Scarlet Pimpernel

10 minutes ago, Inverted_Trough said:

The restrictions during World War II were far more limiting than what we're experiencing right now.  I can't imagine how today's folks would have fared back then. 

Funny you mention that.  I was just talking to a friend the other day and we discussed just this.  What would some of these (loudly complaining) people today do in the 1930s or 1940s during the Depression and WW-II, with all the restrictions and required sacrifice to assist the war effort and to climb out of the economic disaster?

OK, this may be borderline political here, but aren't nearly all of these "protests" of the astroturf variety?  As in they're contrived and well funded by various groups, not some individual grass-roots organizers.  Think of the infamous "Brooks Brothers Riot" back during the Florida 2000 recount fiasco.

Now...concerning "opening up", I agree that it will have to be done discretely, and depending on how much testing is done...like what Gov. Hogan is advocating.  So open some things marginally, see what happens, and be prepared to close it up again if cases spike.  Something like that.  I cannot imagine anyone really wanting to go all in 100% at once.

Just now, mappy said:

I agree with you, just saying... they don't care. thats why they are doing it how they are.

LOL, I know...and I guess I'm agreeing with your agreement, haha!  Sorry to get a bit in a circular or repetitious discussion there!  Preaching to the socially distanced choir, I suppose! 

Just now, mappy said:

Right, but the majority of them think its a sham. so why would they care? 

Very true, and I'm sure they don't really care and think this is all a sham, even if that's wrong.  Doesn't change the fact that they present a potential hazard...

2 minutes ago, mappy said:

Its a tough one to "support" i agree one has the right to protest, and i get the frustrations, but how about everyone just stay in their cars, honk a lot and then go home. this gathering in groups, stupid signs and guns are just not needed.

Yeah, I agree.  I don't really "support" what they're standing for (and it sure looks to be a lot more than just a simple dislike of being forced to stay inside!  Guns and racist signs...really?).  And in a normal circumstance I wouldn't much care about them protesting as such even if I don't like what they stand for.  If a virus or other significant health issue weren't involved, I'd just roll my eyes at them and shake my head.  Because they wouldn't be harming anyone else just by being there spouting off whatever their message is.  That's really the significant difference here...they could potentially harm anyone else around them.

Nice day for a good walk and to take photos.  Here's a red-copper Japanese maple, against a brilliant blue sky.

On 4/17/2020 at 6:38 PM, WxWatcher007 said:

You’re right. It’d be a shame to lose all my annual profits to a wrongful reap suit. 

Let me ask you this...you think I can repurpose some of my Lye supply for that?

Hmmmm, that may just work, if you have sufficient extra next year!  Give it a whirl!

Oh, and I'm sure you have plenty of bespectacled legal minds ready to assist you in the event of such frivolous lawsuits!

Maybe some will do some...errr...pro bono work for you?

17 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

So far, I think it’s just Jacksonville. But like the mayor of shark city in Jaws said, if we don’t open our beaches, the $ goes somewhere else. Many will follow suit.

Gonna need a bigger...ahhhh, nevermind!

Just now, Maestrobjwa said:

Looks like that was aftert a pretty awesome ice event! Lolol

I kinda like his expression near the end when he's totally out of control...like he's saying "ohhhh, shiiiit, I'm about to crash a Barbie car!!"

15 minutes ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Duh.  They are vacationing. And then they can go back home and give the ultimate gift to all their friends.

Dayum!!  I didn't know whether to post the "haha" icon, or the "sad" one!  I think both are needed!!

4 hours ago, WxWatcher007 said:

We love the flame outs

Man, you really need to salt the driveway area leading into the Panic Room suites...you're opening yourself up to lawsuits!! 

3 hours ago, mappy said:

 

i have no idea, but i'm not a huge fan of it. sure a lot can change in a month, but enough that the state is comfortable sending kids back to school? no way... its probably a grace period to give them time how to handle the end of the year, grades, graduation etc. 

