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Anyone Been Affected by the Coronavirus?


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We had plane tickets but also refund insurance

This is why I book on Southwest whenever possible, I can use my plane fare to SynthPlex any time within the next year. They don't charge for the first couple bags, either :)

 

Thanks, I've used Southwest.

Seattle to SF we took the lowest price. SF to Fresno wasn't too bad, usually higher.

 

Done deal now. Certainly a consieration in the future. :- D

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I've read that age is much less of a factor than the underlying conditions. It just so happens that the older people have more of those. I suspect that there are many people here in the U.S who might have them and don't know it. How many do you think who don't get regular physicals, who are obese, might be pre-diabetic or diabetic, have heart disease, etc., and don't know it?

 

Here's something I want to remind people of. Depending where you live, you can still go outside, you can go for a walk, you can work on your yard. This isn't China, you're not restricted by the government to stay inside. If you live in a place like NYC, yes, I'd say you should stay in or be very careful about going out. But I live in what's basically a suburb (though it's inside Houston city limits) and can go out for a walk or run in my neighborhood without going near anyone. Heck, you can go for a drive in your car and see stuff (I hear Texas Wildflowers are starting to show well) without violating the social distance. The only problem is that I'm low on gas. :D

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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We had plane tickets but also refund insurance

This is why I book on Southwest whenever possible, I can use my plane fare to SynthPlex any time within the next year. They don't charge for the first couple bags, either :)

I got a notification from the United folks a few weeks back that they'd basically be doing the same thing. Any changes will not incur any fees, no matter what class of ticket.

 

dB

 

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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I got a notification from the United folks a few weeks back that they'd basically be doing the same thing. Any changes will not incur any fees, no matter what class of ticket.

 

Read the United fine print. Their first announcement was pretty liberal, but a few days later they revised it to restrict the time period it applied to both for when the ticket was purchased and when you were flying. I thought I could take advantage of a good fare sale and book my flights now for the NAMM show next January, and then fine tune the dates or cancel if I decided not to go (outrageous hotel rates, worse than ever). But when I read the rules, there was something that would keep it from qualifying for the waived change or cancellation fees. I guess too many people tried to do what I was going to do.

 

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I got a notification from the United folks a few weeks back that they'd basically be doing the same thing. Any changes will not incur any fees, no matter what class of ticket.

 

Read the United fine print. Their first announcement was pretty liberal, but a few days later they revised it to restrict the time period it applied to both for when the ticket was purchased and when you were flying. I thought I could take advantage of a good fare sale and book my flights now for the NAMM show next January, and then fine tune the dates or cancel if I decided not to go (outrageous hotel rates, worse than ever). But when I read the rules, there was something that would keep it from qualifying for the waived change or cancellation fees. I guess too many people tried to do what I was going to do.

 

The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I'll offer different perspectives (as is pretty typical since I'm a weirdo).

 

I am a special ed. teacher. School closures are fine and good, but they affect students in special education differently. Learning remotely? Haha. I am supposed to report back for a week while students do not attend class. But after that....I can't really teach remotely. Do we have our students come back amidst a coronavirus crisis? Or what happens to them? Will they regress significantly if they are out of school for too long? Do some teachers get to work at home while others continue to come in to school? How long will that occur for? How long will schools be closed? When China stomped on the Wuhan crisis by quarantining the entire city, they saw a drop-off. The "flatten the curve" scenario (and if you don't know what this is, you should look this up, as this will explain why quarantining is so important). But the drop-off took a while, over three months. If we go for hardcore quarantining, we may be looking at 3-4 months as well. And that's assuming that the cat's not already out of the bag and our government can get a handle on this and do the right thing. I won't comment further on how confident I am of that because that gets into political territory.

 

Taking kids out of school and leaving them at home is also not without its controversy. While "flattening the curve" is what we want so that health professionals can handle the situation better, there is the thought that, well, people have to work, and much of the kids will be left with grandparents or older people at home...you know, the very population that may be immunocompromised.

 

Another thing to consider are homeless people. If the coronavirus gets to the homeless population, it will tear through them, they will not get medical help. This needs to be addressed swiftly and promptly so this does not occur. Easier said than done, I know. This will depend largely on federal funding, as county and local authorities don't have much money, and rely mostly on federal aid for help. So this too is largely the function of the feds.

 

I have lots of other thoughts on this, but that's enough for now.

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These words will be the new buzzwords of 2020. And we're only in March, so don't worry, there will be more.

 

Self-quarantine

Pandemic

Immunocompromised

Vectors of Transmission

Hoarding

Panic Buying

Epic Costco Smackdowns

Bidet

Social Distancing

Elbow Bumps

Face-touching

Rudy Gobert

Denial

Zero Risk Bias

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I'll offer different perspectives (as is pretty typical since I'm a weirdo).

