PLAYPEN: Covid-19 Everything Political

[JoeKitchen]

What's that?

The position of the nodal point of the lens dictates the angle of view and composition, and if you move the nodal point your composition will change.  This is obvious if you  physically move the camera.  However if the axis of tilt or swing does not go through the nodal point, using tilt or swing will move the nodal point (even without moving the camera) and change the composition.  This is referred to as a yaw. 

Yaw free bellow camera are designed such that the axis of tilt and swing goes through the nodal point of the lens (on fully symmetrical lenses), so if you use tilt/swing the compensition will not change. 

It's not really a big deal with landscapes, but with table top photography it can drive you crazy.  Before doing table top photos, I thought people who obsessed over this were nuts; they're not. 

[elliot_n]

Two days ago, NYC arbitrarily added 3700 deaths without testing to the figures.  Yesterday a total or 4500 died.  That's 8000+ in 2 days, not including how many people died on the day that 3700 was added.  Add on 4 or 5 more days (the morning this was released did not take into account the deaths on that day) of the highest absolute figures per day and you could get to 26K. 

The point though is that we should not be treating all age groups as equal here with policy.  It just does not make given who is dying. 

Ok, so the vast majority (73%) of US Covid deaths have occurred in the last week. It might be best if you wait a while before you assume you're not at risk.

[Alan Klein]

Alan, you are mixing up life threatening procedures with a toothache. Big difference...and if your tooth gets really bad...call the emergency line for you dentist and arrange a visit. Why get your panties into knots.

Doctors have also cancelled or postponed elective surgeries.

I believe, but could be wrong, that elective surgeries were stopped to free up space for Covid patients.  But the same isn't true for doctors office visits. My lab has started doing testing again.  You sit in your car and they message you when ready for you.  They only allow one patient in the office waiting area a time.  I haven't been there, but I assume the lab techs are all dressed up in PPE and keep everything sterilized.  I understand there is risk.  But what about patients?  Is anyone asking questions about this?  How about Trump? Fauci? The CDC?  State governors?  I haven't heard anyone talking about it.  Should we let doctors sit it out and let people die from other things? 

[JoeKitchen]

Ok, so the vast majority (73%) of US Covid deaths have occurred in the last week. It might be best if you wait a while before you assume you're not at risk.

I am not at risk.  The largest risk factor for younger than 45 is whether you are obese.  Nearly all of the younger people who die are obese or have some sort of pre-existing condition.  You may find a few outliers, but a few young healthy people die every day from car accidents. 

None of this makes sense for young healthy people.  You are just giving into mass hysteria if you disagree. 

[Rob C]

To be honest, I just can't keep up with who Trump has said is to blame: China, WHO, democrats, governors, Obama, healthcare workers stealing masks, impeachment, experts, hospitals, the media, etc... I'm on overload. So much blame, so little time.

I have it on the good advice (written here in LuLa) of one of his flock that that doesn't matter: the Supreme Leader is no longer expected to say or do anything coherent. His entire output is now to be taken as nothing but a cunning plan to distract Democrats from politics and to force them to waste time and energy with dictionaries and interpreters (biased, of course) in frantic attempts to keep pace with his biblical technique of speaking in climactic tongues. In other words, he's fooling them into searching for substance that simply isn't there. And that's why only Republicans of good standing can actuall hold the key to the knowledge. No Republican emperor is ever naked.

It's not what the dog says that counts, it's that it actually speaks!

[elliot_n]

I am not at risk.  The largest risk factor for younger than 45 is whether you are obese.  Nearly all of the younger people who die are obese or have some sort of pre-existing condition.  You may find a few outliers, but a few young healthy people die every day from car accidents. 

None of this makes sense for young healthy people.  You are just giving into mass hysteria if you disagree. 

I agree - if you're under 45 and healthy, it's unlikely to kill you. But if we let it rip in your age group, you will likely infect and kill many older people.

[Alan Klein]

Alan...rather than being quick to fire off more posts...why don't you actually look at that graph and see what it is saying because so far everyone of your posts regarding the graph are totally WRONG. Spend more time reading...less time typing.

It can not be millions of general population because there are actually more total 2018-2019 flu deaths than Covid.  So the flu line would be higher than the Covid line. The opposite is shown. Please explain that.

[JoeKitchen]

I agree - if you're under 45 and healthy, it's unlikely to kill you. But if we let it rip in your age group, you will likely infect and kill many older people.

Not if they stay on lock down. 

Lock down the older people and let this rip, really rip, through younger people, which it will anyway once we open up. 

It needs to happen sooner or later, and we can not live like this until a vaccine is developed.  We just cant, the economy will collapse and I dont want to see martial law, which will kill many many more people. 

Fact is, it is going to break.  I know some on here think pretty lowly of the protestors, but do you really think they will not grow in size.  You're a fool if you do. 

[elliot_n]

It can not be millions of general population because there are actually more total 2018-2019 flu deaths than Covid.  So the flu line would be higher than the Covid line. The opposite is shown. Please explain that.

Alan, the x-axis is time. The graph is showing you that in the last few weeks, Covid is killing many more people, on a daily basis, than flu. We don't have an annual figure for Covid, for obvious reasons — but it's clearly going to be a lot higher than flu.

[Alan Klein]

Alan, the U.S. is broke like a man who owns a million dollar house, free and clear, but doesn't have any cash and so has to borrow. But he still has a million dollar house free and clear. If you draw a line down the 100th parallel in the US, most of the land west of that is owned by the federal government. It could, theoretically, be sold. And for trillions of dollars, if the government wanted to do that.

