Life on the upswing: A Maggie's Scientific Survey

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Friday, May 15. 2020

Life on the upswing: A Maggie's Scientific Survey

In my neck of the woods, traffic is up, bars are re-opening as speakeasies, Home Depot is full of customers. In other words, people are fed up. Many states are "opening up," whatever that means, but people are doing it regardless. Some of it is necessity, some of it is a refusal to live in fear, and some of it is people realizing that much of this is pointless.

From my end, I am back in the office today, fishing this weekend, and getting together with friends on Sat. night. No masks - enough of that except for the supermarket which still requires them. Time's up for the extreme stuff.

What are our readers doing this weekend? Quarantining, Soft Quarantining, or doing your best to get back to normal work, recreational, and social life?

Posted by The Barrister in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 16:34 | Comments (39) | Trackbacks (0)

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Our governor has taken the extraordinary approach of continuing lockdown despite the authority expiring and the legislature voting against continuing authority.

So I’m taking the kids to the park, visiting my parents, and generally ignoring the orders. Might take the family to the corner restaurant as well.

Cops in this part of the state know they wouldn’t get away with enforcing the governors orders, and everyone else knows that too.

#1 egd on 2020-05-15 16:38 (Reply)

Love it-- civil disobedience is the rush I didn't know I needed in my life cry/smile/joy emoji

unrelated: I wish we could leave emojis in the comments! And gifs. Oh man, I would have a field day with gifs

#1.1 jolizbish on 2020-05-15 23:23 (Reply)

We are going hiking in one of SC's great parks.
Many people here are our and about.

#1.1.1 Ken on 2020-05-16 07:59 (Reply)

Thirty miles north of Chicago and we are lumped in with their strict lockdown orders, courtesy of Gov. Pritzker. We will be the last to be “allowed“ our freedom. Chicago and the burbs are deeply blue and this is what people chose to elect. The sheeples in my profession are bleating that we need to be good and compliant and just stay home until a vaccine. It got so contentious on a state FB page for my profession, that the sheeple got angry over those of us wanting to petition the governor and DHS, who regulates our work to allow us just to do our jobs. Many of us have businesses that are going under. We had to create a separate, private FB page to plan how to advocate for our livelihoods without being attacked. But guess who followed the link and joined? The worst of the sheeples, so they can spy on us and report us to those making referrals to hurt us.My husband and I are closeted conservatives. We will be welcoming our daughter’s fiancé for the weekend and hanging around the house, since only essential businesses are open. In Crook County all parking lots in forest preserves are closed along with buildings. Forget parking along side streets, because local villages are requiring residents near preserves to get special permits for their cars. All others will be ticketed and towed. Just north of us, in Lake County, their preserves are mostly open, but the crowds will be overwhelming. We will play board games and take walks around the neighborhood. Even local parks and playgrounds are shut down, so no walking those paths around lakes. I go from keeping busy by quilting/sewing, to deep anger at politicians and sheeples, to crying for what we have lost and will never get back. I dream of escaping permanently out of this hell hole of a state. My DH and I are getting the house ready to sell, hopefully by next spring.

#1.2 Annie Rose on 2020-05-19 08:43 (Reply)

Thank God I live in Arizona. Left CA three years ago. Going out in a few minutes to do some shopping. Costco is the only place requiring masks. Restaurants are open again.

#2 Mike K (Link) on 2020-05-15 16:53 (Reply)

And my (Arizona) gym opens on Monday!

#2.1 RJP on 2020-05-15 17:52 (Reply)

Prescott is open.

#2.2 mike w on 2020-05-16 10:35 (Reply)

I wish they would stop lying to us. There is no way to stop the spread of a virus this contagious and being outside is better than being inside. I doubt it is even possible to spread it on the beach. We are playing golf.

#3 Ralph Carbone (Link) on 2020-05-15 17:34 (Reply)

Here in Montreal, it's still cold. We had snow a few days ago.

Maybe a bike ride. High of 64F tomorrow...

It's spring, so the basement office and garage can certainly use a cleaning...

#4 Earl Wertheimer (Link) on 2020-05-15 17:59 (Reply)

OK is open. 12 mile bike ride every day. Stores open and parking lots filling up. Lots more traffic. Gas at Costco is at $1.19--at the low it was $0.91. Home Depot has been open the whole time so lots of home projects completed--painting, bathroom remodels, landscaping etc. Businesses opening but slowly. Son-in-law and daughter both still working from home. I'll be fishing tomorrow. No word on if church will still be online for Sunday.

