????Swiss chocolate makers are offering major price cuts as Easter sales slump and shoppers scoop up essential food over tinfoil bunnies.
More @business: https://t.co/mT0lacujiK #GoodFriday pic.twitter.com/5YA4TMX3Pw
— QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) April 10, 2020
A new crew has blasted off to the International Space Station. Referring to #Coronavirus ahead of the launch, cosmonaut Anatoli Ivanishin suggested that “for the next few months the space station is the safest place to be.” pic.twitter.com/kO3qHJSHpd
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) April 9, 2020
The historic Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy, will be closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the voice of famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli will echo through the cathedral on Easter during a special audience-free, livestreamed concert. https://t.co/M7WuTQI0x8
— CNN (@CNN) April 11, 2020
Trump’s new group will be called the Opening the Country Task Force, possibly because “Profiteers Unlimited” didn’t test well with the focus groups. https://t.co/FrmpLTxBL1
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) April 10, 2020
Trump wants the coming confrontation on opening the economy. He knows this year will be a disaster. If he pushes for “opening” but the states resist, he can blame the recession and the worsening unemployment on them, can say it would’ve been better if only they listened to him.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) April 10, 2020
debbie
Because of course. All Trump knows is trickery and deceit.
Starfish
In the category of family COVID-19 musicals, I really liked this one by a 16yo and his mom. I just love the look on his mom’s face.
Dorothy A. Winsor
An ambulance and fire truck just pulled onto the property here. It’s not unusual to see them. There are old people here after all. But under the current circumstances, it makes nervous.
Baud
Great insight. I never would have guessed Trump would blame other people for his failures.
Immanentize
“Even in the most ardent pacifist lies the potential to perform acts of astounding violence.”
OzarkHillbilly
I hope his confidence in their virus free state is not misplaced, else wise the space station could be the worst place to be.
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Past experience argues otherwise.
Baud
@OzarkHillbilly:
Otherwise?
debbie
@OzarkHillbilly:
Gotta love that tweet in one of the COVID threads about Russia suggesting that their “doping problem” be set aside because of the pandemic. Almost makes me think that Russia made the virus, not China. //
OzarkHillbilly
@Baud: Yeah, sorry. Past experience argues against him being blameless. I’ve already drank a pot of coffee, maybe I just didn’t get enough sleep.
NotMax
Knowing some folks have expressed trouble sleeping well (or much at all) prompts bringing up another mention that if you have Prime video, go to the search function there and type in the word ambient.
You’ll be presented with a list of choices of relaxing audio to fall asleep by. Things like gentle rains or other nature sounds. Some darken the screen to near black, others accompanied by soothing images. Almost all included free with Prime.
On occasion have made use of the sounds of a distant thunderstorm, which runs for nine hours.
germy
ThresherK
@OzarkHillbilly: My wife and I were thinking of every sci-fi show which has the “disease in outer space” episode, and I think that’s a common trope.
Spoiler alert: They don’t all end up killing invading Martians like in War of the Worlds.
germy
Immanentize
@ThresherK: Welle’s Martians = Native Americans in reverse.
germy
Jinchi
There’s no “if”. Trump has never needed an excuse to blame anyone for his failures.
OzarkHillbilly
They must be running low on vodka in Russia.
Just in case anyone was confused.
ThresherK
@Immanentize: Interesting take, but, unlike humans v. Martians, the white man’s regular weapons proved damn effective against the indigenous people.
A Ghost to Most
@Immanentize:
germy
Amir Khalid
@debbie:
You wouldn’t let a five-year-old get away with an argument like that. Russia doesn’t deserve to be let off the hook.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I have a seamstress-made mask, but it’s quite thick and I find it hot and hard to breathe in. Is that the mask or me?
OzarkHillbilly
@ThresherK: Smallpox was the weapon that won the west.
Jean
At Walgreen’s, I asked if they were ever going to restock thermometers again, and I was told that they’d been recalled because too many people were taking their temperatures and going to the hospital with suspected fevers. WTH??
Immanentize
Yesterday I had a teleconf with my Doc. I’m fine, I was due for a check in, but we did it over the phone. He had a very tough day and called about an hour after my appointment.
After going over my stuff — I’m fine! He got to the business of the call.
1). Update your Health Care Proxy, Power of Attorney and DNR forms!
