Coronavirus issues...

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UBT - Timbo
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Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi all

I'm considering putting this forum in lockdown, (for quarantine purposes) just in case this virus is spreading. :liar:

It's been a couple of days now but I've got some worrying symptoms, mainly a cough and a bit of fever and I am wondering how I might have caught a virus?

I've not met many people over the last few days, as I work alone and most of the time, my courier calls on me to collect parcels I'm shipping out. And he's been healthy and showed no signs...so I doubt I've caught anything from him.

So, I'm wondering if I caught this off my trackball...as I've visited a few websites and it is possible that maybe I've not washed my hands enough after each URL I've visited. :-(

And if my trackball *is* the source, then I could be infecting forum members as well and perhaps I could be a SuperSpreader... :(

So, make sure you disinfect your mouse and keyboard after each website you visit and of course make sure that you wash your hands too, as you don't want to spread this to other members of your household or to work colleagues. :ugeek:

Your mouse might also benefit from using a facemask too, though I've not seen any for sale of late - perhaps they've sold out?

I'll keep an eye on any comments you may have - so if anyone else seems to have the same symptoms, please let me know and I'll lock your account and delete all your messages and posts, just in case it turns out that you too are a SuperSpreader. :shock:

I guess I'd better run some anti-virus programs on my PCs too, as it/they could well be infecting my email server and if that happens, then who knows who else might get infected on a worldwide basis. :?

I'll need to check all my social media posts too as well as my cloud accounts and places like Spotify, YouTube, Twitter....gawd, the list is endless....it's going to take ages to do system checks on all these accounts. :o

So, please take care - if you have to go out, do so in the early hours when no-one else is about (most Tescos are open 24/7 except on Sundays) so stock up on all the things you need, esp choccy HobNobs. :roll:

all the best :x :x :x
Tim
UBT - Timbo
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi all

Jeez...three weeks later and the whole world is infected...so I really hope it wasn't all down to me. :-(

I did give plenty of warnings though as you can see from the above.

What's worse, is that I went shopping after leaving work today and it was absolutely crazy...all the nice fresh fruit and veg was plentiful, loads of fresh salad like lettuce, cucumber, even tomatoes were available....the bakery section was full of produce, there was plenty of fresh milk, cheeses, pre-packed cold meats, yoghurts, choccy biscuits - it all looked pretty normal. :-)

...but there was no pasta, rice, eggs or sugar...the tinned soup was almost gone and there were no tinned tomatoes, potatoes or even tinned frankfurters. And damn, no frozen pizzas.

And of course, no bog roll !!

Just goes to show how blooming stupid people are - no wonder there's so much obesity, people stuffing their faces with pasta and pizza...and probably making lots of cakes with all that eggs and sugar ;-)

Mind you I wouldn't mind but all the sport has been cancelled, there's gonna be bugger all on TV, (excepting cookery shows to show you how to get the most out of all the pasta and sugar you've bought up) and most theatres and concerts have shut down. I'd go abroad somewhere nice, that has no Covid-19 outbreak, but all the planes have been grounded and flight crews are taking an extended "break". :-(

I might just look through my DVD collection and see which films I've got that are worth watching...I could even sort them into alphabetical order and then watch them in reverse order...

Oh well, it'll all blow over by August (according to the orange P of USA).

regards
Tim
(No flu now, but still coughing - I knew I had something wrong with me... !!)
chriscambridge
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by chriscambridge »

I might just look through my DVD collection and see which films I've got that are worth watching..
Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Britbox, and NowTV (Sky Movies and channels) all offer free trials normally for 30 days. Just cancel before the end of the trial (eg click a button) and you won't get billed. You can watch all of these services on your computer and other devices.

If you have the hardware, you could also get free trials from Disney and AppleTV.

And of course you have movies etc on the catchup/streaming services from BBC Iplayer, ITVHub, All4, and My5.
UBT - Timbo
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi Chris

Thanks for the tips...

I'm in the process of re-building my "music around the house" system and ripping even more of my CDs onto a couple of NAS boxes (because yes, I really do have that much music)...so, I doubt I will have a lot of downtime, IF I have no need to go into work.


I think that once most people are "working from home" (as if "work" is gonna be done ;-) ) I can imagine the next issue will be how all the ISP's can cope with the ramping up on demand for internet connectivity....it's all well and good having a 100Meg pipe into your home, but if everyone in your street, (or your postcode, or even your town) are all online at the same time (and maybe streaming HD signals into their and their childrens flatscreen TVs) you can be sure that there may be some fudging of download speeds. There may even be outages, esp if on-the-road BT engineers are self-isolating and no-one can get repairs done.

