In the last day or so British Airways have moved to “vouchers for travel within a year, no change fees” for any flight departing before the end of May, so I’m pretty well set to do what I intended with no cost penalties
I went early to get gas and get some TP. Got in line around 805-810 in Concord (opens at 9) and it already was down at the end of the building around the corner. I think they started letting people in a little after 830. 1 TP, 1 paper towel, and 1 thing of water per member. It was insane. I didn't really need TP but did need gas and wanted to avoid the parking lot after it opened so I went early. Decided to get things while I was there. Surprisingly no one was running once they got into the store. Just orderly walking to the back where the paper products were.
When dinosaurs roamed the Earth, days were about a half-hour shorter than they are today, a new study says.
Why is this? 70 million years ago, the Earth turned faster than it does today, rotating 372 times a year compared with the current 365, according to an analysis of an ancient fossil mollusk shell from the late Cretaceous period.
This means a day lasted about 23½ hours.
The study backs up what astronomers theorized about the length of days millions of years ago.
Researchers analyzed a single mollusk that lived for more than nine years in a shallow seabed in the tropics – a location that's now dry land in the mountains of Oman.
The mollusk grew fast, laying down daily growth rings. The study used lasers to sample tiny slices of the mollusk's shell and count the growth rings.
“We have about four to five data points per day, and this is something that you almost never get in geological history. We can basically look at a day 70 million years ago. It’s pretty amazing,” said study lead author Niels de Winter, an analytical geochemist at Vrije Universiteit in Brussels.
well of course it was, jeez. Also in the future, will have much longer days because the moon is slowing us down and eventually the moon will match the earth's rotation and only be seen from one side.
No reported cases in my county, small gym, never more than like ten people in there at a time. Touching lots of surfaces with my hands is the objective. Is it irresponsible to go?
SOP for me. I usually bring a flask of herbal tea to force some built-in rest between climbs, usually without washing hands first. Probably need to rethink this but otherwise, I feel like if I follow what you suggest and don't get coughed or sneezed on, I'm not increasing risk that much.
Pretty much everything that doesn't involve the world at large is good in my life. Good job, awesome family, good health, and tackling yet another new adventure sport...hard to complain about much even when the rest of the world is falling apart.
I’ve started canceling apartments before additional payments are due. I’m sitting tight on the plane tickets in case BA gets freer about cancellations. In the meantime I’ll figure out a couple of alternative times in case I need to bite the bullet and reschedule the flights for a specific time
I'm not sure what BA's policy is but United, surprisingly, is allowing free use of the credit within 1 year of the booking date. No reticket booking charge.
Right now they’re making no accommodations for people who booked before March 3 or so. I have previously booked on US flag carriers to Europe if I thought I might need to cancel / reuse tickets, but in early January I really didn’t foresee this level of disruption and I was using a bunch of Avíos we’d unwittingly accumulated on a BA affinity credit card. Oh well.
Good to know. I'm on United to SFO next Wed for a family reunion but my sister is up in the air (so to speak) because her husband has chronic respiratory issue and hasn't been feeling well. Has tests and doctor's appt next Monday but it won't surprise me if they bail. I probably would. Then I would have to decide to visit my brothers anyway or to go another time.
My spring break plans involve travel to the northern parts of Death Valley travelling a 200 plus miles on dirt roads. In other words, fits right in with the recommendation of social distancing.
1. Going away party this afternoon for a colleague, so we get catered Mexican food!
2. Firm decided that we're working remotely next week (which, in addition to letting me lounge in PJs on my sofa, will also make it much easier to do 2 job interviews)
3. 5 of 6 things I was to do this weekend have been cancelled/postponed, and I have so much free time now that I almost don't know what to do with it
because of coronavirus, I got my Japanese scholarship postponed to September from April, which gives a much better time frame to wrap things up at home and work and properly say goodbye to everyone I know in the Bay. Also time for one more Cal game before I skeedaddle to the Far East for 4 years!
Good for you! I hope the process is relatively smooth for you.
So the first time I heard about quantum computing was at 2am on a Saturday night at Pita Pit when I visited UCSB friends in college. I can't say that my understanding has deepened in the ensuing 13 years.
I decided I'll make the Mrs Field's cookie recipe for tomorrow. I was thinking of the NYT cookie recipe but I don't want to have to go find the ingredients. And Zacharys!!!
My mother's remedy for prolonged exposure was a Hot Toddy or two. I had this remedy applied after a winter backpacking trip that was cut short by an unexpected snowstorm making it necessary to retracing our steps to pur starting point. Going ahead would have been foolhardy as the snow obliterated sight of the trail blazes and blanketed the trail so that it wasn't visible.
It'll be ok. I have 25 books checked out and digital borrowing is still available and there's a ton of books I already own that I'll finally get around to reading.
Still waiting to hear from Los Angeles Superior Court if jury trials are still proceeding as planned or if they will be vacated/continued. It is unbelievable to me that they haven't made a decision yet.
