Staying the Course -- April 28, 2020

[Superbob]

Greetings Coursers! Hope you all are well and in good spirits.

Looks like we're beginning to "reopen" the economy state by state, locality by locality. Don't remember in my lifetime ever shutting it down to the degree it was this time. Hopefully we'll be sensible as we go back to work or to dine or to worship (etc) and continue to observe precautions and we'll have the emergency in our rear-view mirrors before too much longer.

Been busy with de-cluttering and fix-up and yard work around the home. That's a good workout in itself. My weight is down 36 pounds since this time last year. OHS had an impact, but proud to say I've continued the walking and workouts, and am much more disciplined about snacking than I used to be. Still need to get consult with specialist on what to do about my incisional hernia but not a great time to travel to visit a major medical facility or potentially have a procedure there. So may arrange a tel-med session to get some expert advice.

Don't have much more right now. Probably will check in later this week.

Look forward to hearing from one and all. Stay strong. Stay smart, Stay safe.

Cheers,
Superbob

 

[MartinF]

I think Spring is finally here. The birds are all making noise and I think we have a pair of doves nesting in the backyard. The weather is warm now, no more rain.
This past weekend I spent a couple hours repairing our gas grill. The ignitor was bad so I replaced it. Also ordered some heat shields that go over the burners. Cleaned out the insides and bought a new cover. So now it's ready to use.
I'm getting out almost every day to walk or walk/run. Still working from home but might have to go in soon. The work from home ends this week so I'm waiting for them to tell us how we will return to work. I'm also getting some work from overseas that I will need to spend time with.
Looking forward to May and the easing of restrictions.

 

[Superman]

Congrats on the weight loss, although I must say, open heart surgery seems like a pretty drastic way to get things moving in the right direction. I wouldn’t advise it for most. Although it has worked for me in the past.

I’ve seen a couple posters mention hair getting a bit long. For the price of a haircut or two, one can pick up a decent set of clippers with various length guards. Not too difficult for folks who keep it high and tight. Still can’t convince my boys to let dad give them a “Superguy Haircut”. Fancy word for a buzz. I cut my own hair for a couple years trying to be overly budget conscious. Nobody ever asked if they charged me for that, so I must have done okay.

Teaching is done for the summer! Only one job to worry about now. Yay! Speaking of which, back to it...

 

[Superbob]

Well, looks like another time that previous week's STC is one-upping this week's STC... lol No matter. Who knows what day, week, or month we're in any more. We're living in corona-v time, baby!

Carry on, Coursers, wherever you may be.

 

[Protimenow]

There are probably still some 'landmarks' that might help us to know what day this is:

The Sunday newspaper always gets her on Monday mornings (after the neighbor has had a chance to read my paper), new grocery sales usually start on Wednesdays; trash pickup for me is on a Monday; my wife and I have a phone call (we can't visit anymore) with a 100 year old nun. We binge watch the same series night after night - so this doesn't help with sense of time.

Wednesday and Friday aren't always a problem - at least, not at breakfast or dinnertimes - my wife doesn't eat meat on either day (although she may not always do this on Wednesdays). Anyway, that's how we sort of keep track of the days here in the Los Angeles area.

 

[Superman]

There are probably still some 'landmarks' that might help us to know what day this is:

The Sunday newspaper always gets her on Monday mornings (after the neighbor has had a chance to read my paper), new grocery sales usually start on Wednesdays; trash pickup for me is on a Monday; my wife and I have a phone call (we can't visit anymore) with a 100 year old nun. We binge watch the same series night after night - so this doesn't help with sense of time.

Wednesday and Friday aren't always a problem - at least, not at breakfast or dinnertimes - my wife doesn't eat meat on either day (although she may not always do this on Wednesdays). Anyway, that's how we sort of keep track of the days here in the Los Angeles area.

My phone and watch tell me what day it is.

*I know you were just having fun.

We only had one work related schedule mishap so far during this mess. Considering ourselves lucky. And trash didn’t go out one time.

