Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Kneal Down Caster]

Only if you're a space cadet, that wouldn't change re virus situation.

Get yourself to f**k. I have struggled too ,especially during the dark winter months. Comments like this can get right in the sea [emoji35][emoji35]

[Benjamin_Nevis]

4 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Leitch is the spokesman, they've got other people to do the science. Apart from that I'd bring back Catherine Calderwood, she's done her penance now and she's a whole lot more charismatic than Gregor Smith. I've no idea what the ex-communist thing is about, or why it matters in the middle of a pandemic. It would be interesting to hear your take on the Westminster team.

That would NOT be interesting. 

[Bairnardo]

6 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Leitch is the spokesman, they've got other people to do the science. Apart from that I'd bring back Catherine Calderwood, she's done her penance now and she's a whole lot more charismatic than Gregor Smith. I've no idea what the ex-communist thing is about, or why it matters in the middle of a pandemic. It would be interesting to hear your take on the Westminster team.

Nothing but Steedman IMO.

[heedthebaa]

27 minutes ago, Day of the Lords said:

I don't think that's anything to feel guilty about tbh. Other than finding working from home a bit shite, and not being able to see my parents as much as I'd like given their situation, it's been OK for me in general. I've saved some money, and manage to spend a lot of my newly found spare time getting properly fit. Frankly being able to take any positives out of this clusterfuck can't be anything other than a good thing. 

You people that’s had to work from home have my sympathy, work was causing me problems before lockdown but since I’ve went back it has been my salvation 

[BaaBaaBlackSheep]

25 minutes ago, craigkillie said:

I had a wee girl in September and she's an absolute delight. My mental health is pretty good most of the time, aside from the odd wee moment, but if it wasn't for her I think I'd be in the same boat as a lot of folk on here. I've been working from home for nine months, but I'm not able to do the bits of my job I actually really like, which is teaching students and generally just chatting to my colleagues. That has meant I've basically been sat in a wee room keeping on top of all the shite stuff and have generally been unmotivated. Away from work, the three main things that bring me joy are going on hoilday, going to the football and meeting my pals for a pint or whatever, and I've not been able to do any of them since March (I could have done the latter to some extent in the summer but wasn't drinking in case I had to drive to the hospital).

Can relate to the dislike of working from home - especially when everybody else seems to push the narrative that it's the future ad to f**k with any dissenting voices. In our place they're willing to overlook a myriad of IT issues which are still ongoing since March, just because the boss doesn't like the commute.

On the plus side, this new strain shouldn't affect the vaccines so therefore shouldn't affect the timeline out of this you wouldn't think. Keeping myself going with the thought of how wild the first few nights out/away days are going to be once this is in the bin.

 

[101]

13 minutes ago, Arch Stanton said:

People down there in that London not giving a f**k.

 

 

 

I feel for people making genuinely essential journeys there will be a a fair chunk of folk legging it to their second homes my pal in Bristol said they are all coming back in big waves, no doubt taking the virus into the South West.

[welshbairn]

Swedish journalist talking about mixed messaging on masks etc and failure to recognise the dire state their care homes were in before the pandemic took off, and how incapable they were of reacting to it. Replace Sweden with Scotland (and the rest of the UK) and it almost matches word for word, apart from the pubs bit.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/12/18/sweden-second-covid-wave-failure-of-government-guidance/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=28539&utm_term=Editors Picks OC&?tpcc=28539

[Todd_is_God]

57 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Which mainstream political party supports a different path though?

They all back this.

I think that says more about the political parties in the UK than anything else.

None are willing to stick their head above the parapet and oppose those in power, preferring instead to back / abstain in key votes, hoping to retain credibility when we reach the other side.

Unless they are present at COBRA meetings / the Scottish equivalent I don't think they are in a position to make their own mind up tbh.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

Just now, heedthebaa said:

You people that’s had to work from home have my sympathy, work was causing me problems before lockdown but since I’ve went back it has been my salvation 

It was fine for about the first fortnight, however it's long since worn thin. Trying to represent a client group who largely struggle to engage is a massive pain in the arse when you can't actually go see them face to face, video and telephone appeal tribunals have generally been a farce and i do miss the social aspect of working with colleagues considerably. I think losing that also de-skills you a bit.

I also think you need the separation of working somewhere other than home. One of my colleagues had to deal with a total arsehole on the phone the other day, I think she put up with his abusive shite for about 10 mins before eventually having to end the call when he started threatening her. That's shite at the best of times, but you shouldn't have to deal with that sort of negativity in your own house. 

[NotThePars]

1 hour ago, Marshmallo said:

Shout out to @Nkomo-A-Gogo for downvoting this post - fair play!

Probably thinks it's a bit gay to have compassion for your fellow man!

[G51]

I know a few folk working in the NHS, and what one of them told me is one of the reasons for this new lockdown is that they're terrified that this new, more easily-transmittable strain, is going to result in more people contracting the disease and therefore more people ending up in hospital.

Obviously this is bad anyway, but they're really desperate to avoid an influx of hospital patients over the next few months because the people taking care of sick COVID patients are generally the same people who are administering vaccines. So the more of them treating COVID patients, the less of the vaccine will be administered to the public. Administering the (Pfizer) vaccine isn't as simple as just sticking a needle in someone, the whole thing takes about half an hour because you have to monitor people for allergic reactions. Very few people take an allergic reaction, but if you take one you need adrenaline pretty much immediately. And all it would take is one or two people to die from this and public confidence in the vaccine would crumble.

