Cool and raining, if the forecast can be believed. [58F and occasional drizzle]
Yesterday was partly sunny, mostly overcast all day. Finally about 7pm some small spattering of rain came. Later, it rained a bit heavier, and some thunder and lightning happened while I was reading to the girls. That tapered off fairly quickly though.
Yesterday’s chores involved continuing to put away and organize the food I brought home from the secondary location (stored mainly in the big black tubs), and food I bought before the shutdown, and food from my older stores here in the garage. I’ve got a LOT of kirkland canned corn. More canned chicken than I thought too. Lots of beans in cans. Less flour than I thought, but then I don’t use it for much. It’s there for bread machine bread, and possibly homemade pasta, and tortillas if I run out of mix. More spam than I remembered buying. At least it’s a mix of flavors. Pure SPAM is pretty salty.
Most of it will fit on three sections of industrial metal shelving (2ft x 3ft) I added under our patio roof, just outside the back door. That is about the coolest and darkest spot, with the garage being a bit cooler at night but hotter during the day. Unless I install a window AC unit in the garage, I think the patio will do fine for a while. Some food will remain in the garage, and either some of the bulk in buckets, or the non-perishable items will go on the shelves I used to use for food. I’ve also got 2 “towers” of the shelving set up in the driveway with paper products and the newest food. I will probably move some of that around too, but I want the oldest stuff in front for now.
I covered each of the towers with new heavy black plastic sheet. I wrapped the three sides and the top with one piece, then added another piece as the ‘door’ side, and wrapped it over the top as well. Then the whole thing (the two ‘towers’ are back to back) gets covered in a new tarp, which is silver to keep some of the heat off the contents. I’m hoping that it is water tight, and relatively cool. The tower full of paper goods shadows the other tower with the food and cleaning supplies.
For the canned goods on the patio shelves, I’m using a product I initially didn’t like. It’s the Can Tracker can organizer. Some time ago I picked a section up at goodwill and just couldn’t find a place for it. I ended up putting it back in our ‘donate’ pile. Then wuflu hit and I pulled it out of the pile. I put it on the patio shelf, filled it up, and liked it. Bought another section, and liked the result, so I just bought two more sections. It was terrible for storage. It’s bulky and will be partly empty most of the time. You can fit a LOT more cans in your pantry if you stack them on flats, or in bins. What it is excellent for is USE. It puts your cans at your finger tips in an easy to use and easy to see format. Now that I’m transitioning from STORING preps, to EATING preps, it is very handy. Seems tough, and was easy to assemble. For cans you will be using, I’m giving it a tentative recommendation.
I must admit, I’ve very nervous about having it all in one place. I’m hoping it never gets to the point where ‘inspectors’ are going door to door to ‘requisition’ ‘excess’ goods and materials. I never thought the whole country would be on house arrest either though. Cuomo is going to be doing that with ventilators and medical supplies, stripping the state and countryside to keep NYFC going for an extra week. He clearly doesn’t care what that will do to the communities he leaves bare. I wonder how that’s going to play out for him long term. Still a lot of guns in NY outside of the hive and we’re still planning to have elections. For now anyway. Something to watch for- I’m sure there will be talk before action, and that will leave a small window to act if needed.
Stuff to do today, mostly more of the same. So I better get busy.
nick
( My favorite thing! Played in the yard! My favorite thing! Got to play ball! My favorite thing!)
@Nick
Curious what type of battery and voltage went into your AED? Might be fun to take one of them apart, I’m guessing there’s a pretty big capacitor in there! And a high frequency generator? You could make a Tesla coil for the kids… Or a Jacob’s ladder.
I came across the perfect diversion for a Saturday afternoon, courtesy of instantwatcher.com :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086R8TD2Y/?tag=ttgnet-20
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cardiac-Science-Powerheart-AED-G3-Replacement-Battery-9146-USA-MADE-FDA/231593148286
I did keep the old one to open up or see if it has value with a rebuilder. I note that it’s lithium chemistry and not rechargeable…. which probably means an explosion hazard if tampered with.
There is something in there, as there are 5v, 12v, and the high voltage terminals.
n
ok, that was weird. Was the post cut off after the mention of the Can Tracker for all of you guys too?
For me, the post just failed to display after an HREF for an inserted link to the amazon page for the can tracker. The icon, my name, and the mini menu were directly following the abridged post, instead of being on the side. I guess the link insertion script breaks something when it’s used in an actual post. who knew.
Reread the post if it seemed a bit short and abrupt………
n
Nick, agree on your first post and the now fix. I was groggy when I read the first try, and just thought it was related to my phone’s ability to display some things. Now I’ve had coffee, but the problem is fixed… I might be confused about cause and effect đ
Maybe it would have been cheaper to keep up the stockpiles after all?
