I'm back - having discovered that the reason for the huge, slowly moving queue was that the cheese shop take your order, ignore it until you come to pick it up, try and find what the order was, then make it up out of the cheeses they have in the shop.
Argh! The number of times I've had my brain twisted by mind-numbingly inefficient and pointless practices.
One that always annoys the ever-living feck out of me is when people have a raffle. And sell tickets.
They then proceed to tell you that it's a pound a strip. And you can only buy by the strip.
They then proceed to the draw. And you then hear "Blue 151 to 155!"
They're drawing by the strip as well.
You rehearse in your head how you might explain that what they've just done is exactly the same as selling tickets for a pound each. But you know that that's (a) socially unacceptable and (b) almost certainly futile. So you explain it to your SO instead, who rolls their eyes as you realise this is the 457th raffle you've ranted about this after.
Amidst all the shitshow of Covid, Brexit etc. etc., I understand that the superannuated tourist attraction who poses as our Head of State was due to give her annual pep-talk to the nation today.
Did anybody listen? The deepfake version on Channel 4 was hilarious, and very, very irreverent.
About 570 more people died of Covid today...and things don't seem to be getting much better...
As the numbers climb in our area, and about half of the cases are now shipped out of the area for lack of bed space, the director of health just said, they are no longer going to have a business shut down for cleaning if someone working there tests positive. They will only shut them down if 3 people are testing positive. They are also pretty much giving up on contract tracing because people do not want to report where they have been. He is going instead with depending on the vaccine. He followed this by saying he does not know when or how much the county will be getting. They have also cancelled drive in testing in his department because a local drug store is doing walk in testing. They will now also do walk in testing by appointment, but limited. As for enforcement, of rules and guidelines, they have yet to hire someone to follow up on that. Sounds to be like he has just given into the anti-mask crowd, that are very vocal around here. Makes me glad to be moving. In the meantime, we are sheltering in place as much as we can.
Today marks exactly nine months of illness. In this time I have lost my job twice, had to file a complaint against my GP and have gone from running 5k every week to shuffling breathlessly around the house on two sticks.
How I wanted to punch the vicar on Saturday who told me that god still loves me.
Re the vaccine: I see that Kamala Harris got her first shot yesterday, and when asked to comment said something to the effect of "Get your shot, everyone."
Hey, I've been saying for months that I'll get it as soon as it is available.
Millions of doses have been distributed but . . . where are they? I'll be glad to get one, Mrs. Harris, when one is offered to me. I'll be 76 in January and am still waiting.
Today marks exactly nine months of illness. In this time I have lost my job twice, had to file a complaint against my GP and have gone from running 5k every week to shuffling breathlessly around the house on two sticks.
You got the virus nine months ago and are still suffering the effects? That stinks. I'm so sorry.
The news here in the UK is pretty frightening, hospitals close to being overwhelmed and that's before the inevitable spike from Christmas. Up until relatively recently it felt to me as though it was at a distance - it was people I knew who knew people who had it, and often with symptoms but without having a test, so conjecture to a degree. I'm hearing of more people in the last couple of weeks who are actually known to me, who have gone for a test which has proved to be positive.
Holding on to the good news about the vaccines and isolating as much as possible. I think we're in for a very rough few months.
The Oxford vaccine has been approved, U.K. rollout begins 4th January. Which should scale up fast.
Indeed; it's excellent news. What concerns me is making sure we keep safe, and keep each other safe, in the meantime. There seems to be, in some quarters, some kind of sense that the problems have gone away now we've got a vaccine; that somehow the virus has lost its power. I had a text from a friend this morning to say her (adult) son had tested positive, followed by an "lol".
There’s a joke about older people using lol to mean ‘lots of love’ rather than ‘laugh out loud’ - it’s something along the lines of a mother to daughter exchange which begins with mother texting daughter to say, ‘just thought I ought to be the first to let you know that granny died today. lol. Mum’
Today marks exactly nine months of illness. In this time I have lost my job twice, had to file a complaint against my GP and have gone from running 5k every week to shuffling breathlessly around the house on two sticks.
