Upsides and Downsides
1) I went to the supermarket today and there was a notable difference from only a week ago. They were out of their usual hand sanitizer and wipes at the entrance and had a spray bottle one could use for the carts. My assumption that reduced hours were so that staff could work unencumbered stocking shelves was apparently not true. There were fewer people there than there usually would be on a weekday morning, but there were almost as many employees restocking as people shopping. When I first walked in, a man was walking out with a cart stuffed with soda cans.
Their preventative measures played out in no longer offering deli case service. There were signs about shortages of some items such as water bottles and hand soap. I was planning to pick up some Irish Spring body wash because Mike likes it and it's on sale but there was none on the shelves. When I went to get some tissues (also picked through) I remembered that the store had, some years ago, started what I call "the men's section" in that aisle. Right across from tissues and down the row from toilet paper and paper towels was a small section of soap and grooming products which seemed clearly stocked for men. And they did have the Irish Spring. Also, apparently a lot of people have yet to realize that cheap shampoo works even better than liquid soap.
There were some expected shortages. I wasn't looking for toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and many of the usuals because we were already well stocked at home. Nothing I wanted was out of stock, though there had been a raid on frozen vegetables so I picked up a few extra bags. But then we usually only eat out once a week anyway, so the house is usually stocked for several weeks worth of meals. Now we probably have a month's worth.
When I was getting some fish there was no one at the counter and I noticed that the meat section there was empty. (I suspect it was deliberate though, to reduce employee time.) Eventually a butcher in the back saw me standing there and came out. I chatted with him a bit, saying I expected it was a very busy time for them and he agreed, though he said at least he still had a job. I agreed that he was working at one of the few places in town guaranteed to stay open. He said he told himself he was on the front lines when he got tired and I told him the customers were glad of his service.
Mike has now gotten word that the rest of the semester is going to be taught online and all labs and other elements that must be done in person will be added to the end of the semester for those expecting to graduate (and possibly next semester for those who aren't). So his May is sure going to be busy.
He spent the entire afternoon at his department yesterday, meeting with other people. Ironically half of that time was spent on an online meeting with other program educators elsewhere, discussing how they were going to deal with course requirements. Apparently only one passcode was given out per program, so he and his director had to go in and take part in person because she wanted him there. I thought that was nuts. One plus of this though is that both of them cleared out the department refrigerator of items used for courses, so free groceries!
He had a call and three emails to deal with yesterday morning alone regarding fieldwork, which is also being cancelled at one location after another. So I expect any kind of break he might get is going to be next week and not this one.
2) After hearing one bad news item after another I thought I'd mention a few things that have been pluses this past week
a) I guess people have more time to read online because I got some great comments on the concert reviews I posted as part of
marchmetamatterschallenge. I have made a dozen posts there now of previously unposted content. Some of my content on Pillowfort seems to be getting more response as well.
b) Although the late night shows are now off the air, watching the non-audience version of Colbert and Samantha Bee's shows was fun. Stephen in particular was treating the show as a dress rehearsal and it felt like a treat to see the less formal version of his show.
c) I noticed this within minutes of grocery shopping yesterday -- men now get out of my way when I approach.
d) I'm hearing from people who are not always in touch.
e) Mike is home more now. Still busy, but it's nice to have the company. I guess we'll see how long that lasts!
f) Also, we were able to take a half walk together in the middle of the day. We had to return to the apartment because Mike had forgotten our mailbox key. Then he got an email he had to answer and that was that. I went out for another round by myself, but at least we were able to take advantage of the sun and only mildly chilly day.
g) There's less discussion of politics? I'd actually forgotten yesterday was the primary in our state (though Mike and I had already voted) until I turned on the news as I was getting dinner ready. This could also be considered a bad thing if there are fewer voters overall, but given that the Democratic primary is close to decided at this point, I don't know that the results would be that different.
