Panic buying

[Nearholmer]

Readers of this thread may, or possibly may not, wish to download this rather morbid App provided by HMG https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ae5dda8f86814ae99dde905d2a9070ae

[Andy Hayter]

The French one is even more depressing - 2281 cases; 48 deaths

[JohnDMJ]

 

 

13 hours ago, hayfield said:

Like most folk I use dates as a guide, but with certain products I am more careful than others

 

One example is I bought a pint of milk on its use by date, it was perfectly useable for the next 3 days. It may have something to do with the temperature of our fridge

 

If cheese ever lasts long enough in our fridge and grows mould on it, I just cut off the offending part and carry on eating the rest

 

As for cooked meats I am careful about keeping to the use by date, but my wife's home cooked ham never has a use by date and lasts for ages !!!

 

I rarely look at the dates, more the condition of the product. If it looks OK, I'll eat it. I've recently finished off mustard and jam which supposedly expired in 2007.

 

Do you cut the mould off of stilton?

 

Mould grows on cheese kept on a fridge because of the moist environment. Making cheese is a preservation process and the product should be kept at room temperature!

 

Some foods are best kept out of the fridge.

 

Cooked or corned meats - no problem; 'fresh' meats, maybe but they may have been hung / aged for many weeks already so, so what?

 

9 hours ago, sharris said:

 

Planet of the Apes: The human race is decimated by a deadly virus and the remnants of humanity are enslaved by intelligent talking apes. 

 

Covid-19: The human race is decimated by a deadly virus and the remnants of humanity are enslaved by the Andrex puppy. 

 

 

Decimated = reduced by one tenth. Do you mean devastated?

 

Andrex, and other similar products, provide an excellent handkerchief which is flushably disposable.

Edited March 11, 2020 by JohnDMJ

[sharris]

14 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

Decimated = reduced by one tenth. Do you mean devastated?

 

I'll leave it up to you whether you want to interpret it in the original Latin sense or the rather looser modern usage.

 

If we're going to be pedantic, 

various fan sites appear to give the Planet of the Apes flu a mortality rate of 90% or higher while COVID-19 is estimated to be around 3%.

[Ron Ron Ron]

Hopefully tomorrow’s expected escalation of government action in fighting the epidemic, will not spark another and more frantic round of panic buying.

Worrying times.

[woodenhead]

12 minutes ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

Hopefully tomorrow’s expected escalation of government action in fighting the epidemic, will not spark another and more frantic round of panic buying.

Worrying times.

Reading on the BBC, the means a delaying tactic approach which looks like mass gatherings - so sporting events, exhibitions, concerts and such like, so we shouldn't be stopped from working or going about our necessary daily business.

[kevinlms]

14 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

 

, but my wife's home cooked ham never has a use by date and lasts for ages !!!

Must be something wrong with it if it 'lasts for ages'. Any delicious food gets eaten quick smart around here!

[Ron Ron Ron]

32 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Reading on the BBC, the means a delaying tactic approach which looks like mass gatherings - so sporting events, exhibitions, concerts and such like, so we shouldn't be stopped from working or going about our necessary daily business.

I suspect a lot of people will look at how things escalated in Italy and in response to reassurances, will think, “yeh! pull the other one”.

As soon as panic buying is hinted at or mentioned, on social media or by the mainstream media, the hordes will mobilise.

I hope I’m wrong.

 

 

.

[jjb1970]

I find it quite heartening that although there clearly is a fringe of people engaging in rumour spreading, panic buying etc most people seem to be reacting to it all pretty sensibly so far and taking reasonable precautions while letting life carry on. So far the government has taken a pretty measured and proportionate approach.

 

 

[jjb1970]

9 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Readers of this thread may, or possibly may not, wish to download this rather morbid App provided by HMG https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ae5dda8f86814ae99dde905d2a9070ae

 

I think it would be interesting if they could show covid deaths alongside a running total of deaths to other causes. 

