Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

**Benny Profane** · 10-24-2020, 04:54 PM

You wonder how many ski. Even if they do, what if the lifts stop spinning?

**ötzi** · 10-24-2020, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

They'll be back. More mountain homes sitting empty 50 weeks out of the year.

Not all of them. I think we're seeing a change that's got some permanence. Of course the pendulum will swing back, but not nearly all the way. How can it? Genie's out of the bottle I say.

Apparently all the microsoft teams users are dying to get back to the office though

**jono** · 10-24-2020, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by ötzi

Not all of them. I think we're seeing a change that's got some permanence. Of course the pendulum will swing back, but not nearly all the way. How can it? Genie's out of the bottle I say.

Apparently all the microsoft teams users are dying to get back to the office though

Word. Turns out 90% remote is a very good arrangement. And I don't even really work there!

Genie is definitely out, but the range of choices that just opened up range from dense urban to remote urban, since good internet access with decent backup is required for most WFH. If it makes a serious dent in commuting traffic the bigger cities and cheaper suburbs get more attractive, too.

**S_jenks** · 10-24-2020, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by ötzi

Not all of them. I think we're seeing a change that's got some permanence. Of course the pendulum will swing back, but not nearly all the way. How can it? Genie's out of the bottle I say.

Apparently all the microsoft teams users are dying to get back to the office though

It's become fairly clear that our office here will never go back to full remote. It was actually a pleasant surprise to the owners when the governor shut office doors temporarily. Switching to remote was easier than expected, and now they had much lower utility bills, maintenance bills, etc. while not seeing much of a decrease in productivity from their employees. They themselves are older, and welcome the idea of having fewer in-person interactions when managing their business. My boss, who is in line to take over the company when they retire, has been enjoying the extra time she now has with her kids.

And now that more of the workforce has had sufficient time under pandemic conditions, a lot people have had time to readjust their lives. And a lot have found positive aspects to working from home that will carryover into a post-pandemic world. I mean, the amount of time that some of my rural-living coworkers have gotten back from not having to commute are ridiculous. Fuck long commutes in a state like MT, especially if it's for a job than can be done at home if-needed. Leave the roads a little less clogged for those that actually have to drive them.

My point here is that the effects of covid have impacted all levels of American businesses. It's forced those in charge to implement changes (like WFH) that otherwise never would have implemented on a company-wide scale.

It's a genuine paradigm shift.

**Toadman** · 10-24-2020, 09:40 PM

Has anyone asked Trump what's around the corner?

**old goat** · 10-24-2020, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by Toadman

Has anyone asked Trump what's around the corner?

The Day of the Dead

**funkendrenchman** · 10-25-2020, 06:26 AM

1922 cases in CO yesterday. That’s almost 3 times the summer peak!

And found out this morning that my dad has COVID. 76 years old with Diabetes. Hasn’t listened to my warnings this whole time. F- this.

**bigdude2468** · 10-25-2020, 06:39 AM

Low dose aspirin reduces death and complications from Covid. I wonder how patients that take Warfrin, Xarelto, Eliquis, Plavix etc do compared to aspirin? So many people take these drugs that I would think they could get more than just anecdotal results without a double blind study. Issues is the majority of the people taking them are older with pre existing conditions.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/...navirus-latest

**huckbucket** · 10-25-2020, 06:51 AM

Originally Posted by bigdude2468

Low dose aspirin reduces death and complications from Covid. I wonder how patients that take Warfrin, Xarelto, Eliquis, Plavix etc do compared to aspirin? So many people take these drugs that I would think they could get more than just anecdotal results without a double blind study. Issues is the majority of the people taking them are older with pre existing conditions.

https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/...navirus-latest

"Low dose aspirin reduces death and complications from Covid."

That's not how it works and that statemen is inaccurate. The only way one could prove this is through a randomized controlled trial. At this point aspirin is correlated with reduced deaths and complications although I'd like to read the paper to confrm this (which wasn't linked in the story?).

**Benny Profane** · 10-25-2020, 07:16 AM

Don't know if this was posted, but good big picture read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...winter/616204/

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 10-25-2020, 07:45 AM

I wish someone would have warned us about virus resurgence in the fall.

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**Casey E** · 10-25-2020, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Don't know if this was posted, but good big picture read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...winter/616204/

“Army ants will sometimes walk in circles until they die. The workers navigate by smelling the pheromone trails of workers in front of them, while laying down pheromones for others to follow. If these trails accidentally loop back on themselves, the ants are trapped. They become a thick, swirling vortex of bodies that resembles a hurricane as viewed from space. They march endlessly until they’re felled by exhaustion or dehydration. The ants can sense no picture bigger than what’s immediately ahead. They have no coordinating force to guide them to safety. They are imprisoned by a wall of their own instincts. This phenomenon is called the death spiral. I can think of no better metaphor for the United States of America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

And the chief pheromone emitter iiiiissss

**::: :::** · 10-25-2020, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn

I wish someone would have warned us about virus resurgence in the fall.

^^^

**riser4** · 10-25-2020, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn

I wish someone would have warned us about virus resurgence in the fall.

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Snork.

