We had a “virtual curriculum night” last night, and for another year, I swear the boy has children for teachers.
72 thoughts on “August 20, 2020: Kids These Days”
Kenta's first baseball card as a Twin*
2020 Topps Archives 1955 style
*excluding online exclusive cards
Tonight is the weekly Zoom Game -- I'll post meeting info at the top of the game log. Drop by and visit for a bit; no obligation to stick around the whole game.
No game log. Are we gonna zoom?
typical half-bakef setup -- I threw something together
This is somewhat political, so in a spoiler, but it has ties to baseball:
Steve Bannon indicted for defrauding donors to a super PAC called "Build the Wall". Stunned to hear that a super PAC raising money for what should (not be built, but if it was, should) be built with government funds is somehow corrupt. Also involved with that entity? Curt Schilling.
I saw that. Not surprising. I hope the indictments stick and no one gets pardoned.
I found a copy of our 2007 Christmas letter and I had forgotten about this, but I took part in a simulated replay of the 1986 season sponsored by the Sporting News. I had the Twins -- we weren't very good -- and the Red Sox were run by... Curt Schilling.
He's now been taken into custody. I'm sure he's the victim somehow.
2020 is bringing the weird.
I have not seen him being arrested, only that he's on the board.
Had a discussion at the baseball card shop last night, and decided that the "unwritten rules" were too all-encompassing and vague. We decided that they should instead be called "d*ck moves" which does a better job of defining itself. Swinging at 3-0 in a blowout? Nope. Bunting for a hit in a late-inning no-hitter blowout? Yep.
What if the team is playing the shift in that later inning blowout?
I think anything that will help speed up the game (i.e. ending it early by increasing chances of making outs) can't be considered a dick move. Unless it was something ridiculous like bringing your closer just to face the 27th out while up 10 runs or something.
I don't even mind players stealing bases up 14 runs. If your actions are in attempt score runs or not allow runs, I say anything goes that would go during the normal course of any game. No clock. Yeah, it's dumb to steal up 14, because the risk of injury outweighs the benefit of stealing. But that's a dumb move, not a dick move. Unless when you successfully steal you gloat about it.
Getting the 27th out in a 10 run game isn't a save situation. But, I get your point.
I've also never stopped enjoying people who regard advanced metrics as fake stats, but cling to the save "statistic," which was invented by a sportswriter to describe a highly contrived set of situations as being somehow meaningful -- and managers manage around it! -- and not "fake". Managers will bring in their best reliever in a 3 run game in the ninth , but won't bring in their best reliever in a one run game in the 7th inning and the bases loaded because of the "save". I've probably said this before, but it's still a good one.
I think if a blown out team is essentially waving the white flag (ie: position player pitcher), you can't fault a batter for hitting a HR, but taking a walk on hittable pitches, or stealing a base -- those I'd consider a problem (and they slow down the game)
yea, this. If the blown out team is waiving the white flag with a position player on the mound, it seems like the other team should be swinging at anything remotely close instead of trying to work walks. And stealing in those situations is definitely dickish.
Likewise, overtly and overly celebrating anything in a blow-out situation is a dick move. Nobody needs to do an exaggerated bat flip when you jack a donger already up by ~10 runs. Just shut up, put your head down and run the bases at a reasonable clip.
To me, I think it’s fair to bunt for a hit there if it is something you would typically do to beat the shift, but if it’s the first time you’ve ever tried to do it, you are being a dick. Of course, being a dick is allowed, but can have repercussions.
And repercussions already happen for violating unwritten rules. Really, it's those times where unwritten rules are supposedly violated and even ardent fans are left scratching their heads, those are usually aren't dick moves.
As someone who's main offensive weapon was the bunt, I have a hard time saying that it is a d**k move. It's the way I got on base!
Depends on if they tried bunting the previous three ABs
When I was a kid, we had a school teacher coach our baseball team for a couple of years when I was in the 7th and 8th grade. Dude was all about wearing the uniform right and learning how to play the game. He called for bunts. A lot. I'd say about 50% of them ended up in throwing errors. It was amazing. We'd get a guy on and bunt. Then we'd probably end up with two guys on, often at 2nd and 3rd. He was a very good baseball coach. We won a lot of games due in large part to his efforts.
