Coronavirus General Discussion (no politics, no flamewars!)

Lester Wareham wrote in post #19035778
There were warnings not use 60%+ proof gin in the UK from the manufacture, I did not really follow why.

Lester the ‘proof’ value on alcohol bottles so not the same thing as percentage of alcohol. It used to be in the UK that the proof value was about 1.8 times the alcohol by volume (ABV), while in the USA proof is twice the ABV. Normal spirits in the UK are about 40% ABV, which is not enough to kill the virus. The alcohol percentage would obviously drop further if you added anything else to the mix, e.g. Aloe Vera. The ABV for a hand sanitiser needs to be above 60%, so a higher starting point is required if you are mixing it.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #19035739
Yes I am partway through scanning the old film stuff, had to stop when I was not well a few years back.

Current project is recording the LP library (that now lives under the stairs), better half gave me a record deck with a USB interface for Christmas 'cos my old deck was basically worn out. Rediscovering a lot of early 70's prog rock I forgot I had.....

Haha! That's funny Lester - it's the same place I keep all my old LP's from the 70's, in wood crates I made under the stairs. I still have the turntable but haven't converted any of the music. I believe there are about 200 albums there

JWdlft wrote in post #19035821
I Found this on the BBC site:
Coronavirus: Don't use vodka to sanitise hands

Yes that was the one, well found.

TBH it would not have occurred to me to wash my hands in vodka rather than drink it, clearly I am too civilised for these times.

Taking of which I noticed the last time we went around to the local convenience store there were no bananas, oranges, tangerines or grapes, but there were lemons and limes; so you were fine if you wanted to have a G&T or Mojito. I am sure this tells me something important...

Honey Monster wrote in post #19035831
Lester the ‘proof’ value on alcohol bottles so not the same thing as percentage of alcohol. It used to be in the UK that the proof value was about 1.8 times the alcohol by volume (ABV), while in the USA proof is twice the ABV. Normal spirits in the UK are about 40% ABV, which is not enough to kill the virus. The alcohol percentage would obviously drop further if you added anything else to the mix, e.g. Aloe Vera. The ABV for a hand sanitiser needs to be above 60%, so a higher starting point is required if you are mixing it.

Good points, I tend to forget this stuff due to being more focussed on the consumption side of things.

A couple of links:
https://en.wikipedia.o​rg/wiki/Alcohol_by_vol​ume
https://en.wikipedia.o​rg/wiki/Alcohol_proof

It is only from what I call the "book of lies", but generally they are not too bad.

Honey Monster wrote in post #19035831
Lester the ‘proof’ value on alcohol bottles so not the same thing as percentage of alcohol. It used to be in the UK that the proof value was about 1.8 times the alcohol by volume (ABV), while in the USA proof is twice the ABV. Normal spirits in the UK are about 40% ABV, which is not enough to kill the virus. The alcohol percentage would obviously drop further if you added anything else to the mix, e.g. Aloe Vera. The ABV for a hand sanitiser needs to be above 60%, so a higher starting point is required if you are mixing it.

Isopropyl alcohol (usually 99.8% from electronics or medical supplies places) is a lot cheaper and more effective than 'drinking' alcohol, if you can get it (which unfortunately I can't ATM--lucky I had a bit on hand for cleaning keyboards etc.). Mix it as follows: Isopropyl alcohol (99.8%) 93%; Hydrogen peroxide (3%) 5%; Glycerin/glycerol (98%) 2%. That's according to the World Health Organisation.

sapearl wrote in post #19035833
Haha! That's funny Lester - it's the same place I keep all my old LP's from the 70's, in wood crates I made under the stairs. I still have the turntable but haven't converted any of the music. I believe there are about 200 albums there

Yes my old turntable main bearing is worn out and I can't get the right sized belts (the last time a looked). My wife also blew the output stage of the amp from that time by overwatering a plant above it. This was the second time she had done it, first time I was able to repair it but not the second (at least not without lab gear, I tend to be theoretical these days). The new amp does not support a turntable input natively.

So better half (after about 15 year gap) got me this https://www.audio-technica.com …fd29bd79d7e51f/​index.html, other manufactures are available.

It is not bad, only problem is the audio codec defaults to mono under Windows 10 (this a windows problem not the turntable driver), it is fine on Windows 7 so I used my old laptop.

Apologies for the off topic discussion all, I'll be quite now.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #19035847
The new amp does not support a turntable input natively.

wouldn't such a device just be called "a heater"?

kiwichris wrote in post #19035722
Why not use methylated spirits? That is near to pure alcohol and in NZ coloured purple and given and awful smell to deter alcoholics. I think it is wood alcohol, therefore poisonous rather than grain alcohol.

https://en.wikipedia.o​rg/wiki/Denatured_alco​hol

In the past I have used aloe vera plant leaves' sap for skin and wound healing. It is very good on sunburn and mild burns.

You need to be a bit careful about "methylated spirits". Denatured alcohol is often denatured with methanol, sometimes, the majority of the contents is methanol instead of ethanol. "Methylated" is a type of denatured alcohol which refers to the added methanol. Methanol isn't very good as an antiseptic compared to longer chain alcohols [1], [2]

[1] https://www.cdc.gov …ion-methods/chemical.html , one sentence
[2] https://medcraveonline​.com/JBMOA/JBMOA-07-00247.pdf

Capn Jack wrote in post #19035891
You need to be a bit careful about "methylated spirits". Denatured alcohol is often denatured with methanol, sometimes, the majority of the contents is methanol instead of ethanol. "Methylated" is a type of denatured alcohol which refers to the added methanol. Methanol isn't very good as an antiseptic compared to longer chain alcohols [1], [2]

[1] https://www.cdc.gov …ion-methods/chemical.html , one sentencce
[2] https://medcraveonline​.com/JBMOA/JBMOA-07-00247.pdf

I agree, denatured alcohol is not good.

Great for cleaning windows, though

sapearl wrote in post #19035833
Haha! That's funny Lester - it's the same place I keep all my old LP's from the 70's, in wood crates I made under the stairs. I still have the turntable but haven't converted any of the music. I believe there are about 200 albums there

What is an LP? Turntable?

digital paradise wrote in post #19035921
What is an LP? Turntable?

Your probably older than me, even my kid who is 28 knows what they are; mind he calls it vinyl, now shellac 78 rmp, that is getting older.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #19035934
Your probably older than me, even my kid who is 28 knows what they are; mind he calls it vinyl, now shellac 78 rmp, that is getting older.

Apparently like film it is making a bit of a comeback.

digital paradise wrote in post #19035921
What is an LP? Turntable?

Used to be short for Long Playing record album - 33 1/3 rpm speed, about 20 minutes per side of the record. The turn table would be used to play these as well as the old 78 rpm (slate/and breakable plastic) records and also the smal 45 rpm's which were typically single songs.

It seems chloroquine and derivatives may not work so well, but more testing is being done:
https://www.fiercephar​ma.com …just-trial-design-s-fault
https://www.fiercephar​ma.com …-drug-disappoint-clinical

sapearl wrote in post #19035991
Used to be short for Long Playing record album - 33 1/3 rpm speed, about 20 minutes per side of the record. The turn table would be used to play these as well as the old 78 rpm (slate/and breakable plastic) records and also the smal 45 rpm's which were typically single songs.

Thanks. I always thought it stood for Lousy Phonics.