FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

Thirty-second day, Tuesday April 14, 2020 in Barcelona

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 2020 is not going to be held in June although they will try to do it later.

Someone said that his motto for these shaking times is: 'We will adapt' 😏

[Peter Lemkin]

My Masters training was in Pubic Health and Epidemiology. I hate to be the bearer of bad news....but ALL politicians have been afraid to tell the general public what the experts know - this is not going to end in a few weeks or even a few months. This will likely not end until there is a vaccine and that is most likely 18 months away +/- a few months.

While some countries or areas may try having a mineral show, I personally would be afraid to attend one. My experience of them is they are about as crowded as one can get with people literally pushing past others to move to the next table. At some point this will be over - but politicians are not being honest for 'political' reasons and to keep up [false] hope. We are into this about 3-4 months depending on where one lives and have about another 18-20 months to go.

Again, I'm very sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

For dealers, I strongly suggest concentrating on on-line sales or some new kind of hybrid in-person sales in which potential buyers come one by one with face masks and keeping social distance - although I can't even think of how to arrange that safely or fairly. I think we will be lucky to have mineral shows as we know them starting up next year this time. One caveat, with any country that can arrange near total testing of the population and keeping those who test positive [with or without symptoms] at home or in hospital, as needed - then and only then will it be safe for those who test negative [and one would have to test virtually EVERYONE!] to go about 'normal' activities.

This is theoretically possible, but no country has yet developed the testing capacity and structure to do this without violation of human rights. China is perhaps closest to this, but with horrible intrusive violation of human rights - in the democracies this will prove much more of a challenge. I'm sure I have depressed many if not all with this post. I hope I am wrong. I think time will show I am not. Of course there will be places [Sweden now for example] where one might be able to mount a show - but the consequences of infections and some deaths one will have to assess if it is worth it for yourself and people generally. This virus is BAD, unusual, dangerous - and will NOT easily be defeated. If magically someone gets lucky and comes up with a vaccine or other medical strategy such as an effective anti-viral that already exists we will be very lucky and shorten the timeline I have mentioned. The chances of that, while not zero, are low.

This will be a difficult time for everyone and most every country [and the individuals in it who are not wealthy already] will be in financial ruin when this is over. I personally do not see how I will survive this period financially........nor can one plan, as one doesn't know when or how things will change. Tough times. Humanity is stupid and the political leaders even more so. I can point to books and technical papers warning of something like this coming for sure [only not sure exactly when and what] for MANY years....and now here it is!! Such zoonotic pandemics have been becoming more common in the last few decades and will show NO slowdown [will happen again]...and if we do not learn from this one, humanity and what passes for civilization will wither and die - much as happened in the Middle Ages during the Plague [Black Death] despite all of the advances in science and medicine. We as a global humanity must not only solve this pandemic, but learn and stop future ones [too complex to go into here], and prepare for them [as they WILL happen again - and soon], so we can stop them almost as quickly as they begin. It is possible, but will take an ENORMOUS effort and % of resources [I suggest taken from military budgets]. Depressing rant over...and sorry. I hope I'm wrong...my training tells me I'm not.

There will be partial returns to normalcy locally for short periods of time if and only if there is complete testing, tracing of positive cases and removing positive persons temporarily out of circulation in the public sphere.

No country now is even close to being able to do that.....and many have not even started planning for it and preparing for it. However, it is possible with enough will and money dedicated to the problem...and it is a HUGE problem. This is the greatest crisis, in my opinion, humanity has faced in the past 100 years [since the so called Spanish Flu which started in the USA] in 1918-19. That flu killed many more than 50 million worldwide. We have better science and medicine now, but we also have more humans and much greater travel of persons and things between cities and nations.
End rant.

[R Saunders]

Mr. Peter lemkin you write a powerful message. Do you know if the virus can been seen under a regular microscope or only an EMC. electron scope? If so what eye piece and objective or nose piece? It seems that the pictures on TV news look more like an artistic version. I do own several microscopes from antique to medical and scientific. I realize I would never have a sample to look at. I agree that they only tells us what they feel the masses could understand.
Thanks, Bob

[Peter Lemkin]

[Jordi Fabre]

Thirty-third day, Wednesday April 15, 2020 in Barcelona

[Jordi Fabre]

Thirty-fifth day, Friday April 17, 2020 in Barcelona

With this post I end the kind-of-daily comments in agenda mode that I have been doing during these 35 days of confinement by the Coronavirus.

Due to my personal circumstances my confinement is being easy, but I can't stop thinking about everyone who is having a bad or very bad time. That, along with the fact that I could not move much, used to how I was always going up and down, and the unbearable feeling that political leaders around the world are a bunch of useless makes me prefer to continue with other topics ( minerals basically! 😉)

[Tobi]

Incredibly beautiful pyromorphite, Jordi, wow!
Here's another beautiful nature photo from a friend, she found these little fellows having fun in her garden yesterday :-)

[Dany Mabillard]

I wasn't very active this week because after 6 weeks of recovery, I began to work from home. With this photo I'd like to pay tribute to all the parents that have to work from home and to take care of the children. Congratulations.

Have a nice weekend, take care and stay at home.

@Jordi, thank you for your daily comments.

[fena kuiperi]

Thank you all for the positive distraction in these severe days, your posts help me a lot to keep on. I made this photo as a contribution for strength and hope: one day this will flower!

[chris]

A photo taken early in the morning during a trek in the French Alps.

[Jordi Fabre]

Urban gardens

Azalea (Rhododendron) under the rain that is falling today in Barcelona. A gray day like (I'm afraid) the next days & times will be...

[Jordi Fabre]

Always faithful, elegant companions…

[Jordi Fabre]

The symmetry and the color...

[bob kerr]

[rweaver]