March 13, 2020

At the Ice Break Café...

A13008C6-58EF-4389-A306-5722EA607100_1_201_a

... you can talk all night.

200 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Who dropped the ice?

traditionalguy said...

Sorry. I was just breaking the ice. Has U Wisconsin gone totally online?

Automatic_Wing said...

Ice, Ice Baby...

Darkisland said...

Happy Sabbath everyone!

In last week's book-a-fe someone mentioned "The Double Game" by Dan Fesperson. Sounded interesting so I started reading it.

I kind of like it and have not given up. I'm about 25%in. But it is awful gimmicky. Sort of a scavenger hunt built around spy novels. I find the gimmickiness a bit annoying.

But if I can set that aside, it is pretty good.

What I do particularly like about it is that it is kind of a bibliography of spy novels and has given me some good reading ideas.

So thank you whoever recommended it.

What's everyone else reading?

John Henry

madAsHell said...

Boston Marathon postponed.

madAsHell said...

My daughter was at the gym running on the treadmill, and the PA system announced that the gym was closing. A private gym.

We're not under quarantine, but quarantine is here!!

narciso said...

Raises hands,

Fesperman uses the novel to relate things he has experienced or others have told him,,there is a certain narrative that he trade on where angleton and his successors were always wrong, something codevilla doesnt concede.

Mark said...

In tonight's Trek, it was the original V-ger causing havoc.

narciso said...

theres a precursor one written 30 years ago

Mark said...

Having moved from sitting on the couch, to reclining, to laying down on the couch, however, I fell asleep and woke up again only to catch the last minute or so.

Then I spent the next hour being groggy and trying to wake up.

Chuck said...

This Tweet from today, from the account of Senator Sherrod Brown, may well be the single most devastating anti-Trump tweet of Trump's 4-year presidency.

The story is simple enough that everyone will get it.

Today, in the Rose Garden, Trump was asked a question by PBS News Hour reporter Yamiche Alcindor. It was a single, articulate, direct question. In a word, she asked about Trump's having disbanded the Executive branch team assembled during the Obama Administration (under Ron Klain, now a senior advisor to the Biden campaign) to address pandemic infectious diseases.

Trump called it a "nasty question." Everyone who watches the video will know that it was not a nasty question.

Trump had no good answer. He didn't even have an honest answer. Trump tried to foul it off by saying that he didn't personally order the shutdown of the office. That was a lie, even going by Trump's own words from earlier this week. Where he answered another question about the office by saying that he didn't want to have "thousands" of executive branch staff not doing anything, and that if there were an emergency, they could re-staff the problem very quickly.

But then there was Senator Brown's tweet from today. In which he pointed out that 600 days ago, he had demanded an explanation from the President about the closure of the pandemic emergency office.

The Biden campaign, with Bloomberg money, is going to jail-sex Trump with this story.

narciso said...

I saw star trek the motion picture on an airplane in the summer of 1980, without headphones.

Mark said...

Well, we got the news today --

They are closing the office building and we are supposed to all work from home next week. Seems a bit of an overkill, even though there are about 250 of us in the building and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has banned gatherings of 250 people and more.

Kathryn51 said...

Every day, when I see the photos, I am reminded that I would love to return to Madison for a visit longer than the two days we spent there in 2016. Altho, must admit, I probably would not be getting up at 4 in the morning in order to make the 6:30 am (or is it back to 7:30 am) sunrises.

but if correctly recall, the sunsets over Lake Mendota weren't too shabby.

Mark said...

Yeah, not the stupid V-ger, but the one that they recycled for that lousy movie that cost them $20 quadrillion to make.

Mark said...

A quote from memory: "Congratulations Captain, your logic is impeccable. We are in grave danger."

Mark said...

It's rather silly when "the Scott unit" is said to be an inferior creation.

The human body, after all, is infinitely more complex that the most complicated of machines.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Chuck,
Why is a White House pandemic office needed when there is the CDC? Adding to a bureaucracy makes the organization - in this case the federal government - less responsive.

Michael K said...

I'm reading "The Old Navy," which is a history of the Navy as a memoir by a Navy man who describes China during the Boxer rebellion and the Spanish American War, including the Battle of Santiago Cuba, Multiple generations of Navy officers collected by a grandson.

I always read three or four books at a time. I have almost finished Tom Perkins' biography, "Valley Boy" which is a lot of fun. We had very similar childhoods. He was 7 years older but we shared a lot of family history.

I'm also reading a series of novels by Andrew Wareham who taught economic history in England for ten years and also served as a policeman in Papua New Guinea for another ten years. He has novels about 19th century England, about the RFC and RAF in WWI and WWII. I like almost all of them.

narciso said...

Wrath of khan was the standard, thats why kurtzman and orci deserve the agonizer booth for attemptimg to remake it as for star trek beyond.

Michael K said...

Oh God ! Can Chuck shut up for one day ?

D. said...

>In a word, she asked about Trump's having disbanded the Executive branch team assembled during the Obama Administration (under Ron Klain, now a senior advisor to the Biden campaign) to address pandemic infectious diseases.<

How about that swine flu?

Mark said...

Part of the telework mandate by my employer might be because the schools are all closed and the kids need mom and/or dad at home.

So much for all that government-provided child care that they say we need.

narciso said...

No he belongs in the agony booth too,

madAsHell said...

Chuck,
Why is a White House pandemic office needed


Do you really think you're going to fix stupid?

He just wants to draw you into a conversation that will annunciate his talking points.

Mark said...

It's the rule of evens and odds.

The even-numbered movies were good. The odd-numbered, not so much.

And . . . how many times can you destroy the Enterprise?

Mark said...

Oh God! Can Chuck shut up for one day?

Is he here?

Social distancing folks. Just pass on by.

J. Farmer said...

Was on conference calls for a good part of the day. We're closing up shop to the end of the month. We'll be using some of the courts' remote appearance systems for the cases that will need to be completed before then.

tim in vermont said...

Chuck won’t bother reading it, but if you want to know why his point is total and complete bullshit, read this tweet.

https://twitter.com/Tim_Morrison/status/1238584684600266753

It would be hard for Trump to remember stuff that the Democrats made up.

#FakeNews

Michael K said...

