Has any one heard from Tom DVM? I have not see him posting for a few days.
Someone suggested on the questions for the moderators thread, a couple days ago, that he had not posted since the anon22/monotreme situation. I am a longtime constant lurker/infrequent poster. Tom DVM: you are missed!
Bronco Bill seems to think we might see Tom DVM and some of the others that no longer post in protest of the mods handling of certain editing events. I’m not so sure.
I do second your sentiment that Tom DVM is very missed here. I just wish we would all put our purpose and information sharing first and subjugate our ego’s a little here. The fluwikie has great potential for good, and every Tom DVM we lose diminishes our capacity to realize that potential when TSHTF.
He posted a /:0) on MOnotreme’s new site. I’m sure he is fine. Just taking a reprieve.
where is monotreme’s new site?
Thanks!
….. since the anon22/monotreme situation….
I obviously missed all that. I miss them both. Their input is/was second to none. And heck, every great once in awhile Tom would post something funny.
8-D
Where is Tom DVM and everyone else? I went through the profile list and was surprised at all the names of former prominant posters I recognized. Then I realized how many of these haven’t posted lately.
The site meter dropped off just as quickly in October as it climbed in May.
Have fluwikians lost interest in BF?
Have they found a different board?
How could an avid fluwikien lose demonstrate such concern about BF and then lose interest?
Will I be the next to lose interest? I hope so. I said when I started, I would get prepped and forget about it. But I can’t. It’s an obsession almost. Maybe it’s some sort of disorder we here have. After all, people who stew about flu make for not even .001% of the populous.
This whole BF thing is soooooooooo sureal.
We talk about the end of civilization being just around the corner and it’s not even on the news. uncanny.
You can hear a pin drop on the Great Fluwiki Quote Thread.
ping
.
Jumping Jack Flash – at 20:46
….it’s some sort of disorder we here have…..
……Yes JJF, it’s time for your medicine…..
School, pretty weather, football, holiday one right after another all keep people off the computer and there’s a regular attrition and growth with every forum that exists; like living and breathing. For instance, you might not see some of the old names you’re used to, but you also see a lot of new names of newcomers you can meet and get to know.
The sound of one hand clapping—
I’m not hanging round here much these days. But then I can’t offer much in discussion that doesn’t seem to violate, in some way, the new guidelines (not that I could debate at the level of anon 22 and Monotreme, even on a good day and stoked with espresso ;-)
I hesitate to be the one to explain the anon22/monotreme situation because I don’t want to offend. But, here goes… Monotreme started a thread with a post describing why and how he thought China was responsible for much of what is going on and what will happen. The discussion ensued and then Anon22 removed the thread, informed Monotreme and the other mods and the mods apparently concurred with her that Monotreme was out of line by describing China’s “intent” to harm and not just their actions. He stood by his post and would not change it. I, also, think that Tom DVM is protesting. The questions for the mods thread two days ago had a link to the original China post by Monotreme. I am very, very sorry to see this happen. I have followed Monotreme’s, Tom DVM’s and Anon 22′s posts closely for the last year. The FW will suffer from the loss of monotreme’s wisdom and Tom DVM’s if he chooses not to return.
…all that to say that it was not their lack of interest at all that is resulting in their absence.
Dumb… just plain dumb. Dumb at FC, Dumb at FT and dumb here at FW.
My guess is everybody will show up at Monotremes Place once he gets it running better, and this joint will fizzle out…
On the subject of missing people. Whatever happened to Lily? She was an interesting soul. I enjoyed her posts.
Monotreme and anon-22′s dustup was like watching a couple you like divorce. You can see both sides and can’t really side with either and it just makes everybody else around them miserable that they can’t work it out.
I don’t seem to be learning much, my brain isn’t being challenged and stretched this week.
Jumping Jack Flash – at 21:02 Although I’m sure some would love that, it ain’t gonna happen. Life goes on and so will FW. Lily wanted to go have Fall fun since the numbers with AI/flu weren’t growing.
Kimt try the canning thread — it’ll challange you - it’s killin’ me :-)
Well if we can’t live together on a forum, worlds apart, what in the hell is going to happen when the PLANET SIP’s!!!
Nova at 21:03 -
Not sure - but posts by diana remind me somewhat of Lily:)
OKbirdwatcher – at 21:17 they do me too…..both ladies are free spirits with a poetry mind. I think Diana mut be younger than Lily, but she’ll catch up as experience allows.
If memory serves, Tom DVM was or is haveing some health problems. Perhaps he is taking time for himself, and being with his family.
All boards go through phases of both regular participants coming and going, as well as more painful transitions. Just how it is. It seems to happen more on the flu-boards when there is not much concrete happening in the flu-world.
The only thing certain in life is change. Fluwiki will survive just fine. :-)
cottontop – at 21:24
Or Tom finally realizes he can’t put off his preps, and can’t spend all day posting here.
Still lurking.
Just another suggestion on why things are fizzling down a bit, based entirely upon personal experience.
