bigjoey

As with everything else Covid-19 related, we're discovering things as we go. It would be phenomenal if the virus itself is weakening, but until we have some evidence of that, it's best to assume it's not.

 

On the other hand, we also have to start thinking about the very strong possibility that we will be living with this virus for a long time to come. In which case, we have to be willing to make some sort of peace with it - that is, we need to find ways to live our lives as we need to, knowing that we may not be living as safely as we are used to. We will have to live with the risk around us. The majority of us can't stay under "modified house arrest" forever, and though wearing masks and "social distancing" are still going to be important, we're going to get to the point where we're more willing to take the risks of going without - that's human nature. We will just have to be more conscious of other's needs as we try to carry on. (Unless, of course, people start getting sick again at very high rates, and then we may wind up with another shutdown. I'm hoping that won't happen. But I know it may.)

Yes, I think we will adjust our behavior to the known risk. Every year, we accept the risk of the annual flu season which can kill tens of thousands of people. Some people get the flu shots and others do not. Some stay away from crowds and others do not. We all have different risk tolerance levels and act accordingly.

I have a friend (gay male) whose father was gay. His parents divorced when he was about six months and raised by his gay father and his lover.

I've often wondered how photographers can do their jobs working with such incredibly handsome men. If I were a photographer, sometimes I think I'd tell the dude I'd pay him anything if he let me have fun with his body. Model Fred Scarf describes this interaction with a photographer; it may be quite apocryphal, of course.

I remember it like it was 69 seconds ago... I was on set at my very first photoshoot. I was a bit nervous but excited.

 

A photographer found me by way of my Instagram page (check it out here - yes, this is my real page) and insisted we shoot right away. He offered me an insane amount of money just to flash me with his camera. So I said yes of course.

When I arrived he was professional looking. In fact he didn't look much like a photographer- more like a CEO of some major company. He was kind of hot in a geeky sort of way. “H-hey there Fred.” he said as he looked at me like a full course meal. “I’m Simon, it's so nice to meet you.”

 

“Same here.” I said as I extended my member to shake his hand. He held on to it longer than usual as he sexualized me with his eyes…I could tell my total package was making him weak.

 

“Your muscles look even more chiseled than your photos. They are almost God-like.” I’d spent countless hours in the gym making sure my abs, glutes, triceps and biceps etc were picture perfect. So It felt right to have that recognized.

But he wanted to do more than just recognize them…He spent another 30 minutes or so perfecting the lighting. “We are almost ready to shoot. I just need to... lube- I mean oil you down first.”

 

Before I knew it he was rubbing warm- coconut smelling oil all over my 9 pack abs. He was caressing my body as if each muscle was casting a spell on him. He was in a full blown trance. All of a sudden the impulse to manipulate his altered state came over me. I felt like I could easily control him. It only took him 5 seconds more to confirm it.

“You deserve to be worshiped like a God”

“So do it then.”

“Do what?” He asked.

“Worship me like a God.”

He gave me an exposed yet relieved look. “Yes, Muscle Master” He panted. Muscle Master...that had a ring to it...

“Now, on your fucking knees.” I said firmly without raising my voice. I never had to. My slaves know I mean business without all the screaming and yelling.

“Yes, Muscle Master. “ He said. He got on his knees and started to kiss my calf muscles.

I smiled a naughty victorious smile. I knew I had him by his tiny little balls.

“This is why you paid me so much to be here isn't it?” I asked as he licked my quads like they were lollipops. “You wanted to be used didnt you?” He came up for air.

“Yes, Master. At first I just wanted to take pictures of you to worship. But when I saw you I needed to worship you in real time. Can I please be your bitch Fred. Please?”

“That depends. Let’s see what else you're good at licking…”

From then on we saw each other several times a week and those big pay days keep on coming. He was a complete addict just like I wanted him to be. I took every opportunity to mind fuck him deeper...to make him weaker and weaker...I have so many stories about our adventures...

Sounds like a Creative Writing 101 assignment.????.

Interesting article about the virus. Much of the medical view has been that Covid19 is a disease primarily of the lungs. Still, there were cases that did not fit that exactly. Now another view: instead of a lung infection, this virus has its main target our blood vessels

https://elemental.medium.com/coronavirus-may-be-a-blood-vessel-disease-which-explains-everything-2c4032481ab2

I would like doctors who are here like @purplekow to comment. Especially since @purplekow has so much first hand experience.

