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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

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Optimism opens the door to great things.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Infrastructure week. at last.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Bark louder, little dog.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Consistently wrong since 2002

Republicans in disarray!

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

No one could have predicted…

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Social Distancing

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Social Distancing

by Anne Laurie|  March 17, 20205:02 pm| 99 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome

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SOCIAL DISTANCING: pic.twitter.com/c19BFyiGNL

— emily blincoe (@emilyblincoe) March 17, 2020

That’s me right there, but not everybody is as mentally prepared for the current situation:

Quarantine day 6pic.twitter.com/sGShtQSsXI

— Akki (@akkitwts) March 17, 2020

“How’s nationwide self-quarantine going?” pic.twitter.com/oP7sdQiUPA

— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) March 14, 2020

It's quarantine day 6 and you can't go to the gym

pic.twitter.com/R5C8DH1e33

— Akki (@akkitwts) March 17, 2020

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Previous Post: « Today in Curve Bending
Next Post: Much Needed Respite: Viral Humor Much Needed Respite: Viral Humor 3»

Reader Interactions

99Comments

  1. 1.

    RobertDSC-iPhone 8

    March 17, 2020 at 5:09 pm

    One of my teammates is in the 6-county shelter in place order for the Frisco area. We were talking about it over the mic as we played our PS4 game.

    I have another teammate outside Toronto who has neighbors self-isolating voluntarily.

    My company’s executing an emergency shut down here in LA. My group is deemed essential but saying “see you when I see you” to people who are being sent home is worrying. There are people I used to see every day who are working from home.

    One at a time. That’s all I can do.

  2. 2.

    Geoduck

    March 17, 2020 at 5:11 pm

    Now, of all times, the city had to shut off the water supply to my dwelling to fix a leak. OK, fine, it was only for a couple of hours, and they sent a large crew to work on the problem but still…

    As for the broader picture, I was already an antisocial hermit, so my life has just contracted some more.

  3. 3.

    FelonyGovt

    March 17, 2020 at 5:12 pm

    My husband and I, both over 65, are self-isolating (although we do go out for walks in our quiet neighborhood). Our adult daughter, who lives with us, is going to be working from home starting tomorrow. Sounds like an awful lot of togetherness.

  4. 4.

    chris

    March 17, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    There was a tylenol/acetominephen discussion in the previous thread. From the British Medical Journal:

    Scientists and senior doctors have backed claims by France’s health minister that people showing symptoms of covid-19 should use paracetamol (acetaminophen) rather than ibuprofen, a drug they said might exacerbate the condition.

  5. 5.

    Jeffro

    March 17, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    LOL at the guy with the homemade “treadmill”

    Although I sure hope folks are careful while getting creative around the house like this.  Last thing anyone needs is an uptick in ER visits this month and next…

  6. 6.

    JPL

    March 17, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    GA Aquarium webcams are live.    linkhttps://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    March 17, 2020 at 5:16 pm

    We’re sending as many people as we possibly can to work from home. Essential on-site operations are going to be at a bare minimum and with protocols to minimize “two people in one room” contacts. It’s still a transitional process (I’m on campus today, but it’s noticeably depopulated compared to yesterday, which was already almost a ghost town). We’re getting there.

    Silver lining: Hey, no line at the cafeteria for lunch!

  8. 8.

    LuciaMia

    March 17, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    LOVE the homemade treadmill. I guess we’re all gonna have to get a little MacGyver-ish these days.

  9. 9.

    HumboldtBlue

    March 17, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    Cesc Fabregas plays midfield for Monaco and in the spirit of people gathering on balconies during the isolation he took to this and dubbed it with a classic Eddie Murphy movie line.

    Elsewhere, the work to address the virus continues. Hopefully, some of the experts here can distill some of this info for we dullards.

  10. 10.

    dmsilev

    March 17, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    LA County (and I think the whole state):

    Officials also announced a moratorium on all no-fault residential and commercial evictions, starting retroactively on March 4 and lasting until May 31. Tenants will have six months after the end of the emergency proclamation to pay for lost rent, Sup. Hilda Solis said.

    Smart move. That will help a lot of people and small businesses.

  11. 11.

    chris

    March 17, 2020 at 5:23 pm

    Quarantined with cats, gotta entertain the troops.

  12. 12.

