Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:08 pm**

morlac wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:27 am
Holman wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:00 am Looks like the panic dam has broken in my neighborhood.

On Wednesday I went to the grocery to buy fish for dinner, and everything was pretty normal. The toilet paper and sanitizer shelves had gaps but weren't empty, and the crowding was minimal.

Last night (Thursday) my wife went to the grocery around 9pm to pick up some essentials, but the parking lot was overflowing. This morning (Friday) she went again at the place was nearly as packed--30 minutes after opening at 6:00 am.

The crowd scene inside was unpleasant, even to the point of people cutting each other off in line for the register. My wife helped an elderly women move forward into place when someone tried to exploit her slowness, and the would-be exploiter wasn't too happy.

I guess we'll be gnawing the bones of our neighbors in a couple of weeks here.
Same here outside ATL. I am now hearing of stores that will be closing at noon today. I suspect this to be my last day at the office, already had a confirmed case across the street and they were locked down yesterday already. My neighborhood bar better stay open as there is zero chance I can be locked up with my wife and kid for 2+ weeks.

My local grocer (south of Boston) is right on the edge of zombie apocalypse territory. The bread aisle was stripped. No eggs, no paper products at all, almost no pasta left, no potatoes, no rice, lots of spot shortages of frozen and processed foods. Glad I started stockpiling two weeks ago, but I wish I'd foreseen toilet paper hoarding. Who would've guessed that the apocalypse would start with dirty bums? This was a Friday afternoon...glad I didn't wait for the weekend as usual. I'll go back on Monday to hunt for fresh food to complement the bulging pantry.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:26 pm**

LawBeefaroni wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 12:48 pmLightfoot is claiming they will only make evidence-based decisions but I get the feeling they're going to fight it as long as they can.

I was just forwarded a copy of the official federal guidelines for school closures, which I'm assuming they're going to be using as well. I mean, they don't have to - they can make their own rules, but broadly speaking the guidelines use a flow chart that focuses on two elements:

(1) Is there a confirmed case in the school?
(2) What are the reported community spread levels of Covid-19?

Information they're sharing suggests short-term closures aren't effective and instead 8+ week closures would make more sense (based on data evidence).

My issue with this is that until testing/surveillance ramps up, we have *no idea* if there is possible community spread. NJ just announced the barriers for testing have been lowered in our state and we can start being more aggressive with testing. I fully expect numbers to jump significantly in the next 72hours.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:35 pm**

And I'll just point out the obvious issue that 8+ week closures are problematic given the time of the year (not that they'd be good at any time of the year)--if an 8-week closure starts a week from now, that effectively kills the entirety of the remaining school year.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:38 pm**

Who would've guessed that the apocalypse would start with dirty bums?

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:40 pm**

The information I have is dense, but the short of it is "consult with local public health officials" for guidance - which is good. Assuming local public health official know what's going on, of course.

There really seems to be a push in the documentation to *not* close the schools. Maybe go 1/2 days. Limit extracurricular activities, clubs, trips, etc... I need to process.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:24 pm**

I just got back from Wal-Mart. A little busier than usual, except that the toilet paper and ramen sections were stripped bare. Oh, and they had pallets of bags of sugar absolutely everywhere. I have no idea why.

The only problem is, I actually need a pack of toilet paper. We only have a couple of days' worth left. I do have an emergency pack I bought a few weeks ago, but I really wasn't wanting to breach that on day one.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:55 pm**

Holman wrote: Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:32 pm Snapshot from Philadelphia:

1) The university where I teach has already announced a campus closure and switch to remote teaching, effective immediately.

2) The community college where I'm a reference librarian is dragging its feet, telling faculty to transition to mainly remote teaching but insisting that the college itself and essential staff (including librarians) remain on duty. The college is aware that a portion of the student body doesn't have reliable internet at home.

