Off Topic Thread 4.0

prawnsambo

Synode wrote: »

A couple of mates who went with GoMo ending up ditching it. Said the signal and Internet is brutal

I'd say it depends on where you are. Works fine for me. But when you're not tied to a contract, it's hardly a massive risk.

b.gud

Synode wrote: »

A couple of mates who went with GoMo ending up ditching it. Said the signal and Internet is brutal

I've had no issues with it and know a couple of other people who likewise haven't had any issues but as prawnsambo says this may be location dependent.

Dave_The_Sheep

Same, with GoMo since October. No issues, with internet or otherwise.

errlloyd

Synode wrote: »

A couple of mates who went with GoMo ending up ditching it. Said the signal and Internet is brutal

Thought it was gonna be crap because I was used to Vodafone. It's pretty good where I am.

But I am Dublin city centre 99% of the time....

Panda Killa

Gemma is at it again..
https://twitter.com/n_sweeny/status/1255075292705632256?s=09

jacothelad

jacothelad wrote: »

The mother of my best friend of 50 years will be 100 in less than 3 weeks. She has been diagnosed with Covid 19. 11 days in.



It is so dispiriting to see those of that age group who have lived through so much in their lifetime. The great Depression, WW2, rationing, poverty and then the murderous vermin who pollute N.I., possibly succumb to a disease partially unleashed on them by the inept, deluded cretins in the Tory party.

My friend called yesterday to say his mother is now in recovery and is sitting up and asking for jam sandwiches. So it looks like she will get the cheque from Michael D. and the nice letter from Brenda after all.

Panda Killa

jacothelad wrote: »

My friend called yesterday to say his mother is now in recovery and is sitting up and asking for jam sandwiches. So it looks like she will get the cheque from Michael D. and the nice letter from Brenda after all.

Nice to see some good news in here, brilliant!

troyzer

My next door neighbour just died from Corona.

He moved into a nursing home around this time last year, the place is ravaged apparently.

He's the first person I actually know who died from a confirmed case.

Buer

Panda Killa wrote: »

Gemma is at it again..
https://twitter.com/n_sweeny/status/1255075292705632256?s=09

I was out for my daily walk on Sunday evening and was on the coast road which is my normal route. Good to get a bit of air, exercise etc. As I was approaching one house which is in a row with relatively small gardens, there was an elderly lady standing in her bay window. She had a card in her hands and was looking down at it. I got a bit closer and came in line with the house at which point I noticed the footpath under my feet was covered in multiple messages in chalk of all colours.

"Happy birthday, Granny!"...."We love you and miss you!" along with drawings, rainbows and other messages which were clearly from her family who couldn't visit her beyond her front gate.

When I see a waste of human life desperately trying to undermine this entire situation in stark contrast to the genuine efforts and hardship that some people are enduring, it's exceptionally disappointing. I don't get angry about it, to be honest. I'm far more impacted by what I saw on Sunday compared to what I see in this Twitter post. But it does highlight how obscenely selfish, obnoxious and ignorant some people are and who are using this as a vehicle to further their profile.

It's a thoroughly unpleasant thing to write about another human being but the world would be a better place without Gemma O'Doherty.

Are face masks mandatory in Ireland yet?
They are where I live and I was out for grocery shopping today so had it on for a good while. It's not long before I developed a little sauna it. Same under my gloves. I can't imagine having to work for 24hrs+ in them.

molloyjh

Addison Yummy Fashion wrote: »

Are face masks mandatory in Ireland yet?
They are where I live and I was out for grocery shopping today so had it on for a good while. It's not long before I developed a little sauna it. Same under my gloves. I can't imagine having to work for 24hrs+ in them.

Nope. They have been saying that there isnt a whole pile of evidence to prove that mandatory face masks actually make any real difference, and in fact improper use of them actually creates more risk as people constantly look to adjust them on their faces thus negating the whole point of them.

