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What I read just said the parks in California, but I am sure that Florida parks wouldn't be far behind. Orlando was official about an hour ago Now it is more newsworthy what is actually open and not cancelled. Brickpicker is suspending Brickfolios until the end of March...

I'm busting toywiz https://www.walmart.com/ip/LEGO-Creator-Winter-Village-Post-Office-10222/15405866

Some y'all need to relax about things that aren't in your control. Here is a meme to cheer everyone up.

1,2& 3 could have all been avoided if the 3rd party company had simply chosen a single marker method. This would have eliminated the need for the Roche instruments and the formulas/equations they provide, specific training for health officials and lack of 'reagents' Most major hospitals have the capacity/technology/training to run basic pcr in their labs. Like someone else mentioned earlier, they learned PCR in grad school. Not sure their specific major, but PCR is so basic its being taught at the undergraduate level of most Pre-med oriented undergrad programs. But I tried to answer your questions with my best specific working ability. Also, they are all very great questions indeed.

Quit the fear monger omg. It’ll end. And people will go about their lives again. This isn’t the zombie apocalypse. People are surviving.

Honestly, this was one of the worst interviews I have seen. The host and "doctor" were all about fear mongering. Three months of food? For what? Is martial law coming? This sort of hype needs to stop. It's serious for sure, but let's not get carried away. Social distancing and just simple sanitizing steps will slow this SOB. Back in 2009 , the H1N1 did a lot of damage but nobody acted like this. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that swine flu infected nearly 61 million people in the United States and caused 12,469 deaths. Worldwide, up to 575,400 people died from pandemic swine flu. That was some serious crap, but people were not acting like this. Maybe it was better leadership or maybe it was the lack of media attacking the leadership to make them look bad. The truth is somewhere in between. You are helping as well Mr. Sunshine.

What you should be researching is how many tests your state was 'allocated'. The US is currently under-testing by what appears to be in the tens to hundreds of thousands of potentially infected. This thing spreads harder and faster than the common cold and kills ederly people. What more does it take for people to understand viruses are real. Its hard to have a normal conversation when people try to compare to a zombie apacolypes. Pandemics have happened, are happening, will happen again. Its just amazing we as the public, cant learn from history. I work with PCR, they bungled the roll out. The actual live strain was prohibited for use and they primarily used strains grown in a lab from a master seed. once in the feild (late) they were met with false data sets of sampes we refer to as fsp (feild sample panels) basically unpredictable customer samples. The results were all over the map. Of course we all choose to believe what we would like. The fact of the matter was, other countries already had the pcr nailed down to 3 hours and it was very specific. The test kit doesnt not need to eliminate SARS. All of these primer probes and other bonding sites make the test too complicated. I would aslo suggest people when doing research about a scientific topic to read published articles that have been peer reviewed and backed by proper scientific method. There is still little collected data for the public to view so all numbers are being provided by government agency who are proving to currently be only interested in protecting profits. here is also a good read. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/united-states-badly-bungled-coronavirus-testing-things-may-soon-improve

are you trhreatening me? is that how I should read your message? I stand behind my statement and Im obviously not alone who thinks that he acted too late (see your news and experts). And his unwillingness to undergo a test speaks for itself.

Always liked Rebels Lego sets. 75157 was the first Clone Wars-ish vehicle I’ve ever build. Pretty decent set. Good old’ Capt. Rex.

I think we're gonna see a LOT of sales in the coming two months. Could actually be a great time to stock up for Q4.

I'm mostly afraid of the side effects of the panic. I think those are very real. Sorry to hear about the people getting laid off. In the Netherlands the stores are getting emptier and social gatherings are canceled. I worry for the elderly that are at the least socially isolated and at worst not recovering. Sad stuff. Blaming politicians for this is easy right now, but I will wait for the research afterwards to have a verdict.

Everyone needs to calm the **** down.

If you understood social distancing, you would understand WHY it’s necessary. There is no current cure and it kills older people. Why does it have to affect you in order for it to be important? Do you not have parents, grand parents Aunts Uncles that you care about?! We are past containment, mitigation is now the only thing that will help slow the spread. This has been known for CENTURIES within the scientific communities!! These measure being taken may seem draconian, but they are necessary and should have happened months ago. Funny how Disney closing and pro sports canceling is what made people perk up. Honestly people, we wouldn’t be in this dire scenario had we reacted sooner. And for those defending our POTUS, quite sad. Foreigners have the absolute right to be critical of him.

A great idea that I heard to help businesses survive the next few months is to buy gift certificates from them!

That is some absolutely great analysis. I really enjoy reading stuff from people who know the subject matter. Instead of getting links from garbage websites and scare videos.