3) We live with my elderly in-laws, including my FIL who is 90 years old and has a serious immune deficiency due to other health issues. My wife (whose own university just closed campus) wants to go into family self-quarantine for at least a couple of weeks until we better understand the state of the pandemic.

Our kids (10th and 8th grade) are still in school, but it seems more than likely that the district will shut down before Monday. If that happens, it would leave me as the only family member required to mingle with the public on a regular basis (at the library job two days a week).

Having already switched from public transportation to driving to the library, I can probably manage to get safely through my working days on Purell and social distancing. I imagine most reference work I perform will be on the phone anyway. Still, I kind of feel like the weak link here.

Both the kids' school and my library job have now cancelled for at least the next two weeks with possible extensions after.

This means there are six of us in the house 24/7 with only minimal travel to outside destinations. This will be interesting.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:56 pm**

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:24 pm I just got back from Wal-Mart. A little busier than usual, except that the toilet paper and ramen sections were stripped bare. Oh, and they had pallets of bags of sugar absolutely everywhere. I have no idea why.

The only problem is, I actually need a pack of toilet paper. We only have a couple of days' worth left. I do have an emergency pack I bought a few weeks ago, but I really wasn't wanting to breach that on day one.

Subscribe to a newspaper.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:58 pm**

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:54 pm
Lorini wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:47 pm It was pandemonium here in Santa Clarita, you'd have thought everything was free. Well if all the food runs out, I'm going on that diet I've needed to be on.

Just got back from one of three Costco stores within a 10 mile radius. It was abnormally busy, but not “end of days” level busy. Lots of people, some wearing gloves, none wearing masks. Mostly smiling with a look like “Can you believe this?”

So people didn’t seem panicked today, but the inventory, on the other hand, was decimated. Bread. Water. Canned soup. Frozen anything . . . just gone. I’ve never seen so many empty freezers and shelves at a Costco before. That part really did seem apocalyptic.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:58 pm**

I went to PetCo and was surprised to see the shelves stocked to overflowing.

Are people just not thinking of their animals?

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:00 pm**

I just bitched out a person on Facebook who insisted, on a local news site with a large elderly readership, that the cure for the virus was just vitamin C, 30,000mg/day. It included this bit of wisdom, his usage: "besides its not about science ,its about the natural healing of the human body.our bodies are made of natural organs not artificial".

Maybe we deserve this after all.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:03 pm**

Holman wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:58 pmAre people just not thinking of their animals?

Yes. Same thing happened during Katrina, Sandy, etc... It's also possible people are switching to online deliveries, but I'd kinda expect a run in the short term.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:13 pm**

Holman wrote:I went to PetCo and was surprised to see the shelves stocked to overflowing.

Are people just not thinking of their animals?

Also the pet distributors are busting ass right now to keep up with demand. Keris work just hit the fan because all of her customers shelves are empty

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:24 pm**

You may be surprised to learn that something Trump announced in today's spiel was total bullshit.

https://twitter.com/reckless/status/123 ... 92549?s=19

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:37 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:25 am
pr0ner wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:19 amBecause "beards can carry pathogens".Someone else on his post said "facial hair holds on to bacteria regardless of what the CDC said".
I mean...I guess? But they also hold good bacteria and other useful organisms.

I guess he saw this and is now feeling good?

But in no shape or form is the CDC saying that hirsute individuals must part with their 'chin curtains' or 'ducktails' if they're in the path of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Unfortunately, this latest nonsense joins a long list of misinformation that public health authorities are already battling on a daily basis. Right now, it's everyone's duty not to share false information and faulty advice that could make matters worse.

surgical mask versus respirator cdc
I legit don't understand some people.

"Get a vaccine and protect yourself and others."
No way - I'm not getting a shot! That's ridiculous! It's my body!

"Don't shave - it has nothing to do with COVID-19"
Hello FaceBook - all hail me for I am cutting off my luxurious beard for the good of society!

