednesday. Moderna at the San Mateo County Event Center. Lets f'ing go the end is finally near and I can finally get my college life that i deserve back.
What is something you have tried because of Fear of Missing Out?
I tried hang gliding in Kitty Hawk, NC because I thought it would be the last chance I ever get to do it. I did the training for a day, only barely skimmed above the sand for dozens of yards at a time. I'm cool with never doing it again.
Elsewhere in college
[SJ Merc] Gloria Nevarez no longer in running for Pac-12 Commish.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/pac-12-commissioner-search-continues-175009814.html
Michigan's former QB Joe Milton picks Tennessee over Washington State
https://twitter.com/RivalsPortal/status/1386661539701301250
NFL Draft
I personally want to see my Raiders select a linebacker like JOK from Notre Dame or Micah Parsons if he falls, otherwise I'm ready for a trade down since there aren't any other pressing areas unless they want a Right Tackle (where they can find good value later on). I hope they don't draft another secondary player because the last thing our secondary needs is more youth. Let me know who you want your teams to draft.
I would like a better Safety so that Abram doesn't always get beat. Arnette, I think it is, needs to learn how to tackle so he doesn't always get his bell rung.
Does Cam Bynum and Jake Curhan have chance of being drafted? Maybe Luc Bequette?
Bynum anywhere from reach 3rd to 7th round imo Curhan would be a Mr.Irrelevant at best and the rest should go undrafted.
Cam will get drafted, Curhan may....
Cal
Go Bears!
AV
Watched the first episode of Kung Fu. Premise is a modern day Chinese American girl is tricked into going to China to be fixed up with a husband. She freaks and joins a Shaolin monastery. Comes back to San Francisco to fight the rampant Chinese gangsters there.
Man, there wouldn't have been a better time to keep the original format of some white racists getting their asses beat just after saying "we don't care for your kind around here, Chinaman"
Have you seen Warrior?
Travel
I booked Christmas in US Virgin Islands. "I" = my wife. I think we're in St. Croix. We plan on sitting on our butts and reading beach books.
we went to St Thomas (2019) for Xmas. it was fantastic. no read or sitting on the beach, but great snorkeling and snorkeling and snorkeling everyday.
Go say hi to Tim Duncan
We went to St. Martin/Sint Maarten about a decade back. Two countries in one! ;-) Was quite wonderful...
Driving to the MA Cape for 14 days starting on the 7th. I will only be taking one day of official vacation for the day after my 50th birthday, so it's really working from a place with a different view. There is group of 3 other guys who are coming in during the middle weekend - the same guys I typically go to Spring training with. By chance, two of them are turning 50 the same week as me, so it might get a bit hairy as we celebrate a group 50th. We're all vaccinated.
i really like this whole idea of working from somewhere else. while it is true that you have to pay for lodging, but you get to experience a different place, pretend you live there, still eat/drink out all you want all while not using up any vacation days.
i try to do it at least a couple times a year. last year, both my weeklong trips to western NC were that way. rode my bike all morning, worked most of the rest of the day, soaked in the hot tub to recover and repeat ...
Jul - driving to Acadia NP and Portsmouth for a week
Aug - flying to Bozeman and Glacier NP for a week
Sep - TCU game and will probably try to wrangle a trip to CO to ride my bike
Booked flights and airbnb to CDMX for my 50th in August.
lold
My intense wanderlust is not shared by my wife :(
same :{
Probably next flight will be the TCU game. Don't have any other plans at the moment.
No 1 and 2 will be here for about 2 weeks overlapping so I may try to figure something we can do, but No 3 will still be in HS until after No 2 goes back to Vandy for a research summer internship so we're limited on what we can do.
Spending the week in Ojai next week because I needed a place I could drive to that would be different enough from here to make me relax. Gonna spa, hike, and sit by the pool reading trashy books. Can't wait.
Used to fly international 4-5 times a year for work, but have not boarded a plane since March 2020. I got used to working from home and don't mind having no business trips, but I do miss flying. Thinking of some trip soon now that I'm vaccinated.
Planning (but have not booked) an August trip to Ohio and a November–December trip to Taiwan, both for weddings. Hoping it's safe for both trips (and that global conditions are such that Taiwan can let visitors in so that you all can go with me!)
A friend suggested going to SLC in June, but it seems too soon for air travel, and I'm not super excited about doing that roadtrip, so we will see...