New York hospitals are being charged up to 15 TIMES normal prices by suppliers for medical equipment during the coronavirus pandemic
The article dances around the language, but YES, you did kill those people in your ignorance and arrogance. YOU KILLED THEM as surely as if you pulled the trigger.
Too bad for the people you killed though.
n
Once again, if you don’t really believe you’ll need it, you rarely fund it or check on it…
–states don’t like it, they should look to their own stockpiles. Hospitals don’t like it they should look to their own stockpiles. OH, they don’t have them because they spent the money elsewhere? Call me when you start shooting administrators and elected officials who made those choices.
#nosympathywithoutaccountability
Um, WTF?
–seriously? It can live in salt water? At ocean temps? and move back and forth from the air to the sea?
n
This is alot like shooting potential suicides to keep them from killing themselves, another police tactic.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8186543/NYPD-officers-risk-spreading-coronavirus-jail-people-social-distancing-orders.html
–how long until “while keeping so much food on hand isn’t a crime itself, the individuals arrested face charges of…. ”
n
Maybe it would have been cheaper to keep up the stockpiles after all?
Stockpiles probably existed on paper but were nowhere to be found when actually needed.
I can imagine the thought process at the warehouse. “Relax, Vinnie. No one’s ever gonna use this cr*p. Might as well sell it to someone who can put it to good use.”
Portland Business Journal has a story behind their paywall this week about the independent physician practices in the area, including my wife’s former employer, and how they’re coping with the Wuxu Flu. Two quotes caught my eye:
âA lot of physicians are anticipating they will essentially go without any salary for three or four months,â Jamison said. âWeâll still be accruing some costs, although weâre receiving support from our landlords in terms of deferring rents and deferring the taxes we have to pay.â
Three or four months? No problem. The doctors are typically the landlords and will have the practices’ building partnership payouts to fall back on, dividend checks from rents will … doh!
And the other, from a conversation with the CEO at my wife’s former employer, emphasis mine:
While The Vancouver Clinic has rapidly ramped up video and phone visits, itâs not enough to make up for the drop off in in-person visits, which were down by two thirds last week, said CEO Mark Mantei.
Still, he is optimistic that once the COVID crisis passes, clinics like his can bounce back from all the pent up demand.
Except he won’t have any doctors left. The exact office where my wife worked is “temporarily” closed. Gotta wonder if the Prog associate/partner had enough.
Portland and SW WA State have been very fortunate (in relative terms) so far.
Got my notice from the State of Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development where I filed for unemployment. Schools are closed, I don’t sub, Substitutes are allowed to file for unemployment even though it is a part time job. They had my earnings wrong for one quarter, shorted me about $1K. Might make a difference in my compensation.
Thus far they have determined that I am entitled to $32.00 a week. Seems odd as my income was not affected enough for me to notice by the schools closing. Generally less than $500 a month, some months even less. However I was allowed to apply, answered the questions truthfully to the best of the sites ability which is confusing, so I am within the legal requirements.
I had a couple of good months during the time period the benefit is calculated which is affecting the amount I am certain. At $32.00 a week, about $130.00 a month, that is two days worth of subbing. Most months this year have been for three or four days so only getting two days worth is not much of a loss.
The fact that I have another part time job which has not diminished, get retirement income, get money from the VA (not taxable or reported so maybe not relevant), and SS income is not really a factor. I make more doing nothing than some of the teachers.
I understand why subs are eligible to get unemployment.There are some that are doing the job to augment their income because they need the extra money. I was not one of those. There is no way for the state to determine that reason.
I don’t feel great about taking the money but I am not one to leave money sitting on the table if the state or federal government is going to allow me to get the money.
@ray, unemployment money is money that would have been available to the employee as wages if the .gov didn’t require the employer to pay it. It’s part of “total compensation”. If you are getting unemployment, and not a special disbursement, there is nothing to feel bad about.
I’ve been on unemployment for months at various points in my career. It is there for a reason, and as I said, diverts money that would alternatively be available to you as wages.
n
Oh, and in other news, another couple of Kennedys have died, and the religion of p*ss has claimed more victims. They don’t seem to be getting the ‘no assemblies’ thing either….
n
xkcd: Scenario 4
https://xkcd.com/2289/
Too soon ?
Explained at: (too early !)
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Over the Hedge: the two gross dudes
https://www.gocomics.com/overthehedge/2020/04/04
I can’t feel my spleen either.
I’ve never qualified for unemployment. Heck, I’ve managed to never qualify for anything. But, water under the bridge and all that. If you can get it, get it.
As for putting a/c in the garage? Compared to having stores on a shady back porch? With rats running around? In freaking Houston, Texas? Get the a/c unit. You don’t have to cool the entire garage…. build walls with tarps. And at least the mud daubbers and wasps won’t be building nests. Or stupid cats chasing mice and then peeing all over.
