chirakawa

2 hours ago, docj said:

For those of you who haven't thought about how much worse this could get before it gets better---

--Assuming that people who catch the disease are at least temporarily immune from getting it again, herd immunity will start to kick in when around >60% of the population has caught it. (if you don't understand the concept of herd immunity it's an epidemiological concept as to the point at which a pandemic is no longer self-sustaining because the percentage of immune people rises to where the virus can't find new people to infect--on a probabilistic basis).

--60% of 325 million people in the US is 195 million people who are likely to catch it in order to get to the 60%

--Let's assume that the virus has a fatality rate no worse than the seasonal flu (~0.1%) even though current data says it is roughly 5-7x higher.  Therefore, of the 195 million who contract it roughly 195,000 would die.  And that's assuming the fatality rate is no worse than the seasonal flu.

A month or so ago when people made statements like this they were scoffed at.  Now that the US death total is at ~87k the same statements don't sound so far-fetched.  I guess the "good news" is that we are more than a third of the way toward herd immunity.  What an accomplishment!  😷

 

I respect everything you write on this forum because I know that it's always either experience based or supported by intelligent research.  I'm not doubting any of your comments.  I'm just another one of those ignorant people trying to learn.

So, in reference to this data you posted, what is your solution?  Do all of us non-essentials just hunker down for months (or years) until the country achieves the herd immunity on the backs of the doctors, nurses, first responders, food workers, and other essential workers?  And, will that reduce the death numbers any if a percentage of them are going to die anyway?

I totally understood the concept of staying at home so the hospitals wouldn't get overwhelmed or until they could get up to speed.  I think for people to continue to embrace this approach, they need a goal in it's purpose.  In the past two months, they saw the curve flatten.  However, they also saw their job of 15 years go bye-bye, the business they spent their lifetime building go under, their country go another 3 trillion in debt.

It could be years before a vaccine is ready.  Heck, how long have they been looking for a vaccine for HIV?

Like I said, I've got a whole lot more questions than answers.

Barbara, it's obvious that you are an intelligent person with strong beliefs.  I admire that.  However, I'm not sure I fully grasp what you're suggesting.

It's great that you can live in the woods and eat from your garden and avoid all human contact.  You do realize that all 300+ million of us can't do that.  The vast majority of us (probably 99.9%) depend on others for such things as food, clothing, medical care, drugs, fuel, shelter, etc.  How is it different if I live in a house in a subdivision, a cabin in the woods, an apartment building, or an RV in a campground.  I still have to interact with others for my needs.  Even you referred to going to Walmart yesterday in your post.  Why are you at Walmart, spreading the virus?

I also take issue with your blanket statements about the government.  The government is we.  There are those who work for the government who don't care, but there are many who do care.  I've found over the years that such statements condemning our leaders' decisions are usually made by people who either (1) have never had to make critical decisions which affect the safety or livelihood of others or (2) expect the government to take care of them and keep them perfectly safe under all situations and they will never be happy.  All decisions made during a time like this are going to involve calculations of risk.  Whatever is done, people are going to die.

Why is it that when someone disagrees with us, it's always out of fear or ignorance?  Maybe they just disagree.

In any case, I hope you stay safe and enjoy your little patch of Maine paradise.

Also understand that those specs which Kirk posted are for a brand new truck as it rolled off the assembly line........like yours did 24 years ago.  That's before the suspension wore and the chassis and frame twisted a million times, when the brake system was completely new, etc.  Rebuilding the engine and transmission is a step forward, but far from the whole picture.

There's no way I'd tow anything bigger than a Casita or Scamp with your truck.  Sure, you can find a 20' to 25' trailer with a dry bath which will fall into those listed specs, but it'll most likely tax that 24 year old truck of yours to the limit and push that little short wheel base truck all over the road.

Good luck with whatever you do.

Once again, JMO.

In my opinion, you are the ideal candidate for a Casita, Scamp, or something similar in size.  Your truck would easily tow a 17' Casita.  It would be a tremendous step up from tent camping.

Challenge will be finding one of those small fiberglass trailers in good condition for $10K.  A more reasonable number would be $15K.

Good luck with your search.

Also, if there is a specific one you are concerned about, you can look on Google maps.

