January 28, 2021

We Must Never Again Use The Modifiers/Titles 'President' or 'Former President' When Referring To...

Donald J. Trump.

He doesn't deserve the respect that those 'titles' afford.

January 27, 2021

I Need A Primer On Streaming - Help!!!

I currently have Direct TV (dish) and have a plan that satisfies my programming needs. I also pay a little more for HBO & Showtime - as they have programs that I've come to enjoy and look forward to new seasons of these programs.

But now I'm seeing all of these streaming services being offered and really don't know anything about streaming. I would appreciate it if someone could educate me on the positives and negatives of streaming.

I see Discovery +, Disney +, HBO Max, etc. Most of these streaming services advertise exclusive programming not available on my Direct TV channels and I'm noticing on award shows (like the Emmy's) many programs and stars getting awards and I know nothing about any of the shows they appear in.

In some ways - I feel I'm missing out - yet - there's not enough time in the day to watch all the programs I'm already addicted to on Direct TV.

I find myself DVRing programs and watching them late into the night so I don't miss out. I can't imagine now having to do the same with any of these streaming services.

Is streaming only available on the internet? They say download their app but I'm not even sure where to go to download and not sure if I have to download it to my phone, TV or what? How do I get these services to appear on the TV in my TV room?

Could I watch these programs on the same TV I watch Direct TV stations?
Could I record a streaming program for viewing at a later day or time? Could you fast forward, reverse or stop a streaming show?

Bottom line I have no idea how streaming works and would appreciate it if any of you that read this post - point me to where I could learn 'the art of streaming'.

Can one get by only by streaming or do I have to subscribe to streaming services and still maintain my Direct TV service? How expensive will this get for me?

Is cable and dish TV going to be phasing out and is streaming going to be the new future of TV? Have they found new ways to get into my pocketbook going forward? If it's like when pay TV started out and they advertised - no commercials - and now we even are subjected to commercials and ads on these cable, dish and pay TV services. They pull you in on promises and freebies and then once your hooked they begin raising the pricing.

I'm retired and on fixed income and watch every penny that I spend. I can't be sucked in on streaming and even spend more money.

Any help that anyone can give me on this would be appreciated.

January 26, 2021

Some Of The Bottlenecks Associated With The Ability To Administer The Vaccine....

We've already seen the problems associated with the testing for Covid-19 and it appears that we finally have mastered testing and worked out all of the bottlenecks associated with testing for Covid. Here are some of the problems we've had to deal with.

- shortages of swabs
- shortages of tests
- shortages of people to do the testing
- lack of sites for testing to be done
- long lines of people wanting and waiting to be tested

We are now faced with even more complicated problems associated with vaccine availability.

We need to look at the issues facing us here in the U.S. re: vaccine availability and the need to administer it to approximately 330 million Americans.

- a temperature sensitive product which presents problems starting with the manufacturing of the product and all through the logistics of getting the finished product from the manufacturer to the end user - every American. Think of all the steps required to accomplish that. Shipping from the manufacturer by plane, train, truck to distribution centers which need to transfer product and further ship it to all the States in the Union and further complicating that once it gets to the State to transfer and ship it to drug wholesalers; hospitals; pharmacies; clinics; MD's offices; etc in the State - all the while being mindful of adequate and complete temperature control until it gets administered to the patient.

- what about just the manufacturing of 330 million doses of the vaccine - times 2 - because the vaccine requires 2 administration of the vaccine - that means the manufacturer has to manufacture 660 million doses. In order to do that there is a need for the glass vial, a rubber stopper and a cap for each vial manufactured. All of these vials must be inspected, labeled and packaged and the shippers they are packaged in must be addressed and shipped to the States. It is then up to the States to pick up the ball and get them distributed to their population - keeping in mind that the same logistical problems are present in the State with respect to maintaining temperature control continuity until the dose is administered to the patient.

- what is the capacity of the glass, rubber stopper and cap raw material manufacturers to produce 660 million doses? Is that the bottleneck - that the vaccine manufacturers can't get the supply of raw materials to even package the vaccine in? Now granted they are packaging in multiple dose vials - so on vial can service up to 6 patients. That reduces some of these raw material manufacturing issues a bit - but we must be mindful that there are a limited amount of pharmaceutical grade glass and rubber manufacturing companies and they are subject to raw material shortages themselves in order to manufacture the finished glass vial or rubber stopper.

