77 thoughts on “March 12, 2020: Ho Hum”

    1. I'm thinking the stocks to buy are the makers of Lifesize, Skype, Zoom, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Flock, HighFive, Cliq, HipChat, GoToWebinar, Pigeonhole Live, and Roundee. (bite me, StarLeaf)

    1. Belated congrats, and speaking of ho-hum, here's hoping for an uneventful pregnancy!

      2. Here's hoping.

        A 14 hour day from spending 5+ hours at the hospital with client due to an emergency and getting home after 11 isn't great. Luckily that sort of day is the exception, not the rule.

  3. My parents just canceled their trip to France and Morocco that was scheduled for the end of this month. I have a spring break trip (with the fam) to Austin, Texas, starting on Sunday, and as of this moment, it's still on.

    I'm supposed to speak at a conference in DC at the end of April and am guessing the organizers will wait a bit longer before making a decision on that one.

    It's all very weird.

    1. My wife and I were just talking yesterday we wonder what the main square (Jemma al-Fna) looks like in Marrakesh right now. Because it was packed when we were there.

    2. We've got plans to hit up the Children's Museum next Saturday to see their Hot Wheels exhibit. I'm not totally sure what to think about those plans right now.

      1. The 21st? You might not have the option to go soon. I wouldn't go even if it was the 14th.

        2. I was considering routine work travel to NY next week...I'm having doubts. A lot can happen in a few days.

        3. We intended to go to the grand opening of our branch library’s new location on Saturday, then have corned beef at my mother-in-law’s. It seems very surreal to be pondering whether doing both is putting two women in their seventies in unreasonable risk, particularly considering I spend most of my day in a very busy public building.

      2. The zoo and science center in Seattle are already closed through at least the end of the month.

    3. The school play is this weekend. They serve a meal at it. It's a big deal in a small community, and many people will be there. I e-mailed the superintendent about this (I work with him frequently on other issues), and included some resources, assuming he was already well connected. His response indicated the kind of engagement with the Department of Health and statewide efforts that I was hoping for, including planned follow ups tomorrow so that districts can make decisions.

      Frankly, I'm really glad I'm living in MN right now.

    4. April conference in DC has been moved to September. My reward for booking my flight well in advance is that now I get to change it!

  5. So I mean, at this point there probably won't be any games anyway, but, do we have a draft set up for the fantasy baseball, is there a keeper doc, etc.? I might have just missed all of this, so sorry if I'm late to the party.

    1. Somebody was commenting within the league site that they didn't want to do keepers, or couldn't, or something. I didn't follow, exactly. I don't think it was rpz, though. I could be confused as to who's managing.
      I actually have players I'd keep this year, so I'd like to do that...

      1. I gave up not essential internet usage for Lent, and my Sundays have been busy. I'll set a date for both keepers and the draft soon (hopefully a Sunday works?). The keeper sheet will also be delayed, but then again, it sounds like the season will be, too...

  6. Someone in the NBA owns an island, right? Fly out the players, family, and staff testing negative, then play all the games on the island once everyone can make it out there. Family and players in the stands for the games.

    NHL can do the same but with a remote village in Canada.

    MLB can do the same but with a security perimeter set up around the Field of Dreams site expanded to 4 fields with back-to-back backstops, like your typical baseball complex. Limited sites are best reason for pace-of-play improvements! Finish your game in 2.5 hours or the team with most time-limit violations loses. With 4 fields and 3-hour time slots you can get all 15 games in each day. Tradition is out the window, so play a series of quadruple-elimination tournaments—Astros start each round with 3 losses.

  7. Being in a high risk group, I think I’m going to self-isolate and social distance as much as I can. As soon as I stock up on the Jameson and Smithwick’s. You know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself.

    1. Hey, we might finish the WGOM draft before the season starts! Silver linings and all, right?

      1. Major League Rugby is on a 30-day suspension.

        No word yet on whether missed games are to be cancelled or rescheduled

    4. I have to say that my level of respect for Adam Silver has gone up significantly (I'm assuming he's ultimately the one who made the call for the NBA). The fact that the NBA did it made it easier for everyone else to do too. That first actor was key.

        1. I read somewhere that over the next 5 days, you could connect any team with any other team based on the match-ups (potentially also including cross contamination from refs.) Makes a lot of sense to suspend and re-evaluate when you think about it from that standpoint.

    7. I wonder if there is a way for the baseball literati to get together and rebroadcast historic games with a new “announcers” soundtrack. In other words, I need baseball and would like someone to figure out a way to entertain me with baseball, even if it is in the form of reruns.

      (Corollary, I have a business idea that certainly doesn’t pass licensing muster - alternate track audio for live baseball games. Bloggers in their basement simulcasting their own play by play as they watch the TV feed. Would be ideal if they could do it from the stadium, but I’m near certain that wouldn’t be allowed. Anyway, it would be lovely to mute the game I’m watching and listen to alternative voices talk about the game.)

      1. I'm wondering what ESPN, FSN, FS1, and the other sports networks are going to do. There are almost no live sports going on, at least for the next few weeks. There's only so much sports talk you can show, especially with no games to comment on. Reruns of one sort or another would seem to be a reasonable alternative.

  9. We’re supposed to go down to see my dad and stepmom for the weekend; my dad turned 65 last week. I don’t have any reason to believe any of us are exposed, but...ugh. I don’t know.

    For about a year now I’ve been largely reclusive. Depression hit hard last year and I had to change a lot about my life to dig out of it. Now I’m finally feeling ready to get out and do things, and it’s not recommended.

    1. Hang in there. This will be over eventually. Today I am trying to be thankful for some of the changes, like no commute, more time near windows—it’s actually been pretty sunny in Seattle this week. Though I am simultaneously stressed out about a lot of this.

