Marked Safe from Shingles

Got my second and last Shingrix vaccine yesterday.

So now I have low-grade flu symptoms.  Bad timing, that.   But I am sure it is from the vaccine.  The first dose did the same in December.

And another one

Got the third case of Wuhan Flu at the office.

Big Management heard on the 19th.  Didn't bother telling the peons on the 29th.  And they haven't told us what floor this time, yet.  And only supposedly cleaned the area of this individual on the 22nd.  Wherever that was/is.  The office continues to remain open and largely staffed with our plethora of essentials. 

Bastards at the upper levels have really underwhelmed me with this whole thing.   The way they've handled it and communicated with us.  Usually they are 3 days behind, waiting for what THEIR upper levels tell them what to do, I think.  This time, 10 days behind.

If I get it and die, well, my family knows all this information.

I am disappointed.

Starving to Death

No, we are not going to see Americans starving to death in the streets because the food supply chain is showing cracks and potential failures.

(Or are they....?)

At least not for a while.

You'll see people in countries like India and Egypt and whatnot doing that first.  If you see multiple people getting shot and killed in food riots in poor countries, you will see that before you see it downtown in your city.

You might see some lean times.  You might eat more potatoes.  Less steak.  Or you might have less ribeye and more cube steak.  I ate a LOT of cube steak in the 80s.  And when I got steak steak it wasn't choice ribeye.  But cube steak is why they invented A1 sauce!

Get a good cornbread recipe.  And buy some bottle of A1 before there is a run this fall.

But Germany in 1918, with sawdust bread and turnips if we're lucky?  No, not for a while.

What the heck, maybe play around growing potatoes in your yard!  Just to learn and in the back of you mind as a precaution.  You need an old trash barrel, or just about anything.  Plenty of how to's on youtube.  People don't grow a lot of their own potatoes because potatoes are cheap.  You grow your own for when potatoes aren't to be had for any price because they aren't there.

But like I said, that is a long ways off.  Like, months.

Lovely thing about potatoes.  Popular in war torn lands long before countries that did a lot of winning.  So Germany adopts potatoes in the 30 years war and France doesn't go for them until their population out grows the land's ability to grow enough wheat for bread.  Potatoes are harder to burn than wheat fields, you don't need to harvest them all at once, and you get twice as much calories per acre. 

1917

Saw it.  Finally

It was a'ight.  I liked it.  Seemed to be more of a vehicle to do their long shots gimmicks with the camera.  Only three or so real 'cuts'.  But a lovely cast of thousands.

To make German soldiers seem like bad guys Hollywood tries to make them look like right bastards, and they did it here.  Oh sure, they also have the one young innocent bystander German, that dies tragically.  Another trope that often has to be included.  But the ripe ass Bosch is prevalent.  Boo!  Germans!  Like Nazis but from before.

Of course propaganda at the time 100 years ago was way ahead of Hollywood, and may have been include in the movie 1917 in the parallel Earth where there was no WWII, too.

It was easy to make the damn Hun the bad guys before that Hitler fella came around.  Got 4 years of hate against em for the rape of Belgium, the Brits did, oy.

Huh

I made a mistake.  I looked at my 401k.  Woof.  That seems bad, but you know....  I threw some money at it from my e-fund at one of the 'bottoms' but it wasn't a real bottom.  So... regret.

But wait.

I happened to record the total on February 29th.  Not counting the contribution it is actually up almost 2% since then.  Hey, good job.  My perspective and anxiety made me think the very same number was much worse when it is actually slight positive.  Good job, brokerage.

Been Fantasizing About Food

Food I can't get right now.  Pub food.  In a pub.  I just have a hankerin' for a steak and cheese sub and bad crinkle cut fries brought to me by a waitress with pints of keg beer. 

I hope that shushi place survives, but I'll need that or some other sushi joint when this thing is over.

So, those are my work thoughts.

As for home menu's.