Thanks for all your updates on all this, I really appreciate it (as I'm sure others do too).  Yeah, I think they're pushing the date incrementally to come up with whatever kind of plan on how to handle the end of the school year.  Whether that's the best or not, I don't know...I kind of fully expect there won't be school the remainder of this year.  What's interesting is I've heard some places had closed schools for the remainder of this year some time ago with no hesitation.  Friend of mine in Atlanta told me back in March that they did just that, and at the time it surprised me (at that time, I think MD had set the closure date through March 27).  At any rate, I don't mind the caution and not going back this academic year...though I have to imagine for seniors graduating this year with likely no ceremony, it will suck (high school, but also colleges and universities).  Can't imagine they'll hold back diplomas.  But I do wonder how anyone taking things like AP exams, SAT, etc. will work that out.  Guess that will be up to the testing agencies, as that's done nation-wide.  I've heard they may allow it to be done remotely at home, somehow.

4 hours ago, supernovasky said:

One day. I moved here and absolutely killed this area's snowfall. I truly believe I am a curse lol. Thanks for all the other stuff though - it's been a long long road and I've been basically disowned by my family, but I'm self sufficient and have a great job and a wonderful kid and life has been great.

A bit late responding here, but nahhh, you didn't kill this area's snowfall!  We just plain suck, hahaha!  But seriously, stick around long enough and we'll get something memorable, even if it's one discrete storm in one winter.  Wish you could have been here in 2009-10 or 2013-14, you would have had a blast!  When even @Bob Chill is saying he was exhausted from tracking after 2013-14 (through late March!), you know we got a lot of events!

And I'm so sorry to hear your family has disowned you, that is awful!  I can only imagine what that must be like for you.  But I'm glad to hear you have been able to "move on" to whatever extent possible and keep your life going...and that you're looking at things that are brighter in your world!  That's about all we can do, right?!

I sense there are a lot of "stout" hearts in here, going by some of the beer conversation!!! 

5 minutes ago, DCTeacherman said:

The paying salaries indefinitely, 6 month closure, etc is a straw man.  No one is advocating for these things. 

I know that, I was responding to what PhineasC said about paying salaries indefinitely.

Just now, Chris78 said:

Sometimes its the governents role to protect people from themselves lol

 

Agree.  Like I said, I don't want to get into the ugly weeds of politics here, but there's been way too much of a push (in my humble opinion) over the past few decades to make people automatically distrust anything the government does (a sarcastic "thank you" to Ronnie!).  Some of that is warranted, sure.  There's also the issue that I don't think as many people now are willing to just make the necessary sacrifice, whether it's inconvenience or whatever.  I mean...does the stay at home stuff suck?  Yeah, it does.  Is it a pain to wear a face covering at the supermarket?  Sure.  Or not be able to go to many places like we used to for awhile?  Absolutely.  And I don't even want to hear that I don't understand that people have lost or will lose their jobs because of this...that's where support is supposed to come in, in whatever measure is necessary.

But seriously, this won't be permanent, or I don't see it being so.  It's a sacrifice, and by all indications by those who are experts in the medical fields, it's a necessary one.  It's not overblown panic and hype.  God, I swear, I wonder what some people who complain soooo much right now would have done during the Depression, or WW-II, when sacrifice was not only mandated but required to survive and get through it.

Sorry for the mini-rant!!

8 minutes ago, Chris78 said:

We have been trying to give local restaurants some bussiness, a couple times a week. Weve done pizza, chinese, steaks from Outback.

 

And I'm also completely fine with giving the liquor establishments plenty of my business!!!  As much as my liver will afford! 

10 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Even in overwhelmed Italy barely anyone under 50 died from this. Look up the stats. They are actually kind of crazy. Even nurses getting hammered with viral load survived. 

From what I understand and heard, the region in Italy that got so badly hit by this in terms of cases and number of deaths has a much larger elderly population.  So sure, the most affected are those who are older; same was true in China and elsewhere.  That said, I heard there were some studies that show younger people are perhaps not so little affected as originally thought.  Maybe that's changed, I don't know.  There's also the issue of asymptomatic people being able to (inadvertently) spread it, including to those who are more vulnerable.

7 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

There is no political will to pay everyone’s salary indefinitely. People will start to go hungry and kill themselves from depression. 

