Housebound?

[Mike999]

13 hours ago, magicmustang said:

Got this today from a fellow modeler.

Thanks for the badly-needed laugh!  I stole that and passed it along to another modeler.  He got a big kick out of it.

And thanks to everyone else for sharing their stories. I hope you all pull thru this.

The virus isn't affecting me so much.  I'm an old retired geezer who mostly stays home.  I do miss going to the big Wed. flea market, where I often found model kits.  The flea market has been closed the past 2 weeks because of the virus.  I feel bad for the owners of that flea market.  Even before the virus, they were hammered by a huge rain and windstorm that caused a lot of damage and forced them to close for repairs. Then the virus came along.

I am running low on one of my favorite acrylic paint thinners, 91% isopropyl alcohol.  There's not a bottle of alcohol, of any grade,  to be had in any of the stores I've visited around here.  Stopped at a CVS on Sunday, the alky shelves were bare. An employee said they should get a shipment today. 

[wrenchr]

Been working on some models, but also not been feeling the best...no fever but sore throat and minor congestion. Day 5 like this, symptoms are so minor cannot be tested anyways. So stay inside and monitor myself. 

[espo]

Minimal effect on my day to day life. The big exception is that my wife is working from home for the last two weeks, which isn't all bad since we do enjoy each others company. With spring starting here I'll be outside getting the yard in order and I have been working on a different drainage system for the gutter down spouts and the sump pump. Had a great system going down both sides of the back yard to drain into the pond. The problem is that over the last 19 years the trees have grown and their root systems have invaded the drain hoses that were in the ground. I'm digging a new trench to lay new piping in and only go about 30 feet from the house and then a clean out catch basin. I cancelled all  of my doctors visits that I had for this week and they were cancelling or resetting appointments anyway. We made one last run to the store last night before the "Shut Down" here and got a few things we needed. My wife has had me try and find TP somewhere for the last two weeks. The local stores shelves are starting to resemble a post apocalyptic world. Beyond TP I couldn't even find any Flour or Red Been let alone my favorite Bread. My wife is gluten free and as such there is only this one type of bread she can eat, and that is all that was left on the shelf. At the check out the two ladies were talking about the supply problems and mentioned that people were even buying the "healthy stuff". This is going to be inconvenient for a lot of us but the people I'm most concerned about beyond those with health and age issues, much like myself, are the people that have had their jobs shut down and are left with little or no alternative source of income. Just go with the flow and help others when and if you can.     

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Mike999 said:

one of my favorite acrylic paint thinners, 91% isopropyl alcohol.  There's not a bottle of alcohol, of any grade,  to be had in any of the stores I've visited around here.  Stopped at a CVS on Sunday, the alky shelves were bare. An employee said they should get a shipment today. 

Too bad you're not within driving distance. I picked up 2 bottles at Walmart a couple weeks ago, enough for my modeling needs for at least a year. Would be glad to give you one. 

[Mike999]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Too bad you're not within driving distance. I picked up 2 bottles at Walmart a couple weeks ago, enough for my modeling needs for at least a year. Would be glad to give you one. 

Well, thanks!  I still have enough left for a while.  This is not a day I'd want to run to town. It's cold and pouring rain with occasional thunderstorms.  Probably not a good day to be painting with water-based acrylics, either.  And the cloudiness means no natural light coming thru the basement windows.  Maybe I'll work on that eBay sale I plan to put up soon, and weathering that ICM 1912 Commercial Roadster... 

[stavanzer]

Today was my first real "Work at Home" day. It was overcast and cloudy all day, and that seems to be the forecast for the week. I'll get nothing done, model-wise no matter how long this lasts. My wife figures that if I'm home, I must need things to do. The "honey-do" list is never done, and if she's awake, I've got things to do.

That said, if this continues for more than a couple months, she may run out of things that need doing. 

I work in the Logistics/Trucking industry, so I'm listed as Essential Personnel. WE serve the Oilfields and while business has slowed, it will not stop. So, I'll be in the office at least twice a week. Yeah, Trucking!

