We bring you Covid-19 conspiracies, how to earn a free Hyatt night, the latest credit card recommendation flowchart, the 50 best sports documentaries, always the best Covid-19 coverage online, when to travel to Greece, walk the Pacific Crest Trail, solo concerts in empty airports, we mourn together the end of the mini bar era, an amazing must read story about risk, a sad story about QAnon and a lot more!
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I’ll see you Monday. Be excellent to each other. Enjoy the weekend. Wear a mask if you go outside, be respectful.
COVID-19
I think this article puts it all together where we stand in the pandemic crisis: America’s Patchwork Pandemic Is Fraying Even Further. I am not going to excerpt the whole thing here…if there is one Covid-19 pick from today’s batch, this is it, enjoy. Or try not to freak out too much okay?
The coronavirus is coursing through different parts of the U.S. in different ways, making the crisis harder to predict, control, or understand.
We always had conspiracy nuts around us. But with the internet it appears they are recruiting more people who just have way too much time on their hands. People who believe COVID-19 conspiracies have these 7 tendencies. Not sure you can do much to change their minds, it is like being infected and there is no cure, see #6 below lol
1. Contradictory beliefs
2. Overriding suspicion
3. Nefarious intent
4. Conviction something’s wrong
5. Persecuted victim
6. Immunity to evidence
7. Reinterpreting randomness
This is straight from the World Health Organization. Yes, the WHO has problems. Yes it is maybe too friendly with the Chinese. But it is its mission to promote health and protect humanity from viruses like the one that has gone pandemic okay? Myth Busters. Shove this to a conspiracy nut but…see #6 above again, sad!
Let’s talk about donating plasma for Covid-19 patients: Donated Plasma Could Be a ‘Liquid Gold’ Treatment for Coronavirus. So Why Can’t Anyone Get It? Article goes into detail how darn hard it is to do this, wow! Don’t get too excited…with so many promising “cures” out there, it is way too early for any one of them to make it through extensive trials.
One vaccine’s early results made the stock market skyrocket. First Results from Moderna’s Coronavirus Vaccine. This Derek Lowe scientist at Science Magazine appears to know what he is talking about, worth a follow to keep up with coronavirus vaccine and related news. Promising? Yes. Long long way to go? Certainly. What do I think? Does it matter what I think, really? I have no clue about science of this stuff. Anything that dealt with biology, chemistry and physics back in school was despised by your humble blogger, we just did not get along lol. But after seeing some news about how Moderna was planning to sell stock, its very smooth CEO and two extremely cheerful volunteers…I am thinking, are these guys about to pull a Theranos type scam or something? I just have a feeling about it you guys 🙂
I’d characterize today’s results overall as “limited but promising”, and in other words, so far, so good. This is what you’d expect to see from a vaccine that works, and although it looks that way we don’t have enough information yet to quite say that it works, or how well. That is what Phase II and Phase III trials are for, and waiting for those results, from Moderna and from everyone else, will make the latter part of the summer and the fall interesting indeed. Won’t it, now?
We will look back years from now and we will wonder how some were against this. We Should All Be Wearing Cloth Masks, And Here’s Why. Just Wear It!
Must read. You may not like it if you are a Trump fan, you have been warned. Inside Trump’s coronavirus meltdown. As we are approaching 100,000 deaths in the US…My God, what an epic tragedy!
Life has changed. And this is how Reopening looks around the world. Not seeing these scenes here in the US anytime soon. Depends on the next wave(s) I guess…
You knew corona type fashion was coming. Of course we now have all kinds of masks. And now, please sit down, for only $1,095, we have a Full Metal Jacket for you. It is made with 7 miles of copper fiber and kills all viruses. I inquired about an affiliate link from the company. No, I didn’t lol.
MILES & POINTS
HOT CREDIT CARD OFFERS: New: The CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum now offers 70k AA miles. The IHG Rewards Club card offering 140k points too, highest ever. For a standard workhorse card I recommend the 60k Chase Sapphire Preferred card. For a standard premium card I recommend the 50k Chase Sapphire Reserve card. For a standard 2% cash back card I recommend the Citi Double Cash card. Available with my links. Lets move on!
Newbies: This hobby can get addictive, you have been warned. For most of you getting travel rewards credit cards to fly for free minimize traveling costs is not advisable, it is too much work for you and it can be dangerous if you are not very organized or very careful with your money. And remember, the ones who carry balances on their credit cards are the ones actually paying for the rewards for us responsible hobbyists! Having said all that, the bank and travel environment have changed radically in the past several years. And then Covid-19 hit and all travel has essentially stopped. For now. So, after this long intro, I would like you to check out this Card Recommendation Flowchart Covid-19 Edition! Background info on it is on this reddit thread. Enjoy. Any questions please ask in the comments or email. If you decided to apply, try to do it with the links of a blogger you have come to appreciate their work and want them to continue blogging #hint.
