Random Rant Thread

[miscmisc]

The problem really is two-fold because many places are still in the middle of a severe Delta wave. Outside the countries that really fucked it up like Russia, there has always been SOME interval between surges. The timing of the oncoming Omicron wave, which is likely going to be absolutely huge, will eliminate that, so effectively you'll have had to deal with one monstrous wave that is longer and higher. So basically every country will face the danger of becoming a Russia, and some more. The doctors and nurses in Russia who have had to deal with Covid-19 are absolutely worn out.

Also, the immunity of the unvaccinated who have been only infected with Alpha/Delta can't do shit against Omicron.

[miscmisc]

So basic, so obvious, but it needs to be said. The fact that it does says a lot about our predicament.

[miscmisc]

Screw Joy Reid, but you sound like someone with a massive inferiority complex, like a typical Dartmouth bottom feeder.

[miscmisc]

One potentially good news about Omicron is all those sub lineages. It's been mutating like crazy, and what that often means is that it's very unstable.

[miscmisc]

The simple fact of the matter is that the software development should be on hold until the liability issue is solved. It's a massive waste of time to even try to reason with people like Musk on this kind of issues, but this is seriously wrong for that reason, and that reason alone. The software can become better, and the infrastructure might be able to accommodate it better, but we are simply nowhere near the point where this is fine. This is seriously not fine.

[miscmisc]

We humans are allowed to drive cars despite the enormous risk factor of harming others solely because the liability issue has been basically sorted out. That really is the ONLY reason.

[miscmisc]

The UK has been a good canary in the coal mine when it comes to Covid-19, and that's going to be true with Omicron too.

I don't know exactly why - I find the "London is a huge international hub!" argument thoroughly insufficient - but that's the way it has been mostly.

[miscmisc]

You should read this whole thread (summary) on the WHO presser, by Kai.

I still criticize the WHO for many things, but their press conferences have been some of the most level-headed, informative events on Covid these days. Many accused them of "fear-mongering" on Delta in its early days, and some of them are dead now.

[miscmisc]

I wouldn't eat out this Christmas. People seem to be getting Omicron at restaurants, cafeterias and whatnot left and right in Europe now. So basically, we are going back to the basics. Most restaurants and dining places are still super-poorly ventilated, and masks can't do shit in that setting.

In a nutshell, I would act like this is Winter 2020 regardless of the vaccination/prior infection status. Frankly you are a moron if you are going to party.

Well, I actually will have to eat out, sorry, but this is Japan. We will be hit hard a bit later than most of you guys. Probably.

[miscmisc]

My German is not good enough to understand all of it, so it's kind of hard for me to keep up, but still Kai's podcast is one of my favorites on Covid.

viertausendhertz.de/pandemia

The latest ones are interviews with Christian Drosten and Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, and are very good. I know some of you understand German, so you should check it out.

[miscmisc]

Many prominent scientists are arguing that Delta and Omicron will co-exist for a while. If that's the case, and if you are still unvaccinated, well, I don't know what to tell you, man. Good luck.

[miscmisc]

Most people seem unable to see that both the universal mask-wearing in Japan and 85-90% non-mask-wearing in Texas are mostly about peer pressure.

The latter does NOT come from "individualism." Hell, if individualism were stronger in Texas, a lot more people would be wearing masks.

I'm not really talking about masks here. This is just one example. I'm simply tired of people who seem utterly unable to understand how peer pressure works in different social settings, and how essential it is in human life.

[miscmisc]

Smart money says Omicron is already ubiquitous in the US. Some of it is the Thanksgiving Delta surge, but it's hard not to think that Omicron is playing a big part too.

[miscmisc]

At this point you ought to expect collective measures against Covid-19, be it "lockdowns" or less severe ones, to be largely ineffective or flat out fail.

Reportedly people are "worn out" already. Our ancestors would burst into laughter hearing that - You are "worn out" because of, what, THAT? - but that's just the way it is in 2021. We are certainly weaker and incredibly more spoiled than our human ancestors, but they are them, and we are us. No one can turn us into them. It is what it is.

The biggest problem that we have now is that the endgame is not clear. How will this shit end? What will the society look like after this? These are all very legitimate questions. It's been clear for a while, before the emergence of Omicron, that Covid-19 will become endemic, something we will have to deal with and live with indefinitely.

But you can't quite blame the "governments" for being unable to give us the vision. This particular pandemic is just way over their collective head at this moment. We've been learning every day that this kind of pathogens, which are not extremely lethal yet can kill, and are incredibly transmissible and genomically flexible, are nasty, nasty ones. They are an absolutely formidable foe, and it's getting increasingly likely that whether we are aware or not, we are in the process of looking for the optimal point where we basically surrender to them, accepting them as our biological neighbors to be tamed mostly through vaccinations and social awareness.

So, what are we going to do with this new variant? Well, there isn't much "we" can do now. The shit's spreading so fast that it's too late. But there are things that I, as an individual, can do. To protect myself.

We already failed to tackle this pandemic as a global community, and thus unfortunately it has all come down to each individual. If you don't want to get vaccinated, whatever. I will try not to have anything to do with you. If you don't want to wear a mask in public spaces, I can't force you to do so. I just can't. But don't ever get close to me.

I shouldn't be saying anything like that as a leftist, someone who believes in a society. But it's not such a big deal, really. This isn't any worse or better than I had imagined. There has been no real surprise personally throughout this pandemic. 

We are just not very good. We suck. I knew that. But that doesn't mean that I like to wallow in my disappointment at humanity. I don't. The question is what positive things we can build despite all the weaknesses and disappointments, and that's what drives me.

[miscmisc]

The emergence of Omicron does give us the warning that we really shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Almost everyone expected another variant to emerge sooner or later, but they all but assumed that it would be a lineage of the fittest variant of the time, Delta.

In reality, Omicron came totally out of left field genomically. It's a very distant cousin of Delta and Beta at best, and shares the same parent with Alpha and Gamma, both of which were brutally defeated by Delta a while ago. It's like a secret little brother of the slain variants now coming out of the wilderness to challenge the reign of Delta, with its crazily mutated weapons. We don't know exactly where it came from, where it was hidden all along.

Most of us thought it was going to be basically a Delta dynasty one way or another. We really didn't expect this Shonen-Jump-esque secret-brother-on-a-revenge-mission narrative.

You just cannot predict how these things evolve.