LivingnLA
-
Posts
1,965 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Donations
News
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by LivingnLA
-
-
We know people who likely had it in February. We've known friends and family in NYC and Europe who've had it. Some of them know people who've died. My family has strictly been isolating for two months now and plan to keep doing so for 2-4 weeks depending the data. We're lucky to all be together, have a large house, and the kind of work that allows us to distance.
-
It's higher for now, but they are keeping the elderly isolated while letting the younger population get exposed. The purpose of the "social distancing" is to prevent overwhelming the the healthcare system. While the thought of an effective vaccine is a nice dream, the reality is that (1) there's never been an effective vaccine created against a coronavirus, and (2) even if we're able to develop a safe and effective vaccine, it won't be ready by the northern Hemisphere's Fall/Winter. We cannot simply stay holed up for an entire year. I suspect that in the long run, Sweden will fare better. Of course, there's no way to know something like that with any certainty. I have a feeling that most people are going to get exposed before there's a vaccine. It's probably better for this to happen when it's warm out and the virus less virulent. Well, a year from now, we'll be able to look back and find out who had the right idea.
There is no such thing as one "right idea" when we're talking about pandemics because the number of factors and variables involved demand targeted ideas. The whole one size fits all approach is flawed and inefficient. Sweden has made a choice for their 10 million citizens that is killing more of them than necessary in the short-term but they're gambling that it will level out and be a net improvement long-term. Given what I know of their demographics, culture, economy, etc. their choice was a reasonable choice for them. It's a brutal choice for a country like the USA because of our deeply flawed and smaller (per capita) healthcare system and our significantly more vulnerable population. If we'd taken Sweden's approach, we would've lost many hundreds of thousands of people, likely into the low millions, especially as hospitals collapsed, healthcare workers died, and deep panic set in. The economic impact of so much death and panic would've likely been substantially worse.
- mike carey, + honcho, MikeBiDude and 2 others
-
5
-
sitting at home on a Saturday night during a pandemic and reduced to looking at what Youtube suggests.....
Thanks for sticking PSY in my head today.
-
Given the very high asymptomatic rates (from 25-50%), the only people who will know they had it are those who had severe enough symptoms to notice and seek out medical help. In the USA, they will also need to be sick enough to qualify for testing since it's still limited in many areas.
I edited to update the asymptomatic range since it's changed some as new data comes out.
- IntuitiveTactile and Dmitri
-
2
-
Well written @stevenkesslar and you haven't even touched on all the people who survive but have serious tissue damages. Reduced lung function. Heart damage. Stroke. Damaged colons, kidneys, or liver. It isn't just about the people who will die and many will be in their 20s, 30s, and 40s because obesity is a significant comorbidity.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/survivors-severe-covid-19-beating-virus-just-beginning
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-020-0364-6
In conclusion, to better estimate the risk of complications in patients with COVID-19, in addition to evaluation of standard hospital parameters (such as the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, d-dimer and pro-inflammatory markers), the measurement of anthropometrics and metabolic parameters is crucial. These parameters include BMI, waist and hip circumferences and levels of glucose and insulin. The latter two parameters can be used for the estimation of insulin resistance, for example by calculation of the HOMA-IR. Knowledge about insulin resistance is important, because it is among the strongest determinants of impaired metabolic health, cardiac dysfunction and CVD-related mortality5. Such measurements might be useful both in a primary care setting and in a hospital setting to assess the risk of a complicated course of disease in patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test (Fig. 1). -
If this testing results hold true to the general population, this means both the infection rate and the death rate figures we have so far are almost meaningless. The death rate of those infected drops dramatically.
What puzzles me is what factors does a person who tests positive have that the virus causes no symptoms (and I assume no health problems, at least in the short run)? What factors are in play for the people whose symptoms are just mild like a cold or even the flu? What factors are in play for those who end up requiring hospitalization? I am starting to wonder if there is a genetic component to the Covid Virus.
Genetic diversity creates subtle difference and variance throughout human tissues. Add in environmental and nutritional factors and there's even more variance, which may be part of what's going on in the USA. For example, we have terrible obesity rates which cost us over a hundred billion every year in excess healthcare and lost productivity. Obesity appears to be a significant factor for COVID-19. This is probably connected to inflammation.
Stroke rates are higher in some, which is probably related to the unusual rapid clotting that seems to happen in some infected people.
