Can’t even get my son tested. Apparently his age makes him low-risk. But we have to care for him at home if he can’t go to school. How is this reopening thing supposed to work, again?
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I didn’t know where to post this, it’s relevant to many of the threads…but the word “crisis” is in it, sooo…
"In the best of times, our days are numbered anyway. So it would be a crime against nature for any generation to take the world crisis so solemnly that it put off enjoying those things for which we were designed in the first place: the opportunity to do good work, to enjoy friends, to fall in love, to hit a ball, and to bounce a baby.”― Alistair Cooke
Whoever guesses correctly where I got it from…um…gets…um…a poem written by me, with the winner providing the subject/theme of the poem!
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I think I remember this having been around for a while, but current events being what they are…
Record a scream to be played on a speaker in Iceland. Silly, but cute. 
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Journal of the Corona Year
7/17
Despite working remotely since mid-March, one of my colleagues has finally been given software necessary to do her job properly.
The software is named “LogMeIn.” I’ve mentioned it before. It allows people to operate office computers from a remote location.
A couple of weeks ago I was talking with her about LogMeIn. She had no idea what I was referring to. I believe she has been doing as much as she can through Citrix, which is leas than ideal.
Since that time, she’s been waiting for IT to authorize the installation of the software.
LogMeIn is useful, but very annoying. We arranged to have a phone call so I could prepare her for some of its peculiarities.
I started the conversation pleasantly by asking, “how are things in Texas?” Back in April, when the COVID-19 situation in New York was looking bleak, she went home to Texas. But now Texas is out of control. So now she’s back in her apartment in Queens. She flew back earlier in the week.
I almost didn’t even write this out. It’s all becoming so routine. Like Mark Twain’s story about the man who survived the siege of Vicksburg.
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Please let this one not turn out to be another hydroxychloroquine-style shitshow…
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Hopefully not. If the drug can actually bind to the spike protein and block the virus’s ability to infect cells, that’s one more way of fighting the infection. Have to wait for clinical trials. At least the mechanism makes sense. I’m not sure I ever heard why hydroxyquinawhatever was supposed to work.
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Upon reflection 
it occurs to me this is a treatment, so would be good only after one has contracted the disease. But I wonder if a daily low dose administered by nasal spray might be a good protective measure, for those at risk. That is if the side effects aren’t serious. IIRC this version of heparin doesn’t have an anticoagulation effect.
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Journal of the Corona Year
7/22 An Odyssey and the Trump Group
At 1:00 today I finished a project. It was time to get some coffee. Since I’m still working from home this is my daily opportunity to leave my apartment temporarily.
It was a hot day today. But that’s nothing to worry about — it’s 90 degrees outside and it’s 90 degrees inside. I got dressed. Got my wallet, iPhone, and keys. I put on my KN95 mask and headed out.
On my way out of the building, I was going to stop in the basement to drop-off my “rigid plastic” recycling. This forces me to use the elevator. The stairs do not go down to the basement. It’s one of those small, ancient New York City elevators controlled by loud relays.
I’m on the fourth floor. I got in the elevator and pushed the “B” button with my knuckle. The door slid closed. There was the customary abrupt jerk, and the elevator began to descend.
It stopped on the third floor. The door slid back open and an old guy and his dog got in. He — the old guy — was not wearing a mask. I quickly got out making sure to not step on the dog. The old guy called out “did you want to go up?”
He had a dog with him. That meant he was going out. Great. I would go down the stairs and would catch the elevator on the first floor. From there I would continue into the basement. In the hall I passed an older woman with a walker.
I got to the lobby just as the old guy was leaving through the front door. I could have beat the elevator down, but I didn’t want the old guy to see me. I didn’t want to appear rude and imply he was spreading disease.
At this point the elevator has already continued to the basement without me. So I pushed the call button with my knuckle and back up it came. I got back in and, with my knuckle, pushed “B” again. The door slid closed and the elevator began to go up. This means someone on an upper floor pushed the call button before I pushed the “B” button.
I went up. And up. It finally stopped on the fourth floor, back where I started. The door slowly opened. No one was there. Great. Now I should be going back down. But the elevator went up to the fifth floor. No one was there. Then up to the sixth floor. No one was there either. What caused this? Ghosts?
On the sixth floor the door slid closed and I began my descent to the basement again. This time it was smooth sailing all the way down. I went to the garbage room and dropped off my rigid plastic in the the appropriate can.