 

[epstns]

@Superman said "I’ve seen a couple posters mention hair getting a bit long. For the price of a haircut or two, one can pick up a decent set of clippers with various length guards."

I would try that, but none of the stores that remain open have anything remotely resembling a hair clipper. They only have beard trimming and "man-scaping" kits. No clippers with cutting guides or tools; nothing that could handle a mop like mine. Tried to buy on-line? The web sites seem to all say "Thank you for your order. It will be shipped around August 22nd." The myth of instant availability on the web is being shattered daily as demand outstrips the supply chain in so many spots.

As the "wear a mask" orders cover more and more of the country, there are no masks to be bought locally or on line. My wife has been sewing them, but she now finds that elastic is on back-order everywhere you look. The only way she can now make a mask is for one of us to sacrifice a piece of clothing. Soon we will be wearing masks that show "Jockey" on their elastic. Might start a new fad?

I'm still here at work, keeping my attention away from the TV news briefings. Summer may be happening in some parts of the country, but here in the Upper Rust Belt it is still just spring. That means rain. . . rain. . . rain. We've had over 2 inches of rain yesterday, rained most of the last weekend, and over the next 10 days there is just one day with no rain in the forecast. Just steady, soaking rain -- not the cloudbursts and flooding. Some of the local rivers are approaching flood levels, but nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year. The new normal in summer weather around here seems to be that it doesn't get dependably nice until late May or early June.

Next week I get to try my first on-line medical appointment. I still have follow-ups twice a year with my radiation oncologist. Given the results of my blood test last week, this will just be a check-in and consultation. All is well. I really feel sorry for the folks who are in need of in-person follow-ups these days. Some appointments have been postponed (like my ophthalmologist, audiologist, dentist) or canceled. That must add a lot of stress for patients awaiting advice.

Doing OK, though. I just wish I could get some new glasses and a haircut.

 

[Superbob]

Another fun way I determine what day of the week it is: Is this NCIS night? Absolutely must-see TV show for my wife and I, on Tuesday nights. Love the cast, even with a few changes over the years. Mark Harmon as "Gibbs" of course centers it all. So especially in the first days of any week, I ask myself, "Is this NCIS night?" Works for me.

As for a show of resolve amid time of crisis I nominate the cardinal family right outside my bedroom window. Amid torrential rain and strong winds this morning, the female cardinal stayed the course keeping her eggs warm in that nest she so meticulously constructed. She'll be there for 11 to 14 days 'til the eggs become super-hungry chicks for mom and pop redbirds to feed. Been a blessing to watch this play out just a few feet away.

Re "telemedicine," supposedly becoming the way of the future. DW and I recently had our first routine visit with our GP via home computer. It went well. Easy to connect and communicate. No, I don't think it will eliminate the occasional need for in-person appointments. But it is a convenient way to communicate regarding ongoing concerns.

I may try taking it to next level because my local doctors all have recommended a renowned surgeon in Charlotte, a six-hour drive away, as the go-to guy for hernia repair, minimally invasive when possible. Thought maybe I could at least introduce myself, show the problem (incisional, near top of abdomen), and maybe go there when it's safer later this year.

My cardiologists and nurses here have suggested that if it's not causing problems, I might consider trying to just live with it, since I've had OHS twice and cutting into that area again could be problematic. It is a good point. However, I worry that sooner or later it WILL bring complications. And this surgeon is known for minimally invasive technique. So in a long-winded way, I am saying telemed might work for making an initial connection and getting an idea of what's feasible, or not -- what the options might be.

Finally, I am going to be brave tomorrow and do our grocery shopping in person. We've been doing online orders and pickup and while the grocery workers are terrific you often get bizarre substitutions for what you wanted. Large pack of Diet Mountain Dew, for example -- UGH! So my plan is to be there when they open at 7, all masked and gloved up, and follow my list, aisle by aisle, picking up what we want, hopefully. And washing and scrubbing afterwards. I'm not panic-stricken by the pandemic; however, for a person of my advanced age and multiple medical challenges along life's road, I believe precautions are prudent.

