Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

[Self Jupiter]

Yeah, that’s mouthbreather MO on this side of I90 too

[AK47bp]

And 15 miles away, there are cops shopping for groceries in uniform without masks on, less than 50% compliance, and at least a couple of employees are grocery stores who refuse to wear masks or gloves, but are still ringing up purchases for people.

Once you leave Issaquah you leave the “Seattle area”

Except for the yuppies on the ridge it’s almost the same as being in central / eastern WA.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[glademaster]

I do the vast majority of my grocery shopping on the ridge for precisely that reason.

[KQ]

Had a dream last night that I went out and forgot my mask. There were people everywhere crowding into me and none of them had masks either. As I tried to push people away I desperately searched my purse for a mask but came up empty handed. It was like a Bugs Bunny cartoon where he keeps reaching into his magic hat and pulling out all manner of thing but never the one thing he wants. It was not a happy dream.

And speaking of masks I now have quite the collection. Figuring that wearing masks was going to continue for a while and wanting to be comfortable doing it a couple friends and I set out on a quest to try multiple manufactures focusing on US companies. The winners so far are:



Mambe (Seattle)

Mambe offers full adjustment with a cord lock and you can release the ear loops to allow the mask to hang around your neck. It is lightweight with a full seam down the middle that provides "nose room". It also has an internal flexible metal nose piece. According to the site the masks are two layers of breathable fabric - a tightly woven polyester microfiber on the outside and a poly-knit fabric on the inside for comfort, breathability, and moisture wicking. Comes in adult and child sizes. Fast service. $12



Stark's (Portland OR)

Stark's is a three layer (Water Resistant/UV Filter/Dust Filter + Sweat Filter/Moisture wicking) earloop mask with a dart for your nose and a fold-up nose piece that helps keep your glasses from fogging (you need to wear the nose piece high on your bridge and the mask should be snug). You can adjust it with optional cordlocks). The mask is made of made of Polyester and PP Cotton(unwoven Polypropylene layer). Save $3 on cord locks with this Coupon Code: 3OFFCORD (you are getting 10 locks/5 sets) Adult sizes, child coming soon. When I ordered they were a bit backed up but I think they have a pretty good turn around now. By 4 get 1 free. Buy 6 get 2 free. $12.95


The Cat Ball (Bellevue WA)

The Cat Ball makes both earloop (2 options for earloop material, lycra & elastic) and behind the head elestic. The mask is made of cotton, has a pocket for a filter and a full seam down the middle. They also sell ear saver behind the head plastic hooks. Three sizes available. Fast service. $10-$15


Threadless (CA)

Threadless is a basic 2-ply polyester mask with a print on one side and black on the other so it's like two masks in one. There are hundreds of prints for every imaginable mood, taste, like etc. It is no frills straight across light and silky mask. It worked well for a friend who can't deal with the heavier more confining masks. For being basic it's a nice comfortable mask and fits my 10" from ear to ear face well but another friend (male) with a bigger nose/broader face found it pulled on his ears a bit. One size fits most and a youth size. A bit longer processing and ordering time than any of the others. $10-$15

Note: For Threadless designs you can search by interest or if you see a design you like you can click on the artist and see what else they've made. This site is a protional site for artists. It's based in Chicago but the masks are made in California.


Anyone have manufacturers to add?

[glademaster]

I picked up some "Essential Masks" from Outdoor Research. Comfortable, seem well made, come in 3 different colors, and they have a pocket for a filter element that is supposedly akin to an N95. Not sure about that claim, but it is nice to have the option to wear it as just a face covering, or with some filter media in it.

[char_]

I can only assume those of you complaining about mask compliance by staff are choosing to spend your money elsewhere and making it known to the management.

Fred Meyer is about to land in this category for me.

[KQ]

I picked up some "Essential Masks" from Outdoor Research. Comfortable, seem well made, come in 3 different colors, and they have a pocket for a filter element that is supposedly akin to an N95. Not sure about that claim, but it is nice to have the option to wear it as just a face covering, or with some filter media in it.

Awesome! Thanks for the input!

