Off Topic Thread 4.0

Buer

Deleted User wrote: »

You would think that even Republicans, when push came to shove, put public health before their business donors interests - but apparently not.

I think America will have an exceedingly fragile Democracy by the end of the Summer. Their response to covid19 has convinced me that the Human race will never survive the climate change crises. People sleepwalking into a Disaster.

From a human perspective, it's a disaster and utterly wrong. I don't think that will bother the vast majority of Republican elected officials or the wealthy elite of the USA.

But, in what is an almost purely capitalist society, the working classes need to work and they'll be forced go against their better judgement to ensure they've something coming in for their families. The system is broken but that's not going to change in the next 3-6 months.

I would not be shocked to see this go through with a fairly significant level of support. It could end up akin to a worker's strike where the employees are forced to go back to work. If you give people a choice between risking infecting others or getting back to work to put food on the table for their children, a hell of a lot of people are gonna go back to work.

stephen_n

Some dumb idiots out there. If this clown is caught he should be charged with attempted GBH.

swiwi_

aloooof

Not sure if this has already been posted but it's another excellent article:

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-the-hammer-and-the-dance-be9337092b56

Burkie1203

Season is done

Zzippy

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Season is done

This is the off topic thread i.e. no rugby talk. You've already been warned about clogging up two other threads. Enough.

swiwi_

RIP Uderzo. If only a magic potion really did exist. Cheers for the childhood memories - your only rival for this reader was Hergé.

Burkie1203

Zzippy wrote: »

This is the off topic thread i.e. no rugby talk. You've already been warned about clogging up two other threads. Enough.

For any sport the season is done.

Panda Killa

Will the dubs claim a moral victory and say they've got 6in a row?

mfceiling

Now that you are only allowed to go to the supermarket for essential supplies, does that include white wine, malteasers and popcorn?

Asking for a friend.

swiwi_

mfceiling wrote: »

Now that you are only allowed to go to the supermarket for essential supplies, does that include white wine, malteasers and popcorn?

Asking for a friend.

Only red wine was included.

Stheno

mfceiling wrote: »

Now that you are only allowed to go to the supermarket for essential supplies, does that include white wine, malteasers and popcorn?

Asking for a friend.

Yes

Just buy some toilet paper at the same time

And tell your friend o'Briens have a great sale at the moment and free delivery on all orders over 100 euro

I feel like nothing has changed with today's announcement. Define essential.

Burkie1203

Panda Killa wrote: »

Will the dubs claim a moral victory and say they've got 6in a row?

GAA championship is unlikely to happen or else truncated season in August

No organised sport is viable until July at the absolutely earliest

Clegg

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

Neil3030

mfceiling wrote: »

Now that you are only allowed to go to the supermarket for essential supplies, does that include white wine, malteasers and popcorn?

Asking for a friend.

Alcohol to sanitise hands?

Corn to make bread?

Sugar to give calories to a suppressed appetite?

Patriotic, I say.

Neil3030

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

I had a freak out moment the other night, walking past a bus-stop and smelling someone's cigarette smoke.

But then I thought: if the R0 of this disease is around 2-3 (i.e., every patient gives it to between 2 and 3 other people), that means that it's predominantly transmitted to people who have close, prolonged contact with a patient. If patients were giving it to everyone they passed on the street, the whole country would be infected in a few days.

awec

15 minutes in close proximity is the point at which you'd be considered high risk for infection I believe. Standing behind people in queues, sitting beside them in cafes and on buses, working beside them etc.

Obviously the virus doesn't wear a watch and you can get it in less time than that, but walking past someone on the street it's highly unlikely.

Buer

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.
it.

I'm doing surprisingly well. No small aspect of that is the fact that I knocked drink on the head for Lent so I'm without a drink since Feb 22nd. I'm sleeping well and walking 5km every night. Flat out with work but that will probably stop in the next week or so as it grinds to a halt so I'll try some more reading and do some pilates at home.

Absolutely critical to eat and drink healthily and do your utmost to get decent levels of exercise. It's not going to be a magic instant fix either. It took a couple of weeks before I really started to feel the benefits. I'm relatively good at being pragmatic but it's very easy to spiral into anxiety in this situation. Hopefully the brighter evenings on the way will help lift spirits for people.

