Happy Pi Day

[Kellemora]

Us old timers suffered through all the childhood diseases, and we got over them, or most of us did anyhow. A few had longer lasting affects, some of them deadly.
So, most of us older folks built up our own immunity, while the younger folks all got shots, of a kind that worked as claimed.
There is no proof yet that these mRNA vaccines are working, and in some cases causing deaths, and other bad side affects.

As the article said, there are thousands of different types of cancer, and they are usually different in each person. They are hoping to come up with something that mutates to keep up with the different types of cancer.
But the question is. Until they get all the bugs worked out, do you want experimental mRNA put into your body?

They didn't have to force anyone to get a polio or small pox vaccine, because it worked, and everyone knew it worked.
The government has gone about the Covid outbreak in entirely the wrong way. Told lie upon lie upon lie.
We're from the Government and we are here to help, hi hi. And with those in office right now, it is more scary than ever.

[yogi]

The article I refer to talks about a group of medical researchers who where using mRNA in a series of tests to target specific cancers. Their work was so significant that their efforts were redirected to use the same mRNA techniques from their cancer research to target the novel COVID virus. Somebody with more knowledge than you and I thought it was worth the effort to divert research from cancer treatments to fighting a deadly virus. In fact the president at that time ordered hundreds of millions of government dollars to be directed to companies engaging in this mRNA research. As you point out that might have not been the "right" approach, but it did result in vaccines that are greater than 90% effective and were developed in record time. The claim that these mRNA vaccines are not proven is not consistent with observed results.

You re absolutely correct to cite that there are as many different cancers as there are patients. Since the cancers mutate within the host's body, finding a single cure has been elusive to date. That is why there is interest in mRNA. It can be modified to target these individual mutations in real time. As far as anybody knows at the moment, no other method of treatment can do this.

[Kellemora]

mRNA might be the key to finally putting an end to cancer.
But as far as it working for Covid, I'm getting almost the opposite results you seem to be finding.

My wife got her second booster now and has been sick as a dog since getting it.
She still has to go to work and suffer with it.
We've both also been down with the flu, which seems like we keep passing it back and forth to each other.
But after a week, I'm finally feeling better than I have in week or two.

[yogi]

I have an idea why you and I are coming to different conclusions. Both of us are pretty intelligent and dementia free; well I don't see it in your writing anyway. LOL The reason for the difference between us is the sources we use to gather information. I'll just leave it at that.

I've head of people who became very ill after being boosted, or injected for the first time for that matter. You may not appreciate it if you are the sick one but the illness is due to the immune system's reaction to the vaccine. It goes into a deep dive in some people to create the defenses necessary to fight off the Covid virus. It must be kept in mind that this vaccine, and any other vaccine, will not protect you against acquiring the disease. That is not the purpose of it. If you are unfortunate enough to get the virus. vaccinated people have a much higher chance of recovery and milder symptoms. I also can't say the vaccine will prevent you from dying. Some vaccinated people do die. However, just about all the people who do die from Covid currently are not vaccinated. It's hard to believe that is just coincidence.

I think your wife deserves some kind of special recognition if not also an appropriate compensation for what she is doing. A lot of folks would say the hardware store folks aren't in as critical a role as the healthcare people. I'd disagree. Both groups are public facing and endangering their personal well being constantly just to keep life moving along in difficult times. To me it's heroic and worthy of praise. I'm curios about Deb getting that 2nd booster shot. Was she advised to do so? I'm getting conflicting reports about the value of that 2nd booster.

[Kellemora]

Debi is due to leave on a cruise soon that has been rescheduled now a few times for over two years. The last time she was supposed to go, their ship broke down, hi hi. Far enough ahead of time she didn't fly to the coast. But if she comes up with a positive covid test, then she forfeits both the cruise and the airline tickets, and probably the motel the day before the cruise.

I told her after they cancelled the first time, she should have demanded the refund her money. Then after they cancelled the second time, she should have got her money back. But they don't work that way, they have another gimmick they use, by giving you a free upgrade. She now has three free upgrades, so will be traveling first class this time out, unless it gets cancelled too.