Appreciate that, even though I was not venting my frustration directly at you Based on my experience working on government contracts, the preferential selection of 3rd party contractors happens all the time. It does not matter if the POTUS has an (R) or a (D) behind their name. The whole system is too big and full of bureaucracy after decades of complicity

I apologize if my statements come across as emphatic, but please dont confuse it with hysteria. I agree 100% with you. Red tape and bureaucracy all over the place. The CDC refused other tests and awarded the contract to a hand selected 3rd party. The 3rd party made it too complicated by adding additional markers. Im not saying I want more government, for the government you and i both are forced to have, i just want accountable, honest government, and apparently that is long gone in today's climate. Ultimately this should serve as a wake up call to people, you alone are your biggest advocate for your personal health and well being. Thank you, we should all have a level of concern. We will see how this all pans out in the US with all the states having their own procedures, agendas and guidelines being put in to place. The next few weeks will prove to be very important.

Based on that article and the one I found below, the root cause for the failed testing was red tape and government bureaucracy: Also: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615323/why-the-cdc-botched-its-coronavirus-testing/ Lol and here I thought US was supposed to the center of innovation and entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, in Japan a private corporation is already producing and selling 15 MINUTES COVID-19 test kits NEXT WEEK. Read that again, FIFTEEN F-ING MINUTES !!! While the government backed CDC is just now producing accurate tests that take HOURS to complete. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/13/national/kurabo-import-sell-kits-can-detect-new-coronavirus-15-minutes-next-week/#.XmuHVKhKiM8 And some people want even more government and bureaucracy in their lives.

Some folks might be helped if they read facts before giving opinions. https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/the-facts-on-coronavirus-testing/ https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/false-claim-about-cdcs-global-anti-pandemic-work/

I'm not trying to "add" to the panic. But one thing to consider. If those making the claims about the severity and its potentiality are actually wrong, and at that severely, they will be left with little to no credibility. At that, I feel it is actually something to be taken quite seriously. At that, the amount of people (and media) treating it like the plague is a bit much.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. It's not like the virus will go away or be cured in three to five weeks.

everyones job will be in jeopardy with the mass cancellations. NBA suspsends games and 700 Orlando Magic employees are told not to show up. It affects everyone. All schools closed will affect millions of parents. Even if they could afford daycare which most can't most daycares will be closed as well. Lots of employees will lose jobs over shutdowns altogether. Doesn't really matter who is in charge of what country. A day like the last 24 hours has never been seen in our time. no one is nitpicking. There are a few major businesses / establishments that are staples. In the US its sports and Disney. Whether you like it or not or think its a stupid thing to worry about it is major news when all that shuts down in one day.

Tour 2025 by Ralf Langer

Classic Space Pirates by captainsmog

For what's it worth, I just showed this to my son. He thought it looked amazing said he wants to spend his allowance on it. This is coming from a 6 year old who can look in our basement and browse every set imaginable.

I see staying home for the next month for the most part as equivalent to quickly pulling over when an emergency vehicle is on the road near me. Get myself out of the way so they can focus on the actual issues. For those who can without losing a job, seems like a small sacrifice.

More good news... https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200303_20/

My father used to be a machinist at Chevron and would work on the "Cat Cracker" all the time. On another note, here is some potential "good news"... https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/03/809904660/why-the-death-rate-from-coronavirus-is-plunging-in-china?t=1584128903900

'Health Professor" is pretty vague. She could be teaching theoretical dietary habits for all we know. I dont claim to be an 'expert' but I do have a degree in both Medical Biology and Allied Health Science. I have worked in the biotech industry straight out of college for 14 years, at the same company. I work with diagnostic immunassays. The formula the Ohio State health Officials are using is a proven formula based on centuries of data collected throughout history. Now this current society we live in seeming loves to deny/forget/refuse to learn from History. The calculation is necessary since right now, its impossible to test everyone. That number could be lower and could be higher. The reality is, the prediction of 100,000 is closer to actual cases than say 7500. The number will only go up if people continue to feel like it wont effect them, its only being overblown etc and dont take necessary precautions. If the state officials are confident enough to release those numbers, with the way State agencies run, i would safely predict their number is actually very conservative.

I live in Columbus. I was talking to my neighbor yesterday who is a health prof at OSU. She said that there is a formula that is used that says that if a virus is spread person to person in a community environment with social interaction that studies have shown that typically it means that 1% of the population is invected. Then they did the math of the population of Ohio x 1% and they came up with the 100,000 number. I'm no expert but that's what someone who is supposed to know more told me. I asked her the exact same question of how did Governor DeWine come up with the 100,000 infected number.

The current situation is bad (to what extent exactly is uncertain, but unquestionably bad). Up until this, an honest view would be that things have been pretty great in this country the last 3 years (other than the media, and half the country simply hating everything/anything the president does). And yet every single day since his election has been portrayed as a national crisis/disaster (which it hasn't been). So now that something truly bad has happened - look out. I don't believe that anyone else would have left us with fewer cases of the virus (and nothing anyone else would have done can compare to the benefits of the early shutdown of travel from China). Yes, he says absolutely awful things (if we let them off the boat our numbers will go up), but it is that drive (even if it is selfish) that benefits our nation. He might not care about anyone, but he wants to succeed, and although his motivations are likely far from pure and wholesome - that doesn't really matter.