Now doctors and researchers are increasingly convinced that, in some cases at least, the cause is the body's own immune system overreacting to the virus. The problem, known broadly as a "cytokine storm," can happen when the immune system triggers a runaway response that causes more damage to its own cells than to the invader it's trying to fight.https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-immune-response/610228/
This degree of uncertainty has less to do with the virus itself than how our bodies respond to it. As Murphy puts it, when doctors see this sort of variation in disease severity, “that’s not the virus; that’s the host.” Since the beginning of the pandemic, people around the world have heard the message that older and chronically ill people are most likely to die from COVID-19. But that is far from a complete picture of who is at risk of life-threatening disease. Understanding exactly how and why some people get so sick while others feel almost nothing will be the key to treatment.Here's an article about how immune parameters can possibly be used to predict infection outcomes.
We propose that these immune parameters should be characterized in larger cohorts of people with COVID-19 with different disease severities to determine whether they could be used to predict disease outcome and evaluate new interventions that might minimize severity and/or to inform protective vaccine candidates. Furthermore, our study indicates that robust multi-factorial immune responses can be elicited to the newly emerged virus SARS-CoV-2 and, similar to the avian H7N9 disease8, early adaptive immune responses might correlate with better clinical outcomes. -
Is he visiting? His ad mentions New York. If he's in LA for awhile, I might reach out after the public health orders relax.
-
Unfortunately, people can mentally justify almost any action they want. Mental gymnastics are a human trait.
As for people taking advantage of programs meant for someone else, it happens all the time.
While that's true, it makes it sound like it's rampant, which is factually untrue. We are social primates evolved to cooperate and collaborate. Humans and the societies we build tend to work well when we prioritize collaboration, civility, and community. But, when corruption goes too far, it distorts ethics, morals, and civility, which is what's been happening in the USA for decades. Inequality has created so much blatant corruption and fraud that the very foundation of our society is being destabilized. The "people taking advantage of programs meant for someone else" are usually the rich in America, creating and exploiting every loophole they can to make money. This creates a brutal environment that makes everyone so anxious and desperate that they're "in it for themselves" and all that blind greed and selfishness tears the society apart.
-
I have a neighbor and pseudo-friend who is elderly and disabled. She owns her co-op apt here, has IRA and SS income. She spends tons of money on PeaPod and Instcart, and has other friends and acquaintances bringing her stuff...
Last night she emails me she signed up for the NYC food delivery service which delivers food to the "needy", and she will be receiving her first delivery this Sunday. I read her email, in fact read it twice, and then said to myself WTF ??? It made me feel some kind of way. It angered me.... So I emailed her and told her so, and asked her HOW she could take resources from those people that really NEED it and cant afford it ? She writes me back and says she doesn't agree with my assessment, and that she doesn't feel she is robbing anything from anyone. She says she cant go shopping, and is uncomfortable asking people to get her things. Plus, the PeaPod deliveries are so erratic, and she often doesn't get what she wants, or it takes too long, and with the NYC service she can get groceries (you cant choose your items, it fixed) every 2 days....
I am still angry and disgusted. Do you guys think she is misguided and just doesn't get the point or just a selfish bitch, which I am leaning towards.?
If there was a way to report her, I WOULD......
I tend to agree with you, but I also agree with her that she should have some way of getting assistance. The problem is our country and how corrupt and cutthroat we are compared to developed nations. We behave much more like a developing nation, where the rich do what they want and everyone else fights each other for scraps. We haven't been a top-20 nation for years on TI's corruption perception index and the USA's trustworthiness score has collapsed as the world sees how bad corruption and inequality are in the USA. All of this creates an environment where everyone feels they're in it for themselves and they need to "get what they deserve" regardless of who gets hurt.
-
I am looking for guys that are more interactive. I am not looking for free since I am not into cruising scene. More like a site where I can see a guy an if I am up to, they can see me.
Sounds like you're looking for traditional cam activity. That can get expensive, but can be fun. It's more about finding the right models for you than any specific site. But, you may want to check out these sites:
-
Hi.
Any recommendations in webcam chat places, I am trying Chaturbate but if is any other one that you will recommend.
thanks
gb
https://www.bestwebcamsites.com/sites-like-chaturbate
What are you looking for? Free guys? Private chats?
-
I’m guessing this is not going be to a short event, or a fast return to the way it was. While economists are starting to talk about a U shaped recovery, I’m worried about how broad the U will be and what changes will be ‘permanent’.
All of 2020 is going to feel a lot like April......?
Data from the 1918 flu pandemic shows the more delayed or incomplete a response the worse the economic damage.
https://news.mit.edu/2020/pandemic-health-response-economic-recovery-0401
Because of all the delays and the early reopening, a long U-shaped recovery will probably be what we hope for a year from now especially if global weather and locust swarms in Africa get as bad as some projections suggest. Hundreds of millions around the world will face starvation, including millions of Americans who aren't rich.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/weather/2020-atlantic-hurricane-season/index.html
-
Although I’ve been told I have a big dick (personally, I consider mine to be average),
I think it’s just pure cruelty to shame, laugh at, poke fun at, or be facetious to someone because they may have a smaller sized dick.
