Topic: How are you dealing with Coronavirus?

[02Pilot]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

[Indofunk]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

I look at this post the same way some people look at film photography: magic 

[Bryan]

What actually bores me the most is that I restrain myself from using power tools in case of an accident. Last thing I want is to be at the clinic for stitches. And since I sometimes tend to be mishaps prone, I have to be extra careful.
Last time I used my belt sander I managed to grind off a fingertip, and I always thought that it was the safest tool in the shop.... This was a couple of weeks ago and I am still missing a bit of skin on my finger.

I actually told my wife I’m not going in the attic to fix anything because it could send me to the Emergency Room.  Our attic is very difficult to get in and out of, that will have to wait until the virus blows over.  Things like painting a few walls and repairing a clock are no big deal. 

[hookstrapped]

This might be of interest. This site has statistics and graphs for every country, new cases, cumulative cases, and deaths.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/

Even though deaths is a lagging indicator, it's probably a bit more indicative of the trajectory of infection since confirmed cases are subject to delays and regional variation of doing tests.

Spoiler alert: it looks pretty bad.

[02Pilot]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

I look at this post the same way some people look at film photography: magic 

Mechanics is mechanics. Think of it like fixing a big broken camera. With an internal combustion engine.

[hookstrapped]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

I look at this post the same way some people look at film photography: magic 

Mechanics is mechanics. Think of it like fixing a big broken camera. With an internal combustion engine.

I think that's exactly what freaks him out.

[02Pilot]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

I look at this post the same way some people look at film photography: magic 

Mechanics is mechanics. Think of it like fixing a big broken camera. With an internal combustion engine.

I think that's exactly what freaks him out.

I feel the same way about electronics. All I know is that they're powered by some sort of magic voodoo smoke, and when it comes out they stop working.

[Indofunk]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

I look at this post the same way some people look at film photography: magic 

Mechanics is mechanics. Think of it like fixing a big broken camera. With an internal combustion engine.

I think that's exactly what freaks him out.

^^^^^^ 

[Indofunk]

If I stopped using potentially dangerous tools I'd be in bad shape.

One of my cars decided to burn an exhaust valve a few weeks ago, so as soon as my parts arrive I'll be rebuilding the head and bolting it all back together. Fun little project to pass the time, but I had to put all my weight on a 4ft cheater on the breaker bar to get the head bolts loose - if that had gone wrong some silly virus would have been the least of my concerns. Once that's done there's some welding (and then the inevitable grinding and painting) to do, and then basic maintenance and getting the toy out of winter storage and back in service.

I look at this post the same way some people look at film photography: magic 

Mechanics is mechanics. Think of it like fixing a big broken camera. With an internal combustion engine.

I think that's exactly what freaks him out.

I feel the same way about electronics. All I know is that they're powered by some sort of magic voodoo smoke, and when it comes out they stop working.

Electronics I can do. I can't read a schematic, but I know that if I solder two things together, then the magic smoke will flow through them I've built quite a few pedals and rewired guitars with that limited knowledge

[Francois]

It always depends. If you manage to summon the magic blue smoke when repairing electronics, it always means you have to start again from scratch 

[Indofunk]

Oh I thought he was talking about the magic solder smoke, which is fine the first few times you inhale it but then eventually you die 

[hookstrapped]

Oh I thought he was talking about the magic solder smoke, which is fine the first few times you inhale it but then eventually you die 

But I heard that if you breathe it in deeply it kills the coronavirus before it kills you.

[Indofunk]

Oh I thought he was talking about the magic solder smoke, which is fine the first few times you inhale it but then eventually you die 

But I heard that if you breathe it in deeply it kills the coronavirus before it kills you.

That is 100% true. You'll be coronavirus-free for exactly 12 seconds.

[02Pilot]

Soldering smoke is nothing compared to welding smoke. It's like standing next to a car fire. In the summer. In Jersey.

[Indofunk]

Soldering smoke is nothing compared to welding smoke. It's like standing next to a car fire. In the summer. In Jersey.

