"When stupidity is
considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent." ― Isaac
Asimov
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way
through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false
notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as
your knowledge.'” ― Isaac Asimov
So it seems that everyone is posting their
ideas and steps / procedures regarding staying safe and healthy
regarding keeping the corona virus (nothing to do with the beer as I
indicated above) that causes the symptoms of Covid-19.
I'll get right to the precautions and steps we are taking. Some of it
relates to the actual business, but most of it is regarding personal
hygiene and habits (many of which are also applicable to business life).
Frankly, just some of my 'ramblings' on the subject (some of which I
will change, omit, modify etc. as we learn more and / or change my
mind on)
Much of the following few paragraphs
are not necessarily following any pre-planned order and most were written in March /
April 2020....
BUSINESS: As far as changes here at the shop, we are fortunate
that our physical warehouse / shop is closed to the public as a matter
of course. EVERYTHING ships so there's no actual, physical 'retail traffic'. The
only folks that aren't directly associated with the business that we see
would be FedEx to do pick-ups. Our 'incoming' and postal shipments are
done else where. Even our consignors aren't doing drop-offs currently. My technicians decided that it would be prudent to 'lay
low' for a few weeks, and are not coming in. If there's an 'emergency'
repair that needs to be done, that I personally couldn't handle from a
'time / resource' perspective, then we would need to do a work-around
for that.
Frankly, my techs are using their time to do restorations / service on
units they own personally to later consign here, which I welcome. I am
pretty much driving from home to the shop and back and with the
exception of stopping for diesel, do no other stops, and have been for a
couple months now. We 'saw the writing on the wall' early on, and did
any physical shopping WAY prior to the 'national lock-down' warnings.
Occasionally, if we weren't able to get a FedEx pick-up scheduled, we
will do a drop off at FedEx. When doing that we are wearing masks
(typically 'cotton' ones that my wife made, with full, elastic head
straps {wouldn't like the 'ear loop' style}) and
gloves, and the FedEx drop off is generally also practicing 'safe
procedures' in their store (see "FUELING UP VEHICLES" below for
procedures following the exit from the FedEx / Postal locations).
(March / April 2020)
By the way, it's only "hoarding" if you are
purchasing an amount that's well beyond what you could possibly use /
utilize in a reasonable* time frame. The reason to 'stock up' on whatever
item's you need is to avoid going out into the public masses potentially
endangering yourself and / or others, NOT because you like having a
massive collection of toilet paper.
I hear of folks going to the store to buy only one or two items or
simply going shopping frequently. Maybe out of
habit. Maybe out of ignorance. Maybe out of callous. Whatever the
reason, in these times it's 'stupid' and careless.
GROCERIES / SUPPLIES / SHOPPING / DELIVERIES: We are having ALL
groceries and supplies delivered. Yes, you have to plan ahead to
make that happen, and there are commonly 'hiccups' in the process,
but those are preferable to the potential risks of going out with
other members of the public to shop (we could do 'order ahead and
pick-up', but you're going to a parking lot, that might be crowded,
and potentially next to other folks).
When groceries are
delivered, some of it is 'put in quarantine' for 48 to 72 hours
depending on what it's packaging is made of (there's plenty out
there on the web regarding what surfaces are less or more friendly
to the virus). If it's something that's more perishable, it gets
wiped down on EVERY surface with a 'blue shop towel' that's been
soaked in 70%+ alcohol (we have Ziploc baggies with 3-4 'blue shop
towels' pre-soaked in alcohol that we simply add a bit of alcohol to
when they need it so as to note waste any). That same procedure
applies to our weekly deliveries of milk and eggs that we've always
had going on.
If it's a box of supplies that we need to open
quicker than the quarantine period, it's done outside. We touch the
box as little as possible with our hands, by utilizing a razor blade
or razor knife to cut and manipulate the flaps on the box. Once
we've removed the contents and deemed it safe to handle, we then do
a thorough (and now typical), proper hand wash. UPDATE: We
are no longer doing this as the ROI is not likely there. Staying
away from crowds or populated situations as much as practical, being
FULLY VACCINATED, Masks (worn properly), distancing and hand
sanitizer are currently our recognized practices. 10/22/2021
MAIL: When mail arrives, we open the mail box with a
plastic baggie (think grocery store bag / carrier bag) at the
handle, or down near the corner of the door where no one would
typically be touching it, then use that baggie to bag the mail with.
That stack of mail / packages then goes to an area (without touching
any of it) in the garage lined up with 'sticky notes' stating the
date. After 3 days it gets rotated out to then process / read. If it
is something that we think need immediate attention, then the outer
packaging / envelope is wiped with alcohol soaked 'blue shop
towels', is cut open with a minimum of handling and the contents
dumped to a clean surface. The outer packing / envelope, if needed,
is then either put into quarantine with that day's mail / shipments.
