Coronavirus 2020

[CrazyGoatLady]

21 hours ago, Fowllife said:

I think it's interesting how different states are reacting. I thought I heard the governor of Texas said he would put the states economy in front of citizens welfare. 

I think it is an interesting thing as well. I haven't heard of Gov. Abbott saying anything like that for Texas. However, having said, I do think we are behind the  curve on shutting down. It seems to be going county by county. Larger areas first. We haven't been shut down, but places are giving out cards to people to prove they are going to work. Business are rapidly shutting down regardless and I look for us to shut down as a state soon. But who knows? 

On the brighter side, Tommie has a line on 3 jobs. He's waiting on a call back from one today that's he's hoping for. Completely different than he normally does, but it pays good

[Fowllife]

I think the "card" thing is interesting also. If you allowed to be out to get food and other "essentials for life" all you would have to say if you get pulled over was you needed milk for your kids....or something like that. Why even waste time with the cards. All of the sheriffs in the local counties have said they have no intention of pulling people over to see why they are out. The cops down where my wife is just told her to show her hospital badge if she gets pulled over.

In a lot of ways it makes more sense for cities and county to try to issue the appropriate level of control instead of state or federal level. Most of our states have fairly diverse regions between larger cities and open country. My daily routines are much different then someone in Cleveland, or New York City, or even someone in ranch country like Texas or Montana. I'm rarely in a room with more then 10 people on the average day, and only go to the store every month or two. There who probably don't see 10 people a day, and others who touch 10 people before they had their first cup of coffee.

I also find it interesting how rational though seems to be lost in times like this. Peoples reaction are all over the board.

[Frosty]

Thomas, sounds like the university wants to set you up with internet access at home. Maybe a separate cell phone, unlimited access and details so you can work at home. It'd sure be cheaper than paying your medical if you catch IT at work. Insurance or not if they require you to be there they're liable. . . . well, maybe. 

Nobody's done this in America in a long time ad things now are very different than they were in what, the 30's, 50's? when the last epidemic got rolling? Can't compare to the 1918 flu pandemic, medicine didn't really know about viruses, it took what, years? to come up with a vaccine, each dose grown in an egg. 

The more things people try like cards, or whatever to keep as many people out of circulation as possible is a good thing. We don't know what will work where so we as a society have to try lots of things and figure out what works best for who. 

In Alaska, we lucked out we have a governor who's way ahead of the curve and both houses as much as they hate to are cooperating. As of yesterday, maybe day before NOBODY flies into Alaska without going into 14 day stay in place, violators subject to up to a year in jail and/or $25,000 fine. Several of the villages have closed themselves with only essential or emergency access, in or out. The Gov. is passing general rules: closing restaurants, bars, etc. stay home, max gathering size. etc. etc. but it's up to individual communities to work out the details and stay in touch. The Feds CAN'T make specific mandates (whatever the correct term is) for everybody, there is't time and it'd be a couple hundred pages per area. Just not possible. So, there are general orders: max number at gatherings. close bars and such. Essentials ONLY. Your state, county, neighborhood, whatever has to handle the details.

We don't have time to play games, people are dying. If we act fast we can save lives and minimize damage. Blame games are for losers when the devil drives,  evolution will handle them.

It's inconvenient but it's good to see extreme measures being taken BEFORE they're essential. I'm thinking the worst risk Deb and I run are choking each other out of boredom. She's coaching her students so they can continue training their dogs in private and writing articles for a travel blog site and keeping up with friends and relatives online. 

I'm doing the same sort of things along my interests and blah blah blah, I think I've run the list already I won't do it again. If not, you haven't missed much. Mostly I'll be talking to you guys so gird your monitors gang we're keeping each other occupied in socially distanceville  

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

My  wife just had a weird flashback to something she was told by her grandfather when she was a young child;  one set of her grandparents had been a young married couple with her grandfather working for a mortician during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 and his job actually was to drive a wagon through the streets of Kansas City calling "Bring Out Your Dead!"

She hadn't remembered this until now; not even after Monty Python and the Holy Grail;  Family History.   We're living SF stories!

[CtG]

Bear in mind also that H1N1 is thought to have started in the USA. We only call it Spanish Flu because the Spanish were nearly the only major power talking about it. Everyone else was avoiding the issue for fears of how it would affect The War. Hard to say how many of the later war deaths were actually the result of Swine Flu/Spanish Flu. 

Also, remember, there were 3 major waves of it with distinct variations in mortality rates. The second wave was, at that time, basically a death sentence. They figure the only reason the 3rd wave was less fatal was that the 2nd-wave mutation was SOO effective, that it killed itself off. 

 

I had H1N1 back a decade or so. It wasn't fun, but I didn't have to deal with a cytokine storm, pneumonia, etc. 

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

 We're living SF stories!

Been doing that my whole life, at least this isn't a zombie apocalypse chapter! 

Here you go CtG.

 https://www.kmov.com/news/aggressive-actions-during-spanish-flu-pandemic-made-st-louis-a/article_5fbb54e4-62df-11ea-90b4-3f0155ceb745.html

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

Interesting that "Social Distancing" was considered an important check on the H1N1 flu; but was not implemented till late here in the USA for the current virus.

