Dr. Gonzo

Yeah it's those (the N95/P95s) - those are most of what I saw being sold (not worn, though) in China for people who wanted pollution masks - I edited my post you quoted also because I figured I could google it. The two people I did see with masks though had shite like the second picture. I imagine it's pretty disgusting being in Beijing or Shanghai (or anywhere where you get weird weather-like pollution) when the pollution rolls in.

Tbf the shops in China (and in the hotel lobbies as well) sold were 3M (or copies of 3M masks, because you know... it's China) with a weird vent thing on the front. I didn't buy one or wear one so I don't know what the vent thing does, let me try googling for it. Found it: https://www.amazon.com/3M-8511-Respirator-Valve-5-Pack/dp/B00FY3EV08/ref=sr_1_25?hvadid=78134093157472&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=3m+n95+mask&qid=1580168408&sr=8-25 it's a "respirator valve" - no clue what that does though lol *edit* oh it just keeps the mask cool, so it doesn't get too hot breathing into a thing that's right in front of your face. But yeah, the ones that are basically just a piece of paper or cloth in front of your mouth aren't going to protect you from anything *edit* and I doubt these other ones do anything either

Isn't this after Muqtada al-Sadr called for the protests to stop?

I saw a grand total of 2 people wearing the masks in Beijing last year, tbh. And nobody wore them in Harbin or Tianjin. But that's because I got lucky with China's shitty air pollution (which sort of rolls in like the weather) - but most people in Asia wearing those masks are generally doing it because they're living in cities where you have pollution roll in like a storm and it hurts your lungs. But yeah, they're also wearing masks more now because they're worried about the coronavirus - just like the footage of Beijing where everyone's got a mask on during the SARS scare.

I've never cleaned my pickups, mostly because I've seen the state of Tony Iommi's pickups and thought "well if he doesn't give a shit about how they look, I don't either." But if the corrosion might be killing my pickups, that'll definitely be something I invest in. I've more been worried about other corrosion in my guitar maintenance - mostly on the bridges/tailpiece, because I don't want rusting to fuck up my ability to intonate the guitar properly. And that's always been a pain in the arse to do, because it's something that usually means I'll have to the bridges and tailpiece off because I don't want to get any shit on the guitar's body. But something that cleans off oxidation & can also clean the guitar's surface.

Oh yeah, there's a good chance something's corroded - the pickups have gotten noticeably more corroded. And I sweat a decent amount when I play... and my house is just a few blocks away from the bay, so the ocean is right there making the air more moist than it probably would be if I were further inland. I think I'll have to take the strings off though, which is very fucking annoying as I put a new set on them on Saturday.

If it's Obsidian making this one... it'll be a fantastic game. Pretty much nailed on, regardless of who's publishing it. The only issue I really see with this is Obsidian is now owned by Microsoft - so I'm not sure how Microsoft Studios (the Microsoft game publishing company) would feel about EA (the publishing company with the Disney contract for Star Wars) putting out a game from one of their developers.

I've not had any weird noise with the ISO Brick yet. Tbh, it's all been working fine until yesterday. But yeah, I don't think I'd even know where to begin in fixing an MXR EQ pedal - it seems like a very complicated pedal. All of the MXR stuff seems pretty well built but also a bit more complicated than it maybe needs to be. I was filling out their form for repairs, but then it asked for the serial # which I don't have right now. And it might be underneath some fuckin' Velcro... so that'll be annoying to get off. I think I've got the box somewhere upstairs at home (at least I hope I do). But looks like I'll have to fill that out tonight and probably will ship it out to them tomorrow. As for the pickup thing... they can totally die?! Fuck! I hope that's not what's gone on. But yeah, changes are I'll be coming home today and checking out that video you mentioned and then trying something along those lines and hoping that fixes it.