I'm already dead from breathing air from New Jersey 

[Adam Doe]

Charlotte, NC

The large healthcare system that I work for had started an enormous project that involved many of us having to travel for training. Two weeks ago, they still hadn't restricted all travel so off I went to Wisconsin. Spent three days in a hotel and in a classroom then flew back to Charlotte. As soon as we got back all travel was halted. I have been a bit concerned about exposure, largely due to travel, but I have been super-diligent about face touching, hand cleaning, social distancing. Then the word came down that our department (Information and Analytic Services) would start telecommuting where possible. My position can be performed remotely, for the most part, so for the past week I have been working from home, as has my wife. Schools closed last week as well, with plans for lessons and assignments to be given online. I don't see any of that changing in the near future. Except for grocery trips, pharmacy pickups and dog walks, we have been staying in. The dog is thrilled that we're home, but the cats have drawn up a list of demands that include more frequent feedings, access to the computer keyboards and that we stop screwing up their nap schedule. We've been streaming movies at night and playing board games to pass the time together when not working. 1917, Ford vs Ferrari and Jojo Rabbit were all worth watching. I've also ordered a new audio interface for my computer so that I can start recording again. I am eyeing my stash of packfilm and home for a possible photo project. Also, wondering if the oldish bottles of Rodinal and HC-110 are still good. Also, I see that Caskers delivers booze. Never tried them before, but may give them a try.

The healthcare system I work for, which has multiple hospitals in the area/region, is one of the few in the nation that has in-house corona virus testing capabilities, and I hope that quick turnaround capability will help limit transmission in the area by getting people who test positive into quarantine, whether at home or as inpatients.  I do fear that people are not taking social limiting seriously enough. And I worry about my elderly relatives.

I hope you all fare well through all of this. Keep safe.

[Francois]

I do fear that people are not taking social limiting seriously enough. And I worry about my elderly relatives.

I do too. And one thing that worries me about the USA is that so many people don't have proper medical insurance. These people will usually do everything in their power to avoid going to hospital simply to avoid raising a bill. There's the risk that contaminated people will be going around spreading the virus even if they know they might have it.

Here, even with our universal healthcare, the provincial government had to force closed all the shopping malls because elderly people would still congregate there to waste some time and then land in hospital with infections...

[hookstrapped]

Started a new Coronavirus series over in Photo Essays

http://www.filmwasters.com/forum/index.php?topic=10020.0

[Pete_R]

I do fear that people are not taking social limiting seriously enough.

There's the risk that contaminated people will be going around spreading the virus even if they know they might have it.

Judging from the number of flights still happening in the US, compared to everywhere else, I think they are doing just that.

From flight radar...

[Jeff Warden]

This might be of interest. This site has statistics and graphs for every country, new cases, cumulative cases, and deaths.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-toll/

Even though deaths is a lagging indicator, it's probably a bit more indicative of the trajectory of infection since confirmed cases are subject to delays and regional variation of doing tests.

Spoiler alert: it looks pretty bad.

I like that site for giving a general feel for the gravity of the situation but I'd sure like to see a similar tool that gives specific info that we can use, like in my town (whatever that town may be) do the hospitals have beds and ventilators? And in what towns are there unused ventilators, and how many?

Right now NYC is getting hammered and could probably use some spare ventilators from Albuquerque or some other city that has a light load currently. Later when the wave heads toward Albuquerque NYC could return the favor. It would be tragic for one municipality to sit on unused equipment while people die in others.

[Francois]

Judging from the number of flights still happening in the US, compared to everywhere else, I think they are doing just that.

From flight radar...

Now I'm really scared...

[Bryan]

I feel for these people in India, this is going to make their situation so much worse.  This is going to quickly spread it across the countryside.  The next few weeks could get very ugly there.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-52093574/coronavirus-huge-crowds-as-india-lockdown-sparks-mass-migration

[Indofunk]

India is the worst situation. It has an insane population density, as well as a huge population way below poverty level for whom not being able to work for a couple of pennies a week is literally the difference between life and death. The villages are actually the safest places in the country, there's less pollution and a lot more space, not to mention more people caring about people. But you're right that people bringing the virus from cities to the village is going to be really bad. I do not look forward to seeing how this plays out.

[Bryan]

We were doing good until we got this news.  Our friends son decided to sneak out from self isolation to play basketball with a friend last weekend.  In the process of being robbed he got shot.  The bullet severed his spine and damaged his lungs.  They can’t operate on him until he’s more stable so in the meantime he’s in a hospital full of people with the virus with damaged lungs.  His mother has only been able to visit him once this week because they don’t want unnecessary people in the hospital, that’s driving her nuts.  He will likely be paralyzed to some extent if he survives.  He was supposed to come visit us for his birthday in about a month.   

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/crime/2020/04/03/stayton-men-arrest-charged-salem-police-shooting-swat/5116070002/] [url]https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/crime/2020/04/03/stayton-men-arrest-charged-salem-police-shooting-swat/5116070002/[/url]

[Adam Doe]

Bryan,

So sorry to learn of this. How awful.

