COVID-19 updates

[armand]

Isle Royale used to have a healthy herd of woodland caribou, but one winter a pack of wolves moved in over an ice bridge, and they gradually killed all caribou.

I did more reading on the subject as I was unfamiliar with the more remote history. So far I didn't find that wolves caused the disappearance of the caribous, but more that it was secondary to human activities (same for the lynx). Do you have any specific sources?
They say the caribous have been there for 3500 years but I can't figure it out how wolves didn't cross the ice at all in all those years; apparently coyotes were present for a while before the wolves came.

I'm a little more familiar with the current state because I'm planning to do some backpacking there at some point in the future.

[armand]

Gee, man, relax.

Between Chicago and Miami, I spent a year and and a half in Warsaw, Indiana, so-called Orthopaedics Capital of the world, working for Johnson & Johnson. If anything, the comment was self-deprecating, given that Warsaw is about 1/5 of the Kalamazoo size.

In the current state of affairs here my defense mechanism is boosted. I'll do some photography to relax and be less snappy.
The current environment is not friendly but more like trying to prove your superiority by demeaning the others.

[Alan Klein]

For fun the other day I travelled down a couple of wild-ride interweb rabbit holes. In one, they blamed the outbreak on the Chinese who developed the virus and unleashed it to destroy the American economy, despite the fact that they want/need American buyers of their exports. In another rabbit hole, they blamed the outbreak on special USA government labs that produced the virus to decimate the Chinese economy, despite the fact that they would also harm themselves. There were reasons given by both camps why they decided to proceed despite the collateral self-damage, but I didn't read any of that because I haven't finished building my Faraday cage yet and only read that kind of stuff when I'm safely inside it.

In the world of physics, an electron and a positron (aka anti-electron) pair will annihilate each other in a flash of "light". If the interweb were like physics, those two groups would meet up and disappear. But the interweb isn't like that, instead both groups grow in size. I wonder if they are as big in number as the flat earth believers. I would like to see a large Venn diagram of all these groups to see how much they overlap.

Could you send me the blueprints for that Faraday cage? 

[LesPalenik]

I did more reading on the subject as I was unfamiliar with the more remote history. So far I didn't find that wolves caused the disappearance of the caribous, but more that it was secondary to human activities (same for the lynx). Do you have any specific sources?
They say the caribous have been there for 3500 years but I can't figure it out how wolves didn't cross the ice at all in all those years; apparently coyotes were present for a while before the wolves came.

I'm a little more familiar with the current state because I'm planning to do some backpacking there at some point in the future.

There are more articles on the subject from the recent years and most of them are more sympathetic towards wolves than caribous. The wolf-moose project of Isle Royale is the longest running study of any predator-prey system in the world, started in 1958, and AFAIK it is still ongoing research.

I remember the more recent caribou decline due to the wolf predation on the Michipicoten and Slate islands in Canada and assumed the Isle Royale experienced a similar outcome with the same pattern. No doubt, hunting contributed to the extermination of caribou, but for the wolves the caribou were an easy target, so the caribou had two enemies there.
Could have been also some virus. 

In the press, the loss of Isle Royale’s wolves is largely portrayed as a tragedy, because the extirpation of wolves will bring to an end a famed, long-running, predator-prey study. But what if we chose to see the loss of the island’s wolves as a blessing in disguise, providing an opportunity to restore a native species: the woodland caribou. The diets of moose and caribou differ. Moose are browsers, while caribou exist on lichens and moss. Even if moose over-browse Isle Royale, caribou would still have food and habitat.

To the best of our knowledge, caribou long existed on the island prior to being hunted out and replaced with moose. Given the cold, year-round temperatures of Lake Superior and the chilling effect they have on the island’s climate, it is possible caribou could be restored to Isle Royale even in the face of climate change. If successful, these animals would become the only resident caribou population in the Lower 48. I haven’t seen anything to indicate such a strategy has been contemplated or presented to the public.
...
If woodland caribou are extirpated from the North Shore, they’ll take that wildness with them. And Lake Superior will be pristine no more.

https://northernwilds.com/isle-royale-save-lake-superiors-native-caribou/
 
 

[Robert Roaldi]

Could you send me the blueprints for that Faraday cage? 

Well, first you need to go to Costco and buy a lot of aluminum foil. I mean, REALLY a lot. No point building one unless you can fit a lazy boy inside it. May as well be comfy, I say.

[Alan Klein]

I did more reading on the subject as I was unfamiliar with the more remote history. So far I didn't find that wolves caused the disappearance of the caribous, but more that it was secondary to human activities (same for the lynx). Do you have any specific sources?
They say the caribous have been there for 3500 years but I can't figure it out how wolves didn't cross the ice at all in all those years; apparently coyotes were present for a while before the wolves came.

I'm a little more familiar with the current state because I'm planning to do some backpacking there at some point in the future.

Don't caribou travel long distances year to year?  They wouldn't stay on the island all year, just pass through from time to time.  I didn't think they were territorial like that.  It's possible their regular movements were disrupted as they stopped traveling through the island.

