Saturday, April 4, 2020

Etymology: Do Not Try This At Home

It’s been a grueling week. How about we divert our attention for a minute or two away from the COVID-19 pandemic?

First, on the etymology (etymology - the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time; derives from the Greek word etumos, meaning true) of a couple of common computer related terms.

Save icon, is the floppy disk icon dead? - User Experience Stack ...

Don’t even get me started on the etymology of “floppy.”

RARE* Geos Work Disk Vintage Commodore 64 Original Floppy Disk ...

My second offering is unrelated to etymology and only tangentially related to COVID-19 (which btw is correctly typed in upper-case as it is shorthand for CoronaVirus Disease originating in 2019 - no mention of where, as that would be geographically correct but politically incorrect).

COVID-19 already has its own icon

The good news coming out of the COVID countrywide shutdown:

southern-man:
“
”

Here’s a happy thought: If AOC was still a bartender rather than a U.S. Representative harping on all things socialist, she’d be out of work now.

AOC goes back behind the bar in support of service workersHi, I’m Sandy and I’ll be your bartender tonight.

Feeling anxious? Moscow bar sells 'coronavirus' cocktail to calm ...

COVID-19 special cocktail: 1 part hydroxychloroquine, 5 parts azithromycin: do not try this at home with fish tank cleaner, which contains an entirely different etymology.

Friday, April 3, 2020

Have You No Shame?

In response to Rep. Crenshaw’s question: Why? We all know why.

Democrats seek testimony from new witnesses, including John Bolton ...

They can’t tolerate having a President who believes in American principles, proudly sings the National Anthem in public and loves America.

In response to Val Jar’s allegation that the Black Jesus would have done a much better job handling the WuFlu crisis I give you Charlie Daniels analysis:

image

These people are not even decent enough to feel shame.

No Shame - Imgflip

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Throwback Thursday: WWJS

I can’t think of a better TT game than the one pbird suggested the other day:  WWJS – “What would Jte say about the current Chinese plague. Or anything else…”

Janice was one of us from nearly the start. Sadly, she shuffled off this mortal coil nearly 2 years ago, less than a year after her beloved husband and less than 6 months after her retirement from Los Alamos Labs. Janice was a special kind of uncommon, as indicated by her avatar - “I Fight For the Users” – which can be taken several ways.

Her famous tag line “I drink, I know things and I’m basically not a nice person” was also a mark of her unique world view.

jte comment_thumb[3]

Regarding her tag line, only the second was true. She didn’t drink, at all, and was essentially one of the nicest people to have inhabited this earth. Perhaps not all the time, but who amongst us is? But boy, she did know things. Which is why, I think, pbird suggested this game.

If you’re relatively new here and don’t know Janice you can get a sense of who she was by reading the comments from her fellow MOTI on her virtual retirement party as well as her memorial post. All you really need to know is that Janice was one of then-candidate Trump’s earliest and most ardent supporters, seeing from the gate why this man was what America needed at this time.

As you may recall things grew quite contentious at times in the run up to the 2016 election, even amongst our normally tolerant selves. Janice remained steadfast and unemotional although argumentative. And while she seldom if ever suggested anyone else go “the corner” she regular relegated herself a timeout there. So we relocated it over next to the hot tub and provided a well stocked bar (of which JtE did not imbibe) in order to make our timeout’s as pleasant and productive as possible. From that point forward it came to be known as “Janice’s corner” and remains so to this day.

So what indeed, would our own mad scientist in residence think about these unsettling times? I don’t know but I think it would be appropriate that we consult her wisdom. Maybe she would think that, like the corner, it was a good opportunity for all of us to set a spell and think about what we’ve done.

SULAWESI or CRESTED BLACK MACAQUE (Macaca nigra).  
Sulawesi, Indonesia.

On the other hand I always suspected that Janice’s compliance with life’s rules was subversive.

What do you think, WWJS about the Wuhan Cooties pandemic?

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

April Fools In the Time of Coronavirus

Hard to get excited about April First when the whole year has felt like April Fool’s day.

Still, pranksters gotta prank. Take Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer - aka Caitlyn Jenner – for example: she recently pranked her state.

