[Richard]

I found the official advice an easy read and for the most part very sensible. I was also mindful how easily it would transition into domestic advice in the undesirable event of such a change being required. For the most part I guess that we will now settle back into wait and see mode with only those at the sharp end of events being directly affected.

The supply of electronics might become affected if the problems persist for any period of time. However, that it hardly cause for wailing and lamentations in the streets. Most people will be able to hang onto their items for a little longer and for those whose device suffers a terminal failure I suspect replacements will still exist.

For the moment I see some inmates of our prisons as being a greater threat to life and limb with little prospect that they will ever be defanged.

[Richard]

Bob, I am very sorry to hear of your ills and can only trust that you will get urgent relief and that “nothing too serious” and that this will do the trick is the answer to the problem.

Thank you for that link, it was an interesting read. It is a shame that it takes a bypass to track down valuable history. Some might think it should not be disturbed, but at least there are trained people to carry out the work of excavation and recording these days and had it not been found things could continue in profound ignorance for much longer. I was reading a day or so ago how a detectorist had carried out painstaking and costly investigation of a coin he had found from what had been part of the dark ages of our history, but the Lincolnshire find was far more in depth and long spanning business. I guess those walls that had been uncovered were from not as far back as the earliest material, I suspect no earlier than Roman Times, but it shows how long the history can reach back. All previously unknown to almost everyone, now not only is far more known, we can also understand far more of the details of how and why things happened.

[Richard]

Bob, News reports this morning state that the two a post graduate and a relative arrived in York on Wednesday and were seen by the hazmat suit club members and admitted to hospital that evening. They were stated to have not been back to the University or anywhere else. Graduating is usually some time after the students have ceased their time in the University. Perhaps this was a pity for them, had they not returned home only to return later, they would have missed the problem. Sadly, life is full of such upsets.

[Richard]

I originally voted to join the EEC, but I was never expecting what then happened, a right unholy mess, which ever side of the fence you sit on. No, I do not want another reminder of how things ended up.

[Richard]

I broadly agree on the subject of morning food with crushed oats, oat bran, wheat bran and usually sultanas or raisins. I do not fancy currents too much, they tend to be hard and not soften up unless soaked for a very long time. Dried fruit appears to have shrunk over the years.

We no longer stomach lamb, the Middle East cured any idea of eating lamb, it was just too fatty tasting and now it is better to leave it to others.

Bob, I was sorry to read about your enforced move, to an easier location. You did appear to be well fitted and sorted, it will be something of a wrench to go, I feel for you. Life does become more challenging as time passes, we have someone come in to assist with the garden now. It still feels too much from time to time, but I sit down and wait till the feeling wears off or darkness falls.

Last weekend I had to change a kitchen tap, the old one had been dripping unless cranked off increasingly hard and my wife’s hands were not up to the task any more. Off I set, but the 28-year-old one did not want to give up without a fight, that took a good forty minutes with ever more tools and some brute force being involved. I just snapped off the copper pipes until a pipe wrench could gain access and loosen the knurled hold down part. No proper nuts inviting a spanner to turn them. At least the new fitting went in as it should. My being stuck into a sink cupboard trying to connect things up was just not fun. The new one takes only a quarter turn for either hot or cold water, bliss for all  and it shuts off without a battle.

[Richard]

I am sure that armchair expertise does trump the medical advice but the medical facts that I saw reported were just a little different.

The medical advice was that provided there was no close contact, defined as within 2 meters for 15 minutes there was close to zero chance of transmission.

The drivers were volunteers who had been briefed as to their role, which was not to interact with or have any contact with the passengers but to drive the coaches.

Several seats were blocked to maintain separation. Passengers were screened before travelling.

Staff in hazmat suits and boots were there to maintain close and minute by minute contact with the passengers checking for any signs of illness. The coaches will be withdrawn from service after the journey and ‘deep cleaned’ before being left out of service for at least ten days. A nice little earner at a slack time of for travel. The drivers having been fully briefed have been given paid leave not to work and advised on the problems to watch out for.

The accommodation at the centre of the scare is not a hotel. It has been assessed as having dedicated entrances for the different units with no mingling of the residents. Access to and from the accommodation along with the accommodation has been sealed and prepared for cleaning. (We looked at it last night but wanted car parking. The brochure indicated each unit had its entrance.)

Medical advice says there is a short period during which contact surfaces retain viable virus matter, the period is quite short.

