Cold, clear, windy.
I spent the afternoon driving around and decided to do some meatspace relationship building, so I ran out of time to get to Costco and my other errands. I KNEW I should get there yesterday. I’m betting there is a run on Lysol after the article showing it killing virus. Timing. Priorities. I wanted Lysol, bleach, pool shock, a basket full of OTC meds and 3 months of dog food. I didn’t get any of that and probably won’t today either.
My wife said last night that desire for masks has hit her facebook groups. I previously warned her not to publish anything about me getting masks, and she didn’t. She gets why now. I also hear that Trump doesn’t like price gouging. One thing I know for sure, price controls limit supply. If they insist I sell lower than I want, I’ll just keep them. And if they try to seize them, I’ll piss on them first, burn them, or give them to the homeless.
As the virus continues to spread, I am trying to pretend that my life is normal… so I’m on my way to Austin for a pickup. There is a definite dichotomy between getting prepped as if I expect the zombie apocalypse and going to pick up stuff to resell and use in a normal life. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
I’m pretty sure the worst is coming. We’ve got a case in Cali with no known link to travel. That ain’t good.
So, I’m getting the kids and wife out the door, then on my way to Austin, and hopefully home in time to hit Costco before getting the kids.
Wish me luck.
n
When I was a youngen’ on the farm, about 7 years old, we had a milk cow. When my uncle milked the cow he used to squirt the milk directly into my mouth. Along with a dozen barn cats who also enjoyed the event. Good stuff. Warm, homogenized, fresh. Would probably be considered child abuse today.
Subbing today. One child in the second period cannot control her cell phone urges. Wife had the class yesterday and caught her using the phone and took it. Girl will be sent to alternative school for 45 days if the wife turns the phone into the office. Wife gave it back to her at the end of class. I will not.
It just amazes me these kids cannot put down a phone for 100 minutes. Not to be sexist, the girls are the worst offenders, by far. Just an observation.
My Costco here in South Florida has Kirkland 72pk AA batteries for $4.97. I know, they are not well rated and they leak, but I am giving them out to my extended family, (hurricane season approaching) with the warning not to put them into any flashlights, radios, etc. until they are needed. I don’t know if every Costco has this deal, or it is just a one off here in Coral Springs.
I hope Costco is ready to introduce an AA battery that does not leak when you leave it in a flashlight for a few weeks or months, as is their reputation. Maybe that is why they are getting rid of them all at once like this.
Ditto for cell phone use in the car, which is illegal in NY and most surrounding states. I’ve been keeping note of drivers who are yammering or texting while the car is in motion or at a traffic light. Talking with phone to ear (or, increasingly, held screen-up in front of the mouth) is predominantly women but men are a third or a bit less of those I see. Texting is overwhelmingly women, with a few men observed texting at a stop versus hundreds of women and no men observed texting while the car is moving versus a couple dozen women. My observations could be affected by driving skill, as I’ll look more closely if a car is moving erratically, so if someone is able to drive smoothly while talking or texting (or eating, putting on makeup, or fiddling with the radio) I’d be less likely to notice them; this ability to multitask may have a sexual disparity. Also, a few people were of indeterminate sex, so I didn’t count them.
Your observation is not sexist. Reality may be sexist. Interestingly, the attempt to deny reality has a sexual (or “gender”) component in the US.
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Mueller-Automatic-Preservation-Indicator/dp/B07J2SR7YT/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=vacuum+sealer+machine&qid=1582809323&sr=8-6%5C%22%3EMy&tag=ttgnet-20 vacuum machine arrived yesterday. I did a quick test and sealed a bag of sugar.
I reminded the wife last night to start getting her list ready for the Costco run on Saturday.
Early Saturday morning I’m going to drive to a neighboring city and pick up a 55 gal water barrel (maybe 2). About an hour trip each way, but I’ll have the 15 yo drive me – he needs the practice!
Meh, I mucked up the link on my last post, but you should get the idea… Must. Get. Coffee.
@IT guy,
Do a quick search, I think if you vac seal sugar it will turn into a solid block.
Great to hear you are moving forward.
Saturday at Costco will be INSANE.
I’m getting ready to head out, and I’m very anxious that I should be shopping instead.
I can always make bleach from pool shock (calcium hypochlorite) and I have empty bottles, but is sure is easier just buying it. No substitute for Lysol in the cans though.
And wipes are convenient.
I’m holding off on buying a bag of onions and a big bag of potatoes. That’s my “last store run” list. Both will keep for ages, both are cheap, both are versatile foods. Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t wait.
n
I’m officially sold out of masks.
The last lot went to a guy who bought 3 others at a discount. Made a low offer on a big lot, which I countered at slightly over what he’d already paid. While he was dithering, I sold one of the two lots for full price, and canceled his offer. Immediately he bought the remaining lot.
As we are seeing, timing is everything. If it’s time to go, GO.
n
which is why I’m dying that I can’t go shopping this morning.
you can’t make this stuff up….