 

I am a special ed. teacher. School closures are fine and good, but they affect students in special education differently. Learning remotely? Haha. I am supposed to report back for a week while students do not attend class. But after that....I can't really teach remotely. Do we have our students come back amidst a coronavirus crisis? Or what happens to them? Will they regress significantly if they are out of school for too long? Do some teachers get to work at home while others continue to come in to school? How long will that occur for? How long will schools be closed? When China stomped on the Wuhan crisis by quarantining the entire city, they saw a drop-off. The "flatten the curve" scenario (and if you don't know what this is, you should look this up, as this will explain why quarantining is so important). But the drop-off took a while, over three months. If we go for hardcore quarantining, we may be looking at 3-4 months as well. And that's assuming that the cat's not already out of the bag and our government can get a handle on this and do the right thing. I won't comment further on how confident I am of that because that gets into political territory.

 

Taking kids out of school and leaving them at home is also not without its controversy. While "flattening the curve" is what we want so that health professionals can handle the situation better, there is the thought that, well, people have to work, and much of the kids will be left with grandparents or older people at home...you know, the very population that may be immunocompromised.

 

Another thing to consider are homeless people. If the coronavirus gets to the homeless population, it will tear through them, they will not get medical help. This needs to be addressed swiftly and promptly so this does not occur. Easier said than done, I know. This will depend largely on federal funding, as county and local authorities don't have much money, and rely mostly on federal aid for help. So this too is largely the function of the feds.

 

I have lots of other thoughts on this, but that's enough for now.

 

Yes, super important points. I truly don't think our society is up to the challenge. Maybe after a few more pandemics, we'll start to get the message. An entire infrastructure needs to be worked on and worked up to an extent that can't be done except over a long time frame. 'Till that sort of situation develops, the inequities and between-the-cracks situations, and access issues and fairness issues and the extra sufferings of the disadvantaged and marginalized will mostly remain items for raging discussions but not action items for a significant time period.

 

I won't discuss this next comment, and I'm not inviting discussion. Just setting a private homework project for those interested - check out if there is any correlation between the countries that have had the best response to this pandemic situation, and the type of overall healthcare system in place in the "best responder" countries.

 

nat

 

 

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I figure most of us will eventually be exposed.

 

With the number of people exhibiting no or mild symptoms, you won't know if the person you just fist-bumped, or served your lunch, or gave you a receipt, or made change on a purchase, or touched the doorknob before you is a modern day equivalent of "Typhoid Mary".

 

Also with the number of those unreported reported people with little or no symptoms, the actual death rate is probably lower than what is being reported. How much? There is no way to know.

 

So since we are all going to be exposed IMO the action to take is to err on the side of caution but don't go to the extreme or panic mode. The logical thing in my mind is to delay it as long as possible, because as time goes by the medical industry will know more about having to treat it.

 

I'm normally a healthy person, I catch a mild cold once every 15 years or so, and I can't remember the last time I had the flu (1980s?). So I figure if I get it, most likely it will be a mild case. But by keeping my immune system strong, perhaps, like the flu or a cold, I won't even get it.

 

I do know as of now, I've lost a half month of income, and so has my wife, due to gig cancellations. But I feel lucky, some have fared much worse.

 

Good luck to all (myself included)

 

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Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

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The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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Bars and restaurants to be closed indefinitley in WA, CA, OH, IL and MA - five states. That is the news as of today.

 

Gatherings of 50 or more are also shut down.

So here I am in WA with no gigs anymore until who knows when.

Time to start selling a backlog of stuffs!!!! I've been wanting too, now it is not optional.

 

https://tdn.com/news/state-and-regional/washington/two-more-deaths-in-king-county-covid-toll-hits-statewide/article_9e3eabb0-4066-5b68-be6f-3a57f0745fe9.html

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I've lost all my gigs for the rest of March and April except for two in late April that haven't cancelled (yet), and my weekly outdoor restaurant gig.

 

I don't know how long the restaurant gig will last, as the crowds are thinning, and the county is talking about shuttering all bars and restaurants.

 

On the dim side, that's two months out of work, possibly more - no sick leave - no unemployment insurance.

 

On the bright side (1) It limits my exposure to a potentially infected person and (2) It gives me more time to work on my "moonlighting" business of making style 'disks' and fake 'disks' for Band-in-a-Box (of course the money won't come in until the 'disks' are finished and released).

 

On the bright side (again), Leilani and I are still healthy.

 

These are unusual times.

 

Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

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Maryland and Washington, D.C. have closed all bars and clubs. As of yesterday, restaurants were restricted to carry-out only, but that may have changed already.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I wonder what will happen when many companies realize they don't actually need buildings to act as cages for employees, and that when people work from home, productivity can often increase. Maybe one result of the coronavirus will be a lot of companies downsizing their office space when leases expire.

 

When I was running EM back in the late 80s, there was an employee who worked out of the Berkeley office. Whenever the deadlines were really tight, I sent him home to work so he wouldn't be distracted by phone calls and meetings.

 

The publisher was not happy about this - "How do you know he's actually working?" To which my reply was "because I'll have the article first thing tomorrow morning, if not tonight."

 

Granted, some people will goof off at home. But I've seen plenty of people working in an office goof off, too. I think you should judge an employee's effectiveness by their productivity and effectiveness, not where they do their work.

 

IMHO the corona virus is going to have a lot of long-term impacts people aren't considering, and some of those changes will be beneficial. Wouldn't it be great if rush hour wasn't as much of an issue due to people working at home and flex time?