Living in intense knowledge of a pandemic for a year or more can have very adverse mental health ramifications - especially if day-to-day life is falling short of needs. We have already seen a few contributors (and I am paramount amongst them) reach the point of not being able to sustain the intensity of continuous life on Flu Wiki, a so called adjustment reaction. Ultimately, each of us must take and give what we can handle, and then it may be time to move on to a “safer” place for a while.
The Wiki has been a catalyst for a world-wide initiative that crosses national, ethnic, and age boundaries to prepare for what may be the unimaginable or unsurvivable. I hope that it does not loose that concept of hope, but it may be natural that chronic stress will be the mechanism causes many “regulars” to fade to other sites or even to retreat to lurker status and concentrate solely upon personal survival without remaining on the front of the preparedness wave. We need to get used to it - if the pandemic comes the odds are many of us, no matter how prepared or informed, may not be be here, and others must pick up and go on with what they have learned.
I hate that things have come to this, but growth is never without some pain. I’ll be lurking myself until something significant changes - either personally or scientifically - for the foreseeable future. This is not to make any statement, but to avoid crushing depression from living in the shadow of a pandemic. The battle is best left to those capable of fighting it. We all react based upon our experiences.
TRay75 – at 21:34
Well said. I must say I went away for a few weeks to collect my thoughts. It’s hard to hang around for too long without losing perspective.
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 21:15
I started cooking and taking care of a family of 6 by the time I was 10 years old. I can cook and can, but it basically bores me to tears. I hate household stuff. I just wish I had a homemaker to take care of me. ; ) I do the pinch of this and a dollop of that-haven’t used a real recipe in years.
For the past 8 months I have signed on at least once a day, probably still will…FW is addictive. Gonna spend more time on one of my final preps, becoming self-employed; non dependant on my current office of pandemic denilers (sp) is that a word?
TRay75 – at 21:34
Thanks. It’s rare that I print out a single post to keep for reference for the upcoming coldest hours.
TRay75 – at 21:34 Well said! Will become a ‘quote’! Take care of yourself.
Kimt – at 21:40 walking into the kitchen is a challenge for me…..I could destroy it in just a few moments given the right spatula. I’ve been on FW more the last few days because I’ve been canning & staying cloe to home but haven’t done any housecleaning, which needs doing. sigh. Always somthin’.
Could it just be that some of the ‘old-time’ contributors have sort of aged out of heavy fluwikie use?
After about 9–10 months on the wikie I could feel myself needing less of it-as in learning, support. I felt that thru the use of the wikie I had grown in my ‘panflu’ knowledge base that I was ready to tackle community preparation and education. I did the bulk of my prepping while ‘addicted’ to FW. I read it a few times a day, but my work in the ocmmunity is now almost like a 20 hr a week job.
Perhaps that’s the way it should be. As newbies we learn, grow, teach the newer newbies and then take the show on the road, so to speak. Self-perpetuating.
Maybe the attrition on FW was “the election thing” …it had a dramatic impact on the nation and “will” for some time. Maybe, boredom or simple measures moving toward action and preparation for what is to come. I took a sabatical, I could only digest so much.I prepped, I talked to no one. My gremlin tells me that something major is in the works…I lie awake sometimes at night, searching for the clue. Other than that, I have a peace about my preps.
Life is a mystery and the only certainty is change.
Jumping Jack Flash – at 20:46 --- Don’t forget that there are a lot of lurkers out there who have never chosen to post…
Jumping Jack Flash – at 21:02 --- and this joint will fizzle out… Doubtful.
I have sent him a private email - will let you know if/when he responds - I am sure he is fine - nothing bad in the newspapers here!!
I don’t believe that the US election had any real impact or was a concern to Tom. He’s Canadian. If I recall correctly, his health also seemed to be improving.
I think that collectively, we all feel that, given the evidence, we are so damn close to our nightmares becoming reality that even the most ‘seasoned’ of us are beginning to recoil. Some of the most admired (rightfully so) posters leave, or are banned. I miss Niman, Lily, Monotreme and Tom DVM. And where is Medical Maven?
If you guys are lurking, don’t you think it’s time to put aside whose ball it is, and this applies to the mods as well, and get back into the frame of mind that got you here in the first place?
Lives are at stake for crying out loud. Get over your ego’s, out of your Ivory towers, or whatever it is you are hung up on.
We need ALL of you.
Okay you guyz - here is Tom’s reply to my inquiry: -
You can tell them thanks for asking…I am fine…just speechless at the moment…
…If they read Ask the Moderators 15 and 16 and 17, it is pretty much self-explanatory.
Thanks.
Is it just me or is there some negativity going around? That stuff is catchy.
