The Bar 2014 Edition

[ygmir]

*rides up on War Rabbit™, hops off and sends WR to hunt his breakfast*
ah Friday!!
*notes lump in NEB.......naw, let 'er sleep*

well we got a good rain, they say it's really helped in the fire fight (King fire, if you want to google it). Not out, though.

so, in acquiescence to AntiM and MDF, et al, I got a flu shot at my doc. apt. yesterday.
so, we'll see just how it works. I've not had one since 1979.

*heads for ROS*

[Elorrum]

Morning Bar. I like this waking up when it's light outside.
Made good progress yesterday, starting to get rid of things I thought I couldn't get rid of. Just working on clutter and "forgot I had that" stuff. Need to move up to the big stuff soon.
Flu shot, good reminder, ygmir. I usually got those for free at work.

[Elliot]

Had my annual flu shot a couple weeks ago. And a Pertussis (whooping cough) shot in the other arm, since this seems to be going around.
Influenza kills people every year. About 15 years ago I had a full-blown case of it, and I was so sick with "hot and cold running fevers" that I was actually afraid it would kill me. (Or afraid it wouldn't, as the joke goes.) So now I make darned sure I get the shot every year. And I have never had any negative reaction to it.

Time to dig Pear County Chopper out of the barn, air up the tires, and load it on the trailer. Riding it in the Pear Festival parade tomorrow morning. Biggest annual event in Lake County -- a "harvest festival" sort of thing. (Second picture from the right in my sig.)

[Joeln]

last flu shot was 3 years ago on a Friday & I had a low-grade flu all weekend.
I swore off them then, but now I'm considering the freebie at work...

[ygmir]

it's just always in the back of my mind:
what has the gov. ever done, or suggested, that works or is right? here and there maybe, but not much (in my world).
and, "they" push this at us from every direction.......

[Jovankat]

I got a flu shot for the first time this year and it seems to have worked well, of course I've also spent a good chunk of the Australian flu season here. American Boyfriend was sick earlier this week and slept for about 36 hours straight which was a little disconcerting but he's much better now.

[chuckularone]

I am required to get a flu shot every year where I work. They supply it for free and make it very easy to do (they'll be in the office Oct 8 ). I will only get the vaccine if it is a "Killed Virus" immunization. Three times in my life (while I was in the Navy) I got the live virus version. Three times I missed at least a week of work because of the flu. (hint: it happened a couple days after getting the live virus)

I haven't had to refuse since I've worked here, but I will if I have to.

[Jovankat]

I got mine at work too, it's offered though not mandatory. What sort of work do you do that it's mandatory?

[tatonka]

never had a flu shot , havnt had flu in over 20 years tho Got shots as a kid , always made me sick , got shots in the service and almost got to sick to go to nam .
My Mom got a polio shot back in the day and it gave her a small case of polio and she had to had a automatic , couldnt use a clutch cause her leg was weak. So I never got anymore since , and my kids never got them either. We gave them herbs to build up their system and they never got sick.

[chuckularone]

I got mine at work too, it's offered though not mandatory. What sort of work do you do that it's mandatory?

I work in IT at a hospital. They need to protect the patients err... customers.
Yes, they make us call them customers now and yes, it's stupid.

[Patsh]

Oh, someone on the radio must have spotted ^Rhino!'s cloud... he just said it could rain later today!
Thanks, ^Rhino! !!

Quick! Run that NPS up the flagpole for a free wash!!!

Well, Delle, believe it or not, the NPS did get a good washing this morning with vinegar water and a big, soft brush, then a good rinsing with the hose. It went up in sections, on the retractable flagpole... the ball on top is just right for the top of the shade. It only had to go up by three sections before it was off the ground. (25' flagpole) Dried really fast, got mended and re-bundled, and is ready for our 4 day Decomp in 2 weeks!

I didn't want to leave it up on the flagpole for the storm... it can get pretty windy, and there's a big cholla cactus within reach. That could end up being not very fun.

On the subject of flu shots... I've had the flu twice in my life, and both times it tried to kill me. (Both times were within a week or so of my only two flu shots, back in the '80s.) But, I don't even get the colds that make the rounds every year, so I'll take my chances without the flu shots, thank-you-very-much.

[theCryptofishist]

I get free shots at work (although the nurse was just fired/forced into retirement, I have no idea why), so I get them. Think of me as providing the herd immunity that you rely one to keep the crap from spreading.

One Pago-Pago Octopus, please.

[Elorrum]

yep, The ones who really need to be protected are the ones too weak, or young, to be immunized, so the rest of us (herd) protect them by being able and healthy enough to take the shots and not spread the virus. I could go on with what I think I know, what I know, and that science will back me up... but its a seasonal thing and for some reason people feel so strongly about it that I just get my shot, and try to keep my mouth shut.

