Corona Virus/COVID19: Local Impact

[MWard]

The question is, does the store actually have them in stock?
And although I’m sure Seamus means well, those masks don’t appear to be a whole lot more effective than your run of the mill surgical masks which are considerably less effective than N95’s.

The store I quoted? Yessir. I was surprised two fold: that they had them, and they weren’t obscenely priced.

I would prefer someone who needs them at a hospital get them. A nurse needs the protection, not someone sitting on a couch.

 

[BigDill]

When does the price gouging become a criminal act? I suppose no matter what the authorities say, price gougers cannot have much of a conscious at all. What they do during a time of need is disgusting.

Most state laws define it as an increase over what was being charged before a fixed event. I believe in Florida it is whether there is a “gross disparity” from the price charged after the declaration of a state of emergency vs the 30 day average price from before the declaration. I believe that the “gross disparity” can be as low as 10%, but that is just a guess from memory.

 

[Phil75070]

We've been trying to find masks and every place is out of stock or even if quoted as in stock they say late May to mid-June delivery. I suspect those are coming from China. Ran across the following video and made my own. Only requires a paper clip, some scotch tape, rubber bands and a stapler. Not equivalent to N95 masks by any means but they offer some protection and do keep you from touching your face.

 

[mjkladis]

I'm just patiently waiting on some golf branded masks. Seamus has some for sale!!

 

[MWard]

I'm just patiently waiting on some golf branded masks. Seamus has some for sale!!

 

[aljaklaw]

N95 Mask Decontamination using Standard Hospital Sterilization Technologies

This is a preliminary manuscript and has not yet been peer-reviewed but is in the process. N95 Mask Decontamination using Standard Hospital Sterilization Technologies Anand Kumar1, Samantha B. K

news.umanitoba.ca

tl;dr 3M VFlex 1804 N95 (among other pleated masks) survived sterilization in a standard hospital autoclave and was able to be re-used multiple times

 

[Desmond]

On the Seamus issue, on 3/23/20, and I assume this has not been posted, I received this email from Seamus:

"Over the past few days we received inquiries from primary care physicians, nurses, and first responders for our masks.

Prototyping began last week and ended with our first production run on Friday. We are using materials and constructing them in a way that each of these individuals still wants us to send them masks to use as a last resort. They have confirmed that what we are making is better than what they are resorting to use.

We do not have the N95 material but are seeking it.

By taking last week to disinfect and set up the office for social distanced production, we believe that we can continue to make products and keep our employees through this time.

We are temporarily closing the store to allow the full team to focus and assess the situation with masks. Our second production run begins tonight.

If you are on the frontline and would like an emergency kit, please email

masks@seamusgolf.com

We are not charging for the kits. This is our way of saying thank you for serving at this time.

___

On 3/30/20, this is an excerpt from a Seamus email:

"We developed a prototype, acquired materials and are in the continued process of making and overnight shipping mask kits free of charge. It has been overwhelming to see the support of our maker community and others who have joined in their own sewing initiatives. We applaud you, and your pursuits to keeping our front line protected."

---

On 4/2/20, I received an email from Seamus - Buy a Mask, Give a Mask.

​ $100- A one to one contribution. For every pack of masks purchased (5 masks to a pack), we will send a pack to those fighting this virus at the frontline. All shipping is free. Ground shipping for folks of the community and overnight shipping for folks on the frontline.

​ ​

​ $200- Includes all of the above, plus a Yes Sir! Putting Cup. A wonderful pairing for spending weeks in isolation. Putting Cup ships free with masks.

​ ​

​ Several corporate partners have also stepped up. We will carefully be using all net proceeds to buy more materials, pay production staff and to cover cost of shipping. Should the need for our production exceed our projected need, we will begin to explore corporate partnerships to plug what may become a deficiency in working capital. To date, we have shipped our masks to over 20 different states. ___ What I summarize from all of this is they are giving away these masks to first responders, and asking the public to purchase a mask (and money used for supplying first responders), and they are covering their costs and shipping and sending masks free to first responders upon request. Someone may want to clear this up with Seamus.

 

[GoldenBuff]

Impressed with how well people are here are doing with social distancing. We get the agro runners and bikers who have to buzz people, because agro, but overall an impressive effort. I see and hear doubt, frustrations, and uncertainty with resilience. Occasionally someone goes into an ideological rant and blame game. But mostly lots of compassion and thoughtful behavior.

 

[Duffer Waldorf]

Some say need, others say demand.

Some say gouging, others say pricing effectively.

Toilet paper wouldn't be in as short a supply if pricing was used more efficiently to allocate a scarce resource.

 

[Sean]

so I am not losing my mind.

I don't need a mask. I just hold my breath.

