The FORD Lounge

[ArdWrknTrk]

I don't tar every human with the same brush.
But! I'm going to say every human has a child, parent, neighbor, delivery person, someone... that IS stupid enough to be a vector.

And THAT might be the death of them.

Almost everything here is shutdown.
There is an 8:00 curfew.
Parks and beaches are posted and taped off.
And yet, I see *groups* of people stepping over the yellow tape to dog walk, bike, or whatever.

[ArdWrknTrk]

This is the most lucid and we'll informed article I've read lately.

https://www.wired.com/story/coronavirus-interview-larry-brilliant-smallpox-epidemiologist/

[Sac79]

For most people this is a novelty, something to Twitter over or a reason to act like it's Black Friday at the stores. For some it's a major inconvenience or disruption, people who have lost income because of the 'cure'(a growing group no doubt). For the very few this is life or death. Probably only 1% of the population even knows anyone personally who has tested positive for the virus, never mind ended up in hospital. Until that number grows significantly you'll continue to see people ignore 'yellow tape'...

There probably are a whole lot more people who actually have had the virus, but we can't know that for sure.

And we really shouldn't lose perspective. Over 30000 people have died from flu this season and people still don't get vaccinated, are we really surprised when they ignore social distancing?

[ArdWrknTrk]

No, not surprised at all.
Exactly why I said humans are too stupid to act in their on self interest.

Mortality among those diagnosed is a few tenths above that of the 'Spanish' Flu pandemic of 100 years ago.

That was a perfect storm (of the time)
At the end of WWI, sick and worn down soldiers were billeted in cramped and unsanitary conditions before being returned home from Europe, around the globe.

Now international travel takes hours and airports are hubs where millions of travelers pass one another, use the same seat, toilet door handle, or personal belongings basket at security.

A month or two ago all this was business as usual.

It's not due to some great influx of residents of Wuhan.
It's the cost of living in a connected world.

[Ray Cecil]

I was waiting for someone to mention the virus....

Jim, I think you are right in a lot of respects. However, sometimes what is perceived as stupidity is just inexperience. I know as a younger man I made a lot of bad decisions, and looking back I see them as stupid decision. However, I was just naive, not stupid. That is part of life, becoming less and less naive, and more and more jaded lol. I think the trick is not making the same mistake twice, and not allowing reality to steal your ability to be happy. But I agree, there ARE a lot of stupid people. And Gary is only half right. The smartest don't always survive, it is the most well adapted who survive. Smarts can help you adapt, but not always.

As for the virus, this IS bad. Maybe the virus is bad, but the economy situation is the worse part of it for the unprepared souls.  Actually, if you haven't taken advantage of the stock market, you should.

Some of you know I have been prepping. I am prepared to sit this virus out an entire year off work if I have to. We have food, animals that give us food, water supply, $$ to pay the bills, and plenty of fresh air and sunshine! (Adapted)

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ray,
I'm pointing out that it's not your naivety that is necessarily going to get you infected.

I could grab my go bag and as much as I could carry on my back and be fine for a good long time.

Eventually my potassium permanganate would run out and I'd have to boil water, but that would probably be a year away and by then I'd either be completely set up, or killed buy someone else (at long range) for what I had.

I'm not running to the hills.
But I'm not taking public transit either.

I don't have a family to watch over.
So that is liberating in a SHTF situation.
But (for me) it hasn't gotten there yet.
Not by a long shot.

Spring is here.
Food is plentiful in the wild.
Grocery stores aren't barren of produce and seeds can be grown, or shoots rooted.
(Always think of winter, and crops like tubers and frostproof greens like kale)

[Ray Cecil]

Hey Jim!

Yeah, Ive been growing survival food for awhile now. Raising chickens. Canning. Etc. Ive enlisted my widowed grandmother (82) and my widowed mother to help in the garden this year. Starting seeds and prepping beds now! Weve got 1 full year of chicken manure compost seasoned also.

[Ray Cecil]

I dont think we will reach true SHTF by the way. Thats why I am buying stocks like candy.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I don't think global society will either.
But there certainly may be pockets (and I'm less than 50mi from Manhattan)

Growing your own food is just common sense.
Watching my Nona slave over a range full of boiling cauldrons all summer and fall put me off to canning everything I might need all through the seasons, but I have no need for produce 8 mo. out of the year.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Ray Cecil wrote

Weve got 1 full year of chicken manure compost seasoned also.

You're just a chicken $#!+ individual, Ray!  

