Octopus Overlords

You know...................people who aren't from Massachusetts.

My dad wants me to "wake up early and go stock up on some canned goods". Except my online class starts at 10AM, and none of the shops near me (I'm in the middle of Chinatown) opens earlier. Going any further would require getting a vehicle.

What's worse, Amazon is experiencing a bug that is slowing down their delivery. Apparently, they hit some sort of bottleneck transferring orders from their system to the delivery partners, and this is Amazon-wide, affecting everything from regular Amazon to Whole Foods to Pantry to even Prime Now orders.

My wife has been resistant to "stocking up" and insists we don't need to. She only accepted it Saturday morning as a way to shut me up. When we arrived at the local grocery store she was a little taken aback. Some shelves were bare. No toilet paper. Lots of people for 6:45am. By the time we were ready to leave, she was more on board with getting some extra of everything. Our next stop was the local WalMart and it was even worse there, but between the two we got everything on our lists.

We normally have enough food in the house to last 2-3 weeks for the four of us. Right now we're probably at 4-5 at normal consumption, or 6-10 if we start rationing and focus more on the kids. I think. I mean, it's hard to calculate. I can really only say that we have "a lot" for us as a family.

Did my usual Monday morning shop on the way in to work. Jewell usually has 4 or 5 cars in the lot at 7am on Monday. Today there were easily 30 cars. Didn't seem overcrowded inside since it's a big store but def more than usual. Lots of people were checking out everyone else's carts as if they wanted to see what the hot items were.


Only change for me was picking up a few frozen meals for the office since dining options will be limited. Bought my usual oranges and bananas and cereal.

Lots of empty shelves but not a shortage in general. Butter, yogurt, things like that.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:42 am Lots of people were checking out everyone else's carts as if they wanted to see what the hot items were.

This is when I'd be inclined to fill my cart with condoms and laxatives and just wander around the store.

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:49 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:42 am Lots of people were checking out everyone else's carts as if they wanted to see what the hot items were.

This is when I'd be inclined to fill my cart with condoms and laxatives and just wander around the store.

Amusingly, when I was at the podunk store near my home, maybe 15% of carts I saw were stocking heavily on alcohol and ice cream.

I have to get some Tylenol because you aren't supposed to use aspirin, Advil, or Motrin with this virus.

em2nought wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:55 am I have to get some Tylenol because you aren't supposed to use aspirin, Advil, or Motrin with this virus.

Really? No NSAIDS? Says who?

EDIT: Don't see ANY mention to avoid NSAIDS about this virus... It's all self-care anyway.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:03 am

em2nought wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:55 am I have to get some Tylenol because you aren't supposed to use aspirin, Advil, or Motrin with this virus.

Really? No NSAIDS? Says who?

EDIT: Don't see ANY mention to avoid NSAIDS about this virus... It's all self-care anyway.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... -infection

Interesting. Thanks. There is a pharmacy about 2 (long) blocks from me, it's just that I really don't feel like going out at the moment.

I figure here in a few weeks septic systems all over the world are going to be stopping up as people start using all this toilet paper+ ( they can use extra now) they bought.

And I'm sure statistics will prove that people will die before they use up all their toilet paper.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:18 am Interesting. Thanks. There is a pharmacy about 2 (long) blocks from me, it's just that I really don't feel like going out at the moment.

Hinky Dinky Parlez-vous

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:49 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:42 am Lots of people were checking out everyone else's carts as if they wanted to see what the hot items were.

This is when I'd be inclined to fill my cart with condoms and laxatives and just wander around the store.

Condoms, laxatives, vaseline, nudy mags. rubber gloves, sleeping pills.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:34 pm And I'm sure statistics will prove that people will die before they use up all their toilet paper.

As long as they can still bequeath it to loved ones in their will...

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 2:31 pm I figure here in a few weeks septic systems all over the world are going to be stopping up as people start using all this toilet paper+ ( they can use extra now) they bought.

More like those who missed out on the rush will start using things such as Kleenex, paper towels, newspapers, rags made from old bed sheets and the like.

Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

Do you volunteer as tribute?

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:25 pm Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

330,000,000 × 0.03 = 9,900,000

Hundred thousand, ten million. Same same.

