CovidStruck


Posted On: Saturday - October 24th 2020 9:23PM MST
In Topics: 
  General Stupidity



I'd almost forgotten about writing this post, taken now from thoughts of mine a few months ago while staying out of town a night. I think it was the middle of August, as the Kung Flu Infotainment Panic-Fest, Season 2 was already well in progress.

I was staying downtown in this medium-sized Capital City (won't say which, so speculate at will). During lunch time, I wandered around the small walkable district. That's the new thing you'll see a lot in most cities, often by the riverfront if there is one, these blocked-off for vehicles couple of blocks or so, with tables outside and lots of food around. It had to be pizza, for me.

Well, right there was this non-chain-store pizza jernt (that's the way people who do know their pizza pronounce it) serving that NY style pizza by the slice. That is the thin kind, not that greasy Chicago style stuff. Hey, we at Peak Stupidity have almost nothing good to say about NY City, but we make an exception for pizza. Hell, even the Italians are pikers compared to the pizza-makers in New York.

There was even a Southern-Euro looking/sounding guy running the place. Now, I'm not one of those Foodies who wants massive immigration just for the food. I'll eat cans of Chef Boyardee and Dominos behind a secure border any day instead.

The guy was there though, so it had to be good, I figured. He and his employees wore masks behind the counter, and a sign told the customers at the counter to do so. I and another customer simply did not do so. We got no grief. The problem in the place was the couple of big TV's. This was a small jernt, and I just didn't need that crap. The place had that neat Italian Restaurant atmosphere, cool and dark, with those red and white table cloths. I could have been in Moonstruck even, had I simply picked up a hooker that looked like Cher, well about 33 years ago Cher. The TV's ruined it.

Since the place was fairly empty, I wanted to ask the guy if I could turn off a TV or two. However, with the noise back there "one slica pep! no Coke, Pepsi!" and all that, and the stupid masks and accents that made it hard to understand anyone, I gave up and took the two slices to go. No drink, no tip, no atmosphere. The pizza wasn't all that great either.

What's the point of this one? I don't know, really, this Kung Flu PanicFest is causing a failure to communicate and taking the joy out of things. (I was just watching the Tom Woods video presented by Mr. Hail. He's talking about this taking the joy out business. It's a powerful talk.)

Comments:
MBlanc46
Monday - October 26th 2020 11:10AM MST
PS If the Mod or any of the commenters are ever in Chicago, we’ll go for beer and pizza.
Moderator
Monday - October 26th 2020 10:17AM MST
PS: That's exactly what I'm talking about, Bill. How stupid IS that, with the lack of ability to communicate? I tell you a thought I just had. Maybe lots of the other people are using either some order touch screens (which I see occasionally but won't use if possible) or their phones on the "Tony Burger" app, which I also won't use.

What I saw recently at a restaurant was the there were no menus (except for the beer ones) on the table, just a 2-D bar code sticker. The waitress seemed pretty miffed that she had to go inside and get menus, cause I wasn't gonna scan the damn thing. (Well, not with THIS phone - it wouldn't know a bar-code from a ketchup stain.)
Moderator
Monday - October 26th 2020 10:13AM MST
PS: Mr. Blanc, it's the crispy or cracker type crust then. I can live with that... I guess... I will be sure to look back here (I have an in on searching, as I can just go to the database) for your comment and try one of your suggestions if we were to have a reason to go to Chicago again.

Blogger's treat if I worked it out to meet, but all that stuff is tricky in this attempted-anonymous/online world. Thank you for the suggestions.
Bill H
Monday - October 26th 2020 7:25AM MST
PS I went to a tony burger place last week. There is music playing on the speakers, I'm wearing a mask, the person taking a mask, and there is a plexiglass wall between me and they guy taking my order. He, therefor, cannot hear what I say when I order, I cannot hear what he says when he repeats my order, so he's guessing at what I ordered and I'm guessing that he got it right.

What are the odds that I got what I wanted? Well, I didn't get what I wanted.

