Twinky

Dave Allen is truly hilarious. And he's right, most "religious" practices are laughable. "Into the hole he goes" hahahahahaha.

Hello, Mike. Long time no see. JohnJ: LOL, the "gory days."

Thank you, Penguin2. Tuxedo is still blessing my life and getting up to mischief. She is, though, appallingly thin. She hardly eats anything, but she does enjoy the jelly from tinned cat food (has always refused to eat the solids), occasionally has a teaspoonful of some ultra-expensive pate-type food from the vet, and still has a bit of kibble. I have a small tin of tuna in spring water for her tonight; maybe she will enjoy some of that. It's quite likely that my carpet will enjoy some of that, too, a few hours later. Late evening, we have a cuddle on the couch. We have a nap for a couple of hours. She likes the cuddle, but I wonder if she likes the warmth too. I have got her a little heat pad, which emits very gentle warmth, and that's wrapped in a soft fleece blanket in her current choice of sleeping location. She seems to like that and spends most of her time there (can't say I blame her in that; it's been very cold outside!). Her littermate Crypto, who always seemed a smaller skinny cat, now looks large and fat by comparison. She has also become more affectionate and touchable. I wonder what she knows, with her superior sense of smell. The two cats don't have much to do with each other, and seem more to tolerate than enjoy each other's presence. But who knows? Do cats mourn, in some way? Some do, I think.

Is the Way of/in Oz (as incorporated by TWI) still going? It will depend on how it's constituted, but if not, then it may be possible to apply for it to be wound up and its assets distributed to other institutions with similar aims. Is "The Way in Australia" (which looks active) the original (seems to be, from the guff that's in the About section on Facebook), or is it some unaffiliated offshoot?

Ah yes, WordWolf. El Camino. Of course. But maybe The Truck gives a better idea of just how it runs away with and over those who come into contact with it.

It's likely nothing suspicious. TWI sets up companies in each of its overseas countries under country names, eg, The Way in Great Britain, (and later, The Way of the UK - or maybe these two were the other way round - before and after the split when Europe fell deeply under CGeer's sway), The Way of Australia/of New Zealand, The Way Ministry of Canada. The Spanish-speaking countries are usually El Camion... and the French-speaking countries are La Voie de... The company directors are invariably the trustees of TWI together with the country coordinator and maybe one other local to the country. The money in each country belongs to that country's company, not to TWI itself. Though the country-company may well directly contribute to TWI, and with TWI directors as the directors of the country-company, TWI can exercise significant control.

Thank you, Rocky.

I for one would be glad of a more "tuned" vaccine to the new Omicron variant, should it be necessary; for that and other variants. No point in using last year's model. Just like you don't clean your teeth with last year's ratty old past-its-sell-by-date toothbrush. It should go without saying, but (ahem, Allan) one cannot formulate a vaccine against a variant that has not yet occurred. That's why the annual flu vaccine is a slightly different mix every year (apparently). Because the "normal" flu mutates and throws up new variants all the time.

I bumped my other thread for anyone who's interested. But you can start here. I have these two cats, must be, 15 years old now. Still skittish! Still shy of being touched! Crypto is still lairy about being touched and will come for a fondle by passing her body under my dangled hand. Don't try to pick her up unless you want a nasty bite; don't think about touching her flanks. Not cuddlesome, but she does like my company and discreetly follows me about and sits nearby if I am sitting in the garden. I like her, but don't feel a great affinity to her. Tuxedo, however, loves a cuddle, after going through a performance of running away a few times. She likes to sit on my lap, and we curl up on the couch together. She's purry and seems content. I have invested a lot in taming this cat and am very attached to her. But as well as Tuxy's normal behaviours, she has long time had a habit of throwing up. And now, losing weight: down from about 4.5kg at one point, to 2.7kg last week. And it comes to this: she has IBD, Inflammatory bowel disease, like IBS in human beings, but worse. In cats, it cannot be cured, only given treatment to alleviate the symptoms. This IBD had led to her getting a lymphoma, which was diagnosed one week ago. The vet suggested it would be --- the vet wanted to end her life there and then. I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't really take in all that the vet said. Tuxy had a steroid injection to see if that would help her, and it did, but now she seems to be back to being the same sicky cat as previously. The vet says that if she responded well to that, Tuxy could have a longer-acting injection. Will that be necessary? Tuxedo has gone right off her food. Her favourite treats are something to be sniffed, a mouthful or two taken, and then she wanders away. She is hungry and goes to eat her kibble sometimes. I know she's badly unwell, but if she doesn't eat, the end isn't far away. I don't think she's in pain, but she does keep putting herself away in hiding places. "It's only a cat." Yeah, but it's my "baby," having raised her up from being a terrified scaredy-cat, to wanting to be cuddled and loved. My heart is breaking.

