who's a prepper?

[Fenris]

Originally Posted by PSXer

I am

I drink Dr Pepper and I'm proud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvCTaccEkMI

Quit stealing posts!

[SmartAleq]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

So what would be much much worse?

If people don't stop fucking about with not vaxxing for measles then a variant of that could show up that doesn't obey immunity to the current version and the transmission rate of measles is about as bad as it gets--90%, and the virus can live on bare surfaces for a long time or airborne for up to two hours. Mortality rate runs about 15% and neurological damage is around 25%+. If measles decided to mutate it could make COVID-19 look like a walk in the park.

[thorny locust]

Mortality rate of measles runs around 15%?!

Cite please?

I mean, here's one:

in the most recent large US outbreak, which occurred in 1989-1992 (and was the instigator for the second MMR vaccine recommendation). There were 57,859 cases of measles during this time, and 127 deaths, working out to almost exactly 2 deaths per 1000 cases of measles.

--oh, wait a minute; I see where you got that from. The first Google hit is a bit of a quote saying "The case-fatality rate is approximately 15%." But if you click on that link and look at the actual article, the whole of the bit that's from reads

Acute encephalitis occurs in approximately 0.1% of reported cases. Onset generally occurs 6 days after rash onset (range 1–15 days) and is characterized by fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck, meningeal irritation, drowsiness, convulsions, and coma. Cerebrospinal fluid shows pleocytosis and elevated protein. The case-fatality rate is approximately 15%. Some form of residual neurologic damage occurs in as many as 25% of cases..

That's not 15% fatality and 25% neurologic damage of those who get measles; that's 15% fatality and 25% neurologic damage of those who get acute encephalitis as a complication, which only happens in about 0.1% of reported cases. Elsewhere in the same article it says:

Death from measles was reported in approximately 0.2% of the cases in the United States from 1985 through 1992.

Get the vaccinations anyway; they're certainly worth it.

[Wolf Larsen]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

If people don't stop fucking about with not vaxxing for measles then a variant of that could show up that doesn't obey immunity to the current version and the transmission rate of measles is about as bad as it gets--90%, and the virus can live on bare surfaces for a long time or airborne for up to two hours. Mortality rate runs about 15% and neurological damage is around 25%+. If measles decided to mutate it could make COVID-19 look like a walk in the park.

Measles as an adult is certainly no walk in the park, but I don't think it is anywhere near the killing machine that MERS was.

[SmartAleq]

I think I'm still traumatized by measles, all three of us kids caught it at the same time and I have vivid memories of how much it sucked, including watching my youngest sister go into multiple febrile seizures and hearing her screaming when the parents dunked her into the ice water and alcohol bath that was what the doctor told them to do when it happened. Between that, my middle sister crying for hours because she thought someone had given her a much craved glass of orange juice then took it away before she could drink it and my own fever hallucinations I basically start twitching whenever I even say the word "measles." There was a goodly outbreak of it just across the river last year and I was paranoid enough to go have my own immunity checked out. It's fine, thank goodness.

Well, at least I'm not freaking out and buying up seven hundred miles of toilet paper--I'm not sure WTF everyone thinks they need with it all but the local stores are selling out of it on a daily basis.

[Jaglavak]

I didn't have that much trouble with fever dreams. I mostly explored the Congo, and can verify the place is sweltering and swarming with mosquitoes.

Come to think of it I did get killed there a time or two. But it didn't seem like that big of a deal at the time.

[Rebo]

I was at the store yesterday on my weekly grocery run, and I noticed that the all Clorox-type wipes were missing from the shelves. It confused me at first, then I remembered.

People are nuts.

[Rat Diva]

And every pharmacy and hardware store is out of masks, despite the fact that most masks aren't designed to keep out viruses and there's no evidence that wearing masks will keep you from getting COVID-19 anyway.

