Texas Re-Opening Announced

[RDCanecutter 26411]

Left my little NPR mask-wearing Hobbit village to venture into the generic wastelands of the Birmingham metro's Shelby County (which is the Eohippus to DFW's Clydesdale.)

The general consensus seems to be Pretend The Virus Away. I owned the only mask within 10 miles. Prove me wrong. Brought back 1960s memories of folks blowing cigarette smoke on their kids while the never-used seat belts stayed mashed down in the seats.

But of more immediate concern was the driving style. Normal distracted driving had turned into agitated Ben Hur Ramming Speed maneuvers. If you ever kicked open a fire ant bed on a 100 degree day, that was the vibe, if you can imagine them looking down at little fire ant phones while they run around.

Sat outside the Widget store my buddy runs, because I'm a fucking loser who tries to buy local. Bunch of geezers going in and out, little confined store, no whiff of a mask.

If I were a weaker personality type, I would have left mine off too so they wouldn't make fun of me, and dart in and out, Pretending It Away. But I am a fucking asshole crypto-redneck who likes chaos and mayhem, so I strapped it on and sauntered in. Besides, I mentioned they were geezers, so if we had gotten into it I could probably have taken them. No worries, everybody polite as I sported the only mask in town. Figured they'd be bitch-asses and talk about me after I left, same as I am doing about them now.

Really thinking about becoming one of these gotdam weenies who buys everything online.

[hookemATL 11715]

40 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I work in the supply chain for cleaning and jan/san.  I get info on upcoming shortages before most anyone else. Every so often I’ve posted some things to watch for, like when I told y’all about disinfectant wipes back in early March.  Yeah, those are still a bitch. 

Purrell/Gojo is starting to get their shit together but still nowhere near the demand need.

Have a project going that might need some of this shit (specifically Purrell/Gojo products). PM?

[Brisketexan 105096]

1 minute ago, RDCanecutter said:

Left my little NPR mask-wearing Hobbit village to venture into the generic wastelands of the Birmingham metro's Shelby County (which is the Eohippus to DFW's Clydesdale.)

The general consensus seems to be Pretend The Virus Away. I owned the only mask within 10 miles. Prove me wrong. Brought back 1960s memories of folks blowing cigarette smoke on their kids while the never-used seat belts stayed mashed down in the seats.

But of more immediate concern was the driving style. Normal distracted driving had turned into agitated Ben Hur Ramming Speed maneuvers. If you ever kicked open a fire ant bed on a 100 degree day, that was the vibe, if you can imagine them looking down at little fire ant phones while they run around.

Sat outside the Widget store my buddy runs, because I'm a fucking loser who tries to buy local. Bunch of geezers going in and out, little confined store, no whiff of a mask.

If I were a weaker personality type, I would have left mine off too so they wouldn't make fun of me, and dart in and out, Pretending It Away. But I am a fucking asshole crypto-redneck who likes chaos and mayhem, so I strapped it on and sauntered in. Besides, I mentioned they were geezers, so if we had gotten into it I could probably have taken them. No worries, everybody polite as I sported the only mask in town. Figured they'd be bitch-asses and talk about me after I left, same as I am doing about them now.

Really thinking about becoming one of these gotdam weenies who buys everything online.

An Eohippus reference will ALWAYS get posrep from me.

As to the second bolded....folks are getting reckless with their driving, and it's going to cost them.  Do the math -- I have seen a LOT of cops on the road, setting up speedtraps and such.  And with open roads, folks are able to drive much faster.  AND (this is important) municipal revenues have taken a BIG hit lately.  Cops are out, and they are acting as revenue officers.  I think chances of a speeding ticket are pretty high these days.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

1 minute ago, hookemATL said:

Have a project going that might need some of this shit (specifically Purrell/Gojo products). PM?

I cannot help you.  I would just direct you to your local distributor, which probably wouldn’t be that helpful either.  When this thing started, most distributors and manufacturers were allocating all this stuff to hospitals and frontline workers. Many were not taking new accounts either because it would just wipe out all inventory to existing business.  I can tell you purrell is coming out with disposable stands for hand sanitizing in high traffic areas, you may be already seeing them in some places.

[RomaVicta 29905]

2 hours ago, David Dennison said:

Um, excuse me, I had to live through the Urban Cowboy craze. Honkies running around town in ten gallon hats and plate sized belt buckles. That shit was horrifying.

Damn you for making me remember the proliferation of leather vests from those foul days!

