Yes, it's Thursday. That dreaded day. It feels a bit different since it's a short, holiday week, but it's still a long drudge till that exciting TGIF! Rah!
It's been a few days, both because I've been busy and because I've had nothing I thought worthy to say.
But today, I've got one.
What the eff is it with people and wearing a mask, but wearing it under their nose?!?!?
This morning I went to the local bagel shop (which is a good place, quite a local boon), where they went to the whole "wear a mask, no eating inside, stand six feet apart" rules weeks ago.
But this morning at least 3 of the workers had their masks on BENEATH THEIR NOSES!!!
Just in case, I checked, because I thought "maybe they know something I don't." But here -- wearing it under your nose is "don't #1" !!!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/well/live/coronavirus-face-mask-mistakes.html
So, WTF are you doing, people??!!?!?
This morning wasn't the only phenomenon of this. I saw it yesterday at Lowe's (I said I'd been busy, right?) -- you have to wear a mask to get in (I suppose that person near the entry door is there to stop you if you don't have a mask), but I guess covering your nose with it isn't really what people think.
I also saw this at the grocery store earlier this week, and earlier. Mask, but under your nose.
I know wearing it over your mouth and nose isn't all that comfortable, but what's the point of wearing one at all if you are doing it in a way that makes it less efficacious?
Do they think that covid doesn't come out or in your nose? Really?!?!!?
Or are you just stupid?
Remember, you're not wearing it for you. You're wearing it for everyone around you! You don't know you don't have it -- you can be asymptomatic (did we know this word 10 weeks ago?) many days before feeling sick -- if you ever feel sick. But you can still pass it on.
If you've missed this, they wore masks for the Spanish Flu pandemic a hundred years ago. A hundred years ago. And millions of them died.
A hundred years later, we should be able to get THIS right!
Wear the damned mask right!!!
That's today's harangue. Look forward to tomorrow's.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Saturday, May 23, 2020
When a Holiday isn't so Memorable
It's Saturday. ICYMI.
Yes, Saturday.
Of a holiday weekend.
True story: my students had an essay due yesterday. One didn't turn theirs in. I emailed and asked and she responded "I thought it Thursday..."
Yeah, really.
Is that better than "my dog ate my homework?"
I think we all can understand, up to a point.
Here we are. Memorial Day weekend.
We often have gone to a baseball game this weekend. Nope. Ain't happening.
We almost always go see the big ticket movie coming out for the summer (was it going to be Wonder Woman II?). Nope. Ain't happening.
So, what do we do?
We have the stuff to cook out. Just us. Because many years there's been a cookout with friends over...or we have gone over to their place. Nope. Ain't happening.
A lot ain't happening.
The morning news shows showed (repetition intended) all these venues opening up. Like the beach in Indiana. With no bathrooms. Which says "don't say stay long." OC, they had a woman on saying "why aren't they open, I've got kids...they might have to...you know." Answer: because you aren't supposed to be there long enough to "you know." Go home!
It's going to be interesting to see, having flattened the upward curve, if all we're doing sustains the flat, or it bounces up more. Or maybe a dip, then another spike?
It's going to be interesting to see.
In the meantime, we all wonder what to do, how to make the time go by (did you see the article interviewing the philosopher of time? turns out time passing is a mental thing. Huh).
Good luck with the weekend. And the holiday. And making it feel special.
And don't forget why we have the holiday: a lot of soldiers have died for our freedom. And I don't mean the freedom to not wear a mask. Let's remember them.
Yes, Saturday.
Of a holiday weekend.
True story: my students had an essay due yesterday. One didn't turn theirs in. I emailed and asked and she responded "I thought it Thursday..."
Yeah, really.
Is that better than "my dog ate my homework?"
I think we all can understand, up to a point.
Here we are. Memorial Day weekend.
We often have gone to a baseball game this weekend. Nope. Ain't happening.
We almost always go see the big ticket movie coming out for the summer (was it going to be Wonder Woman II?). Nope. Ain't happening.
So, what do we do?
We have the stuff to cook out. Just us. Because many years there's been a cookout with friends over...or we have gone over to their place. Nope. Ain't happening.
A lot ain't happening.
The morning news shows showed (repetition intended) all these venues opening up. Like the beach in Indiana. With no bathrooms. Which says "don't say stay long." OC, they had a woman on saying "why aren't they open, I've got kids...they might have to...you know." Answer: because you aren't supposed to be there long enough to "you know." Go home!
It's going to be interesting to see, having flattened the upward curve, if all we're doing sustains the flat, or it bounces up more. Or maybe a dip, then another spike?
It's going to be interesting to see.
In the meantime, we all wonder what to do, how to make the time go by (did you see the article interviewing the philosopher of time? turns out time passing is a mental thing. Huh).
Good luck with the weekend. And the holiday. And making it feel special.
And don't forget why we have the holiday: a lot of soldiers have died for our freedom. And I don't mean the freedom to not wear a mask. Let's remember them.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Food wilderness; or how to keep my yeast a beast
It's Thursday. Got that?
I took a couple days off. Or, rather, I didn't feel the impulse to write. It happens.
But I've been thinking A LOT about eating. From my Twitter timeline, lots of people are thinking about food.
Where to start? Let's start with dumb ideas.
I saw someone who wanted to make pancakes with 3 ingredients. Cottage cheese, oatmeal, and egg.
That is NOT a pancake!
Which leads to this observation: because of worries about food, there's a lot of people whipping up concoctions from what is "in the pantry." Right.
Did you see the picture from the person who predicted what we'd be eating in Week 30 of Stay At Home? A tortilla with peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, a pickle, and a raw hot dog. Aka red neck sushi.
I guess there's an app where you put in these items in your pantry and they give you a recipe. (is this what you get when you put in hot dog, pickle, marshmallow fluff, etc? or cottage cheese, egg, oatmeal?)
None of it seems all that edible.
Then there's this big question: why is everyone baking bread?
Seriously.
You know, you can walk down the aisle in the grocery store and get good bread, cheap? Right?
Yet here are all these people uploading pictures of loaves of (not particularly appealing) bread. In odd shapes and colors.
And tweet after tweet about how to find, keep, retain, etc, yeast starter. This is why we buy it in the store. 😵
Here in town, there's even a taco truck that has opened. Ironically (or maybe not), it has a hand printed sign that says "carryout only." On a taco truck.
I have to end there. We are all lost in a food wilderness.
Till next time.
I took a couple days off. Or, rather, I didn't feel the impulse to write. It happens.
But I've been thinking A LOT about eating. From my Twitter timeline, lots of people are thinking about food.
Where to start? Let's start with dumb ideas.
I saw someone who wanted to make pancakes with 3 ingredients. Cottage cheese, oatmeal, and egg.
That is NOT a pancake!
Which leads to this observation: because of worries about food, there's a lot of people whipping up concoctions from what is "in the pantry." Right.
Did you see the picture from the person who predicted what we'd be eating in Week 30 of Stay At Home? A tortilla with peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, a pickle, and a raw hot dog. Aka red neck sushi.
I guess there's an app where you put in these items in your pantry and they give you a recipe. (is this what you get when you put in hot dog, pickle, marshmallow fluff, etc? or cottage cheese, egg, oatmeal?)
None of it seems all that edible.
Then there's this big question: why is everyone baking bread?
Seriously.
You know, you can walk down the aisle in the grocery store and get good bread, cheap? Right?
Yet here are all these people uploading pictures of loaves of (not particularly appealing) bread. In odd shapes and colors.
And tweet after tweet about how to find, keep, retain, etc, yeast starter. This is why we buy it in the store. 😵
Here in town, there's even a taco truck that has opened. Ironically (or maybe not), it has a hand printed sign that says "carryout only." On a taco truck.
I have to end there. We are all lost in a food wilderness.
Till next time.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Monday...re-opening
It is Monday. Get over it.
I survived the morning -- it's always a struggle. You know, motivating yourself to get out of bed, generate momentum to get through the day, then the week.
It's tougher during this quarantine thing.
Then there's the eternal confusion about what people are thinking.
For instance, New Jersey is opening up their beaches, with all sorts of supposed codicils, next weekend (it's Memorial Day, a traditional go-to-the-beach in the mid-Atlantic weekend).
So, you think: okay, beach. Lots of space, lots of room for social distancing. You don't have to touch anyone. Fine.
Then I see a picture from a boardwalk in some small town I've never heard of and it is of a line of people waiting to get their beach passes. It must be 100 people deep. No space between them in line. I don't see a lot of what look like masks. What the fuck are you people thinking?!?!!?!? You want to go to the beach so bad you're willing to risk getting this shit1?!?!!?!?!?!?
It's depressing.
Look, 85,000 people in this country of died (and that number is probably low, acc to all kinds of people who think we haven't counted everyone who's died of it) and over a million have had it, or still do.
It ain't nothing. It ain't a hoax.
It kills people. Lots of them.
And if it doesn't kill you, it may ruin your lungs forever.
But, what the heck, let's line up with a bunch of unmasked strangers for our beach passes. La-di-da.
I wonder if our ancestors did this with the plague. You know, "Everyone around has this thing that gives you a fever and kills you, but let's go down and hang out at the pub because I couldn't stand to go a night without me pint." I wonder.
The thing is, even 100 years ago with the Spanish flu, virology was not as sophisticated as it is today -- they didn't know what they were fighting.
You think if you told them "you stay home, wear a mask if you have to go out and meet someone, wash your hands a lot, stay six feet away" they would have said "but I need my beach pass" or "I need to party" or "my hair looks bad?"
One wonders. If they had, I suspect we wouldn't all be here.
And that's today's Monday depression. Good luck with yours.
I survived the morning -- it's always a struggle. You know, motivating yourself to get out of bed, generate momentum to get through the day, then the week.
It's tougher during this quarantine thing.
Then there's the eternal confusion about what people are thinking.
For instance, New Jersey is opening up their beaches, with all sorts of supposed codicils, next weekend (it's Memorial Day, a traditional go-to-the-beach in the mid-Atlantic weekend).
So, you think: okay, beach. Lots of space, lots of room for social distancing. You don't have to touch anyone. Fine.
Then I see a picture from a boardwalk in some small town I've never heard of and it is of a line of people waiting to get their beach passes. It must be 100 people deep. No space between them in line. I don't see a lot of what look like masks. What the fuck are you people thinking?!?!!?!? You want to go to the beach so bad you're willing to risk getting this shit1?!?!!?!?!?!?
It's depressing.
Look, 85,000 people in this country of died (and that number is probably low, acc to all kinds of people who think we haven't counted everyone who's died of it) and over a million have had it, or still do.
It ain't nothing. It ain't a hoax.
It kills people. Lots of them.
And if it doesn't kill you, it may ruin your lungs forever.
But, what the heck, let's line up with a bunch of unmasked strangers for our beach passes. La-di-da.
I wonder if our ancestors did this with the plague. You know, "Everyone around has this thing that gives you a fever and kills you, but let's go down and hang out at the pub because I couldn't stand to go a night without me pint." I wonder.
The thing is, even 100 years ago with the Spanish flu, virology was not as sophisticated as it is today -- they didn't know what they were fighting.
You think if you told them "you stay home, wear a mask if you have to go out and meet someone, wash your hands a lot, stay six feet away" they would have said "but I need my beach pass" or "I need to party" or "my hair looks bad?"
One wonders. If they had, I suspect we wouldn't all be here.
And that's today's Monday depression. Good luck with yours.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Oh, no!!! It's...it's...
Okay. It's finally happened. I awoke this morning, looked at my fitbit (845 on the clock hand version I have chosen) and wondered "why is K on her staff meeting?" I was sure it was Monday. I even laid in bed and thought about checking online on my new students -- because it was Monday.
It's Sunday!!!
It is really Sunday.
It's stunning that 9+ weeks ago we all thought Sundays were good things.
But that's a lot less so when everyday seems like a Sunday. When the line between work day and every day is so blurred you can't tell the difference, Sundays lose their charm and potency.
It's Sunday.
They ran at Churchill Downs yesterday. The star of the show, Monomoy Girl, did what stars do to become stars -- made everyone else look pedestrian. Bottled up along the back stretch, her jockey (Florent Geroux) swung her out to three wide an she acceclerated like she had a gear the others don't (which she clearly did) and zipped pat them all to a 6-length win. After months of little stardom in racing (okay, the Arkansas Derbies two weeks ago), it was good to see what looked like sports stardom perform.
Our big news here yesterday was this:
It's been since March since we've seen this in the stores. Yesterday my daughter snared a package. Woo woo.
I just heard, and saw the graphic, that 48 states were doing some kind of reopening in the coming days. It's not clear what "reopening" means -- here it means no hair salons, tattoo parlors, restricted restaurants, and quite a few businesses not really open. Reopened is stretching the defintion.
We are all trying to find a way to get through this. Not just the zoom world we now live in, but the strange mixture of masks, distancing, half available tables, and lines, six feet apart, in stores, restaurants, and places of entertainment.
But it's Sunday! We don't have to worry so much about that today. It's a(nother) day of rest!
Enjoy.
It's Sunday!!!
It is really Sunday.
It's stunning that 9+ weeks ago we all thought Sundays were good things.
But that's a lot less so when everyday seems like a Sunday. When the line between work day and every day is so blurred you can't tell the difference, Sundays lose their charm and potency.
It's Sunday.
They ran at Churchill Downs yesterday. The star of the show, Monomoy Girl, did what stars do to become stars -- made everyone else look pedestrian. Bottled up along the back stretch, her jockey (Florent Geroux) swung her out to three wide an she acceclerated like she had a gear the others don't (which she clearly did) and zipped pat them all to a 6-length win. After months of little stardom in racing (okay, the Arkansas Derbies two weeks ago), it was good to see what looked like sports stardom perform.
Our big news here yesterday was this:
I just heard, and saw the graphic, that 48 states were doing some kind of reopening in the coming days. It's not clear what "reopening" means -- here it means no hair salons, tattoo parlors, restricted restaurants, and quite a few businesses not really open. Reopened is stretching the defintion.
We are all trying to find a way to get through this. Not just the zoom world we now live in, but the strange mixture of masks, distancing, half available tables, and lines, six feet apart, in stores, restaurants, and places of entertainment.
But it's Sunday! We don't have to worry so much about that today. It's a(nother) day of rest!
Enjoy.
Friday, May 15, 2020
TGIF -- and THIS Friday
Yes, it's Friday. This is the end of my 9th week in quarantine.
But this is going to qualify as a good Friday (no religious connotations) -- there is actually a small menu of juicy live sports coming on this weekend.
There's been horse racing all 9 weeks, although the big races, the Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes have all been postponed, with the Derby rescheduled for Labor Day Saturday. The other two aren't.
Anyway, they have run on in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska (did you know they raced those places), and Florida, through it all. You can ponder why those places, but I think you know why.
