Random Comments/Stream of Consciousness Thread

[vincent]

Has anyone tried to identify this? :-)



it's at 44:40.

[herbertwest]

The exchange rate of dolllars => euros is very low... now is the time to buy !

[lotuz]

I've refrained from posting any COVID-19 stuff here for several months, but I still work with COVID-19 data every day, and I've been really disheartened with the numbers that I've been seeing recently.

For anyone getting complacent about the spread of COVID-19, and especially for anyone who assumes that because a state decided to "open back up", it means that the state was ready to "open back up", these 14 states just hit their highest 7-day average EVER:

Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Florida
Kentucky
New Mexico
North Carolina
Mississippi
Oregon
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah

Not only is this not over, it's not close to being over. We are not "almost there". We are not anywhere near "back to normal".

And yes, case counts have increased as testing has increased, but hospitalizations track very similarly in these states.

This is not done because we are bored of it or because so many other things are going on. We know from the experience of other countries how to deal effectively with the virus, and we are simply not doing what's necessary.


EDIT: I should drop a piece of not-awful news here as well.

FWIW outdoor spread seems to be uncommon still. The verdict is still out on outdoor dining but it appears to be on the lower-risk end.

The highest probability for transmission is in these places:

Jails/prisons
Nursing homes
Meat processing and packing plants
Churches
Nightclubs/Bars
Indoor sporting events

What most of these places have in common is that it's hard to social distance, and also that it's loud.

One other nice thing is that grocery stores appear to be very low risk. They are one of the few types of places that never closed and that lots of people still go to regularly and there haven't been any large transmission events associated with them. It's also easy to social distance, people generally don't congregate there or talk loudly, and many large retailers (e.g., Walmart) have mask policies in place. These things make a difference.

[Curly]

Covid-19: The Northern Hemisphere is now experiencing Summer. Cases of Covid-19 will come down. When Winter comes back, so will the virus, with vengence!

[Br!an]

Covid-19: The Northern Hemisphere is now experiencing Summer. Cases of Covid-19 will come down. When Winter comes back, so will the virus, with vengence!

I'm not sure that hypothesis has been proven. It's hot and humid as hell in Florida and the infection rate is climbing.

[Lookwhoitis]

I've been out of work for 3 months today...

[Brian861]

I've been out of work for 3 months today...

2 months for me. It sucks.

[Randall Flagg]

14+ years, but I retired. No longer make 100K+ every year, but have an adequate SS payment, and a reasonable 401K. I'm lucky my wife works full time for Costco and we have pretty good health coverage. Next year she can go to an hourly full-time position, with a bit less pay, but good benefits. It will cut her work week from 55+ hours per week, to 40.
I'm almost 60 and she is a year younger. She can begin withdrawing from her 401k next May with no pre-tax 10% penalty.

[wizardsrainbow]

14+ years, but I retired. No longer make 100K+ every year, but have an adequate SS payment, and a reasonable 401K. I'm lucky my wife works full time for Costco and we have pretty good health coverage. Next year she can go to an hourly full-time position, with a bit less pay, but good benefits. It will cut her work week from 55+ hours per week, to 40.
I'm almost 60 and she is a year younger. She can begin withdrawing from her 401k next May with no pre-tax 10% penalty.

I count myself lucky (thus far) though you all might remember I've been laid off twice in the last 10 years, so I know how scary/hard it is to be out of work with bills to pay and family counting on you (one time I was off for 18 months before finding new work). I am a year older than Jerome. I've been told that if I lost my primary job, technically I could retire but I'd have to sell my whole collection and Betts to make ends meet for my family over the next 20 years.

[vincent]

Seeing all the fantastic inscriptions here made me think it would be so great to have all of these images in one place. Especially inscriptions with dates, because then I could sort them by date and, using the great signing events spreadsheet from this site, link them to particular places.

So I made such a site! Presenting:

www.signedanddated.info

Books signed by Stephen King during the seventies and eighties, sorted by date of inscription.

I've got 400 plus images at the moment, many of which from your most excellent collection threads.