 

[Brisketexan 105096]

2 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I cannot help you.  I would just direct you to your local distributor, which probably wouldn’t be that helpful either.  When this thing started, most distributors and manufacturers were allocating all this stuff to hospitals and frontline workers. Many were not taking new accounts either because it would just wipe out all inventory to existing business.  I can tell you purrell is coming out with disposable stands for hand sanitizing in high traffic areas, you may be already seeing them in some places.

I've seen at HEB the past few days that they have a decent stock of hand sanitizer -- 8 oz gel bottles, and large (like 32 oz) bottles of straight liquid 80% alcohol.  So, that's starting to improve.

[DDD Dad 14334]

48 minutes ago, StruggleBus said:

They are. If that other dude thinks they are empty he’s sadly mistaken 

SWMBO just cut my hair again yesterday.  #4 blade guard FTMFW.

[DDD Dad 14334]

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I've seen at HEB the past few days that they have a decent stock of hand sanitizer -- 8 oz gel bottles, and large (like 32 oz) bottles of straight liquid 80% alcohol.  So, that's starting to improve.

Whole Foods here in Dallas had a bunch the other day when I went there.  First I'd seen other than in a 7-11 a few weeks back.  Still haven't seen wipes anywhere other than that 7-11 (they were selling travel size packs).

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

3 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

I've seen at HEB the past few days that they have a decent stock of hand sanitizer -- 8 oz gel bottles, and large (like 32 oz) bottles of straight liquid 80% alcohol.  So, that's starting to improve.

Yeah, the retail hand sanitizer situation is near stable but getting things like dispensers or stands is near impossible.  Orders from the first week of March for those kind of things are still not filled.  

The other item that is near impossible to get your hands on is an electrostatic disinfectant sprayer.  Clorox has something like 8,000 on back order and they run over $5k each.  Some other companies make cheaper electrostatic sprayers but their lead time is 6 weeks to a year. 

[Brisketexan 105096]

Just now, DDD Dad said:

Whole Foods here in Dallas had a bunch the other day when I went there.  First I'd seen other than in a 7-11 a few weeks back.  Still haven't seen wipes anywhere other than that 7-11 (they were selling travel size packs).

Yeah, no wipes.  BUT, bleach has started to show back up.  So, I've suggested to the wife (who loves those things) that we'll use one of our wipe containers, and I'll fold in some paper towels with bleach poured over to soak.   I think that should work.

 

So bleach and hand sanitizer are showing up, that's good.

[Red Five 40853]

9 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

SWMBO just cut my hair again yesterday.  #4 blade guard FTMFW.

I cut my own hair in the mirror, with a regular pair of scissors. The results were.... interesting. 

[Irwin F Fletcher 3550]

Have a project going that might need some of this shit (specifically Purrell/Gojo products). PM?

In regards to bulk hand sanitizer you may inquire with local distilleries that may have switched over to producing hand sanitizer. I know of at least two locally here in Houston that did this. Guessing you are in Atlanta (ATL) so your results might vary.

[DDD Dad 14334]

17 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, no wipes.  BUT, bleach has started to show back up.  So, I've suggested to the wife (who loves those things) that we'll use one of our wipe containers, and I'll fold in some paper towels with bleach poured over to soak.   I think that should work.

 

So bleach and hand sanitizer are showing up, that's good.

Back in March when I had to travel the weekend before everything got shut down SWMBO made me some sanitizing wipes out of baby wipes (she added a bunch of alcohol).  The important thing was to remember not to use them as baby wipes (yikes).

[Pancho 44759]

17 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, no wipes.  BUT, bleach has started to show back up.  So, I've suggested to the wife (who loves those things) that we'll use one of our wipe containers, and I'll fold in some paper towels with bleach poured over to soak.   I think that should work.

 

So bleach and hand sanitizer are showing up, that's good.

The CEO of Clorox was on NBC News about a week or so ago saying they are filling orders for hospitals first but are starting to get back on track.  The CEO stated not to really expect wipes back in stores regularly until July or so. 

HEB is starting to have their brand of bleach and bleach/cleaning spray more and more, so that's good.  There is a hand sanitizer sold at HEB by ScentSationals (80% alcohol) that smells like dried throw-up the next morning after a night on 6th.  It. Smells. Turrible. 

[Wanker Bob 379]

21 minutes ago, Red Five said:

I cut my own hair in the mirror, with a regular pair of scissors. The results were.... interesting. 

[tchookem 3900]

Yeah, no wipes.  BUT, bleach has started to show back up.  So, I've suggested to the wife (who loves those things) that we'll use one of our wipe containers, and I'll fold in some paper towels with bleach poured over to soak.   I think that should work.
 