I guess one needs to decide if they are in this for the long haul or not. I choose to be, because my family’s life depends on me getting a heads up on this. I need to know what’s going on. I’ve come to far with this to just walk away. I’m in too deep now. And I enjoy visiting with like minded people. Lord knows I can’t get that anywhere else. There are some that are ready to have me committed, because they think I’m being brainwashed. I laugh more when I’m here, and rarely anyplace else, which is difficult for me, because I’m a cut-up. It’s a good place to be. I have regrouped, the wiki has a place in my already busy life now, and I have no regrets. I don’t have much to bring to the forum, but I try to do something. The mods do a great job, ( I certainly wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.), and the diversity here is amazing, and stimulating. It can be high energy here, and it can be low energy, which were experiencing now. Let’s stay focused on why we came here in the first place.
When the news slows… they make their own news.
Cottontop - I agree - only place to be real with the visions in my head.
Out to dinner last night w/ brotherinlaw and his GF - couldnt bring myself to talk about Panflu… was echoing in my mind all night… but kept quiet - it does make one crazy.
I like it here. Good people. I wish everyone would just calm down, take a deep breath and get back to work in the hive mind.
OKbirdwatcher: Diana types much better than Lily. I don’t think they’re one and the same. Lily, if you’re out there, please come back.
While we are asking, where is Dr. Bob, Niman, NS1,the Sarge, Ricewiki, dude, Np1,Eccles, DoubleD, Mathematician, Dr C, gs, ….
Perhaps they are around and I haven’t noticed or I am just visiting the wrong threads at the wrong time.
The point is people come and people go, and people return. Life goes on and there is more to life than FluWiki. I only know I hope that Tom returns.
I think our troubles are here:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yx8z3z
Intelligent minds also got big egos, which can be a stumbling block to seeing disparate view points. It’s a pity. We can be our worst enemies.
ANON-YYZ agreed
OMG! DennisC, seeing that list of prior posters brought back a flood of memories. There really has been a brain drain…
Tom is the least egocentric person I know!!!
and Eccles, EOD, Dude, Giraff, Goosebumps, Lohrework, pfwag,
I guess I’ll be here till the bitter end, tshtf, and beyond. I get paid to read FW ;-)
gharris – at 23:57
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6mpz8
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yx8z3z
Sorry, I didn’t mean egocentric.
Before I get myself into trouble, I better get a psychology teacher. I really meant it’s all in the imagination. Call it Id, Ego, or Superego, but no, no one is egocentric here.
DennisC – at 23:49
While we are asking, where is Dr. Bob, Niman, NS1,the Sarge, Ricewiki, dude, Np1,Eccles, DoubleD, Mathematician, Dr C, gs, ….
Wow DennisC. I forgot them too. Damn.
If any of you are lurking, stop, and start posting.
Please.
And no Melanie. The cat’s away and …..
Yes, I miss Melanie but she is sick (I think).
I am just happy that MaMa’s back. but I still miss Heather’s bad bird jokes.
EOD posted 45 minutes ago in this thread. I believe Ricewiki dropped by a while back to say school was busy (though I could be mistaken). Some of the people mentioned always did post only sporadically. Others may have drifted away. It’s not that unusual.
pogge, at one time there was a list of how many posts each person had posted. Is that still around somewhere? Just curious.
I think it quite safe to say that the brain drain that’s being perceived has absolutely nothing to do with anyone losing interest in the flu.
And some lurk much, and post seldom, because they are, ahem, disgruntled.
and anon451 and nikola from sydney
I did notice a little while ago Tom DVM had decided it was time they prepped at his place…saw it in the Canadian preppers thread.
;-) I was glad he finally was but, it was a bit unnerving; like seeing the wiki swan sneeze.
cottontop – at 23:28 (and, Northstar – at 21:07) said it well. I wish we all could be under less stress, but, we live in “interesting times”. (And I wish Tom DVM good health, and everyone else who needs it.)
Damn, I get busy with the harvest and come back to find this? If anyone talks to TomDVM (or for that matter any of the really smart people we don’t hear from anymore) please tell him that his opinions and thoughts are greatly missed. How am I going to learn new things without having people who can translate everything into “dumb farmer” for me without getting too impatient? Tom, if I get a site of my own will you come educate me some more? Or are you mad at all of us?
(oh and one of the other missed posters has such a distinctive style, and English maybe wasn’t their first language, we have some other language threads; they could be around still for all the anons we get around here)
farm girl, hopefully he is busy shopping and finding places to store things…
strange feeling that i never feel alone, even if i’m locally alone
where is Dr. Bob, Niman, NS1,the Sarge, Ricewiki, dude, Np1,Eccles, DoubleD, Mathematician, Dr C, gs
Niman has his own site, dude posted two days ago, Eccles is busy with work, gs changed his handle. People are still around. And do remember something~~some of these folks have said all they have to say. They’ve become lurkers and only occasionally post when someone needs specific, legitimate help with something…
Jumping Jack Flash – at 01:15 --- Nikolai-Sydney let us know several months back that he is well and was having computer problems.
Y’all also need to understand that many people who have been here for a long time are simply taking a break. Computers don’t run everyone’s life (unlike my own…!). Some have left to start their own sites, some have left due to health and family commitments, some have left because they needed to get up and move away from their monitors…
JJF @ 00:01 Hey I’m still around, just do 1 or 2 posts a day though. And believe it, that is a LOT coming from me. :)
Another person I miss is CAMike. Are you out there?
