Are you personally worried about getting the Coronavirus?

[PCHawk]

Wuut. Not serious are you? I'm going to do what I can at home. I get a sense of accomplishment out of working on projects or repairing what I can. What the hell man? Really.

I don't think my repairs or jobs around the house are saving the world.

Lol he's making up an excuse for not being handy. Not serious. I think....

 

[PCHawk]

Mess it up enough times and if she's smart she'll quit asking. Got to stay a step ahead of the game.

Good call. Next time she asks me to change a shower head I'm gunna flood the basement. Gotta think end game.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Got a question for you all:

Wife and I are still collecting paychecks during all this (I work remotely, she works for Iowa City School District and is getting paid at least through end of normal school year). We have 2 school-age children. The ICCSD just sent out a message to all parents encouraging us to stop by the schools to collect lunches for our kids (free of charge). They want everyone to do this, whether it is needed or not, because it allows the school district to get more money.

Classic "No such thing as a free lunch" scenario. We benefit by doing this because it cuts our grocery bill. The school benefits from doing this (so they say). But the money is coming from somewhere (taxpayers).

I am in the "doesn't seem right" camp, and wife is in the, "it helps the schools" camp. What say you?

I am in the exact same situation as you, working at home remotely with wifey working for the ICCSD. Two boys.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Lol he's making up an excuse for not being handy. Not serious. I think....

That is the first thing that came to my mind actually.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Good call. Next time she asks me to change a shower head I'm gunna flood the basement. Gotta think end game.

You wanna know how much you can swear and cuss, start a project.

 

[Ree4]

I saw a study from China said the virus has already mutated at least 30 times and New York has mostly a more deadly strand from Europe circulating while the rest of the country has a less deadly strand.

Here's my question. If the virus is mutating so much, what's going to stop it from being another common issue like the flu, except more deadly? If there are so many variations already (like the flu) won't it be impossible to ever eradicate it? If we can't eradicate it or develope hurd immunity, won't we pretty much always have to deal with this forever? Just constantly guessing on a vaccine for the year and hoping to keep deaths down? It will only be a matter of time before it mutates into a way more deadly virus. Does anyone have any ideas as to how and why that won't happen?

Your assertion is spot on. One of the benefits of social distancing and isolation is that if it infects fewer people in this first round, it should have fewer chances to mutate. How many does it take to mutate? As an RNA virus, it is very susceptible to mutation and much more unstable than a DNA virus. Much harder to make an accurate vaccine for an RNA virus because of this but I'm guessing we'll have a lot of extra attention on this one.

Got a question for you all:

Wife and I are still collecting paychecks during all this (I work remotely, she works for Iowa City School District and is getting paid at least through end of normal school year). We have 2 school-age children. The ICCSD just sent out a message to all parents encouraging us to stop by the schools to collect lunches for our kids (free of charge). They want everyone to do this, whether it is needed or not, because it allows the school district to get more money.

Classic "No such thing as a free lunch" scenario. We benefit by doing this because it cuts our grocery bill. The school benefits from doing this (so they say). But the money is coming from somewhere (taxpayers).

I am in the "doesn't seem right" camp, and wife is in the, "it helps the schools" camp. What say you?

Doesn't seem right camp would fit my wife and I. I feel like it's great for families who are really struggling but shouldn't be utilized for those who don't need it. Similar to the PPP program I've seen a lot of businesses applying that don't need it, but I guess it's possible they may need it in the future.

My biggest reason for declining it would be that it seems to go against social distancing. What kinds of precautions are they taking? Even if people picking meals were wearing full PPE it would still increase the likelihood of spread. I'm working at the office while the wife is working from home. We have two young kids and with schools and day cares closed, my 70+ parents are watching them during the day. I am taking every available caution that I can to make sure I don't accidentally spread the virus to my parents, I would never forgive myself for that.

 

[PCHawk]

Got a question for you all:

Wife and I are still collecting paychecks during all this (I work remotely, she works for Iowa City School District and is getting paid at least through end of normal school year). We have 2 school-age children. The ICCSD just sent out a message to all parents encouraging us to stop by the schools to collect lunches for our kids (free of charge). They want everyone to do this, whether it is needed or not, because it allows the school district to get more money.

Classic "No such thing as a free lunch" scenario. We benefit by doing this because it cuts our grocery bill. The school benefits from doing this (so they say). But the money is coming from somewhere (taxpayers).

I am in the "doesn't seem right" camp, and wife is in the, "it helps the schools" camp. What say you?

Take the lunches and consider the money saved as an advancement on money you will just have to pay back in taxes later, regardless if you take the lunches or not. That's how I'm looking at my stimulus check and unemployment if I ever end up getting any. A cash advancement to help pay for increased taxes down the line.

