A catastrophe has just struck, and as the death toll rises and the scale of the damage becomes clearer, I find myself wondering how this will ultimately impact Turkey. On the domestic front, it seems like it might be quite difficult for Erdogan to consolidate his power leading up to the elections, especially since they were already grappling with such a severe economic crisis; things are likely to get pretty turbulent there. However, I’m more curious about the broader implications for Turkey's standing within NATO and its role in international relations, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine. Does anyone feel inclined to offer some analysis or perhaps share their predictions on where this might lead?
feralharbor13 said:You hit the nail on the head. I’ll be the first to admit I can be pretty negative. It’s like my brain just naturally gravitates toward pessimism or spiraling into anxiety. I’m constantly worrying about my own health, or the health of my family, and sometimes even the massive global disasters you see on the news just totally wreck me. Plus, I have this one specific quirk that drives me absolutely insane: this obsessive need for everything to be perfectly organized and symmetrical. Like, if my space isn't visually "right," I lose it. I go way overboard—I’ll spend forever color-coding my books on the shelf or lining them up by height just so it looks decent. And don't even get me started on the chaos in the real world that I can't control. It drives me nuts when some random eight-story apartment complex gets slapped in the middle of a neighborhood where every other building is a two-story house, just sticking out like a sore thumb. Or when some ugly billboard gets put up right in front of a gorgeous historic building, completely ruining the view. I’m always thinking about how much better things would be if they just fixed the streets, or renovated the local parks, or finally tore down those eyesore illegal constructions. I catch myself daydreaming about these perfectly manicured, orderly cities, and then I get pissed because things aren't like that here. Most people don't even notice. They honestly couldn't care less if a building's facade is rotting or if the city bus is filthy... they're either too caught up in their own lives or they just don't have the eye for it.
I suppose people do notice those details, but I think those thoughts are usually just fleeting moments or passing observations; they don't typically occupy enough mental space to prevent someone from functioning in other areas of their life.
The brain is generally quite efficient at filtering out trivial information and thoughts to help us navigate our day-to-day existence more smoothly. It’s possible, though I can't say for certain, that you might be dealing with some kind of attention deficit, or perhaps even a mild form of OCD.
All of these small distractions and preoccupations seem to be draining your energy, which might explain why you feel like you're struggling to build friendships, maintain romantic relationships, or even manage your career. Perhaps it might be worth considering speaking with a professional; helping yourself in this way might make navigating life feel a bit more manageable.
Your currents of consciousness are truly striking; I can certainly see how you manage to capture the interest of all those guys. However, I find myself wondering what the ultimate value is if, in the end, your psyche remains as impenetrable as the walls of Fort Knox.
It occurs to me that you might be dealing with some form of attention deficit, and perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to sit down for a chat with a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Maybe there is a middle ground you could find—something where you might be able to preserve that insatiable curiosity of yours without letting it become so obsessive that it begins to compromise other vital areas of your life.
As far as romantic relationships are concerned, I suspect there are certain loners out there who deeply value their peace and privacy; they would likely prefer a girlfriend they see just two or three times a week, leaving the rest of their time to dedicate to their careers or personal hobbies. I suppose I am not entirely sure where one might go to find them, though.
Well everyone, since Biden is finally off on vacation, I suppose we can all just relax and enjoy what might be the most peaceful and pleasant weeks of the year! 🙂 🎉 🙂
Have you all heard the news? John Doe has been appointed as the director of the Department of City Planning! I suppose there’s a genuine chance we might actually see a solid new Department of City Planning plan come to fruition now. Honestly, this might just be the best bit of news we've had since the elections.😍
I’ve been noticing that the streetcars seem to be running much less frequently outside of rush hour lately. Every time I make it to the stop, the display consistently shows that the next one isn't arriving for at least ten minutes, if not even longer. It gets quite unpleasant when it's sweltering out and there's absolutely no shade at the station. Usually, service frequency doesn't start tapering off until after the school year wraps up, but as far as I can tell, classes are still in session? I suppose it might just be a subjective impression since I'm feeling a bit irritable from the heat 😁, but what do you all think?
