chirakawa

I think because of the heavy death toll in Spain, something like 1 million people in a month. I have some buddies who were criticizing the Chinese for eating various critters. I just reminded them of Americans' taste for wild game like deer, elk, bear, raccoon, alligator, frogs, rabbit, squirrel, and many others, not to mention an assortment of shellfish which have been known to carry deadly disease over the years. I've eaten all of the above, guess I'm just lucky I never picked up a deadly disease from it. After my last post I tried to research the origin of the German Measles, to see if it was indeed intended to somehow slur the German people. Best I could find was a reference to a German physicist named Hoffman who first clinically documented the disease in 1740. I don't know. At first, I think a lot of the newscasters were calling this thing the Wuhan Virus, until a more official name surfaced. I doubt they meant it as a racial slur. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

No, it wasn't. Those terms were/are intended to be derogatory. I don't consider naming a particular virus by it's geographic origin as derogatory. I guess I'm not devious enough to think that way. Of course, I also don't go through life looking for things to be offended by.

I hope you're wrong. I'm certainly not in denial, although I haven't heard anyone use either of those "flu" terms. I am well aware of the fact there are racists in the world, but not everyone who may use those terms are. JMO When I was a kid, everyone in my neighborhood got the measles. I remember my mother saying how glad she was that it was the German measles. It seems the regular measles were much more harmful and dangerous. I never heard the phrase used in a derogatory context. It was just a way of distinguishing between the two. I guess I just try to reserve judgment of people and try to not label people based on a single word or thought.

There's no question that some people are xenophobic, and that may apply here for some. That's particularly true for someone who would behave aggressively toward another simply because they are Chinese. But, I don't think you can paint everyone with the same brush.

Zulu, thanks for that link. I found it interesting. I'm surprised that they could reach the conclusions they did with so many unknown variables. Or, maybe they're not unknown, just not publicly known. I was reading some FAQ's on the CDC site and there seems to be quite a few things they don't know or are not sure of. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html

Not necessarily. Mankind has been referring to diseases by their location of origin for many years. West Nile virus, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme disease, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Spanish Flu, Legionnaires Disease, etc. That's just an easy way to identify them, not necessarily a fear of that region or nation or people. The fact is that this one started in China and they didn't handle it very well. They deserve to own it.

If I have to drink green tea and eat asparagus, I'll just let the thing have me. 🙂

Yesterday, I went to the store and bought a few groceries, things which I couldn't get a few days ago. So, when I got home, I decided I'd do a little sanitizing, sounded simple enough. Mixed me up a spray bottle with some 10 to 1 bleach solution and started spraying. Clean rag and wipe it off. I did the doorknobs, light switches, counter tops, phone, remote controls, mouse, keyboard, etc. Man, that ain't so hard. Oh wait, what about the groceries. They've been sneezed on, sorted, and handled by other customers, the stock guy, the cashier, bagger, etc. So, I went to work on the groceries, not so easy on some of the packaging. Done with the groceries, it dawned on me that I needed to sanitize the car door handle, steering, shifter, radio touchscreen, so forth and so on. Got back in the house and realized I had handled my keys and fob, so squirted them and went back and did the door knobs and light switches again. Sat back and relaxed for a minute, pretty proud of myself, then I heard the postal carrier. Went out to get the mail. Came back in and opened the mail and read it, then realized that the mail had been handled by at least a few people who may have coughed or sneezed or touched something contaminated. So, I get out the bleach and a clean rag and go to town on the door knob, light switches, countertops, mail, etc. Of course, all this bleach tickles my face and makes my nose itch. Dang, this sanitizing is a pretty involved operation. Video coming soon.

Of course it was sarcasm. I'm in your age group and I'm a heart patient. I'll be one of the first to go. I just think it's absurd the way people are in panic and treating their fellow citizens.

I got nothing against bikers.

