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| 29.6.20 11:55 |  | Re-copied and pasted (thanks Ilona)
Copied and pasted - thank you
Chicken pox is a virus. Lots of people have had it, and probably don't think about it much once the initial illness has passed. But it stays in your body and lives there forever, and maybe when you're older, you have debilitatingly painful outbreaks of shingles. You don't just get over this virus in a few weeks, never to have another health effect. We know this because it's been around for years, and has been studied medically for years.
Herpes is also a virus. And once someone has it, it stays in your body and lives there forever, and anytime they get a little run down or stressed-out they're going to have an outbreak. Maybe every time you have a big event coming up (school pictures, job interview, big date) you're going to get a cold sore. For the rest of your life. You don't just get over it in a few weeks. We know this because it's been around for years, and been studied medically for years.
HIV is a virus. It attacks the immune system, and makes the carrier far more vulnerable to other illnesses. It has a list of symptoms and negative health impacts that goes on and on. It was decades before viable treatments were developed that allowed people to live with a reasonable quality of life. Once you have it, it lives in your body forever and there is no cure. Over time, that takes a toll on the body, putting people living with HIV at greater risk for health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes, bone disease, liver disease, cognitive disorders, and some types of cancer. We know this because it has been around for years, and had been studied medically for years.
Now with COVID-19, we have a novel virus that spreads rapidly and easily. The full spectrum of symptoms and health effects is only just beginning to be cataloged, much less understood.
So far the symptoms may include:
Fever
Fatigue
Coughing
Pneumonia
Chills/Trembling
Acute respiratory distress
Lung damage (potentially permanent)
Loss of taste (a neurological symptom)
Sore throat
Headaches
Difficulty breathing
Mental confusion
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of appetite
Strokes have also been reported in some people who have COVID-19 (even in the relatively young)
Swollen eyes
Blood clots
Seizures
Liver damage
Kidney damage
Rash
COVID toes (weird, right?)
People testing positive for COVID-19 have been documented to be sick even after 60 days. Many people are sick for weeks, get better, and then experience a rapid and sudden flare up and get sick all over again. A man in Seattle was hospitalized for 62 days, and while well enough to be released, still has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Not to mention a $1.1 million medical bill.
Then there is MIS-C. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. While rare, it has caused deaths.
This disease has not been around for years. It has basically been 6 months. No one knows yet the long-term health effects, or how it may present itself years down the road for people who have been exposed. We literally *do not know* what we do not know.
For those in our society who suggest that people being cautious are cowards, for people who refuse to take even the simplest of precautions to protect themselves and those around them, I want to ask, without hyperbole and in all sincerity:
How dare you?
How dare you risk the lives of others so cavalierly. How dare you decide for others that they should welcome exposure as "getting it over with", when literally no one knows who will be the lucky "mild symptoms" case, and who may fall ill and die. Because while we know that some people are more susceptible to suffering a more serious case, we also know that 20 and 30 year olds have died, marathon runners and fitness nuts have died, children and infants have died.
How dare you behave as though you know more than medical experts, when those same experts acknowledge that there is so much we don't yet know, but with what we DO know, are smart enough to be scared of how easily this is spread, and recommend baseline precautions such as:
Frequent hand-washing
Physical distancing
Reduced social/public contact or interaction
Mask wearing
Covering your cough or sneeze
Avoiding touching your face
Sanitizing frequently touched surfaces
The more things we can all do to mitigate our risk of exposure, the better off we all are, in my opinion. Not only does it flatten the curve and allow health care providers to maintain levels of service that aren't immediately and catastrophically overwhelmed; it also reduces unnecessary suffering and deaths, and buys time for the scientific community to study the virus in order to come to a more full understanding of the breadth of its impacts in both the short and long term.