UPDATE: We are no longer doing this as the ROI is not likely
there. Staying away from crowds or populated situations as much as
practical, being FULLY VACCINATED, Masks (worn properly), distancing
and hand sanitizer are currently our recognized practices.
10/22/2021
FUELING UP VEHICLES: Nitrile / Vinyl /
Latex gloves are donned, a container of wipes is at the ready, as
well as a container of hand sanitizer in the console. We have our
credit card and any discount card we plan to use already pulled out
of wallets / purses. The "Discount Cards" are scanned so it doesn't
physically touch anything. We use a wipe to wipe the buttons on the
pump as well as the 'Fuel Type Select' button and the handle of the
pump is also wiped. The credit card is washed with a sterile wipe
after removing it and before putting back into the vehicle. The
vehicle door is left open so the door handle is not touched. Once
finished, if a receipt is give, it's given a quick wipe (as someone
loaded the roll of paper earlier), the gloves are washed in hand
sanitizer if they are to be re-used (okay in my book) or taken off
'properly' (and there's info out there as to the correct way to
remove nitrile / vinyl / latex gloves safely). Then hands are also
washed in hand sanitizer then the door is closed and keys are
handled. As of 4/7/20, in Colorado a mask or some sort of face
covering is required when out in a public space, so now a mask has
become part of that procedure. The mask is put on as a 'first step'
and taken off 'last' (again, there's info out there as to the
correct way to remove a filter mask safely). UPDATE: We are
no longer doing much of this as the ROI is not likely there. Staying
away from crowds or populated situations as much as practical, being
FULLY VACCINATED, Masks (worn properly), distancing and hand
sanitizer are currently our recognized practices. 10/22/2021
DOORS: If I must open a door to a public
building (such as dropping off any shipments to FedEx and again,
we're not really going to any 'public buildings'), I take the same
precautionary steps as getting fuel, except that I will grab door
handles by places that I know most folks aren't if it's an option
(although I realize in writing this, that I've just potentially
defeated the purpose of doing that).
DR's VISITS / ROUTINE APPOINTMENTS:
They have
been put off till...? We did have an emergency vet visit a couple
weeks ago. The vet tech met us at the car in the parking lot, with
gloves and mask on. They had their own leash and we clipped our
leash in before clipping theirs off. Then the typical hand
sanitizing took place. Hopefully the dog wasn't carrying anything,
but that's a possible 'weak link'.
UPDATE: We are no longer doing much of
this as the ROI is not likely there. Staying away from crowds or
populated situations as much as practical, being FULLY VACCINATED,
Masks (worn properly), distancing and hand sanitizer are currently
our recognized practices. 10/22/2021
HIKING / DOG
WALKS:
We are fortunate to live about a block away from a nearly 600
acre 'open space' / park that connects to another 2500++ acres. We
take the less populated trails. When we do 'meet' someone on a
trail, we maintain a minimum of 6' and are wearing masks
(state dictated now and YES, I get the purpose of masks / face
coverings and how effective or in-effective they may be in a
particular scenario). I pick up a lot of 'plastic' trash /
rubbish generally when hiking and if I feel it's something that has
been 'recently touched', I use one of the grocery store / carrier
bags to pick it up with to deposit in a larger bag for plastic trash
I am always carrying (and unfortunately, I can almost always fill a
bag with plastic trash from most outings. Yesterday, it added up to
6lbs of plastic trash / rubbish!...Yes, I weighed it. Anyway, that's
for a different rant...)
At first we toyed with the idea of, "well maybe we should
not be that cautious, get the virus, and get it over with". Then I
thought that if we put it off as long as possible, maybe it will
give time for potential treatments / medications / vaccines etc to
be discovered and come to light. Now having read some of the
personal experiences of having it, even with light to medium
symptoms, I think it's best to avoid it altogether.
I've probably forgotten others steps and
procedures that we're doing, and will post or modify them as time
allows.
THE VIRUS DOESN'T CARE...
Just a somewhat un-related, side note and certainly one persons opinion;
We hear random stories on the radio about different communities / states
etc, reacting to "Stay at Home Orders" or other restrictions intended to
curb the spread of the virus. Those stories are usually regarding, or at
least 'peppered' with aspects of how people are 'taking offense' at a
government entity dictating or trying to dictate what they can or can't
do. Now there's agreement that some of the rules / suggestions /
laws may seem 'half-baked' (hey, this is a 'fluid' situation, and some
leaders are trying to throw anything at it that might help) and there
are always going to be folks that balk at any more rules / restrictions
/ regulations / laws etc that will or may put limits on their behavior,
and they immediately jump on the "America is a Free Country" (which has
some limited truth to it from a lot of aspects), or "Don't tread on me",
or "you can't limit my liberties", "Don't tell me what to do", or
"My constitutional rights are essential", or "Don't restrict me", "or",
"or", "or"...