It sounds dumb but myself and a few of the lads had a few beers (non-alcoholic) over Skype the other night. Obviously not the same but it was good to catch up and talk sh*t. Worth utilising any avenue available for socialising.

Rigor Mortis

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

Sorry to hear you are low.
I dont think there is anything wrong with a little healthy paranoia, if it makes you take sensible precautions. Its unlikely a momentary proximity will do for you, unless you got sneezed or coughed on. Get home, wash the hands and change the clothes, it'll make ya feel better.
Look after yourself and indeed all of yourselves.

Zzippy

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

Thinking rationally, there is next to zero chance of you being exposed from that encounter. If it was that contagious we would have 80% infection by now. Hope you've calmed down a bit, with all the stress of this situation lots of us are having bad days and moments of irrational fear like that. You're not alone, and it's good to talk things out with people, even us weirdos here. Mind yourself

Clegg

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

I had one day where I freaked out (slightly hangover induced) so I've decided to get back into meditating. It really helps me relax and be calm. It only takes 10 mins a day and is zero effort with guided meditation apps like headspace.

Clegg

Thanks, lads. I know I'm behaving irrationally, but it's good to hear that from others too.

Clegg

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

Follow the guidelines on hygiene and distancing and you've minimised your risk. It's not one specific instance that gets you sick, it's loads of small instances where you fail to wash your hands repeatedly or you meet different people repeatedly. You aren't being irrational and your concern will help you build good habits, but once you have done that you should put the worry out of your mind.

I've been pretty strict on everything myself and have the new rules drilled into the kids - I'm not going to be looking over my shoulder beyond that. This is time off that I've been forced into but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and enjoy it and make good use of it.

Clegg

Neil3030 wrote: »

I had a freak out moment the other night, walking past a bus-stop and smelling someone's cigarette smoke.

But then I thought: if the R0 of this disease is around 2-3 (i.e., every patient gives it to between 2 and 3 other people), that means that it's predominantly transmitted to people who have close, prolonged contact with a patient. If patients were giving it to everyone they passed on the street, the whole country would be infected in a few days.

I hadn't thought of it in this way. In my blind panic I'm not thinking straight. Thanks, Neil.

I think it's good for us all to have a mini freak out to cop ourselves on rather than be complacent

So Atlanta just announced that they have run out of ICU beds.

At the same time that they've just cancelled masses due to a number of church related outbreaks.

At the same time that they've only just announced a 14 day lock down.

Am I mad in thinking there is about to be a humanitarian crisis in America?

stephen_n

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

Depending on how much news and information you are consuming at the moment maybe cut back and limit it. Certainly no more than an hour a day including social media. Make sure to exercise daily, walking is perfectly fine. Try maximize positive social interactions like video chats with friends or family. It’s often missed how important it is to see facial reactions when we speak and the affect it has on the reward centers in our brain. Maybe try some mindfulness practices, stress is cumulative and anxiety is just a symptom of that. Anything you can do to relax will help stop the build up of stress hormones in the system. Those contribute to the sense of hyper-vigilance you are experiencing at the moment.

pickarooney

Not really worried about getting sick myself and have no shortage of stuff to do, workwise and other, but I just can't see this ending any time soon and have no idea what the world will be like if and when it ends. And this is probably just the first of many pandemics...

Feeling a bit ****ty about the world we brought kids into to be honest.

Bazzo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I feel like nothing has changed with today's announcement. Define essential.

If you mean in terms of shops they've been defined:

https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2020/0324/1126143-essential-retail-outlets-covid19/

Stheno

Clegg wrote: »

Thanks, lads. I know I'm behaving irrationally, but it's good to hear that from others too.

You're fine

Due to my job I knew about this **** in January and it plagued my life in February

I've been wfh for three weeks now and the isolation is horrific

I get great pleasure in stupid stuff, cooking a nice dinner, giggling at what my neighbours are doing, drinking a glass of wine in the garden


But I freak out if I dont feel well

On the positive side I really appreciate my oh at the moment

Burkie1203

Atalanta v Valencia football game was tagged as a major catalyst for the virus.

Mad that the day after the Ireland 6n game was postponed 3000 Juventus fans went to Lyon.

The summer will be a write off for a lot of sports. All the races I entered won't happen, hopeful maybe the DCM 10 miler in August might happen leading to the marathon.

GAA season will likely be a truncated version if at all

In work we have had to split into 3 days a week groups to maintain distance while they figure out a plan to rearrange desks.

LOI will be badly impacted too. Half the season will be wiped out

Zzippy

Deleted User wrote: »

So Atlanta just announced that they have run out of ICU beds.

At the same time that they've just cancelled masses due to a number of church related outbreaks.

At the same time that they've only just announced a 14 day lock down.

Am I mad in thinking there is about to be a humanitarian crisis in America?

https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/1242570433796419588?s=19

Squidgy Black

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

Been a bit tetchy at times to be honest, but I think that's mostly down to it being a fairly packed house here as we had to take in some younger family members due to them living with our grandparents so the house is a bit full with the 6 of us being at home (and I'll be honest two young girl teenagers is an absolute nightmare).

Been trying to get out for as much fresh air as I can and luckily I've a decent enough space for working and living in that's sort of separate from everyone else for when I need some wind down time.

I've turned off any news notifications at this point and I don't really use much social media. It sort of started stressing me out seeing the constant headlines and some of the stories going around. I'm super aware of how things are (in fact had a fairly heated argument tonight with one of the younger ones over the fact that a single bar of chocolate is not an essential reason to go to the shop especially considering the presses in the house are full of stuff).

The Lost Sheep

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

Never realised sport was such a great distraction until I could no longer watch it.

mine's grand which is mad considering I have anxiety and am currently working in a pharmacy.
It might be irrational thoughts coming through but normal at same time. Dont dwell on it. Dont read/watch too much of it in papers/on the news on tv/internet.

Neil3030

Deleted User wrote: »

So Atlanta just announced that they have run out of ICU beds.

At the same time that they've just cancelled masses due to a number of church related outbreaks.

At the same time that they've only just announced a 14 day lock down.

Am I mad in thinking there is about to be a humanitarian crisis in America?

For three reasons, I suspect America will have a death rate that may be an order of magnitude higher than anywhere else.

1. It's still unclear me is who will pick up the cheque for case tracing in the U.S.; so if you test positive in the UK, the NHS will trace your close contacts and test them, equivalent in Germany, Ireland, Belgium etc. In pure economic terms, these centralised healthcare systems can actually put a dollar value on REDUCING the spread. I just don't see where that overarching economic interest might exist in the American system? Say for example, you rode in an Uber last week and the driver later tests positive at their private primary care facility - who is calling you to suggest you get tested? Who foots the bill for your test? And this is in the fairly traceable context of an Uber driver/passenger; what if the encounter were more complex, fleeting, outside of a specific work situation, etc etc. Without centralised case tracing, I fear the U.S. will widen the gap between their two-tiered healthcare environment; the top half will be needlessly testing themselves almost weekly (funded privately or by work) while the virus spreads unabated amongst the lower tier.....

2. The prevalence of diabetes, heart disease and obesity in America. This can't be good.

3. Testing lag; I fear they have fallen farthest behind and have the biggest mountain to climb here. One metric you can use is in the early ratio of deaths-to-cases. Early in the pandemic, the standard of available healthcare shouldn't factor too much on patient outcome (i.e., system is not stressed yet), so you could probably assume the death rate should be constant across all countries (varying a little by demographics, but for now lets assume it's constant). Under such an assumption, a high death-to-case ratio suggests under testing: Italy for e.g., were catching up with a spread that had been going on for weeks, only identified severe cases, and quite a high proportion of these cases died. Contrast that with South Korea, who tested more broadly in the community, captured a wider range of case severity, which produced a much lower fatality rate.

So looking at the number of deaths, in and around the 1000-case point (again, a point prior to the healthcare surge capacity being a factor), you can clearly see the countries who started testing earlier and case tracing (i.e., wider sample of cases) vs. those catching up with a hidden spread, and only testing severe cases presenting for treatment:

Italy - Feb 29 - 1128 cases - 29 deaths (0.025)
Spain - March 9 - 1231 cases - 30 deaths (0.024)
UK - March 14 - 1061 cases - 21 deaths (0.019)
South Korea - Feb 26 - 1261 - 12 deaths (0.010)
Ireland - March 23 - 1125 cases - 6 deaths (0.005)
Belgium - March 16 - 1058 cases - 5 deaths (0.004)
Germany - March 9 - 1112 cases - 2 deaths (0.002)

And no prizes for guessing the late-comer who storms straight in at number 1.....