Is anyone talking about paying salaries indefinitely?  I'm far from an economic expert (nor do I play one on TV!), but giving people something to survive on during the worst of this pandemic or holding off debt payments and the like for some amount of time, until things (hopefully) go down, is not out of order.  How best to do that, I don't know myself and don't claim to know it all.  I'm sure we'll need to re-think our ideas of economics in these kinds of situations, much like we had to do during the Great Depression.  Similarly for how health care should be administered.  A lot of that is political, sure, and I won't get into that stuff in here.  But you can be sure we'll be changing our views on how we handle something like this.  It's not always necessarily the "big bad gov-mint" trying to take away your freedoms.  Not saying we shouldn't be vigilant of unscrupulous leaders, but I don't like when I hear the knee-jerk reaction that everything is the government trying to hold everyone down.

59 minutes ago, supernovasky said:

Part of me thinks you're right, part of me wonders if people won't just go crowd restaurants and beaches again.

 

I sure as heck am staying away from both.

However and whenever things begin to open up again (and I don't think it would or should be "all at once, come on in!!")...I admit I'll be a bit uncertain about going in to certain places, especially if they're big and crowded (say, going to a game or a large, busy restaurant kind of thing).  Traveling?  Maybe, if it's like visiting family or a close friend that's in driving distance (family in Philly and Ohio, not bad drives).

On a related subject, I still "patronize" (if that's the right word here) various local eating establishments that I like via ordering and picking up...and will continue to do so how I can.  It may not be much from one person, but I just want to help out to keep them afloat and keep people there employed (and I like the food, of course!).

1 hour ago, H2O said:

Same lawn chair from the "never forget" earthquake pic?

If it's that chair...better off just getting a new one!! 

(That "never forget" pic was hilarious!!)

Just now, WxWatcher007 said:

Part of me wants a get together so I can arrive as the reaper.

Haha, you absolutely should do that!!  At the same time, you can hand out flyers advertising your new, snazzy suites for those interested the next winter.  C'mon man...think of the marketing opportunities, and in-person too!!

2 hours ago, supernovasky said:

That's lovely. I first realized when I was 8, and then 12, in Southern Louisiana. Suffice to say, it's a lot easier on kids these days here in Maryland than it was in Louisiana in 1998-2002. Thanks for being such wonderful parents. 

Very cool, and thanks for sharing that information.  And (trite as this may sound), I'm glad that you're now happy with who you are and who *you* want to be.  In the end, that's really all that should matter.  You're right, it's a lot easier now than it was in Louisiana (or anywhere for that matter) some 20+ years ago.  But like many things, it sure was a long, hard road to get this country to change its attitudes even a little bit (and it still seems people have to fight the same battles time and time again).

(ETA:  Hopefully we can still get a good HECS-level snow event for you while you're in the area!!)

Just now, wxtrix said:

we're doing as well as can be working from home, and I hope you can say the same.

my dad was hospitalized 2 weeks ago for pneumonia as a covid-19 complication, but he came home after a few days and seems to be OK. my mom is presumed positive too, but she's had no symptoms after nearly 20 days after my dad began shedding the virus. they're both in their 80s so it feels as if we've dodged a big bullet.

Oh, that's terrible...so sorry you all had to go through that!  But I'm glad to hear your dad came through it OK, and hope that your mom did manage to avoid symptoms despite being exposed to it.  Those are exactly the kinds of complications that make this so scary.

Just now, mappy said:

you should read the banter thread  

lol sorry. i shouldnt brag. i know i'm lucky compared to others. 

All good...I knew it was in humor, and I thought it was funny...surely pretty well everyone else took it the same!

2 hours ago, supernovasky said:

That's a funnier statement than you might realize.

7 minutes ago, Maestrobjwa said:

Same, hahaha Ya know @supernovasky I think it's something about your screename...(I guess the -vasky suffix? Lol)

LOL!  OK, I admit to thinking the same about @supernovasky.  In fact, I always thought the pronunciation was like an eastern European/Russian type of name, like "Super-novAski" (imagine Gru from "Despicable Me" saying that...). Then I realized, maybe it's actually "Supernova Sky"!!