I do feel sorry for all the class of 20 kids that can't go through graduation. At Vandy and Williams they were only given like 4 days to a week to leave. Must be harder for the seniors that the goodbyes are so abrupt and can't be spread out like it normally would
It's not the dream job at Netflix (have tried and been rejected by them 3 times now!) but it'll hopefully be better hours/infrastructure than my current job.
I'm good at my job, I work hard, and I'm fairly easy to get along with. That's all true and that's what I'll be communicating in my interviews. Just gotta figure out tan appropriate dollar amount to put on that before Monday.
I read online about anecdotes of people getting extra food from Chinese restaurants who are super happy for their patronage. That has definitely NOT been the case for me during this past week. The restaurants that I went to still have the normal number of Chinese-looking patrons, and I have definitely not been given extra free sides nor other benefits (nor special thanks for my continuing patronage). Then again, my orders of foods for one might be too small?
Not really a stigma against Chinese food in Bangkok. But I don't know how to do delivery here (my cousin's building - you have to go downstairs to accept, but I don't have a Thai phone nor do I speak Thai). But right across the street, that is impossible to cross, is one of the big street food centers of Bangkok.
So, a guy on Nextdoor.com set up the idea of a delivery service to the local elderly and immuno-compromised. I went out to five different retailers to see if the project was viable.
It was busy yesterday, but today people have lost their minds. Absolutely full parking lot in the middle of the day. Full blown hoarding. All shelves are nearly running low on most stuff and empty on a lot of things -- except for fresh produce.
Bottom line: the project is not viable because Instacart has cornered the market.
I stopped in the Whole Foods near Geo. Wash Univ. and most things were as normal and I got what I wanted but it was striking that the pasta shelves were wiped out. No spaghetti, macaroni, etc.
The Hearst Museum just sent out an email that they're closing, but that we should feel free to take advantage of their online resources...including digitized films! A random thing I didn't know we had access to:
They apparently have short films about one of the indigenous Californian tribe by the name of "Pomo"...I misread that word originally when I saw that category of films.
All MD public schools will be closed for two weeks starting Monday. I'm planning to go to work on Monday, but I may be forced into a two-week telecommute stint.
Coincidentally, I planned on going to Costco today to pick up a piece of furniture. But I may not bother if it's overrun with toiler paper hoarders.
At least she can go outside, so there's that. My friend in Wuhan has been stuck in a 1000 sq ft apartment with her parents + sister since around Jan 25. Only one family member is allowed out every other day. They get groceries delivered by the neighborhood community government - which is a good thing, but she's told me she misses pizza so much. They're not really delivering anything beyond chicken, pork, vegetables, rice and eggs.
Also, Wuhan is still cold and dreary and rainy. It's been summer in Bangkok for 2 weeks already - and let me tell you - summer in the urban tropics is HOT.
The only reason I've been able to enact social distancing so far is because it's been imposed on me (work says go remote, all my events cancelled, etc)
My wife went to the Danville Costco this morning as part or our every few weeks trip. She expected it to be bad but it was far worse. Backup off the freeway, line snaking through the parking lot to get in the doors. Crazy.
I'm still surprised more schools in the bay area aren't closed. Maybe there aren't any people testing positive in the east bay, though I don't see how that could be the case. Maybe it's because people can't get the tests.
Oakland schools still open, but I am counting the days until they shut down. Looks like Alameda (city) is doing it as of Monday (or rather, it's not a complete shutdown, rather encouraging those who can do so to stay home).
Burlingame schools closed until April 10! Where is that “it’s happening” gif when you need it? Dude, trying to do work with my 6 yo twins and 3 yo at home is going to be quite the disaster
I have the telecommute option but prefer to be in the office at times (barking dogs, neighborhood leaf blowers). With everyone else off the roads, my commute time is cut in half. Our customer-facing team members don't have a remote option, so a lot of hand sanitizing going on there. Schools are closed starting Monday; some will stay closed through spring break. Some are going to 'distant learning' when they reopen. Curious if they'll figure out how to monitor the kids multi-tasking between classroom and gaming sites!
Ferry boat was very empty today and there's only one other person in my office today. My commute didn't get shorter (bike -> boat -> bike is already as fast as it's ever gonna be), but it was pretty easy to practice social distance the entire time.
Yea, I've been into the office twice this week and ... its kinda great? Commute is perfect, parking is close, and elevators are suddenly quick. Still get fresh coffee and lunch (though options are limited).
That's such a weird social contagion. "Everyone is buying toilet paper, so I must go buy some before they run out!" And that exacerbates things until there's none left.
I'm hopeful that the grocery stores will be more normal next weekend. Unless folks manage to get through 30 cans of vegetables in the coming week, they likely won't still be hoarding by this time next week.
I find it fascinating that people - who usually have to prepare for utility disruption due to weather - instinctively think "oh, disaster coming; better get water." I think what people forget is that you should be stocking up on medical supplies and anything else you would get from CVS/Walgreens. The LAST place you'll want to be is CVS/Walgreens for the next few months as that place is going to be a magnet for the infected.
