I went to one of my favorite takeout places for lunch today. Normally, the drive-through line takes about 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon, but today it was empty. I was the only person there.
From this single data point I conclude that (a) Super Bowl parties are in full swing this year, and (b) we will see a modest uptick in COVID-19 cases in a week or two.
(Why modest? Because Super Bowl parties are only a few hours long, not a whole week or even a weekend.)
Judging from the large number of cars parked on the streets near my house, I reach a similar conclusion that Super Bowl parties are going ahead as in non-pandemic times.
I'm not sure the impact on the epidemic will be so modest. While the duration is short, everybody spends much of the time congregating in one room around the TV, and they're cheering and shouting. Not to mention people "double-dipping" their chips in the spreads.
The only place I'm aware of in California where people wait 20 minutes in a drive-through is In-N-Out, is that where you went? If so, you can do better.
Maybe. But not for a simple burger.
Half-time show.
This guy is like a space where music should be. He's like the modern Lawrence Welk.
& he grew up Aethiopian Orthodox.
The Eastern tradition has Martin Luther & his Reformation bullshit & the Pope beat.
Don't know what is considered "Reformation bullshit," but Luther's recommendation of defenestration for rebellious peasants was appalling.
The normally very crowded intersection that I pass on my way to work had .... 1 car. I’ve never arrived at work so early.
Sounds like the more transmissible mutant first identified in UK is rapidly spreading in the US, particularly California and Florida. That might not be such a good thing, given that the game was played in Tampa with Tampa playing and winning. Wouldn't you expect a bigger surge in Florida?
What D_Ohrk_E1 said. With Superbowl tourists returning home from Florida, that state's problems will soon become the nation's.
Florida has the fastest spread of the UK variant of any state. Tampa Bay's Hillsborough County has a mask mandate, but it's spottily enforced. And FL Governor DeSantis' September order in preparation for the Superbowl specifically prevented any local Florida government to close or restrict restaurants and bars: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/us/florida-ron-desantis-restaurants-open-trnd/index.html
Harvard epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding via Twitter: “SURGING #B117 WITHIN US—growing 7% per day, doubling every 9.8 days nationally, & expected to become dominant by March 23rd. It is surging fastest in Florida—doubling every 9.1 days. Scientists are extremely worried: 35-45% more transmissible.Thread#COVID19” https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1358468446548357123
1. Super Bowl parties
2. Lifting of restrictions
3. New variants
4. Colleges allowing in person return (should be finished by now).
Yeah, it will be hard to tease these out from each other. And as long as it's spiking somewhere, we have to keep up with restrictions everywhere.
pro note: tap out of the Comment box to read it in black and white before correcting and posting.
Turns out it was also a good day to score a vaccine appointment on the Safeway website. Who knew they would open registration on any Sunday, but especially Super Bowl Sunday? I only checked on a whim, not expecting anything, but they had 3 days of appointments available.
Years ago, my husband and I scored our first and only reservation at the French Laundry on Super Bowl Sunday. (The French Laundry is a famously hard reservation - online only, and spots usually fill up within 10 minutes - like the Covid vaccine websites. It is rumored that folks with special connections can jump the line at the French Laundry - also like the Covid vaccine line.)
I was unimpressed with French Laundry and have never been back. Even by the standards of overpriced restaurants, it’s ridiculously overpriced. And the ambiance was awful - the staff seemed eager to impress on you how lucky you were to be eating at this temple of gastronomy. No thanks.
Don't know what is considered "Reformation bullshit," but Luther's recommendation of defenestration for rebellious peasants was appalling.
My apologies: at first, the message indicated I had already said that, although my reply hadn't appeared, then it suddenly did go through, & now is in a non-reply space, as well. It appears that a light or accidental touch causes uncertainty about whether or not the comment is in progress.
My apologies: at first, the message indicated I had already said that, although my reply hadn't appeared, then it suddenly did go through, & now is in a non-reply space, as well. It appears that a light or accidental touch causes uncertainty about whether or not the comment is in progress
Also, THIS (above) was supposedly sent, but still appeared in the box, yet several minutes later, doesn'tshow as posted, so I am adding a note: don't most sites NOT show a comment remaining as a draft after it has been sent, so there is no possible duplication or wrong message that it has already been posted?.
!!! OK, NOW both are showing! I give up.
When I first started blogging, I was on Blogger, and at least 10% of all comments seemed to be about the comment system, which was always not working in colorful ways. Back in those days (before Facebook), people felt like they had to make some kind of valid point if they were going to respond in the comments, which meant that the comments were often long and thoughtful, and it was a particularly annoying trait of Blogger that sometimes you'd click "Submit" and your comment would not get posted, nor was it recoverable.
After a year I switched over to a self-hosted WordPress blog (like this one!), and things got marginally better. However, it was only the difference between two comment systems that weren't very good. Disqus is the best system I have used as a commenter, but someone here has mentioned that the Disqus plugin for WordPress is also not very good, so I don't know if we'll ever get satisfaction on Kevin's blog
I had NO issues with Disqus. Thought MoJo was said to be switching to Coral because Disqus was being discontinued, but that obviously was.not the case. The workarounds on MoJo with Coral were sometimes "worth the price of admission," though.
While shopping at a local supermarket yesterday morning, I had an in store announcement, "Get everything you need for your Super Bowl Watch Party right here! Party platter specials include ..."
Upon getting home, I e-mailed them a "WTF? 2700 people died from COVID yesterday!" complaint.
Their response: "I am very sorry we were not clear. We are not trying to promote open parties but rather “your circle of family member/friends” (under 10)"
Right now it's a race between vaccines, new mutations, and continued stupid. I fear stupid is going to win.
Why would we assume that people not being out is due to Super Bowl parties, as opposed to just people staying at home to watch the Super Bowl? I am sure a lot of people are watching, not sure an unusually high number are watching in large groups.