Bad news for me in terms of gear. In my SG... I don't really know what the fuck happened to it, but when I switch to the neck pickup... there's no sound at all. They're passive pickups so it's not like I need to change a battery. The bridge pickup works fine. On Saturday it was working fine... but last night it was not. I'm assuming that's some sort of wiring issue. I'm not sure if I want to fix it myself or take it to a guitar tech. And more irritatingly, my favourite pedal... MXR 10 Band is similarly mysteriously fucked. The signal passes through the pedal fine when it's not active, but when I turn the pedal on... firstly nothing lights up (I probably should've noticed the two lights that are always on never lit up when I plugged it in). Then when I turn it back off... I'm still getting signal. So I'm not really sure what the fuck has happened to that - I think I'm going to need to send it in to MXR & hope they won't charge me too much (if anything). The only thing I can think of happening with the pedal is the powersupply I got for a pedalboard fried it. But it's an MXR Iso-Brick... so if my MXR pedal was fried by their power supply, that's very annoying. And it makes me weary to keep using it with some of the pedals I've had for a very long time (like my Digitech Bad Monkey, which they don't make anymore... but I absolutely love that pedal as an overdrive).

So I'm pretty lucky that I've managed to miss out going to China two weeks ago, and my coworker who went in my place came back on Friday. No clue if he's infected, but he's been allowed to work from home - which if he's not been infected is a pretty sweet deal for him. Although if he's infected, that's pretty shit for him.

Juve can’t afford him

Yeah that one

Hasn’t the bonfire song been going since the 80s? There’s one chant I saw regarding Ed Woodward being I thought was a bit fucked up - if the media’s going to bitch about chants maybe do the one that’s not been going on since before I was born

Klopp also got us to 2 finals in his first season after our miserable start to that season. With a squad he didn’t build and using tactics for that squad he knew he would abandon after he could bring his own players in (which is more tactical flexibility than Solksjaer’s ever shown tbh). And even if you take away from the fact that we improved on the pitch when Klopp came in, then improved more significantly after he made signings... the numbers themselves paint a different story between the 2 managers as well. In his first full season Klopp had a 57% win rate in the league, getting us over 70 points and into the CL. It’s possible for Solksjaer to get around 70 points, but I think it’s unlikely given United’s win rate in the league this season. It’s easy to see why Klopp was given time - he demonstrated good reason why he deserves time and it was worth persisting. You just can’t say the same for United right now. I understand that the people above him are ultimately the biggest problem at the club. But incompetence above the manager underscores the need for a competent manager. Right now United are a sailboat with no rudder and no sails.

Doesn’t he also have someone at BBC Sport shilling for him?

Ed Woodward’s hired Neil Ashton, from the sun, to improve his PR. Disgusting person

When I was a kid, I was always too scared to play Dimebag’s solos because I thought they’d be way too hard. Now I’m revisiting a bunch of Pantera songs and this time I’m going to actually learn the solos. Started about 30 minutes ago and I’m finding it’s really showing how much of a genius Dimebag Darrell was on guitar

A lot of people are traveling to and from China right around now because they've got their New Year coming up on Saturday - I can understand why a place with a large Chinese student population would be a bit paranoid about the disease spreading. They probably have family coming to visit, or have just come back. With the symptoms being basically the exact same as the common cold... I'd certainly be worried if I was coming into contact with someone who'd just been to China.

Tbh, I don't know how you close down cities as big as Wuhan (11m people, I think) or Haungang (6m), or Ezhou (which is still pretty large at around 1m). There's reports that people have managed to sneak out of Wuhan despite the quarantine and I'm not surprised about that considering how big of a city it is. Meanwhile, people in Wuhan (and the other cities) are still going to need food and supplies - so there will probably be distribution points where there will be massive groups of people. Infected people will be a part of those massive groups - and the groups are going to make it more likely for the disease to spread. I worry that the quarantining may actually make things worse - like Ebola quarantines did. But that could just be me being a pessimist.