I went the other route and ordered a bidet (which I had been considering for awhile) and stocked up on regular cold/flu medicine, zinc based cough drops and soup. We have earthquake water if some how that gets disrupted. And in the case of a catastrophe, a sailboat with 300 gallons of water and 280 gallons of diesel.
My wild guess at this point is that he has been tested and is undergoing treatment as quietly as possible, while still actively being a vector to spread the disease.
Almost everything here was suspended yesterday. All work is now telecommute. All events are cancelled/postponed. All roads were eerily empty. Except our county's schools, which normally cancel if it is windy or there is a single snowflake.
I wouldn't be shocked if he tried to do it. That was what I was thinking a few weeks ago. I wonder if he could do it with an executive order or if he'd have to get the house or senate to vote for it. And I wonder how many republicans would vote for it. After the corona Virus debacle, if they voted for it how many would get voted out the next time they ran.
I've been wondering if something like that would happen with upcoming elections. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter much since a Sanders comeback was nigh-impossible.
Aside from this being a lie (he disbanded O’s pandemic response team, flubbed testing badly, and lies so constantly that nothing from the WH can be trusted even in a time of crisis), it is a REAL CRISIS! IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU, YOU MORON! Stop jacking off on Twitter and get to work, JFC
Update: Trump holding a press conference about Coronavirus at 3pm Eastern US/noon Pacific. I wish he wouldn't as my stock portfolio is already pretty beat up.
I think M&A is going to go nuts actually. PE/VC types are sitting on piles of cash and now there are all these companies that would be fine in normal times but are struggling, meaning they are perfect acquisition targets. The sharks see blood in the water
I was there in 2003 when MySpace was sold to Fox for $560 million. I helped get it funded. Because the market was so crappy between 2001 and 2003 everybody thought it was a great deal. In hindsight it was a terrible deal because Fox never figured out what to do with it. Plus they stuck with Cold Fusion as a platform. FB trampled them.
My company announced an agreement to be acquired last week at a fixed stock price, which is pretty fantastic timing, because I doubt we'd have gotten near that price this week.
No, the company is doing well and getting acquired for good reasons, so they're keeping everyone at existing salary, including entire management team. Ideally this is about as minimally disruptive as acquisitions ever are.
You never know, and it won't close for months, but I'm optimistic.
The Masters Tournament has just been postponed. This weekend's tournament was cancelled 1 round in, after initial plans to play with no galleries, and the next 3 weeks tournaments have been cancelled.
I started running again so that I'm more in shape for my old man basketball league games. I've been running at the 24 hr fitness for about 15-20 min. Probably a good time to start running outside now.
40-70, but there is a guy that I think is 83 so I don't think you get kicked out at 70. I'm 50 and way out of basketball shape, but slowly working my way back into it. Yes I'm in the Bay Area. The games are in WC but the league is full and new players can be invited when people leave. There are 6 teams and 10 per team. It's my first year playing here. If you're interested let me know and I can suggest you if there are openings next season. Actually they postponed games this weekend. There were plenty that wanted to play but I think enough didn't that some teams would have to forfeit.
I guess it's not that surprising, but multiple different people that I currently or used to work with have independently came up with the jokes about how I am going to be super productive for the next 2-4+ weeks due to all the sports cancellations. They are probably not wrong.
It's interesting that I haven't heard about the tickets that I bought for Giants/Dodgers the Sat in Apr. That should be within the postponement time. I guess they don't know what they're going to do yet, reschedule vs cut down on the games. I vote for removing the interleague games at the very least.
At this point I'm expecting every sports season gets canceled for the year. There are parts of the country this hasn't touched yet and likely the virus keeps having outbreaks in different parts of it. If teams can't play there, you can't play the season.
I highly highly doubt that this will happen, unless the situation for almost all of US becomes as bad as China/Italy in the coming weeks/months. There is simply too much money for pro sports to cancel seasons vs. shortened (probably unbalanced and unfair) seasons starting in the summer. If the disease is localized in only certain states, they will just avoid those places (all road games, etc.).
That's just it, I think we are on the Italy path at this point. Maybe not QUITE as bad, but given the terrible containment efforts at the start it's definitely going to spread.
Fortunately (?) I have a shop full of work to get done plus a pile of tax paperwork to deal with, so boring won't be an issue. The fun factor however has taken a dip.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ just announced that all classes will be remote through the end of the semester. Previously, it was scheduled to go through Spring Break.
In the last day or so British Airways have moved to “vouchers for travel within a year, no change fees” for any flight departing before the end of May, so I’m pretty well set to do what I intended with no cost penalties
Costco
I went early to get gas and get some TP. Got in line around 805-810 in Concord (opens at 9) and it already was down at the end of the building around the corner. I think they started letting people in a little after 830. 1 TP, 1 paper towel, and 1 thing of water per member. It was insane. I didn't really need TP but did need gas and wanted to avoid the parking lot after it opened so I went early. Decided to get things while I was there. Surprisingly no one was running once they got into the store. Just orderly walking to the back where the paper products were.
