If my goal is to not look like a Republican
Back when they used to print news on paper, I'd buy 2-4 newspapers a day, sometimes including the Washington Times. Reading it on the subway felt like wearing a swastika armband.
Meanwhile, Rand Paul told Dr. Fauci that wearing a mask is virtue-signaling, but Paul would have to cover his whole head, at least, to be mistaken for somebody with virtue.
Wearing a mask in big city is, one hopes, a tiny sign that people don't need to fear that this particular white guy is going to scream threats at them for wearing masks or not being white.
My wife, once fully vaccinated, took a trip to a South Carolina beach with her vaccinated sisters. Some asshole saw them out walking and hollered at them for wearing masks.
Right. Except I'm in a secondary city. Anyway, I keep my mask on in the business districts and such.
4: Those kinds of people usually only holler at women.
Anyway, if Paul wants to call not looking like a Republican a 'virtue,' who am I to argue.
California requires vaccination for 10 conditions for school attendance, no conscience exemption and medical board empowered to go after doctors who give everyone medical exemptions. I wouldn't be surprised if this fall, assuming vaccination rates have stubbornly plateaued and outbreaks still sporadically hit, we start talking about adding COVID to that list of conditions, for 16+ or 12+ or whatever age group it is then.
We could also try to make sure the clinics the kids go to have extra doses on hand so they can offer to toss them in for busy parents.
Maybe also teachers and government employees?
8.1: Unlike other vaccines, this is given outside of the usual pediatrician office and there's lots of people giving lessons on making fake cards.
I'm not saying the requirements are useless, but that it could be less effective than for other vaccines.
Wearing a mask outdoors after the CDC has said you don't have to is not going to accomplish the same kind of signalling it would have before.
FWIW, we haven't typically worn masks outdoors (except skiing) in months. Our local trails aren't that crowded, and the two seconds it takes to pass someone isn't six feet for fifteen minutes. I carry a mask just in case.
9: Yes, it would probably become available via pediatricians after it's approved for the 12+ though.
Yes to 11. Signaling is good in the abstract, but doing it contrary to the scientific recommendation is probably not the kind of signaling we need.
Joe Biden walked into the (outdoor) press conference with mask on, took it off to speak, explained the CDC's guidance, then left with mask still off. That's decent symbolism.
Around here, everyone still wears a mask outdoors, even on the jogging trail where it's easy to stay six feet away from everyone else. I assume most people are vaccinated, so they're doing it to avoid looking like a sociopath.
Ok, I need a bay area reality check. My brother maintains that the homeless population in San Francisco has become potentially actually dangerous to someone who would be commuting in, due to all the disruptions of the pandemic.
I am very willing to believe that:
1. the homeless population has exploded,
2. it is very dangerous to be a homeless person, and
3. anyone might get the willies if they were walking by themselves in the middle of the night.
But commuting into work in the middle of the day? Is this a war zone? Or am I being a judgmental jerk, a trait which I'm generally trying to dial back?
Tell him it's fine. It he gets stabbed, you've probably got other siblings.
15: And technically our public health orders haven't stopped applying to exercise, right?
16: Poppycock. Possibly riled up by the group trying to recall the progressive DA.
As long as we're questioning his takes, should I really buy Bitcoin or Tesla?
I would have bought a Tesla, but my wife thinks it's too much money and that too many are driven by assholes who cut her off.
Just make sure your back seat occupants have strong legs.
My aunt just got a Tesla. It was rather terrifying when we were on the highway, a slowdown appeared ahead, and she emphasized how she wasn't hitting the brake at all because it did so automatically.
Anyway, I guess I did crash her car, not mine.
On the third hand, if you have me pickup a pizza, you should expect problems.
Did you use your third hand to do it?
I may be more liable at the moment to make scattershot comments as I have some good news for when we hit 40.
16: he's either completely delusional or a complete dick.
i'm pulling down the mask when biking, putting it back up when walking down the sidewalk on, say, divis. we'll all figure it out. i so hope that wearing a mask when you have a run-of-the-mill respiratory infections becomes a new social norm so that i can look forward to a future with materially fewer virus-asthma-bacterial lung infection cycles. please please pretty please.
I think he just hasn't left his neighborhood in months, and has heard rumors from people who are either delusional or complete dicks.
Minivet, this coupon allows the recipient to go off topic before 40 comments one time, provided they usually void using normal bathroom etiquette. I bequeath it to you.
