173 Comments

I sent out an email to my department about donating to the food bank, and within 20 minutes, we're up to $978. Feeling inspired :)

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Sounds like the goats might be returning to work before I do

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-live/

WaPo live events:

Wednesday, April 22nd:

11:00 a.m. ET

LEADING THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

Fmr. Secretary of State John Kerry, Founder, World War Zero

Fmr. Gov. John Kasich, Partner, World War Zero

In conversation with Mary Jordan

Thursday, April 23rd:

2:15 p.m. ET

LEADERSHIP DURING CRISIS

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser

San Francisco Mayor London Breed

In conversation with Robert Costa

Friday, April 24th:

12:00 p.m. ET

HELPING AMERICA’S KIDS

Mark Shriver, President, Save the Children Action Network

Jennifer Garner, Actress & activist

In conversation with Jonathan Capehart

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I have been wondering, if the economy shuts down long enough this year, will we be able to notice an actual pullback in the global warming rise?

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No.

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Bob's Donuts is giving away yeast in dime bags and that is the very definition of a great neighbor!

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Do you know what a dime bag looks like?

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She did attend the University of California, Berkeley.

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“Lock down” album recommendation: it’s old; but “Kicking Every Day” by All Dogs is solid power pop (I think that’s a fair classification). Saw it referenced on Jawbreaker’s Instagram feed and figured they wouldn’t steer me wrong.

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Some songs moreso than others, I live but if you want your modern power pop pure, listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFm3COztvvk

Guitar sounds a hell of lot like Thin Lizzy (in a good way)

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Dorky working from home note: I ordered some Swipies, which are basically plastic sheets in standard paper sizes that you write on with a non permanent “wet erase” marker - so instead of having paper scattered everywhere I can take notes or sketch out plans, use the MS lens app to scan to PDF, and then literally rinse and repeat. I love them.

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Those sound cool!

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are they as awesome as Slickies? The post it replacements that adhere to anything and can be re-used over and over?

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I don’t know! I might have to buy some and do a comparison.

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a nice baby gift.

i just ordered this for a new baby niece in the family. the cute thing is that her older sister calls the baby "footbally" from the time she was in the womb.

UC Berkeley Golden Bears "Fullback" Baby Woven Jacquard Throw

https://thenorthwest.com/uc-berkley-baby-woven-jacquard-throw.html

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I was confused when I first read this. I thought the baby's pre-birth name was UC Berkeley Golden Bears Fullback Baby Woven Jacquard Throw. I was like "fu$#in' A, that's a great name". I'm stupid.

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My son's pre-birth name was "Senator Rice/Lime [SGBear]". Senator as an aspirational name like Prince or Major Major. Rice because that's the size he was when we first found out my wife was pregnant. It changed to Lime because that's the size the ultrasound operator said he was during the screening.

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We referred to my older daughter as “Humberto” since we didn’t bother with finding out biological sex, and my younger daughter as “H2” for the same reason plus it was the time of the Hummer with the same model name.

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korean dramas shelter in place marathon

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jlee fs alert :) (and Rob if he's here)

currently (ranked in order):

Hospital Playlist (so so so so good)

Hi Bye Mama (just finished. bawled like crazy)

The King (looks promising)

Find Me In Your Memory

I'll Go To You When The Weather Is Nice (finally gave this a shot. 1st ep so SLOOOOOW but it's actually not bad. on ep 6)

A Piece Of Your Mind (pretty much only watching now because of the actors.. script is meh)

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When the Weather is Nice is brilliant. Very slow paced but it feels right and the story is beautiful. I hadnt started to drift from my Park Min Young fandom but this has snapped me right back. I need to give Hospital Playlist another shot. The 1st ep was mildly amusing but I didnt get great feels from it. Eccentric Chef Moon is mildly amusing. Hi Bye Mama was meh for me. The rest I largely agree with you on

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Hi Bye Mama may be higher on my list than it deserves, but part of that may be my newfound go bo gyeol fandom.

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Watched the second episode of Reply 1988 last week

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oh and if you enjoy it, you'd like Hospital Playlist - same writer, same genius use of small details to make a great story.

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that by far is a top 10 drama of all time in my book (and that isn't limited to korean dramas)

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"Social Safeway"

Does your area have a figurative meat-market grocery store?

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FET

My buddy lives in North Scottsdale. I went to visit him after going to spring training. There's a Fry's Food right near his house (N Hayden Road).

Cougartown.

