Cool, damp.
Had a couple of hours of really gorgeous day yesterday. Blue sky and sunny, nice breeze, not too hot… then more overcast. Still pleasant though.
Harris County, the main one that Houston is in, will apparently go on lockdown at midnight tonight. That’s made my decision for me- head to my secondary and grab my stuff. I could probably get through any issues without it, but I’ll feel better with it. I could also probably move around if I had too, one of the reasons I’ve got the IDs and credentials was to give me an edge if I needed one. I’ve also got masks I can hand out if it comes to that.
Gonna be busy all day, so I’ll leave monitoring the deteriorating situation to you guys for a while.
I note that India went on lockdown and halted all flights in. Hong Kong halted flights too, and China is reporting new cases (blamed on ‘foreigners’ but likely from sending everyone back to work too soon). Spain has sick people on the floor in the hallways, and the UK will soon. We won’t be far behind.
There is or will soon be an antibody test and that should answer two questions, who’s had it, and is anyone getting it again? Both questions that it would be very handy to have an answer for.
A quick pinprick or swab test would be great too.
In a week, even the staunchest denier should be able to see it’s not just the old, or the sick, or men, or asians, or foreigners, or whatever lets them sleep at night. It’s everyone and everywhere and it’s getting worse before it gets better.
Avoid people. Avoid the virus. Count your blessings.
nick
Looks like Trump found a way to get all the negatives of a national lockdown off of himself. He says he might like to end it, and hundreds insist it continue.
BAM! You just gave him his Get out of Jail FREE card.
I don’t know if it’s cunning, intelligence, black magic, or luck. I wonder if he knows?
Trump can’t order the lockdown or half of the country would immediately violate it as part of “The Resistance”.
The same thing is going on in TX and FL, pushing the decision onto the county and city governments.
The next time you see the Spring Break videos out of Miami Beach and Clearwater, ask yourself who is in charge in those cities. The answer in Clearwater might really surprise you. It might not. The kids may have been purging Thetans.
Williamson County will not be on lockdown for now, once again providing the political relief valve for Travis County.
San Antonio/Bexar County “Stay Home, Work Safe’ order” from Turdberg 2.0 feels just like what I’m doing now. What are all the *immigrants* that provide your services going to do? They can’t make it through the week. Will the police start busting heads? Arrest them? Where do you put them? I think nothing is going to change. I’m waiting for the two old Mexican dudes to come by again to get my money for grass cutting.
If Trump ordered a nationwide lockdown, he’d be called a dictator. Better to let the local governments do it.
San Antonio goes on lockdown tonight.
And I just heard heavy nearby automatic gunfire. I live near an Army base, but it’s never sounded that close before. It’s probably the lack of masking from the traffic noise.
Trump’s statements over the past weeks have been pretty idiotic. Corona wasn’t a problem, then it was totally under control, then surely the ordinary flu vaccine would work just fine, then doctors were complimenting him on his medical understanding, then he always knew it was a pandemic… Could someone lock him in a closet for a while?
Nearby regions of France and Germany have hit their limits and Switzerland is taking a few of their patients. Parts of Switzerland are also at their limits, and the rest will be as of next week. Work regulations for hospital personnel have been suspended and workers are advised to prepare for 12-hour shifts. On the other hand, interviews with medical workers indicate that they have sunk their teeth into this, and are in it to win it. Good morale is worth a lot.
Stay safe, folks…
San Antonio/Bexar County “Stay Home, Work Safe’ order” from Turdberg 2.0 feels just like what I’m doing now. What are all the *immigrants* that provide your services going to do? They can’t make it through the week. Will the police start busting heads? Arrest them? Where do you put them? I think nothing is going to change. I’m waiting for the two old Mexican dudes to come by again to get my money for grass cutting.
The border will be reopened by Easter. That week is a huge shopping holiday for middle class Mexicans at the outlets in San Marcos and Round Rock.
Vote by mail will mean Trump loses. Perkins Coie and the postal unions have been practicing the game in WA and OR for the last decade.
I don’t see the Senate changing the in-person voting rules. Passing Obamacare meant rolling the nearly dead Grand Kleagle Robert Bryd into the chamber just for the optics, and the Dems were in charge back then.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/hoyer-november-election-could-turn-election-mail-due-coronavirus-pandemic
Sunny passed peacefully last night (Monday, 3/23/2020, about 11:00 p.m.). He spent his last day in our arms and passed peacefully in the night on our bed next to us.
Peace. Fair winds and following seas.
@dadcooks, I hope you can find comfort in these trying times.
n
I’m sorry for the loss, Mr. DadCooks. Only a good person would do what you have. Thank you for that.
The chinese in charge may lie, but the truth will out….