Smoove, to update you on this, he also posted this under his beard shaving video as a reason to get rid of the hair:

"Yes, the particles that come from your mouth when you cough and sneeze are macroscopic and adhere to the first thing they touch."

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:39 pm**

I want to know if he's using hot wax or scissors to remove all the hair in his nose.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:45 pm**

Colorado just reported our first COVID-19 death. 72 cases at present.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:15 pm**

Holman wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:58 pm I went to PetCo and was surprised to see the shelves stocked to overflowing.

Are people just not thinking of their animals?

I know we order from chewy.com for the dogs and the cat, and (for the moment) Amazon for the parrot, so not worried. The food in the stores is more expensive than online so we go cheap and there's free delivery for all. Should probably check on the cat food supply but the parrot food should last a bit (although he's tossing 80% of the kibble so may not last as long as I think) and I know the dog food will last a couple of months.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:30 pm**

As of late last night, work from home for all our US offices until further notice. My office is one of the smaller medium ones with 50-100 people.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:33 pm**

Zaxxon wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:45 pm Colorado just reported our first COVID-19 death. 72 cases at present.

Colorado (I think) was the first state (or one of the first) to offer drive-up testing - which is amazing. That's going to help tremendously, though apparently it's getting overwhelmed.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:38 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:33 pm
Zaxxon wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:45 pm Colorado just reported our first COVID-19 death. 72 cases at present.
Colorado (I think) was the first state (or one of the first) to offer drive-up testing - which is amazing. That's going to help tremendously, though apparently it's getting overwhelmed.

They just shut it down until noon tomorrow because of cold weather impairing the ability of the protective wear. But I was impressed.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:41 pm**

Utah just shut down everything for two weeks. School, libraries, etc. I can work from home, but Mrs Skinypupy will still have to work at her retail job.

Gonna be really interesting...

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:50 pm**

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:51 pm**

Priest first infection in Hamilton County

And a crazy case where they refuse to even test a woman who wants the test and has all the symptoms. They didn't even tell her to quarantine herself. She has tried mutiple county health places.

woman denied covid-19 test Friday, says she's frustrated with protocol

But now her doctor is relaying the message of what hospitals had told her before -- that she doesn’t meet the criteria. Specifically that she hasn’t traveled to anywhere with reported cases or been in contact with someone who’s since been diagnosed.

Thats some major bullshit.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:54 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:39 pm I want to know if he's using hot wax or scissors to remove all the hair in his nose.

Me too, actually...

[age 51]

[/age51]

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:57 pm**

https://twitter.com/NicholsUprising/sta ... 30369?s=20

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:58 pm**

Moron roomate didn't notice that our food delivery was scheduled for NEXT Friday. Oh well there won't be much left now.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:02 pm**

Holman wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:57 pm https://twitter.com/NicholsUprising/sta ... 30369?s=20

Is it a rule that every household must own at least one tambourine?

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:04 pm**

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 6:00 pm I just bitched out a person on Facebook who insisted, on a local news site with a large elderly readership, that the cure for the virus was just vitamin C, 30,000mg/day. It included this bit of wisdom, his usage: "besides its not about science ,its about the natural healing of the human body.our bodies are made of natural organs not artificial".

Maybe we deserve this after all.

Spoiler:
Yes, I'm kidding. Just a bit frustrated with humanity.

After I told a friend of a friend that fearlessness wasn't a vaccine, this is the response I got-

"apparently you consider yourself to be a human! That's fine, meny, most people do, and they also feel like they can be hurt! I'm not in that thought line!"

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:19 pm**

The Meal wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:38 pmThey just shut it down until noon tomorrow because of cold weather impairing the ability of the protective wear. But I was impressed.

South Koreans are apparently wizards

If you roll up to a drive-through COVID-19 testing center in South Korea, you might notice that safety procedures extend all the way to your car's air conditioning. You will be advised to hit the recirculation button so that if you're sick, you can keep your pathogens to yourself, in your car, and avoid infecting the medical personnel doing the testing.