h) I can't say I've felt this yet personally because my own schedule has not really changed, nor do we have a busy household generally. But I was interested to see a local post about how someone's home had basically come to a stop. Instead of constant rushing around and a schedule crammed full of obligations, her family was at a standstill, everyone at home and having to figure out how to spend time together. Assuming Mike's work slows at all, maybe we'll get to enjoy that too.
i) Temporary shortages at local food marts mean people may start trying new things, new retail outlets, or new ways of doing things. For example, different places around the country have been having shortages of meats and other particular foods. A local blog was reminding people of all the standalone shops, including international foods, that are still open and well stocked. Someone was complaining that the grocery didn't have X ingredient so they had to try Y -- which coincidentally was a healthier option.
Our local supermarkets have also stated they're setting aside their earliest opening hours for the elderly or immune compromised customers. I'm not sure how they plan to enforce that, and it seems rather obvious that 6-7 AM is going to be less busy regardless.
j) It could also be a really good time to get people re-using instead of discarding things. One thing I sure hope is that all those empty buildings are set at a more environmentally friendly temperature and lights and unneeded equipment are off instead of, as Mike's building constantly seems to be, overly cold or warm with lights blazing 24 hours a day. Along with the steep decline in travel, this could be a good short term conservation effort.
I guess we should also hope for rain. Keeps people indoors and also helps clean those public spaces.
3) I've had several of these start following me, so I was glad that DW made a post about what are apparently hacked accounts. The tip to use different passwords is very on point and I heartily second a password manager to make life easier.
UPDATE: This seems to be related to people who use the same passwords at LJ and DW. We're recommended to:
* Check your current email address, and change it if you can't get mail there.
* Change your Dreamwidth password if you've ever used it anywhere else, or aren't sure if you have or not.
* Share these steps with your friends who aren't subscribed to dw_news or don't receive emails when we post a new dw_news post, and ask them to do the same.
4) My main comment to this article about the pluses of social media when it comes to public safety is that I have a pretty simple answer to "don't ask me why the Washington Post put this story in their "Lifestyle" section."
5) Apparently my assumption that the majority of podcasters recorded at home is incorrect? Why would this info not already be out there?
View poll: Kudos Footer-144
Comments at Dreamwidth
.
Their preventative measures played out in no longer offering deli case service. There were signs about shortages of some items such as water bottles and hand soap. I was planning to pick up some Irish Spring body wash because Mike likes it and it's on sale but there was none on the shelves. When I went to get some tissues (also picked through) I remembered that the store had, some years ago, started what I call "the men's section" in that aisle. Right across from tissues and down the row from toilet paper and paper towels was a small section of soap and grooming products which seemed clearly stocked for men. And they did have the Irish Spring. Also, apparently a lot of people have yet to realize that cheap shampoo works even better than liquid soap.
There were some expected shortages. I wasn't looking for toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and many of the usuals because we were already well stocked at home. Nothing I wanted was out of stock, though there had been a raid on frozen vegetables so I picked up a few extra bags. But then we usually only eat out once a week anyway, so the house is usually stocked for several weeks worth of meals. Now we probably have a month's worth.
When I was getting some fish there was no one at the counter and I noticed that the meat section there was empty. (I suspect it was deliberate though, to reduce employee time.) Eventually a butcher in the back saw me standing there and came out. I chatted with him a bit, saying I expected it was a very busy time for them and he agreed, though he said at least he still had a job. I agreed that he was working at one of the few places in town guaranteed to stay open. He said he told himself he was on the front lines when he got tired and I told him the customers were glad of his service.
Mike has now gotten word that the rest of the semester is going to be taught online and all labs and other elements that must be done in person will be added to the end of the semester for those expecting to graduate (and possibly next semester for those who aren't). So his May is sure going to be busy.
