lyn
New Member
Posts: 13
|
Post by lyn on Mar 21, 2020 15:40:18 GMT -6
Ty for the updates! Have passed on a few links. Very much appreciated. You can also use pool shock to make bleach and that is still in most stores. tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-make-chlorine.htmIs that link okay? If not, feel free to remove it. I'm not affiliated in any way. Just something I stumbled on awhile back. Then stocked up on pool shock.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 21, 2020 16:29:53 GMT -6
I have the bottled bleach tablets that make 1/2 cup bleach because they are smaller to store and easier to measure out. The soda-can-sized bottles each contain 1.25 gallons equivalent and take almost no storage space. Disinfectant solution (CDC formula) is 1/3 cup bleach in one gallon of water. Using the tablet equivalent of 1/2 cup isn't likely to cause harm and is much easier to mix up with the smaller tablets. At the 1/3 cup per gallon rate, a 40 tablet bottle could make 50 gallons of disinfectant.
Not as cheap as pool shock but it was readily available at the time I purchased it.
|
|
lyn
New Member
Posts: 13
|
Post by lyn on Mar 21, 2020 17:31:02 GMT -6
I'm in a wheelchair and use the Walmart pick up service. And Amazon! Pool shock is something they carry as a matter of course and its easy for me to handle. Plus the mentioned cheapness!
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 21, 2020 21:35:42 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 22, 2020 19:41:06 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 22, 2020 20:19:00 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 23, 2020 14:03:53 GMT -6
Want to know the statistics for your state? Try putting yourstatesname.gov in your browser or searching for yourstatesname public health In Georgia, it's dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-reportwhich is updated at noon and 7PM Mon-Fri. Total cases, total deaths, cases by county (sorted from most to least), graphics, map with counties in color by number of cases, tests run by commercial labs vs DPH, etc. Georgia's Governor has a press conference scheduled for 5PM today and I'm thinking I should go get the items on our "Be nice to have" list before he locks things down. I did check online and the nearest pharmacy has the things we're looking for in stock. Fallback for OTC meds is the grocery across the road which always seems to have a small stock of generic anti-histamines and decongestants. Time for mask and gloves again. Even with today's rain, the pollen count is 594 - down from yesterday's 2400+ but still high. Wednesday is forecast as sunny and I expect the pollen count to be close to 3000. --- Do your mail item or packages make it to the kitchen counter for sorting/opening? That was a convenience for us for a long time but now packages stop just inside the back door, where they're opened and the contents removed without being touched (if you're good with scissors, it can be done ;-) Then the outer packaging in a garbage bag and time to wash hands again. The scissors are separable so they can be cleaned thoroughly (maybe from Lehmans?). We have 3 quarts of the "lather" solution for the lather pumps and supplies to make that much more. The Dial lather pumps don't have unlimited life (we've replace a couple) but they do last for dozens of refills - no, I've never done a stroke count on a new one to see exactly how long they last ;-) We use the Publix house brand liquid hand soap (clear, unscented if avaiklable) and mix it 50/50 with water. Works great in the Dial lather pumps.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 23, 2020 17:57:01 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 23, 2020 17:59:45 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Mar 24, 2020 5:53:05 GMT -6
LOL
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 24, 2020 13:10:55 GMT -6
Covid-19 has a face today.
Got email from our church today (24 March) that one of our senior adults (age 68) may have died from Covid-19 overnight. He and his wife had self-isolated almost two weeks ago because he didn't feel well. He was to be tested for Covid-19 tomorrow (25 March). He was last at the church on 10 March (Men's Prayer Breakfast - I wasn't there) and we're not yet aware of anyone else with symptoms. Even at the maximum incubation period of 9 days, others should have shown symptoms by now if he was contagious that day.
