I had been hearing a lot about empty shelves in Austin grocery stores today, so I was dreading my trip to my usual store. I had bought extra groceries a month ago, but was starting to run a little low. But my usual store (Randall's) was in good shape except for household products. Stockers were extremely busy restocking canned goods and rice/pasta, so there was plenty when I was there around 5 p.m.. The checkout lines were extremely long but everyone was friendly and considerate to one another (unlike the way people usually are at the store).

This evening I went to our local gourmet market Bristol Farms, and there were no panic shoppers.

I guess nobody panic-buys pricey cheese.
https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a5&oe=5E90450D
Photo by me

I went to Bristol Farms to get kefir. Mmm, mmm!
https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net...94&oe=5E90BCD1
Photo by me

Cause it makes so much sense to congrate kids with adult minders and NOT teach them anything.

Well, at least it means the teachers will survive (if not the babysitters at the library or the librarians).

My Safeway was out of Lifeways strawberry kfir (basically, my daily breakfast staple) the other day.

I went to Randall's (Mopac/Wm.Cannon) mid afternoon. I found the few items I wanted, but shelves were rather picked over. I was also at Central Market where I improvised my way through the place. There was plenty of food, but the shoppers were semi frantic and rude as hell. I pity the check out crew. The parking lot at the regular HEB (Brodie/William Cannon) was overflowing with cars waiting in all aisles for parking. I thought I might prefer to starve first. It is amazing how a couple of local covid-19 cases can inspire a heretofore indifferent population into panic shopping mode. A younger person texted me today offering to do grocery shopping for me. I am 73 and vulnerable (I guess), but I am not quite ready to go into complete lockdown. Once there is confirmed local transmission of virus I will likely reconsider.

Just read that one of the persons who tested positive locally is the wife of University of Texas President Gregory Fenves. Another member of his household is presumptive positive. This brings things a bit closer to the bustling 50,000 student campus which is scheduled for spring break starting Monday and has been extended through the end of March.

My wife just got back from a planned "girls dinner" at our favorite Mexican place in the neighborhood.

She said that other than their six person table, there were only 3 other tables seated.

At 8:00pm on a Friday night??????


Fuck.


So many small businesses are gonna close.

Asian restaurants are really suffering too. Chinatown for example in NYC has seen in the range of an 80% decline.

This is probally replicated across various metros.

I wish we had HEB. I have to order these from them online because they are one of the few stores in America that sells them:

https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-aubx...on&imbypass=on
https://www.pastacheese.com/sacla-it...lives-10-05oz/

Hope they aren't out of those. It would be time to contemplate ending all the misery. Come to think of it, if the virus spreads to Southern Italy and there's nobody to harvest the tomato fields . . . .

This whole thing has just reminded me how dumb people are in the US at least.

I went to Costco to pick up a prescription and there was probably 15 people line for each gas pump- I JUST got gas 15 minutes earlier at a BP with zero lines.

Then I walk in the store. No kidding, the lines backed up from one end to the other. Everyone had water and paper towels(they ran out of tp). LUCKILY no one was in line for the pharmacy. However, there was a huge display of Preparation H wipes, fully stocked. The poop-hoarders totally missed that opportunity.

Anyways, they were out of my prescription(happens a lot, not related to Corona), so I went to a grocery store about 2 miles away. Peace. Quiet. One employee I started talking to said they have plenty of toilet paper and that its been relatively calm all morning.


So, within two miles you have people freaking out standing in line for 1-2 hours for paper towels and water bottles while they could just go down the street and wait in short lines and get something that won't hurt their asses.



No, not everyone needs to be registered to vote.

Lots of bare shelves and cops to maintain order in my city's grocery stores yesterday.

Exact same thing in Montreal Costcos. My wife noticed all of that two days ago. No more toilet paper, the poultry and meat sections were empty and the lineups for the cash registers all the way to the clothing section. The gas station was nuts too. I went to a supermarket yesterday and some sections like the asswipe emporium were a clean sweeped.

Slike being in a movie for chrissakes.

All because of completely irrational panic fed by media.

It varies though.

Went out for dinner last night and the crowd was 80-90% of a typical Friday night.

Though one of my kids works in another restaurant with an older clientele and customers were rare.

i’ve stopped drinking (immune system) and have a bug out box that can be taken to the country or at home with a two week food supply, 3M face masks and a respirator with particulate light weight pancake-type cartridges/tyvek/nitriles. i had a case of MREs that i used up and threw out in british clbia last year since i didnt think id use them.

basically just waiting for the wave and limiting exposure to the boomers i actually like (since im out and about still).

americans arent going to let a good panic go to waste without going apeshit its what we do best

*starts stringing perimeter wire*

For reals. I think people need to manage their FEARS better.

From the Babylon Bee:

Nation's Nerds Wake Up In Utopia Where Everyone Stays Inside, Sports Are Canceled, Social Interaction Forbidden

March 12th, 2020

https://babylonbee.com/img/articles/article-5749-1.jpg

U.S.—The nation's nerds woke up in a utopia this morning, one where everyone stays inside, sporting events are being canceled, and all social interaction is forbidden.

All types of nerds, from social introverts to hardcore PC gamers, welcomed the dawn of this new era, privately from their own homes.

"I have been waiting my whole life for this moment," said Ned Pendleton, 32 -- via text message, of course -- as he fired up League of Legends on his beefy gaming PC. "They told me to take up a sport and that the kids playing basketball and stuff were gonna be way more successful than us nerds who played Counter-Strike at LAN parties every weekend."

"They all laughed at me. Well, who's laughing now?"

To prepare for the onslaught of the deadly disease, nerds are changing absolutely nothing and are expected to rise up to rule the post-Coronavirus society, as they are the ones best adjusted to being sheltered in a basement, garage, or room for many days at a time marathoning Halo, Half-Life, The Legend of Zelda, Red Dead Redemption, or Horizon Zero Dawn. They're also ready for any post-apocalyptic wasteland, as they've played many, many hours of Fallout and are adept at killing bloatflies and collecting bottlecaps.

Of course, many nerds are running out of hygienic products, but they say that's "not an issue."

Source: https://babylonbee.com/news/nations-...9jGJNmejku5JIE

im a hazardous materials manager and manage a superfund site so my entire career is managing small disasters so im enjoying this on some fucked up level.

https://media3.giphy.com/media/Xu9jvFb5qv0fm/giphy.gif

To each their own. I don’t like sweets. More of a cheese course guy.

So. Fucking. Stupid.