Subj : Re: Isolation Diary To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Mon May 04 2020 19:20:00 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 26-Apr-2020 10:43 <=- NB>> So I'm now 10 days behind... and who knows when I'll catch up.... NB>> but I'm still plodding along... BM> Well someone has to be at the end of the line! I suppose... ;) I'm more like only a week behind now... but life is uncertain.... MP>>>> Here they are doing distance learning (via the internet or some MP>>>> sort of computer lesson plans). In Indiana, they have closed out MP>>>> for the year and have promised that all Seniors who have kept up MP>>>> with their school work will get diplomas. BM>>> Hopefully Indiana's early closing doesn't cause problems: semester BM>>> hours (and the like) are based on so many clock hours in the BM>>> classroom, so they can't use that designation. Prior to this last BM>>> term they could, just for this last academic term they could not. BM>>> I know, technicalities, but. NB>>> Here in NY, there was an announcement/decree/whatever that the hours NB>>> stipulation would be waived for this school year.... it's still NB>>> unknown here whether or not school will reopen or just be closed for NB>>> the rest of the school year.... BM>> That waiver makes sense, plus it's not like just about everywhere else BM>> in the country isn't having the same problem. ...Did a quick bit of BM>> looking and appears Iowa is also allowing waivers at local discretion BM>> -- try to keep as close to established rules and regulations as BM>> possible but if need be do it. (Make sense.) NB>> This year is certainly an extraordinary situation, extraordinary times NB>> call for non-typical solutions... There have been years in the past NB>> when way worse weather than normal caused some deviations in the NB>> requirements for classroom hours... but this is even more out of the NB>> ordinary.... And unlike school closings for weather, there has been NB>> more of an effort to continue the schooling via the distance learning, NB>> so the virtual "classroom" probably counts for something... BM> Right: with the weather-related delays it was just a longer weekend or BM> days off than usual. Some anticipated time off is even built in to BM> the school calendar so don't have to do a last-minute extension. Do BM> regular schoolwork then? Nah! ...The only time I remember having BM> school work at home was when I had the mumps. And that was so that you'd not fall way behind the rest of the class while you were gone for so long... :) When I took my son out of school for a couple of weeks to travel with me (a week of helping my sister with a newborn in MD, and then another week of driving south to visit my greataunts in NC, and the retrun), we brought schoolwork along with us, as part of the agreement... :) Meanwhile, our governor has officially declared that the schools will be closed for the rest of the academic year.... BM> I suppose one good thing about the timing of the COVID-19 is it didn't BM> happen years ago: most people, schools, businesses, etc., are BM> comfortable with going on-line and doing something, to one degree or BM> another. Download files, upload pictures, etc. I and a lot of people BM> have not done videochatting but probably could figure it out BM> relatively easily. It seems the connectivity is more of a problem than BM> the doing. (Poor or lack of ISP.) Or lack of all the proper software etc to make it work on one's own devices... But yes, especially the kids are much more tech-aware, so in most cases, the schooling can continue, if a little different from normal... and people that normally use computers at work can fairly easily accomodate to working on them at home for work.... MP>>> I have been craving oranges lately but am afraid to buy any fresh MP>>> fruit or veg, even though it'd probably be good for me to do so. MP>>> I am not real sure how one would sanitize one without poisoning BM>>> The main recommendation experts shared with USA TODAY along with BM>>> guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to BM>>> rinse produce under running water before eating it. NB>>> And that's what I've been doing.... just running water is pretty NB>>> efficient at cleaning things... :) And safer for you than the NB>>> more stringent sorts of cleaning, which have their place, but not NB>>> for food you are about to eat.... ;) BM>> There are times and places for everything! Using scouring powder BM>> doesn't make sense to clean food. Water alone doesn't seem enough BM>> though 'a quick rinse' is frequently all that is needed. A highly BM>> diluted dish or hand soap, rinsed under running water, seems like more BM>> than sufficient. NB>> Exactly... MORE than sufficient.... even detrimental... There's good NB>> reason why "washing your mouth out with soap" was considered a rather NB>> harsh punishment.... You'd have to rinse very thoroughly to get rid NB>> of all the soap or detergent.... BM> I never was _that_ bad -- my parents probably would have thought it a BM> waste of soap with Dad born during the Depression and my Mother WWII. BM> May have tasted by accidentally dripping bubbles into the mouth during BM> a bath -- do recall some very untasty tastes. My parents never did that, either... but there was a teacher at one of the schools I went to as a kid that actually did do that to one of the other pupils there... he did have a rather filthy mouth, swearing and all, especially for back in those days.... BM>>> As for vegetables: "cooking vegetables would also 'take care of the BM>>> virus'." NB>>> Yup, that works too. :) And one might cook some fruits as well... :) BM>> Compote?! NB>> Things like apple sauce, baked pears, and the like.... BM> I'm getting hungry! It seems sunlight, heat and a third item destroys BM> the coronaviruses, which is one reason for the anticipated decline in BM> summer and the potential for it to return in the Fall. I'm not sure how scientific that presumption is in the case of this particular coronavirus... and people do get summer colds as well (another, less virulent coronavirus).... BM>> ...Not coming up with the word right now but a short stay of the fruit BM>> in boiling water is used to make removal of the outer layer easier. NB>> I think you are referring to blanching the fruits/vegetables... NB>> also useful for a quick partial cooking prior to freezing,,, BM> That was it! Again, heat involved. ...And so heat has been used for BM> a long time as a 'cleanser' and preservative. Blanching is more a way of preserving quality in the produce before freezing... freezing can be more destructive to the cell walls of the plant if they aren't partially cooked first... BM>> I don't know if hitting the fruit and vegetables with steam would work BM>> -- thinking the steamers sold some time back to clean stoves, kitchen BM>> counters, etc. NB>> I'd think so.... steaming the produce is also a valid way of cooking NB>> them.... ;) BM> I'm surprised that hasn't been considered as a sanitation method, or BM> maybe it is being used as part of the regular prep on the production BM> side of things and so just the natural way it is prepared for market. BM> Would seem steamers would have popped up as another way to sanitize at BM> home, etc. Maybe not so much for food... but certainly (and even at home) steaming is used for cleaning and sanitizing other things, such as furniture and rugs... you have heard of Stanley Steamers, haven't you...? BM>>> S.N.: I read maybe a month back where drinking something hot BM>>> (coffee, tea) will kill the virus in your mouth. I drink coffee in BM>>> the morning anyway; in winter like to have tea in the afternoon (no, BM>>> not just at 4 o'clock!). NB>>> Hmmm... a nice ginger tea would probably be pretty effective, too... :) BM>> Plus healthy! NB>> That, too... ;) BM> I was looking at the variety packs for tea at Hy-Vee a couple weeks BM> back. Didn't like the price that much -- was also the national BM> brands; I didn't see a Hy-Vee offering. Don't recall seeing a pack of BM> Ginger Tea. I'd look for it in the Natural Foods section, with the herbal teas... You can also get it as Ginger Drink that comes in little foil packets of powdered ginger and sugar that you mix with hot water to produce the drink... :) Or you could just buy some ginger root in the produce department and grate it (or just use chunks, but the grated ginger probably would brew better) and steep that in hot water... Add sugar or honey as desired.... :) ttyl neb .... Furniture disease: that's when your chest falls into your drawers! --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .