peejman

There's more than a few unanswered details to consider, but generally speaking, I don't think I could stand by and watch helpless people be murdered.

Marriage 101. We have one 50 gal rain barrel. The warmer the weather, the nastier the water in it. I'd have to be pretty desperate to mess with it mid-summer. There's a creek fed pond about a 10 minute walk from the house. I'd use that first. Id like to have a small inverter generator, but its low on the list because we live 1/2 mile from the city limits. In 13 years, I think the power has been out less than 10 cumulative hours. I'd also like to have a small solar panel. A 3kW solar setup would be perfect, but that's frickin huge. We have the internet and plenty of books to read. And the library does curbside now. I still go to work every day and we started home schooling the kids last fall, so this hasn't been huge disruption. And I'm very thankful for that.

We have a highly advanced cloaking device.

I agree, this is definitely an instance where having a idea of the worst case scenario is valid. I just think far too many people took it at face value so it created undue distress. Then again, it seems to take some level of shock value to get folks attention these days. So perhaps a "shock and awe" strategy was warranted. It's a pet peeve how some tend to present the computer model results as gospel without any sort of understanding of the assumptions and variability. When the talking heads start up with that, my BS meter jumps into the red real fast. I guess it's the engineer in me.

Funny how computer models suddenly become much more accurate when you input reliable data and already know the correct answer. I also enjoy the "estimates do not include uncertainty" caveat. Because if they did, you might realize we really have no idea.

Our biggest customer went to "hot desks" a couple years ago. It was met with some resistance at first but folks seem to be ok with it now. They don't have enough desks for all the employees. Between travel and sickness they assume there will never be a time when everyone is in at the same time. Everyone does have a locker or lockable drawer in a filing cabinet. It's a big place with wifi so folks just sit wherever they like.

Wifi at home. I'm sure it was operator error. I'm not the best phone typist.

Have they (we) ever tested critters for any of the various flu type viruses that go around before now? If the virus is airborne, it makes sense that anything that breathes air will contract it regardless of whether it causes any symptoms.

An eyefone indeed, how'd you guess? I would use the PC, but I can't out on the screened porch. I suppose I could use the tablet, but that would mean I'd have to find it...

Yep, smoked chicken is easy. Cut the whole chicken in half down the middle. Lay it skin up. Smoke about 3 hours. Delicious.

Exactly. Industrial hygenists everywhere are rolling their eyes at these home-made masks. They may help keep sick people (who should be at home anyway, regardless of what they have) from spreading the virus, but they won't prevent well people from getting it. We went to Jamaica on our honeymoon 20 years ago. While there, I distinctly recall a conversation with a local who criticized American politics. He said we elect crooks who screw us and we do nothing about it. "Not 'ere mon... we drag 'em into da street and beat 'em to death mon. They learn not to f&&k us 'ere mon." Theres something to be said for a little fear to improve accountability.

Depending on the industry and location, $80k is a starting salary. I know of several recent grads who make about that in bigger metro areas. The salary won't go up much unless you're willing to work 80 hrs/wk as I've learned, but talented people can make that in the right spot.

I'm an engineer, I fix broken jet engines. Part of my job does require that I be there to see and touch things and direct work. Part of my job is simply pushing paper that I could do from nearly anywhere as long as I had network access. I'd also wager the paperwork part could get more efficiently at a location where I don't get interrupted every 10 minutes. And as you've said above, there's a huge difference between a machinist and a machine operator. The difference is apparent when dealing with parts that cost more than your house. A number of the machinists, mechanics, and inspectors make more than the engineers do with overtime, so yes I also agree that not everyone needs to go to college. You've got to have more Indians than chiefs, though corporate America doesn't seem to get that.

And still weird. Must have done something strange with my phone.

Ok, that's weird.

True. If I had the ability, I could do some of my job online, but not all of it. I could easily envision a rotating schedule in our group where at least one of us is in the shop all the time while another works from home. We've proposed that very thing several times and have been rebuffed every time without any discussion or explanation. And my above post should be "becoming" rather than "become". We're not at the end yet, but it won't be long.

So a nurse is obligated to help, but a police officer isn't? That's messed up.

I agree that it's quickly becoming time to turn the economy back on. I also think this may fundamentally change business. Thousands of businesses have gone 100% virtual in the last month, and continued to function normally. How many of those won't go back? Why pay rent on office space that you've been forced to learn you didn't really need? How many will realize their employees are happier now? Significant potential for the other side of this to look quite different.

Yep, both our dentist and the kids' dentist are emergencies only for the time being. Eye doctor too.

Revoke their license for not working for free? Good luck with that.

I have kids and my wife finally succumbed and subscribed to Disney+. Yay. She's on a vintage movie kick so it's been The Sound of Music, The Swiss Family Robinson, and The Absent Minded Professor of late. The up side is I've finally gotten to see what all buzz was about on The Manadalorian, and yes, we're hooked. I'll be curious to see what happens with our wifi data quota.

I have to work M-F. My wife has ordered groceries online and I've picked them up. We sanitize everything (including me) in the garage before bringing it into the house. My family has left the house once in 2 weeks. We got take out for supper last Saturday, ate it while sitting in the van at a scenic spot, and drove the long way home.

My first thought was it looked like a military bayonet training pose.