Had a great family meal yesterday on Zoom, with people from both coasts of the US, all at the same time. It lasted 3 hours and had half of our kids, sisters, brothers, mom, grandmas, ex-wife, her BF, my new wife, it was very sweet and touching, funny and inspiring to see everybody loving life, in the midst of a pandemic.
Christmas will be a Zoom Christmas all around the world, everybody in one room. It's a bit obnoxious sometimes, but in a funny, typical Zoom way.
It's a new age when everything has moved on line.
Amazon is hiring like crazy to keep up.
The restaurants are all order-out and some have adapted to the new reality well and others, a lot, are going under.
Reality has changed and we are adapting to a new reality.
And a lot of it is long overdue.
Share some healing holiday experiences.
As long as we have heartbeats,
we have a great deal to be grateful for!
Mozoltov!

It is very inspiring to know how humanity evolved communication technology into information technology. People say the things are the same. Imagine a world with cord phones!

"humanity evolved communication technology" ..
Nope.
Magically created by a god.

Innovation is the voice of reason.

Dave, off topic but just curious, can you please show me factual evidence that claims God doesn't exist?

All gods are equally real.

yes, but that doesn't mean that 1 exists and 1 doesn't.

Would it matter if your god existed but in a form you didn't like? Say your god gives you blessings but they are indistinguishable to randomness and chance since that is how your god works?

The mere existence of a god or God doesn't preclude the notion that we mere humans would understand that existence. WE base a belief on a concept that can't be verified and if it existed could be totally wrong for our conception.

Pray upon that to get your peek at god like Mohanri did.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2020 10:36AM by Elder Berry.

Or the pandemic provides a valid reason for not gathering with kin I don't particularly like. Thank you.

www.theonion.com/best-grace-scenario-1845718522

We had two wonderful zoom gatherings yesterday visiting with our grown children and their families and with DH's brothers and sisters (I have no contact with the people who were the so-called family of my birth). We actually have more visits and gatherings of our loved ones now through zoom, texting and phone calls than we did before the pandemic. Something about taking away those in-person gatherings we have taken for granted all these years has made us all appreciate each other more and reach out more often.

We also received the happy news that our son and his wife are expecting their second child - a girl! She will be our first granddaughter. We are already hopelessly in love with her just as we are with our two baby grandsons!

Mother Earth is always doing her damnedest to recycle us - in the meantime life is pretty amazing!

PollyDee Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
>
> We also received the happy news that our son and
> his wife are expecting their second child - a
> girl! She will be our first granddaughter.

I second that e-motion! Our first granddaughter is due May 18, +/- the standard deviation. We did, however, fly down to North Carolina, where & when we got the happy news. My son served up a superb brine-soaked bird.

Yes, Zoom has been an unexpected blessing. We had a pre-meal get together yesterday with far-flung family members.

I worry less about acquiring more things, and more about connecting with people I care about.

I agree with Olderelder.

I am completely guilt-free, when I say "No" to Mormon former "friends". No to their boring, awkward parties, and activities. No, I won't be cooking an elaborate casserole from someone else's three-page recipe, for the Ward Christmas party, and I won't be driving all over the valley to search for a certain exotic ingredient, and I won't be soaking anything for two days in the fridge, and I won't be dishing up grub for 10 people when I'm only one person who is single without a date. (My children always refused to go, and I didn't want to have them unhappy and crying over a stupid party at Christmastime.

I used to get sick every time I taught Primary, and had to find a substitute for the next week. The week after that, I would return to teach the Primary class, and get sick again, and have to find a substitute again. This would continue all winter, until I had to quit teaching, because I had a real, salaried job that I could NOT keep missing because of illness. Now, all I have to say is "Covid", and I don't have to go into that filthy, smelly wardhouse building.

My own children left the cult before I did. My little Mormon nieces and nephews are very happy and relieved to not have to go to church on Sunday, and not be forced into lame "activities" with kids whom they barely know (yet they absolutely love school, sports, and music). Their parents are so relieved and relaxed on the weekends, that they told me that they probably won't be going back to church, when the pandemic is over.