#5 rocdoctom on 2020-05-15 18:17 (Reply)

In NH the governor masquerading as a Republican plans to extend the lockdown. Restaurants are trying to figure out how to open outdoors and avoid the regular news w gland rains at the end of the day. And hair salons may not blow dry after a shampoo and color and cut. NH tends to be polite and law abiding, which is to its detriment in this environment. He does not have my best interests at heart.
Meanwhile - at our other home on Martha’s Vineyard, the fear is so palpable and extreme that they want no one to work and no Ken to come, regardless of how long they’ve owned their properties and regardless of how much damage there is to the economy. There have been 28 cases on island. 3. 3 cases hospitalized. FROM WINDEMERE the small nursing home. Facts do not matter.

#6 Annie on 2020-05-15 18:26 (Reply)

In Illinois, border of Cook and Lake Counties, the fear is still pretty palpable. People wearing masks in the backyards and in cars. Many walkers still going into the street to avoid someone on the sidewalk. Kids made a surprise visit for Mother's Day wearing masks and gloves, visibly nervous. When I tell people my doctor believes I had IT, some -- maybe most -- back away. I am DANGEROUS. Weird. We have taught people to think of others as biological threats. On the other hand, more and more, people describe themselves as fed up and talk about going to Wisconsin or Indiana for a break. As businesses there open, the financial pressure on Illinois HAS to increase. Maybe this will force the Governor's hand. So ... A very mixed bag

#6.1 Frankns on 2020-05-15 18:59 (Reply)

Dupage County here and seems the same. Why are people oblivious to the fact that there is no reason to wear a mask when you are outside, in any setting essentially?

It’s called “fresh air” for a reason. Enjoy it, and give your body a break by not trapping your exhaust fumes and re-breathing them.

In the U.S. at least, mostly, being outside is always the healthiest place to be, especially in the sun, and it concerns me that so many people don’t intuitively get that. It used to be common sense ...

#6.1.1 Jeff Brokaw (Link) on 2020-05-16 09:22 (Reply)

I've been head down teaching undergrad statistics online since mid-March, no time for bars or restaurants. BUT, the weather's improved, so now the wife and I are out hiking the 'hood and soaking up some disinfecting UV by cruising to the re-opening stores with the top down. Best of all, my barber figured out social distancing and is doing a land office business, walk-in no less.

#7 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2020-05-15 18:53 (Reply)

I'm pretty much at my wit's end. Can't tolerate another day in the Howard Huges dystopian nightmare.

#8 jay on 2020-05-15 19:09 (Reply)

Ditto. Like the Howard Hughes reference — I had that exact thought when all this started, and I’ll bet if more people knew that story, they might be a little less inclined to think sitting home is heroic.

#8.1 Jeff Brokaw (Link) on 2020-05-16 09:10 (Reply)

We're still on the road in our RV, visiting America. KOAs are open all across the continent, and we're seeing more tourist families with kids out visiting places, seeing what they can see even though a lot of landmarks are still closed. Food's not hard to get, as restaurants are doing takeout and delivery. We're avoiding those states that are still doing hard lockdown, but I figure they'll be opening up soon under pressure from their people.

#9 RebeccaH on 2020-05-15 19:33 (Reply)

Here in NC, I am "allowed" to go to supermarkets, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, and drive-through restaurants. But no sit-down restaurants or salons. I already posted how I flew to Atlanta last week to get a haircut, but today I flew to South Carolina to a sit-down restaurant. It was the classic "$50 hamburger": $25 in AVgas and $20 for the burger and tip. I left a 100% tip. I feel like such an outlaw LOL!

#10 snopercod on 2020-05-15 19:42 (Reply)

In California, there was an announcement of limited reopening last Friday 5/8 but I couldn't find details. Most everything that was shut still is. But I'm fortunate enough to have a telecommuting job and am still at home, working.

The HOA is annoyed that I haven't weeded the yard, but I have a gardener who always does that and she's not allowed to work yet.

Meanwhile I found out that Gov. Newsom is forcing nursing homes to take infected patients just like Cuomo did. (At least Cuomo stopped.) The death count has slowed way down, but like Maxine Waters, Newsom doesn't want us to reopen, I guess because he'll lose his emergency powers. I wonder where to shop for tar and feathers.

