Category: News

Sometime in 2021, perhaps May or June, medical suppliers will take millions of masks and protective gear, overproduced in the summer and autumn of 2020 by every medical producer, textile mill, and specialty t-shirt shop who offered masks with your favorite team or slogan on them, and stored for almost a year in vast warehouses, and bury them in a great landfill as though they were unsold copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600.

Half of this headline is correct: SGF, Greene County extend stay-at-home orders, allow more curbside, delivery orders

Springfield and Greene County residents will be required to mostly stay at home until midnight May 4 in what leaders called a “half step” toward reopening the community.

Businesses previously deemed “non-essential,” such as clothing stores, vape shops and other retailers will be allowed to take curbside and delivery orders starting immediately.

The “extension” means the mandatory guidance from the local governments now conforms to the date set by the governor, whose ruling superceded the local hide-under-your-bed order. So the extension extends the foolishness to match the foolishness that takes precedence.

The more important, optimistic, and beginning to return to the old new normal is that the authorities are encouraging other small businesses to start minimal operations to begin ramping up to a hopeful burst of healthy economic activity on May 5.

Also, prediction: Cinco de Mayo parties are going to be lit this year.

Diaper Bank of the Ozarks sees need increase during COVID-19 pandemic

I see a demand surge coming beyond this one.

Fillyjonk has a poem about finding a dead bird in her garden. It’s not a bad poem, and she draws a lesson from the event.

Me, I’m reminded of bygone days when we were supposed to report dead birds because of the danger of the West Nile virus. I’m not sure what Neil Ferguson predicted about it, but I’m sure it would have been apocalyptic.

Schumer calls for up to $25,000 in ‘heroes’ pay for coronavirus workers

Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling for up to $25,000 in “heroes” pay for front-line health care and service industry workers as Congress pushes ahead with a new coronavirus crisis rescue package.

* * * *

Nurses, truck drivers, grocery store clerks and others are “risking their lives” to care for Americans amid the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown, he said.

Ludicrous on the face, of course, but so was the $1000 checks or whatever we’re supposed to be getting to mail back to the government.

Oppose it, and you hate these workers, hey?

No word on politicos who are sheltering in front of microphones get “heroes” pay for continuing to not keep their social distance from news microphones. Heaven knows they count themselves amongst the heroes for voting to shovel Monopoly money into the wind.

Bigger corporations would be expected to foot the bill for the pay hike, he said, while the federal government would provide funding for smaller firms.

Oh, I see: Prices are going up. And you’re all fired.

Yeah, I see who cares about the working man. Not all heroes work on Capitol Hill, but those that do wear Ds.

On the other hand, I wonder how corporations will enjoy the double-whammy of lawsuits and additional expenses they’re voluntold by Democrats in Washington.

This just in: I opted to click Refresh like the fool I am.

I have speculated, apparently elsewhere, that early bits of preparation for coronavirus, including actions that retailers and businesses took before Official Middle Class Stay At Home/Close Your Shop/Actual Workers, Keep Doing What You’re Doing orders came out was to protect the companies against lawsuits which would inevitably come in the 21st century for those businesses and entities who were the last to take extreme action.

Welp.

Walmart sued over coronavirus death by family of deceased employee

It won’t be the last.

Perhaps the title is a little too certain, but this is the Internet, and the drive for clicks supersedes the drive for truth.

I don’t want to go all Bill Gertz here (I reviewed his book Treachery in 2005 and followed some of his columns in the Washington Post back in the day; he was/is quite the, erm, cautionary voice on China), but the plan after the Coronication is to decouple economically from a face-saving nation whose regime will be under the threat of losing the Mandate of Heaven, who faces uncertain demographics and dramatic, bad economic outlook but has a really big military, right?

So I would like to think that the Top Men are seriously thinking about what that might involve.

But, to be honest, I’m not very impressed with the Top Men and Women at this point.

UPDATE: As seen on Ace of Spades HQ later this morning, a story from the Washington Times but not Bill Gertz: Semper Modify: Marine Corps to undergo ‘radical’ overhaul in pivot to take on China.

But:

Pentagon officials argue that China’s rapidly improving military capabilities make the prospect of a traditional Iwo Jima-type shore landing exceedingly unlikely, and the Corps instead will shift its resources toward becoming a “stand-in” force that can operate within enemy range rather than fighting its way into theater from the sea.

So the Top Men are not planning a battle to liberate Taiwan is what you’re saying.

Top. Men. (And. Women.)

A nonprofit CEO writes in this week’s Marshfield Mail:

Unfortunately, it’s not online currently unless you want to pay a buck to get into the digital issue.

But it’s a false dilemma.

The actual article shares the anecdote of the guys who bought the 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and marked it up before Amazon put the kabosh on their entrepreneurial spirit and then goes on to tell people how you can help during this crisis.

As you know, gentle reader, I like to lay a couple things up. Which means I have a couple weeks (months, if rationed carefully) of canned goods at any given time. Because it’s only been a little over a decade since this region shut down for a week or so due to an ice storm (which was before we got here). And it just seems wise.

So does that make me a hoarder? I don’t expect to make money off selling my canned goods at some future date; as a matter of fact, I tend to rotate them out and donate them to the local food pantry as they come upon their “Best Buy Some More” date–which, as you know, is not when the food within goes bad but when it’s no longer at its peak of profitability or something.

The local food pantry has some guidelines for items past their date, so when the occasional can or case turns up that’s six months past the date stamped on the can, we give them to some of our friends who have a really large family and are not afraid to take canned goods out of season.

So we’ve laid up supplies and we’re helpers.