You wouldn't believe all the chores Debi is expected to handle at work. Namely things they should have other people doing. But like everywhere else, they can't find competent help anymore. And if the minimum wage goes up, they have half a dozen jobs that will be discontinued completely, or push more onto Debi to do, hi hi.

The shots Debi has got so far are simply, Shot #1, Shot #2, Booster, and Omicron. The last one is Required by the cruise lines.
Why I don't know, because if Shot #1 worked, you shouldn't need Shot #2, etc. ad infinitum.
People no longer got Polio after the Polio Vaccine, same with Scarlet Fever, one shot did the trick.
But none of those had mRNA in them, which might be why the shots don't work.
They were never intended to work, just get things into your body the government can control.

[yogi]

Thank you for explaining how Deb came to receive the 4th dose of the vaccine. It's obvious to me that the cruise line knows something about the virus which they don't want to publicize. In my humble opinion that knowledge is the reason they are making demands from their booked customers. I can't think of a place I would avoid more vehemently than a cruise ship, with the possible exception of an international airplane flight. But then I had that feeling about cruises well before pandemics became popular.

People no longer got Polio after the Polio Vaccine, same with Scarlet Fever, one shot did the trick.

Well duh! That is true because EVERYBODY got the vaccines for it. People STILL get those vaccines today. But for some reason unknown to any psychiatrist on earth they won't all get the vaccine that can wipe out Covid. It is becoming an endemic disease and there is no reason why it has to.

[Kellemora]

Last year, one of their cruises, where everyone, including the staff, employees and everyone on board was vaccinated, and tested negative before boarding. So how come, if the vaccines worked, the Covid run rampant on that ship?
The only logical reason is, the vaccines do not work!

There is no proven vaccine for Covid yet, and one that cannot do irreparable harm to a personage.
That is why it is not well accepted! Has absolutely nothing to do with the fact working vaccines worked and were trusted to work, because they did work and worked well.

And NO Everybody did not get vaccinated!

The number of deaths from Covid is near the bottom of the barrel of deaths from viruses. So why is it so politically fired up?
No other virus outbreak, even those with ten times the number of deaths, even got a wink of any from poli-TICK-ians.
Why NOW? And on something so menial? Could it be another Power Grab by Demonrats?

How's that Build Back Better working out for you?
I don't know a single person who LOVES this BidenFlation!

[yogi]

You said it all my friend, but not exactly in the words I would use. The vaccine for Covid has become a highly charged political issue and no amount of science or common sense will change that unfortunate circumstance. The observations and arguments you present here show a deep mischaracterization of how viruses and vaccines work. Many of the comments here are straight out of the Qanon playbook and/or a reaction to the misinformation campaign being conducted by foreign powers. It's called psychological warfare if you are interested in doing some research on the topic. I offered the article on mRNA simply as information that could possibly broaden a person's knowledge of the subject.

I won't respond in detail to the baited comments about politics or economics. Like vaccines we both have different understandings of the economy and governance. I know you are feeling the effects of inflation to a much greater extent than I am, and I truly have much empathy for you and the many others in the same situation. Going forward I'll try not to add to your discomfort.

[Kellemora]

None of it is going to matter much longer. I'm now going downhill faster than I planned.
I just hope I can stay alive long for the frau to go on her 10 day trip on Friday, and that she doesn't have to worry about me.
I'll try to keep up the false front until she's bobbing around in the ocean, two years after the fact.

I'm to the point, I cannot walk 20 feet without my O2 dropping from 95 down to 86, which is where I start gasping for air.
Trying to use the oxygen concentrator when I'm in the house, so I don't go through so many O2 tanks.
Burned up 5 of the big tanks and 4 of the little tanks this week. Not good Yogi, not good at all.

I'm also much later in the morning getting on-line, since I have to get my stats up and that takes longer also.

So, If I start disappearing for a day or two at a time, you will know why!
I'm usually this for along with my day by noon, and here it is 1:30 pm already.

[yogi]

I don't think there is much I can say that would be comforting or encouraging at this point. Knowing that It's the inevitable time of life we must all endure doesn't make it any easier. It would be morbid to peruse the archives of this website to view the number of known "Guardian Angels" we have acquired. Truth is there are many. I am certain I have not learned of them all. I would be lying to say I don't miss those good ol' days, but I speak the truth when I say your part in the history of Brainformation has tremendously increased the value of what we do here.