    Barbara

    March 17, 2020 at 5:24 pm

    My gym is offering customers a library of video workouts that can be streamed.  I did one today.  I felt so much better, although the feeling was fleeting.  We don’t use machines, just free weights and a few other props that you can improvise or don’t really need.

  13. 13.

    gene108

    March 17, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    I need to venture out of the house to get a prescription, and some groceries.

    I don’t want to

    I am enjoying being a shut-int

  14. 14.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    (Dredged up from downstairs.)

    Okay, got the (overpriced) United wi-fi working, so I’m set. The Prosecco is flowing, and the pilot is drivin’ it like he stole it (h/t Silverman). He just said we should hit IAD about 8:50 EDT, well ahead of the scheduled 9:20.

    This is shaping up like a regular Tuesday night, except no housecat sideboard and I’m wearing tactical gear (pants!).

  15. 15.

    HRA

    March 17, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    This is the third week of my being home. It is too cold to go out on the deck and we get days of rain mixed with days of barely covering the ground snow. I describe myself as retired and very busy if I am not sitting at my desktop.

    Tomorrow I will have to to the drugstore that is usually never crowded and a quick run into Marshalls for coffee, olive oil and dog treats. I will do my best to not be near too many people.

    We have 11 cases here of the virus reported. Three in their 30s have died. One current case is from my area.

  16. 16.

    Immanentize

    March 17, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    My son is very excited that Yang’s UBI won the day!

  17. 17.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 17, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    Jeanine Pirro, who claimed the virus was a hoax, now says "It's not a time for finger-pointing", adding, "I'd rather put on a tight dress, climb on my desk and shimmy that virus right back where it came from! Because you can't quarantine Jeanine – I'm a Fox News nutjob machine!" pic.twitter.com/BPjoKpZDbR— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) March 17, 2020

    In all seriousness, her corpse will still be shithouse nuts.

  18. 18.

    Punchy

    March 17, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    So the GOP is going to back one of most socialist actions possible — direct cash to all Americans, regardless of merit, work status, race, or religion?  And no major pundit is going to call them out on this most absurd and extreme flip-flops in party policy and ideological tenets ever?  They can just pretend that helping the poors was their goal all along, and nobody is going to call a loud and angry bullshit??

    If a Dem suggested this, the run on fainting couches in DC would be a very close second only to the run on bathroom tissue.  Incredible that they can seemingly get by with this and every Fox News pundit can just pretend that this act of free monies to everyone is good, old-fashioned conservatism…..

  19. 19.

    lamh36

    March 17, 2020 at 5:29 pm

    No surprise certain folks on twitter misrepresenting what Kamala Harris proposed, it was $500 A MONTH…not just the one $1000 lump sum being pushed by GOPers like Romney.

     

    Seems to me $500 a month is better than one taxed lump sum,

  20. 20.

    lamh36

    March 17, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    Lordt… remind me next time I sy I’m ordering from Whole Foods, that I said I’ll never do it again.

    No sweet potatoes are NOT a good substitute for regular russet potatoes.

    If you didn’t have my Fiji Water, 2 liters of Mineral water is NOT the same damn thing.

    SMH…never again!

  21. 21.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 17, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    @Punchy:

    So the GOP is going to back one of most socialist actions possible — direct cash to all Americans, regardless of merit, work status, race, or religion?  And no major pundit is going to call them out on this most absurd and extreme flip-flops in party policy and ideological tenets ever? 

    Nope.  Not even a peep from Trump Trash News (Fox).

  22. 22.

    MattF

    March 17, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    @chris: Derek Lowe has a post about the coronavirus-angiotensin connection, and there’s a link in the comments on the post about the further connection to ibuprofen. Suffice it to say that it’s complicated.

  23. 23.

    MattF

    March 17, 2020 at 5:32 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: Amazeballs.

  24. 24.

    piratedan

    March 17, 2020 at 5:33 pm

    @lamh36: agreed, this has the possibility of turning into Gilligan’s Island, National Edition if not enough folks take this seriously… and it seems like a majority do, but those that don’t.. well they are rather flamboyant in taunting the karma deities.

  25. 25.

    Another Scott

    March 17, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi): Have a good flight.  NoVA is still here!  So far…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  26. 26.

    Cacti

    March 17, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    Did the Soviet Union refer to their country being a large open air prison as “self-isolating”?

    It has a nice Orwellian ring to it.

  27. 27.