I reject the notion that it's "just a virus" and we'll all get it eventually. What a careless, lazy, heartless stance. |
| 29.6.20 09:51 | | Spotify just played a Pampers ad at twice the volume of the music it had been playing and why would it even serve up a Pampers ad anyway hashtag happymonday |
| 29.6.20 00:29 | | Video |
| 28.6.20 10:22 | | Me this morning (stolen from Randy) |
| 28.6.20 08:43 | | Lucky 13 (Friendiversary with Aaron) |
| 27.6.20 13:38 |
 |  | It's hot as balls but my new favourite shirt (and an order of clearance NASCAR caps) was in the PO Box so I walked a mile in my shoes thinking about how to do a better job of walking a mile in others'... |
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| 27.6.20 13:01 |
 |  | Facebook is pretty cruel for serving me up 7-Eleven ads when the nearest one is in Madison yet I still wanna know this guy's secrets |
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| 26.6.20 14:23 |
 | My council member makes his case for the current draft of the Charter Amendment seeking to transform the MPD into a Department of Public Safety. If you'd like to provide some feedback to the City, click over to http://www2.minneapolismn.gov/minneapolisforward/WCMSP-224910 . |
| 26.6.20 13:23 | | Video |
| 26.6.20 11:26 | |  | A gut punch from Stockard Coffee/Sherwood/Somerset/Beyer-land: yesterday morning her family posted that Minda Saxton (who you might also know as Minda Saxton and/or Minda Saxton-Smith) suddenly passed away on Tuesday. Here's where we ended up on Mrs. Hill's class photo collage in fourth grade. We did the online friend thing on MySpace before Facebook and she made every reunion (and a couple memorable "night before the reunion" nights as well). Rest in peace and rest in power, Minda. |
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| 26.6.20 10:56 | | Finally received an unfriend for disagreeing with a Christ-y guy too many times about the police - how's YOUR weekend looking |
| 26.6.20 09:50 | |  | I skipped a week somehow - here's this year's Father's Day issue |
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| 26.6.20 09:41 | |  | If you remember the Great Depression - which was, like, a little over 90 years ago - Closer Weekly is for YOU! |
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| 24.6.20 21:57 | | "We need time," said Kroll, adding, "everybody's got to take a breath." |
| 24.6.20 17:26 | |  | MAN I AM EXCITED to finally own a Sass vinyl LP! |
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| 24.6.20 12:49 |
 |  | Andy broke the news to me that the last Fuddrucker's in Minnesota did not survive the pandemic, but if I wanted to participate in the auction for their fixtures, now was the time. I just don't have room for a Hobart or their enormous restroom mirror (or DO I.....hmm) but I must admit, the idea that I could have their "cheese warmer" in my kitchen carries appeal..... |
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| 23.6.20 12:26 | |  | FOODS THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST - an occasional series |
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| 23.6.20 11:04 | |  | Changed my cover photo |
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| 23.6.20 00:34 |
 | Guess I'm walkin' again |
| 22.6.20 13:26 | |  | Oh dear... they ordained the wrong guy |
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| 21.6.20 19:44 | | Pretty shitty - and I have 22 mutual friends, apparently |
| 20.6.20 23:42 |
 | ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: A (possibly racist) stranger on Facebook called me a "kool aid drinking lib" today and I don't think he meant I was a libertarian |
| 20.6.20 17:03 | |  | Hey look who still plays this dumb game |
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| 20.6.20 13:58 | |  | So much Rochester on the surface until you dig deep into the "Likes" which seem to originate a whole lot more Bangladesh and India than Rochester. Also, their username starts with "sagar.m" which is a bit of a departure from "Ellissa Phillips" |
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| 19.6.20 18:20 | |  | Andy told me there was NEW DR PEPPER so I picked up a couple sale bottles at Speedway - it's...fine? Not very different from the regular stuff but just a hint of extra vanilla in the aftertaste. Of course I love all Dr Pepper so ten thumbs up |
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| 19.6.20 17:59 | |  | YES |
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| 19.6.20 13:12 | |  | You think they'll moderate my comment? |
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| 19.6.20 10:33 | |  | Photo |
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| 19.6.20 10:16 | | Stolen from Anna P's wall. It's too good for me to change any of it:
Happy Freedom Day. Juneteenth 2020
Liberation from slavery reached slaves on Texas plantations 155 years ago today.
