Lostin76

I wouldn’t use something said by Bernie or AOC either if it’s any comfort. I agree with someone being ejected by a car not being counted as a COVID death, but I also agree with @Leathernecksabove about Florida underreporting. In the end, it simply does not matter to me the degree that we screwed the pooch on this. We. Screwed. The. Pooch. It’s insane that we as a nation can’t get our shit together and slow this down. But sure, let’s let crazy politicians try to undermine the effects of a deadly pandemic just to prop up our horrible record.

I popped back in here to say that I’m sorry if I came off harshly against you Fouls, that wasn’t my intent to attack the messenger. So, I’m sorry if I came off harshly against you, it was just the link you posted that was annoying. As far as media goes, maybe less media consumption is in order? I couldn’t watch CNN or MSNBC for more than a minute without throwing my TV or laptop out the window. They just want clicks and mindless eyeballs. Same with FOX and other networks. They are all desperate to keep you outraged and tuning in. Their livelihoods depend on it. They are rolling in our misery and attention like pigs in mud.

And I looked up the MN politician leading that effort in MN. He’s a fan of Dr. Zelenko apparently. Sure, that’s legit.

Sorry, I just clicked the link that you provided in your post. But I honestly don’t need to see anything else from that source. I can’t believe that it’s come to this that we will entertain links to stuff like this just to try to support our own beliefs about this horrible, messed up thing that we are all facing. How can we take sources like this seriously? I mean I read the New York Post and Daily News sometimes for the hahas, but it’s not actual news. Whatever happened to factchecking? I’m serious here. There’s a fascinating New Yorker pieces from a few years ago that details just how intense their fac-checking is. Do these weirdo sites even understand the concept? I see so many complaints about “the media,” but glomming onto complete trash websites like this is not helping matters.

I’m sorry Fouls, but I have to call foul on this one. You can’t really think WP and NYT lie or twist information as much as the source you linked in your post? Seriously? The NYT actually publishes corrections daily if they’ve messed something up. I have nothing to say about the source you posted beyond this screen capture below. The stories on the right hand side are hilarious - like MAD Magazine levels of idiocy, but they think it’s real. Terrifying.

We drove into Manhattan today to go the Whitney and have lunch. The museum was timed entry, so pretty quiet. It’s right next to the High Line, so we went up to the High Line and walked about twenty blocks north. It was also timed entry, but they had employees stationed regularly to remind people to raise their masks. As we were driving home on Broadway, Soho (I call it hell) was jam-packed with tourists. Like easily as busy as a summer weekend day. The line for H&M was a block long. It’s just so weird to see so many people not bothering with masks. I know it sounds like I hate tourists, but it’s really that I hate Manhattan and that’s where all the tourists congregate. I love seeing tourists and visitors here in real NYC, just not Soho and places like that. Too many people and way too crowded. One neat thing about our lunch place - it was Japanese and we dined outdoors. They had a really nice setup with each table isolated from the others with tall dividers. But THE thing that blew my mind was that my seat (basically a wooden box) was really warm. Like REALLY warm. I mentioned it to my wife and she had just happened to see them bring out a huge hot rock on a tray to another table they were setting up. They put the hot rock under the wooden seat and then covered the seat back up. Instant warm seat - genius!

We’ve fostered and adopted out four kittens in the last couple of months, which feels really good. We just sent our latest Christopher the cat off yesterday and now the adoption agency just asked us if we could foster Christopher’s brother Kringle. Attaching a photo of Christopher. He was my buddy, slept on my shoulder all night and was always in my lap. We are suckers, so we said yes to his brother Kringle and he is being dropped off in an hour or so at our place. Ho, ho, ho!

Most of our money is in index funds, but we have a chunk of Apple. My wife bought a bunch of Peloton earlier this year - we’ve had a bike since last Nov and both use it a few times a week. She’s already doubled her money as it’s at $160 and she bought when it was $75. She continues her streak of picking stocks at exactly the right time. She also always beats everyone in our March Madness pools.

Dang Scott, my thoughts are with you and your parents. Hang in there, pal. You’ve kicked this before, but I’m sure you are worried about your mom and dad.

True to the breed!

Great photos! And of course the two doxies are right there waiting for the treat. 😂

Love this so much. You are good father to do this. What a beautiful animal and I really hope it works out for all of you.

Dude, we are all family here. Through good times and bad. I know we won’t always see eye to eye on many things, but we can agree to respect each other’s opinions. Welcome back, man.

Thank you, she’s a living, breathing photo op all of the time. So goofy!

Buffy is really digging her first snow. She was in the window most of the night watching it snow and trying to figure it all out.

Exactly like that! Priorities.

The beer-to-go window opened at noon and I was there at 12:03. Didn’t want to seem too thirsty.

I’ll get out this weekend and see how things look. Many places aren’t decorating this year, but Midtown will still be decked out. I do think that the holidays are really special in NYC. It’s the only time that I really care to visit Manhattan.

Do you mean the bags of trash that line the sidewalks? 😄

Just started snowing here! Love the city during a snowstorm. I have already ventured out to get beer, so totally set.

Was kind of weird yesterday, as it was gorgeous and 60 degrees. All of the outdoor restaurants and bars set up for outdoor dining were PACKED. I walked a few blocks to get a carryout pizza and had to walk in the street b/c of all the diners. I think people and the restaurants were trying to get as much in before indoor dining was cancelled today. I’m really feeling for all the restaurant and bar staff going forward. They are basically going to be jobless as not many people are going to want to eat outside in the winter no matter how nice their setup is or how many propane heaters. We are mostly prepared here, but feeling very down about all of the people this is going to impact. I think the first time, we didn’t really know what we were facing, but after more than six months of reduced profit/pay this time is going to be much worse for people. Also hoping that we (or any of us anywhere) don’t have the overflowing refrigerated trucks fill of bodies and 24/7 sirens... Not sure I can do another March/April situation this winter. This could be a rough winter all over - even my hometown county is not looking great lately. But you are right, Spring will come and hopefully all of us will make it out of this. And hopefully, we can have IU basketball to keep us entertained.

The wife and I really enjoyed the Kacey Musgraves Christmas special the other night. Great guests - Leon Bridges, Lana Del Ray, Camila Cabala, and some Australian dude I never heard of who had an amazing voice. Have already broken out the Peanuts Christmas and Phil Spector Christmas (IMHO the best Xmas album, just wish the mastering was better on it) albums as well.

For you, my friend, I will. Two weeks ago three women were so confused that the parking garage in our building “didn’t look the same as when they parked.” I pointed them around the corner to the actual garage they had probably parked in. They were very happy to find their car.

I don’t know what the answer is beyond just not doing the behaviors that spread it. There are signs all over the subway and on the bridges here telling people visiting to quarantine, but I’d be willing to bet almost no one does it. It’s the same type of person that travels to Mexico to party that’s traipsing around here being careless with masks. There is a place near here that has HUGE brunch parties on Saturday and Sunday mornings/afternoons. It has tint on the front windows and doors, so you can’t see in. BUT you can hear the music bumping and see the drunk women stumbling out trying to figure out where they parked their cars. They simple can’t be bothered and apparently don’t care if they infect their older neighbors and family.

Other than those people being selfish a**holes? We’ve also seen a huge uptick in tourists here and many not bothering to even have masks as chinstraps.