I would drop by T'aipei but I suspect getting back in to the Mainland will be difficult, so instead will just wave from this side of the strait. Maybe you can go to Kinmen and I'll wave at you from Xiamen.
FWIW, when I was getting my second shot, the doctor administering it basically said "stay masked and you'll be fine" re: flying. That meshes with what I've seen from some of the better "generalist" writers on the 'rona including Zeynep Tufekci
BUT I NEED THAT SWEET RECIRCULATED AIRPLANE AIR UNFILTERED
you can still get it, just additionally filtered by your mask and mixed in w/ 50% of your own air
Here's a study by some friends of mine:
Molecular bacterial diversity and bioburden of commercial airliner cabin air
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18026220/
I don't know who you're planning to fly with, but most airlines cycle in fresh air and have filters. The NYT did this "be very afraid" visualization last week and it basically amounted to "the air is exchanged pretty frequently and there is a tiny chance that if you get unlucky you could inhale some floating plague if you and someone else happen to be unmasked at the same time and are very close." Which is certainly true, but there basically hasn't been any indication of this actually being a problem in over a year.
going to Alaska May 17-25. The missus and I are both fully vaccinated and we plan on saying "this is our 25th anniversary trip" as much as possible to see how much free stuff we get from hotels and the like
a friend of the wife moved to Austin last year and we've been meaning to visit them and also pee in your pool.
its bbq season too so feel free to let me know when you're in town. Happy to have you guys over
Probably wouldn't be for a while, precisely because we are not yet ready to fly. We've got to find the time for a long road trip.
I think this Alaska trip is our only planned one til Fall so whenever is fine. We'll be going to TCU for sure in Sept and I suspect my work travel will resume late in the year but cant think of anything else right now
It's May holiday coming up! May 1-5 are vacation days and I am staying my ass in Shanghai. If you can't leave the country, domestic travel in China during a national holiday is a version of hell. Particularly this year when no one can (easily) leave. Might go play golf. Might bike around. Cook something complicated.
Newellbany and I booked AirBnB in Ft Worth for Sept...that's next on the travel list.
count me in on the baseball game thing if/when you need to buy tickets.
Great! We'll figure it out closer but we'll get a bundle...our AirBnB is apparently a mile walk to the TCU stadium...will get more info about all.
If baseball is a go then I'll look at getting my flight for returning on Tues.
Nice! We fly out Tues am as well.
I got M1 a couple of weeks ago and my wife got it last Friday. Decided to travel after we get our M2s. Thought about MX, but it and most countries are still on the "don't go there" list (which does *not* include Rwanda, surprisingly). So thought HI: But I think everyone had that thought a month ago...almost nothing available. So went mack to MX plan. We'll be at a resort, which is "safe" (self contained, has policies, etc.) and 5-yo can enjoy the sun and pool.
My wife and I are probably going to forgo long trips via plane for the time being, but that has less to do with COVID and more to do that we have a deaf cat at home and we have to make sure she doesn't get out into the dangerous wild.
Shorter, driving trips allows us to take the cat with us.
My wife and the girls will be in Vermont again this summer, but as the camp COVID protocols are currently defined, I won't be able to visit. I thought that maybe I'd take a long weekend away just for grins, and then realized that we have a cat and have not yet worked out any cat-sitting arrangements. So that's a small hurdle.
I'm due to get on a plane on Wednesday, first flight since December 2019, so of course I got a text from United that the first leg to SFO might be canceled because of runway work. Nature is healing.
Going to see your parents? <3
that's the plan - them and also my brother and his family.
You could say hi if you're in the Bay.
CGBDCTHH (Social Distancing edition)
Oh that reminds me that Imax requested a Zoom DBD in May
The only reason I'd be in the Bay area more than an hour would be if I was delayed on route to SFO and missed my connection to PDX. But if that happens I will definitely need a drink ;)
EU might crack and let in vaccinated Americans this summer: https://twitter.com/davidshepardson/status/1386742002742702086?s=20
i was thinking about this. even it was possible, i am not sure how it is going to work if things are closed and there is little to do.
it is not like they are going to let me be a roadside Tour de France spectator and tell the French people they have to stay home
meanwhile the US reactionary press and associated twitter bots are freaking out that this will mean EU will demand vaccine passports which is an intolerable imposition on American freedom. I thought this was satire at first but then it occurred to me that a lot of people have no sense that their American rights don't extend outside of the US.
