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Post by philknj on Feb 6, 2021 6:32:07 GMT
A moment of lucid thought from Serena Williams regarding the 14-day lock-up:
“I didn’t have really any negatives. I realized that my life is one big quarantine because I don’t really leave the house much. It wasn’t much different than what I normally do.”
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Post by philknj on Feb 6, 2021 7:36:13 GMT
If golf has been cancelled then so should have the Tennis.
If the PGA Tour or the LPGA Tour (aka the Major Leagues) had a legitimate, long-established MAJOR in Australia on the schedule, then golf would NOT be cancelled there.
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BTW, the South Koreans also have a pretty good record against the virus too, and they are getting p***ed off at the govt. The above article says 25% of the job-market there is self-employed (cafes, restaurants, gyms, karoke, etc.), one of the highest figures in the world, and they are steamed up about restrictions. Also, they want the people to stay home for Lunar New Year on Feb. 11 and limit their family contact to four people! Are you kidding, did you ever see those overhead traffic photos of about a million cars trying to get out of Seoul at the same time?!
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It took three tries, but I finally got my parents their first vax shots this week. Their Tuesday appointments got snowed out, but I rescheduled for Wednesday ... a different location at 65 miles away, but that's all I could get for that day. Unfortunately, it appeared that the whole world showed up, because the snowed-out Monday and Tuesday appointments there were re-booked for Wednesday, too. They had an appointment time of 5:15 PM, but had to stand in a line for at least 30 minutes before they could get into the building ... naturally, it's started to get dark in sub-freezing weather and wind ... and there were people waiting in wheelchairs. I couldn't go inside, but I took a walk around the building and looked through a glass door and saw people jammed up in lines. They didn't get the shots until 6:45 PM. They got the Pfizer brand (the good stuff), so we have to go back in three weeks for the second shots.
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Post by don on Feb 9, 2021 10:22:19 GMT
Glad to hear your folks got their first dose. What a relief.
I saw a story a day or two ago that a 105 year old just got the vaccine. I think if you survived the Spanish Flu you should have been first in line.
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Post by philknj on Feb 10, 2021 15:41:27 GMT
Women's World Curling Championship set for late March in Switzerland has been cancelled ... and it was cancelled last year in P.E.I. Just practice and show up for the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
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Post by IceCat on Feb 12, 2021 3:07:58 GMT
Happening as I write this: the premier of Victoria is announcing a 5 day lockdown of greater Melbourne because of an increase in the spread of the so-called UK variant of the virus, which means that after Friday the Australian Open will be conducted behind closed doors.
Kevin
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Post by IceCat on Feb 12, 2021 3:17:24 GMT
Three of Canada's provinces have managed to hold elections since the pandemic was declared. The fourth, Newfoundland and Labrador, has the misfortune of seeing a spike in cases around its capital and largest city mere days before they're scheduled to go to the polls this Saturday, requiring officials to push back in person polling in nearly half of the Assembly districts:www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/election-nl-staffing-shortages-1.5909976Kevin
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Post by IceCat on Feb 13, 2021 0:51:16 GMT
Who'd have thought that NOT having a crowd would energize world #1 Novak Djokovic? He was struggling in a bruising 5 set marathon against a young American opponent when the announcement went out at 11:30pm that those in attendance, who had been razzing the Serb all night, needed to leave in order to be home before the state of Victoria locked down for 5 days at 11:59pm. Once the stands were empty Novak found the extra gear to move on to the next round.www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-13/novak-djokovic-injured-as-crowds-exit-melbourne-park-lockdown/13151304Kevin
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Post by IceCat on Feb 13, 2021 12:02:45 GMT
Three of Canada's provinces have managed to hold elections since the pandemic was declared. The fourth, Newfoundland and Labrador, has the misfortune of seeing a spike in cases around its capital and largest city mere days before they're scheduled to go to the polls this Saturday, requiring officials to push back in person polling in nearly half of the Assembly districts:www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/election-nl-staffing-shortages-1.5909976Kevin The entire province has now been placed in lockdown, which means no in person voting in the election. It's now entirely a postal ballot with the deadline moved up to 1 March.www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5913042Kevin
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Post by IceCat on Feb 17, 2021 11:40:05 GMT
The snap lockdown in Victoria, including its capital Melbourne, has been lifted. There had also been a 3 day lockdown in Auckland that was also allowed to lapse. The first doses of Pfizer's vaccine have arrived in Australia, which along with the recent approval of Astra Zenica's (which can be manufactured locally) means that the first jabs can begin later this month. More crucially Japan has begun its vaccination program, important for a country still hoping to hold the Olympics this year. South Korea hopes to commence its vaccination drive later this month as well. Here in Massachusetts our daily count of new cases has dipped below 1000 for the first time since 3 November even as vaccine distribution issues continue to persist. Most of what supplies the Commonwealth is getting is going to the mass vaccination sites at the expense of locally run clinics. As an example, Barnstable County (Cape Cod), home to thousands of retirees, has been getting less than 1000 doses a week and the closest mass vaccination site is in Foxborough, at least half an hour drive from the 2 bridges spanning the canal. The weather hasn't helped as it's compounded the delays in distribution. A quick update on yours truly: my subsequent COVID-19 tests came back negative and I got a doctors note to return to work on the 7th. My first day back, however, didn't go well. I slipped on a snow covered icy patch and came down hard on my left shoulder. The doctor suspects a torn rotator cuff, but the MRI I'm having today will tell for certain. Until it heals I'll be on light duty and off the delivery roster.
