All the best Ralph, sounds like a great young man who loves his family dearly. You've obviously raised a great one there. As for the update in our house: We are in quarantine officially since Carson had to be tested for COVID19. We were already in bunker mode per se, but now we are really on lock down.
Thank you my friends, I really appreciate your kind thoughts. As we all face personal battles in hard times I wish only the best to you and your loved ones. I realize this sounds sappy but it’s not intended that way, I truly wish the best in the worst and best of times, we each have to battle our way it seems. Corey, wow, I can only offer up the best in bunker mode. Let me know if I can amazon anything your direction to help out. I wonder how much alcohol they can deliver?
I need to have my car smogged, but Gov. Gruesome Newsome won't let me leave the house. It's a hybrid/electric car, but this is California and they won't register your car without a smog certificate, even if yor car is running on a battery... The Humane Society showed up yesterday and demanded that I get a license and shots for my dog, who never leaves the house either. Since I can't go anywhere to register anything, maybe they can just haul me in. They're releasing violent criminals from the jails and prisons here, I'm sure they won't hold one cynical old Irishman just for laughing at them...
Ralph, sorry I didn't respond sooner but I can take only so much of some folks BS. Hope things are going well for you and your family. How is the orchard doing. Last time I heard the hurricane had done an incredible amount of damage. Are you still growing those Asian limes? As I recall you also had peach trees. How has the recovery been?
Gip, there’s never a need for an apology, and I’m always appreciative of your reply. Lol, unfortunately there is a lot of BS and I’m hoping I’m not adding to it. Let’s just say 2020 will definitely be one for the ages for all of us, wow... We actually had our best results in years last season, this year is kinda ho hum, but as a grower of tree crops there are many cycles of ups and downs and this is a down year, go figure in 2020... The hurricane in all honesty decimated us, 135 mph winds when it ran thru us plus even worse it brought 27 inches of rain. The rain killed our peaches and the wind broke off every Australian lime tree at ground level. But that is old history at this point, we finally pushed up all of our peach trees last week and are replanting to a new hardy juice orange to survive the newly introduced diseases from South America. We have added both lemons and Persian limes to our acreage after the storm and are hopeful it will bring some revenue. Orange Juice consumption is up 400% with the Covid virus and is one of the few agricultural commodities showing a good return. That being said I look 185 years old, lol, too many downturns than ups but hanging tough... My wife and I decided after 15 years to finally remodel our house the week before the virus broke out, we just recently got back into our house that is 70% completed but we are home.. This being said, I’m blessed and pray for those who aren’t working, cannot imagine. How are things on your end?
Another side note and opinion, our local butcher told a dear friend of mine they will run out of meat next week, first time in 40 years, expecting it will last two weeks. Try to pickup a little extra protein if you guys get the chance. We are definitely in different times and any advantage is what it is...
Thing up here are muted. Obviously in a community of high-risk individuals, there's not much socializing. Our rec. centers and pools have been shut for weeks but the golf courses remain open with social distance rules. We ride individually in our carts, there are no holes just PCV pipes to bang your ball off and at the end of the round we touch putter heads instead of shaking hands. Restaurants are closed but some have carry outs. Our poos are supposed to begin opening today with distance rules. I've missed them since I use them to exercise. (My knees prefer aqua exercise.) I've been losing weight since Jan. but home confinement isn't helping. Right now we were supposed to be on a cruise ship heading to Barcelona. Don't know when we'll get to reschedule but we do have a nice credit towards a new one if the cruise line stays solvent. We're hoping to get back up north this summer to get together with the kids and grandkids but who knows what the world will be like in 3 mos. it's changes so much in the last 3. Glad to hear that you've put the pieces together and I'm interested in this new type of orange you've put in. Glad there's a solution to the blight.
Gipper, I sure hope it hasn't been too long since your poos have been closed off; that sounds unhealthy!
Congratulations on losing weight, it’s never easy and this weird phenomenon has only made it more difficult. I’m there with you after a year and a half, the past few months of chaos seems to make it difficult at best... Hate to hear the missed opportunity at Barcelona, what a great destination. My frugal side thinks there’s opportunity there and savings but I wouldn’t want to be trapped on a boat at this time. Pretty much torn at any type of vacation this year and I’ve got a month to use up between now and January But I will offer our pool to you guys, I just spent most of yesterday making it purty again, our son visited last weekend and I ignored it and paid for it. That being said I got a lot of vitamin D.... Scientists link vitamin D deficiencies to higher COVID-19 mortality rates — TheBlaze We have a bit of room and welcome you down south in our area.... That orange variety I’m playing with is called a Vernia orange, it seems very tolerant to our current diseases and would make a great tree at the house. Hope you get the chance to catch up with the kids, it’s what makes the world spin around...
