Formerly DT: COVID-19 - Featuring Lots of Politics, now CR because political talk not going away

[Macanudo 12978]

Driving into work this morning was the lightest non-holiday/bad weather trip I've ever made. Back of Kingwood to Allen Parkway and Waugh in about 35 minutes.  The interchange at 59 and 10 was wide open.  Barely touched the brakes to exit.  Assuming we keep coming to work tomorrow might look like Christmas morning.

[Biff Tannen 45683]

45 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Doc on CNN just now said he had no idea why people were stocking up on toilet paper lol

 

YES.  THANK YOU.  Fuck people.  Get a grip.

[closetojumping 62718]

So Sweden has stopped testing for the most part. I assume a healthy chunk of other countries opted for this route as well. I'm not trying to rain on the "what the fuck are we doing, why aren't we testing, the fucking feds are clowns!" parade for that part of the mob, but as many others have suggested on this thread for weeks (not me), large scale testing may not make a whole lot of sense if this shit is really widespread already. I don't know. I don't really understand that part of the outcry once it was established that we, and others, did very little in the beginning of the outbreak.

Link to the Swedish article that your browser should be able to translate: https://www.dn.se/sthlm/farre-kommer-att-provtas-for-coronaviruset-i-stockholm/

[CooterBrown 18012]

17 minutes ago, hopkinsnhorns said:

 This virus doesn't attach utilities.  The risk of a disruption at electric or water has got to be minimal with this thing. 

Luckily, all utilities in this country are operated by robots.  

[atomheartbevo 89665]

34 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

What do you think is going to change for poor people? I’ve been poor and you don’t feel shit when the stock market is good or in the gutter. Unless you think shitty jobs are going away en masse, I don’t see it. They have new bills they won’t or can’t pay? Oh noes! As usual, the crushing blows will be dealt to the middle class, up and down it. 

A bunch of us in this thread are talking about working from home, about our 30-day or more supplies of food.   And we are bitching that we might have our kids home with us if the schools close.     We are not going to be dealt “crushing blows”.

But Joe Q. Poor who works at a dollar store or a convenience store or whatever, if somebody around him gets infected and he has to quarantine or his store shuts down, he can’t stock the shelves from home.  He doesn’t have a few month’s  worth of cash on hand for emergencies.  He can’t pay his rent if he doesn’t work.  He doesn’t get to buy a month’s supply of food at a time, he’s going to be going in every week or two for food.    And even if he’s able to work, if his kid’s school is closed, he can’t afford a babysitter while he works.  

And that’s not touching on any potential healthcare bills in a worst case scenario.

I’ve been poor as well - up until I was in 5th grade, and as an adult in the military, and after, while helping to put my wife through school.   I still have habits to this day, that I carry from that time.   Good habits, mind you, but habits born out of necessity.  It’s not hard at all for me to imagine plenty of poor people being devastated even by something as simple as a two-week quarantine.   And it will be hard for many of them to recover from.  

[El Diablo 4232]

4 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Fucking Chinese foreign ministry is suggesting the US brought the virus to Wuhan.

 

That man has a home on Surly. In the Cloak Room.

Gotta admit, I've been guilty lately of harboring some conspiracy theories about this whole mess.

[atomheartbevo 89665]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

What I'm MOST worried about though, is they're supposed to spend a few days next week, during spring break, with my parents, who are 80 and 76 years old.  I'm strongly considering canceling that, at this point.

We are doing his with the in-laws and my parents, and instead lots of FaceTime/video chatting.   Having them read books to the kids at night over the iPad is actually pretty cool.   

[hopkinsnhorns 533]

12 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

There’s no good answer here. If they can’t pay rent, you both lose. Do you think you’ll find a new tenant right away? Of course not. That’s the problem here - there’s no good path.

The smart thing would be for lenders to allow for loan payment deferrals of 1-3 months to allow for pandemic interruptions in cash flow. Just extend your mortgage by 3 months.

We’ll see if lenders take that action. I think it’s better than foreclosure.

My wife got a message from CapitalOne (they own her car loan) basically offering as much, deferred loan payments if you can't make your note.  I suspect mortgage companies will follow, possibly by Federal mandate.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

YES.  THANK YOU.  Fuck people.  Get a grip.