Bump.

Posted by a friend who is a nurse in ICU: QUOTE: I'm sharing this because it is an excellent example of the BBC providing the truth - the science, at a deep level, with perfect balance. It explains the potential for concern but also the uncertainty which enables us to prepare for anything to happen with knowledge and understanding. END QUOTE New Covid variant: How worried should we be? - BBC News Naysayers need not respond; it doesn't exist, for them.

And now, there's a new, more aggressive variant to be concerned about. Still very rare at the moment, but for how long? Flights from six African countries to the UK have now been temporarily suspended from today noon and anyone returning will have to go into quarantine. COVID-19: 'Really awful' new coronavirus variant B.1.1.529 identified in Botswana | World News | Sky News Coronavirus variant fear sparks Africa travel curbs - BBC News Stay safe, people.

I think the person I went with will be lending me the book this evening. He saw the original film. It struck me that there were a lot of themes, particularly the religious one, that could be developed (and perhaps are, in the book). From the "newbie" PoV, it struck me that there are a lot of things I've seen elsewhere - Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings movies especially, a few others. But I understand that the original movie pre-dates those films. But (say) The Lord of the Rings trilogy books predated the book Dune by quite a long way. The unbelievableness of the new Dune film was really: interstellar travel, a vast universe, an empire of many planets, personal defence shields, city defence shields, stillsuits - and ancient weaponry (like spotlights) for hunting enemy aircraft. And the weird clothing - draped dresswear, near-rags, seriously inappropriate long flapping robes and cloaks. I didn't quite get why the stillsuit needs to be tight on the body but there's no head covering (which would be essential, but would make features hard to see). And of course everybody looks human, even though we're told that only Paul and his father and the people he controls are supposed to be humans, and are criticised from within the movie as such. Not sure what the others are supposed to be. Is his mother "human" or something else, with her sisterhood and other talents? Okay. Read the book, Twinky.

I just got in from watching Dune at the cinema (or "movies" to Americans). What a weird fillum! Maybe not so weird if one has read the book upon which it is based. All new to me, though. Anybody else seen it? What do you think?

I think we'd say that Lamarck was "reinventing himself" in today's parlance, Rocky. But I don't think that means his DNA would change markedly. I found this quite interesting academic paper about genetics and familial recombination of genetic material: Understanding genetic changes between generations | PNAS That's what Darwin's theory of evolution was about: how environment can change species. He worked that out by watching tortoises in the Galapagos Islands: tortoises that ate plants near the ground had rounded shells and shorter necks. Tortoises on islands with tall shrubs had longer necks and shells that bent upward, allowing them to stretch their necks. Survival of the most adaptable!! In human beings: skin colour, flare of nostrils. Even alcohol tolerance: some Asians lack the enzyme that metabolises alcohol and thus have a lower alcohol tolerance than Europeans. I am not, however, convinced that one's genes prevent one from changing one's mind. Is stubbornness learned, or inherited? Is adaptability and receptivity to new ideas learned, or inherited?