The one good thing that may come out of all this is that many people might reconsider their selfish attitudes and we get back to being a far more caring society...though the on-going panic buying for numerous commodity items (and the stupid, laughable prices on ebay/amazon for a pack of bog roll) does rather imply that a lot more sh1t has to hit the fan before these people become more considerate.

(Personal rant follows)
Personally, I think BoJo has been ineffective in terms of managing this - we're now in the middle of March, this virus was detected in December and so for 2+ months, he and his Govt has done very little to actually put in controls to prevent further spreading of the virus.

China locked down Wuhan in days and built 2 new hospitals in days....BoJo can't even decide that schools need to close and has done very little except make a few speeches and made promises about announcements being made "tomorrow"...when they should have been made "yesterday", if not 4 weeks ago.

regards
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by Woodles »

chriscambridge wrote: Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:05 pm Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Britbox, and NowTV (Sky Movies and channels) all offer free trials normally for 30 days. Just cancel before the end of the trial (eg click a button) and you won't get billed. You can watch all of these services on your computer and other devices.

If you have the hardware, you could also get free trials from Disney and AppleTV.

And of course you have movies etc on the catchup/streaming services from BBC Iplayer, ITVHub, All4, and My5.
Which service shows "The Walking Dead"? I think a bit of research is required :violence-chainsaw:
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by Woodles »

UBT - Timbo wrote: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:26 pmI think that once most people are "working from home" (as if "work" is gonna be done ;-) )
I've been working from home since Tuesday and I'll have you know, minutes of work have been successfully produced!
UBT - Timbo wrote: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:26 pm I can imagine the next issue will be how all the ISP's can cope with the ramping up on demand for internet connectivity....it's all well and good having a 100Meg pipe into your home, but if everyone in your street, (or your postcode, or even your town) are all online at the same time (and maybe streaming HD signals into their and their childrens flatscreen TVs) you can be sure that there may be some fudging of download speeds. There may even be outages, esp if on-the-road BT engineers are self-isolating and no-one can get repairs done.
Ah, so that's what's been happening with the Universe sprint, it's those pesky kids next door who are skiving off school :evil:
UBT - Timbo wrote: Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:26 pmThe one good thing that may come out of all this is that many people might reconsider their selfish attitudes and we get back to being a far more caring society
:lol: :lol: Thanks for that.
chriscambridge
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by chriscambridge »

The walking dead series 1-8 are available* on Amazon Prime Video.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detai ... _select_s1

The walking dead series 9-10 are paid options on Amazon Prime Video (but in time will become free*).

Episodes 9 to 12 from series 9 are available for free* on NowTV (fox channel).

*available/free for subscribers

With Amazon Prime you get: AmazonPrimeVideo, Free next day delivery (or quicker), AmazonReading, AmazonMusic, etc etc.

The following page explains quite well everything you get:

https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/news/ama ... your-money
chriscambridge
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by chriscambridge »

And if you have any problems with anything you buy from Amazon, you can email the CEO (Jeff Bezos):

jeff@amazon.com

Its sounds mad but it actually works. I previously had a few issues with sales/customer service, so I sent a few emails to this address and everytime it got sorted within a day or two to my satisfaction.
UBT - Timbo
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi all

So, at last the Govt are starting to actually take some action - legally closing indoor places (pubs, restaurants, etc) where people can congregate in confined areas and spread the virus amongst themselves. They should have done this at least a fortnight ago.

And now asking supermarkets to share resources, so that shelves can be refilled....though the panic buying spree will no doubt continue (and maybe get worse) as more of the workforce have to stay at home.

No doubt the army and other services may also be brought in to support the police to keep civil order. The issue is going to be at what point civil unrest occurs, with rioting and even local gangs taking matters into their own hands to ensure THEY get provisions, at the expense of others.

Does anyone remember the "Survivors" BBC series from the 1970s ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivors ... TV_series)

That was about a pandemic plague too...

Quote from wiki: "As the world's population is almost annihilated by a mysterious pandemic, accidentally unleashed by a Chinese scientist, the crisis is first seen through the eyes of two characters...."

Oh dearie me...

(And sorry to be a bit pessimistic at the beginning of the weekend ;-) )

regards
Tim
UBT - PennyQ
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - PennyQ »

From my little shopping trip today, it does look like people are calming down a tad, at least round South Bucks. Many empty shelves, but frantic restacking going on (well done those staff!) and nobody grabbing loads of stuff. Maybe I'm just an eternal optimist?
The impossible we do today; miracles take a little longer

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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi all

Nearly 6 months on from my original post and we're still having to deal with Coronavirus. :-(

Some countries now look like they are having a second wave (Spain, France) while others are still in the midst of the first wave (USA, Mexico, most of Africa).

At least in the UK, the supply chains seem to have sorted themselves out...and there doesn't appear to be any "panic buying" going on. But just wait until all the season fruit runs out...as some growing areas are having issues with seasonal workers being infected.