    PenAndKey

    March 17, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    Well, shit. I just found out that my wife and crew are wrapping up operations for the next two days and then they’re all out of a job. No word yet if it’s a temporary measure because of the Wisconsin ban on getherings or not, and this comes a month before she was scheduled to go on maternity leave. We absolutely did not need that news right now.

    If you need me I’ll probably be playing games on my computer so I don’t freak out over our finances and have a nervous breakdown today.

  28. 28.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 17, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    How is The The USA Today Democratic primary site not updated?  Are they taking a break before Biden’s blowout tonight?

  29. 29.

    Sure Lurkalot

    March 17, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    @Barbara: That’s wonderful. I’ve done video fitness for like 25 years! It’s not for everyone and there’s the outlay for weights, bands, platform, DVD or stream, etc., but it really is a nice habit in times like these.

  30. 30.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 17, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    @Cacti: Ask Comrade Rex.

  31. 31.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 17, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    Going alright. I didn’t go outside too much anyway, lol, but my husband did, so he’s going a little stir crazy I guess. Early days, we shall see. We have lots of books and video games and streaming services!

  32. 32.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    @HRA:

    Where is here?

  33. 33.

    Another Scott

    March 17, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    @PenAndKey: Hang in there.  You and your family will get through this.  One day at a time.

    Keep us informed.  Best wishes!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  34. 34.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    March 17, 2020 at 5:40 pm

    I worry about my son who can’t work from home because most of his work is classified. They’re a defense contractor, so every hour has to be billed somewhere, meaning they can’t just say stay home if you need to. The best they offer is use your personal days, ie your vacation and sick days.

  35. 35.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 5:42 pm

    Oops, forgot I can’t stream video. Sorry, United wi-fi gremlin.

  36. 36.

    sdhays

    March 17, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: That was one of the worst things about being a federal contractor. I don’t want to go back.

  37. 37.

    Brachiator

    March 17, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Officials also announced a moratorium on all no-fault residential and commercial evictions, starting retroactively on March 4 and lasting until May 31. Tenants will have six months after the end of the emergency proclamation to pay for lost rent, Sup. Hilda Solis said.

    Apparently just county wide for now.  But, as you say, a good move.

    ETA: your note also helped me find an office site for LA County news related to the virus.

    Thanks

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    March 17, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    @PenAndKey: I’m sorry.  Is your wife on your insurance?

  39. 39.

    Tony Jay

    March 17, 2020 at 5:48 pm

    @Punchy:

    No, see, it’s easy.

    Democrats wanted this, right? So if Republicans do it Democrats should say thank you and shut up, or else they’re guilty of hypocrisy and/or playing politics, in which case they should be ignored. By adopting a Democratic priority Republicans are proving how non-ideological and results oriented they are, while by complaining Democrats are showing the world they’re just a bunch of partisan whiners who are never happy unless they’re unhappy about something.

    It’s a bonkers place, the mind of a high-end political pundit, but it makes sense to them…. and their accountants.

  40. 40.

    zhena gogolia

    March 17, 2020 at 5:49 pm

    So I thought I was ahead of the game, and early on the CDC said use ibuprofen. So I got a bunch. I have no idea if there’s any Tylenol in the house. I think not but I’m afraid to look.

  41. 41.

    zhena gogolia

    March 17, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    @PenAndKey:

    I’m sorry. This whole thing is so upsetting.

  42. 42.

    chris

    March 17, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    @MattF: Thanks. I can’t take aspirin or acetominephine and I guess I’ll pass on the ibu too. Not that I’ve ever taken it for a fever before but…

  43. 43.

    zhena gogolia

    March 17, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    I think Paul Rudnick made that up.

  44. 44.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 17, 2020 at 5:52 pm

    @PenAndKey: Ugh, oh no. So sorry to hear… hopefully some decent stimulus and stuff comes down the pike soon.

  45. 45.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 17, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi):

     I’m wearing tactical gear

    Baud does not approve of this.

  46. 46.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 17, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    Just got an email from The Huntington, they’re shutting down until April 14.

  47. 47.

    Mary G

    March 17, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    @lamh36: If you use Instacart it’s important that you use the option to choose replacements. The first time I ordered cherries on sale and got expensive cherry tomatoes NOT on sale taught me that!

    ETA had to add the not

  48. 48.