I posted Chuck's comment on Ricochet so they can see what NTs look like over here. There are still a couple there but they are laying low.

Chuck is shameless but I wonder if he is just autism spectrum.

Mark said...

Sisko is definitely more bad-ass with the shaven head.

FullMoon said...

Today, in the Rose Garden, Trump was asked a question by PBS News Hour reporter Yamiche Alcindor.

She the same one that fed the Pecan Pie rumor to Chuck? Sounds familiar..

Mark said...

Oh. Have I seen that before?

Odo doing the Vulcan neck pinch.

madAsHell said...

The good news is.......all the underground utilities have been identified in the street. It seems that I'll soon have a fiber optic connection to the house. WooHoo!!

The bad news.....I'm not sure I can masturbate that fast.

Darkisland said...

Chuck,

You doknow this is a book cafe, don't you?

So what books did you read this week?

John Henry

exhelodrvr1 said...

MadasHell,
No, but there are others who are not ill-intentioned, just uninformed. Plus, I don’t want to miss it when his head does finally explode. I have Inauguration Day, 2021, in the pool.

Birkel said...

Racist fopdoodles are just positive that inside baseball bull shit will stop Trump's re-election. That seems unlikely.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, people do not believe government teams who have meetings have solved much of anything, ever.

Racist fopdoodles are indistinguishable from their Leftist Collectivist brethren.

Mark said...

What I never understood, what with all the bad Trek movies, is why they didn't simply adapt one of the Trek books that had been written. There were only a couple hundred of them.

Douger said...

John H- have a restful day
Madashell- there were no more germs at the gym today than yesterday...
Mark - what if there are only 249 in the office?
Chuck- what the heck?
Kat51 - the Wisconsin sunsets are awesome anytime
Mark - May the force be with you
Be Safe out there!



J. Farmer said...

Two books I'm reading right now are Charles Murray's Human Diversity, which I'm about halfway through, and then will be starting Michael Lind's The New Class War.

William said...

On the plus side: The market closed way up and on a Friday. There's usually a sell off on Fridays. They have discounted the possibility of Armageggon this weekend. Another plus: It kept going up during Trump's presser. People who place such bets don't think he's an erratic mad man who will get everybody killed......Downside: There will be further bad news and the market will respond accordingly. I don't see a capitulation point on the horizon. The bargains will get cheaper....I saw most of the Trump presser. He seemed confident and in control. In point of fact, whoever win in November will leave most of the decisions to guys like Fauci and those others arrayed behind Trump. The blonde doctor looked cute when she explained the details of processing nasal swabs. Fauci looks dry and knowledgeable. He's not exactly reassuring, but it doesn't seem the sky is falling. We'll see how it goes. Better than Italy hopefully.

tim in vermont said...

Here’s another tweet about Chuck’s issue:

Richard Goldberg@rich_goldberg
·
5h
Weird. A year later I was inside the NSC working with talented global health/biodefense professionals who coordinated an incredibly effective response to Ebola. They’re still there. Working hard. On #Covid_19.


It’s almost as if he is running with another lie in a shameless attempt to undermine our president in a time of national emergency. Kind of like the impeachment trial for asking Ukraine for documents re election interference that demanded POTUS’s attention while the CDC was first recieving reports of the virus in Wuhan.

madAsHell said...

Plus, I don’t want to miss it when his head does finally explode

Good luck! It's tough to get any bang out of spent brass!!

narciso said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Douger said...

The Death and Life of the a Great Lakes by Dan Egan. Keep those Carp out...

Jersey Fled said...

The epicenter for corona virus has moved from China to Europe, according to WHO.

CNBC reports that "The number of new cases in China has slowed to a trickle, with 26 new cases reported Thursday, according to WHO data"

If, in fact, the epidemic has peaked in China and is now slowing, let's take a look at the current numbers.

80,962 confirmed cases in China.
3180 deaths
64,237 recovered

Doing a little math here,

80,962-64,237-3180=13,545 current cases

That's 13,545 current cases in a population of 1.4 billion. With the rate of new cases "slowing to a trickle".

Call me crazy, but that sounds kind of hopeful to me.

narciso said...

backgrounder

Mark said...

About "working" from home -- it's as good a time as any to do some good housecleaning. Can't watch TV all day.

Definitely sleeping in though.

J. Farmer said...

Call me crazy, but that sounds kind of hopeful to me.

Don’t forget the very draconian measures China took to quarantine people.

Mark said...

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of that scene with Spock coming out of the shower to Pam's surprise.

Ken B said...

Cup o praises Trump and Pence on covid https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/361358/

madAsHell said...

Call me crazy, but that sounds kind of hopeful to me.

I just don't trust the Chinese data.

"I fucked up, and it's my responsibility" has no Chinese translation.

Mark said...

And that whiny son who was probably the inspiration for the whiny teenaged Anakin.

madAsHell said...

Hillary has a little Chinese in her.........but then I repeat myself.

Ken B said...

“ Oh God ! Can Chuck shut up for one day ?”

Asked and answered.

Hey Chuck, look at what Cuomo said about Trump's actual actions on covid.

J. Farmer said...

Which was the film where Spock swam with humpback whales?

narciso said...

Voyage home, no 4

narciso said...

The dallas reference for 1984-5, where mark singer was a vengeful mercenary betrayed by jr.

Drago said...

LLR-lefty Chuck: "This Tweet from today, from the account of Senator Sherrod Brown....."

OMG!

Sherrod Brown!

LOL!

Sherrod Brown. Adam Schiff. Jerry Nadler. Everyone at MSNBC and CNN.

I mean, its astounding LLR-lefty Chuck thinks he can still pull off the FakeConservative routine any longer. Yet he persists.....(as his paycheck is probably dependent upon it)

Mark said...

The ocean where the whales swam is a sunken parking lot filled with about three feet of water.

narciso said...

Alien had a similar problem after no 2, finchers was dark and dreary and joss whedons effort best left unmentioned.

Mark said...

I was thinking more the Man From Atlantis than the V guy.

Nonapod said...

Norm's the real cure for coronovirus

Mark said...

With this China Wuhan stuff, it's only a matter of time before Bill Paxton tells us, "Game over, man. Game over."

Drago said...

