ADs may have buggered boilers but we haven't got the clap

[BogRollBOGOF]

The saga continues to continue with more sequels than a trilogy of trilogies...

@NoisyBrain, I hope your aunt feels better soon.

@smallandimperfectlyformed, I have averted 1 meltdown and dealt with 2. I am literally bruised. That's how well my homeschooling has gone today. You are not alone.

In light of the new (supposed) bans on people travelling from South America, why have they listed Cape Verde amongst Brazil, Peru etc? I'm not great at geography but even I know that Cape Verde is off the west coast of Africa. What am I missing here?

@ISaySteadyOn thank you for the good wishes. I am sorry that you are bruised, my oldest child used to attack me quite regularly but thankfully hasn't done something like that for over a year, possibly 2. I hope that you are not too hurt and can get some peace and quiet now.

bakingcupcakes I know how you feel. Everyone has gone full steam ahead into getting the vaccine and I’m the odd one out because I’m thinking about it. However, there are now a lot of pissed off people, including doctors, who are unhappy about having their second dose delayed for 12 weeks.
It seems other countries are observing the uk to find out what happens with our approach and I don’t like the assumptions they are making about the delay and efficacy.
I would prefer the Oxford as it seems a bit safer in my mind having researched it a bit but we have no choice.

Loads of snow here, best for a good few years. Perfect modelling snow too, although I am not artistic - this was done without the intervention of any child

I think I'm getting 'concerning new variant fatigue' already

@Aztectrousers I also wonder how wise it is to just give everyone one dose when the trials were carried out with 2 doses closer together. I'm gobsmacked that my role would even be offered it now to be honest. We're health care but not in a hospital or anything. I think there's others who should be higher priority than us. I feel a bit better now I've discovered the appointments are week day 9-5 so I couldn't have gone anyway. We aren't allowed to go in work time and my only childcare is school when I'm at work (thank you lockdown). There's genuinely no one who could have DS for me to have it during the week as my friends are all at work themselves.

@NannyGythaOgg That's a great snowman! We didn't have anywhere near as much as that when it snowed in December.

I'm now genuinely wondering if I am going bonkers.
Because of the alleged massive leap in numbers, and because I am an over-educated geek and pedant, I've been trawling through figures to see whether my increasingly anti-lockdown stance is wrong. But I am sure I am right that apart from a peak in deaths in April, the figures, taking into account a growing population, and a growing number of old people, are simply not outwith a range that can be considered normal.
I have really tried to check and cross-reference ONS data with what is being said in MSM, and I am certainly taking with a pinch of salt what 'lockdown sceptics' are saying simply because on all other issues I am poles apart from them so my natural instinct is total distrust; but still I just DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! I can't see how it even begins to be acceptable to say things like "more deaths than WW2" considering, just for starters, massive population growth and huge population demographic changes since then.
And then there's the obvious fact that whether lockdowns "work" or not (in a narrow sense) seems totally random - ie there doesn't seem to be a particular pattern across nations with vaguely similar demographics and responses as to whether that nation has been "hit harder" or whatever.
Needless to say that's entirely disregarding the social, economic and long-term health policy aspect of whether lockdowns are right or wrong in the grand scheme; this is just looking at the "data".
I literally don't understand and having been the irritating straight A dweeb my whole life, I also don't understand why I don't understand. I feel like I'm actually going mental.
For a while I wondered whether to post a "to all geeks" question on the Corona board to see if I could get an answer, but of course I can't do that because the usual bunch of neurotic morons will come on and wail about me not caring that all teachers will die cos 102% of the population, which is 70,000 people, have all got the Covid and 9,000,000 people have died and they didn't have any symptoms.
So I'm just stuck in Catch-22.

[quote bakingcupcakes]@NannyGythaOgg That's a great snowman! We didn't have anywhere near as much as that when it snowed in December.[/quote]
I am rather proud of him myself

We had some in December too, and between Christmas and New Year but this is the first lot that has tempted me out there. It was snowing when I woke up this morning and is still snowing now. Not big flakes but just non stop.

I've put some battery led lights round his neck so I can admire him all evening too.

Love the snowman @NannyGythaOgg we have not had snow like that since 2010 as my FB memories reminded me the other week.

@ISaySteadyOn We looooove the Magic Schoolbus in this house! Only the old school, 1990s version though.
I’d tell school just what you’ve said here about not coping with Teams.

@BogRollBOGOF you mentioned earlier on this thread of the last one that you have an app where you can put limits on DCs iPads with your phone. What is it please? DD has got quite sneaky, wandering off with my iPad while I’m helping DS with his work and watching YouTube when she knows she’s not allowed.

