Idle Chatter -- March 18, 2020

One of the real cool things in life: while we go about our usual business, thousands of others are doing the same, for example the US logistics chain all the way from farm/manufacturer to store shelves.

Today, stopping by Tom Thumb on the way home to pick up a cinnamon roll for breakfast, I noticed all the folks stocking the shelves. I've never seen so many. I made that comment to one of the stockers: she said, yes, we are working as fast as we can.

I didn't anything except my cinnamon roll, but I went up several aisles checking out the shelves. A fair number of folks were in the store but only one individual had picked up toilet paper, and there were actually enough packages of toilet paper on the shelves to meet demand today. I did not pick up any toilet paper. And no paper towels.

I got my cinnamon roll -- enough for four breakfasts for $1.59. I did not need any coffee. The Keurig supply at home is well ... supplied. Thank you, May (my spousal unit).

Break, break.

While taking Sophia to Tutor Time this morning, I kept up my usual banter with Sophia. We were commenting on the weather -- we have had five days of rain and more is predicted. Sophia said we needed the rain to keep the trees green; she said some of the trees were already "behind," and we needed the rain.

I agreed. We talked a bit, and then I said, "Have you ever heard that April showers bring May ...."

She abruptly interrupted me: "Yeah, yeah, you already told me that before."

I asked, "Do I talk too much?"

Sophia, trying to be tactful: "No, you don't talk too much. But you say the same things you've said before. I heard this when I was four, and when I was three, and when I was one and [... a pause] when I was two."

Then, Sophia added, "You're like a 'robot-talking-machine."

So, there you have it.

Now back to the subject: folks keep on truckin' despite coronavirus.

There's a lot of research going on. And with the internet, information is spread more quickly than the coronavirus.

I was intrigued by this. This will need to be confirmed by other sources, but if accurate, very, very interesting.

A single traveler from China infected 39 people in Washington state with China’s coronavirus, according to virus expert Trevor Bedford.

“Thanks to sequencing by @UWVirology @CDCgov and @seattleflustudy we have genomes for 39 viruses sampled from WA,” he tweeted Tuesday. “Importantly 35 of these 39 viruses (90%) fall into a single genetic cluster indicating a single ~ January introduction from China and subsequent local spread.”

Bedford runs a research laboratory Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

From the article (https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/03/17/wuhan-report-one-traveller-from-china-infected-39-people-in-washington-state/):