What Have You Learned From This Stupid Pandemic?

[billisonboard]

Dec 22, 2021 14:47:27 GMT -5 swamp said:

Dec 22, 2021 13:43:59 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

I agree everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and feelings. And I agree they should not be called stupid. I have no problem with it being explained to people that their expressed thoughts and feelings are based on inaccurate information when necessary for our society's safety.

Meh. Some people are just stupid

[haapai]

I've learned that I would make a lousy hermit.  I'm just introverted.  Being introverted makes it easier to avoid crowded social situations and deal with the muted social signals that come with wearing a mask.but it does not mean that I can do without other humans entirely.  I may need less reassurance and validation than others but I still need some.  I sorta fall apart without some. 

That was the biggie.  The rest of the list is pretty much nasty reminders of what I already knew. 

• You need to put effort into staying informed.  Reading high quality news sources is best.  You may have to pay for this.
  
• Having an emergency fund makes for much better decisions. 
  
• Desperate people make very poor choices, including what to believe.
• Some people are just mean and stupid. 
  
• There's more but you get the gist.

I still haven't figured out how much not being able to gather and talk to other people, or even listen to them closely, made this crisis so much worse than others. 

[Deleted]

Dec 22, 2021 14:47:27 GMT -5 swamp said:

Dec 22, 2021 13:43:59 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

I agree everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and feelings. And I agree they should not be called stupid. I have no problem with it being explained to people that their expressed thoughts and feelings are based on inaccurate information when necessary for our society's safety.

Meh. Some people are just stupid

Unfortunately, not everybody is intelligent as you are. Some people are born that way. Some people have brain injuries. 

[pulmonarymd]

Dec 22, 2021 15:27:43 GMT -5 @beckaroo said:

Dec 22, 2021 14:47:27 GMT -5 swamp said:

Meh. Some people are just stupid

Unfortunately, not everybody is intelligent as you are. Some people are born that way. Some people have brain injuries. 

Unintelligent and stupid are not the same thing. If you do not understand something, you ask someone who knows more about the topic, and you listen to those who have more expertise in the subject.

Stupid people think they know more than they do about a topic, and resist all information that would change their position and disregard facts. So an intelligent person can be stupid, as the last 5 years have shown us. Many of the medical people trump surrounded himself with qualify as stupid( I am looking at you Scott Atlas).

[empress of self-improvement]

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

[swamp]

Dec 22, 2021 15:27:43 GMT -5 @beckaroo said:

Dec 22, 2021 14:47:27 GMT -5 swamp said:

Meh. Some people are just stupid

Unfortunately, not everybody is intelligent as you are. Some people are born that way. Some people have brain injuries. 

I have compassion for those that are injured or got dealt a babe hand. I got nothing for the willfully stupid

[haapai]

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

You may be underestimating how much your friends are avoiding you because 1.) in a respiratory pandemic giving people physical distance is the new polite and 2.) many people have lost touch with people and then discovered that they've gone totally Q. 

ETA  I'll leave that up because deleting it would be rude.  But I will use more words to explain it.  Basically, this is a terrible time to make new friends or re-connect with old ones.  1.) II you haven't been in touch with people for a while, you have no idea what pandemic precautions they are observing or expect you to observe.  2.)  A lot of people have gone down the rabbit hole in the last few years and developed some extremely distasteful thoughts and beliefs.  Prior personality and political beliefs are a lousy predictor of who has lost their mind.  Discovering that a person that you once thought reasonable has completely changed is really disturbing.  This is a big factor in why people are not reaching out to people that they have not been in contact with for a while. 

[skeeter]

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

 That sucks and I'm sorry

[Deleted]

Many of the posts here about Covid-19, viruses, and vaccines have been by highly educated folks with deep knowledge of various scientific and medical specialties.  For me, being intelligent means recognizing I only have the educational background to understand about every 3rd sentence.  Being stupid would mean thinking the posters are wrong because I can't understand the other 2 sentences.  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Dec 22, 2021 15:27:43 GMT -5 @beckaroo said:

Dec 22, 2021 14:47:27 GMT -5 swamp said:

Meh. Some people are just stupid

Unfortunately, not everybody is intelligent as you are. Some people are born that way. Some people have brain injuries. 

