Open Thread Friday 2-28-2020

Our conversations are not simply abstract words, they result in changes in other peoples lives. When writing a gardening subject a couple years ago a few C99 members in warmer climatic zones kept mentioning their fig harvest. I bought a plant for the greenhouse last April. If all goes well I will taste my first fresh picked fig this season.
soe fig.JPG

Three primary concerns with the corona virus.
1) Minimize risk for of becoming infected. I live in an area that has become a bedroom community for silicon valley workers, tourism is our primary industry and have a very active airport. If it is not here locally already, expect it soon. Not wearing a mask, but taking all the precautions I use during peak flu outbreaks. Limited trips for required shopping, not attending large gatherings, having a set of clothes for trips to town, extra aware of hygiene and surroundings.

2) Minimize the risk of infecting others. Have a plan and supplies for a period of self quarantine. Will need to eat, do laundry, take care of the pets and still pay the bills. Monitor temperature and other signs of infection. Maybe provide comfort and supportive care if become ill with the virus. Stressful times of quarantine is not the time to make drastic dietary changes. Buy foods you normally eat or at least the ingredients and experiment with new cooking skills. I cook mostly from basic ingredients and avoid ultra unprocessed foods discussed in last weeks diary.

3) Minimize risk of current medical conditions creating a health emergency. If the healthcare system is flooded with coronavirus patients there is less capacity to treat other medical conditions.

Understand your chronic medical conditions. Hopefully you have worked with your provider to develop a plan to know how to monitor for a change in condition. Identified when to implement self treatment, when to notify your provider of a change in condition or go to the emergency room. May need to contact insurance company to ensure payment of care with some insurance plans.

Diabetes: Sudden poor blood sugar control can be an early sign of infection. Not eating meals on your regular schedule can cause low blood sugar events with some diabetic drugs.

Heart conditions: Heart and lung function are closely related. When the lungs are compromised the heart tries to pick up the slack and begins working harder. Congestive heart failure is often monitored with checking daily weights for a quick multi pound weight gain indicating fluid retention. Most home blood pressure cuffs measure both pressure and heart rate.

Lung conditions: Has your doctor provided you a plan on monitoring your oxygenation or changes in lung capacity, steps to improve and when to seek help? The costs for a home monitor pulse oximeter and
peak flow meter have become significantly less expensive over the past few years.

Medications in general: Do you know what condition each of your medications are treating? Which of your meds are critical to your health? If any of your meds are stopped abruptly are they known to cause withdrawal symptoms? This information is easier to find since Prescription Package Inserts (PPI) are now required to include information on withdrawal potential. There can be a lag in time between research and publishing in the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) required PPI. If a medication is not available are there lifestyle changes that can be made temporarily or an over-the-counter med substitution?

Keeping up with the News
CDC

Updates from China

We may have an issue with various government's national policy does not mean individuals are not trying to do their best. Simply keeping up with the workload can be exhausting.

Doctor recovering from COVID-19 reveals HIV drugs treatment, willing to donate plasma

Less than half a month after recovering from novel coronavirus pneumonia, Wang Guangfa, a leading Chinese respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, was back in the fight against the epidemic.

His name became widely searched since the initial outbreak of the epidemic as he has been the first coronavirus-infected and cured expert, as well as the fifth cured patient in China. He was among the first batch of national medical experts dispatched to Wuhan in early January.

After being discharged from the hospital on January 30, Wang soon devoted himself back to work, shuttling between his hospital and National Health Commission meetings. He keeps busy with answering calls from those who are concerned about the virus in this national campaign.
....
He remembers the gloomy atmosphere in the empty halls of hospitals during the SARS epidemic in 2003, and the images of rapidly deteriorating lungs on CT scans that he recalls gave him chills.

"Although I was mentally prepared for every battle, it was a little frustrating me to learned that I tested positive for coronavirus. This is the first time I've been infected on the frontline, despite previous exposure to the more contagious H1N1 swine flu and the more deadly plague," Wang said, recalling the day he was confirmed with the novel coronavirus.

He speculated he contracted the illness from checking patients in a crowded fever clinic where the coronavirus was highly concentrated.

Saga of the 911 first responders here in the US is a cautionary tale of totally relying in the government to keep one safe.