Kevin
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Post by philknj on Feb 28, 2021 13:15:33 GMT
The America's Cup yacht racing finals have been disrupted by one new covid-19 case of unknown origin, so they decided to send the entire city of Auckland ( 1.47 million pop.) under the bed for a week. The bigger story to me is the "America's" Cup ... what America? There's no American team ... they're not even in America. Nobody follows this anymore, at least not since the good ol' days:
(Original Caption) Two of Newport's finest, happily escort Courageous skipper Ted Turner about town, as he celebrated his victory over the Australia. Turner and his crew sailed to four straight victories to successfully defend America's cup.
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My parents got their second shots this week ... went smoothly this time, got there at 4:40 PM, no line outside the building, and left at 5:40 PM. As for me, I'm too young, too healthy, and too un-woke, so I'm in the back of the vaccine bus until who-knows-when.
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Post by IceCat on Feb 28, 2021 15:13:12 GMT
The America's Cup yacht racing finals have been disrupted by one new covid-19 case of unknown origin, so they decided to send the entire city of Auckland ( 1.47 million pop.) under the bed for a week. The bigger story to me is the "America's" Cup ... what America? There's no American team ... they're not even in America. Nobody follows this anymore, at least not since the good ol' days: The America's Cup is named for the schooner America, which won the trophy away from England in 1851 and won with it the right to host the regatta. Despite the fact that Australia won the trophy away from the NY Yacht Club in 1983 and hosted the next regatta nearly 4 years later off Fremantle the name stuck. In the 500 channel universe of today the America's Cup has been relegated to obscurity nowadays, especially considering its elite status is not appealing to the masses.Kevin
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Post by philknj on Mar 9, 2021 20:52:30 GMT
The world's worst-kept secret was confirmed (above) ... overseas spectators will be blocked from attending the summer Olympics. Good move ... for instance, Brazil is a complete Covid 19 clown show. Can you imagine a big bunch of them running all over the place in a country stuffed with old people, few ICU beds and a negligible (for now) vaccination rate?
Another clown show is Canada, which has about one-sixth the number of people fully vaccinated compared to the USA (on a per capita basis). The PGA Tour just cancelled June's Canadian Open. The LPGA's Canadian Open is only two months after that ... might be time for another Drive On championship in the US instead.
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This won't be popular outside the golf world, but I would support the LPGA making a separate buy of 300+ doses of J&J vax for players, caddies and other tour staff. If it's not "legal", then make it legal. The tour would be doing themselves and the world a favor because they travel so much. The amount of time, money and resources getting blown on non-stop testing must be through the roof.
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I must be too honest or just doing it wrong ... 58% of NJ vax shots have gone to people under age 65, even though NJ regs say only people 65+ can get the shots ... PLUS people falling into a thousand b.s. loopholes not related to age. But, a woman I know said her son (age 29) recently got his first shot and he has no special job or health conditions. Apparently he did roughly what I'm trying now on my off day ... I'm refreshing four different browser tabs for open appointments: CVS, Wegman's, a hospital chain, and Monmouth County (heck, I don't ever live or work there). No bloody success for now ... but maybe at 4 AM?! I might have one ace card to play ... my parents received their shots at a NJ mega-site, but that was before a hospital system recently sent me an e-mail saying they would be eligible for their shots soon. When they send me that scheduling e-mail, maybe I can sneak in there under my own name.
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Post by don on Mar 10, 2021 1:26:41 GMT
From what I can tell you need to be at least loosely affiliated with the health care industry to get a vaccine. Like a doctors squash partner or a pharmacists house cleaner.
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Post by rlspore on Mar 10, 2021 5:56:47 GMT
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Post by jumpcut on Mar 10, 2021 13:42:23 GMT
The Terminator-Bot. I think we've found the perfect match for the HAL 9000.
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