Still have that disgusting crusty mud butt? I suppose is it’s dry by now. Dirt butt?

[Pato del Muerto 52498]

3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Luckily, all utilities in this country are operated by robots.  

My power is hydroelectric, and my understanding of doomsday scenarios leads me to the belief that those things can run for a good while unattended. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Pato del Muerto

[atomheartbevo 89665]

2 hours ago, alincoln said:

Columbus is building a coronavirus triage center at the Ohio state fairgrounds.  The major cities in Ohio now have drive through coronavirus testing. The Cleveland Clinic will soon have an expedited test available.  Ohio State was one of the first major universities to cancel classes.  The governor of Ohio issued an order prohibiting mass gatherings, including all indoor sporting events.

Ohio of all places appears to be relatively proactive so far and its actions underscore the need for state and local governments to take the lead on this.  Relying on the feds is clearly a waste of precious time.

But hey, in Texas, we canceled a rodeo and SXSW!   And Joel Osteen shut down his mega services!

[Biff Tannen 45683]

1 minute ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Still have that disgusting crusty mud butt? I suppose is it’s dry by now. Dirt butt?

I'm good man.  Just don't like irrational panic.  You do you up in the great white north.

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

4 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

So Sweden has stopped testing for the most part. I assume a healthy chunk of other countries opted for this route as well. I'm not trying to rain on the "what the fuck are we doing, why aren't we testing, the fucking feds are clowns!" parade for that part of the mob, but as many others have suggested on this thread for weeks (not me), large scale testing may not make a whole lot of sense if this shit is really widespread already. I don't know. I don't really understand that part of the outcry once it was established that we, and others, did very little in the beginning of the outbreak.

Link to the Swedish article that your browser should be able to translate: https://www.dn.se/sthlm/farre-kommer-att-provtas-for-coronaviruset-i-stockholm/

I tend to agree with this in the sense of, "Just assume everyone has it and everyone should stay apart from other people for 2 months". 

But, all that being said, I don't think a lot of Americans will take that seriously until they know for sure that they do have it, which is the value of the testing. 

[atomheartbevo 89665]

1 hour ago, Liquor and Poker said:

Can they stay at sea for a month?  If so, that might be a great place to feel safe in 10 days or so. 

I’ve seen this TV show in passing

[hopkinsnhorns 533]

8 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Driving into work this morning was the lightest non-holiday/bad weather trip I've ever made. Back of Kingwood to Allen Parkway and Waugh in about 35 minutes.  The interchange at 59 and 10 was wide open.  Barely touched the brakes to exit.  Assuming we keep coming to work tomorrow might look like Christmas morning.

Fucking wow!

Edited March 12, 2020 by hopkinsnhorns

[atomheartbevo 89665]

1 minute ago, tjhooker said:

If Joel is canceling that cash cow we have a real problem 

Online donations probably still work

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

9 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Fucking Chinese foreign ministry is suggesting the US brought the virus to Wuhan.

 

I hope we learn from our mistakes. It was fun (and profitable) playing with China for a while, but we need to stop now.

[utee94 15823]

1 minute ago, hopkinsnhorns said:

My wife got a message from CapitalOne (they own her car loan) basically offering as much, deferred loan payments if you can't make your note.  I suspect mortgage companies will follow, possibly by Federal mandate.

If nothing else, discussions with lenders and committing to repayment schedules for missed payments, will be an option.  

Like I said, I'm not about to kick any of my tenants out for non-payment.  Many of them have been with my properties for several years and they're good people.  Like YOU said, Americans, and people of the world in general, will have a chance to shine.  I believe we will, and I intend to lead by example.

 

[SydneyCarton 48105]

Just now, atomheartbevo said:

But hey, in Texas, we canceled a rodeo and SXSW!   And Joel Osteen shut down his mega services!

That’s unfortunate. 
 

id have thought a Prosperity based congregation might have considered taking a “Donate Away The Danger” stance. Shame he realized that pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. 

[closetojumping 62718]

4 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

A bunch of us in this thread are talking about working from home, about our 30-day or more supplies of food.   And we are bitching that we might have our kids home with us if the schools close.     We are not going to be dealt “crushing blows”.