I just love that on the very day Trump speaks publicly about an actual private sector/high tech approach cranked up to address this issue LLR-lefty Chuck wants so very very desperately to dump it in order to reinstate an inefficient and redundant federal bureaucracy in order to screw things up again.

This does make sense in context when one considers that LLR-lefty Chuck is a huge, huge, HUGE obamacare supporter and is still spitting mad that the nation has moved on. LLR-lefty Chuck is all about growing the federal bureaucracy. It's just one of his many many ways of advancing democrat policy preferences to "conserve conservatism".

narciso said...

Oh good grief am i the only one who remembers that show,

Ken B said...

I always have several books on the go at once. Currently active
Mr Selden's Map of China — 17th century history
Bleak House — reread
The Restless Kings — Henry II history. Interesting stuff well explained but also lacking something. Want to finish, might not.
Feeding Nelson's Navy — logistics. Oddly entertaining book, contrarian. Very glad I found this.
Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols — Sherlock Holmes pastiche, just started
Turning the Tide — submarines in ww2, audiobook

Working up the resolve to tackle a heavy book on the foundations of probability, and getting back to my french advanced reader (sigh), but too lazy for those right now.

Mark said...

Note to self: Do not die.

narciso said...

I once tried godel escher bach but thats just crazy.

Drago said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Did anyone else catch that amazing Slow Joe Biden virtual "townhall"......that last about 4 minutes total....after being delayed for hours.

Probably to give time for the medication to get Joe sufficiently cranked up for the "event".....and even that didn't last that long.

No wonder Bernie wants to debate Slow Joe.

All its gonna take is just one time Joey's dentures fall out and he gets lost looking for them on stage and whammo! Bernie's back in it baby!

narciso said...

Nicholas meyer who did another sherlock homage the seven percent solution (40 years ago: adapted terribly into a film) also part of wrath of khans writing team

Mark said...

A few months ago, I saw that on IMDb, they have episodes of Dallas.

Hadn't seen the J.R. shooting episode in a LONG time.

I had forgotten how deliciously evil he was.

Mark said...

Laughter is the best medicine.

n.n said...

the J.R. shooting episode in a LONG time. I had forgotten how deliciously evil he was.

Captain... Major Nelson? Tony? Extraordinary actor.

Ken B said...

Drago
I told friends that while I admire the DNC's effectiveness in disciplining the party to stop Sanders it could all unravel with one debate. In a one on one Joe is on camera and under pressure far more.

Arashi said...

Still reading Roughing It by Mark Twain.

Glad the market popped back a bit. Glad everyone I know is still healthy. Hoping this WuhFlu slows down and the panic class (Inga, Chuck, etall) can go back to just complaining about Russia! Russia! Russia!

And looking forward to some sunny weather here in Pugetopolis for the coming week. I think it is getting close to putting in the garden time so we have some fresh veggies for the table.

Ken B said...

Narcisco
Yep. This is Meyers's latest Holmes. I will report back.

Drago said...

Mark: "A few months ago, I saw that on IMDb, they have episodes of Dallas."

Miami Vice, season 4 episode 22 (end of season cliffhanger): Crockett gets amnesia and goes full bad guy into the season 5 opener. A young Julia Roberts and Chris Cooper make appearances.

Ken B said...

Narcisco
He DIRECTED wrath of khan

Ken B said...

Watched Unbroken. Very good. Bad reviews from critics. I assume because of hero's religious conversion, which repulses our betters in the media.

narciso said...

I remembered julia roberts but not chris coopers, they used to run it on cozi for a while.

William said...

In the Feb 24 edition of The New Yorker, there's a lengthy profile of the Israeili historian Yuval Harari. His book "Sapiens" received the strong endorsement of Obama and Bill Gates. It has sold over 12 million copies. The book recounts the history of the past 70,000 years. Apparently we peaked early. The hunter gatherers had better lives than most in the agricultural and industrial ages. According to The New Yorker article, some people have found reading this book a life changing experience.....Has anyone here read the book or even heard of it?

Milwaukie guy said...

I'm still looking at Light Infantry Tactics for Small Teams. After reading V.D. Hanson's book on the Peloponnesian War and an Alexander the Great book, a housemate dropped Plato's Republic on the coffee table which is shaming me to get started.

However, I am starting on "Hotel USSR, Memoirs of a Soviet Non-Artist" by Oleg Atbashian, founder of the People's Cube. Buy it at the Althouse portal to support the People's Cube.

narciso said...

I have seen crime story which is the sort of prequel to vice even though it takes place in chicago vegas and mexico

J. Farmer said...

With this China Wuhan stuff, it's only a matter of time before Bill Paxton tells us, "Game over, man. Game over."

It’s already game over for Bill Paxton.

Milwaukie guy said...

I forgot about Lind's New Class War. What do you think Farmer?

Drago said...

narciso: "I remembered julia roberts but not chris coopers, they used to run it on cozi for a while."

Spoiler Alert: Chris Cooper plays the dirty cop from another department that Amnesia-bad guy Crockett whacks just because! I won't tell you who else gets shot by Crockett. It was so bad that by the time Crockett regains his memory and walks back into his own department Edward James Olmos' character almost, almost, changes expression.

Almost.

Mark said...

It’s already game over for Bill Paxton.

They're bringing him back just for this.

Drago said...

narciso: "I have seen crime story which is the sort of prequel to vice even though it takes place in chicago vegas and mexico"

The great Dennis Farina and a fantastic opening number: Del Shannon's "Runaway"

rcocean said...

Just read the transcript of Trump -and the White House Team - press conference on the Wuhan virus. Very informative, especially with the Doctors and those with technical knowledge spoke.

As for the Press, why does Trump even bother with those clowns? We have a national emergency and these Press goodballs - the same bunch of lefty hacks - are trying to play "Gotcha" and ARGUE with Trump on whether he should be tested. Its moronic. As Trump said, he was a whole bunch of doctors and they say he doesn't need to be tested. Plus, you should NOT get a test unless you have symptoms. But they asked about it, and then asked again, and then asked again!

Then some PBS chick tells him HE got rid of some pandemic office 600 days ago, and "isn't he ashamed"? Absurd. I guess Trump likes battling with these clowns over trivia, but it gets TIRESOME.

Drago said...

It’s already game over for Bill Paxton.

Mark: "They're bringing him back just for this."

