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Covid19 Prepareness

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
We don't live in an area that has been significantly hit by the Covid19 outbreak yet. We are in a shelter in place county but with JJ and I being in "essential" industries we have not been impacted in any material way. The biggest changes for us is having to hunt a little harder for groceries and not eating out. We used to eat out most evening and now are cooking at home. We have always kept the house well stocked with food and supplies so without knowing anything about the coming Covid19 outbreak we were in pretty good shape right off the bat.

What are you guys seeing in your areas and how are you dealing with it?
 

Neo

Badfish
Messages
1,658
Location
Brookings, OR
about the same here, no cases for 3 counties and our pantry was full and we had TP before this started and haven't bought any yet. if food does get short we have the ocean. nothing in the stock market and pretty much retired.

this will screw up the real estate market in moab for awhile but we can manage that from here and can sell it after things recover.
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
So far my renters have paid their rents on time. This week will be interesting. Rental account is flush so no worries there. I have a couple of employees trying to sell their homes. Online viewings have dropped to almost nothing and of course no inhouse viewings. Fortunately I don't need to sell anything or have anything for sell. ( well put my Corvette up for sale since my ordered 2020 is at code 3000 and it sold in 2 days to a fellow club member )

It looks like stores are getting a handle on the buying frenzy. Shelves are much more fully stocked, limits on some items but they are mostly available. ( People still wiping out the TP, wipes, sanitizers as soon as they get stocked but food isn't an issue and I am sure manufacturing will catch up soon on those items )

Keep spending as close to your normal habits as possible. The economy and those still able to work need the business. Go turtle and this thing will get much worse.
 

RamRod

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,914
Location
AB, Canada
Things are decently calm in my neck of the woods, we have not been restricted to the extent that some State have been, but they closed down all parks and recreational areas over the weekend.

Same issues with TP and sanitizer, fresh food is no issue but stuff like rice, pasta, flour, sugar are all scooped up as soon as new inventory hits the shelves.

I was surprised at how sold out the ammo was when I went to stock up on a few rounds.

We had a freezer full of half a cow before this all started so I know that if worse came to worse we could just switch to the carnivore diet!
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
All of the places that sell ammo around here are closed except Walmart and they don't sell any normal rounds anymore. Guess you could load up 7 1/2 or 8 shotgun shells. Fortunately ammo is not an issue for me. Cabelas, Academy et al are considered normal retail and not exempted businesses. All of the pure gun stores are considered retail and closed also. I was in Cabelas right before they closed and they were almost completely sold out of pistol ammo. No 9mm or 45. A little 380 and 40.
 

JPaul

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,400
Location
Way up north, UT
Utah overall hasn't been hit hard yet but they're acting like it could and taking greater precautions.

The populace of course is being nuts about it. Despite people thinking we all have a year supply of food storage here in Utah, the grocery shelves told a different story. It's gotten better but it's still hit or miss as to what is missing from the shelves. TP is still scarce and apparently elbow noodles are gone, but spaghetti noodles are available again.

Having just moved onto a much bigger piece of land (50x100 foot lot in the suburbs vs 2 acres in the country) I'm trying to get myself up and running again so this has hit at a bad time for me personally. I have about 6 months of food storage but it wasn't as well rounded out as I apparently needed it to be. It's a good dry run though and I am learning what I need to improve on once this whole thing blows over.

Another problem I am running into that I did not anticipate at all is everyone is buying up all the baby chicks. I had a flock of 4 back at my old place and was going to move up to at least a dozen at the new place but I can't just walk into the store anymore and pick some up, had to actually put an order in for 18 and no idea yet when they'll be available. More unjustified panic buying, but this is worse than TP because it takes at least half a year before chickens mature enough to start laying at all, and a couple weeks at least until they start laying well. It's nuts.

I'm also going to be preparing a 1/4 to 1/3 acre garden with the help of one of my neighbors soon. I went out today and got the Alpha's emissions done and picked up a bunch of seeds for the first half of the spring planting. It'll be a month or two before I start harvesting but it should give us plenty to eat as well. Talking to the guy at the seed counter it sounds like a lot of people are going nuts with the gardening as well. So many that have no clue how many seeds they need. One guy apparently asked for 5 pound of peas. That produces a LOT of peas at harvest! About 2,000 pea seeds in a pound, so 10,000 in 5 pounds. Another asked for a pound of carrot seed. That can be up to 390,000 carrot seeds. Pretty sure these people aren't farming on multiple acres.

And now it turns out to be just as well that we postponed the Moab trip as my work just laid off the junior sysadmin which just leaves me and my boss, plus they are also cutting everyone's pay by 10% for the next few months unless they can get some of that stimulus money to help meet salaries. Unfortunately this move to the new house and property ended up draining us pretty well and I miscalculated my personal budget at the end of last year so we were already operating at the limit of our income before my work decided to cut salaries. Fortunately we'll be getting the stimulus funds and we still have enough in savings to potentially see us through to the end of the year with any reasonable shortfalls, but it's going to be pretty tight.

All told I am pretty sure we'll make it through OK and it is giving me a lot of data to improve my personal preparedness with.