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-closing-of-21-million-cell-phone-accounts-in-china-may-suggest-a-high-ccp-virus-death-toll_3281291.html
FFS, 21MILLION? It’s more in line with what we saw them do, that’s for sure.
n
I read the MSM is still reporting on the morons who took the fish tank cleaner without saying it was fish tank cleaner. ORANGE MAN BAD!
Ok, imagine if China deaths account for the 22 million fewer phone subscribers.
Put those numbers in any of the counter arguments that this thing “ain’t so bad” and see if THAT changes your mind.
Numbers like that, which surely are available to world leaders, make everything we’ve seen make sense.
As a sort of ‘meta’ observation, in my FEMA daily brief, they have changed the colors of the infection map from ‘inflaming’ yellow, orange, red to ‘calming’ blue, lavender, and cornflower….
I guess they got what they needed. Two days so far, I think it’s a real change. What it means? who knows but I thought it was interesting.
n
FEMA update
————————
COVID-19 Update
Situation: FEMA and HHS continue to work requirements supporting
state, tribal, and territorial requests.
• Eleven states issued Stay at Home Executive Orders & State-wide
curfews
• 13 U.S. airports implemented Enhanced Health Screenings (FEMA COVID
19 SLB, as of 5:00 p.m. ET, Mar 22)
State / Local Response:
• All State / Territories activated
• National Guard has been activated in 38 states
FEMA / Federal Response:
• NRCC: Level I in unified effort with HHS SOC; RRCCs: All activated
• IMAT-As deployed to 23 locations; LNOs deployed to 36 locations
(Regional Reports, as of 4:30 p.m. ET, Mar 22)
• Emergency Declaration for all states, territories, DC and Tribal Nations
• 91 operational labs in 50 states, DC, Guam, and PR capable of
processing tests (HHS S1 Briefing, as of 7:33 a.m. ET, Mar 23)
• Department of State posted Global Level 4 Health Advisory: Do Not
Travel
• Presidential Approved COVID-19 Major Disaster Declarations: NY, WA,
and CA
—nb: bold are changes from yesterday’s brief
And what color is that? I don’t subscribe to those prissy color names so am basically clueless. Wife describes a color for a paint color for a room. Beyond the basic 5 or 6, I don’t care.
I read the MSM is still reporting on the morons who took the fish tank cleaner without saying it was fish tank cleaner. ORANGE MAN BAD!
It doesn’t help that Drudge has a link to the story.
Knoxville has declared a state of emergency. And specifically in the news report it was stated this allows the city access to additional money from the state.
I am unable to think of one thing that Knoxville has done that costs any additional money. Declaring a state of emergency has changed nothing. If anything it has reduced costs as city staff are staying at home “working”. How a driver’s license clerk is able to work from home is beyond my comprehension. Where is this extra money from the state going to be applied? Probably another drug infested park in the public house crime castles.
cornflower blue, literally the color of a cornflower. Light blue, kinda washed out.
Also, pop culture reference to movie Snatch, Gypsy bare knuckles boxing champ (Brad Pitt) wants a camping trailer for his mom in blue, cornflower blue. Joke is his accent is so strong the other characters can’t understand him…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySyBMTo-1sc
n
FFS, 21MILLION? It’s more in line with what we saw them do, that’s for sure.
What’s “churn” in China? How many providers? Cell phone users?
2.5% is the US average IIRC. When the market had real competition 20 years ago, I worked for GTE and remember churn being 7%.
Also, Epoch Times is Falun Gong. Always follow the money trail.
Buc’ees is coming to TN. Crossville specifically. About 40 miles from where I live, but in a different time zone. The company bought some land off I-40 and Genesis road, southwest corner. Currently some mom and pop gas station and some land. I suspect they owners made a lot of money in the transaction. Supposed to employ 175 people. I wonder how big the place will be and the number of pumps. And will they carry TX branded merchandise.
There are several tests that start shipping soon, supposedly within a week. One had a capacity to ramp up to 200k/day, one 300k/day. They are qualitative tests, look like a home pregnancy test, take 15-20 minute with a drop of blood.
Modi warned that India, which has confirmed fewer than 500 cases, though the outbreak is suspected of being much, much larger, will be set back for decades if it doesn’t act, according to Reuters.
Soooprise!
Sympathies, DadCooks.
Sunny passed peacefully last night (Monday, 3/23/2020, about 11:00 p.m.). He spent his last day in our arms and passed peacefully in the night on our bed next to us.
Sorry to hear that.
Once the virus mess is over, we’ll have to get some testing done on our 12 year-old cat, something I’d rather not think about.
We’ve had some issues with weight loss and urination outside the box this year.
@greg, previous year cell and landline subs increased slightly. It’s not a provider lost customers to someone else, all of the providers together now have ~22M fewer subs….
