samhexum

Another 299 people across New York died from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours — an “obnoxiously” high number, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday. Fatalities jumped 10 deaths from the day before, and include 276 who died in hospitals and 23 in nursing homes, for a statewide total of 18,909. “That number has remained obnoxiously and terrifyingly high and is still not dropping at the rate we would like to see,” Cuomo said at a daily briefing from New York City Transit’s Corona Maintenance Facility in Flushing, where trains will be disinfected nightly. An additional 831 New Yorkers were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 cases, Cuomo said, a decrease from the several days prior, when admissions were plateaued at around 900. More than 10,300 New Yorkers remain hospitalized with COVID-19, with 2,923 on ventilators in intensive care, according to state data. Diagnoses grew by 4,663, state officials said Saturday, to a statewide total of 312,977. Cuomo also announced preliminary results of the state’s 15,000 antibody tests it began conducting April 22. On that date, when 2,933 had been tested for signs they had already fought the disease, the rate of positivity was 14 percent statewide. It has since dropped to 12 percent. Only one age group has seen an increase in positive antibody tests: 18- to 24-year-olds. Their positive-test rate grew from 8 percent on April 22 to 11 percent Saturday, the governor said. New Yorkers between the ages of 45 and 54 had the highest percentage, 14, of positive antibody tests. In New York City, the percentage of those positive for antibodies stood at about 20 percent on Saturday, a two-percentage-point drop from April 22. The results show the Bronx has been hit harder than any borough, with 28 percent positive for antibodies, compared to 19 percent in Brooklyn and Staten Island, 18 in Queens, and 17 in Manhattan. “We’re going to do more research to understand what’s going on there. Why is the Bronx higher than the other boroughs?” Cuomo said. In counties outside New York, about 1 to 3 percent tested positive for antibodies. Cuomo said the state would begin Saturday testing all transit workers for antibodies, among several new initiatives. And state workers will distribute 7 million face masks beginning Saturday to high-risk communities, including NYCHA complexes and nursing homes. The state will also distribute $25 million to food banks across the state, with $11 million to New York City, he said.

But do you play one on TV?