Here is a note from a federal website:

"BLM oversees 245 million surface acres of public lands for the American people. The agency manages 1 in 10 acres in the U.S., or about 12 percent of the landmass of the U.S. That's a little bit less than the size of Texas."

And that's just the BLM.

Another 193 million acres is controlled by the US forest service. Not quite as much as the BLM, but together, they're well past the size of Texas in landholdings. How much is Texas worth?

I don't think Americans would approve of selling public land that they cherish and want to remain public.  But even if so, that land is undeveloped and located in very remote places.  I visited Canyonlands.  Very pretty.  But it's all rocks.  Who wants to live there?  What real estate developer will build there.  There are too many places nearer to civilization.  I suppose, mineral rights could be sold.  But then again their value is limited. The amount of debt is too large, and it's getting larger by leaps and bounds.  Hey if they offered a really good price, they could buy my property? 

[JoeKitchen]

Grand total of young healthy people in NYC without pre-existing conditions, under 45, who have died from C-19 up to this point is 29. 

It is a near certainty if you are young and healthy, you will survive. 

[William Walker]

It can not be millions of general population because there are actually more total 2018-2019 flu deaths than Covid.  So the flu line would be higher than the Covid line. The opposite is shown. Please explain that.

Alan, if you are referring to the chart I posted - "It's about the spike". Here is the article explaining everything.
https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/not-like-the-flu-not-like-car-crashes-not-like

[elliot_n]

Fact is, it is going to break.  I know some on here think pretty lowly of the protestors, but do you really think they will not grow in size.  You're a fool if you do. 

You would be much better off following the guidelines laid out by your president last night. That way, Alan would have a chance of leaving his home by the end of the year.

Instead your president is goading those protestors to take further action.

It's insane. How can it not end very badly?

[faberryman]

Is anyone asking questions about this?  How about Trump?

Are you kidding?

Fauci? The CDC?  State governors?

Maybe.

I haven't heard anyone talking about it.

Then nobody must be talking about it. Black swans?

Should we let doctors sit it out and let people die from other things?

If you think you are going to die, go to the ER. Or do something on your bucket list.

[Rob C]

There are too many restaurants out there. Unfortunately, even after relaxing the lockdowns, quite a few of their employers will be forced to permanently shut down the restaurants and bars.

So true. And here in Spain as well. Every year (in terms of normal years) a couple of bars in my little area close down and somebody else takes them on, spends a lot of money redecorating, and then folds. Before they retired, a Spanish couple with whom we got on very well, told me that in Pollensa, there were 50 bars, and that that was why none could make good money. It's a very little town, and outwith the summer tourist season, you'd think it deserted, even though it certainly is not.

Today's British news informs that the brewing industry is 80% down over this period. I have a feeling that after this has passed, things will probably never be the same again. For a start, I believe that people will start to take health far more seriously, consider for the first time the many, many possible sources of infection, and no longer just take good health for granted.

I love to drop into a bar every day for a cup of coffee and a read of the newspapers kindly provided. I am missing simple things like that a great deal. But, will I just drift in again, wherever I happen to be at the time the urge strikes, and not wonder how well the cup has been washed, and who last drank from it? Though I long to be free of the kitchen, it may be a while after the official reopening of restaurants that I frequented before I actually return to them. I'm pretty sure I am not unique there.

[Peter McLennan]

Sure it was, but guess what, that is the cesspool known as Twitter.

Your president's favourite swimming hole.

[chez]

It can not be millions of general population because there are actually more total 2018-2019 flu deaths than Covid.  So the flu line would be higher than the Covid line. The opposite is shown. Please explain that.

One last time Alan...then I give up. It's weekly deaths...not entire year totals. So you can see the Covid deaths for the last week we have data is much much higher than deaths from the flu in previous years.

[JoeKitchen]

You would be much better off following the guidelines laid out by your president last night. That way, Alan would have a chance of leaving his home by the end of the year.

Instead your president is goading those protestors to take further action.

It's insane. How can it not end very badly?

Last week, they started testing random pregnant women in NYC, who came for check-ups, for COVID-19 and found 14% of them have it and only 1.9% had symptoms.  And that is currently have it, not had it since no one is doing anti-body tests yet. 

It is already ripping through the community and the vast majority don't have any symptoms.  If something like 30% of the population has had it already or currently does, all of this is really for not.  Also, testing and keeping track of people will be impossible not to mention pointless since we would be close to heard immunity already. 

But like I said, if you are 55 or old, stay inside if you want to.  Life will be the same regardless if only you or everyone stays inside.  But life will be considerably worse for those who are young if we stay in side much longer. 

[Rob C]

Just like every other politician right now? 

Wake me up when Cuomo starts to own up to his delay in closing down NYC, even after CA when NY had more cases, and his arrogance in saying "we have the best healthcare system in the world" and can handle it better then these lowly countries. 

As Alan put it so well, failure is an orphan in politics.

And he (Al) also believes "we have the best healthcare system in the world" only that he can no longer access the best docs because of price; maybe he thinks he's also in Cuba?

[chez]

You would be much better off following the guidelines laid out by your president last night. That way, Alan would have a chance of leaving his home by the end of the year.

Instead your president is goading those protestors to take further action.

It's insane. How can it not end very badly?

Yeh, he's an idiot.