Despite the toxic particles in the air, rescue workers and cleanup crews were permitted to work at Ground Zero without respirators. A week after the attack, EPA head Christine Todd Whitman informed residents of lower Manhattan that the air was “safe to breathe and [the] water is safe to drink.” Mayor Rudy Giuliani expressed similar claims of limited toxicity, encouraging New Yorkers to return to their normal routines.
Allegations of Mismanagement

Several years on, first responders began falling sick en masse. As of 2007, around seven out of 10 faced respiratory issues as a result of contamination from Ground Zero.

Following is repeated information from a diary yesterday.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpXoY_1EG8Y]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGJNspLRdrc]
An option to running the water continuously is use fresh towel for each action: turn off the water throw towel away, soap use new towel to turn on water throw towel, rinse, dry hand and use towel to turn water off. Other options are have a second person turn the water on and off or only use a facility sink handles in the surgical prep area that may be turned off with a forearm.

One verse of Happy Birthday is the recommended time to wash hands thoroughly.

Think of the advice or rules as a small child when in public.

  • Don't touch anything in a store you do not plan to buy.
  • Don't touch your face.
  • If you can not keep your hands to yourself keep them in your pocket.
  • Don't stand so close to that person.
  • You can eat when we get home.
  • Stop licking your lips
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Comments

What we need is a clear picture of risks
without so much speculative theories.

Good luck with the figs>

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7 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

Do you think it would be prudent to have some theraflu on hand?

I wish I had built the sauna I designed awhile back. Saunas can act like an artificial fever combating virus'.

Just pruned our fig, barely beating it's budding out. We let it become tree-like and couldn't harvest the higher ones. A few years back I cut it way back to a bush where I try to maintain it.

Thanks again for the health advice. Hadn't thought of "travel clothes" as a technique.

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8 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

studentofearth's picture

@Lookout Most of those products on the shelf contain different combinations of the same ingredients. 1) analgesic (pain) and antipyretic (fever) 2) decongestant (nasal pressure) 3) antihistamine (runny nose, tickle cough, sometimes itchy eyes, drowsiness to induce sleep), 4) expectorant (thins mucus for cough or runny nose) and 5) cough suppressant (method similar to opioid action to suppress cough). A few of the products are single ingredient.

Read the ingredients in your favorite Theraflu product. Have those single ingredient products in your medicine cabinet at home. Take only the ingredients desired to suppress current symptoms. For example, if you want to benefit from a slight fever to fight a virus avoid the the acetaminophen found in the combination product.

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4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@studentofearth
Why spend extra money for somebody else's standardized relative doses of 2 or 3 or 4 different chemicals, instead of spending less money and treating each of your symptoms according to their particular intensities and your own responsiveness to the individual meds?

Also, I never take acetaminophen. Never, not ever. I have my reasons -- which are not idiosyncratic to my physiology.

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4 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

studentofearth's picture

@UntimelyRippd It was created in the lab and has been used medically for decades without our knowing its mechanism of action. Ironically, now that research on marijuana is legal in this country one of the proposed mechanisms of action is activity in the endocannabinoid system.

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3 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Found this at Democracy Now via Truthdig

“In 2018, the Trump administration fired the government’s entire pandemic response chain of command.”

and this

Here’s a message for Trump and his cronies: This is not about the stock market or your reelection; the coronavirus epidemic — or pandemic — demands a concerted, professional, fully funded global public health response.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/trump-officials-are-cynically-spreadin...

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studentofearth's picture

@QMS The federal coronovirus team is filled with financial, political and foreign relations experts in message control. The democrats are desperate for a message a voting majority of public will buy to get back into control without Bernie. We are in the dingy, glad you are on the boat with us. Maybe we can upgrade our vessel.

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4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Like the level headed suggestions you made. Going to grocery store for first time since returning from Costa Rica and making list with some of things you mentioned in mind.

Your OT on health has really become timely on so many levels. Thanks.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

studentofearth's picture

@jakkalbessie Glad you find it helpful.

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3 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

enhydra lutris's picture

common sense: go out when others don't, like maybe Tuesday at 8 or 9 am for necessary shopping. I've always eschewed those shopping cart wipe dispensers as silly, but during this period may use them if I use a shopping cart. If you are at home, and aren't entertaining, you don't need to be overly concerned about your faucet handles and door knobs and such, there is nobody else there to contaminate them. Think, how often do you need to sanitize your steering wheel, keyboard and checkbook, and why? Don't go overboard with the anti-microbial/anti-bacterial wipes unless you are immune challenged, but do keep a packet in your vehicle to use as needed. Generally it is public spaces and public interactions that are problematic.

