Natural Selection
17/03/20 07:18
Maybe this is a situation where the remedy is worse than the disease. Closing businesses left and right, closing schools, closing down travel for all intents and purposes, closing this and closing that in order to reduce human contact in order to prevent the transmission and spread of this coronavirus may be a bridge too far.
For what, so we can see to it that the hospitals and health care workers aren't impacted? So they have enough ventilators for everybody that will need one? Deaths from the coronavirus will cull the population of the elderly and those with underlying conditions and maybe that's a good thing. There, I said it.
Call it natural selection if it makes you feel better. But we're taking all of these measures at the expense of one of the strongest economies in the world. I'm more concerned about the worker who will now go without a paycheck. When you go without a paycheck you are forced to make life and death decisions about how your money is spent day in and day out. You and your family might well have to forgo medical insurance and other so called "niceties" that were once a staple of the well heeled in our society. And, for the most part, well heeled we were.
I'm hearing about congressional bailouts for industries far and wide as a result of this scourge caused by the coronavirus. We need a net for the little guy too so I hope they'll keep that in mind. Mittens Romney is calling for government to provide a basic income of sorts to get people through this. Maybe that means everyone gets a check. For the little guy, this may mean keeping a roof over his head or food on his table. Secondarily, it will be somewhat stimulative in terms of the economy although probably short of what is really needed.
Congress has already passed a plan of sorts that will benefit smaller companies and their employees. Larger businesses, those with more than 50 employees, are expected to provide for their employees in various and sundry ways. Maybe that means allowing the employee to work from home. Maybe that means paying your employees even if they aren't working until we get through this.
Estimates of how long this is going to be with us vary and the latest time frame was provided by President Trump yesterday when he said that it could well last into July or August. Now we''re talking months when just yesterday or the day before we were talking about weeks. Businesses were announcing closures for two to three weeks and that didn't seem too bad. July or August seems catastrophic. The financial markets responded in kind dropping the Dow Jones Average by close to 3,000 points by the close of business.
In other words, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. People will die. People will lose their jobs. Some businesses will prosper while others will languish or just go away without the benefit of customers walking through their doors. We fully intend to do our part by ordering take-out from those restaurants we typically frequent.
That will effectively break up the monotony of staying behind closed doors for extended periods of time and it will give us a little variety in our diet. As for what food stocks we have on hand, we probably need to figure out a way to mix things up a bit. Get creative! Go Bold!
Did I mention that Nancy will now be working from home? It seems like a luxury to say the least given the size of the company that she works for but she asked and they agreed. It will effectively lessen her exposure to the outside world and hopefully reduce her overall chances of contracting this virus. To say that she is relieved is an understatement. I don't think I've ever seen her this jittery about anything before so every little thing we can do to change that up will be a good thing.
We've been calling around to family and friends just to check in and that has been strangely reassuring. Hearing their voices, listening to their concerns, and just knowing that we're not alone in all of this is helpful. One of my friends asked about getting together and I had to wonder what he knew if anything about the coronavirus madness we're now steeped in. "But Tim, what about social distancing", I asked. "How bout a rain check?"
I needed some thistle for my thistle feeder yesterday and I opted to go to a small Agway two towns removed rather than go to the local Walmart which is close by. My objective was to minimize my risks of contracting the virus by minimizing the number of contacts both human and otherwise in my travels from point A to point B. You hear stories about how long the virus lives on surfaces after being scuttled by his/her host and you don't dare touch anything without gloves on much less ignore the advice of the specialists when it comes to social distancing.
I'll share a little secret with you which may make you laugh. When I get hone from my outings to one or more of the local stores I take off my gloves and put them in the freezer. Take that, you mother fucking virus! It probably doesn't help that the rest of my clothing may be covered, indeed infested, with the virus just waiting for me to touch my clothing and then touch my face somewhere. Who says that fighting something you can't see can't be fun?
On the way back from Amway yesterday I stopped in to my local Hannaford's to pick up a few items for dinner. Their stocks of bottled water were decimated but I was able to pick up a couple of flats one or more of which I wanted to get to Evan. He asked me about the traffic in the store and I told him it seemed reasonably sane in so many words. He has his own anxieties the Coronavirus aside so I wanted to make sure that he didn't face that task with any more dread than is necessary.
He is a big consumer of bottled water and complains now and then when he has to drink his tap water because he says it tastes "crappy." I also bought him a large bottle of cold brew which he had at our house a few days back and he found it much to his liking. We'd hoped to see him later in the day but he didn't show up for whatever reason.
Lastly, I'm thinking that this journal business is helping me unwind my own feelings and anxieties when it comes to this changing wold that we all find ourselves in. I also told Nancy that taking a nightly walk down by the ocean should be a mainstay in our short list of outside acitvities. We've done that more recently and it helps in more ways than just getting a little extra exercise. My biking is already in full swing and that has been true throughout the winter months so that will continue in spades. I know you didn't ask, but I love my new bike. That's a story for another day.