I’ve seen may comments in various forums, especially where self-proclaimed “size queens”, profess their loathing to guys with smaller appendages.
The real reason why I think it’s just purely cruel is that one can’t help what he was born with, and having witnessed the level of shame, low-self-esteem and confidence issues it gives guys, it’s extremely disturbing.
And witnessing how petty and immature guys are with “growers” should teach many guys a lesson in their shallow behavior.... that small flaccid dick you may see flopping around in a locker room that you may laugh or roll your eyes at, may grow into nice girthy inches of pleasure, which you may have missed out on.
The nitpicking over ones’ body parts with men gets extremely exhausting. From dick size, butt size, body weight, BMI, hair length, hair color, degree of overall hairiness, skin color, skin elasticity, race, muscularity, eye color, etc, no wonder so many gay men have issues with self image, and so many gay men who are actually pretty good looking don’t even realize it.
Body shaming has been with us probably as long as we've existed. It's slowly getting better in some ways and worse in others. The research into how materialism amplifies it is interesting and unsurprising.
Body Dysmorphobia causes a great deal of suffering in people, who as you say, cannot change their genetics. They are born with what they have and learning how to accept and love themselves is good for them and everyone in their lives.
Research seems to be finding that human males are similar to females around how they respond to body image threats, assuming they have equivalent support and skills. That's why it's so important for men to have strong social networks and safe spaces where they feel accepted and heard.
-
The whole "grower vs shower" thing varies because of genetics, nutrition, and overall health. It's close to 25% being growers and 75% being showers in the nature paper below.
https://www.bustle.com/articles/115957-the-ideal-penis-in-history-by-each-obsessed-culture-nsfw
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-018-0053-3
And yes, some men are self conscious. They tend to be in environments where comparison is easy and often. Internet porn has created quite a few cases of anxiety that lead to ED, performance, and other issues.
https://jezebel.com/dear-penises-youre-great-really-dont-be-so-self-co-513815282
Regarding the size question, based on the best data we have, the average size of a human male's penis hasn't changed much over the decades it's been studied. It's a question of genetics, nutrition, and health during developmental years.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-genital-size-men-idUSKBN0LZ1KK20150303
The average flaccid penis was 3.58 inches long (about 9 cm) and 3.66 inches in girth, while the average erect penis was 5.16 inches long (about 13 cm) and 4.59 inches in circumference (about 11.7 cm), according to results online March 2 in BJU International. Stretched flaccid length was often very similar to erect length, the authors found, which may be good news for men and their doctors since clinical measurements of the erect penis may not be necessary.
Comparing these measures to other physical qualities, like age, body mass index or foot size, the authors found little or no association. Erect penis length and overall height did seem to be related at least somewhat, however – taller men had longer penises.
-
The backstory on why I'm gunshy: when my son was 7, I gave him a disastrous haircut during a bath. He didn't let me forget it for at least 20 years (I didn't realize that hair seems longer when it's wet).
It depends on the type of hair and how it's normally worn.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/hair/a13624/dry-hair-cut/
https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/news/a16620/wet-versus-dry-hair-cut/
-
Do you know of any big budget ones?
None that get as explicit as the visual novels mentioned above.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_themes_in_video_games
If you're talking about visibility and creating relationships that aren't heteronormative, some of the famous biggies would be Fallout 2, the Mass Effect games, Dragon Age games, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and Sims 2. More recently, Undertale and The Outer Worlds continue to increase visibility for nonbinary and even asexual existence.
- Moe and + TooSchoolForCool
-
2
-
I’ve downloaded this one. It is pretty good.
None of these are big budget perfect because they're all tiny developers, but I enjoyed them and I'm glad you are too.
-
I’ll be darned yeast from potatoes.
Makes sense, when I brewed my sourdough starter 10-12 years ago I put some organic black grapes into the flour/water mix for the first week or so. Supposedly the natural yeasts on the grapes got my starter “started”.
Fungi seem to be everywhere. They''re some of the oldest life on Earth and like many bacteria, are likely critical for human life. Philosophers are going to have a ton of fun reconciling the likely reality of "humanity" being the sum of an incredibly complex cooperative interaction between billions of bacteria, fungi, and human tissues in every single body.
Wasn't potato yeast how traditional vodka was started?
- MikeBiDude and + Charlie
-
2
-
-
Yeah, but I'm so self-conscious about my size that I rarely let anyone see it, let alone go down on it. I keep shorts on during sessions. Plus I'm a bottom so no pounding. I just lose all around, sexually. Unless I go the slave route to a dominant master.... which is a fun to do from time to time.