Not a doom and gloom situation, but you can always take the ‘skilled’ advice from antisocial networking sites. Their advice is that drinking bleach will cure all risks. This could be true in a sense as it is likely to be a fatal activity, thus curing all ailments, including life itself.

 

[Richard]

As the old Fleet Street saying went, this one still has legs, even if some participants are flogging dead horses. As for Keir Starmer, as someone tied to the coat tails of reactionary forces like momentum is never going to be middle of the road.

[Richard]

We have been trying to confirm a hotel booking at a York Hotel for next month. It is easier to turn lead into gold. Perhaps I now know why they are struggling. I will not name the hotel for obvious reasons.

On a related note, our surgery has sent out ‘do not visit us we will call you’ messages. Stating that if you are unwell after recent travel, especially to China, phone, or email contact only please.

[Richard]

I see that the evacuation flight is now back on again, leaving at 21:00 hours tonight and that details of the temporary billeting arrangements for an ‘extended holiday’ have now been confirmed. No doubt the ‘holiday’ will be greeted with misgivings by those affected.

I agree that quarantining whole towns or cities here would be next to impossible, though selective closures and possible quarantine for those directly affected have proved possible in some past cases.

Public transport does sound like a brilliant thing to avoid if/when the virus does land here, but how practical a boycott would prove is another question. Another few weeks or months not using it would not trouble me at the moment and quite possibly for the rest of my life either. However, this is not because of infection control, it is simply less use to me than a bicycle is to a shoal of fish. It is slow, it leaves from points not too close to me and goes nowhere near any destination I might need. For others avoidance would not be so easy to achieve.

I understand the concerns about the death rates/ratios, but at this early stage it is hard to gain accurate an understanding of infection levels and even of death rates. There are deaths every day, many of are down to multiple causes so it can be hard to pin one thing down as the main problem and it can be subjectively recorded. Perhaps the weekly death run-rate is as much as the short-term statistics will achieve. Increases or hopefully decreases will be a key factor, provided that the reporting mechanisms are not altered in any way.

[Richard]

Several points come out of today’s news. The virus is now being talked about as being bat ‘flu and suggestions abound that its genetics point to a single source origin. I cannot see the attraction of eating bats under any circumstances. We have them roost on one of our walls for a week at a time in the fly catching season and one was found dead one morning, it weighed almost nothing and was a most unappetising sight. I buried it where the dogs would not get to it and made sure even back then to avoid touching the remains, probably based on previous bad press.

While the repatriation arrangement for nationals stuck in China are almost complete, at least from the UK end, it appears that relations with China are still not good enough, even after giving some Huawei ground to allow the evacuation plan to land in China so urgent negations are ‘still in progress’. I wonder what the hold up is.

[Richard]

Ed P wrote:

For once I would not be quick to seize on a conspiracy theory as the Wuhan Chinese appear contrite that they had not appreciated the scale of the problem more quickly. [edit] the Reuters piece identifying the difficulties the Mayor had in coming clean do not surprise me. It is typical of any authoritarian Government, and we have similar though hopefully lesser problems with our own!

In too many places sh1t flows down only gold travels up. In a case like this the bad news of the outbreak would make the worst possible item to go upwards unless it was absolutely established that there was no other way. That we now have the emerging problem is clear. The problem is political and structural, those in the lower order can never win.

[Richard]

I found the Reuters piece long on supposition and guesses but short of substance. Is it desirable to take sick people around to bug exchanges, (also known as hospitals)? There is no explicit treatment for those who have this illness and for the majority, bed rest, fluids and paracetamol are the treatment of choice. Arguments about which sort of bushmeat caused the problem do not assist. Outbreaks like this, are the clearest argument in favour of the severest possible clamp down. From the comments above, totally crap hygiene and rotten animal husbandry is at the root of this and previous outbreaks Those most at risk are said to comprise, the elderly, the sick and the very young.

I am concerned at the idea that those who might be recovered from China would be expected to self quarantine here, at home, I would rather they were brought to one central place for a fortnight to three weeks. An idle holiday camp or even MOD site would be a preferable option in my mind.

Bob, there were plague outbreaks in Suffolk between 1906 and 1918. They were localised, they killed, but did not spread. The theory is that earlier plagues were assisted by the poor health high density living with the prevalence of poor housing and smoke damage from indoor fires. Rats, fleas, poor hygiene and all played a part to bring down populations, but, containment did help save some areas in the Middle Ages.

[Richard]

He had a long and varied innings and from what I understand was match fit and working until almost the end. I would like to say he will be missed and I hope that is the truth, but I also wonder how many will really miss his contribution now that he has passed into the history books.

