• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Preppers , a rant

Lucille

Lucille

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For many years I have been doing food and supply storage. Even though I do not have a garden now, I still can items when I find a lot of them on sale. And even after downsizing, there is always room to do some prep.
So I really did not need to do a lot when the current run on groceries began. To me it makes sense to be prepared.

But all of a sudden some housewives can't get stuff, even tp. And they are furious at people who stock up, calling them hoarders and all sorts of unflattering names. Even now they want everyone to buy one of something. It's as if they expect in a few weeks, everything will be back to normal.

It's as if the possibility that there may be supply glitches in the future due to people dying, businesses closing, this virus possibly mutating for the worse, has not occurred to them.

I am perfectly aware of how one is supposed to act at a tea party. One does not put more than one piece of a particular pastry on one's plate so that everyone can have a slice of Aunt Edna's chocolate layer cake.

I try to kindly get the idea across that this ain't no tea party, but they don't listen.
Thank you for letting me rant.
 
They are clueless. They can cuss and rant at me all they want.

It's not so much that some people preparing for the worst expect the source of items to evaporate as it is that people are stocking up so they can go into bunker mode and not have to run out to buy something for a reasonable stretch of time. Like possibly MONTHS. IMHO, the best thing to do in a pandemic like this is to hunker down in a safe and isolated place and let the contagion burn out around you. This is a highly contagious organism that hides it's infectiousness in asymptomatic victims and can be spread easily through the air and from contaminated solid objects. IMHO, the best thing you can do is to just avoid people and places they are and have been frequenting as much as is humanly possible.

If people want to remain in denial even at this very late date and rant at those people who are taking this seriously and preparing accordingly, well, don't expect any sympathy cards from me when they wind up in the hospital hooked up to a respirator.
 
I don't understand the run on TP. There are alternatives if one does not mind doing extra laundry or stepping into the shower after doing one's business. While detergents have taken a hit the shelves have never been empty, and you can still find ammonia or oxi-clean.... and yes now I have enough of those to last a year.

Heck I have 80 snakes, a dozen of which are retics, burms, anacondas, etc. They make messes. They make BIG messes. So, some old jeans and shirts have been sacrificed into clean-up rags, and they get washed separately in hot water with a long soak and an extra rinse cycle.

Yes it's gross but the alternative is for me to go through 10-12 rolls of PT a week and right now that's not happening.
 
Lucille said:
Some enterprising person is going to make a bundle developing a Boa Bidet....
Click to expand...
I'm just glad the weather is warming up. Over the years I've developed a decent eye for when my larger snakes are about to take a dump, and I make sure they get exercise on the lawn in the sunshine at those times.

Heck last summer I had halfway convinced one of my neighbors that they could be housebroken. I had taken a retic out and sure enough the exercise got things moving, and he did his business as she was passing by on her bike so I started praising and patting the snake just like you would with a puppy... it was funny...
 
bcr229 said:
I don't understand the run on TP. There are alternatives if one does not mind doing extra laundry or stepping into the shower after doing one's business. While detergents have taken a hit the shelves have never been empty, and you can still find ammonia or oxi-clean.... and yes now I have enough of those to last a year.

Heck I have 80 snakes, a dozen of which are retics, burms, anacondas, etc. They make messes. They make BIG messes. So, some old jeans and shirts have been sacrificed into clean-up rags, and they get washed separately in hot water with a long soak and an extra rinse cycle.
Click to expand...

I have no issue with people planning ahead, and making preparations for their families. However, clearing the shelves of TP, Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes by the cartful, and trying to sell it at a premium, is wrong. I'm glad that Amazon and ebay shut down sales from private individuals, and that some stores are not allowing returns. Obviously, not everyone is doing that, but some are.

As Melinda said, there are alternatives if it becomes necessary. What's strange, is that I saw people with carts packed with paper products, but no food. I just think that non-perishable food supplies are far more critical than toilet paper, but looking at the store shelves, I seem to be in the minority on that.
 
Insomniac101 said:
What's strange, is that I saw people with carts packed with paper products, but no food. I just think that non-perishable food supplies are far more critical than toilet paper, but looking at the store shelves, I seem to be in the minority on that.
Click to expand...
Non-perishable frozen/canned/rice/pasta/etc. foods did get cleaned out but everything except rice was restocked fairly quickly. I was already well supplied so I'm just buying fresh produce and dairy now.

Fortunately I get my meat from local farmers by the half hog and quarter beef and I'd placed my orders in early January; butchering is set for next month.
 
Luckily my wife and I anticipated certain items would sell out at least in the beginning. We have normally stocked up on dry goods and paper products since it is cheaper that way and then all we need to do is stop for bread, milk and other sundries quickly as needed. So we did order about double normal and that should last about 4 or more months. Basically instead of a box of 108 rolls of tp we got 216. Same south soap, paper towels, shampoo. Sanitizer we bought 2 six packs and only use it after we have come back from somewhere.
 
Insomniac101 said:
Joe, are you feeling better? Are you back home?
Click to expand...

Hi Kathleen,Thanks for asking. I spent Sunday through Thursday last week in hospital. I'm on heart, blood pressure, diuretic and potassium pills. Because of coronavirus my open heart surgery is postponed till they have firm outcome of Ohio infections. With pills I am comfortable. At least it doesn't feel like I'm drowning.
 
JColt said:
Hi Kathleen,Thanks for asking. I spent Sunday through Thursday last week in hospital. I'm on heart, blood pressure, diuretic and potassium pills. Because of coronavirus my open heart surgery is postponed till they have firm outcome of Ohio infections. With pills I am comfortable. At least it doesn't feel like I'm drowning.
Click to expand...
:hurray:
Glad to hear you are home.
 
Yeah, home will definitely be safer. No way in hell I want to step foot in any sort of medical facility of any kind right now. Those places are where all the sick people will be hanging out. And honestly, I don't think they have a real good handle on just how infectious this coronavirus really is.

So, stay safe, Joe. Whatever it takes.
 
Thanks Rich. When I first went in I was taken to an isolation room that was set for negative pressure and tested for virus. For the next 18 hours I had to keep mask on and the nurse was suited up like one of those radiation suits. They would take blood pressure, temperature, hand me pills and meal in one shot. All other contact was phone only. When your sick and kinda scared not a good feeling.

Once I was cleared they put me on cardiac ward and everyone wore mask's and gloves. They used sanitizer both coming and going and changed gloves same way. All cleaning and food service employees were same way.

No one not an employee or patient was allowed in hospital. Which was hard on my wife. She brought me extra clothing and grooming products. She had to call from the pick up area and someone came outside to get. My bag was lightly sprayed with a disinfectant fog.

I have heard some horror stories about some of the other hospitals. The low income one in downtown Cleveland has limited everything from what I hear.
 
Joe,

How have you been doing lately? Still hanging in there?

How is Ohio doing with this coronavirus thing? I believe you said your surgery was postponed until things started looking better in that department.
 
Still waiting on surgery. They opened up surgery that doesn't require an overnight stay. So if you have a boil on your rear end your good to go. They are slowly opening things back up here this week. Over all not doing too bad except spurts here and there. My vision got real blurry yesterday but came back an hour later. Bored out of my skull. If I do try to do anything taxing I get ill. I'm almost out of internet to read, lol
 
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