@vtgrad2003; Very sage advice! I was a professor of Fire Science Technology. Not a politically charged subject matter, but I got a lick in whenever I could. It was probably preaching to the choir.
LoL! I guess I don't get who or what you have a beef with. I get we had a bad 2020 but at least where I'm at other than missing pipe shows we're back to pretty much normal. I guess I should be thankful that whatever the issues that got you whining haven't affected me or mine.
Thanks for the kind words everyone, I appreciate it.
@vtgrad2003 Thanks for the tips about college. I'm not sure what we'll do with our kids, but I know I'll be encouraging them to look for options other than college. Don't get me wrong, I loved college, and it gave me the best friends I always wanted, as well as my beloved wife. Unfortunately, going for an ill advised Masters degree has saddled me with a debt I'll be stuck with for my entire life. I get depressed sometimes thinking about it, and hope that one day reforms are passed to deal with the predatory actions of student loan companies.
Guidance on education and career choice is horrible. Never let a college advise your kids because they sell classes and worthless degrees to make money. I'm teaching and encouraging my daughter to explore, talk to people in different fields, interview them, take intro classes, research and try different things to see what gets you excited. One thing to consider is, jobs that do not exist yet. This happens a lot in the tech world. Also, watch out for AI and automation that continue to take many jobs away. Think about the kind of life you want to live and evaluate what career choice can help create the life you want to live and enjoy.
Most of us do this backwards because we were misguided and end up working jobs that don't support how we envisioned our lives to be when we were younger. It's a messed up system.
I don't know, in my humble opinion it has a lot to do with how far you take your education and your career. For instance, I effectively stopped going to school when I was 11 and started hanging out with my half brother that owned a drywall company. By sixteen I was fully dropped out of school (as soon as I was a legal age to do so) and started my own drywall company. By 20 I was not only running my company, but expanded into deck building, as well as being a full time residential construction superintendent building nearly 100 homes a year across 3 jobsites. Obviously, working 14 hour days 7 days per week was the norm for me. It disintegrated my first marriage, and by 22 I looked in the mirror and I looked like I was 52. I then moved to NC, obtained in state residency, got my GED, went to community college for 2 years, then transferred into Chapel Hill to finish out my undergrad in economics. Got a very high paying job for Piccadilly Cafeterias as a regional production manager...but I was still missing something so I went to get my PhD.
Now I'm very well off, and have set myself up nicely for retirement...and I've regained my sanity and look my age instead of older. I think many people these days think that an undergraduate degree is all you need, but most likely it's not. The long-run unemployment rate for PhD's is roughly 1.5%, much lower than for BA/BS.
To be sure, you might accumulate some debt along the way, but typically only at the undergrad level...most PhD programs provide substantial stipends for students with decent GPAs.
Everyone usually looks at what they want to do versus what they can actually do. I think what happens many times is that people stop short of their full potential, and that's when the frustration builds.
Don't even get me started with study after study after study dating back to the late 90's showing masks have little to no effect on the transmission of air born viruses...
You are right on target.The question is, “What target?” The American Society for Microbiology finds that “…… cotton masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks all have a protective effect with respect to the transmission of infective droplets/aerosols of SARS-CoV-2 and that the protective efficiency was higher when masks were worn by a virus spreader.”
@Balisong I just tried but for some reason, what I posted has to go through an "approval process" before it will actually post, whatever that means. If it's not up by tomorrow, I'll try again. I have to sign off now though.
@motie2 I'm assuming you read the article you posted and aren't just reposting it...one of the major problems with the article you site is it is a laboratory study where they developed an "airborne transmission simulator"...which is fine, but remember, laboratory studies are much like computer programs...if you put crap in, you get crap out. Real life is considerably different than what is produced in a lab--trust me on this, I was on the economic consulting team for Texas Tech University's Medical Research Center (I think now it's called an "Institute" I'm not sure). One of the major issues all laboratory medical research has is it's inferential reliability when translated to the real world.
@motie2 "“…… cotton masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks all have a protective effect with respect to the transmission of infective droplets/aerosols of SARS-CoV-2 and that the protective efficiency was higher when masks were worn by a virus spreader.”"
I can believe that the masks you cited do make a difference.
What I question is how effective are all the "Made in China" masks being sold at places like Walmart and other retail outlets. I also question the efficacy of all the disposable paper masks.
