Luv2play

This thread started in June. What has happened to the outbreak since then. I am assuming it died down, unlike Monkeypox, which has grown in leaps and bounds since then. Unless I learn otherwise, I'm not going to freak out about this meningococcal outbreak in Florida two months ago.

This simplifies the vaccine in question. It was developed to counter the threat of smallpox, which was seen as chiefly a bioterrorist threat in today's context. It had the side benefit of being able to ward off Monkeypox which was mostly a scourge in Africa. Monkeypox, while less virulent than smallpox, still kills in Africa and could kill a few unlucky individuals in Europe and North America. And yes, when vaccines are available to ward off an epidemic, we expect our public health authorities to make it available quickly to meet a threat to public health. It's like having insurance when you need it. That's what governments should be good at doing. But they need to be supported by a public that sees its own interests and is willing to pay for them.

Three months out you start forgetting the sequence of events in detail but as I recall, in the early days governments were reluctant to reveal how much smallpox vaccine they had on hand ready to be distributed. Canada and the US both depended on the Danish company to supply the vaccine and it had closed down new production so countries could just rely on what they had already ordered and had set aside for them. Canada had sufficient supplies that they quickly made available in the hot spots of Montreal and then Toronto. The provincial authorities then made the vaccine available to all comers, including foreigners who by early June were taking advantage of the offered vaccine The US took 3 weeks as I recall to start the process of getting the vaccine from Denmark. It was precious time squandered. So I don't think kudos are in order for the US response.

I disagree with your suggestions as I find both the Lounge and the Political Forums to be two of the most interesting forums on the site. As well, I think this thread should have been posted on the Site News Forum, not the Lounge. Last week I suggested on that forum that This Day in History threads be moved out of the Lounge as they were cluttering up the Lounge and pushing out other topics to back pages. Radio Bob saw fit to act on this suggestion and I thank him.

I started the thread on Monkeypox in the Men's Health Forum, not the Lounge.

The weather looked great. I take it there was no Pride parade as such this year. What we see are the celebrations that occured outside of a formal parade, right?

I'm sorry for your loss. It must be tough having that happen to your eldest son.

You got that right. I sounded the alarm on Monkeypox on this thread back on May 18th when the CDC was asleep at the switch. They got around to it on May 23rd, almost a week later.

I forgot about the omelettes. About twice a month I'll make one for breakfast. Two eggs beaten, mushrooms preheated in the micro, ditto chopped tomato, sometimes cut asparagus or broccoli (also microed), diced ham, or smoked salmon. Shredded cheese, usually aged cheddar. I like a hearty omelette.

More likely to have got it on the plane. Most airline personnel stay in fairly decent hotels, at least in Canada and Europe. Can't say definitively about the States. Airplane toilets can be absolutely disgusting.

For me it's 3 proper meals a day eaten more or less at the same times. My days of late evening dining are long gone. I also am an early riser so breakfast is usually done by 7:30. Eggs practically every morning with one slice of whole grain toast. The usual is a simple boiled or poached egg. On weekends a larger breakfast with sausage, ham, tomato or hashed brown potatoes with 2 eggs, scrambled or sunny side up. A single orange (US, Spain, S. Africa or Israel) depending on time of year. Avoid juice from supermarket. Black decaf. Usually a salad for lunch but often a sandwich and soup in the winter. Dinner always a complete meal with meat or fish, veggies and a glass of wine. One cocktail before. It may sound boring but I only buy fresh ingredients on an almost daily basis. The one type of shopping I enjoy is for food. Something different each day. Eggs I get at a farm outside of town. Farm fresh, can't be beat.

Has the Morgan Library not just undergone a restoration? I've never visited it but would like to having read about it recently.

Read an interesting article about a Basquiat exhibition that did not go as well. The NYT reported on Friday that a show at the Orlando Art Museum that was supposed to have opened this year was instead derailed when the FBI raided the museum in June and took away the 25 art works allegedly by Basquiat. The director of the museum who was responsible for assembling the exhibit has been fired and the chairperson of the board of trustees let go. One third of the board has resigned and major donors are switching their loaned art to Rollins College Art Museum. Ouch. What is at issue is the authenticity of the works and the fact the OMA was alerted earlier to problems with the collection, which was supposedly from. California screenwriter who has subsequently disavowed any connection to the supposed treasure trove earlier estimated to be worth more than $100million. An old friend of mine who is long gone introduced me to the OMA years ago and was so proud his name was carved on the wall as a benefactor of the museum. He will be turning in his grave.

Addiction to any food item is fatal. I've been to Belgium several times and in Brussels their moules and frites are wonderful. Would I make a steady diet of them? Absolutely not.

Who would eat a plate of fries. Yesterday I had lunch at a restaurant and it included a chicken breast burger on a pretzel bun with half the plate covered in fries. They were tasty but I had only about 20, both short and long, with white vinegar and pepper. I left about 60 or so, just too much.

Looks dull.

Good article. Missed it on my daily read of NYT.

I knew very little about Ann Heche before this incident. I don't follow Hollywood people's lives as a rule.I don't go to movies or have a television in my home. So I wasn't aware of her mental issues or drinking. That said, society has to protect itself from people who get intoxicated and then take their high powered cars on public roads where they are a menace to innocent people. The full measure of the law has to be applied but courts are left to apply the remedies in each situation.

I wonder if this will happen in Quebec or Ontario. It wouldn't surprise me. To date the governments have been very liberal in their policy of access to the monkeypox vaccination. Quite different from the early days of covid vaccines when the US hoarded their supplies.

Ontario today said that only about 30 new confirmed cases have been reported in the last week. While not saying it in the news report I heard, that would seem to be a leveling off of new cases. Ontario now leads Quebec in confirmed cases but not by much. The two cities of Toronto and Montreal account for the vast majority of cases. Many others caught it visiting those cities for large events like Pride. Even though I have one vax and two childhood vaxes, I'm definitely going to scale back on hiring until the disease progression becomes more clear.

If I had a young friend asked me specifically for these types of socks, that's what I'd give him. My own taste wouldn't enter into it. I wouldn't be wearing them.

I feel your disappointment. Same thing happened to me last week. A top who couldn't stay hard.

We're now into perfect August weather, warm sunny days and cool nights. Today had lunch at my club, on a verandah overlooking the marina. The view was enhanced by a hunk in his early 20's, dirty blond hair cut short and the body of a tennis player or sailor off one of the boats. His girl friend had her hand on his thigh the odd time, which I couldn't blame her for. Black shorts and a black t-shirt. No tats.

I have noticed that the hair under my armpits has almost disappeared over the last 5 years. Between 70 and 75. I don't use any deodorants.

Unless I learn of extenuating circumstances, I have little sympathy for the situation she finds herself in. She could have killed anyone who had stepped into that street at the speed she was driving. Totally heedless of others safety.