How Has COVID19 Effected Your Life

[older]

9 hours ago, Astreja said:

so for the past couple of weeks I've been walking to work and back again.

  

Hey, my fuel consumption is much better. I'm getting three weeks to the gallon!

[★ Citsonga ★]

[webmdave]

9 hours ago, TheRedneckProfessor said:

On a serious note, though, it has brought my country closer to a civil war than we have ever been since the actual Civil War. 

 

All you have to do is silently obey your compassionate politicians' orders and everything will be fine. And, if by chance you are ever rebuked by the "obey the government because otherwise you are a jerk" crowd, just back off and shut up. Works every time. 

 

[TheRedneckProfessor]

27 minutes ago, webmdave said:

 

All you have to do is silently obey your compassionate politicians' orders and everything will be fine. And, if by chance you are ever rebuked by the "obey the government because otherwise you are a jerk" crowd, just back off and shut up. Works every time. 

 

He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.

 

George Orwell, 1984

[AntiChrist]

It hasn't done anything other given me breathing room while I spend a significant amount of my day's living on the streets. 

 

[◊ Weezer ◊]

It certainly has not hurt Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. In Kansas.  And the resturants with pickup windows are doing great business. The nonessential mom and pop businesses are really hurting, and some won't be coming back.  Being retired the main thing we miss is eating out occasionally,  and visiting with kids and grandkids.  We have started visited by sitting out on the patio in chairs spread apart and not touching each other. I feel sorry for people living in apartments in big cities.  Especially kids not being able to go out and play with other kids. But some are ignoring those rules.

[Wertbag]

15 hours ago, TheRedneckProfessor said:

On a serious note, though, it has brought my country closer to a civil war than we have ever been since the actual Civil War. 

The sad thing is from that statement alone I can't tell which country you mean. I had to Google it, turns out 70 countries since WW2 have had civil wars and 29 are still ongoing.

[older]

6 hours ago, Weezer said:

It certainly has not hurt Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.

  

While I heartily support anything we can do to slow this down, a local business has a valid complaint about this. A furniture store here has been selling online and delivering the goods to the customer on the sidewalk. Best Buy has been doing this, but the furniture store was cited for violating the rules. The owner has a good argument since you can go to Costco and buy a couch but he can't sell one online. You can go to Walmart and buy a pair of pants but the local boutique can't sell you some.  If I was making the rules it would be one or the other: online ordering with sidewalk delivery OK, or no sales from big box stores outside of the basics.

[TABA]

One benefit of working from home (I go in to work one day a week) is being able to enjoy the beauty of the Spring season, whether walking the dogs at lunch time or just taking a quick break from my desk in the basement and looking out the window or stepping out into the backyard.  The other day my badly-behaved dogs stood still long enough for me to take this picture in the neighborhood.  These scenes are everywhere in April-May where I live. 

[older]

Yup. Spring is the best time of year. Nice photo, Taba. Don't we wish the blossoms on the trees would last for months rather than weeks?

 

Here's something from the advice column in today's paper that seems quite true:

 

Dear Amy: Responding to the current COVID crisis, I’d like to share the following observation: I think people are becoming “more so…” If they were kind and thoughtful and inclined to be loving before, now they are “more so.” And those of us who were angry and scared and suspicious before, sadly, are now “more so.”

 

 

 

[webmdave]

Mark Mason os the bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope. 

 

His article on the pandemic is worth note: 

 

https://markmanson.net/nobody-knows-what-is-going-on

[◊ Weezer ◊]

41 minutes ago, older said:

 

Dear Amy: Responding to the current COVID crisis, I’d like to share the following observation: I think people are becoming “more so…” If they were kind and thoughtful and inclined to be loving before, now they are “more so.” And those of us who were angry and scared and suspicious before, sadly, are now “more so.”

 

That's a much more tactful way of saying what I was about to say.

[◊ Weezer ◊]

36 minutes ago, webmdave said:

His article on the pandemic is worth note: 

 

https://markmanson.net/nobody-knows-what-is-going-on

 

Thanks for posting that.  It pretty well parallels my observations.  There are no easy answers to our situation.  May cool heads and rational thinking prevail. 

[Tsathoggua9]

I have been working from home for several weeks now, processing interlibrary loan requests for Vanderbilt University Library. I would rather go into work, but I gotta admit that the lack of commute has been saving me a lot of money, since I don't have a car and usually need to get a ride via Uber or Lyft. I have been to Walmart a few times. Masks are terribly uncomfortable, but I do make the effort. A lot of fellow Walmart shoppers don't wear them! I have also treated myself to a bucket of KFC via GrubHub!

 

 

[older]

6 hours ago, webmdave said:

Mark Mason os the bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope. 

 

His article on the pandemic is worth note: 

 

https://markmanson.net/nobody-knows-what-is-going-on

  

THANK YOU Dave. A very worthwhile article. One of the most interesting paragraphs is this one:

 

So, let go of the fight. Focus on yourself. Focus on your loved ones. And assume the worst. Assume nothing—not the virus, nor the economic downturn—is going to get resolved any time soon. That way, you will be prepared—mentally, emotionally, financially, and physically—for all possible scenarios. And if things turn out okay sooner than you thought, all the better.

 

 

[older]

Trying to find some normalcy, I went to Lowe’s this morning at about 10:30 to get materials to fix the south fence. I have never seen the parking lot that full, even on a Saturday afternoon of a spring three-day weekend. I didn’t even get out of the truck. I’ll go perhaps tomorrow at dinner time. Last time I was there half the staff and at least half the customers were maskless. Someone coined a new term: COVIDiot. And someone else said, "If you expect elementary school children to endure the trauma of active shooter drills for your freedoms, you can wear a mask to Costco.”