Here's the deal, the virus doesn't care about your "liberties", what
country you're in or how free it or you might be perceived to be, or what
your beliefs are. If folks exercise common sense, educate themselves
about the virus (or how most any virus works / spreads), and it's
potential ramifications, and proactively REALLY do things that
EFFECTIVELY limit it's ability to spread, then governments would have
less need to dictate new rules and regulations (again, some of which I
will agree are "half-baked" since many of them are being made
and modified 'on the fly'). Most folks are living 'smartly', using
common sense, and 'doing their part' to limit (preferably "halt") the
spread of the virus, but there's a few out there with a 'chip on their
shoulder' or feel they have something to prove (and generally just have a
lack of common sense) that are likely going to impede societies progress
in defeating or at least quelling the spread until a reliable treatment
and hopefully 'ultimately', a vaccine can be discovered. It's easy
to understand that this likely creates hardships for lots of folks (and
will for quite some time), but if you think about how the virus can
spread and who it can affect, and the possibly ways they can be
affected, it should also be "easy to understand" how important it is to
listen to the 'experts' and leaders (yes, a few of them are 'flying by
the seat of their pants) and do what seems to make sense to stop the
spread. Now look, this
isn't to say that many of us can't recognize "too much government over
reach", but at a time like this, some additional 'controls' may be and
are likely necessary (but again, most of us need the "common sense" to
do the smart things on our own and then we wouldn't need the government
/ leaders to tell us). Look once we have it under control, the
portion of society that doesn't want to be 'told what to do', can go
back to 'hang'in out at the Quickie Mart, fly'in some sort of rebel
flag, preaching about their constitutional right to hold congregations of people etc,
have dinner parties, etc.,
but for now, THE VIRUS DOESN'T CARE!
Ok, have to interject one more time. Additional photos show protesters
in Virginia, holding signs that say, "Let me social distance shop"
& "I can protect myself", and one of my favorites, "We will
NOT comply", ALL while
they're standing closely... in a crowd...with no masks.
Again, exactly the folks that need a bit more "common sense".
OMG. Just heard that protesters in Israel are blaming the spread of the
virus on Jewish folks. HOLY S%!T, there's some stupid people in the
world. I CAN'T WAIT to see what the creators of "South Park", Matt and
Trey do with this in a couple years!
Yes, I get that the the aspects of the economy that are 'shut down or
throttled back' need to be brought back on line, but 'fast forwarding' that
scenario with out addressing the issue of the potential spread of the
virus. Lets say you simple 'open back up'. There will be a lot of
apprehension by folks with more 'common sense' to visit places of
business, attractions etc. For example, allowing a restaurant to open
for 10-50% of their normal traffic could actually be more expensive than
staying closed. Then add in the strong possibility of a 'second wave' of
viral infections and there will simply be 'second wave' shut-downs. How
does that help?
1/28/2021; Over the past few weeks / months, I keep hearing about folks
all 'up in arms' about how their 'rights are being denied /
trampled' by being told to wear a mask. Now, while that argument may
hold water against a government entity, if a privately owned / held
business insists upon certain standards / rules to enter and / or
engage with them, that's THEIR BUSINESS!!! It's also incredibly
disrespectful for you to enter their place of business when the
"Wear a Mask" rule is stated, every one of the employees are
wearing masks, as well as the other customers, and you walk in
without a mask. Now we can argue the actual vs perceived benefits of
wearing a mask, but currently it seems like a prudent measure that
has become fairly common place. I hate wearing one, (and even if I
didn't think they helped)
if a business asked me to wear one, I 'check my rights' at the door.
It's also a measure of respect for the rest of my employees and
family. If I go out, don't wear a mask, get the virus and transmit
it to work or home, that's incredibly disrespectful to my employees,
family and friends. It of course would also contribute to the
'spread' of the Virus.
*
Terms such as "reasonable" are
certainly 'relative' terms.
BELOW UPDATED
12/1/2021
*So someone doesn't
'want' to wear a mask...
Ask them if they have an air filter on their vehicle engine,
motorcycle, ATV, lawn mower, weed eater etc..... Your furnace has an
air filter. Your air conditioner has an air filter. The electric
heater in your bathroom has a filter. Filters WORK. Anyone with a
lick of common sense knows that.
