Halloween Candy Calculator October 27, 2021
Posted by skinbad in Food.3 comments
Not a bad idea. Although I almost didn’t get past the ridiculous subtitle: “Don’t get stuck with dreaded mounds of extra Hershey bars this year.” What the H? You madam, are FAKE NEWS.
Variables are:
Duration
Number of anticipated kids
Generosity
Days to Halloween
Number in Household
Sneakiness/Snitching Factor
Forecast
For me? I just finished a basement remodel (a giant TV with new carpet and paint around it). I’ll probably hide out there and watch something scary. My calculations aren’t very complicated: (number of doorbell rings) (zero response) = zero candy needed.
What a Small and Lonely Planet We Be October 19, 2021
Posted by geoff in News.add a comment
The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) snapped this photo of the moon in front of the Earth. Kind of made the bottom of my stomach drop out. (Taken from the NASA/GSFC website, where you can find much higher resolution photos.)
Pfizer Loses Again October 17, 2021
Posted by geoff in News.2 comments
A study comparing antibody response due to COVID-19 vaccines came out a couple of days ago. They looked at antibody response over time for the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Here are the measurements from the study (Figure 1 from the link):
The left-hand data are for Pfizer, the middle are for Moderna, the right-hand are for J&J. Over the 8-month study period, Pfizer went from 1789 to 53, Moderna went from 5848 to 133, and J&J went from 146 to 629(!).
So Pfizer is the worst of the 3, and J&J is the best. While the two mRNA vaccines drop precipitously, the J&J vaccine’s antibody response is actually increasing over time.
The need for a J&J booster isn’t obvious, at least from this study, but the experts say that the 2nd J&J shot cranks up the effectiveness of the vaccine to 94% – in line with the mRNA vaccines’ initial effectiveness.
All I can say is, based on this data and the breakthrough severity data that was posted 3 days ago, I don’t think I’d pick Pfizer’s vaccine at this point.
A Quick Comparison of Military Priorities October 15, 2021
Posted by geoff in News.1 comment so far
Elis’ Lies October 14, 2021
Posted by geoff in News.10 comments
Via Instapundit (I think, but now I can’t find the reference), we find this summary of the findings of a recent COVID-19 study on COVID-19 severity in fully-vaccinated patients:
Hyung Chun, senior author on the study, says the vast majority of fully vaccinated patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience very mild disease. …
Importantly, this particular study spans a period of time before the Delta variant became predominant in the United States. Chun says is unclear at this stage whether Delta leads to more severe breakthrough infections.
“It’s clear that the vaccines are highly effective, and without them we would be facing a much deadlier pandemic,” says Chun.
Seems pretty definitive: the “vast majority” of the fully vaccinated had mild symptoms. Just to help our understanding, let’s take a look at the handy graphic they supplied in their supplementary materials:
So 25 out of 54 patients experienced moderate disease or worse.
Turns out that at Yale, a “vast majority” is 54%. Which, given their tiny sample size, is the same as even odds.
And this is when the vaccines were at their best (i.e., freshly administered and pre-Delta).
They had another interesting graphic. Guess which vaccine sucked the most?
Oh yeah, that’d be Pfizer, whose effectiveness fades faster than Moderna’s, so you need a booster at 6 months.
Innocent Bystanders 