Damn... even Tom Hanks got Covid-19

[Von Jankmon]

I'm going to go with, YES, he's an idiot.

I heard Amazon has shut down some royal Douche bags that went & bought up pallets of T-Paper & then were trying to sell it on Amazon/Facebook/Ebay, etc etc, at a massive Profit.


That is a false equivalency.  Yes there are scum who bought out massive amounts of stock and then tried to price gouge it on Amazon to desperate people. Stocking up at home is not the same.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html?s

Everyone needs to relax.

No! Everyone needs to prepare.

The flu isn't creating a shortage,  hording is what is creating the shortage,  using Hand Sanitizer 3x as often for safety doesn't mean you need 20x as much of it in your cupboards.

This isnt flu. Also preparation isnt hoarding.  Hoarding is what preppers are accused of when the unprepared get desperate.
There are three types of people in a resource crisis.
1. Preppers.  Who stocked up in the good times.  Most preppers will stock up on specifics at this point now they know the specificity of the prepper scenario.
2. Panic Buyers.  The crisis equivalent of early adopters, they cause problems, but they are wising up and trying to become preppers.
3. Golden Horde.  People who will end up with as full credit card and an empty larder.  Dont be these guys.

Lockdown is not as fantasy or hysteria.  It is happening now.  It could therefore happen near you.  Lockdowns kill the local economy, kill the logistic infrastructure and cause hardship across multiple industries.  There will be economic ramifications wherever there is lockdown, there will be a direct epidemic where there is no lockdown, mismanaged areas might get both.  Only the genuinely isolated have little to no concern.

Don't be afraid, but don't be complacent.  Prepare now.  You want to have four months supply if you can, so when the virus spreads and infection reaches its peak you can stay at home and shut the door.
This is NOT flu.

Finally I would love to be wrong.  A conscientious prepper wants to be proven wrong.  If you follow my advice and buy four months worth of tins over the next fortnight the worst that can happen is that you have spent too much money on tins and missed out on a hobby purchase or two.  And you still have the tins.

[Daryk]

Actually it IS flu.  It's just that it's been 100 years since that name invoked the proper response.

[Cache]

That is a false equivalency. 
...
Also preparation isnt hoarding. 

You're reading things into those posts that aren't there. Nobody is saying prepping is bad. Nobody is saying prepping is hoarding. What is being said is that opportunists (hoarding in order to sell for massive markup) and panic-buyers are causing shortages.


On the positive side of this, when I refresh my stock of rations after this, I'm pretty well guaranteed to get fresh stuff, not rations that have been on the shelf for a few years.  :D

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Actually it IS flu.  It's just that it's been 100 years since that name invoked the proper response.

Wrong.  This is not an influenza virus. This is a new virus that humans haven't had centuries of exposure to. It's dramatically worse than the flu.

[Von Jankmon]

That is a false equivalency.  Yes there are scum who bought out massive amounts of stock and then tried to price gouge it on Amazon to desperate people. Stocking up at home is not the same.

You're reading things into those posts that aren't there. Nobody is saying prepping is bad. Nobody is saying prepping is hoarding. What is being said is that opportunists (hoarding in order to sell for massive markup) and panic-buyers are causing shortages.

Sorry I cannot agree with this.  The question arose whether a mobility buggy user with a cargo of toilet roll, which is likely to be well under 100 rolls to fit on a buggy is a panic buying idiot.
I say no because 1. he/she is likely disabled and in a higher risk category 2. people need to prepare as best they can.

It was concluded that he/she was because people hoard toilet roll to sell on Amazon.  There is no evidence this person was that type of douche.  Most preppers and panic buyers are not trying to buy everything and price gouge desperate people.  Even panic buyers tend to buy about double the normal amount of various things, rather than the whole shelf full from Walmart.  There is an assumption, from the unprepared that a panic buyer came in and bought all the stock when in fact several panic buyers/preppers came in and bought about double/triple normal supply, which is quite reasonable.
Most preppers will want to buy lots of different products to prep rationally.  When prepping in the good times a consceietious prepper doesnt take all of one stock.
In the bad times some items are more important than others and go quickly.  Hand sanitiser is a good example.  Toilet roll is a category all of its own.  Its very light, very bulky and a dozen shoppers can easily clear a whole shelf without buying excessive amounts.  It is also one of the key critical items people buy, yet because it is unglamourous people understate its importance until there is a shortage.  Toilet roll shortages were predicted as a litmus test for a supply chain pressure point, a sign that logistics are going to be challenged.
People should take note of this, not just try and get some toilet roll, but use this as the canary in the coal mine to get real preparation done.