I have earned one free night with this, you? The free night promotion you have literally YEARS to complete ….. Hyatt Brand Explorer.
Amex it appears now has a limit of 4 credit cards and 10 charge cards. Because that is what one Amex chat staffer said. I am going to leave it at that and expand on this in the Blog Buzz section below.
There may be a chance to burn some miles to Greece this summer as the Greek government is trying to salvage this year’s tourism season. “Tourist Season Starts June 15” with Hotel Openings and Health Testing. Let’s see what happens. Greeks handled Covid-19 surprisingly well. Are they pushing it now a little too far? I guess time will tell, stay tuned! Here Are the First 20 Countries Allowed to Visit Greece Next Month.
TRAVEL
Let’s not screw around, I see so many bloggers just go on and on like nothing has changed enticing readers to book travel! Travel’s Great Depression Is Here. And it’s grim, too many airlines, too many hotels, too many rental cars, and on and on and on.
Oh no, the end is here. I mean, how can we go on? The end of the mini bar you guys! I can deal with no more pens or notebooks but the mini bar is toooo much. Just kidding of course. More Lysol, No More Pens In Rooms. Hotels Adapt To Win Back Guests.
Yeah, many changes in travel. Way too many airplanes. Many are just parked. But this parking job is a lot more extensive than we all thought: Parking a $375 million airplane takes more than just locking the door.
Wow, really cool video: The Variety of Landscapes You See on the Pacific Crest Trail is Incredible. 2,660 miles and the only marker I saw is #1, coincidence? My fear doing this is I would get lost and there is no way in hell I am sleeping in a tent ever again. Maybe I am spoiled by staying in hotel suites for free? 🙂
This made me emotional. You know I love airports. And live music. Solo for Flute, Airport Terminal and One Listener. I so would love to be the audience in one of these solo concerts! But you know what I would love more? Flying without any fear of viruses!
I have no idea how they did this but it is VERY cool!
Amazing photography at Exploringtheunbeatenpath.
PERSONAL FINANCE
I want you to stop whatever you are doing. And click on this story, it is probably one of the best stories you will read this month: The Three Sides of Risk. This is why this writer has been recommended by me for so long!
ODDZ & ENDZ
My kids belong in Gen Z. On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far. Very interesting findings.
The 50 Best Sports Documentaries. For the record, I am so sick of The Last Dance!
Hope your dad is not like this guy, WTF! My Father, the QAnon Conspiracy Theorist.
This is so much fun! Random Succession Insults.
BLOG BUZZ
We are now entering BLOG BUZZ, a section for advanced hobbyists and veterans of this fast imploding hobby and also a section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life because it helps me feel better about myself.
I want to send my condolences to Scott McCartney of the Wall Street Journal. Scott has been writing ‘The Middle Seat” column for many years. And he recently lost his wife Karen Blumenthal. Karen was a former WSJ Bureau Chief and columnist and author who was liked and respected by all. Her final column before retiring was a gem: Life Can Get Weird When You’re Married To The Middle Seat. I apologize both articles are behind the WSJ paywall. Maybe use google to track them down somehow?
When you don’t have much to blog about these days, bloggers LOVE to do posts on rumors. And of course slide their credit card affiliate links all over these posts. And it is getting worse…
Or when every Saturday (or Sunday) each blogger does a recap post. They do it for the SEO, maybe that should give me a hint? Naaah, I don’t do this here, I want every post to add value to YOU!
RIP AA Legacy Award Calendar, so sad. American Kills Legacy Award Calendar, But There’s Still A Hack To Use It…For Now.
Congrats to Dan of DansDeals, he is a father again for the fourth time!
Just heard this song again after almost 30 years and brought back some memories from my college days I would rather not elaborate here lol.
And I leave you with this…
TBB
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Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Thank you for blogging with your quality content and links! I hope you get to enjoy holiday weekend. Keep in running, you are doing great!
Cheers,
PedroNY
Can’t find the Amex story in Buzz? Did you skip it?
Thanks for the “three sides of risk.” Much to think about.
Agreed. Was a great story, although sad.
At its best, TBB is like the Sunday Times-a day’s worth of great stories you won’t find anywhere else.
