226 posts shown.
stormymaker242 said:Hi everyone, my dad just tested positive for COVID today. I contacted my doctor immediately and was told I need to quarantine for 20 days. I don't have any symptoms at all. I’m honestly confused about why it's 20 days, though... because every single person I know who was either a close contact or living in the same house with an infected person ended up getting a 10-day isolation period. Is this some new guideline, or does every doctor just interpret the rules however they want?
Megan Thomas5 said:I know two people who tried calling the CDC to get a sick day because they had an upset stomach, and the agency sent them in for testing instead 😁 they ended up having to self-isolate for 2 days because they were flagged as potentially infectious!!!
Meanwhile, I once downed 5 or 6 beers one night and we polished off a massive spread of bacon and sausage, so naturally, I had the runs the next morning.
casualskipper65 said:Nobody is lecturing you about not wanting to get tested, regardless of your reasons.
The issue is that you should realize how easy it is to be carrying this thing without knowing it, and someone in that position shouldn't be out in public putting everyone else at risk.
Masks and social distancing are just preventative measures. They help slow the spread, and we’d definitely have fewer cases if everyone actually followed the recommendations, wore their masks, and kept their distance. But let's be real: it's not total protection. These masks aren't airtight, and viruses don't just drop dead after traveling six feet. And we all know we’re nowhere near having everyone follow the rules properly, especially in grocery stores and on public transit.
Look, I’m one of those people who tried my best to follow the rules, and I still managed to catch it. Probably from someone like you, who thinks there's nothing wrong with an infected person walking into a bakery for some warm bread—only to catch it from someone just like them, despite my mask and my attempts to keep my distance.
Luckily, I live alone and haven't had to go into work lately, so hopefully, I haven't passed this on to anyone else. That's especially important since I work as a personal assistant to a disabled individual with spinal muscular atrophy, who is constantly in contact with other people facing similar diagnoses.
Keith Barrett2 said:It’s people like you who are the reason we have these infection numbers and why the hospitals are completely overwhelmed.😠
casualskipper65 said:See? This is why we’re the worst in Europe. Because apparently, your health is strictly your own problem and not a public one, so you just decide for yourself that it's "just a fever" and definitely not COVID.
What does it matter if it wasn't over 100.4°F for long? I never even hit that mark—mine sat between 98.8°F and 99.1°F for a day and a half on Wednesday and Thursday. I booked my test on Wednesday, got tested Saturday, and popped up positive. I didn't have any other symptoms besides that slight fever, and I still don't, but that doesn't change the facts. I can't remember the last time I had a fever at all, so that was an immediate red flag for me. I reacted right away. Even if having a fever isn't unusual for me, I’d react the exact same way because this isn't something to mess around with—not just for my own sake, but for everyone around me.
I don't know if you think running a fever for four days is normal, but I do know it's not exactly standard behavior to act like it’s nothing during a time like this.
casualskipper65 said:So, you're stuck in your apartment (not going out?), yet you aren't thinking about getting tested just so you can avoid being forced into isolation? What's the actual difference?
nimbleranger17 said:Look, you clearly aren't grasping the gravity of this, but I suppose there’s no point in beating my head against a brick wall. If you can't see where the cracks are forming—and frankly, if you don't realize this is a primary reason why our performance on the global stage is such a disaster compared to everyone else—then there isn't much I can do to help you see sense.
Melissa Phillips4 said:Abolish those useless little municipalities where maybe 200 people live and call it a day. There’s zero chance they’ll let it happen, even if they go bankrupt within a month.
Jeffrey Fisher5 said:That’s quite a lot to take in, but this part caught my eye:
And the cats too.
It seems rather odd that amidst all the various advice and guidelines, there was such a strange emphasis on avoiding contact with pets and wildlife.
I mean, only a complete fool would go out of their way to touch wild animals, but still... 🤔
Animals don't catch USA.
Which implies your cats are either stuck in quarantine with you or simply being deprived of your attention.
Lawrence Reed3 said:What you said at the start would totally make sense if I were running my own show, but I didn't even get the notice to stay home until late in the evening!—I'd already finished my shift, had plenty of contact with my coworkers, went grocery shopping, and even hit the gym. It wasn't until I was right in the middle of my workout, maybe around 7 PM, that I finally got the confirmation to stay home.