I used to have a more varied menu plan.  I'm in a rut.  Port chops, then steak, then braised chicken thighs, then stew, then spaghetti, and then home made fried chicken.  All good but I need to mix it up.

• I haven't bought a packet of tortellin in 20 years.  That and sauce would be good.
• I need to make burritos a bit more frequently.  Tuesdays!
• ersatz crab cakes with canned tuna and bread crumbs.  Hmmm, I can afford the crab these days, I'm no longer 24 years old.
• More fresh fish filets.  Big piece of cod or sockeye.  Fried in butter 4-5 minutes a side, with salt and pepper, dash of lemon juice.
• 10 years ago I braised short beef ribs.  Need to do that again.  
• And would it hurt to do a pork tenderloin now and again?

Been Talking to Oldsters

Trying to get a feel for this Covid thingy and the Hong Kong Flu from when I was a wee infant.

HK killed 100,000 Americans.  But that's 150,000 if you account for population inflation.

Mom and dad both got it.  It was miserable, they say.  I don't remember their reactions from that time.

C19 won't kill that many.  Probably.  Maybe 60,000 with this Influenze Like Illness (ILI)?

"So that makes Hong Kong much worse than the 'Rona, right, T-Bolt."

Yes and no.  If Covid 19 emerged in 1969, and Hong Kong Flu first appeared in 2019, would Covid only take out 40,000 folks and HK flu hit 150,000?  I doubt it.  Circumstances are totally different.

In 1969 we had a redux of wartime personnel moving around that you also saw in 1918.  It was probably the vector for the disease to get into this country.  And there were fewer treatment option.  Not just chloroquine, but all the anti-virals and better drugs for pneumonia we have today (which were better in 69 than they were for the 57 Asian flu pandemic... and so on).  So, any bad virus in 1969 means bad outcomes.  And today we are fighting it different; movement and large gatherings restrictions alone means a world of difference.  I doubt HK flu today would be as devastating.  Even without societal restriction, what with no big war and better treatment.

What I am hoping REALLY doesn't repeat is the bad outcomes from the HK flu era vaccine that was rushed out in the mid 70s.  For a nasty swine flu.  Some folks had been wary of  vaccines since the invention of the vaccine 200 years prior, but this one causing Guillain-Barre in some people, 45 years ago, certainly didn't hinder the emergence of the modern anti-vax movement.  And worries about a repeat of similar side-effects makes it hard to convince pharmaceutical companies today to get into the vaccine game.



---

Aside:  Been reading up on family histories.  My grandfather was 12 for the Spanish Flu, and I'd love to ask him his memories, but all I have are his typed records.  He lived in Carthage New York, and his best friend's father died of it "like so many other Carthagenians."  I remember no other family lore about 1918's pandemic.

Ray Milland

Almost out of his depth.

Texas

Texas and Maryland have about the same projected deaths by the time Covid is over, according to this, From IMHE.

I wonder why.  I mean Maryland and Texas both have poor people.  Both have urban centers.  Texas has a LOT more population than Maryland.  Maryland might be a bit denser, statewide, but parts of Texas to equal Maryland's population numbers are about as dense. 

Layperson Epidemiology can screw with your head.  Added to the shifting IMHE numbers as they re-adjust over time with more and better data. 

Truth?

Yeah, I don't know if any of Roscoe's statements are true here.

Ok, in 1911 there were different and fewer product liability lawsuits.  Drop tests and firing pin blocks were doable, but not a priority.  The thumb and grip safety were feature requirements for the Army, so in a way the final customer was worried about liabilities, just not in a courtroom so much.

I don't know that 100 years ago soldiers learned weapon operation any harder than they do now, and in cases the opposite can be argued.

Design the piece to the lowest common denominator?  I don't know what modern weapon system he is thinking of, but ease of use has a utility for all. Skilled and tyro.  The American soldier of that era was getting lowest bidder items just like now.  Other consideration besides fighting utility were considered in the selection process, and that sometime lead to hard lessons in battle.  I like the Krag, but the Army could have used something better.

