City/County of LA, Long Beach, and Pasadena earlier announced a “safer at home” policy (no going to work for nonessential businesses). Governor Newson immediately followed by declaring same policy for entire state of California.
They are really freaked about the projected cases.
It’s not really any different from what I’ve been doing for the last week… stay at home, except to get food, and except for exercise. It’s not like house-arrest. Yet.
You know the guy who owns the Boston Bruins and is refusing to pay workers during the covid shutdown? His nephew is a piece of work also
Bonus fact: he’s running in a special election in a few weeks over a seat that was vacated after the last guy was literally caught on camera insider trading at a picnic on the White House lawn
Our internet-based company insisted that we come in for work. At least there were six of us spread out over two floors.
From the poet Andrea Gibson:
This is complicated, and not to be taken as anyone’s experience but my own. But when I became very sick with lyme disease years ago, when much of my body weight evaporated, and sitting in a chair required balancing on a brutally unpadded tailbone, as much as I wanted to be done with this world, I was at the same time acutely and newly awoken to a mighty and untameable desperation to live.
I’ve written for years about suicidality, my personal struggles with finding the will, at times, to keep going. Because I know a world pandemic is certain to challenge the mental health of so many, myself included, I have been asking myself to listen to the call of my body’s cells and find light in their pleading. I can hear them today better than I have heard them at any other point in my life, begging for another day to breathe.
It is my hope that your cells are speaking to you just as loudly, and just as clear. Your sweet and perfect body pleading for your life. I’m going to keep writing you during this time, knowing loneliness resonates in the same part of the brain as physical pain, knowing we need each other, maybe more than we need anything. May this moment be a teacher. May we learn together how precious these lives we live are.
Lyrics summarised that people are advised to limit all social contact but can continue to take care of their daily chores, such as walking the dog and doing the groceries.
Vocals by Prime Minister of Finland
Sannawave: Suomalaista elämää (Finnish living) by luciditytandem
The item below Face Mask is Face Shield. Here’s a simple design that I might use as a starting point for the mask part of a positive airflow filter system:
First change I’d make would be to ditch the filter. That’ll be in the fan/filter unit. Run a hose from that to the neck of the bottle. Then I have weather stripping that can go around the edge for a better face-fit. I also might try thermo-forming the plastic with a heat gun for a better shape. The seal doesn’t have to be perfect since it’ll be a positive airflow system. Gaps or cracks will have air blowing out unless I try to inhale too quickly.
The one thing I’d love to have would be a scavenged one-way breath-check valve from a N95 mask. That allows exhaled air and moisture out, and reduces the pressure against exhaling.
I’m going on a scavenger hunt tomorrow morning, so I’ll start a how-to once I have the pieces.
N.B.: This kind of project is good to prevent catching CONVID-19, but once you have, it will increase the danger to other people. (Flip the fan and valve to filter your exhaled breath?)
FYI: I’m probably going to use a CPU fan with PWM, but the fans out of old computer power supplies should run off plain 12VDC. (ymmv)
Will CPU fan provide enough pressure to get adequate airflow through the filter? Most CPU fans are axial, thus providing high airflow but at low pressure, while fans in PAPR are typically radial.
Regarding the first two, I can’t say a thing. However, Christian Drosten addressed the Chloroquine paper and named some very important facts about the study which make him very cautious about the results.
The trial was not fully randomised and not double-blind. This probably lead (FTR, likely involuntarily!) to a biased sample considering age and, more importantly, STAGE OF THE INFECTION (which is not clearly stated, but as as specialist for SARS, he can deduce from the facts given). The treated group was older and in a later stage of infection. While this seems to be even supporting the efficacy of the drug, it probably does not because of the way they tested for the efficacy: they used throat swaps to measure the virus concentration instead of lung expectorant test. Drosten said in relation to their own studies (on the Munich cluster, published here ) that they have reason to believe that the virus replication is strongest in the throats during the early stages. Later stages do so in the lung. Combined with other information given in the study and about chloroquine, he is very cautious about the results.
ETA days later:
I frigging forgot the link to the Munich cluster study.
Added.
They are singing coronaopera in Italy, let’s show we can do something amazing too! On Friday the all Finns will go to their windows or balconies to dance (style free) or jump around to our national anthem, Sandstorm by Darude. You can wave something white or blue to make the atmosphere perfect (unused toilet paper is cool). You can use your own device or arrange a proper stereo to your yard.
Why. On. Earth? Because most people don’t have anything else to do right now.
Time:20.3.2020 klo 17.00-17.30.
Post a video to the event!
In case you don’t know the lyrics:
Chorus: Titti tii di tti tii di tti tii di tti ti di tti tii di tti tii di tti tii di tti ti! repeat
I thought that would be Ievan Polkka
The actual Finnish national anthem Maamme (Our Land) is plagiarised from a German drinking song called Der Papst und der Sultan (The Pope and the Sultan).
New York’s case load jumped from 3086 on 19 March to 5711 on the 20th.
Yeah, yeah. Exponential growth, and all that.
https://nssac.bii.virginia.edu/covid-19/dashboard allows you to see the statistics at any point at time.
the accordion in Papst und Sultan reminded me of this video
To a hammer, everything is a nail. To an accordion, everything is a polka.
