Coronavirus

Jackwraith wrote: Our local stores have been having trouble keeping yeast and other baking supplies in stock for a while. However, as I probably mentioned somewhere along the way, our daughter picked up some sourdough starter from a friend of mine a while back, which completely obviates the need for yeast. She's been baking or prepping to do so pretty much every day since, which gives her something to do and explore, as well as replacing some shopping needs.

The starter is a great idea. If anyone is totally out, there's a great thread from a yeast geneticist on how to source yeast from dried or fresh fruit.



@schlupp: I'm using deaths reported from JHU's COVID backend and I used World Bank data for the population of DE, ending up with 5,279 deaths for 82.9M people, or 63.7 deaths per 1MM population on my chart.

If states could deficit spend, I'd be more sanguine about the whole thing. But there's the rub. And what happens in Georgia (or AZ, we've handled it horribly) still deeply affects your state with the nature of this thing.

^my favorite local brewery cultivated the yeast they use in their farmhouse beer from local apples.

Sagrilarus wrote: States are stepping up. President Trump has more or less taken himself out of the game, optically appearing more as a heckler than the guy at the podium.

The Washington Post headline: Trump asked if disinfectants could be injected to kill the coronavirus inside the body. Doctors answered: ‘People will die.’

It's like your drunken, stupid uncle was now President of the United States.

We're going to need a special Darwin Award for Trump followers.

hotseatgames wrote: We're going to need a special Darwin Award for Trump followers.

Yeah, but most of them are older and already have kids/grandkids. Is it still a Darwin Award if they remove themselves from the gene pool after they've reproduced?

As long as they do it prior to voting again, yes.

My fb timeline has a bunch of mormons on it defending this weird jag into getting people to go back to failed 19th/early 20th century medicine and it is WILD. A friend is mormon but pretty liberal, obviously a struggle. The primary defense seems to be a "he was just asking questions, don't take him literally and don't take his curiousity so uncharitably" take and then taking his shine uv light on shit thing at face value pretty seriously.

dysjunct wrote: Yesterday the store was completely out of yeast. Stupid mass baking meltdowns. It is probably a good thing as I am trying to save my carb allotment for beer.

Also out of disinfectant wipes. However there was plenty of toilet paper — twelve roll limit per person though.

After six weeks, I was finally able to get some. Picked up several.

Let me know if you want me to send you some.

Gary Sax wrote: My fb timeline has a bunch of mormons on it defending this weird jag into getting people to go back to failed 19th/early 20th century medicine and it is WILD. A friend is mormon but pretty liberal, obviously a struggle. The primary defense seems to be a "he was just asking questions, don't take him literally and don't take his curiousity so uncharitably" take and then taking his shine uv light on shit thing at face value pretty seriously.

I'd be more inclined to be charitable if these same people didn't blow their stacks every time Obama wore a tan suit or whatever. There is a deep malice rooted in tribalism. I realized that when Trump got elected and every day was agony with his terrible choices and repulsive manner; that this was how they felt when Obama was in office. They were horrified by the sight of him as President and grimaced at everything he ever thought was good. What's striking to me is that if you just compare the men, objectively, with regards to how they make choices, how they comport themselves, the way they treat others. One was fundamentally decent and smart. The other, less so. But it doesn't seem to move the needle with diehard supporters. I want the President to be better than me.

The bully pulpit is powerful. It's ironically less powerful with Trump there. He bloviates so much, even a large chunk of GOP think he's full of it all the time, though they like the nativism and tax schedules. I don't think a lot of people are going to start freebasing Lysol. If they want to go UV themselves, sure, go for it. Get that sunburn. Your peeling skin is the virus deflecting off your body, whatever. As long as they don't get in the way of meaningful vaccination programs or start endangering others with their bad choices, cram jade wherever you can fit it if it makes you feel like you're doing something. I think that's what's hurting people and making them seek this kind of woo. The world has such immediacy. It seems impossible to believe a vaccine could be 18mos away, but that's how long things take. Go faster, and you might get a shot that doesn't work, or some kind of thalidomide disaster, God forbid.

This virus is novel. It is a new thing. There are lots of smart people working hard to figure out what it does, how it does it, and how best to treat people in its throes. Treatment regimes are updating constantly. Do your best to minimize the spread. Getting it can be really bad, and getting over it can take a lot of time that you're in the hospital and taking up a space that no one else can utilize. You want that hospital half-empty if you get there.

Stay safe. Tip people. Shop local. Don't take any shit from management. If all they are doing is figuring out how many people to fire while you are actually making food, teaching kids, discovering drugs, delivering mail; tell them to fuck off when they come grubbing. If they want to fire you, they fire you. Food doesn't make itself. This is a chance to effect real change in some systems that desperately need it.

The "he was just asking questions" thing is a primary aspect of the American anti-intellectualism phenomenon. The phrase "college boy" was an insult in the 20th century and that perspective is almost unique to the US, as most other cultures don't consider education to be a detriment, either to society or personally. Most people want intelligent persons to be the leaders. As schlupp noted upthread, the PM of Germany is a scientist and so are some of her ministers. Even if they're not, they're universally highly-educated and specialists in their fields. Vanity Fair just mentioned that the person selected by the HHS secretary in January to run the COVID-19 response was a dog breeder with zero public health experience. Why? Because education isn't valued by these people. Education is an affront to their way of thinking (if you can call it 'thinking.') That's why George W. Bush's campaign promoted him as a "guy you could have a beer with", rather than a "guy who could create policies that could help your life."

As the wealthiest nation in the world, the US response to this problem should've been among the best. Instead, it's going to be the worst because it's the only nation in the world with a culture that values ignorance.

There is an unhealthy dose of believing that opinions are equivalent to facts.

So where we are in AZ which is pretty distressing is that our average number of tests/day is actually going slowly down. And our % hit rate is going up from those tests. This thing will never be under control in the way that we want it to be while states like mine continue to not give a shit. It doesn't matter what California, for example, does if it borders a state like mine.

Rliyen wrote:

dysjunct wrote: Yesterday the store was completely out of yeast. Stupid mass baking meltdowns. It is probably a good thing as I am trying to save my carb allotment for beer.

Also out of disinfectant wipes. However there was plenty of toilet paper — twelve roll limit per person though.

After six weeks, I was finally able to get some. Picked up several.

Let me know if you want me to send you some.

Yeast, beer, or wipes?

Either way we still have some at home, we are just running low. Not really an emergency since we are all healthy and have no comorbidities.

But very kind of you to offer. :brofist:

Our R gov in Iowa is allowing reopening of farmers markets and elective surgeries today, and apparently also awarded a $26m no-bid contract to two Utah companies on the advice of fellow Iowan Ashton Kutcher for COVID testing. Can't wait to see what's next.

Well at least your governor closed farmers markets for some period of time. The one near our house (Houston, TX) seems to be operating this whole time on a different plane of existence.