If you sneeze into a tissue, most of the crap you expel will be
trapped in the tissue. Common sense. And the more that gets trapped,
the less that ends up in the air in your immediate vicinity. The
less of your 'smegma' that you expel into / onto anyone in the
surrounding area, the less chance they have of getting sick (or at
least if any of those germs / virus etc get into their system, it
will likely be reduced by the fact that you used a tissue, so their
immune system won't be as likely to be overwhelmed). AND spread is
thus reduced! Common sense.
If you don't think masks 'work' to block any of the virus, ask
yourself this, "would you allow a surgeon to operate on you without
wearing one?". I would guess not. Common Sense.
Wearing a mask is LITTLE effort for a big
HUGE return. That return being
all of the things that should be obvious to anyone with 'Common
Sense' (less folks getting sick, flattening the curve so hospitals
won't be so overwhelmed {although at this point most are at capacity
or will be soon}, the virus has less opportunity mutate {yes, we're
now seeing that and as of this writing, 3 new strains have made
their way to the USA from UK, S. Africa and Brazil} and also very importantly, business won't be forced to
ratchet back and / or ultimately close for good).
Am I implying that a mask blocks everything? No, OF COURSE NOT!!!
However it can block a LOT, if not most of what you aerosolize when
talking, coughing, sneezing etc, and the less you overwhelm an
immune system, the better that immune system has of beating down
whatever it's being inundated with. Think of it as two armies. If
both sides are armed with the same weapons, and one side has 500
troops, and the other has 10,000 troops, the side with "10,000" has
a much better chance of winning, simply from a numbers game. The
more the disparagement between the armies, the quicker and easier
the battle for the win will be for the army with the greater number
of troops. Here's where "masks" come in (and hand washing,
sanitizing, keeping distance etc). Think of the "immune system" as
one army and a virus or communicable disease / sickness as another.
Which ever side has the larger army will likely win and win quicker.
Recently there's new twists (weapons) being added to the side of the
virus. It's morphed and changed into a few more variations, which
means it's been given some bigger and better weapons. The longer
it's given to thrive, the more time it will have to evolve into
stronger, tougher to kill versions. There are a lot of variables and
factors to the argument, but the bottom line is the less virus
particles
thrown at someone, the better their chances at fending it off, and
"masks" go a long way towards spewing less virus towards someone
else.
Again, my mask isn't so much to protect me, it's a much more
effective tool of protection towards anyone else in my vicinity
if I happen to be harboring enough virus to spread.
Your mask isn't to protect you (at least not very much), it's to
ensure that you're much less likely to infect others
(thus perpetuating the virus, AND giving it more opportunities to
mutate further).
More
Common Sense; "The world is NOT flat" (that was proven about 500
years ago), "The Moon landing really happened", and little tiny 'Covid'
viruses are REAL (even though you can't see them with the naked
eye), and masks / face coverings (and now,
vaccines) go a long way toward
keeping them at bay! Common Sense.
The
excuse that they have a 'medical condition' is likely 99+% of the
time bogus. According to most sources, the three characteristics of
a legitimate medical / physical condition precluding a mask would be; 1) under
2 years of age, 2) on supplemental oxygen as a matter of course, and
3) unconscious. There also may be less physical / medical condition
issues such as COPD or someone on a steroid inhaler who has trouble
breathing already and a mask makes it more difficult and / or can
make them dizzy. Sorry, but that's why stores offer 'curb side
pickup'. I get it. It's a 'pain' for you to wear a mask, and you
want to actually 'shop', but the virus doesn't care. You could also
wear a 'plexi' face-shield. Frankly, if you
have an issue such as COPD, Asthma, allergies or any other reason
for shortness of breath, you should probably be VERY concerned about
getting the virus, and be doing everything you can to avoid it in
the first place (such as dealing with the mask and / or using
curb-side pickup).
Also, a "mandate" / "regulation" / "requirement" etc. handed down by
Governors, Mayors or other civic leader is treated the SAME as a law
(look it up).
Also, a private business pretty much has the right to require about
anything they wish from the folks they allow in their doors. Most of
your 'constitutional' rights are generally checked at the door.
Restaurants, bars etc, generally insist on 'shirts and shoes'
(nothing is ever said about pants for some reason???), and now masks
are typically a part of those requirements. Covid doesn't care what
country you live in, what your constitutional rights are, what
political party you belong to, or...or...or...
So in many jurisdictions, you can be charged with assault if you
intentionally ‘cough’ at or towards or on someone, whether you think
you are infected with something or not. Similarly, if you knowingly
and intentionally ‘spread’ any disease or illness you can
potentially be charged and prosecuted.