And the goalposts are STILL moving. Form "flattening the curve" to waiting for a vaccine, California is now being told why there is no green on our color chart. Turns out that the "precautions" may have to remain in place even after we have a vaccine in case the Corona virus mutates.
MBlanc46
Sunday - October 25th 2020 3:34PM MST
PS it does appear that the deep dish pizza(-like object) first appeared in Chicago in the late 1940s. Uno, Lou Malnati, Gino’s and Connie’s all appear to have had some role in its development. Marketers have exported it as “Chicago style”. I’ve seen it in DC and London, and I suppose it’s in a lot of other places, too. But what most Chicagoans eat most of the time is a thin, crisp crust pie. And cut in the “bar” or “party” cut, i.e., squares, not wedges, so there are more pieces. It’s crisper that the New York style (which I’ve eaten and liked well enough); it doesn’t fold. I never even heard of the deep dish entity until I was about twenty, on my first downtown job. Some of went to Uno’s—or maybe it was Due—for lunch. Lou Malnati make a pretty decent one. Their thin crust is very good. Our favorite local place—Alex and Aldo’s in LaGrange Park—closed a couple of years ago when Frank, the owner, retired. The previous owners had bought the recipe for the cracker crust from the former Johnnie’s, a mile or so down 31st Street, where we used to go when I was in high school and college. His margarita, just lashed with fresh basil, was phenomenal. If Mme and I had been a few years younger, I’d have suggested that we talk about buying the place. Like anywhere, there is good pizza, not so good pizza, and awful pizza. You’ve got to know where to go. When you find a decent one, you won’t bad mouth Chicago pizza again.
Ganderson
Sunday - October 25th 2020 3:14PM MST
PS. Where are the bodies stacked like cordwood? Are people dropping dead on the streets? Are grocery store and other “essential workers” getting sick at higher rates? Are priests working OT giving last rites? Are the cemeteries filling up? No, no, no no and no.

Oh, and will the Gophers beat Michigan in my lifetime? Again, no.
Ganderson
Sunday - October 25th 2020 3:07PM MST
PS These pretzels are making me thirsty...
Moderator
Sunday - October 25th 2020 2:47PM MST
PS: Thank you for the pizza tips, Robert and to those with any future ones. I was, of course, kidding about Pizza Slut, but is that not the thick Chicago style? Maybe this is sacrilege, but I do think Dominos is decent stuff.

Re: Chicago, I used to go to the Potbelly chain of sandwich places when I would visit. Great stuff, but very salty. I had another one outside of Chicago (guess they've been branching out), and bought a big dill pickle. It was 1 buck but I think 2 now. Uhh, can you slice it in 4? So, the guy slices it on the cross section into 4, instead of longitudinally. OK, yeah, it tastes the same, but man, you work in a sandwich shop, you'd better understand pickles, dammit.

Dang, this post is making me hungry.
Adam Smith
Sunday - October 25th 2020 2:28PM MST
PS: I think there is a whole lot of testing going on...

I wonder who pays for all this testing?

It seems Cornell does not have a VeeDee dashboard or alert system...

https://cornellsun.com/2019/12/06/chlamydia-tops-list-of-most-common-stds-at-cornell/


Robert
Sunday - October 25th 2020 1:53PM MST
PS:
Re: Chicago Pizza. Going off my memory from several decades ago; there was also a division between South Side (the Real Thing) vs. North Side (a bunch of posers, such as Unos and Duos). They were all deep dish, but the cheese should go on top and the sauce should be tart --- no infantile, sugary pizzas with the cheese al gooey in the middle.
Adam Smith
Sunday - October 25th 2020 12:38PM MST
PS: Good afternoon Mr. Moderator...

Perhaps this cerulean/sky blue could work...

https://id2020.org/uploads/images/seo/_1200x630_crop_center-center_82_none/ID2020-Share.png

I have a nice 365nm UV flashlight for finding leaks in the a/c. It has a warning label on it that it can damage your eyes and it gets quite hot. I think I could start a fire with it and a magnifying glass.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alonefire-SV003-10W-365nm-UV-Flashlight-Portable-Rechargeable-Blacklight-for-Pet/223953530985

Pizza Slut is not Chicago pizza, no matter where they're located.