    Frankensteinbeck

    March 17, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    It’s a bonkers place, the mind of a high-end political pundit

    I think it’s even simpler than that.  Republicans are the Daddy Party.  They’re the mature, rational adults who know that tough love is the only thing that works.  Democrats are soft, emotional, goofy idealists who don’t understand the real world.  If Republicans decide to give away money to the poor, why, you know it was necessary and the right thing to do.

    It’s the logic of abusers, it’s how most of the national press views the world, and like all abusive relationships the Democrats cannot win.  Heads Republicans get the credit, Tails Democrats get the blame.

  49. 49.

    lamh36

    March 17, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    @Mary G: I actually had signed up for them to message me before substituting, but it’s been busy in the lab of late, and I actually forgot I was getting a delivery today.  I actully put the order in on Saturday, but today was the first delivery date available.

     

    I’ve got a pickup order at SAMS tomorrow that I hope will be better, but still…

  50. 50.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 17, 2020 at 6:06 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I know.  But my point of her corpse still being nuts stands.

  51. 51.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 17, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The airline approves!

  52. 52.

    HRA

    March 17, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi):

    WNY in a suburb near Buffalo is where I live.

  53. 53.

    PenAndKey

    March 17, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    @WaterGirl: She is, thankfully. She has been ever since Toys R US was murdered and she lost her longtime retail management level job there. Unfortunately her current boss is in the ever sacred “too small for employees to have human rights” business category so she has no insurance or benefits and we’ve been treating the start of her maternity leave as the end of her job. This just comes a month earlier than we had planned, so I haven’t told her yet but it likely means she will need to cut her “leave” period in half unless we’re going to triage our bills.

    Just… Uggg.

  54. 54.

    Elizabelle

    March 17, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: 

    Our botanical garden in Richmond VA shut down Saturday. Went that day and stayed until closing. Thinking we were going to miss a month (plus) of glorious early spring in bloom. Ah well.

  55. 55.

    LuciaMia

    March 17, 2020 at 6:12 pm

    IRS announced the tax deadline pushed ahead 90 days

  56. 56.

    Ohio Mom

    March 17, 2020 at 6:12 pm

    PenandKey: Rats on the layoff but what exciting news about the baby on its way! Please keep us posted.

    I’d be tempted to make sure to buy a newspaper on the big day so when PandK Jr. is older, he/she can marvel at the chaos that greeted him/her.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    @Another Scott:

    How are the grocery stores? I need to do disaster foraging tomorrow.

  58. 58.

    Brachiator

    March 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    @Punchy:

    So the GOP is going to back one of most socialist actions possible — direct cash to all Americans, regardless of merit, work status, race, or religion?  And no major pundit is going to call them out on this most absurd and extreme flip-flops in party policy and ideological tenets ever?

    It is indeed amazing.  And the hypocrisy is also amazing. But I read crap that the GOP controlled Senate is going to take charge in writing their version of the bill.  They could still fuck things up big time.

    They can just pretend that helping the poors was their goal all along, and nobody is going to call a loud and angry bullshit??

    But isn’t the point to help a lot of people, not just poor people? And the poorest, the homeless likely will not get anything because they are not on the tax rolls.

    Also coming out of this thing is an apparent extension of the tax filing deadline, likely to be more important to people with a balance due. From the LA Times:

    Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Tuesday that his department was pushing back the April 15 deadline to pay taxes owed, giving individuals and many businesses 90 extra days to send checks to the government.

    Individuals can defer up to $1 million of tax liability and corporations get an extension on up to $10 million, Mnuchin said.

    “All you have to do is file your taxes,” he said. “You’ll automatically not get charged interest and penalties.”

    Wild timess.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    March 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    @LuciaMia:

    Ah, that’s good. We’re gonna owe, now we don’t need to hurry and find out how much.

  60. 60.

    MisterForkbeard

    March 17, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    This doesn’t belong in the Respite thread, but my wife and I had a discussion today where we realized that after we moved to our new town neither of us got a new Primary Care Provider. We’re still technically signed up with our old doctor 90 minutes away, and just haven’t needed medical attention over the past few years.

    Not sure what to do about it now. Call local doctors, see if we can sign up and send them our documentation in case we have issues later?

  61. 61.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 17, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    @Elizabelle: I went a few weeks ago, the camellias were in bloom.  I was going to go last Wed. but I’ve been trying to self isolate as much as possible.

