G'day eh? from The Great White North (for Canadians of a certain generation), - If you haven't had the intellectual delight of Bob and Doug cogitating on the issues of import for the 1980's Canadian then you have really missed out. They use the medium of beer, bacon and cigarettes (smokes) to frame the issues of the day. http://tiny.cc/BandD (some early John Candy as well) - The Lurgy is definitely gone. I suppose it *could* have been Covid-19. I reported it on the app and was suddenly thoroughly interrogated by my phone. Thankfully, it has been a less enthusiastic inquisitor today. The www.ms-register.org (if you're not doing it you should be) Covid-19 questionnaire dropped into a ton of sub questions about my brother. I had to ask him the answer to one. I feel slightly fraudulent as there is at least a good a chance that my feeling grit had nothing to do with Covid-19. Still, having done an MSc in research methodology I know that there will be tools to drop the 'out there' answers that skew the data. ------ MS Stuff ------ As mentioned many times, the basis of the advice is clinical experience, expertise and the academic willingness to be open to changing a viewpoint. This has happened here, as we see that there may be a previously unforeseen (don't panic, it is speculation at this point) with natalizumab. The risk table has been updated and ocrelizumab has been downgraded. https://tinyurl.com/qpnyc34 Read it and remember that the context is very subtle and the use of language very precise so it needs to be read very closely. - If you want to see the very clever, the great and the good of the MS neurology world talking amongst themselves at YouTube based iWiMS MS Covid-19 Meeting 1 April 2020 then look no further than https://tinyurl.com/iWiMS - An ongoing debate in MS treatment is whether to use induction (hit it hard and fast) or a softly softly, lower risk of side effects now but greater risk of long-term disability worsening. there are arguments for both but it seems that the latter approach is getting harder and harder to support when one looks at the future as well as the now. There is another real-world stud, not a comparative one as there are always ethics issues if one arm is clearly not as good as another. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/multiplesclerosis/85882 - I *think* I get the gist of this post. MD (Mouse Doctor - Prof David Baker at Queen Marys) always writes so terribly fast I think his brain can get ahead of his fingers. This is about B cell suppression (ocrelizumab mostly) and the fact that fully depleted B-cells also mean a lowered ability to respond to vaccinations. The studies he refers to are about plasma exchange (blood transfusion of a sort) from people who proven immunity to those who are suffering from Covid-19 and the effect it has on their outcome. This is how I read it after several goes. Knock yourself out... https://tinyurl.com/qwdmwxy - A SAFETY MESSAGE - MD again and quite funny too. Nonetheless, it is critical that you DO NOT fall prey to the stuff now ceiling about Ivermectin. This is being tested. It is effing dangerous if you take it and it is easy to acquire. If you want to win a Darwin Award then go Full Trump and get some. Remember though, if you are vying for the coveted prize then you may not compete if you have offspring. To win a Darwin Award you must take yourself out of the gene pool before you can reproduce. Those that have managed to reproduce are already in the gene-pool but only the shallow-end, thankfully. Fingers crossed that Ginger Hitler decides to get himself some. We live in hope. https://tinyurl.com/invermectin ------- Social Stuff ______ In other news: my new starter is ready. All wholemeal this time. I have fed it in preparation for the introduction later this afternoon to the autolysing mix of flour and water. It is probably good that this forum software is so antiquated [ @amy - really, it remains shocking ;) ] I can't post pictures. I have reduced the water percentage from 80% to 74% now to make the dough easier to handle. It also means that there is markedly less swearng - from me - when I handle the wretched sticky stuff. The bread though....to die for when you start to get it right. - Who doesn't like the Pythons? More retro comedy from YouTube. This is the Pythons on Letterman promoting the Meaning of Life. From 17 min in, stiff upper lip writ large - https://tinyurl.com/te5vxey - Stay safe. Have fun. This too will pass. - PS: I am giving myself the entire weekend off. If this is your thing then more Monday. As a devout atheist I was reminded that it is Easter. Apparently the rabbit isn't the religious stuff. Who knew? -