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I mean, even Omar found love... enough to help throw the election. (word: he was pushed) She must not like Biden at all.

I know humanity's going a bit mad at the moment, but I can't imagine this has much to do with that. My karma, which perpetually hovers around 49-50, has inexplicably dropped to 41.

I don't mind having lower karma. I quite like it because I find the cap annoying. I do want to know what caused the drop though, as none of the comments I can see in my recent history have been downmodded. This history is currently limited to the 25th February because I haven't subscribed and unfortunately I can't at the moment.*

Either someone's intentionally dredged up some of my comments that are weeks old to surreptitiously mod bomb me, or there's been some change in the site (a bug?) to reset karma levels. I'd be exceedingly grateful if anyone could let me know which it is.

I suppose if I wait a bit, the next Comment Moderation message might reveal what's happened, but it's so out of the ordinary for me (I know, sheltered existence, huh? ;) ) I thought I'd post about it anyway. Anything to avoid talking about COVID-19!

*UPDATE: Whoever bought me a subscription, thank you very much indeed! I'm touched by the generosity of this community.

Tulsi Gabbard announced Thursday that she will suspend her 2020 Democratic presidential campaign and endorsed Joe Biden.

"I know Vice President Biden and his wife and am grateful to have called his son Beau, who also served in the National Guard, a friend. Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart and is motivated by his love for our country and the American people," she said in a campaign email.

"I'm confident that he will lead our country guided by the spirit of aloha — respect and compassion — and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart."
"Today, I’m suspending my presidential campaign, and offering my full support to Vice President Joe Biden in his quest to bring our country together."

Tulsi Gabbard suspends presidential campaign, endorses Biden

Shut down and ignore the stock markets. They are irrelevant to daily life. In fact we can take that money and put it to use for helping people that need it. There's enough there for the world over, right now, this second, just hit the button, and done, all that fundage is in a different folder.

Unfortunately they have been given a blank check, amounting to over 2 trillion, all at the drop of a hat, while we have to wait while congress bickers and babbles.

And still not even the slightest hint that people will lift a finger and vote them out. They'll just keep blaming the Russians

Edit:
There's over 30 trillion of "debt" in the stock market. Not exactly chump change. Freeze it right now! Before they can run off with it, like we are letting them do. That's the money to use. That's the government debt to cancel. And if we put an end to usury, we will gain much more than we lose.

SpaceX tweaks Starship's Super Heavy rocket booster as design continues to evolve

Height of the booster will now be 70 meters, up from 68 meters. That would match the entire height of Falcon 9 or Heavy.

According to Musk, the Super Heavy booster will be stretched by a steel ring or two, reaching a new height of ~70m (230 ft). In other words, Starship’s first stage alone will measure as tall as the entirety of a Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rocket – first stage, second stage, and payload fairing included. Powered by up to 37 Raptor engines, a Super Heavy booster could produce more than ~90,000 kN (19,600,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff – an incredible 12 times as much thrust as SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket.

Starship, meanwhile, will be a beast of an orbital-class upper stage on its own, measuring at least 50m (165 ft) tall and weighing some 1350 metric tons (3 million lb) fully-fueled. Stacked on top of Super Heavy, a Starship ‘stack’ would reach a staggering 120m (395 ft) and weigh more than 5000 metric tons (11 million lb) once loaded with liquid oxygen and methane propellant.

There was talk of making Starship significantly taller and/or wider in the future. Making initial versions taller could help it get closer to the goal of taking 150 metric tons to LEO.

Sketching out a rough series of upgrades that could feasibly be made to the reusable spacecraft’s currently design, Musk thinks that Starship’s conical tank domes (and thus Super Heavy’s, too) could be flattened. That might allow an extra ~3m (10 ft) of propellant tank space to be squeezed into the same 50m Starship length, improving performance by simply using the vehicle’s fixed volume more efficiently.

1. With Covid-19 doing the exponential growth thing

... I'm reminding people that we all need to do our imitation of Howie Mandel, washing our hands like someone with OCD. Or the Karate Kid 2020 - soap on, soap off ... soap on, soap off.

2. Unless you're Mike Pence, We've known that smoking kills

... but now we have evidence from China and Italy that smokers are much more likely to be infected and die. More in this thread. In a way it's poetic justice - we've known for 70 years that smoking isn't healthy, and all those smokers that set shitty examples for the next generations are now dying off. So, okay boomers, FOAD, like you've condemned future generations to.

3. All these sports events cancelled - oh my, what will I do?

Same as always, except with better programs on TV, because I could never see the point of rooting for professional sports teams, most of whom don't even live in the city they're "playing for." Good riddance, NHL. Playoffs well into spring? Yeah, yeah, it's all about the money ...

4. And speaking of absolutely useless, pointless sporting events - CANCEL THE OLYMPICS ALREADY.

It's not like I'm the only one saying it.

5 Finally, I'm happy to note that all those idiots saying that they're going on another cruise soon because way more people die of the flu have changed their tune

... too bad I can't rub it in because they're in isolation for two weeks from their most recent cruise. Why do people have a hard time understanding exponential growth anyway?

