Octopus Overlords

I bought dog food. But the shelf space for medium and large bags was empty and all I got was a small bag. Ill have to go back by the end of the month.

Got a email from iheartdogs asking for donations. I guess between the panick shopping and people worried animals may make them sick they are abandoning pets.

Alefroth wrote: 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!"

While I was in the deli line, two strangers got into a friendly argument over whose home remedy is better. He says swallow a drink of water every 10 minutes to wash the virus into your belly. She says suck on zinc lozenges. I politely said

Kraken wrote: 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.

Our frozen chicken can (and has) doubled as food for the cat. We usually have a few weeks of canned cat food on hand but in the event we run out the chicken works.

Worst case there is a ton of hossenfeffer in the neighborhood.

Thankfully my puppies don't use toilet paper.

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.

Our national curve is sticking close to doubling every 3 days. Can voluntary distancing bend that a little bit, even without adequate testing? We'll find out soon enough. Nearly all recreation is shutting down around here -- sports, museums, theaters, concert halls, nightclubs....

I mentioned that Wife's university has shut down classes and requires all nonessential personnel to WAH. I didn't mention that, to keep their employees off public transportation, parking is free for those who must go in. In Kendall Square, parking usually costs about ten thousand bucks a day. Encouraging people to drive is the exact opposite of normal.

dbt1949 wrote:Thankfully my puppies don't use toilet paper.

Two of mine do. End to end cleaning.

Locally they're running race horses here with nobody in the stands.
How in the hell they gonna make money with no bettors?

dbt1949 wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:10 pm Locally they're running race horses here with nobody in the stands.
How in the hell they gonna make money with no bettors?

We were at Belterra Park outside Cincinnati a couple of years ago because my wife wanted to go see a live horse race. When the race started there were maybe two dozen people in the stands. Everyone else was back in the casino placing bets, drinking and playing the slots till the race was over and they could see if they won anything.

Kraken wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:27 pm Our national curve is sticking close to doubling every 3 days. Can voluntary distancing bend that a little bit, even without adequate testing? We'll find out soon enough. Nearly all recreation is shutting down around here -- sports, museums, theaters, concert halls, nightclubs....

It's hard to say at this point. We're about 7 weeks behind the curve now, with respect to what we should know and likely what should have already been done.

Best case (in my opinion) is that we have regional surges that would (in theory) allow for the Federal government to assist. So places like Washington State - Seattle, right now. Parts of California - areas where it's seemingly been circulating for over a month, undetected.

Worst case (again, my opinion) as that the spread is much wider than we realized and we're going to start seeing surge in the major cities all across the United States, all at the same time. This is a nightmare as everyone is likely then going to be on their own as the Federal government isn't able to assist everywhere at the same time.

Ideally we are bending the curve by shutting down *now*, but response nationwide is still patchwork. As I said earlier this week, this might be another situation where we have data next year showing the impact these policies had in various communities, week by week. In the same way that we have this graph:

EDIT: Can't get imgur to work

The point is Philadelphia decided to hold a parade, despite knowing sick soldiers returning from WW1 were going to be involved. "They just have regular influenza". Famous last words. St. Louis shut down everything and the number of cases is dramatically different than what Philadelphia saw during same time period.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:06 pm 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.

Well that's a bummer. We were planning a long trip during May into June. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear and not commit to anything.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:06 pm Yes you read that correctly.

You confused me there. Did your comment reference the possible early May peak, or the mass testing?

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:25 pm The point is Philadelphia decided to hold a parade, despite knowing sick soldiers returning from WW1 were going to be involved. "They just have regular influenza". Famous last words. St. Louis shut down everything and the number of cases is dramatically different than what Philadelphia saw during same time period.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned it before, but a great source on what happened during the 1918 "Spanish" Flu pandemic can be provided by The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. I read it years ago but it has stuck with me and of course there are a lot of parallels with the current crisis.

Presumably this was the image you were trying to post?

Again, something to give everyone a little smile...

It's Real Now: All Wienermobile Events Cancelled Due To Coronavirus

It’s official, everybody: civilization is on hold. The COVID-19 virus has won, since it has forced the most important human cultural institution, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, to cease operations. For most of humanity, our best bet now is to place ourselves into comas until all this shit blows over. We’ll have a few volunteers checking on things, ready to wake us up when conditions are better, and keeping the Wienermobile fleet carefully maintained...

