Hobby

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Also why does omicron seem to mean the end of COVID in many peoples eyes. ?  Maybe I'm a bit confused about how viruses work but  COVID is still out there especially among the 50% of the unvaccinated world. What is to stop it mutating again into a variant that can beat vaccines similarly to how omicron seems able to do  yet be more deadly than omicron appears to be?

It seems to be what normally happens for it to survive, it doesn't help if it wipes out the hosts, so it normally evolves into a strain which is more dominant over existing strains but doesn't have such devesting effects (i.e. death). That way it survives and so does the host. In answer to your last question see the first bit of the above sentence. 

https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/viruses-and-evolution

44 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

 

Try "Never read the Daily Mail" for a starter... 

Or the Mirror, Guardian, Telegraph, Times, Sun, Independent or any if the others, especially the Express...

Because it takes over from delta as the dominant strain and ousts it and all the other strains. It is what the scientists were predicting last year.

28 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

 join in the carol singing.

Sat on the fence outside?!

I never said it couldn't, but it's not an accurate way of measuring deaths caused by Covid, is it!

48 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

Wolff fears title-deciding crash if F1 fails to learn from Jeddah controversies.

https://www.racefans.net/2021/12/06/wolff-fears-title-deciding-crash-if-f1-fails-to-learn-from-jeddah-controversies/

Sounding a warning shot... Doubt it will be heeded, though...

Yes, because Covid may have no bearing at all on the cause of death.

2 minutes ago, LNERandBR said:

I think the ability to work on cars during Red Flag periods is to allow damage to be repaired.

 

Like if you have a puncture or front wing damage it would be unsafe to allow that car to take the restart.

Agreed, but then if you go from waved yellows to red (did they actually replace the barriers which was the reason for the reds?) then to ensure fairness the positions of the cars should be as they were at the beginning of the yellows to negate what happened yesterday which was clearly unfair on certain drivers and would ensure everyone was able to start on equal footings (or wheels!)... 

Deleted, misread the post.

2 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

Norris slates F1’s “worst rule ever invented” after red flag misfortune.

 

https://www.racefans.net/2021/12/06/free-tyre-changes-under-red-flags-possibly-the-worst-rule-ever-invented-norris/

I think he'll find himself in agreement with Lewis in that!!

1 hour ago, 298 said:

but I do think LH has used up all of his luck, especially with that spicy front wing that gets driven over twice but still manages to win with.

10 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Verstappen doesn't need to finish as long as Hamilton doesn't finish.

I feel we've just seen the tactics Max will use to ensure that outcome as well. As he's suffered no penalties that would deter such driving he won't care.

9 minutes ago, APOLLO said:

Bit more sobering is this report

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/omicrons-spread-across-hotel-hall-in-hong-kong-highlights-transmission-worry

I think we need to calm down and hold back regarding Omicron, I see scare stories all over the press but so far the evidence is that it spreads quicker but is milder. It seems like one of those "Keep calm, and wait for the Science" moments!

10 minutes ago, Neil said:

It's about the best comparison that you'll get.

 

Certainly comparisons within Europe tell us far more than comparisons with the rest of the world

Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to accept them without question, it's accepted that the deaths figure, for example, isn't measured the same way in every country so a straight comparison without any caveat is clearly pushing an "agenda". I still have serious concerns about those straight comparisons like that graph and feel that we cannot use them in the way some people are doing, it's regrettable that there was no set method of measuring the statistics set out at the beginning so everyone was following the same rules. Something more to be taken into account in the future, perhaps?

I'm not sure at all about that second statement, whilst there are many third world countries where the stats will not be all they are supposed to be I feel that there are plenty of other countries outside Europe which will be compatible with us and other European countries.

14 minutes ago, didcot said:

Hopefully the Stewards will give a justifiable and harsh penalty.

Not a chance.

5 minutes ago, ess1uk said:

Insane.

level on points?

Next race Max just needs to take Lewis off and he is champion?

 

As I mentioned earlier. Senna/Prost and Shuey/Hill here we come again.

7 minutes ago, Gareth Collier said:

The race has turned into the farce many expected it to be.

 

Corrected for you.

23 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

I can't see the Kingspan sticker being on the Car today, at least not on Lewis's Car.

Kingspan themselves are distancing themselves from Grenfell as well, they are saying that their product was used without their permission and only in small quantities... But mud sticks.

Probably not, and there is, in theory  places to overtake which is more than Monaco has. But the points being made is that we don't need or want these sorts if circuits if we want proper racing, follow my leader isn't Formula 1, or ant other type of motor sport.

7 minutes ago, Crisis Rail said:

This...

That...

The other....

Thought you'd come across from the "I'm drinking " thread for a minute there! Teme Valley beers

http://temevalleybrewery.com/

12 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

I hope it’s decided on track with them in a fair race. 

That would be a novelty, the more I see of Max's attitude this season the more I'm reminded of the Senna/Prost incident and Shuey/Hill. If they go into the last race with Max slightly ahead i don't think he'll have any worries about deliberately taking both of them out. I can't, however, see Lewis doing the same if he's ahead, though.

Depends how long it lasts, it's the same for the train managers. It's never lasted long enough in the past, though.

3 minutes ago, Not Jeremy said:

I guess I must be the only one who thinks this way.

I think there are several of us who may not be quite so strong in our views as you are but certainly are on the glass half full side of things rather than many people on here's glass half empty!

55 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Those governments that can will be anxious to claim credit or minimise blame soon enough for any unfavourable fallout to settle in advance of facing re-election.

 A certain presidential election early next year will show us that, I suspect!

Haven't a clue, have you asked them? (I'm not their spokesperson, I was just clarifying some misconceptions.)

24 minutes ago, Neil said:

I think it's important to make judgements as we go along.

Nearholmer said " it’s still too early to form a proper judgement of which countries have weathered this best" which is very different to that! Yes we must make judgements as we go along, it's called learning from experience, no-one is disputing that, but what Nearholmer was referring to is making comparisons between how countries have faired before the pandemic has finished. For example we had a very poor start and judged at that point we'd fair badly in any comparison, but then came our funding and development of vaccines which was at completely the opposite end of the scale. As the others have said perhaps best to wait until it's under control and we can then look back and learn from ours and others experiences. Too early to start apportioning blame, though in my mind we should be learning rather than blaming, though many with political motivations will do more of the latter than the former.

1 hour ago, Neil said:

Interesting comparison on Newsnight last night between what we're doing in the UK and the new measures taken in the Republic of Ireland. Discussion starts here at 20.45. I was struck by the perspective offered by the Irish professor of public health systems (25.00 onward) comparing the success of various European countries in dealing with Covid. Probably no surprise that our government is judged to have done particularly badly. 

I've just watched that and agree, he was very scathing of the UK. He kept plugging Finland and Norway despite those countries being very different in make-up to the UK whilst ignoring that his own country (of similar size and make-up to those two) hadn't faired well. I couldn't help feeling that with the amount of vitriol he spouted that there was something more to his tirade, it just seemed totally OTT compared with other scientists I also watched this morning. I just got the impression there was a rather large chip on his shoulder.