[espo]

9 hours ago, alexis said:

Today was my first real "Work at Home" day. It was overcast and cloudy all day, and that seems to be the forecast for the week. I'll get nothing done, model-wise no matter how long this lasts. My wife figures that if I'm home, I must need things to do. The "honey-do" list is never done, and if she's awake, I've got things to do.

That said, if this continues for more than a couple months, she may run out of things that need doing. 

I work in the Logistics/Trucking industry, so I'm listed as Essential Personnel. WE serve the Oilfields and while business has slowed, it will not stop. So, I'll be in the office at least twice a week. Yeah, Trucking!

I understand about the Honey Do Lists. Since my wife has been working from home , like you the list just keeps growing. She sees me trying to work on my models and asks if this is what I do all day ? I'm retired so I do have an advantage with that, but women in general can't stand to see a man not doing their bidding.  

[unclescott58]

Being basically an extrovert, I've been climbing the walls a bit. The school I work at started its spring break on March 6th. We were suppose to go back and start our third trimester a week ago yesterday, on March 17th. Thankfully I've got plenty of models, books, DVDs, and of course good old YouTube and regular TV ? to keep me busy. But it's not the same. I miss the interaction with both the kids and my coworkers at work. 

Heres one that kind of surprised me. I've been a long standing member of AA for many years now.  Well guess what happened when I went to go to my regular meeting a week ago Tuesday? The AA club where the meeting is held is now closed. As of 5 pm that day. I don't see it as major threat to my sobriety. But what about the new comer? And how long will this last? 

I hope and pray all of us out there make it through this okay. And this ends soon. 

 

[NYLIBUD]

3 hours ago, unclescott58 said:

Being basically an extrovert, I've been climbing the walls a bit. The school I work at started its spring break on March 6th. We were suppose to go back and start our third trimester a week ago yesterday, on March 17th. Thankfully I've got plenty of models, books, DVDs, and of course good old YouTube and regular TV ? to keep me busy. But it's not the same. I miss the interaction with both the kids and my coworkers at work. 

Heres one that kind of surprised me. I've been a long standing member of AA for many years now.  Well guess what happened when I went to go to my regular meeting a week ago Tuesday? The AA club where the meeting is held is now closed. As of 5 pm that day. I don't see it as major threat to my sobriety. But what about the new comer? And how long will this last? 

I hope and pray all of us out there make it through this okay. And this ends soon. 

 

Hang in there buddy.With some common sense and luck mixed together,we should all make it through this ok.Meanwhile I read where a bunch of college kids had an anti social,anti party,where a bunch of them got together in protest.Well now two of them have supposedly tested positive for the virus.Wether that’s true or not,I can see that happening.???.

[bobthehobbyguy]

I am taking advantage of being house bound to get some neglected long term non modeling projects down. I have dusted off some stalled model projects which is next in the list.

Pulled out my copy of Ground Hog Day and watched it last night.

Started reading my compendium of all Sherlock Holmes.  Its been sitting on the shelf for a long time. 

Every morning I make a todo list. Helps keep me motivated and I have a sense of accomplishment when I scratch an item from the list.

Am working hard every day to avoid the groom and doom and being overwhelmed by it all.  I take it one day at a time. 

 

 

[ChrisBcritter]

I see a lot of folks walking around the neighborhood now (and to the four girls I saw yesterday , "staying six feet apart" doesn't mean "spread out into the street"). I've taken my mom out for a drive on sunny days, obviously NOT getting out of the car until we got home; that way she gets to see the countryside instead of just around the block. I'm surprised nobody talks about going out motoring; if you stay inside your car, why not? 

[stitchdup]

7 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

I see a lot of folks walking around the neighborhood now (and to the four girls I saw yesterday , "staying six feet apart" doesn't mean "spread out into the street"). I've taken my mom out for a drive on sunny days, obviously NOT getting out of the car until we got home; that way she gets to see the countryside instead of just around the block. I'm surprised nobody talks about going out motoring; if you stay inside your car, why not? 

Why not? what if you have an accident and need assistance? thats taking at least 2 cops, a paramedic crew out of circulation while they deal with an accident that could easily have been avoided if you had stayed home. Suppose one of those people dealing with you had the virus but didn''t realise? thats everyone thats dealing with your accident now exposed needlessly along with your mother. If the guidance that everyone that gets it passes it on to 3 people is right that a minimum of 6 people passing it onto 18 others, those 18 then pass it on to 54 people and they pass it on to 162 people. I'll let you do the maths from here but going out for a drive is not the thing to do.  I know everything feels weird but it shouldn't feel normal, we're living in a strange time so everyone has to do their part to protect other people too.