#11 jdgalt on 2020-05-15 20:22 (Reply)

Did not know Newsomolini was also infecting nursing homes. Just plain evil. So tired of his droning pressers of verbal salad saying nothing for an hour. East of East Bay, bedroom community here. Stores still require masks. Everywhere else in our town you won’t see them. Getting together with neighbors tonight, no masks. He’s a firefighter, his wife’s a nurse. Business has been slow for them both. I telecommute, in the wine industry. Booze biz is booming. Long hours and glad of it.

#11.1 Not Just Yet on 2020-05-16 11:48 (Reply)

WNY here...

I'm so thrilled that we're gonna be safe through 6/13/20 by staying on house arrest.

/s

What a bunch of sheep. Granted I'm not out and about, being able to see my circle of friends. But everyone's wearing masks, EVERYWHERE.

Ride a bike / wear a mask, out for a run / wear a mask, drive in you car by yourself / wear a mask, walk through the park / wear a mask and run away from people walking towards you.

#12 browndog on 2020-05-15 21:08 (Reply)

So stupid that people are wearing masks anywhere! No reason to, as there are studies that show it makes NO difference and those studies dealt with health care professionals regularly exposed to disease. Result: Masks are inconsequential as protection from infection!

For healthy people however, wearing a mask is bad, as it forces one to re-breathe viruses already in one's system and concentrates them in the nasal linings, where they can leak into the brain along the optic nerve path.

Also, re-breathing CO2 is poisonous to one's system and can create a low blood oxygen environment, adversely affecting heart conditions and encouraging cancerous growths, which thrive in low oxygen conditions.

So you decide if they are worth the price of their virtue-signaling alone?

#12.1 Old Codger on 2020-05-16 23:39 (Reply)

We seem to be moving up the ladder here in Ohio. Outdoor dining was supposed to start today and hair salons opened ... too crowded to even think of getting in. Got note this afternoon that Little League may get underway in early June ... but I'm not too keen on 9 year-olds wearing masks to play ball. We'll see how that develops. The important stores (Grocery, Home Depot, Lowe's Walmart) haven't changed much since this thing started. Just arrows and rope lines. Traffic way up in last 10 days. Went to the big nursery Wednesday to buy annuals ... absolute mad house!

I'm praying that once the seal is broken there's no going back.

#13 NEBrooks (Link) on 2020-05-15 21:45 (Reply)

Just got back from a week long road trip thru the west, Wyoming to Arizona and back. Great time to drive - a lot less traffic and cheap gas. There was a big change in a week, more RV's and more cars and people in Arizona and Utah have started going to restaurants! Most people in those states aren't wearing masks, though it was very odd to see a woman wearing a mask riding a bike in southern AZ when it was 90 deg F. It was also strange to see normally opened National Forest trailheads and forest roads closed in rural areas especially when the forests are easily accessed through impromptu parking spots. I need to get a covid test on Tues for a minor surgery I'm having on Friday so I'll get find out quickly if I endangered my life by venturing from my house (sarc). Oh, and btw, I'm staying home this weekend.

#14 LinE on 2020-05-15 23:08 (Reply)

My friends in ATX seem to be lightening up on the quarantine as well, except for a few of the aforementioned coworkers. On our zoom calls, my team is still calling everyone who's outside their home/ignoring the self-isolation protocol an idiot, not realizing that I am one of those idiots. Fun times!

But outside of work, there was traffic on I-35 yesterday, nail salons are reopening, and people are tentatively reaching out to others to see get a sense if their peers are as ready to say "f*** this" as they are. It's beyond refreshing. Only cloud that's directly raining on my parade is that apparently I will have to do temp checks just to go to my dance classes, which aren't even starting up for another month. Do these people realize that asymptomatic carriers won't be sporting a temperature? Dumbasses. I may not go back until that policy is out the window.

Here's hoping this tyrannical dry run royally backfires on our blue would-be rulers in November. Hang in there y'all

#15 jolizbish on 2020-05-15 23:15 (Reply)

Here in Pennsylvannia my county still on lockdown, we border New Jersey. Our wondrous Gov. Wolf has decided to use the red, yellow, green approach. Each Friday like a King he let's us know if we can begin to normalize. In my community many are part time out of New York. Those of us who are full time have been doing outdoor projects all Spring, building a Nature Trail around our Lake, currently a New Build on the Community garden. We do not wear masks, and we get.together for beers and food most weekends around someone's fire pit. Those who are part time always wear masks and stand as far away as possible. I love to sneak up behind them and go "Boo". No just kidding, but I have thought about it.