Cottontop- you said there seemed to be a lot of negativity going around- I think thats true, but not just on the Fluwiki. It seems as if averyone I know, Wikian or not is on edge. My dh is a mental health practioner-he has come home every night for the last two weeks absolutly exhausted, the crisis units are full, they set a record for new patients last week, he says he has never seen it this bad.
I don’t know what it is-the ongoing unresolved war? The cycles of the moon-which incidentaly was full this last weekend/Monday. For Wikians, Id guess the stress of pan-flu contributes heavily, but its everywhere.
The cycles of the moon-which incidentaly was full this last weekend/Monday
It was full on Sunday nite…I know, ‘cuz I was outside howling at it!!
Oh, was that you my dog was “singing” with?
LOL! Could be…we had a choir going right around 10pm!!
full on 2006–11–05 12:58 universal time , but that could be Monday in places like NZ or E. Aus. :)
something is in the air, or the water, or the……
What is happening at the fluwiki is especially tragic as many of us are sensing the wind change and the pressure drop of an approaching storm. To be berift of our best climatologists and weathermen at this juncture is all the more unsettling. We need to hear their advice. The dikes may not hold. Appologies all round and a general reconciliation are despirately needed. Get on the keyboard and welcome them all back, or baring that, carefully link to their new websites and include their various views in our discussions in that way. We are engaged in very serious business here. We must learn to live with one another or die seperately as fools.
Gary – at 10:19
What is happening at the fluwiki is especially tragic as many of us are sensing the wind change and the pressure drop of an approaching storm. To be berift of our best climatologists and weathermen at this juncture is all the more unsettling. We need to hear their advice. The dikes may not hold. Appologies all round and a general reconciliation are despirately needed. Get on the keyboard and welcome them all back, or baring that, carefully link to their new websites and include their various views in our discussions in that way. We are engaged in very serious business here. We must learn to live with one another or die seperately as fools.
I love what you said, Gary. That was the quote to end all quotes.
cottontop at 10:17 something is in the air, or the water, or the……
I am feeling it too, something “out there” started feeling rather different to me about a week or 10 days ago…for lack of better words, an intuition that the die has now been cast to a greater or lesser degree. A sense that while there is still hope for the future, we’d dang well better get connected, and take much more responsibility for our future. It’s prompting us to think through some things, and do some additional preps. I will not give up hope we can get through the coming years, but it could take some pretty hard work…
You know folks, not to sound like I’ve escaped from some mental ward,(sure I belong there though!), I see being out in public differently now. Please don’t ask me to elabrate, or they will come and get me! Not sure how to clarify that. It feels different knowing what I do, and I feel like I’m the only one in the store that is “aware” of things to come. Does that make any sense?
Cottontop-it makes a lot of sense. I had a weird weird experience the other night- a store in our area is moving into another building soon and so they were having a “closeout sale” I didn’t know about the sale and happened to get caught in it when I stopped to pick up a couple of things. The thing was-the “bargins”wern’t that great-10% off which is good but not fabulous, but the place was PACKED. And people were not getting Prep stuff but buying lots of canned sodas-I guess that price was better, and lots of “seasonal items” (junk) So on the one hand there was like this frenzy which is very much what I imangine it will be like when they make any sort of “announcement” -if in fact they ever do, on the other, no one was getting anything useful or needful. I wanted to jump up and scream-“Get the Ibuprophen! Get the cough syrup! Put down that pumpkin candle and buy some emergency candles.” It really threw me for a major loop- and I’m thinking people just are not going to be able to handle news of a pandemic.
Btw-Cottontop-Around here the mental wards are quite full so you and I will just have to take a number and wait……
Green Mom- LOL!
I glad you understand. It’s that sensation you feel, and it really is creepy. And I’m afraid your right. When news hit, people are just not going to be able to handle it, and watch them scramble, when nothing will be left to take. Watch the pandemiun(sp)! That’s what scares me. Maybe crime will really good throught the roof. People breaking int stores, stealing, braking into people houses, stealing. And this is just the news, people, not the actual pandemic!
Cottontop 11:07 Yep. Been there too. Very wierd and very,very sad to look about you and see the people busy on their aquiring and spending, their concerns about things of the moment, to feel that you have something so important to tell them but knowing it can’t be understood and it will only get you nominated for an extended stay in a rubber room if you broach the topic. It’s hard on one’s head, such thoughts.
OTOH, now when someone cuts me off in traffic, or is just plain rude, I notice that I`m thinking” Just you wait,sucker, bird flu`s coming.” :-p
The moon was not only full last week, major planet like Mars and Venus were in a particular configuration, an alighnment, I forget what this sort of thing is called. Didn’t mention it before as it seemed almost bizarre to tie the two events together. A dust up here, and planetary influences in outer space.
retrograde?
crfullmoon – at 01:31
Tom prepping?!!!! My PPF just went up from 3 to an 8. 8^0
Diana-I wondered about that-I wondered if there was some sort of alignment going on. a few weeks ago things got really wonky and Jupitor was in a weird position. It does seem bizarre but there is something to it. In fact I even ordered a set of almanacs- one very scientific, a couple on the woo-woo side, plus good old Farmer’s, just to try to keep up with the planets, because I find this very interesting. My husband is a very grounded sane person and he said”let me know next time Mercury goes retrograde so I can leave town!”