On the positive side of this, when I refresh my stock of rations after this, I'm pretty well guaranteed to get fresh stuff, not rations that have been on the shelf for a few years.  :D

You have rations.  So you prepared?

[CrossfirePilot]

I got a 1000rds of ammo.  And anyone who has played Oregon trail knows that cant be a bad thing.  :D

[Von Jankmon]

Wrong.  This is not an influenza virus. This is a new virus that humans haven't had centuries of exposure to. It's dramatically worse than the flu.

Yes.  Even if it is related to influenza, that would only be a technicality.

The current sleepspeak is 'its only a bad flu', which is an extension of last months sleepspeak of 'it wont happen here'.

Just a little wake up call, in addition to the other very serious moves taken, the Irish government is making moves to close it's pubs.  Just let that sink in - Pubs will be closed in Ireland.
This must be serious.

Everyone wake up to a darkening reality, and please prepare as best you can.

[Daryk]

That's exactly my point... Take a look at what the Spanish Flu did to public life in 1918.  The key similarity is this:

COVID-19 and the flu are both contagious viruses that cause respiratory illness.

From here: https://www.ynhhs.org/patient-care/urgent-care/flu-or-coronavirus

[Von Jankmon]

I think its best to stick with the moral truth.

If someone says 'its just like a bad flu', the answer is not to talk about Spanish flu but to recognise that the majority of the population think of a bad flu as an inconvenience.  Which also is not true as flu kills a lot of people.

The moral truth, aka the hard relevant reality to get across is 'this is not a flu, this is worse'.

What COVID-19 actually is is relevant to virologists alone.

[Maingunnery]

That's exactly my point... Take a look at what the Spanish Flu did to public life in 1918.  The key similarity is this:From here: https://www.ynhhs.org/patient-care/urgent-care/flu-or-coronavirus

I suggest using the word: Pandemic

[CrossfirePilot]

So one of my brothers friends has gone full bugaloo on this.  He sold all his stocks and bought gold. This guy at one point was a director for an investment company.  So he has been virulently anti gun since I was his roommate 30 years ago in college.  Well he calls my brother asking what gun to buy. Well even though I took my brother to Frontsite a couple years ago, he isn't an anti gun guy. So my brother points friend in my direction.  Was I wrong to suggest to him that he should pick up a HiPoint YC9?

[Daryk]

Only if he uses it inappropriately.

Pandemic is a better term, certainly.  It's a shame that "flu" has come to mean so much less than it used to, but I suppose that's human nature.  "Plague" doesn't even conjure the fear it earned in ages past.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Sorry I cannot agree with this.  The question arose whether a mobility buggy user with a cargo of toilet roll, which is likely to be well under 100 rolls to fit on a buggy is a panic buying idiot.
I say no because 1. he/she is likely disabled and in a higher risk category 2. people need to prepare as best they can.

Ten packages of 24 rolls is an absurd amount of tp.  Two packages that size are enough for a family of six to last on for months. Nobody needs to be buying ten.

Only if he uses it inappropriately.

Pandemic is a better term, certainly.  It's a shame that "flu" has come to mean so much less than it used to, but I suppose that's human nature.  "Plague" doesn't even conjure the fear it earned in ages past.

You are using it inappropriately.  "Flu" refers to a specific family of viruses that Corvid-19 isn't part of.

[CrossfirePilot]

Well words are so misused its hard for any of them to properly conjure up the fear or other emotions that they should.  When was the last time that something that was called awesome really struct you with a sense of being full of awe and amazement?

