Yes, it is true. Our household has stocked up on cat food, cat litter and cat bribes, aka “kitty treats.” These items were, in fact, near the top of the doomsday list. As noted before, circumstances change literally overnight these days. In the current A&J appearing today in newspapers and at GoComics, Arlo and Janis are discussing whether to go out for the evening or stay home. It would be embarrassing for me to admit how recently this particular comic strip was drawn, but suffice to say I hadn’t the slightest inkling that when it actually would appear, in the very near future, going out to eat would not be an option. I guess they stayed home. Truly interesting times.
Widespread Panic
By Jimmy Johnson
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73 responses to “Widespread Panic”
Mn all “eat in” at establishments has been suspended by the State. Carryout only.
Our local coffee shop “Ruby’s Roost” (not a chain) has been allowed to have 5 people in the shop,
for carryout.
The State is easing money for Unemployment. On news unemployment applications went from
500 a day to 2000 an hour.
I hope lessons are being learned – though I fear the public has a short memory.Q.E.D “quod erat demonstrandum”
We plan to do a weekly shopping in the morning; I will report if I remember.
A friend, retired nurse, told me (after Tuesday’s fall) to expect to find more and more aches in places where I may not have realized I had places. She’s right so far. Both knees and a shin complained starting yesterday, while a wrist, upper arm and the other shoulder piped up today. They’re minor stuff when compared to other people’s problems, so I am grateful for nothing more serious.
So much for the beginning of spring. Here in Tulsa it was nearly 80 on Wednesday. Today it started out at 51 at 530am and is now down to 42 with a forecast low of 30 tonight.
I’m happy to report that we’re got rain here during the night… the snow line is just a few hundred feet above us on the mountains on the east side of our valley… and I suspect the homes up on the bench (former shoreline of prehistoric Lake Bonneville) have snow.
The health department in two counties in Utah upset our governor by enacting stricter ordinances than the state has on people getting together in groups of more than 10, making it a class B misdemeanor. My daughter’s husband’s family does that whenever they have dinner!
https://www.ksl.com/article/46732521/gov-herbert-calls-for-repeal-of-salt-lake-county-utah-county-health-orders
Brief shopping report from N. Illinois: all “Mexican” breadstuffs were gone (large Latin community here); so was my beloved rye bread but other breads were available. Meats limited, but not gone; had no problem buying a half ham. I did not get to the TP/tissue/towel aisle, but watched a number of shoppers check out, and no one seemed to be buying any such; perhaps the store was out. Bottled water was available, and I did not see anyone buying inordinate quantities – good. Women’s products were readily in evidence, though the stacks may have been smaller than usual – I can’t say I keep track. Soft drinks had loaded shelves – mostly water and with better taste. No shortages noticed in the usual boxes, jars, and vegetation.
Here’s the explanation of an unpopular point of view:
https://www.creators.com/read/walter-williams/10/18/price-gouging-during-a-natural-disaster
I believe in the economic principle that supplies will be sold first to those who offer the higher price. And that individuals will still buy what they need at the higher price… and leave other stuff for other people instead of hoarding it all. After all, if you were out of TP wouldn’t rather pay a few $ more and get a small amount rather than face an empty shelf with no TP on it because it all sold out at the regular price?
Mr. Williams writes in my local paper and usually hit thee nail on the head. Were he to run for some position, I’d have no problem whatsoever voting for him.
“hits the”
Another episode of “Life In The Slow Lane”: I hit the other (and larger) food market in Eufaula at about 8:30 this morning. They weren’t too busy then, but I gathered from talking to the stock lady and cashier that they’d had a mini-run when they opened at 7:00. (Some stores are reserving their first hour of business for seniors and immune-system compromised folks.) I didn’t walk the entire store, as I was there only to look for items the other market didn’t have yesterday afternoon. The bread section was picked clean, and they had no ground beef at the meat counter. Fresh chicken and pork, beef roasts, milk, eggs, and canned goods and produce seemed to be in good supply. I didn’t check for paper products, but I suspect that particular cupboard was bare. They expect resupply Saturday, so no particular worries for now. A sign on the door said they would be closing for a short while this evening for cleaning and sanitizing of the facility. Good plan, I thought.