2). Fill out a new advanced directive form which indicates whether, if you get Covid, you want to go to a hospital at all or stay home to fight the disease.
John S.
@NotMax: People should try watching the The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. If a few minutes of him painting happy little trees doesn’t soothe a person to sleep, I don’t know what will. I know it works for me and my wife.
A word of warning: it is habit forming.
Immanentize
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Yes it is.
Immanentize
@John S.: I love Bob Ross and so does the Immp. We even have the Bob Ross board game which is pretty good.
But what is it about his pinky coke finger nail? Always distracts me from total enjoyment.
germy
@John S.: What I enjoy about watching Bob Ross is when he first puts some blob on a painting, and I wonder “what the hell is he doing? What is that?” and then flick flick flick it becomes a cliff or a seagull or something.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
About the Duomo in Milan. It’s actually not a great place to hear concerts, though they do have a lot there. We listened to a string quartet concert when we were there, and the echo was so bad that it was basically unlistenable if you weren’t in the first few rows of seats. It’s cool to be there, but doesn’t really work as a concert hall.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Steak-umms Social Media Coordinator for President
The Proper Role of Science, the irrelevance of anecdotal data, and the threat posed by disinformation.
Nicole
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Of course it would. Every time my husband comes from the bedroom/now temporary office and says, “hey”- I’m expecting it to be news about someone else we know or are adjacent to who has died. There are more than a few this week, and some people we know personally are really sick.
Although I don’t know that I think they’re all that effective, we’ve been covering our mouths and noses when we go out- scarves, mostly, since that’s all we had- but yesterday, on my way to pick up a prescription, I saw the local hardware store had a scrawled sign in the window saying “MASKS LIMITED QUANTITIES CASH ONLY.” So I bought 3 of the kind with a little wire to shape over you nose, for $6 each. What struck me was it was the first time I’d handled cash in almost a month. As they are one of the little independent stores on the avenue, too, I couldn’t be too grumpy about the price gouging. I considered it a small business donation.
Nicole
@John S.: We JUST introduced our 9-year-old to The Joy of Painting two weeks ago, and he loooooooves it. I’m enjoying watching it, too, which makes me laugh because back in its original run in the 1980s-1990s, teenage me thought it was boring as fuck. My kid has more sense than his mom did. ;)
Chyron HR
Not out it worked out for the astronauts in World War Z.
germy
Immanentize
@Nicole: Nice score!
Matt McIrvin
@ThresherK: Apollo 7 got hit by a simple common cold and it caused so much friction between the astronauts and Mission Control that none of them ever flew again. If COVID-19 hit a space mission it could easily kill everyone on board even they get “mild” cases, and the incubation period combined with the false-negative rate on testing really isn’t reassuring. I hope these people have been in quarantine a long time.
germy
@Jean:
Kristine
@NotMax: Thanks for this tip. Sometimes the quiet is too quiet.
debbie
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Mine is pretty light (got it on etsy). I’m trying to decide if I should wash it before wearing it. I’m afraid I’ll lose the pleats and I’ll be damned if I’ll start ironing it.
germy
Kristine
@OzarkHillbilly: They just forgot. Like they forgot about Crimea.
debbie
@Immanentize:
My doctor let me know (less than 24 hours before my appointment!) that she had switched over to tele-appointments for the next month. Works for me; less expense.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Nicole: Since there are so many people making them out of bandannas, I assume scarves are also fine. Cloth apparently is enough to stop the droplets that are the carriers in the air around other people. It’s recommended that you wash them after being outside.
Masks still aren’t standard wear for people walking around the neighborhood, like us. But we have an order of bandannas that should be here today and we’re probably going to start.
Surprised to hear about using cash. I still have every penny that was in my pockets on Mar. 10. I thought people were afraid of handling cash, with good reason.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
debbie
@John S.:
And then they need to watch this montage of his followers.
Matt McIrvin
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: They’ll stop the LARGE droplets, at least. Small ones that can be carried easily on air currents might get around the edges of any cloth mask.
But the point of these simple masks isn’t complete protection–it’s to make any dent in that viral reproduction rate that we can make. Anything (used wisely) is better than nothing, even if it’d be a joke by medical-practitioner standards. The only exception I could see would be a mask that is so uncomfortable or slips so often that it drives the wearer to touch it frequently.
