I continue to be amazed by how much Covid ruined so many people. There isn’t a clam on this planet worth this kind of nonsense. Which one of you has this ball and chain?

————

My relationship has been 10+ years and the only thing we really disagree about is covid.

Currently, if my partner wants to do some risk taking activity like go to bars, etc. we sleep in separate rooms for 5 days.

At first, we did that and both wore n95s in our common living area. Then he didn’t want to and wore KN95s. Then he didn’t want to and doesn’t mask. We sleep in separate rooms and I wear an n95.

Now, he wants me to not mask at all. And do indoor dining. I don’t feel comfortable with that and would prefer outdoor activities.

We went to couples therapy virtually (a therapist who understood COVID cautions) about this and I feel like he just said what the therapist wanted him to say/went through the motions.

Then, it blew up later.

He just wants to “get back to normal” and “live life” and I want to feel safe.

Now he wants to do couples counseling again with a different therapist that he’s picked out but in person and does not want to wear a mask in the therapy sessions. The therapist wouldn’t be masked either.

He also brought up living separately but he also said if he goes into office (he said he’s not going to mask) it will be pointless because I will never see him (if I wait 5 days from his last exposure). He said that is not a real relationship. Currently, we wfh.

I don’t stop him from doing anything he wants. He’s free to do what he wants and I wear a mask after that. But he wants me to stop masking on my side and join him. I want my half of protecting myself.

He knows the risks of covid and has gotten it multiple times and feels “fine”. I’ve had some difficult health issues that seemed like long covid. I’ve never tested positive. (I know it still could be LC).

His patience/tolerance for me taking COVID precautions has run out. He said “It’s become a problem.”

I’m also neurodivergent and I don’t think I will ever stop taking COVID mitigations unless COVID literally stops. I want to protect myself. He’s neurotypical and wants to do what everyone else is doing. (He said that.)

How are other people handling this situation?

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just kidding.

she's loaded!

Dumbass. Got what he deserved for trying to make himself part of it, when he wasn't.

"The Lions have revoked the season tickets of the fan who had a heated verbal altercation with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during last Thursday’s game between the teams.

Fahad Yousif told the Detroit News that the Lions informed him of the decision via an email. Yousif was on the field before the game to hold part of on oversized flag during the national anthem and had to be separated from LaFleur, who said Yousef “was talking junk to our players, giving them the throat slash sign.”

“The biggest gut punch, man,” Yousif said. “Just waking up and seeing that email and not being able to talk to somebody in person, it was a terrible feeling. I don’t have my chance to give my side of the story or anything.”

Yousef was asked to leave the game by the Lions before halftime and said at the time that he “got caught up” in the moment. He told the newspaper that he was “devastated” by the team’s decision and admitted that the entire incident “definitely could have been avoided” on his end, but his lack of self-control in the moment proved to be costly."

I love his reaction here




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And the Hawkeyes showed they want nothing to do with it.

50/50 balls, too.

Effort and execution were good until the end - when it matters most.

Men lead most of game and shit their pants are the end. Women trailing most of game, but hang around and pull away at end.

Obviously I'm missing his value as a starter to the team. Help me understand why Fran starts him?
Stats:
(6'8", 255 lbs; 3.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg; 0.9 apg; 36.8 FG%; 30.8 3FG%)

His ball handling isn't sharp, he's a poor shooter, defense isn't bad but gets lots of fouls. Everytime he starts or plays major minutes I think Fran is making a mistake.

check this out & watch:

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From exquisite Elgar to razor-sharp Cage: our classical recordings of the year​

A piano prodigy burst onto the scene, studio opera recordings were few and far between – and the year’s most rewarding discs were the ones that ventured beyond the mainstream

Andrew Clements’ top 10 recordings of the year​

1. Elgar: Violin Concerto (Vilde Frang/Deutsches SO Berlin/Ticciati)
“From first note to last Frang never puts a foot wrong … Her playing has a thrilling authority and confidence in what is technically one of the most demanding concertos in the violin repertory.” Read the full review

2. Chopin: Études (Yunchan Lim)
“Enjoy the brilliance of Lim’s playing, whether in the breathtaking evenness of the A minor study Op 10 no 2, the sheer delicacy of Op 25 no 6 in G sharp minor, or in the fresh details he consistently reveals.” Read the full review