Take care, you all!

 

[Duffey]

Good luck with your grocery shopping, Superbob! Talk of finding a way of having a 100 day baseball season is the news I’m keeping up with.

 

[Protimenow]

Superbob: you may do a bit of local research. Grocery stores here in Southern California are opening an hour early for old people or others at risk. I've tried this twice - and although it may have taken a few minutes to get into the store (the others in line before me get in first, and they make a careful count of shopers in the store - one goes out, anoher is allowed in - but we get first crack at the stock, so we're not always looking at empty shelves. The put limits on some items, but this is understandable.

I haven't exavctly dione telemecine (which, I think, involves a camera at both sides of a conversation), but I've had quite a few talks with my new PCP - who I have never met, and who has never ome any closer to me than a phone handset.

Superman - Although I sometimes make feeble attempts at humor, I didn't in this post (other than the claim that the neighber reads my paper and delivers it the next day - in actuality, someone IS stealing my newspaper if I don't go outside before it gets nabbed). The othre stuff - trash day, phone call to old nun, etc., were serious.

Although phone and (in my clock will tell me what day it is, when I wake up on many mornings, I wonder 'what day is this?' I think that many others go thriough this. When I look at my phone or clock, and I see a day, sometimes I think 'this must be wrong,' then I go through an assessment of the lst few days.

Having a TV show that you like to watch is good for one day, but may not be all that helpful in the morning of that day. And I doubt people are saying 'I watched NCIS four days ago, so it must be Saturday.' But, at least we have devices that can easily remind us what day it is.

It's Thursday when I'm writing this. For some reason, it's feeling a lot like Friday. Don't ask me why. at least I won't have to worry about eating fish or vegetables today...

 

[Superbob]

Good luck with your grocery shopping, Superbob! Talk of finding a way of having a 100 day baseball season is the news I’m keeping up with.

100 days -- I'd take it! BTW, my son was slaving away last night on a plan the regional sports commission asked him to help prepare for the reopening of sporting events (baseball, softball, soccer, cheerleading, etc) in our area. Sports tourism is huge hereabouts. Hope they find a way to swing it safely ....

 

[epstns]

SB - I can imagine what you're going through with that hernia. One of my high school buddies (yep, still keep in close touch with 5 or 6 of them) has had multiple abdominal surgeries for complications of lymphoma, and after the last one, he developed a major abdominal hernia. He was able to find a doc in the Chicago area who specialized in hernia repair where the hernia occurred due to multiple other surgeries. Friend is doing just fine, other than the fact that he no longer has a navel. The doc said he would just leave that part out, as those darned things are just post-op infections looking for a time to happen.

DW and I have been doing our grocery shopping in person all along. We have a list of the "Senior Citizen" hours for all the major chains in the area, and since we are up early anyway, we can easily get there. Even with early-bird senior hours, though, there are still a lot more empty spaces on the shelves and in the coolers than we are used to.

It is surprising how many things are going "out of stock" these days. Since there is no retail outlet to purchase face masks, my wife has taken to sewing our own. She has her sewing machine and has gotten quite good at it, BUT now there appears to be a system-wide shortage of critical materials for home-crafters. It has gotten difficult to find fabric, thread and especially elastic -- even among the major on-line sellers.

Then there's the question of haircuts. My hair still grows like weeds. I know that I am lucky, being a man "of a certain age" and still needing regular haircuts, but right now it just looks unkempt, and it feels out of control. This will get much worse, once the weather warms up (if that happens this year). Since the barbers are going to be closed here for at least another month, I started looking for hair clippers. Sheesh! All of the on-line vendors say "Thanks for your order. We expect to ship in around early August. . . " I finally found one of my computer-parts & hardware vendors who, for some reason, carries a selection of other household stuff in stock and ordered one. We'll see if it gets here. Even the pet supply places are out of stock.

I think the world is going to get a lot crazier before it ever settles down. . . so I'll just be here, Stayin' the Course!