“Illness forces the Pope to cancel an event in Rome a day after showing solidarity with coronavirus sufferers and shaking hands with congregation at weekly audience
Pope Francis cancelled an event Thursday due to a ‘slight indisposition’
Comes a day after he was seen coughing and blowing his nose during Mass
Earlier in the day he met crowds where he kissed faces and touched hands
Italy is currently in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak, with towns in lockdown”
This isn’t good, but confirms other reports….
“Japanese tour bus worker who recovered from coronavirus tests positive for it AGAIN
The 40-year-old was first infected after working on bus with tourists from Wuhan
She recovered and left hospital but yesterday tested positive for a second time
Government officials say it is the first known incident of this kind in Japan ”
–puts a vaccine in doubt.
–the thing no one official is talking about is the “walking along and suddenly drop dead twitching” syndrome in china. Being able to get the wuflu again, and the reports of it killing people with heart issues the second time, might correlate with SDDT syndrome….. (my name)
n
Dad’s view FWIW:
The only thing for certain is uncertainty and the truth will never be known, history has taught us that but we refuse to learn the lesson.
Even though my wife is retired she still keeps in touch with her old crew. She makes pretty and funny scrub caps and she took in a bunch the other day, very welcome to cheer everyone up. They lamented the lack of facts regarding WuFu and tight supplies. Stuff that used to be out in the open, like gloves and facemasks, are now under lock and key and issued by the eaches.
One of our rescue cats is getting ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge. I took him to the Vet and his kidneys have completely failed. Sunny is one tough cat, he survived a serious systemic infection as a kitten. Our Vet and I shed a few tears and hugs with Sunny and planned his remaining days. Sunny is still exhibiting a good quality of life but that will turn South drastically someday soon. I will have to be observant so he does not suffer. I have too much experience with the end of life. Our pets need to see and feel us at the end.
Life will go on and we will learn if we choose to.
Fair winds and following seas. Peace. Out.
Re Kirkland batteries. I’ve had mixed experiences, but. A few days ago I went looking for something in my office trailer and found three small FLASHLIGHTS of mediocre quality that have been in a box with the batteries in for the four and a half years since moving. No leaking batteries and they all work well, one with Duracell and two with Kirkland batteries.
Well, well. The MillerCoors shooter turns out to be Black. No wonder minimum coverage.
The MillerCoors shooter news stories have been showing up in the top area of my Google News since it happened.
This was the first entry in that section on the googlenews: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/27/milwaukee-molson-coors-shooter-had-long-running-dispute-co-worker/4893244002/ .
Shooter is identified, and picture shown.
I understand this person in California without a known direct exposure lives near Travis AFB in Solano County, California where some of the infected Americans from Asia were repatriated to. It’s completely possible that the infected person had contact with one of the aircrew on these flights.
Just back from our SAMS run today. Not too busy but some people obviously stocking up for emergencies. We topped off our food and paper needs. I have hundreds of pounds of beans, sugar, salt, and rice in LTS vacuum sealed bags in buckets. We picked up extra butter, bacon, pasta, and misc cleaning supplies. I never knew till I read this blog that Clorox would loose potency over a short time so I got a hundred chlorine tablets that make a gallon of Clorox like liquid each. Robert taught me a lot on this site.
UPDATE: We have a Seal-a-Meal device to vacuum seal foods. It works well on most things but liquids and powered stuff is a challenge as the vacuum process will pull some of the liquid or power (flour or sugar) into the sealing area and can degrade the seal. For these I always add a second seal above the first. Never had a problem with that.
It’s not just the flu you gotta be worried about. Or any of the other SHTF scenarios.
Sometimes, there’s no water. Like in parts of east Houston now: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/us/houston-water-break/index.html , according to news reports.
Trying out HEB’s Curbside thing. Also have an order to pick up at Walmart. Best price and all that.
The Walmart order will be ready after 6PM Tuesday. So I”m hoping it /will/ be there on Wednesday. Because I scheduled the HEB order for Wednesday. One trip. Lowes for air filters, Wally World, HEB, Tractor Supply for dog food and then home.
Seems like a good plan.
I grew up on a home dairy with 5 milk cows and a dozen chickens. Cows are lots of work. Up early to milk then milk before supper. Every day no matter what. No vacations.
I got plenty of the raw milk right from the teat and hand churned butter from the fresh cream. As a kid, it seemed like fun sitting in the shade, cranking the handle on the paddle churn. We moved to town before it became work. I grew up on raw milk and bought raw milk from a family dairy for my kids. Today it’s a federal crime to sell or even give away raw milk. The FDA sent their SWAT team (yes, the FDA has SWAT teams) to shut down an Amish farm that rented milk cows to people who wanted raw milk. Crazy times.
I heard today that, unlike measles or smallpox, once you’ve survived aCOVID-19 infection, your immune system will not protect you from another. The same report said that the fatality rate for initial infections is 3 per thousand but the fatality rate for a second infection is 30%. Scary.
