Off Topic Thread 5.0

Got a trial of Star Wars Squadrons through origin access.

I quite like it. Loved the old xwing / tie fighter games and this feels like a good modern iteration.

molloyjh

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Got a trial of Star Wars Squadrons through origin access.

I quite like it. Loved the old xwing / tie fighter games and this feels like a good modern iteration.

Looks like a proper successor to those classics. Haven't been interested in gaming in years. This would make me consider getting a new console and VR gear. Those old X-Wing games were class. How close is it to those games?

Dave_The_Sheep

It's focused on the multiplayer, by all accounts - the campaign is supposedly a bit of a tutorial for multiplayer and not really anything to write home about story wise. So I've read anyway, I've not played.

molloyjh

molloyjh wrote: »

Looks like a proper successor to those classics. Haven't been interested in gaming in years. This would make me consider getting a new console and VR gear. Those old X-Wing games were class. How close is it to those games?

In an X-Wing you can rotate shields, direct power to engines, guns or shields and you can change your loadouts so it's very faithful from a cockpit control perspectove.

The fact that guns aren't on gimbals and you need to properly dogfight is the big thing for me. Might get a joystick tbh - so far it's good enough to warrant it.

Zzippy

The rollercoaster heads for Level 5.... Better order a few cases of beer and bog roll...

If we go back to level 5 that will be it for a lot of businesses. The consequences from here are quite worrying.

If it's the right thing to do then that's what should happen - but it's going to make things very hard and I suspect we're talking about most of winter here.

Feck.

Squidgy Black

Can't imagine what it must be like for anyone who owns a restaurant or a pub etc. Getting shut down overnight for several weeks, with a load of perishable goods you've already paid for, and having to deal with the sheer nightmare of payroll as a result.

I know a lot of this is reactionary stuff and sort of has to be done on that basis due to case numbers and hospitalisations etc, but it just seems like there's no forward planning at all.

errlloyd

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Got a trial of Star Wars Squadrons through origin access.

I quite like it. Loved the old xwing / tie fighter games and this feels like a good modern iteration.

If it's multi only I'll probably get it if you wanna lobby up.

Neil3030

Getting very nerdy in here...

Anyone want to talk about linux or vim?

b.gud

Neil3030 wrote: »

Getting very nerdy in here...

Anyone want to talk about linux or vim?

Vim is for noobs people who really know what they are at use emacs

b.gud

Zzippy wrote: »

The rollercoaster heads for Level 5.... Better order a few cases of beer and bog roll...

I reckon that we won't go to level 5 the govt know they can't go to that level again for the sake of the economy. In fact I reckon that if they do go to a countrywide lockdown it won't actually be any of the predefined levels and instead will be some hybrid. I think when they defined those levels they had imagined that it 2ould need to apply level 4/5 to the whole country but instead just to the odd county here and there

errlloyd

errlloyd wrote: »

If it's multi only I'll probably get it if you wanna lobby up.

I'd be up for that - tried some of the coop and it's pretty solid.

b.gud wrote: »

I reckon that we won't go to level 5 the govt know they can't go to that level again for the sake of the economy. In fact I reckon that if they do go to a countrywide lockdown it won't actually be any of the predefined levels and instead will be some hybrid. I think when they defined those levels they had imagined that it 2ould need to apply level 4/5 to the whole country but instead just to the odd county here and there

Hard to know what will happen. Straight to level 5 will be a pretty drastic change for most of the country to be honest.

Speaking to the neighbours this morning and the sentiment seems to be that this is a warning shot but I don't think nphet operates like that. I suspect they are looking at numbers and concluding that a full 4 week lockdown will give back some level of control before Winter.

It's going to put a serious hurt on the economy but if it's needed to stop the Hospitals getting overwhelmed then there is no avoiding it.

kuang1

b.gud wrote: »

I reckon that we won't go to level 5 the govt know they can't go to that level again for the sake of the economy. In fact I reckon that if they do go to a countrywide lockdown it won't actually be any of the predefined levels and instead will be some hybrid. I think when they defined those levels they had imagined that it 2ould need to apply level 4/5 to the whole country but instead just to the odd county here and there

Level 5 isn't total lockdown though? It shuts every pub and restaurant, stops all kinds of gatherings etc, but schools stay open. Hairdressers stay open even to the best of my understanding.
Pretty much kills all type of socialising.

awec

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd be up for that - tried some of the coop and it's pretty solid.



Hard to know what will happen. Straight to level 5 will be a pretty drastic change for most of the country to be honest.