I can only imagine how much they had to pay him....

Mark said...

After all, you can't have a viral apocalypse without the dead coming out of their graves and becoming zombies.

Drago said...

rcocean: "Just read the transcript of Trump -and the White House Team - press conference on the Wuhan virus. Very informative, especially with the Doctors and those with technical knowledge spoke."

That's why LLR-lefty Chuck is melting down again. Far too much competence and achievement on display.

LLR-lefty Chuck prefers his speakers to be unaccomplished dem politicians with "magnificent" creased pants....

narciso said...

Denison was a top notch villain in that, maybe he was too lucky at some parts, and the former dr. No joseph wiseman as his mentor.

Drago said...

Mark: "After all, you can't have a viral apocalypse without the dead coming out of their graves and becoming zombies."

While at the self-checkout line this evening at my local King Soopers (AKA Kroger), the attendant asked me: "Did you enjoy your zombie apocalypse shopping experience this evening?"

I shot him......just to watch him die.......and then to reanimate.......

rcocean said...

Even more moronic, is when Trump calls on the Press, they PERSIST in asking long-winded questions or even worse asking TWO questions - often completely unrelated. OR re-asking the same damn question over and over.

Thank God, I read it. I couldn't have stood having to listen these MSM dolts drone on and on with their "Questions" which in some cases were more like speeches.

John henry said...

Ken b,

Really? You're reading Bleak House? For pleasure? Again?

Seriously, I've read it twice and enjoyed it. I think it gets a horribly undeserved bad rap.

There are two British mini series of it, one in six and three other in 13 or so. Both excellent. The 6 parter has ms peel as Lady Dedlock.

I find Dickens like a really cold lake. I stand there dreading going in. Once I do I find it enjoyable.

John Henry

rcocean said...

In future Trump should just say, "I answered that question. Do you have something else?"

Drago said...

rcocean: "As for the Press, why does Trump even bother with those clowns? We have a national emergency and these Press goodballs - the same bunch of lefty hacks - are trying to play "Gotcha" and ARGUE with Trump on whether he should be tested"

That's precisely why he (Trump) does it. Nothing better demonstrates the press' own incompetence than watching them "perform".

Picture a crowd of onlookers, mouths agape, listening to LLR-lefty Chuck go on and on and on and on and on attacking Barron Trump and raging on about Pecan Pie's!

J. Farmer said...

I forgot about Lind's New Class War. What do you think Farmer?

Haven’t really gotten into it yet. It’s next on the list after I finish Murray’s book.

Mark said...

The rule is -- Kill the brain, kill the ghoul.

I forget, is it the same for zombies?

Should have taken a head shot just in case.

J. Farmer said...

Mark: "They're bringing him back just for this."

I can only imagine how much they had to pay him....


It’ll just be a hologram.

Mark said...

OK, times up.

It was the Nomad episode. The one where Uhura gets her brain wiped clean and they reteach her to become communications officer in about a week.

Ken B said...

John Henry
Yup, I am. Hey, I read War and Peace twice, and Dante three times. This is my first Dickens reread. Best character: Mrs Jellyby.
I like your metaphor of the lake.
My favorite Dickens was Our Mutual Friend, so it’s on the reread list too.

narciso said...

Yes because the brain generates the small electrical charge. Vin diesel is in one recent film where he plays a nanobot regenerated soldier.

Ken B said...

Curious I read three bad reviews of Unbroken. Every one of them complained about the religious elements. BINGO.

Andrew said...


When I saw Joe Biden's speech yesterday, I was concerned. I didn't care much for the content, but he sounded much better than he has recently. He sounded sober and authoritative, even presidential. Trump, in contrast, sounded tired and off his game. Same with today's press conference. I like what Trump is doing, but he sounded less energetic than usual. I sincerely hope he can remain healthy and get some rest. But the point is, for the first time I was worried that Biden might actually win.

But then... I watched Biden's town hall tonight. And all is right with the world. He's back to garbling his sentences, losing his train of thought, and even wandering around like he's lost. He couldn't even handle five minutes tonight. At this rate, Joe won't be able to deliver the convention speech. I am trying not to take pleasure in this, because it's not dignified to watch an old man slowly lose his mind. But I am reassured that Trump still maintains his advantage. I'm truly relieved. I don't want the Dems to be in power again for as long as possible. Biden will have his good days, but there's no way to hide his true condition. Trump should still triumph, after he weathers the current storm.

Mark said...

Speaking of episodes I hadn't seen in a long time --

A few months ago, I watched a re-edited three-hour series of scenes that trace the history of Barnabas coming home to marry Josette, Angelique arriving and totally jealous, Angelique casting spells to nearly kill Barnabas and then to get Josette to marry another, and finally Josette cursing Barnabas to become one of the undead in revenge for Barnabas taking his revenge against her.

Then, flash forward to the present day -- Willie Loomis greedily opening up Barnabas' coffin, only to have Barnabas' hand reach out to grab him, and Barnabas then returning to Collinwood.

Oh, how I loved to hate Angelique. And how I loved to love Josette/Maggie Evans.

Josephbleau said...

Cleaver has a book, MIG Alley, about Korea. Sympathetic to the MIG 15 drivers but ok. Good stories on the sacrifice of the fighter bomber guys, go USAF.

Anthony Watts has the closer for his War Planners series out, good run.

Lots of MIT courseware math classes out, the ones with all video lectures are really good, but the Harvey Mudd college Analysis I videos are exceptionally good. I wish they would film Anal II. And all the abstract algebra ones too. Colorado Springs UC has a lot of stuff but not as exciting and lower production values. With these kind of online quality classes I think colleges are getting scared. If you enroll in residence you have to take 40 hrs of diversity and social science, a drag.

Drago said...

Farmer: "It’ll just be a hologram."

Speaking of which: ABBA is back on tour...in hologram (or "abbatar") form.

Drago said...

JosephBleau: "I wish they would film Anal II"

Filed Under: Unfortunate Mathematics References.

narciso said...

Analysis 1, & 2,

reader said...

In the face of the upcoming zombie apocalypse don’t forget Rule #2 - Double Tap.

Narayanan said...

@Blogger madAsHell said
_____&&&&&
You forgot swish! swish!
After treadmill.

narciso said...