 

[uihawk82]

I live in between Bloomington, Decatur, and really close to Champaign. So light pollution is an issue. I wasn't aware of the possibilities until I was overseas in less developed areas.

In Red Storm Rising the US pilots could see the iron curtain by the lack of lights behind that. Flew from Vienna to Kyiv at night once and you could really see the difference as we crossed the former curtain.

Lately for the first time the local night sky is really showing more stars than I could have imagined here. It's been spectacular. Not as much as other places but pretty cool.

I will try to find the image but it was reported along with the image that the people who live in northern India are able to see the Himalaya Mountains and Everest for the first time in 20 or 40 years because of drop in pollution haze.

 

[uihawk82]

I live in between Bloomington, Decatur, and really close to Champaign. So light pollution is an issue. I wasn't aware of the possibilities until I was overseas in less developed areas.

In Red Storm Rising the US pilots could see the iron curtain by the lack of lights behind that. Flew from Vienna to Kyiv at night once and you could really see the difference as we crossed the former curtain.

Lately for the first time the local night sky is really showing more stars than I could have imagined here. It's been spectacular. Not as much as other places but pretty cool.

India sees the Himalayan Mountains: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-e...theyre-seeing-the-himalayas-for-first-time-in

 

[uihawk82]

Good call Rob. I was just about ready to send you a message as UIHawk82 wanted to start some discussion about the climate change aspects. Many of us believe the Green Movement is simply another new religion. I have nothing against freedom of religion, and I'm actually very green, but you mentioned yesterday we should keep religion out of this thread.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/environment/item/25725-green-religion

I didnt want to start a discussion. IIRC I stated that wouldn't it be interesting if the social actions of the pandemic and the big drop in use of fossil fuels created data illuminating human effects on climate change. I thought what I said was very connected to the pandemic and direct societal changes. I didnt use the words Green Movement but since you brought it up , hahahah nah I am not going there after Rob told us to get on topic.

 

[uihawk82]

Just talked to an Iowa City restaurant owner, the PPP for small businesses was implemented so terribly. The employees he furloughed/laid off are currently collecting unemployment, but he is supposed to use at least 75% of his loan proceeds on payroll in the first 8 weeks to be eligible for forgiveness. The problem is that even if he pays them to not work, after the 8 weeks is over they will not be eligible to collect unemployment.

It's almost as if the federal government is trying to buy them off their state unemployment benefits, or a less nefarious reason was just that it was a very inept way of implementation. I'd side with the latter. It would have made sense if the proceeds were available before the workers were laid off/furloughed, but it also makes sense that it's taken so long because of the sheer size of the endeavor.

That is just crazy!! Ok the Feds have all this money to give which they say there are no oversight who they give it to and no rules yet small business owners have all these rules as do their employees like DING DING DING take the money and you are out of the Get Unemployment Payments sweepstakes.

 

[HawkGold]

Got a question for you all:

Wife and I are still collecting paychecks during all this (I work remotely, she works for Iowa City School District and is getting paid at least through end of normal school year). We have 2 school-age children. The ICCSD just sent out a message to all parents encouraging us to stop by the schools to collect lunches for our kids (free of charge). They want everyone to do this, whether it is needed or not, because it allows the school district to get more money.

Classic "No such thing as a free lunch" scenario. We benefit by doing this because it cuts our grocery bill. The school benefits from doing this (so they say). But the money is coming from somewhere (taxpayers).

I am in the "doesn't seem right" camp, and wife is in the, "it helps the schools" camp. What say you?

Several angles.

First, school lunches aren't all that healthy. I wouldn't eat them.

School funding could be helped by participation levels. It helps keep some working.

CEOs and others with more money are getting helped a whole lot more.

You wont be damaging the economy.

You could get Covid19 from the meals.

You could take what you are saving and donate it.

You could give some of it to those on the street.

 

[uihawk82]

A friend sent me this post from a restaurant owner in Georgia. I wasn't able to forward it from my phone so taking the old school approach and typing it word for word lol.

"Here's the deal. Kemp mandates restaurants reopen, whether I reopen dining rooms or not. I file for business interruption insurance, it does not go through since I am "allowed" to operate full capacity. My landlord can demand all their money, since I am allowed to fully operate. Furloughed staff that is collecting unemployment insurance have to come back to work or I have to let them go. Their unemployment insurance then goes on my tab. If things blow up again, they are still on my tab, not on the states since they are no longer employed."

Not sure if totally accurate or not, as it was something that was forwarded to me, and I'm not sure how any of it really works but if correct then wow. There were a few additional shots at the state and the Feds but if true I can understand why so many restaurant owners may not be able to afford reopening.

In Iowa if you are a business owner or corporation which hasnt had layoffs or furloughs etc for a long time you may drop off the list of paying taxes into the unemployment insurance fund. Once you layoff some people then you have to start paying taxes into the fund.

