COVID-19

[jeffbert]

So, who is here?

I am here, at 61 + years old, & in fairly good health. I go out and about without fear, i have seen plenty who wear masks, & such.

Went to the gas station today, & employee had spray bottle and paper towel & wiped the gas pump & the touch screen. Very good service.

2 different grocery stores, one had similar treatment as the gas station. It even had plastic shields between the cashier & customer. Employee right there at the shopping carts, wiping them down. Very good. But no 32 OZ. G2 Gatorade in my preferred flavor.

Next grocery store was business as usual. cart wipe dispenser inside the store, carts outside!? But had 6 quarts of grape G2. I have been taking those wipes with me for some time, now, and wad them up, stuff them in the car's cup holder and stuff a can cozy on top, to keep them moist. Always have good wipes on hand, even if store has none. I guess I am a bit of a germaphobe, Washed the Gatorade & the 1/2 gallon of milk I bought last week. But that is new. Other than things requiring immediate refrigeration, I leave groceries sitting around for about a week, before using them. Don't really know if that helps.

The thought of people who just do not wash their hands after using the potty is just gross! Especially now, but I hate Maryland, as few customer restrooms have paper towels and most have pull to exit doors! Pennsylvania, Hanover, anyway, had paper towels in most I visited.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

I have about 5 years on you, and I've had heart surgery 6 months ago, and I'm on blood thinner for now.
The wife and I go out shopping sparingly, and bring a list of items needed, trying to make each trip count. We bring bottles of hand sanitizer with us. I have some simple 'dust masks' I got at Harbor Freight, and we are wearing those only inside of the stores. While there is some varying thoughts on how good masks are, wearing one reminds you NOT to touch your face. The good news is that it now appears that the virus might not spread so much due to aerosol droplets, but more due to touching contaminated surfaces. This means that unless you are in constant exposure to infected people (health care workers) you don't need the N95 type masks, and a lesser grade will do. Again, their prime purpose is to keep you from self contaminating yourself. Gloves will protect you from touching infected surfaces such as touch screens, but only if you don't touch your face with the gloves. So use the sanitizer after leaving the store, before you re-enter your car. At home, I can use the same HF heavy work gloves I wear for gardening to unload the car. Then when done, remove gloves and wash hands. While scrubbing hands with soap for 20 seconds or more, I sometimes think of Weird Al's song, 'Like a Surgeon'!

[jeffbert]

Good to hear from you, Tetsuwan Penguin. Sorry about your condition.

A sad update on that 1st grocery store; I was there Monday, & there was nobody with spray bottles wiping down the cart handles. No sanitizing wipes in the dispensers, either. I expect to go out today, it should be about 60 F, and cloudy.

It is becoming too warm for the apartment building's 3rd floor, given the heat will likely remain 'on' until later this month. There are two maintenance guys for the two 3 floor buildings, but, except for 'emergencies', they are not doing anything. The apartments each have individual A/C units, but the cool air is outmatched by the warm air in the whole building system. Windows open, but are both on the South side, and are very difficult to open and close. Could be worse!

I bought 2 canisters of Clorox sanitizing wipes a few weeks before all this started; wish I had bought the 3-pack instead. Was able to get a 6 pack of 1/2 size paper towels a few weeks ago, & have 2 pints of rubbing alcohol, so am covered for that, for a while, anyway.

But, the laundry situation is sad, as there are shared washers and dryers. I always use Lysol laundry sanitizer, but nothing I can do for the dryer.

[DrFrag]

I'm here.

I'm 44 and in bad health. ME/CFS for the last 19 years and gradually deteriorating. I can't really look after myself. I was already mostly housebound so isolating has been no problem for me.

I guess I'm high risk? H2N3 nearly killed me in 2015. Had a heart infection. Got shingles in 2017 and it was the worst case they'd ever seen. I never fully recovered from those things. My rheumatologist's only advice is "don't get sick". I just don't handle viruses well. Even the common cold knocks me down for a month. I think I'd be unlikely to survive covid-19. So I'm being super careful, got myself flu and pneumonia vaccinations, and everyone seems to be taking things seriously which is good.

Got a bunch of bee stings on Sunday and an ambulance took me to hospital. To my surprise the hospital was almost deserted of patients and the waiting room was empty. One nurse told me "the trash are staying away" haha. I guess fewer drunken parties are taking place? But it's good to know the staff aren't being swamped. The country is in lockdown and the rate of covid-19 cases seems to be slowly declining so that's promising.

Mentally I'm doing pretty well. I didn't have a job to lose. Feeling happy and motivated, and having the occassional voice/video get together with friends.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Jeffbert,
Soap seems to destroy the virus, so anything that was 'infected' that went in the washer would come out safe before being thrown into the dryer, assuming the person doing this had washed their hands before emptying the washer. Also if the dryer runs hot enough it might help.