Neil3030

Addison Yummy Fashion wrote: »

Are face masks mandatory in Ireland yet?
They are where I live and I was out for grocery shopping today so had it on for a good while. It's not long before I developed a little sauna it. Same under my gloves. I can't imagine having to work for 24hrs+ in them.

molloyjh wrote: »

Nope. They have been saying that there isnt a whole pile of evidence to prove that mandatory face masks actually make any real difference, and in fact improper use of them actually creates more risk as people constantly look to adjust them on their faces thus negating the whole point of them.

For those of us not working in an enclosed clinical setting, masks are basically a quid-pro-quo.

I wear one to protect you from me.

You wear one to protect me from you.

The stats are actually quite interesting - if only half of us wear any old kind of mask, even something like a bandana or scarf, once it's 70-80% effective at containing our respiration etc., the R0 drops below the magic number of 1. They reckon this is why Asia controlled their spreads so much quicker, i.e., they are just used to wearing masks during flu season, or even because of pollution.

Squidgy Black

molloyjh wrote: »

Nope. They have been saying that there isnt a whole pile of evidence to prove that mandatory face masks actually make any real difference, and in fact improper use of them actually creates more risk as people constantly look to adjust them on their faces thus negating the whole point of them.

Does little to protect you personally from catching it, but with the evidence they've collected about asymptomatic carriers it's shifted towards masks being a good way to stop the spread from the wearer.

Originally the debate was around ffp3 masks filtering out the virus so you would be protected from it, but that was probably the wrong approach as everyone then believed it was pointless in wearing one.

Panda Killa

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Does little to protect you personally from catching it, but with the evidence they've collected about asymptomatic carriers it's shifted towards masks being a good way to stop the spread from the wearer.

Originally the debate was around ffp3 masks filtering out the virus so you would be protected from it, but that was probably the wrong approach as everyone then believed it was pointless in wearing one.

I think it's only the CDC are saying it's beneficial..the WHO say no...and tests seem to show that masks can actually increase your chances of infection.
There isn't any definite answer on this... which I find a bit galling tbh

Neil3030

Panda Killa wrote: »

I think it's only the CDC are saying it's beneficial..the WHO say no...and tests seem to show that masks can actually increase your chances of infection.
There isn't any definite answer on this... which I find a bit galling tbh

Can you link to these tests please?

Panda Killa

Neil3030 wrote: »

Can you link to these tests please?

No...
Rte news about 10 days ago when the CDC recommended wearing the masks ..

Neil3030

Panda Killa wrote: »

No...
Rte news about 10 days ago when the CDC recommended wearing the masks ..

Likely what they're referring to were studies of healthcare workers putting masks back on that they had left lying around emergency rooms. That is obviously very dangerous.

I fail to see how Joe Bloggs wearing a mask to the shops increases his risk of infection, and am yet to see any study suggesting it does.

Panda Killa

Neil3030 wrote: »

Likely what they're referring to were studies of healthcare workers putting masks back on that they had left lying around emergency rooms. That is obviously very dangerous.

I fail to see how Joe Bloggs wearing a mask to the shops increases his risk of infection, and am yet to see any study suggesting it does.

Can't think... English lady Jenny..she's one of their medical officers..think she's vocal enough about it.. I'll try and find it

Edit..I'll look for it tomorrow.. rough day here

Neil3030

Haven't watched RTE news in a good while, so not sure who she is.

As this article explains, the mask doesn't really help you (i.e., the general public) avoid infection, but collectively, if we all wear masks, we crush the virus.

An infection expert in Hong Kong reckons widespread mask usage helped keep their cases so low (1000 cases, 4 deaths, despite being densely populated):

https://twitter.com/lwcalex/status/1235091542219448321

Likely that RTE expert, and possibly even the WHO, are more concerned with PPE stocks remaining available for the front line workers who need them most.

There is a good chance that when surplus becomes sufficient we'll all be asked to wear face masks until the disease is effectivy neutralised or vaccinated against.

It might be a normal thing in the future if there is an outbreak that we all start wearing these masks for a period of time and then either revert to normal or go into full social distancing / lockdown for a spell.