Those Georgia restaurant owners are screwed. Not sure how many diners they are going to have if they open as about 70% of citizens polled say we should stay in shutdown.

 

[uihawk82]

I saw a study from China said the virus has already mutated at least 30 times and New York has mostly a more deadly strand from Europe circulating while the rest of the country has a less deadly strand.

Here's my question. If the virus is mutating so much, what's going to stop it from being another common issue like the flu, except more deadly? If there are so many variations already (like the flu) won't it be impossible to ever eradicate it? If we can't eradicate it or develope hurd immunity, won't we pretty much always have to deal with this forever? Just constantly guessing on a vaccine for the year and hoping to keep deaths down? It will only be a matter of time before it mutates into a way more deadly virus. Does anyone have any ideas as to how and why that won't happen?

I posted about this very early in this thread when we were discussing the flu vs coronavirus. Coronavirus, norovirus (spelling), rhino virus cause the common cold. There is no vaccine for the common cold. There are iirc about 7 types or strains of coronavirus and covid 19 is much more deadly. The common cold is not hardly ever deadly and it is hard to create vaccines for these mutating variants. In some respect since it is hard and expensive to try to stop the common cold which doesnt cause hardly any death. And sometimes the vaccine might cause more symptoms/problems than the cold virus going around at the time. We all are getting some immunity to these viruses but again the mutate so you still might get a minor cold.

We all remember those years though when a cold virus is going around that hits people pretty hard.

Yes, these viruses mutate and we can't predict how bad they are or if they will become much more mild or hardly bad at all. This pandemic might be a good time to put much better plans and much more money into labs etc to more quickly respond and more quickly create vaccines.

Influenza virus causes more deaths and much more critical cases each year. It makes medical and monetary sense to try to create vaccines. From what I have read the family of Flu viruses like H1N1, H5N1, etc are much more well known from a molecular point of view. The seasonal flu viruses appear in the winter or so in Asia mostly and then vaccines for that year are created to be available in the US by about Sept.

I hope that answers your questions. If not totally let me know and I will research some answers along with some knowledgeable people I can ask.

 

[kicker22]

In Iowa if you are a business owner or corporation which hasnt had layoffs or furloughs etc for a long time you may drop off the list of paying taxes into the unemployment insurance fund. Once you layoff some people then you have to start paying taxes into the fund.

Those Georgia restaurant owners are screwed. Not sure how many diners they are going to have if they open as about 70% of citizens polled say we should stay in shutdown.

Thanks for the clarification since I knew very little about the subject. It just blows my mind how hard it is for those in the restaurant industry. As an owner I'm sure you want to get things going again as soon as possible, but at the same time there's no guarantee the customers are ready as well and you definitely don't want to do something that's going to to screw yourself or your employees.

 

[uihawk82]

My question is when they have a vaccine for this, will we have to get just one shot and that's it for as long as you live or will this be like a yearly shot that most get every September/October for the flu? That will suck if we have to get two shots per year, one for the flu and one for the Cornoavirus.

No one totally knows. The Spanish Flu in 1918 was mild in late 2017 and spring of 2018 but terrible in Fall of 2018.

The most latest news is Dr. Redfield the CDC director who worked on HIV for years so he knows viruses said he thinks it pretty likely this winter or sometime a pretty bad second wave will hit us. Again most coronavirus strains cause common colds and we can only hope this covid 19 virus mutates into a less virulent number of strains. And maybe one vaccine to covid 19 will at least keep much more people from dying each year.

I think we need to really create a new level of manufacturing masks, PPE, etc and this later will create jobs, the Fed can help underwrite the costs some to keep the mfg plants and jobs in the US and to keep owners from charging too high of prices. Asian countries have a lot of supplies ready to go at all times.

 

[uihawk82]

I'm going to guess yearly. We have to hope it doesn't mutate.

If it keeps coming back in deadly waves you are right it will be different vaccines against mutations.

 

[HuckFinn]

Wuut. Not serious are you? I'm going to do what I can at home. I get a sense of accomplishment out of working on projects or repairing what I can. What the hell man? Really.

I don't think my repairs or jobs around the house are saving the world.

No, I was just admitting my innate inability to do much of anything beyond a hammer and screwdriver.

 

[uihawk82]

Thanks for the clarification since I knew very little about the subject. It just blows my mind how hard it is for those in the restaurant industry. As an owner I'm sure you want to get things going again as soon as possible, but at the same time there's no guarantee the customers are ready as well and you definitely don't want to do something that's going to to screw yourself or your employees.

At least that is the way it used to be and I have heard mentioned recently on TV news.

 

[Ree4]

Interesting article about blood clots being the reason for many of the COVID deaths.. first I've heard of this.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/hea...g-coronavirus-patients/ar-BB1336g0?ocid=ientp