Oh, hey, first case of "community spread" Covid 19 in the US is right here in Solano County. Unless they track down a connection to a known source, I guess, but that's the news right now. This is not the sort of impending doom I know how to prep for.

This is not the sort of impending doom I know how to prep for.

Oy indeed.

My climbing partner froze her gym membership and decamped to a friend's place in a small town in Colorado "for the duration". Nice when you're self-employed.

Me, I'm considering buying a new laptop that can actually get onto the work network, in case they shut down the public transit system or something.

But hey, I'm sure we'll all be ok now that Mike Pence is in charge....

Over the weekend I read Chuck Wendig's latest novel, Wanderers. It's a bit too much like reality mixed with The Stand, including a species-jumping respiratory infection that kills just about everyone. It wasn't bad but it's really long and too on the nose at the moment.

We are getting a freezer next week and then we will stock up on stuff at Costco again and a little bit more planned.

I've been planning on doing this for awhile but I guess now with everything it's an even better idea

I have no idea what people who work with the public are supposed to do if Covid-19 infections get to the point of shutting down public transportation and limiting public gatherings.

I work in retail and what about the court system or people going to pay fines or renwew driver's licenses or whatever.

My dad is a cosigner on one of my credit cards and I keep meaning to get his name off and I don't know if I can right now but I guess I should find out.

I am trying not to be fatalistic here but I work in a mall. And if we get to limiting public movement no one is going to be shopping and I am pretty sure it would be a bad time to try to find a new job.

I get a total of 3 weeks of paid leave bit 70% of it has to be taken by August something. I keep wondering if I should cancel my vacation in April and try to hold on to as much as I can just in case I am out of work and at least I would get 2 weeks of pay.

And then...I'll end up behind on all my bills and I guess on collections and all of that.

It's frustrating because I haven't seen anything addressing what will happen to people who work in jobs where you can't do remote work or that work in the service industry.

I know there are no plans for any of it. I mean this is the Trump Administration so they can barely do anything.

That's the real worry. Even when responsible people are in charge, bureaucracy can be bumbling and inefficient. The people in charge now are malign and stupid.

By coincidence (or was it?), I just ran into a video on the BBC's Web site on how to self-isolate.

Mostly common sense ideas, but helpful anyway. If you live alone, can work from home, and are willing to shop online, it isn't that difficult.

TCG has a dentist appointment right near ltc's school today. So, he took ltc to school, and I am still in my pjs. I still have to pick her up and clean up the house a bit before my inlaws come over this afternoon.

Man, my low key hypochondria is gonna be hard to keep under control for a while

May I make a couple of suggestions?

This article from a pair of virologists in Australia was of use, as I find data soothing. Also the remark about why they're purchasing shelf-stable milk reminded me of a comment from one of the women in my emergency preparedness group: "If I have to parent through a global pandemic, this house had better have potato chips."

If there is preventative health care you have been putting off and your budget/insurance will allow you to access it now? Please do so - in the event of widescale community transmission, local health care systems are going to be under incredible strain, and if neighborhoods are under lockdown you might not be able to visit them even if they aren't primary care providers. (I don't want to go to the dentist, either.)

If you are diabetic/have a chronic heart or lung condition, can safely take the pneumococcal vaccine, have never had a dose and your insurance will cover it? Consider getting it: it won't do anything against viral pneumonia, but it will help prevent the bacterial sort that's often the second line of attack with influenza.

Tep, I assume you have entered this as evidence in the GIF/JIF debate?

Personally: as Plei will attest, my BIL is a hot mess - but given the news this morning that the prime minister of Japan has requested that all schools close until April (and that's with 200 cases nationwide), S. would be a lot worse if his family hadn't joined him in Minnesota last December.