When I was 12, our little league team made the championship game. We were facing a team that we had beaten earlier. We had more talent, but they had better coaching. The coach had scouted our team, and basically called for a ton of bunts knowing that our pitchers were good but our fielders not so good. We made a lot of throwing errors (myself included) in the game, and we got our butts kicked.
When I was in little league, probably around 9-10 years old, I remember one opposing team that consistently won with the strategy of just sending runners at every possible chance, since kids that age aren't likely to actually make a throw, a catch, and a tag successfully.
Runner on base? Steal. A hit to the outfield? Always take an extra base. Get a walk? Sprint to first, and probably try to take second, too.
In our little league (except the Majors...the kids who are eligible for World Series) you are only allowed to take one base on passed ball, and I think there's rules as well on taking the extra base and stealing. Like you can do it, but I think you're allowed to steal once per trip on the base paths. Allows the kids to focus on the basics more instead of turning it into a circus.
This. The focus in youth baseball should be about developing skills and having fun, not exclusively on winning.
of course, even very young kids know what the score is, and winning is a lot more fun than losing. But getting your ass kicked is way, way more demoralizing than merely losing.
When I was in jr high and early high school, the Catholic h.s. in town (Pacelli) had a powerhouse girls basketball program. They pretty much invented Nolan Richardson's 40 Minutes of Hell, pressing full-court all game long. This was relatively early on in competitive girls' basketball in Minnesota. Many small schools had a lot of trouble finding girls who could dribble up the court unguarded, let alone against an aggressive press. They regularly scored in the neighborhood of 90 points in games (ultimately finishing second in the 1980 A tournament, beating Janet Karvonen's NY Mills team in the semis before getting crushed by Kelly Skalicky's Albany in the finals).
they were fun to watch as an outsider, but cringe-worthy against lesser opposition.
I like some of those restrictions in certain circumstances, but I also think there is also something to rewarding teams which have the discretion to not make the extra throw to make a low percentage play. In geezer slow pitch softball -- arguably lower skilled than some little league situations -- we have basically always done best when we just concede that we're not going to turn any double plays, always hit the cut-off man, and rarely try to make a throw on what would likely be a bang-bang play.
We played this one team who had a strategy of drawing walks. I finally told our pitcher to throw it right down the middle and don't worry about whether you throw hard. Then, I stood out there and razzed the batters about being unwilling to hit. Almost no hits or walks, we won by a lot.
I like the idea of a junior high coach exploiting market inefficiencies.
If what you're doing is to benefit yourself and your team and it's within the actual, written rules, go for it.
If you're doing something mostly to spite the other team, that's being a d*ck. Like, say, throwing at batters. You're actively improving the other team's chance of winning and possibly injuring someone. But yet it's somehow ok to do this by the "unwritten rules"? So stupid.
If you're celebrating a failure by the other team, you're a d*ck. I agree with Beau- gloating about something makes a difference.
I think one of the reasons we see retaliation for HBP is that underneath it all, we don’t really believe that just getting first base is enough of a punishment, but it’s hard to legislate.
Well, you could make a hit by pitch worth two bases, though that would probably just increase armor and home runs.
I like two bases on the HBP. But, I'd allow for a review to ensure that players weren't diving into a pitch. That would have to be an out. Seems like trouble. I like ejections for any pitches that appear to be intentional attempts to hit a batter, whether or not they succeed. If anyone complains, I think the answer is that if your pitcher can't stay within a foot or 18 inches of the strike zone, he doesn't belong on the mound.
I'm not totally against a throw to the hip at times, but anything elevated or behind the back is uncalled for. And if we had robo-umps, we wouldn't have to worry so much about batters having to crowd the plate to defend the "strikes" called outside the zone.
With robo-umps you would have more options. I think it would make some sense to award the free base based on pitch location rather than whether or not it hits the player (this has always been a bit of a moral hazard issue--coach wants you to get hit by the pitch but doesn't actually have to feel the pain), and you could make farther up and farther in worth more bases. So you'd be punishing both for intent or incompetence. Pitchers would whine that it would make pitching inside soooo hard, but the game could adjust in some other way.
oooh, I like this! Two-base HBP
you'd have to have a clearer enforcement of the batter's box. It's not just crowding the plate to defend against "strikes" outside. It's crowding the plate to get better plate coverage. For right-handed batters, the RH pitcher's breaking ball typically breaks away from the batter, no?