Speaking to the neighbours this morning and the sentiment seems to be that this is a warning shot but I don't think nphet operates like that. I suspect they are looking at numbers and concluding that a full 4 week lockdown will give back some level of control before Winter.

It's going to put a serious hurt on the economy but if it's needed to stop the Hospitals getting overwhelmed then there is no avoiding it.

If I remember right, while the number of cases is going up sharply, the number of hospitalisations is nothing like what we saw in March, it's a tiny fraction of it.

awec

awec wrote: »

If I remember right, while the number of cases is going up sharply, the number of hospitalisations is nothing like what we saw in March, it's a tiny fraction of it.

Hospitalisations actually fell last week if I recall correctly.

That is largely down to the demographics being impacted though and those in risk categories are likely already taking extra measures themselves.

At a certain point however the spread of the virus will be such that vulnerable groups will overlap more with infected groups and we could very suddenly be in trouble. I suspect there is also a spike coming from the schools opening up.

aloooof

awec wrote: »

If I remember right, while the number of cases is going up sharply, the number of hospitalisations is nothing like what we saw in March, it's a tiny fraction of it.

Equally tho, the hospital capacity is also lower than it was in March as they're trying to keep other non-Covid operations open now too.

I wonder is it some effort to get a reduced level over the next number of weeks so that Christmas can go ahead in some form or other.

kuang1

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I suspect there is also a spike coming from the schools opening up.

I absolutely don't.

3rd level returning yes, but schools no.

sydthebeat

It's purely a management issue that NPHET is trying to solve.

There is such a backlog of appointments / consultations / procedures that they are afraid of a covid upsurge to the point that hospitals cannot cope with both covid and regular.

Well sorry, but how much of the back log have you been clearing through for the last four months where covid hospitalisations have been miniscule? What effort have you made to turn the elective sector of the HSE to 24 hour to clear this backlog? How much extra staff training and recruitment have you done in preparation of this?

It is about time that NPHET and the government start treating us like grown ups and give us the analytics of these recommendations, the syntheses of actions and the clear plan for the short term future.

When we, the people, have this information, we can voice to the government whether we agree or not.

At the moment, there is very very little appetite out there to comply with further restrictions and the conspiracy theorists are having a field day in this vacuum of information

kuang1

kuang1 wrote: »

I absolutely don't.

3rd level returning yes, but schools no.

A high percentage of cases in the UK last week are attributed to schools outside of 3rd level which suggests to me that we could see similar here.

The only definite is that there is something in the modelling which has concerned NPHET.

sydthebeat

sydthebeat wrote: »

There is such a backlog of appointments / consultations / procedures that they are afraid of a covid upsurge to the point that hospitals cannot cope with both covid and regular.

I can only speak anecdotally on this but I'm led to believe the lists have been huge in all the hospitals in an effort to clear as many procedures as possible.

People I know who would rarely be kept back when on call have been consistently kept back since theatres reopened.

kuang1

[Deleted User] wrote: »

A high percentage of cases in the UK last week are attributed to schools outside of 3rd level which suggests to me that we could see similar here.

The only definite is that there is something in the modelling which has concerned NPHET.

From the guardian 3 days ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/covid-cases-among-secondary-school-aged-children-rise-in-england

Prof Russell Viner, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, who attends meetings of Sage...
... He said school outbreaks should also be put in perspective. “The evidence suggests that transmission in schools is very limited, even in secondary schools,” adding that “it is likely that much of the transmission among groups of young people may be outside school settings, as we really have limited evidence of transmission within schools”

It's not just children's mental health that's behind the rationale of keeping schools open in level 5.

sydthebeat

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can only speak anecdotally on this but I'm led to believe the lists have been huge in all the hospitals in an effort to clear as many procedures as possible.

People I know who would rarely be kept back when on call have been consistently kept back since theatres reopened.

Great.
But maybe NPHET need a politician type on board to direct them to share that type of info, so that the public are informed.

kuang1

sydthebeat wrote: »

It is about time that NPHET and the government start treating us like grown ups and give us the analytics of these recommendations, the syntheses of actions and the clear plan for the short term future.

This. This. This.

1000% this.

Bazzo

kuang1 wrote: »

Level 5 isn't total lockdown though? It shuts every pub and restaurant, stops all kinds of gatherings etc, but schools stay open. Hairdressers stay open even to the best of my understanding.
Pretty much kills all type of socialising.

