Can we switch gears, and discuss the positives?

Over here we’re asking older folks any of us know to place a pillow case in their letterbox so we can donate much needed resources in a safe, non contact way.
A good deed in a shitty world of hurt for them.

One positive is that people are reaching out and communicating in old (phone) and newish ways (online.) Another positive I see is that climate change may be abated a bit for a time as commerce and travel have ground to a halt.

Also, that “cute, little man”, Dr Tony Fauci is professional and level-headed and appears to be giving out good information.

I have a load of books to read,drafts to reedit,cleaning in my apartment of items no longer used etc..so spring cleaning earlier than usual.
I have online communication,cellphones etc

I limited my socialization to nil and I am used to living on my own anyways.

People here in our Building complex for seniors are NOT adhering to isolating..but rather are visiting among themselves and socializing in the coffee room.

I think this will subside when residents of this complex that are returning from Spain will be coming back and thus everyone will then probably reduce this socializing.

I already have, as I really don’t want to expose myself needlessly.

Was happy to hear today the all National Park systems are closed to visitors as we would be trapped with visitors exposing germs etc

It seems to me that people are at least taking a crisis and concern for contagion seriously, and being willing to change their behavior quite a bit, even given how precarious that is for so many people financially in our near-zero-safety-net “system”.

And the reduced traffic and activity feels to me like a good break from hectic business-as-usual, and a way to reduce car pollution.

As for Trump, no, I can’t stand for people trying to be positive about him without speaking up. “The President” is a narcissistic sociopathic corrupt criminal manchild fool who can barely speak and his participation can only be an obstacle to progress, except for the wishful-thinking effect it has on people who want to believe otherwise. Other than that, I think trying to whitewash, excuse, or even praise Trump is a terrible thing to do.

The virus has a great mascot.

Just received a comical post on Facebook from a fellow Genealogist in the UK.

He posted a photograph of empty Toilet paper rolls on the ground with 2 inches of toilet paper coming out of them..saying : “Just Sprouted,ready in 3 weeks” ( grow your own Toilet paper).

He also post this funny notice:

” To heck with Toilet Paper!
I bought dryer sheets
My butt smells like lavender
and my old arse for the first time in 20 years now wrinkle free!”

We have finally had a chance to hear scientists talk, who generally know what they are talking about, instead of economists and politicians, who generally make it up as they go along.

The present and serious problem notwithstanding, Dr. Fauci is refreshing departure from the usual bullshit.

Of course when the disease crisis passes we will once again have to listen to the usual group of morons argue about how to pay for it.

Had to get something at supermarket, self checkout was used. I waited about 10 feet away, when it got be my turn the lady in front of me wiped down the touch screen and with a smile I said a big, “Thank You”.

I see that on their own choice, several grocery stores are setting aside seniors only shopping times.

@ucme, wonderful! This is the first I am hearing of that.

Dr. Fauci had a message specifically for millennials. I hope they will take him seriously.
I pointed out he was cute, and small for anyone who didn’t catch his name. He certainly seems to be a very capable and respected member of the crisis team.

Well. I’ve heard that the government is going send many US citizens $1,000. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll believe it when I see it.
But. If it comes true, I won’t have to choose between paying my water, or power bill…

I got $550 from FEMA after my first flood, when I lost everything.
$1,000, won’t go far. But. It’s better than nothing…

They were most adamant during press time today. The target time frame is within two weeks. They haven’t worked out yet how.

Traffic from the suburbs to downtown Atlanta has been glorious. Normally a 50 minute drive, now 30 minutes.

We have landlords saying they will collect no April 1st rent. City Utiliites says they won’t shut anyone’s power off during this time. We have schools offering to feed kids whether school is in session or not. Lots of human kindness.

Patty. That’s what I heard, as well. Maybe that will be another positive thing. Our government, working together…

People seem to be reaching out to each other more. Both in real life, and on social media like FB. I have talked to my friends on the phone more in the past week than any time recently. People checking in, seeing how things are going, asking how each other is doing. It’s kind of nice.

In the world of body language, there is a thing called “steepling” where a person who is speculating holds both hands together, finger tips to finger tips.
I’ve noticed a lot of experts in the realm of COVID-19 who, when speaking on the subject, “steeple.”

