How is Covid19 affecting you?

[Coop]

The ones that get their nutrition from Lake Mead? 

[Tpt life]

I drove to Cali once. I was impressed by a forest of whirly top trees. Some had three leaves and some four, but the leaves spun around in a big circle. Those trees were super thick on some hills. 

[Robby W]

I forgot about eucalyptus trees. We have gillions of them. They are known as killer trees because they tend to drop big limbs on passersby. And they go up like a candle when on fire. They are a bear to cut down because they are so hard. Originally brought here from down under for railroad ties, they now infest California. Their leaves are sticky and the seed pods hurt if you step on them barefoot (hey, I was a kid once!). And you can't cut decent lumber from the trees. The stuff twists and splits like crazy. 

You can make good stuff to clear your nose from the oil. 

[wtnhighlander]

Eucalyptus sounds a lot like sweetgum, only more aromatic. Lots of that stuff around here. Supposed to make nice furniture if you can get a plank to dry flat.

[Mark J]

How is it good for railroad ties if you can't make a board out of it?

[Chet]

22 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Eucalyptus sounds a lot like sweetgum, only more aromatic. Lots of that stuff around here. Supposed to make nice furniture if you can get a plank to dry flat.

There are two type of eucalyptus, one is supposed to be better for furniture.  Unfortunately that isn't the one that is here all over California.  My dad had a small chest that he brought home from Australia from during WWII.  That thing to this day still smell great every time you open it and is actually a pretty wood.

[Robby W]

44 minutes ago, Mark J said:

How is it good for railroad ties if you can't make a board out of it?

And thus the reason they aren't being used. Someone thought they would make good windbreaks, until the branches fall off.

[Mark J]

So @TerryMcK, how goes things on your side of the pond this holiday season with the new virus strain?

[Coop]

Unfortunately, our son that lost his wife in Sept. and went thru Thanksgiving and Christmas without her, tested positive today.

[JohnG]

How are his symptoms?

[treeslayer]

Keeping him and your family in our prayers @Coop and a speedy recovery, so much of this :$:&; around

[Coop]

About 5-6 hours of aches and chills this morning and a temp of 99.4 is all. He almost didn’t get tested but decided it best for our sake. 

[Coop]

Almost don’t want to get tested tomorrow but I guess we better. But hey, 14 days of quarantine means a couple of days of shop time. 

[JohnG]

1 hour ago, Coop said:

Almost don’t want to get tested tomorrow but I guess we better. But hey, 14 days of quarantine means a couple of days of shop time. 

Per CDC guidelines, if you get tested on day 5 after known exposure and are negative, you can end quarantine after day 7 from the exposure date.

[Tpt life]

9 hours ago, JohnG said:

Per CDC guidelines, if you get tested on day 5 after known exposure and are negative, you can end quarantine after day 7 from the exposure date.

Local restrictions can be, and often are more restrictive. Our local health department requires two full weeks from exposure and a negative test does not impact that. A positive test however, limits to ten days after symptoms set in. Always good to know your local guidelines. 

[Mark J]

9 hours ago, JohnG said:

Per CDC guidelines, if you get tested on day 5 after known exposure and are negative, you can end quarantine after day 7 from the exposure date.

 

I wonder why the two extra days of quarantine after the negative test? But then it usually takes 3 days to get the test results back.

[Coop]

10 hours ago, JohnG said:

Per CDC guidelines, if you get tested on day 5 after known exposure and are negative, you can end quarantine after day 7 from the exposure date.

We called this morning to make an appointment and they told us to wait 5 days after exposure. 

[TerryMcK]

On 12/28/2020 at 2:54 PM, Mark J said:

So @TerryMcK, how goes things on your side of the pond this holiday season with the new virus strain?