 

I fear the war has begun. A security guard at a dollar store in Flint Mich. was shot dead for insisting that a customer be masked.

[older]

And yet another great loss:

 

Naked Bike Ride cancels Portland gathering for 2020
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/05/naked-bike-ride-cancels-portland-gathering-for-2020.html

[Margee]

 

20 hours ago, webmdave said:

Mark Mason os the bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope. 

 

His article on the pandemic is worth note: 

 

https://markmanson.net/nobody-knows-what-is-going-on

 

@TheRedneckProfessor  Here is the civil war we are experiencing in our community and it goes right along with Dave's excellent message. I think this list was meant to be funny, but it's not.It's exactly the messages they (the experts) give us from day to day because they don't really know. It causes a lot of dissension among the people. Great article @webmdave. Thanks.

 

In case you were wondering...

Here are the official Coronavirus guidelines:

1. Basically, you can't leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can.

2. Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.

3. Stores are closed, except those that are open.

4. You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.

5. This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.

6. Gloves won't help, but they can still help.

7. Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it's important to GO OUT.

8. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.

9. The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.

10. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…

11. You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my..

12. In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it's better not to go out, well, but no…

13. It's better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don't go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).

14. You can't go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.

15. If you are sick, you can't go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.

16. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn't wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?

17. Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with "I don't want to trigger panic, but…"

18. You can't see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.

19. You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don't live under the same roof.

20. You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance.

21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn't say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.

22. The virus stays in the air - well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.

23. We count the number of deaths but we don't know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were "almost dead" to find out if that's what they will die of…

24. We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications).

25. We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?

 

Here's a nice video that popped up this morning. This is the stuff out there in ''internet-land'' that's enough to make you lose your mind. 

 

 

 

[Margee]

14 hours ago, older said:

 

 

I fear the war has begun. A security guard at a dollar store in Flint Mich. was shot dead for insisting that a customer be masked.

 

I went to Walmart the other day (yes Walmart!!  Lol) to see if we could get a better deal on groceries and it wasn't any different than any other time I have been there. I haven't been out there for over 5 weeks. People were bumping into each other, cranky, ('specially hubby! Lol)  some with masks, some others without. They certainly did not count how many were in this store. We will never go back.

 

Our province (community) experienced Canada's greatest mass shooting a couple of weeks ago and they will be looking into if the lockdown set him off. It paralyzed us all. We are lucky not to experience a lot of gun violence. It started with a fight with his girlfriend and he ended up going on a shooting rampage that took 22 innocent lives. Seems as if he had already planned this but did the pandemic lockdown set him off? We will never know. 

[Margee]

On 5/1/2020 at 9:33 PM, freshstart said:

I'm an RN. I feel like a leper. I'm an introvert, but I find myself wanting a damn hug. I'm trying not to feel sorry for myself, but. . . .plain and simple. . . . I'm depressed.

 

 @freshstart  A huge ((hug)) honey. Get as much rest as you can during this..... and thank you so much for helping in this horrendous situation.

 

 

[older]

Just got back from the supermarket. They had most stuff; we got everything we needed. No shortage of beer! 

 

And most everyone was masked. I view the mask thing this way: Because the virus is so unpredictable, no one can absolutely, positively, guarantee that they don't have it. So wearing a mask shows consideration for other people. Not wearing a mask shows selfishness.

[Guest freedwoman]

Update. That biatch who coughed on me at the gas station does not have COVID19. I took the advice to find out who he was. The police admonished him. He is banned from going to the gas station where I work for a few months. I decided not to press assault charges because he doesn't have it. I'm still angry at him for not apologizing to me though. I'm still angry at him for taking advantage of my short small framed body size. If I'd have been some tall strong bad ass looking man that fat  sloppy biatch wouldn't have coughed on me to begin with.  That's it. I'm strength training from now on!  Next time that happens I probably will bust his balls. I can kick pretty hard. 

[older]

19 minutes ago, freedwoman said:

Update. That biatch who coughed on me at the gas station does not have COVID19. I took the advice to find out who he was. The police admonished him. He is banned from going to the gas station where I work for a few months. I decided not to press assault charges because he doesn't have it. I'm still angry at him for not apologizing to me though. I'm still angry at him for taking advantage of my short small framed body size. If I'd have been some tall strong bad ass looking man that fat  sloppy biatch wouldn't have coughed on me to begin with.  That's it. I'm strength training from now on!  Next time that happens I probably will bust his balls. I can kick pretty hard. 

  

Thanks for the update. Glad you pursued this. Let's hope that he is at least a little bit chastened. I'm surprised that he's only banned for a few months. If I was the boss, he'd never be coming back. Stay safe.

[Guest freedwoman]

2 minutes ago, older said:

  

Thanks for the update. Glad you pursued this. Let's hope that he is at least a little bit chastened. I'm surprised that he's only banned for a few months. If I was the boss, he'd never be coming back. Stay safe.

Thank you. I still wanna kick his ass. But oh well. If he comes back before the 4 months is up I will call the police and get a retraining order against him. Plus shame him on social media. "Hell Hath No Fury Than A Woman Scorned." Hey if you think about it, this would hurt him worse than a beating. F him!   I guess being a small woman does have its advantages.

[older]

Two headlines just popped up on my Google news feed:

 

New York Post: New Mutation Indicates that Coronavirus Might Be Weakening

Los Angeles Times: Study Reports Mutant Coronavirus. It May Be More Contagious

 

Which validates the article Webmdave posted above: Nobody knows what the hell is going on.