Goodness. It was filled with ladies in their 40s and 50s, with bleached blond hair, fake bewbs, oversized sunglasses, wearing athleisure and generally being in good enough shape to pull it off. But as a middle-aged dude, it was weird to be looked up and down like a piece of freshly grilled meat. Got aggressively chatted up there too.

Yes, sure I'll help you pick out wine. Yes, I do work out. And my eyes are up here.

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Someone on my other internet community expressed that she looks forward to being a cougar when her husband dies before her (which she considers inevitable because he's 11 years older).

1) This would be funnier if she were a funnier person, but she doesn't tend to make good jokes, and in fact, is often complaining about her dysfunctional marriage.

2) She really doesn't seem to have what it takes in terms of physical appearance to be a cougar.

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If she’s willing to put out she can be a cougar, the important variable is what her standards are

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hmmmm

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In DC the social Safeway is the one in Georgetown and is so named because it's where society could be seen. I don't read about it much lately but used to be sightings noted in the gossip column about politicians, journalists, diplomats, etc. seen shopping. I kind of remember Queen Noor sightings whenever she was in town.

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Supposedly the Marina Safeway in SF, but I have no first hand knowledge of this.

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Also the Castro Safeway in SF, but presumably that's less of a hetero pickup spot.

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I've been in both of those Safeways and wasn't picked up in either :(

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you've lost "it", bro

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Debatable whether I ever had it to begin with

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Today in the 'rona

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Two goofy things:

1) I had to go knock on a tenant's door to tell him to call his mom in Ohio because she was worried he wasn't returning her calls.

2) My Republican insurance agent was complaining that "it's the same as the common cold" to which I replied "in two weeks it will have killed more Americans died in the Vietnam war" - he's completely clueless, but then again, he did graduate from Uclol.

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1a) I wonder if I know her

1b) A friend of mine (only child, which might be why?) didn't answer her mom's calls for three weeks one college summer while she was working at St. Jude's, so her mom called hospital security to track her down. When shelter-in-place first started, her mom also called me one day because she wasn't able to reach my friend. I said, "Hmm I was texting with her two days ago," and her mom said, "Oh yeah, I talked to her yesterday," but was still worried after 24 hours of not hearing from her daughter.

2) My brother and I just went for a walk (he was picking up Super Duper). While I was waiting for him to pick up his food, I overheard a man telling a woman, "Well, I understand the argument for winnowing down the population until it goes away, like the flu."

oh. my. god.

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re: 2), I would listen to arguments for winnowing down the population of guys (it's always a guy, isn't it?) like that

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why does his mom have the landlord's number?

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He must have given it to her. Not sure why, I mean I should have hers as an emergency number.

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My mother has asked for your number for emergencies as well. Can't recall if I gave it to her, but I probably did.

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*wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*

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her LILF

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Never change, Singapore. I love you. The government retires their Virus Superheroes campaign the day after the official launch:

Fake News Buster: He swings a mallot of truth

Circuit Breaker: a robot piloted by a 12 year old. The angle is that the robot is also an internet server.

Dr. Disinfector: kinda looks like a Malay Dr. Octopus

Care-leh Dee: She is supposed defeat negative thoughts. The best thing about her is that her name is a Singlish pronunciation of Care Lady.

Man-Man: He's a Man United Superfan who hates Liverpool and the You'll Never Walk Alone motto. He's got telekinesis rays through his eyes.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWC6DMlUMAAqnKc?format=jpg&name=large

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-20/singapore-s-virus-superheroes-no-match-for-upset-soccer-fans

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I have friends who JUST moved (back) to Singapore from New York- one Singaporean, one is Thai by nationality, but grew up in Shanghai. They had planned to spend 5 years in New York, and Covid-19 came around just at 4.3 years, so they decided to cut everything short and are currently quarantined at the Westin Sentosa for 2 weeks - not even allowed to leave their hotel room. They are staying for free, but it's not hotel level services.

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To follow on yesterday's discussion, I went by the Trader Joe's in Georgetown on my run and there was maybe fifteen folks in line. It looked like more because the people were standing really far apart. The "social Safeway" is a block away and no line but the Safeway is much bigger than TJ's.

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MD now requires everyone to wear some sort of face covering while inside a retail establishment. Yesterday I saw a guy wearing a welding mask at the grocery store. It's not particularly effective for spreading disease, but I admire his ingenuity.

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I would suspect he doesn't want to spread disease.

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I've briefly thought about doing my grocery runs wearing a full-face motorcycle helmet. I don't know if it would actually be particularly effective, but it seems like fun.

