Covid

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

So now the PM and all the experts have said the AZ vaccine is ok, and shortages won't affect the roadmap the media will now shut up about it, right, no chance.

And I wish Boris would shut down those idiots that want to turn the Covid briefing into PM question time. My view of the media has plummeted over the last 12 months, the BBC in particular i must say.

Bill D.

[HOWARDTParticipant @howardt]

I always switch off when they start asking questions, they always seem to ask what is already in the public domain.

[Pete.Participant @pete-2]

I haven't watched the news once over the past 12 months, just unavoidable news on my email provider, and youtube, if you stop watching it, life goes back to normal.

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

For the media Covid is the gift that keeps giving, I think we are all sick of hearing the same old same old stuff day after day, I now avoid the news if at all possible.

Tony

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Keep missing the weather this year because I avoid the news

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Ady1 The weather still happens. Isn't it a good job nobody can do anything about it?

Roy

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by roy entwistle on 18/03/2021 19:56:06:

The weather still happens. Isn't it a good job nobody can do anything about it?

Are you sure? We must have an immediate public enquiry so we can find someone to blame. The weather has been far better in Australia so the UK has been slow to order our share of global warming, although they sometimes let it get too hot in Sydney so clearly we should have ordered the New Zealand weather.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Surely the best way to deal with unpleasant realities is to analyse the evidence and do somethig? Pretending it's not happening rarely works out well. Can't believe you chaps are are the sort who would fix a red oil warning light by removing the bulb!

And although putting one's head in the sand is a great comfort, it does leave the rear end terribly exposed…

Dave

[SteviegtrParticipant @steviegtr]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 18/03/2021 20:23:27:

Surely the best way to deal with unpleasant realities is to analyse the evidence and do somethig? Pretending it's not happening rarely works out well. Can't believe you chaps are are the sort who would fix a red oil warning light by removing the bulb!

And although putting one's head in the sand is a great comfort, it does leave the rear end terribly exposed…

Dave

+1

Steve.

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

The problem is, as far as I can see, all we are getting is the same tired old mantra repeated as often as it can be broadcast and after a while I certainly found it somewhat boring. Now that does not mean that I am pretending that it isn't happening, just that I don't want it thrust into my eyes and ears ad nauseam. It's quite obvious that Covid 19 hasn't finished with us, witness the continental countries, but all I want is to know about changes that affect us, not repeats, repeats, repeats.

As far as analysing something, the Covid -19 stats in this instance, I do not have the ability to be able to analyse it properly: that, after all, is the province of those highly paid people paid by us, the tax-payer.

Finally, one thing that always concerns me is the number of people claiming to know better than those paid experts. If those "know-alls" are so clever, why aren't they offering their services to HMG?

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

Absolutely agree with all the above, I keep saying I am going to stop watching the news but keep coming back for more. The fact is all these media people are just keeping themselves in a job. Never used to have much sympathy for politicians but I bet all the media people go home at night and secretly think thank god it's not me in that position, having all the armchair experts grill me on whatever decision I make. Many of these media people being very highly paid, probably more than ministers. Authority without responsibility and hundreds of grand a year to do it.

That's it for me now chaps now I've got that off my chest. Got too much to worry about getting my boiler finished (Emma Victoria) as in a recent article in ME mag, if I made another loco it wouldn't include the boiler!!

Stay safe

Bill D.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by Pete. on 18/03/2021 18:42:48:

just unavoidable news on my email provider, and youtube,

Can't understand this. I've never had an email about the news from my work or private email accounts nor had youtube unexpectedly thrust upon me (one reason I go on about people on here putting up a link with no explanation of its content)

Meanwhile wrt comments on politicians above the whining of the opposition in the UK is as far as I can tell exactly the same in Oz, but here it is a conservative government and there it is labour. Every government does the best it can but it just seems opposition parties like the media (printed, broadcast, social) are intent on cashing in on the opportunity for self agrandisment regardless of the consequences.