Sardonic helpful hint - this is a good excuse to avoid those tediious interactiions with your co-workers.

Also - if you decide to wear a mask, paint fangs or a fu-manchu on it, you still have only one life to live, so keep it light.

have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

stay 3 feet away from others, seemingly based on sneeze or cough radius. Find a cap or hat that fits and trace its diameter on a piece of poster board. From the center of its diameter, scribe and cut a 3 foot circle, then cut out the hat tracing. You now have a 3 foot washer shape. Tape it to the crown of the hat and wear it when in public or at work, advising others to stay clear of your safety zone. Wink

Alternatively. nose to fingertip is about 3 feet, so periodically sweep out your safety zone while explaining what you re doing and why. Wink Wink

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6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@enhydra lutris the window seat is not an option on the a bus. I could take a bike if a chin strap is added to the cap. Or maybe I could ease myself into car and turn my head sideways to pass through doorways.

Ah heck, I'll just use my arm as a measurement. Smile

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4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

professional wrong person gives elaborate reason to oppose Bernie

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5 users have voted.

@gjohnsit
is that TF almost never gets mentioned, derisively or otherwise. Until recently, I had largely put him out of my mind.

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7 users have voted.

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

studentofearth's picture

@gjohnsit the coronovirus first. The globalists, world travelers and evangelicals. One has needed to be able to afford air travel, cruise ships, resorts, business conferences or provide services to that group which includes healthcare workers. The US panic buying reported has been at Costco, not a store for the poorer class.

This has been Thomas Friedman's audience over the years. It is interesting to see him try and redirect that economic class's opinion while it is in a state of stress to a political goal.

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4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Cassiodorus's picture

Coronavirus shows the problem with Bernie Sanders socialism

The basic arguments of this opinion piece are that:

1) tens of thousands of people need to die every year in America because the free market is an angry god, demanding daily sacrifices

2) America (and not China, the place where the field of study is most evident) will develop the coronavirus vaccine first because the scientists all check to be sure billionaires are profiting, before they do any research.

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6 users have voted.

"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

studentofearth's picture

@Cassiodorus my bold emphasis

But the ultimate question here is whether Sanders's socialist agenda of higher taxes and regulation would have no harmful impact on our health and our access to that which, as proven by the COVID-19 epidemic, we sometimes need — the best drugs in the shortest time.

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3 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

snoopydawg's picture

So much for the Byedone being the front runner for so long. lol.. keep trying to rig this DNC.

Bloomberg has shown the world how the DNC will sell themselves out faster than the whores in congress. Or it's a tie. But seriously this should rise the hackles of even the centrists that insist Trump is the problem and that if an ex Republican who has supported more republicans than dems then they are just being blind and stupid. Period.

The article on this:

'The Democratic Party Has a Problem': Bloomberg Hires Super Tuesday State Democratic Vice Chairs

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, hired party vice chairs in Texas and California to work on his campaign just before the states prepare to vote in the presidential primaries on March 3—a move that drew charges from progessives of an attempt buy influence from party elites.

Here is Krystal and Saager calling out Warren for her lies and backtracking:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epwzcl20fyM&list=TLPQMjgwMjIwMjA0xOfYRh5...

BTW Warren told us that in no way would she have support from PACs or Super Pacs and yet she has just allowed one to buy ads in states that she cannot win. If this doesn't show that she is just a spoiler to keep Bernie from winning what will?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

studentofearth's picture

@snoopydawg Thanks for the update.

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5 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

enhydra lutris's picture

send thoughts and prayers?

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3 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

earthling1's picture

since the Party is a private organization, why couldn't Bloomberg simply give every Dem voter $100 to vote for him?
I don't really see a damn thing illegal about it.
The general election, of course, it would not be legal.

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5 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Lily O Lady's picture

@earthling1

anyway? It wasn’t legal for SCOTUS to intervene in Bush v. Gore but that didn’t stop ‘em. I’m cautiously pessimistic.

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5 users have voted.