Sure, I think robo-umps can also help with better enforcement of the batter's box -- in a lot of ways, I think it'd be easier for the ump to pass along the message "you were crowding the plate, automatic strike" from the computer, versus the social pressure that umps feel to not make that call as it currently stands as much more of a judgement call which is essentially understood that it's never going to be called.
One thing that would benefit the pitchers is that a hitter crowding the plate sticking out his armor to get a HBP on a pitch out over the plate is currently likely to be awarded the HBP, but in a robo-ump system, that pitch would be called a strike.
We had our school open house last night for the in-person school year that starts next week (again, we're in a district that the state is calling for in-person, given how few cases we have). I was rather impressed with the presentation Aquinas' teacher gave about masks, shields, distancing, and the other procedures they're putting into place. The tone was perfect - just very matter-of-fact.
Philosofette, on the other hand, had to wait so long to talk to Aristotle's teacher that she actually left, and then went back later. The holdup? A parent who was ranting relentlessly to Aristotle's teacher about masks, the government, "she's got a background in healthcare" and "she knows the laws" and "that's a violation of HIPAA" etc. Worst part was that it was directly to the teacher (who has no control, and was wearing a mask at the time...), and in front of children. I may be more worried about the tone that some kids will bring from their parents to school than I am about my kids catching Covid. We're going to have to prep our children for quick rhetorical responses on the importance of masks and not being jerks...
I don't care what your views are: model good behavior.
Are the face shields in addition to masks?
Sitting alone at spaced out desks = face shields.
In hallways or near others = masks.
The specifics matter far less to me than the fact that they've thought about this, have a policy, and are implementing and enforcing it.
The specifics do matter when they have almost no effect in reducing spread. The shields are pandemic theater. They're designed for splatter, not aerosols. Masks, outdoor ventilation, and filtering inside air with HEPA filters are what we need. Also no crowds, but that's a lot harder to control in schools.
Shields aren't pandemic theater. They just protect against something different and aren't a replacement for a mask.
as the spouse of someone who runs a preschool, I am here to tell you that young children cough in teachers' faces all. the. time.
They won't do anything about aerosols. They will do plenty about larger droplets.
(not intended as a rebuttal to eschapp)
Right, that was my point. They serve different purposes. Like my dog, my nephews (apparently) love to cough and sneeze in my face; or where ever. Spoilering an addition comment because I'm just venting.
So calling it theater, comes off as hyperbolic to me and really not helpful as a blanket comment. (I am admittedly pretty close to this stuff so I'm sorry). There is no easy everywhere response; humans are not easy nor rational. I'm not going to fault a school district that is taking things seriously policy-wise and being clear. For me is a signal they are at least paying attention, especially in areas not hit hard.
Yup.
The whole aerosol-transmission thing is still rather uncertain, because the science is so new and fluid. WHO in July said that while there are clearer circumstances that some medical procedures can generate aerosols capable of transmission, and some experiments have demonstrated some potential for aersol-based transmission, it seems that the evidence in the wild is still at least somewhat unclear. It seems much, much clearer with droplets, anyway.
The CDC and WHO have been slow on updating to what the science says. I get it, they don't want to bounce between advice but instead they have been overly conservative. Germany and France recently adopted an aerosol-based model for transmission. People have gotten sick despite all parties wearing face shields.
People using face shields instead of masks out and about probably is theater and doesn't help the spread. I don't know anyone who needs to use a shield that isn't already wearing a mask all the time. They server different purposes and I'm not saying they are interchangeable.
Right. The number of people who need to wear shields now would be the same as last year plus healthcare workers. I may have misread Philo's statement above, but it seemed like they were trading masks for shields when at their spaced out desks. That is dumb. I'd rather they skip the masks but open the windows and crank the heat to compensate.
I think the part that bugs me the most is these school districts have limited funds available. Thanks to the CDC being slow to update, the schools are further stuck. They need to buy supplies and set up guidelines now. Improving ventilation and portable filters are better choices but the CDC doesn't yet recommend that so can't justify buying them. If/when they update, that doesn't help until the next semester or possibly next year.
