When is it time to panic

47th night straight of 13 hour shifts. Have not heard from my wife in a week, hoping she is up at her mother's but really have no clue.

Hope everyone is staying safe.

So an odd consequence of all the...  whatever this is:  The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation is asking the public to report stores that are enforcing a purchasing limit on milk.  Apparently, they're dumping days' worth of production into their "manure lagoon" (whatever that it is, it sounds downright unpleasant) because the stores have too much stock.  Restaurants aren't buying any milk, stores aren't selling enough of it, and the cows pretty much can't stop making it.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-dairy-farmers-are-having-to-dump-their-milk-while-some-grocery-stores-limit-purchase-quantities/32040910

Thanks to all for your concern. I am feeling somewhat better tonight, but will definitely call for help if it gets worse. I have local people who I will let what's going on. I will post updates daily. Again,thanks to all. This place is the greatest.

fasted58 said:

And now this little gem:

GRINDSTONE, Pa. (KDKA) — The Grindstone Volunteer Fire Department said that they found 100 people partying early Saturday morning while searching for a man assaulted in the woods.

When they initially searched for the man near Sherbondy Hollow, the department said they stumbled upon 100 young people having a drinking party. They said some people were passed out in vehicles laying on top of others while a few partiers were still partying and drinking when found at around 5 a.m. Saturday.

The young man was located and taken to a hospital. The department urged parents to prevent their children from going to parties like these so that their children follow social distancing guidelines.

How berkeleying great, I work in this area with many locals employed here. 

 

It's been a while (the weekend before St. Patrick's Day), but I was riding on mtn bike trails in northeast Philly and came across a group of at least 100 kids having a party in the woods. This was right when things were starting to get serious (I was only home that weekend because I had been sent home from NH due to a cough). The social distance recommendations had been advised. These kids didn't get the message...

In my own life, I now see nobody. No more riding with friends, just by myself.  I do work a normal week 8-9 hrs per day, so there's that. But even as an only child introvert, spending so much time alone with my radio during work and YouTube videos is starting to wear. 

This post is a long time coming. I've been searching for the words, making sure what I'm feeling is really what I'm feeling. How am I handling this as well as I am? The truth is that the feelings that you are having, the dread, anxiety, fear, doubt? That's been my life, my every waking moment, for the last 4 years. Every second. You never get used to to it, but you do accept it. The new normal.

Am I going to be able to pay the rent? Find someone on CraigsList selling insulin so I don't have to ration? Can I get the car fixed in the driveway so I can get to work tomorrow? Is work going sto E36 M3can me? Yeah, the new normal.

So when I see people, people who a while ago, seemingly had it all together, all figured out,  acting and feeling the way I have for years, I pause. Because all those awful new feelings and new realities you are trying to cope with? That's just a Tuesday for me.

wae (Forum Supporter) said:

So an odd consequence of all the...  whatever this is:  The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation is asking the public to report stores that are enforcing a purchasing limit on milk.  Apparently, they're dumping days' worth of production into their "manure lagoon" (whatever that it is, it sounds downright unpleasant) because the stores have too much stock.  Restaurants aren't buying any milk, stores aren't selling enough of it, and the cows pretty much can't stop making it.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-dairy-farmers-are-having-to-dump-their-milk-while-some-grocery-stores-limit-purchase-quantities/32040910

Sam's club in Hagerstown MD was limiting milk to a single gallon about a week ago. Typically I buy 3-4 gallons as we have a large family (1 adult son & 4 minor children at home) which lasts us about 2 weeks, unless we do baking (oops - everyone's home, so yes) etc. Even breakfast cereal can wipe out a gallon a day easy. 

As of Wednesday night (I think) I had unrestricted purchase of milk here in PA and did get 3 gallons. We were down to our last gallon. 

Oddly, one of the local shortages is ice cream - maybe some of the dairy production can be redirected thataway?

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

It's been a while (the weekend before St. Patrick's Day), but I was riding on mtn bike trails in northeast Philly and came across a group of at least 100 kids having a party in the woods. This was right when things were starting to get serious (I was only home that weekend because I had been sent home from NH due to a cough). The social distance recommendations had been advised. These kids didn't get the message...

In my own life, I now see nobody. No more riding with friends, just by myself.  I do work a normal week 8-9 hrs per day, so there's that. But even as an only child introvert, spending so much time alone with my radio during work and YouTube videos is starting to wear. 

A lot of kids / young adults still believe they are invincible because nothing has happened to them or someone close to them. 

"The cheapest education you can get is learning from the experience of others"

In reply to Appleseed :

I know it's just words on the other end of a keyboard to you, but please let us know anything we can do to help.

Agreed that anxiety is on the rise everywhere and "what's the worst that could happen" is not how most people are used to living. But sometimes I find the considering "the worst that could happen" and realizing that while it may truly SUCK, it's not likely to kill me (or worse, one of my kids). OK then, I can survive this and take a step forward, however much it hurts. 

With the current situation, the likelihood is that we will have families with their parents (grandparents even) outliving their children. Which puts me in the position of "how can I mitigate risk?" because that's at the top of my list.

I don't know what the top of your list is. I have seen some of your posts previously and struggled to answer in a way that would be positive and helpful. Maybe that's not necessary. Maybe knowing that we hear you and empathize is enough. But dang it, I FIX stuff. I want to be helpful. And yet, when you read this, it's just words on a screen to you. 

