Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I made a status update about this, but I figured this virus will be sticking around for a while so I'd make a topic instead. Status update for reference before it gets buried in a month from more status updates:

https://www.ancientclan.com/profile/1-sledgstone/?status=1565&type=status

Hows the Coronavirus impacting you? Thankfully I work from home and my job is not affected yet so I haven't had any work outages. I know quite a few people now having drastically reduced hours in the food industry and they'll be struggling to pay bills here by next week. I haven't been shopping since last Friday and it was a mad house then and only gotten worse from what I've heard. There is coronavirus cases in my county here in NY and it looks like the economy is going to crash. Maybe this new stimulus package will help? If they do send out checks to everyone like the Bush stimulus did, I'm going to have to throw that money right at my roof leak instead of additional food supplies. x_x I have one piece of roof that is not in good shape and apparently has been leaking for a while, buried under masses of snow until it recently all melted. Home insurance guy was a prick and doesn't want to cover it. I'll be switching home insurance companies just because I didn't like the guy. I also think my agent misrepresented to me the actual quality of the insurance package too.

My brother's sister in law has been sick for 2 weeks and is getting tested for coronavirus. His entire family has been sick for almost 2 weeks too (literally 2 weeks of off and on vomiting for all of them) but hes unaffected as of right now. And I have a friend or two in UK and I saw a facebook post from one of them saying toilet paper was in stock at some local store, so it looks like the toilet paper shortage is global. wtf.

Oh, and it makes sense that stores are having reduced hours now, because some people are getting sick as distribution facilities. Shipments to stores that should arrive in the morning may not make it to the stores till late afternoon. Changing their hours should definitely help with restocking issues. I still think everyone is in hoard mode because of fear of "stay in place" orders or quarantines. I think I have enough food for 2 weeks, but maybe not. I'd like to buy some more meats to throw in my freezer and get some canned soup.

 

And also, (insert blanket coronavirus message like everyone else):

 

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update:

At Ancient Clan, the safety and security of our members, and local communities is our utmost priority and our thoughts are with those impacted by the Coronavirus.

We are closely monitoring the rapidly evolving outbreak of the COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and its impact on the community, and are taking action based on guidance from public health experts and the CDC to ensure business continuity for all of our members around the country. Based on guidance from the CDC, we have implemented our already robust Business Continuity Plan with specific steps to account for COVID-19.

We have sanitized every topic, post, status update, blog entry, article, gallery, image, link, etc. and rest assured you are safe browsing this website and we'll remain open during these troubling times.

[Myk JL 1,731]

Basically my thought process

1. Super Tuesday - OH SHIT! JOE BIDEN WON! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!
2. Wednesday - OH SHIT! I LITERALLY WOKE UP WITHOUT POWER (electric)! *Sigh* Well at least I got my electric back on the same day.
3. Thursday - I'm glad I'm out of that progressive bubble. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Better buy a 12 Pack Of Toilet Paper as I get a $20 bill from the cashier. Might as well be overstocked as I'm down to my last 13 or 14 rolls.
4. Friday The 13 - A fortune cookie from a China Buffet: "There's a secret romance blooming! Go for it, in spite of your hesitation." Me at China Buffet: "Fake fortune."
5. 3/14 (Pi Day) - Use a Footlong Coupon at a gas station's Subway. Had 2 donuts from gas station's Tim Horton's. Went next door to McDonald's where I had 1 of each pie, a Shamrock Shake, & Shamrock McFlurry. Had to join Super Market Sweep everyone else was doing just in case. Was upset I didn't get my Raspberry Pie despite having 2 Raspberry Pi's at home.
6. Sunday - Damn It! The Bus isn't available until 12AM! Guess I'll see The Hunt in theaters next week.
7. 3/16 - Would today be Stone Cold day if it wasn't for tomorrow?
8. Tuesday (Saint Patrick's Day) - A drunk day where I see if Pizza Delivery is sober!
9. Today - Better do that Census paperwork....

March Madness has been redefined! And I feel like I'm in Mania where others are now in Dementia!

