Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[ChocolateMouse]

Beautiful picture!
Man, I wish I was that good at drawing stuff like that....

Thanks! It came out pretty good for just a single day of work.
The reality is just practicing forever. I've been drawing since before I could write my name properly. The only way to get gud at something is to do the thing. Over and over and over again. I think lots of people are more capable of drawing than they think, they just haven't invested the time into it.

Even today I'm constantly going back to the basics. >_> To draw the trees and get the sizes right for this picture I ended up taking a bunch of drill bits and scattering them upright on a flat book and then used some tiny objects to represent my person and the skeleton. It was like a diorama of drill bits. Then I dropped my head down to level with the flat surface of the book and pretended the drill bits were trees to get the perspective mostly right. I tried to draw this like six times before this without that direct reference and it was just terrible. So it's always good to remember that everyone is just kind of muddling through it.

 

[Molpet]

You can drop mail in ballots into designated county drop off boxes in most states. So you may want to do that.

So far my county in Illinois, doesn't have drop boxes listed.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

that's right---but here where I am local cops are not doing anything about large gatherings--you should see all the summer camps and bungalow colonies

Same here. While I'm not a personal fan of the VA Gov, he has been fairly proactive about Covid and our state as a whole is on the more progressive side for sure. There is even a place on the state page where one can report businesses who are not following mandates. Nothing happens (so far) but they are getting tons of reports.
VA is rather diverse though, one side very blue, the other deep red. Nobody has been taking things seriously here until the local hospitals started saying Wakeup knuckleheads!! We are Full!! Now some people are wearing masks, while others still ignore all warnings thinking it will never arrive here, despite the fact that it has in force.
Businesses are generally lagging behind and acting like it doesn't exist, even some of the big chain companies so local managers have to be to blame for that.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

So far my county in Illinois, doesn't have drop boxes listed.

Our area also does not have ballot drop boxes. Not sure if that is an all VA thing (the website is devoid of details about them) but they are not here.

If one gets set up outside the local Registrar office, which according to the site does allow absentee vote in person before the election... but is currently closed to the public... I will take the drive over there and hand drop mine if I can.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My pottery wheel and tools showed up today! Assembled the wheel and examined the tools. The wheel came with bonus tools, a whole lot of spatulas and knives! None of the "classic" wheel throwing tools, so I'm glad I ordered my tool set but it's really cool to have gotten them.

Tool set I bought is slightly rough but very functional. It was only like $6.

It's very obviously a chinese made model, but it runs really smoothly so far. It's fairly lightweight, less than 30lbs. It's running well with no knock and shakes and minimal assembly. It also runs in both directions so it's just as good for lefties and righties which is nice even tho I'm a righty.

Now I'm just waiting on the clay itself.

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Just heard about this site today. Apparently you can look up/scroll down for your state or location and the available ways to vote. It also has pertinent dates and things to know.
NBC News- Plan Your Vote

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Just heard about this site today. Apparently you can look up/scroll down for your state or location and the available ways to vote. It also has pertinent dates and things to know.
NBC News- Plan Your Vote

Thank you!

My pottery wheel and tools showed up today! Assembled the wheel and examined the tools. The wheel came with bonus tools, a whole lot of spatulas and knives! None of the "classic" wheel throwing tools, so I'm glad I ordered my tool set but it's really cool to have gotten them.

Tool set I bought is slightly rough but very functional. It was only like $6.

It's very obviously a chinese made model, but it runs really smoothly so far. It's fairly lightweight, less than 30lbs. It's running well with no knock and shakes and minimal assembly. It also runs in both directions so it's just as good for lefties and righties which is nice even tho I'm a righty.

Now I'm just waiting on the clay itself.

Ooo that sounds so fun! Is this your first time?

 

[SnapdragonQ]

Getting things a little more straightened out here in regards to school, which surprisingly has been quite stressful. "Classes" start Monday but we (collectively parents and students) have no idea how things are going to be set up yet so I would imagine next week will be a cluster.

Yesterday when I was picking tomatoes, I counted about 20 pumpkin that are nearly ready for picking. I use a lot of pumpkin in our foods for things like pumpkin muffins, pancakes, and waffles, in soups and stews, and I use it to thicken things like stew, chili, and casseroles. It adds a lot of body without really changing any of the flavors.
It dries well in the dehydrator so if I can get through the mountain of zucchini next up will be tomatoes and pumpkins.

CMouse, I can't wait to see some of your pottery and creations.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Ooo that sounds so fun! Is this your first time?

CMouse, I can't wait to see some of your pottery and creations.

Thanks, Snap. My clay should be here soon. Maybe today? I'll take pictures.

Madhouse, it is. I've done a lot of hand-sculpting before and I'm pretty good at it at big pinchpots/vases and such. I've made polymer clay/sculpy miniature figurines for years - some quite complicated. And I've known a lot of people who've done fired ceramics over the years... But this is my first time on a wheel.
The wheel was pretty inexpensive - $185 including shipping for a 25cm(9.2in) wheel with a detachable splash pan for cleaning. I guess these tiny tabletop wheels have cropped up from china in just the last couple years and are really accessible ($140-200) compared to other learner wheels that start at $600-800. Reviews for this one say it'll throw up to 12lbs and with run without knocks throwing every day for a month without cleaning (though I'd clean more than that) so it's promising. So far it seems to run smooth, though the pedal is not corded, it's attached to the machine which makes operating it by foot almost impossible. It comes with a big joystick style handle you can use instead though and seems to transfer through its speed levels very smoothly

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My claaay came.