Big. Pink. Gordo!!!

If a human told you things that were correct 80% of the time but claimed, flat out, with absolute confidence, that they were correct 100% of the time, you would dislike them & never trust a word they say. All I'm really suggesting is for people to treat chatbots with that same distrust & antagonism.

(Waves from Singapore)
More or less the same here. I mean, there's the general advice of "mask if you're ill" at least (i.e. surgicals, no one pushes for better), but there's much more emphasis on wiping surfaces than masking, generally.

Thank you for keeping us updated - not that it's enjoyable, but it's good to know other people are pouting at the screen too. :D

Same as others here - it was working again about 24 hours ago, but seems to have become cranky again.

Thank you!

"rapid unscheduled disassembly" in the video had me in stitches. I'm sorry.

I'm not American nor do I live there. But the refrain that "it's God's will" in the face of things which are wholly in a person's capacity to act on or at least call out isn't limited to any one place. And it's infuriating no matter where in the world you hear it.

(sighs)

Covid vaccines reduce the chances of severe initial outcomes if you catch it -> overflowing morgues early on.

You can still catch and transmit it to others (which masking helps reduce the chance of). And can still lead to long covid which is still being studied since it's only been a few years. :(

but with lots of circulating illness, masking to protect yourself AND break chains of transmission if you do happen to fall ill would make a big difference.

From what I know, if
- there was good indoor ventilation (removing lingering pathogens in the air from everyone's exhalations)
- govt policies to get pp to stay home when ill rather then go to work/school/etc

there would be less illness in the general population, and masking becomes less vital.

I don't think I'm anti-religion? I can appreciate the organisational benefits wrt to outreach and helping others. And cynically, there are people who might be intimidated into "good behaviour". It's the blind acceptance of doctrine - or what the leaders say - that bugs me most, personally.

My first guess is that not being Christian + not having studied the Bible, they could refute by saying that non-Christians are not a position to say what is Christian-like or not.

And the acquaintance has already admitted God (and hence the religion) is not always fair, good or just. (sighs)

Definitely about control.

A continuation of that discussion touched on why religion bothers some of us. And my husband pointed out that because of religion, he would follow the church leader's directives even if personally ambivalent about the issue (opposing same-sex marriage was one example).

Husband has a colleague who is a devout Christian. They debate - the colleague has admitted that no, it's not fair good non-believers go to hell; no, God's actions won't always be good/fair.

"So why stay with the religion?"
"Because I have faith, and I want to save you from your own pride." (wince)

The answer is simple. When you know better - you do better.

We know Covid is a serious multi system virus that’s causing long term harm. We know a good respirator prevents catching or spreading it.

We need to adapt - and it’s not too late. /end