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I'll be working 6 days a week until this is over with. I'll be raking in the fat checks for a while at the cost of being tired. I've kept up with my anime and mobile games, but that's about it. Our deliveries are 1/3rd of what our orders are. Today I put out about 20 cases of random pasta noodles, and it barely made an impact on a completely empty shelf. I stopped by my local philly cheesesteak place to get a to-go order so I could support them and have a nice hot meal getting off work.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

I mean we're dead ass fucking slow right now since oil prices tanked (my job is highly dependent on the oil field so if they're no working they're not ordering shit so we're not doing shit). Not entirely sure what the future looks like going forward (I mean it's only Wednesday and my area was completely out of work by 3 pm, not sure if I'll have anything to do tomorrow) but I do know if oil prices tank even more and if Bobcat shuts down (we do a lot of contract work for Bobcat here in ND, there's been a confirmed case of COVID in the county where the major Bobcat factory for ND is and we're afraid they'll shut down) we're completely fucked, they're about the only ones keeping us working atm (them and the oil rigs in Texas, most of the rigs up here in the Bakken are shut down with the exception of a few). Not looking forward to a forced vacation without pay (the company I work for is to god damn cheap to pay us if they're force to close down which sucks as they also pay my health insurance so this will get interesting if shit hits the fan) even if I could use one.

Also not entirely looking forward to grocery shopping this weekend. My aunt was telling me shelves are looking pretty barren up here right now and I usually only by a weeks worth of groceries at a time.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Not sure how it is everywhere, but here and in some other city's posting pics, there is food, you'll just have to be a little creative if you're a picky eater. Its mostly nonperishable stuff that's limited. The deli, bakery, and produce have plenty minus bananas. Frozen Food is decently stocked minus frozen pizza and veggies. Forget bread and eggs unless you're there on a delivery day.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Lady went to walmart and a local grocery store today thats a small town over.. Walmart was ravaged. No bread, no meats except for some costly large hams. No boxed side dishes or frozen pizza. No milk, creamers, etc. Looking like apocalypse movies like the place was looted. The only meat thing she managed to get there was some banquet popcorn chicken. All the cat food, dog food and dog treats we buy were all out of stock. The local store had meats, got some pork chops, beef roasts, franks, but no bread or buns. I actually placed 2 orders tonight. 1 from walmart for dog food, treats, protein powder and an order from amazon for puppy pads. Shit is nuts. She said she almost walked into a fight in the dairy section. People were about to throw down. We're not going back to walmart till this shit settles down. We'll pay higher prices at smaller local places or order online if available. Getting dangerous out there. My freezer has a good assortment of foods at the moment. Once we get our pet stuff we should be set for about 2 weeks or so. Thankfully we bought a large 20 pack of toilet paper before all this even happened. We have like 12 rolls left. Never thought I'd see the USA like this.

I have a bad feeling that the next two weeks will determine how fucked our country is. I think they quarantined and closed shit down way too late. The amount of people that have been exposed will start all getting sick simultaneously over the next couple weeks and we'll see hot spots of illness all over the country. Depending on how bad it is will determine the damage. If its not bad and can be isolated and we all social distance we could be good in a couple months. If this shit is everywhere and we get a scenario like Italy, this could take a solid year minimum to recover from. I am really really hoping this isn't too bad. And when people say it only kills the people with pre-existing conditions and health issues.. well, USA is 50%+ obese and all medicated for something. Yeah...

[Sledgstone 8,672]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/03/19/california-projects-56-of-state-population-will-get-infected-with-coronavirus-over-an-8-week-period/

Well it looks like California will be hit hard. Not everybody is going to be super sick, some ppl might only get a light cough, others will be sick for weeks, but those ppl that can die from it.. if we end up getting a mortality rate like Italy we could end up with millions of Americans dying.

Edit:

And my brothers sister in law won't know the results of her coronavirus test for another 2-5 days. Wtf.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

If you're having trouble finding non-perishable stuff at the store here are a few resources I've personally used over the years. There is no telling what you can get from amazon right now. These are niche items keep in mind. Hopefully no one will need to use these for their primary food sources. If you have expendable income to load up just in case, here you go.

