Daryl wrote:Shakespeare wrote Much Ado about Nothing centuries ago. Before we station snipers on rooftops with 50 cal weapons to shoot people a mile away we need to understand that Ebola poses no risk to a modern society. If a germ warfare lab managed to make it air transmissible and able to survive exposure to sunlight then just possibly it could be a problem. Not quite sure what the heavy sniper rifles would be for, as it's somewhat difficult to diagnose illness at a mile range?
It is a bit sad that no matter what the issue, somehow it's Obama's fault. That obsession is what is actually unhealthy here.
Bioaparat's demons are indeed scary. Back in my streak of reading books about all this one was by Ken Alabek... spelling his name wrong ... formerly of Bioaparat and an American germ warfare guy trading remarks about things drifting on the wind.. creepiest conversation I ever read.
Let us all hope all those evil genies stay in their bottles, ok?
Whomever it was who pointed out Ebola Reston had gone airborne was correct. Not only airborne but escaped. I entertained the jolly notion it has maybe swept the world vaccinating many against Ebola as cowpox vaccinated against smallpox. Cheery thought eh? Ebola Reston was lethal to monkeys but not much worse than a cold to humans.
The worry is the way viruses can trade info with each other. Like, say, Ebola and the common cold.
Not good. Hopefully does not happen.
Am I running around in a panic about Ebola? No. No point to that. Am I stocked up? Yes, but I have been for over forty years as far as I'm gonna so no worries there either. Not because I cannot think up awful scenarios in which we Northstars are screwed but because there is no point. We've done what we reasonably and realistically can, including being on good terms with the neighbors. Beyond that it's in God's hands. If we die, we die. eh.
The chances of surviving in a hospital in an Ebola pandemic that goes wildfire are... nil. At home. Maybe we die, maybe we live. I'd rather do it at home than in a hospital nightmare, thanks.
My advice, for what it's worth, is stay aware but keep your BS detector on. Be stocked up to handle various woe and trouble, whatever feels reasonable and doable to you in your situation. Keep the car gassed up. When out and about park with an eye to getting out in the event something nasty goes down there. That means park by the exit rather than as close to the store or mall or restaurant or whatever as possible. Hey, so you get a bit of walking exercise.
Likewise, be aware in shops or restaurants or whatever. Where are the exits? How easily can you get to one? Stay where you can see what is going on
and where you can get the bleep out pronto if needed. Won't hurt you any. But getting trapped in some crowd panic... not good. Have bug out stuff in your car, just in case. A backpack with some food, water, clothes, to walk home or whatever if ever needed. Hopefully never to be needed. Practice situational awareness and listen to your own intuition. It is your survival sense. Respect it.
Think about what you'd wish you had done if the SHTF of one sort or another. Do it, whatever your personal list is. Then relax. There is no point stressing beyond what is reasonably practical, in your opinion.
Florence Nightingale's Notes on Nursing is very good, buy it. Also Red Cross home nursing manuals, the ones written in the 1950s, preferably. Buy it used. They are more self reliant and practical than new ones. Really. Something on cooking for invalids.
These are useful whenever somebody gets ill with something or other. Does not need to be something awful. But they did get a work out when I was caring for various ill people over the decades.
Like the Boy Scouts, I guess I believe in being prepared. Doesn't hurt, sometimes helps... a lot.
Keep safe, people.