Our schools in Virginia Beach have already canceled all after school activities. Along with my child's soccer program (non-school organization). They also have a staff only day on Monday for cleaning and to allow the teachers to prepare take home assignments in the case of closure.

There is so much bureaucracy and pandering, its almost sickening to think of.

All markets are being destroyed by COVID-19. They've run out of new things to write about so it seems. https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/seattle-sex-workers-covid19-coronavirus-094500177.html

Thank you for that reply. Very concerned about the elderly and vulnerable with what's going on here. Hope it all works out in the USA also.

It's a shambles here in the Uk. Government don't seem to give a crap about the elderly and vulnerable with what there doing. The UK are literally doing nothing and seem happy to infect people and just see how it goes. God knows why the usa are letting the uk still travel to them with what's going on here. Imo schools should already be shut and people should be told to stay there distances from others plus banning large gatherings, this will get out of control in the uk by looking at what boris is doing. Schools will be the one place the infection will spread like wild fire, kids will unknowingly bring it home to parents and the elderly and then it becomes deadly. Just because they say kids aren't as bad with the infection doesn't mean they carry it to others any differently. The measures should be put it place early just like other country's have done to prevent the spread and not just wait it out until it gets to a really serious point just like what's happening in Italy right now. Yes you have people saying that shutting schools etc would impact parent and nhs workers but the majority of us here believe that its more important to stop the spread now and protect our kids at home and the elderly. Imo the NHS workers and parents are much more likely to get the infection if we continue to leave the schools open and don't put any other measures into place. We should all care about others and do our best to protect the elderly and people with serious health conditions. The NHS here are also way under equipped, nurses and doctors haven't got the right stuff to protect themselves, not enough beds and ventilators are available. NHS workers also can't get back to work quickly if they go down sick as the test just aren't there quick enough for them. The official figures shown on infections are simply nowhere near how many people are infected in this country as they just simply aren't testing enough of us. People are already saying that at least 10 thousand people are infected and probably more. The government here are playing with peoples life's and I am shocked they haven't put any more measures into effect to protect the country. It's hard to get all my points across, but I'm just so angry with how are country are responding to all this. Shut schools now and large gatherings, distance measures should also be put in place.

What I want the government to do is make available, and process these tests (a swab in a test tube that they test using RT-pcr I believe). We did PCR tests in grad school, so I know it’s not that difficult. How do lesser healthcare systems have such efficiency, whereas the greatest country in the world is lagging behind??

yup agreed, sorry to hear that and hope it doesn't happen. Was talking to a friend in a trade type business and they had meetings about a week or two ago of who will be let go in the event of shutdowns or lose of business. It's gonna happen sadly. It's either have a **** ton more people get a potential virus that no one really knows about or close whatever you can down and hope for the best which will cause an economic meltdown. I guess if its 3 weeks won't be as bad and some might be able to weather it but who knows how long it is.

I cant believe that you are "nitpicking" what fair / amusement is still open and what is not.. all the major sport leagues are either terminated or indefinitely postponed, yet you focus on wnich particular location is unavailable. From my point of view you should rather study more closely how the situation and official precautions / position developed within Europe based on the curve of proved infections. There hasnt been any better prevention to this virus - than a total seclusion .. and sooner or later your gov will find that out and do exactly the same. The worse for you is that the general availability of healthcare is much worse in US than in Europe - here even a a homeless person gets a proper care in case of need, the same can not be said about your system that is based on a paid healthcare. So you might be struck more with respect to many ppl who can not afford to go to a doc.

Fire up the LEGO seals thread. I'm sure they'll want to know if their LEGO was packaged before the outbreak.

City Pizza by Nick Sweetman

What a funny thread.

To be fair, these are pretty innovative. LEGO integrated tech into bricks like nothing I have seen before. I still want that Yoshi brick build (0:30)

Yeah, kids who can afford all these sets can just play Mario Odyssey. I hope it does well but I would have preferred the minecraft approach with detailed "scenes" borrowed from the games.

Built the Fiat 500 and it was actually a decent build. It is somewhat small but after looking at pictures of the real thing it is also very small. One build technique I found interesting was the use of the technic arms that have minifigure hands on them as a way to secure the bottom of the seats to the chassis, I didn't expect that. The light yellow color is beautiful, very pleasing to the eyes I love it. Might get another set just for the pieces. One complaint I have has nothing to do with the vehicle itself, but the easel, it's very unsteady and insecure. There is no side horizontal brace. So it doesn't take much of a touch to begin to split the legs and the painting falls off. I know that's not the focus of this set but a single 1x4 plate or something could have helped to 'fix' the legs into position. It seems like a cheap addition to the set. If it was going to be built so poorly then give us a printed painting not a sticker. I may end up disassembling the easel and absorbing the pieces into my collection. Otherwise, a nice build and helped contribute to my free 40th train promo.

I like it but can definitely see what you mean about the skin. My son got 75248 Resistance Awing for Christmas. He’s not much of a Star Wars guy tho, and I got tired of seeing it partly built so I finished it today.

Serenity by Kristel