I mean, I suppose the specifics matter in some regard - but you've got to realize that the battle we're fighting out here is whether any precautions should be taken at all, so I'll happily settle for "some".
I may be more worried about the tone that some kids will bring from their parents to school than I am about my kids catching Covid.
Those are the kids most likely to infect yours. A two-fer!
Yup.
Yelling at the teacher regarding mask rules* is like yelling at a concessionaire because they can't buy a beer after the 7th inning. What the heck are they supposed to do about it -- they don't make the rules!
*btw, qualifies as a d*ck move
If you keep writing down these d**k moves, they won't be unwritten!
Twins with a bunch of moves. Notable is Ryan Jeffers makes his MLB debut tonight.
#MNTwins Roster Moves: Club selects contract of Ryan Jeffers, recalls Zack Littell and LaMonte Wade Jr.; Byron Buxton and Mitch Garver placed on 10-day IL; Lewis Thorpe optioned to Alternate Training Site. pic.twitter.com/siSMWp8kP7
The wife and I are having our 30th anniversary at the end of next month. A couple of years ago I was thinking we'd try to go to Rome to celebrate it. Then I got laid off and had bypass surgery, so we lowered expectations. Early this year th daughter of some old friends decided to get married out in Colorado, so we planned a trip for that. But a few weeks ago Colorado had a COVID spike and the venue had to cut the number of attendees allowed, so we bowed out so more of the family could attend. Instead, we're going to Washington to see Elder Daughter. Round trip air to Seattle was $295 for both of us. Rental car (Rav4 or similar) with unlimited mileage for $50/day, Holiday Inn with king bed for $101/night. That's a four night west coast trip for about a thousand bucks total. Elder Daughter's plant business just leased commercial space so they have an actual brick and mortar footprint now and I'm looking forward to seeing it. We have some concerns about COVID, of course, but we're pretty good about taking precautions.
Plant business in Washington, eh?
what are you trying to say, bud?
Weed all like some clarification
I knew you fellas would hit that.
Yeah, for a website, this is a pretty reliable joint.
congrats on the most excellent duration, Twayn. And congrats to Elder Daughter. Seeing them become Contributing Members of Society, or even just functioning adults, is gratifying.
Bummer about the circumstances, but CONGRATS on the milestone!
Soooo, the Wolves finally move up in a draft. Seems about right that its during a pandemic when we don't know if professional sports will continue to exist and for what seems to be considered a really weak draft class.
Even if it was a great draft class, I feel like the Wolves would find a way to pick the Darko of the bunch.
Kenta's first baseball card as a Twin*
2020 Topps Archives 1955 style
*excluding online exclusive cards
Tonight is the weekly Zoom Game -- I'll post meeting info at the top of the game log. Drop by and visit for a bit; no obligation to stick around the whole game.
No game log. Are we gonna zoom?
typical half-bakef setup -- I threw something together
This is somewhat political, so in a spoiler, but it has ties to baseball:
I saw that. Not surprising. I hope the indictments stick and no one gets pardoned.
I found a copy of our 2007 Christmas letter and I had forgotten about this, but I took part in a simulated replay of the 1986 season sponsored by the Sporting News. I had the Twins -- we weren't very good -- and the Red Sox were run by... Curt Schilling.
He's now been taken into custody. I'm sure he's the victim somehow.
2020 is bringing the weird.
I have not seen him being arrested, only that he's on the board.
Had a discussion at the baseball card shop last night, and decided that the "unwritten rules" were too all-encompassing and vague. We decided that they should instead be called "d*ck moves" which does a better job of defining itself. Swinging at 3-0 in a blowout? Nope. Bunting for a hit in a late-inning no-hitter blowout? Yep.
What if the team is playing the shift in that later inning blowout?
I think anything that will help speed up the game (i.e. ending it early by increasing chances of making outs) can't be considered a dick move. Unless it was something ridiculous like bringing your closer just to face the 27th out while up 10 runs or something.
I don't even mind players stealing bases up 14 runs. If your actions are in attempt score runs or not allow runs, I say anything goes that would go during the normal course of any game. No clock. Yeah, it's dumb to steal up 14, because the risk of injury outweighs the benefit of stealing. But that's a dumb move, not a dick move. Unless when you successfully steal you gloat about it.