Does Trump have Corona Virus? An Investigation (BY ASHLEY FEINBERG)
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/does-donald-trump-have-the-new-coronavirus.html
I'm going to say yes. But he won't get tested until he absolutely has to.
Boss: We're looking at a month of working from home.
Me: I'm never wearing pants again!!!
It's currently only a week for us, but I'm already looking forward to PJs and no bra
The Dead Sea Scrolls are forgeries.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/03/museum-of-the-bible-dead-sea-scrolls-forgeries/
In the immortal words of Claude Rains, "I'm shocked, shocked!..."
WHAT
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/10/dinosaur-days-days-were-half-hour-shorter-when-dinosaurs-roamed-earth/5010978002/
When dinosaurs roamed the Earth, days were about a half-hour shorter than they are today, a new study says.
Why is this? 70 million years ago, the Earth turned faster than it does today, rotating 372 times a year compared with the current 365, according to an analysis of an ancient fossil mollusk shell from the late Cretaceous period.
This means a day lasted about 23½ hours.
The study backs up what astronomers theorized about the length of days millions of years ago.
Researchers analyzed a single mollusk that lived for more than nine years in a shallow seabed in the tropics – a location that's now dry land in the mountains of Oman.
The mollusk grew fast, laying down daily growth rings. The study used lasers to sample tiny slices of the mollusk's shell and count the growth rings.
“We have about four to five data points per day, and this is something that you almost never get in geological history. We can basically look at a day 70 million years ago. It’s pretty amazing,” said study lead author Niels de Winter, an analytical geochemist at Vrije Universiteit in Brussels.
That makes sense, as there was no Ivanka, making 30 minutes of daily conversation unnecessary.
well of course it was, jeez. Also in the future, will have much longer days because the moon is slowing us down and eventually the moon will match the earth's rotation and only be seen from one side.
I'm sorry not all of us had firsthand experience, Cugel
I'm such a giver....
pqtm
Climbing Gym or No Climbing Gym?
No reported cases in my county, small gym, never more than like ten people in there at a time. Touching lots of surfaces with my hands is the objective. Is it irresponsible to go?
don't touch your face, wash hands afterwards. tough.
SOP for me. I usually bring a flask of herbal tea to force some built-in rest between climbs, usually without washing hands first. Probably need to rethink this but otherwise, I feel like if I follow what you suggest and don't get coughed or sneezed on, I'm not increasing risk that much.
no licking the rock wall!!
Well that sounds boring!
The Blarney Stone is so sad right now.
How do you know it's not a fake?
Good news thread--anything positive going on for y'all?
1) I'm at work today, mainly for Pre-Pi Day Pie Party, but am able to work remotely and will do so next week
2) I have health insurance
3) W4C Pi Party tomorrow!
Pretty much everything that doesn't involve the world at large is good in my life. Good job, awesome family, good health, and tackling yet another new adventure sport...hard to complain about much even when the rest of the world is falling apart.
I mean not really. Basically neutral. About to cancel spring break plans 🤷🏼♂️
Did you? My trip is still on but I am wavering. I would like for them to cancel it for me and then I would feel no guilt or regret. Also, refunds.
I’ve started canceling apartments before additional payments are due. I’m sitting tight on the plane tickets in case BA gets freer about cancellations. In the meantime I’ll figure out a couple of alternative times in case I need to bite the bullet and reschedule the flights for a specific time
I'm not sure what BA's policy is but United, surprisingly, is allowing free use of the credit within 1 year of the booking date. No reticket booking charge.
Right now they’re making no accommodations for people who booked before March 3 or so. I have previously booked on US flag carriers to Europe if I thought I might need to cancel / reuse tickets, but in early January I really didn’t foresee this level of disruption and I was using a bunch of Avíos we’d unwittingly accumulated on a BA affinity credit card. Oh well.
Good to know. I'm on United to SFO next Wed for a family reunion but my sister is up in the air (so to speak) because her husband has chronic respiratory issue and hasn't been feeling well. Has tests and doctor's appt next Monday but it won't surprise me if they bail. I probably would. Then I would have to decide to visit my brothers anyway or to go another time.
Cathay Pacific is allowing free re-bookings regardless of ticket category (important for me - my eventual flight back to Shanghai is on CX)
My spring break plans involve travel to the northern parts of Death Valley travelling a 200 plus miles on dirt roads. In other words, fits right in with the recommendation of social distancing.
A trip well designed for the times
Yes, even if it wasn't intended as such. Let me guess, your plans involved travel on a plane?
Mm-hmm. Visiting family and relics in the UK
:/
That is a bummer. Sorry to hear. My family traveled to Kauai last year at this time. It would have been a major disappointment if we had to cancel.
1. Going away party this afternoon for a colleague, so we get catered Mexican food!
2. Firm decided that we're working remotely next week (which, in addition to letting me lounge in PJs on my sofa, will also make it much easier to do 2 job interviews)
3. 5 of 6 things I was to do this weekend have been cancelled/postponed, and I have so much free time now that I almost don't know what to do with it
Good luck! Is it at Marvel so you can get me into the company?
