Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

I don’t really know; a/ what the need is, b/ where to start.

3d printing is easy to do in terms of the steps involved being quite simple but it takes a load of practice to be able to do it consistently and to a high standard. There are so many quirks and pitfalls to be learned. Its quite typical for somebody who is new to 3d printing to have ten failed prints for every successful one. That said, it really isn't complicated or difficult, it just takes a bit of experimenting and fiddling before you get it right. This is actually supposed to be an encouraging message, I just wanted to point out that its not as simple as clicking print and an object appearing.

If your housemate was happy to give you a jump start by giving you a crash course, I reckon you could be hammering out visor parts within a couple of hours and it sounds like the demand is still there.

Hopefully some really critical questions about the HO/windrush etc will be asked.

Non 'essential' trips in any form of transport are not the idea at the moment. If driving about is seen as ok it could naturally lead to slackness in other areas. Before you know it we're having barbecues in the park and inviting everyone over.

Time to get creative over the Easter weekend :)

My scrap cloth is actually too thin to be useful...maybe tissues or a vacuum filter (yeah those work reasonably well) will do.

Finally an article arguing that the precautionary principle should be applied to mask wearing guidance for the public

It's a very odd article though. It summarises the evidence available, concluding with the systemic review which concludes there is no statistically-significant benefit in wearing masks, and then concludes that the public should be advised to wear masks on the precautionary principle. Applying the precautionary principle where the evidence is not merely weak but where the evidence suggests the proposed precaution will have no measurable effect is a rather odd application of the precautionary principle. By that standard, we should also advise people to wear tinfoil hats, because while there's no evidence whatsoever that they help protect you against SARS2, it's better to be safe than sorry.

I was shocked that an article by actual experts on the topic and published in a what I presume is a peer reviewed journal started out with a definition of the precautionary principle from Wikipedia.

The BMJ does publish peer reviewed articles, I believe, but that article isn't peer reviewed and was commissioned by the BMJ. I assume it's the BMJ's equivalent of an opinion piece in a newspaper.

But given that masks do catch some of the nasty stuff coming out people’s faces, I get why many countries are advising the wearing of masks rather than tinfoil heads. Also, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence...especially when the stakes are so high

Slightly devil’s advocate here but what’s the problem with driving?

There is some evidence that vehicle movements are increasing. Why would their be more traffic this week compared to last week?

Is staying at home really that fucking hard.

Yes, otherwise I don’t get paid.

Yes, otherwise I don’t get paid.

Do you get paid for going to parties? Because that's what that comment was about.

I thought there were some studies that suggested cloth masks might increase infection rates for some diseases? The Wikipedia thing struck me as well - I appreciate that people might not have access to their normal working libraries, but that's the kind of thing I'd expect from a first-year undergraduate essay...

How can you tell?

I can't. Just a hunch that all of the rude boys around me with their (clearly empty) souped up motors with noisy exhausts, bassy music and the windows wound down aren't off to start a shift as a key worker or doing the shopping for granny.

Also, if these journeys are essential, why was it so much quieter during the lockdown before?

Why would their be more traffic this week compared to last week?

People stocked up on food prior to the lockdown but are now running low and so doing as big a shop as they can (to minimise number of trips to the shops).

That's one example of why we used the car more times this week (once) than we did last week (none).

I can't get a home delivery slot at all (none of us in the house are vulnerable so we're, quite rightly, not a priority).
I can't buy shopping for a week (or longer) for 3 of us and cart it all home by foot or bike.

I could drive less (i.e. not at all) but that would mean extra trips to the shops. Fewer trips to the shop is better than less driving in this respect.

Of course, the more likely answer is that people don't give a shit, have got bored of being at home for a week and a bit and have realised that it's very unlikely they'll get caught out driving unnecessarily and so they choose to do it.

The precautionary principle states we should sometimes act without definitive evidence, just in case

Yeah I mean this is the same as the Wired article that states that the 'physical evidence is clear' despite no actual conclusive trials in the real world.

Yeah I get that, it makes sense. Lack of real world evidence is usually a show stopper but I guess these things are 'cheap'. Shame about supply.

Here's a problem: In the UK, if you now advise that masks should be worn, many essential services will immediately stop because the employers of the workforce that carry out those services will not be able to instantly provide their employees with masks.

Also I have a rock that protects from Covid - yours for £10. It might not do anything, but at £10 it's cheap. I have a lot of rocks. Get in the queue.

I went out for a shop just now and noticed the same, especially, to no-one's surprise, on one-way streets. Obviously, as usual, most drivers are OK, but some let the side down massively. Stoke Newington High Street (the narrow bit) normally doesn't attract a lot of speeding owing to queues waiting there, but there was full-on, dangerous-feeling speeding by some drivers (with my in-built radar gun I'd say one was doing about 60mph). Not only was the bit south of Church Street empty of cars, but also the bit north of it, and I think it must have been that combination which prompted it. Even speeding along Rectory Road seemed faster than usual, again mainly because of one idiot. There were also three police cars that sped through, two southbound on Rectory Road, one unmarked minivan and a marked car, plus an unmarked 4x4 northbound in the High Street that nearly hit a pedestrian walking in the carriageway in the right hand lane.

Another thing I've noticed in Stoke Newington, although that effect may have abated by now, is that more cyclists than before seem to have been riding contraflow in the High Street, which at times has felt quite empty. While people have always done that, I saw four in a row doing it last week. None today, though.

Also, if these journeys are essential, why was it so much quieter during the lockdown before?

Agree with greenbank. I haven't left the house for two weeks but need to go shopping some time quite soon.

More on speeding, with extremely alarming figures, plus the sad news of a cyclist death, which I hadn't seen yet.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/drivers-speeding-empty-roads-coronavirus-lockdown-a4411036.html

Thread here:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/345634/

Raab hasn’t spoken to Johnson since taking over as leader... which is a pretty strong indication of how unwell Johnson has been I think.

Or how irrelevant Raab is

There was an article whose writer was worried that Raab needed Cabinet approval for decisions. That is not a worry for me.

Slightly devil’s advocate here but what’s the problem with driving? Other than all the usual problems with driving.

-People need the streets to be safe so they can exercise locally. If kids could play safely outside, they wouldn't need to go to crowded parks etc. Pedestrians need more space so they can socially distance.
-Traffic accidents put unescessary strain on the NHS. There has been an uptick in speeding related incidents, as well as speeding itself.
-air pollution causes respiratory problems which raises the death toll from CV-19

I mean, even Boris can't make any decision without Cabinet approval. That's how collective responsibility works. At least it did, as best I understand it, before we ended up with a quasi-presidential system.

Lol

Exercise in the street is where it's at. My eldest is now officially a skateboarder, all thanks to being able to practice in the street.

Hope this doesn't count as our one trip out a day...she's nagging me every 10 mins for another practice session .

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