My wife wouldn't consider a Tesla because they don't come with a tax credit anymore. I wouldn't consider one because I don't like spontaneous battery fires.
There was some really aggressive begging around here during the times when things were more shut down.
Spontaneous battery fires are not a problem because my garage is at least six inches from my kitchen.
I don't expect to be back in the market for a car for a while, but when I am, I'm thinking it makes more sense to buy an electric car from a company that's good at making cars than a company that's good at making batteries.
Redeeming 34, thank you Heebie.
I am now a ho-meowner! Got the keys, county transfer docs, and garage door opener yesterday, and even got a painter in for an estimate the same day. Gave notice to landlord; mover is scheduled mid-month.
It's a weird feeling. I don't feel super-elated, even though I like the place a lot. It's not my current city, but it's just adjacent and very easily accessible by BART. Overall I feel like I grabbed onto a raft in a stormy sea, as prices continue to rise. Even as is I'll need a roommate to have the disposable income I'm used to.
Did you should have saved it! You only had to wait for one more comment!
I still would never leave the house without a mask, just in case. Maybe if I weren't in a city. I often go around with the mask around my chin or over my mouth but not my nose, and pull it up properly when I get within ~10 feet of another person. Hygiene and not wanting to look like an asshole aside, my kid has to wear her mask daily probably through the end of the school year, so I figure I should keep her company.
Moving masks on and off seems like more hassle to me than just keeping them on, so even on the 15-mile bike rides I've been doing with my kid, we're masked whenever we're outside of the house. This is probably excessive, but like Cyrus, the kid has been masking daily since last July and will through this summer and likely through the fall, so unmasking around him feels rude.
9, 10. School districts around here do check with the state immunization registry. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are recorded there. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if schools require any attestation of immunization to be signed by a physician. I don't think any school requirement on this is going to be easy to game.
I'm not aware of any state agency here, but I haven't looked into it.
This is a big difference with big cities I suppose. Here I rarely wear a mask outside. Basically only when I'm right downtown, and usually that's a just putting it on a minute or two before I'd be going into a building anyway. In my neighborhood if someone happens to be headed towards you, one of you just crosses the street. The only other place is the rail trail, but it's 12 feet wide so you really aren't close to other people very long. During the worst spike I would wear my mask there anyway, but usually I don't.
If it's nice or time for dog emptying, the sidewalk can be occupied on both sides of the street here even though it's a residential area.
Every once in a while that happens here, and then you just walk in the road!
That works here, but not on some blocks.
Then you like step into someone's yard and wait for the person to pass. Or in the worst case scenario, what are the odds that the one time you can't dodge the person that they're the one with COVID and you get it walking past them outside? Pretty low.
I usually start coughing so they go away.
Yeah SF is fine to walk around in. The real thing at the root of what you heard is that during the pandemic there were fewer non-homeless people out and about so it felt like there were more homeless people, but I think that was a denominator thing not a numerator thing.
Also like Minivet says people are making a lot of stuff up because they're mad about Chesa Boudin the new DA. The only thing I know about him is he was a public defender which goes a long way in my book.
homelessness is up, overdoses are up, people are hurting. that doesn't make sf less safe for comfortable suburban commuters.
I'd been wearing a mask on morning walks, where it's rare to see people and there's always slow streets for extra maneuvering, mostly to reinforce the social norm. Today I walked to the coffee shop a 1/2 mile away without a mask, but with it in my pocket ready to deploy. (Today's was an ear loop, so the around the neck solution wasn't an option.) I didn't wind up passing anyone, so didn't have to debate putting it on as I walked.
I put it on when I got to the corner with the coffeshop, and took it off and tucked it back in my shirt pocket when I hit the street corner.
39: hooray for homes! I saw your IG story and it looked charming.
I'd been telling people I got the good vaccine. Apparently, it's a thing.
41: When you got it, flaunt it (the coupon).
I don't get it, Moderna is obviously cooler, it's the Dolly vaccine!
58. That's really long for an article about nothing.
39. Congratulations, Minivet! That's very exciting. When my sister became a homeowner in the Bay Area she joined Nextdoor and became a nutcase.
61.last: Good luck, Minivet, we're all counting on you.
I sort of wanted the Moderna, because of Dolly, but I said "Sure" to the Astra Zeneca vaccine.
(Vaccine-shopping is a thing, and a problem, in Canada, thanks to the Cons encouraging vaccine hesitancy over the Astra Zeneca vaccine, in defiance of basic public health and just to own the Libs).
Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine.
Congrats, Minivet! When we became Bay Area ho-meowners a couple of years ago it felt unreal for a while and I kept expecting someone to tell us that we had to clear out, just because we'd spent so many years assuming it was impossible.
I plan to keep wearing a mask in public as long as tenable because I have this idea it makes me look less gender-incongruent (on which I could be wrong, I actually have no idea in hell how I look to third parties at present).
I'll be interested to see how it interacts with the 100% affordable building across the street, which has a lot of people of color, many older, hanging out on the patios. When I was hanging around that street waiting for the painter, someone in that building was blasting a stereo, and someone from my building bellowed across the street for them to turn it down. It seemed frustrating, but I also wonder what they think will happen from yelling. (I'm on the other side of the building, so not an issue for me.)
The city itself is plurality Asian-American, and at least half of those are Chinese-American. That might help locals who don't know me on IG figure it out.
Wikipedia thinks all the cities down the orange line from your current city are plurality Asian-Amerian, though if it's the one directly adjacent that pins it.
Totally annoyed that I can't guess the city even with this abundance of clues ("just adjacent" is throwing me), but congratulations, Minivet!
I have not yet figured out how to rein in fussy neighbors, but so far nothing has been egregious except the one neighbor's email sig with a misattributed, and laughably impossible, "Mark Twain" quote. I can't believe I've restrained myself this long.
If you're already wearing a mask, now is probably the time for petty retaliation.
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Rafael. I got stuck in a walk-in freezer wearing only a crop top."
Anyway, housing is expensive, but I've been watching this Swedish kid build a log cabin with (mostly) only hand tool and no help.
8, 9: Novavax is probably going to get approved soon, and you could give that in a pediatrician's office.
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Last night I was in the town Mitt Romney used to live in (which has normal income people sections too), and we were picking up takeout. We pulled up in front of a gas station that is next to the takeout place, and a black guy came up to the car and asked us to call an ambulance, because his kidneys were shutting down. We called 911 and saw him get in more pain, sitting down and putting his hands on his back. He asked us to call p, so we did, but I almost felt bad and was worried about whether we would cause harm. Protocol is for the cop to come first, then the fire truck, and then the fire ambulance, but I made Tim watch while I went to get the food.
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74:. A cop comes first for a medical emergency? That's fucked up.
If the police can get there quicker and have naxolone, there would be benefits.
Completely OT, but did anyone else see this bonkers story? https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article251069219.html
Yes. It suggests a longer answer to "what's the matter with Kansas?" than I was picturing.
I love that his excuse is that some of the students were somehow in on his piece of performance art. Huh?
OP- people, including Nate Silver, are dunking on Brookline MA today because they kept their outdoor mask mandate and everyone's all "see Libs don't Follow the Science either, just like Trump people who won't get vaccinated!" (Silver literally refers to horseshoe theory.) Except it's bullshit, the timeline is that the governor announced the end of the statewide outdoor mask requirement before the CDC changed its guidance, so the town voted to keep theirs in place, then the CDC updated, and the town said in light of that they'll revisit at their next meeting which hasn't happened yet.
82: I also sort of see myself continuing to wear a mask outside in certain situations that will lead to me going inside. Like over the weekend I went to Brookline to get bagels at Kupels. I parked, put my mask on and walked to Kupels where I picked up the bagels. Taking it off when I walked out the door with the bagels would have been awkward, since it loops around the ears. Easier just to deal with it in the car.
I'm so glad I unfollowed Nate Silver last month. Great decision.
I skated again last night and felt like shit again- until I took a stick to the face cage and it caused my mask to fall below my nose and suddenly I could breathe. I hadn't realized that it was making breathing so much more difficult. So I wasn't completely covered the rest of the game. But 100% of the players said they were vaccinated so seems fine.
Nate's closely following the Chuck Todd career plan- get noticed because you actually have some observations beyond the conventional wisdom, then become so conventional that you're overly convinced of your own righteousness.
People forget that Chuck Todd wasn't always horrible. But unlike Todd, Silver genuinely contributed to public discourse -- everybody is a little smarter because Silver was smart. I am not a Yglesias-basher the way some are, and I keep wondering when he's going to get stupid. (I claim that he hasn't already.) It seems inevitable.
Klein, from what I've seen, has become harmless and inoffensive, which is another way to succeed in the media as a liberal.
