Getting used to new habits for Coronavirus....

[Miss B]

I also usually have a box around for when I'm cleaning, especially appliances, so it was just a matter of getting a couple more boxes during the pandemic, to make sure I don't run out.

 

[RAMWolff]

The HILLARIOUS thing about this pandemic was the hording of toilet paper and other paper goods. I got a 20 roll of FAT t paper (like double rolls) and I'm still not through it yet months later so folks freaking out for no good reason! LOL

 

[Miss B]

You're not the only one though I started back in January, before the announcement of the pandemic, because we were scheduled to have major work done on this building's elevators, which means each one would be unavailable for 6 weeks at a time. Luckily they did my side of the building first, so didn't have to deal with the major heat wave we're currently having while I was walking up and down 6 flights of stairs.

 

[RAMWolff]

For myself, I live in a very small 1 bedroom with a closet sized bathroom so even if I were a hoarder there would have been no place to store all of it. I wish I would have hung on to the wrapper, I want to buy this brand again. The fat rolls and they are perforated so they tear nicely!

 

[Miss B]

That's another reason I was hording, as I'm very particular about which brand of TP, and which brand of paper towels I will buy.

I stay away from anything 1ply, as they're not worth their cost. Unfortunately, at times there wasn't much available at the local supermarket and pharmacies, because there weren't regular deliveries, so now when I see the brands I want, I grab a pack, whether I need it or not.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

I tend to use a bit more toilet paper than men :wink:

 

[Satira Capriccio]

One of the annoyances of being a woman ...

 

[Hornet3d]

Tragic as it is, and it really is, there are a few advantages to lockdown, I have found you can get away with a little more and others give you a little more bandwidth. My wife recently purchased me a birthday present from my birthday wish list that I am sure I would not have got away with otherwise.

Anyway, after a lot of fun I am now the proud owner of a Hydraulic Remote Arm. It came as a kit of 220 plus parts and detailed instructions. It is aimed at children over the age of ten a bar I struggle to reach mentally.

I am pleased to say it works on all 6 axes without squirting water anywhere and it was a real p[pleasure to build.

 

[robert952]

Nice looking toy, Hornet. So, how is your working knowledge of things hydraulic? Did you learn anything? Is it legal to have fun while learning?

I feel your pain about building stuff. I worked on a jigsaw puzzle that said 2-4 years. I did it in 6 months! I am so proud of my self.

 

[robert952]

And while I am here... we took a day trip. Packed some sandwiches and drinks. Drove up the road for three hours. Had a 'picnic lunch' outside at our lake property. Talked to a contractor about building a house (observed distancing, wore masks). Drove back home. We did wear masks and gloves for a couple of pit stops. However, it felt good to get out of the house and do something almost normal-like.

We are seeing TP and paper towels on the shelves a bit more plentiful. Not so much cleaning materials, yet. In some respects we are approaching our 'new normal.' At least I hope so.

 

[Hornet3d]

Nice looking toy, Hornet. So, how is your working knowledge of things hydraulic? Did you learn anything? Is it legal to have fun while learning?

I feel your pain about building stuff. I worked on a jigsaw puzzle that said 2-4 years. I did it in 6 months! I am so proud of my self.

Strangely enough I learnt and fair bit, like just how powerful a small cylinder of water can be and also just now easy kits can be it they are arranged properly. Like the plunger for cylinder C1 is g1 and marked as such on the part so it can be identified even when it has been removed from the spar. There is nothing glued, it is all screwed or press fit and when you press boy does it fit.

The rest of the day was not so good, had the electrician out to quote for replacing our old fuse box for a modern consumer unit, not only was the cost the shock. I order to run safety checks before hand we have to unplug everything and remove all the light bulbs, we also need to disconnect the LED light panels, boy is this going to be fun.

 

[Hornet3d]

Getting a lot hotter here and I do not mean just the weather. Cases of the virus have risen from a handful of cases to over a hundred in the last week or so thanks to a few outbreaks at some local warehouses and factories. My particular town is now earmarked as a 'hotspot' by the powers that be so a further lockdown may be on the cards, not that it affects me much as I never changed my habitsd after the first one.

Heat is bad though, three days on around 30 degrees C sometimes not dropping below 20 degrees at night. That may not be a problem for some but it is high for our spot on the planet and it is forecast to run for a few days yet.

 

[McGyver]

Tragic as it is, and it really is, there are a few advantages to lockdown, I have found you can get away with a little more and others give you a little more bandwidth. My wife recently purchased me a birthday present from my birthday wish list that I am sure I would not have got away with otherwise.

Anyway, after a lot of fun I am now the proud owner of a Hydraulic Remote Arm. It came as a kit of 220 plus parts and detailed instructions. It is aimed at children over the age of ten a bar I struggle to reach mentally.