So, for this first week, I stayed put and just hung out at the house, but starting today, I'm getting back to my normal routine!
electricorca112 said:Either he doesn't quite get why these rules were put in place, or the way they're actually being enforced is the complete opposite of what was intended.
Yesterday I headed out of Washington, D.C. (properly, with my pass) via the Jankomir Bridge, drove into Suburban City, passed through, and came back out... Nobody asked me for a single thing, and I didn't see any police presence heading that way at all. I did spot a police checkpoint on that same bridge when I was coming the other direction, but even then, they weren't checking anyone moving away from the city.
On the drive back a few hours later, it was the exact same story. I saw the cops just sitting there on the bridge, but they didn't pull me over; they just had a few other cars lined up waiting for inspection.
Based on what I've been reading in the news, and since a few other folks on this forum have said the same thing, there aren't really any checkpoints on most routes (maybe even all of them) when you're leaving Washington, D.C.—it’s only happening on the way in. And as for people heading back into the city? No pass required whatsoever.
So, as far as Washington, D.C. is concerned, the only thing they're actually doing is trying to stop non-residents from driving into town. 🤷
stormybadger8 said:Spot on...
My brother-in-law works for the Police Department, and he loves repeating this mantra like he’s some big shot just because he pays a ton of taxes. 🤦
Look, the joke is that he sees this "transferring nothing into emptiness" happening right on his own paycheck. It says there, right there in black and white—tax is this much, blah blah blah...
It's pretty obvious he isn't thinking much further than that, and honestly, it's not like he’d even bother stressing over it if he did.
On the other hand, us private citizens paying out of our own pockets? We actually give this some thought.
And we just take a massive pile of stuff the public sector handles for granted, acting like it all just magically fell from the sky.
We aren't all that different.
The biggest issue is that politics has successfully pitted us against each other. Now we just spend all our time bickering with one another instead of actually going after the people who are truly responsible.
So, here's the deal: the public sector blames the private sector, the private sector blames the public sector, and everyone's just pointing fingers at veterans and retirees. It’s always the same old story—veterans and seniors getting squeezed by both sides because one side isn't paying enough, the other isn't doing enough, blah blah blah. Same nonsense, different day.
And everyone just stays quiet about these moronic decisions that are collectively screwing with our heads. 🤦
So, here’s the deal for today: how on earth is Čazmatrans going to manage driving police officers, medical staff, and whatever else back and forth between Kutin and D.C.? From one end of town to the other... good luck with that.
Oh, great. Just brilliant. They crammed a whole crowd of people into some ancient, pathetic bus just to get them moving. Typical. 37 miles And I'm coughing one after another...
And then they go and mess with people commuting by bike, on foot, or driving themselves to work between two or three moronic municipalities that are barely a mile apart. 🤦
flexo said:I’m actually wondering if there’s any data out there tracking cancer diagnoses by month. It would be useful to compare how many people were diagnosed monthly before these restrictions kicked in versus right now. Since all the initial screenings are being pushed back, I suspect we’re going to see a massive wave of late-stage diagnoses once this whole thing blows over... honestly, it might end up being more lethal than the virus itself.
Nancy Diaz4 said:I live out in Silicon Valley, near New Jersey City. My bill is due on January 30th, 2019, but I’m pretty short on cash right now. My paycheck doesn't hit until February 2nd, so I'm planning to pay it then. I'm wondering, will they shut off my power that quickly? How does the process actually work in a place like this—do they send an Exelon technician out to the house, or can they just flip a switch remotely from somewhere? I heard you can sometimes cut the service without anyone even showing up. Please, if anyone could help me understand what to expect, I'd appreciate it. I'm honestly kind of panicking here.🤦
Samuel Nguyen2 said:So, here I am—smoking a cigarette and wondering how on earth to save this clueless American populace. How do we stop the brain drain, crush inflation, dismantle the cronyism, spark a demographic rebirth, and generally just bring some actual justice and virtue to American society? The answer is always the same: $2.00/dollar...
I’m laying out my plan right here; if anyone has a grievance, speak up so we can fine-tune it.
Here’s the deal:
Back in December, the Federal Reserve bought another 750 million dollars at an unrealistically high exchange rate—meaning the dollar was artificially weak against the euro.
Every single purchase made at that ridiculous rate just digs the hole deeper.
