ramses68 comments

RecklessApr. 15 04:36 pm JST

My question is if I had coronavirus and now have recovered and have antibodies is there any reason I should stay home?

6( +8 / -2 )

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-09/coronavirus-may-reactivate-in-cured-patients-korean-cdc-says

Abbott has the 5 minute molecular test out, and Cellex has a 15 minute serological test out. So far these are the fastest.

At home testing is not covered by the FDA and they have gone out of their way warning consumers that home tests are unauthorized by them.

As for any tests accuracy rates... We'll probably know months from now, being that they are basically being rushed out the doors to get people tested now.

While I might agree with staying away from social media(I do)...

Limiting your intake of Covid information sounds stupid. Your government is pathetic in providing you with info, so about all you can do is seek information to educate yourself. Hopefully you are looking for the info from hospitals, doctors, or universities, rather than from some talking head on twitter or instagram.

kurisupisuApr. 10 05:44 pm JST

Where is the high number of deaths in Japan then?

It is difficult to hide multiple deaths no?

Infections can be called whatever but deaths cannot....

-3( +4 / -7 )

Death happens every day for multiple reasons, the best way to attribute the cause of deaths is via an autopsy.

For a better idea of how that goes down, I suggest searching for stats and info relating to post mortem autopsies in Japan. Compared to first world... Scratch that. Compared to ANY countries, Japan is a joke.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/02/27/editorials/troubling-low-autopsy-rate/#.XpCfX5lOlqM

Just a link to get you started. There is plenty of extra info available on the web.

As someone in the U.S., who watches the failings of our current president during this outbreak, I can at least look to the J-Gov to make me feel a bit better about the clown in chief over here.

On the bright side... In the U.S., the president doesn't have the power to call for shutdowns. The state governors however do. We've already been under a shelter in place order for 3 weeks, thanks to our governor. You can get gas, groceries, prescriptions. Hardware/home improvement stores are open. Essential services such as electricians, plumbers etc. are still going to work. Most of the lowest wage and small business jobs are shut down. Restaurants can do carryout/curbside pickup, delivery. Dog groomers, salons, bars, casinos, theaters etc. are all closed. State parks and facilities are closed, but local conservation areas have their trails open, although some events at those facilities have been canceled or postponed. You can go for a walk, or jog, without getting arrested, but social distancing is the new "in" thing.

None of this is seen as a big deal for the most part. The community at large generally understands that this is what is necessary to slow down the transmission Covid19. Of course there are many downsides... Lost wages being the largest. The daily stress levels of some will pile up with worries about income and housing. However, our government is trying to work out plans, fixes, and stimulus packages to alleviate some of the strain.

The biggest concern is that our "soft lockdown" will be continuous. The White House is trying to pressure states to lockdown that have not yet done so, but in the end it's up to the governors. Had everyone shut down at the same time, then we could have possibly seen an end to this wild ride a bit sooner. As with anything, people have different opinions, but those differences may make life more difficult for those who went into lockdown earlier. Our neighboring states are the issue. Two have gone into lockdown following us, another jumped aboard even later. Yet another has locked down 2 cities only, and the last bordering state hasn't gone into lockdown at all.

So what remains to be seen is whether we come out of lockdown when "cleared" of the virus? Or are we stuck in a "Groundhog Day" loop, until all of our neighbors are finally cleared? Do draconian measures get put into place to allow us to come out of lockdown, but the national guard closes all traffic from the states that were dragging their feet?

The only thing that is certain at this point is uncertainty. The caveat is that we're trying to save lives and stop the spread. Poor Japan isn't even trying. I hope your lackluster efforts work, and that in the future Japanese and their politicians can crow about how effective they were, and how many lives were spared.

Our state stands at 528 confirmed deaths, hopefully we can keep it under a thousand.

Good luck Japan!

and I feel for her if she was taking care of them, but murder is really not the answer.

so the in laws are in their 90's? Did she kill them or were they not breathing during her last visit?

Dunno about Japan, but where I live most tatoos aren't original. If I wanted to see the powerpuff girls or hello kitty or even Mickey mouse, I'd just watch the cartoons. No need to tell me how much they mean to you.

This is funny... Been "woke" for over 30 years and the rest of the world is just now catching up? Laughable. If it weren't pathetic.

well... lessee... Sprint I.E. softbank will withhold your cc # in case you cancel your contract. The other option would be that you allow them to withhold it. So... basically you will withhold the info with or without my permission? Piss off!

Can't wait for California to go to war w/ itself.

I'm against homelessness, but is Will Smith really the person to highlight it?

Sorry to piss in your cheerios Brian Wheway... Underground wiring didn't exist "day one". If it had...

