Brad

Significance? We ARE going to survive.

I looked them up and the basic kind is around $35, about $25 or so than a basic one.

There will probably be a run on these thermometers now.

Good mottoes to live by.

Unfortunately, no. Been to New Orleans a couple of times. Stan’s must have been a heck of a place. I assume it’s no longer around.

Wishing you and your family the best John. Every day that is sunny (as is today) is a good day. Unfortunately, all of next week looks to be wet and that will put a damper on things. Yesterday, as I was about to get into the car, hundreds (it seems) of birds, screaming as they went, flew overhead, migrating somewhere. This is the second time I’ve seen this in two weeks. I wonder if they are telling us something.

A great one.

Wish I’d gone there!

This study was used by the US Government as the basis for their new restrictions and foresees the possibility of 2 million deaths in the US and restrictions remaining in force until a vaccine is ready. From the article on the study: The researchers said that the long-term “social and economic effects” were likely to be “profound,” and that the measures were not guaranteed to succeed and could themselves have “significant impact on health and well-being.” “No public health intervention with such disruptive effects on society has been previously attempted for such a long duration of time,” they added. “How populations and societies will respond remains unclear.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/coronavirus-fatality-rate-white-house.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

Honestly, I’d never heard of him until I saw your photo, which intrigued me. Real interesting person.

A sad commentary. The present state of our public health system is a result of our federalist system where the central government and states share power. Although there are certain areas where the federal government has key and sole responsibility (“preemption”), such as foreign affairs, public health isn’t one of them, so you wind up with power diffused among the feds, the states and local municipalities. Normally, it’s not a problem but now it is.

Stan “the Record Man” Lewis. Original shop in Shreveport.

It does raise some concerning questions. People in the service industries as well as the service industries themselves are going to be hurt. At some point they may not choose to take it anymore. There may be a tipping point.

Likewise.

The president said this might last through the summer. At this moment, that’s hard to grasp but we will have to grasp it.

She would be wrong.

Thanks all.

This article might be helpful for people with older parents. How to Protect Older People From the Coronavirus

I understand your perspective. Unfortunately, we can’t rely on the federal government; their response has been putrid but let’s not get too political as we’re all probably on the same page when it comes to that. Except for going to doctors or the grocery store, I’ve cut off my social interactions completely: no more gym, no more bookstores or record stores, restaurants and our library is closing tomorrow for at least a month. It's hunker down time. I’m turning 70 this year and my wife 71. We are in good health (no underlying conditions, my wife’s recent heart surgery notwithstanding) and just hope we make it through.

I don’t agree it’s being weaponized and it is damn serious but some articles and television broadcast coverage are raising the anxiety level and that’s just not helpful. The Times and other newspapers have articles with dos and donts and those are helpful but predicting how many may die and so forth are not in that category.

I don’t find articles like these particularly helpful. It just creates further anxiety and there is enough of that already. At this point we know what we must do.

Thanks. I know she’s feeling better when she won’t let me do things anymore.

It wasn’t the final cut because there’s no plantation scene. The movie ends with Martin Sheen saying “the horror.” The way I remember it when I first saw it was with Kurtz’s being destroyed and the Doors singing. I was expecting this when I saw it last night so that surprised me.

Although not my idea for reading, here's an article on books about pandemics such as The Plague and Station Eleven. Your Quarantine Reader