Marvel doesn't pay well. You don't want that.
About a year ago I had to choose between two offers and took the less lucrative one, so you never know...
because of coronavirus, I got my Japanese scholarship postponed to September from April, which gives a much better time frame to wrap things up at home and work and properly say goodbye to everyone I know in the Bay. Also time for one more Cal game before I skeedaddle to the Far East for 4 years!
TIT or a different institution?
Ohh? What will you be doing?
I'm doing my Ph.D in Quantum Computing!
I was about to share my good news. Yours just makes me feel inadequate.
Good for you! I hope the process is relatively smooth for you.
So the first time I heard about quantum computing was at 2am on a Saturday night at Pita Pit when I visited UCSB friends in college. I can't say that my understanding has deepened in the ensuing 13 years.
I decided I'll make the Mrs Field's cookie recipe for tomorrow. I was thinking of the NYT cookie recipe but I don't want to have to go find the ingredients. And Zacharys!!!
Get this, it's a cookie, but . . . it's the size of a pie.
ohh...well I was going to do just cookies, but maybe I'll make one into a cookie pie...just to see what it's like.
Make a pizookie, top with ice cream
I could bring ice cream...
raw cookie dough? cook a cookie crust, put in the raw cookie dough, then put it back in for a quick cook the top.
Chocolate chip cookie crust, chocolate mousse filling, whipped cream topping, chocolate shavings on top
Your families' home remedy for [insert ailment here]:
Bactine for everything. Best smell since mimeographed tests in jr high.
Dr. Ms. Newellbany's family, which has West Virginia roots, would just "put a little Vick's on it."
Doesn't matter what it is, just "put a little Vick's on it."
Scrape your knee? "put a little Vick's on it."
Have a cold? "Put a little Vick's on your chest."
Stomach bug? "Swallow a little bit of Vick's."
This is a real thing they do.
Reminds me of the reliance on Windex of the Michael Constantine character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
My mother's remedy for prolonged exposure was a Hot Toddy or two. I had this remedy applied after a winter backpacking trip that was cut short by an unexpected snowstorm making it necessary to retracing our steps to pur starting point. Going ahead would have been foolhardy as the snow obliterated sight of the trail blazes and blanketed the trail so that it wasn't visible.
Whenever I get sick, Mrs Bk97 always suggests I have hot chocolate and tequila. I don't think it helps, but it certainly doesn't hurt!
My mom said that as a kid, when she or her brothers had a cold/flu, her dad would make them a Manhattan and put them to bed
My step dad swears by a Hot Toddy when he is sick
Contraction of everything...market in the Tank. Bozo fiddles while Rome burns.
How do you sleep? (Number or your own way)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ES10vZAXQAEnVE9?format=jpg&name=medium
7-11
14, but with arms under the covers.
usually 1
3 with rare instances of 4.
Sobbing and alone.
Oh wait, there's a numerical guide?
3 & 8, maybe?
1
Combine 10 and 3
3 or 4 or 9, depending on the day. Sometimes I just stay in awake in 3 though depending on how rough the day was
3 & 4
Ditto! But on the opposite sides depicted in the diagram
You don't go back and forth?!?!?!
Once I'm out, I'm out. Very little fidgeting or rearranging, and I tend to start off on the same side.
Used to be a 1, now more of a 3.
Question part 2. For those that aren't side sleepers, stomach or back?
I'm a 1, former 5. Wife is a 3.
I'm a 7, 13 is a pqtm
4 on my stomach
Today in Corona Virus
Just got an email saying the LA Public Library is shutting down until the end of the month.
It'll be ok. I have 25 books checked out and digital borrowing is still available and there's a ton of books I already own that I'll finally get around to reading.
Acquiring books and reading books are two different hobbies.
I'm currently reading:
Trick Mirror - Jia Tolentino
Briarpatch - Ross Thomas
Ooh, what books? I've been getting more non-fiction lately in an attempt to slow down my reading.
You read "The Dying Earth" yet?
She can open a window and look outside for that.
Dangit. I knew I should have picked up my books on hold this morning. I really thought they'd hold out until Monday
Still waiting to hear from Los Angeles Superior Court if jury trials are still proceeding as planned or if they will be vacated/continued. It is unbelievable to me that they haven't made a decision yet.
Class of 20's graduation ceremonies are cancelled.
I do feel sorry for all the class of 20 kids that can't go through graduation. At Vandy and Williams they were only given like 4 days to a week to leave. Must be harder for the seniors that the goodbyes are so abrupt and can't be spread out like it normally would
My job interview on Monday has been switched to a video conference, so that I don't have to shake hands with 10 people in person.
Good Luck!
Thank you!!
It's not the dream job at Netflix (have tried and been rejected by them 3 times now!) but it'll hopefully be better hours/infrastructure than my current job.
Know your worth, and demand that others recognize it, too!
I'm good at my job, I work hard, and I'm fairly easy to get along with. That's all true and that's what I'll be communicating in my interviews. Just gotta figure out tan appropriate dollar amount to put on that before Monday.
20% more.