You got the virus nine months ago and are still suffering the effects? That stinks. I'm so sorry.
I also got covid 9 months ago and still have long covid. I went to casualty with my tachycardia (fast heart rate) and breathlessness early on but the hospital was not interested after they ruled out heart issues and blood clots. I knew I would not get any answers from GPs as I lecture in health and social care and was already aware that people with post-viral syndromes were generally badly managed. I did my own research to find out what type of post-viral syndrome I had and how to manage it. I believe I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a common post-viral dysautonomia. Of course, I may be wrong but no-one else is giving me any suggestions.
I have a fast heart rate when I stand, walk, exercise or raise my arms. My heart rate is intolerant of heat and alcohol, though not caffeine. I have obvious breathlessness when my heart rate is high, but also low grade breathlessness at rest, which is accompanied by a numb face and lightheadedness. I also have high blood pressure which I was very surprised that my GPs were not interested in, as prior to covid they would have pestered me about it. Once you have a post-viral syndrome they are not interested.
Gastrointestinal problems are also common. Hence my incubation of Gary the gallstone from nothing to fucking massive in five months since my Covid encounter in late May is damn suspicious.
Fortunately, a gallstone is a physical object and impossible to dismiss as psychosomatic.
Unfortunately for me, having bipolar disorder counts against me in the psychosomatic stakes, despite being self-managing for 20 odd years. I am an ex-nurse lecturer and even being able to discuss my symptoms and their presentation in the correct lingo does not help.
I thought the government said they had set up long Covid clinics across the country, I mean this is the government so that could be a barefaced lie ...
How reliable, effective and/or *world-beating* they are, I can't say, but I'd be more inclined to believe the NHS than that mysterious entity known as *Number Ten*.
When the long covid clinics were originally launched a couple of months ago there were only a couple and they were only taking severe cases, such as people who had been hospitalised with covid, rather than those of us who stayed at home. I wonder if the expansion is recent. I haven’t spoken to my GP for 5 months, after they refused to investigate my blood pressure. The GP then basically said there was nothing they could do or anywhere to refer me.
I might ring back in the new year to request a referral to the local clinic.
The article I linked to is dated 18th December, so less than a fortnight ago. It may well be worth your while enquiring about a clinic reasonably local to you.
Millions of doses have been distributed but . . . where are they? I'll be glad to get one, Mrs. Harris, when one is offered to me. I'll be 76 in January and am still waiting.
My state has so far received enough vaccine for the first dose for about 1% of the population. I gather that those vaccinated to date are either nursing home residents or those working in the medical field. I gather that we're expecting a five-fold increase in the first tranche of the vaccines, which will bring us to two doses for 2.5% of the population.
For scale, 2.5% is about the fraction of this state that is either a nurse or a nursing home resident.
Today marks exactly nine months of illness. In this time I have lost my job twice, had to file a complaint against my GP and have gone from running 5k every week to shuffling breathlessly around the house on two sticks.
You got the virus nine months ago and are still suffering the effects? That stinks. I'm so sorry.
I also got covid 9 months ago and still have long covid. I went to casualty with my tachycardia (fast heart rate) and breathlessness early on but the hospital was not interested after they ruled out heart issues and blood clots. I knew I would not get any answers from GPs as I lecture in health and social care and was already aware that people with post-viral syndromes were generally badly managed. I did my own research to find out what type of post-viral syndrome I had and how to manage it. I believe I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a common post-viral dysautonomia. Of course, I may be wrong but no-one else is giving me any suggestions.
I have a fast heart rate when I stand, walk, exercise or raise my arms. My heart rate is intolerant of heat and alcohol, though not caffeine. I have obvious breathlessness when my heart rate is high, but also low grade breathlessness at rest, which is accompanied by a numb face and lightheadedness. I also have high blood pressure which I was very surprised that my GPs were not interested in, as prior to covid they would have pestered me about it. Once you have a post-viral syndrome they are not interested.
