Drew Dowdell

@USA-1 your strong immune system could very well be your undoing if you were to catch Covid. Many of the young healthy people who died did so because their immune system over reacted and flooded their lungs with mucus and inflamed air passages too much in an attempt to fight the virus. You are correct that mRNA vaccines have not been widely used like this before, but they are not untested. The vaccine itself is out of your system within a few days of each shot, removed by your immune system. While using mRNA is a new technique for creating immune response, that’s where the novelty of it ends. Once your body recognizes it as an intruder, the immune process works the same as any other vaccine or even just being infected. And because the vaccine is expelled within days by the body, there is no reason to assume any long term side effects. Think of mRNA as the 3D Printing of the vaccine world. Once the composition of a virus’s spike protein is known, we now have the ability to isolate just the DNA that creates just that spike protein. With today’s technology, that means a vaccine can be developed for a specific virus within weeks to months instead of years. The implications of mRNA vaccines are huge. While we’ve all been talking about just COVID-19, scientists are already looking at using this technology for scores of other diseases such as cancer. This has been a breakthrough as big or bigger than antibiotics and we’re seeing the beginning of it. mRNA vaccines won’t work for all types of viruses, but it will work for a lot of common ones. I imagine in a few years once the focus on Covid has died down, there will be vaccines for the common cold. And because the technology is akin to 3D printing, the new vaccines will be relatively cheap to produce as well. The data so far shows that people who have been vaccinated have significantly higher antibody levels than those who got Covid, so even if you had it before you are not as well protected as someone who got their shots. The only people who died from the shot were either in extremely frail health and should not have been vaccinated in the first place or people who have severe allergic reactions to an unrelated ingredient in the vaccine. People who experience certain kinds of allergies are instructed not to get the Moderna or Pfizer shots. The J&J shot has a significantly lower rate of allergic reaction, but also lower protection from the virus. There are only 2 big question marks that will only be answered with time. 1. Will we need to get boosters to combat against variants? So far the data shows that while you may not be completely protected from a new variant, having the vaccine does prevent the illness from becoming serious enough to cause hospitalization and completely prevents death from the virus. So for now, getting the shots is worthwhile even with the variants out there. I will get the Moderna variants booster if/when it becomes available and needed. We have to do this with influenza every year, so it’s no big deal. 2. The other question mark is on how long immunity lasts. Most vaccines require booster shots after a period of years. The MMR vaccine is usually given to children, but for people my age and older they’re finding that the body forgets how to make the antibodies after a bunch of years for the vaccine that was being used in the early 80s when I got mine. There is a newer MMR shot that is supposed to improve on that which children are getting these days. I got a booster for MMR a couple years ago because I had the old vaccine. A few years ago I talked to my doctor and had him put me on a schedule to get boosters of anything and everything I might need because I was traveling internationally regularly. But the risk of the body forgetting how to make antibodies is present for nearly all vaccines, so while we do not have data yet on when boosters for Covid-19 might be needed, I’m just assuming they will be needed eventually in order to maintain immunity. I do hope you’ll reconsider and eventually get the shot USA.

Gas cap loose?

Without vaccines, “herd immunity” is just another way of saying “the weak shall perish”. These vaccines have been in development for over a decade and that’s the only reason they were done so quickly. They were trying to develop a vaccine for common cold viruses and the work they did for that translated directly into a Covid-19 vaccine. I would expect CDC guidance to change as the situation changes and new things are learned, that’s just common sense. My whole pod is vaccinated now, so we’re able to gather as a family for the first time since last year for Easter. So far, the vaccine is proving to be effective against severe illness when someone is infected with the variants. I expect all of those who get vaccinated will need boosters at some point. I get my flu vaccine every year, I’ll get the Covid one as often as needed.

So that second pair is pretty close to what I’d buy if I got LEDs because they look pretty close to OEM. However, I think this set might also look awesome given the horizontal theme on my front end. Four horizontal DRLs might look awesome.

If one person tailgates you, they’re a douchebag. If a whole line of cars is tailgating you, you’re the douchebag.