To add to the 5 pounds of protein powder (that I keep around anyway for after workouts) and the hard tack, I just dug out my sprouter. I'll start a batch now, and I've got another pound of seeds on the way. That's fresh greens - at least some - for a couple of months.

The tack and protein is what we're calling 'third wave' food. First wave is just the stuff we eat all the time anyway. Eat it, replace it. If we can't go to the store and run out, we hit the second wave food. That's a blend of our regular stuff that's been put back combined with stuff that's intended for storage and efficiency. Peanut butter, ramen, etc. We've got a couple of weeks of that, and I plan to add another week to it tomorrow. It's only if that stuff were to run low that we'd start on the third wave food. With that I've probably got enough to survive for a month more. Survive, not enjoy.

I don't anticipate that we'll ever even touch the third wave stuff, but it is nice to know it's there.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:27 pm Do you volunteer as tribute?

Yes

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:28 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:25 pm Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

330,000,000 × 0.03 = 9,900,000

Hundred thousand, ten million. Same same.

That explains why I don't owe any taxes.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:48 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:28 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:25 pm Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

330,000,000 × 0.03 = 9,900,000

Hundred thousand, ten million. Same same.

That explains why I don't owe any taxes.

that gave me a chuckle

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:48 pmThat explains why I don't owe any taxes.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:12 pm

Jeff V wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:49 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:42 am Lots of people were checking out everyone else's carts as if they wanted to see what the hot items were.

This is when I'd be inclined to fill my cart with condoms and laxatives and just wander around the store.

Condoms, laxatives, vaseline, nudy mags. rubber gloves, sleeping pills.

I'm glad this joke was made because I notice my mom hasn't been asking for any laxatives, and she's going to be shit out of luck if she doesn't have any. LOL

Toilet paper is SOOOOO 2019...….

I didn't check but I heard that those are all sold out too.

Went to two places today in search of asswipes, one on a rumor they had some. Bupkis at both places.

Your sig makes that whole post so much better.

Safeway apparently still delivers, but any delivery window is 7 days from now.

Friday will be my normal time to go to the grocery. I wonder how much if anything they'll have left?
I'm hoping the panic run will be over by then.

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:28 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:25 pm Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

330,000,000 × 0.03 = 9,900,000

Hundred thousand, ten million. Same same.

If we truly had 330,000,000 people jockeying for the <1,000,000 hospital beds, I'd wager our fatality rates would be phenomenally higher.

Paingod wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:50 am

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:28 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:25 pm Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

330,000,000 × 0.03 = 9,900,000

Hundred thousand, ten million. Same same.

If we truly had 330,000,000 people jockeying for the <1,000,000 hospital beds, I'd wager our fatality rates would be phenomenally higher.

Even if everyone got it, and everyone got it at the same time, you'd only expect to see 50-60 million that would need hospitalization. But yes, the death rate would likely be significantly higher.

The grocery store was fully stocked this morning, and the crowd was fairly small. Got myself another week and a half of food.

My wife went to the kid's school to get his assignment for the week and they were handing out two bags of food to every parent, whether or not they needed it.

The school has been handing out food consistently this last year for kids to bring home. I tried resisting initially, but the program is for "all kids" so the ones who need it most don't feel singled out. I appreciate the efforts.

Defiant wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:05 am

Paingod wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 7:50 am

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:28 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:25 pm Death rate for the coronavirus is 3%.
If everybody in the US caught it there would be around 90,000 dead. Let the damn thing take it's course and be done with it.

330,000,000 × 0.03 = 9,900,000

Hundred thousand, ten million. Same same.

If we truly had 330,000,000 people jockeying for the <1,000,000 hospital beds, I'd wager our fatality rates would be phenomenally higher.

Even if everyone got it, and everyone got it at the same time, you'd only expect to see 50-60 million that would need hospitalization. But yes, the death rate would likely be significantly higher.

Gov of NY is using the numbers of:
Between 40-70% catch it.
Those that catch it, 17% need hospital care.

His 8 millions could turn easily into (40%) 3 million that catch it in NY state, with NY state then needing about 500,000 beds. Or it could be almost double that.

