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Why doesn't the Ncaa ban fans from the conf tourneys?

argh! said:
"... just let us know what type of chemist you are, that will shut me up.

Home grown chemist:

"Eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat, tongue of dog, adders fork, and blind-worms sting, lizards leg and owlets wing. For a charm of powerful troubles, like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

Don't let that shut you up, you're too entertaining! :lol:
 
tourist said:
argh! said:
"... just let us know what type of chemist you are, that will shut me up.

Home grown chemist:

"Eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat, tongue of dog, adders fork, and blind-worms sting, lizards leg and owlets wing. For a charm of powerful troubles, like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

Don't let that shut you up, you're too entertaining! :lol:

oh shit, he's a real chemist?
 
IdaGriz01 said:
argh! said:
... appreciate your candor, here's my take on what you don't seem to
think is alarm-ringing language: they are scientists at the cdc, who use, and expect to hear, rational scientific language like 'remain vigilant' (or else we're f***[*]). i would guess they didn't need the ''or we're f***[*]" part to understand what was being said. scientific communications aren't meant for fox news.
Actually, I don’t think (hope) you and I are all that far apart on this issue … and I almost sent you a PM with a response I thought you might find informative/amusing. But then I decided it was worth sharing.

First, I totally agree that scientific writing out of the CDC will always be relatively low key and definitely not “meant for Fox news” (or CNN, MSNBC, etc.). I spent nearly thirty years in the close proximity to that environment, as a research scientist and supervisor/manager at the DOE national lab here in Idaho Falls. The documents out of the CDC that I quoted and linked fall strictly into the CYA (“Cover Your Ass”) category, IMO. Recall this segment from the February 25 release:
Implementation of basic precautions of infection control and prevention, including staying home when ill and practicing respiratory and hand hygiene will become increasingly important.
You read the complete documents and they can all be viewed like that. Any criticism that those “basic precautions” should have been implemented sooner can be deflected with: “Well, we told you back in February they’d be 'increasingly important'." And I suspect you would agree that no top-level appointee (even one with a scientific background) is going to shout “fire” when the situation was so fluid and uncertain. The prez wouldn’t know how to interpret all that cautious “tech speak,” and neither would any of his closest advisors.

Actually, I have a strong sense of deju vu with all this. My lab (I’m was a mass spectroscopist, BTW) received samples related to a number of fairly famous radiation emergencies/disasters – Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Rocky Flats – as well as some I probably should still not mention, even now. Of course, the mechanisms for the spread of radioactive substances are generally (but not entirely) different from biological entities. But the public’s (and media’s) reaction to radioactive “events” is, if anything, more paranoid and panicky than the response to anything short of a bone fide bioweapon (think “sarin” on the subways in Japan). So the panic attacks that some people had with those radiation releases -– think the movie China Syndrome –- seem all too familiar. No doubt that plays a role in my interpretation of the CDC documents -- I see more CYA than any attempt to be frankly informative. (FWIW: My wife, also a chemist, performed bioassay analyses to detect potential personnel contamination at Three Mile Island and several other somewhat similar events. So while we were not in the "health fields," we do know a little something around the periphery.)

oh shit, a mass spec guy. i bet you fixed more than a couple with a good swift kick, kinda like the old days when your tv was on the blink!
 
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