QUOTE: To be clear, this can be no more than conjecture at this point. All the same, the comprehensive rubbishing of the Astra vaccine that took place early this year, egged on by jealous national governments and commercially motivated rivals, looks ever more misplaced. Politics and commercial interests were allowed disgracefully to take priority over public health. QUOTE ENDS Unfortunately, there is some nastiness post-Brexit between the EU and the UK. And there are long-standing rivalries between the French and the British (only going back several hundred years). (Well, let's face it, the French think themselves superior to every other country - especially Britain.) And I wonder how much that played into those countries' choice(s) of vaccine. There was some serious squabbling about AstraZeneca when it first came out - Britain had funded a lot of the research and ordered millions of doses, some of which prepared in the Netherlands and other countries; but other countries (including the Netherlands) lagged behind in ordering, and then cried Foul! when they couldn't get the doses they needed. The EU tried to stop the legitimate export of the Dutch-prepared vaccine to the UK (which had ordered and paid for it). When that didn't work, the EU trashed the usefulness of AZ and went with Pfizer. Politicians!! This is millions of people's lives they're talking about here!! At this point, it seems clear that there has been a fresh wave of this illness throughout Europe and the UK, but it hasn't affected the UK half as badly as it's affected Europe. And we aren't having to endure another lockdown, as is happening in some parts of Europe. Anyway. Coming soon to a country near you...

Good TedX talk. Nothing wrong with changing one's mind, one's opinions, if more information comes along that causes another look at one's thinking. I'm thinking of Copernicus, Galileo (piggybacked onto Copernicus's theory) (= the Earth revolved round the sun, not the sun round Earth): Martin Luther (how the church had got "grace" all wrong); Einstein (theory of relativity; couldn't reconcile old paradigms); and there are many others. St Paul, if you like. Our world, our lives as we now know them, would be radically different if these men had not been able to change their minds. Do you know "plate tectonics" as an idea has only been accepted since mid- to late 1960s? But who would argue with that now? (And yet, that theory may still be wrong, but we won't know till more evidence comes to light). What about medical advances? Who these days would want to tie a dead mouse to their cheek to alleviate toothache? And who would want a surgeon who did not wash hands before operations? Okay, we're not all geniuses, and we may never come up with amazing new ideas like any of these. But being willing to accept we were wrong - could change our families, our communities.

Another Darwin award to this asthmatic mother: Unvaccinated mum, 27, dies with COVID as her father calls for people who refuse jab to be fined (msn.com)

And the Darwin awards go to: Anti-vaxxer who went to ‘corona party’ to become infected dies from Covid (msn.com)

Another reason why the AZ vaccine may (apparently) be more effective in the UK is that most Brits have been compliant in masking up. There's a lot of peer pressure. It was sweet to see little kids in supermarkets following Mum and Dad's example and insisting in wearing their own masks, even thought they weren't required to (and yes, I asked some of the mums and dads about it). Not to mention lockdowns, reduced travel on public transport, not going into busy offices, etc. Outcomes are probably a bit of everything.

No, cos I didn't view the article. Perhaps CNN or similar will pick up. The first link that I posted is available without paywall.

Interesting article in my news feed today: AstraZeneca jab could be the reason Britain is faring better than Europe, says vaccine boss (telegraph.co.uk) There is an associated article which looks interesting but it's behind a paywall. AstraZeneca lost the vaccine battle in Europe and the US – but is now winning the war globally (telegraph.co.uk)

Meanwhile, in Australia: Victoria AMA says Covid-deniers and anti-vaxxers should opt out of public health system and ‘let nature run its course’ | Australia news | The Guardian

Meanwhile, nincompoops in continental Europe are rioting at having "freedoms" curtailed. Austria has gone into lockdown again. Belgium and Holland are having riots; there's absolutely no excuse for the violence being exhibited there. I'm listening to a Dutch commentator on the radio: the radical opposition to vaxing all being pushed by a right-wing party with highly inflammatory, polarising language. And now, a WHO official is speaking. Cynically, I'd say, let them get on with being unvaxed; they've already shown contempt for health services so don't let 'em into ICU or even into hospital; let 'em die off; then these countries can be repopulated with the illegal immigrants who keep trying to get into the EU. (Of course, I don't really mean that.) Covid: Huge protests across Europe over new restrictions - BBC News

Today from The Guardian, a reputable UK newspaper. Article brought to my attention by a friend of mine who is a Intensive Care nurse, with the comment: "All true, sadly." ICU is full of the unvaccinated – my patience with them is wearing thin | Anonymous | The Guardian The writer is an NHS respiratory consultant who works across a number of hospitals.