I know things have been extreme--and freedom and knowledge should not have to be bought at the price of all those lives--but a full dose of brainwashing and lying and money-grabbing, and the resulting consequences, has made them take a second look at following fake people with self-appointed "authority." Where have Nelson and the other leaders been in these crises? Busy protecting their own self-interests and brands. Nelson is no different than the others.

My formerly Mormmon family has had a very small, mild taste of what it's like to be oppressed, not heard, disrespected as human beings. (A lot of us Mormon women have lived our entire life under the thumb of arrogant misogynist authority figures and bullies).

It is good to see the light go on behind those dull, vacant eyes. Is it the light of hope? God, I hope so.

When this nightmare is over, I, and most of my family, and a lot of my informed Mormon friends, will NOT be returning to the Mormon cult, not returning to the Old Normal, because it was not normal at all.

Cows still have to be milked each day and cattle/livestock fed, watered and taken care of.

Water troughs still cleared of ice so the livestock can get to the water.

As temps get below Zero(f) the livestock still needs to be brought into sheltered areas for protection.

Farm machinery needs to be serviced so it will be ready for use as soon as it can be put into the fields.

Roads and feed areas need to be plowed and kept clear of snow and straw put in the livestock pens so the animals are in good shape.

The upper level of the barn is swept clear so the basketball hoop is available for the kids and grandkids to play while wind and snow hit outside. Hay bales arranged so family & friends can watch as they play.

The garden was cleared and tilled before things froze and with the snows we'll fertilize so as snow melts the nutrients go into the ground and spring planting will yield even better garden produce.

All vehicles protected to at least 60 below, oil changed with winter synthetic for easier starts and the engine block heaters tested before they are needed. Winter tires put on using the second set of wheels. Stupid not to be prepared and rely on summer tires to handle black ice, snow and such.

Fish shacks cleaned and ready so we can put them on the ice when it is at least 7 inches thick, while the ice augers are serviced and ready to go.

Rifles sighted in well before deer, elk and moose hunting starts. Part of the sight in is on Coyotes out to 500 yards.

Small traps checked, lubed and set out to nail the ever present weasels and mink that come in to try their luck on the chickens. The coop is checked so the heat lamp is working without fail and the eggs don't freeze before we get out mid morning to check and collect them.

The dogs have snow booties for when it gets well below zero as well as their water bowls heated and the dog houses insulated.

Winter with Covid is here but farm work does not stop.

sounds cool-

The reason is simple. It's evolution. We are on our way to becoming androids --- not the phones, although that's a possibility too. No, it's machine-life replacing the old soft tissue and breakable bones. It will make everything easier --- modular organs instead of DNA based fragile squishy things,long space voyages and love affairs like Spock might have minus all the emotion. Those who object, know your fate. The 'Terminator' laid that out very clearly. Then again, maybe not. Maybe our future just involves new jobs --- like android bounty hunters. New jobs are good.

Score this BIG one for the pandemic:

Working from home finds me in front of windows on two sides (or working outdoors on the patio, on great days) where I can glimpse the sun, the sky, birds, shrubs, trees, wild turkeys, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, changing seasons, breezes and assorted other reminders that the world is more than my normal office location which has absolutely no windows for staff, managers, visitors.

Somebody thought that endless hallways, offices and workspaces of gray would result in more productivity?

I'd say it's silly to go on with the pandemic mongering much more. I go to work everyday and we all get together and have a big beautiful lunch break together in a closed room with lots of people not 6 feet apart. The masks go off, the rules get shoved to wear they belong, and we shovel down the food! I'm getting tired of the virtue signaling, and pretend obedience to some silly rules made by some politicians sitting in their safe office buildings. They ought to go out and see what America really thinks about all these rules.

Personally I've been sick all weekend but have had my temperature checked and am not sick enough to go home. Probably passed my germs to everyone by now, lol! Working Americans don't have time for these games anymore. We haven't been following any of the rules all this time anyway.

I'm just tellin the truth...

macaRomney Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'd say it's silly to go on with the pandemic
> mongering much more. I go to work everyday and we
> all get together and have a big beautiful lunch
> break together in a closed room with lots of
> people not 6 feet apart. The masks go off, the
> rules get shoved to wear they belong, and we
> shovel down the food!