I submit that it’s arguable, and possibly chargeable with assault to
mingle with people in public spaces while not wearing a mask / face
covering. Everyone knows by now that it is considered standard and
safe practice to wear a mask, certainly while in any public space
and around other people not of your immediate household regardless
of state, county, city, country of whatever jurisdiction someone is
in. This should be common sense, at least to folks with common
sense. It is widely known that speaking, singing, yelling, shouting,
and even breathing is likely the most common way that viruses such
as Corona virus is
spread via aerosolization, thus anyone mingling with the public,
without a mask is showing disregard for public safety / the safety
of others and blatantly putting others at risk. Now someone could
make their defense by thinking, “well, I just won’t speak or be
verbal while out in public spaces”. That’s a pretty hollow defense.
Here’s a reason that has nothing to do with speaking and it’s a
‘surprise cough or sneeze’. The one that happens before you have a
chance to bring up your elbow or grab a tissue. It’s a cough that I
have often that just comes instantly, from out of the blue. It’s the
same cough that the person had when standing about 4 feet from me
(outside) that I most likely caught Covid-19 from (yes, we should
have both been wearing masks even though we were outside and
originally 6-10 feet apart. I let my guard down and have no one to
blame, but myself). If a mask is being worn, it WILL ‘catch’ most or much
of the aerosolized particles, and it’s more likely that a much
smaller number of particles will escape the membrane of the mask /
face covering. So many people think that the mask is to protect the
'wear' from an 'intake' of aerosolized particles.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's to stop the vast majority of the particles
from exiting YOUR mask, thus offering protection to everyone else in
your vicinity. If you should be wearing a mask (and you know who you
are), DON'T BE AN
ASSHOLE. WEAR A DAMN MASK!!!!!!!!
Again, COMMON SENSE.
Call me "Sheeple", a "Lemming" or whatever you wish, but the shut
downs and ratcheting back of business due to explosive numbers of
infections, MOSTLY related to folks not practicing proper methods of
prevention (and at this point well ALL know what they are) is
getting ridiculous. Wearing a mask is NOT a big 'ask'. I don't touch
hot burners, stick forks into electrical outlets, or walk out in
front of speeding cars. Most folks know better than that through
'Common Sense'. That makes us "Sheeple" I suppose, but it makes us
'SMART and ALIVE' Sheeple as well.
At the time of this paragraphs writing (mid November 2020), two companies just
announced that they have vaccines to combat this particular coronavirus / Covid-19 to unbelievable success levels of 90 and 95%,
however, it will be quite a while until the positive potential of
those discoveries (and anymore that come down the pike) will be in
place and / or have meaningful results. Until then we must continue
proper anti-viral practices.
I hear
comments from some folks similar to, "well 'they're' constantly
changing their mind on what we should be doing or not doing. First
they say we should wear a mask, then they say they might offer some
protection or wear one if it makes you feel safer and now, again,
"they want us to wear one and / or we must wear one. Seems like
'they' don't really know themselves!"
Yes, or course! That's generally how knowledge is acquired. It's
built on past experience, experiments & research. Some people are
simply looking for a way to justify 'not wearing a mask'.
I have been trying
‘not to’ frequent a well known home improvement chain store in my
area as it seems like there’s pretty much ALWAYS going to be about
1-2 out of 20 customers (as of 11/30/2021 pretty
much likely ~95%) NOT wearing masks (hint, not Lowes as it
seems like most of their customers are a bit more respectful and
wear masks). While they have signs posted at the entrances of their
buildings, their policy then seems to only ‘suggest’ masks, but not
press the issue. They can get away with that easily as they’ve been
deemed an “essential business” and have not had to shut down as MANY
other businesses have. I get why not, as there’s some ‘short
tempered’ folks that either think they’re beards will protect them,
or they can just “shoot them pesky rascally varmints” and their
employees have actually been threatened when they ‘press’ someone on
wearing a mask. Well as they’re deemed an essential business (and a
fairly ‘Big’ business) and aren’t going to be threatened with
official closure I think they hire police to enforce mask wearing
who would be able to ultimately either issue citations and / or
under ‘trespass laws’ remove / cite dismissive customers.
So I suppose some
or maybe all of those customers that are not wearing a mask could
have already had Covid, and think they are ‘bullet-proof’ as they
are either under the
impression / assumption that they have Covid anti-bodies, or have been tested
positive for anti-bodies, and / or think they can’t spread the
virus. If they’ve had Covid, and haven’t been tested for
anti-bodies, having “anti-bodies” isn’t a
given. I was tested for Covid anti-bodies about
4-6 weeks after contracting it back in Jan 2019, and tested
'negative' for anti-bodies! The nurse giving the test indicated that
certain blood types typically will not have anti-bodies. Also, the general consensus is that once you’ve had Covid, 10
days from the onset of symptoms you will test positive, but
‘shouldn’t’ be contagious (viral ‘fragments’ that aren’t viable
anymore). Operative there is “shouldn’t be”. Why risk it and why
‘disrespect’ everyone else who are still following proper
precautionary measures, which of course includes “wearing a mask”.