Food in a Pinch
https://wickedcutz.co/

Amazing jerky. I recommend any of the bacon jerky, Korean BBQ Turkey Jerky, and the Orange Teriyaki Beef Jerky. They accept paypal, and ship pretty fast. If you like your jerky as dry as paper, and as chewy as dry rotted leather then don't order from here. That's not a knock, some people just prefer it that way. I recommend this one because its moist, and if you're in a pinch on food supplies, it can be a decent meal substitute.

https://www.pickledstore.com/categories/Pickled-Quail-Eggs/

Pickled eggs.. you'll love it or hate it. Its a good source of sustenance. I recommend the quail eggs as they are smaller. The whites take in all the vinegar pickling flavor, if you don't like the dry yoke part of a boiled egg, quail eggs are perfect for this... if you don't mind that, then go for the full blown picked chicken eggs.

https://conecuhsausage.com/

This one may be iffy right now because they supply A LOT of sausage to grocers in the south. This is a southern gem, and a staple in AL. If they still fulfill orders, the shipping will be pretty expensive as they ship with dry ice I believe. I sent some to a friend a few years ago as a Christmas present. There is nothing like this sausage anywhere. Purely a luxury item if you just really need meat and you can't get any.

https://www.hickoryfarms.com/meat-cheese/

If you don't know what the deal is here, I feel sorry for you. 😛

https://www.nutstop.com/product-category/dried-fruit/

Dried fruit and nuts. Unfortunately they're already getting hit it seems. Message up top says it will take a week to process.

Coffee
https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/
https://www.gevalia.com/
https://www.peets.com/

 

Some of this stuff can be found on Amazon, even with better deals. But like I said, in case you cannot receive these from amazon currently, these links are for just in case.

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I went shopping this morning and lucked out. I usually go to walmart for everything, then hit up my local grocery for meats, veggies and fruit. Well, walmart is completely ravaged. I went to my local grocery store today and they were fully stocked, bread, milk, cheese, creamers, meats, fruit, boxed goods, ample pasta and sauces, etc. The only thing they didn't have was chicken or poultry of any kind or ramen. They had scotts toilet paper only in individual rolls, limit 2 per customer. They said they'll have chicken tomorrow so I'll be going there in the morning to see what I can get. Unlike the small grocery store a town over that Lady went to the other day, this one is not on a bus route. It was a night and day difference compared to walmart. Walmart looks like an apocalypse movie and they were looted. The local place looked like any other day. wtf. Hopefully it stays that way and people from the big cities don't come swarming to it to clear them out.

2 hours ago, DeathscytheX said:

https://www.hickoryfarms.com/meat-cheese/

If you don't know what the deal is here, I feel sorry for you. 😛

Mmmmmm... Hickory Farms meat and cheese platters are the shit.

I didn't know you liked pickled eggs. I've never had a quail egg before. I usually don't buy pickled eggs tho, I have a tendancey of taking any leftover eggs I have that will expire soon and hard boil them, then put them in a leftover jar of pickle juice to suck up the flavor. They keep for a couple weeks easy in that juice. The pickle juice never comes close to the yolk, but its a decent way to preserve them longer in the fridge for a decent snack and a good dose of protein.

That jerky sounds really good. I personally don't like that rock hard stuff. I prefer a nice moist jerky.. btw don't order jerky off amazon without looking at reviews. I have seem some horror story review pics of so much mold its unbelievable. x_x

 

I just finished listening to this episode and its lays out alot of good info on the coronavirus and a variety of other diseases.

 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I didn't try a pickled egg until about 2 years ago. It was in a a sampler apptizier at an irish pub. I was surprised I liked it so I branched out. I like quail eggs because they're small and poppable. You get the whole experience in one bite. I prefer the hot n spicy ones, When they toss peppers in the jar to marinate in the pickling process, the eggs pick it up pretty good. They just suck to get out as you get to the bottom of the jar since they're so tiny.