As of today, Santa Anita in California is open and running. Tomorrow Churchill Downs is open and its races will be running on FS1 all afternoon.
It's something.
Let me just say this: it will be better next weekend, as Churchill Downs hosts the Matt Winn on Saturday, a race for three=year-olds that will now be a Derby prep, giving points toward Derby qualification. That counts as juice.
On Sunday, we have golf. Four golfers, who may or may not be household names, Dustin Johnson (former US Open champ) pairs with multiple major championship winner Rory McElroy against Ricky Fowler and Matt Wolff with two F's. From one of the best courses in Florida, Seminole. It's big news (ar ar) they aren't using caddies, but carrying their own bags. Twitter wonders if it'll be the 50-pound burdens they make their caddies lug every day as pros, or something smaller.
No matter what, it's live sports. On NBC, a major network. Something to watch and not be too bored. Though it is golf.
It's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's 9 weeks. Finally, something is happening.
Have a good day. And hopefully a good weekend.
But this is going to qualify as a good Friday (no religious connotations) -- there is actually a small menu of juicy live sports coming on this weekend.
There's been horse racing all 9 weeks, although the big races, the Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes have all been postponed, with the Derby rescheduled for Labor Day Saturday. The other two aren't.
Anyway, they have run on in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska (did you know they raced those places), and Florida, through it all. You can ponder why those places, but I think you know why.
As of today, Santa Anita in California is open and running. Tomorrow Churchill Downs is open and its races will be running on FS1 all afternoon.
It's something.
Let me just say this: it will be better next weekend, as Churchill Downs hosts the Matt Winn on Saturday, a race for three=year-olds that will now be a Derby prep, giving points toward Derby qualification. That counts as juice.
On Sunday, we have golf. Four golfers, who may or may not be household names, Dustin Johnson (former US Open champ) pairs with multiple major championship winner Rory McElroy against Ricky Fowler and Matt Wolff with two F's. From one of the best courses in Florida, Seminole. It's big news (ar ar) they aren't using caddies, but carrying their own bags. Twitter wonders if it'll be the 50-pound burdens they make their caddies lug every day as pros, or something smaller.
No matter what, it's live sports. On NBC, a major network. Something to watch and not be too bored. Though it is golf.
It's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's 9 weeks. Finally, something is happening.
Have a good day. And hopefully a good weekend.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
The Vast Wasteland of Quarantine
It's Thursday. Gawd, I've always hated Thursdays. It's a terrible day of the work week.
Not better now with the big Q. This is ending week 9. This blog is rather like the wall of the prison cell, like the Count of Monte Cristo, scraping another notch each day to make sure we remember the passing of the days.
It's Thursday.
ICYMI, the Cal State system announced Tuesday that they are going to almost all online in the fall, already. I'm not sure why they decided it was time to pull that trigger, but they have. Others have said they are close -- including noises out of Harvard. We'll leave THAT to another day.
But the PA state system has already been on all online through the summer, which means at some campus till mid-August. The Chancellor has said publicly they are wondering about online in the fall.
Without face-to-face (F2F) in the fall, I'm not sure when I'll "go out" again (this is except for trips to pick up food and/or groceries/prescriptions).
I feel for my car's loneliness. I haven't filled up with gas in forever, though I've seen the local quick mart's prices fluctuate slowly down to $1.72, now back up to $1.97 (from a high the first week of $2.49). I'd fill my tank but it's still full. :)
Anyway, the title.
There's nothing to really look forward to. If you haven't read the blogs before this one, you won't know (and those who have can skip this) that all summer vacations plans, long made, are now off.
There's no work in the fall F2F -- I can start to think about revising my online shells. Woo woo. Talk about juice.
I'm trying to find something to look forward to.
The Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Labor Day weekend. This might be the thing. Because it's not clear baseball will be back. Or I guess come June I'll watch A LOT of golf, since they are planning on being back. I don't imagine they'll wear masks, either. LOL.
It's tough folks. And I'm a lucky one -- I have a job that is secure, so does my partner, and therefore I have computer, multiple streaming services on the TV (my latest thumbs up is Upload on Amazon Prime -- it's both funny and rather touching), plenty of money, and multiple people in the house who can cook -- unlike the Tweet I saw this week of "quarantine in a few weeks" with a picture of a tortilla laid out with a pickle, hot dog, with a smear of marshmellow fluff and peanut butter in the middle.
I don't have to worry about that.
But it's not a pretty landscape out there looking forward.
Till tomorrow, which is yahoo! TGIF. ICYMI. :)
Not better now with the big Q. This is ending week 9. This blog is rather like the wall of the prison cell, like the Count of Monte Cristo, scraping another notch each day to make sure we remember the passing of the days.
It's Thursday.
ICYMI, the Cal State system announced Tuesday that they are going to almost all online in the fall, already. I'm not sure why they decided it was time to pull that trigger, but they have. Others have said they are close -- including noises out of Harvard. We'll leave THAT to another day.
But the PA state system has already been on all online through the summer, which means at some campus till mid-August. The Chancellor has said publicly they are wondering about online in the fall.
Without face-to-face (F2F) in the fall, I'm not sure when I'll "go out" again (this is except for trips to pick up food and/or groceries/prescriptions).
I feel for my car's loneliness. I haven't filled up with gas in forever, though I've seen the local quick mart's prices fluctuate slowly down to $1.72, now back up to $1.97 (from a high the first week of $2.49). I'd fill my tank but it's still full. :)
Anyway, the title.
There's nothing to really look forward to. If you haven't read the blogs before this one, you won't know (and those who have can skip this) that all summer vacations plans, long made, are now off.
There's no work in the fall F2F -- I can start to think about revising my online shells. Woo woo. Talk about juice.
I'm trying to find something to look forward to.
The Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Labor Day weekend. This might be the thing. Because it's not clear baseball will be back. Or I guess come June I'll watch A LOT of golf, since they are planning on being back. I don't imagine they'll wear masks, either. LOL.
It's tough folks. And I'm a lucky one -- I have a job that is secure, so does my partner, and therefore I have computer, multiple streaming services on the TV (my latest thumbs up is Upload on Amazon Prime -- it's both funny and rather touching), plenty of money, and multiple people in the house who can cook -- unlike the Tweet I saw this week of "quarantine in a few weeks" with a picture of a tortilla laid out with a pickle, hot dog, with a smear of marshmellow fluff and peanut butter in the middle.
I don't have to worry about that.
But it's not a pretty landscape out there looking forward.
Till tomorrow, which is yahoo! TGIF. ICYMI. :)
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Delayed gratitude, airline style
It's Wednesday. Or, as Winnie the Pooh so famously says, Winds-day. Actually, THAT is not too bad today.
But it's a happy non-Pooh day because I got through to Orbitz and I am getting a refund for my tickets to London for next month.
Someday.
That's where the title comes from (sort of).
Actually, the title comes from a malapropism of my mother's from some years ago when my son wanted his Christmas presents early: "he needs to learn delayed gratitude" she stated. I don't think he ever quite has. Have any of us?
But a combination of Orbitz and British Airways is trying to teach me, in my 7th decade, some. 😡
I'll start here: we were going to London, then Glasgow, to see a Cardinals-Cubs baseball game (because who doesn't go to London for that, right?) and then a European Cup first-round soccer game.
The European Cup was postponed (till next year) first. Weeks ago.
Then, several weeks ago, the baseball game.
There was no reason to go to London.
And British Air kind of knew that: I lost count of how many alerts I got from Orbitz saying the time or place of the flight was changed. Again, and again.
Hey! ICYMI there is a travel ban from here to Europe. Hello!
But they insisted on acting like they were flying us to London on June 11th. Even if we had to stop 3 times on the way to do it. 😡
But now they have relented.
However, let's talk money.
When do I get my refund? "It might take up to 8 weeks for it to show up on your credit card..."
EIGHT WEEKS!!!
Eight effin' weeks!!!
What can you say or do?
Fortunately, we're not going anywhere anytime soon, but that money, which isn't insignificant for 3 tickets to London, could be used for something else. Like retail therapy.
Delayed gratitude.
My gratitude ain't coming anytime soon.
But it's Hump Day. We're gonna make it through this one, right?
Right?
Till tomorrow.
With gratitude,
But it's a happy non-Pooh day because I got through to Orbitz and I am getting a refund for my tickets to London for next month.
Someday.
That's where the title comes from (sort of).
Actually, the title comes from a malapropism of my mother's from some years ago when my son wanted his Christmas presents early: "he needs to learn delayed gratitude" she stated. I don't think he ever quite has. Have any of us?
But a combination of Orbitz and British Airways is trying to teach me, in my 7th decade, some. 😡
I'll start here: we were going to London, then Glasgow, to see a Cardinals-Cubs baseball game (because who doesn't go to London for that, right?) and then a European Cup first-round soccer game.
The European Cup was postponed (till next year) first. Weeks ago.
Then, several weeks ago, the baseball game.
There was no reason to go to London.
And British Air kind of knew that: I lost count of how many alerts I got from Orbitz saying the time or place of the flight was changed. Again, and again.
Hey! ICYMI there is a travel ban from here to Europe. Hello!
But they insisted on acting like they were flying us to London on June 11th. Even if we had to stop 3 times on the way to do it. 😡
But now they have relented.
However, let's talk money.
When do I get my refund? "It might take up to 8 weeks for it to show up on your credit card..."
EIGHT WEEKS!!!
Eight effin' weeks!!!
What can you say or do?
Fortunately, we're not going anywhere anytime soon, but that money, which isn't insignificant for 3 tickets to London, could be used for something else. Like retail therapy.
Delayed gratitude.
My gratitude ain't coming anytime soon.
But it's Hump Day. We're gonna make it through this one, right?
Right?
Till tomorrow.
With gratitude,
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Monday blahs -- a day later
It's Tuesday. I've said one point of this blog is to remind us of the days. Tuesday.
Funniest story oWilf yesterday (and many days, probably): we are sitting before the TV last evening, just having a chat, and my wife said that her colleague had told them all that they had postponed their canoeing trip from this past weekend to next weekend due to weather. "At our meeting yesterday morning..."
Of course, yesterday morning was Sunday, so...I pointed this out and she said "well, it really WAS a long day." No kidding!
In the never-ending, or rather hopefully soon-ending, saga, I spent two hours on "chat" with Orbitz, trying to get a resolution to next month's plane trip to London. I found out the flight was actually cancelled, which I think changes my rights. But I never got a resolution: after typing "I'm looking into rules, I'll be back to you" an hour later the session was closed without warning! I will call back today.
I also got a phone call from the Royal Shakespeare Company, wanting to know about my tickets for next week. I was on with Orbitz, so they are calling back today.
Talk about bummers.
and I looked at London weather and it was great for the weekend plus we were supposed to be there (starting yesterday for this trip).
It's getting harder to distinguish day and get the motivation to move on.
College semesters are over. So, what do we do to have shape to our lives?
I don't have an answer. Horse racing might help, with Will Rogers in Oklahoma running on Monday and Tuesday. But WRD is infamously hard to handicap: yesterday's two Pick 5's (if you don't know, I ain't explainin' here) started with a 6:1 shot winning, then a 35:1 shot winning. I don't count on winning Pick 5's -- the odds are astronomical -- but a big part of playing them is the hope of winning -- you win a race and you begin to wonder what might happen. Friday I got the first four right at Gulfstream and was in line for a $500 payout (on a series of .50 bets) if one horse came through -- it didn't. Badly. But there was that hope. Losing the opening race to longshots (yes, 6:1 isn't one of the favorites in a race) destroys that.
There are things to do. The trim in the living room still needs painting from two months ago. There are things outside to do, if the weather holds. There might even be golf, again dependent on weather.
But there needs to be something to distinguish our days and give us something to look forward to.
Which leads us to this: the headline in the local paper yesterday was "County Commissioners May Defy Shutdown." I think, having read the story, the headline is a misnomer, but still...one of the commissioners is interviewed and he talks about reopening as of Friday. But he says they are going to talk about it and the consequences.
I don't understand this drive to reopen with the pandemic at our door. My county hasn't had a lot of cases, but it hasn't checked any of the boxes the governor (or the feds) have set for reopening -- like 2 weeks of fewer new cases. Nope, not any of these.
So, why are they wanting to violate the law and put a lot of businesses at risk -- the governor pointed out yesterday morning that they would be liable if something happened (like someone got the virus) and their licenses and certificates would be in jeopardy if they violated the governor's order?
I know a lot of people don't have enough money. But I'm going to repeat this (maybe a lot): you aren't going to have anywhere near pre-covid customers if you reopen now, with no vaccine, with the wave still near its peak. We aren't all clamoring to go eat in restaurant, get our hair cut, get our new tattoo, go to the movies (all examples often cited).
I may not know what day it is, but I know that.
Happy Monday...errrr...Tuesday.
Funniest story oWilf yesterday (and many days, probably): we are sitting before the TV last evening, just having a chat, and my wife said that her colleague had told them all that they had postponed their canoeing trip from this past weekend to next weekend due to weather. "At our meeting yesterday morning..."
Of course, yesterday morning was Sunday, so...I pointed this out and she said "well, it really WAS a long day." No kidding!
In the never-ending, or rather hopefully soon-ending, saga, I spent two hours on "chat" with Orbitz, trying to get a resolution to next month's plane trip to London. I found out the flight was actually cancelled, which I think changes my rights. But I never got a resolution: after typing "I'm looking into rules, I'll be back to you" an hour later the session was closed without warning! I will call back today.
I also got a phone call from the Royal Shakespeare Company, wanting to know about my tickets for next week. I was on with Orbitz, so they are calling back today.
Talk about bummers.
and I looked at London weather and it was great for the weekend plus we were supposed to be there (starting yesterday for this trip).
It's getting harder to distinguish day and get the motivation to move on.
College semesters are over. So, what do we do to have shape to our lives?
I don't have an answer. Horse racing might help, with Will Rogers in Oklahoma running on Monday and Tuesday. But WRD is infamously hard to handicap: yesterday's two Pick 5's (if you don't know, I ain't explainin' here) started with a 6:1 shot winning, then a 35:1 shot winning. I don't count on winning Pick 5's -- the odds are astronomical -- but a big part of playing them is the hope of winning -- you win a race and you begin to wonder what might happen. Friday I got the first four right at Gulfstream and was in line for a $500 payout (on a series of .50 bets) if one horse came through -- it didn't. Badly. But there was that hope. Losing the opening race to longshots (yes, 6:1 isn't one of the favorites in a race) destroys that.
There are things to do. The trim in the living room still needs painting from two months ago. There are things outside to do, if the weather holds. There might even be golf, again dependent on weather.
But there needs to be something to distinguish our days and give us something to look forward to.
Which leads us to this: the headline in the local paper yesterday was "County Commissioners May Defy Shutdown." I think, having read the story, the headline is a misnomer, but still...one of the commissioners is interviewed and he talks about reopening as of Friday. But he says they are going to talk about it and the consequences.