I read online about anecdotes of people getting extra food from Chinese restaurants who are super happy for their patronage. That has definitely NOT been the case for me during this past week. The restaurants that I went to still have the normal number of Chinese-looking patrons, and I have definitely not been given extra free sides nor other benefits (nor special thanks for my continuing patronage). Then again, my orders of foods for one might be too small?
I will order from these places as long as deliveries are still coming.
Not really a stigma against Chinese food in Bangkok. But I don't know how to do delivery here (my cousin's building - you have to go downstairs to accept, but I don't have a Thai phone nor do I speak Thai). But right across the street, that is impossible to cross, is one of the big street food centers of Bangkok.
DoorDash Chinese food. It comes SO fast.
Not US but Tohoku University in Japan just announced postponement of the start of their spring term https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/university_news/for_the_new_students.html. This makes two of the Top 10 universities in Japan, and the first public I think. I think others will follow suit...
So, a guy on Nextdoor.com set up the idea of a delivery service to the local elderly and immuno-compromised. I went out to five different retailers to see if the project was viable.
It was busy yesterday, but today people have lost their minds. Absolutely full parking lot in the middle of the day. Full blown hoarding. All shelves are nearly running low on most stuff and empty on a lot of things -- except for fresh produce.
Bottom line: the project is not viable because Instacart has cornered the market.
I stopped in the Whole Foods near Geo. Wash Univ. and most things were as normal and I got what I wanted but it was striking that the pasta shelves were wiped out. No spaghetti, macaroni, etc.
I thought it was “feed a cold starve a fever”
The Hearst Museum just sent out an email that they're closing, but that we should feel free to take advantage of their online resources...including digitized films! A random thing I didn't know we had access to:
https://portal.hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/?f%5Bmedia_available_ss%5D%5B%5D=video
Some museums have great virtual tours: www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours
They apparently have short films about one of the indigenous Californian tribe by the name of "Pomo"...I misread that word originally when I saw that category of films.
Well there is a long history of indigenous people getting fucked so...
All MD public schools will be closed for two weeks starting Monday. I'm planning to go to work on Monday, but I may be forced into a two-week telecommute stint.
Coincidentally, I planned on going to Costco today to pick up a piece of furniture. But I may not bother if it's overrun with toiler paper hoarders.
My 17 year old, the extrovert’s extrovert, is going to be intolerable by Tuesday.
At least she can go outside, so there's that. My friend in Wuhan has been stuck in a 1000 sq ft apartment with her parents + sister since around Jan 25. Only one family member is allowed out every other day. They get groceries delivered by the neighborhood community government - which is a good thing, but she's told me she misses pizza so much. They're not really delivering anything beyond chicken, pork, vegetables, rice and eggs.
Okay that wound in fact suck more
Also, Wuhan is still cold and dreary and rainy. It's been summer in Bangkok for 2 weeks already - and let me tell you - summer in the urban tropics is HOT.
My Italian friend showed me a screenshot of Skype drinking with his friends
Tomorrow's 6pm song (at least in Rome) is Azzurro by Adriano Celentano
I sympathize!
The only reason I've been able to enact social distancing so far is because it's been imposed on me (work says go remote, all my events cancelled, etc)
My wife went to the Danville Costco this morning as part or our every few weeks trip. She expected it to be bad but it was far worse. Backup off the freeway, line snaking through the parking lot to get in the doors. Crazy.
damn...I was thinking of going to the Concord Costco. I guess not unless I go early and stand in line.
Concord Costco sold my gfs parents bad chicken, and then I got stuck returning it(?!?!?!) never been back - the smell still haunts me haha
They're totally remodeling the chicken area. So maybe that's why they are?
I'm still surprised more schools in the bay area aren't closed. Maybe there aren't any people testing positive in the east bay, though I don't see how that could be the case. Maybe it's because people can't get the tests.
Dublin schools are now closed until April 10th.
Oakland schools closed as of Monday.
Oakland schools still open, but I am counting the days until they shut down. Looks like Alameda (city) is doing it as of Monday (or rather, it's not a complete shutdown, rather encouraging those who can do so to stay home).
San Diego Unified shut down on Friday for two school weeks + one week for the planned spring break. All the kids now have a three week spring break.
Alameda now closed on Monday through Spring Break, at least.
there were 5 kids in our kindergarten class. Lots of free time!q
5-1 student teacher ratio! Public schools rock!
Burlingame schools closed until April 10! Where is that “it’s happening” gif when you need it? Dude, trying to do work with my 6 yo twins and 3 yo at home is going to be quite the disaster
my kids only had 1/2 day anyways! my 6 year old will be at school a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes!
I have the telecommute option but prefer to be in the office at times (barking dogs, neighborhood leaf blowers). With everyone else off the roads, my commute time is cut in half. Our customer-facing team members don't have a remote option, so a lot of hand sanitizing going on there. Schools are closed starting Monday; some will stay closed through spring break. Some are going to 'distant learning' when they reopen. Curious if they'll figure out how to monitor the kids multi-tasking between classroom and gaming sites!