I have definitely seen posts decrying X country stepping on first or second amendment rights.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't a lot of countries already require proofs of certain vaccinations before travel?
They do, but facts are not important here. I was actually wondering what the overlap is between "won't get a COVID vaccine" and "doesn't have a US passport." I don't think it's 1:1 because of the affluent liberal strain of anti-vaxxers, but one wonders.
There are also a lot of immigrants from formerly or still Communist countries that are probably far too distrustful of governments to get the vaccine.
Haha reminds of the CvB song "Goleta"
americans and aussies are the worst travellers
chinese are far worse
hello after a long time! have we considered making a CGB/W4C Discord? I have that app open all day and it'd be easier than checking a Web page for new comments
We had a Discord (it was started when that was getting popular) but there just weren't that many users (I've only logged on it a few times).
link it!
I don't think CGB is getting any comments. Seems like a dying website.
I meant, let's move the DBD to Discord! Or at least have some version of the DBD on Discord..
moving the DBD to discord would kill like 80% of traffic to WFC
how does WFC revenue work? pretty similar to SBN (ads and whatnot)?
revenue? hahahaha
let me just say this . . . be patient.
Oscars
I forgot they were on.
I muted all oscar related words and hashtags from twitter. Made for an enjoyable evening
Wow, that decision to award the lead actor categories after Best Picture really blew up in their faces. They clearly expected an emotional posthumous Chadwick Boseman win and instead they got: Frances McDormand, who had already given a speech when her movie won Best Picture and didn't have much else to say, and Anthony Hopkins, who wasn't there to give a speech. And that's it, show's over, folks!
We had the same "oh, it's over?" reaction at the end.
I liked the venue. Union Station was a great choice for a much smaller, socially distant setup.
Yeah, at first I kind of liked how loosey-goosey the whole thing was, Regina King walking all the way down the hall as the camera followed her to present the first award, etc. But those decisions at the end were bizarre.
I also would have liked to see more clips of the nominated movies, especially in a year like this when none of them are blockbusters that everybody's seen already. Why not advertise your own product a bit more?
I missed the clips too, especially following a year when I had much less exposure to the nominated films. I find the clips to be particularly helpful for the technical categories like cinematography, visual effects, costume design, hair/makeup, set design, etc. Although they unfortunately cut several of those from this year's broadcast...
Those categories were all awarded, but as you say, they didn't use clips to illustrate most of them.
Other than the whole "shutting down a major node of transit for a month" thing.
A month?! I hadn't heard anything about it an assumed it was a weekend interruption.
The Oscars are always a month-long interruption. At least before it was on Hollywood Blvd which, while busy, isn't a lifeline for the Greater Los Angeles region.
Anybody here living in Los Angeles? I wonder if Union Station business is way down lately anyway. Also, I wonder if much of Union Station didn't have to be shut down. I've only been there a few times, but I think you could transfer among light rail routes without going into the building.
A lot of people drive to Union Station and that access was completely shut down. Also, people with disabilities have not been able to use Union Station for the past month.
Basically, the Oscars are a blight and need to be cancelled entirely.
Here's a thread on what Clapdoc is talking about: https://twitter.com/SamBraslow/status/1386523506007965698?s=20
https://thesource.metro.net/2021/03/31/new-faq-on-academy-awards-at-union-station-and-impact-to-riders/
"We do not anticipate that any bus or train service, including third-party transportation services, will be cancelled or delayed."
Lame.
That In Memoriam segment moved at a ridiculously fast pace too. I think I got whiplash.
The Coming Future
apparently no one is excited about anything
well there wasn't anything on the list above that I'm excited about, and tbh I'm working on things like "being inside with strangers again"
I read a funny tweet about someone relaying that a friend had announced she was ready for summer because she was "waxed and vaxxed" so I guess some people are already back to being ready to be inside strangers again
Our Crumbling Democracy
AK State Senator Reinbold (R) got in a battle over masks at Alaskan Airlines - the only airline to serve the state capitol. Now she has a 14-hour commute to work. Naturally, she says it's tyranny for a business to do this to her.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/26/alaska-lawmaker-blasted-airline-mask-tyranny-now-shes-banned-only-flights-capital/
And she's already banned from most of the capitol due to her refusal to follow covid guidelines. She sounds like an insufferable, wretched creature.
The article doesn't mention that she was removed as chair of the Judiciary Committee last week on a 17-1 vote.