Exactly! We should stop listening to the so-called "experts" and model our behavior after macaRomney!


------------------
> I'm getting tired of the
> virtue signaling, and pretend obedience to some
> silly rules made by some politicians sitting in
> their safe office buildings.

Yes! Those docs with their MDs and epidemiologists with their highfalutin Ph.D.s 'n such, those pretentious nurses with their facial sores and their PTSD from seeing so many people die excruciating and lonely deaths: they all are nothing more than "politicians sitting in their safe office buildings."

Tellin' it like it is, macaRomney!


-------------------
> They ought to go out
> and see what America really thinks about all these
> rules.

And who represents the "real" America better than macaRomney and his buddies eating at Chuck-a-Rama and scoffing at masks and social distancing? There ain't an MD or a Ph.D. or a nurse with psychological problems in the bunch, so you can trust them!


---------------
> Working Americans don't have time for
> these games anymore. We haven't been following any
> of the rules all this time anyway.

Now that's the American spirit: who cares if innocent old people are killed or young people develop chronic handicaps? We "don't have time for these games anymore!"


----------------
> I'm just tellin the truth...

Thank you for that, macaRomney. You are an inspiration to us all!

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> macaRomney Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------

> ----------------
> > I'm just tellin the truth...
>
So what you were saying before, telling us you are "just tellin the truth...." that was not the truth?

And what an Algonquin roundtable MacaMORON and his buddies must be.

F*ck yeah maca romney! F*ck those governors and corrupt politicians who don't follow their own rules

macaRomney Wrote:
> I'm just tellin the truth...

So what you are telling us is that the only way we know you are telling the truth is if you say "just tellin the truth...."

> Personally I've been sick all weekend but have had
> my temperature checked and am not sick enough to
> go home. Probably passed my germs to everyone
> now, lol!
>
> I'm just tellin the truth...

And there it is - the truth.
The fact that you don't give a shit about anyone but yourself.

I'm actually grateful that people are required to wear masks in stores. I was plagued with the flu/pneumonia a few years ago and don't want to go through that misery again. I feel safer in stores during flu season with everyone wearing masks, preventing infected people from sneezing and coughing on me. I think masks should be required in stores every flu season.

It's difficult to imagine that you and macaRomney live so near one another. The difference in attitude, in responsibility, is vast.

You make a good point: some of the new rules are likely to persist. Epidemiologists have long argued that hand-shaking is unsanitary, and that and other new norms--although I personally hope not mask-wearing--are likely to endure past the acute phase of the pandemic. The primary cause may be COVID, but we really do share too many diseases with one another and there is a high likelihood that there are other serious viruses like COVID in store now that human populations are so deeply involved in regions of the world replete with pathogens.

In short, to one degree or another the world won't be the same after this episode.

This is f*cking stupid. Do you really want to muzzle yourself like a DOG??

hujo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is f*cking stupid. Do you really want to
> muzzle yourself like a DOG??

Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, "YES! I get to wear a mask all day today!!!"
Nobody WANTS to wear a mask all day, or out in public, but responsible people wear a mask, despite the discomfort and appearance, because they CARE about their loved ones and don't want them to die, like millions of Americans did in the last bad pandemic, in 1918.
That's not "f*cking stupid".
It's the opposite.
It's fucking stupid to disregard the advice of the experts, the scientists and especially THE immunologist who got us through the other viral epidemics we've had over the past 30 years.

thats pretty much what heartbroken said

It's not a muzzle, it's a mask. If you don't know the difference I feel sorry for you.

Do you ridicule doctors/nurses for wearing masks while performing surgery or would you rather they infect you during the operation? Do you call their masks muzzles?

I don't understand why people put up such a fuss about wearing a mask. It takes two seconds to put on/off and can save people from infections. If nothing else it protects cashiers who have to interact with perhaps 100's of customers during their shift. It just takes one customer coughing/sneezing on them to make them ill. They can't work from home but have to call in sick, often without sick pay.

Try to think of others for a change.