How does this view alter medical therapies for those who are infected?

The Metropolitan Opera is closed. Many of the operas the company shows nightly have been available on the Met site for years.

 

Actually, your goal might be to open up this country sooner rather than later. You are the Woody Allen of surprises.

My post clearly reads that these performances can be viewed FREE. Normally, to view the shows have a cost. Yes, I know the Metropolitan Opera is closed.

While I might be the “Woody Allen of surprises” to you, you are no longer a surprise to me. Save the snide comments for your PM’s (which I no longer read).

From my posts, everyone should know how I feel about opening up the country “sooner rather than later.” Go back and refresh your mind and find the definitive answer.

Post a feel good story about places that really need it, please.

The feel good account was about The United States. The United States needs such stories. Some places are doing things right and we should be feeling good about those places.

You want a feel good account about a place that needed it: the musicians on the Titanic played well as the ship sunk.? Another feel good story: many cultural organizations have moved online; the pandemic has speeded up this move; for free, you can “ attend” the Metropolitan Opera every night?. Another feel good story: this pandemic has made the public aware of the ways to lessen contagious infections so that this Fall, fewer people are expected to become infected with the flu.?

“Feel good” stories are around if you care to look for them. “Feel good” stories abound even in the worst places hit by the pandemic: @purplekow has shown us the dedication at his hospital by himself and others that should make us all feel good that even in the darkness, there are sources of hope about the goodness of humanity. His posts have been inspiring and should make us all feel good that such people exist.?

Given the non-standardize way of recording COVID deaths, I expect the go to will be the large jump in the overall death rate that has been seen month to month from 2019 to 2020. This would be a maximum estimate rather than a minimum estimate. Which would be unusual, as social scientists typically rely on minimum estimates to be on the safe side of analysis (e.g. homeless number estimates).

I would think the “extra death count” over the most recent years would be an excellent way to figure out the Coronavirus death count.

Another feel good story. New York City is an international destination, Miami isn't quite in the same league. Now that South America is sadly an epicenter of novel coronavirus, things may change a little.

Yes, it is a “feel good” story. We should celebrate when people do things right that save lives.

As the story notes, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers fled to Florida, so while not an international destination to the degree of New York, Florida is an destination within the US. Those New Yorkers seem to have brought the infection with them.

While South America is sadly a new virus hot spot, I hope we are now smart enough to halt visitors from South America and Central America.

Florida is actively tampering with the data. Local health departments are saying the state numbers don't match up with theirs. Their deaths from pneumonia are up sharply. They were starting from a lower infection rate so it will take some time to see, but in 4-6 weeks I expect it will be clear they aren't doing well.

As I have written many times, we will have to wait for the pandemic to be over to know the full story. I have not seen exactly how they are allegedly manipulating the data. I assume the stories will eventually come out.

Part of the problem of recording deaths as Covid19 deaths is there is no uniform standard at this moment. I am not sure how historians are ever going to get an accurate count but instead may give a range. For example, is the death a Covid19 death based on a test of the body? Was it doctor’s opinion? Was the virus one of several possibilities and only a contributing factor?

Interesting piece comparing the statistics and reopening in Florida and Tennessee and what they did right. While much media attention is focused on Cuomo and New York, a look should be seen at alternative actions taken by DeSantis and Florida.

Florida is reopening and so far, things seem to be going well:

https://www.city-journal.org/florida-evidence-based-reopening-working

What our offices and work behavior will look like:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.amp.html

Note that despite the physical changes, much will come down to personal behavioral compliance with the suggested new norms.

From the vegetables past their prime shelf I managed to buy two heads of cauliflower, a large leak, eight carrots and three zucchini for $9.20 which I thought was a pretty good price.

 

Food prices are expected to rise by 4% in Canada over the next year, with general inflation hovering at about 1/2% maybe.

Food prices will rise (as will the prices of many other things) as stores and companies spend money on preventive measures against the virus. For example, stores and offices will go through more cleaning; companies will furnish hand sanitizer and wipes; etc. These extra costs will get passed along.

