Monthly Archives: May 2021

You're Doing It Wrong

COVID-19 and COVID-19 Vaccine Information (With Sources)

There is a LOT of misinformation out there.

The quickest way to spot misinformation is to check the wording used.  The first tip is if they cannot tell the difference between the virus (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease (COVID-19) – if you get that wrong, you likely got everything else wrong, too.  Anyone that cannot spell vaccine correctly and refers to it as the jab or the poke, is likely spreading vaccine misinformation.  Likewise, anyone that cannot spell COVID-19 correctly and calls it the coof, flu or a cold, should have any information they provide be immediately suspect.

So if you came here because you were directed to, you likely were spouting off some nonsense that you either made up or were mindlessly and/or sheepishly repeating from a meme somewhere, and failed to provide actual sources even though you claimed to have done your own “research.”  Here is some information, backed by actual and generally reputable sources.  Facts will be linked, and different words may point to different sources.  Be sure to check them all out – you might learn something.  Now, it is easy for the idiots out there to say something like “the CDC?  You trust the CDC!?“or PubMed or NCBI, or the WHO, or <insert name here>, but before you listen to them, makes sure you know their sources.  Was it from someplace reputable, or a meme from Gab, MeWe, Rumble, etc. or a video from BitChute?

Lastly, another red flag is anyone that touts an incorrect survival/recovery rate of 99.xxxx%.  First, that rate is wrong, and second, survival/recovery is a low bar to reach – ask them about who survives and thrives with no long-term issues as opposed to those that survive but end up having so-called “long covid.”  If they cannot answer that question, they only possess part of the information and thus cannot have an informed opinion.

Shall we get started?

The mRNA vaccines will not change your DNA.   mRNA cannot combine with DNA so it cannot change it.  No, they are not gene therapy, either.  The sky is not falling, Chicken Little.

The so-called vaccine inserts and ingredient lists are not hidden from anyone, and are easily found for Moderna, Pfizer, and Janssen (J&J) if you actually look.   Anyone that says they are being hidden is a fool or is lying to you and using you to promote their agenda – do not be their sheep.  By the way, why are people worried about the ingredients?  Most of you do not know what 2-hydroxypropyl-?-cyclodextrin is and if it is dangerous or not, so stop fooling yourselves into believing that your knowing the ingredient list actually changes anything.

Oh, that so-called “inventor of mRNA vaccines,” who supposedly told everyone not to get the vaccine?  He got vaccinated, but only because he was forced to, right?

The vaccine does not destroy your immune system. In fact, they can help even if you have been previously infected and might work better in some cases.  While on the topic, since it is your same natural immune system producing antibodies from either the vaccine or direct exposure to SARS-CoV-2, both cases actually produce natural immunity.  There is information out there that compares immunity from both vectors, but things are leaning toward getting vaccinated even if you were previously infected.

Long-term effects of vaccines are mostly a made-up thing.  (Try searching yourself and you will find actual studies scarce and usually when someone was trying to link vaccines to autism, and failed to do so.)  Vaccines are not drugs – learn the difference.

The vaccine does not contain  heavy metals – or aborted fetal tissue (that is an old one with vaccines) – see the ingredient lists linked above.  There was a paper that linked toxic metal exposure as a risk factor for COVID-19 which might have been skimmed and misunderstood and given rise to this misinformation.

Yes, many other vaccines required multiple doses and/or boosters.  Polio has 4 for example.  Some smallpox vaccines required multiple doses as well.  DTaP also has a 4-dose schedule, and Tetanus boosters are not uncommon.  People that think a single shot should cure/prevent everything, including variants, are morons and should not be listened to.

Arcade Tech and Repair, You're Doing It Wrong

It is not Lag, That is how it Played!

So I was taking with someone about the Arcade1Up units and admitted that I really liked the Capcom fighter ones (upright and cocktail) ones because they included the original Street Fighter. He said they he hated it because of the “lag” in Street Fighter, and how he does not like most multiboards because of the same thing.  But what he is calling lag, is not really lag!

Continue reading It is not Lag, That is how it Played! →

Uncategorized

Konami Kicker with Graphics Issues

(Also posted to a FB group that I frequent.)

So I dug back into my work pile and pulled out a Konami Kicker board. Was tagged with “graphics issues.” Powered it up to see that it would produce a whole lot of stuck pixels horizontally across the screen. 

Also noticed problems with scrolling – parts of the screen that should not scroll horizontally, like the very top of the screen where player scores, high score and lives are shown, would scroll sometimes while parts that should scroll would not.  Sometimes, this would also cause a complete absence of all sprites, and all you get is background and text.  Pushing on the large custom near the center of the board seem to change the behavior so I replaced the socket.

Continue reading Konami Kicker with Graphics Issues →

Uncategorized

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 and how a Little Knowledge is Dangerous

So I got into a unnecessary discussion with someone about the correct usage of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 – they were using them interchangeably (and actually also confused COVID-19 and the earlier virus name of 2019-nCoV) and also using them to refer to things that were prior to when the official names were coined by the WHO.

They went on to explain how they were receiving “daily training” on this topic and implying that I must be mistaken (and also that the CDC is engaging in fear-mongering WRT COVID-19).  Now, I can understand receiving 3-minute daily briefings on the topic, but calling that “training” is stretching things quite a bit.  Anyone can provide a briefing – all you have to do is read from a page.  Training requires a certain depth of knowledge that not everyone has, and is usually an interactive, time-consuming experience.  If this so-called “trainer” is confusing COVID-19 (the disease) with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes the disease), they need to step down from their position, immediately.

Given the tone of this person’s responses, the hubris demonstrated, how they keep saying that they work for a “government employer,” and touting their so-called “training,” I am guessing some form of town, city, county or state law enforcement.  Which is good – more power to them – we need law enforcement, especially in times like these.

But if this person does indeed work for local law enforcement – that’s cute.

Especially when you consider that some people may work in National Defense (which, BTW, is a Critical Infrastructure Industry as defined by the DHS).  And that they have the responsibility and privilege of helping maintain the safety and security of not just a town, city, county or state, but for the entire country, its war-fighters, and even its foreign allies.

And that some of them might even be cleared employees that, when they receive actual training or briefings, may receive information that is not available to the general non-cleared public (which usually includes town/city/county/state LEAs), and you can be certain this training did not originate from something that someone copied from a group email somewhere.

Always follow the universal assumption – that the other person may known something that you do not (especially when you are ignorant of the other’s position/job).