That "little, prefabricated iron balcony" you’re planning to stick onto the corner of an Art Nouveau building is precisely the kind of thing that caused such a massive headache for academic Velimir Neidhardt. I’ll leave this article here as a little refresher on that whole scandal—maybe it can serve as some inspiration for your project, though I suppose it depends on how much you actually enjoy meddling with historic landmarks:
Regarding what you called a French WINDOW (the technically correct term, if we're being precise), you're essentially talking about altering the exterior facade by turning windows into doors, which means, again, you can't really do a thing without getting the green light from both the historical preservation officer and the rest of the building owners.
Look, you bought a penthouse in a historic landmarked building, so I guess you just have to accept the reality of that. Do you actually know what those spaces were originally intended for? Most of them were used as storage, or perhaps they were designed as quarters for a caretaker or domestic staff, or maybe just cheap rental units. Naturally, attics didn't come with balconies back then, and honestly, even many of the lower-floor apartments weren't equipped with them, even though those larger units were meant for a much more upscale clientele.
So, I’ve been vaccinated, and my doctor prescribed a seven-day isolation period starting from when the symptoms first showed up. It’s pretty much the standard protocol, though they mentioned they might extend it by another two days if my temperature doesn't drop below 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Basically, I need to be fever-free for a full 24 hours before the end of my quarantine to be cleared. Honestly, it feels a bit impossible right now because my temperature keeps hovering around 99.3 or 99.4 every time I check it, even though I’m supposed to be "back to normal" by tomorrow. Well, I suppose we'll just see how it goes. They really have shortened these isolation periods since the Omicron variant arrived, haven't they? I'm still coughing and sneezing quite a bit, so I can't quite wrap my head around the idea that I'll be able to walk around among people in just a few days without being contagious.
I think I read somewhere that patients on ventilators stay hooked up for an average of about 15 days, though I suppose if anyone has a reliable source for that, I’d love to see it.
It’s true that some people are kept in the hospital as a precaution because their condition might take a turn for the worse at any moment, but for most, the stay is necessary simply because the recovery process is just incredibly long. Perhaps these kinds of statistics are what make certain people on Reddit feel like COVID is such an overwhelming burden on the healthcare system. But if we try to put things into perspective, it's interesting—after laparoscopic surgeries, patients are typically sent home after two or three days; even for women undergoing C-sections, where they literally undergo major abdominal surgery, the standard discharge is usually around seven days (!). Meanwhile, COVID patients might spend ten days or so just struggling to get enough oxygen until they finally start to stabilize. It helps to look at the broader picture.
Lisa Barnes5 said:What does "hospitalization" actually mean anyway? Like, is it staying in the hospital for a week? Just one night? Occupying a bed? Twelve hours? Or just showing up for an exam or picking up test results?
In my understanding, a COVID-19 hospitalization refers to the total duration of a patient's stay in the hospital for treatment. Looking back at some data we had for America leading up to the summer of 2021, I found this:
"Precise statistics regarding the exact number of days required for hospital treatment for those suffering from COVID-19 are still somewhat elusive, though according to the CDC, based on a limited sample of hospitalized patients for whom data is currently available, the average length of hospitalization was 11.5 days..
This would suggest that those hospitalized were staying nearly twice as long as the typical average: prior to the pandemic, the average length of stay was about eight days, and in acute care hospitals, it was roughly six days.
That said, the data tends to vary quite a bit depending on the specific facility—for instance, at a hospital in a city similar to Varaždin, the intensive care unit handled 11 percent of all hospitalizations, which aligns with the national average, though the mortality rate there reached 25.7 percent. At that same Varaždin General Hospital, the average stay for a COVID-19 patient lasted as long as 16 days. Meanwhile, at the Rijeka University Hospital COVID ward, hospitalizations were notably shorter, averaging about 8.89 days."
I can't help but feel that a certain sense of defeatism has settled over all of us regarding vaccinations. Here in the USA, things seem to have hit a complete standstill—though, I suppose, there has been a slight uptick in interest over the last couple of days. Still, it looks increasingly unlikely that we’ll even reach the 60% mark. It feels as though the government has essentially thrown in the towel; there aren't any new campaigns or initiatives being rolled out, so we're basically just stuck where we are. Personally, I find it quite disheartening that the focus is shifting toward pressuring children to get vaccinated, especially when there are hundreds of thousands of other people who arguably need it far more, yet we simply couldn't convince them to take responsibility for themselves, or for the sake of keeping society functioning smoothly as a whole.