#16 Pocono pam on 2020-05-16 02:30 (Reply)

Here in NE Ohio we never really noticed except we didn't get out to eat as often as before and I haven't had hair this long since I was in high school 45 years ago. God, I feel old just typing that. The whole time we and all our neighbors have been out walking around Shaker Heights in droves along with their kids. We are fortunate to have an honest governor who knows the law and a bit about the idiocy of the CDC.

#17 Curtis on 2020-05-16 02:52 (Reply)

Absolutely trying to get back to work - enough pretending to be stupid, I'm finished with it. Of course you still have to act stupid to go into some places, and you do that to get by.

#18 tim ferrell on 2020-05-16 04:25 (Reply)

In Columbus Ohio...I will continue to work on outdoor/home improvement projects (masks mandatory at Menard's, optional at Lowes and HD). We are seeing in-laws from Dayton for the first time since February (we will wear masks while inside because father-in-law is immune system compromised). I'm getting a haircut on Sunday (not sure yet what the protocol is). The outdoor restaurants opened last night (we carried out dinner, the place had a line, the only people in masks were workers and they were half off their face). According to r/Columbus on Reddit, the outdoor bars were packed last night with young people all the lefties scolds were freaking out. The weather turned this week and the parks and streets have been jammed with people. We are done fighting with teenagers and letting them do whatever they want. We live in a 50/50 red/blue suburb city and red parents are hanging out on porches drinking, letting their kids go and blue are not. It's pretty wild actually. They are allowing some sports (baseball, where everyone handles the same ball, catcher and batter are less than 6 feet apart is OK, but soccer is not. My kids play soccer.)

#19 Larry Dickman on 2020-05-16 05:05 (Reply)

Glad to hear people in the US are finally being sprung or are springing themselves. My Long Island family suffers from lockdown while we beach residents in Kanagawa, Japan are enjoying the sun and fresh spring air. Shops and offices are mindful of good ventilation and are keeping windows open as much as possible. Yes, we wear masks as conditions warrant it, but not when driving, biking or walking where it is not going to affect others, of course. I am so sad to read of my fellow Americans being mistreated with rights being taken from them. Here, there is a request for us to reduce contact by 80%— there is no enforcement effort. We are treated like adults who will do their best. As with the US, most of our deaths have been among those in poor health and elderly and we expect that they will self quarantine, period.

#20 Suzanne on 2020-05-16 05:51 (Reply)

Thank God we live in South Texas! It's 20 miles to anywhere that passes as a town, so haven't paid that much attention to the entire event locally. Haven't seen the first mask on anybody at the busy beer&bait store down the road and the county deputies hardly come here for anything short of a killing. The public boat ramp and fishing piers were closed for non-county residents for a few weeks but that was about it. I was so worried I went on a 2200 mile round trip to SW New Mexico to make our annual Spring Turkey Hunt in the Gila National Forest. The only masking I have done was a UV Buff donning in a quick trip store in New Mexico and a doctor's appointment in Corpus Christi last week. My wife is ready for her Methodist Church to reopen and we would like for the gym to reopen in town.

#21 Steve on 2020-05-16 07:55 (Reply)

Ditto here, just NE up the coast from Corpus Christi, Texas. I do see a lot of people wearing masks to go into stores, but not out in the open. Lots of people walking, biking, fishing, boating. It warmed up months ago and now is in the 80s most days.

Commissioners Court is still doing 2x/month meetings by ZOOM for those who want it, but I'm the only commissioner out of five who took them up on it. Heads of departments mostly appear by ZOOM, possibly a matter of convenience rather than safety, as it is for me. Otherwise, my husband and I are not quite back to throwing parties indoors, but we do some low-level entertaining outside. We never did go out much.

I still do curbside delivery for groceries--but the danger here in the deep boonies probably has been minimal all along. We're only on our 3d case total for the county, an 80-year-old man who seems to have contracted it while getting surgery in a Corpus Christi hospital, and who (being asymptomatic) was snagged in an institution-wide test when he was discharged into a local nursing home. We worry about the other residents of the nursing home, but he is said to be "in isolation," whatever that means, and being asymptomatic he may not even be very contagious. We'll be holding our breath for a week or two. Our other two cases recovered many weeks ago.