Essential Face Mask Kit

Face Mask and 3-pack Filters that filter greater than 95% of virus, bacteria, and particles. Mask design is adjustable, washable, and is treated with HeiQ NPJ03* 100% Polyester. $20

[Deebased]

Ha! The working man’s drug. When it was easily available to me, I was following the allman bros’s advice about looking inside yourself and not seeing what you want... I had a friend that worked at a cafe in pacific beach that took dmt a few times during her lunch breaks. Sounds intense! Enlightened babysitters are good.

Make sure to add the harmalas...Changes the DMT game

[Deebased]

Do you ever get tired of being so wrong? Massachusetts tested and found the number of Covid cases from protests was the same as that of the general population. They then had to retract that story because the numbers were wrong. Percentage of protesters testing positive was even lower. Full article follows in case it's pay walled.

By nearly all accounts, the development was positive news: 2.5 percent of demonstrators who took part in events protesting police brutality and systemic racism had tested positive for the novel coronavirus at free testing sites across Massachusetts. Governor Charlie Baker, in making the announcement Tuesday, said he considered the figure to be “quite low.”
It also was wrong.
The figure Baker originally disclosed was, in fact, nearly double the actual share of demonstrators who received positive COVID-19 tests, according to data released Friday by his administration. The state’s new disclosure shows that of 16,526 tests conducted across the 50-plus pop-up testing sites, about 1.3 percent came back positive.

Baker, speaking Tuesday, had said there had been 17,617 tests conducted — which also inflated the number of tests that demonstrators received — meaning at the 2.5 percent rate he cited, about 440 people would have tested positive for COVID.
But, in reality, there were 210 positive tests, according to results submitted from the individual sites and released Friday in response to a Globe request.
A Baker spokeswoman said Friday that since the governor’s announcement, officials “continued to refine the data, including removing some duplicative records,” to explain the marked difference in the data.
The 1.27 percent positive rate “is the most up-to-date number” for the tests conducted on demonstrators and protesters, the spokeswoman confirmed.
The new data doesn’t dramatically change the conclusion that Baker and epidemiologists had originally drawn: Even as thousands of people gathered in demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many had taken precautions such as wearing face coverings that experts believe can dramatically reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
Baker also noted that virtually all the events took place outside, and in many cases, people were moving, further helping to blunt any potential transmission. The test results, he said Tuesday, were a “big indicator about how important it is for people to follow the guidance and the rules.”
In a statement, state officials described the new numbers as “updated” self-reported data the state had aggregated from the 52 testing sites, more than half of which were run by CVS. The majority of the free tests were conducted on June 17 and 18; four sites collectively offered hundreds of tests on a third day.
Cambridge Health Alliance reported the most tests, conducting 3,575 across three pop-up sites in Cambridge, Malden, and Somerville, 1.2 percent of which were positive.
But the sites with the highest positive rates were in hard-hit, predominantly minority cities that have already suffered high infection rates. They included the Lynn Community Health Center, where 3.4 percent of 174 tests came back positive; MGH Chelsea, where 3.2 percent of 251 tests were positive; and Lawrence General Hospital in Lawrence, where 3 percent of 643 tests were positive.
When combining those results with other testing data from those two days, the state’s overall positive test rate stood at 2.45 percent over the stretch, a figure that hews closely to what Baker originally described for the free testing sites alone.
The Baker administration did not release a breakdown of demographic data for those who received tests at the pop-up sites. But with the addition of those sites, the number of younger people being tested statewide soared compared to the previous two days.

That study does not say what you hope it will say, but nice try!!!

[PNWbrit]

And 15 miles away, there are cops shopping for groceries in uniform without masks on, less than 50% compliance, and at least a couple of employees are grocery stores who refuse to wear masks or gloves, but are still ringing up purchases for people.

That sucks.

King County department of health would probably be interested to hear. Safeway corporate too.

Did you say anything to the cops?

[truckeelocal]

I picked up some "Essential Masks" from Outdoor Research. Comfortable, seem well made, come in 3 different colors, and they have a pocket for a filter element that is supposedly akin to an N95. Not sure about that claim, but it is nice to have the option to wear it as just a face covering, or with some filter media in it.

and for the same $20 you can get 5 from Hyperlite Mountain Gear. Nice and soft. Choice of white or black. Nowhere close to N95 but basically they are to protect others.

[oftpiste]

I can only assume those of you complaining about mask compliance by staff are choosing to spend your money elsewhere and making it known to the management.

Fred Meyer is about to land in this category for me.