 

[Old Coyote]

Same old, same old for me. I work as a computer operator for a company that processes and prints payroll checks for 650,000 companies in the U.S. So I'm considered a "critical on-site worker", as we can't take our computers or our huge Xerox printers home with us. Won't have any more modeling time than before, but I'll still try to get some modeling done. Gotta keep people paid.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Old Coyote

[slusher]

20 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

I am taking advantage of being house bound to get some neglected long term non modeling projects down. I have dusted off some stalled model projects which is next in the list.

Pulled out my copy of Ground Hog Day and watched it last night.

Started reading my compendium of all Sherlock Holmes.  Its been sitting on the shelf for a long time. 

Every morning I make a todo list. Helps keep me motivated and I have a sense of accomplishment when I scratch an item from the list.

Am working hard every day to avoid the groom and doom and being overwhelmed by it all.  I take it one day at a time. 

 

 

Bob, I like your way of thinking and commit all we can do is one day at a time..

[Tom Geiger]

On Facebook John Papp started the “Isolation 500” build for this weekend! Go to Facebook and sign up. I will be building a 1950 Chevy pickup from three parts kits. Just organizing this on my bench improved my mental being a bit!  

The premise of the build is to start with an existing or new project on Friday at 6pm and finish it by noon on Monday. No pressure, build at your own pace, finish whenever, even after deadline.  Report progress in the group as you go.

[Mike999]

Need something to watch while housebound? Here are some LONG video projects that should keep you on the couch for a while:

"Dirty Money" (Netflix documentary series, 6 hours): shades of the Corvair and Pinto!  The first episode of this excellent series covers Volkswagen faking pollution and performance numbers for its Diesel engine.  Other episodes deal with money-laundering banksters, Big Pharma, and the giant Canadian maple syrup heist.  No, seriously.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

"The Assets" (Amazon Prime, 8 hours):  who wouldn't want to watch the lowest-rated drama ever shown on network TV, in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic? When this series premiered on ABC in 2014, those numbers made the network execs yank the mini-series before it even finished.

Ignore the whippersnappers in that demographic.  "The Assets" is an awesome true story, about the CIA's hunt for one of the biggest traitors in American history, Aldrich Ames.  They couldn't find him because he worked for...the CIA!   His father was a "legacy" CIA employee and Ames was well-protected by Washington's Old Boy Network. 

I think it flopped because it's a spy story without car chases, shoot-outs or any 007-style shenanigans.  But if you like the stories of John LeCarre, you should love this.  It's about a small team of CIA agents, mostly women, trying to connect the dots by digging thru financial records and such.  Grim Humor: after Soviet Russia collapsed, Ames' wife nagged him to sell some secrets to somebody, ANYBODY.  They still had to make the mortgage and the payments on the Jaguar.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

"No One Saw A Thing" (Sundance, 6 hours): in the small town of Skidmore, MO in July 1981, local bad guy Ken Rex McElroy was shot to death on a street full of witnesses.  Nearly 40 years later his killing remains unsolved, despite decades of work by Missouri police agencies and the FBI.  A lot of other weirdness has happened in Skidmore since, and some residents believe the place is just jinxed.

If you remember seeing a TV movie about that case, it was probably "In Broad Daylight" (1991).  Which is also worth watching again.  With an absolutely creepy Brian Dennehy, even creepier than he was playing John Wayne Gacy. He's supported by no less than 3 Oscar winners:  Chris Cooper, Marcia Gay Harden and Cloris Leachman.  (The real names of the people involved in the McElroy case were changed to avoid lawsuits.)

Edited March 27, 2020 by Mike999
goof1

[ZTony8]

I'm deemed an essential worker because I procure parts for municipal vehicles for the city of Detroit so it's work as usual for me. I just don't venture out after coming home. I'll be doing my regular Saturday shopping but probably not much else. I'm comfortable being by myself( I wish it was different but  I'm used to the way things are for me) and I can keep busy if I desire.

