the mellow tigger's musings

I always use my N95 elastomeric mask when I'm around people. There are some situations, though, where that option is not available. There are practical situations like eating and drinking. There are also medical exceptions like exams, dentistry, or surgery. I thought I'd mention some options I'm exploring for these situations.

For eating and drinking (outdoors only, around others), I've previously mentioned wearing a Woody Knows nostril filter. I keep it in, then I add my usual mask on top when I'm not eating/drinking (outdoors only). When I was still working in the office, I would eat my meals alone in my car rather than inside with others.

For medical procedures, I'm looking into nasal spray options. Supposedly, they can offer a few hours of reduced risk. They seem to come in 2 varieties, one for pre-exposure and one for post-exposure. Today, I bought bottles of each to try them out to see how they "feel" in my allergy-prone sinuses. And, of course, I still have my Corsi-Rosenthal box which I use after humans other than me have been inside my house. It's been used many times this year for helping to clear the air after workers' time in here. I keep my mask on while people are inside my house and while the air is clearing out after they leave.

1. pre-exposure
   • Covixyl, with Xylitol (available at Target)
   • Xlear, with Xylitol (available at Target)
   • Betadine, with Carragelose (I found at Amazon)
2. post-exposure
   • Nasomin, with iodine and fulvic acid (I found at Amazon)
   • mouthwashes, such as Listerine or Chlorhexidine, which I still need to buy somewhere

I thought I'd share, since there are no great guidelines for how mere peons in this world can protect themselves with non-prescription solutions. I don't even know what the CDC is promoting these days in their post-COVID nonsense, but The People's CDC still has this good slideshow for improving safety for in-person gatherings and another one for attending political protests. As always, a multi-pronged strategy is best.

I'm adding a new tag to my blog: preparations.  I'll use it to describe my efforts to prepare for what I consider to be imminent catastrophes.  I see four of them: financial (printed money), economic (oil scarcity affecting all productivity), environmental (global warming), and nutritional (healthy food).

I'm considering selling my bicycle in favor of a "longtail" bicycle.  Basically, a longtail is just a regular bike but with a longer rear wheel and fender to make it easier to haul things around.  There seems to be some kind of "open source" standard established by a company called Xtracycle, so that various accessories are compatible between different brands of bikes.  I very much approve of open standards.

Their high end bike is called the Big Dummy.  I don't care for the name, but I do like what they are capable of doing.  I want something that could easily:

• carry groceries and cat litter,
• get me to work along with a change of clothes,
• haul gardening equipment if I try to work other peoples' gardens,
• carry a passenger,
• generally replace my truck during warm Minnesota weather, or even
• tow my truck.

Unfortunately, my carpel tunnel problems require that I avoid putting lots of weight on my wrists.  There is a company that specializes in recumbent bicycles that also makes a longtail "semi-recumbent" version called the Hammertruck.  Their bike is not compatible with the Xtracycle accessories though.  :(

I'm experiencing some indecision about which one I should try to acquire.   I really wish the Hammertruck was compatible with Xtracycle accessories.  If it was, I'd order one of them right away.  The wide variety of Xtracycle accessories, though, is really appealing.