Places with the ability to seal themselves off and who took that step are to be envied.

[Old Crew]

We are doing the structural steel for a rock climbing gym. The city of Austin Tx  Issued a stay home order on Monday which since it was very vague allowed all construction to continue. Yesterday evening they issued a revised order which I received after going to work this morning. This version was much more specific and allowed construction in only 6 categories of work . As I read it we were shut down. The general contractor said they wanted everyone to continue working, that - the stay home did not apply to our job. They said that if we did not go to work we would be in breach of contract .

At 4:45 they produced paper work authorizing us to continue work. The rock climbing gym which we are building is listed as "Critical Infrastructure"  This is the second location for this gym in Austin. The  sadly amusing part is that the original location is shut down due to COVID concerns!  

[CtG]

It is strange, isn't it?? Most of our customers have no business operating under layman's understanding of the laws. Well, at least what I would consider laymans. There are an awful lot of people ignoring it around here. 

I mean, I get that we support critical infrastructure, and I'm fine with that and with being available to support it (I still have an income!) But not all of us are strictly "necessary". Keeping the local pipeline going... ahh, nevermind. Not worth the political angst some may mistake it for.

My wife is stir-crazy as all get out, and not in any way that is rewarding to me... 3 weeks into being stuck at home already for her and the kids. 

Still hoping the best for all. 

[Fowllife]

Does there happen to be any state or city money involved in the gym? The government doesn’t usually like projects they are invested in to sit idle....

I think a lot of the “essential infrastructure” items on the list are more intended for a war time type issuance, this health crisis is different from the “usual” way it gets used. 

I did talk to a couple friends of mine that work at different steel fab shops and they were both working. One shop does a lot of press & equipment repair, and the other one builds manufacturing type equipment. Our fab shop does strictly structural steel. 

As long as everyone is taking precautions and being safe the more people that can stay working the better in my opinion.  

[BartW]

From Belgium here, we just installed 4 gasoline powered screw compressors & backups from the fire-departement in a hospital to build more respirator capacity. They probably don't have enough oxygen concentrators for hundreds of people, but they will at least be able to artificially breath for them. I donated most of my oxygen gear (diving instructor), and gave them all my pneumatic valves, solenoids, hoses and such as there were a couple pneumatic engineers there upgrading the respiratory support system. This hospital is special in the sense that it doesn't have CPAP or respiratory boxes per intensive care bed, it has plugs and valves per bed with a centralized compressors and oxygen units. Which means they can support a LOT more people needing this kind of support.

What was a true eye-opener for me, and proof that this beast isn't the flue, is the exhaustion of the people in intensive care. In a soaking wet bed.
Lots of young healthy people too. I talked with someone who recovered (from behind a window). 26 years old, 40 % lungcapacity left. He is going to leave the hospital with an 80-year old chainsmokers lungs. He spent days in a haze from fatigue, like an elephant stood on his chest, trying to breathe, but only achieving partial breaths, feeling like every next breath could be his last. He fought through it although he considered giving up a lot too, but then he realized it would be a miserable way to go.

Our goverment has shut schools, everybody is to self-isolate, only stores opened are those selling food, and go out only when needed. Most people follow this fairly well; but you still rarely see facemasks in stores' clients. I expect these measures to continue to June. (So the whole april & may ). My blood curdles when I heard [someone] say the cure is worse than the sickness, I suggest he takes a visit in an hospital with some patients in intensive care.  

So my 2 cents;

1. Protect yourself & your loved ones from this. PPE when in public, walk away when you see too much people together, or people without facemasks. Isolate as much as possible.Teach your kids clean routine.
2. Do not underestimate this, but don't go into panic either. Consider everything you cannot vouch for as "clean" contaminated. This beast doesn't care about your age,  $'s, colour or location. It's a lottery. 75 % of the people will be mild. 25 % will be sick. Some will need hospitalisation, and few will die. (Don't quote me on those numbers)
3. Care for others. I've given away most of my shop facemasks (I used to buy them by the 100, the N95 rated dustmasks). 
4. There's a time and a place for everything. Now is the time to NOT get this, mourning & comforting others can be done later. There's a vicious thing going on in the (mostly financial) economy right now; abusing this situation. Please stop that, as it will get a LOT of people dead and even more suffering.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Mod34
Political content deleted

[JHCC]

17 hours ago, Frosty said:

Thomas, sounds like the university wants to set you up with internet access at home. Maybe a separate cell phone, unlimited access and details so you can work at home.

This is actually a big problem with schools that are moving to online instruction during quarantine: not all students have internet access and the right technology for online study, such as those who are low-income (especially first-generation students) or live in rural areas. The college where I work has done a lot to provide these students with laptops and mobile hotspots so that they can continue to be connected to their classes while the campus is closed.

[CrazyGoatLady]

Truthfully, nobody really knows what to do. It's a new thing to all of us and quite an evolving learning process. Amazing how much life has changed in such a short time. Tommie went to work with a guy who lives right around the corner from us this morning. May be only temporary, but it's something for now. Eggs and rabbits have become very in demand. This time of year it's usually Easter bunnies people want and even that's finicky. Now, more people are looking to feed their families in the long term. The calls have been at rapid speed. Never been like this in over 5 years of raising them. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

A friend sent us the perfect menu to promote "social distancing"... Baked beans, deviled eggs and Brussels sprouts.