Today's fighters get weapons because of international deal making or factory in a congress critter's district?  That's true now, that is true before Browning was born, that is true at our founding, and hell, Browning DID international deal making.  FN would make designs Winchester didn't want to develop, after all.

I do love the 1911, tho.  On that, Roscoe and I agree.

Grocery Report

Meat was much better.  80%.  Eggs were better.  50%

Frozen veggies were sparse.

Bread slightly better than last week.

No TP, of course. 

Still no Ginger Ale in a flavor I like. 

Easy/Hard

It's easy to find the perfect pistol.

You know what's hard?  Finding the perfect holster.  And if you DO find a perfect holster?  You'll never find a perfect pistol to put in it.

Wait.

I may be getting a little screwy.

"What is the perfect holster, T-bolt?  You seem super knowledgeable, with nigh-perfect judgement, good taste, and are very trustworthy."

Yer shining me!  I don't know doodily.

"C'mon."

No, seriously.  I haven't laid my eyes on even a fraction of the decent holsters out there, much less all the chaff.  I'm practically groping in the dark.

"Well, where do you lean?  Personally.  You and imperfect ignorant trying to make your way as best you can and have chosen something to use.  What solution are you using now?  A flawed as it might be."

Now you are asking the right questions.

I can tell you what I like and why.

I like to have a holster for every pistol.  That way I gain a measure of safety handling an uncased pistol, because all guns are always loaded.  Since that is the case, a thing that protect the trigger area so I can't get my finger or thumb in there inadvertently is something I like.  I semi-stiffened $12 Uncle Mikes nylong POS holster was what I used on the S&W 686 revolver.  I'd never strap that to my belt, (it's a crappy holster for all other purposes) but it was fine for securing that pistol, loaded, in my gun cabinet. 

For my J-Frames, I use a pocket holster.  Uncle Mikes may be find for this, but mine was getting soft over time.  I don't want a supple holster, personally.  It could lead to exposing what is inside that trigger guard.  DeSantis pocket holsters are what I prefer.

For a belt holster, it depends on what I am using if for.  Competition style draws from the holster?  Walking around open carrying in public?  The first I want little to no retention protection, the latter I want a LOT.  But a Safariland Kydex types in both cases.  Decent quality, and duty grade.  I like the convenience of a paddle, but I am getting away from those and preferring to use the loops.  I don't have much call for a belt holster.  I wish I did.  Training and competition and whatnot.  Not ever again for 'duty', at this point. 

I have a couple of kydex IWB holsters, but my preference is my Milt Sparks VM2 is my favorite.  It looks good (tho few people can admire a IWB holster, really, besides the owner) but it is also well made, and has wide apart belt loops I like.

Is this the be-all end-all recommendation for holsters?  We already established it isn't.  It's just the way I went.

I see others talking about "This is a GREAT holster, the bees knees!" and I go to their website and find out there is no left hand option a lotta times.  So I am kinda limited. 

Happy Earth Day!

It's that time again!

Earth Day.

I mean: Earth Day.

Multi-Tool

I get bombarded by survival shovel ads in all forms of social media.  Twitter, YouTube, Facebook...

Now I am not against multi-tools, per se...  But let's say... some forms are better than others?

And they are not a new concept, clearly.  I have a rosewood handled one around here somewhere from the turn of the century.  No, last century.  Like this one.

I first became enamored and aware of such from a Gilligan's Island episode.  The Spy Gilligan episode.  I had a Swiss Army knife, later, like everyone.  And I like and use Leathman style multi-tools today.

But the shovel?  That is also a hatchet and a saw and whatnot?  That's stretching it a bit too far.

My love of multi-tools and their do every job but be a master of none was hammered in by hard experience from the get go.  The Swiss Army Knife saw was sub optimal.  I learned a mid sized axe was nigh useless.  Get a hatchet or get a real axe, the neither fish now fowl axe shaped object could do the job of neither with any satisfaction.

