TheCG

I don't remember the TB test being that bad, but I also didn't think the COVID test was that bad.  I have a pretty high pain tolerance.  I think I had the TB test shortly after the same camp that I sprained my ankle while wearing hiking books by wrapping it around the metal plate in the sidewalk - and still walked to the dining hall and back, and didn't go to sick call until the next morning (I was told my options were suck it up or have them call an ambulance).

My thinking is, if you can make an effective vaccine for a coronavirus, why don't we have one for the common cold?

33 minutes ago, Annarchy said:

This one is smaller: https://www.wayfair.com/outdoor/pdp/presto-indoor-electric-smoker-pto10110.html?piid=

That's the one I've been looking at.

2 hours ago, David Austin said:

I have found a site for you. Click here to check. Your favourite Electric smoker. 

Nope, I'm looking at the small type that I can literally set on the stove with the fan going.  Too hot out here to be doing it outside during the summer.

I've been seeing this going around: https://www.yourbasin.com/news/study-these-are-the-six-covid-19-symptom-clusters-to-watch-for/

Quote

Here are the six clusters of symptoms outlined in the study, according to CBS News:

1. Flu-like with no fever: Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.
2. Flu-like with fever: Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.
3. Gastrointestinal: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.
4. Severe Level 1, fatigue: Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.
5. Severe Level 2, confusion: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain.
6. Severe Level 3, abdominal and respiratory: Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.

I'm looking at an electric smoker from Presto that looks like an oversized crockpot.

We just received the options through our school district for next year.  In person or online, with the ability to switch at the end of each 6 weeks.

I think...we'll stick with the virtual schooling we'd already looked at.  I imagine going through an established system would be better organized than the frantic rush I'm sure is happening in the local school district to figure things out.

Our church is doing every other row, then sanitizing and switching rows for the second service.  They are doing Sunday school, but very spread out.  Still doing an online service as well, pre-recorded, because they can't get the one part we need to be able to livestream.

2 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Parts of Ohio (7 counties) says a mask is mandatory anywhere in public. So they set up a hotline to turn people in who aren't wearing one. This weekend over 500 calls came in turning in people in just in my county alone. Sigh. Reminds me of the old "See something, say something" days. 

 

Do people really just want to get other people in trouble? Are they just bored? Want to feel superior to someone? Do they think it's their patriotic duty? We are headed toward 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.

 

Since this weekend Ohio has added 6 more counties to the mandated mask list. I

The wording of the Governor's order in Texas makes it where people can make a strong case for masks not being mandatory as long as you can maintain the 6' distances.  

1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

Wow TheCG. Just wow. Thanks for the report. 

 

If you can't find balls to juggle, you might try in the ironing, clothes hangers, laundry basket aisle. They have those felted dryer balls. About the right size. Don't know if they are heavy enough though. Then again, you might want something soft if you are just starting out.They are a pretty good size and I think mine came in a two pack for about $5.00. 

I found a pack of 4 hacky sacks for $2 in the party aisle. :-)

Went to Walmart today.  Was looking for juggling balls (don't ask), so I was over in the toys and sporting goods.

They took out the bike racks.  Like, there's a gaping hole there, and they haven't refilled it with anything yet.

Somebody posted this in another forum I'm in: https://www.dhs.gov/publication/st-master-question-list-covid-19

Updated July 7.  Gave the link to the page that contains the PDF as the PDF link will change when they update it.  Seems like a good source for information.  Still going through it all.

Going to add random quotes I find interesting to this post as I find them.  Doesn't necessarily mean I agree with them.  Bolding is probably mine.  Blue is theirs.

Quote

• Most symptomatic COVID-19 cases are mild (81%, n=44,000 cases).461 Initial COVID-19 symptoms include fever (87.9%

  overall, but only 44-52% present with fever initially),18, 184 cough (67.7%),184 fatigue, shortness of breath, headache, and reduced lymphocyte count.77, 84, 206 Chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell378, 529 are also possible COVID-19 symptoms.77 The prevalence of GI symptoms varies.163 Neurological symptoms such as agitation,198 loss of coordination,317 and stroke474 may present with COVID-19, may be more common in severe cases,112 and neurological involvement (e.g., encephalitis) can be seen in brain tissue on autopsy.478 Ocular issues520 and skin lesions may also be symptoms of COVID-19.47 There are concerns that COVID-19 can lead to new-onset diabetes.

Quote

0. In a 35-year study of 10 men, immunity to seasonal coronaviruses tended to wane after one year, with reductions in circulating antibodies detectable within 6 months.137 Reinfection was observed between one and three years after initial infection.137

   • Previous studies on coronavirus immunity suggest that neutralizing antibodies may wane after several years.