[Pete.Participant @pete-2]

Posted by Bazyle on 18/03/2021 23:27:15:

Posted by Pete. on 18/03/2021 18:42:48:

just unavoidable news on my email provider, and youtube,

Can't understand this. I've never had an email about the news from my work or private email accounts nor had youtube unexpectedly thrust upon me (one reason I go on about people on here putting up a link with no explanation of its content)

Meanwhile wrt comments on politicians above the whining of the opposition in the UK is as far as I can tell exactly the same in Oz, but here it is a conservative government and there it is labour. Every government does the best it can but it just seems opposition parties like the media (printed, broadcast, social) are intent on cashing in on the opportunity for self agrandisment regardless of the consequences.

My email provider is aol, every time I click on the aol app, it takes me to their homepage, where it assumes I need to know what President Trump tweeted, when where and why, and how it's going start WW3.

Don't worry Bazzle, I do my best to ignore this also, I peak through my fingers until I'm in the mail part 

 

Edited By Pete. on 19/03/2021 00:20:17

[Pete.Participant @pete-2]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 18/03/2021 20:23:27:

Surely the best way to deal with unpleasant realities is to analyse the evidence and do somethig? Pretending it's not happening rarely works out well. Can't believe you chaps are are the sort who would fix a red oil warning light by removing the bulb!

And although putting one's head in the sand is a great comfort, it does leave the rear end terribly exposed…

Dave

What unpleasant realities?

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Posted by roy entwistle on 18/03/2021 19:56:06:

Ady1 The weather still happens. Isn't it a good job nobody can do anything about it?

Roy

When my children were small the village vicar had an annual children’s tea party in the vicarage garden, somehow the weather was always perfect, the suspicion was he was better connected than most people.

Mike

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Peter G. Shaw on 18/03/2021 21:28:41:

Finally, one thing that always concerns me is the number of people claiming to know better than those paid experts. If those "know-alls" are so clever, why aren't they offering their services to HMG?

The trouble is that a lot of them are in government! That's certainly the case here in France, they've been totally ignoring the experts and as a result we have the highest infection rate in Europe.

Russell

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Covid flu is here to stay and we've just got to get on with it

…just like the last 100,000 years of human existence

They keep babbling about Brazil… but we've got a higher death rate per head

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 18/03/2021 20:23:27:

. Can't believe you chaps are are the sort who would fix a red oil warning light by removing the bulb!

And although putting one's head in the sand is a great comfort, it does leave the rear end terribly exposed…

Dave

How offensive, an engineer would remove the wire from the oil pressure sensor, but that would affect the green light the red one says the generator isn't charging

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

The media thrives and relies upon bad news to keep your attention, buying tomorrow's newspaper and/or switching tv on. They've had it made in recent years, with Brexit being flogged to death now its Covids turn.

Stop paying for a worthless TV licence, pull the plug and bugger off down the workshop!

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Oh dear, the needle on my 'politicometer' is starting to twitch…

Neil

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

I'm just glad that now we can go back to getting our up-to-the-minute, well-informed advice from Bloke In Pub again – oh, wait – he's still outside…

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 14/04/2021 17:18:20:

Oh dear, the needle on my 'politicometer' is starting to twitch…

Neil

Your meter is obviously not as sensitive as mine which has already swung to the delete reading once today

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I get my second dose of Pfizer next week, I was happy to get any brand going, they are all better than the possible alternative.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

We should receive our second dose this month. I watch the daily corona virus reports – but treat them with the caution they deserve.

The daily reports tell us how many areas are showing rising cases – without any relation to common sense. If an area shows the smallest insignificant rise, it is reported among those headline claims. Rates are often reported to 3 decimal places which is, frankly, ridiculous. Significance, expected variance in results and plain luck can make individual results meaningless. What we need is the trends over longer periods than just a day or week.

If the case numbers were high, but levelled out, I would expect nearly 50% rising and about the same amount falling. Today the headline report on aol was of ‘ covid cases still rising in 40 local areas in England. Totally meaningless and misleading.

If the case rates are very low and level, I might expect many more areas remaining constant, but the risers and fallers changing by perhaps only a few points.

Further, the vaunted ‘R’ value is shown to be fairly useless – except for headlines. If cases are high or low, the ‘R’ value can be exactly the same but mean greatly differing infection rates in new numbers of infections per 100,000 of the population. The ‘R’ rate can jump considerably with the odd extra one or two infections in a low infection area – possibly just a hiccup in reporting some cases within the wrong time frame.

Lies, damn lies and statistics is the thing to watch for, with media reports.

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