It's not that hard. Here's a question most people won't get, and will say it's a "trick question." It's from a Reader's Digest for kids book from 50+ years ago:

Q. A beaker contains one bacteria, that doubles every minute. It is full after one hour. At what time will it be half full?

Have fun trying to explain why their answer is wrong ...

6. Good things about the current outbreak part One

Less cold and flu going around as people wash their hands more, People are more aware. Hopefully, this will be at least one change that will "take".

7 Giving Away Hand Sanitizer

Last winter we got a few pallets of hand sanitizer, 70% alcohol. I ended up with 6 bottles over the course of the next few months, as did many of us. So a week ago today I had a meeting at a clinic, and I noticed that NOBODY was using hand sanitizer and people were going into the back offices for meetings several times a minute, and that door handle saw LOTS of action.

When I saw my social worker (she's helping me deal with life's challenges as someone with visual handicaps) I took the two bottles out, said "Take your pick - hand sanitizer, and they're both 70% alcohol." I mentioned that there are probably 200 people an hour using that doorknob, and no hand sanitizer. Told her that she can keep it, but that she should hide it because otherwise it's going to disappear really quickly. That's what happens when people share offices several days a week.

Personally, I'd have also brought my own spare mouse and keyboard. Or my own laptop, instead of using the office one. But I guess that's what phones are for, right? And hand sanitizer. And latex gloves. And (as someone pointed out), a piece of saran wrap when you have to use the keypad on an ATM or card reader to enter your pin. Or a plastic lunch bag.

I carry my own pen around all the time now, because you KNOW where those other pens have been. Ditto for utility knife (for boxes). Same with black marker.

8. Good things about the outbreak part 2 - Montreal Introduces Free Bus Rides

Today the mayor announced that passengers will enter and exit the buses by the rear door, and since there's no bus pass reader at the rear door, bus rides are essentially free. So unless you have to take the subway and go through the turnstiles, you are riding for free. Sucks if you already paid for a monthly pass, but great if you have a reloadable card for multiple individual trips.

Thinking of COVID-19. I am reminded of an episode with medical insurance company about a year ago. It's about one specific drug that I take for arthritis. (a drug that makes me somewhat immune compromised but not sarcasm compromised)

They stopped shipping it to me in 90 day supply. I had to start getting it in 28 day supply -- and from a "specialty" pharmacy. "specialty" usually means for a drug that is ultra fantastically expensive and/or needs special handling, refrigeration, cannot be beamed by transporter, or all of the above and more.

Instead of the usual 90 day bottle, it now comes in special packaging with all kinds of special scary warnings. WARNING - CYTOTOXIC COMPOUND! Don't touch it with your fingers, etc. (how do they think I've been swallowing it once a week for the last 13 years?) My wife definitely wanted to keep some of that packaging and photograph it. Use it for things she sent to friends, etc.

So I called them and asked why can't this be filled the way it has always been? But no real answer. They did send me to the specialty pharmacy. Those people had a lot of questions. The gist of it sounded like they think I have cancer. But I've been taking this drug for over 13 years, I tell them. Really? They are a bit astonished. Yes, for arthritis. My arthritis specialist and I know that is off label use, but it is sometimes used this way. And it is effective. (and anything to not take, or take less hydrocodone is good IMO)

It suddenly dawns on me. They think if I'm dying of cancer, I might not be around for 28 days, let alone 90 days. So why ship a 90 day supply of what was a very inexpensive generic drug. I assure them I've really been taking this drug more than 13 years and intend to keep taking it for a long time.

Then I notice it starts coming from the regular pharmacy again, in 90 day supply. No scary warnings or frightening packaging. My doctor never had mentioned handling or touching this drug in any special way different than any other pill that I take. And I'm the only one that handles or touches it.

If you haven't guessed, it's Methotrexate. And it is cheap.

Edit: thinking about it, this may be more about the pharmacy than the medical insurance. Insurance has an incentive to keep things cheap.

INFINITE DOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

I N F I N I T E D O O M

eBoLaIDs 2.0

EBOLAIDS

ebol
aids

We're all gonna die!!!!!!!

ooooooooOOoOoOOoOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

E B O L A I D S

In all seriousness, COVID 19 isn't going to be what causes the pain.
It's the planet wide recession it has now triggered. The United States (my country) will be hit especially hard due to its poor healthcare and lack of sick pay. Destitution for all! Yay!

Hollywood Could Take $20 Billion Hit From Coronavirus Impact

Universal Making ‘Invisible Man’, ‘The Hunt’ & ‘Emma’ Available In Home On Friday As Exhibition Braces For Shutdown; ‘Trolls’ Sequel To Hit Cinemas & VOD Easter Weekend

A studio has given in to the coronavirus and will make several movies available on your favorite illicit/piracy platforms.

The best way to beat cancer is to change the brand of cigarette that you smoke.

What does that mean?

It means that you can only defeat Donald Trump in November if you choose as your nominee someone who reflects the flashing and magnificent orgy of surrender and compromise that is America, the greatest and last country on Earth

*j'abandonne*