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Actually illegal in the Philippines - can't wear a full face motorcycle helmet into banks and stuff (it's for robbery reasons)

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In Taipei, the garbage truck comes by several times a day, so you pick whichever time is most convenient for you that day and take your bags out to the truck. My friend's mom decided that the best solution for rainy days is to wear her motorcycle helmet so she doesn't need to carry an umbrella, leaving both hands free to carry the garbage bags!

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There's a really good 99% Invisible episode about Taipei trash pick-up

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/separation-anxiety/

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I joked to my wife that I'm going to wear my full-face helmet on a grocery run. Might as well have fun while following the guidelines, right?

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Do you guys ride?

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Off and on. I don't currently own a bike but I was planning to get one later in the year. I was hoping to attend a few manufacturer demo days this spring for some extended test rides, but they're all postponed thanks to coronavirus...

What are you riding?

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Yamaha XSR900. I got it last year, it's a blast!

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It's been a while...

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What kinda bike do you have?? I don't have any friends locally that ride :(

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I called a colleague yesterday for work. Started with small-talk that included the normal "how's the family coping?" He gave a long pause. Then he said that online schooling is not going well for his 2nd grader. Apparently, that day's 30 slide deck does not keep 6 year old's attention. Teacher said it should take 90 minutes. Took 6.5 hours.

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My fourth grader is doing okay, but the kindergartner (who is also 6) does not have the attention span to do anything remotely difficult self-paced, and I do not have the time to give her the attention she needs.

I guess we'll catch up in 1st grade?

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Just make sure you read books to her to make up the difference.

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Seriously. This is where my wife would point out that kindergarten is best when it’s about socialization and learning by play, and that turning it into a formal academic environment is not well matched for a lot of children’s state of cognitive development.

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I mean the Finnish don’t bother learning to read until they’re at least 7 and they seem to be doing okay.

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I guess? I cannot honestly form a single opinion about Finland or the Finnish people.

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Not a single one? (this is where we REALLY miss embedded photos) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/14/feminism-finland-gender-equaity-sanna-marin

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Oh yeah, I remember that story. Had forgotten it was associated with Finland, though.

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Things I know about Finland: lots of lakes and reindeer.

Things I know about the Finnish people: very reserved, amazing race drivers, surprisingly effective at shooting Russians when necessary.

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Finland, Finland, Finland - it's the country for me. So near to Russian, yet so far from Japan. Quite a long way to Cairo, lots of miles from Vietnam.

Two things I know about them - oddly language linked to the Hungarians and Koreans. People posit that it is due to the Mongolians?

And, along the lines of the j.lee link that his Korean buddy did really well in Iceland with the ladies despite being an average looking Korean dude, I have a Chinese American friend who also did really well with the ladies in Finland despite being average in looks.

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Bordertown is solid police procedural on Netflix

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I'm by no means an elementary teaching expert, but I did have child who was an elementary school student at one time (as well as a High school and university student), and have training and experience (on both ends) in adult professional education. I'm overall a big proponent overall of on-line/self paced education (when done well). But one thing I've consistently seen is the time to do any given training activity in this mode is one of the most underestimated in terms of time required there is, for a variety of causes. There are examples where individuals fly through it, but I find the norm is the opposite. I suspect part of the problem is those making the estimate that "this course should take x" are essentially experts in both the material and the presentation medium, having first spent a lot of time putting the thing together, and of course don't and won't encounter all the stumbling blocks most people will stumble over because they already automatically compensate for them due to that familiarity that others won't have.

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This sounds right to me just based on past experience

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Cap'N Crunch. Granola

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Crumbling Democracy

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Today is astroturf protests

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This is our local ReOpen protest today. You can see, it's several hundred people. A mix of "I need a job" with Trump Reelection rally. As far as I can see, it is 100% white. The Rainbow flag confuses me.

https://twitter.com/JoeFisherTV/status/1252638168723132418

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At least our astroturf rallies haven't brought in the gun-nuts.

Yet.

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Texas Lt. Gov, who earlier suggesting grandparents should be honored to die for their grandchildren's economy, doubled down:

"There are more important things than living"

https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1252400233662693377

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Hey pal, you first, ASSHOLE.

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Gallop: Trump's rally-'round-the-flag approval bump from marginal DEMS/IND is now gone

https://news.gallup.com/poll/308675/trump-job-rating-slides-satisfaction-tumbles.aspx

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Given that most Americans seem to have pretty hardened views of Trump, one way or another, I'd guess that the size of the approval bump that Trump did receive represents a pretty hard limit on the amount of persuadable voters that are actually out there.

