Winter into summer...

My mask policy:

I will wear one if you want me to wear one. I'll use video meetings if that makes you more comfortable.  I don't care if you wear a mask or not.  I'm not asking for your vaccination status.  If you feel sick, stay home.  If I feel sick, I'll stay home.  If my allergies are acting up, I'll take a covid test at home just to be sure.

If I walk into your business and you ask me to put a mask on, I will so long as you provide one.  I don't carry a mask with me.  If you want me to wear one, and you don't provide one, I'll take my business elsewhere.  No hard feelings.  I get it, even though I might not think the same way you do you have every right to run your business in the best way you see fit.

I don't wear a mask when I get my hair cut and my gal doesn't wear one when she cuts my hair.  Barbering is one of the closer contact and more intimate retail experiences though, so masks probably provide people with more comfort in that setting than they would in say, a grocery store, bank, or even a lawyer's office.

This.

If you're wondering why I haven't posted a fishing report in awhile, it's because I've had covid now for over a week.

I missed my daughter's graduation, had to cancel two family gatherings, cancelled a post graduation trip. I'd been PCR testing about every 3 days because things had gotten so out of hand here in Alameda.  So when my daughter finally got COVID, I was not surprised and I also knew I was doomed.

What did surprise me was that when I finally did start getting sick, I still rapid tested negative. And when I got my last PCR test results back, I had been positive for 2 full days before I had any symptoms at all. Let that sink in slowly for awhile.....  So when you say "I know my body" I gotta call BS and let you know that when you get it you'll have no idea you have it and will still be spreading the virus to others...who can in fact die.  Masks are not a large ask.

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If you're wondering why I haven't posted a fishing report in awhile, it's because I've had covid now for over a week.

I missed my daughter's graduation, had to cancel two family gatherings, cancelled a post graduation trip. I'd been PCR testing about every 3 days because things had gotten so out of hand here in Alameda.  So when my daughter finally got COVID, I was not surprised and I also knew I was doomed.

What did surprise me was that when I finally did start getting sick, I still rapid tested negative. And when I got my last PCR test results back, I had been positive for 2 full days before I had any symptoms at all. Let that sink in slowly for awhile.....  So when you say "I know my body" I gotta call BS and let you know that when you get it you'll have no idea you have it and will still be spreading the virus to others...who can in fact die.  Masks are not a large ask.

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Do masks work?  Are tests a confident result?  The only bs I’m calling is the asymptomatic fear narrative…sorry you got the covid, I’ve had it twice and the second recovery was licekty split.  Covid is wicked and I never get sick until this disease so it’s easier to recognize symptoms.  See ya’ on the wattah’

I'm completely neutral on masks. My wife wears one everywhere she goes, and I'm OK with that, But for me, I never wear one when it's optional.

To turn this in a more fishing oriented direction, I'll never forgive the authorities who wouldn't allow us to go fishing during covid. There has never been a dumber policy than locking people inside as a way to try to battle a respiratory infection. If you want to avoid infection, there was (and still is) no better place to be than outdoors.

This.
After a close to 20 year hiatus from any kayak fishing, during the pandemic I re-ignited the fire, sold off the old Neckys gathering dust in the garage and purchased a Hobie i9 and then an Outback and haven't looked back. I've caught more and larger fish in the last 2 years than in the previous 10. I've somewhat neglected my other pursuits of mountain biking, skiing, fly-fishing and adventure motorcycling. And work may have suffered slightly, since days not fishing often involve scanning weather and planning fishing trips. 

I'm completely neutral on masks. My wife wears one everywhere she goes, and I'm OK with that, But for me, I never wear one when it's optional.

To turn this in a more fishing oriented direction, I'll never forgive the authorities who wouldn't allow us to go fishing during covid. There has never been a dumber policy than locking people inside as a way to try to battle a respiratory infection. If you want to avoid infection, there was (and still is) no better place to be than outdoors.