I also would think
the ‘anti-maskers’ would be some of the last folks who would want
the government in their pockets pulling out money, but maybe they’re
not aware that all this ‘gubment cheese’ (think PPP, grants, low or
no interest loans etc) that is being doled out during the virus is
going to come back in a big way down the road as a hugely increased
deficit. If this thing could be ‘put to bed’ fairly quickly if the
spread could be halted, why not do the ‘small ask’,
and WEAR A DAMN
MASK?!!! Common Sense.
I hear so many comments from folks that just want all business, but
especially restaurants and bars to open up, and schools to open up,
and beaches, and parks and playgrounds etc (hey, I do too), however,
it is almost never followed up with a "reminder" to wear a mask. If
everyone did that and were careful to follow the other recognized
protocols (but they're not going to), this Covid thing would
probably die out in a month.
I am currently recovering from what so far has been, a "lite version
of Covid". The worst thing so far is that I can't smell or taste
anything. Really. Nothing. Hopefully that will not be long lasting,
however there are some folks who have regained those senses and are
noticing that smells and tastes that prior to Covid would have been
'good' are now bad for them, ie; previously 'pleasant' smells and
tastes are now rancid, or putrid, or rotten and certainly
disgusting. I'm sure (or at least hopeful) that it's not a large
portion of Covid affected folks, but it potentially could spell at
least temporary loses for restaurants / bars / and food and beverage
suppliers. While I'm no longer contagious, I have no desire to go to
a restaurant for anything, over the most basic of nutrition. I am
not as tempted for snacks as there's little reason. Also, no beer or
spirits as they offer not taste. As I say, rice cakes and gruel will
now do me (I actually am still eating healthy and have been for
years. So, hey, I guess Covid is good for the waist line.
How did I get it? Well, it could have been any number of causes, but
one that fits the time frame comes to mind. We spent about 10 days
at a campground in Tucson. They had a large dog park on site, so every morning
I would go down with the dog and my coffee. There was a group of
'regulars' typically there, but we were all generally staying about
10' from one another (no I, nor any were wearing masks. Didn't think
it necessary as we were outside, and way beyond 6 feet from each
other and yes, I used hand sanitizer after touching gates, etc).
However, there was one instance where a guy wanted to show me a
photo on his phone and was within 3-4 feet of me for a short period.
During that time he 'coughed' once (and we both joked about Covid).
It was that same, random, singular, 'out of the blue' cough that I
had during the first 2-3 days, before I tested positive for Covid. I
have no way to track him down, nor get in touch with him to follow
up if he ever developed Covid, so am simply conjecturing, but I
think it's the most likely scenario.
So if someone won't wear a mask as they don't believe they 'do
anything', but is lamenting how business are shutting down, here's
how they can help the economy. Have them remove every filter they
own, ie; vehicle engine air cleaner, pool / spa filter, HVAC
filters, etc. That will definitely increase business for auto
mechanics and parts suppliers, HVAC techs and parts suppliers and
everyone else in those economies when the items that rely on those
filters fail.
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I heard someone say recently (regarding masks and vaccines, and he
was definitely, at least, an 'anti-masker') that Covid will prove,
"Survival of the fittest". I 100% AGREE!!!!, but not for the, "god
gave me the immune system he thought I should have" reason.
Here's a parable that I've been fond of for years;
"A storm descends on a small town protected by a dam up a canyon,
and the downpour soon turns into a flood. As the waters rise, the
local preacher kneels in prayer on the church front yard, surrounded
by water that’s now about a foot deep in the street.
After a while, one of the townsfolk comes up the street in a lifted,
4X4 truck and stops in front of the church.
"Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast and the water
is almost to the top of the dam that protects the town."
"No," says the preacher. "I have faith in the Lord. He will save
me." “Okie-dokie then” responded the driver.
Still the waters rise, but the preacher is confident there’s nothing
to worry about as “God will save him”.
Now the preacher is up on the balcony, wringing his hands in
supplication, when another guy pulls up in a motorboat.
"Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast and the dam is
starting to breech and is gonna break any moment."
Once again, the preacher is unmoved. "I shall remain. The Lord will
see me through."