But Joe Q. Poor who works at a dollar store or a convenience store or whatever, if somebody around him gets infected and he has to quarantine or his store shuts down, he can’t stock the shelves from home.  He doesn’t have a few month’s  worth of cash on hand for emergencies.  He can’t pay his rent if he doesn’t work.  He doesn’t get to buy a month’s supply of food at a time, he’s going to be going in every week or two for food.    And even if he’s able to work, if his kid’s school is closed, he can’t afford a babysitter while he works.  

And that’s not touching on any potential healthcare bills in a worst case scenario.

I’ve been poor as well - up until I was in 5th grade, and as an adult in the military, and after, while helping to put my wife through school.   I still have habits to this day, that I carry from that time.   Good habits, mind you, but habits born out of necessity.  It’s not hard at all for me to imagine plenty of poor people being devastated even by something as simple as a two-week quarantine.   And it will be hard for many of them to recover from.  

If you are worried about medical bills, you aren't poor. That's the easiest shit to walk from first when you have to make tough decisions when you're in or near poverty. 

What you describe in the post quoted is business as usual for being penniless. You run these risks every day and you find new ways to sort the problems when new obstacles arise. 

We're talking about two different things, which is fine. You are talking about being broke. I thought you were talking about being poor. 

[atomheartbevo 89665]

53 minutes ago, Texas_Rocks said:

have come down with something in the last three days and won’t be going anywhere for awhile. Haven’t had a single bite to eat in well over 48 hours. Whatever it is, it’s definitely something I’m not familiar with. Fucking fever at 102.8 and a throat as dry as the Sahara desert. Drinking water is no cakewalk either, but I’m trying.

This hits close to home.  Dehydration will wreck your ass in that situation.  

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said:

I hope we learn from our mistakes. It was fun (and profitable) playing with China for a while, but we need to stop now.

Bright side of this is that maybe we diversify our supply chain now. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by crimsonlonghorn

[Js1 85335]

5 minutes ago, hopkinsnhorns said:

My wife got a message from CapitalOne (they own her car loan) basically offering as much, deferred loan payments if you can't make your note.  I suspect mortgage companies will follow, possibly by Federal mandate.

Both Citi and Chase (CC) said to contact them if you're affected (sick, work closed, etc.) to discuss options. 

[atomheartbevo 89665]

37 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

One interesting side note. Tried to buy two things of cough syrup. Randalls only lets you buy one per customer. 
If in Houston I get it but Austin isn’t known for its “drank” scene. 

My local Randall’s here in a Austin has cashiers wearing latex gloves now.   Not Thunderdome yet.

[The Dog 44051]

8 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

So Sweden has stopped testing for the most part. I assume a healthy chunk of other countries opted for this route as well. I'm not trying to rain on the "what the fuck are we doing, why aren't we testing, the fucking feds are clowns!" parade for that part of the mob, but as many others have suggested on this thread for weeks (not me), large scale testing may not make a whole lot of sense if this shit is really widespread already. I don't know. I don't really understand that part of the outcry once it was established that we, and others, did very little in the beginning of the outbreak.

Link to the Swedish article that your browser should be able to translate: https://www.dn.se/sthlm/farre-kommer-att-provtas-for-coronaviruset-i-stockholm/

I still think it's smart to do testing and contact tracing just to slow the spread. The spread is inevitable but IMHO that's part of "flattening the curve". 

I've never felt there was any stopping it after the ChiComs did their little stunt (because they are autocratic dickheads) but we can do a lot to alleviate the burden on the health care system.

[Telegraph_it 3357]

Concerning. 
 

Edit: I recommend reading the article. They actually show sat photos. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Telegraph_it

[Digdogger 1344]

50 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Just stick a battery up your ass. 

Challenge accepted

 

[Texas_Rocks 346]

This hits close to home.  Dehydration will wreck your ass in that situation.  

No doubt. I’ve been taking small sip after sip of water. It’s weird, my throat just clamps up as soon as I get water in my mouth.

[Constant 6732]

MLS suspending their season. PGA going no fans route. NHL will make a statement later today which should be a suspension of their season. 

[Digdogger 1344]

30 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

in an effort to follow safe health practices and limit my exposure, i've decided to remain at my desk and shit my pants in lieu of using office facilities...

it's rather cathartic, truth be told.