That's not stupid and shouldn't even be called stupid.  That is mentally handicapped.

Stupid is making public health a political issue to the point where WITH YOUR LAST BREATH you continue to hang onto the Republican mantra that COVID is a hoax.  Herman Cain was literally dying and still making public statements that COVID was a hoax.

Boris Johnson and Chris Christie are assholes but when they caught it they were humble enough to admit they were wrong about that much at least.

[Tennesseer]

Dec 22, 2021 14:01:30 GMT -5 busymom said:

Dec 22, 2021 13:12:24 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I learned to shop in stores and not wear my eyeglasses because I have tried and tried to fit my mask around my nose and mouth and my glasses still fog up.

That it's not all about 'you' when you are asked to get vaccinated/ booster shot and wear a mask when among indoor crowds.  It's about protecting others who may not be able to physically handle being vaccinated.

      Tuck the edge of your mask underneath your glasses.  For some reason, that seems to prevent them from getting fogged up.  Even works here in the Midwest.  

I've tried.

It's good exercise for my eyes not wearing glasses.

[Lizard Queen]

I bought these:

www.amazon.com/Bridge-Strips-Flexible-Metal-Aluminum/dp/B08DFRCJ1T/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3679J9HIWG4CZ&keywords=nose+wires+for+masks&qid=1640209942&sprefix=Nose+wires%2Caps%2C916&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A6JR991K2YIW8&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySFhHQ0FVN1dQQjg0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTE0NTE4OUI0WDRLSEVQQ1omZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDIwMjMxNzJGNUFDNzBQOEhQSzcmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Except, not exactly these ones. I only paid $2-3 for 100, but anyway,  stick em on the outside of my mask and push it over my nose. Takes care of almost all of the glasses fogging up problem. 

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

I'm sorry I wish we lived closer together.

I found out I can't depend on any of my local family and it's hard to get from Toronto to here in a hurry.

[buystoys]

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

All I can do is give you internet hugs.  I feel for you.

[countrygirl2]

I learned a lot about so called christians around here. I thought for years they were better than me, more compassionate and more helpful to others. I have found out with covid in the community that they really could care less. They will not mask, not get shots, and apparently could care less if they get you sick or people need help. They won't even stay home when sick and don't mind spreading covid around. Found out many are gun nuts and hypocrites. I have changed my mind about a whole bunch of people that live here, now I know what they really are.

[laterbloomer]

I've learned that somewhere along the line I became pretty adaptable. I've taken full advantage of the down time Covid has provided and got a lot of household projects I put off to "some day" done, I lost 65 lbs and counting, I'm walking and exercising more than I have for decades and am healthier than I've been since I was a kid. I've also made big gains in my retirement savings.
And I learned that I absolutely LOVE working from home.

[CCL]

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

[CCL]

Dec 22, 2021 17:32:56 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

I'm sorry I wish we lived closer together.

I found out I can't depend on any of my local family and it's hard to get from Toronto to here in a hurry.

[NastyWoman]

I learned that some people need the most basic things spelled out to them. Like they don't "trust science" because the Fauci's of the world have changed their minds so often. Duh, when you deal with an unknown infectious disease you start out with your best guess about the precautions to take and you adjust as you learn more. Does that really need explanation? Really

Just hopping on a plane in case of a family emergency, while it can be expensive in normal times, will not always be available. While I have gotten lucky to date, it has been a major stressor that I would not be able to nust go and help out if/when needed

As an introvert I have never been good at it to begin with but it is possible to lose your ability to "people"

And lastly, if yout adult kid has a weird xense of humor, it IS entirely possible to have something like too much TP

[countrygirl2]

I think many of us would be totally alone if something happened to our spouse. I was when I came back here, was in Texas except for our one renter that would help me. Just seems it's that way, since I already know it, wouldn't bother me.

