Bad Things

Well, the liar continues to spout his lies. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122521091/coronavirus-us-president-donald-trump-ignores-the-facts-data-around-new-zealands-covid19-response “’New Zealand, it’s over, it’s over for New Zealand, everything’s gone, they’re beautiful’,” he appeared to mock. ”They had a massive breakout yesterday.” (5 people.) - Trump Despite the resurgence of the virus in the community, the outlook in New Zealand is significantly more optimistic than in the US. But Trump appears to be ignoring the hard data and continues to claim that New Zealand is seeing a “big surge” in cases. The number of confirmed and probable cases in the US exceeds New Zealand’s entire population by almost 500,000. Based on data published by the CDC and US Census Bureau, Covid-19 cases make up 1.66 per cent of the entire population in States. New Zealand’s cases only make up 0.03 per cent of the population. Similarly, the infection fatality ratio (IFR) for each country is almost incomparable. New Zealand’s IFR sits at 1.33 per cent, while the ratio in the US is more than double that at 3.13 per cent.

I almost spit my coffee out this morning, when Trump again stated how badly New Zealand was struggling with a major outbreak of Covid-19, while the US was doing an incredible job on fighting it. In what kind of bizarro world are we living in? The facts: Today it was announced that we (NZ) had a total of 5 new covid-19 cases in the entire country. Five According to WorldOMeter the USA had 44,973. I guess this shows why it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone why there is so much confusion and in-fighting happening in the US. It starts at the top. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300087090/coronavirus-donald-trump-calls-out-nz-again-says-us-is-doing-an-incredible-job-against-covid19

Helpful hint: The "ignore poster" feature is your friend.

Up until now, all of our cases have been from Kiwis returning home from overseas. All incoming travelers must go into a 2 week quarantine. Unfortunately these new cases haven't been traced back to someone returning to NZ, which means its somewhere in the community.

Bugger. After 102 days without community transmission, they found a couple positive Covid cases up in Auckland today. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300079882/coronavirus-four-cases-of-covid19-community-transmission-confirmed-in-auckland

So... every day on my way to and from work , I pass by the local port. (Port Nelson, NZ) Every week or two, there's a ship there that always catches my eye. It's big and... pink! (Remember the move, Operation Petticoat?) Anyway, the sight of it became part of the landscape, when one day, I was paddling close by it and noticed that the name of it was, "Buffalo"!! It was there again this afternoon, so I pulled over and took a pic of it, thinking of this thread. It may be the only Buffalo in New Zealand! https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:752863/mmsi:512432000/imo:9149201/vessel:BUFFALO

I couldn't be prouder on how we all came together to protect each other down here. As our Prime Minister said at the very beginning of this all... we needed to "go hard and early" against Covid-19. Fortunately the New Zealand people were resilient enough to take on this challenge and succeed. Kia Kaha!

I just love this kid!

For someone on the outside looking in, I cannot stress how infuriating it is to see news like this. It is like your leaders are deliberately working against each other and the public to send out crossed signals and misinformation. Unbelievable.

That's exactly what I was thinking!

I’ve never heard of “The days between”, but I sure like it! This comes at a really good time for me since, after a couple decades, I finally have a good sound system again! (New speakers, amp and streamer.) I’ve also signed up with Tidal streaming, whose “Masters” (MQA file) recordings are simply fantastic. My wife and I actually spent last night listening to Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. Although I’ve heard these albums hundreds of times, they’ve never sounded nearly as good as they did last night. They really sound like new recordings. The detail in these recordings are fantastic!

Nice! We visited Tahiti and Moorea years ago and loved it. Very expensive though. The Cooks are a LOT cheaper and less built up. It's really like going back in time. They are just a short flight from here. There isn't a language barrier and they use our (NZ) currency. Life couldn't be easier than in the Cooks!

Better for whom?

Cook Islands. (Rarotonga and Aitutaki.) The wife and I were scheduled to fly there next week, for a two-week holiday. Cancelled. The sad part is that the Cook Islands haven't had a single case of Covid-19 and we're free from it, apart from Kiwis returning from overseas.

? Yup... don't accept any responsibility.

Good Lord. For you to imply that I only read the headlines shows how ignorant you are. I think you simply get hurt feelings when someone doesn't agree with you. That said... if you think things are going well up there... good on you!

Sorry, not sure what you mean by that. All I know is that when watching the news coming out of the US, it seems like no one knows what's going on. In some areas people have to wear masks, in other areas don't. Some are even protesting against having to wear a mask. In some areas bars and restaurants can be open, but in other areas they are still in lockdown. In some areas schools will be open for students, in other areas, not so much. It all seems like a big cluster-F. I don't have the time or desire to look up what's specifically happening back in upstate NY. Just thought someone could share their experience.

How large are these pieces? I see on the site it says the smallest one is "1 X 1". 1 inch? 1 foot? I'd love to have some, but not if it's only a square inch.

If that's what it takes to stop the spread of the virus, then yes. What restrictions are currently in place for NY? (I honestly have no idea.) I am fully aware that it’s a completely different situation down here in NZ with only 5 million people and easier controlled borders, but… as our Prime Minister said, when the first case of the virus appeared on our shores back in March, we went in hard and early. Our borders were immediately closed to everyone apart from Kiwi citizens and the entire nation went into a FULL lockdown until the virus was stamped out. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53274085 All returning Kiwis must also go into a managed 2-week quarantine upon arrival. For 70+ days now, we haven’t had a case of community transmission, but have caught numerous incoming cases at the border/quarantine. The problem is that the US should have had a nationwide, united-front in battling this, instead of the scattershot approach that actually happened. (Not to even mention the undermining comments that Trump projects to the nation.) I know you don't like hearing my thoughts on this, but you asked.

Yes

Wait til Otis sees us. He loves us!

Nope, it sure didn't!

Mate, my wife and I talk about this all the time. We moved away from the US 15 years ago and try to imagine how our level of sanity would be in we never moved. One controversy after another. Day after day. Kia Kaha! (Stay strong!)

The Blues Brother movie.

RIP Charlie. One of my favourite old memories from the 90's was swinging all those pretty Colorado gals around the dancefloor to this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UbcAXgET8w