  62. 62.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    @HRA:

    Thanks. Always helps to get a rough idea of where “here” is.

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    March 17, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    @PenAndKey: at least you’re insured.  whew!

  64. 64.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 6:16 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Compromises must be made in these troubled times.

  65. 65.

    Ohio Mom

    March 17, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    HRA: I went to college in Buffalo and remember it snowing, but thankfully not sticking, in mid-May one year. All those clouds and all that chill has to make hunkering down harder.

  66. 66.

    MattF

    March 17, 2020 at 6:24 pm

    @LuciaMia: It looks to me like the tax filing deadline is still Apr. 15– but if you owe money, you don’t have to pay until 90 days later.

  67. 67.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    March 17, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    @Ohio Mom: We got snow in Seattle in mid-April my last year there.  While Seattle is pretty far north, it doesn’t snow all that much there.

  68. 68.

    Ohio Mom

    March 17, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    Mr. Forkbeard, if the worst god forbid happens and you end up in the hospital, the doctors there take over. I always think that’s weird — someone sees the same PCP for years, develops a nice working relationship, and then when a real medical emergency happens, the doctor is totally out of the loop.

    As for making an initial appointment now with someone, I wouldn’t bet on it. I had a trio of appointments over the next month and they’ve all been cancelled; doctors are not seeing anybody in the office right now.

  69. 69.

    Brachiator

    March 17, 2020 at 6:30 pm

    @MattF:

    It looks to me like the tax filing deadline is still Apr. 15– but if you owe money, you don’t have to pay until 90 days later.

    Yeah, the announcement is confusing, but essentially they are saying that the IRS will not assess interest or penalties.

    And technically, a late filing penalty could apply to people getting refunds.

    I have not seen an official IRS announcement yet.

  70. 70.

    FelonyGovt

    March 17, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: Is there an urgent care facility near you now? Alternatively, you could contact your doctor in your old location and see if there’s someone in your current area he or she could recommend.

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    @MattF:

    Paul Rudnick is a comedy account à la The Onion.

  72. 72.

    p.a.

    March 17, 2020 at 6:37 pm

    WV breaks the ice: 1st reported case?

  73. 73.

    MisterForkbeard

    March 17, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    @Ohio Mom: I think it’s more about having a doctor available that we can call for advice.

    That said, we are literally 1 block from the local hospital. I’m not worried about urgent care, more for questions about calling in or getting tested, etc.

    @FelonyGovt: Yeah, we’re very close to a couple of different urgent care clinics (including the ER at the local hospital). I’m not too worried about emergencies – more about having someone local we can call if we need advice or to ask about symptoms, etc. Having ANY kind of relationship with a local doctor would be nice there, even if it’s just “they have our medical history”

    Maybe i’m overthinking this.

  74. 74.

    Tony Jay

    March 17, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Its the same over here. Johnson is melting into a pasty goo of panicked bluster every time he goes in front of a camera to flannel about the ever so well thought out and not at all science-fiction based policies that his Government will be backtracking on within a day or two, and yet from the Media coverage you’d think everything was ticking along like clockwork.

    Am I surprised? Nope. They have made it very clear who and what they are. All we can do is work around them, because they are never going to change.

  75. 75.

    MattF

    March 17, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    @MisterForkbeard: No, I think you’re right. Lots of things can get messed up in a medical situation— you want someone on your side who has your records and an ‘MD’.

  76. 76.

    Duane

    March 17, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: We’re all Keynesians now.

  77. 77.

    mali muso

    March 17, 2020 at 6:54 pm

    Update for anyone who saw my panicked posts last night.  DH made it on the flight out of his hometown in Africa and the connecting flight from Istanbul to US was still on schedule today, so in the absence of any word from him (damned no int’l roaming phone), I am in expectation that his plane touches down within one hour.  The whole situation has been so crazy pants.

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    @mali muso:

    Good to hear. Relieved to be flying home myself.

  79. 79.

    mali muso

    March 17, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi): Yes, these uncertain travel times are certainly stressful.   Welcome back to VA.  You and DH may just pass one another in the baggage claim or parking at IAD. :)

  80. 80.

    Zelma

    March 17, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    I think the “let’s send everybody a $1000 check” ploy is simply and indication of how little those people understand about how most people live.  Minimum time of closure as far as I can tell is two weeks and maybe longer.  How much good is a single $1000 check going to do for people who are facing much grimmer losses.  And so many don’t have anything in reserve.