Wrong year, I need the sealed beam style. I ended up buying the Philips Crystal Visions. $54 for all 4 bulbs. I’ll run them for a while and if I don’t like them I’ll get the Philips LED version. I didn’t go with them this time around because they’re $86 per bulb plus tax and shipping on RockAuto. I don’t remember the last time I changed the halogens on the Toronado and halogen bulbs lose brightness over time. So it might just be age.

I’m not finding and LED retrofits that I like, so I may try those.

Name: Oldsmobile Toronado Category: Vehicles Date Added: 2021-04-02 Submitter: Drew Dowdell Oldsmobile Toronado So as I mentioned in another thread, I’m trying to keep the truck parked for a while and only drive the Toronado. As I was driving home last night I noticed how dim the sealed beams are. I have LEDs on the truck and active HIDs on the Chrysler. I think I need to find an LED retrofit for the Toronado just for safety reasons.

Buns

That’s..... not supposed to happen

About as subtle as a hemorrhoid

I don’t know who that guy is but he looks one spare rib dinner away from a heart attack.

The day we are reminded what we are the other 364.

I qualified because I’m management in an organization with first responders. Albert had to wait a bit longer but eventually he got qualified because he is taking care of his parents. He got his second shot today of Pfizer. He says he’s feeling fine but I’ve caught him napping today. ( he’s off today) my best friend qualified under the BMI rule which is ridiculously low. He’s a weight trainer so he’s not actually obese but his BMI qualified him.

I have an ION I bought from @Paolino a bunch of years ago. Software support for it is virtually nil now. Instead of trying to get the ion software to work, download Audacity for free and use the record player as a Mic input. It will save hours of frustration.

I think it was successful. The spam account signups have dropped way down. I’m getting way less spam in my admin email account. And comment spam is down to just 2 since the attack (typically runs around 100 a week, you just never see them) so I think we can call this a win.

Just a place to swap stories about our vaccine experiences. I got the Moderna shot on Jan 11th. Other than a sore arm for a few days (same thing I get with a flu shot) I had no side effects. I got my second shot on Feb 11th at 6pm. The next morning I woke up feeling feverish with body aches and chills. I took Advil and drank Gatorade and felt blah all day. In the evening I had to pick up a curbside grocery order, I didn’t feel well but I went anyway. On the way back I really felt awful and almost pulled over to make Albert drive back. I made it home and went right back to bed. I had fevers during the night for the next few nights. I didn’t start feeling normal again until day 5 and didn’t catch up on my sleep for a week. but I’d do it again to avoid getting Covid.

But.... it only just started on the market.

That looks cool. I need 78 though. I have all of my grandparents records and I haven’t been able to play them.

That looks really close to Oldsmobile blue. When did they stop using green on the Buick engines?

I'm sure I could find one... I just want something a bit better. This is what I am aiming for. https://amzn.to/2OhVU9M

I could understand a worn belt making the record play slower or inconsistently, but I'm not sure how it would make it play faster. Anyway, it's a 30ish year old el'cheapo unit from Bradlies (anyone remember that chain?) and it is connected to an oversized stereo. I'm going to get something that hooks up to my surround sound either via USB or Bluetooth and downsize substantially.

Somehow, even with partial WFH, I'm already at 10,000 miles on the truck since August. I don't even know where I'm driving to be doing that. But I also noticed this week that I've put only 1,000 miles on the Toronado since June. So since Sunday the truck has been parked and I've been taking the Toronado when I need to go places and I'm moving back to WFH a lot more. And of course taking the bike on every nice day I can.

Yes, those visitors are what is keeping the site alive via their ad revenue. We do fairly well on search results for niche automotive things. We get a huge number of hits for the 4.3 V8 Baby LT1 and for some reason no one knows how to pronounce Impala as those two threads still get a huge number of hits.

I don’t know the album, but it reminded me that I need to get a new turntable. Mine is malfunctioning. Even though the speed is set correctly it seems to be playing faster than 33 but not quite 45. It’s just enough off for you to think “something is not right here “ but not fast enough to be the Chipmunks.