I could envisage this becoming the norm for regular flu if it produces very good healthcare results.

I'm going to get Darth Vader ones.

Neil3030

Deleted User wrote: »

There is a good chance that when surplus becomes sufficient we'll all be asked to wear face masks until the disease is effectivy neutralised or vaccinated against.

It might be a normal thing in the future if there is an outbreak that we all start wearing these masks for a period of time and then either revert to normal or go into full social distancing / lockdown for a spell.

I could envisage this becoming the norm for regular flu if it produces very good healthcare results.

I'm going to get Darth Vader ones.

Nah Venjur, this is what you want:

Former Former

Masks are never going to be perfect but they're much, much better than nothing.

Podge_irl

Neil3030 wrote: »

Likely what they're referring to were studies of healthcare workers putting masks back on that they had left lying around emergency rooms. That is obviously very dangerous.

I fail to see how Joe Bloggs wearing a mask to the shops increases his risk of infection, and am yet to see any study suggesting it does.

I suspect it is more to do with the high likelihood of wearing them improperly. I frequently am seeing people here who pull their mask down to eat/talk etc and that very action is simply introducing more hand to face contact and would be incredibly counterproductive.

Podge_irl

Podge_irl wrote: »

I suspect it is more to do with the high likelihood of wearing them improperly. I frequently am seeing people here who pull their mask down to eat/talk etc and that very action is simply introducing more hand to face contact and would be incredibly counterproductive.

I suppose it's more about stopping spread than limiting individual cases. If You have it and do not wear a mask you might infect say 3 people before symptoms result in you getting a test. If you have it and wear a mask even with poor overall compliance you might only infect 1 person.

It's about looking at the macro effects of each effort to impact the disease. Social distancing + masks + contact tracing + intense testing regime = return to normal'ish life.

We do seem to have gotten a good handle on this and an understanding of how to manage it. My growing concern is that the UK is going to come out of lock down too soon and create a further spike which will overshadow our recovery.

DGRulz

Not sure if most of you have seen it but the Czechs put out an interesting video a while ago on this subject

prawnsambo

Just on asymptomatic carriers; My eldest son and his gf were away for the weekend before Paddy's day. On the Sunday, she developed symptoms and they both self-isolated from then. He didn't develop symptoms until a full seven days later.

Edit: Meant to add (but got a phone call) that had she not developed symptoms when she did, he'd have been blissfully unaware and gone back to work.

jacothelad

Neil3030 wrote: »

Nah Venjur, this is what you want:

That sucks.......:D:D:D:D

Former Former

DGRulz wrote: »

Not sure if most of you have seen it but the Czechs put out an interesting video a while ago on this subject

That's excellent.

If people can understand that a mask isn't about protecting you from catching the virus, it's about preventing the mass spreading of it, then maybe it will catch on better.

prawnsambo

Former Former wrote: »

That's excellent.

If people can understand that a mask isn't about protecting you from catching the virus, it's about preventing the mass spreading of it, then maybe it will catch on better.

I think back near the start of all this, i quoted an epidemiologist who said: "Don't behave as if you're afraid of catching it, behave as if you have it and are afraid of passing it on."

Works on every level and for all precautions.

Protests ramping up in America. Beginning to think we're days away from a gunfight erupting at one of these rallies / marches.

UAEguy2020

I don’t think we are a million miles away from the world seeing that we are causing more damage to the public in trying to stop the virus than the virus is causing itself.

UAEguy2020

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

I don’t think we are a million miles away from the world seeing that we are causing more damage to the public in trying to stop the virus than the virus is causing itself.

I agree. Now that we've bought time, might be time to start doing some calculated risks.

UAEguy2020

We need to see that the elderly and people with weak immune systems need to be isolated and the rest need to get back to normal. My fear is the media have the world on a tight leash and all it takes is the world to get back to something close to resembling normality and they will write another piece of scaremongering crap and will have us all spooked back into social isolation again. They themselves are the biggest threat to society at the minute and have no morals what so ever.

errlloyd

Wonder can any of the techies on here help me.