I've been reading your posts about long covid and your management of it with interest and admiration; I confess I hadn't taken on board that you have had it for as long as you have. It does concern me very much that sufferers, many less knowledgeable than you are, have not been given the proper support and advice and I do hope that's changing.
Keeping schools open safely under lockdown can be done. French schools stayed open during the November lockdown, and new infections over that period were successfully reduced from 50000/day to 10000. (At that stage we were Europe's good student, but we've seriously blotted our copy book since then. Nothing to do with the schools though - they're on holiday.) You do need a very strict health protocol, though, and everyone needs to be wearing a mask All. The. Time.
Whether a government as incompetent as Boris Johnson's can keep schools open is a different question.
Keeping schools open safely under lockdown can be done. French schools stayed open during the November lockdown, and new infections over that period were successfully reduced from 50000/day to 10000. (At that stage we were Europe's good student, but we've seriously blotted our copy book since then. Nothing to do with the schools though - they're on holiday.) You do need a very strict health protocol, though, and everyone needs to be wearing a mask All. The. Time.
Whether a government as incompetent as Boris Johnson's can keep schools open is a different question.
There's also the new strain which appears to increase viral load in the airway and is more readily spread by children. That has the potential to screw things up mightily. If we don't see a rapid decline from the coming Christmas nationwide superspreading event I don't see schools managing to be open to all until the vaccine is rolled out at full scale, which is still many months away.
Lots of ads in the area for if you go out drinking on New Year's Eve do not drive. Seems there should be ads for do not go out on New Year's Eve, rather stay home out of crowds.
Keeping schools open safely under lockdown can be done. French schools stayed open during the November lockdown, and new infections over that period were successfully reduced from 50000/day to 10000. (At that stage we were Europe's good student, but we've seriously blotted our copy book since then. Nothing to do with the schools though - they're on holiday.) You do need a very strict health protocol, though, and everyone needs to be wearing a mask All. The. Time.
Whether a government as incompetent as Boris Johnson's can keep schools open is a different question.
Out of interest. In terms of compliance to distancing, not mixing, wearing masks etc in France. Does the French general public have a largely strong sense of confidence in their government/leaders? How would you say that has had an impact on people being compliant or not?
Three Indian Casinos in our area had New Year's Eve parties last night. Really? Why would anyone go into a Casino with no windows and a closed air system?
In Arizona, the Navajo Nation has been hit particularly hard by the virus. By all accounts, though, they've brought it more or less under control via strict lockdown measures.
Keeping schools open safely under lockdown can be done. French schools stayed open during the November lockdown, and new infections over that period were successfully reduced from 50000/day to 10000. (At that stage we were Europe's good student, but we've seriously blotted our copy book since then. Nothing to do with the schools though - they're on holiday.) You do need a very strict health protocol, though, and everyone needs to be wearing a mask All. The. Time.
Whether a government as incompetent as Boris Johnson's can keep schools open is a different question.
Out of interest. In terms of compliance to distancing, not mixing, wearing masks etc in France. Does the French general public have a largely strong sense of confidence in their government/leaders? How would you say that has had an impact on people being compliant or not?
Until he resigned earlier in the year, the most trusted member of the Government was Edouard Philippe, the Prime Minister. He was considered to have handled the crisis with notable competence. (There are those who think he resigned because he's planning a shot at the presidency himself.) The President is less popular but I would say most of us would rather have Macron in charge than Johnson or Trump.
For a nation as notoriously undisciplined as we are known to be, the French have been remarkably compliant. I think this is mainly because our political authorities had the good sense to impose fines on the recalcitrant. Mask wearing is pretty much universal in my neck of the woods, IMO not because we're more responsible than anyone else, but because €135 is a lot of money.