[Nearholmer]

17 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

So far the government has taken a pretty measured and proportionate approach.

I reckon they’ve pitched it about right so far, and that today we will get three or four things:

 

- a lot of strongly recommended, but voluntary things (work from home if you can, travel by public transport only if necessary, etc.);

 

- selected compulsory things (bans on indoor gatherings of >100 people etc);

 

- a clearly laid-out stairway of next steps, so that we know what’s coming and some people self-move to the next level;

 

- Emergency Powers Act (pretty draconian powers, because they need to be).

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Hal Nail]

20 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

 a lot of strongly recommended, but voluntary things (work from home if you can, travel by public transport only if necessary, 

I was chatting to a recruitment consultant about a year ago who predicted a lot of smaller organisations will start to scale back office space and encourage wfh and probably part time roles over the next few years. This might trigger that as a bi-product.

 

The ceo of my charity has told us not to come in unneccessarily at the moment (particularly to avoid the tube) and she admitted it is partly to test whether we can function remotely using Teams etc.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Hal Nail

[Ron Ron Ron]

21 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

.....So far the government has taken a pretty measured and proportionate approach.

 

I had thought this, however there is now some criticism that they have reacted too slowly and not taken more active steps.

Prof John Ashton CBE, a former President of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, spoke strongly on Newsnight last night, where he criticised the “measure approach” as a serious mistake.

 

Some  other epidemiologists and health experts have similarly spoken along these lines on various news programs over the last 48 hours.

 

.

[Nearholmer]

To me, it seems that they are trying not to introduce measures until people are sufficiently ‘aware’ (=scared) to obey them, having been given a load of psychology advice by their ‘nudge’ unit.

 

They also seem to be trying to time this so that we all get unwell by turns between about May and August, so that it’s been through the population before Autumn and the next seasonal ‘flu.

 

Hope they’ve got it all about right.

 

 

[Dungrange]

58 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I think it would be interesting if they could show covid deaths alongside a running total of deaths to other causes. 

 

Have a look at https://www.worldometers.info/

 

As well as world population counters, there are also ones for many other causes of death this year globally.

 

Almost 95,000 from seasonal flu; 60,000 from childbirth; 191,000 from malaria; 488,000 from alcohol; 977,000 from smoking; 1.6 million from cancer; 209,000 from suicide; 264,000 from road traffic accidents.  You can look at the others.  The number of deaths from Covid-19 is still very small by comparison, but nonetheless rising at an alarming rate.

 

Of course the biggest cause of death worldwide is actually from hunger: 2.1 million people this year.

[jjb1970]

I think the governments plan has been to spread things out to make it more manageable for the health service and to pretty much wait for it all to run its course as with other flu type viral outbreaks. And also to try and control public responses and avoid panic. Realistically I'm not sure what people really want the government to do, we've all been made aware of the hygiene procedures to implement. I think managing reaction has been critical and in fairness I think the government have been doing that pretty well in recognising the seriousness of the situation whilst trying to keep people calm. The reality is that in terms of serious morbidity and mortality this is far from  the greatest health hazard, and many of those other health risks are not outbreak events but ongoing and in many cases the result of deliberate choices.

[tomparryharry]

There is an unconfirmed report,  that there will be an extremely short supply of Fleetwood Mac.

 

Right now, it's just a Rumour..... 

[Legend]

1 hour ago, Hal Nail said:

I was chatting to a recruitment consultant about a year ago who predicted a lot of smaller organisations will start to scale back office space and encourage wfh and probably part time roles over the next few years. This might trigger that as a bi-product.

 

The ceo of my charity has told us not to come in unneccessarily at the moment (particularly to avoid the tube) and she admitted it is partly to test whether we can function remotely using Teams etc.

 

I think this will trigger a rethink on lots of things . Working from home  and the need for office space is one , the need for travel is another .  It might actually help in drastically reducing carbon emissions . If such a dark cloud can have a silver lining!