I am pleased to say it works on all 6 axes without squirting water anywhere and it was a real p[pleasure to build.

That is super cool... I’m envious of your birthday present.

 

[Hornet3d]

I find it quite surprising how something like the virus can change your life in both big and small ways, clearly with something this serious there are going to be changes but it is the nature of the changes and discoveries that are surprising. Spending more time indoors gave me time to do those jobs I have been putting off for, well quite frankly, years. So, my attempts to declutter the house went into overdrive and I tried to have a good look at what I was hoarding. First real surprise was the number of computer consoles I own along with a vast library of games, the consoles included two original PlayStations, a PlayStation 2, two Atari XLs and an Atari 520ST. So I decide to test these, throwing out whatever does not work and selling the ones that do, so here is the surprise. All three PlayStations work without issue and all the games load, the two 800XLs work as does the 1050 dual density floppy disk drive. Even more surprising is that around 60% of the floppy disks still load and the games work. All six cartridges that went with the computers all worked as did the touch tablet that came with Atari Artist. The Atari 520ST has a problem with the keyboard in that the return key does not work but other wise it seems fine and all of the games, on the 3.5 inch disks, all load and those that don't need the return key play quite happily. The Atari printer makes all the right noises but the ink pad has disintegrated and the cassette player powers up but one of the drive belts has perished.

All in all I have to say I am impressed that is not a bad tally for items that must be getting on for 20 years old if not more. In these days of the throw away society it was a real eye opener.

 

[Hornet3d]

I wonder if anyone is looking how we are reacting to this virus and where this is taking us. The focus is on the people that have illness that those who have lost loves ones, and that is how it should be. Only now are we beginning to look in more detail of the health of those who who were lucky enough to recover there are signs all is not well.

Hopefully we will have a vaccine at some point and life will change but I wonder just how much life will already have changed. In the current situation many companies have moved there customer services to the chat format. I have just spent 90 minutes in my life in one such process, at one point I was 26 in the queue and when I reached the front and agent logged on and moved me to another queue, this time number 18. After 90 minutes the chat was shut down and all I had was a chat screen asking me for feedback on how well they had done that day.

This all started because I had two quotes from the company to do home improvement work and, as they had failed to contact me I wanted to know how I could book to have the work done. I ended the day telling them that I will never have a member of their company in my house again and cancelling the annual service agreement I have with them.

I realise this little more than an annoyance compared with what is happening now but this experience did make me stop for a moment and try and look past just what is happening today. As with so much in life today the future is not rosy and that from someone who always thought they were an optimist.

 

[Hornet3d]

Result, after a complete lack of interest of a utility company in honoring quotes given for work I am glad to say I have had the work done in the last two days by more responsive companies. I have had a magnetic sludge filter fitted to the central heating boiler yesterday, despite the fact I only contacted them at the end of last week. The technician arrived on time and was masked up all the time he was here, less than an hour and job done. This morning I have had out old fuse box changed out for a new style consumer unit. Technician was not masked up but kept his distance while doing the job which took around three hours. He is a one man concern so there was just him, not the three that the utility company had quoted for. We did not have to unplug everything or remove the light bulbs before hand but all the circuits were tested at the end of the job and we were given a demo of what to do if anything trips and how to do basic fault location.

The reason the utility company gave for not arranging an appointment for the work was due to Covid 19. End result, I have had the work done and saved money, cancelled my central heating service with the utility company and taken a new one out with the company that fitted the filter. My cover for the electrical items with the utility company has also been cancelled as I now know I have an electrician I trust that I can call on. It strikes me that Covid 19's impact is going to be very much wider than it first looked and both lifestyle and work is going to change in way we have not completely recognised yet.

 

[robert952]

It strikes me that Covid 19's impact is going to be very much wider than it first looked and both lifestyle and work is going to change in way we have not completely recognised yet.

I have found that a company may say they are in the business to do 'things.' But some of those things are on the low priority side of their business but they really don't invest in those things. They price themselves out of the market and even accept losses in those side businesses. But, they can honestly say "we are in the business of...."

So, the utility doesn't really want to do electrical contractor work and discouraged you from using them. Oh, sure, they will offer service contracts, but the service will be lousy. My gut says that's what is going on here, and you took the correct steps.

The part they are missing is that service industry is THE growth industry right now. (Hence the company my brother works for is going strong - more on this below.) The company I retired from is a $500+ billion global company. When other business within the company started a decline, they invested into the service side in a competitive manner. That part of the business took off and outperformed many of the 'core businesses.' They invested more into infrastructure and the service side continues to grow.