I posted this photo in the Gallery, but it seems to be in a format that can't be saved into a format which will be recognized by my photo applications (photoshop, photo explosion). Do any of you know (1) why that is, and (2) if there's a way to turn it into a savable format? Pretty weird, because I post tons of photos, and I've never had that happen to me before.

Send the model to my house. I’ll take a new picture of him and then post that picture. I’ll forward you a copy of the picture, too.??

Very interesting article in today's (05/28) issue of the Wall Street Journal. It is located on page A17 in the opinion section. The article is entitled "When Covid "Science" Is a Smokescreen" and is written by Todd Myers. Mr. Myers is environmental director of the Seattle-based Washington Policy Center and author of "Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism Is Harming the Environment." Sorry I don't know how to cut the article from the WSJ and post it here.

I have a Journal subscription so I was able to read the article. A good fact-based article how “science” can be used in the name of political advancement. Unfortunately, “science” is often used for political ends and manipulated accordingly.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to cut and paste it. While I have many skills, I am lacking in high tech abilities?.

WOW! Steven’s post #72 is a great example of one of his word dumps. A slight-of-hand trick buried in a word salad that shows his obsession with declaring the deaths of seniors like the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi Germany.

The slight-of-hand trick is to attack @Epigonos in his post #69 and my agreement in post #70. Both short posts specifically were about nursing home deaths in NY caused by the NY mandate that placed people with Covid19 in nursing homes. I agreed with @Epigonos by pointing out very specifically that the nursing home death rate in NY was greater than states without such a mandate and that such a mandate was a huge blunder. Very clearly, both posts were about Covid19 nursing home death rates.

Now while Steven is correct that the latest figures are hard to come by (and continually changing), he switches away from talking about the “death rate in nursing homes due to Covid19“ caused in a great part by the NY mandate. He switches to talking about the percentage of senior deaths to the total deaths as well as absolute numbers. He turns the discussion into one of nursing homes being like Nazi death camps. WHAT HE DOES NOT DO is talk about the NY mandate that placed people with Covid19 in nursing homes. WHAT HE DOES NOT DO is talk about the death rates of seniors living in nursing homes.

In fact, the Covid19 death rate of seniors living in nursing homes in NY is more than twice that of Florida’s rate of Covid19 deaths of seniors living in nursing homes.

While most reader’s eyes most likely glazed over due to the voluminous post that is repetitive from past posts, Steven’s personal attack at @Epigonos and my posts did not go unnoticed by me. The purposeful deception with his slight-of-hand change of subject was clear. Typical of his bullying others to make himself seem to be THE authority on a subject. He builds himself up by wrongly tearing others down.

Neither @Epigonos nor I doubt that this virus is very deadly for seniors. Neither @Epigonos nor I are against test, trace and isolate (there really is no “treat” beyond supportive therapy). Our sin seems to be in believing that the NY mandate made things in nursing homes more deadly for seniors.

The FACT is clear: the Covid19 death rate of seniors living in nursing homes is higher in NY with its mandate that placed people with Covid19 in nursing homes than in states like Florida without such a mandate. The exact death rates will not be known until historians write the history of the pandemic. NY has now dropped the mandate so the time period can be bracketed (allowing for a slight death lag) to compare Covid19 death rates.

You are describing something the way a relatively newcomer would see a nursing home or assisted living facility.

 

How about after living there a few years, and dealing with added health problems, or beloved children trying to visit often but alas dealing with rebellious tennagers and long hours at work.

 

One needs to visit these wonderful places frequently and sometimes at unexpected hours - not just at lunch or dinner or breakfast. Is there enough heat on cold mornings in the Winter? Get to know the staff and the supervisors. Know the relatives of the other people who live there: check in occasionally at the local senior center. Visit frequently at hospitals when seniors are there. Be concerned about feeding tubes and ventilators.

The place I described where I was a volunteer was home to my parents for six years. I was there all the time at all hours. I have had other friends and family there as well over the years including a relative there this moment telling me about the lockdown from the inside. Hardly a newcomer to the field of senior care; I know so much because I was involved with the design of the current facility.

As for a person searching for a new home, yes, a thorough search is best but often time is limited and a place needs to be found in a few days.