Life and death are the greatest uncertainties in our existence. Either one can occur without warning. Because of all that, much of what should have been said goes unspoken. It's with that thought in mind that I want to be certain you know how much I appreciate all you have contributed to Brainformation. I've come to know a little bit about your accomplishments and have indeed learned quite a bit from our dialogues. So, while I know it doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, I want to assure you that you have been a positive influence on my daily activities. Certainly you have touched the lives of many others as well. Your time here on earth has been well spent.

So, before this starts to look like an unsolicited eulogy, I'll just say my thoughts are with you and I'm hoping for the best. Do what you can when you can do it. I'll be here for at least another year until our lease on the domain name runs out. Not sure what I'll do after that.

[Kellemora]

One never knows what the doctors might come up with.
But I'm already five years past the normal life expectancy, so looking at it that, that is a good thing.

I've just had a couple of very hard weeks, and they have me worn down, just trying to breathe is a chore.
And when the O2 doesn't help you get back up, then you have to do some very tiring exercises to get rid of CO2.

I have a lot I need to get done, and it looks like I will never get around to it now either.

I'm going to keep kicking and hangin' in there for the count. I'm ornery like that, hi hi.

Yes, I've had a wonderful full life, but I'm not quite done yet, I owe my soul to the company store, hi hi.

[yogi]

Yes, miracles do happen. I've witnessed a couple. Mom lived two and a half years after she was diagnosed terminal and given only a few days to live. She laughed it off in fact and wanted to party instead. Thus, I know attitude means a lot. Even in mom's case she passed on too quickly. There were many things I could nave said to her beforehand but somehow never got around to it. You might in fact outlive me, and I'm aiming to celebrate at least 93 years on this planet. But, sometimes you are very up front about the reality of things. I simply wanted you to know that I value your friendship. I doubt you will be thinking of that in your final hours, but that's the point. You can be comforted by the fact now that at least one guy you know takes a liking for you.


On a slightly similar note it has become apparent to me that my wife worries too much about my well being. Perhaps I don't worry enough, but it bothers me to know how concerned she is. For example, she keeps insisting that I buy a snow blower to handle the non-existent snow we have been getting this year. I have a push shovel that I brought with me from the Great White North, and that's all I ever needed down here. Well, maybe once when we got 10" of the fluffy white stuff I could have used the snow blower I left behind. The truth is that I don't get nearly the exercise I did up north maintaining that small forest we owned so that shoveling a Chicago style snowfall once every five years is good cardio exercise as far as I'm concerned. Well, they keep talking about the heavy snow we "might" get and she got nervous and mail ordered a snow blower. It's about the size of a small vacuum cleaner and runs on an electric motor. Electric ... in the snow? I can't imagine one place in the universe where that would be practical. I'm sure it can handle up to about 1 1/5" of fluffy white. I have my doubts about anything deeper or heavy snow. Be that all as it may, she feels better now that we have a snow blower and is doing something proactive to prolong my life expectancy.

[Kellemora]

I used to shovel nothing. My cars were always winter ready for whatever the sky threw down at us.
I might shovel the front stoop and step so the frau didn't slide and land on her ketuckus, hi hi.
We do throw down calcium chloride when needed, but that was about it.

Now I've been known to use the garden hose to wash off the sidewalk, patio, and driveway before, hi hi.
Also washed the snow off the cars if they would be running and heated up.

I learned a long time ago to wipe down the rubber parts of the cars door seal with Olive Oil to prevent them from freezing shut.

[yogi]

The first home I owned had a detached garage in back of the house. It had to be at least 75 feet from the street to the garage door. That's a treacherous path to follow in a foot of Chicago Class snow, which is why I got a snow blower for that house. There was a circular drive in front of that house too and I suppose I could have just left the cars out in the snow. However, many snow storms are followed by sub-zero Arctic air for a few days and that makes it difficult to start the car engine when the oil is about as thick as putty. That's the main reason I preferred to keep the cars in the garage even if it meant a lot of snow removal to do it. Also, I never had to oil the door seals. If I thought of doing that I don't think olive oil would have been my first choice. That's an interesting bit of information there.

