Off Topic Thread 5.0

Zzippy

FACECUTTR wrote: »

Would you catch many more than that ?

Depends, 10-20 salmon, 50-100 trout in an average year. Lots of anglers would catch significantly more, I don't fish half as much as I'd like.

(I was actually introduced to JW whisky in a fishing lodge in Argentina, just to bring the conversation back to Venjur buying us all uisce beatha)

FACECUTTR

Zzippy wrote: »

Depends, 10-20 salmon, 50-100 trout in an average year. Lots of anglers would catch significantly more, I don't fish half as much as I'd like.

(I was actually introduced to JW whisky in a fishing lodge in Argentina, just to bring the conversation back to Venjur buying us all uisce beatha)

That's fantastic. Wish I could do more myself.
None of that Aldi stuff poured into expensive empty bottles now Venjur !!!

aloooof

Things looking pretty grim in the North, and we're still 9 days from Christmas...

Patients being treated in car park at Antrim hospital

The other day they had ~450 positives out of ~3000 test. That's a significantly higher % than down here.

Former Former Former

aloooof wrote: »

The other day they had ~450 positives out of ~3000 test. That's a significantly higher % than down here.

This is the biggest problem. They're not testing nearly enough people and they're not testing asymptomatic contacts. The official figures are a fraction of the true number.

The WHO says anything over 5% means you're not doing enough tests. We're running at 2.5% which is brilliant. The North is consistently at 15-20%. They're a basket case.

And the power-sharing structure means no-one is calling it out because they're all part of the problem. Absolute lunacy that they're not in full lockdown, and the worst part is we share the most porous border in the world with them, so their incompetence becomes our problem too.

molloyjh

I thought the fact that they were letting people into Ravenhill was madness at the weekend. Looking at those figures it goes way, way beyond madness.

awec

molloyjh wrote: »

I thought the fact that they were letting people into Ravenhill was madness at the weekend. Looking at those figures it goes way, way beyond madness.

Why?

There was only like 500 people, spread out within a big outdoor stadium.

The risk would have been miniscule, almost insignificant. You'd be at more risk going to Tesco.

Buer

Former Former Former wrote: »

. Absolute lunacy that they're not in full lockdown, and the worst part is we share the most porous border in the world with them, so their incompetence becomes our problem too.

It really does put in context our own numbers, to be honest. I think they should be putting the positive spin more forcibly out to the public regarding how well we are performing in relative terms. The public are fatigued with the same release day after day.

At this point in time, in terms of cases per head of population, we are 40th from 48 countries in Europe. Among the countries lower down, there's the Faroe Islands, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Earlier in the year, we repeatedly heard how we weren't performing as well as places like Denmark, Poland, Sweden or Germany. Well, we are now and we've rebuffed the second wave far more effectively than those places. I think the public would take heart from such statistics, helping them to sustain the efforts but they're not really part of the conversation at this point.

awec

awec wrote: »

Why?

There was only like 500 people, spread out within a big outdoor stadium.

The risk would have been miniscule, almost insignificant. You'd be at more risk going to Tesco.

I guess the argument is that one needs to go to tesco, one does not need to go to a match

FACECUTTR

awec wrote: »

Why?

There was only like 500 people, spread out within a big outdoor stadium.

The risk would have been miniscule, almost insignificant. You'd be at more risk going to Tesco.

It is essential to go to tesco for food etc. Its not essential to go watch a game of rugby. This issue in not solely the people spread out in a large stadium but meeting for pints and/or a meal before or after a game. People travelling to games together in vehicles.
If my local hospital was treating people in a car park and there was no lockdown or very little restrictions I would not be happy. It just gives a very poor picture.

thomond2006

awec wrote: »

Why?

There was only like 500 people, spread out within a big outdoor stadium.

The risk would have been miniscule, almost insignificant. You'd be at more risk going to Tesco.

The concern would revolve around how they are travelling to the stadium and congregation outside the ground etc.

Buer

awec wrote: »

Why?

There was only like 500 people, spread out within a big outdoor stadium.

The risk would have been miniscule, almost insignificant. You'd be at more risk going to Tesco.

It's not about 500 people sitting in a stadium. Are they taking 500 cars to get there? Are they all leaving/entering the stadium in a distanced manner etc.

I do agree there's a tiny risk in reality but it's also the knock on impacts involved both in terms of the logistics and also the overall perception of an activity being permitted. If people reckon the stadium can open, people will absolutely reckon they can go to each others houses too.

awec

FACECUTTR wrote: »

It is essential to go to tesco for food etc. Its not essential to go watch a game of rugby. This issue in not solely the people spread out in a large stadium but meeting for pints and/or a meal before or after a game. People travelling to games together in vehicles.
If my local hospital was treating people in a car park and there was no lockdown or very little restrictions I would not be happy. It just gives a very poor picture.

There is a lockdown and restrictions though.

I think, in the grand scheme of things, 500 people at a rugby match is of no consequence whatsoever. I believe sporting events have been allowed very low number of spectactors for a while now, and I am not sure there is any evidence that this sort of thing has led to any cases at all.

CMcsporty

Zzippy wrote: »

It's very nice, yes different, but if I wanted something similar to Midleton I'd buy more Midleton

But its a Scotch:)

Midleton but different could be a Red Spot, a Dingle, a Red Breast 21 all single pots & all quite different

Former Former Former

awec wrote: »

There is a lockdown and restrictions though.

I think, in the grand scheme of things, 500 people at a rugby match is of no consequence whatsoever. I believe sporting events have been allowed very low number of spectactors for a while now, and I am not sure there is any evidence that this sort of thing has led to any cases at all.