"Cheaper and better" is sorta untrue. Cheaper by todays cost? Sure. I mean inflation and costs of living make everything "cheaper" back in the day, usually. Better? I doubt it. Technology emerges over time in any industry. Even today's underground cables aren't foolproof or infallible, although they are way better engineered and manufactured than cables in the past. It's an evolution of technology.

The hard to swallow truth is that "day one", it was cheaper and more efficient to install the lines overhead. With the technological evolution that occurs, it is STILL cheaper to put the lines overhead. Although better is still up in the air. Is better a budgetary constraint? A reliability constraint? Or... Aesthetics?

Lol. I am not against recreational marijuana use. I don't use anymore myself, but that was a personal choice.

Anecdotal "evidence" for the efficacy of marijuana, for what ails you, is not proven science. Therefore, the medical marijuana controversy is misplaced imho. In the states, I do believe it should at the very least be decriminalized, so that medical studies can actually take place, and we can come to some reasonable consensus on what it can, or cannot, do from a medical standpoint.

I also think that current employment standards should be upheld regarding marijuana. Until an accurate way of testing for pot inebriation exists, then no, you cannot do this job with pot in your system. I fear the legal rabbit hole that would appear if folks were allowed to fail drug tests for important, and dangerous jobs.

"Those people died because it was an accident, not because I got high 2 days ago" would become a standard defense for liars who WERE actually high at work and caused personal and financial loss. With no way of conclusively proving otherwise with current testing.

I've worked in dangerous industries for a good portion of my life. Which is why I stated earlier that I quit by choice( I chose to have a good paying job). I enjoyed smoking when I did it. Now, I just go home and have the occasional cocktail in the privacy of my own home.

Personally I think Japan should consider legalization, but I also think they should take a wait and see approach to what is going down in America, wait until their is actual science behind it, then they can tailor it to their own needs after watching how we fail to implement it well. ;)

This entire story has me baffled, saddened, and angry.

How convenient from a legal standpoint that words as simple as "consider" and "considering" can keep you out of jail. Of course anyone can consider anything, for as long or as short of a time as they want. Convenient.

We had to "consider" the social impact of shutting down the plant. Equals... No way we'll shut down, it'll make us lose revenue, and that will "impact" my social life. I can't lose face in front of all my other rich oyaji buddies.

We were "considering" doing the work necessary. This one is most likely just a lie. The lie being they used the word "considering" indicating current tense, when the correct word would have been "considered" indicating past tense.

"We were considering making the repairs and safety upgrades" equals no jail.

VS.

"We considered it an outrageous expense that would affect our bottom line, and came to the conclusion that more money for us was the correct route to take." equals locked up executives.

Since the Gov't (i.e. politicians and regulators) were squarely in the pocket of the utility, Japan should "consider" dumping them all into the ocean where Tepco/JGov is going to release the waste, and electing an entirely new slate of officials.

I mean really Shiba Inus in halloween costumes, or even hot springs monkeys, could probably do a better and more responsible job than the politicos you've already had for far too long.

"Consider" it.

JGov messed up. They should have drug this out for 30 years or so. 8 years is too short of a time period for people to forget all of the information that poured out after the "accident". ;l

https://news.usc.edu/86362/fukushima-disaster-was-preventable-new-study-finds/

This report as well as many others like it (not going to link them all) all refer to Tepco's own people warning that the plant wasn't adequately protected from disaster.

The 8.8 quake in Chile in 2010 should have been a decent enough warning that stuff happens.

The (sorry not familiar with the Japanese term) warning posts placed by Japanese saying "yeah, a long time ago the sea rushed as far as way the hell up here" should have been the very first and most reliable warning given to ANYONE in those areas.

These folks SHOULD be outraged. With the amount of nuclear power in Japan, even people NOT directly affected by Fukushima Daiichi, should be outraged as Japans government, regulators, and utility industry apparently have no remorse whatsoever about ruining peoples lives. If it can happen to them (residents of Fukushima) it can happen to you.

What happened in 2011 wasn't due to ignorance, it was due to willful stupidity. Willful stupidity in this case is called gross negligence. Gross negligence. Let that sink in. These people had had plenty of warnings.

This is not a "shoganai" situation. This most certainly could have been helped. All citizens of Japan should be up their government's ass about this.(my opinion)

At this point, as a non Japanese, I feel about the only thing I can do is boycott the Olympics. Really they should have bailed on the hosting and focused on their disaster. Olympics are almost never profitable. Money squandered at the expense of taxpayers for a small group of athletes to showcase their skills on a generally larger stage than their own individual sport could ever afford them. Someday the abandoned facilities will need to be repurposed or destroyed at yet further cost, yet JGov refuses to provide even a modicum of safety for their own populace? Regulators and politicians bought off for peanuts by a utility. A utility now owned in good part BY the govt. Maybe instead of cash for the games, they could have provided cash for the utilities to upgrade? Maybe instead of all the taxpayer funded cleanups and buyouts that are costing the future of Japan, you could've taken charge of this industry with a carrot and stick approach? You need to fix this stuff. Make it happen. If you can't, we'll subsidize the work to be done with a favorable repayment schedule. Now you have no excuses.(Seen a lot of concrete poured around Japan, shame they didn't pour it in front of seaside nukes).