It took another century! Another 100 years would pass before the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, which directed the attny general to enforce the right to vote for a African Americans.
In 2020 we are still fighting to free Black Americans from systemic persecution by our own American police officers. When violent & murderous actions are undertaken by police against their BIPOC citizens, the crimes often go un-prosecuted or the officer’s actions are found to be protected under the law.
I will fight not only for equality but also against racism. I will always rail against the repression of the many by the few. I will be a part of Tear down white supremacy. |
| 18.6.20 17:03 |
 | Swarm says it's national sushi 🣠day. But there will be no sushi for this boy on this day. 😠|
| 18.6.20 11:22 | |  | I played Pokémon Smile, the exciting game of tooth brushing. I think it didn't like:
•my electric toothbrush
•my facial hair
•my age probably being 40-45 years above their target
I still got this photo for my troubles, tho |
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| 16.6.20 18:00 | | Has it been four since the first tubing trip? Suddenly, I'm hungry for corn... waaaaaah |
| 16.6.20 17:45 | |  | I got my Partition LP!! SO PRETTY |
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| 16.6.20 14:36 | | https://mixcloud.com/kfaiFMradio/the-dollar-bin-075 |
| 15.6.20 11:02 | | Video |
| 14.6.20 14:38 | | Copied and pasted (and maybe a few typos corrected because obviously I can't help myself)
Imagine: It's 2025. (Hey, imagine it's 2021!)
You're getting pulled over. A community representative approaches to let you know you have a taillight out. They don't need your license and registration, they don't write you a fix-it ticket. You're back on the road in less than five minutes. You swing by the store and grab a new light, not because you're afraid of what the city will do to you, but because you respect your community and know that having all your lights working is part of the driving privilege.
Your neighbors got into a loud spat a few weeks ago and without fear or hesitation, called a domestic assistance number. A counselor arrived and was able to talk the couple down and suggest solutions for their disagreement. No one was hurt, the kids participated in the discussion, and it's been quiet ever since.
Your friend has been struggling with addiction and you fear they might be a danger to themselves or others. You call a substance abuse specialist and they talk you through ways to help your friend get treatment. They offer to send an agent out to speak with your friend directly and provide information on harm reduction centers in your area.
Black and brown people are no longer being exploited through tickets and fines to pay for police. Trust is slowly being fostered in the community.
Teachers are being paid a living wage and students are being given more time, attention, and education. Books are up to date and classrooms are optimized to keep up with technology.
Trump is out of office.
It’s been a very long time since the name of a murdered black person was used as a hashtag.
Casual racism is no longer tolerated. The KKK has been classified as a terrorist organization. The Confederate flag isn't flown and has been removed from any official state flags or insignia. Most Confederate monuments have been taken down and placed in storage or museums.
You trust the investigation force to deal with crime the same way you trust firefighters to put out fires.
That's what "defund the police" looks like.
What we've seen in the last few weeks shows how overreaching and power-drunk many officers are. We asked too much of them and then called them heroes despite evidence to the contrary. We let them think that they could get away with anything, including murder.
It's time for change. |
| 12.6.20 15:54 | |  | I love love! Happy Loving Day! |
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| 12.6.20 15:27 | | Did I ever tell you about the time I left so many "this is spam" comments on a Facebook event, Facebook rate-limited ME and told me to stop spamming? |
| 12.6.20 13:49 |
| Here's the text of the unanimous resolution from the City Council looking to put the eggs into a "Department of Community Safety" basket. I'm back to being skeptical as the old libertarian in me sees "more government!" and that always makes me wary. Anyway it looks like they're going to take a year (EDIT: More like 13½ months) so you can put away your panicky tweets and hot takes about nobody answering 911 for all those theoretical real-time robberies going on (hint hint to my friends thousands of miles away who think they know anything about what's going on in Minneapolis) - good news is by the time that year is up, we'll all still have a few months to think about voting in a new city council if this one can't get it done. Defund the police! Black lives matter!
