Blair Babylon's Blog: Blair Blathers, page 17

Blair Speaks about Covid-19

So, yeah, I used to be a real-live microbiologist who pipetted live virus stocks into cell culture in a hood and worked with radioactive isotopes and everything. Won't go into it here. That's one of my pictures of a cell-mash that I took through a laser microscope. Pretty. ———->

Okay, so let's talk about Covid-19, this piece of crap virus that's hitting the whole world in a pandemic right now.

I'm sorry that I didn't write before. Everything has been so awful. I will try to tell you what I know for sure.

First, just general advice.

If you're not sick already, please, for the love of God and all that is holy, stay home. Stay isolated. Stay in for as long as you can.

Every additional day that you can stay in your own place and not get infected is an additional day that the medical people can deal with the pandemic before you become a part of it.

If you can stay in for a week before you go out and get groceries, good. If you can stretch that to 10 or 12 days, better. If you can go for a month, even better.

If you can keep yourself well for a month or two, you might be treated with drugs instead of getting really sick. If you can go longer, there's a chance for a vaccine.

If you get sick now, things might go badly. (See below.)

My husband works for Pfizer. There's a lot going on behind the scenes. The pharmaceutical companies are working on treatments and vaccines. The Cleveland Clinic developed a new, better test for Covid-19 in 9 days. Everyone is working on Covid-19 right now.

Also, this virus is obviously airborne. It's not just on surfaces. It's obviously floating in the air and transmitted by aerosolized droplet spread. I mean, duh. Of course, it is.

If you have to go out:

Decontaminate as soon as you get home. Wash your hands with good soap for a few minutes as a quick stopgap. Gargle with Listerine or something else “antiseptic” until you think you're going to drown. Throw your clothes directly into the washing machine with a lot of detergent. And then get into a shower and soap everything and wash your hair.

Yes, really. That's minimal decon.

It might help. It might keep you from getting it once or twice. Do no use this instead of trying to isolate yourself. Isolation will actually work.

What does this virus do?

There is some bad, bad information out there that Covid-19 disease is “a bad flu.”

Sweet Baby Jesus's tiny toes, that is wrong.

This virus should be called something like the “Ground Glass Fills Up Your Lungs Pneumonia Virus.”

Literally, that's what it looks like on an X-ray. It looks like your lungs are full of ground glass, and it feels like that when you're trying to breathe, too.

One of the major problems is that it starts slowly for 3 days or so. It's a little tickle, a mild fever, if that. Sometimes, it's nothing. And for 3 days, you walk around spewing virus and don't even know it. And there are people around you spewing virus who don't know they're sick yet. That's the real terror of this virus, the “prodromal” phase.

When you get the Flu, it slams into you like a ton of bricks. In 15 minutes, you know you're sick. Covid-19 is different. It creeps up on you.

And then after 3 days, you get sick. Desperately sick.

When people say a “mild case” of Covid-19 disease, they mean that you don't require hospitalization or else you will die. You're still going to be sick as hell, in bed, gasping for breath and trying to breathe through ground glass for 2 weeks. You may think that you are going to barf up your lungs. It's a very bad disease.

Another piece of terrible information out there is that in the first few days of illness, when the virus is replicating in your throat, that you can magically “wash it away” with water or vinegar or something. Wrong. Oh, so wrong. Once it's got a foothold and infects a few cells, that battle is lost. The only thing you can do is try not to infect others. If they get sick, they'll be competing for your hospital bed when you are close to dying. Keep away from everybody and try to get through it without infecting anyone else.

Now, why did I say Listerine up there? Because if you can kill the virus before it infects you, then you might have a chance. Once it's established an infection, then it's just virus v. immune system, and you have to try to get well.

I'm sorry about scaring you. I'm scared as hell. I mean, I've worked with HIV, a chickenpox virus that you can get again that had killed 5 people, and an emerging virus that killed a bunch of people in the Southwestern US. I was the kind of microbiologist who would have drunk samples to see what happened. And this sucker scares me.

Okay, so what else?

Act like your life and your loved ones' lives depend on what you do, because it does.

1. Stay inside. Stay inside. Stay inside.

2. Stay away from other people.

3. Cancel all concerts, vacations, plays, plane flights, organizations, clubs, church meetings, Sunday services, school, work, restaurants, take-out, lunch dates, dinner dates, golf league, and going out.

4. If you're a boss or an employer, close your place of business unless it's a pharmacy or a grocery store, and then continue to pay your people while it's closed. I have 5 people whom I will be continuing to pay during this time, no matter what. I get it. It's going to hurt a little, but it will keep those people safe.

5. Get your kids' school to close. If they don't, first just keep the kids home, and then pull them out of school if you have to, if all their absences are used up. It's drastic. Yes, it is. I homeschooled my kid for 2.5 years, and I was relieved when my kid's school closed Friday so that I didn't have to do that again. Call the principal. Call the secretary. Scream at them. Yes, I am hereby giving you permission to frickin' scream at them to close the school. In the 1918 Flu pandemic, places where the schools closed proactively, before the flu hit, had much lower death rates than places that hemmed and hawed about it. Links at the bottom.