This was the best article I’ve read so far that attempted to sift through the psycho QAnon thing. It’s long but worth the effort in my opinion.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/
That was a good read, thanks
@ Bill: Wow, just read it. TBB worthy, must read. So disturbing, had no idea so many dumb phucks are out there, omg!
Who knew saying ‘do your own research’ gives you carte blanche for ridiculous make believe claims?
Lol….yeah, definitely…almost excerpted that exchange! Leading with it on Monday.
Here’s a non-paywalled link to that Scott McCartney column:
http://archive.is/Ihv0F
It is regrettable (if understandable) how hope for a vaccine or effective prophylactic/theraputic has colored so much of the coverage of Gilead’s Remdesivir and Moderna’s vaccine trial. In less desperate times neither company would have been able to generate such frenzy, and produce massive increases in equity price, merely on the basis of a press release. Neither company has released any data whatsoever on their trials, much less a partial or full report for peer review. It’s been over three weeks since the Remdesivir press release, and still no data from Gilead. Lets hope its not another overhyped drug like Tamiflu turned out to be. And Moderna has yet to produce a single drug that has made it to market! Of course Trump’s new vaccine czar was on the board of Moderna, and waited until several days after the press release, while the share price was skyrocketing, before announcing that he would divest his shares to avoid a conflict of interest!
Wow, extra big number of tabs open by the time I got to the end of the post! Always more good stuff. Thanks, George! Keep on runnin’!
@ PedroNY: Always nice to hear from you, thank you. Have a great weekend, it is raining here but it is supposed to get much better tomorrow!
@Oliver2002: I had more but I just cut it off at…rumor blah blah.
@DML and Josh: I kept reading and hoping the ending would be different…even though knowing that it would not be. Still, a great story and lesson about risk too.
@Sam: Oh man, thanks a lot. I dedicate the 33 cents the blog made yesterday to you! 🙂
@Bill: Added it to the queue, thanks. Yeah, “psycho QAnon thing”, you nailed it!
@Nick @ PFD: Link is not working for me, maybe it is me (or more specifically, my brower or my VPN or my antivirus software). No big deal, thanks.
@msmcmotown: Great points…and yes, the vaccine czar, yep, that was a big reason I phrased everything the way I did.
@ Carl: Thanks a lot. Keep on runnin and bloggin 🙂
Thanks George, entering 6 player mode now.
You’ve got some catching up to do!
Man, not even one person in my family reads my blog so I can assure you…I will never catch up to you.
Enjoy the baby…looking back, I am glad I am all done with that phase of my life but, at the same time, I wish I could do it all over again. Just yesterday my son beat me in one one one basketball 11-9…I used to always let him almost win every time when he was a kid before I came roaring back…and he hated it…and when he does this to you years later it feels…humbling lol.
Congrats again.
For all you coastal elites in high cost of living areas, check out what a half million gets you in Nicaragua (marked down from $1.2 million):
http://discoversjds.com/property/pelicaneyes-resort-villa/
How come no actual photos of the inside? 🙂 Does it come with Ortega lawn crew? 🙂
Boom!
Gilead’s data was just published in NEJM.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa2007764?articleTools=true
Remdesivir had no benefit in patients on mechanical ventilation or ECMO.
Should have been disclosed in the press release so that limited drug supply wouldn’t have been wasted on those patients.
That’s how you do great press releases!
When will we see links to Sarah Cooper here? “ I tested very positively”
https://twitter.com/sarahcpr/status/1263602255476985862?s=21
Meanwhile Moderna’s leadership is acting like it’s a penny stock (at $30B valuation),
“ Moderna unveiled encouraging coronavirus vaccine results. Then top execs dumped nearly $30 million of stock”
Let’s go Martha Stewart on these jokers.
I think we are going to see a lot more of this, sad!
It’s starting…. this will not be a quick return to the pre-CoViD days.
“Facebook will require employees who are approved to work remotely to state where they plan to base themselves to adjust their salaries to reflect the local cost of living “
Son was all like…oh yeah, I can start traveling and working around the world…Well, nope…quickly came down to reality.
Did you catch the “there will be severe consequences if employees will not be working from the places they declared”…
I can see many moving to Hawaii until this is over. FB should be paying a handsome salary there. And it’s only 14 days in quarantine.
CBoardingGroup on Boarding Area giving Dan a run for his money:
“Huge Memorial Day Sales on Mattresses – you’re gonna want to see these”
https://cboardinggroup.com/huge-memorial-day-sales-on-mattresses
There could be similar posts up there, but as usual – when you look at BA from the UK – nine of the articles are not actually in English …..
Never heard of this blog…thanks for letting me know it exists 🙂