[Francois]

That's definitely bad news. And the worst timing possible....

[astrobeck]

It's hard to find a starting place for a reply, but here goes.
We are fine and still sheltering in place. Hubby is working from home. We go out for groceries once a week since we are rural and there is no delivery service available for us. We are also shopping for an elderly couple where the wife is in later stages of Alzheimers and suffers from pneumonia often. Right now they are fine.

New Mexico has seen a recent spike in cases and we are at 495 and 10 deaths. Most are in the Albuquerque area since it is the most densely populated.
Our governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham is doing a great job of keeping everyone informed and is stern about staying home. she does a press conference every day which keeps everyone up to date on the virus and what the state is doing.
She's the former Health secretary of NM, so I feel like she has a good grip on the situation...even though the news every day is not so good.

As far as air traffic....I live under the flight path to the Albuquerque airport, so I see most planes coming or going...even though I'm 30 miles from town.  There do seem to be more planes than what I would think 'safe".....some of these planes are UPS.
I have not noticed any jets or Ospreys flying from Kirtland AFB as I sometimes do...but I'm not outside all the time to look. when the Osprys fly over, they shake the house.
The airport and Kirtland AFB share runways.

I've been able to find most things I've looked for in the grocery store...except last night there were no white onions or avocados.  there has always been bread and milk.  No toilet paper except at Wally World which I avoid. 
Oh, and earlier this week I was going to build a simple wooden pinhole camera  but instead opted to build a spice rack.  I'll try to post a photo of it on the weekend thread.

That's all from the desert southwest.
Stay safe and healthy y'all.

[Bryan]

As far as air traffic....I live under the flight path to the Albuquerque airport, so I see most planes coming or going...even though I'm 30 miles from town.  There do seem to be more planes than what I would think 'safe".....some of these planes are UPS.
I have not noticed any jets or Ospreys flying from Kirtland AFB as I sometimes do...but I'm not outside all the time to look. when the Osprys fly over, they shake the house.

Though I'm far from the airport their flight path often takes them over my house.  Every time I see a commercial plane fly over I can't help to think what those people are thinking, might as well get on a cruise ship while you're at it.  We also get a lot of air traffic from freight and Boeing manufacturing, that's understandable.

[Francois]

Somehow it reminds me of an XKCD comic https://xkcd.com/2284/
When you hover your cursor over the image it says "So excited to see everyone after my luxury cruise home from the World Handshake Championships!"

But yeah, even if our prime minister gives a press conference everyday too, people still don't get it. There are still people waiting in line outside at the grocery stores. Granted that most leave some space between themselves, it's not always the case.
When we go pick-up the groceries, I have to be extra careful and I keep telling people to not stand so close as they have a tendency to approach.
And getting your order is pretty much hit or miss as the people at the stores that prepare the orders are rushed beyond belief.

I have a friend who's 80 and he's going around like if there was nothing going on. He worries me a lot.

Right now, the hospitals are running out of medication, respirators and masks.
And things could still take a turn for the worst as 3M have been officially summoned to stop selling masks and other safety equipment to Canada.
There's also a ship containing protection gear that left China for Canada but never arrived, its contents were diverted elsewhere because somebody offered to buy all that was on that ship at a higher price than what our government had paid for it. There are serious rumors going around about who is behind this but I don't want to open up the rumor mill.

[Indofunk]

Somehow it reminds me of an XKCD comic https://xkcd.com/2284/
When you hover your cursor over the image it says "So excited to see everyone after my luxury cruise home from the World Handshake Championships!"

I'm going to joke-post a gig announcement on Facebook, because that's the best way to make people come up with excuses as to why they need to stay home that night and can't make it out

[Indofunk]

I've been able to find most things I've looked for in the grocery store...except last night there were no white onions or avocados.  there has always been bread and milk.  No toilet paper except at Wally World which I avoid. 

Oddly, the one thing I've noticed my local grocery store is NEVER out of is avocados. Mexican avocados at that. Odd given NYC's distance from Mexico, but understandable given the large population of Mexicans (specifically, from Puebla) here.

[Francois]

I guess that living on guacamole for the next few weeks would put you off for the rest of your life...

I'm quite happy though as I managed to grab some frozen raspberries in the last order.

[Indofunk]

Pretty sure that even if I ate nothing but avocados for the next 2 months, I'd still crave avocados when we're allowed back into the world 

[Sandeha Lynch]

Guacamole I can handle, but aubergine dip, baba ganoush, is a turn-off for me.