When I got back to the elevator it was on the first floor. I could hear someone get in. The relays clacked and the elevator began its journey up the building. I pushed the call button with my knuckle.
The elevator came back down, stopping on the first floor. I could hear over my head that it was the older woman with the walker slowly getting out. I pushed the call button a few more times, because there’s nothing else you can do.
The elevator came on down. There were two people in it — an older man and an older woman. Neither were wearing masks. “Come on in,” the man said. I let the door slide closed.
The elevator went back up the building again. I pushed the call button with my knuckle again. It came back down, empty. Zeus finally allowed me to escape the building safely.
When I returned with my coffee, it was time to start a new project. A new “offering memo” for an office building in the Chicago Loop. It was an older building in nice condition. The exterior was stone.
I spent about half an hour collecting and correcting photographs of the building. As I began digging into text I discovered it was owned by “The Trump Group.” I had a sinking feeling. The time had finally come. Would I have to decide what was more important: my self respect or my job?
I went to the end of the book to read the Sponsor Overview. If it said glowing things about the president I would be sick. Would it be more professional to alter the text or to leave it alone?
The first sentence stated that The Trump Group was founded and run by “Eddie and Jules Trump.” What? Who are they? No one in Donald’s extended family can stand him. Why would they work for him?
I needed to know what was going on. I Google searched “Eddie Trump.”
It turns out The Trump Group was founded in Florida in 1980 by two brothers from South Africa. It is in no way related to the Trump Organization. Their Wikipedia page states this fact a couple times to make sure the point is clear.
Well that was a relief. But whatever. Escape is impossible. The project I worked on this morning was for the Kushner Companies. I’m just a pawn in their game.
And I think the milk in my cappuccino was spoiled.
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Ugh, I hate when I pour dairy into coffee after determining by smell that, “Well, it doesn’t smell like it’s gone over…yet”; only to see it turn into a cottage-cheese-like substance upon hitting the hot java. Blargh.
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Business Conference Calls - Pandemic Year One
April - The first ten minutes of every meeting seems to be people still trying to figure out the software. A fair number of people still dialing in when that is an option. Dress is business casual for the most part. A few incidents of “Ooops, didn’t know my camera was on.”
May - The majority of people are comfortable with the array of video meeting software. People are using their cameras. Those inclined are adding in backgrounds and/or filters for the less serious meetings.
June - Cameras are turning off. Still common with outside companies, but meetings within the company are usually voice only. One on Ones are a toss up, but majority probably start out with the camera on. Dress has gone to casual. I can’t remember the last button-up shirt not worn by a vendor.
July - A meeting that required a dial-in is on my calendar. I struggle to remember how to dial in. All sense of business attire is gone. On a meeting yesterday with one of our vendors one of them was sprawled across his couch in a v-neck t-shirt and cotton shorts. I’ve reverted to rolling out of bed, grabbing a pair of shorts and shirt from the pile of “worn-but-not-dirty-enough-to-wash” and stumbling to my desk space to logon.
In all seriousness though, this has really thrown a wild card into my companies’ plans for our data center. The lease is up in a few years and we are have been going through all the number crunching of:
- Stay where we are (which two to three times larger than we need)
- Find a new size appropriate building
- Send everything to the cloud \ co-lo what has to remain on prem and find office space for the bodies.
Since - largely - the “work is getting done”, the whole "everyone must be in their box eight-hours a day - has lost some of its validity.
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What’s the building?
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All too confidential. I’ll just say it’s a nice building in the Loop.
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That really doesn’t narrow it down!
But I understand that you can’t say. Thanks anyway.
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White House reply:
This is categorically false . . . She was diagnosed with COVID in March and passed away in July so that timeline does not add up at all. [emphasis added]
This is categorically false, to coin a phrase.
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This what got me:
Informed that Ruth Glosser’s death certificate cited COVID-19, the White House spokesperson replied, “Again, this is categorically false. She had a mile [sic] case of COVID-19 in March. She was never hospitalized and made a full and quick recovery.” (emphasis mine)
They don’t even proof their shit.
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Well, they’re illiterate idiots as well as assholes. But having the office of the president negate all the evidence that some of the harm done by COVID19 can last months, and may be permanent.
But I guess we don’t want Trump Flu to get a bad reputation.
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