Getting the 27th out in a 10 run game isn't a save situation. But, I get your point.
I've also never stopped enjoying people who regard advanced metrics as fake stats, but cling to the save "statistic," which was invented by a sportswriter to describe a highly contrived set of situations as being somehow meaningful -- and managers manage around it! -- and not "fake". Managers will bring in their best reliever in a 3 run game in the ninth , but won't bring in their best reliever in a one run game in the 7th inning and the bases loaded because of the "save". I've probably said this before, but it's still a good one.
I think if a blown out team is essentially waving the white flag (ie: position player pitcher), you can't fault a batter for hitting a HR, but taking a walk on hittable pitches, or stealing a base -- those I'd consider a problem (and they slow down the game)
yea, this. If the blown out team is waiving the white flag with a position player on the mound, it seems like the other team should be swinging at anything remotely close instead of trying to work walks. And stealing in those situations is definitely dickish.
Likewise, overtly and overly celebrating anything in a blow-out situation is a dick move. Nobody needs to do an exaggerated bat flip when you jack a donger already up by ~10 runs. Just shut up, put your head down and run the bases at a reasonable clip.
To me, I think it’s fair to bunt for a hit there if it is something you would typically do to beat the shift, but if it’s the first time you’ve ever tried to do it, you are being a dick. Of course, being a dick is allowed, but can have repercussions.
And repercussions already happen for violating unwritten rules. Really, it's those times where unwritten rules are supposedly violated and even ardent fans are left scratching their heads, those are usually aren't dick moves.
As someone who's main offensive weapon was the bunt, I have a hard time saying that it is a d**k move. It's the way I got on base!
Depends on if they tried bunting the previous three ABs
When I was a kid, we had a school teacher coach our baseball team for a couple of years when I was in the 7th and 8th grade. Dude was all about wearing the uniform right and learning how to play the game. He called for bunts. A lot. I'd say about 50% of them ended up in throwing errors. It was amazing. We'd get a guy on and bunt. Then we'd probably end up with two guys on, often at 2nd and 3rd. He was a very good baseball coach. We won a lot of games due in large part to his efforts.
When I was 12, our little league team made the championship game. We were facing a team that we had beaten earlier. We had more talent, but they had better coaching. The coach had scouted our team, and basically called for a ton of bunts knowing that our pitchers were good but our fielders not so good. We made a lot of throwing errors (myself included) in the game, and we got our butts kicked.
When I was in little league, probably around 9-10 years old, I remember one opposing team that consistently won with the strategy of just sending runners at every possible chance, since kids that age aren't likely to actually make a throw, a catch, and a tag successfully.
Runner on base? Steal. A hit to the outfield? Always take an extra base. Get a walk? Sprint to first, and probably try to take second, too.
In our little league (except the Majors...the kids who are eligible for World Series) you are only allowed to take one base on passed ball, and I think there's rules as well on taking the extra base and stealing. Like you can do it, but I think you're allowed to steal once per trip on the base paths. Allows the kids to focus on the basics more instead of turning it into a circus.
This. The focus in youth baseball should be about developing skills and having fun, not exclusively on winning.
of course, even very young kids know what the score is, and winning is a lot more fun than losing. But getting your ass kicked is way, way more demoralizing than merely losing.
When I was in jr high and early high school, the Catholic h.s. in town (Pacelli) had a powerhouse girls basketball program. They pretty much invented Nolan Richardson's 40 Minutes of Hell, pressing full-court all game long. This was relatively early on in competitive girls' basketball in Minnesota. Many small schools had a lot of trouble finding girls who could dribble up the court unguarded, let alone against an aggressive press. They regularly scored in the neighborhood of 90 points in games (ultimately finishing second in the 1980 A tournament, beating Janet Karvonen's NY Mills team in the semis before getting crushed by Kelly Skalicky's Albany in the finals).
they were fun to watch as an outsider, but cringe-worthy against lesser opposition.
I like some of those restrictions in certain circumstances, but I also think there is also something to rewarding teams which have the discretion to not make the extra throw to make a low percentage play. In geezer slow pitch softball -- arguably lower skilled than some little league situations -- we have basically always done best when we just concede that we're not going to turn any double plays, always hit the cut-off man, and rarely try to make a throw on what would likely be a bang-bang play.