Agreed. And I applaud Eddie for speaking his mind. The risk averse absolutely lorded over the risk tolerant during the Covid times. Those in favor of lockdowns and masks and compulsory vaccination often responded to pushback by calling people selfish or science deniers or whatever other variation on what really seemed to mean “shut up and do what you’re told.”

The beach closures, fishing closures, and a lot of other closures were a fiasco, and I can’t  forget who made  those policies happen in a feedback loop that got more political than science based almost immediately. Part of the problem was that risk-tolerant people got the message to shut up. There’s an old saying: if everyone leaned in the same direction, the world would tip over. To me, that’s part of what has happened. Some of what went on with schools and kids will be very hard to forgive.

Sorry you saw it as a 'shut up and do what you're told' situation.  I saw it as people trying to do anything they can to stop the spread and keep people alive.  It's sad that so many wouldn't listen to science, this could have had a vastly different outcome if those guidelines were followed and more people didn't listen to false information from people that don't give a damn about them.  Yeah, it wasn't convenient... sorry!  Lets see how you do when faced with a national crisis and just decided to do nothing about it but carry on with life while people died by the thousands, hospitals and workers overrun and over worked with not even enough protection for themselves to carry out their jobs. 

And work may have suffered slightly, since days not fishing often involve scanning weather and planning fishing trips.

THIS. Glad to know I'm not the only one.

Lets see how you do when faced with a national crisis and just decided to do nothing about it but carry on with life while people died by the thousands, hospitals and workers overrun and over worked with not even enough protection for themselves to carry out their jobs.

Yeah, the "Live Free or Die" crowd would have had a real test of principle.

Sorry you saw it as a 'shut up and do what you're told' situation.  I saw it as people trying to do anything they can to stop the spread and keep people alive.  It's sad that so many wouldn't listen to science, this could have had a vastly different outcome if those guidelines were followed and more people didn't listen to false information from people that don't give a damn about them.  Yeah, it wasn't convenient... sorry!  Lets see how you do when faced with a national crisis and just decided to do nothing about it but carry on with life while people died by the thousands, hospitals and workers overrun and over worked with not even enough protection for themselves to carry out their jobs.

You seem to think my view is "just decided to do nothing" because that's what you said in response to my comment where I advocated no such thing. That's a classic straw man, setting up an extreme viewpoint that someone isn't even advocating and then railing against that made-up extreme as if that proves anything. I only asserted that discussion over the pros and cons was shut down by grouping everyone with concerns into this general basket of science deniers, misinformed, whatever, and you went directly there. It's not pleasant to make a reasonable assertion and get hit with a straw man argument that, as my original point suggested, only shuts down the discussion. I don't want to be cast as a wacko with extreme "do nothing" views, but here we are. And you probably find it equally unpleasant to get called out on your straw man tactic. That's what shuts the whole thing down just as I've described because it makes people annoyed with each other, afraid of bad blood, etc. I don't want to make a point about discussion being chilled and have it implied that I'm a fool who wanted to do nothing, and I don't know if you realize that's what you did. But it sure makes me wish I hadn't said anything and regretful (ie, it chills discussion just like i'm saying here). It's become such a bread and butter move for the risk averse and those supporting the lockdowns and mandates. There's a whole lot of real estate between science haters who want to "do nothing" and reasonable people with genuine concerns about things like school closures that they were reluctant to share because of the vitriolic (or straw man) responses they would get.

I don't want to be annoyed at anyone here on the fishing chat, and I don't want ya'll annoyed at me. There's no question that discussion after discussion of the Covid came down to "don't criticize policy because the intentions are good." And here we did it all over again with the "Let's see how you do..." which is another way of saying don't criticize because the intentions were good. Sorry, but the actions taken by government didn't purely spring out of good intentions. Politicians here in Cali realized their voters wanted more restrictions and mandates, partly to feel smarter and more moral than those science deniers, regardless of how effective those might turn out to be and regardless of the negative effects on people's lives that went way beyond the mere inconvenience, which is how you just characterized the downsides ("Yeah, it wasn't convenient). People feel they are being gaslighted when their business is shut down, their income takes a hit, their kid is falling behind, and they can't go live their lives all for policies that may or may not be helping and they are told it's merely an inconvenience and they must be some science-denying, selfish, misinformed dolt who shouldn't question or criticize because intentions are good. Thought maybe that scenario could be avoided here and that this discussion was maybe a little different. Why this need to invoke the stereotype of the selfish dumb science denier in response to every challenge to the pro-lockdown/pro-mandate worldview? Not everyone with different views is an idiot, but I understand how it's easier feeling comfortable telling other people what they have to do (over their objections) if you see those people as inferior. My bad.