I don't think he was really helped by being overplayed by his national team in the summer while he was still recovering from injury. Saw a highlight real of him on the Liverpool subreddit which showed he was clearly injured and struggling on the pitch - and taking some pretty nasty challenges - but they'd keep playing him for long periods of those matches. An actual summer off would be good for him and while we've had our midfield depth tested with injuries to him, Ox, Fabinho, and Milner this season - we've been getting players back so hopefully we'll be in a position where we can keep him out until he's fully fit. He's a good player when fit and in form. Having said that, I think his inability to stay fit - coupled with AOC's own fitness issues makes it pretty understandable why the club is rumoured to be looking at bringing in a new central midfielder. Those two having constant injury woes + Lallana (a player who has also had a rough time with injury) likely leaving at the end of the season mean we should probably be looking at strengthening our depth in the position.

China's shut down Huangang, as well as Wuhan, to stop the spread of the virus.

Even if you're playing massive gigs, a lot of bands are playing something that's going straight to front of house - big amps are cool, but they're pretty archaic nowadays. It's only really big old school bands that use multiple 4x12 cabinets (like Slayer) still - and even many of the old school bands have moved onto smaller amps/newer technology because it's just easier.

Think United need a mid winter break to a house fire tbh

There’s also this: New head of trade body urges caution over divergence from EU rules Britain’s aerospace and defence companies fired a warning shot at Boris Johnson’s government on Wednesday after chancellor Sajid Javid’s defiant comments that there would be no regulatory alignment with the EU after Brexit. In a speech to the sector’s biggest annual gathering in London, Tony Wood, incoming president of the industry trade body, ADS, said staying aligned with European aviation regulations was “in our national interest”. Mr Wood went on to warn that any changes to the current status — where the UK remains a member of the European Union Aviation Safety regime (EASA) — “need to be considered and carefully introduced.” “If the UK government has a different ambition, it needs to work with us to make sure we can deliver,” Mr Wood added. People close to the new ADS boss called for the government to set out its position in consultation with industry. They said his remarks reflected deep frustration in the aerospace and defence industries over the government’s failure to accept the implications of divergence from the EU. Companies and trade bodies across several sectors reacted with dismay to comments by Mr Javid in an interview with the FT last week in which he insisted Britain would not be a ruletaker from Brussels. He added that after 3½ years of Brexit paralysis businesses in the UK have had plenty of time to prepare for the effects of leaving the bloc. Two senior aerospace executives said it was unclear whether this was clear policy or whether Mr Javid was merely taking a hardline position ahead of what are likely to be tough trade negotiations with the EU. Either way, it was impossible for businesses to prepare for a new regime if they did not know what the government proposed in its place, said Paul Everitt, ADS chief executive. The UK aerospace industry, which has a highly-regulated global supply chain, relies on membership of EASA to maintain common safety and certification standards that are also acceptable to the US safety agency, the Federal Aviation Administration. The industry has estimated that it would take a decade and cost between £30m and £40m a year to create a UK safety authority with all the expertise of EASA, against a current contribution to the European agency of £1m to £4m annually. While aircraft components are exempt from tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules, the aerospace industry has long argued that divergence from European regulations would add cost and complexity to UK manufacturing and jeopardise export success. In 2018, UK exported some £34bn in aerospace products. In October, Mr Everitt wrote to British government ministers raising the industry’s concerns about divergence after it emerged that Mr Johnson planned to ditch close regulatory ties with the EU. Tom Enders, the former chief executive of Airbus — the Franco-German aerospace group which has significant operations in the UK — warned repeatedly that the company could begin to shift investment out of Britain if competitiveness was harmed by Brexit. In his speech on Wednesday night, Mr Wood also called on government to double the funding of the Aerospace Technology Institute from the current £150m a year to £300m a year to 2036 in a bid to preserve the UK’s future technological expertise. This funding would be matched by industry, Mr Everitt said. https://www.ft.com/content/a89dfdea-3d07-11ea-a01a-bae547046735