wnylib
wnylib's JournalWhat's your favorite home isolation activity?
I keep busy catching up on procrastinated projects (cleaning closets, desk) but for entertainment there are movies, books, online contact, phone chats, playing with cat, who is delighted to have the company.
Erie County, NY 3 confirmed covid cases
Late on Saturday, March 14, Erie County Health Department reported 3 confirmed cases of covid 19. The 3 people are now in mandatory quarantine and their contacts are being traced.
For people not familiar with the western NY region, Buffalo is in Erie County. Most communities in Erie County are suburbs of Buffalo or small towns nearby.
Buffalo schools were already scheduled to close for one day on Monday while the scool district decided what to do in case the virus showed up in the area. Then on Tuesday, they were supposed to open so teachers could distribute "materials" (what kind?) to students.
Anybody else in this area who has heard more? My info is that more details will be released today.
Coronavirus special program tonight
At 10:00 pm tonight, 3/13, NPR is hosting an hour long special on what people need to know about the corona virus.
NIH: Coronavirus on surfaces/packages
NIH research studies indicate how long this new coronavirus remains active on various surfaces:
Copper, 4 hours
Cardboard, 24 hours.
Stainless steel and plastic, 2 to 3 days.
Aerosoized virus (from coughing, sneezing, or exhaling) remains active in the air for 3 hours.
Therefore, it can be picked up from touching door handles. This includes indoor handles on frozen and refrigerated items in convenience and grocery stores. Also elevator buttons.
This virus can also be picked up from packages shipped in cardboard within 24 hours of being touched by an infected person.
You transmit it to yourself if you touch an infected surface and then rub your eyes, touch your mouth.
The NIH said it is unclear whether the coronavirus can be spread from person to person through the air (aerosolized form). They didn't say why, but I am guessing there is doubt about whether it can remain suspended in air after being coughed or exhaled out. Some weeks ago I read that this new coronavirus is weightier than other viruses, making it less likely to be spread by airborne transmission, unless you are very close to an infected person.
RE: Who is at risk?
Older adults and people with underlying conditions are called the most vulnerable. Part of the reason for senior vulnerability is due to the underlying conditions that often come with age.
But young children, teens, and young adults are also vulnerable if they have asthma, chronic allergies (chest congestion), diabetes, or a heart condition.
Asthma and allergies are common among children. Type 1diabetes is not as common as asthma, but does affect quite a few young people. Sone children are born with heart disorders that require surgery.
So when we take precautions with the elderly, let's not forget that there are other vulnerable people.
Western NY - Uh-oh
Hamburg, NY, just outside of Buffalo. A class and their teacher returned from trip to northern Italy. Teacher informed public health officials who recommended 2 week quarantine.
But the kids had already been in school for a week by then.
Ember the cat is redecorating.
Ember's kitty "house" is a cube with entrance holes on 3 sides. Two of the entrance holes have detachable tunnels tucked into them at right angles. She loves to take naps in the tunnels, or watch me from inside for the chance to ambush my legs.
The house and tunnels are located just inside the living room, near the entrance to the kitchen.
Ember was disturbed about my accidental interference with her personal housing unit and decided to do something about it. I use an extension cord to keep my phone.charged while browsing online , typing at DU, etc. Then I can move from kitchen table to desk or living room couch. But the cord slides under the tunnels when I pass from kitchen to living room, making an uncomfortable lump under the tunnel floors.
First she tried swatting and scratching the cord through the tunnel floor, but it would not budge. So, from inside one tunnel, she pawed the tunnel floor until she had dragged the entire apparatus, house and 2 tunnels, into the middle of the kitchen floor, away from the cord outlet. Then she crawled inside and stared at me. She looked smugly satisfied.
OK. It's HER tunnels and kitty house. And the apartment is her home, too. So I ignored the inconvenience of stepping around or over the setup in the kitchen.
But....I had to move it to wash the kitchen floor. Ember was not happy. She tugged one of the tunnels loose, dragged it across the floor, and plunked herself down inside it, leaving the kitty house and other tunnel several feet away. She can't re-attach it, of course, so now my dilemma is whether to do that for her or leave it as it is. I don't want to disturb her notion of fen shui.
Stephen Colbert has such a way with words.
Just watched a recent Colbert monologue in which he said the 4 Federal prosecutors who resigned from the Stone case had trouble finding the exit. Barr had relocated DOJ "up Trump's ass."
Earlier in the monologue he showed Trump using the first letters of 4 corporations to spell MAGA.
Colbert demonstrated that you can rearrange "Donald Trump" to spell "Plod Turd Man."
Reminiscent of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Lord Voldemort.
Lord Turd Man.
Thanks for the hearts, whoever you are.
Kinda surprised me since I've only been here a few months. Appreciate the thoughtfulness.
Rush Limbaugh has advanced stage lung cancer.
Reported by NPR and NY Daily News.
The decent thing to do regarding any human being with a diagnosis like that is to wish them well. I can't bring myself to do that. I will withhold some of the more vile thoughts that come to mind.
Isn't he the one who mocked Michael J Fox for his parkinson's? When Fox appeared in public on behalf of stem cell research without his meds so people could see the effects of the disorder, Limbaugh accused him of faking it and made fun of him.
How tempting to let Limbaugh know how public cruelty feels.
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