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IMHO the corona virus is going to have a lot of long-term impacts people aren't considering, and some of those changes will be beneficial. Wouldn't it be great if rush hour wasn't as much of an issue due to people working at home and flex time?

 

I am "essential personnel" where I work downtown DC. I will be commuting from MD suburbs where I have raised my kids until told otherwise. Traffic is way down, and the parking garage is half empty. Normally the garage is an absolute mess, always oversold.

:nopity:
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Bars and restaurants close at 1700 today all over NC, but can provide take-out service. Governor set a limit of 100 people for any public gathering. The President's Task Force is indicating 10+ people. My church did hold service this past Sunday, but cancelling tomorrow night. Sunday primary service will be streamed on FaceBook, with pastor, audio/video person, music director singing with acoustic guitar, and youth pastor on drum.

 

I haven't done any multimedia production, but am thinking about doing Bible study on FB and/or YouTube. I have the necessary equipment, just haven't learned exactly how to put it together.

 

At 77 and with COPD, I am being STRONGLY encouraged (by my wife, who is a retired RN) to stay home completely for the next couple of weeks. My primary commercial business client I can VPN to the site and remotely fix some things if needed. We are getting a grocery list together to have store-picked and delivered.

 

Some stores are beginning to have the idea of an your first opening for seniors only to shop. Hope the local grocery stores get into that.

 

Dare County, NC (think the Outer Banks) closed off ALL visitors going into the county as of 1400 this afternoon. Permits to enter will be issued to residents, those who work in the county, and those who live in/work in Ocracoke and other areas which can only be reached through the county (I'm assuming that food/gas/etc delivery drivers will still have access, the news story did not say)

Howard Grand|Hamm SK1-73|Kurz PC2|PC2X|PC3|PC3X|PC361; QSC K10's

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"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Jim

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I've been reading about the situation in Italy, which is pretty horrifying. I wrote to one of my friends at IK Multimedia, which is in Modena (southeast of Milan, and close to the hottest hot spots), to ask if things are as bad as the media says it is. He replied:

 

The situation is definitely critical in Italy now, especially because of the immense stress this is putting on the hospitals and in general to the health structure.

Luckily nobody in the company has been affected up to now, and same for all the families, we"re almost all working from home these days.

 

Our suggestion from here is not to underestimate this thing, please please do whatever you can to limit the spreading.

 

Bottom line is if I was in some Italian towns and needed hospital treatment to survive, I'd be dead. I'm older than the cutoff for "do we save this guy, or do we save someone else." They'd pick the mom with the kids over me, and I can't say that I'd blame them.

 

Last week there were 1,000 confirmed cases in the US, and tonight there are 5,500. Granted only a small percentage actually die, but a small percentage of a large number is an uncomfortably large number, and it's spreading fast. I think my Italian friend is right, we have to be careful not to underestimate what's happening. It's been estimated we're about 10 days behind Italy in terms of the virus's progress, so I guess we'll find out soon enough.

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Last week there were 1,000 confirmed cases in the US, and tonight there are 5,500.

 

Correction, the latest count is now 6,500.

And I've seen several reports of people being sick but not being tested for it, because they're only testing those who have traveled recently or who have been exposed to a confirmed case. So the actual number of cases is higher, no one knows how much. :(

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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7,500 this morning. I think it's important to put matters into perspective, and remember that only a small percentage of people will actually die from the virus. Of course that's not a comforting thought if there are a lot of cases...I guess it's like going into a casino with a 97% chance of winning. It could be a lot worse.

 

The one thing I keep bringing up is the productivity hit that happens if people are sick for a month or so. Even when I was sick with whatever I had, I was able to get some work done - just very inefficiently. If companies really get their acts together about allowing people to work from home and offer flex time to others, any economic recovery will happen faster.

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Things seem to be getting a little absurd here. Now they've shut down restaurants for seating and are only allowing them to do take-out or delivery business, no more than four customers in at a time. I thought I'd try the concept and ordered a burrito bowl on line from what's been a pretty decent chain fast casual Mexican restaurant, then went over to pick it up. After waiting outside for about 5 minutes for my turn to go in, it turned out that they had no record of my order. Fortunately my credit card hadn't been charged, either, so I ordered it there and then got an argument when I asked for the free chips and queso promo for on-line ordering. They said "that's only for on-line orders" and I said "But I ordered on line - you just didn't get the order." So she gave me the chips and queso. But what a hassle! And the food wasn't very good either.
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The problem is we don't know yet what will turn out to be prudent and what will turn out to be stupid. Certainly, cases continue to increase, but the question is when will it peak...if it peaks this week, we're in pretty good shape. If it peaks in May, it's a problem.

 

I've heard quite a few opinions that, well, only a small percentage of people will die so we don't have to screw up the economy for everyone else in the process. So the question I have is suppose you went into a casino, and were told that you could win lots of money just like before - in fact the odds were now 97% in your favor that you'd win at least something! However...if you lost, there was a 3% chance you would be killed painfully over the course of a week or so. I like the idea of 97% odds, but I still don't think I'd go into that casino.

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