Having never used an officially reusable respirator, I'm wondering what the advantage is over disposable ones.
I use my disposable ones for many hours total, until they either look or smell a little dirty, before I discard them. Do you know if this is significantly bad? I've been assuming not.
With reusable respirators, there's still a disposable filter that you have to replace regularly, right? Plus you have to clean the reusable parts. Do you expect that filter replacement frequency, supply reliability, and cost to be approximately equivalent between N95s and the filters for reusable respirators?
I can imagine the filters are probably cheaper. But it's easier for me to store a few silicone-sealed N95s in the car and house. It's also less unusual-looking to wear them at high-risk locations like the pediatrician's office. Finally, if one gets irreversibly dirty for some reason, it's no big deal to toss it.
I'm not trying to convince you that disposable N95s are better than reusable respirators (though I do feel those particular Softseal ones are less widely known about than they ought to be). I am genuinely confused why people would prefer reusable ones and think I might be missing something.
Is the eponymous difference between 95 and 100 really due to the filtration of the fabric itself? Or is it mainly due to the assumption of an excellent seal on the P100 and only a moderate one on most N95s? A comparison of N95s to KN95s suggests it's not the latter reason, since KN95s have very poor seals; but since that also mixes different countries' standards, I'm not sure it means much.
Have you tried Softseal N95 3D respirators? These have been my family's standard "serious" masks since early 2020. We love the tight seal created by the silicone gasket. They're $31.95 for a box of ten masks with valves.
I do wonder how inferior the filtration is compared to the respirators you list. Certainly this one feels much more effective than KN95s which do not seal.
https://softsealmask.com/
Congrats, we've just solved alignment! The AI now wants to know whether we want our utopia optimized in a way that accounts for dragons or not.
Hopefully you're joking. Given the common (average?) reaction of two days of feeling flu-like and feverish after Covid vaccination, not to mention people who predictably react worse than average, I can think of a lot of times I'd rather schedule that sadly worthwhile experience than the first two days of an international trip.
I am a fan of combined bus + bike + right turn lanes. But I say this as a bicyclist and motorist, not a bus user.
The benefit to bicyclists is that we get a real full-width lane to bike in the center of, without much traffic. This provides generous distance from debris on the right, and from traffic in the lane to the left, as well as optimal sight lines to and from traffic at intersections. And bus drivers are more courteous, attentive, and law-abiding than the average motorist. I have never had a problem using the full lane ahead of a bus.
However, after reading your post I have a new appreciation for how much that could slow down buses, depending on how common bicyclists are. Of course buses can change lanes to pass just like everyone else, and buses in a bus lane have to change lanes to make left turns anyway, but in heavy traffic it would reduce some of the benefit to buses of having a special bus lane.
My understanding is that rapid antigen test positives indicate high viral load, especially if the line is darker rather than lighter. So I would expect her to still be significantly contagious.
Being symptomless does help prevent transmission some, since she won't be coughing or blowing her nose. But regular talking, and to a lesser extent breathing, are often enough to transmit it.
You didn't ask this, but if I were you and I wanted her to be able to still visit while minimizing risks, I would consider some or all of the following:
Having her sleep alone unmasked in a room with a HEPA filter (and a window cracked if your weather is mild)
Spending much of your days outdoors with at least surgical quality masks on
Wearing at least N95 quality masks, preferably silicone-sealed N95s (Softseal 3D masks), while indoors together
Using improved ventilation such as HEPA filters, continuous HVAC, and/or open windows if the weather allows, while indoors together.
You could also consider not minimizing risks as much as you theoretically could, especially if you've had Covid or a bivalent vaccine within the past four months, don't have any high risk conditions, have access to Paxlovid, don't have any other upcoming events you'd hate to miss, and are willing to take extra precautions around vulnerable people for the week or so after she leaves.
As a gardener, a simple rain meter like this one has been a useful tool I found in recent years. AcuRite 5" Capacity Easy-to-Read Magnifying Acrylic, Blue (00850A2) Rain Gauge https://a.co/d/iRd0phK
Weather forecasts will often predict how many inches of rain are probably coming, but it's surprisingly hard to find records after the fact of how much rain actually fell. So you might not know, especially if the rain falls at night or when you're out of the house.
Knowing whether we got 0.1 inches or 1 inch of rain can make a difference in my watering plans.
A soil moisture meter probe can also be useful, but usually I don't think about using it, so it hasn't done much for me personally other than calibrating my instincts the few times I did use one. I would recommend one for gardeners with less experience or less willingness to kill plants than I have.
Most fads, including moral ones, readily admit that previous versions were suboptimal. If anything, the more rapidly changing the style, the more virtuous the ones who can keep up look.
(FWIW, I do think better masks would have provided more protection for less suffering than other preventative measures. In the absence of state-mandated good masks, I wish the social pressure had been there to make good masks trendy.)
FWIW, I've never heard anyone use the term spoons to refer to their degree of willpower. Rather, I've always heard people use the term spoons to refer to their level of physical energy/stamina.
For example, someone might say that having to stand (rather than sit) on public transit wiped out their spoons for the day.
If I heard someone say that clearing out their email inbox wiped out their spoons for the day, I would be surprised. I would assume they were using the term at an additional level of remove from the original metaphor. That's fine, but nonstandard in my experience.
Many tasks take both physical and mental energy, like running errands. So I can see how some people might assume, from hearing spoons refer to such tasks, that it meant both kinds of energy. Or they could assume the opposite from me in terms of which one it refers to more. Or, the consensus on its definition could be different now than a decade ago when I formed my impression. Still, here's my data point.
The Psmiths have a good parable about the origins (and impending decline) of democracy that involves similar ideas. Search for "parable" to skip to that part.
https://www.thepsmiths.com/p/review-miti-and-the-japanese-miracle