Enough already. Now, deadly hornets from Asia that measure up to 2 inches long have been found for the first time in the US — and researchers are worried they’re colonizing. The aggressive insects, nicknamed “murder hornets,” can wipe out bee colonies within hours and have stingers long and powerful enough to puncture beekeeping suits. Beekeepers in Washington have already seen the hornets devastate their hives; Japan attributes 50 human deaths a year to the nasty buzzers, which have “teardrop eyes like Spider-Man, orange and black stripes that extend down its body like a tiger, and broad, wispy wings like a small dragonfly,” according to the New York Times. Researchers are determined to keep the hornets in check. “This is our window to keep it from establishing,” Washington state entomologist Chris Looney told the Times. “If we can’t do it in the next couple of years, it probably can’t be done.” Giant, bee-eating hornets from Asia invade Washington State December 23, 2019 A giant killer hornet from Asia that devours bees and dissolves human flesh with its sting has touched down in Washington State. This marks the first time the insect invader has been found in the region, according to a pest alert issued by the Washington State Department Of Agriculture last week. The nearly 2-inch-long flying terror was spotted on Dec. 8 by a resident of Blaine, Washington, who says they saw the insect buzzing around a hummingbird-feeder, WSDA reports. Entomologists later found the Calico-colored specimen dead on the property, which they confirmed was an Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia) — the largest of its kind. It’s an unusual find. Not only does the behemoth bug hail from Asia, but it usually remains inactive during the winter months. The hornet likely flew down from Canada, where the insects are a scourge, department spokesman Chris McGann told CNN. Justin Bieber wasn’t enough? Now Canada exports this! The entomological interloper could decimate local beehives. Just one hornet can kill 40 bees in under a minute — a talent most famously showcased in a terrifying 2012 video of 30 hornets massacring 30,000 bees in Japan. And unlike native Japanese bee populations (which have an ingenious way of warding off hornet attacks), the US’ European bees have no natural defenses against the hornets. News of the creepy crawly’s encroachment unsurprisingly set the internet abuzz, spawning a flurry of flamethrower memes and replies of “yikes” and “little hornets are bad enough.” “If you live where you can shoot, a shotgun works for removing single individuals from the air,” said one social media survivalist. The hornets aren’t typically aggressive toward humans, according to the WSDA advisory. Nonetheless, the Asian hornet’s sting can damage human tissue and feels “like a hot nail being driven into my leg,” one Tokyo entomologist told Smithsonian Magazine. And in 2013, swarms of giant hornets killed 19 people in three months in China. If stung, the pest report advises washing the site with soap and water, applying ice and using antihistamine cream. However, victims should dial 911 if experiencing multiple stings or a severe allergic reaction. Residents can also reduce the chances of getting stung by refraining from swatting at the giant hornets and properly disposing of food waste. WSDA urges Washington residents to report hornet sightings to its Pest Program, preferably with photos attached. The latest buzz in the science world: Honeybees are dying of something that is freakishly similar to the coronavirus. Bee populations around the globe have been decimated by a viral disease that creeps into hives via asymptomatic insects and spreads like wildfire, British researchers discovered. Their research even suggests the insects could benefit from social distancing. The scientists found piles of bee carcasses outside hives infected with chronic bee paralysis virus, which causes severe trembling, flightlessness and death within a week, the Guardian reported. The infection was once a rarity but has spread rapidly, according to the researchers at Newcastle University, who examined bees in 25 countries. In Britain, for example, chronic bee paralysis virus took only a decade to invade 39 of 47 English counties and six of eight Welsh counties. In the US, the infection rate jumped from 0.7% in 2010 to 16% in 2014. The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggests that the disease is twice as likely to infect commercially harvested bees — and that colonies not confined to the close quarters might fare better. “You can’t do social distancing in a hive as easily, but you can manage it by increasing the space in there,” Professor Giles Budge told the website.

Yes, but I'm not the only one I know who finds that quite often when technology gets 'upgraded' and/or 'improved' it becomes less convenient and more annoying to use. Even with something as simple as my favorite supermarket's online circular. It was spruced up and somewhat redesigned a year or two ago and now it takes extra clicks to get to it from the store's website or to put things onto my shopping list. Well, since NYC is supposedly not going to be covid-free for 18 months, and I have lung issues, it'll be a long time before I shop there again. And I prefer Chrome to Firefox, so it's inconvenient for me to have to go back & forth (and it screws up my audio if both are open). Isn't your loss of access to apps inconvenient? If they'd just leave shit alone, computers and phones would be less work to use.

Obviously, I know nothing about the subject, but I assume it's a similar situation to my computer, which runs on Windows XP. Several years ago, I stopped getting updates to Chrome because it no longer supports XP. Over the last couple of years more and more websites can't be accessed by Chrome. I'm getting warnings that youtube is going to be another (OMG!!!). Fortunately (for now) Firefox seems to access what Chrome won't. It's planned obsolescence. You've been happy with your phone. My computer's been good enough for my needs. But they have to become obsolete so we have to buy another.

Thanks. I'm listening to my "Las Hermanas Pointer" CD right now. It's been awhile. I forgot how much I love it.

I’ll be getting a smartphone… I’m on my sister's family plan, & they pay for me as my yearly Xmas present (or part of it). It’ll be time to upgrade soon, and there are no flip phones available, so they’ll get me the cheapest smartphone.

When the cover far exceeds the original:

When the cover far exceeds the original:

Leon Russell... what a Superstar... Get It? Hard to believe Richard saw Bette Midler sing that on THE TONIGHT SHOW and said "There's a song for Karen!"

Leon Russell... what a Superstar... Get It? Hard to believe Richard saw Bette Midler sing that on THE TONIGHT SHOW and said "There's a song for Karen!"