Which if true, and related to wuflu deaths, is more in line with exponential rise, and the response.
n
Buc’ees is coming to TN. Crossville specifically. About 40 miles from where I live, but in a different time zone. The company bought some land off I-40 and Genesis road, southwest corner. Currently some mom and pop gas station and some land. I suspect they owners made a lot of money in the transaction. Supposed to employ 175 people. I wonder how big the place will be and the number of pumps. And will they carry TX branded merchandise.
IIRC, to date, there is one Buc-ee’s outside Texas, and that store is in Alabama, on I-10 between Pensacola and Mobile. The chain bought land and obtained approval for a big store just north of the I-95/I-4 split in Florida, near the Daytona 500 track, but the project was put on hold last year for an unspecified reason.
Buc-ee’s plays the tax break game as brutally as WalMart or Dollar General. The management has aggressive expansion plans for The South, but only at the right price.
The merchandising people are smart in Alabama. From what I understand from friends who’ve visited, the store still has some Texas things, but no lack of “Roll Tide”, Auburn Eagle, and Clemson Tiger Paw gear along with UF Gators and FSU Seminoles on a more limited basis.
Buc-ee’s is fairly high end. Expanding into TN, they’ll poach Cracker Barrel merchandising people if they haven’t already.
When I drove west twice from FL in 2010, the freeway from Atlanta to Chattanooga seemed dominated by two types of stores at the exits, supermarket-sized fireworks vendors or Cracker Barrel.
@greg, previous year cell and landline subs increased slightly. It’s not a provider lost customers to someone else, all of the providers together now have ~22M fewer subs….
Which if true, and related to wuflu deaths, is more in line with exponential rise, and the response.
22 million infections wouldn’t surprise me, but dead would mean a near extinction level event for humanity is in the works without a dramatic change in either the treatment or vaccination status really soon.
Again, Falun Gong.
What about 11 million?
n
My wife skipped thru the depression but had all the others wrt wuflu and our canceled plans. Where is the world in the process?
Gov. Cuomo slams Trump for sending only 400 ventilators when New York needs 30,000 as army sets up the first 1,000-bed field hospital in Manhattan
ME me me me me.
EVERYONE needs ventilators. EVERYONE. Everyone will be “choosing which people die.” CV- Italy and now Spain. That’s called ‘triage’ used in it’s disaster medicine sense.
But hey, it’s just the flu.
n
The 21 million closed cell phone accounts surely couldn’t all be from covid deaths? Those deaths were in Jan and Feb and would only be 30-60 days overdue. I would think the carriers would not yet have closed those accounts.
What about 11 million?
For reference, H1N1 in this country was 16,000 dead, 300,000 hospitalized, 60 million infected. It still comes back around every year as one of the seasonal flu viruses.
I’m not in denial. I’m open to the concept, but the source is questionable.
Watching the 10 PM news with my wife has not been fun lately because she knows who the a**hats are in the local provider community, and some of the a**hats are the ones with sufficient ego to go on record with local TV reporters and make definitive statements one way or another even if they don’t know.
At the risk of sounding like the cliche Yogi Berra quote, most doctors know what they don’t know right now and keep their mouths shut. I think that’s where the world is at right now, but it isn’t good ratings for TV news.
ME me me me me.
EVERYONE needs ventilators. EVERYONE. Everyone will be “choosing which people die.” CV- Italy and now Spain. That’s called ‘triage’ used in it’s disaster medicine sense.
But hey, it’s just the flu.
So Governor Cuomo has instituted right-to-work rules for all the respiratory techs that New York will have to import to run the ventilators, right? No union thuggery involved, correct?
I know the NY bureaucracy is still open for business. I’ve spent the last two days on the phone with the Port Authority of NY/NJ to get my account activated to access *our* systems on one of their bridges. This is after we spent $600 for the background information check to simply put my name in their database.
Has anyone been watching Gold today?
Just insane.
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/future/gc00
Please do. A little over a year ago, our 16 YO feral cat started eating a little more and losing a little weight over a couple of months. He hated going to the vet, so we put it off, which probably would not have made a difference. Finally took him for tests, and he had pancreatic cancer, too advanced to do anything. We learned that older cats can have a few very treatable conditions, and if caught early can live normal lives. I don’t remember the conditions, and would not mention them anyway, because each case is individual. There has been some good veterinary medical progress.
Cuomo telling FEMA to choose which NY’ers should die. Umm… when 8,000,000 people all decided to live on top of each other in the same city they made that choice for themselves. He has a city that densely populated and no real medical stockpiles, but it’s FEMA’s fault not New York’s. But hey, you can’t beat the dining and entertainment options!
San Antonio/Bexar County “Stay Home, Work Safe’ order” from Turdberg 2.0 feels just like what I’m doing now. What are all the *immigrants* that provide your services going to do? They can’t make it through the week. Will the police start busting heads? Arrest them? Where do you put them? I think nothing is going to change. I’m waiting for the two old Mexican dudes to come by again to get my money for grass cutting.
