241 Comments

Was there a particular reason why Substack? I would have gone with a WP platform that had an image driven design.

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I just bought some Armagnac from 1964! Unbelievable - $150

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Happy birthday j.lee!

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Thanks!

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lold!

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so fucking lold.

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not as lold as me!

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Anyone else working from home find that work is actually harder? People are less merciful of my time and keep scheduling meetings? I constantly eat lunch at like 4pm now since no one respects lunch time. :/

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I really don't like the not going into the office and talking with people. Shooting the shit, not work stuff.

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I appreciate the shooting the breeze but it’s not like they’re my friends 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Block out your lunch on your calendar with a meeting. It's the only way.

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I find it’s not the meetings, it’s the expectation that I’ll be responsive to email constantly. And then I lose the thread of what I was doing, as you’d expect. Rather like the office but at home. I think I’ll need to bite the bullet and do substantive work before 10 am and after 7pm

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Or slack messages at 7pm :/

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Fortunately I’m free of Slack and I can only access customer communication on their laptop, so it’s easy to walk away

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I work from home pretty regularly. You have to set up routines and keep yourself from getting distracted, and also have ways to shut off your work brain after a set time (like 5pm).

For me, the hardest part is that usually when I'm working from home, I'm alone. This house is not that big for 2 adults working from home plus two kids who need (thankfully) minimal supervision, and balancing all of that is much harder than just working from home normally.

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I'm still working until midnight, just on my couch rather than in the office.

No meetings for me, and things are slowing down because all our TV show and movie productions got shut down, and I'm waiting for them to grind to a halt

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God, I just had meetings today from like 11-5 (they're still going).

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Yuck. I'm tele-loafing. I grabbed my cat and had a nap between 1-2pm while my wife had conference call as white noise 10 feet away.

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That's going to be my tomorrow :(

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Gross

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Go off-line for lunch, dude!

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I wish. People and their damn meetings. Today was the first day since WFH I had lunch at like 1!

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Just block off your calendar for a lunch hour once you see everything around it has been taken (it could be at 11 or 12 or 1). You don't have to tell anyone what that block is for.

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Yes. Everyone schedule 12-1 DBD

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Thanks for all the advice. I'm completely unused to WFH. I prefer being there in person usually

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My problem is keeping myself from eating like a hobbit just because the food is there and I can

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Second breakfast? Elevenses?

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You have to say no

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TikTok suppressing videos of those who are too poor or ugly.

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/

"THE MAKERS OF TIKTOK, the Chinese video-sharing app with hundreds of millions of users around the world, instructed moderators to suppress posts created by users deemed too ugly, poor, or disabled for the platform, according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. These same documents show moderators were also told to censor political speech in TikTok livestreams, punishing those who harmed “national honor” or broadcast streams about “state organs such as police” with bans from the platform."

The political suppression doesn't surprise me, but the rest of it is a little surprising to me, at least regarding how overt it is.

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When I first read this I thought it was an onion article.

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The cgb commenting software set up is far superior, but this is not awful. Would prefer if it didn't re-order the threads. Would also be fine with super boring style like craigslist forums, those also make it easy to tell what you have read and what you have not.

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I think the new read is the main thing we're missing. Makes it hard to see what posts have unread messages so frequently I don't end up going back to the posts.

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These are my exact concerns too. I'm much more inclined to revisit a day-old CGB post because it'll show me which comments are new--I think it's actually quite critical to building a community and I'm afraid of what will happen either to the DBD or to the front page now that we've lost that.

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I've already provided feedback to Substack about being able to opt-out of email notifications for comments -- I think that would provide a decent middle ground for most folks.

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I'm not sure. I don't experience that since I have emails enabled.

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What's for dinner?

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Sous vide corned beef, roasted cabbage n' carrots, baked potatoes. Guinness extra stout.

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Enchiladas from leftover Costco roast chicken that I froze last week in anticipation of a run this week on the $4.99 birds

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Was supposed to be an Irish Lamb Stew, but grocery stores have been raided of all the ingredients I needed. Instead, leftover al pastor, cous cous and cole slaw.