[theCryptofishist]

Yeah, I was gonna leave it at that one mention.

[ygmir]

*rides up on War Rabbit™, slides off back as he sits. Nods to "Reptile Ranger" making his rounds*

*strolls down boardwalk, and in swinging doors, noting no dust*

*starts fan, throws playa dust in blades*

well, not only rain, but the first snows fell in the last couple of days, even down to 6K feet el. they said last night!
This should provide the deathnell for that dang fire............

yeah flu shots........well, my personal view is for me, I'd rather "get" the flu, and be immune, taking Neitzsche literally.
I do understand the societal implications and "herd immunity" and do see some responsibility there.
I think what tipped the scale is the doc saying with the "playa lung" I'm having this year, he felt the flu could be very hard on my lungs.......so, I agreed to give it a try.

Though believing and understanding "herd immunity", I'm not super sure it's a good idea, as the "herd" goes. It keeps certain members from getting said immunity, by not getting sick, especially when young and strong enough to weather it. And, in pure "herd terms" keeps the weak in the mix, when they would otherwise be cut out by this and other natural processes.
Not saying we should "drown the weak", but I take a little more "Spartan" view of how society should be, and part of that is we keep many,many folks alive for no good reason. And therein lies a dilemma of a "rich, caring, and sensitive" society.

*heads for ROS*

[FIGJAM]

Just throwing this out there.

Doctors are telling women pregnant with the generic defect that my niece has to abort as standard practice.

She does more productive things than most people I know.

I see your point, but we have to watch out for the extremes.

[unjonharley]

Don't want to get sick?? Don't go to WalMart where shoppers and there nose picking brats are carriers.. Those snot pickers are deadly to old people..

Also be a habitual hand washer.. like pontius pilot was

[Aurelia]

Good Morning Dear Ones

playa lung Yggy ? or tired

generic defect Figgy ? even a genetic problem is still a keeper

what are we talking about today

just please tell me why my good friend (also a dr.) who did have the shingles prevention shot
now has shingles
I am becoming a skeptic in spite of schooling

but on to another perfect beautiful day.

xoA.

[Elorrum]

Just talking about the flu, and not wanting to get into the topic of eugenics, the 1918 pandemic killed many young and healthy, it took advantage of a strong immune response loop that could work against the host. It's not a weak link thing necessarily. It can be a deadly disease period.

Ah Saturday, coffee. I'm really liking my coffee! I don't have to worry about snapping at co-workers, and if I get bothered by boxes, and stuff, they don't notice.
Going to drop off some e-waste today, old computers, monitors, t.v.s.

[unjonharley]

The scrap yard here buys computers, for what ever they salvage..

[Elorrum]

The scrap yard here buys computers, for what ever they salvage..

I'm looking into that possibility, and weighing the distance to where they pay versus the nearness of where they don't.

[theCryptofishist]

Just throwing this out there.

Doctors are telling women pregnant with the generic defect that my niece has to abort as standard practice.

She does more productive things than most people I know.

In some backwards way, it may be a good thing to tell those women. The women who keep their babies, are committed from day one, and you should be ferociously committed. And those that abort... That is an over-simplification, though, and there are plenty of parents who didn't know how much they would love their "genetically defective" children until the birth, when they held them in their arms.
A very interesting book that covers a lot of the different kinds of variations there can be between children and parents is Andrew Solomon's Far From the Tree. It came out in 2012, and is on the remainder tables now. He looks at all sorts of differences: disability, down's syndrome, children of rape, transgender... Sometimes, it's hard to read... for all sorts of reasons, but he writes well, and did a lot of research (not just the sit in the library kind, but the go out to talk to people kind), and it's worth it for the hard parts--maybe because of the hard parts.
I also recommend his book on depression, The Noonday Demon.

But yeah, many doctors are disability adverse, because they read disability as failure...

[tattoogoddess]

Fun story.... This does not leave eplaya or I will remove your limbs and beat you with them.

Ok I'm a few months shy of 30.... I have sucked one of my fingers sense the age of two. I'm not a huge hand washer.
I very very very rarely get sick. I get a cold once a year or so. I had the flu 2 years ago (might have been stress induced as I found out my now ex was cheating on me so started puking) that flu was baddddd, like couldn't keep water down and torn stomach muscles. 2 trips to the er. Last time I had the flu before that I was 14.
Other then that.... I never get sick.