My son lives in Harris County and works with me in Fort Bend County. He is going to run the blockades to commute to and from work. Former Marine Corps, not much bothers him unless you are shooting at him. He is a firm believer in superior firepower.
Swan Eaters: Nazis are Nasties
https://www.gocomics.com/swan-eaters/2020/03/23
Yup, I agree with with Grandma.
My son lives in Harris County and works with me in Fort Bend County. He is going to run the blockades to commute to and from work. Former Marine Corps, not much bothers him unless you are shooting at him. He is a firm believer in superior firepower.
Management at my job is meeting today to decide what to do about the impending end of the company’s “work from home” order on 3/31. I can see the point of keeping us home until more widespread testing is available, but most of the employees aspire to join The WFH Mafia and never return to the office.
Cuomo wants every respirator made. The *flyover* States get none. Carpe Diem. Next year NYC’s garbage barges will be filled with respirators on their way to foreign lands. Just like Costco toilet paper.
My son lives in Harris County and works with me in Fort Bend County. He is going to run the blockades to commute to and from work. Former Marine Corps, not much bothers him unless you are shooting at him. He is a firm believer in superior firepower.
Management at my job is meeting today to decide what to do about the impending end of the company’s “work from home” order on 3/31. I can see the point of keeping us home until more widespread testing is available, but most of the employees aspire to join The WFH Mafia and never return to the office.
I am trying to decide if I should go ahead and get the 10 / 10 mbps fiber line pulled to the office building for $600/month with a three contract. We are paying $100/month for two 12 / 1 mbps DSL lines that I have multiplexed together. I just hate spending ANY extra money right now when I took a 50% pay cut a long while back. And things just do not look good for the short term or the long term.
Cuomo wants every respirator made. The *flyover* States get none. Carpe Diem. Next year NYC’s garbage barges will be filled with respirators on their way to foreign lands. Just like Costco toilet paper.
Costco isn’t taking the rice or bottled water back either. We saw video on the news last night of people being turned away at the return desk, but no one was complaining on camera out of shame.
I’ll have an Austin HEB report later. I have to pay my TXU bill, and all of the kiosks at the closest local Post Offices were broken when I checked late last night trying to buy stamps.
Williamson County is on lockdown through Easter. Kinda surprising since the outlet mall does huge business that weekend, and most of the vendors are “non essential”.
I’ll bet that a lot of the outlet mall is vacant in a few months regardless of what happens with the virus. Local companies won’t last if the order gets extended, and a lot of the national retailers with stores in the building, like the Gap companies, were already in trouble pre-virus.
Not having Easter Weekend will be a problem. The Duluth Trading in the parking lot was already shut down last week, and the store hasn’t even been there six months.
There has been some good veterinary medical progress.
Yes, but the progress is often expensive.
We’ll get the bloodwork done and make decisions from there. The cat gets vet checkups every six months like clockwork, and we take care of any treatable problems.
About five years ago, one vet attempted to convince us that the cat’s weight loss then was due to hypothyroid requiring a $1500 treatment. Fortunately/unfortunately, we saw that condition in our previous cat, know what it looks like, and sought a second opinion.
Interesting story.
I was talking to my friends wife, who is a speech pathologist. Yesterday her professional organization had a webinar on remote practice (howto and legal). It was advertised as Also being available to any other interested parties that wanted to be part of it.
Over 42,000 people showed up online – their actual dues paying membership is about 3,000.
There were five or six distance instruction professionals talking, and they did a good job apparently. She said it was informative, covering Zoom and a couple other options. Interestingly Facetime is NOT a HIPPA compliant app.
I shopped today, first time in two weeks. The “geezer hours” started at 5am, and though I showed up about 6:45 it wasn’t crowded and the only line was for the register and about a 10m wait.
I was surgical masked and gloved, as were about 30% of the shoppers.
Food was plentiful. Paper products were available, with limits on them.
———
I picked up a few items for a neighbor and we conversed (at a safe distance). He is still convinced that it will be “like the flu”…
Since OFD isn’t around to contribute the link, I’ll do the honors.
Dave was more of a fan of Annie than I am, but I’m a lapsed Protestant, not a Catholic, with a Presbyterian and Lutheran family history and a Southern Baptist elementary school education. I find the Fake Pope to be an fascinating twist of history, interesting because the Vatican’s assassins seem to be MIA right now. I’m old enough to remember when John Paul II’s predecessor lasted all of 43 days on the job.
To my core belief system, the Fake Pope isn’t as much abomination as just another scam artist with a good line of schtick which landed him, suspiciously, at the right place at the right time. Kharma hasn’t caught up …. yet.