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If it's up to me, it'll be soup. Maybe pizza. Mrs Slug has been flat on her back for 3 days because of the bronchitis that I gave to her ("Damn you, Fiat! for giving me this disease!").

I wince just thinking about it.

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Beef & cheddar pie

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(I had to wait until the wife got back from the Bowl, which she says is now super organized)

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are they pretty stocked? Maybe I should just go there. I've got to take my mom to SF to drop off her paperwork to get her taxes done.

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I would be surprised if there aren't automatic filing extensions for taxes at this point.

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I would go

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the one in berkeley or emeryville?

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West Berkeley dude!

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I think Chicken Adobo. Oh reminds me I need to marinate the chicken. But the potatoes were sold out so no potatoes tonight.

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Leftover sausage + greens.

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Hmmm leftover Szechuan food

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love that stuff! homemade?

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No; takeout from a place next to campus

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It's Taco Tuesday. What's wrong with you philistines?

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Sounds better than leftover beans and cornbread. I'd say I'll be over, except that would defeat all the isolation protocols.

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Maybe the table is 6ft wide

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It's also St. Patrick's Day

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Oh well in that case

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Potato tacos are the common vegetarian taco option, no?

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I have no idea

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yummm

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FWIW, I had chicken tacos on the menu for tonight, but lil' tradition wanted to swap that for the Shepherd's Pie we had scheduled for later in the week.

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Corned beef and cabbage tacos for all!

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Homemade pozole

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Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, stewed carrots. Sauteed kale.

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Bangers and mash

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irish stew and soda bread

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What's your Irish stew recipe?

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As noted above I stopped at Safeway at the end of a run. Picked up a piece of salmon for dinner.

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From Sean P. Galvin on Twitter:

I would like to see everyone's All Time Favorite Player team. This is not "The best team ever", it's your favorite ever... Only rule - you must have watched the player play (on TV or IRL).

C:

1B:

2B:

SS:

3B:

OF:

OF:

OF:

DH:

SP:

SP:

SP:

SP:

SP:

RP:

RP:

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1B: Eric Karros

2B: Max Muncy

SS: Steve Sax

3B: Justin Turner

OF: Ichiro

OF: Yasiel Puig

OF: Rickey

DH: Frank Thomas

SP: Clayton Kershaw

SP: Hideo Nomo

SP: Fernando Valenzuela

SP: Hyun Jin Ryu

SP: Wang Chien Ming

RP: Eric Gagne

RP: Eck

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2B: Max Muncy - Spongebob!

Did you put Sax at SS so that you could have 2 2Bs?

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Figured he could over throw the 1B from even farther away

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Ha!

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C: Gene Tenace (because 72 WS)

1B: Willie McCovey

2B: Rod Carew (used to go out early just to see him take BP)

SS: Campy Campaneris

3b: Anthony Rendon

OF: Willie Mays

OF: Reggie Jackson

OF: Ichiro

SP: Vida Blue

SP: Catfish Hunter

SP: Max Scherzer

SP: Stephen Strasburg

SP: Jordan Zimmermann (only no-hitter I've seen)

RP: Rollie Fingers

RP: Sean Doolittle

Heavily weighted to the Bay and DC. Also a lot of old-timers because I'm lold.

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C: Mike Piazza

1B: No favorites

2B: David Eckstein

SS: Derek Jeter

3B: No favorites

OF: Mike Trout

OF: Ichiro

OF: That's it

DH: Jim Thome? Not sure, honestly. He was fun to watch.