Ferry boat was very empty today and there's only one other person in my office today. My commute didn't get shorter (bike -> boat -> bike is already as fast as it's ever gonna be), but it was pretty easy to practice social distance the entire time.
I went in one day last week and it was kind of fun being in a mostly empty office.
There has been no discernible change in the number of staff working on my floor.
Yea, I've been into the office twice this week and ... its kinda great? Commute is perfect, parking is close, and elevators are suddenly quick. Still get fresh coffee and lunch (though options are limited).
I am in today, got here in 20 mins from Burlingame! Noice
Do you two work together?
Not that I know of, but I have been surprised before
Man, LA has horrible Doomsday Preppers:
https://twitter.com/KyungLahCNN/status/1238163380738740224
there were long lines to get into the costco yesterday...like people were standing out in the rain just to get inside the costco.
That's such a weird social contagion. "Everyone is buying toilet paper, so I must go buy some before they run out!" And that exacerbates things until there's none left.
I'm hopeful that the grocery stores will be more normal next weekend. Unless folks manage to get through 30 cans of vegetables in the coming week, they likely won't still be hoarding by this time next week.
I find it fascinating that people - who usually have to prepare for utility disruption due to weather - instinctively think "oh, disaster coming; better get water." I think what people forget is that you should be stocking up on medical supplies and anything else you would get from CVS/Walgreens. The LAST place you'll want to be is CVS/Walgreens for the next few months as that place is going to be a magnet for the infected.
I went the other route and ordered a bidet (which I had been considering for awhile) and stocked up on regular cold/flu medicine, zinc based cough drops and soup. We have earthquake water if some how that gets disrupted. And in the case of a catastrophe, a sailboat with 300 gallons of water and 280 gallons of diesel.
You're gonna be the sole survivor but you'll have a clean bum
More alternative TP https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51u0Q8vMlbL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
I thought maybe one of these was a CVS receipt. Just go buy a pack of gum and have enough for 5 days
It is a shame this cannot be embedded.
And always in stock at peninsula based Costcos
[Christian_Bale_nodding_and_Blowing_a_Kiss.gif]
Ironically, Rudy Gobert has done more than POTUS.
Ironically, they probably both have COVID-19 at this point, but only the NBA player got tested.
My wild guess at this point is that he has been tested and is undergoing treatment as quietly as possible, while still actively being a vector to spread the disease.
Is that ironic?
It's like RAINNNNNNN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY
Almost everything here was suspended yesterday. All work is now telecommute. All events are cancelled/postponed. All roads were eerily empty. Except our county's schools, which normally cancel if it is windy or there is a single snowflake.
Our Crumbling Democracy
It was disappointing at the time, but we may actually have dodged a bullet that Andrew Gillum didn't win.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article241165641.html
Florida Man
I can’t believe these fuckers are better at administration than us https://twitter.com/glcarlstrom/status/1238494501523636231?s=21
Must be activating their sleeper cells to start working from home.
Apparently Louisiana is postponing its Democratic Primary. Not sure if this belongs under Coronavirus or Our Crumbling Democracy
https://nypost.com/2020/03/13/louisiana-postpones-presidential-primary-due-to-coronavirus-outbreak/
Not too far fetched to think Trump will use crisis to 'postpone' Nov election. You heard it here first.
I wouldn't be shocked if he tried to do it. That was what I was thinking a few weeks ago. I wonder if he could do it with an executive order or if he'd have to get the house or senate to vote for it. And I wonder how many republicans would vote for it. After the corona Virus debacle, if they voted for it how many would get voted out the next time they ran.
My understanding is that changing the date of the election would require an Act of Congress.
I’m touched by your confidence that this administration or Federalist society judges would care
I'm positive that this administration would not care. I guess you're banking on judges, then.
I've been wondering if something like that would happen with upcoming elections. Although, I suppose it doesn't matter much since a Sanders comeback was nigh-impossible.
It matters for the legitimacy of the nomination and Democracy in general.
good thing we're not a democracy anymore.
Should voting be not in person?
It’s Obama’s fault!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1238410044263333894?s=20
Aside from this being a lie (he disbanded O’s pandemic response team, flubbed testing badly, and lies so constantly that nothing from the WH can be trusted even in a time of crisis), it is a REAL CRISIS! IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU, YOU MORON! Stop jacking off on Twitter and get to work, JFC
Jacking off is probably the only way he gets any "sex" these days.
He has become a parody of himself if he wasn't already.
US Covid-19 response gets crowd-sourced to a Facebook group
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/13/jared-kushner-combat-coronavirus-facebook-127941
This is, as is every single day, insanity:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1238410044263333894
Update: Trump holding a press conference about Coronavirus at 3pm Eastern US/noon Pacific. I wish he wouldn't as my stock portfolio is already pretty beat up.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/trump-will-hold-a-press-conference-at-3-pm-et-to-discuss-coronavirus-response.html
Yeah. Beat up is a pretty good word. Also, the IPO market will shut. Less M&A activity. VC contraction like 2008.