Oh, well, there’s a world of difference between “What I question is how effective are all the "Made in China" masks being sold at places like Walmart and other retail outlets. I also question the efficacy of all the disposable paper masks” and your previous “….masks have little to no effect on the transmission of air born viruses.”
Your phone, refrigerator, stove, TV, computer, clothes, and, chicken all comes through China so why question masks? Has anyone shown that masks shipped to the US are less effective than masks shipped to Europe? Why would you alienate your largest customer? If the US was your biggest customer would it benefit you if the population shrank?
@motie2@Balisong I have no idea why this website will not let me attach the link to the article...maybe this attachment works...and it did, so please read it then move to what I write below, because it is equally important.
The above article was funded by the CDC as you can see in the fine print in the footnote of the first page. The nice thing about that study is that it is a review of other literature on this topic. But I want you to pay attention to the following quote: "We did not find evidence that surgical-type face
masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed
influenza transmission, either when worn by infected
persons (source control) or by persons in the general
community to reduce their susceptibility" This is the conclusion they came to after reviewing the literature in this area. But I have another review article too that was just recently published in a news outlet...let me see if this website will let me link to it, because it didn't yesterday, see next post below...
And to add just one last thing. If you ever see another study that uses a 6 cubic foot plexiglass case with 2 plastic heads in it, they run an experiment and then try to say those results apply in real life, please question it. If the 'researchers' in your article had even provided a slightly more sophisticated experiment, okay, but a 6 cubic foot box with two plastic heads in it? All I can do is laugh because the level of inferential translation to real life is almost comical if it wasn't so sad.
Now, all that said, I'm sure you will think to yourself "yeah, but, many of these studies were about the flu and not covid...and that I'll agree, but respond with a couple of logical observations. First, we have no large controlled studies for covid simply because it only started last year--i.e., not enough real time for 'proper' data collection. Now, as you have seen, there are studies there, just not studies that are as robust as I would like to see personally. Because of the real lack of data, using the influenza studies makes perfect sense. Second, the influenza studies are the 'worst case scenario' studies anyway...far more than covid...here's why. The Spanish flu outbreak of 1918-1919, for instance, killed upwards of 100 million people which was about 5% of the population back then--i.e., far deadlier than covid. So, if you lack data in the current area, use the next best thing...influenza data. And with influenza, study after study has shown that masks are not effective. Lastly, the one thing that is consistent whether it be the flu or covid, is that vaccination does indeed work, and that's where the focus needs to be. Masks in public embolden those who want to take advantage of others because it is harder to be identified and caught...much of the rise in street crime we see today is likely due to that. Furthermore, people with asthma, personality disorders, people susceptible to pneumonia, etc., etc., etc., have their conditions made worse through mask wearing. There are a ton of negative externalities that comes with mask wearing. That said, if people feel more comfortable wearing one? That's perfectly fine, they are free to do so of course, but turning it into a blanket requirement when the data just isn't there for it, makes zero sense--or let me just say, it certainly isn't based on "science".
Meanwhile, rummaging through a box of stuff in the attic, I came across an old bulk tape demagnetizer. I thought, why not? This is perhaps my last chance at personal freedom. So, I plugged it in and used it to suck the nano magnets out of my body. (They were, of course, put there by the fake coronavirus vaccine that the People's Republic forced us to take or else get the side eye from our commrades I mean neighbors.) Anyway, I had the magnets made into a ring; the magnets help with my arthritis.
Thanks for the CDC pdf @vtgrad2003. It's an interesting read and in the end calls for more studies. The meta analysis of the mask studies includes 10 over a fifty year time span and the authors expressed doubts about compliance among the participants. I won't have time to get to the article until next week, but thanks for a good starting point!
@motie2 Ahhh, lol, you forget, I am a scientist myself with nearly 40 high ranking peer reviewed publications, 2 books, AND the editor for an entire book collection at a major publisher. You may not want to believe it, because you aren't a scientist, but there is "good" science and "bad" science, and I have a reputation in my field for only practicing good science, so, I at least know what the two look like when I see them
Comments
Very sage advice! I was a professor of Fire Science Technology. Not a politically charged subject matter, but I got a lick in whenever I could. It was probably preaching to the choir.