SP: Randy Johnson

SP: Syndergaard

SP: Johan Santana

SP: I'm out of pitchers

SP:

RP: Troy Percival

RP: K Rod

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author

Here is my Braves heavy selections:

C: Joe Mauer (would have been Brian McCann but he lost points for being a 2017 Astros)

1B: Freddie Freeman

2B: Ozzie Albies

SS: Andrelton Simmons

3B: Chipper Jones

OF: Ronald Acuña Jr

OF: Andruw Jones

OF: Ichiro

DH: Tom Glavine as my hitting pitcher (chicks dig the long ball)

SP: Greg Maddux

SP: Tim Hudson

SP: Barry Zito

SP: Clayton Kershaw

SP: Mike Soroka (small sample size, I know, but also recency bias)

RP: John Smoltz

RP: Craig Kimbrel

Also, with the exception of Freeman, Maddux, and Ichiro...I have actually gotten autographs personally from all the rest on the list.

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I’d like to participate for the sake of being social but I’ve got nothing 🤷🏼‍♂️

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C: Piazza

1B: Garvey

2B: Joe Morgan, if only for his batting routine

SS: Ozzie

3B: Beltre

OF: Puig

OF: Bo

OF: Ichiro - Still remember the throw to gun down Terence Long

DH: <b>Fuck the DH</b>

SP: Kershaw

SP: Hershiser

SP: Fernando

SP: Nomo

SP: Pedro - One that got away

RP: Mariano

RP: Gagne - 2 Dominant years

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I'll try to go with all Giants since that's the team I grew up watching.

C: Buster Posey

1B: Will Clark

2B: Robby Thompson

3B: Matt Williams

SS: Omar Vizquel

OF: Barry Bonds

OF: Kevin Mitchell

OF: Hunter Pence

DH: Andres Galarraga (an NL team doesn't have a DH, but he was pinch-hitter extraordinaire late in his career)

SP: Tim Lincecum

SP: Madison Bumgarner

SP: Jason Schmidt

SP: Kirk Rueter

SP: Matt Cain

RP: Rod Beck

RP: Sergio Romo

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Omar <3 <3 <3 my favorite player!!!

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He was one of few players who was routinely fun to watch during the post-contention years with Bonds past his prime. Still a great fielder even at an advanced age.

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I find it interesting for Andres "The Big Cat" Galarraga to be called a "pinch-hitter extraordinaire" but I guess that was his role for the Giants very late in his career. I was also trying to fill this out, just in my head, but I think I will refuse to pick a DH just out of principles.

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I guess your list will be watered with the salty tears of purists.

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Correct, when he played on the Giants he was basically a PH.

I guess I could have gone with someone who served as a DH in a World Series game.

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Oh wait! The Big Cat was a DH for the Giants in interleague games in 2003. So there you go.

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C: Benito Santiago

1B: Mark McGuire

2B: Jeff Kent

SS: Cal Ripken Jr

3B: Wade Boggs

OF: Barry Bonds

OF: Ichiro Suzuki

OF: Ricky Henderson

DH: Reggie Jackson

SP: Randy Johnson

SP: Dave Stewart

SP: Greg Maddux

SP: Pedro Martinez

SP: Tim Lincecum

RP: Eck

RP: Mariano Rivera

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Today in Trump Virus

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Fuck that asshole.

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today was day 1 of WFH and I want it all to end already ( 3 annoying conference calls and I'm banging my head against the table)

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Republican President now supports socialism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/03/17/trump-coronavirus-stimulus-package/

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Heh, I think it's more he supports being re-elected.

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It's nice to know that a massive crisis plus a Republican president who needs to save his political hide is enough to get the GOP on board with policies like this. If only we had that all the time!

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i was going to head outside for a bike ride.

we mostly got groceries and food and are fine for a while. hopefully after the first wave of panic subsides and people realize that stores like groceries and gas can function normally it will be a bit less "panic-y"

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I was hanging out with my friend on Sunday - and we went down to his local market, which has a large population of sexpats - and that place was a madhouse. Lines were 30 minutes long, tons of toilet paper hoarding.

I just got back from the local market (same branded supermarket) near my cousin's place. It was pretty busy, but not crazy. I bought a bunch of meat and pasta and canned food.

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sexpats - did you get lucky??

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??? Sexpats are old (white) dudes who move to South East Asia to retire and also sleep with as many prostitutes as possible. So . . . no.

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TIL - ahh...I thought it was a typo.

