MigL

One factor which seems to be getting ignored during this outbreak, is the root cause. Possibly because investigating it has racist overtones, but I think it can be discussed in a civil manner. India is as overcrowded as China and probably even more insanitary in certain areas, yet no major diseases have originated there. China, on the other hand has given us SARS in 2004, and now COVID-19. Both are thought to have originated in Chinese 'wet markets", where exotic animals are caged in close proximity, under stress, and slaughtered on the spot for customers who believe their consumption provides health, sexual, and other benefits. Both virus are common to bats, and while SARS made the jump to civet cats, and then to humans, COVID-19 is thought to have jumped from bats to pangolins ( scaly anteaters ) and then to humans. Mutating with each jump. Turtles, snakes, cats, birds, bats, etc. in close proximity, and a great demand from wealthy Chinese for these exotic meats is the root cause ( what benefits does shark fin soup really bestow ? ). These markets are common in China, Thailand, Vietnam, etc., where poor farmers can make good money by raising exotic animals that were never meant to be in proximity. China did close down some of these markets after the SARS outbreak, but they've looked the other way, as wet markets made a comeback ( as in Wuhan ). Other diseases have also resulted from the overcrowded and unsanitary methods of raising pigs ( swine flu ) and chickens ( avian flu ). Is it time that the world demands the ending of these wet markets ( especially the exotic animals part ), and other unsanitary livestock activities ?

If he thinks CharonY is bad, wait till he gets a load of Swansont, the 'evil liar' ( so I keep telling him )

I believe it was only about a week or two ago that 60 000 Italians, from the affected northern region, travelled to Switzerland daily for work. Now even the Swiss, who follow the rules religiously, are heavily infected, and thein infection/death numbers ( per capita ) are getting lose to Italy. The population of southern Italy consists mostly of old people, as the young move North where work is. Even my home town ( of 4000 people ) had its first case last Thursday. If people don't take this seriously and follow procedures, most of the population of these small towns will die off.

Another custom is total disregard for rules. Lockdown ? What lockdown ? I'll do as I please.

Judging by the empty toilet paper shelves ( and canned goods, dried pastas, etc. ) in the supermarket, I would say herd mentality, along with fear and panic, are much more contagious than COVID-19. I wonder if this opens the door to universal health care in the US, as this pandemic will likely have greater effect than 9/11 did.

Best strategy is stay at home if you can. And if you find yourself weakening, watch old movies like The Andromeda Strain, The Satan Bug, Contagion, 28 Days Later, Outbreak, 12 Monkeys, I Am Legend, or even Rise of the Planet of the Apes, to motivate you.

Not everyone who is infected is hospitalized. Most people who are infected experience mild symptoms and need to self-isolate. The ones who do get hospitalized are the elderly ( over 70 ) and those with pre-existing medical conditions which have compromised their immune systems. Not all 60 million people need to be cycled through the hospital system. The problem is, Italy has one of the oldest populations ( more people over 65 yrs ) compared to other countries in Europe. But other countries are starting to catch up to Italy. Switzerland and Spain are very close; but for some reason Germany is an outlier of the data set, with much lower infection numbers. edit: corrected Spain, not France

There's always 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, or a 5% Hypochlorite solution made from household bleach and water, Stringy. What purity IPA are you buying anyway ? Standard drug store stuff is only 50-75 % IPA. ( AKA rubbing alcohol )

No, no, no... The quote is "I’m funny how, I mean funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh? I’m here to fuckin’ amuse you? Waddya mean “funny”? Funny how? How am I funny?" Joe Pesci, as Tommy, in Goodfellas to Ray Liotta, as Henry.

Thanks for the info, INow. ( what can I say, I'm lazy ) Two Canadians in his corner might be seen as some kind of 'collusion'. Besides, I've always liked E Warren.

I think HE was a cross-dresser. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Religious beliefs are based on 'faith', which requires no evidence or facts. Science is based on evidence and facts, and some people are more adept than others at determining/discovering that evidence or building models that attempt to explain those observations. On the other hand, sometimes being truly exceptional ( as Nobel prize winners are ) requires a 'leap of faith'. does that maybe explain how the two correlate ? ( I don't know, I'm just making this stuff up as I go )

Shame on you , Zap.

If I have to tell you, you don't.

Don't know what you're so happy about. You realize that's only 31 posts, don't you ?

Wow, you and your wife really are 'Loony Tunes'.

Some of the best memories of my youth ( early 70s ) are of Saturday evening dinner. Me and my brother would prepare supper after school, always chicken and potatoes in the oven ( only thing we knew how to make ), and my mother would make a quick salad when she got home from work at 5 pm ( we had just immigrated to Canada a few years earlier ). The best part was, that we didn't have to eat at the table on Saturday evenings, but could eat in the living room while watching 'The Bugs Bunny/Road runner Hour'. Oh, and re-runs of 'Star Trek' at 7 pm. ( first episode I ever saw was 'Who Mourns for Adonis' with the 'God' Apollo )

"Is it wabbit season? I tought it was duck season." ( said in a porky voice )

You're going to the Mediterranean for two weeks and you're gonna read ??? Greece isn't it ? I can think of much better things to do. ( grilled octopus, Ouzo, and seeing all the little islands by boat and scooter )

Despite being aesthetically pleasing, I don't find it thought provoking, or inspirational. IOW I don't get it. Then again, I'm a simple kind of guy

Don't watch many. But of those I have watched, the PBS Digital Series stand out. They are 'professional' in production as well as content, and not as 'dry' as a lecture. They manage to keep my interest even on topics I'm sufficiently familiar with.

A radial trajectory WILL take you straight in. Its like an orbit through the center of the Sun. You're NOT coming out the other side.

What did you have in mind... Every city would have its own geosynchronous orbiting, artificial miniature Black Hole to be used as a garbage dump ? They'd have to put up a tall fence around it. Anyone falls in; there's no getting them out. As for 'landing' on a Black Hole, what would you land on ? There's nothing there. Our best theory says the event horizon is a mathematical construct, and the central singularity is a dimensionless point.

I could have sworn G Cantor used the terms 'denumerable' and 'non-denumerable' for countable and uncountable infinite sets respectively. I stand corrected. However the definition you use for 'absolute' infinity is certainly different from his, and even more so from later work by B Russel and J VonNeumann.

Hmmm... I don't recall G Cantor ever using the term 'Absolute Infinity'. If this is your own personal definition, maybe you should actually provide proof that it exists. ( as Georg did with his proofs of degrees of infinity )