I don't understand this drive to reopen with the pandemic at our door. My county hasn't had a lot of cases, but it hasn't checked any of the boxes the governor (or the feds) have set for reopening -- like 2 weeks of fewer new cases. Nope, not any of these.
So, why are they wanting to violate the law and put a lot of businesses at risk -- the governor pointed out yesterday morning that they would be liable if something happened (like someone got the virus) and their licenses and certificates would be in jeopardy if they violated the governor's order?
I know a lot of people don't have enough money. But I'm going to repeat this (maybe a lot): you aren't going to have anywhere near pre-covid customers if you reopen now, with no vaccine, with the wave still near its peak. We aren't all clamoring to go eat in restaurant, get our hair cut, get our new tattoo, go to the movies (all examples often cited).
I may not know what day it is, but I know that.
Happy Monday...errrr...Tuesday.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Mother's Day during Covid At Home
It's Sunday! I know you can tell because it's also Mother's Day. 2020. Arguably the shittiest Mother's Day ever.
(And if you weren't quite sure about Mother's Day, I don't believe you, it's very much advertised)
Let's get this out of the way, because it's about me, not either of the mothers in my life (so much): my iPhone keeps reminding me I am supposed to be going to the airport today for a flight to London. I'm not; it was cancelled back in March, but my iPhone, which can read the events when they appear, seems to be unable to pick up on the clues that events aren't actually happening. 😠
But that that was on Mother's Day was only coincidental.
Typically on Mother's Day we would take my wife out (me and the kids; these day only one near home). Nope, none of that today.
Or we'd go do something special. A ballgame? A movie? Nope. Nope.
So, here we are, week 9 of our quarantine, and Mother's Day is going to be a vase of flowers (thanks to one child) and a chocolate peanut butter cake and a nice dinner courtesy of the other child.
Low key.
But that doesn't include my mother. Who is 86. A little over a year ago she moved into an assisted-living place. It's a nice place, with lots of stuff to do.
Or did.
She hasn't been able to visitors since late March. They started letting them have visitors, but they had to come through the front door and be screened, but it wasn't long before they gave that up.
So, no visitors.
And they can't leave their room. Or, rather, they've eliminated all the reasons mom used to have to leave her room. They used to not only have communal meals, but also a series of games, talks, movies, entertainment, and prayer meetings and bible studies that kept you active and chatty. And, let me tell you from what my mother reports, they gossip more than middle schoolers. 😒
To top all this off, my mother lost her phone two weeks ago. You know, she's an old, so it was a landline and there was weather and it turned into a crackling monstrosity.
So, she went over a week with no phone. (I got her an iPhone, which she thanked me for profusely, but she gave it up for the landline like Sonic the Hedgehog chasing something). She had a terrible time.
So, here we are to Mother's Day and she has her flowers, and some texts, and some phone calls, but there's no big buffet lunch (like last year), no guests (like last year), no evening service (like last year), nothing terribly exciting.
A bummer of a day for everyone.
Happy Mother's Day!
(And if you weren't quite sure about Mother's Day, I don't believe you, it's very much advertised)
Let's get this out of the way, because it's about me, not either of the mothers in my life (so much): my iPhone keeps reminding me I am supposed to be going to the airport today for a flight to London. I'm not; it was cancelled back in March, but my iPhone, which can read the events when they appear, seems to be unable to pick up on the clues that events aren't actually happening. 😠
But that that was on Mother's Day was only coincidental.
Typically on Mother's Day we would take my wife out (me and the kids; these day only one near home). Nope, none of that today.
Or we'd go do something special. A ballgame? A movie? Nope. Nope.
So, here we are, week 9 of our quarantine, and Mother's Day is going to be a vase of flowers (thanks to one child) and a chocolate peanut butter cake and a nice dinner courtesy of the other child.
Low key.
But that doesn't include my mother. Who is 86. A little over a year ago she moved into an assisted-living place. It's a nice place, with lots of stuff to do.
Or did.
She hasn't been able to visitors since late March. They started letting them have visitors, but they had to come through the front door and be screened, but it wasn't long before they gave that up.
So, no visitors.
And they can't leave their room. Or, rather, they've eliminated all the reasons mom used to have to leave her room. They used to not only have communal meals, but also a series of games, talks, movies, entertainment, and prayer meetings and bible studies that kept you active and chatty. And, let me tell you from what my mother reports, they gossip more than middle schoolers. 😒
To top all this off, my mother lost her phone two weeks ago. You know, she's an old, so it was a landline and there was weather and it turned into a crackling monstrosity.
So, she went over a week with no phone. (I got her an iPhone, which she thanked me for profusely, but she gave it up for the landline like Sonic the Hedgehog chasing something). She had a terrible time.
So, here we are to Mother's Day and she has her flowers, and some texts, and some phone calls, but there's no big buffet lunch (like last year), no guests (like last year), no evening service (like last year), nothing terribly exciting.
A bummer of a day for everyone.
Happy Mother's Day!
Friday, May 8, 2020
Places Covid doesn't go. Right?
It's Friday. TGIF.
Hi ho. Right?
Friday.
I was supposed to play golf today. It was 45 and rainy.
There's not much news in this.
But here's news: I sent to a bakery on the way to golf course. "On the way." You know how that goes.
Nowhere near anything, of course.
It is an Amish bakery (to use the vernacular) famed for their donuts.
And donuts they had.
Hi ho. Right?
Friday.
I was supposed to play golf today. It was 45 and rainy.
There's not much news in this.
But here's news: I sent to a bakery on the way to golf course. "On the way." You know how that goes.
Nowhere near anything, of course.
It is an Amish bakery (to use the vernacular) famed for their donuts.
And donuts they had.
But here's the thing: no one there wore masks.
Now, admittedly, this is in one of the famed yellow counties in PA -- those allowed to be less safe than the rest these days.
But no one has permission to go maskless. I was even wearing one to the golf course (up to a point, of course).
My daughter's informative response: they don't believe in anything discovered after 1645!
LoL.
I started this blog to talk about things covid and here we are: places opening, people wearing or not wearing masks, protests with camo and AR-15s.
This does raise a big question: how good do donuts need to be (see picture) to risk covid for? Huh?
Thursday, May 7, 2020
The Starbucks are coming! The Starbucks are coming!
It's Thursday. You remember that one of the basics of this blog is to remind us what day it is. Because it gets tough. And, if you don't know what day it is, you're not any better off than my stupid cat, which has no clue. (cut to vacant look)
It's Thursday.
It's also The British Are Coming! day -- the day of Lexington and Concord. No, not the street junction in New York City, but the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
But that's not the big news here! No! Instead there was an email from Starbucks, telling us they were opening some stores. Yeah, rah! Then you can check your zip code and lo and behold! "our" Starbucks was open!!!
I was the sixth car in line when I got there (you didn't think we were going to let this slide past without taking advantage?!?!). One quarantinee needed caffeine, one needed...well, I'm not sure what you need if you order guava lemonade, and one needed a way to get chocolate without being too obvious.
We never knew why they closed -- they were open after the quarantine started, but maybe it had to do with the extra level of "Stay At Home" at some point.
But why are they open now, then?
I don't know.
These things are strange.
But we have Starbucks!
A sign civilization might return someday.
(Amazingly, wine keeps arriving in heavy boxes, so that's not a problem and, I suppose, a sign that civilization in some way is still out there).
Today's excitement is *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire* is on "live" tonight (ROFL ROFL ROFL) with Anthony Anderson, from Blackish most recently, the first contestant trying to win a million for their favorite charity. I guess Anthony has won a bunch of money doing this before, so there's hope.
It's at least live entertainment.
Enjoy. I don't know what tomorrow brings. Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to play golf. How you do it in the age of covid? Wear a mask and steal a few pars? Look forward to more, similar humor tomorrow. 😂
It's Thursday.
It's also The British Are Coming! day -- the day of Lexington and Concord. No, not the street junction in New York City, but the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
But that's not the big news here! No! Instead there was an email from Starbucks, telling us they were opening some stores. Yeah, rah! Then you can check your zip code and lo and behold! "our" Starbucks was open!!!
I was the sixth car in line when I got there (you didn't think we were going to let this slide past without taking advantage?!?!). One quarantinee needed caffeine, one needed...well, I'm not sure what you need if you order guava lemonade, and one needed a way to get chocolate without being too obvious.
We never knew why they closed -- they were open after the quarantine started, but maybe it had to do with the extra level of "Stay At Home" at some point.
But why are they open now, then?
I don't know.
These things are strange.
But we have Starbucks!
A sign civilization might return someday.
(Amazingly, wine keeps arriving in heavy boxes, so that's not a problem and, I suppose, a sign that civilization in some way is still out there).
Today's excitement is *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire* is on "live" tonight (ROFL ROFL ROFL) with Anthony Anderson, from Blackish most recently, the first contestant trying to win a million for their favorite charity. I guess Anthony has won a bunch of money doing this before, so there's hope.
It's at least live entertainment.
Enjoy. I don't know what tomorrow brings. Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to play golf. How you do it in the age of covid? Wear a mask and steal a few pars? Look forward to more, similar humor tomorrow. 😂
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Seis de Mayo: modeling (and not the good kind :))
It's Wednesday!!! Hump Day!!! Even if there's no real hump. Woo woo!
It's also seis de Mayo, in case you need further reinforcement after yesterday -- a real Mexican holiday. Woo woo!
We decided we needed Mexican food to celebrate. We called the most local Mexican place (by which I do NOT mean Taco Bell 😒) -- every decent sized, or even small (I remember the one in my uncle's "town" which is a crossroads), town in America has one. Or tried. It was busy. And busy. And busy. When we finally got through (this shouldn't have been a surprise, Sherlock!), we were told it was a 90-minute wait for our dinner. Okay, we wanted Mexican.
For the record, it was good. More food than we could eat and I didn't even get my side order of rice. 😦
So, yes, we are still in a state of stasis here. We are in the "red" area of the state, bordering to the west on the yellow area, which some things are different. Though, according to the charts and the news reports, not much.
But cases are down in PA. A bit. Actually, yesterday's tally was up from Monday's.
Which gets us to the title: modeling.
If you've been paying some nerdy attention, you will have noticed that day-to-day reporting on cases is a funky thing to watch. Some days it goes up, some days it goes down, then the next day it goes back up. Given that this is human behavior and an erratic kind of spread, some of that is to be expected.
But there also turns out to be a "weekend effect" to watch, too. It seems reporting is always lower on weekends -- it isn't till Tuesday that you get a quality count. There is an analogy with teaching -- students tell you not to expect their best on Monday or Friday. Or too early any day. Or too late any day. In other words, there's a really good window for half an hour on Tu, Wed, and Thurs that is worth hitting. 😂
So, we know not to get too excited about Monday numbers (thus, Monday's low count in PA wasn't the win it looked like)
Of course these tabulations matter. We've had 65,000 people die in this country already, and the guesstimates on the final number widely vary. It seems the White House prediction has fluctuated a lot, as represented by the President changing it publicly almost every time he talks, having missed the low end (70,000) and sometimes pushing a high end closing on 300,000.
Depends on the model. And your assumptions.
With states like Florida opening up (isn't Florida kind of the definition of an at-risk group?), the model has to shift from a spread rate of X to Y -- in other words from R<1 to R>1. ( I guess R stands for "rate" but I keep seeing R=Republican and am hopeful for less than 1 of them 😂). I've seen figures that say New York is now down to R=.9, which means the virus isn't spreading.
But I wonder. I saw the President in Arizona yesterday, sans mask. I know *I* am not risking infection for Mexican food in a restaurant (or anything else). I wonder about those who think opening is a good idea because there'll be enough business to make money from in-person service.
I just hope the models are right that think things are "normal-ish" come August.
Fingers crossed.
It's also seis de Mayo, in case you need further reinforcement after yesterday -- a real Mexican holiday. Woo woo!
We decided we needed Mexican food to celebrate. We called the most local Mexican place (by which I do NOT mean Taco Bell 😒) -- every decent sized, or even small (I remember the one in my uncle's "town" which is a crossroads), town in America has one. Or tried. It was busy. And busy. And busy. When we finally got through (this shouldn't have been a surprise, Sherlock!), we were told it was a 90-minute wait for our dinner. Okay, we wanted Mexican.
For the record, it was good. More food than we could eat and I didn't even get my side order of rice. 😦
So, yes, we are still in a state of stasis here. We are in the "red" area of the state, bordering to the west on the yellow area, which some things are different. Though, according to the charts and the news reports, not much.
But cases are down in PA. A bit. Actually, yesterday's tally was up from Monday's.
Which gets us to the title: modeling.
If you've been paying some nerdy attention, you will have noticed that day-to-day reporting on cases is a funky thing to watch. Some days it goes up, some days it goes down, then the next day it goes back up. Given that this is human behavior and an erratic kind of spread, some of that is to be expected.
But there also turns out to be a "weekend effect" to watch, too. It seems reporting is always lower on weekends -- it isn't till Tuesday that you get a quality count. There is an analogy with teaching -- students tell you not to expect their best on Monday or Friday. Or too early any day. Or too late any day. In other words, there's a really good window for half an hour on Tu, Wed, and Thurs that is worth hitting. 😂
So, we know not to get too excited about Monday numbers (thus, Monday's low count in PA wasn't the win it looked like)
Of course these tabulations matter. We've had 65,000 people die in this country already, and the guesstimates on the final number widely vary. It seems the White House prediction has fluctuated a lot, as represented by the President changing it publicly almost every time he talks, having missed the low end (70,000) and sometimes pushing a high end closing on 300,000.
Depends on the model. And your assumptions.
With states like Florida opening up (isn't Florida kind of the definition of an at-risk group?), the model has to shift from a spread rate of X to Y -- in other words from R<1 to R>1. ( I guess R stands for "rate" but I keep seeing R=Republican and am hopeful for less than 1 of them 😂). I've seen figures that say New York is now down to R=.9, which means the virus isn't spreading.
But I wonder. I saw the President in Arizona yesterday, sans mask. I know *I* am not risking infection for Mexican food in a restaurant (or anything else). I wonder about those who think opening is a good idea because there'll be enough business to make money from in-person service.
I just hope the models are right that think things are "normal-ish" come August.
Fingers crossed.
Monday, May 4, 2020
May the Force Be With You (to kill time via streaming)
If there ever was a time we all needed the Force, it is now. Obi-Wan, where are you?
It is Monday. Another horrid Monday. If you know it's Monday; if you don't, you're probably in even worse shape.
And it's May the 4th. Which has become a thing.
I'm not sure why. Someone was clever with the Star Wars chant -- may the force be with -- and connected it today. A pun that has almost killed us. 😭
But tomorrow is May the 5th. Cinco De Mayo. Which is a real thing. 😁 I'll save that for tomorrow.