"Tell me your colleagues hate you without telling me your colleagues hate you." If you can't even win something on party lines these days...
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/24/forgotten-precedent-unprecedented-politics-age-of-acrimony-484072
I highly recommend this article, I found it super interesting - also it's the period of American History I know the least about.
When reciting the Presidents in order, the toughest to name are always after Hayes to before McKinley.
The worst thing I read this weekend was about what's going on in AZ, with a group of crazy Republicans doing a wholly unnecessary, and unsupervised recount of Maricopa county, run by partisan hacks.
100% they find that Trump really won.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/04/25/cyber-ninjas-wants-to-keep-its-arizona-election-recount-secret/7379117002/
Either that, or like all their prior efforts to prove voter fraud, they silently shut down their efforts and pretend like it never happened. Then, after the next election, they cry out that rampant fraud is occurring.
No one is guarding the ballots - I think they are determined prove fraud, no matter what it takes.
yeah, I read a little about this. It looks like a complete shitshow and why the Arizona Dems aren't demanding full participation in this is beyond me cause my read is the same as yours. "3rd party" unsupervised recount? Guaranteed that the numbers change/Dem ballots disappear, etc
For the same reason oppositions in tinpot dictatorships boycott elections. Full participation can lend legitimacy.
Send out the Twist signal!
Have you all remembered to find a good plant-based beer to replace your meat-based beers, now that we live in Biden's America?
Today in Covid 19
Got my 2nd Pfizer shot in Friday. Barely felt the shot. Didn't feel bad at all, other than my arm being slightly sore where the shot was.
Get my 2nd shot tomorrow.
i recommend a nap
Will do.
WaPo/ABC News Poll: 41% of Americans think the J&J vaccine is not safe (vs. 16% each for Pfizer & Moderna). Of those not vaccinated, 73% are not willing to get the J&J vaccine.
I think the evidence is getting stronger that pausing the J&J vaccine delivery was a mistake.
And they did a focus group with the Repubs who were vaccine resistant - that pause had no effect on them.
I disagree, you have to find out what the issues are, and deal with them.
I agree with you that it was the prudent thing to pause and investigate. Unfortunately, it's a no-win situation: don't pause it and get accused of a cover-up/risking lives; pause it and have anti-vaxxers spin it like SEE THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL YOU WITH 5G 1111ONE!!!1
You know, I agree with this, it is something of a no-win situation, and since it is, the responsible choice is the right no-win.
There are more than two options between full pause and total cover-up. You could keep rolling out JnJ while informing people of the (low) risk.
The pause allowed them to really define the risk accurately; that is important.
I got the J&J nearly a month ago. Since I'm not a young adult woman, I'm not worried about the blood clot issue.
Fake news - you are indeed a young adult woman.
nonsense... there are no women on the internet
Sexism. It's not fair it only affects women and not men
I got J&J two weeks ago (right before the pause). Still feeling OK!
RIP
i read in the New England Journal of Medicine that square faces block all side effects from the J&J vaccine
wooo!
Been almost two months and feeling totally fine.
Got my first Moderna shot at midnight Friday night in a clinic in South Central LA. Was waiting for the shot when I saw the nurse putting a bandaid on my arm. Ten minutes later I felt a split second of pain in the injection site and light-headedness, but that passed just as quickly. Over the weekend had soreness in the injection site but that's it.
One of my wife's "camp friends" (also an adult counselor, has kids who go to camp) lives in Florida and they've basically been doing nothing in terms of mask wearing, kids have been in school, sports with no distancing, all that. Fair enough, they haven't got sick. But they're pissed that the summer camp (in Vermont) will have masks and pods and so on... so rather than complain about the rules directly, this woman is making some kind of fucked up "equity" argument that if some other kid gives her kid the 'rona, it's not fair to her kid to be quarantined. My wife is taking the view of "I'm not getting into this ridiculous argument with you, if you don't like the approach for this summer, don't send your kids, we'll be here in 2022 as well."
Pro
Dodgers blow 6-run lead, fall to Padres in 11 innings
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/4/25/22402943/dodgers-bullpen-meltdown-dustin-may-strikeouts-padres-extra-innings-recap
Dustin May struck out a career-high 10 batters, but that seemed like ages ago Sunday night at Dodger Stadium inexplicably became a battle of the bullpens, and an extra-inning one at that. The Dodgers blew a six-run lead and lost 8-7 in 11 innings, giving the Padres three wins in four games during the weekend series at Dodger Stadium.