The church had already suspended all on-site activities on 16 March. Stay aware of those around you and remember masks, gloves and to keep your hands away from your face unless you just washed them.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 24, 2020 20:32:30 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by 9idrr on Mar 24, 2020 20:53:47 GMT -6
Sorry to've heard about the passing of your congregation's member. I think more of us might be touched personally before this is over.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 24, 2020 22:36:06 GMT -6
Sorry to've heard about the passing of your congregation's member. I think more of us might be touched personally before this is over. My better half didn't question me when I handed her a bagged N95 mask and nitrile gloves with a reminder to use them when she heads out to "Senior Hour" at the grocery Wednesday. Knowing someone affected by a major event does remind you that you're also a target.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 25, 2020 15:10:04 GMT -6
Short report on "Senior Hour" grocery shopping in unincorporated Georgia today.
The hour is 7AM-8AM and my better half got there at 7:05. Parking lot was about half full. There was a manager hovering at the one open entrance (probably to discourage non-seniors). People going up and down the aisles didn't speak and they turned their heads away as they passed each other.
Some things (such as canned soups) have "Only two of each item" signs. She wasn't on the paper goods aisle so no report on toilet paper stocks or limits, other than the man ahead of her in the checkout line only had one item in his cart - a single multi-pack of toilet paper. Vanilla wafers were either "Reduced Fat" or the "Minis". Graham crackers were available. The dried beans/peas section was almost empty - older people know how to cook with dried foods and those items are cheap for the amount of food value they contain. She wasn't on the flour/corn meal aisle so no report on that.
Meat cases were stocked but she didn't think their level of stock would last past noon today. They did have Manwich on the shelf to go with the ground beef in the meat case and there were hamburger buns on the bread aisle and only a few holes there. Maybe not your preferred brand of wheat bread but still some wheat bread. The cleaning shelves were a different matter as the holes could be seen from the end of the aisle.
They had chamomille tea (calming, sleep aid, fever reducer).
The house brand of diphenhydramine (Benadryl equivalent) was in stock in the OTC meds - needed for us as today's pollen count is 664. With a sunny day today, tomorrow's pollen count will be higher - it's not unusual to see counts over 3000 for a few days in March/April. Time for me to get the HEPA-filtered room air cleaner set up in the bedroom again.
They had the house brand of orange marmalade. (Yea! And I enjoyed it on a bagel.).
They had serious comfort food: Fudgsicles, Hershey's Dark Nuggets and Dark Kisses. The candy dish on the end table by the sofa is filled 50/50 with Nuggets and Kisses.
---
The news tells us that some areas of NYC are almost empty (one person's comment of "I'm the only one in my building"). Next hot areas for Covid-19? Perhaps The Hamptons and Florida? Those who have the $$ have left NYC and probably taken the virus with them :-(
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 25, 2020 16:46:36 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 25, 2020 22:08:23 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 26, 2020 7:13:54 GMT -6
I mentioned yesterday that our pollen counts could be above 3000. Today's is 3697. In practical terms, everyone drives a yellow vehicle, any vehicle outside a closed garage for more than an hour will need to use the windshield washer to be able to see out the windshield and the wind blowing in your face can be like getting a handful of dust thrown at you. The tree pollen (mostly oak and pine) isn't an allergen per se but there's so much of it the air is gritty and it's just a mechanical irritant - which is why I buy a box of N95 filters each year. If I'm working in the yard, I will stir up some of the ever-present pollen (at least until the next good rain) so the mask and an anti-histamine (diphenhydramine, Benadryl equivalent) to keep me functional - especially this year, when sneezing, coughing and a runny nose would terrify most people.
I put new HEPA filters in both air cleaners. The quietest one is in the bedroom and will run 24/7 for several weeks (until the worst of pollen season is over). The other one is near the back door and the door from the garage to clean the pollen from the air as it enters the house. I didn't sleep well last night (not unusual) but I didn't wake up with a sinus headache today so the filters are doing their job.
And yes, I ordered a new set of filters for the air cleaners so I'll have them for next year. Turned out amazon.com was the cheapest place - this time. Other times it's been walmart.com or Ebay. Ebay also has some of the most expensive filters - one idiot has a single filter listed for $50. Amazon was $8.41 each and free shipping at $25. Two filters for each of two air cleaners is $33 and change so free shipping.