But let me use the Star Wars theme to take us elsewhere: TV viewing.
First, with Disney +, which is ubiquitous these days, we can watch all 11 Star Wars movies (yes, counting Rogue One and Solo -- Rogue One is my 2nd favorite Star Wars movie: my family groans when it comes on somewhere and I trip across it because I want to watch it). And, given the time we've been quarantined this last two months, I don't doubt many of us have watched and rewatched some, if not all, of the series. And you know, of course, Disney + has the latest one, where Kylo and Rae beat on each other off-and-on for most of the movie, for you to show. (ICYMI, I'm getting a kickback from Disney + for this blog 😃)
Which leads me to TV viewing (hint: I've not rewatched any Star Wars, in fact, I haven't opened the Disney + app [whoops, there goes that kickback!] and I need to figure out how to not pay for it) --
What have you been watching?
One thing I have found is that Sunday's have become THE night for television (maybe because the others are so lame). I have become a modest fan of PBS's new World on Fire, purportedly a WW2 saga about the people in the streets (it's not, really, but what the hey), and I have caught portions of *the Last Dance* because I'm a Bulls fan, or was (at some point I switched my NBA allegiance over to the Pacers, but when I was kid there was no Pacers, then they were in the ABA, then...). Our PBS channel shows the Great British Baking Show at 7, which we've seen, but I don't remember which thing I can't pronounce from one season to another. And last night CBS starting running Sunday night movies with *Raiders of the Lost Ark,* one of my all-time favorites. Like the first Star Wars movie, IMHO, the best of the series.
And then there is Monday viewing. CBS tried to tell me in advertisements that what they are showing Monday night is interesting enough to make Monday stand out, but failed. I have watched *The Neighborhood* off and on since its debut two years ago -- my wife is something of a fan (she's rarely dedicated enough to a show to make anything appointment viewing) -- and it's not that good. Tonight's episode of *She The Judge* (that's not it's name) looks contrived, as it is doing a Zoom-look episode. Who needs that?!?!!? I thought we wanted escapism.
Anyway, my point is, there's not much on broadcast TV to keep us interested these days. So, just in case you want to know, here are my highlights from SAH in terms of streaming:
It is Monday. Another horrid Monday. If you know it's Monday; if you don't, you're probably in even worse shape.
And it's May the 4th. Which has become a thing.
I'm not sure why. Someone was clever with the Star Wars chant -- may the force be with -- and connected it today. A pun that has almost killed us. 😭
But tomorrow is May the 5th. Cinco De Mayo. Which is a real thing. 😁 I'll save that for tomorrow.
But let me use the Star Wars theme to take us elsewhere: TV viewing.
First, with Disney +, which is ubiquitous these days, we can watch all 11 Star Wars movies (yes, counting Rogue One and Solo -- Rogue One is my 2nd favorite Star Wars movie: my family groans when it comes on somewhere and I trip across it because I want to watch it). And, given the time we've been quarantined this last two months, I don't doubt many of us have watched and rewatched some, if not all, of the series. And you know, of course, Disney + has the latest one, where Kylo and Rae beat on each other off-and-on for most of the movie, for you to show. (ICYMI, I'm getting a kickback from Disney + for this blog 😃)
Which leads me to TV viewing (hint: I've not rewatched any Star Wars, in fact, I haven't opened the Disney + app [whoops, there goes that kickback!] and I need to figure out how to not pay for it) --
What have you been watching?
One thing I have found is that Sunday's have become THE night for television (maybe because the others are so lame). I have become a modest fan of PBS's new World on Fire, purportedly a WW2 saga about the people in the streets (it's not, really, but what the hey), and I have caught portions of *the Last Dance* because I'm a Bulls fan, or was (at some point I switched my NBA allegiance over to the Pacers, but when I was kid there was no Pacers, then they were in the ABA, then...). Our PBS channel shows the Great British Baking Show at 7, which we've seen, but I don't remember which thing I can't pronounce from one season to another. And last night CBS starting running Sunday night movies with *Raiders of the Lost Ark,* one of my all-time favorites. Like the first Star Wars movie, IMHO, the best of the series.
And then there is Monday viewing. CBS tried to tell me in advertisements that what they are showing Monday night is interesting enough to make Monday stand out, but failed. I have watched *The Neighborhood* off and on since its debut two years ago -- my wife is something of a fan (she's rarely dedicated enough to a show to make anything appointment viewing) -- and it's not that good. Tonight's episode of *She The Judge* (that's not it's name) looks contrived, as it is doing a Zoom-look episode. Who needs that?!?!!? I thought we wanted escapism.
Anyway, my point is, there's not much on broadcast TV to keep us interested these days. So, just in case you want to know, here are my highlights from SAH in terms of streaming:
- Deadwater Fell (or was it Fellwater Dead?). From Acorn (lots of good British-type stuff here, especially older material). Starring David Tennant, aka Broadchurch and Dr. Who, it opens with a fire in his house and his wife and 3 daughters are dead. Turns out all 5 have needle marks in their arms. 4-parts. Kind of a disappointment in the who and the ending, but better than most this 8 weeks.
- Belgravia. From Epix TV (free trials, right?) By Julian Fellowes, from his own novel, you know, the guy famous for Downtown Abbey, and joined by a couple of the managers of that series, it is set in 1840s London, with the same upperclass are backstabbing assholes and the people downstairs aren't necessarily wonderful, either (there's not yet a Mr Bates or Anna or Tom), but the Mrs likes this kind of costume drama with the cheesy manipulations.
- High Fidelity. On Hulu. Based on the Nick Hornby book (he is listed as like an exec producer) but this time Rob is a woman, played by Zoe Kravitz. Who has fans. I hear. Is it as good as the book or the John Cusack film? Probably not. But it's interesting and fun and different. And I'm not giving out spoilers. :)
That's not all we've watched, but it's all I would recommend. We loved *Dead to Me* (I think it's Christina Applegate that's the funnier of the two) and a new season comes out Friday. Something to look forward to.
But it's Monday. Blahs are big. Chin up, Tuesday is sooooooooo much better. 😂😃
Sunday, May 3, 2020
Yesterday. Or is the whole world garders? Who knew?
It's Sunday. I can tell because I just watched Willie Geist, the CBS Sunday Morning, and had French Toast (a Sunday staple here), so it's Sunday.
Don't be telling me any different. 😡
But let's go back to yesterday.
After an early morning toilet paper and bagel run, there was the usual morning. Okay, not so usual because I did some study of the various cheat sheets and picks for the horse races at Oaklawn (Arkansas) yesterday. Yes, I ended up ahead. Nicely ahead. But it was a tough day -- couldn't quite get it right for the big cha-ching!
Anyway, around lunch time I was hungry and the grocery run hadn't included a focus on lunch food, so I suggested we go pick up Panera (a family favorite -- the others like their salads 😕), so it was decided I'd pick up while my partner (to use the generic, PC term) went into Lowe's, looking for plants.
I pulled up the hill and around the corner into the Lowe's parking lot and came to an immediate halt!
The parking lot was in some way full! Not as in car on car, but with some social distancing between cars, but still the cars (or rather trucks) went all the way to the far limit of the lot.
I ate my sandwich (salad! the food my food eats), while waiting on K to get out of Lowe's. She finally did, only to report that there were NO vegetable plants (the plan was tomatoes and peppers)!
So, here are all these people, excited to be at a Lowe's, and seemingly excited to be planting vegetables.
Who knew?
I've gone many years to do this and NEVER had a crowd. Or no plants.
A sign of the times. A trip to Lowe's is exciting.
We went on to Home Depot (you can almost see one from the other) and they had plants, but it was also a crowded lot and a bit of a line.
This is amazing.
I know we'll see all kinds of recipes in the late summer for what to do with all this stuff planted in the pandemic quarantine; I look forward to them. Because, if you've never grown a tomato plant, a healthy cranks out more tomatoes than any sane person could eat in real time, so you have to do something with all the extra. You don't want too many friends who grow tomatoes because you'll end up with enough tomatoes to eat marinara from now till Thanksgiving.
Who knew? Hopefully, today and tomorrow and beyond will bring something else as mind boggling.
Times, they are a changing.
Don't be telling me any different. 😡
But let's go back to yesterday.
After an early morning toilet paper and bagel run, there was the usual morning. Okay, not so usual because I did some study of the various cheat sheets and picks for the horse races at Oaklawn (Arkansas) yesterday. Yes, I ended up ahead. Nicely ahead. But it was a tough day -- couldn't quite get it right for the big cha-ching!
Anyway, around lunch time I was hungry and the grocery run hadn't included a focus on lunch food, so I suggested we go pick up Panera (a family favorite -- the others like their salads 😕), so it was decided I'd pick up while my partner (to use the generic, PC term) went into Lowe's, looking for plants.
I pulled up the hill and around the corner into the Lowe's parking lot and came to an immediate halt!
The parking lot was in some way full! Not as in car on car, but with some social distancing between cars, but still the cars (or rather trucks) went all the way to the far limit of the lot.
I ate my sandwich (salad! the food my food eats), while waiting on K to get out of Lowe's. She finally did, only to report that there were NO vegetable plants (the plan was tomatoes and peppers)!
So, here are all these people, excited to be at a Lowe's, and seemingly excited to be planting vegetables.
Who knew?
I've gone many years to do this and NEVER had a crowd. Or no plants.
A sign of the times. A trip to Lowe's is exciting.
We went on to Home Depot (you can almost see one from the other) and they had plants, but it was also a crowded lot and a bit of a line.
This is amazing.
I know we'll see all kinds of recipes in the late summer for what to do with all this stuff planted in the pandemic quarantine; I look forward to them. Because, if you've never grown a tomato plant, a healthy cranks out more tomatoes than any sane person could eat in real time, so you have to do something with all the extra. You don't want too many friends who grow tomatoes because you'll end up with enough tomatoes to eat marinara from now till Thanksgiving.
Who knew? Hopefully, today and tomorrow and beyond will bring something else as mind boggling.
Times, they are a changing.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Our TP crisis...still...again
I missed a couple days. It's Saturday. Woo woo!
But I was out early this morning and got toilet paper. At 635 I got the next to the last package -- and it was generic. Not Charmin with the obnoxious bears, not Northern, not even Scott. Generic.
I don't get it.
But then it's not really my area of expertise but I've read a couple stories and seen a couple on TV. I guess there are two kinds of toilet paper, consumer and industrial, and the twain don't meet. You can't switch overnight from one to the other. And no one keeps a backlog of TP because it's a low profit, high volume kind of good. You know how big the packages are. Takes a lot of storage.
And it doesn't matter that there's a Charmin plant in the next county. I kind of get that. Kind of.
Things are better, right? 😀
But it's good to see that people are wearing masks.
And I did get Clorox wipes, which we haven't seen in a store since early March. Wow. Excitement.
We went out for ice cream last night. Everyone was wearing a mask. We hadn't been for ice cream since before the quarantine. Maybe before winter. It was good (my idea, so I get credit).
But I live in a county just east of the line where Pennsylvania where they are beginning to normalize. That has to be in "". Not sure based on our governor's guidelines how much changes 10 miles away from where we are.
Can't claim to be getting used to it.
But today is Saturday. Derby Day. Arkansas Derby day!
One thing I've done too much of is watch horse racing -- the one sport that is actually going on live and for real these days. In fact, I was ahead for quarantine (betting -- why else would you watch?) until yesterday. ):
Arkansas Derby. So many horses that they had to break it in two!
Should be fun.
So, that's Saturday. Week 8 of quarantine. Sigh.
But I was out early this morning and got toilet paper. At 635 I got the next to the last package -- and it was generic. Not Charmin with the obnoxious bears, not Northern, not even Scott. Generic.
I don't get it.
But then it's not really my area of expertise but I've read a couple stories and seen a couple on TV. I guess there are two kinds of toilet paper, consumer and industrial, and the twain don't meet. You can't switch overnight from one to the other. And no one keeps a backlog of TP because it's a low profit, high volume kind of good. You know how big the packages are. Takes a lot of storage.
And it doesn't matter that there's a Charmin plant in the next county. I kind of get that. Kind of.
Things are better, right? 😀
But it's good to see that people are wearing masks.
And I did get Clorox wipes, which we haven't seen in a store since early March. Wow. Excitement.
We went out for ice cream last night. Everyone was wearing a mask. We hadn't been for ice cream since before the quarantine. Maybe before winter. It was good (my idea, so I get credit).
But I live in a county just east of the line where Pennsylvania where they are beginning to normalize. That has to be in "". Not sure based on our governor's guidelines how much changes 10 miles away from where we are.
Can't claim to be getting used to it.
But today is Saturday. Derby Day. Arkansas Derby day!
One thing I've done too much of is watch horse racing -- the one sport that is actually going on live and for real these days. In fact, I was ahead for quarantine (betting -- why else would you watch?) until yesterday. ):
Arkansas Derby. So many horses that they had to break it in two!
Should be fun.
So, that's Saturday. Week 8 of quarantine. Sigh.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Speaking of Are We Going There?!?!
It's Tuesday.
Yes, Tuesday. Mark it on the calendar.
A friend sent me this funny --
Useless Purchase Poker:
I'll see your 2020 Planner
and raise you a travel backpack and an ESPN subscription.
Yup. 😂
Speaking of travel backpacks: we had two trips to London planned for this spring.
We ain't going in two weeks, for sure. Cancelled a long time ago (by the university).
But then there's Delta. It took 45 minutes on hold on the phone before an "agent" finally talked to me -- it then took about 5 minutes to get my money back (supposedly -- "it may be a week before it shows up on your credit card").
You see, Delta was acting like there wasn't a travel ban from here to Europe. Like someone was really getting on that flight (which BTW had changed airports and times) to London.
😡😡😡
So, that's annoying.
But we also have tickets on British Airways for June 11.
They think we are going.
This is crazy-making, as someone used to say.
I know the travel ban doesn't go that far, but does anyone think we are opening up the airways to Europe by then? Is anyone going to want to travel for pleasure then, especially by air? You did see one of the airline workers unions asked that pleasure travel be banned for the near future, right? You know, it's like seriously dangerous being on a plane with someone who might be asymptomatic (who knew that word before this started?) just for shits and giggles?
So, here I am, wondering about June 11th. My wife has said "no way am I getting on that plane" and I laugh and say British Air thinks you are. 😂
They are insane. That they don't make it easy for you to cancel, postpone, or refund flights till...well, till there's herd immunity (which might not be a thing here) or a vaccine is not good business. I know I'm going to look closely next time before picking BA.
But let's get to the point here: what are we looking forward to? The end of "this"? Our governor is allowing outdoor activities as of Friday (and the liquor stores are upscaling so you can get liquor easier). Is that it? Pretty blah. At least gas is the cheapest it's been since 1892 so you can drive cheaply to...pretty much nowhere.