We are also so used to the various media outlets blowing stuff so far out of proportion, that when there is a true threat. We are too desensitized to react to it properly.  Ala Peter and the Wolf.

My actual hope out of all this is that people get more attuned to actually taking some of those sanitary practices more to heart and making them more of a habit.

[Daryk]

*snip*
You are using it inappropriately.  "Flu" refers to a specific family of viruses that Corvid-19 isn't part of.

The first bit about "appropriately" was in response to Crossfirepilot's advice to a panic-stricken person.

You are correct that they are different virus families, and von Jankmon is correct that only virologists care.  Hence why I agreed with Maingunnery that "pandemic" is the better term.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The reason people are taking whether or not Covid-19 is a flu virus seriously is because people get complacent about the flu and as we've seen in other countries, that leads to disaster.

And with that said...

[Daryk]

Agreed... complacency is the problem, though I haven't been articulating that very clearly.

That Texas poster is hilarious, and I hope effective!  :thumbsup:

[Von Jankmon]

Ten packages of 24 rolls is an absurd amount of tp.  Two packages that size are enough for a family of six to last on for months. Nobody needs to be buying ten.

How the hell do you fit all that on a mobility buggy?

[Fear Factory]

I took precautions. The hardtack thing is, believe it or not, no joke. You can even break it up and use it as flour again. It's super easy to make and lasts decades. I'm actually going to try making it using quinoa flour so it's nutritional.

Actual serious precautions... my daughter was a preemie, so before all of this recent stuff went down, I got cleaning supplies and all the soap we'll need. I travel all around Chicagoland for work so I have to take it seriously.

[dgorsman]

And with that said...

Hah!  I love it!   :thumbsup:

[jimdigris]

Same. I have a full day inservice tomorrow about how they’re going to try to do live instruction over our decrepit network (totally not going to be a disaster). Apparently the maximum concern for the safety of students doesn’t extend to us  :))

They were going to make us come in, but decided against it.

[Snake Eyes]

So apparently the Tennessee attorney general has gotten involved, and if its been determined that there was excessive price gouging, that those two nit-wits will face heavy fines. Also they're trying to save their butts by saying they will donate most of their "stash" to first responders and local churches.

[Cache]

Well, Wisconsin schools are now closed starting the 18th. Online learning it is.

This has now changed (locally for sure) to closed starting immediately.

[rebs]

All restaurants and bars in Michigan are ordered to never be more than half capacity,  and most restaurants are "encouraged" to go to carry out and delivery only when possible.  The Governor even reminded us to tip delivery persons since that's how they earn their living.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

In a situation like this, they should be getting big tips.

[Hellraiser]

So apparently the Tennessee attorney general has gotten involved, and if its been determined that there was excessive price gouging, that those two nit-wits will face heavy fines. Also they're trying to save their butts by saying they will donate most of their "stash" to first responders and local churches.

They went & cleaned out Rural Areas that were already limited on supplies since its not some large city.

And $8-$70 I think was the price quoted for $1 bottles.    I'm not sure what needs to be determined since that is CLEARLY price gouging.

My favorite is the "what about my costs" part, you know, where they drove 2K miles to clean everyone out, that is a lot of gas $$.

Asshats.   They deserve every bit of punishment laid on them.

[Sharpnel]

How the hell do you fit all that on a mobility buggy?

You can't. A mobility buggy would barely my two week grocery run and I'm single and mobile.

[Liam's Ghost]

My town's got its first confirmed case today. So yay.

[Sharpnel]

We had our first last week and our first death 3 days ago (not the same person). A total of three in the county with one recovered and the other just reported. That's one per 240K people in the county. Statewide is another matter as the ski resort areas are being hardest hit along with the Denver area. It's a good thing that I don't interact with people outside of work. I'm a quasi-hermit only going to nearby take-out restaurants and the grocery store (self check-out) when not at work. I'm concerned, but I'm not a panic maniac like too many people are.

[NeonKnight]

Even though this is a joke....so true.



Here in Canada wifey and I went to the Korean Market just down the road and absolutely loaded with food and what not, while the Mega Grocery up the road practically wiped out of food. Got to score a 10 pound bag of Potatoes for $4.