There basically are not any positives. I realize that I since still have to show up to work and keep the lights on I don’t have to worry as much as those who are being laid off or have non-essential jobs subject to swings in the economy. It’s a risk to be around my coworkers and we are working many more hours because some of us have to stay home but I’m thankful to be in a position to help and that I still have a stable job.

One positive is that the Georgia Aquarium has live cams for it’s animals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THE OTTERS
The jellyfish are very calming though

I’m having difficulty with the aquarium link.
The jellies are Zen, but I couldn’t figure out how to look for anything else.

:(((( We need to stay positive and happy during this.
Here are some more animal cams

Scream into the void

Hmmm, @Patty_Melt are you in the computer? You should be able to scroll and see a bunch of them to click on

Phone only online.

Okay, let me go on my phone and check it out. Be right back

Edit: @patty_melt is there an thing that says “More live views from the Aquarium” and then 2 videos with arrows on each side?

I’m not having any luck with any of your links. :-(
I get a page on each one, but nothing responds.

@ARE_you_kidding_me: Good point about having a government job now. It’s stable and no chance of being laid off due to a slowdown. I always say when you work for the government, you’ll never be rich but you won’t be too poor, either.

@Patty Try this to jellyfish cam.

https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/jelly-webcam/

The government is holding off on filing our taxes for 3 months without a penalty! Yay!

My tissue source.

My two dogs are really happy that we’re all home all day now.

I’m putting way less miles on my leased car now without my 3-hour/day commute. Spending less on gas too.

I’ve been getting up at 7AM instead of my usual 6AM, as a treat to myself.

I suspect I’ll get to catch up on a bunch of reading and movie watching.

I already teach online at one of my jobs and those students seem completely unfazed by what’s happening. Meanwhile, my in-person students, from my full time gig are nervous about now being fully online. The contrast is a bit funny.

Coronavirus invented by dogs to make their owners stay home: CONFIRMED.

@cookieman A three hour a day commute! Wow this must be a relief for you.

@chyna: Yes and no. Great on the budget. Bad on my alone time. Missing all my podcasts.

There are more sidewalk chalk drawings made by schoolchildren. I see kids walking and biking everywhere, too.

It’s been getting warm here, in.Charleston. Lots of flowers, are blooming.
My back yard, shares a wall with a cemetery. So. I let the back half, grow wild (for privacy/respect for funerals.)

It’s absolutely full of wild flowers, and some other plants.

It looks like a beautiful painting, right now. So many colors, and flowers. Pink, red, blue, white, purple, orange etc…
Since I am now out of work, I spend a lot of time there. Watching the gentle sea breeze, caress the flowers, and I’m even getting a sort of tan…

It’s kind of a reminder, that things get better. All of that part of my yard was bare, just a couple months ago. It appeared desolate, and dead. But. Life has sprung, in full force. Including all the birds. Blue Jays, Cardinals, Red Breasted Robins, Carolina Rens, Doves, etc…

It all reminds me that in spite of bad times, life is more powerful than death.

Like my back yard, this virus may be a winter. It may devastate. But. We will spring back…. And become more beautiful, than before…

@longgone: Same here. Went to get coffee and saw over a dozen families out for walks. Never see that usually.

I’ve heard there are dolphins and swans in the canals of Venice. They haven’t been seen in over sixty years.

Pollution is way down in China. Its so clear over Beijing that you can even see the name Beijing on the globe from space.

I looked on my front porch today and found a mated pair of mallards shopping for real estate They seemed to be considering the small pond that forms in my front yard every time it rains.

After discussing it for a bit they thought maybe they could find something better so they left.

GA @Yellowdog ...

@cookieman I was feeling sorry for bored children, but my mum said today that she was reminded of a similar period of isolation which we went through when we moved from Europe to Asia.

That got me thinking. I remember those weeks as one of the best periods of my entire childhood. We had fun exercise books and did lots of art projects. I wonder if the increased attention from parents is actually exactly what many kids need most!

Since we’re really limited with seeing friends indoors, we’re meeting them in the afternoon for a walk. We did it yesterday and we’ll do it today. We remind the kids to keep a distance from each other. Us moms talk and the kids get to hang together for a while. Plus it’s good for all of us.

I see on FB, parents are cooking with kids and kids are pitching in more to help out around the house.

I’m going to do some household projects that I’ve been wishing I had time to do. I’m going to scrape the popcorn ceiling in the dining room and then paint it.