I guess we’ll just have to find a way to push forward under these circumstances, while always keeping in the back of our minds that things really could have been much better. I truly hope they won't lean so hard on the kids, and I really hope that those two days of remote learning don't somehow stretch into a week, then two, then three...
Nicholas King said:I’m not entirely convinced that universities are even offering a full hybrid model—you know, both in-person and online—where a student actually has the luxury of choosing which one to attend.
Well, I suppose it really depends on the situation. If a university has an overwhelming number of students but limited physical space, they might still be running hybrid lectures, where some students attend in the classroom while others tune in from home via computer. As long as the lecture hall has the necessary tech setup, it works.
In my specific department, though, it isn't quite like that; we aren't exactly dealing with massive crowds—you could almost say it feels like a breeze through an empty hallway😬—but we did have a discussion regarding whether we should offer that flexibility this academic year for students facing health issues, isolation, or similar circumstances. Some of the professors were quite firmly against it, whereas others argued strongly that we should support our students however possible. In the end, much like many other things within the higher education sector, the decision was left somewhat decentralized—essentially, everyone was told to proceed according to their own judgment. ☕
mellowskipper said:Nobody is responsible for anyone else. My responsibility ends with myself and my kid. Am I supposed to be responsible for my 75-year-old dad, who refused the vaccine and then spent two weeks hacking away at home because he wouldn't go to the hospital due to COVID-19? By that logic, you aren't responsible for your fellow professors either.
Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Reddit
I hear you. I suppose I'm slowly trying to shift my perspective, though I think it might take me a little while to truly get there.
My old man doesn't want to get vaccinated either, but I've mostly come to terms with that. We don't even bring it up anymore because, honestly, every conversation feels like hitting a brick wall.
fadedranger162 said:Seriously, just relax. You’ve done everything you can, and that’s that. Sure, the illness is serious, but for a healthy person, it’s usually nothing to worry about—especially if you've been vaccinated. All that constant stressing over "what ifs" is just going to wreck your immune system, making it way easier to actually catch something.
Check this out. It's interesting—stressing out, combined with the lack of social interaction (which is basically what we've been doing for the last year and a half), does absolutely zero favors for your immunity. Stress Weakens The Immune system
Thanks for the concern! I don't think I've completely lost my mind, I guess I just find myself constantly ruminating on (unpleasant) possibilities. At the same time, I can see that I really need a bit of a reset, since this whole period has definitely left its mark on our habits, our behavior, and our mental state.
It'll be fine; I expect I'll find my rhythm again after spending two or three weeks with my students. That's how it went last fall, too. They show up to campus with fevers, coughing, shivering, looking pale... I don't even have the words for it. Then they wander through the halls, stopping at individual offices to ask professors if they can just head home to recover. We even had one absolute idiot ask if he could sit in on lectures until his test results came back. So, here he is this morning, waiting around, trying to kill time, thinking maybe it isn't even Coronavirus and he shouldn't miss class. Honestly, it's hardly surprising that some of the older faculty members are living in a complete cloud of delusion. 😁
Alex Morales47 said:Piggy, are you actually worried that being vaccinated means you won't end up infecting them—assuming they're all vaccinated, of course? I mean, based on how they're constantly disinfecting everything in their path, it seems like they are. It really goes to show that they're just as terrified as everyone else; it’s honestly frightening to see what they've done to people.
I wouldn't necessarily say I'm living in fear, though I suppose I am feeling a bit exhausted by the constant hyper-vigilance this pandemic demands and that heavy sense of heightened responsibility for everyone else's health. I realize there's a very slim chance of anything serious happening if we do get sick, and an even smaller chance that I'd be the one to bring some little virus into the office from a bus ride, but still, I can't help but wish we could all just... relax a little more.
mellowskipper said:Are they vaccinated? And are they wearing masks? If that's the case, then the conversation is over. If they aren't, then why does it even matter to you? You’ve done everything within your power.