6. Don't leave your house.

7. Don't buy fresh produce or bakery items that were made by hand, even if wrapped in plastic. Sorry. The virus is obviously aerosolized. It will settle on anything.

8. Starting now, you will probably want to spray the outsides packages of your groceries with bleach spray (not on the carpet or couch! It's bleach!) and wipe them down. You can make 1% bleach spray in an old spray bottle with 1 part bleach to 99 parts water. Obviously, don't spray this directly on food. Just on the plastic packages. Again, this is bleach. Do not eat or drink the bleach.

9. Stock up on food, medicines, vitamins, and pet food and supplies. Sorry about this email being a little late for that.

10. Do not go visit elderly relatives. OMG. Seriously. If you need to give them food, drop it and run while you're healthy. If they need supplies, shop now while you're healthy. And wipe it off with bleach.

Okay, so what can I do?

I get it. Even though I as a writer have been training for self-quarantine my whole life, it can be weird. So, what's safe-ish to do?

1. Stay home. Sorry, but I had to emphasize that.

2. If you live in the suburbs, ex-urbs, or rural areas, yeah, you can leave your house to go on a solitary walk or with the people you're quarantining with. Walk the dog. Or jog. If you see someone else out, no handshakes, no hugging, no touching. Talk to them from more than 10 feet away. I know this sucks. It really does. I'm sorry. But stay back. If they cough, turn around and walk the hell away. Just pretend they're zombies.

3. Skype/Zoom/Google Hangout/Whatsapp with anyone you want to, for however long you want to, at any time you want to. Do all the Skyping. Make “lunch dates” with friends to eat together while Google Hangouting. This is really fun. I've been doing this with writer friends for a few years now because we are all hermity introverts.

4. Again, if suburbia or on a balcony, start a small garden in some planters. Just some lettuce, radishes, and zucchini will be nice if you can't/shouldn't buy produce. On behalf of your neighbors and humanity, don't plant more than 2 zucchini bushes. Really.

5. Buy some ebooks? Definitely no risk there!

6. Remember your hobby closet? If you're a quilter like I am, it's time to finally dig into your stash. Ditto if you're a knitter, crocheter, or whatever your hobby of choice is.

7. Time to seriously reconnect with your pets. Or your family. It's up to you.

8. Get enough sleep. Seriously on this one. Getting 7-9 hours really boosts your immune system. That might be the difference between a mild case and being hospitalized.

9. Drink water. Ditto. Immune system. I know, but it's something you can do.

That's my info. Virtual hugs to all. I will try to keep in touch. Don't panic, but do everything you can to be a fire-break for this pandemic. Go home and stand firm.

One of the big things is that our governments, pretty much all of them, aren't coming to rescue us on this one. So, you need to do what you can to protect yourself and your family. And that means not getting sick, and not passing the virus to others if you do.

Please stay home, my dearest friends.

I am praying for you and the whole world. Pray for us all, too.

~ Blair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another website that will tell you what to do.

Important but Funny Video about Covid-19 Disease (at least it's funny.)

1918 Flu Response: St Louis vs. Philadelphia — Why Social Distancing Works

Closing Schools Early during 1918 Flu Pandemic Worked

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Published on March 14, 2020 15:49

Size vs Sized for Writers & Authors

To all my grammar-nerd writing buddies because I've been confused on this: SIZE vs. SIZED.

It is most important to make a guideline and stick to it. Don't use “fullsize car” in one paragraph and “full-sized car” in the next.

HYPHENS:

Hyphens are squishy and hard to pin down.

– Generally, you CAN use a hyphen if using a full noun before size/sized, which makes it a hyphenated compound word. You can also leave out the hyphen and make it a non-hyphenated compound word. This can get odd-looking, so be careful about omitting.

– Generally, do NOT use a hyphen if using a prefix before size/sized, like “mid.”

SIZE vs. SIZED:

SIZE:

If you are comparing two things that have no direct relationship as a metaphor = -size

brick-size bombplate-size diskteacup-size servingcat-size dogfootball field-size bedmidsize car (often NOT hyphenated because mid- is a prefix)supersize fries (hyphen can go either way on this one because super is both an adj and a prefix)

SIZED:

If you are saying that something was purposefully manufactured/made to be an standardized size = -sized

catering-sized coffee makercompact-sized carking-sized bedcat-sized breed of dogs (squishy one that could go either way)

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Published on March 08, 2020 11:24

Arthur, Lord Severn, wants to talk dirty to you.

Lord Arthur Finch-Hatten, a dirty British nobleman and absolutely nothing else, stares at his cell phone and then glances up at you. “I think it's bugged.”

Arthur Finch-Hatten, a dirty British Billionaire with an MI-6 secret.

No matter how you reassure him, anger leaps into his blue-gray eyes. When he's upset like this, they turn almost silvery with pale fire. He says, “I can't allow this, you know. Hand over your phone.”

You protest. Your phone isn't the one that's bugged.

