Getting COVID vaccine: it ain't so easy part V

A bit of a surprise but a different provider just opened a a ton of slots... So I am down at the mass immunization site... And just got my first jab.

#sutterhealth #covidvaccine #Pfizer #sanfrancisco 

Getting COVID Vaccine: It Ain't So Easy Part IV

Oh, f*** me. 

I know there is a new job orientation this week. I didn't realize they scheduled it to start BEFORE my COVID vaccine appointment. And I can't be at two places at once. 

Unfortunately, I do need a job more than I need a vaccine, at least in the VERY immediate future. Guess I have to check elsewhere for more vaccines. 

ARGH!!!!! Back on the vaccine hunt. 

Getting the COVID Vaccine: It Ain't So Easy Part III

I FINALLY got a COVID first shot appointment... In a week (end of April). 

That is a full week AFTER California opened up the requirements to just about every adult, but some San Francisco sites are still doing zipcode restrictions. Apparently, it depends on the mood of the screeners. If there is not a line, they MAY let you in even without the right zipcode, at least according to Redditors. But there are some pretty hard*** ones that won't let you in without the right zipcode. 

I found the time slot because I was watching the /r/sanfrancisco reddit, NOT because the MyTurn website notified me. 

Today I Learned: The 5G Conspiracy Theory Was Started by Russian Trolls

Looking back at 2020, there was a flood of crazy conspiracy theories linking COVID to 5G, and some of them stated that...

• COVID was not spread from person to person. Instead, 5G radiation caused the body to create the COVID virus
• 5G radiation weakened the body's immune system thus allow COVID to infect
• COVID virus was spread via 5G radiation (?!)

You can blame a bunch of clueless celebrities, such as Keri Hilson (who needs to stick to singing) falsely spreading claims that 5G caused COVID, by making casual observations that China rolled out 5G then BAM! COVID.  She and various celebrities forgot an important lesson in science: correlation is NOT causation 

The debunking is TRIVIAL... Iran, which has no 5G, is also a major cluster of COVID. How do you explain that? Hmmm? 

But did you ever wonder, who STARTED this nonsense anyway? Let's do a little tracing. 

Hilson spread a video by Dr. Cowan who's also against 5G. What nobody checked was Cowan was under probation by California medical board. The video was a talk by Cowan at an anti-vax conference headlined by none other than disgraced ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield. When it was shared by anti-vax RFK jr, it's enough to make the rest of the conspiracy theorists like David Icke jump in with their own copycat take on the disinfo. 

And before you think this is harmless, ALMOST 80 5G towers in UK were attacked in 2020, and several phone carrier employees hospitalized due to attacks in the UK. Canada also had reports of several phone towers damaged. Sad part is none of them were actually 5G towers.  Tennessee believes several state-owned towers were damaged by COVID conspiracy theorists. And the damage may be far more widespread than suspected. 

Cowan is hardly the first to make wild claims. The first doctor to make such a claim was a Dutch doctor by the name of Kris Van Kerckhoven, a general practitioner, in January 2020. His interview was published in a local paper that claimed 5G is dangerous, without proof. He then suggested there may be a link between 5G and COVID, which had just appeared in Wuhan, Again, without any proof. But it was enough to get the conspiracy theorists rolling. 

When there isn't that much known about COVID during February and March of 2020, various conspiracy theorists started flooding the net with "the truth about COVID" and it got past the sanity filters of the search engines, and started to, pardon the pun, gone viral. 

But who was the first to claim 5G causes illnesses? 

Turns out, it was a Russian troll news outfit called "RT News". And it started as early as January 2019, a whole YEAR before COVID really affected the world. 

As tracked by Wired and NYTimes, RT had repeatedly posted videos containing baseless rants about 5G, including statements such as "it might kill you" "health risks" and even claims that children exposed to 5G incurred brain damage, about 10+ times in 2019 alone. Yet there seems to be no particular reason for it other than to delay the global rollout of 5G so Russia can catch up. 

So there you have it: anti-vax idiots trolled by Russians. 

In other words, double idiots. 

Today I learned: Sometimes "lobster" is not lobster, and shrimp is not prawn

I used to think that shrimp is just small prawns. Turns out I was wrong. 

Shrimp is under the pleocyemata sub-order, while prawns are in the Dendrobranchiata sub-order. 

Too technical? Shrimp are sea creatures and are generally small and curved. Prawns are usually fresh-water creatures and usually larger and straight. 

At least in AMERICAN usage. Folks elsewhere may refer to them differently. 

So just for fun I looked up langoustines, which is something ELSE entirely. Sometimes called Norway lobster, it's basically a small lobster that grows up to 25 cm long, but typically about 20 cm long, which isn't that big, and has a narrow body. Compare that to what's usually known in the US, the "Maine lobster". 