Does anyone else watch CBS this morning with Gayle King? It's not a very smart program -- just the smartest thing on in the morning -- but King and her two co-hosts radiate decency, which is weird on TV.
87: PF - I feel like Yglesias might resist, because he works for himself. I still find him interesting. Ezra bores me, but he's at the Times.
I hardly ever wear a mask outdoors, and basically never have. I have worn one, and will continue to do so, when in a very dense outdoor crowd or queue, but otherwise, no. That seems to be pretty standard here. I see some people who wear them when I can't see any possible reason to. People walking the streets late at night, wearing a mask,* when they are 20 metres away from any other person, and so on.
* by which I mean ordinary adults, out for exercise or errangs, rather than teen/early-20 somethings who wear them as an extension of the hooded top for concealing identity.
Only time I've worn one outside is going from one place I have to wear one to another. Less than 150 feet, say. Or in the chairlift line, from start to sitting on chair. I never rode a chair with strangers this season.
I have a mask, made in your state, that I wear when outdoors. I can leave it down until someone gets near and then cover up. So if someone is wearing a mask, I just put mine on even if I'm not near them.
82, 87 -- Those TV shows aren't meant for you; I find that they only ever enrage me. I've got no problem with the concept of a news show that informs, but if one has a decent grasp of the conventional narrative -- and who doesn't -- there's just none of that to be had on these things.
Does anyone else watch CBS this morning with Gayle King? It's not a very smart program -- just the smartest thing on in the morning -- but King and her two co-hosts radiate decency, which is weird on TV.
Isn't Gayle King Oprah's BFF? It seems like being kind/warm/decent has a lot of currency these days, and it's pleasant. I'm picturing "Be Kind" sweatshirts and Amy Poehler kinds of comedy that are so opposite of the 80's Wall Street "Be the first to screw everyone else over!" mantras of yore.
I went to church yesterday with Communion. Bread, no wine. One singer allowed at the front. It was outside in the parking lot, and there were circles so that people would know what 6 feet was. I wore a mask, except when I chewed my wafer, because that was the church's requirement.
Everyone there was older, so they're probably all vaccinated, but I was going to follow the rules.
92: My state or Charley's? I've been thinking that next winter when I'm on the bus or the subway, I'll wear a mask for some protection against regular colds and even the flu and something like that would be useful.
The outdoor mask thing -- in my opinion -- has always been pretty much a courtesy thing. (Rand Paul would call it "virtue signaling.") I carry a mask when I'm out walking, even when I don't plan on going indoors, but I don't think it's actually a public health issue. I do have good walking spaces where I can be assured I won't spend more than a second or two within 10 feet of someone -- and anyone getting that close to me is doing so voluntarily. The new variants may change that calculation -- but being vaccinated changes that calculation, too.
Does anybody else play sidewalk chicken? I probably win less than half the time.
87: PF - I feel like Yglesias might resist, because he works for himself. I still find him interesting. Ezra bores me, but he's at the Times.
I still find Yglesias interesting, but I think working for himself may turn out badly -- because I think it increases the reward for writing the occasional piece that he knows will annoy people. It's still a fairly small percentage of his output, but I think the incentives are to lean into his trolling rather than mitigate it. But, finger's crossed, that he doesn't become too predictable. I actually find the pieces that annoy me valuable because they're interesting enough to argue with.
I really liked Ezra's podcast at Vox. I don't think the Times podcast has been as good, but I think he can be really good in that medium (I also thought his book was very good).
97: I never understood the thing with "virtue signaling" as an insult. Anyway, I'm trying to signal that I'm not a Republican. If he calls that 'virtue', who am I to argue.
Personally, I think of it more in terms of group signaling.
Does anybody else play sidewalk chicken?
No, I'm still crossing the street to avoid people, even though I know the risk is minimal (but, I don't generally wear a mask when I'm walking outdoors, so I figure avoiding people is polite because it means they don't have to worry about whether I'm being dangerous).
Especially not from people busy vice-signalling.
The new state guidance, piggybacking on CDC, says you can be unmasked outdoors but you have to carry a mask and put it on when coming within 6 feet of anyone not in your household.
Which, now that I think of it - is that implicitly saying it's not a big deal to come nearer someone outdoors as long as you're masked and it's brief? Because if that's the intended effect, I might stop going out into the street on narrow sidewalks.
No, I'm still crossing the street to avoid people
Me too. I capitulate probably somewhere around 75-100 feet away.
I'm doing that still. I frankly would have been doing it for years if it didn't cause funny looks.