    2. If only there were some sort of online game you could run to keep yourself (and others!) occupied... eh?

  10. EPL hasn’t suspended yet. I think the most sporting thing to do would be for Man City and Everton to officially forfeit their Monday games so that Liverpool can officially be crowned champs. There is just no realistic way that City would pass Liverpool by the end of the season. It’d essentially be like a chess player conceding when it’s clear he’s going to lose.

    Use the current standings for European qualification, suspend pro/rel for this year. It’s close to the Bundesliga solution, but they don’t have such a runaway favorite that there is no path to really crown a champ.

  11. If MLB delays just a few weeks and gets back to normalcy somewhat, this will help players that were injured return to the field earlier in the season, including Rich Hill. Hard part will be for Hill to ramp up in minor league games.

  12. Shut down Dr. Chop’s campus today. All online for the rest of the semester. Students can still live in the dorms but no access to library or student center. Seems like they’re trying to not refund rents while trying to ensure that international / non local students aren’t made homeless by default (and now with the travel bans.... yikes).

    Dr. Chop’s national academic conference canceled recently. I can’t imagine the economic impact of all these conference cancelations is having on just the service industry.

    My institution canceled all public events but remains open to the public. Hordes of tourists are flooding the quarter. If I don’t already have it it’s just a matter of time. I’m not in the risk group, but had plans that involve a lot of folks in the risk group. Those plans will be changing. I’m in a group of people who can’t work from home, so that sucks. Thank goodness that our national leaders are good at calming and soothing the worries of the nation in these strange times.

    1. Our agency has shut down our drop-in center for clients and have banned our staff from visiting people in the hospital (Children's Hospital has already banned us). We're expecting to lose quite a bit of money this year unless DHS loosens some restrictions on billing. Glad we're trying to balance being cautious while also serving people best we can.

    2. Thank goodness that our national leaders are good at calming and soothing the worries of the nation in these strange times.

      Fake news.

    3. Most every 4-year school around us has implemented some sort of plan to close or move to online instruction. We have not, though they have now banned visitors to campus and meetings with a large number of people. The first community colleges in Southern California announced closures of in-person classes today, so I have a feeling we will be closed or at least shifted online before classes start on Monday.

      1. We have now been told to cancel any large in-person event (the whole state is now disallowing anything more than 200 people), and cancel all field trips (which is a big, big deal for our department). Classes are still ongoing, but no outside visitors, no extra events, etc. So, shut out the community, even though we are a "community college."

        Plus, an elderly woman who lives just 2 miles from campus died this morning from COVID-19. But, thousands of people coming to campus for classes? Still completely fine. Official policy for now is that, until we have at least 5 students or staff members test positive, we're open for regular business. If we get to the point that 5 people have tested positive, just about everyone on campus must have been exposed. At this point, I just expect to get it, considering that I interact with 150 students every week, in addition to other faculty, staff, managers, etc. Fun!

        I know I'm in the super low risk demographic, as are my wife and kids. If we get it, we will be sick, but we'll be fine, and I rarely interact in-person with anyone over the age of 70. But, I also know that's not true for many others on campus.

        1. ...and, now everything has changed. Just got a late-night email that we are cancelling classes Wednesday and Thursday, to help give time to ramp up online instruction. Seems as if the college is trying to be understanding of the fact that online instruction may not be the best method for every faculty member and every student. As department co-chair it has now become my job to help everyone decide what to do with their classes and help them get ready to do it, in addition to turning my face-to-face class into a fully online course.

          This is probably the right way to go, and I’m glad they are doing something to help minimize the further spread of COVID-19. But man, this is going to be a rough semester.

    4. My parents went from Mardi Gras to the Houston Rodeo the last couple of weeks and I've seen them since, so gulp...

  13. On the bus ride home this evening the Poissonnière saw a young Asian woman wearing a medical mask. She asked me, “Apu, why is that person wearing a mask?”

    I told her, "That person is trying to keep herself healthy and other people healthy.," but that answer felt lacking.

    What I realized I wanted to tell her is that person was wearing a mask to be kind to other people. But I haven't come up for a reason why wearing the mask is kind without implying the one wearing it is sick, or suggesting we should be suspicious of anyone wearing a mask.

    She's a smart kid, so I know a question to that effect would likely be coming. I owe her, and the kind stranger, the right answer.

    1. Or why NOT wearing a mask is not unkind.

      Not to stereotype, but to stereotype. Most mask wearers are not sick. The only healthy people who should be wearing masks are healthcare providers caring for sick people, and MAYBE sick people (or immuno-compromized but otherwise healthy people).

      1. That’s a very good point, Doc. My thinking at the time was that it seemed quite possible the wearer may have been wearing the mask to mitigate comments, looks, or worse from panicky people who might sit near her. (I hate that this is where we are.) So, that led me to the kind (or considerate) framing.

        Mrs. Hayes is severely immuno-suppressed. I’m not sure whether a regular medical mask would do her any good, even if she were likely to wear it. Her department has already told her to work from home to protect herself if she feels it prudent. That will be better for her than any mask, as far as I can tell.

        1. Perhaps framing as the mask wearer wanting to feel a little safer, even if we don't know how much that will actually help protect.
          Then by implication the non-mask wearers aren't necessarily more at risk, or behaving irresponsibly.

  14. The start of production on the Boy's film has been delayed because of COVID19. The production company is partly Chinese-owned....

  15. Zero chicken at Whole Foods tonight. Also no ground beef. Got a pork tenderloin - it was OK.

    1. My Costco was practically bereft of cheese and ground beef and bread. Plenty steaks, oranges and tomatoes to be had. I got eggs too.

      1. Cub last night was low (but not wiped out) on staples: Bread, pasta, cheese, soups, frozen veggies. Wiped on hand soap and TP.

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