Yesterday I received my second (and hopefully final) COVID vaccination. Many thanks to all the volunteers and hard working national guard people doing the hard work here where I live. I think everyone deserves a second shot (about three weeks after the first one).

I was fortunate to be one of the early people on the list of possible recipients. Many of my friends and family members still have no idea when they will be able get theirs. Let’s all hope that what I have been reading about herd immunity actually takes hold sometime later this year or early in the next. I am, I suppose, less than shocked that some people immediately assumed they “knew better” that the doctors and research specialists from the CDC and other global health programmes, and assumed that the vaccination is dangerous in some way.

Are these the same people who think that 911 was planned by the US government, and the moon landing was a hoax kept secret by about 400,000 people who worked on it for 10 years, etc. etc. etc.?

THE EFFECT– (I realize this may seem pretentious)

If you are not familiar with it, this is a VERY important concept worth learning about, as it may explain many of the crazy things that have occurred over the past several years:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

A quote: “The psychological phenomenon of illusory superiority was identified as a form of cognitive bias in Kruger and Dunning’s 1999 study “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments”.^[1] The identification derived from the cognitive bias evident in the criminal case of McArthur Wheeler, who, on April 19, 1995, robbed two banks while his face was covered with lemon juice, which he believed would make it invisible to the surveillance cameras. This belief was based on his misunderstanding of the chemical properties of lemon juice as an invisible ink.^[9]“

How many people are out there right now, among us all, who also somehow survived 2020…with “lemon juice” on their proverbial faces? These people are so sure that somehow, their own disbelief in information from authorities and their closely guarded uninformed opinions will protect them (and others…this is the whole point) from the worst global pandemic since the black death (I mean THE BLACK FRIGGIN’ DEATH, people, what do you not understand about this)?

Look at the simple Dunning-Kruger graph and place yourself, dear reader, on any subject…

I try to keep quiet about subjects where I know little, or care little, about- when in a group conversation. American football is a good example subject here…I grew up around it, I once played it in school, but I just can’t support this brutal, life damaging sport- at any level.

Here is an example of exactly the kind of thing I don’t say, when American football is discussed:

To me, perpetuating this sport is no different than gladiatorial knife fighting at close quarters. If knife fighting was as popular, and we allowed our young kids to suffer a few serious injuries as they learned, although few would survive long enough to make it to “the big show”, would we still root and cheer? If you support this game, and also have a basic understanding of the physical damage it can do to long time practitioners, why? Why is it ok to watch someone die slowly, between the beer, truck, and corn chip commercials, as their brains are bashed about Sunday after Sunday? If one player were to pull out a huge hunting knife and slash another players throat in the heat of the moment, he would go to jail, not the hall of fame. Consider that this is exactly what you are seeing, just as brutal, just as dangerous. “Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be brain damaged, chronically depressed invalids” is a song I have not ripped off yet, but it should be played at every college and NFL game from now on.

So put that in yer smoke and pipe it, people-

P.S.

It was pointed out to me that there are many WORSE things than football, and, by comparison, football kills very few. I understand this fact. I’m not about to stand on a street corner holding a “down with the NFL” sign.

Processed sugar (I am American and eat too much of it), alcohol (I do enjoy a drink now and then), and tobacco (don’t leave home without it) all do much more human damage that football ever did or may ever do. I just don’t like football. Or grammar. I do sometimes like to write about things I don’t like. Reminding the reader, I did state that I don’t say those things about football…at least not twice, or without a fat lip, anyway.

Chug Dignugget