@jca That’s what I had planned to do! But upon researching it more, I’m afraid to do mine because of the age of my house. It was built in 1959 and probably had asbestos, so I won’t be able to do it now. Seriously, let me know easy or hard yours turns out to be.

Celebrities, talk show hosts and news anchors doing their shows from their houses or basements is fun and interesting.

I love Steven Colbert and he’s been doing his shows from his bathtub (with three piece suit on), then it was his patio, then his front porch. It’s kind of fun. The Today Show has Al Roker in his kitchen and Savannah Guthrie in her basement. Savannah had Jimmy Fallon on from his house.

It’s kind of fun and a glimpse into their personal lives and environments.

@chyna: You mean the popcorn ceiling?

@jca Yes.

After the initial shock, and reluctance to veer from the lives we’ve been living, people are beginning to embrace the change. I am happy to see how opinions, feelings, and relationships are evolving.
I am encouraged by the respectful way most reporters are behaving during these daily conferences.

This crisis just might jolt a few people into a new, better groove for their lives.

@chyna: The house I live in was owned by a relative who was a chronic smoker. Underneath the popcorn ceiling, I can see the previous painted ceiling is amber from her smoke (gross, I know). I’ve lived here for about 20 years and the popcorn is coming off in a few spots. I think it will be easy to get the scraper underneath the popcorn in those spots. Hopefully the rest comes off easily. I’ll let you know. I am going to try to start it tomorrow or Saturday.

I just got a new bathroom so you know once one thing is done and made new, then everything else needs to be redone, too.

So true! One new thing makes everything else look drab and dull. I’m going to try to get quotes on dry wall to cover mine.

Two positives to this whole thing I was thinking about before are 1. China and Italy have already been through this outbreak so we, here in the US, have those countries to look to in order to try to figure out what we should expect, and prepare for it, and 2. This country, although not perfect, has a ton of money to spend on research and trying to find a vaccine.

@jca2 I like to think that too but vaccines take time. The good thing is they have scientists racing to get a better understanding of the virus’ genetic makeup. But Dr Fauci said it could be 18 months or more for a vaccine.

Yeah I know, at least 18 months, @Tropical_Willie.

But that is still awesome^ It probably took longer than that in the 1900s because of lack of technology.
So that’s a positive! New tech means shorter wait times for vital meds and vaccines!
now we just have to worry about price

Press conference March 19 is available to see online. President Trump announced some good news which doctors explained in more technical detail. They think they have medications already in use which can help. That is a short cut, because they already have FDA approval. It was stated that there may be hope of a cure with those, but even if they don’t cure it, they will likely reduce the severity of the symptoms.
They also announced that in some cases the FDA might push new things through expeditiously, shortening the wait time.
It was a good conference. I highly recommend watching it.

@Patty_Melt: I heard part of it on the radio yesterday while I was out shopping for food. Last night on the internet, I saw a headline about whether what he said was entirely factual. I haven’t read the article or googled whether it’s all factual but I’m thinking because there was an article about it, it’s worth googling.

The doctors covered it in greater detail. I’ll describe what I can from memory.
I won’t attempt spelling. The medicine used widely for malaria shows some promise in at least lessening the severity. Apparently they are working out dodging issues. Since that medication is already used for other things, it would not require anything new from the FDA to use it. They mentioned a second possibility, but I wasn’t really clear about whether it is currently approved.
If there is any question about truthfulness, that would be on the doctors and research scientists, as that is where POTUS got his information. The entire conference is posted on YT by, I imagine, several news outlets. I watched it as it unfolded on tv.
By the way, they had spacing of the reporters for their safety. Nice, huh?

A local group has partnered with some restaurants in my city to provide free boxed dinners to anyone who comes – first come, first served.

One group that’s at great risk in the midst of this virus are the homeless. They can’t self-isolate. There are plans to quarantine them in temporarily vacant hotels. The thought of those people having a comfortable bed and access to peace/safety/sanitation makes me happy.

Some cultural institutions like museums have offered free virtual tours which is something different (and free is a bonus).

People have found creative ways to get together, like Virtual Happy Hour. I’m not much of a drinker, but I could imagine if I were into drinking with friends, and were restricted from that now, a Virtual Happy Hour might be a fun thing.