My second house was only 65 feet from the street. But that house also had a public sidewalk across the entire 130' lot. We were the first to build there and I had a few words to say to the city planner when he insisted I install a sidewalk to nowhere. Eventually my neighbors built their homes and also had sidewalks. At that time it made sense because down the block was a public school and the kids used our sidewalks to get there. So, that is the reason why I cleared the snow. Parents of kids who fall and get hurt on my property tend to get law suit crazy. Also, that driveway had a slight incline to it. It was not a problem getting into the garage from the street if the snow was less than about 8" deep. Anything more could cause problems on the slope, which is why I cleared the driveway of snow. I kept the cars in the garage in that house too for all the same reasons I did in the first house.

So, you see, I had what I thought were good reasons to clear the snow. Down here in Missouri it's only about 40' to my garage from the street, but we seldom get enough snow to cause problems. Having said that the current storm has dumped 6-8 inches of the fluffy white stuff along with a solid ice undercoating. It sure looks a lot like Chicago today. LOL But, since this only happens twice every five years, I see no need for a snow blower. Well not a gas powered one anyway. Wife is happy with the electric one which does a fairly good job on powder snow. She likes it so I let her clear the driveway while I used the shovel to clear the walk up to the front door. That's where I take the dog in the mornings and neither one of us appreciate snow and ice on our tootsies.

[Kellemora]

Most of my life I never shoveled the driveways, just drove back and forth on them to make a path, hi hi.
My garage has always been way to full to fit a car inside, so they stay outside year round.
My car looks like heck because it is parked under a Poplar tree so is covered with black sap all the time.

I now use my car so seldom, I often have to jump it with the little Hulu box to get it going.
That's one of the best things my frau ever bought! Now she has three, hi hi.

I have a doggie door to the back yard, so all the critters go out there to do their business, hi hi.

Debi does let one of the old dogs out the back door, so they always make a mess you have to watch not to step in it.

[yogi]

I see a lot of "full garages" around here. I guess that's always been the case no matter where I've lived, but it's a little more extreme here in Missouri. In my opinion the garage is primarily for storing the car(s) when not in use. There is always some extra space so that other things can also fit around the automobiles, such as gardening tools. In O'Fallon using the garage for protecting vehicles seems to be a secondary purpose. Many garages are so full of stuff that the family buggy needs to be parked on the driveway. A lot of neighbors around here will park a car or two in their three car garages and use the rest of the space for storage. That doesn't stop them from parking the truck or SUV on the driveway.

IN my experience with home ownership I've always had a basement under the living quarters. That is where things got stored. If you don't have a basement then the garage would be the appropriate place to put things long term, but most of the folks in this town do have basements. They tend to finish them off and live in them. Of all the homes we looked at before we settled on this one, there was only one in Lake St Louis that had an unfinished basement. That one was owned by a guy who did woodworking as a hobby and he had tons of tools down there. All the other homes had converted the basement to living space, so that there was no place to store things but in the garage.

I guess there is an upside to parking your cars in the driveway. That would be less snow to shovel from under the vehicles. Most people on my street shovel their driveways, but a few do not for one reason or another. Up north snow removal was a major project, but down here a good stiff broom can remove the snow most of the time. Plus, the average temperatures here are warmer than from whence I came and that allows the snow to melt rapidly on it's own. So, I can see it. Why bother to shovel when Mother Nature can do it for you? In my case it made parking the cars a lot easier. At one point wife had a major problem with her legs so that it was mandatory to keep the pavements clear as possible. So, basically, that's how I got into the habit of shoveling snow.

I will admit to some eccentricity. We've always owned dogs and those Chicago snow storms could make it impossible for the pooches to do their thing. So, I have been known to clear paths in the snow on the grass just for the dogs's convenience.

[Kellemora]

I've never lived anywhere that didn't have a full basement until I moved down south here.
And even then I dug out a good portion of the crawl space to make like a basement down there.

