Checking In

[twistedchick]

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time on Saturday) now to midnight UT (8pm Sunday Eastern Time).

Poll #24515 Daily poll

This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 46

How are you doing?

I am OK
36 (80.0%)

I am not OK but I don't need help right now
7 (15.6%)

I could use some help
2 (4.4%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single
23 (50.0%)

One other person
14 (30.4%)

More than one other person
9 (19.6%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

Comments

[hitokage]

I am exhausted, my arms still feel like noodles, even hours later (stupid weed whacker vibrations), and I haven't written a bloody thing for fiction in two days now. I hate it. Also, wife is doing a thing, mostly on FB, but I've posted about it on Twitter, too: https://twitter.com/emorenosagt/status/1297386934520762368?s=20

You guys have already been so, so amazing for us, but this pandemic is really beating us down. And I've come to the realization that a large part of my personal mental difficulties is because a sizable chunk of my online life is interacting with international friends: friends in the UK, friends in the EU, friends in Japan, friends in Australia, friends in Canada, friends in Mexico ... basically, other than the one friend in Brazil, people reporting their life experiences with COVID in countries that are, you know, doing shit about COVID in a way the US is just ... not. And you know things are bad when AUSTRALIA is doing better on a federal level than the US and it's just ... contributing to the feelings of ambiguous loss. And I am a very, hmm... I need structure? And this ambiguous, unending hellscape situation is really wearing me down. To the point where Heidi is currently forgoing POPCORN to cuddle me and purr at me and try to tell me everything's going to be okay.

As seen on my DW

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

I've not been keeping current on the changing specifications regarding face masks. Currently I'm solely going out into public for groceries and curbside pickup of library materials and using a particulate mask (no vent) under the premise that I'm Schrodiger's Vector and I'm not causing unmitigated harm to others. However, since I don't see my state getting a grip any time soon and this mask is starting to show its age, I'm going to have to wash, iron and sew soon. Ideally I'd like some amount of protection for myself as I get into my fabric stash. Vetted urls appreciated.

[dewline]

For all my concerns about CERB being discontinued in favour of other measures by the Canadian federal government, I still feel as if I'm finding useful ways and making progress at making myself employable in the current situation. I might even be able to make a go of it from home. Which would be very good, given my living arrangements these days.

Seeing some of the more recent developments in the US is like watching a cliffhanger serial right now. You find things to cheer about, to rage about, to shiver in a corner about...all at the same time this past week. And if the US further goes to pieces as I still fear it might, what does Canada hope to get away with doing about it, to help endangered people in general? To protect ourselves? To save what we can of the future for everyone to build something better in?

Masking URLs and notes; the top two, on fabrics, are probably the most important

[kathmandu]

Laboratory studies show that a close fit with no leaks is important: it forces all the breath to be filtered through the mask instead of going around. Field observations show that many types of mask are effective enough.
Vetted URLs:

I based my fabric choice on the study done at Cambridge University and reported at Smart Air Filters: https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-masks-virus/
It rates materials by filtration effectiveness and breathability.

Based on the SmartAirFilters report and what I had on hand, I made our household masks from an inside layer of old cotton undershirt, and an outside layer of similar-weight cotton-poly-spandex knit. (Cotton is good at absorbing the water particles that carry clusters of viruses, so it's good to intercept your own breath. Polypropylene, silk, and polyester help to repel other people's water-particles. And I figured two layers help keep the water particles separated, so you don't have other people's breath migrating to the inner surface and potentially touching your skin.) The stretchy knit material makes it easy for me to tie the masks on with a good tight fit and no leaks.

I have asthma; I can breathe through these fine, even at the hot-and-humid height of summer. I can walk briskly and move things around.


The American Chemical Society tested filtration levels and reported, " One layer of a tightly woven cotton sheet combined with two layers of polyester-spandex chiffon — a sheer fabric often used in evening gowns — filtered out the most aerosol particles (80–99%, depending on particle size), with performance close to that of an N95 mask material. Substituting the chiffon with natural silk or flannel, or simply using a cotton quilt with cotton-polyester batting, produced similar results. The researchers point out that tightly woven fabrics, such as cotton, can act as a mechanical barrier to particles, whereas fabrics that hold a static charge, like certain types of chiffon and natural silk, serve as an electrostatic barrier. However, a 1% gap reduced the filtering efficiency of all masks by half or more, emphasizing the importance of a properly fitted mask." (Simple summary at https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2020/april/the-best-material-for-homemade-face-masks-may-be-a-combination-of-two-fabrics.html ; full article at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252 )

Field observations: Two Ohio hairdressers who cut 139 people's hair while infected with Covid; they wore masks while working and so did their clients, and none of the clients caught it. The hairdressers' masks and the clients' masks varied, but the protection was consistent. The 'control' in this case is Stylist A's family: her husband (lived with her) and her daughter and son-in-law (lived in a different household, but visited) all caught it. CDC report at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6928e2.htm?s_cid=mm6928e2_e&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM32906

Patterns: I made a mask from the Craft Passion pattern at https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/
My boyfriend wears it; he likes it.

16-gauge wire from the hardware store makes a good moderately-bendable insert to help it fit closely over the nose.

I wear a basic rectangular one with the classic three pleats, and side channels for the cords that tie it on; I like it. Both of us go out every few days under relatively low-exposure conditions. We haven't caught it yet, but can't tell how much of that is the mask and how much might be not being exposed yet.

The Duckbill Mask has a good reputation; I haven't tried it yet. Youtube explanation of testing and tutorial on making it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZBbkn-g-vE

For times when you don't need to care about looks, NPR reported that using a section of nylon stocking to hold the mask tight against your face reduces leaks and improves performance. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/22/840146830/adding-a-nylon-stocking-layer-could-boost-protection-from-cloth-masks-study-find

Re: Masking URLs and notes; the top two, on fabrics, are probably the most important

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Thanks for the info.

Doesn't sound like my stash contains viable material for the purpose, so particle mask user I remain.

Re: Masking URLs and notes; the top two, on fabrics, are probably the most important

[kathmandu]

I'm very sorry if I gave a discouraging impression -- those paragraphs I quoted are just part of the results. They tested a lot of different fabrics and many kinds work, including things like quilting fabrics, shirting, and toweling. The SmartAirFilters page has helpful graphs comparing different types.

The short version is that almost anything (that isn't lace or see-through) works pretty well. Tighter weaves *or* thicker layers improve filtering.

Re: Masking URLs and notes; the top two, on fabrics, are probably the most important

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Ah! I will read them in their full when I'm more prepared. I just don't have much in the way of polyblends or loose weave synthetics. Ripstop nylon, sounds like a suffocation recipe.