It's ideal for scrolling through on the toilet.

This could be a cool resource for collectors to check for other books signed on the same day as their book, to compare signatures to from ebay listings, or to get to know King's signature-style from the 70s and 80s.

I'd love to get contributions, corrections, ideas from whoever's so inclined! Via PM or info@signedanddated.info.

If you're not comfortable seeing your signed book in the list, please let me know also.

[vincent]

Vincent, that is quite a resource!
However, it makes me nervous about the legitimacy of my signed CARRIE, which I bought from L.W. Currey many years ago. The year of the date is weird, and the '7' does NOT have a line through it. Was King distracted when he signed it? I sure hope so!

Thanks, Steve! I'm sure people here will give you their thoughts on your signed Carrie if you share a picture. From my selection of inscriptions it looks like SK started adding the line through the 7 in early 1978 :-).

[mae]

Looks awesome! What I would suggest is adding a transcription underneath each image.

And of course, expand it to the 1990s and beyond!

[vincent]

I count nine other books signed on that date, and this one is the closest match:



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[vincent]

Looks awesome! What I would suggest is adding a transcription underneath each image.

And of course, expand it to the 1990s and beyond!

Thanks for this! I’ll try some things out with transcriptions, and see if I can add them without messing up the layout too much.


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[namelessnpoor]

Book and signature. As you can see, the date is weird looking.

I'm no expert but the your sig is quite close to the other one posted below it. Just looks like he had a rough time with the date!
The second slash looks like it started out as a seven..then he wrote 78 instead of 79..lol.
I think your book was signed towards the end of a long day of signing

[Patrick]

Seeing all the fantastic inscriptions here made me think it would be so great to have all of these images in one place. Especially inscriptions with dates, because then I could sort them by date and, using the great signing events spreadsheet from this site, link them to particular places.

So I made such a site! Presenting:

www.signedanddated.info

Books signed by Stephen King during the seventies and eighties, sorted by date of inscription.

I've got 400 plus images at the moment, many of which from your most excellent collection threads.

It's ideal for scrolling through on the toilet.

This could be a cool resource for collectors to check for other books signed on the same day as their book, to compare signatures to from ebay listings, or to get to know King's signature-style from the 70s and 80s.

I'd love to get contributions, corrections, ideas from whoever's so inclined! Via PM or info@signedanddated.info.

If you're not comfortable seeing your signed book in the list, please let me know also.

Great idea! Thanks for doing all the work!

[vincent]

Sounds reasonable. I bought that book so long ago I only paid $45 or $55 for it.

That's a great deal you got back then, Steve. L.W. Currey is a lot more expensive these days! I'll add your inscription to the site if you don't mind.

Great idea! Thanks for doing all the work!

Thank you Patrick! I had great fun "harvesting" them and I looovvve dates...

[Brian861]

Cash is still king. And King=Cash.

[herbertwest]

I am a couple of posts away from posting my 10,000th post !
But then, I could also die before doing so

[Sai Sheb]

I am a couple of posts away from posting my 10,000th post !
But then, I could also die before doing so

Always looking on the bright side...

[ur2ndbiggestfan]

I just might go into Barnes & Noble June 19th.
A Neil Young never released album is coming out on CD and vinyl called HOMEGROWN, from way back in 1974 or so, when cars all ran on steam powered coal burning engines.
Sounds interesting, by crack gummy!

[Brian861]

I just might go into Barnes & Noble June 19th.
A Neil Young never released album is coming out on CD and vinyl called HOMEGROWN, from way back in 1974 or so, when cars all ran on steam powered coal burning engines.
Sounds interesting, by crack gummy!

What is this CD and vinyl you speak of? Sounds like tech left over from The Great Old Ones.

[Brian861]

I am a couple of posts away from posting my 10,000th post !
But then, I could also die before doing so

Which goes to show I spend way too much time here.

[fernandito]

I am a couple of posts away from posting my 10,000th post !

[bdwyer19]

Wok hoo! I just passed an exam for my job and am now a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. Studying for the past two months has paid off!