The test takes 10 minutes at most. Results are texted to you, usually the next day. And it's free — paid for by the government.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:36 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:19 pm
The Meal wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:38 pmThey just shut it down until noon tomorrow because of cold weather impairing the ability of the protective wear. But I was impressed.
South Koreans are apparently wizards

If you roll up to a drive-through COVID-19 testing center in South Korea, you might notice that safety procedures extend all the way to your car's air conditioning. You will be advised to hit the recirculation button so that if you're sick, you can keep your pathogens to yourself, in your car, and avoid infecting the medical personnel doing the testing.

The test takes 10 minutes at most. Results are texted to you, usually the next day. And it's free — paid for by the government.

Only a simpleton believes "paid for by the government" = free.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:39 pm**

My wife likes watching wrestling. Tonight there's no audience.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:43 pm**

Anonymous Bosch wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:36 pmOnly a simpleton believes "paid for by the government" = free.

Baby steps. We're all good chaps over here.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:55 pm**

Seeing predictions now that we might hit 30K cases by 3/23; apparently our arc is looking more and more like Italy every day.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:58 pm**

pr0ner wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:10 am A friend of mine on Facebook made a big deal out of shaving off his beard "for the safety of others".

It would be funny if that was the same person as my friend who also shaved his beard for the same reason. I haven't shaved my mustache yet but I've thought about it as it only sort of works with a mask (here in Korea I'm going to wear a mask even if many in the US disparage them - social placebo mostly).

Editing - I figured the beard cutting was because having a beard makes you touch your face more. I know it did when I had one.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:59 pm**

There is no WFH for me and others in my industry. Work as usual. I assume if a coworker tested positive then we should shut down. After hearing reports of the lunacy going on in retail, it was nice to back home and visit the local taproom where it has never been busier on a Friday afternoon. I think people were just out giving the middle finger to this whole scenario. Of course no one was kissing, hugging, or shaking hands with people they were meeting. People just need to calm the fuck down. You and your love ones will be alive next week, and there will be more TP.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:03 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:55 pm Seeing predictions now that we might hit 30K cases by 3/23; apparently our arc is looking more and more like Italy every day.

If it is an arc, does that mean there is some idea of when we might see a downturn? Or a point at which we quit isolating? Just some rough idea?

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:05 pm**

Time to rewatch Life After People

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:06 pm**

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:03 pm
Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:55 pm Seeing predictions now that we might hit 30K cases by 3/23; apparently our arc is looking more and more like Italy every day.
If it is an arc, does that mean there is some idea of when we might see a downturn? Or a point at which we quit isolating? Just some rough idea?

The projections I'm seeing have it possibly peaking in the US in early May now - the number of new cases. Still too many variables to account for, but it seems like a reasonable guess until we get new information by way of mass testing.

Yes you read that correctly.

Posted: **Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:13 pm**

Lorini wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 7:15 pm
Holman wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:58 pm I went to PetCo and was surprised to see the shelves stocked to overflowing.

Are people just not thinking of their animals?
I know we order from chewy.com for the dogs and the cat, and (for the moment) Amazon for the parrot, so not worried. The food in the stores is more expensive than online so we go cheap and there's free delivery for all. Should probably check on the cat food supply but the parrot food should last a bit (although he's tossing 80% of the kibble so may not last as long as I think) and I know the dog food will last a couple of months.

Grocer and PetSmart have just about the same prices here (slight advantage to grocer with e-coupons and sales). My boys eat 12-15 cans per week. Ordinarily I buy 15-18. For the past several weeks I've bought 18-24. I figure I've got a 2-3 week surplus. I can explain to Wife why we're down to rice with butter, but I can't explain to the cats why they have to live on kibble.

It's expensive, though. In the past few months it went from 50 to 55 to 60 cents a can, at a time when overall grocery prices are stable.

Octopus Overlords

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