Coronavirus (COVID-19) and your ATV Life

[Ajmboy]

A little bit of click bait there with the title because in the grand scheme of things, what the hell does a virus have to do with your ATV except maybe give you a little more time to ride if you are out of work or school!

In all seriousness, how's everyone doing? Here in lower NY, its getting a little crazy...

• Schools are closed all week, might be longer as they issued every grade that didn't have one, a chromebook and google classroom (preparing for remote learning)
• Some stores are out of things like disinfecting wipes, sprays, rubbing alcohol, tylenol, toilet paper, pasta, and other basic necessities. (panic buying in full force)
• Many people (including myself) are working from home, no more travel for the next few weeks.

Interesting times and I hope no one gets sick! Stay healthy!

 

 

[davefrombc]

Just remember  who  gutted the  CDC  and other health departments  of the funds  necessary to  fight unforeseen  outbreaks of  pandemics. Then  when  COVID-19  broke out  pooh poohed the severity of it and the need to prepare to fight it .. Now  in  his rallies  tries  to  put  blame  on Dems and somehow  the previous administration for the US  being so  far  behind  others in ramping  up the fight.   When  you  vote this December, remember all the lies, all the attempts to take credit for what others have done, all  the  changes  in his cabinet and elsewhere  because competent people  woyldn't toadie  up to  him  and the incompetent  proved to  be   too incompetent  and he  was  losing  a bit of  support  because  people  were starting to  clue in . I  lay  some of the blame for  some  of the pandemic deaths  directly  at Trump's feet   and his refusal  to  face  facts, take advice  he didn't like and put in motion and  fund  the  health  system adequately  to  start fighting the  developing  pandemic because  they'd  make him look bad. 

There's you  rant  from  a  Canadian who's  government  set in motion the funds and people  to  attempt to limit  the pandemic as  much as possible and care  for the ones affected by it .

Stay  away  from the crowds. . Enjoy  the wheeling.  There's  no  chance  of  COVID  catching you out  in the  fresh  air  away  from  the  panicking  crowds.

What  the  hell  does  a room  full  of toilet paper  and boxes  of  hand sanitizer  have to  do  with  keeping safe from the  virus , or treating it if you're  unfortunate enogh to  catch  it ?.. Take the  advice of the pros .. Wash  your  hands and  keep  your distance.  Much more effective than  the idiocy  going on now . St  least  that  panic buying  of  as* wipe  and  sanitizer  isn't  limited to the  US..  The  crazies  are world wide  in that that respect.

[Frank Angerano]

Lololol i hear both of you boys and agree on getting out and riding if you have the time now with all the closures happening then go! 
 

@davefrombc that was some rant but funny to read "as* wipe and sanitizer" ???? Lmao thats some funny stuff. 

Not for panic or fear but two weeks ago i told the wife I'm going on a shopping blitz to stock up on everything! She asked am I nervous? I said no, what's going to happen is there will be a panic and everybody is going to go into apocalyptic mode and i wont be able to get basic sh**. So i  stocked up on steaks, chicken and everything else I could think of so i  don't have to run to the store and deal with the crazies.   Glad i did!!! 

But in all honesty its a serious matter and i agree that the ball was dropped by NOT being prepared after seeing what it has and is still doing to other countries. 
 

So some fresh air it is and maybe a trip upstate or lost trails???? 
 

Great post @Ajmboy and a great idea for everyone.  

[davefrombc]

  When  locals mentioned they  were looking  at a Bidet accessory  for their  toilet I offered to lend  my pressure washer to those  who  couldn't find  toilet paper in the stores here.

 

[Ajmboy]

5 hours ago, Frank Angerano said:

Lololol i hear both of you boys and agree on getting out and riding if you have the time now with all the closures happening then go! 
 

@davefrombc that was some rant but funny to read "as* wipe and sanitizer" ???? Lmao thats some funny stuff. 

Not for panic or fear but two weeks ago i told the wife I'm going on a shopping blitz to stock up on everything! She asked am I nervous? I said no, what's going to happen is there will be a panic and everybody is going to go into apocalyptic mode and i wont be able to get basic sh**. So i  stocked up on steaks, chicken and everything else I could think of so i  don't have to run to the store and deal with the crazies.   Glad i did!!! 