3. Linda Catlin Smith: Flower of Emptiness (Apartment House)
“Hers is a compositional voice that never shouts, never draws undue attention to itself, yet creates music of compelling beauty.” Read the full review

4. Bruckner: Symphony No 7 (Berlin RSO/Jurowski)
“This special performance has a natural flow, in which nothing is forced, and nothing over-manicured; there’s never any sense that Jurowski has any agenda other than to present the symphony as it is laid out in the score.” Read the full review


5. Cage2: Bertrand Chamayou
“Every one of these pieces is a brightly coloured gem… Chamayou’s performance of all of them, each complex rhythm razor sharp, every phrase perfectly articulated, is exemplary.” Read the full review

6. Contemplation: Huw Montague Rendall/Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen/Glassberg
“Hamlet’s soliloquy from Ambroise Thomas’s opera – velvet-toned, nuanced, with beautifully floated high notes – sets the tone for an eclectic programme on themes of self-discovery. You can almost hear the orchestra’s thoughts as he holds the final note: who is this guy? Does he ever need to breathe?” Read the full review

7. Lang: Composition as Explanation (Eighth Blackbird)
“The wonderfully compelling musical journey that Lang has created takes the listener through moments of chiming, crystalline beauty, stomping free-for-alls, vertiginous instrumental solos and insistent minimalist repetitions.” Read the full review

8. Bertin: Fausto (Les Talens Lyriques/Rousset)
“The full score of Louise Bertin’s Fausto was only rediscovered a few years ago, but this first recording, conducted with missionary zeal by Christophe Rousset and superbly played by the period instruments of Les Talens Lyriques, suggests that it deserves more than occasional performances.” Read the full review

9. Brahms: Piano Pieces Op 116-119 (Igor Levit)
“Levit’s accounts are utterly compelling. Each piece is perfectly shaped, its subtly varied emotional charge instantly identified. It’s hard to think of many better recordings of these 20 gems.” Read the full review

10. Schumann: Works for Oboe (Daniel/Drake)
“Pure delight from first note to last.” Read the full review

A bit frustrating the the conference schedule hasn't been announced for next season. I have to work some weekends so I'm trying to make some plans for next season. Anyone have any insight as to when it might be announced?

The Tenn game showed a weakness against that press and quickness. But overall, after losing Clark, the team is doing very well. They do need to shore up some ball handling.

A lot of the top teams play a lot of non conf games at home, the hawks are invited to play in tourneys and on the road and they go do it.

Ogrady and Heiden at center are very positive from the highlights and game segments I have watched. Hannah is adapting and playing well facing the basket and dribbling more.

They play some good defense overall. I havent looked at their team stats for shooting and FT %, turnover and rebounding numbers especially compared to the opponent but I assume they are above avg.

Posted part of this elsewhere, but wanted to get you guys in the loop on a couple more portal visitors that are working to get visits scheduled to Iowa.

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This is 100% accurate... I certainly won't send a check by mail. Except I did and fingers crossed it gets there. It was either mail a check or pay over $200 fee to pay my Key West property taxes via electronic methods.

DeJoy has been a disaster for the Post Office...

DeJoy Covers Ears During Blistering Rant By GOP Rep​

December 10, 2024

“Almost every single business I know that wants to send a check out won’t use the U.S. Postal Service anymore. I won’t use the U.S. Postal Service anymore. That’s on your watch. The two major decisions I’ve seen you make, which is on the distribution centers and on employee rate hiring, have done nothing to mitigate this in real-time ways.
“I don’t understand why you give yourself an A Grade, as you just stated when it comes to the delivery we have. Your reputation is done. Whether you admit it or not, in the military, if I have a skipper who things are going bad for, they’re a good military officer.
“But you know what we do when things go wrong repeatedly? We relieve them. You know what you do when a CEO repeatedly fails in that business model falls apart? Nobody wants to use that business anymore, and it becomes non-profitable. You fire them.” – Freshman GOP Rep. Rich McCormick, during which Postmaster General Louis DeJoy covered his ears.