So bleach and hand sanitizer are showing up, that's good.

My wife is using coffee filters.

[Gap03 3304]

25 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, no wipes.  BUT, bleach has started to show back up.  So, I've suggested to the wife (who loves those things) that we'll use one of our wipe containers, and I'll fold in some paper towels with bleach poured over to soak.   I think that should work.

 

So bleach and hand sanitizer are showing up, that's good.

A couple of weeks ago our local HEB (NW Austin) had some of the HEB brand wipes in stock.  I think it's hit and miss, but your best bet is to show up in the morning a bit after they open so that most of the stocking has been done for the day - 9-10am.  I've had pretty good luck finding harder-to-find items using that approach.

[Brisketexan 105096]

3 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

A couple of weeks ago our local HEB (NW Austin) had some of the HEB brand wipes in stock.  I think it's hit and miss, but your best bet is to show up in the morning a bit after they open so that most of the stocking has been done for the day - 9-10am.  I've had pretty good luck finding harder-to-find items using that approach.

Well, my other angle continues to be this: hit up stores in less affluent areas.  Affluent folks stock up/hoard, and can afford to.  Less affluent folks....not so much.  You can find such products on the shelves much more easily in those areas.  Hell, there's probably an interesting study/PhD analysis to be done on that phenomenon at some point.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

17 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Back in March when I had to travel the weekend before everything got shut down SWMBO made me some sanitizing wipes out of baby wipes (she added a bunch of alcohol).  The important thing was to remember not to use them as baby wipes (yikes).

Throughout the pandemic, I never saw a shortage of bleach in the supply chain.  I didn’t see much of the toilet paper shortage either because that was almost entirely a retail phenomenon. Some of the big paper companies pushed back their lead times by a few weeks but that was it. 

On the wipes, there are companies that make buckets of dry wipes that you just pour your own solution of disinfectant in to make wet wipes. I anticipate these will become more popular as the disinfectant wipe shortage is expected to continue. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Hugo Stiglitz

[Nice Guy Eddie 13511]

Paper towel with the liquid hand sanitizer/alcohol should work just as well as a wipe. I suppose you could use the coffee filter or even a dryer sheet since they might hold up better for scrubbing something.

[Michael Knight 12977]

Cool.can we start with firing dan patrick?

[4th&Five 41525]

Wasn't hot wheels just bragging on twitter about how much money we have?

[Wanker Bob 379]

5 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Wasn't hot wheels just bragging on twitter about how much money we have?

That was pre $1.20 a gallon gas and pre pandemic. Only blue states get judged on post pandemic figures. 

 

[gmr548 16576]

Well, my other angle continues to be this: hit up stores in less affluent areas.  Affluent folks stock up/hoard, and can afford to.  Less affluent folks....not so much.  You can find such products on the shelves much more easily in those areas.  Hell, there's probably an interesting study/PhD analysis to be done on that phenomenon at some point.

I use the little gas station in my hood. They appear to source some products made for the Mexican market. Turns out Karens don't hoard TP with Spanish on the wrapper.

[RDCanecutter 26411]

3 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, my other angle continues to be this: hit up stores in less affluent areas.  Affluent folks stock up/hoard, and can afford to.  Less affluent folks....not so much.  You can find such products on the shelves much more easily in those areas.  Hell, there's probably an interesting study/PhD analysis to be done on that phenomenon at some point.

I use the little gas station in my hood. They appear to source some products made for the Mexican market. Turns out Karens don't hoard TP with Spanish on the wrapper.

I once taught Spanish at a private school full of Future Karens. They'd badger me for extra credit. OK, here's some extra credit: just go inside a little tienda mexicana. Buy something, anything, and bring back the receipt.

I think two of them managed to get that far. They got extra credit. One young dude had the can of Jumex he'd bought. I offered him double or nothing points if he'd drink it. He popped the top. The class stared in silence. He drank. More silence. Finally, he grinned and said "Hey y'all, I just made 20 points for drinking apple juice."

[Pig Bellmont 8713]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, my other angle continues to be this: hit up stores in less affluent areas.  Affluent folks stock up/hoard, and can afford to.  Less affluent folks....not so much.  You can find such products on the shelves much more easily in those areas.  Hell, there's probably an interesting study/PhD analysis to be done on that phenomenon at some point.