Seeing how the bond series has gone irrevocably woke, of course there are some authorized bond follow ups that might be worthy theres one by sebastian faulks set in the late 60s set in paris rome and iran

MadisonMan said...

About to do some binge watching of Vienna Blood. (Well, 3 episodes). I have a lot of time to kill.

It's nice to be in an airport where Al-Jazeera is playing instead of CNN.

narciso said...

the villain and his motivations might seem familar

effinayright said...

Go to the Sick Map on Drudge.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

Click on China at the left.

Look at the right to the Corona virus data for the provinces affected.

Wuhan in Hubei province has by far the most cases, over 96%

The reported mortality rates for all of China look to be about 5%, based on current data. But that doesn't include people that were never tested and got well on their own, which would bring that rate down.

More importantly, look how relatively FEW cases and deaths are reported outside Hubei province. Look further at the graph at lower right, which indicates the number of new cases has plateaued.

Now look at the scare headline at the upper left on Drudge, which claims the US could experience as many as 200,000 -- 1,700,00 deaths.

https://dnyuz.com/2020/03/13/the-worst-case-estimate-for-u-s-coronavirus-deaths/

Then tell me why a first-world country like the US should experience many more deaths, by factors of 50 to 500 times more than third-world China. This, for a country with only about 20% of china's population.

That's utter bullshit, especially when one considers we have had only 40-odd deaths from the virus over the past ten days, and have greatly tightened up our protocols wrt to inward foreign travel, guidance on personal hygiene changes, restrictions on large crowds, quarantining people arriving from abroad and the like.

So..get a fucking GRIP

Milwaukie guy said...

My son just pointed out to me that Andrew Gillum could use the I did not have sex with that rent boy and I never inhaled at the same time.

Josephbleau said...

Drago, that is the oldest joke in the canon, thought I would throw it in.

Milwaukie guy said...

After Lind, I now want to go back and re-read Codevilla's The Ruling Class.

Drago said...

Josephbleau: "Drago, that is the oldest joke in the canon, thought I would throw it in."

And much appreciated, speaking as a math undergrad.

narciso said...

That was likr the aha estimate of 10p million cases.

Milwaukie guy said...

Andres Gillum will not be the VP choice.

effinayright said...

Drago said...

Miami Vice, season 4 episode 22 (end of season cliffhanger): Crockett gets amnesia and goes full bad guy into the season 5 opener. A young Julia Roberts and Chris Cooper make appearances.
***************

The only Vice episode I remember is the one where Frank Zappa played a drug dealer bragging about his product, which he called "weasel dust".

Pure Frank.

Yancey Ward said...

"Congratulations Captain, your logic is impeccable. We are in grave danger."

It didn't quite sound right to me- I thought Spock said something along the lines of "An impressive display of logic, Captain, we are in grave danger." However, your memory was impeccable, Mark, I just watched the Youtube clip.

narciso said...

Well there were the ones where gordon liddy relished his villain image as sgt maynard (two episodes)

Mark said...

Spock could do humor when he wanted to.

Mark said...

I just watched the entirety of Norm Macdonald's uploads. He's very prolific, so it took a while.

Yancey Ward said...

"Alien had a similar problem after no 2, finchers was dark and dreary and joss whedons effort best left unmentioned."

Wow, glad you mentioned it- I never knew that Whedon wrote Alien Resurrection. Yikes!

narciso said...

They didnt trust him with a major project for years after that.

narciso said...

yep

madAsHell said...

You forgot swish! swish!
After treadmill.


Pony. Tail. Swish. I was riffin' off of Lazlo.

That was the week in which some mathematician died. He had written a paper describing the physics behind pony-tail-swish.

I never had a problem making that pony-tail-swish....even before I could do the math!

Lucien said...

Started reading “The Mirror and the Light” , to my delight, but recommend to all that they read “Wolf Hall” and “Bring up the Bodies” first.
Re-reading “The Last Kingdom”, too.

Darkisland said...

Ken B.

I've not read or seen unbroken. A friend of mine used to attend church with lou zamperini. He was quite taken with lz and used to talk about him often.

He gave me a signed copy of his autobiography "devil at my heels" itis a marvelous story of his redemption in Christ after the horrors of war an postwar problems.

In some ways, almost, but not really, a tract.

Well worth reading

Probably better than unbroken.

John Henry

Churchy LaFemme: said...

The could indeed have adapted any of the Trek books (some of them quite good), and pretty much for free as I think they are basically "work for hire". That's not how Hollywood works though.

I'd like to plug the late Hugo & Nebula winner Vonda N. McIntyre for her novelization of the script for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. She took all the stuff that didn't make sense, or was badly done, in the movie and made it make very good sense and hold together as a good book besides.

Mark said...

What's really amazing is that I understand that Mary Beth McDonough (Erin) has said that she couldn't get a date when she was high school age.

narciso said...

That seems improbable is that paxton connection again.

Yancey Ward said...

I apologize if this has been linked before, but I thought it might interest those who haven't watch it. Here is the explanation for the plan the British are going to follow for Coronavirus epidemic- I have teed it up at the point where the scientist explain the reasoning at 31:48, however, the beginning is worth watching, too.

Basically, the British are admitting that there is no way to stop the Coronavirus from burning through the population because it was already too late when the first cases were identified; and here is the important point- you shouldn't want to stop this from happening because you don't know there will be a vaccine, and the only way to give the population the immunity it really needs is to let the disease takes it course- I will come back to this below.

However, you do want to control the location of the peak- get it into Summer for NHS specific reasons, but those reasons would apply equally in the US- but, also, control the height of the peak. Their plan is to ask all sufferers of the initial symptoms to self-isolate for 7 days in their homes, and only call for help if the symptoms worsen to the point they would have normally called for help. They intend to refocus all testing on people in the hospitals.

Additionally, their plan is to wait until a certain point in the epidemic to start isolating the people most vulnerable to this disease, but they don't want to do this when the total active cases are numbered in the tens of thousands- they want to wait to do this when the cases are closer to a million or two million. The reasoning is simple- as a practical matter, you can't isolate the ill and elderly for the amount of time it would require to cover nearly the entire area of the bell curve- in the beginning, it is just effort for little gain, and the same applies at the right hand tail, but if you time it right, you protect them for a practical amount of time during the period where they are most at risk from non-vulnerable infectees.