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The McRib is back. Arby's has their fried turkey. Wendy's has a salted caramel frosty. It's an amazing time to be alive.

But the $10 burger and chicken sandwiches including a drink at Applebee's and Chili's is fire. I'm glad to have them close to the office.

Or more precisely, anyone use a classical or other nylon string guitar for playing around the house? (Whatever the genre)

Howdy from Carver-Hawkeye Arena! @BraydonRoberts5 and I are here and ready to watch some spirited late-night hoops. Tipoff is at 8 pm on FS1.

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Select Health says no for this 9 year old.

The Hawks came in to the season as a darkhorse playoff contender. After beating up on some cupcakes and losing to all the teams they played with a pulse, they finished a disappointing 8-4, leaving fans wondering what could have been. The one point loss to ISU can be forgiven considering it was a fluke and ISU wound up in the Big 12 championship game, but getting humiliated at Ohio State and inexplicable close losses to inferior teams like Michigan State and UCLA will haunt the seniors for years to come. So how did the coaches do this year?

Coach of the Year: LeVar Woods. What a performance Woods put in after being passed up in the coaching promotion ranks first by Brian and then by Seth Wallace. Woods was named special teams coordinator in 2017. Why he's stuck around for 7 years at the same position is beyond me, but it's great for the Hawks. Woods was tasked with replacing last year's 1st team All-American punter Taylor with a true freshmen. All that freshmen did was average a whopping 44 yards per punt, including some fantastic directional punting. Woods was also tasked with replacing last year's Big 10 return man of the year / 1st team All-American DB in DeJean...so he turned to a walk-on who finished 3rd in the Big 10 in both punt returns and kick returns, often providing Iowa with a jolt of momentum in games. Finally, Woods was tasked with fixing a struggling kicker who was benched at the end of last season. All that kicker did was go 19-22 this year with more 50+ yard field goals than anyone in the Big 10. Elite special teams yet again for the Hawks and they did it without any highly touted super star recruits.

Disappointment of the Year: Phil Parker. The reigning Broyles Award winner for 2023 assistant coach of the year returned a stacked defense filled with returning all-Americans, 6th year seniors, a 5 star safety, and depth. To say that the defense underperformed this year would be an understatement. The defense was expected to be the best in the Big 10, yet somehow finished 8th in the Big 10 in pass defense and 8th in total defense. Perhaps even more painful, they finished 7th in first downs given up (way too many long drives where we couldn't stop an opponent) and 15th in time of possession (thanks in part to an inept offense). What a waste of so much talent on this side of the ball.

Coaches on the Chopping Block: Jon Budmyer & Abdul Hodge. Unfortunately, neither were qualified for their jobs when they came to Iowa, and neither has shown the ability to coach their positions now that they've arrived. Budmyer's ability to fail upward has been well documented by IowaLaw. This year, he was promoted to WRs coach, a position he had never coached. He was handed last year's top WR, a 4**** Ohio State transfer, who had 22 catches in the last half of last season. Under Budmyer's tutelage, we were mystified watching Brown ride the bench behind 0 star freshmen and total just 1 catch before smartly electing to leave the team halfway through the season to be coached by a real WRs coach. Bud also had the benefit of several other portal investments in Gill & Anderson, as well as some young talent. Welp...let's just say it didn't work out too well, as Jacob Gill, Iowa's top WR this year, finished 45th in the Big 10 in yards per game at just 31. Unacceptable by any standards. Then there's Hodge, who was handed the opportunity to coach TEs at TEU...including a pre-season all-Big 10 TE in Luke Lachey. That too did not end well. Lachey, who was injured for a few games, was not even among the Big 10's top 10 tight ends this year in either catches or yards. Worse yet, Iowa, a team that normally dominates with 2 TE sets, struggled to find a decent second option. Zach Ortworth finished the year as the #2 tight end...but he only managed 10 catches in 12 games for 133 yards.