[Richard]

It is here now at £99 this link refers sorry about the long link; https://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-CPU-RYZEN-1600-AM4/dp/B07XTQZJ28/ref=asc_df_B07XTQZJ28/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=399545281845&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9571919615523485672&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007050&hvtargid=pla-836627373565&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=85288345136&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=399545281845&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9571919615523485672&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007050&hvtargid=pla-836627373565<!–more–>

[Richard]

VFM, I doubt that containment will be the sole factor that could target success, but if carried out with rather draconian drive it could slow down the propagation. However, like so many problems that are hydra headed, it needs a multiple prong action plan. Maybe drugs, maybe vaccinations – with no exceptions on feeble grounds, maybe improved hygiene and so on.

[Richard]

Bob, thank you, that read like a slightly better round up of the likely sources of information. It still does not answer how people become ‘infectious agents’ before they are symptomatic. I speculate that perhaps their initial source of the infection can remain viable on or about their person thus allowing it to spread. It is also possible that the so-called source 1 candidate might have been infected before day 1 thus allowing them to incubate and start distribution before they are symptomatic days later. They could just be slower to become ill, shades of Typhoid Mary come to mind. She never developed symptoms though she was a carrier and distributor for years.

Too many unanswered questions, of which the greatest is, will its spread be stopped or slowed?

[Richard]

Does anyone really know the transmission methods for this infection? While the Chinese do have many excellent minds and hard workers, the flow of doubts coming from them at the moment suggest that the brighter minds are not yet focused on the issue. If it not being spread during the active phase, e.g. coughing and sneezing, this suggests it uses some other method. Contact, water or what? The current feed back is akin to saying we do not know anything. Is it simply exhaled at all stages? Can it be /is it water born? Is it just passed by careless hygiene?

The absence of a real methodology or if there are multiple ways to pass it a route map of avoidance steps, is more likely to create panic than solve anything.

Is that the idea?

What weak features does the virus show? Do light, chlorine, heat, moisture, dryness, soap and water, etc. affect its potency. What I hear is hand wringing – oh and some rather better speed at building hospitals than we can muster!

[Richard]

I have only really seen it in action once and that was with a TV my SIL had a few years ago. I did not find it a pleasant experience having sounds that should be in front of me coming from behind. Her husband watches a lot of football and I think the idea was to recreate the in-stadium feel. It gave me a headache and a desire to get away. Though having said that, I have to confess my PC set up, an old sound system, inherited through several replacement systems. It has rear speakers, but they are small and the noise from them is modest. As I do not use the set up for music it has been less of an issue and possibly makes radio voices a little easier for my slightly failing ears to appreciate. I noticed that my SIL has ditched her set-up

[Richard]

That is one of the ones that I was quizzed about 24 years ago. We do have deer in the area but many of the paths are so overgrown that they are largely impassible. No one should be unaware of the risks though as far as I am aware covering your legs and not running any unprotected skin through long grass is essential. However, that is not the only hazard one should watch out for these days.

Returning to the original subject the extent of the Chinese failures to deal with the issue in a more organised, timely and honest way is now emerging. It has been bubbling away for some time, but they had not wanted to come clean. The World Health Organisation are still fence sitting, over when to call into effect their response to the problem. In China, the rate of cases is said to be expanding rapidly, though there is still some doubt about the exact risk it poses. The accelerating  case load is before the effects of the Chinese New Year hit. Apparently, those most affected have been those with pre-existing health issues, but this is not an exact guide to its future progress or impact.

[Richard]

But, do the modern devices feel that much faster?

I cut my digital teeth reprogramming a Xilog80 powered 6~32 position training simulator. The device probably used an NEC version of the chip running at a breathtaking 0.58 MIPS. The programs had been written in assembler, but we did not have access to a proper terminal on which to write in assembler. We had to use a 6 byte window and poke HEX data through that. The program was written or rewritten out long hand, transcribing it into HEX ready for entry. I learned to save often and then run any tests. That was in about 1979.

After that, the PC I then used was an 8 MHz 8088 powered item. I have no idea of its operations per second, at the time it just did all the magic that I needed, mainly spreadsheets. Though, I claim to be one of the few able to use a terrible word processor of the time for data processing. I think it was called Multimate and modelled on the Wang word processor. Work did not want any nasty cobbled together hand written programs, though that was soon changed, thank goodness.

I have no data on the MIPS of my present CPU, Google let me down, but I doubt that I seriously exercise its capabilities these days.

 

[Author]

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