I found Wicked Cutz because I too was tired for dry ass tough/crunchy jerky. I was trying to find who made the most tender and succulent jerky there is. I found them and was sold. They have a Dry/Moist meter on each one and its pretty accurate. Some of the beef ones can be a little dry but they aren't going to give you a Schwarzenegger jaw line from chewing it. The Turkey Jerky is amazing. Its pretty addicting... and so is the bacon. I never heard of bacon jerky before, but I can sit down and eat the whole bag.   There is another company that makes gator jerky and its utterly devine.... but its way too expensive for the tiny bit you get. Jerky on whole is too expensive as it is... so I rather buy WC's stuff than dry ass Jack's Links at the store.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Bacon Jerky is heaven, boy do I love me some Bacon Jerky. I'll have to try Wicked Cutz out (was browsing their site last night, might do an order next pay day (if there is one)) because I also hate dry ass jerky. Then again it'll be hard to beat the local meat shops jerky, that shit is awesome (but alas I'm sure they're fresh out with this bull shit).

You can keep your pickled anything. The though of eating anything pickled, especially eggs, makes me want to throw up (don't ruin perfectly good eggs by pickling them, that's an offense to nature).

So I went up to Walmart this morning and it was quite a bit better then last week except for the sheer amount of people (fucking christ it was like shopping on the day before Thanksgiving). Banana's were full in stock (good thing to as I eat those for breakfast), bread was mostly in stock (a few things here and there were missing), toilet paper of course was out (as it is everywhere in town), almost the entirity of the cold/allergy medicine area was gone (which sucks for me because I need sinus medication due to my shit sinuses as of late), but boy was frozen completely wiped out (thin pickings which sucks for me since my diet is pretty much entirely frozen foods (you think your diet is bad)). Was talking to one of my friends that works their (he was getting off when I went in) and he said it's been bad all week (he was even telling me that people were lining up 4 hours before they opened just to get in to get shit (our Walmart closes down at 8:30 pm and opens at 6 am right now). Fucking bonkers). He was also saying they're throwing 10-12 pallets of frozen freight (as I said earlier you wouldn't be able to tell by how wiped out it was) and 10 pallets of paper products a night. God damn people be crazy. Going to be really interesting next weekend.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Wal-Mart is the worst everywhere since its pretty much the average person's first go to. So naturally they get hit the hardest. Personally I never shop there because I hate the general public and like to avoid them at all costs. I mostly do my shopping when I get off work. Yeah things that aren't on sale are hella expensive compared to Wal-Mart but my peace of mind is worth it. My store is one of the lesser busy ones, but our truck sizes are all the size of our biggest truck of the week right now, and thats only because there isn't enough product to come in.. otherwise it would be quadruple the size. Where is everyone putting all this fucking food? We've already put up signs that you can't bring any of the stuff back for refunds. I think everyone is trying to curb the purchasing madness by doing this. I know Costco did this as well. I bet there a bunch of morons, hording with their credit card, and they're gonna be up shit's creek when they can't return any of it and can't pay their credit card. Like I watch people just stroll by with an overflowing shopping cart every day, everyone. I can't even get a damn coffee on a break without having to stand in line behind giant orders. Its completely unnecessary.

Right now its seriously like Jingle All the Way, and all the groceries are Turboman dolls.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I have never heard of bacon jerky until right now. I need to try it.

My brother's walmart has restrictions in place to limit how much everyone can buy. Good news is he said today was the first day they had stuff in stock at the end of his shift. He said they had toilet paper and paper towels in stock all day long for over 8 hours. He said the main key was to have the limit of 1 product per customer. Everyone was limited to buying only a single package of toilet paper regardless of the size of the package. In the the end it helped curb the hoarding. Every store I've been too in the last week and a half have all had a limit of 2 of anything in high demand. Maybe having that reduced to 1 of anything is what needs to happen at every store to curb the hoarding.

2 hours ago, Strider Hiryu said:

You can keep your pickled anything. The though of eating anything pickled, especially eggs, makes me want to throw up (don't ruin perfectly good eggs by pickling them, that's an offense to nature).

My friend's buddy is one of those "don't let anything go to waste" people and he hunts.. so you don't know what you're missing until you've tried pickled venison heart chunks. It was ok, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it again. But I'd rather eat that than deer liver again. Just eww. Liver is a texture I don't think I'll ever enjoy.