LocalFB page a friend looking forward to her 89 year old and 93 year old uncle getting the vaccine. One charmer replied with about 20 link that the vaccine was killing people in USA Israel, etc. some very odd links in there. Not helpful she was told many times.

[quote Mrsfrumble]@ISaySteadyOn We looooove the Magic Schoolbus in this house! Only the old school, 1990s version though.
I’d tell school just what you’ve said here about not coping with Teams.

@BogRollBOGOF you mentioned earlier on this thread of the last one that you have an app where you can put limits on DCs iPads with your phone. What is it please? DD has got quite sneaky, wandering off with my iPad while I’m helping DS with his work and watching YouTube when she knows she’s not allowed.[/quote]
It's called Boomerang. I pay about £27 a year for it but is worth it for its ability to avoid constant rows. Not sure if it's on Google Play at present as they had a dispute about its ability to control another device (durr, yeah, that's the point). I like the fact that its remote and I can grant/ cut off time without having to wrestle with their device.

Our snow did the icing sugar thing then gave up, went back to sleet and washed itself away.

I've had a two-hour nap! It's draining spending 5+ hours on hard kitchen chairs, arguing about engaging with a tedious curriculum, and listening to the attempted learnjngs of 7-8 yos and 9-10 yos.
I remember finding shadowing pupils surprisingly tiring on my PGCE

[quote Mrsfrumble]@ISaySteadyOn We looooove the Magic Schoolbus in this house! Only the old school, 1990s version though.
I’d tell school just what you’ve said here about not coping with Teams.

@BogRollBOGOF you mentioned earlier on this thread of the last one that you have an app where you can put limits on DCs iPads with your phone. What is it please? DD has got quite sneaky, wandering off with my iPad while I’m helping DS with his work and watching YouTube when she knows she’s not allowed.[/quote]
There are no versions but the 1990s one right?

Thanks for the encouragement about school.

DM (early 80s) is getting jabbed at the weekend. DB is taking her into the city centre which she's looking forwards to as it's been a year (she was ill Jan/ Feb last year, and not for that chest infection that she aquired in hospital...)

MiL is in another European country, late 80s and not expecting hers until at least March!

@thefallthroughtheair I don’t get it either but having got an ungraded in my maths o-level, don’t have the confidence in my mathematical ability to question things.
No point asking “over there” it’ll just end in chaos.

@thefallthroughtheair, I don't think you are going bonkers at all. And it's ok to agree with people you may disagree with on other issues. FWR taught me that .

I think for me, my thoughts crystallised into two questions. Is any disease whatever the severity worth the destruction of free society and the demonisation of normal and natural human contact and how did we lose our acceptance of mortality?

@bakingcupcakes & @Aztectrousers
My guess is that if you work in healthcare & decline the vaccine now, many NHS/health employers will still be encouraging staff to have the vaccine later on, when they've got the Oxford one in stock. Our organisation is still encouraging staff to get a late flu jab if they want one.
I think it's poor that you're not allowed to go for your vaccination in work time. They're not going to get good uptakes if they make it too difficult to do. We're lucky here- they've opened up more vaccination places because community staff were struggling to get to the hospital to have it done.

@ISaySteadyOn
School is not made for children who don't fit into the mould. When DD was still at school & not able to engage with learning, I realised that I had to spell it out in writing. Merely saying, "school makes her anxious," wasn't enough. They just came back with, "lots of children get anxious, make her a revision plan." In the end I emailed every subject teacher & year head involved & gave specific examples (eg "she's so anxious that she physically freezes & can't move / her vision goes blurred which means she can't read but the optician says this is anxiety," etc). That got a more understanding response (with a couple of exceptions) & although it didn't bring about a magic answer for getting her support in school, it did at least take the pressure off her to take part, & it took the pressure off us as parents.
I don't know if that's any help. You have my sympathy.

@NannyGythaOgg
I have Snow Envy. We've had ineffective, pathetic snow here. It does look rather like blood in that snowman picture

Meant to add @Jourdain11, I too have a Coat Refuser. The looks we got when she was a toddler & tried to strip off at the park in winter! It hasn't got any better, she buys her own clothes & doesn't own a coat, but might wear a tatty old fleece if there's icicles.
You pick your battles.

DS1 spent a year being a coat refuser, at least I got away with the buggy and its cozy toes most of that winter (2yo). He's been a trouser refuser for years. He doesn't own any trousers at present due to the lack of any event such as scout camps or visits to places of worship that might require them.
He only wears shorts.

My DS is a trouser refuser too! And they were all coat and sock refusers when they were small!

So nice to not be alone .

Grandson aged 3 is a streaker, awkward when oldest sibling is having a live zoom lesson 🙈

This made me larf. So true when OH goes shopping without the list.