Hope every one feels healthy and happy with the people around them and we can all put it behind us. It's been a poop show all around and, like Eddie, I share my thoughts somewhat reluctantly here knowing it could be pointless and that political stuff can be unpleasant. But I'm exhausted with all of this and have held my own thoughts in quite a bit in the last few years even in the face of plain absurdity. I tried to patiently and fairly spell out my thoughts here in a respectful way without misrepresenting anything anyone said here on the thread, and that's all I hope for in return.

Thank you Al and Gopher for getting down and dirty and keeping it real.  Yes, I needed to rant and hear from this community for balance and I found it.  I am still under the belief that the cure was way worse than the disease.  Again, both sides can support either direction and I do read both sides often.

FWIW I don’t consider that I caved to my own convictions.  Yesterday I wore a mask for a 1st time toddler and am still reflecting on how I felt about it, professional and service oriented with hospitality, yes…resentful and judgmental, no…my policy for the salon may have adjusted gently towards a few that may request a mask to begin their self imposed lockdown relief by starting with a kids haircut.  As predicted, the client was grateful yet very child centric which has its challenges of its own so once the door is open for this kind of allowance  I’m not sure what to expect from said requester in overall parenting style.  Stay tuned, we’ll get through this.  It’s not quite time to rip the band aid off season but I’m right on the edge.  My understanding is “the science” and ways to prove scientific fact have been vastly compromised, even re written, so Mr Gopher I’m leaning way in the denier deplorable catagory but am not too worried about it.  Aloha 

Sorry you saw it as a 'shut up and do what you're told' situation.  I saw it as people trying to do anything they can to stop the spread and keep people alive.  It's sad that so many wouldn't listen to science, this could have had a vastly different outcome if those guidelines were followed and more people didn't listen to false information from people that don't give a damn about them.  Yeah, it wasn't convenient... sorry!  Lets see how you do when faced with a national crisis and just decided to do nothing about it but carry on with life while people died by the thousands, hospitals and workers overrun and over worked with not even enough protection for themselves to carry out their jobs.

You seem to think my view is "just decided to do nothing" because that's what you said in response to my comment where I advocated no such thing. That's a classic straw man, setting up an extreme viewpoint that someone isn't even advocating and then railing against that made-up extreme as if that proves anything. I only asserted that discussion over the pros and cons was shut down by grouping everyone with concerns into this general basket of science deniers, misinformed, whatever, and you went directly there. It's not pleasant to make a reasonable assertion and get hit with a straw man argument that, as my original point suggested, only shuts down the discussion. I don't want to be cast as a wacko with extreme "do nothing" views, but here we are. And you probably find it equally unpleasant to get called out on your straw man tactic. That's what shuts the whole thing down just as I've described because it makes people annoyed with each other, afraid of bad blood, etc. I don't want to make a point about discussion being chilled and have it implied that I'm a fool who wanted to do nothing, and I don't know if you realize that's what you did. But it sure makes me wish I hadn't said anything and regretful (ie, it chills discussion just like i'm saying here). It's become such a bread and butter move for the risk averse and those supporting the lockdowns and mandates. There's a whole lot of real estate between science haters who want to "do nothing" and reasonable people with genuine concerns about things like school closures that they were reluctant to share because of the vitriolic (or straw man) responses they would get.