#21.1 Texan99 on 2020-05-16 18:13 (Reply)

Florida is starting to open up. Last week I dined in a local sub shop...they had half the tables unavailable. I went in for takeout and found I could stay; it was nice. Saw a retired former co-worker, chatted with him.
I've been working in the office the past week. (Some things can't be done from home). We're supposed to wear masks but don't. We generally socially distance, but there were times we huddled around a computer.
Mon the office is going back to 25 percent manning. Around 1 Jun they'll determine whether or not to go to 50 percent manning.
Most importantly, I'll be attending Catholic Mass tomorrow. We'll be social distancing. There will be double the number of Masses. We all have dispensations still (it's not mandatory), so it'll be interesting to see how many people attend. I don't expect to see the high risk people there.
I didn't reply to the "survey" on teleworking, but noted most of the replies were from people already teleworking. For me, and my co-workers, the experience has been pretty grim. Wickr and MS Teams work poorly. Wickr only on personal phones. VPN was spotty for weeks, and is still sometimes a challenge. Outlook (even before the shutdown) has frequent latency issues. I'd say I'm about 30% effective.

#22 Mark on 2020-05-16 08:44 (Reply)

Yesterday (Friday) was the first beautiful Spring day here in Chicagoland in a couple weeks at least, and there were lots of people out and about, it was great to see. People doing what people do when the weather turns nice, getting outside to be with other people. I saw lots of kids, adults, old folks, riding bikes, walking, running, no evidence of quarantine. I’ve also noticed a big uptick in traffic the last week or two.

People are slowly deciding for themselves when they are done with their freedoms being artificially constricted by obvious illegal opportunistic power grabs. Maybe moving the goalposts signals to everyone that they can start ignoring you and you cannot be trusted? Let’s hope.

#23 Jeff Brokaw (Link) on 2020-05-16 09:34 (Reply)

I watch the numbers of active cases and the hospitalizations here in Waco Tx. if I do my math right, I have 1 in 25,000 of meeting an active case. I don't see that many people in six months. I have gone back to living my retired life.

#24 Jan Blickenstaff on 2020-05-16 11:11 (Reply)

We stopped this ridiculous charade after the curve flattened. That was the deal, and I stuck to it, regardless of how many times Governor FerretFace and Mrs Doubtfire have moved the goalposts here in PA. I still carry my preposterous cloth mask in order to gain entry to places of business.

#25 itsatax on 2020-05-16 15:44 (Reply)

Here in Utah things have opened up pretty much. We have gone from Red alert, to Orange a couple of weeks ago, to Yellow currently. Restaurants are gradually opening up for dining again (with restrictions). All businesses can open up now, so we will get to see who survived and who didn't. Luckily we are one of a few states that didn't shut down completely, so we are probably in better shape economically than some other states.

There are still a substantial number of "lock-down forever" people around, and many are still wearing masks, but the numbers are gradually going down, like the melting of the last spring snow, as the number or virus test positives, hospitalizations and deaths has continued to decline.

The best news is that our church is going to be open tomorrow for the first time since mid-March. Dios Bendigo!

#26 Pod Hamp on 2020-05-16 16:05 (Reply)

Alberta started to open up Thursday, though Calgary and Brooks are still at shutdown because are the "hot spots". This is mainly because of problems at the meat packing plants at Brooks (east of Calgary) and High River (south of Calgary), though - ironically - High River itself is not still shut. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be didn't tell Calgarians that they were still shut down until sometime Wednesday which meant a fair few restauranteurs had purchased food for the Thursday opening and had staff back prepping and organizing the restaurants for the 50% rule. Towns just outside Calgary are saying they're not going to ask customers where they live.

Spouse and I are in the "at risk" (otherwise known as "have to behave yourself") demographic, so we're wearing masks and gloves while shopping. We are fortunate that we live in a community with only single family homes, so can safely go walking, and we have a good sized yard which spouse is busy cleaning up.

I'm still "working" as it's still tax season here in Canada and I do some bookkeeping, but have gone to on-line communications and quarantining any drop-offs

We're still getting a lot of alarmist propaganda up here, but I'm finding other seniors and people at risk are increasingly saying that they're willing to keep taking precautions but OPEN UP THE ECONOMY. My attitude is that my life is not worth my children's and grandchildren's future.

#27 Frances on 2020-05-16 22:31 (Reply)

Picture my shocked face when here in MI Gov. Lockdown opened up the north country just in time for Memorial Day weekend so she can visit the Governor's mansion on Mackinaw Island, while telling everyone else to stay home and not go north! It is tough for small businesses and some restaurants nearby have closed permanently. Masks are "required" in stores, but medical issues can exempt you, if you can get the store staff to accept that. County Fairs and church socials are being cancelled. It will be a sad and lonely summer.

#28 jmmartin on 2020-05-21 16:26 (Reply)

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Friday, May 15. 2020

Life on the upswing: A Maggie's Scientific Survey