How has the coronavirus affected your personal life?

[Ulu]

Fortunately, covid hasn't been a health problem nor a financial one for me so far.
Color me happy. See, I went into retirement suddenly, but I was prepared (unlike so many.)

I worked for 45+ years, and invested money along the way. Except for the market disaster of 2008, it has paid off. The real estate I bought paid off. The computer biz paid off. I bought durable goods (mainly tools) which paid off. Yes I know I'm bragging, but there is also a point.

Half of my income now follows the stock market. When it rises, I make money. Not millions, but I am totally middle class & without debt. When it drops, I make much less money. It's important to me financially, regardless of my personal or political ideas, that we have a healthy president and a stable society. If the market tanks, my income will halve. I pray for the stability of our society above all else, because it's in my interest. Plus I like people and I like them best, happy.

Today I'm happy that our president looks pretty good. In fact, he looked much worse at the Duluth rally. He was the only one not bundled up to the eyes, and having lived there, I can tell you that Lake Superior wind is freakin cold coming down from Canada. When I saw the rally, it appeared he was coming down with a cold, looking red about the face and sounding a tad stuffy and tired. Today he appeared much more chipper.

Again, I am happy.

 

[esoxlucius]

Fortunately, covid hasn't been a health problem nor a financial one for me so far.
Color me happy. See, I went into retirement suddenly, but I was prepared (unlike so many.)

I worked for 45+ years, and invested money along the way. Except for the market disaster of 2008, it has paid off. The real estate I bought paid off. The computer biz paid off. I bought durable goods (mainly tools) which paid off. Yes I know I'm bragging, but there is also a point.

Half of my income now follows the stock market. When it rises, I make money. Not millions, but I am totally middle class & without debt. When it drops, I make much less money. It's important to me financially, regardless of my personal or political ideas, that we have a healthy president and a stable society. If the market tanks, my income will halve. I pray for the stability of our society above all else, because it's in my interest. Plus I like people and I like them best, happy.

Today I'm happy that our president looks pretty good. In fact, he looked much worse at the Duluth rally. He was the only one not bundled up to the eyes, and having lived there, I can tell you that Lake Superior wind is freakin cold coming down from Canada. When I saw the rally, it appeared he was coming down with a cold, looking red about the face and sounding a tad stuffy and tired. Today he appeared much more chipper.

Again, I am happy.

I'm not so happy. Both Brexit and covid have had a dramatic effect on my funds. Male retirement age in the uk is 67. There is just no way on earth am I working till i'm 67. I had my sights set on 55 (three years off).

Whenever covid is over, if ever, our government will then get back to the nitty gritty of Brexit which, if current progress is anything to go off, could take years yet. My funds could be in turmoil for god knows how long so my goal of 55 is rapidly spiralling into a pipe dream.

Best wishes to your leader, if anything happens to him no doubt world markets will temporarily crash further.

 

[Hendre]

Let's hope things stay stable.

Covid is crunching people here. Due to delayed marking and examination of our high school students, my uni only starts halfway through March next year. One LONG recess! People also penny pinching, swiped a 75gal with a smorgasbord of kit for $60, likely a panic sale. Through selling the excess I can easily cover the cost of the tank, if I don't find a space for it I'll easily get a decent amount for it.

 

[Ulu]

I'm not so happy. Both Brexit and covid have had a dramatic effect on my funds. . . .

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Have heart, and remember that bad fortune can reverse suddenly.

We've lost a handsome bit of cash, of course. Nearly everyone has.

But luck still smiles here. We're not sick, not in debt, not scared, nor defenseless, nor unduly exposed.
and not still fighting the daily rat race.

(I retired at 61 BTW. I wasn't planning to, but plans are for reference.)

 

[Ulu]

Let's hope things stay stable.