**Benny Profane** · 10-25-2020, 09:28 AM

Funny thing, though. May be a little early, but that Flu/Covid double hit isn't happening. No flu.

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 10-25-2020, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Funny thing, though. May be a little early, but that Flu/Covid double hit isn't happening. No flu.

That’s because a lot of people are wearing masks and following other mitigation guidelines. Seasonal influenza isn’t nearly as contagious.

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**Benny Profane** · 10-25-2020, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by MagnificentUnicorn

That’s because a lot of people are wearing masks and following other mitigation guidelines. Seasonal influenza isn’t nearly as contagious.

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Well, it is the Daily Mail, but, some are speculating that the Corona virus is actually crowding out the flu virus.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...illed-flu.html

**XXX-er** · 10-25-2020, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by S_jenks

It's become fairly clear that our office here will never go back to full remote. It was actually a pleasant surprise to the owners when the governor shut office doors temporarily. Switching to remote was easier than expected, and now they had much lower utility bills, maintenance bills, etc. while not seeing much of a decrease in productivity from their employees. They themselves are older, and welcome the idea of having fewer in-person interactions when managing their business. My boss, who is in line to take over the company when they retire, has been enjoying the extra time she now has with her kids.

And now that more of the workforce has had sufficient time under pandemic conditions, a lot people have had time to readjust their lives. And a lot have found positive aspects to working from home that will carryover into a post-pandemic world. I mean, the amount of time that some of my rural-living coworkers have gotten back from not having to commute are ridiculous. Fuck long commutes in a state like MT, especially if it's for a job than can be done at home if-needed. Leave the roads a little less clogged for those that actually have to drive them.

My point here is that the effects of covid have impacted all levels of American businesses. It's forced those in charge to implement changes (like WFH) that otherwise never would have implemented on a company-wide scale.

It's a genuine paradigm shift.

IBM support people started working from home probably 25 yrs ago and the stogy mother corp has stuck to that model, HW or SW the people take a call from the que and handle it just like they would in a cube except the company wasnt paying for that RE, i got a buddy doing SW just up the road on the way to the bike area & ski hill

**old goat** · 10-25-2020, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by huckbucket

"Low dose aspirin reduces death and complications from Covid."

That's not how it works and that statemen is inaccurate. The only way one could prove this is through a randomized controlled trial. At this point aspirin is correlated with reduced deaths and complications although I'd like to read the paper to confrm this (which wasn't linked in the story?).

Here's a link to the abstract. https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-...sed.95423.aspx
Maybe someone here with access to journal full text can post a link to it. Hard to make much from the abstract. While it's not a RCT it does seem like reasonable evidence of a benefit, although certainly not a huge benefit.

**The AD** · 10-25-2020, 10:10 AM

I haven't seen anyone mention in Australia in this thread recently, but was just looking at the stats and that country has only had 123 new cases in the last week. Compare that to about 477,000 new cases in the U.S. On a per capita basis that's about 5 per million in Australia and 1,454 per million in the U.S. And they are now heading into summer. This shit is just embarrassing.

**Name Redacted** · 10-25-2020, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by The AD

I haven't seen anyone mention in Australia in this thread recently, but was just looking at the stats and that country has only had 123 new cases in the last week. Compare that to about 477,000 new cases in the U.S. On a per capita basis that's about 5 per million in Australia and 1,454 per million in the U.S. And they are now heading into summer. This shit is just embarrassing.

I was talking to a few Aussies the other day, and another guy who lives in MX (non tourist part). They both said that people in both countries are blown away at how badly it has been handled in the US. Australia is way more locked down than us. They stopped travel between territories and are just starting to reopen. MX of course is dependent on where you are, but people are still shocked that the US is sucking so bad.

**tetzen** · 10-25-2020, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by funkendrenchman

1922 cases in CO yesterday. That’s almost 3 times the summer peak!

And found out this morning that my dad has COVID. 76 years old with Diabetes. Hasn’t listened to my warnings this whole time. F- this.

Hope he gets through it quickly. It's gonna be a stressful week or two depending on the course it takes. My in-laws made it through mainly on the steroids + some antibiotic treatment. It sucks not being able to do much from the outside.

**bagtagley** · 10-25-2020, 10:48 AM

Zoom/Teams blow goats but not nearly as much as all that goes with getting up and going to an office.

Definitely a paradigm shift. People that were skeptical or completely against remote work are now the biggest cheerleaders. A huge portion of the population became Zoom savvy overnight. Lots of previous hurdles and hesitations wiped away.

**Mustonen** · 10-25-2020, 11:57 AM

I’m one who still drives in to the office every day.

I have nothing to complain about. My office is big and new, and the floor that I’m on has fewer than one person per thousand square feet. I rarely have visitors and those I work with I interact with via zoom or IM, even if they’re in the same building.

I could do that from home very easily, but my boss has decided that we need to foster a sense of community that he feels is lost when we aren’t all together in the same buildings. I’m really hopeful that paradigm shift catches up to us soon....

It’s starting to get ugly out there. I feel incredibly fortunate. I have a friend who need to be transported to a larger hospital after a serious fall, but can’t find one that will take him due to COVID crowding. This thing doesn’t have to kill everybody to kill a lot of people, directly and indirectly.