Does the fine apply to masks worn incorrectly too? So fed up seeing masks worn on chins or sort of over mouths but not covering noses, or as tokens to get into a shop and then dangled from a hand. And that's assuming the damn things are clean.
We were yelled at on a street a couple of days ago by an old boy wearing a mask with vents (i.e. not going to protect anyone) for being outside in his village without masks. We'd just walked there across the fields and were about to return through the woods on a marked trail, as daily exercise. We were obviously wearing fresh ankle-deep mud-covered boots, splashed socks and legs, (it's disgustingly muddy most places) so wondered why we'd been singled out instead of all the other unmasked people milling around the open shops on the other side of the road, the ones we were keeping at least 2m distance from.
Keeping schools open safely under lockdown can be done. French schools stayed open during the November lockdown, and new infections over that period were successfully reduced from 50000/day to 10000. (At that stage we were Europe's good student, but we've seriously blotted our copy book since then. Nothing to do with the schools though - they're on holiday.) You do need a very strict health protocol, though, and everyone needs to be wearing a mask All. The. Time.
Whether a government as incompetent as Boris Johnson's can keep schools open is a different question.
Out of interest. In terms of compliance to distancing, not mixing, wearing masks etc in France. Does the French general public have a largely strong sense of confidence in their government/leaders? How would you say that has had an impact on people being compliant or not?
Until he resigned earlier in the year, the most trusted member of the Government was Edouard Philippe, the Prime Minister. He was considered to have handled the crisis with notable competence. (There are those who think he resigned because he's planning a shot at the presidency himself.) The President is less popular but I would say most of us would rather have Macron in charge than Johnson or Trump.
For a nation as notoriously undisciplined as we are known to be, the French have been remarkably compliant. I think this is mainly because our political authorities had the good sense to impose fines on the recalcitrant. Mask wearing is pretty much universal in my neck of the woods, IMO not because we're more responsible than anyone else, but because €135 is a lot of money.
Thanks for the reply. I got the impression compliance was good and heard about fines being applied. Just wondered what the impact was of confidence in government leadership.
we have just heard that a choir member tested positive before Christmas and two others are also poorly. Our beloved priest has had no option but to cancel services. This has been quite a blow to him, and us. More wretched remote communion. Ugh!!!!!
This is turning into a very bad year. Rejoicing is difficult, so it's Plan B: endure.
Arrrgh! I am so disgusted with so many of my countrymen! And our governments!
The entitled nitwits that do what they want in the name of American freedom and don't give a fuck about who they kill or disable in the process enrage me! How come the fabled USofA has the greatest rate of infection in the world? Look how "Great" our fearless and shameless leader has made us. Hell, even highly populated, relatively poor India is doing better than we are.
I realize that I'm not saying anything that is news to anyone here, but it has been boiling in me for a while. There is so much about my country that disgusts me now, and I have little pride about being a citizen anymore.
Lyda, I feel your pain! What enrages me in addition to all that you mentioned are the minuscule "Coronavirus Relief" payments. $600?! Seriously? What a slap in our faces! Meanwhile, that bastard Mitch McConnell has the fucking nerve to say that "giving Americans any more money will encourage them to stay home and seek government handouts"! Fuck ALL of these morons in our government who bring in six figures a year but don't want the average citizen to get "too much" relief money!
I got my pittance on December 30th and, after paying some bills, will probably be left with just enough money to buy a pizza.
It's simple, really: T et al only noticed the part of the label saying "the greatest", and never read further. So they, being who they are, didn't consider the greatest *what*; and "infection rate" was as worthwhile as anything else.
(Sarcastic, but more or less true.)
The5thMary--
Makes me mad, too. Let McConnell and his like-thinking cronies, supporters, and backers trade places with migrant farm workers, drugstore employees, food deliverers, and Amazon warehouse workers and janitors.
I don't know whether McConnell is mean, toeing the party line, clueless, or deluded. But he needs to stop it. Now.
