This is a sample

Take a look outside. Go on. What do you see? Fewer vehicles than usual moving. Very few flights (Except for a chosen minority). People avoiding each other. Empty shelves in the supermarket. Hoarding. Restrictions on work and travel. People losing their jobs or being laid off because the companies they work for simply can’t afford to pay them.

And it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.

This is just a small taste of what the ‘Green New Deal’ and similarly intentioned measures would look like if implemented. Those would make the current Covid-19 pandemic restrictions look positively benign.

In the meantime; wash your hands, keep your distance and we’ll (mostly) come out of this alive. The cultures that carry on as before will keep on suffering like right now.

As for these dumb SJW ‘Hug a Chinese’ campaigns and suchlike to combat a non-problem, there is only this to say; the people who throw the ‘racism’ accusation about can do as they will. I on the other hand, have no desire to end up on the ventilator next to them in some sequestered sports facility, wondering if it’s time for this small candle to go out. I am quite happy for them to take my place because I’d rather be thought a ‘racist’ than win a Darwin award.

Personally, I am altering my habits of greeting. Handshakes and hugs are being replaced with a louche kind of half wave, half salute, tip of the hat, a small bow or what I call a friendly nod. Any attempts at physical (Apart from Mrs S) contact are being met with an upraised palm, face outwards at arms length and a polite “There is a pandemic on don’t you know.”.

To any protests of “Well I’m not infected.”
I am responding with; “How do you know I’m not? Please keep your distance.”

Mrs S is chafing. She’s not a happy bunny at all what with the current job uncertainty and I’m having to bite my tongue a lot at present. However, I know from long experience that so long as I hold my nerve and speak softly, we’ll survive.

On a similar note, these sweeping powers that Western Governments are gleefully according themselves had better be bloody temporary or I’ll set the girls on them. They frighten the bejasus out of me, so God alone knows what they’ll do to any flunky who gets in the way.

We still have flights to Ireland booked for September and hopefully the worst of things will be over by then. If our once yearly trip get cancelled, the domestic consequences may be more than I can handle. Did I mention that my best girl has a firecracker temper? Does Amazon do body armour? I may need it.

On the plus side, my Grapefruit plant flower is looking good and I await developments with bated breath. Over here the sun is shining. As to the rest, my teeth are firmly gritted and that’s that. Onwards and bloody upwards.

Update: Just ran a few numbers, see below.

The first four columns are the actual numbers as reported at the Johns Hopkins dashboard. The fifth column is overall percentage of general population infected. The sixth is percentage deaths from whole population and the seventh is the scary number, which is the percentage of deaths from the total of reported infections. Which are mostly already sick people in the 70+ age range.

I’m optimistic. I think Trumps two week deadline to flatten the US curve looks quite achievable. Looks like the US markets agree.