The limiting factor on vaccinating people probably won't be the supply of the vaccine itself - it'll be the supply of people able to administer the vaccine.

It was an interesting perspective on things that I hadn't really considered.

[Distant Doonhamer]

1 minute ago, Todd_is_God said:

I think that says more about the political parties in the UK than anything else.

None are willing to stick their head above the parapet and oppose those in power, preferring instead to back / abstain in key votes, hoping to retain credibility when we reach the other side.

Unless they are present at COBRA meetings / the Scottish equivalent I don't think they are in a position to make their own mind up tbh.

Accepting all of that and considering your criticism of those who would continue to vote SNP, at this time who would you vote for if the Scottish elections were tomorrow?

['WellDel]

The whole handling of the pandemic by the governments both north and south of the border continues to be a complete clusterfuck , to the surprise of absolutely no-one.

The ridiculous 5 day sabbatical should never have been on the table in the first place , but with the emergence of the new strain , the retraction of it is a body blow to a large percentage of the population . It really will have a massive effect on so many people's mental health.

As always there are the usual fannies on here who play it down and question the decisions made . Basically all the anti-vaxers and conspiracy theorists can get the f**k in the sea . No matter your political leanings or whatever , no sane person can believe that those in power are making these decisions in anything other than the best interests of us all , no matter how ham fisted and fucked up their efforts may seem .

I'm lucky in that I work in public transport , which has remained fairly constant throughout , and my wife's business from home has been largely unaffected , but I have family members and friends who have suffered a much tougher time .  This whole situation will have far reaching implications for a long time after it ends .

For all the aforementioned fannies on this board , they are far outweighed by the good .

Guys in particular are renowned for waiting too long to ask for help , or even seek somewhere to vent or express how they are feeling . The Depression thread on here is a truly great place to speak anonymously to a complete stranger and just maybe get that other perspective of your situation to help you focus and move forward . Use it .

Like many others have said before me , I'm no expert , but if you need to simply talk or vent , I'm always open to listen .

Christmas , like the rest of the year so far is going to be a bit shit . Let's all just get through it , and enjoy another year of petty arguments and shite patter on here on the other side .

[vikingTON]

33 minutes ago, Day of the Lords said:

It was fine for about the first fortnight, however it's long since worn thin. Trying to represent a client group who largely struggle to engage is a massive pain in the arse when you can't actually go see them face to face, video and telephone appeal tribunals have generally been a farce and i do miss the social aspect of working with colleagues considerably. I think losing that also de-skills you a bit.

I also think you need the separation of working somewhere other than home. One of my colleagues had to deal with a total arsehole on the phone the other day, I think she put up with his abusive shite for about 10 mins before eventually having to end the call when he started threatening her. That's shite at the best of times, but you shouldn't have to deal with that sort of negativity in your own house. 

Yep, WFH would be a great option for most if you can waltz down to the pub (or at least out to the garden/park in summer), as well as having some external office space to use as well when needed/to mix things up. Living in your workspace indefinitely when it's raining sideways outside and dark apart from 11-3 at best provides none of the disconnect that is needed to function properly.

This is why they should either f**k off with these restrictions or ramp it up to full public holiday status instead and bin off all non-essential work that can't sit and wait for three weeks: which includes education.

Edited December 20, 2020 by vikingTON

[Todd_is_God]

6 minutes ago, Distant Doonhamer said:

Accepting all of that and considering your criticism of those who would continue to vote SNP, at this time who would you vote for if the Scottish elections were tomorrow?

The "but who'd do better argument" is boring now tbh.

However the answer is no one. None fucking deserve it.

[welshbairn]

10 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

The "but who'd do better argument" is boring now tbh.

However the answer is no one. None fucking deserve it.

If not a party, perhaps a Government? Is there any in the Western World that has consistently made the right decisions and achieved better outcomes in the face of this novel virus? You're welcome to reach further but places like New Zealand and Korea bring too many variables to give a meaningful comparisons imo. Or if you could point to any steps in the past that you thought at the time should have been taken but weren't, and would have put us in a better position now? My position is that everyone is trying to do the best they can, balancing priorities and risk, and struggling.

Edited December 20, 2020 by welshbairn

[Todd_is_God]

7 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

If not a party, perhaps a Government? Is there any in the Western World that has consistently made the right decisions and achieved better outcomes in the face of this novel virus? You're welcome to reach further but places like New Zealand and Korea bring too many variables to give a meaningful comparison imo.

None of which defends the Scottish Government continuing to make a rip roaring c**t of things fully 9 months into it.

You'd struggle to find a government in the West, outside of the UK, who have consistently made a bigger mess of things, and that's an incredibly low bar to begin with.

It's a shame, but they've fucked it. 

Denialisim in May will get you the government you deserve.

You are welcome to vote for whoever you want. But when WM again deny the SG a referendum, as they have already said they will, and they have nothing else until 2026, don't moan.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Todd_is_God

[welshbairn]

5 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Denialisim in May will get you the government you deserve.

There we go, finally.

[Todd_is_God]

1 minute ago, welshbairn said:

There we go, finally.

^^^ denialist simp

[vikingTON]

11 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

If not a party, perhaps a Government? Is there any in the Western World that has consistently made the right decisions and achieved better outcomes in the face of this novel virus?