But in all honesty its a serious matter and i agree that the ball was dropped by NOT being prepared after seeing what it has and is still doing to other countries. 
 

So some fresh air it is and maybe a trip upstate or lost trails???? 
 

Great post @Ajmboy and a great idea for everyone.  

I just got home from "panic" buying today....lol. Went to 6 stores over 2 days on my free time. My wife called this about a month ago, so she started slowly stocking up on things our family will need. We are stocked with essentials for a month or two in case it gets too crazy to get to a store. Who wants to go to a store when more people are sick in the store (hopefully not). My 12 year old had pneumonia this year and my 5 year old had strep, flu, and pneumonia in January and February.  I don't want to sound like an as*, but from what I'm reading it affects children less which makes me a little less worried for them. I more worried about my mother and relatives that are older or with underlying conditions. I think my wife, my daughters, and I will just plan to buckle down and do our part by trying to not catch and spread the virus.

As far as Trump not being prepared, I do give Trump an "F" for downplaying this but an "A" for closing borders, bringing the private sector in for testing, reducing regulation, stimulus, and declaring a national emergency. 

Today the fed cut the rate to 0.25 or something like that (time to refinance and borrow some money cause its gonna be cheap)

BTW...Make sure you have enough Tylenol and advil/motrin and cough meds in case you get it.  Most people will just have to ride it out like the flue.

4 hours ago, davefrombc said:

  When  locals mentioned they  were looking  at a Bidet accessory  for their  toilet I offered to lend  my pressure washer to those  who  couldn't find  toilet paper in the stores here.

 

Someone at work told a silly joke on why people are buying all the toilet paper....when someone approaches them and sneezes, they tend to sh** themselves in fear! Hence the need for more toilet paper...(pardon my French)

 

[davefrombc]

Trump  only did those things  because he was forced to  by those in  his administration who  threatened to  revolt if he didn't . He didn't want to  allow the cruise ships to  dock  because  it would run  the  numbers up  and make him look bad. As if  leaving  Americans on the  cruise  ships  somehow didn't  count for  Americans stricken  with  COVID-19.  There's been  no  shortage of testing  kits  in Canada  although they  are saying now that unless there is good reason  to suspect   it  could be  an  infection they  will  treat  as symptoms dictate.  Trump  only thinks of himself.. Watch  him when  he  is reading  his speeches.. He didn't write them  and often  shows he  doesn't  believe  what  he  has to  say  in them . Body language  and his asides tell you  that if you really watch and listen to what  he is saying.

Yes, I  admit  I  do detest your fake  President  and all  he  has done to  America and her image abroad; but if you look  closely  at  him   you  should begin to  understand  why.

[Frank Angerano]

Well NYC schools are closed and i heard through the grapevine on Wednesday morning NYC is getting shut down completely.  

[davefrombc]

There  are shut downs of schools,  universities and sporting events  as well  as  many  businesses in Canada and elsewhere.  Borders are being  closed; cruises,  guided tours and  ski resorts  are being cancelled.  Yes , it  is  a  pandemic requiring extraordinary  measures to try to  bring under control, even  though  generally  the  young and healthy  have  little to  fear  of  it since it mainly  is a threat to the  elderly  and  those who  have  other underlying  health problems.  I sure don't want  to  be  one  to   catch  and pass on the  virus to  someone else and  I  sure don't want   anyone passing it  on to  me . Yup   the virus is related  to the common  cold  and for  many  it  has  no  more consequences than  a  cold , but its  death rate  percentages  far  exceed the  common  cold  or even those  of the  most prevalent  flues.

[Ajmboy]

12 hours ago, Frank Angerano said:

Well NYC schools are closed and i heard through the grapevine on Wednesday morning NYC is getting shut down completely.  

I saw that NYC closed schools and so did  Long Island. It’s getting crazy and now CDC just put out a new guideline tonight of no social gatherings of more than 50 people. 

[quadnut20]

WOW what a frickin mess this coronavirus thing is causing !! People are going nuts over this !! Our famil;y isnt worried about this !! We arent changing our daily routine in the least !! NOT out power shopping either !! Im 64 yrs old Ive survived all the other flu that have come down over the years . Ive survived 40 yrs of marriage Booze, some drugs in the 70s and a hand full of crazy as* girlfriends 50 yrs of riding   and lived to tell about it 😁 Think ill go for a ride Mon !!