Covid is crunching people here. Due to delayed marking and examination of our high school students, my uni only starts halfway through March next year. One LONG recess! People also penny pinching, swiped a 75gal with a smorgasbord of kit for $60, likely a panic sale. Through selling the excess I can easily cover the cost of the tank, if I don't find a space for it I'll easily get a decent amount for it.

My youngest daughter is teaching 5th grade, 90% online, and with bizarre in-class schedules. It's a semi-rural situation, and lots of kids are not being enrolled at all.

My eldest daughter is designing online school for federal tax examiners: What to do with we taxpayers who cheat, screw up or try gaming the system.

I've got 3 granddaughters trying to attend college at 3 different unis and results seem more likely to produce great-grand children than a swift education at this juncture. Physical classes and labs are scant, and everything is by mail, e-mail and various online nets.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Well the CDC has finally admitted the covid19 has an aerosol component. This has been speculated about by folks such as myself who have little of the credentials needed to be taken seriously. This has also been promoted by others with good credentials for some time. Back in the Ebola 2 thread I was guessing based on some observations that I could not back up with strong evidence. However the speculation and guessing are now confirmed.

What I hope to be able to do is have a bit of conversation about how this new knowledge needs to be incorporated into our lives. In part at least the six feet of social distance and the more simple sort of mask or now popular face shield ought to be discussed. I am not in the least interested in the political views that may exist, only however about how this information ought to have us reconsider our daily activities. I have been treating the virus as airborne for some months now and have some opinions about what to do and some thoughts on what the limits may be for effective measures.

 

[pacu mom]

Hello; Well the CDC has finally admitted the covid19 has an aerosol component. This has been speculated about by folks such as myself who have little of the credentials needed to be taken seriously. This has also been promoted by others with good credentials for some time. Back in the Ebola 2 thread I was guessing based on some observations that I could not back up with strong evidence. However the speculation and guessing are now confirmed.

What I hope to be able to do is have a bit of conversation about how this new knowledge needs to be incorporated into our lives. In part at least the six feet of social distance and the more simple sort of mask or now popular face shield ought to be discussed. I am not in the least interested in the political views that may exist, only however about how this information ought to have us reconsider our daily activities. I have been treating the virus as airborne for some months now and have some opinions about what to do and some thoughts on what the limits may be for effective measures.

Air systems in hotels, cruise ships, public transportation, stores, malls and restaurants.....since the virus can last for hours in aerosols, a person could still be at great risk even if they have the place to themselves with no one around. What about taking your car in to get the tires rotated, and you have to hand them your keys? How do you know that whoever gets in your car is not spewing viruses in your car? I'm afraid to take my car in for service. My car dealership had to shut down for a few days when one of their employees got COVID-19. It recently came out that a high percentage of COVID 19 patients had recently eaten in a restaurant before getting sick.. No one wears a mask when they are eating. Sitting six feet away may not cut it, especially if the virus is in the air from an infected person who ate there a few hours earlier.

 

[Ulu]

IMO nothing is 100% protective unless you've brought your own air supply.

I really just assume that at some point I will get it no matter what happens. I also expect to survive it. Evidently, almost everyone does survive.

That's assuming I haven't already. I haven't been tested, because no symptoms, and I don't have to "meet the public."

But I do go shopping, and that won't stop.

Right now we are experiencing about one death per day in a population of ~1 million, that itself is growing by 10,000 people a year. It's not exactly the Black Death here.

They have opened up things again on a safe-distancing basis, and everybody wears a mask. If you show up without a mask, the stores will give you one to get your business. Everyone's going to work except teachers. I think their local union is basically on strike. Of course schoolkids are walking germ factories. My wife brought home so much chit from that kindergarten, and somehow I ended up healthy anyhow.

 

[skjl47]

since the virus can last for hours in aerosols, a person could still be at great risk even if they have the place to themselves with no one around.