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

Yea no. I used to be a hunter and that shit don't even fly with me. Pickled anything is just nasty. Never had liver but looking at it I can pretty much tell I won't like it (I don't consider myself an overly picky eater but there is just some shit I won't do (and I'm considered the weird one in my family because I love sushi yet I hate cooked fish (yea I consider that a little weird myself but meh, catholic upbringing and all that has left a distaste for cooked fish (outside of fish stick, I will totally devour a box of fish sticks any day of the week))).

Sledge you go out and you buy bacon jerky this instant. That shit is fucking amazing and I could eat it all day every day (though Jack Links jerky tends to be rather dry their bacon jerky is killer if you can't find anything else). Granted not as good as freshly fried bacon but damn near. Now I want bacon and I have none in house

See that's the problem with the Walmart here, there's no restrictions on what you can buy. They're just up and letting people buy in mass quantities and it's stupid. Hell the two local grocery stores have a limit of two in place currently for heavily wanted items though in retrospect it's not helping as they're cleaned out of most of the same shit as Walmart. Meh, as my friend pointed out eventually these people are going to run out of storage and stop buying shit (well at least the ones not trying to resell this shit online) which will let stores finally catch up. When that will happen is anyone's guess but it will happen (that or they'll run out of money because they're out of work (which will be the biggest contributor to that in my area as 40-50% of the workforce here is employed by the oil companies and as I pointed out earlier most of those are shut down right now)).

Meh, I shop at Walmart for the ease of it and because it's extremely cheap (my weekly grocery bill would be $40-$80 more if I shopped anywhere but Walmart. That's pretty steep when I usually spend $120-$140 a week). I used to shop at the local grocery store but it just got way to expensive and the other one I refuse to give money to as they're the ones that fired me. Plus since my diet is mostly frozen food it's way cheaper to shop at Walmart as both of the other stores in the area can't match Walmart's prices on frozen goods (a fact I know well having been the managed the frozen department at the one that fired me). Though I'm thinking I might have to bite the bullet and shop at them next Saturday if Walmart is wiped out again.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I hear ya about the frozen food prices. Walmart definitely cannot be beat on those prices. I like making hot meals for dinners, but lunches or dinners in a pinch for me is deli sandwiches. Thankfully my local stores are pretty much the same prices if not cheaper when it comes to deli meat, bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and other produce. I can make a quick sahlen's ham sandwich with lettuce, tomato and some wishbone fat free italian dressing (I swear this tastes exactly like regular Italian dressing but only 15 calories a serving, it's my go to condiment for sandwiches and salads and tastes great) and have some chips on the side or an apple. Probably $6 for the ham, $2 for a loaf of bread, $2.50 for a bag of salad or $1 for a head of lettuce, $1 for a large tomato, $3 for a bag of apples or chips. $3 for the dressing (but that lasts like 4 months). I could get like 7 meals out of that for around $20 or less. It's definitely more expensive than walmart frozen food prices, but my local stores frozen food meal prices, depending on the size are like $1.50-2 a piece if not on sale. I think the deli sandwich route is a little more costly, but if I get wunderbar bologna or cheap store chopped ham, either for $2 a pound instead of getting the quality ham, it'd be roughly the same price at my local store. I mention all that because both of my local stores have not once run out of deli meat or produce during all this panic shopping and hoarding. Probably because deli meat only lasts in the fridge for 5-7 days max. But as long as I can get some american cheese slices I can make grilled cheese with all that extra bread for extra sandwiches. Or if bread is out if stock, I get tortillas to make wraps or quesadillas (if I can get shredded cheese instead of american slices). I'm glad the deli departments haven't been that affected because I'll eat deli meat at least 3 days a week, sometimes I'll eat just the meat in a couple slices as a snack.

I definitely think the hoarding will come to an end soon, mostly because ppl wont have the money to keep doing it. But if those stimulus checks get sent out, I will buy up groceries a couple days before that because I'm sure everyone will hoard again.

Edit:

And I will definitely buy some bacon jerky next time I can find some at the store. I had no idea Jack's links made it either. Lol.