Edited March 16, 2020 by quadnut20

[quadnut20]

7 hours ago, davefrombc said:

  When  locals mentioned they  were looking  at a Bidet accessory  for their  toilet I offered to lend  my pressure washer to those  who  couldn't find  toilet paper in the stores here.

 

LMAO !! Good one !!

[Frank Angerano]

Im sure we will all be ok bit  if a mistake were made it should be made on the safe side!

 

[bren7176]

Need TP???

[mikeexplorer]

A lot of ski areas shut down early due to this. We had a trip planned for early April which will probably not happen now. Looks like the quad will be coming out early.

PA closed schools and such as well.

 

Mike

 

[Frank Angerano]

Took the quads out yesterday and fired them up.  Maybe a weekend trip! 

[mikeexplorer]

Working this weekend but might try to get to Lost Trails Thursday if weather is ok. Going to use the drone to do some exploring.

 

Mike

 

[JacobSlabach]

im on a buying spree but not for tp.. i dont use any of that crap anyway.. theres some hecka good deals on some atvs and trucks about now.. gonna go get me some new toys and hit the dirt🤑

as to my opinion of covid19- i wonder why all the doctors and health folks arnt going nuts?  hmm...maybe because theres nothing to go nuts about?  covid isnt anywhere NEAR as serious as the flu and is only one strain of the corona virus.  just because its new dont mean its deadly.  studies show (you wont hear this from the media) that covid19 is only fetal to those who have preexisting health issues (just like any other virus or common cold) and has only taken about 3-5% percent of its victims world-wide.  i say if trump announced a national state of emergency through election season and hence he would be pres for the next 4 years.. the media would drop the whole covid crap overnight.. anything to get him out..

as to blaming trump, what more could he or anyone have done?  you cant treat viruses with antibiotics, and all doctors can or will advise to folks is to stay home and catch some snooze.  to those who are in worse health to begin with, they are treating it like it is- another strain of the flu.

[davefrombc]

1 hour ago, JacobSlabach said:

im on a buying spree but not for tp.. i dont use any of that crap anyway.. theres some hecka good deals on some atvs and trucks about now.. gonna go get me some new toys and hit the dirt🤑

as to my opinion of covid19- i wonder why all the doctors and health folks arnt going nuts?  hmm...maybe because theres nothing to go nuts about?  covid isnt anywhere NEAR as serious as the flu and is only one strain of the corona virus.  just because its new dont mean its deadly.  studies show (you wont hear this from the media) that covid19 is only fetal to those who have preexisting health issues (just like any other virus or common cold) and has only taken about 3-5% percent of its victims world-wide.  i say if trump announced a national state of emergency through election season and hence he would be pres for the next 4 years.. the media would drop the whole covid crap overnight.. anything to get him out..

as to blaming trump, what more could he or anyone have done?  you cant treat viruses with antibiotics, and all doctors can or will advise to folks is to stay home and catch some snooze.  to those who are in worse health to begin with, they are treating it like it is- another strain of the flu.

Considering the  flu  only takes  a fraction of 1 % (Last I  read  said 0.1%)  of its victims  and there  are vaccines against  most strains of it  and the  COVID-19  has a death rate  of  greater than  3 %  with   NO  vaccine  available,  you  should be  very worried..  Not so  much for yoursaelf but  for  your parents and their generation and  parents  if they're  still  alive..  Yes, the numbers  for  the  Corona  virus are  much  smaller than for the flu now , but they  are exploding. Maybe  you should seek  other  health information from  legitimate sources  rather than the ones   trying to  pooh pooh it ..  I  know   Only  1 %  of  the  world  know the  truth, everyone else in  government  and  medicine  don't  know what they're talking about ..  Get  your  news  from  Fox  and  your  medical  advice  from quack websites  and  hope  nobody  you  know  or  care about dies  from  COVID-19.

[Ajmboy]

Interesting development with this drug that has been around to treat malaria. If true, might as well start drinking tonic water cause it has quinine 😉

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/03/19/mylan-ramping-up-production-of-hydroxychloroquine.aspx

 

[Frank Angerano]

Hopefully everyone is doing well through this craziness???

