Covid19

[vertical_doug]

any idea how many billions the airlines have spent on buying back stock and paying dividends these last few years. more asymetric risk, give it all to the shareholders and when things go wrong get a government check. and its not just airlines. there's talk of hotels too. guess who owns hotels -Mike G

Yeap.

We are capitalist for privatized gains and socialist for losses.

[Britishbane]

I wish we lived in a country where a vote of no confidence would trigger a new election.

I too have often thought the same. Then it occurred to me it likely wouldn’t pass.

[htwoopup]

To Thomas’ point with the chart on hospital beds per 1000 and the discussion on social distancing, there was this in The Globe and Mail today.

181E3571-DE2A-4DAB-828E-B755477D8779 by Jon Mandel, on Flickr

On my social distancing, I was shocked to find when I put in my normal Wednesday evening NYC Peapod shopping list order that they can’t deliver until Saturday afternoon when the norm is next day. Which is also amazed that the largest grocery chain in the area is out of so much pretty normal stuff (i get the counter wipes thing but pork loin?). So, I guess there is a lot of NYC self-quarantining. Don’t know if it is because they are sick or pro-social or paranoid.

Normally, I figure what will be will be.

My next door neighbor in Canada is senior pilot for Air Canada. He just flew (entire crew with masks) a plane for 400 from Montreal to Hong Kong with 40 passengers which seems to me to be a crazy thing especially from an environmental basis.

By the same token, my daughter left for her three week honeymoon in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand two weeks ago. She said it is absolutely empty (and beautiful). She has Type 1 diabetes so is in the high risk group on Covid from what I understand. Her mother and her step-mom were in a panic about this but the kid’s attitude was be careful and there won’t be crowds.

And, the daughter of a friend of ours visited for the past 4 days at our place in Mont Tremblant for a ski weekend. She is a doctor in an ICU unit on Long Island NY. She said it has been insane at her hospital as it seems every visitor is somehow taking institutional size supplies of wipes, gloves, masks to the point where the staff had to hide it all and put it under lock and key. On the last day of her visit she was notified that two of her elderly patients that had been in the ICU for something else have tested positive for Covid-19.

So, I am probably more at risk than my daughter who went to Asia. I point that out since the US President called it a “foreign virus” as if this isn’t an American thing.

C’est la vie.

I will only go out to ride my bike by myself for awhile I guess. Even though that will mean I won’t be able to see my daughter returning from Asia for a week longer.

Not happy about the societal issues and not happy about the personal ones. But, I am happy that I cycle and that I prefer to do that by myself.

We can only do what is best for each other and we each have somewhere to find good.

[robin3mj]

On my social distancing, I was shocked to find when I put in my normal Wednesday evening NYC Peapod shopping list order that they can’t deliver until Saturday afternoon when the norm is next day. Which is also amazed that the largest grocery chain in the area is out of so much pretty normal stuff (i get the counter wipes thing but pork loin?). So, I guess there is a lot of NYC self-quarantining. Don’t know if it is because they are sick or pro-social or paranoid.

Pork loin freezes nicely, BTW. I'm headed to grocery store at lunchtime to continue stocking up on staples.

Things are getting scary in my business (the elderly), so I feel like I am whipsawing back and forth between worst case scenarios and calmly planning.

[j44ke]

Got up this morning to get our car and take it into the dealership for its 40K service. Took me 20 minutes to get across town. Usually takes an hour. Got on the 1 train. Super dirty. The 4,5,6 trains are a lot cleaner. Switched to the 3 train for express. Also dirty. Must be different cleaning teams or UWS liberals are just slobs. About 5% of people have masks. One person wearing mask inside out. One wearing mask using only top strap but lower strap dangling and bottom of the mask open about 3/4" off the face. Some people using creative methods for holding onto poles. Most women stretch their sleeve to cover their hands and then grab the pole with their sleeve. Seems like your hand is more readily washable than your sleeve? Everyone looks stressed, except for the kids. Now headed out to get on the 4,5,6 train.

[htwoopup]

Pork loin freezes nicely,

Not to derail this thread totally, but I wonder if Matt hit on something here.’

I wonder if the changes people will be making in the short term become permanent.

What made me think of this is that as a life long NYC person, I didn’t even think of freezing pork loin. Normally we just decide what’s for dinner and go to the butcher, the fish store, the fruit and veggie guy on the corner etc. You only go to Peapod or other delivery service for food for items like bulky and/or heavy stuff that you don’t want to schlep (a NY term) in your granny cart or carry. You only order normal food from Peapod when it is on top of these heavy items.

So, I am wondering if that becomes a permanent thing and folks will be putting their bags and granny carts on the curb to be picked up by Sanitation.

And what other changes to “normal” way of living will become permanent.

[jclay]

News from my brother who lives in Italy:

All non-essential retail and hospitality business was stopped in
Italy as of last night.  Production and essential service work can
continue for now, provided they can respect the 1m minimum separation
between people and furlough anyone with symptoms or diagnosis of Covid-19.

I find Trump's grandstanding last night to block the "Chinese virus"
from invading the US by stopping all flights from continental Europe
(but not the UK!???) ludicrous.  That will have virtually no benefit
unless accompanied by a lockdown of mobility in and near all affected
areas.  Despite the administration's aggressive attempt to limit testing
and diagnosis, there's already enough known cases to confirm the US has
started along an exponential contagion curve -- you're just 4-6 weeks
behind Italy.  Latest data in China, Iran, and Italy show Covid-19 cases
doubling in 4-8 days in the absence of mobility restrictions.