Edited March 22, 2020 by Sledgstone

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

13 hours ago, Strider Hiryu said:

(and I'm considered the weird one in my family because I love sushi yet I hate cooked fish (yea I consider that a little weird myself but meh, catholic upbringing and all that has left a distaste for cooked fish (outside of fish stick, I will totally devour a box of fish sticks any day of the week))).

 

 

Ok wtf? Fish Sticks are an abomination. Sushi is amazing, and there is nothing like some fresh never frozen grilled salmon or fried catfish. I'm not down with Seapak or Captain Gordons.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I'm glad so many companies are now doing work from home. The company I work for has been doing it for years already. I'm happy with my job, but it'll be nice to see new potential job offerings in the future that actually have telecommuting as an option because it'll open up the workforce across the country instead of only hiring locally. The potential for higher paying jobs will be available to more people in more diverse locations as long as employers keep their work from home options available. Its actually cheaper for the employers too because they don't have to pay for offices, computers, software licenses, power, etc. since all that falls on the home employee. Assuming the workflow stays the same to justify the work from home option. I think that will be the real test for alot of these companies doing this for the first time. Not everyone is suited with the mentality for working from home. It is alot of self isolation and full of potential distractions. I'm a bit anti-social so its never bothered me.  But I know some people that went a bit nuts and craved human interaction so bad they either had to quit or go out to a store or something every single lunch break just to see people and start a random conversation with a stranger. It takes a while, but that going crazy from isolation feeling kicks in for people after about a month.

In other news:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-suggests-he-other-seniors-willing-n1167341

I have a feeling Trump and others will lift the quarantine within 2 weeks instead of a month, because the economy and stocks are more important that old people's lives.

And the coronavirus stimulus package that could send money out to people sounds like a shit show. Republican version wants all citizens taxpayers to get a one time check for roughly $1200 but corporations gets massive bailouts with no real oversight. Meanwhile the democrats must be smoking a shit ton of medicinal marijuana because some are wanting their version of the stimulus to waive up to $30,000 off everyone's student loans. Like that would ever pass. If theres money for getting student loans paid off, why not waive my credit card debt too dems? Or maybe my brother's medical debt? wtf. Or maybe they could make it so all that student loan debt is now zero percent finance and put that bailout money towards medical products or food stamps for the needy that are all freshly unemployed. 

Meanwhile everyone thats losing their jobs from this are losing their health insurance at the same time because they'll always be connected together in this country because its how our health insurance industry is set up. I wonder how long rural hospitals / doctor offices will be able to stay open when a large chunk of people don't have insurance to pay for their visits. Those places will have to take the hit while they send out past due notices to patients that might never pay them. One of my local doctor's offices already closed for the foreseeable future. They have one employee working 4 hours a day over the phone only, basically doing refills and telling anyone with an issue to go to an urgent care facility instead. Apparently it made more sense for them to lay off the entire staff and close up shop and fully re-open in 2-3 months instead of actually helping during this situation. Thankfully this isn't the doctor I go to.

Also, turns out one of my specialist doctor's I've seen in the past is now offering video appointments. I like that some doctor's are actually coping with the situation instead of just denying their services.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

The dems lost so bad this round. No matter how shitty the package was going to be they joined into it as a bipartisan package over the weekend and then at the last minute yesterday demanded a bunch of unrelated shit like same day voter registration, bailing out the post office, wind power tax breaks, etc. Bad look. There is no way that dumb shit can be defended, especially if the original package was a bipartisan effort. I'm surprised the republicans would even consider passing out checks to everyone since that's kinda against the party philosophy. While intentions are good, man that's ripe for abuse... those tax fruaders were already licking their chops to steal a bunch of those from people that really need it. There is no way the government could implement that this fast without a ton of issues. From what I was understanding pretty much anyone that pays taxes can get it even if they don't need it, while people that do need it could be left out like people that run their own small, and I mean like really small 1-2 person business, out of their home, self employed people etc. They should have came up with a bill that suspended a giant portion of monetary flow. Basically credit card, mortgage, automobile, rent, student loans, personal loans, and basically anything I left out that can ruin you credit or make you homeless or without a vehicle should have been put on hold. If I was Trump I'd just throw down the executive order and dare a judge to block it. My state loosened up all the unemployment requirements so most businesses that are shutting down, have fired all of their employees just so they can get unemployment while they aren't getting a paycheck.