This backfired on me back in April. Not only was the store picked over, but few masks and people all up in my grill. 0 stars, did not try again

[Brisketexan 105096]

1 minute ago, Pig Bellmont said:

This backfired on me back in April. Not only was the store picked over, but few masks and people all up in my grill. 0 stars, did not try again

Interesting.  More data for someone's future dissertation.

[hayden_horn 11362]

Just now, Pig Bellmont said:

This backfired on me back in April. Not only was the store picked over, but few masks and people all up in my grill. 0 stars, did not try again

yeah, anecdotal from the manchaca/south austin area, but i've definitely noticed that the not-insignificant hispanic population doesn't seem to favor masks. went to local taco shop, and none of the staff had masks. wife needed that menudo, though, so i still picked up the food.

[WBT 20562]

Huh, I've been hitting HEB weekly at opening on either Saturday or Sunday morning.  The last 2 weekends they've had the wipes.

[Brisketexan 105096]

7 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

yeah, anecdotal from the manchaca/south austin area, but i've definitely noticed that the not-insignificant hispanic population doesn't seem to favor masks. went to local taco shop, and none of the staff had masks. wife needed that menudo, though, so i still picked up the food.

See my earlier comment (in some thread or another) on the correlation between that population not wearing masks and not using child seats in their cars.  I'm sure there's a cultural and socioeconomic correlation worth exploring.

[hayden_horn 11362]

10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

See my earlier comment (in some thread or another) on the correlation between that population not wearing masks and not using child seats in their cars.  I'm sure there's a cultural and socioeconomic correlation worth exploring.

yeah, i remember you making that post, and i think it was in response to my positing that very statement in another thread.

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2663]

Well, employment was nice while it lasted. If my agency cuts anyone, I'm last-in-first-out, even though I've been there 15 yrs. 

 

I gotta say, I'm a little shocked that some of y'all will traipse through all kinds of stores in order to look for stuff to..... help lower your risk.

Fyi, there are a lot of non-Amazon companies selling hand sanitizer specifically, just order online and get it delivered. Google's your pal. I found one in the Houston area called wrist-bands.com (of all things), shipping was fast AF and by the smell, the 70% alcohol claim is legit. Got a gallon jug.

Edited May 20, 2020 by ChuckNorrisActionJeans

[Bateshorn 9927]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Well, my other angle continues to be this: hit up stores in less affluent areas.  Affluent folks stock up/hoard, and can afford to.  Less affluent folks....not so much.  You can find such products on the shelves much more easily in those areas.  Hell, there's probably an interesting study/PhD analysis to be done on that phenomenon at some point.

This has been my experience the whole way.  The social distancing/mask situation is spotty tho.  Wealthy White people are obsessed with that part, but the stores are absolutely picked clean because folks hoard on every trip.

[tantric superman 4667]

Good luck, chuck.  My job is a bit at risk as well.  Many of us need to be grateful that ours have lasted this long. 

Heck,  basically we should all treat life going forward as if its extra innings.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13511]

14 minutes ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

Well, employment was nice while it lasted. If my agency cuts anyone, I'm last-in-first-out, even though I've been there 15 yrs. 

 

I gotta say, I'm a little shocked that some of y'all will traipse through all kinds of stores in order to look for stuff to..... help lower your risk.

Fyi, there are a lot of non-Amazon companies selling hand sanitizer specifically, just order online and get it delivered. Google's your pal. I found one in the Houston area called wrist-bands.com (of all things), shipping was fast AF and by the smell, the 70% alcohol claim is legit. Got a gallon jug.

Personally I would rather run into a Kroger and get something that is more likely to be legit as opposed to buying from some obscure website. 

Infrequently going into a store is not that high of a risk. Wear a mask. wipe down the cart handles with alcohol and go shopping. When you get home, put everything away and don't touch it for a day or so. Wash your hands.  That's my routine and I think it's a bit unnecessary but I figure it can't hurt to be careful.

[Wanker Bob 379]

16 minutes ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

Well, employment was nice while it lasted. If my agency cuts anyone, I'm last-in-first-out, even though I've been there 15 yrs. 

 

I gotta say, I'm a little shocked that some of y'all will traipse through all kinds of stores in order to look for stuff to..... help lower your risk.

Fyi, there are a lot of non-Amazon companies selling hand sanitizer specifically, just order online and get it delivered. Google's your pal. I found one in the Houston area called wrist-bands.com (of all things), shipping was fast AF and by the smell, the 70% alcohol claim is legit. 

For many the risk (and leaving the house) makes it exciting

[MrBig 5396]

2 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

This has been my experience the whole way.  The social distancing/mask situation is spotty tho.  Wealthy White people are obsessed with that part, but the stores are absolutely picked clean because folks hoard on every trip.