The laptop I use in work is very slow. 4GB Ram, 2.2ghz dual core processor, 128GB SSD. I occasionally have to run pretty large excel models and I do it my gaming PC because this is pain.

Preferably I'd like to turn around and say "this is a complete junkbox can you by any chance get me a better laptop", but the laptop is part of a reasonably well reviewed model range - and while it is quite cheap for a business laptop to whatever higher up purchased it, it probably seems about right.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Notebook-Windows-Graphics/dp/B07DKXHY4V

Anyone here able to guide me on the right language to use when complaining about this?

troyzer

errlloyd wrote: »

Wonder can any of the techies on here help me.

The laptop I use in work is very slow. 4GB Ram, 2.2ghz dual core processor, 128GB SSD. I occasionally have to run pretty large excel models and I do it my gaming PC because this is pain.

Preferably I'd like to turn around and say "this is a complete junkbox can you by any chance get me a better laptop", but the laptop is part of a reasonably well reviewed model range - and while it is quite cheap for a business laptop to whatever higher up purchased it, it probably seems about right.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Notebook-Windows-Graphics/dp/B07DKXHY4V

Anyone here able to guide me on the right language to use when complaining about this?

4GB of RAM just really isn't sufficient.

And an i3 processor isn't suitable for much more than browsing.

The minimum these days is an i5 and 8GB for anything work related with large documents, spreadsheets etc.

OldRio

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

We need to see that the elderly and people with weak immune systems need to be isolated and the rest need to get back to normal. My fear is the media have the world on a tight leash and all it takes is the world to get back to something close to resembling normality and they will write another piece of scaremongering crap and will have us all spooked back into social isolation again. They themselves are the biggest threat to society at the minute and have no morals what so ever.

Deary me. You sound like Trump. ' All the media's fault' . Last thing we need now is to come out of this too early.

UAEguy2020

OldRio wrote: »

Deary me. You sound like Trump. ' All the media's fault' . Last thing we need now is to come out of this too early.

The media lied about the details of a 22 year olds death in the UK just to make it look like COVID19 was the reason...they have absolutely no shame or morals when it comes to reporting.

Squidgy Black

errlloyd wrote: »

Wonder can any of the techies on here help me.

The laptop I use in work is very slow. 4GB Ram, 2.2ghz dual core processor, 128GB SSD. I occasionally have to run pretty large excel models and I do it my gaming PC because this is pain.

Preferably I'd like to turn around and say "this is a complete junkbox can you by any chance get me a better laptop", but the laptop is part of a reasonably well reviewed model range - and while it is quite cheap for a business laptop to whatever higher up purchased it, it probably seems about right.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Notebook-Windows-Graphics/dp/B07DKXHY4V

Anyone here able to guide me on the right language to use when complaining about this?

Your best bet is to just ask your manager to be honest. IT/Procurement/Support won't really care too much about you having issues, and will just clear down cache etc, but if your manager gives you approval to get a better machine it'll go a long way. Get them to send you an email confirming that they sign off on you getting an upgrade and attach that to whatever email or ticket you submit to IT or Procurement or whatever the process is.

I'd just explain to them that your machine keeps crashing and lagging when you have X amount of applications open that are required for Y task, and that it's hindering your productivity.

OldRio

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

The media lied about the details of a 22 year olds death in the UK just to make it look like COVID19 was the reason...they have absolutely no shame or morals when it comes to reporting.

Is that it? You base ' the media have the world on a tight lease' on this?
OK

UAEguy2020

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

We need to see that the elderly and people with weak immune systems need to be isolated and the rest need to get back to normal. My fear is the media have the world on a tight leash and all it takes is the world to get back to something close to resembling normality and they will write another piece of scaremongering crap and will have us all spooked back into social isolation again. They themselves are the biggest threat to society at the minute and have no morals what so ever.

I regret agreeing with you already :pac:

irishbucsfan

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

The media lied about the details of a 22 year olds death in the UK just to make it look like COVID19 was the reason...they have absolutely no shame or morals when it comes to reporting.