Quote

• Deaths due to COVID-19 are underreported. In New York City, up to 5,293 (22%) of period-specific excess deaths are

  unexplained and could be related to the pandemic.362 More work is needed. COVID-19 related deaths in the US were likely

  underestimated by up to 35% in March through late April.510

Quote

• Modeling indicates that COVID-19 is likely to become endemic in the US population, with regular, periodic outbreaks, and that additional social or physical distancing measures may be required for several years to keep cases below critical care capacity in absence of a vaccine or effective therapeutic.239 Results depend on the duration of immunity after exposure.

Quote

SARS-CoV-2 can persist on surfaces for at least 3 days and on the surface of a surgical mask for up to 7 days depending on conditions. If aerosolized intentionally, SARS-CoV-2 is stable for at least several hours. The seasonality of COVID-19 transmission is unknown. SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces is inactivated rapidly with sunlight.

Standard practice in our area is to keep your mask on your dashboard.  I wonder if the windshield blocks the rays that inactivate it?

Quote

• SARS-CoV-2 persists for less than 3 days within the pages of library books, and for less than 1 day on the exterior of book and DVD covers.2

Quote

• Experimental studies using SARS-CoV-2 aerosols (1.78-1.96 μm mass median aerodynamic diameter in artificial saliva matrix) found that simulated sunlight rapidly inactivates the virus, with 90% reductions in infectious concentration after 6 minutes in high-intensity sunlight (similar to mid-June) and 19 minutes in low-intensity sunlight (similar to early March or October).428 In dark conditions, the half-life of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 is approximately 86 minutes in simulated saliva matrix.428 Humidity had no significant impact on aerosolized virus survival.428

Quote

• SARS-CoV-2 has an aerosol half-life of 2.7 hours (particles <5 μm, tested at 21-23°C and 65% RH).471

• Research suggests SARS-CoV-2 retains infectivity as an aerosol for up to 16 hours in appropriate conditions (23°C, 53% RH,

  no sunlight).150

• SARS-CoV-2 is susceptible to heat treatment (70°C) but can persist for at least two weeks at refrigerated temperatures

  (4°C).99, 393

• SARS-CoV-2 genetic material (RNA) was detected in symptomatic and asymptomatic cruise ship passenger rooms up to 17

  days after cabins were vacated. The infectiousness of this material is not known.345

Quote

Oral antiseptic rinses used in pre-procedural rinses for dentistry containing povidone-iodine (PVP-I) are effective

decontaminants of SARS-CoV-2, with 15-sec and 30-sec contact times completely inactivating SARS-CoV-2 at

concentrations above 0.5% in lab tests.40

Quote

• A study suggests that P100 respirators with removable filter cartridges have similar filtration efficiency compared to N95

  respirators and could plausibly be used if N95 respirators were in short supply. The study used an experimental setup with

  aerosolized simulant, not human testing.377

• Particular care should be taken with “duckbill” N95 respirators, which may fail fit tests after repeated doffing.123 Dome-

  shaped N95 respirators also failed fit tests after extended use.123

Quote

• The efficacy of homemade PPE, made with T-shirts, bandanas, or similar materials, is less than standard PPE, but may offer some protection if no other options are available.102, 117, 399 The filtering efficiency of homemade mask materials is variable. Some non-standard materials (e.g., cotton, cotton hybrids) may be able to filter out >90% of simulant particles >0.3μm,242 while other materials (e.g., T-shirt, vacuum cleaner bag, towels) appear to have lower filtration efficacy (~35-62%).484 Of 42 homemade materials tested, the three with the greatest filtration efficiencies were layered cotton with raised visible fibers,541 though homemade materials were not as effective as surgical or N95 masks.

Again, these are just things I found interesting, not necessarily things that I like or agree with.

Random thing we learned with the kid who used to throw up on every single long car ride and half the short ones:  Those big plastic gas station cups?   If you buy them, keep them.  They're big enough for mouth and nose to fit in when somebody throws up, keeps it contained without splattering like a bowl might, and can be kept right next to somebody so they can grab it quickly.  The kid mastered the art around the age of 6 or 7.  We bought them JUST to keep in the car (same price as with a drink, but useful enough we didn't care).  If you're out and about, baby wipes to wipe off the face and a gallon-sized ziplock to put the cup in until you can chunk it.