Annie also opines on other subjects.
https://www.barnhardt.biz/2020/03/24/wait-just-a-damn-minute-italian-figures-are-with-not-from-coronacold-19/
The perspectives of OFD and RBT as well as Jerry Pournelle are sorely missed right now.
Regarding Veterinarians:
We are extremely fortunate to have a Vet who has over 30-years of experience and has some fancy titles (like Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, DABVP, to start) that very few Vets have. She has a close relationship with the Vet School at Washington State University so we get the benefit of services not available to most and at extremely reasonable fees. She is also the “go-to-Vet” for all the Police Dogs in this and the surrounding counties. She has saved some Police Dogs with very serious wounds, even in the head. She has performed miracles and saved 4 of our rescue cats. I have gone to and worked with many Vets in my life (I was a certified Vet Tech as a teen and 20-something) from large farm animals (yes I have had my arm up the birth canal of a cow to pull a calf) to hamsters. Dr. Batdorf is one in a million. She called to comfort me and my family today.
Peace. Fair winds and following seas.
I am also of the opinion the numbers are being slanted. People that have died in reports that I have seen had other underlying health issues in addition to the KungFlu. It is never considered that these underlying health issues may be so pronounced that a mosquito bite may be fatal. Almost anyone that dies in these times are ruled to have died from KungFlu. Yes, the KungFlu can kill you. So can the common flu.
I remain under the suspicion that all the states, the counties, and even the local cities are declaring states of emergencies for money. Every entity is competing for that money from the federal government. For the local counties and cities I have to question what they are doing during this event that requires federal money. I certainly don’t see the city of Knoxville expending any additional measures that would require additional funding. Simply holding a news conference is not costly.
Kentucky had one death. A man in his 90’s with underlying health issues in a nursing home die. Kentucky immediately declared a state of emergency. No determination was made of why the individual died. It is to the point that if a person dies in a traffic accident it is counted as KungFlu.
New York is screaming for all the federal supplies and money because New York thinks they are special. To he!! with other states. That makes a good argument to keep the electoral college. New York is densely packed, their own creation. It is not the other states problem to solve.
During this time the KungFlu has been in the media the U.S. has lost more people from violent crime. The U.S. has lost more people from drunk drivers. In some states more people have been lost slipping in bathtubs. Attacks from hippos have killed more people than KungFlu.
I may be wrong. Others will say I am. I have just lived through so many “we’re all going to die” events over my life that I have become suspicious. Like the boy crying wolf. I am certain that one time it will be real and I will have to eat my words. I just don’t think this is that event.
A lot of this suspicion runs back to Y2K. I was one of the very few that felt that Y2K was going to be a non-event. It may have been because of the preparation and knowledge. I spoke to several local groups about Y2K. The fear was real. My stance of not a big deal was not received well. Everyone was concerned about ATM’s failing, gas not being pumped, traffic lights, mortgages being late, etc. One person was concerned his car would no longer work as it had a computer. I asked the individual when was the last time he set the date in his car. Everyone got real quiet.
KungFlu may turn out to not have been such a big deal. Might be because of the measures that were, and are, being taken. Same as Y2K. Perhaps with no measures taken the death toll might be substantial. And maybe I am just a jaded old man that is off my rocker.
I have done that many times. Given mouth to snout breathing for calves that did not breath on their own. I have stabbed animals in their first stomach to combat bloat. I have removed testicles. I have done stitches on animals with large wounds. I have removed a bullet from one animal that was shot by a hunter.
What I did pales in comparison to what I have seen some vets accomplish. At least the large animal vet that we used on the farm. Most significant was when he used some instrument to cut up a calf while still in the womb. Delivered the calf in pieces. This was done to protect the life of the cow. Amazing technique and amazingly bloody.
There are some really outstanding vets working today. You were lucky to have such a vet. Others should be so lucky.
Looks like Nancy Pelosi blinked. She has agreed to pass the existing Senate bi-partisan COVID-19 aid bill on a voice vote in the House. The polls must have been terrible after her last moment attempted power grab. The Democraps are not looking good.
The key number in Italy is how many “excess” deaths are there? I.E. how many deaths in that area happen on average at that time of year. We don’t know that.
The death certificate having COVID-19 as the cause of death may be accurate even if the patient has other comorbidities. For example, I have high blood pressure that has been well controlled for years via one pill a day. If I get COVID-19 and die, the HBP isn’t the cause. It may have contributed in some minor way, but HBP is not to blame.
Some of that is going on here in Italy. Some is probably not.
“Trump Warns of ‘Suicides By the Thousands’ If U.S. Descends Into Recession”
https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-warns-of-suicides-by-the-thousands-if-u-s-descends-into-recession/
Trump is not wrong.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
From my aunt in north Texas:
“Day 4 of social distancing: struck up a conversation with a spider today. Seems nice. He’s a web designer.”
