Off Topic Thread 4.0

Stheno wrote: »

Excuse the stupid question I've done a little reading and so far my understanding is that the high volumes of oxygen due to ventilation are actually counterproductive as the lungs are so blocked they cant cope with the volume

Is that correct?

I'm afraid I'm not qualified to answer your (totally not stupid) question! You're talking about oxygen toxicity? Maybe Jaco can weigh in on that?

Haircut scheduled Wednesday. Or more like a shearing appt.

I think you could well knit a woolen jersey.

This is one nasty bastard of a disease. Mark Channon was head of IT for ITV. Yes, was.

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

it actually doesn't look totally sh*t.

I can't help but read that and hear Ron Howard's voice in my head say: "It did".

Bazzo wrote: »

He's absolutely incapable of not publicly making a fool of himself for even a short few days.

https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1254488202305552385

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1254544354603143168

Deleted User wrote: »

I said it earlier in the thread but I think he has legitimately damaged the brand in a meaningful way this time. Don't get me wrong - he has debased himself plenty of times before but this was an astonishingly simple minded suggestion worsened by his very transparent and quite pathetic excuse making afterwards.

His polling is deteriorating and the coverage he typically enjoys is definitely a liability right now hence him stepping back. I cast an eye on Fox news the odd time and it's like he doesn't exist the last few days - virtually no Trump content anywhere.

Populism is great until you lose the audience and then they turn on you. A few months ago he was looking at contesting the election against Sanders and his 'socialist' platform against a strong US economy. Now the economy is in tatters and Biden was part of the Obama ticket that led the US out of the 2008 crisis.

American politics seems to follow a logic that I quite clearly don't understand but I think he's quite damaged now and will struggle.

aloooof wrote: »

I don't think his ego will allow him to disappear for a few months, tho.

He obviously has a litany of blunders and worse in the past that he seemed to get away with. But this feels different. He's seems to have gotten much more erratic.

The "the germ has gotten more brilliant" rant was bizarre. The hushed tones of the "Hydroxy... [long pause]... chlorquin" recommendation was scary. And the disinfectant suggestion was heroically stupid and dangerous.

If this doesn't affect his numbers, I honestly don't know what will.

Can probably take all these together as they echo similar sentiments.

Main issues - (1) how much damage is he doing to himself right now and (2) can he step away?

In reverse order, I agree with you all that he likely can't stay away for long. He needs the back and forth, as his ability to feign emotion and be charismatic when reading speeches is null. So either the energy of a live crowd of supporters, or the ire of baffled reporters - both bring out his strongest qualities, or at least, those which most effectively stir his base.

This brings us back to point (1). His base will be loyal throughout this entire fiasco. I don't know how many republicans people interact with, but any I have spoken to fall into two camps - the "what abouts" and the "I know buts". The "what abouts" (i.e., "what about her emails", "what about Biden's allegations") tend to be the more partisan and emotional. You may think that this group is largely comprised of the "red pill" types who have been hypnotised into thinking Hillary was the capo of some globalist goon squad, and some obviously are. But my experience is that this group is instead bound to family loyalty and their identity as being a bit more country or traditional. These people who grew up only knowing one team to vote for, never really thought about politics too much, and just go with tradition. For similar reasons you see newer political parties in Ireland struggling for votes outside of big cities (e.g., Labour Party).

The other group, the "I know buts" (i.e., "I know he's an idiot, he should talk less, but I agree with his policies) are more pragmatic. These folks tend to cover a broader range of backgrounds, depending on the issue they primarily vote on - whether it's God, guns, immigration or taxes. These people at least know Trump is a clown, but they don't care, as long as he looks out for their primary interest. And as much as we (i.e., primarily liberal leaning people) focus on things he says, it's what he has done that preserves support amongst these republican voters - conservative judges on the SCOTUS, tax cuts, and numerous direct actions against abortions.

The opinion poll data will be telling over the next few weeks. On the 538's aggregation timeline, He has trended down since the beginning of April, dropping approximately 2.5 points. He has recovered from similar or even bigger dips several times in the course of his presidency. If he continues trending to nearer or below the 40% approval mark, I reckon he's in serious trouble. But otherwise, with more than six months until the election, and every likelihood the USA economy recovers strongly in the interim, I'm still on the fence as to how much damage any meltdowns, right now, are doing to Trump.

Anyone else having trouble with Virgin Media? Mines been on and off since around 5, was great that it dropped out earlier so I could finish up work early, but now that I'm sitting here realising I've nothing else to do after work it's starting to píss me off....

Herself wanted to watch Normal People so we are now 20 minutes through the first episode.

What a steaming pile of horse shìte.

pickarooney wrote: »

Really? I might suggest something else instead of it so.

I've actually left the living room to play connect 4 with the youngest one in the kitchen.
2 school kids wistfully talking shìte to each other. Not for me.

DGRulz wrote: »

Anyone here with Virgin for mobile? Just realised my deal with 3 is up in the next day or 2 and theres a queue to get into my 3. I see VM has a mobile deal for €15/m for 12 months unlimited calls/text/data which is what I've been on with 3 for the last year but their site is only offering that for 6 months now. Any other good SIM only deals floating around?

GoMo, which is an Eir/Meteor spinoff, offering all calls and texts for €12.99 a month for life. And no contract. If you'd signed up before 18th January it was €9.99/mo.