I don't want to be annoyed at anyone here on the fishing chat, and I don't want ya'll annoyed at me. There's no question that discussion after discussion of the Covid came down to "don't criticize policy because the intentions are good." And here we did it all over again with the "Let's see how you do..." which is another way of saying don't criticize because the intentions were good. Sorry, but the actions taken by government didn't purely spring out of good intentions. Politicians here in Cali realized their voters wanted more restrictions and mandates, partly to feel smarter and more moral than those science deniers, regardless of how effective those might turn out to be and regardless of the negative effects on people's lives that went way beyond the mere inconvenience, which is how you just characterized the downsides ("Yeah, it wasn't convenient). People feel they are being gaslighted when their business is shut down, their income takes a hit, their kid is falling behind, and they can't go live their lives all for policies that may or may not be helping and they are told it's merely an inconvenience and they must be some science-denying, selfish, misinformed dolt who shouldn't question or criticize because intentions are good. Thought maybe that scenario could be avoided here and that this discussion was maybe a little different. Why this need to invoke the stereotype of the selfish dumb science denier in response to every challenge to the pro-lockdown/pro-mandate worldview? Not everyone with different views is an idiot, but I understand how it's easier feeling comfortable telling other people what they have to do (over their objections) if you see those people as inferior. My bad.

Hope every one feels healthy and happy with the people around them and we can all put it behind us. It's been a poop show all around and, like Eddie, I share my thoughts somewhat reluctantly here knowing it could be pointless and that political stuff can be unpleasant. But I'm exhausted with all of this and have held my own thoughts in quite a bit in the last few years even in the face of plain absurdity. I tried to patiently and fairly spell out my thoughts here in a respectful way without misrepresenting anything anyone said here on the thread, and that's all I hope for in return.

Posting to point out that gopher and I are not the same person.  Some folks are probably skeptical.

Gopher hits it all though.  This is all going to hopefully be studied ad infinitum over the next decades. 

And for Al, I'd gladly take me as benevolent philosopher king over any of the WHO/Dr. Fauci/Western state governors.  Police in southern California were chasing down people on abandoned beaches and arresting them for surfing.  Reason went straight out the window.  You can go back and read the covid threads here.  There was one in particular about travelling to go fishing. 

I finally settled on do your own thing and don't tell anybody about it.  I still do that.  It shouldn't have to be that way, but Gopher is right.  The risk averse scream the loudest and try to shame people into conformity with their worldview. 

To turn this in a more fishing oriented direction, I'll never forgive the authorities who wouldn't allow us to go fishing during covid. There has never been a dumber policy than locking people inside as a way to try to battle a respiratory infection. If you want to avoid infection, there was (and still is) no better place to be than outdoors.

When you put it that way yeah it sounds dumb as shit, but when one frames it as "minimizing traffic to small communities who have meager medical resources" it makes a lot more sense.

To turn this in a more fishing oriented direction, I'll never forgive the authorities who wouldn't allow us to go fishing during covid. There has never been a dumber policy than locking people inside as a way to try to battle a respiratory infection. If you want to avoid infection, there was (and still is) no better place to be than outdoors.

When you put it that way yeah it sounds dumb as shit, but when one frames it as "minimizing traffic to small communities who have meager medical resources" it makes a lot more sense.

Which is why when the eastern Sierra counties asked the governor and the DFG Commission to postpone the trout season, it made perfect sense and didn't ruffle all that many feathers, as compared to Inslee who banned all fishing statewide in WA. 

There was a time when we all got together to fight and win a World War, and now people get butthurt about having to wear a little mask, just when they are around other people, during a global pandemic of a virulent, airborne-transmitted disease.

But my freedums!

There are 1,000,000+ dead people in our country alone that left children, wives, husbands, parents, and everyone else behind and alone.

But my freedums!

(Okay, carry on.)

There was a time when we all got together to fight and win a World War, and now people get butthurt about having to wear a little mask, just when they are around other people, during a global pandemic of a virulent, airborne-transmitted disease.

But my freedums!

There are 1,000,000+ dead people in our country alone that left children, wives, husbands, parents, and everyone else behind and alone.

But my freedums!

(Okay, carry on.)

You guys aren't even trying, yet you make gopher's points for him.  Impressive.