[Indofunk]

You're crazy. Baba ganoush is the best

[Francois]

At least we can still avoid anything that has turnip in it...

[hookstrapped]

An old friend of mine wants to get back into photography during these coronavirus days and asked me what camera she should get (Olympus Trip). It got me to thinking about all the cheap cameras I've acquired recently and the test shots I've done. I wanted to share them with her to help her decide. They're not full reviews but they're a start. Actually, most reviews frustrate me because they often lack decent test shots.

So I decided to create a page on my website dedicated to these "Old Cameras / Fresh Film" test shots. And figured it was a good way to kill an hour or so.

https://www.hookstrapped.com/old-cameras-fresh-film

Good news! It actually took more than an hour. Just 10-15 months to go...

[John Robison]

One thing to consider about those flights is how full they are. I keep seeing in cabin photos taken by the passengers and at least some flights have only 3 or 4 passengers. Don't know why they would even run a flight with so few customers. Or, at least only fly 50 passenger regional jets and medium range turboprops.

[John Robison]

The missus and I have been strict on self isolating. We only converse with friends or the kids and grandkids with facetime or the phone. Fortunately we had a family of three move in with us just before this whole thing blew up. They had to move out of their rental on short notice and were between homes. Now at least we have some good company. My wife and I live mostly inside our heads and are both solid introverts but these friends are extroverts so it balances out.
Going out to walk the dog and yard work is my exercise and others in our neighborhood out walking give a wide distance when passing even if we stop to chat for a moment. So far Thurston county has about 50 confirmed cases but I don't know how many have to go to hospital. I'm 70, type 2 with hypertension so understandably want to avoid people.
The gang here at Filmwasters has also been good company, but that was always true, even before the pandemic.

[hookstrapped]

So I decided to create a page on my website dedicated to these "Old Cameras / Fresh Film" test shots. And figured it was a good way to kill an hour or so.

https://www.hookstrapped.com/old-cameras-fresh-film

Good news! It actually took more than an hour. Just 10-15 months to go...

Going through these shots, many of which are street scenes full of people, made me nostalgic already. It's so quiet out now. Just birds and sirens.

[02Pilot]

Going through these shots, many of which are street scenes full of people, made me nostalgic already. It's so quiet out now. Just birds and sirens.

Made me think of The Omega Man (1971). Full movie here if you want some dystopian 70s sci-fi: https://archive.org/details/TheOmegaMan1971

[gothamtomato]

Eating.

Just...eating...

sigh.

[Francois]

Debbie: yesterday I got bored and started cutting up the few ads we still get through the mail to do some collages.
It took surprisingly long and kept me busy. It was one of the first times I actually had fun in a while. Jimi Hendrix was playing on the radio. it was actually nice to do. I now have a small pile of pieces ready to paste.

[Bryan]

Eating.

Just...eating...

sigh.

COVID-19lbs

[Francois]

I just hope not.
All I know is that at the end of this, everybody will have long hair, some will have a shoddy hairdo because they tried cutting it themselves, a lot of people will have gained weight and everybody will know what cabin fever really is.

[Bryan]

I just hope not.
All I know is that at the end of this, everybody will have long hair, some will have a shoddy hairdo because they tried cutting it themselves, a lot of people will have gained weight and everybody will know what cabin fever really is.

My wife and I cut each other’s hair last week.  My hair was easy, not much to cut.  I was stressed about cutting hers but she was happy with it, just took an inch off the length, nothing fancy.  My hair hadn’t been cut since before I went to Hawaii in January so I needed it pretty bad. 

[Francois]

Mom did my hair the other day. She did an OK job at it. But when I asked her if she wanted me to take off a bit of it, she told me "maybe some other time"... I guess she was afraid that I'd get "artistic" with it 

It's funny because there's a local radio host who has a lot of hair who says he's totally lost all control over it... https://fr-fr.facebook.com/toutunmatin/photos/a.1406770846202842/2586278541585394/?type=3&theater

[Indofunk]

While most people are growing a coronavirus beard, I'm growing coronavirus hair I basically had a choice of growing out my hair and revealing my ever-growing bald spot, or growing out my beard and revealing all the grays (I'm about 70% gray in my beard). I chose the former because I've been shaving my head so long, I wondered how much my bald spot had grown. Spoiler alert: a LOT

[Francois]

You could grow a cool heavy metal beard like Scott Ian from the band Anthrax 

I can just imagine a heavy metal Indofunk...

[Adam Doe]

My wife and I were watching a movie tonight when I put her on notice: "Can you please cut my hair this weekend?" This will be a first in almost 27 years of marriage.