There is only so much China can buy because then you run into storage capacity.

They also have a bandwidth problem. Pipelines between Russia and China are maxed out, and that's not something that can be fixed overnight. Coal is apparently in the same situation; they can't move enough of it fast enough with existing rail lines.

I'm just guessing that your wife is using the dash model?

Yup. Switched sometime last year.

The off brand android model is called a PDM, and it has all of the cell phone bits turned off.

Yeah, the communications are all BLE. I have to hand it to them, using a custom smartphone for the PDM is a really nice touch, and a smart transition move.

My wife's latest Omnipod pump comes with a controller which, if you were to dismantle it, would likely turn out to be an off-the-shelf unbranded smartphone running a customized Android. Presumably this device is a stopgap until that app gets approval.

After going through the hassle of dealing with credit card fraud a long time ago, I switched to using a pre-paid travel credit card for online purchases. I keep the balance at "emergency coffee" level. When I make an online purchase, I transfer over the amount needed. When the card expires (every two or three years), I cancel it and get a new number.

Either the postmen that were involved had something to do, or maybe China is using this case to promote the local economy, in a form of coercive proteccionism.

I'd imagine it's theatre. Omicron got into China in the usual fashion (someone travelling), sneaking past all the best security and health protocols they have, and is probably now spreading beyond containment. Now, either they admit that they fucked up and aren't perfect, or they point the finger elsewhere. Finger pointing it is.

This is a trend predicted by some microbiologists for this virus for quite some time. It will mutate itself into irrelevance

I keep pointing out to people that one data point in a different direction is only a data point, not a trend. Omicron certainly seems less deadly than Delta, and personally I like having better odds, but the existence of Omicron doesn't mean the next variant couldn't have the infectiousness of Omicron with the deadliness of Delta. Delta might be the peak of Covid, but it'll be another year before we can be confident.

Why not? Worried that Florida might run out of rednecks?

If you get these fat lazy beasts dependent on government handouts, they'll never fend for themselves.

Yeah, but if they can get the numbers back up, the government will allow manatee hunting again.

The best part is he can't vote next year

Nonsense. The Republican party has been saying for years that the dead are voting in unprecedented numbers.

Those post apocalyptic rednecks had better hope they stay healthy; something like 98% of medical doctors are vaccinated.

this seems like Microsoft is shooting themselves in the foot with a howitzer..

It's just Microsoft being Microsoft, and exercising their special skill of taking a meh idea that will probably work out just because of their size and turning it into a shitty idea that even the most zealous users won't touch with a barge pole.

I'm not really opposed to Amazon putting its own brands first (store brands are so insanely common in retail that they'd be crazy if they didn't have their own stuff), but knowing which ones are Amazon-created brands (AmazonBasics is obvious, but they have many less obvious ones like Presto!), Amazon acquisitions, some new up-and-comer, Chinese knock-off, Amazon-exclusive seller, etc is near impossible, and probably intentionally so.

It's not like it would be incredibly difficult to open that information up somehow in product listings, like clicking on the brand name, but it's not a shock that they don't make it easy.

There's almost no talk about it whatsoever.

Early in the pandemic they were throwing around numbers like five-to-ten times the number of dead were going to have severe long-term problems, but then it kinda... fell off the radar. But I think it's just far too early to know. I'm not certain much of the health care system even has the available bandwidth to do much more than keep people from dying or getting worse. And the way each variant seems to hit a younger demographic means that the long-term impact on workers is definitely a moving target.

It's going to be bad. Even if the numbers are improbably low, like equal to the number of dead, that many newly disabled people hitting the system over such a short period is going to be a real kick in the nuts.

I'm thinking a big part of the reason not to move to a factory town is just how many people have been left holding the bag when other factories have shut down and fucked the towns they were supporting. Living in a place where there's just one large employer is a precarious situation.

Around a million folks have died

Plus a substantial number with long term or permanent disabilities. It adds up fast.