Simple as that. I'll keep compiling data.

They should test that rig on the "canal" road. See what it's made of.

I'm with Mo, and believe that we will all get the Cov at some point, and likely more than once, even if vaccinated. I also believe there will be various times where we will test positive even though not sick or showing any symptoms. It would be interesting to test weekly even though vaccinated to see how often a positive test results without being sick feeling.

Mind you, nobody posts about a problem -free experience.

Good friend of mine died recently. I wanted to attend his services but things are too hot right now in NY, I want no part of CV. This has been the really tragic aspect of this pandemic, being unable to safely see your loved ones off.

Agreed. Just decided that having a local presence was not a bad thing. Having five Trek shops within 30 minutes (and a number more within an hour's drive) has been beneficial.

69.69 miles this morning (yes, I do have a juvenile sense of humor) to wrap up the Festive 500. I'm going to take tomorrow off, and then we're leaving VA on Friday morning, so that'll do it for the year, too. Not a bad one, all things considered.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...11e47294b5.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c99245a74b.jpg

What I'm finding interesting is how the pandemic changes, and conclusions reached about early isolates may not be true of later ones. For example, there were studies that suggested that getting infected and recovering gave you superior immunity compared to vaccines - with, of course, a much higher risk of dying. Then along comes Omicron, and that goes out the window. It also, sadly, seems as if the earlier conclusion that COVID was not a problem for kids is less true with Omicron.

I think there's some weird psychological/social s**t going on, because the people who die of COVID simply disappear. That is, they go into the hospital and if they die, they don't die surrounded by family. And between travel restrictions and restrictions on gatherings, we don't have big funerals. I mean, 800,000 Americans have died in the last 2 years of this, and we as a nation are NOT grieving normally as you might expect us to. I wonder whether there will be a time when it hits us all, just how much death there has been? Will it hit all at once? Or just each individual.

Myself, I haven't lost anyone I was close to from this, so it's all more or less abstract.

Can't wait for 2022.1

I don't think that means what you think it means.

Inconceivable!

Maybe. We had a good ride in spite of the cold and wet. I have a pair of Gore shoe covers which did a decent job keeping my feet dry and warm. Unlike last week’s ice fiasco, temps stayed a few degrees above freezing so no casualties. 99.9% fun.

We still think it’s not easily transmitted outdoors.

Having made the frame all ready for decalling, I went back and looked over the procedure and recommendations yet again. Turns out, you want to put the decals on at room temperature. That means I'll need to do it in the house, since the garage is currently in the 53-60 degree range. I'm not sure my lovely bride will be happy with this. Still, without all the components, the frame itself is pretty compact. But I think it will be easier to work with if it's on the stand, which takes up a bit of space. I'm also taking my time because even though I I have a number of extra decals, I don't want to mess up. The goal is to have them done as well as they'd have been when the bike was new.

OK. I have an occasional cough, but that may linger on for months. Also still feel my hip/buttocks. But, as usual, I would just HTFU and ride anyway. Except now we have a pipeline of rain coming from the Gulf of Mexico to the Tennessee Valley. Also I have a thick folder of bills to do.

So no riding.

But I'm not sick in bed.

I think the net time I was within 6 feet was under 10 minutes anyway. Usually I was ahead or beside while riding 20 mph.

same, It’s strange to me that I don’t even really know anyone who has died of it given the sheer volume of deaths.

I am the biller, not the billee. Not as bad.

This explains why I can read without glasses after a 4+ hour fever.

I'll be the biller on Jan. 2. Then I can let the good times roll!

Contrary to my earlier announcement, it appears I am no more alive today than I was yesterday. Perhaps I have long Astra Zeneca. My wife told me of a woman in Merida who was sick for a week, after her first dose.
Edit: This is technically incorrect. Yesterday I didn't have the strength to read, so I put on an audiobook. Today I could read, but I'm not feeling like moving around much. So there is progress.

My property tax payment is not due until the end of February, which helps, but I feel your pain. The first quarter really sucks for me. Auto insurance due mid-January. Then property tax. Then H.O. insurance around the end of March.

To make matters worse, payroll taxes start up again at the beginning of January. As a railroad worker, I pay not only the 6.2% equivalent of Social Security (for us, it's called Railroad Retirement Tier I), I pay an additional payroll tax (Railroad Retirement Tier II) up to a certain amount of income every year. For 2021 the rate was 4.9% up to $106K on earnings. The rate and/or the cap has been rising every year. That covers unemployment (I don't pay state unemployment tax), and I get a second Social Security-type benefit when I claim it. So it's like getting a 11.1% cut in pay starting 1/1.

I've known several who have died, but none that were particularly close. The last was a friend of my daughter's dad who was hospitalized for about a month. He was a scout for the Atlanta Braves, but knowing him I'm sure he was a strident anti-vaxxer even though his wife is a nurse.

It may be different if someone I'm close to were to die from the Cov, but everyone who I'm close to has been vaccinated.

I just have a hard time morning the loss of people who made stupid decisions when the risk is well known. Of course, I'm sure there is a place reserved in hell for me.

I had to do that for about 1.75 year when I was a contractor when I started working again after my two years off. No city wage tax, but I had to pay the city Business Privilege and Net Profit taxes.