The wifi router has glitched several times in the past month and it shut down last night. I dug out the previous one only to find that the wifi on it no longer works (still OK for wired connections and all the saved configuration is still there). After being unplugged for about 20 minutes the current router did recover but that's not the level of reliability I want, so to Ebay and search for a replacement router. Found one and it will be here in a week. I did a full backup of the router settings so I can configure the replacement router with a few clicks: administration, maintenance, backup settings, restore. You really do need backups for your backups.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 26, 2020 21:25:31 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 27, 2020 16:13:13 GMT -6
If you have a PC and Excel 2013 or later, there's a how-to on getting the US and state-by-state data into a spreadsheet with a query from an online database. exceljet.net/tracking-covid-19-with-excelI'll be playing with this later today. While I write on a 16 year old Dell laptop running Windows XP because I like the screen and keyboard, I do have a Windows 10 laptop and Office 2019 so I can do things like this project. Of course, I did data collection and display with MUCH older versions of Excel when I was in the AT&T skunkworks in the 1990's - back when they had things like Office Version 5 ;-) I even created (somewhat ugly but very functional) dashboards back then when doing things that the regular developers had said were "impossible". The dashboard stayed ugly because the manager who saw the prototype said "I want that on my desk. Today." If he was happy with it, my manager was happy so "pretty" took a backseat to functional ;-) VBA in Excel is a powerful tool.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 27, 2020 18:56:41 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 27, 2020 21:07:10 GMT -6
www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3047066/what-do-you-need-know-about-new-coronavirus-chinaLatest interactive graphic always at above link. Usually updated several times a day. (Confirmed numbers. US at 100717.) Home page of South China Morning Post: www.scmp.comUsually updated several times daily with new Covid-19 info from around the world. Static graphic updated 27 Mar 10:57PM Hong Kong time: www.jecarter.us/files/coronavirus-stats-scmp-27Mar2258EST.jpgHong Kong is 13 hours ahead of EST. --- Johns Hopkins continuously updated worldwide data with country selection by name or map click (they use confirmed + presumptive as their "confirmed" count. US at 104463 as I write this.): www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6Marty Makary, MD, Johns Hopkins University, said in an interview with Trace Gallagher of Fox News (wee hours of 20 March) that the numbers in their display are ONLY the confirmed cases and the actual number of Covid-19 infections may be 10 to 50 times the published numbers. Ready to pull the blanket up over your head and hide in bed? --- The CDC is updated at noon Monday-Friday (NO weekend updates) and shows the previous day's (Sunday-Thursday) 4PM CDC-confirmed numbers (showing the Thursday 4PM confirmed count of 85356): www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.htmlAs of 16 March, the page states that the CDC is NOT the most current site for the number of cases. --- Still trying to persuade my better half that neither of us needs the exposure of getting a haircut any time soon. If I get too shaggy, I can trim over my ears, or even further out, she can trim to the edge of the bowl over my head. She's not quite so willing to put things off that long but she's willing to check on a 2 week postponement and we'll see from there. Unless you find some self-stick masks, no way you can be masked while someone is cutting your hair...
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 28, 2020 14:14:15 GMT -6
When my better half called to reschedule haircuts, she got a recording: "By order of the Mayor, all barbershops and hair salons in the city are closed through April 3rd."
We're in an unincorporated area, so it's "to town" for a haircut. With the County's infected count having passed 2000 and the deaths above 60, I'd expect that order to be extended for several weeks.
I won the war without fighting a battle ;-)
---
In technology news, today I'll be setting up the Android TV box to get to the church's live streaming service on Youtube tomorrow - somewhat larger screen than the better half's laptop and it's a wired CAT5 connection so no glitches from wifi loading.
The replacement for the intermittent router arrived today so I get to reconfigure it and put it in place.
---
In today's weather, the pollen count is 6881, higher than last year's high of 6200+.
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Mar 28, 2020 15:50:05 GMT -6
Costco yesterday, and things looked almost normal. There was rice, Vit C, Hamburger and chicken. They were out of TP, but lots of bottled water. Not a real big crowd for a Friday.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Mar 28, 2020 16:20:49 GMT -6
|
|