I doubt much of anyone is taking a vacation this summer. Not much in the way of trips. Disney Land and World are still closed (though the crazies in Florida are going to let Floridians go to World, which is really crazy -- ever been to one of those? You're in line with ten people inside the social distancing circle CONSTANTLY! The food venues you eat on top of someone (last time there, in Cali, we actually had to sit with two young women we did't know -- would you do that now?!?!).
So, we are all bummed out and the airlines think we are going. It doesn't get any more existential than that.
Yes, Tuesday. Mark it on the calendar.
A friend sent me this funny --
Useless Purchase Poker:
I'll see your 2020 Planner
and raise you a travel backpack and an ESPN subscription.
Yup. 😂
Speaking of travel backpacks: we had two trips to London planned for this spring.
We ain't going in two weeks, for sure. Cancelled a long time ago (by the university).
But then there's Delta. It took 45 minutes on hold on the phone before an "agent" finally talked to me -- it then took about 5 minutes to get my money back (supposedly -- "it may be a week before it shows up on your credit card").
You see, Delta was acting like there wasn't a travel ban from here to Europe. Like someone was really getting on that flight (which BTW had changed airports and times) to London.
😡😡😡
So, that's annoying.
But we also have tickets on British Airways for June 11.
They think we are going.
This is crazy-making, as someone used to say.
I know the travel ban doesn't go that far, but does anyone think we are opening up the airways to Europe by then? Is anyone going to want to travel for pleasure then, especially by air? You did see one of the airline workers unions asked that pleasure travel be banned for the near future, right? You know, it's like seriously dangerous being on a plane with someone who might be asymptomatic (who knew that word before this started?) just for shits and giggles?
So, here I am, wondering about June 11th. My wife has said "no way am I getting on that plane" and I laugh and say British Air thinks you are. 😂
They are insane. That they don't make it easy for you to cancel, postpone, or refund flights till...well, till there's herd immunity (which might not be a thing here) or a vaccine is not good business. I know I'm going to look closely next time before picking BA.
But let's get to the point here: what are we looking forward to? The end of "this"? Our governor is allowing outdoor activities as of Friday (and the liquor stores are upscaling so you can get liquor easier). Is that it? Pretty blah. At least gas is the cheapest it's been since 1892 so you can drive cheaply to...pretty much nowhere.
I doubt much of anyone is taking a vacation this summer. Not much in the way of trips. Disney Land and World are still closed (though the crazies in Florida are going to let Floridians go to World, which is really crazy -- ever been to one of those? You're in line with ten people inside the social distancing circle CONSTANTLY! The food venues you eat on top of someone (last time there, in Cali, we actually had to sit with two young women we did't know -- would you do that now?!?!).
So, we are all bummed out and the airlines think we are going. It doesn't get any more existential than that.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Where ya going?
I missed yesterday blogging. In fact, the readership stats said there wasn't a lot of delight about Saturday's. 😞
But it's Monday. Yes, readers, it is MONDAY! Doesn't have the same bang it once did, does it?
I don't envy the governors who have to decide when to reopen states. Our governor has said he's looking at May 8th -- a week from Friday -- to do some reopening.
Go for it, Guv!
But I'm going to write this down: you can open, it don't mean we're going there.
I'll run down a list.
But it's Monday. Yes, readers, it is MONDAY! Doesn't have the same bang it once did, does it?
I don't envy the governors who have to decide when to reopen states. Our governor has said he's looking at May 8th -- a week from Friday -- to do some reopening.
Go for it, Guv!
But I'm going to write this down: you can open, it don't mean we're going there.
I'll run down a list.
- Are you going to a restaurant to eat on May 8th? May 15th?
- Are you getting your haircut?
- Are you going to a movie theatre? (this used to be one of our favorite weekend activities)
- Are you going to a baseball game (they are arguing about how to reopen safely and play games)?
- Are you getting on an airplane?
I'll help you with the answers most sane people will give: no, no, no, no, and hell no!
If true for a good number of Americans, I'll break this to those wanting the economy "back" -- it isn't back till we can do all those things without worrying.
For instance, airplanes. The airlines are in the dumpster. They have federal bailout money. But they are down from like 2.5 million passengers a day to 100,000. Will they be back to 50% in May? I don't think so. (part of this, of course, is determined somewhat by whether venues like Disney Land and World are even open -- if they aren't, you aren't getting on a plane for nothing). We have tickets to London (bought last fall, believe it or not, and fares we thought were cheap) for the middle of June -- the decision-maker here says there's no way we're getting on that plane. How about July? Eh. August? still eh. Christmas break? Well, maybe. At this point, our best guess as to when to reschedule is next year at spring break (March).
If that's true of a significant number of people, it'll be forever and a day before the airlines are back to 2.5m per day. That part of the economy isn't back soon.
And if it's true of airlines, think of all the others in the same boat. No theatres, no concerts, no sport events (with crowds). No catered events.
And oil. Did you see last week they'd pay you to take 1,000 barrels of oil (what I'd do with it, that's a different story)? Pay YOU! Demand is zero. So, even if there's a "reopening" on May 14th (two weeks from today), who's jumping in their car and driving? Now so many commuters have found that they can work from home, are they going to start commuting again on May 14th? I don't think so. Are we going to drive to vacations? Again, I don't think so.
Consumers in cars and trucks make up 40% of US demand on oil. If it's down a quarter, then it's still a major hit to the economy.
And remember that at least 23m people have filed for unemployment the last 5 weeks.
So, no matter what the great push is, we ain't coming back soon. We aren't going out to places like we did and a whole bunch of industries are going to continue limping at a low percentage of what they were for a long, long time.
So, get that straight, people!
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Haircut? Tattoo you!
Okay, I started this blog to chat about what was going on during the pandemic.
What wasn't going on is we weren't getting haircuts (or tatoos).
Until now!
The governor of Georgia has partially "reopened" his state, especially hair salons and tattoo parlors.
If you haven't been watching the news, you might wonder about this. As you are about to see, even if you do, you should wonder about this.
The funniest tweets about this was a set a week ago of this woman in Detroit, protesting, leaning out of her car window, showing the camera crew "see, I need a haircut now." The video showed her gray roots down the center of her scalp.
Someone took this clip, showed the average growth of hair, how long the gray was, and calculated that it had been OCTOBER the last time she had her hair done! Like, what were you doing then that was so important and now suddenly in a pandemic your roots are a priority.
We really didn't need all the calculations to figure out it was ludicrous.
We need haircuts! We need tattoos! I want a tat that says "America...the world's dumbest country."
I really don't get the hair and tattoo thing. Oh, yeah, bowling alleys...bowling alleys??!?!!?
Sure, I understand that all these proprietors are "small businesses" blah blah blah, but for those worried about the economy -- are we really a country whose economy is driven by haircuts, spas, tattoos, and bowling??!!?? I think we are in serious trouble if we are.
We can live without all of them; we can't live with the virus. Literally.
And if it's not about "economic engine," then it's about looks? Then we are the world's most superficial nation? We can't imagine sitting at home with bad hair -- when we're not supposed to see anyone? You're kidding, right? Right?
It is a great stumper, why these kinds of businesses have become a cause celebre in these troubled times. But then yesterday lots of people had to tell people not to ingest bleach, so I guess there's no explaining a lot of things.
Enjoy the nice weather (at least here, for a day) and don't worry about your hair. It sucks, but so does everyone else's.
What wasn't going on is we weren't getting haircuts (or tatoos).
Until now!
The governor of Georgia has partially "reopened" his state, especially hair salons and tattoo parlors.
If you haven't been watching the news, you might wonder about this. As you are about to see, even if you do, you should wonder about this.
The funniest tweets about this was a set a week ago of this woman in Detroit, protesting, leaning out of her car window, showing the camera crew "see, I need a haircut now." The video showed her gray roots down the center of her scalp.
Someone took this clip, showed the average growth of hair, how long the gray was, and calculated that it had been OCTOBER the last time she had her hair done! Like, what were you doing then that was so important and now suddenly in a pandemic your roots are a priority.
We really didn't need all the calculations to figure out it was ludicrous.
We need haircuts! We need tattoos! I want a tat that says "America...the world's dumbest country."
I really don't get the hair and tattoo thing. Oh, yeah, bowling alleys...bowling alleys??!?!!?
Sure, I understand that all these proprietors are "small businesses" blah blah blah, but for those worried about the economy -- are we really a country whose economy is driven by haircuts, spas, tattoos, and bowling??!!?? I think we are in serious trouble if we are.
We can live without all of them; we can't live with the virus. Literally.
And if it's not about "economic engine," then it's about looks? Then we are the world's most superficial nation? We can't imagine sitting at home with bad hair -- when we're not supposed to see anyone? You're kidding, right? Right?
It is a great stumper, why these kinds of businesses have become a cause celebre in these troubled times. But then yesterday lots of people had to tell people not to ingest bleach, so I guess there's no explaining a lot of things.
Enjoy the nice weather (at least here, for a day) and don't worry about your hair. It sucks, but so does everyone else's.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Havin' a Birthday. And a draft!
[think of this as yesterday's blog. I got distracted! 😁]
It's Shakespeare's Birthday!!! 🎉
Well, okay, let's be pedantic (our thesaurus word for the day) -- we don't know he was. He was christened on the 26th, that we know, the records still exist, but we assume that's 3 days after he was born, but we don't know for sure. Like a lot of things about Willy Shakes.
Surely you've heard (or are about to) that Willy lived through multiple pandemics. During the one he wrote his two long poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Clearly, he was as bored as we are. 😀. During a later one, again quarantined, he merely kicked out King Lear. You should feel bad about yourself (sorry) if you aren't matching that output. You know, two poems that would make you famous on their own or maybe one of the great plays of all-time.
Before moving on (since this is to KILL TIME!), I will point out that his childhood home is still there in Stratford-upon-Avon (and his tomb) and you can visit if you should go there. Stratford-u-A is a nice little market town, but it'd no doubt amuse him to see how touristy and kitsche it is, given it is nowhere near any "beaten path."
Let me also remind you that he died on this day in 1616, yes, just 52-years-old. A month before he made his extant will and it said he was in good health. Lots of pandemics, remember. 😢
My Twitter feed was full of people finding ways of sharing things they were doing for his birthday. So many feeds, so many people with time on their hands.
Now, to the second part: the NFL draft.
I never watch it. Didn't this year. I am not sure what there is to watch, really. Announce a name, the player comes on stage, puts on a hat, shakes the commissioner's hand, and we rinse and repeat. Of course there are highlights, but most of these guys are better known than your local Congressperson, so there aren't many highlights you haven't seen before (since you probably watched those games).
But I do watch the feed to keep up who is doing what. And read some of the mock drafts to know what might happen. It was funny how many guys (all guys!) thought we wanted to see their mock drafts on Twitter yesterday morning. I almost made up one of mine just to mock them. :)
Anyway, nothing exciting happened. People tweeted "live sports are back" -- no! A draft is not playing a sport, but there you go. (you know that multiple race tracks are running horse races, as per normal, even as we talk and Churchill Downs is talking about opening...maybe "soon" is the wrong word).
Anyway, nothing exciting happened, by which I mean for the first ten or more picks it was about as predicted by people. In the teens a couple teams "reached" -- went for a player consensus had lower in the talent list -- and then there were some trades, including the Packers, who have been blessed for a generation with great quarterbacks, trading up and taking a quarterback (his wonderful name is Jordan Love. One headline, the winner, said "Heir Jordan.").
So, today there was something. Tomorrow -- TGIF!!! 🎉.
It's Shakespeare's Birthday!!! 🎉
Well, okay, let's be pedantic (our thesaurus word for the day) -- we don't know he was. He was christened on the 26th, that we know, the records still exist, but we assume that's 3 days after he was born, but we don't know for sure. Like a lot of things about Willy Shakes.
Surely you've heard (or are about to) that Willy lived through multiple pandemics. During the one he wrote his two long poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Clearly, he was as bored as we are. 😀. During a later one, again quarantined, he merely kicked out King Lear. You should feel bad about yourself (sorry) if you aren't matching that output. You know, two poems that would make you famous on their own or maybe one of the great plays of all-time.
Before moving on (since this is to KILL TIME!), I will point out that his childhood home is still there in Stratford-upon-Avon (and his tomb) and you can visit if you should go there. Stratford-u-A is a nice little market town, but it'd no doubt amuse him to see how touristy and kitsche it is, given it is nowhere near any "beaten path."
Let me also remind you that he died on this day in 1616, yes, just 52-years-old. A month before he made his extant will and it said he was in good health. Lots of pandemics, remember. 😢
My Twitter feed was full of people finding ways of sharing things they were doing for his birthday. So many feeds, so many people with time on their hands.
Now, to the second part: the NFL draft.
I never watch it. Didn't this year. I am not sure what there is to watch, really. Announce a name, the player comes on stage, puts on a hat, shakes the commissioner's hand, and we rinse and repeat. Of course there are highlights, but most of these guys are better known than your local Congressperson, so there aren't many highlights you haven't seen before (since you probably watched those games).
But I do watch the feed to keep up who is doing what. And read some of the mock drafts to know what might happen. It was funny how many guys (all guys!) thought we wanted to see their mock drafts on Twitter yesterday morning. I almost made up one of mine just to mock them. :)
Anyway, nothing exciting happened. People tweeted "live sports are back" -- no! A draft is not playing a sport, but there you go. (you know that multiple race tracks are running horse races, as per normal, even as we talk and Churchill Downs is talking about opening...maybe "soon" is the wrong word).
Anyway, nothing exciting happened, by which I mean for the first ten or more picks it was about as predicted by people. In the teens a couple teams "reached" -- went for a player consensus had lower in the talent list -- and then there were some trades, including the Packers, who have been blessed for a generation with great quarterbacks, trading up and taking a quarterback (his wonderful name is Jordan Love. One headline, the winner, said "Heir Jordan.").
So, today there was something. Tomorrow -- TGIF!!! 🎉.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
It's hump day: who has a mask?
Yes, it's Wednesday. Day 40. That's the way I'm counting it. You can do your own count.
Hump day. Sure it is. But that hump seems a lot less important when you can't tell Wednesday from Saturday.
Remember the day when wearing a mask meant you were going in to rob a place?
No more. They are more of the norm.
Almost.
Saturday morning I made our traditional trip to the local bagel shop. I wore a mask. All the workers wore masks.
But most of the customers didn't!!! Mostly 20-something males -- you know, the kind of people who survive everything. Right?
But back to masks.
I saw one yesterday I wanted: it had Sponge Bob and Patrick on it! :)
This is a thing. You go on the internet (see yesterday on shopping therapy) and you have no trouble finding all kinds of patterns. My daughter has a Gryffindor mask (nerd!). [if you have to ask what that is, you slept through a whole generation of pop culture inculcation]
One local business has transitioned into making masks. These have a special filter inside.