And a soldier with a folding shovel?  Just the regular, robust, does just the shovelling, GI shovel, was a compromise.  A a real shovel would always be preferred but it's too hard to tote a real shove on your web gear AND carry a rifle.  These ads for the wonder shovel that does everything makes me thing they took a sub-optimal stop-gap necessary solution and asked it to take a bridge too far.  The shovel with a saw blade on the side is Arnhem Bridge, I say.

Like this Foon.  I like a good spork, but this is too much.

KnifeForkSpoonBottleCanOpenerCarabiner.  I think a multi-tool, too be good, has to know when to stop adding features, and that is sooner rather than later.

Lucifer's Lettuce

Stay away from it.


No, I'm serious.  It make you paranoid then you try to fight cops and cops like to shoot people fighting them. Wanna feel better? Instead of getting baked, take a bath. You need one. If you were about to spark up a doob.

Well, Shazam

Another study by Captain Obvious.  

"Homicide victims are criminals, too."

Noooooooooooo...

I'm half tempted to insist the data collectors suss out Red on Red homicide.  Crook on Crook.  Felons shooting Felons.  Omar never raised a gun on no citizen.  So those homicides shouldn't be counted when making gun-control policy, tyrants, you already told all them 'no.'

But it's dangerous to do that.  I mean, there ARE convicted felons that get murdered and certainly don't deserve it.  You can't just right them all off.  You can't say a felon has no right to self defense.  Felons do indeed have rights.  Convicts do indeed reform and walk the straight and narrow path and still get tangled up as a bystander.

It'd be easier if you went "11,020 people were killed with firearm homicide in 2021.  998 were justified DGU between cops or citizens airing out bad guys.  6,566 were felon on felon where both felons were still really bad people doing really bad things.  So don't count either of those categories."

It would excessively hard to get that kind of statistic.

YIKE!

This is a mile from me.

Chilling footage from Maryland, US where hundreds are lined up to get a free bag of food or $30 voucher from store.

Lines wrapping around parking lot and building itself, show extent of desperation: pic.twitter.com/o1fppWHvA4

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 17, 2020

American Rifleman

"Ten Firearms That Shaped Our Nation"

Ho hum, they are gonna pick 10 models and give a little history lesson about those models.  I've seen this countless times.

Nope, they picked 10 individual firearms wielded by a specific person.  Like, not the 1911, but Alvin York's 1911.  Abraham Lincoln's Henry rifle.  Captain John Parker's musket.  Walker's Walkers.  That sort of thing.  Ok, that's much more interesting, and I appreciated this much more.   Nice.

Just noticed

The Marine at 1:18 of this Bourne Identity scene has a carbine with rail, but no sights.

The actor makes it look ok, I guess. And he shows up a bunch of times in the seconds thereafter, looking all butch.  His DI would plotz.

Why?

[Update;  I asked my Mom about the Hong Kong Flu.  That was the year I was born.  She got it, and so did Dad, she says.  Was miserable during it.]

Why would school look different after the pandemic has subsided, you ninny?  "Not sure if school will ever be the same."

Things returned to normal after the Spanish Flu.  After a bunch of polio scares until the vaccine.  After the 1957 Asian Flu.  After the 1969 Hong Kong Flu.

Pandemics happen.  This one isn't even so bad in history.  Don't let this Pandemic make you Perpetual-Panic.  Hogan needs to fire the state school's superintendent.

Grammar

Let's eat, Grandma.

Let's eat Grandma.

Different things

Grocery Report

Out of an abundance of caution, I didn't go grocery shopping last week.  It's been more than 2 weeks.

Most had masks because the governor said you have to wear masks in public in this state now.  Fine.  Plenty of distancing.  They at least has wipes for your hands at the door if not on the shelves.

Plenty of meat.  Except dark meat chicken.

Eggs were low.

No flour.

Devilled ham in the can is back!

No diet ginger ale.

There was bread, but not my usual brand.  No biggee.

No terlet paper.  Still.

Line were longer and slower, I think because of store staffing?