[John McPherson]

All of our face-to-face classes are supposed to be "suspended" until a later time, but that drives the bureaucrats crazy. Ever since computers became available, it gave the desk jockeys a feeling that they are somehow "in charge" and know what is going on because they have data on a screen. Before that, they had to make do with paper reports on clipboards and file folders. Sometimes they even had to leave their offices and (gasp!) interact with the minions.

Everybody has a plan to improve the world that does not involve any blood, sweat, toil or tears on their end.

So now *we* have to do something to prove that *we* are keeping the students engaged on a weekly basis. The solution: online classes!!!! And gosh! is it going well.

(By *we*, I mean a bunch of old guys that are renowned Subject Matter Experts in their field, but qualify for the senior discount at restaurants, have flip phones, don't do social media, and can't understand how to stop the youtube video from going into Autoplay during lectures. Not the admins.) 

Don't know how to do online classes? Watch this video/powerpoint/text only-no screenshots class online to find out how!

What? You have been on hold for an hour? IT is way too busy to answer the phones. Send an email request and enter the queue. No, no one can meet with you to show you how to do this, the county is in lockdown. Figure it out. Soon.

 

[ThomasPowers]

My wife was supposed to go in for "senior shopping" this morning; but over did it cleaning out the pantry yesterday and so; groaned and rolled over and went back to sleep.  I got up and went into work early. 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

In this era of "social distancing" and "self isolation", its good to talk to somebody, and the voices in your head don't count. So pick up the phone and call someone to just chat. Texting, email etc doesn't do it, call someone and three way conversations work best. Debi calls her mother a couple of times a week and yesterday while she was talking with her a nephew stopped by to check on her mother. They started a three way conversation and stayed on the phone for three hours. It didn't take long and they all were laughing like crazy people. Today her mother said that call was the most fun she has had since this whole ordeal started and Debi felt a lot better too.

[Frosty]

On 3/26/2020 at 7:31 PM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Baked beans, deviled eggs and Brussels sprouts

Asparagus is a WAY more effective social deterrent. 

Maybe the voices in YOUR head don't count!  

Thanks for the twofer IDFG, a smile is a good thing in the morning.

Agreed the telephone is way better than online socializing. I'd try one of the computer video talky things but right now data speed is way down, mine usually runs 20-22 mbps but it's dropping as low as 6-7 at times. So I take advantage of our unlimited phone time. I've talked to cousins I haven't heard anything from in years though I can't seem to keep calls under 3-4 hours. 

I'm thinking pick up the phone is WAY better advice than asparagus. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

6 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

nephew stopped by to check on her mother.

A correction, it should have said called on the land line while they were on their cell phones and her mother put Robert on speaker to have a three way conversation.

[tanglediver]

Full compliment of eggs in the local grocers this evening, thanks to a lot of chickens putting in overtime. Well done ladies! 

[ThomasPowers]

My wife picked up a couple of dozen eggs from our friends in church who have have a farm a couple miles down the road.  They actually have a taste and eggshells that  4# hammer would be helpful cracking!  (Our friends usually sell them at church and so were happy to have us cut into the every growing inventory.)

IDF&C; the voices in my head are pointing at you and saying that your voices can't count!  Their maniacal laughter is quite refreshing...

[Chris C]

1 minute ago, ThomasPowers said:

eggshells that  4# hammer would be helpful cracking! 

Yup, Thomas, I remember how it was when I had chickens.  Not only were those shells hard as an anvil face, the yolks were dark orange and stood up like an Eskimo's freshly built igloo.  Dang those things tasted good.  Wish I still had those layers.

[Randy Griffin]

Get you some runner ducks. Best eggs I ever ate and they lay everyday. Best layers I got.

[Chris C]

I had 24 hens.  A mixture of Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Black Star and something else. (can't remember what)  Once they came of egg laying age, I had 24 eggs every day, with a couple of times I actually had 25.  Go figure.  It was fun selling eggs and meeting people.  Majority of the eggs were in the Large to Extra-Large category.  They never let me down.  Miss my "chickie-girls".  They were all pets.  Could pick every one of them up any time I wanted.  They were a hoot.  Lots of fun.  Had one that would come and jump up onto the porch swing and sit beside me when I when out to read.  She was extra special.

[CrazyGoatLady]

We can't hardly keep up with the demand for eggs. I only had 7 when a lady stopped by today, but she still wanted them. Our current layers aren't spring chickens anymore . They aren't quite as productive, but those girls definitely earn their keep. And nearly as soon as we post up rabbits for sale, they go. People are coming from Oklahoma a lot for them because they are saying they can't find meat rabbits near them anywhere. Got a guy coming from Norman today. Another guy who lives in Florda will be coming through this week from Colorado to pick up some. I hate the circumstances that are causing it, but business is booming. I love my chickens too, Chris. The young ones won't be laying till June or July. But hopefully, this will be at an end by then.