It's pretty damn close. All non essential retail has to close and it specifically lists barbers as an example. You can only leave your home to go shopping or exercise within 5km of your house. You have to work from home unless it's an essential service.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/2dc71-level-5/

awec

If they do roll out stricter measures tomorrow nation-wide, it better come with specific reasoning, and not just a vague "very concerning numbers". I really do think people are fed up at this stage, not with the fact that we haven't beaten this virus, but with what seems to be a pretty haphazard approach to dealing with it. If there is another strict lockdown then many small businesses are finished. There may not be a vaccine for this for years, we cannot keep shutting up shop every time numbers trend upward.

And if we do go to level 5 there is not a chance the teachers unions won't be up in arms if they're expected to keep working.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Hospitalisations actually fell last week if I recall correctly.

That is largely down to the demographics being impacted though and those in risk categories are likely already taking extra measures themselves.

At a certain point however the spread of the virus will be such that vulnerable groups will overlap more with infected groups and we could very suddenly be in trouble. I suspect there is also a spike coming from the schools opening up.

Hospitalisations were around 20% at the peak, they've stabilised at around 3% now. I suspect this is because of how we tested. Back in March the advise was to stay at home unless your symptoms were very bad so we had a lot less confirmed cases.

b.gud

kuang1 wrote: »

Level 5 isn't total lockdown though? It shuts every pub and restaurant, stops all kinds of gatherings etc, but schools stay open. Hairdressers stay open even to the best of my understanding.
Pretty much kills all type of socialising.

Level 5 may not be complete lockdown but it's not far off it. I went looking last night what the different levels meant and the way I read it means that hairdressers etc actually close at level 4, unless they are based outdoors which is unlikely. Of course I may be interpreting this wrong so I have left the quote below

Level 4 wrote:

Retail and services (for example: hairdressers, beauticians, barbers)
Face coverings must be worn.

Essential retail and businesses that are primarily outdoors only can remain open. All other retail and personal services closed.

awec wrote: »

And if we do go to level 5 there is not a chance the teachers unions won't be up in arms if they're expected to keep working.

They may be up in arms but I suspect they will be hard pressed to get much sympathy from the general public. I recall a lot of ill will towards them coming towards the end of lockdown that they were still getting paid full wack and sitting at home relaxing, not necessarily my view just the sentiment I heard. It would also be very hard for them to argue that they shouldn't be going to work when shop workers who get paid a fraction of what they do are expected to go in to work and interact with 100s of people each day. I'm not saying I agree with this, it is very hard to be a teacher and I'm sure a lot of them have genuine concerns about going into work in the current environment. But there is certainly a sentiment out there that the teachers should just get on with it like most other people have to

sydthebeat

sydthebeat wrote: »

Great.
But maybe NPHET need a politician type on board to direct them to share that type of info, so that the public are informed.

kuang1 wrote: »

This. This. This.

1000% this.

I haven't been watching all the briefings but early on they did discuss this as surgical theatres closed and in June they discussed the gradual reopening of theatres.

Tallaght hospital is closing theatres again in anticipation of a surge of cases so there is definitely concern.

I'm not inclined to defend the Government tbh, since FF took over the communication to the public has deteriorated substantially, but a lot of the information you are talking about is available online. The HSE has a status page for all the major hospitals here including what they are admitting: https://www2.hse.ie/services/hospital-service-disruptions/hospital-service-disruptions-covid19.html

I think NPHET have been left to independently report for the most part which is better in my opinion to the politicised approach in the UK.

kuang1

kuang1 wrote: »

From the guardian 3 days ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/covid-cases-among-secondary-school-aged-children-rise-in-england



It's not just children's mental health that's behind the rationale of keeping schools open in level 5.

I don't think they should close schools. Level 5 doesn't automatically mean schools close albeit the teaching unions might have something to say about that.

I think everything else should be closed before Schools which is largely what level 5 means.

And school transmission is far from a non issue: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/covid-19-may-spread-more-easily-in-schools-than-thought-us-report-warns-1.4323634

kuang1

Bazzo wrote: »

It's pretty damn close. All non essential retail has to close and it specifically lists barbers as an example. You can only leave your home to go shopping or exercise within 5km of your house. You have to work from home unless it's an essential service.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/2dc71-level-5/

Yes was definitely on the wrong track about hairdressers.

I think that they need to be a lot more detailed in their restrictions in relation to certain industries though.
It should all be evidence based of course.

For example if physio clinics have not been found to be a source of spread, then add caveats.
Then say "all non essential services are to close with the following exceptions:" and list off services that can continue to operate.

(I've no idea whether or not physio clinics or hairdresser salons have been responsible for any clusters or spread btw. Just examples of people who could be particularly peeved if they were told to shut tomorrow.)