There was a more of a mood of hopelessness.  Maybe that's just me.  You all need to go back to work.  No one is listening, so, you need to promise me something:

In the coming economic meltdown, you'll know it when your state can't pay your cops because the revenue stopped and the Feds can't back stop the state because not even they can float bonds...  When you get real hungry...  Eat the politicians and media hype-propagandists that insisted you stay home for a, yes, serious, but typical pandemic, first.  EAT THE POLITICIANS FIRST.

ETPF.

Tell politicians that.  If you have to, you will catch and eat them first.  Promise them, if it comes to it...  They can't hide.  I imagine the governor of Michigan will be one of the first in the marinade.  And the governor of Virginia deserves it for plenty of other reasons besides.  NJ's is skating on some thin ice banning the first amendment in his state not.  But they ALL have to know the priority.  It might focus their efforts better.   AND focus them away from tyranny.  Meat is on the menu.

And don't eat your father first.  Especially before the food runs out.

Biden, His Time

Maybe Joe Biden is only pretending to be confused.  Lulling the president and the GOP into a false sense of security.  Then he'll come ROARING back, sharp as a tack, and deftly run rhetorical rings about Trump in the debates, swinging political Joementum toward him and his allies, and coasting toward a powerful November victory with coattails.  Surprise!

Dennehy

I always like Brian Dennehy's performances.  Folks have been mention First Blood and Tommy Boy, but he was in Cocoon, too.  HUGE movie at the time.  Silverado.  I liked him all those. 

But not just that.  He was a great blonde, doughy, huge, character actor.  And he was my father's age. 

I found this story odd

Rita Wilson's story.  Her and Tom Hanks tested positive for Wuhan Flu before March 11th, in Australia.

She's fine now, great, but she got chloroquine and warned about side effects, maybe being not worth it.  Vertigo and nausea, that sort of thing.  Playing down that treatment as untested.  Maybe ineffective.  She had “extreme side effects”. From the treatment, she says. Maybe it helped her, maybe it didn't.  Fair enought.

I don't know if she is a liberal.  Probably.  I don't know if she never wants to say something nice about Trump, or give him any credit. Maybe.  I mean she isn't going full Rosie O'Donnell here.  She's not being rude about it.  It's just the vibe I get.

The article also says: She was given the drug about Day 9 of her illness, she said.

When did Trump first mention it?  Was it on the 19th?   Did Rita or her doctors in Australia get the idea of a possible treatment directly from Trump?  Is it BECAUSE of Trump (admittedly, Trump heard about from other sources, and so did I, before Trump mentioned it, her doctors could have been already on this trolley, too.)

Well, she's ok.  And so is Tom.  And so is my buddy I camp with (he only got Arithromyacin and 12 hours in the hospital.)  And one guy at work.  Another guy at work only went positive recently.  No I was not in contact with any of these.  So, lucky me.

I had a dream

I had a dream that jet packs were a thing.

It's 2020 after all.

Everyone had them, they were infallible and safe, and were relatively short ranged.  If your office was 3/4 of a mile way?  You could commute to work.  Let it charge for 7 hours, commute home.

So what did people use it for?  To get from the front door of their office building to the top deck of their parking garage, a quarter mile away.   Then walk down the ramp to your car.  That's it.  That's the utility.  We waited this long to get jet packs and we only use em to save 5 minutes of walking.  We are all gonna get too fat to use our jet packs.

What a Bargain

Only $300 for a gently used police turn in from Cincinnati?  Awesome!  That's Hi-Point prices for a much higher quality gun.  I am sorta in the market for one...  Just lemme check.

Well.  "We're sorry, this item cannot be shipped to 20878 for the following reasons: ~ Firearm cant ship with mag over 10rds"

Thank you, Democrats in Maryland.  Lucky for me I have accumulated a pistol or two over the years prior to this.  But what of the Marylander that needs to defend home and hearth NOW?  I guess get some bear spray, you. 

Predictions for MD

I guess it could still zoom up there, even now.