Separated at birth? Twin sistas of another mother?

Here’s Gretchen doing her 100-meter dash:

On Friday March 27th Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer threatened to revoke the medical licenses of doctors and pharmacists who prescribe hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus in Michigan.  Four days later, March 31st, the same governor asks the federal government to send her hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus patients. Go figure. – Treehouse

Good one Gretchen! Loved the way you planned that.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

So BFD, it’s April Fool’s day. Welcome to my world.

Today Is April Fools Day Pictures, Photos, and Images for Facebook ...

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Wanda, You Ignorant Slut…

You don’t know Wanda but you probably know of her. She’s the surviving spouse who fed her husband a lethal dose of fish tank cleaner because President Trump made her…or something.

Wanda got sick too, as she also drank some of the tank cleaner which included non-pharmaceutical grade chloroquine phosphate (clearly marked “For Ornamental Fish Use Only”).

How Long Can Your Tropical Fish Survive Without Food?WARNING: If you are not an ornamental fish living in an aquarium DO NOT ingest fish tank cleaners

But Wanda has now recovered enough to display signs of “Orange Man Bad” disease by giving interviews to NBC in which she places the blame squarely on President Trump for her unbelievable stupidity.

In her first national news interview, Wanda told NBC News that she took the fish tank cleaner in a tragically botched attempt to follow medical advice that Trump had relayed in a press conference earlier that week.

"We saw Trump on TV—every channel—and all of his buddies and that this was safe," she said last Monday. "Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure." - Washington Free Beacon

What kind of a nitwit would think that an ingredient in aquarium cleaner is the same as one you would be given in a prescription from your doctor? Apparently the kind of nitwit who contributes regularly to Democratic causes like the 314 Action Fund:

Wanda's most recent contributions to Democratic causes came on Feb. 26 and 28. They went to the 314 Action Fund, a Democratic political action committee that describes itself as "the largest pro-science advocacy organization committed to electing scientists" and aims to "promote the responsible use of data driven fact based approaches in public policy."

The group has been highly critical of Trump's coronavirus policies in recent weeks. In fact, on its Facebook page, the group slammed the Trump administration for the couple's actions, writing, "There are real consequences to the White House throwing its approval behind an experimental drug trial before it's time."

Two quick observations: 1) the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization for the use of chloroquine to treat coronavirus last Sunday, and 2) using the fish tank cleaner as a substitute for an FDA approved drug is about as experimental as you can get: no concern about the drug’s bio-equivalency, no concern for its purity, no concern for its potency and clearly no concern for its dosage. Ingesting it sounds about as smart as taking a cup of Kool-Aid from Jim Jones.

All I can say is sorry about your husband, but Wanda, you ignorant slut. Apparently you are unaware of the first rule of toxicology, “the dose makes the poison”. Or are you…?

Far be it from me to suggest any ulterior motive but  It’s actually hard to believe even a Democrat could be so stupid.

"We didn't think it would kill us," she added. "We thought if anything it would help us ‘cus that's what we've been hearing on the news." 

Then again, if you actually believe anything you hear on the news perhaps you really are that stupid.

Monday, March 30, 2020

If Ever There Was a Time…

I’ve been thinking of doing a “Transport Me There” meme for awhile. If ever there was a time to be transported this is it. So this is entry #1 in my “Transport Me There” vault.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, “social distancing” and all. But who couldn’t spend a day in this alley coffee shop with a laptop, Kindle or good book?**

But for now we return to reality with a Wuhan Wave update:

In the wake of an additional study of its efficacy Italy and France are now prescribing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine as treatments for coronavirus patients. The U.S. has not done so as the FDA and CDC aren’t sure of the drug’s effectiveness and safety due to the small trial size of the trial and lack of sufficient data.

We can shut down the world’s #1 economy in hopes of stopping the spread of the disease but we’re not willing to use established drugs without business-as-usual protocols? How about we let the patients decide if they’re willing to risk taking a drug off-label in exchange for being able to breathe?

By the way, doctors often prescribe off label use of drugs for conditions that have been shown to respond to the treatment. It is perfectly legal unless medical marvels like Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmore declare it not to be. And don’t forget that many successful drugs, such as Viagra, were originally designed for another purpose.