I think M&A is going to go nuts actually. PE/VC types are sitting on piles of cash and now there are all these companies that would be fine in normal times but are struggling, meaning they are perfect acquisition targets. The sharks see blood in the water
I was there in 2003 when MySpace was sold to Fox for $560 million. I helped get it funded. Because the market was so crappy between 2001 and 2003 everybody thought it was a great deal. In hindsight it was a terrible deal because Fox never figured out what to do with it. Plus they stuck with Cold Fusion as a platform. FB trampled them.
My company announced an agreement to be acquired last week at a fixed stock price, which is pretty fantastic timing, because I doubt we'd have gotten near that price this week.
Your job at risk?
No, the company is doing well and getting acquired for good reasons, so they're keeping everyone at existing salary, including entire management team. Ideally this is about as minimally disruptive as acquisitions ever are.
You never know, and it won't close for months, but I'm optimistic.
I closed a marketables secured loan yesterday, was substantially revised like every day this week
NASDAQ up 9.35% today. A bit less pain.
it'll come down again. I don't think we're near the bottom yet
I'm thinking 50% or more.
Seems very unlikely the market can stay up with all of the lost productivity to come.
Pro
The Masters Tournament has just been postponed. This weekend's tournament was cancelled 1 round in, after initial plans to play with no galleries, and the next 3 weeks tournaments have been cancelled.
A round of golf actually sounds like a great way to avoid being trapped in the house and still practice social distancing.
I'm also thinking about parks, hiking, beach...
I expect I'll be taking lots of walks/hikes in addition to the runs I do.
I started running again so that I'm more in shape for my old man basketball league games. I've been running at the 24 hr fitness for about 15-20 min. Probably a good time to start running outside now.
heyalumnigo: I guess I can't dm you on this platform, so my question is: what is the age range for your league and are you in the Bay Area?
40-70, but there is a guy that I think is 83 so I don't think you get kicked out at 70. I'm 50 and way out of basketball shape, but slowly working my way back into it. Yes I'm in the Bay Area. The games are in WC but the league is full and new players can be invited when people leave. There are 6 teams and 10 per team. It's my first year playing here. If you're interested let me know and I can suggest you if there are openings next season. Actually they postponed games this weekend. There were plenty that wanted to play but I think enough didn't that some teams would have to forfeit.
NBA, MLB, Premiere League, Formula 1, NHL--all cancelled. Man, this weekend is going to be boring.
I guess it's not that surprising, but multiple different people that I currently or used to work with have independently came up with the jokes about how I am going to be super productive for the next 2-4+ weeks due to all the sports cancellations. They are probably not wrong.
we don't even have the usual march madness productivity drop!
I wish that was my excuse
they really should just run 12 hours a day of the greatest tournament games in history.
turn it into a bracket
there's nothing on tv...sigh...
It's interesting that I haven't heard about the tickets that I bought for Giants/Dodgers the Sat in Apr. That should be within the postponement time. I guess they don't know what they're going to do yet, reschedule vs cut down on the games. I vote for removing the interleague games at the very least.
You could reduce interleague games, but not eliminate them. That's because each league has 15 teams and not an even number, like 16 and 14.
The schedule has 20 interleague games for each club. You could reduce it to 12 per club, I think, but I'm not sure if that's feasible.
I consider it more feasible that MLB might rework the intraleague scheduling dependent on how many games will be lost to current circumstances.
At this point I'm expecting every sports season gets canceled for the year. There are parts of the country this hasn't touched yet and likely the virus keeps having outbreaks in different parts of it. If teams can't play there, you can't play the season.
I highly highly doubt that this will happen, unless the situation for almost all of US becomes as bad as China/Italy in the coming weeks/months. There is simply too much money for pro sports to cancel seasons vs. shortened (probably unbalanced and unfair) seasons starting in the summer. If the disease is localized in only certain states, they will just avoid those places (all road games, etc.).
That's just it, I think we are on the Italy path at this point. Maybe not QUITE as bad, but given the terrible containment efforts at the start it's definitely going to spread.
Everything I've seen suggests we're on pace with Italy, except our national government has f'd it up even worse than theirs has.
Is the XFL still going on?
XFL has also canceled the rest of their regular season. Cue conspiracy theory about how the NFL started the coronavirus to kill spring football!
Fortunately (?) I have a shop full of work to get done plus a pile of tax paperwork to deal with, so boring won't be an issue. The fun factor however has taken a dip.
@fly out for Pi Day celebration@
Fortunately the hoarders at Wegman's didn't grab all the pies, so I'm set for tomorrow.
They did put up a DBD last weekend.
Should we do it again? It was an experiment, I don't know if it's worth doing weekend DBDs...
I already cancelled the DBD planned for tomorrow, so let us know if we should put it back up.
why not? It's not like we can't participate because we're watching sports.
Will e-sports be the only pro league still playing?
I made that joke too but then saw they are affected as well!
Cal
UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ just announced that all classes will be remote through the end of the semester. Previously, it was scheduled to go through Spring Break.
Go Bears!
Yes go Bears this Fall.
I hope so.