To your last statement: the CoVid effects will be wide reaching. I am in the process of selecting a floor plan for a home to be built; even picked out the contractor we want to use. Knowing this, my brother keeps me informed on what's going on in his business. He works in areas related to building construction and maintenance; residential/apartments/condos mainly but some commercial. They are a service industry business. They do termite protection, insect control, building maintenance, building inspections, and a couple other related items. His business is booming as people protect their current investments and contractors try to meet the housing shortages in his area - particularly condos and apartments. (My market is similar to where he lives.)

In a recent meeting, contractors pointed out that lumber and masonry costs have gone up 20% due to shortages. Those companies had to let workers go because they closed or cut back output. Therefore, drop in supply while there's an increase in demand. One contractor lamented that he recently lost 12 contracts because his clients couldn't afford the increases.

Things continue to look bleak for these contractors. However, all of them believe once we have a vaccine; gain new attitudes to how we interact with each other (masks will likely be around for a long time); and other businesses get back to a 'new normal', costs will drop and demand will go up. But, prices that go up quickly drop slowly. They guess over a year until this drop starts to happen.

And with articles like one from Forbes pointing out where I live is among the top retirement spots, prices will likely stay up in local regions.

For me, that means my current home value increases without me doing any improvements (up around 20-25% over last year depending on which real estate source I use). But my replacement home will also cost more. With luck it will balance out in the end.

I fear a 'housing crash' as banks start calling in overdue loans because people are out of work. A Catch-22...banks close on the mortgages but can't sell properties they collect because none are approving home loans.

Bottom line, things will get back to a new normal. It's just a matter of when the new normal happens and is accepted, how long it takes to gain ground, and what the costs will be.

 

[Hornet3d]

I have found that a company may say they are in the business to do 'things.' But some of those things are on the low priority side of their business but they really don't invest in those things. They price themselves out of the market and even accept losses in those side businesses. But, they can honestly say "we are in the business of...."

So, the utility doesn't really want to do electrical contractor work and discouraged you from using them. Oh, sure, they will offer service contracts, but the service will be lousy. My gut says that's what is going on here, and you took the correct steps.

The part they are missing is that service industry is THE growth industry right now. (Hence the company my brother works for is going strong - more on this below.) The company I retired from is a $500+ billion global company. When other business within the company started a decline, they invested into the service side in a competitive manner. That part of the business took off and outperformed many of the 'core businesses.' They invested more into infrastructure and the service side continues to grow.

To your last statement: the CoVid effects will be wide reaching. I am in the process of selecting a floor plan for a home to be built; even picked out the contractor we want to use. Knowing this, my brother keeps me informed on what's going on in his business. He works in areas related to building construction and maintenance; residential/apartments/condos mainly but some commercial. They are a service industry business. They do termite protection, insect control, building maintenance, building inspections, and a couple other related items. His business is booming as people protect their current investments and contractors try to meet the housing shortages in his area - particularly condos and apartments. (My market is similar to where he lives.)

In a recent meeting, contractors pointed out that lumber and masonry costs have gone up 20% due to shortages. Those companies had to let workers go because they closed or cut back output. Therefore, drop in supply while there's an increase in demand. One contractor lamented that he recently lost 12 contracts because his clients couldn't afford the increases.

Things continue to look bleak for these contractors. However, all of them believe once we have a vaccine; gain new attitudes to how we interact with each other (masks will likely be around for a long time); and other businesses get back to a 'new normal', costs will drop and demand will go up. But, prices that go up quickly drop slowly. They guess over a year until this drop starts to happen.

And with articles like one from Forbes pointing out where I live is among the top retirement spots, prices will likely stay up in local regions.

For me, that means my current home value increases without me doing any improvements (up around 20-25% over last year depending on which real estate source I use). But my replacement home will also cost more. With luck it will balance out in the end.

I fear a 'housing crash' as banks start calling in overdue loans because people are out of work. A Catch-22...banks close on the mortgages but can't sell properties they collect because none are approving home loans.

Bottom line, things will get back to a new normal. It's just a matter of when the new normal happens and is accepted, how long it takes to gain ground, and what the costs will be.

I agree with all that and I am very wary about the forecast for a vaccines that are 'just around the corner' particularly when/if a vaccine is available you then have the task of vaccinating millions of people. Even if that did happen overnight there is no way we are going back to what was normal any time soon, it is going to be years before we can say with any validity just what has become normal.

 

[Miss B]

Well said Hornet.

 

[Steve.M]

My health took a nose-dive (again), so not done much of anything for a while. I am now recovering (well, as much as I can recover). Not sure if I am allowed out at the moment due to more local lock-downs(UK). So it looks like my outdoor activities will be virtual lol

Hope everyone doing fine, I need to catch up on forum posts. I will be back!