Yesterday, they were reporting Codogno (the Lombardy town with the
initial Italian cluster) no longer has active Covid-19 cases. The 14-day
lockdown blocked further transmission and the virus burned itself out
(i.e., in 14 days, everyone there either recovered, died, or were
transported to treatment elsewhere). Quarantines, effectively enforced,
seem to work.

[guido]

So much for the beneficial/prevention effects of riding...

Gaviria confirms he has coronavirus | Cyclingnews

[Saab2000]

Out on my morning walk this morning I witnessed a dude in his Tesla Model 3, texting with both hands off the steering wheel, eyes focused squarely on his phone. Presumably with Tesla’s Autopilot engaged. I fear idiots like that more than I fear this virus.

[jclay]

Out on my morning walk this morning I witnessed a dude in his Tesla Model 3, texting with both hands off the steering wheel, eyes focused squarely on his phone. Presumably with Tesla’s Autopilot engaged. I fear idiots like that more than I fear this virus.

Buy more toilet paper and you'll be OK!

[cbiker]

We're taking commonsense measures to minimize risk, but I just don't see how we avoid this with two kids in daycare :(

[Moke]

Well the whole sports world blew up today. NBA, MLB and MLS hockey are all suspended till further notice. NCAA Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Swimming, Track and Field, Equestrian, Gymnastics and other spring sports are paused/cancelled for some time. When South by Southwest music fest cancelled in Austin this week, they just announced 50 people lost their jobs. What are all the families of ticket takers, concession workers, ushers, maintenance, security and camera crews going to do for money? Wow this whole thing just got worse than awful today. I know what most of us think of our president, but if ever there was a chance for him to be a hero, we sure need a leader now. We are talking the lives/ livelihoods of thousands of people here. This may be the beginning of one of the largest disasters in world politics/economies that have happened in my old lifetime. We will see, we will see.

[johnmdesigner]

300 idiots standing in line at the Trader Joe's when I walked passed.
I don't really understand people's mentality. You knew this was coming.
I can understand if you are poor and don't have anything in the fridge on a good day but these people aren't poor.
If you have a few essentials, a place to cook and the internet for receipies how can you starve?

[vertical_doug]

You always have two toggles to fight a financial crisis- fiscal and monetary. However, this is a exogenous market event so fiscal stimulus 'building roads, bridges, tunnels' is less effective than fiscal stimulus on immediate health. The government spend for coronavirus is a measly 8 billion so far. If they were to do a typical shovel ready fiscal stimulus for the market it will be 100-250billion. They get the absolute most bang for the buck by promising to spending whatever it takes to get testing for every American free plus a stipend (unemployment insurance) for those who need to self-isolate... This is how you deal with this crisis.

This is an absolute no-brainer for fiscal stimulus in my opinion..

[EDS]

With rumors circulating that all NYC public schools will close down after Friday and the whole city will be locked down over the weekend, I am now fighting the urge to pack the wife and kids into the car and leave the city. What would you do?

[deano]

With rumors circulating that all NYC public schools will close down after Friday and the whole city will be locked down over the weekend, I am now fighting the urge to pack the wife and kids into the car and leave the city. What would you do?

Well, I am crowd-phobic enough to not step foot in NYC in the first place, lol, but we're having this discussion in our house right now. We're in the mountains of TN visiting family for spring break. My stir-crazy wife wants to go back to the Triangle. I do not. Duke's closed, I am waiting on my other teaching gig to do the same, I have my bike, we have the kids and everything we need. Now if I had my fly rod, no way in H*des would I leave. You go on, honey.

Truly, I don't think panic is in order. The social distancing/closures are a gift - they should make everyone relieved because they really do work and they really do decrease the death rate when implemented. We should all be relieved our country got around to this early or it would be a bloodbath like elsewheres, etc. Nothing to see here atmo. In three months all those awful hipster recipe blogs will be writing stories about what to fix for dinner with your COVID-19 rice and beans. We've nothing to fear but fear itself. That said, I don't know how NYers operate. Like I said not my jam. If you got somewhere to go, why not take a vacation?

[Chik]

With rumors circulating that all NYC public schools will close down after Friday and the whole city will be locked down over the weekend, I am now fighting the urge to pack the wife and kids into the car and leave the city. What would you do?

That's what a lot of Italians in Lombardy and Veneto thought and did. Regional governments of the south told the Northerners they weren't welcome. Then the whole country went into a lock down.

What would I do? That's a very tough call.

[vertical_doug]

That's what a lot of Italians in Lombardy and Veneto thought and did. Regional governments of the south told the Northerners they weren't welcome. Then the whole country went into a lock down.

What would I do? That's a very tough call.

You can run, but you can't hide. The virus will eventually find you.

[Too Tall]

You can run, but you can't hide. The virus will eventually find you.

What he said.

Just back from a lovely bicycle ride. Played with the neighbors two Labrdoodlesomethingsomethings and did not elbow bump anyone. Life is good enough.

[NYCfixie]

cross-posting from Thursday grump thread.

People have gone insane.
Was out for my "regular" grocery shopping and there was literally no ground turkey or ground beef.