I think of others, but I don't want to be forced to wear a cloth that hides my face for something they have a 99.8% chance of surviving.
However, I absolutely would if the person was at risk or elderly because they could actually die. 94% of the deaths came from at risk/elderly people. They should've just quarantined instead of forcing everyone to.

Cause you can tell who would die and who wouldn't. Yeah, got god?

Do you really want to keep speaking like a parrot ?

Why not go see them in person? Statistically, you have a 99.8% chance of surviving.

Because that would be stupid.

Yep, really stupid to stop living life for a bullsh*t virus that only kills 0.2% of the population.

Please wake up lots wife

Ego combined with ignorance leads to a pitiful state. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a cure for you, not that you'd even recognize that you should be looking.

Let's hope he figures this out fast. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for about one more minute.

This is probably the first time he's ever been asked for anything resembling a sacrifice, and he doesn't like it. I bet he's been given everything he's ever wanted, and the worst thing he's experienced in life was his dad taking his phone away. This is the kid who thinks he understands socialism "perfectly."

Also, remember that one of his earlier handles was hujoMAGA. He can't process his guy losing and is lashing out at others precisely like what he is – a juvenile.

If you want to talk about socialism, then tell me your twitter handle and we'll talk about it there. And yes, I have made sacrifices before. I don't believe wearing a diaper/muzzle for something 99.8% of people survive is a justified sacrifice.

Do you even fucking read? [|] provided the definitive source, and it says the survival rate is 98% and not 99.8%. You are off ten-fold. And that doesn't include the much larger percentage of people who suffer debilitating damage to their lungs, their brains, and other parts of the body.

You can't pick and choose your facts. Grow up fast or you will learn the hard way.

where does it say 98%? please show me an article

I'm not on Twitter or Facebook. I've got better things to do.

And it's not necessarily the survival rate. There are outcomes other than full recovery vs. death:

"Approximately 10-15% of cases progress to severe disease, and about 5% become critically ill."

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/risk-comms-updates/update-36-long-term-symptoms.pdf

Even if you don't die, you can still be hospitalized and have tubes shoved down your throat so you can breathe. Then you might suffer long-term or permanent damage to your vital organs.

"Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle, even in people who experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms… Even in young people, COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis."

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351

Then you have to figure out how to pay the hospital bills, because insurance isn't going to cover it all.

And you can be sure the insurance companies will treat having had COVID as a pre-existing condition because they don't know how the actuarial risks will change, meaning that you won't be able to get coverage for future health care.

How can that be about ego? I don't believe that shutting down businesses, distancing, and mask wearing are required for a virus that has a 99.8% survival rate. Tell me why you would justify that please

exmocapitalist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why not go see them in person? Statistically, you
> have a 99.8% chance of surviving.


That's like saying during the Aids epidemic in the 90's, Why not just have unprotected anal sex? You have a 99.8% chance of surviving.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2020 09:38PM by schrodingerscat.

exmocapitalist is hujo.

I'm torn between how to react to him because he is young and inexperienced and yet he expresses himself in such acidic terms. I hope he gets a better grip on what the pandemic is doing.

Maybe as a high school freshman he shouldn't come here and tell people who know more than he does that they are brainwashed sheep.

Entirely true.

I'm willing to cut arrogant teens some slack because they are, well, arrogant teens. But I am getting tired of the demeaning comments and random, uncreative cursing.

The distance from here to macaRomney's anserine incomprehension is not great.

I'm a sophomore now, and I've spent hours listening to both sides about covid. It's clear to me that it's bullsh*t, listen to the attached podcast in my reply to lots wife.

Tyson figured out he is 25.

Tyson's full of sh*t

he is parroting what he hears from his parents.

No, they're more concerned then I am.

Yeah, thats me just was too lazy to log in. You should listen to this covid podcast by andy popescu to see the other side of the coin. You can react any way you want, I won't take offense.
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8yZmZiYTNiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NDI2MzY1NmItNTJmNy00Yjk0LWEwMjgtN2JlYzE4ZTk5NGI3?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjog7OctqntAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ

You mean the cars and lifestyle guy?

What? You don't think that would make him an expert on infectious diseases or epidemiology?

/s

Just listen to it man

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2020 11:34PM by hujo.