Im still working even with the 100% shut down we are exempt until we have a confirmed case on site.   This weekend my offices and the entire site is being sanitized and wiped down etc by a specialized company. 

The city looks like a Sunday every day thats how quiet it is. Erie is a better way to put it.  
Here is a pic of the city i took yesterday mid day, Park Avenue. 
 

I'm sure we are all getting a ton of stuff done around the house, honey do lists? 

My wife is actually a hot mess with all this going on and completely on edge thinking about her father, me or the kids  and if anyone of us gets it! Then add the home schooling and logging into the schools for the days work etc. 🤯 She worries to much this woman.    Her father i agree as he's much older and has underlying health issues but we are all healthy and i feel we would be fine if it hit us.  

I wonder how long Netflix will be able to keep up with the volume of users before it crashes lol and how many babies will come out of this,  social media shows we will call them "coronials"  😬

Anyway just wanted to see how and what everyone is doing?? 

 

Stay safe people. 

 

 

[davefrombc]

Doing ok  here.  I'm  out  in farm  area  and  only  go to  town  to  get  groceries  and  fuel.  I  do  visit  one  friend  down the road   his  dog  and  mine  love to  play inside their  fenced  yard.  I  haven't  hears of  any reported cases in the  nearest town  but  I wouldn't be surprised if there  are  at least one or  two.  BC  and  Ontario  are the  hardest  hit  by this damn  virus, with BC  having the  largest number of deaths from  it;  most of them  in  care  homes with the  most vulnerable  patients.  With the  border with Washington  closed to  all  but essential  traffic  businesses   on both sides are  hurting severely .  Cafes, restaurants  and entertainment facilities   are  closed; except food industry  can  only  serve  take  out  or  home  delivery.  Stores are all  on  short hours,  limited customers in store  at  a time and of course limits on how  many  items such as  toilet  paper  and paper towels  can  be bought  per  visit .  There's no  shortage  of them  from the  manufacturers, it's  just the idiot  hoarders  have  been  clearing  shelves  as fast as they're stocked..  Costco  is one  store rthat  has posted  items  such as   toilet  parer,  paper towels, hand sanitizer  and disinfectants  such as  Lysol   cannot be returned.  I hope  the  hoarders   soon  realize they've got supplies  for the  next  20  years  if all  the social  marketing sites  put the  clamps on the  ones  trying to  profit  over their despicable "business"  practices .

Stay  safe everyone .. Get  out  and enjoy  the  outdoors,  but despite  what  some of those who think  they  are invulnerable think, ride safe  and  not  in  large  groups .

[Ajmboy]

Wow @Frank Angerano that's pretty high...I hate heights! My knees get shaky looking at that photo!!!

We are locked down, kids home school on chromebooks and my job has restricted travel through April. My wife's work shut down for a couple of weeks like most retailers.

Stay healthy everyone!

[Frank Angerano]

@Ajmboy thats only about 40 stories up. I will post a few more from the top on Monday.  @davefrombc we are juts about the same status here with stores etc. 

 

[davefrombc]

It  gets to  me when  some refuse to take  this pandemic and the warnings seriously.    My  daughter  and her  husband are in the front lines  in the  battle  with it .  She  is a lab worker in the hospital  in her city that is  testing hundreds  of  suspected  COVID samples  daily putting a serious strain  on her  and her co-workers handling them  and all  the  other  tests they have to  do  for patients  in the  hospital.  It  has been   close to  overwhelming  for them .   Her  husband  is a  paramedic / ambulance worker  running  12  to 14  hours  a day  dealing  with  suspected  victims  along with  all  the accident  cases they're  called  for . The extra  protective  gear  they  have to wear now    and the  extra ambulance  cleaning they  must  do  is  burning them  out .

I  saw  an  excellent  post in a forum  that  may  put  it into  perspective for those that  don't  think  a  3% death rate  ( so  far ) really should be something they  need to  worry  about. 

What  would  they  do   if they  were presented with a  bowl  of 100  of their  favourite  candies  and they  were told 97  of  them  are fine  , but  of them  will  kill   you.  How  many  would take the  chance  of  eating a few  because the  odds of them  eating a  poison  one  was "only"  3 %?