I know a lot of cops, ER staff, materinity nurses, mental health practioners, and bartenders who keep an eye on the stages of the moon.
I think the problem out in the world is that people don’t understand that major world catastrophies can happen in their own lifetime. They see recreations on T.V. The History Channel, Discovery, a hour, and then its back to their mundane existance, and to being entertained by Dancing with the Stars or American Idol. Disasters are entertainment, it won’t happen to them. Vesuvius is just a fireworks display for the tourists. We live priveleged existances and think we are deprived if the electricity fails us, or if we have a few weeks, months or years of tight finances. They simply can’t absorb the enormity of what is happening climate wise, and pandemic wise.I wake up in the morning to each new day, review my silly dreams ( last nite I was searching for the perfect desert in all kinds of venues, including strange ,decrepit looking areas. Places I would never venture into. I thought if this happens, all these prosperous towns around me will deteriorate and life as I know it now would evaporate.) I even ate a perfect eclair in my dream. I see Steve Wynn is trying to buy one of Trumps casinos, which means an even more elaborate and interesting Atlantic City. So life goes on, people invest, build as if nothing will happen. We need people like that building for a future that is untouched by this. Might be we will all get lucky and like some asteroid that misses us by a few miles, H5N1 will also peter out harmlessly. The people who have chosen to prep aren’t wasting their time. I have learned a great deal. Everything I do has a slight tilt to my viewing it, an enhanced sense of how lucky we are, what good people are here. And they are GOOD PEOPLE.
Green Mom – at 12:15
I hope that hubby has been lying low. Mercury is reteograde currently, and won`t start going forward until November 17th
Cactus and Green Mom, it isn’t so much that Mercury is Retrograde as that the Full Moon in Scorpio was extremely intense and conjunct Mars [god of War] while Jupiter in Scorpio was 90 degrees to Saturn in Leo simultaneously. In a word: tension squared!
anon22 if your “retrograde?” was a question about Mercury — that happens 4 times a year for 3 weeks each time. It only “appears” to go retrograde in the same way that two trains moving at different speeds parallel to one another makes one train “appear” to move backward while the other goes forward. RM periods correspond to difficulties in communication and transportation. The 2000 Presidental election occurred on the day that Mercury “appeared” to be stopped in its forward progress before beginning a retrograde. I told the people in the dentist office where I had an appt that day that the election would not be decided for several weeks. They thought I was nuts.
Well, that’s probably more than ANYONE wanted to know….
P.S. Ironic that this conversation should drift off the normal track on the “Where’s Tom DVM?” thread. Before he stepped back we were working together on a project that was moving in this very direction. At least he did get to see the whole data set before I decided that it was simply too risky to post it here.
Some virologists also study astrology. Just kidding.
MAinVA-
Hey post it! I’m real heavy into that stuff, and it’s nice to know others here are too.
cottontop, that makes all of maybe 3 of us. At my age, I prefer to avoid ridicule — I did all the “stepping off the cliff” [Tarot Fool Card] up until I turned 60. After that the body can only take so much, ya know! In honor of Tom /;-)
Only fair to let you know we’re on our way out of the house for an appt. So if you or anyone else responds, I will have to answer later.
On line communities are living, breathing entities. If I may offer an incomplete analogy, the Forum as a virtual community is like a school.. new people come while some graduate and take their knowledge with them into their communities. Some of the old timers like me remember the names (some of which stay, some of which go) and the newer members don’t know who we mean, but love the community the only way they know it. Stretching the analogy even further, sometimes the seniors who have been living together for 4 years get into a spat on how to stock the fridge and who cleans the bathroom. It doesn’t mean that there’s something inherently wrong with the entire community when that happens.
We encourage everyone to post… Monotreme and TomDVM will at need. We can’t control who comes and who stays and who contributes and who just reads. We appreciate everyone’s efforts. We also appreciate that people’s needs changes, and that the community changes with the people who are here.
Very well said, I must say…
If we’re talking about bad omens and portents, I hope I’m not a sign of things to come. 2006 has been one of the worst years of my life and the way my luck’s running you can expect a pandemic to start round about my birthday. So, keep the second week in December free. LOL.
uk bird – at 16:06 --- I had a year like that…just last month, in fact! ;-)
Mercury just went across the sun on Sunday (NZ time) - that can’t have helped things either. Nobody (well almost nobody) doubts the influence of the moon on all sorts of things here on earth ..
As to old and new contributors - this is a natural evolution with any ‘group’ I think. You join new and green, watch and listen, contribute, learn, help others from your learning, then move to retirement mode - this doesn’t mean give up altogether - it’s more just doing less but being there when needed - the ‘guiding hands’ perhaps.