    We are screwed.  These people are idiots.

  81. 81.

    HumboldtBlue

    March 17, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    Video from a hospital in Bergamo, Italy is a good way to reinforce the importance of od social-distancing.

  82. 82.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Took a nice 2+ mile walk noonish. 2 people walking the other direction in the entire walk. It’s 55 outside. Not bad for sunny SoCal.

  83. 83.

    HumboldtBlue

    March 17, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    NEJM Aerosol and surface stability of the virus

    The news out of Iran it not good.

  84. 84.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 7:19 pm

    @mali muso:

    LOL. I’ll try not to cough on him!

  85. 85.

    HRA

    March 17, 2020 at 7:24 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    I remember it snowing in May on Mothers Day. The vest of having snow besides snow sports is a relief from the pollen that brings on attacks for asthmatics and sinus problems for others. I went to the University of Buffalo and went longer working in a state job there for the libraries.

  86. 86.

    Another Scott

    March 17, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    @Tony Jay: Our favo(u)rite BBC News reporter was on my TV this evening, telling us oh so seriously about how BoJo and the UK government was burning the midnight oil to save the population and the economy.

    It looks like it was first announced as being in the UK on January 31.

    :-/

    Best of luck to you and your compatriots, and to us all…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  87. 87.

    WaterGirl

    March 17, 2020 at 7:42 pm

    @mali muso: I just heaved a sigh of relief reading that.  And I don’t know you, let alone your husband.

    Cause for celebration!

  88. 88.

    mali muso

    March 17, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    @WaterGirl: Thank you!  It helped last night not being “alone” by having some virtual company here.  He’s just texted that he landed, and I burst into tears.  I’m not the crying sort, so I guess I was more stressed out than I’d realized.

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    @mali muso:

    I’m about to land myself! Way early. Can’t wait to get home.

  90. 90.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I’d call your old doc and see if they will give a referral. That is if you liked your old doc. They may know the area well enough to give you hints on similar or way not similar docs in your area. 90 minutes away isn’t that far away that they may know the better or the worst where you are…..

  91. 91.

    Sab

    March 17, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    @LuciaMia: Not quite accurate. You can pay later, but you still have to file on time ( or extend.)

  92. 92.

    Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi)

    March 17, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    Okay, Steep out. We’re descending toward IAD, and I need to get myself together to debark. The afternoon/​evening has flown by. Thank you all.

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    March 17, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @mali muso: And you have a small child!  Uncertainty can feel unbearable, terribly stressful.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    March 17, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi): welcome home.

  95. 95.

    mali muso

    March 17, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi):  Welcome home! Wonder if the decrease in air traffic means shorter flights as no waiting in line for the runway.

    @WaterGirl:  Yeah, being home alone with a toddler, trying to work remotely and then dealing with all of this uncertainty, was definitely not optimal.

  96. 96.

    J R in WV

    March 17, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    @mali muso:

    Glad to hear DH is probably incoming, or en route somewhere at least. Good luck !!

  97. 97.

    J R in WV

    March 17, 2020 at 9:41 pm

    @Ruckus:

    Our family Doc has been for 40 years now, since we moved to town. His office is across the drive from the teaching hospital in town where he got his MD. He is both a family practice Dr AND a gerontologist, as soon after he started practice he realized all his patients would eventually be old.

    He attends his patients across the drive in the hospital, and makes rounds among them in the wee hours. I think he sleeps 3 or 4 hours a day. He is also cantor at the cathedral, and plays in a jazz band. Plays basically every instrument, says concert harp was hardest to learn, you have to work the pedals ahead of where your fingers are working — sounds crazy.

    He is a character, no question about that !!!! Has no plan to retire ever, is a year older than I am… famous even among pharmacy techs…

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    March 17, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    @Steeplejack (sky-high wi-fi): Late (sorry).  They seem to vary quite a bit.  Target was picked clean last Friday evening.  Balducci’s was mostly OK today (though no paper stuff or yogurt).

    I’m assuming supply-chain issues will get better over the next few days (people can only buy so many 300-roll packages of TP).

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    prostratedragon

    March 20, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    @lamh36:  Ooo. Does instacart serve your area? You can specify your choice of alternatives, or to just have the item cancelled.

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