Lots more restrictions. Whole areas have stay at home orders. We in my area are not in that yet.... but real close to it probably going into yet another nationwide lock down. 72000+ deaths overall and 53000 new cases just today. The hospitals are close to breaking point.
It seems this new strain can be spread easier. We’d also heard of the new South African variant which apparently is as bad to young adults as the regular strain is to older people. 
Fortunately a lot of people have been vaccinated already with the Pfizer Biontech vaccine, including my elderly parents, and will get their second booster dose early January. Care home people and their carers get it first, followed by front line medical staff, seniors over 80 and then it gradually will work through the rest of the population to those 50+.

Younger people will then get it.

We are due to see the Oxford-AstraZenica vaccine to be approved tomorrow Dec 29th so will see that come on stream in the next couple of days. I reckon I will be vaccinated June 2021.

My wife and I haven’t been out to a restaurant nor a bar, theatre, music venue or anything else since February as they are all closed. We get everything delivered food, booze, lumber (had to get that one in), hardware, electrical appliances you name it. My car has done about 50 miles in 10 months! Fortunately I work from home (for a US company as it happens) so it works out ok for me.

I just need a holiday away somewhere but unfortunately that is not possible.

[Mark J]

Just heard on the evening news that the new strain that's been hitting up the UK has been discovered in Colorado.  The affected individual has no travel history.  

2 hours ago, TerryMcK said:

I just need a holiday away somewhere but unfortunately that is not possible.

Amen.  

[drzaius]

8 minutes ago, Mark J said:

Just heard on the evening news that the new strain that's been hitting up the UK has been discovered in Colorado.  The affected individual has no travel history.  

Amen.  

Alberta has at least 1 cases of the variant, a traveler from the UK who has followed all the required proceedures and is not expected to pass it on. I'm not getting too worked up about it. All I can do is be diligent with distancing, masks, and sanitation. 

[wtnhighlander]

A few days ago, when the "new strain" news was breaking, one of the researchers being interviewed made a comment like this: "It's a virus, mutating is what they do. We have recorded over 4000 mutations so far, and this is the first that has been any more contagious than the others."  The clip was immediately cut, and the talking heads resumed talking in an alarmed manner about the new variant.  I just wish that facts could be distributed as facts, and without so much drama.

 

     

[Coop]

16 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

A few days ago, when the "new strain" news was breaking, one of the researchers being interviewed made a comment like this: "It's a virus, mutating is what they do. We have recorded over 4000 mutations so far, and this is the first that has been any more contagious than the others."  The clip was immediately cut, and the talking heads resumed talking in an alarmed manner about the new variant.  I just wish that facts could be distributed as facts, and without so much drama.

 

     

+1

[TerryMcK]

4 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

A few days ago, when the "new strain" news was breaking, one of the researchers being interviewed made a comment like this: "It's a virus, mutating is what they do. We have recorded over 4000 mutations so far, and this is the first that has been any more contagious than the others."  The clip was immediately cut, and the talking heads resumed talking in an alarmed manner about the new variant.  I just wish that facts could be distributed as facts, and without so much drama.

 

     

Absolutely.

As I predicted the Astra Zenica vaccine has just (26 minutes ago at time of writing) been approved for use in the UK. They will start inoculating with this Jan 4.

[Chestnut]

10 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

I just wish that facts could be distributed as facts, and without so much drama.

But that doesn't keep people glued to their TV for the Ad revenue.

The only really important news is the news that they interrupt commercial breaks for.

[Mark J]

That's good news about the Astra Zenica vaccine.  I've heard they have submitted applications to the US FDA, as well.

I can't say that the news media does a great job of reporting the news.  What I'd really like to be hearing right now is where are we in the order of administration of the vaccines.    According to one source a bit over 2 million doses have been administered in the US, but what percent of the first group (healthcare and long term care) does that represent?  How many of that group are left to be treated?   When is the next group likely to be up and how would one even know their turn was approaching or how to get in line?

To me these are obvious questions, and while answers may be lacking at this point, news reports I've seen haven't really acknowledged these as valid points of curiosity.