You should consider protesting outside The Media’s headquarters

UAEguy2020

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

I don’t think we are a million miles away from the world seeing that we are causing more damage to the public in trying to stop the virus than the virus is causing itself.

I would have a good amount of trust in the chief medical officer and little reason to doubt him. He is well qualified and communicating with a level of detail and transparency that is reassuring.

Both he and the Government will be aware of projections and scenarios as to how any adjustment of restrictions will impact both the country and the economy.

I would be interested to know how well qualified you are and what data you are basing your opinion on to come to the above conclusion.

I'm open to the possibility that you are correct and certainly this sentiment is becoming quite popular online, but I'm yet to see any data which suggests that the damage to life and the economy will be lower if we simply allow the virus to progress through the population.

Should all restrictions be lifted? If not - how much should we lift those restrictions and based on what criteria?

irishbucsfan

errlloyd wrote: »

Wonder can any of the techies on here help me.

The laptop I use in work is very slow. 4GB Ram, 2.2ghz dual core processor, 128GB SSD. I occasionally have to run pretty large excel models and I do it my gaming PC because this is pain.

Preferably I'd like to turn around and say "this is a complete junkbox can you by any chance get me a better laptop", but the laptop is part of a reasonably well reviewed model range - and while it is quite cheap for a business laptop to whatever higher up purchased it, it probably seems about right.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Notebook-Windows-Graphics/dp/B07DKXHY4V

Anyone here able to guide me on the right language to use when complaining about this?

You could probably help your case by opening task manager or whatever windows does be calling it these days and grabbing a screenshot whenever it’s struggling with excel. Not sure if it’s slow because it lacks processing power or because it lacks RAM and is swapping but the last thing you want is for them to placate you by giving you the same thing with 16GB RAM and have it make zero actual difference in practice because it needed a better processor, or vice versa. You’re not going to get another chance after you go through the effort of convincing them you need a new one!

UAEguy2020

OldRio wrote: »

Is that it? You base ' the media have the world on a tight lease' on this?
OK

Oh I have plenty more, I just dont want to totally derail the page. Just tell me you want to hear more and I’ll provide.

UAEguy2020

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I would have a good amount of trust in the chief medical officer and little reason to doubt him. He is well qualified and communicating with a level of detail and transparency that is reassuring.

Both he and the Government will be aware of projections and scenarios as to how any adjustment of restrictions will impact both the country and the economy.

I would be interested to know how well qualified you are and what data you are basing your opinion on to come to the above conclusion.

I'm open to the possibility that you are correct and certainly this sentiment is becoming quite popular online, but I'm yet to see any data which suggests that the damage to life and the economy will be lower if we simply allow the virus to progress through the population.

Should all restrictions be lifted? If not - how much should we lift those restrictions and based on what criteria?

In the end of the day, if we were doing a good job we wouldn’t still be in lockdown.

UAEguy2020

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

In the end of the day, if we were doing a good job we wouldn’t still be in lockdown.

As I said - I was open to the possibility that you were correct, this post has unfortunately dashed that possibility.

Best of luck to you.

Former Former

The next week, and how people react to the prolongation of the lockdown, will tell you everything you need to know about a person.

sydthebeat

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

In the end of the day, if we were doing a good job we wouldn’t still be in lockdown.

we are doing a good job... our testing has increased where, taking countries of over 3 million population, we are number 4 in the world.

behind UAE, Kuwait and Portugal.. with only Portugal being a comparative nation.
UAE are testing everyone in their country for free.

We share a land border with a country whos pandemic response was nothing short of embarrassing.

If we can keep our R0 below 1 and if it takes 2 more weeks to really get it down low and to contain the virus into clusters then so be it.

awec

UAEguy2020 wrote: »

Oh I have plenty more, I just dont want to totally derail the page. Just tell me you want to hear more and I’ll provide.

No you won't. Take your tinfoil hat bollocks somewhere else.

Squidgy Black

I feel like this is somewhat relevant....