I have no idea how it’s made. I just get it as Costco. As we need it. One thing this Kung flu virus thing has taught me is to be a better inventory manager all around and not rely on supply chains in this globalized and uncertain world

Thanks for the crash course! I saw a fun thing on TV once about moonshiners but they of course left out the technical details.

The easiest way to make ethanol for us peons is the wine/moonshine process. That is through fermentation of sugars using yeast. The source of the sugar can be from most fruits (apples, grapes, whatever) and some vegetables (corn, beets, potatoes) and, of course, cane sugar.

The science of getting a fermentation started is pretty simple - I've even started wine fermentation in a plastic trash can. Just throw in the fruit, some water, and a package of yeast (sugar too if you got it). If the goal is ethanol and not a good tasting adult beverage that's about all you need because you can leave out all the filtering and carboy steps. When the bubbling comes to a stop that usually means the fermentation has gone as far as it can for this batch - either the yeast ran out of sugar or the ethanol content has gotten high enough to kill off the yeast (usually before 20%). I'm writing in general terms here and this simple process will work almost all the time. Refining the process can result in more ethanol and prevent some things, like apples, from making vinegar instead of ethanol.

The last step is to get the ethanol out of the fermented "mash" you just created. This is the distillation step and is also easy if you have the right equipment and pay attention to what you are doing. Here you have to know the flash or boiling point of ethanol is near 167 degF (I didn't look it up writing this) and water is 212 degF.

A simple fermenting system can be a pot you can heat up equipped with a lid with a hose coming out of the top that can be spiraled down into a catch vessel. Now, heat the pot hot enough to flash off the ethanol and not the water. As you can see the hose has to be long enough so the flashed off ethanol can cool and condense back into a liquid. This method will never get you pure ethanol as it likes to bring water along with it. I think the strongest ethanol you can get with this simple method is maybe 70% ethanol with 30% water mix (140 proof).

Once it was announced by the media and internet regarding the public situation to the coronavirus you had marauder going from store to store buying lots of toilet paper and sanitary products leaving store shelve empty. Those same store aren't restocking those products or selling them on a limited basis at certain times during the week and if you get there after that time it's all gone. Then if you go on Ebay you find toilet paper and those other item that the Marauders are selling at ten to 20 times there normal price. My wife who is a RN working at a post hospital care facility found out the a truck driver delivering supplies to them said the warehouses are stocked to the ceiling but don't have the enough personnel to load the the trucks. So. those trunks are not full when they leave the warehouse. In my opinion this has become a manufactured supply shortage to raise prices on sanitary and other products by the major retailers. I was lucky that a number small guest facilities in my city message on the local Next Door app for this area selling there toilet tissue inventory to people who are in need of it.

I'd be interested in learning about either process. I've seen the "stacks" used at oil refineries where they basically just heat up the oil and allow it to separate by density, but I'm not sure if that process applies here or not. If you have a good link, please post it!

Distilling ethanol isn't difficult if you can get the raw materials. Not sure about Isopropyl.

I wonder what the process is for making it. We typically don't think about supply chain much, but one thing Henry Ford did other than create the assembly line was work on integrated supply chains. Our world today is so segmented that a disruption in the supply chain just makes everything break down.

All cogent points. But what truly is the moral dilemma? What you're really getting at has nothing to do with the monetary deal at all and has everything to do with the relationship between the buyer and the seller. By engaging in these types of deals, the seller is taking a higher monetary amount in exchange for a negative relationship with the seller. What has to be worked out is whether or not this negative relationship is moral or not because its going to bring into play altruism. If you believe that your relationship with other human beings has intrinsic value and purpose, then intentionally creating a negative relationship with another person (such as through a one-sided business deal) is going to be problematic. If you believe that altruism of any kind is to be shunned, then this shouldn't bother you at all - you're just an entrepreneur in it to make a buck.

I agree that the scenario is one in which the gut reaction is to use coercion. The trick is what to do instead.

There's another consideration with the epi-pen that maybe doesn't work for the immediate need, but which in the long run solves the problem: another seller in the marketplace. The availability of substitutes is key to getting the price down. If I'm not mistaken, one of the problems with the epi-pen is that it is still protected under patent. So until the patent lapses and generic supplies become available, supply is going to be naturally constrained and prices high just as a result of that.

Has nothing to do with mysticism...it's really simple.
The mind is achieved via the brain when both halves work in concert, unicameral...as one. The body and the brain is made up of the quantum fields, energy fields and at the same time we live in these fields...you don't think there is any interaction between it all?
The question is, are you "Aware" of this interaction, "introspection" or not, can your brain decode information gained from the field, environment?
It takes cooperation of both halves of the brain to become aware of one's own awareness.

Theory, of course, but this is the general direction integrated science is going in.