 

[honeybunny]

Texas has begun a reopen process with malls, restaurants, and movie theaters allowed to open at 25% capacity. How that will be monitored I have no idea. Imagine traveling to a mall or theater only to be told they’d reached their capacity and you can’t go in. Tonight’s news reports will tell how it went. Meanwhile I’m still working from home and lucky to be doing so. I’m in the oil and gas industry so folks are being put on convenience leave which allows them to collect unemployment while keeping your benefits and seniority until things pick up and they call you back to work. I went through that two years ago for nine weeks. Our Houston office will be opened in 4 phases. First phase is for those who want to return for whatever reason. There will be protocols in place including temperature monitoring as people enter the building. No one will be forced to return so I’m hoping I can continue working from home when things settle down.

 

[Protimenow]

'Sold Out' should be one of the least of a theater's worries. Today's electronic ticketing systems would know how many tickets to sell and, when a maximum is reached, stop selling tickets for that performance. You shouldn't have people waiting at the door, and having to tell them that there are no seats available.

There are other issues - it makes sense to seat people so that they have two empty seats between them. They should be seated so that they're not direcltly in front of, or behind, another person. But what about a family that 'shelters in place' at home - they're not at risk of infecting each other. What about parents with kids. Will parents put up with beng separated from their kids? Will the kids behave without a parent to encourage them to stop messing around and watch the movie?

What happens between screenings? Are alll the seats, carpet, spaces between seats, etc. cleaned and sanitized? How long does this take? Do you need extra staff to do the rush cleanup?

I'm also interested in how the theaters handle this - and how the customers put up with it - and also, whether there's a spike in COVID-19 cases two or three weeks from now.

 

[Paleowoman]

My GP put me on the government's extremely vulnerable/high risk group the week before last. This means that some supermarkets are now offering priority delivery shopping slots so that makes life much less stressful as we cannot go out to any stores, and although I've managed find find slots most weeks it has been difficult, means staying up in the night sometimes and looking every few minutes for a slot.

Friday just gone a food parcel was delivered quite out of the blue from the local council, presumably from the government ! I was astonished !

Hair is growing long. Very funny cartoon in the Spectator the other week:

Sun is out again today so I'll be getting more vitamin D

 

[Protimenow]

Mine is growing out, too. I'm considering bleaching it so I can look like Dr. Brown (I think that's the character's name) on Back to the Future. I can go around yelling 'jigawatts.'

 

[Superbob]

Mine is growing out, too. I'm considering bleaching it so I can look like Dr. Brown (I think that's the character's name) on Back to the Future. I can go around yelling 'jigawatts.'

Dr. Emmett Brown. A movie character great. Hmmm. I wonder if "Back to the Future" has some message to us stuck here in stalag Covid-19.

Some words of wisdom from Dr. Brown:

• Dr. Emmett Brown : If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious ****.
• [repeated Line]
  Dr. Emmett Brown : Great Scott!
• 
  
• [last lines]
  Marty McFly : Hey, Doc, we better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
  Dr. Emmett Brown : Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads.
• 
  
• Marty McFly : Whoa. Wait a minute, Doc. Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?
  Dr. Emmett Brown : Precisely.
  Marty McFly : Whoa. This is heavy.
  Dr. Emmett Brown : There's that word again. "Heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?

 

[Protimenow]

It looks as if I'll have to see that movie (plus 2 and 3) again (if only so I can style my hair like Dr. Brown's).

 

[Superman]

Just gave myself and my oldest son our first Covid Cut’s. I still got it.

Much bigger pile of hair after his than after mine. About the same length. Hmmm...

Gave the yard it’s first cut too. Beautiful day. First in a while. Done teaching for the summer, so down to just one job. Got caught up on yard work. Burned all our sticks from pruning in the Firepit. Cleaned up some brush. Got the edging done. Good day overall.

 

[dornole]

My husband has a layered scissors cut and is starting to look like Andrew Jackson. I’ve attached a photo of the US $20 bill for reference for overseas friends. Demands for me to address the situation are growing. I sense disaster looming.