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I find myself wondering how much the coronavirus will affect his approval ratings. On one hand, nothing seems to sway the 40% of staunch loyalists who always approve of his performance. On the other hand, the economy is in the toilet and we have 40,000 dead Americans.

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The incitement of AstroTurf protests and last night’s immigration tweet suggests that there is blood dripping from the polling numbers and that’s why they’re playing the hits

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Recency matters in public opinion campaigns. Being at the helm as the economy rebounds after reopening, especially if there is no significant secondary spike (at least until after the election) will be the most recent thing. The slow initial response, the early mis-direction, and all the secondary systems problems that wouldn't have come to light to nearly the degree they did, will all be more distant, and I agree, it will be interesting to see to what degree a majority of the decisive voters remember and weight those issues.

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I really doubt that a too-early early reopening can really avoid the negative consequences of such in time for the election. That seems like too specific a timing for the administration to nail.

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Definitely high-stakes poker. But that's been the preferred MO of Trump since long before he got into politics, never mind the current situation. Shoot from the gut (located near the hip), and if it works, great. If it doesn't, abruptly change course and try something else. Couple that with the ubiquitous political approach these days of spin, spin, spin some more, and then spin again, and you can see how we got to where we are.

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The other thing is that even if states "reopen" their economies, it doesn't mean everything is just snapping back to what it was. Many people are going to curtail their activity until there is a vaccine or some other treatment developed, or until they can be tested and know they are safe. There's no getting around that except for executing on a massive increase in testing and spending on medical equipment, which of course the Trump administration has not done.

There will also be a significant percentage of the economy that doesn't come back at all. Even if the economy recovers to about 75% or 80% of pre-COVID by November, that's still a MASSIVE recession. I see this as more short-sighted tactics by Trump with no concern for the long term. Problem for them is that the only way to actually tackle this issue is by thinking long term.

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Shoot from the FUPA.

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GA, TN, SC plan to lift some coronavirus restrictions by the end of the month.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html

"More than 787,900 Americans have been infected with the virus. At least 42,364 have died, about an 80 percent increase from the total death toll a week ago.

In Georgia and South Carolina, governors announced they'll ease restrictions this week despite neither meeting White House recommendations of a two-week downward trend in cases before lifting measures.

...

On Monday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said certain businesses -- including bowling alleys, body art studios and hair and nail salons -- will reopen this week. Mayors in the state were left baffled by the announcement.

"We see our numbers are continuing to tick up in this state, we see that our deaths are rising. We have some of the highest asthma rates in the country right here in Atlanta,"

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. "Our governor often defers to local control and I wish that this were an instance that he deferred to local control.""

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Kemp is the enlightened gov who didn't know there could be asymptomatic transmission until earlier this month.

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Georgia: Gyms are on the re-open list.

That is literally the place where people congregate to exhale, exude bodily fluids, and touch common equipment.

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During the height of the lockdown here in Shanghai - my gym was still open with government approval. The gym owner had to wipe down the entire gym with a bleach solution every day. Everyone who worked out had to wipe down equipment after every rotation with the same bleach solution. People could not wear their shoes to the gym, and had to change to gym shoes. Wash hands before working out. Use their own towels. and only 5 people were allowed at a time. (in a gym that fits about 15-20 people)

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Somebody has to be the test case and if they want to try this out for the rest of us, who am I to say no?

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I admit that this is my slightly morbid thought on the matter: sure, let some other state try this before my state does.

That's easy for me to say from California, but hey, I am paying a premium to live here.

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No 1's GF moved to Savannah about a month ago for a new job. I don't think she's very happy that certain places are now open. I'll have to see if her roommates will be going out to these places. It took them a while to take it all seriously.

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This is the problem with being flippant about bad leadership- it’s everyone else that pays the price

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I just got a message from his GF that the mayor of Savannah asked people not to listen to the guv and just stay home.

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Trumps vows to sign EO to halt immigration into US.

Cue the unintended consequences (eg, no guest workers to harvest crops).

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-suspend-immigration-executive-order-coronavirus

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Apparently there are supposed to be exceptions for farm workers and others - but nicely forgotten in a tweet storm.

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We're going to open the country because things are getting better but we have to halt immigration and can't do the census. Mixed messages much?

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My NYC-based musician brother-in-law who's now giving online guitar lessons will be ecstatic that immigrants can't come to the US to give online guitar lessons.

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Cereal

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Kid: Cheerios.

Adult: Cheerios.

It's my go-to when I can't think of anything else, at any time of day. When Trump was elected, I was so disgusted that the only thing I managed to eat was Cheerios at about 2:30 am.

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didnt we have a cereal discussion last week already?