My wife came home tonight reporting that she may have been exposed via a female Indian podiatrist at the VA who knowingly showed up sick at work for the last two days before testing positive this afternoon for the *Chinese* virus.
Selfish dumbf*ck. Most of them I’ve encountered in this country lie as easily as they breathe.
Every vet the woman treated was exposed as well as the only other podiatrist at the Austin clinic. Lets see what the VA does to sweep this under the rug.
Low trust culture.
We don’t need any more of them.
We don’t need the ones who are already here.
#SendThemBack
Only people I saw today were the teller at the bank (drive-up-window) and the Walmart clerk who put my order in the back of the truck. I stayed in the cab, no physical interaction. Oh yes, there was the groundskeeper who was mowing the golf course while I sat on the patio enjoying the sunshine.
I finally got my business Tax papers together and called my accountant. He’s been ill and can’t see me till Friday. I will be happy to get that done. Businesses lost a ton of money in 2019 but that was intentional. I moved a lot of expenses, mostly remodeling our rentals, into 2019 because I had a LOT of income that year. Going forward I will be retired with SSI and a pittance from the business. Since I have a home office many of my expenses are business expenses now.
Our moron idiot Fort Bend County judge KP George has issued a stay at home order effective March 25, 2020 at 12:01am until April 3, 2020 at 11:59pm.
https://fbcoem.org/press-release-3-24-2020/
Just another chicken little dumbocrat who is trying to get street cred with the bigger dumbocrats in The Great State of Texas.
I’m with Ray. This is a sublime example of an Extraordinary Popular Delusion and the Madness of Crowds. And just like Climate Change, there’s really not enough data to extrapolate predictions.
Unlike global warming , there is enough data to take reasonable precaution but I’m pretty sure the cure (in terms of lost man-hours or man-lifetimes) has already been worse than the disease.
Our moron idiot Fort Bend County judge KP George has issued a stay at home order effective March 25, 2020 at 12:01am until April 3, 2020 at 11:59pm.
So a “Judge” as in a real Judge with a law degree or an administrative “Judge” like Robert Francis’ father?
I’ll have an Austin HEB report later. I have to pay my TXU bill, and all of the kiosks at the closest local Post Offices were broken when I checked late last night trying to buy stamps.
The Sugar Land Riverpark HEB has footsteps every six feet to show you your social distance. I went there today and got a couple of more cases of Ozarka water (limit 2). They had six pallets of water. No TP. Some paper towels but no Bounty. Lots of canned vegetables (limit 8 – I got 8) and canned soup (limit 4 – I got 2). Lots of dog food (I bought about 20 more of the single serve containers). All in all, about a weeks worth of food keeping us away from our LTS.
And I got stamps from the cashier.
“DEADLY VIRUS What caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and what was the death toll?”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7310340/spanish-flu-pandemic-1918-death-toll/
“The pandemic killed millions of young adults who had no immunity to the strain”
“An estimated 500 million people across the globe caught the illness.”
“While there are no official figures documenting the exact number of deaths it is thought that between 20 million and 50 million lives were lost.”
“The flu was first observed in Europe, the US and parts of Asia before it quickly spread throughout the world.”
“It was wrongly named the Spanish flu because it was first reported in the Madrid daily newspaper ABC.”
“However, modern scientists now believe the virus could have started in Kansas, US.”
Now that is a pandemic.
I just finished taxes. Instead of dealing with Turbotax or Taxact and their charging for filing a 1095, I went to irs.gov. Some of the free options have age limits. I guess if you are over 60 you should pay to file? Or maybe old folks have a lot of weird forms to file.
Anyway, https://www.olt.com did the job. Hopefully. Seemed efficient. Nice to not have a nag screen every other page pushing to upgrade for the “fancy” package.
Oh, and the “enter your drivers license number and issue and expire date” was optional.
It was weird to enter everything, and double check the hell outta it because Turbo simply dropped the retirement pay a few years ago and yeah buddy, getting hit for not reporting income plus a penalty about the size of 10 years of refunds was not exactly in the budget.
Or maybe it was TaxAct and I caught Turbo doing the same thing last year. They seem to be the same thing with different graphics.
Anyway, it seems that SS under a certain amount doesn’t count.
I don’t know. I just fill out the forms….
The grocery store had no eggs today. But thanks to Nick, I have 3 and a half cartons of Real Egg from HEB. I’m getting used to the onion flavor, not the same as liking…
Our HEB had pretty limited meat, some brisket, steaks (typical price, *not* $80/4 pack), and chicken drumsticks. I didn’t look around too much. Lots of people were in the store so I wasn’t keen on being in there any longer than necessary.
I paid my TXU bill and got out. The business center had a temporary plastic shield protecting the clerk from me and vice-versa.
The Covidiots will kill us, not the virus.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/meet-covidiot-dense-creature-ignores-simple-instructions-endangers-others
True. Until your income exceeds a certain amount. Then SS becomes taxable. Has nothing to do with the amount of SS paid.