I remember when I was “all out” on Flu Wiki and I kept seeing the same questions being asked or the same issues being discussed in about 2–3 month cycles and thought “how many times can I post the same thing / response?” - but I quickly acknowledged it as part of the cyclical nature of such a site / group. When you look at the depth and breadth of content on the main Wiki now, who could have imagined that the voluntary efforts of so many could have developed such a magnificent resource for all.
So, it is not so much that people go away, it is just that the cyclical nature of visitors is understood and we leave it to these people to learn, grow, contribute and ‘retire’.
This is a privately owned and operated site that is accessed internationally and I consider it a true privilege that we are permitted to be reasonably “free” in what we say. But I always remember that I am addressing an international audience whenever I write here and allow that to influence my comments.
I am forever grateful to those who lived their dream and created this site and I will play by their rules - it is their bat and ball after all. I am also very grateful to all those, past, present and future, who are prepared to share their knowledge and skills as best they can.
Will the Wiki survive - who could have imagined it would be as big as it is. Long live the Wiki. Peace be with you.
uk bird – at 16:06 — I’ve had a pretty bad year too. Employment problems leading to all manner of other problems. Plus all the problems in the world that I feel I ought to be doing more to try to fix (but doing what — that’s the question). And all leading to pretty nasty depression. Sometimes I feel I’m at the bottom of the ocean. Horrible.
Lots of people with ill luck. The pandemic skipped over my birthday a few months ago, so it might miss yours as well. Hope so.
Bronco Bill – at 06:26 wrote:
“Jumping Jack Flash – at 01:15 --- Nikolai-Sydney let us know several months back that he is well and was having computer problems. Y’all also need to understand that many people who have been here for a long time are simply taking a break.”
A break is often needed after, “ the lifting of the veil”.
Milo – at 16:18
Poor you! I confess, most of the bad things that have happened to me this year have been so out of left field, it’s almost been funny, eg I had chicken pox, at my age! But a pandemic would be really, really bad, so fingers crossed for December.
Life does go in cycles. I never push anything, when the time is ripe your luck will improve, its a matter of waiting it out. The old phrase, go with the flow comes to mind. As far as catastrophic events go, I have learned more about the past in the last year as far as the incredable events and hardships that the human race has experienced. History repeats and repeats and repeats.I make a game out of my life, so it doesn’t seem to hit me as hard when I have the same experiences as my friends, but then I’ve known a lot of drama queeens. Some people do get bent out of shape, others bend with the wind. I just sit back and wait for events to change for the better, and often times they do..The hard thing is to be patient while the worst case scenario plays itself out.
History repeats and repeats and repeats.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes — attributed to Mark Twain. If one expects an exact repeat, one is likely to be disappointed. It’s like buying a car to solve the problems of the LAST 5 years vs the current/future situation.
A little off topic but I couldn’t resist. :-)
I used to post pretty frequently here but have reverted to lurking, and sparingly at that. The personal attacks did it for me. If you don’t agree with certain posters, you get snubbed. If someone suggests that dengue became H2H and you try to contradict that, you get ridiculed. This site does not require registration, so you can be aggressive and ridicule anyone from behind an ever-changing anonymous handle. I came back and posted as “anonymous” a couple of times but I have decided not to do that any more, it is not my style. It’s OK to post with a pseudonym, but it should, in my opinion, always be the same pseudonym. Then at least you know “who” you are talking with.
MAin Va- I knew Tom was working on a theory about the relationship between viruses and sunspots, so I didn’t feel too bad about letting the thread drift to Lunar influences. If you post it I’d read it, plus any other “heavenly” info. I’m way into it.
I pulled a Looong workday yesterday and so have been off the Wiki since yesterday.
uk bird – at 16:06 If we’re talking about bad omens and portents, I hope I’m not a sign of things to come. 2006 has been one of the worst years of my life and the way my luck’s running you can expect a pandemic to start round about my birthday. So, keep the second week in December free. LOL.
Bronco Bill – at 16:08 uk bird – at 16:06 --- I had a year like that…just last month, in fact! ;-)
Kids that’s too funny! Sorry to laugh at your exchange — not at your problems since it’s been the worst year of my life too — but I couldn’t resist!
I just e-mailed Tom DVM. He taking time off from writing on Fluwiki, but he is doing OK.
JV- Did he mention if he was prepping?
cottontop -
I didn’t ask. I will ask next time!
JV-
It’s good to finally hear that Tom has been found, and is doing O.K.
I wish him well, and am waiting for his return here at the forum.
Gary - What is happening at the fluwiki is especially tragic as many of us are sensing the wind change and the pressure drop of an approaching storm. To be berift of our best climatologists and weathermen at this juncture is all the more unsettling. We need to hear their advice. The dikes may not hold. Appologies all round and a general reconciliation are despirately needed. Get on the keyboard and welcome them all back, or baring that, carefully link to their new websites and include their various views in our discussions in that way. We are engaged in very serious business here. We must learn to live with one another or die seperately as fools.