I dunno. I like to think I do my part. I could probably do more. But I take umbrage when someone whose paying job is to tell me that I am not doing enough tells me I am not doing enough.

So the county has implemented a stay at home order:

Leaders ask you to stay at home unless you are considered an essential employee, shopping for essential services for goods or exercising outside.

I’ve read the whole order which is a PDF which I cannot swipe and paste, so pardon me for embedding screenshots instead of text.

Here’s the order:

Sounds grim. You can only go to an essential business for essential activities.

Essential activities are:

Basically, you can only go to essential businesses if you need their goods or services.

What are essential businesses?

Grocery stores, liquor stores, pharmacies, auto garages, construction/home repair, taxis/people movers, laundromats, Lowes, banks, hotels, call centers, doctor’s offices, and vet’s offices.

You know, it might have been clearer if they said what should close.

Which is apparently schools, gyms, martial arts schools, and ABC Books.

So it’s not exactly martial law.

It is a sad commentary, though, at how few places I go that are not essential.

As I was at a doctor’s office today discussing it with the non-doctor person who was setting me up, basically this means you can go about your business, but you should probably not go about it today as everyone takes care of their essential business before the essential businesses don’t exactly close.

“Brian J., does that mean you’re going out every day?” you might ask. You know what I ask, gentle reader? Why are your questions sometimes in italics and sometimes in quotation marks. Don’t you have a style guide? But my answer to your question is of course not. We will run out once or twice a week for essentials, that is, perishables and booze and to tend to whatever my mother-in-law needs. But we’re not going to panic.

US Army eyes robot tanks with AI.

The old Activision game Robot Tank for the Atari 2600 is built exactly on this scenario: Robot tanks run amok, and you must operate essentially a drone tank to take them out.

If anyone needs me, I will be in the living room sharpening up my skills.

Why, yes, I do have an Atari 2600 in the living room. What a silly question!

(Link via Instapundit.)

Received in the mail today: The Springfield Business Journal Today in Business newsletter:

A missing image marker. What an apt metaphor for these days of “If you like your business, you can keep your business if you can keep your business when people are prohibited from using it.”

Full disclosure: I actually have my email client set to block images, so I never see the images, metaphor-made-for-blog-content or not.

The New York Post‘s front page offered this juxtaposition:

Is the market up? Is the market down? Yes.

Truly, the Internet is a first rate intelligence.

The story Someone Modified A Drone So That It Looks like Snoopy Flying Around On Top Of His Doghouse begins:

One of the most memorable scenes from The Peanuts Movie (2015) was where Snoopy imagines himself riding his flying doghouse in his quest to take down the Red Baron. Now you can have the chance to see this iconic scene in real life with this flying Snoopy doghouse. It features the figure of Snoopy sitting on top of his red doghouse. But the most amazing thing is, it actually flies.

The source, you see, is a five-year-old movie for kids. Not the comic strip that began in 1950. That’s when the Boomers were babies, man. Ancient history with Romans and stuff.

Nobody tell this kid about the 1966 Royal Kingsmen song.

I own the original single as my mother was of single-buying age in 1966.

(Link via Instapundit which only seems to be the only site on the Internet that I read.)

Bragging rights fall to Mrs. Steinman as she bested her husband’s vote total in the Democrat Primary for President this year:

It’s not the first time they’ve run against each other. And, near as I can tell, Leonard has run as a Republican, a Libertarian, and a Democrat at various times and in various races whereas Velma has kept it Democrat.

A public health poster you can print out and hang in your workplace:

I’m familiar with John Cage’s 4’33”, but I’ve never heard it.

Also, the question is why are so many businesses closing at the mere thought of coronovirus?

Because lawyers. Couple on Grand Princess cruise sues for over $1 million:

A Florida couple on board the coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess cruise ship that has begun to disembark passengers off the California coast is suing the ship’s operator for more than $1 million — claiming the company lacked proper screening protocols to protect them from the deadly bug.

Meanwhile, a pair pilloried in St. Louis for breaking quarantine to, you know, live their lives, have also lawyered up for the eventual lawsuits against them:

Family members of the 20-year-old Ladue woman who tested positive for coronavirus were not told to quarantine themselves, according to their attorney.

In a timeline of events, attorney Neil Bruntrager outlined several calls and texts between the woman’s mother and the St. Louis County health department from Thursday, when the woman first experienced symptoms, to Saturday, when county officials announced the positive test results at a news conference.

Good to know some sectors of the economy will do just fine.

Well, not a news update; I’m only scanning the headlines of the stories of the virus as I don’t think I’ll get much information from the Internet about it now. I don’t even trust actual “authorities.” I have to assume I’ll get it at some point and will likely recover.

However, I did visit Sam’s Club this morning and laid in a couple extra boxes of frozen meals and whatnot for us if we’re under quarantine of some sort. I mean, I have beans and soup to last a little while, but about a week into it, I am sure my family will be very sick of beans and soup. So we’ve got frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets to supplement the pasta and jarred sauce.

I mentioned on Facebook:

Media coverage of the current coronavirus won’t hit its stride until it breathlessly reports people in quarantine eating each other.

I’ve seen a lot of people comparing media coverage of the current infection to the Swine Flu of 2009-2010 (see Lileks today) and making the point that the difference in political parties in power and presidents explain the difference in coverage, and this is probably true. However, consider that today’s journalist was in middle school and doesn’t really remember 2009-2010 except in terms of middle school concerns about what brands they’re wearing and whether Abby likes you.

So keep calm and carry on.

UPDATE:I guess I should have checked the New York Post first. I see we’re getting closer. People fighting over ‘rotten’ food on coronavirus-stricken Grand Princess cruise: passenger.