[atomheartbevo 89665]

1 minute ago, Texas_Rocks said:

No doubt. I’ve been taking small sip after sip of water. It’s weird, my throat just clamps up as soon as I get water in my mouth.

You should probably see a doc.   

[atomheartbevo 89665]

33 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

I like that they can get tests in the fucking Arctic circle but not here.

No CDC in the Arctic circle!

GesturesLikeTappingForeheadButNotActuallyTouching.gif

[Telegraph_it 3357]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

You should probably see a doc.   

Sounds like rabies. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Concerning. 
 
 

This shocks nobody that’s been following this from the get go

[ztejas 43438]

18 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Driving into work this morning was the lightest non-holiday/bad weather trip I've ever made. Back of Kingwood to Allen Parkway and Waugh in about 35 minutes.  The interchange at 59 and 10 was wide open.  Barely touched the brakes to exit.  Assuming we keep coming to work tomorrow might look like Christmas morning.

Yep. Usually takes me 20ish minutes to get to work. I think today it was like 12. 

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

2 minutes ago, Constant said:

MLS suspending their season. PGA going no fans route. NHL will make a statement later today which should be a suspension of their season. 

Invest in Netflix/video game companies. 

[Telegraph_it 3357]

1 minute ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

This shocks nobody that’s been following this from the get go

I've been following since January. It is still concerning. 

[atomheartbevo 89665]

23 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Not everybody is going to get sick all at once. Skeleton crews can keep the basics going.

Yep.  And we have a neighbor who works for CoA (real work, not artist-in-residence or whatever), and they have plenty of protocols for keeping everything running.    This is not a storm situation where power lines are knocked down or there are water treatment issues or whatever.

  Everybody should have a few days worth of water, etc. in general, pandemic or not, but many are truly in panic mode.  

[Kel Varnsen 8460]

6 minutes ago, Texas_Rocks said:

No doubt. I’ve been taking small sip after sip of water. It’s weird, my throat just clamps up as soon as I get water in my mouth.

[hopkinsnhorns 533]

7 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

Concerning. 
 

 

In my mind, there is no way this doesn't pave the way to political revolution in Iran.  The younger population was already frustrated with the conservative Muslim leadership, and this wave of deaths of presumably old conservative stalwarts will be the key that opens the door to a new, open, West-friendly Iran.

[hopkinsnhorns 533]

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Yep.  And we have a neighbor who works for CoA (real work, not artist-in-residence or whatever), and they have plenty of protocols for keeping everything running.    This is not a storm situation where power lines are knocked down or there are water treatment issues or whatever.

  Everybody should have a few days worth of water, etc. in general, pandemic or not, but many are truly in panic mode.  

Now, imagine if we were to get some sort of natural disaster on top of a COVID19 cluster... that shit would get nightmarish real fast.  Just praying we don't get any supercells in our area any time soon.

[Post Oak 20213]

The "no fans" events are such a stupid half measure.  

Just cancel the fucking event.

[Caver60 395]

1 hour ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

Currently debating with Mrs CL about whether to cut our spring break vacation short and go home today. We have been in South Padre for the past 4 days and have been planning all along to go to San Antonio today (Thursday) through the weekend in advance of the crowds of crazy college kids that will descend on this place tomorrow.

I'm of the mind that it's probably more responsible to just go home today and get ready to hunker down and limit our contact with other people. Her reasoning is that we might as well enjoy this week since there are going to be lots of changed plans in the future (like not going on our Princess Alaska cruise this summer). 

Can't believe we are the only ones having this kind of discussion right now. 

I work at Natural Bridge Caverns. Spring Break is our biggest week of the year, typically. This year, the majority of Texas school districts are on break this week. The rest will be off next week. The split is pretty even, though, so there will be almost as many people on vacation next week as there are right now.

We are open, and there are plenty of people here. Not what it would be without the virus running amok, but we are still busy. We are running down 25% or so compared to what we were expecting before this thing got loose. For context, we usually see 2500-4000 people per day during Spring Break. For the life of me I can't imagine why anyone would think "Virus? Sure, I'd be happy to place me and my family in a group of 50 people in a warm wet environment". But they are. 