After a while the dam breaks, and the flood rushes over the church
until only the steeple remains above water. The preacher is up
there, clinging to the cross, when a helicopter miraculously
descends out of the clouds, and a rescuer calls down to him through
a megaphone.
"Grab the ladder, Preacher. This is your last chance. We’re here to
‘save’ you"
Once again, the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him.
And, of course, predictably, he drowns.
A pious man, the preacher goes to heaven. After a while he gets an
interview with God, and he asks the Almighty, "Lord, I had
unwavering faith in you. Why didn't you deliver me from that flood?"
God shakes his head and asked, "I sent a truck, a boat and a
helicopter…What more did you need from me?"
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Technical advancements of Human kind (like the kind that brought us
vaccines)...
Eons ago, man discovered that if they were going to live in frigid
temperatures, they needed shelter and clothing. Their bodies ability
to self regulate temperature was not going to be enough, so they
built houses and started wearing more clothing. The used their
brains and figured this out. A "technological advancement". Caveman / Stone-age Common Sense!
Later on, humankind needed to cross vast distances of water.
Probably some early explorers tried to simply swim to the next
continent, likely with fairly limited success. Others figured out
that if they constructed something that could float on the water
(I'm thinking "boat" here, but probably started with a 'log'), their
endeavors might be a bit more successful (and less 'drownie'). They
used their brains and eventually figured this out. A "technological
advancement". Later
Caveman Explorer Common Sense!
A few years later (actually many thousands or more years later)
someone said, "lets build a zoo". Now maybe the first zoos just let
the tigers, monkeys and 3-toed sloths run amok, but the zoo keepers
(probably not an official title at first for that position) most likely used their
brains and decided it would probably be best to provide containment
(enclosures) for most of the animals in order to keep everyone safe.
A "technological advancement". More "Recent" Common Sense!
Now you can go into battle without any sort of shield, protection or
weapons,
and possibly come out alive. However, history has demonstrated,
hands down, that if you're going to go into war, it's best to be
well armed. In fact, it's best to be armed better than your foe, and
the better armed you are, the better your chances of surviving with
the least amount of trauma. The
vaccine, distancing and masks were developed by 'brain power' and
'evolution of knowledge'. "Survival of the fittest" doesn't just
mean something 'physical' or 'built-in'. It also often refers to
utilize the benefits of scientific and technological advancements due to 'brain power' and 'evolution of
knowledge'. So YES, I 100% AGREE!!!! with "Survival of the fittest",
via A "technological advancement".
More Common Sense!
You SHOULDN'T need a "government mandate" or a sign on the door to
instruct you to take proper precautions. Just do the right thing and
ALL that is necessary, that you can do to halt and eradicate this
disease. STOP trying to make some idiotic political / religious
statement at the expense of society.
When this thing is over, past and done with (although that may not
be for a long time, if ever), it will BE NO THANKS, to any of the
folks that aren't following, nor didn't follow the CDC, and REALLY common sense
guidelines.
Sorry, but just read this and yes, it's a 'cheap' laugh, but..."Why
do anti-vaxxers not lock their bikes?...Because they know someone
whose locked-bike was still stolen."
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So I saw a t-shirt on an idjut wearing a shirt the other day that
was imprinted with:
Unmasked
Unmuzzled
Unvaccinated
Unafraid
I was a few moments later telling a friend about it, and listing off
what it said. Once I finished the word "unvaccinated", I must have
paused slightly, and they said "Uneducated". I thought that was
brilliant! I just went on-line and see that, that tee-shirt already
exists. Damn it! Someone "beat me to the punch"
Here's the link to buy one;
https://www.amazon.com/Unmasked-Unmuzzled-Unvaccinated-Unafraid-Uneducated/dp/B093D5SY7G?customId=B07536XX75&th=1
It's probably designed / produced by the same folks that made the
original version...at least I hope it was.
Unfortunately the words famously remarked by Mark Twain , "Never
argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and
then beat you with experience"
have never been more true.
I suppose that is more "Common Sense".
"When stupidity is
considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent." ― Isaac
Asimov
“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way
through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false
notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as
your knowledge.'” ― Isaac Asimov
___________________________________________________________
The following is
an amazing read that was emailed in back in March.
Italian Clairvoyance on Coronavirus…
(The acclaimed Italian novelist
Francesca Melandri, who has been under lockdown in Rome for almost three
weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak, has written a letter to fellow
people “from your future”, laying out the range of emotions people are
likely to go through over the coming weeks.”
“I am writing to you from
Italy, which means I am writing from your future. We are now where you
will be in a few days. The epidemic’s charts show us all entwined in a
parallel dance.