USA - March 11 - 1205 cases - 38 deaths (0.032)

A few mitigating factors for the U.S. will obviously be the lower population density, economic power and the power of their army and private sector, if mobilised into action.

But with them being so behind on testing, with them ranking so high on several underlying health conditions, and with them lacking a centralised case-tracing infrastucture... yeah... I fear the worst, tbh.

Dave_The_Sheep

Clegg wrote: »

How's everyone's mental health lads? Mines not great to be perfectly honest. Bit of a wreck thinking that I could contract the virus from just about anything. Was walking the dog tonight and turned a corner only to be met by a person coming towards me from the other direction. Was only for two second but he was withing a a foot of me. I freaked out when I got home. Am I being irrational here? Quite possibly I am, but it's the only thing I can think about.

I've been WFH for three weeks, as has my other half (we work in the same company). I worked a lot from home before that so it's not a huge change but since I'm doing it five days a week, I've decided on a routine and sticking to it. Things like making sure my lunchbreak is 30 minutes at least away from the screen, having a hard stop at 5PM and at that point to break up work and non-work life, we do a 4K walk before dinner. Dinner and relax, before going to bed on time. As Buer mentioned, solid sleep, healthy eating (mind you I've been milling biscuits out of it) and regular exercise does wonders. I'm also off the booze for health reasons, so I'm sure that's helping.

My girlfriend does video calls with her sister or family, and a few of her mates from work did a booze conf call on Friday night, they said it was great fun and she said it made her feel a lot better. There's just the two of us so it's important you get to talk to other people. For me it's the crowd I play video games with. Needless to say, video game time has increased a lot.

I did have a bit of a mini 'cacking myself' bit last Friday. Over the course of a few hours I got a headache, sore eyes and achey neck. Temp went up a degree or two (or so I thought, turns out I was wrong). Was full sure I'd gotten it, but I told myself I'd see how I was the next day and just went to bed. I was more or less grand the next day (eyes and headache lasted a few days, slightly, but I think that was down to changing the refresh rate on my monitors). As people have said, no harm in being a little worried if it keeps you from getting complacent.

Clegg

Some good tips about routine and especially exercise. I was ok last week. Working from home then running at lunch. But I didn't do a tap on Friday or the weekend. Think that's contributed to my current state. Been keeping contact with friends but it's still not the same as actually being there in person.

thomond2006

Keep hydrated, work in a well ventilated room and make sure you get enough walking/exercise every day in sunlight. I find brisk walking in sunlight works wonders to keep my spirits up.

It's easier said than done but imo it's vital not to get sucked in to working on weekends. Although a weekend day doesn't feel the same without sports, events, gatherings etc you still need full days without work.

CatFromHue

pickarooney wrote: »

Not really worried about getting sick myself and have no shortage of stuff to do, workwise and other, but I just can't see this ending any time soon and have no idea what the world will be like if and when it ends. And this is probably just the first of many pandemics...

Feeling a bit ****ty about the world we brought kids into to be honest.

You can get like that at times but think of the world you, or the rest of us on here, were brought in to and then think which one would you prefer?

I was born in the 80's when the cold war was still on and there was still a possibility it could go hot which would end in mutually assured destruction. Gay rights were non existent and the Church still held a lot of sway. This country was poor and it's biggest export product was it's youth.

I'm not saying we dont have big problems now but we've over come a lot already.

Panda Killa

Clegg wrote: »

Thanks, lads. I know I'm behaving irrationally, but it's good to hear that from others too.

We're all freaking out in one way or another... worried about our kids, our parents, our own health, impact on the future....it can be a little overwhelming...
All you can do is just protect your little patch, if you're feeling stressed.. stay in and take walks very early in the morning or late at night...just to clear the head..it's quiet then and you can hear yourself think.
Only go out during the day for essential shopping... other that that ..we have 2-3 weeks sharing each others company here.... You can always unload in here...safe space to have a shout and unburden your worries

Clegg

Hi lads, thanks for all the replies to my post about mental health last night. Fell asleep with my mind at ease. Then started reading the Boards thread on the virus and started getting anxious again. It's not in my best interest to read it and only doing me harm, so I'm ignoring it from now on. Especially because there seems to be a minority who relish posting any bad news coming out about what's happening.