My issue with these testing sites is that if you aren't showing symptoms you shouldn't go. Yeah you could be asymptomatic, but if you're not, you're more likely to get it waiting in line near someone sick with it. I dunno about everywhere, but all I am seeing is some shitty beige tent and a long line. wtf? So much for social distancing when it really matters. Nah fam, I'm good. Not about to get COVID while waiting to see if I have COVID.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

16 hours ago, DeathscytheX said:

I'm surprised the republicans would even consider passing out checks to everyone since that's kinda against the party philosophy. While intentions are good, man that's ripe for abuse... those tax fruaders were already licking their chops to steal a bunch of those from people that really need it. There is no way the government could implement that this fast without a ton of issues. From what I was understanding pretty much anyone that pays taxes can get it even if they don't need it, while people that do need it could be left out like people that run their own small, and I mean like really small 1-2 person business, out of their home, self employed people etc.

This entire stimulus is based off the last republican stimulus and bail out packages that Bush and everyone passed in 2008. Bush bailed out the banks, the auto industry and sent everyone checks. But because it was happening during an election year and Obama was very popular at that point doing multiple interviews and being asked about it repeatedly, people ended up associating the entire massive bailout with him. It was all Bush, Obama and others actually praised Bush for parts of it. Theres alot of interview videos with Bush about it on youtube, most with hardly any views. I got a $300 check from the government that year once Bush signed it into effect. Everybody that was a taxpayer got checks sent out to them. They sent the checks out to the same addresses on file that everyone got their tax refunds sent to. I remember we didn't have to do any paperwork or anything. Just wait for a check to come in the mail like a bonus tax refund. Thats probably why they sent the checks out like they did.. simple, easy, all those taxpayers with addresses already on file and no need to hire a government agency to oversee it. Back in 2008 everyone was hoarding whatever cash they had in case they lost their jobs. So to boost the economy they sent the checks out and sure enough quite a few people spent that money. But with how the economy is now, them sending out money to everyone should also help because its money that will be spent, either on rent, mortgages, bills, etc. And people that didn't loose their jobs will most likely spend it too on extra stuff around their local businesses. I'd say they should do a separate stimulus that focuses on small business's, but I don't think they can filter out who actually needs the help or not without having it get abused to all hell.

 

I can't find the video off hand, but it was like a 5 years ago I remember watching a Bush interview on tv where the person asked him about it all again and how he feels about Obama getting credit for it. He was like "It was all me. I bailed them out." he was disappointed he wasn't getting acknowledged for it.

I will say though, I think over half the republicans at the time didn't like the bailout. Thats probably why they were able to get public opinion to shift this over to being associated with Obama. The news was manipulative as all hell back then just like it is today.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Pretty much how Trump is now being blamed for the mask shortage that actually happens under Obama during H1N1 and they were never replenished. I also learned the other day, at some point, I dunno under who, we decided it was a bright idea to have all the IV bags come out of Puerto Rico, and then the hurricane hit last year, and everyone is having supply issues. 

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/los-angeles-times-and-bloomberg-news-federal-stockpile-of-n95-masks-was-depleted-under-obama-and-never-restocked

Bush was definitely the end of the Republican's fiscal conservatism as a whole. Big spending government has been gone on for too long and it probably will keep going on. People that like big government that takes care of everything, don't realize that the result is that corporations are going to get bailed out forever... because they fund the campaigns. Not the little people. The government should monitor corperations, let them succeed and let them fail. If something fails, something else will rise up in its place, it always has. With Space X on the rise, and NASA becoming less relevant, its pretty obvious we don't need the government for everything. The government should assist but not take over parts of the private sector.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

20 hours ago, DeathscytheX said:

People that like big government that takes care of everything, don't realize that the result is that corporations are going to get bailed out forever... because they fund the campaigns.