I haven't checked the latest numbers, but the Federal Reserve is sitting on about 14 billion dollars right now, yielding less than 1% annually. The Fed can only make real money on the spread between the buying and selling rates, but instead of profiting, they might actually be hemorrhaging cash.
In a year or two, when interest rates on the dollar hit near zero (depending on how much more the Fed prints), and Jerome Powell starts hiking rates, we’re going to see depreciation pressures that could rapidly melt away the Fed's euro-denominated assets. If they don't pull out of bonds in time, we could see a nasty 1-2% loss on those bonds. We could offset that through currency depreciation during inflationary periods, or even without it. So, dear Americans, where have you been? Nowhere. You've done nothing. We see billions in balance of payments surpluses, budget surpluses, and massive deleveraging by both public and private sectors, yet the standard of living hasn't budged. And GDP growth will stall (in euros, which is the debt we actually hold), even if it looks like it's growing in dollars.
Now, let's look at the option of $2.00/dollar... This should have started already. Last year, the dollar should have been at $2.25 per euro. But it wasn't, so let's start from this year.
Picture this: next summer, the dollar hits $2.00/euro. That creates a book loss on euro assets of 2.6 billion dollars—a 20% hit (but in euros, nobody notices). I don't know how much of a headache that would be for the Fed's balance sheet, but it’s easily fixed with a cheap accounting trick. Basically, the Government issues 2.6 billion dollars worth of dollar-denominated bonds, which the Fed buys (at zero interest), totaling 15.6 billion dollars. Then, the Government recapitalizes the Fed using those same dollars. Suddenly, the Fed has 5.2 billion dollars more in assets. Honestly, we could even go halfway and do it with 7-8 billion. The Fed stays level, the balance of payments surplus hits zero, GDP stays steady or grows, and the standard of living jumps by 20%. Dollar-denominated debts drop by 20%. You get a frenzy of spending and deleveraging, creating depreciation pressures that allow the Fed to hike a minimum 5% spread... And when recession hits, we have plenty of room for further depreciation. Boom—GDP explosion.
It’s as simple as pie.
And let's not forget "trimming" those who would rush to stash their money in dollars without realizing the Fed set the floor at $2.00. You know that $30 billion in savings held by a few thousand people? Well... that’s what I call activating savings and social justice 🙂
What about exports? Exporters probably have loans denominated in euros (point number one). Second, if they can't export with a 20% currency shift, they need to find a new line of work—I mean, VW exports to the US, and their currency fluctuations are over 30%. Third, cheap dollar-denominated loans would help them weather the storm and invest in new equipment, for instance.
Fourth, the pressure to raise wages denominated in dollars would stall. The Government could easily slash income taxes and healthcare levies (since all meds are imported anyway), etc.
Et cetera, et cetera. It could play out however you want. If a bank sneezes, we recapitalize it with more dollars, giving the Fed even more assets. The Government can refinance the Fed's debt as much as it wants, at whatever interest rate, for as long as it likes... and then the Fed just pays that money back into the Treasury, just like the FED 😁
Does anyone have an objection? 😁?
James Phillips92 said:They certainly do. There's actually an article detailing how pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones end up in our milk supply.
http://www.us-focus.com/index.p...vari-u-mlijeku
The text mentions a few things, including this:It’s been proven that milk and dairy from cows raised primarily on their natural diet—mostly grass—have a positive impact on the health of both kids and adults. On the flip side, milk from industrial-scale factory farms is significantly lower quality compared to milk from pastures where cows graze on grass, hay, and legumes rather than being fed corn and soy. Intensive farming for both dairy and beef cattle has a majorly negative effect on the health of animals and people alike. In those high-intensity setups, there's a higher risk of spreading pathogenic bacteria like E. coli—which tends to pop up more often in animals fed mainly on corn and soy. This issue is incredibly rare in animals eating naturally; when they stick to grass, they maintain a healthy gut microbiome with a good balance of beneficial bacteria. For cattle, corn, grains, and soy just aren't natural, and they're hard to digest. That unnatural diet messes with their gut flora, leading to poor gut health—which ultimately means weaker overall health and a higher susceptibility to disease for both the animals and the humans consuming them.
For our own sake, we would have been better off keeping more small-scale producers instead of moving toward fewer, massive industrial operations.