Here, Debi''s mom n dad had both the attic and garage packed solid.
They got rid of some things for me to make my office, and I bought two storage sheds for my business stuff.
This was all only supposed to be temporary too, hi hi. Well here it is 20 years later and I'm still here, with nothing unpacked.

I really do miss my house back in Creve Coeur, but like I learned, the taxes on it have skyrocketed, so I would have had to sell it anyhow. So I guess in a way, I lucked out being where I am now.

My frau has Covid, and I'm hiding from her as much as possible. She had all of her shots and boosters, but I've not had a single shot not even my annual flu shot this year. My COPD and Emphysema are going downhill really fast right now, which is scary.

[yogi]

A buddy of mine moved to Franklin, Tennessee, a few months after I came down here to O'Fallon. He had a huge house in a posh suburb and ran a business from within it. He and his wife made custom embroidered bandannas for doggies, a business which involved storing A LOT of bulk cloth material. The business took up most of the basement space with machines and stock for the bandannas. It was quite a successful business that he got involved with after he retired from an accounting career, but they cut back on it tremendously when they moved. It's probably a good thing that they did decide to actually retire because none of the homes where they live now have basements. It's mostly solid rock, and I am not sure what they do to get grass to grow. While most of the business doesn't exist anymore, they still need space to store their personal belongings. I never did ask how he handles that but using attic and garage space was probably the solution.

I'm sorry to learn about Deb being host to Covid. I must say that I'm impressed that she has not been infected a lot sooner given the kind of work that she does. The latest mutation is said to be highly contagious, more so than the original version. The current line of thought is that people who have been vaccinated are not any less likely to catch the disease but they are in a much better position to fight it off. Even if hospitalization is necessary, apparently the vaccinated folks recover fully quicker and more often. So, while I have a great deal of sympathy for her, I think Deb is probably in a good position to get through this virus relatively unscathed. I realize you don't need any advice from me, but I can remind you of some of the articles I posted here. One in particular addressed how this virus is transmitted via airborne droplets of moisture coming out of people's mouths and noses. The virus can only live 5-10 minutes outside the human body so that the most effective way to avoid transmission is to mask up and stay out of the spray zone, the infamous 6 feet of separation. I'm pretty sure you are able to do that with your home setup. I'm also fairly certain the incubation period for this omicron is a week or ten days. So y'all should not have to be apart for much longer than that. From what you have been telling me I think You are doing about all you can to keep out of harm's way. I truly wish there was something more that could be done for the COPD problem, but even there I think you are doing more than the average person does to fight off the symptoms.

[Kellemora]

As far back as I can remember, I've always had a side business or two going on. Even the years I lived in apartments.
When I had the big house with the heated garage is when I started doing things that required machinery, which led to my getting a commercial building for a short while. Doing that actually worked out quite well, because I could sell the business and move on, without having to help them set-up elsewhere.

Because my COPD and Emphysema are getting so bad now. If I get the Covid, I'm a gonner for sure.
So I'm being super extra careful.

[yogi]

I share your concern about us older guys being most vulnerable to the worst effects of Covid. Your COPD makes it even more risky because the virus after all is a lung disease. While I am blessed with relatively good health, as you know, I got all three jabs to help fight of any attacks. However, there are people who have a natural immunity which is why NOT ALL those unvaccinated folks are terminally ill. Then, too, you are living proof of what they say about the prevention technique of keeping a safe social distance. You are in a great environment for isolation and not that far from the refrigerator when needed. If you also continue to stay out of crowded environments where the air can be more saturated, I think you will manage to avoid catching this disease. So, again, I will say I believe you are doing all that is possible to stay Covid free.

There are some statistics suggesting we have peaked out for the number of people catching omicron, but the number of people still being hospitalized for it is increasing. With any luck we will be seeing some daylight by the time spring rolls around.

You have always been an active businessman apparently. That fact amazed me in that you have been involved with so many diverse adventures. I guess I would be less amazed if I saw what you did as simply being engagement in paying hobbies. You didn't put 100% of your time into any one business, but did indeed occupy all your time doing something. I can understand people with multiple hobby interests. Yours seems to have been collecting business experiences.