[LesPalenik]

Don't caribou travel long distances year to year?  They wouldn't stay on the island all year, just pass through from time to time.  I didn't think they were territorial like that.  It's possible their regular movements were disrupted as they stopped traveling through the island.

Alan, the island caribou stayed on the islands in the summer and in the winter. What are you thinking about are the migrating caribous in Alaska, Canadian North and in Siberia.

[Craig Lamson]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lockdown affecting large segments of the American public to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus is likely to last 10 to 12 weeks, or until early June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-03-22/us-coronavirus-lockdown-to-last-10-12-weeks-top-trump-official-says

Thats a long time. Will be interesting to see what getss said at the press conference today, and its running really late.

[faberryman]

Alan, the island caribou stayed on the islands in the summer and in the winter. What are you thinking about are the migrating caribous in Alaska, Canadian North and in Siberia.

More BS from the boss, this time about ventilators.

https://apnews.com/17868870ddfc526c6c7f454d651b6d7f

I am not sure why lying to the American people is reassuring. I know, the AP is fake news.

[Craig Lamson]

More BS from the boss, this time about ventilators.

https://apnews.com/17868870ddfc526c6c7f454d651b6d7f

I am not sure why lying to the American people is reassuring. I know, the AP is fake news.

That’s a really stupid fact check.  You fell for it?  I didn’t see a single lie in his statement.  Wanna try again?

[Alan Klein]

I've been thinking that you'd be better off getting sick now while they have ventilators and hospital beds rather than later when there's nothing left.  Pay now or pay later.  It always seem to cost more later. 

[armand]

I've been thinking that you'd be better off getting sick now while they have ventilators and hospital beds rather than later when there's nothing left.  Pay now or pay later.  It always seem to cost more later.

Many of those on the vents still die.

[JoeKitchen]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lockdown affecting large segments of the American public to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus is likely to last 10 to 12 weeks, or until early June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2020-03-22/us-coronavirus-lockdown-to-last-10-12-weeks-top-trump-official-says

Thats a long time. Will be interesting to see what getss said at the press conference today, and its running really late.

I very much doubt this.  Month more max, and then it is protect the elderly and sick.  Everyone else gets back to work. 

It just is not possible to shut down the US economy that long.  I know I wont be staying in.

We are already trying to cash in on this.  With all rental studios and equipment rental houses down, having a home studio and owning all of your equipment starts to be a great benefit in getting work.   Calls are already going out from ad firms, even those in NYC, to see who can shoot product and who has the equipment and space to do so without needing to rent. 

[LesPalenik]

I've been thinking that you'd be better off getting sick now while they have ventilators and hospital beds rather than later when there's nothing left.  Pay now or pay later.  It always seem to cost more later.

There are now several companies gearing up to start manufacturing of ventilators. This could become a rather large industry.

[Alan Klein]

Many of those on the vents still die.

Better to have one now than none later.

[Craig Lamson]

I very much doubt this.  Month more max, and then it is protect the elderly and sick.  Everyone else gets back to work. 

It just is not possible to shut down the US economy that long.  I know I wont be staying in.

We are already trying to cash in on this.  With all rental studios and equipment rental houses down, having a home studio and owning all of your equipment starts to be a great benefit in getting work.   Calls are already going out from ad firms, even those in NYC, to see who can shoot product and who has the equipment and space to do so without needing to rent.

Well, we will just have to wait and see.  I can't see the future so I'll just sit back and watch.

I never understood the concept of being a professiobnal photographer and needing to rent just to work.  It must work fine in some markets but in my little corner of the world if you told the client you needed to rent the gear for the shoot and, oh btw, I'm going to bill you for it as well the laughter would never stop.

Today renting space when needed is more accepted, since 2008 wiped out most of the studio space in the area.  You need at least 5000 sq ft of drive in space and thats a lot of overhead.  The problem is there is no dedicated rental space available o we rent empty warehouses, bays in RV storage facilities etc.  Not a lot of small product stuff being done here but most of the guys I know have enough personal space to do so it the need came up.  Its been years since I shot small product, but I enjoyed it when I had my studio.

[armand]

Better to have one now than none later.

IF you get infected. Plus I think you are a little late to the party. Plus there might be a treatment if you get infected later.

[armand]

There are now several companies gearing up to start manufacturing of ventilators. This could become a rather large industry.

If they can recoup the investment before the demand goes down. Right we don't have enough ventilators because there aren't enough healthcare providers and ICU beds to use them. This won't change anytime soon.

[Alan Klein]

IF you get infected. Plus I think you are a little late to the party. Plus there might be a treatment if you get infected later.

Well, I would prefer to not get sick at all.  We're all in God's hands. 

[Alan Klein]

I was looking for face masks and forgetaboutit. Most are just dust masks, not having the high virus protection.  Those are all backordered.  Paper products, a lot of stuff, all out of stock.  My wife did get Aloe and alcohol from a supermarket to make our own Purell.  I'll have to mix it up and get a dispenser.