[Ctmodeler]

I'm a machine operator here in CT. I extrude tubes that are used for people receiving cardiac procedures so deemed "essential" . Doesn't bother me , but it is crazy out here no doubt. 

[MrObsessive]

47 minutes ago, Ctmodeler said:

I'm a machine operator here in CT. I extrude tubes that are used for people receiving cardiac procedures so deemed "essential" . Doesn't bother me , but it is crazy out here no doubt. 

Same here. Machine Operator for the company I work for here in Central PA. A LOT of what we do is for the medical industry and in fact, I found out that many of those companies we supply parts for were BEGGING us to stay open in light of all of this. So we do get to stay open as we are definitely "essential".

Some have been told to stay home due to either their age, or their overall health issues which includes both for some. Word has it they're going to bring in "outsiders" (family members of those that are home) to help out as we still are very busy.

Don't even ask about the stores........fortunately I live in a rural area so it's nowhere near as crazy, but in the city?? Absolute mayhem as HALF if not more than half of the store shelves have been empty. ?

[1930fordpickup]

 So in my family I have 3 at home working, the other 7 of us are still going in everyday.  I have no idea what the outlaw's , oops inlaw's are doing for work. LOL 

[espo]

Went to the local market yesterday to get a couple of things we needed. No paper products but a few wipes with a limit of one per customer, the rest of the isle was empty. They did have eggs this time and again a limit of 1. I got the other items I needed. The checkout only has plastic bags now. I usually would have our cloth bags but they don't allow them at this time. The checkers are supposed to wear gloves, but they're not.  The so called rules of social conduct for the time seem very hit and miss if at all.  

[Lizard Racing]

It hasn't been a big adjustment for us.  It seems about the only places we go any more is to doctor appointments.  Now most of those are cancelled.  Wife had a foot surgery postponed (not essential).

As a side note: my wife cannot drink tap water (indigestion).  We have to buy bottled water and filter that.  Thank you to all the people who saw fit to hoard bottled water when there is no threat to the water supply.  

[Mike999]

52 minutes ago, espo said:

Went to the local market yesterday to get a couple of things we needed...

I went to a Food Lion yesterday (Friday), pretty early in the morning.  Not early enough!  I wanted some ground beef, there was none to be had.  All the meat/fish racks were almost cleaned out.  The same for lunch meat, bacon and related meats.  The cereal aisle was also nearly empty, and many of the frozen food freezers.  Canned veggies, fruits and bread were all running low. This store hasn't had any alcohol or hand sanitizer for a couple of weeks. 

[espo]

1 minute ago, Mike999 said:

I went to a Food Lion yesterday (Friday), pretty early in the morning.  Not early enough!  I wanted some ground beef, there was none to be had.  All the meat/fish racks were almost cleaned out.  The same for lunch meat, bacon and related meats.  The cereal aisle was also nearly empty, and many of the frozen food freezers.  Canned veggies, fruits and bread were all running low. This store hasn't had any alcohol or hand sanitizer for a couple of weeks. 

We have a habit of keeping a couple of pounds of ground meat in 1lb. packages and steaks plus different cuts of chicken in the freezer. The stores that do sell Wine or low % "fairy pee" Beer seem to have plenty here. Kansas has some pretty archaic liquor sale laws.  

[Mike999]

1 hour ago, espo said:

We have a habit of keeping a couple of pounds of ground meat in 1lb. packages and steaks plus different cuts of chicken in the freezer. The stores that do sell Wine or low % "fairy pee" Beer seem to have plenty here. Kansas has some pretty archaic liquor sale laws.  

I need to adopt that habit!  This store had plenty of beer and wine.  I picked up a bottle of Cabernet to go with the steak I did manage to find.

I meant it was out of isopropyl alcohol. So is every other place I've been to around here. I use it for acrylic paint thinner but I do have some on hand.

SC also has some archaic liquor laws.  Hard liquor can still only be sold at "ABC stores." (Alcoholic Beverage Commission).  When I was young, the drinking age for beer and wine was 18 in SC, but 21 next door in GA.  There were drive-thru beer and wine stores right across the state line, where thirsty Georgians could load up.