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alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
Arizona just got the stay at home order effective tomorrow at 5 pm until April 30. Was thinking I should "accidentally" be at Bigunit's home tomorrow at 5 so I could shelter there and hang out for a month :).

Stores are recovering a bit but shelves are still lean for canned goods, cleaning supplies and paper goods. One grocery worker mentioned that they have some of the stock in the back but they can't get everything onto the shelves every day. One day they were out of frozen potato items - two days later it was fully stocked.

I was supposed to get new kitchen counters on Wednesday but that now looks like it's being pushed back about 5 weeks. Guess that gives me extra time to paint the cabinets.
 

Korby7

Well-Known Member
Messages
395
Location
Utah
I’m about an hour and a half south of JPaul and have a similar experience shopping wise and I’m set up for 6-9 months. Work has been paying me since the 16th to work from home which has been weird since I fix mechanical systems so I’m really doing nothing. Been working on the yard and the H3 when the weather isn’t crap. Tentatively scheduled to go back to work at the office on the 6th but we’ll see how that turns out. Doesn’t seem likely since things still seem to be ramping up here. I’m sure they won’t keep us all on payroll like that for long. I won’t be the first man out but I won’t be the last either. We’ll see. Strange times.
 

cgalpha08

"Like Nothing Else"
Messages
3,584
Location
Indianapolis, IN
I'm in Indianapolis, Marion county (where Indy is) is a hot bed of cases. I live in an adjacent county. The toilet paper hoarding here was crazy, the supply chain systems seem to have caught up and leveled off for now.
I've had ammo and a few weeks of food and what not already at home so i'm not terribly worried.
I predict we will be under a stay at home order through the month of April.
Luckily for my fiance and I we both have "essential" jobs, healthcare and energy industry, so the financial impact to us hasn't been noticed at all.

I've been ordering stuff online, mainly tools and parts to keep me occupied. Just kinda going stir crazy not being able to go the gym as i normally would.
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
Outside of some higher grocery prices I don't think we have been impacted much. Between lower gas prices and eating at home instead of going out we might even be spending less than normal. Certainly gaining on my list of honey dos.
 

RamRod

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,914
Location
AB, Canada
Just kinda going stir crazy not being able to go the gym as i normally would.

I have never been happier with having a well equipped home gym then I am right now!

After working from home all day I hoped on the rower and banged out a 5000 m row and that 20 min is all I needed to feel like there is some separation between work time in the house from personal time in the house
 

Big2dabank

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,216
Location
Central Florida
Our part of Florida has been relatively calm, we have ben out boating for the past two weekends and biking most afternoon to maintain some sense of normalcy. I am afraid the boat launches will be closed soon because some people can't seem to understand how not to fill their boats to capacity. We live on the lake so my boat will remain in the water, but I am afraid we may loose our boating privilege soon because of these groups that are not taking this serious. We have to pick our days to get groceries, not out of mandate, most things are hard to find, so we have to go on days when we know there is a good chance of stock available. Not sure why people are going so nuts over things, I ask the staff at the few stores we frequent to get an idea of what nights or mornings they get certain products in and schedule my trips as early as possible on those days. My wife and I are both Louisiana natives and we both love to cook, so food is not an issue at our house. We are cooking crawfish Étouffée tonight, so we are suffering, lol. There is plenty to go around if people do not panic and just maintain their regular routines as best they can. My neighbor is a battalion chief for the local fire department and he gives me briefings every couple of days from their side of things. He says they are predicting the peak here in Florida around mid May. His biggest fear is the loss of life from those people who are not infected, but who have emergency medical situations that are normally not at major risk of death, but do to the strain on emergency/medical personnel and facilities, they may not be able to save them.

As far as business goes, I own a civil engineering firm and we do land development in central florida. My office is in Orlando which although considered an essential business and allowed to remain open, I elected to set everyone up to work from home so we could keep production moving in the event of a total shutdown and keep everyone safe. Pre-virus there was more work that we could handle. Now we are looking at a 60 day backlog of active work and the there is a blank slate. Lots of clients have things put on pause right now. I am not taking a salary currently and doing everything we can to keep our staff employed as long as we can. I am hopeful we can get through this soon if everyone takes this seriously. If this extends deep into the summer i am afraid it will crush most of us small business owners by then. Hoping and praying for everyone and their families to remain safe.
 

MilamJR

Well-Known Member
Messages
805
Location
Alabama
I work from my home office when I am not traveling so not a big change from a daily routine prospective other than no travel until who knows when. Have a couple months supply of emergency dried food I can eat if everything shuts down. Hopefully it will never come to that. Have made a couple of trips to Costco. One time they even had tp so we grabbed some. Have smoked a brisket, ribs and chicken wings over the last couple of weeks. If this extends too long between the food and no haircut I am going to look like the fat brother they never knew on Duck Dynasty. Have accumulated 60 pounds of rice in my Food Bricks. The Food Bricks are also good for storing wood pellets for your smoker. Probably will start building 4-4X8 above ground planters this weekend so we can plant some vegetables soon. Always buy ammo when it is on sale and you don’t need it because when you think you really need it you won’t be able to buy it. Just going to worry about what I can control and leave the rest to God.