 

[aljaklaw]

Toilet paper wouldn't be in as short a supply if pricing was used more efficiently to control the availability of a scarce resource.

somewhat disagree as supply is not an issue - the shelves are stocked every morning

the TP hoarders not willing to pay more just proves that it was never about running out

 

[Duffer Waldorf]

So, Zoom appears to be a poor choice for videoconferencing now.

 

[Canadan]

So, Zoom appears to be a poor choice for videoconferencing now.

Why do you say that?

 

[aljaklaw]

Why do you say that?

griefers

Beware of Zoombombing

According to a New York Times article, there’s a new type of malicious behavior proliferating called Zoombombing. This is when people find publicly ...

www.sneucc.org

‘Zoombombing’: When Video Conferences Go Wrong (Published 2020)

As its user base rapidly expands, the videoconference app Zoom is seeing a rise in trolling and graphic content.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Canadan]

What I summarize from all of this is they are giving away these masks to first responders, and asking the public to purchase a mask (and money used for supplying first responders), and they are covering their costs and shipping and sending masks free to first responders upon request.

I guess. Or they are asking the public to spend 100 dollars for 10 masks, which seems kind of crazy.
Just felt weird to me, after being very impressed with their previous emails.

 

[joebute]

somewhat disagree as supply is not an issue - the shelves are stocked every morning

the TP hoarders not willing to pay more just proves that it was never about running out

Agree. Not about scarcity... this is a stock-out, not a supply shortage. There is plenty of TP in the world. Unusual spikes in demand for the very short run are creating inventory management problems. Once that's sorted out everything will be back to normal.

 

[Duffer Waldorf]

Why do you say that?

Lots of privacy and security issues have been popping up --undisclosed data mining and sharing it with others (of LinkedIn profiles), secretly sending unnecessary data to Facebook, and leaking Windows credentials.

 

[Canadan]

Some of those "challenges" include: unwanted guests crashing and harassing strangers video chats (a trolling technique known as Zoombombing); allowing Facebook to collect unnecessary data; and the company itself incorrectly suggesting to users that the service was end-to-end encrypted (it's not). Yuan lists some of the steps the company's already taken to address these issues, but also announced a commitment to freeze any work not directed towards safety and privacy for the next 90 days. This includes conducting a review with third-party experts, running a series of security penetration tests and — in the name of transparency — hosting a weekly webinar to provide updates to users.

Ew.

 

[BigDill]

I guess. Or they are asking the public to spend 100 dollars for 10 masks, which seems kind of crazy.
Just felt weird to me, after being very impressed with their previous emails.

Assuming $10 a mask is their break even point, then I would argue that they are better off selling their normal goods and donating a portion of the profit to an organization that has greater purchasing and procurement power than they do. Millions of actual N95 masks are being sold for far less than $10 per mask.

 

[Desmond]

I guess. Or they are asking the public to spend 100 dollars for 10 masks, which seems kind of crazy.
Just felt weird to me, after being very impressed with their previous emails.

Nothing they make is inexpensive in my experience. And it is a relatively low volume and they are probably not setup to do this efficiently. That's a guess.

And I'd go with the above regarding donating a portion of profits. But I bet their sales have decreased immensely, as I bet all other golf equipment is also (I was about to buy a driver and fairways but will delay), except for monitors, nets, putting matts and traiining aids.

 

[joebute]

Some say need, others say demand.

Some say gouging, others say pricing effectively.

The ones who say 'pricing effectively' are wrong, and don't understand the economy or the law.

 

[JB]

Assuming $10 a mask is their break even point, then I would argue that they are better off selling their normal goods and donating a portion of the profit to an organization that has greater purchasing and procurement power than they do. Millions of actual N95 masks are being sold for far less than $10 per mask.

This was my exact thought. Keep operations open making normal gear. Donate monies directly to N95 masks being made.

 

[Canadan]

Assuming $10 a mask is their break even point, then I would argue that they are better off selling their normal goods and donating a portion of the profit to an organization that has greater purchasing and procurement power than they do. Millions of actual N95 masks are being sold for far less than $10 per mask.

That was my thought. If that is the cost, surely there's a better way to support first responders etc. Wonder what Rose&Fire's costs are;

 

[gmiller598]

Toilet paper wouldn't be in as short a supply if pricing was used more efficiently to allocate a scarce resource.

somewhat disagree as supply is not an issue - the shelves are stocked every morning

the TP hoarders not willing to pay more just proves that it was never about running out

Agree. Not about scarcity... this is a stock-out, not a supply shortage. There is plenty of TP in the world. Unusual spikes in demand for the very short run are creating inventory management problems. Once that's sorted out everything will be back to normal.

I still cannot figure out why one of the first things being hoarded was something to wipe your butt with. I would hoard actual life sustaining supplies before hoarding that. I have a shower and plenty of extra socks laying around if it was absolutely necessary.

 

[aljaklaw]

while warm and cute and fuzzy, handmade masks are nothing more than FeelGood Fashion - first responders need actual medical equipment, not a fancy bandana