In space, no one can hear you cough.

https://youtu.be/3yXbDULnc8M

DIY masks, now a DIY bidet. Pass.

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/1584648914_llvjwvefln.jpg

DIY masks, now a DIY bidet. Pass.

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/1584648914_llvjwvefln.jpg

Slate's a thing, still? anyway, the author linked to in this piece may want to ask how people in upstate New York feel about having the Governor come and and confiscate, err, seize, err liberate ventilators from their hospitals for use in NYC?

That last sentence is a classic case of projection. Isn’t she aware that the rest of the nation is also dealing with the same pandemic? And is a massively diverse group of people who don’t think in lockstep? I could be mistaken, but I don’t believe that Saul Steinberg drew his classic “View of the World from 9th Avenue” cover as a how-to guide to life for insular Manhattanites.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/363791/

Sorry, my mistake. Cuomo is merely sharing the upstate ventilators.

Cuomo calls this “sharing,” but the mostly Republican and rural upstate region has a bitter history with Cuomo leaving deep suspicion, as Cuomo’s plan would leave upstate hospitals with no excess capacity as the virus epicenter spreads out from NYC.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/04/ny-gov-andrew-cuomo-orders-national-guard-to-seize-ventilators-from-upstate-hospitals/

It's his systemic, big-systems acumen that marks the Orange Game Show Host such a spectacular leader in times of crisis:

Chad P. Bown
Verified account @ChadBown
23h23 hours ago

1/ GM steps in to help fight COVID-19. Remember, GM makes cars


GM agrees to learn to make VENTILATORS - a complex machine to aid the human respiratory system.


March 31: GM learns Trump still has 25% trade war tariffs on ventilator PARTS.

From The Guardian:

My nine and eight-year-old kids spent £602 via my iTunes account buying merchandise from the online gaming platform Roblox. I hadn’t realised my bank card would be available to use on my children’s iPads. When I discovered the spending spree I contacted Apple for a goodwill refund. The answer was: “Sorry we can’t help you but do have a nice day.” I then explained my predicament to Roblox. Their response was to terminate my children’s accounts, without any warning on the grounds that they “take fraud very seriously”. My kids are heartbroken because they’ve spent their own savings for years on Roblox, building up an incredible collection of armoury and clothing. As my nine-year-old eloquently put it: “My whole life is now ruined.” JD Brighton

To non-parents, this sounds like staggering incompetence on your part. But parents are up against online gaming giants who specifically target young users, luring them in with addictive attractions and blurring the line between free and chargeable goodies. The games have been dubbed “bait apps” because they incentivise children to buy virtual accessories on their parents’ cards while playing. In 2014 the US Federal Trade Commission ordered Apple to pay out $32.3m (£24.6m) to reimburse American parents for unauthorised app purchases made by their children. Some children had run up bills of several thousand dollars, many of them unaware they were spending real money, while parents were equally unaware a single click could debit their bank card. Banks are supposed to reimburse customers for unauthorised transactions, but only if they have not been negligent with their card and security details. Arguably, parents who allow their children access to their logins, albeit unwittingly, are negligent. One father reported his son to the police in hopes a crime reference number would help him reclaim £3,700 that his 13-year-old son unwittingly spent on his iPad.

Apple claimed that you had previously made a claim for unauthorised spending by a minor – an allegation you deny – but it offered to refund the money as a goodwill gesture after I got in touch. Roblox did not respond to a request for a comment, but on the same day that I contacted the company it informed you it would reinstate your children’s accounts. A few days offline will have hopefully taught them to be vigilant in future. You, meanwhile, need to investigate protection measures, including setting up different Apple IDs for your children. Apple’s Ask to Buy and Family Sharing sends a request to the card holder each time a child tries to make a purchase or download. You can eliminate in-app purchases entirely by turning on Screen Time on their devices.

(end)

Comment:

...any in-game transaction that I've ever seen makes it VERY clear that real, actual money is about to be spent. If your children are unable to process that information, then they shouldn't be having unsupervised access to computers.

And finally, the fact your nine year old says "their whole life is ruined" shows how much you're using the iPads to distract and occupy them. Frankly, I have zero sympathy here, and yes, I am a parent (and grandparent).

From Yurble:

The comments about 90% unsympathetic toward the breeders, since it's hardly a new thing and anyone who buys their kids technology should do a wee bit of research on how to avoid charges...

...Yet, despite the overwhelming lack of sympathy, they've decided to do a new article to highlight this "problem" in the era of COVID-19: with children off school and gaming online parents face shock bills.

Won't someone think of the breeders who have managed to ignore every bit of advice over the last 10 years on this topic and are still shocked at the effects of their neglectful parenting?

(end)

Me: Here's the link to the latter article - one case involves an 11-year-old who STOLE the password and ran up a bill for 1,200 pounds:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/apr/05/with-children-off-school-and-gaming-online-parents-face-shock-bills

The new Louis CK special costs $8, but it's mostly material from the club appearance that was bootlegged in December '18. If you haven't heard *that* show but enjoy Louis CK, you'll like the new special.

And even then, there's one joke about a President of the United States that's worth $9… And you haven't heard it yet.

What a great way to pass the isolation time. The kids have fun with it during the day, and the parents enjoy it too during the night.

https://twitter.com/HoldOnesJuice/status/1246769338293596160

Scroll down in the replies for the only time Will Ferrell has ever been funny:

https://twitter.com/Complex/status/1246135437946650625

When the meds finally start kicking in:

https://twitter.com/gnuman1979/status/1246222574167691270

Classic Tom & Jerry:

https://twitter.com/Phoenix81977532/status/1246194390726586372

Why does this blog hate my posts? Why can I not post links, and why has this been going on for a while now?

I brush. I floss. I deodorize. Is it me?

Gog, don’t know if this helps or not. You can only post one link per post. You must have additional text with the link.

(Don’t know how to embed them and give the link cute names, gotta go to Crid for that)

Isab and Gog,

Use the angle brackets (less than and greater than) to open and close the html coding. The coding inside the angle brackets is:

[less than]a href="insert link here (use the quotation marks to open and close the link)"[greater than]cute nickname[less than]slash-a[greater than]

Lately, Amy's software doesn't like me using that coding, so I've had to post my links without html coding and limit it to one link per post.

It's always one link and always to spec. I thought it might be my Firefox browser so I used Edge and same result.

And now a tragedy, Act 3:

Magogio: "My life! My links! Aarggh." (he dies).

Who likes week-old coffee?

https://twitter.com/jerrysaltz/status/1246165131232452610

The planet's latest nasty girls.

Corona Virus Daily Thread #38