At this point in the game it's looking like many more people will get very sick and die because of the reopening... early or not. That said..... we cannot go backward.... there is no viable retreat.... retreat to what? We cannot be set back in our timetable for our economy to survive. Therefore.... this is one time I agree with Trump.... now that we're doing it. At least he did say those most vulnerable ( like myself and my wife ) should stay home. Before you say I'm all doom and gloom we are at least 71,000 deaths so far with projections at 3,000 per day more by June 1st. Do the math...... lot's of tragedy and misery to come. So good luck to the rest of those who feel they can tolerate getting the virus physically.... because it's too late to turn back now.
What is that based on Dave? I ask because almost all of the data being put out is fundamentally flawed. (statistics are not hard - using them correctly always has been) Until they test entire populations of areas: infection, hospitalization, and death rates are all IMPOSSIBLE to calculate accurately. The few studies that have been done in that manner (such as the one done by Stanford) found the rates to be FAR lower than any projections being thrown around.
I am not sure it's true and going to prove out...but I'm hearing that there is evidence that both nationally and internationally places that haven't locked down don't have statistics that much different from states and countries that have locked down. A huge percentage of deaths are nursing home deaths...and a mega huge number of them are in New York. We have succeeded in shutting down the economy and leaving economically vulnerable people out of work, out of savings, and out of hope...we have succeeded in causing many businesses to close...and we have NOT protected the most vulnerable of all. I posted the following in another thread back on April 25...and I saw yesterday that a FEW folks are now talking about it (not the anti-Trumpers for sure); "WTF??? I'm not going to blame the Dem governors for this...they may have known nothing about it (plus maybe the same thing is going on in some Red States...I dunno)...my only point is WHO THE HELL THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO SEND POSITIVE COVID-19 PATIENTS FROM HOSPITALS INTO NURSING HOMES??? With all the STUPID talk about whether or not President Trump suggested drinking Clorox (he didn't) and blaming him and him alone for killing people when this scourge has gone around the entire planet...meanwhile THIS IS THE DUMBEST IDEA I EVER HEARD AND SOMEBODY SHOULD BE CALLED TO ACCOUNT FOR IT! Where do they think the most vulnerable people are??? Where have the highest number of deaths been???" Dave, I don't disagree with your sentiments...I don't want the damn virus and plan on staying very careful...but just how long can we keep everything shut down? It seems to me that the original goal of the shutdown was to "flatten the curve" to keep hospitals and health care from getting overwhelmed...hell, we even shut that down. The goal was to stretch the thing out so that many getting the virus would have ample access to needed care. It has been shown adequately, I think, that shutting everything down will NOT wipe out the virus. I hope and pray that there will NOT be a huge rebound in cases. This whole decision should NOT be a political one, yet in many ways it is becoming so.
The sobering numbers are that on April 20th we had 40,000 deaths in the U.S. from Covid-19. Since then with everything pretty well shut down the deaths have increased to 71,000. That's 31,000 in 16 days.... with most states shut down. But we have opened the door now.... and it's too late to turn back. We will truly be screwed economically if we collectively cry uncle now and try to retreat and close everything off. I just hope it's not Hamburger Hill out there..... It is what it is now......
Just heard (can’t verify) that 60% of NY cases were sheltering at home pretty religiously. Either sheltering doesn’t help much or there will be a big resurgence. Regardless, we can’t stay shut down for 2 years. Not doable.
I hope that's not true Stu. If so that just illustrates the virulent infectious capability of the virus. Without restrictions or with loosened restrictions not being followed ( which is going to be the case ) that is a very scary proposition.
Just saw the stats...it was 66% staying at home (not counting 18% from nursing homes)...means the virus is transmitted by sneezing, close contact, whatever...when going out to the grocery store or the park or whatever...not by touching countertops at work, poles in the subway, etc. You might be just as safe at work if practicing proper protocols as you would be at home (particularly if not practicing proper technique). Every state seems a bit different. In Ohio it's nursing homes and prisons. Sweden has not shut down (except for nursing homes where most of their cases come from) and they feel they are reaching herd immunity. I dunno...what a fiasco this will be if we did all this for little benefit. There is so much unknown. But I DO believe that if the shutdown continues much longer we may never crawl our way back. That doesn't mean partying and rock concerts. That will be a long time coming (along with packing folks into stadiums, unfortunately for us). https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242547366.html
Tyson Foods packing plant in Waterloo, Ia. has had 444 cases out of 2700 workers along with several deaths. So it's not all nursing homes Stu... Airline travel, public transportation, socializing anywhere without proper distancing and crowded workplace conditions are all good ways to get the virus. When bars and restaurants open up and people just feel like acting the way they normally do without taking all the precautions I'm sure that's going to be a real issue too.