We played this one team who had a strategy of drawing walks. I finally told our pitcher to throw it right down the middle and don't worry about whether you throw hard. Then, I stood out there and razzed the batters about being unwilling to hit. Almost no hits or walks, we won by a lot.
I like the idea of a junior high coach exploiting market inefficiencies.
If what you're doing is to benefit yourself and your team and it's within the actual, written rules, go for it.
If you're doing something mostly to spite the other team, that's being a d*ck. Like, say, throwing at batters. You're actively improving the other team's chance of winning and possibly injuring someone. But yet it's somehow ok to do this by the "unwritten rules"? So stupid.
If you're celebrating a failure by the other team, you're a d*ck. I agree with Beau- gloating about something makes a difference.
I think one of the reasons we see retaliation for HBP is that underneath it all, we don’t really believe that just getting first base is enough of a punishment, but it’s hard to legislate.
Well, you could make a hit by pitch worth two bases, though that would probably just increase armor and home runs.
I like two bases on the HBP. But, I'd allow for a review to ensure that players weren't diving into a pitch. That would have to be an out. Seems like trouble. I like ejections for any pitches that appear to be intentional attempts to hit a batter, whether or not they succeed. If anyone complains, I think the answer is that if your pitcher can't stay within a foot or 18 inches of the strike zone, he doesn't belong on the mound.
I'm not totally against a throw to the hip at times, but anything elevated or behind the back is uncalled for. And if we had robo-umps, we wouldn't have to worry so much about batters having to crowd the plate to defend the "strikes" called outside the zone.
With robo-umps you would have more options. I think it would make some sense to award the free base based on pitch location rather than whether or not it hits the player (this has always been a bit of a moral hazard issue--coach wants you to get hit by the pitch but doesn't actually have to feel the pain), and you could make farther up and farther in worth more bases. So you'd be punishing both for intent or incompetence. Pitchers would whine that it would make pitching inside soooo hard, but the game could adjust in some other way.
oooh, I like this! Two-base HBP
you'd have to have a clearer enforcement of the batter's box. It's not just crowding the plate to defend against "strikes" outside. It's crowding the plate to get better plate coverage. For right-handed batters, the RH pitcher's breaking ball typically breaks away from the batter, no?
Sure, I think robo-umps can also help with better enforcement of the batter's box -- in a lot of ways, I think it'd be easier for the ump to pass along the message "you were crowding the plate, automatic strike" from the computer, versus the social pressure that umps feel to not make that call as it currently stands as much more of a judgement call which is essentially understood that it's never going to be called.
One thing that would benefit the pitchers is that a hitter crowding the plate sticking out his armor to get a HBP on a pitch out over the plate is currently likely to be awarded the HBP, but in a robo-ump system, that pitch would be called a strike.
A d*ck move by the Centaur.
Good article on the "might have been"pitchers for the Twins in 2020.
http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/an-early-look-at-the-free-agent-pitchers-who-didn’t-land-in-minnesota-r9725
We had our school open house last night for the in-person school year that starts next week (again, we're in a district that the state is calling for in-person, given how few cases we have). I was rather impressed with the presentation Aquinas' teacher gave about masks, shields, distancing, and the other procedures they're putting into place. The tone was perfect - just very matter-of-fact.
Philosofette, on the other hand, had to wait so long to talk to Aristotle's teacher that she actually left, and then went back later. The holdup? A parent who was ranting relentlessly to Aristotle's teacher about masks, the government, "she's got a background in healthcare" and "she knows the laws" and "that's a violation of HIPAA" etc. Worst part was that it was directly to the teacher (who has no control, and was wearing a mask at the time...), and in front of children. I may be more worried about the tone that some kids will bring from their parents to school than I am about my kids catching Covid. We're going to have to prep our children for quick rhetorical responses on the importance of masks and not being jerks...
I don't care what your views are: model good behavior.
Are the face shields in addition to masks?
Sitting alone at spaced out desks = face shields.
In hallways or near others = masks.
The specifics matter far less to me than the fact that they've thought about this, have a policy, and are implementing and enforcing it.
The specifics do matter when they have almost no effect in reducing spread. The shields are pandemic theater. They're designed for splatter, not aerosols. Masks, outdoor ventilation, and filtering inside air with HEPA filters are what we need. Also no crowds, but that's a lot harder to control in schools.
