A Parlour for a Plague

Kids are home right? Fresh loaves are smaller. They can go through one or two (or more) a day.

My husbands mother used to bake a ten loaves 4 times a week to keep up with 11 kids and their friends.
Well honestly, there were never more than 5 or 6 kids living at home at one time, but he said friends always happened to drop by at the time Clara was going to be taking bread out of the oven.

Got back from today's long walk about a half of an hour ago. Things are more encouraging, it appears that only about one in three don't get it or don't care. Of course, Mayor Tory has announced that people who don't practice distancing can be arrested and fined. The premier, Doofus Ford, has been a day or two behind Tory in all these matters, so we may hear from him soon.

On my outward journey, when I passed the supermarket, only three of the nine "distancing slots" had shoppers waiting. On my way home, there was no one waiting. Maybe folks have finally stocked up enough to reassure themselves.

Bought our weekly groceries. They have markers outside the door for each person to stand on until allowed inside. Then a person rolls a basket to you and wipes the hand bar before surrendering it. Everybody was good at distancing with maybe two exceptions. They made me wait outside until my wife checked us out. She was told where to stand until she could unload the basket, then stood at a designated spot until the food was checked and loaded. Plastic shields divided the space for cashiers and baggers. I am satisfied they are doing their best. They had one four pack of toilet paper and one two pack of paper towels. I didn't need them so I took them just to be hoarding. (: Just kidding. I left them there.)

François Legault, the Premier of Québec is taking tough new measures in a province which was, frankly, blindsided by the virus, having not responded soon enough.

Quebec focuses on protecting seniors, limits regional travel as coronavirus deaths top 33

Additionally, CBC hews reports that La Sûreté du Québec has been stopping cars attempting to cross from Ottawa (the national capital) to Gatineau, turning back those who are considered not to have a good reason to enter Québec. La Sûreté is also maintaining roadblocks to prevent people from entering the northern part of the province, which so far has no reported cases of the virus. From indifference to hardcore in short order by M. Legault

New Brunswick, another Canadian province, is also going with roadblocks to prevent non-residents from coming in. Just heard on radio that there is a campaign to do so in Nova Scotia as well.

Stay where you are.

We had a ride over to Ganong in St Stephen in mid May. Hope its down by then

I'd be surprised. Toronto is on lockdown until at least June 30th and some of those Maritime premiers are going hardcore.

Whoa. Free childcare for people still able/needed to work.

Mayor John Tory has now ordered a blitz to break up people congregating. People can be subject to fines of up to $100,000.

I know that currently in MA police are not stopping people driving - I understand that legally they cannot.

However, for work - we are NOT supposed to go into the office even though we are an essential business - we have the ability to work from home. There are some people that may need to go in the office - if we need to - we need to get it pre-approved with all this paperwork signed by various high levels - we need to carry it with us including driving in - just in case we do get stopped to show we are essential employees and we have to drive in - we are not allowed to take public transportation - of course we will get reimbursed.

We then get checked in by security, where we are told where we can sit - so no one is near each other.

There is no reason for me to go in -

Went on the public library website since I hadn't gotten notifications lately anything was due.

All the items I have checked out a due "in a month"

That's nice. No one has to think about overdue materials fines.

I tagged our councillor in a FB thread about those stupid cafes on the Danny. Hopefully they will send some officers there.

We have a drive up book return. It gives a printed receipt.

Yeah, we have a drive up too at the branch I go to.

I'm guessing that since a lot of people aren't going out at all, they decided to withhold fines and such.

I mean, no one can take out more paper books right now anyway.

I love the self checkout kiosks at the library.

After scanning your card, you can put something like 4 or 5 books at a time on the pad, just stacked up, and bang, it checks them all out at once.

Back when they first got self checkout, the equipment at the time was less than optimal. You had to scan each item separately. Sometimes things wouldn't scan, or it would stop working in the middle of your transaction, etc.
It's like night and day.

I should look up how it manages to scan multiple books at a time, since there doesn't seem to be a, don't know what you would call it, detector? where it could read all the bar codes.

hmm.

Ah...here you go.

Radio-frequency identification technology goes a step beyond bar codes. To check out a book with an RFID microchip, the librarian places it on a receiver. The receiver sends a signal to the chip which replies with the book's identifying data. RFID chips make it easy for patrons to check out books themselves. The chips also double as a theft-prevention device. Scanners at the library exits detect chips that haven't been deactivated by the receiver and alert the staff.

So it doesn't have to do with the number of books, but the number of inches the device can reach.

If you were taking out some volumes by Proust, you'd have to put them on the pad one at a time.

Some Dr. Seuss? It could read a bunch.

This stuff is startin' to get to me. I'm watching a movie, and I keep thinking things such as "Why are all those idiots standing so close together," or "My god, wash your hands before you touch that stuff." I need to take a week off on another planet.

I've taken my temperature six times today. A bit elevated, but not in the fever zone.

One of my problems with this virus is that I have many of the symptoms because I have COPD.

Feh on the whole thing.

Wow. Our libraries are just closed. Simple.

I have an eReader - so I can borrow from the library remotely.

Yes, I’ve been thinking of you and how on earth you could tell.

You certainly don’t want to be going near a hospital if you can possibly avoid it.

I’m sad to say Dodi has just been diagnosed with another breast cancer.

She’s having another biopsy and then her surgeon is rushing her in to get the surgery done before the private hospitals are co-opted for covid

From what I can make out, she’s in the stage where there’s a good prognosis, but she doesn’t ask the right questions!

I won’t be able to visit of course.

I’m not sure if her husband can!