Gary, as a meteorologist myself, I loved your analogy! Very true. And your assessment of the situation is spot-on too. I do hope fluwikie and monotreme’s site will ‘cross-pollinate,’ even if edited. I’d like to think there were no hard feelings, but then I don’t know the depth of what happened.
I’ve been lurking on this site for quite a while (nearly a year), and even proposed a panflu plan to upper management where I work. Most people I spoke to there had heard of it, but scoffed at the idea that it would really happen. I hope they are right. I’ll gladly eat my humble pie.
johnO
Albert-
It’s OK to post with a pseudonym, but it should, in my opinion, always be the same pseudonym. Then at least you know “who” you are talking with.
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you.
johnO – at 13:18
I’d like to think there were no hard feelings, but then I don’t know the depth of what happened.
Monotreme has since posted here and we’ve linked there.
Fluwiki has its major tiffs, and the last was serious. Everyone sees it differently. I only have been using the internet for a year, but I have seen far more egregious and nastier things elsewhere, and not rarely, but consistantly. I always thought this forum was the most civil., even sedate. Surely the wiki has proved its value over and over again. The forum has its problems, as any forum does, but the main body of information is solidly sound as a informative source for anyone to access. A slew of interesting people have come and gone, but isn’t that what happens in life itself. Hopefully those who were most upset will return to say what is on their minds.
It is like family. You can complain, talk frankly every now and then all sit down at the dinner table and smile and laugh. We don’t know what is going on around someone else’s computer- they may have a sewer backed up or a bill collector at the door, or an ex-spouse with a gun. The point is we must learn to forgive (Mat 6:14,15) and go on with life. (sorry for the religion ref. but it is the closest to the issue)
My guess is that when TSHTF we will see a lot of old handles appear, we will forget old wounds and we will all help each other like family - that is IF the net stays up. I want Tom around, just in case my cat gets sick.
Miss Tom DVM and Monotreme
I want Tom around, just in case my cat gets sick.
LOL. I want him around for more than that.
Tom will be back. He is just as fond of us, as we are of him. :-)
I just e-mailed Tom. He said he was going to start prepping tomorrow, and he will be prepping for the next month.
JV,did he say what triggered this sudden change of opinion?
DC – at 15:47 Miss Tom DVM and Monotreme
And Medical Maven
and niman
Wolf,
I caught a post by Medical Maven over at Monotreme’s site yesterday. I enjoy his posts (even if they scare me to death sometimes) :O
OKbirdwatcher – at 21:17
niman’s latest at FT have me about chilled to the bone. Sequences. Read ‘em and weep.
Will head over to monotreme’s… MM hadn’t posted on my last visit.
Thanks.
I fiqured out why Tom isn’t posting……go back and study all his previous post….it becomes obvious…..Tom DVM’s keyboard is broken…more spacifically his “.” key…….
……the poor guy can’t even start a sentence…..not alone connect them…….or end one……
….he can’t even post for help….he’s probably just sitting in front of his computer……holding the “.” key down……and wondering….what’s wrong……..
……that’s what I think…….Period.
Reconscout -
No, Tom didn’t say exactly why he will start prepping tomorrow.
JWB – at 21:25 I have heard from Tom and he just needs some time away from the computer, once he completes what he is working on he will be back. So move along folks, nothing to see here.
JWB at 21:25 - LOL!!!
DennisC – at 23:49
Niman was banned and his loss is one of magnificent proportions that is still within remedy.
Dude is a man of just principle who appears to be standing firm. I hope for a remedy and return for him as well. His collaboration has been very important to me.
Others are objecting by way of a demarche of silence at FluWiki due to the many unnecessary obfuscations.
In my line of research, I may not say that I am energetically engaged around the clock in establishing a cure.
Even if I could legally lay that claim, I would not eave ease into that lane because I fully believe that no cure is possible once H5N1 invades a weak body.
In the absence of a post-event solution, prevent the event.
NS1 is energetically testing and establishing a system of health intended to prevent the event of active infection after exposure.
Gather and Solve.
MedicalMaven is gone too? Dang.
BTW, Tom is not only smart… he is a genuinely “nice” person. And for such a smart person… he knows how (& when) to come down-to-earth… to reach & touch us mere mortals!! I am so glad to hear that he & his family are prepping! My thoughts, and prayers, are with them. Prepping in a “month.” ~gulp~ Please tell them to “be sure” to do all that “record keeping”… inventory… as they go.
NS1
I just had not seen you around for a while and missed you. My point is people come and go and have lifes other than FW. Life happens.
I wish you well.
Tom DVM
I miss you!
Looks like Monotromes is going to be the next virologists and wanna be virologists coffee shop.
Tom DVM spent a lot of time here. He may very well have realized that he was going to have to unplug for a while in order to get things done. I’m glad he and his wife are prepping, since I’d rather him prioritize that, however much the community may miss him. He’ll be greeted with an enthusiastic “Welcome Back!” whenever he posts again :-).