Data Porn

My state's health department made a map showing cases per zip code.

The darker the color, the more cases.  From white to light blue to DARK blue. 

Guess where I live?  One of the Hot Zones. 

Rx has a cold

Not COVID19.

Like the conversation at work:

"What are you doing back at work, I thought you were all quarantined?"

"My kid just had strep."

"THAT'S AWESOME!"

We humans

Are just awful at judging risk and probabilities. 

Ifn' you are gonna bug out

You gotta do it BEFORE the other sheep.  Like LONG before.  You have to go there around New Years 2020 for the Chinee Lung Rot.  You should also have a more remote bugout property than a popular vacation getaway.  And you gotta be cool about it.  Quiet as a mouse.

Most of you weren't cool about it.

Golly I wish I had put this on record sooner

Remember when folks said 2.2 million Americans would die of the Wuhan Coronavirus?  When that number came up I noticed that it was the same number that died of Spanish Flu 100 years ago, but adjusted for inflation.  I thought then that that wasn't a coincidence.

Why did I think that?  Because I was joking with co-workers using that number back in late January.

Recession Aid

You know what would drive down recession unemployment numbers?  Expedited deportations of illegal aliens as part of emergency federal action to spur recovery.

Nah.  Never happen.  The Dems would squeal SO much.  The president wouldn't want his opposition to loudly defend something unpopular with a majority of voters in an election year, even is nothing of  substance occurs.  Would he?

But if you want to give stimulus to illegal aliens, kicking them out of here and sending them to their homes would be stimulation, wouldn't it, Governor Newsom?

What do you mean 'not ready'?

We've flattened the curve.  The 'worst week ever' wasn't that bad.  The curve is WAY flattened even with the over pessimistic modeled.

Why NOT get things up and going now, and certainly by May 1st.  They are snowing us.  Keep treating the precautions seriously, keep isolating the vulnerable, wash your hands, avoid crowds, but GET THE ECONOMY RESTARTED.  Now.

That settles it

Now I know the whole push for vote by mail is a fraud.  Hillary and Fauxcahontas are for it, that means it's for cheating.  It's for making it so Republicans can't win ever again.  Republicans are flawed, but they are the only creatures with any help keeping this system as much like a Republic as possible.  I wish they were better at it.

I'm of the stripe that there should be no absentee ballots or early voting.  You vote in person on election day and that's it.  If you are sick or deployed of homebound, well, you don't get it.  You can vote when you are ashore, Sailor.  Or when you have a DD214.  It's ok.  I dont care if you make it a holiday.

(P.S.  Also Barry the dog eater.  So you really know it is a bad idea.)

Go back to work Monday

Spend your money.

If you run into a Communist, take all their food.  They want you to starve to death anyway, might as well.

Better to die there than to die huddled in your home after the epidemic peaked.  The economy IS life and death.

There is no longer enough red light camera money to pay you welfare.  Your money is gonna stop sooner than you expect. 

The Democrats had a choice

Between a senile credibly accused rapist dunce with pedo tendencies, and a Communist.  And they chose the pedophile as the lesser of two evils.

Based on the Commies' record that might have been the more moral choice. 

Starting to hear of people

I'm starting of hear of people... REAL people I've run into in the elevator in the past 3 years... that were positive, got sick, are feeling better now, and didn't need a hospital, and will be back to work after they get cleared in a week or two.  

So, sick, but mild.

No one I KNOW-know has come up with the Sino Sinus Syphilis yet.

Mom sent a mask.  I made other masks out of a tshirt sleeve I cut off.  (Double layer.)  I look like an ass, but it may well protect other folk, so...  Good.  

I feel fine, as of right now.

Making my own snacks out of chex cereal.  Not need to swing somewhere to get a bag of tater chip.  

Speaking of which, I have lots of taters.  

All of the above is good for personal morale, so far.

Submit to Authority!

Also, wear a mask.  Secondary effect:  When you don't submit, Authority has a harder time figuring out who to come after later.