[Ron Ron Ron]

8 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

There is an unconfirmed report,  that there will be an extremely short supply of Fleetwood Mac.

 

Right now, it's just a Rumour..... 

 

Groaaaan!

Did you make that up yourself, or was it Second Hand News ?

Nevermind, I don’t want to know.

I suggest you Go your own way.

 

.

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Ron Ron Ron

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Legend said:

 

I think this will trigger a rethink on lots of things . Working from home  and the need for office space is one , the need for travel is another .  It might actually help in drastically reducing carbon emissions . If such a dark cloud can have a silver lining!

 

I think after Buncefield some of the affected companies discovered they didn't really need offices after all.

 

[eastglosmog]

If you want an excuse to panic buy soap, the following has just been sent round our office:

"The following was sent out by a friend at Plymouth, who has a biological focused PhD and explains in simple terms why the Health authorities are banging on about using ordinary SOAP to reduce the risk of catching Covid-19.

So there’s lots of people from the Health Service telling everyone that washing your hands is the best way to defeat Covid-19, but lots of people (most?) seem to think that this is a bit silly. Like how can washing your hands be SO important, and how can it defeat a virus that’s causing so much havoc worldwide?? Well here’s the science bit, because I’m a nerd who likes to know “why” something happens.

The outer wall of a virus is made of lipids, they’re kind of like oils or fats, that’s a simple way of putting it. It’s called a lipid layer. Behind the lipid layer is the virus, it’s made up of proteins and RNA, which is kind of like DNA and it’s what lets the virus replicate. That’s really it, it’s that simple (unless you have a PhD and there’s a few on here with them, but this is for the rest of us who are a bit thick!). So, what about the washing of hands with soap?  Here’s the part that nobody is being told, but it’s important (it’s especially important if your a nerd. Soap is made up of loads and loads of lipids, it what makes soap feel so soft and smooth.... When you wash your hands really well you get all these lipids on your hands. So if you have Covid-19 on your hands the lipids in the virus wall start to break down, because the lipids in the virus lipid layer are soluble in the lipids in your soap on your hands.

So when you break down the lipid layer you end up destroying the proteins and the RNA. It’s kind of like years ago when your Dad used to clean a paintbrush with turpentine, it’s because the paint was soluble in turpentine.....it’s really that simple. Also, people are searching high and low for antibacterial soap....don’t bother. This is a virus, not a bacteria. Also, antibacterial soap is really just expensive soap. I’ve attached a pic of a virus, it’s a flu one but it doesn’t really matter. Break down the lipid layer with lipids in soap and you’ll kill the virus.

You’re welcome. Feel free to share."

[Reorte]

34 minutes ago, Lantavian said:

No, it's a legal protection.

If you eat something after the "best before" date, and you get food poisoning, it's your fault, not the maker of the food.

After the "use by", not best before. Best before just means it'll not be as good after that so you can't go back and complain about the quality.

 

Of course the reality for some foods is a bit more straightforward - milk best before it stinks, bread best before it goes solid or green...

Edited March 12, 2020 by Reorte

[Reorte]

32 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

I think after Buncefield some of the affected companies discovered they didn't really need offices after all.

 

A disturbing trend IMO, driving work into peoples' homes, thus increasing isolation and decreasing work-life separation. It's handy for emergencies and works well for some people but I'd hate for it to be the norm and believe large-scale home working will have unpleasant consequences for society.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Reorte

[Ron Ron Ron]

3 minutes ago, Reorte said:

........I'd hate for it to be the norm and believe large-scale home working will have unpleasant consequences for society.

A consequence of over population.

Too many people to have moving around, with all the problems that brings.

Best to keep them organised in fixed locations and allow them to be more productive and less wasteful of resources.

Just like battery hens.

 

 

.

[Hal Nail]

53 minutes ago, Legend said:

If such a dark cloud can have a silver lining!

Talking of which, it was sunny half an hour ago and is now belting down for the 157th consecutive day.

 

The bog roll hunt will have to wait. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Hal Nail