It’s said you should talk about what you know. Right? Well, I know about dogs (at least MY dogs), and I know how the RONA has changed my lifestyle. Stuck at home with two dogs doesn’t leave a whole lot to talk about other than those things.
Today I want to discuss masks and social media reactions to wearing them — but first, I want to share this cool find:
You safely store your dog via credit card in a safe, climate controlled box thing while you shop. There’s a puppy cam so you can watch your precious hound as you shop, instead of leaving them in a car where they can die in 6 short minutes.
I’m going to put this out here right now… Merida would draw CROWDS in this clear front contraption. I’m thinking about driving to Idaho, where I know these are located, just for publicity.
Masks and the Public… as Told by Social Media
First, someone (maybe my favorite brother) made a post on FB regarding a study reporting that masks do not protect the wearer from COVID. He emphasized that the study also does NOT contradict evidence that masks help prevent those who have the virus from spreading it to others. This comment was worth a read…
There were many that posted in agreement. Many commented that the claims of being unable to wear a mask could be overcome… highlights about specific sick/elderly people wearing a mask, etc. Then came this:
One of the biggest surprises to me was that my cousin, Jenny, was the one “like” on this comment — indicating that she too is disappointed. Whatever.
Herein lies the problem… masks are viewed as political and the general public is supplied willy-nilly protocols.
I’m not going to brag about my IQ or data pulled from CDC or even look down my nose at anyone that doesn’t agree with me like ole’ Rachel did. I’m for sure not going to beg anyone. PERIOD.
I’m going to tell you that I’m not a scientist and although I read and watch what’s going on in my communities, states, nation and world, that doesn’t make me an expert.
Rachel up there isn’t an expert either. What’s the big freaking deal about putting on a mask? If there’s a snowball’s chance in Hell that it might help keep others safe, just wear the damn thing, ya big baby.
The number of people getting sick and/or dying with the virus is on the rise. Our hospitals are full or filling up. Until there is a clear, consistent, enforced/regulated, across the board directive, we’re going to see more of the same. ~Just my Opinion
How severe the pandemic is in the places where people I care about are located… Daily new COVID-19 cases (7 day moving average): Indiana-93.2 (UP); Jackson Co – 83.7 (up); Florida 31.4 (up); Nevada – 53.7 (up)
TIL (Today I Learned): Jerry Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978, when he resigned after he was caught soliciting a prostitute. He was only caught because the check bounced.
A long time ago, in the land before Facebook, I ran (owned the server, etc.) a forum for the town I lived in at that time… Crothersville. We had administrators to help keep posters in line.
The only rule was that PERSONAL insults weren’t allowed. You could say whatever you wanted about a PUBLIC persona, but PERSONAL attacks were not allowed. That worked pretty well at the time, and it was fun. Then along came Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.
I’m no expert, and I “get it” that these entities are owned by someone other than the people posting there. We always said that the forum we owned was our backyard… and people were not allowed to go there and just poop. If you visited our backyard, you behaved in the manner we expected backyard visitors to behave.
But we did NOT make people believe the way we did. We allowed opinions to be shared. I guess that’s why I’m not sure I like the way social media is policing posts these days. I don’t know the answers… because people tend to believe what they read. I understand that hidden powers manipulate this fact on social media outlets.
Having said that, social media has become awfully controlled in that regard. A visit to Facebook and Twitter and you’ll find a whole lot of posts blocked. If not blocked, they are often tagged with “misinformation.” And, I’m fed “Election Updates” upon every single visit. “Election Updates” isn’t an ad paid for by anyone; it’s not a group; it’s Facebook, y’all.
This, in my opinion (and this is MY yard so I can say it), is more troublesome than who is elected President.
And finally, my office has a view!
