However bad things are, there's always someone in a worse state than you.

I visited an old (in both senses) friend this afternoon for the last time before raising the drawbridge. He has been limited to one room in his house for some time due to advancing cancer. Looked after by family and carers but his spirits kept up by visits from friends once in a while. Now there will be no visiting friends. We have probably seen him for the last time. There's the telephone but it isn't the same.

It does put worrying about toilet rolls into perspective.

Steve

Went to Tescos at 9am this morning. The entire overnight delivery of fresh milk had already gone. Possibly parents on the school run stocking up because the kids won't be going to school for a while. No pasta (still), hardly any eggs, sugar low, hardly any flour. But there's no shortage of beer or doughnuts, so who cares#?

Steve

# That is a personal comment and does not reflect the views of my wife.

I think the key point in what SRS says about using alcohol spray is to dry with a towel. Presumably so the alcohol is on the surface long enough to kill the virus but not long enough to damage the surface.

And, of course, not all plastics are the same - I've had wine from bottles with plastic bungs (not 70% alcohol, of course...).

Steve

Just had an e-mail from SRS re Covid-19. Their advice for cleaning cameras and lenses is:

Weatherproof - Spray with a disinfectant solution that contains over 70% Alcohol, and dry with a towel.

Not weatherproof - Wipe down the exterior of your product with alcohol-based sanitizing wipes. We recommend choosing products that are labelled as effective for killing 99.9% of bacteria and viruses and also bleach-free.

Not sure - Treat as not weatherproof.

And make sure that caps and covers are closed.

Presumably they know what they are talking about!

Steve

A picture a day during the seige? Sort of a seige diary that captures your mood each day.

And your camera etc. unless you don't want to touch it again for at least 72 hrs. Thankfully, (most) Pentax cameras are designed to be decontaminated.

Steve

Genius!!!!!!

Steve

Anyone seen a white van with a sticker on it saying "No toilet rolls are left in this van overnight"?

Or is it an urban myth?

Steve

It's a really, really lovely lens. Repeat after me: "Resistence is futile, resistence is futile, resistence is futile ..."

Seriously, if the 45mm is as good as the 150mm, those who like that FOV are in for an optical and tactile treat. It is manual focus only, though. That doesn't matter for macro but might be an issue for some potential 45mm users.

Steve

+1 for what RobL says.
How many discussions, debates, arguments have I had over the years with elderly relatives who wouldn't make sensible decisions for themselves and didn't seem to care about the impact on other people ... ???!!! My wife and I still have the scars. (Not saying it applies to all over 70s, of course.)

It will be interesting to see whether younger people who have started to work at home want to continue doing so after this blows over. Not doing the daily commute must be attractive for some. Might this be the beginning of the end for rush hour on the road and overcrowded rush hour trains? One can dream...

Steve

Woof!

The lens may be cheap but it's certainly not nasty.

Steve