[salans7]

I'm a little late, but I work in the middle of one of the largest master-planned retirement communities in the state of Florida. While driving through the area, I continually see folks in their 70s and 80s, moving about without a single care in the world. Most restaurants and meeting places are closed, but the elders simply adapted and are now drinking their morning coffee in the parking lots of the restaurants. They're bringing their lawn chairs, arranging them in a close circle and going about their breakfast like nothing is wrong. I've seen plenty out for a round of golf, sharing golf carts and standing within two feet of each other. The other day I passed one of the area grocery stores, and they were holding the early shopping hours for seniors. It's a really great idea, except for the fact that over 100 seniors were lined up like it was black Friday, and they were all standing within a foot of each other. The local hospital in the area has already seen ten positive cases of Covid-19, with more sure to come. At least four of those turned into secondary bacterial pneumonia, which put them into the ICU. And the ICU only has 16 beds. There's close to 130,000 people living in The Villages, and they're all over the age of 55. It's only the beginning, and it's gonna get way worse before it gets better. I work in that hospital. It's already turning into hell. I can only imagine what will happen in the next few weeks.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Which is the point of trying to flatten the curve!
Same number, over more time, means facilities and staff won't be SO overwhelmed.

Yet Trump wants us all in Church for Easter!
(I can't express myself on this forum!  😖

Florida's where people go to die.
Why would you expect an 85 yo to give a **** about whether they live a week, or a year?

[Ray Cecil]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

.....Florida's where people go to die.
Why would you expect an 85 yo to give a **** about whether they live a week, or a year?

Jim...you are the main attraction and reason I keep coming back here. You remind me of the older me I haven't yet become....so much bottled up....ready to be unleashed!! The older I get, the more I understand the grumpy old man who calls it like it is.

I imagine Jim is the neighbor you hear cussing himself out in his garage at 1am!!! hahaha....love ya Jim!!

[salans7]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Florida's where people go to die.
Why would you expect an 85 yo to give a **** about whether they live a week, or a year?

If you worked in that hospital, you would realize there's plenty of seniors who want to live past 100.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I am that guy!

The one that will be out there in a blizzard fixing your snowblower, that you stupidly left full of ethanol and with the key and fuel on -three years ago when you last needed it- instead of being out plowing and making money to support my own family.

I'll also be the one that's found out there, hanging from a rafter when I can't change my own diaper anymore.

[ArdWrknTrk]

An incredible percentage of people are terrified of death.
I've never understood this.
We all need to accept it, because to IS coming!

Read above about selfishness and stupidity^^^^^

Die while you still have some dignity and joy in you.
That's how I want to be remembered.

If you're real scared about how it may happen, take a garbage bag and that argon tank, put on your favorite tunes and most comfortable clothes.
You'll be gone (peacefully) before the song is over.

[Rembrant]

I find that the media is not accurately reporting on this virus crisis. You have to read a dozen articles and piece together all of the little bits and pieces to get the whole story. The province I live in is probably about the same size as Florida...maybe a little smaller, but we have less than 5% of the population, so we are quite spread out up here. As of yesterday, I believe we had 70 confirmed cases of C19. There are only 2 people in hospital, and the rest are at home. Apparently 2 people have fully recovered and are considered "resolved".

As I think Shaun said above, it is going to get worse before it gets better. Currently, I'm more worried about the economy than I am the virus...but ask me again in a couple weeks or a month, and I might have a different answer.

Be safe everybody.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thanks for that post Cory!

Full agreement!
But I'm not going to mourn the economy like I will my friends.  (though we can't have funerals either, right now)

Would I look back to the economic boom post WWII, and feel sorry for its family and friends who no longer have it?

And Shaun, be careful!
A hospital is the LAST place I'd want to be.
Bad enough with MERS on every surface and in every drain.
This stuff is aerosolized, so it doesn't need a biofilm to lie in wait for you.

Staff will get worn down.
Cortisol levels will rise, and healthy immune systems will become compromised.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I don't think the media has a chance of accurately reporting this situation.

There aren't enough tests.
There is spin to under-report, and keep people from riots or suicide.
To keep people from cashing out, and further decimating the economy.

I don't know where spot gold is today, but I'm definitely going to watch.
The per-barrel price of oil is going to be down in the closet bend, and stay there for a good long time.
There's going to be a push for self sufficiency.
Solar+batteries looks like a good investment if you have no job, prospects, or a way to pay for that utility.

[Rembrant]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Thanks for that post Cory!

Up until yesterday here, every single case of C19 was with a person that had traveled internationally, or was a person that had come into contact with one of those travelers. Apparently the first case unrelated to travel showed up yesterday, although imho it is related...they just don't know how. The media has not really been reporting how many people were actually IN the hospital, or their ages or nationalities. I wish they would report that info, although I'm sure they are not doing it to prevent discrimination, and I get that.

The price of oil is going to be low for a good long time, that is for sure.