Most shelves at my market were 70% empty. Plenty of cereal though. I figured out why. No milk. No bread either. If you're particular, you'll be disappointed. If you're just hungry, you'll do fine. I had to buy a different brand of grits, I'll get over it. This is a perfect example of people's irrational behavior creating a problem when there wasn't one. My theory is we should all just go around kissing each other until we all get it. 80% won't be slowed down, 15% will feel poorly for a while, 5% will be hospitalized, and some of us will die. Maybe this will decrease the financial load on Medicare and Social Security, after all the old folks die. At least in a couple of weeks the world can go back to behaving somewhat normal and end all this idiocy. Herd immunity.

Ray, I met a woman who had hoarded six months worth of TP. I asked her why. She said that if she had to self quarantine, she didn't want to run out. I told her that it would only last a couple of weeks and if she was running out she could call a neighbor, friend, or family to go get her some more. She said that there might not be any at that time. I told her that if it weren't for people like her hoarding it, that wouldn't be an issue. She just gave me that deer in the headlight stare.

They have to feed the gators somehow. Why not entice tender old meat into the park. Just kidding. I really like that park, used to stay there in a 21' Bigfoot. Enjoy.

I'm ashamed of my species today. So, last night I go to buy a few groceries (kind of a weekly thing). The place was packed, people hauling carts full out the door. I just needed a half dozen items, including toilet paper. What? No toilet paper, the shelves are bare. After talking to a few others, I found out all the stores are out of TP. It's Corona time you know. In a town of 120,000, not one roll of TP for sale. Groceries are going fast, but I did find a few bags of onions left, and some dried beans. Okay, no big deal, I'll order some TP from Amazon and get it in a couple of days. Not. Amazon has no toilet paper. They normally have every brand and every size. Nada, zilch. Oh wait, I did find some paper with photos of Bill and Hillary on it for $12.99 a roll. Well, I've watched the news since yesterday. People are fighting over toilet paper. Really? I've got a list of about five things on this earth which I need to survive. Toilet paper ain't on that list. I'd wipe my butt with grass clippings before I'd be so selfish as to go and buy a year's supply of TP off the shelves and deprive my neighbors of that comfort. Has the whole world gone stupid? When did we lose our coping skills? I've got a few answers for both of those questions, and they're not politically correct so I better just keep them to myself. Okay folks, you may have to self quarantine for a couple of weeks. You don't need a year's supply of TP, or food, or dog food, or Kleenex. If the supply chain dries up, wiping your butt will be the least of your problems. Rant over, carry on.

I see a physician's assistant in SE Texas. He is in a group of about 8 other practitioners with one doctor. My PA is the only one in the group who accepts Medicare. They all did until about five years ago. It's not so easy anymore to find a Primary Care Physician in all locations.

And I thought AK stood for Alaska.

First off, I have no doubt that driving the Tesla is a totally different experience than driving a Kona. However, in the article they wanted to test the same vehicle in electric vesus gasoline. Since, Tesla doesn't make a gasoline model, they used the Hyundai. I also have no doubt I would really enjoy driving a Tesla for everyday transportation. I'm just not going to waste my time or someone else's time test driving something I know won't work for me at this time. Also, I was working from memory (not a good idea these days). I conflated two back to back articles from the Motortrend magazine. The second article is the one you linked to above and compares the two Konas. The first article is one titled "Free-Range EV's" and gives a comparison of three different EV's (including the Tesla 3). In the article, the author refers to the Tesla Supercharger station on Route 101 between Los Angeles and San Francisco when he describes "16 Teslas waiting to plug in at it's 14 permanent chargers". Granted, it was on a Thanksgiving weekend, but isn't that when we want to travel? Also, Tesla had brought in extra fueling via a Megapack battery to help out. I have a casual friend with a Model 3. He regularly travels to Fort Worth to visit family. I asked him if he can go all the way there without refueling, he says no. He stops about 2/3 of the way for an hour or so at a bakery in Corsicana and fuels up. He likes the bakery. He likes stopping. I don't, and wouldn't. He visits for a day or two and plugs into his host's household receptacle. Then, on the return trip he stops at the bakery for an hour or so and refuels. When I made my post here, I had no intention to denigrate or criticize Teslas or EV in general. Like I said, I wish they would work for me. However, I have no desire to spend 2 hours, 1 hour, or even 30 minutes fueling my vehicle on a trip. I especially don't want to wait in line for fuel, or have to drive out of my way to a fueling station. I've looked at the Tesla supercharging map, and it's impressive. And, if you travel major highways, it's fairly convenient. Some of the places I go and visit, it would be well out of my way to refuel, and in locations I would otherwise avoid. For example, I avoid shopping malls any way I can. If it just looks like a shopping center, I'll go well out of my way to deprive myself of the experience. Yet, as best I could find, many of these fueling stations are in and around such congested areas. I have every expectation that in 5 to 10 years, many of the fueling challenges will be met. Maybe I'll be around and maybe I won't. In the meantime, I'll drive something which gives me 500 miles of range and a 10 minute fueling stop. Everyone is different. I'm glad that the EV experience works for others.