I don't really need all this information. I visited my six grade teacher in Massachusetts in a very nice assisted living facility. She remembered me immediately, but very difficult to have a real conversation because her world had because quite small. She did remember 60 years ago when I started the conversation. Otherwise, she responded more like an elementary school principal - her job for many years after my school year, 1954-55

 

That's the issue I have with this amazing place in Kansas.

 

Too upbeat and sunny.

That makes no sense. The goal is to maintain seniors functioning at the highest mental and physical level possible. That involves hard working staff and volunteers. The aim is to treat people with dignity and respect so they feel valued and that life is worthwhile.

Sorry that does not meet with your approval.

(The information was given to help you understand the answer to your question. People are given choices about such things as meals as well as how the Covid19 pandemic has affect the normal routine.)

Are meals taken in a group dining hall, or in private rooms? Socialization is vital too. My first cousin died ten days ago at age 95, partly from being isolated in her room at assisted living because of the threat of novel coronavirus. For years, she took part in as many group activities as possible. Her children and their families were not allowed to visit.

 

Last August I spent one day at good hospital in Washington District of Columbia. I wasn't that sick, but it took several days to recover mentally.

In the assisted living part of the facility, there are three meals a day, seven days a week. There are 54 apartments with mostly singles but a few couples. There are three two bedroom units that have full size kitchens and the other units have a small kitchen area with a refrigerator, microwave and sink.

Meal service is available in communal dining areas as well as room service on request. Choices include several options including Kosher plus (like McDonald’s), breakfast for any meal (a lot of seniors like eggs or oatmeal for dinner).

The 54 units are in six “pods” of nine rooms. Each “pod” has a common sitting area with access to outdoor space. The people often come out of their apartment to sit in the common spaces in the pods as well as the larger spaces throughout the building including a library, chapel (all types of religious services), art gallery with changing exhibits, lobby area, outdoor areas, art and craft room, elder spa with indoor pool and exercise machines and classes, etc. Normally, there is a full set of activities (cut back because of Covid19 and people not coming into the building). Much of the social activities have been moved to the small common spaces in the pods so the groups are small. The activity director is limiting social activities to the small common spaces with several things each day to pull residents out of their rooms to socialize.

Part of the building design was to cut down on infection transmitted by having these small groups. The skilled nursing area is similar in that the rooms in a small area are clustered around a common space in addition to a larger space for everyone on a floor.

Right now, the larger common dining areas are closed. Meals are brought to the individual apartments or to the smaller common sitting areas for the nine apartments. The thinking is that IF someone becomes infected, they might be able to limit the infection to just one small area. This design was done for infections like the annual flu in mind but is serving the facility well during this pandemic.

The state has a mandated lockdown on all senior facilities including but not limited to nursing homes. For people who are dying, it is hard on families as well as the resident not to have visitors; that is the current mandate in most states as I understand it. Very hard on all concerned.

He also started the Gay Mens Health Crisis - GMHC in NYC. They had a brutal falling out (he wanted to go militant) and he ended up leaving the organization to start ACT UP.

As I recall from one of his books, GMHC in NYC was founded in his living room?. It is amazing to me that he was there at the very start of the AIDS pandemic and lived through its whole history.

Anout the only other one who has chronicled that expanse of time who is still alive is Edmund White.

Smart people seek advice from neighborhood senior centers, doctors, relatives and friends before nursing homes.

Yes, when a person is looking for themself or a family member, they should get all the input possible. Professionals like doctors, social workers and social service agencies as well as hospital discharge planners should be at the top of the list.

If someone wants to do the legwork, the inspection reports are available to the public. They can be invaluable. Because staff is so important, I would concentrate on that aspect of research.

One thing to notice during any tour is smell. A skilled nursing facility should not have a urine smell.

The last thing on which I would rely would be the sales pitch and shiny brochures.

In the May 5th issue of Time Magazine Marina Villeneuve/AP authored an article about previously undisclosed deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes in New York. In that article she quoted the state's March 25 police that says "no resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to a nursing home soley based on a confirmed or suspedted diagnosis of COVID-19" From that point on deaths in New York's nursing homes exploded.

When the history of this pandemic is written, NY’s mandating nursing homes must take infected people will be seen as one of the great blunders. Just comparing the nursing home death rate in NY with Florida and other states that had no such mandate, the real scope of the blunder can be seen.