Amir Khalid
@Jean:
Was it because the home thermometers falsely reported fever temps, or was it bevause they correctly reported fever temps?
WereBear
@Jean: what a…Republican… Way of handling it.
raven
@debbie: I’d done several with Live Health before this hit. You just login, get an MD and they can write you a script. I have an upcoming visit with my GP online as well and it works well. I did go in to see a sports med doc this week and it felt pretty safe but most of the people were in the ortho section not the sports med.
Amir Khalid
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I can’t speak for you guys, but my debit card resides in the same grubby old wallet as my cash. So I don’t know that using the card reduces risk of contagion.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: You mean extra long? Back in the late 70s I worked with a couple of Iranians who had the fingernail. They told me it is for scratching itches.
germy
@rikyrah: Good morning.
Will the Mirror on America blog ever come back?
Scout211
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Yes, two layers of high thread-count material will feel thick. At first it feels like you can’t get enough air, but you do eventually get used to it. Try wearing your mask at home for an increasing amount of time daily so you can get used to breathing with the mask on. Hopefully, this will help.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Immanentize: We have all the proxy forms, etc, but not the one specific to COVID.
And I’m glad you’re fine!
debbie
@raven:
Glad there’s an alternative. I was a bit nervous about this appointment because I’ve picked up a virus or two over the years after an office visit. Plus, I’m fine with it because I get to avoid a monthly blood test. Gotta love the lack of a 24-hour notice, though.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Scout211: Thanks.
JPL
@Immanentize: I signed a few blank checks for the sons also. Just in case they have to take care of bills. Since they are both employed they did think that a bit much.
JMG
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
JPL
@JMG: hmmm You have a bank machine that spits out tens?
Citizen_X
@Matt McIrvin: Astronauts & cosmonauts have to be tested & be in quarantine for 2 weeks before any mission.
debbie
@JPL:
Chase ATMs spit $5, $10, and $20.
rikyrah
@Jean:
order one from Amazon.
DropDminus
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I haven’t had a steak umm in probably 25 years. That might have to change this week. That is remarkable as both an insightful thread and a very effective and subtle pr tactic. Suddenly I’m willing to suffer the inevitable adult consequences of eating one of the foods of my childhood just to give them a hat tip. Well done steak-umm guy.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
@germy:
As I’ve noted, the people who will benefit on these programs aren’t us.
rikyrah
My sister’s birthday is coming up. She is an essential worker. So, she hasn’t seen her granddaughter in weeks.?
I want to send her some actual books. She doesn’t like the ebook thing. Anyone know of a book retailer that isn’t Amazon?
rikyrah
@germy:
Yes, why don’t they have masks to hand out????
rikyrah
@Immanentize:
???
rikyrah
@NotMax:
thanks for the info?
Gbbalto
@rikyrah: Powell’s Books needs the business. Union shop, too.
Eta: Portland OR
rikyrah
@germy:
Doctor was Black.
there is your reason?
delk
@rikyrah: The Book Cellar
Dorothy A. Winsor
@rikyrah: Indiebound. It’s an association of independent bookstores.
JMG
@JPL: It’s BoA and they have an option to choose bill denominations in the withdrawal.
SFAW
Apropos of nothing in particular:
Last night, the Jeopardy! College Tournament had a contestant from Liberty University. [Mrs. SFAW wondered why I uttered “Fuuck,” when I saw that, until I explained.]
Fortunately, the contestant was pretty useless; she got a lot of the Bible questions/answers correct, but not much else.
rikyrah
@Gbbalto:
Thanks
just ordered her some books?
JPL
@JMG: I have an USAA card and they refund fees so BOA would be an option. Thank you so much for the info.
rikyrah
@germy:
No. Done with that blog.
BellyCat
Here is a decent article from the FTFNYT on mask materials.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-homemade-mask-material-DIY-face-mask-ppe.html
Jean
@Amir Khalid: That was not explained. It just sounded extremely odd to me.
Tenar Arha
@rikyrah: I don’t know where you live, but Papercuts in JP in MA is a local bookstore (& publisher) that has an online shop.
ETA ugh typoed my nym
Tenar Arha
@rikyrah:I don’t know where you live, but Papercuts in JP in MA; is a local bookstore (& publisher) that has an online shop.