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My frustration is this coincides with the opening of spring HS sports in Oregon, and we are beginning a very unusual run of good weather. My cancelled umpiring calendar had one of the best games in the area all week on it today, and its 60+ degrees and sunny, 3 days after it snowed!

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The local grocery stores seem to have enough of everything necessary except TP, though selection of meat cuts is not what it usually is.

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That was our experience on Monday.

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re: "less panic-y"

I went to the grocery store this morning, right at opening to avoid crowds and to get better selection. I haven't been since last week. It was much worse than I thought. The obvious stuff (eg, disinfectant, TP, towels, pasta, frozen meat/veg) is cleared out - but the second tier stuff was gone too (fresh produce, dairy, bread). I'm dipping into my Doomsday Prep stash a lot earlier than I thought I'd have to.

And I spent the weekend at DBD Lake Retreat. No hoarding. Everything at the shelf in poor rural NC Dollar General. TP, disinfectants, beer. If things get bad, Imma go to the lake.

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My corner shops are much better stocked than supermarkets around me. I will get my staples there, with the occasional venture out to a supermarket for fresh veggies (though the farmers market will be open on Sunday, so I might just hit that up)

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Yeah, I went to 4 shops on Sunday, and the corner store was the only one where I could find eggs or toilet paper (a couple of meagre single rolls).

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meager single rolls better than no rolls.

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Yup.

I left them for someone who really needed them, trusting that the supply chain would kick back in before my stores at home ran out.

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it was weird...on sunday, i went to the costco in yorba linda...water/tp/soap/hand santizer...all sitting on the shelf...and no lines or anything.

then i went to the trader joe's...it was soviet russia in there. every thing was gone.

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This article from the Chron today suggests that it will subside. We're not running out of food; people are just bulk-buying but not actually eating more.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Will-the-Bay-Area-run-out-of-food-Nope-The-15135829.php

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yeah we just tried going to Costco to get a few things and the line was wrapped all the way around the building. We noped that and since we have 2 weeks of TP and plenty of food, we're just going to hunker down a bit

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hahaha, "Trump Virus"

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the correct terminology is "Chinese Virus"

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I think imma stick with 'trump virus'

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Or just Virus for some of us

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PATIENT ZERO WHERE IS YOUR MASK

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I'm working from home today (via organizational mandate). In order to access my files/email I need to 1) connect to the org network via VPN and 2) map the network drives I need to access. In the ~4 hours I've been working I've probably spent 2 trying to convince my laptop that it is indeed connected to the internet. Every single other device in the house is online, but this laptop is being an absolute diva.

Very productive day.

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Fortunately I’ve had some practice with this and was able to advise my colleagues to ignore official guidance and go directly to the backup VPN. One guy got blocked for mysterious ISP reasons. My next goal is to persuade people to stop using VOIP for Webex.

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We work remotely quite a bit normally, so its no big deal. The biggest obstacles we have found is overall network traffic is up (way up), so response times are bogging down, and not just for work, and a few apps we work with that require huge amounts of screen footprint for ease of use are clumsy to work with on a laptop with only 1 auxiliary screen. Just have to be patient, and its a reminder of just how quickly we tend to sop up and come to rely on all available bandwidth, memory, and screen real estate.

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So far I haven’t had much of a problem on my end, the latency is only showing up on VOIP

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Pretty quiet out. I did about an eight mile run and I was within six feet of someone else maybe ten times. Stopped at Safeway at the end and there were some folks there but not too many. Had to re-stock as I was down to my last half-gallon of ice cream. Also picked up some produce and wine.

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I was planning on going to the store tomorrow to look for stuff that had been cleaned out like bread, pasta, etc. Also need gas.

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Vanity Fair: Kushner behind Trump messaging.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/03/trump-awakens-to-the-covid-19-danger

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Good thing he solved the Middle East already

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Trump gives himself 10 out of 10 rating for his virus response

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-trump-gives-himself-a-10-out-of-10-score-2020-3

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It's nice that, in this time of the abnormal being the new normal, we can count on some things staying the old normal.

