knehrke

Good to know, thanks. I will convey this to my buddy for this fall.

I bought my daughter her lifetime when she was born, before the prices increased. I think it was $150 total. But that was almost twenty years ago. A friend of mine who moved out of state a decade ago also got his, and he loves it. But the lack of doe tags is a PITA, since he doesn't get them automatically and has to be here in person to apply, but given the excess tags in our area he is always able to grab a few when he shows up to hunt anyway. It is a consideration, though.

Agreed. It seems punitive, but without the benefit of a fair hearing. But I also know guys who had their boats and fishing equipment confiscated because of drugs found on-board, so it's not unprecedented, either. NYS loves to play the take-away game.

That sounds like a wonderful plan. If you have interviews at Strong Memorial, please don't hesitate to shoot me a message. I'll do what I can to facilitate, even if it's only information to make the most of the opportunity.

You are 100% correct!! And it's been around even longer than that. COVID is its first widespread use though, and based on what I'm hearing, it won't be the last, particularly - as Chef pointed out - with the ability to tweak specificity from a computer keyboard.

Any energy policy that makes America reliant on foreign owned mines to provide essential rare earth minerals is a non-starter in my book. Add in the costs of upkeep and dismantling them at the end of their eyesore of a life, and you have a recipe for disaster. I agree that clean energy is a priority. These things are not the answer. Just another way for folks to line their pocketbooks at the expense of the everyman.

You've looked at the data, weighed the risks, and made a decision. Can't argue with that - well, you could, but IMHO everyone has to make a choice for themselves. Nobody should be forced to vaccinate. Even being in the biomedical research field, it blows my mind, too, how fast this happened. Last summer I was pooh-poohing the chances of having an effective vaccine by 2021. After all, we're still working on HIV and the common cold. I figured that it was even odds that a vaccine was feasible, much less as fast as they made it happen. I applaud the partnerships between the drug manufacturers and academia that accelerated the process of discovery (here and abroad), and I bow to the US government that cut the red tape that usually makes things take five times as long as they should. Truly an achievement. Given how well this approach has worked, I suspect that you will see many new mRNA vaccines in the near future. The jury is still out on long term efficacy, persistence, and - yes - possible side effects, but the future looks brighter. I mean, it's got to right? After the sh$t twizzler that was 2020?

That's like saying people wonder why you don't want to win the lottery - because you're unsure whether you'd get half a million or a full million dollars lol. The evidence is clear: even should you contract the disease, your viral load is significantly reduced after vaccination. By how much though? Originally, the thought was that you still might have enough virus in your nasal passages that you could potential transmit it, albeit only through sneezing directly in somebody's face (that's a joke). However, since the vaccine has only been around for a few months, it takes time to accumulate solid data. These emerging data seem to show that it is very, very unlikely there's even enough around to transmit, so sneeze away lol. You can call it conflict, but to me it's scientists who aren't afraid to update guidance as clearer information becomes available. Conflict is good. It means the folks are keeping an open mind and debating their interpretations. Either way, vaccination protects you, and it increasingly appears it may also protect those around you.

Funny meme, but veterans know how to duck when the bullets start flying, too. And they'd laugh even harder at anyone who refused to use appropriate PPE - "no thanks, I don't do Kevlar". And finally, it goes without even saying that the war on COVID is not an actual war, where folks are expected to put their lives on the line (with the exception of front line workers - thank you!!). Still a funny meme, though.

You got it. Many of my best friends have different views on COVID and masking than me. We are still good friends. Differences of opinion shouldn't make folks enemies. The good Lord knows we have enough of those already. Over the past week, we've had two colleagues, married, go down with COVID. One was on death's door, the other lost her senses of taste and smell. The later tested negative three times during her husband's convalescence prior to testing positive, despite living in the same house. Go figure. There's still so much that we don't understand about this thing - and I expect that is why some folks have the opinion that scientists can't make up their mind, can't get it right, and keep changing their tune. The think that they're forgetting is that Science isn't afraid to admit it was wrong. New data emerges, models are updated, and, viola, guidance changes. Scientific method is a process, not an endpoint, and its power lies in its predictive power. I see it as a credit to our great country's oversight and transparency that we can identify problems before they impact public heath, like quality control or manufacturing issues. Other countries may have been less forthcoming. Finally, I don't think asking people who are concerned (I will avoid the word scared, as I think that fear can be conquering by education) to remain isolated is a feasible option. It's one thing for folks to avoid an activity because they are concerned about self-harm, but another if they are concerned about someone else's harming them. IMHO, reasonable limits are set by society to alleviate this potential - nobody should have to avoid driving because they're afraid that some yahoo going 90 mph is going to side swipe them - that's why we have speed limits (lol). The key word is reasonable. Masks are reasonable to some, but not to others. Social distancing: heck, even our president likes to get a bit too close (more lol). But there are so many folks who are vulnerable, and many of the oldest need assistance. Anyway, I get the sentiment, but in practice it is not that simple. What is, though?

Man, all kinds of weird situations, no one-size-fits-all answers. I know that out west they put barbed wire across the rivers so that the drift boats can't pass. Other streams you can neither anchor nor fish in certain areas, but you are allowed to float through. Here in NYS, my understanding is that if you own both sides of a creek, then you own the bottom of the creek too, but not the water itself if it's a navigable waterway. But in the end, it's all about what you're willing to enforce, rights or not. The Dougluston Salmon Run needed to go to court to protect their rights, albeit controversial. If you are not willing to do that, then maybe it's best to have a conversation, perhaps allow a few folks access in return for their participation in an annual work day to keep the place clean, and to patrol for violators. Word of mouth is powerful.

