Panic Buying is Here big time
 

Went to the local grocery store (HEB Super Center for those familiar with it) to get a Rx filled. Verrry busy to put it mildly so I walked around to see what stock looked like.

Meat cases: beef fairly plentiful but no chicken or turkey at all.
Produce: pretty much wiped out. No bananas, tomatos, spinach, etc. Plenty of
cauliflower
Dairy: no milk, cheese very low, a few eggs,
Bread: really picked over but some available
canned: tuna, canned beans,soups and other canned meats really picked over if not
empty.
Paper: absolutely no TP or paper towels
drug section: flu/cold remedies all gone, no alcohol, sanitizers at all, hand soap empty.

This could get interesting before it's over (whenever that might be).

Here too. Rice and pasta gone. Frozen veggies picked over. No tp, tissues, bleach, rubbing alcohol, pump soaps. Oddly, tons of antibacterial dish soap and normal bar soap. People are strange...

and more than a little bit ignorant.

I'd been putting off some grocery shopping for a few days and finally got to it after work yesterday. Whoops! #unexpectedconsequencesofprocrastination.

I was just doing ordinary shopping and since I do that on my bike I'm only ever buying what will fit in my pannier with overflow in my basket. Everything normal in the produce section of my nearby Whole Foods but then I get to the meat section (I wanted ground beef and pork) and I wonder, "WTF, am I in Venezuela??" (I grew up there from the mid 70s to early 80s, when it was a nice place to live) as the packaged-meat shelves are totally wiped out and about 2/3 of the meat counter has been cleared out. Plenty of choices still but stuff like bread and rice and tomatoes were nearly or completely cleaned out, bulk grains heavily so. I don't think I've ever seen empty shelves in a grocery store in the US before.

I'll walk to my neighborhood market after work today and see if I can pick up some of what I'm missing.

I'm running back to the store for a case or two of Sam Adams... just to be safe. Might stop and grab a bottle of Woodford Reserve in case I need to medicate.

Smart hardware store near me-

Costco may be out of toilet paper, but this local store, that has never stocked TP, has a big display right inside the front doors.
May as well stock items that you know people will buy.

It's not like TP is a limited quantity. Just ramp up production.
What will happen? Production goes up to meet demand, then sales plummet because everybody has a six month supply after the fear dissipates.
Lots of toilet paper sitting on store shelves collecting dust.

Went to Costco yesterday.
Don't needing any toilet paper, but I'm having rotator cuff surgery next week, so I bought some of the processed, boxed food (the stuff we never buy) that I can heat up with one hand while the other arm is immobilized with a sling for several weeks.

Approaching the check out, carts are six-seven deep, but off to the side there are open lanes that are empty! Only time I've seen every lane open.
A guy is even telling people waiting in the long lines that there are more lanes open.

I scoot right up, and end up chatting with the lady checking for a minute or two when we're done, as nobody else is coming. She was disappointed that so many people seem to have short fuses. Politeness has gone out the window. She thanked me for being a nice guy.

Human nature, I guess....
Parking lot is a zoo, the store is full, so there must be some instinctive need to grab an open lane and not give up your precious spot.

On my way out, mentioned to the gal checking receipts "Good people watching today, Huh?"
Her eyes got really big. "Yeah!"

Agreed. Up until yesterday, our grocery stores were pretty much business as usual, but then last night the Houston School district announced that they'd be closed starting today for a little more than 2 weeks. After that happened yesterday evening, people lost their minds. You'd have thought it was Black Friday at Walmart. OK, it wasn't quite that crazy, but between 5pm and 8 pm our local grocery store was practically cleaned out.

There was absolutely no ground meat other than veal, and pork sausage. No hamburger, turkey, pork, bison, lamb, etc... There were still canned beans, but not many, no tuna, hardly any crackers, etc.... Apparently folks are expecting power and water to go out?

Looking for a face mask ? CA has 21M in reserve.

Don't be surprised if your surgery gets cancelled/postponed.

My local grocery store is mostly back to normal, aside from the predictable shortage of cleaners. TP is back in stock.
I was surprised that people don't seem to be stocking up on beer... that would probably be on my list if I were expecting an extended quarantine period.

Or whiskey, for barter....

No virus anywhere near us.
Business as usual at the hospital....... For now.

Went to the grocery store just to see how it was at 10PM last night....
Cereal, frozen foods, granola, juice were all still readily available. Meats were almost all gone except for some pork, but tons of shrimp were available. Of course no TP and barely any paper towels left. One pallet of water arrived when I was shopping.

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It's too bad people aren't panic buying condoms. We need to stop stupid people from breeding.

I'm NOT - REPEAT NOT an MD, but rotator cuff surgery sounds elective. I'd wait till the coming corona wave subsides before heading to the hospital. I will be doing exactly that myself.

Price gouging
 

https://www.6sqft.com/midtown-hardware-store-gets-fined-for-price-gouging-cleaning-products/


$20 for Clorox and Lysol sprays and $40 for a three-pack of disinfectant wipes–that’s how much a Midtown hardware store was selling its products for before getting caught and fined by the city. The store, Scheman and Grant on West 39th Street, may also have been trying to sell a bottle of hand sanitizer for $80. According to NBC, they created a list of prices for these hard-to-find products and told customers to check those prices before purchasing because returns would not be accepted.

Go dumpster diving at the local hospital. They toss disinfectant wipes if they're past the expiration date. You know... not sense in giving something that probably still works to a thrift store or homeless shelter.

Yes, Yes, and YES.

Also, the virus does not hide in plain sight.

Hey Greg,
No worries. I bought all the pasta with all the riding I've been doing. Cleaned the shelves. :D