Went out for a run earlier. Feeling a bit better about things now.

Clegg

Clegg wrote: »

Hi lads, thanks for all the replies to my post about mental health last night. Fell asleep with my mind at ease. Then started reading the Boards thread on the virus and started getting anxious again. It's not in my best interest to read it and only doing me harm, so I'm ignoring it from now on. Especially because there seems to be a minority who relish posting any bad news coming out about what's happening.

Went out for a run earlier. Feeling a bit better about things now.

Man that main thread is absolutely poisonous. Even the number of posts gives it a frantic feeling. Boards is not the place to get your info about corona right now imo. You just reminded me its time for my meditation

Clegg

Clegg wrote: »

Hi lads, thanks for all the replies to my post about mental health last night. Fell asleep with my mind at ease. Then started reading the Boards thread on the virus and started getting anxious again. It's not in my best interest to read it and only doing me harm, so I'm ignoring it from now on. Especially because there seems to be a minority who relish posting any bad news coming out about what's happening.

Went out for a run earlier. Feeling a bit better about things now.

I read some of it easier, it is an absolute trash fire. People trying to whip themselves up into a frenzy basically, or ignoring the established facts about our own testing regime, or screaming "lockdown, lockdown, lockdown!" etc. It's an awful thread.

Stheno

Sloane Nutritious Ham wrote: »

I read some of it easier, it is an absolute trash fire. People trying to whip themselves up into a frenzy basically, or ignoring the established facts about our own testing regime, or screaming "lockdown, lockdown, lockdown!" etc. It's an awful thread.

Ah here it's just like every other thread in CA

Bazzo

Clegg wrote: »

Hi lads, thanks for all the replies to my post about mental health last night. Fell asleep with my mind at ease. Then started reading the Boards thread on the virus and started getting anxious again. It's not in my best interest to read it and only doing me harm, so I'm ignoring it from now on. Especially because there seems to be a minority who relish posting any bad news coming out about what's happening.

Went out for a run earlier. Feeling a bit better about things now.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/472f64-covid-19-coronavirus-guidance-and-advice/

Take a quick look at that once a day or watch the news in the evening. It's the only info you'll need on the coronavirus.

Otherwise try not to stress and worry. Use the time at home (if you're working from home/not in work at the moment) to catch up on jobs around the house, catch up on Netflix/prime/whatever, learn a few new skills. There's plenty on the internet to keep occupied. Get up in the morning and make checklist(mental or otherwise) of a few things to get done that day and get through them.

Squidgy Black

I started painting a few spots on the wall inside the room thinking sure it'll only be an hour or two.

Big mistake.

Rigor Mortis

Clegg wrote: »

Hi lads, thanks for all the replies to my post about mental health last night. Fell asleep with my mind at ease. Then started reading the Boards thread on the virus and started getting anxious again. It's not in my best interest to read it and only doing me harm, so I'm ignoring it from now on. Especially because there seems to be a minority who relish posting any bad news coming out about what's happening.

Went out for a run earlier. Feeling a bit better about things now.

Pick one news source, Times, Journal, RTE whatever and make that your online Covid outlet. Even too many reliable news sites can get you down. They are all basically saying the same.
In circumstances like this I like to avoid any media outlet that didnt exist 20 years ago when it comes to getting my information.

Dave_The_Sheep

Squidgy Black wrote: »

I started painting a few spots on the wall inside the room thinking sure it'll only be an hour or two.

Big mistake.

Do a wall a week and you might be finished the house by the time this all quietens down.

errlloyd

Rigor Mortis wrote: »

Pick one news source, Times, Journal, RTE whatever and make that your online Covid outlet. Even too many reliable news sites can get you down. They are all basically saying the same.
In circumstances like this I like to avoid any media outlet that didnt exist 20 years ago when it comes to getting my information.

This is wise. I have tried to do this and it is working.

I tend to try to keep my news quantiative (personal prefernece) but also I don't need every individual story of tragedy right now. There are just too many.