I wish there was someway to send an e-mail “Best Wishes” to him and we all came sign it.
cottontop – at 13:44 --- I think most on this thread already have! ;-)
have been out of he country for 2 weeks and due to poor eyesight, it’s difficult for me to search old threads……….can anyone refer me to the tiff betw Montreme and anon 22 and anyone else involed? I’m sure there is meaningful imformation in the differences….thx in advance
Bronco Bill- I was thinking more like send it to his e-mail. Anon_451 did not say if Tom has been “lurking” to read this thread, so I was just wondering if there was some way to do that.
TomDVM- If your lurking give a ;-)
econ 101…
The original thread in question is here. Summary here at 02:21 on Nov 6. Also, don’t miss subsequent comments here.
I believe that the situation is that the news has slowed to a crawl---few new infections—its like is there “really a end of civilation coming???’, or not. The excitement of a coming battle has waned a bit so folks are posting less and talking of all manner of other things.I lurk a lot and continue to prep.What do the rest of youall think??
I do the same thing Mountain Man. Just spent $300 at Sams today…and I think that’s the last big one I’ve got to pop for. I’m waiting on a Mountain House order to arrive. The rest is detail work and setting up all that I’ve accumulated. I think there have been some significant political flu events recently, and still believe a lot more is happening in Indonesia and CHINA than we are reading.
cottontop – at 19:36 --- Tom had and has a lot of time invested here, as well as a lot of friends online. I’m certain he’s lurking and reading all the wonderful being said about his presence…and I second all of them! ;-)
reading all the wonderful being said about his presence should read “reading all the wonderful things being said…”
At some point you realize that there is no solution to the bird flu. I only check on the progress of the bf once or twice a week now.
At risk of being paranoid:
“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold . . . “
The brain drain here has been significant. I’m worried; aren’t you?
NS1:
Is there some way (link?) where we can find out what you’re thinking about prevention?
ssal, I don’t have much of grasp of the science of the discussion but NS1 and others are working on this thread- Cytokinic Dysregulation.
It will be interesting to see if the wiki contracts further. Certainly Monotreme hasn’t abandoned the wiki. What each and every poster expects from any site at times will clash with the realities. We can’t all have expectations met. I have accepted that. The wiki has limited itself, and anyone wanting more must seek out other venues to express themselves. The wiki reminds me of a large catapillar that has been munching,as we all watch,eating all year long. Some food is acceptable, other food is ignored. It is constructing its cacoon and the shell around it is hardening. The posters have fed it well. We don’t get to choose what sort of butterfly emerges.
There will be new people emerging as well.
http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=sm8fluwikie2&r=12
People come and go as their needs are met, or not. Stable communities are like that.
Jefiner – at 00:12 --- The brain drain here has been significant. I’m worried; aren’t you?
Not at all. FluWiki survived the Niman debates, survived all the screaming and yelling about censorship, and FluWiki will survive this. Nature, as well as science, abhors a vacuum, and as with long-gone posters, other “brains” will come along to fill the void left by those who have vacated for whatever period of time they deem necessary.
Are there 3 or 4 people to go over to Indonesia.? To see what’s happening face to face.
ssal – at 01:05
At the moment, I’m engaged in consulting with families and family groups defining preparation programs using our tools, some of the same ideas that we’ve discussed in the threads noted in the NS1 profile.
In the times that I become free for a few moments, I’ll either provide salient points here or to others here who can present the ideas.
My firm belief is that the average person needs a minimum 6 month preparation cycle to create a disease-resistant body.
We fill our cupboards to feed the family, but we forget to fill our bodies with the nutrients needed to withstand the viral and bacterial onslaught.
Food is inexpensive, but good to have; health is very expensive and priceless to have.
oj – at 00:19 --- Are you volunteering, or asking for volunteers?
oj – at 00:19 --- Are you volunteering, or asking for volunteers?
NSI….What you are doing is what I have been doing myself for a year. I have spendt more on supplements and good food than I ever did on prescriptions. It shows outwardly and seems to make a difference., since it the doctors and professionals who remark on my appearance. I had ignored my health for a a few years ,as I had only taken supplements to rectify things gone awry. What you are doing interests me and makes sense. I think the healthy state of your body and mind is going to make any problems arising in the future less stressful. That means any problem, not just H5H1 as a pandemic.I also think being on the wiki is preparation, but only if it doesn’t tear at the family structure or becomes too nerve wracking. I was on one forum where a bothersome mut was following my posts and lifting his leg. I ignored it, but people had to point it out to me to stir up trouble. I decided what I got out of that forum was not worth the bother. Sometimes a situation arises that makes someone, for whatever reason, feel its not worth aggravation. It may not seem important to me, but if it is to them, they need distance.In my case I wasn’t there very long and didn’t miss it. I doubt if they even noticed.
So…have we answered the question about where TomDVM is? This thread is getting long and needs to be closed soon…
We will close it, but it’s a “Wish you well” card in its entirety to Tom DVM (and other missing posters) and will stay on the Forum.