It's simple, really: T et al only noticed the part of the label saying "the greatest", and never read further. So they, being who they are, didn't consider the greatest *what*; and "infection rate" was as worthwhile as anything else.
(Sarcastic, but more or less true.)
The5thMary--
Makes me mad, too. Let McConnell and his like-thinking cronies, supporters, and backers trade places with migrant farm workers, drugstore employees, food deliverers, and Amazon warehouse workers and janitors.
I don't know whether McConnell is mean, toeing the party line, clueless, or deluded. But he needs to stop it. Now.
All four. He IS the party line. And he and his cronies chew up and spit out those they lure into supporting them and those cheering at Trump's periodic ego orgy-fests don't even notice the tooth-marks.
Comments
Argh! The number of times I've had my brain twisted by mind-numbingly inefficient and pointless practices.
One that always annoys the ever-living feck out of me is when people have a raffle. And sell tickets.
They then proceed to tell you that it's a pound a strip. And you can only buy by the strip.
They then proceed to the draw. And you then hear "Blue 151 to 155!"
They're drawing by the strip as well.
You rehearse in your head how you might explain that what they've just done is exactly the same as selling tickets for a pound each. But you know that that's (a) socially unacceptable and (b) almost certainly futile. So you explain it to your SO instead, who rolls their eyes as you realise this is the 457th raffle you've ranted about this after.
Amen, Brother Karl.
I swear if I only see one stupidity like that in a week then it's a good week.
Did anybody listen? The deepfake version on Channel 4 was hilarious, and very, very irreverent.
About 570 more people died of Covid today...and things don't seem to be getting much better...
And the Mothership has had the first dose of the vaccine, so (despite the complaining about the sore arm and the fatigue) things might be looking up.
How I wanted to punch the vicar on Saturday who told me that god still loves me.
Sounds like the sort of thing our former Father Fuckwit would say, and there were many times when I'd like to have punched him in his smug chops...
Hope you're at least receiving the care you need, and that your Elf (and other circumstances) will improve.
Hey, I've been saying for months that I'll get it as soon as it is available.
Millions of doses have been distributed but . . . where are they? I'll be glad to get one, Mrs. Harris, when one is offered to me. I'll be 76 in January and am still waiting.
You got the virus nine months ago and are still suffering the effects? That stinks. I'm so sorry.
The news here in the UK is pretty frightening, hospitals close to being overwhelmed and that's before the inevitable spike from Christmas. Up until relatively recently it felt to me as though it was at a distance - it was people I knew who knew people who had it, and often with symptoms but without having a test, so conjecture to a degree. I'm hearing of more people in the last couple of weeks who are actually known to me, who have gone for a test which has proved to be positive.
Holding on to the good news about the vaccines and isolating as much as possible. I think we're in for a very rough few months.
As @Nenya relates, I, too, am hearing about more and more people I know directly who have the Plague.
Indeed; it's excellent news.
Maybe she mis-typed, and the test was negative , in which case it would make more sense.
Alas, complacency and carelessness breed as fast as the Plague itself.
Did it ever mean that?
"Sorry to hear your cat died; LOL!"
I have a fast heart rate when I stand, walk, exercise or raise my arms. My heart rate is intolerant of heat and alcohol, though not caffeine. I have obvious breathlessness when my heart rate is high, but also low grade breathlessness at rest, which is accompanied by a numb face and lightheadedness. I also have high blood pressure which I was very surprised that my GPs were not interested in, as prior to covid they would have pestered me about it. Once you have a post-viral syndrome they are not interested.
Fortunately, a gallstone is a physical object and impossible to dismiss as psychosomatic.
https://england.nhs.uk/2020/12/long-covid-patients-to-get-help-at-more-than-60-clinics/
How reliable, effective and/or *world-beating* they are, I can't say, but I'd be more inclined to believe the NHS than that mysterious entity known as *Number Ten*.
I might ring back in the new year to request a referral to the local clinic.