Lots of people have sewed their own with all kinds of patterns. My son has one, given by work, that's an American flag. Just because, you know.
Of course, you never know when you might want or need a camo one. :).
Masks. I won't go all profound here about the new thing of us all wearing masks -- a new metaphor for hiding our real selves -- but we might all need masks as identifying, or worrying about, those who have the virus. We all go out with masks (unless you're a 20-something male) and wonder who without one, or even with one, might be carrying Covid. How long before those who have had it are identified somehow to all of us?
Maybe not.
But we'll have masks to keep us safe.
Hump day. Sure it is. But that hump seems a lot less important when you can't tell Wednesday from Saturday.
Remember the day when wearing a mask meant you were going in to rob a place?
No more. They are more of the norm.
Almost.
Saturday morning I made our traditional trip to the local bagel shop. I wore a mask. All the workers wore masks.
But most of the customers didn't!!! Mostly 20-something males -- you know, the kind of people who survive everything. Right?
But back to masks.
I saw one yesterday I wanted: it had Sponge Bob and Patrick on it! :)
This is a thing. You go on the internet (see yesterday on shopping therapy) and you have no trouble finding all kinds of patterns. My daughter has a Gryffindor mask (nerd!). [if you have to ask what that is, you slept through a whole generation of pop culture inculcation]
One local business has transitioned into making masks. These have a special filter inside.
Lots of people have sewed their own with all kinds of patterns. My son has one, given by work, that's an American flag. Just because, you know.
Of course, you never know when you might want or need a camo one. :).
Masks. I won't go all profound here about the new thing of us all wearing masks -- a new metaphor for hiding our real selves -- but we might all need masks as identifying, or worrying about, those who have the virus. We all go out with masks (unless you're a 20-something male) and wonder who without one, or even with one, might be carrying Covid. How long before those who have had it are identified somehow to all of us?
Maybe not.
But we'll have masks to keep us safe.
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Shopping therapy
It's Tuesday. Day XXX of SAH. (for me, personally, it's 39). No, I'm not crazy! 😜
It's time to talk about that unspoken elephant in our room: all the delivery trucks going up and down our streets even under the SAH order.
We even have Amazon Prime going through our neighborhood. As well as FedEx, UPS, and, of course, USPS.
It does not take a genius to know we are, many of us, sitting at our computer, or iPad, or just a phone, hunting and clicking.
Lots of stuff is sold out, or temporarily out of stock.
Try getting a pair of hair clippers.
Or try getting anything having to do with cleaning. You can get organic, not germ killing, but not anything that might kill the virus.
Masks aren't easy to get either. Though Etsy will sell you one that they tell you isn't one that's good by the CDC for the virus.
But we all are shopping. Looking. A box or package comes here almost every day. A delivery of wine. Then, because, you know, you have to have room, a new, bigger wine fridge. New outfits. Especially tops (you know, bc everyone checks everyone out on zoom meetings).
I wish I could claim there were books or something edifying like that.
Nope, it's clearly retail therapy (new sweaters? they were on clearance, of course!)
We live in an age of consumerism. Is it advanced consumerism? Well, it is compared to previous generations.
And the Covid-19 has shown us both the error of that -- stores going out of business and people not having jobs -- and the good of it (we can keep buying through a pandemic).
But we have our wine!
Till tomorrow.
It's time to talk about that unspoken elephant in our room: all the delivery trucks going up and down our streets even under the SAH order.
We even have Amazon Prime going through our neighborhood. As well as FedEx, UPS, and, of course, USPS.
It does not take a genius to know we are, many of us, sitting at our computer, or iPad, or just a phone, hunting and clicking.
Lots of stuff is sold out, or temporarily out of stock.
Try getting a pair of hair clippers.
Or try getting anything having to do with cleaning. You can get organic, not germ killing, but not anything that might kill the virus.
Masks aren't easy to get either. Though Etsy will sell you one that they tell you isn't one that's good by the CDC for the virus.
But we all are shopping. Looking. A box or package comes here almost every day. A delivery of wine. Then, because, you know, you have to have room, a new, bigger wine fridge. New outfits. Especially tops (you know, bc everyone checks everyone out on zoom meetings).
I wish I could claim there were books or something edifying like that.
Nope, it's clearly retail therapy (new sweaters? they were on clearance, of course!)
We live in an age of consumerism. Is it advanced consumerism? Well, it is compared to previous generations.
And the Covid-19 has shown us both the error of that -- stores going out of business and people not having jobs -- and the good of it (we can keep buying through a pandemic).
But we have our wine!
Till tomorrow.
Monday, April 20, 2020
Monday blahs and everyday idiots
Yup, it's Monday. Somewhere somebody's happy.
That is, of course, a lie.
But let's act like it isn't and someone thinks Monday is just fine. Rah rah.
But it's not.
Weekends are hard to differentiate.
And this week I have almost nothing on my schedule. Not even a single Zoom meeting, after a bevy of them last week. (I'm working on my vocabulary)
Speaking of bevy (you knew I'd find a way to use it again), there have been a bevy of idiots roaming state capitols recently.
Why do they wave Confederate flags? They know they lost, right? And they know they are protesting against state rights (which was kind of a big deal to the Confederacy) by protesting at the capitol, right? That it is governors who have been doing the work on the pandemic while Washington is fighting them for test that will actually allow us to go back to normal?
Why do they bring their guns? Is it because some states have closed gun stores as non-essential? Unless you're using it to get your meat every day (and if you are I bet you already have at least one gun to do that), it's NOT essential. And, just in case you don't understand, it won't work on the virus.
Oh, that's right, the whole Covid-19 thing is just another flu.
Uh huh. Covid has killed 40,000 plus Americans already. That's 10 years of flu. The thing these people don't understand is when we talk about flu-related deaths is that we report everybody who had the flu and anything killed them. For covid, we are only counting cases that we KNOW were the virus (had to be tested positive). If you never got tested and died suddenly and you had COPE or some other condition that might have killed you anyway, you aren't one of the 40,000.
And Dr. Phil saying we kill more people with cars each year: yes, and we have laws to try to reduce that every year, too. Seat belts, air bags, speed limits. If everyone went around going as fast as they wanted with no seat belts, bumpers, or airbags, how many people would we kill. And let's not forget little kids and their car seats. We bear the risk and try to be careful and not kill people.
Going out without a mask and getting inside the 6' zone of people, not washing your hands, etc, is like driving at 100 in a car without a seatbelt, heck, maybe not even a windshield (we mandate those too) and hoping you will be all right if someone pulls out in front of you.
So, that's today's rant. I feel only a little better. Maybe we'll have more fun tomorrow. It IS Monday! 😡
That is, of course, a lie.
But let's act like it isn't and someone thinks Monday is just fine. Rah rah.
But it's not.
Weekends are hard to differentiate.
And this week I have almost nothing on my schedule. Not even a single Zoom meeting, after a bevy of them last week. (I'm working on my vocabulary)
Speaking of bevy (you knew I'd find a way to use it again), there have been a bevy of idiots roaming state capitols recently.
Why do they wave Confederate flags? They know they lost, right? And they know they are protesting against state rights (which was kind of a big deal to the Confederacy) by protesting at the capitol, right? That it is governors who have been doing the work on the pandemic while Washington is fighting them for test that will actually allow us to go back to normal?
Why do they bring their guns? Is it because some states have closed gun stores as non-essential? Unless you're using it to get your meat every day (and if you are I bet you already have at least one gun to do that), it's NOT essential. And, just in case you don't understand, it won't work on the virus.
Oh, that's right, the whole Covid-19 thing is just another flu.
Uh huh. Covid has killed 40,000 plus Americans already. That's 10 years of flu. The thing these people don't understand is when we talk about flu-related deaths is that we report everybody who had the flu and anything killed them. For covid, we are only counting cases that we KNOW were the virus (had to be tested positive). If you never got tested and died suddenly and you had COPE or some other condition that might have killed you anyway, you aren't one of the 40,000.
And Dr. Phil saying we kill more people with cars each year: yes, and we have laws to try to reduce that every year, too. Seat belts, air bags, speed limits. If everyone went around going as fast as they wanted with no seat belts, bumpers, or airbags, how many people would we kill. And let's not forget little kids and their car seats. We bear the risk and try to be careful and not kill people.
Going out without a mask and getting inside the 6' zone of people, not washing your hands, etc, is like driving at 100 in a car without a seatbelt, heck, maybe not even a windshield (we mandate those too) and hoping you will be all right if someone pulls out in front of you.
So, that's today's rant. I feel only a little better. Maybe we'll have more fun tomorrow. It IS Monday! 😡
Saturday, April 18, 2020
In SAH, WFH, how do you know it's Saturday?
Saturday. You know it's Saturday, right?
For reasons that have been obscured with time, I have studied Daniel Defoe's Journal of a Plague Year. Written in 1722 about the 1665 plague in London -- when Defoe was 5. In other words, he fudged a lot of the contemporary feeling of the "journal."
I wonder what they'll think 57 years from now reading about our pandemic months. I mean, they'll see pictures of crowds, not social distancing, carrying AR-15s, with signs with swastikas, protesting that they don't have the freedom to...to...I actually saw one tweet pushing the opening of golf courses (which are somewhat open in some states).
But it's Saturday.
It's getting to be a struggle to track that.
How do you know it's Saturday?
First, you sleep in. There's no "I gotta be up" to...no alarm. Alexa isn't playing that call to action it does other mornings.
Don't do that? Okay, let's be more subtle.
1) you don't have the usual for breakfast. Right?
2) you watch something different on TV -- not Morning Joe, not Fox and Friends, but instead maybe CBS Weekend Saturday.
3) you listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell (it's Saturday) on NPR. Clearly, this is for a certain artsy reader, OC.
4) You actually do that exercise you haven't had time to do.
5) You watch sports. Okay, I lied. You don't watch sports. It's reruns. Were they showing Ohio State-Michigan? Why do we care to see Michigan lose (which it has the last X years)?
6) There's no "briefing" from the White House or the Governor. Oh. Never mind.
7) The dog or cat acts like you are acting wrong and you've messed up their schedule.
It's really tricky, isn't it? But it's not 1665 London. It's not even 1918 USA. We can do this. We can stay in our sweatpants (see yesterday's blog), we can keep eating and putting on weight, we can keep using Zoom like it's no longer annoying more than interesting.
Tomorrow will be Sunday. It'll be so different, right? Right? Right?
For reasons that have been obscured with time, I have studied Daniel Defoe's Journal of a Plague Year. Written in 1722 about the 1665 plague in London -- when Defoe was 5. In other words, he fudged a lot of the contemporary feeling of the "journal."
I wonder what they'll think 57 years from now reading about our pandemic months. I mean, they'll see pictures of crowds, not social distancing, carrying AR-15s, with signs with swastikas, protesting that they don't have the freedom to...to...I actually saw one tweet pushing the opening of golf courses (which are somewhat open in some states).
But it's Saturday.
It's getting to be a struggle to track that.
How do you know it's Saturday?
First, you sleep in. There's no "I gotta be up" to...no alarm. Alexa isn't playing that call to action it does other mornings.
Don't do that? Okay, let's be more subtle.
1) you don't have the usual for breakfast. Right?
2) you watch something different on TV -- not Morning Joe, not Fox and Friends, but instead maybe CBS Weekend Saturday.
3) you listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell (it's Saturday) on NPR. Clearly, this is for a certain artsy reader, OC.
4) You actually do that exercise you haven't had time to do.
5) You watch sports. Okay, I lied. You don't watch sports. It's reruns. Were they showing Ohio State-Michigan? Why do we care to see Michigan lose (which it has the last X years)?
6) There's no "briefing" from the White House or the Governor. Oh. Never mind.
7) The dog or cat acts like you are acting wrong and you've messed up their schedule.
It's really tricky, isn't it? But it's not 1665 London. It's not even 1918 USA. We can do this. We can stay in our sweatpants (see yesterday's blog), we can keep eating and putting on weight, we can keep using Zoom like it's no longer annoying more than interesting.
Tomorrow will be Sunday. It'll be so different, right? Right? Right?
Friday, April 17, 2020
Pants pants Revolution!
TGIF! Yes, I said I'd remind you, a la the camel in the Geico ads, of "what day is it?"
It's Friday. Day ??? of quarantine/stay-at-home/boredom city.
So. I got my check from the IRS. What are we calling it? My bro-law says it's his "Trump check." I've seen it called the stimulus check, but also seen someone say there's nothing really to stimulate. It's the "not-enough-for-ten-weeks-but-they-gave-us-something" check.
Or something.
So, I got my check. And decided it was time to go shopping.
Because I'm tired of everyone humble bragging about hanging out in their sweats.
I haven't been.
Then there are people wondering if it's bad they talk about wearing their "good sweats" (the answer is YES!).
So, I went shopping for sweats.
You think this wouldn't be a BD, right?
Sure.
I started with Bombas, because there was an email yesterday from them claiming some kind of sale (ICYMI there's almost ALWAYS an email saying there's a sale, but that's another issue).
So, I went and looked. Quick couple clicks to their sweatpants.
$78.
SEVENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS?!?!!?!? WTF?!?!?!?!?
Okay. I'm going to admit this. Other than a blazer, I have never paid $78 for a piece of clothing in my life. Yesterday wasn't the day, and today isn't either. Even with the "live on it for ten weeks" check in the bank (and, if you missed it, you ain't living long on $1,200 if you pay $78 for your sweats. At least I'd think they'd be your "good" sweats).
But,
This gets better.
I go to my next option. I will not tell you who, but another clothing retailer that advertises a lot on Sirius XM and does that subscription kind of thing, too.
$128.
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS!!!!!! Now, admittedly, they didn't call theirs sweat pants. No, no, no, no, no! Loungewear.
I'm wondering what $128 loungewear bottoms will do for...this thought is not a wholesome one. 😇
Okay. I move on, immediately after restoring my heart beat.
Third webpage. For members, $48. Really?!?!? And I'm not sure what they were made out of. They have a funky name for the synthetic for their yoga/lounge wear. Don't you want your sweats made out of something more like cotton??!?!? Yes.
I ended up (I'll name them, since it's not bad pub) spending $25 on a fairly fancy (for me) pair from LandsEnd. Actually cotton. Basic, solid color. They will be my "good" pair (not owning another pair makes this easier).
But can you believe it? $78? $128? Even $48?
Sure not doing a lot of that for very long on your Ten Week Check.
Manana.
It's Friday. Day ??? of quarantine/stay-at-home/boredom city.
So. I got my check from the IRS. What are we calling it? My bro-law says it's his "Trump check." I've seen it called the stimulus check, but also seen someone say there's nothing really to stimulate. It's the "not-enough-for-ten-weeks-but-they-gave-us-something" check.
Or something.
So, I got my check. And decided it was time to go shopping.
Because I'm tired of everyone humble bragging about hanging out in their sweats.