I apologize if I offend, but it isn't your penis size making it difficult to find someone. It's how you've pathologized it. Those negative thoughts and feelings about your penis neagtively impact your emotions, thoughts, and health. The old saying about being able to love yourself before anyone else will applies. I urge you to find a qualified therapist to help you work through this because once it's addressed, you'll see significant change in how you exist and how people around you react and interact with you.
I'm cutting part of my post from an old post: https://m4m-forum.org/threads/condom-fit.155569/post-1861718
I wanted to touch on the subtext around "not very well endowed" because I do not want you or anyone to pathologize your penis. That can lead to all kinds of problems that no one deserves to experience. Penis size varies widely based on genetics and a host of environmental / nutritional factors during development. Decades of research continue to support the "average length of an erect human penis" as 5.17 inches long with an average circumference of 4.59 inches. Yes, we see many penises larger than that because porn seeks them out to shove in our faces. My penis is over 6 inches. Statistically speaking I'm well endowed. But much of the gay community with its size obsession frequently dismisses anyone who isn't at least 7+. Such men are few and far between. Clearly, clustering occurs. Hung guys seek out size queens since they know how to handle them. Whatever your size, I hope you love your penis. It's part of you and whatever your size, make the most of it. Enjoy giving and receiving many years of pleasure with your beautiful penis.
As of 2015, a systematic review of 15,521 men, and the best research to date on the topic, as the subjects were measured by health professionals, rather than self-measured, has concluded that the average length of an erect human penis is 13.12 cm (5.17 inches) long, while the average circumference of an erect human penis is 11.66 cm (4.59 inches).[1] Flaccid penis length can sometimes be a poor predictor of erect length. Most human penis growth occurs between infancy and the age of five, and between about one year after the onset of puberty and, at latest, approximately 17 years of age.[2]A statistically significant correlation between penis size and the size of other body parts has not been found in research. Some environmental factors in addition to genetics, such as the presence of endocrine disruptors, can affect penis growth. An adult penis with an erect length of less than 7 cm (2.8 in), but otherwise formed normally, is referred to in medicine as a micropenis.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_penis_size
-
That's not entirely accurate. If a product is listed on the EPA's List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2, then it will kill the coronavirus if the disinfectant is left on the surface and remains wet for the length of time indicated in the"Contact Time in Minutes" column of the list.
The best way to search the list is by the EPA registration number, which can be found on the package, usually near the list of active ingredients.
If we're going to get technical, don't forget how disinfectant efficacy is highly dependent on the cleanliness of the surface being disinfected. If it is dirty, then contact time really doesn't matter for proper disinfection. If someone wants to do things properly, cleaning comes before disinfection or sterilization. There are also tiers of disinfection depending on the expected use and exposure risks. The CDC outlines all of this and more in their infection control guidelines. They even touch on the research showing how disinfectant contact times of 1 minute are usually sufficient according to multiple studies.
Disinfect noncritical medical devices (e.g., blood pressure cuff) with an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant using the label’s safety precautions and use directions. Most EPA-registered hospital disinfectants have a label contact time of 10 minutes. However, multiple scientific studies have demonstrated the efficacy of hospital disinfectants against pathogens with a contact time of at least 1 minute. By law, all applicable label instructions on EPA-registered products must be followed. If the user selects exposure conditions that differ from those on the EPA-registered product label, the user assumes liability from any injuries resulting from off-label use and is potentially subject to enforcement action under FIFRA. -
Have you seen Str8? It's another in this vein. No, Thank You!!! is another visual story game. Or Coming Out On Top.
The many interesting games from Robert Yang are worth a look.
For games with a classic feel, there's always Bastard Bonds or the fun side scroller, Cho Aniki.
-
I've been endlessly interested in the complex interactions and interrelations among life on Earth. Humans love to create discrete categories to try to understand reality yet they frequently blind us to how everything we do has effects and consequences.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/the-pandemic-is-not-a-natural-disaster
-
@purplekow, thank you for your very informative posts. I'd heard cytokine storms were an issue for some cases and if caught early, they seem treatable. Actemra? Like other RA drugs, it seems to help in some cases.
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-04-13/coworkers-save-coronavirus-doctor
Coronavirus Numbers
in The Lounge
Posted
Interesting info coming from Sweden's central bank. The Riksbank is saying Sweden will experience the same or worse economic damage as neighbors who locked down. That makes sense given how deeply interrelated economies are and the fact that lock downs aren't driving the economic damage, human fear and panic are in the driver's seat. It'll be interesting to see if there are any benefits derived from letting more people die. Data from the 1918 flu pandemic supported the lockdown approach. I hope Swedes didn't die for nothing.