For what, so we can see to it that the hospitals and health care workers aren't impacted? So they have enough ventilators for everybody that will need one? Deaths from the coronavirus will cull the population of the elderly and those with underlying conditions and maybe that's a good thing. There, I said it.
Call it natural selection if it makes you feel better. But we're taking all of these measures at the expense of one of the strongest economies in the world. I'm more concerned about the worker who will now go without a paycheck. When you go without a paycheck you are forced to make life and death decisions about how your money is spent day in and day out. You and your family might well have to forgo medical insurance and other so called "niceties" that were once a staple of the well heeled in our society. And, for the most part, well heeled we were.
I'm hearing about congressional bailouts for industries far and wide as a result of this scourge caused by the coronavirus. We need a net for the little guy too so I hope they'll keep that in mind. Mittens Romney is calling for government to provide a basic income of sorts to get people through this. Maybe that means everyone gets a check. For the little guy, this may mean keeping a roof over his head or food on his table. Secondarily, it will be somewhat stimulative in terms of the economy although probably short of what is really needed.
Congress has already passed a plan of sorts that will benefit smaller companies and their employees. Larger businesses, those with more than 50 employees, are expected to provide for their employees in various and sundry ways. Maybe that means allowing the employee to work from home. Maybe that means paying your employees even if they aren't working until we get through this.
Estimates of how long this is going to be with us vary and the latest time frame was provided by President Trump yesterday when he said that it could well last into July or August. Now we''re talking months when just yesterday or the day before we were talking about weeks. Businesses were announcing closures for two to three weeks and that didn't seem too bad. July or August seems catastrophic. The financial markets responded in kind dropping the Dow Jones Average by close to 3,000 points by the close of business.
In other words, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. People will die. People will lose their jobs. Some businesses will prosper while others will languish or just go away without the benefit of customers walking through their doors. We fully intend to do our part by ordering take-out from those restaurants we typically frequent.
That will effectively break up the monotony of staying behind closed doors for extended periods of time and it will give us a little variety in our diet. As for what food stocks we have on hand, we probably need to figure out a way to mix things up a bit. Get creative! Go Bold!
Did I mention that Nancy will now be working from home? It seems like a luxury to say the least given the size of the company that she works for but she asked and they agreed. It will effectively lessen her exposure to the outside world and hopefully reduce her overall chances of contracting this virus. To say that she is relieved is an understatement. I don't think I've ever seen her this jittery about anything before so every little thing we can do to change that up will be a good thing.
We've been calling around to family and friends just to check in and that has been strangely reassuring. Hearing their voices, listening to their concerns, and just knowing that we're not alone in all of this is helpful. One of my friends asked about getting together and I had to wonder what he knew if anything about the coronavirus madness we're now steeped in. "But Tim, what about social distancing", I asked. "How bout a rain check?"
I needed some thistle for my thistle feeder yesterday and I opted to go to a small Agway two towns removed rather than go to the local Walmart which is close by. My objective was to minimize my risks of contracting the virus by minimizing the number of contacts both human and otherwise in my travels from point A to point B. You hear stories about how long the virus lives on surfaces after being scuttled by his/her host and you don't dare touch anything without gloves on much less ignore the advice of the specialists when it comes to social distancing.
I'll share a little secret with you which may make you laugh. When I get hone from my outings to one or more of the local stores I take off my gloves and put them in the freezer. Take that, you mother fucking virus! It probably doesn't help that the rest of my clothing may be covered, indeed infested, with the virus just waiting for me to touch my clothing and then touch my face somewhere. Who says that fighting something you can't see can't be fun?
On the way back from Amway yesterday I stopped in to my local Hannaford's to pick up a few items for dinner. Their stocks of bottled water were decimated but I was able to pick up a couple of flats one or more of which I wanted to get to Evan. He asked me about the traffic in the store and I told him it seemed reasonably sane in so many words. He has his own anxieties the Coronavirus aside so I wanted to make sure that he didn't face that task with any more dread than is necessary.
He is a big consumer of bottled water and complains now and then when he has to drink his tap water because he says it tastes "crappy." I also bought him a large bottle of cold brew which he had at our house a few days back and he found it much to his liking. We'd hoped to see him later in the day but he didn't show up for whatever reason.
Lastly, I'm thinking that this journal business is helping me unwind my own feelings and anxieties when it comes to this changing wold that we all find ourselves in. I also told Nancy that taking a nightly walk down by the ocean should be a mainstay in our short list of outside acitvities. We've done that more recently and it helps in more ways than just getting a little extra exercise. My biking is already in full swing and that has been true throughout the winter months so that will continue in spades. I know you didn't ask, but I love my new bike. That's a story for another day.