Nothing beats Ginger and Honey in plain ole' yogurt!! I had that with a handful of nuts mixed in for dessert this evening, Yum, yum. I will second Chef that most I know did worse on the first Pfizer shot, but their booster was uneventful. Except for the 20-25% that had muscle pain and headaches. But even those generally disappeared fairly quickly. Hopefully those neck pains Phade has will go away soon, too. Now, I ask you this: how do I get rid of the headaches caused by the job, the government, the daughter, and the self-imposed ones from being an idiot too often? A recent allergy to alcohol doesn't make me like beer any less. Or Glenlivet for that matter...

With the vaccine being in relatively short supply and appointments tricky to manage, I agree that there is no pressing concern for healthy young folks - nevertheless, from the perspective of societal benefit, it will be important to get as many as possible vaccinated ASAP once our most at-risk have been taken care of. Less unvaccinated folks means less transmission means less mutation, but it takes a quorum to achieve that so-called "herd immunity". I know it feels like we're guinea pigs. That's how population health works, though. I truly believe that we are emerging from the worst of it.

Man, I'm hoping that all these variants that are popping up aren't a sign of things to come - once we stop being human incubators for viral mutagenesis, maybe the pace will slow down. Got to think positive. Except Biz. He can be the "realist" for us lol.

The wife and I just downloaded our Excelsior NYS vaccine passports. It was easy - there's an app that creates a wallet for your various documentation, just like Apple wallet for sporting tickets and the like. But the passport is apparently only good for 120 days. I don't know if they will automatically extend that as new information becomes available regarding the vaccine's long term efficacy, but I sure hope so.

90 year old adjacent landowner got her second shot Tuesday and was down for the count Wednesday, but bounced right back. 50 year old co-worker got COVID this past weekend and is sicker than he's ever been, hoping to stay out of the hospital but not looking great. It still appears that the cancellation hotline is your best way to move an appointment forward. A good friend was scheduled for late May, got it moved to April, and is now slated for his first dose on Tuesday. If for no other reason, pragmatism suggests that the vaccine is going to benefit travelers - we have a trip planned to Buzzard's Bay in June that would be a roll of the dice without everybody being vaccinated, as MA is imposing heavy fines to restrict visitors who don't quarantine.

Great work trying to track down all of the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Kudos, and God Bless.

Heart transplant buddy of mine got his second shot last week, the day before we shot 3D. I think it added at least fifteen points to his score! I needed the new Hoyt RX-5 Ultra just to keep up lol.

I used to be angry all the time Until I realized that we are al friends Well, except for this guy. Somebody didn't like him - can you see why?

Here's my specific recommendations for fruit trees - likely overkill, but what the heck. 1. Pick an appropriate root stock for your soil and growing conditions. I like B118 because it's semi-standard, so the tree will be here long after I'm gone. M111 is my second choice. The larger the tree, the longer it will live. And it won't usually need support. But it could take longer to produce fruit. 2. Cummins Nursery in Ithaca has been great to me. St. Lawrence Nursery and Waflers are in NYS, and both have excellent reputations. Turkey Creek gets a lot of play on the Habitat Talk forum (which is a great source of information, too). Friends don't let friends plant big box store trees lol. 3. Figure out when you want to see the apples drop when considering varieties. If they're done by September, they won't be much of a draw for deer. Plant crabtrees as pollinators - they're no-brainers and need less care than apples - and some of the larger ones are deer magnets :). If you were to go straight crabs and skip the apples, you wouldn't be wrong. 4. Protect, protect, protect!! 18" of metal screen around the trunk, stapled together and with the last inch buried in the ground. Ground cloth covered with pea gravel. And 10' of 5' high welded wire fencing with three stakes. Every critter out there wants to sabotage your plantings. As for my own personal preferences when it comes to variety, I like Enterprise, Galarina, Franklin, Liberty, and Golden Russet. That gives you a range of drop times. For crabs, I like Kerr, Dolgo, Wickson, and Virginia. That gives you a range of pollinators.

I spent the last three days in the woods with the chainsaw, dropping dead ash that might fall over our trails all covered with poison ivy (not yet, but they will be...). Also frost seeded clover on the main trails and pruned many dozen of 3-5 year old fruit tree plantings. You will love the Honey Hole - we rough plowed, smoothed with a drag behind harrow, hand broadcast the seed, and dragged over it again once. This was in early August, and the traffic in October was unreal. Unfortunately, almost nothing made it to mature bulbs because of pressure, but it was a great attractant during bow. We also love Big and Beasty from Frigid Forage.

It seems insane with the constant shuffling. Probably why the cancelation hotline works. NYS. Need we say more?

I think you mistake fear with common sense followed by due diligence, my brother. Different choices don't equate to wrong choices. Stay frosty.

Once you've confirmed eligibility via the State's site, they provide a list of venues. Of course, these are generally filled by the time they're posted. But - there is a cancellation hotline that several friends of mine have used to get appointments within a day or two locally. I highly recommend trying this option. As for side effects, acute reactions include general myalgia and fatigue. This is likely an effect of the delivery system rather than the working pieces of the vaccine, and as such we can be reasonably certain that there are no notable long-term consequences. This cannot be said for the disease itself, no matter how mild the symptoms. It simply hasn't been around for more than a year. But given the complications that are emerging in that first year, I suspect that the long term consequences are going to be more like rheumatic fever and less like the flu. I wish I had more solid evidence to present, but "datas are datas" as we say in lab.

Convalescent plasma can be used as treatment. It appears that there is a company in Rochester for donations. I know nothing about it. Their website is slick, but seems hinky.