I beat on this point a few nights ago- you probably shouldn't want to stop the virus the way the Chinese did. If there is no vaccine in 6 months, you will just see outbreak after outbreak until the entire population has acquired immunity. Worse, the second and third bouts with them will face flagging social acceptance of the methods that stopped the first outbreak before the population developed immunity.

All in all, this was impressive presentation by people who have done a much deeper consideration of the problems presented by this virus. I strongly suspect theirs is the only practical plan for dealing with this virus.

Yancey Ward said...

Now, having praised this plan, I have a few quibbles. I don't think they will really be able to control much at all- the peak will come and pass and it will have pretty much whatever shape it has, but that is a minor quibble- they can adjust on the fly to whatever happens. I think a more controlled plan would be to isolate the most vulnerable, and then deliberately infect the healthy in a controlled rollout- that way you could actually know pretty well how long you have quarantine the various patient groups. However, obviously, my plan would require convincing people of doing something they might resist in fear- not an easy sale.

Mark said...

You have to wonder what would have happened if they had never discovered that there is this separate and unique virus. If people had just assumed this was just another seasonal virus making the rounds.

How many folks would have gotten it, gotten better, with some not getting better, but still no one the wiser.

Mark said...

deliberately infect the healthy

Except that is the Iranian leadership plan.

And it isn't working too well. Then again, Iranian society is different.

chickelit said...

@Mark: I think you're missing how the virus helps damage Trump. Get with the pogrom.

Yancey Ward said...

Basically, the British plan is predicting the intra-China containment will fail and have to repeated over and over until the entire population has acquired immunity- you will have put in enormous effort to reach the same point you could have reach by letting nature takes it course.

walter said...

True, I didn't hear anything there about NHS efforts regarding vaccine or treatment modalities.

walter said...

Is Italy letting nature take its course?

Yancey Ward said...

Italy might have done a better job delaying the peak and squashing it down- that might have allowed them to treat the most vulnerable more efficiently and effectively, but, yes, nature taking its course in Italy. The British seem to realize there is so long you can delay the spread, the length of time you attempt to do this ultimately defeats itself since the measures can't be maintained indefinitely. It would different if there was sure knowledge that a vaccine was just months away, but you don't know that, and the evidence suggests you might not have one in the next year. You can't lock down society for a year or more, and even if you could, it would kill more people than it would save.

If I were designing the British plan, I would do controlled, deliberate inoculations that took place over a six week period, and in waves a week apart, and during that period, the people most vulnerable, let's say age 60 and up or with some other underlying illness are firmly isolated and protected. You could do this with maybe a month of planning beforehand, and have it over with in 10 weeks total.

rightguy said...

And now a word from George Harrison (BTW, great pic AA) :

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

walter said...

Seems a lot of thinking around this one presumes static status vs mutation.
I'm severely interested in what research re universal flu vaccine tells us.

Yancey Ward said...

Well, Walter, coronaviruses are not novel infectious agents for humans- there are probably a hundred or more different ones circulating through humans right now- we have been living with them for thousands of years. This particular one is particularly nasty for the class. Perhaps it will lead to an entirely new and more dangerous kind of seasonal illness, that reappears every year in a new, mutated form. But if that is going to happen, it will happen even if we actually stop this particular one from infecting, let's say, 70% of the population. That horse was out of the barn a long time ago- probably the point patient zero got infected.

walter said...

I'm curious if the target of universal flu vaccine applies to corona strains.
Regardless, there are easily 5+ companies honing in on vaccines for this variant.
That should be encouraged..as well as tx strategies

Crazy World said...

One minute into comments on this wonderful Friday the 13th and there is little Chuckie spewing his venom. Sad

Theranter said...

Apple closing most of its stores across the globe?

https://twitter.com/tim_cook/status/1238717395058876416

"One of those lessons is that the most effective way to minimize risk of the virus’s transmission is to reduce density and maximize social distance. As rates of new infections continue to grow in other places, we’re taking additional steps to protect our team members and customers.
We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27. We are committed to providing exceptional service to our customers. Our online stores are open at www.apple.com, or you can download the Apple Store app on the App Store. For service and support, customers can visit support.apple.com. I want to thank our extraordinary Retail teams for their dedication to enriching our customers’ lives. We are all so grateful to you."

Mr. Forward said...

Did anybody not think about Coronavirus today? Remember when the meme was Trump, Trump, Trump, and then impeachment got the same treatment. Is this how we get to the Hive Mind?

clarabenet90@gmail.com said...

very poetic. To launch a Children's book, reviews are very important. Try usabookreviewers.com to get more visibility and sales in a crowded marketplace. I can do a free book trailer for you !

Big Mike said...

Did one of the Althouse commentariat recommend Ghost Fleet a few days ago? I have one response.

You bastard!

I was up until 4:00 am finishing it a couple nights ago. It’s kind of a page turner.

stevew said...

Well, my weekly travel to visit with customers and prospects is now officially on hiatus as the companies (and their people) that I would go see are banning visitors. And schools are closing in most places, at least until the end of the month, so the parents of the kids have to work from home anyway.

Going to conduct meetings via Zoom, cameras on!, for the foreseeable future. The audio through the laptop can get a little dodgy so I'll dial in from my phone. Way better than Skype and Webex.

Happy to report we have plenty of TP. Given the bottled water shortages I'm thankful we have a local source of drinking water built into the house.

To you all I say what everyone is saying now at the conclusion of calls: be safe!

gilbar said...

two weeks ago, people like our Professor started explaining to us all, about how
Covfefe-19 was THE WORST THING THAT HAD EVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD!
and that, we were ALL GOING TO DIE
Since then, the whole world has spent about a third of it's time an effort on Worrying about it

Now, far be it from Me; to minimize the seriousness of this catastrophe...
BUT, since it IS; After All, THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD...
And since there is LITERALLY NOTHING we can do (except, i guess horde toilet paper)...
Shouldn't we be seeing a spike By NOW?
I don't mean a spike in confirmed cases (because of increased testing and awareness)
I mean a spike in deaths? Or, At LEAST, hospitalizations?