Okay... Whew! Rant over. For those who may be concerned, I'm not actually against the Olympics. Although I would prefer them to be hosted perpetually in Greece(at least the summer games). Might help that country out, and could keep infrastructure costs down for the venues(maintenance versus new construction, reuse them ffs). I'm American and dear lord is this country a steaming pile of mess. I do not intend this post to be bashing Japan itself. I'm not a nuclear hater. I believe that it very well was the better alternative when it became instituted many many years ago. I DO believe that there are alternative approaches that can be used for power generation, that can lessen the load/impact that nuclear has. I also believe they should be investigated and implemented whenever/wherever possible.

To anyone living in Japan... Good luck!

So many hits and misses on this. Tepco was not prepared which seems ridiculous when watching crews moving and prepping for hurricanes in the states, before they even hit. I suppose you could blame the J Gov since they own a major portion of Tepcow now, but in reality they don't even know how to govern much less run a utility.

Overhead vs underground. This is a tough one to explain when there are so many nuances to each. Power gets restored much faster when repairing overhead lines. Finding the fault in the circuit is so much easier when the wire is laying on the ground in front of you, or you can see the tree branch catching fire or arcing. Unless you have XRAY vision(you don't), finding underground faults is a bit more difficult. Installation costs for underground are more expensive. If done correctly, they are WAY more expensive. The bonus of doing it correctly is that wire replacement can be done quicker than normal. Underground wires MAY last longer, but compared to the cost for the wire, it's still cheaper to replace the overhead lines. There really are too many variables to just spout off about which way would be best for any given application.

I can only say these things due to 30 years in the utility industry ranging from tree trimming to overhead/underground/transmission construction to substations. Things are never as easy as an armchair quarterback makes them sound.

Healthy donuts = low tar cigarettes... People are so stupid.

What about teachers?

PTownsendToday 07:39 am JST

ah are Americans

@yakyak Not so sure about that lately.

Once again the Internet Research Agency/Bannon/Qanon forces are using slogans easily remembered and then parroted by the benighted as these groups attempt to further splinter a long splintered nation. The above slogan is a variation on 'I'd rather be Russian than Democrat', which is an admission they prefer fascism to democracy.

> Prefer fascism to socialism?

Narcissism works, my first thought was vanity...

kohakuebisuMay 7 10:21 pm JST

PS. The words "I'll kill you" alone should be instant dismissal.

Instant dismissal, a visit from the police, and possibly charges filed.

I've never been much of a fan of all the litigation going through the courts (since apparently the entire world is corrupt and will screw you over), but the parents should get a lawyer, and the lawyer should sue this school until it no longer exists.

yokohamaridesMay 5 09:46 pm JST

That is enough to suck up nearly 8,000 cars worth of emissions per year of CO2.

Great - but why don’t we just discourage driving?

May work better in some places than others. I used to drive anywhere from an hour to 3 hours to get to work. I also had a full sized truck that I needed for my job. Public transit wasn't available, nor was it an option. As soon as that job ended I sold the truck and bought a compact SUV which just about got me double the mpg I had with the truck. I still had a long commute with no public transportation available though.

It's about 40 minutes W of Chicago. Chicago that has had gun control for decades, as well as that super murder rate. The state itself is basically insolvent. But hey! At least we have a new Governor who is spending money left and right. The populace continues to leave but not because of gun violence. It's the killer taxes that are responsible for the exodus.

Alfie hit the point on the head with his reference to "nudging". At least as far as what this article(haha) is about.

I believe Cleo misinterpreted the earlier comment about "trashing rooms", and believe the poster that said it may have been half asleep to even add it to the conversation, where it could be/was misconstrued, and had nothing to do with anything, regarding the article.

As for the cash vs debt card debate... I'm fully on the side of cash.

While it's great that some cardholders get "goodies" as a part of holding such and such card. Those goodies are never truly free. Whether the cost of the perks is offset by the number of people taking advantage of them(meaning the LACK of such people), or whether they are paid for in full by utilizing profits made from interest charges on the less credit worthy, or acct "service charges". Nothing is really free in life, even if Cleo feels that it enhances HER lifestyle. Someone somewhere paid for it. Were everyone to manage their finances perfectly, then there wouldn't be as much of a need for credit, and of course the "goodies" would go away as there is no one paying for them.