[Rat Diva]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

I didn't have that much trouble with fever dreams. I mostly explored the Congo, and can verify the place is sweltering and swarming with mosquitoes.

Come to think of it I did get killed there a time or two. But it didn't seem like that big of a deal at the time.

Well, you do get an extra life every 10000 points, so that helps.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by Rat Diva

And every pharmacy and hardware store is out of masks, despite the fact that most masks aren't designed to keep out viruses and there's no evidence that wearing masks will keep you from getting COVID-19 anyway.

I have a stock of masks that probably won't help as they are meant for sanding. SO I'm ahead of the game.

[Dragonlady]

Unless toilet paper is manufactured in China, I don't understand hoarding it.

[Rat Diva]

Around here, toilet paper flies off the shelves whenever there's a snowstorm expected. Even little nuisance 1-3 inch snowfalls. I don't get it either. I guess people still envision a Little House on the Prairie scenario where you're cut off from civilization for months, but even side streets are usually passable a day or two after a blizzard.

[Helena]

My county is buying a hotel to isolate people. They don't tend to over-react, so they must be pretty worried. There have been quite a few cases around here.

[SmartAleq]

Looks like a nursing home is a bit of Ground Zero for it--worrisome considering how many staff go to and from the facility on the regular and I think I saw that some first responders have been quarantined after being exposed on a call to the facility.

[Sunny Daze]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

I'm curious about this statement. The new Corona virus is pretty much pessimal in transmission ability because it spreads easily and has the long period where you are infectious but don't have symptoms yet. I suppose something could have that property and have a higher death rate, but virulence and infectiousness are sorta on a seesaw. If it kills you too quick, you don't infect other people as much. So what would be much much worse?

Something with similar incubation period, even higher transmissibility, and a higher death rate. At what point (honest question) does the health system simply get overwhelmed and cases are left untreated? Death rate goes up higher, and so on.

[Helena]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

Looks like a nursing home is a bit of Ground Zero for it--worrisome considering how many staff go to and from the facility on the regular and I think I saw that some first responders have been quarantined after being exposed on a call to the facility.

Yes, Evergreen Health in Kirkland. Our local immigration office just closed for four days so they can sanitize. One of their employees visited someone there then came down with some kind of virus. Great.

[mjmlabs]

Oh, this is our COVID-19 thread? Cool.

Here's another reason not to buy (mostly useless) face masks:

Thai dudes busted ironing used face masks for resale

We know Thailand is all about sustainable trends now, but maybe we should draw the line at reusing face masks during the current coronavirus outbreak.

Acting on a tip, police raided a house yesterday in Saraburi province where they found six men recycling surgical masks by putting them in a washing machine and ironing them flat to resell on the high-demand market.

One of the men told police he got the used face masks from an unidentified dealer. He and his friends got THB1 (US$.03) per mask and could work their good-as-new magic on 300 to 400 masks daily, according to Col. Pairot Trisophon of Viharn Daeng Police.

Pairot said police are seeking the whereabouts of the homeowner, identified as 47-year-old Jintana Namwichai.

The masks – thousands of them – were seized by authorities and sent to a local health department for further investigation.

[Karma]

For those wanting to avoid whatever is going around, I highly recommend not using cash. Use your credit card! And use your sleeve, or a tissue to push the buttons on the pinpad... An (admittedly quick...) google search states that at least 90% of paper money has feces on it. I also read that "flu-like viruses" can survive on money up to 17 days.

As someone that frequently runs register; people cough in their hand, get out their money, and hand it to me. I have seen them cough, on the money, and then hand it to me.

I have seen little old ladies put bills in their mouths, while they dig in their coin purse for change. (I'm not sure whether I feel this is grosser for them, or for me.)

Money is disgusting. If you can pay by credit card, please don't touch the money!!

[Wolf Larsen]

I didn't keep inventory on one thing and I'm going to have to remember this for next time. I only had one Arizona ice tea in the house and it has been drunk. Should have had a case, they are quite cheap.