IF we remained, blissfully ignorant; and had just thought that this was a regular winter bug...
Would we be remaining ignorant? Or would the spikes FORCE us to notice???
Could we IGNORE 4955 deaths, worldwide? Could we IGNORE 39 (or is it 36?) deaths in the US?

I sure think we could. IF this is THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO THE WORLD...
Shouldn't we begin to NOTICE it by now?

narciso said...

That was me, it was recommended to me by another commenter on another blog.

Gahrie said...

late Friday night my school district decided to close down the schools next week, stay closed for spring break the week after, and then re-evaluate.

donald said...

I have seen crime story which is the sort of prequel to vice even though it takes place in chicago vegas and mexico.

Also had Andrew Dice Clay. I forget his name, but I had my hair cut into the character of Ray Lucca’s pompadour. When the girl started putting all that crap in my hair, I was all nooo way! She explained there was no other way. I was crushed.

That was a fantastic show.

narciso said...

You can pick up i pilgrim in the summer.

gilbar said...

You sure those spikes are gonna show up in America?
that's Kinda My Point
Where ARE Our SPIKES?

Even in Italy,
how many people would have died, without panicked people rushing to and overfilling their hospitals?

narciso said...

Max goldman,

Eleanor said...

"Thanks panicky Boomers"? Most of the people who are panicking are under 50. Unless, of course, you're Althouse.

Rosa Marie Yoder said...

I'm re-reading "Rediscover Jesus - An Invitation," by Matthew Kelly. At my age and in these times, it seems appropriate. It's an excellent book, worthy of remaining in ones personal library.

But I do worry about Chuck...

narciso said...

lighter note

Christy said...

Thanks, Lucien. Just downloaded the Mantel and plan to plunge right in without a reread of the first two. Right years! That's George R.R. Martin level sequel production. At least this time we know what happens.

For absolutely no reason I think we've reached peak virus. Trump's actions strike me as more to save the economy than useful to improve health care. Mostly I've been entertained by the chaos. I am concerned that as near as I can find my chemo drug comes from India, but who knows where the ingredients come from?

RBE said...

All the media talk about Covid 19 testing is obsessive and a way to torment Trump. If you are sick and get tested then go into quarantine...fine. Or, if you are fine and get tested then go into self imposed quarantine...fine. BUT if you want to get tested then go right out into the public...what is the point? That said...Trump, Pence and Pelosi need to stay away from each other and keep away from other people...NOW.

Fernandinande said...

Hi everybody! I'm slogging my way through a collection of Bob Stevenson's olde short stories! Turns out he was a tranny long before the fad!

tim in vermont said...

From narcisco’s link

C - Chinese
O - Originated
V - Viral
I - Infectious
D - Disease

Why is the media so racist?

tim in vermont said...

"Turns out he was a tranny long before the fad!”

Careful. You will get ARM all hot and bothered.

tim in vermont said...

Democrats did all they could on COVID, first off, as soon as the outbreak happened, they put Trump on trial for asking about Democrat corruption. What more could we ask of them?

tim in vermont said...

It’s funny how the only people talking about impeachment anymore are pissed off Trump supporters.

Chuck said...

Yancey Ward I am following up on our previous dispute over Bloomberg’s electoral plans.

The WSJ is now reporting what I had blandly predicted as an article of faith; tha Bloomberg would form one or more super PACs devoted to running issue ads against Trump. And those expenditures would be unlimited, insofar as they would not be coordinated with the Biden campaign.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bloomberg-team-says-it-spent-275-million-on-anti-trump-ads-11583940376?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/gFxn5G7vEQ

I never thought that this was any great insight on my part. It seemed obvious to me. What surprised me was your objection, and your claim that it could not happen under the law. It can, and it will.

tim in vermont said...

Forget about the liar Rachael Maddow, it’s mostly all the guest, and he is very interesting.

https://twitter.com/MikeIsaac/status/1238604080571772928

I am not sure that I would take lightly a disease where the diagnostic standard is a CT scan that shows what looks like “ground glass” in the lungs though.

Fernandinande said...

Black Dem politician caught with meth and male prostitute - no problem!

"Consorting with prostitutes was forbidden, of course, but it was one of those rules that you could occasionally nerve yourself to break. It was dangerous, but it was not a life-and-death matter. ... Some could even be purchased for a bottle of gin, which the proles were not supposed to drink."

Fernandinande said...

Why is the media so racist?

Everybody was Kung Flu fighting.

William said...

In some circles Yuval Harari is a big deal. Just one of his books has sold over twelve million copies, and he has other best selling books. He has a reputation both in academe and among silicon valley billionaires. Nevertheless, I never heard of him until a recent The New Yorker profile, and apparently no one else here has either....I can understand how rap stars can flourish and thrive unbeknownst to me, but I'm amazed that an academically reputable historian can reach such a level of fame and fortune and still remain unknown to many well read people.....I must say that article in The New Yorker didn't much inspire me to want to read his books, but there's something going on with him. His speaking fees are stratospheric. Maybe now that I've heard of him, his cachet will diminish.

William said...

I don't know if the coronavirus will be the most fateful epidemic on the American population, but it's certainly the most fateful on the American stock exchange.....If Trump tests positive for the virus, I don't expect a rally....Politicians are in a high risk business. It's their stock in trade to stand among strangers and hug them like family members. Trump, Biden, Warren: they all look eligible. I wonder if Warren has given up on her quest to take a selfie with every registered Democrat.

Andrew said...

Chuck, do you think the country might be better prepared for this virus if the President, his administration, and the Congress hadn't been distracted by a bullshit impeachment?

Trump halted travel from China, for which he was accused of racism. Italy did not do the same thing. Can you thank Trump for saving lives?

Trump referred to the virus in his SOTU speech. Pelosi tore the speech up. Who was taking the virus more seriously?

I know several people who are not partisan, and not political junkies, who are absolutely fed up with the Democrats. The common refrain is "why can't they just let him do his job?"

Andrew said...

Chuck, do you think the country might be better prepared for this virus if the President, his administration, and the Congress hadn't been distracted by a bullshit impeachment?

Trump halted travel from China, for which he was accused of racism. Italy did not do the same thing. Can you thank Trump for saving lives?

Trump referred to the virus in his SOTU speech. Pelosi tore the speech up. Who was taking the virus more seriously?