(pretty sure that math there is all correct)

Paingod wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:24 am My wife went to the kid's school to get his assignment for the week and they were handing out two bags of food to every parent, whether or not they needed it.

The school has been handing out food consistently this last year for kids to bring home. I tried resisting initially, but the program is for "all kids" so the ones who need it most don't feel singled out. I appreciate the efforts.

CPS is doing this every day from 9-noon. Crazy to think about it. Since our school is less than 50 yards away, we're thinking of sending the kiddo for some distanced socializing.



I hit the jewel I went to yesterday. Same time, 7am. Fewer people today, no line at the one open checkout.

Corned beef is on sale big time. I usually wait for the weekend after St. Patrick's day to get a couple of briskets. Will probably still do so, but sliced Vienna beef corned beef was nice and cheap so I grabbed some.

But the real reason I was there was the one weakness in our preparedness plan: kitty litter. We were on track to run out in a week so I grabbed 90 more lbs. Should be set for a while. Reduced stocks it looked like, but not a run yet.

I'm hearing that asian grocers/markets aren't getting as much business (out of people being paranoid/racist), so if you have one near you, you may want to check it out when getting supplies.

Defiant wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:59 am I'm hearing that asian grocers/markets aren't getting as much business (out of people being paranoid/racist), so if you have one near you, you may want to check it out when getting supplies.

The one closest to us is banging. May have something to do with most of the clientele being Asian though.

Defiant wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:59 am I'm hearing that asian grocers/markets aren't getting as much business (out of people being paranoid/racist), so if you have one near you, you may want to check it out when getting supplies.

H-Mart (Korean supermarket) sells Hello Kitty brand asswipes. I could swing by there after work today (not terribly far out of my way, not working in my usual office). I'd be surprised if they had any though, that store is not exactly a secret.

This is how my trip to town was like this morning. First Ill say I have never ever seen empty shelves like this. Not during the worst storm warnings of tornadoes and floods. At those time theres usually a run on bread and milk but the shelves stay stocked with them.

Ok I wanted basically....hand sanitizer, toilet paper, dog food , and cokes. The traffic was fine. Maybe a little lighter than normal. No stores were crowded. In fact they were fairly sparse of people. I should have been able to make 2 stops and come home. I ended up making 5 and still only got one item I wanted...sorta.

Save A Lot - As soon as I came in there was a lady guarding the sanitizer wipes for the buggies. There were zero toilet paper on the aisle and only one box of single roll paper towels. The soup aisle was also blank. I grabbed the last 3 cans of chicken noodle and 1 of the 6 cans of bean and bacon. Also no hand sanitizer again.

Dollar General store 1 - No toilet paper but a pack of Scott that one was missing from. No sanitizer. I bought cokes.

Dollar General 2 - no toilet paper or paper towels, no sanitizer.

CVS - No sanitizer and no toilet paper but did have the crap paper towels that take 20 to dry your hands. Pass.

Food City - Empty aisle of toilet paper and a couple paper towels. No dog food in any bag bigger than 12 lbs. I like to buy the 32 or 40 lbs at a time but last week I had to settle for a 16 lb and today I got a 12 lb for backup. Hope it lasts the rest of the month. Ill have to feed them less. Since I couldn't get the big bag I had a little cash so got a jug of fruit juice. I turned an aisle to look for a cheap canned item and there was a man who looked to be 70 coughing . I quickly turned and ran away but could not find my mommy. Exit store left.

So thats it. I used my own pocket sanitizer each time I left the stores and didn't touch my face. I saw a 35 or so year old blonde lady sneeze in Dollar General and instantly everyone in line turned to look at her and she quickly was "Im not sick..no really Im not" . I got cokes and a small bag of dog food. I still have enough hand sanitizer for the month and toilet paper too and probably towels. But I wanted to be sure to have some room to move just in case. I hope the store runs stop in a week or two or theres a problem.

Still strange to see complete store aisles empty. Looks like the apocalypse. Im reminded of that video they had for the first The Division wheres it talked about the US supply chain works so that stuff gets to you right when you need it and how easily that chain is broken. Yep.

And Id say half the people in the stores were elderly. Some old old and in scooters.