TIL (Today I Learned): Jimmy Carter had a cat during his presidency named Misty Malarky Ying Yang. Yes, seriously…
How severe the pandemic is in the places where people I care about are located… Daily new COVID-19 cases (7 day moving average): Indiana-53.0 (way up); Jackson Co – 46.5 (way up); Florida 21.7 (up); Nevada – 32.7 (up)
Our president-elect is forming a COVID task force tomorrow. I’m sure all this will be fixed soon. 🙄
I’m not a doctor nor a scientist. I can read… and this pertains to everyone else that can also read. That, my friends, is a preface for my opinion that if you’re not a doctor or scientist you shouldn’t be encouraging others to do anything that might even REMOTELY have a negative effect on their health.
Social media is a great stage. Every single time I see someone tell others they should disregard COVID-19 warnings, my blood boils.
Would I let an auto mechanic tell me I didn’t need the insulin my doctor prescribed if I had diabetes? Ummm… no!
Would YOU listen to an accountant if they said you should run 5 miles every day if your cardiologist told you not to? Of course not!
Still, give people social media to read and they do listen if they like or respect the person sharing — and if the posts contain enough partial facts and distorted data that support what they want to believe already. ARG!
Dharma and Merida are of the opinion that most humans (not me, obviously) are gullible and dogs should rule the world. Some days, I almost agree with them.
And because I’m talking about spreading poop…
TIL (today I learned): The CIA had an instructions manual for U2 spy plane pilots describing what they could eat so that didn’t had the urge to poop while on mission. (Missions often spanned about 9 hours.) The planes had no means of disposing the fecal matter. Read the article here…
Merida – 0. The girl didn’t destroy one thing today.
She zoomied around the house and ran into furniture and even knocked Dharma down once — but she hasn’t destroyed anything for approximately 24-hours now. Peep her below hiding while looking all innocent. 🙂
We have a chance for more snow flurries today, but on Sunday (2 short days away), 60 degrees is predicted. Ain’t God good to Indiana? 🙂
Probably because the weather is crazy, people have nothing to do but go through old newspapers. Scrolling through Facebook yesterday, I noticed local paper, The Tribune, shared an image of the front page of their publication from exactly 50 years ago.
Moments later, I get a text asking if I saw my Dad’s name included within the image of the paper’s front page.
I’d call your attention to the article on the top left but know you probably can’t read it. After squinting for about 30 minutes, I figured out it was a report of an accident where a car turned in front of a truck, driven by my Dad, Dallas McKain. Dad’s passenger, my Pap-pa, then 65 years-old, was injured and taken to the hospital.
Either it was no big deal or Dad and Pap-pa kept it a secret because even Mom doesn’t remember this happening. Knowing Pap-pa, it was the latter.
Then today, Curt Kovener (friend and editor of the Crothersville Times) sent me a text that said: “June 1981. God, we were young once.” This message was accompanied by the following image of yet another newspaper clipping…
Can you even imagine what it will be like 40-50 years from now when everything is so much easier to access?
Today, I booked my first ever blab session. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, allow me to explain…
Blab (https://blab.im) is “a place to watch, join, and interact with live conversations about the topics that matter most to you.” Basically, Blab is a live-streaming platform that enables a public video chat among four participants at a time. I’ve tuned in on multiple occasions and to be transparent, it wasn’t for me. What I found was a whole bunch of ‘wanna be authorities’ on various topics. While the topics I chose were of interest to me, I tuned out after a few minutes of listening to the blab (and yaddah yaddah yaddah).
I fully understand that companies must take part in the technology ecosystem and how important virtual audiences are in regard to marketing products and services. But I also see the side of how difficult it is to keep up! Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Periscope, blogging, Google+, LinkedIn, podcasts, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr and more (in no specific order) — sometimes it’s overwhelming. Not just as someone trying to keep up in regard to business marketing… but as a consumer as well.
I’m open though! I’m hoping this Blab will change my mind about Blab, you guys. Maybe I just got hooked up with the wrong Blabbers.
I want to be more like Dharma. Everything sounds like ‘blab blab blab’ to her and she finds it ALL extremely entertaining. She just loves digital dogital marketing!