In order: Dare Me, I'm So Excited, Jump, If You Wanna Get Back Your Lady, Sexual Power, Nightline, then the ballads (Freedom, Slow Hand), then probably a couple of album tunes I can't think of right now, then Automatic, then some other album songs. I usually didn't favor the songs with Barry White Ruth singing lead. Neutron Bomb Dance never thrilled me. It was okay. In fact, I just posted this in EXCELLENT COVERS: https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/excellent-covers.126466/page-13#post-1906922 Okay, just pulled out the Pointers CD I burned years ago. Neutron Bomb Dance isn't on it. But I forgot about: Barry White Ruth's best lead vocal: Barry White Ruth's second-best lead vocal: Barry White Ruth's third-best lead vocal: Mercury Rising is also an excellent Barry White Ruth lead vocal, but it's a different type of song than the ones above, so I don't know where it slots in. Maybe behind Set Me Free.

In order: Dare Me, I'm So Excited, Jump, If You Wanna Get Back Your Lady, Sexual Power, Nightline, then the ballads (Freedom, Slow Hand), then probably a couple of album tunes I can't think of right now, then Automatic, then some other album songs. I usually didn't favor the songs with Barry White Ruth singing lead. Neutron Bomb Dance never thrilled me. It was okay. In fact, I just posted this in EXCELLENT COVERS: https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/excellent-covers.126466/page-13#post-1906922 Okay, just pulled out the Pointers CD I burned years ago. Neutron Bomb Dance isn't on it. But I forgot about: Barry White Ruth's best lead vocal: Barry White Ruth's second-best lead vocal: Barry White Ruth's third-best lead vocal: Mercury Rising is also an excellent Barry White Ruth lead vocal, but it's a different type of song than the ones above, so I don't know where it slots in. Maybe behind Set Me Free.

By my estimate, the 4th best song on that album, behind JUMP, AUTOMATIC, and... Let's just say the sisters often left us feeling... Do you dare me to find another toe-tapping tune? Taking another path, I LOVE this ballad with Anita singing lead vocal. I'd never heard it until I saw them sing it on Solid Gold. So beautiful!

By my estimate, the 4th best song on that album, behind JUMP, AUTOMATIC, and... Let's just say the sisters often left us feeling... Do you dare me to find another toe-tapping tune? Taking another path, I LOVE this ballad with Anita singing lead vocal. I'd never heard it until I saw them sing it on Solid Gold. So beautiful!

DEAR ABBY: I'm a girl in my teens. My best friend moved away, and I miss her so much. It feels like the world has turned against me, and I am depressed. I don't like to text her, and I don't think she would let me call her every single day, although I haven't asked. I'm afraid we're not going to be friends anymore, and I feel so distant from my other friends. I made a new friend this year, but it isn't the same. What should I do, Abby? Do I talk to her about it? Or should I stop being her friend? -- MISSING MY BEST FRIEND DEAR MISSING: It is painful when life separates people. As you pointed out, friendships, unlike Lego blocks, are not interchangeable. Do not suddenly stop communicating with your friend. You should absolutely talk to her and tell her how you are feeling because she may be feeling the same way. With more time, you will get past this. You will meet more people and establish new relationships. But in the meantime, try to stay busy, which will help you feel less isolated. Cut your hair into a butch cut, buy a plaid shirt and a pair of Doc Martins, and start hanging out at Home Depot.

Just have a link for this one: https://www.gocomics.com/the-born-loser/2020/05/02

Just have a link for this one: https://www.gocomics.com/the-born-loser/2020/05/02

My favorite of her dance songs The preeminent Rock Band in British history Best part of this video is the groovy dancing Little Willy's not into quarantining

My favorite of her dance songs The preeminent Rock Band in British history Best part of this video is the groovy dancing Little Willy's not into quarantining

Both inferior songs compared to...

Both inferior songs compared to...

Paul Young's version would go in a WORST COVERS thread