ETA ugh typoed my nym
ETA 2 I’m sorry I cannot link on my phone properly (Please just google if they’re convenient for you)
SFAW
@Tenar Arha:
Thanks for the tip. I don’t live near JP, but sometimes visit a cousin there, so maybe I’ll look for it.
germy
this thread disappeared and then reappeared.
germy
Interesting thread about the union struggles over at TYT:
Immanentize
@OzarkHillbilly: And you believed them?
Tenar Arha
@SFAW: they’re not open rn (& they’re apparently fundraising too bc this hit them at the worst time, just after a move) but they have an online shopping link.
leeleeFL
@Baud: Truthfully, as long as we don’t wind up fu—ng up all the good that’s been done, I don’t give a flyin’ f— if he blames it on me, personally, and Steve King comes and camps out in Sunny Flori-dah in front of my apartment. If too many innocents die from stupidity, the economy is in the crapper anyway.
Ruckus
The dumbest dog I ever had was smarter than trump. And he was a dumbass. Still a lot smarter than trump.
He could learn really simple stuff, but would forget it in hours.
And have to be completely retaught.
Still smarter, still a better animal than trump and he chewed up stuff.
Even his mom was caught shaking her head at him on occasion and gave up after a year of trying to teach him how to be a good dog.
He never actively tried to kill people, because he was smarter than trump, but he also wasn’t the devil’s dildo, actively trying to fuck everyone else on the planet out of their ability to live.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: Powell’s – I think they have a Chicago branch, too, in Hyde Park, that specializes in scholarly books – I remember a deliriously happy shopping trip there decades ago when I still lived in Chicago.
AbeBooks is another one if you’re looking for used or rare
ETA: I see I’m not the only one to recommend Powell’s – of course not! : )
@Ruckus: OMG, now “the devil’s dildo” is an image I can never, never unsee. Curse yoouuuu!
Another Scott
@Miss Bianca: Abe Books is owned by Amazon, if that’s important to prospective purchasers. (Amazon owns a lot of stuff, but they’re generally upfront about it (see the bottom of the main Amazon page).)
Cheers,
Scott.
Ruckus
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I live in a senior apt complex. 55 and up. My 73 yr old next door neighbor died on Thursday, just his time. Tuesday noon till 4am Wednesday the paramedics were here, parked in front of my place 3 times, twice for the same woman and once for my next door neighbor.
Ruckus
@Miss Bianca:
You are welcome. I do my best to please…..
Ruckus
@germy:
I’d bet those extremists in the rethuglican party don’t see his “leadership” as bad. There may be more than one reason they have stood behind trump. In the first place, they are republicans. They’ve had over 3 yrs to see who he is. I’m considering that anyone who is still a republican and a trump supporter to be pure fucking evil. They want the world to shit on them so they support the best candidate for that job. Their stupidity is that they think they will gain from this support.
a thousand flouncing lurkers was fidelio
@rikyrah: You could take a look at Bookshop.com—it’s a consortium of local bookstores. https://bookshop.org/pages/about
StringOnAStick
The demographics of who is dying is a RW dream come true. POC’s? The white supremacist groups are thrilled. Old people? The investors types are happy to see the useless eaters thinned out. People on the lower end of the economic spectrum? Eh, too many of them as it is and they tend to vote the wrong way when we can’t stop them from voting. Babs Bush’s comment about how a disaster is working out well for them still holds true but this time the roles are reversed.
This extremely cynical take makes it clear that the current federal response isn’t just incompetence. It struck me that the day the Vector in Chief decided to suddenly pay closer attention is when some evil prick , likely Miller, pointed out that an ongoing pandemic could be used to really corrupt the election; what just happened in Wisconsin later confirmed that. Of course he’s so unable to hold onto a single idea that he’s pinballing from knowing they can rig a version of Wisconsin in enough places to win to demanding things reopen to save “his” perfect economy (too late there, Donnie Dumbass). We have to crush him and his party, 2020 is our last possible moment.
joel hanes
@OzarkHillbilly:
Smallpox was the weapon that won the west.
Measles may have killed over half the pre-contact Natives before 1600.
James E Powell
@Ruckus:
Every day he is on TV saying hateful things and making the libtards angry. This is exactly what those a holes voted for.
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@ThresherK: Far more died from germs than from guns and swords.
SFAW
@Tenar Arha:
Thanks, bookmarked it and subscribed. Not doing any purchases these days, but it’s good they also have audiobooks and e-books.