Incredibly, it seems that the great Hot Dog Highway will be empty and forlorn. Whatever we do now, in this half-life sans Wienermobile, hardly matters. Until the Wienermobile is back on the road, spreading its message of hope, courage, and tube-shaped meats encased in a yeasty bread-folder, we’re all just killing time.

Sure, lots of events and gatherings and conventions have been cancelled by this cruel lipid-coated ball of RNA, but grounding the Wienermobile is something different. This is the moment that history will look back on and know that this is when shit became real.

May the Great Frankfurter have mercy on us all.

Homeless man awaiting result of coronavirus test at Washington quarantine motel ignored security guard and left

(CNN) -- A man staying at a quarantine motel in the Washington county at the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States left early Friday morning after ignoring a security guard.

The man, whom King County officials say is homeless and awaiting a coronavirus test result, walked across the street to a convenience store where he allegedly shoplifted several items before leaving on a King County Metro bus, according to a statement from the county.

The statement did not say whether officials had found the man. The bus was taken out of service.

Defiant wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:37 pm

Yes! Thanks

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:41 pm

Defiant wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:37 pm

Yes! Thanks

So you're saying that Philadelphia had a healthier Christmas?

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:32 pmYou confused me there. Did your comment reference the possible early May peak, or the mass testing?

Sorry, I've been hearing general surprise over the idea that this is going to peak in May. From informal conversations I've been having, people are saying they think this will be over in a few weeks (because schools are closing for ~2 weeks). I don't think there's a greater understanding that schools are closing now for 2 weeks to then reevaluate what's happening around 3/27.

This is why the insanity at supermarkets is confusing me. We haven't even started yet.

LawBeefaroni wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:42 pmSo you're saying that Philadelphia had a healthier Christmas?

Sure, silver lining for those still alive.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:43 pm

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:32 pmYou confused me there. Did your comment reference the possible early May peak, or the mass testing?

Sorry, I've been hearing general surprise over the idea that this is going to peak in May. From informal conversations I've been having, people are saying they think this will be over in a few weeks (because schools are closing for ~2 weeks). I don't think there's a greater understanding now that schools are closing for 2 weeks to then reevaluate what's happening around 3/27.

This is why the insanity at supermarkets is confusing me. We haven't even started yet.

Thanks! I did think we were looking at a couple of months more before it was going to be "safe" to drop restrictions, to avoid a backlash effect.

Yeah, I'm kind of hoping that our local (Florida) leadership is going to address the groceries issue. I mean, it's a bit embarrassing that a state which deals with hurricane season every year should be behind the curve on assuring food getting to everyone.

Anonymous Bosch wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:39 pm Homeless man awaiting result of coronavirus test at Washington quarantine motel ignored security guard and left

This is how you end up with mandatory, enforced incarceration. Just...ugh.

Here in east central Florida all the schools are closed till at least the end of the month, the theme parks too, as well as a lot of other events and gatherings. On the positive side, it's going to be in the eighties for at least the next ten days, little or no chance of rain, and an on-shore breeze, so the beaches will be busy. Hopefully the local urgent care facilities will only be seeing a lot of sunburn cases...

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:58 pm Here in east central Florida all the schools are closed till at least the end of the month, the theme parks too, as well as a lot of other events and gatherings. On the positive side, it's going to be in the eighties for at least the next ten days, little or no chance of rain, and an on-shore breeze, so the beaches will be busy. Hopefully the local urgent care facilities will only be seeing a lot of sunburn cases...

Fishing weather! Used to fish every day. Haven't been in 20 years. I fish on the PC now lol.

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:52 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 10:39 pm Homeless man awaiting result of coronavirus test at Washington quarantine motel ignored security guard and left

This is how you end up with mandatory, enforced incarceration. Just...ugh.

Its also how zombie and end of world movies start. Also he was homeless and he left a nice motel room? Mental fool.

Daehawk wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:20 pm Mental fool.

Yes, that's very likely a contributing factor.

Publix supermarkets, our goto place for groceries, has announced that starting tomorrow all stores will close nightly at 8pm to allow more time for restocking and cleaning. Sounds like a pretty decent approach. Just as long as they stay open

All cruise lines operating out of Port Canaveral (near me) have shut down for several weeks. This has a knock on effect for a lot of folks, including the port pilot association, line handlers, the tug boats and other folks. Not to mention the half dozen businesses that provide off-site parking lots for those who don't want to pay the price asked at the local parking garage. Also those who provide food and supplies to the ships. Sheesh

Ethan's Pulmonologist emailed us today and said keep him out of school for the next 4 weeks. Well, that was easy as school's been cancelled till April 3rd.

