Topic: Corona Virus Panic/Discussion Thread

@LieutenantFatman yeah the 80’s was so cringe (but in a cool nostalgia-ish kinda way) I watched all those toons too... He-man was my fave before Mask. I also loved ThunderCats too... would go ****ing nuts if some massive movie company produced a ThunderCats series of movies.

@colonelkilgore After the CGI in Cats, I’m not sure I really want to see how they would butcher Thundercats 😂😂

@nessisonett good point actually... as I grew up and watched a lot of Eastenders in my teens, I always saw Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) as the perfect Panthro. Just imagining him with the ‘cats’ style cgi is giving me ‘kittens’ 🤣😂🤣😂

@colonelkilgore I will never be able to scrub the image of furry Ross Kemp out of my brain 🥲

@nessisonett then my work here is done 😹

@colonelkilgore I bought The Thundercats box set a few years back for nostalgic reasons. Never made it to the end of the first series before gifting it to my nephew. Good memories though!

@MightyDemon82 yeah similar to me, I picked up the box set up around a decade ago and really struggled with it as an adult... it was so my jam as a kid though. I don’t know why but out of all the stuff I was into as a youngster seeing a live action Thundercats would be the ultimate (apart from the MCU which has obviously already happened).

@colonelkilgore Same, I loved Thundercats and He-Man but to do both justice the writing would have to be good and that 80's campiness can stay in the 80's where it belongs.

@LieutenantFatman
I remember that show! I even had a few of the toys. Catchy theme too! This virus has ruined masks. They used to be cool. You could hide your identity while looking mysterious or scary or bad ass. Now they're just some weird obsession. You can't tell if someone is a Ninja assassin or a doctor.

Popping in to say that in my 4 days without power I stupidly did not think to travel to Cancun.

As if we needed something else on top of covid.

Anyway hope everyone stateside impacted by bad weather is doing okay, whether they can log in or not. Positive vibes and all that. At least that's all I've got to give.

@zupertramp 4 days without power? We’re only hearing bits and pieces about how bad it is this side of the Atlantic but that’s seriously messed up! Hope you stay safe, can’t be easy.

@zupertramp Bro, so sorry man. Hope you and yours are safe. Electricity is definitely one of those things you don’t realize how critical it is until it’s gone. Sucks.

But yeah — an elected leader fleeing the country in the middle of a crisis... not a good look. The ire of his constituents is about to reign down.

Proof that fossil fuels and other sources of energy will always be needed. Relying on one source is dangerous, when it was time for consumers to switch electric companies couldn't meet demands and here we are. Praying for the best in Texas.

@Jimmy_VNC82 Not really true. There are wind turbines on Greenland and Antarctica, and they work perfectly fine. It's just depends on whether you prepare them for the cold weather. Wind and solar energy don't even make up a majority of the energy supply in Texas. And despite all of that, gas and coal energy have also failed to meet demand, by double the amount of wind energy. So there's not one energy source to blame here.

In fact, it reality is that they were unprepared. It were the energy providers that cut off the electricity to avoid monetary losses, and the lack of preparation for cold weather because it wasn't mandatory as the power suppliers aren't state owned. Meanwhile Cruz hopped on a plane to Mexico, and another Texas mayor told its citizens that only the strongest will survive, and people shouldn't knock on his door for help.

Fossil fuels and gas aren't renewable, so they can't be used indefinitely. And ironically, it's the rising carbon-dioxide levels and increasing global temperature that cause these strong fluctuations in the polar vortex that allow the cold to travel this far down south. Extreme weather like this is only going be become more frequent if carbon emissions keep going at this rate.

Richest country in the world, with the infrastructural integrity, political stability, and economic stratification of a third world country. Weee~

@RogerRoger We've been effectively trapped in our house since Monday because of the unprecedentedly icy weather, which makes the roads undriveable.

We've had to get a bit creative with our dietary choices because of this, but, thankfully, our power has remained on. Can't say the same for a lot of other people in my state.

@zupertramp Sorry to hear about your ordeal, dude. I feel really bad for everyone in Texas right now who isn't one very particular Ted Cruz. Stay safe!

@Octane I'm inclined to agree with your assessment, from what I know about the situation. In addition to any wind turbine woes the natural gas lines were freezing over, making generators/turbines that use this source quite unworkable.

Add to this that the homes in Texas just aren't built for winter either, leaving winterization a costly expense the average homeowner doesn't elect to take on. So when things do hit the fan, the entire state is cranking up the thermostat and dripping faucets to keep pipes from bursting (which has now lead to low water supply and unsafe drinking water in many areas).

I'm certainly not on here to blame or absolve any one source of energy. It's clear we weren't/aren't prepared. But I already knew our infrastructure is as vulnerable as our leaders are apathetic so idk, no surprise there really.

@Ralizah yeah food uncertainty is one of the more anxiety-inducing aspects of emergencies like this, at least for me. I hope you're able to get restocked soon. In the meantime keep it up with the creativity. We're certainly doing the same.

@RogerRoger @Th3solution @nessisonett
Thanks for the words of concern and/or encouragement. At the time of posting last night the power was back on which was really like instant relief. These modern, all electric budget homes just were not meant to be lived in without power.

I guess this all relates to covid in that it has certainly exacerbated the problem, I'm sure. Even I, cautious as I've been the entire pandemic, had to brave crowded stores with no electricity for what became the new essentials. From what I gather this has also greatly hindered our state's vaccination efforts for fairly obvious reasons. Goodness, I just hope most hospitals were able to make it through relatively unscathed.

Anyway, there's always more to say but honestly I'm just happy to not be in survival mode. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Cheers everyone.

@octane It's more the style of turbines I was speaking of. I should've been more clear..the wind turbine propellers that are of similar style to airplanes is the problem. They can turn when its not enough wind to produce sustainable amount causing systems to falsely start when they shouldnt. Causes system failure/burnout over time. Blade-less turbines are the future there is my understanding from some recent reading on it. But more than 1 option I believe is needed until other options are improved.

@Jimmy_VNC82 not quite sure this is true. Both the nacelle and the blades themselves can be turned to not catch wind. And I believe they also have a braking system.

Also there was pretty much no reason, leading up to our current predicament, every turbine in the state shouldn't have been actively trying to harness the wind. Demand was way up which was much of the problem.

That said I'm all for innovation and there are all kinds of crazy cool green energy ideas out there that I support trying to implement.

@RogerRoger Don't forget the massive riots, protests, and police crackdowns all over the U.S. last year. And our culture war has been simmering pretty hot as of late. I yearn to live in less interesting times.

Oh, and we have a bookstore. I don't know how much that helps anything. I guess if this deep freeze goes full The Day After Tomorrow, we could always burn books for warmth, but that seems like an especially dire scenario. Although we have a box of emergency provisions if things get particularly dire (which I'm not expecting to happen).

I just feel lucky, because we've managed to avoid the worst emergencies that've happened around us this year, both manmade and natural. One benefit of living in the sticks.

@zupertramp I imagine being without power in this cold was brutal. Are you still having to boil your water, or can you take a shower in peace?

@RogerRoger Isn’t that the truth! Each major catastrophic event of the last year seems to be going from bad to worse, piling on to an already burning and crumbling platform that we’re barely standing on. (How do you like that Uncharted visual reference 😜)
I’m starting to wonder what could possibly go wrong next? I almost am afraid to ask.