https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/File/3806/Transforming%20Community%20Safety%20Resolution.pdf |
| 12.6.20 12:53 | | Video |
| 10.6.20 08:57 | | Ian doesn't even USE Facebook! |
| 9.6.20 17:04 |
 | Thanks to everybody who dropped me a Facebook status, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, LINE, text OR actually tried calling me (but had to leave voicemail, unless you were my parents) to congratulate me on staying alive another year! I spent the entire 24 hours of the 7th in complete isolation... which totally sucked! But it did give me plenty of time to get back to all of you online. I have some photos of some presents but they're on the phone and I'm on the laptop. Normally I'd ask you to make a donation to the Michael J. Fox foundation and help get Parkinson's disease cured but so many better places to share your money have made themselves known over the past two weeks; I hope you've already been generously throwing what you can their way and will continue to do so. OH that reminds me - I think during my recent rash of ... let's call it "enhanced advocacy," I've only seen a grand total of ONE unFriending. I can't even say for sure that it coincides with me saying anything! I'd like to think this speaks as much to the fact that you aren't really surprised about what I've been saying, I'm somehow staying reasonably consistent as an entity over the course of the past ... let's say five years, and you still don't mind being my Friend as a result, even if we disagree. Either that, or Facebook has successfully algorithm'd me out of your life and you're not gonna read THIS either. Either way, quality friending and I'm very thankful to all of you.
I *will* make one tiny birthday request if you're still looking for one to fulfill - every week I play records for an hour for a KFAI web-exclusive show called Dollar Bin. I think you might find it interesting and would love if you'd give it a listen and tell me what you think!
Thank you once again, one and all - I can't wait to flirt all over you in person whenever it turns out we can be together again.
Please keep in mind that NEXT year I'm 50... so please reserve the date now. There'll be SOMETHING. There's GOTTA be.
I love you!
Black lives matter! |
| 9.6.20 11:00 | |  | Life event: Ordained by the Universal Life Church - Rev. CRZ at your service (or, okay, "Reverend Zim") |
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| 7.6.20 17:48 |
| Whoa, happy birthday to me! FOX 9 is reporting that nine council members support defunding and replacing the MPD. That's a veto-proof majority. (The mayor has gone back into hiding.)
https://www.fox9.com/news/majority-of-minneapolis-councilmembers-announce-support-for-ending-citys-relationship-with-mpd |
| 7.6.20 05:04 |
 | If I read my timezones right, there's a ZOOBOMBS concert starting RIGHT NOW...if only I stay awake
EDIT: Moostop is playing with them for the first time in seven years!!
https://youtu.be/M4pjZYR6Jh4 |
| 6.6.20 19:35 | |  | Allison and I usually grab Uptown birthday freebies but this year there's no chance for Up/Down, moto-i and so forth. I still didn't want to break my string of being with friends during my official yearly rollover so we got together with Danielle and a bit of thunder for a socially distant exchange of gifts and catch-em-up from the past three months (not to mention the past two weeks!) Official scoring now says I have 49 laps complete at 03:35 CEST! #lap50 #hownifty #geminis |
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| 6.6.20 15:22 |
 | Gotta love Blancmange - they just keep crankin' 'em out
https://open.spotify.com/album/7fHvPD89KIxAGsn5yLyuwZ?si=i8cHNmO0STeaWp8mJA6P0A |
| 5.6.20 11:20 | |  | RIP Rupert Hine
Howard Jones on Twitter: "Rupert Hine ....An extraordinary man and one of my dearest longtime friends, my music mentor and producer, passed away in the early hours of this morning. I’m so fortunate to have spent a precious hour with him Tuesday. I will be writing about him on FB soon... luvya Roop !!" |
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| 5.6.20 11:08 | | "Using your white privilege to overshadow the voices of those fighting against systematic racism does not make you clever, it makes you a prick" (Amii Illustrates) |
| 5.6.20 11:07 | | Hat tip Vanessa |