As did I. Between my brother and I we went through at least a gallon of milk a day. Took a lot of energy to work on farm. A milk cow was the least expensive option. Gave away a gallon or two a day to neighbors. Also made our own butter on occasion although that was not worth the effort.
When one of our cows (we had about 200, give or take, at any one time) would lose a calf we would have to milk the cow out on the ground for about a week. Otherwise they could suffer severe udder damage. Or find a calf that was abandoned by another cow and try to get the two to bound. Worked most of the time.
We could not use that milk from the cows that had just given birth. Too many chemicals imparted by the mother that adversely affected the milk for human consumption. Something to with the antibodies and hormones in the milk. At that time the information was beyond my pay grade. Some of that milk was 50% cream.
Reading between the lines …
What? He built the guns at home from mail ordered parts? Sure he wasn’t white, but we might be able to use this in our agenda after all.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-nw-molson-coors-shooting-20200227-w6ljj62lbnf63dw344yus346yq-story.html
I put this comment at Aesop’s so some will seem familiar to those here…
Spent the morning doing work things, and then hit Costco.
I wanted to go yesterday, ‘cuz I was pretty sure of what I’d find if I waited, but had work stuff yesterday too.
NO bleach at all, although the staffer said they’d restock “later”.
Last 4 packs of Lysol went into my basket, and one went back out to a lady with medical issues.
NO bleach based cleaner at all.
NO isopropal alcohol
The did have clorox wipes. They are featured in the flyer this week so there were pallets left. 2 four packs came home with me.
They had a whole pallet of nitrile gloves in M, L, and XL in addition to their normal gloves in the pharmacy area.
I hit all of Aesop’s recommended OTC pharmacopia and then some, mostly doubling up on two packs. (and got kid versions)
Hit a bunch of food items too, although I’d been a week ago for a big trip. Can’t have too much food.
I was surprised to see ALL the bottled water gone. I thought that was crazy for wuflu, but it turns out Houston had a major water main break and we’re under a boil advisory. So when I got home the aquatainers came into the kitchen.
Someone mentioned being prepped up, and I am, but there’s always room for more. Tomorrow I hit the regular grocery for stuff my wife usually buys, and a big sack of onions and a couple big sacks of potatoes. Maybe some hard squash too. Onions, potatoes and squash all last a long time if kept cool and dark. And they are cheap.
A quick check of ebay shows that there are still masks, but you do better searching for specifics than for N95. prices doubled since last night.
There are people asking $30 each for 3m masks but other comparable masks are in the $5-10 range. For that money, buy a full face respirator that takes cartridges, they are still available.
And yeah, if there is stuff you need that comes from china, better get it now, before existing stocks are depleted.
nick
Tomorrow it’s feminine hygiene, kid toothpaste, AB bar soap, and dog food in addition to the bulk potatoes and onion.
Freaking OTC meds are NOT CHEAP.
Some of the stuff I ordered came in, like extended batteries for my 4 new Baofeng radios, and replacement antennas.
I got a sawyer mini and potable aqua tablets today. Wadda coincidence.
I’m debating selling a few more masks. The money is nice, but not having the masks would suck. I think I better secure or hide the masks at my secondary location. There are other people who have access in an emergency. It would be nice to find a couple more boxes stored away. I’m certain that I have at least one or two because I remember getting them and they were a different style…. No idea where they actually are though.
I did find 7 wall dispensers full of AB hand sanitizer in storage. And I already have some powerful sanitizer that I picked up at Habitat last year. Also, I’m bidding on a bunch of hospital grade sanitizer in an auction. I’m hoping to be ahead of the curve there and get them cheap.
I really hope this is all unwarranted. I’d love to have all this stuff age out in 4 or 5 years. I can’t see that happening though, even when I’m continuing on with vacation plans and work stuff.
n
Ummm, how you guys feeling about the stock market now?
n
(I know, it’s snide and mean. And I don’t mean it personally. I’m just feeling a little bit vindicated.)
(and my financial advisor team had someone else talk to me a couple of days ago, who wanted me to buy a stock linked fund. Um, no. I don’t think it can go up forever. Didn’t see wuflu coming but SOMETHING would.)
Well, they canceled school tomorrow due to the water main break. That’s gonna put a crimp on my activities.
Jeez.
n
DadCooks, sorry to hear about your cat. Didn’t know they could live even a day or two with failed kidneys. It is always hard on people to lose a pet. They are innocent animals, and give us unconditional love. They are a part of our families, and we miss them very much. I hope we can be reunited with them some day.
Ummm, how you guys feeling about the stock market now?
Still overvalued. AMZN at 81 times earnings is a correction?
The correction which is necessary would include Toyota taking Fremont back, having bought the building and contents from the Bankruptcy Court. I’m not holding my breath for Musk in an orange suit, but that image would be cathartic for the market and signal a serious change.
Here in Austin, it is still “all systems go” for the SXSW expansion of the bacchanalia in two weeks. Lyft is frantically trying to complete a new driver depot in the old Volvo dealership I drive past every morning.