So true. Definitely how it works in USA. Check out this pic on this link, hard to see because the quality is crap. But there's Bush signing that $700+ billion stimulus last time and right behind him is Pelosi and McConnell with big ass grins on their faces. I can practically hear them thinking "these banks and corporations are going to owe us huge!" And looks like they're still doing fine for themselves and their campaigns all these years later, yeah.  And they'll probably be in another pic with Trump signing this stimulus package to.

https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080213-3.html

And yeah I didn't know about that IV bag thing either until the other day. I think it was mentioned in that Joe Rogan episode.. or some other video I watched. Flipping crazy to have that all sourced from one location only. And it turns out China makes the majority of our countries medicine and our country has like no significant national stockpiles of meds or medical equipment.. wtf.

[Myk JL 1,731]

 

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

On 3/22/2020 at 1:03 PM, DeathscytheX said:

 

Ok wtf? Fish Sticks are an abomination. Sushi is amazing, and there is nothing like some fresh never frozen grilled salmon or fried catfish. I'm not down with Seapak or Captain Gordons.

Hey now, don't go mocking my fish sticks Dip them in a little Mayo and you got yourself a fucking feast (like I said I'm considered the weird on in my family).

So shit seems to be getting real around my area now. The company I work for decided that instead of closing up shop for a few weeks that they'd just go ahead and lay off quite a few people in an effort to "protect as many peoples jobs as possible in these trying times and to try and prevent a company shut down". I survived for now (but my department is hurting badly as we lost 4 people, two of which were rather essential to getting shit done and we're pretty sure they're not getting their jobs back) and they said no more lay offs were being planned (but I and everyone else doubt this hightly). Quite honestly it's fucking retarded considering we're not an essential business (for fucks sake we're a metal fabrication shop), most of our customers are shut down or running at less than half capacity, there's a fear our suppliers might shut down (my supervisor was pretty worried about this yesterday), Bobcat has currently shut their doors to everyone but employees (rumor has it they're considering shutting down), and COVID cases in our county are on a steady rise. Yet for some god damn reason we need to stay open and lay people off so those higher ups can line their fucking pockets cause god forbid we close down to save those people's jobs (we're a multi-million dollar company, we can afford to shut down for awhile). Yea I'm fucking pissed because two of them (the two essential ones I mentioned above) are friends of mine who were already in tough financial spots to begin with.

[Myk JL 1,731]

6 hours ago, Strider Hiryu said:

Hey now, don't go mocking my fish sticks Dip them in a little Mayo and you got yourself a fucking feast (like I said I'm considered the weird on in my family).

I only buy fish sticks when I also buy mozzarella sticks. It just feels balanced when they're together.

 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

18 hours ago, Strider Hiryu said:

Hey now, don't go mocking my fish sticks Dip them in a little Mayo and you got yourself a fucking feast (like I said I'm considered the weird on in my family).

🤮 Mayo?! Ugh. Mayo isn't a dipping sauce! I dunno why, I just don't find fish sticks fulfilling. Yet I can demolish a pack of ultra processed chicken nuggets all day... I'm not a huge fan of McD's, but every once in a while I get that childhood nostalgic hankering for McNuggets and go to town on some.

I've heard the ole "No more layoffs planned" which in my experience is a huge difference from "No more layoffs". Sounds pretty scary. Yeah this is only going to get worse, because people that can stay home, just wont do it. You'd think people that won't be getting a paycheck next pay day would just stay put and not burn gas and try to spend as little as possible. Things were calming down a little and then our Governor announced that all non essential businesses will close... which they already were, but it made everyone freak out and start panic shopping again. I really wish we could just shut down to the public for 2 days a week just so we could fill up the shelves without people just loading up there cart like its fucking supermarket sweeps. Its the only way you can get people not to come. I remember about 5 years ago we had an ice storm. A once every 20-50 year occurrence here. No one in this city is equipped to drive in those conditions, much less have ever done so. The company I worked for was so greedy they opened the stores, half the employees wouldn't or couldn't show up anyways, and people were still trying to make it to the grocery store. wtf. I was closing the night it started and I was instructed the close the store down 4 hours early. I remember driving home before it was really bad, and seeing multiple cars in the ditch on the side of the road where they were obviously coming to shop. With grocery stores the only thing being open right now, people are just bored and go there.... its so dumb.