Moderator
Sunday - October 25th 2020 12:14PM MST
PS: Another thing on Mr. Adams' Cornell U. page. The numbers of confirmed positives can be counted on one hand, of a lizard. 3 is the highest on any day shown. Now, those samples can't be of different people always, cause they would add up to more than the whole university in a month. Are they counting people twice?

Are these cumulative totals or new cases? "Yeah, we had up to 3 last week, but, well, they got better ..."

Cornell students seem to be a pretty healthy crowd. I'm fixating on the COVID only, as I don't know the stats on the VEEDEE-20.
Moderator
Sunday - October 25th 2020 12:09PM MST
PS: I just looked at your stuff, Adam. I'll have to save that image later for another post.

About the dashboard. Dashboards! Everything has dashboards now. My Dad's 1973 Beetle had a dashboard! (well, sort of, I mean one gauge).

This is what Green means, folks, directly from Mr. Adams' Cornell web page:
**********************************
Green: New Normal
What does it mean?

Cases are rare and transmission controlled.

What to expect:

Practice everyday precautions: physical distancing, masks required, hand washing.
Combination of in-person/hybrid and online learning.
Capacity for on-campus spaces at 50% or less.
Student gatherings of 10 people or fewer (physical distancing and masks required).
Visitors are not allowed on campus and travel is strongly discouraged.
***************************

What color do we have to see before we live like normal people again? It's gotta be some shorter wavelength. Ultraviolet, maybe? I'll look in the attic for the black light, and the Dead poster that goes with it, and wherever the hell I stashed that weed ...
Moderator
Sunday - October 25th 2020 12:03PM MST
PS: Well, I've been to Pizza Slut in Chicago for the deep dish. That's what I'm going by, Mr.Blanc.


No, no, just kidding. Uno's is a chain, I know, but they advertise theirs as Chicago style. I don't know when I'll ever be there again (used to have a friend there, but he moved), but tell me what you like.
Adam Smith
Sunday - October 25th 2020 11:31AM MST
PS: OMG! The Cases!

Has anyone else noticed these so called "Covid Alert Systems" proliferating?

https://communityimpact.com/uploads/images/2020/05/12/56607.jpg

https://covid.cornell.edu/testing/dashboard/

And the creepy repetition of the phrase "New Normal"...


MBlanc46
Sunday - October 25th 2020 11:13AM MST
PS Mod, you are sewing the wind if you knock our Chicago pizza, which I imagine is very different to what you foreigners think it is. Beware.
Moderator
Sunday - October 25th 2020 10:20AM MST
PS: That sounds pretty bad, Mr. Ganderson. My wife brought up "spike in cases" a number of times lately. I just changed the subject. She has mellowed out big-time and last time I and my boy went to eat "outside food" (as in restaurant food, as people have to touch ALL of it, at some point) she only didn't talk to me for the afternoon, not 3 days this time.

We won a coupon for a $100 meal at some fancy restaurant - should work out 'cause we won't drink wine. It damn well better not expire before she lightens up on this!

I've still not met anyone who knows anyone who has actually died from this. I talked to one 65 y/o guy at the fitness room at a hotel who told me his wife died a couple of years ago from "the dread disease". I didn't ask anything more. First I really thought he meant the COVID-19, but then thought about it - he meant cancer, I'm pretty sure.
Ganderson
Sunday - October 25th 2020 6:42AM MST
PS. We’re re-locking down in Massachusetts- hockey rinks closed for the next two weeks, schools going to all remote, and everywhere all one hears about is (are?) “surge in cases” , “surge in cases”. NESCAC has cancelled all their winter sports- I have no doubt they’ll be cancelling spring sports, too. As Frank Zappa used to sing, “the torture never stops...”

My unscientific survey suggest that face diaper wearing is up- people driving, walking, jogging, biking, BY THEMSELVES, wearing the mask of submission.
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