For years we've been fed the agenda of business, banks, and credit card issuers. Really, the banks and card issuers are more to blame for it than business, simply because they had to convince businesses to get on board by touting the "benefits" to them via poorly controlled spending habits of consumers.

For years you could buy gasoline for cheaper with cash, simply because the dealers KNEW they were getting hit with processing costs for utilizing credit card companies. In the new economy it has shifted to where the cash payer gets overcharged for goods and services, to offset the hassle of distinguishing between cash and credit purchases. We'll just jack the price on everything, in order to make sure we cover the expenses related to credit, and profit off of the cash payer. I'm not arguing whether this is "fair and just", I'm just stating the simple truth.

My largest beef with the credit issuers are the falsehoods they twist to fit their own agenda. Inconvenient pocket change? lol Faster checkout times? Hahaha haaa... ( At least they did amuse me with their pathetic round of commercials about this a while back). More secure transactions? ROFL LMAO LOLOLOLOL...

I hate answering questions half asleep... Ramen and sushi.

ugh. Sorry everyone.

Ninjas and pokemon. Everyone else gave great answers, but...

"So in other words, girls should be denied the rights to the same educational opportunities as boys because the boys might want to kiss them.

Don't feel too bad, it's a common sexist attitude that has unduly influenced American thought for years. It frankly amazing it took this long for it to come up in the thread."

Well... Thanks for labeling me sexist, I suppose. Is this because I'm against the idea of the BSA taking girls into regular membership? Or that I'm denying the right to boys to kiss girls? I'm not clear about where you stand on this... Are you supporting the BSA's decision to embrace female members, while bashing the Girl Scouts of America for not being gender inclusive?

You're insinuating that I'm attempting to deny girls rights to educational opportunities because boys may want to kiss them? You've horribly oversimplified what I was alluding to, but thank you for trying.

Since I'm familiar with BOTH the BSA and Girl Scouts organizations... What specific "educational opportunities" are there that young women would be missing if they weren't allowed to be in the BSA? I do mean specifically what will girls miss out on? And to make things perfectly clear... Are you even aware that the BSA already runs the Explorer program that is co-ed as well as vocationally oriented?

I'd like to take a step back from all of the inclusive, gender-bending, adult world views regarding this decision, and bring up something that I think is a valid point.

Did any of the male members of this particular forum lust after members of the opposite sex when you were adolescents? Was it due to "gender conditioning" as a result of living with, or near, male family members, or was it something as simple as a biological impulse?

And lets be honest... Female members of the forum probably had the same sorts of things going on in their heads as well.

I spent many years in the BSA when I was much younger, and I can still recall how we reacted when faced with young women of our own age group. We had a week long canoe trip one summer that coincided with a canoe trip that a girl scout troop had decided to enjoy. For 2-3 days of this trip it was decided that the two groups would travel together.

The two groups set up camp separately each afternoon. Each evening, as things wound down from preparing meals and doing the cleanup, the boys and girls sought each other out. This wasn't a cultural exchange or any lofty exchange of ideals, it was teenage hormones at it's most base level. I don't believe that anything too terrible happened at that time. The boys mostly being in it for a quick kiss or two, and maybe the chance to feel up the girl they liked(read... OMG boobs!).

With that being said... I agree with the Girl Scouts decision regarding allowing males into their membership, and am mildly appalled at the decision of the BSA to allow females into the organization at the membership level. I believe the BSA didn't approach this idea as cautiously as they should have.

Now the children will no longer have to go looking for trouble, it will be in the tent next door. At least until someone complains about not having the right to share a tent with someone of the opposite gender. facepalm

This is one of those ideas that looks good on paper but the reality of which can be so much more awful. To take it a step further, one could argue that the spate of lawsuits revolving around the sexual abuse that is sure to occur, will most certainly bring about some sort of change in the way the genders regard each other. Even if it were to lead to the BSA to take the forefront for womens rights in some way, shape, or form, would it have been worth it to the daughters and sons sacrificed to make it happen?

"There are plenty of testimonials from people including veterans who ingest cannabis for a variety of medical reasons including chronic pain and PTSD with very good results."

While I'm not explicitly against medical marijuana, and I do believe clinical trials should be done... I'd like to remind you that throughout history there were plenty of things that had "testimonials" and "good results".

Just a few off the top of my head...

Mercury as a cure for syphilis, as well as other purported diseases and symptoms.

Heroin as a cough suppressant. From our good friends at Bayer no less.

Lobotomies...

So... Of course I don't expect any "ringing endorsements" from the U.S. government without clinical trials to prove/disprove it's efficacy to treat anything. Certainly not ringing endorsements based on "testimonials" from people diagnosed with PTSD or chronic pain. I do feel for them, and do wish that the U.S. would fund the trials to clear up the fog of smoke surrounding the controversy regarding medical marijuana.