Got an order from Kroger yesterday and got 6 of them, so all good.

[Rat Diva]

I prepped stuffed peppers for dinner. They were delicious.

[Glazer]

So you're a pepper prepper.

[kayaker]

I need to drop some pounds, which makes me a plumper pepper prepper.

If only my name was Peter Piper.

[Rat Diva]

Originally Posted by Glazer

So you're a pepper prepper.

Yepper!

[Ludovic]

Originally Posted by Rat Diva

And every pharmacy and hardware store is out of masks, despite the fact that most masks aren't designed to keep out viruses and there's no evidence that wearing masks will keep you from getting COVID-19 anyway.

On the contrary, someone on the Durp did say that anecdotally, they are good for implying that you're infectious and thus other people should keep their distance from you

[silenus]

Dressing like a skank ho accomplishes the same thing without the mask.

[Euryphaessa]

Originally Posted by silenus

Dressing like a skank ho accomplishes the same thing without the mask.

Could you explain this?

[kayaker]

Originally Posted by Ludovic

On the contrary, someone on the Durp did say that anecdotally, they are good for implying that you're infectious and thus other people should keep their distance from you

I suggest everyone stop using deodorant. If someone is close enough to notice, they're too close.

[Wolf Larsen]

Today I picked up enough furnace filters to last the winter heating season. It seemed like the sort of thing that might suddenly go into short supply.

[Oxirane]

Man, I wish you had said something - we did our hoarding shopping today at BJ's...crap...BRB...

[JackieLikesVariety]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

Today I picked up enough furnace filters to last the winter heating season. It seemed like the sort of thing that might suddenly go into short supply.

when I was trying to order furnace filters to tape to my box fan for filtering smoke they sure did.

[C2H5OH]

Here ya go!!!



ETA: Oops. You said 'prepper', not 'pepper'. My mistake!

[Wolf Larsen]

We're starting to accumulate the stuff we use regularly with the idea that having an extra box of borax is not a problem and if the supply chain has some hiccups and we need it, that's a good thing. This will be mostly non-perishables including stuff like freezer bags, personal care products and cooking supplies.

Maybe take a look at what you need and get an extra while the getting is good.

[Oxirane]

We've been doing that - I put up new shelving in one of our basement rooms that gives an extra 64 sq. ft of storage along with the other two units that give us about 192 sq. ft. of total shelving total. They are about half-full, lots of non-perishables and some canned goods. And if there is a localized shortage of tp in the Capital District of NY, um, sorry?

[JackieLikesVariety]

I suppose shortages are likely to some extent.

[Wolf Larsen]

Big Costco and Walmart runs today. I have enough body wash to last me probably into 2022.

[Helena]

My mom's worried about running low on cat litter. I told her if all else failed, we have a yard full of it. She doesn't like the idea of Twig putting her dainties in common dirt. I'll be getting a crap-ton of cat litter.

[silenus]

Grocery run this afternoon and yesterday's CSA box have me pretty much stocked to the gills should worse come to worse. 6 big bags of litter in the garage and a recent Chewy order means the cats are pretty set as well.

[Wolf Larsen]

Multiple power drops last night. But we had the Ikea candle lanterns (Rotar) pre-positioned, so all I had to do was light them. Next Ikea run I need to get another brick of the candles. (Glimma) Best $4 you can spend.

[Wolf Larsen]

Picked up a new piece of prepper gear that looks very useful. It's called LifeStraw and you stick one end in water and suck on the other and it claims to filter bad stuff out. Since drinking water is one of the big issues in an emergency, these look mega handy. A four pack was $50 at Costco. There are multiple sources of water in the area that aren't safe to drink, but with a LifeStraw they should be fine. Each one does 1000 gallons.