My state has so far received enough vaccine for the first dose for about 1% of the population. I gather that those vaccinated to date are either nursing home residents or those working in the medical field. I gather that we're expecting a five-fold increase in the first tranche of the vaccines, which will bring us to two doses for 2.5% of the population.
For scale, 2.5% is about the fraction of this state that is either a nurse or a nursing home resident.
I've been reading your posts about long covid and your management of it with interest and admiration; I confess I hadn't taken on board that you have had it for as long as you have. It does concern me very much that sufferers, many less knowledgeable than you are, have not been given the proper support and advice and I do hope that's changing.
Whether a government as incompetent as Boris Johnson's can keep schools open is a different question.
We shall see, but there is a growing fear (or feeling of resignation?) in some circles that *England* is heading for total lockdown again.
There's also the new strain which appears to increase viral load in the airway and is more readily spread by children. That has the potential to screw things up mightily. If we don't see a rapid decline from the coming Christmas nationwide superspreading event I don't see schools managing to be open to all until the vaccine is rolled out at full scale, which is still many months away.
(And may well mean that masks aren't an effective enough mitigation.)
Out of interest. In terms of compliance to distancing, not mixing, wearing masks etc in France. Does the French general public have a largely strong sense of confidence in their government/leaders? How would you say that has had an impact on people being compliant or not?
In Arizona, the Navajo Nation has been hit particularly hard by the virus. By all accounts, though, they've brought it more or less under control via strict lockdown measures.
Until he resigned earlier in the year, the most trusted member of the Government was Edouard Philippe, the Prime Minister. He was considered to have handled the crisis with notable competence. (There are those who think he resigned because he's planning a shot at the presidency himself.) The President is less popular but I would say most of us would rather have Macron in charge than Johnson or Trump.
For a nation as notoriously undisciplined as we are known to be, the French have been remarkably compliant. I think this is mainly because our political authorities had the good sense to impose fines on the recalcitrant. Mask wearing is pretty much universal in my neck of the woods, IMO not because we're more responsible than anyone else, but because €135 is a lot of money.
We were yelled at on a street a couple of days ago by an old boy wearing a mask with vents (i.e. not going to protect anyone) for being outside in his village without masks. We'd just walked there across the fields and were about to return through the woods on a marked trail, as daily exercise. We were obviously wearing fresh ankle-deep mud-covered boots, splashed socks and legs, (it's disgustingly muddy most places) so wondered why we'd been singled out instead of all the other unmasked people milling around the open shops on the other side of the road, the ones we were keeping at least 2m distance from.
Thanks for the reply. I got the impression compliance was good and heard about fines being applied. Just wondered what the impact was of confidence in government leadership.
This is turning into a very bad year. Rejoicing is difficult, so it's Plan B: endure.
What's Plan C?
The entitled nitwits that do what they want in the name of American freedom and don't give a fuck about who they kill or disable in the process enrage me! How come the fabled USofA has the greatest rate of infection in the world? Look how "Great" our fearless and shameless leader has made us.
I realize that I'm not saying anything that is news to anyone here, but it has been boiling in me for a while. There is so much about my country that disgusts me now, and I have little pride about being a citizen anymore.
I'm so sad.
I got my pittance on December 30th and, after paying some bills, will probably be left with just enough money to buy a pizza.
It's simple, really: T et al only noticed the part of the label saying "the greatest", and never read further. So they, being who they are, didn't consider the greatest *what*; and "infection rate" was as worthwhile as anything else.
(Sarcastic, but more or less true.)
The5thMary--
Makes me mad, too. Let McConnell and his like-thinking cronies, supporters, and backers trade places with migrant farm workers, drugstore employees, food deliverers, and Amazon warehouse workers and janitors.
I don't know whether McConnell is mean, toeing the party line, clueless, or deluded. But he needs to stop it. Now.
All four. He IS the party line. And he and his cronies chew up and spit out those they lure into supporting them and those cheering at Trump's periodic ego orgy-fests don't even notice the tooth-marks.