Want to bet?

I'm just trying to learn about them. For now, an EV would not work for me. I make too many five and six hour drives that I don't want to add a couple of hours buying fuel. And, then there's the challenge of fueling once I arrive at my destination. From what I've read, where EV's are becoming more commonplace, fueling stations are not keeping up. There's an article in this month's Motortrend about traveling in an EV. Although superchargers are becoming more common, the writer arrived at one with half a dozen superchargers, only to find half a dozen vehicles being charged and half a dozen more waiting to be charged. I'm not prepared to wait and add hours to my trip just to buy fuel. In the same magazine, they take an EV and an equivalent gasoline vehicle (both Hyundai Konas) on a road trip. Although they were able to find charging stations, more than once they found the stations blocked by non-EV vehicles simply parked. At the end of the trip, the EV consumed $140 worth of fuel and the gasoline model just $63. Part of this was due to the driver's self admitted ignorance. He fueled up to full at a station which charged by the minute. He said the last 20% is slower going than the bottom 80%. IMO, EV's will have to be less expensive, fueling stations more commonplace, and the actual ritual of fueling quicker before the typical driver will want to or be able to drive one. Fueling at home is part of the answer, but that involves a cash outlay that many just simply don't have. That, and many don't own their own homes. As for me, I hope I live long enough for the owning of an EV to be practical for me, For now, it is not. However, I can easily see how EV's will dominate the market in 15 years. It's just a matter of overcoming a few growing pains.

I responded to you yesterday. Don't know why my post disappeared. Anyway, Wow, I thought it would be much higher of a drain, like 25%. Thanks for responding.

RV, maybe you can answer something I wasn't able to find on the Tesla website. As you know, in the South we use our air conditioning 9 months a year. How does a/c use affect the expected mileage of your new Tesla? Thanks.

I double towed for several years with no issues, never got stopped. I doubt that the typical LEO knows the laws on it. If you're acting stupid and get stopped for other reasons, I imagine they would find out or call for a DOT officer. I would guess the DOT officer has bigger fish to fry and won't stop you just for over length. JMO However, it only takes one.

I'm not a lawyer, but I can read. I was just responding to your earlier statements. I am making this last post in response to you to try and make clear my intent. I have no intention of debating. I just didn't want people to read your posts and be misled about Geico's services. If it makes you feel better, I will say "you're right". Absolutely not true. Geico has agents with offices that you can walk into and talk about your needs and buy insurance from. See the snippet below where it says "Visit us in person". Because South Dakota may not have one of these type offices doesn't change the context of your blanket statement above about Geico. Again, see above. Geico agents are not on salary. As shown in the snippet below from Geico's website, their agents are on commission and only get paid from new policies or renewals. I think that's the way State Farm works also.

Yeah, whatever. You call yourself a judge. Funny.