9 minutes ago, SWharton said:

Chirakawa-I was told by Dish I needed the Outdoor plan and it only came in month by month, I asked for a contract and was told not available. Maybe you are Grandfathered. I guess I could call Dish and get a different person with different answers.

I think the CSR roulette applies to TV providers, internet providers, and cellular providers.  I would definitely contact a local installer and see what they can do for you.

I may be grandfathered on the Outdoors account.  When they first started allowing people to change their service address (locals), I was unable to.  So, I contacted a DIRT member directly.  He looked into it and said that since i was an Outdoors account, I should be able to.  After looking into further, he couldn't find a reason why I couldn't.  He handed my case off to the executive office, and they couldn't figure it out either.

I've since seen, on this forum and the Satguys forum, numerous people who have Outdoors accounts and some can change locals and some can't.  No rhyme or reason or consistency.

10 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

I have not seen nor heard of anyone on contract with leased equipment getting an "Outdoors" account. Do you have a link for that option?

No, I don't have a link.  For years, I had a leased VIP211K until I bought my own Wally about two years ago.  In both cases, I've stayed on contract in order to get better pricing.  I've had an outdoors account for as long as I can remember.  I guess they labeled it that because I was changing my locals so often.  I never asked for that designation.

Also, I am unable to change locals using the app.  Some outdoors accounts can, some can't.  If you ask DISH why some accounts can and others aren't able to, you get a variety of answers.

4 hours ago, SWharton said:

200, does it make a difference, a little more $ a little less $

Yes.  You mentioned "Flex".  Flex is a package with minimal channels.  You can add and subtract other channel groups to it as you like, thus the "Flex" name.

If you want the Top 200, you can definitely get it on a two year contract.  That's what I've got and I pay $67.62 with taxes and all.  I have an outdoors account and own my own equipment.  It would cost more than that for you to start it now, since I'm in the last eight months of my contract.

49 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

If you want an "Outdoors" account, then your only option is buying your own equipment and paying month to month with no discounts or price lock

I'm sorry, but this is just not accurate.

43 minutes ago, SWharton said:

OK. I am totally confused. I called up Dish to get some information. I was transferred to Outdoors and the Flex I was told the only option I have is to do the month-to-month for $99.99 for the package I want. Reason being there is no contract. Told them I had not problems having a contract but they refused. Not a happy trooper. Month-to-month does not allow lock in of a price.

I don't understand programming with the Flex package. I now have DNS with Directv(get my ABC etc from NY), for recording TV programs this is simple, always on the same station. For Dish,  I understand moving from location to location and getting locals but what happens 1) when no locals are available(at least OTA) and 2) do I need to reprogram each day the programs I want to record that night if they are on a local to get the correct station. Example: in PHX pgm AAA is on 12, in HOU pgm AAA is on 3, do I need to go through the planned recordings and update to the new station.

This all really muddied the waters for us.

 

 

What package do you want?

Doesn't matter if he's a model citizen or not.  He was causing a disturbance, others called law enforcement.  Officers attempted to interview him and he fled.  I'm pretty sure that's adequate cause for police to pursue him.

Look at it this way, if police hadn't pursued him and he had gone down the street and committed violent crime, the same people criticizing the police now would be blaming them later.

55 minutes ago, remoandiris said:

Currently workamping in western Colorado.

Lucky you.  Where are you  workamping?

33 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

We lived on a rural route for the past 8 years and see absolutely no reason for routine mail, including the "last mile" deliveries would need daily delivery. We are only talking about 1 day. Of course, closing small town post offices and cutting deliveries on rural routes would also mean fewer postal employees, which could cause pressure on Congress again via the employee organizations. 

If you suggested that all residential delivery go to every other day, I might agree with you.  To specifically target rural routes would not be fair, unless you cut their postal fees in half.  I'm on a rural route now and the post office is less than a mile away.  When I was on a city route, I was about four miles from the post office.

Also, just because you didn't make use of the postal service doesn't mean everyone doesn't.  I know several people who live in the country and get lot's of deliveries, since they don't like going to town to shop.  I have a friend who hates going shopping.  He buys nearly everything online and has it delivered, mostly from Amazon.  He'll go to town and grocery shop every three weeks or so for meat, dairy, fresh bread, etc.