Hello; You hit one of the main points of consideration for an airborne pathogen. I have done two test drives trying to buy a new vehicle. I did the drives with the windows rolled down. It was hot weather for one drive and warm for the other. Unfortunately I had to have a person with me. In one case it was a private owner so I understood how he would not let me out in his car by myself. The other was a new truck dealer.
The new truck dealer was willing to allow me to drive the truck by myself if I signed a form taking responsibility. Having been thru this before I knew better. Basically it is a form saying you will pay for any damage during a test drive and the dealership's insurance does not have to. They will tell you that your personal auto insurance will cover things. Not true. I have checked with my insurance agent on this and my personal insurance does not cover a test drive of someone else's car or truck. Anyway I had to have the sales person with me so the windows were down.

These two test drives have been long enough ago so I was not infected or as Ulu says I may have already had the virus and am immune for at least one strain of the virus. I figure riding around in a car with the windows open and the vents open reduces the chance of virus particles building up if one person is infected. I also figure there is some risk even if that risk is reduced. We are nine to eleven months into this pandemic depending on how you count so also agree I have to be out and about some and take the risk.

It is in an air conditioned building that I figure most folks will have a good chance of becoming infected. All the big box stores and pretty much all the small stores are now closed systems with the air conditioned and recirculated. I need food at the very least so do go shopping. I go into other stores as well. I have been to a doctor and a dentist also. There are ways for these stores to be made safer but such will take a long time.

Let me side track for a bit. The covid19 virus being partly airborne ( aerosol) does not make the small droplet method of spread go away. If an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings or shouts then some of the small droplets will be ejected. So when inside a building I wear a mask. The other thing a mask can do is reduce the emissions from an infected person from coughing or such. So the six foot distance idea works to a degree for those sorts of particles still.
What the aerosol particles do is change the dynamic in that an infected person will be shedding virus into the air by regular breathing and that most all masks do allow these aerosol particles to pass right thru. Some masks are worse than others but we regular folks cannot get the good ones in sufficient numbers just yet is my take.
Add to this that I see way too many noses sticking out even when people are wearing a mask. So a big box store or supermarket can have the small virus particles in the air. Back when the local Wal-Mart was counting there was never a time with less than 100 people in the store. I would ask for the count as I entered. I was going early in the morning for a while, being an older person, and the number was over 300 some times. Later I went any time and the numbers were often lower than 300. So the best case form my experience was well over a hundred folks in a very large building with recirculated air. My guess is this has been the pattern all over the country.

I went to a dentist office last week after breaking off the corner of a tooth. They have a machine recently purchased to spray down the surfaces every evening. Fine for the surfaces. I mentioned the use of an UV light added to the ventilation system. The idea being a UV light is on inside the duct work so the air passing by is hit with strong UV as it passes by. Should kill the aerosol particles. The dentist office is the size of a regular home so the air can be turned over several times an hour. Not so quick a turnover for a big box store I guess but still should remove the covid19 as well as many other airborne pathogens. I have seen an AC place advertising locally a unit for homes for around $200. I live alone and do not get visitors often so not much help for me.

One more comment. I have been thinking about eating out at sit down places. This is pure guesswork on my part so far so feel free to criticize. When in a Wal-Mart or Kroger I do not lower my mask at all and am careful to keep my hands away from my face until I can wash them. Eating in a sit down place changes the dynamic some. You have to lower the mask to eat or drink. You are actively sticking things into your mouth with table ware that may have been exposed to the small droplets. Even table ware in wrappers can have the wrappers exposed so that when you open the wrapper the surface may have been contaminated. I guess I could be careful with such things as wrappers. I do not eat out much anyway and have not since the virus. At most I have gotten some hot coffee from a Hardees to go and allowed it to sit a while hoping the heat will kill off any virus. I even pour the hot coffee into my own cup.

Enough from me for now.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

I've lost 1 great aunt and 1 grandpa to Covid. My family is doing well, with no issues with money. I am going to hybrid school in a week, so we'll see how that goes.

Besides wearing masks and not seeing a lot of people, Covid hasn't affected us too much (compared to some people, I feel lucky with only losing 2 family members)