Death Experts

My state's death prediction for August 1st went from 1766 10 days ago to over 2000 this past weekend to 1094 today.  https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/maryland

Which is good, but...  Faith in expertise takes a hit.  Remember this when they throw models and predictions about (the more complicated subject of) global climate at you that extends four decades into the future instead of four months.

It's been a long while since experts really covered themselves in glory.  The moon landings, maybe?  Also the zenith of US Gummint competency. 

Crazy Busy

Yet parking at the office gets better every day.  These two things might be related.

Because I am concentrated on work tasks, I have no mental cycles to think about blog fodder.

Because things are peaking between now and Easter, I'm not even going to look at the grocery.  Or beer store.  Or gun range.  The gas station tomorrow, I have to go to that.  That's it.

They are restricting grocery stores.  But if I had to guess, restriction will start getting lifted starting Monday.  Just a guess.  It's post peak, the models are all recognized as over-pessimistic, this is a thing to take seriously, but so is economic existence.  And that's where the signals are pointing.

GLORIOUS weather yesterday.  I went for a walk around our parking lot.  Smells like tree pollen tho...

---

One thing I'd like to get at the grocery are the 3 ingredients for this. 

Bupkis

Hunkered down.  No stores.  The only people I see are the folks at work.  Still lots of meeting but they are 100% video style, even when the other person is 2 cubes away.  Busier than a one-armed paper hanger.

Still plenty of provisions.  Still surrounded by existential dread, and low on blog fodder.

The masks I ordered should arrive in June.  Late June.

You dang gun nuts

"You are like that show Tiger King."

Lady, I have guns to PROTECT myself from the kinds of people you see on Tiger King.

Of course not.

"Stand-your-ground laws aren't racist"

Of course they aren't.  Pro gun laws that apply to everyone are really bad if your intent is to racially discriminate.  Now, gun CONTROL laws, those are racist.  Almost universally.  Ask anyone.  Well, not race mongers.  They were disappointed.

"When the Commission undertook this project, the plan was for the Commission to conduct empirical research on “Stand Your Ground” laws and to produce a report containing both that research and a discussion of “Stand Your Ground” laws based in part on the testimony produced at the briefing but also on the Commission staff’s independent research. Alas, when the empirical research did not support the preconceived view of the Commission’s majority that “Stand Your Ground” laws harm African Americans, the project was shelved."

From where I sit

The problem isn't the guns that are in the Amerian people's hands.

It's how do we get a few hundred million guns into the Chinese people's hands?

Regular, ordinary, Chinese people.

Shoot, this article is from New Years.  When Hong Kong's struggle to resist Winnie's tyranny was still top of the news.  Different Chinese propaganda flavor then compared to what we get fed now.  But at least they know it is propaganda then:

"The Communist Party of China-sponsored tabloid painted the U.S. as a lawless society with no answers for citizens seeking redress from a gun violence epidemic."

What about Chinese citizens like Uighurs and the people of Hong Kong seeking redress from your Government Violence epidemic?  Or the world seeking redress from your epidemic epidemic?

This data model

That I mentioned before seems to going further and further from on-the-ground numbers.  https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

It's not jibing with New York, for example.

The @IHME_UW model vs reality for New York State, April 5. The model is less accurate than ever. 69K beds projected, 16.5K actually needed; 12,346 ICU beds projected, 4376 needed. Even better (tho not for the model), overall bed count rose less than 600 statewide - less than 4%. pic.twitter.com/TfjtOQNUtq

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) April 5, 2020

And that's a good thing, as that model is more pessimistic. 

It means Maryland, which now has two dozen deaths, might not get to the projected 1,766 in August, too.  Let's hope. 

Maryland is Weird

Sure it has bad control, but also lots of gun control laws that are feckless and poorly written. When there is a push, they enact bad laws, but the rest of the time it is mostly just benign neglect that the pols don't pay too much attention to.

Everytown musta got to their Democrat cat's paws and whinged.