On a night Kenley Jansen, Blake Treinen, and Scott Alexander weren’t available after recent usage, the Dodgers turned a 7-1 lead over to different parts of their bullpen, and nothing seemed to go right.
David Price, pitching in his first game in six days, allowed three hits and two runs, aided by an error on Sheldon Neuse. He might have pitched longer than one inning, but suffered a hamstring strain, and will be evaluated on Monday to see if a roster move is needed.
ugh...Dodgers couldn't hit all series long. They left like 19 runners on base yesterday. Probably hit like .050 with runners in scoring position.
Although, many of their best relievers didn't pitch yesterday since they had pitched 2 of the previous 3 games and Jansen pitched 4 outs yesterday. If it were the playoffs they would've pitched.
Tatis is amazing to watch. He and Soto are both such great hitters.
Curry, Green lead Warriors to win over Kings
https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2021/4/25/22403111/warriors-kings-curry-green-lead-dubs-to-win-over-sacramento
The Golden State Warriors didn’t play close to their best, but they did enough to get a much-needed 117-113 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Stephen Curry led the way with 37 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 19, while Draymond Green recorded his 13th triple-double of the season with eight points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists.
The Dubs struggled to find consistency against an undermanned Kings squad that is without its best player in De’Aaron Fox. Sacramento pushed the pace and kept coming at Golden State throughout the game.
TBF the Warriors are pretty undermanned at this point too. No Pascal, Bazemore, Wiseman and some guy named Klay something or other
Warriors sitting in tenth in the West. Are they going to be able to make the playoffs?
Ten teams make the playoffs now, so yes.
Looks like the Warriors are 4.5 games up on the 11th place team so I think they'll definitely make the playoffs. Also 3 games from the 6th place team.
7 Blazers -
8 Grizzlies. .5
9 Spurs. 1.5
10 Warriors 1.5
Not sure about remaining games strength of schedule but it looks like about 11 games left. Games remaining against Dallas, Minnesota, Houston, New Orleans x3, OKC x2, Utah, Phoenix, Memphis. Utah and Phoenix should be tough. The key games are beating the teams below them and Memphis.
The 10 team West field seems pretty locked in. New Orleans has faded too much. The only real question now is seeding.
Ah, thank you! I was going by the Yahoo Sports app which hasn't updated the cut-off line for playoffs (top 8).
You guys are going to be so happy when the Warriors knock out the Lakers in the play-in tourney.
That would be hilarious, but it seems doubtful at this point that the Lakers will fall that far.
Yes, that would make me very happy.
Game #22: Hays & Means Committee takes toll on A’s, ending 13-game win streak
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2021/4/25/22402737/oakland-as-game-22-baltimore-orioles-score-result
It was a heck of a win streak, but after more than two weeks of indulging on nothing but good times, it was time to pay the piper.
The Oakland A’s finally lost a game, for the first time since April 8, snapping a string of 13 straight victories. The final score was 8-1 at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, as the Baseball Gods who had been so charitable in recent days sent a Hays & Means Committee to collect a contribution.
The A’s lineup has been humming, averaging more than six runs per contest during the streak and piling up 10 between their first two wins in this series in Baltimore. But they finally met their match in John Means, who has quietly built an impressive track record with the rebuilding Orioles. The lefty was an All-Star in 2019 and entered today leading the AL in ERA, and Oakland was every bit as stymied as everyone else has been.
Can't win 'em all. The Orioles eighth inning was a plethora of walks, an error on Andrus, and some clutch hitting by the O's.
Logan Webb does his best Madison Bumgarner impression, Giants win
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2021/4/25/22402729/san-francisco-giants-marlins-recap-logan-webb
The San Francisco Giants squandered an opportunity in the first inning against the Miami Marlins. After Austin Slater drew a leadoff walk, he stole second (easily). One Mike Yastrzemski strikeout later, and Slater stole third (easily). Runner on third, less than two outs? Easy run.
Except no. Nothing came of it.
So they tried harder in the second inning. A Wilmer Flores walk, followed by a Tommy La Stella single, put runners at the corners with no outs. Following a Curt Casali strikeout, Mauricio Dubón laid down a perfect base-hit bunt to score a run, and suddenly the Giants led 1-0.
GEICO 500: What you don't want to see at 200 MPH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7a5CxRThRI#t=27s
I think DoorDash may be a sponsor.