There absolutely is not a lockdown in the north.

You can go to a rugby match. You can go to a restaurant or a bar. You can go to mass. The shops are all open.

All the while, Covid rages out of control and the hospitals are about to collapse. And no one really seems to care.

And the plan is to LOOSEN things for Christmas?

Absolute madness.

Squidgy Black

It's more the optics than anything.

Allowing people to attend matches, reopening indoor dining and pubs that serve food, it gives people the impression that things are getting back to normal, and people get back into the swing of things, and complacency kicks in. And that's when people start the household visits, and the family gatherings and so on, and the cases balloon.

molloyjh

Former Former Former wrote: »

There absolutely is not a lockdown in the north.

You can go to a rugby match. You can go to a restaurant or a bar. You can go to mass. The shops are all open.

All the while, Covid rages out of control and the hospitals are about to collapse. And no one really seems to care.

And the plan is to LOOSEN things for Christmas?

Absolute madness.

Add to that the fact that a lot of people were strongly encouraged, near on forced, to go back into the office over the summer.

People being in the stadium isn't an issue. People aren't getting teleported in and out though, with tight controls over how they interact before and after the game.

And it all continues to drive a message contrary to what should be put out there. If you don't need to do something, then don't. This thing is dangerous. Instead its all very weak messaging which will only encourage poor behaviours and attitudes, which will lead to what we are seeing. Big numbers.

Dog Botherer

you lads are mental. we had college football with full crowds and what did it cost? 3,000 dead everyday? pfffft. worth it. pack those ****ers in.

Stheno

Former Former Former wrote: »

There absolutely is not a lockdown in the north.

You can go to a rugby match. You can go to a restaurant or a bar. You can go to mass. The shops are all open.

All the while, Covid rages out of control and the hospitals are about to collapse. And no one really seems to care.

And the plan is to LOOSEN things for Christmas?

Absolute madness.

Didn't they reopen pretty much everything last weekend?

Podge_irl

The Expanse

Zzippy

CMcsporty wrote: »

But its a Scotch:)

Midleton but different could be a Red Spot, a Dingle, a Red Breast 21 all single pots & all quite different

You can enjoy both, you know. I drink whisk(e)y so rarely anyway that a bottle lasts a long time. Except poitin. That stuff is brilliant when you have a bad cold.

MaybeMaybe

I know a good few of you have lived abroad for some time and some still do. How many of you maintained a bank account in Ireland? I still have mine as I like the idea of having something with a 'home' address on it but think it's time to close it.

Yeah_Right

Zzippy wrote: »

Depends, 10-20 salmon, 50-100 trout in an average year. Lots of anglers would catch significantly more, I don't fish half as much as I'd like.

(I was actually introduced to JW whisky in a fishing lodge in Argentina, just to bring the conversation back to Venjur buying us all uisce beatha)

Never done fly fishing. Only boat or surf casting. Don't know if I could do the catch and release thing. Always ate what we caught back home. Unless it was undersize, in which case we put it back.

hahashake

The 6th most Googled search in 2020 was "India vs New Zealand", above "Coronavirus update", "Coronavirus symptoms" and "Joe Biden".

Which definitely confuses most of the world.

swiwi_

MaybeMaybe wrote: »

I know a good few of you have lived abroad for some time and some still do. How many of you maintained a bank account in Ireland? I still have mine as I like the idea of having something with a 'home' address on it but think it's time to close it.

I maintained it. Use the Irish CC whenever we are outside Switzerland and in the EU. If you’re living in the EU itself though, you probably don’t need.

CMcsporty

Zzippy wrote: »

You can enjoy both, you know. I drink whisk(e)y so rarely anyway that a bottle lasts a long time. Except poitin. That stuff is brilliant when you have a bad cold.

Jaysus no! Tipple D or nothing!

I had some poitín once...for medicinal purposes. I was hallucinating during the night! Only had a few measures.

Bazzo

MaybeMaybe wrote: »

I know a good few of you have lived abroad for some time and some still do. How many of you maintained a bank account in Ireland? I still have mine as I like the idea of having something with a 'home' address on it but think it's time to close it.

I still have mine but then again Bank of Ireland have only realised I'm no longer a student in the last 6 months, and are going to move me on to a graduate account next year for 2 years which I gather is essentially the same as a student account, so I'm only paying €30 a year to the government to keep it open. :pac:

I'd probably have kept it anyway though, I'm planning on moving home probably in the next 2-5 years.

MaybeMaybe

Bazzo wrote: »

I still have mine but then again Bank of Ireland have only realised I'm no longer a student in the last 6 months, and are going to move me on to a graduate account next year for 2 years which I gather is essentially the same as a student account, so I'm only paying €30 a year to the government to keep it open. :pac:

I'd probably have kept it anyway though, I'm planning on moving home probably in the next 2-5 years.

I doubt I'd be moving back in that time frame and when they sent out a text today about fees I thought it'd time to let it go.

pickarooney

MaybeMaybe wrote: »

I know a good few of you have lived abroad for some time and some still do. How many of you maintained a bank account in Ireland? I still have mine as I like the idea of having something with a 'home' address on it but think it's time to close it.

I still have mine after 20 years abroad. I use it semi-regularly

Zzippy

CMcsporty wrote: »

Jaysus no! Tipple D or nothing!

I had some poitín once...for medicinal purposes. I was hallucinating during the night! Only had a few measures.

A good drop of it in a hot one with honey and lemon. 10 mins later the sweats start. Have another one. Go to bed, sweat it out. Feel much better the next day. Beats Lemsip!

awec

I've never had poitin. Is it actually legal? Or is the stuff you can buy not really poitin?