"Republican Governor Hogan!  Close the gun stores!"

Yeah, I bet he don't.   Not if he has designs on the big chair in 2024.

Plus it is too late for the most part.  The gun stores have had plenty of time to sell sell sell.  Even in Maryland.   Barn doors closing weeks after the horses have left.  So this is all on orders from the Dem's higher ups, doing their bidding, to bring the issue to the people's attention, I guess.  Totally symbolism, no substance. 

Lays of Ancient Wheaton

Then out spake brave Horatius, 

The Captain of the Gate: 

"To every man upon this earth 

Death cometh soon or late. 

And how can man die better 

Than facing fearful odds, 

For the ashes of his fathers, 

And the temples of his Gods." 

Haul down the bridge, Sir Consul, 

With all the speed ye may; 

I, with two more to help me, 

Will hold the foe in play. 

In yon strait path a thousand 

May well be stopped by three. 

Now who will stand on either hand, 

And keep the bridge with me?

So, how YOU doin?

How's house arrest treating you?  You still alright?  I hope if you get it, it's the mild version.

I kinda wish I'd get exposed to a known carrier, but not get it.  Just be forced to stay home for 14 days.  Being essential has nice parts (I get paid) and bad parts (I DON'T WANNA GIT SICK AND DIE!)  At this point I need a rest.

I am reading this book right now.  The Good Shepherd.  C. S. Forester.  Re-reading it, actually.  Tom Hanks is in the movie of it coming out soon.  I may have mentioned it.  This is my third time, at least, reading this book over the past 30 years.  I am 10 years older than the protagonist and was an naval officer but it is only now that I have the life experience to properly follow it, I think.  To keep the ship's movements to mind while also evaluating leadership and ability of the people around me as we complete complicated tasks, some vitally important.

"Are you like him, T-Bolt, with your essential job, battling a dreaded foe.  Facing fearful odds?"

Nooooooooo, not exactly.  He in command.

"Oh so you are more like the Gunnery officer, spitting hot death at the enemy, the tip of the spear."

No.

"You help the guy spit hot death?"

More like I help one of the guys in the engine room keep things running down there.  The 'fun' stuff is all topside.  So to speak.  Like the guy that keeps the plumbing working at the Pentagon?  Try to run a war when that building has to all use portapotties.  CAN'T BE DONE!  Important work.  Not sexy.

---

Have you noticed that Blooger took away our spellcheck?  How does THAT save them money?

Anyway, time to make the donuts.

Statistics

Yeah, I'd be more comforted with all the Wuhan Coronavirus graphs and charts if the numbers at least somewhat gibed with each other.  But they don't.  That's the thing with statistics and computer modelling.  Is it garbage in, garbage out?  Who knows!

I disagree

"First time gun buyers should not be allowed to buy."

I think that during an emergency the first time buyers should be forced to buy TWO guns.  Punishment for waiting too long.  Like a stupid tax.  Kinda like price gouging, raising the cost of entry, but not permanent, because they can sell the spare gun after everything is over.  And the flush of post panic guns coming back to the market will much more quickly bring the prices down to pre panic levels or lower.

In fact if a state of the federal gumminst declares a national emergency the background check system should be suspended for affected locales.  Cut through some of the dang regulations.

"But then felons could buy guns, T-bolt, whenever a hurricane came along!"

That'd be illegal, fair reader.  Felons are not allowed to buy guns.  But you know what... an ex-con has a right to defend himself, too, ya know.

Masks

Now the word here, and other places, is masks are good.  We should have masked up in the beginning. 

The reason 'they' told us not to mask up so that there would be masks available for emergency workers.  (Fair enough.  I begrudge that less, now.) 

But there were no masks to buy even back in January.  I imagine word got out in China and the ordinary people bought em up.  Even with a CHICOM information crackdown, folks hear.  But that's just my guess.

I have 2 dozen masks.  I am saving them for if I get sick, or exposed.  I'll wear it going to the doc or the store or whatever.