Just know that:

 - We do hear you. 
 - More people than you realize read your posts and do truly care and want the best for you. 
 - Without being physically near you to get "in your business" in person, it's really hard to know what you need at any given time. Help us help you as much as you can and let us know what you need. Please!

glueguy said:

93EXCivic said:

I just moved to working from home mostly. I have to go in order to prep samples for testing and put together prototypes if needed. But my boss asked that unless I am using machining equipment to come in on off hours if possible.

 

We also do lab work and social distance and reduced labor goes against safety practices.  If you're there off hours, think twice and be more careful if there are less people to check on you when you're doing risky work.

 

 

Yeah I was told not to use electrical equipment or machine tools on off hours unless someone was there. Fortunately most of the samples just need filling with pitch which is hot and can hurt but not do any real damage. 

preach said:

47th night straight of 13 hour shifts. Have not heard from my wife in a week, hoping she is up at her mother's but really have no clue.

 

Hope everyone is staying safe.

Hang in there. We're pulling for you. 

I was thinking the other day about all those nasty lists people share on social media.  You know the ones showing how many people die of all the other causes trying to play down C-19 and usually have a political spin to them.  And to be fair, we do lose a lot of people to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and all the rest.   But those are baseline, the normal that humans are used to.   Since C-19 is new it's scaring people and the reaction to it has been unprecedented (in many ways good and bad).

So what I see is that the current wave of virus spreads through the population over the next few months.  Most of us will get it, for most it won't be bad, for some it will suck, and for (statistically) a few it will be fatal.  We may develop a vaccine in time.  We should develop a natural resistance if we survive our bouts of the virus.

And in a couple of years, people will still die of this one, the genie is out of the bottle and loose among us.  In 2 years C-19 will just be another entry on those lists, killing more people annually than diabetes but less than heart disease.

In reply to KyAllroad (Jeremy) (Forum Supporter) :

I would not say it's just scaring people.  The other ways that people have died over the years- the system is currently capable of dealing with it.  By that, the healthcare system does not get overwhelmed by any of those other ways of dying.

The closest to overwhelming systems is when there's a massive attack on something OR the flu is really, really bad- but even that is very localized.

This is actually overwhelming healthcare systems all around the world at the same time.  And in many places, it has not come close to the peak.

So there's really no good comparison to any other way of dying until you go back 100 years to the Spanish Flu outbreak.

In reply to alfadriver (Forum Supporter) :

Unfortunately, I fear the US is still in the early stages and is nowhere even close to the peak yet.  But boy would I love to be wrong.

I also fear the numbers we do know are incomplete.  While I trust the case numbers from the more developed and open countries, I don't trust the numbers coming out of China, Russia or even India at all. It may be a number of years before we really know how bad C-19 turns out to be.

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

True.  Not just the actual numbers, but long term effects on the body, ala chicken pox and shingles.

I don't know if it's been mentioned in this thread already, but instead of the annual auto show in Detroit, the tcf Center (formerly COBO hall) is being converted into a hospital since all the usual places to attempt clinging to life are full in the region.  Cancer, heart disease, drug OD  and the rest of the usual killers don't erase the middle age guy who was at work last week and had just passed a physical.  Cancer doesn't take hundreds of police off the street in a single city over the course of a couple weeks.  That is what is happening now.   That is why people are afraid.  Any one of us could.be gone next week.  Some of those who pull through are going to have to adjust to a life of diminished lung capacity.  Anyone trying to down play this is dangerously ignorant at best.

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I agree with you regarding incomplete numbers. I know the multiple of anecdote isn't data, but my BIL is in CA, has a long history of respiratory illnesses, lots of other health issues, is showing symptoms and can't get tested.

Daughter of a colleague of my wife's is a nurse who's had some other health issues very recently, is also apparently showing symptoms, can't get tested.

Just checking in. So far it hasn't gotten worse. I only cough if I try to take a deep breath. Showing signs of mild fever, headache, loss of appetite and overall malaise. I guess we'll know in a few days if this is just going to be the mild form. Just for reference, I'm 74, but in very good health and basically never get sick. 

This is starting to get weird.
I cut the cable, so now everything I watch is on my schedule.
I'm working from home, so as long as I hit deadlines I'm good.
Every store I go to has the same hours every day of the week.
Everything is starting to blend and blur and it is berkeleying with my head.
Trash day is the only thing allowing me to keep a grip on my sanity.

I thought this was cool

JoeyM said:

I thought this was cool

 

The local SCCA crowd did something similar for a 6 yo in town. Everyone took their race/autocross cars and did a parade past his house. 

Toyman01 (Forum Supporter) said:

JoeyM said:

I thought this was cool

 

The local SCCA crowd did something similar for a 6 yo in town. Everyone took their race/autocross cars and did a parade past his house. 

That's really classy.  I should email some of the guys in my street rod club and see if there is a similar opportunity.

My wife organized the teachers at the elementary school she teaches at by grade and they went in cars and drove by every students house and honked, waved, and told them they missed them and loved them 

In reply to Greg Smith (Forum Supporter) :

In an obtuse way, the 4 years of swimming in E36 M3 have prepared me (inadvertently) for this exact situation.  I'm hacking it and able to cope. I do feel bad for others, because nobody should have to deal with this E36 M3. Ever.

In reply to Appleseed :

Thanks for sharing all that.

Anxiety is a mother... Had my first bout with it a couple years ago and it sucks mightily. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Watched a talk and one fellow described it as "That feeling you get when you fall and you're about to hit the ground only instead of lasting a second, it lasts for months". That's exactly it.

I've been feeling a lot better lately but I think it's because I have something new to worry about instead of all the usual crap I worry about. 

In reply to ShawnG :

100%