Frank.. The  only time  I  want to  be that  high  up  looking  down  is  when  flying  a plane. Like  Ajmboy pictures like that  give me  the willies .

 

Edited March 21, 2020 by davefrombc
Added a comment

[Ajmboy]

1 hour ago, davefrombc said:

The  only time  I  want to  be that  high  up  looking  down  is  when  flying  a plane. Like  Ajmboy pictures like that  give me  the willies

Same here, planes and looking out the window doesn't get to me but even getting on my roof to fix some shingles is a task in itself to get up the ladder..lol.

[mikeexplorer]

I am still working, but they are talking about a shut down next week. Last week took the drone out to do some flying.

 

[Ajmboy]

@mikeexplorer what type of drone do you have? What is that, an old railroad checkpoint? What was that train hauling?

[mikeexplorer]

I have a Parrot Bebop 2. Picked it up a few months ago. Its considered older now that they came out with the newer models but that means I got this one at a discount. It has all the features I need. I used a free program to overlay the flight data from the drone.

You must mean "milepoint" that I noted in the video. This railroad line was originally a Delaware & Hudson line and connected to Albany when it was known as the "Penn Division" Where I was standing it would be 183.5 miles to Albany. Railroads use the mile posts to note everything on their right of way.

Back in the 1980's the line was abandoned from Carbondale to Ninevah, NY (its connection) so it is now known as the "Carbondale Line" its end of line. So nowadays the actual milepoint where I was standing would be 12.5

Since the train was returning from Carbondale, the cars would be empty, they would have had sand in them used for fraking natural gas in our area. Part of the video you can see a track coming off the line (a switch) that spur services our place, we manufacture plastic sheet, those cars would be filled with plastic pellets.  I cut that part out from the video, but after the train left, I turned the drone and flew towards our plant. You can see the cars parked on the track and the stair step pipe you see blows the plastic pellets from the cars uphill to our facility to fill the silos. I meant to get closer but the battery was running low so I brought it back.

 

Mike

 

[Frank Angerano]

Great shot there.  I find  drones extremely interesting.  Looking at the rails or any other aerial  view is very cool.  I had my friend fly his drone over my property to see how the deer were making there way to and from food plots, water etc. i wound up seeing so much more including old logging trails, fence lines.  
I may look into getting one maybe a beginner  drone.  
 

Hows everyone doing ?????

[mikeexplorer]

8 hours ago, Frank Angerano said:

Great shot there.  I find  drones extremely interesting.  Looking at the rails or any other aerial  view is very cool.  I had my friend fly his drone over my property to see how the deer were making there way to and from food plots, water etc. i wound up seeing so much more including old logging trails, fence lines.  
I may look into getting one maybe a beginner  drone.  
 

Hows everyone doing ?????

The drone I have would be considered a good beginner drone. You can buy the complete kit for under $500. This would include the drone, extra batteries, extra propellers, and the sky controller, and a padded backpack.  You can use the drone with your phone only, but the range will be more limited. I also found a refurbished one on ebay for $235, it did not include the controller, but did include one charger and battery plus a spare set of propellers. I bought it as a spare.  The only add-on I am considering is the FPV goggles, sometimes its hard to see the video feed in bright sunlight, this is why during the video I took, I made some weird turns and stopped at times to look at what the drone was seeing. 

There are of course cheaper drones out there then this one, but this drone has the essential features. Mainly since it has an onboard GPS it has the ability to "return to home" automatically if it loses signal with the controller. Cheaper drones don't have this feature, and that is why a lot of people lose them.

If you do crash the drone, the controller will know the last known position of the drone, the drone will also continue to transmit the video feed and emit a beeping sound.

This drone has all I need, I mainly bought it to explore abandoned railroads and to get photos and videos of areas I cannot physically get to, or to take aerial shots of things, such as these gravity slope buildings. The GPS data is recorded during the flight (as shown with the overlay) and when you take pictures, the GPS data is embedded in the picture.

These photos are taken across the river from where I was, I was following an old railroad grade. The field in the third picture used to be mining operation that was reclaimed.

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by mikeexplorer