For the first few years of my mother's experience in a nursing home, we were able to afford a private room She wasn't suffering from complete dementia then, and could invite her women friends in for a long conversation. Made a sad situation much less sad.

I have talked about building design taking fighting infection into account. One aspect of the skilled nursing facility where I volunteer is that almost all the rooms are private rooms. This was done for better outcomes for the residents:

1-less infection became everyone is separated with their own bathroom. Two (or more) people sharing a bathroom is a guarantee that if one has an infection the other(s) will get it as well.

2-less stress with no arguments over noise, TV, visitors, room temperature, personal possessions, etc. less stress means quicker recovery in rehab and less medical issues for long term residences. Private rooms give residents more control over their surroundings and residents are encouraged to decorate their rooms as they want (especially important with long term residents).

We have a few double rooms which were constructed at the ends of the building so there was still some privacy and were not rectangle rooms but more like overlapping squares. These were designed for occupancy by two spouses, siblings, parent-child or two friends who chose to live together.

Best part: no difference between those on Medicaid, Medicare and full private pay. Staff does not know who is there under which payment and there is no difference in services to any resident due to payment method. This was done so that dignity of the residents is preserved. No one needs to feel shamed at being poor and treated differently. When someone’s money runs out, they are not wheeled out of their private room into a shared room.

Bottom line, the building design in this one aspect alone of having almost all private rooms made for better medical outcomes including infection control. Other design elements to cut infections included two special isolated rooms for residents who had an infection; the rooms had their own HVAC with negative air pressure to keep germs in the room and not out in the hallway.

My employer at one time offered long-term care group coverage. The person who came to talk gave us a lot of interesting snippets. At the time(this was about ten years ago) the average nursing home stay was a bit under 3 years. However, that masked two large sub-populations with very different averages. If you were there for Alzheimer's or the like, your average stay was over eleven years. If you were there for almost any other reason, your average stay was under a year. Partly because when it's not dementia, either the patient fights the move or the family isn't willing to acknowledge the need until things have gotten pretty bad. So...there probably is something to the notion that many of the nursing home fatalities were truly not long for this world anyway. But it's still a horrific way to go and to be avoided.

I was told that one of the reasons Alzheimer’s residents live so long is they have no stress once they get to a certain point. They are certainly there for a very long time. Where I volunteer, there is a separate building for “memory care” with three levels of functioning with the lowest being skilled nursing.

Those who are there under a year are really in two groups:

1-often there until rehabilitation gets them well enough to leave to assisted living or even back home for full independent living.

2-they are pretty well gone and really getting hospice care (where I volunteer there are dedicated hospice beds for “end-of-life care”).

The third group who might be there more than a year requires more care than one can normally get in assisted living.

The ideal model senior facility is a full continuum of care from fully independent living to end of life care with heavy medical needs (but short of hospitalization/ICU).

Interestingly enough, in a continuum of care model, residents move back and forth across the units. For example, a resident in full independent living falls and breaks a hip which sends her for a short hospital stay; she is then discharged to the skilled nursing section where she gets rehab and then if not back to full independent living, there may be a short stay in assisted living while still accessing rehab; then back to full independent living.

President Donald Trump mentioned the hundreds of thousands of flu related deaths each year often during the first six or seven weeks of novel coronavirus pandemic.

While flu deaths in the entire United States go from about 30,000 to 40,000 per year, the 380,000 per year nursing home deaths from infections cover other infections besides just flu. These deaths get little publicity.

IDK how anyone can leave their parents (or grandparents) in one of those "senior facilities". Saddest place for anyone to end up in besides prison ?

Most moves into “senior facilities” are not moves of choice but moves of necessity.

We had to use a bulldozer to get my mother and stepfather to sell the home they loved and move into the independent living section of the “senior facility” where I volunteer. The home was designed specifically for senior living; after six months of living there, my mother told me: “I should have moved here years earlier because life is so much easier.” The good“senior facilities” are physically designed to make senior living easier and programing and services add to making life better.

Sorry, but the well run places are far from a “sad” place. The good places add life into those final years. Yes, there are some places that are “sad” but no need to condemn all because of the bad ones. No different than any other aspects of life.