- what about the syringes and needles needed to draw up the dose of vaccine in order to administer it to a patient? What is the capacity of the manufacturers of these syringes and needles to manufacture 660 million syringes and needles? And each of these syringes and needles need to be packaged and sterilized? What is the capacity of the sterilization facilities to handle such a great quantity of syringes and needles? What about all the other products that need to be manufactured to handle the non-pandemic related products that need to be manufactured, inspected, labeled and sterilized at the same time - just to keep up with the demand of such products needed to maintain supplies of the regular non-pandemic related health issues.

- what about all the tracking that is needed to keep good records of each vaccine - from manufacture to ultimate administration and make sure that each individual will be tracked to see to it that each receive both doses?

- what about the need to have trained personnel available to actually administer the doses of vaccine to each individual all at the same time that such trained personnel are called to handle the traditional day-to-day workload in their hospitals, pharmacies, clinics and MD's offices?

As you can see there are a myriad of problems associated with ultimately administering 660 million doses of the vaccine and all kinds of bottlenecks along the way.

And this is just to handle the doses required to get the vaccine into Americans. This vaccine needs to be administered all around the world.

I sure hope that the group that is now managing the pandemic and vaccine availability is talking with all the manufacturers of the vaccine; the glass and rubber stopper manufacturers; the syringe and needle manufacturers; and is on top of all the logistical issues of getting a temperature controlled product to the end users - fresh and in tact.

The Defense Production Act must be utilized all up and down this system. All the bottlenecks must be identified and adjusted in order to make this happen for us.

Just digesting the info here in this post - one can see that it will take a lot of patience, planning, coordination and manpower to see us through this - and it will be a long time before we get back to any sense of pre-pandemic normalcy.

January 21, 2021

The Line In Biden's Inaugural Address That Really Resonated With Me Was.....

"We'll lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example."

To me that will be remembered and quoted through the ages as much as JFK's - "Ask not what your country can do for you..." line.

January 20, 2021

It's Interesting That The Oath Was Administered Before 12 Noon.....

I guess that they kind of rushed things to get the football out of 'its' hands.

January 20, 2021

Phew!!!

We dodged a bullet!!!

January 20, 2021

And Trump Just 'Grifts' Away....

Good Riddance!!!!

January 20, 2021

Does Anyone Know The Name Of The Church Biden Is Attending.....

I don't recall ever seeing that building when I've been in DC.

January 20, 2021

Deluded To The End....

and this is THE END.

January 19, 2021

Comment On Dealing With The Pandemic.....

One of the things I notice is that when things look better in a State that the Governor of the State starts relaxing some of the restrictions put in place to minimize the spread of Covid.

For instance - in Illinois - there is some relaxing of restrictions in certain areas of the State - now allowing inside service in restaurants; opening of movie theaters; opening of gyms; etc.

What is bothering me is that when this relaxing occurs - people start taking advantage of the situation and begin ignoring basic protections such as wearing masks, social distancing, washing and sanitizing hands. There is a tendency for people to think that they are safe again from contracting the virus.

Businesses also have a tendency to get sloppy and begin to allow everyone into their establishments instead of limiting the number of patrons in their establishments. They don't clean shopping carts. They eliminate hand sanitizing machines at the door. They remove the arrows from the floors that direct the flow of the people in their store.

In essence - both people and businesses relax to the point that creates a situation where it gets easier for the virus to spread again.

My opinion is that the plug is pulled to quickly and easily to appease both the people and businesses. I can understand that because of the financial implications - BUT - what happens is that in a short period of time we cycle back into a situation where the numbers of positives, hospitalizations and deaths go up again.

We don't give it enough time to really put this virus behind us. We keep going in circles and the Governors are forced to impose restrictions again - that aggravates the situation and pisses people off.

Especially now - with vaccines available - the emphasis should be on getting as many people vaccinated as possible - to effectively get ahead of the spread.

Does anyone out there have the same thoughts on this as I?