[snapdragon]

Dec 22, 2021 15:43:44 GMT -5 empress of self-improvement said:

I learned I have no friends, with the exception of this gang. My husband drops dead and all I got were crickets. Makes me feel real warm and fuzzy about myself and how people felt about us.

I am sending you a hug for this. I am sorry your RL people completely fell down and off a cliff when you needed support.

((( HUGS )))

[weltschmerz]

Dec 22, 2021 16:46:08 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Dec 22, 2021 14:01:30 GMT -5 busymom said:

      Tuck the edge of your mask underneath your glasses.  For some reason, that seems to prevent them from getting fogged up.  Even works here in the Midwest.  

I've tried.

It's good exercise for my eyes not wearing glasses.

Have you tried rubbing the lenses with shaving cream, and then wiping it off? Works like a charm.
Do not rinse...just wipe it off.

[haapai]

The Atlantic just posted an extremely disturbing story on what we have learned so far.  It's published by their Covid reporting team.  The gist of it is that we keep making the same mistakes over and over.  I won't link to it.  It's just too spot-on, and extremely depressing. 

Here is the opening paragraph. 

With Omicron, everything is sped up. The new variant is spreading fast and far. At a time when Delta was already sprinting around the country, Omicron not only caught up but overtook it, jumping from an estimated 13 to 73 percent of U.S. cases in a single week. We have less time to make decisions and less room to course-correct when they are wrong. Whereas we had months to prepare for Delta in the U.S., we’ve had only weeks for Omicron. Every mistake gets amplified; every consequence hits us sooner. We should have learned after living through multiple waves and multiple variants of COVID, but we haven’t, at least not enough. We keep making the same pandemic mistakes over and over again.

[Cookies Galore]

Some real things that I learned during the pandemic, and not just that people are awful:

1. I really love hiking
2. Hubs and I used to spend a lot (A LOT) of money dining out and going to bars every weekend
3. I am way more adaptable and accepting of change than I previously gave myself credit for
4. It's okay to say no
5. Some people are genuinely good but a lot of people are selfish assholes

[NancysSummerSip]

1. People are awful, but a lot of them were awful pre-pandemic. The last two years simply unmasked (no pun intended) them for what they always were anyway.

2. People are also good. Our front line workers, from restaurants to hospitals, grocery and drug stores to truckers, sanitation workers, bank tellers, manufacturing personnel, and everyone who kept the economy going, totally rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. People who have the least to give, or the most to lose doing it, are really good. From the people who gave their holiday funds to those in need after the Midwest tornadoes, to a local family here who cooked for the last week and then invited anyone who needed company and a meal to stop by their house (they've done this for 10 years) to the police and firefighters who see families in need and bring gifts and food, despite fear and mistrust from the communities they serve, really rock, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. I can handle change better than I thought. Supply chain shortage is a challenge to try something new, not fear the loss of something familiar.

5. I really don't like the people I work with. And work is overrated. A paycheck is good, though. So is health insurance. So is working from home.

6. Staying healthy is never so tough that I will not get up every day and work at it. Now more than ever.

[Opti]

Dec 23, 2021 12:45:16 GMT -5 haapai said:

The Atlantic just posted an extremely disturbing story on what we have learned so far.  It's published by their Covid reporting team.  The gist of it is that we keep making the same mistakes over and over.  I won't link to it.  It's just too spot-on, and extremely depressing. 

Here is the opening paragraph. 

With Omicron, everything is sped up. The new variant is spreading fast and far. At a time when Delta was already sprinting around the country, Omicron not only caught up but overtook it, jumping from an estimated 13 to 73 percent of U.S. cases in a single week. We have less time to make decisions and less room to course-correct when they are wrong. Whereas we had months to prepare for Delta in the U.S., we’ve had only weeks for Omicron. Every mistake gets amplified; every consequence hits us sooner. We should have learned after living through multiple waves and multiple variants of COVID, but we haven’t, at least not enough. We keep making the same pandemic mistakes over and over again.