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3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
Our Shelter in Place order was just extended so there was another round of wipe of the grocery store shelves the last two days. Things were creeping back towards normal before. We have enough work to keep all of our employees going for awhile unless people start shutting done ongoing jobs. We have had some new projects that had not started put on pause. We have had to work out inspection protocols with a few municipalities and FD but so far so good. Glad I am not in retail or food service. The latest mortality projections are a little sobering. If they come true this will be worse than I thought it could possibly be. I was pretty optimistic when this first hit but the amount of economic devastation is going to be off the scale and the death toll is going to be much higher than I originally believed possible. There are already signs in windows of restaurants and businesses saying that they are closed for good. I am starting to hear of more people that I know that have been laid off or furloughed. I don't even know of anyone that has a confirmed case of Covid19 and it is wrecking havoc on many people that I know. Stay safe and stay away.
 

chaos254

Well-Known Member
Messages
577
Location
United States
I'm in northern NJ and we have been under a shelter at home for 2 weeks now. We planned accordingly before everything got crazy so we have plenty of supplies to last us. My wife is working from home and taking care of our 3 kids so it is very hectic for her. I still have to go to work everyday which is stressful since I have to interact with the general public and I'm worried about bringing this home to my family. Everyday the amount of cases goes up thousands and more deaths. I hope the rest of the country learned from our mistakes. Our governor waited way to long to issue the shelter in place order. Now everything is out of control with no end in sight. Our hospitals are already overwhelmed and supposedly we are 2-3 weeks out from the worse of it. I urge everyone to take this seriously and please be safe out there.

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svxr8dr

Well-Known Member
Messages
197
Location
SW WA ST
I'm in SW WA State. My county (Clark) has 116 cases and 6 dead with total as of today 879 tests submitted. While I have been working from home for over 2 weeks, I have gone into the office twice as we are operating under the essentials list. I have plenty of supplies myself. I have dug into some already, for rice for my parents who are both in high risk categories and the stores have been hit or miss on whats been available. My adventures out into the world (Groceries, fuel, etc) have been nice as the traffic is light and I have worn nitrile gloves and noticed I wasn't the only one. My daughter works at the local mall and has now been officially furloughed as the mall has been closed for weeks. I expect this to go on for more weeks than we would like. interesting times indeed. Local gun shops are doing brisk business too.
 

cgalpha08

"Like Nothing Else"
Messages
3,584
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Agreed, if you stop listening to the media the whole situation suddenly becomes a lot more tolerable/less depressing

Agreed, I was outside mowing the grass the other day and it was refreshing to just get away from the constant end of the world headlines. Keep a level head, common sense, and going about some routine will help with the sanity.

Ramrod, yes I am super jealous you have a home gym right about now lol.
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
I have a really well equipped home gym but my lower back and left shoulder have been bothering me for a few weeks and I am not going to the doctor right now unless I really, really need to so my workouts have been infrequent and less intense the last 3 weeks or so and I can feel it.
 

MilamJR

Well-Known Member
Messages
805
Location
Alabama
I have a really well equipped home gym but my lower back and left shoulder have been bothering me for a few weeks and I am not going to the doctor right now unless I really, really need to so my workouts have been infrequent and less intense the last 3 weeks or so and I can feel it.

Might want to try some Jocko Joint Warfare. It has worked pretty good for me.


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MilamJR

Well-Known Member
Messages
805
Location
Alabama
Alabama has 1,084 cases and 28 deaths as of this afternoon. More worried about civil unrest from economic collapse caused by the virus than from the virus.


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3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,398
Location
Central Texas
A fight here and there over TP or some item but so far not too much mischief by the masses. It could get worse as people get more desperate.
 

RamRod

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,914
Location
AB, Canada
I have a really well equipped home gym but my lower back and left shoulder have been bothering me for a few weeks and I am not going to the doctor right now unless I really, really need to so my workouts have been infrequent and less intense the last 3 weeks or so and I can feel it.

Hopefully your back and shoulder get some time to recover and you can get back at it.

I was having a huge issue with my knee last year and a few things I did to help get me back on track is using a HyperIce compress (It's joint specific and the compression helps get the cold nice and deep) added turmeric and black pepper to my morning coffee (help reduce inflammation and does not taste all that bad). After a while I stopped having a knee the size of a balloon and then I was able to start to slowing increase activity and build strength back up.

Not that the above will work for all injuries as there is a million ways to hurt yourself, but getting rid of inflammation in the body is good for you not matter the injury/health status of anyone.
 

deserth3

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,069
Location
Conroe, TX
Just found this thread.
I gave up work and retired last year. Moved in with my son near Houston. V.A. raised my disability rating to 80%.
I picked the perfect time to retire.
Been under a shelter in place for a few weeks. Hasn't affected my much. Except my daily drives have stopped. I take Roxy to the park in the morning so she can chase squirrels. The a walk in the afternoon. Roxy has made several friends and likes to visit them.
So all of this nuttiness hasn't affected me much.
Now spend my time considering where I'll live next. Need to move back to where it's not so humid.

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