I haven't been.
Then there are people wondering if it's bad they talk about wearing their "good sweats" (the answer is YES!).
So, I went shopping for sweats.
You think this wouldn't be a BD, right?
Sure.
I started with Bombas, because there was an email yesterday from them claiming some kind of sale (ICYMI there's almost ALWAYS an email saying there's a sale, but that's another issue).
So, I went and looked. Quick couple clicks to their sweatpants.
$78.
SEVENTY-EIGHT DOLLARS?!?!!?!? WTF?!?!?!?!?
Okay. I'm going to admit this. Other than a blazer, I have never paid $78 for a piece of clothing in my life. Yesterday wasn't the day, and today isn't either. Even with the "live on it for ten weeks" check in the bank (and, if you missed it, you ain't living long on $1,200 if you pay $78 for your sweats. At least I'd think they'd be your "good" sweats).
But,
This gets better.
I go to my next option. I will not tell you who, but another clothing retailer that advertises a lot on Sirius XM and does that subscription kind of thing, too.
$128.
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS!!!!!! Now, admittedly, they didn't call theirs sweat pants. No, no, no, no, no! Loungewear.
I'm wondering what $128 loungewear bottoms will do for...this thought is not a wholesome one. 😇
Okay. I move on, immediately after restoring my heart beat.
Third webpage. For members, $48. Really?!?!? And I'm not sure what they were made out of. They have a funky name for the synthetic for their yoga/lounge wear. Don't you want your sweats made out of something more like cotton??!?!? Yes.
I ended up (I'll name them, since it's not bad pub) spending $25 on a fairly fancy (for me) pair from LandsEnd. Actually cotton. Basic, solid color. They will be my "good" pair (not owning another pair makes this easier).
But can you believe it? $78? $128? Even $48?
Sure not doing a lot of that for very long on your Ten Week Check.
Manana.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Check, please! And the desire to "open"
It's Thursday. Hump day came and went. I had multiple Zoom meetings. I wish I had bought Zoom stock back in say January -- but not being a US Senator I had no inside info that shit was coming. :)
Yes, the magic check appeared in my bank account yesterday. It was less than calculated here, but then no one has a copy of the 2018 1040 sitting around. Do you? (I know people who read this who will be saying "yes, duh" but I ain't one of them 😀)
I told my bro-law I was thinking of investing it in toilet paper futures. I saw on Twitter a paper mill in Maine that makes toilet paper burned yesterday. 😔 (acc to the key, this is a "pensive face." Really?!)
But today's "thing" has to be the acceleration of people wanting to "open the economy." There was a protest in Ohio yesterday for the governor to let up restrictions. I am not the first one to say this: it looked like a Zombie movie.
Then there's the Pennsylvania legislature. If you don't know this, it's been Republican since 2010. And we have a Democratic governor now in the middle of his second term.
So the Republicans decided the governor wasn't doing the whole stay at home thing right, that more businesses should be open, so they passed a bill (SB613) that opens more businesses. The liquor store was one of the ones frequently cited (PA is the only state that has closed them, deeming them non-essential. Talk about a mistake in definition!!!). Also, and more questionably, construction. They want to go back to building stuff.
The Democrats tried in both the House and Senate to add worker protections to the bill -- making wearing masks in stores mandatory for workers, more unemployment coverage, that sort of thing -- but failed.
Felt a lot like politics.
No one likes this. No one likes not going out. Few (now) like not going to work.
But we all recognize this virus is deadly and spreads easily. Today's message from our lieutenant governor seems to be "let's get to <1 reproductive value on the virus" -- which means every person gives it to less than one person. Then it dies. A good message.
But let me finish with this for those out there protesting or legislating to open things up: you can do that all you want, and governors can say "we're open for business," but a lot of people (it'll be interesting to see how many) aren't going anywhere other than the grocery store or work -- depending on the environment and leave time -- until there's either herd immunity or a vaccine. A lot of people aren't going to run out to businesses and buy stuff if they can get the virus. A lot of people aren't going to restaurants to eat until there's almost no chance of getting something that can kill people in hours.
So, acting like you're just going back to "normal" with an edict and wishful thinking is you being a dumb ass.
Have a good one. We've almost made it through week 10 zillion of "Stay at Home" -- TGIF !!! woo woo.
Yes, the magic check appeared in my bank account yesterday. It was less than calculated here, but then no one has a copy of the 2018 1040 sitting around. Do you? (I know people who read this who will be saying "yes, duh" but I ain't one of them 😀)
I told my bro-law I was thinking of investing it in toilet paper futures. I saw on Twitter a paper mill in Maine that makes toilet paper burned yesterday. 😔 (acc to the key, this is a "pensive face." Really?!)
But today's "thing" has to be the acceleration of people wanting to "open the economy." There was a protest in Ohio yesterday for the governor to let up restrictions. I am not the first one to say this: it looked like a Zombie movie.
Then there's the Pennsylvania legislature. If you don't know this, it's been Republican since 2010. And we have a Democratic governor now in the middle of his second term.
So the Republicans decided the governor wasn't doing the whole stay at home thing right, that more businesses should be open, so they passed a bill (SB613) that opens more businesses. The liquor store was one of the ones frequently cited (PA is the only state that has closed them, deeming them non-essential. Talk about a mistake in definition!!!). Also, and more questionably, construction. They want to go back to building stuff.
The Democrats tried in both the House and Senate to add worker protections to the bill -- making wearing masks in stores mandatory for workers, more unemployment coverage, that sort of thing -- but failed.
Felt a lot like politics.
No one likes this. No one likes not going out. Few (now) like not going to work.
But we all recognize this virus is deadly and spreads easily. Today's message from our lieutenant governor seems to be "let's get to <1 reproductive value on the virus" -- which means every person gives it to less than one person. Then it dies. A good message.
But let me finish with this for those out there protesting or legislating to open things up: you can do that all you want, and governors can say "we're open for business," but a lot of people (it'll be interesting to see how many) aren't going anywhere other than the grocery store or work -- depending on the environment and leave time -- until there's either herd immunity or a vaccine. A lot of people aren't going to run out to businesses and buy stuff if they can get the virus. A lot of people aren't going to restaurants to eat until there's almost no chance of getting something that can kill people in hours.
So, acting like you're just going back to "normal" with an edict and wishful thinking is you being a dumb ass.
Have a good one. We've almost made it through week 10 zillion of "Stay at Home" -- TGIF !!! woo woo.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Waiting for Godot, aka what's not coming
Yup, I took a couple of days off. Sunday was a holiday (did it feel like one to you? because here it felt like most other days, other than we had ham [which we never have except for...] for dinner), then yesterday was so Monday -- I had nothing to say.
We are all waiting. For something.
I keep checking my bank app to see if the deposit has come from the Feds for my pandemic relief. No, I don't really need the money; I'm fortunate to have a job, and my wife has one, which has kept us both employed for the duration (fingers crossed), but I just want to see it. I know others have gotten theirs already.
But that's where we all are: waiting. Hoping. The stimulus check is just a symbol of that: waiting and hope.
It's Tuesday. I should have led with that for those of you who forgot, haven't looked, and need me to tell you. This has been a sensation the last week, the weather guy on the Cleveland morning show, with the same thrill we all feel about the days these days:
Other than tomorrow (and tomorrow and tomorrow, as Macbeth puts it), what are we waiting for?
The end of quarantine, right? And we keep hearing varied possibilities on that. The governors of a bunch of states, including mine, came out yesterday with a task force that would help decide when we should "reopen" -- but there was no hint when that might be.
The ubiquitous Dr. Fauci said on a Sunday news show it could be mid-May (groan!) but hedged that with "in some places."
It ain't gonna be soon people.
So, let's remind each other what day it is, toss a bit of confetti in daily celebration, and wash our hands. And imagine it could be worse. It could be...
We are all waiting. For something.
I keep checking my bank app to see if the deposit has come from the Feds for my pandemic relief. No, I don't really need the money; I'm fortunate to have a job, and my wife has one, which has kept us both employed for the duration (fingers crossed), but I just want to see it. I know others have gotten theirs already.
But that's where we all are: waiting. Hoping. The stimulus check is just a symbol of that: waiting and hope.
It's Tuesday. I should have led with that for those of you who forgot, haven't looked, and need me to tell you. This has been a sensation the last week, the weather guy on the Cleveland morning show, with the same thrill we all feel about the days these days:
The end of quarantine, right? And we keep hearing varied possibilities on that. The governors of a bunch of states, including mine, came out yesterday with a task force that would help decide when we should "reopen" -- but there was no hint when that might be.
The ubiquitous Dr. Fauci said on a Sunday news show it could be mid-May (groan!) but hedged that with "in some places."
It ain't gonna be soon people.
So, let's remind each other what day it is, toss a bit of confetti in daily celebration, and wash our hands. And imagine it could be worse. It could be...
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Saturday. No park. No moving. No money.
I saw someone call this Saturwednesday. Funny. I get the point. Do you?
I've already lamented the lack of live sports on TV on weekends. It's the Saturday of Easter weekend. The sun is out and there are places with decent weather. But no golf, no baseball. And there's not even the NBA, which plays till at least Flag Day most years.
I saw someone on Twitter was doing live betting on card races. I didn't understand it either, but there was a while group of guys, violating social distancing, and laying bets on which card moved up the board the fastest, based on a draw of the deck.
We're in trouble here, folks.
But today I want to vent.
I'm tired of people filling my Twitter feed with all these 9 point choices. Or 3 choices.
Just stop with the "which 3...which 1...list 4..."
I know you're bored, and so am I, to some extent (though I'm beginning to learn way too much about Oaklawn Park's track features; I also know Fox's picker sucks), but no.
Just no.
A 3x3 of 9 fast food restaurants I don't want to frequent and have never eaten in is NOT interesting.
A 3x3 of Pennsylvania foods that no one should eat doesn't appeal.
Which one of these 4 movies is best...when I've either seen none, or thought none were good, no!
We're all trying too hard. This was clever before. It's not clever when you're the 50th person to do it.
And, to make us all feel better, I see Dr. Fauci said it might be November before we are back to some kind of normal. I would want to know how he was defining that, but by November I'm pretty sure this house will only have one inhabitant (instead of 3). We'd have to change the census. :)
Good luck to you and happy Easter tomorrow. I hear we're having ham. Just because.
I've already lamented the lack of live sports on TV on weekends. It's the Saturday of Easter weekend. The sun is out and there are places with decent weather. But no golf, no baseball. And there's not even the NBA, which plays till at least Flag Day most years.
I saw someone on Twitter was doing live betting on card races. I didn't understand it either, but there was a while group of guys, violating social distancing, and laying bets on which card moved up the board the fastest, based on a draw of the deck.
We're in trouble here, folks.
But today I want to vent.
I'm tired of people filling my Twitter feed with all these 9 point choices. Or 3 choices.
Just stop with the "which 3...which 1...list 4..."
I know you're bored, and so am I, to some extent (though I'm beginning to learn way too much about Oaklawn Park's track features; I also know Fox's picker sucks), but no.
Just no.
A 3x3 of 9 fast food restaurants I don't want to frequent and have never eaten in is NOT interesting.
A 3x3 of Pennsylvania foods that no one should eat doesn't appeal.
Which one of these 4 movies is best...when I've either seen none, or thought none were good, no!
We're all trying too hard. This was clever before. It's not clever when you're the 50th person to do it.
And, to make us all feel better, I see Dr. Fauci said it might be November before we are back to some kind of normal. I would want to know how he was defining that, but by November I'm pretty sure this house will only have one inhabitant (instead of 3). We'd have to change the census. :)
Good luck to you and happy Easter tomorrow. I hear we're having ham. Just because.
Friday, April 10, 2020
TGIF (Thank God Its Food)!
Yes, IT'S FRIDAY! Rah rah.
I have friends who question whether it matters. It does. Not sure how much.
But it's Friday.
We struggle for another day. Fighting time, boredom, and repetition.
But one thing to bring up here is that maybe that F should be "food," not Friday.
Because there is A LOT of food in my Twitter feed.
You have heard about the Covid 15, right?
Weeks ago someone postulated that we were going to be stuck at home for weeks, not getting enough exercise (in fairness, I see people in their Twitter feed talk about exercise programs while stuck at home, too, but not nearly as many as I'm about to recount about food), eating, and we'd all gain 15 lbs.
Fifteen?!?!?! I'd be in a place I've never been before (admission, I was not my slimmest when this started).
How? Why?
First, again in my Twitter feed, I keep seeing all these "you can only pick 3" options -- out of 9 pictures. One of these was casual dining places (someone said "hard pass" to picking through these), but many others put out picks.
Then there were a whole series of the 9 picture thing with snack food: one may have been sponsored by Little Debbie! I mean, with pictures, over and over, of Hostess chocolate cupcakes, honey buns, twinkies, hohos, and whole bunch of cookies. Where's the gun GIF?
But I'm not done. There are a whole series of feeds with recipes. One had "fifteen meals you can make quickly with 5 ingredients." Eight of them made me gag. One, as I remember, was carved out butternut squash to make a kind of taco (gag, gag) -- lots of spaghetti.
I've seen a whole series of recipes from supposedly famous chefs. I did recognize Bobby Flay, famed for hamburgers, who surprisingly didn't just pitch two weeks worth of different burgers (and shakes, don't forget) but put out a series of meals that would be easy to prepare -- starting with a couple chickens that you then turn into chicken soup and chicken salad.
Are you beginning to see the issue here?
I won't go into all the people on twitter baking -- either desserts or various kinds of bread.
Just the pictures would put on 5 of the alleged 15 pounds.
So, today, as you sludge through another work day, or another just dreadful day, just think of food.
Twitter will help. A lot!
Chin up, we'll make it, it looks like New York's curve is flattening, rah effin' rah.
I have friends who question whether it matters. It does. Not sure how much.
But it's Friday.
We struggle for another day. Fighting time, boredom, and repetition.
But one thing to bring up here is that maybe that F should be "food," not Friday.
Because there is A LOT of food in my Twitter feed.
You have heard about the Covid 15, right?
Weeks ago someone postulated that we were going to be stuck at home for weeks, not getting enough exercise (in fairness, I see people in their Twitter feed talk about exercise programs while stuck at home, too, but not nearly as many as I'm about to recount about food), eating, and we'd all gain 15 lbs.
Fifteen?!?!?! I'd be in a place I've never been before (admission, I was not my slimmest when this started).
How? Why?
First, again in my Twitter feed, I keep seeing all these "you can only pick 3" options -- out of 9 pictures. One of these was casual dining places (someone said "hard pass" to picking through these), but many others put out picks.
Then there were a whole series of the 9 picture thing with snack food: one may have been sponsored by Little Debbie! I mean, with pictures, over and over, of Hostess chocolate cupcakes, honey buns, twinkies, hohos, and whole bunch of cookies. Where's the gun GIF?