I'm a couple days late in checking, but what I am learning is things can turn on a dime. I wish there were fewer dimes to turn on, however, I see a bunch in our future.

NJ is posting real bad numbers. I hope it will smooth out and be more of a testing spike, but time will tell.
usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/state/new-jersey


I've been playing with a few states, just to see. Miami-Dade in Florida is doing worse than my county in NJ.

[haapai]

Dec 25, 2021 17:11:06 GMT -5 Opti said:

I'm a couple days late in checking, but what I am learning is things can turn on a dime. I wish there were fewer dimes to turn on, however, I see a bunch in our future.

NJ is posting real bad numbers. I hope it will smooth out and be more of a testing spike, but time will tell.
usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/state/new-jersey


I've been playing with a few states, just to see. Miami-Dade in Florida is doing worse than my county in NJ.

I'd advise you to find a site that shows hospitalization rates and possibly testing trends instead of just new cases and deaths.  Less testing and delays in processing and reporting deaths during the holidays can send misleading signals.  On the other hand, New Jersey doesn't seem to be on of the states with the worst testing and new case reporting delays. 

FWIW, in my own state, hospitalizations tend to dip almost the moment that reported cases fall.  States that report more frequently than mine, or have faster test turnaround may have more of a delay between a drop in new cases and a drop in hospitalizations. 

[Opti]

Dec 25, 2021 17:43:26 GMT -5 haapai said:

Dec 25, 2021 17:11:06 GMT -5 Opti said:

I'm a couple days late in checking, but what I am learning is things can turn on a dime. I wish there were fewer dimes to turn on, however, I see a bunch in our future.

NJ is posting real bad numbers. I hope it will smooth out and be more of a testing spike, but time will tell.
usafacts.org/visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/state/new-jersey


I've been playing with a few states, just to see. Miami-Dade in Florida is doing worse than my county in NJ.

I'd advise you to find a site that shows hospitalization rates and possibly testing trends instead of just new cases and deaths.  Less testing and delays in processing and reporting deaths during the holidays can send misleading signals.  On the other hand, New Jersey doesn't seem to be on of the states with the worst testing and new case reporting delays. 

FWIW, in my own state, hospitalizations tend to dip almost the moment that reported cases fall.  States that report more frequently than mine, or have faster test turnaround may have more of a delay between a drop in new cases and a drop in hospitalizations. 

This works for me. If you don't remember, I used to directly be impacted at work. I don't need hospitalization rates as much as knowing how its spreading and where. NJ is on top of their stats, and a former coworker shared how Covid is spiking at the facility. When I go to the store, I want to know how risky it is for me. I believe NJ reports daily.

[Opti]

Aso, hospitalizations are a lagging indicator. Test positivity rates depend a bit on who chooses or needs to test.

[haapai]

Dec 25, 2021 18:03:46 GMT -5 Opti said:

Aso, hospitalizations are a lagging indicator. Test positivity rates depend a bit on who chooses or needs to test.

I mostly look at testing volume.  (The positivity rates in my area and the places where my family lives have been suck-your-breathe-in-bad for as long as I can remember.  I barely look at them anymore.) 

Most of the reporting entities in my state only report new case numbers three times a week which makes using seven day trend lines absolutely necessary and really shortens the delay between when the two trendlines move downward.  Hospitalizations are reported more frequently. 

I'm a total numbers geek so I've been staring at new case and hospitalization trends for the last week searching for a state that has skyrocketing cases due to the infectiousness of the Omicron variant but flat or decreasing hospitalization trends.  What's going on in Rhode Island right now may be the beastie that I've been searching for.  Their cases started shooting up right after Thanksgiving and are still going up but their hospitalizations appear to have plateaued in the last week.  This might be a good sign regarding the severity of Omicron, albeit in a highly vaccinated population.  On the other hand, Rhode Island is pretty small.