It seems strange how so many things have been affected and what everyone took for granted...no gigs, no theatre performances, no Xmas pantos, limited numbers allowed in restaurants and pubs, and not much foreign travel so few holiday trips.

Even visiting the shops requires people to wear facemasks and in my local Morrisons, there are actually hand sanitisers in many aisles so you can sanitise your hands should you be picking up and/or putting back on the shelf items you don't want.

As for peoples jobs...I know a few people who've been affected by the lockdown, what with being furloughed and in some cases have now been made redundant...and every day it seems that more lay-offs are being announced... :-(

I'm still pretty pee'd off with the UK Govt. Took far too long to lockdown the country, they still are not testing people entering the country, the Track & Trace app still isn't available (was promised for the end of May), and many places were able to re-open before we'd got it under full control and now various districts have local lockdowns in place to try and contain it...and in the meantime various factories are having local outbreaks.

And now they want to re-open schools in the next fortnight...? So, the school run will no doubt allow a lot more people to mix (when dropping off or collecting the kids) and the potential for children to be "carriers" which could cause further outbreaks around many schools.

The lastest news today was that the WHO think we can overcome the pandemic within, wait for it...TWO YEARS !!

I think I'll just go to bed and set my alarm to wake me up in 2022... ;-)

regards and stay safe everyone
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by fellie »

Tim , and all,

Great post Tim, sorry for the late reply, I'm one of the few who have been 'at work as normal / essential/ or... something', enjoyed a full week off in July, but been full on regardless of the worlds disposition to us humans 😂
( I build and balance Gas turbines FYI )

Well the situation doesnt seem to be improving does it...I only called in to see if BOINC was actually still a viable concern, very few projects seem to be running, but was expecting a mass of Covid related WU's, Rosetta and WCG seem to have a sporadic but dissapointing selection for us!

Anyway Ladies and Gentleman, British chins up and carry on up the Khyber !!

Stay safe, stay away from people ( perhaps the the very best long term outcome for many of us :) )
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

fellie wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 1:19 am Tim , and all,

Great post Tim, sorry for the late reply, I'm one of the few who have been 'at work as normal / essential/ or... something', enjoyed a full week off in July, but been full on regardless of the worlds disposition to us humans 😂
( I build and balance Gas turbines FYI )


Hi

Thanks for the post and nice to see you again ;-)
fellie wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 1:19 amWell the situation doesnt seem to be improving does it...I only called in to see if BOINC was actually still a viable concern, very few projects seem to be running, but was expecting a mass of Covid related WU's, Rosetta and WCG seem to have a sporadic but dissapointing selection for us!


BOINC is still going - there's just under 50 active projects and most of them have tasks to crunch - see here:

https://classic.boincstats.com/en/page/ ... StatusInfo

(WCG is not shown on the list as it's isn't a BOINC project, but it can be run within BOINC Manager).

On the Covid-19 side, at least three projects are offering tasks: Rosetta, WCG and Ibercivis and as far as I know, all of them have created Covid-19 based tasks:

Rosetta user stats:
https://classic.boincstats.com/en/stats/14/user/list/

WCG user stats:
https://classic.boincstats.com/en/stats/15/user/list/

Ibercivis user stats - currently no tasks available :-(
fellie wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 1:19 amAnyway Ladies and Gentleman, British chins up and carry on up the Khyber !!

Stay safe, stay away from people ( perhaps the the very best long term outcome for many of us :) )
Wise words Fellie...

regards
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by fellie »

Hey Tim 👍

I have Rosetta and WCG on the go !
50 projects, well that's pretty promising, maybe I'm just missing the superlinks and lattices from the old days 😂
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

fellie wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2020 2:03 pm Hey Tim 👍

I have Rosetta and WCG on the go !
50 projects, well that's pretty promising, maybe I'm just missing the superlinks and lattices from the old days 😂
Hiya

No worries...and well done for supporting those projects...as I think it might be some time before, biologically speaking, we know all there is to know about coronoavirus and this specific mutation (as "coronavirii" (sic) have been around for donkeys years but this particular strain has proved to be rather "canny" at causing major disruption to the human body, esp if one has underlying health conditions).

There's a load of projects that have come, hung around for a while and then gone...check out this link for the names of most of them:

https://classic.boincstats.com/en/page/ ... Popularity

and there's a few that aren't even in that list:

Belgian Beer Bottles? Chess960? BOINC@TACC?

regards
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi all

Just TWO WEEKS until the BIG DAY...and we can then all go and enjoy 3 days of social mixing (within certain constraints and bubbles) and by the end of the first week of January, I reckon lockdown #3 will be announced...