Nothing has been found inside your head that is able to view itself, control itself, beyond survival behavior.
Remember, the neurons in your brain are essentially compartmentalized.

A good description of dilemmas facing managers in private business and government- there are business activities involving deals, and those requiring production (goods, services).
Deal makers are popular everywhere, but productive people are undervalued especially in government which has to watch election timings.

para 1. Agree, each store owner/manager has some tricky decisions to make to maximize profit short term long term, satisfaction of customers present, and satisfy customers yet to appear. -Sell and run out, hide stock for regulars, price high to enable most customers to get supply but make all angry, rationing does much the same.
What is certain is that government edicts do not stop irrational thinking or rumors. A free market enables different actions, rational or not, which provides some smoothing for price and supply shocks.

para 2. Not convinced, maybe the fault was with the company who sold/invented the epi-pen. They did not price high enough thereby undercutting themselves as well as not providing sufficient incentive for a competitive product. With this argument, the new buyer priced right, but public opinion had by then valued the product at the (unrealistic and false) initial low price.

Yup! Emotional thinking is best at looking back, to kick yourself for not buying last month when prices were normal.

There is no reason to believe that a mind is not the brain functioning, i.e., that the brain is aware of itself ( the mind) and not in any way separate from the brain and thus not an outsider observing the brain.The mind is not a "ghost in the machine" which is installed by some supernatural god. Chemistry is really fruitful.

No argument there. I just keep remembering the"businessmen" in Atlas Shrugged, buying up evrrything, selling it fast and going on to the next opportunity. They had no thought as to the future, only how much money they could earn. They were the opposite of the Reardens, the Dannagers, who also made money, but by earning it. I realize that was a novel, but this world resembles a bad novel more each day. The question of ethics seems lost in our world, buried in an avalanche of progressive ideals. May not make much sense here. Fighting a bad cold for 4 weeks and caring for hubby with the same problem messes with my thought process. Sorry...

We use isopropyl alcohol at our shop. It usually costs about 2.50 per bottle. Now it’s more like 20 per bottle IF you can find it at all. Everyone wants it and the supply is limited. Such is life

Conscious folk are obviously unicameral, both sides of the brain working in concert; therefore, they have access to their minds.
It is the "Mind" that is able to keep an eye on the brain, which is primarily engaged in survival and wants and desires, (temptations.)

It's been my observation that many dems are governed by only 1/2 the brain...usually the emotional side.

However, I have met some that are in fact, unicameral...I ask them, why are you a democrat?...you have a mind, you don't like unions, you create your own value and sometimes share any abundance created cautiously.

Risk! Bingo.

There is nothing evil about panic buying and storing. If there is concern for something to be available purchase and store it for later use. If others don't that is their choice to risk it not being available. If the supply chain is unbroken the shortage will be short lived. If there is no supply those who respond first to prepare for a disaster should have the best opportunity to survive. The real interrupter of the supply chain will be the government forcibly shutting down businesses, travel and mandating what it considers to be necessary options.

Is a conscious folk somehow different than a mind so that that folk is outside of the the mind and that consciousness must find out what the mind is doing?

Thanks for sharing. Very insightful indeed!

Greed/hording...was not a bad designation in ancient Greece...who else might have a stock pile in times of need...then the french got a hold of the word and used it to describe fat people.

Minimums and high prices are a very effective deterrent to hoarding.

Recall the Arab oil embargo of the early 70s. Recall the gas rationing & the odd/even day fiasco that caused long lines and 'NO GAS' signs at every station.

What caused the shortages? It wasn't that the fleet was using more gasoline, but the fleet was storing all the fuel in what is known as the rolling reserve. It's the difference between the amount of fuel that the fleet holds as the 'average' tank of gas, which is typically less than 1/2 tank per car, and the 'hoarding' quantity when everyone who thought that gas would dry up, filled their tank to capacity.

Foolish behaviour very quickly moved billions of gallons of gas from in the ground tanks to the trunks of Chevys, Fords, & Chryslers! The refineries couldn't refile billions of gallons on such short notice. So the big tanks were pumped dry. The fleet which would normally have carried 10 days of fuel, was rolling around nearly three weeks of capacity.

So as soon as the in-ground tanks were refilled, then gas stations actually had to refuse deliveries because the customers had filled up. this caused a rebound ripple disruption of the fuel supplies. Refinery production was curbed, and that in turn caused another surge of fillups.

It took a number of cycles for the panic to abate. But by then we were all paying 50% more for gas, and there was no relief in sight.

tl;dr Sheeple are Stupid!

Demo's listen to their heads, well, 1/2 their head anyway. Conscious folks listen to their minds.

Another way to look at it is this: are you creating a long-term customer base or are you just in it for the short term? And are you willing to deal with the negative will that comes with such behavior?