I had the opposite experience. I went to Walgreens twice to pick up a few prescriptions. Both times it was the white people not wearing masks (even though there was a sign saying masks were mandatory) and the cashier wasn’t wearing any gloves. At the smaller “ethnic” stores, everyone is wearing masks, the employees are all wearing gloves, and they have no problem telling non-mask wearing people to get the fuck out of their stores. 

[Born to Run 6569]

I use the little gas station in my hood. They appear to source some products made for the Mexican market. Turns out Karens don't hoard TP with Spanish on the wrapper.

Heb Lakeway is still hit or miss for TP. One of my clients has probably 500 rolls in their garage. Fox news watchers too. Weird

[Bartles 769]

I'm in stores 3-4 times a week up here in Philly, since all our shopping is walkable. Quick, careful trips and wash hands immediately when I get home. I go mid-morning when it's not crowded, so I rarely have to wait more than a minute in any checkout line. People in my part of the city are great about masks and distancing. And I have noted the same clerks have been working the whole pandemic...no PPE in the beginning but got more and more safety measures during April.

[conVINCEd 21469]

2 minutes ago, Bartles said:

I'm in stores 3-4 times a week up here in Philly, since all our shopping is walkable. Quick, careful trips and wash hands immediately when I get home. I go mid-morning when it's not crowded, so I rarely have to wait more than a minute in any checkout line. People in my part of the city are great about masks and distancing. And I have noted the same clerks have been working the whole pandemic...no PPE in the beginning but got more and more safety measures during April.

Y’all are a chipping wedge from NJ and not that much further from NY.  I would imagine people are taking things more seriously up there.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13511]

4 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

3 hours ago, gmr548 said:

I use the little gas station in my hood. They appear to source some products made for the Mexican market. Turns out Karens don't hoard TP with Spanish on the wrapper.

Heb Lakeway is still hit or miss for TP. One of my clients has probably 500 rolls in their garage. Fox news watchers too. Weird

I get hoarding toilet paper if you had some plan to sell it for a large profit. Horrible to do that but I can at least understand the motivation. Hoarding it for personal use is ridiculous.

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

See my earlier comment (in some thread or another) on the correlation between that population not wearing masks and not using child seats in their cars.  I'm sure there's a cultural and socioeconomic correlation worth exploring.

A contradiction would be rural Asians that have no problem with a mask but pile the entire family in a 150cc scooter with no helmets and only rag tag flip flops.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

1 hour ago, Born to Run said:

4 hours ago, gmr548 said:

I use the little gas station in my hood. They appear to source some products made for the Mexican market. Turns out Karens don't hoard TP with Spanish on the wrapper.

Heb Lakeway is still hit or miss for TP. One of my clients has probably 500 rolls in their garage. Fox news watchers too. Weird

I'm guessing it's because they're full of shit.

[elfenix 34231]

2 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A contradiction would be rural Asians that have no problem with a mask but pile the entire family in a 150cc scooter with no helmets and only rag tag flip flops.

on the shoulder of the motorway with cars and loaded down trucks flying by at 70

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

6 minutes ago, elfenix said:

going the wrong way on the shoulder of the motorway with cars and loaded down trucks flying by at 70

Fixed for accuracy.

[elfenix 34231]

without looking i'm guessing the last two pages of this thread have been both less political and more informative than the DT thread

[conVINCEd 21469]

3 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A contradiction would be rural Asians that have no problem with a mask but pile the entire family in a 150cc scooter with no helmets and only rag tag flip flops.

They have no real choice on the scooter, they do on the face coverings.

[MrBig 5396]

5 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

A contradiction would be rural Asians that have no problem with a mask but pile the entire family in a 150cc scooter with no helmets and only rag tag flip flops.

Yeah but I’m sure the infants and small children are sitting facing the rear for safety.

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

25 minutes ago, MrBig said:

Yeah but I’m sure the infants and small children are sitting facing the rear for safety.

No, youngest is always up front.  Dad's arms reaching around them to grab the handle bars and work the throttle, clutch and brakes (if working) are all the protection they are afforded.

Rest are arranged for proper ballast loading.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Fudge Nuggets

[MrBig 5396]

5 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

No, youngest is always up front.  Dad's arms reaching around them to grab the handle bars and work the throttle, clutch and brakes (if working) are all the protection they are afforded.

Rest are arranged for proper ballast loading.

Well shit, these people should have been the ones loading up the riders on the Verruckt at Schlitterbahn.