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I thought it sounded pretty familiar. @Apparently Leland is too good to read through DBDs and make sure we don't repeat topics.@

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Kid: Cap'n.

Adult: Cap'n. Or Wheat Chex. Or Apple Jacks. Or Raisin Bran. I am a cereal whore.

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When we lived in the Netherlands we had American friends and I loved the Cap’s for the sweetness and the giveaway toys - I’d sometimes succeed in persuading my mother to have one of the American moms get a box or two from the PX.

The other infrequent joy was British cocoa crispies - I don’t know what chemicals they were using but that was like mainlining chocolate.

Funnily enough, most of the time I didn’t eat breakfast.

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Life cereal, which, used to be high protein, but they changed the recipe decades ago. My favorite for many years was a mixture of Special K and Cheerios. I was also disappointed by Lucky Charms.

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When I was a kid, I lusted after Lucky Charms (my parents would never buy it), but when I did get some, it was always kinda disappointing, but I wanted it anyway. Kids.

Also, traveling cross country, I used to eat those one use boxes of cereal where you'd open the side of the box, and pour the milk in to eat - anybody else do this?

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The mini single-serve boxes? Yeah, we had those when I was a kid.

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But did you open up the side, and pour milk in and eat it out of the box?

I don't know why, but I thought that was so cool as a kid.

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I did indeed. They even had the perforations on the back so you could open it up and fold it out into more of a bowl.

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Yup

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I wonder when those came out; I always just assumed they were an 80s thing.

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Every time my daughter convinced me to buy Lucky Charms, she would eat mostly marshmallows and leave all the crummy cereal bits, to the point where we'd have like a third of a box left, but no marshmallows, and it would just sit in the pantry for months until I finally decided to toss it. And every time she promises me it will be different, and it never is.

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Sounds like you need to use the Bon Appetit recipe to make marshmallow Lucky Charms--hey, baking is science for hungry people! Perfect homeschool project!

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I'm not sure the problem we're solving in this house is "not enough marshmallows", but perhaps AndBears would disagree.

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They could build a dehydrator! Engineering!

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Apparently you can buy a big bag of the marshmallows on Amazon. Chrissy Teigen puts them in her hot chocolate.

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Kids

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YES! I used to do this every morning at the Lair...10th Week, Blue...Frosted Mini-Wheats were my favorite!

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We used to go there, 10th week, Blue, but the last year I went was 1986. Maybe I ran into you there.

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i love the Lair. only went once though and never got a chance to take the family since we live on East Coast

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My mom would sometimes buy those packs of 12 little boxes.

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I'm older than you, so yes.

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HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE

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I suppose you would have to talk to my parents.

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Things existed before dirt.

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Kid: Lucky Charms

Adult: Frosted Mini Wheats

I can't eat cereal for breakfast anymore, though. If I do, my stomach will be growling again an hour later.

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When i was a kid I never liked Lucky Charms or Trix or cereals like that. Kids would bring them in when teachers would let us bring cereal into class in the morning and I never liked any of those cereals.

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My parents wouldn't buy any of the super-sugary cereals for us. I grew to like the mildly sweet ones like Kix or Crispix.

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Kid: Apple Jacks

Adult: Oatmeal Squares.

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Kid: Cocoa Puffs

Adult: Oh's and Smart Start

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Pro

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Presumptive starting kicker Gabe Siemieniec has entered the transfer portal. Kicker is now suddenly a weakness. Longhetto and Lopez on existing roster. Christopher Abes III from De La Salle comes in as a PWO this fall.

https://twitter.com/RivalsPortal/status/1252676989158391809

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Gabe could pull his name back potentially, right?

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Oh, I see, he's graduated. That means he's likely gone.

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Also, Ronan Donnelly from Sacred Heart (Atherton) joins as a PWO too.

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Yeesh. Longhetto, Lopez, Abes, and Donnelley are not automatic place kickers. All struggled to consistently hit FGs in HS and/or JC. Lopez had the best kick-off leg (stat wise) by a mile. Looks like a kicking competition.

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It's OK. We can just go for 2 everytime.

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eSports: Cal ended season as #20 in college League of Legends. I mean, we're no juggernaut like Marysville, Harrisburg, Winthrop, or Waterloo - but certainly respectable.

https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/28594645/espn-overwatch-league-call-duty-league-college-league-legends-coaches-polls#LOL

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Go Bears. Saw a guy in the park across the street yesterday afternoon wearing a Cal shirt. We exchanged "Go bears" but I held my tongue about his dog wearing a red bandana around his neck.

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