To all the people on the left who perpetually promote “be more like Europe” socialism at any cost:

European "Socialism" : Libertarian

Now seems to be a good time to emulate them a bit.

Oh, and thanks to American prowess and know-how you will soon be able to get a coronavirus test in just 5 minutes using the new FDA-authorized ID NOW COVID-19 test from Chicago’s Abbott Laboratories

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a coronavirus test that can provide results in less than 15 minutes, using the same technology that powers some rapid flu tests. The agency authorized emergency use authorization for fastest available molecular point-of-care test for novel coronavirus. The approval signals that federal regulators were satisfied with the test’s validation data and believe its benefits outweigh any risks, such as false positives or negatives.

“We’re ramping up production to deliver 50,000 ID NOW COVID-19 tests per day, beginning next week, to the U.S. healthcare system,” the company said.

**NOTE: The Pickwick Roasting Co. is currently “Closed Due to COVID 19 Crisis.” Plus it’s not far from the Chicago Art Institute (also “Closed Due to COVID 19 Crisis”) and it is still March so on second thought I might defer this transport for awhile. Probably until such time as it is summer…and Chicago once again “allows” you to carry your legally obtained and licensed firearm.

UPDATE: FDA Issues Emergency Authorization for the Use of Hydroxychloroquine to Combat Coronavirus Effective Immediately…

After the media went bananas trying to refute President Trump several weeks ago after he spoke optimistically about the potential for a malaria medication called chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to be used to combat the coronavirus, today the FDA has approved its use.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Cooties, Cooties Everywhere!

Cooties Cooties everywhere - Buzz Lightyear - quickmeme

As usual, it appears the experts’ advice of maintaining “social distancing” of 6 feet is inaccurate. It needs to be at least 4 times that or more like 26 feet according to a study conducted by MIT.

The study, which was reported by the Telegraph, found that viral droplets expelled in coughs and sneezes can travel in a moist, warm atmosphere at speeds of between 33 and 100ft per second (ten metres to 100 metres).

This creates a cloud within the atmosphere that can span approximately 23ft to 27ft (seven metres to eight metres) to neighbouring people.

It has also been warned that droplets, which contribute to the rapid spread of covid-19, can remain suspended in the air for several hours.

So perhaps it’s just as well that we are in day 14 of our little town’s shutdown.  The resorts would normally have the town packed to the rafters for late spring skiing this time of year. Instead it’s a ghost town.

Lower Main Street, Park City, UT early last week

Andy Larsen: So just how bad is it in Summit County? Here’s what the coronavirus numbers show.Upper Main Street, on Friday; more pedestrians getting a little exercise than cars

So just how bad is it in Summit County UT, home of Park City? On a per capita basis, apparently pretty bad. Not quite as bad as New York City which by all accounts is the U.S. “epicenter” - a word that, like “anarchy,” has come to mean something altogether different from its original sense – but still bad. Aside from New Orleans parish and 5 New York counties the worst Wuhan coronavirus clusters in the US are in ski towns.

Four counties – Blaine County, Idaho; Summit County, Utah; and Eagle County and Gunnison County, Colorado – lead the nation in per capita rates of confirmed cases outside New York and Louisiana.

 Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake TribuneNote: excludes New York City where there are 8.7 million people and nearly 30,000 cases or 1 in 292.

All you can tell from this is that the Wuhan coronavirus likes to party…and ski. Gunnison County, Co is home to  Crested Butte, Blaine County, ID, Sun Valley, Eagle County, CO, Vail and Summit County, Park City.

There are only 42,000 residents here but 1 out of every 312 of us has been confirmed positive for the WuHu Flu. So with that kind of saturation we’ve decided to hunker down a bit more than we have been. Accordingly, we placed our first ever grocery home delivery order yesterday. Of course the earliest they can deliver is Wednesday afternoon, but I’m hardly in dire need of anything as I keep a well stocked larder all year round – you know, in case of emergencies like cootie attacks.

So if you need me I’ll just be sitting here, at home, wiping down the cooties…and waiting for the world to end.