He spent the entire afternoon at his department yesterday, meeting with other people. Ironically half of that time was spent on an online meeting with other program educators elsewhere, discussing how they were going to deal with course requirements. Apparently only one passcode was given out per program, so he and his director had to go in and take part in person because she wanted him there. I thought that was nuts. One plus of this though is that both of them cleared out the department refrigerator of items used for courses, so free groceries!
He had a call and three emails to deal with yesterday morning alone regarding fieldwork, which is also being cancelled at one location after another. So I expect any kind of break he might get is going to be next week and not this one.
2) After hearing one bad news item after another I thought I'd mention a few things that have been pluses this past week
a) I guess people have more time to read online because I got some great comments on the concert reviews I posted as part of
marchmetamatterschallenge. I have made a dozen posts there now of previously unposted content. Some of my content on Pillowfort seems to be getting more response as well.
b) Although the late night shows are now off the air, watching the non-audience version of Colbert and Samantha Bee's shows was fun. Stephen in particular was treating the show as a dress rehearsal and it felt like a treat to see the less formal version of his show.
c) I noticed this within minutes of grocery shopping yesterday -- men now get out of my way when I approach.
d) I'm hearing from people who are not always in touch.
e) Mike is home more now. Still busy, but it's nice to have the company. I guess we'll see how long that lasts!
f) Also, we were able to take a half walk together in the middle of the day. We had to return to the apartment because Mike had forgotten our mailbox key. Then he got an email he had to answer and that was that. I went out for another round by myself, but at least we were able to take advantage of the sun and only mildly chilly day.
g) There's less discussion of politics? I'd actually forgotten yesterday was the primary in our state (though Mike and I had already voted) until I turned on the news as I was getting dinner ready. This could also be considered a bad thing if there are fewer voters overall, but given that the Democratic primary is close to decided at this point, I don't know that the results would be that different.
h) I can't say I've felt this yet personally because my own schedule has not really changed, nor do we have a busy household generally. But I was interested to see a local post about how someone's home had basically come to a stop. Instead of constant rushing around and a schedule crammed full of obligations, her family was at a standstill, everyone at home and having to figure out how to spend time together. Assuming Mike's work slows at all, maybe we'll get to enjoy that too.
i) Temporary shortages at local food marts mean people may start trying new things, new retail outlets, or new ways of doing things. For example, different places around the country have been having shortages of meats and other particular foods. A local blog was reminding people of all the standalone shops, including international foods, that are still open and well stocked. Someone was complaining that the grocery didn't have X ingredient so they had to try Y -- which coincidentally was a healthier option.
Our local supermarkets have also stated they're setting aside their earliest opening hours for the elderly or immune compromised customers. I'm not sure how they plan to enforce that, and it seems rather obvious that 6-7 AM is going to be less busy regardless.
j) It could also be a really good time to get people re-using instead of discarding things. One thing I sure hope is that all those empty buildings are set at a more environmentally friendly temperature and lights and unneeded equipment are off instead of, as Mike's building constantly seems to be, overly cold or warm with lights blazing 24 hours a day. Along with the steep decline in travel, this could be a good short term conservation effort.
I guess we should also hope for rain. Keeps people indoors and also helps clean those public spaces.
3) I've had several of these start following me, so I was glad that DW made a post about what are apparently hacked accounts. The tip to use different passwords is very on point and I heartily second a password manager to make life easier.
UPDATE: This seems to be related to people who use the same passwords at LJ and DW. We're recommended to:
* Check your current email address, and change it if you can't get mail there.
* Change your Dreamwidth password if you've ever used it anywhere else, or aren't sure if you have or not.
* Share these steps with your friends who aren't subscribed to dw_news or don't receive emails when we post a new dw_news post, and ask them to do the same.
4) My main comment to this article about the pluses of social media when it comes to public safety is that I have a pretty simple answer to "don't ask me why the Washington Post put this story in their "Lifestyle" section."
5) Apparently my assumption that the majority of podcasters recorded at home is incorrect? Why would this info not already be out there?
View poll: Kudos Footer-144
Comments at Dreamwidth
.