There's also "squat lobster", which is actually a type of crab. But their meat looks about the same, so much so, that Red Lobster was once caught substituting squat lobster meat for real lobster meat. And this was apparently common practice many years ago. 

Wish.com stuff that's hilariously good... or hilariously bad (and a tip)

You've seen Wish.com... where they advertise some RIDICULOUSLY low prices for stuff that are either knock-offs or somewhat mis-represented. So how do they make money?

By charging good amount for shipping, then use a super-cheap carrier to send it in bulk from China so it can be batch-dumped into USPS at super-discounted rates. 

Another way they can make money is doing those "limited quantity sales", where you basically participate in a lottery: pay for this item, get a refund if you don't win. By holding your money for a week or however long it takes to refund to go through, they'd have earned interest on that money. 

Clickbait Tactics

To get you to click they employ many different clickbait tactics. So my tip for shopping on wish.com? Show you those tactics. 

1) Shop around. Often, you'll find the same item, often using the SAME PHOTO, listed multiple times, albeit with multiple price points and offers. 

Just today, I spotted "glow-in-dark-tape" for safety or art offered at 3 different listings. 

A is free, but charges like $5 shipping. 

B is for $0.25, charges $3.50 shipping, but is the 10 CM 

C is for $1,25, charges $2.00 shipping, 10 CM or 15 CM same price.

Keep in mind they can legitimately give you only 10 centimeter of the material, which is less than 1 ft. 

2) They show you an item for a ridiculously low price, but only upon clickthru do you realize it was the cheap crappy version that's the low price, with the "deluxe" or "luxurious" version that costs noticeably more. 

A phone or tablet stand that clamps to your bed... $8?  Okay. Click thru, and you find it's the short stumpy version that goes on a desk. The depicted one is actually $18. 

In Conclusion

There are sometimes genuinely good items on Wish, but in general, you should look on Amazon or your local stores first. 

For ****s and giggles, I bought several items on Wish, and I'll give you my impression of them later, when they arrive. It's taking two weeks or more. 

Anyway, first item was an impulse buy, and I was wrong. The item was cheaper on Amazon and needed no wait, and was arguable a better version of the product. The version I got was more expensive and was inferior. No joke. 

Second item I KNEW was bogus, but I decided to try it any way, just to see how bad it is. Yes, it's the infamous "2TB for $10 my *** " flash drives. There will be a separate post about it. 

I've ordered more items but they are still in transit. 

One bonus tip for the end: keep all your packaging. If you want to ask for a refund, Wish.com would want to see the item AND the original packaging. 

Getting the COVID Vaccine: It Ain't So Easy Part II

Back in February 2021 I had a rant about how getting the COVID vaccine is way more difficult as it should be, and San Francisco seems to be chronically UNDER-prepared for demand. 

Two months later, situation has NOT changed, even as California is supposedly ready to vaccinate EVERYBODY above the age of 16 very very soon (April 15th, this coming Thursday)

The Federal supersites closed April 11th... Yesterday. 

And the county sites don't take people from other counties. 

When the SF General Hospital (aka Zukerberg Hospital) announced they will vaccinate people in certain zip codes ahead of the 16 and over deadline last Saturday, they ran out. Same thing happened at Southeast Health Center. People started lining up an hour before opening. Both sites ran out within 90 minutes of opening (open at 9, ran out by 10:30) last Saturday. No idea about how bad it was on Sunday... or if they have anything for Monday... But it doesn't matter. it's not my zip code. 

And I STILL can't find an open appointment slot. 

Today I Leaned: Chickpea *is* Garbanzo Bean

 I've been gifted several cans of garbanzo beans, and I never really looked it up. So imagine my surprise that they are also known as chickpeas, one of those protein-rich beans that can be made into a variety of things, and tastes better than soy. 

I think I can mix up the cans I have with some microwaved veggies and some meat to make a sorta casserole, once I figure out how to make a savory but not too salty sauce. 

Today I Learned: Portable Generators are NOT Standby Generators

You know portable generators... size of huge toolbox / large wheelbarrow (about 200 pounds), add fuel and it can power up your home for a short time... Costs about 1000 USD. 

Turns out the "short time" is 8-12 hours, which is the run-time based on their fuel consumption and their fuel tank size. 

And you are NOT supposed to run it past 50 hours (after which, you HAVE to change the oil). Failure to do so will likely damage the engine.  

Given that most of these only runs for 8-12 hours (based on fuel consumption and fuel tank capacity) that should not be a problem... Unless, of course, you were in a multi-day blackout like the one Texas endured not too long ago in 2021, and you can't really be bothered to change the oil when the fuel ran out at night. 

The solution is a "standby generator", which is quite a bit larger, and comes with a much larger fuel tank... and they are actually diesel, not gas or LNG. They are obviously more expensive, but they are designed to run for days at a time.