Also, LITSL: At the hospital Wednesday, face masks were available at the check-in table. However, they were the old-style surgical masks with the pair of strings on each side to tie behind your neck and head. (Ever watch an episode of M*A*S*H? I suspect these may have been sitting in Central Stores at the hospital since the Korean War-era.) I took one just for the halibut (the CDC says they don’t do any good, anyway, as they don’t seal around the moth and nose, as do the N95’s…like the staff was wearing), and discovered there’s a reason why you used to see surgical nurses in the movies tying them for the surgeons in the OR…it’s pretty hard to do it yourself.
Ghost, the only thing those masks are good for, according to what I’ve read about the new virus, is if you’re infected they will prevent you sneezing the germs anywhere but into the mask. If you aren’t infected, they won’t stop you potentially inhaling the infection when others sneeze.
Large Spotted Genet hunting at night, S Afr.
https://explore.org/livecams/african-wildlife/tembe-elephant-park
Ghost, despite the high temps being bad in the 40s today I saw three lithesome young lasses of college age running around in very short shorts and flip-flops. That’s definitely a sign of spring in my book!
Or, as it’s also known, “pokey weather”. 😉
Two things.
#1 Today’s (03-21-2020) reminds me of Fibber McGee and Molly’s closet.
#2
And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler he broke even
But in his final words
I found an ace that I could keep
You gotta know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em…
Rest In Peace Kenny
Not to make light of the situation but in perspective:
.
90 people die per DAY in traffic accidents
294 WWII Veterans die per day
800,000 die from heart failure per year
609,000 die from Cancer (About 2% rate)
.
This was a quick scan, your results may vary.
As of this morning…
Worldwide reported deaths: 11,921
Worldwide confirmed cases: 287,239
Worldwide mortality rate: 4.15%, which is terrible, but we don’t have an accurate count of actual cases.
Here in the US…
National reported deaths: 275
National confirmed cases: 19,931
National mortality rate: 1.38%, which isn’t quite as terrible, but we don’t have an accurate count of actual cases.
Until we get mass testing of significant populations, we’re just guessing. And it does look like some existing drugs (like chlorophine) can CURE this scourge. The first step is to replicate the human trials in France and other places. The second is to prevent the FDA from awarding a patent on this existing drug to some profiteering “favored” company.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/what-is-chloroquine-trump-and-elon-musk-have-touted-for-coronavirus.html
Old Bear, I agree with the significance of the fatality numbers you list. The biggest issue with COVID-19 is that it is a contagious cause of death. I can’t catch heart disease from my barber… Also, the other concern is that as a pandemic, it (along with all those other issues you list) can seriously overburden the healthcare system so that suddenly, a garden-variety bacterial pneumonia may be fatal, since the care and resources necessary to cure are otherwise occupied. So, I’m following the guidelines to isolate both for my benefit and for the rest of society. #flattenthecurve
Baboon mom & kid, wakened by somebody barking nearby.
https://explore.org/livecams/african-wildlife/olifants-river
Peace,
Borrowed from Facebook:
I’m on a work conference call at home with 20 people on it. Someones dog started barking. Then my dog started barking. Then EVERYONES dog started barking.
Everyone lost their (stuff) laughing and the meeting host had to apply global mute, it took a few minutes to get things back under control.
This is officially the best meeting I’ve ever been on.
That is absolutely GREAT, Steve! Thanks for posting!
Hi, everybody. Stayin’ home, hangin’ in. Everybody take care.
S Afr, Blacksmith Plover incubating 3 eggs.
https://explore.org/livecams/african-wildlife/nkorho-bush-lodge
Peace,
Family+ of baboons.
https://explore.org/livecams/african-wildlife/african-river-wildlife-camera
Peace,
I agree. Especially the one with an orange face and orange hair. The others seem to defer to him as a leader though.
Panama feeder, Black-chested Jay
https://explore.org/livecams/birds/panama-fruit-feeder
Greetings!
I always stop by A&J.com and link over to GoComics.
Most times I also hit the random button. Today it was 11-20-06
Could you give us a little back story on this week?
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