I don’t think all 21 million are due to deaths. More likely, it reflects the millions of Chinese who were thrown out of work due to quarantine and can’t pay the bills
The Daily Mail has an article on Doctors hoarding drugs:
Doctors Are Hoarding Unproven Coronavirus Medicine by Writing Prescriptions for Themselves and Their Families
Of course, the *MSM* doctors say it is useless, untried, anecdotal, and, ORANGE MAN BAD!
Home. dinner time. More later.
n
The 21 million closed cell phone accounts surely couldn’t all be from covid deaths?
I don’t think all 21 million are due to deaths. More likely, it reflects the millions of Chinese who were thrown out of work due to quarantine and can’t pay the bills
+1
Of course, the *MSM* doctors say it is useless, untried, anecdotal, and, ORANGE MAN BAD!
If Chloroquine works, there won’t be a shortage. That’s an old drug created by no less than IG Farben itself. Big Smile!
“Layoffs, pay cuts loom as Schlumberger plans to cut up to 30 percent from budget”
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Layoffs-pay-cuts-loom-as-Schlumberger-plans-to-15153483.php
And the hits keep on coming.
Believe it or not, Schlumberger is one of my competitors. They bought one of my competitors in 2018 and have been pouring money into it. They dropped their prices by 2/3rds recently. It is a race to the bottom !
Well, long day and another tomorrow.
Got my shipping in order, then finally got out of the house. Dropped some stuff off at my storage unit, headed to the secondary to load up. Given the lockdown order, I wanted to make two trips today and be done, but that didn’t happen.
It took me a while to dig out everything I wanted to bring home, foodwise, and to go thru the random medical stuff to see what might be useful or donate-able…
I’ve collected some weird stuff, that’s for sure.
Loaded 4 big black tubs of mainly staples and canned veg. Lots of rice, some flour, more salt than I recall buying. Loaded the 10 buckets of bulk. Loaded some disassembled metal shelf units to use here. Left the MREs, Mountain House, and a tub of shelf stable. We’ll still have food there if we have to retreat, just not as much. Didn’t actually get it all in the truck. So tomorrow, when I go back for the paper products, I’ll have to get a couple of flats of cans as well. I did bring home coffee, Nido, gatorade mix, and 6 #10 cans from Auguson Farms.
Truck was SAGGING.
Went by my favorite gun store, and it was EMPTY. Wiped clean. Only a couple of boxes of ammo left. Lots of transfers still waiting for pickup. Harris County and Houston don’t consider gun stores to be essential, so they’ll be closed after tonight. I’m glad because they were playing russian roulette with the virus, sad because it was selling like Christmas and they could use a good year. Dropped off some supplies for them and headed to Costco.
All I was going to do was fill two gas cans. BUT. The lot was empty, and there was no line. I was already out in the mix so I saw an opportunity to top up the wine jugs, which I had neglected. SO, 3 cases of wine in the cart, and they have meat… grab some, and some cheese, avocado, frozen shrimp, milk, cream, butter, eggs, dog food (backup only), and a bunch of other things, like two spiral sliced hams, two “chef cut” hams, and bread products too. Limit one package on eggs, canned chicken, and something else I can’t remember. No limits on the other stuff.
The truck was almost on the rubber stops with all that stacked on top of the other stuff.
Many shoppers had one or two items in the cart. Water mostly. Many had masks, some had gloves, few had both. One guy had a half face respirator with big cartridges. He was moving with a purpose. People were not, in general, hustling. Checkout was smooth, quick, and efficient with a person directing the one long line to each checkout. Floor was marked for distance.
Headed home, and stopped to talk with the neighbor about kids and the gun battle we heard last night. Pulled into my driveway and realized with a grin that the most prominent things piled on the truck were cases of wine…. no wonder she was laughing.
Got most of the Costco stuff put away, and tarped the rest in case it rains. The tubs are too heavy to move, so I’ll need to open them and move the contents a piece at a time. I want some shelves in place before I do that. I hate doing it in daylight, but nighttime would be even more mysterious.
I finally feel like we are good to go however long this takes. I hope it’s all for naught with effective testing and treatment in a few weeks. I won’t regret a penny spent if that’s the case. I certainly won’t be trying to return anything.
———————————————————–
ebay must be sh!tting themselves. They just offered store owners 50K listings without listing fees.
I’ve got to go thru my listings and stop any that are stored offsite….
Always something to do.
n
ebay must be sh!tting themselves. They just offered store owners 50K listings without listing fees.
They’re acting like the end is nigh at EBay. I asked for some assistance with finding cheaper international postage to return an item to a seller in England, and they sent me a complete refund, including the $30 that I paid to get the item sent here.
