I’ll start with a PSA that some might not consider all that “Fun”. But hopefully it’s at least informative. It’s a COVID-19 Risk Calculator.
It’s only takes a minute or two to complete, and I have no idea how accurate it is. Although they do provide a VERY detailed analysis of how they made their calculations. (It is a math site, after all.) And their FAQ section seems very straightforward and informative to me.
I scored a disappointing 53 on mine. But keeping the same parameters except for shaving 15 years off my age, I dropped down to 31. So apparently age is fairly heavily weighted score.
Covid-19 Risk Calculator:
https://19andme.covid19.mathematica.org/
On a lighter note, Davram Stiefler and Jason Selvig decided that with all the Confederate statues being taken down, two prominent contemporary politicians should each actually have new ones raised in their honor. So they took it upon themselves to get the job done.
Your initial shock that the two pols are Donald Trump and Steve King will be leavened by some levity on further inspection.
Did I fail to mention that these are Confederate Monuments? Given their longstanding history of racist bigotry, I guess I just assumed you’d conclude that. Sorry.
Trump’s Confederate Monument is prominently placed near the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain in Central Park. And while the statue is not large (apparently gold is not as cheap as they had hoped), its white marble plinth is quite handsome.
And wanting to reflect the magnitude of Trump’s historical importance by the Monument’s size, I think this picture will provide us with some much-needed perspective:
[Please Note: If you look closely at the second photo, you’ll see it actually sits in the basin of a cement birdbath – so at least it’ll be useful.]
It’s always been a toss-up between Louie “Cast No Aspersions on My Asparagus” Gohmert and Steve “Cantaloupe Calves” King on who is the DUMBEST Representative in Congress. The fact that King lost his primary and will be leaving us soon gave him the boost he needed to edge out Gohmert for the Monument selection.
King’s Confederate Monument sits on its granite plinth in a prominent location: The West Capitol Terrace in front of Iowa’s state capitol in Des Moines.
King’s Monument was the first to be installed back in February. Maybe it was a dry run to see what the two pranksters could get away with. Trump’s didn’t go up until March.
Resource:
BONUS
Before we get too far removed from Trump’s dainty dance sprint down the West Point ramp, I want to share a fun poem by fellow Kossack Runyonr memorializing Trump’s slip-sliding away:
The Penguin Creep
The slippery ramp was long and steep.
So slowly did the Penguin creep
You could tell his health is failing,
Then he complained there was no railing
And nearly fell flat on his ass.
He needs two hands to raise a glass
Because his head cannot tilt back.
There’s clearly something out of whack.
But on one thing he can rely:
That he still has the power to lie.
At that the Penguin is a champ:
That’s what’s slippery, not the ramp.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/6/14/1953120/-The-Penguin-Creep?utm_campaign=recent
10 Responses to “Friday Fun: PSA, Monuments & A Poem”
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Covid19 Risk Calculator:
My result: The risk score for people with similar characteristics and behaviors as you is 37 . Please take the time to review this page to make sure you’re well prepared in the days to come.
dt’s and king’s confederate monument (perspective)….Giggle!
Bonus: omg. Hilarious!!!
Thank you, Nameless! for your post.
Goodness, Nameless, I only got 49 and I can’t believe I’m in better shape than you. I think my county brought me down some. It’s pretty low risk just now. That could change.
These monuments are delicious, but they need to be interactive, like this one.
https://thenib.com/in-memoriam/
There are some very talented Kossacks! And I don’t mean just the professionals (like the many pro cartoonists who are members) – those who are “just people” have all kinds of talent too. This poem is one example out of many – and a darned good one.
Thanks, Nameless!
I scored a 44 in spite of safe practices, because I’m a dead man walking.
A dawg with intestinal disease could create the best Trump* monument.
I have, apparently a 0.006% probability of catching cover-19 via community transmission; my overall score is 41. I must believe that my age, and living in Florida, now, play a role in giving me this score. I am 2 counties north of the Tampa area, and one northwest of Hillsboro county, which have some serious numbers.
The monuments to severe asininity are wonderful!
The poem is a classic.
The Covid19 Risk Calculator doesn’t reach beyond America’s borders, so I couldn’t calculate my risk. Which is pretty low because there have been no new cases in the area for weeks, not because of my great health.
Those Confederate monuments for Trump and King are a hoot. A pity the placards (not the statues) are so small that many people may overlook them in passing. The size of these monuments does both of them justice.
A lovely little poem that does justice to Trump too.
Thanks for a great start of my Saturday, Nameless.
Just to get a rough guess, you might consider using zip code 96720, which is Hilo, Hawaii (on the “big island”) It’s usually pretty warm there, and although you are going into winter, it doesn’t seem to have gotten that cold yet. (If it does get wintry, Fairbanks, AK is 99701) No, it won’t be accurate, but that’s the best I can suggest, just for a rough idea.
I hope that lots of people walk their dogs past the tRump and King monuments – after making sure their pooches drink plenty of water!
Thanks Nameless–I don’t recall if this is the calculator I used a couple months ago (on my old computer that died still awaiting more safety for file and bookmarks transfers) or not. I keep watching the less than consensus on asthma since its impact on the lungs is different than other chronic lung conditions and that it may not add the same kind of risk or not.
My county passed 200 cases more than 24 hrs. ago (about half consistently at Tahoe but the rest of us are growing similarly)–in Mid-May when opening plans submitted, including dine-in waiver, we had less than 40 cases (Mid-May is also when the state added two testing sites-one at Tahoe and one near me). The Harvard data has us at elevated risk -but not one of the hot spot counties in CA yet (19 counties had state changes to original opening plans this week).
The monuments are fun. Read a monument article pointing out that Trump’s border wall, etc., is harming more national monuments than there have been confederate statues removed. And there is a plantation national monument providing accurate history preserving our history.
And the poem has the flavor of many by poet Ogden Nash–thanks!
Covid19 Risk Calculator:My overall score was 39. We continue going up here in San Diego. Try and stay home as much as possible. I Do Practice Social Distancing and wear mask when I go out to grocery story.
Agree with others that the poem does justice to tRump.
As for the monument of tRump, I do hope that people do take their dogs around it like Freya mentioned.
Thanks Nameless
ha, ha, ha, ha….