My work is making us work at home for the week. Rumor is going around that two people in my building has the virus.

a friend's friend is a middle-school teacher who says her students have dubbed this pandemic 'the Boomer remover'

On the plus side, the drive thru Orlando on I-4 was almost relaxing around noon yesterday.

On the minus side, my Walmart shopping at midnight has been invaded by either sick people who think they're less likely to transmit to anyone by being in a smaller crowd, or healthy people trying to avoid the sick people from the normal shopping time. The lines at those two cash registers looked to long to buy ice cream.

hitbyambulance wrote: Sat Mar 14, 2020 12:41 am a friend's friend is a middle-school teacher who says her students have dubbed this pandemic 'the Boomer remover'

Harsh. We'll be gone soon enough without this.

This hasn't been confirmed yet, but I fear that my packy's spring beer tasting on 4/4 isn't going to happen. Shit's getting real.

All the schools around here are closed from now until the end of March at least. I wish the best of luck to all the parents out there who'll need to figure how to manage kids being out of school for weeks, I mean that non sarcastically. I'm hoping it's enough time because if April rolls around and new outbreaks are still being found then this isn't ending any time soon. We might see National Guard helicopters air dropping toilet paper in designated parts of town then they'll watch as people go all Hunger Games and fight over it.

Kraken wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:17 pm

Alefroth wrote: 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!"

While I was in the deli line, two strangers got into a friendly argument over whose home remedy is better. He says swallow a drink of water every 10 minutes to wash the virus into your belly. She says suck on zinc lozenges. I politely said

What a couple of idiots. Everyone knows you prevent COVID-19 with cocaine.

Just moved to a new state (SC!) and had to go to Walmart to buy basic new place supplies (e.g. trashcan, bath mat, etc.), so I am definitely getting the Coronavirus. Everyone in the store looked on the verge of death, although I suppose that might not be much different than what you see at Walmart when there isn't a pandemic.

We have moved past TP hoarding... This is 6 am local, after overnight restocking.

Nvidia's calling on gaming PC owners to put their systems to work fighting COVID-19

Nvidia is putting out a call to PC gamers everywhere to download the Folding@home application and start putting their spare clock cycles toward advancing humanity's scientific knowledge of coronavirus. The program links computers into an international network that uses distributed processing power to chew through massive computing tasks - something that gaming-grade GPUs are quite good at, as it turns out. You can still turn the application off and reclaim your GPU's full power for playing games whenever you want.

gameoverman wrote: Sat Mar 14, 2020 1:03 amI'm hoping it's enough time because if April rolls around and new outbreaks are still being found then this isn't ending any time soon.

From earlier

I'm now on mandatory telework indefinitely. Someone at Marshall has the virus, luckily not in a building I frequent.

AAR Trader Joes - NJ

Approached Trader Joes from the South. Traffic was light as usual for a Saturday morning. Parking lot appeared to be fuller than usual for Saturday opening. I had visual on store doors at opening. ~ 9 AM. Crowds were heavier than normal. Estimate 50% above normal. Store appeared well stocked with exception to the salty snacks which were largely cleared out. Fruits/vegetables/meats all appeared to be at near normal levels. However, there was evidence of current panic buying. One jamoke filled his cart with the remaining salty snack (seaweed bites). (Nutritionally useless and a bad value to boot). I was able to procure 2 packages of stew beef as mission parameters specified. I added in some keto fudge bites for the spouse and made to egress. I noticed several other people hoarding odd goods. One woman had put two gallons of milk in her cart, she made to move on, and saw other people piling in water and bread. She then clearly panicked and added in *4* more gallons of milk. Guess she is going to be freezing them. Bread was however well stocked and I thought about adding in a loaf to have a sandwich for lunch. Acted upon it. Total haul: ~2.5 lbs. of stew beef, one loaf of bread, and 1 package of keto bites. Total time in store: 5 minutes.

People will hoard anything. During my weekly beer stop Thursday afternoon, the guy in front of my bought 4 handles of Windsor. How long will it take you to drink all that shit whiskey? At least he held back and limited himself to 2 litres of 7-Up.

And just think...some day we're going to look back and say, "Those were the good times."