- Quarantine Day 39
- Another 4.4 million first-time unemployment claims last week. Which means the overall unemployment rate right now is probably above 20%.
- Congress adds another ~$500 billion in relief/stimulus spending. Plans expected for another, larger round in the coming weeks.
- In a nice contrast to the stupidity of the protests, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll reports that ~80% of Americans support the shelter-at-home orders.
- Livermore cases: 34
- Alameda County cases: 1,354; deaths: 47
- U.S. cases: 865,000+; deaths: 48,800+
Scrolling through Reddit yesterday I saw a headline that the FDA was warning people not to inject themselves with disinfectant. I thought that was a bit strange, but it must have been prompted by some idiot on YouTube. And I was right, except instead of "YouTube" it was "White House Press Room" and instead of "some idiot" it was "President of the United States" (not that those two things are mutually exclusive). I can't even begin to comprehend the level of Dunning-Kruger-powered ignorance it takes to say this:
And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning.
Donald Trump, April 24, 2020
He also suggested that we should bathe people in ultraviolet light and also get it inside their bodies (somehow) to kill the virus:
So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too.
Donald Trump, April 24, 2020
Honestly, I can't even react to this level of stupid. Surely this is the kind of stuff kids learn by like 12? That taking disinfectant internally is a bad idea because it kills your cells just as well as anything else? That UV light kills cells too, hence sun burns? Sure, lets put a light down into the lungs and blast everything with UV. Maybe we kill the virus, but it won't matter because you'll be dead too.
Would an adult please stop letting him say this stuff? Someone is going to kill themselves or their family members following his advice.
So now every organization out there that produces or sells disinfectant, bleach, or UV lights is putting out press releases saying, "DO NOT DO WHAT TRUMP SAID. YOU WILL DIE."
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It's finally Friday again. My replacement pieces for Dragon Strike have arrived (the figurines and instruction booklet, but the dice are still in transit). Heather has been asking to play again all week, so I'll have to prep another adventure.
I might try taking the game to the next level and plan out a multi-session campaign through which she can take a character that "levels up" over time. I have some ideas, so we'll see.