Sent from my JNY-LX1 using Reddit
It’s really just two grumpy, old-school professors—they remind me of those sour old guys you might find working the furnace at a Muppet factory. They seem to spend all their time grumbling and spraying disinfectant everywhere, whether it's actually necessary or not, while giving us "outsiders" these judgmental looks. I honestly can't say why they decided to pair me and a younger colleague with them; I suspect it's perhaps because they don't know what else to do with the newcomers, or maybe just because nobody else wants to deal with them. 😁
I suppose I should remind myself that I don't need to feel this pressure or carry any guilt. As long as we have our masks and maintain some semblance of distance, I think we'll manage to make it through the season just fine. 👍
mellowskipper said:What exactly is bothering you? Is it the lecture hall or the faculty lounge?
Sent from my JNY-LX1 using Reddit
The office, mostly. It’s quite small in terms of square footage, and we can't really keep all the windows open all the time because the draft gets absolutely terrible—papers just fly everywhere the moment someone opens the door. Most of the professors are older, nearing retirement, and dealing with various health issues. Plus, I have a pretty long commute to campus on the intercity bus, so I suppose I could pick up something there as well.
I guess I was asking more generally, though; I'm curious about how everyone working within the system is actually feeling. I recently shared a statistic suggesting that one in five educators in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County has contracted Coronavirus, so it does seem like a rather risky environment.
I have a question for my fellow vaccinated teachers and professors: do you feel any more secure as we kick off this new school year? Specifically, do you actually trust the vaccine to shield you from catching something while you're on the job? Does knowing there’s a much lower chance of you passing anything along to your colleagues—especially the older faculty members—make you feel more at ease? Also, how would you feel about students or undergrads going maskless during class if everyone could prove they were vaccinated? Does a student's vaccination status even matter to you? Would you prefer if everyone just dropped the masks, or would you rather everyone keep them on regardless of their status? Honestly, once you've had your shots, does any of this even weigh on your mind? 😁
Personally, I find myself feeling somewhat indifferent. It has been quite a while since I received my second dose—so long, in fact, that I almost forgot I even had it—so I don't exactly feel "super-protected" or anything. I haven't changed my habits much; I'm still being cautious just as I was before, and I plan to keep it that way as the semester begins. I share an office with some of the senior professors; though I'm more of an outside contractor, I still feel a sense of responsibility because, I suppose, I'm not entirely sure how much weight to give the data suggesting that vaccinated people spread the virus less frequently. As for the students' status, I really don't lose any sleep over it. We'll stick to social distancing and masks, and frankly, I was never particularly worried about catching something before, so I'm even less concerned now. It seems a bit silly to me to start questioning whether students are vaccinated or have already recovered just to sort them into seminar groups (even though the Department has left that option open). I don't think those kinds of measures are necessary, and it would be absolute chaos to overhaul the existing schedules just to form new groupings.
All in all, it looks like we’re just going to carry on as usual, following the same routine we've used for physical education classes throughout the pandemic—distancing, masks, hand sanitizer, and frantic ventilation until we're all shivering from the drafts. It’s hardly ideal when we end up freezing our heads off just to keep the air moving! 😬
I came across a rather striking statistic today: within Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, roughly 725 staff members across various elementary and high schools, along with 378 pedagogical workers in preschools, have recovered from COVID-19. This essentially means about 18 percent of the workforce there has dealt with the virus. I suppose that implies roughly one in every five employees has been affected by it.
The CDC has finally released their guidelines regarding university instruction:
It looks mostly the same as last year, though they have left the door open to switching back to online learning if the epidemiological situation takes a turn for the worse (despite what Fuchs might think), but the instructions have become quite complicated when it comes to vaccinated individuals and those who have recovered. Personally, I don't see myself splitting students into seminar groups based on whether they’ve been vaccinated or if they’ve recovered from COVID-19 in the last nine months. I certainly can't imagine having one section of the lecture hall filled with vaccinated people while the other side remains unvaccinated. We will continue to diligently practice social distancing, ventilation, and wearing masks, regardless of how things shake out. That is, unless the administration decides to mandate something else, of course. Since I really only spend a few hours a week inside the campus buildings anyway, I suppose I can endure whatever nonsense comes our way.