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

snoopydawg's picture

@earthling1

He gives money to people whose cities need it and then they endorse him. This has to be seen as bribery, but congress has allowed its members to accept bribes as long as they come from a lobbyist middleman.

But his buying people who have power to decide who gets to be the candidate should damn well be against the rules. It's blatantly putting the thumb on the scale.

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4 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Granma's picture

@snoopydawg when he said he had made a lot of money and was giving it away. I would call it buying endorsements, not giving.

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4 users have voted.
mhagle's picture

And I am excited about your fig tree. Last year when I went out to water the garden, 5 or 6 figs were my breakfast. Pretty great. Enjoy!

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2 users have voted.

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

studentofearth's picture

@mhagle I expected two or three years at least. Had planned on pollinating by hand like I do the citrus trees. Really surprised when I saw small fig shapes. It is a self pollinator. Which is good since didn't realize they are pollinated by wasps.

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1 user has voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

janis b's picture

and your wise and practical perspective.

I have a dilemma, and was wondering what you and others think -

It’s been extraordinarily hot and dry here. I’ve never seen the level of the two dams that supply a majority of Auckland’s water, as low before. I have a small veggie garden thickly mulched, and a native plant and tree garden. I am trying to get a hit on how much water they need to survive, while keeping the watering to a minimum, hoping that it’s enough. I hate to think that the native plants and trees might be stressed. I haven’t planted anything in the veggie garden now for almost 2 months, taking the weather into consideration. I guess my dilemma is basically trying to make the right choice regarding watering or not, and what is best overall, for all.

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studentofearth's picture

@janis b I live in a dry climate. If extra dry during winter our local experts suggest watering periodically. Also to water if shrubs and trees may not be old enough to have extensive roots or are native in arena with higher rainfalls.

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3 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

janis b's picture

@studentofearth

I know an arborist I can talk to. Fortunately almost everything in the native garden is mature, having been planted between 23 and 15 years ago, with just a few planted within the past few years. The area is covered with 5 inches of arbour mulch, which is more woody than leafy, but I will ask the arborist what else he might recommend in preparation for the future.

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Lookout's picture

@janis b

like ollas.
https://suburbanfarmonline.com/2010/08/09/make-your-own-ollas/

...especially near your young perennial trees.

All the best!

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

janis b's picture

@Lookout

I remember a past weekly watch where you spoke of ollas, and thinking then that it sounded like an elegant and ideal solution. Just a couple days ago I spoke of it to a friend. I don’t remember seeing this link you’ve included about how to make your own, but thank you for it now. I will make a few before the next dry season.

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earthling1's picture

@janis b
the most vulnerable trees and plants with netting?
Depending on the wind conditions lightweight poles and cheap fishnet cut the intensity and heat from the sun from slight to modest, whichever is needed.
Larger sized fishnet can be folded to create more shading as required and allows for adjustment.

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2 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

janis b's picture

@earthling1

for next season. I’ve been looking at shadecloth products available, but hadn’t considered fishnet. I like the idea, because the material is so light and flexible, and more attractive than some of the other products. Thank you.


https://www.aliexpress.com/i/32864550862.html

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studentofearth's picture

Individuals are not related. First patient is in the Portland area.

The employee lives in Washington County and is isolated at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro in what state health officials described Friday as another case of an unexplained transmission of the disease.

The patient hadn’t been under monitoring for coronavirus symptoms and doesn’t appear to have traveled to any of the countries with outbreaks or have associated with anyone who did, Oregon Health Authority officials said.

That means the person could have caught the disease from someone in the community.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM2MvOMp9ZA]

In Central Oregon two passengers from the cruise ship allowed into port in Cambodia have been self isolating themselves. (my bold)

Meanwhile, we had arrived home and learned of the possible virus case aboard our ship, so we decided to impose a two-week home quarantine on ourselves. Local health officials were notified of our situation and contacted us to assist. Eventually, all 781 passengers still in Phnom Penh and all 747 crew members in Sihanoukville were tested for the virus. All tests were negative, and flights home were allowed to continue.

Deschutes County Health subsequently contacted us to say that the virus report on our ship was probably a false alarm, and they would not enforce a quarantine on us. Regardless, using an abundance of caution, we have elected to maintain our self-imposed quarantine, which will continue to the end of this week. Meanwhile, the full impact of the coronavirus remains to be seen.

up
3 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.