Was in Paris and In the subways with a group I was with. Some of the girls were freaking out saying don't touch the hand rails, don't touch anything! I said "you guys are fucking idiots!" Then I licked the handrail to drive my point home. Didn't get sick.

I have been exposed to sooo many germs that I guess I'm now super immune. Pretty lucky!

[^Rhino!]

My internist (internal medical specialist or MD who handles the 45-yr. old and up crowd) insists on my getting the flu shot each year. The 'problem' is that for me is that I involuntarily have to change doctors periodically as new ones come in and the one I had leaves for greener pastures. They keep me with interns lately, because I give the supervising MD an honest opinion about bedside manner, willingness to talk to the patient, and equally important people skills. Helping the docs with this valuable assessment means I always get my appointments on good days that I request. I've had some really GREAT interns. My last one was a lady from India who was superb, the University kept her on as an associate in their Diabetic Education program. And now, she'll make 170 K "in a position where I have a chance to help a LOT of people". I wish her well. She taught me about the joys of low-calorie Mediterranean cooking.....I now make Moroccan-style tagine twice a month....good stuff.


See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajine for some really great cooking ideas.

[Patsh]

Hey, ^Rhino! !! Thank you!!
Your cloud actually made it to practically the whole of AZ!
It rained today, on and off, and the ground actually got wet! If I'd been driving, I'd have had to figure out how to work the windshield wipers. (Hey, I've only had the car for 5-1/2 years... gimme a break...)

Actually, some heavier rain with flooding south of here (like Phoenix)... that town just wasn't built for water-from-the-sky.

[Sunbeam56]

Grapefruit juice on the rocks, please!
Hey Rhino! Tajine sounds fabulous. thanks for the link!
Im almost over a brush with strep. Going back to the office tomoro.
There's a bronchial virus going around in this neck of the woods. But no "true" flu, yet...

How do the makers of flu shots know in advance what flu will be a problem in the next flu season?

[^Rhino!]

Hey, ^Rhino! !! Thank you!!
Your cloud actually made it to practically the whole of AZ!
It rained today, on and off, and the ground actually got wet! If I'd been driving, I'd have had to figure out how to work the windshield wipers. (Hey, I've only had the car for 5-1/2 years... gimme a break...)

Actually, some heavier rain with flooding south of here (like Phoenix)... that town just wasn't built for water-from-the-sky.

Great! Can I turn off the super fan now? It's hell on the ol' utility bill.....lol

[^Rhino!]

Grapefruit juice on the rocks, please!
Hey Rhino! Tajine sounds fabulous. thanks for the link!
Im almost over a brush with strep. Going back to the office tomoro.
There's a bronchial virus going around in this neck of the woods. But no "true" flu, yet...

How do the makers of flu shots know in advance what flu will be a problem in the next flu season?

Great. I'm glad you enjoyed the link. I sincerely hope you enjoy preparing it as much as I enjoyed preparing it. In the absence of an earthenware cooking jar, a Dutch oven also works. Just remember to keep the temperature of the oven at 300-325 degrees and check the water level every 30 minutes.

Glad you're over the strep. A shot of Jack Daniels with a teaspoon of sugar is also a good curative for that ailment.

The makers of flu shots are advised by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Where they get THEIR data I have no clue.

[Patsh]

Hey, ^Rhino! !! Thank you!!
Your cloud actually made it to practically the whole of AZ!
It rained today, on and off, and the ground actually got wet! If I'd been driving, I'd have had to figure out how to work the windshield wipers. (Hey, I've only had the car for 5-1/2 years... gimme a break...)

Actually, some heavier rain with flooding south of here (like Phoenix)... that town just wasn't built for water-from-the-sky.

Great! Can I turn off the super fan now? It's hell on the ol' utility bill.....lol

hahahhaaa yes, ^Rhino! , you can turn it off now... thanks for the rain!!

[lucky420]

Fun story.... This does not leave eplaya or I will remove your limbs and beat you with them.

Ok I'm a few months shy of 30.... I have sucked one of my fingers sense the age of two. I'm not a huge hand washer.
I very very very rarely get sick. I get a cold once a year or so. I had the flu 2 years ago (might have been stress induced as I found out my now ex was cheating on me so started puking) that flu was baddddd, like couldn't keep water down and torn stomach muscles. 2 trips to the er. Last time I had the flu before that I was 14.
Other then that.... I never get sick.

Was in Paris and In the subways with a group I was with. Some of the girls were freaking out saying don't touch the hand rails, don't touch anything! I said "you guys are fucking idiots!" Then I licked the handrail to drive my point home. Didn't get sick.

I have been exposed to sooo many germs that I guess I'm now super immune. Pretty lucky!

I bet you've licked worse things than that...