Also, closing small Post Offices would cause a hardship in many areas and may not necessarily save money.  The small post office is a drop off point for mail in that area, using one postal vehicle which drives out from a larger distribution point to do so.  If every postal vehicle had to make the trip 40+ miles to the nearest larger city, that's quite a bit of extra fuel consumed.  Also, think of the customers who would have to make that 40+ mile trip just to post a package.

I'm thinking that small post offices provide a valuable service, particularly in poor rural areas.  JMO

1 hour ago, sandsys said:

Actually, toilet paper grows IN trees. But it takes a lot of effort to get it out.

Linda

No need to do that.  If you've got a garden, just use corn cobs.

7 minutes ago, docj said:

Dr. Fauci said that there isn't going to be a return to anything approaching normal until a vaccine is available and I'm afraid he's going to turn out to be right.  JMO

docj, you may know this.  It seems like I read somewhere that the fastest vaccine ever developed and put into use was for ebola, and it took five years.  Is that correct?  If so, why are they saying 18 months on this one?

26 minutes ago, SOD said:

I understand that I can only watch channels on the secondary Wally that are on the same sat that the main is on. My problem is when I switch the main to a different channel on a different sat the secondary won't switch to that sat.

Okay, different problem.  Have you tried switching Wally's to see if you have the same issue?  You can just switch the cables where they are connected to the Playmaker.  The secondary Wally may be defective. 

Also, bad cables and bad connection points are notorious for causing this type of problem.

agesilaus, evidently Far UVC is different from UVC.  Far UVC is supposedly safe.  I don't know anything about any of it except what I've read.  That's why I posted the article.

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to do, but I'll take a stab.  If you're watching the main TV on 129, you can not watch a different satellite channel on the secondary.  The Playmaker is not a dual antenna, it can only look at one satellite at a time.  It is a dual outlet, so you can watch both feeds on the same satellite or either feed on any satellite.  The main connection takes priority.

6 hours ago, Lou Schneider said:

I expect the same thing will happen if/when the declining number of satellite TV subscribers force Dish and/or DirecTV into a similar situation.

I sure hope so.  One monopoly of a service is better than no service at all.

IMO a monopoly is only painful when there is no alternative.  Satellite radio is on it's last leg.  Streaming radio over the cell phone is rapidly replacing it.

Here is an interesting article about Far UVC.

1 hour ago, agesilaus said:

OK this is a very long and mildly to very technical discussion of what to expect in the way of vaccines: In the Pipeline by Derek Lowe

Lowe is in the business of doing this sort of thing and is semi-skeptical over the possibilities of drug and vaccine development in the short term. Meaning less than 18 months. He has participated in a number of failed drug development teams in his career and is aware of the many pitfalls. But the above will give you the best idea of what is going on right now that I've seen by an industry insider.

Thanks for the link.

3 minutes ago, Twotoes said:

How did we get from hoarding toilet paper to canning vegetables?

Conversations evolve.  😀

9 hours ago, bobsallyh said:

chirakawa, https://www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/news/local/arizona-environment/2020/04/05/farmworkers-harvesting-vegetables-yuma-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/2948216001/

Don't know where that outfit is you reported, but the San Luis, Los Algodones borders are open. In fact on I-8 this afternoon, the reader board even gave the times that the Lukeville border crossing is open. Day workers coming across daily and the lettuce wagons are on the move to the cooling houses here in Yuma. Soon moving to Salinas, CA. for that season. How do you hoard perishable veggies? 

I believe the farmer they interviewed was in Georgia.  I don't remember all the details but his concern was that work visas were not being processed at the usual rate and he expected to come up very short of his normal number of pickers.

Perhaps crossing for a few days is different than getting a visa for a full season.  I don't know.

How do you hoard veggies?  As a child, I observed an annual ritual at my home called "canning".  If I was a hoarder, which I'm not, I'd figure out a way, which would probably involve freezing.

If I was going to hoard anything, it would be produce.  With the borders closed, there's no one to pick the crop in the field.  I saw on the news where they interviewed a farmer with 70,000 acres and no one to harvest it.  Normally, he uses migrant workers from Mexico on work visas.

A low battery will definitely make one beep.  Is yours on a portable battery or the coach battery?

54 minutes ago, richfaa said:

we  buy the 24 roll pack an we have no problem doing that.

You would if you were here.  With an unopened 24 roll pack, you can trade for a two year old bass boat and free fishing lessons. 🙂