[Wolf Larsen]

We're starting to stock up again. Mrs. Larsen is worried about the Delta variant causing a more severe lock down. So I made a Walmart run today and got a bunch of the storeable sorts of things we use. They were out of lemon soft scrub, but I'll see if I can get that some place else.

Now if I could just find some ammo...

[Helena]

I'm stocking up a little, too. I think there might be supply line disruptions.

[MsWisher]

We moved to the farm in May 2019 and since we are now a 1hr round trip from the nearest store and a 3hr round trip from the nearest big box store prepping and organization has become very important to my tiny bit of remaining sanity.

We are not prepping for a complete breakdown of society but just for the ability to make a meal without screaming 3x and changing plans 5x.

Getting sick however when everything requires at least an hour of attentive driving means that my fears have made my medicine cabinet prepping top notch. I have something for every condition and that paid off when we had a family bbq last weekend and the beef rancher who buys my hay was busy cutting and baling. It appears all of them are allergic and they all are woefully unprepared and everyone uses a different brand. Go me and my well stocked medicine shelf!

[Wolf Larsen]

I got the big three pack of Q-Tips at Costco today. We are fussy about about what we stick in our ears and it is Q-Tips or nothing. We should now be stocked for about two years. Covid driven supply chain issues should be over by then. Right? Right??

[JackieLikesVariety]

you are right about the Q-tips, any time I've gotten a store brand I was sorry.

I can't read my previous posts in this thread since my lack of "prep" for the future is already scaring the pants off me.

and yet I crave more

[JackieLikesVariety]

We moved to the farm in May 2019 and since we are now a 1hr round trip from the nearest store and a 3hr round trip from the nearest big box store prepping and organization has become very important to my tiny bit of remaining sanity.

but it's totally worth it, right? @MsWisher?

[MsWisher]

Originally Posted by JackieLikesVariety

but it's totally worth it, right? @MsWisher?

100%. Honestly being able to walk for hours without seeing people if I don't want to is the other half of sanity saving. Chickens and ducks are adorable and follow me like puppies half the time and the geese are hilarious. Our cows are in love with my husband (they tolerate me, but he's their boyfriend) and I've got horses outside my door for the first time since I was 16. It's a ton of work but it's definitely worth it.

[Wolf Larsen]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

Mrs. Larsen picked up some more good stuff. This includes a solar powered lantern that is pretty bright and can run most of the night on a day's charging,

This is something I posted in 2016. The lantern was sitting in the sunlight and the little LEDs seemed to show it was fully charged. But when I tried to turn it on, it utterly failed. So it has been disposed of.

Check your equipment.

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

Check your equipment.

*feels between legs*

Still there!

[SmartAleq]

I'm kind of low key stashing items that seem to be affected most by the logistics issues. I have about five pounds of coffee squirreled away and have been stocking up on the cheapest ground meat I can find for the doggos. Wet cat food seems to be a problem too so I'll likely pile that up a bit--if for no other reason than I HATE going into stores any time during November and December and prefer to have pet needs stockpiled until well into January. Some of the oddest things are in short supply--like alcohol prep pads, WTF?

I've also been finding some cool items like crunchy dried garlic cloves and dried mushrooms that come in real handy if the fresh stuff goes missing, and it seems likely that a big victim of the lack of transportation will be out of season fruits and veggies because you can't leave those sitting off the coast for weeks waiting for trucks so better not to even try until things loosen up somewhat.

Bottom line is that I could likely go a couple months surviving on just what's stashed in my pantry, although I'd rather I didn't have to!

[Solfy]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

I'm kind of low key stashing items that seem to be affected most by the logistics issues.

I've always had an aversion to running out of anything and needing to go to the store at a particular time. At the outset of the pandemic I got even more so to minimize random trips to the store. We have the space to stash the mega packs of paper products, the deep freeze to catch good sales on good foods, etc. I don't know if that makes me a prepper, but it makes me less anxious about periodic empty store shelves. It still seems completely random what's going to be out of stock at any given point.