@vtgrad2003 Thanks for the tips about college. I'm not sure what we'll do with our kids, but I know I'll be encouraging them to look for options other than college. Don't get me wrong, I loved college, and it gave me the best friends I always wanted, as well as my beloved wife. Unfortunately, going for an ill advised Masters degree has saddled me with a debt I'll be stuck with for my entire life. I get depressed sometimes thinking about it, and hope that one day reforms are passed to deal with the predatory actions of student loan companies.
Most of us do this backwards because we were misguided and end up working jobs that don't support how we envisioned our lives to be when we were younger. It's a messed up system.
Now I'm very well off, and have set myself up nicely for retirement...and I've regained my sanity and look my age instead of older. I think many people these days think that an undergraduate degree is all you need, but most likely it's not. The long-run unemployment rate for PhD's is roughly 1.5%, much lower than for BA/BS.
To be sure, you might accumulate some debt along the way, but typically only at the undergrad level...most PhD programs provide substantial stipends for students with decent GPAs.
Everyone usually looks at what they want to do versus what they can actually do. I think what happens many times is that people stop short of their full potential, and that's when the frustration builds.
Just my two cents.
'SCHMUCKS'
Arnold Schwarzenegger asks if Americans are 'really this selfish and angry' after his rant against anti-maskers
The American Society for Microbiology finds that “…… cotton masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks all have a protective effect with respect to the transmission of infective droplets/aerosols of SARS-CoV-2 and that the protective efficiency was higher when masks were worn by a virus spreader.”
Hey, that’s good enough for some of us……
Please post a link to the most authoritative study that's web available. I'd love to read one.
"“…… cotton masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks all have a protective effect with respect to the transmission of infective droplets/aerosols of SARS-CoV-2 and that the protective efficiency was higher when masks were worn by a virus spreader.”"
I can believe that the masks you cited do make a difference.
What I question is how effective are all the "Made in China" masks being sold at places like Walmart and other retail outlets. I also question the efficacy of all the disposable paper masks.
I have no idea why this website will not let me attach the link to the article...maybe this attachment works...and it did, so please read it then move to what I write below, because it is equally important.
"We did not find evidence that surgical-type face masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility"
This is the conclusion they came to after reviewing the literature in this area. But I have another review article too that was just recently published in a news outlet...let me see if this website will let me link to it, because it didn't yesterday, see next post below...
https://www.city-journal.org/do-masks-work-a-review-of-the-evidence
First, we have no large controlled studies for covid simply because it only started last year--i.e., not enough real time for 'proper' data collection. Now, as you have seen, there are studies there, just not studies that are as robust as I would like to see personally. Because of the real lack of data, using the influenza studies makes perfect sense.
Second, the influenza studies are the 'worst case scenario' studies anyway...far more than covid...here's why. The Spanish flu outbreak of 1918-1919, for instance, killed upwards of 100 million people which was about 5% of the population back then--i.e., far deadlier than covid. So, if you lack data in the current area, use the next best thing...influenza data. And with influenza, study after study has shown that masks are not effective.
Lastly, the one thing that is consistent whether it be the flu or covid, is that vaccination does indeed work, and that's where the focus needs to be. Masks in public embolden those who want to take advantage of others because it is harder to be identified and caught...much of the rise in street crime we see today is likely due to that. Furthermore, people with asthma, personality disorders, people susceptible to pneumonia, etc., etc., etc., have their conditions made worse through mask wearing.
There are a ton of negative externalities that comes with mask wearing. That said, if people feel more comfortable wearing one? That's perfectly fine, they are free to do so of course, but turning it into a blanket requirement when the data just isn't there for it, makes zero sense--or let me just say, it certainly isn't based on "science".
https://www.politifact.com/personalities/dan-stock/
I wish you would not hold back. Tell us how you really feel about science denial.
If you think this is all about covid, protecting public health, your being played.
I'm not sure what you mean by "this." (above)
I thought, why not? This is perhaps my last chance at personal freedom.
So, I plugged it in and used it to suck the nano magnets out of my body.
(They were, of course, put there by the fake coronavirus vaccine that the People's Republic forced us to take or else get the side eye from our commrades I mean neighbors.)
Anyway, I had the magnets made into a ring; the magnets help with my arthritis.
Ahhh, lol, you forget, I am a scientist myself