“You're on my wifi,” he says, and you know it's true because you've been staying in his London penthouse for a week. Of course, you're hooked up to his wifi. And his internet. And everything else in his massive London flat. Arthur's Jack Russel terrier, Ruckus, is leaning against your leg and panting.

So, you hand Arthur your phone, though you swipe something out before he can see it.

“What was that?” he asked.

You demur that you didn't do anything. A trifle. Nothing to speak of.

Arthur gives you a crooked grin and thumbs a few swipes on your phone's screen.

It unlocks, even though you didn't give him the password.

One of his dark eyebrows twitches. “You should be careful about logging onto strange wifis. I assure you, mine is very strange.”

He sees the pictures you've been taking.

They're mostly over-your-shoulder selfies of Arthur as he walks through his apartment. In one of them, he'd just returned from a run and stripped off his shirt. That glorious full-back tattoo of his stains his skin like red and blue watercolor stripes and triangles. His heavy muscles ripple under his painted skin, and his glance back at you is smoldering hot.

You want to lick that tattoo.

Again.

He does something else to your phone and hands it back to you. “You didn't bring a trojan in with you.”

Oh, yes, you did. A whole box of them. But you don't tell Arthur that.

He says, “But they've been listening to me somehow and recording my conversations. Listen.”

You listen. And then you listen some more.

Because you could listen to Arthur all day and all night.

And now you can!
Listen to Arthur's story at:
AMAZON ~~~ AUDIBLE ~~~ APPLE BOOKS/iTUNES

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Published on March 06, 2020 13:14

NEW BOOK TODAY by Blair Babylon The Billionaire Quiz

Some quizzes will tell you your inner Pokemon or Hogwarts House. Wouldn’t you rather have a Billionaire Book Boyfriend instead?

Amazon: https://smarturl.it/BQAmz?IQid=BBB
Apple Books: https://smarturl.it/BQAB?IQid=BBB
Barnes & Noble: https://smarturl.it/BQNook?IQid=BBB
Google Play: https://smarturl.it/BQGP?IQid=BBB
Kobo: https://smarturl.it/BQKobo?IQid=BBB
Blair’s Website: https://smarturl.it/BQBB?IQid=BBB

Get The Billionaire Quiz, a new book concept
from Blair Babylon. Inside, you’ll answer a few fun multiple-choice questions
(How do you like it? How many ways do you like it? Just how naughty are you?),
and the quiz will match you to your very own billionaire book boyfriend
and a book about him, just for you!

And then, when you’re in a different mood, take the quiz
again because life’s too short for just one billionaire book boyfriend.

Which Billionaire Book Boyfriend will be your match?

Wulf von Hannover – the original sapphire-eyed, blond
Billionaire in Disguise, who runs the Devilhouse nightclub and has a royal
secret that even he’s hiding from. Probably the most refined and cosmopolitan
of the billionaire boyfriends, he also kind of rules the world, but quietly.

Casimir van Amsberg – popular, tattooed, and ripped
entertainment attorney to the stars with a thousand celebrity friends (and
exs,) but with emerald-green eyes only for you.

Arthur Finch-Hatten, Lord Severn – the hard-partying,
British Earl of Severn with an MI-6 secret. Born with silver eyes and a silver
spoon in his mouth, this Englishman likes to keep pets. He has a very badly
behaved puppy, too.

Theo Valencia – This tall County District Attorney is
on his way up in politics. Way, way up. His hobbies include boxing and
sheltering you from the bad guys chasing you. Also, if you squint at his
four-poster bed, you can see where the ropes go.

Alexandre, Duke de Valentinois – a towering European
nobleman and a rock star. Don’t let his sane, refined persona fool you. He’s
neither of those. Probably the most dangerous billionaire in the world. Might
have killed a man when he was a teenager.

Raphael Mirabaud – Goes by another name, for now, but
he’s handy with every weapon ever made. When the going gets rough, this tall,
Swiss bodyguard will jump in front of the woman he loves, take the bullet, and
shoot the assailant.

Mathonwy, Duke Draco – six feet, six inches of burly
muscle and golden-eyed competence, when he’s in his human form. A billionaire
book boyfriend for readers who truly want to walk on the wild side and fly
there, too.

Maxence Grimaldi – This tall, lean, dark-eyed royal
is hiding a thousand secrets. If you’re matched with him, you’ll discover one.

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Published on March 05, 2020 06:50

The Billionaire Quiz–Who Will You Choose?

Some quizzes will tell you what your inner Pokemon or
perfect Hogwarts House is. Wouldn’t you rather have a Billionaire Book
Boyfriend instead?

Click Here to get The Billionaire Quiz

Get The Billionaire Quiz, a new book concept from Blair Babylon. Inside, you’ll answer a few fun multiple-choice questions (How do you like it? How many ways do you like it? Just how naughty are you?), and the quiz will match you to your very own billionaire book boyfriend and a book about him, just for you!

And then, when you’re in a different mood, take the quiz
again because life’s too short for just one billionaire book boyfriend.