But I'm not done. There are a whole series of feeds with recipes. One had "fifteen meals you can make quickly with 5 ingredients." Eight of them made me gag. One, as I remember, was carved out butternut squash to make a kind of taco (gag, gag) -- lots of spaghetti.
I've seen a whole series of recipes from supposedly famous chefs. I did recognize Bobby Flay, famed for hamburgers, who surprisingly didn't just pitch two weeks worth of different burgers (and shakes, don't forget) but put out a series of meals that would be easy to prepare -- starting with a couple chickens that you then turn into chicken soup and chicken salad.
Are you beginning to see the issue here?
I won't go into all the people on twitter baking -- either desserts or various kinds of bread.
Just the pictures would put on 5 of the alleged 15 pounds.
So, today, as you sludge through another work day, or another just dreadful day, just think of food.
Twitter will help. A lot!
Chin up, we'll make it, it looks like New York's curve is flattening, rah effin' rah.
Thursday, April 9, 2020
The Thursday Blahs: the perception of quarantine
Yes, it's Thursday.
Just a reminder.
For those of you in sweatpants for the zillionth consecutive day. :)
Thursdays have never been my favorite. Wednesday gives you the hope of the hump, but then you have the doldrums of grinding through another work day. With TGIF right behind.
And it decided in NCPA to be cloudy, rainy and colder today. ):
I have realized that the struggle isn't that I can't go out -- it's that I want to!!!
You see, I have also realized that, other than work, I really don't leave the house that much. As troubling as that realization may be.
But now that I can't -- I want to.
I suspect this is the paradox of prison. You don't really have a place you want to go, you just want to go.
Anyone else know what I mean?
Like, was going to the grocery store even necessary, or did I "run an errand" just to feel like I could go when and if I wanted to?
[I will save my notes about the movement of time for another day -- I think we all are aware of how long March was...and how long April is going to be...and now our governor has closed schools for the rest of the year, so maybe there'll be a STAH order till June...]
Thursday. Thor's Day. It really does hit you like his hammer.
Just a reminder.
For those of you in sweatpants for the zillionth consecutive day. :)
Thursdays have never been my favorite. Wednesday gives you the hope of the hump, but then you have the doldrums of grinding through another work day. With TGIF right behind.
And it decided in NCPA to be cloudy, rainy and colder today. ):
I have realized that the struggle isn't that I can't go out -- it's that I want to!!!
You see, I have also realized that, other than work, I really don't leave the house that much. As troubling as that realization may be.
But now that I can't -- I want to.
I suspect this is the paradox of prison. You don't really have a place you want to go, you just want to go.
Anyone else know what I mean?
Like, was going to the grocery store even necessary, or did I "run an errand" just to feel like I could go when and if I wanted to?
[I will save my notes about the movement of time for another day -- I think we all are aware of how long March was...and how long April is going to be...and now our governor has closed schools for the rest of the year, so maybe there'll be a STAH order till June...]
Thursday. Thor's Day. It really does hit you like his hammer.
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Happy Hump Day!
Yes, it's hump day.
Remember it?
In case you need more help, it's WEDNESDAY! the middle of the week (thus the hump, we all think)
Remember those GEICO commercials that popularized the term with the talking camel walking through office cubicles asking "What day is it? What daaaaaaayyyy is it?" And, of course, Mike.
Now we are all the camel's foils. What day is it?
Wednesday. Hump day.
Of what we were told by various people at the overused White House podium would be the worst week of our lives -- our Pearl Harbor.
I'm not sure they got that right, several different ways.
But it's a struggle working from home. Not going out for this or that. Of masking up to go to the grocery store. Of not traveling anyway.
But is it the worst week ever?
I wonder what we'll think if or when we go back and read this in weeks or months.
But we have to go on, plodding like our camel, remembering the day, working, going on.
Here in NCPA it's the best day we have had all spring -- 70 and sunny. Spring is here. Flowers are blooming, trees are budding, birds are chirping.
It ain't all bad.
And maybe, just maybe we've flattened the curve enough to hope.
Maybe.
Maybe it's really hump day. :)
Remember it?
In case you need more help, it's WEDNESDAY! the middle of the week (thus the hump, we all think)
Remember those GEICO commercials that popularized the term with the talking camel walking through office cubicles asking "What day is it? What daaaaaaayyyy is it?" And, of course, Mike.
Now we are all the camel's foils. What day is it?
Wednesday. Hump day.
Of what we were told by various people at the overused White House podium would be the worst week of our lives -- our Pearl Harbor.
I'm not sure they got that right, several different ways.
But it's a struggle working from home. Not going out for this or that. Of masking up to go to the grocery store. Of not traveling anyway.
But is it the worst week ever?
I wonder what we'll think if or when we go back and read this in weeks or months.
But we have to go on, plodding like our camel, remembering the day, working, going on.
Here in NCPA it's the best day we have had all spring -- 70 and sunny. Spring is here. Flowers are blooming, trees are budding, birds are chirping.
It ain't all bad.
And maybe, just maybe we've flattened the curve enough to hope.
Maybe.
Maybe it's really hump day. :)
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
You've got mail!
[Ed. note: this is a series of short blog pieces, one per day (maybe) <aren't we all bored, looking for something to do?>, talking about some daily thing affecting our lives on a personal level -- not comments about the feds, outside states, etc. That's the purpose. Let's see...]
Yes, I missed yesterday. Or was uninspired. A word that covers a lot of days these days. Agree?
One funny aspect of WFH and week 4 is how I have begun to notice, and enjoy, the delivery of the mail. I remember previously there would be conversations like, "Did anyone get the mail in?" or "Did you see the mail, I was looking for..."
No longer.
I'm excited as a puppy for the mail carrier to arrive. It breaks the monotony of the day -- ours comes in the early afternoon -- 2ish. You can see the little van-like vehicle parked down the block and hear her (ours is currently a her) steps on the porch as she delivers.
Admission: some days it's a bummer -- junk mail. It is concerning how many companies, mostly airlines but sometimes Capitol One, want to give one of us in the household a new credit card at almost no interest. I thought the banking and credit system had tightened after the Great Recession. Not if they are sending us open-ended requests!
But then there are the good days: some days a box or soft pack comes from a subscription service! For instance, yesterday it was Birchbox (which wasn't for me, but still...). Those days the arrival of the mail, and gathering of it, is a moment of excitement in days lacking anything else to look forward to.
Since I keep seeing people talking about "the big picture," maybe this is an effect of this pandemic -- we will again appreciate the whole mail delivery thing. The people and technology involved.
Just as we should better appreciate those who work at pharmacies and grocery stores. Especially the stockers. God bless them!
But today I await the mail, again. Tail wagging.
PS. It's only a matter of time before I spend one of these rhapsodizing about streaming service drops. :)
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Another sportsless Sunday
[Ed. note: this is a series of short blog pieces, one per day (maybe) <aren't we all bored, looking for something to do?>, talking about some daily thing affecting our lives on a personal level -- not comments about the feds, outside states, etc. That's the purpose. Let's see...]
Yes, it's Sunday. Sunday. Sunday.
Remember the day. Here in this house it is day 23 of quarantine. Grrrr...
It's Palm Sunday.
Yet no one (sane) is out and about enjoying a spring-like day, or worshipping at the beginning of Christian Holy Week.
We walked through our park around noon today. We met no one.
Our evening walk met a few, but it wasn't crowded, despite 66 degree temperatures.
In between: no sports.
This would have been the Sunday between the March Madness seminfinals and the final on Monday. Most years there would be baseball, this year in its second week, and probably golf -- priming for next week's (of course now postponed) Masters.
None of that was on. ): None of that will be on. For awhile.
We are a nation that loves its televised sports. March Madness, baseball season, golf, and, soon, NBA playoffs. Gone, gone, gone, and gone.
And if you think all these "let's replay this game" things make up for it -- bull shit!!! A big part of watching live sports is the drama: who wins, who plays well? If you know Seton Hall beat Michigan in 1995, making PJ Carlissimo such a household name he is still on TV, then there's not much reason to watch, other than to see how long everyone's shorts were that year.
No. There's drama these days in live horse racing, this weekend from Tampa Bay, Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park. I watched a little yesterday (it keeps raining at Oaklawn, which is in Arkansas) and it's fun to watch them go at it, even if you don't know who's who. Part of the fun is in the not knowing how it'll play out -- will that crazy horse that goes out to the lead early and looks like it's running away hold on? Will the one that looks uninterested in last place sweep past everyone and win? Or will someone sneak through on the inside, having been pretty much ignored the whole race?
It's Sunday. Palm Sunday. We miss the drama of live sports.
It just makes the days harder to take. And harder to keep track of.
Sigh...
Yes, it's Sunday. Sunday. Sunday.
Remember the day. Here in this house it is day 23 of quarantine. Grrrr...
It's Palm Sunday.
Yet no one (sane) is out and about enjoying a spring-like day, or worshipping at the beginning of Christian Holy Week.
We walked through our park around noon today. We met no one.
Our evening walk met a few, but it wasn't crowded, despite 66 degree temperatures.
In between: no sports.
This would have been the Sunday between the March Madness seminfinals and the final on Monday. Most years there would be baseball, this year in its second week, and probably golf -- priming for next week's (of course now postponed) Masters.
None of that was on. ): None of that will be on. For awhile.
We are a nation that loves its televised sports. March Madness, baseball season, golf, and, soon, NBA playoffs. Gone, gone, gone, and gone.
And if you think all these "let's replay this game" things make up for it -- bull shit!!! A big part of watching live sports is the drama: who wins, who plays well? If you know Seton Hall beat Michigan in 1995, making PJ Carlissimo such a household name he is still on TV, then there's not much reason to watch, other than to see how long everyone's shorts were that year.
No. There's drama these days in live horse racing, this weekend from Tampa Bay, Gulfstream Park and Oaklawn Park. I watched a little yesterday (it keeps raining at Oaklawn, which is in Arkansas) and it's fun to watch them go at it, even if you don't know who's who. Part of the fun is in the not knowing how it'll play out -- will that crazy horse that goes out to the lead early and looks like it's running away hold on? Will the one that looks uninterested in last place sweep past everyone and win? Or will someone sneak through on the inside, having been pretty much ignored the whole race?
It's Sunday. Palm Sunday. We miss the drama of live sports.
It just makes the days harder to take. And harder to keep track of.
Sigh...
Saturday, April 4, 2020
New Notions of Time (pssst, it's Saturday!)
[Ed. note: this is a series of short blog pieces, one per day (maybe) <aren't we all bored, looking for something to do?>, talking about some daily thing affecting our lives on a personal level -- not comments about the feds, outside states, etc. That's the purpose. Let's see...]
Since I quoted Eliot above, this seems to be 2020's variation on his "Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,/I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." We are measuring ours out in sheets of TP.
Some people read yesterday's first blog. Thanks!
Today is Saturday. SATURDAY!
I have a friend who has asked the last couple of weeks if it makes any difference what day it is -- yes! Yes! Yes!
But we all, here in most of America, have gotten used to, or are getting used to, a whole new meaning of time.
The first, funniest meme I saw on this was:
I have now lived through seven decades
The 60s
The 70s
The 80s
The 90s
The 00s
The 10s
March.
LMAO!
Feels so true.
But let me put it out there: if you thought March was long, wait till you see April!
None of us were quarantined all of March; it looks like everyone will be for all of April.
Oh, shit.
T.S. Eliot said "April is the cruelest month" and though he lived through the Spanish flu epidemic, he had no idea about this.
Is it only noon? 😒
We have all begun to strain as we can't separate one day from another, since we move our workspace, or not, a few feet, so that Monday is like Tuesday is like Wednesday is like Saturday.
I have a new way to measure time:
There was a piece on the internet where the person calculated how long toilet paper lasted. You know, two weeks ago in the beginning of the rush to horde. Aren't we all calculating that? 😠
And, if you haven't read about it, here's a good article about why there's a TP crisis.
Search Results
Web results
Eliot made a life of tea parties and social events sound like hell. Now we have a life with no tea parties or social life and we know he was wrong.
But we'll get through it:
But we'll get through it:
Remember, it's Saturday! Hooray!
Friday, April 3, 2020
Notes from the Edge (of the Apocalypse): E Tu Brutus?!
[Ed. note: this is a series of short blog pieces, one per day (maybe) <aren't we all bored, looking for something to do?>, talking about some daily thing affecting our lives on a local level -- not comments about the feds, outside states, etc. That's the purpose. Let's see...]
So, my thing today is: why can't local grocery stores get their act together to do curbside service?
Two weeks ago, TWO WEEKS AGO!, I tried to get groceries without going into the store. There are two grocery stores within a mile of my house. Well, the first, Weis, didn't do it. Their app said they did, but it wouldn't go beyond filling the cart, so I called the local store. I was told they didn't do that.
Then I tried the Giant app. Which switched me to Peapod (I'm just reporting). In the end, I couldn't schedule till five days later?!?!!?!?
WTF!?!!?
How hard is this? I've been in Giant when their "associates" were filling these orders for people -- it doesn't look like rocket science (or, as the joke goes, rocket surgery), so it doesn't seem like it is about personnel (and as of now there are only a handful of Covid cases in this county, so it can't be people out sick), and they do it with a scanner on their arm that tells them they are getting the item ordered. So, it doesn't look tricky.
So how can grocery stores not have this figured out? Why don't they have their personnel doing this already? How hard is it?
It's something we all want -- access to groceries without having to stay this far away from each other --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcn6sah5vf8
So, today's first day rant is this: why can't grocery stores get their act together and provide enough slots for us all to drive up and get our groceries? Or most of us?
Get your act together?!?!?
So, my thing today is: why can't local grocery stores get their act together to do curbside service?
Two weeks ago, TWO WEEKS AGO!, I tried to get groceries without going into the store. There are two grocery stores within a mile of my house. Well, the first, Weis, didn't do it. Their app said they did, but it wouldn't go beyond filling the cart, so I called the local store. I was told they didn't do that.
Then I tried the Giant app. Which switched me to Peapod (I'm just reporting). In the end, I couldn't schedule till five days later?!?!!?!?
WTF!?!!?
How hard is this? I've been in Giant when their "associates" were filling these orders for people -- it doesn't look like rocket science (or, as the joke goes, rocket surgery), so it doesn't seem like it is about personnel (and as of now there are only a handful of Covid cases in this county, so it can't be people out sick), and they do it with a scanner on their arm that tells them they are getting the item ordered. So, it doesn't look tricky.
So how can grocery stores not have this figured out? Why don't they have their personnel doing this already? How hard is it?
It's something we all want -- access to groceries without having to stay this far away from each other --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcn6sah5vf8
So, today's first day rant is this: why can't grocery stores get their act together and provide enough slots for us all to drive up and get our groceries? Or most of us?
Get your act together?!?!?
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