FM I visited yesterday (Ballard) had all employees masked, but I was surprised they weren't insisting on the same for their customers.

[Dantheman]

Make sure to add the harmalas...Changes the DMT game

Irrelevant to smoked DMT, which is almost assuredly what this gal was doing. It's highly unlikely she was taking DMT orally on their lunch break and then going back to work.

[::: :::]

tgr scientists, is this reasonable?

https://www.fastcompany.com/90521484...just-3-minutes

[PB]

The "masks murder people" claim seems to be gaining traction, even in my elitist University town.
Of course, it does explain why OR Docs and staff have an average life span of only 22 years.

[Jax]

Picked up a 3-pack of reusable 2-layer cloth masks at the Eagle Costco for $10. One red, one blue, one black. They've got an imbedded wire across the nose, which is slightly darted, extra material around the chin for a snug fit, and adjustable loops for the ears so you can let it hang when not using. It's marketed as "great for walking your dog" but I sure as shit can't breath all that well with them so I think they'll work just fine. They also had crates of the blue disposable masks, $20 a box. Still no clorox wipes, but plenty of tp, meats and organic chicken, wild salmon and snacks. I'm stocking up again, just in case...

Much better compliance wrt masks this time around as opposed to 2 months ago, though still saw lots of mouth breathers with the masks hanging below their mouth and nose, with their kids doing the same thing. These folks didn't seem like orange-man worshippers, more equivalent to tourons at the resort that we're all guilty of poking fun at; just oblivious as fuck, breeding and paying the man as they bumble through life.

[old goat]

tgr scientists, is this reasonable?

https://www.fastcompany.com/90521484...just-3-minutes

They say that there was no change in fit or function after 20 treatments. How did they test for that, or did they? My understanding is that after liquid exposure--steam would seem to count--the filtering function of the mask degrades after a couple of cycles. I can't comment on daily use, but for those of us who use an N95--I have a very old used one that probably isn't as protective as I would hope--once or twice a week to go to the grocery store just put in in a plastic bag in your car and by the next use the virus on it will be inactivated, or so I'm told.

I have to laugh at mask ads who emphasize the breathability. You want the least breathable mask you can tolerate. OTOH a mask with unwoven polypropylene as a layer means you aren't breathing through the mask but around it, which means you might as well not be wearing it.

I wish there was some specs, testing, and certification of the masks everyone and their brother is selling but I guess that would be too much to hope for. Just like the availability of surgical masks for everyone, let alone N95s, is out of the question. That's something only first world countries have. But we have better bombers.

[seano732]

Made a quick run to Lowe's last night, and as i was walking in, pleasantly surprised at the mask compliance of people walking in as well, an entire family walked out, parents (obese) and FIVE kids.....None wearing masks......... I just don't get it.

[HappyCamper]

and for the same $20 you can get 5 from Hyperlite Mountain Gear. Nice and soft. Choice of white or black. Nowhere close to N95 but basically they are to protect others.

Thanks! Ordered a set.

[jono]

I have to laugh at mask ads who emphasize the breathability. You want the least breathable mask you can tolerate.

Least breathable media, yes, but you want as much of it as possible. Forcing air through a few small openings at higher speeds reduces filter efficiency, so raising surface area helps with both filter efficiency and breathability. Obviously most of those masks aren't getting their breathability from more surface area, but they should be.

[BC.]

I had been getting some from Blackstrap...but are expensive.

https://bsbrand.com/

[glademaster]

and for the same $20 you can get 5 from Hyperlite Mountain Gear. Nice and soft. Choice of white or black. Nowhere close to N95 but basically they are to protect others.

I have masks like that literally coming out of my ears for free at work. We have boxes of them in the office. I want something that offers me some protection from all of the entitled assholes who wear them like neckerchiefs.

Also, the OR ones are cheaper with a Pro Account.

[Yonder_River]

98% mask compliance at Wallingford QFC and Aurora Home Depot yesterday. It was nice to see. Our hood even has a fair amount of outdoor maskers with no one near them which is a bit strange but I'm not going to complain.

[Ted Striker]

^^^ my guess on that is they don't want to put their (presumed dirty) hands on the mask more than necessary.

[The SnowShow]

CO’s governor just shut down bars for two weeks. Preemptive reaction?