Screw some eye bolts into the wall studs and string clothesline. Hang tarps with shower curtain rings or just loops of wire. Electric fence wire is real handy, just saying.
You do want to have the tarps touching the floor to keep the cold in.
Or make walls of 1x4s and staple tarps to that. A bit more sturdy but more work.
Because that would be raycest.
Maybe the plan is for them to all get sick and die off?
55 F and raining here in west Fort Bend County. Under lockdown until April 30 according to our two dumbocrat county county commissars and the county judge. Our two redumplican county commissars voted against the lockdown.
I qualified for unemployment once, 49.3 years ago. I refuse to say 50, because it is hard to believe. I am NOT that old! Anyway, I was single, had enough savings to go a year. However, it was the big aerospace crunch of 1970, and engineering jobs were scarce. Initially, I thought I would not accept unemployment, but then I realized that was money that had been confiscated from me to “protect” me. Took it and never looked back. Took me four months to find another job.
How things have changed. Back then, there was some loyalty between employers and employees. I saw that change. Nowadays, I wouldn’t know how to behave. I have read the stories here and elsewhere, and just wondered what happened. So nice to be retired.
Don’t know how much or if my wife and I will get from the government, but will take it. Haven’t discussed it, but we have some relatives who might need it more than we do.
Let’s hope we all get through this, including the inevitable government bureaucracies that spring up as a result. The deep state is flexing its muscles.
Looks like Walmart doesn’t have “ship to store” anymore. Can I get two cans of mixed nuts? No, just one. And all pick up at the curb time slots are full. Er, so try shopping again tomorrow? ???
The whole point of ship to store for me is that the Planters mixed nuts and the Columbian k-cups are almost always out of stock. So, ship to store and let me know when my order is ready.
Well, it’s for out own good, right Comrade?
Looks like Walmart doesnât have âship to storeâ anymore. Can I get two cans of mixed nuts? No, just one. And all pick up at the curb time slots are full. Er, so try shopping again tomorrow? ???
The entire distribution system is falling apart. The blue collar people have been good and scared by the media and the over-reaching immunologists that hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. So, the people who get things done in this country are starting to stay home. If they all stay home then we will shut down the country for real.
They are scared and I do not blame them. Just imagine what would happen if the pandemic was a real pandemic.
Why, Lynn, you aren’t disputing the received wisdom are you? To the camps with you!
Your point is bang on: we’re seeing that a million government bureaucrats, officials, and even police can stay home and no one notices, or if anyone even notices they notice that things are better. A million professors, lobbyists, and enemedia propagandists could stay home and all that would happen is that the socialization of America would slow. Athletes, actors, and singers? Who were you again?
But if a million truckers and stockers and power plant operators and garbage collectors stay home, the system shuts down.
One might hope lessons would be learned from this. I have my doubts but am kindling a tiny flame of hope.
Regarding the belief in the received wisdom, all I know for sure is that we’re being lied to, by commission, by omission, and in making public policy based on either ludicrously inadequate data or deliberately concealed data.
But Steve, those are the dumb rednecks that we’ve all been told to hate. They can’t possibly be important.
People who can throw a ball through a hoop are *much* more important!
You might be on to something there, Mark. Were you aware that truckers in the US are overwhelmingly white men? And more likely than the average worker to be veterans? There’s no way, no way at all, that they matter.
But if a million truckers and stockers and power plant operators and garbage collectors stay home, the system shuts down.
But Steve, those are the dumb rednecks that weâve all been told to hate. They canât possibly be important.
People who can throw a ball through a hoop are *much* more important!
Actually no, a significant amount of them are not born in the USA. I am not sure if the amount is 20% or 50%. We have been told for a long time that these are jobs that Americans will not do anymore. No, the problem is that illegals have taken the entry level jobs for minimum wage.
Anyway, I wonder how many of them have said screw this and gone home. Of course, things getting crazy in their home countries too. I am not sure if they are informed enough to figure this out.
“Are lockdowns working?”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/04/04/are-lockdowns-working/
“In recent weeks, behind the scenes, a battle royal has been raging among the epidemiologists advising governments. On one side are the activists, who argue that the Chinese virus is both more infectious and likely to prove more fatal than influenza, a deadly combination.”
“The activistsâ strongest arguments are that in the early stages of a pandemic the daily growth rate is exponential; that in the absence of determined control measures a quarter of the global population would be infected by the end of May; and that continued exponential growth at the daily compound rate of almost 20% (entailing a doubling every 3.8 days) that prevailed until mid-March would rapidly overwhelm not only the hospitals but also the morgues, as has already happened in Spain and northern Italy.”
“On the other side are the passivists, who argue that after a few weeks in lockdown people will cease to observe the restrictions, introducing a second wave of infection. They hold that the best thing to do is let everyone become infected, let the old and the sick die, let the health services collapse, and leave the population to acquire what the lamentable Chief Officer of Health in London described at a press conference some weeks ago as âherd immunityâ. The international outcry at this crass remark led the British government to backtrack at once.”
I think that a lot of us have already gotten SARS-2. And that a lot more are going to get it, the question is the rate of infection.
I would love an antibody test.
Wife just found out that a coworker tested positive. Wife had no direct exposure because we bailed early and she’s been working from home. One stop at the office to pickup lappy and keyboard last week, but distanced from the few remaining workers. Now we’re counting the days until she’s clear of even the unlikeliest contact.
STAY IN MEANS STAY TEH FLOCK IN.
It doesn’t mean one last trip to work, or the store, or anywhere. STAY IN.
The life you save could be everyone you know and love. I shouldn’t have to post all the stories of whole families getting sick. Don’t go out and get it, don’t bring it home.
nick
Me too.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/home-fingerprick-blood-test-may-help-detect-your-exposure-coronavirus-n1176086
So, the people who get things done in this country are starting to stay home. If they all stay home then we will shut down the country for real.
Alabama – Forty Hour Week (For A Livin’)
Just found out my brother’s business partner is in the hospital with SARS-2. Not on a ventilator though. Luckily my brother has not seen him in almost a month.
Wow, the SARS-2 stats page just added number of tests in each country. The USA has given 1.6 million tests. Just 330 million to go !
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
I think we might be at the point where it takes off in Houston and surrounds.
Certainly we’ve held the numbers low for longer than I’d have guessed.
n
The entire distribution system is falling apart. The blue collar people have been good and scared by the media and the over-reaching immunologists that hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. So, the people who get things done in this country are starting to stay home. If they all stay home then we will shut down the country for real.
I wouldn’t say scared as much as fed up. Might as well stay home and stream Baby Yoda.
My management had cashflow issues before the virus but have used the pandemic as an excuse to cut promised promotions/raises after a year of death marches.
Sure, I’m getting on a plane to VA … after Governor KKKlansman lifts the lockdown on June 10.
“What? Oh, no, I can’t go this month. I view the Governor as a reasonable, sane individual who made a decision based on the best scientific evidence available as for what was best for the citizens and visitors to his fine state. He’s a doctor, and they’re always right in this situation, aren’t they?”
I’m not a Baby Yoda fan, but H&I has “Trials and Tribbleations” scheduled for the 9 PM DS9 broadcast this week.
midnight and no one commented on the title?
Reaching way back in internet time…
https://thepetshow.com/excerpts-from-a-dog-cats-diary/
n
And as I was getting tomorrows post ready, freaking wordpress completely changed the way edits look when working on posts. Without so much as a ‘by your leave’ it was completely different. I finally figured out how to get it mostly back but the actual post text now shows additional formatting codes that I didn’t have to see before. At least I’ve got the list of tags back. Freaking code monkeys making changes for no reason…
@nick
The ‘block’ editor (Gutenberg) has been part of WP for several versions now. I had added the “Classic Editor” plugin because I don’t like Gutenberg; that’s what you’ve been using.
On the Posts page (lists of post), there’s a link for the Classic editor and the Block editor. Did you get the Block editor by mistake?
Iâm not a Baby Yoda fan, but H&I has âTrials and Tribbleationsâ scheduled for the 9 PM DS9 broadcast this week.
I am binge watching “Stranger Things” again in preparation for Season 4. Which, may not come out until 2021 now. Hopper is alive !
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1263718/Stranger-Things-season-4-release-date-David-Harbour-interview-Netflix-video
It is my understanding that Disney+ has the new Pixar movie on it now. We will be watching that soon.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/20/disney-pixar-onward-streaming/
The wife has been binge watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine with other things. The pilot episode with the caretaker was cool.
I am working on the 2019 personal income taxes. Maybe about 1/3rd done. I had over a hundred transactions on the commercial rental property last year. I am worried that I made a bigger profit than I thought and might owe some tax money.
The wife will be doing hers soon with her three residential properties. What a pain !
Dadgumit, I spent over $5,000 in dumpster rental in 2019. This is getting excessive !
But, but, but, Celbriturds must post pictures of their bike rides, motorcycle rides, walks driving around, etc.
@rick, I clicked on schedule and was suddenly in an unfamiliar date picker, then a dialog called ?pre-post checker? that suggested adding some tags, but the tag list wasn’t visible…
I somehow got back (clicked on draft at top right?) but that cancelled my changes, tried again, got same results, then saw the classic editor choice. That put the page layout back, but in the text pane there was now more visible formatting code….
I wasn’t doing anything I hadn’t done many many times.
The first time it changed to block editor, it showed me, then asked. I said no and got back to where I was familiar. This time, there was no asking.
n