[jeffbert]

Thanks for the info, Tetsuwan Penguin.

Sorry to hear of your condition, Dr. Frag; though I knew of the CFS for some time, now. Stay well, my friend!


So, I violated the distance thingy today, went to Walmart, parking lot was about as full as usual. No cart wipes, though there was a woman with paper towels and a spray bottle just inside the inner door. On returning home, as I was loading my walker with groceries, I noticed a begged item atop a car. I had seen a man going into the building using a walker, & assumed he had forgotten his drink. Was just going to take it inside, and set it on a table in the corridor, but, hesitated, because of the distancing. I took it with me, and, unexpectedly, the guy emerged just before I would have entered. He thanked me, but I feel I should have apologized, given the situation. I told him about cup holders that attach to walkers, he made no comment, though.

[jeffbert]

On the subject of boredom, I am not bored. Currently I am doing the dialog for #3, Gaseous Beings, comparing the original dialog with the revised as found in the Kobunsha 8 volume hard cover version. I have already done so with Atom's parents, of which there is a very brief version in K vol. #1, and the usual in vol. 3. Also did Sea Serpent Island, but, it did not occur to me to compare the Kobunsha version with the original, until a few pages in. This is a story with a character/actor change in the later versions. Higeoyaji has 2 roles in the original, both his own, & Rumiko's papa.

HIGEOYAJI TIMES 2 (SEA SERPENT 026 #271).jpg (119.77 KiB) Viewed 5913 times

In the later versions, an actor who originated in Tezuka's Western comics, named Kerrigan, took that role.

HIGEOYAJI & RUMILO'S PAPA (ATOM, VOL 1, KOBUNSHA HC_0081 #781).jpg (85.21 KiB) Viewed 5913 times

I probably ought to put this elsewhere, but, tough.


bESIDES THAT, i AM WATCHING THE OUTER LIMITS (COLOR VERS.), & have just started season 4. This has some really high quality special effects; though I suppose the original has effects as good as movies of the time.

anime: Hayate the combat butler; just discovered this one, and it has about 150 episodes. It has frequent references to other anime, manga, films, etc., many of wich a bleeped out, but the subtitles would have the titles, with the exception of '*' in place of certain vowels. Had to pause occasionally as the note about the other anime, was on screen very briefly.

finished Osamatsu-kun, a gag-type of anime, based on manga of the same title. very funny.

Still watching ONE PIECE; is this ever going to end?

Black Clover

So many titles!

[fafner]

I have confined myself since 1st March, 2 weeks before the official lockdown. I have myself a medical condition that most certainly makes me highly vulnerable: a heart transplantation for which I have to take immuno-suppressing and corticoid pills, each one a big no-no against covid-2019 . I am not the kind of leaving often my house, and hopefully my work is fully compatible with remote working (software development). So with the exception of not being able to leave my house, nothing has really changed for me.

Hopefully, boredom has never been an issue for me, and with the extra time for not getting out at all I kill time by throwing rockets into space, some of them actually reaching orbit without flipping over, tearing themselves out, or in a general way throwing billions of tiny little pieces all around the place

[Astro Forever]

I'm only going out to take walks (and soon bike rides, hopefully, but it's still a little cold here) and go to the grocery store once a week. I would prefer to go once every two weeks, but I enjoy fresh products so much more that it's hard. Someone gave me a tip: the grocery store is at its most empty at dinner time, and it turned out to be true! The previous two times I had gone, I had hated the experience, but it went better this week.

It's a bit hard to remain far from everyone else in the alleys at times, but people in my city are more disciplined than elsewhere. I got unsupervised kids that got way too close to me on bikes while I took a walk, and, strangely, a teenage worker at the grocery store who passed me at 2 cm (an inch) rather than the required 2 meters (6 feet), but other than that almost everybody respects the requirements.

There are three hands wash stations and an employee giving you the cart size you want already wiped off. I haven't missed toilet paper, but I have an habit of buying it whenever it's on sale so I had a lot already. I didn't need to buy hand sanitizer because it's an item I always have at home, I even carry a small bottle in my purse all the time (convenient when eating at restaurants, as it's kind of hard not to touch anything while getting back at your table from the restroom). I must also have been one of the only people in the universe who was already wiping their cellphone every time I came home.

I have no idea if I'm vulnerable. I do struggle getting through colds or other illness because I will cough for a long time, but I don't know if it'd just be more painful for me if it attacked my lungs or if it would really put me at greater risk of intensive care unit. I guess I'd rather not find out.

[AstroAllies]

I guess I will need to get a haircut as soon as the quarantine ends.

I am still looking for a job after graduating last year, so I am used to being at home all day. Also doing some personal, non-commercial editing projects to enhance my portfolio. This pandemic makes me learn much about personal hygiene, though.

Take care and stay safe everybody! You have my support.