I’m simply going to return the money to the seller and call it a day on the transaction.
“Surge in Unemployment Claims Sparks Delayed Checks Amid Coronavirus Crisis”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/surge-in-unemployment-claims-sparks-delayed-checks-amid-coronavirus-crisis-11585059384
“Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated that 1.5 million new jobless claims were filed last week. The U.S. Labor Department will release a national compilation of claims on Thursday. The highest number of new claims on record is 695,000 filed in the week ended Oct. 2, 1982.”
Oh my goodness, we are on the road to 30% unemployment. I am with the dumbocrats on this one, give the unemployed money for food and housing. They need about $4,000/month if they have a family. The new jobs will not just ramp up smoothly. And their kids are not getting free meals at the schools either so they are having to provide three meals a day for the first time ever.
No wonder Trump is screaming about the economy. I’ll bet that he gets these numbers daily and is watching his chances of re-election go down the tubes.
And the layoffs have just started, see Schlumberger above. Those are high paying jobs getting ready to hit the street. My people are nervous and vowing to go around the blockades tomorrow with an “essential business” letter that we wrote for everyone since we support the energy infrastructure of the USA.
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
Headed home, and stopped to talk with the neighbor about kids and the gun battle we heard last night. Pulled into my driveway and realized with a grin that the most prominent things piled on the truck were cases of wine…. no wonder she was laughing.
The wife and I used a bottle of wine that we had in the fridge Sunday for our communion celebration. We polished it off. I am in favor of the church going back to wine instead of the grape juice. Since we one cupped, we had refills.
Montgomery County ISD Principal, sick, all the symptoms….
So, maybe that’s why TX numbers seem low, they are.
n
Went by my favorite gun store, and it was EMPTY. Wiped clean. Only a couple of boxes of ammo left. Lots of transfers still waiting for pickup. Harris County and Houston don’t consider gun stores to be essential, so they’ll be closed after tonight. I’m glad because they were playing russian roulette with the virus, sad because it was selling like Christmas and they could use a good year. Dropped off some supplies for them and headed to Costco.
They probably moved most of their remaining inventory to a high security lockup.
Gonna get sporty out there if the lockdown goes over 30 days.
Shoot, it may get sporty out there this weekend.
“DuPont® D13469533 – Tychem™ 5000 XX-Large Encapsulated Level B Suit Chemical Resistant Coverall – TOOLSiD.com”
https://www.toolsid.com/dupont/tychem-5000-2x-large-tan-flatencapsulated-level-b-suit-mpn-d13469533.html?view=752277&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpYO87eqz6AIVzICfCh04hAW2EAQYAyABEgJa3PD_BwE
They have inventory ! Only $611 each ! Oxygen tank is extra.
My son had to qualify in one of those in the retch tank in SOI (USMC school of infantry). Not everyone made it, especially when they had to pull their hoods off. He is one of the 1% who are immune to military grade pepper gas and can function still.
I’m not the only one who thinks LA has a bunch of cases from Mardi Gras
n
“They probably moved most of their remaining inventory to a high security lockup. ”
— nope, sold it all.
n
(small shop, husband/wife team, online store feeds the small retail store, with some fast moving stock and a (formerly) big consignment area.)
I think it’s inevitable too, but not because of “foreigners”.
NYC Dr tweeted “a day in my life”
…
…
“UN: Embrace the Paris Agreement to Solve the Covid-19 Crisis”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/03/23/un-embrace-the-paris-agreement-to-solve-the-covid-19-crisis/
These morons never stop, do they ?
Mr. DadCooks… Sorry to hear about Sunny. The passing of a pet is never easy..Years ago we had the vet come to our home to put down one of our dogs.. (cancer). We were doing ok until the vet started to cry.. then it all went downhill from there.. 🙂
Anyway.. current total cases in Oz is 2317. Deaths 8.
Government & state govt. measures are tightening. Each state is closing its borders, (as best as they can), NSW and Victoria is almost impossible. Restrictions on just about everything .. Even booze.
Take care everyone…
They are here. Two meals each day. Drive up and pick up both meals.
Would they really use that money for such things? I have my doubts for a lot of people here. Lottery tickets, booze and cigarettes.
The few times I went through the “gas chamber” they used real CS (drop a hunk in a #10 can over a heater). Removal of hood and taking a breath required. Pepper spray was after my time. I have no idea how I would react. My last trip though, someone thought it would be funny to drop a whole puck into the can. People were cashiered over that. That took a couple of hours to recover from.
More information on the payout. It will be based on the AGI for 2019 for people that have filed, 2018 for people that have yet to file. I am guessing the IRS will use ACH to distribute the funds based on the account used for refunds. If no account, then a check will be issued which will delay the payments and provide fodder for thieves. My AGI for 2019 was $327.00. I am guessing I qualify but I don’t know if SSI income will be considered.