I know several people who are not partisan, and not political junkies, who are absolutely fed up with the Democrats. The common refrain is "why can't they just let him do his job?"

Meade said...

"My son just pointed out to me that Andrew Gillum could use the I did not have sex with that rent boy and I never inhaled at the same time."

Plus: Bitch set me up.

Michael K said...


Blogger Ken B said...

Drago
I told friends that while I admire the DNC's effectiveness in disciplining the party to stop Sanders it could all unravel with one debate. In a one on one Joe is on camera and under pressure far more.


I look forward to watching that debate, Sunday. I wonder if they will cancel it ?

Marc in Eugene said...

"Eugene has opened its Emergency Operations Center and is discontinuing public meetings."

Neighboring Springfield has not opened its EOC.

I don't doubt that there are plenty of folks quite happy to be done with public meetings for the time being. May actually read the "Eugene-Springfield Multi-Jurisdictional Emergency Operations Plan" but may not, since my tolerance for bureaucratese is fairly low.

Eugene is setting up ten public hand sanitizing stations, perhaps to benefit the many street people etc etc (and indirectly those of us who don't live on the street, I suppose). Life in the time of plague.

J. Farmer said...

Plus: Bitch set me up.

That was exactly what I said out loud as my mother and I were first hearing the story.

Mark said...

Bloomberg would form one or more super PACs devoted to running issue ads against Trump. And those expenditures would be unlimited

No, a totalitarian propaganda campaign from the Dems is not surprising.

But with this tendency by Bloomberg, you really have to wonder what he has against Comrade Sanders.

Mark said...

Eugene is setting up ten public hand sanitizing stations, perhaps to benefit the many street people

Oscar from Sesame Street and Pig Pen from Peanuts both recommend Purell. Supposedly it is Made in America, not China. But that may be of small comfort since China has exposed the U.S. as the creator of the Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease of 2019.

Mark said...

Oops. Sorry. My bad. Apologies to the family.

But Oscar has already died back in December.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Very nice photograph. Great light.

I was in the local store today, which is our usual shopping day. I got there at 7:30 AM, but it was already busy. No bananas, no potatos, no chicken, no TP. Deep queues in front of every checkout station.

I felt like I was in a nightmare where it was 2021, and Bernie Sanders had won the general election.

Chuck said...

Andrew said...
Chuck, do you think the country might be better prepared for this virus if the President, his administration, and the Congress hadn't been distracted by a bullshit impeachment?

I think we'd be doing better, if Trump had been removed from office and it was Mike Pence leading a team of qualified people, without Trump's butting in to say idiotic stuff that is contrary to his own freaking script.

Trump halted travel from China, for which he was accused of racism. Italy did not do the same thing. Can you thank Trump for saving lives?

No; I am willing to listen to anyone who says that a China travel ban was useful, and they can supply me with the kind of reasoned articulation of which Trump is incapable. But Trump's answer to everything is a travel ban. Trump proposed a travel ban during the Ebola epidemic and that was a terrible idea. Trump said his administration was looking at closing the border with Mexico "very strongly." Because that is what he does. Even though Mexico had far fewer Covid-19 cases than the US and no apparent widespread coronavirus. Then he backed down. I think Trump's response to the pain and itch of inflamed hemmorrhoidal tissues is to close the border with Mexico and shut down travel from China.

Trump referred to the virus in his SOTU speech. Pelosi
tore the speech up. Who was taking the virus more seriously?

Pelosi. The House insisted on more crisis spending than Trump asked for. I don't think that Trump is able to "take seriously" things that he doesn't even understand.

I know several people who are not partisan, and not political junkies, who are absolutely fed up with the Democrats. The common refrain is "why can't they just let him do his job?"

It is that group of people that I think the Bloomberg spending will be aimed at. People who will think that Trump's closing of the White House pandemic preparedness office, and his own personally-bungled answers to questions, bucking his own responsibility is something that no President should say and is inexcusable. Those people will not understand the inner workings of the NSC or the CDC. And just maybe, a smart and articulate president might have been able to explain it to them. But not Trump.

Marc in Eugene said...

My surmise is that the city has a contract for the sanitizing stuff which makes the average cost per use approximately 15.3% higher than it would be if they purchased it at Costco-in-normal-times etc but I don't know.

But I wrongly wrote 'sanitizing' supra when the press release says in fact that the city is erecting "ten hand-washing stations". Probably that means 'sanitizing' but Eugene being Eugene maybe they are piping in hot and cold running water etc etc to them.

Mark said...

Bloomberg's propaganda saturation will be effective because You Know Who has been so very effective here at convincing people and converting their views of Trump.

Certainly no one will watch these Bloomberg ads and say out loud, "Go the fuck away."

Yancey Ward said...

Chuck,

Again, Bloomberg will be violating the law if he runs superpac ads attacking Biden's opponent by name while donating to the Biden campaign in any fashion. This is the very definition of coordination that a superpac must avoid.

Sure, Bloomberg might break the law and get away with it, but it will still be a violation of the campaign finance laws, and this will be used against Biden by the Trump campaign.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

That doesn't look very South African.

walter said...

Andrew said...
Chuck, do you think the country might be better prepared for this virus if the President, his administration, and the Congress hadn't been distracted by a bullshit impeachment?
--
Chuck: I think we'd be doing better, if Trump had been removed from office and it was Mike Pence leading a team of qualified people, without Trump's butting in to say idiotic stuff that is contrary to his own freaking script.
--
Avoids question and prattles on with:

"I think Trump's response to the pain and itch of inflamed hemmorrhoidal tissues is to close the border with Mexico and shut down travel from China."

Reasoned articulation of the highest order.
Shorter version: "Dude gotta go!"

walter said...

Bill Kristol
@BillKristol
·
3h
The more I’ve thought about it, and trying to set aside my (well-justified!) loathing of Trump, I’m increasingly appalled by the tone of yesterday’s Rose Garden event: far too much complacency and back-patting by all parties, and far too little a sense of urgency and emergency.

Jim at said...

Know who I feel bad about? People out in public with seasonal allergies.

Someone at the store sneezed yesterday and you would've thought a bomb went off.

Michael K said...

I'm glad somebody reads Chuck's comments and responds so I don't have to.

The idiocy is embarrassing for a lawyer.