We are doing all sorts of planning, as most all of us are. Suspending spending on projects, planning for laying off hourly employees if we are forced to close. Our best advice will probably be for our hourly folks to take unemployment in the worst case scenario. We do offer health insurance, but no way are hourly hourly folks going to be able to afford COBRA if we let them go. I think that CTJ is right, the travel industry is going to get pounded by this thing, and it might take a couple of years for things to settle down.

At some point soon, tourist destinations will likely start closing for two weeks. As soon as that becomes "industry standard," we will too. I think most places are trying to get Spring Break $ in the bank before choosing to do that.

I can understand a beach vacation at this point. Stay in a condo, be on the beach away from others. I'd avoid theme parks like the plague, so to speak. And I wouldn't come here, either. I sort of have to, but you shouldn't.

[davidg 4037]

18 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Online donations probably still work

Continuous ticker on the bottom of the screen with website and 1-800 #.  Send your donation to help Jesus fight the corona virus today!

[Smax 3800]

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has tested positive for the coronavirus, per espn

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28891354/donovan-mitchell-tests-positive-coronavirus

[atomheartbevo 89665]

25 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

So Sweden has stopped testing for the most part. I assume a healthy chunk of other countries opted for this route as well. I'm not trying to rain on the "what the fuck are we doing, why aren't we testing, the fucking feds are clowns!" parade for that part of the mob, but as many others have suggested on this thread for weeks (not me), large scale testing may not make a whole lot of sense if this shit is really widespread already. I don't know. I don't really understand that part of the outcry once it was established that we, and others, did very little in the beginning of the outbreak.

Link to the Swedish article that your browser should be able to translate: https://www.dn.se/sthlm/farre-kommer-att-provtas-for-coronaviruset-i-stockholm/

We’ve explained this to you multiple times.  South Korea got their shit together thanks to testing.  

it is all about trying to buy our healthcare system time to cope.  

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

3 minutes ago, Post Oak said:

The "no fans" events are such a stupid half measure.  

Just cancel the fucking event.

Disagree, we are going to need shit to watch when all stuck at home. 

[Kel Varnsen 8460]

^ they blocking pornhub?

[atomheartbevo 89665]

19 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If you are worried about medical bills, you aren't poor. That's the easiest shit to walk from first when you have to make tough decisions when you're in or near poverty. 

What you describe in the post quoted is business as usual for being penniless. You run these risks every day and you find new ways to sort the problems when new obstacles arise. 

We're talking about two different things, which is fine. You are talking about being broke. I thought you were talking about being poor. 

So if a poor person’s kids kids find themselves at home because school is canceled, putting that poor person in a bind, are you going to just say “well, we are talking about two different things, I was talking about poor people who don’t have kids.”

If you don’t see multiple ways that this little pandemic can fuck up the lives of poor people, then I doubt you were ever poor.  

[Post Oak 20213]

4 minutes ago, Caver60 said:

I work at Natural Bridge Caverns. Spring Break is our biggest week of the year, typically. This year, the majority of Texas school districts are on break this week. The rest will be off next week. The split is pretty even, though, so there will be almost as many people on vacation next week as there are right now.

We are open, and there are plenty of people here. Not what it would be without the virus running amok, but we are still busy. We are running down 25% or so compared to what we were expecting before this thing got loose. For context, we usually see 2500-4000 people per day during Spring Break. For the life of me I can't imagine why anyone would think "Virus? Sure, I'd be happy to place me and my family in a group of 50 people in a warm wet environment". But they are. 

We are doing all sorts of planning, as most all of us are. Suspending spending on projects, planning for laying off hourly employees if we are forced to close. Our best advice will probably be for our hourly folks to take unemployment in the worst case scenario. We do offer health insurance, but no way are hourly hourly folks going to be able to afford COBRA if we let them go. I think that CTJ is right, the travel industry is going to get pounded by this thing, and it might take a couple of years for things to settle down.

At some point soon, tourist destinations will likely start closing for two weeks. As soon as that becomes "industry standard," we will too. I think most places are trying to get Spring Break $ in the bank before choosing to do that.

I can understand a beach vacation at this point. Stay in a condo, be on the beach away from others. I'd avoid theme parks like the plague, so to speak. And I wouldn't come here, either. I sort of have to, but you shouldn't.

Username checks out