I feel sorry for the people who think that once they've had the vaccine administered, they'll be "safe"...as far as I know, of the vaccines that have been announced, everyone will require two doses, about 14 days apart and immunity would begin around 28 days after the first dose.

So, (using basic maths) if the NHS can administer 1m doses per week, (which is a pretty tall order), for a population of say 60m, that'll take 14 months (60 weeks) to cover everyone. And people can still get the virus, at any point up and until 28 days after their first dose.

Somehow, I suspect that Covid-19 will not be disappearing off the radar any time soon. :-(

regards
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

Hi all

Well, we really do seem to be still stuck in another "wave" of Covid infections....with UK deaths now surpassing the 80,000 mark, the 3rd lockdown is being ignored by quite a few people and the vaccines are stuck in the "batch testing phase" after being manufactured and prior to being sent out to GPs and other places where they can be injected into the first few bands of the population.

My guess is that it is going to be a few months before we reach "tipping point" where more people have been vaccinated, compared to those who are not. And until we get there, (and even for some time after) we will still be needing face masks, needing to continue socially distancing ourselves and maybe the pubs and restaurants will still not be open.

So, best foot forwards, keep following the protocols, keep warm and snug, work from home, avoid crowds and if you get offered the vaccine, GET IT !!

As that's probably the best chance that we have to break the virus' "hold" and maybe by the end of the year, most people will be innoculated and hopefully no more mutations have occurred.

Stay safe
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by UBT - Timbo »

UBT - Timbo wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 5:20 pm Hi all

Just TWO WEEKS until the BIG DAY...and we can then all go and enjoy 3 days of social mixing (within certain constraints and bubbles) and by the end of the first week of January, I reckon lockdown #3 will be announced...
Well, well, well....who'da thunk it?

SIXTEEN months on and we might just be about to have some sort of normality restored...many "legal" restrictions have been lifted, though the UK Govt are still recommending some face mask wearing in indoor spaces and esp with people NOT from your own household.
UBT - Timbo wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 5:20 pm I feel sorry for the people who think that once they've had the vaccine administered, they'll be "safe"...as far as I know, of the vaccines that have been announced, everyone will require two doses, about 14 days apart and immunity would begin around 28 days after the first dose.
And we know now a bit more about how the vaccines work and what can still happen: Even with 2 jabs/doses, you can still become infected and this means you can still pass on the virus to someone else and THEY could have serious issues as a result.

But the vaccine should do it's job of having trained your immune system (top fight the infection) so you shouldn't be badly affected...though if you have symptoms, you should self-isolate - and only in a few cases might you need hospital treatment.
UBT - Timbo wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 5:20 pm So, (using basic maths) if the NHS can administer 1m doses per week, (which is a pretty tall order), for a population of say 60m, that'll take 14 months (60 weeks) to cover everyone. And people can still get the virus, at any point up and until 28 days after their first dose.

Somehow, I suspect that Covid-19 will not be disappearing off the radar any time soon. :-(

regards
Tim
The latest stats (taken from here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274) show that:

47,036,796 people in UK have had ONE dose of vaccine

39,429,468 have had 2 jabs

and NEW cases of Covid-19 infections are levelling off, but there are still some hot-spots around the home nations and with the slackening off of restrictions, and the higher transmisibility of the Delta variant, so if people start moving around the country more, attending gigs, birthday parties, weddings etc, then further new infections will still happen.

One is hopeful that by the end of the year, things might have settled down, as long as BoJo and his cohorts do not inflame the situation by re-opening the borders WITHOUT quarantining incoming visitors...because while the UK might be on top of the situation, other countries most definitely are not.

And as has been seen in Wuhan (of all places) a plane load of travellers have caused a major outbreak of Delta variant there, leading to China testing all 11 million local inhabitants.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-58066744

regards and keep staying safe !
Tim
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Re: Coronavirus issues...

Post by wbiz »

What is very much being played down is that currently there are over 6 million known cases of Covid in the UK. The combination of vaccination and better treatments have reduced the mortality rate and lulled us into a sense of security but the public statistics for the amount of damage being done to our bodies both short term and long term are very much hidden. There will be huge repercussions in years to come even if Covid disappeared as of today.

Are we better prepared for a worse variant of Covid? I very much doubt it, we have even sold off some of the Nightingale Hospitals despite knowing full well what will happen this winter.

We have entered into a herd immunity experiment (for a third time) with very little preparation in place. We refuse to follow the advice of Countries who are experts through decades of experience and instead do our own thing.

I know we will have to learn to live with Covid but that doesn't mean having no defences in place.

But of course the money markets are loving instability with huge profits being made. The Governments are loving that they don't have to be accountable for their expenditure. Never before has the expression "money is God" been more apparent, lives are now valueless.
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