Redemption Award: George Barnett. Many, including IowaLaw, thought Barnett should have been fired after his OL's 3rd straight abysmal season last year. However, Kirk kept him around because he's loyal to a fault, and the OL seemed to finally gel. The coaches named Conner Colby 1st team All Big 10. Logan Jones & Gennings Dunker were named to the 2nd team. If the Hawks had simply kept Proctor, this could have been the top OL in the conference and Johnson would probably be at this year's Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Overrated Coach of the Year: Tim Lester. Despite unanimous disappointment when the Hawks spurned overtures from better known or better recruiting young offensive coordinators in favor of someone Kirk could control in Lester, a mediocre fired MAC coach who was hanging on in football as an "analyst," Hawk fans seem to have unjustifiably rallied around Lester this year simply because he was better than Brian Ferentz, the worst OC in college football last year. Sadly, Brian Ferentz is not the benchmark for evaluating offensive play callers. And while Kirk has come out and said "the offense is entirely Lester's offense," that doesn't explain Iowa's refusal to get with modern college football. Still far too many runs up the middle on 3rd and 7 for no gain. Still far too many punts from the opponent's 48 yard line on 4th and inches. Most concerning, still far too little effort and creativity to get the best players the ball (all American RB Johnson finished with just 22 catches this year; pre-season all Big 10 TE Lachey had just 27 catches; and Big 10 special teams player of the year Wetjen had just 1 freaking catch). Sure, the Hawks ran a man in motion a little more than last year...but what does that prove? The team still finished 14th in the Big 10 in total offense and 18th (last) in passing offense...despite all that razzle dazzle of doing what every other team does. The last place pass offense was in spite of playing behind a million dollar portal QB from Michigan and an all-American RB who took tremendous pressure off the passing game. Like everyone, I want Lester to be a great hire...but to those who say "in Lester we trust," I ask why? What has he done to merit such trust? He wasn't great in his previous stints and he underutilized Iowa's best weapons (i.e. Wetjen, Brown, Lachey) this year. He seems every bit as conservative as Kirk & Brian and certainly hasn't proven any recruiting chops.

Underrated Coach of the Year: Ladell Betts. Although Ladell evaluated Kaleb Johnson as Iowa's 3rd string RB following spring practice, which is a monumental talent evaluation miss, the Hawkeye rushing offense improved greatly this year. Not only did Johnson lead the Big 10 in rushing with over 1500 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 6.4 yards per carry, but the team as a whole finished 2nd in rushing behind only Penn State. Was this a product of coaching or was it simply the luck of having a great OL and an elite RB? Hard to say, but Moulton still managed to average 5.4 yards per carry as a freshmen and Patterson averaged 4.4 yards per carry (all are better than usual at Iowa). The future is bright at the running back position (although Betts still hasn't proven to be much of a recruiter, landing mostly MAC level RB recruits so far). Betts certainly deserves at least some of the credit for this year's rushing resurgence. Let's see if we can sustain it next year.

Randy of the Year: Kirk Ferentz. Steady, conservative, stubborn, and incredibly loyal to coaches but not players are all words that accurately describe Kirk. He's a model of consistency, beating the teams he should beat and getting blown out by the blue bloods. There are many programs out there thrilled with 8 win seasons...but given Iowa's weak schedule, 8 wins doesn't make many people optimistic for next year. Was coaching the difference in a couple of this year's losses? Sure. The Iowa State game was squandered by ultra conservatism and bad clock management. Michigan State as well. So does Kirk have a Kirk 3.0 in him that will innovate and get with the times (i.e. mobile QBs, taking chances down the field, and going for it on 4th and inches)? If 25 years of history are any indication, NO. Kirk is who he is. An above average coach who will likely never step foot in the playoffs. Good enough to beat the Northwesterns of the world but probably not meant for the new NIL pay to play age of college sports.

Iowa +6.5 with o/u 159.5 as of 5:30 Wednesday.

Interesting, and heartwarming story, but I have questions. Michael Black left his home in Wyoming, and somehow made it several hundred miles to Salt Lake City. Police believe he went up into Idaho, then down to SLC by hitchhiking. Black suffers from dementia, so wouldn't someone have called the police after encountering him? He must have been in distress. The final person he interacted with at least got him to the homeless shelter. Also, it's quoted by the local PD that this isn't the first time he's gone wandering. Is his wife capable of handling him, and wha are the larger implications about how we handle our elderly and vulnerable citizens?
https://people.com/missing-man-with...e-spots-him-on-tv-over-200-miles-away-8756519