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"President Madagascar, somebody in Brazil sneezed!" "SHUT. EVERYTHING. DOWN."

(Okay, yeah, I know this is more serious, but that's what amused me about that game...)

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Yutes are gonna get my dad killed and I'm going to be really angry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZamrmTMs6w

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Author shares her experience at a German spa:

https://twitter.com/anbara_salam/status/1239489588353216512

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Given what I know about how most Europeans feel about nudity (it's no big deal), I think the embarrassment was mostly in her head (which is nonetheless understandable).

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I read this aloud to my daughters last night, we were all in stitches

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Did you use dramatic voice and include gestures?

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No, i think the story speaks for itself

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hee hee, I could imagine you pantomiming the whole thing

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As long as you didn't imagine costumes.

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Make the DBD feel good in five words or less

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The tests were negative, baby.

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You're not the father?

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Search your feelings.

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You know it to be true.

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We live in the future

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Staying home? More puppy snuggles!

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Ramen + Tuna + Egg = Magic

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ramyun + egg + dumplings + rice cakes + cheese = magic

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I had a 5 word limit

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you had it wrong though.

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I tried jjapaguri last week . . . it was fine. But I think I'll stick with my Nissin Top Ramen

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Yhad the wrong one. You eat Jjawang

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deletedMar 17, 2020Liked by Ruey Yen
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And knocked Furd out of the tournament on the last day of competitive basketball.

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CAL

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Go Bears!

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PRO

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Lulz. Brady to Tampa.

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Four Brooklyn Nets test positive for Trump Virus. Did not have any common opponents with Jazz.

https://twitter.com/tribjazz/status/1240006771931893761

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DeAndre Hopkins traded for a handful of magic beans. Texans fans: NOT HAPPY

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Seriously, even considering salary cap stuff, this is the worst trade of all time

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Worse than Babe Ruth to the Yankees?

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The Red Sox got $125K + $300K in loans, an absurd amount of money at the time. Horrible trade, obvs... But the Texans gave up a top 3 WR for a broken down RB with a huge guaranteed contract and a 2nd round pick. They also exchanged 4th round picks but gave up theirs this year for Arizona's next. So yeah, I'd say it was worse

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Wasn't the Babe Ruth sale meant in part to help finance a Broadway show being produced by the Red Sox owner?

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Let me GB49 for you:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Frazee

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But from the team competitive POV, Babe Ruth sell did not help the team at all. The Texans are getting something of value back even if David Johnson's contract is a net negative.

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hmm, $11M guaranteed for 2020 and $2.1M (of a total $9M) already guaranteed for '21 for 700 yards from scrimmage and 6 tds. Hopkins has 3 years left at about $13M/yr, all unguaranteed. So yeah, Hopkins was going to want $20-22M/yr so I get the need to unload him if you cant keep him. But you could've gotten more, WAY more. Look what Diggs went for to Buffalo.

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You just care about football more.

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Tom Brady - announces he's not going back to the Pats via Insta and Twitter. I've seen the Niners, Bucs, Colts, Bears and Raiders as possible destinations.

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signing with the Bucs tomorrow apparently

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Didn't the Raiders just sign Mariotta?

Heard it was down to Tampa Bay and the Chargers

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just signed witten and littleton

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yeah but that's as a backup not as QB1. I assume he'd either be a backup to Carr or the next QB1.

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if we don't start score points, gruden's gonna pull the plug on carr real quick next season.

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I thought the Raiders may try to get rid of Carr this offseason. But maybe there aren't enough good replacements to do that.

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No one currently in the market is better than Carr. (well maybe Cam Newton)

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There's Brady for a 2 year contract while they draft or find a new starter.

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HAHAHAHAHA! Brady to the Chargers? That would be hysterical.

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major lulz

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The Niners would be stupid to pursue Brady. Especially if the demand for veto power on the roster is real. That should kill the deal outright.

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brady would be an improvement over jimmy though.

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That's not clear, because Brady is over 40 and could easily fall off a performance cliff at any time.

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