We are but a few steps ahead
of you in the path of time, just like Wuhan was a few weeks ahead of us.
We watch you as you behave just as we did. You hold the same arguments
we did until a short time ago, between those who still say “it’s only a
flu, why all the fuss?” and those who have already understood.
As we watch you from here,
from your future, we know that many of you, as you were told to lock
yourselves up into your homes, quoted Orwell, some even Hobbes. But soon
you’ll be too busy for that.
First of all, you’ll eat.
Not just because it will be one of the few last things that you can
still do.
You’ll find dozens of social
networking groups with tutorials on how to spend your free time in
fruitful ways. You will join them all, then ignore them completely after
a few days.
You’ll pull apocalyptic
literature out of your bookshelves, but will soon find you don’t really
feel like reading any of it.
You’ll eat again. You will
not sleep well. You will ask yourselves what is happening to democracy.
You’ll have an unstoppable
online social life – on Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom…
You will miss your adult
children like you never have before; the realization that you have no
idea when you will ever see them again will hit you like a punch in the
chest.
Old resentments and
falling-outs will seem irrelevant. You will call people you had sworn
never to talk to ever again, so as to ask them: “How are you doing?”
Many women will be beaten in their homes.
You will wonder what is
happening to all those who can’t stay home because they don’t have one.
You will feel vulnerable when going out shopping in the deserted
streets, especially if you are a woman. You will ask yourselves if this
is how societies collapse. Does it really happen so fast? You’ll block
out these thoughts and when you get back home you’ll eat again.
You will put on weight.
You’ll look for online fitness training.
You’ll laugh. You’ll laugh a
lot. You’ll flaunt a gallows humour you never had before. Even people
who’ve always taken everything dead seriously will contemplate the
absurdity of life, of the universe and of it all.
You will make appointments
in the supermarket queues with your friends and lovers, so as to briefly
see them in person, all the while abiding by the social distancing
rules.
You will count all the
things you do not need.
The true nature of the
people around you will be revealed with total clarity. You will have
confirmations and surprises.
Literati who had been
omnipresent in the news will disappear, their opinions suddenly
irrelevant; some will take refuge in rationalizations which will be so
totally lacking in empathy that people will stop listening to them.
People whom you had overlooked, instead, will turn out to be reassuring,
generous, reliable, pragmatic and clairvoyant.
Those who invite you to see
all this mess as an opportunity for planetary renewal will help you to
put things in a larger perspective. You will also find them terribly
annoying: nice, the planet is breathing better because of the halved CO2
emissions, but how will you pay your bills next month?
You will not understand if
witnessing the birth of a new world is more a grandiose or a miserable
affair.
You will play music from
your windows and lawns. When you saw us singing opera from our
balconies, you thought “ah, those Italians”. But we know you will sing
uplifting songs to each other too. And when you blast I Will Survive
from your windows, we’ll watch you and nod just like the people of
Wuhan, who sung from their windows in February, nodded while watching
us.
Many of you will fall asleep
vowing that the very first thing you’ll do as soon as lockdown is over
is file for divorce.
Many children will be
conceived.
Your children will be
schooled online. They’ll be horrible nuisances; they’ll give you joy.
Elderly people will disobey
you like rowdy teenagers: you’ll have to fight with them in order to
forbid them from going out, to get infected and die.
You will try not to think
about the lonely deaths inside the ICU.
You’ll want to cover with
rose petals all medical workers’ steps.
You will be told that
society is united in a communal effort, that you are all in the same
boat. It will be true. This experience will change for good how you
perceive yourself as an individual part of a larger whole.
Class, however, will make
all the difference. Being locked up in a house with a pretty garden or
in an overcrowded housing project will not be the same. Nor is being
able to keep on working from home or seeing your job disappear. That
boat in which you’ll be sailing in order to defeat the epidemic will not
look the same to everyone nor is it actually the same for everyone: it
never was.
At some point, you will
realize it’s tough. You will be afraid. You will share your fear with
your dear ones, or you will keep it to yourselves so as not to burden
them with it too.
You will eat again.
We’re in Italy, and this is
what we know about your future. But it’s just small-scale
fortune-telling. We are very low-key seers.
If we turn our gaze to the
more distant future, the future which is unknown both to you and to us
too, we can only tell you this: when all of this is over, the world
won’t be the same.”
©
Francesca Melandri 2020
(If we are made aware that posting this is truly a detrimental copyright
infringement, please notify us immediately to discuss removing it or
adding necessary text to the posting for due credit)
...If you
feel I've completely mis-represented something above, or have
something constructive to add, let me know...
sales@oaktreevintage.com
(the above is definitely subject to change at my 'flighty'
discretion and often 'on a whim')
