mike carey

There's one word in there that offers a clue as to why. It starts with C. Similarly in this country, you only hear the term when it's about one individual using it and his possibly self-serving motives. I had read a feature article about the CEO some years ago. His view is that if you don't pay people a decent wage they won't be able to buy stuff from the store. Not rocket science. Like @poolboy48220 the quantities they sell are too much for me. One of the few things I've bought in bulk (if you don't count a 10kg bag of rice) is canned tomatoes, and that from the outlet store for a cannery about 50km out of my way when I drive to Melbourne (they also sell other stuff that they don't produce, like bottles of pasta and curry sauces). That sort of driving is off the table right now. What you say is broadly true, and sometimes the restrictions that they apply have some effect if they reduce the prevalence of what they ban even if they don't eliminate it. The effect it might have on re-election differs between political systems. Here, the people out of government are on a unity ticket with the government on what is being done. Unlike the US, the political opposition here (and in Canada) is an organised group in Parliament not separate players from the opposition party jostling for attention or for votes for themselves. The oppostion here has individuals who shadow government ministers (it's called the shadow cabinet), and they aim to present a united and coherent alternative government. So far, they have quibbled about the details, and sought (and achieved) some changes to them, but have voted the legislation through Parliament. That has been the case at state level as well, with state governments from both sides of politics.

Thank you, I try. But I can't claim credit for the hashtag, Nigella Lawson used it in a tweet about eating more chocolate (which I posted elsewhere in the forum).

#fattenthecurve strikes again!

@stevenkesslar I wasn't suggesting that the age distribution of cases was changing, just that as the total number of infections increases, even a very small percentage of young people with the disease will become a large number of cases. 0.01% of 100 people is no-one. 0.01% of a million is 100. My purpose in saying this is to suggest that rather than it indicating that the virus may have mutated, it could be that the sample size is now large enough for cases of young people with serious disease to emerge.. Or put another way, the larger number of cases is improving scientists' understanding of the disease. Of course, that doesn't rule out the possibility that the virus is mutating,

I have no evidence, but I suspect that a proportion of younger people was always going to have severe disease, and that as the total number of cases increases, the number of seriously ill young people is becoming clear.

Follow up to a comment I made in another thread yesterday, at the liquor store in my local shopping centre they now have crosses on the floor 1.5m apart as a guide for the queue at the cashier. And they are across the front of the shop rather than down one of the aisles where customers usually queue (so people can browse in the aisle and not come too close to people waiting to pay).

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This is a stark reminder, or if you weren't aware, a stark summary of what is at stake with any reluctance to adopt social distancing. [MEDIA=twitter]1241955870398771200[/MEDIA]

Amen to that, canned asparagus is disgusting. I have, however, had some half-way decent bottled asparagus: it's more like a pickled vegetable. That said, I wouldn't have noticed if it were sold out in the shops.

Could be true, but in my family I'm the older brother, and my brother was straight.

Everyone has their own priorities. [MEDIA=twitter]1241582898592923653[/MEDIA]

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Oh, you're right. When I read that I thought about it being litres not gallons so didn't think anything of it.

My adventure in retail land for Sunday 22 March, just after lunch time. 1. At the office supplies warehouse (buying a new shredder, stay at home and go through all my paperwork) and in the checkout queue they have tape labelled 'For your health and safety maintain personal distances' on the floor 1.5m apart (maybe a bit more) and people were taking the distancing guidance they convey. 2. Local suburban shopping centre outlet of one of our big supermarket chains, not crowded but not quiet. Some shelves empty but mostly fine. Signs on shelves for items that are limited purchase. Rice and pasta almost bare shelves and not much variety, but at the end of the produce area there were two pallets stacked high with some varieties of pasta and a pallet of 5kg bags of rice. I didn't even check the TP aisle (I planned to but only remembered when I was on my way home).

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For those who are unaware of her, Nigella Lawson is a British food writer and television presenter, with part of her shtick being glamour, both of the presentation of the food (and sets) and of herself. Nice twist in the hashtag here. [MEDIA=twitter]1241472720463945730[/MEDIA]

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Australia has done over 100K tests and there are less fewer than 1,000 cases. Each negative test is not news in the way that each positive test is (although in some countries positive tests have moved from the 'news' column to the 'statistics' column). The exception is when the person who is tested is famous and the fact that they are being tested becomes public knowledge. Bear with me while I contradict what I just said, and note that there was a news item here this afternoon about an overseas tour group that was tested, with 10 positive tests, four negative and four still awaiting results. As others have noted, the criteria for who will be tested are quite strict so you won't be tested unless you have specific risk factors, and even with those limitations on who is tested, the negative rate is over 99%.

Yes, he does some great sketches.

A pandemic effect I hadn't seen coming, an acceleration of movement to a cashless economy. Cafés and hospitality venues (yes they are still open here, although social distancing rules apply) are increasingly insisting on electronic payment, to the extent that it was a topic of conversation on the ABC's morning program in Canberra. Owners don't want either the hand contact between staff and customers required for cash transactions, or staff handling potentially contaminated currency. The inevitable question that was raised was that currency is 'legal tender for all debts' so businesses can't refuse cash payment. Well, yes and no. If you have a contract, then you can insist on cash if the contract didn't specify otherwise. So if you order a coffee and nothing is said, they have to take your money (in theory), but if there's a sign 'electronic payment only' that's the contract you've accepted.

A sign of these times, I used to cough to cover up my farts, now I fart to cover up my coughs.

This is about one thing our government is changing, but it's a mechanics of government in the time of pestilence issue not a political one. The federal and all the state and territory governments have deferred this year's budgets from next month to October. Here the budget is both the government's plan for the next year and also a big formal announcement of the program in Parliament. Unlike the US, it's not a wish list the way the president's budget is, but a plan that it is pretty much sure to be able to implement because it has a majority in the House. There are two reasons for its deferral, it removes the need for a lot of planning across government departments and the personal contact that involves, but critically, at this stage it's impossible to make realistic plans about what will happen in the next three months much less for a year.

Yup, only toilet paper. It is produced to specifications that ensure that it breaks down quickly when it's in water. Tissues and paper towels are designed to be tough so they don't tear or dissolve while they are being used for their intended purpose, so they break down slowly in sewers and can block them. If you use anything other than toilet paper, don't flush it, put it in the bin.

Thanks Oliver. This had been becoming increasingly likely over recent weeks, and I thought inevitable for a few days now. I see above that Palm Springs, like some other areas in the country, has imposed shelter-in-place rules. (In this country, we haven't gone that far, and the states, not local governments, hold this authority. They have been coordinating their arrangements through regular conference calls between the PM and the state and territory premiers and chief ministers.) Australia and New Zealand have both followed the lead of Canada, and in the last hour announced that the borders will be closed inbound to all other than Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents respectively. We live in interesting times. I look forward to the end of this, and to some catch up travel, and ultimately to the 2021 event. Stay safe, all.