Shields aren't pandemic theater. They just protect against something different and aren't a replacement for a mask.
as the spouse of someone who runs a preschool, I am here to tell you that young children cough in teachers' faces all. the. time.
They won't do anything about aerosols. They will do plenty about larger droplets.
(not intended as a rebuttal to eschapp)
Right, that was my point. They serve different purposes. Like my dog, my nephews (apparently) love to cough and sneeze in my face; or where ever. Spoilering an addition comment because I'm just venting.
Yup.
The whole aerosol-transmission thing is still rather uncertain, because the science is so new and fluid. WHO in July said that while there are clearer circumstances that some medical procedures can generate aerosols capable of transmission, and some experiments have demonstrated some potential for aersol-based transmission, it seems that the evidence in the wild is still at least somewhat unclear. It seems much, much clearer with droplets, anyway.
The CDC and WHO have been slow on updating to what the science says. I get it, they don't want to bounce between advice but instead they have been overly conservative. Germany and France recently adopted an aerosol-based model for transmission. People have gotten sick despite all parties wearing face shields.
People using face shields instead of masks out and about probably is theater and doesn't help the spread. I don't know anyone who needs to use a shield that isn't already wearing a mask all the time. They server different purposes and I'm not saying they are interchangeable.
Right. The number of people who need to wear shields now would be the same as last year plus healthcare workers. I may have misread Philo's statement above, but it seemed like they were trading masks for shields when at their spaced out desks. That is dumb. I'd rather they skip the masks but open the windows and crank the heat to compensate.
I think the part that bugs me the most is these school districts have limited funds available. Thanks to the CDC being slow to update, the schools are further stuck. They need to buy supplies and set up guidelines now. Improving ventilation and portable filters are better choices but the CDC doesn't yet recommend that so can't justify buying them. If/when they update, that doesn't help until the next semester or possibly next year.
I mean, I suppose the specifics matter in some regard - but you've got to realize that the battle we're fighting out here is whether any precautions should be taken at all, so I'll happily settle for "some".
I may be more worried about the tone that some kids will bring from their parents to school than I am about my kids catching Covid.
Those are the kids most likely to infect yours. A two-fer!
Yup.
Yelling at the teacher regarding mask rules* is like yelling at a concessionaire because they can't buy a beer after the 7th inning. What the heck are they supposed to do about it -- they don't make the rules!
*btw, qualifies as a d*ck move
If you keep writing down these d**k moves, they won't be unwritten!
Twins with a bunch of moves. Notable is Ryan Jeffers makes his MLB debut tonight.
Buxton? What this time?
Injured his repaired shoulder.
that's...not...good.
The wife and I are having our 30th anniversary at the end of next month. A couple of years ago I was thinking we'd try to go to Rome to celebrate it. Then I got laid off and had bypass surgery, so we lowered expectations. Early this year th daughter of some old friends decided to get married out in Colorado, so we planned a trip for that. But a few weeks ago Colorado had a COVID spike and the venue had to cut the number of attendees allowed, so we bowed out so more of the family could attend. Instead, we're going to Washington to see Elder Daughter. Round trip air to Seattle was $295 for both of us. Rental car (Rav4 or similar) with unlimited mileage for $50/day, Holiday Inn with king bed for $101/night. That's a four night west coast trip for about a thousand bucks total. Elder Daughter's plant business just leased commercial space so they have an actual brick and mortar footprint now and I'm looking forward to seeing it. We have some concerns about COVID, of course, but we're pretty good about taking precautions.
Plant business in Washington, eh?
what are you trying to say, bud?
Weed all like some clarification
I knew you fellas would hit that.
Yeah, for a website, this is a pretty reliable joint.
congrats on the most excellent duration, Twayn. And congrats to Elder Daughter. Seeing them become Contributing Members of Society, or even just functioning adults, is gratifying.
Bummer about the circumstances, but CONGRATS on the milestone!
Soooo, the Wolves finally move up in a draft. Seems about right that its during a pandemic when we don't know if professional sports will continue to exist and for what seems to be considered a really weak draft class.
Even if it was a great draft class, I feel like the Wolves would find a way to pick the Darko of the bunch.
This is the way