Before that, we used the plastic bibs that had the tray at the bottom, water bottles (to rinse off things on the side of the road), baby wipes (to wipe off kid, car seat, etc.), paper towels (to dry things after being rinsed off), and gallon-sized plastic bags (because if I had to smell it until we got to the next trash can, there might be 2 messes to clean up).

Went to sleep after midnight. Woke up at 5:53.  Worked out, watered the garden, added some more mulch to some of the pots and to the trees, played video games for about an hour.  About to work on the program I have on planning out your life while drinking my coffee.  4 hours after I got up...and hubby's still asleep.  Ah well, I need my quiet time, and that's a good way to get it. 

Maybe I need to talk to hubby about me doing cyclical keto until we're ready to jump right in, or at least not eating all the crap I was eating.  But, somebody is going to have to eat the taco meat in the freezer that's mixed with lentils - I'm pretty certain I'm feeling better because I haven't been eating anything with much nightshades at all, hubby hates beans, and the kids...well, they might eat some of it.  I've been feeling a LOT better the last few days, to the point that I've actually exercised 2 days in a row.  That's a major accomplishment for me!  

I am very happy that I was set up as a customer with Butcher Box and kept a decent stash before any of this hit.  The only thing I had problems getting from them was chicken.  We could still get beef and pork without a problem.

The only things I'm still seeing an issue getting in the stores are the random things that I don't think about documenting.  I tend to be looking for very specific brand-name items due to everything having to be gluten-free.  For a bit, we couldn't find the bread we like (but we had a small stash, and I keep 2 bags of bread mix for the bread maker just in case).  There are things that I don't know if they can't get them or if they just stopped carrying them (Nature's Hollow Sugar-Free Honey is one thing I was looking for on my last trip).

In other news, I started keto again and made it 3 days...because when talking about starting after we eat through some of the stuff in the house, hubby used the word WE.  As in, when WE start.  I can handle that.

On 7/10/2020 at 2:46 PM, Midnightmom said:

 

I'm sorry, but I don't get the question. 

It's from this.  Brought up a LOT of questions regarding the differences society allows in male-on-female violence versus female-on-male violence.  Short story: Best friends, one marries an abusive jerk who puts her in the ICU AFTER she gets a restraining order, so they decide he has to go.

108

109

110

105

101

That's the next 5 days.  We're not supposed to have a high under 100 until Tuesday, July 21.

I'm going to have to actively work on not melting.  And water the garden.  I should water the garden...

We have something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/Portable-RAVPower-20000mAh-External-Nintendo/dp/B0829V9V7C/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=jackery+powerbar&qid=1594316927&sr=8-2

It'll recharge my 15" MacBook Pro about 75% if it's off.  No idea how many times it'll recharge a phone, because I've never used it for that.  I bought it before I went to a conference last year just to make absolutely sure my computer wouldn't die when I needed it (I used it to take all my notes!).

This is why I PDF things if they have really good information: https://www.drbrownstein.com/there-is-still-hope-out-there........and-we-are-taking-time-out-to-re-group/

All of his blogs have now been taken down.

Starting low carb again.  I think my brain is convinced that if it tells me I'm not hungry for long enough, I'll go cook some rice.  Punk.

Had an AC guy out on Monday.  He said that it might help if we add another air return before trying to upsize the unit, so he came out and added another air return right above the old one.  

My sinuses are acting up.  I was running a temp yesterday, so didn't go into the office for a meeting.  Fine most of today, but a definite headache tonight.  I might go to bed pretty soon (and it's only 6:20 pm).  I supposed I should at least wait until hubby gets home - he said around 6:30.

On 7/6/2020 at 9:36 PM, Jeepers said:

And finally, I had downloaded a free book a month or so ago and it isn't compatible with Kindle. Don't know why because it was a Kindle book from the Amazon site. Anyway, I forgot to delete it. I ran across it the other night and it opened right up on the Kindle Fire. 

I can answer that one!  Some books won't work on basic Kindles because of the formatting or even videos embedded.  I have several textbooks that I can read using the Kindle app on my computer or iPad, but NOT on my Kindle Paperwhite.

Our Staples has them on clearance for something like $7 each right now, if you haven't gotten one yet.

On 7/1/2020 at 2:18 PM, Midnightmom said:

 

Just in case anyone here STILL thinks this was Trump's "fault"......

It turns out that the wife used the President's announcement to murder her husband and throw police off of the scent by saying they were "following the President's advice." 

 

Woman Who Blamed Trump after Giving Her Husband Fish-Tank Cleaner Now Under Investigation for Murder

...does Wanda have a friend named MaryAnn?